


rJLpJcJ j-4 cJ xJ f^ijJxJLgn 



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PRINCETON, N. J. 



Presented by Mrs. Sanford H. Smith. 



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Number 



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OF 

ANCIENT NEW TESTAMENT MANUSCRIPTS, 

TO ILLUSTRATE CHAPTER XXVI., PAGE 380. 

Most of the following specimens of ancient manuscripts are taken from 
Scrivener's Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament. No. (1) is 
from Tischendorf s Novum Testamentum Greece ex Sinaitico Codice ; Nos. (2) 
and (11) from Smith's Dictionary of the Bible ; and No. (5) from Home's Intro- 
duction, Vol. IV. 

No. (1). PLATE I. Sinai Codex, Century IV. Heb. 12 : 27-29. Notice 
the occasional use of very small letters. In line 3 the article ttjv is inserted by 
correction in its proper place, while it is left standing where it should not at the 
beginning of line 2. 

No. (2). PLATE I. Alexandkine Codex, Century V. Jno. 1 : 1-5. In the 
margin stands the first Ammonian section (A), and under it the tenth Eusebian 
canon (I). 

No. (3). PLATE II. Vatican Codex, Century JV. Psa. 1:1,2 and part 
of verse 3 ; called by Scrivener "a tolerable /ac-simiZe." 

No. (4). PLATE III. Codex Ephraemi, palimpsest of Century V. 1 Tim. 
3:16, and end of verse 15. The heavier upper writing in two columns (cursive) 
is a translation from Ephraem the Syrian. The paler underneath is the Greek 
text. 

No. (5). PLATE IV. Codex Bezae, Century VI. Matt. 5 : 1-3. From 
the type cast for Kipling's edition, which give a good idea of the manuscript. It 
is bilingual, the Greek and Latin stichometrically written and on opposite j)ages. 
In the present specimen the Latin is placed below the Greek. On the left mar- 
gin of the Greek are the Ammonian sections. 

No. (6). PLATTE II. Codex Puepukeus, Century VI. Part of Juo. 15 : 20. 
In the margin thc; Ammonian section 139 (PA0), and under it the third Eusebian 
canon (F). 

No. (7). PLATE in. Codex Laudianus, Century VI. Part of Acts 20:28. 
Bilingual and stichometrically written, the Latin on the left and the Greek on 
the right. 

No. (8). PLATE III. Codex Monacensis, Century X. Luke 7 : end of 
verse 25 and beginning of verse 26. 

No. (9). PLATE III. Codex Basilensis (cursive). Century X. Matt. 15:1, 
and part of verse 2. 

No. (10). PLATE V. Codex Rubee (cursive, in bright red ink), Century X. 
2 Cor. 1 : 4, with end of verse 3, and beginning of verse 5. 

No. (11). PLATE V. Part of Luke 20 : 9, 10, from a fragmentary Palim- 
psest of century VI., brought in 1847 from the Nitrian desert, and now in the 
British Museum, add. 17,211. It is covered by Syrian writing of Century IX. 
orX. 



•/• 



d). PLATE I. 

SINAI CODEX. 

TOKeeTI AH KlAHXi 
T H M TCD N C KKey 
O M 6 Kl CO n'm C TKOc 

cvNa:>cnerToiH 

MeHCDKl) WXMIKH 
TAM H CXKe^O M £NK 
XI O R XC I Xe 1 XH XCA 

xevroN rrxf AAXiL. 

kXWOVsJTeCGXOM^^ 
XKriHMHCAXTpT 

o M e N € Y>\p e c tci>- 
Tcu e tu H e TK€7>Kx 

rxpoe c H M CD N n|f 

KATXN AXICKON 

(2). 
ALEXANDKINE CODEX. 



MApx"rthiNOAqrOCKAioAorocH 

T1 f^oCTOMOISKAieC HMOXOroC • 

ovToCHt-ieMXj»x:Kn|»oc"roNeN 

-rTXMnrx2s.iXYroVBreMGTOI<Xl^u» 

pe ic^YT^overe MGnroov^^ee m 
o re ro r-4 e rvi eM^Y"r<^^ uj M Mi-4 

l<Ai-rocbcuce^^TnCi<OTixd)Ai 

Met KAlHCKO^lAAVTOOVJ^^T^e 





(3). PLATE II. 

VATICAN CODEX. 

Ki AKApiQ^x fsj Hpo coy Kenr Of eye Hen 

KXle HO^co <^H^pTcoXci>NoyKeCTH 
KA I en J K A0 eXpivN Ao JM oj no y Ke ka^ ice 
iCx X H en nrco m om cx> k y to e c\h m avtt y 

K^ieHT-tON O MCQAYTOYM€A»e"THCe 
HMCpXCKAlHYKTO^C 

KXie CTA.ia:)CT0 5 YAONxone <|>YT"€Y 



(6). 
CODEX PURPUREUS. 

i^ TO yA o roy oy 
ercuerrrOHy 

MIWOyKGCTir. 

AOyKO C M I ^-^ 

ToyKy/\y tov 



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PLATE III. 



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o 

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ft 
O 









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PLATE rV. 



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o 

o 
o 

s 

I 

o 

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o w 

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(10). 
CODEX KUBER. 



PLATE Y. 






(11). 

A PALIMPSEST FROM THE NITRIAN DESERT. 




COMPANION 



TO/ 



THE BIBLE. 



BY REV. E. P/BARROWS, D. D., 

PROFESSOK OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE. 



PUBLISHED BY THE - 
AMEEICAN TEACT SOCIETY, 

150 NASSAU-STREET, NEW YORK. 



Enteeed according to Act of Congress, in the year 1867, by the Ameeican 
Teact Society, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States 
for the Southern District of New York. 



\- 



GENERAL PREFACE. 



The design of the present work, as its title indicates, is to 
assist in the study of God's word. The author has had special 
reference to teachers of Bible classes and Sabbath-schools; 
ministers of the gospel who wish to have ready at hand the 
results of biblical investigation in a convenient and condensed 
form ; and, in general, the large body of intelligent laymen and 
Avomen in our land who desire to pursue the study of Scrip- 
ture in a thorough and systematic way. 

The First Part contains a concise view of the Evidences of 
Revealed Religion. Here, since Christianity rests on a basis 
of historic facts, special prominence has been given to the 
historic side of these evidences ; those, namely, which relate to 
the genuineness, integrity, authenticity, and inspiration of the 
several books of the Bible. A brief view is added of the evi- 
dences which are of an internal and experimental character. 

In the Introductions to the Old and New Testament which 
follow in the Second and Third Parts, the general facts are first 
given; then an account of the several divisions of each, with 
their office and mutual relations, and such a notice of each 
particular book as will prepare the reader to study it intelli- 
gently and profitably. 

The Fourth Part is devoted to the Principles of Biblical 
Interpretation. Here the plan is to consider the Scriptures, 
first, on the human side, as addressed to men in human lan- 
guage and according to human modes of thinking and speak- 
ing; then, on the divine side, as containing a true revelation 
from God, and differing in this respect from all other writings. 
To this twofold view the author attaches great importance. 
To the human side belong the ordinary principles of interpre- 



4 GENERAL PREFACE. 

tation, which apply alike to all writings ; to the divine side, the 
question of the unity of revelation, and the interpretation of 
types and prophecies. 

In each of the abovenamed divisions the author has en- 
deavored to keep prominently in view the unity of revelation 
and the inseparable connection of all its parts. It is only 
when we thus contemplate it as a glorious whole, having begin- 
ning, progress, and consummation, that we can truly under- 
stand it. Most of the popular objections to the Old Testament 
have their foundation in an isolated and fragmentary way of 
viewing its facts and doctrines; and they can be fairly met 
only by showing the relation Avhich these hold to the entire 
plan of redemption. 

The plan of the present work required brevity and conden- 
sation. The constant endeavor has been to state the several 
facts and principles as concisely as could be done consistently 
wath a true presentation of them in an intelligible form. It 
may be objected that some topics, those particularly which 
relate to the Pentateuch, are handled in too cursory a way. 
The author feels the difficulty; but to go into details on this 
subject would require a volume. He has endeavored to do the 
best that was consistent with the general plan of the work. 
The point of primary importance to be maintained is the 
divine authority and inspiration of the Pentateuch — the whole 
Pentateuch as it existed in our Saviour's day and exists now. 
There are difficult questions connected with both its form and 
the interpretation of certain parts of it in res^iect to which 
devout believers may honestly differ. For the discussion of 
these the reader must be referred to the works professedly 
devoted to the subject. 

The present volume is complete in itself; ^-et it does not 
exhaust the circle of topics immediately connected with the 
study of the Bible. It is the author's purpose to add another 
volume on Biblical Geography and Antiquities, with a brief 
survey of the historic relations of the covenant people to the 
Gentile world. 






CONTENTS. 



PART I. 

A CONCISE VIEW OF THE EVIDENCES OF REVEALED 
EELIGION. 

CHAPTER I. 

Introductoey Eemaeks. 1. Christianity rests on a Basis of Historic Facts 
inseparably connected from First to Last — 2. This Basis to be maintained 
against Unbelievers — 3. General Plan of Inquiry" — Christ's Advent the Central 
Point — From this We look forward and backward to the Beginning — 4. Impor- 
tance of viewing Eevelation as a Whole — 5. Fragmentary Method of Objec- 
tors — Particular Order of the Parts in this Investigation -page 31 

CHAPTER II. 

Genuineness of the Gospel Naeeatives. 1. Terms defined — Necessity of 
knowing the Authors of the Gospels— 2. Kemarks on their Origin — They 
were not written immediately, but successively at Intervals — Earlier Docu- 
ments noticed by Luke — 3. Manner of Quotation by the Early Church 
Fathers— 4. External Evidences traced upward from the Close of the Second 
Century— Testimony of Irenasus — Of Tertullian — Of Clement of Alexandria- 
Letter of the Churches of Lyons and Vienne— 5. Comprehensiveness and 
Force of these Testimonies — Freedom of Judgment in the Primitive Church- 
es—This shown by the History of the Disputed Books:— 6, Public Character 
and Use of the Gospels — 7. Earlier Testimonies— Justin Martyr — His Desig- 
nation of the Gospels — They are Our Canonical Gospels — Explanation of his 
Variations and Additions — His References to the Gospel of John— 8. Testi- 
mony of Papias — 9. Epistle to Diognetus — 10. The Apostolic Fathers— Cle- 
ment of Eome— Ignatius Polycar^j — The So-called Epistle of Barnabas — 11. 
The Ancient Versions and Muratorian Canon — Syriac Peshito— Old Latin — 
12. Testimony of the Heretical Sects— Marcion — Valentinus — Tatian— 13. Con- 
clusiveness of the above External Testimony— 14. Internal Evidences— Uela.- 
tion of the First Three Gospels to the Last— They differ in Time— The First 
Three written before the Destruction of Jerusalem ; the Fourth after that 
Event— They differ in Character and Contents— Yet were all alike received by 
the Churches — 15. Eelation of the First Three Gospels to Each Other — They 
have Eemarkable Agreements and Differences— These and their General Ee- 
ception explained by their Genuineness — 16. The Gospels contain no Trace 
of Later Events — 17. Or Later Modes of Thought. 18. From the Character 
of the Language 36 



6 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER III. 

Uncobrupt Peeservation or the Gospel Narratives. 1. What is meant by 
an Uncorrupt Text— 2. Ancient Materials for Writing— Palimpsests— Uncial 
and Cursive Manuscripts — 3. The Apostolic Autographs have perished, but 
We have their Contents— This shown from the Agreement of Manuscripts— 
From the Quotations of the Fathers— From Ancient Versions— Character of 
the "Various Eeadings" — They do not affect the Substance of the Gospel — 
4. The Ancient Versions made from a Pure Text — This shown from the Pub- 
lic Beading of the Gospels from the Beginning — From the Multiplication of 
Copies— From the High Value attached to the Gospels— From the Want of 
Time for Essential Corruptions — From the Absence of all Proof of such Cor- 
ruptions— 5. The Above Bemarks apply essentially to the other New Testa- 
tament Books - 59 

CHAPTER IV. 

Authenticity and CEEDZBiiiiTY or the Gospel Narratives. 1. General Be- 
marks— 2. Their Authors Sincere and Truthful — 3. Competent as Men — 4. 
And as Witnesses — 2. Character of the Works which they record— Super- 
natural Character of our Lord's Miracles — They were very Numerous and 
Diversified, and performed openly — 6. And in the Presence of His Enemies — 
7. The Besurrection of Jesus— Its Vital Importance — 8. The Character of 
Jesus proves the Truth of the Becord— Its Originality and Symmetry— It 
unites Tranquillity with Fervor— Wisdom with Freedom from Guile— Pru- 
dence with Boldness — Tenderness with Severity' — Humility with the Loftiest 
Claims — He is Heavenly-minded without Asceticism — His Perfect Purity — 
His Virtues Imitable for All alike — Our Lord's Character as a Teacher — His 
Freedom from the Errors of His Age and Nation— His Beligion One for All 
Men and Ages—This explained by its Divine Origin — Our Lord's Manner of 
Teaching — His Divine Mission — Divinity of His Person— Originality of its 
Manifestations — God His Father in a Peculiar Sense— He is the Source of 
Light and Life — He has Inward Dominion over the Soul — He dwells in Be- 
lievers, and they in Him — The Inference — His Power over the Human 
Heart — Supernatural Character of the Gospel — A Word on Objections 6Q 

CHAPTER V. 

The Acts of the Apostles and the Acknowledged Epistles. 1. These Books 
a Natural Sequel to the Gospels — 2. The Acts of the Apostles — External Testi- 
monies — 3. Internal Evidence — 4. Credibility — 5. Date of Composition — 6. 
2he Acknowledged Epistles — Distinction of Acknowledged and Disputed 
Books — 7. First Group of Pauline Epistles— Second Group, or the Pastoral 
Epistles — Their Date — Their Peculiar Character — 8. First Epistles of Peter and 
First of John~9. Mutual Belation between the Gospels and Later Books — 
1 0. Argument from Undesigned Coincidences 87 

CHAPTER VI. 

•i'HE Disputed Books. 1. The Question here simply concerning the Extent of 
the Canon— 2. The Primitive Age One of Free Inquiry — 3. Its Diversity of 



CONTENTS. 7 

Judgment no Decisive Argument against a Given Book — 4. The Caution of 
tlie Early Churches gives Weight to their Judgment — This Judgment Nega- 
tive as well as Positive ' 96 

CHAPTER YII. 

Inspibation and the Canon. General Eemarks— 1. Eule of Judgment deter- 
mined—It is the Writer's Eelation to Christ— 2. Christ Himself Infallible— 3. 
The Apostles— They held the nearest Eelation to Him— Their Infallibility us 
Teachers shown— From the Necessity of the Case— From Christ's Express 
Promises — From their Own Declarations— Summary of the Argument in Ee- 
spect to the Apostles— 4. Inspiration of the Apostolic lien — 5. Argument from 
the Character of the Books of the New Testament— 6. The Inspiration of the 
Sacred Writers Plenary— 7. Principles on which the Canon is formed --- 101 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Inseparable Connection between the Old and the New Testament. General 
Eemarks — 1. Previous Eevelations implied in Christ's Advent — 2. In the 
Character of the Jewish People— 3. Proved from the New Testament— Christ's 
Explicit Declarations— 4. The New Testament based on the Facts of the 
Old— The Fall of Man— The Abrahamic Covenant, which was conditioned on 
Faith alone, and fulfilled in Christ— Christ the End of the Mosaic Economy— 
In its Prophetical Order— In its Kingly Office— In its Priestly Office— 5. The 
New Testament Writers the Interpreters of the Old 11 3 

CHAPTER IX. 

Authoeship of the Pentateuch. Meaning of the Term — 1. It existed in its 
Present Form from Ezra's Day — 2. ' ' The Law " ascribed to Moses in the New 
Testament— How Much is included in this Term— 3. Force of the New Testa- 
ment Testimony — 4. The Law of Moses at the Eestoration — 5. Jewish Tradi- 
tion that Ezra settled the Canon of the Old Testament —He left the Penta- 
teuch essentially as he fovmd it— References to the Law in the Books of 
Kings and Chronicles — 6. Xhe Book of Deuteronomy— Its Mosaic Authorship 
Certain — 7. The Inference Certain that he wrote the Preceding Laws— 8. This 
corroborated by their Form— 9. By Eeferences in the New Testament — And 
the Old also— 10. Eelation of Deuteronomy to the Earlier Precepts— In Ee- 
spect to Time — And Design— Change in Moses' Personal Eelation to the Peo- 
ple — Peculiarities of Deuteronomy explained from the Above Considerations — 
Meaning of "the Words of this Law" in Deuteronomy— 11. Mosaic Author- 
ship of Genesis shown— From Antecedent Probability— From its Connection 
with the Following Books— Objections considered— Supposed Marks of a 
Later Age— And of Different Authors— 12. Unity of the Pentateuch 120 

CHAPTER X. 

Authenticity and Credibility of the Pentateuch. 1. Its Historic Truth 
assumed in the New Testament— This shown by Examples— 2. It was the 
Foundation of the Whole Jewish Polity— And could not have been imposed 



8 CONTENTS. 

upon tlie People by Fraud — Contrast between Mohammed and Moses— 3. Sci- 
entific Difficulties connected with the Pentateuch — 4. Alleged Moral Difficul- 
ties — Exclusiveness of the Mosaic Economy — Its Eestrictions on Intercourse 
with Other Nations — 5. Its Numerous Ordinances — The Mosaic Laws required 
Spiritual Obedience — 0. Objections from the Toleration of Certain Usages — 
7. Extirpation of the Canaanites — 8. The Mosaic Economy a Blessing to the 
Whole World * 134 

CHAPTEB XL 

Kemaining Books of the Old Testament. 1. General Remarks — 2. The New 
Testament assumes their Divine Authority — Historical Books — 3. Books not 
strictly Historical or Prophetical — 4. Prophetical Books — Argument from 
Prophecy for the Divine Origin of the Old Testament — 5. Christ the Fulfil- 
ment of Prophecy — In his Office as a Prophet — as a King — as a Priest — 6. 
The Jewish Institutions and History a Perpetual Adumbration of Christ pre- 
paratory to His Advent — 7. Ptcmarks on the Canon of the Old Testament— 8. 
Principle of its Formation— 9. Inspiration of the Old Testament 142 

CHAPTEE XII. 

Evidences Internal and Expekimental. 1. External Evidences Important, but 
not Indispensable to True Faith — 2. Internal Evidences — View which the 
Bible gives of God's Character — 3. Code of Morals in the Bible— It is Spiritual, 
Eeasonable, and Comprehensive — Obedience to It the Sum of all Goodness — 
4. All Parts of the Bible in Harmony with Each Other — 5. Power of the Bible 
over the Conscience — 6. Argument from Personal Experience — 7. From the 
Character of Jesus — 8. From General Experience — The Love of Jesus the 
Mightiest Principle of Action — Persecution first winnows, then strengthens 
the Church — The Church corrupted and w'eakened by Worldly Alliances — 
9. The Gospel gives an Inward Victory over Sin — It purifies and elevates So- 
ciety — 10. Its Self-purifying Power — 11. The Argument summed up 149 



PART II. 

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT. 
FIRST DIVISION— GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 

CHAPTEE XIII. 

Names and External Fobm or the Old Testament. 1. Origin and Meaning 
of the Word Bible— Jewish Designations of the Old Testament — 2. Origin of 
the Terms Old and New Testament— Earher Latm Term— 2. The Unity— 
Sci-ipture has its Ground in Divine Inspiration— Its Great Diversity in Re- 
spect to Human Composition — 4. Classification and Arrangement of the Old 



CONTENTS. 9 

Testament Books — Classification of tlie Hebrew ; of the Greek Version of 
the Seventy ; of the Latin Vulgate — No One of these follows entirely the 
Order of Time— 5. Original Mode of Writing called Continuous — 6. Ancient 
Sections— Open and Closed ; Larger Sections called Parshiyoth and Haph- 
taroth— 7. Chapters and Verses — Caution in Kespect to our Modern Chap- 
ters 165 

CHAPTEE XIV. 

The Original Text and its History. 1. Chaldee Passages in the Hebrew 
Scriptures — Divisions of the Hebrew and Cognate Languages— 2. The As- 
syrian or Square Character not Primitive — Jewish Tradition respecting its 
Origin — 3. The Hebrew Alphabet and its Character — 4. Change in the Lan- 
guage of the Hebrew Nation — 5. Introduction of the Vowel-Points and Ac- 
cents — The Question of their Antiquity — 6. Jewish Kules for the Guidance 
of Copyists — Their Deep Eeverence for the Sacred Text— Its Uncorrupt 
Transmission to Us — 7. Age and Character of Hebrew Manuscrij)ts — 8. Form 
of Hebrew Manuscripts — the Public in Kolls, the Private in the Book Form, 
Poetical Passages, Columns, Pen and Ink Accompaniments — 9. The Samar- 
itan Pentateuch 175 

CHAPTER XV. 

FoEMATioN AND HiSTOEY OP THE Hebeew Canon. 1. Meaning of the Word 
"Canon" — Gradual Formation of the Hebrew Canon— Its Main Divisions — 
I. Tlie Pentateuch— 2. General Kemark on its Hebrew Name— 3. The Penta- 
teuch forms the Nucleus of the3,01d Testament Canon — It was given by Divine 
Authority, committed to the Charge of the Priests, kept by the Side of the Ark, 
and to be publicly read at Stated Times — II. Tlie Historical Books — 4. The 
Authors and Exact Date of Many of them Unknown — Important Historical 
Documents were deposited in the Sanctuary — 5. The Authors of the Books of 
Joshua and Judges made Use of such Documents — 6. The Author of the 
Books of Samuel also — 7. Original Sources for the Books of Kings and Chron- 
icles— 8. These Two Works refer not to Each Other, but to a Larger Collection 
of Original Documents— 9. Character of these Documents — They were writ- 
ten, in Part at Least, by Prophets, and they all come to us with the Stamp 
of Prophetic Authority. — 10. The Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther- 
Ill. The Prophetical Books — 11. The Books enumerated — Paucity of Proph- 
ets before Samuel — Schools of the Prophets established by him — The Proph- 
ets a Distinct Order of Men in the Theocracy from his Day onward — 12. The 
Era of Written Prophecy— IV. The Poetical Books — 13. Their General Char- 
acter—The Book of Job — 14. The Book of Psalms— 15. Proverbs, Ecclesi- 
astes, and Canticles — Completion of the Canon — 16. Preservation of the Sacred 
Books to the Time of Ezra — The Law ; the Prophetical Books ; the Psalms 
and other Canonical Writings — 17. The Completion of the Canon ascribed by 
the Jews to Ezra and his Coadjutors — This Tradition True for Substance. 
No Psalms written in the Maccabean Age — 18. Contents of the Hebrew Can- 
on—as given by Jesus the Son of Sirach, by Josephus, by Origen and Euse 

bins, by Jerome — 19. The Apocryphal Books 183 

1* 



10 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Ancient Versions of the Old Testament. I. The Greek Version called the 
Septuagint— Its Antiquity ; its Great Influence on the Language of the New 
Testament — 2. Jewish Account of its Origin — 3. Judgment of Biblical Schol- 
ars on this Account — 4. Time occupied in the Completion of the Work — 2. In* 
equalities of this Version — Its Importance to the Biblical Student — 6. Its 
Close Connection with the New Testament — Quotations from it by New Tes- 
tament Writers— Their Manner and Spirit — 7. Hebrew Text from which this 
Version was made — 11. Other Greek Versions— 8. The Septuagint originally in 
High Esteem among the Jews — Change in their Feelings in Kegord to it, 
and Kise of New Versions — 9. Aquila's Version — 10. Theodotion — 11. Sym- 
machus — 12. Origen's Labors on the Text of the Septuagint — the Tetrapla 
and Hexapla — III. The Chaldee Targums—13. General Kemarks on these — 
14. The Targum of Onkelos — Its General Fidelity and Excellence — Its Pecu- 
liarities—Jewish Tradition respecting Onkelos — 15, The Targum of Jonathan 
Ben Uzziel— 16. Of Pseudo-Jonathan and Jerusalem — 17. Other Targums— 
The Samaritan Version of the Samaritan Pentateuch — IV. 18. The Syriac Pe- 
shito — Its Age and Character - 199- 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Criticism or the Saceed Text. 1. The Object to ascertain its Primitive Form — 
2. Means at Our Disposal — Ancient Hebrew Manuscripts — Remarks on their 
Quality and Age — 3. Ancient Versions — 4. Primary Printed Editions — 5. Par- 
allel Passages — 6. Quotations from the Old Testament in the New — 7. Quota- 
tions in the Talmud and by Rabbinical Writers — 8. Critical Conjecture-- 209 



SECOND DIVISION- PAETICTJLAB INTRODUCTION. 

CHAPTER XVIIL 

The Books of the Old Testament as a Whole. 1. Province of Particular 
Introduction — The Necessity of Understanding the Unity of Divine Revela- 
tion — 2. Relation of the Old Testament as a Whole to the System of Revela- 
tion—It is a Preparatory, Introductory to a Final Revelation, of which the 
Gospel everywhere avails itself — the Unity of God ; Vicarious Sacrifice ; Gen- 
eral Principles ; Well-developed State of Civilization — Connection ef the 
Hebrews with the Great World Powers — Their Dispersion through the Nations 
at our Lord's Advent — Relation of the Gospel to Civilization — 3. A Knowl- 
edge of the Preparatory Character of the Old Testament Revelations enables 
us to judge correctly concerning them — Severity of the Mosaic Laws ; Their 
Burdensome Multiplicity ; Objection from their Exclusive Character answer- 
ed — 4. Office of each Division of the Old Testament Revelations— the Penta- 
teuch ; the Historical Books ; the Prophetical Books — Character and Officers 
of the Hebrew Prophets — Era of Written Prophecj^ — The Poetical Books — 
. 5. Each Particular Book has its Office — 6. The Old Testament was a Revelation 
for the Men of its Own Age, as well as for those of Future Ages — the Promise 



CONTENTS. 11 

made to Abraham ; the Deliverance from Egypt ; the Mosaic Law ; the Words 
of the Prophets ; the Psalms of David ; the Wisdom of Solomon — 7. Value of 
the Old Testament Eevelations to us — the System of Divine Kevelation can be 
understood only as a Whole ; Constant Keference of the New Testament to 
the Old ; the Old Testament a Record of God's Dealings with Men ; the Prin- 
ciples embodied iu the Theocracy Eternal ; the Manifold Wisdom of God 
seen only when the Whole System of Kevelation is studied 214 

CHAPTER XIX. 

The Pentateuch. 1. Its Unity— Its Fivefold Division— I, Genesis— 2. Its He- 
brew Name — Its Greek Name — 3. Its Office — It is the Introductory Book of 
the Pentateuch — Its Connection with the Following Books— 4. Divisions of 
the Book of Genesis — First Part and its Contents ; Second Part and its Con- 
tents — 5. Its Mosaic Authorship — Supposed Traces of a Later Hand — G. Dif- 
ficulties connected with the Pentateuch — Scientific Difficulties : the Six Days 
of Creation ; the Age of the Antediluvian Patriarchs ; the Unity of the Human 
Race ; the Deluge— Historical Difficulties : the Two Accounts of the Crea- 
tion ; Cain's Wife — Chronological Difficulties : Discrepancies between the 
Masoretic Hebrew, the Samaritan Hebrew, and the Septuagint, in Respect to 
(1) the Antediluvian Genealogy ; (2) the Genealogy from Noah to Abraham — 
Remarks on these Discrepancies — 11. Exodus — 7. Hebrew Name of this Book — 
Its Unity — Its Two Chief Divisions — Contents of the First Division ; of the 
Second Division — 8. Time of the Sojourn in Egypt— Sojourn in the Wilder- 
ness — III. Leviticus — 9. Its Character and Contents — 10. The Priestly Office 
and Sacrifices the Central Part of the Mosaic Law — IV. Numbers — IL Office 
and Contents of this Book — The Three Epochs of its History : the Depar- 
ture from Sinai, the Rebellion of the People upon the Report of the Twelve 
Spies, the Second Arrival of Israel at Kadesh witb the Events that followed — 
V. Deuteronomy— V2. Its Peculiar Character, Divieions, and Contents— 13. It 
brings the Whole Pentateuch to a Suitable Close 224 



CHAPTER XX. 

The Histokicae Books. 1 and 2. Their Office to Unfold the History of God's 
Dealings with the Covenant People — General Remarks on the Character of 
this History ^-I. Joshua — 3. Contents of this Book. Its Immediate Connec- 
tion with the Pentateuch — Its Two Divisions with their Contents — 4. Its 
Authorship— 5. Its Authenticity and Credibility — The Miracle of the Arrest 
of the Sun and Moon in their Course— II. Judges and Ruth — 6. Name of this 
Book — Office of the Judges whose History it records— -Condition of the 
Hebrew Nation during the Administration of the Judges — Office of this Book 
in the General Plan of Redemption — 7. Arrangement of its Materials — its 
Twofold Introduction ; the Body of its History ; its Two Appendixes— 8, Ita 
Date and Authorship — 9. Uncertainty of its Chronology — 10, The Book of 
Ruth. Its Place in the History of Redemption — III. The Books of Samuel— 
11. The Two Books of Samuel originally One Work— Their Name— 12. Their 
Office in the History of Redemption— Eventful Character of the Period whose 
History they record— Change to the Kingly Form of Government —God's 



12 CONTENTS. 

Design in this— The Kingly Office Typical of Christ— 13. Contents of the 
Books of Samuel— Introductory Division ; Second Division ; Third Division — 
14. Authorship and Date of their Composition — IV. The Books of Kings — 15. 
They Originally constituted a Single Book— Their Names and Office — Their 
Manner of Execution — Their Main Divisions— 16. The First Period— 17, The 
Second Period — 18. The Third Period— 19. Chronology of the Books of Kings. 
Their Date and Authorship— V, The Books of Chronicles— 20. They originally 
constituted One AVork — Their Various Names — They constitute an Indepen- 
dent V^ork— Their Office different from that of the Books of Kings— Peculi- 
arities which distinguish them from these Books— Particular Attention to the 
Matter of Genealogy ; Fullness of Detail in Kespect to the Temple Service ; 
Omission of the History of the Kingdom of Israel ; other Omissions— 21. Posi- 
tion of the Chronicles in the Hebrew Canon — Their Authorship and Date — 
Their Relation to the Books of Kings — 22. Difficulties connected with these 
Books— VI. Ezra and Nehemiah — 23. General Kemarks on these Books — Change 
in the Kelation of the Hebrews to the Gentile Nations — Gradual Withdrawal of 
Supernatural Manifestations — 24. While the Theocracy went steadily forward 
to the Accomplishment of its End — The Jews reclaimed from Idolatry in Con- 
nection with the Captivity — Establishment of the Synagogue Service and its 
Great Influence — 25. The Book of Ezra — Its Authorship — Parts written in 
Chaldee — Persian Monarchs mentioned by Ezra and Nehemiah— 26. The 
Book of Nehemiah — Its Contents and Divisions — First Division ; Second 
Division; Third Division — 27. Authorship and Date of the Book — VII. 
Esther — 28. Contents of this Book — Feast of Purim — 29. The Ahasuerus of 
this Book — Remarks on its History «•- 240 

CHAPTER XXI. 

The Poetical Books (including also Ecclesiastes and Canticles). 1. Books 
reckoned as Poetical by the Hebrews — Hebrew System of Accentuation — 
A. Characteristics of Hebrew Poetry— Its Spirit— Hai-mony with the Spirit of the 
Theocracy ; Vivid Consciousness of God's Presence ; Originality ; Freshness 
and Simplicity of Thought ; Variety — Job and Isaiah, David, Solomon ; Diver- 
sity of Themes ; Oriental Imagery ; Theocratic Imagery— i^5r?n o/ i/e&reio Po- 
etry— 3. Its llhythm that of Clauses — Antithetic Parallelism ; Synonymous 
Parallelism ; Synthetic Parallelism — Combinations of the above Forms — • 
Freedom of Hebrew Poetry — Peculiarities of Diction — O^ce of Hebrew Po- 
etry — 4. The Celebration of God's Interpositions in Behalf of the Cove- 
nant People ; Song for the Sanctuary Service ; Didactic Poetry ; Prophetic 
Poetry — B. The Several Poetical Books — I. Job— I. Survey of its Plan — 
6. Its Design to Show the Nature of God's Providential Government over 
Men — 7. Age to which Job belonged — Age and Authorship of the Book — 
8. Its Historic Character — II. The Book of Psalms— d. Its Office — Au- 
thors of the Psalms — Date of their Composition — 10. External Division of 
the Psalms into five Books — First Book ; Second Book ; Third Book ; Fourth 
Book ; Fifth Book — Subscription appended to the Second Book — Principle of 
Arrangement — Attempted Classification of the Psalms— Frequent Quotation 
of the Psalms in the New Testament — 11. Titles of the Psalms— the Dedica- 
tory Title ; Titles relating to the Character of the Composition to the Musical 



CONTENTS. 13 

Instruments, or the Mode of Musical Performance — These Titles very Ancient, 
but not in all Cases Original — III. The Proverbs of Solomon — 12. Place of this 
Book in the System of Divine Kevelation — 13. Its Outward Form — First 
Part ; Second Part ; Third Part ; Fourth Part — 14. Arrangement of the Book 
in its Present Form — IV. Ecdesiastes — 15. Authorship of this Book and its 
View of Life — 16. Summary of its Contents— V. The Song of Solomon — 17. 
Meaning of the Title. Ancient Jewish and Christian View of this Song — 18. 
It is not a Drama, but a Series of Descripture Pictures — Its Great Theme — 
Caution in Bespect to the Spiritual Interpretation of it 265 

CHAPTER XXII. 

The Greatee Pkophets. 1. GeneralKemarksonthePropheticalWritings— 2. Dif- 
ferent Offices of the Prophets under the Theocracy— Their Office as Reprov- 
ers — 3. As Expounders of the Mosaic Law in its Spirituality — 4. And of its 
End, which was Salvation through the Future Redeemer — They wrote in the 
Decline of the Theocracy — Their Promises fulfilled only in Christ— I. Isaiah — 
5. He is the First in Order, but not the Earliest of the Prophets— His Private 
History almost wholly Unknown— Jewish Tradition Concerning him — Period of 
his Proi^hetic Activity — 6. Two Great Divisions of his Prophecies — Plans for 
Classifying the Contents of the First Part — Analysis of these Contents — Gen- 
eral Character of the Second Part, and View of its Contents — 7. Objections to 
the Genuineness of the Last Part of Isaiah and Certain Other Parts — General 
Principle on which these Objections are to be met — Previous Preparation for 
the Revelations contained in this Part — True Significance of the Promises 
which it contains — Form of these Promises — Mention of Cyrus by Name — 
Objection from the Character of the Style considered — 8. Direct Arguments 
for the Genuineness of this Part — External Testimony ; Internal Evidences— 

9. Genuineness of the Disputed Passages of the First Part — II. Jeremiah — 

10. Contrast between Isaiah and Jeremiah in Personal Character and Circum- 
stances—Our Full Knowledge of his Outward Personal History and Inward 
Conflicts — 11. His Priestly Descent — His Native Place — Period of his Pro- 
phetic Activity — Degeneracy of the Age — Persecutions to which his Fidelity 
subjected him— He is more occupied than Isaiah with the Present— His Mis- 
sion is emphatically to unfold the Connection between National Profligacy 
and National Ruin ; yet he sometimes describes the Glory of the Latter 
Days — 12. The Chronological Order not always followed in his Prophecies — 
General Divisions of them — First Division ; Second Division ; Appendix — 
Attempts to disprove the Genuineness of Certain Parts of Jeremiah — T%e 
Book of Lamentations— 13. Its Hebrew Name— Its Authorship and the Time 
of its Composition— 14, Structure of its Poetry— HI. JEzekiel— 15. His Priest- 
ly Descent and Residence— Notices of his Personal History — Period of his 
Prophetic Activity — 16. Peculiarities of his Style~17. His Allegoric and 
Symbolic Representations— General Remarks on the Nature of Allegories and 
Symbols— 18. The Two Divisions of the Book— Contents of the First Part ; of 
the Second Part— Prophecies against Foreign Nations— Promises relating to 
the Glory of the Latter Days— Ezekiel's Vision of a New Jerusalem with its 
Temple— Meaning of this Vision and Principles according to which it is to be 
interpreted — IV. Daniel— 19. Its Place in the Hebrew Canon— Notices of 
Daniel's Personal History— 20. Arrangement and Contents of the Book— First 



14 CONTENTS. 

Series of Prophecies ; Second Series — Intimate Connection between the Book 
of Daniel and the Apocalypse — 21. Assaults made upon the Book of Daniel in 
Kespect to its Genuineness and Credibility — Grounds on which it is received 
as a Part of the Sacred Canon — Its Unity ; Uniform Tradition of the Jews and 
its Eeliability ; Testimony of Josephus ; of the Saviour ; Language and 
Style ; Intimate Acquaintance with the Historical Kelations and Manners and 
Customs of the Age— 22. Insufficiency of the Various Objections urged against 
the Book — Chronological and Historical Difficulties ; Difficulties connected 
with the Identification of Belshazzar and Darius the Mede ; Silence of Jesus 
the Son of Sirach respecting Daniel ; Alleged Linguistic Difficulties ; Com- 
mendations bestowed upon Daniel — The Eeal Objection to the Book on the 
Part of its Opponents lies in the Supernatural Character of the Events which 
it records — Ptemarks on this Objection 294 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

The Twelve Minor Pkophets — 1. Jewish Arrangement of these Books — Their 
Order in the Masoretic Text and in the Alexandrine Version — 2. General 
Remarks on their Character— I. Rosea — 3. Period of his Prophecjdng and its 
Character — 4. Peculiarity of his Style — Contents of the Book— II. Joel — 5. 
Place and Date of his Prophecies — 6. Character and Contents of his Book — 
III. Amos — 7. Date of his Prophecies — Notices of his Person — He was a 
Jew, not trained in any Prophetical School, and sent to proishesy against 
Israel — Character and Contents of his Writings — IV. Obadlah — 8. Date and 
Contents of his Prophecy — V. Jonah — 9. His Age — 10. Bemarks on the 
History of the Book — 11. Authorship and Historic Truth of the Book — 
VI. Micah — 12. His Residence and the Time of his Prophetic Activity — 
His Prophecies directed against both Israel and Judah — 13. Divisions 
of the Book with the Contents of Each — Passages Common to Micah and 
Isaiah — General Agreement between the Two Prophets — VII. Nalmm — 14. 
His Prophecy directed against Nineveh — Its Probable Date — 15. Contents 
of the Book— Vin. Eahakkuk—16. Date of the Book and its Contents—Re- 
marks on the Ode contained in the Third Chapter — IX. Zephaniah — 17. Date 
and Contents of his Book — X. Eaggal — 18. Date and Scope of the Book — 19. 
Its Different Messages — XI. Zechariah — 20. His Priestly Descent — Date of his 
Prophecies — 21. The Three Divisions of the Book — First Division ; Second 
Division; Third Division — 22. Remarks on the Character of Zechariah's Proph- 
ecies — XII. Malachi — 23. Name of this Prophet — Date of his Prophecies, and 
Condition of the Jewish People — 24 Contents of the Book 332 

APPENDIX TO PAET II. 

The Apocryphal Books of the Old Testajment — 1. The Term Apocrypha and 
its Origin— 2. Remarks on the Date of the Apocryphal Books — Their Re- 
ception by the Alexandrine Jews — 3. History of these Books in the Christian 
Church— 4. Their Uses— I. T'he Two Books of Esdras—5. Name of this Book- 
Its Contents — Its Date— 6. The Second Book of Esdras found only in Ver- 
sions—Remarks on these Versions — 7. Its Contents and Date — II. Tohit — 
8. Accoiints of the Contents of thisBook — 9. Various Texts in which this Book 



CONTENTS. 15 

is Extant— Its General Scope— III. Judith— 10. Contents of the Book— 11. 
Remarks on its Character, Date, and Design— IV. Additions to the Book of 
Esther— 12. Account of these— V. The Wisdom of Solo7non—13. Its Divisions 
and their Contents— 14. Authorship of the Book— Its Merits and Defects— 
VI. Eccleslasticus— 15. Its Titles and Contents— 16. Date of the Book and of 
its Translation— VIL Baruch and the Epistle of Jeremiah— 17. Character and 
Contents of the Book of Baruch— 18. Second, or Syriac Book of Baruch— 19. 
So-called Epistle of Jeremiah— VIII. Additions to the Book of Daniel— 20. Enu- 
meration of these— Their Authorship and Date— IX. Tlie Prayer of Manasses^ 
21. Remarks on this Composition— X. The Books of the 31accabees— 22. Num- 
ber of these Books— Remarks on their Historic Order— Origin of the Name 
Maccabee— 23. First Book— Its Genuineness and Credibility— Its Authorship 
and Date— Original Language— 24. Second Book— Its Character and Con- 
tents— 25. Third Book— Its Contents and Character— Fourth Book— Its Stoi- 
cal Character— Its Contents— Fifth Book— Its Original Language and Con- 
tents r - • ^^^ 



PART III. 

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW TESTAMENT. 
FIRST DIVISION— GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

Language of the New Testament— 1. God's Providence as seen in the Lan- 
guages of the Old and New Testaments— Fitness of the Hebrew for its Office 
in History, Poetry, and Prophecy— 2. Adaptation of the Greek to the Wants 
of the New Testament Writers— 3. Providential Preparation for a Change in 
the Language of the Inspired Writings— Cessation of the Hebrew as the Ver- 
nacular of the Jews, and Withdrawal of the Spirit of Prophecy Contempora- 
neous- 4. Introduction of the Greek Language into Asia and Egypt— Its Use 
among the Jews, especially in Egypt— Its General Use in our Lord's Day— 
5. Character of the New Testament Greek— Its Basis the Common Hellenic 
Dialect, with an Hebraic Coloring received from the Septuagint, and an Ara- 
maic Tinge also— The Writers of the New Testament Jews using the Language 
of Greece for the Expression of Christian Ideas— Technical Termsln the New 
Testament— 6. Adaptation of the New Testament Greek to its Office 365 

CHAPTER XXV. 

ExTEENAi FoBM OF THE New Testaj^ient— 1. The Three Main Divisions of the 
New Testament Writings: Historical, Epistolary, Prophetical— 2. Natural 
Order of these Divisions -3. Subdivisions— In the Historic Part— In the Epis- 
tolary Part— Diversity of Arrangement in Manuscripts~4. Arrangement of 
the New Testament Writings not Chronological— Importance of Knowing 



16 CONTENTS. 

this — 5. Continuous Writing of the Ancient Uncial Manuscripts — Stichomet- 
rical Mode of Writing — This led gradually to the Present System of Inter- 
punction Cursive Manuscripts — 7. Ancient Divisions in the Contents of the 
Sacred Text — Ammonian Sections and Eusebian Canons — 8. Divisions called 
Titles — 9. Divisions of the Other New Testament Books — 10. Chapters and 
Verses — Church Lessons — 11. Remarks on the above Divisions — Paragraph 
Bibles— 12. Titles and Subscriptions 371 

CHAPTEE XXVL 

The New Testament Text and its History — I. The Manuscript Text — 1 and 2. 
General Eemarks — 3. Origin of Various Readings and their Classification — 
Substitutions, Insertions, Omissions — Arising from Inadvertence, or Unskilful 
Criticism— Wilful Falsifications cannot be imputed to the Copyists — 4, Materi- 
als for Textual Criticism— General Results— 5. Notice of some Manuscripts — 
The Vatican, Sinai, Alexandrine, Ephraem, Palimpsest, Dublin Palimpsest, 
Beza or Cambridge (Bilingual), Purple, Cursive Manuscripts — II. The Printed 
Text — 6. Primary Editions and their Sources — Complutensian Polyglott, 
Erasmian, Stephens', Beza's, Elzevir Editions — 7. Remarks on the Re- 
ceived Text — III. Principles of Textual Criticism — 8. Its End—Sources of Evi- 
dence — Greek Manuscripts — Their varying Value — 9. Ancient Versions and 
their Value — 10. Citations of the Church Fathers — 11. Canons of Criti- 
cism 38) 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

FoEMATioN AND HisTOEY OP THE New TESTAMENT Canon — 1. General Remarks — 

2, Difi'erent Periods to be noticed — 3. Apostolic Age — 4. Age of the Apostolic 
Fathers— Remarks on their Quotations — 5. Age of Transition — Events of this 
Age which awakened the Christian Church to a Full Consciousness of the 
Divine Authority of the Apostolic Writings — Execution of Versions — 6. Age 
of the Earlj"- Church Fathers — They recognized a Canon, though not yet Com- 
plete — Canon of the Syriac Peshito, Muratorian Canon — Canon of the Coun- 
cils of Laodicea and Carthage— 7. Closing Eemarks 394 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Ancient Versions or the New Testament — I. Latin Versions — 1. Interest at- 
taching to these Versions — 2. The Ante-Hieronymian or Old Latin Version — 

3. Its Canon — Remarks on its Text — Manuscripts containing it— 4. Jerome's 
Revision of the Old Latin Version — 5. Jerome's New Version of the Old Tes- 
tament — Books left untranslated — The Vulgate and its Diversified Character — 
Remarks on the History of the Vulgate — II. Syriac Versions — 6. The Peshi- 
to — It comprises the Old and New Testaments — Its Date — Its Name — 7. Char- 
acter of the Peshito — The Curetonian Syriac — Its Relation to the Peshito— 
Its high Critical Value — 8. The Philoxenian Syriac — Its extremely Literal 
Character — Hexaplar Syriac — Remarks on these Versions — Jerusalem Syriac 
Lectionary — HI. Egyptian and Ethiopic Versions — MemiDhitic Version, The- 
baic, Bashmuric — 10. Ethiopic Version — IV. Gothic and other Versions — 11. 
Gothic Version of Ulphilas — 12. Palimpsest Manuscripts of this Ve^rsion — 13. 
Ancient Armenian Version - - 400 



CONTENTS. 17 



SECOND DIVISION— PAETICULAR INTRODUCTION. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

The Histoeical Books — 1. The New Testament a Necessary Sequel to the Old — 
The Two Testaments interpret Each Other, and can be truly understood only 
as an Organic Whole — 2. Remarks on the Use Made of the Old Testament by 
the Writers of the New — Fundamental Character of the Gospel Narratives — • 
I. The Gospel as a Whole — 3. Signification of the Word " Gospel" — Its Prima- 
ry and Secondary'' Application — 4. General Remarks on the Relation of the 
Gospels to Each Other — 5. Agreements of the Synoptic Gospels— 6. Differ- 
ences— 7. Theories of the Origin of these Three Gospels: That of Mutual 
Dependence; That of Original Documents; That of Oral Apostolic Tradition — 
Remarks on this Tradition — Its Distinction from Tradition in the Modern 
Sense— 8. No One of the Gospels gives the Entire History of our Lord, nor 
always observes the Strict Chronological Order of Events — Remarks on our 
Lord's Life before his Baptism — 9. Remarks on the Peculiar Character of the 
Fourth Gospel — This and the other Three mutually Supplementary to Each 
Other — 10. Harmonies of the Gospels — Relative Size of the Gospels— II. Mat- 
ihevo — 11. Personal Notices of Matthew — 12. Original Language of his Gos- 
pel — The Problem stated — 13. Testimony of the Ancients on this Point — 14. 
Various Hypotheses considered — 15. Primary Design of this Gospel to show 
that Jesus of Nazareth was the Promised Messiah — 16. He is also exhibited as 
the Saviour of the World — 17. Fulness of Matthew's Record in Respect to our 
Lord's Discourses — 18. He does not always follow the Exact Order of Time — 
19. Place B<nd Date — 20. Integrity — Genuineness of the First Two Chapters — 
III. Mark — 21. Personal Notices of Mark — Intimate Relation of Mark to 
Peter and Paul — 22. Place — Date — Language — 23. Design of this Gospel to 
exhibit Jesus as the Son of God — He makes the Works of Jesus more Promi- 
nent than his Discourses— 24. Characteristics of Mark as a Historian — 25. 
Closing Passage in Mark's Gospel — IV. Luke — 26. Notices of Luke in the 
New Testament — 27. Sources of his Gospel — His Relation to Paul — 28. Date 
and Place of Writing — 29. Universal Aspect of Luke's Gospel — 30. Its Char- 
acter and Plan — Comparison of the Gospels in Respect to Peculiar Matter 
and Concordances — 31. Integrity of Luke's Gospel — The Two Genealogies of 
Matthew and Luke — V. John — 32. John's Manner of indicating himself — 33. 
Personal Notices of him — 34. Late Composition of his Gospel and Place of 
Writing — 35. Peculiarity of this Gospel in Respect to Subject-Matter~Its 
Relation to the First Three Gospels— 36. General Design of this Gospel — It is 
peculiarly the Gospel of Christ's Person — VI. Acts of the Apostles— 37. Author 
of this Book — 38. Plan of the Book— Its First Division ; Second Division — 
Notices of Antioch— 39. Office of this Book — Portraiture of the Apostolic Aga 
of Christianity ; Cursory View of the Inauguration of the Christian Church ; 
Various Steps by which the Abolition of the Middle Wall of Partition between 
Jews and Gentiles was effected — 40. Concluding Remarks 410 



18 CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

The Epistles of Paul — 1. General Eemarks on the Epistles — 2. Paul's Epis- 
tles all -written in tlie Prosecution of liis Work as the Apostle to the Gen- 
tiles—Nature of this Work — 3. Paul's Peculiar Qualifications for this Work^ 
His Mode of Procedure— Union in him of Firmness and Flexibility— 4. Char- 
acter of the Apostle's Style— 5. Points to be noticed in the Separate Epis- 
tles — Notices of Paul's Labors in the Acts of the Apostles— 6. Present Arrange- 
ment of Paul's Epistles and of the Epistles generally — Chronological Order of 
Paul's Epistles — Four Groups of these Epistles — I. Epistle to the Romans — 
7. Date and Place of this Epistle— 8. Composition of the Eoman Church — 
9. Occasion and Design of the Epistle — Its General Outlines — 10, Special 
Office of this Epistle — II. Epistles to the Corinthians — First Epistle — 11, Place 
and Time of its Composition — 12, Notices of the Corinthian Church — Occa- 
sion of the Apostle's Writing — 13. General Tone of the Epistle as contrasted 
with that to the Galatians — Second Epistle — 14, Place and Time of its Compo- 
sition — 15, Its Occasion— Prominence of the Apostle's Personality in this 
Epistle and its Ground — Peculiarities of its Diction — Its Office in the Econo- 
my of Eevelation — III, EpAstle to the Galatians— IQ. Historical Notice of Gala- 
tia — Missionary Visits of the Apostle to that Province — Date of the Present 
Epistle and Place of Composition — 17, Occasion and Design — 18. Outlines of 
the Epistle — The Historic Part, the Argumentative, the Practical— IV. Epis- 
tles to the Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon— 19. Contemporaneousness of 
these Epistles— 20, Place and Date— 21. Chronological Order of the First 
Two — Epistle to the Colossians — 22, Notices of Colosse and the Church there — 
Occasion of this Epistle— Character of the False Teachers at Colosse — 23. Out- 
lines of the Epistle— Its Argumentative Part, its Practical — The Epistle from 
Laodicea — Epistle to the Ephesians — 24, Notices of Ephesus — Labors of Paul 
at Ephesus — Occasion of the Present Epistle — Its General Character — Vari- 
ous Hypotheses respecting it— 25, Its Outlines — Its Argumentative Part, its 
Practical — Epistle io Philemon — 26. Its Occasion and Design — Y. Epistleioihe 
Philippians — 27. Notices of Philippi and the Formation of the Church there — 
28. Occasion of this Epistle — Place and Date of its Composition — 29. Its 
Character — General View of its Contents — VI. Epistles to the Tliessalonians^ 
30. Notices of Thessalonica and the Apostle's Labors there — First Epistle io the 
Tliessalonians — 31. DateandPlace of its Composition — 32. Its Occasion and De- 
sign— Outlines of the Epistle— Second Epistle — 33, Place of Writing and Date — 
Its Design — Its General Outlines — 34. Comparison between the EjDistles to 
the Thessalonians and that to the Philippians — ^VII. The Pastoral Epistles — 
35, The Date of these Epistles and Eelated Questions— 36, Character of the 
False Teachers referred to in these Epistles — 37, Genuineness of the Pastoral 
Epistles— 38, Their Office— i^irsi Ejnstle io Timothy— ?>9. Its Date and Place of 
Composition — Its Occasion and Design — Its Contents — Scriptural Notices of 
Timothy — Epistle io Titus — 40, Its Agreement with the Preceding Epistle — 
The Cretan Church and Titus — Second Epistle io Timothy — 41, Its Occasion and 
Character in Contrast with the Two Preceding Epistles — Its Office — Epistle io 
the Hebrews— i2. Question of its Authorship — How it was regarded in the 
Eastern Church— How in the Western — General Eemark— 43. Persons ad- 



CONTENTS. ly 

dressed in this Epistle — Time and Place of its Composition — Manner of Refer- 
ence to the Levitical Priesthood and Temple Services — 44. Central Theme of 
this Epistle — Dignity of Christ's Person in Contrast with the Ancient Proph- 
ets, with Angels, and with Moses— Divine Efficacy of his Priesthood in Con- 
trast with that of the Sons of Aaron — Design of the Epistle — Its Office in the 
System of Revelation 445 

CHAPTEE XXXI. 

The Catholic Epistles — 1. Origin of the Name "Catholic" — I. Epistle of 
James — 2. Question respecting the Person of James — 3. Place of Writing this 
Epistle — Persons addressed — 4. Question of its Date — 5. Its Genuineness and 
Canonical Authority — 6. Its Practical Character — Alleged Disagreement be- 
tween Paul and James without Foundation — II. Epistles of Peter — First Epis- 
tle— 7. Its Canonical Authority always acknowledged — 8. Persons addressed — 
9. Place of its Composition — Its Occasion and Date — Traditions respecting 
Peter — 10. Outline of the Epistle — Second Epistle— 11. Persons addressed— 
Time of Writing — 12. Question respecting the Genuineness of this Epistle — 
External Testimonies — Internal Evidence— General Result — 13. Object of the 
Present Epistle — Peculiar Character of the Second Chapter — Its Agreement 
with the Epistle of Jude — III. Epistles of John— First Ej^istle of John — 14. Its 
Acknowledged Canonicity — Time and Place of its Composition — Persons 
addressed — 15. General View of its Contents — Second and Third Epistles — 
16. Their Common Authorship — Their Genuineness — 17. The Occasion and 
Office of Each — IV. Epistle of Jude— 18. Question respecting Jude's Person — 
Time of the Epistle, and Persons addressed — 19. Its Canonical Authority — 
Its Design 487 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

The Apocalypse— 1. Meaning of the Word "Apocalypse" — Abundance of Ex- 
ternal Testimonies to this Book — 2. Internal Arguments considered — Use of 
the Apostle's Name, Devotional Views, Spirit of the Writer, Style and Die* 
tion — Here must be taken into Account the Difference between this Book and 
John's other Writings in Subject-Matter, in the Mode of Divine Revelation, 
in the Writer's Mental State and Circumstances ; also its Poetic Diction — 
General Results— 3. Date of the Apocalypse and Place of Writing— 4. Differ- 
ent Schemes of Interpretation — The Generic — The Historic — 5. Symbolic 
Import of the Numbers in this Book — The number Seven, Half of Seven, Six ; 
The Number Four, a Third and Fourth Part ; the Number Twelve ; the Num- 
ber Ten— 6. Office of the Apocalypse in the System of Revelation 503 



APPENDIX TO PAET III. 

Writings of the Apostolic Fatheks, w^th some Notices or the Apocryphal 
New Testament Wkitings— 1. The Writings of the Apostolic Fathers distin- 
guished from the Proper New Testament Apocrypha — Some Remarks on the 
Character of these Writings r 511 



20 CONTENTS. 

I. Writings of Clement of Rome — 2. His Ei^istle to tlie Romans — Its Genuineness, 
Character, and Age — 3. Its Occasion, with a Notice of its Contents — 4. The 
so-called Second Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians — Its Genuineness not 
admitted — Vague and General Character of its Contents — 5. Notice of some 
Other Writings falsely ascribed to Clement— Eecognitions of Clement, and the 
Clementines, with their Plan and Contents ; Constitutions of Clement, and 
their Contents ; Apostolic Canons - 511 

II. Epistles of Ignatius — 6. Notices of Ignatius — The SeA^en Genuine Epistles that 
bear his Name — Unsatisfactory State of the Text — Syriac and Armenian Ver- 
sions — Enumeration of these Epistles — Their Character — Strong Ecclesiasti- 
cal Spirit that pervades them — His Letter to the Romans — The Undue Desire 
of Martyrdom which it manifests — His Letter to Polycarp — 7. Spurious Epis- 
tles ascribed to Ignatius, and their Character 514 

III. Epistle of Polycarp— 8. Notices of Polycarp — His Epistle to the Philippians- - 
Its Character and Contents— Time and Occasion of its Composition 515 

IV. Wi'itings of Barnabas and Eermas — 9. Their Doubtful Authority — 10. The 
So-called Epistle of Barnabas — Tischendorf s Discovery of the Original Greek 
Text — The Author and Date of the Work — Notice of its Contents — Its Fanci- 
ful Method of Interpretation — 11. The Shepherd of Hermas — Outward Form 
of the Work — Its Internal Character — Its Author and Age - 51(J 

V. The Apostle's Creed — 12. In what Sense it belongs to the Apostolic Fathers — 
Apostolic Character of its Contents 517 

VI. Apocryphal Gospels and Acts— 13. Their Number— Their Worthless Charac- 
ter in Contrast with that of the Canonical Gospels and Acts < 517 



PART IV. 

A DISCUSSION OF THE PEINCIPLES OF BIBLICAL 
INTEEPEETATION. 

CHAPTER XXXIIL 

Intkoductokt Remaeks— 1. Definition of Certain Terms— Hermeneutics, Exege- 
sis, Epexegesis— 2. The Expositor's Office— Parallel between his Work and 
that of the Textual Critic — 3. Qualifications of the Biblical Interpreter— A 
Supreme Regard for Truth — 4. A Sound Judgment with the Power of Vivid 
Conception — Office of Each of these Qualities and their Relation to Each 
Other— 5. Sympathy with Divine Truth— 6. Extensive and Varied Acquire- 
ments—The Original Languages of the Bible ; Sacred Geography and Natural 
History ; Biblical Antiquities ; Ancient B[istory and Chronology— 7. General 
Remarks on the above Qualifications— 8. The Human and Divine Side to Bib- 
lical Interpretation— The Importance of observing Both 521 



CONTENTS. 21 



FIEST DIVISION— INTEEPEETATION VIEWED ON THE HUMAN SIDE. 



CHAPTEE XXXIV. 

General Peinciples of Interpretation — 1. Signij&catiou of the Terms em- 
ployed how ascertained, with some Superadded Remarks — 2. On Ascertaining 
the Sense of Scripture — 3. The Scope General and Special — Its Supreme Im- 
portance illustrated — How the Scoj)e is to be ascertained — The Author's State- 
ments ; Inferential Remarks ; Historical Circumstances — Important Help de- 
rived from the Repeated and Careful Perusal of a Work — 4. The Context 
defined and distinguished from the Scope — Indispensable Necessity of attend- 
ing to it — This illustrated by Examples — Question respecting the Limits of 
the Context — In some Cases no Context exists — On the Use of Biblical Texts 
as Mottoes — Various Applications of the Principle contained in a Given Pas- 
sage a Legitimate Mode of Exposition — 5. Parallelisms Verbal and Real — 
Help derived from the Former — Subdivision of Real Parallelisms into Doc- 
trinal and Historic — Importance of Doctrinal Parallelisms with Illustrations — 
Value of Historic Parallelisms illustrated — Difficulties arising from them, and 
the Principle of their Adjustment — Illustration — 6. External Acquirements — 
Various Illustrations of the Importance of these — 7. Sound Judgment — Ofiice 
of this Quality illustrated— Inept Interpretations : Interpretations Contrary 
to the Nature of the Subject ; Necessary Limitations of an Author's Meaning ; 
Reconciliation of Apparent Contradictions ; Forced and Unnatural Explana- 
tions and the Rejection of Well-established Facts — 8. Remarks on the Proper 
Of&ce of Reason in Inter Dretation 527 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

Figurative Language of Scripture — 1. Figurative Language defined and illus- 
trated— General Remarks respecting it — 2. Rules for the Ascertaining of Fig- 
urative Language — Nature of the Subject ; Scope, Context, and Analogy of 
Scripture — Error of understanding Literal Language figuratively— Remark on 
the Interpretation of Prophecy — 3. Different Kinds of Figures — The Trope in 
its Varieties of Metonymy, Synecdoche, and Metaphor — Remarks on Compar- 
isons — The Allegory — Its Definition and Distinction from the Metaphor — Dis- 
tinction between True AUegorj^ and the Allegorical Interpretation of History — 
The Parable — How distinguished from the Allegory — The Fable — The Sym- 
bol — Its Various Forms — The Proverb— It always embodies a General Truth — 
Its Various Forms — Signification of the Word "Myth" — It does not come 
within the Sphere of Scriptural Interpretation — 4. General Remarks on the 
Interpretation of the Figurative Language of Scripture — 5. Its Certainty and 
Truthfulness — 6. Key to the Interpretation of the Allegory — Examples : The 
Vine Transplanted from Egypt, Psa. 80 ; the two Eagles and the Cedar Bough, 
Ezek. 17 : 3-10 ; The Song of Solomon ; the Two Allegories of Ezekiel, chaps., 
16 and 23 — 7. The Interpretation of the Parable— How it differs from that of 
the Allegory — Point of Primary Importance— How for the Details are signifi- 
cant—Examples : The Sower, Matt. 13:3-8,19-23; the Tares in the Field, 



22 CONTENTS. 

Matt. 13:24-30, 37-43; the Ten Virgins, Matt. 25 : 1-13— Eemark respectiug 
the Personages introduced in Parables with Illustrations — The Unforgiving 
Servant, Matt. IS : 23-35 ; the Importunate Friend, Luke 11 : 5-8 ; the Unjust 
Judge, Luke 18:1-8; the Unfaithful Steward, Luke 16 : 1-9— 8. Scriptural 
Symbols— How to determine whether they are Keal or Seen in Prophetic Vis- 
ion — Principles on which they are to be interpreted — Examples — 9. Eemarks 
on the Interpretation of Numerical Symbols 546 



SECOND DIVISION— INTERPEETATION VIEWED ON THE DIVINE 

SIDE. 

CHAPTEE XXXVI. 

Unity or Eevelation — 1. Essential Unity between the Old and the New Testa- 
ment — 2. This Unity one that coexists with Great Diversity — Illustrations 
from the Analogy of God's Works — 3. Unity in Diversity in Eespect to the 
Form of God's Kingdom — 4. The Forms of Public Worship — 5. Forms of 
Eeligious Labor — 6. Spirit of Eevelation — 7. Way of Salvation — 8. Sternness 
of the Mosaic Dispensation explained from its Preparatory Character — 9. In- 
ferences from the Unity of Eevelation — 9. Each Particular Eevelation Perfect 
in its Measure — 10. The Later Eevelations the Exponents of the Earlier ; 
Christ and his Apostles in a Special Sense the Expositors of the New Testa- 
ment— 11. The Extent of Meaning in a Given Eevelation that which the Holy 
Spirit intended— 12. The Obscure Declarations of Scripture to be interpreted 
from the Clear, with Illustrations — 13, Eemarks on the Analogy of Faith — 
The Term Defined— Eules for its Use - 566 



CHAPTER XXXYII. 

ScEiPTUKAii Types— 1. Types distinguished from Analogy — 2. And from the 
Foreshadowing of Future Events by the Present — 3. The Type defined in its 
Three Essential Characters 579 

I. Historical Types — 4. In Eespect to these Two Extremes to be avoided — Typical 

History has a Proper Significance of its Own — This illustrated by Examples : 
The Kingly Office ; the Prophetical Office ; Typical Transactions — Eemarks 
on the Inadequacy of All Types 581 

II. Bitual Types — 5. The Sacrifices the Essential Part of the Mosaic Eitual— 
What is implied in them— The Sanctuary God's Visible Dwelling-place where 
alone they could be offered — 6. The Mosaic Tabernacle described — 7. Its 
General Typical Import— 8. Significance of its Different Parts and Appoint- 
ments — Preciousness of the Materials ; Gradation in this Eespect — 9. The 
Inner Sanctuary with its Appointments— 10. The Outer Sanctuary with its 
Appointments—ll. The Brazen Altar with its Laver— The Levitical Priests 
typified Christ — 12. The Levitical Sacrifices tj^pified Christ's Offering of Him- 
self for the Sins of the World — This shown from Scripture — General Eemark 
respecting Christ's Propitiatory Sacrifice— 13. Characteristics of the Types 



CONTENTS. 23 

Themselves — The Levitical Priests had a Coinmou Human Nature with those 
for whom they officiated ; were appointed to their Office by God ; were Medi- 
ators between God and the People ; and Mediators through Propitiatory 
Sacrifices — Points of Dissimilarity between the Tj^pe and the Antitype — Ke- 
marks on the Central Idea of Priesthood — 14. Scriptural Idea of Sacrifice the 
Offering of One Life in Behalf of Another — Classification of the Levitical Sac- 
rifices with the Ideas belonging to Each : Sin and Trespass Offerings ; Burnt 
Offerings ; Peace- Offerings— Sacrificial Nature of the Passover — Other Sacri- 
fices of a Special Character — All Sacrificial Victims to be without Blemish — 
The Unbloody Offerings and their Signification — 15. Typical Transactions 
connected with the Sacrifices and Oblations : The Laying of the Offerer's 
Hands on the Head of the Victim ; the Waving and Heaving of Offerings; 
the SiDrinkling of the Victim's Blood ; the Burning of the Offering — 16. Typical 
Meaning of the Tabernacle as a Whole — The Several Points of Adumbration 
considered : Adumbration of God's Presence with Men ; Impossibility of ap- 
proaching God without a Mediator ; Adumbration of Christ's Expiatory Sacri- 
fice and Heavenly Intercession on the Great Day of Atonement ; Burning of 
the Victim without the Camp — 17. Distinctions between Clean and Unclean — 
Levitical View of Bodily Infirmities 585 

CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

Inteepeetation of Peophecy — 1. General Kemarks 607 

I. Prophecies relating to the Near Future — 2. Their Specific Character — Exam- 

ples - - - 607 

II. Prophecies relating to the Last Days — 3. Meaning of the Term "Last Days," 
and its Equivalents— General Character of this Class of Prophecies— 4. Proph- 
ecies in which the Order of Events is indicated — Daniel's Fourth Monarchy ; 
the Great Bed Dragon of Eevelation, the Two Beasts that succeeded to his 
Power, and the Woman riding a Scarlet-Colored Beast— 5. Prophecies which 
give General Views of the Puture— Examples — 6. The Prophets give an Inward 
View of the Vital Forces which sustain and extend God's Kingdom— Unity of 
the Plan of Kedemption ; its Continual Progress ; Indications of the End 
towards which it is tending; the T:..l Itself the Chief Object of Interest — 
Great Crisis in the Church's History — Spirit that should actuate the Inter- 
preter of Prophecy - 608 

HI. Question of Double Sense— 7. The Term defined — 8. Examples of Literal and 
Typical Sense— Melchizedek's Priesthood ; the Piest of Canaan— 9. The Mes- 
sianic Psalms —Different Principles on which they are interpreted : Exclusive 
Application to Christ ; Keference to an Ideal Personage ; Christ the Head and 
his Body the Church ; Typical View — 10. The PrincijDle of Progressive Ful- 
filment - 618 

IV. Question of Literal and Figurative Meaning— 11. General Eemarks — 12. Eep- 
resentative Use in Prophecy of Past Events— 13. Of the Institutions of the 
Mosaic Economy— 14. The Principle of Figurative Interpretation not to be 
pressed as Exclusive— 15. Question of the Literal Kestoration of the Jews to 
the Land of Canaan — 16. Question of our Lord's Personal Reign on Earth 
during the Millennium - 624 



24: CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 



Quotations from the Old Testament in the New — 1. General Kemarks on 
the Authority of the New Testament Writers — 2. Outward Form of their 
Quotations— Its very Free Spirit— This illustrated by Example— 3. Contents of 
the New Testament Quotations — The So-called Principle of Accommodation ; 
in what Sense True, and in what Sense to be rejected— 4. Quotations by Way 
of Argument— 5. Quotations as Prophecies of Christ and his Kingdom — Ee- 
marks on the Formula : "That it might be fulfilled"— 6. Prophecies referring 
immediately to Christ— 7. Prophecies referring to Christ under a Type— Clos- 
ing Eemark C32 



PART I 



EVIDENCES 



OF 



Revealed Religion. 



Cornp. lo Bible. 



PREFATORY REMARKS. 



Many thousands of persona have a full and joyous convic- 
tion of the truth of Christianity from their own experience, 
who yet feel a reasonable desire to examine the historic evidence 
by which it is confirmed, if not for the strengthening of their 
own faith, yet for the purpose of silencing gainsayers, and 
guarding the young against the cavils of infidelity. It is our 
duty to give to those who ask us a reason of the hope that is 
in "us ; and although our own personal experience may be to 
ourselves a satisfactory ground of assurance, we cannot ask 
others to take the gospel on our testimony alone. It is highly 
desirable that we understand and be able to set forth with 
clearness and convincing power the proofs that this plan of 
salvation has God for its author. 

Then there is a class of earnest inquirers who find them- 
selves perplexed with the dijficulties which they hear urged 
against the gospel, and which they find themselves unable to 
solve in a satisfactory way. It is of the highest importance 
that such persons be met in a candid spirit ; that the immense 
mass of evidence by which the Christian religion is sustained 
be clearly set before them ; and that they understand that a 
religion thus supported is not to be rejected on the ground that 
there are difficulties connected with it which have not yet been 
solved — perhaps never can be solved here below. 

Are you, reader, such an earnest inquirer after truth ? We 



28 PllEFATOEY EEMAEKS. 

present to you in the following pages a brief summaiy of the 
historic evidence by which the Bible, with the plan of salva- 
tion which it reveals, is shown to be the word of God ; and we 
wish, here at the outset, to suggest to you some cautions 
respecting the state of mind with which this great inquiry is to 
be pursued. 

First of all, we remind you that, whatever else may be 
uncertain, you know that j^ou must soon die, and try for your- 
self the realities of the unseen world. The question now before 
3^ou is, "Whether God has spoken from heaven, and made any 
revelations concerning that Avorld. If so, they are more pre- 
cious than gold; for in the decisive hour of death j^ou wdll 
wish to l^now not what man, the sinner, has reasoned and con- 
jectured concerning a future judgment, forgiveness of sin, and 
the life to come ; but what God, the Judge, has declared. 
Now the Bible claims to contain such a message from God. * If 
its cl-aims are valid, it will not flatter you and speak to you 
smooth things, but will tell you the truth. And 3^ou must be 
prepared to receive the truth, though it condemn you. Sooner 
or later you must meet the truth face to face : be ready to do 
so now ; you have no interest in error ; falsehood and delusion 
cannot help you, but will destroy you. 

Do not come to the examination of this great question with 
the idea that you must clear away all mysteries connected with 
the gospel before you believe it. The world in which you live 
is full of mysteries. One would think that if any thing could 
be fully comprehended, it must be the acts of which we are 
ourselves the authors. By a volition you raise your hand to 
your head ; but lioio is the act performed ? True, there is in 
your body an apparatus of nerves, muscles, joints, and the 
like ; but in what way does the human will have power over 
this apparatus ? No man can answer this question : it is wrap- 



PREFATORY REMARKS. 2',) 

ped in deep mjsteiy. Why be offended, then, because the way 
of salvation revealed in the Bible has like mysteries — mysteries 
concerning not your duty, but God's secret and inscrutable 
methods of acting ? 

And since the question now before you is not one of mere 
speculation, but one that concerns your immediate duty, be on 
3^our guard against the seductive influence of sinful passion and 
sinful habit. There is a deep and solemn meaning in the words 
of Jesus : " Every one that doetli evil hateth the light, neither 
Cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." Cor- 
rupt feeling in the heart and corrupt practice in the life have a 
terrible power to blind the mind. The man who comes to the 
examination of the Bible with a determination to persist in 
doing what he knows to be wrong, or in omitting what he 
knows to be right, will certainly err from the truth ; for he is 
not in a proper state of mind to love it and welcome it to his 
soul. 

Bemember also that it is not the grosser passions and 
forms of vice alone that darken the understanding and alienate 
the heart from the truth. Pride, vanity, ambition, avarice — in 
a word, the spirit of self-seeking and self-exaltation in every 
form — will effectually hinder the man in whose bosom they 
bear sway from coming to the knowledge of the truth ; for they 
will incline him to seek a religion which flatters him and prom- 
ises him impunity in sin, and will fatally prejudice him against 
a system of doctrines and duties so holy and humbling as that 
contained in the Bible. Take, as a comprehensive rule for the 
investigation of this weighty question, the words of the Sav- 
iour : "If any man will do his will" — the will of God — "he shall 
know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak 
of myself." So far as you already know the will of God, do it ; 
do it sincerely, earnestly, and prayerfully, and God will give 



30 PEEFATORY REMARKS. 

you more light. He loves the truth, and sympathizes with all 
earnest and sincere inquirers after it. He never leaves to fatal 
error and delusion any but those who love falsehood rather 
than truth, because they have pleasure in unrighteousness. 
Open your heart to the light of heaven, and God will shine 
into it from above ; so that, in the beautiful words of our 
Saviour, " the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright 
shining of a candle doth give thee light." 



COMPANION" TO THE BIBLE. 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED RELIGION. 



CHAPTER I. 

Introductory Remarks. 

I. The Christian religion is not a mere system of ideas, like 
the philosophy of Plato or Aristotle. It rests on a lasts of his- 
toric fads. The great central fact of the gospel is thus expressed 
by Jesns himself : " God so loved the world that he gave his 
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not 
perish, but have everlasting life," John 3 : 16 ; and by the 
apostle Paul thus : " This is a faithful saying, and worthy of 
all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save 
sinners." 1 Tim. 1 : 15. With the appearance of God's Son in 
human nature were connected a series of mighty works, a body 
of divine teachings, the appointment of apostles and the estab- 
lishment of the visible Christian church ; all which are matters 
of historic record. 

Nor is this all. It is the constant doctrine of Christ and 
his apostles that he came in accordance with the scriptures of 
the Old Testament, and that his religion is the fulfilment of the 
types and prophecies therein contained : " Think not that I am 
come to destroy the law, or the prophets : I am not come to 
destroy, but to fulfil." Matt. 5 :17. "All things must be ful- 
filled whicli were written in the law of Moses, and in the proph- 



32 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

ets, and in the psalms concerning me." Luke 24 : 44. The facts 
of the New Testament connect themselves, therefore, immedi- 
ately with those of the Old, so that the whole series consti- 
tutes an indivisible whole. The Bible is, from beginning to end, 
the record of a supernatural revelation made by God to men. 
As such, it embraces not only supernatural teachings, but 
supernatural facts also ; and the teachings rest on the facts in 
such a w^ay that both must stand or fall together. 

II. This basis of supernatural facts, then, must be firmly 
maintained against unbelievers whose grand aim is to destroy 
the liistoric foundation of the gospel, at least so far as it con- 
tains supernatural manifestations of God to men. Thus they 
would rob it of its divine authority, and reduce it to a mere 
system of human doctrines, like the teachings of Socrates or 
Confucius, which men are at liberty to receive or reject as they 
think best. Could they accomplish this, they would be very 
willing to eulogize the character of Jesus, and extol the purity 
and excellence of his precepts. Indeed, it is the fashion of 
modern unbelievers, after doing what lies in their power to 
make the gospel a mass of "cunningly-devised fables" of 
human origin, to expatiate on the majesty and beauty of the 
Saviour's character, the excellence of his moral precepts, and 
the benign influence of his religion. But the transcendent 
glory of our Lord's character is inseparable from his being 
what he claimed to be — the Son of God, coming from God to 
men with supreme authority ; and all the power of his gospel 
lies in its being received as a message from God. To make the 
gospel human, is to annihilate it, and with it the hope of the 
world. 

III. When the inquiry is concerning a long series of events 
intimately connected together so as to constitute one insepar- 
able whole, two methods of investigation are open to us. We 
may look at the train of events in the order of time from begin- 
ning to end ; or we may select some one' great event of especial 
prominence and importance as the central point of inquiry, and 
from that position look forward and backward. The latter of 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED RELIGION. 33 

these two methods has some peeuhar advantages, and will be 
followed in the present brief treatise. AVe begin with the great 
central fact of revelation already referred to, that " the Father 
sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world." 1 John 4 : l-I. 
When this is shown to rest on a foundation that cannot be 
shaken, the remainder of the work is comparatively eas}^ 
From the supernatural appearance and works of the Son oi 
God, as recorded in the four gospels, the supernatural endow- 
ment and works of his apostles, as recorded in the Acts of the 
Apostles, and their authoritative teachings, as contained in their 
epistles, follow as a natural and even necessary sequel. Since, 
moreover, the universal rule of God's government and works is, 
"first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the 
ear," (Mark 4 : 28,) it is most reasonable to suppose that such a 
full and perfect revelation as that which God has made to us 
by his Son, which is certainly "the full corn in the ear," must 
have been preceded by exactly such preparatory revelations as 
we find recorded in the Old Testament. Now Jesus of Naza- 
reth appeared among the Jews, the very people that had the 
scriptures of the Old Testament, and had been prepared for his 
advent by the events recorded in them as no other nation was 
prepared. He came, too, as he and his apostles ever taught, 
to carry out the plan of redemption begun in them. From the 
position, then, of Christ's advent, as the grand central fact of 
redemption, we look backward and fot'ward with great advan- 
tage upon the whole line of revelation. 

IV. We cannot too earnestly inculcate upon the youthful 
inquirer the necessity of thus looking at revelation as a luTiole. 
Strong as are the evidences for the truth of the gospel narra- 
tives considered separately, they gain new strength, on the one 
side, from the mighty revelations that preceded them and pre- 
pared the way for the advent of the Son of God ; and on the 
other, from the mighty events that followed his advent in the 
apostolic age, and have been following ever since in the history 
of the Christian church. The divine origin of the Mosaic insti- 
tutions can be shown on solid grounds, independently of the 



3i COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

New Testament ; but on how mucli broader and deeper a foun-' 
dation are they seen to rest, when we fiad (as will be shown 
hereafter, chap. 8) that they were preparatory to the incarna- 
tion of Jesus Christ. As in a burning mass, the heat and flame 
of each separate piece of fuel are increased by the surround- 
ing fire, so in the plan of redemption, each separate revelation 
receives new light and glory from the revelations which precede 
and follow it. It is only when we view the revelations of the 
Bible as thus progressing "from glory to glory," that we can 
estimate aright the proofs of their divine origin. If it were 
even possible to impose upon men as miraculous a particular 
event, as, for example, the giving of the Mosaic law on Sinai, 
or the scenes of the day of Pentecost, the idea that there could 
have been imposed on the world a series of such events, extend- 
ing through many ages, and yet so connected together as to 
constitute a harmonious and consistent whole, is a simple 
absurdity. There is no explanation of the unity that pervades 
the supernatural facts of revelation, but that of their divine 
origin. 

Y. In strong contrast with this rational way of viewing the 
facts of revelation as a grand whole, is the fragmentary method 
of objectors. A doubt here, a cavil there, an insinuation yon- 
der ; a difficulty with this statement, an objection to that, a dis- 
crepancy here — this is their favorite way of assailing the gos- 
pel. If one chooses to treat the Bible in this narrow and 
uncandid way, he will soon plunge himself into the mire of 
unbelief. Difficulties and objections should be candidly con- 
sidered, and allowed their due weight ; but they must not be 
suffered to override irrefragable proof, else we shall soon land 
in universal skepticism : for difficulties, and some of them too 
insoluble, can be urged against the great facts of nature and 
natural religion, as w^ell as of revelation. To reject a series of 
events supported by an overwhelming weight of evidence, on 
the ground of unexplained difficulties connected with them, 
involves the absurdity of running into a hundred difficulties for 
the sake of avoiding five. If we are willing to examine the 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED EELIGION. 35 

claims of revelation as a wliole, its divine origin will sliine forth 
upon us like the suiwn the firmament. Our difficulties we can 
then calmly reserve for further investigation here, or for solu- 
tion in the world to come. 

YI. When we institute an examination concerning the facts 
of revelation, the first question is that of the genuineness and 
nncorrupt preservation of the books in which they are record- 
ed ; the next, that of their authenticity and credibility. We 
may then conveniently consider the question of their inspira- 
tion. In accordance with the plan marked out above, (No. III.,) 
the gospel narratives will be considered first of all; then the 
remaining books of the New Testament. After this will be 
shown the inseparable connection between the facts of revela- 
tion recorded in the Old Testament and those of the New; and 
finally, the genuineness of the books which constitute the canon 
of the Old Testament, with their authenticity and inspiration. 
The whole treatise will be closed by a brief view of the internal 
and experimental evidences which commend the Bible to tho 
human understanding and conscience as the word of God. 



36 CO^irANION TO THE BIBLE. 



OHAPTEK II. 

Genuineness of the Gospel ]^arratiyes. 

1. Preliminary Remarhs. 1. A book is cjenidne if written by 
the man whose name it bears, or to whom it is ascribed ; or 
when, as in the case of several books of the Old Testament, the 
author is unknown, it is genuine if written in the age and coun- 
try to which it is ascribed. A book is authentic which is a rec- 
ord of facts as opposed to what is false or fictitious ; and we 
call it credible when the record of facts which it professes to 
give is worthy of belief. Authenticity and credibility are, 
therefore, only different views of the same quality. 

In the case of a book that deals mainly with principles, the question of 
authorship is of subordinate importance. Thus the book of Job, with the 
exception of the brief narratives with which it opens and closes, and which 
may belong to any one of several centuries, is occupied with the question 
of Divine providence. It is not necessary that we know what particular 
man was its author, or at what precise period he wrote. We only need 
reasonable evidence (as wall be shown hereafter) that he was a prophetical 
man, writing under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. But the case of the 
gospel narratives is wholly different. They contain a record of the super- 
natural appearance and works of the Son of God, on the truth of which 
rests our faith in the gospel. So the apostle Paul reasons : "If Christ be 
not risen, then is our i)reaching vain, and your faith is also vain." 1 Cor. 
15 : 14. It is, then, of vital importance that we Iniow the relation which 
the authors of these narratives held to Christ. If they were not apostles or 
apostolic men, that is, associates of the apostles, laboring with them, enjoy- 
ing their full confidence, and in circumstances to obtain their information 
directly from them — but, instead of this, wrote after the apostolic age — 
their testimony is not worthy of the unlimited faith which the church in 
all ages has reposed in it. The question, then, of the genuineness of the 
gospel narratives and that of their authenticity and credibility must stand 
or fall together. 

2. In respect to the origin of the gospels, as also of the 
other books of the New Testament, the following things should 
be carefully remembered : 



EVIDENCES OF EEVEALED RELIGION. 37 

First. There was a period, extending, perhaps, through 
some years from the day of Pentecost, when there were no 
written gospels, their pLn^ce being suppHed by the living pres- 
ence and teachings of the apostles and other disciples of our 
Lord. 

Secondly. When the need of written documents began to 
be felt, they were produced, one after another, as occasion sug- 
gested them. Thus the composition of the books of the New 
Testament extended through a considerable period of years. 

Thirdly. Besides the gospels universally received by the 
churches, other narratives of our Lord's life were attempted, 
as we learn from the evangelist Luke (1 : 1) ; but those never 
obtained general currency. The churches everywhere receiv- 
ed the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, be- 
cause of the clear evidence which they had of their apostolic 
origin and trustworthiness ; and because, also, these gospels, 
though not professing to give a complete account of our Lord's 
life and teachings, were nevertheless sufficiently full to answer 
the end for which they were composed, being not fragmentary 
sketches, but orderly narratives, each of them extending over 
the whole course of our Lord's ministry. The other narratives 
meanwhile gradually passed into oblivion. The general recep^ 
tion of these four gospels did not, however, come from any 
formal concert of action on the part of the churches, (as, for 
example, from the authoritative decision of a general council, 
since no such thing as a general council of the churches was 
known till long after this period ;) but simply from the common 
percej)tion everywhere of the unimpeachable evidence by which 
their apostolic authority was sustained. 

The narratives referred to by Luke were earUer than his gospel. They 
were not spurious, nor, so far as we know, unauthentic ; but rather imper- 
fect. They must not be confounded with the apocryphal gospels of a 
later age. 

3. In respect to the quotations of Scripture by the early 
fathers of the church, it is important to notice their habit of 



38 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

quoting anon^^mously, and often in a loose and general way. 
TliG}^ frequently cite from memoiy, blending together the words 
of different authors, and sometimes intermingling wdth them 
their own words. In citing the prophecies of the Old Testa- 
ment in an argumentative way, they are, as might have been 
expected, more exact, particularly when addressing Jews; yet 
even here they often content themselves with the scope of the 
passages referred to, without being particular as to the exact 
words. 

With the above preliminary remarks. We proceed to con- 
sider the evidences, external and internal, for the genuineness 
of the gospel narratives. 

II. External Evidences. 4. Here we need not begin at a 
later date than the last quarter of the second century. This is 
the age of Irenseus in Gaul, of TertuUian in North Africa, of 
Clement of Alexandria in Egypt, and of some other writers. 
Their testimony to the apostolic origin and universal reception 
of our four canonical gospels is as full as can be desired. They 
give the names of the authors, two of them — Matthew and 
John — apostles, and the other two — Mark and Luke — compan- 
ions of apostles and fellow-laborers with them, always associ- 
ating Mark wdtli Peter, and Luke with Paul ; they affirm the 
universal and undisputed reception of these four gospels from 
the beginning by all the churches; and deny the apostolic 
authority of other pretended gospels. In all this, they give 
not their individual opinions, but the common belief of the 
churches. It is conceded on all hands that in their day these 
four gospels were universally received by the churches as genu- 
ine and authoritative records of our Lord's life and works, to 
the exclusion of all others. 

Irenceics was a native of Asia Minor, of Greek descent ; but the seat of 
liis labors was Lyons and Vienne in Gaul, of the former of which places he 
became bishop after the martyrdom of Pothinus, about a. d. 177. He 
was born about a. d. 140, and suffered martyrdom under Septimius Seve- 
riis A. D. 202. In his youth he was a disciple of Polycarp, who was in turn 
a disciple of the apostle John. In a letter to one Florinus, which Euse- 
bius has preserved, (Hist. EccL, 5. 20,) he gives, in glowing language, his 



EVIDENCES OF KEYEALED EELIGIOX. 39 

recollections of the person and teachings of Polyearp, and tells with what 
interest he listened as this man related his intercourse with the apostle 
John and the others who had seen the Lord, ' ' how he recounted their words, 
and the things which he had heard from them concerning the Lord, and 
concerning his miracles and teaching." And he adds that these things 
which Polycarj) had received from eye-witnesses he related "aU in agree- 
ment with the Scriptures ;" that is, obviously, with the gospel narratives. 
Pothinus, the loredecessor of Irenseus at Lyons, was- ninety years old at 
the time of his martyrdom, and must have been acquainted with many who 
belonged to the latter part of the apostolic age. Under such circumstances, 
it is inconceivable that Irenseus, who knew the Christian traditions of 
both the East and the "West, should not have known the truth respecting 
the reception of the gospels by the churches, and the grounds on w^hich 
this reception rested, more especially in the case of the gospel of John. 
Tischendorf, after mentioning the relation of Irenseus to Polyearp the dis- 
ciple of John, asks, with reason : ''Are we, nevertheless, to cherish the 
supj)osition that Irenseus never heard a word from Polyearp respecting the 
gospel of John, and yet gave it his unconditional confidence — this man 
Irenseus, who in his controversies with heretics, the men of falsiiication 
and apocryphal works, employs against them, before all other things, the 
pure Scripture as a holy weapon ?" (Essay, When were Our Gospels Writ- 
ten, p. 8.) The testimony of Irenseus is justly regarded as of the most 
weighty character. The fact that he gives several fanciful reasons why 
there should be only four gospels, (Against Heresies, 3. 11,) does not in- 
validate his statement of the fact that the churches had always received 
four, and no more. W^e always distinguish between men's testimony to 
facts of which they are competent witnesses, and their philosophical 
explanations of these facts. 

Tertullian was born in Carthage about a. d. 160, and died between 
A. D. 220 and 240. About a. d. 202 he joined the sect of the Montanists ; 
but this does not affect his testimony respecting the origin and universal 
reception of the four canonical gospels. His works are very numerous, 
.and in them all he insists with great earnestness that the gospel narratives, 
as also the other apostolic writings, have been received without corrup- 
tion, as a sacred inheritance, from the apostohc churches. His work 
against Marcion, wdiom he accuses of employing a mutilated gospel of 
Luke, is particularly instructive as showing how deep and settled was the 
conviction of the early Christians that nothing could be a gospel which did 
not proceed from apostles or apostolic men ; and how watchful they were 
against all attempts to mutilate or corrupt the primitive apostolic records. 
In defending the true gospel of Luke against the mutilated form of it 
employed by Marcion, he says : *' I affirm that not in the apostolic churches 
alone, but in all which are joined with them in the bond of fellowship, 



4:0 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

that gospel of Luke which we most firmly maintain, has been valid from 
its first publication ; but Marcion's gospel is unknown to most of them, 
and known to none, except to be condemned." This testimony of Ter- 
tullian is very important, as showing his full conviction that Marcion could 
not deny the universal reception, from the beginning, of the genuine gos- 
pel of Luke. And a little afterwards he adds : "The same authority of the 
apostolic churches will defend the other gospels also, which we have in like 
manner through them, and according to them," (Against Marcion, 4. 5.) 
Many more quotations of hke jDurport might be added. 

Clement of Alexandria was a pupil of Pantsenus, and his successor as 
head of the catechetical school at Alexandria in Egypt. He was of heathen 
origin, born probably about the middle of the second century, and died 
about A. D. 220. He had a philosophical turn of mind, and after his con- 
version to Christianity made extensive researches under various teachers, 
as he himself tells us, in Greece, in Italy, in Palestine, and other parts of 
the East. At last he met with Pantsenus in Egypt, whom he preferred to 
all his other guides, and in whose instructions he rested. The testimony 
of Clement to the universal and undisputed reception by the churches of 
the four canonical gospels as the writings of apostles or apostolic men, 
agTees with that of TertuUian. And it has the more weight, not only on 
account of his wide investigations, but because, also, it virtually contains 
the testimony of his several teachers, some of whom must have known, if 
not the apostles themselves, those who had listened to their teachings. 

In connection with the testimony of the above-named Avriters, we may 
consider that of the cfnirches of Lyons and Vienne in Gaul, in a letter 
addressed by them to "the churches of Asia andPhrygia," which Eusebius 
has preserved for us, (Hist. Eccl., 5. 1,) and which describes a severe per- 
secution through which they passed in the reign of Antoninus Yerus, about 
A. D. 177. In this they say : "So was fulfilled that which was spoken by 
our Lord, ' The time shall come in which whosoever kiUetli you shall think 
that he doeth God service.'" In speaking again of a certain youthful 
martyr, they first compare him to Zacharias, the father of John the Bap- 
tist, affirming, in the very words of Luke, that he "had walked in all the^ 
commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless," (Luke 1:6;) and 
then go on to describe him as "having the Comforter in himself, the 
Spirit, more abundantly than Zacharias," where they apply to the Holy 
Spirit a term peculiar to the apostle John. Here, then, we have indubit- 
able testimony to the fact that the gospel of John, as well as of Luke, was 
known to the churches of Gaul in the west and Asia Minor in the east in 
the days of Pothinus, bishop of these churches, who suffered martyrdom 
in this persecution. But Pothinus was ninety years old, so that his knowl- 
edge of these gos]Dels must have reached back to the first quarter of the 
second century, when many who had known the apostles were yet living. 



EVIDENCES OF KEVEALED EELIGION. 41 

5. These testimonies, let it be carefully remembered, apply 
not to one part of Christendom alone, but to all its different 
and distant divisions; and that, too, long before there was any 
attempt to bring the judgment of the churches into harmony 
by means of general councils. The orthodox churches planted 
in the different provinces of the Eoman empire, though in sub- 
stantial harmony with each other, had nevertheless their minor 
differences, which were sometimes discussed with much warmth. 
In their relation to each other, they were jealous of their free- 
dom and independence. The history of the so-called Antilego- 
mena (Disputed Books of the New Testament, chap. 6) shows 
that the reception of a writing as apostolic in one division of 
Christendom, did not insure its reception elsewhere. Had it 
been possible that a spurious book should be imposed as gen- 
uine on the churches of one region, it would certainly have met 
with opposition in other regions ; but our four canonical gos- 
pels were everywhere received without dispute as the writings 
of apostles or apostolic men. This fact admits of but one 
explanation: the churches had from their first appearance 
indubitable evidence of their genuineness. 

6. Let it be further remembered that this testimony relates not 
to books of a private character, that might have lain for years 
hidden in some corner; but to ihopuhlic turiUngs of the churches, 
on which their faith was founded, of which they all had copies, 
and which it was the custom, from the apostolic age, to read in 
their assemblies along with the law and the prophets. (Justin 
Martyr ApoL, 1. 67.) Earnestness and sincerity are traits 
which will not be denied to the primitive Christians, and they 
were certainly not wanting in common discernment. Let any 
man show, if he can, how a spurious gospel, suddenly appear- 
ing somewhere after the apostolic days, could have been impos- 
ed upon the churches as genuine, not only where it originated, 
but everywhere else in Christendom. Tlie difficulty with which 
some of the genuine books of the New Testament gained uni- 
versal currency sufficiently refutes such an absurd supposition. 

7, We are now prepared to consider the testimonies of an 



42 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

earlier period. Here Justin Martyr is a very weiglity witness, 
since he lived so near the apostolic age, and had every facilitj'- 
for investigating the history of the gospel narratives. He was 
born near the beginning of the second century, and his extant 
works date from about the middle of the same century. Before 
his conversion to Christianity he was a heathen philosopher 
earnestly seeking for the truth among the different systems of 
the age. Of his undoubtedly genuine works, there remain to 
us two Apologies (defences of Christianity) and a Dialogue 
with Trypho a Jew, designed to defend the Christian religion 
against its Jewish opponents. In these he quotes the gospel 
of Matthew very abundantly ; next in number are his quotations 
from Luke. His references to Mark and John are much fewer, 
but enough to show his acquaintance with them. He never 
quotes the evangelists by name, but designates their writings 
as " The Memoirs of the Apostles ;" and more fully, " The 
memoirs which I affirm to have been composed by his" — our 
Lord's — "apostles and their followers," Dialog., ch. 103, 
" which," he elsewhere says, " are called gospels," Apol. 1. 66, 
and in a collective sense, "the gospel," Dialog., ch. 10. It 
should be carefully noticed that he speaks in the plural num- 
ber both of the apostles who composed the gospels and their 
followers. This description applies exactly to our canonical 
gospels — two written by apostles, and two by their followers. 

The attemi^t has been made in modern times to set aside Justin's testi- 
mony, on the alleged ground that he quotes not from our canonical gos- 
pels, but from some other writings. The groundlessness of this supj)osi- 
tion is manifest at first sight. Justin had visited the three principal 
churches of Rome, Alexandria, and Ephesus. It is certain that he knew 
what gospels were received by them in his day as authentic, and that these 
are the very gospels which he quotes, affirming that they were the writings 
of ai^ostles and their followers. Now, that the gospels which Justin used 
should have been wholly supplanted by others in the days of Irenreus, who 
was of full age at the tune of Justin's death, is incredible. But Irenseus, 
in common with Clement, Tertullian, and others, quotes our four canon- 
ical gospels as alone possessing apostolic authority, and as having been 
always received by the churches. It follows that the ' ' Memoirs " of Justin 
must be the same gospels. We cannot conceive that in this brief period 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED RELIGION. 43 

an entire change of gospels sliould liave been made throngliout all the dif- 
ferent and distant provinces of the Roman empire, at a time when con- 
certed action through general councils was unknown ; and that, too, in so 
silent a manner that no record of it remains in the history of the church. 
The supposition that the gospels known to Justin were different from those 
received by Ireneeus ought not to be entertained without irrefragable proof. 
But no such proof exists. ' ' An accurate examination in detail of his cita- 
tions," says Semisch, Life of Justin Martyr, 4. 1, "has led to the result 
that this title" — the Memoirs of the Apostles — "designates the canonical 
gospels — a result in no way less certain because again called in question in 
modern days." 

The agreement of his quotations with our present gospels is of such a 
character and extent as can be explained only from his use of them. The 
variations are mainly due to his habit of quoting loosely from memory. 
"Many of these citations," says Kirchhofer, "agree, word for word, with 
the gospels ; others with the substance, but with alterations and additions 
of words, with transpositions and omissions ; others give the thought only 
in a general way ; others stiU condense together the contents of several 
passages and different sayings, in which case the historic quotations are 
yet more free, and blend together, in part, the accounts of Matthew and 
Luke. But some quotations are not found at all in our canonical gos- 
pels," (see immediately below;) "some, on the contrary, occur twice or 
thrice." Quellensammlung, p. 89. note. Two or three more important 
variations are, perhaps, due to the readings in the manuscripts employed 
by Justin, since the later church fathers, who, as we know, employed the 
canonical gospels, give the same variations. Finally, Justin gives a few 
incidents and sayings not recorded in our present gospels. As he lived so 
near the apostolic times he may well have received these from tradition ; 
but if in any case he took them from written documents, there is no proof 
that he ascribed to such documents ajDostohc authority. In one passage, 
lie accurately distinguishes between what he gives from tradition or other 
written sources, and what from the apostolic records. "When Jesus 
came," he says, "to the river Jordan, where John was baptizing, as he 
descended to the water, both was a fire kindled in the Jordan, and as he 
ascended from the water, the apostles of this very Christ of ours have 
^vritten that the Holy Spirit as a dove lighted upon him." Dial., ch. 88. 

It has been doubted whether certain references to the gospel of John 
can be found in Justin's writings ; but it seems plain that the following is 
a free quotation from chapter 3 : 3-5 : ' ' For Christ said, Excej^t ye be 
born again, ye shall by no means enter into the kingdom of heaven. But 
that it is impossible that they who have once been born should enter into 
the wombs of those who bare them is manifest to all." Apol. 1. 61. To 
affirm that a passage so peculiar as this was borrowed by both the evange- 



•i4 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

list John and Justin from a common tradition, is to substitute a very im- 
jDi-obable for a veiy natural explanation. Besides, Justin uses phraseology 
Xoeculiarto John, repeatedly calling our Saviour "the Word of God," and 
"the Word made flesh ;" affirming that he "was in a peculiar sense begot- 
ten the only Son of God," "an only begotten One to the Father of all 
things, being in a peculiar sense begotten of him as Word and Power, and 
afterwards made man through the Virgin;" and calhng him "the good 
Rock that sends forth (literally, causes to bubble forth — compare John 4 :14) 
living waters into the hearts of those who through him have loved the 
Father of all things, and that gives to aU who wiU the water of life to 
drink. " These and other references to John may be seen in Kirchhofer's 
Quellensammlung, pi^. 146, 147. 

8. Another early witness is Pajoias, who was bishop of 
Hierapolis, in Phrygia, in the first half of the second century. 
He wrote " An Exposition of the Oracles of the Lord/' in five 
books. This work has perished ; but fragments of it, with no- 
tices of its contents, are preserved to us by Eusebius and other 
writers. As Papias, according to his own express testimony, 
gathered his materials, if not from apostles themselves, yet 
from their immediate disciples, his statements are invested 
with great interest. Of Matthew he says, Eusebius Hist. 
EccL, 5. 39, that he "wrote the oracles in the Hebrew dialect, 
and every one interpreted them as he could." He speaks of 
this interpretation by each one as he could as something past, 
impljdng that in his day our present Greek gospel of Matthew 
(of the apostolic authority of which there was never any doubt 
in the early churches) was in circulation, whether it was or 
was not originally composed in Hebrew, a question on which 
learned men are not agreed. Of Mark he affirms that, " hav- 
ing become Peter's interpreter, he wrote down accurately as 
many things as he remembered ; not recording in order the 
things that were said or done by Christ, since he was not a 
hearer or follower of the Lord, but afterwards " — after our 
Lord's ascension — "of Peter, who imparted his teachings as 
occasion required, but not as making an orderly narrative of 
the Lord's discourses." Hist. EccL, 3. 39. The fact that 
Eusebius gives no statement of Papias respecting the other 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED RELIGION. 45 

two gospels is of little account, since his notices of the authors 
to whom he refers, and of their works, are confessedly im- 
perfect 

Eusebms notices, for example. Hist EccL 4. 14, the fact that Poly- 
carp, in his letter to the Philippians, ' ' has used certain testimonies from 
the First Epistle of Peter ;" but says nothing of his many references, in 
in the same letter, to the ejoistles of Paul, in some of which he quotes th-e 
apostle by name. We have, ncTertheless, through Eusebius, an indirect 
but valid testimony from Papias to the authorshix3 of the fourth gospel, 
resting upon the admitted identity of the author of this gospel with the 
author of the first of the epistles ascribed to John. Speaking of Papias, 
Eusebius says : "But the same man used testimonies from the First Epis- 
tle of John." Hist. EccL, 3. 39, end. The ascription to John of this 
epistle, is virtually the ascription to him of the fourth gospel also. Euse- 
bius speaks of Papias as a man "of very small mind." The correctness of 
this judgment is manifest from the specimens which he gives of his writ- 
ings ; but it cannot invalidate the evidence we have from the* above -pas- 
sages of the existence, in Papias' day, of the gospels to which he refers. 
As to the question whether these were our present canonical gospels of 
Matthew and Mark, it is sufficient to say that neither Eusebius nor any of 
the church fathers understood them differentl}\ 

9. A very interesting relic of antiquity is the Epistle to Diog- 
netus, of which the authorship is uncertain. Its date cannot be 
later than the age of Justin Martyr, to whom it is ascribed by 
some. It is, notwithstanding some erroneous views, a noble 
defence of Christianity, in which the author shows his acquaint- 
ance with the gospel of John by the use of terms and phrases 
peculiar to him. Thus he calls Christ "the Word," and "the 
only begotten Son," whom God sent to men. In the words, 
"not to take thought about raiment and food," section 9, there 
is an apparent reference to Matt. 6 : 25, 31. 

In addition to the above testimonies might be adduced 
some fragments of early Christian writers which have been 
preserved to us by those of a later day ; but for brevity's sake 
they are omitted. 

10. Following up the stream of testimony, we come now to 
that of the so-called apostolic fathers ; that is, of men who were 
disciples of apostles, and wrote in the age next following them. 



•16 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

Holding, as tliej do, such a near relation to the apostles, and 
familiar with the oral traditions of the apostolic age, we cannot 
expect to find in them such frequent and formal references to 
the books of the New Testament as characterize the works of 
later writers. They quote, for the most part, anonymously, 
interweaving with their own words those of the sacred writers. 

One of the earliest among the ai^ostolic fathers is Clement of Rome, who 
died about a. d. 100. Of the numerous writings anciently ascribed to him, 
his First Epistle to the Corinthians is admitted, upon good evidence, to be 
genuine. In this we find words which imply a knowledge of the first three 
gospels. Citing evidently from memory, in a loose way, he says : ' ' For 
thus he" — the Lord Jesus — "spake, 'Be merciful, that ye may obtain 
mercy ; forgive, that ye may be forgiven ; as ye do, so shall it be done to 
you ; as ye give, so shall it be given to you ; as ye judge, so shall ye receive 
judgment ; as ye are kind, so shall ye receive kindness ; with what meas- 
ure ye measure, with that it shall be measured to j^ou.'" And again : 
"For he said, 'Woe unto that man ; it were better for him that he had 
not been born, than that he should offend one of my elect. ' " 

Ignatius was bishop of the church at Antioch, and suffered martyrdom 
A. D. 107, or according to some accounts, 116. In his epistles, which are 
received as genuine, are manifest quotations from the gospel of Matthew, 
and some apparent though not entirely certain allusions to the gospel 
of John. 

Poll/carp, bishop of Smyrna, was a disciple of the apostle John, He 
suffered martyrdom about the year 166. Of his writings, only one short 
epistle, addressed to the Philippians, remains to us ; but this abounds in 
references to the books of the New Testament, especially the epistles of 
Paul. Of quotations from the gospel of Matthew, the following are exam- 
ples : "Judge not, that ye be not judged; forgive, and ye shall be for- 
given ; be merciful, that ye may obtain mercy ; with what measure ye 
mete, it shall be measured to you again." "Blessed are the poor in spirit, 
and those that suffer persecution for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the 
kingdom of heaven." "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is 
weak." For the gospel of John, Polycarp's testimony, though indirect, is 
decisive. In his letter to the Phihppians, he quotes from the First Epis- 
tle of John, "For every one who does not confess that Jesus Christ has 
come in the flesh, is antichrist." 1 John 4:3. But that the gospel of 
John and this first epistle both proceeded from the same author, is a con- 
ceded fact. 

The recently discovered Sinai Codex, the oldest known codex in the 
world, contains the entire Epistle of Bavyiahas in the original Greek. In 



EVIDENCES OF EEVEALED RELIGION. 47 

this we Unci, among other references to tlie first three gosi^els, one to the 
written gospel of Matthew of the most decisive character : ''Let iis be 
mindful, therefore, lest perchance we be found as it is written, ' Many are. 
caUed, but few a,re chosen.' " Matt. 20 : 16 ; 22 : 14. The form of quota- 
tion, "as it is written," is employed by the writers of the New Testament 
only of iiitations from Scripture. In these words the writer places the gos- 
l^el of Matthew in the same rank as the Scriptures of the Old Testament. 
That he was the Barnabas mentioned in the Ncav Testament as the com- 
panion of Paul cannot be maintained ; but the composition of the epistle 
is assigned, with probability, to the beginning of the second century, 
though some place it as late as its close. 

The testimony of other apocryphal writings of early date might be ad- 
duced, but for the sake of brevity it is here omitted. It may be seen in 
the essay of Tischendorf, ah-eady referred to. 

11. A different class of witnesses will next be considered — 
the ancient Sjriac version, the old Latin version, and the 
Muratorian fragment on the canon of the New Testament — all 
of which bear testimony to our canonical gospels. 

The ancient Syriac version, commonly called the Peshito — simple, that 
is, expressing simply the meaning of the original, without allegorical 
additions and explanations, after the manner of the Jewish Targums — is 
admitted by all to be of very high antiquity. Learned men are agreed 
that this version cannot well be referred to a later date than the close of 
the second century, and some assign . it to the middle of the second cen- 
tury, at which time the Syrian churches were in a very flourishing condi- 
tion, and cannot well be supposed to have been without a version of the 
Holy Scriptures. The Peshito contains all the books of the New Testa- 
ment, except the Second Epistle of Peter, the Second and Third Epistles 
of John, the Epistle of Jude, and the Apocalypse. It testifies to the exist- 
ence of our four gospels, not only when it was made, but at an ear- 
lier date ; since we must, in all probability, assume that some consider- 
able time elapsed after the composition, one by one, of the books of the 
New Testament, before they were collected into a volume, as in this Syriao 
version. 

Eespecting the Old Latin version, (in distinction from Jerome's revision, 
commonly called the Vulgate, which belongs to the fourth century, ) various 
opinions have been maintained. Some have assumed the existence of sev- 
eral independent Latin versions of the New Testament, or of some of its 
books ; but the preferable opinion is that there were various recensions, all 
having for their foundation a single version, namely, the Old Latin; which, 
says "Westcott, Canon of the New Testament, ch. 3, "can be traced back 



4S COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

as far as the earliest records of Latin Christianity. Every circumstance 
connected with it indicates the most remote antiquity." It was current 
in north Africa, at least soon after the middle of the second century: 
Though it has not come down to us in a perfect form, it contains, along 
with most of the other books of the New Testament, our four canonical 
gospels ; and its testimony is of the greatest weight. 

The Muraiorian Fragment on the Canon is the name given to a Latin 
fragment discovered by the Itahan scholar, Muratori, in the Ambrosian 
Library at Milan, in a manuscript bearing the marks of great antiquity. 
Its date is determined by its reference to the shepherd of Hermas, which, 
says the Fragment, Hermas "wrote very recently in our times, while the 
bishop Pius, his brother, occupied the chair of the church at Rome." The 
later of the two dates given for the death of Pius is a. d. 157. The compo- 
sition of the Fragment must have followed soon afterwards. Though 
mutilated at the beginning, as well as the end, its testimony to the exist- 
ence of i]\efour canonical gospels is decisive. In its present form, it opens 
with the end of a sentence, the beginning of which is lost. It then goes 
on to say, " TJie third gospel according to Liikey After mentioning various 
particulars concerning Luke, as that he was a physician whom Paul had 
taken with him, that he did not himself see the Lord in the flesh, etc. , it 
adds, " TJie fourth of the gospels, that of John, of the number of the disciples," 
to which it appends a traditional account of the circumstances of its com- 
position. With the truth or falsehood of this account we have at present 
no concern ; the important fact is that this very ancient canon recognizes 
the existence of our four canonical gospels. 

12. The neretical sects of the second century fiirnisli testi- 
mony to the genuineness of our canonical gospels which is of 
the most weight}^ and decisive character. Tliougli some of 
them rejected certain books of the New Testament and muti- 
lated others, it was on doctrinal, not on critical grounds. Had 
they attempted to disprove on historic grounds the genuine- 
ness of the rejected portions of Scripture, it is certain that the 
church fathers, who wrote against them at such length, would 
have noticed their arguments. The fact that they did not, is 
conclusive proof that no such attempt was made ; but from the 
position which the leaders of these heretical sects occupied, it 
is certain that, could the genuineness of the canonical gospels, 
or' any one of them, have been denied on historic grounds, the 
denial would have been made. 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED RELIGION. 49 

Marcion, one of the most distinguished leaders of those who separated 
themselves from the orthodox church, came to Rome in the second quarter 
of the second century. He separated Christianity from all connection with 
Judaism, making the Jehovah of the Old Testament a different being 
from the God of the New Testament. His gospel, called by the ancients 
the gospel of Marcion, is admitted to have been a mutilated copy of Luke's 
gospel. Of course it became necessary that he should reject the first two 
chapters of this gospel, (which alone he received,) since they contain our 
Lord's genealogy in the line of Abraham and David, and should otherwise 
alter it to suit his views. On the same grounds, he altered the epistles of 
Paul also. That Marcion was not ignorant of the other three gospels, but 
rejected them, is plain from the words of TertuUian, who accuses him, 
Against Marcion, 4. 3, of attempting " to destroy the credit of those gospels 
which are properly such, and are published under the name of apostles, or 
also of apostolic men ; that he may invest his own gospel with the confidence 
which he withdraws from them." His real ground for rejecting some 
books of the New Testament and mutilating others was that lie could judge 
better of the truth than the writers themselves, whom he represented to 
have been misled by the influences of Jewish prejudices. Accordingly 
Irenseus well says of the liberties taken by Marcion, Against Heresies, 
1. 27 : "He persuaded his disciples that he was himself more trustworthy 
than the apostles who have delivered to us the gospel ; while he gave to 
them not the gospel, but a fragment of the gospel. " 

A distinguished leader of the Gnostics was Vcdeniinus, who came to 
Rome about a. d. 140, and continued there till the time of Anicetus. His 
testimony and that of his followers is, if possible, more weighty than even 
that of Marcion. His method, according to the testimony of Tertullian, 
was not to reject and mutilate the Scriptures, but to pervert their meaning 
by false interpretations. Tertullian says. Against Heretics, ch. 38 : "For 
though Valentinus seems to use the entire instrument, he has done violence 
to the truth with a more artful mind than Marcion." "The entire instru- 
ment" — Latin, iniegro instrumento — includes our four canonical gospels. 
Clement of Alexandria and Hippolytus have preserved quotations from 
Valentinus in which he refers to the gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John. 
See "Westcott, Canon of the New Testament, 4. 5. Respecting the gos- 
pel of John in particular, Irenseus says, Against Heresies, 3. 11, that "the 
Valentinians make the most abundant use of it. " Heracleon, whom Origen 
represents as having been a familiar friend of Valentinus, wrote a com- 
mentaiy on John, from which Origen frequently quotes ; but if Valentinus 
and his followers, in the second quarter of the second century, used "the 
entire instrument," they must have found its apostolic authority establish- 
ed upon a firm foundation before their day. This carries us back to the 
age immediately succeeding that of the apostles, when Polycarp and others 

Comp. to Bible, 3i 



;VJ COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

who had known them personally were yet living. The testimony of the 
Valentinians, then, is of the most decisive character. 

Another prominent man among the heretical writers was Tatian, a con- 
temporary and pupil of Justin Martyr, who, according to the testimony of 
Eusebius, Epiphanius, and Theodoret, composed a Diatessar-on, that is, a 
four-fold gospel; which can be understood only as a harmony of the four 
gospels which, as has been shown, were used by Justin ; or of such parts 
of these gospels as suited his purpose ; for Tatian, hke Marcion, omitted 
all that relates to our Lord's human descent. With this Diatessaron, Theo- 
doret Avas Avell acquainted ; for he found among his churches more than 
two hundred copies, which he caused to be removed, and their places sup- 
plied by the four canonical gospels. 

As to other gospels of the second century, which are occasionally men- 
tioned by later writers, as "The Gospel of Truth," "The Gospel of Basil- 
ides," etc., there is no evidence that they professed to be connected his-, 
tories of our Lord's life and teachings. They were rather, as Norton has 
shown, Genuineness of the Gospels, vol. 3, chap. 4, doctrinal w^orks em- 
bodying the views of the sectaries that used them. 

13. We liave seen how full and satisfactory is the external 
evidence for our four canonical gospels. Considering how scan- 
ty are the remains of Christian writings that have come down 
to us from the first half of the same century, we have all the 
external evidence for that period also that could be reasonably 
demanded, and it is met by no rebutting testimony that rests 
on historic grounds. The authorship of no ancient classical 
work is sustained by a mass of evidence so great and varied, 
and the candid mind can rest in it with entire satisfaction. 

III. Internal Evidences. 14. Here we may begin with con- 
sidering the relation of the first three gospels to the last, in 
respect to both time of composition and character. 

And first, with respect to time. The first three gospels — 
frequently called the synoptical gospels, or the synoptics, because 
from the general similarity of their plan and materials their 
contents are capable of being summed up in a synopsis — record 
our Lord's prophecy of the overthrow of Jerusalem. The three 
records of this prediction wear throughout the costume of a 
true prophecy, not of a prophecy written after the event. They 
are occupied, almost exclusively, with the various signs by 



EVIDENCES OF EEVEALED RELIGION. 51 

"wliicli tlie approacli of that great catastroplie might be kiiowu, 
and with admonitions to the disciples to hold themselves in 
readiness for it, Matthew, for example, devotes fifty verses to 
the account of the prophecy and the admonitions connected 
with it. Of these, only four, chap. 24 : 19-22, describe the 
calamities of the scene, and that in the most general terms. 
Now, upon the supposition that the evangelist wrote before the 
event, all this is natural. Our Lord's design in uttering the 
prophecy was not to gratify the idle curiosity of the disciples, 
but to warn them beforehand in such a way that they might 
escape the horrors of the impending catastrophe. He dwelt, 
therefore, mainly on the signs of its approach ; and with these, 
as having a chief interest for the readers, the record of the pre- 
diction is mostly occupied. It is impossible, on the other 
hand, to conceive that one who wrote years afcer the destruc- 
tion of the city and temple should not have dwelt in more de- 
tail on the bloody scenes connected with their overthrow, and 
have given in other ways also a historic coloring to his account. 
We may safely say that to write a prophecy after the event in 
such a form as that which we have in either of the first three 
gospels, transcends the power of any uninspired man ; and as 
to inspired narratives, the objectors with whom we are now 
dealing deny them altogether. 

But there are, in the record of this prophecy, some special 
indications of the time when the evangelists wrote. According 
to Matthew, the disciples asked, ver. 3 : "When shall these 
things" — the destruction of the buildings of the temple — "be? 
and what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the 
Avorld?" These questions our Lord proceeded to answer in 
such a way that the impression on the minds of the hearers 
(to be rectified only by the course of future events) must have 
been that the overthrow of the temple and city would be con- 
nected with his second coming and the end of the world. "Im- 
mediately after the tribulation of those days," says Matthew, 
"shall the sun be darkened," etc. The probable explanation of 
this peculiar form of the prophecy is that it does actually in- 



52 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

elude all three events ; the fulfilment which it had in the de- 
struction of the city and temple by the Eomans being only an 
earnest of a higher fulfilment hereafter. But however this may 
be, it is important to notice that the evangelists, in their record 
of the prophecy, are evidently unconscious of any discrepancy, 
real or apparent, that needs explanation ; which could not have 
been the case had they written years after the event predicted. 
" It may be safely held," says Professor Fisher, Supernatural 
Origin of Christianity, p. 172, "that had the evangelist been 
writing at a later time, some explanation would have been 
thrown in to remove the seeming discrepancy between prophecy 
and fulfilment." 

It should be further noticed that the evangelists Matthew 
and Mark, in reference to "the abomination of desolation" 
standing in the holy place, throw in the admonitory words, 
" Let him that readeth understand." These are not the Sav- 
iour's words, but those of the narrators calling the attention of 
believers to a most important sign requiring their immediate 
flight to the mountains. Before the overthrow of the city these 
words had a weighty office ; after its overthrow they would 
have been utterly superfluous. Their presence in such a con- 
nection is proof that the record was written before the event to 
which it refers. 

Admitting the genuineness and authenticity of the book of 
Acts, (which will be considered hereafter,) we have a special 
proof of the early composition of the gospel according to Luke. 
The book of Acts ends abruptly with Paul's two years' residence 
at Eome, which brings us down to A. D. 65, flve years before the 
destruction of Jerusalem. The only natural explanation of this 
fact is that here the composition of the book of Acts was brought 
to a close. The date of the gospel which preceded, Acts 1 : 1, 
must therefore be placed still earlier. 

If, now, we examine the gospel of John, we find its internal 
character agreeing with the ancient tradition that it was writ- 
ten at Ephesus late in the apostle's life. That it was composed 



EVIDENCES OF EEVEALED RELIGION. 53 

at a distance from Judea, in a Gentile region, is manifest from 
his careful explanation of Jewish terms and usages, which 
among his countrymen w^ould have needed no explanation. 
No man writing in Judea, or among the Galileans wdio habit- 
ually attended the national feasts at Jerusalem, w-ould have 
Baid, "And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh," 6:4; 
"Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand," 7:2, etc. 
The absence of all reference to the overthrow of the Jewish 
polity, civil and ecclesiastical, may be naturally explained upon 
the supposition that the apostle wrote some years after that 
event, when his mind had now become familiar with the great 
truth that the Mosaic institutions had forever passed away to 
make room for the universal dispensation of Christianity ; and 
that he wrote, too, among Gentiles for w^hom the abolition of 
these institutions had no special interest. In general style and 
spirit, moreover, the gospel of John is closely allied to his first 
epistle, and cannot well be separated from it by a great inter- 
val of time ; but the epistle undoubtedly belongs to a later 
period of the apostle's life. 

From the language of John, chap. 5 :2, "Now there is at Jerusalem, 
by the sheep-gate, a pool, which is caUed in the Hebrew tongue, Bethesda, 
having five porches," — it has been argued that, when John wrote, the city 
must have been still standing. But Eusebius speaks of the pool as remain- 
ing in his day, and why may not the porches, as useful to the Roman con- 
querors, have been preserved, at least for a season ? 

We have seen the relation of John's gospel to the other 
three in respect to time. It must have been written several 
years later than the last of them ; perhaps not less than, fifteen 
years. If, now, we look to its relation in regard to cJiaracter, 
we must say that it differs from them as widely as it well could 
while presenting to our view the same divine and loving Sav- 
iour. Its general plan is different. For reasons not known to 
us, the synoptical gospels are mainly occupied with our Lord's 
ministry in Galilee. They record only his last journey to Jeru- 
salem, and the momentous incidents connected with it. John, 
on the contrary, notices his visits to Jerusalem year by year, 



54 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

Hence his materials are, to a great extent, different from tlieirs ; 
and even where he records the same events — as, for examj^^le, 
the miracle of the loaves and fishes, and the last supper — he 
connects with them long discourses, which the other evange- 
lists have omitted. Particularly noticeable are our Lord's oft- 
repeated discussions with the unbelieving Jews respecting his 
Messiahship, and his confidential intercourse with his disciples, 
in both of which we have such treasures of divine truth and 
love. How strikingly this gospel differs from the others in its 
general style and manner every reader feels at once. It bears 
throughout the impress of John's individuality, and by this it 
is immediately connected with the epistles that bear his name. 
It should be added that in respect to the time wdien our Lord 
ate the passover with his disciples there is an apparent dis- 
agreement with the other three gospels, which the harmonists 
have explained in various ways. 

The essential point of the above comparison is this : Not- 
withstanding the striking difference between the later fourth 
gospel and the earlier three, it was at once received by all the 
churches as of apostolic authority. Now upon the supposition 
of its genuineness, both its peculiar character and its undis- 
j)uted reception everj^where are easily explained. John, the 
bosom disciple of our Lord, wrote with the full consciousness 
of his apostolic authority and his competency as a witness of 
what he had himself seen and heard. He therefore gave his 
testimony in his own independent and original way. How far 
lie may have been influenced in his selection of materials by a 
purpose to supply what w^as wanting in the earlier gospels, 
according to an old tradition, it is not necessary here to 
inquire ; it is sufficient to say that, under the illumination of 
the Holy Spirit, he marked out that particular plan which ^YQ 
have in his gospel, and carried it out in his own peculiar man- 
ner, thus opening to the churches new mines, so to speak, of 
the inexhaustible fulness of truth and love contained in him in 
whom "dwelleth all the fulness of the godhead bodily." And 
when this original gospel, so different in its general plan and 



EVIDENCES OE KEVEALED RELIGION. 55 

stylo from those that preceded, made its appearance, the apos- 
tolic authority of its author secured its immediate and uni- 
versal reception hy the churches. All this is very plain and 
intelligible. 

But upon the supposition that the gospel of John is a spuri- 
ous production of the age succeeding that of the apostles, let 
any one explain, if he can, how it could have obtained universal 
and unquestioned apostolic autliorit}^ Its very difference from 
the earlier gospels must have provoked inquiry and examina- 
tion, and these must have led to its rejection, especially at a 
time when some who had known the apostle yet survived ; and 
no one now pretends to assign to it a later period. 

15. "We will next consider the relation of the first three gos- 
pels to each other. Here we have remarkable agreements Avith 
remarkable differences. The general plan of all three is the 
same. It is manifest also, at first sight, that there lies at the 
foundation of each a basis of common matter — common not in 
substance alone, but to a great extent in form also. Equal- 
\y manifest is it that the three evangelists w^rite indepen- 
dently of each other. Matthew, for example, did not draw his 
materials from Luke ; for there is his genealogy of our Lord, 
and his full account of the sermon on the mount, not to men- 
tion other particulars. Nor did Luke take his materials from 
Matthew ; for there is his genealogy also, with large sections of 
matter peculiar to himself. Mark has but little matter that is 
absolutely new; but where he and the other two evangelists 
record the same events, if one comj)ares his narratives with 
theirs, he finds numerous little incidents peculiar to this gospel 
woven into them in a' very vivid and graphic manner. They 
come in also in the most natural and artless way, as might be 
expected from one who, if not himself an eye-witness, received 
his information immediately from eye-witnesses. The three 
writers, ,moreover, do not always agree as to the order in which 
they record events ; yet, notwithstanding the diversities which 
they exhibit, they were all received from the first as of equal 
authority. 



56 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

The natural explanation of this is that all three wrote in the 
apostolic age, and consequently had access, each of them inde- 
pendently of the other two, to the most authentic sources of 
information. These sources (so far as the evangelists w^ere not 
themselves eye-witnesses) lay partly, perhaps, in written docu- 
ments like those referred to by Luke, 1 : 1, partly in the un- 
written traditions current in the apostolic churches, and partly 
in personal inquiry from eye-witnesses, especially, in the case 
of Mark and Luke, from apostles themselves. From these 
materials each selected as suited his purposes, and the churches 
everywhere unhesitatingly received each of the three gospels, 
notwithstanding the above-named variations between them, 
because they had undoubted evidence of their apostolic author- 
ity. We cannot suppose that after the apostolic age three 
gospels, bearing to each other the relation which these do, 
could have been imposed upon the churches as all of them 
equally authentic. We know from the history of Marcion's 
gospel how fully alive they were to the character of their sacred 
records. On apostolic authority they could receive — to men- 
tion a single example — both Matthew's and Luke's account of 
our Lord's genealogy ; but it is certain that they would not 
have received the two on the authority of men who lived after 
the apostolic age. 

16. In the gospel narratives are numerous incidental allu- 
sions to passing events without the proj)er sphere of our Lord's 
labors, to social customs, and to the present posture of public 
affairs, civil and ecclesiastical. In all these the severest scru- 
tiny has been able to detect no trace of a later age. This is a 
weighty testimony to the apostolic origin of the gospels. Had 
their authors lived in a later age, the fact must have manifested 
itself in some of these references. The most artless writer can 
allude in a natural and truthful w^ay to present events, usages, 
and circumstances ; but it transcends the power of the most 
skilful author to multiply incidental and minute references to a 
past age without betraying the fact that he does not belong 
to it. 



EVIDENCES OF EEVEALED KELIGION. 57 

17. Every age lias, also, its peculiar impress of tliouglit and 
reasoning in religious, nol less than in secular matters. Al- 
thougli the gospel itself remains always the same, and those 
who sincerely embrace it have also substantially the same 
character from age to age, there is, nevertheless, continual 
progress and change in men's apprehension of the gospel and 
its institutions, and consequently in their manner of reason- 
ing concerning them. No man, for example, could write a 
treatise on Christianity at the present day without making it 
manifest that he did not belong to the first quarter of the pres- 
ent century. The primitive age of Christianity is no exception 
to this universal law. Under the auspices of the apostles it 
began to move forward, and it continued to move after their 
decease. The pastoral epistles of Paul bear internal marks of 
having been written in the later period of his life, because they 
are adapted to the state of the Christian church and its institu- 
tions that belonged to that, and not to an earlier period. If, 
now, we examine the writings of the so-called apostolic fa- 
thers — disciples of the apostles, who wrote after their death — 
we find in them circles of thought and reasoning not belonging 
to the canonical writings of the New Testament, least of all to 
the canonical gospels, though they are evidently derived from 
hints contained in these writings, whether rightly or wi'ongly 
apprehended. In this respect, the works of the apostolic 
fathers are distinguished in a very marked way from those 
which bear the names of the apostles themselves or their asso- 
ciates. 

18. Another decisive argument lies in the cJiaracfer of the 
GreeJc employed by the evangelists, in common with the other 
writers of the New Testament. It is the Greek language em- 
ployed by Jews, (or, in the case of Luke, if his Jewish origin 
be doubted — see Col. 4 : 11, 16- — by one who had received a 
Jewish training under the influence of the Greek version of the 
Old Testament,) and therefore pervaded and colored by Hebrew 
idioms. This peculiar form of the Greek language belongs to 
the apostolic age, when the teachers ani writers of the church 

3* 



58 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

were Jews. After tlie overthrow of Jerusalem, tlie dispersion 
of the Jewish nation, and the death of the apostles and their 
associates, it rapidly disappeared. Thenceforward the writers 
of the church were of Gentile origin and training, in accordance 
with the Saviour's memorable words: "The kingdom of God 
shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth 
the fruits thereof." 

These internal proofs, coinciding as they do with a mass of 
external evidences so great and varied, place the genuineness 
of the four canonical gospels on a foundation that cannot be 
shaken. 



EVIDENCES OF EEYEALED RELIGION. 59 



CHAPTEK III. 

IJncorr-Upt Preservation of the Gospel Nar- 
ratives. 

1. It is necessary, first of all, to define wliat is meant in the 
present connection by the micorrupt preservation of the gospel 
narratives. When a man, whose business it is to examine and 
compare manuscripts or editions of a work, speaks of a given 
text as corrupt, he means one thing ; in a question concerning 
the truth of the Christian system as given in the writings of 
the New Testament, a corrupt text means something very dif- 
ferent. The collator of manuscripts understands by a corrupt 
text one that has been marred by the carelessness or bad judg- 
ment of transcribers, whence have arisen so many "various 
readings," though these do not change, or essentially obscure 
the facts and doctrines of Christianity, as has been most con- 
clusively shown by the results of modern textual criticism ; but 
in an inquiry whether we have in our canonical gospels the 
account of our Lord's life and teachings as it was originally 
written by the evangelists in all essential particulars, we have 
to do with the question, not of various readings, such as are 
incident to all manuscripts, but of essential additions, altera- 
tions, or mutilations — like those, for example, Avliich Marcion 
attempted — by which the facts and doctrines themselves are 
changed or obscured. It is against the charge of such essen- 
tial corruptions that we maintain the integrity of the text in 
the gospels, as in the other books of the New Testament. 

2. The most important materials for writing in ancient 
times were the paper made of the Egyptian ^_9«79?/r?f5 plant — 
whence the word jx^y^er — and /7arc/^??ze«f, prepared from the 
Bkins of animals, the finer kinds of which are called vellum. 



GO COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

Both are of high antiquity. The use of the above-mentioned 
paper was very common in the apostoKc age ; and from an 
incidental notice in the New Testament, (2 John 12 compared 
with 3 John 13,) it appears-to have been the material employed 
by the apostles themselves. But the use of parchment became 
more common in the following centuries, while that of papyrus- 
paper gradually ceased. To this circumstance we* owe, in a 
great measure, the preservation of our oldest manuscripts ; for 
the papyrus-paper was of a very perishable nature, and the 
manuscripts written upon it that have come down to us from 
high antiquity have been kept in specially favorable circum- 
stances, as, for example, in the ancient Egyptian tombs. With 
the disuse of papyrus-paper ceased also the ancient form of the 
roll. All manuscripts written on parchment are in the form of 
books with leaves. From about the eleventh century, paper 
made from cotton or linen came into common use. 

The costliness of writing materials gave rise to a peculiar 
usage. From the leaves of an ancient work the original wri- 
ting was erased, more or less perfectly. They were then em- 
ploj^ed as the material for another work, the latter being written 
over the former. Such manuscripts are called palimpsests — 
written again after erasure. The original writing, which is 
very often the sacred text, can in general be deciphered, espe- 
cially by the aid of certain chemical applications. Some of our 
most precious manuscripts are of this character. 

The existing manuscripts of the New Testament are of two 
kinds. First, the uncial, that is, those Avritten in capital letters. 
Here belong all the most ancient and valuable. The writing is 
generally in columns, from two to four to a page ; sometimes in 
a single column. There is no division of the text into words ; 
the. marks of interpunction are few and simple ; and till the 
seventh century there were no accents, and breathings only in 
special cases. Secondly, the cursive, or those written in run- 
ning-hand, with division of the text into words, capitals only 
for initial letters, accents, breathings, etc., and often with many 
contractions. This is the common form ?f manuscripts after 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED RELIGION. 61 

the tenth century, the uncial being retained for some ages 
afterwards only in books designed for use in the church service. 
In both the uncial and the cursive manuscripts, each century 
has its peculiar style of writing. From this, as well as from 
the quality of the materials, expert judges can determine the 
age of a given manuscript with a good degree of accuracy. 

The details pertaining to the form of ancient manuscripts, their num' 
ber, character, etc., belong to the department of textual criticism. The 
above brief notices are given to prepare the way for a statement of the evi- 
dence that we have the gospel narratives, as also the other books of the 
New Testament, without corruption in the form in which they were 
originally written. See the PLATES at the beginning of this hook. 

3. Of the autograph manuscripts proceeding immediately 
from the inspired authors we find no trace after the apostolic 
age. Here, as elsewhere, the wisdom of God has carefully 
guarded the church against a superstitious veneration for the 
merely outward instruments of redemption. We do not need 
the wood of the true cross that we may have redemption through 
the blood of Christ ; nor do we need the identical manuscripts 
that proceeded from the apostles and their companions, since 
we have the contents of these manuscripts handed down to us 
without corruption in any essential particular. This appears 
from various considerations. 

First. Several hundred manuscripts of the gospels, or of 
portions of them, (to confine our attention at present to these,) 
have been examined, two of them belonging to the fourth cen- 
tury and two, with some fragments, to the fifth. All these, 
though written in different centuries and coming from \videly 
different regions, contain essentially the same text. In them, 
not one of the great facts or doctrines of the gospel history is 
mutilated or obscured. 

Secondly. The quotations of the church fathers from the last 
part of the second to the end of the fourth century are so copi- 
ous, that from them almost the entire text of our present gos- 
pels could be reconstructed. These quotations agree substan- 



62 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

tially with each other and with the text of our existing manu- 
scripts; only that the earlier fathers, as already noticed, 
chap. 2. 3, dften quote loosely from memory, blend together 
different narratives, and interweave with the words of Scrip- 
ture their own explanatory remarks. 

Thirdly. We have two versions of the New Testament — the 
Old Latin or Italic, and the Syriac called Peshito — which 
learned meti are agreed in placing somewhere in the last half 
of the second century. The testimony of these witnesses to the 
uncorrupt preservation of the sacred text, from the time when 
they first appeared to the present, is decisive ; for they also 
agree essentially with the Greek text of the gospel as we now 
possess it. Nor is this all. Davidson affirms of the Old Latin 
version, that "the more ancient the Greek manuscripts, the 
closer is their agreement with it." And Tischendorf says of 
the oldest known manuscript of the Bible — the Greek Sinai 
Codex, brought by him from the convent of St. Catharine, 
Mount Sinai, in 1859 — that its agreement, in the New Testa- 
ment portion, Avith the Old Latin version, is remarkable. 
Through the joint testimony, then, on the one hand, of the 
most ancient Greek manuscripts, especially the Sinai Codex, 
which is the oldest of them all; and on the other, of the Old 
Latin version which belongs to the last half of the second cen- 
tury, we are carried back to a very ancient and pure form of 
the Greek text prevalent before the execution of this version, 
that is, about the middle of the second century. Tischendorf 
adds arguments to show that the Sja-iac Peshito version, the 
text of which has not come down to us in so pure a state, had 
for its basis substantially the same form of text as the Old 
Latin and the Sinai Codex. 

The substantial identity of the sacred text, as we now have it, witli that 
which has existed since about the middle of the second century, is thus 
shown to be a matter not of probable conjecture, but of certain knowledge. 
Here, then, we have a sure criterion by which to measure and interpret the 
complaints which textual critics, ancient or modern, have made, some- 
times in very strong language, concerning the corrujjtions that have founvi 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED EELIGION. 63 

their way into tlie text of tlie New Testament. These writers have refer- 
ence to what are called "various readings," not to mutilations and altera- 
tions, such as those charged by the ancients upon Marcion, by which he 
sought to change the facts and doctrines of the gospel. That this must be 
their meaning we know ; for there are the manuscripts by hundreds as wit- 
nesses, all of which, the most corrupt as textual critics would call them, as 
well as the purest, give in the gospel narratives the same facts and doc- 
trines without essential variation. 

Let not the inexperienced inquirer be misled into any wrong conclu- 
sion by the number of "various readings," amounting to many thousands, 
which textual criticism has brought to light. The greater the number of 
manuscripts collated, the greater will be the number of these readings ; 
w^hile, at the same time, we are continually making a nearer aj)proach to 
the purity of the primitive text. As a general rule these variations relate 
to trifling particulars ; as, for examj^le, whether the conjunction a7id shall 
be inserted or omitted ; whether but or for is the true reading ; whether 
this or that order of words giving the same sense shall have the preference, 
etc. A few of the variations are of a more important character. Thus, in 
John 1 : 18, some manuscripts and fathers instead of onli/ begotten Son, read 
onZy begotten God. But even here we may decide either way without chang- 
ing or obscuring the great truths of the gospel narratives ; for these are 
not dependent on particular words or phrases, but pervade and vivify the 
New Testament, as the vital blood does the body. The same may be said 
of certain i^assages which, on purely critical grounds — that is, the authority 
of ancient manuscripts — some have thought doubtful ; as, for example, 
John 5 : 4, and the narrative recorded in the beginning of the eighth chap- 
ter of the same gospel. The insertion or omission of the passages concern- 
ing which any reasonable doubts can be entertained on critical grounds, 
will not affect in the least the great truths of the gospel narratives. 

4. But it may be asked, Was the text fron\ wliicli the Old 
Latin version was made, and with which, as we have seen, the 
oldest manuscripts have a close agreement, substantially the. 
same as that which proceeded from the inspired authors ? Here 
we must discard all groundless suppositions, and adhere strictly 
to the known facts in the premises. 

The first fact to be noticed is the public reading of the gos- 
pels in the Christian churches, a custom which prevailed from 
the earliest times. Justin Martyr, writing before the middle of 
the second century, says of the memoirs written by the apos- 
tles or their followers and called gospels (which have been 



61 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

shown to be our canonical gospels, chap. 2 : 7) that either these 
or the writings of the Jewish prophets were read in the Chris- 
tian churches on the first day of every week. This is a fact of 
the highest importance ; for it shows that the witnesses and 
guardians of the sacred text were not a few individuals, but the 
great body of believers, and that no systematic corruption of 
their contents could have taken place without their knowledge 
and consent, wdiich would never have been given. 

Intimately connected with the above is a second fact, that 
of the great multiplication of copies of the books of the New 
Testament, especially of the gospel narratives, since these con- 
tain the great facts that lie at the foundation of the Christian 
system. Every church Avould, as a matter of course, be anx- 
ious to possess a copy, and Christians who possessed the 
requisite means would furnish themselves with additional copies 
for their own private use. If, now, we suppose one or more of 
these, copies to have been essentially changed, the corruption 
would not, as in the case of a printed work, extend to many 
hundreds of copies. It would be confined to the manuscript or 
manuscripts into which it had been introduced and the copies 
made therefrom, while the numerous uncorrupt copies would 
remain as witnesses of the fraud ; for the supposition of a very 
early corruption during the apostolic age, before copies of the 
gospels had been to any considerable extent multiplied, is 
utterly absurd. 

A third fact is the high value attached by the primitive 
churches to the gospel narratives, and their consequent zeal for 
their uncorrupt preservation. No one will deny to them the 
qualities of earnestness and sincerity. To them the gospels 
were the record of their redemption through the blood of 
Christ. For the truths contained in them they steadfastly 
endured pers>3cution in every form, and death itself. Could we 
even suppose, contrary to evidence, that private transcribers 
altered at pleasure their copies of the gospels, it is certain that 
the churches w^ould never have allowed their public copies to 
be tampered with. The resistance which Marcion met with in 



EVIDENCES OE EEVEALED EELIGION. 65 

his attempt to alter the sacred text, shows how watchful was 
their jealousy for its uncorrupt preservation. 

A still further fact is the want of time for essential corrup- 
tions, like those now under consideration. That such corrup- 
tions could have taken place during the apostolic age, no one 
will maintain. Equally certain is it that they could not have 
happened during the age next succeeding, while many pres- 
byters and private Christians yet survived who had listened to 
the apostles, and knew the history of the gospels written by 
them or their companions. But this brings us down into the 
first part of the second century. 

Leaving oat of view the apostle John, wlio probably died near the close 
of the first century, and assuming the martyrdom of Peter and Paul to 
have taken place somewhere between a. d. 64 and 67, we may j)lace the 
beginning of the age now under consideration at a. d. 65. Of the numer- 
ous Christians who were then thirty years or less of age many must have 
survived till A. d. 110, and even later. Polycarp, a disciple of John, suffer- 
ed martyrdom a. d. 167, and doubtless many others of his hearers survived 
till the middle of the second century. The time, then, during which such a 
corruption as that now under consideration can be supposed to have taken 
place is so narrowed down that it amounts to well-nigh nothing ; and it is, 
moreover, the very time during which Justin Martyr wrote his Apologies, 
and Marcion made his unsuccessful attemjot to mutilate the gospel history. 

Finally, no evidence exists that the text of the gospel nar- 
ratives has been essentially corrupted. Of Marcion's abortive 
attempt we have abundant notices in the writings of the early 
fathers. Their silence in respect to other like attempts is con- 
' elusive proof that they were never made. Had we the auto- 
graphs of the evangelists, we should, with reason, attach to 
them a high value ; but there is no ground for supposing that 
their text would differ in any essential particular from that 
which we now possess. They would present to our view the 
same Saviour and the same gospel. 

5. What has been said respecting the uncorrupt preserva- 
tion of the gospel narratives applies essentially to the other 
books of the New Testament; so that iu the consideration of 
them the above arguments will not need to be repeated. 



(3G COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Authenticity and Credibility of the Gospel 
Narratives. 

1. The genuineness and uncorrupt preservation of our four 
canonical gospels Laving been established, the presumption in 
favor of their authenticity and credibility is exceedingly strong. 
In truth, few can be found who, admitting their apostolic origin 
in essentially their present form, will venture to deny that they 
contain an authentic and reliable record of facts. We may 
dismiss at once the modern theory which converts the gospels 
into myths — pure ideas embodied in allegorical narratives 
which have no historic foundation. Myths do not turn the 
world upside down, as did the preaching of Christ and his 
apostles. Myths do not inspire the souls of men and women 
by thousands and tens of thousands with heroic zeal and cour- 
age, enabling them steadfastly to endure persecution and death 
for the truth's sake. It was love towards a crucified and risen 
Saviour in deed and in truth, not towards the mythical idea of ' 
such a Saviour, that made the primitive Christians victorious 
alike over inward sinful affection and outward persecution. 
To every one who reads the gospel narratives in the exercise* 
of his sober judgment, it is manifest that they are intended to 
be plain unvarnished statements of facts. The question is. 
Are these statements reliable? Here new arguments can 
hardly be expected; the old are abundantly sufficient. Reserv- 
ing for another place those general arguments which apply to 
the gospel system as a whole, let us here briefly consider the 
character of the authors and their records ; of the events which 
they record with the surrounding circumstances; and espe- 
ciall}^ of Jesus, their great theme. 



EVIDENCES OF EEVEALED RELIGION. 67 

2. It is natural to ask, in the first place, Were these men 
sincere and truthful? Here we need not long clelay. Their 
sincerity, with that of their contemporaries who received their 
narratives as true, shines forth like the sun in the firmament. 
"With reference to them, the Saviour's argument applies in all 
its force: "How can Satan cast out Satan?" "If Satan rise 
up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath 
an end." The life-long work of the evangelists and their asso- 
ciates was to cast out of the world all fraud and falsehood. If 
now thej attempted to do this by the perpetration of a most 
astounding fraud, we have the case of Satan casting out Satan. 
But we need not argue the matter at length. By what they 
did and suffered in behalf of their doctrines, as well as by the 
artless simplicity of their narratives, they give full proof of 
their sincerity and truthfulness. 

3. We next inquire : Were they competent as men ? that is, 
were they men of sober judgment, able correctly to see and 
record the facts that came under their observation, and not 
visionary enthusiasts who mistook dreams for realities ? This 
question admits of a short and satisfactory answer. No proof 
whatever exists that they were visionary men, but abundant 
proof to the contrary. Their narratives are calm, unimpas- 
sioned, and straightforward, without expatiation on the great- 
ness of Christ's character and works and the wickedness of his 
enemies, as is the way of all exrited enthusiasts. What Paul 
said to Festus applies in its lull force to them and their wri- 
tings : " I am not mad, most noble Festus, but S]Deak forth the 
words of truth and soberness." If any one will condemn them 
as visionary, it must be on the sole ground that all belief in the 
supernatural is visionary — a position that will be noticed here- 
after. 

4. A further inquiry is. Were these men competent as ivit- 
nesses ? that is, had they the requisite means of knowing the 
facts which they record ? With regard to the apostles Matthew 
and John, this matter need not be argued. With regard to the 
other two, Luke states very fairly the position which they occu-. 



68 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

pied : " It seemed good to me also, having liad perfect under- 
standing of all tilings," ("having accurately traced out all 
things," as the original signifies,) "from the very beginning, to 
write to thee, in order," etc. Luke had in abundance the means 
of accurately tracing out all things relating to our Lord's life 
and works, for he was the companion of apostles and others 
who "from the beginning were eye-witnesses and ministers of 
the word;" and from them, according to his own statement, he 
drew his information. The same is true of Mark also. 

5. We come now to consider the cliaracter of the tvorks which 
they lecord, and the circumstances in which they were per- 
formed. Here it may be remarked in the outset that it is not 
necessary to examine in detail all the miracles recorded in 
the gospel history. Though they all proceeded alike from the 
direct agency of God, they are not all alike open to human 
inspection. If upon examination we find the supernatural ori- 
gin of many of them raised above all possibility of doubt, it is 
a legitimate inference that the rest of them had the same divine 
origin. Not to insist then upon the miracles ascribed to our 
Lord within the sphere of inanimate nature, such as the con- 
version of water into wine, the feeding of many thousands with 
a few loaves and fishes, and walking upon the sea, all of which 
were done in such circumstances that there is no room for 
questioning their reality, let us examine some that were per- 
formed upon the persons of men. Palsy, dropsy, withered 
limbs, blindness, the want of hearing and speech, leprosy, con- 
firmed lunacy — all these were as well known in their outward 
symptoms eighteen hundred years ago as they are to-day. Per- 
sons could not be affiicted with such maladies in a corner. The 
neighbors must have known then, as they do now, the particu- 
lars of such cases, and have been unexceptionable witnesses to 
their reality. Persons may feign blindness and other infirmi- 
ties among strangers, but no man can pass himself off as pal- 
sied, deaf and dumb, blind, (especially blind from birth,) halt, 
withered, in his own community. The reality of the maladies 
then is beyond all question ; and so is also the reality of their 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED RELIGION. 69 

instantaneous remoyal by the immediate power of the Saviour. 
Here we must not fail to take into account the immense num- 
ber of our Lord's miracles, their diversified character, and the 
fact that they were performed everywhere, as well without as 
with previous notice, and in the most open and public manner. 
Modern pretenders to miraculous power have a select circle of 
marvellous feats, the exhibition of which is restricted to partic- 
ular places. No one of them would venture to undertake the 
cur-e of a man born blind, or that had a withered limb, or that 
had been a paralytic for thirty-eight j^ears. But Jesus of Naz- 
areth went about the cities and villages of Judea for the space 
of three years, healing all manner of disease. With him there 
was no distinction of easy and difficult, since to Divine power 
nothing is hard. With the same w^ord he rebuked a raging 
fever, cleansed from leprosy, gave strength to the paralytic, 
healed the withered limb, gave sight to the blind, hearing to 
the deaf, and speech to the dumb, and raised the dead to life. 
The same voice that said to the man at Bethesda, "Eise, take 
up thy bed, and walk," said also to Lazarus, who had lain four 
days in the grave, " Come forth." 

6. It is with reason that we lay special stress upon the fact 
that Christ performed many of his greatest miracles in the 
presence of his enemies, who had both the means and the will 
to institute a searching investigation concerning them, and who 
w^ould have denied their reality had it been in their power to 
do so. Sad indeed is the record of the perverse opposition 
and calumny which our Lord encountered on the part of the 
Jewish rulers. But even this has a bright side. It shows us 
that the Saviour's miracles could endure the severest scruti- 
ny — that after every means which power and wealth and patron- 
age and official influence could command had been used for 
their disparagement, their divine origin still shone forth like 
the unclouded sun at noon-day. If any one doubts this, let 
him read attentively the ninth chapter of John's gospel, which 
records the investigation instituted by the Jewish rulers respect- 
ing the miracle of healing a man blind from his birth. In no 



70 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

modern court of justice was a question of fact ever subjected 
to a severer scrutiny. And the result was that they could not 
deny the miracle, but said in their blind hatred of the Redeem- 
er, "Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner." 
So when they could not deny that Jesus cast out devils, they 
alleged that he did it by the help of Satan ; when it was mani- 
fest that he had by a word healed a man that had lain tliirty- 
and-eight years a helpless paralytic, they blamed him for work- 
ing on the Sabbath-day ; when Lazarus had been called out of 
his grave in the joresence of all the people, they said, "What do 
we? for this man doeth many miracles." And then they con- 
sulted not to disprove these miracles, but to put both him and 
Lazarus to death. Thus, in the good providence of God, we 
have for the reality of our Lord's miracles the testimony of his 
enemies and persecutors. 

7. The resurrection of Jesus is the miracle of miracles, of 
which we may say with truth that it comprehends in itself all 
the other mighty works recorded in the gospel history. We 
cannot but notice the condescending care with which our Lord 
himself certified to his disciples its reality. When he had sud- 
denly appeared in the midst of them, " they were terrified and 
affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit." To con- 
vince them of the reality of his bodily presence, he said, "Be- 
hold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself : handle me and 
see ; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. 
And when he had thus spoken, he showed them his hands and 
his feet," that they might see in them the prints of the nails. 
Finding them still incredulous, " believing not for joy and won- 
dering," he added another conclusive proof that he was not 
a spirit, but a true man: he asked for meat; "and they gave 
him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb; and he 
took it, and did eat before them." Luke 24 : 36-43. To the 
unbelieving Thomas he offered the further proof which he had 
demanded : " Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands ; 
and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side ; and be 
not faithless, but believing." The certainty of this great event 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED RELIGION. 71 

the evangelist Luke sets forth in his introduction to the Acts 
of the Apostles: "To whom also," (to the apostles,) "he showed 
himself alive after his passion, by many infallible proofs, being 
seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining 
to the kingdom of God." The apostle Peter, in his address to 
Cornelius and his friends', says: "Him God raised up the third 
day, and showed him openly ; not to all the people, but unto 
witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and 
drink with him after he rose from the dead." Acts 10 : 40, 41. 
The apostle Paul, in his enumeration of our Lord's appearances 
to his disciples after his resurrection, 1 Cor. 5-8, mentions that 
on one occasion "he was seen of above five hundred brethren 
at once; of whom," he says, "the greater part remain unto 
this present, but some are fallen asleep." 

It was not the greatness of the miracle, considered simply 
by itself, but its relation to the gospel, that made our Lord's 
resurrection from the dead the central fact of the apostles' 
testimony. It was, so to speak, the hinge on which the whole 
work of redemption turned. Our Lord's expiatory death for 
the sins of the world and his resurrection from the dead were 
both alike parts of one indivisible whole. It was not his claim 
to be the promised Messiah alone that was involved in the fact 
of his resurrection. His completion, as the Messiah, of the 
work of man's redemption was also dependent on that great 
event. " If Christ be not risen," says the apostle, "then is our 
preaching vain, and your faith is also vain;" and again, "If 
Christ be not raised, ^-our faith is vain; ye are yet in your 
sins." 1 Cor. 15 : 14, 17. We need not w^onder then that the 
apostles, in their testimony to the people, insisted so earnestly 
on this one great fact in our Lord's history; for by it God 
sealed him as the Prince of life. 

8. The character of Jesus of Nazareth, as drawn by the four 
evangelists, is the highest possible proof of the authenticity 
and credibility of the gospel narratives. Of this it has been 
justly said, " The character is possible to be conceived, because 
it v/as actualized in a living example." (Nature and the Super- 



VA COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

natural, p. 324.) The inapproacliable excellence of Christ's 
character places it high above all human praise. The reverent 
mind shrinks instinctively from the idea of attempting to eulo- 
gize it, as from something profane and presumptuous. We do 
not eulogize the sun shining in his strength, but we put a screen 
over our eyes when we would look at- him, lest we should be 
blinded by the brightness of his beams. So must every man 
look at Jesus of Nazareth with reverence and awe, who has 
any true sense of what is great and excellent. What is now 
to be said of this character is not eulogy. It is part of an 
argument for the reality of the events recorded in the gospel 
history. Here it is important to notice not only the character 
itself, but the manner of the portraiture, and its power over the 
human heart. 

The character of Jesus is perfectly original. Nothing like 
it was ever conceived of by the loftiest minds of antiquity. 
Nothing like it has appeared since his day, in actual life, or 
even in the conceptions of the most gifted writers. As there 
is one sun in the firmament, so there is one Jesus Christ in the 
history of the world. His character has a human and a divine 
element; and these two interpenetrate each other, so as to 
constitute together one indivisible and glorious whole. Jesus 
could not be, even in idea, what he is as man, unless he were 
God also. And what he is as God, he is as God made flesh, 
and dwelling as man among men. It is the God-man which 
the gospel narratives present to us. If we consider the quali- 
ties which belong to our Saviour as man, we notice the union 
in full measure and just proportion of all those qualities which 
belong to perfect humanity. In the case of mere men, the 
abundant possession of one quality implies almost of necessity 
deficiency elsewhere, and consequently one-sidedness of char- 
acter. Not so in the case of Jesus. He has all the attributes 
of a perfect man in perfect fulness and in perfect harmony with 
each other. Let us reverently look at some particulars. 

His character unites the deepest tranquillity with the deep- 



EVIDENCES OE EEVEALED RELIGION. 73 

eai fervor of spirit. Our Lord's tranquillity shines forth through 
the whole course of his ministry, and manifests itself alike in 
great things and small. It is evident to all who read the nar- 
ratives of the evangelists that he performed his mighty works 
as one conscious that divine power belonged to him of right, 
and that the exercise of it, even in its highest forms, was noth- 
ing new nor strange. In connection with his greatest miracles 
he calmly gave directions, as if they had been ordinary occur- 
rences. When he had fed many thousands with a few loaves 
and fishes, he said, " Gather up the fragments that remain, 
that nothing be lost." When he had raised from the dead the 
daughter of Jairus, " he commanded that something should be 
given her to eat." When he had called out of the grave one 
who had lain there four days, he directed, "Loose him, and let 
him go." Even in Gethsemane, when oppressed with agony 
too great for human endurance, his self-possession remained as 
perfect as his submission to his Father's will. That his seren- 
ity never left him for a moment during the process of his arrest, 
trial, sentence, and lingering death on the cross, is a truth 
which shines forth from the sacred narrative as his own rai- 
ment did on the mount of transfiguration, " white and glister- 
ing." Any attempt to describe it would be but mockery. And 
yet this deep composure of spirit is not that of indifference or 
of a cold temperament. It is the composure of one in whose 
bosom burns a steady and intense flame of zeal for the glory of 
God and good will towards men, by which he is borne forward 
with untiring energy in the work committed to him from above. 
It is the composure of a spirit whose depth of emotion none 
can measure. 

We notice again the union in our Lord of perfect itisdom 
with perfect freedom from guile and double dealing. That his 
wisdom was never at fault, all must admit. He was surrounded 
by crafty adversaries, who contrived all manner of plans to 
entangle him in his talk. Yet in the twinkling of an eye he 
turned their wiles against themselves, and they found them- 
selves taken in their own net. Meanwhile he always pursued 

Coir.p to BtWe. 4 



74 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

the straightforward course of sincerity and truth. Not the 
slightest trace of deceit or cunning artifice appeared in his 
ministry from first to last. 

Closely alHed to the above-named qualities are prudence and 
boldness, both of which met in full measure in our Lord's char- 
acter. That he feared no man, and shrunk from no peril when 
it was his duty to encounter it, is too obvious to be insisted on. 
Yet he never needlessly encountered opposition and danger. 
He was never bold for the purpose of making a show of bold- 
ness. When the Jews sought to kill him, he "walked in Gah- 
lee" to avoid their enmity. When his brethren went up to the 
feast in Jerusalem, he would not go up with them, but after- 
wards went up, "not openly, but as it were in secret." When, 
at a later day, after the resurrection of Lazarus, the Jews 
sought his life, he " walked no more openly among the Jews ; 
but went thence into a country near to the wilderness, into a 
city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples." 
Not until the time had come that he should die for the sins of 
the world did he expose himself to the rage of his enemies; 
and then he went boldly into Jerusalem at the head of his dis- 
ciples. His own precept, "Be ye wise as serpents, and harm- 
less as doves," he perfectly exemplified throughout his ministry. 

We cannot but notice once more the union in our Lord's 
character of the greatest tenderness with unbending severity, 
whenever the cause of truth demanded severity. He opened 
his ministry at Nazareth by reading from the prophet Isaiah a 
portraiture of his own character : " The Spirit of the Lord God 
is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel 
to the poor ; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to 
preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to 
the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the 
acceptable year of the Lord." Isa. 61 : 1, 2. The execution of 
this mission required a tender and forbearing spirit, that would 
not break. the bruised reed, or quench the smoking flax; and 
such was the spirit of his whole ministry. For the penitent^ 
though publicans and sinners, he had only words of kindness. 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED RELIGION. 75 

Towards the infirmities and mistakes of his sincere disciples he 
was wonderfully forbearing. When a strife had arisen among 
the apostles which of them should be the greatest, instead of 
denouncing in severe terms their foolish ambition, he called to 
himself a little child and set him in the midst, and from him 
gave them a lesson on the duty of humility. Yet this tender 
and compassionate Jesus of Nazareth, who took little children 
in his arms and blessed them ; who stood and cried, " Come 
unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give 
you rest ;" and who wept at the grave of Lazarus — this same 
Jesus could say to Peter when he would deter Him from the 
path of duty, "Get thee behind me, Satan!" and could denounce 
in the presence of all the people the scribes and Pharisees who 
sat in Moses' seat. In truth, the most severe denunciations of 
hypocrisy and wickedness contained in the New Testament, 
and the most awful descriptions of the future punishment of 
the impenitent, fell from our Saviour's lips. . In his tenderness 
there was no element of weakness. 

Our Lord's perfect meekness and hiimility need no human 
comment. They shine forth with serene brightness through all 
his words and actions. He described himself as "meek and 
lowly in heart," and his life was a perpetual illustration of these 
qualities. " When he was reviled, he reviled not again ; when 
he suifered, he threatened not ; but committed himself to him 
that judgeth righteousty." But the point to be particularly 
noticed is the wonderful harmony of this meek and lowly mind 
with claims more lofty than were ever conceived of by any man 
before him — claims everywhere boldly asserted, and which, as 
we shall see hereafter, implied the possession of a divine nature. 
It is not that he claimed and exercised power over nature, or 
outward power over men, even power to raise the dead, that 
fills us with awe and amazement ; but that he went within the 
spirit, and offered inward life, light, strength, peace — in a word, 
life eternal — to all who would come to him; and that he assert- 
ed, in a way as decisive as it was calm, his absolute control 
over the everlasting? destinies of all men. W^hen we read the 



76 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

account of these superhuman claims, we have no feeling that 
they were incongruous or extravagant. On the contrary, they 
seem to us altogether legitimate and proper. And yet, as has 
been often remarked, were any other person to advance a tithe 
of these pretensions, he would be justly regarded as a mad- 
man. The only possible explanation is, that this meek and 
lowly Jesus made good his claim to be the Son of God by what 
he was and by what he did. 

Another quality very conspicuous in our Lord's character is 
his perfect elevation above this luorld. " Ye are from beneath," 
said he to the Jews ; " I am from above : ye are of this world ; I 
am not of this world." It was not in his origin alone, but in his 
spirit also, that he was from above. As he was from heaven, 
so was he heavenly in all his affections. His own precept to 
his disciples, " Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, 
but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven," was the law of 
his own life. He had no treasures here below but the souls 
of men ; and these are not earthly, but heavenly treasures. 
Satan plied him in vain with the offer of "all the kingdoms of 
the world, and the glory of them." In him " the lust of the 
flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life " could find 
no place for a single moment. He kept the world always and 
perfectly under his feet. Yet this perfect elevation above the 
world had in it no tinge of stoicism or asceticism. He made no 
war upon the genuine passions and affections of human nature, 
but simply subjected them all to his higher spiritual nature ; 
in other words, to the law of God. Except temporarily for 
meditation and prayer, he never withdrew himself, nor encour- 
aged his disciples to withdraw themselves from the cares and 
temptations of an active life, under the false idea of thus rising 
to a state of superhuman communion with God. He did not 
fast himself systematically, nor enjoin upon his disciples syste- 
matic fastings, but left fastings for special emergencies. In a 
word, he ate and drank like other men. His heavenly mind 
lay not in the renunciation of God's gifts, but in maintaining 
his affections constantly raised above the gifts themselves to 



EVIDENCES OE EEVEALED EELIGION. 77 

the divine Giver. It took on a human, and therefore an imita- 
ble form. 

And what shall we say of our Lord's spotless purity of heart 
and life? We cannot eulogize it, for it is above all human 
praise. But we can refresh the eyes of our understanding by 
gazing upon it, as upon a glorious sun, until we feel its vivify- 
ing and transforming power in our own souls. 

In contemplating the above qualities, it is of the highest 
importance to notice that, though they exist in such fulness and 
perfection, they are yet human, and therefore imitable. They 
are not the virtues of an angel in heaven, or of a king on the 
throne, or of a philosopher in his school, or of a monk in his 
cell ; but of a man moving among men in the sphere of common 
life, and filling out common life with all the duties appropriate 
to it. His example then is available for the imitation of the 
lowest not less than the highest. It offers itself to all classes 
of men as a model of all that is good in human nature. "We 
may boldly affirm that such a character as this could never 
have been conceived of, if it had not actually existed. 

If now we look at our Lord's character as a teacher, we find 
it equally original and wonderful. Writers on the gospel his- 
tory have with reason laid great stress on the fact that he 
stood high above the errors and prejudices, not only of his own 
age and nation, but of all ages and nations. He saw intui- 
tively and perfectly what God is, what man is, and what are 
man's relations to God and to his fellow-men ; and was there- 
fore able to establish a religion for men, as men, that needs no 
change for any age, or nation, or condition of life. He has 
sometimes been called a " Galilean peasant." The phrase 
sounds unpleasantly in the ears of those who adore him as 
their divine Lord and Master. Nevertheless it is in an impor- 
tant sense true. He was educated among the common people 
of Galilee, and had no special human training. It was an age 
of narrowness and formalism. The scribes and Pharisees, who 
sat in Moses' seat, had covered up the true meaning and spirit 



78 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

of tlie Old Testament beneath a mass of litiman traditions that 
substituted " mint, and anise^ and cummin " for " the weightier 
matters of the law." Yet in such an age Jesus came forth a 
perfect teacher of divine truth. He swept away at once the 
glosses of the Jewish doctors, unfolded to the people the true 
meaning of the law and the prophets as preparatory to his 
coming, and gave to the world a religion that meets the wants 
of all classes and conditions of men in all ages and nations. 
Considered as the good leaven which Christ cast into the lump 
of humanity, the gospel has continual progress. But consid- 
ered as the plan of salvation which he revealed, it cannot have 
progress, for it is perfect. It needs no amendment or change, 
that it may be adapted to our age or any other age. As air 
and water and light meet the wants of all men in all ages, so 
the gospel, when freed from human additions and received in 
its original purity, is all that fallen humanity needs. Here is a 
great fact to be explained. The only reasonable explanation 
is that given by the Saviour himself. When the Jews mar- 
velled at his teaching, saying, "How knoweth this man letters, 
having never learned ?" he answered, " My doctrine is not 
mine, but his that sent me." Such a religion as that described 
in the gospels could not have been conceived of unless it had 
actually existed ; and it could not have existed without God for 
its author. Gifted men may be in advance of their own age ; 
that is, they may see before others what is the next thing indi- 
cated by the present progress of society. But mere men do 
not rise at once above all the errors and prejudices by which 
they are surrounded into the region of pure light and trath. 
All the work that men do is imperfect, and needs emendation 
by those who come after them. A religion that remains from 
age to age as perfectly adapted to the wants of all men as it 
was at the beginning, must be from God, not from man. 

