-
 
 THE 
 
 THEOLOGY 
 
 OLD TESTAMENT; 
 
 A BIBLICAL SKETCH OF THE RELIGIOUS 
 OPINIONS 
 
 ANCIENT HEBREWS. 
 
 FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF 
 THE CHRISTIAN ERA. 
 
 EXTRACTED AND TRANSLATED FROM THE 
 
 alten Ces-taments: 
 
 GEORG LORENZ BAUER. 
 
 PROFESSOR OF ORIENTAL LANGUAGES AND OF LOGIC AT ALTDORF J AND 
 
 AFTERWARDS OF ORIENTAL LANGUAGES AND BIBLICAL 
 
 CRITICISM AT HEII.K1.BERG. 
 
 LONDON: 
 CHARLES FOX, 67, PATERNOSTER ROW. 
 
 MDCCCXXXVIII.
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed by WILLIAM CLOWES and SONS, 
 Stamford Street.
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 page line 
 
 3 8 for the father of Abraham and the father of 
 Nachor, read the forefathers of Abraham 
 and Nachor. 
 
 56 5 for the mother of Venus comes to ^Eneas, 
 read the mother Venus comes to /Eneas. 
 
 to avoid useless repetitions; but all the essential argu- 
 ments of the work have been retained, and the opinions 
 of the Author faithfully given. 
 
 2097099
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 THE work from which the following pages are 
 taken was intended, by the Author, to serve as a text- 
 book for academical lectures. In the translation, the 
 arrangement of the original has, in many instances, 
 been considerably deviated from, with a view to its 
 better adaptation to the general reader ; much also has 
 been necessarily omitted, in order, as far as possible, 
 to avoid useless repetitions ; but all the essential argu- 
 ments of the work have been retained, and the opinions 
 of the Author faithfully given. 
 
 a -2 
 
 20S7099
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 INTRODUCTION . . . . vii 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Preliminary Observations . . . . .1 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Examination of the Notions entertained concerning God, before the 
 
 Time of Moses . . . . . 7 
 
 SECT. I. Antiquity of the Records Jehovah and Elohim . 7 
 
 SECT. II. The Record Jehovah . . . .11 
 
 SECT. III. The Record Elohim . . . .18 
 
 ' CHAP. III. 
 
 Mosaical Notions of God ; the four last Books of the Pentateuch 26 
 SECT. I. Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers . . .26 
 
 SECT. II. Deuteronomy . 36 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 The Book of Joshua . . . . 43 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 The Book of Judges . . . ... .51 
 
 SECT. I. The History of the Idolatry of the Danites . 51 
 
 SECT. II. The Book of Judges, to Chap. XVI. . . 52 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 The First Book of Samuel; or, the Notions entertained concerning 
 God during the Government of Samuel and of Saul . . 58 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 The Psalms of David and his Contemporaries . . .67 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 Notions concerning God entertained by Solomon . . 80 
 
 SECT. I. The Book of the Proverbs . . 80 
 
 SECT. II. Religious Notions attributed to Solomon in the 
 
 Historical Books of the Kings and the Chronicles 87
 
 VI CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 The Book of Job ..... '91 
 
 SECT. I. Notions of Job's adversaries concerning God and 
 
 Providence . . . . .92 
 
 SKCT. II. Religious opinions of the Writer of the Book of Job 98 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 Notions concerning God contained in the Books of the contempo- 
 raneous Prophets, Isaiah, Hosea, Amos, and Micah . .103 
 
 CHAP XL 
 
 Notions concerning God contained in the Writings of those Pro- 
 phets who lived immediately before, or during the Captivity . 1 12 
 SECT. I. The Book of Jonah . . . .112 
 
 SECT. II. The Books of the Prophets Joel, Obadiah, Nahum, 
 
 Habakkuk, and Zephaniah .. . .115 
 
 SECT. III. The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah . .118 
 
 SECT. IV. The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel . 125 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 Notions concerning God contained in the Books of later Prophets 131 
 SECT. I. The Books of the Prophets Zechariah, Malachi, and 
 
 Haggai . . . .131 
 
 SECT. II. The anonymous Portion of the Book of Isaiah . 136 
 SECT. III. The Book of Daniel . . . .139 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 Ecclesiastes, or the Preacher . . . . .146 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 Notions concerning God contained in the remaining Historical 
 Books of the Old Testament . . . . .151 
 
 SECT. I. The Books of the Kings and the Chronicles . 151 
 
 SECT. II. The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah . 159 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 Notions concerning God contained in the later Psalms . . 162 
 
 Conclusion . . . . . . .167
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 What is the relation of God to man ; and what the relation of 
 man to God ? An inquiry of higher importance, one of more 
 vital and eternal interest to every individual, never has been, 
 nor ever can be proposed to the human understanding. It 
 has engaged the attention of mankind in every age, and the 
 reply always corresponding with the existing degree of 
 mental culture has varied in each progressive stage of 
 civilization. 
 
 It is intended in the following pages to examine what 
 were the opinions entertained concerning these relations of 
 God to man, and of man to his Maker, by the Ancient 
 Hebrews. We shall endeavour to place before the reader 
 an impartial investigation of their ideas of God, and their 
 notions of his Providence : to trace the history of their 
 religion, as it is to be collected from the Books of the sacred 
 writers, through each successive stage of its development. 
 We shall thus attempt to give a brief sketch of the theolo- 
 gical doctrines and representations contained in the Old 
 Testament. 
 
 The importance of such an examination is obvious. 
 Christianity is the offspring of Judaism, and an accurate 
 knowledge of the theology of the New Testament can be 
 attained by those only who are acquainted with the theology 
 of the Old Testament.
 
 THE THEOLOGY 
 
 THE OLD TESTAMENT. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 IN tracing the Biblical history of the religion of the ancient 
 Hebrews, a correct chronological arrangement of the Books 
 of the Old Testament seems to be almost indispensable ; 
 but unfortunately no such arrangement exists. The date 
 and genuineness of each Book have been disputed, and 
 theologians of the greatest learning, and of the deepest re- 
 search, are divided in opinion respecting the exact time at 
 which these Books may be supposed, severally, to have been 
 written. We must, therefore, be satisfied with the nearest 
 approximation to chronological truth which can be attained. 
 The internal evidence furnished by the Books themselves, is 
 generally the most satisfactory which we are able to procure ; 
 but this, of course, is frequently very inconclusive. It is, 
 however, ascertained that very few of the Books were wholly 
 written and some of them not even partially written by 
 the men whose names they bear ; and that there is scarcely 
 a Book in the Old Testament, which can be regarded as the 
 production of but one writer. Many of the Books are com- 
 pilations, composed of Hebrew documents and fragmentary 
 histories, collected, arranged, and much interlarded by a 
 compiler of a subsequent age ; whilst other Books, which at 
 first sight wear the appearance of individuality, are, on closer 
 inspection, discovered to have received interpolations, addi- 
 tions, and appendices of different ages, and from various 
 sources. The consequence is, that notions of earlier and 
 later times are so woven together in the same Book, that it 
 is a work of labour and difficulty to disentangle Ihem.
 
 PRELIMINARY OBSKRVATIONS. 
 
 The fragmentary character of these Books, furnishes a 
 satisfactory explanation of the numerous contradictions and 
 incongruities they contain, and which are so conspicuous 
 in the Pentateuch and the other historical writings. When 
 the fact is once established, that portions of the same Book 
 were written by different men, at distinct and distant periods, 
 it no longer remains impossible to comprehend how ideas 
 and representations of God, so inconsistent with each other, 
 should be found in the same page how it could have arisen, 
 that in one sentence God is portrayed as the Creator of the 
 universe, and in the next as the family-God of the Patri- 
 archs, or as the national- God of the Hebrews. Descriptions 
 of a superior and elevated character, which are thus com- 
 bined with those feeble and puerile representations which 
 belong to the infant age of the world, we do not hesitate to 
 refer to a later period; otherwise we are compelled to 
 adopt an hypothesis which to our apprehension involves an 
 absolute absurdity to admit, that these incongruous pas- 
 sages are the expressions of one and the same writer 
 that notions so contradictory, so diametrically opposed to 
 one another, co-existed in one and the same mind. It is 
 difficult to believe, that the parents of the human race had 
 any conception of the God described in the opening chapter 
 of Genesis, or that they worshipped the Creator of heaven 
 and earth. Very different are the first notions man forms of 
 a Deity. The mind wanders through many a maze, before it 
 recognises the existence of a great First Cause, the Author 
 and Preserver of the universe. It is contrary to experience, 
 to the natural order in which the religious idea is developed, 
 that mankind should at the period of their wildest barbarism 
 have believed in the One True God, and should afterwards, 
 when more civilized, have degraded this God to the rank of 
 a family-God. The more rude man's condition, the more 
 imperfect are his Deities. The Gods of the savage are in- 
 vested by him with human forms ; they act after the manner 
 of men, and are subject to human passions. But, as man 
 progresses in civilisation, as his intelligence increases, and 
 his moral views grow more just, his own mind gradually 
 exalts and perfects the object of his adoration. That the 
 religious notions of the ancient Hebrews, like those of all
 
 PRELIMINARY OBSERVATION'S. 3 
 
 other nations, were progressively developed, may, we think, 
 be proved from the Bible. 
 
 Traces of the prior existence of Polytheism to Monotheism, 
 are to be found in Genesis. The Elohim, who were probably 
 at one time worshipped as equal Gods, are there recognised 
 as subordinate Deities, with whom Jehovah the highest 
 Eloah enters into council.* We are expressly told, that 
 thejtrtJtta of Abraham and tbe iHfckw of Nachor were Poly- 
 theists, that "they served other Gods."f Though Abraham 
 worshipped his own God, it does not appear that he disbe- 
 lieved in the existence of other Gods. It is highly impro- 
 bable that he suddenly forgot the household- gods of the 
 family whence he sprung, and adopted the worship of the 
 One True God of heaven and earth : he seems rather to 
 have chosen him a God from among the tutelary deities of his 
 ancestors, to have recommended himself to his favour, and to 
 have relied on him for protection. The representations 
 given of this God leave us no room to doubt, that the God 
 Abraham worshipped was a family- God. When the pos- 
 terity of the patriarchs had multiplied, and had become a 
 numerous people, the family- God of their fathers was raised 
 to the rank of a national- God, and at the time of Moses, 
 when every nation worshipped its own protecting Deity, 
 Jehovah was the acknowledged God of the Hebrews. 
 
 In the minds of the Hebrew prophets and sages, this be- 
 lief in a national-God was gradually expanded into a Mono- 
 theistic faith. If they still considered Jehovah in a peculiar 
 sense the God of the Israelites, they also believed in him as 
 the Creator of all men ; the Upholder and Governor of the 
 
 * We are aware that some commentators contend that, when God says " Let 
 vs make man in our image ;" " Let us go down," &c ; the plural number is used 
 as a sign of majesty. If it he so used iu a few instances, we cannot understand 
 why it should not be invariably employed, why in the other parts of Genesis, and 
 in all the subsequent Books of the Old Testament, Jehovah is constantly intro- 
 duced as speaking in the singular number. We. on the contrary, are of opinion 
 that these expressions belong to an ancient mythus whose originator acknow- 
 ledged more Gods than one. See Herder ' Vom Geist der Hebraischeu 
 Poesie." 
 
 t "The God of Abraham, and the God of Nachor. the God of their father, 
 judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac." Gen. 
 xx\i. 53. 
 
 " Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the 
 father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they seived other gods." 
 Joshua xxiv. 2. 
 
 B 2
 
 4 PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 universe. Vain, however, were the ceaseless efforts of these 
 wise men to implant the Monotheistic principle among the 
 Jewish people. They even failed in their attempts to pre- 
 serve the fidelity of the idolatrous Israelites to the worship 
 of their national- God. Promises and exhortations, reproofs 
 and threats, failed to produce any permanent effects. If, for 
 a season, they were reclaimed from the service of the Gods 
 of the heathen, they again relapsed into idolatry on the 
 first return of adverse fortune. Dissatisfied with their own 
 condition, and envious of the prosperity of the surrounding 
 nations, they forsook Jehovah to follow after the Gods of their 
 neighbours, with the hope of obtaining from them that suc- 
 cess and those blessings which they were denied by their 
 own God. The sacred history informs us, that it was not till 
 after the Babylonian exile that this chosen people of God 
 first abandoned idolatry and became confirmed Mono- 
 theists. 
 
 The progressive improvement to which the religious opi- 
 nions of the Hebrews were subjected, is also visible in the 
 changes which their notions regarding the administration 
 of the Divine government underwent. In the beginning, 
 God is represented as the immediate agent in the fulfilment 
 of his designs. He appears in person on the earth, and 
 visits the habitations of mortals ; but as soon as it is per- 
 ceived that such familiar intercourse with his creatures is 
 derogatory to the Divine majesty and dignity, the angel of 
 Jehovah is sent to communicate God's commands, and to 
 perform his pleasure upon earth. For a while this angel 
 is the messenger, or ambassador, employed in the execution 
 of both good and evil purposes ; but, subsequently, angels 
 are divided into two classes, and the good angels become the 
 ministers of the blessings, the evil angels of the judgments 
 of Jehovah. At a still later period of Jewish history, when 
 intercourse with the Chaldeans had taught the Hebrews 
 that a just and perfect God cannot be the originator of evil, 
 but only of good, an evil principle or Satan is introduced. 
 This Ahriman of the Hebrews possesses a large share in the 
 government of the world, and all evil and wickedness are 
 attributed to his agency. 
 