Our Saviour's manner of teaching was also as original as the 
teaching itself. He saw through the world of nature and mind 
at a glance, and it stood always ready at hand to furnish him 
with arguments and illustrations — arguments and illustrations 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED RELIGION. 79 

as simple and natural as they were profound^ and by means of 
which he unfolded the deepest truths in the plainest and most 
intelligible forms. Take, for example, the parables of the mus- 
tard-seed and the leaven. They contain within themselves the 
whole history of Christ's kingdom in its inward principle. They 
unfold views of its steady progress from age to age, as a growth 
from an inward vital force, on which the most philosophical 
minds especially love to dwell; and yet they are perfectly 
intelligible to the most unlettered man. To teach by parables, 
without any false analogies, and in a way that interested and 
instructed alike the learned and the ignorant, this was a won- 
derful characteristic of our Lord's ministry. In this respect no 
one of his apostles, not even the bosom disciple, attempted to 
imitate him. Yet in the great fact that his teaching was not 
for a select few, but for the masses of mankind, so that " the 
common people heard him gladly," all his servants can and 
ought to imitate him. 

Thus far we have considered mainly the human side of our 
Lord's character, though through it all his divinity shines forth. 
Let us now look more particularly at his divine mission and 
character. On the fact that his mission was from God we need 
not dwell. Nicodemus expressed the judgment of every candid 
mind when he said, " Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher 
come from God ; for no man can do these miracles that thou 
doest, except God be with him." If there is one truth which 
our Lord asserted more frequently than any other, it is that he 
came from God : " The works which the Father hath given me 
to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that 
the Father hath sent me." "If God were your Father, ye 
would love me : for I proceeded forth and came from God ; nei- 
ther came I of myself, but he sent me." 

But Jesus had not only a divine mission, but a divine ])er- 
son also ; and the manner in which he manifested his divinity 
is, if possible, more original than any thing else in his history, 
and bears in itself the impress of reality. A company of men 
who should attempt to give a portraiture of a divine being 



80 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

simply from their own conceptions would doubtless put into his 
lips many direct assertions of his deity, and make his life abound 
in stupendous miracles. But it is not in any such crude way 
that our Saviour's divinity manifests itself in the gospel narra- 
tives. It is true indeed that in the manner of his miracles he 
everywhere makes the impression that he performs them by 
virtue of a power' residing in himself; that while the commis- 
sion to do them comes from the Father, the power to do them 
belongs to his own ]person. In this respect the contrast is very 
sharp between his manner and that of the prophets before him 
and the apostles after him. In their case the power, as well as 
the commission, was wholly from God, as they were careful to 
teach the people : " In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, 
rise up and "walk." "Why look ye so earnestly on us, as 
though by our own power or holiness we had made this man 
to walk?" "His name, through faith in his name, hath made 
this man strong, whom ye see and know." "Eneas, Jesus 
Christ maketli thee whole." But not to dwell on this, let us 
look at some very remarkable ways in which our Saviour man- 
ifested his divine nature. 

He called God his Father in a peculiar and incommunicable 
sense. He never said, " Our Father," by which he would have 
classed himself with other men, but always, "My Father," 
showing that thus he stood alone in his relation to God. As 
the son has the same nature with the father, and when acting 
under his authority, the same prerogatives also ; so Jesus, as 
the Son of God, claimed the power and right to do whatever 
his Father did, and to receive the same honor as his Father: 
" My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." This the Jews 
rightly understood to be an. assertion of equality with the 
Father; for they "sought the more to kill him, because he not 
only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his 
own Father, (so the original reads,) making himself equal with 
God." To this the Saviour answered: " The Son can do noth- 
ing of himself" — acting in his own name, and without the con- 
currence of the Father's will — " but what he seeth the Father 



EVIDENCES OF EEVEALED RELIGION. 81 

do : for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son 
likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all 
things that himself doeth : and he will show him greater works 
than these, that ye may marvel. For as the Father raiseth tip 
the dead, and quickeneth them ; even so the Son quickeneth 
whom he will. For the Father jndgeth no man; but hath com- 
mitted all judgment unto the Son : that all men should honor 
the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not 
the Son, honoreth not the Father which hath sent him." John 
5 : 17-23. Here the Son, though acting under the Father's 
commission, claims equality with the Father; for without this 
he could neither share all the Father's counsels, nor do all the 
Father's works, nor receive from the Father authority to judge 
all men — an office which plainly implies omniscience — nor be 
entitled to the same honor as the Father. The point to be 
especially noticed in the present connection is the originality 
of the way in which our Lord here asserts his divine nature. 
We cannot for a moment suppose that such a way would have 
occurred to one who was writing from his own invention. The 
only possible explanation of the existence of such a passage in 
the gospel of John, (and the same is true of many other passa- 
ges,) is that it is a true record of what actually took place in 
our Lord's history. 

Again: our Lord represents himself as the source of licjlit 
and life to all mankind. To the Jews he said: "I am the light 
of the world : he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, 
but shall have the light of life." John 8 : 12. In comparison 
with what he here claims for himself, the outward work of 
opening men's bodily eyes dwindles into nothing. That was 
only the seal of his divine mission. But in these and other 
like words, he does, as it were, draw aside the veil of his 
humanity, and give us a glimpse of the glory of the Godhead 
that dwells within. So too he says, "I am the living bread 
which came down from heaven : if any man eat of this bread 
he shall live for ever; and the bread that I will give is my 
flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." John 6 : 51. 

4* 



82 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

The resurrection of Lazarus, stupendous as that miracle was, 
does not fill us with such awe and amazement as the mighty 
words which he uttered to Martha : " I am the resurrection and 
the life : he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet 
shall he live : and whosoever liveth, and believeth in me, shall 
never die," John 11 : 25, 26 ; for in these words he represents 
himself as being to the whole human family the author of all 
life, natural, spiritual, and eternal. He connects the particular 
act of giving life which he is about to perform with the final 
resurrection, when " all that are in the graves shall hear his 
voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto 
the resurrection of life ; and they that have done evil, unto the 
resurrection of damnation." John 5:28, 29. These utteran- 
ces, so calm, so lofty, so original, do not sound like the inven- 
tions of man. They wear a heavenly costume. When we read 
them, we feel that the only explanation of their existence in 
the gospel narrative is the fact that they were actually uttered 
by our Lord. 

And the same is true of another kindred class of passages, 
in which the Saviour asserts his inioard dominion over tJie human 
sioirit. Hear him, as he stands and proclaims : " Come unto 
me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you 
rest." Matt. 11:28. "Peace I leave with you; my peace I 
give unto you : not as the world giveth, give I unto you." 
John 14 : 27. The world gives peace at best outwardly, and 
often only in empty words ; but Jesus has direct access to the 
inmost fountains of feeling. He gives peace inwardly and efii- 
caciously. When he turned into songs of joy the tears of the 
widow of Nain by raising her son to life, that was a wonderful 
instance of his giving peace ; but far greater and more glorious 
is the work when, by his inward presence in the soul, he makes 
it victorious over all " the sufterings of this present time." This 
is what he meant when he said to his disciples : " These things 
have I spoken unto you that in me ye might have peace. Li the 
world ye shall have tribulation ; but be of good cheer : I have 
overcome the world." John 16 : 33. In his name, apostles 



EVIDENCES OF EEVEALED RELIGION. 83 

raised the dead to life ; but no apostle — no mere man — would 
have ventured to say, " In me ye shall have peace." 

These last words naturally lead to the consideration of 
another very peculiar form of speech first introduced by our 
Lord, and passing from him to the church ; that, of the 
mutual indivelling of himself and his disciples : "Abide in me, 
and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, ex- 
cept it abide in the vine ; no more can 3^e, except ye abide in 
me." John 15 : 1-7. It is a vital union of the believer's soul 
with Jesus, through which he receives from Jesus life and 
fruitfulness, as the branch from its union with the vine. Here 
is an assertion of deity. The Jews regarded Moses with the 
highest reverence ; but no one of them ever spoke of abiding 
in Moses, or having Moses abiding in himself. Had any Chris- 
tian disciple represented himself as dwelling in Peter or Paul, 
the apostle would have rent his clothes at the blasphemy of 
the words. 

Other peculiar ways in which our Lord manifested his deity 
could be specified, but the above will sufiice as examples. Let 
any candid man consider all these examples in their connec- 
tion, each of them so original and so majestic, so simple and 
natural, and j-et so far removed from anything that could have 
occurred to one sitting down to draw from his own imagination 
the picture of a divine person ; and he will be convinced that 
such a record as that contained in our four canonical gospels 
was possible only because it is a simple and truthful history of 
what Jesus of Nazareth was and did. Plain men can give a 
straightforward account of what they have seen or learned from 
eye-witnesses ; but it transcends the genius of any man to invent 
such narratives of such a character. The gospel narratives are 
marked throughout by artless simplicity. Each of the writers 
goes straightforward with his story, never thinking for a mo- 
ment of what his own genius is to accomplish, but intent only 
on exhibiting his Lord and Master as the Saviour of the world. 
The apostle John, in giving the design of his own gospel, gives 
(hat also of the other evangelists ; ''And many other signs 



84 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not 
written in this book. But these are written, that ye might 
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God ; and that be- 
lieving ye might have life through his name." John 20 : 30, 31. 

And because this glorious and divine person is a living real- 
ity, he possesses from age to age an undying power over the 
human heart. Love towards him is the mightiest principle on 
earth, both for doing and for suffering. It makes the soul of 
which it has taken full possession invincible. When Jesus of 
Nazareth is enthroned in the castle of the human heart, not all 
the powers of earth and hell can overcome it. See farther, 
chap. 12 : 8. 

9. Since, as we have seen, the gospel narratives are an 
authentic record of facts, it follows that in the person and life 
of Jesus of Nazareth we have a supernatural revelation from God 
in the fullest sense of the words. That his origin was both 
superhuman and supernatural, the gospels teach us in the most 
explicit terms. He says of himself: "I came forth from the 
Father, and am come into the world : again, I leave the world, 
and go unto the Father." John 16 : 28. "And now, O Father, 
glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had 
with thee before the world was." John 17:5. That the 
appearance on earth of One who dwelt with the Father in glory 
before the world was, and after the fulfilment of his mission 
returned to the Fathel' again, was supernatural, is self-evident. 
His person was, as has been shown, divine. He was God mani- 
fest in the flesh ; and wherever he went, his supernatural power 
displayed itself. The miraculous element is so interwoven into 
the very substance of the gospel history, that there is no possi- 
bility of setting it aside, except by rejecting the history itself. 
It is the fashion with a certain class of writers, after denying 
our Lord's divine nature and explaining away his supernatural 
works, to be profuse in their eulogies of his character. If they 
can first rid themselves of the obligation to believe on him and 
obey him as their divine Lord, they are willing to bestow upon 
him, as a man like themselves, the highest commendations 



EVIDENCES OF EEVEALED RELIGION. 85 

But the attempt is hopeless. What will they do with the fact 
of his resurrection from the dead — the most certain as well as 
the greatest miracle in his history, and which includes in itself 
all the rest ? Had Jesus not risen from the dead, as he so often 
affirmed that he should, then he would have been what the Jew- 
ish rulers called him — a deceiver, and no Saviour ; but since 
the miracle of his resurrection must be admitted by all who do 
not reject the whole gospel history as a fable, why deny the 
lesser miracles connected with his history? The assumption 
that miracles are impossible can only go with the denial of 
God's personality ; and this, by whatever name it is called, is 
atheism. If there is a personal God, who is before nature, 
above nature, and the author of nature in its inmost essence, 
he can manifest himself within the sphere of nature in a super- 
natural way, whenever he chooses to do so. If God who made 
us cares for us, and is indeed our Father in heaven, it is rea- 
sonable to suppose that he may reveal himself to us in super- 
natural forms, when the end is our deliverance from the bond- 
age of sin, and our preparation for an eternity of holiness and 
happiness. To deny this, would be to make nature the highest 
end of God — to put the world of God's intelligent creatures 
under nature, instead of making nature their servant and 
minister. 

10. The objections that have been urged against the gospel 
history are of two kinds. The first class relates to its doctrines, 
as, for example, that of demoniacal possessions, that of eternal 
punishment, etc. To enlarge on this subject would be out of 
place here. It is sufficient to say that the only reasonable rule 
is to argue from the certainty of the record to the truth of the 
doctrines in question. He who first assumes that a certain 
doctrine cannot be true, and then, on the ground of this 
assumption, sets aside a history sustained by overwhelming- 
evidence, exalts his own finite understanding to be the supreme 
rule of faith ; and to him an authoritative revelation becomes 
an impossibility. The second class of objections relates to 
alleged contradictions and inconsistencies between the different 



86 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

writers. The explanation and reconciliation of these is the 
work of the harmonist. We need not wait, however^ for the 
result of his labors, that we may rest confidently on the truth 
of the record. These apparent disagreements do not affect a 
single doctrine or duty of Christianity. They all relate to inci- 
dental matters, such as the time and order of the events record- 
ed, the accompanying circumstances, etc. Had we all the 
missing links of the evangelical history, we might reconcile all 
these differences ; but without them, it is not in all cases possi- 
ble. Nor is it necessary ; since, where different writers record 
the same transactions, substantial agreement, with diversity in 
respect to the details, is everywhere the characteristic of authen- 
tic history. 



EVIDENCES OE REVEALED RELIGION. 87 



CHAPTEK V. 

The ^cts of the ^^postles and the Acknowl- 
edged Epistles. 

1. The genuineness, uncorrupt preservation, and credibility 
of the gospel narratives having been shown to rest on a firm 
foundation, the principal part of our work is accomplished, so 
far as the New Testament is concerned. We are prepared 
beforehand to expect some record of the labors of the apostles, 
like that .contained in the Acts of the Apostles; and also dis- 
cussions and instructions relating to the doctrines and duties 
of Christianity, such as we find in the apostolic epistles. Our 
Saviour established his church only in its fundamental princi- 
ples and ordinances. The work of publishing his gospel and 
organizing churches among Jews and Gentiles he committed to 
his apostles. Before his crucifixion he taught them that the 
Holy Ghost could not come (that is, in his special and full influ- 
ences as the administrator of the new covenant) till after his 
departure to the Father : " It is expedient for you that I go 
away : for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto 
you ; but if I depart I will send him unto you." John 16 : 7. 
" When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you 
from the Father, even the S]3irit of truth which proceedeth from 
the Father, he shall testify of me. And ye also shall bear wit- 
ness, because ye have been with me from the beginning." John 
15 : 26, 27. Now we have, in the Acts of the Apostles, first an 
account of the fulfilment by the Saviour of his promise that he 
would send the Holy Ghost ; then a record how the apostles, 
thus qualified, obeyed the Saviour's command to preach the 
gospel to Jews and Gentiles — a record not, indeed, complete, 
but sufiicient to show the manner and spirit in which the work 



88 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

was performed. Some truths moreover, of the highest import- 
ance the Saviour gave only in outline, because the time for 
their full revelation had not yet come. John 16 : 12, 13. Such 
were especially the doctrine of his atoning sacrifice on Calvary 
with the connected doctrine of justification by faith ; and the 
divine purpose to abolish the Mosaic economy, and with it the 
distinction between Jews and Gentiles. We have, partly in the 
Acts and partly in the epistles, an account of the unfolding of 
these great truths by the apostles under the guidance of the 
Holy Spirit, and of the commotions and contentions that natu- 
rally accompanied this work. The practical application of the 
gospel to the manifold relations of life, domestic, social, and 
civil, with the solution of various difficult questions arising 
therefrom, was another work necessarily devolved on the apos- 
tles, and performed by them with divine wisdom for the instruc- 
tion of all coming ages. The book of Acts and the epistles 
ascribed to the apostles being such a natural sequel to the Re- 
deemer's work, as recorded by the four evangelists, a briefer 
statement of the evidence for their genuineness and authen- 
ticity will be sufficient. 

I. The Acts of the Apostles. 2. According to Chrysostom, 
First Homily on Acts, this book was not so abundantly read 
by the early Christians as the gospels. The explanation of this 
comparative neglect is found in the fact that'it is occupied with 
the doings of the apostles, not of the Lord himself. Passing by 
some uncertain allusions to the work in the writings of the 
apostolic fathers, the first explicit quotation from it is contained 
in the letter heretofore noticed, chap. 2 : 4, from the churches 
of Vienne and Lyons in Gaul, written about A. D. 177, in which 
they say: "Moreover they prayed, after the example of Ste- 
phen the perfect martyr, for those who inflicted upon them 
cruel torments, ' Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.' " Ire- 
naeus, in the last part of the second century, Tertullian in the 
last part of the same century and the beginning of the third, 
Clement of Alexandria about the end of the second century 
and onwards — all these bear explicit testimony to the book of 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED RELIGION. 89 

Acts, ascribing it to Luke as its autlior ; and from tlieir day 
onward, the notices of the work are abundant. We may add 
the concurrent testimony of the Muratorian canon and the 
Syriac version, called the Peshito, which belong to the last 
quarter of the second century, and the still earlier testimony of 
the Old Latin version. In a word, the book is placed by Euse- 
bius among those that were universally acknowledged by the 
churches. 

The rejection of the book by certain heretical sects, as the Ebionites, 
Marcionites, Manicliaeans, etc. , is of no weight, as their objections rested 
not on historical, but on doctrinal gxounds. As to the statement of Pho- 
tius that "some call Clement of Rome the author, some Barnabas, and 
some Luke the evangelist," it is to be remarked that he is giving not his 
own judgment, for he expressly ascribes it to Luke, but the arbitrary opin- 
ions of certain persons ; and these are contradicted by the obvious fact that 
the third gospel, which proceeded from the same hand as the Acts of 
the Apostles, was never ascribed to any other person than Luke. 

3. The internal testimony to Luke's authorship is decisive. 
The writer himself, in dedicating it to the same Theophilus. 
expressly identifies himself with the author of the third gospel : 
"The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that 
Jesus began both to do and to teach." Acts 1 : 1. Then there 
is a remarkable agreement in style and diction between the 
gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, as any one may 
learn who peruses them both together in the original Greek. 
Davidson, Introduction to the New Testament, vol. 2, p. 8, has 
collected forty-seven examples of "terms that occur in both, 
but nowhere else in the New Testament." Luke, m^oreover, as 
the travelling companion of Paul, had all needed facilities for 
composing such a work. With regard to the latter portion of 
the book, this is denied by none. His use of the first person 
plural, "we endeavored," "the Lord had called us," " we came," 
etc. — which first appears chap. 16 : 10, and continues, with cer- 
tain interruptions, through the remainder of the book — admits 
of but one natural and reasonable explanation, namely, that 
when he thus joins himself with the apostle he was actually 



90 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

in his company. As it respects the first part of the book, we 
notice that he visited Csesarea with Paul's company, and "tar- 
ried there many days," chap. ^1 : 8-10 ; afterwards he went up 
with him to Jerusalem, chap. 21 : 15. We find him again with 
Paul at Csesarea when he sets out for Eome. Chap. 27 : 1. 
Now at such centres as Jerusalem and Csesarea he must have 
had abundant opportunities to learn all the facts recorded in 
the present book which could not be gathered from Paul's own 
lips. 

4. For the credibility of this book we have, in general, the 
same arguments which apply to the gospel narratives, especially 
to the gospel of Luke. Its author is evidently a sincere and 
earnest man, who goes straightforward with his narrative ; and 
where he does not write as an eye-witness, he had, as we have 
seen, abundant means of ascertaining the truth concerning the 
facts which he records. His narrative is, moreover, corrobo- 
rated in a very special way, as will be shown hereafter — ^No. 8, 
below — by its many undesigned coincidences with the events 
alluded to in the epistles of Paul. To admit the credibility of 
the gospel of Luke and to deny that of this work would be 
altogether inconsistent. In truth, there is no ground for 
doubting the credibility of the Acts of the Apostles other than 
that which lies in the assumption that no record of miraculous 
events can be credible, and this is no ground at all. 

To some modern writers the narrative of the gift of tongues on the day 
of Pentecost has seemed to present an insuperable difficulty. Undoubtedly 
it is above our comprehension how a man should suddenly become pos- 
sessed of the ability to s]peak in a language before unknown to him ; but 
why should we doubt God's power to bestow such a gift ? Can any one 
suppose for a moment that when our Saviour met with a person deaf and 
dumb from birth, he had, for the first time, a case beyond his healing 
power ? The gospel narrative plainly indicates the contraiy. Mark 7 : 32-37, 
upon which passage see Meyer and Alford. 

The account of the sudden death of Ananias and Sapphira, chap. 5: 1-11, 
is not contrary to the spirit of the gospel. They died by the immediate act 
of God. His wisdom judged such an example of severity to be necessary 
in the beginning of the gospel, as a solemn warning against hypocrisy and 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED RELIGION. 91 

falsehood in his service. Though the gospel is a system of mercy, it takes, 
as all admit, a severe attitude towards those who reject it ; why not, then, 
towards those who make a hypocritical profession of it ? As Nadab and 
Abihu were consumed by fire from heaven at the beginning of the Mosaic 
economy, so the death of Ananias and his wife came early in the dispensa- 
tion of the Holy Ghost, as a testimony to all future ages of Christ's abhor- 
rence of hypocrisy, and consequently of the doom which hypocrites will 
receive from him at the last day. Matt. 7 : 21-23. 

The fact that Luke has omitted some events in the history of Paul, as, 
for example, his journey into Arabia, which occurred during the three 
years that intervened between his conversion and his first visit to Jerusa- 
lem, Acts 9 : 22-26 compared with Gal. 1 ; 15-18, is no argument against 
the credibility of his narrative. Difficulties that arise simply from a 
writer's brevity must not be allowed to set aside satisfactory evidence of 
his competency and truthfulness. The historical difficulties connected 
with Stephen's address do not concern Luke's credibility as a historian, 
and the discussion of them belongs to the commentator. 

5. The book of Acts closes with a notice that "Paul dwelt 
two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that 
came in unto him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teach- 
ing those tilings which concern the Lord Jesus, with all confi- 
dence, no man forbidding him." As it adds no notice of the 
issue of his imprisonment, or of what afterwards befell him, we 
naturally infer that the book was written at Home about this 
time, that is, about A. D. 63. 

II. The Acknoivledged E]vfifles. 6. It is well known that 
doubts existed, to a greater ur less extent, in the primitive 
churches before the fourth century, respecting the apostolic ori- 
gin and authority of certain books which now constitute a part 
of the New Testament canon. Hence the distinction made by 
Eusebius between the achioiuledged books, fhomologoumenaj 
that is, those that were universally received from the first, and 
the disputed books, (antilegomena,) books respecting which some 
entertained doubts. The acknoivledged books are, the four gos- 
pels, the Acts of the Apostles, the thirteen epistles of Paul 
which bear his name at the beginning, the first epistle of Peter, 
and the first epistle of John ; twenty in all. The disputed books 



92 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

are, tlie epistle to the Hebrews, tlie epistle of James, the second 
epistle of Peter, the second and third epistles of John, the epis- 
tle of Jude, and the book of Revelation ; seven in all. The gos- 
pels and the Acts have been already considered, and the dispu- 
ted books are reserved for the following "chapter. Some remarks 
will here be made on the fifteen acknowledged epistles. 

7. The epistles of Paul may be conveniently distributed into 
two groups, of which the second or smaller contains the three 
pastoral epistles, and the former or larger, the remaining ten. 
Of the apostolic origin of the larger group little needs to be 
said. They bear throughout the impress of genuineness and 
authenticity. No doubts were ever entertained concerning 
them in the ancient churches. There is, indeed, some ground 
for suspecting that a few ancient copies of the epistle to the 
Ephesians omitted the words at Eioliesus — more literally in 
Epliesus — chap. 1 : 1. But the genuineness of these words is 
sustained by an overwhelming w^eight of evidence, and that 
Paul was the author of the Epistle was never once doubted 
by the ancient churches. The arguments of some modern 
writers against its apostolic origin have no real w^eight, as will 
be shown hereafter in the introduction to the epistle. 

Respecting the apostolic authorship of the three pastoral 
epistles, two to Timothy and one to Titus, there was never any 
doubt in the ancient churches. They are supported by the 
testimony of the Peshito-Syriac version, of the Muratorian 
canon, also, (as appears from Jerome's letter to Marcella and 
the quotations of the church fathers before him,) of the Old 
Latin version; of Irenseus, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, 
and a multitude of later writers. There are also some allusions 
to these epistles in the apostolic fathers, which seem to be 
decisive. 

Such are the following : "Let us therefore approach to him in holiness 
of soul, lifting up to him holy and unpolluted hands." Clement of Rome, 
Eirst Epistle to the Corinthians, chap. 29. ' ' But the beginning of all mis- 
chief is the love of money. Knowing, therefore, that we brought nothing 
into the world neither have power to carry any thing out, let us arm ourselves 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED RELICilON. 93 

with tlie armor of righteousness." Polycarp, Epistle to the Philipi)ians, 
chap. 4. The student may see other supposed ahusions in Kirchhofer, 
Quellensammlung ; Lardner, 2:39; Davidson's Introduction, 3, p. 101 seq.; 
Alford's New Testament, Introduction to the Pastoral Epistles, etc. 

Eespecting the date of the pastoral epistles very different 
opinions are held. The whole discussion turns on the question 
whether they were written hefore or after Paul's imprisonment 
at Home, which is recorded in the last chapter of the Acts of 
the Apostles ; and this again is connected with the further ques- 
tion whether he underwent a second imprisonment at Home, 
concerning which learned men are not agreed. The full dis- 
cussion of this matter belongs to the introduction to the pas- 
toral epistles. It may be simply remarked, however, that the 
internal arguments in favor of a late date are very strong, and 
that its assumption accounts for the development of such a 
state of things at Ephesus as appears in the two pastoral epis- 
tles to Timothy — a state very different from that which existed 
when the epistle to the Ephesians was written, between a. d. 
60 and 64, and which makes it necessary to separate the first 
epistle to Timothy from that to the Ephesians by a considera- 
ble interval of time. 

The theme of the pastoral epistles is 2:)ecidiar. It is the 
affectionate counsel of an aged apostle to two young preachers 
and rulers in the church respecting the duties of their office. 
From the peculiarity of the subject-matter naturally arises, to 
some extent, a peculiarity in the diction of these epistles; yet 
the style and costume is throughout that of the apostle Paul. 

8. The testimony of the ancient church to the first epistle 
of Peter and the first of John is very ample. Besides that of 
the Peshito-Syriac version, and of the church fathers Irenseus, 
Tertullian, and Clement of Alexandria, they have in addition 
that of Papias and the apostolic father Polycarp. The first 
epistle of John is also included in the Muratorian canon. It 
scarcely needs, however, any external testimony. The identity 
of its author with that of the fourth gospel is so manifest from 
its whole tone and style, that it has been always conceded that 



94 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

if one of these writings came from the pen of the apostle John, 
the other did also. 

The testimony of Papias to these two epistles, though indirect, is con- 
chisive. Eusebius says, Hist. Eccl. 3. 39, "The same Papias lias em- 
ployed testimonies from the first epistle of John, and in like manner of 
Peter." Polycarp says. Epistle to the Philippians, oh. 7, "For every one 
who confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is anti- Christ,*' 
with evident reference to 1 John 4 : 3. Eusebius says also. Hist. Eccl. 
4. 14, that in the same epistle to the Philippians Polycarp "has emjjloyed 
certain testimonies from the first epistle of Peter ;" and when we examine 
the epistle we find several certain references to it, among which are the 
following : "In whom, though ye see him not, ye believe ; and believing, 
ye rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory." Chap. 1 compared 
with 1 Pet. 1 : 8. "Believing in him who raised up our Lord Jesus Christ 
from the dead, and gave him glory, and a seat at his right hand. " Chap. 
2 compared with 1 Pet. 1 : 21. 

9. The relation of the gospel history to the writings now 
tinder consideration — the book of Acts and the apostolic epis- 
tles — is of the most intimate and weighty character. The truth 
of the earlier narratives contained in the gospels implies the 
truth of these later works; for, as already remarked, they are 
the natural sequel of the events there recorded. On the other 
hand, the truth of these later writings implies the truth of the 
gospel history; for in that history they find their full explana- 
tion, and without it they are, and must ever remain, inexplica- 
ble. All the parts of the New Testament constitute one insep- 
arable whole, and they all shed light upon each other. Like a 
chain of fortresses in war, they mutually command each other. 
Unless the whole can be overthrown, no one j)art can be suc- 
cessfully assailed. But to overthrow the whole is beyond the 
power of man ; for God has guarded it on every side by impreg- 
nable bulwarks of evidence. 

10. A special argument for the triith of the Scripture history 
of the apostle Paul may be drawn from the numerous unde- 
signed coincidences between the events recorded in the book of 
Acts and those referred to in the epistles. This work has 
been accomplished with great ability and skill by Paley in his 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED RELIGION. 95 

Horae Paulinse, to which the reader is referred. The argument 
is very conclusive ; for when we consider the " particularity of 
St. Paul's epistles, the perpetual recurrence of names of per- 
sons and places, the frequent allusions to the incidents of his 
private life, and the circumstances of his condition and history, 
and the connection and parallelism of these with the same cir- 
cumstances in the Acts of the Apostles, so as to enable us, for 
the most part, to confront them one with another," we must 
be satisfied that the truth of the history can alone explain 
such a multitude of coincidences, many of them of a minute 
character, and all of them manifestly undesigned. 



96 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 



CHAPTEE VI. 

Thr Disputed Books. 

The grounds on whicli each of the disputed books — Antile- 
gomena, chap. 5, No. 6 — is received into the canon of the New 
Testament, will be considered in the introduction to these 
books. In the present chapter some general suggestions will 
be made which apply to them as a whole. 

1. This is not a question concerning the truth of Christian- 
ity, but concerning the extent of the canon; a distinction which 
is of the highest importance. Some persons, when they learn 
that doubts existed in the early churches, to a greater or less 
extent, respecting certain books of the New Testament, are 
troubled in mind, as if a shade of uncertainty were thereby 
cast over the whole collection of books. But this is a very 
erroneous view of the matter. The books of the New Testa- 
ment, like those of the Old, were written one after another, as 
occasion required ; and the churches received each of them 
separately on the evidence they had of its apostolic origin and 
authority. At length collections of these books, that is, canons, 
began to be formed. Such collections translators would of 
necessity make, unless they found them ready at hand. The 
earliest canons of which we have any knowledge are contained 
in the old Latin version, the Sj-riac version called Peshito, 
and the Muratorian canon ; each of which represented the pre- 
vailing judgment of the churches in the region where it was 
formed. As this judgment differed in the different provinces 
of Christendom in respect to the books in question, so also do 
these canons. The Peshito contains the epistle to the Hebrews 
and that of James, but omits the other five books. The Mura- 
torian canon omits the epistle to the Hebrews, the epistle of 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED RELIGION. 97 

James, and the second epistle of Peter ; but contains tlie epis- 
tle of Jude, the book of Revelation, and apparently also the 
second and third of John, though in respect to them its lan- 
guage is obscure and of doubtful interpretation. The old Latin 
version, so far as we can judge from the quotations of the 
church fathers, agreed in general with the Muratorian canon. 
It contained, however, the epistle of James, (Codex Corbeien- 
sis,^,) and that to the Hebrews ; and if, as has been supposed, 
this latter was a later addition, it was yet earlier than the time 
of TertuUian. See Westcott on the Canon, pp. 282, 283. Now 
this diversity of judgment with regard to particular books does 
not affect in the least the remaining books of the New Testa- 
tament, which are sustained by the authority of all the above- 
named witnesses, as well as by the undivided testimony of the 
ancient churches. Did the New Testament claim to be the 
work of a single ^autJior, the case would be different. "We should 
then have but one witness ; and if certain parts of his testimony 
could be successfully assailed, this would throw a measure of 
suspicion on the whole. But now we have in the separate 
books of the New Testament a large number of witnesses, most 
of whom are entirely independent of each other. Doubts 
respecting the testimony of one do not affect that of another. 
We receive the seven books in question as a part of God's rev- 
elation on grounds which we judge adequate, as will be shown 
in the introductions to the several books. But if any one feels 
under the necessity of suspending his judgment with respect 
to one or more of these books, let him follow the teachings of 
the other books, which are above all doubt. He will find in 
them all the truth essential. to the salvation of his soul ; and he 
will then be in a position calmly to investigate the evidence for 
the canonical authority of the so-called disputed books. 

2. The diversity of judgment which prevailed in the early 
churches in respect to certain books of the New Testament, is 
in harmony with all that we know of their character and spirit. 
It was an age of free inquiry. General councils were not then 
known, nor was there any central power to impose its decisions 

Conip. to Bible. FL 



98 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

on all the churches. In the essential doctrines of the gospel 
there was everywhere an agreement, especially in receiving the 
writings acknowledged to be apostolic, as the supreme rule of 
faith and practice. But this did not exclude differences on 
minor points in the different provinces of Christendom; and 
<[\dth respect to these the churches of each particular region 
were tenacious then, as they have been in all ages since, of 
their peculiar opinions and practices. It is well known, for 
example, that the churches of Asia Minor differed from those 
of Eome in the last half of the second century respecting the 
day on which the Christian festival of the Passover, with the 
communion service connected with it, should be celebrated; 
the former placing it on the fourteenth of the month Nisan, the 
latter on the anniversary of the resurrection Sunday. Nor 
could the conference between Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna in 
Asia Minor, and Anicetus, bishop of Eome, about A. D. 162, 
avail to change the usage of either party, though it did not at 
that time break the bond of brotherhood between them. We 
need not be surprised therefore to find a like diversity in differ- 
ent regions respecting certain books of the New Testament. 
The unanimous belief of the Eastern and Alexandrine churches 
ascribed to Paul the authorship of the epistle to the Hebrews; 
but in the Western churches its Pauline authorship was not 
generally admitted till the fourth century. The Apocalypse, 
on the contrary, found most favor with the Western or Latin 
churches. It has in its favor the testimony of the Muratorian 
canon, which is of Latin origin, and also — as appears from the 
citations contained in the commentaries of Primasius — that of 
the old Latin version. Other examples see above. No. 1. 

3. Although we cannot account for the universal and undis- 
puted reception of the acknowledged books by all the churches, 
except on the assumption of their genuineness, the non-recep- 
tion of a given book by some of the early churches is no con- 
clusive argument against its apostolic origin. From the influ- 
ence of circumstances unknown to us, it may have remained 
for a considerable period of time in comparative obscurity, 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED EELIGION. 99 

We have" good ground for believing that some apostolic wri- 
tings are utterly lost. To deny the possibility of this would 
be to prejudge the wdsdom of God. As the apostles delivered 
many inspired discourses which it did not please the Holy 
Ghost to have recorded, so they may have written letters which 
he did not judge needful to make the sacred volume complete. 
The question is one of fact, not of theory. The most obvious 
interj)retation of 1 Cor. 5 : 9 and Col. 4 : 16 is that Paul refers in 
each case to an epistle which has not come down to us. And 
if an inspired epistle might be lost, much more might the 
knowledge and use of it be restricted for a time to a narrow 
circle of churches. When such an epistle — for example, the 
second of Peter — began to be more extensively known, the gen- 
eral reception and use of it would be a slow process, not only 
from the difficulty of communication in ancient as compared 
with modern times, but also from the slowness with which the 
churches of one region received any thing new from those of 
other regions. 

Then again, if a book were known, there might be in some 
regions hesitancy in respect to receiving it, from doubts in 
regard to its author, as in the case of the epistle to the Hebrews 
and the Apocalypse; or from the peculiarity of its contents 
also, as in the case of the latter book. In the influence of 
causes like the above named, we find a reasonable explanation 
of the fact that some books, which the mature judgment of the 
churches received into the canon of the New Testament, did 
not find at first a universal reception. 

4. In the caution and hesitation of the early churches with 
respect to the books in question, we have satisfactory evidence 
that, in settling the canon of the New Testament, they acted 
with great deliberation and conscientiousness, their rule being 
that no book should be received whose apostolic origin could 
not be established on solid grounds. Did the early history of 
the Christian church present no such phenomenon as that of 
the distinction between acknowledged and disputed books, wo 
might naturally infer that all books that professed to have ema- 



100 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

Bated from the apostles, or to have had their sanction, were 
received without discrimination. But now the mature and final 
judgment of the churches is entitled to great consideration. 
This judgment, let it be remembered, was not affirmative only, 
but also negative. While it admitted to the canon the seven 
books now under consideration, it excluded others which w^ere 
highly valued and publicly read in many of the churches. On 
this ground it is entitled to still higher regard. It is not, how- 
ever, of binding authority, for it is not the decision of inspired 
men. We have a right to go behind it, and to examine the 
facts on which it is based, so far as they can be ascertained 
from existing documents. But this work belongs to the intro- 
duction to the several books. 

Three books alone "obtained a partial ecclesiastical currency, through 
which they were not clearly separated at first from the disj^uted writings 
of th4 New Testament." Westcott on the Canon, Appendix B, -p. 550. 
This was on the ground that they were written, or supposed to be written, 
by the immediate successors of the apostles. The oldest known codex of 
the Bible is the Sinaitic, discovered at mount Sinai by Tischendorf in 1859, 
and which belongs to the fourth century. This contains the whole of the 
epistle of Barnabas, and the first part of the work called the Shepherd of 
Hermas. The Alexandrine codex, belonging to the fifth century, has 
appended to it the first epistle of Clement of Home to the Corinthians, the 
genuineness of which is admitted, and also a portion of the second or 
apocryphal epistle, the remainder of it being lost. The explanation is, 
that these three books were read in some at least of the churches when 
these codices were formed. But they never obtained any permanent 
authority as canonical writings, and were excluded from the New Testa- 
ment "by every council of the churches, catholic or schismatic." Tertul- 
lian, as quoted by Westcott, p. 551. 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED RELIGION. 101 



CHAPTEE VII. 

Inspiration and the Canon, 

By the word iiisijiration, when used in a theological sense, 
we understand such an illumination and guidance of the Holy 
Spirit as raises a speaker or writer above error, and thus gives 
to his teachings a divine authority. If we attempt to investi- 
gate the interior nature of this superhuman influence, its differ- 
ent degrees and modes of operation, and the relation which 
the human mind holds to the divine in the case of those who 
receive it, we find ourselves involved in many difficulties, some 
of which at least are to our finite minds insuperable. But if 
we look at it from a practical point of view, restricting our 
inquiries to the end proposed by God in inspiration, which is to 
furnish his church with an infallible and sufficient rule of faith 
and practice, we find no difficulty in understanding the subject 
so far as our duty and welfare are concerned. From such a 
practical position the question of inspiration will now be dis- 
cussed; and the inquiry will be, at present, restricted to the 
writings of the New Testament. In connection with this dis- 
cussion will also be considered the subject of the canon, not in 
its particular extent, but in the principle upon which it is formed. 

1. It is necessary, first of all, to find a sure rule by which 
we can try the claims of a given book to be inspired, and con- 
sequently to be admitted into the canon of the New Testament. 
It cannot be simply the writer's own declaration. It will bo 
shown hereafter that, in connection with other evidence, his 
testimony concerning himself is of the highest importance. 
But the point now is, that no man's inspiration is to be acknowl- 
edged simply on his own word. Nor can we decide simply 



102 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

from the contents of tlie book. Yeiy important indeed is the 
question concerning the contents of any book Avhich claims to 
be a revelation from God. Yet we cannot take the naked 
ground that a given book is inspired because its contents are 
of a given character. This would be virtually to set up our 
own reason as the supreme arbiter of divine truth, which is the 
very position of rationalism. Nor can we receive a book as 
inspired on the so-called authority of the church, whether this 
mean the authority of a man who claims to be its infallible 
head, or the authority of a general council of the churches. 
Admitting for a moment the Komish doctrine of the infallibil- 
ity of the church, we could know this infallibility not from the 
declaration of any man or body of men in the church, but 
from Scripture alone. But this is assuming at the outset the 
infallibility of Scripture, and therefore its insi^iration, which is 
the very point at issue. Looking at the question on all sides, 
we shall find for a given book of the New Testament no valid 
test of the writer's inspiration except ids relation to the Lord 
Jesus Christ. This presupposes our Lord's divine mission and 
character, and his supreme authority in the church. It is 
necessary therefore to begin with the great central fact of the 
gospel, that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God, and that 
through him God has made to men a revelation of his own 
character and will for their salvation. This fact is to be first 
established according to the ordinary rules of human evidence, 
as has been attempted in the preceding chapters. After that 
we come naturally to the inspiration of the record, and can 
establish it also on a sure foundation. 

2. The great fundamental truth that Jesus is the Son of 
God, who dwelt from eternity with the Father, knew all his 
counsels, and was sent by him to this fallen world on a mission 
of love and mercy, being established on an immovable founda- 
tion, we have a sure point of departure from which to proceed 
in our inquiries respecting inspiration. It becomes at once a 
self-evident proposition — the great axiom of Christianity, we 
may call itT-that the teaching of Jesus Christ, when lie was on 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED EELIGION. 103 

earth, was truth unmixed with error. This he himself asserted 
in the most explicit terms : " The Father loveth the Sou, and 
showeth him all things that himself doeth." John 5 : 20. "I 
am the light of the world : he that followeth me shall not walk 
in darkness, but shall have the light of life." John 8 : 12. " He 
that sent me is true ; and I speak to the world those things 
which I have heard of him." John 8 : 26. "I have not spoken 
of myself ; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a com- 
mandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And 
I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I 
speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak." 
John 12 : 49, 50. Proceeding then from the position of our Lord's 
infallibility, let us inquire whether any of his disciples, and if 
so, who among them, were divinely qualified to teach, and con- 
sequently to record, without error, the facts and doctrines of 
his gospel. There are but two grades of relationship to Christ 
with which we can connect such a high endowment : that of 
apostles, and that of their companions and fellow-laborers. Let 
us consider each of these in order. 

3. Early in our Lord's ministry he chose tivelve apostles, 
" that they should be with him, and that he might send them 
forth to preach, and to have j^ower to heal sicknesses, and to 
cast out devils." Mark 3 : 14, 15. In this brief notice we have 
all the distinguishing marks of an apostle. He was chosen 
that he might be with Christ from the beginning, and thus be 
to the people an eye-witness of his whole public life. When an 
apostle was to be chosen in the place of Judas, Peter laid par- 
ticular stress on this qualification : " Wherefore of these men 
which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus 
went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, 
unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be 
ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection." Acts 
1 : 21, 22. In the case of Paul alone was this condition of 
apostleship wanting ; and this want was made up to him by the 
special revelation of Jesus Christ. Gal. 1 : 11, 12. An apos- 
tle, again, was one who received his commission to preach 



104 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

immediately from the Saviour, a qualification wliich Paul stren- 
uously asserted in his own behalf: "Paul an apostle, not of 
men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, 
who raised him from the dead." Gal. 1 : 1. An apostle, once 
more, was one who received directly from Christ the power of 
working miracles. This was the seal of his apostleship before 
the world. In the three particulars that have been named the 
apostles held to Christ the nearest possible relation, and were 
by this relation distinguished from all other men. Have we 
evidence that they were divinely qualified, through the indwell- 
ing of the Holy Spirit, to preach and record the facts and doc- 
trines of the gospel without error ? 

That they must have been thus qualified, we have, in the 
first place, a strong presumption from the necessity of the case. 
Though our Lord finished the work w^hich the Father gave him 
to do on earth, he did not finish the revelation of his gospel. 
On the contrary, he said to his disciples just before his cruci- 
fixion, " I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot 
bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth is come, 
he will guide you into all truth." John 16 : 12, 13. Let us look 
at some of these things which were reserved for future revela- 
tion. The purely spiritual nature of Christ's kingdom was not 
understood by the apostles till after the day of Pentecost, for 
we find them asking, just before his ascension, "Lord, wilt thou 
at this time restore the kingdom to Israel ?" a question which 
he did not answer, but referred them to the promised gift of 
the Holy Spirit. Acts 1 : 6-8. Another of the things which 
they could not bear was the abolition, through Christ's propi- 
tiatory sacrifice, of the Mosaic law, and with it, of the middle 
wall of partition between Jews and Gentiles. This great truth 
was reserved to be revealed practically in the progress of the 
gospel, as recorded in the book of Acts, and doctrinally in tho 
epistles of Paul. Then what a rich unfolding we have in tho 
apostolic epistles of the meaning of our Lord's death on Cal- 
vary, and in connection with this, of the doctrine of justifica- 
tion by faith — faith not simply in Christ, but in Christ crucified. 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED RELIGION. 105 

Faith in Christ's person the disciples had before his death; 
but faith in him as crucified for the sins of the world they could 
not have till after his resurrection and exaltation to the right 
hand of God. The abovenamed truths — not to specify others, 
as, for example, what Paul says of the resurrection, 1 Cor., ch. 
15 ; 1 Thess. 4 : 13-18 — enter into the very substance of the 
gospel. They are, in fact, integral parts of it. Can we sup- 
pose that our Lord began the revelation of his gospel by his 
own infallible wisdom, and then left it to be completed by the 
fallible wisdom of men ? If Augustine and Jerome in the lat- 
ter period of the Koman empire, if Anselm and Bernard in the 
middle ages, if Luther and Calvin at the era of the Eeforma- 
tion, if V^esley and Edwards in later da3^s, commit errors, the 
mischief is comparatively small ; for, upon the supposition that 
the apostles were qualified by the Holy Ghost to teach and 
write without error, we have in their'writings an infallible stand- 
ard by which to try the doctrines of later uninspired men. But 
if the apostles whom Christ himself appointed to finish the 
revelation which he had begun, and whom he endowed with 
miraculous powers, as the seal of their commission, had been 
left without a sure guarantee against error, then there would 
be no standard of truth to which the church in later ages could 
appeal. No man who believes that Jesus is the Son of God, 
and that he came into the world to make to men a perfect rev- 
elation of the way of life, can admit such an absurd suppo- 
sition. 

In the second place, we have Christ's express promises to his 
apostles that they should be divinely qualified for their work 
through the gift of the Holy Ghost : " But when they deliver 
you up, take no thought" — be not solicitous, as the original 
signifies — "how or what ye shall speak, for it shall be given 
3'ou in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not yo 
that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in 
you.'* Matt. 10 : 19, 20. " But when they shall lead you, and 
deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, 
neither do ye premeditate : but whatsoever shall be given you 



106 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

in that hour, that speak ye : for it is not ye that speak, but the 
Holy Ghost." Mark 13 : 11. "And when they bring you unto 
the synagogues, and unto magistrates,' and powers, take ye no 
thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall 
say : for the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what 
ye ought to say." Luke 12 : 11, 12. '' Settle it therefore in 
your hearts not to meditate before what ye shall answer : for I 
will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries 
shall not be able to gainsay nor resist." Luke 21 : 14, 15. The 
above promises are perfectly explicit ; and although they refer 
primarily to a particular emergency, in which the apostles 
•vould especially feel their need of divine guidance, they cover, 
in their spirit, all other emergencies. We cannot read them 
without the conviction that they contain the promise to the 
apostles of all needed help and guidance in the work commit- 
ted to them. If they were divinely qualified to defend the gos- 
pel before their adversaries without error — "I will give you a 
mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able 
to gainsay nor resist" — so were they also to record the facts of 
the gospel, and to unfold in their epistles its doctrines. 

The promises recorded in the gospel of John are more gen- 
eral and comprehensive in their character. It will be sufficient 
to adduce two of them : " These things have I spoken unto you 
being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the 
Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall 
teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, 
whatsoever I have said unto you." John 14 : 25, 26. "I have 
yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them 
now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will 
guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but 
whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak : and he will show 
you things to come. He shall glorify me : for he shall receive 
of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the 
Father hath are mine: therefore said I that he shall take of 
mine, and shall show it unto you." John 16:12-15. In the 
former of these passages the special promise is that the Holy 



EVIDENCES OF KEVEALED RELIGION. 107 

Spirit shall bring to the remembrance of the apostles and 
unfold to their understanding all Christ's personal teachings; 
so that they shall thus have a fuller apprehension of their 
meaning than they could while he was yet with them. The 
second promise is introduced with the declaration that the 
Saviour has yet many things to say to his apostles which they 
cannot now bear. Of course these things are reserved for the 
ministration of the Spirit, as he immediately proceeds to show : 
*' When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into 
all truth." The Spirit shall glorify Christ; for he shall take of 
the things which are Christ's, and reveal them to the apostles. 
And what are the things which are Christ's? "All that the 
Father hath;" for the Father has given all things into the 
hands of the Son. John 13 : 3. Among these " all things " 
are included all the Father's counsels pertaining to the way of 
salvation through the Son. These are given to the Son; and 
the Holy Ghost shall take of them and reveal to the church, 
through the apostles, as much as it is needful for the church 
to know. In these remarkable words we have at once a proof 
of our Lord's deity, and a sure guarantee to the apostles of 
supernatural illumination and guidance in the work committed 
to them — all the illumination and guidance which they needed, 
that they might be qualified to finish without error the revela- 
tion of the gospel which Christ had begun. 



The question is often asked : Were these promises given to the apostles 
alone, or through them to the church at large ? The answer is at hand. 
They were given primarily and in a special sense to the apostles ; for they 
had reference to a special work committed to them, which required for its 
performance special divine illumination and guidance. They were also 
given, in an important sense, to the church at large ; since all behevers 
enjoy, through the teaching of the apostles, the benefit of these revelations 
of the Holy Spirit. They are not, however, made to all believers person- 
ally ; but were given, once for all, through the apostles to the churcJi, 
The gift of the Holy Spirit is indeed made to all believers personally ; 
through liis enlightening and sanctifying power they have all needed help 
and guidance. But they are not called, as were the apostles, to lay the 
foundations of the Christian faith, and have therefor^ no promise of new 



108 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

revelations from the Spirit or of elevation above all error, any more than 
they have of miraculous gifts. 

We are now prepared to consider, in the third place, the 
claims which the apostles themselves made to speak and write 
with divine authority. Although their simple word as men 
could avail nothing, yet this same word, taken in connection 
with their known relation to Christ, with the work committed 
to them, and with the jjromises made to them, is of the most 
weighty import. It was not indeed their custom to assert gra- 
tuitously their superhuman guidance and authority. Yet when 
occasions arose, from the nature of the subject under discus- 
sion, or from the opposition of false teachers, they did so in 
unambiguous terms. Thus the apostle Paul, writing to the 
"Corinthians, says, " Now we have received not the spirit of the 
world, but the Spirit which is of God ; that we might know the 
things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also 
we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but 
which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things 
with spiritual," 1 Cor. 2 : 12, 13 : and writing to the Thessalo- 
nians concerning the resurrection, " For this we say unto you 
by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain 
unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are 
asleep," etc. 1 Thess. 4 : 15. And again, in writing to the 
Galatians, among whom his apostolic standing had been called 
in question by certain Judaizing teachers, he says, "I certify 
you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is 
not after man: for I neither received it of man, neither was I 
taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." Gal. 1 : 11, 
12. This language is explicit enough. It could have been 
used only by one who was conscious of having been divinely 
qualified to teach the gospel without error. Accordingly, in 
the same epistle, he opposes his apostolic authority to these 
false teachers : " Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be 
circumcised Christ shall profit you nothing." Gal. 5 : 2. In 
the memorable letter of the apostles and elders to the Gentile 
churches, Acts 15 : 23-29, they say, " It seemed good to the 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED RELIGION. 109 

Holy Ghost and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than 
these necessary things." " To the Holy Ghost and to us" can 
mean only, to us under the guidance of the Holy Ghost. Be- 
sides such explicit assertions as the above, there is a tone of 
authority running through the apostolic writings which can be 
explained only from their claim to speak with divine authority. 
They assert the weightiest truths and make the weightest rev- 
elations concerning the future, as men who know that they 
have a right to be implicitly believed and obeyed. AVhat 
majesty of authority, for example, shines through Paul's dis- 
cussion of the doctrine of the resurrection, 1 Cor., ch. 15, where 
he announces truths that lie wholly beyond the ken of human 
reason. " Behold," says he, " I show you a mystery ; we shall 
not all sleep, but we shall all be changed," as one who has per- 
fect assurance that he speaks from God. The same tone of 
certainty runs through all the remarks which the apostle John 
interweaves into his gospel, as well as through his epistles, and 
through the other apostolic writings. 

To sum up in a single sentence what has been said respect- 
ing the apostles : When we consider the strong presumption, 
arising from the necessity of the case, that they must have 
been divinely qualified to teach and write without error, the 
explicit promises of Christ that they should be thus qualified, 
and their explicit claims under these promises, we have full 
evidence that they wrote, as well as spoke, under the inspira- 
tion of the Holy Ghost, and consequently that their writings 
are of divine authority. 

4. In the second grade of relationship to Christ stand men 
who, like Mark and Luke, were not themselves apostles, but 
were the companions of apostles^ and their associates in the 
work of preaching the gospel. We are not authorized to place 
tliem in the same rank with the apostles. Yet they had the 
gift of the Holy Spirit, which was always given in connection 
with ordination at the hands of the apostles. If, in addition 
to this, their connection with some of the apostles was of such 
an intimate nature that we cannot suppose them to have writ- 



110 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

ten without their knowledge and approbation, we have for their 
writings all the apostolic authority that is needed. The inti- 
mate relation of Luke to the apostle Paul has been already suf- 
ficiently shown. We have good ground for believing that he 
was with him when he wrote both the gospel and the book of 
Acts. The intimate connection of Mark with the apostle Peter 
is shown by the unanimous testimony of the primitive churches, 
and is confirmed, moreover, by an examination of the peculi- 
arities of his gospel. In entire harmony with the position of 
these two evangelists is the character of their writings. They 
never assume the office of independent teachers, but restrict 
themselves to a careful record of the works and words of Christ 
and his apostles. 

5. A final argument for the inspiration of the books of the 
New Testament, whether written by apostles or their compan- 
ions, may be drawn from their general character, as contrasted 
with that of the writings which remain to us from the age next 
succeeding that of the apostles. The more one studies the two 
classes of writings in connection, the deeper will be his con- 
viction of the distance by which they are separated from each 
other. The descent from the majesty and power of the apos- 
tolic writings to the best of those which belong to the following 
age is sudden and very great. Only by a slow process did 
Christian literature afterwards rise to a higher position through 
the leavening influence of the gospel upon Christian society, 
and especially upon Christian education. The contrast now 
under consideration is particularly important in our judgment 
of those books which, like the second epistle of Peter, are sus- 
tained by a less amount of external evidence. Though we 
cannot decide on the inspiration of a book simply from the 
character of its contents, we may be helped in our judgment by 
comparing these, on the one hand, with writings acknowledged 
to be apostolic, and on the other, with writings which we know 
to be of the following age. ' 

6. The inspiration of the sacred writers was plenanj in tho 
sense that they received from the Holy Spirit all the illumina- 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED RELIGION. Ill 

tion and guidance which they needed to preserve them from 
error in the work committed to them. With regard to the 
degree and mode of this influence in the case of different books, 
it is not necessary to raise any abstract questions. That Paul 
might make to the Galatians a statement of his visits to Jeru- 
salem and the discussions connected with them, Galatians, 
chaps. 1, 2, or might give an account of his conversion before 
king Agrippa, Acts, ch. 26, it was not necessary that he should 
receive the same kind and measure of divine help as when he 
unfolded to the Corinthians the doctrine of the resurrection, 
1 Cor., ch. 15. And so in regard to the other inspired penmen. 
"Whatever assistance each of them needed, he received. If his 
judgment needed divine illumination for the selection of his 
materials, it was given him. If he needed to be raised above 
narrowness and prejudice, or to have the Saviour's instructions 
unfolded to his understanding, or to receive new revelations 
concerning the way of salvation or the future history of Christ's 
kingdom — whatever divine aid was necessary in all these cases, 
was granted. Thus the books of the New Testament, being 
written under the guidance of the Holy Ghost, become to the 
Christian church an infallible rule of faith and practice. 

If there be any Hmitation connected with the inspiration of the sacred 
writers, it is one of which the Holy Spirit is himself the author, and which 
cannot therefore injuriously affect their testimony. It did not jjlease God, 
for example, that the exact order of time should always be kept in the gos- 
pel narratives ; nor that the identical forms of expression emx3loyed by the 
Saviour on given occasions should always be iDreserved; nor that the accom- 
IDanying circumstances should in all cases be fully stated ; for in all these 
respects the evangelists frequently differ among themselves. Had the wis- 
dom of God judged it best, minute accuracy in these particulars might 
have been secured. But the result would probably have been injurious, by 
leading men to exalt the letter above the spirit of the gospel. We should 
be glad to know with certainty which, if any, of the different ways that 
have been proposed for reconciling John's narrative with those of the other 
evangelists in respect to the day of the month on which our Lord ate his 
last passover with his disciples, is the true one. It would give us j^leasuro 
were we able to arrange all the incidents connected with our Lord's resur- 
rection, as recorded bv the four evangolists, in the exact order of their 



112 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

occurrence. Had we a full record of all the circumstances pertaining to 
these two transactions, this might be accomplished. But it would not 
make any essential addition to our knowledge of the gospel. We should 
have, in every jot and tittle, the same way of salvation that we have now, 
and the same duties in respect to it. To all who, on grounds like these, 
find diflQculty with the doctrine of plenary inspiration, we may say, in the 
words of the apostle, "Brethren, be not children in understanding ; how- 
beit, in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men." 

7. The extent of the canon is determined by the extent of inspi- 
ration. The question to be settled respecting each book of the 
New Testament is, "Was it written under the guidance of the 
Holy Spirit ? or, which amounts to the same thing, Has it 
apostolic authority? If it has, it is to be received; if not, it 
is to be rejected. There is no middle ground— no division of 
the canon into books of primary and of secondary authority. 



EVIDENCES OF KEVEALED RELIGION. 113 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Jnsbparable Connection between the Old and 
THE New Testament. 

Although the great central truth of redemption, that " the 
Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world," and that 
we have in the New Testament a true record of this mission, 
rests, as has been shown, upon an immovable foundation, we 
have as yet seen the argument in only half its strength. Not 
until we consider the advent of Christ in connection with the 
bright train of revelations that preceded and prepared the way 
for his coming, do we see it in its full glory, or comprehend the 
amount of divine testimony by which it is certified to us. We 
have already seen, chap. 5. 1, how the events recorded in the 
Acts of the Apostles follow, as a natural sequel, from the truth 
of the gospel history ; how, if we admit the former, we ought, 
for very consistency, to admit the latter also, since the two 
cling together as inseparable parts of one great plan. It is 
now proposed to look backward from the Saviour's advent to 
the preceding series of revelations, and show how naturally in 
the plan of God they preceded that great event, and how insep- 
arably they were connected- with it as parts of one great whole. 

1. The supernatural mission of Christ furnishes, in and of 
itself, a very strong presumption in favor of previous super- 
natural revelations. That such a mighty event as this should 
have burst upon the world abruptly, without any previous 
preparation, is contrary to the whole order of providence as 
well as of nature, which is, "first the blade, then the ear, after 
that the full corn in the ear." And since the advent of Christ 
was miraculous in the fullest sense of the term, why should not 
the way for it have been prepared by miraculous revelations as 



114 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

well as by providential movements ? The natural sun does not 
emerge suddenly from tlie darkness of niglit : his approach is 
preceded by the day-star and the dawn. So were the revela- 
tions which God made to men from Adam to Malachi, with the 
mighty movements of his providence that accompanied them, 
the day-star and the dawn that ushered in upon the world the 
glorious sun of righteousness. 

2. We have the great fact that the Jewish people, among 
whom our Lord appeared, and from among whom he chose the 
primitive preachers of the gospel, possessed a firm and deeply- 
rooted belief in the unity of God and his infinite perfections. 
That such a belief was a necessary foundation for the peculiar 
doctrines of Christianity, all of which are underlaid by that of 
trinity in unity, is self-evident. Now, this belief was peculiar 
to the Jews, as contrasted with other nations ; and it was held, 
moreover, not simply by a few philosojDhers and learned men 
among them, but by the mass of the people. No other exam- 
ple of a whole nation receiving and holding firmly this funda- 
mental doctrine of religion existed then, or had ever existed ; 
and no adequate exjDlanation of this great fact has ever been 
given, except that contained in the revelation of God to this 
people recorded in the Old Testament. It was not by chance, 
but in accordance with the eternal plan of redemption, that the 
Messiah appeared where as well as when he did ; not in Egypt 
in the days of Pharaoh, nor in Nineveh, or Babylon, or Greece, 
or Rome; but among the Jewish people, when now "the ful- 
ness of time was come." 

3. The impossibility of any attempt to dissever the revela- 
tions of the Old Testament from those of the New appears most 
clearly when we consider the explicit declarations of our Saviour, 
and after him the apostles, on this point. If we know any thing 
whatever concerning the doctrines of our Lord Jesus, we know 
that he constantly taught his disciples that he had come in 
accordance with the prophecies of the Old Testament. If there 
were found in his discourses only one or two remote allusions 
to these prophecies, there would be more show of reason in the 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED EELIGION. 115 

favorite hypothesis of rationalists, that the disciples misappre- 
hended their Lord's meaning. But his teachings are so numer- 
ous and explicit on this point that, even aside from the inspira- 
tion of the writers, such an explanation is not to be thought of 
for a moment. It was with two of them a matter of personal 
knowledge that " beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he 
expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concern- 
ing himself," Luke 24 : 27 ; and with all of them that he said, 
after his resurrection, in reference to his past teachings : " These 
are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with 
you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the 
law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms concern- 
ing me." Luke 24 : 44. That in Christ were fulfilled the proph- 
ecies of the Old Testament, appears in every variety of form 
in the gospel narratives. It constituted, so to speak, the warp 
into which the Saviour wove his web of daily instruction. Now 
if a single thread, unlike all the rest in substance and color, 
had found its way into this warp, we might, perhaps, regard it 
as foreign and accidental ; but to dissever from our Lord's 
words all his references to the prophecies concerning himself 
in the Old Testament, would be to take out of the web all the 
threads of the warp, and then the web itself would be gone. 
No unbiased reader ever did, or ever could gain from the 
w^ords of Christ and his apostles any other idea than that Jesus 
of Nazareth came in accordance with a bright train of super- 
natural revelations going befoie and preparing the way for his 
advent. This idea is so incorporated into the very substance 
of the New Testament that it must stand or fall with it. 

4. Having contemplated the indivisible nature of revelation 
from the position of the New Testament, we are now prepared 
to go back and look at it from the platform of the Old Testa- 
ment. We shall find this thickly sown with those great princi- 
ples which underlie the plan of redemption, and bind it together 
as one glorious whole. 

First of all, we have in the narrative of Adam's fall and the 
consequences thence proceeding to the race; the substratum, so 



116 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

to speak, on which the plan of redemption is built. From this 
we learn that alienation from God and wickedness is not the 
original condition of the race. Man was made upright and 
placed in communion with God. From that condition he fell, 
in the manner recorded in the Old Testament ; and to restore 
him, through Christ, to his primitive state is the work which 
the gospel proposes to accomplish. The great historic event 
of redemption is that "the Son of God was manifested that he 
might destroy the works of the devil ;" and these are the very 
works described in the narrative now under consideration, 
namely, the seduction of man from his allegiance to God, with 
the misery and death that followed. The primitive history of 
man's apostacy contains, then, the very key to the plan of 
redemption. So it is plainly regarded by the apostle Paul. 
He builds upon it arguments relating not to the outworks of 
redemption, but to its inward nature. He makes the univer- 
sality of man's fallen condition through the sin of Adam the 
platform on which is built the universality of the provisions of 
salvation through Christ. "As by the offence of one judgment 
came upon all men to condemnation, even so by the righteous- 
ness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification. 
For as by one man's disobedience many were made sitiners, so 
by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." Kom. 
5 : 18, 19. " Since by man came death, by man came also the 
resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in 
Christ shall all be made alive." 1 Cor. 15 : 21, 22. How could 
the original transaction of the fall, through the wiles of the 
devil, and the manifestation of God's Son to destroy the works 
of tlie devil, be more indissolubly bound together as parts of 
one great whole than in these words of an inspired apostle ? 

Secondly, the Abrahamic covenant connects itself immedi- 
ately with the mission and work of Christ. It was made with 
Abraham, not for himself and his posterity alone, but for all 
mankind : " In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be 
blessed." Oen. 22 : 18. And if the Abrahamic covenant had 
respect to the whole human family, the same must be true of 



EVIDENCES OE REVEALED RELIGION. 117 

tlie Mosaic economy in its ultimate design; since this did not 
abrogate the covenant made with Abraham, as the apostle Paul 
expressly shows, Gal. 3:17, but rather came in as subordinate 
to it, and with a view of preparing the way for the accomplish- 
ment of its rich provisions of mercy for " all families of the 
earth." The Mosaic economy was then a partial subservient 
to a universal dispensation. 

The Abrahamic covenant was also purely spiritual in its 
character, the condition of its blessings being nothing else 
than faith. The apostle Paul urges the fact that this covenant 
was made with Abraham before his circumcision, lest any 
should say that it was conditioned wholly or in part upon a 
carnal ordinance : " He received the sign of circumcision, a 
seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being 
uncircumcised." Rom. 4 : 11. The seal of circumcision, then, 
did not make the covenant valid, for the covenant existed many 
years before the rite of circumcision was instituted. Faith was 
the only condition of Abraham's justification. " He believed 
in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness." 
Gen. 15 : 6. 

And if we look at the promise contained in the Abrahamic 
covenant, " In thee shall all the families of the earth be bless- 
ed," we find it to be the very substance of the gospel, as the 
apostle Paul says : " The Scripture, foreseeing that God would 
justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel 
unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed." 
Gal. 3 : 8. The incarnation and work of Christ are, according 
to the uniform representation of the New Testament, nothing 
else but the carrying out of the covenant made with Abraham , 
for this covenant was made for all mankind, was purely spirit- 
ual, being conditioned on faith alone, and its substance is Christ, 
in whom all nations are blessed. 

And while God has thus indissolubly linked to the incarna- 
tion of his Son this high transaction with Abraham, we see 
how he has at the same time connected it with the first prom- 
ise made in Eden, and thus with the fall of man through the 



118 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

subtiltj of Satan. The promise in Eden is that the seed of the 
woman shall brnise the serpent's head. The promise to Abra- 
ham is that in his seed, which is also the seed of the woman, 
all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Now it is by the 
bruising of the serpent's head, or, in New Testament language, 
by destroying the works of the devil, that Abraham's seed 
blesses all the families of the earth. The two promises, then, 
are in their inmost nature one and the same, and their fulfil- 
ment constitutes the work of Christ. 

Thirdly, the end of the Mosaic economy is Christ. Its gen- 
eral scope is thus briefly summed up by Paul : " The law was 
our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be 
justified by faith." Gal. 3 : 25. But not to insist on this, let 
us contemplate its three great institutions — the i^rophetic, the 
kingly, and the priestly order. 

The mode of communication which God employed on Sinai 
the peo]Dle could not endure, and they besought him, through 
Moses, that it might be discontinued : " Speak thou with us," 
they said, " and we will hear : but let not God speak with us, 
lest we die." Ex. 20 : 19. Of this request God approved, and 
promised : " I will raise them up a Prophet from among their 
brethren like unto thee." Dent. 18 : 18. The point of special 
emphasis is, that the great Prophet here promised, who is 
Christ, should be one of their brethren, as Moses was. His per- 
sonal advent was for many ages delayed; but in the meantime 
his office was foreshadowed by the prophetical order in Israel, 
consisting of men sent by God to address their brethren. Thus 
the old dispensation and the new are linked together by the 
great fundamental principle — that God should address man 
through man — which runs through both. The whole series of 
Old Testament prophecies, moreover, point to Christ as their 
end and fulfilment ; " for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of 
prophecy." Rev. 19 : 10. 

The kingly office of the Old Testament connects itself with 
that of Christ in a special way. Not only did the headship 
given to David and his successors over the covenant people of 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED EELIGION. 119 

God adumbrate tlie higher headship of Christ, but David had 
from God the promise : " Thine house and thy kingdom shall 
be established for ever before thee : thy throne shall be estab- 
lished for ever." 2 Sam. 7 : 16. This promise is fulfilled in 
Jesus of Nazareth, " the seed of David according to the flesh," 
according to the express declaration of the New Testament ; 
" The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father 
David, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, 
and of his kingdom there shall be no end." Luke 1 : 32, 33. 

The priestly office, with the blood of the sacrifices connect- 
ed with it, prefigured Christ, '• the Lamb of God, which taketh 
awaj^ the sin of the world." By the stream of sacrificial blood 
that flow^ed for so many ages was set forth that great funda- 
mental truth of redemption, that " without shedding of blood 
is no remission." Heb. 9 : 22. The sacrifices of the Mosaic 
law were continually repeated, because " it is not possible that 
the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins." Heb. 
10 : 4. But when Christ had offered his own blood on Calvary 
for the sins of the world, the typical sacrifices of the law ceased 
for ever, having been fulfilled in the great Antitype,. " in whom 
we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins." 
Ephes. 1:7. 

5. Since the Old Testament and the New are thus insepara- 
bly connected as parts of one grand system of revelation, of 
which the end is Christ, it follows that the later revelations of 
the New Testament are the true interpreters of the earlier, 
which are contained in the Old. This is only sajdng that the 
Holy Ghost is the true and proper expositor of his own com- 
munications to man. From the interpretations of Christ and 
Lis apostles, fairly ascertained, there is no appeal. And they 
are fairly ascertained w^hen we have learned in what sense they 
must have been understood by their hearers. All expositions 
of the Old Testament that set aside, either openly or in a covert 
way, the supreme authority of Christ and his apostles, are false, 
and only lead men away from the truth as it is in Jesus. 



120 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 



CHAPTEE IX. 

Authorship of the Pentateuch. 

The term Pentateuch is composed of the two Greek words, 
•pente^five, and teuclios, which in later Alexandrine usage signi- 
fied hook. It denotes, therefore, the collection of five books ; 
or, the five books of the law considered as a whole. 

1. In our inquiries respecting the authorship of the Penta- 
teuch, we begin with the undisputed fact that it existed in its 
present form in the days of Christ and his apostles, and had so 
existed from the time of Ezra. When the translators of the 
Greek version, called the Septuagint, began their work, about 
280 B. c, they found the Pentateuch as we now have it, and no 
one pretends that it had undergone any change between their 
day and that of Ezra, about 460 B. c. It was universally 
ascribed to Moses as its author, and was called in common 
usage the laiv, or the laiu of Moses. 

2. That the authorship of the law in its written form is 
ascribed to Moses in the New Testament every one knows. 
"The law was given by Moses;" "Did not Moses give you the 
law?" "Had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; 
for he wrote of me;" "For the hardness of your heart he," 
Moses, "wrote you this precept;" "Master, Moses wrote unto 
us;" "What is written in the law? how readest thou?" etc. 
Since now the whole collection of books was familiarly known 
to the people as the laiv, or the law of Moses, it is reasonable to 
infer that our Saviour and his apostles use these terms in the 

. same comprehensive sense, unless there is a limitation given in 
the context. Such a limitation the apostle Paul makes when 
he opposes to the Mosaic law the previous promise to Abra- 
ham : " The covenant that was confirmed before of God in 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED RELIGION. 121 

Christj the law, wliicli was four hundred and thirty years after, 
cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none 
effect." Gal. 3 : 17, and compare the following verses. But in 
the following chapter Paul manifestly employs the words the law 
of the whole Pentateuch, to every part of which he, in common 
■with the Jewish people, ascribed equal and divine authority : 
" Tell me, ye that desire to be under law'' — under a system of 
law, the article being wanting in the original — "do ye not hear 
ilie law? For it is written, that Abraham had two sons; the 
one by a bond-maid, the other by a free woman," etc.. Gal. 
4:21, seq., where the reference is to the narrative recorded.in 
Genesis, as a part of the law. So also in the following pas- 
sage : " Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach 
him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath-day," Acts 
15 : 21 ; the term. Moses necessarily means the law of Moses, as 
comprehending the whole Pentateuch, for it was that which 
was read in the synagogues. Compare the words of Luke : 
" After the reading of the law and the prophets," Acts 13 : 15. 
And in general, when Christ and his apostles speak of Moses 
or the law, without any limitation arising from the context, 
thus, "The law was given by Moses;" " They have Moses and 
the prophets," etc., we are to understand them as referring to 
the Pentateuch as a whole, for such was the common usage of 
the Jewish people, and such must have been their apprehen- 
sion of the meaning of the terms. 

3. But it may be said, Christ and his apostles did not speak 
as critics, but only in a popular way. That they did not speak 
of the Pentateuch as critics, is certain. They had no occasion 
for doing so, since no Jew doubted either its divine authority or 
its Mosaic authorship. But when we consider, on the one side, 
with what unsparing severity our Lord set aside the traditions 
of the Pharisees as " the commandments of men," and on the 
other, how he and his apostles ascribed equal divine authority 
to every part of the Pentateuch, as will be shown in the next 
chapter, and how unequivocally they sanctioned the universal 
belief that Moses was its author, we must acknowledge that we 

Comp. f(. Bible-. 6 



122 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

have the entire authority of the New Testament for its Mosaic 
authorship in every essential respect. This is entirely consist- 
ent with the belief that inspired men, like Ezra, and perhaps 
also prophetical men of an earlier age, in setting forth revised 
copies of the Pentateuch, that is, copies which aimed to give 
the true text with as much accuracy as possible, may have 
added here and there explanatory clauses for the benefit of the 
readers of their day. Such incidental clauses, added by men 
of God under the guidance of his Spirit, would not affect in the 
least the substance of the Pentateuch. It would still remain in 
every practical sense the work of Moses, and be so regarded in 
the New Testament. 

Whether there are, or are not, in the Pentateuch, such clauses added 
by a later hand, and not affecting either its essential contents or its Mosaic 
authorship, is an open question to be determined by impartial criticism. 
At the present day editors carefully indicate their explanatory notes ; but 
this was not the usage of high antiquity. At the close of the book of 
Deuteronomy, for example, there is immediately added, without any ex- 
planatory remark, a notice of Moses' death. We are at liberty to assume, 
if we have cogent reasons for so doing, that brief explanatory clauses were 
sometimes interwoven into the Mosaic text ; as, for example, the remark 
in Gen. 36 :31, which is repeated in 1 Chron. 1 :4:3, a book ascribed to 
Ezra ; Exod. 16 : 35, 36, etc. 

4. Going back now to the days of the Restoration under 
Zerubbabel and his associates, about 536 B. c, we find that the 
very first act of the restored captives was to set up " the altar 
of the God of Israel, to offer burnt-offerings thereon, as it is 
written in the law of Moses the man of God." The narrative 
goes on to specify that " they offered burnt-offerings thereon 
unto the Lord, even burnt-offerings morning and evening. 
They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and 
offered the daily burnt-offerings by number, according to the 
custom, as the duty of every day required; and afterwards 
offered the continual burnt-offering, both of the new moons, 
and of all the set feasts of the Lord that were consecrated, 
and of every one that willingly offered a free-will offering unto 
the Lord." Ezra 3 : 1-5. About ninety years afterwards, upon 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED RELIGIOX. 123 

the completion of the walls of Jerusalem tinder Nehemiah, 
about 445 b. c, we find Ezra the priest — "a ready scribe in the 
law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given," Ezra 
7 : 6 — on the occasion of the feast of tabernacles bringing forth 
" the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had command- 
ed to Israel," and reading in it " from the morning unto mid- 
day, before the men and the women, and those that could 
understand." In this work he was assisted by a body of men, 
who "caused the people to understand the laAv;" and the read- 
ing was continued through the seven days of the feast : " day 
by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the 
book of the law of God." Neh. ch. 8. It was not the book of 
Deuteronomy alone that they read. We might infer this from 
the extent of the reading, which was sufiicient for all the pre- 
ceptive parts of the Pentateuch. But here we are not left to 
mere inference. On the second day " they found written in 
the law which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the 
children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the 
seventh month;" and that they should "fetch olive-branches, 
and pine-branches, and myrtle-branches, and palm-branches, 
and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written." 
Neh. 8 : 13-17. The precept concerning booths with boughs 
of trees occurs in Lev. 23 : 40-43, a passage which they might 
naturally enough reach on the second day. 

Ezra's assistants gave the sense not by labored expositions, but by 
interpreting the Hebrew in the Chaldee vernacular of the people. This 
would about douT)le the time devoted to a given section. All that per- 
tained to the structure of the tabernacle was superseded by the first tem- 
ple, which served the returned captives as their model in the erection of 
the second. We may well suppose that this was omitted. There would 
then remain only four or five chapters in the book of Exodus. Thus the 
passage in question would naturally fall on the second day. 

5. Jewish tradition ascribes to Ezra the work of setthng 
the canon of the Old Testament, and setting forth a corrected 
edition of the same. Though some things included in this tra- 
dition are fabulous, the part of it now under consideration is 



124 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

corroborated by all the scriptural statements concerning him, 
nor is there any reasonable ground for doubting its correctness. 
Be this as it may, it is admitted that from Ezra's day onward 
the Pentateuch existed in its present form. We are sure, there- 
fore, that " the book of the law of Moses," out of which he read 
to the people, was the book as we now have it — the whole Pen- 
tateuch, written, according to uniform Jewish usage, on a sin- 
gle roll. Ezra belonged to the priestly order that had in 
charge the keeping of the sacred books, Deut. 31 : 25, 26, com- 
pared with 2 Kings 22 : 8, and was moreover " a ready scribe 
in the law of Moses." His zeal for the reestablishment of the 
Mosaic law in its purity shines forth in his whole history. In 
his competency and fidelity we have satisfactory evidence that 
the law of Moses which he set forth was the very law which 
had been handed down from ancient times, and of which we 
have frequent notices in the books of Kings and Chronicles. 

It is generally supposed that Ezra himself wrote the books of Chroni- 
cles. They were certainly composed about his time. To admit, as all do, 
that in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah the law of Moses means the 
Pentateuch as a whole, and to deny that it has the same meaning in the 
books of Chronicles, is very inconsistent. Certainly the book which Ezra 
set forth was the book which he found ready at hand, and therefore the 
book referred to in the Chronicles, and the Kings also. Any explanatory 
additions which he may have made did not affect its substance. It remains 
for the objector to show why it was not, in all essential respects, the book 
which Hilkiah found in the temple, 2 Chron. 34 : 14, and to which David 
referred in his dying charge to Solomon, 1 Kings 2 : 3. 

6. Passing by, for the present, the notices of the law of 
Moses contained in the book of Joshua, we come to the testi- 
mony of the book of Deuteronomy. We have seen that the 
Mosaic authorship of the book, as a part of the Pentateuch, is 
everywhere assumed by the writers of the New Testament. 
But, in addition to this, they make quotations from it under 
the forms, " Moses wrote," " Moses truly said unto the fathers," 
etc. Mark 10 : 3-5 ; Acts 3 : 22 ; Eom. 10 : 19. If we examine 
the book itself, its own testimony is equally explicit. In chap. 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED KELIGION. 125 

17 : 24 Moses directs that when the Israelites shall appoint a 
king, " he shall write him a copy of this law in a book ont of 
that which is before the priests the Levites." In the opinion 
of some, this language refers to the whole law of Moses, while 
others would restrict it to the book of Deuteronomy; but all 
are agreed that it includes the whole of the latter work, with 
the exception of the closing sections. By a comparison of 
this passage with chaps. 28 : 58 ; 31 : 9, 24-26, the evidence is 
complete that Moses wrote this law, and delivered it to the 
priests, to be laid up by the side of the ark in the tabernacle. 
If this testimony needed any corroboration, we should have it 
in the character of the work itself. It is the solemn farewell 
of the aged lawgiver to the people whose leader he had been 
for the space of forty years. In perfect harmony with this are 
the grandeur and dignity of its style, its hortatory character, 
and the exquisite tenderness and pathos that pervade every 
part of it. It is every way worthy of Moses ;' nor can we con- 
ceive of any other Hebrew who was in a position to write such 
a book. 

7. The book of Deuteronomy contains a renewal of the cove- 
nant which God made with the children of Israel at Sinai. 
Chap. 29 : 10-15. Moses himself distinguishes between the for- 
mer and the latter covenant. "These are the words of the 
covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the 
children of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant 
which he made with them in Horeb." Chap. 29 : 1. W^ith each 
covenant was connected a series of laws ; those belonging to 
the latter being mainly, but not entirely, a repetition of laws 
given with the first covenant. We have seen that Moses wrote 
the second covenant, and all the laws connected with it. From 
Exodus, ch. 24, we learn that he wrote also the book of the first 
covenant containing, we may reasonably suppose, all of God's 
legislation up to that time. The inference is irresistible that 
he wrote also the laws that followed in connection with the 
first covenant. It is an undeniable fact that these laws under- 
lie the whole constitution of the Israelitish nation, religious, 



126 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

civil, and social. They cannot, then, have been the invention 
of a later age ; for no such fraud can be imposed, or was ever 
imposed upon a whole people. They are their own witness 
also that they were given by the hand of Moses, for they are 
all prefaced by the words, "And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
saying." When we consider their fundamental character, their 
extent, and the number and minuteness of their details, we can- 
not for a moment suppose that they were left unwritten by such 
a man as Moses, who had all the qualifications for writing them. 
Why should not the man who received them from the Lord 
have also recorded them — this man educated at the court of 
Egypt, and learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, who 
had already written "the book of the covenant," and afterwards 
wrote the journeyings of the Israelites, Numb. ch. 23, and the 
book of Deuteronomy ? An express statement from Moses him- 
self is not needed. The fact is to be understood from the nature 
of the case, and to call it in question is gratuitous skepticism. 

8. The form of the Mosaic laws that precede the book of 
Deuteronomy is in perfect harmony with the assumption that 
Moses himself not only received them, but wrote them. They 
bear the impress of having been recorded not continuously, but 
from time to time, as they were communicated to him. In this 
way the historical notices which are woven into them — the 
matter of the golden calf. Exodus, ch. 32, the death of Nadab 
and Abihu, Leviticus, ch. 10, the blasphemy of Shelomith's 
son, Leviticus, ch. 24, and the numerous incidents recorded in 
the book of Numbers — all these narratives find a perfectly nat- 
ural explanation. Some of these incidents — as, for example, 
the blasphemy of Shelomith's son — come in abruptly, without 
any connection in the- context; and their position can be 
accounted for only upon the assumption that they were record- 
ed as they happened. In this peculiar feature of the Mosaic 
code before Deuteronomy, we have at once a proof that Moses 
was the writer, and that the historical notices connected v/ith 
it were also recorded by him. The result at which we arrive 
is that the whole record from God's appearance to Moses and 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED RELIGION. 127 

bis mission to Pharaoh has Moses himself for its author. The 
authorship of the preceding part of the Pentateuch will be con- 
sidered separately. 

9. The above result in reference to that part of the law 
which precedes Deuteronomy, is confirmed by the testimony of 
the Ne-w Testament. In disputing with the Sadducees, our Lord 
appealed to the writings of Moses, which they acknowledged : 
"Now that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the 
bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abrahaim, and the 
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Luke 20 : 37. It was 
by recording the words of God, as given in Exodus 3 : (5, that 
Moses called the Lord the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 
The apostle Paul, again, referring to Lev. 18 : 5, says : " Moses 
describeth" — literally, writetli — "the righteousness which is of 
the law. That the man which doeth those things shall live by 
them." Eom. 10 : 5. Here also belong certain passages that 
speak of precepts in "the law of Moses," as Luke 2:22-24, 
where the reference is to various precepts in Exodus, Leviticus, 
and Numbers— Exod. 13 : 2 ; 22 : 29 ; 34 : 19 ; Lev. 12 : 2, seq. ; 
Numb. 3 : 13 ; 8 : 17; 18 : 15— John 7 :22, 23, where the refer- 
ence is to Lev. 12 : 2 ; for with the New Testament writers " the 
law of Moses " means the law written by Moses. In like man- 
ner we find references in the Old Testament to the books of the 
law of Moses that precede Deuteronomy — 2 Chron. 23 : 18 com- 
pared with Numb. 28 : 2, seq.; 2 Chron. 24: 6 compared with Exod. 
30:12, seq.; Ezra 3 :2-5 compared with Numb. 28:2, seq., and 
29 : 12, seq. ; Neh. 8 : 15 compared with Lev. 23 : 40. 

10. The relation of the book of Deuteronomy to the earlier 
portions of the law deserves a careful consideration. And, 
first, in regard to time. All that portion of the law which pre- 
cedes the sixteenth chapter of the book of Numbers was given 
in the first and second years after the exodus ; consequently 
thirty-eight years before the composition of the book of Deu- 
teronomy. The four chapters of Numbers that follow, chaps. 
16-19, are generally dated about twenty years later — that is, 
about eighteen years before the composition of Deuteronomy. 



128 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

Only the last seventeen chapters of Numbers, which are mostly 
occupied with historical notices, were written in the preceding 
year. 

Then, as it respects general design. At Horeb the entke 
constitution of the theocracy was to be established. This part 
of the law is, therefore, more formal and circumstantial. It 
gives minute directions for the celebration of the passover ; for 
the construction of the tabernacle and its furniture ; for the 
dress, consecration, duties, and perquisites of the priesthood 
and Levitical order ; for the entire system of sacrifices ; for the 
distinction between clean and unclean animals ; for all those 
duties that were especially of a priestly character, as judgment 
in the case of leprosy, and purification from ceremonial un- 
cleanness ; for the order of journeying and encamping in the 
wilderness, etc. In a w^ord, it gives more prominence to the 
forms of the law, and the duties of those to whom its adminis- 
tration was committed. Not so on the plains of Moab. The 
theocracy had then been long in operation. The details of its 
service were well understood, and there w^as no need of formal 
and circumstantial repetition. The work of Moses now was not 
to give a new law, but to enforce the law of Horeb, with such 
subordinate modifications and additions as were required by 
the new circumstances of the people, now about to take pos- 
session of the promised land and change their wandering life 
for fixed abodes. He had to do, therefore, more prominently 
not with the administrators of law, but with the people ; and 
accordingly his precepts assume a hortatory character, and his 
style becomes more diffuse and flowing. 

The 2^ersonal relation of Moses to the people was also greatly 
changed. At Horeb he had the great work of his life before 
him, but now it is behind him.. He is about to leave his be- 
loved Israel, whom he has borne on his heart and guided by 
his counsels for forty years. . Hence the inimitable tenderness 
and pathos that pervade the book of Deuteronomy. 

When now we take into account all these altered circum- 
stances, we have a fi^ll explanation of the peculiarities w^hich 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED EELIGION. 129 

mark the book of Deuteronomy as compared with the prece- 
ding books. Were these peculiarities wanting, we should miss 
a main proof of its genuineness. Nevertheless the book is 
thoroughly Mosaic in its style, and the scholar who reads it in 
the original Hebrew can detect peculiar forms of expression 
belonging only to the Pentateuch. As to alleged disagree- 
ments between some of its statements and those of the earlier 
books, it is sufficient to remark that upon a candid examina- 
tion they mostly disappear; and even where we cannot fully 
explain them, this furnishes no valid ground for denying the 
genuineness of either portion of the law. Such seeming dis- 
crepancies are not uncommon when a writer of acknowledged 
credibility repeats what he has before written. Compare, for 
example, the three narratives of the apostle Paul's conversion 
which are recorded in the book of Acts. 

The question as to the extent of meaning which should be 
given in Deuteronomy to the expressions, " a copy of this law," 
" the words of this law," " this book of the law," is one upon 
which expositors are not agreed, nor is it essential; since, as 
we have seen, the Mosaic authorship of the former part of the 
law rests upon broader grounds. 

In Dent. 27 : 3, 8, it seems necessary to understand the exiDression, ''aU 
the words of this law," which were to be written upon tables of stone set 
up on mount Ebal, of the blessings and curses — ver. 12, 13 — contained in 
this and the following chapter. But elsewhere, chs. 17 : 18 ; 31 : 9, 24-26, 
we must certainly include at least the whole of Deuteronomy. If we sup- 
]pose that it was Moses' custom to write out the precepts of the law with 
the historical notices pertaining to them in a continuous roll, which was 
enlarged from time to time, and that he added to this roll the book of 
Deuteronomy, then the words in question must be understood of the entire 
body of precepts from the beginning. But if, as seems to be intimated in 
Deut. 31 :24, he wrote Deuteronomy in a separate book, {"in a hooJc,'' 
without the article,) the words naturally refer to Deuteronomy alone. 
This work, as containing a summary of the law — a second law, as the word 
Deuteronomy &\^\\\?ies — might well be spoken of as "this law," without any 
denial of an earlier law ; just as the covenant made with the people at this 
time is called " this covenant," ch. 29 :14, without any denial of an earher 
covenant. The reverent scholar will be careful not to be wise above what 

6* 



130 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

is written. It might gi-atify our curiosity to know exactly in what outward 
form Moses left the Law with the historical notices woven into it ; whether 
in one continuous roU, or in several rolls which were afterwards arranged 
by some prophet, perhaps with connecting and explanatory clauses ; but 
it could add nothing to our knowledge of the way of salvation. In either 
case it would be alike the law of Moses and the law which Moses wrote, 
invested with full divine authority. 

11. It being established that Moses wrote the whole law 
with the historical notices appertaining to it, we naturally infer 
that he must have written the book of Genesis also, which is 
introductory to the law. For this work he had every qualifi- 
cation, and we know of no other man that had the like qualifi- 
cations. On this ground alone the Mosaic authorship of the 
book might be reasonably assumed, unless decided proofs to 
the contrary could be adduced. But we find, upon examina- 
tion, that the book of Genesis is so connected luith thefoUotving 
hooks that without the knowledge of its contents they cannot 
be rightly understood. The very first appearance of God to 
Moses is introduced by the remark that he " remembered his 
covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob." In 
addressing Moses he calls the children of Israel " my people," 
Exod. 3 : 6-10; and sends Moses to Pharaoh with the message, 
" Let my people go." All this implies a knowledge of the cov- 
enant which God made with Abraham and his seed after him, 
by virtue of which the Israelites became his peculiar people. 
It is not simply as an oppressed people that God undertakes to 
deliver them and give them possession of the land of Canaan, 
but as Ms people. Again and again does Moses describe the 
promised land as " the land which the Lord sware unto your 
fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to 
their seed after them." With the book of Genesis these dec- 
larations are plain; but without it they are unintelligible. The 
Abrahamic covenant, which is recorded in the book of GenesiSj 
is not a subordinate, but an essential part of the history of the 
Israelites. It underlies the whole plan of redemption, and 
upon it the Mosaic economy, as a part of that plan, is erected. 



EVIDENCES OF KEVEALED EELIGION. 131 

Why should any one suppose that Moses, who recorded the 
establishment of this economy with all its details, omitted to. 
record the great transactions with the patriarchs which lie at 
its foundation? There are other references to the book of 
Genesis in the law of Moses. The institution of the Sabbath 
Is expressly based on the order of creation recorded in the first 
two chapters; and when the people leave Egypt they carry 
with them the bones of Joseph, in accordance with the oath 
which he had exacted of them. Gen. 50 : 25, compared with 
Exod. 13 : 19. 

To the Mosaic authorship of Genesis it has been objected, 
that it contains marks of a later age. But these marks, so far as 
they have any real existence, belong not to the substance of 
the book. They are restricted to a few explanatory notices, 
which may well have been added by Ezra or some prophetical 
man before him, in setting forth a revised copy of the law. 
See No. 3, above. The passages which can, with any show 
of probability, be referred to a later age, are, taken all together, 
very inconsiderable, and they refer only to incidental matters, 
while the book, as a whole, bears all the marks of high anti- 
quity. 

To the Mosaic authorship of this book it has been objected 
again, that it contains the writings of different authors. This is 
especially argued from the diversity of usage in respect to the 
divine name, some passages employing the word EloMm, God, 
others the word JeJiovah, or a combination of the two terms. 
Whatever force there may be in this argument, the validity of 
Avhich is denied by many who think that the inspired writer 
designedly varied his usage between the general term God and 
the special covenant name JeJiovah, it goes only to show that 
Moses may have made use of previously existing documents ; a 
supposition which we need not hesitate to admit, provided we 
have cogent reasons for so doing. Whatever may have been 
the origin of these documents, they received through Moses the 
seal of God's authority, and thus became a part of his inspired 
word. 



132 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

Several writers have attempted to distinguish throughout the book of 
Genesis the parts which they would assign to different authors ; but beyond 
the first chapters they are not able to agree among themselves. All 
attempts to carry the distinction of different authors into the later books 
rest on fanciful grounds. 

12. That the Pentateuch, as a whole, proceeded from a 
single author, is shown by the unity of plan that pervades the 
whole work. The book of Genesis constitutes, as has been 
shown, a general introduction to the account which follows of 
the establishment of the theocracy ; and it is indispensable to 
the true understanding of it. In the first part of the book of 
Exodus we have a special introduction to the giving of the law ; 
for it records the deliverance of the Israelites from bondage in 
Egypt, and their journey to Sinai. The Mosaic institutions 
presuppose a sanctuarj^ as their visible material centre. The 
last part of Exodus, after the promulgation of the ten com- 
mandments and the precepts connected with them, is accord- 
ingly occupied with the construction of the tabernacle and its 
furniture, and the dress and consecration of the priests who 
ministered there. In Leviticus, the central book of the Pen- 
tateuch, we have the central institution of the Mosaic economy, 
namely, the system of sacrifices belonging to the priesthood, 
and also, in general, the body of ordinances intrusted to their 
administration. The theocracy having been founded at Sinai, 
it was necessary that arrangements should be made for the 
orderly march of the people to the land of Canaan. With these 
the book of Numbers opens, and then proceeds to narrate the 
various incidents that befell the people in the wilderness, with 
a record of their encampments, and also the addition from time 
to time of new ordinances. The book of Deuteronomy contains 
the grand farewell address of Moses to the Israelites, into which 
is .woven a summary of the precepts already given which con- 
cerned particularly the people at large, with various modifica- 
tions and additions suited to their new circumstances and the 
new duties about to be devolved upon them. "We see then 
that the Pentateuch constitutes a consistent whole. Unity oi 



EVIDENCES OF KEVEALED EELIGION. 133 

design, harmony of parts, continual progress from beginning 
to end — these are its grand characteristics ; and they prove that 
it is not a heterogeneous collection of v/ritings put together 
without order, but the work of a single master-spirit, writing 
under God's immediate direction, according to the uniform 
testimony of the New Testament. 



134 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

CHAPTEE X. 

Authenticity and Credibility of the Penta- 
teuch. 

1. The Mstoric truth of the Pentateuch is everywhere 
assumed by the writers of the New Testament in the most 
absolute and unquahfied manner. They do not simply allude 
to it and make quotations from it, as one might do in the case 
of Homer's poems, but they build upon the facts which it 
records arguments of the weightiest character, and pertaining 
to the essential doctrines and duties of religion. This is alike 
true of the Mosaic laius and of the narratives that precede them 
or are interwoven with them. In truth, the writers of the New 
Testament know no distinction, as it respects divine authority, 
between one part of the Pentateuch and another. They receive 
the wholQ as an authentic and inspired record of God's deal- 
ings with men. A few examples, taken mostly from the book 
of Genesis, will set this in a clear light. 

In reasoning Avith the Pharisees on the question of divorce, 
our Lord appeals to the primitive record : " Have ye not read 
that he which made them at the beginning made them male 
and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father 
and mother, and shall cleave to his wife : and they twain shall 
be one flesh ? wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. 
What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put 
asunder." And when, upon this, the Pharisees ask, "Why did 
Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to 
put her away ?" Deut. 24 : 1, he answers in such a way as to 
recognize both the authority of the Mosaic legislation and the 
validity of the ante-Mosaic record: "Moses, because of the 
hardness of your hearts, suffered you to put away your wives : 
but from the beginning it was not so." He then proceeds to 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED RELIGION. 135 

enforce the marriage covenant as it was " from the beginning." 
Matt. 19 : 3-9, compared with Gen. 2 : 23, 24. In Hke manner 
the apostle Paul establishes the headship of the man over the 
woman : " He is the image and glory of God : but the woman 
is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the woman, but 
the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the 
woman, but the woman for the man." 1 Cor. 11 : 7-9, com- 
pared with Gen. 2 : 18-22. And again: "I suffer not a woman 
to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in 
silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam 
was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the 
transgression." 1 Tim. 2 : 12-14, compared with Gen. 2 : 18-22 ; 
3:1-6, 13. So also he argues from the primitive record that, 
as by one man sin and death came upon the whole human race, 
so by Christ Jesus life and immortality are procured for all. 
Rom. 5 : 12-21 ; 1 Cor. 15 : 21, 22, compared with Gen. 2 : 17 ; 
3 : 19, 22. The story of Cain and Abel, Gen. 4 : 3-12, is repeat- 
edly referred to by the Saviour and his apostles as a historic 
truth : Matt. 23 : 35 ; Luke 11 : 51 ; Heb. 11 : 4 ; 12 : 24 ; 1 John 
3 : 12 ; Jude 11. So also the narrative of the deluge : Gen. 
chs. 6-8, compared with Matt. 14:37-39; Luke 17:26, 27; 
Heb. 11 : 7 ; 1 Peter 3 : 20 ; 2 Peter 2:5; and of the overthrow 
of Sodom and Gomorrah, Gen. ch. 19, compared with Luke 
17 : 28, 29 ; 2 Peter 2:6; Jude 7. It is useless to adduce fur- 
ther quotations. No man can read the New Testament without 
the profound conviction that the authenticity and credibility of 
the Pentateuch are attested in every conceivable way by the 
Saviour and his apostles. To reject the authority of the for- 
mer is to deny that of the latter also. 

2. For the authenticity and credibility of the Pentateuch 
we have an independent argument in the fact that it lay at the 
foundation of the whole Jewish polity, civil, religious, and 
social. From the time of Moses and onward, the Israelitish 
nation unanimously acknowledged its divine authority, even 
when, through the force of sinful passion, they disobeyed its 
commands. The whole hfe of the people was moidded and 



136 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

shaped by its institutions ; so that they became, in a good 
sense, a peculiar people, with " laws diverse from all people." 
They alone, of all the nations of the earth, held the doctrine of 
God's unity and personality, in 023position to all forms of poly- 
theism and pantheism ; and thus they alone were prepared to 
receive and propagate the peculiar doctrines of Christianity. 
Chap. 8, No. 2. If now we admit the truth of the Mosaic record, 
all this becomes perfectly plain and intelligible ; but if we deny 
it, we involve ourselves at once in the grossest absurdities. 
How could the Jewish people have been induced to accept with 
undoubting faith such a body of laws as that contained in the 
Pentateuch — so burdensome in their multiplicity, so opposed 
to all the beliefs and practices of the surrounding nations, and 
imposing such severe restraints upon their corrupt passions — 
except upon the clearest evidence of their divine authority? 
Such evidence they had in the stupendous miracles connected 
with their deliverance from Egypt and the giving of the law on 
Sinai. The fact that Moses constantly appeals to these mira- 
cles, as well known to the whole body of the people, is irre- 
fragable proof of their reality. None but a madman would 
thus appeal to miracles which had no existence ; and if he did, 
his appeal would be met only by derision. Mohammed needed 
not the help of miracles, for his appeal was to the sword and 
to the corrupt passions of the human heart ; and he never 
attempted to rest his pretended divine mission on the evidence 
of miracles. He knew that to do so would be to overthrow at 
once his authority as the prophet of God. But the Mosaic 
economy needed and received the seal of miracles, to which 
Moses continually appeals as to undeniable realities. But if 
the miracles recorded in the Pentateuch are real, then it con- 
tains a revelation from God, and is entitled to our unwavering 
faith. Then too we can explain how, in the providence of God, 
the Mosaic institutions prepared the way for the advent of 
*' Him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write.'* 
Thus we connect the old dispensation with the new, and see 
both together as one whole. 



EVIDENCES OF EEVEALED RELIGION. I37 

Other arguments might be adduced; but upon these two 
great pillars — the authority, on the one side, of the New Testa- 
ment, and, on the other, the fact that the Pentateuch contains 
the entire body of laws by which the Jewish nation was moulded 
and formed, and that its character and history can be explained 
only -upon the assumption of its truth — on these two great pil- 
lars the authenticity and credibility of the Pentateuch rest, as 
upon an immovable basis. 

3. The difficulties connected with the Pentateuch, so far as 
its contents are concerned, rest mainly on two grounds, scien- 
tific and historical, or moral. The nature of the scientific diffi- 
culties forbids their discussion within the restricted limits of 
the present work. It may be said, however, generally, that so 
far as they are real, they relate not so much to the truth of the 
Mosaic record, as to the manner in which certain parts of it 
should be understood. 

How long, for example, that state of things continued which is descri- 
bed in Gen. 1 : 2, or what particular results were produced by the opera- 
tion of the divine Spirit there recorded, we do not know. What extent 
of meaning should be assigned to the six days of creation — whether they 
should be understood literally or in a symbolical way, like the prophetical 
days of Daniel and Revelation— Dan. 7 : 25 ; 9 : 24-27 ; Rev. 9 : 15 ; 11 : 3, 
etc. — is a question on which devout believers have differed ever since the 
days of Augustine. See Prof. Tayler Lewis' Six Days of Creation, ch. 14. 
But all who receive the Bible as containing a revelation from God agree 
in holding the truth of the narrative. So also in regard to the Deluge 
and other events involving scientific questions wliich are recorded in the 
book of Genesis. Some of these questions may perhaps be satisfactorily 
solved by further inquiry. Others will probably remain shrouded in mys- 
tery tiU the consummation of all things. To the class of historical diflfi- 
culties belong several chronological questions, as, for example, that of the 
duration of the Israelitish residence in Egypt. It is sufiicient to say that 
however these shall be settled — if settled at aU — they c&nnot with any rea- 
sonable man affect the divine authority of the Pentateuch which is certi- 
fied to us by so many sure jproofs. 

4. The difficulties which are urged against the Pentateuch 
on moral grounds rest partly on misapprehension, and are 
partly of such a character that, when rightly considered, they 



138 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

turn against the objectors themselves. This will be illustrated 
by a few examples. 

A common objection to the Mosaic economy is drawn from 
its exdusiveness. It contains, it is alleged, a religion not for 
all mankind, but for a single nation. The answer is at hand. 
That this economy may be rightly understood, it must be con- 
sidered not separately and independently, but as one part of a 
great plan. It was, as w^e have seen, subordinate to the cove- 
nant made with Abraham, which had respect to " all the families 
of the earth." Chap. 8, No. 4. It came in temporarily to pre- 
pare the way for the advent of Christ, through whom the Abra- 
hamic covenant was to be carried into effect. It was a partial, 
preparatory to a universal dispensation, and looked, therefore, 
ultimately to the salvation of the entire race. So far then as 
the benevolent design of God is concerned, the objection drawn 
from the exclusiveness of the Mosaic economy falls to the 
ground. It remains for the objector to show how a universal 
dispensation, like Christianity, could have been wisely intro- 
duced, without a previous work of preparation, or how any 
better plan of preparation could have been adopted than that 
contained in the Mosaic economy. 

If the laws of Moses interposed, as they certainly did, many 
obstacles to the intercourse of the Israelites with other nations, 
the design was not to encourage in them a spirit of national 
pride and contempt of other nations, but to preserve them from 
the contagious influence of the heathen practices by which they 
were surrounded. On this ground the Mosaic laws everywhere 
rest the restrictions which they impose upon the Israelites : 
*'Thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daugh- 
ter shalt thou take to thy son. For they will turn away thy 
son from following me, that they may serve other gods." Deut. 
7 : 3, 4. How necessary were these restrictions was made man- 
ifest by the whole subsequent history of the people. So far 
was the Mosaic law from countenancing hatred towards the 
persons of foreigners, that it expressly enjoined kindness : " If 
a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. 



EVIDENCES OF EEVEALED KELIGION. 139 

But the stranger that clwelleth with you shall be unto you as 
one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself: for 
ye were strangers in the land of Egypt." Lev. 19 : 34. 

5. Another ground of objection to the Mosaic law has been 
the number and minuteness of its ordinances. That this fea- 
ture of the theocracy was, absolutely considered, an imperfec- 
tion, is boldly asserted in the New Testament. The apostle 
Peter calls it " a yoke which neither we nor our fathers were 
able to bear." Acts 15 : 10. Nevertheless the wisdom of God 
judged it necessary in the infancy of the nation, that it might 
thus be trained, and through it the world, for the future inher- 
itance of the gosj)el. It is in this very aspect that the apostle 
Paul says : " The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto 
Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that 
faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster." Gal. 
3 : 24, 25. The divine plan was to prescribe minutely all the 
institutions of the Mosaic economy, leaving nothing to human 
discretion, apparently to prevent the intermixture with them 
of heathenish rites and usages ; perhaps also that in this body 
of outward forms the faith of the Israelites might have a need- 
ful resting-place, until the way should be prepared for the 
introduction of a simpler and more sj)iritual system. 

We must be careful, however, that we do not fall into the 
error of* supposing that the Mosaic law prescribed a religion 
of mere outward forms. On the contrary, it was pervaded 
throughout by an evangelical principle. It knew nothing of 
heartless forms in which the religion of the heart is wanting. 
The observance of all its numerous ordinances it enjoined on 
the spiritual ground of love, gratitude, and humility. If any 
one would understand in what a variety of forms these inward 
graces of the soul, which constitute the essence of religion, are 
inculcated in the Pentateuch, he has but to read the book of 
Deuteronomy ; there he will see how the law of Moses aimed 
to make men religious not in the letter, but in the spirit ; how, 
in a word, it rested the observance of the letter on the good 
foundation of inward devotion to God. The summary which 



140 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

oar Saviour g^ve of the Mosaic law, and in it of all religion, 
he expressed in the very words of the law : " Thou shalfc love 
the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and 
with all thy mind, and with all thy strength," Deut. 6:4, 5; 
" this is the first and great commandment. And the second is 
like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." 
Lev. 19 : 18. Nor is this love towards our neighbor restricted 
to a narrow circle; for it is said of the stranger also sojourn- 
ing in Israel, " Thou shalt love him as thyself." Lev. 19 : 34. 

6. Of one usage w^iich the Mosaic law tolerated, our Sav- 
iour himself gives the true explanation when he says : " Moses, 
because of the hardness of your hearts, suffered you to put 
away your wives ; but from the beginning it was not so." Matt. 
19 : 8. This general principle applies also to polygamy and the 
modified form of servitude which prevailed among the Hebrew 
people. That the Mosaic economy suffered, for the time being, 
certain usages not good in themselves, is no valid objection to 
it, but rather a proof of the divine wisdom of its author. 
Though it was his purpose to root out of human society every 
organic evil, he would not attempt it by premature legislation, 
any more than he would send his Son into the world until the 
way was prepared for his advent. 

7. The extirpation of the Canaanitish nations by the sword 
of the Israelites was contemplated by the Mosaic economy. 
The names of these nations were carefully specified, and they 
were peremptorily forbidden to molest other nations; as, for 
example, the Edomites, Moabites, and Ammonites. Deut. 2 : 4, 
6, 8, 9, 18, 19. The whole transaction is to be regarded as a 
sovereign act of Jehovah, which had in view the manifestation 
of his infinite perfections for the advancement of the cause of 
truth and righteousness in this fallen world. Though we may 
not presume to fathom all the divine counsels, we can yet see 
how God, by the manner in which he gave Israel possession of 
the promised land, displayed his awful holiness, his almighty 
power, and his absolute supremacy over the nations of the 
earth, not only to the covenant people, but also to the sur* 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED RELIGION. 141 

rounding heathen world. Had the Canaanites perished by 
famine, pestilence, earthquake, or fire from heaven, it might 
have remained doubtful to the heathen by whose anger their 
destruction had been effected, that of the Canaanitish gods, or 
of the God of Israel. But now that God went forth with his 
people, dividing the Jordan before them, overthrowing the 
walls of Jericho, arresting the sun and the moon in their 
course, and raining down upon their enemies great hailstones 
from heaven, it was manifest to all that the God of Israel was 
the sujDreme Lord of heaven and earth, and that the gods of 
the gentile nations were vanity. This was one of the great 
lessons which the Theocracy was destined to teach the human 
family. At the same time the Israelites, who executed God's 
vengeance on the Canaanites, were carefully instructed that it 
was for tlieir sins that the land spewed out its inhabitants, and 
that if they imitated them in their abominations, they should 
in like manner perish. 

8. The Mosaic economy was but the scaffolding of the gos- 
pel. God took it down ages ago by the hand of the Eomans. 
It perished amid fire and sword and blood, but not till it had 
accomplished the great work for which it was established. It 
bequeathed to Christianity, and through Christianity to " all 
the families of the earth," a glorious body of truth, which 
makes an inseparable part of the plan of redemption, and has 
thus blessed the world ever since, and shall continue to bless 
it to the end of time. 



142 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

CHAPTEE XI. 

Remaining ^ooks of the Old Testament, 

1. The diyine authority of the Pentateuch having been 
established, it is not necessary to dwell at length on the his- 
torical books which follow. The events w^hich they record are 
a natural and necessary sequel to the establishment of the the- 
ocracy, as given in the five books of Moses. The Pentateuch 
is occupied mainly with the founding of the theocracy; the fol- 
lowing historical books describe the settlement of the Israeli- 
tish nation under this theocracy in the promised land, and its 
practical operation there for the space of a thousand years. 
There is no history in the world so full of God's presence and 
providence. It sets forth with divine clearness and power, on 
the one side, God's faithfulness in the fulfilment of the prom- 
ises and threatenings contained in the Mosaic law; and on the 
other, the perverseness and rebellion of the people, and their 
j)erpetual relapses into idolatry, with the mighty conflict thus 
inaugurated between the pute monotheism of the theocracy, 
and the polytheism and image-worship of the surrounding 
heathen nations — a conflict which lasted through many ages, 
which enlisted on both sides the great and mighty men of the 
world, and which resulted in the complete triumph of the Mo- 
saic law, at least so far as its outward form w^as concerned, 
thus preparing the way for the advent of that great Prophet in 
whom the theocracy had its end and its fulfilment. 

2. How fully the divine authority of these books is recog- 
nized by Christ and his apostles, every reader of the New Tes- 
tament understands. It is not necessary to establish this point 
by the quotation of particular passages. Though the writers 
of the historical books which follow the Pentateuch are for the 
most part unknown, the books themselves are put in the New 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED RELIGIOX. 143 

Testament on tlie same basis as the Pentateuch. To those 
who deny Christ, the Mosaic economy, with the history that 
follows, is a mystery; for when they read it "the veil is npon 
their heart." But to those who receive Christ as the Son of 
God, and the New Testament as containing a true record of 
his heavenly mission, Moses and the historical books that fol- 
low are luminous with divine wisdom and glory, for they con- 
tain the record of the way in which God prepared the world 
for the manifestation of his Son Jesus Christ. 

3. The Old Testament contains a body of writings which 
are not historical; neither are they prophetical, in the restricted 
sense of the term, although some of them contain prophecy. 
The enumeration of these books, prominent among which are 
Job, Psalms, and Proverbs, with an account of their contents 
and the place which each of them Ifolds in the plan of revela- 
tion, belongs to the Introduction to the Old Testament. It is 
sufficient to say here, that they are precious offshoots of the 
Mosaic economy, that they contain rich and varied treasures 
of divine truth for the instruction and encouragement of God's 
people in all ages, and that the}^ are, as a whole, recognized in 
the New Testament as part of God's revelation to men. The 
book of Psalms, in particular, is perpetually quoted by the 
writers of the New Testament as containing prophecies which 
had their fulfilment in Jesus of Nazareth. 

4. The prophetical books — according to our classification, 
the Jews having a different arrangement — are Isaiah, Jere- 
miah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and the twelve minor prophets. The vast 
body of prophecies contained in these books — the prophetical 
j)ortions of the other books being also included — may be con- 
templated in different points of view. * 

Many of these prophecies, considered independently of the 
New Testament, afford conclusive proof that the Old Testa- 
ment is the word of God, for they bear on their front the sig- 
net of their divine origin. They contain predictions of the 
distant future which lie altogether beyond the range of human 
sagacity and foresight. Such is the wonderfid prophecy of 



Hi COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

Moses respecting the history of the Israelitish people through 
all coming ages, Lev. ch. 26 ; Deut. ch. 28, a prophecy which 
defies the assaults of skepticism, and which, taken in connec- 
tion with our Lord's solemn declaration, " They shall fall by 
the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all 
nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, 
until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled," Luke 21 : 24, marks 
both the Old Testament and the New as given by the same 
omniscient God, who declares the end from the beginning. 
Such also are the predictions of the utter and perpetual deso- 
lation of Babylon, uttered ages beforehand, and which presup- 
pose a divine foresight of the course of human affairs to the 
end of time : " Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of 
the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew 
Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither 
shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation." " I will 
also make it a possession for the bittern and pools of water: 
and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the 
Lord of hosts." Isa. 13 : 19, 20 ; 14 : 23. See also the proph- 
ecy of the overthrow of Nineveh, Nahum, clis. 2, 3, and of Tyre : 
" I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the 
top of a rock. It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in 
the midst of the sea." " I will make thee like the top of a rock: 
thou slialt be a place to spread nets upon ; thou shalt be built 
no more." Ezek. 26 : 4, 5, 14. On all the above prophecies, 
and man}^ more that might be quoted, the descriptions of mod- 
ern travellers furnish a perfect comment. 

5. But it is preeminently in Christ that the prophecies of 
the Old Testament have their fulfilment. As the rays of the 
sun in a burning-glass all converge to one bright focus, so all 
the different lines of prophecy in the Old Testament centre in 
the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Separated from him they 
have neither unity nor harmony; but are, like the primitive 
chaos, " without form and void." But in him predictions, appa- 
rently contradictory to each other, meet with divine unity and 
harmony. 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED RELIGION. 145 

He is a great Propliet, like Moses ; the Mediator, therefore, 
of the new econoniy, as Moses was of the old, and revealing to 
the people the whole will of God. As a Prophet, the Spirit of 
the Lord rests upon him, " the spirit of wisdom and under- 
standing, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowl- 
edge and the fear of the Lord." Isa. 11 : 2. As a Prophet, he 
receives from God the tongue of the learned, that he should 
know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary. Isa. 
50 : 4. As a Prophet, " the kings shall shut their mouths at 
him : for that which had not been told them shall they see ; and 
that which they had not heard shall they consider." Isaiah 
52 : 15. 

He is also a mighty King, to whom God has given the hea- 
then for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth 
for his possession. He breaks the nations with a rod of iron ; 
he dashes them in pieces as a potter's vessel, Psa. 2 : 8, 9; and 
3'et " he shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be 
heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and 
the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth 
judgment unto truth." Isa. 42:2, 3. "All kings shall fall 
down before him: all nations shall serve him," Psa. 72:11; 
and yet "he is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, 
and acquainted with grief:" "he is brought as a lamb to the 
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he 
opened not his mouth." Isa. 53:3, 7. Many other like con- 
trasts could be added. 

With the kingly he unites the priestly office. Sitting as a 
king " upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to 
order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from 
henceforth even for ever," Isa. 9 : 7, he is yet " a priest for ever 
after the order of Melchizedek." Nor is his priestly office any 
thing of subordinate importance, for he is inducted into it by 
the solemn oath of Jehovah : " The Lord hath sworn, and will 
not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Mel- 
chizedek." Psa. 110 : 4. As a priest he offers up himself " an 
offering for sin:" "he was wounded for our transgressions, he 

Comp, to Bfblj. '^ 



no COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

was bruised for our iniquities ; the cliastisement of our peace 
was upon liim ; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like 
sheep have gone astray ; %e have turned every one to his own 
way ; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." 
Isa., ch. 53. When we find a key that opens all the intricate 
wards of a lock, we know that the key and the lock have one 
and the same author, and are parts of one whole. The history 
of Jesus of Nazareth is the key which unlocks all the wards of 
Old Testament prophecy. With this key Moses and the propli- 
ets open to the plainest reader ; without it, they remain closed 
and hidden from human apprehension. We know, therefore, 
that he who sent his Son Jesus Christ to be the Saviour of the 
world, sent also his prophets to testify beforehand of his com- 
ing, and of the offices which he bears for our redemption. 

6. To sum up all in a word, we take the deepest, and there- 
fore the most scriptural view of the Jewish institutions and his- 
tory, when we consider the whole as a perpetual adumbration 
of Christ — not Christ in his simple personality, but Christ in 
his body the church. It is not meant by this that the Mosaic 
economy was nothing but type. Apart from all reference to 
the salvation of the gospel, it was to the Israelitish people 
before the Saviour's advent a present reality meeting a present 
want. The deliverance of the people from the bondage of 
Egypt, their passage through the Ked sea, the cloud which 
guided them, the manna which fed them, the water out of the 
rock which they drank — all these things were to them a true 
manifestation of God's presence and favor, aside from their 
typical import, the apprehension of which indeed was reserved 
for future ages. So also the Mosaic institutions were to them 
a true body of laws for the regulation of their commonwealth, 
and in their judges, kings, and prophets they had true rulers 
and teachers. 

But while all this is important to be remembered, it is also 
true that the Mosaic economy w^as thickly sown by God's own 
hand with the seeds of higher principles — those very princi- 
ples which Christ and his apostles unfolded out of the lata and 



EVIDENCES OF KEVEALED EELIGION. 147 

the prophets. Thus it constituted a divine training by which 
the people were prepared for that spiritual kingdom of heaven 
which "in the fulness of time" the Saviour established. "All 
the prophets and the law prophesied until John" — not the 
prophets and the law in certain separate passages alone, but 
the prophets and the law as a whole. They prophesied of 
Christ, and in Christ their prophecy has its fulfilment. 

7. The consideration of the extent of the canon of the Old 
Testament does not properly belong here. It is sufficient to 
say that we have no valid reason for doubting the truth of the 
Jewish tradition, which assigns to Ezra and " the great syna- 
gogue" the work of setting forth the Hebrew canon as we now 
have it. That this tradition is embellished with fictions must 
be conceded ; but we ought not, on such a ground, to deny its 
substantial truth, confirmed as it is by all the scriptural notices 
of Ezra's qualifications and labors. It is certain that the canon 
of the Jews in Palestine was the same in our Lord's day that 
it is now. The Greek version of the Septuagint contains indeed 
certain apocryphal books not extant in the Hebrew. These 
seem to have been in use, more or less, among the Alexandrine 
Jews; but there is no evidence that any canonical authority 
was ascribed to them, and it is certain that the Jews of Pales- 
tine adhered strictly to the Hebrew canon, which is identical 
with our own. 

8. The 2^'>'"^nciple upon which the canon of the Old Testament 
was formed is not doubtful. No books were admitted into it 
but those written by prophets or prophetical men. As under 
the New Testament the reception or rejection of a book as 
canonical was determined by the writer's relation to Christ, so 
was it under the Old by his relation to the theocracy. The 
highest relation was held by Moses, its mediator. He accord- 
ingly had the prophetical spirit in the fullest measure : " If 
there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself 
known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. 
My servant Mos^s is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. 
With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and 



148 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

not in dark speeches ; and the similitude of tlie Lord shall he 
behold." Numb. 12 : 6-8. The next place was held bj proph- 
ets expressly called and commissioned by God, some of whom 
also, as Samuel, administered the affairs of the, theocracy. 
Finally, there were the pious rulers whom God placed at the 
head of the covenant people, and endowed with the spirit of 
prophecy, such as David, Solomon, and Ezra. To no class of 
men besides those just mentioned do the Jewish rabbins ascribe 
the authorship of any book of the Old Testament, and in this 
respect their judgment is undoubtedly right. 

9. The inspiration of the books of the Old Testament is 
everywhere assumed by our Lord and his apostles ; for they 
argue from them as possessing divine authority. "What is 
written in the law^?" " What saith the scripture?" "All things 
must be fulfilled which w^ere written in the law of Moses, and in 
the prophets, and in the psalms concerning me ;" "This scrip- 
ture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost spake 
before concerning Judas;" "The scripture cannot be broken " — 
all these and other similar forms of expression contain the full 
testimony of our Lord and his apostles to the truth elsewhere 
expressly affirmed of the Old Testament, that "all scripture is 
given by inspiration of God," 2 Tim. 3:16, and that "the 
prophecy came not in the old time by the will of man : but 
holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy 
Ghost." 2 Peter 1 : 21. When the Saviour asks the Pharisees 
in reference to Psalm 110, " How then doth David in spirit call 
him Lord?" he manifestly does not mean that this particular 
^osalm alone was written "in spirit," that is, under the inspira- 
tion of the Holy Spirit ; but he ascribes to it the character 
which belongs to the entire book, in common with the rest of 
Scripture, in accordance with the express testimony of David : 
" The Spirit of the Lord spake by me,- and his word was in my 
tongue." 2 Sam. 23 : 2. 



EVIDENCES OE BEVEALED RELIGION. 119 



CHAPTER XII. 

Evidences Internal and Experimental, 

1. The external evidences of revealed religion are, in their 
proper place and sphere, of the highest importance. Christi- 
anity rests not upon theory, but upon historical facts sustained 
by an overwhelming mass of testimony. It is desirable that 
every Christian, so far as he has opportunity, should make 
himself acquainted with this testimony for the strengthening of 
his own faith and the refutation of gainsayers. Nevertheless, 
many thousands of Christians are fully established in the faith 
of the gospel who have but a very limited knowledge of the 
historical proofs by which its divine origin is supported. To 
them the Bible commends itself as the word of God by its 
internal character, and the gospel as God's plan of salvation by 
their inward experience of its divine power, and their outward 
observation of its power over the hearts and lives of all who 
truly receive it. This is in accordance with the general anal- 
ogy of God's works. "We might be assured beforehand that a 
s^^stem of religion having God for its author, would shine by 
its own light, and thus commend itself at once to the human 
understanding and conscience, irrespective of all outward testi- 
mony to its truth. Although the internal evidences of Chris- 
tianity have already been considered to some extent in connec- 
tion with those that are outward and historical, it is desirable 
in the present closing chapter to offer some suggestions per- 
taining to the internal character of the Bible as a whole, and 
also to the testimony of Christian experience, individual and 
general. 

2. To every unperverted mind the Bible commends itself at 
once as the word of God by the wonderful view which it gives 



150 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

of liis character and providence. It exhibits one personal God 
who made and governs the world, without the least trace of 
polytheism on the one hand, or pantheism on the other — the 
two rocks of error upon which every other system of religion 
in the world has made shipwreck. And this great Spirit, "infi- 
nite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, poAver, 
holiness, justice, goodness, and truth," is not removed to a dis- 
tance from us, but is ever nigh to each one of his creatures. 
He is our Father in heaven, who cares for us and can hear and 
answer our prayers. His providence extends to all things, 
great and small. He directs alike the sparrow's flight, and the 
rise and fall of empires. To the perfect view of God's charac- 
ter and government which the pages of the Bible unfold, no 
man can add anything, and whoever takes any thing away only 
mars and mutilates it. How now shall we explain the great 
fact that the Hebrew people, some thousands of years ago, had 
this true knowledge of God and his j)rovidence, while it was 
hidden from all other nations ? The Bible gives the only rea- 
sonable answer : God himself revealed it to them. 

The superficial view which accounts for the pure monotheism of the 
Hebrews from their peculiar national character, is sufficiently refuted by 
their history. Notwithstanding the severe penalties with which the Mosaic 
code of laws visited idolatrous practices in every form, the people were 
perpetually relapsing into the idolatry of the surrounding nations, and 
could be cured of this propensity only by the oft-repeated judgments of 
theu' covenant God. 

3. Next we have the wonderful code of morals contained in 
the Bible. Of its perfection, we in Christian lands have but a 
dim apprehension, because it is the only system of morals with 
which we are familiar ; but the moment we compare it with any 
code outside of Christendom, its supreme excellence at once 
appears. 

It is a spiritual code, made for the heart. It proposes to 
regulate the inward affections of the soul, and through them 
the outward life. Thus it lays the axe at the root of all sin. 

It is a reasonable code, giving to God the first place in the 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED RELIGION. 151 

human heart, and to man only a subordinate place. Its first 
and great commandment is, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
God with all thy heart;" its second, "Thou shalt love thy 
neighbor as thyself." Thus it lays broad and deep the founda- 
tions of a righteous character. If any moral proposition is self- 
evident, it is that such a code as this, which exalts God to the 
throne of the human soul and humbles man beneath his feet, is 
not the offspring of human self-love. If any one would know 
the difference between the Bible and a human code of morals, 
let him read Cicero's treatise on Duties, perhaps the best system 
of ethics which pure heathenism ever produced, but from which 
man's relation to deity is virtually left out. 

It is a comprehensive code, not insisting upon one or two 
favorite virtues, but upon all virtues. Just as the light of the 
sun is white and glistering because it contains in itself, in due 
proportion, all the different sorts of rays, so the morality of the 
Bible shines forth, like the sun, with a pure and dazzling bright- 
ness, because it unites in itself, in just proportion, all the du- 
ties which men owe to God and each other. 

Many who outwardly profess Christianity do not make the 
precepts of the Bible their rule of life, or they do so only in a 
very imperfect way, and thus scandal is brought upon the name 
of Christ, whose servants they profess to be. But it is self-evi- 
dent that he who obeys the Bible in sincerity and truth is thus 
made a thoroughly good man ; good in his inward principles 
and feelings, and good in his outward life; good in his rela- 
tions to God and man; good in prosperity and adversity, in 
honor and dishonor, in life and death; a good husband and 
father, a good neighbor, a good citizen. If there is ever to be 
a perfect state of society on earth, it must come from simple 
obedience to the precepts of the Bible, obedience full and uni- 
versal. No man can conceive of any thing more glorious and 
excellent than this. "We may boldly challenge the unbeliever 
to name a corrupt passion in the heart or a vicious practice in 
the life that could remain. Let every man love God with all 
his heart and his neighbor as himself, and bolts and bars, 



152 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

prisons and penitentiaries, wonld be unnecessary. One miglit 
safely journey around the world unarmed and unattended, for 
every man would be a friend and brother. " Glory to God in 
the highest, and on earth peace, good-will towards men," would 
reign from pole to pole. The whole earth would be at rest and 
be quiet : it would break forth into singing. That such a glo- 
rious result would certainly come from simple obedience to the 
precepts of the Bible is undeniable. And can any man per- 
suade himself that this perfect code of morals comes not from 
heaven, but from sinful man ? 

4. "We have, once more, the wonderful harmony heficeen the 
different imrts of the Bible, written as it was in different and dis- 
tant ages, and by men who differed widely from each other in 
natural character and education, and lived in very different 
states of society. In outward form and institutions the mani- 
festation of God has indeed undergone great changes ; for it 
has existed successively under the patriarchal, the Mosaic, and 
the Christian dispensations. But if we look beneath the sur- 
face to the substance of religion in these different dispensa- 
tions, we shall find it always the same. The God of Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Moses, Samuel, and David, is 
also the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. While he changes 
from time to time the outward ordinances of his people, he 
remains himself " the same j^esterday and to-day and for ever." 
Under the Old Testament, not less than under the New, he is 
*' the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering 
and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thou- 
sands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin, and that will 
by no means clear the guilty." Exod. 34 : 6, 7, etc. Under 
the New Testament, not less than under the Old, he is to all 
the despisers of his grace " a consuming fire," Heb. 12 : 29 ; 
and his Son Jesus Christ, whom he sent to save the world, wiU 
b,-e revealed hereafter "in flaming fire, taking vengeance on 
them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our 
Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thess. 1:7,^. If the New Testament 
iusists on the obedience of the heart, and not of the outAvard 



EVIDENCES OF EEVEALED EELIGION. 153 

letter alone, the Old Testament teaches the same doctrine : 
"Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and^to hearken than 
the fat of rams." 1 Sam. 15 : 22. " Thou desirest not sacri- 
fice ; else would I give it : thou delightest not in burnt offering. 
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit ; a broken and a con- 
trite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." Psa. 51 : 16, 17. " I 
will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him 
with thanksgiving. This also shall please the Lord better than 
an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs." Psa. 69 : 30, 31. 
" Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs ; for I will 
not hear the melody of thy viols. But let judgment run down 
as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream." Amos 5 : 23, 
24. If the Old Testament insists on obedience to all God's 
commandments as an indispensable condition of salvation, so 
does the New : " Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and 
offend in one point, he is guilty of all," James 2 : 10 ; "If thy 
right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee : for it 
is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, 
and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell." Matt. 
5 : 29, etc. The Old Testament, as well as the New, teaches the 
doctrine of regeneration and sanctification by the Holy Ghost : 
" Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit 
within me," Psa. 51 : 10. " Then will I sprinkle clean water upon 
you, and ye shall be clean : from all your filthiness, and from 
all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give 
you, and a new spirit will I put within you : and I will take 
away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a 
heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause 
you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments 
and do them." Ezek. 36 : 25-27. The Old Testament, as well 
as the New, denounces self-righteousness in every form, and 
teaches men that they are saved not for the merit of their good 
works, but through God's free mercy : " Not for thy righteous- 
ness, or for the uprightness of thy heart dost thou go in to 
possess their land," Deut. 9:5; "Not for your sakes do I this, 
saith the Lord God, be it known unto you : be ashamed and 



154 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

confounded for your own ways, house of Israel." Ezekiel 
36 : 32. "When the holy men of the Old Testament so often 
beseech God to hear and answer their prayers /or Ms name's 
sake, they renounce all claim to be heard on the ground of 
their own merit. Faith that works by love and purifies the 
heart from sin — this is the substance of the religion taught in 
the Bible from Genesis to Eevelation. This wonderful unity 
of doctrine and spirit that pervades the books of the Bible 
from first to last, finds its natural explanation in the fact that 
they were all written "by inspiration of God." 

5. The Bible is distinguished from all other books by its 
■poiver over the human conscience. The apostle says : "The word 
of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged 
sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, 
and of the joints and marrow, and is a discern er of the thoughts 
and intents of the heart," Heb. 4 : 12 ; and this declaration is 
confirmed by the experience of every thoughtful reader. Who- 
ever studies the pages of the Bible in an earnest spirit, feels 
that in them One speaks who has a perfect understanding of 
his heart in its inmost workings; one who knows not only what 
he is, but also what he ought to be, and who therefore speaks 
to him with authority. The young are sometimes advised to 
study certain authors, that they may thus gain "a. knowledge 
of men." It cannot be denied that, within the sphere of this 
world, the knowledge of men which some of these writers pos- 
sess is admirable. But the Bible contains not only all this 
knowledge in its most complete and practical form, but also, 
what is wanting in the authors referred to, a perfect knowl- 
edge of men in their higher relation to God. With wonderful 
accuracy does the Bible describe men's character and conduct 
as citizens of this world. But here it does not stop. It regards 
them as subjects of God's everlasting government, and thus as 
citizens of eternity also ; and it portrays in vivid and truthful 
colors the way in which they harden their hearts, blind their 
minds, and stupefy their consciences by their continued wilful 
resistance of God's claim to their supreme love and obedience. 



EVIDENCES OF EEVEALED BELIGION. 155 

In a word, it describes men in their relation to God as well agi 
to their fellow-men ; and every man who reads the description, 
hears within his soul the still small voice of conscience saying, 
" Thou art the man." Whence this all-comprehensive knowl- 
edge of man contained in the Bible ? The answer is : He who 
made man has described man in his own word with infallible 
accuracy ; " because he knew all men, and needed not that any 
should testify of man ; for he knew what was in man." 

6. We come now to the argument from personal experience. 
To receive Christ in sincerity and truth, is to know that his 
salvation is from God. Many thousands have thus a full and 
joyous conviction of the truth of Christianity. They were 
oppressed with a deep consciousness of guilt, which no tears of 
sorrow or supposed good works could remove. But they read 
in the Holy Scriptures that Jesus is " the Lamb of God which 
taketh away the sin of the world." They put their trust in his 
atoning sacrifice, and thus obtained peace of conscience, and 
joyous access in prayer to God as their Father in heaven. 
They were earthly in their affections, and able therefore to ren- 
der to God's holy and spiritual law only an obedience of the 
letter, which they knew would not be acceptable. But through 
faith in Christ they have been lifted up to a holy and blessed 
communion with God, and thus enabled to render to God's law 
an obedience of love " in the spirit and not in the letter." They 
were oppressed with a painful sense of the empty and unsatis- 
fying nature of every thing earthly; but they ha,ve found in 
Christ and his glorious service an all-sufficient portion. In a 
word, they are assured that the gospel is from God, because it 
meets all their wants as sinners. They have the same evidence 
that God made the gospel for the immortal soul, as that he 
made bread for the stomach, air for the lungs, and light for the 
eyes. The sincere beHever has in himself the witness that tho 
gospel is from heaven, for he is daily experiencing its healing, 
strengthening, and purifying power. To tell him that the Bible 
is a cunningly devised fable, is like telling a man who daily 
feeds on "the finest of the wheat" and is nourished and 



156 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

strengthened by it, tliat the field of golden grain which waves 
before his door is only wormwood and gall; or that the pure 
water from the bosom of the earth which daily quenches his 
thirst is a deadly poison; or that the blessed air of heaven 
which fans his lungs is a pestilential vapor. Not until error 
becomes the nutriment of the soul and truth its destruction, 
can this argument from personal experience be set aside or 
gainsaid. 

7. The argument from the character of Jesus has already 
been considered at length in chap. 4, No. 8. It is sufficient to 
repeat here that the very description of such a character, so 
gloriously perfect, so far above all that the greatest minds of 
antiquity ever conceived, is itself a proof of its reality. Very 
plain men may describe what they have actually seen and 
heard. But that any man left to himself — and God would not 
help in a work of error and delusion — should have conceived of 
such a character as that of Jesus of Nazareth, without the real- 
ity before him, is impossible ; how much more that four unlet- 
tered men should have consistently carried out the conception 
in such a life as that recorded by the four evangelists. 

8. Passing now from individual to general experience, we find 
another proof of the divine origin of the Bible in the power of 
the gospel — which includes in itself the whole word of God — 
over the human heart. This is closely connected with the pre- 
ceding head, since the Christian's religion takes the shape of 
personal love towards the Saviour — love which is awakened in 
the sinner's soul, as the New Testament teaches, by the Holy 
Spirit revealing to him his lost condition and the character and 
offices of the Redeemer, whereby he is drawn into an inward 
spiritual union with him. This love of Jesus is the mightiest 
principle on earth for both doing and suffering. The man of 
whose soul it has taken full possession is invincible, not in his 
own strength, but in the strength of Him to v/hom he has 
given his supreme confidence and affection. No hardships, 
privations, or dangers can deter him from Christ's service ; no 
persecutions can drive him from it. In the early days of Chris- 



EVIDENCES OF REVEALED RELIGION. 157 

tianitj, at the period of the Reformatioiij in many missionary 
fields in our own time, not only strong men, but tender women 
and children, have steadfastly endured shame and suffering in 
every form — banishment and the spoiling of their goods, 
imprisonment, torture, and death — for Christ's sake. In times 
of worldly peace and prosperity, the power of this principle is 
dimly seen ; but were the Christians of this day required, under 
penalty of imprisonment, confiscation, and death, to deny 
Christ, it would at once manifest itself. Many would aposta- 
tize, because they are believers only in name; but true believ- 
ers would remain steadfast, as in the days of old. It is a fact 
worthy of special notice, that persecution not only fails to con- 
quer those who love Jesus, but it fails also to hinder others 
from embracing his religion. It has first a winnowing power. 
It separates from the body of the faithful those who are Chris- 
tians only in name. Then the manifestation of Christian faith 
and patience by those who remain steadfast, draws men from 
the world without to Christ. Hence the maxim, as true as 
trite, " The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church." 
The Christian religion at the beginning had no worldly advan- 
tages, and it was opposed by all the power of imperial Home 
in alliance with the heathen priesthood. Had it been possible 
that any combination of men should crush it, it must have per- 
ished at the outset; but it only grew stronger in the midst of 
its fierce and powerful enemies. It went through ten bloody 
persecutions, "conquering and to conquer," until it overthrew 
paganism, and became the established religion of the Eoman 
empire. Then it was not strengthened by its alliance with the 
state, but only corrupted and shorn of its true power. And so 
it has been ever since. The gospel has always shown itself 
mightiest to subdue men to Christ, when it has been compelled 
to rely most exclusively on its own divinely furnished strength. 
What the apostle said of himself personally, the gospel which 
he preached can say with equal truth: "When I am weak, then 
am I strong." How shall we account for this fact ? The only 
reasonable explanation is, that God is the author of the gospel, 



158 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

and his power is in it, so that it is able to overcome the world 
without any help from without. Were it the invention of man, 
we might reasonably expect that it would be greatly strength- 
ened by an alliance with the kings and rulers of the world, 
instead of being thereby corrupted and weakened, as we find 
to be the invariable result. Because God made the gospel, and 
not men, when it is left free to work according to his appoint- 
ment, it is mighty in its power over the human heart ; but the 
moment worldly men take it under their patronage, that they 
may make it subservient to their worldly ends, they bind it in 
fetters, and would kill it, had it not a divine and indestructible 
life. 

9. We notice, further, that the same love of Jesus which 
makes men invincible to the world without, also enables them 
to conquer their oiun corrupt passions, and this is the greater 
victory of the two. It is easy to declaim on the sins and incon- 
sistencies of visible Christians. The church of Christ, like every 
thing administered by men, is imperfect. Unworthy men find 
their way into it, making it, as the great Master foretold, a field 
in which wheat and tares grow together. Nevertheless, wher- 
ever the gospel is preached in its purity, bright examples are 
found of its power to reclaim the vicious, to make the proud 
humble, and the earthly-minded heavenly. It draws all who 
truly receive it, by a gradual but certain process, into a likeness 
to Christ, which is the sum of all goodness. In proportion also 
as the principles of the gospel gain ground in any community, 
they ennoble it, purify it, and inspire it with the spirit of truth 
and justice. Yery imperfectly is our country pervaded by 
this good. leaven. Yet it is this, small as is its measure, which 
makes the difference between the state of society here at home 
and in India or China. Many thousands who do not person- 
ally receive the gospel thus experience its elevating power. 
They receive at its hand innumerable precious gifts without 
understanding or acknowledging the source from which they 
come. 

10. As a final argument, may be named the power of the 



EVIDENCES O*^ REVEALED RELIGION. 159 

Christian religion to 'purify itself from the corruptions intro- 
duced into it by men. It is not alone from the world without 
that Christ's church has been assailed. Corrupt men have 
arisen within her pale who have set themselves to deny or 
exj)lain away her essential doctrines, to change her holy prac- 
tice, or to crush and overlay her with a load of superstitious 
observances. But the gospel cannot be destroyed by inward 
any more than by outward enemies. From time to time it 
asserts its divine origin and invincible power, by bursting the 
bands imposed on it by men, and throwing off their human 
additions, thus reappearing in its native purity and strength. 
So it did on a broad scale at the era of the Keformation, and 
so it has often done since m narrower fields. 

10. Let now* the candid inquirer ask himself whether a book 
which gives such gloriously perfect views of God's character 
and government; whose code of morals is so spotlessly pure 
that simple obedience to it is the sum of all goodness, and 
would, if full and universal, make this world a moral paradise ; 
all whose parts, though written in different and distant ages 
by men of such diversified character and training, are in per- 
fect harmony with each other ; which displays such a wonder- 
ful knowledge of man in all his relations to God and his fellow- 
men, and therefore speaks with such authority and power to 
his conscience; which reveals a religion that satisfies all the 
wants of those who embrace it, that makes them victorious 
alike over outward persecution and inward sinful passion, and 
that asserts its invincible power by throwing off from itself the 
corrupt additions of men — whether such a book can possibly 
have man for its author. Assuredly in character it resembles 
not sinful man, but the holy God. It must be from heaven, for 
it is heavenly in all its features. 



PART II. 



INTRODUCTION 



TO 



The Old Testament 



PREFATORY REMARKS. 



To consider at length all the questions which the spirit of 
modern inquiry has raised concerning the books of the Old 
Testament — their genuineness, integrity, date, chronology, and 
credibility ; their relation to science, to profane history, to each 
other, and to the New Testament — would far exceed the limits 
.allowed by the plan of the present work. To the Pentateuch 
alone, or even a single book of it, as Genesis or Deuteronomy ; 
to the books of Chronicles ; to Isaiah or Daniel, a whole vol- 
ume might be devoted without exhausting the subject. In the 
present Introduction to the books of the Old Testament, the 
aim has been to give the results of biblical research, ancient 
and modern, with a concise statement of the lines of argument 
employed, wherever this could be done without involving dis- 
cussions intelligible only to those who are familiar with the 
original languages of ScriptuiL- and the ancient versions. For 
such discussions the biblical student is referred to the more 
extended Introductions which abound at the present day. The 
author has endeavored, first of all, to direct the reader's atten- 
tion to the unity of Scrijoture. " Known unto God are all his 
works from the beginning of the world." The plan of Kedemp- 
tion is the very highest of these works, and it constitutes a 
gloriously perfect whole, gradually unfolding itself from age to 
age. The earliest revelations have reference to all that fol- 
low. The later revelations shed light on the earlier, and receive 



IGl PKEFATORY BEMARKS. 

light from them in return. It is only when the Scriptures are 
thus studied as a whole, that any one part of them can be truly 
comprehended. , The effort has accordingly been made to show 
the relation of the Old Testament, considered as a whole, to 
the New ; then, the relation of the several great divisions of the 
Old Testament — the law, the historical books, the prophets, 
the poetical books — to each other, and the place which each 
holds in the system of revelation ; and finally, the ofiice of each 
particular book, with such notices of its authorship, date, gen- 
eral plan, and contents, as will prepare the reader to study it 
intelligently and profitably. To all who would have a thorough 
and comprehensive knowledge of the Neiu Testament, the dili- 
gent study of the preparatory revelation contained in the Old, 
is earnestly commended. The present Introduction will be' 
followed by one to the New Testament on the same general 
plan. It is hardly necessary to add that for much of the ma- 
terials employed in these two parts, particularly what relates to 
ancient manuscripts, the author is dependent on the statements 
of those who have had the opportunity of making original 
investigations. 



INTRODUCTION 

TO 

THE OLD TESTAMENT. 



FIRST DIVISIO:^, GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Names and External Form of the Old Testament. 

1. The word Bible comes to us from the Greek {ta hihlia, the 
hooks; that is, emphatically, the sacred canonical books) through 
the Latin and Norman French. In the ancient Greek and Latin 
churches, its use, as a plural noun applied to the whole collec- 
tion of sacred books of the OkLand New Testaments, can be 
traced as far back as the fifth century. In the English, as in 
all the modern languages of Europe, it has become a singular 
noun, and thus signifies the Book — the one book containing in 
itself all the particular books of the sacred canon. 

In very ancient usage, the word Laiu (Heb. Torali) was 
applied to the five books of Moses; but there was no general 
term to denote the whole collection of inspired writings till 
after the completion of the canon of the Old Testament, when 
they were known in Jewish usage as: The Lata, the Prophets, 
and the Writings (see below. No. 5). In accordance with the 
same usage, the writers of the New Testament speak of the "law 
and the prophets," and more fully, "the law of Moses, and the 
prophets, and the psalms," Luke 24 : 44. And they apply to 



166 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

the collected writings of tlie Old Testament, as well as to par- 
ticular p*assages, the term the Scripture, that is, the loritings, 
thus : " The Scripture saith," John 7 : 38, etc. Or they employ 
the plural number: "Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures," 
Matt. 22 : 29, etc. Once the epithet My is added, 2 Tim. 3 : 15. 

In 2 Pet. 3 : 16, the term Scriptures is appHed to at least the epistles of 
Paul ; apparently also to the other canonical writings of the New Testa- 
ment then extant. In the usage of Christian writers, the application of 
this term to the books of the New Testament soon became well estab- 
lished; but the above is the only example of such an appHcation that, 
occurs in the New Testament itself. 

2. The terms Old and Neiu Testament arose in the follow- 
ing way : God's dealings with the Israelitish people, under both 
the patriarchs and Moses, took the form of a covenant; that is, 
not a mutual agreement as between two equal parties, but an 
arrangement or dispensation, in which God himself, as the sover- 
eign Lord, propounded to the chosen people certain terms, and 
bound himself, upon condition of the fulfilment of these terms, 
to bestow upon them blessings temporal and spiritual. Now 
the Greek word diatheJce, by which the Septuagint renders the 
Hebrew word for covenant, signifies both covenant, in the gen- 
eral sense above given, and testament, as being the final dispo- 
sition which a man makes of his worldly estate. The new cov- 
enant introduced by Christ is, in a sense, a testament, as being 
ratified by his bloody death. Matt. 26 : 28 ; Mark 14 :'24; Luke 
22 : 20. So it is expressly called in the epistle to the Hebrews, 
9 : 15-17, where the new covenant, considered in the light of a 
testament, is contrasted with the old. It was probably in con- 
nection with this view that the Old Latin version of the Bible 
(made in the Old Testament not from the original Hebrew, but 
from the Greek Septuagint) everywhere rendered the Greek 
word diathehe by the Latin testamentum. When Jerome under- 
took the work of correcting this version, he did not everywhere 
pursue the same plan. The books of the Old Testament he 
rendered in general from the Hebrew ; and here he employed 
for the Hebrew word denoting covenant the appropriate Latin 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 167 

words fcedus and pactum. But in the Psalms, and the whole 
New Testament, from deference to established usage, he gave 
simply a revision of the Old Latin, leaving the word testamentumy 
by which that version had rendered the word diatlieke, cove- 
nant, untouched. Hence in Latin usage we have in the New- 
Testament the two covenants, the old and the new, expressed 
by the terms old testament (vetus testamentum, lorius or primiim 
testamentum) and neiv testament (novum testamentum), and some- 
times in -immediate contrast with each other, as in 2 Cor. 3 : 6, 
14; Heb. 9 : 15-18. The transfer of these terms from the cov- 
enants themselves to the writings which give an account of 
them was easy, and soon became established in general usage. 
Hence the terms Old and Neio Testament for the two great 
divisions of the Bible. 

Another Latin term for the two great divisions of the Bible was instru- 
menium, instrument, document; a term appHed to the documents or body 
of records relating to the Roman empire, and very appropriate, therefore, 
to the records of God's dealings with men. But as early as the time of 
Tertullian, about the close of the second century, the word testamentum, 
testament, was more in use. See Tertullian against Marcion, 4. 1. A 
striking example of the superior accuracy of Jerome's independent version 
above his simple revision of the old Latin is the passage Jer. 31 : 31-33 as 
compared with the quotation of the same, Heb. 8 : 8-10. In the former, 
where the translation is made immediately from the Hebrew, we read : 
' ' Behold the days shall come, saith the Lord, that I will make for the 
house of Israel and the house of Judah a new covenant [foedus): not 
according to the covenant [pactum] which I made with their fathers," etc. 
In the same passage, as quoted in the epistle to the Hebrews, where we 
have only a revision of the old Latin, we read : ' ' Behold the days shall 
come, saith the Lord, that I will accomplish for the house of Israel and for 
the house of Judah a new testament [testamentum) : not according to the 
testament [testamentum) which I made for their fathers," etc. 

3. The linity of the Bible has its ground only in divine 
inspiration. So far as human composition is concerned, both 
parts of it have a great variety of authors. The writers of the 
Old Testament, especially, lived in different, and some of them 
in very distant ages. They were widely separated from each 
other in native character and endowments, in education, and 



168 COMPANIOX TO THE BIBLE. 

in tlieir outward circumstances and position in life. It is of 
the highest importance that the student of Scripture not only 
know these facts, but ponder them long and carefully, till he 
fully understands their deep significance. He has been accus- 
tomed from childhood to see all the books of the Bible com- 
prised within the covers of a single volume. He can hardly 
divest himself of the idea that their authors, if not exactly con- 
temjDorary, must yet somehow have understood each other's 
views and plans, and acted in mutual concert. It is only by 
long contemplation that he is able to apprehend the true posi- 
tion which these writers held to each other, separated from 
each other, as they often were, by centuries of time, during 
which great changes took place in the social and political 
condition of the Hebrew people. Then, for the first time, he 
begins to discern, in the wonderful harmony that pervades the 
writings of the Old Testament, taken as a whole, the clear 
proofs of a superintending divine Spirit; and learns to refer 
this harmony to its true ground, that " holy men of God spake 
as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 2 Peter 1 : 21. 

A.ccording to the received chronology, Moses wrote the book of Deut- 
eronomy about 1451 B. c, and Malachi, the last of the prophets, wrote 
about 397 b. c. The difference, then, between the time of these two 
authors is 1054 years ; or say, in round numbers, about 1000 years. From 
Moses to the anointing of David is, according to the shorter chronology, 
388 years ; and from Moses to the comjDosition of the books of Kings, 
nearly nine centuries. From Joel to Malachi we must assume a period of 
about 400 years, within which space our present prophetical books were 
composed. The earlier of the psalms written by David differ in time from 
those composed at the close of the captivity by about 530 years. Let the 
reader who has been in the habit of passing from one book of the Bible 
to another, as if both belonged to the same age, jjonder well the meaning 
of these figures. They confirm the arguments already adduced (cli. 12, 
No. 4) that the unity of Scripture has its ground not in human concert, 
but in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 

4. The books of the Old Testament have been differently 
classified and arranged. But in no system of distribution has 
the chronological order been strictly observed. 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 169 

(A.) The Jewish dassificaiion and arrangement is as follows. 
They first distribute the books of the Old Testament into three 
great classes, the Laiv, the Prophets, and the Writings; that is, 
the canonical writings not included in the other two divisions — 
the Hagiograplia (holy ivritings), as they are commonly desig- 
nated at the present day. 

The Laio is then subdivided into five books, as we now have 
them ; for the names of which see the introduction to the Pen- 
tateuch. Chap. 19, No. 1. 

With reference to this five-fold division of the Law, the 
Rabbins call it tlie five-fifths of the Laic, each book being reck- 
oned as one-fifth. This term answers to the word Pentateicch, 
that is, the five-fold hool: Chap. 9, beginning. 

The second great class consists of the so-called Prophets. 
These are first divided into the former and the latter Prophets. 
The former Prophets consist of the historical books: Joshua, 
Judges, Samuel, and Kings, in the order named. The latter 
comprise the prophetical books in the stricter sense of the 
word, with the exception of Daniel ; and these are subdivided 
into the greater and the less. The greater Prophets are Isaiah, 
Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. The less are the twelve Minor Proph- 
ets from Hosea to Malachi, in the same order as that followed 
in our English version. 

The remaining books of the Old Testament constitute the 
third great class, under the name of Writings, Hagiographa ; 
and they are commonly arranged in the following order : 
Psahns, Proverbs, Job, Canticles, Euth, Lamentations, Eccle- 
siastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles. These 
books naturally fall into three groups. First, devotional and 
didactic — the three so-called poetical books of Psalms, Prov- 
erbs, and Job, which have in Hebrew a stricter rhythm; sec- 
ondly, the five rolls — Canticles, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesias- 
tes, Esther; so called because written on five separate rolls for 
use in the synagogue service on the occasion of special festi- 
vals ; thirdly, books that are chiefly of an historical character — 
Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles. 

Conip. to Bible. § 



170 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

The Talmud arranges the Greater Prophets thus : Jeremiah, Ezekicl, 
Isaiah. Of the Hagiographa, various other arrangements, Masoretic and 
Talmudic, are given, which it is not necessary here to specify. 

That the writing of sacred histoiy belonged to the proi^hetical office is 
clear from various scriptural notices. Compare 1 Chron. 29 : 29 ; 2 Chron. 
9 : 29 ; 12 : 15- 20 : 34 ; 26 : 22 ; 32 : 32 ; 33 : 19. The narrative concerning 
Sennacherib inserted in the second book of Kings (18 : 13-19 : 37) is mani- 
festly from the pen of Isaiah. The Rabbins rightly ascribed the composi- 
tion of the historical as weU as the other books which compose, according 
to their division, the Prophets, to prophetical men. But the grounds upon 
which they separated from these certain books, as, for exami)le, Daniel, 
and placed them among the Hagiographa, are not clear. Some of the 
rabbins made the distinction to lie in the degree of inspiration, Moses 
enjoying it in the fullest measure (Numb. 12 : 6-8), the authors of the 
books which are classed among the prophets having the Spirit of prophecy, 
and those of the books belonging to the Hagiograj)ha simply the Holy 
Spirit (the Holy Spirit, but not in the degree necessary for prox)hetic rev- 
elation). But this distinction is untenable. Who had the spirit of proph- 
ecy if not Daniel ? In the opinion of some modern scholars, they reck- 
oned to the Prophets only books wiitten by men who w^ere prophets in the 
stricter sense of the term ; that is, men trained to the prophetical office, 
and exercising it as their x^rof ession ; while the writings of men like David, 
Solomon, and Daniel, who though they had the Spirit of prophecy, w'ere 
yet in their office not prophets, but rulers and statesmen, were assigned to 
the Hagiographa. But this is inconsistent with the fact that the book of 
Ruth (which in respect to authorshij) must go with that of Judges) and also 
the book of Lamentations are in the Hagiographa. Others, with more 
probabihty, find the main ground of classification in the character of the 
writings themselves — the Laic, as the foundation of the Theocracy ; the 
Prophets, that record the history of the Theocracy and make prophetic 
revelations concerning it ; the sacred Writings, occupied with the personal 
appropriation of the truths of revelation, and as such exhibiting the reli- 
gious hfe of the covenant people in its inward and outward form. But 
even here we do not find perfect consistency. 

(B.) Classification of the Greek Version of the Seventy. The 
ancient Greek version of the Old Testament, called the Septua- 
gint (Latin Septuaginta, seventy), because, according to Jewish 
tradition, it was the work of seventy men, interweaves the apoc- 
ryphal with the canonical books. Its arrangement is as follows, 
the apocryphal books and parts of books being indicated by 
italic letters. We follow the edition of Yan Ess from the 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 



171 



Vatican manuscript, which omits the apocryphal Prayer of 
Manasseh : 



1. Genesis. 




27. JEcclesiasiicus. 


2. Exodus. 




28. Hosea. 


3. Leviticus. 




29. Amos. 


4. Numbers. 




30. Micah. 


5. Deuteronomy. 




31. Joel. 


6. Joshua. 




32. Obadiah. 


7. Judges. 




33. Jonah. 


8. Euth. 




34. Nahum. 


9. 1 Kings (our ] 


. Samuel). 


35. Habaklmk. 


10. 2 Kings (our \ 


1 Samuel). 


36. Zephaniah. 


11. 3 Kings (our ] 


L Kings). 


37. Haggai. 


12. 4 Kings (our 2 


! Kings). ; 


38. Zechariah. 


13. 1 Chronicles. 




39. Malachi. 


14. 2 Chronicles. 




40. Isaiah. 


15. 1 Esdras. 




41. Jeremiah. 


16. 2 Esdras (our 


Ezra). 


42. Baruch. 


17. Nehemiah. 




43. Lamentations. 


18. Tohit. 




44. Epistle of Jeremiah. 


19. Juditli. 




45. Ezeldel. 


20. Esther, toith 


apoa^yphal addi- 46. Daniel, with apocryphal addi- 


lions. 




iions—Song of the Three Chil- 


21. Job. 




dren in the Furnace, History of 


22. Psalms. 




Susannah, Story of Bel and the 


23. Proverbs. 




Dragon. 


24. Ecclesiastes. 




■ 47. 1 Maccabees. 


25. Canticles. 




48. 2 3Iaccahees. 


26. Wisdom of Solomon. 


49. 3 Maccabees. 



The arrangement of books in the Latin Vidgate agrees with 
that of the Septuagint with the following exceptions : the two 
canonical books of Ezra and Nehemiah appear together, as in 
the Septuagint, but under the titles of 1 Esdras and 2 Esdras. 
Next follow the two apocryphal books of Esdras (the latter 
wanting in the Septuagint), under the titles of 3 Esdras and 
4 Esdras. The Greater Prophets, with Lamentations after 
Jeremiah and Daniel after Ezekiel, are inserted before the 
twelve Minor Prophets, which last stand in the order followed 
in our version. Throwing out of account, therefore, the apoc- 



172 COMPANION TO TPIE BIBLE. 

ryphal books, the order of the Yulgate is that followed by our 
English Bible. 

From tbe above it is manifest that in neither the Hebrew, the Greek, 
nor the Latin arrangement is the order of time strictly followed. The 
Hebrew, for example, to say nothing of the Psalms, which were written 
in different ages, throws into the Hagiographa Kuth, Job, Proverbs, etc. , 
which are older than any of the so-called latter pro]ohets. The Hebrew 
places the books of Kings, and the Greek and Latin not only these, but 
also the books of Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, before all the 
j)roper projDhetical books, though it is well known that several of these 
were much earlier. In the Hebrew arrangement, the three Greater Proph- 
ets precede all the Minor Prophets, though several of the latter were ear- 
lier than Jeremiah and Ezekiel, and even Isaiah. In the Greek, on the 
contrary, Isaiah and Jeremiah, as well as Ezekiel, are placed after even the 
prophets of the Restoration. The biblical student should carefully remem- 
ber these facts. He must not hastily assume that the books of the Old 
Testament stand in the order in which they v/ere written, but must deter- 
mine the age of each for itself, according to the best light that he can 
obtain. See further in the introductions to the several books. 

5. In high antiquity, the continuous mode of turiting, {scriptio 
continua,) without divisions between the words, was common. 
We cannot indeed infer, from the continuous writing of the 
oldest manuscripts of the New Testament, that the same 
method prevailed in the ancient Hebrew writing; for in very 
ancient inscriptions and manuscripts, belonging to different 
languages, the words are distinguished from each other more 
or less completely by points. Yet the neglect of these is com- 
mon. In most Greek and Phoenician inscriptions there is no 
division of words. The translators of the Septuagint may be 
reasonably supposed to have employed the best manuscripts 
at their command. Yet their version shows that in these the 
words were either not separated at all, or only partially. The 
complete separation of words by intervening spaces did not 
take place till after the introduction of the Assyrian, or square 
character. Ch. 14, No. 2. With the separation is connected 
the use of the so-called final letters, that is, forms of certain 
letters employed exclusively at the ends of words. 

6. A verv ancient Jewish division of the sacred text is into 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 173 

open and dosed sections. The former, wliicli are the larger of 
the two, are so named because in the Hebrew manuscripts, 
and in some printed editions, the remainder of the line at their 
close is left open, the next section beginning with a new line. 
The dosed sections, on the contrary, are separated from each 
other only by a space in the middle of a line — shut in on either 
hand. The origin of these sections is obscure. They answer 
in a general way to our sections and paragraphs, and are older 
than the Talmud, which contains several references to them, 
belonging at least to the earliest time when the sacred books 
w^ere read in public. Davidson, Biblical Criticism, vol. 1, ch. 5. 
Different from these, and later in their origin, are the larger 
sections of the Lcnv, called ParsMyoth (from the singular Para- 
shah, section), which have exclusive reference to the reading of 
the Law in the synagogue service. These are fifty -four in num- 
ber, one for each Sabbath of the Jewish intercalary j^ear, while 
on common j^ears two of the smaller sections are united. Cor- 
responding to these sections of the Law are sections from the 
Prophets, (the former and latter, according to the Jewish classi- 
fication,) called Haphtaroth, embracing, however, only selections 
from the prophets, and not the whole, as do the sections of the 
Law. The Jewish tradition is that this custom was first intro- 
duced during the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes, (about 
167 B. c.,) because the reading of the Law had been prohibited 
by him. But this account of the matter is doubted by many. 

In the Pentateuch, the smaller sections called open and closed are indi- 
cated, the former by the Hebrew letter |3 , that is, P, the initial letter of 
the word pethuhah, open ; the latter by the Hebrew letter 5=S, the first 
letter of the word sethumdJi, closed. The larger sections, an-anged for the 
reading of the Law in the synagogues, are indicated by three ^'s or three 
O's. according as they coincide at their beginning with an open or closed 
section. In the other portions of the sacred text these divisions are simply 
indicated by the ai)propriate spaces. But some printed editions do not 
obsjerve the distinction between the two in respect to space, so that the 
open and closed sections are confounded with each other. 

7. Chapters and Verses. The division of the poetical books 
and passages of the Old Testament into separate lines, Hebrew, 



17i COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

IjesuMm, (answering in general to our lialf-verses, sometimes to 
the third of a verse,) is very ancient, if not primitive. It is 
found in the poetical passages of the Law and the historical 
books, (Exod., ch. 15; Deut., ch. 32; Judges, ch. 5; 2 Sam., 
ch. 22,) and belonged originally to the three books of Job, 
Psalms, and Proverbs, which alone the Hebrews reckon as 
poetical. See below, Ch. 21, No. 1. The division of the whole 
Old Testament into verses, (likewise called by the Hebrews 
pesuJcim,) is also the work of Jewish scholars. It existed in its 
completeness in the ninth century, and must have had its ori- 
gin much earlier in the necessity that grew out of the public 
reading and interpretation of the sacred books in the syna- 
gogue service. 

In the Hebrew text the verses are distinguished by two points called 
soph-pasuk ( ♦ ), except in the synagogue rolls, where, according to ancient 
usage, this mark of distinction is. omitted. 

The present division into chapters is much later, and is the 
work of Christian scholars. By some it is ascribed to Stephen 
Langton, archbishop of Canterbury, who died in 1227; by oth- 
ers to Cardinal Hugo de St. Cher of the same century. The 
Jews transferred it from the Latin Yulgate to the Hebrew text. 
There are, however, some discrepancies between the chapters 
of the Hebrew text and those of the Yulgate and our English 
version. 

The division of the sacred text into chapters and verses is indispensa- 
ble for convenience of reference. But the student should remember that 
these distinctions are wholly of human origin, and sometimes separate pas- 
sages closely connected in meaning. The first verse, for examj)le, of Isa- 
iah, ch. 4, is immediately connected in sense with the threatenings against 
"the daughters of Zion" contained in the close of the preceding chaj)ter. 
In the beginning of ch. 11 of tlie same book, the words : "And there shall 
come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out 
of his roots," contrast the Branch of the Messiah with the Assyrian bough, 
the lopping off of which has just been foretold ; chajD. 10 : 33, 34. The 
last three verses, again, of Isaiah, ch, 52, evidently belong to the following 
chapter. The connections of the sacred text, therefore, must be deter- 
mined independently of these human distinctions. 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 175 



CHAPTEK XIV. 

The Original Text and its History. 

1. The original language of the Old Testament is Hehreiv, 
with the exception of certain portions of Ezra and Daniel and a 
single verse of Jeremiah, (Ezra 4 : 8-6 : 18 ; 7 : 12-26 ; Dan. 2 : 4, 
from the middle of the verse to end of chap. 7 ; Jer. 10 : 11,) 
which are written in the cognate Chaldee language. The He- 
brew belongs to a stock of related languages commonly called 
Shemttic, because spoken mainly by the descendants of Shem. 
Its main divisions are: (1,) the Arabic, having its original seat 
in the southeastern part of the Shemitic territory, and of which 
the ^thiopic is a branch ; (2,) the Aramcean in the north and 
northeast, comprising the eastern Aramaean or Chaldee, and 
the western or Syriac ; (3,) the Hehreiv, occupying a middle 
place between the two. The Samaritan is essentially Ara- 
maean, but with an intermixture of Hebrew forms; the Phoeni- 
cian, or Punic, on the other hand, is most closely allied to the 
Hebrew. All these languages, with the exception of the ^thi- 
opic, are written from right to left, and exhibit many peculiar- 
ities of orthography and grammatical forms and structure. 

2. The Hebrew characters in present use, called the Assyr- 
ian, or square writing, are not those originally employed. The 
earlier form is undoubtedly represented by the inscriptions on 
the coins struck by the Maccabees, of which the letters bear a 
strong resemblance to the Samaritan and Phoenician charac- 
ters. The Jewish tradition is that the present square character 
was introduced by Ezra, and that it was of Assyrian origin. 
The question of the correctness of this tradition has been much 
discussed. Some wholly reject it, and hold that the present 
square writing came by a gradual process of change from a 
more ancient type. See Davidson's Bib. Crit.. vol. 1, ch. 3. 



176 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

That the present square writing existed in onr Saviour's day has been 
argued with much force from Matth. 5 : 18, where the Saviour says : ' ' Till 
heaven and earth jDass, one jot [iota) or one tittle [keraia] shall in no wise 
pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." The iota (Hebrew yod) is the letter 
i or y, which in the square w^riting is the smallest in the alphabet ( ^ ), but 
not in the ancient Hebrew, Phoenician, or Samaritan. Tlie kera:ia, little 
turn, is that which distinguishes one letter from another ; as "^ , c?, from 
*) , r ; or ^ , &, from 3 > ^- ^^e Alf ord on Matth. 5 : 18. [The recent dis- 
covery in the Crimea of inscriptions on the tombs of Caraite Jew'S, some 
of them dating back, it is alleged, to the first century, proves that the 
Assyrian or square character w^as then in use. In these inscriptions the 
Yod (iota) is represented by a simple point. See Alexander's Kitto, vol. 
3, p. 1173.] 

The Rahhinic is a modification of the Assyrian or square writing, for 
the purpose of giving it a more cursive character. 

3. The Hebrew alplicibet, like all the other Sliemitic alpha- 
bets — with the exception of the iEthiopic, which is syllabic, the 
vowels being indicated by certain modifications in the forms of 
the consonants — was originally a skeleton alphabet, an alpha- 
bet of consonants, in which, however, certain letters, called 
vowel-letters, performed in a measure the office of vowels. The 
Shemite did not separate the vow^els from the consonants, and 
express them, as we do, by separate signs. He rather con- 
ceived of the vowels as inhering in the consonants — as modifi- 
cations in the utterance of the consonants, which the reader 
could make for himself. Various particulars in respect to the 
pronunciation of certain consonants were, in like manner, left 
to the reader's own knowledge. For example, the three He- 
brew letters, ^^ sh; f2 ^ i'^^' / 1 , ^',(l/!2^;to be read from right to 
left,) might be pronounced, shamar, he kept ; shemor, keep tJiou ; 
shomer, keeping — the reader determining from the connection 
which of these forms should be used, just as we decide in Eng- 
lish between the different pronunciations of the word boiv. As 
long as the Hebrew remained a living language, that is, the 
language of the masses of the people, this outline alphabet was 
sufficient for all practical purposes. The modern Arabs read 
without difficulty their ordinary books, which omit, in like man- 
ner, the signs for the vowels. The regularity of structure 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 177 

which belongs to the Shemitic languages generally, makes this 
omission less inconvenient for them than a like omission would 
be for us in our western tongues. 

4. During the long Babylonish captivity the mass of the 
Jewish people, who were born and educated in Babylon and 
the adjacent regions, adopted of necessity the language of the 
country; that is, the Aramaean or Chaldee language. After 
the exile, the Hebrew was indeed spoken and written by the 
prophets and learned men, but not by the people at large. In 
Nehemiah 8 : 8 we are told that " they read in the book in the 
law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to 
understand the reading." This has been explained by some 
as meaning simply that they expounded to them the sense. 
But the more natural meaning is that they inferpreted to the 
people the words read from the law. We find, soon after the 
captivity at least, the old Hebrew supplanted as a living lan- 
guage among the people at large by the Aramaean or Chaldee. 
Why not date the change from the latter part of the captivity 
itself? 

It was natural that tlie prophets and historians, all of whom wrote soon 
after the exile, should emx^loy the sacred language of their fathers. This 
fact cannot be adduced as a valid argument that the body of the people 
continued to speak Hebrew. The incorporation,, on the other hand, of 
long passages in Chaldee into the books of Daniel and Ezra implies at least 
that this language was known to the peoi^le at large. As to the children 
spoken of in Neh. 13 : 24, who "could not speak in the Jews' language, 
but according to the language of eacli people " — the i)eople, to wit, to 
which their mothers belonged — "the Jews' language" here is probably 
the language used by the Jews, as distinguished from that used by the 
j)eople of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. Keil, Introduction to Old Testa- 
ment, ^ 18. 

5. After the Hebrew had ceased to be the language of the 
common peojDle, its traditional pronunciation was carefully 
preserved for many successive centuries in the synagogue-read- 
ing. It was not till several centuries after Christ (somewhere 
between the sixth and the tenth centuries) that the vowel-signs 
and other marks of distinction were added in order to perpet- 



178 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

uate, with all possible accuracy, tlie solemn traditional pronun- 
ciation of the synagogue. This work is ascribed to learned 
Jews of Tiberias, called 3fasoretes, from llasora, tradition ; and 
the Hebrew text thus furnished by them is called the 3fasoretiCy 
in distinction from the iinpointed text, which latter is, according 
to Jewish usage, retained in the synagogue-rolls. From rever- 
ence to the word of God, the jounduators (as these men are also 
called) left the primitive text in all cases undisturbed, simply 
superadding to it their marks of distinction. After giving with 
great minuteness the different vowel-signs and marks (com- 
monly called diacritical) for the varying pronunciation of the 
consonants, they superadded a complicated system of accents. 
These serve the threefold office of guides in cantUlating the 
sacred text (according to ancient usage in the synagogue-read- 
ing) ; of indicating the connection in meaning among the words 
and clauses ; and of marking, though with certain exceptions, 
the tone-syllahles of words. In addition to all the above, they 
added a mass of notes, partly of a critical and partly of a gram- 
matical character, relating to various readings, grammatical 
forms and connections, modes of orthography, and the like. 
These are called collectively the 3IasoraJi, of which there is a 
fuller Masorah called the greater (found only in Kabbinical 
Bibles), and a briefer, called the less, the main part of which 
is found in common editions of the Hebrew Bible. To illus- 
trate the llasoretic as contrasted with the unpointed text, we 
give the first verse of Genesis, first, in its simple unpointed 
form ; secondly, with the vowel-signs and diacritical marks for 
the consonants ; tJiirdly, with both these and the accents, the 
last being the complete Masoretic text. 



T T 



ha-arets. ve-etli liasshamayim eili eloliim hara Bereshiih 
the-earth. and-it the-lieavens them God created In-ihe-heginning 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 179 

The round circle above the initial letter in the third line refers to a 
marginal note of tlie Masorah indicating that it is to bo written large. 

Eespecting the origin and antiquity of tlie Hebrew points a warm con- 
troversy existed in former times. Some maintained that they were coeval 
with the language itself ; others that they were first introduced by Ezra 
after the Babylonish captivity. But their later origin — somewhere be- 
tween the sixth and tenth centuries — ^is now generally conceded. It is 
further agreed that their inventors were able scholars, thoroughly acquaint- 
ed as well with the genius and structure of the language as with the tradi- 
tional pronunciation of the synagogue ; and that they have given a faithful 
representation of this pronunciation, as it existed in their day. Their 
judgment, therefore, though not invested with any divine authority, is 
very valuable. ' ' It represents a tradition, it is true ; but a tradition of 
the oldest and most important character. " Home's Introduction, vol. 2, 
p. 15, edition of 1860. 

6. The deep reverence of the Jews for their sacred books 
manifests itself in their numerous rules for the guidance of 
copyists in the transcription of the rolls designed for use in the 
synagogue service. They extend to every minute particular — 
the quality of the ink and the parchment (which latter must 
always be prepared by a Jew from the skin of a clean animal, 
and fastened by strings made from the skins of clean animals) ; 
the number, length, and breadth of the columns ; the number 
of lines in each column, and the number of words in each line. 
No w^ord must be written till the copyist has first inspected it 
in the example before him, and pronounced it aloud ; before 
w'riting the name of God he must wash his pen ; all redun- 
dance or defect of letters must be carefully avoided ; prose 
must not be written as verse, or verse as prose ; and when the 
copy has been completed, it must be examined for approval or 
rejection wdthin thirty days. Superstitious, and even ridiculous, 
as these rules are, we have in them a satisfactory assurance of 
the fidelity with which the sacred text has been perpetuated. 
Though their date may be posterior to the age of the Talmud- 
ists (between 200 and 500 after Christ), the spirit of reverence 
for the divine word which they manifest goes far back beyond 
this age. We see it, free from these later superstitious obser- 
vances, in the transactions recorded in the eighth chapter of 



180 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

Nehemiali, when Ezra oj^ened the book of the law in the sight 
of all the people, " and wdien he opened it, all the people stood 
up." The early history of the sacred text is confessedly in- 
volved in great obscurity; but in the profound reverence with 
which the Jews have ever regarded it since the captivity, w-e 
have satisfactory proof that it has come down to us, in all 
essential particulars, as Ezra left it. Of the primitive text 
before the days of Ezra and his associates we have but a few 
brief notices in the historical books. But in the fidelity and 
skill of Ezra, who was " a ready scribe in the law of Moses, 
which the Lord God of Israel had given," as well as in the 
intelligence and deep earnestness of the men associated with 
him, w^e have a reasonable ground of assurance that the sacred 
books which have come down to us through their hands con- 
tain, in all essential particulars, the primitive text in a pure 
and un corrupt form. 

7. As to the age of Hebrew manuscripts, it is to be noticed 
that not many have come down to us from an earlier century 
than the tw-elfth. In this respect there is a striking difference 
between them and the Greek and Latin manuscripts of the 
New Testament, a few of which are as old as the fourth and 
fifth centuries, and quite a number anterior to the tenth. The 
oldest known Hebrew manuscript, on the contrary, is a Penta- 
teuch roll on leather, now at Odessa, which, if the subscription 
stating that it was corrected in the year 580 can be relied on, 
belongs to the sixth century. One of De Rossi's manuscripts 
is supposed to belong to the eighth century, and there are a 
few of the ninth and tenth, and several of the eleventh. Bishop 
Walton supposes that after the Masoretic text was fully settled, 
the Jewish rulers condemned, as profane and illegitimate, all 
the older manuscripts not conformed to this : wdience, after a 
few ages, the rejected copies mostly perished. The existing 
Hebrew manuscripts give the Masoretic text with but little 
variation from each other. 

Earnest effort has been made to find a reliable ante-Masoretic text, biit 
to no purpose. The search in China has thus far been fruitless. When 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 181 

Dr. Buchanan in 1806 brought from India a synagogue-roll which ho 
found among the Jews of Malabar, high expectations were raised. But it 
is now conceded to be a Masoretic roll, probably of Eiiroi^ean origin. 
Eespecting the manuscrixDts of the Samaritan Pentateuch, see below. No. 9. 
[A synagogue-roll has recently been discovered in the Crimea of the 
date answering to a. d. 489. See Alexander's Kitto, vol. 3, pp. 1172-5.] 

8. In respect to form, Hebrew manuscripts fall into two 
great divisions, louhlic and private. The public manuscripts 
consist of synagogue-rolls carefully written out on parchment, as 
already described, without vowel-points or divisions of verses. 
The Law is written on a single roll ; the sections from the 
prophets (Haphtaroth, ch. 12. 6) and the Five Eolls — Canticles, 
Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther (ch. 12. 4) — each on 
separate rolls. The private manuscripts are written loltli leaves 
in book form — folio, quarto, octavo, and duodecimo ; mostly on 
parchment, but some of the later on paper. The poetical pas- 
sages are generally arranged in hemisticlis ; the rest is in col- 
umns which vary according to the size of the page. The text. 
and points were always written separately ; the former with a 
heavier, the latter with a lighter pen, and generally with differ- 
ent ink. The square or Assyrian character is employed as a 
rule, but a few are written in the rabbinic character. The 
Chaldee paraphrase (less frequently some other version) may 
be added. The margin contains more or less of the Masorah; 
sometimes prayers, psalms, rabbinical commentaries, etc. 

9. There is also a Samaritan Pentateuch; that is, a Hebrew 
Pentateuch written in the ancient Samaritan characters, and 
first brought to light in 1616, respecting the origin of which 
very different opinions are held. Some suppose that the Samar- 
itans received it as an inheritance from the ten tribes ; others 
that it was introduced at the time of the founding of the Samar- 
itan temple on Mount Gerizim ; others that it was brought by 
the Israelitish priest sent to instruct the Samaritans in the 
knowledge of God, 2 Kings 17 : 27, 28. It is agreed among 
biblical scholars that its text has been subjected to many alter- 
ations which greatly impair its critical authority. These, how- 



182 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

ever, are not suiScient to account for its remarkable agreement 
with the Septuagint version against the Masoretic text, in 
numerous readings, some of them of importance. The explana- 
tion of this phenomenon must be the agreement of the original 
Samaritan codex with the manuscripts from which the Alexan- 
drine version was executed. Probably both were of Egyptian 
origin. See Alexander's Kitto, art. Samaritan Pentateuch. 

In a brief compend, like the present work, it is not thought necessary 
to notice particularly the printed editions of the Hebrew Bible, The 
reader will find an account of them in the "Bibliographical List " appended 
to the fourth volume of Home's Introduction, edition of 1860. The text 
of Yan der Hooght's Hebrew Bible, (Amsterdam and Utrecht, 1705,) which 
was chiefly based on the earlier text of Athias, (Amsterdam, 1667,) is gen- 
erally followed at the present day, and may be regarded as the received 
text of the Hebrew Scriptures. 



THE OLD TESTAMENT 183 



CHAPTEE XV. 

Formation and Wistory of the fiEBREW Canon. 

1. The Greek word canon (originally a straight rod or polcy 
measuring-rod, then rule) denotes that collection of books which 
the churches receive as given by inspiration of God, and there- 
fore as constituting for them a divinerule of faith and practice. 
To the books included in it the term canonical is applied. The 
Canon of the Old Testament, considered in reference to its con- 
stituent parts, was formed gradually ; formed under divine 
superintendence by a process of growth extending through 
many centuries. The history of its formation may be conveni- 
ently considered under the following divisions : (1,) the Penta- 
teuch; (2,) the historical books; (3,) the prophetical books in the 
stricter sense of the term ; (4,) a somewhat miscellaneous col- 
lection of books which may be designated in a general way as 
poetical. 

I. THE PENTATEUCH. 

2. In the name applied to the Pentateuch — " the book of 
the law," and more fully, " the book of the law of Moses," " the 
book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to 
Israel" — we have from the beginning the general idea of the 
canon. A canonical writing is one that contains a communica- 
tion from God to men, and has therefore the impress of divine 
authority. In its outward form it may be preceptive, historical, 
or meditative. But in all these different modes it still reveals 
to men God's character, and the duties which he requires of 
them. The Hebrews never admitted to the number of their 
sacred books a writing that was secular in its character. Even 
those who deny the canonical authority of certain parts of the 



184 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

Old Testament acknowledge that the Jews received these parts 
because they believed them to be of a sacred character. 

3. In Deut. 31:9-13, 24-26; 17:18, 19, we read: "And 
Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons 
of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and 
unto all the elders of Israel. And Moses commanded them, 
saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the 
year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, when all Israel is 
come to appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he 
shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their 
hearing. Gather the people together, men, and women, and 
children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they 
may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, 
and observe to do all the words of this law: and that their 
children which have not known anything, may hear, and learn 
to fear the Lord your God, as long as ye live in the land 
whither ye go over Jordan to possess it;" "and it came to 
pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of 
this law in a book, until they were finished, that Moses com- 
manded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the 
Lord, saying, Take this book of the law, and put it in the side" 
(that is, not icitldn, but hy the side. Compare Josh. 12 : 9 ; Kutli 
2 : 14 ; 1 Sam. 20 : 25 ; Psa. 91 : 7 ; where the same word is used 
in the original) " of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your 
God, that it may be there for a witness against thee ;" " and it 
shall be when he"— the king whom the Israelites in some future 
age shall set over themselves — " sitteth upon the throne of his 
kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book 
out of that w^iich is before the priests the Levites : and it shall 
be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life ; 
that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the 
words of this law and the statutes, to do them." These passa- 
ges are of the w^eightiest import; for they teach us how the 
nucleus of the canon of the Old Testament was formed, and give 
us all the particulars that enter into the idea of a canonical 
writing. It is given by God as an authoritative rule of faith 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 183 

and practice ; it is committed to the custody of liis people 
tlirougli their recognized officers, and that for all future time ; 
it is to be published to the people at large, and diligently stud- 
ied by the rulers, that they and the people together m*ay know 
and do the will of God. It is not necessary to decide the ques- 
tion how much is included in the words " this book of the law," 
Deut. 31 : 26, whether the whole Pentateuch, or only the book 
of Deuteronomy. The arguments to show that the four pre- 
ceding books came, in all essential respects, from the pen of 
Moses nave been already given (Ch. 9, Nos. 7-9), and need not 
be here repeated. We only add that even if the reference is to 
Deuteronomy alone, as some suppose, the rule for this book 
would naturally be the rule for all the previous writings. They 
also would be laid up by the side of the ark ; for it is plain 
that the priests and Levites, who had charge of the sanctuary, 
were made the keepers of the sacred writiugs generally. 

As a matter of simple convenience the book of Deuteronomy was Avrit- 
ten on a separate roll ("in a book," Deut. 31 :24). But if this book, 
when finished, was laid up with the earlier portions of the law at the side 
of the ark, so as to constitute with them a single collection, and if, as we 
may reasonably suppose, Moses, in writing the book of Deuteronomy, 
contemplated such a collection of all the jDarts of the law into one whole ; 
then, when the law is mentioned, whether in Deuteronomy or in the later 
books, we are to understand the whole law, unless there be something in 
the context to limit its meaning, as there is, for example, in Joshua 8 : 32 
compared with Deut. 27 : 1-8. The command to "read this law before all 
Israel in their hearing," " at tlie end of every seven years, in the solem- 
nity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles," was understood in 
the days of Ezra and Nehemiah of the whole law, and not of Deuteronomy 
alone (Ch. 9, No. 4) ; and so Josephus plainly understood it : " But when the 
multitude is assembled in the holy city at the septennial sacrifices on the 
occasion of the feast of tabernacles, let the high iDriest, standing on a lofty 
stage whence he can be plainly heard, read the laws to all." Antiq. 4. 8, 
12. "The laws," in the usage of Josephus, naturally mean the whole 
collection of laws. 

II. THE HISTOEICAL BOOKS. 

4. The history of these is involved in obscurity. In respect 
to most of them we know not the authors, nor the exact date of 



186 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

their composition. There are, however, two notices that shed 
much light on the general history of the earlier historical 
books. In the last chapter of the book of Joshua, after an 
account of the renewal of the covenant at Shechem, it is added : 
" And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, 
and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak that 
was by the sanctuary of the Lord." Josh. 24 : 26. Again, upon 
the occasion of the establishment of the kingdom under Saul, 
we are told that " Samuel told the people the manner of the 
kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the 
Lord." 1 Sam. 10 : 25. From the first of these passages we 
learn that a theocratic man after Moses, who had the spirit of 
prophecy, connected his writings (or at least one portion of 
them) with the law. This addition by Joshua, though never 
formally regarded as a part of the law, virtually belonged to it, 
since it contained a renewal of the covenant between God and 
his people. From the second passage we learn that the place 
for other important documents pertaining to the theocracy was 
*' before the Lord," where the law was deposited. Hence we 
infer with much probability that, besides the addition made to 
" the book of the law of God," important historical writings, 
proceeding from prophetical men, like Joshua and Samuel, 
were in process of collection at the sanctuary, all the time from 
Moses to Samuel. 

5. If now we examine the books of Joshua and Judges, we 
must be satisfied that the men who compiled them made use of 
such materials. In the book of Joshua is recorded, with much 
detail, the allotment of the land of Canaan among the several 
tribes. A document of this nature must have been written at 
the time, and by Joshua himself, or under his immediate direc- 
tion. The same may be reasonably supposed of other portions 
of the book. If then it was put into its present form after the 
death of Joshua, as some suppose, the materials must still have 
been furnished by him to a great extent. The book of Judges 
covers a period of more than three centuries. "^Yho composed 
it we do not know, but the materials employed by him must 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 187 

Lave existed, in part at least, in a written form. The book of 
Kuth may be regarded as an appendix to that of the Judges. 

6. The two books of Samuel (which originally constituted 
one whole) bring down the histoL-y of the Theocracy from the 
birth of Samuel to the close of David's reign — a period of about 
a century and a half. The author, therefore, can have been, 
upon any supposition, only in part contemporary with the 
events which he records. Yet if we examine the biographical 
sketches of Saul, Samuel, and David contained in these books, 
the conviction forces itself upon us that they must have been 
written by contemporaries. Their freshness, minute accuracy 
of detail, and graphic vividness of style mark them as coming 
from eye-witnesses, or from writers who had received their 
accounts from eye-witnesses. Who were authors of these origi- 
nal documents we cannot determine. It is certain that Sam- 
uel was one of them. 1 Chron. 29 : 29. Who composed the 
books, again, is a question that we are unable to answer. It 
was probably a prophet living not very long after the separa- 
tion of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. From the days of 
Samuel and onward there was a flourishing school of the proph- 
ets at hand which could furnish, under the inspiration of the 
Holy Spirit, both the writers of the original materials and the 
author of the books in their present form. 

The attempt has been made to set aside the evidence that the writer of 
the books of Samuel made use of ei'.rlier documents, from the example of 
such men as Swift and Defoe, who composed works of fiction with all the 
simjplicity and circumstantial detail of those who write authentic history as 
eye-witnesses. But, unless the design be to class the books of Samuel with 
"Gulliver's Travels" and "Eobinson Crusoe," the argument is wholly 
irrelevant. With Swift and Defoe simplicity and minuteness of detail were 
a matter of conscious effort — a work of art, for which they naturally chose 
the region of fiction ; and here they, and other men of genius, have been 
eminently successful. Shakespeare has portrayed ideal scenes in the life of 
Julius Caesar with more vividness and circumstantiality than any authentic 
historian of Csesar's age. But real history, written simply in the interest 
of truth, never has the graphic character, artless simj^licity, and circum- 
stantiality of detail which belong to these inimitable narratives, unless the 
Arriter be eitlier an eye-witness, or draw his materials from eye-witnesses. 



188 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

7. We come next to the books of Kings and Chronicles, the 
writers of which corfessedly employed previously existing mate- 
rials. In the two books of Kings (which, like the two of Sam- 
uel and of Chronicles, originally constituted one work) refer- 
ence is made to the following sources : For the reign of Solo- 
mon, " the book of the acts of Solomon " (1 Kings 11 : 41) ; for 
the kingdom of Judah after the revolt of the twelve tribes from 
Rehoboam to Jehoiakim, " the book of the chronicles of the 
kings of Judah;" for the kingdom of Israel, "the book of the 
chronicles of the kings of Israel." In the books of Chronicles 
we have: For the reign of David, ''the book" (history) "of 
Samuel the seer, the book of Nathan the prophet, and the book 
of Gad the seer " (1 Chron. 29 : 29) ; for the reign of Solomon, 
" the book of Nathan the prophet, the prophecy of Ahijah the 
Shilonite," and " the vision of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam 
the son of Nebat (2 Chron. 9:29) ; for the reign of Eehoboam, 
"the book of Shemaiah the prophet," and "of Iddo the seer 
concerning genealogies," that is, in the manner of a genealogi- 
cal record (2 Chron. 12 : 15) ; for the reign of Abijah, " the 
story " (commentary) "of the prophet Iddo " (2 Chron. 13 : 22) ; 
for the reign of Jehoshaphat, " the book of Jehu the son of 
Hanani," who is mentioned (rather, loho is inserted, i. e., as an 
author) in the book of the kings of Israel (2 Chron. 20 : 34) ; for 
the reign of Uzziah, " the prophet Isaiah " (2 Chron. 26 : 22) ; 
for the reign of Hezekiah in part, "the vision of Isaiah the 
prophet" (2 Chron. 32 : 32); for the reign of Manasseh in part, 
" the sayings of the seers," or, as many prefer to render, " the 
words of Hosai" (2 Chron. 33 : 18). Besides the above, refer- 
ence is made to " the book of the kings of Judah and Israel," 
"the book of the kings of Israel and Judah," "the story of the 
book of the kings;" "the book of the kings of Israel." These 
last are probably only different titles of the same collection of 
annals, embracing in its contents the history of hoth kingdoms ; 
since the references to the book of the kings of Israel are for 
the affairs of the kingdom of Judah (2 Chron. 20: 34; 33 : 18). 

8. With regard to the above original sources, it should be 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. ISO 

carefully noticed that tlie references in the books of Kings are 
not to our present books of Chronicles, which did not exist 
when the books of Kings were written. Chap. 20, No. 21. Nei- 
ther can the allusions in the books of Chronicles be restricted 
to our present books of Kings ; for (1) they refer to matters 
not recorded in those books — for example, to the wars of Jo- 
tham, 2 Chron. 27 : 7; (2) they refer to the book of the kings of 
Judah and Israel for 2ifuU account of the acts of a given mon- 
arch " first and last," while the history of the same monarch in 
our present books of Kings refers ioT further information to the 
book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah. It is plain that 
both writers had access to a larger collection of original documents ^ 
which were in great part the same. The chief difference in 
outward form is that, when the books of Chronicles were writ- 
ten, the annals of the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel seem 
to have constituted a single collection, whereas in the books of 
Kings they are always mentioned as two separate works. In 
making his selections from these annals, each writer proceeded 
independently. Hence the remarkable agreements, where both 
used the same materials ; and the remarkable differences, where 
one employed documents, or parts of documents, which the 
other omitted to use. 

9. As to the character of these original documents, it is plain 
that a portion of them were written by prophets. By some the 
books of the kings of Israel and Judah so often referred to, 
have been regarded as simply the public annals of the two king- 
doms written by the official annalists, the " scribes " or "record- 
ers " so often spoken of. No doubt such annals existed, and 
entered largely into the documents in question. But the right 
interpretation of 2 Chron. 20 : 34, shows that, in some cases at 
least, the writings of prophets were incorporated into these 
annals. The extended history of Elijah and Elisha cannot 
have been the work of the public scribes of the kingdom of 
Israel, but of prophets, writing from the prophetic point of 
view. Th3 question, however, is not one of practical impor- 
tance, since, whatever may have been the source or character 



100 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

of the materials employed, the writers of the books now under 
consideration, used them at their discretion under the guidance 
of the Spirit of God. To us, therefore, they come with the 
weight of prophetic authority. The further consideration of 
the relation between the books of Kings and Chronicles is 
reserved for the special introductions to these books. It may 
be added here that the probable date of the former is the first 
half of the Babjdonish captivity ; of the latter, the time of Ezra 
under the Persian rule. 

10. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah constitute a continu- 
ation of the books of Chronicles, and need not be particularly 
noticed in the present connection. For their authorship and 
date, as also for the book of Esther, see the particular intro- 
ductions to these books. 

III. THE PKOPHETICAL BOOKS. 

11. Under the loroplietical hooks, in the stricter sense of the 
word, may be included the three Greater prophets — Isaiah, Jer- 
emiah, and Ezekiel — Daniel (though largely historical), and 
the twelve Minor prophets. These will all come up hereafter 
for separate consideration. At present we view them simply 
with reference to the growth of the Old Testament Canon. 
From the settlement of the Israelities in the land of Canaan to 
the time of Samuel, a period of several centuries (according to 
the chronology followed by the apostle Paul, Acts 13 : 20, four 
hundred and fifty years), we read of several ajDpearances of the 
"angel of the Lord." Judges 2 : 1 ; G : 11 ; 13 : 3. The notices 
of prophets during the same period are only three in number. 
Judges 4:4; 6:8; 1 Sam. 2 : 27. But with Samuel began a 
new era. He was himself one of the greatest of the prophets, 
and he established a school of the prophets over which he him- 
self presided. 1 Sam. 10 : 5, 10 ; 19 : 20. From his day onward 
such schools seem to have flourished as a theocratic institution 
throughout the whole period of the kings, though more vigor- 
ously at certain times. 1 Kings 18 : 4 ; 20 : 35 ; 2 Kings 2 : 3, 5 ; 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 191 

4 : 1, 38, 43 ; 5 : 22 ; 6 : 1 ; 9 : 1. So far as we have notices of 
these schools, they were under the instruction of eminent proph- 
ets; and "the sons of the prophets" assembled in them received 
such a training as fitted them, so far as human instrumentality 
is concerned, for the exercise of the prophetical office, as well 
as for being, in a more general sense, the religious instructors 
of the people. From these schools came, apparently, most 
of those whom God called to be his messengers to the rulers 
and people, though with exceptions according to his sovereign 
wisdom. Amos 1:1; 7 : 14. We find, accordingly, that from 
the days of Samuel and onward the prophets were recognized 
as a distinct order of men in the Jewish theocracy, who derived 
their authority immediately from God, and spoke by direct 
inspiration of his Spirit, as they themselves indicate by the 
standing formula: " Thus saith the Lord." 

12. It is a remarkable fact, however, that from Samuel to 
about the reign of Uzziah, a period of some three centuries, we 
have no hooks of prophecy written by these men, if we except, 
perhaps, the book of Jonah. Their writings seem to have been 
mainly historical (like the historical notices incorporated into 
the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel) ; and what 
remains to us of them is preserved in the historical books of the 
Old Testament. See above, Nos. 6 and 7. But about the time 
of Uzziah begins a new era, that of written prophecy. During 
his reign appeared Hosea, Amos, Isaiah, and probably Jonah, 
Joel, and Obadiah. Micah followed immediately afterwards, 
being contemporary in part with Isaiah; and then, in succes- 
sion, the rest of the prophets whose writings have come down 
to us. When the theocracy was now on its decline, waxing old 
and destined to pass away for ever, they felt themselves called 
to put on record, for the instruction of all coming ages, their 
words of warning and encouragement. Thus arose gradually 
our present collection of prophetical books ; that of Lamenta- 
tions included, which is but an appendix to the writings of 
Jeremiah. 



102 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

IV. THE POETICAL BOOKS. 

13. These are a precious outgrowth of the theocratic spirit, 
in which the elements of meditation and reflection predominate. 
Concerning the date and authorship of the book of Job, which 
stands first in order in our arrangement, we have no certain 
information. Learned men vary between the ante-Mosaic age 
and that of Solomon. Its theme is divine providence, as viewed 
from the position of the Old Testament. See further in the 
introduction to this book. 

14. With the call of David to the throne of Israel began a 
new and glorious era in the history of public worship, that of 
" the service of song in the house of the Lord." 1 Chron. 6 : 31. 
As when Moses smote the rock in the wilderness the water 
gushed forth in refreshing streams, so the soul of David, touched 
by the spirit of. inspiration, poured forth a rich and copious flood 
of divine song, which has in all ages refreshed and strengthened 
God's people in their journey heavenward " through this dark 
vale of tears." Nor was the fountain of sacred poetry confined 
to him alone. God opened it also in the souls of such men as 
Asaph, Ethan, Heman, and the sons of Korah ; nor did its flow 
wholly cease till after the captivity. The Psalms of David and 
his coadjutors were from the first dedicated to the service of 
the sanctuary; and thus arose our canonical book of Psalms, 
although (as will be hereafter shown) it did not receive its pres- 
ent form and arrangement till the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. 

16. After David came Solomon in the sphere of practical 
wisdom. This, according to the divine record, he received as 
a special endowment from God, though doubtless he had in a 
peculiar measure a natural capacity for such an endowment. 
In Gibeon the Lord appeared to him in a dream by night, and 
said : " Ask what I shall give thee." Passing by wealth, long 
life, and the death of his enemies, the youthful monarch be- 
sought God to give him "an understanding heart," that he might 
be qualified to judge the great people committed to his care. 
The answer was: " Behold, I have done according to thy word: 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 193 

lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so 
that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee 
shall an J arise like unto thee." 1 Kings 3 : 5-12. Thus di- 
vinely qualified, he embodied, in a vast collection of proverbs, 
his observations on human life, and the course of human affairs. 
Our canonical book of Proverbs is a selection from these, with 
some additions at the end from other sources. For notices 
respecting the arrangement of these proverbs in their present 
form, as well as respecting the books of Ecclesiastes and Can- 
ticles, which are also ascribed to Solomon, the reader may con- 
sult the introductions to these books. 

V. THE COMPLETION OF THE CANON. 

The subject thus far before us has been the groiotli of the 
materials which constitute our canonical books. The question 
of their preservation and final embodiment in their present 
form remains to be considered. 

16. Respecting the preservation of the sacred books till the 
time of Ezra and Nehemiah, our information is very scanty. 
Each king was required to have at hand for his own personal 
use a transcript of the law of Moses (Deut. 17 : 18), the original 
writing being carefully laid up in the inner sanctuary, where 
Hilkiah, the high priest, found it in the reign of Josiah. 
2 Kings 22 : 8. We cannot doubt that such kings as David, 
Solomon, Asa, and Hezekiah complied with this law; though 
after the disorders connected with the reign of Manasseh and 
his captivity, the good king Josiah neglected it. Jehoshaphat, 
we are expressly told, sent men to teach in the cities of Judah, 
who had " the book of the law of the Lord with them, and 
went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the 
people." 2 Chron. 17 : 7-9. Of course it was a copy, and not 
the original autograph, which might not be removed from the 
sanctuary. It is a natural supposition that other transcripts 
of the law were made under the direction of the high priest, for 

Comp. to r,l'l». 9 



104 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

the use of pious men, especially pious prophets, princes, and 
Levites, who needed its directions for the right discharge of 
their official duties, though on this point we can affirm nothing 
positively. As to the prophetical books, we know that Jere- 
miah had access to the writings of Isaiah, for in repeated 
instances he borrowed his language. "We know again that 
Daniel had at hand the j^rophecies of Jeremiah; for he under- 
stood "by books" (literally "by the books," which may be 
well understood to mean that collection of sacred books of 
which the prophecies of Jeremiah formed a part) " the number 
of the years whereof the w^ord of the Lord came to Jeremiah 
the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the 
desolations of Jerusalem." Dan. 9 : 2. The consecration of 
the Psalms of David and his coadjutors to the public service of 
the sanctuary must have insured their careful preservation by 
the Levites who had charge of the temple music; and, in gen- 
eral, the deep reverence of the Jews for their sacred writings is 
to us a reasonable evidence that they preserved them from loss 
and mutilation to the captivity, and through that calamitous 
period. 

17. To Ezra and his coadjutors, the men of the Great Syn- 
agogue, the Jews ascribe the completion of the canon of the Old 
Testament. Their traditions concerning him are embellished 
with extravagant fictions ; yet we cannot reasonably deny that 
they are underlaid by a basis of truth. All the scriptural noti- 
ces of Ezra attest both his zeal and his ability as " a scribe of 
the words of the commandments of the Lord, and of his statutes 
to Israel," a man who " had prepared his heart to seek the law 
of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and 
judgments." Ezra 7 : 10, 11. The work in which he and his 
associates were engaged was the reestablishment of the The- 
ocracy on its old foundation, the law of Moses, with the ordi- 
nances pertaining to the sanctuary-service afterwards added by 
David ; and that too in the vivid consciousness of the fact that 
disobedience to the divine law had brought upon the nation the 
calamities of the captivity. In such circumstances their first 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. l9o 

solicitude must have been that the people might have the 
inspired oracles given to their fathers, and be thoroughly in- 
structed in them. The work, therefore, which Jewish tradition 
ascribes to Ezra and the men of the Great Synagogue was alto- 
gether appropriate to their situation, nor do we know of any 
man or body of men afterwards so well qualified for its per- 
formance, or upon whom it would so naturally have devolved. 
That they arranged the inspired volume in substantially its 
present form, we have no good. reason for doubting. But we 
should not, perhaps, be warranted in saying that they brought 
the canon of the Old Testament absolutely and formally to a 
close. Josephus (against Apion 1. 8) affirms that no book 
belongs to the sacred writings of his nation " which are justly 
believed to be divine," that had its origin after the reign of 
Artaxerxes, Xerxes' son (Artaxerxes Longimanus, under whom 
Ezra led forth his colony, Ezra, chap. 7); and that on the 
ground that from this time onward "the exact succession of 
the prophets " was wanting. This declaration of the Jewish 
historian is in all essential respects worthy of full credence. 
We cannot, however, affirm with confidence that all the later 
historical books were put by Ezra and his contemporaries into 
the exact form in which we now have them. The book of Ne- 
hemiah, for example, contains some genealogical notices (chap. 
12 : 11, 22) which, according to any fair interpretation, are of a 
later date. We are at liberty to suppose that these were after- 
wards added officially and in good faith, as matters of public 
interest ; or, as some think, that the book itself is an arrange- 
ment by a later hand of writings left by Nehemiah, perhaps 
also by Ezra ; so that while its contents belong, in every essen- 
tial respect, to them, it received its present form after their 
death. Kespecting the question when the canon of the Old 
Testament received its finishing stroke, a question which the 
wisdom of God has left in obscurity, we must speak with diffi- 
dence. We know with certainty that our present Hebrew 
canon is identical with that collection of sacred writings to 
which our Saviour and his apostles constantly appealed as 



196 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

invested tlirougliout with divine autliority, and tliis is a firm 
basis for our faitli. 

The attempt lias been made, but witlioiit success, to show that a por- 
tion of the Psalms belongs to the Maccabean age. The words of the Psalm- 
ist (Psa. 74 : 8) rendered in our version : ' ' They have burned up all the 
synagogues of God in the land," have no reference to the synagogues of a 
later age, as is now generally admitted. The Hebrew word denotes places 
of assemhly, and was never applied by the later Jews to their synagogues. 
The Psalmist wrote, moreover, in immediate connection with the burning 
of the temjjle — "they have cast fire-into thy sanctuary, they have defiled 
by casting down the dwelling-place of thy name to the ground" — and this 
fixes the date of the Psalm to the Chaldean invasion (2 Kings 25 : 9) ; for 
the temple was not burned, but only profaned, in the days of the Macca- 
bees. By "the assemblies of God," we are probably to understand the 
ancient sacred places, such as Ramah, Bethel, and Gilgal, where the peo- 
j)le were accustomed to meet, though in a somewhat irregular way, for the 
worship of God. But whether this interpretation be correct or not, the 
words have no reference to the buildings of a later age called synagogues. 

Some of the apocryphal writings, as, for example, the book of Wisdom, 
the book of Eeclesiasticus, the first book of Maccabees, were highly valued 
by the ancient Jews. But they were never received into the Hebrew can- 
on, because their authors lived after "the exact succession of the proph- 
ets," which ended with Malachi. They knew how to make the just dis- 
tinction between books of human wisdom and books written "by inspira- 
tion of God." 

18. The earliest notice of the contents of the Hebreio Gabion 
is that contained in the prologue to the Greek translation of 
Eeclesiasticus, where it is described as " the law, the prophets, 
and the other national books," " the law, and the prophecies, 
and the rest of the books," according to the three-fold division 
already considered. Chap. 13, No. 4. Josephus, in the passage 
already referred to (against Apion, 1. 8), says: "We have not 
among us innumerable books discordant and contrary to each 
other, but only two-and-twenty, containing the history of all 
time, which are justly believed to be divine. And of these five 
belong to Moses, which contain the laws and the transmission 
of human genealogy to the time of his death. This period of 
time wants but little of three thousand years" (the longer 
chronology followed by him). " But from the death of Moses 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 197 

to the reign of Artaxerxes, who was king of the Persians after 
Xerxes, the prophets after Moses WTote the history of their 
times in thirteen books. The remaining four contain hymns to 
God and precepts for human life. From Artaxerxes to our 
time various books have been written ; but they have not been 
esteemed worthy of credence hke that given to the books before 
tliem, because the exact succession of the prophets has been 
wanting." In this hst the books of the Old Testament are 
artificially arranged to agree with the number tioo-and-tioenty , 
that of tlie Hebrew alphabet. The four that contain " hymns 
to God and precepts for human life " are, in all probability : 
Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Canticles; and the thirteen 
prophetical books (see below) are : (1) Joshua, (2) Judges and 
Kuth, (3) the two books of Samuel, (4) the two books of Kings, 
(5) the two books of Chronicles, (6) Ezra and Nehemiah, 
(7) Esther, (8) Isaiah, (9) Jeremiah and Lamentations, (10) Eze- 
kiel, (11) Daniel, (12) the book of the twelve Minor Prophets, 
(13) Job. See Oehler in Hertzog's Encyclopaedia, Art. Canon 
of the Old Testament. Origen, as quoted by Eusebius (Hist. 
Eccl. 6. 25), and Jerome (both of whom drew their information 
concerning the Hebrew Canon immediately from Jewish schol- 
ars, and may, therefore, be regarded as in a certain sense the 
expositors of the above list of Josephus) make mention of the 
same number, twenty-two. Origen's list unites Eutli with 
Judges, puts together the first and second of Samuel, the first 
and second of Kings, the first and second of Chronicles, Ezra 
and Nehemiah (under the names of the first and second of 
Ezra), and Jeremiah and Lamentations (with the addition of 
the apocryphal Epistle of Jeremiah — an inconsistency, or 
rather oversight, to be explained from his constant habit of 
using the Septuagint version). In the present text of Eusebius, 
the book of the twelve Minor Prophets is wanting. But this is 
simply an old error of the scribe, since it is necessary to com- 
plete the number of twenty- two. Jerome's list (Prologus gale- 
atus) is the same, only that he gives the contents of the Law, 
the Prophets, and the Hagiographa in accordance with the 



198 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

Hebrew arrangement, placing Daniel in the last class, and 
adding tliat wliatever is without the number of these must be 
placed among the Apocrj^phal writings. Smith's Diet, of the 
Bible, Art. Canon. The catalogue of these two distinguished 
Christian scholars — Origen of the Eastern church, and Jerome 
of the Western, both of whom drew their information imme- 
diately from Hebrew scholars — is decisive, and we need add 
nothing further. 

19. The Apocryplial hooTcs of the Old Testament were incor- 
porated into the Alexandrine version called the Septuagint ; 
but they were never received by the Jews of Palestine as a part 
of the sacred volume. Concerning them and their history, see 
further in the Appendix to this part. 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 109 



CHAPTER XYI. 

Ancient Versions of the Old Testament. 

In tlie present chapter only those versions of the Old Tes- 
tament are noticed which were made independently of the 
New. Versions of the whole Bible, made in the interest of 
Christianity, are considered in the following part. 

I. THE GREEK VERSION CALLED THE SEPTUAGINT. 

1. This is worthy of special notice as the oldest existing 
version of the holy Scriptures, or any part of them, in any lan- 
guage ; and also as the version which exerted a very large 
influence on the language and style of the New Testament; 
for it was extensively used in our Lord's day not only in Egypt, 
where it originated, and in the Eoman provinces generally, 
but also, in Palestine ; and the quotations in the New Testa- 
ment are made more commonly from it than from the Hebrew. 

2. The Jewish account of its origin, first noticed briefly by 
Aristobulus, a Jew (as quoted by Clement of Alexandria and 
Eusebius), then given at great length in a letter which professes 
to have been written by one Aristeas, a heathen and a special 
friend of Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt, and the main 
part of which Josephus has copied (Antiq. 12. 2), is for sub- 
stance as follows : Ptolemy Philadelphus (who reigned from 
B. c. 285 to 247), at the suggestion of his librarian Demetrius 
Phalereus, after having first liberated all the Jewish captives 
found in his kingdom, sent an embassy with costly gifts to Ele- 
azar the high priest at Jerusalem, requesting that he would 
send him chosen men, six from each of the twelve tribes, with 
a copy of the Jewish law, that it might be interpreted fi'om the 
Hebrew into the Greek and laid up in the royal library at Alex- 



200 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

andria. Eleazar accordingly sent the seventy-two elders with 
a copy of the laws written on parchments in letters of gold, 
who were received by the king with high honors, sumptuously 
feasted, and afterwards lodged in a palace on an island (appa- 
rently Pharos in the harbor of Alexandria), wdiere they com- 
pleted their work in seventy-two days, and were then sent 
home with munificent gifts. The story that they were shut up 
in seventy-two separate cells (according to another legend two 
by two in thirty-six cells), where they had no communication 
with each other and yet produced as many versions agreeing 
with each other w^ord for word, was a later embellishment de- 
signed (as indeed were all the legends respecting the origin of 
this version) to exalt its character in the apprehension of the 
people, and to gain for it an authority equal to that of the in- 
spired original. 

3. The letter ascribed to Aristeas is now generally admitted 
to be spurious. It purports to have been written by a heathen, 
scholar, yet it bears throughout marks of a Jewish origin. It 
represents the translators as Jewish elders sent by the high 
priest from Jerusalem. Yet the version is acknowledged to be 
in the Alexandrine Greek dialect. For these and other reasons 
learned men ascribe its authorship to a Jew whose object was 
to exalt the merits of the Alexandrine version in the estimation 
of his nation. But we are not, for this reason, warranted to 
pronounce the wdiole account a pure fable, as many have done. 
We ma}^ well believe that the work was executed under the 
auspices of Ptolemy, and for the purpose of enriching hig 
library. But we must believe that it was executed by Jews 
born in Egypt to whom the Greek language was vernacular, 
and probably from manuscripts of" Egyptian origin. Thus 
much is manifest from the face of the version, that it was made 
by different men, and with different degrees of ability and 
fidelity. 

The name Septuaginl (Latin, Sepiuaginia), seventy, a round number foi 
the more exact seventy-two, probably arose from this tradition of the exe- 
cution of the work by seventy-two elders in seventy-two days. The story 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 201 

of the parchments sent from Jerusalem for the nse of the translators (with 
the request that they might be returned with them) has been rejected on 
the ground that the text used by them differs too widely from the Pales- 
tinian text. See further on this subject in No. 5, below. It has been fur- 
ther affirmed that Demetrius Phalereus did not belong to the reign of 
Ptolemy Philadelphus, but to that of his father Ptolemy Soter, the son 
having banished him from court in the beginning of his reign. For this 
reason some have proposed to assign the founding of the Alexandrian 
library to the father and not the son. But whatever be our judgment in 
respect to Demetrius and his relation to the two Ptolemies, the voice of 
history is decisive in favor of the son and not the father, as the patron of 
learning. 

4. It has been a question whether the Hebrew Scriptures 
were translated at one time, or in successive portions. The 
tradition above considered speaks only of the law, or, in the 
plural, the Imus. These might, perhaps, be understood as com- 
prehensive terms for the whole Old Testament, but they prob- 
ably mean the Pentateuch alone, in which both the Egyptian 
king and the Jews of his realm would feel a special interest. 
It is probable that the Pentateuch — the Laiu in the proper 
sense of the term — was first translated, and afterwards the re- 
maining books. But how long a period of time was thus occu- 
pied cannot be determined. Eespecting the incorporation into 
this version of the apocryphal book, see in the appendix to this 
Part, No. 2. 

When the translator of the Wisdam of Jesus, son of Sirach (Ecclesi- 
asticus), says in his prologue, in immediate connection with his residence 
and labors in Egypt, that "the law itself and the prophets, and the rest of 
the books have no small difference [as to force] when read in their own 
tongue," he plainly refers to the Septuagint version as comi^lete in his 
day. He visited Egypt "under Euergetes." But to which of the two 
monarchs who bore that title he refers is uncertain. If to the former, it 
was between 246-221 b. c. ; if to the latter, between 145-116 b. c. 

5. The version varies so much in its different parts that it 
is not easy to give its character as a whole. It is agreed among 
biblical scholars that the translators of the Pentateuch excelled 
in ability and fidelity, according to the well-known judgment of 

9* 



202 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

Jerome — " which [the books of Moses] we also acknowledge to 
agree more than the others with the Hebrew." Among the 
historical books the translations of Samuel and Kings are the 
most faulty. Those of the prophets are in general poor, espe- 
cially that of Isaiah. That of Daniel was so faulty that the 
Christians in later times substituted for it the translation of 
Theodotion. See below, No. 10. Among the poetical books 
that of Proverbs is the best. As a Avhole the Septuagint ver- 
sion cannot for a moment enter into competition with the He- 
brew original. Yet, as the most ancient of versions and one 
which also represents a text much older than the Masoretic, 
its use is indispensable to every scholar who would study the 
Old Testament in the original language. 

6. Independently of its critical value, the Septuagint must 
be regarded with deep interest from its close connection with 
the New Testament. In the days of Christ and his apostles it 
was known and read throughout the whole Koman empire by 
the Hellenists ; that is, by those Jews and Jewish proselytes 
who had the Greek civilization and spoke the Greek language. 
As the Alexandrine Greek, in which this version was made, 
was 'itself pervaded throughout with the Hebrew spirit, and to 
a great extent also with Hebrew idioms and forms of thought, 
so was the language of the New Testament, in turn, moulded 
and shaped by the dialect of the Septuagint, nor can the for- 
mer be successfully studied except in connection with the latter. 
Then again the greatest number of quotations in the New Tes- 
tament from the Old is made from the Septuagint. According 
to Mr. Greenfield (quoted in Smith's Bible Diet., art. Septua- 
gint) "the number of direct quotations from the Old Testament 
in the Gospels, Acts, • and Epistles, may be estimated at 
three liundred and fifty, of which not more than fifty materially 
differ from the seventy. But the indirect verbal allusions 
would swell the number to a far greater amount." The discus- 
sion of the principles upon which the writers of the New Testa- 
ment quote from the Old belongs to another part of this work. 
It may be briefly remarked here that they quote in a free spirit, 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 203 

not in that of servile adherence to the letter, aiming to give the 
substance of the sacred writers' thoughts, rather than an exactly 
literal rendering of the original word for word. 

The i)ropliecy of Isaiah, for example (6 : 9, 10), is six times quoted in 
the New Testament, wholly or in part, with very free variations of lan- 
guage. Matt. 13 : 14, 15 ; Mark 4 : 12 ; Luke 8 : 10 ; John 12 : 40 ; Acts 
28 : 26, 27 ; Eom. 11 : 8. From neither of these quotations, nor from all 
of them combined, could we draw a critical argument respecting either the 
Hebrew or Greek text of the passage quoted. Neither can we argue from 
the exact agreement of a quotation in the New Testament with the Septu- 
agint where that differs from the Hebrew, that the Hebrew text has been 
corrupted. The New Testament writers are occupied with the spirit of 
the passages to which they refer, rather than with the letter. 

7. The Hebrew text from which the Septuagint version was 
executed was unpointed and much older than the Masoretic text. 
"Were the version more literal and faithful, and had its text come 
down to us in a purer form (see below. Chap. 17, No. 2), it 
would be of great service in settling the exact text of the origi- 
nal Hebrew. With its present character, and in the present 
condition of its text, it is of but comparatively small value in 
this respect. Yet its striking agreement with the text of the 
Samaritan Pentateuch (Ch. 13, No. 8) is a phenomenon worthy 
of special notice. Biblical scholars affirm that the two agree in 
more than a thousand places where they differ from the Hebrew. 
For the probable explanation of this see above, Ch. 14, No. 9. 

The reader must be on his guard against the error of supposing that 
these more than a thousand variations from the Hebrew text are of such a 
nature as to affect seriously the system of doctrines and duties taught in 
the Pentateuch. They are rather of a critical and grammatical character, 
changes which leave the substance of revelation untouched. See on this 
point Ch. 3. There is one striking agreement between the Samaritan text 
and that of the Septuagint in which many biblical scholars think that the 
true ancient reading has been preserved. It is that of Gen. 4:8: "And 
Cain said to Abel his brother. Let us go out into the field. And it came 
to pass v/hen they were in the field." etc. 

II. OTHER GREEK VEBiSIONS. 

8. In the beginning of Christianity the Septuagint enjoyed, 
as we have seen, a high reputation among the Jews ; and as a 



204 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

natural consequence, among the Jewisli converts also, as well 
as tlie Gentile Christians. To the great body of Gentile be- 
lievers it was for the Old Testament the only source of knowl- 
edge, as they were ignorant of the Hebrew original. They 
studied it diligently, and used it efficiently against the unbe- 
lieving Jews. Hence there naturally arose in the minds of the 
latter a feeling of opposition to this version which became very 
bitter. They began to disparage its authority, and to accuse 
it of misrepresenting the Hebrew. The next step was to oppose 
to it another version made by Aquila, which was soon followed 
by two others, those of Theodotion and SymmacJms. 

9. Aquila is represented to have been a Jewish proselyte of 
Pontus, and to have lived in the second century. His version 
was slavishly literal, following the Hebrew idiom even where it 
is contrary to that of the Greek. For this very reason, not- 
withstanding all the barbarisms thus introduced, the Jews highlj^ 
valued it, calling it the Hebreio verity. All that remains of it to 
us is contained in the fragments of Origen's Hexapla. See 
below. No. 12. Had we the whole work, its extremely literal 
character would give it great value in a critical point of view, 
as it would shed much light on the state of the Hebrew text 
when it was executed. 

10. Theodotion was, according to Irenseus, an Ephesian. 
Jerome calls him and Symmachus Ebionites, Judaizing here- 
tics, and semi-Christians. He is supposed to have made his 
version in the last half of the second century. According to 
the testimony of the ancients, it had a close resemblance in 
character to the Septuagint. He seems to have had this ver- 
sion before him, and to have made a free use of it. Of the 
three later versions, that of Theodotion was most esteemed by 
the Christians, and they substituted his translation of the book 
of Daniel for that of the Seventy. 

11. Symmachus, called by the church fathers an Ebionite, 
but by some a Samaritan, seems to have flourished not far from 
the close of the second century. His version was free, aiming 
to give the sense rather than the words. His idiom was Hel- 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 205 

lenistic, and in this respect resembled the Septuagint, from the 
author's familiarity with which, indeed, it probably took its 
complexion. 

Of other ancient Greek versions discovered by Origen in 
his Eastern travels and made by unknown authors it is not 
necessary to speak. 

12. The text of the Septuagint was never preserved so 
carefully as that of the Hebrew, and in the days of Origen it 
had fallen into great confusion. To meet the objections of the 
Jews, as well as to help believers in their study of the Old Tes- 
tament, Origen undertook first the work called the Tetrcqjla 
(Greek, fourfold), which was followed by the Hexapla (Greek, 
sixfold). To prepare himself he spent twenty-eight years, trav- 
elling extensively and collecting materials. In the Tetrapla, 
the text of the Septuagint (corrected by manuscripts of itself), 
and those of Aquila, Theodotion, and Symmachus were arran- 
ged side by side in four parallel columns. In the Hexapla 
there were six columns — (1) the Hebrew in Hebrew characters; 
(2) the Hebrew expressed in Greek letters ; (3) Aquila ; (4) 
Symmachus; (5) the Septuagint; (6) Theodotion. See David- 
son's Bib. Crit., 1, p. 203 ; Smith's Bib. Diet., 2, p. 1202. In some 
books he used two other Greek versions, and occasionally even 
a third, giving in the first case eighty in the second, nine columns. 

"The great work," says Davidson, "consisting of nearly fifty vokimes 
on which he had spent the best years of his life, does not seem to have 
been transcribed — probably in consequence of its magnitude and the gi-eat 
exjDense necessarily attending a transcript. It lay unused as a whole fifty 
years after it was finished, till Eusebius and Pamphilus drew it forth from 
its concealment in Tyre, and placed it in the library of the latter in Cses- 
area. It is thought to have perished there when Csesarea was taken and 
plundered by the Saracens, a. d. 653." Bib. Criticism, 1, p. 206, Well 
did Origen merit by his vast researches and labors the epithet Adamantimis 
[Adamantine) bestowed on him by the ancients. Fragments of the Hex- 
apla, consisting of extracts made from it by the ancients, have been col- 
lected and published in two folio volumes by Montfaugon, Paris, 1713, and 
reprinted by Bahrdt in two volumes octavo, Leipzig and Lubeck, 1769, 
1770. It is the hope of biblical scholars that these may be enriched from 
the Nitrian manuscripts. See further, Chap. 28, No. 8. 



206 COMPxiNION TO THE BIBLE. 

For the four "Standard Text Editions" of the Septuagint Greek ver- 
sion, with the j)rincipal editions founded on them, the reader may consult 
the Bibliographical List appended to the fourth volume of Home's Intro- 
duction, edition of 1860. 

III. THE OHALDEE TAEGUMS. 

13. The Clialclce word Targitm means interpretation, and is 
applied to tlie translations or paraphrases of the Old Testa- 
ment in the Chaldee language. When, after the captivity, the 
Chaldee had supplanted the Hebrew as the language of con> 
mon life, it was natural that the Jews should desire to have 
their sacred writings in the language which was to them ver- 
nacular. Thus we account, in a natural w^ay. for the origin of 
these Targums, of which there is a considerable number now 
extant differing widely in age as well as character. No one of 
them extends to the whole Old Testament. 

The question has been raised whether the Targums have for their 
authors single individuals, or are the embodiment of traditional interijre- 
tations collected and revised by one or more persons. Many bibhcal schol- 
ars of the present day inchne strongly to the latter view, which is not in 
itself improbable. But the decision of the question, in the case of each 
Targum, rests not on theory, but on the character of its contents, as ascer- 
tained by careful examination. 

14. The first place in worth, and probably in time also, 
belongs to the Targum on the Pentateuch which bears the name 
of Onkelos. It is a literal and, upon the whole, an able and 
faithful version (not paraphrase) of the Hebrew text, written 
in good Aramaean, and approaching in style to the Chaldee 
parts of Daniel and Ezra. In those passages which describe 
God in language borrowed from human attributes (anthropo- 
morjjJiic, describing God in human forms, as having eyes, hands, 
etc. ; anthropojjathic, ascribing to God human affections, as repent- 
ing, grieving, etc.), the author is inclined to use paraphrases ; 
thus: "And Jehovah smelled a sweet savor" (Gen. 8 : 21) be- 
comes in this Targum : " And Jehovah received the sacrifice 
with favor;" and "Jehovah Avent down to see" (Gen. 11 : 5), 
" Jehovah revealed himself." So also strong expressions dis- 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 207 

creditable to tlie ancient patriarchs are softened, as : " Rachel 
took'' instead of "Rachel stolen Gen. 31:19. In the poetical 
passages, moreover, the Targnm allows itself more liberty, and 
is consequently less satisfactory. 

According to a Jewish tradition, Onkelos was a proselyte and nephew 
of the emperor Titus, so that he must have flourished about the time oi 
the destruction of the second temple. But all the notices we have of his 
person are very uncertain. There is even ground for the suspicion that 
the above tradition respecting OnJcelos relates, by a confusion of persons, 
to Aquila (Chaldee AJcilas), the author of the Greek version already con- 
sidered. In this case the real author of the Targum is unknown, and we 
can only say that it should not ^Drobably be assigned to a later date than 
the close of the second century. 

15. Next in age and value is the Targum of Jonathan Ben 
Uzziel on the Prophets ; that is, according to the Jewish classi- 
fication (Chap. 13, No. 4), Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, 
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve Minor Prophets. In 
the historical books, this Targum is in the main literal; but in 
the prophets (in the stricter sense of the term) paraphrastic 
and allegorical. 



"O^ 



The Jewish tradition represents that Jonathan wrote the paraphrase of 
the prophets from the mouth of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi ; a mere 
fable. Who was the real author cannot be determined with certainty, only 
that he lived after the so-called Onkelos. 

16. There are two other Targums on the Pentateuch, one of 
them commonly known as the Targum of the Pseudo- Jonathan (be- 
cause falsely ascribed to the author of the preceding Targum) 
and the Jerusalem Targum. The latter is of a fragmentary char- 
acter; and its agreement with the corresponding passages of 
the former is so remarkable that it is generally considered as 
consisting of extracts taken from it with free variations. But 
according to Davidson (in Alexander's Kitto) : " The Jerusalem 
Targum formed the basis of that of Jonathan ; and its own 
basis was that of Onkelos. Jonathan used both his predeces- 
sors' paraphrases ; the author of the Jerusalem Targum that of 
Onkelos alone." The stvle of Pseudo-Jonathan is barbarous, 



208 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

abounding in foreign words, Avitli the introduction of many 
legends, fables, and ideas of a later age. He is assigned to 
the seventh century. Keil, Introduc. to Old Testament, § 189. 

17. The Targums on the Hagiographa are all of late date. 
There is one on Psalms, Job, and Proverbs, the last tolerably 
accurate and free from legendary and paraphrastic additions; 
one on ih-Qfive rolls — Euth, Esther, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, 
Canticles ; which is not a translation, but rather a commentary 
in the Talmudic style ; two on Esther, one on Chronicles. 

In the present connection, though not belonging properly 
to the Targums, may be named the Samaritan version of the 
Samaritan Pentateuch, printed with the originals in the Paris 
and London Polyglotts. It is a literal translation executed in 
the spirit of the Targum of Onkelos, and admitting the same 
class of variations from the letter of the original. 

IV. THE SYPvIAG PESHITO. 

18. This is the oldest version made by Christians from the 
original Hebrew. The word Peshito signifies simple, indicating 
that it gives the simple meaning of the original, without para- 
phrastic and allegorical additions. It is upon the whole an 
able and faithful version. It often exhibits a resemblance to 
the Alexandrine version. We may readily suppose that the 
translator, though rendering from the original Hebrew, was 
familiar with the Septuagint, and that this exerted upon his 
work a certain degree of influence. The Peshito was the 
standard version for the Syriac Christians, being used alike by 
all parties; a fact which is naturally explained by its high 
antiquity. If it be of the same date as the New Testament 
Peshito, it may be placed not far from the close of the second 
century. 

The Old Latin, and in connection with this, the Vulgate of 
Jerome, with some other ancient versions of the Old Testa- 
ment, will be considered in connection with the New Testa- 
ment. 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 209 



OHAPTEE XVII. 

Criticism of the Sacred Text. 

1. The only legitimate criticism of tlie sacred text is that 
which has for its object to restore it, as far as possible, to its 
primitive form. Had we the autograph of Moses in the exact 
form in which he deposited it in the sanctuary (Deut. 31 : 26), 
this would be a perfect text ; and so of any other book of the 
Old Testament. In the absence of the autographs, which have 
all perished, we are still able to establish the form of their text 
with a reasonable degree of certainty for all purposes of faith 
and practice. The means of accomplishing this are now to be 
considered. 

2. Here ancient manuscripts hold the first place. It is obvi- 
ous, however, that in settling the true reading of a given pas- 
sage we cannot look simply to the number of manuscript testi- 
monies. The quality of the manuscripts must also be taken 
into account. Here age is of primary importance. Other 
things being equal, the oldest are the most worthy of credence, 
as being nearest to the original sources. But, in estimating 
the testimony of a manuscript, there are other qualities besides 
age that must be carefully considered — the care of the tran- 
scriber; its freedom from interpolations by later hands (which 
can, however, as a general rule, be easily detected) ; and espe- 
cially its independence, that is, its independence as compared 
with other manuscrii3ts. We may have a group of manuscripts 
whose peculiar readings mark them as having come from a sin- 
gle source. Properly speaking, their testimony is valid only 
for the text of their source. The authority of a single inde- 
pendent manuscript may be equal in weight to their combined 
testimony. Then, again, the character of the different readings 
must be considered. The easiest reading — that which most 



210 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

naturally suggests itself to tlie scribe — lias less presumption 
in its favor than a more difficult reading ; and that on the sim- 
ple ground that it is more likely that an easy should have been 
substituted for a difficult reading than the reverse. There are 
many other points which would need discussion in a work 
designed for biblical critics ; but for the purposes of this work 
the above brief hints are sufficient. 

The Masoretic manuscripts have a great degree of uniformity, and are 
all comparatively recent. Chap. 14, No. 7. We have reason to believe 
that the Hebrew text which they exhibit has a good degree of purity. But 
we cannot consider these manuscripts as so many independent witnesses. 
The text of the Samaritan Pentateuch is independent of the Masoretic text. 
Could we believe that we i)ossess it in a tolerably pure form, its critical 
value would be very great. But, according to the judgment of the best 
bibhcal scholars, it has been subjected to so many alterations, that its crit- 
ical authority is of small account. 

3. Next in order come ancient versions, the value of which 
for critical purposes depends on their character as literal or 
free, and also upon the state of their text as we possess it. 
Other things being equal, the authority of a version is mani- 
festly inferior to that of a manuscript of the original. But a 
version may have been made from a more ancient form of the 
original text than an}^ which we have in existing manuscripts ; 
and thus it may be indirectly a witness of great value. The 
extremely literal version of Aquila (Chap. 16, No. 9) was made 
in the second centur3^ Could we recover it, its testimony to 
the Hebrew text, as it then existed, would be of great value. 
The Septuagint version was made (at least begun) in the third 
century before Christ. But its free character diminishes, and 
the impure state of its text greatly injures its critical authority. 
Of the Targums, those of Onkelos and Jonathan alone are 
capable of rendering any service in the line of sacred criticism, 
and this is not of much account. 

4. "We have also primary-printed editions of the Hebrew 
Bible — those printed from Hebrew manuscripts, which the 
reader may see noticed in Home's Bibliographical List, Ap- 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 211 

pendix to vol. 4. The critical autlioritj of these depends on 
that of the manuscripts used, which were all of the Masoretic 
recension. 

5. Parallel passages — parallel in a critical and not simply in 
a Mstorical respect — are passages which profess not merely to 
give an account of the same transaction, but to repeat the 
same text. Well known examples are: the song of David 
recorded in the twenty-second chapter of the second book of 
Samuel, and repeated as the eighteenth psalm ; the fourteenth 
and fifty-third psalms, etc. Such repetitions possess for every 
biblical student a high interest. But in the critical use of them 
great caution is necessary. It must be ascertained, first of all, 
whether they proceed from the same, or from a diflferent writer. 
In the latter case they are only historical imitations. If, as in 
the case of the above-named passages, they manifestly have 
the same author, the inquiry still remains hoiu the differences 
arose. They may be different recensions of the same writer 
(in this case, of David himself), or of another inspired writer, 
who thus sought to adapt them more perfectly — the fifty-third 
psalm, for example — to the circumstances of his own day. The 
gift of inspiration made the later writer, in this respect, coor- 
dinate in authority with the earlier. 

Historical parallelism, such as those in the books of Chronicles, as com- 
pared with the earlier historical books, do not properly belong here. Yet 
these also sometimes furnish critical help, especially in respect to names 
and dates. 

6. The quotations from the Old Testament in the New have 
for every believer the highest authority; more, however, in a 
lieymeneutical than a critical respect. For, as already remarked 
(Chap. 16, No. 6), the New Testament writers quote mostly from 
the Septuagint, and in a very free way. The whole subject of 
these quotations will come up hereafter under the head of 
Biblical Interpretation. 

7. Quotations from the Old Testament in the Talmud and 
later rabbinical tvriters are another source of sacred criticism. 



212 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

The Talmud, embodjing the ecclesiastical and civil law of the 
Jews according to their traditions, consists of two parts, the 
Mishna, or text, generally referred to the last half of the second 
century, and the Gemara, or commentary on the Mishna. The 
Mishna is one ; but connected with this are two Gemaras of 
later origin ; the more copious Babylonian^ and the briefer Jeru- 
salem Gemara; whence the distinction of the Babylonian and 
Jerusalem Talmud. Whether because the Hebrew text was 
rigidly settled in its present form in the days of the Talmud- 
ists, or because their quotations have been made to agree with 
the Masorah, an examination of the Talmud furnishes few vari- 
ous readings that are of any importance. Most of them relate 
to trifling particulars. The quotations of later rabbinical wri- 
ters are of small account in a critical respect. 

8. It remains to speak of critical conjecture. Of this a wise 
and reverent scholar will make a very cautious use. He will 
content himself witli offering to the public his suggestions, 
without venturing to incorporate them into the text itself. The 
recklessness of some modern critics, who make an abundance 
of conjectural emendations, and then embody them in their ver- 
sions, with only a brief note, deserves severe condemnation. 
Had the ancient critics generally adopted this uncritical meth- 
od, the sacred text would long ago have fallen into irretrieva- 
ble confusion. 

We add an example where critical conjecture is in place, though it may 
not venture to alter the established reading. In Psalm 42, the last clause 
of verse 6 and the beginning of verse 7, written continuously without a 
division of words (Chap. 13, No. 5), would read thus : 

With the present division of words : 

the clauses are to be translated, as in our version : 

For I shall yet praise him [for] the salvation of his countenance. my 
God, my soul is cast doivn within me. 

Divided as follows (by the transfer of a single letter to the following 
word) . 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. )il6 

the rendering would be : 

For I shall yet "praise him, [who is] the salvation of my countenance and 
my God. My soul is cast down within me. 

Thus the refrain would agree exactly with the two that follow (ver. 11 
and 43 : 5). Yet this conjecture, however plausible, is uncertain, since we 
do not know that the saored writer sought exact uniformity in the three 
refrains. . 

9. General remark on the various readings of the sacred 
text. As a general rule, the various readings with which text- 
ual criticism is occupied have respect to minor points — for the 
most part points of a trivial nature; and even where the varia- 
tions are of more importance, thej are not of such a character 
as to obscure, much less change, the truths of revelation in any 
essential resj)ect. Biblical critics tell us, for example, that the 
Samaritan Pentateuch agrees with the Septuagint version in 
more than a thousand places where they differ from the Maso- 
retic Hebrew text. Chap. 16, No. 7. Yet these three texts all 
exhibit the same God, and the same system of doctrines and 
duties. Eevelation does not lie in letters and syllables and 
grammatical forms, but in the deep and pure and strong and 
broad current of truth "given by inspiration of God." Eev- 
erence for the inspired word makes us anxious to possess the 
sacred text in all possible purity. Yet if we cannot attain to 
absolute perfection in this respect, we have reasonable assu- 
rance that God, who gave the revelation contained in the Old 
Testament, has preserved it to us unchanged in any essential 
particular. The point on which most obscurity and uncer- 
tainty rests is that of scriptural chronology; and this is not 
one that affects Christian faith or practice. 



214 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE 



SECOND DIVISIOI^: PARTICULAR INTRODUCTION. 

CHAPTER XYIII. 

The Books of the Old Testament as a Whole. 

1. The province of Particular Introduction is to consider the 
books of the Bible separately, in respect to their atithorship, 
date, contents, and the place which each of them holds in the 
system of divine truth. Here it is above all things important 
that we begin Avith the idea of the unity of divine revelation — 
that all the parts of the Bible constitute a gloriously perfect 
whole, of which God and not man is the author. No amount 
of study devoted to a given book or section of the Old Testa- 
ment, with all the help that modern scholarship can furnish, 
will give a true comprehension of it, until we understand it in 
its relations to the rest of Scripture. We cannot, for example, 
understand the book of Genesis out of connection with the 
four books that follow, nor the book of Deuteronomy separated 
from the four that precede. Nor can we fully understand the 
Pentateuch as a whole except in the light of the historical and 
prophetical books which follow ; for these unfold the divine pur- 
pose in the establishment of the Theocracy as recorded in the 
Pentateuch. The Pentateuch itself gives us only the constitu- 
tion of the Theocracy. The books that follow, taken in connec- 
tion with the New Testament, reveal its office in the plan of 
redemption ; and not till we know this can we be said to have 
an intelligent comprehension of the theocratic system. The 
same is true of every other part of revelation. 

The words of the apostle : "Ever learning, and never able to come to 
the knowledge of the truth " (2 Tim. 3:7), apply to many learned commen- 
taries. Their authors have brought to them much accurate scholarship 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 215 

and research ; but they have not seen the nnity of divine truth. They 
have written mainly in an antiquarian spirit and interest, regarding the 
work under consideration simply as an ancient and venerable record. 
They have diligently sought for connections in philology, in antiquities, 
and in history. In these respects they have thrown much light on the 
sacred text. But they have never once thought of inquiring what place 
the book which they have undertaken to interpret holds in the divine sys- 
tem of revelation — perhaps have had no faith in such a system. Conse- 
quently they cannot unfold to others that which they do not themselves 
apprehend. On a hundred particulars they may give valuable information, 
but that which constitutes the veiy life and substance of the book remains 
hidden from their view. 

2. It is necessary that we ■understand, first of all, the relation 
of the Old Testament as a whole to the system of revealed truth. 
It is a preparatory revelation introductory to one that is final. 
This the New Testament teaches in explicit terms. "Wlien 
the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son." 
Gal. 4 : 4. Christ could not have come in the days of Enoch 
before the flood, nor of Abraham after the flood, because " the 
fulness of the time" had not yet arrived. Nor was the way for 
his advent prepared in the age of Moses, or David, or Isaiah, 
or Ezra. The gospel everywhere assumes that when the Sav- 
iour appeared, men had attained to a state of comparative 
maturity in respect to both the knowledge of God and the prog- 
ress of human society. The attentive reader of the New Tes- 
tament cannot fail to notice how fully its writers avail them- 
selves of all the revelations which God had made in the Old 
Testament of himself, of the course of his providence, and of 
his purposes towards the human family. The unity of God, 
especially, is assumed as a truth so firmly established in the 
national faith of the Jews, that the doctrine of our Lord's deity, 
and that of the Holy Sj^irit, can be taught without the danger 
of its being misunderstood in a polytheistic sense — as if the 
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were three gods. It is 
certain that this could not have been done any time before the 
Babjdonish captivity. The idea of vicarious sacrifice, more- 
over — that great fundamental idea of the gospel that "without 
shedding of blood there is no remission " — the writers of the 



216 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

New Testament found ready at hand, and in its liglit they 
interpreted the mission of Christ. Upon his very first appear- 
ance, John the Baptist, his forerunner, exclaimed to the assem- 
bled multitudes: "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketli 
away the sin of the world." To the Jew, with his training 
under the Mosaic system of sacrifices, how significant were 
these words! Without such a previous training, how meaning- 
less to him and to the world for which Christ died ! Then 
again the gospel, in strong contrast with the Mosaic law, deals 
in general jprinciples. Herein it assumes a comparative matu- 
rity of human thought — a capacity to include many particulars 
under one general idea. A beautiful illustration of this is our 
Lord's summary of social duties : " Therefore all things what- 
soever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to 
them: for this is the law and the prophets." Matt. 7 : 12. We 
may add (what is indeed implied in the preceding remark) that 
the gospel required for its introduction a to ell-developed state of 
civilization and culture, as contrasted with one of rude barba- 
rism. Now the Hebrews were introduced, in the beginning of 
their national existence, to the civilization of Egypt; which, 
with all its defects, was perhaps as good a type as then existed 
in the world. Afterwards they were brought successively into 
intimate connection with Babylonian, Persian, Grecian, and 
Roman civilization ; particularly with the last two. This was, 
moreover, at a time when their national training under the 
Mosaic institutions had given them such maturity of religious 
character that they were not in danger of being seduced into 
the idolatrous worship of these nations. Dispersed throughout 
all the provinces of the Roman empire, they still maintained 
firmly the religion of their fathers; and their synagogues every- 
where constituted central points for the introduction of the 
gospel, and its diffusion through the Gentile world. Such are 
some of the many ways in which the world was prepared for 
the Redeemer's advent. This is a vast theme, on which vol- 
umes could be written. The plan of the present work will only 
admit of the above brief hints. 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 217 

Our Lord's command is : "Go ye into all the world, and preach the 
gospel to every creature." The history of missions shows that the gospel 
can be preached with success to the most degraded tribes — to the Hotten- 
tots of South Africa and the cannibals of the South sea islands, and that 
this is the only remedy for their barbarism. But the gospel did not begin 
among savages, nor does it have its centres of power and influence among 
them. Christ came at the culminating point of ancient civilization and 
culture ; not that he might conform his gospel to existing institutions and 
ideas, but that he might through his gospel infuse into them (as far as they 
contained elements of truth) the purifying and transforming leaven of 
divine truth. As the gospel began in the midst of civiHzation, so does its 
introduction among barbarous tribes always bring civilization in its 
train. 

3. When we have learned to regard the revelation of which 
we have a record in the Old Testament as preparatory to the 
gospel, we see it in its true light. This view furnishes both 
the key to its character and the answer to the objections com- 
monly urged against it. It is not a revelation of abstract 
truths. These would neither have excited the interest of the 
people, nor have been apprehended by them. God made known 
to the covenant people his character and the duties which he 
required of them by a series of mighty acts and a system of 
positive laius. The Old Testament, is, therefore, in an eminent 
degree documentary — a record not simply of opinions, but 
rather of actions and institutions. Of these actions and insti- 
tutions we are to judge from the character of the people and 
the age in connection with the great end proposed by God. 
This end was not the material prosperity of Israel, but -the 
preparation of the nation for its high office as the medium 
through which the gospel should afterwards be given to the 
world. The people were rebellious and stiff-necked, and sur- 
rounded by polytheism and idolatry. Their trainiDg required 
severity, and all the severity employed by God brought forth 
at last its- appropriate fruits. The laws imposed upon them 
were stern and burdensome from their multiplicity. But nc 
one can show that in either of these respects they could have 
been wisely modified ; for the nation was then in its childhood 
and pupilage (Gal. 4 : 1-3)., and needed to be treated accordingly. 

'■■in.p. to BIMc. JQ 



218 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

An objection nmcli insisted on by some is the exclusive cliar- 
acter of the Mosaic institutions — a religion, it is alleged, for 
onlj one nation, while all the other nations were left in igno- 
rance. To this a summary answer can be given. In selecting 
Israel as his covenant people, God had in view the salvation of 
the whole world : " In thee shall all families of the earth be 
blessed " (Gen. 12 : 3) — snch was the tenor of the covenant 
from the beginning. His plan was to bring one nation into 
special relation to himself, establish in it the true religion, 
prepare it for the advent of Christ, and then propagate the 
gospel from it as a centre throughout all nations. If men are 
to be dealt with in a moral way, as free, responsible subjects of 
law (and this is the only way in which God deals with men 
under a system of either natural or revealed religion), can the 
objector propose any better way? He might as well object to 
the procedure of a military commander that, instead of spread- 
ing his army over a whole province, he concentrates it on one 
strong point. Let him wait patiently, and he will find that in 
gaining this point the commander gains the whole country. 

4. Having seen the relation of the Old Testament as a whole 
to the system of divine revelation, we are now prepared to con- 
sider the place occupied by its several divisions. 

(1.) To prepare the way for our Lord's advent, one nation 
was to be selected and trained up under a system of divine laws 
and ordinances — the theocracy established under Moses. The 
Pentateucli records the estaUishment of the theocracy, with the pre- 
vious steps that led to it, and the historical events immediately 
connected with it. Hence the five books of Moses are called 
emphatically the Laiv ; and as such, their province in the Old 
Testament is clear and well defined. 

(2.) The end of the Mosaic law being the preparation 
of the Israelitish people, and through them the world, for 
Christ's advent, it was not the purpose of God that it should 
be hidden as a dead letter beside the ark in the inner sanctii- 
ary. It was a code for practice, not for theory. It contained 
the constitution of the state, civil as well as religious; and 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 219 

God's almighty power and faithfulness were pledged that it 
should accomplish in a thorough way the office assigned to it. 
The theocracy must therefore have a history ; and with the rec- 
ord of this the historical hooks are occupied. 

(3.) God did not leave the development of this history 
to itself. He watched over it from the beginning, and directed 
its course, interposing from time to time, not only in a provi- 
dential way, but also by direct revelation. Sometimes, for spe- 
cific ends, he revealed himself immediately to particular indi- 
viduals, as to Gideon, and Manoali and his wife. But more 
commonly his revelations were made to the rulers or peoj^le at 
large through persons selected as the organs of his Spirit; that 
is, through prophets. The prophet held his commission imme- 
diately from God. Since God is the author, not of confusion, 
but of order, he came to the people under the Law, not above 
it ; and his messages were to be tried by the Law. Deut. 
13 : 1-5. No prophet after Moses enjoyed the same fulness of 
access to God which was vouchsafed to him, or received the 
same extent of revelation. Numb. 12:6-8; Deut. 34:10-12. 
Nevertheless, the prophet came to rulers and people, like Moses, 
with an authority derived immediately from God, introducing 
his messages with the words : " Thus saith the Lord." In God's 
naitie he rebuked the people for their sins ; explained to them 
the true cause of the calamities that befell them ; recalled them 
to God's service as ordained in the Law, unfolding to them at 
the same time its true nature as consisting in the spirit, and 
not in the letter only— 1 Sam. 15:22; Isa. 1:11-20; 57:15; 
66:2; Jer.4:4; Ezek. 18:31; Hoseal0:12; 14:2; Joel 2:12, 
13 ; Amos 5 : 21-24 ; Micah 6 : 6-8 — denounced upon them the 
awful judgments of God as the punishment of continued diso- 
bedience ; and promised them the restoration of his favor upon 
condition of hearty repentance. In the decline of the Theoc- 
racy, it was the special province of the prophets to comfort the 
pious remnant of God's people by unfolding to them the future 
glory of Zion — the true " Israel of God," and her dominion over 
all the earth. From about the reign of Uzziah and onward, as 



220 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE, 

already remarked (cli. 15. 12), the prophets began, under the 
guidance of the Holy Spirit, to reduce their prophecies to wri- 
ting, and thus arose the series of iDToplietical hooks that form a 
prominent part of the Old Testament canon. Their office is 
at once recognized by every reader as distinct from that of 
either the Pentateuch or the historical books ; although these 
latter were, as a general rule, written by prophets also. 

(4.) There is a class, more miscellaneous in character, 
that may be described in general terms as the ^joetical hooks, in 
which the elements of meditation and reflection predominate. 
It includes the book of Job, which has for its theme divine 
providence, as viewed from the position of the Old Testament; 
the book of Psalms, that wonderful treasury of holy thought 
and feeling embodied in sacred song for the use of God's peo- 
ple in all ages ; the book of Proverbs, with its inexhaustible 
treasures of practical wisdom ; the book of Ecclesiastes, having 
for its theme the vanity of this world when sought as a satisfy- 
ing good; and the book of Canticles, which the church has 
always regarded as a mystical song having for its ground-idea, 
under the Old Testament, that God is the husband of Zion, and 
under the New, that the church is the bride of Christ. How 
high a place this division of the canon holds in the system of 
divine revelation ever}^ pious heart feels instinctively. Without 
it, the revelation of the Old Testament could not have been 
complete for the work assigned to it. 

5. We have seen the relation of the Old Testament as a 
whole to the entire system of revelation, and also the place 
occupied by its several divisions. It will further appear, as we 
proceed, that each particular book in these divisions contrib- 
utes its share to the perfection of the whole. 

6. Although the revelation contained in the Old Testament 
was preparatory to the fuller revelation of the New, we must 
guard against the error of supposing that it had not a proper 
significance and use for the men of its own time. " Unto us," 
says the apostle, " was the gospel preached, as luell as unto 
them.'' Heb. 4:2. And again : *' These all died in faith, not 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 221 

having received tlie promises, but having seen them afar off, 
and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and con- 
fessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." 
"And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, 
received not the promise : God having provided some better 
thing for us, that they ivithout us should not he made ijerfect,'* 
Heb. 11 : 13, 39, 40. They had a part of the truth, but not its 
fulness ; and the measure of revelation vouchsafed to them was 
given for their personal salvation, as well as to prepare the way 
for further revelations. The promise made to Abraham — " In 
thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" — was 
fulfilled in Christ. In this respect Abraham " received not the 
promise." Nevertheless, it was a promise made for his benefit, 
as well as for that of future ages. Into the bosom of the patri- 
arch it brought light and joy and salvation. "Your father 
Abraham," said Jesus, "rejoiced to see my day ; and he saw it, 
and was glad." John 8 : ^Q. " He believed in the Lord," says 
the inspired record, " and he counted it to him for righteous- 
ness." Gen. 15 : 6. The deliverance of Israel from Egypt 
typified the redemption of Christ ; and it was, moreover, one 
of the grand movements that prepared the way for his advent. 
But it was neither all type nor all preparation. To the cove- 
nant people of that day it was a true deliverance ; and to the 
believing portion of them, a deliverance of soul as well as of 
body. " The law," says Paul, " was our school-master to bring 
us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith." Gal. 3 : 24. 
But while it had this preparatory ofiice, it was to the Israelitish 
nation a true rule of life ; and under it many, through faith, 
anticipated its end. The prophets prophesied for the men of 
their own age, as well as for distant generations. The sweet 
psalmist of Israel, while he foreshadowed the Messiah's reign, 
sung for the comfort and edification of himself and his contem- 
poraries ; and Solomon gave rules of practical wisdom as valid 
for his day as for ours. The revelation of the Old Testament 
was not complete, like that which we now possess ; but it was 
sufficient for the salvation of every sincere inquirer after truth. 



222 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

When the rich man in hell besought Abraham that Lazarus 
might be sent to warn his five brethren on the ground that, if 
one went to them from the dead they would repent, Abraham 
answered : " If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither 
will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead." 

7. There is another practical error against which Christians 
of the present day need to be warned. It is the idea that the 
full revelation of the New Testament supersedes in a great 
measure the necessity of studying the previous revelation con- 
tained in the Old Testament. Few will openly avow this, but 
too many inwardly cherish the delusion in a vague and unde- 
fined form ; and it exerts a pernicious influence upon them, lead- 
ing them to undervalue and neglect the Old Testament Scrip- 
tures. Even if the idea under consideration were in accordance 
with truth, it would still be to every earnest Christian a matter 
of deep historical interest to study the way by which God pre- 
pared the world for the full light of the gospel. But it is not 
true. It rests on a foundation of error and delusion. For, (1.) 
The system of divine revelation constitutes a tvJiole, all the parts 
of which are connected, from beginning to end, so that no sin- 
gle part can be truly understood without a knowledge of all the 
rest. The impenetrable darkness that rests on some portions 
of Scripture has its ground in the fact that the plan of redemp- 
tion is not yet completed. The mighty disclosures of the future 
can alone dissipate this darkness. 

' ' God is his own interpreter, 
And he will make it plain. " 

(2.) We know that the writers of the New Testament con- 
stantly refer to the Old for arguments and illustrations. A 
knowledge of the Old Testament is necessary, therefore, for a 
full comprehension of their meaning. How can the reader, for 
example, understand the epistles to the Romans and Galatians, 
or that to the Hebrews, without a thorough acquaintance with 
" Moses and the prophets," to which these epistles have such 
constant reference ? (3.) The Old Testament is occupied with 
the record of God's dealings with men. Such a record must 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 223 

be a perpetual revelation of God's infinite attributes, and of 
liuman character also, and the course of human society, every . 
part of which is luminous with instruction. (4.) Although the old 
theocracy, with its particular laws and forms of worship, has pass- 
ed away, yet the princijples on which it rested, which interpene- 
trated it in every part, and which shone forth with a clear light 
throughout its whole history — these principles are eternal veri- 
ties, as valid for us as for the ancient patriarchs. Some of these 
principles — for example, God's unity, personality, and infinite 
perfections ; his universal providence ; his supremacy over all 
nations ; the tendency of nations to degeneracy, and the stern 
judgments employed by God to reclaim them — are so fully 
unfolded in the Old Testament that they needed no repetition 
in the New. There they became axioms rather than doctrines. 
(5.) "The manifold wisdom of God" in adapting his dealings 
with men to the different stages of human progress cannot be 
seen without a diligent study of the Old Testament as well as 
the New. Whoever neglects the former, will want breadth and 
comprehensiveness of Christian culture. All profound Chris- 
tian writers have been well versed in " the whole instrument of 
each Testament," as TertuUian calls the two j)arts of revela- 
tion. Chap. 13, No. 2. 

Modern skepticism begins with disparaging the Old Testa- 
ment, and ends with denying the divine authority of both the 
Old and the New. In this work it often unites a vast amount 
of learning in regard to particulars with principles that are 
superficial and false. 



22^ COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

The Pentateuch, 

1. The unity of the Pentateuch lias already been considered 
(Cli. 9, No. 12), and will appear more fully as we proceed with 
the examination of the separate books included in it. Even if 
we leave out of view the authority of the New Testament, this 
unity is too deep and fundamental to allow of the idea that it 
is a patchwork of later ages. Under divine guidance the writer 
goes steadily forward from beginning to end, and his work 
when finished is a symmetrical whole. Even its apparent in- 
congruities, like the interweaving of historical notices with the 
laws, are marks of its genuineness ; for they prove that, in 
those parts at least, events were recorded as they transpired. 
Such a blending of history with revelation does not impair the 
unity of the work ; for it is a unity which has its ground not in 
severe logical arrangement and classification, but in a divine plan 
historically developed. "Whether the division of the Penta- 
teuch into five books (whence its Greek name Pentateuchos, five- 
fold hook) was original, proceeding from the author himself, or 
the work of a later age, is a question on which biblical scholars 
are not agreed. It is admitted by all that the division is natural 
and appropriate. The Hebrew titles of the several books are 
taken from prominent words standing at or near the beginning 
of each. The Greek names are expressive of their prominent 
contents ; and these are followed in the Latin Vulgate and in 
our English version, only that the name of the fourth book is 
translated. 

I. GENESIS. 

2. The Hebrews name this book Bereshith, in the hegi7ining, 
from the fii'st word. Its Greek name Genesis signifies genera' 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 225 

tion^ genealogy. As the genealogical records with which the 
book abounds contain historical notices, and are, in truth, the 
earliest form of history, the word is applied to the history 
of the creation, and of the ancient patriarchs, as well as to 
the genealogical lists of their families. Gen. 2:4; 25 : 19 ; 
37 : 2, etc. In the same wide sense is it applied to the book 
itself. 

3. Genesis is the introductory hooh to the Pentateuch, with- 
out which our understanding of the following books w^ould be 
incomplete. Let us suppose for a moment that we had not this 
book. We open the book of Exodus and read of " the children 
of Israel which came into Egypt ;" that " Joseph was in Egypt 
already," and that " there arose up a new king over Egypt, 
w^hich knew not Joseph." Who were these children of Israel ? 
we at once ask ; and how did they come to be in Egypt ? Who 
was Joseph? and what is the meaning of the notice that the 
new king knew not Joseph ? All these particulars are explained 
in the book of Genesis, and without them w^e must remain in 
darkness. But the connection of this book with the following 
is not simply explanatory ; it is organic also, entering into the 
very substance of the Pentateuch. We are told (Ex. 2 : 24, 25) • 
that God heard the groaning of his people in Egypt, and " God 
remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with 
Jacob ; and God looked upon the children of Israel, and God 
had respect unto them." The remembrance of his covenant 
with their fathers is specified as the ground of his interposition. 
Now the covenant made with Abraham, and afterwards renew- 
ed to Isaac and Jacob, was not a mere incidental event in the 
history of the patriarchs and their posterit3\ It constituted 
the very essence of God's peculiar relation to Israel ; and, as 
such, it was the platform on w^hich the whole theocracy was 
afterwards erected. The nation received the law at Sinai iu 
loursuance of the original covenant made with their fathers ; 
and unless we understand the nature of this covenant, we fail , 
to understand the meaning and end of the law itself. The very 
information which we need is contained in Genesis ; for from 

10* 



226 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

the twelfth chapter onward this book is occupied with an 
account of this covenant, and of God's deahngs with the patri- 
archs in connection with it. The story of Joseph, which unites 
such perfect simpHcitj with such deep pathos, is not thrown in 
as a pleasing episode. Its end is to show how God accom- 
plished his purpose, long before announced to Abraham (ch. 
15:13), that the Israelites should be " a stranger in a land not 
theirs." 

But the Abrahamic covenant itself finds its explanation in 
the previous history. For two thousand years God had admin- 
istered the government of the world without a visible church. 
And what was the result? Before the flood the degeneracy of 
the human family w^as universal. God, therefore, swept them 
all away, and began anew with Noah and his family. But the 
terrible judgment of the deluge was not efficacious to prevent 
the new world from following the example of the old. In the 
days of Abraham the worship of God had been corrupted 
through polytheism and idolatry, and ignorance and wicked- 
ness were again universal. The time had manifestly come for 
the adoption of a new economy, in which God should, for the 
time being, concentrate his special labors upon a single nation 
but with ultimate reference to the salvation of the whole world. 
Thus we have in the book of Genesis in a certain measure (for 
we may not presume to speak of God's counsels as fully appre- 
hended by us) an explanation of the Abrahamic covenant, and. 
in this, of the Mosaic economy also. 

4. In accordance with the above view, the book of Genesis 
falls into two unequal, but natural divisions. The first part 
extends through eleven chapters, and is occupied with the his- 
tory of tlie liuman family as a ivliole. It is the oldest record in 
existence, and its contents are perfectly unique. It describes 
in brief terms : the order of creation ; the institution of the 
Sabbath and marriage ; the probation to which man was sub- 
jected, with its disastrous result in his fall and expulsion from 
Eden; the murder of Abel by Cain, and, in connection with 
thisj the divisioii of mankind into two families ; man's univer- 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 227 

sal clegenerac}^ ; the deluge ; the covenant made by God with 
the earth through Noah, and the law of murder ; the confusion 
of tongues at Babel, and the consequent dispersion of the dif- 
ferent families of men, a particular account of which is given 
by way of anticipation in the tenth chapter. In addition to 
these notices there are two genealogical tables ; the first from 
Adam to Noah (ch. 5), the second from Shem to Abraham 
(ch. 11). 

The second part comprises the remainder of the book. In 
this we have no longer a history of the whole race, but of 
Abraham's family, with only incidental notices of the nations 
into connection with whom Abraham and his posterity were 
brought. It opens with an account of the call of Abraham and 
the covenant made with him ; notices the repeated renewal of 
this covenant to Abraham, with the institution of the rite of 
circumcision ; its subsequent renewal to Isaac and Jacob ; and 
the exclusion, first of Ishmael and afterwards of Esau, from a 
share in its privileges. In immediate connection with the cove- 
nant relation into which God took Abraham and his family, 
we have the history of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob, sometimes with much detail, but always with reference 
to the peculiar prerogative conferred upon them. The book 
closes with an account of the wonderful train of providences 
by which Israel was brought into Egypt. 

Thougli Islimael and Esau were exduded from the covenant, yet, appa- 
rently in consequence of their near relation to the patriarchs, genealogical 
tables are devoted to them ; to Ishmael, ch. 25 : 12-18 ; to Esau, the whole 
of ch. 36. 

5. The Mosaic author ship of Genesis has already been con- 
sidered ; and, in connection with this, the question whether 
. the Pentateuch, and especially Genesis, contains any clauses of 
a later date, Ch. 9, No. 11. Some, as Hengstenberg and his fol- 
lowers, deny the existence of such clauses ; but others think 
that a few must be admitted, which were afterwards added, as 
needful explanations, by prophetical men. We are at liberty 



228 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

to decide either way concerning them according to the evi- 
dence before us. On the question whether Moses made use of 
earlier written documents, see Ch. 9, No. 11. 

The clauses for wliicli a later date can with any show of reason be 
claimed are few in number, and none of them enter essentially into the 
texture of the book. They are Just such extraneous remarks as the neces' 
sities of a later age required ; for example, Gen. 36 : 31 ; Ex. 16 : 35. On 
the last of these, Graves, who considers it ^'plainly a passage inserted hy a 
later Jiand,'' says : "I contend that the insertion of such notes rather con- 
firms than imi^eaches the integrity of the original narrative. If this were 
a compilation long subsequent to the events it records " (according to the 
false assumption of some reipecting the origin of the Pentateuch), "such 
additions would not have been plainly distinguishable, as they now are, 
from the main substance of the original." On the Pentateuch, Appendix, 
sec. 1, No. 13. 

6. The contents of the first part of this book are pecuHar. 
It is not strange, therefore, that we should encounter difficulties 
in the attempt to interpret them. To consider these difiicul- 
ties in detail Avould be to write a commentary on the first 
eleven chapters. Only some general remarks can here be 
ofi'ered. Some difficulties are imaginary, the inventions of 
special pleading. In these the commentaries of modern ra- 
tionalists abound. They are to be set aside by fair inter- 
pretation. But other difficulties are real, and should not be 
denied or ignored by the honest expositor. If he can give a 
valid explanation of them, well and good ; but if not, let him 
reverently wait for more light, in the calm assurance that the 
divine authority of the Pentateuch rests on a foundation that 
cannot be shaken. To deny a well-authenticated narrative of 
facts on the ground of unexplained difficulties connected with 
it is to build on a foundation of error. 

(A. ) Of the difficulties connected with the first jDart of Genesis some are 
scientific. Such is the narrative of the creation of the world in six days. 
Respecting this it has already been remarked (Ch, 10, No. 3) that with all 
who believe in the reality of divine revelation the question is not respecting 
the truth of this narrative, but respecting the interx^retation of it. As long 
ago as the time of Augustine the question was raised whether these days 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 229 

are to be understood literally, or symbolically of long periods of time. 
The latter was his view, and it is strengthened by the analogy of the pro- 
phetic days of prophecy. 

Another difficulty relates to the age of the antediluvian patriarchs, 
which was about tenfold the present term of life for robust and healthful 
men. According to the laws of physiology we must sujDpose that the period 
of childhood and youth was protracted in a corresponding manner ; since 
in man, as in all the higher animals, the time of physical growth — physical 
growth in the widest sense, the process of arriving at physical maturity — 
has a fixed relation to the whole term of existence. After the deluge, in 
some way not understood by us, the whole course of human life began to 
be gradually quickened — to run its round in a shorter time — till the age of 
man was at last reduced to its present measure. All that we can say here 
is that we do not know how God accomplished this result. He accom- 
phshed it in a secret and invisible way, as he does so many other of his 
operations in nature. On the discreiDancy between the Masoretic Hebrew 
text, the text of the Samaritan Pentateuch, and that of the Septuagint, 
in respect to the genealogical tables in Genesis, see below. 

The unity of the human race is everywhere assumed in Scrij)tuKe. Some 
modern scientific men have denied this, but their arguments for a diver- 
sity of origin do not amount to positive proof. They are theoretic rather 
than demonstrative, and the weight of evidence is against them. We must 
remember, moreover, that man lives under a supernatural dispensation. 
The narrative in the eleventh chapter of Genesis seems to imply that God 
interposed miraculously to confound human speech, in accordance with 
his i)lan to scatter men "abroad upon the face of all the earth." In like 
manner he may have interposed in a secret way to intensify the diversity 
in the different races of men. It does not appear certain, however, on 
physiological grounds, that any miraculous interposition was needed ; and 
we may leave the question of the manner in which the present diversity 
among the children of Adam was i^roduced among the secret things of 
which it is not necessary that we should have an explanation. 

The question of the universality of the deluge is with believers in revela- 
tion one of words only, on which it is hardly necessary to waste time. The 
end of the deluge was the complete destruction of the human race, all but 
Noah and his family. This it accomplished, and why need we raise any 
further inquiries ; as, for example, whether the polar lands, where no man 
has ever trod, were submerged also ? "All the high hills under the whole 
heaven " doubtless included all the high hills where man lived, and which, 
therefore, were known to man. 

(B.) Another class of difficulties is historical, consisting in alleged 
inconsistencies and disagreements between different parts of the narrative. 
For the details of these, the reader must be referred to the commentaries. 



230 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

One or two only can be noticed as specimens of the whole. It is said that 
the second account of the creation (Gen. 2 : 4r-25) is inconsistent with the 
first ; the order of creation in the first being animals, then man ; in the 
second, man, then animals. But the answer is obvious. In the first 
account, the order of succession in the several parts of creation is one of 
the main features. It distinctly announces that, after God had finished 
the rest of his works, he made man in his own image. The second account, 
on the other hand, which is introductory to the narrative of man's sin and 
expulsion from Eden, takes no notice of the order of creation in its several 
parts. In this, man is the central object, and other things are mentioned 
incidentally in their relation to man. The writer has no occasion to speak 
of trees good for food till a liome is sought for Adam ; nor of beasts and 
birds till a companion is needed for him. Then each of these things is 
mentioned in connection with him. No candid interpreter can infer from 
this that the second account means to give, as the veritable order of crea- 
tion — man, the garden of Eden, beasts and birds ! 

A difficulty has been alleged, also, in regard to Cain's wife. But this 
growls simply out of the brevity of the sacred narrative. The children of 
Adam must have intermarried, brothers and sisters. The fact that no 
daughter is mentioned as born to Adam before Seth, is no evidence against 
the birth of daughters long-before. In the fourth chapter no individuals 
are mentioned except for special reasons — Cain and Abel, with a genea- 
logical list of Cain's family to Lamech, because he was the head of one 
branch of the human race before the deluge. In the fifth chapter none 
are named but sons in the line of Noah, with the standing formula of ' ' sons 
and daughters " born "afterwards. We are not to infer from this that no 
sons or daughters were born before ; otherwise we should exclude Cain and 
Abel themselves. At the time of the murder of Abel, the two brothers 
were adult men. What was their age Ave cannot tell. It may have been a 
hundred years or more ; for our first parents were created not infants, but 
in the maturity of their powers, and Adam was one hundred and thirty 
years old when the next son after Abel's murder was born. Gen. 4 : 25. 
At all events, the interval* between Abel's birth and death must have been 
long, and we cannot reasonably supi^ose that during this period no daugh- 
ters were born to Adam. 

(C.) The clironology of the book of Genesis involves, as is well known, 
some difficult questions. In the genealogical tables contained in the fifth 
and eleventh chapters, the texts of the Masoretic Hebrew (which is fol- 
lowed in our version), Hebrew-Samaritan, and Septuagiut, diff"er in a 
remarkable manner. 

(1.) A?itediluvian Genealogij. According to the Septuagint, no patriarch 
has a son before the age of one hundred years. It adds tc the age of each 
of the five patriarchs that preceded Jared, and also to the age of Enoch, 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 231 

one hundred years before tlie birth of his son, deducting the same from 
his Hfe afterwards. To the age of Lamech it adds six years before the 
birth of Noah, deducting thirty years afterwards. In resx)ect to the age of 
Methuselah when Lamech was born, there is a difference of t^venty years 
betw^een the Vatican and the Alexandrine manuscripts. The latter agr<^,es 
with the Masoretic text : the former gives one hundred and sixty-seven 
instead of one hundred and eighty-seven. Thus the Septuagint makes the 
period from the creation to the deluge 2262 years (according to the Vati- 
can manuscript 2242 years) against the 1656 of our Masoretic text. 

The Samaritan-Hebrew text agrees with the Masoretic for the first five 
patriarchs and for Enoch. From the age of Jared it deducts one hundred 
years ; from that of Methuselah one hundred and twenty (one hundred 
according to the Vatican manuscript of the Septuagint) ; and from that of 
Lamech, one hundred and twenty-nine — three hundred and forty-nine 
years in all — before the birth of their respective sons. This places the 
deluge in the year of the world 1307. 

(2.) Genealogy from Noah to Abraham. Chap. 11. Here the Samari- 
tan-Hebrew and the Septuagint (which Josephus follows with some varia- 
tions) give a much longer period than the Masoretic text. They both add 
to the age of each of the six patriarchs after Shem one hundred years 
before the birth of his son. To the age of Nahor the Samaritan-Hebrew 
adds fifty, and the Sei)tuagint one hundred and fifty years. The latter 
also inserts after Arphaxad a Gainan who was one hundred and thirty 
years old at the birth of Salah. 

In respect to the variations in these two genealogical tables (chaps. 5 
and 11) it is to be remarked : (1) that the authority of the Masoretic 
text is, oh general grounds, higher than that of the Septuagint or Samar- 
itan Pentateuch ; (2) that in the present case there is reason to suspect 
systematic change in these two latter texts ; strong external corroboration 
alone could warrant us in adopting the longer chronology of the Septua- 
gint ; (3) that any uncertainty which may rest on the details of numbers in 
the Pentateuch ought not to affect our confidence in the Mosaic record as 
a whole, for here, as it is well known, there is a peculiar liability to varia- 
tions. With these brief remarks we must dismiss this subject. The reader 
will find the question of scriptural chronology discussed at large in the 
treatises devoted to the subject. For more compendious views, see in Alex- 
ander's Kitto and Smith's Dictionary of the Bible the articles entitled 
Chronology. 

II. EXODUS. 

7. The Hebrew name of this book is : Ve-elle shemoth, Noio 
these [are] tlie names ; or more briefly: SJiemoth, names. The 



232 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

word Exodus (Greek Exodos, whence tlie Latin Exodus) signifies 
going forth,- departure, namely, of Israel from Egypt. With the 
book of Exocliis begins the history of Israel as a nation. It has 
perfect unity of plan and steady progress from beginning to 
end= The narrative of the golden calf is no exception ; for 
this records in its true order an interruption of the divine legis- 
lation. The book consists of two parts essentially connected 
with each other. The contents of the first part (chaps. 1-18) 
are briefly the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt and their 
journey to Sinai, as preparatory to their national covenant with 
God there. More particularly this part contains : (1) an account 
of the multiplication of the people in Egypt ; their oppression 
by the Egyptians ; the birth and education of Moses, his abor- 
tive attempt to interpose in behalf of his people, his flight to 
Midian, and his residence there forty j^ears (chaps. 1, 2); 
(2) God's miraculous appearance to Moses at Horeb under the 
name JEHOVAH ; his mission to Pharaoh for the release of 
Israel, in which Aaron his brother was associated with him ; 
the execution of this mission, in the progress of which the 
Egyptians were visited with a succession of plagues, ending in 
the death of all the first-born of man and beast in Egypt; the 
final expulsion of the people, and in connection with this the 
establishment of the feast of the passover and the law respect- 
ing the first-born of man and beast (chaps. 3-13); (3) the 
journey of the Israelites to the Eed sea under the guidance of 
a cloudy pillar ; their passage through it, with the overthrow 
of Pharaoh's host; the miraculous supply of manna and of 
water ; the fight with Amalek, and Jethro's visit to Moses. 

The second part contains the establishment of the 3Ioscdc econ- 
omy, tvith its tabernade and priesthood. At Sinai God enters 
into a national covenant with the people, grounded on the pre- 
ceding Abrahamic covenant ; promulgates in awful majesty the 
ten commandments, which he afterwards writes on two tables 
of stone, and adds a code of civil regulations. Chaps. 19-23. 
The covenant is then written and solemnlj- ratified by the blood 
of sacrifices. Chap. 24. After this follows a direction which 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 233 

contains in itself the whole idea of the sanctuary : " Let them 
make me a sanctuary; that I may divell among them.'' Chap. 25 : 8. 
The remainder of the book is mainly occupied with the struc- 
ture of the tabernacle and its furniture, and the establishment 
of the Levitical priesthood. Directions are given for the 
priestly garments, and the mode of inauguration is prescribed ; 
but the inauguration itself belongs to the following book. The 
narrative is interrupted by the sin of the people in the matter 
of the golden calf, with the various incidents and precepts con- 
nected with it (chaps. 32-34), and a repetition of the law of the 
Sabbath is added. Chap. 31 : 12-17. The office, then, which 
the book of Exodus holds in the Pentateuch is definite and 
clear. 

8. With regard to the time of the sojourn in Egypt, two opin- 
ions are held among biblical scholars. The words of God to 
Abraham : " Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger 
in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them ; and they 
shall afflict them four hundred years," "but in the fourth gen- 
eration they shall coine hither again" (Gen. 45 : 13, 16) ; and 
also the statement of Moses : "Now the sojourning of the chil- 
dren of Israel who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty 
years" (Exod. 12 :40), seem to imply that they spent four hun- 
dred and thii'ty years in Egypt (a round number being put in 
the former passage for the more exact specification of the lat- 
ter). It has been thought, also, that the vast increase of the 
people in Egypt — to six hundred thousand men (Exod. 12 : 37), 
which shows that the v/hole number of souls was over two mill- 
ions — required a sojourn of this length. On the other hand, 
the apostle Paul speaks of the law as given " four hundred and 
thirty years after " the promise to Abraham. Gal. 3 : 17. In this 
he follows the Jewish chronology, which is also that of the 
Septuagint and Samaritan Pentateuch, for they read in Exod. 
12 : 40 : " who dwelt in Egypt and in the land of Canaan." The 
words, "in the land of Canaan," are undoubtedly an added 
gloss;, but the question still remains whether they are not a 
correct gloss. The genealogy of Levi's family (Exod. 6 : 16-20) 



234 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

decidedly favors tlie interpretation, which divides the period 
of four hundred and thirty years between Egypt and the land 
of Canaan. To make this table consistent with a sojourn of 
four hundred and thirty years in Egypt, it would be necessary 
to assume, with some, that it is an epitome, not a full list, which 
does not seem probable. 

Before we can draw any certain argument from the increase of the peo- 
ple in Egypt, we must know the basis of calculation. It certainly includes 
not only the seventy male members of Jacob's family, -with their wives and 
children, but also the families of their male-servants (chcumcised accord- 
ing to the law, Gen. 17 : 12, 13, and therefore incorporated with the cove- 
nant people) . From the notices contained in Genesis, we learn that the 
famihes of the patriarchs were very numerous. Gen. 14 : 14 ; 26 : 14 ; 
32 : 10 ; 36 : 6, 7. If Abraham was able to arm three hundred and eigh- 
teen "trained servants born in his own house," how large an aggregate 
may we reasonably assume for the servants connected with Jacob's family, 
now increased to seventy male souls ? We must not think of Jacob going 
. into Egypt as a humble personage. He was a rich and prosperous emir, 
with his children and grandchildren, and a great train of servants. With 
the special blessing pf God upon his children and all connected with them, 
we need find no insuperable difficulty in then- increase to the number men- 
tioned at the exodus. 

Provision Avas made in a miraculous way for the sustenance of the Israel- 
ites in the wilderness. The question has been raised : Hoav were their 
flocks and herds jDrovided for ? In answer to this, the following remarks 
are in point : (1.) We are not to understand the word "wilderness " of an 
absolutely desolate region. It affords j)asturage in x)atches. Eobinson 
describes Wady Feiran, northwest of Sinai, as well watered, with gardens 
of fruit and palm trees ; and he was assured by the Arabs that in rainy 
seasons grass springs up over the whole face of the desert. The whole 
northeastern part of the wilderness, where the Israelites seem to have dwelt 
much of the thirty-eight years, is capable of cultivation, and is still culti- 
vated by the Arabs in patches. (2.) The Israelites undoubtedly marched 
not in a direct line, but from pasture to pasture, as the modern Arabs do, 
and spreading themselves out over the adjacent region. When Moses 
besought his father-in-law not to leave him, but to go with him that he 
might be to the people instead of eyes (Numb. 10 : 31), we may well sup- 
l^ose that he had in view Hobab's knowledge of the places where water and 
pasturage were to be found. (3.) There is decisive evidence that this region 
was once better watered than it is now, and more fruitful. The planks of 
acacia-wood, the shittim-wood, which were employed in the construction 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 235 

of the tabernacle, were a cubit and a lialf in width ; that is, in Enghsh 
measure, something more than two and a half feet. No acacia-trees of 
this size are now found in that region. The cutting away of the primitive 
forests seems to have been followed, as elsewhere, by a decrease in the 
amount of rain. But, however this may be, we know that, for some reason, 
this part of Arabia was once more fertile and 23opulous. In its northeast- 
ern part are extensive ruins of former habitations, and enclosed fields. The 
same is true of the region around Beersheba and south of it. Here Rob- 
inson found ruins of former cities, as Eboda and Elusa. Of the latter 
place he says : " Once, as we judged upon the spot, this must have been a 
city of not less than twelve or fifteen thousand inhabitants. Now, it is a 
X3erfect field of ruins, a scene of unutterable desolation ; across which the 
j)assing stranger can with difiiculty find his way." Vol. 1, p. 197. And 
of Eboda, farther south : " The large church marks a numerous Christian 
population." "But the desert has resumed its rights ; the intrusive hand 
of cultivation has been driven back ; the race that dwelt here have per- 
ished ; and their works now look abroad in loneliness and silence over the 
mighty waste. " Vol. 1, p. 194. Bitter, the most accomplished of mod- 
ern geographers, afSrms that from the present number of the thin and 
negligent population, we can draw no certain conclusion res^Decting the 
former condition of the country. Erdkunde, vol. 14, p. 927. 

Of the numerous objections urged by Colenso against the Pentateuch, 
and the book of Exodus in particular, many are imaginary, and vanish 
upon the fair interpretation of the passages in question. Others, again, 
rest on false assumptions in regard to facts. Eor the details, the reader is 
referred to the works written in reply. 

III. LEVITICUS. 

9. The Hebrews call this book Vayyikra, and [God] called. 
Later Jewish designations are, tlie laiu of priests, and the laio of 
offerings. The Latin name Leviticus (from the Greek Leuitikon, 
Levitical, pertaining to the Levites) indicates that its contents 
relate to the duties of the Levites, in which body are included 
all the priests. The book of Leviticus is immediately connect- 
ed with that which precedes, and follows in the most natural 
order. The tabernacle having been reared up and its furniture 
arranged, the services p)ertaining to it are next ordained, and in 
connection with these, various regulations, most of which come 
within the sphere of the priestly office. Hence we have (1) the 
law for the various offerings, followed by an account of the 



236 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

anointing of tlie tabernacle, and the consecration of Aaron and 
liis sons to the priestly office, with the death of Nadab and 
Abihu for offering strange fire before the Lord (chaps. 1-10) ; 
(2) precepts concerning clean and unclean beasts, and clean- 
ness and uncleanness in men from whatever source, followed 
by directions for the annual hallowing of the sanctuary on the 
great day of atonement, and also in respect to the place where 
animals must be slain, and the disposition to be made of their 
blood (chaps. 11-17); (3) laws against sundry crimes, which 
admitted, in general, of no expiation, but must be visited with 
the penalty of the law (chaps. 18-20) ; (4) various ordinances 
pertaining to the purity of the priestly office, the character of 
the sacrifices, the yearly festivals, the arrangements for the 
sanctuary, etc., with the law for the sabbatical year and the 
year of jubilee (chaps. 22-26 : 2) ; (5) a wonderful prophetic 
chapter, announcing for all coming ages the blessings that 
should follow obedience, and the curses which disobedience 
should bring upon the people (chap. 26 : 3-46). There is add- 
ed, as a sort of appendix, a chapter concerning vows and tithes. 
Chap. 27. 

10. The priestly office, with its sacrifices, was the central 
part of the Mosaic economy, for it prefigured Christ our great 
High Priest, with his all-perfect sacrifice on Calvary for the 
sins of the world. On this great theme much remains to be 
said in another place. It is sufficient to remark here that the 
book of Leviticus gives the divine view of expiation. If the 
expiations of the Levitical law were typical, the types were true 
figures of the great Antitype, which is Jesus Christ, " the Lamb 
of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." No view of 
his death can be true which makes these types empty and 
unmeaning. 

IV. NUMBEKS. 

11. Bemidhbar, in the wilderiiess, is the Hebrew name of this 
book, taken from the fifth word in the original. It is also 
called from the first word Vayi/edhahber, and [God] sjoaJce. The 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 237 

English version, after the example of the Latin, translates the 
Greek name Arifhmoi, numbers, a title derived from the num- 
bering of the people at Sinai, with which the book opens, and 
which is repeated on the plains of Moab. Chap. 26. This 
book records the journeyings of the Israelites from Sinai to the 
borders of the promised land, and their sojourn in the wilderness 
of Arabia, with the various incidents that befell them, and the 
neiv ordinances that were from time to time added, as occasion 
required. It embraces a period of thirty-eight ^^ears, and its 
contents are necessarily of a very miscellaneous character. The 
unity of the book is chronological, history and legislation alter- 
nating with each other in the order of time. A full enumera- 
tion of the numerous incidents which it records, and of the 
new ordinances from time to time enacted, is not necessary. 
In the history of these thirty-eight years we notice three salient 
points or epochs. They^r.s^ is that of the departure from Sinai. 
Of the preparations for this, with the order of the march and 
whatever pertained to it, a full account is given. Then follow 
the incidents of the journey to the wilderness of Paran, with 
some additional laws. Chaps. 1-12. The second epoch is that 
of the rebellion of the people upon the report of the twelve 
spies whom Moses had sent to search out the land, for which 
sin the whole generation that came out of Egypt, from twenty 
years old and upward, was rejected and doomed to perish in 
the wilderness. Chaps. 13, 14. This was in the second year 
of the exodus. Of the events that followed to the thirty-eighth 
year of the exodus, we have only a brief notice. With the 
exception of the punishment of the Sabbath-breaker, Korah's 
rebellion and the history connected with it, and also a few 
laws (chaps. 15-19), this period is passed by in silence. The 
nation was under the divine rebuke, and could fulfil its part in 
the plan of God only by dying for its sins with an unrecorded 
history. The tliird epoch begins with the second arrival of 
Israel at Kadesh, and this is crowded with great events — the 
death of Miriam, the exclusion of Moses and Aaron from the 
promised land, with the death of the latter at Mount Hor, tho 



238 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

refusal of Eclom to allow a passage through his territory, the 
wearisome journey of the people "to compass the land of 
Edom," with their sins and sufferings, the conquest of Arad, 
Sihon, and Og, and thus the arrival of the people at the plains 
of Moab opposite Jericho. Chaps. 20-22 : 1. Then follows the 
history of Balaam and his prophecies, the idolatry and punish- 
ment of the people, a second numbering of the people, the 
appointment of Joshua as the leader of the people, the conquest 
of the Midianites, the division of the region beyond Jordan to 
the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 
and a review of the journeyings of the people. With all this 
are intermingled various additional ordinances. 

V. DEUTEEONOMY. 

12. The Jewish name of this book is File JiaddehJiarim, these 
are the words. The Greek name D eider onomion, whence the Latin 
Deideronomium and the English Deuteronomy, signifies second 
law, or repetition of the law, as it is also called by the later Jews. 
The book consists of discourses delivered by Moses to Israel in 
the plains of Moab over against Jericho, in the eleventh month 
of the fortieth year of the exodus. Deut. 1:1, 3. The peculiar 
character of this book and its relation to the preceding books 
have been already considered in the first part of the present 
work (Chap. 9, No. 10), to which the reader is referred. It is 
generally divided into three parts. Th.Q first is mainly a recap- 
itulation of the past history of Israel under Moses, with appro- 
priate warnings and exhortations, followed by a notice of the 
appointment of three cities of refuge on the east side of Jordan. 
Chaps. 1-4. The second discourse begins with a restatement 
of the law given on Sinai. Exhortations to hearty obedience 
follow, which are full of fatherly love and tenderness. Various 
precepts of the law are then added, with some modifications 
and additions, such as the altered circumstances of the people 
required. Chaps. 5-26. In the third part the blessings and 
the curses of the law are prominently set forth as motives to 
obedience. Chaps. 27-30. The remainder of the book is occu- 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 239 

pied with Moses' charge to Joshua, his direction for depositing 
the law in the sanctuary by the side of the ark, his song writ- 
ten by divine direction, his blessing upon the twelve tribes, and 
the account of his death and burial on mount Nebo. 

13, As the book of Genesis constitutes a suitable introduc- 
tion to the Pentateuch, without which its very existence, as a 
part of the divine plan, would be unintelligible, so does the 
book of Deuteronomy bring it to a sublime close. From the 
goodness and faithfulness of God, from his special favor be- 
stowed upon Israel, from the excellence of his service, from the 
glorious rewards of obedience and the. terrible penalties of dis- 
obedience, it draws motives for a deep and evangelical obe- 
dience — an obedience of the spirit and not of the letter only. 
Thus it adds the corner-stone to the whole system of legisla- 
tion, completing it^on the side of the motives by which it chal- 
lenges obedience, and investing it with radiant glory. The 
Pentateuch, then, is a whole. The first book is inseparable 
from it as an introduction ; the last as a close. The three inter- 
mediate books contain the legislation itself, and in this each of 
them has its appropriate province. 



COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 



CHAPTEE XX. 

The Historical Books. 

1. In tlie Pentateuch we have the estabhshment of the 
Theocracy, with the preparatory and accompanying history 
pertaining to it. The province of the historical books is to 
unfold its practical ivorJcing, and to show how, under the divine 
superintendence and guidance, it accompHshed the end for 
which it was given. They contain, therefore, primarily, a his- 
tory of God's dealings with the covenant people under the 
economy which he had imposed upon them. They look at the 
course of human events on the divine rather than the human 
side, and in this respect they differ widely from all other his- 
torical writings. Human histories abound with the endless 
details of court intrigues, of alliances and wars, of material civ- 
ilization and progress, and whatever else pertains to the welfare 
of men considered simply as the inhabitants of this world. But 
the historical books of the Old Testament, written by prophet- 
ical men illumined by the Holy Spirit, unfold with w^onderful 
clearness the mighty movements of God's providence, by which 
the divine plan proposed in the Mosaic economy was steadily 
carried forward, alike through outward prosperity and adver- 
sity, towards the fulfilment of its high office. After a lon^ 
series of bloody struggles, the Theocracj^ attained to its zenith 
of outward power and splendor under David and Solomon. 
From that time onward the power of the Israelitish people 
declined, till they were at last deprived of their national inde- 
pendence, and subjected to the yoke of foreign conquerors. 
But in both the growth of the national power under the The- 
ocracy, and its decline, the presence of God and his supremacy, 
as well over the covenant people as over the surrounding 
nations, were gloriously manifested, and their training for the 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 241 

future advent of the Messiah was steadily carried forward. 
Thus we have in these historical books a wonderful diversity of 
divine manifestations, which alike charm and instruct the pious 
mind. 

2. It has already been shown (Chap. 15, No. 7) that the 
books of Kings and Chronicles contain only selections from a 
large mass of materials. The same is probably true of the 
books of Judges and Samuel. The sacred writers did not pro- 
pose to give a detailed account of all the events belonging to 
the periods over which their histories extended, but only of 
those which were specially adapted to manifest God's presence 
and guidance in the affairs of the covenant people. The his- 
tory of some persons is given very fully ; of others with extreme 
brevity. But we may say, in general, that this divine his'tory, 
extending over a period of a thousand years, is the most con- 
densed in the world, as well as the most luminous with the 
divine glory. The student rises from the perusal of it with 
such clear views of God's presence and supremacy in the course 
of human affairs, as cannot be gained from all the ponderous 
tomes of secular history. Each book, moreover, presents some 
special phase of God's providential movements, and contains, 
therefore, its special lessons of instruction. With few excep- 
tions, the authors of the historical books are unknown. We 
only know that they were prophetical men, who wrote under 
the illumination and guidance of the Holy Spirit. 

I. JOSHUA. 

3. This book records the conquest xyf the land of Canaan by 
the Israelites under Joshua, and its distribution by lot among 
the tribes that received their inheritance on the west side ol 
the Jordan. It connects itself, therefore, immediately with th 
Pentateuch; for it shows how God fulfilled his promise to 
Abraham that he would give to his posterity the land of Ca- 
naan for an inheritance (Gen. 17 : 8), a promise often repeated 
afterwards, and kept constantly in view in the whole series of 
Mosaic legislation. The book naturally falls into two parts. 

('owvi. to Bibif, Xl 



212 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

The Jlrst twelve chapters contain the history of the conquest 
itself, with the movements preparatory thereto. Joshua, who 
had been previously designated as the leader of the people 
(Numb. 27:15-23), receives a solemn charge to pass over the 
Jordan and take possession of the promised land ; the people 
prepare themselves accordingly ; two spies are sent out to take 
a survey of Jericho; the Israelites pass over the Jordan dry- 
shod, its waters having been miraculously divided; they en- 
camp at Gilgal, and are there subjected to the rite of circum- 
cision. Chaps. 1-5. Then follows an account of the overthrow 
of Jericho, the trespass of Achan with the calamity which it 
brought upon the people, the conquest of Ai, the ratification of 
the law at mount Ebal with the erection of the stones on which 
the law was written, the artifice of the Gibeonites by which 
they saved their lives, the overthrow of the combined kings of 
the Canaanites at Gibeon, and the conquest, first of the south- 
ern and afterwards of the northern kings of Canaan. Chaps. 
6-12. 

The second part gives an account of the division of the land 
by lot among the several tribes. This work was b6gun as is 
described in chapters 13-17, and after an interruption through 
the dilatoriness of the people, for which. Joshua rebuked them, 
was continued and completed at Shiloh. Chaps. 18, 19. Six 
cities of refuge were then appointed, three on each side of the 
Jordan ; forty-eight cities were assigned by lot to the Levites ; 
and the two and a half tribes that had received their inheri- 
tance on the east side of the Jordan (Numb., chap. 32) were 
sent home. Chaps. 20-22. The twenty-third chapter contains 
Joshua's charge to the elders of Israel, and the twenty-fourth 
his final charge at Shechem to the assembled tribes, on which 
occasion there was a solemn renewal of the national covenant. 
The whole book is brought to a close b}^ a brief notice of the 
death of Joshua and Eleazar, and the interment of the bones 
of Joseph in Shechem. This brief survey of the contents of 
the book reveals at once its unity, its orderly plan, and the 
place which it holds in the history of the Theocracy. 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 243 

4. The author sliiii of the book cannot be determined from 
the title alone, any more than that of the two books which 
bear the name of Samuel. Jewish tradition ascribes it to 
Joshua himself, except the last five verses. But it records 
some transactions which, according to the most obvious inter- 
pretation of them, occurred after Joshua's death. Among these 
are the conquest of Hebron (chap. 15 : 16-19, Compared with 
Judges 1 : 12-15), and especially the excursion of the Danitefc 
(chap. 19 : 47), which must be regarded as identical with that 
described in the eighteenth chapter of the book of Judges. 
Unless we assume that this notice of the Danites is an addition 
made by a later hand, Ave must suppose that the book was 
written by some unknown prophetical man after Joshua's death. 
He may well have been one of the elders who overlived Joshua, 
since at the time of his writing Eahab was yet living among 
the Israelites. Chap. 6 : 25. 

The eighteenth chapter of the book of Judges, which records the inva- 
sion of the Danites, is evidently an appendix, introduced by the words : 
"In those days there was no king in Israel ;" and that this invasion took 
place not long after the settlement of the people in Canaan, is manifest 
from the object proposed by it. Judges 18 : 1. At the time of the con- 
quest, Rahab was a young woman, and may well have survived that event 
forty years or more. The only apparent indication of a still later compo- 
sition of the book is that found in the reference to the book of Jasher, 
chap. 10 : 13. From 2 Sam. 1 : 18, we learn (according to the most ap- 
proved interpretation of the passage) that David's elegy on the death of 
Saul and Jonathan was written in the book of Jasher. But we are not 
warranted in affirming that this title was api^lied to a book of definitely 
determined contents. It may have been a collection of national songs, 
enlarged from age to age. 

Though Joshua does not appear to have been the author of the book in 
its present form, we may well suppose that the writer employed, in part at 
least, materials that came from Joshua's pen. When the land was divided 
by lot among the several tribes, the boundaries of each inheritance, with 
the cities pertaining to it, must have been carefully described in writing 
by Joshua himself, or by persons acting under his direction. It is proba- 
ble that these descriptions were copied by the author of the book of 
Joshua ; and this is sufficient to account for any diversity of diction that 
may exist in this part of the book as compared with the purely historic 



2U COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

parts. Nothing in the style and diction of this book, or in that of the two 
following books of Judges and Euth, indicates that they belong to a later 
age of Hebrew literature. Certain peculiarities of expression which occa- 
sionally appear in them may be naturally explained as provincialisms, or 
us belonging to the language of conversation and common life. 

5. The book of Joshua bears every internal mark of authen- 
ticity and credibility. The main transaction which it records — 
the extirpation of the Canaanites by the immediate help of 
Jehovah, and the gift of their countrj^ to the Israelites — was 
contemplated from the very first by the Abrahamic covenant 
(Gen. 13 : 14, 15 ; 15 : 18-21 ; 17 : 8, etc.), and also by the entire 
l)ody of the Mosaic laws. Why God chose to accomplish this 
by the sword of his covenant people, has been already suffi- 
ciently considered. Chap. 10, No. 7. The stupendous miracles 
i-ecorded in the book of Joshua are in harmony with the entire 
plan of redemption, the great and decisive movements of which 
have been especially marked by signal manifestations of God's 
presence and power. The man who denies the credibility of 
this book on the ground of these miracles, must, for consist- 
ency's sake, go much farther, and deny altogether the super- 
natural manifestations of God recorded in the Bible, including 
the mission, miraculous works, resurrection, and ascension of 
our Lord Jesus Christ himself. 

In chap. 10 : 12-14 we read that, at the word of Joshua, the sun stood 
still and the moon stayed in the midst of heaven about a whole day, so that 
"there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened 
unto the voice of a man." Some have sought to explain the whole pas- 
sage as a quotation from "the book of Jasher " expressed in the language 
of poetic hyperbole ; and they have compared with it such poetic amplifi- 
cations as those contained in Psa. 18 : 7-16 ; Hab., chap. 3, etc. But this 
interpretation is forced and unnatural; and besides this, there remains 
the analogous event of which we have a double record in 2 Kings 20 : 8-11; 
Isa. 38 : 7, 8, and which is expressly ascribed to divine power : "Behold, 
I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone dow^n in the 
sun-dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward." Here it is manifest that to 
human vision the sun, and with it the shadow, went backward ten degrees. 
How this was accomplished we need not attempt to determine. We are 
not shut up to the supposition that the earth was turned back on her axis 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 215 

ten degrees, nor that the rays of the sun were miraculouyly deflected ten 
degrees (which would change his apparent position in the heavens ten 
degrees), nor to any other particular hypothesis. If God chose that the 
sun should to human vision go backward ten degrees, he could accomplish 
it by means inscrutable to us ; and so also if he chose that it should stand 
still in the midst of heaven about a whole day, 

II. JUDGES AND RUTH. 

6. The book of Judges is so called because it is occupied 
with the history of the Israelites during the period when they 
were under the general administration of Judges. These men 
are not to be confounded with the ordinary judges under the 
Theocracy, of the appointment of which we have an account in 
Exodus, chap. 18. They were men specially raised up by God 
and endowed by him wdth extraordinary qualifications for their 
office, which was general and political rather than municipal. 
Many of them w^ere military leaders, called to their work in 
times of national calamity. In times of peace they stood at 
the head of public affairs, although with regard to some of 
them it is generally thought that their jurisdiction extended to 
only a part of the Israelitish people. Thus Jephthah and the 
three succeeding judges seem to have exercised their office in 
northeastern Israel, while the scene of Samson's exploits was 
southwestern Israel, and he was, in the opinion of many, con- 
temporary with Eli, who judged Israel at Shiloh. The condi- 
tion of the nation during the period of the Judges is described 
as one in which "there w^as no king in Israel." Chap. 18: 1; 
19 : 1. There was no regularly organized central power which 
could give unity to the movements of the people. The tribes 
seem to have acted in a great measure independently of each 
other, as in the expedition of the Danites. Chap. 18. It was 
only on special occasions, like that of the sin and punishment 
of the Benjamites (chaps. 19-21), that there was a general con- 
cert among them. This state of affairs was not favorable to 
the development of the military power of the nation, but it 
was well suited to the high moral and religious ends which the 
Theocracy had in view; for it compelled the people to feel 



216 COMrANION TO THE BIBLE. 

their constant dependence on God's presence and help for 
defence against their enemies. Sin, and oppression by the 
surrounding nations ; repentance, and deliverance by God's 
immediate interposition — this is the oft-repeated story of the 
book of Judges. All this was in accordance with the promises 
and threatenings of the Law, and it illustrated alike the per- 
verseness of the nation and God's faithfulness in the fulfilment 
of his covenant. The incidents recorded in this book are of a 
peculiarly checkered character, and many of them are full of 
romantic interest. In the history of redemption, the book of 
Judges has a well-defined place. It unfolds to our view the 
operation of the Theocracy in the first stage of the nation's 
existence, and under its first outward form of government. 

7. As it respects the arrangement of materials, the book of 
Judges opens with a two-fold introduction, giving, first, a brief 
notice of the wars carried on against the Canaanites by certain 
tribes after Joshua's death, of the failure of the people to effect 
a complete extirpation of the Canaanites, and of the reproof 
administered to them by an angel of the Lord (chap. 1 — 2 : 5) ; 
secondly, a survey of the course of events during the time of 
the judges, with especial reference to God's faithfulness in the 
fulfilment of his promises and threatenings. Chap. 2 : 6 — 3 : 6. 
Then follows the hody of the ivork, giving an account of the 
seven servitudes to which the people were subjected for their 
sins, and of the judges raised up by God for their deliverance, 
with some incidental notices, as the history of Abimelech, 
(chap. 9) and the quarrel of the men of Ephraim with Jeph- 
thah. Chap. 12: 1-6.. The book closes with a two-fold appen- 
dix, recording, first, the conquest of Laish by the Danites, and 
in connection with this the story of Micah and his idolatrous 
establishment (chaps. 17, 18) ; secondly, the punishment of the 
Benjamites for espousing the cause of the wicked men of Gib- 
eah (chaps. 19-21). These events are not to be conceived of 
as subsequent to those recorded in the body of the book, but 
as contemporaneous with them. 

8. The remark : "In those days tliere was no king in Israel" 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 217 

(chaps. 18 : 1 ; 19 : 1) plainly implies tliat the date of the book of 
Judges must be assigned to a period after the establishment of 
the kingdom. The statement, on the other hand, that the 
children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites from Jeru- 
salem, "but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin 
in Jerusalem unto this day (chap. 1 : 21), limits the time of its 
composition to the period before David's conquest of the city. 
2 Sam. 5 : 6-9. The author of the book is unknown. Jewish 
tradition ascribes it to Samuel. It may well have been written 
during his life, and possibly under his supervision, though on 
this point we can affirm nothing positively. The writer must 
have availed himself of earlier written documents. See Chap. 
15, Ko. 5. 

9. The chronology of the book of Judges is a matter of 
debate among biblical scholars. Some contend for a longer 
period, in accordance with the reckoning of the apostle Paul, 
who says that after God had divided to the people the land of 
Canaan by lot, " he gave unto them judges about the space of 
four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet." Acts 
13 : 20. Others seek to reduce the period so as to bring it into 
harmony with the statement in 1 Kings 6 : 1, that Solomon 
began to build the temple "in the four hundred and eightieth 
year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of 
Egypt." 

If we sui^pose tliat tlie oppression of the Israelites by the PhiHstines, 
described in the beginning of the first book of Samuel, is the same as the 
forty years' oppression mentioned in the book of Judges, and that the 
judgeship of Samson falls within the same period (Judges 15:20), it is 
easy to make out the four hundred and fifty years of the apostle's reckon- 
ing. From the beginning of the first servitude under Cushan-rishathaim 
to the close of the last under the Philistines, we have, reckoning the years 
of servitude and rest in succession, and allowing three years for the reign 
of Abimelech, three hundred and ninety years. For the remaining sixty 
years we have (1) the time from the division of the land by lot to the death 
of the elders who overlived Joshua ; (2) the time from the close of the last 
servitude to the establishment of the kingdom ; and possibly (3) a furtlier 
period for Shamgar's judgeship, though it is more probable that this falls 
within the eighty years of rest after the oppression of the Moabites. Those 



248 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

who adopt a shorter chronology, assume that the forty years' dominion o« 
the PhiHstines was contemporaneous with the oppression of ihe northeast- 
ern tribes by the Ammonites and the period during which Jephthah, 
Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon judged Israel ; their jurisdiction being, as they 
suppose, restricted to the northeastern part of the land. For both the 
longer and shorter chronology, there are several variously modified 
schemes, the details of which the student can find in works devoted to the 
subject of biblical chronology. 

10. The incidents of the hooh of Ruth belong to the period 
of the Judges, so that it may be regarded as in some sort an 
appendix to the book of Judges, though probably not written 
by the same author. It contains a beautiful sketch of domestic 
life in the early period of the Theocracy, written with charm- 
ing simplicity and graphic vividness. Yet it is not on this 
ground alone or chiefly that it has a place in the sacred canon. 
It records also the sublime faith of Kutli the Moabitess, which 
led her to forsake her own country and kindred to trust under 
the wings of the Lord God of Israel (ch. 2 : 12), and which 
was rewarded by her being made the ancestress of David and 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus the book connects itself im- 
mediately with " the house and lineage of David," and may be 
regarded as supplementary to the history of his family. It was 
evidently written after David was established on the throne. 
Further than this we have no certain knowledge respecting its 
date ; nor can its author be determined. 

III. THE BOOKS OF SAMUEL. 

11. The two books of Samuel constituted originally one 
work. The division was made by the Greek translators as a 
matter of convenience, so as to close the first book with the 
death of Saul, and begin the second with David's accession to 
the throne. This division was followed by the Yulgate, and 
was introduced by Daniel Bomberg into the printed Hebrew 
text. To the original whole work the name of Samuel was 
appropriately given ; for he is not only the central personage 
in the history wliich it records to the establishment of the 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 24;) 

kingdom, but it was also through him, as the acknowledged 
prophet of the Theocracy, that both Saul and David were desig- 
nated and anointed for the kingly office. The Greek Septua- 
gint designates these books from their contents, Firf^t and Second 
of the Kingdoms, and the Yulgate, First and Second of Kings. 

12. In the history of the plan of redemption these two books 
have a well-defined province. They are occupied with tJie 
establishment, under God's direction and guidance, of the kingly 
form of government in the Theocracy. All the events recorded 
before the inauguration of Saul were preparatory to that event 
and explanatory of it. Since, moreover, Saul was afterwards 
rejected with his family on account of his disobedience, and 
David and his family were chosen in his stead, it was in the 
person of David that the kingdom was first fully established, 
and with ''the close of his reign the work accordingly ends. 
The period included in this history, though comparatively brief, 
was most eventful. Samuel, himself one of the greatest of the 
prophets, established a school of the prophets, and from his 
day onward the prophetical order assumed an importance and 
permanency in the Theocracy that was before unknown. See 
above, Ch. 15, No. 11. The change to the kingly form of gov- 
ernment constituted a new era in the Hebrew commonwealth. 
Although the motives which led the people to desire a king- 
were low and unworthy, being grounded in worldliness and 
unbelief, yet God, for the accomplishment of his own purposes, 
was pleased to grant their request. The adumbration in the 
Theocracy of the kingly office of the future Messiah, not less 
than of his priestly and prophetical office, was originally con- 
templated in its establishment ; and now the full time for this 
had come. While David and his successors on the throne were 
true civil and military leaders in a secular and earthly sense, 
their headship over God's people also shadowed forth the 
higher headship of the long promised Kedeemer, the great 
Antitype in whom all the types contained in the Mosaic econ- 
omy find at once their explanation and their fulfilment. Under 
David the Hebrew commonwealth was rescued from the oppres- 

11* 



250 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

sion of the surrounding nations, and speedily attained to its 
zenith of outward power and splendor. 

13. The contents of the books of Samuel naturally fall under 
three main divisions. The introductory part takes up the his- 
tory of the commonwealth under Eli and continues it to the 
time when the people demanded of Samuel a king. 1 Sam. 
chaps. 1-7. This period properly belongs to that of the 
judges, but its history is given here because of its intimate 
connection with the events that follow. It describes the birth 
and education of Samuel; the disorders that prevailed under. 
Eli's administration, for which God denounced upon his family 
severe judgments ; the invasion of the land by the Philistines, 
with the capture and restoration of the ark ; Samuel's adminis- 
tration, and the deliverance of the people under him from the 
oppression of the Philistines. The second part, extending 
through the remainder of the first book, opens with an account 
of the abuses which led the people to desire a king, and then 
gives an account of the selection, anointing, and inauguration 
of Saul as king of Israel, with a notice of his exploit in deliver- 
ing the people of Jabesh-gilead from the Ammonites. Chaps. 
8-12. It then gives an account of his first sin at Gilgal, for 
which Samuel threatened him with the loss of his kingdom, and 
of his victory over the Philistines, with a general summary of 
the events of his reign. Chaps. 13, 14. For his second sin in 
the matter of the Amalekites Saul is rejected, and David is 
anointed by Samuel as his successor ; the Spirit of the Lord 
forsakes Saul, and an evil spirit from God troubles him ; David 
becomes his minstrel, is in high favor with him, slays Goliath 
in the presence of the two armies of Israel and the Philistines, 
returns in triumph to the camp of Saul, marries Michal his 
daughter, but becomes an object of his jealousy and hatred 
because he has supplanted him in the affections of the people. 
Chaps. 15-18:9. The remainder of the first book is mainly 
occupied with an account of the persecutions to which David 
was subjected on the part of Saul, and of the wonderful way 
in which God delivered him. It closes with an account of 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 251 

Saul's distress througli the iDvasion of the Philistines, of his 
resort in trouble to a woman that had a familiar spirit, of the 
terrible message that he received at the lips of the risen Sam- 
uel, of the defeat of the armies of Israel by the Philistines, and 
of the death of Saul and his three sons on Mount Gilboa. 
The tliird part occupies the whole of the second book. It 
records the reign of David, first at Hebron over the tribe of 
Judah, wdth the accompanying war betw^een the house of Saul 
and the house of David, and then, after Ishbosheth's death, 
over all Israel at Jerusalem. "With the fidelity of truth the 
sacred historian describes not only David's many victories over 
the enemies of Israel, but also his grievous sin in the matter of 
Uriah, with the terrible chastisements that it brought upon 
him and his kingdom — Amnon's incest, the murder of Amnon 
by Absalom, Absalom's rebellion, pollution of his father's con- 
cubines, and death in battle. The closing years of David's 
reign w^ere saddened also by David's sin in numbering the 
people, for which there fell in pestilence seventy thousand of 
his subjects. 

14. For the evidence that the author of these books availed 
himself of the writings of the prophets contemporary with the 
events described, see above, Chap. 15, No. 6. In 1 Chron. 
29:29 we read: "Now the acts of David the king, first and 
last, behold they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, 
and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of 
Gad the seer." If, as some think, our present books of Sam- 
uel were composed shortly after David's death, the author may 
"well have been one of the last two of- the above-named proph- 
ets ; but there are some indications that he lived after the divis- 
ion of the Israelitish people into the two kingdoms of Judah 
and Israel. 

In 1 Sam. 27 : 6 we read that Acliish gave Ziklag to David ; ** where- 
fore," adds the sacred historian, "Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of 
Judah unto this day." The only natural interpretation of these words is 
that the kings of Judah — not any particular king of Judah, but the kings 
of Judah as a line — are named in contrast with the kings of Israel. In 



252 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

several other passages, where he is speaking of events that occurred hefore 
the separation of the two kingdoms, he puts Judah and Israel in contrast. 
1 Sam. 11 : 8 ; 17 : 52 ; 18 : 16 ; 2 Sam. 3 : 10 ; 24 : 1. But this may, per- 
haps, be explained from the fact that during the seven years of David's 
reign at Hebron there was an actual separation of Judah from the other 
tribes. It is a remarkable fact that while the full term of David's reign is 
given (2 Sam. 5:4, 5), which implies that the writer lived after its close, 
no notice is taken of his death. The reason of this omission cannot be 
known. As the fii:st book of Kings opens with an account of David's last 
days and death, some have conjectured that it was designedly omitted from 
the books of Sa^muel as superfluous, when the historical books were arran- 
ged in the sacred canon. 



IV. THE BOOKS OF KINGS. 

15. These two books, like the two of Samuel, originally- 
constituted a single work. The division was first made by the 
Greek translators, was followed by the Yulgate, and was finally 
admitted by Daniel Bomberg into the printed Hebrew text. 
The Greek version of the Seventy and the Latin version, having 
called the books of Samuel, the former, First and Second of the 
Kingdoms, the latter, First and Second of the Kings, designate 
these books as Third and Fourth of the Kingdoms or Kings. 
Each of the historical books presents the covenant people 
under a new aspect, and imparts new lessons of instruction. 
In the book of Joshua w^e see them taking triumphant posses- 
sion of the promised land through the mighty assistance of 
Jehovah ; the book of Judges describes the course of affairs in 
the Hebrew commonwealth before the existence of a central 
kingly government ; in the books of Samuel we learn how such 
a central government was established, and how under the leign 
of David the nation was raised from the deep degradation of 
servitude to the summit of worldly power. But the Theocracy 
was only a preparatory, and therefore a temporary form of 
God's visible , earthly, kingdom. From the days of David and 
Solomon it began to decline in outward power and splendor, 
and it is with the history of this decline that the books of 
Kings are occupied. In the view which the}' present of the 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. ' '2o'^ 

divine plan they are in perfect harmony with the preceding 
books of Samuel ; but in respect to the manner of execution 
they differ widely. The books of Samuel give the history of 
Samuel, Saul, and David, with great fulness of detail, and 
never refer the reader to other sources of information. The 
books of Kings, on the contrary, give professedly only certain 
portions of the history of the people under the successive 
kings, always adding, at the close of each monarch's reign 
after Solomon, that the rest of his acts may be found, for the 
kings of Judah, in " the book of the Chronicles of the kings of 
Judah ;" and, for the kings of Israel, in "the book of the 
Chronicles of the kings of Israel." The Chronicles referred to 
are not our present books of Chronicles, as has been already 
shown. Chap. 15, No. 8, but a larger collection of writings, 
from which the authors both of the books of Kings and Chron- 
icles drew materials, in part at least, for their respective works. 
The history contained in the books of Kings may be conveni- 
ently divided into three periods — (1) the reign of Solomon over 
all Israel ; (2) the history of the coexisting kingdoms of Judah 
and Israel ; (3) the history of the kingdom of Judah after the 
extinction of the kingdom of Israel. 

16. The history of the first period opens with the reign of 
Solomon, which excelled that of David in outward magnifi- 
cence, as it did that of every succeeding king. 1 Kings 3 : 13. 
The great event of his reign, constituting an epoch in the his- 
tory of the Theocracy, was the erection of the tem/ple on Mount 
Moriah, which took the place of the ancient tabernacle con- 
structed by divine direction in the wilderness. Thus Solomon 
added to the public services of the sanctuary an outward splen- 
dor and dignity corresponding with the increased wealth and 
glory of the nation. But in the case of his kingdom, as often 
elsewhere, the zenith of magnificence came after the zenith of 
true power. Had his profuse expenditures ceased with the 
erection of the temple and his own house, it would have been 
well ; but the maintenance of such a household as his, embra- 
cing *' seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred 



254 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

concubines," corrupted his religion and that of the nation, bur- 
dened the people with heavy taxes, and thus prepared the 
way for the division of his kingdom that followed immediately 
after his death, as recorded in 1 Kings 12. 

17. With the division of Solomon's kingdom under his son 
Kehoboam into two hostile nations begins the second period of 
the history. This division was brought about by God's 
appointment as a chastisement for Solomon's sins, and in it 
the national power received a blow from which it never recov- 
ered. The religious effect also was unspeakably calamitous so 
far as the kingdom of the ten tribes was concerned ; for Jero- 
boam, the first king of Israel, established idolatry as a matter 
of state ijolicy, thus corrupting the religion of his whole king- 
dom with a view to the establishment of his own power, a sin 
in which he was followed by every one of his successors. The 
sacred historian carries forward the history of these two king- 
doms together with wonderful brevity and power. Sometimes, 
as in the days of Elijah and Elisha, the history of the ten 
tribes assumes the greater prominence, because it furnishes 
the fuller illustrations of God's presence and power ; but as a 
general fact it is kept in subordination to that of Judah. It is 
a sad record of wicked dynasties, each established in blood 
and ending in blood, until the overthrow of the kingdom by 
the Assyrians about two hundred and fifty-four j^ears after its 
establishment. Meanwhile there was in Judah an alternation 

\of pious with idolatrous kings, and a corresponding struggle 
between the true religion and the idolatry of the surrounding 
nations, which the sacred writer also describes briefly but vividly. 

18, It was during the reign of the good king Hezekiah that 
the extinction of the kingdom of Israel took place, and the 
/7«>cZ period of the history began. Hezekiah's efforts for the 
restoration of the true religion were vigorous and for the time 
successful. But after his death the nation relapsed again into 
idolatry and wickedness. The efforts of Josiah, the only pious 
monarch that occupied the throne after Hezekiah, could not 
avail to stay the progress of national degeneracy, and the king- 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 255 

dom of Judah was, in its turn, overthrown by the Chaldeans, 
and the people carried captive to Babylon. 

19. The chronology of certain parts of the history embraced 
in the books of. Kings is perplexed and uncertain. But the 
beginning of the Babylonish captivity is generally placed B. c. 
588, three hundred and eighty-seven years after the beginning 
of Kehoboam's reign, and one hundred and thirty-three years 
after the extinction of the kingdom of Israel. Reckoning in 
the forty years of Solomon's reign, we have for the period 
included in the books of Kings to the beginning of the captiv- 
ity four hundred and twenty-seven years. To this must be 
added twenty- six more years for the thirtj^-seventh year of 
Jehoiachin's captivity (2 Kings 25 : 27), the last date given by' 
the sacred historian. The author of the books of Kings is 
unknown. Jewish tradition ascribes them to Jeremiah, per- 
haps on the ground that the last chapter of Jeremiah is mostly 
a repetition of 2 Kings from chap. 24 : 18 to the end of the 
book. But Jeremiah and the author of these books may both 
have made use of common documents. We only know that the 
writer lived after the accession of Evil-merodach to the throne 
of Babylon (2 Kings 25 : 27), and during the full pressure of the 
Babylonish captivity, since he nowhere gives any intimation of 
its approaching close. 

V. THE BOOKS OF CHEONICLES. 

20. These books, which originally constituted a single 
work, are called by the Hebrews : Words of the Baijs ; that is, 
History of the Events of the Times, or Chronicles, as they were 
fir^t called by Jerome. The Greek name Paraleipomena, things 
omitted, has its ground in the false supposition that they were 
designed to be supplementary to the books of Kings, whereas 
they constitute an independent work having its own plan and 
end. The author of the books of Kings doubtless looked for- - 
ward to the future restoration of his nation ; but the time for 
that joyous event was jei distant, and he could have no imme- 
diate reference to the wants of the returning exiles. His aim 



256 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

was simply to set forth the course of events under the The- 
ocracy from Solomon to the captivity as an illustration of 
God's faithfulness in the fulfilment of both his promises and 
his threatenings. But the author of the books of Cbrpnicles 
wrote, as all agree, during the process of the restoration. In 
addition to the common aim of all the historical writers, he 
had a particular object in view, which was to furnish the re- 
stored captives with such information as would be especially 
interesting and important to them, engaged as the}^ were in the 
reestablishment of the commonwealth. Hence we may natu- 
rally explain the peculiarities of these books as compared with 
the books of Kings. 

(1.) The writer gives particular attention to the matter of 
genealogy. The first nine chapters are occupied with genealo- 
gical tables interspersed with short historical notices, which 
the author took, for the most part at least, from documents 
that have long since perished. To the returning exiles the lin- 
eage of their ancestors must have been a matter of general 
interest. A knowledge of the descent of the families of the 
different tribes would. greatly facilitate the people in regaining 
their former inheritances. To the priests and Levites, espe- 
cially, it was of the highest importance that they should be 
able to show their lineage ; since upon this depended their 
right to minister in holy things. Ezra 2 : 61-63. 

(2.) The books of Chronicles are very full on all that 
loertains io the temple service. The writer devotes, for example, 
eight chapters to an account of David's preparations for the 
erection of the temple, and of his elaborate arrangements for 
all the different parts of the service pertaining to the sanctu- 
ary. 1 Chron. chaps. 22-29. He gives a particular descrip- 
tion of the solemn covenant made by the people with Jehovah 
under Asa's direction, 2 Chron. 15 : 1-15 ; of the reformatory 
labors and faith of Jehoshaphat, 2 Chron. 19, 20 ; of Hezekiah, ■ 
2 Chron. chaps. 29-31 ; and he adds to the account of Josiah's 
efforts against the idolatrous practices of his day, a notice of 
his solemn observance of the passover, 2 Chron. 35 : 1--19. 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 257 

(3.) He oimts, on the other hand, the history of the hing- 
dom of Israel, giving only a notice of its establishment, and of 
certain parts of its history which were connected with that of 
the kingdom of Judah. The apparent ground of this is, that 
the kingdom of the ten tribes furnished no example which 
could be available to the people in the work of reestablishing 
the commonwealth. It is to be noticed, moreover, that he 
passes over in silence the adultery of David with its calamitous 
consequences, and the idolatry of Solomon. This is, perhaps, 
due to the brevity of the history before the division of the king- 
dom ; for he does not spare the sins of the pious monarchs that 
followed. See 2 Chron. 16 : 7-12 ; 19 : 2 ; 32 : 25, 31 ; 35 : 21, 22. 

21. In the Hebrew canon the books of Chronicles stand last 
in order. It is generally agreed that they were written, after 
the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, by Ezra, 
wdio had all the qualifications for such a work. Whatever use 
he may have made of the earlier books of Samuel and Kings, 
it is plain that these were not his chief sources, for he records 
many things not found in them. He and the author of the 
books of Kings had access to the same public records, and each 
of them made such selections from them as suited his purposes. 
Hence the matter contained in the two works agrees in part, 
and is partly different. See above. Chap. 15, Nos. 7, 8. 

22. That there are some discrepancies between the books " 
of Samuel and Kings and the books of Chronicles, arising from 
errors in transcribing, is generallj^ admitted. These relate, 
however, mainly to dates, and do not affect the general integ- 
rity of the works. But most of the disagreements between the 
earlier and later histories are only apparent, arising from their 
brevity, and from the fact that their authors frequently select 
from the same reign different events, the one passing by in 
silence what the other records ; or that, where they record the 
same events, various accompanying circumstances are omitted. 

An example of apjDarent error in transcription is 2 Sam. 24 : 13 com- 
pared Avitli 1 Chron. 21 : 12 ; the former passage specifying seven years of 
famine, tlie latter three years. For other examples see 2 Sam. 8 : 4 com- 



258 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

pared with 1 Cliron. 18 : 4 ; 2 Sam. 23 : 8 with 1 Chron. 11 :11 ; 1 Kings 
4 : 26 with 2 Chron. 9 : 25. We are not to infer, however, that all cases of 
apparent disagreement involve error in one or the other of the records. 
When the events of a whole campaign, for example, are crowded into sin- 
gle sentences, it is not surprising that the different narratives should con- 
tain seeming discrepancies which a full knowledge of the details would 
enable us to reconcile. The separate discussion of the difficulties pre- 
sented by the books of Chronicles, as compared with the earlier histories, 
belongs to the commentator. It is sufficient to remark here, that inde- 
pendent parallel histories always exhibit, with substantial agreement, 
minor diversities which it is sometimes not easy to harmonize. It has not 
pleased God that in this respect the sacred narratives of either the Old or 
the New Testament should constitute an exception to the general rule. 
The parallel narratives of our Lord's hfe contain as many and as great 
diversities as those of the old Hebrew commonwealth. Though we may 
not always be able to show how these are to be brought into harmony, 
they constitute no valid objection to the authenticity of the histories in 
the one case any more than in the other. 

VI. EZEA AND NEHEMIAH. 
23. In the books of Ezra and Neliemiali, wliicli record the 
most important events connected with the restoratio7i of the 
Hehreiv commomuealth, we have unfolded to our view a new era 
in the history of the Theocracy. The contrast between the 
relation of the Israelitisli people to the heathen world in the 
days of Joshua, and of Ezra and Neliemiah is as great as pos- 
sible. Under Joshua the people marched, sword in hand, as 
invincible conquerors, to the possession of the promised land, 
while the hearts of their enemies melted before them. After 
the captivity they returned in weakness and fear, by the per- 
mission of their heathen rulers and under their patronage and 
protection. But in the latter case, not less than in the former, 
the Theocracy was steadily advancing under God's guidance 
towards the accomplishment of its high end, which w^as the 
preparation of the Jewish people, and through them the world, 
for the advent of the promised Messiah. In the beginning oi 
the Mosaic economy, and during the earlier part of its course, 
it was altogether appropriate that God should make stupen- 
dous supernatural manifestations of his infinite perfections and 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 259 

of his supreme power over the nations of the world. Thus he 
revealed himself as the only living and true God in the sight 
of all men. But as the history of the covenant people went 
forward, there was a gradual return to the ordinary providen- 
tial administration of the divine government. God's miracu- 
lous interventions were never made for mere display. They 
always had in view a high religious end. As that end ap- 
proached its accomplishment, they were more and more with- 
drawn, and soon after the captivity they ceased altogether 
until the final and perfect manifestation of God in Christ. 
From Malachi to Christ was the last stage of the Theocracy, 
when, in the language of the New Testament, it was waxing 
old and ready to vanish away. Heb. 8 : 13. It was neither 
needful nor proper that its history should be dignified by such 
displays of God's miraculous power as marked its earlier 
periods. 

24. But, although the age of miracles ceased after the Bab- 
ylonish captivity, the Theocracy went steadily forward in the 
accomplishment of its divine mission. In truth it was now 
that it secured for the first time, as a permanent result, the 
high end proposed by it from the beginning, that of rescuing a 
whole nation from idolatrous practices and making it steadfast 
in the worship of the true God, at least so far as the outward 
life is concerned. By the permanent subjection of the Jewish 
people to heathen rulers, their national pride was humbled, 
and they were placed in such a relation to heathenism as in- 
clined them to abhor rather than imitate its rites. The fulfil- 
ment of the terrible threatenings contained in the law of Moses 
in the complete overthrow, first of the kingdom of Israel, and 
afterwards of that of Judah, and their long and bitter bondage 
in Babylon, administered to them severe but salutary lessons 
of instruction, under the influence of which they were, by God's 
blessing, finally reclaimed from idolatrous practices. In con- 
nection with the restoration, the synagogue service was estab- 
lished, in which the law and the prophets were regularly read 
and expounded to the people throughout the land. To this, 



250 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

more than to any other human instrumentality, was due that 
steadfastness which the Jewish people ever afterwards mani- 
fested in the worship of the true God. Thus, while the out- 
ward glory of the Theocracy declined, it continued to accom- 
plish the true spiritual end for which it was established. 

25. The book of Ezra embraces a period of about seventy- 
nine years, from the accession of Cyrus to the throne of Persia 
to the close of Ezra's administration, or at least to the last 
transaction under it of which we have a record. The first 
six chapters give a brief sketch of the course of events among 
the restored captives before Ezra's arrival at Jerusalem, espe- 
cially their activity in rebuilding the temple, the formidable 
opposition which they encountered from the neighboring peo- 
ple, and how that opposition was finally overcome. The last 
four chapters contain the history of Ezra's administration, the 
chief event of which w^as the putting away by the jDrinces and 
people of the heathen wives whom they had married. That 
Ezra was the author of this book is generally acknowledged. 
The first three verses are a repetition, with some unessential 
variations, of the last two verses of Chronicles, of which he is 
also believed, on good grounds, to have been the author. In 
certain passages he speaks of himself in the third person; 
Ch. 7 : 1-26 ; ch. 10 ; but there is no reason to denj^, on this 
ground, that he was their author. Jeremiah changes, in like 
manner, employing sometimes the first and sometimes the 
third person. Certain parts of this book, which are mainly 
occupied with public documents respecting the building of the 
temple and the orderly arrangement of its services, are written 
in the Chaldee language, namely: chaps. 4:8 — 6:18; 7:12-26. 

Ill respect to the Persian monarchs mentioned in this and the two fol- 
lowing books, there is not an entire agreement among biblical scholars. 
The following table, formed in accordance with the vicAvs that seem to be 
best supported, will be useful to the reader. It contains, arranged in 
three parallel columns, first the names of the Persian kings in their order 
of succession, as given by profane historians ; secondly, their scriptural 
names ; thirdly, the dates of their accession to the throne, according to 
the received chronology. 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 261 

Cyrus, Cyrus, Ezra 1 : 1, etc., B.C. 536. 

Cambyses, Ahasuerus, Ezra 4:6, " 529. 

Smerdis,* Artaxerxes, Ezra 4 : 7-23, *« 522. 

Darius Hystaspis, Darius, Ezra 4 : 24 — 6 : 15,t *' 521. 

Xerxes,^ Ahasuerus, Esther throughout, J " 485. 

Artaxerxes Longimanus, Artaxerxes, Ezra 7 : 1, etc. ; Neh. 2:1, etc. , ' ' 464. 

26. The book of Nehemiali continues the history of the Jew- 
ish people after the restoration, beginning with the commission 
which Nehemiali received from Artaxerxes Longimanus, king 
of Persia, in the twentieth year of his reign (b. c. 446), to go 
to Jerusalem in the capacity of Tirshatha, or civil governor, for 
the purpose of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and setting 
in order the affairs of the commonwealth. The book naturally 
falls into three divisions. The first division contains the his- 
tory of his labors in rebuilding the walls of the city and put- 
ting an end to the practice of usury, and of the violent oppo- 
sition and intrigues of the surrounding people. Chaps. 1 — 7 : 4. 
To this is appended a genealogical list, which is the same for 
substance as that contained in the second chapter of Ezra. 
Ch. 7:5-73. 

Upon a comparison of the two catalogues, we find various differences 
in respect to names and numbers. The differences of names may be ex- 
plained from the fact that it was common for men to bear different titles, 
particularly if they were persons of distinction ; as, for example, Daniel 
and Belteshazzar, Zerubbabel and Sheshbazzar. It is not certain upon 
what principle the differences in numbers are to be explained. The sum 
total of both catalogues is the same, namely, 42,360 : from which it is plain 
that the lists are in both cases partial, since neither of them amounts to 
this sum. We add the following suggestion from Grey's Key as quoted 
by Scott : ' ' The sum of the numbers, as separately detailed, will corre- 
spond, if to the 29,818 specified by Ezra, w^e add the 1,765 persons reck- 
oned by Nehemiah which Ezra has omitted ; and, on the other hand, to 
the 31,089 enumerated by Nehemiah, add the 494, which is an overplus in 
Ezra, nDE noticed by Nehemiah ; both writers including in the sum total 
10,777 of the mixed multitude, not particularized in the individual detail," 

"^ He was a usurper who reigned less than a year. 

t But in Neh. 12 : 22, Darius Nothus or Darius Codomanus roust be referred 
to. 

I Some suppose Darius, others Artaxerxes, to have been the Ahasuerus of 
Esther. 



232 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

In the second division we have an account of the solemn 
public reading of the law of Moses at the feast of tabernacles, 
and, in connection with this, of the renewal of the national 
covenant with Jehovah through the signature and seal of the 
princes, Levites, and priests, irT their own behalf and that of 
the people. Chaps. 8-10. In this religious and ecclesiastical 
transaction, Ezra the priest was the leader; Nehemiah, as the 
Tirshatha, or civil governor, simply taking the lead of the 
princes in the act of sealing. 

The tliird division contains, along with some genealogical 
lists, an account of the measures taken by Neherniah and the 
princes to increase the number of residents in Jerusalem, of 
the solemn dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, and of the rec- 
tification of various abuses which had crept in partly during 
Nehemiah's absence at the court of Persia. Chaps. 11-13. 

The date of Nehemiah's commission to rebuild the -walls of Jerusalem 
is important on account of its connection with the seventy prophetic weeks 
of Daniel, which are reckoned "from the going forth of the commandment 
to restore and to build Jerusalem." Dan. 9 : 25. It cannot be considered 
as exactly ascertained, but may be placed somewhere from b. c. 454 to b. c. 
446. See the commentators on Dan. 9 : 24-27. How long Nehemiah's 
administration continued after his visit to the court of Persia, in the 
twelfth year of his rule, is not known. 