 Though the Bible contains sufficient evidence of the truth
 
 PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. 3 
 
 of these remarks, the " angel of Jehovah" has been so often 
 substituted for the original word Jehovah,* that these 
 changes do not follow in regular succession 
 
 Instances occur in which, in one part of the narrative of 
 the same event, we are told that it is the " angel of Jehovah? 
 and in another part that it is " Jehovah" who speaks or 
 appears. And where two separate accounts of the same 
 occurrence are given, some such alteration or difference 
 may almost invariably be observed. 
 
 Throughout the Old Testament, physical evils and na- 
 tional calamities are represented as the judgments of God: 
 they are regarded as the chastisements inflicted on account 
 of the idolatry and immorality of the Jewish people. Tem- 
 poral blessings and national prosperity, are considered as the 
 rewards bestowed by God for obedience and fidelity to him. 
 The people are constantly encouraged to pursue piety and 
 virtue, with the promise of receiving temporal recompense : 
 under a theocracy, such a system would naturally be adopted. 
 What higher inducements could be held out to a people who 
 were ignorant of a future state of existence, and whose hopes 
 were bounded by the grave ? Experience, however, con- 
 tinually disappointed their expectations, and observation did 
 not fail at length to convince them that the morally good 
 are not always the most successful in life, nor the wicked the 
 
 * The later Jewish and Samaritan translators, from an anxious apprehension 
 lest a corporeal existence should be attributed to the Deity, frequently substi- 
 tute the expression angel of God for the names Jehovah and Elohim. Thus, in 
 the Samaritan version of the Pentateuch 
 
 instead of 
 
 it is said, ' 
 instead of 
 it is said, ' 
 instead of 
 it is said, ' 
 
 Ye shall be as Goth," lp ... , 
 
 Ye shall be as the angels o/Gorf."J ' " 1- 
 
 In the likeness of God made he him," \ p 
 
 In the likeness of the angel of God made he Aim."} Uen * V> *' 
 
 Enoch was not, for God took him,'''' 1 ~ _ . 
 
 Enoch was not, for the angel of God took him.'') n> v ' 
 
 instead of " God went up from Abraham" \ c< "99 
 
 it is said, " The angel of God went up from Abraham."] t " en> XV1K 2 *' 
 
 Saadias, in his Arabian version of the Pentateuch, has the following ren- 
 derings : 
 
 " Ye shall be as the angels?' Gen. iii. 5. 
 
 " And the angel of God came down to see the city and the tower." Gen. xi. 5. 
 
 " The anael of God went his way." Gi-n. xvii. 33. 
 
 " for to day the anael of God will appear unto you," Lev. ix. 4. 
 
 The various Chaldee paraphrasts have made similar alterations; but, instead 
 of saying the " anael of God," they substitute, sometimes, " the word of Jeho- 
 
 vafl; ". 8 m etimes the " Shekinah," that is, the abode ot the Word of Jehovah 
 
 his visible presence.
 
 O PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 most unfortunate ; and the consequence was, that those who 
 believed that justice and goodness are the attributes of 
 Deity found it impossible to comprehend the designs of 
 Providence, or to justify the ways of God to man. The per- 
 plexities and the struggles the doubts and the fears the 
 scepticism and the despair into which the more enlightened 
 were plunged by the difficulties of this doctrine of temporal 
 rewards and punishments, are sufficiently discernible in the 
 Psalms, in the Book of Job, and in Ecclesiastes. 
 
 These preliminary observations will be exemplified in the 
 investigation of the books of the Old Testament.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 EXAMINATION OF THE NOTIONS ENTERTAINED CONCERNING GOD 
 BEFORE THE TIMK OF MOSES. THE BOOK OF GENESIS. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 Antiquity of the Records Jehovah and Elohim. 
 
 THE Book of Genesis has long ceased to be regarded as 
 the original production of Moses ; and it is now generally 
 acknowledged to be a compilation from different records. 
 The laborious researches of Astruc, Michaelis, Eichhorn, 
 Moller, and Ilgen, have removed this long-contested point 
 beyond further dispute. Two Records are principally dis- 
 tinguished the Record Jehovah, and the Record Elohim ; 
 so called from the different name for God which each Record 
 usually employs. These two Records are interspersed 
 throughout the Book of Genesis. Besides these, there are 
 two other small, but distinct, fragments : the one is found in 
 the second and third chapters, the other in the fourteenth 
 chapter.* 
 
 Before we examine the notions contained in these Records 
 it is necessary to make a few observations respecting the 
 period at which they are supposed to have been written. 
 We shall confine our remarks to the two largest Records 
 the Record Jehovah and the Record Elohim. 
 
 We do not doubt that the authors obtained their mate- 
 rials from ancient traditions, songs, and written memorials ; 
 but we are not convinced that these Records were compiled 
 before the time of Moses ; on the contrary, we are inclined 
 to believe that they did not obtain their present form earlier 
 
 * De Wette, speaking of the fragmentary compilation of the Book of Ge- 
 nesis, says, " It is pretty generally acknowledged that this book consists of 
 component parts of a dissimilar character. '1 hey may he distinguished by the 
 different appellations, Jthovuh ami Elohim, given 10 the Deny ; by a variation 
 in the style of composition, and by several other particulars." He refers to tne 
 works of Astruc, Eichhorn, Ilgen, Gramberg, J. J. StUhelin, Kelle, Bertholdt, 
 Moller, Ewald, Hartmaun, Vater, and others. TB.
 
 8 NOTIONS ENTERTAINED CONCERNING GOD 
 
 than the time of David. The following considerations lead 
 us to this conclusion : 
 
 I. The name Jehovah is found in the Records Jehovah and 
 Elohim ; yet it was Moses who first used it as the appella- 
 tion of the Deity. In the Book of Exodus it is written 
 
 " God spake unto Moses and said unto him, I am Jehovah : 
 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by 
 the name of God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah was I not 
 known to them " -Exod. vi. 2, 3. 
 
 We are aware that, in order to get rid of this difficulty, 
 the passage is explained thus : " God appeared unto the 
 patriarchs as the almighty God, but not as the faithful God, 
 who fulfils his promises. To the fathers he promised the 
 land of Canaan, but he now accomplishes that promise by 
 giving it to their posterity : he now shows himself as the 
 Jehovah the unchangeable in his decrees." But if we 
 compare Exodus iii. 14, with Exodus vi. 2, 3, it will be seen 
 that this name originated with Moses. Moses inquires of God 
 what answer he shall give the Israelites if they ask, " Who is 
 the God who has sent him unto them ?" What is the name of 
 this God of their fathers ? And God says to Moses, " / am 
 that I am. Thou shall say unto the children of Israel, I AM 
 hath sent me unto you" Here God speaks of himself in 
 the first person iTHN (Ehjeh) " I am." When speaking of 
 God it became necessary to use the third person thus, 
 iTJT (Jijeh), " he is ; or, according to the more ancient dia- 
 lect, thus, (TIIT ~)$N ni!T (Jiveh ascher jiveh), " he is that 
 
 he is," that is the unchangeable. The Hebrew word, when 
 abridged thus, JT|!T (Jiveh), or thus, JT)iT (Jahaveh), we 
 
 pronounce according to the Hebrew punctuation Jehovah. 
 
 We deem it impossible that an impartial investigator can 
 compare these two passages without being convinced that 
 Moses first introduced this name : and if the name Jehovah 
 originated with Moses, the Records Jehovah and Elohim 
 could not have received their present form prior to the time 
 of Moses, since it occurs in both Records. 
 
 II. We must either admit that divine revelations were 
 imparted to Abraham ; that absolute predictions of remote 
 and contingent events were actually communicated to him
 
 BEFORE THE TIME OF MOSES. 9 
 
 (an admission which will not be readily made by those who 
 are acquainted with the modern discussions on the Hebrew 
 prophecies) ; or else we must allow that the following pas- 
 sages were written subsequently to the time of Moses : 
 
 " And he said unto Abrara, Know of a surety that thy seed 
 shall be a stranger in the land that is not theirs, and shall 
 serve them ; and they shall afflict them four hundred years ; 
 and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge : 
 and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And 
 thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace ; thou shall be buried 
 in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall 
 come hither again : for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet 
 full." Gen.xv. 13-16. 
 
 We have here a reference to the residence of the Israelites 
 in Egypt ; their slavery and afflictions ; their departure 
 from the land of bondage, carrying with them the gold and 
 silver vessels of the Egyptians; and the drowning of 
 Pharaoh and his host. Have we sufficient evidence on which 
 to ground our belief that these minutely- detailed facts were 
 indeed made known to Abraham by the Almighty ! or must 
 we rather conclude that the passage was written after the 
 events had taken place ? 
 
 " Jehovah made a covenant with Abraham, saying, Unto 
 thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto 
 the great river, the river Euphrates." Gen. xv. 18. 
 
 The possessions of the Israelites did not extend to the river 
 Euphrates till the reign of David. 
 Of Ishmael it is said 
 
 " And he will be a wild man : his hand will be against every 
 man, and every man's hand against him : and he shall dwell in 
 the presence of all his brethren." Gen. xvi. 12. 
 
 " In the presence," in the sight of, that is, towards the 
 east. If a Hebrew wished to define the four cardinal points, 
 geographically, he always turned his face towards the east. 
 Arabia, the country of the Idumeans, lay to the east of 
 Palestine. This passage was evidently written when the 
 Israelites were already in possession of the Land of Promise, 
 and the Idumeans were inhabiting the region to the east of 
 Canaan. The author, however, represents Hagar as being 
 supernaturally informed of the future abode of her posterity. 
 To Sarah the promise is made :
 
 10 NOTIONS ENTERTAINED CONCERNING GOD 
 
 " I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of 
 tbee." Gen. xvii. 6. 
 
 Does not this passage point to a time when Israel was 
 governed by Icings ? Genesis, chapter xlix., contains 
 Jacob's benedictory song. It is considered to belong to the 
 Record Jehovah, yet it could not have been written before 
 the reign of David, for then, first, was the king chosen 
 from the tribe of Judah, and Israel became an hereditary 
 kingdom. 
 
 " Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise : thy 
 hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies ; thy father's chil- 
 dren shall bow down before thee." 
 
 " The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver 
 from between his feet," &c. Gen. xlix. 8 and 10. 
 
 III. The history of Moses, given in the first and second 
 chapters of Exodus, is from the Record Elohim. This is 
 probably a mythical narration,* and, if it be such, a con- 
 siderable time must have elapsed between the death of 
 Moses and its composition, for a history acquires such mythi- 
 cal additions only through a long series of oral transmis- 
 sions. 
 
 The promise made to Sarah, which we noticed just above 
 in the Record Jehovah, is repeated in the Record Elohim. 
 
 " And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her : yea, 
 I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations ; kings of 
 people shall be of her." Gen. xvii. 16. 
 
 Isaac says to Esau 
 
 " Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and 
 of the dew of heaven from above ; and by thy sword shall thou 
 live, and shalt serve thy brother ; and it shall come to pass 
 when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his 
 yoke from off thy neck." Gen. xxvii. 39, 40. 
 
 It was David who conquered the Idumeans, the descend- 
 ants of Esau, and reduced them to servitude. It was easy 
 to foresee that they would resist the yoke, and seize the first 
 opportunity of throwing it off. Events which the author 
 had learned from the history of his own time he represents 
 the aged Isaac as foretelling in a prophetic song; yet this 
 chapter, from the 29th verse, belongs to the Record Elohim. 
 
 * That the life of Moses is mythically narrated, in the first and second 
 chapters of Exodus, the author has endeavoured to show, " in einer Abhundfuny 
 des Gabltrishen Journals; uber das Mythiscke in tier Jugfndgtschichte Motis.''
 
 BEFORE THE TIME OF MOSES. 11 
 
 IV. If Chapter xxxvi. of Genesis contain a correct 
 genealogy of the Idumean princes, it cannot have been 
 written earlier than the reign of Saul, for it is said 
 
 " And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, 
 before there reigned any king over the children of Israel." 
 Gen. xxxvi. 31. 
 
 As David conquered Idumea, such a genealogical list might 
 have been procured during his reign. We have no means 
 of ascertaining the age of the other fragments in Genesis. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 The Record Jehovah. 
 
 The Record Jehovah * is allowed to be the most ancient 
 portion of the Old Testament ; compiled from the earliest 
 traditions ; and the feeble notions it contains correspond 
 with the infant age of the world. 
 
 God is here called Jehovah Elohim : that is, Jehovah God 
 the unchangeable God ; or the God of the Elohim. The 
 latter construction is the more probable. 
 
 The Record opens with a description of the creation. 
 Jehovah Elohim is represented as the Creator, Preserver, 
 and Governor of the universe. He creates the heavens and 
 the earth successively. It had not yet rained upon the 
 ground, and it is too hard to permit the herbs and the plants 
 to spring forth from its bosom ; God therefore causes a mist 
 to ascend, and water the whole face of the ground : for it had 
 been observed that the dew, especially in the East, moistens 
 the parched surface, and, in a measure, compensates for the 
 absence of rain. Man is not created till after the growth of 
 the plants and trees on which he is to subsist. When the 
 earth is prepared for his reception Jehovah Elohim forms 
 man. As the potter fashions his vessels from the clay, so 
 God takes a piece of earth and moulds it into the human 
 frame. This account agrees with the old tradition, that the 
 first men came out of the ground. Man is yet but a lifeless 
 
 * The Record Jehovah commences at Genesis, chap, ii, 4. Genesis, chap. i. 
 and chap. ii. 1-3, is from the Record Elohim. The Records are much interwoven. 
 Thty are separated by De Wette in his " Einleituug in die Biicher des Alten 
 Testameutis.'' TR.
 
 12 NOTIONS ENTERTAINED CONCERNING GOD 
 
 figure till God breathes into his nostrils the breath of life, 
 and he becomes a living soul. God now perceives that it is 
 not good for man to be alone, and says he will make a help 
 meet for him. Jehovah Elohim forms out of the ground 
 every beast of the field and every fowl of the air, but among 
 these there is not found an help meet for Adam. And God 
 causes a deep sleep to fall upon him, takes from him one of 
 his ribs, and of it makes a woman. 
 
 In order that Adam may exercise his mental powers and 
 the faculty of speech, God brings the beasts to him, " to see 
 what he will call them." God watches over the newly-created 
 pair, as a mother tends her young child ; clothing them with 
 skins ; instructing them what food they shall eat ; and warn- 
 ing them not to touch the fruit of a certain tree, which would 
 prove injurious to them. Adam and Eve disobey the injunc- 
 tion, and eat the forbidden fruit. God seeks them in the 
 garden, but cannot immediately find them, for they had 
 hidden themselves for fear and shame among the trees. 
 God questions Adam respecting this disobedience, and an- 
 nounces the punishment. Henceforth man shall be mortal. 
 The woman shall bring forth her children in sorrow, the 
 man shall spend his days in hard labour : in the sweat of his 
 face shall he eat bread till he return to the ground, out of 
 which he was taken. By eating of the tree of knowledge 
 Adam and Eve had acquired wisdom, one of the attributes 
 of Deity : " they were become wise, their eyes were opened ;" 
 for fear they should now put forth their hand, and take of 
 the tree of life, and live for ever, and thus share the divine 
 prerogative of immortality, God drives them out of the beau- 
 tiful garden of Eden. 
 
 Representations of God. 
 
 In this, as well as in all the early books of the Old Testa- 
 ment, the representations of God are various and contradic- 
 tory ; a proof of the fragmentary character of these sacred 
 Records, portions of which were composed during different 
 periods of time, and different stages of civilization. 
 
 Jehovah Elohim is represented as the universal God of 
 heaven and earth. He is the only God. There is no other
 
 BEFORE THE TIME OF MOSES. 13. 
 
 God like unto h'm. He can do whatsoever he willeth : can 
 create and can destroy : can rain fire and brimstone from 
 heaven.* 
 
 " I will make thee swear by Jehovah,t the God of heaven and 
 the God of the earth.'' Gen. xxiv. 3. 
 
 Jehovah is also portrayed as a family-God, as a patriarchal- 
 God, and as a national- God. He is the guardian, guide, 
 and lawgiver of Adam ; entering into familiar intercourse 
 with him. He selects favoured individuals, promising to be 
 a God to them and to their family, to their posterity and to 
 the nation which shall spring from them. He is in a peculiar 
 sense the protecting God of the patriarchs and their descend- 
 ants, his chosen people. He rescues them from dangers and 
 difficulties, blesses them with unusual prosperity, interferes 
 continually in their behalf, and communicates to them his 
 designs and his commands. 
 
 " Blessed be Jehovah the God of Shem, and Canaan shall 
 be his servant." Gen. ix. 26. 
 
 " Fear not, Abraham, I am thy shield, and thy exceeding 
 great reward." Gen. xv. 1. 
 
 " Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and 
 mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed 
 in him." Gen. xviii. 18. 
 
 " I am Jehovah, the God of Abraham thy father, and the 
 God of Isaac : the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give 
 it and to thy seed ; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the 
 earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, 
 and to the north, and to the south : and in thee and in thy seed 
 shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And behold I am 
 with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, 
 and will bring thee again into this land ; for I will not leave 
 thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of." 
 Gen. xxviii. 14-16. 
 
 " And Jehovah said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing 
 which I do?" Gen. xviii. 17. 
 
 Jehovah dwells in heaven, but he is represented as fre- 
 quently visiting the earth, and entering into familiar inter- 
 course with man. He walks in the garden of Eden, and 
 
 * See Gen. ii. 4, vi. 7, vii. 4. 
 
 t The authorised English version of the Bible translates the Hebrew name 
 of God " Jehovah" by " the Lurd ;" but in this translation we have followed the 
 German version cited by Prof. Bauer, and have invariably retained the Hebrew 
 name " Jehovah," Ta.
 
 14 NOTIONS ENTERTAINED CONCERNING GOD 
 
 talks with Adam. He speaks with Cain, warns him against 
 committing sin, and when he has murdered his brother Abel, 
 God immediately seeks him, calls him to account, asks him 
 what he has done, and communicates to him his punishment. 
 It is said that after this communication " Cain goes out from 
 the presence of Jehovah ;" that is, he leaves that land where 
 Jehovah's peculiar presence abides, and where he had spoken 
 with him. Jehovah often appears to Noah ; he not only 
 converses with him, and gives him minute instructions re- 
 specting the building of the ark, and informs him of the 
 coming destruction of the men he had created ; but, when the 
 ark is finished, and Noah with his family and the various 
 animals are gone into it, Jehovah shuts the door. 
 
 " They that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as 
 God had commanded him, and Jehovah shut Noah in." 
 
 Gen. vii. 16. 
 
 Jehovah leaves his dwelling in heaven, and goes down to 
 earth, in order to see the city and the tower the people in the 
 land of Shinar are building. 
 
 " And Jehovah came down to see the city and the tower." 
 
 Gen. xi. 5. 
 
 Jehovah visits Abraham in a human form, accompanied by 
 two angels. 
 
 " And Jehovah appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre : 
 and he sat in the tent-door in the heat of the day ; and he lift 
 up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him : and 
 when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent-door, and 
 bowed himself toward the ground." Gen. xviii. 1, 2. 
 
 He eats meal-cakes with them, and partakes of the flesh of a 
 calf which is " tender and good," and before he departs he 
 promises that Sarah shall have a son in her old age. Jeho- 
 vah hears the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah, and that " their 
 sin is very grievous." He says he will go down to the earth, 
 and ascertain whether this cry which has reached him be 
 correct or not. 
 
 " And Jehovah said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomor- 
 rah is great, and because their sin is very grievous ; I will go 
 down now, and see whether they have done altogether according 
 to the cry of it, which is come unto me ; and if not, I will know." 
 
 Gen. xviii. 20, 21. 
 
 Jehovah communicates to Abraham, his faithful friend, his
 
 BEFORE THE TIME OF MOSES. 15 
 
 purpose to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah : on which occasion 
 Abraham has a long conversation with Jehovah, in which he 
 intercedes for the condemned cities (" as if man were more 
 just than his Malcer"), and his entreaty is favourably re- 
 garded. " And Jehovah goes his way as soon as he has left 
 communing with Abraham" and when he is returned to 
 heaven he sends two angels to Sodom at even.* 
 
 It is difficult to believe that the originators of such tradi- 
 tions had any idea of an omniscient, omnipresent Deity, of 
 the beneficent Creator and universal Father. On the contrary, 
 such descriptions can leave no doubt on the mind of the im- 
 partial inquirer that man ascribed to God a human form, 
 though it be not exactly so stated in the record. The earliest 
 traditions and poems of every nation contain similar repre- 
 sentations of the Gods, of their tarrying upon the earth, 
 visiting the habitations of mortals, and conversing familiarly 
 with them. 
 
 Jehovah appears very often to Abraham ; but it is not 
 said, as in chapter xviii., that he appears visibly.f It is 
 expressly stated, chapter xv. 1, that Jehovah came to Abra- 
 ham in a vision : and it is in a dream that Jacob sees Jehovah 
 standing above the ladder. 
 
 " And Jacob dreamed, and behold a ladder, &c. And Je- 
 hovah stood above it." Gen. xxviii. 12, 13. 
 
 Attributes of God. 
 
 The attributes ascribed to Jehovah are, power, holiness, 
 justice, mercy, jealousy, and instability. 
 
 Jehovah is powerful. 
 
 " I am the Almighty God." Gen. xvii. 1. 
 
 He can create heaven and earth, and destroy the whole 
 human race. 
 
 Jehovah is holy. He rewards well doing and punishes 
 sin. Noah finds grace in the eyes of Jehovah because 
 he is righteous. Great prosperity is promised to Abra- 
 ham on condition that he walks before Jehovah and is 
 perfect. Jehovah warns Cain against sin, and punishes him 
 
 * See Gen. xviii. 33, xix. 1 and 13. 
 f See Gen. xii. 1, xv. 1, xvii. 1.
 
 16 NOTIONS ENTERTAINED CONCERNING GOD 
 
 severely for murdering his brother. He brings a flood upon 
 the earth, because the wickedness of man is great. He is 
 much displeased with the immoralities of the cities of Sodom 
 and Gomorrah, and destroys them. 
 
 Jehovah is just and merciful " the righteous judge of all 
 the earth."" He will not slay the righteous with the wicked, 
 if ten righteous shall be found in the city ; he will not destroy 
 it for the sake of ten. 
 
 " That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the 
 righteous with the wicked : and that the righteous should be as 
 the wicked, that be far from thee : shall not the judge of all the 
 earth do right ?" Gen. xviii. 25. 
 
 Jehovah is jealous. He is unwilling that the man he has 
 made shall become immortal, and encroach on the peculiar 
 prerogatives of Deity. 
 
 " And Jehovah God said, Behold, the man is become as one 
 of us, to know good and evil : and now lest he put forth his hand 
 and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever." 
 
 Gen. iii. 22. 
 Jehovah repents of what he does. 
 
 " It repented Jehovah that he had made man on the earth, 
 and it grieved him at his heart." Gen. vi. 6. 
 
 When Noah comes out of the ark, he offers a sacrifice to 
 Jehovah : " Jehovah smells a sueet savour," and it pleases 
 him, " and he says in his heart, 
 
 " I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake ; 
 for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth." 
 
 Gen. viii. 21. 
 
 Government and Providence of God. 
 
 The world is governed at its commencement by Jehovah, 
 together with his Elohim. 
 
 " The man is become as one of us to know good and evil." 
 
 Gen. iii. 22. 
 
 " For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your 
 eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be a* Gods (as the Elohim), 
 knowing good from evil.'' Gen. iii. 5. 
 
 From the history of the Creation, given in this Record, we 
 perceive that, though God is soon transferred to heaven, the 
 earliest notion respecting his abode was, that Jehovah and 
 his Elohim occupied the garden of Eden.
 
 BEFORE THK TIME OF MOSES. 17 
 
 The providences of Jehovah are generally administered 
 by himself, without the aid of intermediate messengers and 
 agents : angels are, however, occasionally introduced in this 
 Record. Before the destruction of Sodom Jehovah sends 
 two angels to that city. The angel of Jehovah speaks to 
 Abraham out of heaven.* 
 
 Jehovah watches over his chosen people with great soli- 
 citude ; he also regards whatever is done upon the earth. He 
 scatters the inhabitants abroad over the face of the world : 
 guides Abraham in his wanderings to the land " he will 
 shew him :" gives temporal prosperity, and causes adversity : 
 makes fruitful, and makes barren. All physical evils are 
 punishments inflicted by Jehovah: all temporal blessings 
 are his rewards. f 
 
 Jehovah enters into covenant with the Patriarchs in a 
 similar manner to that in which men bind themselves to 
 observe certain mutual conditions. Jehovah enters into 
 covenant with Abraham. By his desire Abraham takes a 
 heifer, a she- goat, and a ram, each three years old, divides 
 them in the midst, and arranges each piece one against 
 another : also a turtle-dove and a young pigeon ; but these 
 he does not divide. 
 
 " And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it 
 was dark, behold a smoking furnace and a burning lamp that 
 passed between those pieces. In the same day Jehovah made a 
 covenant with Abram." Gen. xv. 17, 18. 
 
 Chap. xvii. 3, Jehovah ratifies the covenant in person. 
 Other nations used similar ceremonies, when they bound 
 themselves by covenant. Those who made the contract 
 passed between the divided pieces of the sacrifice, to signify 
 that whichever party did not fulfil the conditions of the 
 covenant should in like manner be divided in pieces. 
 
 Jehovah enters into covenant with Isaac. 
 
 " And Jehovah appeared unto Isaac and said, Go not down 
 into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: 
 
 " Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bjess 
 thee ; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these 
 countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto 
 
 * See Gen. xxii. 11 and 15. 
 
 f See Gen. xii. 1, xxxi. 3, xxi. 1 and 2, xxv. 21, xxix. 31. 
 J Ste Gen. xv. f,-18. 
 
 C
 
 18 NOTIONS ENTERTAINED CONCERNING GOD 
 
 Abraham thy father ; And I will make thy seed to multiply as 
 the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these coun- 
 tries ; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be 
 blessed ; Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept 
 my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws." 
 Gen. xxvi. 2-5. 
 
 The frequent mention which is made of the erection of 
 altars, of sacrifices, vows, and prayers, in worship of Jehovah, 
 is peculiar to this Record. Cain and Abel, Noah, Abraham, 
 Isaac, and Jacob, all build altars, and sacrifice to Jehovah. * 
 
 SECTION III. 
 The Record Elohim. 
 