27. The book, as its title testifies, was written by Nehe- 
miah, not earlier than his return from the court of Persia (ch. 
13 : 6 ; 5 : 14) ; how much later cannot be known. From the 
general character of style and diction which belongs to the 
second division (chaps. 8-10), as well as from the absence of 
Nehemiah's peculiar forms of speech, some have thought that 
Ezra, as the chief actor in the reading of the law and renewal 
of the national covenant, wrote the account of the transaction, 
and that Nehemiah incorporated it into his work. To this 
supposition there is no serious objection. We must remember, 
however, that arguments based on supposed differences of style 
cannot amount to much where the materials from which a con- 
clusion is to be drawn are so scanty. 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 2G3 

Tlie genealogical notice in cli. 12 : 10, 11, wliicli gives the lineage of 
the high priests from Joshua to Jaddua, who is apparently the high priest 
described by Josephus as having met Alexander the Great on his march to 
Jerusalem, is thought by many to be an addition made after Nehemiah's 
death as a matter of public interest. See above, Chap. 15, No. 17. The 
same judgment is passed by some on 1 Chron. 3 : 19-24. But the inter- 
pretation of this latter passage is very uncertain. 

. VII. ESTHER. 

28. This book, the author of whicli is unknown, records the 
"wonderful manner in which the plot of Haman the Agagite to 
destroy the Jews was not only overthrown, but turned to their 
enlargement and honor. It is remarkable that the author 
refrains throughout from mentioning the name of God, although 
he manifestly designs to represent this deliverance as effected 
by his providence, and that too in answer to the fervent pray- 
ers of the Jews in connection with a fast of three days' contin- 
uance. He prefers, as it would seem, to let the facts speak for 
themselves. The book closes with an account of the establish- 
ment, under the auspices of Mordecai and Esther, of the feast 
of Purim, in commemoration of the deliverance which it 
records ; and we are perhaps warranted in saying that the 
immediate occasion of writing the book was to show the his- 
toric origin of that festival — a festival mentioned in the second 
book of Maccabees, under the title of Blordecais day (chap. 
15 : 36), and observed, according to Josephus, by the Jews 
throughout the whole world. Antiq., 11, 6. 13. 

29. Among the various opinions respecting the Ahasuerus 
of this book, the best sustained is that which identifies him 
with the celebrated Xerxes of profane history. With this agrees 
all that is said of the splendor and extent of his dominions, 
extending "from India even unto Ethiopia, over a hundred 
and seven and twenty provinces " (1 : 1), and of his passionate, 
capricious, and sensual character. 

To us, who are accustomed to a government of law, in which the rulers 
are restrained from the exercise of arbitrary power, and are kept under 
constant restraint by popular opinion, the incidents recorded in this book 



264 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

seem very strange. But it gives a true and faithful portraiture of tlie 
course of affairs at the court of a Persian despot, where the monarch 
knows no law but his ow^n arbitrary will, suddenly elevates his favorites to 
the highest places of power and trust, as suddenly consigns them to the 
hand of the executioner, and gives himself up to the unbridled indulgence 
of his passions. The history of Haman's sudden rise and fall is that of 
many an oriental courtier since his day. The Jews, we are told, " slew of 
their foes seventy and five thousand." This was a very great slaughter ; 
but we must remember that it was distributed through all the provinces of 
the kingdom. Ch. 9 : 16. The permission which they had received was 
' ' in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life ; 
to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all the jDower of the people and 
province that w^ould assault them, both little ones and women, and to take 
the spoil of them for a prey " (ch. 8 : 11) ; all which, except the last clause, 
seems to have been carried into execution. We are not required to vindi- 
cate the wisdom of this severe decree, or to deny that the Jews may have 
used to excess the terrible power thus conferred upon them. On the side 
of God's providence, the vengeance that fell upon the Jews' enemies was 
righteous ; but on the side of the human instrumentalities employed by 
him, there may have been much imperfection, or even folly and wicked- 
ness. So it has ever been in the history of human affairs, and so it is at 
the present day. 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 265 



CHAPTER XXI. 

The Poetical ^ooks (including also Ecclesiastes 
AND Canticles). 

1. The Hebrews reckon but three books as poetical, namely: 
Job, Psalms, and Proverbs, which are distinguished from the 
rest by a stricter rhythm — the rhythm not of feet, but of 
clauses (see below. No. 3) — and a peculiar system of accentua- 
tion. It is obvious to every reader that the poetry of the Old 
Testament, in the usual sense of the word, is not restricted to 
these three books. But they are called poetical in a special 
and technical sense. In any natural classification of the books 
of the Old Testament, those of Ecclesiastes and Canticles will 
fall into the division which contains the books of Job, Psalms, 
and Proverbs. 

The Hebrew system of accentuation is very subtle and comiDlicated, 
and there is nothing corresponding to it in our western languages. These 
so-called accents are quite numerous, one of them resting, as a general 
rule, upon each word. Certain of them are peculiar to the poetical books, 
and are called poetical accents. They serve a threefold oflfice. (1.) They 
guide the modulated flow of the voice in cantillaiion, thus serving, in a cer- 
tain sense, as musical notes. Some think that this was their primary office. 
(2.) They indicate the logical relation to each other of the words and 
clauses, thus performing the office of marks of interpunction. (3.) They 
rest, with certain exceptions, on the tone syllable, and thus serve as accents 
in our restricted sense of the word. 

In the first division of the present chapter, the cliaracteyis- 
tics of Hebrew poetry will be briefly considered in respect to its 
spirit, its form, and its offices. Then will follow, in the second 
division, a notice of the contents of the several boohs. 

Comp. to riihie. -I Q 



266 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

(A.) CHARACTEEISTICS OF HEBREW POETRY. 

2. As it respects the spirit of Hebrew poetry, we notice, 
first of all, its perfect harmony ivifh the spirit of the Theocracy. 
It is, in truth, an outgrowth of the Theocracy in the souls of 
holy men educated under its influence and thoroughly imbued 
with its spirit. The God of Moses and Aaron is also the God 
of David, Asaph, and Solomon ; of Hosea, Isaiah, and Habak- 
kuk. In his boldest flights the Hebrew poet always remains 
loyal to the institutions of Moses, not in their letter alone, but 
much more in their spirit, of which he is the inspired interpre- 
ter. The same Jehovah who thundered from Sinai and spake 
to the people by Moses, speaks also by the sweet psalmist of 
Israel, by the wisdom of Solomon, and by the whole succession 
of the prophets. Hence the poetry of the Hebrews is radiant 
throughout with the pure monotheism of the Theocracy. It 
exhibits God in his infinite perfections, as the Creator and 
sovereign Ruler of the world, without a single taint of panthe- 
ism or polytheism, and that in an age when pantheism and 
polytheism were the reigning forms of religion without the pale 
of the covenant peojole. 

Another distinguishing mark of Hebrew poetry is the vivid 
consciousness of God's joresence by which it is pervaded. In this 
respect it runs entirely parallel with Hebrew history. It has 
already been remarked (Ch. 20, No. 1) that Hebrew history 
differs widely from all other historical writings in its habit of 
looking at the course of human events from the Divine side, 
rather than the human ; that while secular history is mainly 
occupied with the endless details of human combinations and 
alliances, and the progress of material civilization, the histor- 
ical books of the Old Testament unfold to us with wonderful 
clearness God's presence and power as shaping the course of 
human events in the interest of his great plan of redemption. 
Take, for example, that small section of Hebrew history com- 
prehended under the title. Affinity luith Ahah. No Christian can 
read it without feelings of holy awe, for it is radiant through- 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 2G7 

out witli the presence of that righteous God who renders to 
every man according to his works, and visits the iniquity of 
the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth genera- 
tion. In it the retributive justice of God shines forth, like the 
lightning, from one end of heaven to the other. Just so is 
Hebrew poetry also filled with the presence and glory of God. 
When the Hebrew bard sweej)S his lyre, all nature gives signs- 
of her Maker's presence. The heavens rejoice before him, the 
earth is glad, the sea roars, the mountains and hills break 
forth into singing, and all the trees of the field clap their 
hands. He looks on the earth, and it trembles; he touches 
the hills, and they smoke. Nor less conspicuous is his pres- 
ence in providence and in the human soul. He is seen in awful 
majesty high above the tumult of the nations, directing their 
movements to the accomplishment of his own infinitely wise 
purposes ; making the wrath of man to praise him, and restrain- 
ing the remainder of it. Meanwhile his presence shines in the 
believer's soul, like the sun in his strength, filling it with 
strength, light, and gladness. In a w^ord, over the whole do- 
main of Hebrew poesy, whether its theme be God or nature 
or human society or the human spirit, is heard continually the 
solemn cry of the seraphim : " Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord 
of hosts : the whole earth is full of his glory." 

Originality is another feature of Hebrew poetry. It cannot 
indeed be said that this quality belongs to all the Hebrew 
poets. With such divinely perfect models as the later writers 
had before them, models with which they had been familiar 
from childhood, it was natural that they should imitate them. 
The spirit of inspiration did not prevent this, for it was" not 
necessary to the ends of revelation that it should be prevented. 
Yet even among the later poets we have some striking exam- 
ples of originality ; and Hebrew poetry, taken as a whole, is 
original in the fullest sense of the word, borrowing nothing 
that we know of from any other nation. Not to anticipate the 
question of the age to which the book of Job belongs, and 
passing by some gems of poetry contained in the book of Gen- 



263 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

esis, we may say that the oldest recorded song of certain date 
which the world possesses is that of the Israelites upon their 
deliverance at the Ked sea. Exod., ch. 15. Next in order (to 
pass by the poetic effusions of Balaam, and some other frag- 
ments, Numb., chaps. 21-24) come the song which Moses wrote 
for the children of Israel just before his death (Deut., ch. 32), 
and (according to the title, the genuineness of which there is 
no valid reason for doubting) " the prayer of Moses the man 
of God," contained in the ninetieth psalm. In the period of 
the judges we hare only the song of Deborah and Barak. The 
perfect originality of all these primitive songs is acknowledged 
})y all. It constitutes indeed one of their chief charms. With 
" the sweet psalmist of Israel" began 'the era of lyric song ; with 
Solomon that of didactic, and with Hosea, Joel, Isaiah, and 
their contemporaries, that of prophetic poetry. The poets to 
whom, under the illumination of the Holy Ghost, these differ- 
ent forms of Hebrew poetry owe their origin, are all distin- 
guished for their originality. So is also the book of Job, that 
great didactic song so perfectly unique in its character. 

The wonderful freshness and simplicity of ihougld in Hebrew 
poetr}' is Id separably connected with its originality. A thought 
is fresh when it bursts forth directly from the inner fountain of 
the soul just as it was conceived there. But the moment the 
man pauses to remould it and shape it to some artificial stand- 
ard of propriety, it loses its originality and its freshness to- 
gether. It is no longer the living, glowing conception as it 
existed in his bosom, but rather what he thinks it ought to 
have been. In the process of working it over he has killed, if 
not its life, at least its power. But the Hebrew poet opens, so 
to speak, the floodgates of his heart, and pours forth the stream 
of his thoughts and emotions just as they have sprung into 
being there. Because he is under the sanctifying and illumi- 
nating influence of the divine Spirit, they are high and holy 
thoughts. Because they come forth in their primitive form, 
they are natural and fresh ; and for this reason the lapse of 
ages does not diminish their power over the human spirit. 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 25:) 

Intimately connected also with the originality of Hebrew 
poetry is its charming variety. The Hebrew poets are exceed- 
ingly unlike each other in native character, in training, in sur- 
rounding circumstances, and in the nature of the work laid 
upon them by the Spirit of inspiration. And as they all write 
in a natural and appropriate way, it follows that their writings 
must exhibit great diversities. No two writers can well bo 
more unlike each other than Isaiah and the author of the book 
of Job. With Isaiah the central object of thought is always 
Zion, in whose interest he sees God governing the world, and 
whose future' glory is revealed to him in prophetic vision. But 
Zion is not an individual. She is a divine organization which 
God has destined to universal victory, and around which re- 
volve, under his almighty guidance, the great movements of 
the heathen nations. The prophet, accordingly, has to do not 
so much with particular persons, as with the destiny of society, 
which is involved in that of Zion. He describes her present 
conflicts and her future triumphs in his own peculiar and gor- 
geous imagery. But the problem before the author of the 
book of Job is GocVs providence toiuards individuals, as viewed 
from the position of the Old Testament before the fuller reve- 
lations of the New. He is occupied with the destiny of par- 
ticular persons, rather than of nations or of human society at 
large. To the solution of the question of God's justice towards 
individual man he directs all his energy, and he discusses this 
great theme in a manner as efiective as it is original. His 
imagery is as forcible as that of Isaiah, but how different, and 
how powerfully adapted to his end ! A few passages from each 
of these great poets, set side by side, will exhibit the contrast 
be*tween them in a striking manner. 

JOB. ISAIAH 

THE PEOSPEBITY OF THE RIGHTEOUS. THE PROSPERITY OF ZION, 

He shall deliver thee in six troub- Violence shall no more be heard 

les : yea, in seven there shall no evil in thy land, wasting nor destruction 

touch thee. In famine he shall re- within thy borders ; but thou shalt 

deem thee from death : and in war call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates 



270 



COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 



from the power of the sword. Thou 
shalt be hid from the scourge of the 
tongue : neither shalt thou be afraid 
of destruction when it cometh. At 
destruction and famine thou shalt 
laugh : neither shalt thou be afraid 
of the beasts of the earth. For thou 
shalt be in league with the stones of 
the field : and the beasts of the field 
shall be at peace with thee. And 
thou shalt know that thy tabernacle 
shall be in peace ; and thou shalt 
visit thy habitation, and shalt not 
sin. Thou shalt know also that thy 
seed shall be great, and thine off- 
spring as the grass of the earth. 
Thou shalt come to thy grave in a 
full age, like as a shock of corn com- 
eth in in his season. Ch. 5 : 19-26. 

JOB. 

THE OVEBTHEOW OF THE WICKED. 

He shall flee from the iron weap- 
on, and the bow of steel shall strike 
him through. It is drawn, and com- 
eth out of the body ; yea, the glitter- 
ing sword cometh out of his gall : 
terrors are upon him. All darkness 
shaU be hid in his secret jjlaces : a 
fire not blown shall consume him ; 
it shall go ill with him that is left in 
his tabernacle. The heaven shall re- 
veal his iniquity; and the earth shall 
rise up against him. The increase 
of his house shall depart, and his 
goods shall fiow away in the day of 
his wrath. Ch. 20 : 24^28. 



Praise. The sun shall be no more 
thy light by day ; neither for bright- 
ness shall the moon give Hght unto 
thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee 
an everlasting light, and thy God thy 
glory. Thy sun shall no more go 
down ; neither shall thy moon with- 
draw itself : for the Lord shall be 
thine everlasting light, and the days 
of thy mourning shall be ended. 
Thy people also shall be aU right- 
e6us : they shall inherit the land for- 
ever, the branch of my planting, the 
work of my hands, that I may be 
glorified. A little one shall become 
a thousand, and a small one a strong 
nation : I the Lord will hasten it in 
his time. Ch. 60 : 18-22. 



ISAIAH. 

THE OVEKTHKOW OF ZION's ENEMIES. 

For he bringeth down them that 
dwell on high ; the lofty city, he lay- 
eth it low ; he layeth it low, even to 
the ground ; he bringeth it even to 
the dust. The foot shall tread it 
down, even the feet of the poor, and 
the steps of the needy. Ch. 26:5, 6. 

For I will contend with him that 
contendeth with thee, and I will save 
th}^ children. And I will feed them 
that oppress thee with their own 
flesh ; and they shall be drunken 
with their own blood, as with sweet 
wine : and all flesh shall know that I 
the Lord am thy Saviour and thy 
Redeemer, the mighty one of Jacob. 
Ch. 49 : 25, 26. 



• If now we open tlie book of Psalms, we find ourselves in a 
new world of poetry, as different from that of Isaiali as it is 
from that of the book of Job. David was anointed bv God to 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 271 

be the head and leader of Israel. As sucli he had a perpetual 
outward conflict with powerful, crafty, and malicious foes, who 
sought his life and his kingdom. This brought to him a per- 
petual inward conflict with doubts and fears. Under the pres- 
sure of this double conflict he penned those wonderful psalms, 
wliLch are the embodiment of his whole religious life. And 
since heart answers to heart, as face to face in water, they are 
the embodiment of religious life in all ages. The songs of 
David and his illustrious collaborators, Asaph and the sons of 
Korah, are emphatically the poetry of religious experience. 
As such they can never grow old. They are as fresh to-day as 
when they were written. God has given them to his church as 
a rich treasury for " the service of song in the house of the 
Lord," in the family, and in the closet. If we turn from the 
book of Psalms to the book of Proverbs, we have still another 
type of poetry, unlike any one of the forms hitherto consid- 
ered. It is the poetry of reflection on the course of human life, 
as seen in the light of God's law and God's providence. It is, 
therefore, didactic in the highest sense of the word — the poetry 
of practical life. The maxims of heavenly wisdom embodied in 
the book of Proverbs will make all who study them, believe 
them, and obey them, prosperous in this life and happy in the 
life to come. This contrast between the great Hebrew poets 
might be carried through the whole galaxy, but the above hints 
must suffice. 

Diversity of themes often coincides with difference in the 
character of the poets. Where the theme is the same, each 
writer will still pursue his own peculiar method. If that theme 
be the vengeance of God on the wicked, the style will naturally 
be rugged and abrupt. Yet the ruggedness and abruptness of 
David will not be that of Hosea or Nahum. But where both 
the theme and the character of the poet differ, there the diver- 
sity of style becomes very striking. To illustrate this, take the 
two following passages : 



272 



COMPANION TO THE BIBLE, 



NAHUM. 

god's vengeance on the wicked. 

The mountains quake at him, and 
the hills melt, and the earth is burn- 
ed at his presence, yea, the world, 
and all that dwell therein. Who can 
stand befoj-e his indignation ? and 
who can abide in the fierceness of 
his anger ? his fury is poured out 
like fire, and the rocks are thrown 
down by him. The Lord is good, a 
strong hold in the day of trouble ; 
and he knoweth them that trust in 
him. But with an overrunning 
flood he will make an utter end of 
the place thereof, and darkness shall 
pursue his enemies. Nahum 1 : 5-8. 



DAVID. 

god's EAVOl; TO THE EIGHTEOUS. 

The Lord is my shepherd ; I shall 
not want. He maketh me to lie 
down in green j^astures : he leadeth 
me beside the still waters. He re- 
storeth my soul : he leadeth me in 
the paths of righteousness for his 
name's sake. Yea, though I walk 
through tlie valley of the shadow of 
death, I will fear no evil : for thou 
art .with me; thy rod and thy staff 
they comfort me. Thou preparest 
a table before me in the presence of 
mine enemies : thou anointest my 
head with oil ; my cup runneth over. 
Surely goodness and mercy shall fol- 
low me all the days of my life ; and 
I will dwell in the house of the Lord 
for ever. Psa. 23. 



The passage from Nalmm is like a pent-up mountain stream 
leaping from precipice to precipice. The psalm is like the 
same stream escaped to the plain, and winding its way gently 
and placidly through green meadows and shady groves vocal 
with the songs of birds. This subject might be pursued to an 
indefinite extent. Suffice it to say that Hebrew poetry has the 
charm of endless variety, always with graceful adaptation to 
the nature of the theme. 

The oriental imagery in which Hebrew poetry abounds im- 
parts to it a peculiar and striking costume. Palestine was, in 
an emphatic sense, the Hebrew poet's world. It was the land 
given by God to his fathers for an everlasting possession ; about 
which all his warm affections clustered ; with whose peculiar 
scenery and climate, employments and associations, all his 
thoughts and feelings had been blended from childhood. It 
followed of necessity that these must all wear an oriental cos- 
tume. As soon as he opens his mouth there comes forth a 
stream of eastern imagery, very natural and appropriate to 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 2/,'] 

liim, but much of it very strange to us of these western regions. 
To understand the extent of this characteristic one has only to 
peruse the Song of Solomon. The bride is black but comely 
as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. She is a 
dove in the clefts of the rock ; her hair is as a flock of goats, 
that appear from Mount Gilead ; her teeth are like a flock of 
sheep which come from the washing ; her lips are like a thread 
of scarlet ; her temples are like a piece of a pomegranate ; her 
stature is like a palm tree, and her breasts like clusters of 
grapes — all thoroughly oriental. So also the bridegroom is 
like a roe or a young hart leaping upon the mountains ; his 
eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters ; his cheeks 
are as a bed of spices ; his lips like lilies, dropping sweet- 
smelling myrrh, and his countenance as Lebanon, excellent as 
the cedars. So also if we open the book of Isaiah, we find the 
Messiah described as " the shadow of a great rock in a weary 
land" — a figure which could not well occur to an Englishman 
or an American, but was perfectly natural in the mouth of a 
Hebrew familiar with the terrible sun of the Asiatic deserts, 
where neither tree nor cloud offers a shelter to the thirsty and 
fainting traveller. Precisely here lies much of the obscurity of" 
which the expounders of Hebrew poetry complain. True, there 
are other difficulties of a formidable character. The theme is 
often vast, stretching into the distant and dimly-revealed future ; 
the language rugged with abrupt transitions, the historic allu- 
sions obscure, and the meaning of the terms employed doubt- 
ful. But aside from all these considerations the western 
scholar encounters a perpetual difficulty in the fact that he is 
not of oriental birth, and can enter but imperfectly into the 
spirit and force of oriental imagery. What costs him days of 
laborious investigation would open itself like a flash of light- 
ning to his apprehension — all except that which remains dark 
from the nature of the prophetic themes — could he but have 
that perfect apprehension of the language, the historic allu- 
sions, the imagery employed, and the modes of thought, which 
was possessed by the contemporaries of the Hebrew poet. 

12* 



274 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

It remains that we notice in the last place what may be 
called the theocratic imagei^y of the Hebrew poets ; that is, im- 
agery borrowed from the institutions of the Mosaic law. The 
intense loyalty of the Hebrew poets to the Mosaic law has 
already been noticed. They were its divinely-appointed expos- 
itors and defenders, and their whole religious life was moulded 
by it. No wonder, tlien, that their writings abound with allu- 
sions to its rites and usages. The sweet psalmist of Israel will 
abide in God's tabernacle for ever, and trust in the covert of 
his wings, the literal tabernacle on Zion representing God's 
spiritual presence here and his beatific presence hereafter 
(Psa. 61 : 4 and elsewhere) ; he will have his prayer set forth 
before God as incense, and the lifting up of his hands as the 
evening sacrifice (Psa. 141 : 2) ; he will be purged with hyssop 
that he may be clean, and washed that he may be whiter than 
snow (Psa. 51 : 7) ; he will offer to God the sacrifice of a broken 
spirit (Psa. 51 : 17) ; the people promise to render to God the 
calves of their lips (Hosea 14 : 2) ; the vengeance of God upon 
Edom is described as "a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great 
slaughter in the land of Idumea," in which the Lord's sword 
shall be filled with the blood of lambs and goats and the fat of 
the kidneys of rams (Isa. 34 : 6) ; with allusions to the Levitical 
sprinklings God promises that he will sprinkle upon his peni- 
tent and restored people clean water that they may be clean 
(Ezek. 36 : 25) ; and with allusion to the sacrificial flocks assem- 
bled at Jerusalem on the occasion of her great festivals, that 
he will increase them with men like a flock — "as the holy 
flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts ; so shall 
the waste cities be filled with flocks of men" (Ezek. 36 : 37, 38). 
How full the book of Psalms is of allusions to the solemn songs 
of the sanctuary with their accompaniment of psaltery and 
harp, trumpet and cornet, every reader understands. This 
subject might be expanded indefinitely, but the above hints 
must sufiice. 

3. We come now to the form of Hebrew poetry. This is 
distinguished from the classic poetry of Greece and Rome, as 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 275 

well as from all modern poetry by the absence of metrical feet. 
Its rhythm is that of clauses which correspond to each other in 
a sort of free parallelism, as was long ago shown by Bishop 
Lowth in his Prelections an the Sacred Poetry of the Hebrews, 
the matter of which has been revised and expanded in later 
treatises. Herein, as elsewhere, Hebrew poetry asserts its 
originality and independence. Biblical scholars recognize 
three fundamental forms of parallelism in Hebrew poetry, 
which will be briefly considered, first separately, and then in 
their combinations. 

The first is the antithetic form, where two parallel members 
are contrasted in meaning, a form peculiarly adapted to didac- 
tic poetry, and therefore occurring most abundantly in the book 
of Proverbs. The following are examples of it : 

The memory of the just is blessed : 

But the name of the wicked shall rot (Peov. 10 : 7) ; 

where, in the original Hebrew, each clause consists of three 
words. In such an antithetic parallelism the words of one 
couplet, at least, must correspond in meaning, as here memory 
and name; while the others are in contrast— ^/«s^ and luiched, 
is blessed and sliall rot. Sometimes the two clauses are to be 
mutually supplied from each other, thus : 

A wise son maketh a glad father : 

But a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother (Peov. 10 : 1) ; 

where the reader understands that a wise son is the joy, and a 
foolish son the grief of both father and mother. 

The second form is the synonymous, where the same general 
thought is repeated in two or more clauses. It is found abun- 
dantly in the whole range of Hebrew poetry, but is peculiarly 
adapted to that which is of a placid and contemplative charac- 
ter. Sometimes the parallel clauses simply repeat the same 
thought in different words ; in other cases there is only a gene- 
ral resemblance. Examples are the following : 

He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh : 

The Lord shall have them in derision. Psa. 2 : 4. 



'A16 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous : 

With favor wilt thou compass him as with a shield. PsA. 5 : 12. 

Perish the day wherein I was born ; 

And the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived. 

Job 3 : 3. 

Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom : 

Give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. 

IsA. 1 : 10. 

In the following example we have a compound synonymous 
couplet : 

Give them according to their deeds, 
According to the wickedness of their endeavors : 
Give them after the work of their hands, 
Render to them their desert. Psa. 28 : 4. 

Sometimes three or more parallel clauses occur, thus : 

When your fear cometh as desolation, 

And your destruction cometh as a whirlwind ; 

Wlien distress and anguish cometh ui^on you. Peov. 1 : 27. 

Who forgiveth all thine iniquities ; 

Who healeth all thy diseases ; 

Who redeemeth thy hfe from destruction ; 

Who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies ; 

Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things ; 

Thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. Psa. 103 : 3-5. 

In the preceding example, synonymous parallelism passes 
into simiole enumeration. So often with a succession of short 
clauses,, or shorter and longer clauses, where the poetry of the 
Hebrews assumes the freedom of prose, thus : 

Who hath woe ? 

Who hath sorrow ? 

Who hath contentions ? 

Who hath babbling ? 

Who hath wounds without cause ? 

Who hath redness of eyes ? Peov. 23 : 39. 

Ah sinful nation ; 

A people laden with iniquity ; 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 27'/ 

A seed of evil-doers ; 
> Corrupt children : 

They have forsaken the Lord ; 

They have despised the Holy One of Israel ; 

They have gone away backward. Isa. 1 : 4. 

The parallel clauses are frequently introduced or followed 
by a single clause, thus : 

Blessed is the man 
Who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly ; 
And standeth not in the way of sinners ; 
And sitteth not in the seat of scorners. Psa. 1 : 1. 

Hear, O heavens ; 
Give ear, O earth ; 

For the Lord hath spoken. Isa. 1 : 2. 

The third form of parallelism is called synthetic (Greek syn- 
thesis f a putting together), where one clause is necessary to com- 
plete the sense of the other, as in the following examples : 

Better is a dinner of herbs w^here love is, 

Than a stalled ox and hatred therewith. Pkov. 15 : 16. 

Every way of a man is right in his own eyes ; 
But the Lord pondereth the hearts. Peov. 21 : 2. 

Whoso curseth his father and his mother, 

His lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness. Pkov. 20 : 20. 

The connection between the two clauses may be that of 
comparison, cause, effect, etc. Sometimes.it is not expressed, 
but simply implied, as in the following : 

A whip for the horse, 

A bridle for the ass. 

And a rod for the fool's back. Peov. 26 : 3. 

The combinations of the above forms in Hebrew poetry are 
exceedingly varied and graceful. Here are examples of two 
synonymous couplets that are antithetic to each other: 

The ox knoweth his owner, 

And the ass his master's crib : 

Israel doth not know. 

My people doth not consider. Isa. 1 : 3. 



278 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to naught ; 

He maketh the devices of the people of none effect. 

The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever ; 

The thoughts of his heart to all generations. Psa. 33 : 10, 11. 

In the following example, two synonymous couplets consti- 
tute together a synthetic parallelism : 

Because they regard not the works of the Lord, 

Nor the operation of his hands, 

He shall destroy them, 

And not build them up. Psa. 28 : 5. 

In the following, three synthetic parallelisms make a synony- 
mous triplet : 

For as the heaven is high above the earth. 

So great is his mercy toward them that fear him : 

As far as the east is from the west, 

So far hath he removed our transgressions from us : 

Like as a father pitieth his children, 

So the Lord pitieth them that fear him. Psa. 103 : 11-13. 

But our limits will not allow us to pursue this subject far- 
ther. The freedom of the Hebrew poet is one of his high pre- 
rogatives. He is not a slave to form, but uses form as it suits 
his purposes. He blends together the different kinds of paral- 
lelism as he pleases. Often he breaks through all parallelism 
to the freedom of prose. But he soon returns again, because 
this measured rhythm of clauses is to him the natural costume 
of poetic thought, which always seeks to embody^ itself in some 
form of rhythm. 

To the form of Hebrew poetry belongs also its jDecuUar dic- 
tion. To one who reads the Hebrew poets in the original, this 
is a striking characteristic. He meets with words, and some- 
times with grammatical forms, that do not occur in the prose 
writers. Many of these peculiar words are Aramecm; that is, 
they are words current in the Aramean branch of the Shemitic 
languages. Chap. 14, No. 1. They are to be regarded as 
archaisms — old words that were once common alike to the 
Hebrew and the kindred Aramean, but which have been 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 279 ^ 

dropped out of prose usage in Hebrew. They must not be 
confounded, as lias too often been done, with true Aramaisms, 
that is, Aramean words and forms borrowed by later Hebrew 
writers from their intercourse with those who spoke Aramean. 

4. As it respects the office of Hebrew poetry, it is through- 
out subservient to the interests of revealed religion. This is 
imiDlied in what has been already said of the loyalty of the 
Hebrew poets to the institutions of the Theocracy. It follows 
that the poetry of the Bible is all sacred in its character. It 
contains no examples of purely secular poetry except here and 
there a short passage which comes in as a part of history ; for 
example, the words of " those that speak in proverbs," Numb. 
21:27-30; perhaps also the lament of David over Saul and . 
Jonathan. 2 Sam. 1 : 19-27. It is certain that the song con- 
tained in the forty-fifth psalm and that of the Canticles were 
received into the canon solely on the ground that they cele- 
brate the mutual love between God and the covenant people, 
considered as his bride; or, in New Testament language, 
between Christ and "the bride, the Lamb's wife." 

But sacred poetry has various uses. One of its earliest 
offices was to celebrate the praises of God for his interposition 
in behalf of his covenant people, as in the song of the Israel- 
ites at the Ked sea, and that of Deborah and Barak. But 
when David was raised to the throne of Israel, the time had 
now come for introducing lyric poetry as a permament part of 
the sanctuary service. God accordingly bestowed upon this 
monarch the needful inward gifts, and placed him in the appro- 
priate outward circumstances ; when at once there gushed forth 
from his bosom, smit by the spirit of inspiration, that noble 
stream of lyric song, which the congregation of the faithful 
immediately consecrated to the public service of the sanctuary, 
and which, augmented by the contributions of Asaph, the sons 
of Korah, and other inspired poets, has been the rich inherit- 
ance of the church ever since. In the book of Job, sacred 
poetry occupies itself with the mighty problem of the justice of 
God's providential government over men. It is, therefore, 



280 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

essentially didactic in its character. In the Proverbs of Solo- 
mon, it becomes didactic in the fullest sense ; for here it moves 
in the sphere of practical life and morals. The book of Eccle- 
siastes has for its theme the vanity of this world, (Considered 
as a satisfying portion of the soul; and this it discusses in a 
poetic form. Finally, the prophets of the Old Testament 
exhaust all the wealth of Hebrew poetry in rebuking the sins 
of the present time, foretelling the mighty judgments of God 
upon the wicked, lamenting the present sorrows of Zion, and 
portraying her future glories in connection with the advent of 
the promised Messiah. The Hebrew harp — whoever sweeps it, 
and whether its strains be jubilant or sad, didactic or emo- 
tional, is ever consecrated to God and the cause of righteous- 
ness. 

(B.) THE SEVERAL POETICAL BOOKS. 

I. JOB. 

5. The design of the book of Job will best aj^pear if we 
first take a brief survey of its plan. Job, a man eminent above 
all others for his piety and uprightness, is accused by Satan 
as serving God from mercenary motives. To show the false- 
hood of this charge, God permits Satan to take from the patri- 
arch his property and his children, and afterwards to smite him 
with a loathsome and distressing disease. Thus stripped of 
every thing that could make life valuable, he still holds fast his 
integrity, and returns to his wife, who counsels him to "curse 
God and die," the discreet and pious answer : " Shall we receive 
good at the hand of the Lord, and shall we not receive evil?" 
His three friends, who have come to comfort him, amazed and 
confounded at the greatness of his calamities, sit down with 
him in silence for seven days. At last Job opens his mouth 
with vehement expressions of grief and impatience, and curses 
the day of his birth. The three friends sharply rebuke him, 
and in a threefold round of addresses (only that the third 
time Zopliar fails to speak), enter into an earnest controversy 
with him assuming the false ground that the administration 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 281 

of God's government over this world is strictly retributive, so 
that special calamity comes only as a punishment for special 
wickedness, and is therefore itself a proof of snch wickedness. 
They accordingly exhort him to repent of his sins, and seek 
God's forgiveness, as the sure means of removing his present 
misfortunes. Conscious of his integrity. Job, with much warmth 
and asperity, repels their unjust charges, and refutes their false 
arguments by an appeal to facts. The ground he takes is that, 
by some inscrutable plan of God, calamity comes alike upon 
good and bad men. He passionatelj' beseeches God to show 
him why he thus deals with him; and, according as faith or 
despondency prevails in his soul, he sometimes expresses the 
hope that he shall come out of his troubles like gold tried in 
the fire; and then, again, the fear that he shall speedily sink 
down to the grave under the weight of his sorrows, and never- 
more see good. Having put to silence his three friends by an 
array of facts to which they can make no reply, he freely ex- 
presses the belief that the hypocrite's end shall be destruction 
(chap. 27) ; shows that the wisdom by which God governs the 
world is above man's comprehension, whose true wisdom lies 
in fearing and obeying his Maker (chap. 28) ; contrasts his 
present calamities with his former prosperity (chaps. 29, 30) ; 
and closes with a solemn protestation of his integrity (chap. 31). 
Elihu, a young man who has hitherto been a silent witness 
of the controversy, now takes up the argument on the ground 
that trouble is sent by God upon men as a cUscipline, that by it 
they may be made aware of their errors and infirmities ; and 
that, if they make a right improvement of it, by bearing it with 
patient submission and looking to God in penitence and pra3^er 
for its removal, it will end in renewed and higher prosperity. 
To show the unreasonableness of charging upon God injustice, 
he dwells at length upon his infinite majesty and greatness. 
The special ground of Job's trial, as given in the first two chap- 
ters, Elihu could not of course understand. But his general 
position in regard to human afflictions is right ; and it should 
be carefully noticed that their issue as described by him in the 



282 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

case of a good man — an imperfectly good man under a system 
of grace — is precisely wliat happens to Job when he humbles 
himself before his Maker. 

As Elihu's discourse was drawing towards a close, the signs 
of God's approach had already begun to manifest themselves 
(chap. 37). Now he addresses Job out of the whirlwind, rebu- 
king him for his presumptuous language, and setting before 
him His infinite perfections, manifested in the creation and gov- 
ernment of the world, as a sufficient proof that to arraign His 
justice at the bar of human reason is folly and presumption. 
Job now humbles himself unconditionally before his Maker. 
Upon this God publicly justifies him to his three friends, while 
He condemns them, declaring that he has spoken of Him the 
thing which is right (42 : 8). This is to be understood as refer- 
ring not to the spirit manifested by Job, which God had sharply 
rebuked, but rather to the groimd taken by him in respect to 
God's dealings with men. By God's direction the three friends 
now offer sacrifices for their folly, which are accepted in answer 
to Job's prayer in their behalf, and his former prosperity is 
restored to him in double measure. 

6. From the above sketch of the plan of the book its design 
is manifest. It unfolds the nature of God's providential gov- 
ernment over men. It is not simply retributive, as the three 
friends had maintained, so that the measure of a man's out- 
ward sufferings is the measure of his sins; nor is it simply 
incomprehensible, so that there can be no reasoning about it ; 
but it is disciplinary, in such a way that sorrow, though always 
the fruit of sin, comes upon good men as well as upon the 
wicked, being a fatherly chastisement intended for their bene- 
fit, and which, if properly improved, will in the end conduct 
them to a higher degree of holiness, and therefore of true 
prosperity and happiness. The three friends were right in 
maintaining God's justice; but with respect to the manner of 
its manifestation their error was fundamental. Job's view was 
right, but inadequate. A disciplinary government, adminis- 
tered over a world in which the wicked and the imperfectly 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 283 

good live together, must be incomprehensible as it respects the 
particular distribution of good and evil. Elihu was right in the 
main position, but he wanted authority. The question was set- 
tled by God's interposition not before the human discussion, 
nor loWiout it, but after it ; an interposition in which the three 
friends were condemned. Job approved, and the argument of 
Elihu left in its full force. 

It has been the fashion with a certain class of critics to disparage EHhu 
as a self-conceited young man, and to deny the authenticity of his dis- 
courses. But thus the plan of the book is fatally broken, as must be evi- 
dent from the account given of it above. It was not necessary that Elihu 
should be named in the prologue. It is enough that he is described when 
he takes a part in the argument. Why he is not named in the closing 
chapter has been already indicated. There was nothing in his argument 
to be censured. As to the attacks made on other parts of the book as not 
authentic, for example, what is said of Behemoth and Leviathan, they rest 
on no valid foundation. They are only judgments of modern critics as to 
how and what the author of the book before us ought to have written. 
The attempt to resolve into disconnected parts a book so perfect in its 
plan, and which has come down to us by the unanimous testimony of 
antiquity in its present form, is a most uncritical procedure. 

7. Job plainly belonged to the patriarchal period. This 
appears from his longevity. He lived after his trial a hundred 
and forty years (42 : 16), and must have been then considerably 
advanced in life. This points to a period as early as that of 
Abraham. To the same conclusion we are brought by the fact 
that no form of idolatry is mentioned in the book, but only the 
worship of the heavenly bodies. The simplicity of the patri- 
archal age appears, moreover, in all its descriptions. But we 
need not from this infer that the book was written in the patri- 
archal age, for the author may have received from the past the 
facts which he records. The book is written in pure Hebrew, 
with all the freedom of an original work, and by one intimately 
acquainted with both Arabic and Egyptian scenery. Some 
have supposed Moses to be the author, but this is very uncer- 
tain. The prevailing opinion of the present day is that it was 
written not far from the age of Solomon. 



2b)i: COMPANION TO THE BIBLE.- 

8. There is no ground for denying that the book of Job has 
a foundation of true Msiory. He is mentioned by Ezekiel with 
Noah and Daniel as a real person. Ezek. 14 : 14, 20. The 
apostle James also refers to the happy issue of his trials as a 
historic event calculated to encourage God's suffering children. 
Jas. 5 : 11. But we need not suppose that all the details of the 
book are historic. The inspired poet takes up the great facts 
of Job's history and the great arguments connected with them, 
and gives them in his own language; probably also, to a cer- 
tain extent, according to his own arrangement. The scene of 
the first two chajDters is laid in heaven. Undoubtedly they 
record a real transaction ; but it may be a transaction revealed 
to the author in an allegorical form, like Micaiah's vision 
(1 Kings 22 : 19-22), that it might be thus made level to human 
apprehension. 

II. THE PSALMS. 

9. We have seen the office of the Book of Job in the sys- 
tem of divine revelation. Very different, but not less impor- 
tant, is that of the book of Psalms. It is a collection of sacred 
lyrics: that is, of poems expressive of religious feeling and 
adapted to the public worship of God. In respect to subjects, 
the Psalms exhibit a wonderful diversity. They cover the whole 
field of religious experience, and furnish to the churches an 
inexhaustible treasury of sacred song for all ages. Seventy- 
three of the psalms are ascribed to David in their titles, and 
the whole book, as referred to in the New Testament, bears his 
name. Of the remaining psalms, Asaph is named as the author 
of twelve ; to the sons of Korah eleven are ascribed ; to Solo- 
mon two (Psalms 72 and 127) ; to Moses one (Psalm 90) ; to 
Ethan one (Psalm 89). The remaining fifty are anonymous. 
Of these, some appear from their contents to have been writ- 
ten as late as the era of the captivity and restoration. Some 
writers have referred certain psalms to the Maccabean age. 
But there is nothing in the contents of these psalms which 
makes such a reference necessary, and we have decisive evi- 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 285 

dence that the Hebrew canon was closed long before this 
period. See below, Chap. 22, No. 21. 

10. In regard to the external arrangement of the Psalms, 
which is generally ascribed to Ezra, and cannot be earlier than 
his day, they are divided in the Hebrew Bible into five books, 
each closing with a doxology except the last, to which, as well 
as to the whole collection, the final psalm serves as a doxology. 

The fii^&t book contains Psalms 1-41. Of these forty-one 
psalms, thirty-seven bear the name of David. Of the remain- 
ing four, the second and tenth undoubtedly belong to him, and 
in all probability the first and thirty-third also. The psalms 
of this book are remarkable for the predominance of the name 
Jehovah over EloMm, God. . 

The second book includes Psalms 42-72. Of these, eighteen 
bear the name of David; the first eight (including Psa. 43, 
which is manifestly connected with the preceding psalm) are 
ascribed to the sons of Korah ; one to Asaph (Psa. 50) ; one to 
Solomon (Psa. 72) ; and the remaining three are without titles. 
In this book the divine name Elohim, God, greatly predomi- 
nates over the name JehovaJi. 

The third book includes Psalms 73-89, seventeen in all. Of 
these, the first eleven are ascribed to Asaph ; four to the sons 
of Korah ; one to David (Psa. 86) ; and one to Ethan the Ezra- 
hite (Psa. 89). In the psalms of Asaph the divine name Elohim, 
God, predominates; in the remainder of the book the name 
Jehovah. 

The fourth book includes Psalms 90-106. Of these seven- 
teen psalms, only three bear titles ; the ninetieth being referred 
to Moses, the hundred and first and hundred and third to 
David. This book is therefore emphatically one of anonymous 
psalms, which are for the most part of a very general charac- 
ter, being evidently arranged with reference to the service of 
song in the sanctuar}-. Throughout this book the divine name 
Jehovah prevails; the name Elohim, God, being rarely used 
except in connection with a pronoun or some epithet — my God, 
God of Jacob, etc. 



28G COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

The fftli book contains the remaining forty -four psalms, 
Of these, fifteen are ascribed to David; one to Solomon (Psa. 
127) ; and twenty-eight are anonymous. In this book also the 
divine name JeJiovah prevails almost exclusively. 

It is probable that these five books were arranged not simul- 
taneously but successively, with considerable intervals between 
some of them. The subscription appended to the second book : 
" The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended," may pos- 
sibly be explained upon this supposition. It may have been 
added as a subscription to the first two books, before the others 
were arranged for the temple service. 

Although the psalms belonging to the respective books are 
not classified upon any strict principle, yet their arrangement 
is not altogether fortuitous. We find psalms with the same 
title grouped together — eleven psalms of Asaph (73-83) ; eight 
of the sons of Korah (42-49) ; eight of David (139-145 separa- 
ted from his other psalms) ; three psalms inscribed Al-taschitli 
(57-59) ; the fifteen songs of degrees (120-134), etc. Also we 
find psalms of similar contents grouped together — Psa. 79, 80 ; 
88, 89; 91-100; 105-107; etc. 

Various attempts have been made J:o classify the psalms 
according to their subjects. But their very richness and vari- 
ety makes this a very difficult undertaking. They cover the 
whole field of religious experience for both individual believers 
and the church at large. Many of them — the so-called Messi- 
anic psalms — are proj^hetic of the Saviour's offices and work. 
We need not wonder, therefore, that the Psalms al^e quoted in 
the New Testament oftener than any other book of the Old 
Testament, Isaiah not excepted. 

11. Besides the names of the authors, or the occasion of 
their composition, many of the psalms bear other inscriptions. 
Of these the principal are the following: 

(1.) The dedicatory title: To the chief musician, prefixed to 
fift3'-three psalms, signifies that the psalm is assigned to him, 
as the leader of the choir at the tabernacle or temple, to be 
used in the public worship of God. The title rendered in our 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 287 

version: For the sons of KoraJi, is better translated, as in the 
margin: Of the sons of Korah; that is, written by one of their 
number. 

(2.) Titles expressing the character of the comj)Osition. Here 
we have, as the most common and general, Psalm, a lyric poem 
to be sung ; Song, a title borne by sixteen psalms, generally in 
connection with the word psalm, where the rendering should 
be: a psalm, a song; or, a song, a psalm. All the psalms thus 
designated except two (Psa. 83, 88) are of a joyous character, 
that is, songs of praise ; Song of degrees, a title the meaning of 
which is disputed. Many render: A song of ascents, and sup- 
pose that the fifteen psalms which bear this title (120-134) 
were so called because they were arranged to be sung on the 
occasion of the ascent of the people to Jerusalem to keep the 
yearly festivals. For other explanations, the reader is referred 
to the commentaries. The titles: Prayer (Psa. 17, 90, 102, 
142), and Praise (Psa. 145) need no explanation. Besides 
these titles, there are several others left untranslated in our 
version, as : 3Iaschil, teaching, that is, a didactic psalm ; Michtam 
(Psa. 16, 56-60) either a loriting, that is, poem, or a golden 
psalm. 

(3.) Titles relating to the musical performance. Of these, 
the most common is the much disputed word Selah. It is gen- 
erally agreed that it signifies a rest, either in singing for the 
purpose of an instrumental interlude, or an entire rest in the 
performance. As a general rule, this title closes a division of 
a psalm. Of the titles supposed to indicate either musical 
instruments or modes of musical performance, the following 
are examples: Neginath (Psa. 61), elsewhere Neginoth, stringed 
instruments; Nehiloth, probably flutes (Psa. 5); Gittith (Psa. 8, 
81, 84), from the word Gath, which denotes a Philistine city, 
and also a wine-press. Gittith has been accordingly inter- 
preted to mean (1) a musical instrument or a melody brought 
from Gath; (2) a musical instrument in the form of a wine- 
press, or a melody used in treading the wine-press ; Slioshannim,, 
lilies (Psa. 45, 69); Shushan-eduth, lily of the testimony (Psa. 60); 



•288 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

Slioslianmm-edidh, lilies of the testimony (Psa. 80), either a musi- 
cal instrument so named from its shape, or a particular melody, 
or, as some think, an emblematic term referring to the contents 
of the psalm ; SJieminith, the eighth, or octave, perhaps a musi- 
cal key (Psa. 6, 12) ; Alamoth, virgins, probably denoting treble 
voices (Psa. 46); Al-taschith, destroy not (Psa. 57, 58, 59, 75), 
according to some, the name of an air taken from a well-known 
poem ; according to others, an indication of the contents of the 
psalm. For other titles, occurring but once or twice, the reader 
must be referred to the commentaries. 

Whether the titles constitute a part of the psalms; that is, whether 
they were prefixed by the writers themselves, is a question that has been 
much debated, and answered differently by different writers. That they are 
very ancient — so ancient that the meaning of the terms employed had 
passed into oblivion when the Alexandrine version was made — must be 
admitted. But it would be too much to afiirm that they are a part of the 
inspired word. The correctness of some of them is doubtful. If we admit 
their general correctness, reserving for critical investigation the question of 
the historical validity of particular titles, it is as far as we need go. 

III. THE PEOVEEBS OF SOLOMON. 

12. The place of the book of Proverbs in the system of 
divine revelation is obvious at first sight. It contains a com- 
plete code of practical rules for the regulation of life — rules 
that have a divine breadth and fulness, and can make men wise 
not for time alone, but also for eternity. The principles em- 
bodied in them admit of endlessly varied applications, so that 
the study of a life cannot exhaust them. The more they are 
pondered, and prayed over, and reduced to practice, the more 
are their hidden treasures of wisdom brought to light. Solo- 
mon lived himself in the sphere of practical life. He had con- 
stantly to deal with men of all classes, and he knew men and 
the course of human events most thoroughly. His maxims are 
therefore adapted to the actual world, not to some imaginary 
.state of things; and they contain those broad principles of 
action which meet the wants of all men in all circumstances 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 289 

and conditions of life. Whoever gives himself, in the fear of 
God, to the study of these proverbs, and conforms his life to 
the principles which they set forth, will be a truly happy and 
prosperous man. Whoever shapes his conduct by different 
principles will be compelled in the end to acknowledge his 
folly. To the young, for whose instruction they were espe- 
cially intended, they are affectionately commended as their 
manual of action. 

13. In respect to oidivard form, the book of Proverbs natu- 
rally falls into four parts. Of these, the first nine chapters, 
consisting of earnest and fatherly exhortations addressed to 
the young in a series of discourses, of which the parts are more 
or less connected with each other, constitute the first part. 
The title prefixed to this part, giving both the author's name 
and the end which he proposes- (1 : 1-6) refers perhaps to the 
book considered as a whole. The second part, introduced by 
tlie title : " The proverbs of Solomon," extends to the end of 
the twenty-fourth chapter. Of this, the first section (chaps. 
10--22 : 16) consists of proverbs properly so called, each verse 
constituting a separate maxim of heavenly wisdom for the regu- 
lation of the heart and life. Betw^een the different verses 
there is either no connection, or one of a slight and casual 
character, consisting frequently in the common occurrence of 
the same word. In the remaining section (chap. 22 : 17 — 24 : 34) 
the method of exhortation in discourse more or less connected 
is resumed. To the third part (chaps. 25-29) is prefixed the 
superscription : " These are also the proverbs of Solomon which 
the men of Hezekiah copied out." The proverbs of this part 
are, in general, expressed in detached maxims, as in the first 
section of the second part ; but occasionally there is a connec- 
tion between adjacent verses. There is also an effort to bring 
together related proverbs, as those concerning rulers (25 : 1-8) ; 
concerning fools (26 : 1-12) ; concerning sluggards (26 : 13-16) ; 
concerning busybodies and tale-bearers (chap. 26 : 17-28). In 
this part also a number of proverbs are repeated that have 
occurred elsewhere. Finally, the /oz^WApart, which may be 

C.mr- to Bible- 23 



290 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

considered as a sort of appendix, contains the words of Agur 
(chap. 30), and of King Lemuel (chap. 31). 

According to the most natural interpretation of the words prefixed to 
chap, 24 :23 — "these [maxims] also belong to the wise" — the verses that 
follow to the end of the chapter contain also a short appendix of proverbs 
not belonging to Solomon. 

14. From the above it is manifest that the book etf Proverbs 
was arranged in its j^resent form as late, at least, as the days 
of Hezekiah. It contains not the whole of the three thousand 
proverbs which Solomon spake (1 Kings 4 : 32), but only selec- 
tions from them, such as the wisdom of God judged needful for 
the edification of his people. Whether the proverbs contained 
in the first and second parts were arranged in their present 
form by Solomon himself or by some other person, we do not 
know; but that all the proverbs of the book belong to him as 
their author, except those v/liich are expressly ascribed to 
others, there is no vaUd reason for doubting. 

IV. ECCLESIASTES. 

15. The Hebrew name of this book is Koheleth, respecting 
the meaning of which there has been much discussion. The 
Alexandrine rendering of this word, Ecclesiastes, one lulio gathers 
or addresses an assembly, and the English rendering, Preaclier^ 
express for substance its probable meaning; or rather, since 
the form of the word is feminine, it is Wisdom as a i^reaclier, 
Solomon being regarded as her impersonation. The uniform 
belief of the ancient church was that Solomon wrote this book 
in his old age, when brought to repentance for the idolatrous 
practices into which his heathen wives had seduced him. He 
had thoroughly tried the world in all its forms of honor, wealth, 
pleasure, and the pursuit of wisdom — speculative wisdom — and 
found it only "vanity and vexation of spirit," when sought as 
the supreme good. The conclusion to which he comes is that 
in such an empty and unsatisfying world, where disappoint- 
ment and trouble cannot be avoided, the cheerful enjoyment 



THE OLD TESTAMEIST. 291 

of GocVs present gifts is the part of wisdom, for thus we make, 
the best of things as we find them. But this enjoyment must 
be in the fear of God, who will bring all our works into judg- 
ment ; and accompanied, moreover, by cteeds of love and char- 
ity, as we have opportunity. He explicitly asserts a judgment 
to come ; yet his general view of life is that expressed in the 
Saviour's words : "The night cometh, when no man can work;" 
words which imply that God's earthly service, as well as the 
enjoyment of his earthly gifts, will come to a close at death. 
This view of the Preacher is not a denial of the future life, as 
some have wrongly maintained, but implies rather a less full 
revelation of it than is given in the New Testament. 

Many evangehcal men, as Heugstenberg, Keil, and others, interpret 
tlie first verse of this book as meaning not that Solomon was himself the 
author, or that the writer meant to pass himself o£f as Solomon, but sim- 
l^ly that he wrote in Solomon's name, as assuming his character ; that mon- 
arch being to the ancient Hebrews the impersonation of wisdom. Their 
reasons for this vieAV are chiefly two : First, that the state of things de- 
scribed in the book of Ecclesiastes does not suit Solomon's age, the picture 
being too dark and sombre for his reign ; secondly, that the language dif- 
fers widely from that of the book of Proverbs and of the Canticles. Whether 
we adopt this view, or that above given, the canonical authority of the book 
of Ecclesiastes remains as a well-estabUshed fact. It always held a place 
in the Hebrew canon, and existed there in its present form in the days. of 
Christ and his apostles. 

16. The following summary of the Preacher's argument is 
condensed from Scott. He had evidently two objects in view. 
First, to show where happiness could not be found; and sec- 
ondly, Avhere it might. The first six chapters are principally 
employed on the former part of the argument, yet with coun- 
sels interspersed tending to show how the vanity, or at least 
the vexation of earthly pursuits may be abated. The remain- 
ing six chapters gradually unfold the latter part of the argu- 
ment, teaching us how to make the best of things as we find 
them, how to live comfortably and usefully in this evil world, 
and how to derive benefit from the changing events of life. In 
respect to outward things, the sacred writer inculcates a cheer- 



292 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

ful, liberal, and charitable use of them, without expecting from 
them permanent or satisfying dehght. He counsels us to take 
the transient pleasure which agreeable circumstances can 
afford, as far as consists with the fear of God; to be patient 
under unavoidable evil ; not to aim at impracticable results ; to 
fill up our allotted station in a peaceable, equitable, and pru- 
dent manner; to be contented, meek, and affectionate; and to 
do good abundantly as we have opportunity, in the expectation 
of a gracious reward. These general rules are interspersed 
with warnings and counsels to princes and great men, and to 
subjects in respect to their rulers. 

V. THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 

17. The title of this book : The Song of songs^ that is, the 
most excellent of songs, indicates its application to the heav- 
enly Solomon, and his spouse the church. So the Jews from 
the most ancient times have interpreted it. Looking at this 
song from the position of the Old Testament, its ground-idea 
is : " Thy Maker is thy husband." Identical with this is the 
New Testament idea : " The bride, the Lamb's wife." The 
germ of this representation exists in the Pentateuch, where 
idolatry is regarded as spiritual adultery. Exod. 34 : 15 ; Deut. 
31:16. We find it fully developed in the forty-fifth Psalm, 
which probably belongs to Solomon's age, and which is ex- 
pressly quoted in the epistle to the Hebrews as a description 
of the Messiah. The same figure occurs in many passages of 
the prophets who lived after Solomon's day. Isa. 54 : 5 ; 62 : 5 ; 
Jer. 2:2; 3 : 14 ; Hos. 2 : 16, 19, 20. In the book of Revelation 
this imagery is repeated and amplified. 

18. This song is not a dramatic representation, in which 
the action steadily advances to the end, but a series of descrip- 
tive pictures, the great theme of which is the separation of the 
bride from her beloved — the heavenly Bridegroom — for her 
sins, and her reunion with him by repentance. In the spiritual 
application of its rich and gorgeous imagery we should confine 
ourselves to the main scope, rather than dwell on particulars. 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 293 

Thus the fruitfuhiess of the church is set forth under the image 
of a garden filled with spices and precious fruits. But we are 
not to seek for a hidden meaning in each particular spice or 
fruit — the saffron, the spikenard, the myrrh, the pomegranate, 
the apple, the nut; and the same is true with respect to the 
descriptions of the bride and bridegroom with which the book 
abounds. i 

The book has always constituted a part of the Hebrew 
canon. 

The language of tliis book is pure and elegant, with all the freshness 
and energy of the best age of Hebrew poetry. Its most striking peculiar- 
ity is the uniform, use (except once in the title) of the abbreviated form of 
the relative pronoun as a prefix — shekkullam for asher kullam; sliehamme- 
leh for asher hammelek, etc. — which is manifestly a dialectic peculiarity of 
the living Hebrew adopted by Solomon for the purpose of giving to his 
song a unique costume. 



294 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

CHAPTER XXII. 

The Greater Prophets. 

1. "We have already seen (Chap. ISjNos. 11 and 12) that from 
Moses to Samuel the appearances of prophets were infrequent ; 
that with Samuel and the prophetical school established by 
him there began a new era, in which the prophets were recog- 
nized as a distinct order of men in the Theocracy ; and that the 
age of luritten prophecy did not begin till about the reign of 
TJzziah, some three centuries after Samuel. The Jewish divis- 
ion of the latter prophets — prophets in the more restricted sense 
of the word — into the greater, including Isaiah, Jeremiah, and 
Ezeldel, chronologically arranged ; and the less, or twelve Minor 
Prophets, arranged also, in all jDrobability, according to their 
view of their order in time, has also been explained. Chap. 13, 
No. 4. Respecting the nature of prophecy and the principles 
upon which it is to be interpreted, much remains to be said in 
another place. In the present connection, a brief account will 
be given of the place ivliich the prophets held in the Theocracy, fol- 
lowed by a notice, in this and the following chapter, of the 
separate books of prophecy belonging to the Hebrew canon, 
according to the order in our English version, Daniel being 
reckoned with the greater prophets. Lamentations considered 
as an appendix to Jeremiah, and the minor prophets arranged 
by themselves. 

2. The office of the prophets under the Theocracy, which 
we first notice, was that of hold Tep>rovers. They came to rulers 
and people with an immediate commission from God to rebuke 
them for their sins; and as the contents of their messages were 
received from God himself, they exposed the hypocrisy and 
wickedness of their times in the pure sunlight of truth, denoun- 
cing upon great and small alike the awful judgments of Jeho- 
vah if they persisted in their impenitence. If we except the 



THE OLD TESTAMENT.' 295 

preaching of Christ and his apostles, the history of the world 
furnishes no such bright examples of faithful dealing with 
men's consciences. The}^ never spare kings and princes from 
fear of their power and patronage. They never go round about 
men's sins, but declare them directly and faithfully. With 
what majesty of severity did Samuel reprove Saul, and Nathan 
David, and Elijah Ahab, and Elisha Jehoram, and Jehu Je- 
hoshaphat ! And if we open the books of Hebrew prophecy 
which have come down to us from distant ages and from a very 
different civil and social order, we find them not in the least 
antiquated, but fresh as yesterday, instinct with hfe and power. 
They are a mirror of terrible brightness in which we may see 
reflected our pride, self-sufficiency, vain ostentation, and world- 
liness; our avarice, fraud, overreaching artifices, breaches of 
trust, bribery, oppression of the weak, and corrupt combina- 
tions for the amassing of filthy lucre; our ambition, slander, 
falsehood, intrigues, hypocrisy, and vain pretensions ; our lux- 
ury, prodigality, sensuality, and intemperance; our profane- 
ness, Sabbath-breaking, neglect of God's ordinances and con- 
tempt of his written word — a mirror too in which we can see 
in the background dark clouds of judgment, big with awful 
thunder, such as have already come forth upon our land from 
the inexhaustible storehouse of divine justice, and are ready to 
come forth again, but over which hangs the rainbow of mercy 
for all that will repent and humble themselves before God. 

3. We may next consider the office of the Hebrew prophets 
as expounders of the 3Iosaic law — the Mosaic law in its sub- 
stance, as distinguished from its outward form. They never 
undervalued the letter of the law, since that too was of divine 
appointment; but they taught men that true obedience must 
rise above the letter to its spirit. When Saul excused himself 
io Samuel for disobeying God's command on the ground that 
the people had spared the best of the sheep and oxen to sac- 
rifice to the Lord, the prophet indignantly answered : " Hath 
the Lord as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as 
in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better 



296 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." 1 Sam. 
15 : 22. "Bring no more vain oblations," says God to the Jews 
whose hands were full of oppression and blood; "incense is an 
abomination nnto me: the new moons and Sabbaths, the call- 
ing of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the 
solemn meeting. Your new moons and your ajDpointed feasts 
my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to 
bear them." And his direction is: "Wash you, make you 
clean : put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes ; 
cease to do evil ; learn to do w^ell ; seek judgment, relieve the 
oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the wddow." Isaiah 
1:13-17. "I hate," sa^^s God to the covenant people through 
Amos, " I despise your feast-days, and I will not smell in your 
solemn assemblies. Tliough ye ofi'er me burnt-oiferings and 
your meat-offerings, I will not accept them ; neither will I 
regard the peace-offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away 
from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody 
of thy viols. But let judgment run down as waters, and right- 
eousness as a mighty stream." Amos 5 : 21-24. "Wherewith," 
says Micah, " shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself 
before the high God ? Shall I come before him with burnt- 
offerings, with calves of a year old ? Will the Lord be pleased 
with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? 
shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my 
body for the sin of my soul ? He hath showed thee, O man, 
what is good ; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to 
do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy 
God?" Micah 6:6-8. Under the Old Testament, outward 
forms of divine service were required, and they are necessary, 
to a certain extent, under the New also. But if any man puts 
his trust for salvation in these, to the neglect of inward faith, 
love, and obedience, he stands condemned at the bar of Moses 
and the prophets, not less than at the bar of Christ and his 
apostles. Under the Mosaic economj^ both the rites of divine 
service and the succession of the priesthood were definitively 
prescribed by God himself, and therefore to all of binding 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 297 

authority. But the man who placed his religion in these out- 
ward observances, to the neglect of his heart and life, was to 
God an object of abhorrence, and the severest judgments were 
denounced against him. It cannot be, then, that under the 
gospel any system of outward forms, however right and proper 
in itself, can bring salvation to the soul, where inward faith, 
love, and obedience are wanting. 

4. The last and highest office of the prophets was to direct 
men's thoughts to ihe end of the Mosaic economy, which was the 
salvation of the world through the promised Messiah. The 
Spirit of Christ that spoke through them, "testified beforehand 
the sufterings of Christ and the glory that should follow." 
1 Pet. 1 : 11. It does not appear that they understood the 
divine purpose to abolish the Mosaic economy, and with it 
"the middle wall of partition" between Jews and Gentiles — 
that great mj^stery, the revelation of which was reserved for 
the days of the apostles ; but they did have glorious visions of 
the latter days, when the law should go forth from Zion, and 
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, to all nations; when the 
whole world should submit itself to Jehovah under the admin- 
istration of the Messiah ; and the earth should be " filled with 
the knowledge of the glory of God, as the waters cover the sea." 
Their glowing descriptions of the future enlargement and glory 
of Zion have been the stay and solace of God's people in all 
succeeding ages. The student of the Bible should not fail to 
notice that these bright visions of the future were vouchsafed 
to the Hebrew prophets, and through them to the church uni- 
versal, not when the Theocracy was in the zenith of its outward 
power and splendor, as in the days of David and Solomon, but 
in the time of its decline and humiliation. The hopes so ar- 
dently cherished by the covenant people of a return of the out- 
ward glory of Solomon's reign were destined to utter and final 
disappointment. It was not to feed their national pride, but to 
prepare the way for Christ's advent, that God estabHshed the 
Theocracy. Now that its outward glory was departing, it was 
suitable that the hopes of the pious should be turned from the 

13* 



298 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

darkness of the present to the brightness of "the last da^'s" 
that awaited Zion in the distant future. When Isaiah began 
his prophecies, the kingdom of Israel was tottering to its fall, 
and before he had finished them it had suffered an utter over- 
throw. The invasion of Judah by the allied kings of Israel 
and Syria, in the reign of Ahaz, and by Sennacherib king of 
Assyria, in the reign of Hezekiah, furnished an occasion for 
predicting not only the present deliverance of God's people, 
but also the future triumph of Zion over all her enemies, and 
the extension of her dominion over all the earth. In his pres- 
ent interpositions in behalf of Zion, Grod mirrored forth his pur- 
pose to give her a final and universal victory. And so it was 
with all the other prophets. "With their backs towards the 
gloom and distraction of the present, and their faces stead- 
fastly turned towards the glory of the latter days, they uttered 
words of promise and comfort that can have their fulfilment 
only in Christ's kingdom, which is the true heir to all the 
promises made to the ancient Zion. Out of Christ these prom- 
ises are vain and delusory. In Christ their fulfilment has been 
begun, and shall be completed in the appointed time. Out of 
Christ no amount of learning will enable a man to understand 
the Hebrew prophets ; for the veil is on his face, which can be 
done away only in Christ. What if more than eighteen centu- 
ries have elapsed since our Lord's advent, and the domain of 
his kingdom is yet Yerj limited ? In the divine reckoning, 
" one day is with the Lord as a thousand j^ears, and a thou- 
sand years as one day." If it took four of these days to pre- 
pare the world for Christ's advent, can we not allow two dajs 
and more for the complete establishment of his kingdom ? 

We add a notice of each separate book of the Greater 
prophets. 

I. ISAIAH. 

5. According to the Hebrew arrangement already noticed 
(No. 1, above), the book of Isaiah, as the first of those belong- 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 299 

ing to the greater prophets, stands at the head of the whole 
collection of prophetical books ; although Hosea, Amos, and 
Jonah, and in all probability Joel also, entered upon their pro- 
phetical office before him. Micah was contemporary with him. 
Of the private history of Isaiah we know almost nothing, ex- 
cept that he was the son of Amoz (chap. 1 : 1), and that he was 
married and had sons (chap. 8: 1-4). The Jewish tradition is 
that he was sawn asunder under the reign of Manasseh, to 
which it has been supposed that there is a reference in the 
epistle to the Hebrews (chap. 11 : 37) ; but all such traditions 
are uncertain. Isaiah prophesied "in the days of Uzziah, Jo- 
tham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah." Chap. 1 : 1. If, 
with many, we suppose him to have entered upon his office in 
the last year of Uzziah, we have sixty-two years to the close of 
Hezekiah's reign. He certainly exercised the prophetical office 
to the fifteenth year of Hezekiah's reign, and possibly through 
the remaining fourteen years. As the superscription is silent 
respecting any prophecies uttered in Manasseh's reign, we are 
not warranted to extend the period of his activity beyond that 
of Hezekiah, although he may have survived him, and have 
perished in the way indicated by the Jewish tradition. 

6. The book of Isaiah naturally falls into two great divis- 
ions. The first, after an introductory chapter, contains a 
great variety of prophetic messages, delivered on special occa- 
sions. Chaps. 2-39. The second division, comprising the 
remaining twenty-seven chapters, seems to have had no special 
occasion, but to have been written after the overthrow of Sen- 
nacherib's army, probably in the old age of the prophet, for 
the comfort and encouragement of God's people in all coming 
ages. " Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God" — • 
this is its great theme as expressed in the introductory verse. 
Of the various plans for classifying the contents of the first part, 
all that rest upon the rationalistic view that the book is a col- 
lection of writings belonging to different authors and ages are 
false and groundless. Among evangelical men, who hold the 
unity of the book and its authorship by Isaiah, there have been 



300 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

various schemes of classification. It has been proposed by 
Drechsler and others to arrange all of Isaiah's prophecies 
around two great central events in the history of his times ; 
namely, the invasion of Judah in the reign of Ahaz by the 
allied forces of Israel and Syria (chap. 7), and in Hezekiah's 
reign by Sennacherib, king of Assyria (chaps. 36, 37). That 
these were the two great crises of Isaiah's age, and that many 
of his prophecies had reference to them directly or indirectly, 
caimot be denied ; but to affirm that cdl his prophecies, extend- 
ing over a period of from forty-eight to sixty-two years, were 
connected with these two events, either directly or by way of 
anticipation beforehand and natural sequence afterwards, is 
more than can be established by any probable arguments. We 
must be careful not to thrust upon the prophet a systematic 
arrangement bej^ond any that ever existed in his own con- 
sciousness. The following brief analysis will be sufficient for 
the general reader. 

The title prefixed to the first chapter refers certainly to the 
first part, and probably to the whole book. The contents of 
the first chapter are well suited to constitute a general intro- 
duction to the book, and there is much ground for the opinion 
that the prophet prefixed them, as such an introduction, to the 
whole collection of prophecies. The four chapters that follow 
were evidently written during a period of great worldly pros- 
perity. They contain Adsions against Judah and Jerusalem of 
a threatening character, but interspersed with glorious prom- 
ises to the true Israel. The sixth chapter records a vision 
which the prophet had of Jehovah in the temple, with the aw- 
ful message to the people which he received" from His lips. 
Many regard this as the prophet's inatiguration to his office, 
and consequently as the first of his prophecies in order of time. 
The four preceding chapters will then naturally fall into tho 
reign of Jotham. There is no decisive ground, however, for 
understanding the words, "Whom shall I send, and who Avill 
go for us ?" (verse 8,) as containing the original call of Isaiah 
to the "prophetical office. They may have reference to the 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 391 

special message which he immediately receives ; a message of 
the most weighty import, and often quoted in the New Testa- 
ment. The confession of Isaiah, moreover, that he is " a man 
of nnclean lips," may be very naturally referred to his previous 
exercise of the prophetic office. According to this view, the 
preceding four chapters belong to the latter part of TJzziah's 
reign. 

The series of prophecies that follows (chaps. 7-12) is con- 
nected with the invasion of Judah by the allied kings of Israel 
and Syria. In this emergency Ahaz, instead of seeking help 
from Jehovah, had hired the Assyrians to defend him against 
the confederate forces. The prophet predicts the overrunning 
of the land by these same Assyrians in whom the Jews had 
reposed their confidence ; and afterwards the overthrow of the 
Assyrians themselves, and the universal establishment of the 
Messiah's kingdom, who is foretold under the name of Imman- 
uel. The series closes with the millennial song of Zion. 

Next we have a series of prophecies relating mainly to the 
heathen world (chaps. 13-23), through all of which the prophet 
keeps prominently in view the great truth that the nation which 
will not acknowledge Jehovah and minister to the welfare of 
his people must perish. He begins with Babylon, and passes 
in order to Philistia, Moab, Syria (with which as a confederate 
nation Ephraim is joined), Ethiopia and Egypt (first separately 
and then conjointly), Babylon again under the enigmatical 
name of " the desert of the sea," Edom, and Arabia. Next fol- 
lows a prophecy against " the valley of vision," that is, Jerusa- 
lem, to which is appended one against Shebna. The prophet 
then passes to Tyre, and so he brings this series to a close. 

The four chapters that follow (24-27) are general in their 
character. They exhibit Jehovah as the avenger and deliverer 
of his people, who abases the proud and destroys sinners as 
well within the i)ale of Zion as without in the heathen world, 
while he exalts his true worshippers to honor and salvation. 

The next series of prophecies (chaps. 28-35) was apparently 
delivered in view^ of the approaching invasion of the Assyrians, 



302 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

by wLicli the. destruction of the kingdom of Israel was com- 
pleted, and Judali was overrun and desolated ; but wliicli ended 
in the overthrow of the invading army, and the deliverance of 
Hezekiah and his kingdom. The prophet denounces, first upon 
Ephra'im and then upon Judah and Jerusalem, God's heavy 
judgments for their iniquities, especially for the sin of making 
Egypt instead of Jehovah their confidence; foretells' the. utter 
and perpetual desolation of Edom, which here represents all 
the powers that array themselves i^ hostility against God's 
people ; and describes in glowing language the glory and peace 
of Zion under the future reign of the Messiah. 

Next follows the history of Sennacherib's invasion and over- 
throw ; of Hezekiah's sickness and miraculous recovery, and of 
his sin in connection with the mission of Merodach-baladan's 
servants. Chaps. 36-39. 

In the second part of Isaiah, which includes the last twenty- 
seven chapters, the prophet is occupied with the future redemp- 
tion and glory of Zion. In the clear light of inspiration, and 
in accordance with the explicit prophecy that has just been 
quoted, he takes his stand in the future of Babylon's suprem- 
acy, and of the captivity of Zion and the dispersion of hei 
children ; and he comforts the true Israel by the promise of 
restoration and elevation to a greater than the former glory, 
when all nations shall submit themselves to Jehovah, and shall 
minister to the peace and welfare of Zion. If Ave divide these 
twenty-seven chapters into three equal sections of nine chap- 
ters each, the first and second close with the words : "There is 
no peace, saith my God, to the wicked" (chaps. 48:22; 57:21); 
while the third ends with a more extended threatening against 
the wicked (chap. 6(): 24). The prominent ofiaracteristics of 
these three sections are thus given by Keil : 

" The fr'st of these sections (chaps. 40-48) portra3^s the 
relation of Israel to the heathen nations ; and from the redemp- 
tion of Israel effected through Cyrus, the servant of God, it 
unfolds the certain victory of the Theocracy over the gods and 
powers of the heathen world. The second section (chaps. 49-57) 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 303 

exliibits Israel as the seat of salvation for the world. This it 
does by carrying out the thought that, just as Cyrus is to re- 
deem Israel from the Babylonish captivity, so must the true 
servant of Jehovah, by his vicarious suffering and death, make 
cx])iation for sin, raise the covenant people to true glory, and 
make them, through the establishment of ' the sure mercies of 
David' (55:3), the centre of salvation for the whole world. 
Finally in the third section (chaps. 58-66), after an exhortation 
in w^hich the sins of the people are acknowledged and rebuked 
(chaps. 58, 59), the prophet foretells, in a series of majestic 
images, how the Theocracy shall be glorified when it shall be- 
come, in connection with the creation of a new heaven and a 
new earth, the perfected kingdom of God." Introduction to 
the Old Testament, § 65. Tins view of the glorification of the 
Theocracy in the latter days is preeminently just, provided only 
that we do not understand the Theocracy in a gross literal 
sense. It is the true kingdom of God, once embodied in the 
old Theocracy, but now existing under the freer forms of Chris- 
tianity, that is heir to all this glory. 

7. As Isaiah holds the first place among the Hebrew proph- 
ets in the canon, in the extent of his writings, and in the ful- 
ness of his prophecies concerning the Messiah and his king- 
dom, so has he been first also in receiving the assaults of those 
who deny the supernatural character of revelation. Since the 
last quarter of the last century persistent attempts have been 
made to show that the whole of the second part (chaps. 40-66) 
and various sections of the first part, particularly all those 
that relate to the overthrow of Babylon, belong not to Isaiah, 
but to an unknown prophet who lived about the close of the 
exile. In support of this view many arguments have been ad- 
duced ; but the real argument which lies at the foundation of 
the whole is the belief that no such insight into the future is 
possible as that which this part of the book manifests, upon 
the supposition that Isaiah was himself the author of it. The 
denial of the genuineness of the chapters in question began 
and has always gone hand in hand with the denial of the real- 



304 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

ity of prophetic inspiration. In the view of rationalists proph- 
ecy is no revelation of the future through the illumination of 
the Holy Spirit. It is only anticipation and shrewd conjecture 
of the futui-e from the course of the present. The possibility 
of prophecy, therefore, is limited by the possibility of human 
foresight. Reasoning from this false position, the critic first 
assumes that Isaiah cannot have been the author of the last 
part of the book which bears his name, and then proceeds to 
find arguments against its genuineness. To meet him we must 
plant our feet firmly on the great historic truth that God has 
made to men a supernatural revelation, of which prophecy in 
the proper sense of the word — the revelation of the future by 
his Spirit — constitutes an important part. We do indeed find 
that in the matter of prophecy, as in all other parts of God's 
operations, the great law is: "First the blade, then the ear, 
after that the full corn in the ear." The way for the fuller rev- 
elations is prepared by previous intimations of a more general 
character. Precisely so was it in the present case. Moses 
himself had more than once predicted the captivity of the cov- 
enant people and the desolation of their land as the punish- 
ment of their foreseen apostacy from God's service, and also 
the preservation of a remnant and its restoration upon repent- 
ance. Lev., chap. 26; Deut., chaps. 28-32. When Solomon 
had dedicated the temple, and his kingdom was at the zenith 
of its glory, he received from the mouth of God himself the 
solemn warning: "If ye shall at all turn from following me, 
ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and 
my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve 
other. gods and worship them; then will I cut off Israel out of 
the land which I have given them; and this house, which I 
have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight ; and 
Israel shall be a proverb and a by-word among all people." 
1 Kings 9:6, 7. When the prophet wrote, these awful threat- 
enings had been fulfilled upon the kingdom of the ten tribes, 
and he had been commissioned to announce their approaching 
fulfilment upon Judah also, and that in the form of a captivity 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 305 

in Babylon : " Behold, tlie days come, tliat all that is in thy 
house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until 
this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, 
saith the Lord. And of thy sons which shall issue from thee, 
which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall 
be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon" (39 :G, 7). 
Micah also had foretold, in express terms, both the Babylonish 
captivity, and the subsequent delivery of God's people (4 : 10). 
We see, then, what a full preparation had been made for the 
revelations vouchsafed to Isaiah in the chapters now under 
consideration. They relate not to something new and unheard 
of, but to a captivity which he had himself foretold in accord- 
ance with the threatenings of God by former prophets. Under 
the illumination of the Holy Spia:it he is carried into the future 
of Zion. In prophetic vision he sees her land wasted, her tem- 
ple burned, and her children groaning in captivity. As the 
nearest interposition of God in her behalf, he foretells her lib- 
eration by Cyrus, the anointed of the Lord, and her restoration 
to the promised land. But this is only the earnest and pledge 
of a higher redemption through the Messiah, the true servant of 
Jehovah, under whom she shall be glorified with a perpetual sal- 
vation, and her dominion extended over all the earth. To limit 
the prophet's vision to the deliverance from Babylon would be 
to make him a messenger of glad tidings which mocked the 
hopes of the covenant people ; for this deliverance did not ful- 
fil the just expectations which his lofty promises awakened in 
the bosoms of the pious remnant of Israel. No; it is in Christ's 
redemption alone, of which that of Cyrus was only a shadow, 
that Zion receives in full measure the glorious promises which 
shine forth in this part of Isaiah. 

If now we consider the fonn of these promises, we find that 
they bear throughout the stamp of true prophecy, as distin- 
guished from history. They have neither the dress of prose 
history, with its dates and circumstantial details, such as we 
find in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, nor of historic poetry, 
like the song of Deborah and Barak; like the seventy-eighth, 



30G COMPANION TO THE BtBLE. 

luinclrecl and fifth, and hundred and sixth psalms. They are 
expressed in a series of poetic images, in which, with the excep- 
tion of the name of Cyrus, all is general; images, moreover, 
drawn for the most 23art, not from the great events connected 
with the conquests of Cyrus, but from the earlier history of 
Israel. Let any one read, for example, the forty-sixth and 
forty-seventh chapters of Isaiah, and ask himself whether a 
writer who lived in Cyrus' day could have described the fall of 
Babylon wdthout specific allusions to the agencies by which it 
was brought to 23a ss. As to the historic references which some 
find to the march of the Jewish caravans of returning captives 
through the desert that lay betw^een Babylon and Palestine, 
whoever reads the j^assages in question without a previously 
formed conclusion, must be satisfied that they are poetic descrijo- 
tions of the redemption and restoration of God's people bor- 
rowed mainly from the primitive journey of Israel from Egyj^t 
to Canaan through the wilderness of Arabia. God, as then, 
goes before his people, opening for them in their extremity 
" rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the val- 
leys ;" making *' the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry 
land springs of water." Even Cyrus is mentioned not as the 
king of Persia, but as a man raised uj) from the east to execute 
God's vengeance on the oppressors of his jDeople. 

According to Ctesias and Pkitarch, the name Cyynis signifies sun. 
Strabo says that his name, before ascending the throne of Persia, was 
Agradates. Some are of opinion that the word Cyrus (Heb. Koresli) was 
an appellation common to the kings of Persia. We do not need, however, 
the help of this hypothesis. God himself explains the ground on which 
he is mentioned by name: "For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel 
mine elect, have I even called thee by thy name : I have surnamed thee, 
though thou hast not known me " (45 : 4). According to Josephus (Antiq, 
11. 1, 2), Cyrus was moved to issue his decree for the liberation of the 
Jews by a knov/ledge of the prophecies of Isaiah in which he is mentioned 
byname. With this agree the terms of the edict: "The Lord God of 
heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he hath charged 
me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah." Ezra 1 : 2, 
compared with Isa. 44 : 28. If this view be correct, the mention of Cyrus 
by name was a part of God's plan for the restoration of the covenant people. 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 307 

It is not true, as has been asserted, that the prophet follows Cyrus in 
the details of his conquests. On the contrary, his notices of him are few 
and general. As to the sins of the people which he rebukes, they may be 
all naturally referred to the times of Isaiah, while some of them, as the 
neglect of the estabhshed sacrifices and oblations (43:23, 24), and the 
'offering of sacrifices in connection with an impure heart and life (G6 : 3), 
presuppose the existence of the temple and altar at Jerusalem, where alone 
sacrifices could be lawfully offered. The sin of seeking heathen alliances 
(57 : 9) points also unmistakably to the same period. Although the prophet 
is carried forward in vision to the future of the covenant people, he does 
not wholly forget the men of his own generation, but occasionally admin- 
isters to them severe rebukes, thus mingling the present with the future, 
after the manner of all the proj)hets. 

The otlier arguments which have been urged against the 
genuineness of this part of Isaiah are only of secondary impor- 
tance, and can readilj^ be answered. It is said that the style 
is more diffuse and flowing than in the first part. The answer 
is that this agrees well with both the altered circumstances of 
the prophet and the altered character of his theme. Most of 
his earlier prophecies were delivered under the pressure and 
excitement of public life, when he went before rulers and peo- 
ple charged with specific messages from Jehovah, and these, 
too, mostly of a denunciatory character. But the part now 
under consideration was v/ritten in the serenity of retirement, 
with the general purpose of comforting God's people by a vieAV 
of the future glory in reserve for them. It is entirely natural, 
then, that the style of the first part should be more concise and 
abrupt, that of the latter more diffuse and flowing ; even if we 
do not make allowance for the influence of age. But notwith- 
standing this difference between the two parts, both have the 
same general costume, and the same peculiar expressions and 
turns of thought, by which they are sufficiently marked as the 
productions of the same pen. It should be added that the 
Hebrew of this second part of Isaiah is in general as pure as 
that of the first part. The few Chaldaisms which it exhibits 
may be explained as belonging to the poetic diction. Such 
Chaldaisms exist, moreover, in the earlier books. " Some words, 
as seganim ( princes , 41 : 25), may be explained by the intercourse 



308 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

of the Jews with the Assyrians in the days of Isaiah." David- 
son's Introduction to the Old Testament, p. 857. 

8. It has been shown that the arguments against the genu- 
ineness of this part of Isaiah (and by parity of reason against 
certain sections of the first part) have their ground in tho 
denial of prophetic inspiration, and cannot endure the test of 
sober criticism. The evidence, then, for the genuineness of 
these chapters remains in its full force, and it is of the most 
weighty character. If we look to external testimony, there is 
the undeniable fact that, as far back as we can trace the his- 
tory of the book of Isaiah, they have constituted an integral 
part of it. They are recognized as such by Josephus (Antiq. 
11. 1, 2) ; by Jesus the son of Sirach, in the book called Eccle- 
siasticus (48: 24, 25); and always in the New Testament when 
quotations are made from them — Matt. 3:3; 8 : 17 ; 12 : 17-21 ; 
Luke 3 : 4 ; 4 : 17-19 ; John 1 : 23 ; 12 : 38-41, where a quotation 
from the last part of Isaiah is joined with one from the first 
part; Acts 8:28-33; Eom. 10:16, 20, 21. That they wero 
appended by fraud and forger}^ no one pretends to affirm. Tho 
character of this part of the book, not less than the character 
of those who had the Jewish canon in custod}^, is a sufficient 
protection against such a supposition. That they should have 
been appended through ignorance is inconceivable. How can 
the name of so great a prophet have remained unknown? 
According to the hypothesis i;i question, he lived about tho 
close of the Babylonish captivity. He was contemporary, there- 
fore, with Daniel; with Zerubbabel also, Jeshua, and the other 
chiefs of the restoration. Did no one of these know who was 
the man that prophesied so abundantly of the work which they 
had so much at heart ? And did his name indeed escape tho 
knowledge of the learned scribe Ezra? And if they did not 
know his name, why did they append his writings to those of 
the true Isaiah, thus tacitly ascribing to him their authorship ? 
Why did they not leave them without a name, as they did tho 
books of Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles ? That 
these chapters have always constituted a part of the book of 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 309 

Isaiali, and been acknowledged as sucli, is a fact wliicli admits 
of but one explanation; that, namely, of their genuineness. 
The Great Unknown, as he is called, is no other than Isaiah 
himself, whom the principles of certain critics do not allow them 
to acknowledge as Isaiah. 

The internal evidence for the genuineness of these chapters 
has already been partly considered in an incidental way. It is 
found in the purity of the Hebrew, which belongs to the age of 
Isaiah, not of Cyrus ; in the undeniable allusions to the temple 
sacrifices and oblations as then existing (43 : 23, 24), and to the 
sin of seeking heathen alliances (57 : 9) ; and especially in the 
fact that a writer living near the close of the exile must have 
referred in a more particular and historic way to the great 
events connected with Cyrus' conquests. It may be added 
that there are in the later prophets some clear allusions to this 
part of Isaiah. Jeremiah, who undeniably made use of proph- 
ecies contained in the first part of Isaiah, was acquainted with 
the second part also. Compare Jer. 10 : 3, 4, with Isa. 40 : 19, 
20 ; 41 : 7 ; Jer. 31 : 35, with Isa. 51 : 15, where a whole clause 
is repeated from Isaiah, which agrees in the Hebrew to every 
letter ; Jer. 50 : 2, with Isa, 46 : 1, 2. Compare also Zeph. 2 : 15, 
with Isa. 47 : 8 ; Nah. 1 : 15, with Isa. 52 : 7. 

9. The arguments urged against the genuineness of certain 
sections of the first part of Isaiah are for substance the same 
as these that have now been examined, and need not a separa- 
rate consideration. We come on solid grounds to the conclu- 
sion, that Isaiali was the author of the whole collection of prop- 
ecies which bear his name, and that the arrangement of these 
prophecies in their present form also proceeded from him. 

II. JEREMIAH AND THE BOOK OF LAMENTATIONS. 

10. In passing from Isaiah to Jeremiah, the contrast is as 
great as it can well be ; and yet it is a contrast necessary to 
the completeness of divine revelation, which employs men of 
all characters and temperaments, and living in every variety of 
outward circumstances. Isaiah, like the apostle John, seems 



310 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

to have lived above his personal relations in the sphere of divine 
truth. He never alludes to his private history, except where 
the nature of a given narrative requires it. It is not prob- 
able that he was subjected to such an ordeal of persecution as 
that through which Jeremiah passed. However this may be, 
we gain almost no knowledge of his private life from the book 
of his prophecies. But Jeremiah, like the apostle Paul, unfolds 
to us very fully the history of his inward and outward life. 
With his peculiarly tender and sensitive mind it could not 
have been otherwise. If he had not woven into his prophecies 
his own inner and outer life, he would not have written natu- 
rally, and therefore truthfully. Through this inter w,eaving of 
biography with revelation, God has given in the case of Jere- 
miah, as in that of the great apostle to the Gentiles, a rich 
storehouse of truth for the instruction and comfort of his per- 
secuted and suffering servants in all ages. With the simplicity 
of truth, the prophet informs us how the men of Anathoth, his 
native place, conspired to take away his life (11 : 18-23 ; 12:6); 
how Pashur, the son- of Immer, smote him and put him in the 
stocks (20 : 1-6) ; how in the beginning of Jehoiakim's reign he 
was accused before the princes by the priests and false proph- 
ets as a man worthy of death, but acquitted by them (chap. 
26) ; how afterwards he and Baruch were hidden by Jehovah 
(chap 36) ; how under Zedekiah he was repeatedly imprisoned 
(chaps. 32 : 2 ; 33 : 1), and thrust into dungeons (chaps. 37, 38) ; 
how upon the conquest of the city by the Chaldeans he was 
released from his fetters and honorably treated (chs. 39 : 11-14 ; 
40 : 1-4) ; and how afterwards he was forced to go into Egypt 
with the fugitive Jews (chaps. 42, 43). 

In connection with this external history, we have a vivid 
portraiture of his inward conflicts. Most deeply does he sym- 
pathize with his countr^^men in the calamities which their sins 
have brought upon them ; ^et he is rewarded only with curses, 
because he faithfully forewarns them of the judgments of lieav- 
en which are fast approaching, and which can be averted only 
by hearty repentance and reformation. *' Woe is me, my moth- 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 311 

er," he cries out in his anguish, " that thou hast borne me a 
man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth ! I 
have neither lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury ; 
yet every one of them cloth curse me" (15 :10); and like Job 
he loses all composure under the pressure of his sorrows, and 
bitterly curses the day of his birth (20 : 14-18). Again Ave see 
him in the hands of his persecutors serenely committing him- 
self to God, and calmly warning them against the guilt of 
shedding his blood (26 : 12-15). In such alternations of impa- 
tience and faith we have a true portraiture of the struggle of 
grace against the weakness of nature ; and it is this which gives 
it especial value as a part of revelation, which never exhibits 
good men in a fictitious light, but always in the sober livery of 
truth. 

11. Jeremiah was of priestly descent (1:1); but that Hil- 
kiah, his father, was identical with the high priest who found 
in the temple the book of the law (2 Kings 22 : 8), rests upon 
mere conjecture. Anathoth, his native place, was in the land 
of Benjamin, about four miles north of Jerusalem. He was 
called to the prophetical ofiice in his youth, and exercised it in 
his native land from the thirteenth year of Josiah to the close 
of Zedekiah's reign, through a period of abou.t forty-one years 
(chap. 1:3); and afterwards in Egypt, whither he w^as carried 
by the rebellious remnant of the people (chaps. 43, 44). His 
first appearance, therefore, was about one hundred and thirty- 
one years after that of Isaiah, if we reckon from the last year 
of Uzziah, and some seventy or more after the close of Isaiah's 
prophecies. During all this time the religious and moral con- 
dition of the Jewish nation had been steadily changing for the 
worse under such kings as Manasseh and Amon; nor could 
the zealous efi'orts of Josiah avail to check the swelling tide of 
idolatry and profligacy. Sent by Jehovah in such a degenerate 
age to rebuke the wicked rulers and people for their sins, and 
to forewarn them of God's impending judgments, he was neces- 
sarily subjected to much persecution. IsaioJi had administered 
stern rebukes to Ahaz and his people, but he had encouraged 



312 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

tliem with the hope of successful resistance to the Assyrian 
power. But from the Chaldeans, who had succeeded the As- 
syrians as the ruling monarchy of the world, Jeremiah could 
promise no deliverance. In the name of the Lord he counselled 
submission, solemnly assuring the kings and princes of Judah 
that their reliance on Egyptian help would end in shame and 
disappointment (37 : 5-10). This brought npon him a load of 
calumny, insult, and persecution, wdiicli he keenly felt, but bore 
with fortitude, never swerving from the path of strict fidelity 
towards God. The prophecies of Jeremiah do not contain so 
many animating visions of the distant future as are found in 
Isaiah. He is more occupied wdth the sins of his own age, and 
the heavy judgments of God that impend over his countrymen. 
His mission is emphatically to unfold the connection between 
national profligacy and national ruin. This he does with a 
masterly hand, holding up to the world, in the character and 
fate of his countrymen, a mirror for all time, in which wdcked 
nations may see themselves and the ruin wdiich awaits them. 
The whole compass of profane history does not contain so much 
clear instruction on this point as is crowded into the few pages 
of "the weeping prophet." If the book of God's revelation 
could not have been complete without the ecstatic visions of 
Isaiah, so neither could it have spared Jeremiah's vivid delin- 
eation of a profligate nation plunging itself into remediless 
ruin by its iniquities. At times, how^ever, we find in Jeremiah 
also joyous anticipations of the good reserved for God's people 
in the latter days. He predicted not only the Babylonish 
captivity, but its termination at the end of seventy years, and 
the perpetual overthrow of Babylon and the Chaldean power 
(25 : 12-14 ; 29 : 10-14). See also chapters 30-33, where he de- 
scribes, after the manner of Isaiah, the glory of the latter days. 

In Jeremiah we have an innstrious example of one whose reputation 
after death became as high and lasting, as the reproach which he endured 
before death was deep and protracted. The men of his generation could 
not appreciate his worth. His messages they treated with scorn, and him 
with contumely. Through a long life of faithful labor it Avas his lot to 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 313 

endure reproach and calumny. But neither their unbelief, nor the burn- 
ing of the roU of his prophecies by Jehoiakim could hinder the fulfilment 
of his words. "When the captivity had come, as he had predicted, and 
especially when God's promise through him that it should end after sev- 
enty years had been fulfilled, he was honored as among the gxeatest of the 
prophets, and from that day onward his name became as ointment poured 
forth. The history of Jeremiah is also peculiarly encouraging to God's 
faithful servants who labor on for years amid difficulties and discourage- 
ments, and see no fruits of their toils. When he died it seemed as if all 
his solemn messages had been wasted upon that ungodly generation. But 
they were not lost to the Jews who hved to witness the fulfilment of his 
predictions in their captivity. In connection with the labors of Ezekiel 
and Daniel they contributed greatly to bring about that change for the 
better which took place during the exile. Through them, moreover, God 
provided a treasury of instruction and comfort for his people in all coming 
ages. How forcible a comment are his life and labors upon the apostolic 
declaration made many centuries afterwards : "Let us not be weary in 
well-doing : for in due season we shall reap if we faint not." 

12. Of the prophecies of Jeremiah some are without date, 
and where the date is given the chronological order is not 
always observed. In the fourth year of Jehoiakim the prophet, 
by God's direction, dictated to Baruch, and he WTote in a roll 
of a book all the prophecies which God had communicated to 
him from the days of Josiah to that time (36 : 1-4). When the 
king had destroyed this roll, he was directed to prepare another 
containing the same prophecies, and " there were added besides 
unto them many like words" (36 : 27-32). Whatever use may 
have been made of this manuscript in the compilation of our 
present book, it is plain that it has not come down to us in its 
original form as a constituent part of Jeremiah's propliecies ; 
since in these, as we now have them, there is an intermingling 
of messages before and after the fourth year of Jehoiakim. 
We cannot tell the origin of the present order, nor is it a mat- 
ter of importance, so far as the instructions to be derived 
from Jeremiah's writings are concerned. Following the He- 
brew order (see below) we have the following general divis- 
ions : 

(1.) Prophecies addressed to Judah, with which are con- 

Comp. to KiUI-. 14 



314 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

nected many notices of Jeremiah's personal history, and at the 
close of which stands a message to Baruch. Chaps. 1-45. 

(2.) Prophecies against foreign nations. 

(3.) An appendix taken almost verbatim from 2 Kings 
24 : 18-20 and chap. 25, and which seems to have been added 
by some later writer, as Ezra (chap. 52.) 

It is not necessary to consider particularly the attempt 
made to disprove the genuineness of certain parts of Jeremiah's 
prophecies, since they all rest, not on critical grounds, but on 
the false principle that has been already considered — the denial 
of the reality of prophetic inspiration. Men who deny that 
Isaiah could foresee the restoration of the Jews from the Baby- 
lonish captivity, must deny also that Jeremiah could limit the 
duration of that captivity to seventy years. But with those 
who believe that " holy men of God spake as they were moved 
by the Holy Ghost," such arguments cannot have weight. It 
is well known that Jeremiah, particularly in his prophecies 
against foreign nations, made use of earlier prophecies, as 
those of Isaiah and Obadiah. Compare Isa. chaps. 15, 16 with 
Jer. chap. 48; Obadiah with Jer. 49 : 7-17. 

The Alexandrine version differs unaccountably from the Hebrew text 
in its arrangement of the prophecies of Jeremiah. Those against foreign 
nations come after chap. 25 : 13, and also follow a very different order. 
Besides this, the Alexandrine exhibits a number of variations larger and 
smaller from the Hebrew text. The explanation of these differences in 
arrangement and in the text is a matter of uncertain conjecture. 

13. The hooh of Lamentations is designated in Hebrew by the 
opening word Eclia, lioio. The unanimous voice of antiquity 
ascribes it to Jeremiah, and with this tradition agree its inter- 
nal character and style. It was written in view of the desola- 
tion of Judah and Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, by an eye-wit- 
ness of all the unutterable miseries connected with that catas- 
trophe. While it laments, in strains of the deepest anguish, 
the desolation of Jerusalem with the slaughter and captivity 
of its inhabitants, and heaps together images of horror, it 
ascribes righteousness to God, and acknowledges the manifold 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 315 

sins of the rulers and ]3eople as the cause of the overwhelming 
calamities that had come upon them. We see throughout the 
feelings of a tender-hearted and compassionate man, of a sin- 
cere patriot, and of a devout worshipper of Jehovah beautifully 
blended together. Sad as is the picture, it is to us who con- 
template it in the light of history, not without its lessons of 
comfort as well as of warning. It teaches us that in the mid- 
night of Zion's adversity her covenant God is with her, and 
that she has an indestructible life. The prerogative which the 
Eoman bard applied to his country : " Plunge her in the deep, 
she comes out the stronger" — this high prerogative belongs to 
the true spiritual Jerusalem, which no fire can destroy, nor 
floods overwhelm. 

The structure of this book is peculiar. Its five chapters 
constitute five poetical compositions, each complete in itself so 
far as outward form is concerned, but the whole inwardly bound 
together as parts of one great theme. The first and second 
chapters consist each of twenty-two verses, arranged in the or- 
der of the tw^enty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet ; that is, 
the first verse beginning with the first letter, the second with 
the second, and so on. Each of the verses, moreover, contains 
as a rule three clauses. The third chapter contains sixty-six 
short verses of one clause each, the first three beginning with 
the first letter of the alphabet, the next three with the second, 
and so throughout. In this central chapter, therefore, the 
alphabetic structure reaches its culmination. The fourth chap- 
ter is like the first and second, with the exception that the 
verses generally consist of two clauses each. The fifth chapter 
contains twenty-two short verses of one clause each, like those 
of the third, but not arranged alphabetically. 

The more artificial structure of the third chapter marks it at once as 
peculiar. In this the prophet, as the representative of the pious part of 
the nation, bewails the calamities that have come upon himself and his 
country, expresses his firm confidence in God and his purpose to wait for 
deliverance in patient submission to his will, exhorts his countrymen to 
repentance, and offers up his fervent prayer to God that he would remera- 



316 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

ber his suffering people and punish their persecutors. The fifth chapter 
is a complaint of Zion in prayer to God in view of the terri-bie calamities 
that have come upon her. The other three chapters (the first, second, 
and fourth) are occupied mainly with a description of these calamities. 

III. EZEKIEL. 

15. Ezeldel was especially the prophet of the captivity. 
Daniel, his contemporary, received in Babjdon glorious revela- 
tions respecting the future history of God's kingdom ; but 
he was a statesman, exercising the prophetical office, like 
David, only in an incidental way. Ezekiel, on the contrary, 
was expressly called and consecrated, like his predecessors 
Isaiah and Jeremiah, to the prophetical office. Like Isaiah, 
he has given us but few particulars concerning his personal 
history. He was the son of Buzi, and of priestly descent (1:3); 
belonged to that company of captives of the better class of the 
people who had been carried away with Jehoiachin by the king 
of Babylon when he made Zedekiah king in his stead (2 Kings 
24 : 8-16) ; and lived with other captives at Tell-abib on the 
Chebar (perhaps the ancient Chaboras, a branch of the Eu- 
phrates), where he had a house and was married (1 : 1-3 ; 3 : 15 ; 
8:1; 24:15-18). That he was held in high honor by his fel- 
low-captives, as a true prophet of God, is manifest from the 
manner in which they assembled at his house to inquire of the 
Lord through him (8 : 1 ; 14 : 1 ; 20 : 1). Of his personal stand- 
ing and reputation, as well as of the character of his hearers, 
we have an interesting notice in chap. 33 : 30-32, where instead 
of "talking against thee" (verse 30) we may better render, as 
in the margin of our English version, " talking of thee:" "Also, 
thou son of man, the children of thy people are still talking 
of thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak 
one to another, every one to his* brother, saying, Come, I pray 
you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the 
Lord. And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and 
they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, 
but they will not do them : for with their mouth they show 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 317 

mucli love, but tlieir heart goetli after their covetousness. And 
lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a 
pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they 
hear thy words, but they do them not." Ezekiel was called to 
the prophetical office " in the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's 
captivity" (1 : 2), from which date he constantly reckons. Jere- 
miah's activity as a prophet continued not only through the 
eleven years of Zedeldah's reign, but for a considerable period 
afterwards ; so that the two prophets were for some time con- 
temporary, the one prophesying in Jerusalem and afterwards 
in Egypt, the other among the captives in Mesopotamia. The 
latest date which the prophecies of Ezekiel furnish is the twen- 
ty-seventh year of Jehoiachin's captivity, about twenty-two 
years from the time when he w^as called to his office. How 
much longer he prophesied we have no means of determin- 



Tlie date with which the book of Ezekiel opens is "the thirtieth year, 
in the fourth month, in the fifth clay of the month," which was also "the 
fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity" (verse 2), or five hundred and 
ninety-five years before Christ. Reckoning back from this date thirty 
years, we come to the eighteenth year of Josiah, when he repaired tlie 
temple, and solemnly renewed the worship of God ; and also to the first 
year of Nabopolassar, the father of Nebuchadnezzar, who made Babylon 
independent of the Assyrian monarchy, and thus estabhshed a new era. 
Some have assumed the former of these two eras as that from which the 
prophet reckons ; but the latter is more probable. "Writing, as he does, 
under the Chaldean monarchy, it is natural that he should give, at the 
outset, a date by which the chronology of the whole series of his prophe- 
cies may be determined in reference to Chaldean history. Elsewhere he 
dates from Jehoiachin's captivity. 

16. It is not Avorth while to raise any questions concerning 
the purity of Ezekiel's Hebrew, as compared with that of the 
earlier writers. The Holy Spirit is not concerned about the 
classic style of a prophet. He selects men whose natural qual- 
ities, providential training, and sanctified hearts fit them for 
the work assigned to them ; and under his inspiration they 
speak and write in the dialect to which they and their hearers 



318 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

are accustomed. Ezekiel's style is marked by Clialdaisms, aS 
might have been expected from the circumstances in which he 
wrote. At the same time it is as forcible as it is peculiar, a 
style every way adapted to the work laid upon him. He was 
sent to "a rebellious nation;" to "impudent children and stiff- 
hearted," with the charge: "Be not afraid of them, neither be 
afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, 
and thou dost dwell among scorpions : be not afraid of their 
words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebel- 
lious house" (2 : 3, 4, 6). How well he fulfilled his mission his 
prophecies show, in which there is a wonderful fire and vehe- 
mence, joined with a wonderful variety of representation and 
imagery. Proverbs, parables, riddles, symbolic actions, vivid 
portraitures of human wickedness, terrible denunciations of 
God's approaching judgments, and glorious visions of future 
peace and prosperity in reserve for the true Israel — these are 
all familiar to him, and are set forth often with an exuberant 
fulness of imagery. When summoned by God to judge "the 
bloody city" of Jerusalem, ripe for the judgments of heaven, 
he heaps one upon another the black crimes of which she is 
guilty (22 : 6-12). The repetitions so remarkably characteristic 
of his style are those of energy, not of weakness. They are the 
repetitions of a battering-ram that gives blow upon blow tiU 
the wall crumbles before it. The same may be said of his am- 
plifications, as in chaps. 1, 16, 23, 27, etc. He had a remark- 
able adaptation to his office ; and his influence must have been 
very great in bringing about the reformation of the nation 
which took place during the captivity. 

17. Ezekiel abounds in allegoric and symbolic representa- 
tions. These give to many of his prophecies a dark and mys- 
terious character, and make them difficult of interpretation. 
Jerome long ago called the book " an ocean and labyrinth of 
the mysteries of God." Nevertheless, the common reader finds 
in him much that is plain of apprehension, and full of weighty 
instruction. Reserving the general subject of the interpreta- 
tion of prophecy for another place, we add here a few words 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 319 

respecting tlie nature of allegories and symbols, and the prin- 
ciples upon which they are to be interpreted. 

An allegory is a narrative of a real event expressed in figur- 
ative language ; that is, where one historic transaction is de- 
scribed under the image of another. Thus in chap. 17 : 1-10, 
the two great eagles are Nebuchadnezzar and Pharaoh; the 
highest branch of the cedar is Jehoiachin ; the cropping off and 
carrying away of this branch is his removal by Nebuchadnez- 
zar to Babylon, etc. So also the extended descriptions of Jeru- 
salem in chap. 16, and of Jerusalem and Samaria in chap. 23, 
under the figure of lewd women. For other beautiful examples 
of allegory see Judges 9 : 8-15 ; Isa. 5 : 1-6 ; Psa. 80 ; Mark 
12:1-9. 

In scriptural usage parables are not always distinguished 
from allegories. But properly speaking parables are narratives 
of supposed incidents — at least of incidents the reality of which 
is of no consequence — for the purpose of illustrating important 
truths; while allegories are figurative descriptions of actual 
events. 

A symbol represents some great truth or event of the future 
under the form of an action, or some material structure or 
arrangement. PropJietic syinhols take the form of actions, and 
are of two kinds : 

First, actual, where the prophet himself performs some ac- 
tion before the eyes of his countrymen; as in chap. 24:18, 
where Ezekiel, in obedience to God's command, refrains from 
all expressions of grief at the death of his wife; and chap. 
37: 16, 17, where he joins together two sticks to represent the 
reunion of the ten tribes with Judah and Benjamin. See also 
Jer. 27 : 2 compared with 28 : 10. 

Secondly, ideal; that is, seen only in vision; like Ezekiel's 
prophecy upon the dry bones, chap. 37 : 1-10, and his measure- 
ments of the New Jerusalem with its temple, porches, etc. 
Chaps. 40-48. 

It is often difficult to determine to which of these two classes 
a given symbol belongs. Did Jeremiah, for example, actually 



820 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

go to Euphrates to bury the hnen girdle there, or only iu pro- 
phetic ecstacy ? Jer. 13 : 1-11. Did Ezekiel perform the acts 
recorded in chap. 4 in reahty or in vision? The answer to 
such questions is not of great importance, since either way the 
meaning of the symbols and the instructions which they furnish 
are the same. 

18. If we divide the book of Ezekiel into two equal parts of 
twenty-four chapters each, the first part contains prophecies 
delivered before the overthrow of Jerusalem. These are ar- 
ranged in chronological order. After an introductory chapter 
describing the vision of the glory of God which the prophet 
had wdien called to his office, there follows, in the form of vis- 
ions, allegories, symbolic actions, and direct addresses, a series 
of vivid descriptions of the sins of Jerusalem and the judg- 
ments of heaven that are about to fall upon her. "With these are 
interspersed denunciations of the false proj^hets that flatter the 
people in their sins, and fervent addresses to his fellow-captives 
remarkable for their plainness and evangelical spirit. The 
second part opens with a series of prophecies against seven for- 
eign nations, in which the order of time is not observed — first, 
short prophecies against the four neighboring nations, Ammon, 
Moab, Edom, Philistia (chap. 25) ; secondly, a series of proph- 
ecies against Tyre, to which is appended a short prophecy 
against Sidon (chaps. 26-28) ; thirdly, a like series of proph- 
ecies against Egypt (chaps. 29-32). These prophecies were 
fulfilled through the same Chaldean power that executed God's 
righteous vengeance on the covenant people. As the number 
seven is made out by separating Sidon from Tyre to which it 
j)roperly belonged, it is rightly held to be a symbolic numbei', 
as in the book of Revelation and elsewhere, seven being the 
well-known symbol of completeness. With the announcement 
of the fall of Jerusalem (33 : 21) the thunders of God's wrath 
that had so long rolled over her die away ; and the series of 
prophecies that follows is mainly occupied, like the last part 
of Isaiah, with predictions of the future glory of Zion, in con- 
nection with God's awful judgments upon the wicked within 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 321 

and without lier borders. Of these the last nine chapters con- 
tain a description of the vision which God vouchsafed to the 
prophet of a new Jerusalem, with its temple, priests and altars, 
rising out of the ruins of the former, of larger extent and in a 
a more glorious form. He sees the land of Canaan also divi- 
ded out to the returning captives by lot, as it was in the days 
of Joshua, but upon an entirely different plan. 

The general plan of the temple is after the model of Solo- 
mon's ; yet this vision is not to be understood as a mere proph- 
ecy of the rebuilding of Solomon's temple with the city in 
which it stood, and of the repossession of the land after the 
Babylonish captivity. Several particulars in the description 
make it plain that it %vas not intended to be literally under- 
stood. See chaps. 42 : 15-20 ; 45 : 1-8 ; 47 : 1-12 ; and the whole 
of chap. 48. It is rather a symbolical representation of the 
coming deliverance and enlargement of the true spiritual Zion, 
which is God's church, the same in all ages. The resettlement 
of the land of Canaan, and the rebuilding of the temple and 
city after the captivity, were a part indeed, but only a very 
small part of the "good things to come" which the vision 
shadowed forth. Its fulfilment belongs to the entire history of 
the church from Ezekiel's day onward, and it will be completed 
only in her final triumph over the kingdom of Satan, and her 
establishment in permanent peace and holiness. 

As the time had not yet come for the old covenant to pass 
away, Ezekiel, who was himself a priest under the law of 
Moses, saw^ the future enlargement of God's kingdom under the 
forms of this covenant. The New Jerusalem which God re- 
vealed to him had its temple, priests, altar, and sacrifices. All 
these were shadows of Christ's perfect priesthood, of the spir- 
itual temple of wdiich he is the chief corner-stone, and of the 
spiritual priesthood of his people. 1 Peter 2 : 5-9. The literal 
priesthood, altar, and sacrifices are for ever done away in Christ's 
one perfect offering for the sins of the w^orld on Calvary. Heb. 
chaps. 9, 10. 

In interpreting the vision before us we should not curiously 

14* 



322 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

inquire after the meaning of every particular chamber and pil- 
lar 'and door, but rather look to the general meaning of the 
whole. The angel measures, and the prophet records all the 
parts of the building. This signifies, in general, that God's 
care extends to all parts of his spiritual temple, and that he 
will see that they are in due time made perfect. The New 
Jerusalem described by the apostle John has much in common 
with this. It is, in truth, a vision of the same spiritual city, 
**' whose builder and maker is God." But it difiers from Eze- 
kiel's vision in two respects. First, it belongs apparently to 
the glorified state of the church after the resurrection ; secondly, 
it has nothing Jewish in it, neither temple nor altar. These 
shadows have for ever passed away. 

IV. DANIEL. 

19. The book of Daniel is assigned in the Hebrew canon to 
the third division, called Hagiograplia. For the supposed 
grounds of this, see above. Chap. 13, No. 4. Daniel, like Jere- 
miah, has interwoven into his writings so many biographical 
notices of himself, that we gather from them a pretty full his- 
tory of his life. He belonged to the royal family of Judah, 
being one of the number "of the king's seed and of the 
princes," whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried captive to Baby- 
lon in an invasion not recorded in the books of Kings or 
Chronicles (1 : 1-3). Thus was fulfilled the prophecy recorded 
in Isa. 39 : 7. But God graciously turned this into a rich 
blessing to the Hebrew nation; for Daniel, having been edu- 
cated with his three companions, Hananiah, Mishael, and Aza- 
riah, " in the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans," and 
having " understanding in all visions and dreams," a remark- 
able proof of which he gave by relating to Nebuchadnezzar the 
dream which had gone from him, with its interpretation, was 
made "ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of 
the governors over all the wise men of Babylon," and at his 
request his three companions were also set over the affairs of 
the province of Babylon (chaps. 1, 2). He continued in high 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 323 

honor at the court of Babylon as a wise and incorruptible 
statesman, and a prophet who had the gift of interpreting 
dreams, till the overthrow of the Chaldean empire by the 
Medes and Persians. By Darius the Mede he was treated with 
like honor (perhaps in connection with his interpretation of 
Belshazzar's dream, chap. 5), being made chief of the three 
presidents whom he set over his whole realm, and a plot formed 
to destroy him was frustrated through God's miraculous inter- 
position and turned to the increase of his honor and influence ; 
so that he continued to prosper " in the reign of Darius, and in 
the reign of Cyrus the Persian" (chap. 6). He lived, therefore, 
to see the release of his countrymen from their long captivity, 
though it does not appear that he himself returned to his native 
land. Probably he continued in the service of the Persian 
court to the day of his death. 

20. The first chapter is introductory to the whole book, giv- 
ing an account of the selection and education of Daniel and his 
three companions by direction of the king of Babylon. The 
prophecies that follow naturally fall into two series. The first, 
occupying chaps. 2-7, is written in Chaldee from the middle of 
the fourth verse of chap. 2. It unfolds the relation which God's 
kingdom holds to the heathen powers as seen (1,) in a twofold 
vision of the four great monarchies of the world, in the form 
first of an image consisting of four parts, and then of four great 
beasts rising up out of the sea, the last monarchy being suc- 
ceeded by the kingdom of the God of heaven, which shall never 
be destroyed (chaps. 2, 7); (2,) in the protection and deliver- 
ance of God's faithful servants from the persecution of heathen 
kings and princes (chaps. 3, 6) ; (3,) in the humbling of heathen 
monarchs for their pride, idolatry, and profanation of the sacred 
vessels belonging to the sanctuary (chaps. 4, 5). Thus we see 
that the first three of these six chapters (2-7) correspond to 
the last three taken in an inverse order — the second to the sev- 
enth, the third to^ie sixth, and the fourth to the fifth. The 
. second series, consisting of the remaining five chapters, is writ- 
ten in Hebrew. This also exhibits the conflict between God's 



324: COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

kingdom and the heathen world, taking up the second and third 
monarchies under the images of a ram and a he-goat. Chap. 8. 
There follow some special details relating to the nearer future, 
with some very remarkable revelations respecting the time of 
the Messiah's advent, the destruction of the holj city by the 
Komans, the last great conflict between the kingdom of God 
and its enemies, and the final resurrection. 

The intimate connection between the book of Daniel and 
the Kevelation of John must strike every reader of the holy 
Scriptures. They mutually interpret each other, and together 
constitute one grand system of prophecy extending down to 
the end of the world. Both also contain predictions, the exact 
interpretation of which is extremely difficult, perhaps impossi- 
ble, till the mystery of God shall be finished. 

21. That they who deny the reality of miracles and proph- 
ecy should receive the book of Daniel as genuine and authentic 
is impossible. To review the history of the assaults made by 
them upon it, or of the volumes written in reply, is foreign to 
the plan of the present work. A brief summary only will be 
given of the grounds on which its claim to a place in the canon 
of the Old Testament is vindicated. 

(1.) The unity of the book of Daniel is now conceded. " The 
two leading divisions are so related that the one implies 
the existence of the other. Both have the same characteris- 
tics of manner and style, though a considerable portion of 
the book is in Chaldee, and the remainder in Hebrew." David- 
son after Keil and others, Introduction to the Old Testament, 
p. 916. This being admitted, the book as a whole claims Dan- 
iel for its author ; for in it he often speaks in the first person, 
and in the last chapter the book is manifestly ascribed to him 
(12:4,9). 

(2.) The uniform tradition of the Jews ascribed the book 
to Daniel. It was on this ground that they received it into 
the 'canon of the Old Testament. The objection that they 
did not class Daniel with the prophets, but with the Hagio- 
grapha (see above, Chap. 13, No. 4) is of no account Had the 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 325 

book belonged, as the objectors claim, to the Maccabean age, 
it would not have found a place in the Hagiographa any more 
than in the prophets. The first book of Maccabees, which con- 
tains authentic history, was never received into the Hebrew 
canon, because, as the Jews rightly judged, it was written after 
the withdrawal of the spirit of prophecy. Much less would 
they have received, under the illustrious name of Daniel, a book 
written as late as the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, more than 
three centuries and a' half after Daniel. That they should have 
done this through ignorance is inconceivable ; that they could 
have done it through fraud is a supposition not to be admitted 
for a moment, for it is contrary to all that we know of their 
conscientious care with regard to the sacred text. 

It may be added that the book of Barucli, which cannot be placed later 
than the Maccabean age, and is perhaps earlier, makes abundant use of 
the book of Daniel ; and that the author of the first book of Maccabees 
had this book in the Alexandrine version, as is plain from the peculiar 
expressions employed by him in chap. 1:54 — "they built the abomina- 
tion of desolation upon the altar." Compare Dan. 9 : 27 of the Alexan- 
di-ine version. 

(3.) Josephus relates, Antiq. 11. 8. 5, among the other 
particulars of the visit which Alexander the Great made to 
Jerusalem, that the high priest Jaddus (Jaddua) showed him 
the book of Daniel " in which he signified that a certain one of 
the Greeks should destroy the empire of the Persians;" and 
that this, in connection with other extraordinary circumstances 
narrated by Josephus, had the effect of assuaging the king's 
wrath which had been excited against the Jewish high priest 
and people by their refusal to render him assistance against 
Darius, and of disposing him to bestow upon them great favors. 
Iies]3ecting the authenticity of this narrative there has been 
much discussion ; but there is no ground for denying its sub- 
stantial truth. It bears the stamp of reality, and it accounts, 
moreover, for the extraordinary privileges conferred upon the 
Jews by Alexander, which otherwise remain inexplicable. 

(4.) Christ himself recognizes Daniel as a true prophet. He 



326 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

refers to the future fulfilment of one of his prophecies as a 
most important sign for his disciples : " When ye therefore 
shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel 
the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoso readeth, let 
him understand), then let them which be in Judea flee into 
the mountains." Matt. 24:15, 16; Mark 13:14. De Wetto 
says indeed: "In the nature of the case Christ neither ivould 
nor could be a critical authority." That our Lord did not 
assume to be a critical authority in the ordinary sense of the 
term is evident ; for in this very case he referred to the Alexan- 
drine version, without pausing to notice its variation from the 
Hebrew. But our Lord knew whether the book of Daniel is a 
collection of real prophecies, or a spurious work composed 
several centuries after Daniel, imposing upon the world in 
Daniel's name pretended prophecies written after the events. 
Par be it from any one who believes in the reality of Christ's 
supernatural mission thus to make him set the seal of his divine 
authority to the work of an impostor. Heb. 11 : 33, 34 also 
refers undeniablj^ to Daniel, chaps. 6 and 3. 

(5.) The Icmguage of the book agrees with the age of Dan- 
iel. The writer employs both Hebrew and Chaldee, thus 
indicating that he lives during the period of transition from the 
former to the latter language. His Chaldee, moreover, like 
that of Ezra, contains Hebrew forms such as do not occur in 
the earliest of the Targums. His Hebrew, on the other hand, 
agrees in its general character with that of Ezekiel and Ezra. 
Though the Hebrew survived as the language of the learned 
for some time after the captivity, we cannot suppose that so 
late as the age of Antiochus Epiphanes and the Maccabees a 
Jewish author could have employed either such Hebrew as 
Daniel uses, or such Chaldee. 

(6.) The author manifests intimate acquaintance with the 
historical relations, manners, and customs belonging to Dan- 
iel's time. Under this head writers have specified the custom 
of giving new names to those taken into the king's service 
(1:7); the threat that the houses of the magi should be made 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 327 

■ a dunghill (2:5); the different forms of capital punishment in 
use among the Chaldeans and Medo-Persians ; the dress of 
Daniel's companions (3 : 21) ; the presence of women at the 
royal banquet (5 : 2), etc. See Davidson's Introduction, p. 920, 
who sums up the argument thus: "It is improbable that an 
author in the Maccabean times should have been so uniformly 
accurate in his narrative, without having been in Babylon 
itself." 

22. The objections urged against the book of Daniel are 
not of. a nature to overthrow the mass of evidence in its favor. 
They may be considered under the following heads : 
• (1.) Various chronological and historical difficulties. It is 
said that Jewish history knows no expedition of Nebuchad- 
nezzar against Jerusalem in the third year of Jehoiakim. The 
answer is that an expedition which apparently fell about this 
time is mentioned in 2 Kings 24 : 1. The actual capture of the 
city, however, seems not to have taken place before the fourth 
year of Jehoiakim ; for Jeremiah, in a prophecy dated in this 
fourth year, speaks in terms which imply that the threatened 
blow had not yet fallen. Jer. 25:9. Perhaps Daniel, chap. 
1 : 1, dates from the beginning of the expedition, so that it fell 
partly in the third and partly in the fourth year of Jehoiakim. 
It was in connection with this expedition of Nebuchadnezzar 
that he overthrew the army of Pharaoh-necho at-Carchemish 
on the Euphrates ; for that event also took place in the fourth 
3^ear of Jehoiakim. Jer. 46 : 2. 

We learn from Berosiis, as quoted by Joseplins (Antiq. 10. 11. 1), that 
when Nebuchadnezzar was engaged in this expedition, and had already 
conquered the Egyptians, he received tidings that the throne of Babylon 
was made vacant by the death of his father. Upon this he hastened witJi 
his light troops across the desert to Babylon, leaving the body of his army 
to return by the ordinary route. 

It is said again that the dates given in Jer. 25 : 1 and Dan. 
2:1 cannot be reconciled with each other. In the former of 
these the first year of Nebuchadnezzar is the fourth of Jehoia- 
kim, in which year, or at all events in the preceding j^ear, 



328 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

Daniel with liis three companions was taken captive. Yet 
after they have been transported to Babylon and received an 
education there extending through three years (Dan. 1 : 5), we 
find Daniel interpreting Nebuchadnezzar's dream in the second 
year of his reign. To this it can be answered in part that in 
the second book of Kings and in Jeremiah the years of Nebu- 
chadnezzar are obviously reckoned from the time when he was 
placed by his father, wdio was now old and infirm, at the head 
of his army, the title of king being applied to him by way of 
anticipation. 2 Kings 24: 12; 25:8; Jer. 25:1. In the book 
of Daniel, on the contrary, his years are reckoned from his 
actual accession to the throne. But even then it is necessary 
to assume a considerable delay between his return from his 
Egyptian expedition and his formal investiture with the king- 
dom. 

The grounds of such a delay we can only conjecture. It may have been 
connected with the settlement of the affairs of the realm, which he found, 
Berosus tells us, administered by the Chaldeans, the kingxlom being kept 
for him by the chief man among them ; or the statement of Berosus may 
be wanting in fulness and accuracy. An argument from our ignorance 
cannot be urged against the authenticity of Daniel any more than in its 
favor. 

As to the acknowledged difiiculties connected.with the iden- 
tification of Belshazzar and Darius the Median (chap. 5), it is 
sufficient to say that the notices which we have of the Chaldean 
monarchy after Nebuchadnezzar are so fragmentary and con- 
tradictory that no valid argument can be drawn from such dif- 
ficulties against the authenticity of the book of Daniel. 

An old opinion identifies Belshazzar with Nabonnedus, who was either 
a son of Nebuchadnezzar or a grandson — called his son, Dan. 5 : 22, in the 
sense of his descendant. But Eawlinson (as quoted in Smith's Bible Dic- 
tionary) informs us that from inscriptions deciphered by him it appears 
that the eldest son of Nabonnedus was called i>eZ-s7^ar-e^er=Belshazzar. 
He thinks that as joi«t king with his father he may ha^e been governor of 
Babylon, when the city was taken by the Medes and Persians, and have 
perished in the assault, while, in accordance with the statements of Bero- 
sus, Nabonnedus himself survived. Upon either of the above suppositions, 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 329 

Darius tlie Median will be Cyaxares II., son of Astyages and uncle to 
Cyrus, who succeeded to the title of king— "took the kingdom" (Dan. 
5 : 31 and chap. 6) — though the conquest of Babylon was due to Cyrus him- 
self, who not long afterwards ascended the throne of the united kingdoms 
of Media and Persia. Another view makes Belshazzar the same as Evil- 
merodach, son and successor of Nebuchadnezzar, and identifies Darius 
the Median with Astyages. It is not necessary to decide which, if either 
of these two views, is correct. 

(2.) An argument has been drawn from tlie fact that Jesiis, 
the son of Sirach, does not mention the name of Daniel in the 
catalogue of his worthies (chap. 49). Such negative argu- 
ments are at best w^eak, and this loses all its force from the 
circumstance that he omits others, as Ezra and Mordecai (the 
twelve minor prophets also, since chap. 49 : 10 is regarded as 
spurious). 

(3.) The alleged linguistic difficulties have been reduced, 
so far as the date of the book is concerned, to three or four 
Greek names of musical instruments ; all of wlych — the instru- 
ments and their names — may naturally enough have been 
brought from Greece, the home of musical art, in the way of 
ordinary commercial intercourse. We are not called upon to 
defend the classic purity of Daniel's style. A Hebrew and 
educated at the court of Babylon, it was natural that his Chal- 
dee should be colored with Hebrew forms, and his Hebrew 
with Chaldaisms. The argument from the general style of the 
book is in favor of its genuineness, not against it. 

(4.) The commendations bestowed upon Daniel are thought 
to be inconsistent with his being the author of the book. 
Some, who admit its authenticity and its right to a place 
in the sacred canon, have been led by this consideration to 
adopt the opinion that Daniel, though essentially the author 
of the book, did not himself put it into its present form, but 
that some one of his countrymen put together his prophecies, 
prefixing to them introductory notices respecting the author. 
So far as the canonical authority of the book is concerned there 
are no serious objections to this hypothesis ; but we may well 
ask whether undue weight is not given to the objection under 



330 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

consideration. Throughout the whole book these commenda- 
tory notices are underlaid by the idea that Daniel's wisdom is 
not his own, but is given him by God, and for purposes con- 
nected with the welfare of the covenant people. By revealing 
to his servant secrets beyond the ken of all the wise men of 
Babylon, he manifests at once his own infinite perfections and 
the vanity of the Chaldean gods; and this Daniel records to 
the glory of the God of Israel. 

(5.) the real objection to the book lies, as already intima- 
ted, in the supeyiiatural character of its contents — in the remark- 
able miracles and prophecies which it records. The miracles 
of this book are of a very imposing character, especially 
adapted to strike the minds of the beholders with awe and 
wonder. But so are those also recorded in the beginning of 
the book of Exodus. In both cases they were alike fitted to 
make upon the minds of the heathen, in whose presence they 
were performed., the impression of God's power to save and 
deliver in all possible circumstances. The prophecies are 
mostly in the form of dreams and visions; and they are in won- 
derful harmony with Daniel's position as a minister of state at 
the court of Babylon, and also with the relation of Judaism to 
the heathen world. In the providence of God, the history of 
his covenant people, and through them of the visible kingdom 
of heaven, had become inseparably connected with that of the 
great monarchies of the world. How appropriate, then, that 
God should reveal, in its grand outlines, the course of these 
monarchies to the final and complete establishment of the king- 
dom of heaven (2 : M, 45 ; 7 : 26, 27). In all this we find noth- 
ing ivgainst the general analogy of prophecy, but every thing 
in stiict conformity with it. In the seventh chapter there ap- 
pears, for the first time, an interpreting angel communicating 
to the prophet, in connected discourse, the meaning of the vision 
which he has just seen. So also in the eighth chapter and 
onward. Such a mode of revelation is peculiarly adapted to 
the communication of details, and in the eleventh chapter these 
are given to an unparalleled extent. But this constitutes uo 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 831 

ground for denying tlie reality of the prophecy. Though the 
spirit of prophecy does not, as a general rule, give future events 
in their succession, this is sometimes done. So it is in God's 
announcement to Abraham of the bondage of his posterity 
(Gen. 15 : 13-16) ; and also in our Lord's prophecy of the over- 
throw of Jerusalem (Matt., chap. 24). In this respect it does 
not become us to prescribe rules for the wisdom of God. 

We need not pursue this subject any farther. No one of tlie above 
difficulties, nor all combined, can outweigh the evidence we have for the 
genuineness and authenticity of the book of Daniel. On the contrary, the 
hypothesis that it belongs to so late an age as that of the Maccabees is 
beset with difficulties inconceivably greater. It has for its foundation not 
sober criticism, but the denial of the supernatural. 



;32 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 



CHAPTEE XXIII. 

Jhe Twelve Minor Prophets. 

1. By the Jewish arrangement, which places together the 
twelve minor prophets in a single Yolume, the chronological 
order of the prophets as a whole is broken up. The three 
greater prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, stand in the 
true order of time. Daniel began to prophesy before Ezekiel, 
but continued many }• ears after him. The Jewish arrangement 
of the twelve minor prophets is in a sense chronological ; that 
is, they put the earlier prophets at the beginning, and the later 
at the end of the collection. It does not appear, however, that 
they intended to follow the order of time with exactness. If 
they did, then in the judgment of many they committed errors. 
The particulars must be discussed as the books come up sepa- 
rately for consideration. 

In regard to the first six, the arrangement of tlie Septuagint differs 
from tlie Masoretic, which is followed in our version, as follows : 

MASOKETIC TEXT. SEPTUAGINT VERSION. 

1. Hosea. 1. Hosea. 

2. Joel. 2. Amos. 

3. Amos. 3. Micah. 

4. Obadiali. 4. Joel. 

5. Jonah. 5. Obadiah. 

6. Micah. 6. Jonah. 

2. This precious collection contains the earliest as well as 
the latest writings of the Hebrew prophets, except such as are 
embodied in the historical books; for Hosea, Joel, and Amos, 
at least, are older than Isaiah, and the three prophets of the 
restoration are younger than Ezekiel and Daniel. The minor 
prophets exhibit a great diversity of manner and style — the 
lugged and sententious, the fall and flowing, the oratorical, and 
the simple and unadorned. In them are passages attaining to 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 33o 

the sublimity of Isaiah, to the tenderness and pathos of Jere- 
miah, and to the vehemence of EzekieL Nowhere do we find 
sin rebuked with more awful severity, the true meaning of the 
law more clearly expounded, or the future glory of Zion more 
confidently predicted. That some of these writings are obscure 
and of difficult interpretation cannot be denied. This arises 
partly from the character of the style, as in the case of Hosea 
and others; partlj^from the nature of the themes discussed, as in 
Zechariah ; partly from our ignorance of the times and circum- 
stances of the writers. Nevertheless the prayerful student Avill 
find in them a rich treasury of divine truth, which will abun- 
dantly reward the labor bestowed upon it. 

I. HOSEA. 

3. The prophecies of Hosea were addressed immediately to 
the kingdom of the ten tribes, yet so that he did not overlook 
Judali; for he considered the two kingdoms of Judah and 
Israel as constituting together the covenant people of God. 
Of his personal history we know nothing except that he was 
the son of Beeri, for the transactions of the first three chapters 
may be best understood as symbolic acts seen only in vision. 
See above, Chap. 22, No. 17. For any thing that appears to 
the contrary, he was of Israelitish descent. As it is generally 
agreed that Isaiah began to prophesy in the last year of Uzzi- 
ah's reign, or but a few years before his death, while Hosea 
prophesied in the reign of Jeroboam II., the great-grandson of 
Jehu (2 Kings 14 : 23), who died about twenty-six years before 
Uzziah, it follows that Hosea, though partly contemporary with 
Isaiah, was called to the prophetical work at an earlier period. 
If we suppose him to have commenced prophesying two years 
before the death of Jeroboam, and then add the twenty-six 
remaining years of Uzziah's reign, the sixteen of Jotham, the 
sixteen of Ahaz, and two of the first years of Hezekiah, we 
shall have a period of sixty-two 3^ears. To Israel this was a 
calamitous period, embracing four usurpations and murders of 
the reigning sovereigns, and three invasions of the Assyrians. 



334 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

See the history in 2 Kings 15 : 8-31, and 17 : 1-6. In the Last 
of these Hosea, king of Israel, became tributary to Shalmane- 
ser, king of Assyria; but he proved unfaithful to his master, 
and sought the aUiance of So, king of Egypt. 2 Kings 17 : 4. 
For this the Assyrian king besieged him in Samaria, and after 
a siege of three years, took him with the city, and put an end 
to the kingdom of Israel in the fifth year of Hezekiah, king of 
Judah. Hosea seems to have closed his writings when Hoshea 
was seeking the help of Egypt, while he had at the same time 
a covenant with Assyria (12 : 1), consequently somewhere early 
in Hezekiah's reign. 

4. Hosea's style is very concise and sententious, and his 
diction impresses even the casual reader as original and pecu- 
liar. A remarkable feature of his book is the constancy with 
which he sets forth the relation of Israel to Jehovah under the 
figure of the marriage-covenant; thus making unfaithfulness to 
God, and especially idolatry and idolatrous alliances, to be spir- 
itual adultery and whoredom. This fact affords a key to the 
interpretation of the first three chapters, where the nature of 
the transactions requires that we understand them not as his- 
toric events, but as prophetic symbols occurring only in vision. 
The remaining eleven chapters contain perhaps a summary of 
the prophet's discourses to the people, written by himself near 
the close of his ministry. The prophecies of Hosea are repeat- 
edly referred to in the New Testament as a part of the oracles 
of God. Matt. 2:15; 9:13; 12:7; Eom. 9:25, 26; and an 
allusion in 1 Cor. 15 : 55. The prophet brings his book to a 
close with a delightful and refreshing view of the future pros- 
perity and peace of the true Israel, chap. 14. 

II. JOEL. 

5. The prophecies of Joel, the son of Pethuel, give no speci- 
fications of place or time. But all the internal indications of 
the book point to Judea — probably Jerusalem, with its temple, 
altar, priesthood, and solemn assemblies — as the sphere of his 
labors, and to the date as among the earliest of those belong- 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 835 

ing to written prophecy. The comcidences between Joel and 
Amos cannot well be regarded as accidental. Compare Joel 
3 : 16 with Amos 1:2; Joel 3 : 18 with Amos 9 : 13 ; and notice 
the striking similarity in the close of the t\v^o prophecies. If 
we may assume that one of these prophets borrowed expres- 
sions from the other, the priority will naturally be given to Joel, 
from whose closing address (3 : 16) Amos takes the opening 
words of his prophecies. He must then be placed as early, at 
least, as the reign of Uzziah, and perhaps earlier. 

From the fact that Joel does not mention as among the enemies of 
Judah the Syrians who invaded Judah in the reign of Joash, the grand- 
father of Uzziah, some have placed him as early as the reign of Joash before 
this Syrian invasion. There is no ground for placing him after Uzziah ; 
for his writings contain no allusion to the Assyrian power, which became 
so formidable soon after Uzziah's time. 

6. The writings of Joel bear the full impress of culture in a 
prophetic school. His Hebrew is of the purest kind ; his style 
is easy, flowing, elegant, and adorned with magnificent image- 
ry ; and for vividness and power of description he is not sur- 
passed by any of the prophets. The immediate occasion oi 
his prophecies is a double plague of drought and locusts, which 
has already invaded the land, and wdiose desolating progress 
he describes in poetic strains of matchless elegance and power. 
He summons the people of all classes to repentance, and prom- 
ises, upon this condition, not only the restoration of the land 
to its former fruitfulness, but also the outpouring of God's 
Spirit upon all flesh, the triumph of the covenant people over 
all their foes, and an era of universal holiness and peace. In 
this respect he is a model for all the proi^hets that come after 
him. They all with one accord look forward beyond the calam- 
ities of the present time, and the heavier impending calamities 
which they are commissioned to foretell in the near future, to 
the glory of the latter days, w^hen Zion shall be made triumph- 
ant over all her foes, and the whole earth shall be given her for 
her inheritance. The apostle Peter, in hi^; address on the day 



338 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

of Pentecost, quotes a remarkable prophec}^ of Joel (2 : 28-32, 
compared with Acts 2 : 16-21). 

The opinion of some commentators, that under the figure of locusts are 
reiDresented simply hostile armies, must be regarded as forced and unnat- 
ural. More probable is the opinion of Henderson and others, that the 
prophet uses an actual invasion of the land by locusts as the type of a more 
formidable invasion of foreign foes. But there does not seem to be any 
valid reason for departing from the simj^le interpretation above given. 

III. AMOS. 

7. Amos prophesied " coiicerniiig Israel in the daj's of 
Uzziali king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of 
Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake" (1 : 1). 
The time of this earthquake, which is simply mentioned by 
Zechariali (14 : 5) as occurring in Uzziali's reign, cannot be 
determined. We only know that Amos must have prophesied 
somewhere during the last part of the reign of Jeroboam II., 
when he was contemporary with Uzziali. Amos was thus con- 
temporary with Hosea, and was sf considerable number of 
years earlier than Isaiah, who began to prophesy near the close 
of Uzziah's long reign of fifty-two years. The very specific date 
"two years before the earthquake" indicates that his whole 
mission to Israel was executed within a single year, perhaps 
within a few months. It seems to have been after his return 
to Judah, when at least two years had elapsed, that he col- 
lected his prophecies and put them into their present form. 

Amos describes himself as one of "the herdmen of Tekoa," 
a small town southeast of Bethlehem on the border of the wil- 
derness of Judah. 2 Chron. 20 : 20. It belonged to Judah, 
whence we infer that Amos was himself a Jew, a sujDposition 
which agrees well with the advice of Amaziah : " O thou seer, 
go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, 
and prophesy there" (7:12). He speaks of himself as "no 
prophet, neither a prophet's son" (7 : 14) ; which means that he 
had not been trained up for the prophetical office in any school 
of the prophets, as were " the sons of the prophets." 1 Kings 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 337 

20:35; 2 Kings 2 : 3, etc. God took him from following the 
herd, and gave him a commission to prophesy to His people 
Israel, an office which he executed at Bethel, where one of the 
golden calves erected by Jeroboam the son of Nebat was wor- 
shipped (7:10-17 compared with 1 Kings 12:29). In entire 
harmony with this historical notice is the character of his 
prophecies. His style has not the flowing fulness of Joel, but 
charms the reader by its freshness and simplicity. His wri- 
tings abound in images taken from rural scenes and employ- 
ments, some of which are very unique and striking in their 
character. See chaps. 2 : 13 ; 3 : 12 ; 5 : 19 ; 6 : 12 ; 9:2, 3, 9. 
He opens his prophecies by a solemn annunciation of the 
approaching judgments of heaven upon the nations bordering 
on Israel, specifying in each case the sin which has provoked 
God's wrath. The storm passes, without pausing in its course, 
over Syria, Philistia, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab, Judah, till 
at last it reaches Israel. Here it rests, gathers blackness, and 
thunders long and loud. The reign of Jeroboam II. was one of 
much outward prosperity. 2 Kings 14 : 25-28. The vices which 
Amos rebukes are those which belong to such a period — ava- 
rice, violence, oppression of the poor, perversion of justice, 
luxury, lewdness — all these joined with the idolatrous worship 
established by Jeroboam the son of ISTebat. For such multi- 
plied transgressions God will cause the sun to go down at 
noon, and darken the earth in the clear day. Their feasts shall 
be turned into mourning, their songs into lamentation, and 
they shall go into captivity beyond Damascus. But while all 
the sinners among God's people thus perish by the sword, he 
will remember his true Israel for good. He will rear up again 
the fallen tabernacle of David, bring again the captivity of his 
people of Israel, and plant them for ever in their own land in 
peace and prosperity. Thus do* the visions of Amos, like those 
of Hosea and Joel, close with a cheering view of the future 
glory of Zion. Amos is twice quoted in the Acts of the Apos- 
tles (Acts 7 : 42, 43 ; 15:16,17). 

Comp. to p,ii,ie. 1 5 



338 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

IV. OBADIAH. 

8. The short prophecy of Obadiah is directed against Edora. 
The Edomites were conspicuous for their hatred of the cove- 
nant people. See Ezek. 25 : 12 ; 35 : 5-15 ; Joel 3 : 19 ; Amos 
1 : 11, and the parallel ]3rophecy of Jer. 49 : 7-22. Accordingly 
they stand here, in respect to both their guilt and punishment, 
as the representatives of Zion's enemies in all ages. In like 
manner the promised victory of God's people over them shadows 
forth the universal triumph of the kingdom of heaven which is 
reserved for " the last days." 

Concerning the date of Obadiah's prophecy expositors are 
not agreed. The whole question turns upon the interpretation 
of verses 11-14. That these contain an historic allusion to the 
exultation of the Edomites over the capture and plunder of 
Jerusalem cannot well be doubted. If this was the final cap- 
ture of the city by the Chaldeans, then Obadiah's place will be 
after the beginning of the Babylonish captivity. But since no 
mention is made of the burning of Jerusalem, some suppose 
that the prophet refers to an earlier capture, as that by the 
Philistines and Arabians under Jehoram. 2 Chron. 21 : 16, 17. 
In favor of this view is urged the fact that Jeremiah, who was 
in the habit of using the writings of the earlier prophets, has 
much in common with Obadiah. 

That Jeremiah borrowed the language of Obadiah is far more probable 
than that both prophets availed themselves of an older document, as some 
have conjectured. Since, however, Jerusalem was taken more than once 
by the Chaldeans before its final overthrow (2 Kings chap. 24 ; Dan. 1:1), 
Obadiah may have referred to one of these earlier captures, and yet have 
written before Jeremiah i)enned his prophecy against Edom. 

V. JONAH. 

9. We learn from 2 Kings 14: 25 that Jonah, the son of 
Amittai, was of Gath-hepher, which is undoubtedly the same 
as Gittah-hepher, a town of the tribe of Zebulun in the north- 
ern part of Palestine (Josh. 19 : 13) ; and that he predicted the 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 839 

successes of Jeroboam II. According to the general analogy 
of Scripture, prophecies like this, relating to one particular 
event, are not separated by any great space of time from their 
fulfilment. He belongs, therefore, in all probability, to the 
days of Jeroboam II., when Amos also flourished. There is 
no valid reason for assigning him, as some do, to an earlier 
date. 

10. The story of the book of Jonah is too simple to need 
any analysis. His act in fleeing from God's presence, when 
commissioned to go to Mneveh with a threatening message, is 
very extraordinary; but such is the inconsistency and folly of 
human passion. The conduct of the mariners when overtaken 
by a tempest is not wonderful : it is in harmony with all that 
we know of ancient habits of thinking and acting. But what 
befell Jonah, when cast into the sea, is more than wonderful : 
it is miraculous. That there exist in the Mediterranean fish 
capable of swallowing a man entire is a well-attested fact. The 
original Hebrew mentions only "a great fish." The Alexan- 
drine version, and after that the New Testament, use the 
word ivliale apparently in the sense of any great sea monster. 
But whatever the fish may have been, his preservation alive 
in its body for the space of three days, and his subsequent 
ejection upon the dry land, can be accounted for only by refer- 
ence to the immediate power of God, with whom nothing is 
impossible. The effect of his preaching upon the Ninevites 
was remarkable ; but much more so was his grief at its success, 
whereby God was moved to spare the city. The common opin- 
ion is that he feared for his reputation as a true prophet ; but 
a deeper ground of his anger may have been that he rightly 
understood the design of his mission to the Ninevites to be that 
through repentance they might be saved from impending de- 
struction ; while he regarded them as the enemies of God's 
people, and unworthy of his mercy. However this may be, 
Jonah's mission to the Ninevites foreshadowed God's purposes 
of mercy towards the heathen world, and that too at a very 
suitable time, when the history of the covenant people, and 



340 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

tlirough tliem of God's visible earthly kingdom, was about pass- 
ing into lasting connection witli tliat of the great monarchies 
of the earth. 

11. The authorship of the book of Jonah is not expressly 
given ; but may be most naturally referred to the prophet him- 
self. The few alleged Chaldaisms found in it may be explained 
as belonging to the provincial dialect of the prophet; since we 
have but an imperfect knowledge of the variations which the 
living Hebrew language admitted in this respect. In Matt. 
12 ; 39-41 ; Luke 11 : 29-32 the Saviour refers in explicit terms 
to events recorded in this b©ok as being true history ; nor can 
the historic character of the narrative as a whole be denied 
except on the ground that all records of the supernatural -are 
unhistoric. 

VI. MICAH. 

12. Micah is called the Morasthite, probably because he 
was a native of Moresheth-gath, a small town of Judea, which, 
according to Eusebius and Jerome, lay in a southwesterl}^ 
direction from Jerusalem, not far from Eleutheropolis on the 
plain, near the border of the Philistine territory. With this 
agrees the connection in which it is named (1 : 13-15) ; for La- 
chish, Mareshah, aud Adullam also lay in that direction. He 
prophesied " in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings 
of Judah." His prophetic activity began, therefore, soon after 
that of Isaiah, and he was contemporary with him, as well as 
with Hosea and Amos. His prophecies related to Samaria, the 
capital city of the kingdom of Israel, and to Jerusalem (1 : 1). 
We find accordingly denunciations against Samaria intermin- 
gled with his prophecies concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 
The people, moreover, are spoken of under the name of Jacob 
and Israel where, sometimes at least, as in chap. 3 : 9, Judah 
must be included. It is generally thought that the book of 
Micah contains only a summary of his prophecies, prepared 
perhaps in the days of Hezekiah. But this is not certain; for 
the reference in Jeremiah 26 : 18 obviously relates only to the 
particular prophecy quoted there. 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 341 

13. The book is commonly distributed into tliree sections : 
chaps. 1 and 2 ; chaps. 3, 4, and 5 ; and chaps. 6 and 7. Each 
of these opens with a summons to hear God's message, and 
then proceeds with expostulations and threatenings, which are 
succeeded by glorious promises. The second of these sections, 
which is the largest and contains the most extended promises, 
is addressed more particularly to the rulers of the people. The 
style of Micah is bold, vehement, and abrupt. His sudden 
transitions sometimes make his writings difficult of interpreta- 
tion. He abounds in striking images, taken to a great extent, 
like those of Amos, from pastoral and rural life. Micah has 
one. remarkable prophecy common to him with Isaiah. Chap. 
4 : 1-3 compared with Isaiah 2 : 2-4. From the connection of 
the context the passage in Micah is generally thought to be 
the original. Besides this there is a general agreement be- 
tween the two prophets in their representations ; and especially 
in the manner in which they perpetually mingle stern rebukes 
and threatenings with glorious promises relating to the Messiah 
and his kingdom. The remarkable prophecy concerning the 
Messiah's birth (chap. 5:2) is quoted with some variations in 
Matt. 2:5, 6, and referred to in John 7 : 42. The Saviour's 
words, as recorded in Matt. 10 : 35, 36 ; Mark 13 : 12 ; Luke 
12 : 53 contain an obvious reference to Micah 7 : 6. 

YII. NAHUM. 

14. Nahum is called "the Elkoshite," probably from Elkosh, 
a village of Galilee, which Jerome (Introduction to Nahum) 
mentions as pointed out to him by his guide. The tradition 
which assigns for the place of his birth and residence the mod- 
ern Alkush, an Assyrian village on the east side of the Tigris, 
a few miles above the site of the ancient Nineveh, rests on no 
good foundation. The prophecy of Nahum is directed against 
Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire. AYhen the prophet 
wrote, this city was still in the height of its power (chap. 1 :12; 
2:8); oppressing the nations and purposing the conquest of 
Judah (chap. 1 : 9, 11 ; 3 : 1, 4). From chap. 1 : 12, 13 it appears 



342 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE.- 

that tlie Assyrians had ah'eacly afflicted Judah, and laid their 
3^oke upon her. All these particulars point to the reign of 
Hezeldah as the probable date of the book. 

15. The first chapter opens with a description of God's aw- 
ful majesty and power, which nothing created can withstand. 
These attributes shall be directed to the utter and perpetual 
overthrow of Nineveh and the salvation of God's afflicted peo- 
ple. The second chapter begins a sublime description of the 
process of this destruction by the invasion of foreign armies. 
The third continues the account of the desolation of Nineveh 
by her foes. For her innumerable sins she shall be brought to 
shame before the nations of the earth, and made like populous 
No, that is, No-amon, the celebrated metropolis of upper Egypt, 
also called Thebes, whose children were dashed in pieces and 
her great men laid in chains. The present condition of Nineveh, 
a mass of uninhabitable ruins, is a solemn comment upon the, 
closing words of the prophecy; ''There is no healing of thy 
bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the report of thee^ 
shall clap their hands over thee : for upon whom hath not thy 
wickedness passed continually ?" 

VIII. HABAKKUK. 

16. Respecting Habakkuk's personal history we have no 
information. The apocryphal notices of him are unworthy of 
credence. From the fifth and sixth verses of the first chapter 
it is evident that he prophesied not long before that series of 
invasions by the Chaldeans which ended in the destruction of 
Jerusalem and the captivity of the people ; that is, somewhere 
between 640 and 610 years before Christ, so that he was con- 
temj)orary with Jeremiah and Zephaniah. The theme of his 
prophecy is, first, the overthrow of Judea by the Chaldeans, 
and then the overthrow in turn of the Chaldean monarchy, each 
power in turn for its sins. In the first chapter he predicts in 
a dramatic form — that of expostulation with God on the part 
of the prophet, and God's answer — the apj)roaching desolation 
of the land by the Chaldean armies, whose resistless power he 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 343 

describes in bold and striking imagery. In the second cnapter 
the prophet appears standing on his watch to see what answer 
Jehovah will give to the expostulation with which the prece- 
ding chapter closes. He receives a comforting message, but 
one that will try the faith of God's people by its delay. Yerse 3. 
It is an announcement of the overthrow of the Chaldean op- 
pressor, carried out in a series of bold and vivid descriptions 
in which woe upon woe is pronounced against him for his 
rapine, covetousness, iniquitous oppression, and idolatry. The 
third chapter is a lyric ode in which the prophet, in view of 
both the judgments that God is about to execute on his coun- 
trymen through the Chaldeans (chap. 1), and the promised de- 
liverance from them at a future period (chap. 2), supplicates 
and celebrates the future interposition of Jehovah for the re- 
demption of his people in language borrowed from their past 
history. Thus this sublime song is both a prayer for the 
renewal of God's wondrous works in the days of old and a 
prophecy of such a renewal. The apostle Paul quotes the 
words of Habakkuk: "The just shall live by his faith" (2:4), 
and applies them to all believers (Rom. 1 : 17). 

The language of chap. 1 : 5 implies that the desolation of the land by 
the Chaldeans would be a surprising event, which could not have been the 
case after the victory of Nebuchadnezzar over the Egyptians and his cap- 
ture of Jerusalem in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, b. c. 606. It was also 
to be in the day of that generation — "in your days." Consequently we 
cannot date the prophecy earlier than b. c. 640, probably not before b. c. 
630. 

The dedication of Habakkuk's ode (3 : 19) 'Ho the chief musician " — 
the Hebrew word is the same that so often occurs in the titles of the 
Psalms — implies that this ode was to be used in the solemn worship of 
God. The added words, *'on my stringed instruments," are most natu- 
rally understood of those under his charge as a leader in the service of 
song in the sanctuary. Hence we infer with probabiUty that Habakkuk 
was a Levite. 

IX. ZEPHANIAH. 

17. Zephaniah prophesied in the reign of Josiali (1 : 1), 
(ipparently while his work of reformation was in progress and 



:>44 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

not yet completed (1 : 4-6, 8, 9) ; that is, somewhere between 
his twelfth and his eighteenth year (2 Chron. 34 : 3-13). 

In the first chapter he predicts the utter desolation of Judah, 
and with it the destruction of all the patrons of idolatry and 
the rich and presumptuous sinners in Jerusalem. In the sec- 
ond chapter he exhorts the covenant people to repentance in 
view of the judgments that are coming upon them (verses 1-3), 
threatens the surrounding nations — Philistia, Moab, and Am- 
nion — with desolation (verses 4-11), and denounces the judg- 
ments of God upon the Ethiopians and Assyrians (verses 
12-15). In the third chapter, after a severe rebuke of Jeru- 
salem for her incorrigible rebellion against God (verses 1-7), 
he foretells in glowing language the future purification and 
enlargement of Zion, and the destruction of all her enemies 
(verses 8-20). The style of Zephaniah is clear and flowing, 
having a general resemblance to that of Jeremiah. He has 
frequent allusions to the earlier prophets. Chap. 1 : 7 compared 
with Isa. 34:6; chap. 2:13-15 compared with Isa. 13:21, 22; 
34:13-15; chap. 1:14, 15 with Joel 2:1, 2; chap. 1:13 with 
Amos 5 : 11, etc. 

The genealogy of Zeplianiah is given through Cushi, Gedaliah, and 
Amariah to Hezekiah ; for in the original Hebrew the words Hizkiah and 
Hezekiah are the same. As it is not usual that the descent of prophets 
should be given with such particularity, it has been assumed, with some 
probability, that this Hezekiah was the king of that name ; though in this 
case we should have expected the addition " king of Judah." The " che- 
marim," verse 4, are the idol-priests ; that is, priests devoted to idol wor- 
ship. In 2 Kings 33 : 5, where the writer is speaking of the reformation 
under Josiah, the word is translated *' idolatrous priests ;" in Hosea 10': 5 
simply "priests," which is its meaning in the Syriac language. Some 
have maintained that the invasion of Judah to which Zephaniah refers was 
that of the Scythians described by Herodotus, 1. 105 ; but this is very 
improbable. From the fact that "the king's children" are included in 
the threatened visitation — in the Hebrew, "I will visit upon the princes 
and the king's children" (1 :8) — some have inferred that they must have 
been already grown and addicted to idolatrous practices; consequently 
that Zephaniah wrote later than the eighteenth year of Josiah. But, as 
Keil and others have remarked, the mention of the king's children may 
have been added simply to indicate the universality of the aj^proaching 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 345 

visitation ; not to say that the prophetic vision of Zephaniah may have 
anticipated the sin and punishment of these king's children — Jehoahaz 
and Jehoiakim. 

X. HAGGAI. 

18. Haggai is the first of the three prophets after the cap- 
tivity, who are commonly called Prophets of the Restoration. 
His four short messages to the people were all delivered in the 
space of three months, and they all had reference to the re- 
building of the temple. By the slanderous representations of 
the Jews' enemies this work had been interrupted, as we learn 
from the fourth chapter of Ezra. Meanwhile the Jews, having 
yielded to the spirit of unbelief, had lost their zeal for God's 
cause and grown cold and indifferent. For this the pro23hets 
Haggai and Zechariah were sent to reprove them, while at the 
same time they encouraged them to resume the work, a mis- 
sion which they successfully accomplished. Ezra 5 : 1, 2. 

19. The first message is dated " in the second year of Da- 
rius the king" — Darius Hystaspes, who ascended the throne of 
Persia B. c. 521 — " in the sixth month, in the first day of the 
month." Chap. 1:1. In this message the prophet sharj^ly re- 
proves the people for their indifference to the cause of God's 
house and their selfish devotion to their own private interests, 
which have brought upon them the divine rebuke. Chap. 
1 : 2-11. The effect of his words in exciting both rulers and 
people to renew the work upon the temple is added. Chap. 
1 : 12-15. The second message " in the one and twentieth day" 
of the same month is throughout of an encouraging character. 
The elders who had seen the first house in its glory, were de- 
spondent in view of the comparative meanness of the new edi- 
fice. Jehovah promises them that " the Desire of all nations " 
shall come, that he will fill this house with glory, so that " the 
glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former " 
(2 : 1-9). This promise was fulfilled in a m'aterial way in the 
second temple as renewed by Herod the Great. But the real 
reference is to its spiritual glory. It was honored by the pres- 
ence of the Son of God, who is the brightness of the Father's 

15* 



346 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

glory. In the third message, "in the four and twentieth day 
of the ninth month," the prophet in a sort of parable, rebukes 
the people for their heartless formality, which, like the touch 
of a dead body, defiles all their offerings and services, }■ et prom- 
ises them God's blessing upon their repentance. Chap. 2 : 10-19. 
The last message, which was delivered on the same day, is 
wholly occupied with the future. Amid commotions and over- 
turnings God will destroy the power of the heathen nations, 
and make Zerubbabel as a signet. 

The reference is to a seal-ring, and tlie promise is that God wiU pre- 
serve Zerubbabel from all the assaults of the wicked. Zerubbabel was one 
of the Messiah's ancestors (Matt. 1 : 12 ; Luke 3 : 27), and since the projih- 
ecy reached far beyond his day, the promise made to him extends to all 
faithful rulers whom God sets over his church but can have its perfect ful- 
filment only in the Messiah himself, of whom Zerubbabel was a type. 

XI. ZECHAEIAH. 

20. Zechariah, the second and greatest prophet of the Res- 
toration, calls himself the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo 
(1 : 1). But in Ezra the name of the father is omitted, perhaps 
as being less known, and he is called simply the son of Iddo 
(chaps. 5:1; 6 : 14), the word son being used in the general 
sense of descendant. There is no reason to doubt the identity 
of this Iddo with the priest of that name who went up from 
Babylon with Zerubbabel and Jeshua (Neh. 12 : "4) ; so that 
Zechariah, like Jeremiah and Ezekiel, was of priestly descent. 
He began to prophesy two months after Haggai (chap. 1 : 1 
compared with Hag. 1:1), and the two prophets were contem- 
porary, at least for a short time. 

21. The book of Zechariah may be naturally divided, ac- 
cording to its contents, into three parts. The first six chapters 
constitute the first of these parts. After a short introductory 
message (1 : 1-6) there follows a very remarkable series of vis- 
ions relating to the reestablishment of the Jews in their own 
land, and the future dispensations of God towards them ; the 
whole being closed by a symbolic prophecy of Christ as both 
priest and king upon the throne of David. To the second part 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 347 

belong tlie prophecies contained in the seventh and eighth 
chapters. The occasion of the first of these was a question 
proposed to the prophet concerning the observance of a certain 
fast. He first rebukes the people for their formality, and then 
proceeds to encourage them in the way of duty, adding glori- 
ous promises respecting the future prosperity of Judah and 
Jerusalem. The remaining six chapters, constituting the tldrd 
part, appear to have been written at a later time. They all 
relate to the future destinies of the covenant people, and, 
through them, of the visible kingdom of God on earth. But 
the first three of these chapters are mainly occupied with the 
nearer future, yet with glimpses at the final consummation in 
the latter days. They are generally understood to predict the 
conquests of Alexander the Great (9 : 1-8), the conflict of the 
Jews with their enemies in the Maccabean age (9 : 13-16), the 
advent of Christ (9 : 9), the corrupt and rapacious character of 
the Jewish rulers at that era, their rejection of Christ, and the 
consequent rejection of the nation by God (chap. 11). They 
also contain a prediction of the final reunion and restoration 
of "the house of Judah" and "the house of Joseph" (ch. 10). 
The remaining three chapters are occupied with the great and 
decisive conflict of the last days, which is to usher in the era 
of millennial glory. 

22. The prophecies of Zechariah, containing as they do a 
portraiture of ^he destiny of God's people to the end of time, 
and comprehending so many mighty events which yet await 
their fulfilment, present to the interpreter many difficulties, 
some of which have hitherto been found insoluble, and will 
probably remain unsolved till the mystery of God contained in 
them shall have been fulfilled. One thing, however, they 
clearly reveal to us : that the future triumph of God's kingdom 
is certain, and that all the great movements in the history of 
the nations, however unpropitious they may seem at the time, 
are parts of the mighty plan of divine providence which shall 
end in making the kingdoms of this world the kingdoms of our 
Lord and of his Christ. , 



348 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

In Matt. 27 : 9, 10, there is a quotation for substance of the words of 
Zechariah 11 : 13, but they are ascribed to "Jeremy the prophet." Of 
this discrepancy various explanations have been proposed. Some have 
suspected an early error in the manuscript of Matthew's gospel ; but of 
this there is no satisfactory proof. Others have thought that the part ol 
our present book of Zechariah which contains the prophecy in question 
actually belongs to Jeremiah ; but upon this hypothesis it remains a mys- 
tery how it should have been attached to the writings of Zechariah. 

Upon the ground of diversity of style and other alleged internal marks, 
it has been maintained by some biblical scholars that the whole of the last 
part of Zechariah belongs to an earlier age ; but the validity of this con- 
clusion is denied by others. To give even a summary of the opposing 
arguments would exceed the limits of the joresent work. The internal 
proofs being very nearly balanced against each other, the fact that these 
chapters have always been connected with the writings of Zechariah ought 
to be allowed a decisive influence in favor of their genuineness. 

XII. MALACHI. 

23. In Hebrew Malaclii signifies my messenger, being the 
very word employed in chap. 3 : 1. Hence some have supposed 
that this is not the prophet's name, but a description of his 
office. Such a supposition, however, is contrary to scriptural 
usage, which in every other case prefixes to each of the pro- 
phetical books the author's proper name. Malachi has not 
given the date of his prophecies, but it can be determined with 
a good degree of certainty from their contents. The people 
had been reinstated in the land, the temple rebuilt, and its 
regular services reestablished. Yet they were in a depressed 
condition, dispirited, and disposed to complain of the severity 
of God's dealings towards them. Their ardently cherished 
expectation of seeing the Theocracy restored to its former 
glory was not realized. Instead of driving their enemies before 
them sword in hand, as in the days of Joshua, or reigning tri- 
umphantly over them in peace, as in the days of Solomon, they 
found themselves a handful of weak colonists under the domin- 
ion of foreigners, and returning to the land of their fathers 
solely by their permission. All this was extremely humiliating 
to their worldly pride, and a bitter disappointment of their 
worldly hopes. Hence they had fallen into a desponding and 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 319 

complaining state of mind. While rendering to God a service 
that was not cheerful but grudging, complaining of its weari- 
someness, withholding the tithes required by the law of Moses, 
and offering in sacrifice the lame and the blind, they yet com- 
plained that he did not notice and requite these heartless ser- 
vices, and talked as if he favored the proud and wicked. " Ye 
have said, It is vain to serve God : and what profit is it that 
we have kept his ordinance, and walked mournfully before him? 
And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wick- 
edness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even deliv- 
ered" (3 : 14, 15). To these sins they had added that of put- 
ting away their Hebrew wives, that they might marry foreign 
women (2 : 10-16). All these circumstances point to the admin- 
istration of Nehemiah, probably the latter part of it ; for after 
his visit to Babylon in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes 
(Nell. 13 : 6), he found upon his return, and has described in 
the last chapter of his book precisely the same state of affairs. 
Malachi is thus the last of all the prophets. 

24. He opens his prophecies by reminding the people of 
God's great and distinguishing love towards them and their 
fathers, which they were so slow to acknowledge. He then 
reproves them sharply for the sins above referred to, and 
forewarns them that the Lord, of whose delay they complain, 
will suddenly come to his temple to sit in judgment there — an 
advent which they will not be able to endure ; for it will con- 
sume the wicked root and branch, while it brings salvation to 
the righteous (3 : 1-5 ; 4 : 1-3). In view of the fact that the 
revelations of the Old Testament are now closing, he admon- 
ishes the people to remember the law of Moses, and closes 
with a promise of the mission of " Elijah the prophet before 
the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord" (4 : 5, 6). 
This promise, with that contained in chap. 3 : 1, is repeatedly 
referred to in the New Testament, and applied to the coming 
of John the Baptist as our Lord's forerunner. The opening 
words of the prophecy, chap. 1 : 2, are quoted by the apostle 
Paul (Eom. 9 : 13). 