 The Record Elohim opens with a description of the crea- 
 tion. In grandeur of conception and beauty of expression 
 it is very superior to that given in the Record Jehovah. 
 Many traditions of the creation, which existed among the 
 eastern nations, have been transmitted to us in the Chaldee, 
 Egyptian, and Phrenician fragments, but all are very inferior 
 to the Hebrew cosmogony preserved in this Record; for 
 these were of earlier date, whilst the latter did not receive 
 its present modification till the God of Israel was regarded 
 as the one God, the Creator of heaven and earth. 
 
 In the beginning God creates the heaven and the earth. 
 He fashions the earth by degrees, but he does not frame it 
 out of some previously existing material, producing a perfect 
 creation out of a chaotic mass : he creates everything by his 
 fiat. The creation is called into existence by his almighty 
 will, through his almighty power. This is a sublime con- 
 ception of God's all-creating energy, and the expression, 
 " God said let there be . . . and it was so" is full of force 
 and beauty. The manner in which God's all-creating 
 wisdom is extolled " And God saw everything that he had 
 made, and behold it was very good," is very dignified. 
 Here no adverse principle, no Demiurgus with evil intent, is 
 introduced. The conception of a God who performs his 
 
 * See Gen. iv. 3, 4, 5 ; riii. 20; xii. 7, 8 ; xiii. 2, 3, 4, 18 ; xxi. 33 ; xxvi. 25.
 
 BEFORE THE TIME OF MOSES. 19 
 
 work after the manner of a human artificer, who is fatigued 
 with his exertions and rests from his labours, is more weak 
 and puerile. God continues his operations on each succeed- 
 ing day. In six days the creation is completed, wherefore 
 God rests on the seventh day, and blesses and sanctifies it. 
 The division of the creation into six days is peculiar to this 
 Record. It is not improbable* that the rest of the Sabbath 
 instituted by Moses might have suggested this division to 
 our author, and that he makes use of it in order to impress 
 upon his readers the peculiar holiness of the Sabbath. The 
 first four days are occupied with the creation of day and 
 night ; of the firmament, the waters, and the earth ; of every 
 herb and every tree ; and of the sun, moon, and stars, which 
 rule the day and the night, and mark the changing seasons. 
 The fifth and sixth days are devoted to the creation of every 
 living creature ; the fish of the sea, the fowl of the air, every 
 beast of the field, and every creeping thing. Then God 
 says, " Let us make man" and to man it is given to have 
 dominion over everything that has life, and which moves 
 upon the earth. This Record does not say that man is 
 formed from the dust : and, instead of the man being created 
 first, and the woman some time after, they are here described 
 as being created simultaneously. 
 
 " So God created man in his own image, in the image of God 
 created he him ; male and female created he them.'' Geu. i. 27. 
 
 The expression, " God made man in his own image or 
 likeness," is more than once repeated. 
 
 " Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." 
 
 Gen. i. 26. 
 
 " In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God 
 made he him." Gen. v. 1. 
 
 " Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed : 
 for in the image of God made he man." Gen. ix. 6. 
 
 It is not difficult to point out the probable origin of this 
 opinion. Long before the distinctions of body and soul, of 
 intellectual and moral powers, had been made, man dis- 
 covered that his strength and reason gave him superiority 
 and dominion over all animate and inanimate objects, and 
 constituted him the lord of this world. To his God, to 
 
 * See Gen. ii. 3. 
 
 c 2
 
 20 NOTIONS ENTERTAINED CONCERNING GOD 
 
 man's Creator, he would naturally ascribe the same attributes 
 with which he found himself endowed, only in a far higher 
 and greater degree. Man pictured to himself a God more 
 beautiful and more powerful than himself, yet clothed in a 
 human form, and possessed of human faculties. It was not 
 till man had first formed God after man's image, that, when 
 speaking of his own creation, he reverses the order, and 
 says, God made man after God's image. 
 
 Representations of God. 
 
 The Creator of heaven and earth, whose " spirit moved on 
 the face of the waters," is represented as a family- God, a 
 patriarchal-God, and a national-God. He descends from 
 heaven, and visits the abodes of men. He converses with 
 Noah, makes known to him his intention of destroying all 
 flesh, and commands Noah to construct a ship in which he 
 and his family shall be saved amid the general destruction. 
 God, like a naval architect, gives particular instructions 
 respecting the height, length, and breadth of this ark, and 
 the manner of its pitching. He tells Noah what animals he 
 shall take with him into the ark, and what food he and the 
 cattle shall eat while confined in it. After the flood has 
 remained sufficiently long upon the earth " God remembers 
 Noah" speaks with him, desires him to go forth out of the 
 ark, blesses him, gives him permission to eat animal food, 
 and promises never again to bring a flood upon the earth. 
 God likewise visits Abraham, converses with him, promises 
 him a son, and a numerous posterity. These infantine re- 
 presentations much resemble the earliest Greek mythi. 
 Mankind knew not how otherwise to account for the bless- 
 ings and deliverances they were continually experiencing 
 than by attributing them to the immediate agency of their 
 deities, and the anthropomorphised Gods of that age could 
 not act where they were not personally present. 
 
 God also appears in dreams, " God comes to Abimelech 
 in a dream by night." The apparition Abraham had, when 
 God commands him to offer his son Isaac, must be consi- 
 dered as a dream, for it is immediately added, " Abraham 
 rose up early in the morning ;" that is, after he had slept
 
 BEFORE THE TIME OF MOSES. 21 
 
 and dreamed. Jacob has a dream from God concerning 
 speckled and ring-streaked sheep.* Jacob also dreams that 
 God wrestles with him during the night. Jacob prevails, 
 which is a pledge to him that he shall prevail over his 
 brother Esau ; that the narrator intended this matter to be 
 regarded as a dream seems probable, from its being clearly 
 stated that " it was night," and that, " when Jacob was left 
 alone, there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of 
 the c?ay."f 
 
 Attribute. 1 } of God. 
 
 God is represented as omnipotent : His omnipotence is 
 displayed in the creation. 
 
 God is holy and just : He is acquainted with the actions 
 of men, has displeasure in wickedness, and punishes iniquity. 
 The earth is become corrupt : " all flesh has corrupted his 
 way:" "the earth is filled with violence." God sees this, 
 and cannot endure the sight ; he therefore brings a flood 
 upon the earth, and destroys man and beast. He gives 
 commands to man: forbids him to murder his fellow beings 
 (because " man is the image of God"), and desires him not 
 to eat the blood of animals. It was an ancient notion that 
 the principle of life resided in the blood. 
 
 God rewards the righteous, and gives evidences of his 
 favour. Enoch walks with (or before) God ; that is, Enoch 
 serves God. It was customary to say of a person who ful- 
 filled the commands of another, that he stood or went before 
 
 him. 
 
 " Enoch was not; for God took him." Gen. v. 24. 
 
 It was a common opinion among the ancients, if any 
 person suddenly disappeared, and no one knew what had 
 become of him, that the gods had taken him away. God 
 loves Enoch because he worships him faithfully ; he sud- 
 denly parishes, and nothing more is heard or seen of him ; 
 it is therefore concluded that God has taken him. 
 
 * See Gen. xxxi. 9-13 and 42. 
 f See Gen. xxxii. 25-33. 
 
 J From the permission to eat the flesh of beasts, being joined with the 
 command not to murder, it seems probable that this commai.d was intended to 
 prevent cannibalism, and this opinion is strengthened by the expression " the 
 earth was filled with violence."
 
 22 NOTIONS ENTERTAINED CONCERNING GOD 
 
 It is because Noah is righteous that God esteems him 
 worthy to converse with him, and he rewards his righteous 
 servant by saving him and his family from the flood. God 
 recompenses Abraham's fidelity with his choicest blessings, 
 long life, temporal prosperity, and a seed which shall be as 
 the sand on the sea-shore for multitude. God also preserves 
 Lot from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, for the 
 sake of his favourite Abraham. 
 
 " And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of 
 the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of 
 the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the 
 which Lot dwelt." Gen. xix. 29. 
 
 The notions of God's moral attributes are, of course, very 
 imperfect. God tempts his chosen servant, and commands 
 the sacrifice of a human victim. Abraham dreams that God 
 requires him to offer his son, his only son Isaac, as a burnt 
 offering. The Phoenicians, Abraham's near neighbours, 
 offered the most beautiful, the most beloved, and the eldest of 
 their children, as propitiatory sacrifices to their gods. And 
 we cannot suppose that Abraham had much higher notions 
 of the God he worshipped than the Phoenicians had of their 
 Gods, when we find him regarding a dream as a divine 
 vision, imagining that his God will be pleased with a human 
 sacrifice, and believing that he requires him to put forth his 
 hand and murder the child of his bosom on the altar. 
 Abraham would have executed this command, which is 
 attributed to the Infinite God, had not some accident (said 
 to be an angel from heaven), the particulars of which are 
 not recorded, prevented him, at the moment he had raised 
 the knife to slay his son. 
 
 God gives assistance in a fraudulent transaction. He, in 
 a dream, suggests a deceit to Jacob, by which he may 
 obtain large flocks from Laban. 
 
 " Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and 
 given them to me." 
 
 " Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and 
 the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me 
 away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the la- 
 bour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight." 
 
 Gen. xxxi. 9 and 42.
 
 BEFORE: THE TIME OF MOSES. 
 
 Government and Providence of God. 
 
 The Elohim are also mentioned in this Record as being 
 with Jehovah, and sharing in the creation and government 
 of the world. 
 
 " Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." 
 Gen. i. 26." 
 
 and again 
 
 " Go to, let us go down, and there confound their lan- 
 guage.'' Gen. xi. 7. 
 
 It is said 
 
 " The sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were 
 fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose." 
 Gen. vi. 2. 
 
 The offspring of this union are " giants, mighty men, 
 men of renown." * These notions correspond with the age 
 to which they belong. We find similar traditions among 
 the Greeks and Romans. Their gods had sons by the 
 daughters of men, and these sons were giants and heroes. 
 
 For a while God carries on his government by means of 
 personal intercourse with his creatures ; subsequently, the 
 angel of God is introduced as the minister of his providence, 
 and his messenger to man. 
 
 The angel of God comforts Hagar, and speaks to her 
 from heaven. 
 
 " And God heard the voice of the lad ; and the angel of God 
 called to Hagar out of heaven," &c. Gen. xxi. 1 7. 
 
 Jacob, who is a timid man, is continually seeing angels ; 
 they constantly accompany him on his way. The angels 
 of God meet him as he parts from Laban. 
 
 " Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 
 And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host.' 
 Gen. xxxii. 1, 2. 
 
 Angels likewise appear in dreams. " The angel of God 
 speaks to Jacob in a dream " respecting Laban's flocks ; yet 
 immediately he is represented as saying of himself 
 
 * See Gen. vi. 4.
 
 24 NOTIONS ENTERTAIN KD CONCERNING GOD 
 
 " I am the God of Beth-el, where thou anointedst the pillar, 
 and where thou vowedst a vow unto me." 
 
 Compare Gen. xxviii. 10 to 22, from the Record Jehovah, 
 with Gen. xxxi. from the Record Elohim. 
 
 God's providence is continually watching over his people. 
 All blessings come from him ; all evils are from him ; but 
 these are his punishments for sin. 
 
 God enters into covenant with his favourite servants. He 
 makes a covenant with Noah, and confirms it by a visible 
 sign, or token, in order that God may remember it I 
 
 " And the bow shall be in the cloud ; and I will look upon it, 
 that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God 
 and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. 
 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, 
 which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon 
 the earth." Gen. ix. 16, 17. 
 
 In the East, where every spring and autumn periodical 
 rains fall without intermission during many weeks, the rain- 
 bow is joyfully hailed as the welcome presage of the return 
 of fair weather. After the alarming inundation which de- 
 luged Mesopotamia, the rainbow probably showed itself in 
 the cloud, and was observed with inexpressible delight, since 
 its appearance would inspire the almost abandoned hope, that 
 God would again be gracious and send the bright sunshine 
 upon the earth. For many succeeding years, perhaps ages, 
 the sight of the rainbow could not fail to recall this fearful 
 deluge, and its appearance would be regarded as a sign that 
 the rainy season was nearly over, and the recurrence of a 
 flood no longer to be apprehended. This circumstance may 
 possibly have given rise to the history of God's covenant with 
 Noah. 
 
 God establishes an everlasting covenant with Abraham, 
 promising to be a God to him and to his seed after him. 
 Abraham is circumcised. This is the visible sign that he, on 
 his part, engages to serve God. The covenant is renewed 
 between God and Isaac. 
 
 " I am the Almighty God ; walk before me, and be thou per- 
 fect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and 
 will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: 
 and God talked with him, saying, As for me, Behold, my cove- 
 nant is with thee, and thou shall be a father of many nations.
 
 BEFORE THE TIME OF MOSES. 25 
 
 " And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make 
 nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will 
 establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after 
 thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God 
 unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. 
 
 " The uncircumcised man child shall be cut off from his 
 people ; he hath broken my covenant. 
 
 " And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed ; 
 and thou shalt call his name Isaac : and I will establish my 
 covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed 
 after him." Gen. xvii. 1-4, 6, 7, 14, 19. 
 
 Altars are erected and sacrifices are offered to God. 
 Abraham builds an altar, on which he proposed to sacrifice 
 his son. Jacob erects altars to his God.* The whole reli- 
 gious worship of the ancient world consisted in sacrifices and 
 in calling upon the God at the time of offering. The father 
 of the household was the sacrificer or priest: he built an 
 altar of turf or stones on the spot where he happened to be, 
 though a grove, if near, was preferred. On this altar he 
 slaughtered and sacrificed the choicest of his cattle, partly 
 in testimony of his homage and gratitude, but chiefly be- 
 cause he hoped by means of gifts and adulation to propi- 
 tiate his God, to ingratiate himself with him, and to secure 
 his protection. 
 