350 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 



APPENDIX 



The Apocryphal Books of the Old Testament. 

1. The Greek word Apocrypha, hidden, tliat is, hidden or secret books, 
was early applied by the fathers of the Christian church to anonymous or 
spurious books that falsely laid claim to be a part of the inspired word. 
By some, as Jerome, the term was extended to all the books incorporated 
by the Alexandrine Jews, in their Greek version, into the proper canon of 
the Old Testament, a few of which books, though not inspired, are un- 
doubtedly genuine. Another designation of the books in question was 
ecclesiastical, books to be read in the churches for edification, but not as 
possessing authority in matters of faith. But at the era of the Reforma- 
tion, when these books were separated by the Protestant churches from 
the true canon, and placed by themselves between the books of the Old 
and the New Testament, Jerome's pld epithet Apocrypha, or the Apocry- 
phal hooks, was applied to the entire collection. 

How the term Apocrypha, hidden, became associated with the idea of 
spurious or anonymous is doubtful. According to Augustine, it was 
because the origin of these books was not clear to the church fathers. A 
later conjecture, expressed by the translators of the English Bible, is 
' ' because they were wont to be read not openly and in common, but as it 
were in secret and apart." Still more probable is the opinion that they 
were so called from their close relation to the secret books containing the 
mysteries — secret doctrines — of certain heretical sects. 

2. The date of several of the apocryphal books is very uncertain ; but 
none of them can well be placed as early as the beginning of the third 
century before Christ. Though some of them were originally written in 
Hebrew or Aramean, they have been preserved to us only in Greek or 
other versions. None of them were ever admitted into the Hebrew canon. 
The ground of their rejection is well stated by Josephus (Against Apion 
1. 8), namely, that from the time of Artaxerxes, Xerxes' son (Artaxerxes 
Longimanus, under whom Ezra led forth his colony, Ezra 7:1, 8), "the 
exact succession of the prophets" was wanting. The Alexandrine Jews, 
however, who were very loose in their ideas of the canon, incorporated 
them into their version of the Hebrew Scriptures. How far the mass of 
the people distinguished between their authority and that of the books 
belonging to the Hebrew canon is a question not easily determined. But 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 351 

Josephiis, as we have seen, clearly recognized their true character. Philo 
also, as those who have examined the matter inform us, though acquainted 
with these books, never cites any one of them as of divine authority. The 
judgment of these two men doubtless represents that of aU the better 
informed among the Alexandrine Jews, as it does that of the Saviour and 
his apostles, who never quote them as a part of the insiDired word. 

3. During the first three centuries of the Christian era very few of the 
church fathers had any knowledge of Hebrew. The churches received the 
Scriptures of the Old Testament through the medium of the Alexandrine 
Greek version, which contained the apocryphal books. It is not surx)rising, 
therefore, that the distinction between these and the canonical books was 
not clearly maintained, and that we find in thQ writings of the church 
fathers quotations from them even under the name of "divine scripture." 
But Jerome, who translated the Old Testament from the Hebrew, under- 
stood x^erfectly the distinction between the canonical and the apocryphal 
books. The canon which he has given agrees with that of the Palestine 
Jews. He says (Prologus Galeatus) of. the apocryphal books Wisdom, 
Ecclesiasticus, Judith, Tobit, and Maccabees, that the church reads these 
"for the edification of the people, not for authority in establishing church 
doctrines." The same distinction is made by Eufinus, the contemporary 
and antagonist of Jerome. The language of Augustine was more wavering 
and uncertain. At the Council of Hippo, a. d. 393, at which he was pres- 
ent, the "ecclesiastical books," as the apocryphal books are called, were 
included in the catalogue of sacred books ; and from that day to the time 
of the Eeformation the extent of the Old Testament canon was regarded 
as an open question. But the Romish Council of Trent included the 
apocryphal books in the canon of the Old Testament, with the exception 
of Esdras and the prayer of Manasseh, pronouncing an anathema on all 
who should hold a contrary opinion. The Protestant churches, on the 
other hand, unanimously adhered to the Hebrew canon, separating from 
this the apocryphal books as useful for reading, but of no authority in 
matters of faith. 

4. Although the Protestant churches rightly reject the apocryphal 
Dooks as not belonging to the inspired word, the knowledge of their con- 
tents is nevertheless a matter of deep interest to the biblical scholar. The 
first book of Maccabees is in the main authentic, and it covers an impor- 
'tant crisis of Jewish history. All of the apocryphal books, moreover, 
throw much light on the progress of Jewish thought, especially in the two 
directions of Grecian culture and a rigid adherence to the forms of the 
Mosaic law. Keil divides the apocryphal books into historical, didactic, and 
2'>ropTietic, but with the remark that this division cannot be rigidly carried 
but. In the follovvdng brief notice of the several books the arrangement of 
the English Bible is followed. 



352 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 



I. THE TWO BOOKS OF ESDKAS. 

5. The first two in order of the apocryphal books in the English ver- 
sion bear the title of Esdras, that is, Ezra. The Greek Bible has only the 
first, -which stands sometimes before onr canonical book of Ezra, and some- 
times after Nehemiah. In the former case it is called the first book of 
Esdras, that is, Ezra ; in the latter the third, Nehemiah being reckoned as 
the continuation of Ezra, and called the second book of Ezra. It gives the 
history of the temple and its service from Josiali to Ezra — its restoration 
by Josiah, destruction by the Chaldees, rebuilding and reestablishment 
through Zerubbabel and Ezra. Its original and central part is a legend 
from an unknown source respecting a trial of wisdom between Zerubbabel 
and two other young men, made in the presence of Darius, king of Persia, 
which resulted in Zerubbabel's favor, and so x^leased the king that he 
issued letters for the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and conferred many other 
favors on the Jews. ChajDS. 3, 4. The preceding and following parts are 
made up of extracts from 2 Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah, in which the 
compiler has made a free use of his biblical sources, at one time abridging 
the narrative, at another making e;xplanatory additions, and again trans- 
posing the order of events contrary to historical truth. Some, as Keil, 
think that the writer made use of the Alexandrine version ; others, that he 
drew from the original Hebrew. His design was to exhibit the liberality 
of Cyrus and Darius towards the Jews as a pattern for the heathen rulers 
of Judea in his own day. (Keil. ) Neither the author nor the date of the 
book is known, but it cannot be placed earlier than the second century 
before Christ. 

6. The second book of Esdras (called also the fourth, when the first is 
reckoned as the third) is extant in a Latin, an Arabic, and an Ethiopic 
version. The Greek original has not thus far been found. The Arabic 
and Ethiopic are thought to represent the primitive text more correctly 
than the Latin : as they want the two introductory and closing chapters of 
the latter, which are generally admitted to be spurious additions by a later 
hand ; and contain, on the contrary, a long passage after chap. 7 : 35, which 
is not found in the Latin, and is thought to be genuine. 

7. If we reject the first two and last two chapters of the Latin version, 
which do not belong to the original work, the remainder of the book has 
entire unity from beginning to end. It consists of a series of pretended 
visions vouchsafed to Ezra through the angel Uriel in the thirtieth year 
after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldees, wiiile he mourned over 
the desolate and distressed condition of the covenant people wdth fasting 
and prayer. Of these visions, the first six, which are preparatory to the 
last, pertain mainly to the method of God's dealing with men, the end of 
the present age, the introduction of the coming age, and the glorification 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 353 

of Zion, with tlie heavy judgments of God that shall accompany these 
events. Many of these revelations are made through the medium of sym- 
bols. In the seventh and last revelation, a voice addresses Ezra out of a 
bush, as it did Moses of old. Upon his complaining that the law has been 
burnt, he is directed to take five ready scribes, with a promise that the 
holy writings which are lost shall be restored to his jDeople. The next day 
the voice calls to him again, commanding him to open his mouth and 
drink the cup which is offered to him, "full as it were with water, but the 
color of it was like fire." Upon this he is filled with the spirit of inspira- 
tion, and dictates to his five scribes in forty days 204 books (according to 
some 94). Of these the last 70 are secret, to be delivered only "to such 
as be wise among the people." The rest are to be published openly, that 
the worthy and unworthy may read them. The historic truth underlying 
this fabulous revelation seems to be the revision of the canon of the Old 
Testament by Ezra and his associates. Chap. 15, No. 17. It is agreed 
that this book is the production of a Jew, but the date of its comx^osition 
is a disputed point. Some assign it to the first century after Christ ; 
others to the century preceding our Lord's advent, but with interpolations 
that manifestly belong to the Christian era. 

II. TOBIT. 

8. The book of Tobit contains a narrative of the piety, misfortunes, 
and final x^rosperity of Tobit, an Israelite of the tribe of Naphtali, who was 
among the captives brought to Assyria by Enemessar (Shalmaneser) king 
of Assyria. With Enemessar he was in favor, became his purveyor, and 
was able to deposit ten talents of silver with Gabael at Bages, a city of 
Media. But Sennacherib, the successor of Enemessar, persecuted him, 
especially for his x^ious care in burying the bodies of his Jewish brethren 
whom that king had slain, and he was obliged to flee with his wife Anna 
and his son Tobias, leaving all his goods as plunder to the Assyrian king. 
Under Sarchedonus (Esarhaddon) he returned again to his home, but soon 
a new misfortune overtook him. As he lay one night by the wall of his 
courtyard, being unclean from the burial of a Jew whom his son had found 
strangled in the market-jDlace, "the sparrows muted warm dung" into his 
eyes, which dex)rived him of sight. Wishing now to send his son Tobias 
for the ten talents of silver dejoosited with Gabael at Bages in Media, he 
directs him to seek a guide for the way ; when the angel Baphael offers 
himself under the name of Azarias the son of Ananias tlie gTeat, one of 
Tobit's brethren. As the angel and Tobias journey together, they come 
one evening to the river Tigris. As the young man goes down to the river 
to bathe, a fish assaults him ; but by the angel's direction he seizes him, 
drags him on shore, and takes for future use his heart, liver, and gall. On 
their way to Bages they come to Ecbatane, a city of Media, where resides 



354 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

Raguel, tlie cousin of Tobias, whose only daughter, Sara, has lost seven 
husbands on the night of their marriage, through the power of Asmodeus, 
ail evil spirit. Tobias being her nearest surviving kinsman, marries her 
according to the law of Moses. By the angel's direction, upon entering 
the marriage-chamber, he lays the heart and liver of the fish upon embers. 
The evil spirit, at the smell of the smoke, flees away into the utmost parts 
of Egypt, where the angel binds him. The angel goes to Rages and brings 
the ten talents and Gabael himself to the wedding feast ; the wedded pair 
return in safety to Tobit with the silver, and also the half of KagTiel's 
goods, which Sara receives as her wedding portion. Finally Tobias, by 
the angel's direction, anoints his father's eyes with the gall of the fish ; 
whereupon he recovers his sight, and lives in honor and prosperity to a 
good old age. Such is a brief outline of the story, which is told in an 
interesting and attractive style. How much historic truth lies at its foun- 
dation, it is impossible to determine. The introduction of the angelic 
guide may well be regarded as a mythical embellishment. 

9. The book of Tobit is extant in various texts — Greek, Latlii, Syriac, 
and Hebrew, the Hebrew forms being all translations from the Greek or 
Latin. These texts differ in minor details, but have all sprung directly 
or indirectly from one original, which was probably Hebrew or Aramaic, 
though some maintain that it w^as Greek. The book is thoroughly Jewish 
in its spirit. The date of its composition is uncertain. The common opin- 
ion of bibUcal scholars is that it was composed about 250 — 200 b. c. In its 
general scox)e the book has a resemblance to that of Job. A good man 
encounters suffering in the way of piety, but is finally delivered, lives in 
j.u'osperity, and dies in a good old age. The portraiture which it gives of 
domestic piety is very pleasing, and affords an instructive insight into the 
spirit of the age in which it was written. It gives great prominence to 
deeds of charity ; but the alms on which it insists so earnestly flow from 
inward faith and love. In this respect they are distinguished from the 
dead works of the late Scribes and Pharisees. 

III. JUDITH. 

10. This book relates the exploit of Judith, a Jewish widow distin- 
guished alike for beauty, courage, and devotion to her country. When 
Holofernes, one of Nebuchadnezzar's generals, was besieging Bethuha, a 
city of Judea, she went over to his camp with her maid in the character of 
a deserter, promised to guide him to Jerusalem, and by her flattery and 
artful representations so insinuated herself into his favor that he enter- 
tained her with high honor. At last, being left alone with him at night 
in his tent,- she beheaded him with his own falchion as he lay asleep and 
intoxicated, and going forth gave his head to her maid, who put it in her 
bag, and they two passed the guards in safety under the pretext of going 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 355 

out for prayer, as had been their nightly custom. The head of Holofernes 
was suspended from the wall of the city, and when the warriors within 
sallied forth, the besieging army fled in consternation. Judith receives as 
a reward all the stuff of Holofernes, Uves at Bethulia as a widow in high 
honor, and dies at the age of one hundred and five. 

11. The historical and geographical contradictions of this book are 
too many and grave to allow the sup^DOsition that it contains an authentic 
narrative of facts. It was manifestly written after the return of the Jews 
from the Babylonish captivity and the rebuilding of the city and temple 
(chaps. 4:3; 5 : 18, 19), when the nation was gb verned, not by a king, but 
by a high priest and Sanhedrim. Chap. 4 : 6, 8 ; 15 : 8. Yet it makes Neb- 
uchadnezzar, who reigned in Babylon long before, king in Nineveh in the 
eighth year of his reign, whereas his father had destroyed Nineveh. The 
attempts that have been made to reconcile these and other inconsistencies 
with true history are forced and unnatural. Whatever historical truth 
may lie at the basis of the story, it is so interwoven with fiction that the 
two elements cannot be separated from each other. It was probably writ- 
ten by a Palestinian Jew in Hebrew or Aramaic somewhere about the sec- 
ond century before Christ. The design of the book is to excite the peoi^le 
to faith and courage in their severe conflicts with foreign x)ersecutors ; but 
its morality is of a very questionable character. Judith, its heroine, while 
she adheres with great punctiliousness to the Mosaic ritual, does not scru- 
ple to employ hypocrisy and falsehood that she may prepare the way for 
assassination, being evidently persuaded that in the service of the covenant 
people the end sanctifies the means. 

IV. ADDITIONS TO THE BOOK OF ESTHEE. 

12. These are pi'inted by themselves in our English version, and enti- 
tled : ' ' The rest of the chapters of the Book of Esther, which are found 
neither in the Hebrew, nor in the Chaldee ;" but in the Septuagint and 
old Latin they are dis^Dersed through the canonical book so as to form with 
it a consistent whole. They profess to supply deficiencies in the canonical 
Esther — a dream of Mordecai with its interpretation ; an account of the 
conspiracy of the two eunuchs to destroy Ahasuerus ; a pretended copy of 
the king's edict for the destruction of the Jews ; the prayer of Mordecai 
and of Esther in view of this edict ; various details of Esther's visit to the 
liing ; and the pretended edict of Artaxerxes (Ahasuerus) revoking the 
former edict, and giving the Jews liberty to destroy all who should assault 
them — into which the name of God, which nowhere appears in the genu- 
ine book of Esther, is abundantly introduced. The origin of these legends 
is unknown. 



COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 



V. THE AVISDOM OF SOLOMON. 

13. The author of this book personates Solomon, and speaks in his 
name, Solomon being to the ancient Jews the representative cf all wisdom. 
Keil gives the summary of its contents in three divisions, as follows : 
(1.) "The book begins with a forcible exhortation to the rulers of the 
earth to strive after wisdom as the fountain of righteousness and the guide 
to immortality and happiness. With this it connects a warning against the 
folly of unbelieving men who rebel against the law, ©impress the righteous, 
and thus bring upon themselves just punishment, destruction, and ever- 
lasting shame. Chaps. 1-6. (2.) After the example of King Solomon, who 
is introduced as speaking, the w^ay to obtain wisdom is next pointed out, 
and she is described in her nature as the spirit that formed and sustains 
the world, and is the author of all that is good, true, and great. Chaps. 
7-9. (3.) Then follows a long historical discourse (interrupted in chaps. 
13-15 by a copious discussion concerning the origin and nature of idola- 
try), in which the blessed effects of wisdom and the fear of God, and the 
unhappy consequences that come from the folly of idolatry are illustrated 
by the opposite fortunes of the righteous and the wicked of past ages, 
especially of the people of God as contrasted with the idolatrous Canaan- 
ites and Egyptians." The different parts of the book constitute a well 
connected whole. 

14. The book was originally composed in Greek by an Alexandi-ine Jew, 
who is generally placed by biblical scholars somewhere in the second cen- 
tury before Christ. Though possessing no canonical authority, it is very 
interesting and valuable for the view which it gives of the progress of Jew- 
ish thought in both religion and philosophy. This writer is the first who 
expressly identifies the serpent that deceived Eve with the devil : " Through 
envy of the devil came death into the world." Chap. 2 :24. He teaches 
also the doctrine of the immortality of the soul and of a future judgment. 
In a passage of great beauty he personifies "Wisdom, after the example 
of the book of Proverbs, as the worker of all things, and the teacher and 
guide of men. "She is the breath of the power of God, and a pure efflux 
from the glory of the Almighty ; therefore nothing defiled can find en- 
trance into her. For she is the effulgence of the everlasting light, and the 
unsjDotted mirror of the divine might, and the image of his goodness. 
And being but one she can do all things ; and remaining in herself [un- 
changed] she makes all things new. From age to age entering into holy 
souls, she makes them friends of God and prophets." Chap. 7:25-27. 
But along with this true development of doctrine on the basis of the Old 
Testament he holds the unscriptural doctrine of the preexistence of souls 
(chap. 8 : 20), whether borrowed from the Plabonists, or taken from some 
other source. Some have thought that he also holds matter to be eternal. 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 357 

But wlien he speaks of God's almiglity hand as having "created the world 
out of formless matter" (chap. 11 : 17), he may have reference simply to 
the chaotic state described in Gen. 1 : 2. 

Jerome left the Latia translation of this book unrevised. The text, 
therefore, of our Latin Bibles is that of the "Old Latin" version, as it 
existed before his day. 

VI. ECCLESIASTICUS. 

15. The Greek title of this book is, The Wisdom of Jesus the son of 
Sirach, or more briefly : The Wisdom of Sirach. The Latin title, Ecdesi- 
asticus, that is. Ecclesiastical book, designates it as a book that was read fo 
edification in the churches, though not included in the Hebrew canon. 
We give, mainly from Keil, the summary of its contents : This copious 
book is rich in its contents, embracing the whole domain of practical wis- 
dom, and, what is inseparable from this, the fear of God. These virtues 
it describes, commends, and inculcates according to their origin and na- 
ture, their characteristics and results, and their realization in life, in a rich 
collection of ^proverbs, with rules and counsels for the regulation of life in 
all its manifold relations. The whole is after the manner of the Proverbs 
of Solomon, only with much greater x)articularity of details, extending to 
all the spheres of religious, civil, and domestic life, and giving rules of 
conduct for the regulation of the same. This collection of wise maxims, 
moral precepts, and rules of life constitutes a united whole, in which the 
particular proverbs, counsels, and warnmgs are strung together in accord- 
ance with an association of ideas that is often quite loose. Interwoven 
with these are a number of connected discussions and prayers. The author 
closes his instructions with two extended discourses, in the former of which 
he celebrates the works of God in creation (chaps. 42 : 15 — 43 : 33) ; in the 
latter, the praises of the famous men of Scripture from Enoch to Simon 
the high priest, the son of Onias (chaps. 44^50). He then adds in the 
final chapter a thanksgiving and prayer (chap. 51). This book, like that 
of Wisdom, is of great v^ahie for the insight which it gives into the theol- " 
ogy and ethics of the ^ews at the time of its composition. 

16. It is undcrub'cedly genuine, having been written in Hebrew by the 
man whose name it boars, ond translated into Greek in Egyf)t by his 
grandson, as stc^ted in the i^rologae. But the age of the translator, and 
consequently of thei p.uthor, is a matter of dispute. The last of the wor- 
thies described by him is "Simon, the son of Onias, the high priest." 
There were two high priests of this name, both sons of Onias, but the 
author's eulogy is applicable only to the former, who flourished about 
310 — 2G0 B. c. It is a natural inf'jrence that Jesus, the son of Sirach, 
wrote not many years afterwards. The translator, again, speaks of him- 
self as coming into Egypt "in tho eight and thirtieth year, when Euer- 



358 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

getes was king." Does he mean the eight and thirtieth year of his own 
Hie, or of Euergetes' reign? If the latter, then of the two kings that 
bore the surname Euergetes the latter only (b. c. 170—117) can be under- 
stood, since the former reigned only twenty-five years. If the former, as 
is most probable, then we naturally understand Euergetes I., who reigned 
B. c. 217—222, during which i)eriod the translation must have been exe- 
cuted. 

The Greek text, as exhibited in manuscripts, is in a very corrupt and 
confused state, with maiiy variations and transpositions. The Latin text 
is that of the "Old Latin," which Jerome left, as he did that of the book 
of Wisdom, without revision. 

VII. BAEUCH AND THE EPISTLE OF JEREMIAH. 

17. This is the only apocryphal book which assumes the cha.racter of 
proi^hecy. It is formed after the model of Jeremiah, and ascribed to 
Baruch his friend. But its spuriousness is generally admitted. Besides 
historical inaccuracies, such as are not conceivable in the case of Baruch, 
the fact that its author employed the Septuagint translation of Jeremiah 
and Daniel mark it as of a later date. Keil assigns it to about the middle 
of the second century b. c. The book professes to be a letter written by 
Baruch in the name of the captive Jews in Babylon to their brethren at 
Jerusalem, and consists of two well-marked divisions, the first of which, 
extending to chap. 3 : 8, is, in the opinion of some, a translation from an 
original Hebrew document. This part contains, after an introductory 
notice, a confession of sin with prayer for deliverance. The second part 
begins with an address to the covenant people, in which they are rebuked 
for neglecting the teachings of divine wisdom, and encouraged with the 
hope of returning i^rosperity when they shall obey her voice. Chaps. 
3 : 9—4 : 8. Zion is then introduced lamenting over the desolations which 
God has brought upon her and her children (chap. 4 : 9 — 4 : 29), and after- 
wards comforting them with the hope of certain deliverance and enlarge- 
ment (cliaiDs. 1 : 30 — 5 : 9). It is generally agTeed that the second part was 
originally written in Greek, and some think that the same is true of the 
first part also. , 

18. There is another Epistle of Baruch iDreserved to us in the Syriac, 
which is inserted in the London and Paris Polyglotts. It is addressed to 
the nine and a half tribes, and "made up of commonplaces of warning, 
encouragement, and exhortation." Smith's Bib. Diet., Art. Baruch. 

19. There is a spurious Epistle of Jeremiah which appears in the Vul- 
gate and our English version as the sixth chapter of Baruch. It is enti- 
tled : "Copy of an epistle which Jeremiah sent to those who were to be led 
captives into Babylon by the king of the Babylonians to make announce- 
ment to them, as it was commanded him by God." It purports to be a 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 359 

warning to these captives against the idolatrous jDracticee which they shall 
witness in Babylon, and is made up of a long discourse on the impotence 
of the idols which the heathen worship, written in a rhetorical style, in 
imitation of Jer. 10 : 1-16. Its author is supposed to have been a Hellen- 
istic Jew who lived towards the end of the Maccabean period. 

VIII. ADDITIONS TO THE BOOK OF DANIEL. 

20. The Greek version of the book of Daniel, besides many departures 
from the Hebrew and Chaldee original, contains three large additions. 
The first of these is : The Prayer of Azarias, and the Song of the Three 
CJiildren in the Fiery Fu?mace, which is appended to the third chapter. 
The second is : The Histo?y of Susanna, who is exhibited as a pattern of 
chastity, and Avas delivered from the machinations of her enemies through 
the wisdom of Daniel. This is placed sometimes before the first chapter 
of Daniel, and sometimes after chapter 12. The third addition is : The 
St07'y of Bel a7id the Dragon, which stands at the end of the book, and is 
falsely ascribed in the Septuagint to the prophet Kabakkuk. Its design 
is to show the folly of idolatry. According to Keil, these three pieces 
were composed in Egypt towards the end of the third, or the beginning of 
the second century before Christ. 

IX. THE PEAYER OF MANASSES. 

21. A genuine prayer of Manasseh, king of Judah, existed at the time 
when the books of Chronicles were composed. 2 Chron, 33 : 18, 19. But 
the existing prayer of the Apocrypha, though uj^on the whole beautiful and 
appropriate, cannot claim to be a true representative of that prayer. 
"The author," says Keil, "was a pious Jew who lived at all events before 
Christ, though his age cannot be more accurately determined." 

X. THE BOOKS OF THE MACCABEES. 

22. These are five in number. The first two passed from the Greek 
into the early Latin versions, and thence into the Vulgate and the English 
versions, and were received as canonical by the Council of Trent. Two 
others are found in some manuscripts of the Septuagint. The fifth exists 
only in Arabic. ' ' If the historic order were observed, the so-called third 
book would come first, the fourth would be an appendix to the second, 
which would retain its place, and the first Avould come last ; but it will be 
more convenient to examine the books in the order in which they are 
found in the MSS. ,' which was probably decided by some vague tradition 
of their relative antiquity." Smith's Bible Diet., Art. Maccabees. The 
name Maccabees is applied to the family and posterity of the illustrioua 
JeA\-ish priest Mattathias, who maintained a long an 1 successful struggle 



3j0 companion to the bible. 

with tlie Syrian kings, and finally succeeded in establishing for a period 
the independence of the Jews. The origin of the term has been variously 
explained ; but the most common account of it is, that it comes from a 
Hebrew word signifying hammer, so that the adjective Maccahee (Greek 
MaKKa(3a2og) wiU denote Hammerer. According to Josephus (Antiq. 12, 
6. 1) Mattathias was descended from one Asmonaeus : Hence the family of 
the Maccabees are also called Asmonaeans. 

23. The first book of the Maccabees. This is one of the most important 
of all the apocryphal books. It contains a narrative of the long and 
bloody struggle of the Jews, under their Maccabean leaders, for the pres- 
ervation of their religion, and the deliverance of the nation from the yoke 
of their Syrian oppressors. The history bears the internal marks of authen- 
ticity and credibility, being distinguished by simplicity and candor. It is 
only when speaking of foreign nations that the writer falls into some inac- 
curacies. These do not detract from his trustworthiness in relating the 
affairs of his own nation through a period of forty years of the most event- 
ful character (b. c. 175 — 135). The book is pervaded throughout by the 
Jewish spirit, and must have been written by a Palestinian Jew. Its date 
is uncertain, but may probably be placed somewhere during the govern- 
ment of the high priest John Hyrcanus (b. c. 135 — 106). According to the 
testimony of Origen, the book was originally written in Hebrew. With 
this agrees its internal character ; for the Greek version of it contains 
many Hebraisms, as well as difficulties which are readily accounted for 
upon the supposition of a Hebrew original. 

24. The second booh of Maccabees. This book opens with two letters 
purportiug to have been written by the Jews of Palestine to their brethren 
in Egypt, in Avhicli the former invite the latter to join with them in the 
celebration of "the feast of tabernacles in the month Casleu," that is, the 
feast of dedication established to commemorate the purification of the 
temple after its pollution by Antiochus Epiphanes. To the latter of these 
is appended an epitome of the five books of Jason of Cyrene, containing 
the history of the Maccabean struggle, beginning with Heliodorus' attempt 
to plunder the temple, about b. c. 180, and ending with the victory of 
Judas Maccabeus over Nicanor, b. c. 161. Both of the letters are regarded 
as spurious. The second of them abounds in marvellous legends — how, 
upon the destruction of the first temple, the sacred fire of the altar was hid 
in a hollow pit without water ; how, at the close of the captivity, it was 
found in the form of thick water, which being by the command of Nehe- 
miali sprinkled on the wood of the altar and the sacrifices, there was kin- 
dled, when the sun shone upon it, a gi-eat fire, so that all men marvelled; 
how Jeremiah, at God's command, carried the tabernacle, the ark, and the 
altar of incense to the mountain "which Moses ascended and saw the her- 
itage of God." that is. mount Nebo (Deut. 34 :1), and hid them there in a 



THE OLD TESTAMENT. 361 

hollow cave, where they are to remain until the time that God shall gather 
his people together again, and be gracious to them. 

The epitome of Jason's history begins some five years earlier than the 
history contained in the first book, and covers a period of about nineteen 
years ; so that it is partly anterior to that history, partly supplementary, 
and partly parallel. Alexander's Kitto, Art. Maccabees. The two books 
are entirely independent in their sources of information ; and although the 
second cannot lay claim to the same degree of trustworthiness as the first, 
yet the general judgment of bibhcal scholars is that it is, in its main facts, 
authentic. But these are set forth with embellishments and exaggerations, 
in which the author manifests his love for the marvellous. Where the his- 
tory of the two books is parallel, it agrees in its general outlines, but the 
details are almost always dificrent, and sometimes they present irreconcila- 
ble discrepancies. In its religious aspect this book is very interesting. In 
the account of the martyrdom of a mother and her seven sons for their 
refusal to eat swine's flesh (chap. 7) the doctrine of the resurrection is 
plainly announced : "It is a thing to be desired," says the fourth son to 
the king Antiochus, "that one being put to death by men should wait for 
the hope of God that he shall be again raised up by him ; but for thee 
there is no resurrection unto life" (v. 14). Where Jason composed his 
work cannot be determined. He cannot have lived long after the events 
which he describes, else he would have taken notice of the important 
events that followed. The author of the epitome contained in this book is 
beheved to have been a Hellenistic Jew living in Palestine, who probably 
wrote in the first century before Christ. 

25. The tliird booh of Maccabees. This book does not belong to the 
Maccabean age, but to the earlier time of Ptolemy Philopator (b. c. 
221 — 201). Its title seems to have come simply from the similarity of its 
contents. It relates in a pompous and oratorical style how Ptolemy Philo- 
pator, being enraged at his failure to enter the sanctuary at Jerusalem, 
determined to wreak his vengeance on the Jews in Egypt, and assembled 
them for this purpose in the circus, that they might be trampled under 
foot by drunken elephants, but was hindered by the miraculous interposi- 
tion of God ; whereupon the king liberated the Jews, prepared for them a 
sumptuous feast, and gave them permission to take vengeance on their 
apostate countrymen. The narrative probably has a groundwork of truth 
with legendary embellishments, after the manner of the later Jews. Its 
author is believed to have been an Alexandrine Jew, but his age cannot be 
determined. It wes never admitted into the Romish canon. 

26. The fourth book of Maccabees opens with a philosophical discussion 
respecting the supremacy of devout reason over the passions, which is then 
illustrated by the history of the martyrdom of Eleazar and the mother with 
her seven sons, an account of which we have in 2 Mace, chaps. 6 and 7. 

Com p. to Bible. 16 



362 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

The autlior of this book was a Jew imbued with the spirit of the stoical 
philosophy. It has been falsely ascribed to Josephus. 

27. The fftJi hook of Maccahees exists only in Arabic. "We draw our 
notice of it from Alexander's Kitto, according to which *'it contains the 
history of the Jews from Heliodorus' attempt to plunder the treasury at 
Jerusalem till the time when Herod revelled in the noblest blood of tlie 
Jews;" that is, from 184 — 86 b. c, thus embracing a period of 98 years. 
The book is "a compilation made in Hebrew, by a Jew who lived after the 
destruction of Jerusalem, from ancient Hebrew memoirs or chronicles, 
which were written shortly after the events transpired. In the absence of 
the original Hebrew, the Arabic versions of it, printed in the Paris and 
London Polyglotts, give the text upon which we must rely. 



PART 111. 



INTRODUCTION 



TO 



The New Testament. 



INTRODUCTION 



TO 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

FIRST DIVISION, GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

Language of the New Testament. 

1. In the character of the original languages of the Bible, as in 
every thing else pertaining to the plan of redemption, God's 
hand is to be reverently acknowledged. It was not by chance, 
but through the provident care of Him who sees the end from 
tlie beginning, that the writers of the Old Testament found the 
Hebrew, and those of the New Testament the Greek language 
ready at hand, each of them so singularly adapted to the high 
office assigned to it. The statelj^ majesty, the noble simplicit}^, 
and the graphic vividness of the Hebrew fitted it admirably for 
the historical portions of the Old Testament, in which, under 
the illumination of the Holy Spirit, the direct intuition of God's 
purposes and of the deep springs of human action superseded 
the necessity of philosophical argument and deduction. The 
historians of the Old Testament did not pause to argue con- 
cerning their statements of men's motives and God's designs. 
They saw both with wonderful clearness of vision ; and they 
found in the simphcity and directness of the Hebrew syntax, 



o33 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

so far removed from all that is involved and complex, a suita- 
ble vehicle for their simple and direct statements of truth. 
How congenial the Hebrew language is to j^oetic composition, 
as well in its rugged and sublime forms as in its tender and 
pathetic strains, every reader of the Old Testament in the origi- 
nal understands. The soul is not more at home in the body 
than is sacred poetry in the language of the covenant people. 
As the living spirit of the cherubim animated and directed the 
wheels of the chariot in Ezekiel's vision, so does the spirit of 
inspired poesy animate and direct the words and sentences of 
the Hebrew language : "When the cherubim went, the wheels 
went by them ; and when the cherubim lifted up their wings to 
mount up from the earth, the same wheels also turned not from 
beside them. When they stood, these stood; and when they 
were lifted up, these lifted up themselves also : for the spirit of 
the living creatures was in them." Ezek. 10 : 16, 17. The same, 
characteristics fitted the Hebrew language most perfectly for 
propJietic vision, in which the poetic element so largely prevails. 
2. Turning now from the Hebrew of the Old Testament to 
the Greek of the New, we have a language very different in its 
structure; elaborate in its inflections and syntax, delicate and 
subtle in its distinctions, rich in its vocabulary, highly cultiva- 
ted in every department of writing, and flexible in an eminent 
degree ; being thus equally adapted to every variety of style — 
plain unadorned narrative, impassioned oratory, poetry of 
every form, philosophical discussion, and severe logical reason- 
ing : in a word, a language every way fitted to the wants of the 
gospel, which is given not for the infancy of the world but for 
its mature age, and which deals not so much with the details of 
particulars as with great principles, which require for their full 
comprehension the capacity of abstraction and generalization. 
In the historical records of the Old Testament, and in its poetic 
and prophetic parts, the Hebrew language was altogether at 
home. But for such compositions as the epistle to the Komans 
the Greek offered a more perfect medium ; and here, as every- 
where else, God's providence took care that the founders of the 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 367 

Ghristian cliurcli should be furnislied in the most complete 
manner. 

3. We find, accordingly, that centuries before our Lord's 
advent, preparation began to be made in the providence of God 
for this change in the language of the inspired writings. One 
result of the Babylonish captivity was that Hebrew ceased to 

•be the vernacular of the masses of the people, and a form of 
Aramaean took its place. Chap. 14, No. 4. After the return 
of the Jews from this same captivity and their reestablishment 
in their own land, the spirit of prophecy was also withdrawn, 
aud the canon of the Old Testament brought to a close. Thus 
the cessation of Hebrew as the spoken language of the people, 
and the withdrawal of the spirit of prophecy were contempo- 
raneous events. The canon was locked up in the sacred lan- 
guage, and the interpreter took the place of ih.Q prophet. "The 
providential change of language suggested a general limit 
within which the voice of inspiration might be heard, as the 
fearful chastisements of the captivity turned men's minds to 
the old Scriptures with a devotion unknown before." West- 
cott's Introduc. to the Study of the Gospels, chap. 1. 

4. But the conquests of Alexander the Great (b. c. 334-323) 
brought the Greek language and the Greek civilization into 
Asia and Egypt, as a sure leaven destined to leaven the whole 
mass. To this influence the Jews could not remain insensible. 
It reached even Palestine, wdiere they naturally clung most 
tenaciously to the Aramaean language and to the customs of 
their fathers. But out of Palestine, where the Jews were dis- 
persed in immense numbers, it operated more immediately; 
especially in Egypt, whose metropolis Alexandria was, after 
the age of Alexander its founder, one of the chief seats of Gre- 
cian learning. To the Jews of Alexandria the Greek language 
was vernacular. By them was executed, as w^e have seen, 
under the patronage of the Egyptian king, the first version ever 
made of the Hebrew Scriptures, namely, that called the Septu- 
agint (Chap. 16, Nos. 1-7), wdiich was begun, if not completed, 
in the latter part of the third century before Christ. Though 



368 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

this version encountered bitter opposition on the part of tliei 
unbelieving Jews after the establishment of the Christian 
church, in consequence of the effective use made of it against 
them by Christian writers, it was received from its first appear- 
ance and onward with general favor. The Hellenistic Jews — 
those using the Greek language and conforming themselves to 
Grecian civilization — made constant use of it, and the knowl-* 
edge of it was very widely diffused beyond the boundaries of 
Egypt. In our Saviour's day it was in very general use, as the 
abundant quotations from it in the New Testament show ; and 
it must have contributed largely to the spread of the knowl- 
edge of the Greek language among the Jewish people in and 
out of Palestine. Though the Roman empire succeeded to 
that of the Greeks, the Koman could not supplant the more 
polished Greek tongue, with its immense and varied literature. 
On the contrary, the Greek language penetrated into Italy, and 
especially into Eome, the metropolis of the civilized w^orld, 
where, in our Saviour's day, Greek literature was in high 
repute, and the Greek language was very generally understood. 
Thus, in the good providence of God, the writers of the New 
Testament, also, found ready at hand a language singularly 
adapted to their service. 

Biblical scholars have noticed the significant fact that of the long list 
of names in the sixteenth chapter of Komans, the greater number belongs 
to the Greek language, not to the Latin. "The flexibility of the Greek 
language gained for it in ancient time a general currency similar to that 
which French enjoys in modern Europe ; but with this important differ- 
ence, that Greek was not only the language of educated men, but also the 
language of the masses in the great centres of commerce." Westcott in 
Smith's Bible Diet., Art. Hellenist. 

5. Respecting the character of the New Testament Greek 
there was in former times much controversy, often accompa- 
nied wdth unnecessary heat and bitterness. One class of wri- 
ters seemed to think that the honor of the New Testament was 
involved iii their ability to show the classic purity and elegance 
of its style; as if, forsooth, the Spirit of inspiration could only 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 369 

address men through the medium of language conformed to the 
classic standard of propriety. Another class went to the oppo- 
site extreme, speaking in exaggerated terms of the Hebraisms 
and solecisms of the New Testament writers. The truth lies 
between these extremes. The style of the New Testament is 
neither classical nor barbarous. Its characteristics are strictly 
conformable to the history of its origin. (1.) Its basis is not 
the Greek of Plato and Xenophon, but the so-called Hellenic 
or common dialect which arose in the age of Alexander the 
Great, when "the previously distinct dialects', spoken by the 
various sections of the Hellenic nation, were blended into a 
popular spoken language." Winer, Gram, of the New Test., 
sec. 2. The Alexandrine Jews doubtless learned it not so much 
from books as from the daily intercourse of life, and it proba- 
bly had its provincial peculiarities in Alexandria and the adja- 
cent region. (2.) In Jewish usage this common Greek dialect 
received an Hebraic coloring from the constant use of the Sep- 
tuagint version, which is a literal rendering of the Hebrew 
Scriptures into Greek, of course with the retention of many 
Hebrew idioms. Only such thorough Greek scholars as Jose- 
phus and Philo could rise above this influence. The New Tes- 
tament writers manifest its power in different degrees; for, as 
it respects Hebraisms, they do not by any means stand on a 
common level. (3.) As the Aramaic — the so-called Syro-Chal- 
daic — was the language of the mass of the people^ the style of 
the New Testament writers received a tinge from this also. 
(4.) More than all, the style of the New Testament receives a 
peculiar impress from the fact that the authors were Jews wri- 
ting under the full influence of a Jewish education and a Jew- 
ish faith, with the superadded element of Christianit3^ It is 
the phenomenon of the spirit and thoughts of Jewish Chris- 
tians embodied in the language of Greece; and this at once 
separates the writings of the New Testament by a wide inter- 
val from all purely classic compositions. The apostolic writers 
imposed on the Greek language an arduous task, that of ex- 
pressing ideas foreign to the conceptions of the most cultivated 

16' 



370 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

among the pagan authors; ideas partly common to the old 
Jewish and the Christian religions, partly peculiar to Christi- 
anity. This could only be done by giving to existing terms a 
new and higher meaning, whereby they assumed a technical 
character wholly unknown to the classic writers. 

" Compare pai-ticularly the words : works [to work, Bom. 4 : A), faith, to 
believe in Christ, or to believe absolutely, confession, rigJiteousness, to be jus- 
tified, to be chosen, the called, the chosen, the saints (for Christians), edification 
and to edify in a figurative sense, apostle, to publish the good tidings and to 
publish absolutely fbr Christian preaching, the adoption of bapiisma, bap- 
tism, for Christian baptism, perhaps to break bread for the holy repast (the 
Agape with the communion), the world, the flesh, fleshly, in the known the- 
ological sense," etc. Winer's Gram, of the New Test., sec. 3. 

6. From all the abovenamed causes the language of the 
New Testament received a form differing widely from the clas- 
sic stjde, but admirably adapted to the high office assigned to 
it. To those who study the New Testament in the original, the 
peculiarities of its language offer a wide and interesting field 
of inquiry. But for the common reader the above hints will 
be sufficient. 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 371 



CHAPTEK XXV. 

External Form of the New Testament. 

1. The writings of the New Testament fall into three main 
divisions ; the Jiistorical, the epistolary, and the pro2Jhetical, the 
latter including only the Apocalypse. This distinction is not 
to be understood in an absolute sense ; since, as every reader 
knows, there are prophetical passages in the historical books, 
and both historical and prophetical in the epistles ; but it gives 
with accuracy the general character of each division. In out- 
ward form the Apocalypse is epistolary, being addressed, with 
the apostolic greeting, to the seven churches of Asia, and con- 
taining messages to each. But its contents, after the first three 
chapters, are so wholly prophetical, that it is entitled to stand 
by itself in any general division. 

2. The order of these main divisions is natural and appro- 
priate. The gospel, as was remarked at the outset (Chap, 1, 
No. 1), is not a mere sj^stem of philosophy or ethics, but rests 
on a basis of historic facts. On these its whole system of doc- 
trines and duties is built ; so that to destroy the foundation 
would be to destroy the superstructure also. It is suitable, 
therefore, that the record of the facts should hold the first 
place. The apostohc epistles, which unfold the doctrines and 
duties involved in the gospel, and make a practical application 
of them to all the manifold relations of life, naturally follow 
the historic record. The mighty system of prophecies con- 
tained in the book of Bevelation, which stretches over the 
whole future history of the church to the end of time, forms an 
appropriate close to the entire collection of writings. 

3. Equally appropriate is the order of the two subdivisions 
of the historic part — first, the four Gospels, containing the his- 
tory of our Lord's life ; secondly, the Acts of the Apostles. In 
the general arrangement of the epistles, the thirteen which bear 



372 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

the nome of Paul stand first in order. The seven so-called 
catholic epistles occupy the last place. Intermediate between 
these two subdivisions stands the epistle to the Hebrews, which 
is anonymous, though generally ascribed to Paul. The epistles 
which bear the name of Paul fall into two groups — nine ad- 
dressed to Christian churches , which occupy the first place; then 
four to j^ct^'iiGular j^ersons. Of these last, the first three, being 
addressed to Timothy and Titus, the apostle's companions in 
travel and in the gospel ministry, are appropriately named 
from their contents the ijastorcd epistles. The letter to Phile- 
mon, a private member of the church in Colosse, naturally 
stands last of all. 

We add from Bleek (Introduc. to New Test., sees. 18 and 254) the fol- 
lowing additional notices : 

The present order of the Gospels is very ancient. Only in some man- 
uscripts of the Old Latin version, m one Greco-Latin manuscript (the so- 
called Codex Bezae or Cambridge Codex), and in the manuscript of the 
Gothic version, the two apostles Matthew and John stand first ; then the 
two companions of apostles, Luke and Mark, or sometimes Mark and Luke. 
In the veiy ancient Curetonian-Syiian manuscript the order is Matthew, 
Mark, John, Luke. 

The Acts of the Apostles stand in some manuscripts after the Pauhne 
or after the cathohc epistles. 

In the oldest Greek manuscripts, and generally in the greatest number 
of Greek manuscripts which contain the whole New Testament, the catho- 
lic epistles stand before the Pauline ; an arrangement which some modern 
editors, as Lachmann and Tischendorf, have followed. In many manu- 
scripts, the oldest Greek included, the epistle to the Hebrews stands after 
2 Thessalonians, immediately before the pastoral e^Distles. Luther placed 
together, at the end of his version, the epistles to the Hebrews, the epis- 
tles of James and Jude, and the Apocalypse. But this arrangement rested 
on no authority of manuscripts. It was only an expression of his private 
judgment respecting their canonical authority, which he placed below that 
of the other books of the New Testament. 

4. We have seen (Chap. 13, No. 4) that in the arrangement of 
the books of the Old Testament, the order of time is follow^ed only 
very partially. The same is true respecting the order of books in 
the New Testament, a fact which the biblical student ought al- 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 373 

ways to bear in mind. If we look to the several divisions and 
subdivisions of the New Testament writings, it is obvious that 
the arrangement is not chronological. It is generally admitted 
that the Gospel according to John was written after the death 
of Peter and Paul; consequently, after the Acts of the Apos- 
tles (which were written during the life of Paul, Chap. 5, No. 5), 
after all the Pauline epistles, and probably after all the Cath- 
olic epistles except those which are ascribed to John himself. 
The Acts of the Apostles, again, are of later date than several 
of Paul's epistles. Finally, neither the Pauline nor the catho- 
lic epistles are arranged in chronological order. See below, 
Chap. 30, No. 6. The intelhgent student of the New Testa- 
ment will avail himself of all the means at his command to 
ascertain the date, proximately at least, of each particular book ; 
that he may thus connect it with the development of Christian- 
ity in the threefold line of doctrine, practice, and polity. 

5. The present distinction of large letters (capitals) and 
small did not Some into use before the ninth century. In con- 
formity with ancient usage, the manuscripts executed before 
this period are written in large disconnected letters (the so- 
called uncial), Avithout any marks of interpunction, or even 
division of words. This is called the continuous luriting {scriptio 
eoniinua), in which it is left to the reader's discretion to make 
the necessary division of words and sentences ; as if the begin- 
ning of the Gosi^el according to John were written thus in 
Latin and English : 

Latin. English. 

INPRINCIPIOERATVERBUMET INTHEBEGINNINGWASTHEWORDAND 

VEEBUMERATAPUDDEUMETDEUSE THEWORDWASWITHGODANDGODW 

RATVERBU]VIHOCERATINPRmCIPI ASTHEWORDTHESAMEWASINTHEBEGIN 

OAPUDDEUMOMNIAPERIPSUMFA NINGAVITHGODAELTHINGSBYHIMWEREMA 

"Writers before onr Saviour's time do indeed speak of sjgns of inter- 
punction ; but tliey seem to have been in use only in tho- grammatical 
schools, and with a limited apj)lication to certain doubtful passages in the 
ancient writers. That they were unknown in the older manuscripts of the 
New Testament is evident from the discussions that arose among the church 
fathers respecting the right division of certain passages, in which they never 
appeal to the authority of manuscripts, but argue solely from the nature of 



374 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

the connection. The reader may see a collection of exami^les in Hug's 
Introduction to the New Testament, § 43, where are also some curious 
examples of the wrong division of words. 

6. To obviate the inconvenience of this continuous mode of 
writing, there was introduced, about the middle of the fifth 
century, what is called the stichometriccd mode (Greek sticlios, a 
row or line, and mefron, a measure). This consisted in arranging 
in a single line only so many words as could be read, consist- 
ently wdth the sense, at a single inspiration. 

The invention of stichometry has been generally ascribed to 
Euthalius, a deacon in Alexandria, who, in the year 458, set 
forth a copy of Paul's epistles stichometrically arranged ; but 
Tregelles is inclined to the opinion that he borrowed the sys- 
tem from an earlier writer, Pamphilus the maityr. However 
this may be, the original conception doubtless came from the 
stichometry of Hebrew poetry. Hug (§ 44) and Tregelles 
(Home's Introduct., vol. 4, chap. 4) give an example in Greek 
from a fragment of the Pauline epistles. This example (Titus 
2:2, 3), when literally translated into EngUsh according to the 
Greek order of w^ords, reads as follows : 

THEAGED]\IENTOBESOBEIl 

GRAVE 

SOBERMINDED 

SOUNDINTHEFAITH 

INLOVE 

INPATIENCE 

THEAGEDWOMENLIKEWISE 

, INBEHAVIORASBECOMESHOLYWOMEN 

NOTSLANDERERS 

NOTGIVENTOMUCHWINE 

TEACHERSOFGOODTHINGS 

Though the design of stichometry was not interpunction 
according to the connection of thought, yet it seems to have 
led to this result. The expeusiveness of this mode of writing, 
owing to the waste of parchment, naturally suggested the idea, 
of separating the lines by a simple point, thus: 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 375 

THEAGEDMENTOBESOBER. GEAVE. 
S.OBERMINDED. SOUNDINTHEFAITH. 
INLOVE. INPATIENCE. THEAGED 
WOMENLIKEWISE. INBEHAVIOEAS 
BECOMETHHOLYWOMEN. NOTSLAN 
DERERS. NOTGIVENTOMUCHWINE. 
TEACHERSOFGOODTHINGS. 

As these divisions were mainly rhythmical, and often broke 
the true connection of thought, men sought to introduce a more 
logical system of interpunction. Thus was laid the foundation 
of our present system; which, however, was not perfected till 
after the invention of the art of printing. 

In the oi)inion of some, the use of the dot, at least to some extent, was 
earher than stichometiy. From the eighth or ninth century punctuation 
in manuscripts became more common and systematic. In cursive manu- 
scriiDts — those that employ the running hand with large and small letters 
and the separation of the words, a style of writing that became the com- 
mon one from the ninth century and onward — punctuation also prevails, 
though not according to any one established system. Tregelles, uhi sup. 
Various other particulars interesting to those who study the Greek text in 
the original, as those relating to the accents, the smooth and rough breath- 
ing, and the iota subscript, are here omitted. 

7. "We come next to consider the ancient divisions made in 
tlie contents of the sacred text. Chapters are very early men- 
tioned, as by Tertuhian and Dionysius of Alexandria. But it 
is uncertain whether any thing more is meant than parts or 
sections of given contents. The earliest formal division of the 
four gospels that has come down to us consists of the Ammo- 
nian sections (Greek kephalaia, heads or chapters), so named from 
Ammonius of Alexandria, who, about the middle of the third 
century, prepared a harmony of the four gospels — the Gospel 
hy four, as Eusebius calls it. His plan was, to arrange in the 
order of Matthew the parallel passages side by side, interpo- 
lating those that were wanting in Matthew. To this end, he 
divided each of the gospels into sections the length of which 
was very various, being wholly determined by the parallelisms 
of the other gospels. Of these sections Matthew contained 



37G COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

355; Mark, 234 (in Wordsworth's Greek Testament, 236 are 
given) ; Luke, 342 ; Jolm, 231 (in Wordsworth's Greek Testa- 
ment, 232). The infelicity of this arrangement was that, with 
the exception of the first gospel, the true order of the evange- 
lists was broken up — " The train of sequence of the three was 
destroyed in respect to the orderly course of reading," as Euse- 
bius says (Letter to Carpianus, given in Wordsworth's Greek 
Testament). 

To remedy this evil, Eusebius, bishop of Csesarea, in the 
following century connected with these Ammonian sections his 
ten canons. These are ten tables, arranged according to the 
order of Matthew, or where sections are wanting in Matthew, 
according to the order of the next evangelist that contains 
them, in such a way as to show at a glance what sections of 
the other evangelists answer to any given section of that gos- 
pel which stands first in order in each canon. 

Numbering the four gospels in order — 1, 2, 3, 4 — the ten canons of 
Eusebius contain as follows : 

I. Sections common to 1, 2, 3, 4. VI. Sections common to 1, 2. 

11. " 1, 2, 3. VII. " 1, 4. 

in. " 1, 3, 4. VIII. " 2, 3. 

IV. " 1, 2, 4. IX. '' 3, 4. 

V. ** 1, 3. X. Sections peculiar to one. 

A couple of examples will make this matter plain. Turning to wliat is 
now the beginning of the thirteenth chapter of Matthew, we find (the 
Greek numerals being exchanged for those in common use) the sign ^^ 
that is, the 131st Ammonian section of Matthew with the second canon of 
Eusebius. Turning to the table of the second canon, we find, correspond- 
ing to the 131st section of Matthew, the 36th of Mark and the 76th of 
Luke, which contain the parallel passages concerning the sower. Again, 
connected with Mark 1 : 23, is the sign, yITi "whence we learn, by refer- 
ence to the eighth canon, that the fourteenth section of Mark answers to 
the 25th of Luke. By a repetition of the canons as often as necessary, so 
as to allow each gospel in turn to take the lead, Wordsworth has greatly 
facilitated the w^ork of comjDaring parallel passages. 

"The Codex Vaticanus B, contains a distribution into sections wlioUy 
peculiar. Of these, St. Matthew contains 170, St. Mark 61, etc. The 
length of these divisions is very unequal ; the sen&e being the reason of tlie 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 377 

breaks occurring when tliey do. In the gospels, at least, tlie sections are 
perliax)s the best that were ever devised ; and this system of capitulary 
division is probably the earliest of which we have the means of knowing 
any thing." Home's Introduction, vol. 4, chap. 4, revised edition, 1860. 

8. Different from the Ammonian-Eusebian sections, and 
later in their origin, are the divisions of the gospels called titleSy 
because each of them received a title from one of the first or 
principal subjects mentioned in it. They are thought to have 
been connected with the public reading of the gospels. Of 
these, Matthew contains 68; Mark, 48; Luke, 83; John, 18. 
They are, therefore, larger than the Ammonian sections, and 
resemble more nearly our modern chapters. 

These titles are called by the Latins briefs {breves), and the tables of 
their contents breviaries [breviaria). They did not come into common use 
before the fifth century, and are commonly annexed to manuscripts along 
with the Ammonian-Eusebian sections. But they are the only divisions 
known to some of the church fathers, as Euthymius and Theophylact. 

9. The divisions of the other books of the New Testament 
are thought to be of later origin. Euthalius introduced into a 
copy, which he sent to Athanasius the younger, divisions called 
chapters. He has sometimes been considered the author of 
those in the Acts and catholic epistles ; but he probably took 
them from an older source. Those in the Pauline epistles he 
expressly ascribed to " one of the wisest and most Christ-loving 
of our fathers." He also gave headings to the chapters, descrip- 
tive of their contents, but collected from previous sources. 
The Apocalypse was divided into twenty-four larger sections 
and seventy- two smaller — a work ascribed to Andreas of Csesa- 
rea in Cappadocia. Tregelles, in Home's Introduction, vol. 
4, chap. 4 

10. Our present division of chapters was made in the thir- 
teenth century, by Cardinal Hugo, from whom proceeded also 
that in the Old Testament. It was first introduced into the 
Latin copies, and afterwards into the Greek. Our present 
division of verses was made by Kobert Stephens, in 1551. It 



378 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

was preceded by some earlier divisions, as that of Pagninus, iu 
which the verses were longer than those of Stephens. 

Distinct from all tlie above divisions are the church-lessons, made very- 
early, in imitation of the Jewish Haphtaroth, or sections from the proph- 
ets. Chap. 13, No. 6. The beginning of these seems to have been in special 
selections for the church festivals. But the usage was afterwards extended 
so as to include selections for all the Sabbaths and feast-days of the year. 
Hence from the fifth century and onward the whole New Testament was 
no longer publicly read, as in the x)rimitive days of Christianity, according 
to the free judgment of those who conducted the church-services ; but 
these selected sections [pericopae). Collections of these lessons were called 
by the general name of lectionaries (lectionaria). Those from the gospels 
or Acts and epistles received special names indicative of their contents. 
See Bleek, | 265 ; Home's Introduction, vol. 4, chap. 4, end. 

11. From the above brief surve}^, it is manifest that none 
of the external divisions of the sacred text rest on any divine 
authority. They are the work of uninspired men, and are to 
be treated accordingly. For convenience of reference, a division 
of the Scriptures into chapters and verses is indispensable; 
and we may well rest contented with that which now prevails, 
though it cannot claim perfection. But in the inteiyretation of 
the inspired word we must go behind human divisions, care- 
fully inquiring after the true connection of thought, according 
to the acknowledged laws of interpretation. To give one exam- 
ple out of many, we must not infer that the last verse of the 
eleventh chapter of the book of Revelation belongs to the pre- 
ceding and not the following context, because of its separation 
from the latter in the division of chapters ; but we must deter- 
mine its true connection independently of this division. 

A very good arrangement is that of Paragraph Bibles, in which the 
distinctions of chapter and verse are thrown into the margin, the text 
being broken into longer or shorter sections according to the true course 
of thought. Yet this mode of division also is human, and cannot be infal- 
lible. 

12. The titles of the several books of the New Testament did 
not proceed immediately from the authors themselves. In form 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 379 

tliey present some diversity; for example: TJie Gosjjel accord- 
ing to Matthew ; according to Matthtio ; the holy Gospel according 
to 3Iattheiv, etc., the shorter and simpler titles being, as a rule, 
the more ancient. For substance, however, the different forms 
are the same. They represent the ancient church tradition, 
and are of very high authority. The subscriptions, on the other 
hand, which stand at the end of the epistles of Paul, that to 
the Hebrews included — are confessedly the work of later copy- 
ists. They are of no authority, and are sometimes manifestly 
incorrect. 



380 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 



CHAPTER XXYI. 

The New Testament Text and its History. 

The history of the New Testament text naturally falls into 
two main divisions, that of the manuscript text, and that of the 
printed text. A few remarks will be added on the princijdes of 

textual criticism. See PLATES at the beginning of this hook. 

I. THE MANUSCEIPT TEXT. 

1. The preservation of the primitive text of the gospels 
from all essential corruptions, additions, and mutilations has 
already been shown at some length (Part 1, Chap. 3). The 
.same line of argument applies substantially to the other books 
of the New Testament. Though the text of different books 
varies in respect to puritj^ there is no ground for supposing 
that if we had the autographs of the evangelists and other 
sacred writers, they would present to us a gospel differing in 
any essential particular from that which we now possess. We 
should see in them the same glorious Saviour, and the same 
holy system of doctrines and duties. 

2. But it has not pleased God to interpose in a miraculous 
way for the purpose of keeping the primitive text in a state of 
immaculate purity. He has left it subject to those common 
influences which produce what are called various readings in 
all works that are perpetuated from age to age by transcrip- 
tion. Compared indeed with any other ancient writings, the 
text of the New Testament has immensely the advantage in 
regard to uncorruptness of preservation and means of verifica- 
tion. This arises from the early multiplication of copies, as 
well as from the high value attached by the primitive churches 
to their sacred books, and their consequent zeal for their uncor- 
rupt preservation. But the same multiplication of copies which 
constitutes a sure guarantee against essential mutilations and 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 381 

corruptions increases also the number of various readings. 
Suppose, for example, that of two books equal in size the sec- 
ond has been, from the first, copied a hundred-fold oftener 
than the first. It is plain that, while the means of ascertain- 
ing and verifying the true text of the second will abound, 
the number of variations among the different manuscripts will 
abound also. The greater the number of copies, the greater 
will be the number of various readings, but this will make the 
true text not more but less uncertain ; for by diligent collation 
a text may be produced which, though not absolutely immacu- 
late, is very near to the primitive autograph, and which can be 
certainly known to agree with it in every essential respect. 
God does not rain down upon men bread and raiment from 
heaven, as he could do with infinite ease ; but he imposes upon 
them the necessity of gaining both by hard labor. "In the 
sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread" is the stern law. God 
does not miraculously communicate to the missionary who 
goes to Sj^ria or India or China a knowledge of the vernacular 
in his field of labor; but he must learn it by years of patient 
study. And when he begins the work of translating, God does 
not keep him in a supernatural way from all errors. He must 
find out and correct his errors by the diligent use of the means 
at his disposal. Just so it is the will of God that we should 
have a pure text of the New Testament — pure in a critical 
sense — not without hard labor, but by years of patient toil 
in the study and collation of the abundant materials which 
his good providence has preserved for us. 

3. Various readings have arisen in the manuscripts of the 
New Testament, as elsewhere, from the mistakes, and some- 
times from the unskilful corrections of the copyists and those 
subsequently employed to compare and correct the copies. 
They are commonly divided into the three classes of substitu- 
tions, insertions, and omissions. 

Substitutions from similarity of sound would naturally arise 
among the vowels when, as was sometimes the case, the copy- 
ist wrote from dictation, being guided by the ear instead of the 



382 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

eye. Most of these, however, are mere matters of orthography. 
It is only when they affect the sense that they come under the 
head of various readings. Synonymous words, or those of kin- 
dred meaning, are frequently put for one another, or the order 
of words is altered ; sometimes a different word is made through 
inadvertence by the change of a single letter or a couple of let- 
ters; compound words are interchanged with simple; contract- 
ed words are confounded with each other; plainer or more 
grammatical readings are substituted for those that are difficult 
or less grammatical, etc. Especially are parallel passages in 
one writer altered, so as to be brought into conformity with 
the same in another. 

Insertions are the most frequent mode of variation. The 
cop^dst fills out the text of his author from a parallel passage, 
inserts marginal notations in the text, repeats clauses through 
inadvertence, etc. 

Of amphfication from parallel passages many undoubted examples could 
be given. A single one must suffice. In Acts 9 : 5, the words, It is hard 
for tliee to kick against the pricks, have been added from Acts 26 : 14. 

The most fruitful source of omissions is the similar termina- 
tion of two adjacent words, lines, or sentences, causing the* eye 
of the copyist to overlook the word, line, or sentence interve- 
ning betw^een the two similar endings. The same error may 
be caused by the circumsttince of two sentences beginning in 
the same w^ay. It should be remembered that in the ancient 
manuscripts the text was written continuously in uncial — that 
is, capital — letters, without any division between the words, 
wdiich made it more difficult for the copyist to follow the manu- 
script before him, and for both the copyist and collater to dis- 
cover the errors made in transcription. 

By far the greatest number of various readings had their 
origin in simple inadvertence. Some of them, however, are due 
to unskilful criticism ; as when the copyist or the corrector 
sought to bring a passage in one writer into more exact agree- 
ment with the corresponding passage in another, to supply 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. S8*J 

supposed deficiencies or correct supposed errors in his copy, or 
to substitute smoother and more grammatical forms of expres- 
sion. Wilful falsifications in the interest of a particular sect 
or party cannot with any show of justice be imputed to the 
men who have perpetuated to us the text of the New Testa- 
ment. 

4. The materials for textual criticism are much more abun- 
dant in the case of the New Testament than of the Old. A 
vast mass of manuscripts has been collected from different and 
distant regions, dating from the fourth century and onward. 
Of these, part are in the original Greek, part in ancient ver- 
sions, or bilingual, that is, containing the original and a ver- 
sion of it side by side. In addition to these are the quotations 
of the early fathers, which are so abundant that a large part of 
the New Testament text might be collected fi^om them alone. 
The question of the history of the text, as gathered from this 
rich mass of materials, is very interesting, but is foreign to the 
plan of the present w*ork. To give even a history of the con- 
troversies respecting the proper classification of the manu- 
scripts of the New Testament according to their characteristic 
readings would require a volume, and the question must be 
regarded as ^^et unsettled. There are, however, some general 
results, a few of the more important of which are here given 
from Tregelles (in Home, vol. 4, chap: 8). 

The variations in the form of the sacred text are not due to any general 
recensions or revisions by ecclesiastical authority, but arose gradually from 
the causes above considered (No. 3). These variations exhibit such grada- 
tions of text that it is impossible to draw definite lines of classification, 
without admitting so many exceptions as almost to destroy the ax^plication 
of such a system. 

There is a general difiference in characteristic readings between the more 
ancient manuscrii)ts, versions, and citations, and the cox^ies of general cir- 
culation in more recent times. This gives rise to the general line of demar- 
cation between the more ancient and the onore recent texts ; each of these 
two classes, however, having, in turn, its own points of difference among 
the texts belonging to it. 

The more ancient manuscripts, versions, and citations which we pos- 
sess range themselves under what we know from their combined testimony 



33i COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

to be the more ancient text. Among the manuscnpts and documents so 
allied there are such shades of difference and characteristic pecuharities, 
that the versions and manuscripts might be easily contemplated as ramify- 
ing into two subclasses. 

The most ancient documents in general are sufficiently dissimilar to 
enable us to regard their testimony, when combined, as cumulative. 

5. Eespecting the materials for writing in ancient times- 
papyrus and parchment, afterwards paper made from linen or 
cotton; the form of manuscripts — the roll with papyrus, and 
the book-form with leaves when parchment was used ; the use 
oi palimpsests ; the uncial and cursive styles of writing; and the 
means of determining the age of manuscripts, see in Chap. 3, 
No. 2. The existing manuscripts have been all numbered and 
catalogued. The custom since the time of Wetstein has been 
to mark the uncial manuscripts by capital letters, and the cur- 
sives by numbers or small letters. "We append a brief notice 
of a few of the more celebrated manuscripts. 

There are four very ancient and important manuscripts, all of which 
originally contained the entire Greek Bible of the Old and New Testament, 
and which belong to a time when the an-angements of EuthaUus, especially 
his stichometrical mode of writing (Chap. 25, Nos. 6-9), had either not 
been introduced or not come into common use. These are the following : 

(1.) The Codex Vaiicanus, Vatican manuscript, marked by the letter B, 
and so called from the Vatican hbrary at Eome to which it belongs. It is 
written continuously (without any division of words) on very fine vellum — 
one of the marks of- liigh antiquity — in small but neat uncial letters, very 
much hke those of the manuscript rolls of Herculaneum, and has three 
columns to the page, which is of the quarto size. Originally it had at the 
end of particular sections a small empty space of the breadth of a letter or 
half a letter, but no ornamental capitals, marks of punctuation, or accents, 
though some of these have been added by later hands. The divisions into 
sections made by the empty spaces above named are peculiar to this codex, 
not agreeing with those of any other system. Of these Matthew has 170 ; 
Mark, 62 (so says Cardinal Mai, but others say 72 or 61) ; Luke, 152 ; John, 
80. Most of the books have also brief titles and subscriptions. The man- 
uscript contained originally the whole Bible, the Apocrypha included, as 
also the epistle of Clement to the Corinthians. The order of the books in 
the New Testament, if entire, would be the same as in the Alexandrine 
manuscript, the Catholic epistles preceding the Pauline, and the epistle to 
the Hebrews coming in between 2 Thessalonians and 1 Timothy. See 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 385 

below. At present the Old Testament wants the greater part of Genesis 
and a part of the Psahns. In the New Testament the epistle to Philemon, 
the three pastoral epistles, the latter part of the epistle to the Hebrews, 
and the Apocalyi^se are wanting. This manuscript is generally referred to 
the fourth century. Its authority is very high, but through the jealousy 
of its Roman conservators it has been of late years, for all practical pur- 
jioses, inaccessible to biblical scholars. Cardinal Mai's edition of it in 
] 858, and the revision of this in 1859, are unreliable. Tischendorf has 
pubhshed an edition of the New Testament part of it. l^o. (3) PLATE 11. 

(2.) The Codex Sinaiticus, Sinai manuscript, designated by Tischendorf , 
its discoverer, by the Hebrew letter alepli (N). One of the most interest- 
ing events of the present century, in the department of biblical science, 
is the very unexpected discovery of a complete manuscript of the New 
Testament, belonging, as is generally agreed, to the fourth century ; 
therefore as old, at least, as the Vatican manuscript, perhaps older, and of 
very high authority in biblical criticism. In a visit to Mount Sinai in 
ISitt, Tischendorf had found at the convent of St. Catharine on Mount 
Sinai forty-three beautiful parchment leaves belonging to a manuscript of 
fciie Septuagint not before known to biblical scholars. In a subsequent 
visit to the same convent in February, 1859, it was his high privilege to 
iind of the same manuscript all the Greek New Testament entire, i^art of 
the Old, the so-called epistle of Barnabas, and part of the writing called 
the Shepherd of Hermas, the whole contained in one hundred and thirty- 
two thousand columnar lines, written on three hundred and forty-six 
leaves. This precious manuscript Tischendorf managed to obtain for the 
emperor Alexander of Russia as the gTeat patron of the Greek church, and 
it is now at St. Petersburg. It is ^vritten on parchment of a fine quality 
in large plain uncial letters, with four columns to a page. It contains, as 
is commonly the case with ancient manuscripts, revisions and so-called 
corrections by a later hand ; but, as it proceeded from the pen of the origi- 
nal writer, it had neither ornamented capitals, accents, nor divisions of 
words or sentences. The style of writing is plain, and every tiling about 
it bears the marks of high antiquity. The order of the books is as fol- 
lows : (1) the gospels ; (2) the epistles of Paul, that to the Hebrews inclu- 
ded, which stands after 2 Thessalonians ; (3) the Acts of the Apostles ; 
(4) the Catholic epistles ; (5) the Apocalypse. It has the Ammonian sec- 
tions and Eusebian canons, but whether from the first or a subsequent 
hand is doubtful. A splendid edition of this Codex was published at St. 
Petersburg in 1862, Avhich seeks to preserve with the greatest possible 
accuracy the form of writing, columns, corrections, etc. The Leipsic 
edition is adapted to popular use. See No. (1), PLATE J. 

(3.) We will consider next in order the Codex Alexandrinus, Alexan- 
drine manuscript, placed first in the list of uncial manuscripts, and accord- 

lomr- to Bible. 17 



386 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

ingly marked A. It is now in the British Museum, London. In the year 
1628 it was sent as a present to Charles I., king of England, by Cyrillus 
Lucaris, patriarch of Constantinoj^le, by whom it was brought from Alex- 
andria in Egypt, where Cyiillus had formerly held the same office. Hence 
the name Alexandrine. Cyrillus himself, in a notice attached to it, says 
that tradition represented a noble Egyptian woman of the fourth century 
named Thecla as the wi'iter of it (an Arabic subscription makes her to have 
been Thecla the martyr). These external notices are not so rehable as the 
internal marks, all of which show it to be of a great age. Some assign it 
to the fourth century, but it is more commonly assigned to the fifth, and 
Egypt is generally regarded as the place where it was written. It is on 
parchment in uncial letters, without divisions of words, accents, or brea- 
things, and with only occasional marks of interpunction — a dot to indicate 
a division in the sense. The lines are arranged in two columns, and the 
sections begin with large letters, placed a little to the left of the column — 
outside the measure of the column. The order of the books is : (1) the 
gospels ; (2) the Acts of the Apostles ; (3) the Catholic epistles ; (4) the 
epistles of Paul, with that to the Hebrews between 2 Thessalonians and 
1 Timothy ; (5) the Apocalypse. In the gospels, the Ammonian sections 
with the Eusebian canons are indicated, and at the top of the pages the 
larger sections or titles. In the Old Testament it is defective in part of 
the Psalms. In the New it wants all of Matthew as far as chap. 25 : 6 ; 
also from John 6 : 50 to 8 : 52 ; and from 2 Cor. 4 : 13 to 12 : 6. It has 
npjDended at the end the genuine letter of Clement of Rome to the Corin- 
thians, and a fragment of a second spurious letter. To these apocryphal 
additions we owe the preservation of the Apocalypse in an entire state. 
Until the discovery of the Sinai codex, the Alexandrine exhibited the text 
of the New Testament in far the most entire state of all the uncial manu- 
scripts, ^ee Ko. (2), PLATE I. 

(4.) The fourth manuscript of this group is the celebrated palimpsest 
called Codex Epliraemi, Ephraem manuscript, preserved in the Imperial 
library of Paris, and marked in the list of uncials with the letter C. Origi- 
nally it contained the whole of the New Testament, and apparently the 
Old also, elegantly written on thin vellum, with a single column to a page. 
The writing is continuous, without accents or breathings, and the letters 
are rather larger than in the Alexandrian manuscript, the first letter of each 
section being of larger size than the rest, and standing, as in that manu- 
script, a Httle to the left of the column. The Ammonian sections stand in 
the margin, but without the Eusebian canons. The gospels were preceded 
by the list of titles, or larger sections, of which those of Luke and John 
alone are preserved. The titles and subscriptions are short and simple. 
The date of the manuscript is supposed to be the first half of the fifth cen- 
tury. It has undergone corrections at the hand of at least two persons, 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 387 

possibly a third. These can be readily distiDguished from the original 
writing. The critical authority of this codex is very high. Tregelles (in 
Home, vol. 4, chap. 13) places it next to the Vatican manuscript. 

A few words on its history. About the thirteenth century, being regard- 
ed- as a worn-out and obsolete manuscript, the vellum on which it was 
written was taken for a new j)urpose, that of receiving the Greek works of 
Ephraem the Syrian saint, a celebrated theologian of the old Syrian churcli, 
who flourished in the fourth century. ' ' For this purpose the leaves were 
taken j)romiscuously, without any regard to then- proper original order, 
and sewed together at hap-hazard, sometimes top end down, and front side 
behind, just as if they had been mere blanks, the sermons of Ephraem 
being the only matter regarded in the book." Stowe, Hist, of the Books 
of the Bible, p. 75, In the latter part of the seventeenth century, Allix 
first observed the older writing under the works of Ephraem. It was very 
illegible, but a chemical preparation applied in 1834-5 revivified it to a 
certain extent. It has been diligently collated by eminent scholars, and in 
1842 Tischendorf printed an edition of it page for page and line for line. 
Of the two hundred and nine leaves contained in this manuscript, one 
hundred and forty-five belong to the New Testament, containing not quite 
two-thirds of the sacred text. The order of the books is the same as in 
the Alexandrine codex. See No. (4), PLATE III. 

Besides the abovenamed four manuscripts, a few others may be briefly 
naticed. 

An interesting pahmpsest of great critical value is the Codex Duhlinen- 
sis rescriptus, Dublin ]jaliinpsest manuscript, in the library of Trinity Col- 
lege, Dublin, designated by the letter Z. It contains with other writings 
thirty-two leaves of the gospel by Matthew. They were edited, as far as 
legible, in 1801, by Dr. John Barrett, Fellow of Trinity College. In 1853 
Dr. Tregelles made a new and thorough examination of the manuscript, 
and, by the aid of a chemical j)rocess, brought all that exists of the gospel 
text to a legible condition. This manuscript is assigned to the sixth cen- 
tury. Its letters are wi'itten in a singularly bold style, which unites the 
three qualities of ease, elegance, and symmetry. 

A celebrated bilingual manuscript (in this case Graeco-Latin, containing 
the Greek and Latin texts) is the Codex Bezae, Beza's manuscript, called 
also Codex Cantabrigiensis, Cambridge manuscript, from the place of its 
dej)osit, which is the public library of the University of Cambridge, Eng- 
land. It is designated by the letter D,.and contains the four gospels and 
Acts of the Apostles in Greek and Latin on opposite pages, stichometri- 
cally written. The account of Theodore Beza, its former possessor, was 
that he found it during the French civil wars in 1562, in the monastery of 
St. Irenaous, at Lyons. In 1581 he sent it as a present to the University 



388 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

of Cambridge. The interest felt in this maniiscriiDt arises in great part 
from the veiy pecuHar character of its readings. " The text of this codex," 
says Bleek (Introduc. to New Test., sec. 270), "jDresents much that is 
X)ectdiar — many additions and alterations that have even an aj^ocryphal 
character, but are yet not uninteresting. Its nntive country is the West, 
and more definitely the south of Gaul." See iVo. (5), PLATE IT. 

Among the fragments of manuscripts of high antiquity is one called 
Codex pur pureus, Purple manuscript. Four leaves of this are in the Cot- 
ton Library in the British Museum, six in the Vatican, two in the Imperial 
Library at Vienna. The manuscript to which they belonged was written 
in silver letters (the nanres of God and Christ in gold) on purple vellum. 
The writing is in two columns with large and round letters. It is ref eiTed 
to the end of the sixth or beginning of the seventh century. 

Many other uncial manuscrii)ts, or fragments of manuscripts, some of 
them of great critical value, might be described ; but the above brief noti- 
ces must suffice. Of those which contain ancient versions, a few of the 
more important will be noticed in the following chapter. 

The cursive manuscripts of the New Testament are numbered by hun- 
dreds. In general their authority is less than that of the more ancient 
uncials. But a cursive manuscript may give indirectly a very ancient text. 
There are some cursives which, from their characteristic readings, were 
manifestly executed from codices of high antiquity, and are for this rea- 
son very valuable. As such Tregelles specifies those numbered 1 and 33. 
For further notices of these, as also of the lectionaries, containing selec- 
tions for church readings, the reader may consult the works devoted to 
biblical criticism. 

II. THE FEINTED TEXT. 

6. The primary editions of the Greek New Testament, wlience 
is derived wliat is called the received text ( Text us rece]3tus) are 
the following: (1) the Complidensian ; (2) the Erasmian ; (3) those 
of Robert Stephens ; (4) those of Beza and Elzevir. Their au- 
thority in textual criticism depends wholly upon that of the 
manuscripts from which their text was formed. As no stream 
can rise higher than its fountains, so no printed text can obtain 
a just weight of influence above that of its manuscript sources. 
It becomes, then, a matter of interest to inquire what was the 
basis of these early printed editions. 



THE NEAV TESTAMENT. 389 

(1. ) The entire New Testament was printed for the first time in Greek in 
the fifth volume of the Complutensian Polyrilott (so called from Complutmn, 
that is Alcala in Spain, wJiere it was printed under the i^atronage of Cardi- 
nal Ximenes). It bears the date of 1514, but was not pubhshed until 1522, 
■when Erasmus had already printed three editions of his Greek Testament. 
Its editors professed to have formed their text from manuscripts sent to 
them from the papal library at Eome. What these manuscripts were can- 
not now be ascertained ; but that they were very ancient and correct, as 
alleged by these editors, is contradicted by the character of the text, which 
agrees with the modern in opposition to the most ancient manuscripts. 

(2.) At the request of Froben, a celebrated printer and publisher of 
Basle, Erasmus, who was then in England, where he had devoted some 
time to a revised Latin translation of the New Testament with annotations, 
went to Basle in 1515, and began the work of editing a Greek New Testa- 
ment. "By the beginning of March, 1516," says Tregelles, "the whole 
volume, including the annotations as well as the Greek and Latin texts, 
was complete ; in less, in fact, than six months from the time that the first 
sheet was begun." The design of this haste was to anticipate the publica- 
tion of the Complutensian edition. The critical apparatus in Erasmus' 
Ijossession was quite slender. It consisted of such manuscripts as he 
found at Basle, with the help of the revised Latin translation already pre- 
pared in England and Brabant. For the Apocalypse he had but one man- 
uscript, and that defective at the end. In his four subsequent editions— 
1519, 1522, 1527, 1535 — he made many corrections. In that of 1527 he 
availed himself of the Complutensian text. This edition, from which 
the fifth and last published during his life differs but slightly, is the 
basis of the common text now in use. 

(3.) In 1546, 1549, 1550, api^eared the three editions of Robert Stephens, 
tiie celebrated Parisian printer. In the first two of these the text is said 
to have been formed from the Complutensian and Erasmian. In the third 
edition, although he had the aid of thirteen Greek manuscripts, his text is 
almost identical with that of Erasmus' fifth edition. 

(4.) In 1565, Tlieodore Beza published at Geneva his first edition of the 
Greek Testament with his own Latin version, and also the Vulgate with 
annotations. Three other editions followed in 1576, 1582, 1588-9. He 
had the use of the Codex Bezse above described, the Codex Claromon- 
tanus (an ancient Grseco-Latin manuscript of the Pauline epistles), the 
Syriac version then recently published by Tremellius, with a close Latin 
translation, and Stephens' collations. But he is said not to have made 
much use of these helps. 

The first of the Elzevir editions, so celebrated for their typographical 
beauty, was issued in 1624, its text being mainly copied from that of Beza. 
This is the text that has acquired the name of Textus receptus, the Received 



390 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

Text, as it was for niore tliaii a century the basis of almost all subsequent 
editions. The genealogy of this Textus recepius is thus succinctly given by 
Bishoj) Marsh : "The Textus recepius, therefore, or the text in common 
use, was copied, with a few exceptions, from the text of Beza. Beza him- 
self closely followed Stejjhens ; and Stephens (namely, in his third and 
chief edition) co]oied solely from the fifth edition of Erasmus, except in the 
Eevelation, where he followed sometimes Erasmus, sometimes the Com- 
plutensian edition. The text, therefore, in daily use, resolves itself at 
last into the Complutensian and the Erasmian editions." Divinity Lec- 
tures, part 1, p. 111. 

7. It requires but a moderate acquaintance with the history 
of textual criticism to understand that the Elzevir text is not 
only not perfect, but is more imperfect than that which has 
been elaborated by the help of the abundant manuscripts, ver- 
sions, and citations of the early fathers, of which modern criti- 
cism has availed itself. It is no reproach to the editors of the 
primary editions that, with their comparatively scanty mate- 
rials, they could not accomplish as much as we can with the 
rich and varied means at our disposal. The essential integrity 
of the received text, we do indeed thanMully^jktiowledge and 
firmly maintaiii.' Our fathers had' presented to tliem in this 
text the same divine and glorious Saviour, the same way of 
salvation, the same holy system of doctrines and duties, as we 
now find in the most carefully revised modern text. Neverthe- 
less, a true reverence for the inspired word must impel us to 
the diligent use of all the means at our command for setting 
forth a pure text, that is, a text conformed as nearly as possi- 
ble to that of the original autographs. Yiewed in this light 
the modern critical editions of the New Testament must pos- 
sess a deep interest for all who are able to read it in the ori- 
ginal tongue. But to discuss the merits of these would be for- 
eign to the design of the present work. 

Examples of the more important various readings occur in John 1 : 18 ; 
Acts 20:28; 1 Tim. 3:16. The passage 1 John -5: 7, 8, in heaven-^in 
earth, is generally rejected on the testimony of the manuscripts (see the 
full discussion in Home, vol. 4, ch. 36). Among the passages which are 
regarded as more or less doubtful may be mentioned John 5:4; 8 : 3-11 ; 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 3D1 

Acts 8: 37. In regard to all tliese the biblical scholar must be referred to 
the critical commentaries. So also for the questions connected with the 
text of Mark 16 : 9-20, which are of a peculiar character. 



III. PRINCIPLES OF TEXTUAL CRITICISM. 

8. The end proposed by textual criticism is to restore the 
sacred text as nearly as possible to its primitive purity (Chap. 7, 
No. 1). To this work the biblical scholar should come in a 
candid and reverential spirit, prepared to weigh carefully all 
the evidence which is accessible to him, and decide, not as an 
advocate, but as a judge, in the simple interest of truth. The 
three great sources of evidence for the original text of the New 
Testament are Greek manuscripts, versions, and the citations 
of the fathers. Of these, Greek manuscripts hold the first 
place. But all manuscripts are not of equal value. Other 
things being equal, the oldest manuscripts have the highest 
authority. " If the multiplication of copies of the New Testa- 
ment had been uniform, it is evident that the number of later 
copies preserved from the accidents of time would have far ex- 
ceeded that of the earlier, yet no one would have preferred the 
fuller testimony of the thirteenth to the scantier documents of 
the fourth century. Some changes are necessarily introduced 
in the most careful copying, and these are rapidly multiplied." 
Westcott in Smith's Bible Diet. ; Art. New Test. Yet, as the 
same writer remarks, we may have evidence that a recent man- 
uscript has been copied from one of great antiquity, and thus 
has preserved to us very ancient readings. Revisions and 
corrections by a later hand are to be carefully distinguished 
from the primitive writing. Yet these may be valuable, as 
testifying to the prevailing reading of the age to which they 
belong. The general class or family to which a given manu- 
script belongs is also to be taken into the account. In a word, 
so many elements of judgment are to be taken into account in 
determining the relative weight of authority that belongs to a 
given manuscript, that the right decision of the question re- 
quires large observation combined Avith much critical tact. 



392 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

9. Ancient cersion.^ are of great vulne in textual oi'itici.sni ; 
for some of then), as the <^ld Latin and Sy ritio. to which may 
be added the old Egyptian versions, nre based on a text more 
ancient than that preserved to us in any mannscript. In text- 
ual criticism, the testimony of a version is valuable in propor- 
tion to its antiquity, its fidelity — not its elegance or even its 
correctness of interpretation, but its literal closeness — and the 
purity of its text. Versions are liable to all the corruptions of 
text incident to Greek manuscripts, and far more liable to in- 
terpolations by explanatory glosses. The difference of idiom, 
moreover, frequently prevents such a literal rendering as shall 
be a sure indication of the form belonging to the original 
text. 

10. The citations of the church fathers, which are immensely 
numerous, constitute another source of testimony. But less 
authority belongs in general to these, because they are often 
made loosely from memory alone. Their testimony is chiefly 
valuable as corroborative. " Patristic citations alone have very- 
little weight ; such citations, even when in accordance with a 
version, have but little more ; but when a citation is in accord- 
ance with some ancient MSS. and translations, it possesses 
great corroborative value. It is as confirming a reading known 
independently to exist, that citations are of the utmost impor- 
tance. If alone, or nearly alone, they may be looked at as 
mere casual adaptations of the words of the New Testament." 
Tregelles in Home, vol. 4, ch. 34. 

11. The application of the above sources of criticism to the 
sacred text demaiids very extensive research and much sound 
judgment. " Canons of criticism," as they are cajled are valu- 
able in their proper sphere ; but, as Westcott remarks {uhi 
supra), "they are intended only to guide and not to dispense 
with the exercise of tact and scholarship. The student will 
judge for himself how far they are applicable in every particular 
case ; and no exhibition of general principles can supersede 
the necessity of a careful examination of the characteristics of 
separate Avitnesses, and of groups of witnesses." 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 393 

We bring tliis subject to a close by an enameration of the last six of tbe 
thirteen rules laid down by Westcott. 

8. " The agreement of ancient MSS., or of MSS. containing an ancient 
text, with all the ancient versions and citations marks a certain reading," 

9. " The disagreement of the most ancient authorities often marks the 
existence of a corrugation anterior to them.'* 

10. ' ' The argument from internal evidence is always precarious, " This 
canon he illustrates by several examples : "If a reading is in accordance 
with the general style of the writer, it may be said on the one side that 
this fact is in its favor, and on the other that an acute copyist probably 
changed the excex)tional expression for the more usual one," &c. 

11. "The more difficult reading is preferable to the simpler." Tliis 
canon rests on the obvious ground that a copyist would be more apt to sub- 
stitute an easy reading for a difficult than the reverse. 

12. "The shorter reading is generally preferable to the longer." Be- 
cause of all corruj)tions of the text, additions from parallel passages, or to 
meet its supposed wants, are the most common. 

13. "That reading is preferable which explains the origin of the 
others." 



17* 



J94: COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 



CHAPTEE XXYII. 

Formation and History of the JN^ew Testament 

Canon. 

1. Respecting the canon of tlie New Testament there are 
two distinct but related fields of inquiry. The first has refer- 
ence to the origin and gradual accumulation of the materials 
which enter into the canon ; the second, to the collection of these 
materials into a volume or series of volumes possessing coordi- 
nate authority with the books of the Old Testament, and con- 
stituting with them the sum of written revelation. The first of 
these questions has been already discussed in great measure. 
In Chs. 2-4, the genuineness, uncorrupt preservation, authenti- 
city, and credibility of the four gospels were shown at some 
length ; in Ch. 5 the same was done in respect to the Acts of 
the Apostles and the acknowledged epistles ; in Ch. 6 was con- 
sidered the position of the disputed books in respect to the 
canon ; and in Ch. 7 the inspiration of the canon was demon- 
strated. Connected with these inquiries were some general 
notices respecting the date of the several books of the New 
Testament ; but the fuller consideration of this latter question 
is reserved for the second division of the present Part — that of 
Particular Introduction. It will be sufficient to state here in a 
general way that, if we leave out of account the writings of the 
Apostle John, the remaining books of the New Testament were 
written somewhere between A. d. 45-70 (according to the com- 
monly received opinion, between A. D. 50 - 70) ; while the 
most probable date of John's writings is A. D. 70-100. The 
composition of the books of the New Testament, then, spreads 
itself OA^er a period of about half a century. 

2. Turning our attention, now, to the second question, that 
of the collection and arrangement of these writings in a volume 
or series oi volumes coordinate in authority with the books of 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 395 

the Old Testament, we have a succession of periods, not sharplj^ 
separated from each other, but each of them possessing, never- 
theless, its prominent characteristics in relation to the canon- 
ical writings. 

3. First in order is the apostolic age, extending to about A. d. 
100, especially the first half of it when many of the apostles 
still survived. This is the period of the composition of the books 
of the New Testament, but we have no certain evidence that 
they were then collected into a whole. The writings of apos- 
tles and apostolic men had of course the same authority as 
their spoken word : that is, an authority that was supreme 
and decisive, according to the principle laid down by the 
Saviour : " He that receiveth you, receiveth me ; and he that 
receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me." Matt. 10 : 40. But 
so long as the churches had the presence of the apostles they 
could not feel, as we do now, the need of an authoritative writ- 
ten rule of faith and practice ; nor is there any proof that the 
apostles themselves understood in the beginning of the gospel 
God's purpose to add, through them, a second part to the 
canon of revelation that had been for so many centuries 
closed. A considerable number of years elapsed after the as- 
cension before it was thought necessary to give to the churches 
under apostolic sanction a written account of our Lord's life 
and teachings. The Acts of the Apostles were not composed 
till about A. D. 61-63. The apostolic epistles were for the most 
part written on special occasions and to meet special exigen- 
cies, the greater number of them not till between A. D. 50-70, 
those of John still later. The .Christians of this age drew their 
knowledge of the gospel mainly from the same sources to which 
Luke refers in the preface to his gospel ; from oral tradition, 
namely, received directly or indirectly from them " who from 
the beginning were eye-witnesses and ministers of the word." 

4. After the death of the apostles came what may be called 
the age of the apostolic fathers ; men who, like Ignatius, Polycarp, 
and others whose names have not come down to us, had been 
the disciples of the apostles. Ignatius suffered martyrdom at 



39ci COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

Home, A. D. 107 or 116. Polycarp survived beyond the mid- 
dle of the second century. The literary remains of this period 
are very scanty, the genuine writings of the apostolic fathers 
being confined to a few epistles — one of Clement of Home to 
the Corinthians, seven of Ignatius, one of Polycarp to the Phi- 
lippians, to which we may add the so-called epistle of Barna- 
bas ; since whoever was the author, it does not date from later 
than the early part of the second century. From these wri- 
tings we gather in general that the gospels and apostolic epis- 
tles were in current use in the churches, but nothing definite in 
regard to the collection of these writings into a whole. 

" With the exception of the epistles of Jude, 2 Peter and 2, 3 John, with 
■which no coincidences occur, and 1, 2 Thessalonians, Colossians, Titns, 
and Philemon, with which the coincidences are very questionable, all the 
other epistles were clearly known, and used by them ; but still they are 
not quoted with the formulas which preface citations from the Old Testa- 
ment (The Scripture saith, It is written, &c.), nor is the famous phrase of 
Ignatius (To the Philadelphians 5 : Betaking myself to the gospel, as to 
the flesh of Christ, and to the apostles, as the eldership of the church) suffi- 
cient to prove the existence of a collection of apostohc records as distinct 
from the sum of apostolic teaching. The coincidences with the gospels on 
the other hand are numerous and interesting, but such as cannot be refer- 
red to the exclusive use of our present written gospels," "Westcott, in 
Smith's Bible Diet. ; Art. Canon. The reason of this, as the writer goes on 
to show, was that ' ' the details of the Uf e of Christ were still too fresh to be 
sought for only in written records." There is, however, one remarkable 
passage in the epistle of Barnabas, the Greek text oi which has been recently 
discovered appended to the Sinaitic manuscript, in which he says (ch. 4) : 
" Let us take care that we be not found as it is written, many are called, but 
few are chosen." This formula, "as it is written," distinguishes the gospel 
from which it is quoted as a part of the inspired word ; for it is the cus- 
tomary formula employed by Christ and his apostles in accordance with the 
usage of their age, when they appeal to the Old Testament as of divine au- 
thority ; and is never applied to writings of mere human authority. 

5. Next in order comes what may be called the period of 
transition between the age of the apostolic and that of the early 
church fathers. Tlie most distinguished writer of this period 
is Justin Martyr. It is now generally conceded that the " Me- 
moirs " of which he so often speaks were our canonical gospels. 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 397 

Chap. 2, No. 7. Besides the abundant use of these he mentions 
the Apocalypse by name, and ascribes it expressly to the apos- 
tle John — " a certain man among us named John, one of the 
apostles of Christ, prophesied, in the revelation given him, that 
those who have believed in our Christ will spend a thousand 
years in Jerusalem," etc. Dialogue with Trypho, chap. 81. Ho 
has also some apparent allusions to the Pauline epistles, but 
how far he possessed and used a collection of the New Testa- 
ment writings, we have no means of judging. Towards the 
middle of the second century, however, events occurred which 
had a powerful influence, not indeed, for estabhshing the au- 
thority of the apostolic writings (since that existed from the be- 
ginning), but for bringing home to the consciousness of the 
churches their supreme importance as an authoritative rule of 
faith and practice, and also the necessity of carefully defining 
their extent as well as their true interpretation. Heretical 
teachers arose who sowed in the Christian church the seeds of 
gnosticism. Of these some, as Marcion, rejected on dogmatical 
grounds a portion of the apostolic writings, and mutilated those 
which they retained ; others, as Valentinus, sought by fanciful 
principles of interpretation to explain away their true meaning. 
Chap. 2, No. 12. The reaction upon the churches was immedi- 
ate and effectual. They set themselves at once to define and 
defend the true apostolic writings as well against Marcion's 
false and mutilated canon, if canon it may be called, as against 
the false interpretations of Yalentinus, Heracleon and others. 
The occasion had now come for the recognition of a New Testa- 
ment canon coordinate in authority with that of the Old Testa- 
ment, and from this time onward we find the idea of such a 
canon clearly developed in the writings of the church fathers. 
AVhat aided essentially in this work was the execution, about 
this time, of versions of the New Testament books, such as the 
Old Latin and Syriac ; for the authors of these versions must 
of necessity have brought together the writings, wliich, in their 
judgment, proceeded from the apostles and their companions. 
6. We find, accordingly, when the age of the early clmrch 



398 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

fatJiers opens, about a. d. 170, a clearly recognized canon — some- 
times described in two parts, the gospels and the apostles — which 
is placed on a level with that of the Old Testament as the in- 
spired word of God, and cited in common with it as the Scrip- 
tures, the divine Scriptures, the Scriptures of the Lord, etc. Both 
canons are mentioned together as The entire Scriptures both pro- 
phetical and evangelical; The pro2ohets,the gospel, and the blessed, 
apostles ; the law and the prophets, ivith the evangelical and apostoli- 
cal ivritings ; the Old and the New Testament; the entire instrument 
cfeach Testament, etc. Irenceus, against heresies, 2. 46; 5. 20; 
Letter to Florinus in Eusebius' Hist. Eccl., 5. 20: Clement of 
Alexandria, Strom., 7, p. 757 ; TertuUian, against heretics, chap. 
30. 36 : against Marcion, 4. 6, etc. The canon was not, how- 
ever, completed in its present form ; for the right of certain 
books — the so-called antilegomena, chap. 6. 6. — to a place in it 
remained for a considerable time an open question, which, in its 
application to particular books was answered differently in the 
East and the West. See chap. 6. On the other hand, certain 
writings of the apostolic fathers (as the so-called epistle of Bar- 
nabas, the Shepherd of Hermas, the epistle of Ckment of Eome 
to the Corinthians), being read in certain of the early churches, 
found their way into some codices of the New Testament. 
Chap. 6, No. 4. 

To the latter j)art of the second century belong two important canons, 
that of the Syriac Peshito, and the Muratorian canon. The former of 
these represents the judgment of the Eastern churches ; the latter appa- 
rently that of the Western. 

The canon of the Peshito has, of the seven disputed books, Hebrews and 
James. It wants the other five, namely, 2 Peter, 2, 3 John, Jude, Revelation. 

The Muratorian canon is in such an imperfect state that its testimony 
on some points is doubtful. It contains Jude and Revelation ; perhaps also 
2, 3 John. It wants Hebrews, and 2 Peter, and it adds the apocr^^phal book 
called the Apocalypse of Peter. 

Origen in the third century (as quoted by Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. , 6. 25) 
and Eusebius in the fourth, Hist. Eccl., 3. 25, give each a review of the 
New Testament canon with a statement of the differing judgments as to the 
disputed br)oks. The details will come up hereafter in connection with the 
books in qaestion. 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 399 

The Synodical Council of Loadicea, which was probably held between 
A. D. 343-381, gives in its 60th canon (the genuineness of which, how- 
ever, has been called in question by some) a list of the books of the Old 
and New Testaments. That of the New Testament wants the Apocalypse. 

The third Council of Carthage, held a. d, 397, contains all the books 
of our present canon. So also the Latin fathers, as Jerome, Rufinus, etc. 
But the Syrian churches still adhered to the canon of the Peshito. 

7. The history of Christian opinion in regard to the canon 
of the New Testament, of which a very brief outline has been 
given, has all the marks of naturalness and truthfulness. The 
Biblical student should carefully remember the two following 
important considerations : 

(1.) The books of the New Testament were not received as 
a whole, but separately upon the evidence that each gave of its 
apostolic origin. Doubts in respect to certain books throw no 
shadow of suspicion upon the rest, the genuineness and authen- 
ticity of which were acknowledged by all from the beginning. 
The question, therefore, is not concerning the truth of revelation, 
but simply concerning the claims of certain books to be a part 
of the record of revelation. However it may be decided in par- 
ticular cases, the apostolic authority of the universally acknowl- 
edged books, which constitute the main body of the New Testa- 
ment, remains perfectly sure. 

(2.) The early diversities of judgment in respect to certain 
books furnish satisfactory evidence of the freedom of thought 
and discussion among the primitive Christians, and of the sin- 
cerity and earnestness of their investigations. It was precisely 
because they would not accept any book without full evidence 
of its apostolic authority, that these diversities of judgment 
prevailed. 



400 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 



CHAPTER XXVIIL 

Ancient Versions of the ]^ew Testament. 

In the present chapter those versions of the Old Testament 
also that were made in connection with versions of the New, 
and in the interest of Christianity, will be briefly considered. 

I. LATIN VERSIONS. 

1. A peculiar interest attaches to the early Latin versions. 
The " Old Latin " translation of the New Testament, in connec- 
tion with which one of the Old Testament was executed from 
the Septuagint, is perhaps the earliest that exists in any lan- 
guage. The Old Syriac alone can rival it in antiquity, and if 
either may claim the precedence, it is probably the Latin. 
This version, and afterwards the revision of it by Jerome, was 
the grand medium through which the Holy Scriptures were 
known to the Western or Latin churches for more than twelve 
centuries. It has exercised no small influence on the popular 
modern versions of Christendom, and it is the great storehouse 
of theological terms for both Catholic and Protestant Chris- 
tianity. 

The English version of Wiclif (1324-1384) is a literal translation of 
the current text of the Latin Vulgate. The Psalter of the English Prayer 
Book is taken from Cranmer's Bible called the "Great Enghsh Bible :" 
and the version of the Psalms follows the GalHcan Psalter, the second of 
the revisions made by Jerome from the Old Latin. See below, No. 4. 

2. How early the cuite-Hieronymian Latin version (that 
current before the days of Hieronymus, that is, Jerome), was ex- 
ecuted is unknown ; but the writings of Tertullian furnish sat- 
isfactory proof that it was in popular use in North Africa 
(the place where it was made) in the last quarter of the second 
century. According to the testimony of the ancient church 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 401 

fathers, its text e.xistecliij a great Yariety of forms, and tli6 same 
variety has comedown to ns in the old manuscripts that contain 
it. Some, indeed, have maintained that several independent 
versions existed. But the sum of the evidence from both the 
early fathers and the manuscripts goes to show that there was 
never more than one that could be called independent. The 
copies of this were subjected to multiplied emendations or re- 
visions from the Greek original, till the text had fallen in the 
days of Augustine and Jerome into a state of great confu- 
sion. 

The language of Augustine is very strong : " The translators of the 
Scriptures from the Hebrew tongue into the Greek can he numbered, but 
the Latin interpreters can by no means be numbered. For whenever, in 
the first ages of Christianity, any one had gained possession of a Greek 
manuscript, and imagined himself to possess some little skill in the two 
languages, he ventured to become an interpreter." De Doct. Christ. 2. 16. 
According to the received opinion the so-called liala [Italian) was not an 
independent version, but one of these revisions, apparently made in Italy, 
and as some think, under ecclesiastical auspices. This, Augustine recom- 
mends as more faithful and perspicuous that the rest. 

3. The canon of the Old Latin version seems to have wanted, 
in the New Testament, Hebrews, James, and 2 Peter. In the 
Old Testament it followed the Septuagint. It contained, there- 
fore, the apocryphal books of that version, to which was also 
added the second of Esdras. Appendix to Pt. 2, No. 6. The text 
of this version is known to us from two sources, quotations and 
manuscripts. For our knowledge of the Old Testament we are 
dependent mainly on the quotations of the early Latin fathers, 
since only a few fragments remain in the shape of manuscripts. 
The same is true of some parts of the New Testament, jDarticu- 
larly the Apocalypse. But of the gospels as well as other 
parts of the New Testament, we have some very ancient manu- 
scripts which are of high value in textual criticism. The 
agreement of this version in many characteristic readings with 
the oldest known Greek manuscripts has already been noticed. 
Chap. 3, No. 3. Such agreement is the strongest possible tes- 



492 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

timoiiy for the genuineness of the readings in question. Chap. 
26, No. 2. 

The Codex Vercellensis, belonging to the fourth century, and said to have 
been written by Eusebius, bishop of Vercellse (now Vercelli) in Northern 
Italy where the manuscript is preserved, is one of the oldest manuscripts of 
the sacred text in existence. The Codex Veronensis at Verona, the Grseco- 
Latin Codex Claromontanus in the Imperial Library at Paris, the Codex 
Vindobonensis at Yienna, the Codex Bohbiensis at Turin, and others that 
might be named, are also very ancient. Among the codices that contain 
what is called the Italic version, is the Brixianus of the sixth century. 

4. About A. D. 383, Jerome at the solicitation of Damasus, 
bishop of Rome," undertook the arduous task of revising the 
Old Latin version by a comparison with the original Greek 
text. In this work he proceeded ver}^ cautiously, being well 
aware of the prejudices which he must encounter on the part of 
multitudes who could not discriminate between the authority 
of the original Greek text and that of the Latin version rnade 
from it. He began with the .four gospels. According to his 
own testimony, he selected ancient Greek manuscripts, but 
such as did not differ much from the Latin usage ; and in the 
use of these he so restrained his pen that, when he had corrected 
those things only which seemed to change the sense, he suf- 
fered the rest to remain as they were. (Preface to the four 
gospels addressed to Damasus.) His work of revision was af- 
terwards extended to the remaining books of the New Testa- 
ment ; a revision which Tregelles describes as " less complete 
and uniform than that of the gospels, and in which many parts 
seem to have received hardly any alterations from his hand." 
In Home, vol. 4, ch. 23. About the same time he turned his at- 
tention to the Latin version of the Old Testament, which had 
been made, not from the original Hebrew, but from the Greek 
Septuagint. Of this he first revised the Psalter, but not very 
thoroughly; in his own w^ords, "cursorily for the most part." 
This first revision is known by the name of the Boman Psalter. 
A later and more thorough revision, executed by Jerome at 
Bethlehem between A. d. 384-391, is called the Gcdlican Psal- 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 403 

ter. There is good reason to believe that Jerome's revision ex- 
tended to all the remaining books of the Old Testament, though 
we have positive evidence in respect to only a part of them — 
Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Canticles, Chronicles. 

Gregory of Tours is said to have introduced Jerome's second revision 
of tlie Psalter into tlie public service in France ; whence its name Gallican. 
The Roman Psalter was retained in Italy till the time of Pius V., who in- 
troduced the Gallican generally. But three churches, one of them that of 
the Vatican, continued to use the Eoman Psalter. Westcott in Smith's 
Bible Diet. ; Art. Vulgate. 

5. Jerome was soon convinced of the necessity of underta- 
king a neiv translation of the Old Testament from the original 
Hebrew. To this arduous task he addressed himself with 
great earnestness, availing himself of the help of Jewish schol- 
ars to complete his knowledge of the Hebrew. The whole work 
occupied his time, witii periods of intermission, from A. D. 385 
to A. D. 405. See in Home, vol. 2, p. 89. He did not venture, 
however, to make a new version from the Hebrew of the book 
of Psalms, the constant use of which in the church service was 
a barrier to the substitution of a new transhition. He accord- 
ingly 'retained his second revision from the Septuagint, which is 
called the Gallican Psalter. Of the Apocryphal books he 
translated only two, Judith and Tobit. The remaining Apocry- 
phal writings Avere retained in their old form. The Latin bible 
thus in part revised and in part translated by Jerome (most of 
the Apocryphal writings being left unre vised) is called the Vul- 
gate, that is common or current version, although this term be- 
longed, before the days of Jerome, to the Old Latin itself. Its 
diversified character is thus briefly indicated by Westcott. — 
"(1.) Unrevised Old Latin: Wisdom, Eccl., 1, 2 Mace, Baruch. 
(2.) Old Latin revised, from the LXX. : Psalter. (3.) Jeromes 
free translcdion from the original text: Judith, Tobit. (4.) Je-^ 
romes translcdion from the original : Old Testament except Psal- 
ter. (5.) Old Lcdin revised from Greek 3ISS.: Gospels. (6.) 
Old Lcdin cursorily revised: the remainder of New Testament." 
In Smith's Bible Diet. ; Art. Yulsfate. 



404 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

It is not neces.^ary to follow the history of the text of the Vulgate siuce 
Jerome's day. Suffice it to say that the simultaneous use of the Old Latin 
iiud Vulgate led to a corruption of both texts, which has not yet been thor- 
oughly removed. The i:)re3ent standard text is that called the Clementine. 
from Pope Clement VIII. , under whose auspices the Vulgate was edited in 
1592. This is better than the preceding Sixtine edition, a. d. 1590, but not 
l)y any means the pure text of Jerome, as it might be recovered, proximate- 
ly at least, by a careful collation of ancient manuscripts and quotations. 

The oldest and best manuscript of the Latin Vulgate Old and New Tes- 
taments, is the Codex Amiaiinus in the Laurentian Library at Florence. It 
belongs to the sixth centuiy, and exhibits the text of Jerome in a very- 
pure form, carrying us back to about 120 years from Jerome's death. The 
Codex Fuldensis is said to belong to the same century. There are other 
good manuscripts more or less complete of the eighth and ninth centuries. 

Many other Latin versions have appeared in modern times, sometimes 
in connection with the original text, and sometimes separately, which it is 
not necessary to notice in detail. 

II. SYEIAC VEESIONS. 

6. The ancient S3'riac version called the PesJiito belongs, in 
the judgment of biblical scholars, to the second century. It 
comprises the Old Testament as well as the New. The version 
of the Old Testament was made from the original Hebrew, 
and thus has the honor of being the oldest translation of the 
Hebrew Scriptures for Christian use, the Old Latin version 
having been made from the Septuagint. The version of the 
New Testament was made in connection with that of the Old, 
so that both together constitute one work. 

Syrian tradition makes extravagant claims in respect to the antiquity 
of the Peshito, telling us that it was executed by men sent to Palestine by 
the apostle Thaddeus (whom tradition connects with the founding of the 
church at Edessa), and by Abgarus, King of Edessa, a contemporary of 
the Saviour. The Old Testament was sometimes referred to a still earlier age 
— that of Solomon and Hiram, or that of the cajjtivity of the ten tribes. 
Without giving credence to such traditions, we may well believe that it 
belongs to the earliest period of the Syrian churches, and cannot be placed 
later than the last part of the second century. Of the term Peshito, that 
is, simple, there are different explanations. The most usual is that it de- 
notes a simple and literal version, free from glosses and allegorical inter- 
pretations. Tregelles suggests that it was called simple in contrast with 
the translation made by Paul of Tela from the Hexaplar text of Origen 



THE NE^\' TESTAMENT. 405 

(see below, No. 8), which was replete -with asterisks aud obeli to mark Ori- 
gen's revisions, and had also marginal references. It is agreed that the 
Old Testament was translated from the original Hebrew and Chaldee, 
though the translators seem to have had before them the Greek version of 
the Seventy, and to have consulted it in the progress of their work. 

7. The Pesliito is a free, and at the same time, a faithful 
version of Scripture, holding the first place among the ancient 
versions for its general excellence, while it ranks with the Old 
Latin in antiquity. Its authority in both textual criticism and 
interpretation is deservedly high. As it regards textual criticism, 
however, its value is diminished by the fact that its text has not 
come down to us in a pure state. It has suffered in the same 
way as the text of the Old Latin, though not to the same extent. 

Among the manuscripts brought from the Nitrian monaster- 
ies, and deposited in the British Museum, is one of great antiq- 
uity, containing large portions of the four gospels in Syriac. 
Dr. Cureton published in 1858 the text of this manuscript as 
"Remains of a very ancient Syriac recension of the four gos- 
pels in Syriac, hitherto unknown in Europe," with an English 
translation and preface. Its appearance was hailed with lively 
interest and has excited warm discussions. The manuscript 
itself is assigned to the fifth century, but it presents a text 
which, in the judgment of competent scholars, is older than the 
current text of the Peshito. Whether it is an older form of the 
Peshito version, or another and earlier version of the gospels, is 
a question that has been differently answered. It is main- 
tained, on the one hand, that the Peshito is a revision of the 
Curetonian text, " replete with readings unknown in the second 
century " (Tregelles in Smith's Bible Diet.) ; on the other, that 
it is " an older version than the Peshito ; which the author or 
authors of the latter consulted throughout." Davidson in Al- 
exander's Kitto. Its great value for critical purposes must be 
acknowledged by all. 

In many oharacteristic readings it agrees with the oldest manuscripts 
and quotations. It has also some erroneous readings known to be of great 
antiquity. In a word, the high antiquity of its text cannot be reasonably 
questioned, ^rs. Ciu-eton and Tregelles think that the gospel of Matthew 



406 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

may be a translation from the apostle's Hebrew copy. But this is denied 
by Davidson and others. 

8. The Philoxenian Syriac version was executed A. D. 508, 
under the auspices of Philoxenus, or Xenaias, bishop of Hie- 
rapolis or Mabug in Syria. Philoxenus belonged to the sect 
of the Monophysites, and it is generally thought that the ver- 
sion was made in the interest of that sect. The translator's 
name was Polycarp, one of Philoxenus' rural bishops. With 
the exception, perhaps, of certain books (see below), the text 
of this version has not come down to us in its original form. 
We have only a revision of it made A. D. 616 by Thomas of Har- 
kel in a monastery of Alexandria, whence this version is also 
called the Hardean Syriac. The characteristic of this version 
is its extremely literal character. It is the translator's aim to 
represent every Greek word, even the article, by a correspond- 
ing Syriac word, even where the idiom of the language must 
thereby be violated. Hence its style is of necessity barbarous. 
But this very character of literalness gives to the Philoxenian 
version high authority in respect to textual criticism. So far as 
it has come down to us in its primitive form, it is, in truth, 
equal to the Greek text of its own time. 

About the time that Thomas of Harkel revised the Philoxe- 
nian version of the New Testament, Paul of Tela, another Mon- 
ophysite, executed what is called the Hexaplar Syriac version of 
the Old Testament, because it was made from the text of Ori- 
gen's Hexaplar. Chap. 16, No. 12. It coincides with the 
Philoxenian version of the New Testament in respect to its 
character as well as the time of its appearance, being made on 
the principle of following the Greek text word for word as ex 
actly as possible. Thus the Hexaplar version of the Old, and 
the Philoxenian version of the New, constitute together a whole 
of like character throughout. 

After the example of Origen, Paul introduced into his version asterisks 
and obeli ; the asterisk (*) to indicate insertions made in the text on the 
authority of manuscripts and other versions ; the obelus (-^), to mark pas- 
sages of doubtful character. Thus it supplies, as far as a version can, the 
Hexaplar of Origen, of wliich only a few fragments remain. . 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 4.07 

The Pliiloxeiiian version of tlie New Testament, as revised hj Thomas 
of Harkel, contains also the same asterisks and obeli. Critical marks and 
marginal readings also ax)pear in most of the manuscripts. This critical 
apparatus is generally thought to have proceeded from Thomas himself, in 
imitation of the Hexaplar Syriac of the Old Testament ; but whether to indi- 
cate comparison with the Peshito, or with the Greek manuscripts employed 
by Thomas is not certain. 

There is a version of the Catholic epistles wanting in the Peshito — 2 Pet., 
2, 3 John, Jude — exi^sting in two forms, one of which is thought to be the 
unrevised Philoxenian text. There is a codex at Rome containing the four 
gospels which has also been supposed to contain the same unrevised text. 

The Jerusalem Syriac Ledionary, containing simply lessons from the four 
gospels, is a peculiar version knoAvn to us from a single manuscript in the 
Vatican Library which belongs to the eleventh century. The version itself 
is referred by some to the sixth century, by others to a later date. Its dia- 
lect is barbarous, being a mixture of Chaldee and Syriac, but its readings 
are said often to coincide with the oldest and best authorities. 

III. EGYPTIAN AND ETHIOPIC VERSIONS. 
9. Formerly but one version was known to exist in the lan- 
guage of the ancient Egyptians. This, which was made in the 
dialect of lower Egypt, was naturally called Coptic.^ When it 
was discovered that another version existed in the dialect of 
upper Egypt, the Arabic term Sahidic was applied to it. But 
since the word Coptic is generic, applying to both dialects alike, 
it has been proposed to call the former version Copto-Memphitic 
or simply 3IempMtic, from Memphis, the ancient capital of lower 
Egypt ; and the latter Copto- Thebaic or Thebaic, from Thebes, 
the celebrated capital of ancient upper Egypt. "When these 
versions were executed cannot be determined with certainty. 
•But they existed in the fourth century, and probably in the 
latter part of the third century. Their high antiquity gives to 
them great value in textual criticism. The latter of them, how- 
ever, exists only in a fragmentary form. Some fragments of a 
third version, differing from both the Memphitic and the The- 
baic, have been discovered. To this, the epithet Bashmuric has 
been applied, from the Arabian name Bashmur, a district of lower 
Egypt in the Delta to the East. But Egyptian scholars doubt 
whether the term is well applied, as the version is said to have 
stronger affinity to the Thebaic than to the Memphitic version. 



408 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

The Memioliitic and Thebaic versions are said to have contained the 
whole Bible, that of the Old Testament being made from the Septuagint. 
The whole Memphitic New Testament has been several times published, 
but never in such a manner as to meet the wants of Biblical criticism. Of 
the Thebaic version only some fragments have been published. 

10. An Ethiopic version of the wliole Bible exists in the an- 
cient dialect of Axum. That of the Old Testament was made 
from the Septuagint ; that of the New is a close version of the 
original Greek. The age to which it belongs is not known. 
Many of the readings of its text are said to show an affinity 
with the older class of Greek manuscripts, while others are of a 
later character. This leads to the suspicion that the version 
has undergone revision by the aid of later Greek manuscripts. 
An edition of the whole Bible is in process of publication in 
Germany. 

IV. THE GOTHIC AND OTHEE VEESIONS. 

11. The first information which European scholars had of the 
existence (^ a 6^o^/^^c version of the New Testament was in the six- 
teenth century, when one Morillon copied from a Gothic manu- 
script in the library of the Monastery of Werden in Westphalia 
the Lord's Prayer and some other parts, Avliich were afterwards 
published. When the Swedes, in 1648, took Prague, among 
the spoils sent to Stockholm was the celebrated Codex Ar- 
genteus, Silver manuscript, containing a copy of the Gothic gos- 
pels written on purple vellum in silver letters, except the begin- 
nings of the sections Avhich are in gold. When entire the man- 
uscript is said to have contained 320 leaves, but when found it 
had but 188 in quarto size. In its present state it wants parts 
of all the gospels. The letters are deeply furrowed, and beau- 
tifully regular. It is thought that this manuscript was exe- 
cuted for the use of some Gothic king. After various changes 
of place, it was finally deposited in the library of the University 
of Upsal in Sweden, where it is now preserved enclosed in a 
silver case. The Gothic version, of which the Codex Argenteus 
IS a transcript, was made in the fourth century by Ulphilas, 
second bishop of the Goths in Mcesia (the so-ealled Moeso- 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 409 

Gotlis). The manuscript itself belongs, it is thought, to the 
sixth century. 

12. In 1762 a palimpsest was discovered by Knittel at 
Wolfenbiittel, a city of the duchy of Brunswick in Germany, 
containing, as the earlier writing, part of the epistle to the 
Romans in Gothic and Latin, the versions standing side by 
side. In 1817 the late Cardinal Mai discovered in the Ambro- 
sian Library at Milan five palimpsests, from which, in connec- 
tion with the Wolfenbiittel palimpsest, the Gothic text of the 
greater part of the Pauline epistles (that to the Hebrews not in- 
cluded) has been recovered, as also some fragments of the gos- 
pels, and of the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. All that has 
been recovered of the Gothic version was edited in 1835-6 by 
Gabelentz and Loebe with a Latin translation, notes, and a 
Gothic dictionary and grammar. There are several later edi- 
tions partly of the Codex Argenteus, and partly of all the Gothic 
remains of the Scriptures. Thus this interesting version, which 
represents the text of the New Testament in the fourth century 
as it Y/as known to Ulphilas, is made available for the purposes 
of Biblical criticism. 

13. There is an ancient Armenian version unaccompanied 
as yet by any Latin translation; and thus available for critical 
purposes only through the help of those who know the language. 
By means of such help Dr. Tregelles used it for his critical edi- 
tion of the New Testament, and he speaks of its value " as a 
critical witness as to the general reading of certain Greek 
copies existing in the former half of the fifth century." In 
Smith's Bible Diet., Art. Armenian Version. 

Other ancient versions, as the Arabic and Slavonic, we pass 
by ; as their comparatively late date makes them of little im- 
portance for critical studies. The history of modern versions, 
among which is our own authorized version, presents a wide 
and interesting field of inquiry, but it does not come within the 
scope of the present work. 

Conop. to Bibifc 1 S 



410 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

SECOND DIVISION, PARTICULAR INTRODUCTION 
CHAPTER XXIX. 

The Historical Books. 

1. The New Testament, like the Old, is not an abstract sys- 
tem of doctrines and duties, but a record of facts involving doc- 
trines and duties of the highest import. This record does not 
constitute an independent history, complete in itself, and to be 
explained in its own light. It is rather the necessary sequel to 
the record of the Old Testament. It interprets the Old* Testa- 
ment, and is itself interpreted by it. The two constitute to- 
gether an organic whole, and can be truly understood only in 
their mutual connection. To discard the Old Testament 
whether formally or in practice, is to throw away the key which 
unlocks to us the treasures of the New ; for the writers of the 
New Testament continually reason out of the Scriptures of the 
Old. If we cannot truly comprehend the Old Testament except 
when we view it as preparatory to the revelation contained in 
the New, so neither can we have a full understanding of the 
New except as the completion of the revelation begun in the 
Old. In a word, we understand revelation aright only in its 
unity. 

2. The New Testament uses all the teachings of the Old, but 
it does not repeat them all. The unitj^, personality, and infinite 
perfections of God ; his universal providence, and his suprem- 
acy as well over nations as individuals ; the duties that men 
owe to God and each other, as embodied for substance in the 
ten commandments and expanded in the teachings of Moses and 
the prophets; the indissoluble connection, on the one hand, be- 
tween righteousness and true prosperity, and on the other, be- 
tween sin and ruin — all these great truths are so fully unfolded 
in the Old Testament that they need no formal rei3etition in the 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 411 

New. The person and office of the Messiah — as that great 
prophet, like unto Moses, whom God should raise up for his 
people in the latter days ; as that mighty king of David's line, 
who should sit on his throne and in his kingdom to order it 
and to establish it with judgment and with justice forever; as 
that high priest after the order of Melchisedec whom God 
should establish forever with a solemn oath — had been prefig- 
ured in the institutions of Moses, in the Psalms, and in the 
writings of the prophets. 

Some other important truths not so fully revealed in the 
Old Testament but deducible in a legitimate way either from 
its general scope or from some brief hints in its teachings, had 
become firmly established in the faith of the Jewish people 
during the long interval that elapsed between Malachi 
and Christ. Such particularly were the doctrines of the resur- 
rection of the dead and of future rewards and punishments. 
These truths, also, as well as those more directly and fully 
taught in the Old Testament, were assumed by the Saviour 
and his apostles as a platform for the peculiar revelations of 
the gospel, the sum of which is Jesus Christ crucified for the 
salvation of the world. The four gospels, then, as containing the 
history of our Lord's appearance and works, lie at the founda- 
tion of the revelation contained in the New Testament. To 
these, then, our attention must first be given ; after which the 
history of the apostolic labors, as given in the Acts of the 
Apostles, will naturally follow. 

I. THE GOSPELS AS A WHOLE. 

3. The word gosjoel (Anglo-Saxon, god, good, and spell, history 
ov tidings) answers to the Greek word euangelion, good-tidings j 
whence comes the Latin evangelium, with the derived words in 
use among us, as evangelist, evangelical, etc. It proj)erly signi- 
fies the good message itself, and it is only by a secondar}^ usage 
that it is applied to the ivritten histories of the Saviour's life, as 
being the embodiment of this message. The titles prefixed to 
these gospels from the beginning ; " The Gospel according to 



412 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

Matthew, "The Gospel according to Mark," etc., indicate that 
the written record is not itself the gospel, but rather an ac- 
count of the gospel according to these different writers. Christ 
himself is the author of the gospel. It existed and was re- 
ceived by many thousands before a line of it was put upon 
record on the written page. 

4. The genuineness, uncorrupt preservation, and authenti- 
city of the four canonical gospels have already been shown at 
some length. Chaps. 2, 3, 4. In connection with the argument 
for their genuineness, their natural division into two parts — the 
first three, commonly called the synoptical gosj)els, and the 
gospel according to John ; the remarkable agreements and dif- 
ferences of the three synoptical gospels among themselves ; and 
the remarkable contrast which the fourth gospel presents to all 
three of the synoptical gospels, have also been considered 
simply as eocisting facts. Chap. 2, Nos. 14 and 15. But when we 
seek an explanation of these remarkable phenomena, we enter 
upon a very difficult problem, one on which the ingenuity of 
Biblical scholars has exhausted itself for several successive 
generations without reaching thus far a result that can be re- 
garded as perfectly satisfactory. Almost all conceivable theo- 
ries and combinations of theories have been proposed, some of 
which, however, are now generally abandoned as untenable, 
and need not be considered at large. 

5. Looking at the three synoptical gospels, Matthew, Mark, 
and Luke, we find a remarkable agreement not only in their 
general plan, but in many of their details also. With the ex- 
ception of our Lord's last journey to Jerusalem and the history 
of his passion there, they are mainly occupied with his ministry 
in Galilee. The selection of incidents is also to a great extent 
the same. "The most remarkable differences lie in the pres- 
ence of a long series of events connected with the Galilean 
ministry, which are peculiar to St. Matthew and St. Mark 
(Matt. 14 : 22—16: 12; Mark 6:45—8 : 26), and a second se- 
ries of events connected with the journey to Jerusalem (Luke 
9 : 51 — 18 : 14), which is pecuHar to St. Luke." "Westcott, In- 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 413 

trocluct. to tlie Study of the Gospels, cliap. 3. The coincidences 
of language, as well as incident, are also remarkable ; and here 
the general law prevails that these coincidences are more com- 
mon, as has been shown bj Norton and others, in the recital of 
the words of others than in the narrative parts of the gospels, 
and most common when our Lord's own words are recited. 

6. But with these remarkable agreements coexist equally re- 
markable differences. Each writer has his own peculiarities of 
style, which appear more distinctly in the original than they 
can in any version. It has been noticed also by Biblical schol- 
ars that these peculiarities are more marked in the narrative 
than in the recitative parts of the gospels in question. Each 
writer, moreover, brings in incidents peculiar to himself, not in 
the form of patchwork, but as parts of a self consistent whole. 
So far is he from exact outward conformity to either of the 
other gospels, in respect to arrangement and circumstantial de- 
tails, that the diversity between him and them in these particu- 
lars, sometimes creates serious difficulties when we attempt to 
arrange the three different narratives in the form of a harmony. 

7. No theory of the origin of these three gospels can be true 
which does not explain both their coincidences and their differ- 
ences. Hence we may set aside at once the hypothesis of their 
midual cJe2Jendence on each other — that the later evangelists used 
the writings of the earlier. By the different advocates of this 
theory, each of the three synoptic gospels has been made in 
turn the primary record from which the others drew ; but no one 
of them has been able, upon this hypothesis, to account for the 
omissions or insertions of the supposed later evangelists, much 
less for the remarkable fact already noticed, that the peculiari- 
ties of each writer appear more fully in the narrative than in 
the recitative part of his gospel. The later evangelists may, in- 
deed, have been acquainted with the writings of the earlier and 
have consulted them, but this supposition alone does not ex- 
plain their peculiar coincidences and differences. 

Another hypothesis is that of an original document or docu~ 
ments, from Avhich all three are supposed to have drawn. The 



4:11 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

assumption of a single original written gospel, as the basis of 
our first three canonical gospels, is manifestly untenable. Had 
a primitive gospel existed of such compass and authority as to 
be the common source of our three synoptic gospels, it is incon- 
ceivable that the churches, which carefully preserved these 
three gospels, -though two of them proceeded not from apostles 
themselves but onl}^ from their companions, should have allowed 
the original gospel so speedily and utterly to perish, that no 
traces of it remained in the days of Ir en sens, Tertullian, and 
Clement of Alexandria. Besides, this hypothesis, as it was 
soon seen, does not explain the peculiar relation of these gos- 
pels to each other in respect to coincidences and differences. 
Hence various modifications were proposed — an original Ara- 
maic gospel with various Greek translations, this original Ara- 
maic gospel variously increased with new matter, etc. In a 
word, the form of these assumed original documents was hy- 
pothetically explained from the actual form of our three synop- 
tic gospels ; the very reverse of the true problem, which was to 
exjDlain, from some reliable data, the form of the canonical gos- 
pels themselves. 

The remaining hypothesis is that of oral tradition emanating 
from the apostles themselves, and maintained in its purity dur- 
ing their lives hj their personal presence and teaching. That 
the gospel existed in this form alone for some years after the 
beginning of Christianity is admitted by all. The apostles 
were Christ's chosen witnesses of his life and teachings. From 
their lips proceeded the tradition which now constitutes our 
written gospels. The necessity of embodying this tradition in 
the form of permanent records was not felt at the beginning. 
But, as the churches were multiplied, oral tradition became lia- 
ble to corruption in many ways through the multiplicity of the 
organs employed in its transmission. Then the need of written 
gospels began to manifest itself, and it was natural that the 
apostles should look to the supply of this need either by their 
own direct agency, or by that of men writing with their knowl- 
edge and approbation. How many years elapsed before the 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 415 

appearance of tlie earliest of our canonical gospels, whicli is 
commonly supposed to have been that of Matthew, we have no 
means of ascertaining with accuracy. But we may reasonably 
suppose that the period was long enough to allow the apostolic 
tradition of our Lord's life and teachings to assume a somewhat 
definite shape in respect to both matter and outward form. 
First, in respect to matter. As their public instructions could 
not cover the whole of our Saviour's history (John 20 : 30 ; 21 : 
25), they naturally selected, under the guidance of the Holy 
Spirit, those parts of it which embodied the spirit and meaning 
of the whole. Since, moreover, the apostles remained together 
at Jerusalem for some time after our Lord's ascension (Acts 8 : 
1 ; 15 : 6), it is highly reasonable to suppose that in a matter 
of such moment they had a mutual understanding — an under- 
standing which, while it interfered with the freedom of no one, 
secured a general agreement as to the points in our Lord's his- 
tory and teachings which should be especially insisted on. 
Secondly in respect to outward form. While the apostles were 
preserved by the illumination of the Holy Spirit from any super- 
stitious regard to the letter of our Lord's teachings, their rever- 
ence for him as a perfect teacher, whose words were truth un- 
mixed with error, must have made them anxious to put the 
oral tradition of his sayings into as perfect a form as possible ; 
whence the tradition of our Saviour's words would assume from 
the first a more fixed form than that of his life generally. 

It is supposed by many that the writers of the first three 
gospels drew each from this common body of oral tradition 
such materials as suited liis general plan ; no one of them pro- 
posing to give the whole of our Lord's history, or even* to ob- 
serve a strict chronological order in the events recorded by him, 
any farther than such order was rendered necessary by their 
nature and essential connection. In the case of Matthew, who 
was one of the twelve apostles, it might be thought that he 
wrote simply from his own personal knowledge ; but his gospel 
could not cover all the ground of our Lord's history as known 
to him, and we may well suppose that in the selection of his 



416 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

materials he had regard — not a servile, but a free regard — to 
the common oral tradition of the apostles, which was, in fact, 
the embodiment of their united wisdom under the illumination 
of the Divine Spirit. Each evangelist, as well Mark and Luke 
who were not apostles, as Matthew who belonged to the number 
of the twelve, wrote independently of the other two. The later 
writers may, indeed, have been acquainted with the v/ritings of 
the earlier, but a bare inspection of the three gospels shows that 
there was no labored effort on the part of one evangelist to ad- 
just his work to those of the others. Hence arise apparent dis- 
crepancies, as in the two genealogies of our Lord, which it is 
sometimes hard to explain. But these very difficulties witness 
to the independent truthfulness of the writers. Had they writ- 
ten in concert, or borrowed systematically from each other, such 
difficulties would not have existed. 

Although apostolic oral tradition is thus made the main 
source whence the writers of these gospels drew their materials, 
it is not necessary to affirm or deny their use, in a subordinate 
way, of written documents. That such documents existed in 
the time of Luke we know from his own words, chap. 1 : 1. 
He does not condemn them, but neither does he rely upon them. 
His gospel is not derived from them, but from his own accurate 
investigations; "It seemed good to me also, having accurately 
traced out all things from the beginning " (as the original Greek 
means)," to write to thee in order, most excellent Theophilus." 
Chap. 1 : 3. And if Luke, the companion of Paul, was not 
dependent for his materials on any previously existing writings, 
neither was Mark, the companion of l5oth Peter and Paul, nor 
Matthew, who Avas himself an apostle. Nor can the incorpora- 
tion of such writings into the synoptic gospels be shown with 
any degree of probabihty. If it cannot be claimed for this 
hj^pothesis of a primitive apostolic tradition, as the source 
whence the writers of the synoptic gospels drew their materials, 
that it explains all the phenomena of their mutual relation to 
each other, it is, nevertheless, more satisfactory than any other 
that has been proposed, and may be regarded as a near aj^prox- 
imation to the actual facts in the case. 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 417 

Between the traditions of which the apostle Paul speaks (2 Tliess. 2:15; 
3:6; also, according to the original, 1 C^r. 11:2) received immediately 
from his mouth or pen, and the pretended traditions of later days, handed 
down from century to century through a succession of uninspired men, the 
difference is that between light and darkness, between truth and fiction. 
We have in the writings of the New Testament the genuine apostohc 
tradition, at first oral, but put into a ^\T?itten form during the lifetime of 
the apostles. These traditions are the "gold, silver, precious stones "of 
divine truth. AH other traditions are the "wood, hay, stubble " of human 
origin. In settling the question respecting the genuineness of the New 
Testament writings, we proceed as in the case of any other writings. "We 
avail ourselves of all the evidence within our reach, external and internal. 
We take the testimony of Irenseus and Tertullian, and also of Marcion and 
Valentinus ; though none of them were inspired, and the two latter were 
heretical. But when we have once determined what books were written by 
apostles or apostolic men, these contain for us the only autlioritative 
tradition, as defined by the apostle : ' ' Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and 
hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word or our 
epistle." 2Thess. 2:15. 

8. In comparing the synoptic gospels with each other and 
with the fourth gospel, we must ever bear in mind that no one 
of them professes to give a complete history of our Lord's life, 
or to arrange all the incidents which he relates in the exact 
order of time. Under the guidance of the divine Spirit each 
one pursues his own course, independently of the others, here 
inserting what one or more of the rest have omitted, or omit- 
ting what one or more of them have inserted ; and here, again, 
bringing in incidents without regard to their exact chronological 
order, with some general preface like the following: "at that 
time," Matt. 12 : 1 ; " and he began again," Mark 4:1; "and it 
came to pass as he was alone praying," Luke 9 : 18 ; " and it 
came to pass as they went in the way," Luke 9 : 57; etc. Thus 
the wisdom of God has given us, not all the particulars of our 
Lord's history, but such a selection from both the incidents of 
his public life and his public and private teachings as best 
embodies the great facts of the gospel, and the doctrines and 
duties connected with them. In the four canonical gospels the 
church has, not all of our Lord's history and teachings, but all 
that the Holy Ghost judged needful for her establishment and 
edification to the end of time. 



418 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

Of our Lord's history before liis baptism we have only his genealogy in 
a twofold form ; some notices of his miraculous conception ; an account o^ 
his birth and circumcision, with the visions and projphecies connected with 
them ; a history of his preservation from Herod's attempt to destroy him > 
the subsequent residence of his parents in Nazareth, with a single incident 
of his childhood. Luke 2 : 40-52. All these particulars have, in one way 
or another, a bearing on his divine mission and work as the Son of God- 
The ajjocryphal gospels on the contrary, as, for example, the Gospel of the 
Infancy, and the Gospel of Nicodemus, abound in frivolous stories relating 
to our Lord's infancy and later life, which have no connection with the 
great work of redemp)tion. 

9. The peculiarities of the fourth gospel, as well as its rela- 
tion to the three preceding gospels, will come up for considera- 
tion hereafter. At present we only remark that John wrote 
many years after the appearance of the synoptic gospels, and 
that, whatever reference he may have had to them, his gospel 
constitutes, in the plan of revelation, a true complement to the 
other three. For (1) if we except the narrative of our Lord's 
passion, it covers, for the most, part ground not occupied by 
them. They give mainly the history of the Saviour's ministry 
in Galilee (Luke also, at some length, that of his last journey 
to Jerusalem); the scene of much of John's gospel, on the con- 
trary, is Jerusalem and its near vicinity. (2.) John unfolds 
more fully the nature of our Lord's person, and his peculiar 
relation to the Father and to his church. This he does, more 
especially, in his prologue (chap. 1 : 1-18) ; in the record of the 
Saviour's discussions with the Jews (chaps. 3, 5-12) ; and in that 
of his discourses addressed in private to the circle of the 
apostles, chaps. 13-17. Thus John's gospel is emphatically that 
of Christ's ]person, as illustrated by his works and words ; while 
the three earlier evangelists give rather the gospel of his louhlic 
ministry, through which his divine person everywhere shines 
forth. This deeper view of our Lord's person and office which 
the gospel of John unfolds met the wants of the primitive 
church in a more advanced stage, when false teachers were 
already beginning to sow the seeds of those errors which, in the 
next generation, brought forth such a rank and poisonous 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 419 

harvest. The same great characteristics adapt it to the wants 
of the church in all ages. Without the fourth gospel she 
could not be completely furnished to meet the assaults of error, 
which, from one generation to another, makes, with unerring 
instinct, its main assault upon the person and office of the Son 
of God. 

But if the evangelical narrative would not be complete 
without the fourth gospel, neither would it be perfect for the 
use of the church with this alone. The record of our Lord's 
life and teachings as given in the first three gospels is preemi- 
nently adapted to popular instruction. It is precisely such a 
record as the preachers of the gospel need in their public 
ministrations. With it they can use the fourth gospel with 
effect; but without it they would want the natural preparation 
for and introduction to those deep and spiritual views of Christ's 
person and office which the bosom-disciple unfolds. It is not 
in the three synoptic gospels, nor in the gospel of John taken 
separately, that we find the complete evangelical armor, but in 
the perfect whole of the four. 

10. Very numerous attempts have been made to construct 
harmonies of the four gospels. One plan is to form out of the 
whole, in what is supposed to be the true chronological order, 
a continuous narrative embracing all the matter of the four, but 
without repetitions of the same or similar words. Another 
plan is to exhibit in chronological order, the entire text of the 
four gospels arranged in parallel columns, so far as two or more 
of them cover the same ground. The idea is very imposing, 
but the realization of it is beset with formidable if not insur- 
mountable difficulties. It is certain that the evangelists do not 
always follow the exact order of time, and it is sometimes 
impossible to decide between the different arrangements of 
events in their records. In the four narratives of the events 
connected with the resurrection all harmonists find themselves 
baffled. Had we a full account of all the particulars of that 
exciting scene, we might undoubtedly assign to the different 
parts of each narrative its true place in the order of time. 



4^10 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

But with our present means of information this is impossible. 
Experience shows that the most profitable way of studying 
the evangelical narrative is to take each gospel as a tuJiole, but with 
continual reference to the parallel parts of the other gospels, so 
far as they can be ascertained. In this work a good harmony, 
Uke that of Robinson, may render essential service, though its 
arrangements must in many cases be regarded only as tentative 
— essays at obtaining the true order, rather than the certain 
determination of it. 

The relative number of chapters in the different gospels does not give 
their true relation in respect to size. The chapters are respectively 28, 16, 
24, 21; which are to each other in the proportion of 7, 4, 6, 5 J. But 
estimating according to the number of pages (in an edition without breaks 
for the verses), it will be found that the gospel of Luke holds the first 
place, its size being to that of the other gospels nearly as 60 to 57, 35, 46. 
The relation of Matthew's gospel to that of Mark, in respect to the quantity 
of matter is then nearly that of 8 to 5. 

In the notices of the separate gospels which follow it is not thought 
necessary to give an elaborate analysis of their contents. The aim will be 
rather to exhibit the prominent characteristics of each, and its special office 
in the economy of divine revelation. 

II. MATTHEW. 

11. The unanimous testimony of the ancient church is that 
the first gospel was written by the apostle Matthew, who is also 
called Levi. With his call to the apostleship he may have 
assumed the name of Matthew, as Saul took that of Paul. He 
was of Hebrew origin, the son of Alphseus, and a tax-gatherer 
under the Bo man government, Matt. 10 : 3 ; Mark 2 : 14 ; 3 : 18 ; 
Luke 5:27, 29; 6:15; Acts 1:13. He was evidently a man of 
some means (Luke 5 :29), and his office must have required for 
its proper discharge a knowledge of the Greek as well as of his 
native Hebrew ; that is, Aramaean, as the word Hebrew means 
in the New Testament, when applied to the vernacular of the 
Palestine Jews. 

12. The question respecting the original language, of Mat- 
thew's gospel has been, since the time of Erasmus, a matter of 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 42] 

controversy, in which eminent biblical scholars have been 
found on different sides. The problem is to find a solution 
which shall bring into harmony the following well-established 
facts : (1) that, according to the united testimony of the early 
church fathers, Matthew originally wrote his gospel in Hebrew . 

(2) that our present Greek gospel has all the freedom of an 
original work, that it has remarkable coincidences in language 
with the second and third gospels, and especially tliat the 
citations from the Old Testament which stand in our Lord's 
discourses follow as a rule the Greek vei'sion of the Seventy ; 

(3) that all the early writers, those who testify to the Hebrew 
original of this gospel included, receive and use our present 
Greek gospel as the genuine and authoritative gospel of 
Matthew ; (4) that the original Hebrew gospel, to the existence 
of which there is such abundant testimony, was allowed utterly 
to perish, while the Greek form of it alone was preserved and 
placed at the head of the canonical books of the New Testa- 
ment. 

13. The testimony from Papias, in the beginning of the 
second century, and onward to the fourth century, has often 
been quoted and discussed. It is not necessary to adduce it 
here at length. It may be found in Kirchhofer, in the critical 
commentaries and introductions, and also in the modern Bible 
dictionaries. The words of Papias, as preserved to us by 
Eusebius (Hist. EccL, 3. 39) are as follows: "Matthew 
therefore wrote the oracles in the Hebrew dialect, and every 
one interpreted them as he was able." If there were any 
ground for doubting what Papias meant by " the oracles," it 
would be removed by the testimony of the later writers, as 
Pantsenus and Origen (in Eusebius' Hist. EccL, 5. 10; 6. 25), 
Irenseus (Against Heresies, 3. 1), Eusebius himself (Hist. EccL, 
3. 24), Epiphanius (Heresies, 29. 9; 30. 3), and others. They 
who maintain that Matthew wrote originally in Greek suppose 
that the early fathers confounded an apocrj^plial gospel, the 
so-called " gospel according to the Hebrews," with the true 
gospel of Matthew. Others think, perhaps with more reason, 



422 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

that tlie gospel accordiDg to the Hebrews was a corrupted form, 
or, what amounts to nearly the same thing, a close imitation of 
the true Hebrew gospel of Matthew. 

Tlie Ebionites and Nazarenes used each apparently a different form of 
a Hebrew gospel which is sometimes called the gospel according to Mat- 
thew, but more properly "the gospel according to the Hebrews" (once by 
Jerome "the gospel according to the apostles " }. According to Epiphanius 
that in use among the Ebionites was "not entire and full, but corrupted 
and abridged. " Heresies, 30. 13. Jerome says : " Matthew, who is called 
Levi, having become from a publican an aj)ostle, first composed in Judea, 
for the sake of those who had believed from among the circumcision, a 
gospel of Christ in Hebrew letters and words. Who was the person that 
afterwards translated it into Greek is not certainly known. Moreover, the 
Hebrew copy itself is at this day preserved in the library of Csesarea which 
Pampilus the Martyr collected Avith much diligence. The Nazarenes, who 
live in Bercea, a city of Syria, and use this volume, gave me the opportu- 
nity of writing it out." De Vir. Illustr., 3. Here he certainly identifies 
this gospel, which, as he repeatedly informs us, he translated, with the 
true Hebrew gospel of Matthew. But he afterwards speaks of it more 
doubtfully, as " the gospel according to the Hebrews," and more fully a& 
"the gospel according to the Hebrews, which is written indeed in the 
Chaldee and Syriac language, but in Hebrew letters, which the Nazarenes 
use to the present day, [being the gospel] according to the apostles, or, as 
most think, according to Matthew" (xigainst the Pelagians, 3); "the 
gosi3el which the Nazarenes and Ebionites use, which we have lately 
translated from the Hebrew language into the Greek, and which is called 
by most the authentic gospel of Matthew." Comment, in Matt. 12:13. 
The most probable suj)position is that Jerome, knowing that Matthew 
originally wrote his gospel in Hebrew, hastily assumed at first that the 
copy which he obtained from the Nazarenes was this very gospel. The 
character of the quotations which he and Epiphanius give from it forbids 
the supposition that it was the true Hebrew gospel of IMatthew. It may 
liave been a corrupted form of it, or an imitation of it. 

14. Of those who, in accordance with ancient testimony, 
believe that the original language of Matthew's gospel was 
Hebrew, some assume that the apostle himself afterwards gave 
a Greek version of it. In itself considered this hypothesis is 
not improbable. Matthew, writing primarily for his countrymen 
in Palestine, might naturally employ the language which was to 
them vernacular. But afterwards, when Christianity had 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 423 

begun to spread thrcugli the Koman empire, and it became 
evident that the Greek hmguage was the proper medium for 
believers at large ; and when also, as is not improbable, some 
of the existing canonical books of the New Testament had 
appeared in that language, we might well suppose that, in view 
of these circumstances, the apostle himself put his gospel into 
the present Greek form. But it is certainly surprising that, in 
this case, no one of the ancient fathers should have had any 
knowledge of the matter. In view of their ignorance it seems 
to be the part of modesty as well as prudence that we also 
should say with Jerome : " Who was the person that afterwards 
translated it into Greek is not known with certainty." The 
universal and unhesitating reception of this gospel by the early 
Christians in its present Greek form can be explained only 
upon the supposition that it came to them with apostolic 
authority ; that it received this form at the hand, if not of 
Matthew himself, yet of an apostle or an apostolic man, that is, 
a man standing to the apostles in. the same relation as Mark 
and Luke. 

This supposition wiU explain the freedom of Matthew's gospel and its 
coincidences in language with the gospels of Mark and Luke. An apostle 
or apostolic man would give a faithful, but not a servile version of the 
original. The oral tradition of our Lord's life and teachings from which 
the first three evangehsts drew, as from a common fountain (see above, 
No. 7), must have existed in Palestine in a twofold form, Aramsean and 
Greek. The translator would naturallj avail himself of the Greek phrase- 
ology, so far as the oral tradition coincided with that embodied in Matthew's 
gospel. Those who have carefully examined the subject affirm that the 
citations from the Old Testament adduced by Matthew himself in proof of 
our Lord's Messiahship are original renderings, with more or less Hteralness, 
from the Hebrew. The citations, on the contrary, embodied in the 
discourses of our Loru. mmscii loilow, as a rule, the Greek version of the 
Seventy ; probably because the translatpr took these citations as they stood 
in the oral tradition of these discourses. 

Meanwhile the original Hebrew form of the gospel, being 
superseded by the Greek in all the congregations of believers 
except those that used exclusively the vernacular language of 



^24: COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

Palestine, gradually fell into disuse. The "gospel according to 
the Hebrews," noticed above, may have been a corrupted form 
of this gospel or an imitation of it. As Marcion chose the 
Greek gospel of Luke for the basis of his revision, so the 
Ebionites and Nazarenes would naturally use the Hebrew 
gospel of Matthew for their purposes. 

15. The gospel of Matthew opens with the words: "The 
book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the 
son of Abraham." In accordance with this announcement, it 
traces back our Lord's lineage through David to Abraham, 
giving, after the manner of the Jews, an artificial arrangement 
of the generations from Abraham to Christ in three sets of 
fourteen each, chap. 1:17. To effect this, certain kings of 
David's line are omitted — between Joram and Ozias (the 
Uzziah of the Hebrew\s), Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah ; 
between Josias and Jechonias, Eliakim — and David is reckoned 
twice ; once as the last of a set of fourteen, then as the first of 
the following fourteen. The thoroughly Jewish form of this 
introduction indicates the primary design of Matthew's gospel, 
which was to exhibit to his countrymen Jesus of Nazareth as 
their long ijromised Messiah and Mng. To this he has constant 
reference in the facts which he relates, and which he connects 
with the prophecies of the Old Testament by such forms of 
quotation as the following: "that it might be fulfilled which 
was spoken of the Lord by the prophet," chaps. 1:22; 2:15, 
23 ; 13 : 35 ; 21 :4 ; 27 : 35 ; " that it might be fulfilled which was 
spoken by Esaias the prophet," chaps. 4 : 14 ; 8 : 17 ; 12 : 17 i 
" then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the 
prophet," chap. 2:17; etc. His direct references to the Old 
Testament in proof of our Lord's Messiahship are more numer- 
ous than those of either of the other evangelists. Peculiar to 
him is the expression "the kingdom of heaven," to signif}^, in 
accordance with Rabbinic usage, the kingdom which the 
Messiah was to establish in accordance with the prophecies' of 
the Old Testament; though he takes a spiritual view of its 
character, and not the earthly and political view of the Jewish 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 425 

doctors. Another designation of the same idea, common to 
him with the other evangeHsts, is " the kingdom of God," 
which also was current among the Rabbins. This " kingdom 
of heaven " and " kingdom of God " is also the kingdom of the 
Messiah. Chaps. 13 *: 41 ; 20 : 21. 

16. But precisely because Jesus of Nazareth is the promised 
Messiah, his mission is not to the Jews only, but to all mankind, 
in accordance with the original promise to Abraham: "In thy 
seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." Gen. 22 : 18. 
While he records the fact that our Lord's personal ministry 
was restricted to the Jews (chaps. 10 : 5, 6 ; 15 : 24), he also 
shows from our Lord's own words that the unbelieving 
" children of the kingdom " — the Jews as the natural heirs to 
the Messiah's kingdom — shall be cast out, and the believing 
Gentiles received into it (chaps. 8 : 11, 12 ; 21 : 43) ; and he brings 
his gospel to a close with the great commission : " Go ye, 
therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of 
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching 
them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded j^ou, 
and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." 
Chap. 28:19, 20. 

17. A striking characteristic of this gospel is the fulness 
and orderly manner with which it records our Lord's discourses. 
Striking examples of this are the Sermon on the Mount (chaps. 
5-7), his awful denunciation of the Scribes and Pharisees (chap. 
23), and the majestic series of parables (chap. 25). Doubtless, 
Matthew had by nature a peculiar endowment for this work, 
which the Holy Spirit used to preserve for the church much of 
our Lord's teachings which would otherwise have been lost. 
The narrative part of this gospel, on the other hand, has not 
the circumstantial fulness of the following gospel. As already 
remarked, the field covered by Matthew's narrative is mainly 
that of our Lord's Galilean ministry, with the great events 
connected with his final visit to Jerusalem, though he gives 
indications of repeated visits to that city. Chap. 23 : 37-39. 

18. It has been assumed by some that Matthew follows, as a 



42G COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

general rule, the order of time. But others deny this, thinking 
that his arrangement is according to subject-matter rather than 
chronological sequence, especially in the first part (Alexander's 
Kitto) ; and this appears to be the correct judgment. He 
follows the exact order of time only when the nature of the 
events recorded requires him to do so. 

19. It is universally admitted that Matthew wrote his gospel 
in Palestine. This fact accounts for the absence of explanatory 
clauses relating to Jewish usages, such as are not unfrequent 
in the gospel of Mark. As to the interpretation of Hebrew 
words, as " Immanuel " (chap. 1 : 23) ; and the words on the 
cross (chap. 27:46), that belongs to the Greek form of the 
gospel. The date of this gospel is doubtful. According to the 
tradition of the ancient church it was written first of the four 
gospels. Assuming that it originally appeared in Hebrew, we 
may reasonably suppose that a period of some years elapsed 
before it was put into its present Greek form. 

20. The integrity of this gospel is unquestionable. In 
modern times the genuineness of the first two chapters has 
been called in question by various writers, but the insufficiency 
of their arguments has been shown by many, among whom 
may be mentioned Davidson, Introduction to New Testament, 
vol. 1, pp. 111-127. In the words of this writer the chapters in 
question are found " in all unmutilated Greek MSS., and in all 
ancient versions;" "the earliest fathers had them in their 
copies, and received them as a part of the gospel;" "the 
ancient heretics and opponents of Christianitj^ were act[uainted 
with this portion of the first gospel;" "the commencement of 
the first chapter is closely connected with something prece- 
ding;" and "the diction of these two chapters bears the samo 
impress and character which belong to the remainder of the 
gospel, proving that the gospel, as we now have it, proceeded 
from one author." 

III. MARK. 

21. There is no valid ground for doubting the correctness of 
the ancient tradition which identifies the author of the second 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 427 

gospel with " John whose surname was Mark " (Acts 12 : 12, 25 ; 
15 : 37), who is called simply John (Acts 13 : 5, 13), and Marcus 
or Mark (Acts 15:39; Col. 4:10; 2 Tim. 4:11; perhaps also 
1 Peter 5 : 13). He was cousin to Barnabas (Col. 4 : 10, not sister's 
son, as in our version), which relationship may explain Barnabas' 
earnest defence of him (Acts 15 : 37-39). His mother Mary resided 
in Jerusalem, and it was to her house that Peter resorted immedi- 
ately upon his miraculous deliverance from prison (Acts 12 : 12). 
The intimacy of Peter with Mary's family must have brought 
about an early acquaintance between the apostle and Mark. 
Ancient tradition uniformly affirms a close relation between 
Peter and Mark, representing the latter to have been the 
disciple and interpreter of the former. See below. 

Papias (in Eiisebius' Hist. Eccl. 3. 39) says, upon the authority of John 
the Presbyter, "Mark being Peter's interpreter, wrote down accurately as 
many things as lie remembered ; not, indeed, as giving in order the things 
which were spoken or done by Christ. For he was neither a hearer nor a 
follower of the Lord, but, as I said, of Peter, who gave his instructions as 
occasion required, but not as one who was composing an orderly account 
of our Lord's words. Mark, therefore, committed no error when he thus 
wrote down certain things as he remembered them. For he was careful of 
one thing, to omit nothing of the things which he heard and to make no false 
statements concerning them." These words of Pai)ias are somewhat loose 
and indefinite. But, when fairly interxDreted, they seem to mean that as 
Peter taught according to the necessities of each occasion, not aiming to 
give a full history of our Lord in chronological order, so Mark wrote not 
all things pertaining to our Lord's life and ministry, but certain things, 
those namely that he had learned from Peter's discourses, without always 
observing the strict order of time. We need not press the words "in 
order" and " certain things, " as if Papias meant to say that Mark's gospel 
is only a loose collection of fragments. It is a connected and self-consist- 
ent whole ; but it does not profess to give in all cases the exact chronologi- 
cal order of events, nor to be an exha,ustive account of our Saviour's life 
and teachings. Eusebius has preserved for us in his Ecclesiastical History 
the testimony of Irenseus on the same point (Hist. Eccl., 5. 8) ; also of 
Clement of Alexandria (Hist. Eccl., 6. 14); and of Origen (Hist. Eccl., 6. 25). 
He also gives his own (Hist. Eccl., 2. 5). We have besides these, the 
statements of TertuUian (Against Marcion, 6. 25); and Jerome (Epist. ad 
Hedib. Qusest., 2), All these witnesses, though not consistent among 
themselves in respect to several minor details, yet agree in respect to the 



428 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

two great facts, (1) that Mark was the comi^auion of Peter and had a 
special relation to him, (2) that he was the author of the gospel which bears 
his name. We add from Meyer (Introduction to Commentary on Mark) 
the following exposition of the word interpreter as applied to Mark in his 
relation to Peter : " No valid ground of doubt can be alleged against it, 
provided only we do not understand the idea contained in the word 
Interpreter to mean that Peter, not having sufficient mastery of the Greek, 
delivered his discourses in Aramsean, and had them interpreted by Mark 
into Greek ; but rather that the office of a secretary!^ indicated, who wrote 
down the oral communications of his apostle (whether from dictation, or in 
the freer exercise of his own activity) and so became in the ivay of 'writing 
his interx)reter to others." 

Mark's connection with the apostle Paul, though interrupted 
by the incident recorded in the Acts of the Apostles (15:37-39), 
was afterwards renewed and he restored to the apostle's 
confidence, as is manifest from the way in which he notices 
him. CoL4:10; 2 Tim. 4: 11. If, as is probable (see below, 
No. 22), Mark wrote between A. D. 60 and 70, his long intimacy 
with Peter and Paul qualified him in a special manner for his 
work. 

22. Ancient tradition favors the idea that Mark wrote his 
gospel in Rome. Had he written in Egypt, as Chrysostom 
thinks, we can hardly suppose that Clement of Alexandria 
would have been ignorant of the fact, as his testimony shows 
that he was. In respect to date, the accounts of the ancients 
differ so much among themselves that it is difficult to arrive at 
any definite conclusion. We may probably place it between 
A. D. 64 and 70. The language in which Mark wrote was Greek. 
This is attested by the united voice of antiquity. The sub- 
scriptions annexed to some manuscripts of the Old Sj^riac, and 
that in the Philoxenian Sj^riac version, to the eflect that Mark 
wrote in Roman, that is, in Latin, are of no authority. They 
are the conjectures of ignorant men, who inferred from the fact 
that Mark wrote in Eome that he must have used the Latin 
tongue. 

The story of the pretended Latin autograph of Mark's gospel preserved 
in the Library of St. Mark at A^enice is now exploded. The manuscript 
to which this high honor was assigned is part of the Codex ForojuUensis, 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 429 

whicli gives tlie text of the Latin Vulgate. The text was edited by 
Blanchini in the appendix to his EvangeUarium Quadruplex, Fourfold 
Gospel. The gospel of Mark ha^dng been cut out and removed to Venice* 
was exalted to be the autograph of Mark. See Tregelles in Home, vol. 4, 
chap, 23. The fact that Mark wrote out of Palestine and for Gentile 
readers at once accounts for the numerous explanatory clauses by whicli 
liis gospel is distinguished from that of Matthew. Examples are : chaps. 
7:3, 4 ; 12:42 ; 13:3 ; 14 :12 ; 15:42 ; and the frequent interpretations of 
Aramsean words: 3:17; 5:41; 7:11, 34; 10:46; 14:36; 15:34. 

23. The opening words of Matthew's gospel are: "The book 
of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of 
Abraham," by which, as akeady remarked, he indicates liis 
purpose to show that Jesus of Nazareth is the long promised 
Messiah of David's line, and the seed of Abraham, in whom all 
nations are to be blessed. Mark, on the contrary, passing by 
our Lord's genealogy, commences thus : " The beginning of the 
gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." He recognizes him, 
indeed as the son of David, and the promised Messiah and king 
of Israel. Chaps. 10 : 47, 48 ; 11 : 10 ; 15 : 32. But, writing among 
Gentiles and for Gentiles, the great fact which he is intent on 
setting forth is the person and character of Jesus as the Son of 
God. Matthew gives special attention to the Saviour's dis- 
courses. "With these considerably more than a third of his 
gospel is occupied. Mark, on the contrary, devotes himself 
mainly to the narrative of our Lord's works. With this is 
interwoven a multitude of his sayings ; since it was the 
Saviour's custom to teach in connection with surrounding 
incidents. But if we compare the set discourses of our Lord 
recorded by Mark with those which Matthew gives, they will 
hardly amount to a fifth part in quantity. Between the narra- 
tive parts of Matthew and Mark, on the contrary, there is not a 
very great disparity in respect to the space occupied by each. 

24. Though Mark has but little matter that is absolutely 
new, he yet handles his materials in an original and independent 
way, weaving into the narratives which he gives in common with 
one or more of the other evangelists numerous little incidents 
in the, most natural and artless way. His characteristics as a 



430 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

historian are graphic vividness of description and circumstantiality 
of detail. If we except some striking passages of John's gospel, 
he brings us nearer to our Lord's person and the scenes 
described than either of the other evangehsts. He brings 
before us, as in a picture, not only our Lord's w6rds and works, 
but his very looks and gestures. It is he that records as has 
been often noticed, how the Saviour "looked round about" him 
with anger on the unbelieving multitudes and on Peter (chap. 
3:5; 8:33); with complacency on his disciples (chap. 3:34; 
10 : 27); and with the piercing look of inquiry (chap. 5 : 32); how 
he looked up to heaven and sighed when he healed one who 
was deaf and dumb (chap. 7:34); and how he sighed deeply in 
spirit at the perverseness of the Pharisees (chap. 8:12). He 
sometimes gives us the very words of the Saviour when he 
performed his mighty works — Talitha cumi (5:41), Ephplia- 
iha (7 : 34). His narratives are remarkable for bringing in 
little incidents which can have come from none but an eye- 
witness, but which add wonderfully to the naturalness as well 
as the vividness of his descrij^tions. When the storm arises he 
is asleep on a j3i7?o?i; (chap. 4 :38); Jairus' daughter arises and 
walks, /or she ivas of the age of ticelve years (chap. 5:42); the 
multitudes that are to be fed sit down in ranks by hundreds and 
by fifties (chap. 6:40), etc. As examples of vivid description 
may be named the account of the demoniac (chap. 5 :2-20), and 
the lunatic. Chap. 9 : 14-27. It is not necessary to assume 
that Mark was himself a disciple of our Lord. If, as ancient 
tradition asserts, he was the disciple and interpreter of Peter 
he could receive from his lips those circumstantial details with 
which his narrative abounds. 

25. The closing passage of this gospel, chap. 16 : 9-20, is 
wanting in a number of important manuscripts, among which 
are the Vatican and Sinai tic. The same was the case also in 
the days of Eusebius and Jerome. But it was known to 
Irengeus, and quoted by him and many others after him. The 
reader must be referred to the critical commentaries and 
introductions for the discussion of the difficult questions con- 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. rSl 

cerning it. Tregelles, who, in his account of the printed text 
has given a full statement of the case, thus expresses his 
judgment (in Home, vol. 4, p. 436): "It is perfectly certain 
that from the second century and onward, these verses have 
been known as part of tins gospel (whoever was their author).'' 
He thinks that " the hook of Mark himself extends no farther 
than * for they were afraid,' chap. 16 : 8; but that the remaining 
twelve verses, by whomsoever written, have a full claim to be 
received as an authentic part of the second gospel, and that 
the full reception of early testimony on this question does 
not in the least involve their rejection as not being a part of 
canonical Scripture." 

ly. LUKE. 

26. The unanimous voice of antiquity ascribes the third 
gospel with the Acts of the Apostles to Luke. He first appears 
as the travelling companion of Paul when he leaves Troas for 
Macedonia (Acts 16:10); for the use of the first person plural 
— '• we endeavored," " the Lord had called us," " we came," 
etc.— which occurs from that point of Paul's history and 
onward, with certain interruptions, through the remainder of 
the Acts of the Apostles, admits of no other natural and 
reasonable explanation. There is good reason to believe that 
he is identical with " Luke, the beloved physician," who wag 
with Paul when a prisoner at Rome. Col. 4 : 14 ; Philemon 24; 
2 Tim. 4:11. Prom the first of these passages it has been 
inferred that he was not a Jew by birth, since he is apparently 
distinguished from those " who are of the circumcision," v. 11.. 

Tradition represents him to have been by birth a Syrian of Antiocil 
(Eusebias, Hist. Eccl., 3. 4; Jerome, Preface to Matt., and elsewhere), 
and a Jewish proselyte (Jerome, Quest, on Gen., chap. 46); and it adds 
various other legends which are not worth repeating, 

27. The evangelist himself, in his dedicatory address to 
Theophilas (chap. 1 : 1-4), gives us clear and definite informa- 
tion respecting the sources of his gospel. He does not profess to 
have been himself an eye-witness, but has drawn his informa- 
tion from those " who from the beginning were eye- witnesses 



432 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

and ministers of the word." His investigations have been 
accurate and thorough : " having accurately traced out all 
things from the beginning" (as the original words mean), he 
writes to Theophilus " in order ; " that is, in an orderly and 
connected way. He proposes to give not some loose fragments, 
but a connected narrative; although, as we have seen above 
(No. 10), his order is not always that of strict chronological 
sequence. From the long and intimate connection of Luke 
with Paul it is reasonable to suppose that the latter must have 
exerted an influence on the composition of this gospel. Luke, 
however, did not draw the materials of his narrative from Paul 
(at least not principally), but, as he expressly states, from 
those " who from the beginning were eye-witnesses and 
ministers of the word." He did not write from Paul's dictation, 
but in a free and independent way ; though there is no 
reasonable ground for doubting that it was with Paul's 
knowledge and approbation. 