 * See Gen. xxxv. 1-7, 14.
 
 26 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 MOSAICAL NOTIONS OF GOD. 
 THE FOUR LAST BOOKS OF THE PENTATEUCH. 
 
 THE representations of God in the fifth book of the Penta- 
 teuch are very superior to those in the second, third, and 
 fourth books. We shall, therefore, first examine the more 
 properly Mosaical notions found in Exodus, Leviticus, and 
 Numbers, and reserve the consideration of the book of Deu- 
 teronomy for a separate section. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Exodus Leviticus Numbers. 
 Representations of God. 
 
 Throughout these books God is described as the national- 
 God of the Israelites, and only twice it is said that this 
 national-God is the Creator of heaven and earth ;* and even 
 here he seems introduced as such, only with a view of en- 
 forcing the sanctity of the Sabbath. He is the God whom 
 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob worshipped; the God who 
 favoured and protected the forefathers of the Israelites ; the 
 God of the patriarchs ; the God of their descendants ; the 
 God of the Hebrews. 
 
 " Moreover Jehovah said, I am the God of thy father, the 
 
 God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." 
 
 Exod. iii. 6. 
 
 His name is Jehovah, the unchangeable God. When Pharaoh 
 inquires " Who is Jehovah ?" Moses answers " The God of 
 the Hebrews." 
 
 " And Pharaoh said, Who is Jehovah, that I should obey his 
 voice and let Israel go ? I know not Jehovah, neither will I 
 let Israel go. And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath 
 
 * Exod. xx. 11, xxxi. 17.
 
 MOSA1CAL NOTIONS OF GOD. 27 
 
 met us, let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the 
 desert, and sacrifice unto Jehovah our God ; lest he fall upon us 
 with pestilence, or with the sword." Exod.v. 2, 3 ; also iii. 18. 
 
 " And Jehovah said unto Moses, Thou shall say unto him, 
 Jehovah the God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee." 
 Exod. vii. 16. 
 
 " I will be hallowed among the children of Israel : I am Je- 
 hovah which hallow you, that brought you out of the land of 
 Egypt, to be your God : I am Jehovah." Lev . xxii. 32, 33. 
 
 " Remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy 
 unto your God. I am Jehovah your God, which brought you 
 out of the land of Egypt to be your God, I am Jehovah your 
 God." Numb. xv. 40, 41. 
 
 The existence of other gods besides Jehovah is not denied. 
 It is not said, "There is but one God, Jehovah is his name," 
 but 
 
 " I am Jehovah thy God, which have brought thee out of the 
 land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no 
 other Gods before me." Exod. xx. 1 , 2. 
 
 Jehovah is greater and more powerful than all other gods : 
 he has no equal. 
 
 " Who is like unto thee, Jehovah, among the gods ? Who is 
 like unto thee?" Exod. xv. 11. 
 
 When Moses relates the wonderful works of Jehovah to 
 Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, Jethro says 
 
 " Now I know that Jehovah is greater than all gods : for in 
 the thing wherein they dealt proudly, he was above them all." 
 Exod. xviii. 11. 
 
 How is it possible that, from such representations of God, 
 the Israelites, Pharaoh, or the Egyptians, could have formed 
 any other notion of him than that he was the national- God 
 of the Hebrews ? At that time every nation had its own 
 peculiar god ; and each nation believed its own god to be 
 the most powerful among the gods. It is in the natural 
 order in which ideas are developed, that the god who was 
 first worshipped as a family- God should now be regarded as 
 a national-God, when the descendants of the family had mul- 
 tiplied and become a great nation. 
 
 That this God was supposed to have a human form is evi- 
 dent, for he writes the ten commandments on two tables of 
 stone with his own finger.
 
 28 MOSAIC AL NOTIONS OF GOD. 
 
 " And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of com- 
 muning with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, 
 tables of stone, written with the finger of God." Exod. xxxi. 18. 
 
 " And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was 
 the writing of God, graven upon the tables." Exod. xxxii. 16. 
 
 Jehovah descends on earth, and speaks to his people. 
 
 " Jehovah spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh 
 unto his friend.'' Exod. xxxiii. 1 1. 
 
 " Jehovah descended in the cloud and stood with him there, 
 and proclaimed the name of Jehovah.'' Exod. xxxiv. 5. 
 
 " Thou Jehovah art seen face to face." Numb. xiv. 14. 
 
 Jehovah gives Moses the most minute instructions respect- 
 ing the building of the tabernacle : particularises each nail 
 and plank, the various curtains and coverings, their several 
 colours ; and also each holy utensil. He describes the office 
 of the priests, and the dress they shall wear when they ap- 
 proach his presence. He arranges the exact size, form, and 
 position of the altar ; and determines the sacrifices, both Ve- 
 getable and animal, which are to be offered thereon. 
 
 Jehovah, like a human potentate, reflects and considers 
 how he shall act in certain difficult positions. He also proves 
 the people, that he may know how to act towards them. He 
 says to the children of Israel 
 
 " Ye are a stiffnecked people : I will come up into the midst 
 of thee in a moment, and consume thee : therefore now put off 
 thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto 
 thee." Exod. xxxiii. 5. 
 
 In the account given of the visions in which Jehovah ap- 
 pears to Moses, the descriptions of God are very human, 
 very anthropomorphous. But the imperfection of Moses' 
 representations is one proof of their genuineness. 
 
 Attributes of God. 
 
 Jehovah is a partial God : He is not represented as the 
 father of all people, regarding all with equal love, but as 
 the peculiar protector of the Hebrews; yet he does not 
 shower his mercies upon Israel for their own sake, nor as a 
 reward for their moral conduct, but for the sake of the cove- 
 nant which he made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
 
 MOSAICAL NOTIONS OF GOD. 29 
 
 " Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also 
 my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham 
 will I remember ; and I will remember the land. The land 
 also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while 
 she lieth desolate without them : and they shall accept of the 
 punishment of their iniquity : because, even because they de- 
 spised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my 
 statutes. And yet for all that, when they be in the land of 
 their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor 
 them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with 
 them : for I am Jehovah their God. But I will for their sakes 
 remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought 
 forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that 
 I might be their God : I am Jehovah. Lev. xxvi. 42-45. 
 
 Jehovah is extremely desirous of the admiration of the 
 surrounding nations : He is anxious that they shall take 
 notice of the powerful assistance he affords to his people, 
 and that all the earth shall be filled with his glory. There- 
 fore, when greatly enraged, he is prevailed upon by Moses 
 to turn from his fierce anger, by being reminded that the 
 heathen will say, that Jehovah is not able to fulfil his 
 promises to Israel. 
 
 " Moses besought Jehovah his God, and said, Jehovah, why 
 doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast 
 brought forth out of the land of Egypt, with great power, and 
 with a mighty hand ? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, 
 and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in 
 the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the 
 earth ? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil 
 against thy people." Exod. xxxii. 11, 12. 
 
 " And Jehovah said unto Moses, How long will this people 
 provoke me ? and how long will it be ere they believe me for 
 all the signs which I have shewed among them ? I will smite 
 them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of 
 thee a greater nation and mightier than they. And Moses 
 said unto Jehovah, Then the Egyptians shall hear it (for thou 
 broughtest up this people in thy might from among them) ; and 
 they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land : for they have 
 heard that thou Jehovah art among this people, that thou 
 Jehovah art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over 
 them, and that thou goest before them by day-time in a pillar 
 of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night. Now if thou shalt 
 kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have 
 heard the fame of thee will speak, saying, Because Jehovah 
 was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware 
 unto them, therefore hath he slain them in the wilderness.
 
 30 MOSAICAL NOTIONS OF GOD. 
 
 And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Jehovah be great, 
 according as thou hast spoken, saying, Jehovah is long-suffer- 
 ing, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, 
 and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of 
 the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth genera- 
 tion. Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people, ac- 
 cording unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast for- 
 given this people from Egypt even until now. And Jehovah 
 said, I have pardoned according to thy word : but as truly as I 
 live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of Jehovah." 
 
 Numb. xiv. 11-22. 
 
 Jehovah is exceedingly wrathful and revengeful, even, 
 against his own people Israel. 
 
 " And Jehovah said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and 
 behold it is a stiflfnecked people : now, therefore, let me alone, 
 that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may con- 
 sume them : and I will make of thee a great nation." 
 
 Exod. xxxii. 9, 10. 
 
 " And Jehovah said unto Moses, take all the heads of the 
 people, and hang them up before Jehovah against the sun, that 
 the fierce anger of Jehovah may be turned away from Israel." 
 Numb. xxv. 4. 
 
 When Jehovah is greatly displeased with the whole con- 
 gregation, and in his anger threatens " to consume them as 
 in a moment," when " wrath is gone out from Jehovah, and 
 the plague is begun," his indignation is turned away from 
 Israel, and the plague is stayed, by the offering of incense 
 by the high priest. 
 
 " Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein 
 from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the 
 congregation, and make an atonement for them : for there is 
 wrath gone out from Jehovah ; the plague is begun. And 
 Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the 
 congregation ; and, behold, the plague was begun among the 
 people : and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the 
 people. And he stood between the dead and the living ; and 
 the plague was stayed." Numb. xvi. 46-48. 
 
 Israel joins himself unto Baalpeor (that is, forsakes the 
 worship of Jehovah, and worships the god Baal), and the 
 anger of Jehovah is kindled against Israel. The priest, 
 Phinehas, is zealous for the cause of Jehovah, and kills an 
 Israelite, who had been publicly guilty of adultery. By this 
 act, after that twenty-four thousand had died, the plague is 
 stayed, and " Jehovah's u-rath is turned au-ay from the child-
 
 MOSA1CAL NOTIONS OF GOD. 31 
 
 ren of Israel :" he will not " consume them in his jealousy ;' 
 and because Phinehas was zealous for his God, Jehovah 
 establishes with him the covenant of an everlasting priest- 
 hood.* 
 
 Jehovah hardens Pharaoh's heart in order that he may 
 have a suitable opportunity of displaying his vengeance and 
 terrible judgments. 
 
 " And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs 
 and my wonders in the land of Egypt. But Pharaoh shall not 
 hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and 
 bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, 
 out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. And the Egyp- 
 tians shall know that I am Jehovah, when I stretch forth mine 
 hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from 
 among them." Exod. vii. 3-5. 
 Jehovah is cruel towards the inhabitants of Canaan, and 
 
 commands their utter destruction to make way for his chosen 
 
 people. 
 
 " Jehovah said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a 
 book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua : for I will utterly 
 put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven." 
 
 Exod. xvii. 14. 
 
 " Vex the Midianites, and smite them." Numb. xv. 1 7. 
 
 " Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites : afterward 
 shall thou be gathered unto thy people. And Moses spake 
 unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the war, 
 and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge Jehovah of 
 Midian." 
 
 " And they warred against the Midianites, as Jehovah com- 
 manded Moses ; and slew all the males.'' 
 
 Numb. xxxi. 2, 3, and 7. 
 
 Jehovah insists on the total destruction of the Canaan- 
 ites.f 
 
 " Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When 
 ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan ; then ye 
 shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, 
 and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten 
 images, and quite pluck down all their high places : And ye 
 shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein : 
 for I have given you the land to possess it. And ye shall divide 
 the land by lot for an inheritance among your families. But if 
 ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you ; 
 then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of 
 
 * See Numb. xxv. f See Exod. xxxiv. 10, 11, 12.
 
 * 
 
 32 MOSAICAL NOTIONS OF GOD. 
 
 them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and 
 shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell. Moreover it shall 
 come to pass, that I shall do unto you, as I thought to do unto 
 them.'' Numb, xxxiii. 50-56. 
 
 Jehovah is a jealous God, who cannot endure that other 
 gods besides himself shall be worshipped. 
 
 " For I Jehovah thy God am a jealous God." Exod. xx. 5. 
 
 " Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the 
 inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare 
 in the midst of thee : But ye shall destroy their altars, break 
 their images, and cut down their groves : For thou shalt wor- 
 ship no other god : for Jehovah, whose name is Jealous, is a 
 jealous God : Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants 
 of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sa- 
 crifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his 
 sacrifice." Exod. xxxiv. 12-15. 
 
 Jehovah sanctions robbery and fraud. He commands the 
 Israelites to borrow jewels of silver, jewels of gold, and rai- 
 ment of the Egyptians, at the same time the Israelites are 
 given to understand that these borrowed articles are never 
 to be returned. 
 
 " Ye shall spoil the Egyptians." 
 " Ye shall not go empty away." 
 
 " And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyp- 
 tians : and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not 
 go empty. But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and 
 of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels 
 of gold, and raiment : and ye shall put them upon your sons, 
 and upon your daughters ; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians." 
 Exod. iii. 21, 22. 
 
 "And Jehovah gave the people favour in the sight of the 
 Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they re- 
 quired. And they spoiled the Egyptians." Exod. xii. 36. 
 
 Jehovah changes his determination. He will not execute 
 his previous intention to conduct his people by his presence 
 to the Land of Promise, because he perceives that they are 
 a stiffnecked people, and he fears he may be tempted " to 
 consume them by the u-ay ;" but he promises to send an angel 
 before them. Moses earnestly entreats Jehovah to allow his 
 presence to accompany them, and his prayer prevails. Je- 
 hovah again changes his purpose, and agrees to do this 
 thing also, because Moses " had found grace in his sight." 
 