The "eye-witnesses and ministers of the word" are those who (1) Avere 
from the beginning eye-witnesses of onr Lord's public ministry ; (2) were 
intrusted with the work of preaching the word ; that is, the apostles and 
such of their associates as had companied with them aU the time that the 
Lord Jesus went in and out among them. Acts 1 : 21. The Avords of Luke 
must not be strained ; for he records some incidents of our Lord's history 
be/ore his public apx)earance which could have been learned only from 
Mary and her circle. 

The remarkable agreement between Luke's account of the institution 
of the Lord's Supper (Luke 22:9, 20), and Paul's (1 Cor. 11:23-25) has 
often been noticed. It is most naturally explained by the supposition that 
Luke recorded the transaction in the form in which he had often heard it 
from the lips of Paul. But there is nothing in the character of this gospel 
which can warrant the supposition that the apostle exercised a formal 
supervision over its comiDosition. Such a procedure would be contrary to 
the spirit of the apostolic age. The apostle himself wrote by an amanuen- 
sis. But when one of his associates in the ministry wrote, in whom he had 
full confidence, he left him to the free exercise of his judgment under the 
illumination of the Holy Spirit. 

28. Li respect to the date of this gospel, if we assume that 
the Acts of the Apostles were written at Rome about A. D. 63- 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 433 

65 (Cliap. 5, No. 5), it is reasonable to suppose that the gospel, 
which is dedicated to the same personage, was composed not 
very long before, perhaps even during the two years of Paul's im- 
prisonment at Eome, in which case Rome would also be the place 
of its composition. Whether Luke wrote before or after Mark 
is a question that has been differently answered, and cannot be 
determined with certainty. The proof that all three of the first 
evangelists wrote before the destruction of Jerusalem has been 
already given. Chap. 3, No. 14. 

29. Though Luke dedicates his gospel to Theophilus (chap. 
1:1-4), it is not to be supposed that it was written for his use 
alone. He had a more general end in view, and that is indicated 
by the form of our Lord's genealogy as given by him. "While 
Matthew traces the Saviour's lineage through David to 
Abraham, in conformity witli his design to show that he is the 
promised seed of Abraham and king of Israel, Luke traces it 
back through David and Abraham to Adam " the son of God." 
He identifies Jesus of Nazareth not with the Messiah alone of 
Abraham's and David's line, but with man as man. He is tho 
second Adam, and as such the Saviour of the race. This 
universal aspect of the gospel, as a gospel not for one nation 
but for all mankind, shines forth indeed in all the gospels, but 
it appears with wonderful sweetness and power in some of the 
parables which are peculiar to Luke, as those of the good 
Samaritan (chap. 10:30-37), the lost sheep (chap. 15:3-7), the 
lost pieces of silver (chap. 15 : 8-10), the prodigal son (chap. 
15 : 11-32) ; in all which Jesus is set forth as the Saviour of 
suffering humanity. 

30. As it respects the character and plan of Luke's gospel, the 
following particulars are to be noticed. In the distribution of 
matter between the narration of events and the recital of our 
Lord's discourses it holds a position between the first and 
the second gospel ; being less full in the latter respect than 
Matthew, but far more full than Mark. In the narrative part 
there is an easy and graceful style which charms every reader. 
In the introduction of minute incidents he goes beyond 

Conif . to Bible, ]^Q 



434 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

Matthew, though he has not the circumstantial exactness of 
Mark. The agreement of Luke's gospel with the two prece- 
ding in its general plan is recognized at once by every reader. 
Like them it is mainly occupied with our Lord's Galilean 
ministry. In regard to the Saviour's infancy he is more full 
than Matthew, the matter of the first three chapters being in a 
great measure peculiar to him. He omits a long series of 
events recorded by the first two evangelists. Matt. 14:22 — 
16:12; Mark 6:45 — 8:26. On the other hand he introduces 
(chap. 9 : 43 — 18 : 30) " a remarkable series of acts and discourses 
which are grouped together in connection with the last journey 
to Jerusalem. Some of the incidents occur in different con- 
nections in the other evangelists ; and the whole section proves, 
by the absence of historical data and the unity of its general 
import, that a moral and not a temporal sequence is the law of 
the gospels." Westcott, Introduct. to Gospel, chap. 7. Yery 
much of the matter in this remarkable section is peculiar to 
Luke, and contains passages of wonderful beauty and sweet- 
ness which would have been* lost to the church but for the 
record of this gospel. Among these are the mission of the 
seventy, several miracles, some striking lessons of instruction 
from passing incidents, and no less than twelve parables : the 
good Samaritan, the unfortunate friend, the unclean spirit, the 
rich fool, the barren fig-tree, the lost sheep, the lost pieces of 
silver, the prodigal son, the unfaithful steward, the rich man 
and Lazarus, the unjust judge, the Pharisee and publican. 
While the attentive reader perceives the very near relationship 
of the third gospel to the first and second, he notices also the 
fact that it differs from both of them more than they do from 
each other. 

" If the total contents of the several gospels be represented by 100, tlie 
following table is obtained: 

Peculiarities, Concordances. 

St. Mark, 7 93 

St. Matthew, 42 58 

St. Luke, 59 41 

St. John, 92 8 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 435 

"From this it ajjpears that the several gospels bear almost exactly an 
inverse relation to one another, St. Mark and St. John occuiDying the 
extreme positions, the proportion of original passages in one balancing the 
coincident passages in the other. If again the extent of all the coincidences 
be represented by 100, their proportionate distribution will be : 

St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke, 53 

St. Matthew, St. Luke, 11 

St. Matthew, St. Mark, - 20 

St. Mark, St. Luke, 6 " 

[Westcott, after Stroud and Norton.] 

Of absolutely new matter in Mark a striking example is the beautiful 
parable, chap. 4:26-29. The two miracles peculiar to him (chap. 7:31-37 ; 
8:22-26) are both of a very striking character, and related with circumstan- 
tial minuteness of detail. Where his narratives coincide with those of 
the other evangelists, they are characterized by the addition of details, 
which, as already remarked, add much to the vivedness and graphic power 
of his descriptions. 

31. The integrity of the third gospel has been recently 
assailed in Germany in the way of attempting to show that the 
gospel of Luke, as we now have it, is corrupted by interpola- 
tions, and that Marcion had it in its true form. See Chap. 2, 
No. 12. But the result of a voluminous discussion is that 
Marcion's gospel is now acknowledged to have been a mutilated 
form of the canonical gospel, in accordance with the testimony 
of the ancient fathers. 

On the relation to each other of the two genealogies of our Lord given 
by Matthew and Luke respectively, and the different modes of bringing 
them into harmony with each other, many volumes have been wrttten. 
Two different principles of interpretation are proposed. According to the 
first, the genealogies of both Matthew and Luke are those of Joseph, the 
legal father of Jesus, and the only one that could be known in this relation 
in the public registers. The second view is that Matthew gives the gene- 
alogy of Joseph, and Luke that of Mary, Joseph being called the son of 
Heli, in the sense of son-in-law ; and being perhaps also legal heir to Heli 
through Mary in the absence of brothers. The reader will find statements 
of these two views, the former in Smith's Bible Diet. , the latter in Alex- 
ander's Kitto, Art. Genealogy of Jesus Christ ; also in the commentaries 
generally. We only add that though we may not be able to determine 



436 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

with certainty wliat is the true sohition of the difficulty, no one can show 
that such a sohition is impossible. The reverent behever will quietly wait 
for more light, if it shall please God to give it ; otherwise he will be con- 
tent to remain without it. 

V. JOHN. 

32. Thougli the writer of the fourth gospel everywhere 
refrains from mentioning his own name, he clearly indicates 
himself as the "bosom disciple." When he speaks of two 
disciples that followed Jesus, afterwards adding that " one of 
the two" "was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother" (chap, 1:37, 
40) ; of " one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved " (chap. 13 : 23 ; 
21:7. 20); and of "another disciple" in company with Simon 
Peter (chap. 18:15, 16; 20:2-8), the only natural explanation 
of these circumlocutions is that he refers to himself. Even if 
we suppose, with some, that the two closing verses of chapter 
21 (the former of which ascribes this gospel directly to John) 
are a subscription by another hand, their authenticity is un- 
questionable, sustained as it is by the uniform testimony of 
antiquity, and by the internal character of the gospel. 

33. The Scriptural notices of John are few and simple. He 
was the son of Zebedee, a fisherman of Bethsaida on the 
Western shore of the sea of Galilee not far from Capernaum. 
Matt. 4:21; Mark 1:19, 20; Luke 5:10, 11. His mother's 
name was Salome. Matt. 27:56 compared with Mark 15:40. 
His parents seem to have been possessed of some property, 
since Zebedee had hired servants (Mark 1:20), and Salome was 
one of the women who followed Jesus in Galilee, and ministered 
to him. Mark 15 : 40, 41. From the order in which he and his 
brother James are mentioned — James and John, except Luke 
9:28 — he is thought to have been the younger of the two. 
Early in our Lord's ministry he was called to be one of his 
followers ; was one of the three who were admitted to special 
intimacy with him, they alone being permitted to witness the 
raising of Jairus' daughter, the transfiguration, and the agony 
of Gethsemane (Matt. 17:1; 26:37; Mark 5:37; 9:2; 14:33; 
Luke 8 : 51 ; 9 : 28) ; and of the three was, though not first in 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 437 

place, first in the Lord's love and confidence — " the disciple 
whom Jesus loved," and to whose tender care he committed his 
mother as he was about to expire on the cross. By his natural 
endowments, as well as by his loving and confidential inter- 
course with the Saviour, he was prepared to receive, and 
afterwards to publish to the world, those deep and spiritual 
views of Christ's person and ofiice which so remarkably char- 
acterize his gospel. 

So far as we have any notices of John in the Acts of the 
Apostles and epistles of Paul, his residence after our Lord's 
ascension was at Jerusalem. But, according to the unanimous 
testimony of antiquity, he spent the latter part of his life in 
Ephesus, where he died at a very advanced age, not far from 
the close of the first century. The subject of his banishmeut 
to the isle of Patmos will come up in connection with the 
Apocalypse. 

There is a mass of traditions respecting the latter years of this apostle, 
which are, however, of a very uncertain character. Among the more 
striking of these are: his being taken to Rome during the persecution 
under Domitian, and there thrown into a caldron of boiling oil, whence he 
escaped unhurt ; his refusal to remain under the same roof with the heretic 
Cerinthus, lest it should fall upon- him and crush him ; his successful 
journey on horseback into the midst of a band of robbers to reclaim a 
fallen member of the church who had become their leader ; and especially, 
that during the last days of his life, he was customarily carried into the 
assembly of the church, where he simply repeated the words : ' ' Little 
children, love one another." 

34. The arguments for the late composition of this gospel — 
after the destruction of Jerusalem — have already been given. 
Chap. 2, No. 14. If we say between A. D. 70 and 100, it will be 
as near an approximation to the time as we can make. The 
-place, according to Irenseus (in Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. 5. 8) was 
Ephesus, with which statement all that we know of his later 
life is in harmony. 

35. From the beginning of our Lord's ministry John was, as 
we have seen, admitted to his intimafee companionship and 
friendship. He was not therefore, dependent on tradition. 



438 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

His gospel is the testimony of what he had himself seen aj.d 
heard. Yet it covers only a part of the Saviour's ministry; 
and the question remains why, with the exception of the clos- 
ing scenes of our Lord's life on earth, that part should be to 
so remarkable an extent precisely ivliat the eaiiier evangelists 
have omitted. In answer to this question it might be said that 
those actions and discourses of our Lord which John selected 
most clearly exhibit his person and office as the son of God ; 
and that these were especially, (1) his encounters with the 
Jewish rulers at Jerusalem, (2) his private confidential inter- 
course with his disciples. Whatever weight we may allow to 
this consideration, it cannot be regarded as a full explanation 
of the difference between John and the other evangelists in 
the selection of materials. With the exception of the miracle 
of the loaves and fishes and the incidents connected with it 
(chap. 6:1-21) his notices of our Lord's ministry in Galilee 
relate almost entirely to incidents and discourses omitted by 
the other evangelists. It is altogether probable that, although 
John did not write his gospel simply as supplementary to the 
earlier gospels, he yet had reference to them in the selection 
of his materials. His own statement: "Many other signs 
truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not 
written in this book. But these are written, that ye might 
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that 
believing ye might have life through his name " (chap. 20 : 30, 
31), is not inconsistent with such a supposition. The "many 
other signs" he may have omitted, in part at least, because 
he judged that a sufficient account of them had been given by 
the earlier evangelists, of whose writings, when we consider 
the time that in all probability intervened between their com- 
position and that of his gospel, we cannot suppose him to 
have been ignorant. Such a reference to these writings does 
not in any way exclude the general design which he had, in 
common with the earlier evangelists, to show "that Jesus is 
the Christ, the Son of God," through faith in whose name 
eternal life is received. 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 439 

Ancient tradition represents, in a variety of forms, that John intended 
to complete the evangeHcal history, as given by the other evangelists, in 
the way of furnishing additional events and discourses omitted by them. 
The citations may be seen in Davidson's Introduct. to New Test., vol. 1, 
pp. 320-22. Thougli the statements of the fathers on this point cannot 
be accepted without qualification, there is no valid ground for denying the 
general reference above assumed. 

36. In writing his gospel John had not a polemical, but a 
general end in view. It was not his immediate aim to refute 
the errors and heresies of his day ; but, as he tells us, to show 
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, in order that men, 
through faith in his name, may have eternal life. Yet, like 
every wise and practical writer, he must have had regard to 
the state of the churches in his day and the forms of error by 
which they were assailed. In the latter part of the apostolic 
age the seeds of those heresies which in the following century 
yielded such a rank and poisonous harvest, had already begun 
to be sown. Like all the heresies which have troubled the 
Christian church to the present day, they consisted essentially 
in false views respecting our Saviour's person and office. The 
beloved disciple who followed Jesus through the whole of his 
ministry and leaned on his bosom at the last supper, has given 
us an authentic record of the Redeemer's words and works, in 
which, as in a bright untarnished mirror, we see both the 
divine dignity of his person and the true nature of his office as 
the Redeemer of the world. Such a record was especially 
adapted to refute the errors of his day, as it is those of the 
present day. It is preeminently the gospel of our Lord's 
person. It opens with an account of his divine nature and 
eternal coexistence with the Father ; his general office as the 
creator of all things, and the source of light and life to all men ; 
and his special office as " the word made flesh," whom the 
Father sent for the salvation of the world, and by whom alone 
the Father is revealed to men. Equality with the Father in 
nature, subordination to the Father in office, union with human 
nature in the work of redeeming and judging men, and in all 



440 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

these perfect union with the Father in counsel and will — such 
are the great doctrines that run through our Lord's discussions 
with the unbelieving Jews, as recorded bj this evangelist. In 
the same discussions, but more especially in his private confi- 
dential intercourse with his disciples, he adds deep views of his 
relation to the world, as the only revealer of God's truth, the 
only source of spiritual life, and ihe only way of access to the 
Father ; and to believers, as the true vine, through vital union 
with which they have life, nourishment, and fruitfulness. He 
unfolds also more fully than the other evangelists the ofiice of 
the Comforter, whom the Father shall send to make good to 
the church the loss of his personal presence. Thus the gospel 
of John becomes at once an inexhaustible storehouse of spirit- 
ual food for the nourisliment of the believer's own soul, and a 
divine armory, whence he may draw polished shafts in his war- 
fare against error. This last record of our Lord's life and 
teachings owes its present form, under the guidance of the 
Hol}^ Spirit, partly to the peculiar character of the writer, and 
partly to the lateness of the period when it was composed. In 
both these respects we ought devoutly to recognize the super- 
intending providence of him who sees the end from the begin- 
ning. 

VI. THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 

37. The author of the Acts of the Apostles is identical with 
that of the third gospel, as w^e learn from the dedication to the 
same Theophilus. Chap. 1:1. Both are ascribed to Luke by 
the unanimous testimony of the ancient church. The genuine- 
ness of this book, its credibility, and the time of its composition 
— about A. D. 63-65 — have been already shown. Chap. 5, Nos. 
2-5. It remains to consider its plan and its office in the system 
of revelation. 

38. In respect to plan this book naturally falls into two 
main divisions, the former embracing the first tw^elve chapters, 
the latter the remainder of the work. 1l\iq first division con- 
tains the history of the apostolic labors after the ascension, in 
Jerusalem and from Jerusalem as a centre. Here, if we except 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 441 

the events connected with the martyrdom of Stephen (chs. 6, 7), 
the conversion of Saul (chap. 9:1-31), and the Ethiopian 
eunuch (chap. 8 : 26-40), Peter everywhere appears as the 
chief speaker and actor, being first among the twelve, though 
possessing no official authority over them. It is he that pro- 
poses the choice of one to supply the place of Judas, and that 
is the foremost speaker on the day of Pentecost, at the gate of 
the temple, before the Jewish Sanhedrim, and in the assembly 
of the church. Chaps. 1:15-22; 2:14-40; 3:4-26; 4:8-12; 
5 : 3-11, 29-32. Associated with him we often find the apostle 
John. Chaps. 3:1; 4 :13, 19 ; 8 : 14. When the Samaritans are 
to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, Peter and John are sent 
to them from Jerusalem. Chap. 8 : 14-25. "When the gospel is 
to be carried for the first time to the Gentiles, Peter is sent by 
the Holy Ghost to the house of Cornelius in Cesarea (chap. 10), 
for which mission he afterwards vindicates himself before the 
brethren at Jerusalem. Chap. 11:1-18. Further notices of 
Peter we have in chaps. 9 : 32-43 ; 12 : 3-19. We know that the 
other apostles must have been actively and successfully em- 
ployed in prayer and the ministry of the word (chap. 6: 4), but 
it does not come within the plan of this narrative to give a 
particular account of their labors. 

The second division is occupied with the history of PauVs 
missionary labors among the Gentiles, from AntiocJi as a centre. 
He had already been sent from that city with Barnabas to 
carry alms to the brethren in Jerusalem and Judea (chaps.* 
11:27-30; 12:25), when "the Holy Ghost said. Separate me 
Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called 
them ;" and they were sent, with fasting and prayer and the 
solemn laying on of hands, on their great mission to the 
Gentiles. Chap. 13 : 1-3. Thenceforward the narrative is 
occupied with an account of the labors of Paul among the 
Gentiles. The fifteenth chapter is no exception ; for the con- 
vocation of the apostles and elders at Jerusalem was occa- 
sioned by the missionary labors of Paul, and had especial 
reference to them. 

19* 



U2 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

Two cities are mentioned in the New Testament which have the name 
of Antiochr—Antioclioi Pisidia so-called, though situated in the southern 
part of Phrygia near the border of Pisidia (Acts 13 : 14 ; 14 : 19, 21 ; 2 
Tim. 3 : 11) ; and Antioch of ^Syr/a,- situated on the southern bank of the 
Orontes about fifteen miles from its mouth. Acts 11:19-27; 18:1; 
14 : 26 ; 15 : 22-35 ; 18 : 22 ; Gal. 2 : 11. The latter city was the centre of 
Gentile Christianity. It was the metropolis of Syria, the residence of the 
Syrian kings, and afterwards the capital of the Koman provinces in Asia. 
Here the first Gentile church was gathered, and the disciples first received 
the name of Christians. Acts 11 : 19-26. Hence Barnabas and Saul were 
sent to Jerusalem to bear alms (Acts 11:29, 30 ; 12 :25) ; and afterwards to 
consult the apostles and elders at Jerusalem on the question of imposing 
the Mosaic law on the Gentile converts. From this city also the apostle 
started on his three missionary journeys, and to it he returned from his first 
and second journey. Acts 13 : 1-3 ; 14 : 26 ; 15 : 36, 40 : 18 : 22, 23. From 
the time that Barnabas first brought the apostle to Antioch (Acts 11 : 26) 
to that of his seizure at Jerusalem and subsequent imprisonment, most of 
his time not occujDied in missionary journeys was s^jent at Antioch. Acts 
11 : 26 ; 12 : 25 ; 14 : 26-28 ; 15: 30, 35 ; 18 '. 22, 23. As Jerusalem was the 
centre for the apostles of the circumcision, so was Antioch in Syria for the 
apostle of the Gentiles. 

39. This brief survey of the plan of this book gives us also 
an insight into its office. First of all it gives us a fresh and 
vivid portraiture of the apostolic labors and the spirit of the 
apostolic church, as pervaded and quickened by the presence 
of the promised Comforter. On the side of the apostles, we see 
a boldness and ardor that no persecution can check, united with 
simplicity and godly sincerity. On the side of the brethren, 
we see a whole-hearted devotion to the Saviour, under the 
mighty impulse of faith and love, which opens their hearts in 
liberality and causes them to have all things in common. On 
the side of both the apostles and the brethren, we see untiring 
activity and patient endurance in the Master's service, such as 
make the primitive church a bright illustration of the promise : 
"Thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of 
water, whose waters fail not. And they that be of thee 
shall build the old waste places." Isa. 58 : 11, 12. On the side 
of the unbelieving Jews and Gentiles, on the contrary, we 
behold, as ever since, a series of unsuccessful efforts to hinder 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 443 

the work of God ; the very ringleader of the persecutors being 
called, in the midst of his heat and fury against Christianity, 
to be the " ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes." Such an 
authentic record of apostolic times is of immense value to the 
church in all ages. It gives the true standard of enlightened 
Christian zeal and activity, and the true exhibition of what 
constitutes the real strength and prosperity of the Christian 
church. 

The Acts of the Apostles give also a cursory view of the 
inauguration of the Christian church, by the descent of the 
Holy Spirit in his plenary influences (chap. 2), by the appoint- 
ment of deacons (chap. 6), and the ordination of elders, though 
these last are only mentioned incidentally (chaps. 14 : 23 : 
20 : 17), the office being understood of itself from the usages of 
the Jewish Synagogue. The scantiness of the information which 
we have on this matter of church organization is a part of the 
wisdom of the Holy Ghost, and is full of instruction to the 
church in all ages. 

Once more, the Acts of the Apostles give a most interesting 
and instructive account of the way in which " the middle wall 
of partition " between Jews and Gentiles was gradually broken 
down. The full import of the Saviour's last command : " Go 
ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature/' 
seems to have been at first but dimly apprehended by the 
apostles. For some time their labors were restricted to their 
own countrymen. But when, upon the dispersion of the dis- 
ciples in the persecution that arose in connection with Stephen's 
martyrdom, the gospel had been preached to the Samaritans, 
the apostles Peter and John were sent to them, and they in 
common with the Jews received the gift of the Holy Spirit. 
Chap. 8 : 5-25. This was an intermediate step. Afterwards 
Peter was sent among the Gentiles proper, and they also 
received the Holy Spirit, to the astonishment of the Jewish 
brethren who had accompanied Peter. Chap. 10. The same 
thing happened also at Antioch (chap. 11 :20), where the true 
reading is Hellenas^ GreekSj that is, Gentiles, not Hdhnistas, 



444 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

Hellenists. But tlie work was not yet finished. It remained 
that the believing Gentiles should be, by the solemn and formal 
judgment of the assembled apostles and elders, released from 
the yoke of the Jewish law. Of this we have an account in the 
fifteenth chapter. Thus was the demolition of the middle wall of 
partition completed. Of the greatness of this work and the 
formidable difficulties by which it was beset — difficulties having 
their ground in the exclusive spirit of Judaism in connection with 
the false idea that the Mosaic law was to remain in force under 
the Messiah's reign — we who live so many centuries after its 
accomplishment can form but a feeble conception. 

40. Brief and imperfect as is the sketch which Luke has 
given us, it is sufficient for the instruction of the churches 
in subsequent ages. God deals with them not as with children, 
to whom the command, "Touch not, taste not, handle not," 
must continually be repeated ; but as with full-grown men, 
who need general principles rather than specific and minute 
directions. The facts recorded in the Acts of tha Apostles are 
of a representative character. They embody the spirit of 
apostolic times, and the great principles upon which the cause 
of Christ must ever De conducted. Fuller information in respect 
to details might gratify our curiosity, but it is not necessary 
for our edification. 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 445 



CHAPTEK XXX. 

The Epistles of Paui^. 

1. The apostolic epistles are a natural sequence of the office 
and work committed by the Saviour to the apostles. They were 
the primitive preachers of the gospel, and, under Christ, the 
founders of the Christian church. From the necessity of the case 
they had a general supervision of all the local churches, and 
their authority in them was supreme in matters of both faith and 
practice. It was to be expected, therefore, that they should 
teach by writing, as well as by oral instruction. It does not 
appear, however, that epistolary correspondence entered 
originally into their plan of labor. Their great Master taught 
by word of mouth onl^^, and they followed his example. " We," 
said the twelve, " will give ourselves continually to prayer, and 
to the ministry of the word." Acts 6: 4. It was only when 
circumstances made it necessary, that some of them took up the 
pen to write to the churches. Passing by for the present the 
disputed question of the time when the epistle of James was 
written, and assuming that the conversion of Paul took place 
about A. D. 36, we have an interval of at least sixteen years 
between this event and the date of his earliest epistles, those 
to the Thessalonians, written about A. D. 53. The apostles did 
not regard themselves as letter-writers, but as preachers of the 
word. They took up the pen only when some special' occasion 
made it necessary. The apostolic epistles are incidental; and 
for this very reason they are eminently life-like and practical. 
In respect to themes, and the manner of handling them, they 
present a rich variety. All the great questions of faith and 
practice that have agitated the Christian church since the 
apostolic age come up for discussion in these letters, not indeed, 
in their ever-varying outward forms, but in their great under- 



446 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

lying principles. Tims the providence of God has provided 
in them a rich storehouse of truths for the instruction and 
edification of believers to the end of time. 

2. Of the twenty-one epistles contained in the New Testa- 
ment fourteen belong to Paul (if we include the anonymous 
letter to the Hebrews), all written in the prosecution of his 
great work as the apostle to the Gentiles. The Saviour's 
personal ministry was restricted to the Jews, and so was that 
of the twelve apostles and the seventy disciples whom he sent 
forth before his crucifixion. Matt. 10:5, 6; 15:24; Luke 10:1. 
But his last command was : " Go ye, therefore, and teach all 
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the 
Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Matt. 28 :19. In carrying into 
execution this command, which involved such an immense 
change in the outward form of God's visible earthly kingdom, 
it was necessary — 

(1) That the apostles should insist very earnestly and fully 
on the great fundamental doctrine of the gospel, that men have 
justification and eternal life, not through the law of Moses, or 
any other possible system of works, but through faith in Jesus 
Christ; a doctrine which cuts up Pharisaism by the roots. 

(2) That, since faith in Christ is the common ground of jus- 
tification for Jews and Gentiles, both tvere to he admitted upon 
equal terms to all the rights and privileges of the Christian 
church ; the ancient prerogative of the Jews above the Gentiles 
being done awa}^ in Christ. 

(3) Still further, that since the Gentiles had justification 
and salvation not through the law of Moses, but through faith 
alone, the Mosaic law was not to he imioosed upon them. This was 
virtually announcing its abolition, its types and shadows having 
been fulfilled in Christ. 

(4) That this removal of " the middle wall of partition " be- 
tween the Jews and Gentiles was in accordance ivith Moses and 
the prophets — not a change of God's original plan, but only the 
full accomplishment of it. Acts 15:15-18; Kom. 3:21,31; 
4:6-25; Gab 3:6-9. 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 41:7 

"We have seen liow this great work was begun by the gift of 
the Holy Spirit, in connection Avith the preaching of the gospel, 
first to the Samaritans (Acts 8:5-17), and afterwards to the 
Gentiles (Acts 10; 11:20-26, etc.); and how it was completed, 
so far as concerns the 'principles involved in it, by the solemn 
decree of the apostles and the elders (Acts 15 : 1-29). 

3. But for the reali'dation of these principles in the actual 
preaching of the gospel to the Gentile nations, and the estab- 
lishment of Christian churches among them which should em- 
brace on equal terms Jews and Gentiles, a man of very peculiar 
qualifications was raised up in the providence of God. Saul of 
Tarsus was a Jcav, brought up in Jerusalem at the feet of 
Gamaliel, thoroughly instructed in the law and the prophets, and 
able therefore to speak with authority concerning the Old 
Testament to both Jews and Gentiles. His indomitable energy 
and fiery zeal, united with rare practical wisdom, had made him 
the foremost man in persecuting the Christians. When the 
proper time had come Jesus met him on the road to Damascus 
with converting power, and all his superior education and 
endowments were thenceforth consecrated to the work of 
preaching the faith which once he destroyed, especially to the 
Gentile world. But in this matter he felt and* acted as a Jew. 
He did not separate himself abruptly from his countrymen. 
Cherishing towards them the tenderest affection, they were 
everywhere the first objects of his Christian effort. Into what- 
ever city he went, he first sought the Jewish synagogue, and 
there he "reasoned with them out of the Scriptures." Acts 
13:14; 14:1; 17:2, 10; 18:4; 19:8. It was only when they 
persisted in opposing and blaspheming, that he desisted from 
further effort among them and turned to the Gentiles. Acts 
13:45-47; 18:6; 19:9. Wlaerever he went he encountered 
the bitterest persecution on the part of his own countrymen, be- 
cause of the prominence which he gave to the great evangelical 
principles above considered — that men have justification not 
wholly or in part through the Mosaic law, but simply through 
faith in Christ, and that in him the distinction between Jews 



448 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

and Gentiles is abolished. Even tlie believing Jews found it 
hard to apprehend these truths in their fullness. In the nar- 
rowness of their Jewish prejudices they were anxious to impose 
on the Gentile converts the yoke of the Mosaic law. This, Paul 
steadfastly resisted, and it is to his defence of Gentile liberty 
that we owe, in great measure, those masterly discussions on 
the ground of justification, and the unity of Jews and Gentiles 
in Christ, which are so prominent in his epistles. Yet with his 
uncompromising firmness of principle he united remarkable 
flexibility in regard to the means of success. To those who 
would impose circumcision on the Gentiles he " gave place by 
subjection, no, not for an hour." Gal. 2 : 5. But where no 
great principle was concerned, he was willing to circumcise 
Timothy, out of regard to the feelings of the Jews ; thus becom- 
ing, in his own words, " all things to all men." 1 Cor. 9:22. 

4. The peculiar character of the apostle's style is obvious 
to every reader. It is in an eminent degree argumentative. 
He " reasoned with them," says Luke, " out of the Scriptures." 
These words describe accurately the character of both his 
epistles and his addresses to the Jews as recorded in the Acts 
of the Apostles. In addressing a Gentile audience at Athens, 
he still " reasoned with them ;" but it was now from the inscrip- 
tion on one of their altars, from certain of their own poets, and 
from the manifestations in nature of God's power and God- 
head. His reasoning takes occasionally the form of an argu- 
ment within an argument. He pauses by the way to expand 
some thought, and does not return again to complete in gram- 
matical form the sentence which he had begun; so that his 
style sometimes becomes complex and obscure. The versatil- 
ity of the apostle's mind, which made him equally at home in 
discussing subjects the most varied, appears in his style also. 
It naturally takes the complexion of his themes. To under- 
stand this one has only to compare the epistle to the Romans 
with those to the Corinthians ; the epistle to the Galatians with 
that to the Ephesians; and all these with the epistles to the 
Philippi-ans and Thessalonians. His style may be compared 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. • 449 

to a clear window, which shows with fidelity the e^er varying 
forms and scenes that pass before it. 

5. The commentaries that have been written on the epistles 
of Paul would themselves constitute a large library. Our own 
century has been very fruitful in them, and some of them are 
accessible to every reader. For this reason our notice of the 
separate epistles may well be brief. Our aim will be to give 
the occasion of each, its chronological order in the series, 
its connection with the apostle's missionary labors, its scope, 
and the office which it accomplishes in the plan of revelation. 

Ill connection with Paul's epistles the reader should carefully study the 
history of his life and labors, as given in the Acts of the Apostles. From 
Acts 9 : 23-26 compared with Gal. 1 : 16-18, we learn that the first three 
years after Paul's conversion were spent at Damascus and in Arabia. Then 
he went up to Jerusalem, but after a short sojourn there was driven away 
by the persecution of the Jews, and retired to his native city, Tarsus in 
Cilicia. Acts 9 : 29, 30. After an interval of some time, which he spent 
"in the regions of Syria and Cilicia" (Gal. 1 ! 21), "Barnabas departed to 
Tarsus, for to seek Saul. And when he had found him, he brought him 
unto Antioch." Acts 11'. 25, 26. This is supposed to have been about 
A. D. 43, seven or eight years after his conversion. 

Here begins his recorded public ministry in Antioch and from Antioch 
as a centre. See above, Chap. 29, No. 88. It embraces three great mission- 
ary tours (Acts 13:1, etc.; 15:36, etc.; 18:23, etc.), and /o^^r visits to 
Jerusalem besides that already noticed. Acts 11 : 27-30 compared with 
12 : 25 ; 15 :2 ; 18 : 22 ; 21 : 15. The last of these ended in his captivity 
and imprisonment, first at Cesarea and afterwards at Eome, with an inter- 
vening perilous voyage and shipwreck. Acts chap. 21-28. See the incidents of 
Paul's life chronologically arranged in Davidson's Introduct. to New Test., 
vol. 2, pp. 110-112, with the annexed table ; in Home's Introduct., vol. 4, 
pp. 490-49^ ; in Conybeare and Howson, vol. 2, Appendix 2 ; and in the 
commentaries of Hackett, Alford, Wordsworth, etc. 

6. As the epistles of Paul stand in the New Testament, 
they are not arranged in chronological order. The principle 
of arrangement seems to have been, first, those to churches, 
then, those to individuals ; the further order being that of rela- 
tive size, with this modification ; that two epistles addressed to 
the same church should stand together, and that the last of 



450 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

tliem, wliicli is always the shorter, shoiihl determine their phice 
in the series. "Where the epistles are about equal in size, it 
seems to have been the design to arrange them chronologi- 
cal. The catholic epistles are arranged upon the same plan. 
The epistle to the Hebrews, as being anonymous, now stands 
after those which bear the name of Paul. But in many Greek 
manuscripts it is placed after 2 Thessalonians, consequently 
between the epistles addressed to churches and those to indi- 
viduals. 

The student of these epistles should carefully note the chronological 
order, because, as Wordsworth remarks (Preface to Commentary on the 
Epistles), the mutual illustration which the Acts of the Apostles and the 
apostolic epistles receive from each other "is much impaired if the apostolic 
epistles are not studied in connection wdth and in the order of the apostolic 
history." The following is the chronological order of the epistles, as far 
as it can be ascertained, though (as will hereafter appear) some uncertainty 
exists in respect to several of them : 

1 Thessalonians . . . about A. d. 53 Colossians about a. d. 62 

2 Thessalonians ... " 53 Philemon " 62 

Galatians " 56 or 57 Philippians " 63 

1 Corinthians .... " 57 Hebrews uncertain. 

2 Corinthians .... " 57 1 Timothy about a. d. 65 

Komans " 58 Titus " 65 

Ephesians " 62 2 Timothy " 66 

Arranged according to the order of time the thirteen epistles which 
bear the name of Paul naturally fall into four groups: (1) the two ej)istles 
to the Thessalonians, written during tl^e apostle's seconc/ missionary journey 
recorded Acts 15 : 36—18 : 22 ; (2) the epistles to the Galatians, Corinthians, 
and Romans, written during his third missionary journey, Acts 18 : 23— 
21 : 15 ; (3) the epistles to the Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, and Phil- 
ippians, written during Paul's imprisonment in Eome, Acts 28:16-31 
(some suppose the first three to have been written during his imprisonment 
at Cesarea, Acts 23:35 — 26 :32) ; (4) the pastoral e^^istles, the first and third 
probably written after his recorded imprisonment in Rome, and the second 
during a second imprisonment after the publication of the Acts of the 
Apostles, and w^hich ended in his martyrdom a. d. 67 or 68. 

The epistles of Paul will now be considered in the usual or- 
der, except that the three to the Ephesians, Colossians. and 
Philemon, which are contemporaneous, will be taken together. 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 451 

I. EPISTLE TO THE EOMANS. 

7. The date of the epistle to the Romans, as well as the 
place where it was written, can be gathered with much cer- 
tainty from the epistle itself, taken in connection with other no- 
tices respecting Paul found in the Acts of the Apostles. lie 
was about to bear alms to his brethren in Judea from Macedo- 
nia and Achaia. Chap. 15:25, 26. He had previously ex- 
horted the church of Corinth in Achaia to make this very col- 
lection, which he was to receive of them when he came to them 
through Macedonia. 1 Cor. 16 : 1-6. That he was also to 
bring with him a collection from the Macedonian churches is 
manifest from 2 Cor. 8 :l-4 ; 9:1-4. He wrote, moreover, from 
Corinth ; for among the greetings at the close of the epistle is 
one from " Gains mine host " (chap. 16 : 23), a Corinthian whom 
he had baptized (1 Cor. 1 : 14) ; he commends to them Phebe, 
a deaconess of the church at Cenchrea, the eastern port of 
Corinth, chap. 16:1; and he speaks of " the city " where he is 
as well known (chap. 16:23), which can be no other than 
Coriiith. Now by comparing Acts 19 :21; 20:1-3; 24:17, we 
find that he was then on his way to Jerusalem through Mace- 
donia and Greece, for the last time recorded in the New Testa- 
ment. The epistle to the Romans, then, was written from 
Corinth daring the apostle's third missionary tour and second 
abode in that city, about A. D. 58. It is the sixth of his epis- 
tles in the order of time, and stands in near connection with 
those to the Galatians and Corinthians, which were apparently 
written during the previous year. 

8. Concerning the founding of the church at Rome we have 
no information. At the date of this epistle Paul had not vis- 
ited it. Chaps. 1:10-15; 15:23, 24. Of its composition, how- 
ever, we have more certain knowledge. Founded in the me- 
tropolis of the Roman empire, where, as we know from many 
notices of ancient writers, many Jews resided, it must have 
been of a mixed character, embracing both Jews and Gentiles, 
with this agree the contents of the present epistle.. That the 



452 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

Gentile element largely jDredominated in the clmrcli at Kome 
appears from the general tenor of the epistle. Chaps. 1:13; 
11:13-25, 30, 31; 15:16. That it had also a Jewish element 
is plain from the whole of chap. 2, and the precepts in chap. 14. 
9. The occasion of writing seems to have been of a general 
character. The apostle had often purposed to visit Eome, but 
had been as often hindered. Chap. 1:13. To compensate in 
part for this failure, he wrote the present epistle, having, as it 
appears, an opportunity to send it by Phebe, a deaconess of 
the church at Cenchrea. Chap. 16:1. The apostle's design, 
like the occasion of his writing, was general. It was natural 
that, in addressing a church which he had long desired to visit, 
he should la}^ himself out to unfold the gospel of Christ in its 
deep foundation principles, as a plan of salvation provided for 
the whole world, and designed to unite Jews and Gentiles in 
one harmonious body, on the common platform of faith in 
Christ. He first shows that the Gentiles are under the domin- 
ion of sin (chap. 1:18-32), and the Jews also (chap. 2), so that 
both alike are shut up to salvation by grace. Chap. 3. He 
connects the gospel plan of salvation immediately with the Old 
Testament by showing that Abraham, the father of the Israel- 
itish people, was justified by faith, not by the works of the law 
or any outward rite; so that he is the father of all who walk in 
the steps of his faith, whether Jews or Gentiles. Chap. 4. Ho 
then sets forth the love of God in Christ, who is the second 
Adam, sent to restore the race from the ruin into which it was 
brought by the sin of the first Adam (chap. 5) ; and shows that 
to fallen sinful men the law cannot give deliverance from either 
its condemnatory sentence or the reigning power of sin, so that 
its only eflPect is to work wrath, while the righteousness which 
God gives through faith in Christ sets men free from both the 
curse of the law and the inward power of sin, thus bringing 
them into a blessed state of justification, sanctifieation, and 
holy communion with God here, with the hope of eternal glory 
hereafter. Chaps. 6-8. Since the doctrine of the admission of 
the Gentiles to equal privileges with the Jews, and the rejection 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 453 

of the unbelieving part of the Jewish nation, was exceedingly 
offensive to his countrymen, the apostle devotes three entire 
chapters to the discussion of this momentous theme. Chaps. 
9-11. He then proceeds to draw from the whole subject, as he 
has unfolded it, such practical exhortations in respect to daily 
life and conduct as were adapted to the particular wants of the 
Roman Christians — entire consecration of soul and body to 
God in each believer's particular sphere (chap. 12) ; obedience 
to magistrates (chap. 13 : 1-7) ; love and purity (chap. 13 :8-14) ; 
mutual respect and forbearance (chaps. 14:1 — 15 :7). He then 
returns to the great theme with which he began, that Christ is 
the common Saviour of Jews and Gentiles, in connection with 
Avhich he refers to his office and labors as " the minister of 
Jeses Christ to the Gentiles" (chap. 15:8-21), and closes with 
miscellaneous notices and salutations (chaps. 15 : 22 — 16 : 27). 

10. From the above brief survey the special C)ffice of the 
epistle to the Romans is manifest. In no book of the New 
Testament is the great doctrine of justification by faith so fully 
unfolded. The apostle sets it in vivid contrast with the Phar- 
isaical idea of justification by the Mosaic law, and, by parity of 
reason, of justification by every other system of legalism ; show- 
ing that it is only by grace through Christ that men can be 
delivered from either the guilt of sin or its reigning power in 
the soul, while the effect of the law is only to excite and irritate 
men's corrupt passions without the power to subdue them. 
The place, therefore, which this epistle holds in the under- 
standings and affections of believers must be a good measure of 
their progress in the Christian life. 

II. EPISTLES TO THE COKINTHIANS. 

11. The first epistle to the Corinthians was written/Vom 
EjjJiesics, not far from the time of Pentecost (chap. 16:8); not 
from Philippi, according to the subscription appended to it. It 
was during Paul's second and last visit to that city, as we learn 
from his directions concerning a collection for the saints at 
Jerusalem, and his promise to come to the Corinthians through 



451 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

Macedonia (chap. 16 : 1-5) ; for when Paul left Epliesus after 
his second sojourn there he went by Macedonia and Acliaia (of 
which province Corinth was the capital) to Jerusalem to bear 
alms. Acts 19:21; 20:1-3; 24:17. Paul's second stay in 
Ephesus, during which time some think that he made a short 
visit to Corinth not mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, 
which would be the second in order, that promised in this and 
the second epistle being the third (2 Cor. 12:14; 13:1), ex- 
tended over the space of about three years. Acts 19:1-10; 
20:31. From his words (chap. 16 : 3-8), we gather that the 
epistle was written not long before the close of this period. 
Chronologists generally place it about A. D. 57. 

12. The occasion of his writing was more specific than when 
he penned his epistle to the Eomans. Corinth, the renowned 
capital of the Roman province Achaia, situated on the isthmus 
that connects the southern peninsula of Greece — the ancient 
Peleponnesus and the modern Morea, and enjoying the advan- 
tage of two ports was alike distinguished for its wealth and 
progress in the arts, and for its luxury and dissoluteness of 
morals. Here the apostle had labored a year and six months, 
and gathered a flourishing church embracing some Jews, but 
consisting mostly of Gentiles. Acts 18:1-11; 1 Cor. 12:2. 
These Gentile converts, having just emerged from the darkness 
and corruption of heathenism (chap. 6 : 9-11), and living in the 
midst of a dissolute community (chap. 5 : 9, 10), did not wholly 
escape the contamination of heathenish associations and heath- 
enish vices. Chaps. 5, 6, 8, 10. Taking a low and worldly 
view of the Christian church and the spiritual endowments of 
its several members, they were led into party strifes andrivalries. 
Chaps. 1 : 11-13 ; 3 : 3-7. Certain vain-glorious teachers, more- 
over, had come in among them with a great show of worldly 
wisdom, who disparaged Paul's apostolical standing, taught 
the people to despise the simplicity of his teachings, and sought 
to supplant him in the confidence and affections of the Corin- 
thian church. Chaps. 4, 9 ; 2 Cor. 10-13. In addition to this, 
certain disorders and abuses had crept into their public assem- 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 455 

blies (chaps. 11, 12, 14), and some among them denied the doc- 
trine of the resurrection. Chap. 15. According to the most 
probable interpretation of chap. 5:9, the apostle had already 
written them a letter on some of these points which has not 
come down to us, and the Corinthians themselves had written 
to the apostle, asking his advice on some points of a practical 
character, particularly in respect to the marriage relation in 
their present state of trial. Chap. 7 : 1. The occasion, then, of 
writing this epistle, which gives also its scope and office, was to 
correct the above named errors and abuses, of which he had 
received accurate information, and also to answer the inquiries 
of the Corinthians in their letter. In this work the apostle 
employs now sharp rebuke, now tender expostulation, and now 
earnest and impassioned argument. The party strifes among 
the Corinthians he meets by showing that Christ himself is the 
only head of the church, that all gifts are from him, and are to 
be used to his glory in the edification of believers. Chaps. 
1 : 13, 14, 30, 31 ; 3 : 5-23. The vain-glorious boasting of their 
leaders he exposes by showing the emptiness and impotence of 
their pretended wisdom in comparison with the doctrine of 
Christ crucified, who is the power of God and the wisdom of 
God for the salvation of all that believe, without regard to the 
distinctions of worldly rank. Chaps. 1 : 18-2 : 16 ; 3 : 18-20. 
The abuses and disorders that had crept into the church he 
rebukes with apostolical severity ; and in correcting them, as 
well as in answering the questions of the Corinthians, he makes 
an application of the general principles of the gospel to the 
several cases before him which is full of practical wisdofii — the 
incestuous person (chap. 5:8), companionship with the vicious 
(chap. 5 : 9-13), litigation among brethren (chap. 6 : 1-8), 
fleshly indulgence (chap. 6 : 9-20), the inquiries of the Chris- 
tians in respect to marriage (chap. 7), meats offered to idols 
and sundry questions connected with them (chaps. 8, 10), 
disorders in the public assemblies (chap. 11), spiritual gifts 
with a beautiful eulogy on love (chaps. 12-14), the doctrine of 
the resurrection (chap. 15). He also defends his apostolical 



4:56 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

character and standing against his opposers, though by no 
means so earnestly and fully as in the following epistle. Chaps. 
4, 9. Thus it comes to pass that the present epistle contains a 
remarkable variety of topics, and gives us a fuller and clearer 
insight into the practical working of Christianity in the primi- 
tive apostolic churches than that furnished by any other of 
Paul's epistles, or, indeed, any other book of the New Testa- 
ment. The great principles, moreover, which he lays down in 
meeting the particular wants of the Corinthian church remain 
valid for all time ; shedding from age to age a clear and steady 
light, by which every tempest-tossed church may, God helping 
it by his grace, steer its way into the haven of peace and pros- 
perity. 

13. The reader cannot fail to notice the remarkable contrast 
between the tone of this epistle and that to the Galatians, 
which belongs in the order of time to the same group. See 
above. No. 6. The errors of the Corinthians were not funda- 
mental, like those of the Galatians. They built upon the true 
foundation, Jesus Christ ; but marred the building by the in- 
troduction of base materials — the " wood, hay, stubble " of 
human wisdom, instead of the " gold, silver, precious stones " 
of the truth as Paul had taught it. The false teachers among 
the Galatians, on the contrary, sought to subvert the very 
foundations of Christianity by bringing in a system of legal jus- 
tification. In writing to the Galatians, therefore, Paul con- 
tends, with apostolic severity, for the very substance of the gos- 
pel, but in addressing the Corinthians, he seeks only to purify 
the gcfepel from the admixture of human additions. 

14. The second Epistle to the Corinthians was written 
not many months after the first, /ro??z Macedonia, where the 
apostle was occupied in completing a collection for the poor 
saints at Jerusalem, with the purpose of afterwards proceeding 
to Corinth that he might receive the contribution of the Cor- 
inthian church also. Chaps. 8 : 1-4 ; 9 : 1-5. Whether he 
wrote from Philippi, according to the subscription of the epistle, 
or from some other place in Macedonia, cannot be determined. 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 457 

15. The occasion of writing was manifestly the report which 
he had received from Titus (and as is generally inferred from 
1 Cor. 4: 17; 16:10, from Timothy also). He had sent Titus 
to Corinth with the expectation that he would bring tidings 
thence to Troas, where he hoped to find him on his way from 
Ephesus to Macedonia. But in this he was disappointed. He 
therefore hastened from Troas to Macedonia, where he met 
Titus and learned from him the effect of his first epistle. Chaps. 
2 : 12, 13 ; 7 : 6 ; 12 : 18. So far as the main body of the Corin- 
thian Christians was concerned, this was highly favorable, and 
for it the apostle devoutly thanks God (chap. 7:6,7); com- 
mends their prompt obedience (chap. 7 : 11) ; directs them to 
restore the excommunicated person (chap. 2 : 5-10) ; and dis- 
cusses very fully the matter of the collection for the poor Chris- 
tians at Jerusalem (chaps. 8, 9). But the very success of his 
first epistle with the better part of the church had embittered 
his enemies, and made them more determined in their opposition 
to him. They accused him of levity in changing his original 
plan of visiting the Corinthian church on his way to Macedonia 
(chap. 1 : 15-17) ; of uttering threats which he would not dare 
to execute when present among them (chap. 10:9-11) ; of ma- 
king a gain of them by indirect means (chap. 12 : 16-18) ; and 
sought in various w^ays to disparage his apostolical character 
and standing. This led him to dwell with great earnestness 
on the fullness of his apostolic credentials, the purity of his 
apostolic life, and the abundance of his labors and sufferings 
in behalf of Christ's cause, always with reference more or less 
direct to his enemies. With these personal notices of himself 
are interwoven exalted views of the dignity of the ministerial 
office, and the true spirit and manner in which its weighty duties 
are to be performed. See chaps. 2 : 14 — 7 : 16 ; chaps. 10-13. 
The prominence which the apostle is thus forced to give to his 
own person and labor constitutes the most remarkable feature 
of the present epistle. To the same cause are due the peculi- 
arities of its diction, and its rapid transitions from one theme 
and tone to another. " Consolation and rebuke, gentleness 

Coni'). to HiWr.. OQ 



458 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

find severity, earnestness and irony, succeed one another at; 
very short intervals and without notice." Alford, Introduction 
to this Epistle. All this came about by the wisdom of God, 
who placed his servant in such circumstances that fidelity to 
the cause of truth compelled him unwillingly to set forth in 
himself the character of a true minister of the gospel in bright 
contrast with that of those vain-glorious and selfish men, who 
under a show of great worldly wisdom, seek to create parties 
in the church of Christ for their own private honor and emolu- 
ment. The particular occasion which called forth this epistle 
soon passed away ; but the epistle itself remains a rich treasure 
for all believers, especially for all Christian teachers. 

III. EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 

16. Galatia is the Greek word answering to the Eoman 
Gallia, that is, Gaul. It was one of the central provinces of 
Asia Minor, and received its name from the circumstance of its 
being inhabited by a people of Gallic origin whp came by the 
way of Byzantium and the Hellespont in the third, century be- 
fore Christ. Two visits of the apostle to Galatia are recorded 
in the Acts of the Apostles ; the first, during his second mis- 
sionary journey (Acts 16:6) ; and the second, at the beginning 
of his third journey (Acts 18:23). After which of these visits 
the present epistle was written is a question that has- been 
much discussed, and answered in different ways. The most 
natural interpretation, however, of chapter 4 : 13-16 leads to the 
conclusion that it was after his second visit. The course of the 
events seems to have been as follows : He was suffering from 
an infirmity of the flesh when he preached the gospel to the 
Galatians " at the first,'' that is, upon the first visit (verse 13). 
Then they received him "as an angel of God, even as Jesus 
Christ," and were filled with holy joy through simple faith in 
Christ's name (verses 14, 15). Upon his second visit he found it 
necessary to warn them in ver}^ plain terms against the seduc- 
tions of false teachers, who were seeking to draw them away 
from the simplicity of the gospel to faith in a system of works. 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 459 

But after his departure these false teachers had great success ; 
and the result was that the affections of the Galatians were 
alienated from Paul, who was their spiritual father. In view 
of this fact he asks (as we maj render v. 16, after Ellicott, in 
perfect accordance with the idiom of the Greek) : " So then, am 
I become your enemy, by speaking to you the truth? " that is 
because in my recent visit I told you the truth. According to 
this view the epistle belongs to the second group, and w^as 
written about A. D. 56 or 57. Farther than this we cannot go 
in determining the time. The flace is uncertain. It may have 
been Ephesus, or Corinth, which cities Paul visited in his third 
and last missionary journey, but it cannot have been Eome, as- 
the subscription erroneously gives it. 

The subscriptions are of no authority. That to the present epistle 
probably had its ground mainly in chapter 6 : 17, where the writer was 
erroneously supposed to allude to the bodily sufferings that he endured in 
connection with his last recorded imprisonment. 

17. The occasion of this epistle, which gives also its desigiij 
was very specific. The Galatian churches had begun well 
(chap. 5:7); but soon after Paul's departure Judaizing teachers 
had drawn them away to the very form of error noticed in the 
Acts of the Apostles (chap. 15 : 1) ; " Except ye be circumcised 
after the manner of Moses ye cannot be saved." They sought 
to impose on all the Gentile converts circumcision as essential 
to salvation. Thus they placed justification on a legal ground, 
and made faith in Christ a subordinate matter. This error 
Avas fundamental. Paul therefore attacks it with unsparing 
severity, with which, however, he mingles a wonderful tender- 
ness of spirit. His argument is for substance the same as 
that in the epistle to the Romans, only that it takes from ne- 
cessity a more controversial form, and is carried out with more 
warmth and vehemence of expression. It is a divine model of 
the way in which fundamental error should be dealt with. 

18. The epistle naturally falls into three divisions. The 
first is mainly historic. Chaps. 1, 2. The false teachers had 
disparaged PauFs apostolical standing, on the ground, appa- 



460 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

rently, tliat he was not one of the original twelve, and had not 
been called immediately by Christ to the apostleship, but had 
received his gospel from men. It would seem also that they 
labored to make it appear that Paul's doctrine respecting cir- 
cumcision and the Mosaic law was contrary to that of Peter 
and the other apostles of the circumcision. Paul accordingly 
devotes these two introductory chapters to a vindication of his 
full apostolic standing. He shows that his apostleship is " not 
of man neither by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Fa- 
ther " (chap. 1:1); that the gospel which he preaches he neither 
received of man, nor was taught by man but by the revelation 
of Jesus Christ (verses 11, 12) ; that, accordingly, upon his call to 
the apostleship, he went not up to Jerusalem to receive instruc- 
tion from those who were apostles before him, but into Arabia, 
whence he returned to Damascus (verses 15-17) ; that after 
three years he made a brief visit of fifteen days to Peter, where 
he also saw James, but had no personal acquaintance with the 
churches in Judea (verses 20-24); that fourteen years after- 
wards he went up to Jerusalem by revelation, not to be instructed 
by the apostles there, but to confer with them respecting " the 
gospel of the uncircumcision " which was committed to him, 
and that he obtained the full recognition of " James, Cephas, 
and John, who were reckoned as pillars " (chap. 2 : 1-10) ; and 
that afterwards, when Peter was come to Antioch he withstood 
him to the face on this very question of circumcision, because, 
through fear of his Jewish brethren, he had dissembled and 
drawn others into dissimulation, adding also the substance of 
the rebuke administered by him to Peter, which contains an 
argument (drawn in part from Peter's own practice) against 
compelling the Gentiles to live as do the Jews (verses 11-21). 

Having thus vindicated his apostolic authority against the 
false teachers in Galatia, he proceeds, in the second part of the 
epistle, to unfold the great argument for justification by faith in 
Christ. The Galatians have received the Holy Spirit, Avith the 
accompanying miraculous gifts, not by the works of the law, but 
b}' faith in Christ (chap. 3 : 1-5) ; Abraham was justified by 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 461 

faith, as an example for all future ages (verses 6-9, 18) ; the law 
cannot bring justification to sinners, but only condemnation 
(verses 10-12) ; from this condemnation Christ delivers us, and 
makes us through faith the children of Abraham, and heirs to 
all the promises which God made to him (verses 13, 14) ; the 
Abrahamic covenant, conditioned on faith alone, is older than 
the Mosaic law and cannot be disannulled by it (verses 15-17) ; 
the true office of the law was to prepare men for the coming of 
Christ, in whom all distinction between Jew and Gentile is 
abolished (verses 19-29) ; before Christ the people of God were 
like a child that has not yet received the inheritance, but is 
kept under tutors and governors, but through Christ they are 
like the same child arrived at full age, and put in possession of 
the inheritance (chap. 4:1-7). The apostle adds (chaps. 
4 : 8 — 5 : 12) various arguments and illustrations, with pointed 
allusions to the false teachers who were subverting the simpli- 
city of their faith in Christ ; and he solemnly warns the Galatian 
Christians that by receiving circumcision they bind themselves 
to do the whole law — the whole law as the ground of their 
justification. They have left Christ, and thus fallen away from 
grace — forsaken a system of grace for one of works, so that 
" Christ is become of no effect " to them. Chap. 5 : 3, 4. 

The tldrd part (chaps. 5:13 — 6:18) is of a practical oh^iV- 
acter. The apostle affectionately exhorts the Galatians to use 
their Christian liberty in a worthy manner, mortifying fleshly 
lusts, restoring fallen brethren in meekness, bearing one an- 
other's burdens, and being diligent in every good work. In 
bringing the epistle to a close he contrasts the vain-glory and 
hypocrisy of these Judaizing false teachers with his stead- 
fast purpose to glory only in the cross of Christ, in whom 
"neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, 
but a new creature." 

IV. EPISTLES TO THE COLOSSIANS, EPHESIANS, 
AND PHILEMON. 
19. These three epistles are contemporaneous, in the sense 
that they were written on the same general occasion, and for- 



462 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

warded at the same time, thongli some days may have inter- 
vened between the composition of the first and the last of them. 
They were all written when Paul was a prisoner (Eph. 3:1; 
4:1; 6:20; Col. 4:10; Philemon 1, 9, 10, 23), and all sent vir- 
tually by Tychicus; for Onesimus, a servant whom Paul sent 
back to his master, Philemon of Colosse, with a commendatory 
letter, went in company with Tychicus. Eph. 6:21, 22; Col. 
4:7-9. The epistle to the Ephesians contains no salutations; 
but those of the other two, are, with a single exception, sent 
from the same persons — Aristarchus, Marcus, Epaphras, Luke, 
and Demas. If any further argument for their contempora- 
neousness were needed, it could be found in the remarkable 
agreement between the contents of the epistles to the Ephe- 
sians and Colossians, extending not only to the thoughts but 
to the phraseology also. 

20. It is agreed that these three epistles were written during 
the apostle's imprisonment in either Cesarea or Borne ; but from 
which of these two places is a question on which biblical scholars 
differ, and which cannot be answered with certainty, though 
the common opinion has been that the apostle wrote from 
Eome. It is not necessary to review the arguments advanced 
on the two sides. The reader who v/ishes to investigate the 
matter- will find them in commentaries and bible dictionaries. 

21. Another question is : In what ordei' were the epistles to 
the Ephesians and Colossians written ? Here we have only in- 
direct indications, and these not decisive. It is manifest, how- 
ever, from a comparison of the two epistles, that the apostle 
had a more specific occasion for writing to the Colossians than 
to the Ephesians. It is natural, therefore, to suppose that he 
first penned his letter to the former church, and very soon after- 
wards, while his heart was yet warm with the great theme of 
that letter — the personal glory and dignity of Christ, and the 
union through him of both Jews and Gentiles in one holy fam- 
ily — he wrote to the Ephesians among whom he had so long 
labored, going over the same general course of thought, but 
v/ith more fulness and in a less argumentative tone. However 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 4G3 

this may be, it is certain that the most convenient order of 
studjdng these two closely related epistles is to begin with that 
to the Colossians and thence proceed to the other. We pro- 
pose to consider them in this order. 

22. Epistle to the Colossians. Cclosse was a city lying in 
the southwestern part of Phrygia, in Asia Minor, in the neigh- 
borhood of Laodicea and Hierapolis. Chap. 4:13, 16, Re- 
specting the founding of the church there we have no informa- 
tion. According to the most natural interpretation of chap. 
2 : 1, Paul had not visited Colosse in person when he wrote the 
l^resent epistle. The occasion of his writing seems to have been 
information received by him that false teachers were troubling 
the Colossian church. That these men were Jews is plain from 
chap. 2 : 16, 20, 21 ; where the reference is to Jewish ordinances. 
But their doctrine was not simple Phariseeism, like that of the 
false teachers among the Galatians. They did not seek directly 
to substitute circumcision and the Mosaic law for faith in Christ, 
as the ground of justification. They seem rather to have been 
Christian Jews of an ascetic turn of mind, and imbued with 
the semi-oriental philosophy of that day, which contained 
in itself the seeds of the later Gnostic systems. Having no 
clear apprdhension of the glory of Christ's person and the ful- 
ness of the salvation which his gospel offers to luen, they sought 
to supplement the Christian system by their ascetic practices 
and their speculations concerning the orders of angels, 
whom they seem to have regarded as mediators between God 
and men. To all this human philosophy the apostle opposes 
directly the divine dignity and glory of Christ's person, and 
the completeness of the redemption which he has provided for 
men. 

The Jewish character of these false teachers appears in their insisting on 
meats and drinks, holy-days, new moons, and Sabbaths (chap. 2 : 16, 20, 
21) ; their ascetic character, in their doctrine concerning the mortification 
of the body (chap. 2 : 23) ; their speculations conceryiing angels, in the fact 
that they are described as "delighting in humility and the worship of an- 
gels" (chap. 2 :18, 23). The apostle apparently refers to a false humility 
>^'hich, under the pretence that God is too great to be approached except 



464 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

through the mediation of angels, made them instead of Christ the way of 
access to him, thus disparaging the Kedeemer's person and ofl&ce. 

23. In respect to plan, the epistle naturally falls into two 
parts of about equal length. ^h.Q first is argumentative. Chaps. 
1, 2. After an introduction, in which the apostle thanks God 
that the Colossians have been made partakers of the gospel, 
commends them for the fruitfulness of their faith, and assures 
them of his incessant prayers in their behalf (chap. 1 : 1-12), and 
passes to his great theme, which is to set forth the divine dig- 
nity and glory of Christ's ];^rson. He is the image of the invis- 
ible God, existing before all things, and the creator and up- 
holder of all things, those angelic orders included whom the 
false teachers regarded as objects of w^orship (verses 15-17). 
He is also the head of the church, and as such unites under 
himself all holy beings in heaven and earth in one happy fam- 
ily (verses 18-22). In him all fulness dwells, and all believers 
are complete in him ; receiving through him a spiritual circum- 
cision which brings to them holiness of heart, forgiveness of 
sins, and life from the dead (verses 11-13). Christ has abolished 
by his death on the cross " the handwriting of ordinances " — • 
the Mosaic ordinances under the figure of a bond which was 
before of binding force, but which he has annulled — so that the 
former ground of separation between Jews and Gentiles is 
done away (2 : 14). By the same death on the cross he has 
" spoiled principalities and powers " — the powers of darkness, 
of which Satan is the head — openly triumphing over them 
(verse 15). The Colossians, then, have all that they need in 
Christ, and the apostle affectionately warns them against being 
spoiled through the philosophy of these false teachers, which 
is a compound of ignorance, self-conceit, and will-worship, void 
alike of reality and power. 

The second part is practical. Chaps. 3, 4. The duties on 
which the apostle insists come mainly under two general heads. 
The first is that of a heavenly temper of miiid growing out of 
their resurrection with Christ who sits at the right hand of God, 
and who shall appear again to receive his disciples to himself, 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 465 

that they also may appear with him in glory. In yievf of this 
animating hope he exhorts the Colossians to put away all the 
sins belonging to their former state of heathenism. Chap. 
3 : 1-8. The second is that of mutual love and harmony arising 
from their union with each other in Christ, whereby they have 
been made one holy body, in which outward distinctions are 
nothing " but Christ is all and in all." On this ground they 
are urged to cultivate all the graces of the Spirit, the chief of 
which is love, and faithfully to discharge, each one in his sta- 
tion, the mutual duty which thej owe as husbands and wives, 
as par(;nts and children, as masters and servants. Chaps. 
3 : 9 — 4 . 1. They are admonished, moreover, to let the word of 
Christ dwell in them richly for their mutual edification (chap. 
3 :16) ; to be single-hearted in their aim to please Christ (verse 
17); to be prayerful and vigilant (chap. 4:2-4); and wise in 
their intercourse with unbelievers (verses 5, 6). The epistle 
closes with notices of a personal character intermingled with 
salutations (verses 7-18). 

In chap. 4 : 16 the apostle dhects that this epistle be read also in the 
church of the Laodiceans, and that the Colossians like^vise read the epistle 
from Laodicea. What was this epistle from Laodicea ? (1) Some think it 
was a letter written by the church of Laodicea to Paul, and forwarded by 
him to the Colossians. (2) Others understand it of an epistle of Paul to 
the Laodiceans (perhaps forwarded along with the three ei)istles now under 
consideration) and which the Colossians were to obtain from Laodicea. 
This is the most probable supposition. On the attempt to identify this 
epistle with our canonical epistle to the Ephesians see below. 

24. Epistle to the Ephesians. — Ephesus, the metropolis of 
Proconsular Asia, which comprehended the western provinces 
of Asia Minor, lay on the coast of the iEgean sea between 
Smyrna on the north and Miletus on the south. In the apos- 
tolic age it was a flourishing city, and renowned for the temple 
of the heathen goddess Diana. Two visits of the apostle to 
Ephesus are recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, the latter of 
which was prolonged through most of three years. Acts 
18 : 19-21 ; chaps. 19 ; 20 : 31. The occasion of writing this epistle 

20* 



466 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

seems to have been of a very general nature. The apostle was 
sending a letter by Tychicus to the Colossians, and embraced 
the opportunity to write to the Ephesians also. In entire ac- 
cordance with this supposition is the general charade}' of the 
epistle. The apostle has no particular error to combat, as he 
had in the case of the Colossians. He proceeds, therefore, in a 
placid and contemplative frame of mind to unfold the great 
work of Christ's redemption ; and then makes a practical appli- 
cation of it, as in the epistle to the Colossians, but with more 
fulness, and with some important additions. 

It has seemed surprising to many tliat the apostle should have written 
in so general a strain to a cliurcli on wliicli he had bestowed so much labor, 
and where he had so many personal friends ; particularly that he should 
have omitted at the close all salutations. To account for this various hy- 
potheses have been proposed. The words "tw Epliesus " are omitted in 
the Sinai and Vatican manuscripts, and there is reason for believing that 
they were wanting in some other ancient manuscrijDts not now extant. See 
the quotations from Basil the Great, and other fathers in Alford, Ellicott, 
Meyer, and other critical commentators. On this gTound some have sup- 
posed that the present epistle was intended to be encyclical — an epistle for 
general circulation among the churches ; others, that it is the Loadicenn 
epistle referred to in Col. 4 : 16. But in favor of the words " in Ephesus " 
there is an overwhelming weight of evidence. They are sustained by all 
the versions and all the manuscripts except the above. Besides, as every 
Greek scholar knows, if these words are omitted, it compels the omission 
from the original of the two preceding words which are found in every 
manuscript and version — unless, indeed, we adopt the far-fetched hypoth- 
esis that the apostle furnished Tychicus with two or more copies of the 
epistle for different churches, leaving a blank space to be filled as occasion 
should require ; and then it becomes impossible to explain how the read- 
ing "in Ephesus" should have been so universal in the manuscripts and 
versions. There is no occasion for any of this ingenuity. The omission of 
these words from single manuscripts is not wonderful. It finds a parallel, 
as Alford remarks, in the omission of the words in Rome (Rom. 1 : 7) from 
one manuscript, whether from oversight or for the purpose of generali- 
zing the reference of its contents. Nor can any valid objection be drawn 
from the general character of the epistle. That depended much on the 
occasion which called it forth, which we have seen to have been general, 
and the frame of mind in which the apostle wrote. As to the omission of 
salutations, we shall find upon examination that the measure of Paul's per- 
sonal acquaintance with the churches was not that of his personal greet- 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. - 467 

ings. These abound most of all in the epistle to the Eomans whom he had 
never visited, Eom. 16. They are found also in the epistle to the Colos- 
sians to whom Paul was personally a stranger. Col. 4 : 10-14. On the con- 
trary they are wanting, except in a general form, in the epistles to the Cor- 
inthians, Galatians, Philippians, Thessalonians (in 2 Thessalonians wholly 
wanting as in this epistle), Titus, and the first to Timothy. The other objec- 
tions are founded on misinterpretation, as when it is inferred from chap. 
1 : 15 that the author had never seen those to whom he ^vrote ; and from chap. 
3 : 2 that they had no personal acquaintance with him. But in the fonner 
passage the apostle speaks simply of the good report which had come to 
him from the Ephesian church since he left it ; and, in the latter, the 
words : "if ye have heard" imply no doubt (compare 1 Peter 2:3), and 
cannot be fairly adduced to prove that the writer was personally unknown 
to his readers. 

25. This epistle, like that to the Colossians, naturally falls 
into two divisions of about equal size ; the first argumentative, the 
second practical. 

The argumentative part occupies the first two chapters. Full 
of the great theme with which the epistle to the Colossians is 
occupied — the personal dignity and glory of Christ, the great- 
ness of his salvation, and especially the union through him of 
all holy beings in heaven and earth in one family of God — the 
apostle begins, immediately after the apostolic greeting, by 
pouring out his heart in thanksgiving to God for his rich mercy, 
w^hich has made him and his beloved Ephesian s partakers of 
Christ's redemption, the greatness and glory of which he de- 
scribes in glowing terms, bringing in, as he proceeds, the thought 
with which his mind is filled, that it is God's purpose to " gather 
together in one all things in Christ, both wdiich are in heaven, 
and which are on earth." Chap. 1 :10. He then adds a fervent 
prayer for the growth of the Ephesians in the knowledge of 
Christ, whom God has raised above all principality and power 
and made head over all things to his body the church. Re- 
turning in the second chapter to the theme with which he be- 
gan, he contrasts wdth the former wretched condition of the 
Ephesians, when they had no hope and were without God in the 
world, their present blessed state, as fellow-citizens with the 
saints and of the household of faith; God having through 



468 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

Christ broken clown the middle wall of partition between Jews 
and Gentiles, and built them all into a holy temple upon one 
common foundation, of which Jesus Christ is the chief corner 
stone. In the third chapter he dwells upon the grace of God 
which had committed to him, in a special sense, the office 
of preaching among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of 
Christ; and adds a rapturous prayer for the strengthening of 
the Ephesians through the Spirit in the inner man, for their es- 
tablishment in faith and love, and their illumination in the love 
of Christ which passes knowledge, that they may " be filled 
with all the fulness of God." Then follows a doxology in which 
the apostle labors to find words wherewith to express his con- 
ception of the greatness of God's power and grace through 
Jesus Christ. 

With the fourth chapter begins the pnidicalipsiYt of the epistle. 
He begins with an exhortation to unity, the argument for which 
cannot be abridged : " There is one body, and one Spirit, even 
as ye are called in one hope of your calling : one Lord, one 
faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, 
and through all, and in you all." Chap. 4:4-6. He next 
speaks of the diversity of gifts among believers, all of which 
Wme from Christ, and have for their end the unity of the church 
in faith and knowledge, and thus her stability' (verses 7-16). 
Then follow earnest admonitions to shun the vices of their for- 
mer state of heathenism, and cultivate all the graces of the 
Spirit. The mutual relations of life are then taken up, as in 
the epistle to the Colossians. Here occurs that grand digres- 
sion in which the love of Christ towards his church is compared 
with that of the husband towards his wife. Chap. 5 : 23-32. 
The closing exhortation, in which the Christian is compared to 
a warrior wrestling not with flesh and blood but with the pow- 
ers of darkness, and his heavenly panoply is described at length, 
is (with the exception of the brief figure, 1 Thess. 5 : 8) peculiar 
to this epistle and is very striking. 

26. Epistle to Philemon.— This short epistle is essentially 
of a private character. It was sent to Colosse by Onesimus at 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 4:C)b 

tlie same time with the epistle to tlie Colossians, of which Tj- 
chicus was the bearer. CoL 4 : 7-9. The epistle itself plainly 
indicates its object. It is a plea for Onesimus, the servant of 
Philemon, who* had left his master and apparently defrauded 
him (verse 18), but now returns to him a Christian. As a 
model of Christian delicacy and courtesy it has been the admi- 
ration of all ages. 

V. EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 

27. The ancient name of Philippi was Crenirles (Fountains) ; 
but Philip of Macedon fortified the place and called it after his 
own name. It lay along the bank of a river on a plain in the 
eastern border of Proconsular Macedonia, and was made a col- 
ony by Augustus in memory of his victory gained there over 
Brutus and Cassius. Compare Acts 16 : 12. Its port was Ne- 
apolis on the iEgean sea about twelve Roman miles to the 
southeast of it. Philippi was the first place in Europe where 
the gospel was preached by Paul, who had been summoned 
across the sea to Macedonia by a vision. Acts 16 : 9. This was 
during his second missionary journey, about A. D. 53. A record 
of his labors and sufferings on that occasion is given in Acts 
16 : 12-40. In his third missionary journey he twice visited 
Macedonia, sailing the second time from Philippi, that is, from 
its port Neapolis. Acts 20 : 1, 3-6. 

18. The occasion of this epistle seems to have been the con- 
tribution made by the Philippians to supply the apostle's ne- 
cessities while a prisoner in Rome. Chap. 4:10-18. That he 
was a prisoner is plain from chap. 1 : 13, 14, 16. That the place 
of imprisonment was Rome is inferred from the general tone of 
the epistle, which shows that the apostle was awaiting a decision 
of his case, in accordance with his appeal to Caesar, with the 
confident expectation of a favorable result (chaps. 1 : 19-25 ; 
2:23, 24), and especially from the mention of Caesar's house- 
hold (chap. 4:22). From chap. 2:23, 24 we infer, moreover, 
that the time for a decision of his case was at hand. The date 
of this epistle, then, was about A. D. 63. 



470 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

The apostle speaks very confidently of a speedy release and restoration 
to the work of his apostolic office. Chaps. 1 : 19, 25, 26 ; 2 :24. This lan- 
guage is important in connection with the two closely related questions, 
that of a second imprisonment at Rome and that of the date of the pastoral 
epistles. See below, No. 35. 

29. Tlie character of tliis epistle answers well to its occasion. 
It is a free outpouring of the apostle's heart towards his be- 
loved Philippians, who had remembered him in his bonds and 
sent Epaphroditus to supply his wants. He bestows upon them 
no censure, unless the suggestion to Euodias and Syntyche be 
regarded as such, but commends them for their liberality, ex- 
horts them to steadfastness in the endurance of persecution, 
and admonishes them to maintain a deportment which shall be 
in all things such as becomes the gospel, the several parts of 
which he specifies in the course of the epistle, but not in any 
very exact order. It is in connection with these admonitions 
that the apostle, while insisting on the duty of humility and 
self-sacrificing love, brings in that sublime description of the 
Saviour's original glory, and equality with God, which he laid 
aside for our redemption, taking upon himself the form of a 
servant and submitting to the death of the cross ; for which act 
of self-abasement he is now exalted to be Lord of heaven and 
earth. Chap. 2 : 5-11. Intermingled with the above named 
commendations, exhortations, and counsels, are frequent notices 
respecting himself, introduced in the most natural and artless 
manner, and unfolding for our edification some of the deepest 
principles of Christian character. 

His faith in Christ and love for His cause raise him above 
the sphere of human jealousies. He rejoices that Christ is 
preached, whether of good-will or of envy, knowing that this 
shall turn to his salvation through the prayers of the Philip- 
pians and the supply of Christ's Spirit. Chap. 2 : 15-19. 

He knows that for himself personally it is better to depart 
and be with Christ : but to continue in the flesh is more needful 
for the Philippians. He cannot, therefore, choose between life 
and death. Chap. 1 : 21-25. How different this from the spirit 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 471 

of some, who think of death only in connection with their own 
personal comfort, and how much higher the type of religion 
which it reveals ! 

So far as outward advantages are concerned, ho man can 
have more occasion than he to glory in the flesh. But all these 
he has renounced and counted loss for Christ. His one ambi- 
tion is to know Christ, and be united with him in his death and 
resurrection. His present attainments he forgets in his single 
purpose of pressing towards the goal for the prize of God's 
heavenly calling in Christ Jesus. Chap. 3 : 4-14. 

He warmly commends the Philippians for their liberality, 
but wishes them to understand that he does not speak in re- 
spect to personal want ; for every where and in all things he has 
been taught the lesson of contentment with present circum- 
stances. Chap. 4 : 10-14. 

VI. EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS. 

30. The original name of Thessalonica was Tlierme, whence 
the gulf at the head of which it is situated, was called the Ther- 
maic gulf The modern name of the city is Saloniki, and of 
the gulf, the gulf of Saloniki. In the apostolic age it was a 
large and wealthy city, and the metropolis of the second district 
of Macedonia. At the present day it is second only to Con- 
stantinople in European Turkey. Then as now a large number 
of Jews resided in it. In his second missionary tour the apos- 
tle, when driven from Philippi, went through Amphipolis and 
Apollonia to Thessalonica. After his usual manner he first 
resorted to the Jewish synagogue " and three Sabbath days 
reasoned with them out of the Scriptures." After this a tumult 
was raised at the instigation of the unbelieving Jews, and the 
apostle was sent away by night to Berea. Acts 17 : 1-10. We 
cannot affirm that his stay at Thessalonica was limited to three 
weeks ; yet it was very brief, and for this reason he was anx- 
ious to return again that he might impart further instruction 
and consolation to the converts there, who were undergoing a 
severe ordeal of temptation through persecution. Chaps. 



472 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

2:17 3:5. His labors at Tbessalonica were not confined to 

the Sabbatn-day and the Jewish synagogue. He preached the 
gospel to the Gentiles also, and his chief success seems to have 
been among them. 1 Thess. 1:9; 2 : 14, 16. 

31. The first epistle to the Thessalonians was written 
during the apostle's second missionary journey, the same journey 
in which he first visited Tbessalonica. This we gather from 
the fact that Silvanus (Silas) was with him (chap. 1:1), for Silas 
was Paul's travelling companion only during that journey (Acts 
15:40; 16:19,25,29^ 17:4,10,14,15; 18:5); also from the 
notice of his being at Athens (chap. 3:1 compared with Acts 
17:15, 16). He did not, however, write from Athens, as the 
subscription erroneously states, but from Corinth ; for it was at 
this place that Silas and Timotheus rejoined him, bringing 
good tidings from Macedonia respecting the church in Tbessa- 
lonica. Chap. 3:1-6 compared with Acts 18:1-5. This is, 
then, the earliest of PcmVs epistles, having been written about 
A. D. 53. 

32. The epistle clearly indicates its occasion. In considera- 
tion of the brief time which the apostle had been able to spend 
at Tbessalonica, and of the severe persecution to which the 
converts in that city were exposed, he was very desirous to 
make them a second visit. But having been twice frustrated 
in this purpose, he sent Timothy and Silas to learn the condi- 
tion of the Thessalonian church and bring him word concerning 
it, which they did while he was at Corinth. Chaps. 2 : 17 — 3 : 6. 
The letter is an affectionate outpouring of his heart in view of 
the good tidings received through these brethren, into which 
are interwoven encouragements, instructions, and admonitions 
adapted to the circumstances of the brethren at Tbessalonica, 
with abundant references to the apostle's own labors there. In 
the first chapter he commends, with devout thanksgiving to God, 
the faith and love and patience of the Thessalonian Christians. 
The second and third chapters are mainly occupied with a no- 
tice of his own labors and those of his colleagues at Tbessalo- 
nica, of his strong desire to revisit them which he had thus far 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 473 

been hindered from carrying into execution, and of his joy at 
the good tidings brought by Timothy, the whole closed with a 
fervent prayer in their behalf. The two remaining chapters 
contain miscellaneous instructions suited to the condition of a 
church that had been recently gathered in great part from the 
ranks of heathenism. In the course of these he corrects an er- 
ror into which the Thessaloiiian believers had fallen from the 
idea that they who should die before Christ's second coming 
might fail of their share in its glory and blessedness. Chap. 
4:13-18. In both of the epistles he admonishes the Thes- 
salonians against the neglect of their proper worldly business, 
a fault that was apparently connected with visionary ideas 
respecting the speedy second coming of our Lord, and wdiich 
he rebukes in severe terms. 1 Thess. 4:11 ; 2 Thess. 3 : 10-12. 
33. The second epistle to the Thessalonians, like the first, 
is written in the name of " Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus," 
and seems to have been sent from Corinth not many months af- 
ter the first. The apostle's main design was to correct a per- 
nicious error respecting the time of our Lord's second advent, 
which some at Thessalonica seem to have been strenuously 
engaged in propagating, and to give them further instruction 
respecting this great doctrine and their duty in relation to it. 
After the apostolic salutation he expresses his gratitude to God 
for the growth of their Christian faith and love, and comforts 
them under the pressure of the persecution to which they were 
subjected with the assurance of our Lord's second coming in 
glory to destroy his and their enemies and give rest to his suf- 
fering servants ; but proceeds in the second chapter to show 
that this day is not yet at hand, and cannot come till there has 
first been a great apostacy, the characteristic features of which 
he proceeds to give (verses 3-12). The remainder of the epistle 
is occupied with commendations and encouragements to perse- 
verence; mingled with admonitions. The latter have special 
reference to certain idle and disorderly members of the church, 
whom the apostle describes as " some which walk among you 
disorderly, working not at all, but are busy bodies " (ohap. 3 : 11), 



474 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

and who also set tliemselves in opposition to his apostolic au- 
thority (verse 14). These disorderly persons seem to have been 
the same as those who were engaged in propagating erroneous 
notions respecting the time of our Lord's second advent. 
Their visionary views on this subject made them self-conceited, 
talkative, and self- willed, and led them to neglect the sober du- 
ties of daily life. 

Tlie apostle beseeches the Thessalonians not to be soon shaken in mind, 
or troubled, "neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as 
that the day of Christ is at hand. " And he adds : ' ' Let no man deceive you 
in any way " — in any of the ways specified or any other way. Chap. 2 : 2, 3. 
There were then persons at Thessalonica busily occupied in misleading the 
Thessalonians : (1) " by spirit," that is, by prophesies which they professed 
to have received from the Holy Spirit ; (2) "by word," by oral teaching ; 
(3) "by letter as from us," that is, purporting to come from the apostle. 
Or, perhaps, we should render : " nor by word nor by letter as from us : " 
that is, neither by oral teaching nor by written communication alleged to 
have come from me. We can well understand how the unwritten words of 
the apostle should have been perverted by these false teachers. The ques- 
tion remains : Did they pervert the meaning of his language in the first 
epistle, or did they emj)loy an ejDistle forged in his name ? The latter has 
been from ancient times a common interpretation of this clause, and it is 
favored by the words : " The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which 
is the token in every epistle : so I write." Chap. 3 :17. Yet the supi^osi- 
tion of such a forged epistle is something so improbable that many are in- 
clined to adopt the former supposition. 

The question respecting "the man of sin " belongs to the commentator. 
In a brief introduction like the present, we cannot enter upon it farther 
than to say that, though we are not warranted in affirming that it has its 
exhaustive fulfilment in the Papacy, yet its chief embodiment thus far has 
been in that corrupt and persecuting power whose character answers so re- 
markably to the apostle's description. 

34. The epistles to the churches of Philippi and Thessa- 
lonica, both lying within the bounds of ancient Macedonia, 
have a remarkable agreement in their general tone and manner. 
In both cases we have the same affectionate outpouring of the 
apostle's heart towards the brethren to whom he writes, and the 
same abundant personal notices respecting himself and his min- 
istry. Yet they differ precisely as we might suppose they would 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 475 

in view of the fact that the two to the Thessalouians are the ear- 
liest of Paul's writings, and are separated from that to the 
Pliili]5pians by an interval of ten eventful years. In writing to 
the Thessalouians he gives peculiar prominence to the doctrine 
of our Lord's second coming, perhaps because, in the persecu- 
tions which they were undergoing, they especially needed its 
strengthening and consolatory influence; perhaps also because 
in the continual maltreatment which he had encountered ever 
since he entered Macedonia — at Philippi (Acts 16:19-40; 1 
Thess. 2:2), at Thessalonica (Acts 17:5-10), at Berea (Acts 
17:13, 14), at Corinth (Acts 18:6-17) — he was staying his own 
soul on the same glorious hope. On the contrary, we find in 
these earlier epistles no mention of Judaizing Christians, nor 
any contrast between the two opposite systems of justification 
by faith and by the works of the Mosaic law, such as appears 
in his later epistles, that to the Philippians included. PhiL 
3 : 4-9. His opponents at Thessalonica are not Judaizing 
Christians, but unconverted Jews, wdiose mahgnant opposition 
he describes in strong terms. 1 Thess. 2 :15, 16. To the Thes- 
salouians the apostle speaks of himself ; but it is of his ministry, 
and the manner in which he has discharged its duties among 
them. To the Philippians he also speaks of himself; but then 
it is from a prison, with a trial for life or death before him, and 
the retrospect of a long ministry behind him. He unfolds, 
therefore, as is natural, his deep experiences as a Christian and 
an apostle of Christ. See above, No. 29. In this contrast be- 
tween the earlier and the later epistles we have an evidence of 
their genuineness which is all the stronger because of its indirect- 
ness. It is such a mark of truth as no falsifier has power to 
imitate. 

VII. THE PASTOEAL EPISTLES. 

35. The attempt to find for the pastoral epistles a place in 
Paul's ministry as far as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles 
is beset with difliculties which amount to impossibilities. 

Among these difficulties are the following : 

(1.) AVhoever carefully studies these three epistles in tlieii- connection 



476 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

witli each other, and in contrast with the other Pauline epistles, muht be 
profoundly impressed with the conviction that they all belong, as it re- 
spects style and tone of thought, to the same period of the apostle'^ life ; 
and, as it respects subject-matter, to the same era when the churches were 
troubled by the same forms of error. But if we assume that they were 
Avritten during that i^ai't of Paul's ministry of which Luke has left us the 
record, the second to Timothy must be widely separated from the other 
two. That was certainly written during Paul's last im^Drisonment near the 
close of his life. But when he wrote the first to Timothy and that to Titus 
he was at liberty and prosecuting his missionary labors in Asia Minor and 
the vicinity. It must have been then, upon this assumption, during his 
third missionary tour (when Apollos appears for the first time, Acts 18 : 24 
compared with Titus 3 : 13), and before his last recorded journey to Jeru- 
salem, his arrest there, his two years' imprisonment at Cesarea, his voyage 
to Rome, and his imprisonment there for the space of at least two more 
years. 

(2.) There is no part of Paul's history " between his first visit to Ephe- 
sus and his Roman imprisonment, which satisfies the historical conditions 
implied in the statements of any one of these epistles," Conybeare and 
Howson, vol. 2, Appendix 1. The student may see the arguments on one 
side in Davidson's Introduction to the New Testament ; and on the other 
in Alford, and other critical commentators. Reference may also be made 
to the biblical dictionaries. 

(3.) Upon the assumption that the first epistle to Timothy, whom Paul 
had left in charge of the Ephesian church, was written be/ore his recorded 
imprisonments at Cesarea and Rome, it must be earlier than his farewell 
address to the elders of Ephesus, and also his epistle to the Ephesians. 
But the contents of the epistle manifestly point to a later period, when the 
errors in doctrine and practice which he had predicted (Acts 20 :29, 30), 
but of which he takes no notice in his ( nistle to the Ephesians, had abeady 
begun to manifest themselves. The more one compares with each other 
these two epistles, the deejoer must his conviction be that the first to Tim- 
othy is not the earlier but the later of the two. 

(4. ) The peculiar tone and diction of the pastoral epistles and the pecu- 
liar character of the errors combated in them aU indicate a later period in 
the apostle's life, and a later stage in the history of the churches. To 
place the first and third of these among those to the Galatians, Corin- 
thians, and Romans, and the second, among those to Philemon, the Colos- 
sians, Exohesians, and Philij)pians, imist apjoear forced and unnatural. It 
is much easier to assume the lapse of some years. Even then the contrast 
between these and the other epistles of Paul in respect to tone and diction 
is very striking. But it may be explained partly from the pecuUar them6 
of the pastoral epistles, partly from the change which the lapse of time 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 477 

with its manifold experiences liad brought to the apostle's stj»lo and 
diction. 

We assume, therefore, that the apostle was released from the Eoman 
imprisonment recorded by Luke ; and that, not very long before his sec- 
ond imprisonment which was terminated by his martyrdom at Eome, he 
wrote the three epistles now under consideration. It is well known that 
this is in accordance with ancient tradition. See the testimonies in Cony- 
beare and How^son, chap. 27 ; in Alford, and in other commentators. 

Against this view is urged the apostle's declaration to the elders of 
Ephesus that they should see his face no more ; whereas, according to the 
present supposition, he visited Ephesus again after his first imjirisonment. 
As a fair offset to this may be urged on the other ^ide his equally strong 
declaration to the Philippians that his present imprisonment should have 
a favorable issue (Phil. 1 : 25) ; which was not the case upon the hypothe- 
sis of a single imprisonment at Home. Such declarations, where no doc- 
trine or fact of Christianity is concerned, are not to be taken as revelations 
of the Spirit. We know, for example, from Paul's own words, that he 
changed his declared purpose respecting a visit to Corinth, for which his 
enemies accused him of using lightness. 2 Cor. 1 : 15-18. 

It is urged again that when Paul wrote the pastoral ejDistles Timothy 
was a young man. 1 Tim. 4 : 12 ; 2 Tim. 2 : 22. But according to ancient 
ideas one might be called a young man at any age under thkty-five or even 
forty years. Paul found Timothy in his second missionary journey, about 
A. D. 52. It is not necessary to assume that he was then more than twenty 
years old. At the time of Paul's martyrdom, then, about a. d. 67 or 68, he 
may have been, for anything that appears to the contrary, a young man in 
the ancient sense of the w^ord. 

36. The false teachers with whom the apostle deals in these 
epistles are corrupt in 'practice as well as in doctrine. 1 Tim. 
1:6; 6:5; 2 Tim. 2:16, 17; 3:6, 8; Titus 1:15, 16. They 
were chiefly Jews (1 Tim. 1:7; Titus 1 :10, 14; 3;9) ; but not 
Jews who held to simple Pliariseeism, like the false teachers 
among the Galatians. They more nearly resembled those who 
troubled the Colossians — Jews of a speculative turn of mind, 
who sought to bring into Judaism the semi-oriental philosophy 
of that day. They were not Gnostics ; for Gnosticism was es- 
sentially anti-Judaistic, separating the God of the Jews from 
the God of Christianity, and placing the two in antagonism to 
each other. The speculations of these false teachers took a 
direction which was in some respects akin to the Gnosticism of 



478 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

the second century ; but the allegation that they were themselves 
Gnostics rests upon the misinterpretation of certain passages 
in these epistles, or unwarrantable inferences from them. 

37. The genuineness of these epistles is sustained by the 
unanimous testimony of the ancient church. Only in modern 
times has it been called in question by certain writers, who rest 
their arguments wholly on alleged internal evidence. 

So far as their objections are founded on the assumed early date of the 
pastoral epistles — before the close of Paul's imprisonment at Rome recorded 
by Luke, on their pecyliar tone and diction, or on the supposed references 
in them to the Gnosticism of the second century, they have already been 
considered. But it is further alleged : 

(1.) That they reveal a liter arclilcal spirit foreign to the character of the 
apostle Paul. The answer is that no trace of such a spirit is discernible in 
them. The churches had from the first their officers — bishops or elders and 
deacons ; and the apostle simply gives the necessary directions for the se- 
lection of these, with a few brief hints respecting the line of conduct to be ob- 
served towards them. 1 Tim. 5 : 1, 17, 19, 22. 

(2.) That the institution of widows (1 Tim. 5:9-16) belongs to a later 
age. Respecting the exact position of those who were enrolled in the class 
of widows there have been different opinions. One is that this class con- 
sisted of those who were to receive rehef from the funds of the church ; 
another, that they were matrons set apart for special service in the church, 
Ijerforming for their own sex duties analogous to those which the presby- 
ters performed for the church generally. The latter opinion is the more 
probable of the two, as it explains the conditions insisted on by the apostle. 
But according to either view there is no difficulty in admitting the existence 
in apostolic times of such an arrangement. 

38. In these pastoral epistles we have the affectionate coun- 
sels of the great apostle to the Gentiles, when he was now ripe 
in years and Christian experience and about to close his earthly 
ministry, addressed to two young men whom the Holy Ghost 
had made overseers of the churches. They are a rich store- 
house of instruction for all to whom God has committed the 
ministry of reconciliation. Let them, as they hope at last to 
render up an account of their stewardship with joy and not with 
grief, prayerfully study and reduce to daily practice these pre- 
cepts of heavenly wisdom given by the Holy Spirit through tiio 
pen of " Paul the aged." 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 479 

39. The first epistle to Timothy. — The iime of this ej)istle 
lies, as we have seen, beyond the recorded history of the apos- 
tle, and before his second and final imprisonment at Rome, 
perhaps about a. D. 65 or QQ. It was addressed to Timothy at 
Ephesus not long after the apostle had left that city to go into 
Macedonia (chap. 1:3), but whether from Macedonia or some 
other province of the Roman empire cannot be determined. 
The occasion we learn from the ej)istle. Paul had left Timotliy 
in charge of the Ephesian church, and, being apprehensive of a 
protracted absence, he sends him these written instructions re- 
lating partly to his own personal demeanor as a Christian min- 
ister, but chiefly to his office as the overseer of the Ephesian 
church. In the discharge of this office he is (1) to withstand 
and keep down the growing heresies of the day; (2) to superin- 
tend the government of the church in various particulars which 
the apostle specifies. 

The contents of the epistle though not arranged in systematic 
order, are in harmony with its occasion and design. Into the 
first chapter, which is of an introductory character, the apostle, 
in the free intercourse of confiding affection, inserts a personal 
notice of himself, which breathes the spirit of devout gratitude 
and deep humility. He then proceeds to give directions per- 
taining to the public worship of God — prayer, the costume of 
women, and their place in the public assembly (chap. 2) ; and 
to the choice of bishops and deacons (chap. 3). After a digres- 
sion in the fourth chapter respecting the character of the com- 
ing apostacy foretold by the Spirit, which is followed by admo- 
nitions to Timothy of a personal character, he proceeds in the 
fifth chapter to give directions- respecting the ajjpointment and 
treatment of elders, of the elder and younger women, and es- 
pecially of widows, with personal counsel to Timothy. Then 
follows an admonition to servants, a notice of the false teachers, 
a warning to the rich with further counsels to Timothy, and an 
animating glance at the second coming of our Lord. 

Eunice, the mother of Timothy, was a Jewess distinguished for her 
piety, as was also his grandmother Lois. Acts IG : 1 ; 2 Tim. 1:5. By 



480 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE, 

them lie was carefully trained in the knowledge of the holy Scriptures (2 
Tim. 3:15), and had a good reputation among the brethren when Paul 
found him at Derbe and Lystra (Acts 16 :1, 2). His father being a Greek, 
he had never been subjected to the rite of circumcision. But in consider- 
ation of his mixed descent Paul, to allay the prejudices of his countrymen, 
'* took and circumcised him," while he would not allow this rite to be im- 
posed on Titus, who was of unmixed Gentile origin. Timothy was one of 
the most trusty and beloved of Paul's fellow-laborers, as we learn from these 
and his other epistles, and he naturally desired the comfort and help of his 
presence in his final imprisonment at Kome. 2 Tim. 4 : 9, 21. His health 
was feeble (1 Tim. 5 :23), and there are in Paul's epistles some indications 
that he was naturally timid and diffident (1 Cor. 16 : 10, 11 ; 2 Tim. 1 .: 7, 8 ; 
2:3). But grace made him faithful to the end. 

40. The epistle to Titus which comes next in chronological 
order, has a remarkable agreement with the first to Timothy in 
both subject-matter and style. With the exception of what re- 
lates to widows and the demeanor of w^omen in the public as- 
semblies, it contains the same general precepts, with additional 
exhortations that young men be sober-minded, and that the 
Cretan Christians obey magistrates and be meek and gentle in 
their deportment. With these counsels the apostle interweaves, 
as in the first epistle to Timothy, exhortations to Titus of a 
personal character, and animating notices of God's grace in the 
gospel and of the second coming of our Lord. 

Kespecting the founding of the Cretan churches we have no information 
in the Acts of the Apostles. The only time mentioned by Luke when Paul 
touched at Crete was on his voyage to Eome as a prisoner (Acts 27 : 8) ; and 
then he had neither time nor liberty for the work of preaching the gospel 
in that island. Crete contained many Jews, some of whom were present at 
Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2 : 11). The apostle's visit to Crete 
referred to in this epistle we assume to have taken jilace between his first 
and second imprisonment at Borne. Whether the churches of the island 
were then founded for the first time or had previously existed, it is certain 
that Paul left them in an -imperfect state of organization. For this reason 
he requested. Titus to remain, that he might set in order the things that were 
wanting, and ordain elders in every city. Chap. 1 : 5. 

It is remarkable that we have no notice of Titus in the Acts of the Apos- 
tles. From the epistles of Paul we learn that he was his companion in 
travel, and intrusted by him at different times with missions to the churches. 
He accompanied Paul and Barnabas to the so-called Council of the Apos- 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 481 

t'es and Elders at Jerusalem, where, being a Greek, lie was exempted from 
the necessity of circumcision. Gal. 2:1, 3. For other notices of him see 
2 Cor. 2 : 13 ; 7 : 6, 13, 14 ; 8 : 6, 16, 23 ; 12 : 18. His stay in Crete was not 
to be permanent ; for the apostle directs that upon the arrival from him of 
Artemas or Tychicus he should rejoin him at Nicopolis — probably Nicopo- 
lis in Epirus. Chap. 3 : 12. 

41. Second epistle to Timothy. — The first epistle to Timo- 
thy and that to Titus are in a certain sense official ; that is, 
they are largely occupied with apostolic counsels and directions 
to these two men respecting the administration of the churches 
which Paul had committed to their care. The present epistle 
is of a more private and personal character. It was written 
from Rome when Paul was a prisoner there (chaps. 1 :8, 16, 17 ; 
2 :9), and expecting soon to seal his testimony with his blood 
(chap. 4:6). In his extremity, when fidelity to him could be 
shown only at the hazard of life, many of his friends had for- 
saken him. Chaps. 1 : 15 ; 4 : 10. He needed the presence and 
help of Timothy, and wrote urging him to come speedily, and 
to bring certain articles which he had left at Troas. Feeling that 
his end was near, he improved the occasion to give Timothy his 
affectionate apostolic counsel and encouragement. Hence the 
present epistle differs strikingly in its preceptive part from the 
other two. They contain specific directions for ordaining 
officers and managing the affairs of the churches ; for in them 
the apostle writes to men in charge of specific fields of labor. 
In the second epistle to Timothy, on the contrary, the apostle's 
exhortations are general, for he is summoning him away from 
his particular field to give attendance upon himself at Rome. 
But all three of the pastoral epistles agree remarkably, as well 
in their general style and diction as in their description of exist- 
ing errors and false teachers. It is generally thought that 
Timothy was at Ephesus; and with this opinion agrees the 
salutation to "the household of Onesiphorus," who was at 
Ephesus. Chap. 4:19 compared with 1:18. The words of 
chap. 4:12, however, "Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus," do 
not favor this supposition. Hence some have thought that 

Cnmp. to Bllle. 21 



482 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

Timothy was not in that city, but only in its vicinity. The 
present is undoubtedly the last of Paul's epistles in the order 
of time. As such we cannot but peruse it with solemnity, as 
the closing testimony of one who has fought the good fight, 
finished the appointed course, and kept the faith ; and who here 
instructs all, especially all preachers of the gospel, how they 
may do the same. " And thus we possess an epistle calculated 
for all ages of the church ; and in which while the maxims cited 
and encouragements given apply to all Christians, and especially 
ministers of Christ, in their duties and difiiculties — the affecting 
circumstances in which the writer himself is placed carry home 
to every heart his earnest and impassioned eloquence." Alford, 
Introduction to 2 Timothy. 

YIII. EPISTLE TO THE HEBKEWS. 

42. In regard to the authorsMp of this epistle biblical schol- 
ars are not agreed. Each of the thirteen preceding epistles 
bears the name of Paul. But the present epistle is without 
either name or address, and it omits also at the beginning the 
apostolic salutation. Thus it commences in the form of an es- 
say, though it closes in that of an epistle. These circumstances, 
in connection with its peculiar style and diction and the pecu- 
liar range of the topics discussed in it, have produced a diver- 
sity of opinion on the question whether Paul was its author, at 
least its author in the immediate sense in which he was the 
author of the preceding epistles. For the full discussion of 
the arguments on both sides the reader must be referred to 
the commentaries, some of which are accessible to all. Our 
limits will only permit us to indicate certain facts and princi- 
ples which have a bearing on the authorship of the epistle and 
its canonical authority. 

The unanimous belief of the Eastern church, \diere we must 
suppose that it was first received and whence the knowledge of 
it was spread abroad, ascribed it to Paul as its author either 
immediately or virtually ; for some, as Origen (in Eusebius* 
Hist, EccL, 6. 14) accounted for its peculiar diction by the sup- 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 4S3 

position that Paul furnislied the tlionglits, while they were re- 
duced to form by the pen of some other person. " Another 
opinion was that Paul wrote in Hebrew,%and that our present 
canonical epistle is a translation into Greek (Eusebius' Hist.. 
EccL, 3. 38 ; Clement of Alexandria in Eusebius' Hist. EccL, 
6. 14), In the Western church Clement of Eome did indeed 
refer to the epistle as authoritative, but without naming the 
author. Yet its Pauline authorship was not generally admitted,' 
nor was it received as a part of the sacred canon till the fourth 
century, when here too the opinion of the Eastern church was 
adopted. The Muratorian canon, which represents the belief 
of the Western church before the fourth century, omits this 
epistle. The Syriac Peshito, on the other hand, inserts it 
in accordance with its uniform reception by the Eastern 
church. This uniformity of belief in the Eastern church must 
have had for its starting point the Hebrews to whom the epis- 
tle was sent ; and it is a strong argument for the supposition 
that it did originally come to them under the sanction of Paul's 
name and authority; whether dictated to an amanuensis, as 
were most of his epistles, or written with his knowledge and 
approbation by some insj^ired man among his attendants and 
fellow-laborers who was thoroughly conversant with his views 
on the subjects treated of in the epistle. This is as far as we 
have any occasion to go, since Ave know that the gift of inspi- 
ration was not confined to the circle of the apostles. 

As we cannol affirm that all who were associated with the ajpostles in the 
work of the ministiy had the gifts needful for the composition of writings 
that should be given to the churches as the authoritative word of God, so 
neither can we deny to some the possession of these gifts, as is plain from 
the examples of Mark and Luke. When men who stood in the second grade 
of relation to Christ — apostolic men, as we may conveniently call them — com- 
posed their works, it is not necessary to assume that they wrote under a 
formal apostolic supervision. The "discerning of spirits" is a gift which 
we must concede to all of the apostles. If, then, an associate of one of the 
apostles had such relations to him and wrote in such circumstances that we 
cannot suppose it to have been done without his knowledge and approba- 
tion formal or implied, we have for his work all needful authority. What. 



484 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

further connection the apostle may have had with :t in the way of sugges- 
tion or supervision is a question which we may well leave undetermined. 
In judging of this matter we consider first of all the testimony of the early 
churches, since they enjoyed the best means of ascertaining the origin of a 
writing ; and then the character of the writing itself. Proceeding in this 
way we come to the full conviction of the canonical authority of the epistle to 
the Hebrews, whether we believe, with many, that Paul was its immediate au- 
thor, or, with Origen, that "the ancients not without reason have handed 
it down as Paul's ; but on the question who wrote the epistle God only 
knows the truth." 

43. That the apostle wrote for the instruction of Jewish 
Christians is manifest. The uniform tenor of the epistle indi- 
cates, moreover, that they were Jeivish Christians without any 
admixture of a Gentile element. The salutations at the end 
further imply that the epistle addresses not Hebrew Christians 
in general, but some particular community of them, which is 
most naturally to be sought in Palestine, perhaps in Jerusalem. 
As to the time of the epistle, the manner in which it refers to 
the temple and its services makes it certain that the author 
wrote before the overthrow of Jerusalem, that is, before A. D. 70. 
The arguments adduced to show that Paul was its author, either 
immediately or virtuall}^, carry it back beyond A. D. 67 or 68, 
when, according to ancient tradition, the apostle suffered mar- 
tyrdom. It was probably written not many years before that 
event ; but a more exact determination of the time is impossible. 
According to the most probable interpretation of chap. 13 : 24, 
the epistle was written from Italy. But that Timothy was not 
the bearer of it, as the subscription states, is pkiin from the 
preceding verse, in which he conditionally promises to come 
with Timothy at a future time. 

The references in the epistle to the Levitical priesthood and the temple 
services connected with it are in the ^resew^ or perfect teiises — " is ordained," 
"is encompassed," "he ought," " taketh this honor, " " have a command- 
ment to take tithes " " receive tithes " "Jiath given atteiidance at the altar" 
(chap. 7 : 13), " have become" (chap. 7 :21, 23), "maketh men high priests," 
"who serve," "hath made the first old" (the references in chap. 9 : 1-5 are 
to the ancient tabernacle), "enter always into the first tabernacle" (chap. 
9:6), " which he offers " (verse 7), " the Holy Ghost this signifying that the 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 485 

"way into tlie holiest places Jias not yet been made ma7iifest, while the first taber- 
nacle is as yet standing " (verse 8), " gifts and sacrifices are offered " (verse 9), 
"sanctifieth," '* are by thelaw purged," " can never," "standeth." Itisto 
be regretted that our version has not in all cases observed this distinction 
of tenses. 

44. The central theme of this book is the superiority of the 
Christian over the Mosaic dispensation considered on the side 
of its divine Mediator and High-priest. In unfolding this great 
theme the writer dwells on the glory and dignity of Christ's 
person in contrast with the ancient prophets, with the angels, 
and with Moses, all of whom were connected with the first 
economy. He then proceeds to exhibit the divine eflScacy of 
Christ's priesthood. This is the substance, of which the Levit- 
ical priesthood, with its altar, its offerings and all the temple- 
services connected with it, was only the shadow. In no book 
of the New Testament is our Lord's priestly office set forth 
with such fullness and rich variety of illustrations, always with 
reference to its divinely appointed type, the Levitical priest- 
hood. This was especially needful to fortify the Hebrew Chris- 
tians, who had been educated and lived under the constant im- 
pression of the splendid Mosaic ritual with its magnificent 
temple, against the danger of being turned from the simplicity 
of the gospel to reliance on the "carnal ordinances " of "Judaism, 
which would have been virtual apostacy from Christ. This 
magnificent epistle constitutes in some sense a solemn requiem 
to the old temple service with its altar and priesthood, where 
the blood of bulls and goats that can never take away sin had 
flowed for so many centuries. This service had accomplished 
its end in prefiguring Christ the true "Lamb of God which 
taketh away the sin of the world," and it was destined soon to 
pass away forever "with tumult, with shouting, with the sound 
of the trumpet" — to pass away forever, that men might give 
their undivided faith to Christ, our great High-priest, who 
ministers for us in the heavenly tabernacle, presenting there 
before his Father's throne his own blood shed on Calvary to 
make propitiation for the sins of the world 



486 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

To the argumentative part of tliis epistle are appended ex- 
hortations (partly, indeed, anticipated in the preceding part) to 
constancy in the Christian profession, drawn from the awful 
doom that awaits apostates, from the examples of faith fur- 
nished by ancient worthies, and especially from the example 
of Christ himself and the glorious fellowship to which his gos- 
pel introduces us. To these are added some admonitions of a 
more special character. Thus the present epistle performs an 
office in the general system of revelation which is supplied by no 
other book of the Old or New Testament. To the book of Le- 
yitious it may be said to hold the relation of substance to 
shadow, and it is its divinely appointed expositor. 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 487 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

The Catholic Epistles. 

1. Seven epistles, that of James and the six that follow, are 
called Catholic, that is, general ov universal, as not being directed 
to any particular church. They were not all, however, ad- 
dressed originally to believers generally, but some of them to 
particular classes of believers, or even to individuals, as the in- 
troductory words show. 

I. EPISTLE OF JAMES. 

2. The question respecting the loerson of James who wrote 
this epistle is one of great difficulty. That "James the Lord's 
brother," whom Paul names as one of the apostles (Gal. 1:19), 
is identical with the James mentioned by Luke in Acts 12:17 ; 
15:13; 21:18, and is the author of the present epistle, is ad- 
mitted by most writers, though not by all. That this James of 
Gal. 1 : 19 was the James who is named with Joses, Simon, and 
Judas, as one of our Lord's brethren (Matt. 13 : 55; Mark 6 : 3), 
must be received as certain. But whether he was identical 
with " James the son of Alpheus," who was one of the twelve 
(Matt. 10 : 3 ; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1 : 13), is a question 
which has been much discussed and on which eminent biblical 
scholars are found arrayed on opposite sides. The question 
turns very much on the interpretation of the words "brother," 
and "brethren" and "sisters," in the passages above referred 
to. If we take them in their literal sense, as some do, then 
James the son of Alpheus and James the Lord's brother are 
different persons. But others understand them in the general 
sense of kindred or cousins, believing that our Saviour was 
the only child of Mary. A statement at length of the argu- 



133 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

nients and objections that are urged on both sides does not 
come within the compass of the present work. Nor is it neces- 
sary. The author of the present epistle is beyond all reasonable 
doubt the James who gave the final opinion in the assembly of 
the apostles and elders at Jerusalem (Acts 15:13-21), whom 
Paul names with Cephas and John as one of the "pillars" there 
(Gal. 2 :9), and who elsewhere appears as a man of commanding 
influence in the church at Jerusalem (Acts 21:18; Gal. 2:12). 
If any one doubts his identity Avith James the son 6i Alpheus, 
who was one of the twelve, this cannot affect the canonical 
authority of the epistle. The position of this James in the 
church at Jerusalem and his relation to the ajDOstolic college is 
such that, even upon the supposition that he did not belong to 
the number of the twelve, his writings must have to us the full 
weight of apostolic authority. See above chap. 30, No. 42. 

3. The place where this epistle was written was manifestly 
Jerusalem, where James always resided; and the 2^ersons ad- 
dressed are "the twelve tribes who are in the dispersion" (chap. 
1:1); that is, as the nature of the case and the tenor of the 
epistle make manifest, that part of them who had embraced 
Christianity. There is no allusion in the epistle to Gentile 
believers. 

The dispersion is a technical term for the Jews living out of Palestine 
among the Gentiles. We need not hesitate to understand it here literally. 
The apostle wrote to his Jewish brethren of the dispersion because he 
could not visit them and suj)erintend their affairs as he could those of the 
Jewish Christians in and around Jerusalem. Some take the term in a 
wider sense of the Jewish Christians scattered abroad in and out of Pales- 
tine, but this is not necessary. 

4. "With regard to the date of this epistle also different opin- 
ions are held. Some place it early in the history of the church 
— earlier, in fact, than any other of the apostolic epistles — hefore 
the origin of the controversy respecting circumcision and the 
Mosaic law recorded in Acts, chap. 15 ; others quite late, not 
long before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Eomans. The 
latter view best agrees with the contents of the epistle. The 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 489 

doctrine of justification by faith, for which Paul had contended, 
would naturally be abused precisely in the way here indicated, 
by the substitution of a barren speculative faith for the true 
faith that works by love and purifies the heart and life from 
sin. The age preceding the destruction of Jerusalem was one 
of abounding wickedness, especially in the form of strife and 
faction. It had been predicted by our Lord that the effect of 
this would be to chill the love of many of his visible followers 
and withdraw them from his service. In truth the descriptions 
of these unworthy members of the Jewish Christian community 
which we find in this epistle, in the second of Peter, and in that 
of Jude, are but the realization, in most particulars, of the state of 
things foretold in the following remarkable words of the Saviour : 
" And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, 
and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall 
arise and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall 
abound the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall en- 
dure unto the end, the same shall be saved." Matt. 24 : 10-13. 
5. For the gemdneness and canonical authority of the present 
epistle we have a very important testimony in the Old Syriac ver- 
sion (Peshito), which represents the judgment of the Eastern 
churches where the epistle was originally circulated. The re- 
maining testimonies prior to the fourth century are scanty and 
some of them not very decisive. They may be all seen in Da- 
vidson's Introduction to the New Testament, and in the crit- 
ical commentaries generally. 

It cannot be reasonably doubted that the words of Irenaeus, "Abraham 
himself, without circumcision and without the observance of Sabbaths, be- 
lieved in God, and it was counted to him for righteousness, and he was 
called the friend of God" (Against Heresies, 4 30), refer to James 2; 23. 
Origen quotes the epistle as " current under the name of James, "and inti- 
mates that some did not acknowledge its apostolic authority. But he else- 
where cites it as that of "James the Lord's brother, " "the apostle James," 
"the apostle," and simply "James." See in Kirchhofer Quellene^mlung, 
pp. 263, 264 Eusebius reckons the epistle among the books that were 
"disputed, but known nevertheless to many." Hist. Eccl., 3, 25. Else- 
where he says : "It is regarded as spurious ; at least not many of the an- 

21* 



490 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

cients liave made mention of it." Hist. Eccl. , 2. 23. But these words can- 
not be regarded as expressing Eusebius' own opinion; for he himself 
quotes him as " the holy apostle," and his words as " Scripture." See in 
Davidson's Introduction to the New Testament, vol. 3, p. 336 ; Kirchhofer 
Quellensamlung, p. 264. 

In the course of the fourth centur}^ the canonical authority 
of this epistle was gradually more and more acknowledged, and 
in the fifth its reception in the churches of both the East and 
the West became universal. 

" This is just what we might expect : a writing little known at first, ob- 
tians a more general circulation, and the knowledge of the writing and its 
reception go almost together. The contents entirely befit the antiquity 
which the writing claims ; no evidence could be given for rejecting it ; it 
differs in its whole nature from the foolish and spurious writings put forth 
in the name of this James ; and thus its gradual reception is to be accounted 
for from its having, from early times, been known by some to be genuine 
(as shown by the Syraic version), and this knowledge being afterwards 
spread more widely," Tregelles in Home, vol. 4, chap. 25. Davidson sug- 
gests that differences of opinion and jDerplexities resi)ecting the number of 
the persons called James in the apostolic period, and the relation they 
bore to one another, and also the fact that the epistle was addressed solely 
to Jewish Christians, may have made its early circulation comparatively lim- 
ited. Perhaps we may also add, as he does, its apparent contrariety to the 
Pauhne doctrine of justification by faith, but this is by no means certain. 

6. This epistle is eminently practical. If any part of it can 
be called argumentative, it is that in which the apostle shows 
that " faith without works is dead." Chap. 2 : 14-26. The sins 
which he rebukes with such graphic vividness and power were 
all preeminently the sins of his countrymen at that age — hearing 
God's word without doing it, resting in an empty faith that 
does not influence the hfe, inordinate love of worldly posses- 
sions and a self-confident spirit in the pursuit of them, w^anton 
revelling in worldly pleasures, partiality towards the rich and 
contempt of the poor, defrauding the poor of their wages, am- 
bition to assume the office of teaching, censoriousness, a law- 
less and slanderous tongue, bitter envying and strife, mutual 
grudging and murmuring, Avars and fightings; all these with an 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 491 

uiibelieving and complaining spirit towards God. But these 
are not merely Jewish vices. They are deeply rooted in man's 
fallen nature, and many a nominal Christian community of our 
day may see its own image by looking into the mirror of this 
epistle. 

The alleged disagreement between Paul and James is un- 
founded. Paul's object is to show that the ground of men's 
justification is faith in Christ, and not the merit of their good 
works. The object of James is to show that faith without good 
works, like the body without the spirit, is dead. Paul argues 
against dead works ; James against dead faith. Here we have 
no contradiction, but only two different views of truth that are 
in entire harmony Avith each other, and both of which are es- 
sential to true godliness. 

II. EPISTLES OF PETER. 

7. The FIRST EPISTLE OF Peter was unanimously received by 
the primitive church as the genuine work of the man whose 
name it bears. Polycarp, in his epistle to the Philippians, 
made numerous citations from it. It was also referred to by 
Papias, according to the testimony of Eusebius. Hist. Eccl. 
3. 39. Irenseus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen, etc. 
all quote it expressly. It is found in the Syriac Peshito version 
Avhich contains but three of the catholic epistles. It is wanting 
in the Muratorian canon, but to this circumstance much weight 
cannot be attached when we consider how dark and confused is 
the passage referring to the catholic epistles. 

8. The readers addressed in the epistle are " the elect so- 
journers of the dispersion, of Pontus, Galatia, Capj^adocia, 
Asia, and Bithynia," all provinces of Asia Minor. The words 
"sojourners" — or "strangers" as rendered in our English ver- 
sion — and " dispersion " are both the appropriate terms for the 

.Jews living in dispersion. That the apostle, in an introduction 
of this kind, should have used the word " sojourners " in a sim- 
ply figurative sense, to describe Christians as "pilgrims and 
strangers on the earth," is very improbable, especially in imme- 



492 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

diate connection with the word '' dispersion," which must be 
understood hterally. We must rather understand the apostle 
as recof>-nizing in the Christian churches scattered throughout 
the world the true "Israel of God," having for its framework 
the believing portion of the covenant people, into which the 
Gentile Christians had been introduced through faith, and thus 
made the children of Abraham. Compare Kom. 4 : 12-17 ; Gal. 
3:7-9; and especially Eom. 11:17-24. Hence it comes to 
pass that while Peter addresses them as the ancient people of 
God, he yet includes Gentile Christians in his exhortations, as 
is manifest from various passages, especially from chap. 4:3. 

9. According to chap. 5 : 13 the jjlace from which this epistle 
was written was Babylon. No valid reason exists why we 
should not understand here the literal Babylon. The old opin- 
ion that the apostle used the word enigmatically to signify 
Eome is nothing more than a conjecture in itself improbable. 
It has been urged not without reason that Peter names the 
provinces of Asia Minor in the order which would be natural to 
one writing from Babylon ; naming Pontus first, which lay 
nearest to Babylon, and Asia and Bithynia, which were the 
most remote, last. The question of the daie of this epistle is con- 
nected with that of its occasion. This seems to have been a " fiery 
trial" of persecution that had already begun to come upon the 
Christians of the provinces named in the introductory address. 
Chaps. 1:6, 7; 2:12, 19, 20; 3:14, 16,17; 4:1, 12-19; 5:9, 
10. The exact date and character of this persecution cannot 
be determined. The majority of commentators assign it to the 
latter years of Nero's reign, which ended A. D. 68. The second 
epistle of Peter was written not long before the apostle's death, 
a-nd after the epistles of Paul had become generally known in 
Asia Minor. As we cannot reasonably separate the two epis- 
tles by a great space of time (see below, No. 11), we hifer that 
the first was written after Paul's first imprisonment in Eome,. 
say somewhere between A. d. 63 and 67. 

10. The general tone of the first epistle is in harmony with 
its occasion. The apostle seeks to animate and strengthen his 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 493 

brethren in view of the " ^erj trial " of persecution that had 
already begun to come upon them. To this end he sets before 
them in glowing language the greatness and glory of the heav- 
enly inheritance in reserve for them, which was purchased by 
the precious blood of Christ, and the dignity and blessedness 
of suffering for Christ's sake, with the assurance of God's faith- 
ful presence and protection. With these encouragements he 
intermingles admonitions suited to their circumstances. He 
exhorts them as strangers and pilgrims to abstain from fleshly 
lusts and all the other vices of their former life in ignorance; 
to commend their religion by a holy deportment which shall 
put to shame the calumnies of their adversaries; to perform 
faithfully all the duties of their several stations in life; to be 
humble, sober, vigilant, and read}^ always to give a reason of 
their Christian hope ; and above all things to have fervent 
charity among themselves. The fervent spirit of the great 
apostle of the circumcision, chastened and mellowed by age, 
shines forth conspicuously in this epistle. The closing chapter, 
where he addresses first the elders, then the younger, then the 
whole body of believers, charms the reader b}^ the holy tran- 
quillity which pervades it throughout — a tranquillity deeply 
grounded in that faith which is "the substance of things hoped 
for, the evidence of things not seen." 

11. The second epistle of Peter. The address of this 
epistle is general (chap. 1:1); yet the reference which it con- 
tains to the first (chap. 3 : 1) shows that the apostle had in mind 
primarily the same circle of churches. The character of this 
reference — " This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto 
you, in which [two epistles] I stir up your pure minds by way 
of reminding [you] " — indicates that the second was not sepa- 
rated from the first by a very great space of time, certainly not 
many years. The apostle wrote with the conviction that his 
decease was near at hand (chap. 1:13-15). There is a tradi- 
tion, the correctness of which, however, is doubted by manj^, 
that he suffered martydrom at Home under the persecution 
raised by Nero against the Christians. This would be about 



494 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

A. D. 67. As to the place from which the epistle was written we 
have no information. 

12. The present epistle is one of the disputed books. Chap. 
5, No. 7, and Chap. 6. The question respecting its genuine- 
Dess may be conveniently considered under the two heads of 
external and internal evidence. 

The external testimony to the present epistle is scanty. Passing by 
some doubtful references we come first to Origen who says (in Eusebius, 
Hist. EccL, 6. 25) : "But Peter, upon whom is built the church of Christ, 
against which the gates of hell shall not prevail, has left one acknowledged 
epistle ; a second also, if you will, for it is doubted of." In those of his 
works which are extant only in the Latin version of Eufinus, Origen in a 
number of passages quotes the present epistle as Scripture. It has been 
susxDBcted that these passages were interpolated by Eufinus, who took many 
liberties with the text of Origen ; but one of them, which occurs at the be- 
ginning of his seventh homily on Joshua, is so peculiar that we cannot 
well doubt that Origen himself was its author. In allusion to the proces- 
sion of priests blowing with trumpets when the Israelites compassed the 
walls of Jericho (Josh. chaj). 6), he compares the writers of the New Testa- 
ment to so many sacerdotal trumpeters, assigning to them trumpets for 
each book, and mentioning every hook, as well the disputed as the acknowl- 
edged : ' ' First Matthew in his gospel, gave a blast with his sacerdotal 
trumpet. Mark also, Luke, and John, sounded with their single sacerdo- 
tal trumpets. Peter also sounds aloud with the two trumpets of his epistles ; 
James also, and Jude. But John adds yet again to blow with the trumpet 
through his epistles and Apocalypse ; Luke, also, narrating the Acts of the 
Apostles. But last of all that man came, who said : ' I think that God has 
set forth us apostles last, ' and thundering with the fourteen trumpets of his 
epistles, overthrew to their foundations the walls of Jericho, and all the en- 
gines of idolatry and dogmas of philosophers." The "epistles" through 
which the apostle John sounds are obviously his three epistles. The "four- 
teen trumpets" upon which Paul blows include the epistle to the Hebrews. 
In this remarkable passage, then, we have an exliaustive list of our present 
canonical books ; and there is no ground for imputing any interjjolation to 
the translator. It may be said, indeed, that this enumeration of the 
books of the New Testament is made in a popular way, and does not imply 
Origen's dehberate judgment that they were all of apostoHc authority. If 
this be granted, it still remains evident from the form of the passage that 
all the books of our present canon were in current ecclesiastical %ise in Origen'.v 
day, whatever doubts he may have had respecting some of them, and that 
they constituted, along with the writings of the Old Testament, that whole 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. ido 

of divine revelation which the Christian churches employed in assaulting 
the kingdom of Satan. 

The testimony of Eusebius himself is of the same general import as that 
of Origen — that the first epistle of Peter has been universally acknowl- 
edged ; but that the one current as the second has not been received as a 
part of the NeAv Testament ; but yet, appearing useful to many, has been 
studied with the other Scriptures (Hist. Eccl., 3. 3) ; that among the wri- 
tings which are disputed, yet known to many, are the epistles current as 
those of James and Jude, and the second epistle of Peter (Hist, EccL, 
3. 25). 

Jerome says that Peter "wrote two epistles that are called catholic, of 
which the second is denied by most persons on account of its disagreement 
in style with the first." Scrip. EccL, 1. But he himself received the epis- 
tle, and explained the difi'erence in style and character and structure of 
words by the assumption that Peter used different interpreters in the com- 
position of the two epistles (Epist. 120 ad Hedib. , chap. 11) ; and from his 
time onward the ei)istle was generally regarded as a part of the New Testa- 
ment. 

The reader who wishes to investigate farther the question of external 
testimonies will find them all given in Davidson's Introduct, to New Test. ; 
and Alf ord's Commentary, Introduction to 2 Peter. We simply repeat the 
remark already made (Chap. 6, No. 3) that although the universal and un- 
disputed reception of a book by all the early churches cannot be explained 
except on the assumption of its genuineness, its non-reception by some is 
no conclusive argument against it. It may have remained (as seems to have 
been peculiarly the case with some of the catholic epistles) for a considerable 
period in obscurity. When it began to be more extensively known, the 
general reception and use of it would be a slow process both from the 
difficulty of communication in ancient as compared with modern times, 
and especially from the slowness and hesitancy with which the churches of 
one region received anything new that came from another region. Chajo. 
2, No. 5. Jerome does indeed mention the objection from the difference 
of style between this epistle and the first of Peter ; but it is doubtful 
whether in this matter he speaks for the early churches generally. The 
obscurity in which the epistle had remained, partly at least because it was 
not addressed to the guardianship of any particular church, seems to have 
been the chief ground of doubt. 

The inter nalie&iim.o\\j for and against the genuineness of this epistle has 
been discussed at gTeat length by many writers. The reader will find good 
summaries of them in the two works above referred to, also in the critical 
commentaries generally and the modern Bible dictionaries. If one would 
come to tri.e results in this field of investigation it is important that he be- 
gin with true principles. There are what may be called staple peculiarities, 



495 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

which mark the style of one writer as compared with that of another — that 
of John, for example, in contrast with that of Paul. We cannot conceive of 
these as being wanting. But then we must allow to one and the same writer 
a considerable range of vp,riation in style and diction, dependent partly on 
difference of subject-matter, and partly on varying frames of mind of which 
no definite account can be given. If one would be convinced of this, he 
has only to read side by side the epistle of Paul to the Romans and his 
second to the Corinthians. Reserving now the second chapter of the pres- 
ent epistle for separate consideration, we do not find in the two remaining 
chapters, as compared with the first epistle, any such fundamental differ- 
ences of style and diction as can constitute a just ground for denying the 
common authorship of the two epistles. Eor the particulars, as well as for 
the examination of other objections of an internal character, the reader 
must be referred to the sources above named. It is certainly remarkable 
that Peter should refer to the writings of Paul in such terms as to class 
them with the " Scrii3tures " of the Old Testament. Chap. 3 :16. But, as 
Alford remarks, this im}3lies not that the canon of the New Testament had 
been settled when the present ei)istle was written, but only that "there 
were certain writings by Christian teachers, which were reckoned on a level 
with the Old Testament Scriptures, and called by the same name. And 
that that was not the case, even in the traditional lifetime of Peter, it would 
be surely unreasonable to deny." We close this part of the discussion 
with the following words from the same author ; " Our general conclusion 
from all that has preceded must be in favor of the genuineness and canon- 
icity of this second epistle ; acknowledging at the same time, that the sub- 
ject is not without considerable difficulty. That difficulty however is light- 
ened for us by observing that on the one hand, it is common to this epistle 
with some others of those called catholic, and several of the later writings 
of the New Testament ; and on the other, that no difference can be imag- 
ined more markedly distinctive, than that which separates all these writings 
from even the earliest and best of the post-apostolic period. Our epistle 
is one of those latter fruits of the great outpouring of the Spirit on the 
apostles, which, not being intrusted to the custody of any one church or 
individual, required some considerable time to become generally known ; 
which when known, were suspected, bearing, as they necessarily did traces 
of their late origin, and notes of polemical argument ; but of which as 
apostolic and inspired writings, there never was, when once they became 
known, any general doubt ; and which, as the sacred canon became fixed, 
acquired, and have since maintained, their due and providential place 
among the books of the New Testament," 

13. The ohject of the present epistle is to warn believers 
against being led away with the error of the wicked so as to 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 497 

fall from their own steadfastness. Chap. 3 : 17. It contains 
accordingly extended notices of the gross errors in doctrine and 
morals which, as -we know from the New Testament, abounded 
in the Christian church near the close of the apostolic period. 
The second chapter, which is occupied with a vivid description 
of the false teachers that had "crept in unawares " (chap. 2:1; 
Jude 4), is very peculiar in its contents; and its agreement 
with the epistle of Jude is of such a character as leads to the 
inference that the two writings are somehow connected with 
each other. It has been supposed that both writers drew from 
a common source unknown to us. More probable is the opin- 
ion that one of them had in view the words of the other. A 
comparison of the two writings wdll perhaps lead to the belief 
that Jude's was the original, though on this point biblical schol- 
ars differ. It matters not to us whether, under the guidance 
of the Holy Spirit, Peter employed, in a free and independent 
way, the words of Jude, or Jude those of Peter. Upon either 
supposition his writing is as much inspired as if he had written 
independently. The most prominent idea of Peter's first epistle 
is patience and steadfastness in the endurance of suffering for 
Christ's sake ; that of this second epistle is caution against the 
seductions of false teachers. Thus each epistle fills an impor- 
tant place in the entire economy of revelation. 

III. EPISTLES OF JOHN. 

14. The first epistle of John bears throughout the impress 
of its authorsliif. That it was written by the same man who 
wrote the fourth gospel is too evident to be reasonably contro- 
verted. On this ground alone its genuineness and authenticity 
may be regarded as established on a firm basis. But the ex- 
ternal testimonies to its authorship are also abundant from Pol- 
ycarp, the disciple of the apostle, and onward. It is unneces- 
sary to enumerate them. In respect to the date of this epistle 
we have no certain knowledge. The common opinion is that it 
was written after the gospel, and towards the close of the first 
century. With this supposition the contents agree. It con- 



4^8 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

tains the affectionate counsel of an aged apostle to his younger 
brethren, whom he addresses as his "little children." He 
writes, moreover, in " the last time," when, according to the 
prediction of our Lord and his apostles, many antichrists and 
false prophets are abroad in the world (chaps. 2:18; 4:1-3), 
and there are some who deny that Jesus Christ is come in the 
flesh (chap. 4:2, 3). As to the jplace of the apostle's writing, if 
we follow ancient tradition, which makes Ephesus his home in 
his old age, we may well believe that he wrote from that city, 
and that the epistle was addressed primarily to the circle of 
churches which had Ephesus for a centre. 

Some of the ancients refer to the present epistle as written to the Parl/ii- 
ans. Bnt this is a very improbable assumption, and rests apparently on 
some mistake. The apostle evidently writes to those who are under his 
spiritual care ; and these are not the Parthians, but the Christians of Asia, 
to whom also the seven letters of the Ax^ocalypse are addressed. 

15. The epistle has unity throughout, but not the unity of 
systematic logical arrangement. Its unity consists rather in 
the fact that all its thoughts revolve around one great central 
truth, the incarnation of fJie Son of God in the joerson of Jesus 
Christ for the salvation of the ivorld. With this truth he begins, 
and he affirms it authoritatively, as one of the primitive apos- 
tolic witnesses: "That which we have seen and heard de- 
clare we unto you." Chaps. 1:3; 4:6. He guards it also 
against perversion, when he insists upon the reality of our 
Lord's incarnation : " Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus 
Christ is come in the flesh, is of God : and ever}^ spirit that 
confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is not of 
God " (chap. 4 : 2, 3), words which are with good reason understood 
as referring to a very ancient form of error, that of the Docetce, 
who maintained that the Son of God had not a real, but only 
an apparent body. The reception through faith of this great 
truth, that the Son of God has come in the flesh for man's sal- 
vation, brings us into blissful union and communion with the 
Father and the Son, and thus into the possession of sonship and 
eternal life. Chaps. 1 : 3; 3:1, 2; 4 : 15; 5:1, 13, 20. The re- 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 499 

jection of tins truth is the rejection of God's own testimony 
concerning his Son (chaps. 2 :22; 5:9, 10), and thus the rejec- 
tion of eternal life ; for out of Christ, the Son of God, there is 
no life (chap. 5 :11, 12). But this reception of Christ is not a 
matter of mere theoretic belief. It is a practical coming to the 
Father and the Son, and a holy union with them. The proof 
of such union with God and Christ is likeness to God and obe- 
dience to God's commandments. They who profess to know 
God and to be in him, while they walk in darkness and allow 
themselves in sin, are liars and the truth is not in them. Chaps. 
1:5-7; 2:4-6; 3:5-10, 24; 5:4, 5,18. The sum of all God's 
attributes is love ; and the sum of Christian character is love 
also. Chap. 4 : 16. But there can be no true love towards God 
where there is none towards the brethren; and such love must 
manifest itself " not in word, neither in tongue ; but in deed and 
in truth." Chaps. 3:11-18; 4:7-11, 20, 21; 5:1. He that 
loves his brother abides in the light ; but he that hates him 
abides in darkness and death. Chaps. 2:9-11; 3:14, 15. All 
believers have an abiding unction of the Spirit, which enables 
them to distinguish between truth and falsehood, and keeps 
them from the seductions of the many antichrists that are 
abroad. Chap. 2 : 18-27. Such true believers, whose hearts 
are filled with love, are raised above fear, and have confidence 
in prayer, and may look forward with joyful confidence to the 
day of judgment. Chaps. 2 : 28 ; 3 : 18-20 ; 4 : 17, 18 ; 5 : 14, 15. 
These fundamental truths the apostle reiterates in various 
forms and connections, intermingling with them various admo- 
nitions and promises of a more particular character. He dwells 
with especial fulness on the evidences of discipleship as mani- 
fested in the daily spirit and life. There is perhaps no part of 
God's word so directly available to the anxious inquirer who 
wishes to know what true religion is, and whether he jDossesses 
it. He who, in humble reliance on the illumination of the di- 
vine Spirit, applies to himself this touchstone of Christian 
character, will know whether he is of God, or of the world that 
lies in wickedness. 



500 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

16. Second and third epistles op John. These two short 
epistles are so closely related to each other in style and man- 
ner that they have always been regarded as written by one and 
the same person. In considering, therefore, the question of 
their authorship we take them both together. Though reck- 
oned by Origen (in Eusebius' Hist. EccL, 6. 25) and by Euse- 
bius himself (Hist. EccL, 3. 25 ; Demonstratio Evangel. 3. 5) 
among the disputed writings, the external testimony to their 
apostolic authorship is upon the whole satisfactory, embracing 
the names of Irenseus, Clement of Alexandria, Dionysius of 
Alexandria, Jerome, etc. When we take into account the 
small extent of these epistles it is plain that no unfavorable in- 
ference can be drawn from the silence of Tertullian and others. 
Nor is there any internal evidence against them. That the 
man who, in his gospel, studiously avoids the mention of his 
own name, describing himself as " the disciple whom Jesus 
loved," and, in his first epistle, simply classes himself with the 
other apostles — " that which tue have seen and heard," etc. — 
should in these epistles, where some designation of himself 
was necessary, speak of himself as "the elder" is not sur- 
prising. Compare 1 Peter 5 :1. 

17. Concerning the date of these two epistles we know 
nothing. The object of the first seems to have been to set 
before the lady to whom it was addressed the importance of a 
discriminating love, which diLstlnguishes between truth and 
falsehood, and does not allow itself to aid and abet error by 
misplaced kindness towards its teachers. 

In the second the apostle, writing to Gains, commends to 
his hospitalit}^, certain missionary brethren, who were strangers 
in the place where this disciple lived. It would seem that the 
design of these brethren was to preach the gospel to the Gen- 
tiles without charge ; that he had in a former letter, com- 
mended them to the church where Gains resided ; but that 
Diotrephes had hindered their reception, and persecuted those 
who favored them. 

Short as these epistles are, then, each of them contains 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 501 

weighty instruction — the first, in reference to ill-timed kindness 
and liberality towards the teachers of error ; the second, con- 
cerning the character and conduct of those who love to have 
the preeminence, and the abhorrence in which they ought to 
be held by all who love the purity- and peace of the churches. 

IV. EPISTLE OF JUDE. 

18. The writer of this epistle styles himself "the servant of 
Jesus Christ, and brother of James." Chap. 1:1. This James 
is undoubtedly the same man who held so conspicuous a place 
in the church at Jerusalem, and was the author of the epistle 
which bears his name. Whether Jude was an apostle, or an 
apostolic man, like Mark and Luke, depends upon the question 
respecting the relation which his brother James held to Christ, 
concerning which see the introduction to the epistle of James. 
In either case the canonical authority of the epistle holds good. 
The close relation between this epistle and the second chapter 
of Peter's second epistle has already been noticed. See above. 
No. 13. It was probably anterior in time to that epistle, but 
not separated from it by a great number of years. If we may 
infer anything from the abundant use made by the writer of 
Jewish history and tradition, the persons addressed are Jewish 
Christians. 

19. Eusebius classes this epistle also among the disputed 
writings (Hist. EccL, 2. 23 ; 3. 25), yet the testimonies to its 
genuineness are ample — the Muratorian canon, Tertullian, 
Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Jerome, etc. 

It was objected to this epistle in ancient times that the writer quotes 
from the apocryphal book of Enoch (verses 14, 15). To this it may be 
answered — (1) that, if this be the case, Jude does not sanction the book 
of Enoch as a whole, but only this particular tradition embodied in it ; 
(2) that the writer of the book of Enoch manifestly made use of a current 
tradition, and that, for anything that appears to the contrary, Jude may 
have availed himself of the same tradition, independently of the book of 
Enoch. That an inspired writer should refer to a traditional history not 
recorded in the Old Testament ought not to give offence. The apostle Paul 
does the same (2 Tim. 3:8, 9) ; and Jude himself in another passage 
(verse 9). 



502 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

20. The design of the epistle Jude himself gives in explicit 
terms (verses 3, 4). It is to guard believers against the seduc- 
tions of false teachers, corrupt in practice as well as doctrine ; 
whose selfishness, sensuality, and avarice ; whose vain-glorious, 
abusive, and schismatic spirit, he describes in vivid language, 
denouncing upon them at the same time the awful judgment of 
God. The apostolic portraiture has not yet become antiquated 
in the history of Christ's church. 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 503 



CHAPTEK XXXII. 



JHE / 



"POCALYPSE. 



1. The word Apocalypse (Greek Apokalupsis) signifies Revela- 
tion, the title given to the book in our English version as well 
from its opening word as from its contents. Of all the writings 
of the New Testament that are classed by Eusebius among the 
disputed books {Anklegomena, chap. 5. 6), the apostolic author- 
ship of this is sustained by the greatest amount of external evi- 
dence ; so much so that Eusebius acknowledges it as doubtful 
whether "it should be classed among the acknoivledged or the 
disputed books. 

It was known to Papias, to Melito bishop of Sardis, and to Theopliilus 
of Antioch ; is quoted as a part of Scripture by the churches of Vienne and 
Lyons in the last quarter of the second century ; and is expressly ascribed 
to the apostle John by Justin Martyr, Irenseus, Tertullian, Clement of 
Alexandria, the Muratorian canon, Hipi^olytus, Origen, Jerome, etc. The 
testimonies may be seen in Davidson's Introduction to the New Test. , in 
Alford, and in the other works already frequently referred to, Eusebius, 
after giving a list of the acJcnowledged books, adds : "After these should be 
placed, if it be thought proper, the Revelation of John, concerning which 
we shall give the opinions at the proper time." Then, at the end of a list 
of the disputed and I'ejecied hooks he adds : "And moreover, as I said, the 
Revelation of John, if it be thought proper, which some, as I said, reject, 
but others reckon among the acknowledged books" (Hist. Eccl., 3. 25) ; 
and again, after mentioning with approbation the account of those who 
said that there Avere at Ephesus two who bore the name of John (John the 
apostle, and the so-called presbi/ter John), he adds : "For it is probable that 
the second, if any one be not willing to allow that it was the first, saw the 
Revelation current under the name of John" (Hist. Eccl., 3. 39). Those 
who denied the apostolic authorship of the book generally referred it to this 
latter, John the presbyter. So Dionysius of Alexandria and others. But 
for this they adduced no historic proof. Their arguments were draAvn 
wholly from considerations relating to its internal character, especially in the 
case ot some, its supi^osed millenai-ian views. Upon any fair princij^le of 



504 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

judging, we must concede that the apostolic authorship of this book is 
sustained by a mass of ancient testimony not rebutted by any contrary 
testimony which rests on a historic basis. 

2. In modern, as in ancient times, the main arguments 
against the apostolic authorship of tlie Apocalypse have been 
drawn from its internal character, especially as contrasted with 
that of the fourth gospel and the first epistle of John. On this 
ground the assaults upon the book have been many and strong, 
and they have been met with vigorous resistance. To review 
the arguments on both sides Avould exceed our limits. Many 
of them, moreover, presuppose a knowledge of the original lan- 
guages of both the Old and the New Testament. We can only 
indicate some considerations of a general nature. 

(1.) No valid argument against the aj^ostolic authorship of this book can 
be drawn from the fact that the writer specifies his name in the introduction 
and elsewhere. Chaps. 1 : 1, 4, 9 ; 21 : 2 ; 22 : 8. It may surprise us that the 
man who studiously avoids mentioning his name in the fourth gospel, and 
who describes himself in his second and third epistles as ' ' the elder, " should 
here directly introduce his name at the beginning and in the progress of the 
book. But for this difference he may have had a good reason, whether we 
can discover it or not. The direct command, addressed to him personally, 
that he should write down his visions and send them to the seven churches 
of Asia would seem to imply the propriety, if not the necessity, of his con- 
necting his OAvn name with the record of them. He addressed the churches 
immediately and authoritatively in the name of the risen and glorified 
Saviour. What more natural and proper than that he should inform them 
directly who he was that had received this heavenly message. 

(2.) The doctrinal views of the Apocalypse afford no argument against its 
apostolic authorship. The writer, it is tiTie, moves to a great extent in a 
new and peculiar sphere of truth ; but there is nothing in it contradictory 
to the teachings of John's gospel and epistles. On the contrary, the great 
central truths that relate to Christ's person and office are in perfect har- 
mony with those teachings. 

(3.) The spirit oi the Apocalypse is not contradictory to that of the gos- 
pel and epistles. A writer in Alexander's Kitto says : "Quiet contempla- 
tion has full scope in the evangelist ; mildness and love find utterance in 
affectionate discourse. Bat the spirit of the apocalyptist is stern and re- 
vengeful, with cutting reproofs, calls to repentance, commands and threat- 
enings." The answer to aU this is that, just as the human body has bones 
and muscles as well as fluids and soft tissues, so the mediatorial govern- 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 505 

ment of Christ lias a stern as well as a mild side ; and that the very nature 
of the visions contained in the apocalypse gives prominence to this side. 

(4. ) The main objections are based on diversity of style and diction. Not- 
withstanding all the true points of resemblance in this respect that have 
been adduced by various writers, the difference between the Apocalypse, 
on the one hand, and the gospel and epistles of John, on the other, is very 
striking. But here we must take into account, jBrst of all, the great differ- 
ence in the subject-matter, which naturally brings a corresponding differ- 
ence of language. Next, the difference in the mode of divine communication. 
The gosjDel and epistles were written under that constant tranquil illumi- 
nation of the Holy Spirit which all the apostles enjoyed. The subject-mat- 
ter of the Apocalyi^se was given in direct vision — much of it, moreover, 
through the medium of oral address. To one who believes in the reahty 
of the revelations here recorded it is vain that an opponent urge the differ- 
ence in style between the first epistle of John and the epistles to the seven 
churches of Asia ; since these latter are expressed in the very words of 
Christ. Inseparably connected with the peculiar mode of revelation in the 
Apocalypse are the peculiar mental state and circumstances in which the 
apostle wrote. He composed the gospel and epistles in the calmness of 
tranquil contemplation and reminiscences of the past. The visions of the 
Apocalypse he received "in the Spirit" (chap. 1 : 10 ; 4:2); that is, in a 
state of ecstacy ; and, according to the plain language of the book, he 
wrote them down at the time, beginning, as we must supi^ose, with the second 
chapter, the introductory chapter and some closing remarks having been 
added afterwards. The direction: "What thou seest write in a book" 
(chap. 1 : 11, 19), does not indeed imply that he should wi'iteupon the spot ; 
but that he did so is plainly indicated elsewhere : ' ' When the seven thun- 
ders had uttered their voices, I was about to write : and I heard a voice 
from heaven saying unto me. Seal up those things which the seven thun- 
ders uttered, and write them not" (chap. 10 : 4). In entire harmony with 
this is another passage : "And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, 
Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth," etc. 
(chap. 14 :13) ; that is, "Write down now these words of comfort." The 
apostle, therefore, wrote down his visions one after another immediately 
after they were received. When he wrote he was not in a state of uncon- 
sciousness, but of mental and spiritual exaltation above his ordinary condi- 
tion. To affirm that he could not have received this series of visions with- 
out being deprived of the capacity to record them at the time, would be 
to limit the modes of divine revelation by our ignorance. If we cannot 
understand how the apostle could hear "in the Spirit" the voices of the 
S3ven thunders, and immediately prepare to write down their utterances, 
we ought, at least, reverently to receive the fact as stated by him. To ex- 
pect from one writing in such circumstances careful attention to the rules 

Comp. to Fible- 22 



50(3 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

of Greek syntax and the idioms of the Greek language would be absurd. 
Undoubtedly Plato in a like situation would have written pure Attic Greek, 
becaiise that would have been to him the most natural mode of writing. 
But the Galilean fisherman, a Jew by birth and education, fell back upon 
the Hebrew idioms with which he was so familiar. Finally we must re- 
member that, after the analogy of the Old Testament prophecies, this 
prophetic book is expressed in poetic diciion. It is full of images borrowed 
from the old Hebrew prophets, often spiritualized and appHed in a higher 
sense. Looking to the imagery alone, one may well call this book a grand 
anthology of the old Hebrew poets. But the poetic diction of one and the 
same writer may differ widely from his prose style, as we see in the case 
of Moses, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. 

If the above considerations do not wholly remove the difficulty .under 
consideration they gi*eatly relieve it. The apostolic authorship of the 
fourth gospel and the first epistle of John is sustained by a mass of evi- 
dence that cannot be set aside. That the same John also wrote the visions 
of the Apocalypse is attested, as we have seen, by the almost unanimous 
voice of antiquity. Ear greater difficulties are involved in the denial of 
the ancient tradition of the church than in the admission of it. 



3. The date of the Apocalypse has been a matter of much 
discussion, the great question being whether it was written be- 
fore or after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. The 
external testimony strongly preponderates on the side of a lato 
date ; for the great body of this tradition represents the ban- 
ishment of the apostle to the isle of Patmos as having taken 
place under Domitian who succeeded Titus, and reigned from 
A. D. 81 to 96* This supposition also agrees with the fact that 
the recipients of our Lord's seven messages (chaps. 2, 3) are the 
seven churches of Proconsular Asia, among whom, according to 
the unanimous testimony of the primitive church, the apostle 
spent the latter years of his life. The hypothesis of an earlier 
date is but feebly supported by external testimony. It rests 
mainly on the alleged reference of the writer to the overthrow 
of Jerusalem as an event yet future, and as being the main sub- 
ject of the prophesies contained in" the book. But this refer- 
ence has never been clearly established, and is contradicted by 
the general analogy of prophecy, by the contents of the book, 
and by its manifest relation to the prophecies of Daniel. A 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 507 

few only of the briefer prophetic books, as those of Jonah and 
Nahum, confine themselves to one particular event lying in the 
near future. All the more extended among them, and many of 
the shorter, look forward undeniably to the distant future. The 
book of Daniel can be interpreted only as containing a great 
scheme of j^rophecy stretching forward into the distant future, 
and with this the revelation of John has the closest connection. 
The place where the revelation was received was the isle of Pat- 
mos, one of the group called Sporades in the ^gean sea off the 
southwestern corner of Asia Minor, where the apostle represents 
himself to have been " for the word of God, and for the testi- 
mony of Jesus Christ " (chap. 1:9): that is, in accordance with 
ancient tradition, banished to that isle on account of the gospel. 

4. For the interpretation of this book many and very discord- 
ant plans have been proposed. Setting aside at the outset all 
those schemes which do not find in the Apocalypse a view of the 
conflicts of Christ's people to the end of time and their final victory 
over their enemies, there remain two general principles of inter- 
pretation. The first may be called the generic principle. Those 
who adopt it inquire only after the general import of the sym- 
bols employed, without attempting any particular application 
of them to the history of the church in connection with that of 
the world. Thus, the white horse of the first seal (chap. 6 : 2) 
denotes in general the conquests of Christ through his gospel ; 
the red horse of the second seal (chap 6:4), war and carnage, 
as accompanying the progress of the truth ; and so on through- 
out the other symbols of the book. But when we come to the 
most important part of the prophecies, those concerning the 
two beasts (chap. 13), and that concerning the woman riding on 
the scarlet-colored beast (chap. 17), this principle utterly fails. 
It cannot be that so many specific and very peculiar marks 
mean only persecuting powers in general. They point with 
wonderful clearness and precision to that grand combination of 
the civil with the ecclesiastical power of which papal Home has 
ever been the chief representative. 

We come, then, for the true key to the Apocalypsej to the 



50S COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

other principle, whicli may be called the historic. This seeks 
in the history of the church and of the world for the great 
events foretold in this book. It is no valid objection to this 
principle, that in the attempt to apply it interpreters find great, 
and in many cases insuperable difficulties. The mystery of 
God is not yet finished. It may be that the mighty events of 
the future can alone throw a clear light on the entire plan of 
the book. Meanwhile we must wait in reverential expectation, 
having in the plain fulfilment of that part of its prophecies 
which describes the rise and character of the combined ecclesi- 
astical and political power which, under the name of Christian- 
ity, persecutes the true servants of Christ, a certain pledge that 
all the rest will be accomplished in due season. Expositors 
are agreed that tlie predictions of the book do not run on in 
chronological order from beginning to end. Most find in chaps. 
6 : 1 — 11 : 18 (with an episode, chaps. 10 : 1 — 11 : 13) one series 
relating more to the outward history of the world in its rela- 
tions to God's people ; while in chap. 12 the writer returns to 
the primitive days of Christianity, and gives a more interior and 
spiritual view of the conflicts of God's people along the track of 
ages and their final triumph, adding at the close various supple- 
mentary views of the same mighty struggle and victory. 

5. On the symholic import of the numbers in the Apocalypse 
a few words may be added. 

Seven is the well known symbol of completeness, and this 
is the most prominent number in the book. Thus we have the 
seven churches of Asia represented by the seven golden candle- 
sticks, and their seven angels represented by seven stars (chap. 
1 : 4, 12, 16, 20) ; the seven lamps of fire burning before the throne 
which are the seven spirits of God (chap. 4:5); the seven seals 
(chap. 5:1); the seven trumpets (chap. 8:2); the seven thunders 
(chap. 10:4); the seven last plagues (chap. 15:1); to which 
may be added the seven ascriptions of praise — power, riches, 
wisdom, strength, honor, glory, blessing (chap. 5 : 12), blessing, 
glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, might (chap. 7:12). 
Lastly, we have the seven heads of the persecuting beast in all 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 509 

its various forms. Chaps. 12 :3 ; 13 :1 ; 17 :3. So far as the 
number seven has its fulfilment in the history of the world, we 
are at liberty to suppose that this is accomplished, in part at 
least, by the manner in which the wisdom of God has been 
pleased to group together the events of prophecy — a grouping 
which is always appropriate, but might have been different had 
the plan of representation so required. The final judgments 
which precede the millenium, for example, which in chaps. 15 
and 16 are set forth under the figure of seven vials full of the 
wrath of God, might have been, by another mode of distribution, 
represented under the number two. Many think they are thus 
represented in chap. 14:14-20. Another prophetic number, 
occurring in Daniel and the Apocalypse, always as a designa- 
tion of time, is the half of seven. Thus we have " a time, and 
times, and half a time," that is, three years and a half (chap. 
12:14); or in months, "forty and two months" (chaps. 11:2* 
13:5); or in days, "a thousand two hundred and threescore 
days" (chaps. 11:3; 12:6). Compare Daniel 7:25. Again, 
answering to these three years and a half, w^e have the three 
days and a half during which the two witnesses lie dead. Chap. 
11 : 9, 11. The number siXj moreover, from its peculiar rela- 
tion to seven, represents the preparation for the consummation 
of God's plans. Hence the sixth seal (chap. 6 : 12-17), the sixth 
trumpet (chap. 9:14-21), and the sixth vial (chap. 16:12-16) 
are each preeminent in the series to which they belong. They 
usher in the awful judgments of Heaven which destroy the 
wicked. Here, perhaps, we have the key to the symbolic im- 
port of the number of the beast, Q^QQ. While it represents, 
accordiug to the principles of Greek numeration, the number 
of a man, it seems to indicate that upon him fall all the judg- 
ments of the sixth seal, the sixth trumpet, and the sixth vial. 

Four is the natural symbol for universality. Thus we have 
the four living creatures round about the throne (chap. 4 : 6), 
perhaps as symbols of the agencies by which God administers 
his universal providential government (chaps. 6:1, 3, 5, 7 ; 
15 : 7) ; the four angels standing on the four corners of the earth 



510 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

and holding the four winds (chap. 7:1); and the four angels 
bound in the river Euphrates (chap. 9 : 14). So also in the four- 
fold enumeration, " kindred, and tongue, and people, and na- 
tion," or its equivalent. Chaps. 5 : 9 ; 10 : 11 ; 11 : 9 ; 14 : 6 ; 17 : 15. 
A third and o. fourth part, on the contrar}^, represent what is 
partial. Chaps. 6:8; 8 : 12 ; 9 : 18. 

Twelve is the well-known signature of God's people. Com- 
pare the twelve tribes of the Old Testament and the twelve 
apostles of the New ; the woman with a crown of twelve stars 
(chap. 12:1); the twelve gates, twelve angels, twelve founda- 
tions of the New Jerusalem, the twelve times twelve cubits of 
its wall, and its tree of life that ^delds twelve harvests a year 
(chaps. 21:12, 14; 22:2). We have also the same number 
combined with a thousand, the general symbol for a great num- 
ber. From each of the twelve tribes of Israel are sealed twelve 
thousand (chap. 7:4-8), making for the symbolical number of 
the redeemed twelve times twelve thousand (chap. 14 : 1, 3) ; and 
the walls of the New Jerusalem are in every direction twelve 
thousand furlongs (chap. 21 : 16). 

Ten is possibly only a symbol of diversity, as in the case of 
the ten horns of the beast (chaps. 12 : 3 ; 13 : 1 ; 17 : 3) ; though 
some take a literal view of it. 

6. Dark as are many parts of the Apocalypse and difficult 
of interpretation, the book as a whole is radiant with the prom- 
ise to God's people of a final and complete victory in their con- 
flict with the kingdom of Satan. Though long delayed, as we 
mortals reckon time, it shall come at last with a splendor above 
the brightness of the sun, and the earth be lighted from pole 
to pole with its glory. " Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus " I 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 511 



APPENDIX TO PART III. 

Writings of the Apostolic Fathers, with 
SOME Notices of the ^^pocryphal New Testa- 
ment Writings. 

1. A WIDE distinction sliould be made between the writings of the apos- 
tolic fathers wliich are acknowledged to be genuine, or the genuineness of 
which may be maintained on more or less j^robable grounds, and the large 
mass of spurious works afterwards palmed ui)on the Christian world as the 
productions of apostles or their contemporaries. The latter constitute 
properly the New Testament Apocrypha, though the term is sometimes 
applied in a loose way to both classes of writings. The wi-itings of the 
apostolic fathers, though possessing no divine authority, . are valuable as 
showing the state of the Christian churches at the time when they were 
composed in respect to both doctrine and discipline, as well as the various 
errors and divisions by which they were troubled. Their testimonies to the 
genuineness of the New Testament have been already considered. Chap. 
2, No. 10. Some of the apocryphal works also, worthless as they are for 
instruction in the doctrines and duties of Christianity, throw much light 
on the religious spirit, tendencies, and heretical sects of the times to which 
they belong. Others of these writings are unutterably absurd and puerile, 
worthy of notice only as showing the type of the puerilities current in the 
age of their composition. 

I. WKITINGS OF CLEMENT. 

2. Appended to the Alexandrine manuscript (Chap. 26, No. 5) is an 
epjistle of Clement of Rome to the Corinthians, followed by part of a so-called 
second epistle to the same church. The first of these epistles is acknowl- 
edged to be genuine. It was known to the ancient fathers as the work of 
Clement of Eome, and highly commended by them. Their quotations 
from it agree with the contents of the epistle as we now have it, nor does 
it exhibit any marks of a later age ; for the author's reference to the well- 
known fable of the phoenix as a type of the resurrection (chap. 25), consti- 
tutes no real difficulty. It may prove that he was credulous, but not that 
he belonged to a later than the apostoHc age. The ancients represent 
this Clement to have been identical with Clement bishop of Rome. Whether 
he was also identical with the Clement named by the apostle Paul (Phil. 



512 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

4 : 3), is a question that we may well leave undecided. The epistle wna 
written shortly after some persecution (chap. 1), which Grabe, Hefele, and 
others suppose to have been that under Nero ; Lardner, Cotelerius, and 
others, that under Domitian. Upon the former supposition it was written 
about A. D. 68— a supposition apparently favored by the way in which he 
refers to the temple and service at Jerusalem as still in existence (chains. 
40, 41) ; upon the latter, about a. d. 96 or 97. 

3. The occasion of the epistle, which Clement writes in the name of the 
church at Eome, is easily gathered from its contents. As in the days of 
Paul, so now, the Corinthian church was troubled by a "wicked and un- 
holy sedition," fomented by "a few rash and self-willed men," who had 
proceeded so far as to thrast out of their ministiy some worthy men. 
Chap. 44. It would seem, also, from chaps. 24-27 that there were among 
them those who denied the doctrine of the resurrection. To restore in the 
Corinthian church the spirit of love and unity is the grand scope of the 
epistle. The author commends them for their orderly and holy deport- 
ment before their present quarrel arose, traces it to its true source in the 
pride gendered by the honor and enlargement granted them by God, and 
urges them to lay aside their contentions by every motive that the gospel 
offers— the mischiefs that strife occasions, the rules of their religion, the 
example of the Saviour and holy men of all ages, the relation of believers 
to God, his high value of the spirit of love and unity, the reward of obe- 
dience and pimishment of disobedience, etc. Comparing the church to an 
army, he insists earnestly on the necessity of different ranks and orders, 
and the spirit of obedience. Comparing it again to the human body, he 
shows that aU the particular members, each in his place, should conspire 
together for the preservation of the whole. 

Clement's style has not the merit of compactness and conciseness. He 
is, on the contrary, diffuse and repetitious. But a thoroughly evangelical 
spirit pervades the present epistle, and it is, moreover, characterized by a 
noble fervor and simplicity. "It evinces the calm dignity and the iDracti- 
cal executive wisdom of the Roman church in her original apostolic sim- 
plicity, without the slightest infusion of hierarchical arrogance." Schaff, 
Hist. Christ. Church, vol. 1, p. 460. In its internal character, as in the 
time of its composition, it approaches the canonical writings of the New 
Testament more nearly than any other remains of antiquity. 

4. The second epistle ascribed to Clement is not mentioned by any 
of the fathers before Eusebius, who speaks of it doubtingly : "But it 
should be known that there is said to be also a certain second e^Distle of 
Clement. But it is clear to us that this is not equally known with the first ; 
for we know that the ancients have not made use of it." Hist. Eccles. 3.38. 
It is generally acknowledged to be spurious, and is, perhaps, as Hefele 
suggests, one of the homilies falsely ascribed to Clement. With this sup- 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 513 

position its contents well agree ; for it does not seem to have, like the first 
a definite end to accomplish. It opens with a general exhortation that the 
Corinthians should think worthily of Christ in view of the great work which 
he has wrought in their behalf, and urges upon them a steadfast confession 
of him before men, not by empty words, but by a life of holy obedience. 
It sets before them the incomi^atibility of the service of God and mammon, 
and dwells with especial earnestness on the high rewards of eternity in 
comparison with the pleasures and pains of the present hfe ; as if the wri- 
ter liad in mind those who were exposed to the double jperil of substituting 
an empty i)rofession for the living spirit of obedience, and of apostatizing 
from Christ through fear of persecution and martyrdom. 

5. Besides the above, there is a mass of writings current in ancient days 
under the name of Clement which are acknowledged by all to be spurious. 
Among these are : The Eecognitions of Clement; The Clemeniines, or, ac- 
cording to the Greek title, Cleinenfs Epitome of Peter's Discourses in Trav- 
el; Clemenf s Epitome concerning the Acts and Discourses of Peter in Travel — 
three forms of substantially the same work. It will be sufiicient to give a 
brief notice of the Eecognitions. The author, apparently a Jew by birth 
and a philosopher of the Alexandrine school, has embraced a form of Chris- 
tianity mixed up with the dogmas of his philosophy. For the purpose of 
attacking and overthrowing the false religious notions of his age, he invents 
an ingenious historic plot. Clement, a Roman citizen, who, as appears in 
the sequel, has been separated in early life from his father, mother, and 
two brothers, whom he supposes to be dead, is introduced as sending to 
James, who presides over the church at Jerusalem, with an accompanying 
letter, an account of his early education ; his acquaintance with the apos- 
tle Peter, who chooses him to be his companion in travel ; Peter's conver- 
sations with himself and the rest of the company ; his public addresses 
and acts ; especially his famous encounters with Simon Magus, whom he 
overthrows and puts to public shame. In the course of their journeying 
they visit a certain island, where they meet with a poor woman begging 
alms, who is found, upon the relation of her history, to be the mother of 
Clement. Upon farther inquiry it appears that two of Peter's company, 
Nicetus and Aquila, are her sons and the brothers of Clement. Finally, 
Peter encounters on the sea-shore, whither he had gone to perform for the 
newly discovered mother and sons the rite of baptism, an old man who is 
found to be the long lost husband and father. From these recognitions the 
work receives its title. But this historic plot is only the occasion of intro- 
ducing the writer's theological and philosophical opinions, with especial 
reference to the prevailing errors of his day. Any page of the work is 
sufficient to show that Peter and Clement had nothing to do with its com- 
position. It cannot be placed earlier than the close of the second or tho 

22* 



514 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

beginning of the third century. Prefixed to these Clementine writings, 
and having reference to them, are two spurious epistles, one from Peter to 
James, president of the church at Jerusalem, with the proceedings of 
James consequent upon the reception of it, and one from Clement to 
James. These it is not necessary to notice. 

The so-called Consiituiions of Clement in eight books, embracing, as 
their name indicates, a system of rules pertaining to church order and dis- 
cipline, were certainly not the work of Clement. It is not certain that 
they had their origin as a whole in the same age ; but the judgment of 
learned men is that no part of them is older than the second half of the 
third century. The eighty-five so-called Apostolic Caiions have prefixed to 
them the spurious title : "Ecclesiastical Bules of the Holy Apostles pro- 
mulgated by Clement High Priest (Pontifex) of the Church of Bome." 
The origin of these canons is uncertain. They first appear as a collection 
with the above title in the latter part of the fifth century. How much 
older some of them may be cannot be determined with certainty. 