 " And I will send an angel before thee ; and I will drive out
 
 MOSAICAL NOTIONS OF GOD. 33 
 
 the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, 
 the Hivite, and the Jebusite : Unto a land flowing with milk 
 and honey : for I will not go up in the midst of thee ; for thou 
 art a stiffnecked people : lest I consume thee in the way." 
 
 " My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. 
 
 I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken : for 
 
 thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name." 
 
 Exod. xxxiii. 2, 3, 14, and 17. 
 
 Government and Providence of God. 
 
 Jehovah is the principal agent in the government of the 
 earth : He dwells among the Hebrews in his tabernacle : 
 
 " And let them make me a sanctuary ; that I may dwell 
 among them." Exod. xxv. 8. 
 
 " And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be 
 their God." Exod. xxix. 45. 
 
 His abiding-place, that is, the peculiar presence and mani- 
 festation of his glory, is above the mercy-seat between the 
 cherubim ; therefore it is that, when the ark sets forward, 
 Moses says 
 
 " Rise up, Jehovah, and let thine enemies be scattered; and 
 let them that hate thee flee before thee." 
 
 And when it rests he says 
 
 " Return, O Jehovah, unto the many thousands of Israel." 
 Numb. x. 35, 36. 
 
 Jehovah communes with Moses from above the mercy- 
 seat : 
 
 " There I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee 
 from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubims 
 which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I 
 will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel." 
 
 Exod. xxv. 22. 
 
 The tabernacle is the abode of the sacred oracle of Je- 
 hovah, which Moses interprets during his lifetime, and which 
 is afterwards interpreted by the high-priest : 
 
 " And Moses took the tabernacle and pitched it without the 
 camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the 
 Congregation. And it came to pass, that every one who sought 
 Jehovah went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which 
 was without the camp. And it came to pass, when Moses went 
 out unto the tabernacle, that all the people rose up, and stood 
 
 D
 
 34 MOSAICAL NOTIONS OF GOD. 
 
 every man at his tent-door, and looked after Moses, until he was 
 gone into the tabernacle. And it came to pass, as Moses entered 
 into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the 
 door of the tabernacle, and Jehovah talked with Moses. And 
 all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle-door : 
 and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his 
 tent-door. And Jehovah spake unto Moses face to face, as a 
 man speaketh unto his friend.'' Exod. xxxiii. 7-11. 
 
 The Urim and Thummim, " the breastplate of judgment?' is 
 also used by the priests, for obtaining answers to their inqui- 
 ries of Jehovah. It is very uncertain in what this Urim and 
 Thummim consisted ; but it seems to have been a sacred 
 instrument for casting lots. Three stones of the twelve which 
 composed the breastplate were probably especially distin- 
 guished : the one giving an affirmative, the second a nega- 
 tive, and the third returning no answer. The Israelites were 
 not ignorant of the practice of casting lots before the time of 
 Moses, which was now probably preserved to them by means 
 of the Urim and Thummim. The Egyptians had a similar 
 mode of deciding the lot. Their high-priest wore an image 
 of sapphire upon his breast, with the inscription " The Truth." 
 When Joshua is intrusted with the conduct of the people of 
 Israel to the land of promise, arid Moses consecrates him to 
 the office, he is desired " to stand before Eleazar the priest, 
 who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim 
 before Jehovah." * 
 
 Angels are occasionally introduced as the ministers of 
 God's providence. The angel of Jehovah accompanies the 
 Israelites when they go out from Egypt. 
 
 " Behold, I send an angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, 
 and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware 
 of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not ; for he will not 
 pardon your transgressions : for my name is in him." 
 
 Exod. xxiii. 20, 21. 
 
 " And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, 
 removed and went behind them ; and the pillar of the cloud 
 went from before their face, and stood behind them.'' 
 
 Exod. xiv. 1 9. 
 
 The angel of Jehovah meets Balaam, and will not allow the 
 ass to go on his way. 
 
 * See Exod. xxviii. 30; Lev. viii. 8 ; Numb, xxvii. 18-23.
 
 MOSAICAL NOTIONS OF GOD. 35 
 
 " And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, 
 and went with the princes of Moab. And God's anger was 
 kindled because lie went : and the angel of Jehovah stood in 
 the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon 
 his ass, and his two servants were with him. And the ass saw 
 the angel of Jehovah standing in the way, and his sword drawd 
 in his hand." Numb. xxii. 21-23. 
 
 Jehovah is the Lawgiver of the Hebrews. They are go- 
 verned, not so much by Moses, as by Jehovah. From him 
 Moses receives the political and the moral law. In cases of 
 difficulty Moses does not venture to decide how he shall act, 
 but inquires of Jehovah, who judges for him.* Jehovah 
 declares that " he will be gracious to whom he will be gra- 
 cious, and will show mercy to whom he will show mercy ;" 
 accordingly he is unceasingly careful for his chosen people. 
 His peculiar providence protects them ; he guides, shields, 
 and favours them ; he brings them forth out of the land of 
 Egypt, with mighty signs and wonders ; and, in the time of 
 their necessity, gives them water to drink from the dry rock, 
 and feeds them with bread from heaven. 
 
 Every event is attributed to the immediate power of 
 Jehovah : all cleverness and skill in workmanship is from 
 God : the proficients in cutting of stone and carving in tim- 
 ber are filled with the Spirit of God.f But Jehovah's con- 
 tinual government and providence are especially manifested 
 by the rewards or punishments, the prosperity or misery, 
 which follow the observance or neglect of his laws. The 
 blessings and curses are set forth in fearful array in the 
 twenty-sixth chapter of Leviticus. Peaceful possession of 
 the land of promise, fruitful seasons, numerous offspring, 
 safety from enemies, victory in war, and great worldly pros- 
 perity, are the blessings promised, " if Israel will diligently 
 hearken to observe and do all the commandments of Jehovah 
 their God" Exile and adversity, war and oppression, pesti- 
 lence and famine, barrenness and loathsome diseases, are the 
 evils threatened, if Israel shall depart from the worship of 
 Jehovah, to serve other gods, and if they do not obey his 
 statutes and commandments. 
 
 Thus does Jehovah enter into solemn covenant with his 
 people it is a regular contract between two parties. 
 
 * See Exod. xviii. 13 to end. t See Exod. xxxi. 3-5.
 
 36 MOSAICAL NOTIONS OF GOD. 
 
 " If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, 
 and do them ; 
 
 " I will establish my covenant with you. 
 " And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye 
 shall be my people." Levit. xxvi. 3, 9, 12. 
 
 " Now, therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep 
 my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above 
 all people : for all the earth is mine. And ye shall be unto me 
 a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.'' Exod. xix. 5, 6. 
 This treaty is confirmed by the sacrifice of burnt-offerings. 
 
 " And Moses took the book of the covenant, and read in the 
 audience of the people : and they said, All that Jehovah hath 
 said will we do, and be obedient. And Moses took the blood, 
 and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the 
 covenant, which Jehovah hath made with you concerning all 
 these words.'' Exod. xxiv. 7, 8. 
 
 Jehovah swears to keep his covenants, and he keeps them 
 because he has sworn to do so.* Jupiter and the other 
 Grecian gods swear by the Styx, and they confirm their 
 oaths by an inclination of the head, by which action their 
 decrees are rendered irreversible. 
 
 Such a system of government was not calculated to pro- 
 duce happy moral results : but Moses desired and aimed at 
 the political, rather than the moral, greatness of the Hebrew 
 people. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 Deuteronomy, 
 
 Many reasons may be adduced in support of the opinion 
 that a considerable portion of the Book of Deuteronomy did 
 not originate with Moses, but is the contribution of later 
 writers. 
 
 The God whom Moses portrays in the foregoing Books 
 is the God of one little nation of the earth. This God 
 secures great temporal prosperity to his chosen people, as 
 long as they prove their allegiance to him. He is a powerful 
 God ; mightier than all other Gods. He is jealous, wrath- 
 ful, and revengeful ; partial in his affections, and therefore in 
 particular instances merciful and long suffering. He is a 
 
 * See Exod. xiii. 11 ; Numb. xiv. 30.
 
 MOSAICAL NOTIONS OF GOD. 37 
 
 God who sometimes requires deceit and dishonesty, and a 
 God who can be softened and appeased, when most enraged, 
 by the sacrifice of incense, and the sweet savour of a burnt- 
 offering. He is a God who places his presence in one parti- 
 cular spot, commands the constant homage of adulation and 
 sacrifice, enters into covenant with his people, and swears to 
 perform his oath. It could not be rationally expected that 
 Moses, who was educated among the idolatrous and super- 
 stitious Egyptians, should have acquired more enlarged and 
 elevated notions. Some of these notions are to be found in 
 Deuteronomy, and may be regarded as Mosaical: for in- 
 stance 
 
 Jehovah is humanly represented: 
 
 " Jehovah talked with you face to face in the mount out of 
 the midst of the fire." 
 
 " Behold, Jehovah our God hath shewed us his glory and his 
 greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the 
 fire : we have seen this day that God doth talk with man and 
 he liveth." Chap. v. 4 and 24. 
 
 " And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto 
 Moses, whom Jehovah knew face to face." Chap, xxxiv. 10. 
 
 " Jehovah delivered unto me two tables of stone written with 
 the finger of God." Chap. ix. 10. 
 
 Jehovah proves the people in order to know how to act 
 towards them : 
 
 " And thou shall remember all the way which Jehovah thy 
 God led thee these forly years in the wilderness, to humble 
 thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, 
 whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no." 
 
 Chap. viii. 2. 
 
 " If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, 
 and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder 
 come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go 
 after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve 
 them ; thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, 
 or that dreamer of dreams : for Jehovah your God proveth you, 
 to know whether ye love Jehovah your God with all your heart 
 and with all your soul." Chap. xiii. 1-3. 
 Jehovah is a partial God. 
 
 " Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the 
 midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live ? Or hath God 
 assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another 
 nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, 
 and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by
 
 38 MOSAIC AL NOTIONS OF GOD. 
 
 great terrors, according to all that Jehovah your God did for 
 you in Egypt before your eyes ?" 
 
 " And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their 
 seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his 
 mighty power out of Egypt ; to drive out nations from before 
 thee greater and mightier than thou art, to bring tbee in, to 
 give thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this day.'' 
 
 Chap. iv. 33,34,37,38. 
 
 " For thou art an holy people unto Jehovah thy God : Je- 
 hovah thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto 
 himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth." 
 Chap. vii. 6. 
 
 Jehovah is wrathful. The fierceness of his anger is 
 turned away from Israel, in answer to the prayer of Moses, 
 also, lest the nations shall say, " Jehovah is not able to 
 bring them into the land which he promised them." 
 
 " I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked 
 people : let me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out 
 their name from under heaven : and I will make of thee a 
 nation mightier and greater than they." 
 
 " And I fell down before Jehovah as at the first, forty days 
 and forty nights : I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, be- 
 cause of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in 
 the sight of Jehovah to provoke him to anger. For I was 
 afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith Jehovah 
 was wroth against you to destroy you. But Jehovah hearkened 
 unto me that time also." Chap. ix. 13, 14, 18, 19. 
 
 " I prayed therefore unto Jehovah, and said, O Jehovah God 
 destroy not thy people and thine inheritance, which thou hast 
 redeemed through thy greatness, which thou hast brought 
 forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Remember thy ser- 
 vants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ; look not unto the stubborn- 
 ness of this people, nor to their wickedness, nor to their sin : 
 lest the land whence thou broughtest us out say, Because 
 Jehovah was not able to bring them into the land which he 
 promised them, and because he hated them, he hath brought 
 them out to slay them in the wilderness." Chap. ix. 26-28. 
 
 " Jehovah will not spare him, but then the anger of Jehovah 
 and his jealousy shall smoke against that man." 
 
 Chap. xxix. 20. 
 
 " I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the 
 remembrance of them to cease from among men : were it not 
 that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries 
 should behave themselves strangely, and lest they should say, 
 Our hand is high, and Jehovah hath act done all this." 
 
 Chap, xxxii. 26, 27.
 
 MOSAICAL NOTIONS OF GOD. 39 
 
 Jehovah is cruel in commanding the utter destruction of 
 the Canaanites. 
 
 " When Jehovah thy God shall bring thee into the land 
 whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations 
 before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, 
 and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and 
 the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou : 
 and when Jehovah thy God shall deliver them before thee; 
 thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them ; thou shalt 
 make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them.'' 
 
 Chap. vii. 1 , 2. 
 
 Jehovah is a jealous God. 
 
 " For Jehovah thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous 
 God." iv. 24. 
 " For Jehovah thy God is a jealous God among you." 
 
 Chap. vi. 15. 
 
 Jehovah has his oracle among the Israelites. 
 
 " Then there shall be a place which Jehovah your God shall 
 choose to cause his name to dwell there ; thither shall ye bring 
 all that I command you ; your burnt offerings, and your sacri- 
 fices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all 
 your choice vows which ye vow unto Jehovah." Chap. xii. 1 1. 
 
 " And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be 
 with thy holy one, whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with 
 whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah." 
 
 Chap, xxxiv. 8. 
 
 Jehovah establishes his covenant with Israel, and engages 
 to be " a God unto them, if they will serve him faithfully 
 and not worship gods whom they know not."* 
 
 " And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O 
 Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears 
 this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them. 
 Jehovah our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. Jehovah 
 made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, 
 who are all of us here alive this day.'' Chap. v. 1-3. 
 
 " Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these 
 judgments, and keep, and do them, that Jehovah thy God shall 
 keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto 
 thy fathers : and he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply 
 thee : he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of 
 thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of 
 thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep in the land which he 
 sware unto thy fathers to give thee." Chap. vii. 12, 13. 
 
 " Ye stand this day all of you before Jehovah your God 
 
 * See Deut. xxix. 26.
 
 40 MOSAICAL NOTIONS OF GOD. 
 
 That thou shouldest enter into covenant with Jehovah thy God 
 and into his oath which Jehovah thy God maketh with thee 
 this day : that he may establish thee to-day for a people unto 
 himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said 
 unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, 
 to Isaac, and to Jacob.'' Chap. xxix. 10, 13. 
 
 " But thou shalt remember Jehovah thy God, for it is he 
 that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his 
 covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. 
 And it shall be, if thou do at all forget Jehovah thy God, and 
 walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I 
 testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish." 
 
 Chap viii. 18, 19. 
 
 " Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, 
 and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them : 
 and then Jehovah's wrath be kindled against you and he shut 
 up the heaven that there be no rain, and that the land yield not 
 her fruit, and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land 
 which Jehovah giveth you." Chap. xi. 16, 17. 
 
 With these feeble aad imperfect notions of a national- 
 God, which prevailed among the Hebrews during the Mosaic 
 age, are combined representations of the being and attri- 
 butes of Deity, which are of a very different, and of a far 
 higher and worthier character. 
 
 The divine unity is plainly declared, and the nothingness 
 of idols and of strange gods, is unequivocally stated. The 
 majesty, faithfulness, righteousness, and lovingkindness of 
 the only God of heaven and earth, are beautifully set forth, 
 particularly in what is called the Song jof Moses. 
 
 " What God is there in heaven or in earth, that can do ac- 
 cording to thy works, and according to thy might ?''- 
 
 Chap. iii. 24. 
 
 " For ask now of the days that are past, which were before 
 thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and 
 as/e from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there 
 hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been 
 heard like it ?" 
 
 "Jehovah he is God, there is none else beside him." 
 
 " Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that 
 Jehovah he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth be- 
 neath : there is none else." Chap. iv. 32, 35, 39. 
 
 " Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our God is one Jehovah, and thou 
 shalt love Jehovah thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy 
 soul, and with all thy might.' .Chap, vi.
 
 MOSA1CAL NOTIONS OF GOD. 41 
 
 " Know therefore that Jehovah thy God, he is God, the faith- 
 ful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that 
 love him and keep his commandments to a thousand genera- 
 tions." Chap. vii. 9. 
 
 " Behold the heaven and the heaven of heavens is Jehovah's 
 thy God, the earth also with all that therein is." 
 
 " For Jehovah your God is God of Gods, and Jehovah of Je- 
 hovahs, a great God, a mighty and a terrible, which regardeth 
 not persons, nor taketh rewards. He doth execute the judgment 
 of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving 
 him food and raiment." Chap. x. 14, i 7, 18. 
 
 " They sacrificed unto devils, not to God ; to gods whom they 
 knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers 
 feared not. Of the rock that begat thee, thou art unmindful, and 
 hast forgotten God that formed thee." 
 
 " They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not 
 God ; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities : and 
 I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people ; 
 I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation." 
 
 Chap, xxxii. 17, 18, 21. 
 
 " Ascribe ye greatness unto our God. He is the Rock, his 
 work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth 
 and without iniquity, j ust and right is he. See now that I, even 
 I, am he, and there is no god with me : 1 kill, and I make 
 alive ; I wound, and I heal : neither is there any that can deli- 
 ver out of my hand." Chap, xxxii. 2, 3, 39. 
 
 " There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth 
 upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky. 
 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlast- 
 ing arms." Chap, xxxiii. 26, 27. 
 
 It has been contended that Moses himself recognised, and 
 worshipped the One Eternal God, but found it necessary to 
 accommodate his descriptions of Jehovah to the ignorant 
 notions of the Hebrews, and the prevailing belief in a na- 
 tional-God. We think it impossible that a believer in the 
 divine unity could give such false and imperfect representa- 
 tions of the Deity as those which we have cited. It may not 
 indeed be difficult to imitate Philo, and many other theolo- 
 gians, and to allegorise such portions of the history as will 
 not harmonise with our own views ; and thus give to the 
 words a meaning they never were intended to express ; but, 
 to us, it appears sufficiently evident, that the purer notions 
 found in the Book of Deuteronomy, and in other parts of the 
 Pentateuch, are not Mosaic ; thut they must be referred to
 
 42 MOSA1CAL NOTIONS OF GOD. 
 
 the writers who lived long after the time of Moses ; and that 
 they became interwoven with existing Mosaic documents and 
 records by the arranger of the Pentateuch, perhaps in the 
 reign of David, but certainly not earlier.* 
 
 One part of the Book of Deuteronomy the account of 
 the death of Moses cannot be genuine. The relation given 
 in Deuteronomy of events recorded in the preceding Books, 
 frequently differs from, and sometimes contradicts, the Mosaic 
 narrative;! a proof that both accounts could not have been 
 written by the same author. Reference is also made to the 
 city of Jerusalem,! to the established priesthood, to the 
 reign of kings, and to the dominion of the prophets. || 
 These are evidences that the writer was acquainted with the 
 condition of the Jewish nation long subsequent to the death 
 of Moses. 
 
 * For a full confirmation of the opinions here given, the reader is referred to 
 the more recent investigations of this subject, to be found in the writings of 
 Vater, De Wetts, Gramberg, Hartmann, and Vatke. TR. 
 
 f Dent, \. 6-1 9, compare with 
 
 , 22 
 
 Exod. xviii. 
 Numb. xiii. 2. 
 
 , 42 
 
 xiv. 41. 
 
 44 
 
 45. 
 
 ii. 3-8, 29 
 
 xx. 14,21. 
 
 24 
 
 xxi. 21, 26. 
 
 iii. 26 
 
 xxvii. 1. 
 
 x. 1 
 
 Exod. xxxiv. 1. 
 
 , 6 
 
 Numb. xx. 22, 24., xxxiii. 30-38. 
 
 
 Exod. xvii. 8. 
 
 v. 6-18 
 
 xx. 2, 14. 
 
 xiv. 1-21 
 
 Lev. xi. 
 
 XV. 1-11 
 
 XXV. 
 
 , 12-18 
 
 Exod. xxi. 2-11. 
 
 xix. 12, 15, 18 
 
 Numb. xxxv. 24, 30. 
 
 \ See Deut. xii. ; 
 6 See -D<w/. xii. 12, 18,19. 
 
 xvi. 1-7. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 xvi. 11-14. 
 
 xviii. 1-8. 
 
 xxvi. 12, compare with Numb. xxxv. and xviii. 21-24. 
 
 xvii. 8-13. 
 
 xix. 17. 
 
 xxi. 5. 
 
 xvii. 18. 
 
 xxxi 9. 
 
 || See Deut. xvii. 14-20; xiii. 1-5; xviii. 9-22.
 
 43 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. 
 
 THE Book of Joshua is a continuation of the history of the 
 Israelites, from the death of Moses. It confesses to have 
 been written after the events it records had taken place, and 
 the narrations accord with the religious notions, and with 
 the whole mode of thinking of Joshua and his times. The 
 compiler seems to have arranged the existing ancient 
 materials, without introducing any of the later views of his 
 own age. 
 
 Representations of God. 
 
 However valuable this book may be as an historical record, 
 it is far from possessing either religious or moral worth ; on 
 the contrary, it is calculated to produce an injurious effect 
 upon the minds of its readers. It sanctions an unjust and 
 sanguinary warfare, under the conduct of God himself. It 
 represents Jehovah as fighting for Israel, and as command- 
 ing the Israelites to take forcible possession of Canaan, and 
 totally annihilate all the inhabitants of that land, which he 
 had sworn to give to his chosen people. The best descrip- 
 tion of Jehovah which occurs in this book is spoken by 
 llaliab the harlot : 
 
 " Jehovah your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth 
 beneath." Chap. ii. 11. 
 
 The God of Joshua is a national- God. When speaking 
 
 of Jehovah to the Israelites, Joshua almost invariably says, 
 
 " Jehovah your God." 
 
 Joshua exhorts the people to cleave to Jehovah their God, 
 
 and not to serve the gods of other nations, but he does not 
 
 deny the existence of other gods. 
 
 " " Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that 
 is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside 
 therefrom to the right hand or to the left ; that ye come not 
 among these nations, these that remain among you ; neither 
 make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by
 
 44 THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. 
 
 them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them : but 
 cleave unto Jehovah your God, as ye have done unto this day." 
 Chap, xxiii. 6-8. 
 
 " Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt 
 on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah the father 
 of Abraham, and the father ofNachor : and they served other 
 gods. 
 
 " Now therefore fear Jehovah, and serve him in sincerity and 
 in truth : and put away the gods which your fathers served on 
 the other side of the flood, and in Egypt ; and serve ye Jehovah. 
 And if it seem evil unto you to serve Jehovah, choose you this 
 day whom ye will serve ; whether the gods which your fathers 
 served, that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of 
 the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell : but as for me and my 
 house, we will serve Jehovah. And the people answered and 
 said, God forbid that we should forsake Jehovah, to serve other 
 gods ; for Jehovah our God, he it is who brought us up, and 
 our fathers, out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, 
 and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us 
 in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people 
 through whom we passed : and Jehovah drave out before us all 
 the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land : there- 
 fore will we also serve Jehovah, for he is our God. And Joshua 
 said unto the people, Ye cannot serve Jehovah : for he is an holy 
 God ; he is a jealous God ; he will not forgive your transgres- 
 sions nor your sins. If ye forsake Jehovah, and serve strange 
 gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after 
 that he hath done you good. And the people said unto Joshua, 
 Nay, but we will serve Jehovah. And Joshua said unto the 
 people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen 
 you Jehovah, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses. 
 Now therefore put away (said he) the strange gods which are 
 among you, and incline your heart unto Jehovah the God of 
 Israel." Chap. xxiv. 2, 14-24. 
 
 This passage throws much light upon the religious notions 
 of the Hebrews. Joshua calls upon them to choose among 
 the gods which god they will serve. Had they regarded 
 Jehovah as the only god, the choice between his service and 
 that of other gods could not have been proposed to them. 
 When we find the Hebrews required by their leader to 
 decide which among the gods they will select for their 
 peculiar Deity, the conclusion that they believed in the 
 actual existence of other gods besides Jehovah, is inevitable. 
 They agree to adopt the worship of Jehovah, because, as he
 
 THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. 45 
 
 had brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and 
 wrought many wonders for them in the wilderness, they 
 consider his service the most likely to prove advantageous. 
 
 Attributes of God. 
 
 Jehovah is called " an holy God;" he is likewise a jealous 
 God. He will not forgive the transgressions of those who 
 serve other gods, but will consume them. 
 
 " He is an holy God ; he is a jealous God ; he will not forgive 
 your transgressions nor your sins. If ye forsake Jehovah and 
 serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and con- 
 sume you, after that he hath done you good." Chap. xxiv. 1 9, 20. 
 
 Jehovah would not be portrayed as jealous of gods whose 
 being was positively disbelieved. 
 
 Jehovah is a warrior God, and a cruel God. He fights 
 for Israel. He casts down hailstones from heaven, in order 
 to secure them the victory. He listens to the voice of 
 Joshua, and causes the sun and the moon to stand still, until 
 his people are avenged of their enemies. Joshua, who was a 
 revengeful, cruel, and bloodthirsty man, does not hesitate to 
 ascribe the attributes of cruelty and vengeance to his God. 
 
 " Jehovah said unto Joshua, Fear them not : for I have de- 
 livered them into thine hand ; there shall not a man of them 
 stand before thee. Joshua therefore came unto them suddenly, 
 and went up from Gilgal all night. And Jehovah discomfited 
 them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at 
 Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goeth up to Beth- 
 horon, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah. And 
 it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the 
 going down to Beth-horon, that Jehovah cast down great stones 
 from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died : they were 
 more which died with hailstones than they whom the children 
 of Israel slew with the sword. Then spake Joshua to Jehovah 
 in the day when Jehovah delivered up the Amorites before the 
 children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand 
 thou still upon Gibeon ; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. 
 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people 
 had avenged themselves upon their enemies. /* not this written 
 in the book of Jasher ? So the sun stood still in the midst of 
 heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. And 
 there was no day like that before it or after it, that Jehovah 
 hearkened unto the voice of a man : for Jehovah fought for 
 Israel." Chap. x. 8-14. 
 
 " And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one
 
 46 THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. 
 
 time, because Jehovah the God of Israel fought for Israel." 
 Chap. x. 42. 
 
 It is in obedience to the command of Moses that Joshua 
 endeavours to effect the total annihilation of the Canaanites. 
 Dead to all the feelings of humanity, he suffers women, 
 innocent children, and helpless babes, to pass under the 
 edge of the sword ; but, what is far worse, he perpetrates 
 every species of cruelty and atrocity in the name of Jehovah 
 his God. 
 