II. THE EPISTLES OF IGNATIUS. 

6. Ignatius was bishop of the church at Antioch, and sujQfered martyr- 
dom at Rome by exposure to wild beasts a. d. 107, or according to some 
accounts, a. d. 116. Of the fifteen epistles ascribed to him, it is agreed 
among biblical scholars that eight are spurious and of later origin. The 
remaining seven are generally regarded as genuine, but the text of these, 
as of all the rest, is in a very unsatisfactory condition. There are two 
Greek recensions, a longer and a shorter, the latter containing approxi- 
mately the true text, though not without the suspicion of interpolations. 
There is a Syriac version containing but three of Ignatius' ei)istles, and 
these in a much reduced form (which some are inclined to regard as the 
only genuine epistles) ; also an Armenian version containing thirteen epis- 
tles. See further Schaff, Hist. Chris. Church, vol. 1, pp. 469-471. As the 
question now stands, we may with good reason receive as genuine the seven 
mentioned by Eusebius (Hist. Eccl. 3. 36) and Jerome (De Viris iUust. 16). 
They were all written on his last journey to Rome ; four from Smyrna, 
where Polycarp was the bishop, to the Ephesians, Magnesians, Trallians, 
and Romans ; three after his departure from Smyrna, to the churches of 
Philadelphia and Smyrna, and to Polycarp bishop of Smyrna. The native 
vigor and energy of Ignatius, as also the depth and sincerity of his piety, 
shine forth conspicuously in these letters ; but they difier from the epistle 
of Clement in the manifestation of an intense ecclesiastical spirit, by which, 
indeed, they are marked as belonging to a later era of the church. If we 
except the epistle to the Romans, they all abound in exhortations to ren- 
der implicit obedience to their spiritual rulers as to Christ himself. To 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 515 

tliese precepts lie adds exliortations to maintain unity, and to avoid false 
doctrines, specifying particularly Judaizing teachers and sucli as deny our 
Lord's proper humanity. 

We cannot read his letter to the Eomans, among whom he expected 
shortly to lay down his life for Christ's sake, without deep interest. But 
it is marred by the manifestation of an undue desire to obtain the crown 
of martyrdom, which leads him to protest against any interposition of the 
Koman brethren in his behalf. "I beseech you," says he, "show no un- 
seasonable good- will towards me. Suffer me to be the food of wild beasts, 
hy means of which I may attain to God. I am the wheat of God, and am 
ground by the teeth of wild beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of 
God." Chap. 4. His letter to Polycarp, a fellow bishop, abounds in pre- 
cej^ts for the right discharge of his duties. It is interesting as showing 
Ignatius' idea, on the one side, of the office with its high responsibilities, 
and, on the other, of the duties which the churches owe to those who are 
set over them in the Lord. 

7. There are some spurious'' epistles ascribed to Ignatius which it is 
sufficient simply to name. These are : A letter to one Maria a proselyte of 
Cilicia in answer to her request that certain young men might be sent to 
lier people as their s^^iritual guides : ei^istles to the church of Tarsus, of 
Antioch, and of Philippi — theological dissertations mostly made up of 
texts of Scripture ; a letter to Hero a deacon, containing precepts for the 
right discharge of his office, and abounding, like those just named, in quo- 
tations from Scripture : two pretended letters of Ignatius to the apostle 
John ; one to the Virgin Mary, with her reply. 

Finally, there are some fragments of Ignatius' writings preserved to us 
in the quotations of the ancients, which it is not necessary to notice. 

III. THE EPISTLE OF POLYCARP. 

8. Polycarp was a disciple of the apostle John, and presided over the 
church in Smyrna. He suffered martyrdom about the year 166. Of his 
writings only one short epistle remains, addressed by him to the Philii)pi- 
ans soon after the martyrdom of Ignatius, who passed through Smyrna on 
his way to Rome. This we gather from the letter itself ; for in this he 
assumes that Ignatius has already suffered (chap. 9), and yet he has not 
heard the particulars concerning his fate and that of his companions. 
Chap. 14. This brief epistle is marked by a fervor and simplicity worthy 
of an apostolic man. The writer commends the PhilipiDians for the love 
manifested by them towards the suffering servants of Christ, exhorts them 
to steadfastness, reminds them of Paul's precepts in his epistle to them, 



516 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

and proceeds to unfold and inculcate the duties belonging to the officers 
and several classes of members in the church. The immediate occasion of 
the letter seems to have been his transmission to the Philippians, in com- 
pliance with their request, of Ignatius' epistle to himself, with such others 
of his epistles as had come mto his hands. Chap. 13. The preservation 
of the present epistle is jDrobably due to this its connection with the epis- 
tles of Ignatius forwarded by him to the Philippians. 

IV. THE WRITINGS OF BARNABAS AND HEBMAS. 

9. The writings current under the names of Barnahas and Hermas 
have by no means the outward testimony in their favor by which the pre- 
ceding epistles of Clement, Ignatius, and Polycarp are supported ; nor the 
inward evidence arising from the consideration of their contents. We will 
consider them briefl^^ in the order abovenamed. 

10. Until recently the first part of the Epistle of Barnahas existed 
only in a Latin version. But in 1859 Tischendorf discovered at Mount 
Sinai the Sinai Codex (Chap. 26, No. 5), which contains the entire epistle 
in the original Greek. That the writer was the Barnabas mentioned in 
the New Testament as the companion of Paul in preaching the gospel, 
cannot be maintained on any firm basis of evidence. As to the date of its 
composition learned men differ. Hefele places it between the years 107 
and 120. Apostolic Fathers, Prolegomena, p. 15. 

The writer was apparently a Hellenistic Jew of the Alexandrine school, 
and he wrote for the purpose of convincing his brethren, mainly from the 
Old Testament, that Jesus is the Messiah, and that in him the rites of the 
Mosaic law are done away. His quotations from the Old Testament are 
numerous, and his method of interpretation is allegorical and sometimes 
very fanciful, as in the following passage, for the right understanding of 
which the reader should know that the two Greek letters IH, which stand 
first in the name IHS0T2, Jesus, and represent that name by abbreviation, 
signify as numerals, the first ten, the second, eight; also that the Greek let- 
ter T (the sign of the cross) denotes as a numeral, three hundred. "The 
Scripture says," argues Barnabas, "that Abraham circumcised of his house 
three hundred and eighteen men. What was the knowledge communicated 
to him [in this fact] ? Learn first the meaning of the eighteen, then of the 
three hundred. Now the numeral letters I, ten, H, eight, make eighteen. 
Here you have Jesus (Greek IH20TN, of which the abbreviation is IH). 
And because the cross, which lies in the letter T, was that which should 
bring grace, he says also three hundred.'" Chaj). 9. The Kabbinic system 
of interpretation in which the writer was educated furnishes an explanaiion^ 
indeed, of this and other like puerilities, but no vindicatio7i of them. 

11. The Shepherd of Hermas, as the work current under the name of 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 517 

Hennas is called, consists of three books — liis Visions, liis Commands, and 
his Similitudes. The four visions are received through the ministry of an 
aged woman, who is the church of Christ. The twelve commands and ten 
similitudes are received from one who appears to him "in the habit of a 
shepherd, clothed with a white cloak, having his bag upon his back, and 
his staff in his hand," whence the title The Sheplierd of Hermas. All these 
are intended to unfold the truths of Christianity with its doctrines and 
duties. The writer has a most luxuriant imagination. In reading his 
books, particularly the first and the third, one sometimes finds himself be- 
wildered in a thicket of images and similitudes, some of them grotesque 
and not altogether congruous. Yet the work throws much light on the 
religious ideas and tendencies of its age. 

The ancients speak doubtingly of the authority of this work. Origen, 
whom Eusebius and Jerome follow, ascribes it to the Hermas mentioned 
in the epistle to the Romans (chap. 16: 14) ; though it does not appear 
that he had any other ground for this than the identity of the name. The 
Muratorian canon names as its author Hermas the brother of Pius bishop 
of Eome. According to this, which is the more probable view, the date of 
its composition would be about the middle of the second century. 

V. THE APOSTLES' CEEED. 

12. "We put this among the remains of the apostolic fathers, not be- 
cause there is any doubt as to its containing the substance of the doctrines 
taught by the apostles, but because, as is generally admitted, it did not 
receive its present form at their hand. " Though not traceable in its pres- 
ent shape before the third century, and found in the second in different 
longer or shorter forms, it is in substance altogether apostolic, and exhib- 
its an incomparable summary of the leading facts in the revelation of the 
triune God from the creation of the world to the resurrection of the body ; 
and that in a form intelligible to all, and admirably suited for public wor- 
ship and catechetical use. " Schaff, Hist. Chris. Church, pp. 121, 122. 

VI. APOCHYPHAL GOSPELS AND ACTS. 

13. These are very numerous. Under the head of Apocryphal Gospels. 
Tischendorf has published twenty-two works ; under that of Apocryphal 
Acts of the Apostles, thirteen. To the student of church history they are 
not without value ; for they illustrate the origin of many ancient tradi- 
tions and some ritual observances. But if we look to their intrinsic char- 
acter, they may be described as a mass of worthless legends abounding in 
absurd and puerile stories. The contrast between the miracles which they 
relate and the true miracles recorded in the canonical gospels and Acts ia 



518 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

immense, and sucli as makes the darkness of these spurious writings more 
visible. The miracles of the canonical books have always a worthy occa- 
sion, and are connected with the Saviour's work of redemption. But the 
pretended miracles of the apocryphal writings are, as a general rule, 
wrought on trivial occasions, with either no end in view but the display 
of supernatural power, or with a positively unlawful end, whence it not 
unfrequently happens that their impiety rivals their absurdity. Many 
samples of both these characters could be given, but the general reader 
may well remain ignorant of them. 



PART IV. 



PRINCIPLES 



OF 



Biblical Interpretation. 



PRINCIPLES OF BIBLICAL INTERPRE- 
TATION. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

Introductory Remarks. 

1. The term Hermeneutics (Greek, hermeneuo, to interpret) 
is commonly employed to denote the 2^rinci2jles of scriptural 
interpretation. The Greek word exegesis — that is, exposition — 
denotes the actual tuorh of interpretation. Hermeneutics is, 
therefore, the science of interpretation; Exegesis, the applica- 
tion of this science to the word of God. The hermeneutical 
writer lays down general principles of interpretation ; the exe- 
getical writer uses these principles in the exposition of Scrip- 
ture. The terms epexegesis and epexegetical are used by expos- 
itors in a special sense to denote something explanatory of the 
immediate context. 

2. The expositor's office is, to ascertain and unfold the true 
meaning of the inspired writers, without adding to it, subtract- 
ing from it, or changing it in any way. Here we may draw an 
instructive parallel between his work and that of the textual 
critic. The textual critic aims to give, not what some one 
might think the inspired penman should have written, but 
what he actually did write. So the true expositor, taking the 
very words of Scripture, seeks not to force upon them a mean- 
ing in harmony with his preconceived opinions, but to take 
from them the very ideas which the writer intended to exj^ress. 
It is pertinent, therefore, to consider at the outset the qualifi- 
cations which belong to the biblical interpreter. These include 
high moral and intellectual quaUties, as well as varied and 
extensive acquirements. 



522 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

3. Foremost among the qualities tliat belong to the inter- 
preter is a supreme regard for truth. A general conviction and 
acknowledgment of the duty of truthfulness will not be suffi- 
cient to guard him against all the seductive influences that 
beset his path. Though he may be a sincere Christian, he will 
still be in danger of being misled by the power of preconceived 
opinions and party connections. He will need a constant and 
vivid apprehension of the sacredness of all truth, more espe- 
cially of scriptural truth, wliich God has revealed for the sanc- 
tification and salvation of men. " Sanctify them through thy 
truth : thy w^ord is truth." These words of the Saviour he will 
do well to ponder night and day, till they become a part of his 
spiritual life ; and to remember always that, if such be the divine 
origin and high office of scriptural truth, God will not hold 
guiltless any who tamper with it in the interest of preconceived 
human opinions, thus substituting the folly of man for the wis- 
dom of God. 

4. The interpreter further needs a sound judgmejit, combined 
with the power of vivid conceiDtion. These two qualities are 
named together, because they mutually supplement each other. 
A. large part of the Bible is occupied with description. Here 
the interpreter needs the power of conception, that he may 
bring before his mind a vivid picture of the scenes described, 
with the relations of their several parts to each other. Another 
large part of the Bible contains the language of poetry and 
impassioned feeling. In the interpretation of this, the faculty 
of conception is especially necessary, that we may place our- 
selves as fully as possible in the circumstances of the writers, 
and form a true idea of the emotions which filled their minds 
and gave form and complexion to their utterances. Pure cold 
logic, with the addition of any amount of human learning, will 
not enable us to comprehend and expound aright the forty- 
second Psalm. By the power of imagination, we must go with 
the poet, in his exile from the sanctuary at Jerusalem, across the 
Jordan to the land of the Hermonites ; must see his distressed 
and forsaken condition ; must hear the bitter taunts of his ene- 



BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. 523 

mies ; must witness the inward tempest of his feelings — a con- 
tinual conflict between nature and faith — before we can have a 
true understanding of his words. The same might be said of 
innumerable other passages of Scripture. 

But this power of vivid conception, when not held in check 
by a sound judgment J will lead the expositor of Scripture into 
the wildest vagaries of fancy. Disregarding the plainest rules 
of interpretation, he will cover up the obvious sense of Scrip- 
ture with a mass of allegorical expositions, under color of edu- 
cing from the words of inspiration a higher and more edifying 
meaning. That high natural endowments, united with varied 
and solid learning and indefatigable zeal for the gospel, do not 
of themselves constitute a safeguard against this error, we learn 
from the example of Origen and many others. Not content to 
let the simple narratives of Scripture speak for themselves and 
convey their proper lessons of instruction, these allegorical 
expositors force upon them a higher spiritual sense. In so 
doing, they unsettle the very principles by which the spiritual 
doctrines of Scripture are established. 

Origen, for example, in commenting on the meeting between Abra- 
ham's servant and Rebecca at the well in Haran, says : ' ' Rebecca came 
every day to the wells. Therefore she could be found by Abraham's ser- 
vant, and joined in marriage with Isaac. " Thus he gives the literal mean- 
ing of this transaction. But he then goes on to show, among other things, 
that Rebecca represents the human soul, which Christ wishes to betroth 
to himself, w^hile Abraham's servant is ' ' the prophetic word, which unless 
you first receive, you cannot be married to Christ." See in Davidson's 
Sacred Hermeneiitics, pp. 103, 104. 

5. Another indispensable qualification of scriptural inter- 
pretation is sympcdhy tvith divine truth; in other words, that 
harmony of spirit with the truths of revelation which comes 
from a hearty reception of them, and a subjection of the whole 
life, inward and outward, to their control.' "If any man," 
said our Saviour, " will do his will, he shall know of the doc- 
trine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." 
John 7 : 17. In these words our Lord proposed to the unbe- 



524 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

lieviiig Jews the true remedy for their ignorance and erroi 
respecting his person and office, which had their ground not in 
the want of evidence, but in their perverse and guilty rejection 
of evidence. Their moral state was one of habitual rebellion 
against the truth of God ; and they could not, therefore, have 
sympathy with the Saviour's doctrine. They hated the light, 
and would not come to the light, because their deeds were 
evil. John 3 : 20. What they needed was not more light, 
but that obedient spirit which loves the light, and allows it to 
shine through the soul. The man who would be a successful 
interpreter of God's word must begin where the Saviour directed 
these Jews to begin. So far as he knows the truth, he must 
give it a hearty reception not in theory alone, but in daily 
practice. Then he will be prepared to make further progress 
in the knowledge of it, and to unfold its heavenly treasures to 
his fellow-men. But if he comes to the study of God's w^ord 
with a heart habitually at variance with its holy precepts, and 
an understanding darkened by the power of sinful affections, 
no amount of scholarship or critical sagacity will avail to make 
him a true expositor of its contents. Having no sympathy with 
the great foundation doctrines of the gospel, but regarding them 
with positive aversion, he will neither be able to apprehend them 
in their true light, nor to explain them aright to his fellow-men. 
In the work of interpretation, a good heart — good in the scrip- 
tural sense — is not less imporUuit than a clear understanding 
and well-furnished mind. 

6. How extensive and varied should be the acquirements of 
the able interpreter will be manifest to any one who considers 
the extent and variety of the fields of knowledge covered by 
the Holy Scriptures. 

The languages in w^hich they are written are no longer spo- 
ken. The knowledge of them, like that of all dead languages, 
is locked up in b'ooks — grammars, lexicons, ancient versions, 
and various subsidiary helps — and can be mastered only by 
severe and protracted study. It is not indeed necessary that 
the great body of Christians, or even all preachers of the gos- 



BIBLICAL INTERPEETATION. 525 

pel, should be able to read the Bible in the original languages. 
But it is a principle of Protestantism, the soundness of which 
has been confirmed by the experience of centuries, that there 
should always be in the churches a body of men able to go 
behind the current versions of Scripture to the original tongues 
from which these versions were executed. The commentator, 
at least, must not take his expositions at second hand ; and a 
healthy tone of feeling in regard to the sacredness and supreme 
authority of the inspired word will always demand that there 
should be a goodly number of scholars scattered through the 
churches who can judge from the primitive sources of the cor- 
rectness of his interpretations. 

The Scriptures are crowded with references to the cities, 
mountains, plains, deserts, rivers, and seas of Palestine and 
the surrounding regions; to their climate, soil, animals, and 
plants; to their agricultural products and mineral treasures; 
to the course of travel and commerce between the different 
nations; in a. word, to those numerous particulars which come 
under the head of geography and nahiral history. The extended 
investigations of modern times in these departments of knowl- 
edge have shed a great light over the pages of inspiration, which 
no expositor who is worthy of the name will venture to neglect. 

And if one collect and illustrate the various allusions of 
Scripture to the manners and customs of the ancient Hebrews, 
to their civil institutions and their religious rites and ceremo- 
nies, he will compose a volume on biblical antiquities. 

The connection, moreover, which the covenant people had 
with the surrounding nations, especially the great monarchies 
which successively held sway over the civilized world — Egypt, 
Assyria, Chaldea, Greece, Rome — requires an extended knowl- 
edge of ancient history ^ and, as inseparably connected with this, 
of ancient chronology. Biblical chronology constitutes, indeed, 
a science of itself, embracing some ver}^ perplexed and difficult 
questions, the solution of which has an important bearing upon 
the passages of Scripture to which they have reference. 

7. We do not affirm that all the above-named qualifications 



525 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

are necessary to a saving knowledge of God's word. Its great 
essential doctrines and precepts are so plain that the unlettered 
reader, who brings to the work an honest heart, cannot fail to 
understand them. In this respect God has made the vision so 
plain " that he may run that readeth it ;" and the road to heaven 
so direct that " the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err 
therein." But the interpreter of Scripture is expected to unfold 
the meaning of the difficult passages also, as far as human 
investigation will enable him to do so. They are a part of 
"all Scripture given by inspiration of God," which the apostle 
affirms to be "profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correc- 
tion, for instruction in righteousness." He shonld spare no 
effort, therefore, to ascertain their exact sense, and to expound 
this sense to others with all possible fidelity and clearness. 

8. There is a human and a divine side to biblical interpreta- 
tion — a human side, because the Scriptures address men in 
human language, and according to human modes of thinking 
and speaking ; a divine side, because they contain a true reve- 
lation from God to men, and differ in this respect from all other 
writings. The neglect of the human side leads to visionary 
schemes of interpretation, in which the writer's fancy is substi- 
tuted for the sober rules of criticism, and the word of God 
accommodated to his preconceived opinions. The rejection, 
open or covert, of the divine side, manifests itself in a cold, 
skeptical criticism, which denies or explains away all that is 
supernatural in the Bible ; which, instead of seeking to discover 
and unfold that unity of plan and harmony of parts which 
belong to every work of God, delights rather in exaggerating 
the supposed inconsistencies and contradictions of the sacred 
writers, and in arraying one part of Scripture against another ; 
and which, having no faith itself in the Bible as containing a. 
revelation from God, infuses doubts respecting its divine origin 
into the mind of the reader. It is only by keeping steadily in 
view these two sides of revelation, which mutually supplement 
each other, that we can attain to a true knowledge of the 
inspired word. 



BIBLICAL INTEKPRETATION. 527 



FIRST DIVISION 
INTERPRETATION VIEWED OX THE HUMAN SIDE. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

General Principles of Interpretation, 

1. Since the Bible addresses men in human language, and 
according to human modes of thinking and speaking, the inter- 
preter's first work is to ascertain the meaning of the terms em- 
ployed. Here he must proceed as in the case of other writings, 
seeking by the aid of grammars,Jexicons, cognate languages, 
ancient versions, ancient interpreters, and whatever other out- 
ward helps are available, to gain a thorough knowledge of the 
language employed by the Holy Spirit in his revelations to 
men. To these external sources of knowledge he will add all 
the internal light which comes from a careful consideration of 
the context, of the author's known use of terms, of paTallel pas- 
sages, etc. 

In the case of the New Testament, a knowledge of classical Greek will 
not be sufficient. The intei-preter must superadd a thorough acquaintance 
with the pecuhar dialect of the New Testament (Chap. 24, No. 5), and also 
the special usages of i^articular writers. The apostle John, to adduce a 
single instance, applies the term Logos, Word, to the Son of God. But 
we cannot argue from this for a like usage by other writers ; as, for exam- 
ple, in the well-known passage : " The word of God is quick and powerful," 
etc. Heb. 4 : 12. 

Usage alone is often insufficient to determine the meaning of a word in 
a particular passage ; for (1) the term may occur nowhere else, (2) it may 
have in current usage two or more di£ferent significations. In the former 
case, the interpreter must avail himself of all the external helps above spe- 



528 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

cified, and especially of the light shed upon the meaning of the term in 
question by the context. In the latter case, the context must be his chief 
guide. The same Greek word, for example, signifies stature (Luke 19 : 3) 
and age (Heb. 11:11). In the interpretation of Matt. 6 :27, where our 
version reads : "Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his 
stature ?" the question may naturally enough arise in which of these two 
senses the Saviour employed it. Whatever may be the decision, it must 
have for its basis not simple usage, which is ambiguous, but the connec- 
tion of the word in the context. Many like examples might be adduced. 

It has been already remarked (Chap. 24, No. 5) that in New Testament 
usage many words have a technical and therefore peculiar meaning. We 
are not at liberty, however, to determine such technical meanings at ran- 
dom, or in accordance with any preconceived opinions. It can only be 
done, as in the case of all other writings, in accordance with the acknowl- 
edged laws of interpretation. The general result, then, at which we arrive 
is, that in determining the meaning of scriptural terms we must be guided 
by the same rules which we follow in the interpretation of other writings. 

2. From the signification of particular words we proceed 
to the consideration of the sense embodied in the language of 
the sacred writers. A knowledge of the words which enter into 
the composition of a sentence does not of itself give us a true 
apprehension of the sense which the writer seeks to convey. 
We must know the writer's aim, the shape and course of his 
argument, the ideas which he is combating as well as those 
which he seeks to establish, the emphatic words of the sen- 
tence, whether he wishes to be understood literally or figura- 
tively, and various other particulars ; all which are to be ascer- 
tained by the same rules which we employ in the interpretation 
of language generally. 

3. The scope or design of the inspired writer may be general 
or special ; the former being his design in writing the whole 
work in question, the latter, his design in particular sections 
of it. " The scope," it has been well observed, " is the soul or 
spirit of a book ; and, that being once ascertained, every argu- 
ment and every word appears in its right place, and is j^^erfectly 
intelligible; but if the scope be not duly considered, every 
thing becomes obscure, however clear and obvious its meaning 
may really be." Home's Introduct., vol. 2, p 265, edit, of 1860. 



BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. 529 

This language is not too strong. It is by a neglect or perver- 
sion of the scope that the meaning of the inspired writers is 
perverted, and they are made to contradict one another. 

The apostle Paul says, for examijle : "Therefore we conclude that a 
man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." Rom. 3:28. 
The apostle James : "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, 
and not by faith only." James 2 :24. If one insists on leaving out of 
account the separate and distinct design which each of these two writers 
had in view respectively, he can easily bring their words into contradic- 
tion. Had the scope of Paul's argument been to show that faith in Christ 
releases men from the obligation of obeying the divine law, and thus 
makes good works unnecessary ; or had James been laboring to prove that 
good works are the meritoynous ground of men's forgiveness, then the doc- 
trines of the two apostles would have been irreconcilably at variance. But 
we know that neither of these suj^positions is true. Paul was combating 
the error of the Pharisees "who trusted in themselves that they were 
righteous" — righteous on the ground of "the deeds of the law" — "and 
despised others." His aim was to show that men receive forgiveness and 
salvation neither wholly nor in part on the ground of the suj^posed merit 
of their good works, but wholly tlirough faith in Christ ; as he elsewhere 
argues that "if it be by grace, then it is no more of works : otherwise grace 
is no more grace." Rom. 11 :6. We know also, from the whole tenor of 
his writings, that he condemned as s^jurious that pretended faith which 
does not manifest itself in good works. In this very ej)istle, where the 
question is not concerning the meritorious ground of justification, but con- 
cerning that character which God wiU accept, the apostle lays down the 
great principle : "Unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the 
truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and 
anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil ; of the Jew first, and also 
of the Gentile ; but glory, honor, and peace to every man that worketh 
good ; to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile : for there is no respect of 
persons with God. Rom. 2 : 8-11. If now we turn to the epistle of James, 
we find that the faith without works which he condemns as dead is one of 
mere empty notions— an inoperative belief about Christ instead of that 
hearty trust in him which brings the heart and life into subjection to his 
authority. In a word, Paul condemns, as dead, works without faith ; 
James, faith without works. The one rejects dead works (Heb. 9 : 14) ; 
the other, dead faith. Between these two judgments there is no contra- 
diction. We have dwelt somewhat at large upon this example of alleged 
contradiction for the purpose of full illustration. The same mode of rea- 
soning might be applied to many other passages, where a knowledge of 
the writer's design is essential to the true apprehension of his meaning. 



530 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

Such being the importance of the scope, the question arises : 
How shall it be ascertained ? Here mechanical rules will be 
of little avail. The attentive and judicious reader will be able, 
in general, to gather it from the various indications given by 
the writer himself, or from the known circumstances in which 
lie wrote, just as in the case of other writings. 

Sometimes an author directly states his general end, or his design m 
writing a particular section of his work. An example of the former kind 
is John 20 : 31 : " These things are written that ye might believe that Jesus 
is the Son of God; and that believing ye 'might have life through his 
name;" of the latter kind, 1 Cor. 7:1: *'Now concerning the things 
whereof ye wrote unto me," etc. ; whence we leam that in this particular 
chapter the apostle's design is to answer certain inquiries of the Corin- 
thian Christians in regard to the relation of marriage. More commonly 
the writer's scope is indicated indirectly by various inferential remar'ks, as 
in the passage already quoted : " Therefore we conclude that a man is jus- 
tified by faith without the deeds of the law," which is in fact a statement 
of the apostle's design in the i^receding argument. See Home's Intro- 
duct., vol. 2, pp. 266, 267, where the author follows Morus, Hermeneutica, 
1. 2. 2. 

Sometimes a clear light is shed upon the design of a writer or speaker 
by a knowledge of historical circumstances ; especially, of his own position 
and that of his opponents. The twenty- third chapter of Matthew, in 
which the Saviour exposes the wickedness and doctrinal errors of the 
scribes and Pharisees, and denounces upon them the judgments of heaven, 
cannot be thoroughly understood without a knowledge of the systerd of 
Pharisaism, and the high position of authority and influence which the 
Pharisees held ; sitting, as they did, in Moses' seat, imposing upon the 
people their human traditions in place of God's commandments, substitu- 
ting a religion of outward forms for one of inw-ard faith, love, and obedi- 
ence, and thus taking away from the people the key of divine knowledge. 
It was necessary that the Son of God, to whom the church belonged, who 
came to shed his blood for her redemption, and to establish her in the 
principles of truth and holiness, should expose with unsparing severity the 
wickedness and ignorance of these scribes and Pharisees, for the instruc- 
tion of his people in all coming ages. A knowledge of the same historical 
circumstances throws a strong light on the apostle's aim in writing to the 
Romans and Galatians. Had we fuller information respecting the false 
teachers referred to in the epistle to the Colossians and the pastoral epis- 
tles, we should understand more clearly the apostle's arguments against 
them. 

But the surest means of ascertaining a writer's scope is the repeated 



BIBLICAL INTEEPKETATION. 531 

^nd careful perusal of his words. The biblical student should early form 
the habit of reading over with earnest attention a whole book at a sitting — 
the epistle to the Romans, for example, or that to the Hebrews — without 
pausing to investigate particular questions ; his aim being to throw him- 
self as fully as possible into the general current of thought, and to be car- 
ried forward by it to the writer's final conclusions. When he has thus 
made himself familiar with the scope of the work as a whole, he will be 
better jorei^ared for the examination of the particvilar difficulties that offer 
themselves in the course of the author's arg-ument. 

4. The word context (Latin, contextus) signifies literally a 
iVPCLving together ; and is appropriately used, therefore, to de- 
note the web of a writer's discourse. The scope is the end 
which a writer proposes to accomplish : the context gives the 
form and manner of its acconiplishnent. With reference to a 
given passage, the context has been loosely defined to be that 
Avhich immediately precedes and follows. More accurately, it 
is the series of statements, arguments, and illustrations con- 
nected with the passage whose meaning is sought, including 
all the various connections of thought. . The sober interpreter, 
then, must have constant reference to the context, as well for 
the signification of particular terms as for the general sense o^ 
the passage under consideration. To interpret without regard 
to the context is to interpret at random ; to interpret contrar} 
to the context is to teach falsehood for truth. 

The necessity of having constant reference to the context for the deter- 
mination of the sense, as well as of the particular terms employed, admitu 
of innumerable illustrations. From these we select a few examples : 

In Rom. 14 : 23 the apostle lays down the following maxim : "He that 
doubteth is damned [literally, condemned] if he eat, because he eateth not 
of faith : for whatsoever is not of faith is sin." The context relates not to 
the Lord's supper, but to scruples in respect to the use of particular kinds 
of food* "One believeth that he may eat all things; another who is 
weak" — over-scrupulous in respect to distinctions of food — " eateth herbs " 
(ver. 2). Consequently there is no reference here to the personal qualifi- 
cations requisite for partaking of that ordinance, or to the consequence of 
eating unworthily. The apostle means to say that whoever has scruples 
about the lawfulness of using a particular article of food is condemned if 
he eat it, "because he eateth not of faith." He acts contrary to his per- 
suasion of duty. Thus he violates, in this particular case, that general 



532 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

law of faitli which requires that in all things we keep a conscience void of 
offence towards God and man, subjecting ourselves in loving confidence to 
Christ's authority, and doing in all things what we believe to be right in 
his sight. 

Again we read in Gal. 5 'A the words: "Ye are fallen from grace." 
Taken out of their connection, these words are ambiguous in their applica- 
tion. But the context makes all plain. The apostle is addressing those 
who are inclined to substitute a system of justification by works for the 
grace of the gospel : ' ' Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of 
you are justified by the law ; ye are fallen from grace"- — fallen away from 
grace, as the original word means. Ye have abandoned the system of 
grace revealed in the gospel for one of works. 

The psalmist says: "My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God : 
when shall I come and appear before God ?" Psa. 42 : 2. Taken out of 
their connection, these words might be understood of his desire to enjoy 
the beatific vision of God in heaven. But the context shows that the wri- 
ter had in mind God's earthly sanctuary, from which he was banished : 
" My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say 
unto me, Where is thy God ? When I remember these things, I pour out 
my soul in me : for I had gone with the multitude, I went mtli them to 
the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that 
ker i-, holy-day (ver. 3, 4). 

A.gain the psalmist says : " The king's daughter is all glorious within " 
(Ps<i. 45 : 13) ; words that have more than once been applied directly to the 
inward spiritual beauty of the church, the bride of Christ. This is, indeed, 
the idea that we gain from a true interj)retation of them. But it comes 
not directly, but through a beautiful figure. The primary meaning of the 
words is, that the royal bride appearing within the palace in raiment of 
wrought gold is all glorious to the beholder's view. Undoubtedly she rep- 
resents the church espoused to Christ ; dwelling, so to speak, in his kingly 
mansion, and gloriously adorned with his righteousness. Eev. 19 : 8. 

The question may naturally occur to the reader : Within what limits 
is the context to be consulted ? The answer must be, that no definite lim- 
its can be prescribed. The entire web of discourse must be carefully stud- 
ied, including the more remote as well as the nearer context ; for the 
inspired writers do not, as a general rule, proceed according to formal 
divisions and subdivisions. The train of argument is often interrupted by 
parenthetical remarks, particularly in the writings of the apostle Paul, or 
it is resumed in an informal way after extended digressions. The true 
connection of thought, then, is to he gathered not so much from our mod- 
ern notions of what logical accuracy would require, as from the rejDeated 
and careful perusal of the ^mting in question. In this way alone can we 
place ourselves in the author's position, and look at the subject under dis- 



BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. 533 

cussion from liis point of vieAv ; tliat is to say, in tliis way alone can "we 
enter into his modes of thinking and reasoning, and thus quahfy ourselves 
to be the expounders of them to others. 

In some cases no context exists, and none is to be sought. In a large 
part of the book of Proverbs, for example, each separate aphorism shines 
by its own light. If it have any connection with what precedes or fol- 
lows, it is only casual or superficial. In some books, again, like that of 
Ecclesiastes, the transitions are rapid, and often difficult to explain. 
Here we should be careful not to force upon the author a logical connec- 
tion of which he never thought. Systematic arrangement is good in its 
place ; but the Holy Spirit did not think it needful to secure it in the case 
of all who spake as he moved them. 

Some religious teachers are fond of employing scriptural 
texts simply as mottoes, with little or no regard to their true 
connection. Thus they too often adapt them to their use by 
imparting to them a factitious sense foreign to their proper 
scope and meaning. The seeming gain in all such cases is 
more than counterbalanced by the loss and danger that attend 
the practice. It encourages the habit of interpreting Scrip- 
ture in an arbitrary and fanciful way, and thus furnishes the 
teachers of error wdth their most effective weapon. The prac- 
tice cannot be defended on any plea of necessity. The plain 
words of Scripture, legitimately interpreted according to their 
proper scope and context, contain a fulness and comprehen- 
siveness of meaning sufficient for the wants of all men in all 
circumstances. That piety alone is robust and healthful which 
is fed, not by the fancies and speculations of the preacher who 
' practically j)uts his own genius above the word of God, but by 
the pure doctrines and precepts of the Bible, unfolded in their 
true connection and meaning. 

It is important to remark, however, that when the general 
principle contained in a given passage of Scripture has been 
once fairly explained, it admits of innumerable applications 
which are in the highest sense legitimate and proper. The 
principle, for example, that " whatsoever is not of faith is sin," 
which the apostle Paul announces in connection with the ques- 
tion of using or abstaining from particular kinds of food, may 



534: COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

be applied to the settlement of cases of conscience arising in 
widely different relations and spheres of action. The preach- 
er's power lies very mucli in the ability of unfolding to the 
understanding and applying to the conscience the general 
principles involved in the passage of Scripture which he under- 
takes to expound. 

5. We may next consider the help to be derived from par- 
allel passages. The ordinary division of parallelisms is into 
verbal and real: verbal, where the same word or phrase occurs; 
real, where the same thought is expressed or the same subject 
discussed. Yerbal parallelisms often shed much light on the 
meaning of particular words or phrases, because what is obscure 
in one passage is made plain in another by some explanatory 
addition. 

All example is the use of the expression mi/ glory (English version, my 
honor), in Gen. 49 : 6 : "O my soul, come not thou into their secret" 
(their secret conclave) ; " unto their assembly, my glory, be not thou uni- 
ted." A comparison of the parallel passages, Psa. 7:5; 16 : 9 ; 30 : 12 ; 
57 : 8 ; 108 : 1, leads to the conclusion that in such a connection the expres- 
sion is substantially equivalent to my soul, the soul being made in the 
image of God, and thus the seat of man's glory. By a like process of 
comparison, we arrive at the true signification of the phrase, "if7^e right- 
eousness of God," or more fully, "the righteousness lohich is of God by 
faith," when used with reference to the way of salvation through Christ; 
at the meaning of the Greek terms translated ^^propitiation," etc. In the 
same way, as already remarked (No. 1, above), the interpreter ascertains 
the different significations in which words are employed, and determines 
which of these is appropriate to any given passage. 

Real parallelisms are subdivided, again, into doctrinal and 
Jdstoric ; doctrinal, where the same truth is inculcated; historic, 
where the same event or series of events is recorded. The 
supreme importance of doctrinal parallelisms will appear most 
fully when we come to look at revelation on the divine side, as 
constituting a grand system of truth harmonious in all its 
parts. At present we regard them simply as among the means 
of ascertaining the sense of a given passage. Presuming that 
every author means to be self-consistent, it is our custom to 



BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. 535 

place side by side his different statements which relate to the 
same subject, that they may mutually explain each other. The 
same reasonable method should be pursued with the writings 
of Isaiah and Jeremiah in the Old Testament, and of Paul and 
John in the New. What is obscure is to be interpreted by 
what is clear; what is briefly hinted, by what is more fully 
expressed. Different writers, moreover, belonging to the same 
age, animated by the same spirit, and confessedly governed by 
the same general rules of faith and practice, mutually explain 
each other. Thus the prophets Isaiah, Hosea, Joel, Amos, 
and Micah, who belong to the same century, and in a less 
degree Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the other prophets of a later 
age, shed each a light on the pages of all the rest. The same 
is true of all the epistolary writers of the New Testament, not- 
withstanding their marked differences of style, and the differ- 
ent aspects also in which they respectively contemplate Chris- 
tian doctrine and duty. 

Our Saviour says of those who claimed to be, before his advent, the 
shepherds and leaders of God's spiritual fold : "All that ever came before 
me are thieves and robbers ; but the sheep did not hear them." John 
10 : 8. Yet according to this same evangelist he honored Abraham, Moses, 
and the proijhets, as true leaders and teachers of God's people. Chaps. 
8:39, 40, 56; 5:45-47; 12:38-4L We know, then, that the Saviour's 
words must be restricted to such spiritual thieves and robbers as the 
scribes and Pharisees of his day, who under the leadership of Satan (chap. 
8 : 41, 44) climbed up some other way into the fold. 

The apostle Paul says (Rom. 2 : 7) that God shall render " to them who 
by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory, and honor, and immor- 
tahty, eternal life. " We know at once, without reference to the context, 
that he does not mean, in opposition to the whole tenor of his epistles, to 
affirm that men can obtain eternal life by their own w-ell-doing, wdthout 
respect to "the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ, 
unto all and upon all them that believe." But if we examine the con- 
text, this shows that here the apostle is not speaking of the meritorious 
ground of justification, but of God's impartial regard to a righteous char- 
acter in both Jews and Gentiles. 

Historical parallelisms hold of necessity a prominent place 
in the interpretation of both the Old and the New Testament. 



536 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

In the Old Testamerit we have the two parallel histories of the 
Hebrew commonwealth, first in the books of Samuel and the 
Kings, then in the books of Chronicles. In the New, th® four 
gospels are four parallel accounts of our Lord's life and teach 
iugs. Then there are several parallelisms of less extent; as, 
for example, Isaiah's account of Sennacherib's war upon Heze- 
kiah, and Hezekiah's sickness (Isa. chaps. 36-39, compared 
witli 2 Kings 18 : 13 — 20 : 21, and the briefer notice of 2 Chron. 
chap. 32) ; the three accounts of Paul's conversion (Acts 9 : 1-22; 
22 : 1-21 ; 26 : 1-20) ; and other passages which will readily occur 
to the reader. To the work of comparing and harmonizing these 
parallel histories biblical students have with reason devoted 
much labor, since they mutually supplement and illustrate each 
other in many ways. We understand the books of Samuel and 
Kings more fully by comparison with the books of Chronicles, 
and the reverse. Each of the four gospels sheds light on the 
other three. It is by placing the three accounts of Paul's con- 
version side by side that we gain the most perfect knowledge 
of this event. The numerous coincidences between the Acts of 
the Apostles and the Pauline epistles, give us a fuller idea of 
the apostle's inward life and outward labors than we could 
otherwise gain. Without the epistles the biographical notices 
of the Acts would be very incomplete ; without the narrative of 
the Acts many references in the epistles would remain obscure. 
Yet these same historic parallehsms, which are the source 
of so much light, are the occasion of difficulties also, which 
require for their adjustment a comprehensive view of the spirit 
of inspiration. In respect to all essential matters of faith and 
practice, a divine unity pervades the Holy Scriptures. But 
this essential unity does not exclude diversity of conception 
and representation. Though all the "holy men of God spake 
as they were moved by the Holy Ghost," it pleased the divine 
Spirit to leave them free to speak each in accordance with his 
individual peculiarities of thought and language. A page from 
the writings of the apostle John, taken anywhere at random, 
can be at once distinguished from a page of Paul or Luke. In 



BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. 537 

relating the same transactioiij two inspired writers often select 
different materials, or handle them in a different way. The 
narrative of each is truthful, but not exhaustive. It gives a 
correct view of the thing related, but not all the particulars 
connected with it. The omission from two or more parallel 
narratives of concomitant circumstances, or the neglect of 
exact chronological order, sometimes makes the work of har- 
monizing them a very difficult matter. We feel confident that 
each separate narrative is correct, and that, had we all the 
accompanying circumstances in the true order of time, we 
could see hoiu they are consistent with each other ; but for want 
of this light the exact mode of reconciliation remains doubtful 
Such difficulties are incident to all parallel histories. Had the 
Holy Spirit seen good, he could have excluded them from the 
pages of inspiration ; but herein he chose to deal with us not 
as children, but rather as men " of full age, even those who, by 
reason of use, have their senses exercised to discern both good 
and evil." It is worthy of special notice, that where two or 
more evangelists record the same words of our Saviour, they 
are solicitous only about their substance. 

In the three parallel accounts of the storm on the sea of Galilee, the 
disciples say according to Matthew (8:25) : "Lord save us, we perish;" 
according to Mark (4:38) : "Master, carest thou not that we perish?" 
according to Luke (8 : 24) : "Master, master, we perish." And the Lord 
answers according to Matthew (v. 26) : "Why are ye fearful, O ye of little 
faith ?" according to Mark (v, 40) : " Why are ye so fearful ? how is it that 
ye have no faith ?" according to Luke (v. 25) : "Where is your faith?" 
On the variations in the words of the disciples Augustine well remarks 
(and the same remarks hold good of our Lord's answer) : "The disciples 
have one and the same meaning in thus awaking the Lord and desiring 
salvation. Nor is it necessary to inquire which of these addresses, rather 
than the others, contains the exact words spoken to him. For whether they 
uttered one of the three, or other words which no one of the evangelists 
has mentioned, which yet have the same force in respect to the truth of 
the thought, what matters it ?" Harmony of the Gospels 2. 24, quoted by 
Alford on Matth. 8 : 25. 

On the relation of the books of Chronicles to those of Kings and the 
diflSculties connected with them, see Cliap. 20, Nos. 21, 22. On the rela- 

23* 



538 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

tion of the four gospels to each other, see Chap. 29, Nos. 4-10. We cannot 
here go into particulars. It must suffice to indicate the general principle 
by which the harmonist must be guided. 

6. The external acquirements necessary to constitute the 
well- furnished expositor of God's word — the " scribe which is 
instructed unto the kingdom of heaven " — have been already 
briefly noticed. Chap. 33, No. 6. Not only are the Scriptures 
in their original form locked up in dead languages which the 
interpreter must thoroughly master, but they are, so to speak, 
embedded in ancient history, chronology, and archaeology. 

Illustrations of this point are so numerous that the only difficulty is in 
the selection. The servitude of the Israehtes under the Egyptians, their 
captivity in Babylon, their dehverance under Cyrus, and their subsequent 
history till the time of our Lord's advent, connect themselves immediately, 
as all know, mth the general history of the ancient heathen world. But 
there are many illustrations of a more special character. The difficulty of 
the position in which our Lord was placed by the ensnaring question of 
the Pharisees and Herodians respecting the lawfulness of paying tribute 
to Csesar, and the divine wisdom of his answer (Matt. 22 : 15-22 : Mark 
12 : 13-17 ; Luke 20 : 20-26) cannot be perfectly understood without a 
knowledge, on the one hand, of the pohtical condition and feeling of the . 
Jews as subjected to the dominion of the Romans, which they thoroughly 
detested, and of which dominion the tribute money daily reminded them ; 
and, on the other, of the hatred which both Pharisees and Herodians bore 
towards Christ, and their anxiety to find a pretext for accusing him to the 
people or before this same Roman government. 

To apprehend the force of our Lord's argument from the Pentateuch 
against the error of the Pharisees: "Have ye not read that which was 
spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God 
of Isaac, and the God of Jacob ? God is not the God of the dead, but of 
the li^dng" (Matt. 22 : 31, 32), we must understand the form in which the 
Sadducees denied the doctrine of the resurrection. They denied, namely, 
the existence of spirits separated from bodies. Acts 23 : 8. To them, 
consequently, the death of the body Avas the anniliilation of the whole man, 
which made the very idea of a future resurrection an absurdity. Our Sav- 
iour showed from the writings of Moses, whose authority they acknowl- 
edged, the error of their assumption that the spirit dies with the body. 
Thus he demolished the ground on which their denial of a future resurrec- 
tion rested. 

The psalmist says of those who hate Zion : "Let them be as the grasa 



BIBLICAL INTEEPRETATION. 53^' 

upon the house-tops, ivhich Avithereth before one pkicketh it" (Eng. ver- 
sion, "before it groweth up ") : " wherewith the mower fiUeth not his hand, 
nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom." Psa. 129 : 6, 7. For the ilhistra- 
tion of these words we need a double reference, (1) to the oriental custom 
of constructing flat roofs covered with earth, on which grass readily springs 
up ; (2) to the division of the year into two seasons, the rainy and the dry, 
upon the commencement of which latter such grass speedily withers. 
Another reference to the same oriental roofs we have in the w^ords of Solo- 
mon : *' The contentions of a wife are a continual dropping ;" "a contin- 
ual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike" 
(chaps. 19 : 13 ; 27 : 15), wliere we are to understand a continual dropping 
through of water from the roof, which makes every thing within uncom- 
fortable. 

Our Lord's parable of the ten virgins (Matt. 25 : 1-13) requires for its 
illustration a knowledge of the oriental customs connected with marriage : 
the transaction recorded by Luke, where a woman came behind Jesus as he 
reclined at the table, washed his feet with her tears, and wiped them with 
her hair (Luke 7 : 37, 38), and the position of John when at the last supper 
'^he leaned on Jesus' bosom (John 13 : 23, 25), cannot be made intelligible 
v/ithout a knowledge of the reclining posture in which meals were then 
taken : one familiar only with the use of glass or earthen bottles cannot 
comprehend the force of our Lord's maxim- respecting the necessity of put- 
ting new wine into new bottles (Matt. 9 : 17), tiU he is informed that ori- 
ental bottles are made of leather. We might go on multiplying illustra- 
tions indefinitely, but the above must suffice. We may affirm, without fear 
of contradiction, that the study of the Holy Scriptures has contributed 
more than all other causes to the diffusion among the masses of the com- 
munity of a knowledge of ancient history and antiquities. To say thr.t a 
congregation has a thorough knowledge of the Bible is equivalent to affirm- 
ing that it has an enlarged acquaintance with the ancient world in its spirit 
as well as in its outward institutions and forms. 

7. That the interpreter may make a wise and effective use 
of all the helps that have been enumerated, lie needs especially 
that sound and practical judgment which is called in ordinary 
discourse good sense. Investigations respecting the meaning of 
terms, inquiries concerning the scope, reasonings from the con- 
text, the comparison of parallel passages, the use of ancient 
history, chronology, and archgeology — that any one or all of 
these processes combined may lead to valuable results they 
must be under the guidance of that sound judgment and prac- 
tical tact by whicl\ the interpr'eter is enabled to seize the true 



540 COMPANION TO THi: BIBLE. 

meaning of liis author and unfold it with accuracy, or is at 
least kept from far-fetched and fanciful expositions where the 
author's real sense is involved in obscurity. 

(1.) This quality of sound judgment will preserve the inter- 
preter from inept expositions for which a plausible reason may 
be assigned. 

Tims, when the Saviour says to Martha, who "was cumbered about 
much serving:" "One thing is needful," these words have been inter- 
preted to mean one disJi — not many and elaborate preparations, but a sin- 
gle dish. A sound judgment rejects at once this inteipretation as below 
the dignity of the occasion, and not in agreement with what imme- 
diately follows : * ' Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be 
taken away from her." The one thing needful is such a devotion of the 
soul to Christ as Mary manifested. So the words : " Simon, son of Jonas, 
lovest thou me more than these ?" (John 21 :15), have been explained to 
mean : more than these fish, or the emi^lojment and furniture of a fisher- 
man — an ingenious substitution, one must say, of a low and trivial mean- 
ing for the common interpretation : more than these thy fellow-disciples 
love me, which accords so perfectly with Peter's former profession : 
"Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be 
offended." Matt. 26 : 33 ; Mark 14 : 29. 

Interpreters who ordinarily manifest sound judgment and skill are 
sometimes betrayed into inept expositions through the influence of some 
preconceived opinion. The psalmist says, for example (Psa. 17 : 15): "As 
for me, in righteousness shall I behold thy face : I shall be satisfied upon 
awaking with thy likeness ;" that is, with the contemplation of thy like- 
ness, with apparent reference to Numb. 12 : 8 : " The likeness of the Lord 
shall he behold. " This x)assage is ordinarily interpreted correctly of the 
vision of God upon awaking in the world to come. And this view is sus- 
tained by other like passages : "In thy presence is fulness of joy ; at thy 
right hand there are pleasures for evermore" (Psa. 16 :11); "Truly God 
shall redeem my soul from the power of Sheol ; for he shall take me," 
(Psa. 49 :15), where Tholuck well says : "He who took an Enoch and a 
Moses to himself, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, will also take me 
to himself;" "Thou shalt guide me by thy counsel, and afterwards take 
me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and there is none upon 
earth that I desire resides thee. My flesh and my heart faileth : God is 
the strength of mj heart, and my portion for ever " (Psa. 73 : 24-26) — 
words that are ine cplicable except as containing the anticipation of a 
blessed immortality with God in heaven ; "The wicked is driven away in 
his wickedness ; but the righteous hath hope in his^leath " (Prov. 14 : 32); 



BIBLTCx\L IXTEHPRETATION 511 

etc. But there is a class of interpreters who, having adopted the maxim 
that the Old Testament, at least in its earlier writings, contains no antici • 
pations of a blessed life with God after death, are constrained to give to 
the passage in question the frigid meaning : I shall be satisfied with thy 
likeness when I awake to-morrow, as if the psalm were intended to be an 
evening song or prayer ; or, whenever I awake, that is, from natural sleep. 

(2.) A sound jadgment will also keep the biblical scholar 
from interpretations that are coyitrary to the known nature of the 
subject. 

A familiar example is the declaration made by Moses of God's view of 
man's wickedness : "x\nd it repented the Lord that he had made man on 
the earth, and it grieved him at his heart." Gen. 6 : 6. The robust com- 
mon sense of any plain reader will at once adjust the interpretation of 
these words to God's known omnisci^ce and immutability ; just as he will 
the prayer of the psalmist : " Search me, O God, and know my heart ; try 
me, and know my thoughts ; and see if there be any wicked way in me, 
and lead me in the way everlasting." Psa. 139 : 23, 24. The immutable 
God does nothing which is not in accordance with his eternal counsels. 
The omniscient God, to whom all truth is ever present, does not literally 
institute a process of searching that he may know what is in man. But in 
these and numberless other passages, he condescends to sj^eak according 
to human modes of thought and action. 

When it is said, again, that " tl].e Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh ;" 
that ' ' God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shech- 
em " (Judg. 9 : 23) ; that he sent a lying spirit to deceive Ahab through his 
prophets (1 Kings 22 : 21-23) ; that he sent Isaiah with the command : 
' ' Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut 
their eyes " (Isa. 6 : 10) ; that he made the covenant people to err from 
his ways, and hardened their heart from his fear (Isa. 63 : 17), we instinc- 
tively interpret these and other like passages in harmony with the funda- 
mental principle announced by the apostle : ' ' Let no man say when he is 
tempted, I am tempted of God ; for God cannot be tempted of evil, neither 
temiDteth he any man. But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away 
of his own lust, and enticed." Jas. 1 : 13, 14. The Scriptures ascribe 
every actual event to God in snch a sense that it comes into the jDlan of 
his universal i)rovidence ; but they reject with abhorrence the idea that he 
can excite wicked thoughts in men, or prompt them to wicked deeds. 

When it is said, once more, that men are drawn to Christ (John 6 :44), 
or driven to Avorship the heavenly bodies (Deut. 4 :19), we understand at 
once a drawing and a driving that are in accordance with their free intelli- 
gent and responsible nature. Other illustrations of this principle will be 



542 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

given in the following chapter, which treats of the figurative language of 
Scripture. 

(3.) The same quality of good sense will enable the inter- 
preter to make those limitations in the language of the sacred 
writers -which are common in popular discourse. In the lan- 
guage of daily life many statements are made in general terms 
that require for their exact truthfulness various qualifications 
which the readers or hearers can readily supply for themselves. 
Honest men, addressing honest men, are not in the habit of 
guarding their words against every possible misconstruction. 
It is enough if they speak so that all who will can understand 
them. 

It is said, for example (Gen. 41 :57), that "all countries (literally, all 
the earth) came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn ; because the famine 
was sore in all the earth." It would be only trifling to ask whether "aU 
the earth " included the people of Europe and India. The reader natu- 
rally understands all the lands around Egypt, since they only could come 
thither for corn. So when it is said in the account of the deluge that "all 
the high hills that were under the whole heaven were covered " (Gen. 
7:19), it is straining the sacred writer's words to give them a rigid geo- 
graphical application, as if they must needs include the mountains about 
the North pole. " All the high hills under the whole heaven " were those 
where man dwelt, and which were consequently known to man. "The 
Holy Ghost," says John, "was not yet given, because that Jesus was not 
yet glorified." John 7:39. Yet David prayed ages before: "Take not 
thy Holy Spirit from me " (Psa. 51 : 11) ; Isaiah says of ancient Israel that 
"they rebelled and vexed his Holy Spirit" (Isa. 63 : 10) ; the Saviour, long 
before his glorification, promised the Holy Spirit to all that should ask for 
him (Luke 11 : 13) ; and it is a fundamental article of our faith that from 
Abel to the archangel's trump all holiness is the fruit of the Spirit. But 
John's readers, who lived after the plenary gift of the Holy Spirit from 
the day of Pentecost and onward, could not fail to understand him as 
referring to the gift of the Spirit in that special sense. The apostle Paul 
says (1 Tim. 2 :4) that God "will have all men to be saved, and to come 
unto the knowledge of the truth." Yet the same apostle teaches that some 
will remain in ignorance of the truth, and thus perish. 2 Thess. 1 : 8, 9 ; 
2 : 11, 12. The reader's good sense readily reconciles the former with the 
latter passages. He understands God's wiU to have all men saved as the 
will of benevolent desire ; just as God says of ancient Israel (Psa. 81 : 13) : 
" Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my 



BIBLICAL INTERPEETATION. 543 

ways!" but because they would not do this, he "gave them up to their 
own heart's hist, and they walked in their own counsels" (ver. 12). Many 
like illustrations might be added. 

(4.) Hence we readily infer the office of a sound judgment 
in reconciling apparent contradictions, since these arise mainly 
from the neglect, in one or both of the passages between which 
the contradiction is said to exist, of reasonable qualifications 
and limitations. 

A striking illustration of this is found in the two accounts of the crea- 
tion. Gen. chaps. 1-2 : 3 and chap. 2 : 4-25. In the former narrative the 
order of time is an essential element. Not so in the latter, where man is 
the central object, and the different parts of creation are mentioned only 
as the writer has occasion to speak of them in connection with him. Hence 
we have in this latter passage the creation of the man (ver. 7), the planting 
of the garden for his use with its trees and rivers (ver. 8-14), the placing 
of the man in the garden and the law imposed ui^on him (ver. 15-17), the 
defective condition of the man (ver. 18), the notice in connection with this 
of the creation of beasts and fowls and their being brought to the man to 
receive names (ver. 19, 20), the creation of the woman and the primitive 
condition of the pair (ver. 21-25). This simple statement of the course of 
narration sufficiently refutes the allegation that the second account is 
inconsistent with the first. 

In the first account of Paul's conversion it is said that "the men which 
journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no man." 
Acts 9:7. In the second Paul says : ' ' They that were with me saw in- 
deed the light, and were afraid ; but they heard not the voice of him that 
spake to me." Acts 22 :9. There is no valid ground for doubting that 
the first narrative, as well as the other two, came from the lips of the apos- 
tle himself, and the assumption of any essential contradiction is unreason- 
able and unnecessary. In regard to the liglit, it is certain that Paul saw 
the person of the Saviour, and was made blind by the glory of the vision 
(Acts 9 ; 17, 27; 22 : 14; 1 Cor. 9 :1), while his companions saw only the 
light that shone around them, which did not make them blind. In regard 
to the voice, it is a fair interpretation that they heard a voice only, but no 
intelligible words. Houi this difference of perception between Paul and 
his companions in regard to both the light and the voice was effected wo 
do not know, nor is it necessary that we should. The first account, again, 
represents Paul's companions as having "stood speechless," while in the 
third the ajDostle says: "When we were all fallen to the earth." Acts 
26 : 14. The most natural explanation here is that the third narrative gives 
the posture with accuracy, while the first lays stress only upon the amaze- 



511 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

ment which fixed them in a motionless attitude. The apparent discrepan- 
cies in these three parallel histories are peculiarly instructive, because they 
all proceed from the pen of the same author, and must all have been de- 
rived from the same source. Such circumstantial differences have the 
stamp of reality. Instead of throwing any discredit upon the transaction, 
they only establish its truth upon a firmer basis. Many like illustrations 
might be added. 

(5.) Finally, where the means of reconciling discrepancies 
are not apparent, the same quality of a sound judgment will 
keep us from the two extremes of seeking, on the one hand, 
forced and unnatural explanations, and, on the other, of discredit- 
ing well-attested transactions on account of these discrepancies. 
In the scriptural narratives there are some difficulties (rela- 
ting mostly to numbers, dates, and the chronological order of 
events) which we find ourselves unable, with our present means 
of knowledge, to solve in a satisfactory way. It is the part of 
sober reason to reserve these difficulties for further light, not 
to set aside, in view of them, facts attested by irrefragable 
proof. 

Nothing in the evangelic record is more certain, for example, than the 
fact of our Lord's resurrection. Yet to harmonize the four accounts which 
we have of it in all their details is a work of extreme difficulty. ' ' Sup- 
posing us to be acquainted with every thing said and done, in its order 
and exactness, we should doubtless be able to reconcile, or account for, the 
present forms of the narratives ; but not having this key to the harmon- 
izing of them, attempts to do so in minute particulars carry no certainty 
with them." Alford on Matt. 28 : 1-10. The same general principle ap- 
plies to other difficulties — in the Old Testament, that respecting the dura- 
tion of the sojourn in Egypt, and other chronological questions ; in the 
New, that of the two genealogies given of our Lord by Matthew and Luke, 
that of the day when our Lord ate the passover with his disciples, etc. See 
further in Chaps. 19, Nos. 6 and 8 ; 20, No. 22 ; 29, Nos. 8-10. 

8. In bringing this chapter to a conclusion, we add a few 
words on the office of reason in the interpretation of Scri^Dture. 
It is admitted by all that we have certain primitive intuitions 
which lie at the foundation of all knowledge. That an immu- 
table obligation, for example, rests on all men to be truthful, 



BIBLICAL INTERPKETATION. 54o 

just, benevolent, and grateful, is a truth which we see by the 
direct Hght of conscience. There are certain moral axioms, 
also, outside of the direct sphere of conscience, which shine by 
their own light. Such is that fundamental truth of theology 
thus announced by the apostle John : " God is light, and in 
him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5); where light and dark- 
ness ai'e both taken in a moral sense, as the context shows; 
and thus by the apostle James : " God cannot be tempted with 
evil, neither tempteth he any man" (Jas. 1 :13); and thus, ages 
before, by Moses : " He is the Rock, his work is perfect : for all 
his wfxjs are judgment : a God of truth and without iniquity, 
just and right is he" (Deut. 32:4); and still earlier by Abra- 
ham: "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Gen, 
18 : 25). We are sure that no declaration of God's Vv^ord, prop- 
erly interpreted, will contradict these necessary and universal 
convictions. But there are many weighty truths that lie wholly 
above the sphere of our direct intuitions on which the infinite 
understanding of God is alone competent to pass an infallible 
judgment. Such are the following: If it be God's will to cre- 
ate a race of intelligent beings, what shall be the compass of 
their faculties, moral, intellectual, and physical ? In what cir- 
cumstances and relations shall he place them, to what proba- 
tion shall he subject them, and what scope shall he allow to 
their finite freedom ? If they sin, what plan shall he devise 
for their redemption, and by what processes shall he reveal 
and execute this plan? These, and many other questions 
involving man's highest interests, lie above the sphere of sim- 
ple intuition. God alone, who looks through eternity at a 
glance, can fully comprehend them, for they are all constituent 
parts of his eternal plan. That human reason, which cannot 
see the whole of truth, should affect to sit in judgment upon 
them, and to pronounce authoritatively what God may, and 
what he may not do, is the height of presumption and folly. 



646 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 



CHAPTEE XXXY. 

The Figurative Language of- Scripture. 

1. When the psalmist says : " The Lord God is a san and 
shield" (Psa. 84 :11), he means that God is to all his creatures 
the source of life and blessedness, and their almighty protector ; 
but this meaning he conveys under the figure of a sun and a 
shield. When, again, the apostle James says that Moses is 
read in the synagogues every Sabbath-day (Acts 15 : 21), he 
signifies the writings of Moses under the figure of his name. 
In these examples the figure lies in particular words. But it 
may be embodied in a sentence, thus : " It is hard for thee to 
kick against the pricks " (Acts 26 : 14), where Saul's conduct in 
persecuting Christ's disciples is represented under the form of 
an ox kicking against the ploughman's goad only to make the 
wounds it inflicts deeper. Figurative language, then, is that 
in which one thing is said under the form or figure of another thing. 
In the case of allegories and parables, it may take the form, as 
we shall hereafter see, of continuous discourse. 

A large proportion of the words in all languages, in truth all that 
express intellectual and moral ideas, were originally figurative, the univer- 
sal law being to represent immaterial by material objects. Examples are 
the words exist, existence, emotion, affliction, anguish, etc. But in these, and 
innumerable other words, the primitive physical meaning has become 
obsolete, and thus the secondary spiritual meaning is to us literal. Or, 
what often happens, while the original physical signification is retained, a 
secondary figurative meaning of the word has become so common that its 
use hardly recalls the physical meaning, and it may therefore be regarded 
as literal ; as in the words hard, harsh, rough, when applied to character. 
In the first of the above examples : " It is hard for thee to kick against the 
jDricks," the transfer of the word hard from what is physically hard to what 
is painful or difficult, is so common that it can hardly be regarded as fig- 
urative. But the expression that follows is figurative in the fullest sense 
of the word. 

Rhetoricians divide figures into two general classes, figures of words, 



BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. 547 

and figures of thought, and they give elaborate definitions, classifications, 
and rules for their use. The interpreter of Scripture, however, need not 
encumber himself with any rhetorical system. The general rules of inter- 
pretation already considered will be, for the most jpart, a sufficient guide 
to the meaning of the rich variety of figures contained in the Bible, espe- 
cially in its poetical parts. It is only necessary to add a few words in ref- 
erence to the ascertaining of figurative language ; the most prominent 
classes of figures ; and some principles to be observed in their interpreta- 
tion. 

2. The question may arise whether a writer is to be under- 
stood literally or figuratively. For the ascertaining of figurative 
language, a few simple rules wdll be, in general, sufficient. 

(1.) Multitudes of cases can be decided at once by consid- 
ering the nature of the subject. 

Thus, when the apostle calls Jesus Christ a "foundation," and speaks 
of building upon this foundation "gold, silver, precious stones, wood, 
hay, stubble," adding that "every man's work shall be revealed by fire ; 
and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is ;" and, further, 
that "if any man's work abide" this fire, "he shall receive a reward," but 
"if any man's work be burned he shall suffer loss" (1 Cor. 3 : 11-15), wo 
know at once, from the nature of the subject, that he speaks figuratively. 
He compares the church of God to a temple, of which Jesus Christ is the 
foundation, while her teachers and preachers are the builders. The " gold, 
silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble," represent primarily the mate- 
rials Avith which they build ; that is, the character of their doctrines and 
precepts, and secondarily, the character of those whom they bring into 
the Christian fold. The "fire," again, is the trial and judgment of the 
last day. 

The apostle says of the ancient Israelites that "they drank of that 
spiritual Rock that followed them; and that Rock was Christ." 1 Cor. 
10:4. So also Christ is called to believers "a chief corner-stone, elect, 
precious ;" but to unbelievers " a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence " 
(1 Pet. 2:6-8) ; "the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David" 
(Rev. 5:5); "the Lamb of God," and simply "the Lamb" (John 1 : 29, 
36; Rev. 5:12; 6:1; etc.); "the door of the sheep" (John 10:7, 9); 
"the true vine" (John 15 : 1) ; and "the living bread which came down 
from heaven" (John 6 : 51). He himself says : "Whoso eateth my flesh 
and drinktith my blood hath eternal life ; and I Avill raise him n\) at the 
last day." John 6 : 54. There is no more ground for understanding the 
last of these passages literally than the preceding, that is, there is no 
ground whatever. The dogma of the Romish church, which teaches that 



548 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

the consecrated bread and ^^-ine are literally converted into the body and 
blood of Jesus, violates alike sound reason and every sound principle of 
interpretation. '* x-Vs the words, ' This is ray body,' and ' This is my blood,* 
were spoken before Christ's body was broken upon the cross, and befoee 
his blood was shed, he could not pronounce them Avith the intention that 
they should be taken and interpreted literally by his disciples. He could 
not take his body in his hands, nor offer them his blood in the cup ; for ifc 
had not yet been shed." Home, vol. 2, p. 319. 

(2.) In ascertaining figurative language, the interpreter will 
naturally take into account the scope, the context, and the general 
analogy of scriptural teaching. If the literal sense, though pos- 
sible in the nature of things, is inept or contrary to the general 
tenor of Scripture, it must be rejected. 

The prophet Isaiah tells us that, under the future reign of the Mes- 
siah, the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard He down with the kid, 
the lion eat straw like the ox, and the child play with impunity on the 
hole of the asp. Isa. 11 : 6-8. It is possible to conceive of this state of 
things as effected by a change in the physical nature of all noxious ani- 
mals. But the writer immediately adds : ' ' They shall not hurt nor destroy 
in all my holy mountain ; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of 
the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (ver. 9). Since then the change is 
effected by the universal diffusion of "the knowledge of the Lord," it 
must be a moral change — a transformation of the character of wicked men 
figuratively described as wolves, leopards, bears, lions, and vipers. The 
general analogy of prophetic language, which, as will be hereafter shown, 
abounds in figurative forms of representation, strengthens this conclusion. 

By the prophet Haggai, again, God says : "Yet once, it is a little while, 
and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry 
land." Chap. 2 : 6. The key to the meaning of these words is given in 
the following verse : "And I will shake all nations, and the Desire of all 
nations shall come : and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord ol 
hosts." In such a connection, and with such a result, nothing could be 
more vapid than to understand this shaking of heaven and earth, sea and 
land, in a physical sense. It is the mighty overturnings among the 
nations, social, moral, and j)olitical, that are here predicted, as Jehovah 
says by Ezekiel : " I will overturn, overturn, overturn it, and it shall be no 
more, until he come whose right it is, and I will give it to him. " Chap. 
21 : 27. Compare Isa. 13 : 13 ; Jer. 4 : 24 ; Ezek. 38 : 20 ; Joel 3 : 16. So 
when God announces that he "will cause the sun to go down at noon, 
and darken the earth in the clear day " (Amos 8:9), we understand at once, 
that under this figure he forewarns the covenant people of the sudden 



BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. 549 

approach of great calamity. Compare Deut. 28 : 29 ; Job 5 : 14 ; Isa. 
13 : 10 ; Jer. 4 : 23-28 ; Ezek.-32 ; 7, 8 ; Joel 2 : 31 ; 3 : 15 ; etc. This sub- 
ject will be further discussed under the head of the interpretation of 
prophecy. 

In the sermon on the mount, the Saviour says: "Whosoever shall 
smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also " (Matt. 5 : 39) ; 
but the preceding context gives the scope of this and the other particular 
precepts that follow, which is that Christ's followers should "resist not 
evil," that is, by rendering evil for evil. It is the spirit of meekness and 
forbearance J;hat he inculcates, not a slavish regard to this and that par- 
ticular form of manifesting it. So when he says : " Give to him that ask- 
eth of thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away " 
(ver. 42), he cannot mean, consistently with the scope of the passage and 
his teachings elsewhere, that we should stultify ourselves by literally giv- 
ing to every asker and borrower, without regard to his necessities, real or 
alleged. He means rather to inculcate that liberal spirit which n^ver with- 
holds such help as it is able to give from those who need it. 

When the Saviour says again : "If thy right eye ofl'end thee, pluck it 
out and cast it from thee," etc., both the preceding context and the gen- 
eral tenor of the Scriptures teach us that he means vdiat is expressed by 
the apostle in another form: "Mortify, therefore, your members which 
are ujpon the earth." Col. 3:5. To mortify w, to deprive of life, make 
dead. We mortify our members which would seduce us into sin, not by 
destroying them, but by keeping them in subjection to "the law of the 
spirit of life in Christ Jesus." 

(3.) If the interpreter is liable to err by taking figurative 
language in a literal sense, so is he also by regarding as figu- 
rative what should be understood literally. A favorite expedi- 
ent with those who deny the supernatural character of revela- 
tion is to explain the miraculous transactions recorded in the 
Bible as figurative or mythical. When David says that in 
answer to his prayer " the earth shook and trembled, the foun- 
dations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he 
was wroth;" that God "bowed the heavens also and came 
down, and darkness was under his feet;" that "the Lord thun- 
dered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice, hailstones 
and coals of fire;" that "he sent out his arrows and scattered 
them, and he shot out lightnings and discomfited them," all 
acknowledge that the language is to be figuratively taken. 
Wh}^ then, an objector might ask, not understand the account 



550 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

of the giving of the law on Sinai amid thunderings and light- 
nings as figurative also? The answer of every plain reader 
would be — and it is the answer of unsophisticated common 
sense — that the former passage occurs in a lyric poem, where 
such figurative descriptions are entirely in place ; the latter in 
a plain narrative, Avhich professes to give throughout historic 
facts with names and dates; that no reader, who had not a 
preconceived opinion to maintain, ever did or could think of 
interpreting the passage in Exodus in any other than a literal 
way, while every reader understands at once that the poetic 
description in the eighteenth psalm is to be taken figuratively. 
The attempt has been made to interpret the gospel history as 
a myth — the embodiment of a system of pure ideas in the garb 
of history. It is difficult to refute an assumption which has no 
foundation to rest upon. This mythical theory may, neverthe- 
less, be disposed of in a very short and simple way. The great 
central truth of the gospel history is the death and resurrection 
of Jesus of Nazareth. If any one would know how the apos- 
tle Paul regarded this, let him read the fifteenth chapter of the 
first epistle to the Corinthians, where he pledges his veracity 
as a witness on its historic reality (ver. 15). If, now, Paul so 
regarded it, Luke, his companion in travel and labor, cannot 
have taken a different view of it, nor any other of the evange- 
lists. But if the death and resurrection of Jesus are recorded 
as true historic events, the whole mythical theory vanishes at 
once into thin air. 

(4.) In regard to those prophecies which relate to the dis- 
tant future, it may sometimes be difficult to determine whether 
we are to look for a literal or a figurative fulfilment of them. 
But this subject will come up for consideration in another 
place. 

3. In regard to the different kinds of figures a few words may 
be in place. 

(1.) The term tro2Je (Greek, tropos, a turn) is applied, in a 
general sense, to figures of words and speech of every variety ; 
but, in stricter usage, to a word or sentence turned from its lit- 



BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. 551 

eral signification to a figurative sense. Quintilian adds (Inst. 
Orator. 8. 6. 1) that this must be with good effect (cum vir- 
tute) ; that is, it must add clearness, force, or beauty to the 
thought. 

The principal varieties of the trope are the metonymy and the meiaplior. 
The metonymy is founded on the relation of one thing to another. Thus 
when Abraham says to the rich man : ' ' They have Moses and the proph- 
ets, let them hear them" (Luke 16 : 29), Moses and the projphets are put 
for their writings ; that is, the authors for their icorks. "A soft tongue," 
says the wise man, "breaketh the bone." Prov. 25 : 15. Here the word 
tongue is put for speech, the' insti-umeni for the thing effected, and this met- 
onymy is joined with a metaphor. (See below.) The synecdoche, in which 
fx part is put for the whole, as the suoord for war, is in its nature essentially 
a metonymy. Rhetoricians give elaborate classifications of metonymies, 
but they are of little value to the scriptural student, since all are inter- 
preted according to the few simple principles given in the preceding 
chapter. 

The metaphor is founded on the resemblance of one thing to another ; 
as in the examples already given : *'The Lord God is a sun and shield" 
(Psa. 84 : 11) ; "I am the true vine and my Father is the husbandman." 
John 15 : 1. It may lie not in a single word, but in an entire expression, 
thus : " It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks " (Acts 26 : 14) ; "I 
counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich ; 
and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of 
thy nakedness do not appear ; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that 
thou mayest see." Rev. 3:18. The metaphor and metonymy may be 
joined, as in the words already quoted: "A soft tongue breaketh the 
bone ;" or they may blend themselves with each other, as when Nalium 
says of the princes of Nineveh : "The sword shall devour thy young lions." 
Chap, 2 : 13, In this last example, as often elsewhere, p^^rsonificaiion, 
which is properly a figure of thought, is added, the sword being rei3resent- 
ed as a beast of prey. The grand and gorgeous personifications of Scrip- 
ture naturally clothe themselves in tropical language of inimitable beauty 
and exhaustless variety. "O thou sword of the Lord," says Jeremiah, 
"how long will it be ere thou be quiet ? put up thyself into thy scabbard, 
rest, and be still. How can it be quiet, seeing the Lord hath given it a 
charge against Ashkelon, and against the sea-shore ? There hath he ap- 
XDointedit." Chap. 47:6, 7, The prophet Habakkuk represents God as 
coming forth in his glory for the salvation of his people : " The mountains 
saw thee," says he, "and they trembled: the overflowing of the water 
passed by : the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high : 
the sun and moon stood still in their habitation." Chap. 3 : 10, 11. God's 



552 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

promise to his redeemed is : "Ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth 
with peace : the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into 
singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." Isa. 55 : 12. 
Metonymies, metaphors, and sometimes personifications — the books of the 
New Testament sparkle wdth these figures, and they are used always for 
effect, not empty show. They are like the flaming bolts of heaven, which 
rend and burn as well as shine. "Beware of false prophets," says the 
Saviour, "which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are 
ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits : do men gather 
grapes of thorns or figs of thistles ?" Matt. 7 : 15, 16. How effectually does 
he by these metax3hors strip off the mask from false teachers ! "If the 
foot shall say. Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body ; is it 
therefore not of the body ? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the 
eye, I am not of the body ; is it therefore not of the body ?" 1 Cor. 12 : 15, 
16. Here is personification without a trope. "O death, where is thy 
sting ? O grave, where is thy victory ? (1 Cor. 15 : 55), here is a majestic 
personification in metaphorical form. 

As resemblance lies at the foundation of tlie metaphor, it 
may be called' an abbreviated form of comparison, the thing with 
which the comparison is made being directly predicated of that 
which is compared. Thus, when we say : A sluggard is vine- 
gar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes of those who send him, 
we have a metaphor, the sluggard being directly called vinegar 
and smoke. But if we say : " As vinegar to the teeth, and as 
smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him " 
(Prov. 10 : 26), we have a comparison, and the language ceases 
to be tropical. The metaphor is thus a more vivid form of 
expression than the comparison. 

A common mode of comparison in the book of Proverbs is simply to 
put together the object compared and the thing or things with w^hich it is 
compared, thus : " A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for 
the fool's back " (chap. 26 : 3) ; that is, As a whip is appropriate for the 
horse, and a bridle for the ass, so is a rod for the fool's back. Again, 
"Where there is no wood the fire goetli out, and Avhere there is no tale- 
bearer the strife ceaseth" (Prov. 26:20) ; "Charcoal to live coals, and 
wood to fire ; and a m,an of strife to kindle strife" (Prov. 26 : 21) ; "Silver 
dross spread over an earthen sherd — burning lips [lips glowing with pro- 
fessions of love] and a wicked heart " (Prov. 26 : 23) ; in all which cases our 
version has supplied particles of comparison. 



BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. 553 

(2.) An cdlegory is the narrative of a spiritual transaction 
under the figure of something loiver and earthly, the lower transac- 
tion representing directly the higher. We have in the eigh- 
tieth Psalm an exquisite example of the allegory : " Thou 
hast brought a vine out of Egypt : thou hast cast out the hea- 
then and planted it. Thou preparedst room before it, and 
didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land. The 
hills were covered with the shadow of it," etc. (ver. 8-16) ; 
where the transfer of the Israelitish people from Egypt to the 
land of Canaan, with their subsequent history, is described 
under the figure of a vine. 

The metaphor and allegory have this in common, that the foundation 
of both is resemblance, and in both the lower object is pu2 directly for the 
higher. Yet the metaphor cannot be properly called a condensed allegory, 
nor the allegory an extended metaphor ; for it is essential to the allegory 
that it have the form of a narrative, and that it contain real history — in 
the case of prophecy it may be future history — under a figure. Hence it 
admits of indefinite extension, as in the ^^ Pilgrim's Progress;'^ and we 
may add the Canticles, which the Christian church from the earliest times 
has regarded as an allegory of which the subject is, in Old Testament lan- 
guage, God and his covenant jjeople, but, according to the representation 
of the New Testament, Christ and his church. 

We must carefully distinguish between true allegory and the allegorical 
or mystical application of real history. In the former case it is not the lit- 
eral meaning, but the higher sense represented by it, which constitutes 
the historic truth. God, for example, never transferred a vine from Egypt 
to Palestine, but he did the covenant people. The story of Sarai and 
Hagar, on the contrary (Gen., chap. 16), is true history. The apostle 
Paul makes an allegorical application of it to the two covenants, tliat on 
Sinai and that in Christ, Avhicli is very beautiful and approi3riate ; yet the 
story itself is not allegory, but plain history. See further, in Chap. 37, 
No. 4. 

(3.) A 'parable is the narrative of a supposed event for the 
purpose of illustrating a spiritual truth or principle. The office 
of the narrative is to embody the principle. It should, there- 
fore, be natural and probable ; but its literal truth is of no con- 
sequence. In our Lord's parable of the unjust steward, for 
example (Luke 16:1-9), the incidents of the narrative may or 

Cnin .r,i;iile. 24 



554: COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

may not have been historically true ; but either way the great 
principle which it illustrates (ver. 10) remains the same. 

Allegories and parables pass into each other by insensible degrees. 
Some of our Lord's so-called parables are rather allegories ; as that of the 
\dneyard let out to husbandmen (Matt. 21 : 33-41), which is founded on 
the beautiful allegory of Isaiah (chap. 5 : 1-7) ; so also that of the good 
shepherd (John 10 : 1-18). In their pure form, however, the allegory and 
the parable are easily distinguished from each other. In the allegory, the 
figure represents directly the higher transaction. Hence the incidents 
introduced in the figure — at least all the main incidents — must have some- 
thing corresponding to them in the spiritual transaction which the figure 
represents. The case of the parable is different. Here the spiritual truth 
is not directly described in terms of the figure, but simply illustrated from 
it. The incidents and characters of the story are separable from the gen- 
eral principle which it inculcates, and are sometimes foi-mally separated by 
the speaker himself ; as when our Lord says : " The kingdom of heaven is 
likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field," etc. Matt. 13 : 24. 
For this reason they may belong more or less to the mere draj)ery of the 
parable, so that to press them in its interpretation, would lead to error 
instead of truth. See further below. No. 7. 

(4.) Th.e fable is related to the parable, but it differs from it 
in two respects. First, it moves in a loorldly sphere, having to 
do with prudential maxims rather than spiritual truth. /S'ec- 
ondly, it allows, in harmony with this its lower nature, irra- 
tional objects as speakers and actors, which would be contrary 
to the dignity of the parable. Our Lord never employed fables 
as vehicles of instruction. There are two examples of them in 
the Old Testament; neither of them, however, coming from the 
lips of prophetical men. The first is that of Jotham : " The 
trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and 
they said unto the olive-tree, Eeign thou over us," etc. Judg. 
9 : 8-15. The second is that of Jehoash : " The thistle that was 
in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, 
Give thy daughter to my son to wife : and there passed by a 
wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle." 
2 Kings 14 : 9. 

(5.) A symbol is a material object, a transaction in the material 
loorldy or sometimes a number, to represent some higher spirit- 



BIBLICAL INTEKPRETATION. 555 

rial truth. Ritual symbols, like the ark of the covenant, the 
high-priest's dress, the sacrifices, and, in general, the whole 
tabernacle and temple service, will be considered hereafter 
under the head of types. AVe speak of symbols now, only so 
far as they belong to the human side of interpretation. We 
have a beautiful example of a symbolic transaction in the sev- 
enteenth chapter of the book of Numbers, where the princes 
of Israel, by God's direction, take twelve rods, write each man 
his name upon his rod, and lay them up in the tabernacle 
before the Lord, whereupon Aaron's rod " budded, and brought 
forth buds, and blossomed blossoms, and yielded almonds;" 
a symbol that God would make the priesthood to flourish in 
his family. 

Scriptural symbols exhibit a wonderful variety. Sometimes they are 
seen in dreams, as in Jacob's dream of a ladder reaching to heaven (Gen. 
28 : 12-15) ; Pharaoh's two dreams of the fat and lean kine, and the good 
and thin ears (Gen. 41 : 1-7) ; or in prophetic vision, like Jeremiah's vision 
of a seething pot with the face towards the north (Jer. 1 : 13) ; Ezekiel's 
vision of the cherubim (chap. 1) ; and Amos' vision of a basket of sum- 
mer fruit (chap. 8:2). At other times they are actual transactions. So 
the false prophet Zedekiah "made him horns of iron : and he said, Thus 
saith the Lord, with these shalt thou push the Syrians till thou have con- 
sumed them " (1 Kings 22 : 11) ; the true i)rophet Jeremiah wore a yoke 
upon his neck as a sign that God would subject the nations to Nebuchad- 
nezzar's power, and the false prophet Hananiah broke it, that he might 
thus signify the deliverance of the people from Nebuchadnezzar's rule. 
Jer. 27 : 1-8, compared with 28 : 10, 11. 

(6.) A proverb is a short maxim relating to practical life. It 
may be expressed literally or figuratively, but in either case it 
must contain a geyieral truth. " A scorner loveth not one that 
reproveth him ; neither will he go unto the wise " (Prov. 15 : 12), 
is a proverb expressed in plain language. "The name of the 
Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is 
safe" (Prov. 18:10), is a proverb under a beautiful figure. 
The foolish young men counselled Rehoboam to say to the 
Israelites: "My little finger shall be thicker than my father's 
loins." 1 Kings 12 : 10. This is not a proverb, because it con- 



55(3 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

tains only tlie figurative statement of a particular fact. But if 
we change the form, and say : The little finger of a foolish ruler 
is thicker than the loins of a wise king, we make it general, and 
thus it becomes a proverb. 

The Hebrew word for a i^roverb [maslial] denotes a similitude, this being 
one of its most common forms. Examples occur in abu-ndance in the book 
of Proverbs. We have them in the form of direct comparison: "As in 
water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man " (chap. 27 : 19) ; 
"A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are 
alike" (chap. 27 : 15) ; "Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a 
stalled ox and hatred therewith" (chap. 15 :17). We have them also in 
the form of metaphor: "The contentions of a wife are a continual droi> 
ping " (chai?. 19 : 13) ; " The lips of knowledge are a precious jewel " (chap. ' 
20 :15). But most frequently the comparison appears in the form of con- 
trast, thus: "A wise son heareth his father's instruction; but a scorner 
heareth not rebuke " (chap. 13 : 1) ; "A faithful witness will not lie ; but 
a false witness will utter lies " (chap. 14 : 5). The signification of the word 
proverb is then extended to short sententious maxims of every form, even 
where comparison is excluded, thus : "A wicked man taketh a gift out of 
the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment " (chaj). 17 : 23). 

(7.) The word myth (Greek imithos) was applied by the 
Greeks to a legend or story of early times, then to a fable, like 
those of j3Esop. In modern usage it is defined to be a story in 
which " there is an unconscious blending of the deeper meaning 
with the outward symbol, the two being separate and separa- 
ble in the parable." " The mythic narrative presents itself not 
merely as the vehicle of the truth, but as itself being the truth; 
while in the parable there is a perfect consciousness in all 
minds of the distinctness between form and essence, shell and 
kernel, the precious vessel and yet more precious wine that it 
contains." Trench, Notes on the Parables, chap. 1. A good 
illustration of this we have in the tales of Grecian mythology, 
once received by the masses of the people as literally true; 
but which " a later and more reflective age than that in which 
the mytlius had birth" learned to regard as only the vehicle 
of certain ideas respecting deity. The myth, as thus defined, 
does not come within the sphere of biblical interpretation. 



BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. 557 

The liistoric events recorded in the Old Testament may, and 
often do, shadow forth something higher. In that case they 
are not myths, but typical history. Chap. 37, No. 4. All the 
scriptural narratives, on the contrary, which are true, not in 
their literal meaning, but in a higher sense, come under the 
head of allegories, parables, or symbolic representations. 

4. In the interpretation of figurative language we must be 
guided, in general, by the principles considered in the prece- 
ding chapter. To lay down special rules for the interpretation 
of the rich and endlessly varied figures which adorn the pages 
of Holy Writ would be as impracticable as useless. The his- 
tory of Biblical exegesis, however, shows that some general 
cautions are much needed. 

5. The youthful student of Scripture should be reminded, 
first of all, that its figurative language is no less certain and 
truthful than its plain and literal declarations. The figures of 
the Bible are employed not simply to please the imagination 
and excite the feelings, but to teach eternal verities. The Lord 
Jesus, "the faithful and true Witness," said: "Heaven and 
earth shall pass away : but my words shall not pass away." 
Mark 13 : 31. Yet there is a class of interpreters who seem to 
think that if they can show in any given case that his language 
is figurative, its meaning is well nigh divested of all certainty 
and reality. Thrice in immediate succession did he solemnly 
warn his hearers to cut off an offending hand or foot, and to 
pluck out an offending eye,^rather than be cast with the whole 
body into hell, "into the fire that never shall be quenched: 
where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." 
Mark 9 : 43-48. But, says one of this class of expositors, the 
maiming of the body is figurative language, and so is the repre- 
sentation of the worm that never dies. Undoubted^ the maim- 
ing of the body is so ; and how far the unquenchable fire may also 
be a figure for the dread reality that awaits the incorrigibly im- 
penitent in the world to come we pretend not to know. But in the 
lips of Jesus figures teach truth, not fiction. The unhappy sinner 
who despises the grace of the gospel will find the reality not 



558 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

less terrible than the figures by which Christ has represented 
it. The storj of the rich man and Lazarus is a parable ; but 
we cannot on this ground set aside the solemn lessons which it 
inculcates. What these lessons are, it requires only candor 
and faith to receive. They teach us that God's suffering chil- 
dren go immediately, upon death, to a state of conscious blessed- 
ness ; and " the men of the world, which have their portion in 
this life," to a place of unmitigated suffering. Whatever be 
the comprehension of the word Hades (rendered in our version 
by the w^ord hell), there is an impassable gulf between Lazarus 
in Abraham's bosom and the rich man in torment. The " great 
gulf fixed" may be a figure ; but it represents an awful reality ; 
and that reality is, that there is no transition from the one state 
to the other. 

6. In the allegory the higher spiritual transaction is, as we 
have seen, directly represented by the lower. When we know, 
therefore, what the allegory represents, we have the key to its 
interpretation, and all its incidents fall naturally into place. 
If the sphere of the allegory be the outward history of God's 
people, all its incidents — at least all its main incidents — ought 
to have a significance. If its sphere be that of inward spirit- 
ual experience, as in the Song of Solomon, more latitude must 
be allowed for the drapery of the story ; yet here also the essen- 
tial parts will each correspond to something in the higher object 
represented. 

An example of pure historic allegory is that of the vine transplanted 
from Egypt (Psa. 80), where the higher object, which gives the key to the 
meaning, is GocVs covenant people. The casting out of the heathen (ver. 
8), is literally expressed, but in the verses following, the figure is beauti- 
fully carried out. This vine takes deep root and fills the land ; the hills 
are covered with its shadow, and its boughs are like the goodly cedar ; it 
sends out its boughs to the sea, and its branches to the river (ver. 9-11). 
Here we have one main incident, the increase of the people in the land of 
Canaan. Then God breaks down its hedges, so that every passer-by plucks 
it ; the boar out of the wood wastes it, and the wild beast of the field de- 
vours it (ver. 12, 13). This is another main incident, the withdrawal of 
God's protection from his people, and their oppression by tlieir heathen 
neighbors. The prayer that follows in behalf of this vine (ver. 14-16) 



BIBLICAL INTEKPEETATION. 559 

represents the love which God's people bear to his church. All these parts 
of the allegory have their proper significance. The rest of the imageiy — 
the hills overshadowed by it, the boughs like the goodly cedar, the wild 
boar wasting it, etc. — is but the drapery of the allegory ; and an attempt to 
find a spiritual meaning for each of these particulars — the boar out of 
the wood, for exa,mple, and the beast of the field — would but mar its 
beauty and force. 

"We give from Ezekiel (chap. 17 : 3-10) another example of historic alle- 
gory, in which the essential parts can be readily distinguished from the 
luxuriant imagery of the prophet : "A great eagle with great wings, long- 
winged, full of feathers, which had divers colors [Nebuchadnezzar] , came 
unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar [Jehoiachin, 
whom Nebuchadnezzar dethroned and carried to Babylon. The cedar of 
Lebanon represents the royal family, and Jehoiachin, as the reigning mon- 
arch, its highest branch] : he cropped off the top of his young twigs [the 
same as : he took the highest branch of the cedar] , and carried it into a 
land of traffic [Chaldea] ; he set it in a city of merchants [Babylon]. He 
took also of the seed of the land [the king's seed, meaning Zedekiah, whom 
Nebuchadnezzar made king in the place of Jehoiachin], and planted it in 
a fruitful field ; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow- tree 
[established Zedekiah oa the throne, and gave him the means of prosper- 
ity as his vassal] . And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature 
[not a lofty cedar, but a low vine ; that is, a tributary king] , whose branches 
turned towards him [towards Nebuchadnezzar, as dependent upon him] , 
and the roots thereof were under him [under Nebuchadnezzar, as subject 
to his power] : so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot 
forth twigs. -There was also another great eagle with great wings and 
many feathers [Pharaoh, king of Egypt] : and behold this vine did bend 
her roots towards him [Zedekiah turned away his confidence from Nebu- 
chadnezzar to Pharaoh], and shot forth her branches towards him, that 
he might water it by the furrows of her plantation. It was planted [had 
been planted by Nebuchadnezzar] in a good soil by great waters, that it 
might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be 
a goodly vine [fidelity to Nebuchadnezzar would have made Zedekiah j^ros- 
perous] . Say thou. Thus saith the Lord God : Shall it prosper ? [now 
that it bends towards the second eagle] shall he [Nebuchadnezzar] not 
pull up the roots thereof, that it wither ? It shall wither in all the leaves 
of her spring, even without gi-eat power or many people to pluck it uj) by 
the roots thereof [the work of plucking it up will be easy, not requiring a 
numerous force]. Yea, behold, being planted shall it prosper? shall it 
not utterly wither when the east wind toueheth it ? [a new figure to repre- 
sent its destruction] it shall wither in the furrows where it grew." 

There is a class of allegories in the Old Testament which represent tlie 



5G0 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

relation of God to his people under the figure of husband and wife. Such 
are the Song of Solomon, and the two remarkable allegories in Ezekiel 
(chapters 16 and 23). The luxuriant fulness of imagery in these allegories 
does not admit of interpretation in detail. The general scope only of the 
images is to be taken into account, since this contains the essential idea. 

In the free style of the scri23tural writers the allegory admits of the. 
introduction of literal clauses (" Tliou hast cast out the heathen, and planted 
it," Psa. 80 : 8), and also of explanatory clauses, though not so readily as the 
parable. See examples in Isa. 5:7; John 10 : 9, 11, 14. 

7. The scriptural parables have a rich variety of form, some- 
times approaching to that of the allegory, when the interpreta- 
tion must be upon the same general principle. In its pure 
form, however, the parable does not, like the allegory, repre- 
sent directly the higher spiritual truth, but is simply a narra- 
tive to illustrate it. It may be introduced in the absolute 
form, like the parable of the barren fig-tree (Luke 13 : 6-9) ; 
or, more commonly, in the shape of a similitude, thus : " The 
kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good 
seed in his field" (Matt. 13:24); "Whereunto shall we hken 
the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we com- 
pare it?" Mark 4:30. It may be left without explanation, 
but more commonly an explanatory remark is added. So to 
the parable of the two sons whom the father asked to work in 
his vineyard is added the application: "Verily I say unto 
you, that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of 
God before you" (Matt. 21:28-31); and the parable of the 
Pharisee and publican is both introduced and followed by an 
explanatory clause (Luke 18:9-14). All such clauses are of 
the highest importance for the interpretation of the parables 
to which they are annexed. In the interpretation of a parable, 
the first and most important thing is to ascertain the spiritual 
truth which it is intended to inculcate. How far a spiritual 
significance is to be sought for the particular incidents of par- 
ables is a question to be determined separately for each, accord- 
ing to its nature. 

In the parable of the sower, which our Lord himself interpreted (Matt. 
13 : 3-8, 19-23), all the parts are essential, since the four different kinds of 



BIBLICAL INTERPEETATION. 5(jl 

soil represent four different classes of hearers. So in the parable of ihe 
tares in the field (Matt. 13 : 24-30, 37-43), the good seed sown by the owner 
of the field, the tares sow^i by his enemy, the separation, at the time of 
harvest, of the tares from the wheat, the burning of the tares, and the 
gathering of the wheat into the barn, are all main incidents in its spiritual 
application. Not so in the parable of the ten virgins (Matt, 25 :1-13), of 
which our Lord himself has given the scope, and, so far as we can see, the 
only scope : *' Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour 
wherein the Son of man cometh." If we go farther, and inquire what is 
the sj)iritaal meaning of the lamps and oil-vessels, of the equal division of 
the virgins into five wise and five foolish, of the request of the foolish vir- 
gins that the wise would give them oil, and the answer of the wise virgins, 
we run into useless speculations. All these particulars belong to the dra- 
l^eiy of the j^arable, and are intended to make the story natural and prob- 
able. 

In the pure form of the parable, the personages introduced to illustrate 
God's ways of providence and grace do not, as in the allegory, directly 
represent God himself. It is not necessary, therefore, that there be in all 
cases a correspondence between their character and that of the holy God. 
It is sufficient if the words and deeds ascribed to them truly illustrate the 
sph'itual principle in question. In the parable of the unforgiving servant 
(Matt. 18 : 23-35), his lord "commanded him to be sold, and his wife and 
children, and all that he had, and x^ayment to be made " (ver. 25) ; and after- 
wards' he "was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, tiU he should 
pay all that was due unto him" (ver. 34). We need not trouble ourselves 
about the reasonableness of these acts on the part of cm earthly lord. It is 
sufficient for the end of the j^arable that they were in accordance with the 
usages of the age, aud thus illustrated the great truth which the parable 
was intended to enforce : "So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also 
unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their 
trespasses " (ver. 35). We have still more forcible illustrations of this prin- 
ciple in such i^arables as those of the importunate friend (Luke 11 : 5-8), 
the unjust judge (Luke 18 : 1-8), and the unfaithful steward (Luke 16 : 1-9). 
The Saviour does not compare God to an indolent friend, w ho will not 
arise to accommodate his neighbor with bread till he is forced to do so by 
his importunity ; nor to an unjust judge, who fears not God nor regards 
men. But he clraivs illustrations from their conduct of the efficacy of im- 
portunate prayer ; adding, at the conclusion of each jjarable, its scope : 
"And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall 
find ; knock, and it shall be oi^encd unto you" (Luke 11 :9) ; "And shall 
not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though 
he bear long with them ?" Luke 18 : 7. In the parable of the unfaithful 
steward, our Lord introduces a fraudulent transaction — a transaction so 

24* 



562 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

manifestly fraudulent that there is no danger of our thinking that it could 
have his approbation — that he may thus illustrate the importance of pru- 
dent provision for the future. By allowing each of his lord's debtors to 
diminish the amount due from him, he gains their favor, that in time of 
need he may be received into their houses. For the right apjirehension of 
the parable, the words of the eighth verse are of primary importance : 
"And the lord [the master of the steward] commended the unjust stew- 
ard, because he had done wisely" [prudently, as the Greek word means]. 
Unjust as the steward's conduct was, he could not but commend it as a 
l)rudent transaction for the end which he had in view. Our Saviour adds : 
"For the children of this world are in their generation [more exactly, 
towards or in respect to their own generation ; that is, in dealing with men 
of their own sort] wiser than the children of light." The steward and his 
lord's debtors were all "children of this world," and the transaction be- 
tween them was conducted upon worldly principles. Our Saviour would 
have " the children of light " — God's holy children, who live and act in the 
sphere of heavenly light — provident of their everlasting welfare in the use 
which they make of this world's goods, as this steward was of his earthly 
welfare when he should be put out of his stewardship. He accordingly 
adds, as the scope of the parable (ver. 9) : "Make to yourselves friends of 
[by the right use of] the mammon of unrighteousness [so called as being 
with unrighteous men the great object of pursuit, and too commonly 
sought, moreover, by unrighteous means] ; that Avhen ye fail [are discharged 
from your stewardship by death] , they may receive you [that is, the friends 
whom ye have made by bestowing your earthly riches in deeds of love and 
mercy] into everlasting habitations." Our Lord uses the words, "they 
may receive you, " in allusion to the steward's language : ' ' they may receive 
me into their houses. " They do not receive us by any right or authority 
of their own, for this belongs to Christ alone ; but they receive us in the 
sense that they bear witness before the throne of Christ to our deeds of 
love and mercy, by which is manifested the reality of our faith, and thus 
our title, through grace, to everlasting habitations. Compare the remark- 
able passage in Matt. 25 : 34^6, which furnishes a true key to the present 
parable. 

8. To determine whether a symbol is a real transaction or seen 
only in vision, we must consider both its nature and the context. 
When Ezekiel, at God's command, visits the temple-court, digs 
in its wall, and sees the abominations practised there (chap. 8), 
we know from his own words (ver. 3) that the whole transaction 
was "in the visions of God." So also the remarkable vision of 
dry bones. Chap. 37:1-14. But the symbolical action that 



BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. 5G3 

follows — tlie joining of two sticks into one — seems to be repre- 
sented as real; for the people ask concerning it: "Wilt thou 
not tell us what thou meanest by these?" (ver. 18), and the two 
sticks are in the prophet's hand "before their eyes" (ver. 20). 
The nature of the S3'mbolical transaction recorded in Jer. 
32 : 6-12 — the purchase of Ilanameel's field — with the accom- 
panying historical circumstances, shows that it was real. From 
the nature of the vision of the chariot of God, on the contrary, 
which Ezekiel saw (chap. 1 : 10), as well as from the accompa- 
nying notices (chaps. 1 : 1 ; 8 : 1-4), we know that it was repre- 
sented to the prophet's inner sense, not seen with his outward 
eyes. The moral character of the transactions recorded by 
Hosea (chaps. 1-3) has led commentators to decide against 
their literal occurrence. 

In some cases we must remain in doubt whether the symboHcal trans- 
actions are real or seen in vision. How are we to understand, for example, 
the transactions recorded in Isa. chap. 20 ; in Jer. chaj). 13 : 1-11 ; in 
Ezek, chap. 4 ? Concerning such examples expositors will judge differ- 
ently ; but in either way of understanding them, their meaning and the 
instructions which they furnish are the same. 

The subject of symbols will come up again in connection 
with that of prophecy. At present we consider simply the 
general principles upon which they are to be interioreted. Here 
we are to be guided first of all by the writer's own explanations. 
Where these are wanting we must carefully study the nature of 
the figures used, and the connections in which they occur. 

The sacred writers very commonly indicate the meaning of the symbols 
which they employ. Thus the prophet Isaiah is directed to loose the sack- 
cloth from his loins, and put off his shoe from his foot, walking naked and 
barefoot. Chap. 20 : 2. Then follows the explanation of this symbolical 
transaction : "Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot 
three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and Ethiopia ; so shall the 
king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians 
captives, young and old, naked and barefoot," etc. (ver. 3, 4). For other 
examples see the symbol of the girdle (Jer. 13 : 1-7 compared with ver. 
8-11) ; of the purchase of Hanameel's field (Jer. 32 : 6-12 compared witli 
ver. 13-15) ; of the removal of household stuff (Ezek. 12 : 3-7 compared 



564 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

with ver. 8-12) ; of tlie ijliimb-line (Amos 7 : 7, 8) ; of the four horns and 
four "smiths (Zech, 1:18-21); and many other symbolical transactions 
which will readily occur to the student of Scripture. 

But sometimes the symbol is given without an explanation, or with 
only an obscure intimation of its meaning. The prophet Amos has a vis- 
ion of grasshoppers, and afterwards of a devouring fire, with only a gen- 
eral intimation that they denote heavy calamities, which the Lord in his 
pity will avert in answer to prayer. Amos 7 : 1-6. Here the nature of the 
symbols, in connection with the known situation of the Israelitish people, 
shows that they represent the general desolation of the land by foreign 
enemies. The prophet Ezekiel adds no interpretation to his vision of the 
Lord enthroned in glory upon the firmament above the chariot with four 
cherubim and four living wheels full of eyes, in the midst of which a bright 
fire glows and Ughtnings blaze. Chaps. 1, 10. From a careful study of 
the nature of this magnificent imagery we may infer with probability that 
tlie cherubim with their Avheels, moving every way with the rapidity of 
a flash of lightning, denote all the agencies and instrumentalities by which 
God administers his government over the world, which are absolutely at 
his command, and execute with unerring certainty all his high purposes. 
The four faces of the cherubim, moreover, which answer to the four prin- 
cipal divisions of hving beings among the Hebrews, seem to represent tlie 
fulness of their endowments. The meaning of Ezekiel's vision of a New 
Jerusalem, mth its temple and altar, comes more properly under the head 
of prophecy. Some of the symbols in the book of Zechariah are expound- 
ed with beautiful clearness, as that of the two ohve-trees. Chap. 4 : 1-10. 
Of others the meaning is only hinted at in an enigmatical way ; so that 
their interx)retation is a matter of great difficulty and uncertainty. As 
examples we may refer to the symbol of the ephah (chap. 5 :5-ll) ; of the 
four chariots coming out from between two mountains of brass with horses 
of different colors (chap. 6 : 1-9 ; of the two staves. Beauty and Bands, with 
which the jDrophet in vision is commanded to feed "the flock of the slaugh- 
ter," and which he is afterwards to break (chap. 11 :4-14). For the de- 
tails in the interpretation of these and other difficult symbols the reader 
must be referred to the commentaries. Our limits will only allow us to 
indicate the general i3rinciples upon which the expositor must proceed. 

9. There is a class of scriptural symbols which may be 
called numerical. Thus seven is the well-kuown symbol of com- 
pleteness, four of universality, tivelve of God's people. See 
Chap. 32i, No. 5. Under this head fall also those passages in 
which a day is put for a year, or for an indefinitely long period 
of time. One of the most certain examples is Daniel's proph-v 



BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. 535 

ecy of tlie seventy iveeks that were to precede the death of the 
Messiah (chap. 9 : 24-27), for the details of which the reader is 
referred to the commentators. Upon the same principle we 
mnst, in all probability, interpret the " time and times and divi- 
ding of time," that is, three and a half years (Dan. 7 : 25) ; the 
"forty and two months" (Kev. 11:2; 13:5); and the "thou- 
sand two hundred and threescore days" (Rev. 11:3; 12:6). 
Compare Ezekiel 4 : 4-8, in which symbolical transaction a day 
is expressly put as the symbol of a year. On the symbolical 
interpretation of the six days of creation, see in Chap. 19, 
No. 6. 



566 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

SECOND DIVISION. 
INTERPRETATION VIEWED ON THE DIVJNE SIDE. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

The Unity of Revelation. 

1. " Known unto God are all his works from the beginning 
of the world;" and therefore they constitute together a self- 
consistent whole. To receive the Holy Scriptures as contain- 
ing a revelation from God is to acknowledge that they possess 
an essential and all-pervading unity. Whoever speaks timidly 
and hesitatingly of the essential harmony between the Old 
Testament and the New, either refuses to acknowledge both as 
given by inspiration of God, or he apprehends this great fun- 
damental truth only in a confused and imperfect manner. If 
God spake by Moses and the prophets, as well as by Christ 
and his apostles, it is vain to allege any contradiction in doc- 
trine or spirit between the former and the latter. So abso- 
lutely certain is it that the Saviour and his apostles built on 
the foundation of the Old Testament, that to deny its divine 
authority is to deny that of the New Testament also. 

2. But the unity of revelation, like that which pervades all 
the other works of God, is a unity in the midst of diversity — di- 
versity in its contemporaneous parts, but especially in its prog- 
ress. Illustrations without number are at hand. The history 
of a plant of wheat, from the time when the kernel is sown in 
the earth to the harvest, has perfect unity of plan. But how 
unlike in outward form are the tender blade, the green stalk, 
and the ripened ear ! The year constitutes a self-consistent 
whole. But can any thing be more dissimilar in form than 



BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION". 567 

spring and autumn? Yet no one thinks of finding a want of 
harmony between the fragrant blossoms of the former, and the 
ripened fruit of the latter. The path to the harvest lies through 
the blossoms. Geologists dwell at great length on the varied 
conditions through which our planet has passed, and the won- 
derfully diversified forms of vegetable and animal life corre- 
sponding to these several conditions. Yet in this endless 
diversity of outward form they recognize from first to last a 
deep underlying unity of plan. We might, then, reasonably 
infer beforehand that if God should make a revelation of him- 
self to men, it would have not only unity but diversity of out- 
ivard form, especially diversity of i^rogress. The fact that the 
revelation contained in the Bible has such diversity is one of 
the seals of its genuineness. 

• 3. We may considei' this unity in diversity in respect to the 
form of God's kingdom. From Adam to Abraham God admin- 
istered the affairs of the human family as a whole, without any 
visible organization of a church as distinct from the world at 
large. From Abraham to Moses his church — using the term 
church in a general sense — existed in a patriarchal form. With 
tlie beginning of the Mosaic dispensation he put it into the 
form of a state, of which he was the supreme head and law- 
giver, while its earthly rulers exercised under him all the func- 
tions of civil offices, the bearing of the sword included. When 
Christ came, he separated the church from the state, and gave 
it its present spiritual and universal organization. In all this 
diversity of outward form we recognize the progress of one 
grand self-consistent plan. 

4. We may now go back again to the beginning, and consider 
the diversity in the forms of public loorship — the simple offer- 
ing of Abel, who "brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of 
the fat thereof," the altars of the patriarchs, the gorgeous cer- 
emonial of the Mosaic economy with its priesthood and sacrifi- 
ces, " the service of song in the house of the Lord " added by 
David, the synagogue service of later times, and, finally, the 
spiritual priesthood of believers under the New Testament, 



56S COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

whose office is "to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to 
God b}^ Jesus Christ " (1 Pet. 2:5); and show that through all 
this variety of outward form the essence of God's service has 
ever remained unchanged, so that the example of primitive 
believers is a model for our imitation. Heb. chap. 11. 

5. We may show, again, that the same manifoldness belongs 
to i\\Q forms of labor devolved on God's servants in different ages. 
The work assigned to Noah was not that of Abraham ; nor was 
Abraham's work that of Moses ; nor the work of Moses that of 
David; nor David's work that of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Eze- 
kiel ; nor did any one of the Old Testament believers receive 
the broad commission : " Go ye into all the world, and preach 
the gospel to every creature." They could not receive such a 
commission, for the way was not yet prepared. Abraham must 
sojourn in the land of j)romise " as in a strange country, dwell- 
ing in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob" (Heb. 11 : 9) ; Moses 
must lead Israel out of Egypt, and be God's mediator for the 
law given on Sinai ; Joshua must take possession of the land of 
promise and David maintain it, sword in hand; the prophets 
must foretell the future glories of Christ's kingdom, not preach 
it, as did the apostles, to all nations. But in the divine plan 
this manifoldness of service constitutes a self-consistent and 
harmonious Avhole. 

6. The same unity in cfiversity belongs to ihe sinrit of revela- 
tion. Failing to apprehend the character of God in its entire- 
ness, Marcion rent the seamless garment of divine perfection 
into two parts, the one consisting of justice^ which he assigned 
to the " Demiurge " of the Old Testament, the other of goodness y 
as the attribute of the supreme God of the New Testament. 
He did not see that God's character is alike infinite on both 
sides ; that his justice is a justice of infinite goodness, and his 
goodness a goodness of infinite justice. Hence he arrayed in 
opposition to each other two caricatures of deity, the one drawn 
from the Old Testament, the other from the New ; an error in 
which he has had too many imitators in modern times. To see 
the harmony of the spirit that pervades the Holy Scriptures 



BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. 569 

from beginning to end in respect to the Divine cJiaracter, we 
sliQulcl take a eomprehensive instead of a partial view of their 
representations. It is true tkat the Old Testament describes 
God as infinite in holiness and inflexibly just. But it also 
describes him as " the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long- 
suffering; and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy 
for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.'* 
It is true that God's covenant under the Old Testament was 
restricted to a single nation ; but this was, as has been hereto- 
fore shown, preparatory to a universal dispensation of mercy, 
as when a general seizes one strong position with a view to 
the conquest of an entire region. Chap. 18. It is true, on the 
other hand, that the New Testament is, in a peculiar sense, a 
revelation of God's mercy through Jesus Christ. But it is a 
discriminating mercy, through which God's awful hohness and 
justice shine with dazzling brightness. It is a mercy shown 
not at the expense of justice, but in perfect harmony with it ; 
a mercy sternly restricted, moreover, to those who comply with 
the conditions on which it is offered. The gospel is a plan' of 
salvation, not of condemnation ; " for God sent not his Son 
into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through 
him might be saved." John 3 : 17. Yet it brings condemna- 
tion to those who reject it ; for the Saviour immediately adds 
(ver. 18) : " He that belie veth on him, is not condemned ; but 
he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath 
not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." 
It is in the New Testament, not in the Old, that we find the 
most awful declarations of God's wrath against the finally im- 
penitent, some of them proceeding, too, from the lips of the 
compassionate Saviour : " The Lord Jesus shall be revealed 
from heaven, with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking 
vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the 
gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with 
everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and 
from the glory of his power" (2 Thess. 1 : 7, 9) ; "He that be- 
lieveth not the Son, shall not see life; but the wrath of God 



570 COMPA.NION TO THE BIBLE. 

abideth on liim " (John 3 : 36) ; " These shall go away into ever- 
lasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal" (Matt. 
25 : 46). 

7. The same harmony of spirit pervades both Testaments 
in respect to the ivay of salvation. On this momentous ques- 
tion the teachings of the New Testament are fuller than those 
of the Old, but never in contradiction with them. The Old 
Testament teaches that men are saved, not from the merit of 
their good works, but from God's mercy : the New Testament 
adds a glorious revelation respecting the ground of this mercy 
in Jesus Christ. To exhibit in a clear light the reality of this 
harmony, let us take a passage of the New Testament which 
embodies in itself the substance of the way of salvation, and 
compare with it the declarations of the Old Testament. The 
following will be appropriate : " Not by works of righteousness 
which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, 
by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy 
Ghost." Titus 3 : 5. 

' Not by ivorks of righteousness tvhich ive have done, hut accord- 
ing to his mercy he saved us. " The Lord did not set his love 
upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number 
than any people ; for ye were the fewest of all people : but 
because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the 
oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord 
brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out 
of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of 
Egypt" (Deut. 7:7, 8); "For thy name's sake, O Lord, pardon 
mine iniquity, for it is great " (Psa. 25 : 11) ; " Have mercy 
upon me, O God, according to thy loving- kindness; according 
unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my trans- 
gressions" (Psa. 51 : 1) ; "I do not this for your sakes, O house 
of Israel, but for my holy name's sake, which ye have pro- 
faned among the heathen whither ye went" (Ezek. 36:22); 
"We do not present our supplications before thee for our right- 
eousness, but for thy great mercies" (Dan. 9 : 18). 

By the washing of regeneration, and reneiving of the Holy Ghost, 



BIBLICAL INTEKPEETATION. 571 

" Behold thou desirest truth in the inward parts ; and in the 
hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me 
with hyssop and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be 
whiter than snow." " Create in me a clean heart, O God ; and 
renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy 
presence ; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me " (Psa. 51 : 6, 
7, 10, 11) ; " I will put my law in their inward parts, and 
write it in their hearts ; and wdll be their God, and they shall 
be my people" (Jer. 31 : 33) ; " Then will I sprinkle clean water 
upon you, and ye shall be clean : from all your filthiness, and 
from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will 
I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you : and I will 
take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give 
you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and 
cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judg- 
ments, and do them " (Ezek. 36 : 25-27). 

8. The stern character of the Mosaic dispensation is freely 
admitted. As a preparatory dispensation, severity belonged 
appropriately to it. " The law," says Paul, " was our school- 
master to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by 
faith." Gal. 3 : 24. Its office was to educate the human con- 
science to such a point that it should be prepared for the full 
revelation of God's mercy in Christ. We may concede the 
prominence of God's justice in the Old Testament, and his 
mercy in the New ; but we must never forget that neither part 
of divine revelation is complete in itself. It is only when we 
view them in their connection with each other, as parts of one 
great whole, that we discern in them an all-pervading unity 
and harmony of spirit. 

From the unity of revelation some inferences may be drawn 
of a very practical character, especially in reference to the 
interpretation of the Old Testament. 

9. Each particular communication from God to man must he, 
in Us "place and measure, 'perfect. For it proceeded from the infi- 



572 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

nite mind of God, who understood at the beginning the whole 
plan of redemption, and who, when he made the first revela- 
tion concerning it, knew all that w^as afterwards to follow, and 
said and did, in the most perfect way, what was proper to be 
said and done at the time. The revelations of the Holy Spirit, 
therefore, admit of a stupendous development, but no rectifica- 
tion or improvement. The very earliest of them contain the 
germs of all that is to follow without any admixture of false- 
hood. There is a holding back of the full light reserved for 
future ages, but no mist of error — nothing which, fairly inter- 
preted, will ever need to be retracted. For this reason the 
very earliest of God's communications to men retain for us, 
who live in these latter days, their pristine freshness and power. 
Take, for example, the great primitive prophecy : ''' I will put 
enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and 
her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou slialt bruise his heel." 
Gen. 3 : 15. We can find no words more pertinent to describe 
the mighty conflict now going on between the kingdom of God 
and that of Satan. What are they but a condensation into one 
sentence of the history of redemption — a flash of light from the 
third heavens, w^hich discloses at a glance man's destiny from 
Eden to the trump of the archangel ? And so is it also with 
the later prophecies concerning Christ and his kingdom. What 
is true of the revelations of the Old Testament holds good of 
all its institutions. In their place, and with reference to the end 
which they proposed to accomplish, they Avere all perfect ; were 
the best that could be given under existing circumstances. At 
the foundation of all our reasonings concerning the appoint- 
ments of the Old Testament must lie the axiom : " As for God 
his way is perfect." 

10. The later revelations must he taken as the true exponents of 
the earlier. This is but saying that the Holy Spirit is the true 
and proper expositor of his own communications to men. 
Since, as we liave seen, the first revelations were made in full 
view of all that was to follow, the later revelations must be 
considered not as a mass of foreign and heterogeneous tiiateri- 



BIBLICAL INTEEPEETATION. 573 

als superadded to the original prophecies, but as a true expan- 
sion of the earher prophecies out of their own proper sub- 
stance. For example, the promise made to Abraham : " In thy 
seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" (Geii. 22 : 18), 
is not so much a new promise as a further unfolding of the 
original one : " It shall bruise thy head." A further develop- 
ment of the same promise we have in Nathan's words to David : 
" Thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever 
before thee, thy throne shall be established for ever;" and in 
alb the bright train of prophecies in which the glory and uni- 
versal dominion of the Messiah's kingdom are foretold down to 
the day of Gabriel's announcement to Mary : " He shall be 
great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the 
Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. 
And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of 
his kingdom there shall be no end." Luke 1 : 32, 33. 

And since the manifestation of God in the flesh is the cul- 
minating point of revelation, it follows that the Lord Jesus and 
his apostles, whom he authoritatively commissioned to unfold 
the doctrines of the gospel, must be, in a special sense, the 
expositors of the Old Testament, from w^hose interpretations, 
when once fairly ascertained, there is no appeal. The attempt 
of some to make a distinction between Christ's authorit}^ and 
that of his apostles is nugatory. As it is certain that our Lord 
himself could not have been in error, so it is certain also tl^at 
he would not have commanded his apostles to teach all nations 
concerning himself and his doctrines, and have further given 
them, in the possession of miraculous powers, the broad seal 
of their commission, only to leave them subject to the common 
prejudices and errors of their age. See further in Chap. 7, 
Nos. 3, 4. 

11. The extent of meaning contciined in a given revelation must 
he that icliich the Holy Spirit intended. It is not to be limited, 
then, by the apprehension of those to whom it w^as originally 
made. Earlier prophecy is, at least in many cases, framed with 
a view to the subsequent develoi^ment of ils meaning. Until 



574 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

such development is made by God himself, either in the way 
of further revelations, or indirectly by the course of his provi- 
dence, men's apprehension of its meaning, though it may be 
true as far as it goes, must yet be inadequate. To cite a sin- 
gle passage from one of the Old Testament prophecies: "It 
hath pleased the Lord to bruise him ; he hath put him to grief ; 
when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see 
his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the 
Lord shall prosper in his hand." Isa. 53 : 10. No one will 
maintain that the Jews before our Lord's advent (all carnal 
prejudices aside) could have had that apprehension of its deep 
meaning which it is our privilege to enjoy. This meaning was 
contained in the promise from the first, but in an undeveloped 
form. Accordingly the prophets themselves "inquired and 
searched diligently " concerning the import of their utterances 
and the time of their fulfilment. 1 Pet. 1 : 11. They who deny 
the reality of prophetic inspiration are necessitated, for consis- 
tency's sake, to deny also the principle now laid down. But if 
revelation be a true communication from God to men, it is rea- 
sonable to believe that it should have contained from the 
beginning the germs of mighty events in the distant future, the 
realization of which in -history should be, in connection with 
further revelations from God, its true expositor. 

12. The more obscure dedaratioiis of Scripture are to he inter- 
prded from the clearer. A single passage of God's word occa- 
sionally gives us a glimpse of some great truth nowhere else 
referred to in Scripture. Of this we have a remarkable exam- 
ple in what the apostle says of Christ's delivering up the king- 
dom to the Father upon the completion of the work of redemp- 
tion. 1 Cor. 15:24-28. But no great truth relating to the 
way qf salvation through Christ is thus taught obscurely and 
in some single passage of Scripture. Every such truth per- 
vades the broad current of revelation, and shines forth from its 
pages so clearly that no candid inquirer can fail to apprehend 
its true meaning. If, then, wc find in the Bible dark and diffi- 
cult passages, they must, if interpreted at all, be explained, not 



BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. 575 

in contradiction with what is clearly and fully taught, but in 
harmony with it. This is but saying that, instead of using 
what is obscure to darken what is clearly revealed, we should, 
as far as possible, illustrate that which is dark by that which 
is clear. 

The Scriptures teach, for example, with abundant clearness, that Christ 
is the only foundation on which the church can rest. Isa. 28 : 16 ; 1 Cor. 
3:11; Ephes. 2 : 20 ; 1 Pet. 2 : 6. This is, indeed, an office which plainly 
requires for its exercise that omnipotence, and that supreme power in 
heaven and earth which are expressly ascribed to him. Matt. 11 : 27 ; 
28 : 18 ; John 5 : 19-30 ; 17 : 2 : 1 Cor. 15 ; 24-28 ; Ephes. 1 : 20-23 ; Phil. 
2 : 9-11 ; Col. 1 : 15-19 ; Heb. 1 : 3. When, therefore, our Lord says to 
Peter : "Thou art Peter [that is, as the word Peter means in the original, 
Thou art RocJc], and upon this rock wiU I build my church " (Matt. 16 : 18), 
to understand Peter, or any pretended successor of Peter, as a rock in any 
other sense than as an eminent instrument in Christ's hand for the estab- 
lishment of his church, is absurd and blasphemous. 

Again : Christ gives to Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven, with 
power to bind and loose (Matt. 16 :19), and elsewhere the same power is 
conferred upon all the apostles (Matt. 18 : 18). That Peter and his associ- 
ates in the apostleship had the keys of the kingdom of heaven in any such 
sense as that in which Christ has them (Rev. 3:7); that is, that they had 
authoritative power to admit their fellow-sinners to heaven, or exclude 
them from heaven, is contrary to the whole tenor of the New Testament, 
which everywhere represents Christ as the supreme Judge, upon whose 
decision depends the everlasting destiny of every child of Adam. Matt. 
7 : 21, 22 ; 16 : 27 ; 25 : 31-46 ; John 17 : 2 ; Acts 17 : 31 ; 2 Cor. 5 : 10). 
Christ's words concerning the keys may be best understood of the special 
authority which he bestowed on the apostles, as inspired teachers and 
guides of his primitive church, to settle all questions respecting her. For 
eminent examples of the exercise of this power, see the decisions concern- 
ing Gentile converts. Acts 11 : 1-18 ; 15 : 1-29. In this sense the gift of the 
keys ceased with that of inspiration. But if, as some think, the words 
may be understood of the common power conferred by Christ on his 
churches to regulate their own affairs, to administer discipline, and to 
admit or exclude from their communion, the power continues in this sense 
in the visible church, and is "valid so far as it is exercised in accordance 
with God's word. 

So also must we interpret the words of Christ recorded by the apostle 
John : "And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said unto 
them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost ; whosesoever sins ye remit, they are 
remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained." 



576 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

Chap. 20 : 22, 23. The authoritative forgiveness of sin is a prerogative of 
God alone, the exercise of which implies omniscience as well as supreme 
authority in heaven and earth. The prerogative of remitting and retain- 
ing men's sins here conferred on the apostles is part of the general power 
of binding and loosing already considered. It was exercised in the sphere 
of the visible church on earth. As it respects the actual forgiveness of sin 
and consequent admission of the soul to communion with God here and 
eternal life hereafter, God's ministers can only declare the terms of salva- 
tion as they are set forth in the gospel. 

The same general principle is applicable to the interpretation of all 
l^assages containing "things hard to be understood." The "unlearned 
and unstable" wrest them, by taking them out of their connection and in 
contradiction to the general tenor of God's word. But the candid student 
of Scripture never uses that which is difficult in revelation to obscure that 
which is plain. He seeks, on the contrary, to illumine what is dark by 
that which shines with a clear and steady light. 

13. As a fitting close to this part of our subject we add 
some remarks on the analogy of faith. " We may define it to 
be that general rule of doctrine which is deduced, not from two 
or three parallel passages, but from the harmony of all parts of 
Scripture in the fundamental points of faith and practice." 
Home's Introduct., vol. 1. p. 269, edit. 1860. It is based on 
two fundamental principles ; first, that " all Scripture is given 
by inspiration of God," and therefore constitutes a self-consist- 
ent whole, no part of which may be interpreted in contradiction 
with the rest ; secondly, that the truths to which God's word 
gives the greatest prominence, and which it inculcates in the 
greatest variety of forms, must be those of primary importance. 
Thus understood, the analogy of faith is a sure guide to the 
meaning of the inspired volume. He who follows it will dili- 
gently and prayerfully study the tvhole ivord of God, not certain 
selected parts of it; since it is from the whole Bible that we 
gather the system of divine revelation in its fulness and just pro- 
portions. " If we come to the Scriptures with any preconceived 
of)inions, and are more desirous to put that sense upon the 
text which coincides with our sentiments rather than with the 
truth, it then becomes the analogy of our faith rather than that 
of the whole system." Home, tibi supra. In this substitution 



BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. 577 

of "the analogy of our faith" for the analogy of Scripture lies 
the foundation of sectarian controversy. 

Again ; he who follows the true analogy of faith will not 
allow a doctrine which runs through the whole tenor of divine 
revelation to be weakened or set aside in the interest of some 
other scriptural doctrine. 

The Scriptures teach, for example, with great frequency and clearness, 
that men are saved, not from the merit of their good works, but solely by 
God's free grace through faith in Jesus Christ. They teacii also with 
equal frequency and clearness that without repentance and obedience to 
the divine law there is no salvation. These two deductions are not contra- 
dictory, but supplementary to each other. They present two sides of one 
and the same way of salvation. Yet it may happen that a Biblical student 
will find himself unable to reconcile in a logical way two such deductions 
as the following : "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith 
without the deeds of the law " (Rom. 3 : 28) ; " Not every one that saith 
unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven ; but he that 
doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven " (Matt. 7 : 21). What then 
shall we counsel him to do ? Plainly it is his duty, first of all, to receive 
and hold both doctrines. Afterwards he may properly seek to reconcile 
them with each other in a logical way ; but if he fails to accomplish this 
task to his satisfaction, he must not deny one truth, or sink its importance, 
in the interest of the other. The same general principle applies to various 
other doctrinal difficulties, Avliich need not be here specified. 

Finally, a true regard to the analogy of faith will make our 
system of belief and practice entire and loell proportioned in all 
its parts. Every declaration of God's word is to be received 
in a reverent and obedient spirit. But inasmuch as the Scrip- 
tures insist much more earnestly and fully on some things than 
on others, it is our wisdom to follow, in this respect, the lead- 
ings of the Holy Spirit. It will be the aim of the enlightened 
believer to give to each doctrine and precept of revelation the 
place and prominence assigned to it in the Bible. Especially 
will he be careful that no obscure or doubtful passage of Scrip • 
ture be allowed to contradict the plain teachings of inspiration. 

The practical study of the Bible, that is, the study of it as "profitable 
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness," 
resolves itself in a great measure into the comparison of Scripture with 

Comp. to Bible. 25 



578 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

Scripture, especially the comparison of docirmal parallelisms. All that 
the Bible teaches from Genesis to Eevelation concerning God's being and 
attributes, his providential government over man, the person and offices of 
Christ and the way of salvation through him, and the final destiny of the 
righteous and the wicked, should be diligently compared, that from the 
whole we may gather a full and well-proportioned system of faitii and prac- 
tice as it is contained in the pages of inspiration. So far as v. e fail to do 
this our view of divine truth is defective and disproportioned. The sol- 
emn warning in respect to the last book of revelation applies with equal 
force to revelation as a whole : "If any man shall add unto these things, 
God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book : and if 
any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, 
God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy 
city, and from the things that are written in this book." Eev. 22 : 18. 19. 



BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. 579 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 

Scriptural Types. 

1. The material ivorld is full of analogies adapted to the 
fllustration of spiritual things. No teacher ever drew from 
this inexhaustible storehouse such a rich variety of examples 
as our Saviour. His disciples are the salt of the earth, the 
light of the world, and a city set on a hill. From the ravens 
which God feeds and the lilies which God clothes, he teaches 
the unreasonableness of worldly anxiety. The kingdom of 
heaven is like seed sown in different soils, like a field of wheat 
and tares growing together, and like seed that springs up and 
grows the sower knows not how. Again it is like a net cast 
into the sea, like a grain of mustard seed, and like leaven hid 
in three measures of meal. When the Saviour opens his lips 
the whole world of nature stands ready to furnish him with 
arguments and illustrations; as well it may, since the God of 
nature is also the God of revelation. The loorld of secular 
activity abounds in like analogies, on which another class of 
our Lord's parables is based ; like that of the vineyard let out 
to husbandmen, the servants intrusted with different talents, 
the ten virgins, the importunate friend, the unjust judge, the 
unfaithful steward, the prodigal son, and others that need not 
be enumerated. Analogies like these, however, do not prop- 
erly constitute types. Types rest on a foundation of analogy, 
but do not consist in analogy alone. 

2. In the history of God's people, moreover, as well as of 
the world which he governs with reference to them, the present 
is continually foreshadowing something higher in the future. This 
must be so, because the train of events in their history consti- 
tutes, in the plan of God, neither a loose and disconnected 
series nor a confused jumble of incidents, like a heap of stones 
thrown together without order or design, but a well-ordered 



580 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

whole. It is a building, in which the parts now in progress 
indicate what is to follow. It is the development of a plant, in 
which "the blade" foreshadows "the ear," and the ear, "the 
full corn in the ear." The primal murder, when " Cain rose up 
against Abel his brother, and slew him," "because his own 
works were evil and his brother's righteous," was the inaugu- 
ration of the great conflict between the seed of the woman and 
the seed of the serpent — the forerunner of the higher struggle 
in Egypt between Pharaoh on the side of the devil, and the 
covenant people on the side of the seed of the woman. This 
struggle in Egypt, again, foreshadowed the still higher contest 
between truth and error in the land of Canaan — a contest which 
endured through so many centuries, and enlisted on both sides 
so many kings and mighty men ; and which, in its turn, ushered 
in the grand conflict between the kingdom of Christ and that 
of Satan, a conflict that began on the day of Pentecost, and is 
yet in progress. This continual foreshadowing of the future 
by the present is essentially of a typical nature, yet it does not 
constitute, in and of itself, what we understand by a type in the 
ordinary usage of the term. 

3. A type is a symhol appointed hy God to adumbrate some- 
thing higher in the future, which is called the antitype. This def- 
inition includes three particulars : (1.) The type must be a true 
adumbration of the thing typified, though, from the very nature 
of the case, the adumbration must be inadequate — a shadoiu 
only of the antitype, and not its substance. Thus the paschal 
lamb was a type of Christ, though there is infinitely more in 
the antitype 'than in the type. (2.) The symbol must be o/ 
divine appohitment, and as such, designed by God to represent 
the antitype. We must carefully remember, however, that, 
from the very nature of the case, the divine intention cannot 
be clearly announced when the type is instituted. The paschal 
lamb typified " the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin 
of the world ;" but it was not till centuries after the institution 
of the passover that God began to intimate by the prophets 
the approaching sacrifice of the great Antitype (Isa. chap. 53 ; 



BIBLICAL INTEKPRETATION. 531 

Zecli. 13 : 7), and the full import of the type was revealed only 
when the sacrifice of "Christ our passover*' had been accom- 
plished on Calvary. (3.) Since the type is " a shadow of good 
things to come," it follows that the antitype must belong to the 
future. A pure symbol may belong to the present or the near 
future. It may represent something that now exists, or is com- 
ing into existence, in respect to which concealment is not neces- 
sary. Hence we find the sacred writers freely explaining the 
meaning of the symbols which they employ (Numb. chap. 17 ; 
Josh. 4:1-7; 1 Sam. 7:12; 10:1, and the same symbol of 
anointing often elsewhere ; 1 Kings 11 : 29-39 ; 22 : 11, where a 
false prophet uses a symbol; Isa. chap. 20; Jer. 1:11-14; 
13:1-11, and elsewhere; Ezek. chap. 3, and in many other - 
passages ; Amos 7 : 1-9 ; 8 : 1-3 ; Zech. 1 : 8-11, and elsewhere). 
The true type, on the contrary, reckoned from the time of its 
institution, looks forward to the distant future. The high real- 
ity which it foreshadows may be intimated by the prophets 
" as in a glass darkly," but the appearance of the antitype can 
alone furnish a full explanation of its meaning. 

The types of the Old Testament have been variously classi- 
fied. We propose to consider them under the two divisions of 
historical and ritual types. 

I. HISTORICAL TYPES. 

4. The extravagance of a class of Biblical expositors in con- 
verting the Old Testament history into allegory typical of per- 
sons and events under the gospel dispensation has produced a 
strong reaction, leading some to deny altogether the existence 
of historical tj^pes. But this is going to the other extreme of 
error. No man who acknowledges the writers of the New 
Testament to be true expositors of the meaning of the Old can 
consistently deny the existence in the Old Testament of such 
types, for they interpret portions of its history in a typical way. 
But it is of the highest importance that we understand, in 
respect to such history, that it has a true and proper significance 
of its own, without respect to its typical import. It is not alle- 



582 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

gory, wliich lias, literally taken, no substance. It is not mere 
type, like the rites of the Mosaic law, the meaning of which is 
exhausted in their office of foreshadowing the antitype. It is 
veritable history, valid for the men of its own day, fulfilling its 
office in the plan of God's providence, and containing, when 
we look at it simply as history, its own lessons of instruction. 
We call it typical history because, following the guidance of 
the New Testament writers, we are constrained to regard it as 
so ordered and shaped by God's providence as to prefigure 
something higher in the Christian dispensation. 

No careful student of the New Testament can for a moment doubt that 
David's kingdom typified the kingdom of Christ. Tliere is, indeed, a very 
important sense in which David's kingdom was identical with that of 
Christ ; for its main element was the visible church of God, founded on 
the covenant made with Abraham, and therefore in aU ages one and indi- 
visible. Eom. 11 : 17-24 ; Gal. 3 : 14-18 ; Ephes. 2 : 20. But we now 
speak of David's kingdom in its outward form, which was temporary and 
typical of something higher. In this sense it is manifest that God ap- 
pointed it to foreshadow that of the Messiah, David's headship adum- 
brated the higher headship of the Redeemer ; his conflicts with the ene- 
mies of God's people and his final triumph over them, Christ's conflicts and 
victories. The same thing was true of Solomon, and in a measure of all 
the kings of David's line, so far as they were true to their office as the 
divinely appointed leaders of the covenant people. Unless we adopt this 
principle, the view which the New Testament takes of a large number of 
Psalms — the so-called Messianic psalms — becomes utterly visionary. 

But neither David's kingdom nor his headship over it was mere type. 
The nation over wliich he presided was a historic reality, a true power 
among the other nations of the earth. His leadership also, with its con- 
flicts and triumphs, belongs to true history. It brought to the people of 
his own day true deliverance from the power of their enemies ; and it con- 
tains, when we study it without reference to its typical character, true les- 
sons of instruction for all ages. 

The declarations of Scripture in respect to the typical nature of the 
prophetical office are not^o numerous and decisive as those which relate to 
the kingly office. There is, however, a remarkable passage in the book of 
Deuteronomy, from which w^e may legitimately infer that it was truly typ- 
ical of Christ. When God had addressed the people directly from the 
midst of the cloud and fire on Sinai, unable to endure this mode of com- 
munication between God and man, they besought God that he would 



BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. 583 

henceforth address them through the ministry of Moses: "Speak thou 
"with us, and we will hear : but let not God speak with us, lest we die." 
Exod. 20 : 19. With reference to this request, God said to Moses : " They 
have weU spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a 
prophet from among their brethren, Hke unto thee, and will put my words 
in his mouth : and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words 
which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him." Deut. 18 : 17- 
19. The essential points of this promise are, that the promised projDhet 
shall be like Moses, one whose words shall be invested with supreme author- 
ity ; and, especially, that he shall be raised up from among their brethren, 
and shall therefore be a man like themselves. The promise was manifestly 
intended to meet the wants of the covenant people from tliat day and on- 
ward. Yet the great Prophet in whom it was fulfilled did not appear till 
after the lapse of fifteen centuries or more. But in the mean time the 
promise was truly fulfilled to God's people in a typical wsij through the 
succession of prophets, who spake in God's name, and who were men like 
their brethren to whom they were sent. In these two essential particulars 
the prophetical office truly prefigured Christ, its gi*eat Antitype. 

The Old Testament contains not only typical orders of men, but typical 
transactions also ; that is, transactions which, while they had their own 
proper significance as a part of the history of God's church, were yet so 
ordered by God as to shadow forth with remarkable clearness and force 
the higher truths of Christ's kingdom. Such are the transactions between 
Melcliizedek and Abraham recorded in the fourteenth chapter of Genesis. 
Considered simjjly in itself, Melchizedek's priesthood belongs to the class 
of ritual types. But in the record of his intercourse with Abraham there 
is an accumulation of historic circumstances arranged by God's providence 
to shadow forth the higher priesthood of Christ. (1.) He united in his 
person the kingly and priestly offices, as does the Messiah. In the hundred 
and tenth Psalm it is, in like manner, a king invested by God "vvith univer- 
sal sovereignty, to whom the declaration is made :. "The Lord hath sworn, 
and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchiz- 
edek." (2.) In official dignity he was higher than Abraham, -and thus 
higher than any of Abraham's descendants by natural generation ; for 
Abraham paid tithes to him, and received from him the priestly blessing 
(Gen. 14 : 19, 20) ; "And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the 
better." Heb. 7 : 7. (3.) His priesthood teas without limitation, and had 
thus the attribute of universality. It was not restricted in its exercise by 
nationality, for Abraham was not one of his people. (4.) He did not be- 
long to a line of priests, who transmitted their office from father to son. 
He was, so far as we know from the record, without predecessors, and had 
no successor in his priesthood. The author of the epistle to the Hebrews 



581 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

describes him as one wlio is "without father, without mother, without 
pedigree" (marginal rendering), "having neither beginning of days nor 
end of life : but made like unto the Son of God ; abideth a i)riest contin- 
ually." Heb. 7:3. In the interjDretation of this difficult passage, we must 
begin with the axiomatic j)i*inciple that Melchizedek was a human being. 
He could not have been, as some have thought, the Son of God himself ; 
for how could the- Son of God be " made like unto the Son of God ?" Nor 
could he have been an angel ; for angels are not partakers of human nature, 
and cannot therefore typify him who came in human nature to deliver those 
who are "partakers of flesh and blood." Heb. 2 : 14-18 ; 4 : 15 ; 5 : 1, 2. 
And if he was a proper man, then he was "without father, without mother, 
without pedigree, " not in an absolute sense, but with reference to his priest- 
hood. He was a priest wliose genealogy is not mentioned, because his 
priesthood was not restricted, like that of the Levitical priests, to any partic- 
ular line of descent. He held his priesthood from God, without predeces- 
sors or successors. The words that follow — "having neither beginning of 
days nor end of life : but made like unto the Son of God ; abideth a priest 
continually " — are more difficult. It is certain, however, that they cannot 
be understood absolutely. They are commonly inter j)reted upon the same 
principle as the preceding words ; namely, that in omitting from the in- 
spired record every limitation of Melchizedek's life as well as descent, it 
was God's purpose to shadow forth the imhmited nature of Christ's priest- 
hood ; that, in truth, the apostle describes Melchizedek, the type, in terms 
which hold good in their full meaning only of Christ the great Antitype. 
They who, admitting that Melchizedek was a human being, find the inter- 
pretation unsatisfactory, must leave the apostle's words shrouded in mys- 
tery. 

But whatever obscurity there is in the scriptural notices of Melchizedek, 
they abundantly affirm the typical nature of his priesthood as distinguished 
from that of the Levitical priests. He was a type of Christ not simply as 
a priest, but also in the peculiar character of his priesthood. He united 
with his priesthood the kingly office ; was superior in dignity to Abraham 
himself, and thus to the Levitical priests ; and his priesthood had the attri- 
bute of universality. Here, then, we have an undoubted examj)le of a his- 
toric type. 

It is not without reason that the deliverance of the covenant people 
from Egypt, their journey through the wilderness of Arabia under God's 
guidance, and their final settlement in the land of promise, have been 
regarded as typical of the higher redemption, guidance, and salvation 
received through Christ. From the earliest ages of the Christian church 
this wonderful history has been an inexhaustible storehouse of analogies 
for the illustration of Christian experience. In his pilgrimage through 
this vale of tears, the believer instinctively turns to it for instruction and 



BIBLICAL INTEKPEETATION. 585 

encouragement. The mighty interposition of God when the Israelites 
were "yet without strength" in their bondage ; their protection through 
the blood of the paschal lamb sprinkled on the doors of their houses when 
the destroyer passed through Egypt ; the opening of a way through the 
Red sea when all human means of escape failed them ; the journey through 
the wdlderness ; the pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night to guide, 
the water from the rock to refresh, the manna from heaven morning by 
morning to feed them ; God's faithful discipline in contrast with human 
unbelief, waywardness, and folly ; the final preparation for the conquest 
of Canaan and its successful accomplishment — this whole series of events 
is wonderfully adapted to illustrate the course of Christian experience, and 
who shall say that God did not order it with a view to this end ? We do 
not resolve it into mere type. We acknowledge it to be true history, valid 
to the men of that age — a true earthly deliverance, guidance, and suste- 
nance in the wilderness, conducting to the possession of a true earthly 
inheritance. But we say that it is a history so ordered by God as to typ- 
ify the higher jDilgrimage of the believer to the heavenly Canaan. It is 
undeniable that the AVTiter to the Hebrews regards the rest of the covenant 
people in the land of promise as a type of the rest of heaven. Heb. 3 : 7 — 
4 : 11. And if that part of the history was typical, it is reasonable to infer 
that the whole was typical. It belongs to the nature of a type that it 
should, on the one hand, come short of the fulness of meaning that belongs 
to the antitype, and, on the other, should contain some things wliich find 
no correspondence in that which it adumbrates. The j^riesthood of the 
sons of Aaron, as we shall see, typified Christ's priesthood, but only inad- 
equately, as a shadow represents the substance ; while sinfulness, which 
belonged to all the priests of Aaron's line, not only did not correspond to 
the character of the Antitype, but was in contradiction witli it. So is it 
also with the historical types that have been under consideration. They 
represent the antitype inadequately, and only in certain respects. 

II. RITUAL TYPES. 

5. The sacrifices were the central part of the Jewish ritual. 
But sacrifices imply offerers, a personal God to whom the offer- 
ing is made, and a priestJiood through which it is presented. 
In the primitive ages of the world, men offered sacrifices in 
their own behalf and that of their household in whatever place 
it was their chance to sojourn. Gen. 4 : 4 ; 8 : 20 ; 12 : 7, 8 ; 31 : 54; 
33:20; 35:1, 7; 46:1; Job 1:5; 42:8. But upon the estab- 
lishment of the Mosaic economy, the priestly ofiice was restrict- 
ed to the family of Aaron. Thenceforward all who wiiehed to 

25* 



586 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

offer sacrifices must bring tliem through the mediation of the 
priests of Aaron's Hne. It belonged to the nature of the Mos.aic 
economy, that God should have a visible dwelling-place among 
the Israelites. The directions for the construction of the tab- 
ernacle with its furniture are introduced by the words: "Let 
them make me a sanctuary ; that I may dwell among them." 
Exod. 25 : 8. The material sanctuary, then, was God's visible 
dwelling-place, where he manifested himself to his people, and 
received their worship according to the rites of his own appoint- 
ment; the whole being, as we shall see, typical of higher real- 
ities pertaining to our redemption through Christ. And as 
this earthly sanctuary was God's chosen dwelling-place, it fol- 
lowed, as a necessary consequence, that after its erection all 
the sacrifices must be brought to its altar, and presented there 
to God through the priesthood of his appointment. 

6. The Mosaic idbernade was a movable structure very sim- 
ple in its plan. Its frame-work on three sides consisted of 
upright boards, or rather timbers (for, according to the unani- 
mous representation of the Jewish rabbins, they were a cubit 
in thickness), standing side by side, and kept in position by 
transverse bars passing through golden rings. Thus was formed 
an enclosure ten cubits in height, thirty cubits in length from 
east to west, and ten cubits in width ; the eastern end, which 
constituted the front, having only a vail suspended from five 
pillars of shittim-wood. Over this enclosure, and hanging 
down on either side, was spread a rich covering formed by 
coupling together eleven curtains of "fine-twined linen, and 
blue, and purple, and scarlet, with cherubim of cunning work." 
Over this was another covering, formed from the union of ten 
curtains of goats' hair ; and above two other coverings, the one 
of rams' skins dyed red, and the other, or outermost, of bad- 
gers' skins. Surrounding the tabernacle was a court one hun- 
dred cubits long and fifty wide, enclosed by curtains of fine- 
twined linen supported on pillars five cubits high. The taber- 
nacle itself was divided by a vail supported on four pillars into 
two parts; the inner sanctuarj^, or "holy of holies," ten cubits 



BIBLICAL INTEKPRETATION. 587 

every way, and the outer, or "lioly place," twenty cubits long 
by ten in breadth and height. 

In a wider sense the whole movable structure within the court is called 
the tabernacle. But in a stricter sense the rich inner curtain is distin- 
guished in the Mosaic description as the tabernacle, while the curtain of 
goats' hair is called the tent. Exod. 26 : 1 ; 7 ; 36 : 8, 14, 19. The true 
meaning of the word rendered in our version badgers is uncertain. Some 
think that the seal is referred to. 

7. We have seen that the tabernacle was God's visible dwell- 
ing-place. But the palace of a king has its audience-rooms , 
where he receives his subjects and attends to their petitions. 
In like manner the Mosaic tabernacle, and afterwards the tem- 
ple, had its "holy of holies" and its "holy place," the former 
being in a special sense the abode of Israel's God. The taber- 
nacle, with its furniture, priesthood, and services, is declared 
in the New Testament to have been " a shadow of good things 
to come." Heb. 10: 1, and elsewhere. Unless we understand 
this its typical character, we fail to gain any true apprehension 
of its meaning. 

8. In contemplating the truths which the Mosaic taberna- 
cle shadowed forth, we begin with the materials used in its con- 
struction. Here we notice two things; ih.Q\Y lyreciousness, and 
the gradation observed in this respect. 

(1.) lL\ie\Y preciousness. All the materials were of the most 
durable and costly character — gold, silver, fine-twined linen of 
blue and purple and scarlet, acacia-wood (the shittim-wood of 
our version), brass being allowed only in the external appoint- 
ments. This obviously represented the glory and excellence of 
God's service, and the corresponding obligation on the part of 
the worshippers to give to God the best of all that they had. 

(2.) The gradation in the preciousness of the materials had 
reference to the inner sanctuary, where, as will presently be 
shown, God dwelt between the cherubim that overshadowed 
the mercy-seat. The rule of gradation was this : the nearer to 
God's dwelling-place the greater the glory; and hence, as 
shadowing forth this glory, the more precious the materials. 



588 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

The mercy-seat, where God dwelt between the cherubim, was 
accordmglj of pure gold. All the woodwork pertaining to the 
tabernacle and its furniture was overlaid with gold. The inner 
or proper covering of the tabernacle, as also the vail that hung 
before the ark, seijarating the holy from the most holy place, 
was of "fine-twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, 
with cherubim of cunning work." The outer vail, at the en- 
trance of the outer sanctuary, was of the same materials, but 
without the cherubim ; while the curtains of the court were 
made simply of fine-twined linen, suspended from pillars of 
shittim-wood not overlaid with gold. The sockets, again, that 
supported the timbers of the tabernacle and the inner row of 
pillars before the ark were of silver; but those beneath the 
outer pillars of the sanctuary, and all the pillars of the court, 
were of brass. 

9. Passing to the appointments of the tabernacle, we natu- 
rally begin with the inner sanctuary. Here between the wings 
of the cherubim that overshadowed the mercy-seat, or lid of 
the ark, was the SJiehinah, or visible dwelling-place of Jehovah. 
In the ark beneath the mercy-seat were placed, by God's direc- 
tion, the two tables of the law. Exod. 25 : 16 compared with 
1 Kings 8 : 9. This was their appropriate place. It shadowed 
.forth the great truth that God is the fountain of law, and that 
they who approach him must come in the spirit of true obe- 
dience. 

. That God's dwelling-place was between the cherubim we learn from the 
original direction for the construction of the ark : ' ' And thou shalt put 
the mercy-seat above upon the ark ; and in the ark thou shalt put the tes- 
timony that I shall give thee. And there will I meet with thee, and I will 
commune with thee from above the mercy-seat, from between the two 
cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I 
will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel. " Exod. 25 : 21, 
i2. In accordance with these words God repeatedly promised that he 
yould meet with Moses at the mercy-seat (Exod. 30 : 36 ; Lev. 16 : 2 ; 
STumb. 17 : 4) ; and after the dedication of the tabernacle and its altar, it 
is recorded that "when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congre- 
gation to speak with Him, then he heard the voice of one speaking unto 



BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. 589 

him from off the mercy-seat that was upon the ark of tesjtimony, from be- 
tween the two cherubim." Numb. 7 : 89. Hence Jehovah is described in 
the Old Testament as he that dwells between the cherubim. 1 Sam. 4:4; 
2 Sam. 6 : 2 ; 2 Kings 19 : 15 ; Psa. 80 : 1 ; 99 : 1 ; Isa. 37 : 16. 

10. In the outer sanctuary, before the vail that separated it 
from the holy of holies, stood, on the south side, the golden can- 
dlestick, with its seven lamps burning always before the Lord 
(Exod. 27 : 20 ; 40 : 24, 25 ; Lev. 24 : 25), and on the north side 
the table of shoiv-hread, with its twelve loaves renewed every 
week (Exod. 25 : 30 ; 40 : 22, 23 ; Lev. 24 : 5-9). These typified 
the light and the life that come from God's presence through 
the ordinances of his appointment ; and since the end of these 
ordinances is Jesus Christ, they shadoAved him forth as the 
light of the world and the bread of life. John 8 : 12 ; 12 : 46 ; 
6 : 35-58 ; and especially John 1 : 4. Between the golden can- 
dlestick and the table of show-bread, consequently directly in 
front of the ark, and separated from it by the inner vail, was 
the golden altar of incense, on which the priests burned sweet 
incense every morning and evening before the Lord (Exod. 
30:6-8; 40:26, 27), whereby was shadowed forth Christ's 
intercession, through which the prayers of saints are made 
acceptable to God. 

In the book of Eevelation an angel is represented as offering upon this 
golden altar much incense with the prayers of all saints, "And the smoke 
of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended uj) 
before God out of the angel's hand." Kev. 8 : 3, 4, This passage seems to 
warrant the interpretation above given to this symbol ; not that the ancient 
covenant peox)le understood fully its meaning, or that of the other sym- 
bolic rites, but that such was the mind of the Spirit, to be made manifest 
in due time. 

There is a view of the Mosaic ceremonial, which makes it simply a 
scenic representation of a king's court ; in which the tabernacle represents 
the royal palace, the incense the homage rendered to the monarch (com- 
pare Dan. 2 : 46), the sacrifices, show-bread, and other unbloody offerings 
the provision made for his table, the priests his ministering servants, etc. ; 
by which the whole is reduced to the idea of service rendered to Jehovah 
as the national monarch, and all typical representation of the provision 
made by God for man's spiritual wants is excluded. This interpretation 



590 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

of the Mosaic ritual is as suiDerficial as it is false. In this ritual, service is 
indeed rendered to God ; but it is a service which typically shadows forth 
the pro^dsion which God makes for man's wants as a fallen being — light 
for his darkened understanding, life for his spiritual nature dead in tres- 
passes and sins, and reconciliation to God through the blood of Christ. 
This is the constant interpretation given in the New Testament of the 
*' carnal ordinances" of the Old. 

11. In the court before the tabernacle stood the brazen altar 
with its laver. Here the blood of the sacrifices flowed from 
age to age — a lamb every morning and evening, and on the 
Sabbath day two lambs morning and evening, besides all the 
public sacrifices connected with the national festivals, and the 
private sacrifices of individuals. The New Testament teaches 
us that the Levitical priests who ministered at the Jewish altar 
typified Christ, our great High Priest. In the one hundred and 
tenth psalm, which the Saviour himself quotes as written by 
David " in spirit," and as referring to himself (Matt. 22 : 41-45; 
Mark 12 : 35-37) the Messiah is represented as uniting in 
himself the kingly and the priestly ofiice. There is a remark- 
able symbolical transaction in Zecliariah (chap. 6 : 9-14) which 
contains the same representation. The prophet is directed, in 
the presence of competent witnesses, to "take silver and gold, 
and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua [the 
Hebrew word answering to the Greek Jesus, which stands in 
the Septuagint rendering of this passage] the son of Josedech, 
the high j^nest." In his ofiice as high priest Joshua typifies 
Christ our great High Priest. By the symbolical act of crown- 
ing Joshua is typified the kingly office of Christ as united tvith 
the priestly. Hence the prophet is directed by God to add : 
" Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man 
whose name is the BRANCH" (compare chap. 3:8, and Isa. 
11 : 1 ; Jer. 23 : 4-6 ; 33 : 15, 16) ; " and he shall grow up out of 
his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord : even he 
shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, 
and shall sit and rule upon his throne ; and he shall be a priest 
upon his throne : and the counsel of peace shall be between 
them both." In accordance with these representations a large 



BIBLICAL INTEEPKETATION. 501 

part of the epistle to the Hebrews is occupied with a discus- 
sion of our Lord's priestly office, in which, beyond contradic- 
tion, he is exhibited as the great antitype of both Melchizedec 
and the Levitical priests. 

12. If the Levitical priests typified Christ, it follows that 
the scicrijices which they offered luere also typical of Christ's sac- 
rifice for the sins of the world. So the epistle to the Hebrews 
argues : " Every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sac- 
rifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have some- 
what also to offer." Chap. 8:3. The Levitical priests stood 
" daily ministering, and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, 
which can never take away sins." Chap. 10 : 11. Their offer- 
ings were only typical of expiation, and needed therefore to be 
continually repeated till the Antitype itself should appear. But 
Christ offered his own blood on Calvary, by which he obtained 
eternal redemption for us, so that his sacrifice needs no repeti- 
tion. He was " once offered to bear the sins of many;" and by 
this "one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are 
sanctified." Chaps. 9 : ll-U, 25, 26; 10 : 10-14. 

But this doctrine respecting the typical character of the 
Levitical sacrifices is not restricted to the epistle to the He- 
brews. The New Testament is full of it. John the Baptist, 
the Saviour's forerunner, announced him as "the Lamb of God 
which taketh aw^ay the sin of the world." John 1 : 29. Whether 
we render, as in the margin of our version, " which heareth the 
sin of the world," or, as in the text, "which taketJi aiuay the sin 
of the world," the words contain the idea of a propitiatory sac- 
rifice, or, which amounts to the same thing, an expiatory sacri- 
fice ; since it is by expiating our sin that Christ propitiates the 
Father. By bearing the sin of the world Christ expiates it, 
and thus takes it away. Thus he is " the propitiation for our 
sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole 
world." 1 John 2: 2. 

The Saviour himself announced his purpose to die for his 
people : " I lay down my life for the sheep." " Therefore doth 
my Father love me because I lay down my life, that I might 



592 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

take it again. No man taketli it from me, but I lay it down of 
myself. I have power to lay it clown, and I have power to take 
it again. This commandment have I received of my Father." 
John 10 : 15, 17, 18. And lest any should think that he died 
simply in the character of a martyr, he elsewhere explains that 
" the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to min- 
ister, and to give his life a ransom for many" — more literally, 
" a ransom instead of many " (Matt. 20 : 28 ; Mark 10 : 45), wdiere 
the sacrificial and vicarious nature of our Lord's death is ex- 
plicitly affirmed. 

But it was after our Lord's resurrection that the sacrificial 
and propitiatory character of his death was most fully revealed. 
"We have seen the view taken of it in the ejDistle to the He- 
brews. With this the other writers of the New Testament are 
in harmony. Jesus Christ is the great sufferer foretold in the 
fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, who " was wounded for our trans- 
gressions, bruised for our iniquities : the chastisement of our 
peace was upon him ; and with his stripes we are healed ;" 
upon whom the Lord " laid the iniquity of us all ;" who was 
brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her 
shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth; whose soul 
God made " an offering for sin ;" who " w^as numbered with the 
transgressors," and "bare the sins of many, and made inter- 
cession for the transgressors." 1 Pet. 2 : 24, 25; Acts 8 : 32-35; 
Mark 15 : 28 ; Luke 22 : 37. He " hath once suffered for sins, 
the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God" (1 Pet. 
3 : 18) ; He has redeemed us to God by his blood (Rev. 5:9); 
has "loved us and washed us from our sins in his osvn. blood" 
(Rev, 1:5); and his redeemed " have washed their robes, and 
made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Rev. 7 : 14). 

To recite all the declarations of the apostle Paul on this 
great theme would be a superfluous work. It is not through 
Christ's example or teachings, but through his blood that we 
have " redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Ephes. 1 : 7. 
" Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made 
a curse for us " (Gal. 3 : 13), words which teach as explicitly as 



BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. 593 

Imman language can, that Christ has delivered us from the pen- 
alty of the divine law, which is its curse, by bearing the curse 
in our behalf. This he did when he was hanged on the tree. 
His death on the cross was, then, vicarious , a death in our 
stead ; and propitiatory^ for in view of it God releases us from 
the curse of the law. This is what is meant by a propitiatory 
sacrifice. Finally, as if to cut off all ground for the assertion 
that the efficacy of Christ's death lies wholly in its moral influ- 
ence upon the human heart — its humbling, softening, and win- 
ning power — the apostle teaches that God has set forth Christ 
Jesus as a propitiation through faith in his blood for a mani- 
festation of his righteousness, " that he raight he just, and the jus- 
tifier of him that helieveth in Jesus.'' Rom. 3 : 25, 26. 

Every word of this weighty passage deserves serious consideration. 
We give by the side of the English version another translation, intended 
to be somewhat more literal : 

Whom God hath set forth to be a Whom God hath set forth, a pro- 

l^ropitiation, through faith in his pitiation, through faith, in his blood, 

blood, to declare his righteousness for the manifestation of his right- 

for the passing over [marginal ren- eousness in respect to the overlook- 

dering] of sins that are past, through ing of sins that are past, through 

the forbearance of God. To declare, the forbearance of God — a manifes- 

/ sai/, at this time, his righteous- tation of his righteousness at the 

ness ; that he might be just, and the present time ; in order that he may 

justifier of him which believeth in be just, and the justifier of him that 

Jesus. believeth in Jesus. 

From these words we learn : (1.) That God has publicly set forth Christ 
as a propitiatory sacrifice. The following paraphrase gives the probable 
connection of the words of the first clause : Whom God, by means of his 
blood, hath set forth as a propitiation through faith. But if we take the 
connection as given in our version, the propitiation is still through Christ's 
blood, and is thus a propitiatory or exj)iatory sacrifice. (2.) That the ajjpro- 
IH'iation to individual sinners of this propitiation is conditioned on personal 
faith. Christ's propitiatory sacrifice does not, in and of itself, justify any 
man ; but it provides a ground whereby all may be justified, if they will be- 
lieve iu Jesus, (3.) That through Christ's propitiatory sacrifice God makes 
a public manifestation of his righteousness in showing mercy to sinners. 
The jjhrase, ''the righteousness of God," may mean, in the usage of Paul, 



594 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

the righteousness — justification — which he gives through faith. But in con- 
nection with the words that follow, "that he might be Just, and the justi- 
fier of him that believeth in Jesus," it can only mean righteousness as an 
attribute of God, his jJublic justice, namely, as the lawgiver and governor 
of the world. (4.) That Christ's propitiatory sacrifice was necessary in 
order that God might show mercy to siiiners consistently with the demands 
of his justice. For when the apostle says "that God might be just, and 
the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus," the words necessarily imply 
that, without this sacrifice, he could not have been just in justifying sin- 
ners. Christ's propitiation was not needed to make God more merciful in 
his nature; for in this respect he is unchangeably "the same yesterday, 
to-day, and for ever." But it opens a way by which he may show mercy 
consistently with his justice and the sanctity of his law. When we raise 
inquiries concerning the interior nature of the atonement, we meet with 
deep mysteries, some of which are, perhaps, above the comprehension of 
finite human understanding. But we can comprehend, and believe upon 
God's testimony, the great central fact of the gospel, that Christ offered 
himself to the Father to bear in human nature the curse of the divine law 
in behalf of sinners ; and that God accepted this propitiatory offering as 
a satisfaction to his justice in such a sense that he can pardon all who 
believe in Christ without dishonor to himself or injury to his moral gov- 
ernment. 

13. We have considered Christ as the great Antitype of the 
Levitical priests and sacrifices. Let us now go back and con- 
sider the characteristics belonging to the types themselves, beginning 
with the priesthood. 

(1.) The first point in which the Levitical priests typified 
Christ was in their possession of the same common human nature 
as those in whose behalf they acted. " For both he that sanc- 
tifieth [Christ] and they wdio are sanctified [believers] are all 
of one [one Father, having a common sonship as members of 
the same family of Adam] : for which cause he is not ashamed 
to call them brethren" (Heb. 2 : 11) ; and again : " Forasmuch 
then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also 
himself likewise took part of the same" (ver. 14); and still fur- 
ther : " Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made 
like unto his brethren ; that he might be a merciful and faith- 
ful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconcili- 
ation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath 



BIBLICAL INTERPKETATION. 595 

suffered, being tempted, he is able to succor them that are 
tempted" (ver. 17, 18; and compare 4:15). Accordingly the 
priests who typified Christ were taken from among men, not 
angels; and "able to have compassion on the ignorant, and on 
them that are out of the way," being themselves " compassed 
with infirmity." Heb. 5 : 1, 2. 

(2.) The Levitical priests, again, were appointed to their office 
hy God: " And no man taketh this honor upon himself, but he 
that is called of God, as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified 
not himself to be made a high priest ; but he that said unto 
him. Thou art my Son, to-day have I begotten thee. As he 
saith also in another place. Thou art a priest for ever after the 
order of Melchizedec." Heb. 5 : 4-6. 

(3.) The Levitical priests, once more, were mediators hetween 
God and the people. After the establishment of their priest- 
hood, no Israelite or sojourner in the land could approach God 
with sacrifices and oblations in his own right, and be his own 
priest. He must come to God through the priesthood of his 
appointment — an expressive type of the great truth announced 
by Christ; " I am the way, and the truth, and the life : no man 
cometh unto the Father but by me." John 14 : 6: 

(4.) Finally, the Levitical priests were not only mediators 
between God and men, but mediators through propitiatory sacri- 
fices. They were ordained to " offer both gifts and sacrifices 
for sins." Heb. 5:1; 8:3. "Wherefore," adds the writer, 
"it is of necessity that this man [Christ] have somewhat also 
to offer." Heb. 8 : 3. They offered the blood of bulls and 
goats, which made expiation only in a typical way; he offered 
to God his own blood as a real propitiation for sin. Heb. 7 : 27 ; 
9 : 12-28 ; 10 : 10-14. 

The points of dissimilarity between the Levitical priests and 
Christ, as stated in the epistle to the Hebrews, all serve to illus- 
trate the superior dignity and efficacy of his priesthood. They 
were sinful men, and as such needinsr to offer sacrifice first for 
their own sins (chap. 5 : 3) ; but he is "holy, harmless, unde- 
filed, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heav- 



596 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

ens " (chap. 7 : 26). They were many, "because they were not 
suffered to continue, by reason of death:" but he, "because he 
continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood." Chap. 
7 : 23, 24. Their offerings could not take away sin. They were 
only typical of expiation, and therefore needed to be continu- 
ally repeated. But Christ has by his one offering " perfected 
for ever them that are sanctified" — perfected them in respect to 
the expiation of sin, which is the foundation on which the work 
of personal sanctification rests. Heb. 10 : 11, 12. 



Mediatorship between God and man through propitiatory sacrifice con- 
stitutes the central idea of priesthood. The Levitical priests did indeed 
make intercession for the people in the burning of sweet incense (see 
above, No. 8), and in presenting to God their unbloody offerings, but all 
this was done through the blood of atonement. We see, then, how false and 
mischievous is the idea that there can be true mediating priests under the 
New Testament dispensation. Christ appeared once for all "to put away 
sin by the sacrifice of himself" (Heb. 9 : 25-28 ; 10 : 10-12), since which no 
further sacrifice is needed, or can be lawfully offered. Christ also opened 
to all believers through his blood a new and living way of access to God, 
through which they can come boldly to the throne of grace, having no 
need of human mediators. Heb. 10 : 18-22. Behevers as a body are "a 
holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus 
Christ." 1 Pet. 2 : 5. They present themselves to God "a living sacri- 
fice, holy, acceiDtable to God." Eom. 12 : 1. They " offer the sacrifice of 
praise to God continually, that is, the fniit of their lips, giving thanks to 
his name." Heb. 13 : 15. These spiritual sacrifices offered by the body of 
believers through Christ, their glorified High Priest, are the only sacrifices 
known to the New Testament church. 

Of the high priest's garments, made by divine direction "for glory and 
for beauty," we cannot here speak in detail. Suffice it to say that they 
represented in general the dignity and excellence of his office, as the 
divinely appointed mediator between God and the covenant people. The 
golden plate with the inscription HOLINESS TO THE LORD is its own 
interpreter. The twelve names of the tribes of Israel, graven on two pre- 
cious stones, and borne on the shoulders of the high priest, six on each 
shoulder, and then the same twelve graven on twelve gems, and borne 
on his breast as he ministered before the Lord, beautifully typify Christ 
our great High Priest, who bears his people on his shoulders by his 
almighty power and efficacious atonement, and on his heart by his ever- 
lastinof love. 



BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. 597 

14. From tlie typical priests we naturally pass to the con- 
sideration of the typical sacrifices offered by tliem. Upon Noah's 
leaving the ark, God prohibited the eating of blood on the 
ground that it is the life of the animal. Gen. 9 : 4. The rea- 
son of this prohibition is unfolded in a passage of the Mosaic 
law, which clearly sets forth the nature and design of bloody 
offerings : " And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, 
or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any man- 
ner of blood, I wdll even set my face against that soul that eateth 
blood, and will cut him off from among his people. For the life 
of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the 
altar to make an atonement for your souls : for it is the blood 

THAT MAKETH AN ATONEMENT FOR THE SOUL." Lev. 17 : 10, 11. 

Hence the sprinkling of the sacrificial blood by the priest as a 
sign of expiation, a rite that will be more particularly consid- 
ered hereafter (No. 15). The reason that the hlood makes the 
atonement is that "the Ufe of the flesh is in the blood." The 
scriptural idea, then, of a sacrifice is the offering to God of one 
life in behalf of another that has been forfeited by sin — the life 
of the innocent beast instead of the life of the guilty offerer. 
Tliis general idea of the vicarious and propitiatory nature of sac- 
rifices comes out with beautiful simplicity and clearness in the 
book of Job : " And it was so when the days of their feasting 
were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose 
up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according 
to the number of them all : for Job said, It may he that my sons 
have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts." Chap. 1 : 5. And 
again : "My wrath is kindled against thee, and against tliy two 
friends ; for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, 
as my servant Job hath. Therefore take unto you now seven 
bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer 
up for yourselves a burnt-offering ; and my servant Job shall 
pray for you : for him will I accept : lest I deal with you after 
your folly." Chap. 42 : 7, 8. The sacrifices of the Mosaic 
law were of various kinds, implying various accessory ideas. 
But underlying them all was the fundamental idea of pyopitia- 



598 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

tion through blood. Hence the writer to the Hebrews, when 
commenting on the transaction recorded in Exodus, chap. 
24 : 4-8, says : " And almost all things are by the law purged 
with blood ; and without shedding of blood is no remission.'* 
Heb. 9 : 22. The only exception was in the case of the poor 
man who was " not able to bring two turtle doves or two young 
pigeons." He w^as allowed to " bring for his offering the tenth 
part of an epliah of fine flour for a sin-offering" (Lev. 5 : 11), 
upon the principle that God "will have mercy and not sacri- 
fice." 

No orderly classification of sacrifices is to be sought without tlie pale 
of the Jewish ceremonial. The burnt-offerings, for example, mentioned 
in the book of Job, had the force of proper sin-offerings. Chaps. 1:5; 
42 : 8. The classification in the book of Leviticus is into burnt-offerings, 
sin-offerings, trespass-offerings, and peace-offerings. But they may be 
most conveniently considered in the order of their i)resentation, when two 
or more of them were offered on the same occasion, as when Aaron and 
his sons were consecrated to the priesthood, and the people sanctified in 
connection with this transaction (Lev. chaps 8, 9), and in the offerings of 
the great day of atonement (Lev. chap, 16). 

Here the sin-offering naturally held the first place ; for this, as its nanae 
indicates, was whoUy expiatory and propitiatory, bringing the offerer into 
a state of forgiveness and divine favor. The sin-offerings had reference (1) 
to sin generally, as when Aaron and his sons were consecrated and the peo- 
ple sanctified, and when, on the annual day of atonement, expiation was 
made for the sins of the past year ; (2) to specific offences (Lev. chains. 4, 5). 
The exact distinction between the sin-offering and the trespass-offering is 
of difficult determination. Both were alike expiatory, were in fact sub- 
divisions of the same class of offerings. A comparison of the passages in 
which trespass-offerings are prescribed (Lev. 5:1; 6 : 1-7 ; Numb. 5 : 6-8) 
seems to indicate that they belonged esj)ecially to trespasses for which res- 
titution could be made. 

Next in the order of sacrifices, though first in dignity, came the burnt- 
offering, also called holocaust (Heb. kalil), that is, wliole hwnt-offering, the 
characteristic mark of which was the consuming of the whole by fire (Lev. 
chap. 1). It is conceded by all that this was a symbol of completeness ; but in 
what respect is a question that has been answered in different ways. Some 
refer the completeness to the offering itself, as that form of sacrifice which 
embraces in itself all others (Eosenmiiller on Deut. 33 : 10) ; or, as the 
most perfect offering, inasmuch as it exhibits the idea of offering in its 



BIBLICAL INTERPEETATION. 599 

completeness and generality, and so concentrates in itself all -svorsliip. 
Bahr, Symbolik, vol. 2, p. 362. But we cannot separate, in the intention 
of God, the completeness of the form from the state of the offerer's mind. 
The burnt-offering was indeed, in its outward form, the most perfect of all 
sacrifices, for which reason it excluded female victims, as relatively infe- 
rior to the male sex. But because of this its completeness and generality 
it signified the entire self -consecration of the offerer to God. Winer and oth- 
ers after Philo. But this, let it be carefully remembered, was a self-con- 
secration that could be made only through the hlood of expiation, to indicate 
which, the blood of the burnt- offering was sprinkled by the priest "round 
about upon the altar ;" or, in the case of a bird, where the quantity was 
too small to be thus sprinkled, was "wrung out at the side of the altar." 

The peace-offering (more literally, offe7'i7ig of renditions ; that is, offer- 
ing in which the offerer rendered to God the tribute of praise and thanks- 
giving which was his due) was in all its different subdivisions — thank-offer- 
ing, votive offering, free-will offering (Lev. 7 : 11-16) — a eucharistic offer- 
ing. Hence its social character. After the sprinkling of the blood, the 
burning of the prescribed parts on the altar, and the assignment to the 
priest of his portion, the offerer and his friends feasted JoyfuUy before the 
Lord on the remainder. Lev. chap. 3 compared with chap. 7 : 11-18. In 
the case of monarchs, like David and Solomon, the whole nation was feasted. 
2 Sam. 6 : 17-19 ; 1 Kings 8 : 62-66. Hence the Messiah, as the great King of 
all nations, is beautifully represented as paying his peace-offerings to God for 
the deliverance granted him from his foes, and as summoning all nations to 
the sacrificial feast : "My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation ; I 
will pay my vows [vows in the form of peace-offerings] before them that 
fear him. The meek shall eat and be satisfied : they shall praise the Lord 
that seek him : your heart shall Hve for ever. All the ends of the world 
shall remember and turn unto the Lord, " etc. Psa. 22 : 25-31. The peace- 
offering naturally followed the burnt-offering, as that did the sin-offering 
in the sanctification of .the Israelitish congregation. Lev. 9 : 15-18. It 
signified joyful communion with God in thanksgiving and praise ; but this, 
too, only through the hlood of the victim sprinkled upon the altar as a sign 
of expiation. Lev. chap. 3. In these three classes of offerings, then, we 
have typically set forth, first, expiation restoring man to God's favor, then 
self-consecration, then holy communion in thanksgiving and praise — alij 

THBEE ONLY THROUGH THE SPRENEXING OF THE BLOOD OF ChEIST, the great 

Antitype of the Levitical priests and sacrifices. 

The sacrificial nature of the passovei^ appears in the direction given at 
its institution that the blood of the paschal lamb should be sprinkled on 
the lintel and two side-posts of the house where it was eaten as a protec- 
tion against the destroyer of the first-born (Exod. 12 : 22, 23) ; and in the 
ordinance afterwards established, requiring that it should be slain at the 



GOO COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

sanctuary (Dent. 16 : 1-8), and its blood sprinkled upon tlie altar. 2 Cliroii 
30 : 16 ; 35 : 11. Its character approached very near to that of the peace- 
offerings. It was a joyous festival, commemorative of the deliverance of 
Israel from Egyptian bondage; and thus typically shadowing forth the 
higher redemption of God's people from the bondage of sin. As the blood 
of the paschal lamb sprinkled on the doors of the houses protected the 
inmates from the destroyer of the first-born, so does the blood of Christ 
protect all who through faith receive its expiatory power from the wrath 
to come. As the Israelites feasted joyfully on the flesh of the paschal 
lamb, so does the church feed by faith on the great antitypal Lamb of 
God, who is the true Passover sacrificed for us. 1 Cor. 6 : 7. 

There were some other sacrifices of a special character, such as those 
by which the covenant between God and the people was ratified (Exod. 
24 : 3-8) ; the ram of consecration, when Aaron and his sons were inducted 
into the priesthood (Lev. 8 : 22-30) ; the sacrifice and other rites connected 
with the cleansing of the leper (Lev. 14 : 1-32) ; the sacrifice of the red 
heifer from which were prepared the ashes of purification (Numb. chap. 19) ; 
the sacrifice of the heifer in the case of an uncertain murder (Deut. 21 : 1-9). 
Kespecting these, it is only necessary to remark generally that, whatever 
other ideas were typified by them, that of expiation through blood was not 
wanting. 

It was required by the law that all the sacrificial victims should be with- 
out blemish, not only because the offering to God of an imperfect victim 
would have been an affront to his majesty (Mai. 1 :8, 13, 14), but espe- 
cially because a perfect victim could alone typify the Lamb of God, "with- 
out blemish and without spot," who was offered on Calvary as the propiti- 
ation for "the sins of the whole world. 1 Pet. 1 : 19, 20. 

Of the unbloody offerings [oblations, called in our version meat-oferings), 
some were "supplementary to the sacrifices, being necessary to their com- 
pleteness. Such was the salt which, as a symbol of purity and friendship, 
was prescribed for all meat offerings (Lev. 2 : 13), and seems to have been 
used with aU sacrifices also. Ezek. 43 : 24 compared with Mark 9 : 49. 
Such also were the flour, wine, and oil offered with the daily sacrifice 
(Exod. 29 : 40), and in certain other cases. Lev. 8 : 26 ; 9 : 17 ; 14 : 10, etc. 
Other oblations, like those prescribed in the second chapter of Leviticus,' 
were presented by themselves, as expressions of love, gratitude, and devo- 
tion to God on the part of the offerers. After a portion of them, including 
all the frankincense, had been burned on the altar, the rest went to Aaron 
and his sons as their jDortion. 

The priests also received specified portions from tlie peace-offerings of 
the people, the trespass-offerings, and the sin-offerings the blood of which 
was not carried into the sanctuary. See Lev. chap. 6 : 24 — 7 : 34. 



BIBLICAL IaTERPEETATION. 601 

15. Of the typical transactions connected with the offering 
of sacrifices and oblations we notice the following : 

(1.) In all cases the offerer laid Ms hands upon the head of the 
victim. The meaning of this act may be inferred from the first 
mention of it in the Levitical ceremonial : " And he shall put 
his hand upon the head of the burnt-offering ; and it shall be 
accepted for him to make atonement for him." Lev. 1 : 4. 
The act in question was, then, the solemn dedication to Jeho- 
vah of the victim for the end proposed. By the laying on of 
his hands, he presented it to God as his offering to make atone- 
ment for his soul, and God accepted it as such. From the very 
nature of the offering, this act of presentation contained an 
acknowledgment of guilt that needed exj^iation, but there was 
no formal transfer of his sins to the victim, as in the case of 
the scape-goat. See below. No. 16. 

(2.) The waving and heaving of offerings belonged to the 
priests alone. Both were manifestly acts of presentation and 
dedication to God. For example, the loaf of bread, cake of 
oiled bread, and wafer of unleavened bread employed upon the 
occasion of Aaron's consecration were first placed in his hands 
to be waved before the Lord, and then burned by Moses on the 
altar of burnt-offering. Exod. 29 : 23-25. So also the breast 
of the ram of consecration was waved, and the right shoulder 
heaved, before they were eaten by Aaron and his sons (Exod. 
29 : 26-28) ; the lamb of the leper who had been healed, with 
the accompanying oblation, was waved by the priest before the 
Lord before slaying it. Lev. 14 : 12, seq. 

According to the rabbins, the waving consisted of a movement for- 
wards and backwards. Some think that there was also a lateral motion 
from right to left and the reverse. The heaving was a movement upwards 
and downwards. The ground of the distinction between these two forms 
of presentation to Jehovah is uncertain. We only know that the ceremony 
of heaving was restricted to certain cases. Thus the breast of the peace- 
offerings was always waved, and the right shoulder heaved, before they 
were given to the priests as their portion. Lev. 7 : 28-34, 

(3.) The spnnlding of the victim's blood was a most weighty 
part of the ceremonial, for by this expiation was symbolit:ed. 

Comr- tn WMe. 26 



GD2 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

It was accordingly restricted to the priest, wlio was the ap- 
pointed mediator between God and the people. The seven- 
fold sprinkling of the blood that was carried into the sanctuary 
(Lev. 4 : 6, 17 ; 16 : 14, 19), and in certain other cases (Lev. 8 : 11 ; 
14 : 7, 51) denoted the completeness of the expiation, seven being 
the well-known symbol of perfection. Hence the New Testa- 
ment beautifully represents believers as purified from sin by the 
sprinkling of the blood of Christ, the great Antitype of the Mo- 
saic sacrifices. Heb. 9 : 13, 14 ; 10 : 22 ; 12 : 24 ; 1 Pet. 1 : 2. 

Kindred to the rite of sprinkling was the application of the 
victim's blood to the horns of the altar and to the person of 
the offerer. Exod. 29 : 12, 20 ; Lev. 4 : 7, 18, 25, 30 ; 8 : 15, 24 ; 
14 : 14, etc. 

(4.) The hurning of the offering, or of certain specified parts 
of it, upon the altar, whereby its odor ascended up to heaven, 
was a natural expression of dedication to God. Compare Gen. 
8 : 21, Lev. 1 : 9, etc. 

16. We have seen the typical import of the furniture of the 
tabernacle (Nos. 8 and 9 above). That the tabernacle itself , con- 
sidered generally, had also a typical meaning, is admitted by 
all who believe in revelation. But when we come to the con- 
sideration of details, we encounter diversities of interpretation 
which cannot be here considered. We notice only the follow- 
ing points : 

(1.) The Mosaic tabernacle was, as we have seen, God's 
visible earthly dwelling-place. As such, it shadowed forth his 
real presence and glory, first, in the church of the redeemed on 
earth through Jesus Christ ; secondly, in the glorified church in 
heaven. Some think that the outer sanctuary, with its altar of 
incense, its golden candlestick, and its table of show-bread, 
typified God's presence with the church militant, through her 
divinely-appointed ordinances; and the inner sanctuary, his 
presence with the church triumphant in heaven. 

(2.) Under the Mosaic economy, the people were not admit- 
ted to either sanctuary. They could approach God only 
through the mediation of the priests. The priests themselves 



BIBLICAL INTERPEETATION. 603 

entered the outer sanctuary daily to burn incense and perform 
the other prescribed services; but the high priest alone was 
permitted to enter the most holy place once every year with 
the blood of the sin-offering. This represented that, under 
the old dispensation, the way of access to God on the part of 
sinners was not yet made manifest. In respect to the holy of 
holies, we have the express statement of inspiration : " But into 
the second went the high priest alone once every year, not 
without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors 
of the people : the Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way 
into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the 
first tabernacle was yet standing." Heb. 9 : 7, 8. By parity 
of reason, the principle holds good in respect to the exclusion 
of the people from the outer sanctuary. We are informed, 
accordingly, that when Christ cried upon the cross with a loud 
voice, " It is finished," and gave up the ghost, " the vail of the 
temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom." Matt. 
27 : 50, 51 ; Mark 15 : 37, 38 ; Luke 23 : 45, 46. By this was sig- 
nified that now the way of access to God was opened through 
Christ's blood to all believers; so that they constitute a spir- 
itual priesthood, having access to God within the vail without 
the help of any earthly mediation, that they may there " offer 
up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." 
Heb. 7:25; 10:19, 20; 1 Pet. 2:5,9; Kev. 1:6. 

(3.) The typical character of the tabernacle appears very 
strikingly in the ceremonies of the great day of- atonement. 
Lev. chap. 16. After the high-priest had first offered a sin- 
offering for himself, and sprinkled its blood in the inner sanc- 
tuary upon and before the mercy-seat seven times, he brought 
the two goats that had been appointed for the expiation of the 
people, one for a sin-offering, the other for a scape-goat, the 
office of each being determined by lot. When he had slain 
the goat of the sin-offering, he carried its blood into the most 
holy place, and sprinkled it also seven times upon and before 
the mercy-seat, to " make an atonement for the holy place, be- 
cause of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because 



604 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

of their transgressions in all their sins (ver. 16)." Then it was 
directed that the live goat should be brought : " And Aaron 
shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and 
confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and 
all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the 
head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit 
man into the wilderness. And the goat shall bear upon him 
all their iniquities into a land not inhabited ; and he shall let 
go the goat in the wilderness." Ver. 21, 22. By this double 
ceremonial was signified, first, that Christ should exjDiate our 
sins by his own blood; secondly, that through this expiation 
he should bear them in his own person, and thus remove them 
far away from us. The Jewish high priest entered year by 
3^ear through the earthly tabernacle into God's presence with 
the blood of the sin-offering, that he might sprinkle it before 
the mercy-seat. But Christ, our great High Priest, has entered 
*' by a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with 
hands" into heaven itself, to present his own blood before the 
throne of God as a perfect propitiation for our sins. Heb. 
9 : 11, 12, 24. 

The striking ceremonial connected with the scape-goat on the great day 
of atonement (Lev. chap. 16) is never to be interpreted separately, but 
always in connection with the other goat, which was slain as a sin-offering, 
and its blood carried within the vail into the most holy place. The inade- 
quacy of the type made it necessary that tivo goats should be used in this 
0)16 service, one to represent the expiation of the people's sin through the 
sjjrinkling of its blood ; the other, the vicarious bearing and taking away 
of their sin. Whatever difficulties are connected with the interpretation 
of the Hebrew w^ord rendered in our version "for a scape-goat" (Hebrew, 
la-azazel), the typical meaning of the transaction is clear, and it has its fulfil- 
ment only in Christ, who has expiated, and so taken away, the sin of the 
world. 

(4.) In the case of the more 'solemn sacrifices — the sin- 
offerings for the high-priest and for the congregation (Lev. 
4 : 1-21 ; chap. 16) — the expiatory blood was carried into the 
sanctuary to be presented before God. But the victim was in 
all cases slain without the sanctuary ; and when its blood was 



BIBLICAL INTERPKETATION. 605 

carried into the sanctuary, its body typically bearing the curse 
of the violated law, was burned without the camp. In corre- 
spondence with this, the writer to the Hebrews reminds us that 
"Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own 
blood, suffered without the gate." Heb. 13:11, 12. He suf- 
fered " without the gate " in a two-fold sense. As a condemned 
malefactor, he was thrust out of the holy city, which answered 
to the ancient Israelitish camp, and there he expiated on the 
cross the sin of the world. He also suffered "without the 
gate " of the true holy city, the heavenly Jerusalem, which he 
left that he might tabernacle among men and die for their 
redemption ; and having accomplished this work, he went " by 
his own blood" into the heavenly holy of holies, there to make 
intercession for us. 

Tlie dignity and sacredness of these solemn sin-offerings made it neces- 
sary that a clean place should be selected for the burning of the jflesh ; but 
inasmuch as they were typically laden with the curse of sin, they were car- 
ried without the precincts of the camp where God dwelt, and there con- 
sumed, where the ashes of all the bloody offerings were poured out. Lev. 
4 : 11, 12, 21 ; 16 : 27. The man, moreover, who performed the service of 
burning the sin-offering on the day of atonement, having been tyi3ically 
defiled by contact with it, was required to wash his clothes and bathe his 
flesh in water before coming into the camp. Lev. 16 : 28. In the case of 
the scape-goat, "the wilderness," the "land not inhabited," answered to 
the place without the camp where the sin-offering was burned ; and the 
man that led him away was, in like manner, required to wash his clothes 
and bathe his flesh in water before reentering the camp. Lev. 16 : 26. 

1 

17. The distinctions hettueen clean and unclean in respect to 
articles of food and various other particulars, had also a typ- 
ical meaning. That the regulations in regard to these matters 
were promotive of physical purity and health is undoubtedly 
true; yet we are not to consider them as simply a sanitary 
code. They reached to the inner man. Through these phys- 
ical distinctions of clean . and unclean God educated the peo- 
ple to an apprehension of the difference between moral purity 
and impurity. 



606 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

The Levitical view of sickness and every bodily infirmity is 
deep and fundamental. All is referred to sin as the primal 
cause. The sufferer from leprosy and various other infirmities 
(Lev. chaps. 12-15) is regarded not as a sinner above other 
men (Luke 13 : 1-5), but yet as suffering in the character of a 
sinner. Hence the ceremonial uncleanness of such persons, 
and the expiatory offerings required in the case of those who 
have been healed. 



BIBLICAL INTERPEETATION. 607 



CHAPTER XXXYIII. 

Interpretation of Prophecy. 

1. The scriptural idea of prophecy is widely removed from 
that of human foresight and presentiment. It is that of a 
revelation made by the Holy Spirit respecting the future, always 
in the interest of God's kingdom. It is no part of the plan of 
prophecy to gratify vain curiosity respecting " the times or the 
seasons which the Father hath put in his own power." Acts 
1:7. " Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God " — 
this is its key-note. In its form it is carefully adapted to this 
great end. Its notices of the future are interwoven with ex- 
hortations and admonitions, encouragements and warnings, 
promises and threatenings. These constitute, indeed, the 
great bulk of the prophetical writings that have come down to 
us. The subject of the interpretation of prophecy may be 
conveniently considered under the following heads : prophecies 
relating to the near future ; prophecies relating to the last 
days ; the question of double sense ; the question of literal and 
figurative meaning. 

I. PROPHECIES RELATING TO THE NEAR FUTURE. 

2. The Bible contains many prophecies relating to the 
comparatively near future. These are all specific in their char- 
acter, and have a single exhaustive fulfilment. Examples are : 
the prediction to Noah of the approaching deluge, and to Abra- 
ham of the bondage of his posterity in a strange land ; the dis- 
closure through Pharaoh's dreams of the coming famine in 
Egypt; Joseph's announcement of the future deliverance of 
Israel from Egypt; the token given to Moses that God had 
sent him : " When thou hast brought forth the people out of 
Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain " (Exod. 3 : 12) ; 
God's threatened judgments upon the house of Eli with the 



G08 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

accompaDjing sign (1 Sam. 2 : 34) ; the warning that David 
received by Urim and Thummim of Saul's approach to destroy 
him (1 Sam. 23 : 9-12) ; the prediction that Josiah should defile 
Jeroboam's altar at Bethel with men's bones (1 Kings 13 : 2) ; 
etc. Minute events, in themselves unimportant, sometimes 
come within the sphere of prophetic revelation, but always in 
connection with and subserviency to important transactions 
affecting the interests of God's people. Thus when Samuel 
anointed Saul as the future king of Israel, he foretold to him 
the incidents of his journey homeward (1 Sam. 10 : 2-7). But 
this was in order that Saul might be assured of Samuel's pro- 
phetic office, and consequently of the divine sanction to the 
transaction. An event in the immediate future is frequently 
predicted as a pledge that some prophecy of more distant ful- 
filment shall be accomplished. Thus the death of Eli's two 
sons in one day was to be a token of the fulfilment of all the 
evils threatened against his house. The same end may be 
accomplished by a miraculous sign. 1 Kings 13 : 3 ; 2 Kings 
20 : 9, 11. Prophecies of the kind now under consideration are 
in general very plain and simple, and their recorded fulfilment 
is to us a sufficient interpreter of their meaning. 

II. PEOPHECIES EELATING TO THE LAST DAYS. 

3. In Old Testament usage, " the last days," or " the latter 
days " (" in the latter years," Ezek. 38 : 8) denote not simply the 
distant future, but that future as including the kingdom of the 
Messiah, which extends to the consummation of all things. 
Gen. 49 : 1 ; Numb. 24 : 14 ; Deut. 4 : 30 ; 31 : 29 ; Isa. 2:2; Jer. 
23:20; 30:24; 48:47; 49:39; Ezek. 38:16; Dan. 10:14; Hos. 
3:5; Mic. 4 : 1. We are not, however, to conceive of these 
"last days" as totally separated from the preceding ages. In 
the plan of God the history of the world constitutes a whole, 
all the parts of which are closely connected. Hence the proph- 
ecies relating to the latter days include, more or less distinctly, 
the events which precede them, and prepare the way for them. 
In such prophecies we are not to look for exhaustive details. 



BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. 609 

They give, as a rule, only general views relating to the conflicts 
of God's people and their final triumph. Where minute inci- 
dents are introduced (Psa. 22 : 18 ; 69 : 21 ; Zech. 9:9; 11 : 13) 
it is apparently for the purpose of identifying to future genera- 
tions the Messiah as their main subject. See below, No. 9. 

Prophecies relating to the days of the Messiah are introduced in other 
more indefinite ways, thus : "Behold the days come " (Jer. 23 : 5 ; 31 : 31 ; 
etc.) : "And it shall come to pass afterward" (Joel 2 : 28) ; "In that day " 
(Isa. 4:2, Jer. 30 : 8 ; Ezek. 39 : 11 ; Amos 9 : 11, and elsewhere) ; or they 
are sufficiently indicated by their contents, as Isa. chaps. 40-66. 

These prophecies naturally fall into two classes : those in 
which the succession of events is distinctly indicated, and those 
which give only general views of the future, without any clear 
order of succession. 

4. To the first and smaller class belong especially certain 
of Daniel's prophecies. The four great monarchies, for exam- 
ple, that are to bear rule over the earth are symbolized first by 
a great image (Dan. chap. 2), then by four beasts rising out of 
the sea (Dan. chap. 7). Of these monarchies the fourth, rep- 
resented by the legs of iron and feet part of iron and part of 
clay (Dan. 2 : 33), and by the fourth beast with his ten horns 
(Dan. 7: 7), belongs in part to the latter days of the Messiah. 

The fourth kingdom, represented by the "legs of iron and feet part of 
iron and part of clay," is at the beginning "strong as iron" (chap. 2 : 40) ; 
afterwards it is "partly strong and partly broken" (ver. 42) ; it is, more- 
over, the last great monarchy that oppresses the world. All these charac- 
ters point to the Roman empire, first in its pagan, afterwards in its papal 
form. From the nature of the symbol, the jjrophet sees the whole image 
standing tiU it is smitten in its feet of iron and clay. This does not mean 
that the four monarchies are contemporaneous, but that they constitute 
one great system of oppression, in which the power passes successively 
down from the head to the feet. It is in its feet that the stone smites it, 
for it is in this its last form that the kingdom set up by the God of heaven 
.shall encounter and destroy it. The toes, part of iron and part of clay, 
well represent the kingdoms that grew up out of the old Roman empire, 
with an intermixture of the northern nations. These could never unite into 
a compact whole, like the original pagan empire, yet they constituted a 
continuation of it in a divided form. 

26* 



610 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

That the fourth beast again (chap. 7 : 7-14, 19-28) represents the same 
Eoman empire appears from the following considerations : (1. ) Both here 
and in the second chapter a succession of four great monarchies is repre- 
sented, of which the first three are admitted to have been universal. It is 
altogether reasonable, therefore, to look for a universal empire in tho 
fourth ; but that empire can be no other than the Eoman. (2.) The fourth 
beast is represented as the strongest and most terrible of them aU, which 
cannot apply to any other than the Eoman power. (3.) All its characters 
agree with those of the Eoman empire, and cannot be made to agree with 
those of any other power. Those who understand by the little horn of the 
fourth beast Antiochus Epiphanes, must consider the fourth beast as rep- 
resenting the Syrian monarchy, or perhaps Syria and Egypt. But these 
belong to the third beast. They are two of the four divisions into which 
his empire was broken, and which have just been represented by the four 
heads and four wings of the leopard. (4.) No persecuting power comes 
after this beast. Its dominion is destroyed by that of the Messiah, who 
takes the kingdom and holds it for ever. This can apply only to the 
Eoman power as perpetuated in its papal form in the ten horns, which cor- 
respond to the ten toes of the image. Chap. 2 : 41-43. All the characters 
of the little horn agree with those of the papal jDOwer ; and considering the 
vast influence which this has wielded, and still wields, over God's church, 
we should naturally expect that it would be included in a comprehensive 
view Uke this of the world's history. 

The prophecies of the book of Eevelation relative to the great red 
dragon — pagan Eome (chap. 12), the two beasts that succeeded to his seat 
and power (chap. 13), and (what is identical with these two beasts) the 
woman riding upon a scarlet-colored beast (chap. 17), are so intimately 
related to the fourth kingdom of Daniel, that whatever view be taken of 
this kingdom must apply to them also. In these prophetic symbols we 
have again all the characters of pagan Eome as continued in papal Eome. 
Chap. 32, No. 4. To the class of prophecies now under consideration 
belong also, according to the most probable principle of interpretation, 
those of the seven seals, the seven trumpets included under the last seal, 
and the seven vials of the last trumjDet (Eev. 6 : 1 seq.J; for in these the 
succession of events is distinctly marked. 

The numbers of the books of Daniel and Eevelation, particularly the 
"time and times and dividing of time" — three years and a half — during 
which the little horn is to have dominion (Dan. 7 : 25), and (what is equiv- 
alent to this number) the " f orty-and-two months" during which the Gen- 
tiles are to tread down the holy city (Eev. 11 : 2), and the beast that suc- 
ceeds to the dragon is to have power (Eev. 13 : 5) ; or in days, the thousand 
two hundred and threescore days of the two witnesses (Eev. 11 : 3), and of 
the woman's sojourn in the wilderness (Eev. 12 : 6), have furnished for cen- 



BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. 611 

turies matter of curious speculation and computation, upon the assumption 
that a day here represents a year (Chap. 35, No. 9) ; but hitherto history 
has not verified the results as to time wliich the students of these prophe- 
cies have given. The failure of their computations might have been anti- 
cipated. It seems to be the plan of God to throw such a vail over even 
exact dates of prophecy, that their place in a chronological chart of history 
cannot be accurately marked out beforehand. Either the time /row which 
the reckoning is to proceed, or the symbolism of the dates, or the place 
which the whole series holds in relation to other prophecies, is left in 
obscurity. The experience of those who have busied themselves with the 
computation of these dates teaches, not that we should wholly withdraw 
ourselves from inquiries of this kind, but that to pursue them in a confi- 
dent and dogmatic spirit, as if we had been admitted to the council-cham- 
ber of heaven, and had there learned the exact day and hour on which the 
papal throne must fall, or our Lord reappear on earth, is a mark, not of 
wisdom, but of weakness and folly. 

5. In the second and larger class of prophecies relating to 
the last days, the element of time, and especially that of suc- 
cession in time, is either wholly wanting, or is indicated in 
only a vague and general way. 

Examples of this class of prophecies are almost innumerable. A 
remarkable specimen is found in the fourth chapter of Isaiah, viewed in 
connection with the preceding context. The prophet's position is that of 
his own day. He writes at a time when heavy calamities are impending- 
over his countrymen. With these calamities he begins: "Behold the 
Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Judah and Jerusalem the 
stay and the stalBf, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water, 
the mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the 
prudent, and the ancient, the captain of fifty, and the honorable man, and 
the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator." Chap. 
3 : 1-3. So he proceeds, in terms which must apply primarily to the Baby- 
lonish captivity, to the end of the third chapter, which closes with the 
terrible denunciation : " Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty 
men in war. And her gates shall lament and mourn ; and she, being des- 
olate, shall sit upon the ground" (ver. 25, 26). To complete the picture 
of desolation, it is added in the beginning of the fourth chapter : ''And in 
that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying. We will eat our 
own bread, and wear our own apparel : only let us be called by thy name 
to take away our reproach." The obvious meaning of this last threatening 
is, that the mass of the men shall perish in war, so that the surviving 
women cannot find husbands. Seven of them, therefore, ask of one man 



612 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

the privilege of being called each his wife, while they offer to forego all 
the usual advantages of that relation. Thus far the prophet proceeds in a 
strain of threatening. But now, with the single formula, "in that day," 
there is a sudden transition to promise, and promise of such a character 
that it must cover the whole future period of the Messiah's kingdom : "In 
that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the 
fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that, are escaped 
of Israel" (chap. 4:2); and so he goes on to describe the glory of the lat- 
ter days, when the Lord, having ' ' purged the blood of Jerusalem from the 
midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning," 
' ' will create upon every dwelling-place of Mount Zion, and upon her 
assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming iire by 
night : for upon all the glory shall be a defence " (ver. 4, 5). Here we 
have, in a certain sense, an indication of time, but it is wholly indefinite. 
No date is given for the fulfilment of the prophecy, nor any exact chrono- 
logical order of succession. The prophet began with the judgments that 
impended over his countrymen. He ends with the full glory of the Mes- 
siah's reign, without any indication of the intervening interval of time. 

Another striking example is furnished by the eleventh chapter of Isaiah 
in connection with the preceding context. The tenth chapter of Isaiah 
contains an account of the Assyrian monarch's progress through the land 
of Judea, ending with a figurative account of his overthrow : "Behold the 
Lord, the Lord of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror ; and the high 
ones of stature shall be hewn doAvn, and the haughty shall be humbled. 
And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon 
shaU fall by a mighty one " (ver. 33, 34). Immediately upon this predic- 
tion, and with reference to the Assyrian bough and the thickets of Leba- 
non — Sennacherib with his host — that have been hewn down, foUows a 
prophecy of the Messiah's advent : ' ' And there shall come forth a rod out 
of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots." Chap. 
11 : 1. The jjrophet represents these two events, the overthrow of the 
Assyrian and the advent of the Messiah, as so connected that the latter 
follows as a natural sequel to the former, passing over in silence the many 
intervening centuries. He represents, again, the Messiah's kingdom as 
one of continuous victorious progress, till ' ' the earth shall be full of the 
knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea," without pausing to 
indicate any intervening period of darkness and depression. 

Still a third pure specimen of this form of prophecy occurs in the fifty- 
ninth and sixtieth chapters of Isaiah. The former of these two chapters is 
occupied with a description in very dark lines of the sins of God's cove- 
nant people (ver. 1-15), and of God's interposition in awful majesty to vin- 
dicate his own cause (ver. 16-21). Immediately upon this follows, in the 
sixtieth chapter, a vision of the latter day glory that has no i)arallel in 



BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. 613 

the Old Testament for briglituess, extending down to the full establish- 
ment of the millennial age. But when shall these things be ? How long 
shall the present age of iniquity endure ? And when Jehovah appears to 
save the cause of truth and righteousness, shall it be by a single interposi- 
tion or a series of interpositions ? If by the latter, how widely shall they 
be separated, and what dark scenes shall intervene ? When shall the 
j)romised Redeemer apx)ear, and how long shall his work be in progress 
before that blessed consummation contained in the promise : "Thy suu 
shall no more go down ; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself : for the 
Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall 
be ended ?" On all these points which involve the element of time the 
prophecy maintains a majestic silence. The closing promise indeed is : 
"I the Lord will hasten it in his time ;" but with the Lord one day is as 
a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The time for the con- 
summation of God's plan to rescue this a^Dostate world from the dominion 
of Satan — how many slowly revolving centuries may it include, and what 
fierce and bloody assaults of the adversary, compelling God's suffering peo- 
ple to cry out : " O Lord, how long !" 

The whole of the prophecy of Joel belongs to the class now under con- 
sideration. It begins with impending judgments, and closes with the con- 
flict and triumph of the last times : ' ' Multitudes, multitudes in the valley 
of decision : for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The 
sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their 
shining. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from 
Jerusalem ; and the heavens and the earth shall shake ; but the Lord shall 
be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So 
shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy 
mountain ; then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers f)ass 
through her any more." Chap. 3 : 14-17. 

Many more examples might be adduced from the other prophets, but 
the above will be sufficient. 

6. But let no one infer, from this absence of dates and of 
the exact succession of events, that the view which the prophet 
gives of the future is loose and confused. Times and succes- 
sions belong rather to the outward machinery of God's provi- 
dential government. They are, so to speak, the wheels and 
bands and shafts which connect the different movements. But 
the 'perpetual liviiig poioer that dwells in the church is above all 
time' and succession. In this lies the guarantee of her final 
triumph, and with this the prophets are mainly occupied. They 
take the deepest view of the progress of God's kingdom, for 



614 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

they unfold to our view the indestructible divine life and power 
which animate it throughout, and which are steadily bearing 
it onward towards its final destiny — victory complete and eter- 
nal over all the powers of darkness. If we examine more par- 
ticularly the manner in which the ]3rophets of the Old Testa- 
ment represent the future of the kingdom of heaven, we shall 
find that it has its foundation in the unity of the plan of redemp- 
tion, the end towards which it is tending, the indicatmis of that 
end which are perpetually given in its progress, and the fact 
that tJie end itself is the chief object of interest in prophetic vision. 
(1.) The unity of the plan of redemption lies not in its times 
and seasons, but in the higher connections of cause and effect, 
which, under God's supernatural presence and agency, bind 
the whole together laterally, so to speak, as well as backward 
and forward. It may be compared to the unity of a web, in 
which each thread of the warp extends from its beginning to 
its end, and each thread of the woof from one margin to the 
other ; so that every part of the texture is connected with every 
other part without respect to nearness or distance. So in the 
plan of redemption, events thousands of years apart and taking 
place in regions thousands of miles from each other, are as 
really connected as if they belonged to the same year and 
country. And since they are thus connected in God's plan, it 
is natural that prophecy should exhibit them in this connec- 
tion, passing over, it may be, many centuries in silence ; for it 
is the salient 'points of the church's future history, the great 
crises in the process of her development, that the spirit of 
inspiration will naturally bring to view. Prophecy relating to 
the last times is not a map, in which the distance from one 
point to another, with all the intervening mountains, rivers, and 
towns, is accurately marked; but rather a prospective view, 
which exhibits only the great features of the region that lies 
before the traveller. He sees far off in the horizon the goodly 
mountains rising one behind another, and bathed in the pure 
light of heaven, with no ability to discern, much less to meas- 
ure, the intervening valleys and plains. Nay more, mountain 



BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. 615 

ranges that are widely separated may appear to his eye as one 
and indivisible. 

(2.) The plan of redemption has not only complete unity, 
but continual "progress toivards a high end. It may be compared 
to a majestic river, fed by thousands of perennial springs, that 
cannot stay a moment in its course towards the ocean. Its 
path is not always straight, but it is always onward. , Its cur- 
rent is not always rapid and broken, for it is not always ob- 
structed. Sometimes, like the Arar described by Caesar, it 
winds through level plains with a current so gentle and noise- 
less, that the eye cannot discern its direction. Then it plunges 
over some Niagara, roaring, boiling, and foaming, and shaking 
the very earth with its mighty cataracts. But it has all the 
power in the level meadows that it manifests on the fearful 
brink of the precipice. To arrest its current in one place is as 
impossible as in the other. Eesistance cannot overcome its 
strength, but only bring it to view. Let any number of Titans 
build up ever so high a wall across the level meadow, and the 
stream, every particle of which is pressed forward by an inward 
force, will quietly rise above their vain rampart, and then it 
will begin to thunder. Since then God's kingdom — this river 
of God that is full of water — is continually tending towards a 
high end, and since every event of his providence contributes 
something towards its progress, what wonder if we find in 
prophecy events separated by many centuries of time immedi- 
ately connected as cause and effect ? Does the prophet pre- 
dict the overthrow of Sennacherib's army, or the coming deso- 
lation of Jerusalem by the Chaldean armies ; he connects these 
calamities immediately with the advent of Christ, for this is the 
end towards which they look. Desolating judgments prepare 
the way for the King of glory to appear. After the storm of 
thunder and hail there follows a serene light, " as the light of 
the morning when the sun riseth, even a morning without 
clouds ; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear 
shining after rain." The mind of the -inspired bard hastens 
onward towards the glorious end of God's judgments, without 



616 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

pausing to give us, what it is not necessary that we should 
know, the chronological distance of that end. 

(3.) The progress of God's kingdom gives continual indica- 
tions of the end towards which it is tending. The first great 
interposition of God in behalf of Israel contained in itself a 
pledge of all needful help for the future, and thus of a final tri- 
umph in the future ; for it was a manifestation of both God's 
absolute power to save his people, and his absolute purpose to 
save them. The full idea embodied in this interposition is 
summed up in the closing words of their triumphal song on 
the shore of the Red sea : " The Lord shall reign for ever and 
every What was true of this deliverance was true of every 
subsequent deliverance. In each of them separately, and in 
the whole of them collectively, lay the promise: "Fear not, 
thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel ; I will help thee, saith 
the Lord, and thy Bedeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Behold 
I will make thee [make thee to be] a new sharp threshing 
instrument having teeth : thou shalt thresh the mountains, and 
beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. Thou shalt 
fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirl-, 
wind shall scatter them : and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, 
and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel." Isa. 41 : 14-16. 

The chastisements J moreover, which God inflicted on the 
covenant people through the temporary ascendency of their 
enemies, and in other ways, gave in like manner indications of 
a final triumph of the cause of truth and righteousness. How- 
ever great their severity, they were always so ordered that 
God's people were never destroyed, hut alioays 'purified by their 
power, and thus the way was prepared for their future enlarge- 
ment. This purifying tendency the divinely illumined eye of 
the Hebrew prophet clearly discerned. What wonder, then, 
that he should have constantly connected with present or im- 
pending judgments glorious promises respecting the future. 
The, destruction of Sennacherib's army by the destroying angel, 
and afterwards of Jerusalem itself by the Chaldean armies — 
the former event so joyous in its outward form, the latter so 



BIBLICAL INTEEPRETATIOX. 617 

sad — these were both ahke to the prophet's vision parts of the 
preparation through which God was carrying his people for the 
future glory and blessedness of the latter days. He accord- 
ingly connected both with bright visions of the future, without 
pausing to notice the intervening centuries, respecting the 
duration of which he had no commission to speak. 

(4.) The end itself towards Avhich the plan of redemption 
tends is the chief ohject of interest in prophetic representation. 
To nourish the faith and hope of the church, to invigorate her 
in her present struggles by the assurance of final victory — this, 
and not the gratification of a prurient curiosity respecting the 
exact dates of "times and seasons," is the main design of proph- 
ecy. That it has other subordinate ends need not be denied. 
It challenges for itself the attribute of omniscience, and its ful- 
filment is, to those who live after it, a proof of the validity of 
its claim. But to become absorbed in calculations beforehand 
respecting its dates is to elevate the subordinate and circum- 
stantial in prophecy to the place of the essential. The bright 
end of the present conflict with the powers of darkness is what 
prophetic vision is continually presenting for our encourage- 
ment. To those who love God, this is the point of chief inter- 
est; and accordingly the prophets make it, not the exact num- 
ber of years that is to elapse before the final consummation 
with the details of their history, the prominent point. Some 
great crises in the church's history are indicated so clearly that 
they who can discern "the signs of the times" may understand 
beforehand that they are near. The general expectation of the 
Messiah's advent at the time when he actually appeared had 
its foundation in a sober comparison of the prophecies with the 
existing condition of the covenant people. The present uni- 
versal belief among Christians that the time for the final over- 
throw of the triple league between Satan, wicked kings, and 
wicked priests for the suppression of the gospel is at hand 
rests, we doubt not, on the same solid ground. But farther 
than this we cannot go. We cannot say that it shall be in 
Buch a year of the present century, or even in the century, in 



618 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

harmouy with the true spirit of prophecy. It is enough for us 
to know that God "will hasten it in his time" — that the victory 
is certain, and that every believer from Abel to the trump of 
the archangel shall have his share in it. 

III. THE QUESTION OF DOUBLE SENSE. 

7. The so-called double sense of Scripture, especially of 
prophecy, concerning which there has been so much discus- 
sion among biblical writers, must be distinguished from the 
double sense of pure allegory, which all admit. In allegory, 
the first or literal meaning is only a cover for the higher spir- 
itual sense, which alone is of importance. That we may have 
a true example of double sense, the obvious literal meaning 
must have its own proper significance, irrespective of the highei^. 
sense belonging to it, and this higher sense must be intended 
by the Spirit of inspiration. The question now to be consid- 
ered is: Do such examples occur in Scripture, by whatever 
term we may choose to designate them ? 

To avoid logomachy, arising from the use of the same phrase in differ- 
ent senses, we prefer the expression literal and typical sense. 

8. If, as has been shown above (chap. 37, No. 4), examples 
of hisioric types are found in the Old Testament, these contain 
a twofold sense. The priesthood of Melchizedek and the trans- 
actions between him and Abraham were true historic realities, 
having their own proper office and meaning. Yet the word of 
inspiration teaches us that the circumstances connected with 
Melchizedek's priesthood and his meeting with Abraham were 
intended by God to shadow forth the higher priesthood of 
Melchizedek's great Antitype. He brought forth bread and 
wine, the very symbols that should afterwards represent Christ 
crucified as our spiritual food and drink, blessed him that had 
the promises, and received at his hand tithes of all (Gen. 
14 : 18-20), thus exercising the prerogatives of one higher than 
Abraham, and consequently higher than all his posterity. Heb. 
7 : 4-10. In the intention of the Holy Ghost,, the higher typical 



BIBLICAL INTEKPRETATION. 619 

meaning lay in this transaction from the beginning, but it was 
not revealed to the apprehension of believers till the Christian 
dispensation had begun. So also the rest of the covenant peo- 
ple in the land of Canaan is represented in the New Testament 
as typical of the true heavenly rest. Heb. 4 : 7-11. Other 
examples might be adduced, but these will serve as an illustra- 
tion of the principle now under consideration. 

9. The most striking examples of a literal covering a typical 
meaning are furnished by the so-called Messianic psalms, sl part 
of which describe the victories and universal dominion of a 
mighty King whom Jehovah himself establishes on Zion to 
reign there for ever (Psalms 2, 45, 72, 110, etc.) ; another part, 
the deep afflictions of a mighty Sufferer and his subsequent 
deliverance, which has for its result the conversion of all 
nations to the service of Jehovah. Psalms 22, 40, 69, 109, etc. 
That such psalms as the second and seventy-second, the twen- 
ty-second, fortieth, and sixty-ninth (not to mention others), 
have a true reference to Christ's person and work, cannot be 
denied without imputing either error or fraud to the writers of 
the New Testament. Nay more, our Lord himself said, after 
his resurrection : " These are the words which I spake unto 
you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled 
which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, 
and in the psalms, concerning me" (Luke 24 :44) ; whence we 
learn that it was our Lord's custom to refer to the psalms as 
containing prophecies of himself. If the psalms, when legit- 
imately interpreted, contain no such prophecies, then, when the 
writers of the New Testament quoted them as referring to 
Christ, they either believed that they were making a true appli- 
cation of them according to the mind of the Holy Spirit, or 
they simply accommodated themselves to what they knew to 
be the groundless prejudices of the age. Upon the former 
supposition they were in error; upon the latter, they were 
guilty of fraud. Such is the dishonor which the modern prin- 
ciples of rationalism put upon the word of God. In the inter- 
pretation of these psalms, then, we must assume as a funda- 



620 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

mental truth that they contain a true reference to Christ. 
The only question is, whether they contain a lower reference 
also. 

(1.) One class of interpreters understand these psalms sim- 
ply of Christ ; that is, they assume that the writer speaks 
wholly in the name of Christ, without reference to himself or 
any merely human personage. There are psalms — the hun- 
dred and tenth, for example — that may be very well explained 
in this way. The opening words of that psalm — " The Lord 
said unto my lord" — seem to exclude David as the subject, 
and it is difficult to see in what sense David could speak of 
himself as made by a divine oath " a priest for ever after the 
order of Melchizedek " (ver. 4). But in the attempt to carry 
this principle consistently through all the Messianic j)salms, 
one meets with serious difficulties. They contain, at least 
some of them, historic allusions of a character so marked and 
circumstantial that it is hard to believe that the writer had not 
in view his own personal situation. In some of them, moreo- 
ver, the writer makes confession to God of his sins. Psa. 
40:12; 69:5. 

They who apply these iDsalms exchisively to Christ assume that these 
confessions of sin are made in a vicarious way, the Messiah assuming the 
character of a sinner because '* the Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of 
us all." Isa. 53 : 6. But the form of these confessions forbids such an 
interpretation. When the psalmist says: "Mine iniquities have taken 
hold upon me ;" *' O God, thou knowest my foolishness, and my sins are 
not hid from thee," we cannot understand such language of any thing else 
than personal sinfulness. It is true that the Messiah bore our iniquities, 
and that God "made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin ;" but the Sav- 
iour now^here speaks or can speak of "mine iniquities," "my foolishness," 
and "my sins." 

(2.) According to another class of interpreters, the subject 
of these psalms, particularly of those which describe the Mes- 
siah as a sufferer, is an ideal ijersonage, namely, the congrega- 
tion of the righteous considered not separately from Christ, 
but in Christ their head ; or, which amounts to the same thing, 
Christ considered, not in his simple personality apart from the 



BIBLICAL INTERPKETATION. 621 

church, but Christ with his body the church. The contents 
of these psalms are then appHecl, according to their nature, to 
Christ alone, to believers alone who are his members, or to 
Christ in the fullest sense and believers in a subordinate sense. 
Much might be said in favor of this view; jet it labors under 
the difficulty already indicated, that one cannot well read the 
psalms in question, with their marked historic ahusions, with- 
out the conviction that the author had in view — not indirectly, 
but immediately — his own personal situation. 

(3.) There remains a third, and perhaps preferable view, 
which may be called the typical vieiv, maintained, as is well 
known, by Melanchthon, Calvin, and many later expositors. 
This begins with the well-established principle that David (in 
a less eminent degree his successors also on the throne, so far 
as they were true to their office) was a divinely-constituted 
type of the Messiah, not only in his office as the earthly head 
of God's kingdom, but in the events of his history also ; that the 
psalms in question, whether they describe his victorious might 
or his deep suffering at the hand of his enemies, had a true his- 
toric origin; that their first and immediate reference was to the 
writer's own situation and the events which befell him ; but that, 
under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, he w^as carried beyond 
himself to describe the office and history of the Messiah ; that 
consequently these psalms have a lower fulfilment in David the 
type (the seventy-second in Solomon), and a higher in Christ 
the Antitype. 

The second psalm, for example, wliicli describes the vain conspiracy of 
the heathen rulers against the Lord's anointed king, and God's purpose to 
give him the uttermost ends of the earth for his possession, may have had 
its occasion in the combination of the surrounding heathen nations against 
David. In the victorious might with which God endowed him, it had a 
lower fulfilment ; and this was, so to speak, the first sheaf of the harvest 
of victories that was to foUow. It was an earnest and pledge of the com- 
plete fulfilment of the psalm in Christ, in whom alone the iDromise made 
to David : "Thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever 
before thee : thy throne shall be established for ever " (2 Sam. 7 : 16), could 
have its real accomplishment. Luke 1 : 32, 33. 



622 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

The second class of psalms, of which tlio twenty-second is a well-known 
example, may have had, in like manner, a true historic origin. When the 
psalmist began with the exclamation : *'My God, my God, why hast thou 
forsaken me ?" he may have had immediate reference to his own distressed 
condition. But since he was the divinely appointed head of the hne of 
kings which should end in Christ, and was thus in his office a type of 
Christ, God had so ordered the circumstances of his history as to shadow 
forth in them the sufferings and final triumph of the Messiah. Writing 
under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, he was led, through these circum- 
stances, to say many things which applied to himself only in a lower and 
often figurative sense, but which were appointed to have a complete fulfil- 
ment in Christ his Antitype (Psa. 22 : 1, 7, .8, 14, 15, 16, 18 ; 40 : &-10 ; 
69 : 4, 7-9, 21 ; 109 : 1-20), and which point to Christ as the chief subject 
of the prophecies. 

How far the psalmist understood this higher reference of his words is 
a question difficult to be determined. With regard to the sixteenth psalm, 
the apostle Peter tells us that David, "being a prophet, and knowing that 
God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, accord- 
ing to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne ; he seeing 
this before, spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left 
in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption" (Acts 2:30, 31); whence we 
infer that in penning this psalm David was conscious of its higher appli- 
cation to Christ. The spirit of the New Testament quotations from the 
psalms indicates that he had a deeper insight into the prophetic meaning 
of his words than many modern expositors are willing to admit. But 
however this may be, the Spirit of inspiration had in view the fulfilment 
of these psalms in Christ ; and his intention, clearly revealed to us in the 
New Testament, is our rule of interpretation. 

10. Different from the above literal and typical sense, yet 
closely related to it in principle, is that of the progressive fulfil- 
ment of prophecy, which has a wide application in the inter- 
pretation of those prophecies which relate to the last days. 
By the progressive fulfilment of prophecy is meant, a fulfilment 
nof exhaustively accomplished at one particular era or crisis 
in the church's histor}^, but successively from age to age; a ful- 
filment repeated, it may be, many times, and ending only with 
the final consummation of the Messiah's kingdom. An unde- 
niable example of such a prophecy is God's message by Isaiali 
to the covenant people: "Go and tell this people. Hear ye 
indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive 



BIBLICAL INTEBPKETATION. 623 

not," etc., with the threatened desolation that should follow 
(chap. 6 : 9-13). This prophecy had a true fulfilment in the 
ancient Jewish people before the Babylonish captivity. For 
their blindness of mind and hardness of heart, they were given 
over to the power of Nebuchadnezzar, wdio wasted their land, 
destroyed their city and temple, and carried the remnant of 
the people into captivity. But the same prophecy had, in both 
its parts, a more awful fulfilment in the generation of Jews who 
rejected and crucified our Lord, and were destroyed with their 
city and temple by the armies of Rome (Matt. 13 : 14, 15 ; Mark 
4:12; Luke 8:10; John 12:39-41; Acts 28:25-27; Rom. 
11 : 8) ; and its fulfilment is yet in progress. Joel's prophecy 
of the outpouring of the Spirit in the last days upon all flesh, 
with the mighty accompanjdng judgments (chap. 2 : 28-32), and 
Amos' prediction of the raising up of David's fallen tabernacle 
(chap. 9 : 11, 12), had both their initial fulfilment in the outpour- 
ing of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost and the triumphs 
of the gospel that followed. Acts 2 : 16-21 ; 15 : 16, 17. But 
the blessings which they promised were not exhausted in the 
apostolic age. The church has had rich instalments of them, 
but richer still are reserved for the future of millennial glory. 
A large part of the prophecies of the Old Testament indicate 
in their very structure that they are not to be understood of 
particular events, but of the development of God's kingdom 
from age to age. The reader may take, as a single example 
among many others, the prediction of Isaiah and Micah con- 
cerning the establishment of the Lord's house in the last days 
in the top of the mountains, the resort of all nations to it, and 
the universal peace tha-t shall follow. Isa. 2 : 2-4 ; Micah 4 : 1-4. 
That particularism which seeks for the fulfilment of every proph- 
ecy in some one specific event of history must go widely astray 
in its- interpretation of Scripture. 



624 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE.' 



ly. THE QUESTION OF LITEEAL AND FIGUKATIVE 

MEANING. 

11. On this question expositors are, as is well known, much 
divided ; one class adopting, as far as possible, the literal 
meaning of the prophetic announcements, the other freely em- 
ploying the principle of figurative interpretation. A full dis- 
cussion of the claims of these two methods of interpretation, 
on which so many volumes have been written, would far exceed 
the limits of the present work. All that can be done is, to indi- 
cate some well-established principles which may help to guide 
the biblical student in the study of prophecy. 

12. We begin by calling attention to the representative use 
which the Old Testament prophets make of the events of the 
fast history of Israel ; that is, to their habit of representing the 
future under the imagery of this history. When Israel jour- 
neyed from Egypt to Palestine through the wilderness of Ara- 
bia, God dried up the tongue of the Egyptian sea before the 
people, guided them miraculously by the cloudy pillar, fed 
them with manna, made streams of water to burst forth from 
the rock for their refreshment, and finally divided the waters 
of the Jordan to give them a passage into the promised land. 
This primitive history of Israel furnishes for the prophets who 
lived in later ages a rich treasury of images which it would be 
absurd to interpret in a literal way. 

Thus Isaiah, speaking of the future gathering together of the outcasts 
of Israel and the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth 
(chap. 11:11, 12), says: "And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue 
of the Egyptian sea, and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand 
over the river [the Eux3hrates] , and shall smite it in the seven streams, 
and make men go over dry shod" (ver. 15). To suppose that the prophet 
foretells a literal rej)etition of the miracles wrought upon the Bed sea and 
the Jordan is unnecessary and most improbable. The meaning is, that 
God shall remove all obstacles which hinder the return of his j)eople to 
their own land, as he originally removed all obstacles which oj)posed their 
entrance into it. This is, indeed, the very idea of the following verse : 
"And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people, which shall 



BIBLICAL INTEEPEETATION. 625 

be left, from Assyria ; like as it was to Israel in the day tliat he came up 
out of the land of Egypt, " 

Again, the prophet foretells that in the latter day glory "the Lord wiU 
create upon every dwelling-place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, 
a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night : 
for upon all the glory shall be a defence." Isa. 4 : 5. Here "the figurative 
reference is to the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire in which the Lord 
went before the Israelites in the wilderness, and to the glory which rested 
upon the tabernacle." Henderson. God will give to his church in the 
latter day that which the pillar of cloud and of fire signified, his glorious 
presence and protection. A literal repetition of the miracle is not to be 
thought of. 

Once more, God promises to his weary peoi^le, on their pilgrimage to 
Zion, that "in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the 
desert " (Isa. 35 : 6, and often elsewhere), with obvious allusion to the mirac- 
ulous supplies of water furnished to the Israelites in their journey through 
the Arabian desert to the land of Canaan. The water here promised is the 
water of life, and not literal fountains in the desert. Upon the same prin- 
ciple are we to interpret the river that flows out from under the threshold 
of the temple, and flows down eastward to the Dead sea, growing broader 
and deeper in its course, and imparting life to every thing which comes 
within its influence. Ezek. 47 : 1-12, and compare Psa. 46 : 4 ; Joel 3 : 18 ; 
Zech. 14 : 8. 

13. Tlie same representative use is made by the prophets 
of the institutions of the Mosaic economy. One of their offices 
was, to foretell the extension of tlie true religion over all the 
earth ; the conversion of all nations to the faith of the cove- 
nant people, and their peaceful subjection to Jehovah who 
reigned in Zion. In luliat form should this be done while the 
theocracy was yet in full force ? The disclosure of God's pur- 
pose to abolish this theocracy in the interest of a simpler and 
more spiritual dispensation, which should know no distinction 
between Jews and Gentiles, would have been a premature act. 
It would, so far as we can judge, have led tcf much error and 
misapprehension; and it must have had the effect of dispar- 
aging the existing economy before the Avorld was prepared to 
receive any thing better in its place. God, therefore, allowed 
his prophets to portray the glories of the latter day, when all 
nations should come to the knowledge and obedience of the 

Couip. to Uble. 27 



026 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

truth, under the forms of the Jeiuish dispensation, with its temple, 
sacrifices, and solemn festivals. 

A striking example is the bright portraiture of two contemporary proph- 
ets : "But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the 
house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it 
shall be exalted above the hills ; and people [Hebrew peop/es, that is, as 
Isaiah, all the nations] shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, 
and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the 
house of the God of Jacob ; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk 
in his paths : for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord 
from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke 
strong nations afar off ; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, 
and their spears into pruning-hooks : nation shall not lift up sword against 
nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every 
man under his vine and under his fig-tree ; and none shall make them 
afraid : for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it. " Micah 4 : 1-4, 
compared with Isa. 2 : 2-4. The temple at Jerusalem, with its altar and 
priesthood, was the central point of the old theocracy. There all the sac- 
rifices were to be offered, there was the seat of royal authority, and conse- 
quently of public justice, and thither all the males among the peoiple were 
required to repair three times a year at the great national festivals. Deut. 
16 : 16. A Jew could conceive of the conversion of all nations only in the 
form of their subjecting themselves to the theocracy, and coming u^ to 
Jerusalem for worship and the administration of justice. Accordingly the 
Spirit of prophecy here represents the mountain of the Lord's house as 
"established in the top of the mountains," a conspicuous object to aU 
nations, who resort thither for worship, submit themselves to the authority 
of the great king who reigns there, and thus have universal peace and hap- 
piness. To insist on the literal interpretation of these words is contrary to 
the general analogy of projDhecy. It is an attempt to bring back the out- 
ward sensuous form of the kingdom of heaven which the gospel dispensa- 
tion has abohshed. 

There is another celebrated passage in Zechariah (14 : 16-21) which is 
intensely Jewish in its costume. After describing the judgments of God 
upon the nations that have fought against Jerusalem, the prophet goes on 
to say : "And it shall come to pass that every one that is left of all the 
nations which came against Jerusalem, shall even go up from year to year 
to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of taberna- 
cles. And it shaU be, that whoso will not come up, of all the families of 
the earth, unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even 
upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and 
come not, that have no rain ; there shall be the plague, wherewith the 



BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. 627 

Lord will smite the lieatben that come not up to keep the feast of taberna- 
cles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all 
nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. In that day- 
there shall be upon the bells of the horses, Holiness unto the Loed ; and 
the pots in the Lord's house shall be like the bowls before the altar. Yea, 
every pot in Jerusalem and in Judali shall be holiness unto the Lord of 
hosts ; and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them and seethe 
therein : and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house 
of the Lord of hosts." The prophet's care to include *'all the families of 
the earth" in this ordinance is very noticeable. Whatever nation refuses 
to observe it shall have no rain. But, recollecting that for Egypt this can 
be no punishment, he appoints for that country the plague instead of the 
absence of rain. Is it so, then, that in the last days all the families of the 
earth are to go up year by year to worship at Jerusalem ? If so, they are 
to sacrifice also ; for the prophecy is a homogeneous whole, of which, if 
the beginning is to be understood literally, so is the end also. The refer- 
ence is to the peace-offerings of the people, on which, after certain pre- 
scribed portions had been burned on the altar, the offerer feasted with his 
friends ; and a special provision is made for the multitude of these sacrifi- 
ces. "Every pot in Judah and Jerusalem," as well as "the pots in the 
Lord's house," "shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts," that it may be 
used for boiling the flesh of the peace-offerings, precisely as we find done 
in the days of Eli. 1 Sam. 2 : 13-16. But all sacrifices are done away for 
ever in Christ. Heb. 10 : 10-18. This part of the prophecy must clearly 
be understood figuratively, and therefore the whole. The future reception 
of the true religion by all nations is foretold under the symbols of the 
Mosaic economy, with its ritual, its yearly feasts, and its central place of 
worship. For this principle of interpretation we have the warrant of the 
New Testament. Did the law of Moses prescribe a literal priesthood with 
literal sacrifices ; believers, under the new dispensation, are a spiritual 
priesthood, presenting their bodies as "living sacrifices." Rom. 12:1 ; 
1 Pet. 2 : 5. Did the Mosaic economy have a central metropolis, a literal 
Zion, whither all the tribes went up ; believers in Christ have come to the 
spiritual "Mount Zion " which this shadowed forth, where the great Anti- 
type of David reigns, that all nations may resort to him, and he may teach 
them his laws. 

Upon the same principle, as well as for other very obvious reasons (see 
chaps. 42 : 15-20 ; 45 : 1-8 ; 47 : 1-12, and the whole of chap. 48), Ezekiel's 
minute description of a New Jerusalem, with its territory, its temple, and 
its Jewish appointments (chaps. 40-48), is to be undersfood not literally 
but figuratively. This temple has also its Levitical priesthood, its altar, 
and its sacrifices (chap. 43 : 13-27), aU which are done away in Christ. 
There are other passages kindred to the above which it is not necessary to 



628 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

consider separately, as they all come under the same general principle of 
interpretation. 

14. In the classes of prophecies that have been considered, 
the principle of figurative interpretation can be maintained 
upon solid grounds. But it would be wrong to press it as of 
universal and exclusive application. Where no reasons to the 
contrary exist, the literal interpretation, as the most natural 
and obvious, deserves the preference. To draw the limits be- 
tween the literal and the figurative in prophecy is difficult, and 
in some cases impossible. In this respect it has pleased the 
wisdom of God that a vail should rest on some unfulfilled pre- 
dictions which his own hand alone has power to remove. There 
are two questions, especially, respecting which interpreters 
haA^e long been divided, and will probably continue to be divi- 
ded, till God himself shall decide them. The first is that of 
the literal restoration of the Jews to the promised land; the 
second, that of our Lord's personal reign on earth during the 
promised age of millennial glory. To enter upon the full dis- 
cussion of either would require a volume. We must dismiss 
both with some brief hints. 

15. The original promise to Abraham included the grant of 
the land of Canaan to him and his seed "for an everlasting 
possession." Gen. 12 : 7 ; 13 : 15 ; 15 : 18 ; 17 : 8 ; 26 : 3 ; 28 : 13. 
It is expressed in the plainest terms, the boundaries of the 
promised territory are defined, and the nations inhabiting it 
enumerated (Gen. 15 : 18-21) ; in a word, every thing indicates 
the literal as the true interpretation. The remarkable words 
of the Saviour : "And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, 
and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem 
shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the 
Gentiles be fulfilled" (Luke 21:24), have had a hteral fulfil- 
ment in the awful judgments which they foretell ; and it seems 
reasonable to -believe that the promise implied in the last 
clause, " until the times of tJie Gentiles he fulfilled,'' shall have a 
literal fulfilment also in their repossession of Jerusalem and 
the Holy Land. The wonderful preservation of the Jewish 



BIBLICAL INTERPKETATION. G29 

nation through so many centuries of dispersion points in the 
same direction. All these things, taken in connection with the 
numerous and very explicit prophecies of their captivity and 
dispersion for their sins, and their subsequent restoration upon 
repentance (Lev. chap. 26; Deut. chaps. 28-30; 1 Kings 
8:46-50; Isa. chaps. 6, 11, 66; Jer. chaps. 30, 31; Ezek. chaps. 
36-39 ; Hosea 1 : 10, 11 ; Joel chap. 3 ; Amos chap. 9 ; Micah 
7 : 8-20 ; Zeph. 3 : 8-20), seem to warrant the expectation of a 
literal fulfilment hereafter of the promise made to Abraham 
that his seed should inherit the land of Canaan for ever. 

16. That Christ will come again in glory to raise the dead, 
change the living, and judge all nations, is a fundamental arti- 
cle of the Christian faith. But the doctrine *' that the fleshly 
and sublunary state is not to terminate with the coming of 
Christ, but to be then set up in a new form ; when, with his 
glorified saints, the Kedeemer will reign in person on the 
throne of David at JTerusalem for a thousand years, over a 
world of men yet in the flesh, eating and drinking, planting 
and building, marrying and giving in marriage, under this 
mysterious sway" (Brown on the Second Advent, who correctly 
states the fundamental principle of the system), cannot lay 
claim to an irrefragable basis of scriptural teaching. The 
arguments relied on by its advocates are drawn in part from 
the very passages that have been considered above (Micah 
4:1-4; Zech. 14:16-21). How little support the theory de- 
rives from these passages, when fairly interpreted, we have 
seen. Nor is it favored by the references to our Lord's second 
coming in the gospels and epistles, for they clearly connect it 
with the final consummation of all things. 

Oar Saviour says : "Tlie hour is coming, in the which all that are in 
the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth ; they that have done 
good unto the resurrection of life ; and they that have done evil, unto the 
resurrection of damnation." John 5 : 28, 29. He plainly represents these 
two resurrections as simultaneous ; nor is there in the record of his words 
any hint of a partial resurrection ages before the reign of death in this 
world shall close. The resurrection ''at the last trump " to which the apos- 
tle Paul refers (1 Cor. chap. 15 ; 1 Thess. 4 : 13-18 ; 2 Thess. 1 : 7-10) is 



(;33 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

universal. It exjiressly includes all tlie dead in Clirist and the cluinge of all 
Christ's living disciples. If nothing is said of the resurrection of the 
■wicked, it is because the apostle has in mind only the " resuiTection of 
life," and has no occasion to speak of the simultaneous "resurrection of 
damnation " which the Saviour himself connects with it. This resurrec- 
tion at the last trump is also the annihilation of the reign of death ; for 
when it happens, "then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, 
Beath is swallowed up in victory." 1 Cor. 15 : 54. But "the last enemy 
that shall be destroyed is death," and "then cometh the end." 1 Cor. 
15 : 24-26. 

The Saviour teaches, moreover, that his personal pres- 
ence on earth is inconsistent with the dispensation of the Holy 
Spirit. " It is expedient for you that I go away ; for if I go 
not away the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I 
depart, I will send him unto you." John 16 : 7. It is expedi- 
ent, doubtless, because the dispensation of the Spirit is better 
adapted to our present state of flesh and blood than his per- 
sonal presence could be. This dispensation of the Spirit must, 
from the nature of the case, be continued in its full force 
throughout the millennial era, when the generations of men 
will succeed each other as at present. But the New Testament 
knows nothing of the dispensation of the Holy Spirit existing 
contemporaneously with Christ's personal reign on earth. Its 
constant doctrine is that the salvation of men is effected by 
OJirisfs intercession in heaven conjointly with iJie gift of the Holy 
Spirit on earth. 

The passage mainly relied upon by the advocates of this 
theory is the twentieth chapter of the book of Revelation, which 
speaks of the first and second resurrection. But the first res- 
urrection there described cannot be identical with the resur- 
rection described by Paul at our Lord's advent. The resurrec- 
tion described by Paul includes in express terms all the right- 
eous, whereas this first resurrection of the Apocalypse ia 
restricted to a certain class, namely, the martyrs and confes- 
sors for Christ's sake (ver. 4), while the rest of tlie dead live 
not till the thousand years are over (ver. 5). Then there is a 
general resurrection (ver. 11-15), which, from its very terms, 



BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. 631 

includes the. righteous and the loicked ; for among the books then 
opened is " the book of Ufe." The risen dead are " judged every 
man according to his works," and all whose names are not 
found in the \fook of life are cast into the lake of fire. At the 
same time death and hell (Hades), personified as two enemies 
of the human race, are cast into the lake of fire, and thus 
"death, the last enemy, is destroyed," and "death is swallowed 
up in victory." 1 Cor. 15 : 26, 54. This is the resurrection 
which takes place upon our Lord's advent at the last trump, 
not a thousand years after his advent; the resurrection and 
judgment, when the wicked "shall go away into everlasting 
punishment, but the righteous into life eternal." We venture 
not to interpret the meaning of the first resurrection, believing 
that it is one of the mysteries which God alone will reveal in 
its fulfilment. But whether it should be taken literall/ or fig- 
uratively, after the analogy of the resurrection of the two wit- 
nesses (chap. 11 : 11), it does not seem reasonable to build upon 
this obscure and difficult passage a doctrine respecting our 
Lord's pre-millennial advent and personal reign on earth which 
is so decidedly at variance with the general tenor of Scripture. 



032 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 



CHAPTEE XXXIX. 

Quotations from the Old Testament in the 

New. 

1. As it respects inspiration, and consequent infallible 
authority, the quotations of the New Testament stand on a 
level with the rest of the apostolic writings. The Saviour's 
promise was : " When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will 
guide you into all truth;" literally, "into all the truth," that 
is, as immediately explained, all the truth pertaining to the 
Redeemer's person and work. When, therefore, after the ful- 
filment^of this promise, Peter and the other apostles expound- 
ed to their brethren the Scriptures of the Old Testament, 
wherein the Spirit of Christ "testified beforehand the suffer- 
ings of Christ, and the glory that should follow," the same 
" Spirit of Christ " guided them to a true apprehension of their 
meaning. If we cannot trust Peter and Paul, whom Christ 
himself personally commissioned to preach his gospel, quali- 
fied for this work by the gift of the Holy Spirit, and endowed 
with miraculous powers as the seal of their commission — if we 
cannot trust these men to interpret the words of the Old Tes- 
tament, then we cannot trust the guidance of the Divine Spirit 
himself. But when we have admitted, as we must, the author- 
ity of the New Testament writers as interpreters of the Old 
Testament, a very important question remains to be consid- 
ered ; and that is the manner of their quotations. This question 
we propose briefly to examine in respect to both outward form 
and inivard contents. 

2. As it respects outward form, we cannot but notice at 
once the very free spirit of these quotations. It is manifest 
that these inspired penmen are not anxious about the verbal 
accuracy of the words cited. The spirit and scope of a passage, 
which constitute its true life and meaning, are what they have 



BIBLICAL INTEEPKETATION. G33 

in view, nofc the exact number of words literally translated from 
Hebrew into Greek. It is well known that a very large part of 
their quotations is made from the Greek version of the seventy, 
called the Septuagint, which was in common use in their 
day. No one pretends that the translators who made tjke Sep- 
tuagint were inspired, or that they always succeeded in hitting 
the exact meaning of the Hebrew originaL Yet, under the 
guidance of the Holy Spirit, the robust good sense of the New 
Testament writers went straight forward without stopping to 
notice or criticise deviations from the Hebrew, provided they 
did not affect the use which they wished to make of the passa- 
ges quoted. 

But the New Testament writers do not always conform 
their quotations to the Septuagint. They frequently follow 
the Hebrew wholly or in part where the Greek version departs 
from it. Matthew, in particular, follows the Hebrew in the 
Messianic quotations. Chap. 29, No. 19. Yet in these cases 
also they cite in the same free manner, abridging sometimes 
the Hebrew passage quoted, or giving only its general* sense. 
It may be that thus the wisdom of God intended to bear testi- 
mony against the undue exaltation of the letter of inspiration 
above its spirit. 

From a hst of some two liundred and fifty citations placed side by side 
with the original Hebrew passages and the Septuagint version of the same 
we select the following as illustrations of the above remarks, each passage 
being literally translated. The words in brackets are regarded by some as 
not belonging to the true text. 

Hebrew. The SjDirit of the Lord God is upon me ; because the Lord 
hath anointed me to i)reacli good tidings to the meek : he hath sent me 
to bind up the broken-hearted, to jDroclaim liberty to the captives, and the 
opening of the prison to the bound ; to proclaim a year of acceptance to 
the Lord. Isa. 61 : 1, 2. 

Septuagint. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me ; because he hath 
anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor ; he hath sent me to heal 
the broken-hearted, to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of 
sight to the blind; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. Isa. 
61 : 1, 2. 

New Testament. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me ; because he hath 



()34: COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor, he hath sent me [to heal 
the broken-hearted,] to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of 
sight to the blind, to send away free the bruised (perhaps from the Greek of 
Isa. 58 : 6) ; to j)roclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. Luke 4 : 18, 19. 

Hebrew. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion ; shout, O daughter of 
Jerusalem : behold thy king shall come to thee : he is just and endowed 
^\■ith salvation ; lowly, and riding ujDon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of 
an ass. Zech. 9 : 9. 

Septungint. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion ; proclaim, O daugh- 
ter of Jerusalem : behold the king cometh to tliee, just and exercising sal- 
vation ; he is meek, and mounted on an ass and a young colt. Zech. 9 : 9. 

New Testament. Say ye to the daughter of Zion (Isa. 62 : 11) : Behold 
thy king cometh to thee, meek, and mounted upon an ass, and upon a colt 
the foal of an ass. Matt. 21 : 5. 

Fear not, O daughter of Zion ; behold thy king cometh sitting upon 
an ass's colt. John 12 : 15. 

Hebrew. In hearing hear ye, but understand not ; and in seeing see ye, 
but perceive not. Make fat the heart of this people, and their ears make 
heavy, and their eyes cover over : lest they see with their eyes, and with 
their ears hear, and with their heart understand, and turn, and one heal 
them. Isa. 6 : 9, 10. 

Septuagiyit. In hearing ye shall hear, but understand not ; and in see- 
ing ye shall see, but perceive not. Eor the heart of this people became 
gross, and with their ears they heard heavily, and the eyes they closed ; 
lest at any time they should see with the eyes, and with the ears should 
hear, and with the heart should understand, and should turn, and I should 
heal them. Isa. 6 : 9, 10. 

New Testament. In hearing ye sa.ili hear, but understand not ; and in 
seeing ye shall see, but perceive not. For the heart of this people became 
gross, and with the ears they heard heavily, and their eyes they closed ; 
lest at any time they should see with the eyes, and with the ears should 
hear, and with the heart should understand, and should turn, and I should 
heal them. Matt. 13 : 14, 15 ; also Acts 28 : 26, 27. 

That in seeing they may see and not i^erceive, and in hearing they may 
hear and not understand ; lest at any time they should turn, and [their 
sins] should be forgiven them. Mark 4 : 12. 

That in seeing they may not see, and in hearing they may not under 
stand. Luke 8 : 10. 

He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart ; that they might 
not see with the eyes, and understand with the heart, and be turned, anc, 
I should heal them. John 12 : 40. 



BIBLICAL INTEKPKETATION. 635 

These quotations of the same passage by different New Testament wri- 
ers furnish a remarkable example of their free manner, while the spirit 
and scope of the proj^bet are kept by all. 

In Heb. 10 : 5 we have a quotation from the Septuagint where it differs 
widely from the Hebrew of Psa, 40 : 7. This reads : " Sacrifice and offer- 
ing thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened" (Heb. bored or 
digged). But the apostle quotes after the Septuagint: "Sacrifice and 
offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared for me." The 
attempted explanations of this difference are not very satisfactory. It is 
to be noticed, however, that the apostle builds no essential part of his argu- 
ment upon the clause in question. 

In the long quotation from Jeremiah in Hob. 8 : 8-12, the clause, "and 
I regarded them not" (ver. 9), is perhaps correct for substance; since 
many prefer to render the corresponding Hebrew clause not as in our ver- 
sion — " though I was a husband unto them, " — but, ' ' and I rejected them. " 

When, on the contrary, the spirit and scope of a passage are lost in the 
version of the Seventy, the New Testament writers quote directly from the 
Hebrew. Examples are the following : 

"When Israel wa? a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of 
Egypt." Hosea 11 : 1, quoted in Matt. 2 : 15. Here the Seventy render : 
" Out of Egypt I called my children," a variation from the original which 
makes the passage inapplicable ; since Israel, as God's first-born son 
(Exod. 4 :22, 23), was the type of Christ, and not the individual Israelites. 

Again, to the passage Isa. 42 : 1-4, quoted in Matt. 12 : 18-21, the Sep- 
tuagint gives a wrong turn by the introductory words : ' ' Jacob my son, I 
will help him : Israel my chosen, my soul hath accepted him : I have put 
my Spirit upon him ; he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles," etc. ; 
whereas the Hebrew speaks not of Jacob and Israel, but of God's servant : 
"Behold my servant, whofii I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul de- 
lighteth," etc. Matthew accordingly follows the Hebrew, yet in a very 
free manner : "Behold my servant, whom I have chosen ; my beloved, in 
whom my soul delighteth," etc. 

For other examples see Mai. 3:1, as quoted by Matt. 11 : 10 ; Mark 
1:2; Luke 7 : 27 ; Isa. 9 : 1, 2, as quoted by Matt. 4 : 15, 16. 

3. Passing now to the consideration of the New Testament 
citations on the side of their iniuard contents, the first question 
that arises has respect to the so-called p?*i;zcip?e 6f accommodation. 
There is a sense in which the writers of the New Testament some- 
times employ the language of the Old in the way of accommo- 
dation ; that is, they use its phraseology, originally applied io 



636 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. 

a different connection, simply as expressing in an apt and for- 
cible manner the thoughts which they wish to convey. Of this 
we have a beautiful example in Eom. 10 : 18, where the apostle 
says, in reference to the proclamation of the gospel : " But I 
say. Have they not heard 7 Yes verily, their sound went into 
all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world," 
meaning that what the psalmist says of the instruction given 
by the heavens, Psa. 19:1-4, is true of the preaching of the 
word; so that none are excusable for their unbelief. Another 
striking example is found in the same c»hapter (ver. 6-8), where 
" phraseology originally used by Moses to express the way of 
justification contained in the law (Deut. 30 : 11-14) is adapted to 
the gospel as properly descriptive of the salvation propounded 
in it." Davidson's Hermeneutics, p. 471. 

But that the Saviour and his apostles used accommodation 
in the commonly received sense of the term ; that is, that they 
quoted, in accommodation to the ideas of their age, passages 
from the Old Testament as applicable to the Messiah and his 
kingdom, which they knew to have no such application when 
fairly and legitimately interpreted; that, for example, they 
used the hundred and tenth psalm as a prophecy of the Mes- 
siah (Matt. 22:41-46; Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44; Acts 
2:34, 35; Heb. 1:13), simply because this was the current 
interpretation of their times — this is not to be admitted for a 
moment. That the Saviour dealt prudently with the preju- 
dices of his age is admitted ; but he did not build upon them 
his claim to be the Messiah, nor solemnly appeal to the author- 
ity of Moses and the prophets knowing this to be only a dream 
of fanciful interpretation. If Christ and his apostles taught 
any thing, ifc was that he had come in accordance with the 
prophecies of the Old Testament, and in fulfilment of these 
prophecies. Did they indeed, in all this, only act upon the 
maxim which Paul rejects with abhorrence as damnable? "If 
the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his 
glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner? And not rather 
(as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we 



BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. 637 

say), Let us do evil that good may come? whose damnation 
is just." 

4. The writers of the New Testament often cite the Old by 
way of argument. Thus the Saviour argues against divorce at 
the husband's will "for every cause" by an appeal to the ori- 
ginal institution of marriage (Matt. 19 : 3-6) ; and Paul proves 
that the man is the head of the woman, and that she owes sub- 
jection to him, from the order of creation and its accompany- 
ing circumstances. 1 Cor. 11 : 8, 9 ; 1 Tim. 2 : 11-14. Respect- 
ing this class of quotations, it. is only necessary to remark that 
the validity of the arguments depends on the historic truth and 
divine authority -of the passages adduced. The Saviour and 
his apostles professedly build their arguments on the record of 
the Old Testament. If this is sand — mythical quicksand — • 
their house falls, and their authority with it. But if the foun- 
dation is rock — an inspired record of facts — their house stands, 
and with it their character as truthful teachers. 

5. Far more numerous are the passages which are cited as 
prophecies of Christ and his Jdngdom. These are introduced by 
various formulas : •' That it might be fulfilled which was spo- 
ken of the Lord by the prophet;" "that it might be fulfilled 
which was spoken by Esaias the prophet ;" " in them is ful- 
filled the prophecy of Esaias;" " this day is this Scripture ful- 
filled in your ears ;" " this Scripture must needs have been ful- 
filled;" "it is .contained in Scripture;" "another Scripture 
saith;" "this that is written must yet be accomplished in 
me," etc. 

The common formula, "that it might be fulfilled," means that the 
event recorded took place in order thai the purpose of God announced in 
the prophecy might be accomplished. The prophecy was not the main 
thing, but the purpose of God contained in it. For the accomplishment 
of this purpose, and thus of the prophecy which revealed it, God's truth 
was pledged. In the same way are to be understood the words of John 
(chap.. 12 : 39, 40) : "Therefore they could not beheve because that Esaias 
saith again, He hath blinded their eyes," etc. The hinderance to their 
belief lay not in the prophecy, but in that which the prophecy announced. 



(538 COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. ' 

6. Of the prophecies quoted, some refer immediately to 
Glirist. Such are the following : " The Lord said unto my 
Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy 
footstool" (Matt. 22:44, from Psa. 110:1); "The Lord sware 
and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of 
Melchizedek" (Heb. 7: 21, from Psa. 110 : 4) ; " He was led as 
a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his 
shearer, so opened he not his mouth," etc. (Acts 8 : 32, 33, from 
Isa. 53 : 7, 8) ; "A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up 
unto you of your brethren, like unto me ; him shall ye hear," 
etc. (Acts 3 : 22, 23 ; 7 : 37, from Deut. 18 : 15, 18, 19). 

7. Others refer ultimately to Christ, hut under a type. An 
undeniable example is the following : " A bone of him shall not 
be broken" (John 19:36, from Exod. 12:46; Numb. 9:12); 
words originally spoken of the paschal lamb, which was the 
type of Christ, and now fulfilled in the great Antitype. Again, 
we read in Hosea (chap. 11 : 1) : " When Israel was a child, 
then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt;" words 
which Matthew quotes as fulfilled in Christ (chap. 2 : 15). It 
was the purpose of God, namely, that the history of Israel, 
God's first-born son (Exod. 4 : 22, 23), in his national child- 
hood, should foreshadow that of Jesus, the only begotten Son 
of God. 

To the same class belongs apparently the following citation : 
" What is man, that thou art mindful of him ? or the son of 
man, that thou visitest him ? Thou madest him a little lower 
than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honor, 
and didst set him over the works of thy hands : thou hast put 
all things in subjection under his feet." Heb. 2 : 6-8, from Psa. 
8 : 4-6. It seems impossible to deny that the immediate refer- 
ence of the psalm is to man's exalted dignity and high prerog- 
atives as the lord of this lower world. But, as the writer to 
the Hebrews argues, the words have no complete fulfilment in 
man considered apart from Christ. It is in the person of 
Christ alone that the high destiny of human nature finds its full 
realization. He is made Lord of all, and " crowned with glory 



BIBLICAL INTEKPEETATION. 639 

and honor" for himself and for all his disciples also, who shall 
reign with him in glory for ever. We add one more example 
from Heb. 1 : 5, where the writer quotes and applies to Christ 
the words of Nathan to David : " I will be to him a Father, and 
he shall be to me a Son." 2 Sam. 7 : 14. The promise unde- 
niably had immediate respect to Solomon ; not to Solomon, 
however, in his simple personality, but to Solomon as the first 
after David of a line of kings that should end in Christ, in 
whom alone it has its true fulfilment. God took Solomon, and 
in him the whole line of kings on David's throne, into the rela- 
tion of sonship, and thus of heirship. Eom. 8:17; Gal. 4 : 7. 
To Solomon, as God's son, the kingdom was confirmed for ever 
through Christ; and Solomon's lower sonship, moreover, adum- 
brated the higher sonshij) of the last and greatest of his sons, 
to whom the promise was : " He shall be great, and shall bo 
called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give 
unto him the throne of his father David : and he shall reign 
over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there 
shall be no end." Luke 1 : 32, 33. 

To draw the exact line of separation between the two above 
named classes of citations is difficult, and in some cases per- 
haps impossible. Nor is it necessary, since the essential truth 
is, that all these prophecies find their accomplishment in Christ ; 
those of the former class directly, those of the latter through 
types of divine appointment. 

The exegesis of the New Testament quotations presents many difficult 
questions, relating partly to the true rendering of the original words, partly 
to the deviations of the Septuagint from the Hebrew, and the citations from 
both the Sej)tuagint and the Hebrew ; partly to the original application of 
the passages cited and the use made of them in the New Testament, For 
the details the student must be referred to the commentators. All that 
has been here attempted is a statement of the general principles that must 
govern us in interpreting the quotations from the Old Testament which 
are found in the New. 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 



N. B. THE FIGURES REFER TO THE PAGES. 



A. 

Abrahamic covenant, the ground work 
of the Pentateuch, 225; of the gos- 
pel, 116, seq. 

Adam, his apostasy the key to the plan 
of redemption, 115. 

Accentuation, Hebrew system of, 265. 

Acknowledged epistles, 91, seq. 

Accommodation, principle of, 635. 

Acts of the Apostles, a natural sequel 
to the Gospels, 87; external testimo- 
nies to the book, 88; internal eviden- 
. ces, 89; its credibility, 90; coinciden- 
ces with the Pauline epistles, 90; its 
plan and divisions, 440; its offices, 
442, seq. 

Ahasuerus, the Xerxes of history, 261. 

Alamoth, 288. 

Alexander the Great, his visit to Jeru- 
salem, 263, 325. 

Alexandria, the Septuagiut version made 
here, 199. 

Alexandrine Jews, their use of the Greek 
language, 369. 

Alexandrine manuscript, 385. 

Allegorical applications of Scripture, 
553. 

Allegories, 319,553; their interpretation, 
558, seq. 

Altar, of incense, 589; of burnt-offer- 
ing, 590. 

Al-taschith, 288. 

Ammonian sections, 375. 

Amos, 336; book of, 336, seq. 

Analogy of f;\ith, 576, seq. 

Antilegomena, 91, 96, seq. 

Antioch in Pisidia, 442. 



Antioch in Syria, the centre of Paul's 
missionary labors, 441, 442, 449. 

Apocalypse, meaning of the term, ;503; 
its apostolic authorship,. 503, seq. ; its 
date, 506; various schemes of inter- 
pretation, 507 ; symbolic import of its 
numbers, 508, seq. 

Apocrypha, meaning of the word, 350. 

Apocryphal books of the Old Testament, 
198, 350, seq.; uncertainty of their 
dates, 350; none of them exist in He- 
brew or wer^eceived into the Hebrew 
canon, 350; received by the Alexan- 
drine Jews, 351; estimation by tho 
early Christians and by Protestants, 
351. 

Apocryphal Gospels and Acts, 517. 

Apostolic canons, so-called, 514. 

Apostolic epistles, a natural sequel to 
the Gospels, 445 ; their occasions and 
offices, 445, seq. 

Apostolic men, 109 ; their writings, 483. 

Apostolic fathers, 511, seq. 

Apostles, their peculiar office, 103; their 
inspiration, 104, seq. 

Apostle's Creed, 517. 

Aquila and his version, 204. 

Aramaean or Aramaic and its branches, 
175; became the language of the Jews 
after the captivity, 177, 369. 

Ark of the covenant, 588. 

Aristeas' account of the Septuagint ver- 
sion, 199. 

Aristobulus' account of the same, 199. 

Armenian version, 409. 

Artaxerxes, 261; Artaxerxes Longima- 
nus, 261, 341>. 



28 



642 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 



Assyrian or square character, 172, 175. 

Atonement, great day of, 603. 

Authenticity of the Gospels, 66, seq. ; of 
the Pentateuch, 120, seq. See fur- 
ther under the several books. 

Autographs of the sacred writers, their 
early disappearance, 61, 209. 

B. 

Babylon, church in, 492. 

Babylonish captivitj^ 255. 

Barnabas, his relation to Mark, 427. 

Barnabas, so-called Epistle of, 46, 100, 
516. 

Baruch, apocryphal book of, 358. 

Bashmuric version, 407. 

Belshazzar, identification of, 328. 

Berosus' account ■ of Nebuchadnezzar, 
327. 

Beza's, or the Cambridge manuscript, 
387. 

Bible, meaning of the word, 165; vari- 
ety of its authors and dates of its 
books, 168, 372, seq. ; their arrange- 
ment, 169, seq., 371, %eq.; different 
designations of, 165, seq. ; its code of 
morals, 150, seq. ; harmony of its 
parts, 152, 154; its power over the 
conscience and life, 154. 

Blood, sacrificial, the atonement lay in 
it, 597; sprinkling of, 601, 603; when 
carried into the sanctuary, 604. 

Books of the New Testament, public 
reading of, 63. See further under 
New Testament and the several books. 

Books of the Old Testament. See under 
Bible and Old Testament. 

Branch as a designation of the Messiah, 
590. 

Briefs, 377. 

Burning of sacrifices, signification of, 
602; without the camp, 605. 

Burnt-ofi'erings, 598. 

c. 

Cambyses, 261. 

Canaanites, their extirpation, 140, 244. 
Candlestick, golden, 589. 
Canon, meaning of the word, 183; its 
extent, 112. 



Canon of the New Testament, its grad- 
ual formation, 394, seq. ; first recog 
nition of a canon, 398; the books re- 
ceived separately and on full evidence, 
399; completion of the present canon, 
398; important ancient canons, 398. 

Canon of the Old Testament, settled by 
Ezra, 123, 193, seq. ; principle of its 
settlement, 147; Josephus' account of, 
197; Origen'sand Jerome's,197; canon 
of the Pentateuch, 183, seq. ; of the 
historical books, 185, seq. ; of the 
prophetical and poetic books, 190, seq. 

Canticles, 292. 

Chaldaisms, 307. 

Chaldee language, parts of the Old Tes- 
tament written in it, 175. See further 
under Targums. 

Chapters, origin of, 174, 377. 

Cherubim over the ark, God's dwelling- 
place, 588. 

Christ, his person and advent the cen- 
tral point of Christianity, 32, 411; his 
character verifies itself, 71, seq. ; man- 
ner of his teaching, 77, seq. ; manner 
in which he manifested his deity, 79, 
seq. ; his infallibility an axiom of 
Christianity, 102; preparation for his 
. advent, 114; union of the kingly and 
priestly offices in his person, 590; 
question of his second advent and 
personal reign on earth, 629, seq. 

Christian church, inauguration of, 443. 

Christianity, its historic basis, 31» 410. 

Chronicles, books of, originallj' one, 255; 
meaning of the name, 255; their char- 
acteristics, 256; their place in the 
Hebrew canon, 257; difficulties con- 
nected with them, 257, seq. 

Chronology, of the Old Testament, 230; 
of the book of Judges, 247; of the 
books of Kings, 255; of the book of 
Ezra, 260. 

Church lessons, 378. 

Clean and unclean. Mosaic distinctions 
of, 605. 

Clement of Alexandria, 40. See fur- 
ther under various New Testament 
books. 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 



643 



Clement of Kome, first epistle of, 100, 
511, seq. ; its occasion, scope, and 
stj'le, 512; its reference to the Epistle 
to the Hebrews, 483; second Epistle 
of, not genuine, 512; so-called Clem- 
entines, or Recognitions of Clement, 
513; so-called Constitutions of Clem- 
ent, and apostolic canons, 514. 

Codex Vaticanus, 384; Sinaiticus, 385; 
Alexandrinus, 385, seq. ; Ephraemi, 
386; Dublinensis, 387; Bezae, 387; 
Purpureas, 388. See further on pa- 
ges 402, 404. 

Colosse and church of the Colossians, 
463. 

Colossians, epistle to the, its relation to 
the epistle to the Ephesians, 461; its 
occasion, scope, and plan, 464. 

Comparisons, 552. 

Context, definition of, 531; its import- 
ance, 531. 

Continuous writing, 172, 373. 

Contradictions, apparent, reconciliation 
of, 543. 

Coptic version, 407. 

Corinth and the Corinthian church, 454. 

Corinthians, first epistle to. the, date 
and place of writing, 453: occasion 
and scope, 454; contents, 455; con- 
trast with the epistle to the Galatians, 
456. 

Corinthians, second epistle to the, date 
and place of writing, 456; occasion, 
contents, and peculiar character, 457. 

Cornelius, 441. 

Councils, general, their later introduc- 
tion, 41, 97. 

Council of Laodicea, its canon, 399. 

Credibility of the gospels. See gosj)el 
narratives. 

Crete and the Cretan churches, 480. 

Criticism of the sacred text, its oflfice, 
209; of the Old Testament text, its 
sources, manuscripts, 209 ; ancient 
versions, 210; primary editions, 210; 
parallel passages, 211; quotations in 
the New Testament, 211, 632, seq.; 
criticism of the New Testament text, 
its state, 380, seq. ; various readings, 



381 ; materials for correction, 383; 
manuscripts, 384, seq. ; primary edi- 
tions, 388; the received text, 389, seq. ; 
principles of textual criticism, 391, 
seq. 

Cursive manuscripts, 60, 375, 388. 

Cyrus, signification of the name, 306 
his decree for liberating the Jews, 306. 

D. 

Damasus, his agency with respect to the 
vulgate, 402. 

Daniel, 322. 

Daniel, book of, its place in the Jewish 
canon, 322 ; arrangement and contents, 
323; genuineness, 324, seq. ; unity,324; 
testimonies to it, Josephus, 325; the 
Saviour, 325, seq. ; its language, 326, 
329; difficulties connected with its 
chronology and history, 327; its su- 
pernatural contents, 330. 

Daniel, apocryphal additions to, 359, 

Danites, their conquest of Laish, 243, 
245. 

Darius Hystaspes, 261, 345. 

Darius the Median, 328. 

David, 249, seq. ; typical character of 
his kingdom and office, 582. 

Deluge, 229. 

Demetrius Phalereus, his agency in the 
Septuagint versiom 201. 

Deuteronomy, book of, meaning of the 
name, 238; its authorship, 124, seq.; 
its relation to the earlier parts of the 
law, 127; design, 128; peculiar char- 
acter, 129; contents, 238, seq. 

Diatesseron of Tatian, 50. 

Difficulties, treatment of, 34, 85 ; of the 
Mosaic economy, 138, 571; of the book 
of Genesis, 229, seq. 

Diognetus, epistle to, 45. 

Disputed books. See Antilegomena. 

Double sense, question of, 618, seq. ; in 
the historic types, 618; in the Messi- 
anic Psalms, 619. 

Dublin manuscript, 387. 

E. 

Ebionites, their gospel, 422. 
Ecclesiastes, book of, 290, seq. 



GU 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 



Ecclesiasticus, apocryphal book of, 357. 

Elihu, 283. 

Egypt, the sojourn in, 233. 

Eleazar, martyrdom of, 361. 

Enoch, apocryphal book of, 501. 

Ephesus and the Ephesian church, 405, 
479. 

Ephesians, Epistle to the, 462, 465, seq. ; 
its relation to the epistle to the Colos- 
sians, 462 ; occasion and general char- 
acter, 466; address and authorship, 
466; contents and divisions, 467, seq. 

Ephraem manuscript, 380. 

Epistles, apostolic, 445; Pauline, 446. 
See further under the several epistles. 

Esdras, apocryphal books of, 352. 

Esther, book of, 263. 

Esther, apocryphal additions to, 355. 

Ethiopian version, 408. 

Eusebius, account of the New Testa- 
ment canon, 398. See further under 
the various New Testament books. 

Eusebian canons, 376. 

Euthalius and stichometry, 374. 

Evidences of Christianity, internal and 
experimental, 149, seq. For the his- 
toric see gospel narratives, Penta- 
teuch, etc. 

Exodus, meaning of the word, 232; unity, 
divisions, and contents of the book, 
232 ; time of the sojourn in Egypt, 233. 

Exegesis defined, 521. 

Expositions, inept, 540; incompatible, 
541; forced, 544. 

Expositor, his office, 521; qualifications, 
522, seq. 

Ezekiel, 316, seq. 

Ezekiel, book of, 320, seq. 

Ezra, his work in the restoration, 258; 
in settling the Hebrew canon, 123, 
147. 

Ezra, book of, 258; its chronology, 260. 

F. 

Fables, distinguished from parables, 554. 

Figurative language, 546; its ascertain- 
ment, 547, seq. ; its interpretation, 
557, seq. 

Figures, different kinds of, 550, seq. 



G. 

Galatia and the Galatian church, 458. 

Galatians, Epistle to the, date and place 
of writing, 458; occasion and scgpe, 
459; contents and divisions, 460, seq. 

Genesis, book of, meaning of the word, 
224; its relation to thefollowing books, 
130; authorship, 132, 227; introduc- 
tory office, 225; divisions, 226, seq.; 
contents and difficulties, 227, seq. 

Gentiles, their reception of the gospel, 
and introduction to the church, 443, 
447. 

Genuineness. See under the several 
divisions and books of the Bible. 

Gittith, 287. 

Gnosticism, 477. 

Gospel, meaning and different uses of 
the word, 411. 

Gospel of the Ebionites, 422. 

Gospels, relation to each other, 417 ; 
chronology, 419; relative size of, 420. 

Gospels, sj'noptical, 50; their earlier 
composition, 51; their agreements, 
412; differences, 413; theories of their 
origin, that of mutual dependence, 
413; of an original document, 413; of 
apostolic tradition, 414, seq. ; their 
incomplete character, 417; relation to 
the fourth gospel, 419. 

Gospels, the several. See under the 
head of each. 

Gospel narratives, their genuineness, 
30, seq. ; written successively at inter- 
vals, 37 ; ecirlier histories of our Lord, 
37; external evidences considered, 38, 
seq. ; internal, 50, seq. ; their uncor- 
rupt preservation, 59, seq. ; their au- 
thenticity and credibility, character 
of the writers, 67, seq. ; of the works 
recorded, 68; certainty of our Lord's 
resurrection, 70; the character of Je- 
sus verifies itself, 71, seq. ; supernat- 
ural character of the facts recorded 
in the gospels, 84; objections consid- 
ered, 85. 

Gospel harmonies, 419. 

Gothic version, 408. 

Greek of the New Testament, its pecu- 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 



C-l.j 



liax character, 57, 3G8; its adaptation 
to the wants of the New Testament 
writers, 366; its introduction into Asia 
and Egypt, 367. 

H. 

Habakknk, book of, 342. 

Haggai, book of, 345. 

Hagiographa, 169 ; Targums on the, 
208. 

Hanian, 263. 

Haphtaroth, 173. 

Harmony between the Okl and New 
Testament, in spirit, 568, seq. ; in 
doctrine, 570. 

Harmonies of the gospels, 419, 537. 

Heave-offerings, 601. 

Hebrew alphabet, 176; vowel pohits and 
accents, 178. 

Hebrew commonwealth, its establish- 
ment under Joshua, 241; its condi- 
tion under the Judges, 245 ; the Kings, 
249, 253; at the restoration; 256, 258, 
261. 

Hebrew language, 175, 366; its disuse 
after the captivity, 177, 367 ; succeeded 
by the Aramaean, 367. 

Hebrew text, Jewish divisions of, 173; 
manuscripts, 189. 

Hebrews, Epistle to the, 482; question 
of its authorship, 482 ; date, and per- 
sons addressed, 484; its central theme, 
485. 

Hellenistic Jews, 368. 

Hermas, Shepherd of, 100, 517. 

Hermeneutics defined, 521. 

Heretics, their testimony to the gospels, 
48, seq. 

Hexapla of Origen, 205. 

Hexaplar, Syriac version, 406. 

Historical books of the Old Testament, 
240, seq. ; of the New Testament, 410, 
seq. 

Historical types, 581, seq. 

Holocausts, or burnt-offerings, 598. 

Homologoumena, 91. 

Hosea, book of, 333. 

Hugo, Cardinal, divides the Bible into 
chapters, 174, 377, 



I. 

Ignatius and his testimony, 46; his epis- 
tles, 514. 

Infidelity, its fragmentary method of 
argument, 34. 

Inspiration of the New Testament, the 
term defined, 101, tests of, 102, seq.; 
in what sense plenary, question of its 
limitation, 111; inspiration of the Old 
Testament books, 134, 142, 148, 195, 
seq., 215, etc. 

Interpretation, its human and divine 
sides, 526; of figurative language, 527, 
seq. 

Interpreter, his office, 521; qualifica- 
tions, 522, seq. 

Irenseus and his testimony, 39. See 
further under the several books. 

Isaiah, his age and prophetical activity, 
290. 

Isaiah, book of, its two main parts, 299; 
contents and divisions of the first part, 
299, seq.; the second part, ")02; its 
genuineness, 303, seq. ; its form that 
of true prophecy, 305. 

J. 

James the apostle, and James the Lord's 
brother, question respecting, 487. 

James, Epistle of, its author, date, and 
place of M'riting, 488; genuineness and 
reception into the canon, 489, seq. ; 
practical character, 490; alleged dis- 
agreement with the Pauline doctrine 
of justification, 491. 

Jasher, book of, 243. 

Jason, his five books, 360. 

Jeremiah, sketch of his life, 310. 

Jeremiah, book of, 309, seq. ; general 
character of his prophecies, 312; their 
arrangement, 313; arrangement of the 
Alexandrine version, 314. 

Jeremiah, apocryphal epistle of, 358. 

Jeroboam, his sinful policy and its re- 
sults, 254. 

Jerome, his account of the Old Testa- 
ment canon, 197; of the New Testa- 
ment canon, 399 ; revision of the Latin 
Bible, 400, seq. See further under 



6i6 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS 



the several books of the New Testa- 
ment. 

Jerusalem, the first centre of Christian- 
ity, 440. 

Jerusalem Targum, 207. 

Jesus. See Christ. 

Jews, their preparation for Christ's ad- 
vent, 114; their institutions typical of 
Christ as well as preparatory, 146. 

Job, book of, its plan, 280; design, 282; 
age of Job and of the book, 283; ques- 
tion of its authorship, 283; its historic 
character, 284. 

Joel, book of, 334. 

John the apostle, notices of, 436, seq. 

John's gospel, its later composition, 53; 
437; sources, 438; peculiarity in re- 
spect to matter, 438, seq. ; general 
scope and special office, 418, 439. 

John's epistles, the first epistle, 93, 497, 
seq. ; the second and third, 500. 

John the Presbyter, 503. 

Jonah, book of, 338. 

Jonathan, Targum of, 207. 

Josephus, his account of the Old Testa- 
ment canon, 195, 197; testimony to 
the book of Daniel, 325; account of 
the feast of Purim, 263. 

Joshua, book of, its office and contents, 
241; age and authorship, 243; authen- 
ticity and credibility, 244. 

Joshua the high-priest, as a type of 
Christ, 590. 

Judaizing teachers, 448; in Galatia, 459; 
among the Colossians, 463; of the 
Pastoral Epistles, 477. 

Jude, Epistle of, 501, seq. 

Judges of the Old Testament, their char- 
acter and office, 245. 

Judges, book of, 245, seq. ; its chronol- 
ogy, 247. 

K. 

Kephalaia, 375. 

Keys of the kingdom of heaven, 575. 

Kingdom of Israel, its establishment, 
249; division, 254; extinction of the 
kingdom of the ten tribes, 254. 

Kingdom of Judah, its origin, 254; its 
extinction, 255, 



Kingly office, typical of Christ, 118, 249, 
582. 

Kings, books of, originally one, 252 ; 
their contents and office, 252; chro- 
nology, 255. 



Lamentations of Jeremiah, 314; pecu- 
liar structure of the book, 315. 

Laodiceans, epistle to the, 465. 

Last days, meaning of the term, 608; 
prophecies concerning, 611, seq. 

Law. See Pentateuch. 

Lectionaries, 378. 

Leviticiis, book of, meaning of the word, 
235; its contents, 235, seq. 

Limitations in the interpretation of lan- 
guages, 542. 

Luke the Evangelist, his origin and re- 
lation to Paul, 431 ; his soui-ces of in- 
formation, 432; his identity with the 
author of the Acts of the Apostles, 
440. 

Luke's gospel, its date, 432; plan and 
character, 433; peculiar matter, 434; 
its integrity, 435 ; its genealogy of our 
Lord, 433, 435. 

Lyons and Vienne, letter of the churches 
of, 40, 88, 503. 

M. 

Maccabees, family of, 359; origin of the 

name, 360. 
Maccabees, apocryphal books of, 360, 

seq. 
Malachi, book of, 348. 
Manasses, apocryphal prayer of, 359. 
Manuscripts, ancient mode of writing, 

60, 172, 373, 382. 
Manuscripts of the Old Testament, their 

age and form, 180; synagogue rolls, 

18L 
Manuscripts of the New Testament, 

their early multiplication, 64; noted 

manuscripts, Vatican, 384; Sinai, 38."; 

Alexandrine, 385, seq. ; Ephraem, 38C, 

Dublin palimpsest, 387; Beza's, 387, 

seq.; purple,3SS; cursive mauusciipts. 

388. 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 



647 



Manuscripts of the old Latin, 402; of 
of the vulgate, 404. 

Manuscript of the Gothic version called 
the Silver manuscript, 408. 

Marcion and his gospel, 49, 435. 

Mark the Evangelist, notices of, 427; 
his relation to Peter and Paul, 427, 
seq. ; in what sense he was Peter's in- 
terpreter, 428. 

Mark's gospel, place, time of writing, 
and language, 428; its design, 429; its 
peculiarities, 430; question respecting 
its closing passage, 430, seq. 

Maschil, 287. 

Masora and Masoretic text, 178, seq. 

Mattathias, 359. 

Matthew the Evangelist, 420. 

Matthew's gospel, its original language, 
421; present Greek form, 422; prima- 
ry design, 424; characteristics, 425; 
chronology, 426; place and time of 
writing, 426; integrity, 426; its gene- 
alogy of our Lord, 424, 435. 

Meat-offerings, 600. 

Melchizedek, his person and typical 
character, 583. 

Memphitic version, 407. 

Messiah. See Christ. 

Messianic Psalms, different principles 
of interpretation, that of exclusive ref- 
erence to Christ, 620; that' of an ideal 
personage, 620, seq. ; the typical view, 
621. 

Metaphor, 551. 

Metonymj'-, 551. 

Micah, book of, 340. 

Michtam, 287. 

Mosaic economj'', Christ its end, 118; 
its preparatory character, 138; objec- 
tions to it considered, 138, 571; its 
spirit was love, 139, seq. 

Mottoes, remarks respecting, 533 

Muratorian canon, 48, 89, 93, 398, etc. 

Myths, remarks concerning, 556, 560. 

N. 

Nahum, Prophecy of, 341. 
Nathan's writings, 251. 
Nazarenes, their gospel, 422. 



Nebuchadnezzar, his expeditions to Ju- 
daea, 327. 

Neginah and Neginoth, 287. 

Nehemiah, his work in the restoration, 
261. 

Nehemiah, book of, 261, seq. 

Nehiloth, 287. 

New Jerusalem of Ezekiel's vision, 321, 
627. 

Nineveh. See Nahum. 

Nitrian desert, Sj'riac manuscripts from, 
405. 

Numbers, book of, 237. 

Numbers, symboHcal, 508, 564, 610. 

0. 

Obadiah, Prophecy of, 338. 

Oblations, or unbloody offerings, 600. 

Old Latin. See versions, Latin. 

Onkelos, Targum of, 206. 

Origen, his account of the Old Testa- 
ment canon, 197; of the New Testa- 
ment canon, 398; his Hexapla, 205. 
See further under the several New 
Testament books. 

P. 

Paley's Horse Paulinse, 94. 

Palimpsests, 60, 384; examples of, 386. 

Pantaenus, 40. 

Papias, 44. See also under the several 
books of the New Testament. 

Papyrus, 59; rolls of, 384. 

Parables, 553; their interpretation, 560, 
seq. 

Paragraph Bibles, 378. 

Parallelisms, 211, 534; real and verbal, 
534; doctrinal and historic, 535, seq. 

Parallelisms, poetic, 274, seq. 

Parchments, 59, seq. 

Parshiyoth, 173. 

Particular Introduction, its province, 
214. 

Passover, its sacrificial and typical char- 
acter, 599. 

Pastoral epistles, 92 ; their place in 
Paul's history, 475, seq. ; character of 
the false teachers described in them, 
477; their genuineness and peculiar 
tone, 478. 



648 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 



Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles, and 
his peculiar qualifications, 447; his 
style, 448; three missionary journeys, 
449. 

Pauline epistles, 446; commentaries on 
them, 449 ; their connection with Paul's 
history contained in the Acts, 449; 
principle of their arrangement, and 
groups into which they fall, 450. 

Pentateuch, meaning of the term, 120; 
its admitted existence from Ezra's 
time, 120; its authorship, 120, seq. ; 
relation of Deuteronomy to the pre- 
ceding books, 126, 239; of Genesis to 
the following, 130, 225; unity of its 
plan, 132, 224; its authenticity, 134, 
seq. ; the Jewish polity presupposes 
it, 135; difficulties connected with it, 
137, seq.; its preparatory office, 141; 
constitutes a Jewish division of the 
Old Testament, 169. 

Personal reign of Christ, question con- 
cerning the, 629, seq. 

Personification, 551. 

Peshito. See Syriac versions. 

Peter, his leadership among the apos- 
tles, 441 ; in what sense a rock, 575. 

Peter, first epistle of, 491. 

Peter, second epistle of, 493; question 
of its genuineness, 494, seq. ; its de- 
sign, 497. 

Philemon, Epistle to, 469. 

Philoxenian. See Sj^riac versions. 

Philippi and the Philippian church, 469. 

Philippians, Epistle to the, date, occa- 
sion, and place of writing, 469; con- 
tents and peculiar character, 470. 

Phoenician language, 175. 

Plan of redemption, its unity and prog- 
ress, 614; its foreshadowings, 616; its 
end, 617. 

Poetry, Hebrew, its characteristics, 266, 
seq. ; its outward form, 274, seq. ; its 
diction, 278; its offices, 279. 

Poetical books, so-called Hebrew, 169, 
265. 

Polycarp, 46. 

Polycarp, epistle of, 515. 

Pothinus, 40. 



Priesthood of our Lord, 485. 

Priesthood, Levitical, tj^ical of Christ, 
119, 236; points of agreement speci- 
fied, a common human nature, ap- 
pointment by God, mediatorship be- 
tween God and the people through 
proj)itiatory sacrifice, 594, seq. ; points 
of disagreement incident to the type, 
595, seq. ; central idea of priesthood, 
596. 

Priesthood of Melchizedek, 583, seq. 

Priestly garments, 596. 

Prophecy, interpretation of, 607, seq. ; 
its progressive fulfilment, 622; ques- 
tion of its literal and figurative mean- 
ing, 624, seq. ; its representative use 
of Old Testament history and institu- 
tions, 624. 

Prophecies, specific, 607; generic, 608; 
with the succession of events, 609; 
without it, 611; their inward view of 
God's kingdom, 613, seq. 

Prophetical books and their office, 143, 
seq. 

Prophetical office, typical of Christ, 118, 
582. 

Prophets, Hebrew, their office and char- 
acter, 294, seq. 

Prophets, as a Jewish division of the 
Old Testament canon, 169; greater 
prophets, 169, 294; less or minor, 169, 
332 ; Masoretic and Septuagint ar- 
rangement of, 332. 

Proverbs, 555. 

Proverbs, book of, its office, 288; out- 
ward form and divisions, 289; arrange- 
ment in its present form, 290. 

Psalms, book of, its character and office, 
284; fivefold division, 285, seq. ; titles, 
286, seq. ; Messianic psalms, 619. 

Psalms, alleged Maccabean, 196. 

Psalters, Galilean and Roman, 400, 403. 

Pseudo-Jonathan, Targum of, 207. 

Ptolemy Philadelphus, his agency in 
respect to the Septuagint version, 
199. 

Punic language, 175. 

Purple manuscript, 388. 

Purim, feast of, 263. 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 



649 



Q. 

Quotations of the early fathers, 37. 

Quotations from the Old Testament in 
the New, their use in sacred criticism, 
211; authority, 632; outward form, 
G33; free spirit, 635; principle of ac- 
commodation considered, 635; quota- 
tions for argument, 637; of Old Testa- 
ment prophecies referring to Christ — 
directly, 638; in a typical way, 638. 
See further under Septuagint. 

Quotations from the Old Testament in 
the Talmud and Eabbinic writers,211, 
seq. 

R. 

Rabbinic writers, 211, seq. 

Eabbinic mode of writing, 176. 

Reason, its office in interpretation, 544, 

Restoration of the Jews, question con- 
cerning the, 628. 

Resurrection of Jesus, 70. 

Resurrection, first and second, 630. 

Revelation, its unity, 33, 566, 568; di- 
versity, 566, seq. ; each particular rev- 
elation perfect in its place, 571; the 
later revelations interpret the earlier, 
572. 

Revelation, book of. See Apocalypse. 

Ritual types, 585, seq. 

Romans and Roman church, 451. 

Romans, Epistle to the, its date and 
place of writing, 451; occasion and 
contents, 452; office, 453. 

Ruth, bock of, 2-18; supplementary to 
the history of David's family, 248. 

s. 

Sacrifices, typical of Christ, 591, seq. ; 
their essential character, 597, seq.; 
Mosaic classification of them, sin- 
offerings and trespass-offerings, 598; 
burnt-offerings, 598; peace-offerings, 
599 ; sacrificial victims, 600. 

Sahidic version, 407. 

Salome, 436. 

Samaritans, their language, 175; their 
Pentateuch and its version, 181, 208. 

Samuel, he establishes the school of the 
prophets and the kingly office, 249. 



Samuel, books of, their original unity, 
248; contents, office, and divisions, 
249, seq.; age and sources, 251. 

Sanctuary, Mosaic, its general idea, 
585; structure, divisions, and furni 
ture, 586, seq. ; typical character, 587, 
seq. 

Saul, 250. 

Scape-goat, 603. 

Scope, defined, 528; its primary impor- 
tance, 529; how ascertained, 530. 

Scriptio continua, 172, 373. 

Sense, distinguished from signification, 
528. 

Sense of Scripture, its extent, 573; the 
clearer statements of Scripture inter- 
pret the more obscure, 574. 

Selah, 287. 

Septuagint, Greek version of, its antiq- 
uity, 199; Jewish account of its ori- 
gin, 199, seq. ; character and critical 
value, 201; influence on the New Tes- 
tament language, 202; Hebrew text 
from which it was made, 203; history 
of its text, 205; Origen's Hexapla, 
205; Jewish estimates of it, 203, 368; 
quotations from it in the New Testa- 
ment, 633, seq. 

Septuagint arrangement of the Old Tes- 
tament books, 171. 

Seventy. See Septuagint. 

Shalmaneser, 334. 

Sheminith, 288. 

Shemitic languages, 175. 

Shoshannim, Shushan, and Shushan 
eduth, 287, s*[. 

Show-bread, 589. 

Signification of words, 527. 

Sinai manuscript, 385. 

Sirach, Jesus son of. See Ecclesiasti- 
cus. 

Six days of creation, 137, 228. 

Smerdis, 261. 

So, 334. 

Sojourn in the wilderness, its typical 
import, 584. 

Solomon, his temple, 253; his splendor 
and profuse expenditures, 253. 

Solomon, Song of, 292, seq. 



Comp. to Bible. 



28 



650 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 



Songs of degrees, 287. 

Sprinkling of the sacrificial blood, 601, 
603. 

Stevens, Robert, author of the modern 
division of verses in the New Testa- 
ment, 377. 

Subscriptions to the New Testament 
books, 379. 

Symbols, 319, 554; numerical, 508, 564, 
610; distinguished from tj'pes, 555; 
real and seen in visions, 562, seq. 

Symmachus, his version, 204. 

Synagogue, the great, 194. 

Synagogue rolls, 179. 

Synagogues, Jewish, as places of preach- 
ing, 447. 

Synoptical gospels. See Gospels. 

Syriac language, 175. 

Syriac versions. See Versions. 

Syro-chaldaic, 369. 



Tabernacle, Mosaic, 585, seq. ; its typi- 
cal character, 602, seq. 

Targum.of Onkelos, 206; of Jonathan, 
207; of Pseudo-Jonathan, 207; Jeru- 
salem Targum, 207; Targums on the 
Hagiographa, 208. 

Tatian and his Diatessaron, 50. 

Temple of Solomon, 253. 

Tent, Mosaic, as distinguished from the 
tabernacle, 587. 

Testament, various ancient designations 
of, 165; origin and meaning of the 
term, 166. 

Testament, Old, its insfparable connec- 
tion with the New, 113, seq. ; its in- 
spiration, 134, 142, 148, 195, seq. ; va- 
rious arrangements of its books, 168, 
seq. ; Old Testament text, Jewish di- 
visions of, 173; modern, 173, seq.; 
original languages, 175; criticism of 
its text, 209 ; preparatory character of 
its revelations, 215; of&ce of its seve- 
ral divisions, 218; its significance to 
the covenant people, 220; to the Chris- 
tian church, 222. 

Testament, New, the natural sequel to 
the Old, 113, seq. ; and its interpreter. 



119; its language, 365, seq.; main di- 
visions of its books and their order, 
371 ; subdivisions, of the historic part, 
371; of the epistolary, 372; various 
arrangements of the gospels, 372 ; ar- 
rangement of the epistles, 373; titles 
and subscriptions, 378; New Testa- 
ment text, its essential integrity, 05, 
390; uncial and cursive modes of wtI- 
ting, 373 ; continuous writing, 373 ; 
stichometry, 374; ancient divisions of 
the text, 375, seq. ; modern, 377, seq. ; 
criticism of the text, 380; the manu- 
script text, 380, seq. ; various readings, 
381, seq. ; manuscripts, 384; the printed 
text, 388; primary editions, 388, seq.; 
remarks on the received text, 390. 

TertuUian, 39. See also under the sev- 
eral New Testament books. 

Thebaic version, 407. 

Theocracy, its establishment under Mo- 
ses, 232; Christ its end, 118; and tj^p- 
ified by it, 146; alleged objections to 
it, 138, seq. ; its preparatorj' character 
and practical working, 141, seq. ; its 
condition at the restoration, 259. 

Theodotion's version, 204. 

Thessalonica and the Thessalonian 
church, 471. 

Thessalonians, first epistle to the, 472; 
its early date, occasion, and contents, 
472, seq. 

Thessalonians, second epistle to the, 
date, design, and contents, 473; ques- 
tion respecting our Lord's second ad- ' 
vent, 474; epistles to the Thessaloni- 
nians and Philippians contrasted, 474, 
seq. 

Timothy, notices of, 479. 

Timothy, first epistle to, time of wri- 
ting, occasion, and contents, 479. 

Timothy, second epistle to, its peculiar 
tone and character, 481; its late date, 
482. 

Titus, notices of, 480. 

Titus, epistle to, 480. 

Tobit, apocryphal book of, 353. 

Tradition, different senses of, 417. 

Tropes, 550, seq. 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 



651 



Types, distinguished from analogies and 
from simple foreshadowings, 579; their 
essential character, 580; different kinds 
of tj^pes, historical, 581, seq., 618; rit- 
ual, 585, seq. 

Typical orders of men, 581, seq. ; typi- 
cal historic transactions, 583; tyiDical 
ritual acts, laying on of the offerer's 
hands, waving and heaving, sprink- 
ling of the sacrificial blood, and burn- 
ing on the altar, 601, seq.; burning 
of incense, 589; ceremonies connected 
with the great day of atonement, 603; 
with the scape-goat, 604. 

u. 

Uncial manuscripts, 60, 373, 384. 
Uncleanness, Levitical, 606. 

V. 

Vail of the tabernacle, 586, seq. 

Vail of the temple, rending of the, 603, 

Valentinus, 49. 

Various readings of the gospels, 63; of 
the New Testament text generally, 
380 ; examples of the more important, 
390. 

Verses, of the Old Testament, 173; of 
the New Testament, 377. 

Version, Armenian, 409; English of Wic- 
lif, 400; Ethiopic, 408; Gothic, 409; 
Septuagint, see under this title. 

Versions, Latin, the old Latin, 47, 62, 
89, 400; age, place of execution, and 
variety of text, 400; its canon, 401; 
made in the Old Testament from the 
Septuagint : the vulgate, its arrange- 
ment of the Old Testament books, 
171; in the New Testament a revision ; 



of the old Latin, 402; in the Old Tes- 
tament mostly a new translation, 403; 
its diversified character, 403; history 
of its text, 404; manuscripts of it, 404. 

Versions, Syriac : the Peshito version of 
the New Testament, 47, 62, 89; of the 
Old Testament, 208; its canon, 398; 
made in the Old Testament from the 
original Hebrew, 404 ; its age and 
character, 404, seq. ; the Cureton Syr- 
iac, 405 ; the Philoxenian, 406 ; the 
Hexapla,406,seq. ; the Jerusalem Syr- 
iac Lectionary, 407. 

Versions, ancient, their testimony to the 
genuineness of the gospels, 47; and 
to their integrity, 62; their use in sa- 
cred criticism, 210, 392. 

Vulgate. See Versions, Latin. 

w. 

Wave-offerings, 601. 

Whale, 339. 

Wilderness, sojourn in the, 234. 

Wisdom, apocryphal book of, 356. 

Wisdom of the son of Sirach. See Eccle- 
siasticus. 

Writing, ancient mode of, 172, seq. ; ma- 
terials for, 59, 179, 384. 



Xerxes, 261, 263. 



z. 



Zebedee, 436. 

Zechariah, Prophecies of, 346, seq. ; ques- 
tion respecting the last part of, 348; 
Matthew's quotation from Zechariah, 
348. 

Zephaniah, Prophecies of, 344. 



INDEX OF TEXTS. 



N. B. Texts not specified in this Index will be found on the pages of the 
general references, prefixed to the lists from the several books. 



GENESIS. PAGE. 

Ch. 1, seq. 225-231 

1:1—2:3 - 543 

1:2 137, 357 

2:4 - 225 

2:4-25. 230, 543 

2:23, 24 135 

3:15 572, 573 

3:19,22 135 

4:3-12 135 

4:4 - 567, 585 

4:8 203 

6:6 541 

Chs. 6-8 135 

7:19 229, 542 

8:20 585 

8:21 206, 602 

9:4 597 

11:5 206 

11:8 229 

12:3 - 117, 218 

12:7 628 

12:7, 8 585 

13:14, 15 244 

13:15 628 

14:14 234 

14:18-20 583, 618 

15:6 117, 221 

15:13 226 

15:1'', 16 233, 331 

15:18-21 244, 628 

Ch. 16 553 

17:8 241, 244, 628 

17:12, 13 234 

18:25 545 



GENESIS. PAGE. 

Ch. 19 135 

22:18 116, 425, 573 

25:12-18 227 

25:19 - 225 

26:3 628 

26:14 234 

28:12-15 555 

28:13 628 

31:19 207 

31:54 585 

32 : 10 234 

33: 20 -585 

35:1, 7 585 

Ch. 36 227 

36: P, 7 - 234 

36:31 122, 228 

37: 2 - - 225 

41:1-7 555 

41:57 542 

46:1 585 

49:1 608 

49:6 534 

50:25 131 

EXODUS. 

Ch. 1, seq. 232-235 

1:1, 5, 8 225 

2:24,25 225 



3:6- 



127 



3:6-10 130 

3:12 607 

4:22, 23 635, 638 

6:16-20 233 

12:22, 23 599 

12:37. 40 233 



654 



INDEX OF TEXTS. 



EXODUS. PAGE. 

Ch. 12:46 638 

13:2 127 

13:19 131 

Ch. 15 174, 268 

15:18 616 

16:35, 36 122, 228 

20:19 ----118, 583 

22:29 --127 

24:3-8 125, 598, 600 

25:8 233, 586 

25:16, 21, 22 588 

25:30 589 

Ch. 26 586, 588 

26:1, 7 -587 

27:20 589 

Ch. 28 596 

29:12, 20 602 

29:23-28 601 

29:40 600 

30:6-8 589 

30:12, seq. 127 

80:36 - 588 

31: 12-17 -233 

Ch. 32 126 

34:6, seq. ^ 152 

34:15 292 

34: 19 127 

36:8, 14, 19 587 

40:22-27 589 

LEVITICUS. 

Ch. 1, seq. 235, 236 

Ch. 1 598 

Chs.1-10 - 236 

1:4 601 

1:9-- 602 

2:12 127 

2:13 600 

Chs. 3-9 598-605 

Ch. 10 126 

12:2, seq. 127 

Chs.12-16 598-605 

17:10, l]f 597 

18:5 127 

19:8, 34 139, 140 

23:40-43 123, 127, 185 

Ch. 24 126 

24:5-9, 25 589 

Ch. 26 144, 304, 629 



NUMBEKS. PAGE. 

Ch. 1, seq.--- 237, 238 

3:13 237 

5:6-8--- 598 

7 : 89 589 

8:17 127 

9:12 - --638 

12:6-8 148, 170, 219 

12:8 540 

Ch. 17 - - 581 

17:4 - 588 

18:15 127 

Ch. 19 - 600 

Chs.21-24 - ...268 

21:27-30 - 279 

Ch. 23 ---126 

24:14 --608 

27:15-23 242 

28:2, seq. 127 

29:12, seq. 127 

Ch. 32 242 

DEUTERONOIMY. 

Ch. 1, seq. 238, 239 

1:1, 43 238 

2:4, 5, 8, 9, 18, 19 140 

4: 19 541 

4: 30 608 

6: 4, 5 140 

7:3, 4 138 

7:7, 8 570 

9:5 153 

13:1-5 219 

16:1-8 600 

16: 16 626 

17:18 • 193 

17:24 125 

18: 17-19 , 583, 638 

18:18 118, 129, 184 

21:1-9 600 

24:1 134 

Chs. 27-32 238, 304, 629 

27:1-8, 12, 13--- 129, 185 

Ch. 28- 144 

• 28:29 549 

28:58 125 

29:1, 10-15 125 

29:14 129 

30:11-14 - 636 

31:9, 24-26" -124, 125, 129, 184, 185 



INDEX OF TEXTS. 



655 



DEUTERONOMY. page. 

Ch. 31:9-13 • •• 184 

31:16 ...-292 

31:26 209 

31:29 608 

Ch. 32 174, 268 

32:4 545 

33: 10 598 

34: 1 360 

JOSHUA. 

Ch. 1, seq. 241, 244 

4:1-7 - 581 

6:12 242 

6:25 243 

8:32--> 185 

10:12-14--- ---244 

12:9 184 

15:16-19 243 

19:13 338 

19:47 243 

24:26, 186 

JUDGES. 

Ch. 1, seq. 245-247 

1:12-15 243 

1:21 247 

2:1 190 

4:4 - 190 

Ch. 5 174 

6:8, 11 - 190 

9:8-15 - 319 

9:23 541 

10:13 --243 

13:3 190 

15:20 247 

18:1 243 

RUTH. 

2:12 - 248 

2:14 • 184 

1 SAMUEL. 

Ch. 1, seq. 248-250 

2:13-16 627 

2:27 190 

2: 34 • - - - 608 

4:4 589 

7:12 581 

10:1 581 

10:2-7 .-..-608 

10:5, 10 --T 190 

10:25 186 



1 SAMUEL. PAGE. 
Ch. 11:8 252 

15:22 --153,219,296 

17:52 2.52 

18:16 252 

19:20 190 

20:25 184 

23: 9-12 608 

27:6 251 

2 SAMUEL. 

Ch. 1, seq. 251, 252 

1:18 243 

1 : 19-27 279 

3:10 - 252 

5:6-9 247 

6:2 589 

6:17-19 599 

7:14 639 

7:16 - 119, 621 

8:4 257 

Ch. 22 174 

23:2 148 

23:8--- - -258 

24:1 252 

24:13 257 

1 EINGS. 

Ch. 1, seq. 252-254 

2:3- 124 

3:5-12 193 

3:13 253 

4:26 258 

4: 32 - 290 

6:1 247 

8:9 588 

8:46-50 629 

8: 62-66 599 

9:6,7 304 

11:29-39 581 

11:41 188 

12:10 555 

12:29 337 

13:2, 3 608 

18:4 - ---190 

20: 35 190, 337 

22: 11 555, 581 

22: 19-23 • 284, 541 

2 KINGS. 

Ch. 1, seq. 254, 255 

2:3, seq. 190, 337 



656 



INDEX OF TEXTS. 



2 KINGS. PAGE. 

14: 9 554 

14:23 333 

14:25 338 

14:25-28 337 

15:8-31 - 334 

17:1-6 334 

17:27, 28- 181 

18:13—19:37 --170 

18:13—20:21 536 

19:15 589 

20: 8-11 244, 608 

22:8 124, 193, 311 

23:5 344 

Ch. 24 338 

24:1-- 327 

24:12 328 

24:18-20 314 

25:8 328 

25:9 196 

25:27 255 

1 CHRONICLES. 

CK 1, seq. 256-258 

1:43 122 

3:19-24 263 

6:31 192 

11:11 258 

18:4 258 

21:12 "257 

29:29 170, 187, 188, 251 

2 CHRONICLES. 

Ch. 1, seq. 256-258 

9:25 258 

9:29 170, 188 

12:15 170, 188 

13:22 188 

15:1, seq. 256 

16:7-12 257 

17:7-9 193 

19:2 257 

20:20 336 

20:34 170, 188, 189 

21:16, 17 338 

23:18 127 

24:6 •- 127 

26:22 170, 188 

27:7 189 

30:16 600 

Ch. 32 536 



2 CHRONICLES. page. 

Ch. 32:25, 31 257 

32:32 170, 188 

33:18, 19 170, 188, 359 

34:14 124 

35:11 '. 600 

EZRA. 

1:1, seq. 260, 261 

2:61-63 256 

3:1-5-- 122, 127 

4:8—6:18 175, 260 

5:1, 2 345, 346 

6:14 346 

7:1, 8 350 

7:6 123, 180 

7:10, 11 194 

NEHEMIAH. 

1:1, seq. --- 261, 262 

Ch. 8 - 123 

8:5 180 

8:13-17 123, 127, 185 

12:4 - 346 

12:11, 22 195, 263 

13:6 262, 349 

13:24 - T---177 

ESTHER. 

1:1, seq. 261, 263 

8:2 264 

9:16 264 

JOB. 

Ch. 1, seq. 280-283 

1:5 -; 585, 597, 598 

2:10- 280 

3:3 276 

5:14 549 

5:19-26 - 270 

20:24-28 270 

42:8 585, 597, 598 

PSALMS. 

Ps. 1, seq. - 284-288 

Ps. 2 619, 621 

2:4 275 

2:8, 9 145 

5:12 27t) 

7:5 534 

8:4-6 .--638 

Ps. 16 - 622 

16:9 534 

16:11-- 540 

17:15 - 540 



INDEX OF TEXTS. 



657 



PSALMS. PAGE. 

Ps. 18:7-16 244, 549 

19:1-4 636 

Ps. 22 619 

22:1, 7, 8, 14-16, 18 622 

22:18 609 

Ps. 23 -- -272 

25:11---. 570 

28:4 276 

28:5 278 

30:12 534 

Ps. 40 619 

40:6-10 ---622 

40:7 635 

40:12 - 620 

42:2-4 532 

Ps. 45 292, 619 

45:13 -532 

46:4 625 

49:15 540 

Ps. 50 285 

51:1, C, 7, 10, 11 --- 570, 571 

51:7, 17-- 274 

51:10, 16, 17 153 



Ps. 



Ps. 



Ps. 



51:11 

57:8-'-- 

61:4 --- 

69 

69:4, 7-9, 21 
69:5 --- 



542 

534 

■ 274 

■ 619 

• 622 

620 

69:30, 31 153 

72 284, 285, 619 

72:11 145 

72:20 286 

73:24-26 540 

74:8 196 

80 
80 
80 



319, 553, 558 

589 

- 558, 560 

-16 553, 558 

81:12, 13- 542, 543 

84:11 546, 551 

90, title 268, 287 

91:7 184 

99:1 589 

103:3-5 276 

103:11-13 278 

108:1 534 

Ps. 109 619 



PSALMS. PAGE. 

Ps. 109:1-20 622 

Ps. 110 --590, 619, 636 

110:1 620, 638 

110:4 145, 148, 573, 620, G38 

129:6, 7 539 

139:23, 24- 541 

141:2 274 

PROVERBS. 

Ch. 1, seq.- 289, 290 

1:27 276 

10:1, 7 •• 275 

10:26 r 552 

13:1 556 

14:5 556 

14:32 540 

15:12--- 555 

15:16 - 277 

15:17 556 

17:23 556 

18:10 555 

19:13 539 

20:15 556 

20:20 • 277 

21:2 277 

23:39 276 

24:23 290 

25:15 561 

26:3 277,552 

26:1-28 289 

26:20, 21, 23 552 

27:15 539, 556 

27:19 556 

ECCLESIASTES. 

Ch. 1, seq. 290-292 

CANTICLES. 

Ch. 1, seq. 292, 293 

1:5; 2:8, 9, 14; 4:1-3; 5:12, > „.„ 
13, 15; 7:7 \^'^ 

ISAIAH. 

Ch. 1, seq. ^-299-303 

1:2-4 277 

1:10 276 

1:11-20 219, 296 

2:2 608 

2:2-4 341, 623, 626 

3:1-3, 25, 26 611 

4:1 174, 611 

4:2 609 



653 



INDEX OF TEXTS. 



ISAIAH. PAGE. 

Ch. 4:2-5 612 

4:5 624 

4:10 305 

5:1-6- 319 

5:7 560 

Ch. 6 ..-.629 

6:5 301 

6:8 - 300 

6:9-13 203, 623, 634 

6:10 541 

8:1-4 - 299 

9:1, 2.^ 635 

9:7 145 

10:33, 34 174, 612 

Ch. 11 ---629 

11:1 - 174, 590, 612 

11:2 145 

11:6-9------ 548, 612 

11:11, 12, 15, 16 624 

13:10 549 

13:13 548 

13:19, 20 144 

13:21, 22 -^- 344 

14:23 144 

Chs.l5, 16 314 

Ch. 20 563, 581 

20:2-4 563 

28:16 - 575 

32:2 273 

34:6, 13-15 274, 344 

35:6 625 

35:8- 526 

Chs.36-39 - 302, 536 

37:16 589 

38:7, 8 - 244 

39:6, 7 305, 322 

Chs. 40-66 -- 302, 609 

40:1 299, 607 

40:19, 20 309 

41:7 309 

41:14-16 616 

41:18 306 

41:25 307 

42:1-4 145, 635 

43:23, 24 307, 309 

44:28; 45:4 306 

46:1, 2; 47:8 309 

48:22 302 



ISAIAH. PAGE. 

Ch. 49:25, 26 270 

50:4 145 

51:15; 52:7 309 

52:13-15 145, 174 

Ch. 53 146, 580, 592 

53:3-7 145 

53:6 ■* 620 

53:7, 8 - 638 

53:10 574 

54:5 292 

55:3 303 

55:12 552 

57:9 309 

57:15 219 

57:21 302 

58:6 634 

58:11, 12 442 

Chs.59, 60 612 

60:18-22 270, 613 

61:1, 2---- 74, 633 

62:5 292 

62:11 ■ 634 

63:10 542 

63:17 541 

Ch. 66 629 

66:2 219 

66:3 307 

66:24 302 

JEREMIAH. 

Ch. ], seq. • 310-314 

1:1, 3 311 

1:11-14 - 581 

1:13- 555 

2:2; 3:14 - 292 

4:23-28 548, 549 

10:3, 4 309 

10:1-16 359 

10:11 - 175 

11:18-23; 12:6 ---- 310 

13:1-11 320, 563, 581 

15:10 311 

20:1-6, 14-18 310, 311 

23:4-6 - 590 

23:5, 20 - 608, 609 

25:1, 9 327, 328 

25:12-14 312 

25:13 314 

26:12-15 • 311 



INDEX OF TEXTS. 



659 



JEREMIAH. PAGE. 

Ch. 26:18 340 

27:2; 28:10 319 

27:1-8; 28:10, 11 555 

29:10-14 312 

Clis.30, 31 629 

30:8; 21:31 609 

30:24 - 608 

31:31-33 167, 571 

31:35 309 

32:2; 33:1 310 

32:6-15 563 

33:15, 16 --590 

36:1-4, 27-32 313 

37:5-10 312 

39:11-14—40:1-4 310 

46:2 327 

47:6,7 551 

48:47; 49:39 608 

49:7-22 314, 338 

50:2 309 



314-316 



LAMENTATIONS. 

Ch. 1, seq. 

EZEKIEL. 

Ch. 1, seq. 316-322 

Ch. 1 318,555, 563, 564 

1:1-3; 2:3, 4, 6; 3:15 316-318 

Ch. 3 581 

Ch. 4 320, 563 

4-8 565 

1 316 

8:1-4 562, 563 

Ch. 10 563, 564 

12:3-12 - 563 

14:1 316 

14:14, 20 284 

Ch. 16 318, 319, 560 

17:1-10 319, 559 

18:31 219 

20:1 316 

21:27 548 

22:6-12 318 

Ch. 23 318, 319, 560 

24:15-18 316, 319 

25:12 338 

26:4, 5, 14 144 

32:7, 8 549 

33:21 320 



EZEKIEL. PAGE. 

Ch. 33:30-32 316 

35:5-15--- - 338 

Chs. 36-39 629 

36:22 570 

36:25-27 152, 571 

36:25. 37, 38 274 

36:32 ---154 

37:1-14 319, 562 

37:16-20 319, 563 

38:8; 16 608 

38:20 548 

39ai 609 

Chs. 40-48 319, 627 

42:15-20; 43:13-27 321, 627 

43:24 600 

45:1-8 321, 627 

47:1-12 321, 625, 627 

Ch. 48 321, 627 

DANIEL. 

Ch. 1, seq. 322-324 

1:1 338 

1:5 328 

1:7 326 

2:1-5 338 

2:4—7:28 175 

2:33, 40-45 330, 609, 610 

2:46 589 

Ch. 3 323, 326 

3:21 -327 

Ch. 5 323, 328 

5:2 327 

5:22, 31 328, 329 

Ch. 6 323, 326, 329 

7:7-28 330, 609, 610 

7:25 509, 565, 610 

9:2 194 

9:18 570 

9:24-27 137, 262, 565 

9:27 ---325 

10:14 - 608 

HOSEA. 

Chs. 1-3 5C3 

1:10, 11 629 

2:16, 19, 20 292 

3:5 608 

10:12 --219 

11:1 635, 638 

12:1 ..-334 



660 



INDEX or TEX*TS. 



HOSEA. PAGE. 

Ch. 14 334 

14:2 -* 219, 274 

JOEL. 

2:1, 2 344 

2:12, 13 -219 

2:28 609 

2:28-32 - 336, 623 

2:31 - 549 

Ch. 3 -■ 629 

3:1^17 613 

3:15, 16 335, 548, 549 

3:18 335, 625 

3:19 338 

AMOS. 

Ch. 1, seq. 336, 337 

1:1 191, 336 

1:2 335 

1:11 338 

5:11 344 

5:21-24 153, 219, 296 

7:1-9 564, 581 

7:14 191, 336 

8:1-3 581 

8:2 555 

8:9 - 548 

Ch. 9 --- 629 

9:11 609 

9:11, 12 623 

9:13-- 335 

OBADIAH. 

338 

JONAH. 

Ch. 1, seq. 338-340 

IVnCAH. 

Ch. 1, seq. - 340, 341 

4:1 608 

4:1-4 623, 626, 629 

6:6-8--- 219, 296 

7:8-20--- 629 

NAHUM. 

Ch. 1, seq. 341, 342 

1:5-8- - 272 

1:15 309 

Chs.2, 3 144 

2:13-- 551 

HABAKKUK. 

Ch. 1, seq.-- 342, 343 

2:2 526 



HABAKKUK. page. 

Ch. 3 244 

3:10, 11 - 551 

ZEPHANIAH. 

Ch. 1, seq. -. 343-345 

2:15 .309 

HAGGAI. 

Ch. 1, seq. 345, 346 

2:6, 7--- 548 

ZECHARIAH. 

Ch. 1, seq. 346-348 

1:8-11 581 

1:18-21 564 

3:8 590 

3:8-20 629 

4:1-10; 5:5-11; 6:1-9; 11:4-14-564 

6:9-14 590 

9:9 347, 609, 634 

11:13 -- 348, 609 

13:7 - 581 

14:5-- 336 

14:8----. 625 

14:16-21 626, 629 

MALACHI. 

Ch. 1, seq. 348, 349 

1:8, 13, 14 600 

3:1 348, 349, 635 

♦ — - — - 

1 ESDKAS. 

352 

2 ESDRAS. 

- 352, 353 

7:3 - 353 

TOBIT. 

353, 354 

2:10 353 

JUDITH. 

-354, 355 

4:3 355 

4:6, 8; 5:18, 19; 15:8 353 

WISDOM OF SOLOMON. 

Ch. 1, seq. 356, 357 

ECCLESIASTICUS. 

357,558 

48:24, 25 - 308 

49:1, seq. 329 

BARUCH, AND EPISTLE OF JEREMIAH. 
358, 359 

BOOKS OF THE MACCABEES. 

359-362 

1 Mac. 1:54 ---325 

2 Mac. 7:14 - --361 



INDEX OF TEXTS. 



661 



MATTHEW. PAGE. 

Ch. 1, seq. 420, 426 

1:12 346 

1:17, 22 424 

1:23 426 

2:5, 6 341 

2:15 334, 635, 638 

2:17 - 424 

3:3 308 

4:14 424 

4:15, 16 635 

4:21 436 

5:17 31 

5:29, seq. 153 

6:19, 20 76 

6:25, 31 45 

6:27 528 

7:12 ---216 

7:15, 16 552 

7:21-23 91, 575, 577 

8:11, 12 - 425 

8:17 308 

8:25, 26 537 

9:13 • 334 

9:17 539 

10:3 420, 487 

10:5, 6 425, 446 

10:16 74 

10:19, 20 105 

10:35, 36 341 

10:40 395 

11:10 --635 

11:13 147 

11:27 • 575 

11:28-30 75, 82 

12:1 417 

12:7 334 

12:13 422 

12:17 424 

12:17-21 308, 635 

12:39-41 340 

13:3-8, 19-23 560 

13:14, 15 203, 623, 634 

13:24 554 

13:24-30, 37-43 561 

13:35 424 

14:22—16:12 412, 434 

14:37-39 135 

15:24 • 425, 446 



MATTHEW, 

Ch. 16:18, 19, 27 

17:1 

18:18 



PAGE. 

--575 
--436 
--575 



18:23-35 561 

19:3-9--» -..-135, 637 

20:16 47 

20:21 -• 425 

20:28 592 

21:4 424 

21:5 634 

21:28-31 560 

21:33-41 554 

21:43 - 425 

22:14 47 

22:15-22, 31, 32 ..---538 

22:29 166 

22:37-40 151 

22:41-46 590 

22:44 638 

23:35 - 135 

23:37-39 425 

Ch. 24 331 

24:3, 19-22, 29 51 

24:10-13 489 

24:15, 16 326 

25:1-13 539,561 

25:34-46 562,575 

25:46 570 

26:26-28 166, 548 

26:33 540 

26:37 - 436 

27:9, 10 348 

27:35 424 

27:46 426 

27:50, 51 603 

27:56 436 

28:1-10 - 544 

28:18 575 

28:19, 20 425, 446 

MARK. 

Ch. 1, seq. 427-4.31 

1:2 635 

1:19, 20 436 

2:14 -420 

3:5, 34 4.30 

3:14,15 103 

3:17 429 

3:18 420, 487 



662 



INDEX OF TEXTS. 



MARK. PAGE. 

Ch. 3:23, 26 67 

4:1 ■ 417 

4:12 203, 623, 634 

4: 28 33, 580 

4:30 V 560 

4:26-29 435 

4: 38, 40 *- 430, 537 

5:2-20, 32, 42 430 

5:37 436 

5:41, 42 429, 430 

5:43 73 

6:40 430 

6:45—8:26 412, 434 

7:3, 4, 11, 34 429 

7:32-37 435 

7:34 430 

8:12, 33 430 

8:22-26 - 435 

9:2 436 

9:14-27 -430 

9:43-48 557 

9:49 600 

10:3-5 124 

10:5 120 

10:27 430 

10:45 592 

10:40-49 429 

11:10 429 

12:1-9 319 

12:13-17 528 

12:35-37 590, 636 

12:42 429 

13:3 429 

13:11 106 

13:12 341 

13:14 326 

13:31 - 557 

14:12, 36 429 

14:24 166 

14:29 540 

14:33 436 

15:28 - 592 

15:32, 34, 42 - 429 

15:37, 38 603 

15:40, 41 436 

16:8 431 

16:9-20 391, 431 

16:15 217, 568 



LUKE. PACK. 

Ch. 1, seq. 431-436 

1:1 37, 56 

1:1-4 431, 433 

1:3 68, 416 

1:6 -40 

1:32, 33 119, 573, 621, 639 

2:14 152 

2:22-24 127 

2:40-52 418 

3:4 308 

3:27 346 

3:38 433 

4:17-19 308,634 

5:10, 11.--. 436 

5:27, 29 420 

6:15 - 420, 487 

7:27 635 

7:37, 38 539 

8:10 203, 623, 634 

8:24, 25 537 

8:51 436 

9:18, 57 417 

9:43— Ig: 30 412, 434, 436 

10:1 446 

10:26 - 120 

10:30-37 433 

10:40-42 540 

11:5-9--- 561 

11:29-32 340 

11:51 ■- 135 

12:11, 12 106 

12:53 341 

13:1-5 -606 

13:6-9 560 

Ch. 15 433 

16:1-9 553, 561, 562 

16:10 554 

16:19-31 -.-558 

16:29 551 

16:31 222 

17:26-29 •• 135 

18:1-8 561 

18:9-14--" - 560 

19:3 -528 

20:20-26 538 

20:37 127 

20:41-44 636 

21:14, 15 106 



INDEX OF TEXTS. 



663 



LUKE. PAGE. 

Ch. 21:24 144, 628 

22: 9, 20 432 

22:20 - 166 

22:37 592 

23:45, 46 603 

24:27 115 

24:37-43 70 

24:44 32, 115, 148, 165, 619^ 

JOHN. 

Ch. 1, seq. 436-444 

1.1-18 418 

1:4--.. .--589 

1:17 120 

1:18 390 

1:23 308 

1:29 155, 236, 485, 547, 580, 591 

1:36 547 

1:37, 40 436 

Clis.3, 5-12 -418 

3:2 79 

3:3-5 43 

3:16 31 

3:17, 18 569 

3:20 524 

3:36 570 

4:14-- 44 

5:2 53 

5:4 390 

5:17-23 81 

5:20 103 

5:28, 29--, 82, 629 

5:36 79 

5:45-47 535 

5:46 120 

• 6:1^21 438 

6:4 53 

6:12 73 

6:44 541 

6:51,54 547 

7:1-10 74 

7:2 53 

7:15, 16 78 

7: 17 523 

7:19 120 

7:22, 23 127 

7:38 166 

7:39 ---542 

7:42 341 



JOHN. PAGE. 

Ch. 8:3-11 - 390 

8:12 .--81, 103, 589 

8:23 - 76 

8:26 103 

8:39-41, 44, 56 535 

8:42 79 

8:56 221 

9:4 291 

9:24 70 

10:1-18 554 

10:7, 9 547 

10:8 535 

10:9, 11, 14 560 

10:15, 17, 18 592 

11:25, 26 82 

11:44 73 

11:47 70 

•12:15 -634 

12:38-41 308, 535, 623 

12:40 203, 634 

12:46 589 

12:49, 50 103 

Chs. 13-17 418 

13:3 107 

13:23, 25 436, 539 

14:6 • 595 

14:25, 26 106 

14:27 - 82 

15:1 547, 551 

15:1-7 83 

15:26, 27 -87 

16:2 40 

16:7 87, 630 

16:12, 13 88, 104 

16:12-15 ^ 106 

16:28 84 

16:33 82 

17:2 575 

17:5 84 

18:15, 16 436 

19:36 638 

20:2-8 436 

20:22, 23 576 

20:27 - 70 

20:30, 31 84, 415, 438, 530 

21:7, 20 436 

21:15 540 

21:25 415 



664: 



INDEX OF TEXTS. 



A.CTS. rAGE. 

Ch. 1, seq. 440-444 

1:1 52, 89, 440 

1:3 71 

1:6-8 104, 607 

1:13 420, 487 

1:15-22 441 

1:21, 22 - 103, 432 

2:11 480 

2:14-40 441 

2:16-21 336, 623 

2:30, 31 622 

2:34, 35 636 

3:1, 4-26 441 

3:6, 12, 16-- 80 

3:22 124 

3:22, 23 638 

4:8-13, 19 441 

5:1-11 90 

5:3-11, 29-32 441 

6:4 441, 445 

7:37 638 

7:42, 43 337 

8:1 415 

8:5-25 441, 443, 447 

8:32, 33 638 

8:26-40 441, 592 

8:28-33 308 

8:37 391 

9:1-22 536 

9: 1-31 , 32-43 441 

9:7, 17, 27 543 

9:22-26, 29, 30 91, 449 

Ch. 10 441, 443, 447 

10:40, 41 71 

11:1-18 441,575 

11:19-26 442, 447 

11:20 - 443 

11:25-30 441, 442, 449 

12:3-19 441 

12:12, 25-- -427 

12:17 487 

12:25 441, 442, 449 

13:1, seq. 441, 442, 449 

13:5, 13--- 427 

13:14 442,447 

13:15 121 

13:20 190, 247 

13:45-47 447 



ACTS. PAGE, 

Ch. 14:1 447 

14:19-28 --442, 443 

Ch. 15 488 

15:1 450 

15:1-29 447 

15:2 449 

15:6 415 

15:10-- 139 

15:13-21 -- 487, 488 

15:15-18 446 

15:16, 17 337 

15:18 566 

15:21 121,546 

15:22-35«- 442 

15:23-29 108 

15:36—18:22 449, 450 

15: 37-39 427, 428 

15:40 472 

16:1, 2 479,480 

16:6 458 

16:9, 12-40 -469 

16:10 89,431 

16:19, 25, 29 472 

16:19-40 - 475 

17:1-10, 14-16 471, 472 

17:2, 10 ---447, 448 

17:5-10, 13, 14, 31 475 

18:1-11 454 

18:4, 6 447 

18:5 472 

18:6-17 --475 

18:19-21 465 

18:22, 23 442, 449 

18:23—21:15 449, 450, 458 

18:24 476 

19:1—20:31 465 

19:1-10, 21 --451, 454 

19:8, 9 447 

20:1-3 451, 454 

20:1-6----- 469 

20:17 443 

20:28 290 

20:29, 30 476 

20:31 454 

Chs.21-28 449 

21:8-10, 15 90, 449 

21:18 487, 488 

22:1-21 536 



INDEX OF TEXTS. 



665 



ACTS. 

Ch. 22:9, 14 

23:8 

23:35—26:32 
24:17 



PAGE. 

543 

538 

450 

-451, 454 

26:1-26 - Ill, 536 

26:14 - 543, 546, 551 

27:1 90 

27:8" - 480 

28:16-31 450 

28:26, 27 203, 623, 634 

28:30, 31 91 

ROMANS. 

Ch. ], seq. - 451-458 

1:10-15 451 

1:7 - 466 

1:13, 18-32 452 

1:10-15 451 

1:17 -- 343 

2:7 535 

2:8-11 529 

3:7, 8 637 

3:21, 31 446 

3:22 535 

3:25, 26 593 

3:28 529, 530, 577 

4:4- 370 

4:6-25 446 

4:11 --117 

4:12-17 492 

5:12-24 116, 135 

8:17 639 

9:13 349 

9:25, 26 334 

10:5 .127 

10:6, 8,^18 636 

10:16, 20, 21 308 

10:19 124 

11:6 529 

11:8 203, 623 

11:13-25, 30, 31 452, 492, 582 

12:1 596, 627 

14:2, 23 531 

15:8-21 453 

15:16 452 

15:22—16:27 453 

16 466 

16:1 451 

16:14 - 517 



Ch. 



1 CORINTHIANS. page. 
Ch. 1, seq. 453-456 

1:11-14, 31 454, 455 

1:14 451 

1:18—2:16 455 

2:12, 13 --108 

3:3-23 - 454, 455 

3:11 - 575 

3:11-15 547 

4:17 457 

5:7 581, 600 

5:9 ---99, 455 

7:1 - ..-455, 530 

9:22 448 

10:4 547 

11:2---- •• 417 

11:7-9 135, 637 

11:23-25 432 

12:15, 16 552 

Ch. 15 105, 109, 111, 629 

15:5-18, 14, 17 71 

15:14 • 36 

15:15 550 

15:21, 22 116, 135 

15:24-28 574, 575, 630 

15:26, 54 --630, 631 

15:51 109 

15:55 - 334, 552 

16:l'-6, 23 451, 454 

16:3-8 454 

16:10, 11 457, 480 

2 CORINTHIANS. 

Ch. 1, seq. - 456-458 

1: 15-17 - 457, 477 

2:13 - 481 

3:6, 14 - 167 

5:10 575 

7:6, 7, 13, 14 • 457, 481 

8:1-4 451, 455 

8:6, 16, 23 ■ 481 

9:1-5 - 451, 456 

10:10-13 454 

12:10 - --157 

12:14 454 

12:18 481 

13:1 454 

GALATIANS. 

Ch. 1, seq. 458-461 

Chs.l, 2 Ill, 449 



29 



666 



INDEX OF TEXTS. 



Gi^LATIANS. PAGE. 

Cli. 1:1 104,460 

1:11, 12 103, 108, 460 

1: 15-18 91, 460 

1:16, 21 449 

1:19.-- - 487 

2:1-3 481 

2:5 448 

2:9, 12 - 488 

2:11 442 

3:6-9, 18 446, 461, 492 

3:8, 17 -- 117, 233 

3:10-29 - 461 

3:13 592 

3:14-18- 582 

3:15 572 

3:24, 25 --118, 139, 221, 571 

4:1-3 - 217 

4:4 215 

4:7 639 

4:8—6:18 461 

4:13-16 458, 459 

4:21, seq. 121 

5:2 - 108 

5:3, 4 461 

5:4 - -532 

5:7 459 

6:6 313 

6:17 459 

EPHESIANS. 

Cb. 1, seq. 1463-469 

1:1 -- 92 

1:7 592 

1:10 467 

1:20-23 575 

2:20^ - 575, 582 

3:1; 4:1 - 462 

5:23-32 468 

6:20-22 - 462 

PHILIPPIANS. 

Ch. 1, seq. 469-471 

1:25 477 

2:9-11 575 

4:3 512 

COLOSSIANS. 

Ch. 1, seq. 463-465 

1:10 467 

1:15-19 575 



COLOSSIANS. PAGE. 

3:5 549 

4:10, 13, 16 462 

4:11 57,431 

4:14 431 

4:16 99, 465, 466 

4:18 469 

1 THESSALONIANS. 

Ch. 1, seq. ----471, 472 

1:7, 8 -- -152 

2:2, 15, 16 475 

4:11 ---473 

4:13-18 105, 473, 629 

4:15 108 

5:8 468 

2 THESSALONIANS. 

Ch. 1, seq. 473-475 

1:7-10 542, 569, 629 

2:2, 3 474 

2:11, 12 ---'- 542 

2:15 - 417 

1 TIMOTHY. 

Ch. 1, seq. 476-480 

2:4 542 

2: 11-14 - - 135, 637 

3:16 ---390, 526 

2 TIMOTHY. 

Ch. 1, seq. 476-478, 481, 482 

3:6, 8 - -477 

3:7 - 214 

3:8, 9 - 501 

3:11 442 

3:15 - - 166 

3:16 148, 577 

4: 9, 21 -' 480 

4:11 --- 427, 428, 431 

TITUS. 

Ch. 1, seq. 480, 481 

1:10, 14-16 477 

2:2, 3 -- -374 

3:5 - 570 

3:9 - 477 

3: 13 476 

PHILEMON. 

Ver.l, 9, 10,23- 462 

18 4G9 

24 - 431 



INDEX OF TEXTS. 



667 



HEBREWS. PAGE. 

Ch. 1, seq. 482-486 

1:3 --.-..----:-.-. 575 

Ch. 1:5 G39 

1:13 630 

2:6-8 638 

2:11, 14, 17, 18 594,595 

2: 14-18 - 584 

3:7—4:11 585 

4:2 -220 

4:7-11 619 

4:12 - 154, 527 

4: 15 584, 595 

5:1-6 484, 595 

7:3 584 

7:5, 8, 13, 21, 23, 28 484 

7:4-10 618 

7:7 -- 583 

7:23, 24, 26 596 

7 : 25 603 

7:27 595 

8: 3 - 484, 591, 595 

8:5, 13 484 

8:8-10 167 

8:9 635 

Chs.9, 10 321 

9:1-9, 13, 22 • 484 

9:7, 8-.- -603 

9:11-14, 25-28 591, 596 

9:12-28 - 595 

9: 13, 14 602 

9:14 529 

9: 15-17 166, 167 

9:22 - 119, 598 

10:1 485, 581, 587 

10:5 r --- 635 

10:10-22 --485, 591, 596, 627 

10:19, 20, 22 602, 603 

Ch. 11 --- .--568 

11:4, 7 135 

11:9 - 568 

11:11 - 528 

11:13, 39, 40 221 

11: 33, 34- • 326 

11:37 299 

12:24 135, 602 

12:29 152 

13:11, 12 - 605 

13:15 596 



HEBREWS. 
13:24 



PAGE. 

- • 484 



JAMES. 

Ch. 1, seq.-- -487-491 

1:13, 14 541, 545 

2:10 ---^ 153 

2:14-26 490 

2:24 - 529 

5:11 284 

1 PETER. 

Ch. 1, seq. 491-493 

1:1, 2 - 602 

1:6, 7 ^ -- 492 

1:8, 21 - 94 

1:11 - 297, 574 

1: 19, 20 -600 

2:3 ■ 467 

2:5-9 --321, 568, 596, 603, 627 

2:6, 8 -. 547, 575 

2:23 75 

2:24, 25 592 

3:18 -^ ---592 

3:20 - 135 

5:1 - 500 

5:13 --- 421 

2 PETER. 

Ch. 1, seq. 493-497 

' --148, 168 



1:21- 
9-1 - 



497 

135 

■166, 496 



2:5, 6-- -- 

3:16 

1 JOHN. 

Ch. 1, seq. ^..... 497-499 

1:5 - - 545 

2:2 - 591 

3:8 116 

3:12 -135 

4:3 46, 94 

4:14 - 33 

5:7, 8 - -390 

2 AND 3 JOHN. 

Ver. 1, seq. --500, 501 

2 John 12; 3 John 13 - 60 



JUDE. 
Ver. 1, seq. 

4 

7, 11- 



-501, 502 

497 

135 



668 



INDEX OF TEXTS. 



REVELATION. page. 

Ch. 1, seq.-- 503-510 

1:5 592 

3:7 575 

3:18 551 

5:5, 12 - 547 

5:9 510, 592 

6:1 547, 610 

7:14 592 

8:3, 4-- 589 

9:15 137 



REVELATION. page. 

Ch. 11:2, 3 137, 509, 565, 610 

11:11 509, 631 

12:6 509, 565, 610 

13:5 509, 565 

19:8 - --532 

19:10 118 

20:4, 5, 11-15 630 

21:9 292 

22:18, 19- 578 