 " Jehovah said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them : 
 for to-morrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain 
 before Israel : thou shalt hough their horses, and burn their 
 chariots with fire. So Joshua came, and all the people of war 
 with him, against them by the waters of Merom suddenly ; and 
 they fell upon them. And Jehovah delivered them into the 
 hand of Israel, who smote them, and chased them unto great 
 Zidon, and unto Misrephoth-maim, and unto the valley of 
 Mizpeh eastward ; and they smote them, until they left them 
 none remaining. And Joshua did unto them as Jehovah bade 
 him : he houghed their horses, and burnt their chariots with 
 fire. And Joshua at that time turned back, and took Hazor, 
 and smote the king thereof with the sword : for Hazor before- 
 time was the head of all those kingdoms. And they smote all 
 the souls that were therein with the edge of the sword, utterly 
 destroying them : there was not any left to breathe : and he 
 burnt Hazor with fire. And all the cities of those kings, and 
 all the kings of them, did Joshua take, and smote them with 
 the edge of the sword, and he utterly destroyed them, as Moses 
 the servant of Jehovah had commanded." Chap. xi. 6-12. 
 
 Jehovah is represented as requiring, not a single human 
 offering, but the sacrifice of whole nations. 
 
 " Jehovah said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dis- 
 mayed: take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up 
 to Ai : see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his 
 people, and his city, and his land : And thou shalt do to Ai and 
 her king as thou didst unto Jericho and her king : only the 
 spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof, shall ye take for a prey unto 
 yourselves 
 
 " And the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him 
 to Joshua. And it came to pass, when Israel had made an 
 end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the 
 wilderness wherein they chased them, and when they were all 
 fallen on the edge of the sword, until they were consumed, that 
 all the Israelites returned unto Ai, and smote it with the edge 
 of the sword. And so it was, that all that fell that day, both of
 
 THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. 47 
 
 men and women, were twelve thousand, even all the men of Ai." 
 
 Chap. viii. 1,2; 23-25. 
 
 Jehovah is revengeful. When he is defrauded by one 
 man of a portion of the spoil he had commanded to be 
 devoted wholly to himself, he punishes all the people by 
 suffering them to be defeated before Ai. Elated with the 
 conquest of Jericho, Joshua imagines that three thousand 
 men will be able to subdue Ai. This force proves insufficient. 
 The Israelites are defeated, and greatly disheartened by this 
 natural consequence of their temerity and imprudence. 
 Joshua at once attributes this overthrow to some disregard 
 of the commands of Jehovah, who therefore would not fight 
 for Israel. He takes lots of all the tribes, and discovers the 
 offender. Achan confesses that he had taken of the gold 
 and silver, for which offence he and his family are stoned ; 
 then "Jehovah turns from the fierceness of his anger" After 
 this, Ai is again besieged : it is vanquished, and all the 
 inhabitants are smitten with the edge of the sword. Joshua 
 ascribes this victory to the power of Jehovah, who at the 
 second attack fought for Israel. 
 
 " Jehovah said to Joshua, Stretch out the spear that is in thy 
 
 hand towards Ai ; for I will give it into thine hand" Chap. 
 
 viii. 18. 
 
 We must not, however, omit to observe that, at the second 
 attack made upon Ai, whose population was twelve thousand,* 
 all the men of war " thirty thousand mighty men of valour" 
 go up to besiege it. And the troops are encouraged 
 with the hope of the booty, " which Israel (this time) takes 
 for a prey unto themselves," f notwithstanding that Jehovah 
 had so lately been enraged because he had been defrauded 
 of a portion of the spoil. 
 
 The representations of Joshua's warrior- God, Jehovah, are 
 not, we think, of a more elevated character than those given 
 by Homer, and other Greek writers, of the heathen war- 
 god, Mars. 
 
 Government and Providence of God. 
 
 The expression " Jehovah spake with Joshua " frequently 
 occurs ; but the mode of communication is not specified. 
 We cannot suppose the author to mean that Jehovah con- 
 
 * See chap. viii. 25 and 3. f See chap. viii. 27.
 
 48 THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. 
 
 versed with Joshua, as he is said to have done with Adam, 
 Cain, Noah, &c., appearing personally and walking upon 
 the earth. Moses saw Jehovah in visions ; he seems also to 
 have considered his own thoughts, as well as the answers of 
 the oracle, as the inspirations of God. The intercourse 
 between Jehovah and Joshua was probably of a similar 
 character. He regarded his dreams, particular impressions 
 and sudden thoughts, also the decisions of Urim and 
 Thummim, as the communications of Jehovah. 
 
 The ark or chest, over the golden cover of which the 
 cherubim were placed, and within which the tables of the 
 ten commandments were preserved, was the symbol of the 
 divine presence. According to Moses, the cherubim were 
 the emblems of the divine power and majesty. Though the 
 Israelites were forbidden to make any image or resemblance 
 of Jehovah, they certainly believed that his visible presence 
 resided over the ark, and they regarded the smoke which 
 ascended from the incense as a symbol to remind them of 
 that presence. They held this ark in the highest venera- 
 tion, and from it they looked for prosperity and adversity. 
 Where it was, there followed good fortune, victory, and 
 great prodigies, proofs of the Divine presence. The sacred 
 relics were prized during the dark ages of Christianity for 
 similar reasons. Miracles were supposed to be wrought by 
 them, and they were constantly borne from place to place, 
 and at one time were even carried before the Roman Pontiff, 
 in order to secure their blessing and protection. 
 
 When Joshua heard of the defeat of the Israelites he 
 
 " Rent his clothes and fell to the earth upon his face before 
 the ark of Jehovah until the eventide, he and the elders of 
 Israel." Chap. vii. 6. 
 
 The gold and the silver which Achan had concealed is 
 laid out before Jehovah, that is, before the ark of the 
 covenant. Jehovah dwells among the tents of the Israelites. 
 
 " And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God 
 is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from be- 
 fore you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and 
 the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the 
 Jebusites. Behold, the ark of the covenant of Jehovah of all 
 the earth passeth over before you into Jordan." 
 
 Chap. iii. 10, 11.
 
 THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. 49 
 
 When the priests who bare the ark reach the Jordan, the 
 waters immediately " stand and rise up, upon an heap." 
 
 " And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of Je- 
 hovah stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all 
 the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people 
 were passed clean over Jordan." Chap. iii. 17. 
 The walls of Jericho fall down before the ark. The ark 
 of the covenant is carried round the city, " seven priests, 
 with seven trumpets, pass before Jehovah," that is, before 
 the ark, and the people raise a shout of war, and the wall 
 falls down flat. 
 
 " So the people shouted when the priests blew with the 
 trumpets : and it came to pass, when the people heard the 
 sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great 
 shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up 
 into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the 
 city." Chap. vi. 20. 
 
 However these events may be accounted for, (and we 
 cannot believe them to have been supernatural,) they are 
 here narrated as miracles, wrought by the symbol of the 
 Divine presence, which was carried to the battle in order to 
 secure its protection. 
 
 Jehovah is represented as having a general or field-mar- 
 shal, his leader in the war, " the captain of the host of 
 Jehovah" 
 
 " And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he 
 lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man 
 over against him with his sword drawn in his hand : and Joshua 
 went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our 
 adversaries ? And he said, Nay ; but as captain of the host 
 of Jehovah am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to 
 the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my 
 lord unto his servant ? And the captain of the host of Je- 
 hovah said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off" thy foot, for 
 the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so/' 
 
 Chap. v. 13-15. 
 
 Joshua builds an altar to Jehovah in Mount Ebal, and, as 
 Moses commanded, 
 
 " He read all the words of the law, the blessings and cursings, 
 according to all that is written in the book of the law." 
 
 Chap. viii. 34. 
 
 He obliges the Israelites to observe the rite of circum- 
 cision the token of the covenant established between them 
 

 
 50 THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. 
 
 and Jehovah. Moses had vainly endeavoured to enforce the 
 observance of this rite during the wandering in the wilder- 
 ness, though the command was given so long before as the 
 time of Abraham a striking proof of the inability of this 
 lawgiver to carry his laws into effect among this barbarous 
 people. Now that the Israelites were anxious to secure the 
 especial favour and assistance of Jehovah, in order that they 
 might conquer and drive out all the inhabitants of Canaan 
 and take possession of the Promised Land, they were willing 
 to give this visible token of their allegiance.
 
 51 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE BOOK OF JUDGES. 
 
 MANY commentators are of opinion that the Book of Judges 
 extends only to the end of the sixteenth chapter ; and that 
 the remaining chapters should be regarded as an appendix.* 
 A fragmentary history of the idolatry of the Danites is 
 given in the seventeenth and eighteenth chapters. It will 
 be necessary to notice this fragment first in order, since it 
 is supposed to be more ancient than any other portion 
 of the Book. It refers to the time when the Danites were 
 not established in any fixed habitations ; but we learn from 
 the concluding verses of the eighteenth chapter, that it 
 could not have been written, in the precise form in which it 
 has been transmitted to us, till after the carrying away of 
 the Danites into captivity. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 The History of the Idolatry of the Danites. 
 
 This history is very important, as proving that the wor- 
 ship of Penates, or household-gods, was united with the 
 belief in Jehovah not only by a Hebrew tribe, but by the 
 immediate descendants of Moses. 
 
 Micah, an Ephrahnite, causes a molten image to be made 
 of two hundred shekels of silver : he places this idol in a 
 domestic chapel, and consecrates one of his sons to be its 
 priest. Micah is shortly after visited by a Levite. The 
 Ephraimite imagines that Jehovah will protect him, if he 
 shall have a Levite for a priest to his idol ; he therefore de- 
 tains his visitor as his domestic chaplain : 
 
 " Then said Micah, Now know I that Jehovah will do me 
 good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest." Judges xvii. 13. 
 
 * German theologians are divided in opinion respecting the date of this 
 Book. Some distinguish three several parts, each belonging to a different 
 period ; the Book itself, and two appendices. TR. 
 
 E 2
 
 52 THK BOOK OF JUDGES. 
 
 But Micah does not long enjoy possession of his silver 
 god or his priest. Six hundred Danites enter his house, 
 seize the molten-image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and 
 carry them off, together with the Levite, to be a god, and 
 " a priest, unto a tribe and a family in Israel," in order 
 to secure prosperity to the new colony they are about to 
 establish at Laish : * 
 
 " And the children of Dan set up the graven image : and 
 Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and 
 his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the 
 captivity of the land. And they set them up Micah's graven 
 image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was 
 in Shiloh." Chap, xviii. 30, 31. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 The Book of Judges, to Chap. xvi. 
 
 Representations of God. 
 
 The opinions found in the Book of Judges are not of a 
 higher character than those contained in the Book of Joshua. 
 In so barbarous an age all intellectual progress is necessarily 
 very slow. Jehovah is represented as the national-God of 
 the Hebrews ; as the protecting Deity of Israel. The Israel- 
 ites universally believe in a national-god, and their actions 
 correspond with such a belief. They continually worship 
 the gods of the surrounding nations, with the hope of ob- 
 taining from them more powerful assistance than they re- 
 ceive from their own national-God: 
 
 " They forsook Jehovah the God of their fathers, which 
 brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other 
 gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and 
 bowed themselves unto them, and provoked Jehovah to anger. 
 And they forsook Jehovah and served Baal and Ashtaroth." 
 
 Judges ii. 12, 13. 
 
 Chemosh, the god of the Amorites, and Jehovah, the God 
 of the Hebrews, are both referred to by Jephthah, and the 
 existence of the one God is as fully admitted as the existence 
 of the other : 
 
 * Gershom was the son of Moses. See Exod, ii. 21.
 
 THE BOOK OF JUDGES. 53 
 
 " So now Jehovah the God of Israel hath dispossessed the 
 Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou 
 possess it ? Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy 
 god giveth thee to possess ? So whomsoever Jehovah our God 
 shall drive out from before us, them will we possess." 
 
 Chap. xi. 23, 24. 
 
 When Jehovah is introduced as speaking of other gods, 
 he seems to admit their reality ; at any rate, he does not 
 dispel the delusion of his people, by declaring that all the 
 gods besides himself are merely imaginary beings, and that 
 all trust in them is consequently utterly vain. 
 
 " Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel, I brought you up 
 from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bond- 
 age ; and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and 
 out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out 
 from before you, and gave you their land ; and I said unto you, 
 I am Jehovah your God ; fear not the gods of the A morites, in 
 whose land ye dwell." Chap. vi. 8-10. 
 
 " Jehovah said unto the children of Israel, Did not / deliver 
 you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the chil- 
 dren of Ammon, and from the Philistines? The Sidonians also, 
 and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you ; and ye 
 cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand. Yet ye 
 have forsaken me, and served other gods : wherefore I will deli- 
 ver you no more. Go and cry unto the gods which ye have 
 chosen ; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation." 
 
 Chap. x. 11-14. 
 
 Attributes of God. 
 
 In the above quotations power and jealousy are assigned 
 to Jehovah. He frees the Hebrews from Egyptian bondage, 
 and drives out the Canaanites from the Land of Promise ; 
 he is therefore a mighty God. His anger and jealousy are 
 often provoked by the worship of other gods : 
 
 "They forsook Jehovah, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. 
 And the anger of Jehovah was hot against Israel, and he deli- 
 vered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them. . .Whi- 
 thersoever they went out, the hand of Jehovah was against them 
 for evil." Chap. ii. 13-15. 
 
 Jehovah repents of what he does : 
 
 "Nevertheless Jehovah raised up judges which delivered 
 them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. . .Then Jeho- 
 vah was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of 
 their enemies, all the days of the judge ; for it repented Jeho- 
 vah because of their groanings," &c. Chap. ii. 16-18.
 
 54 THE BOOK OF JUDGES. 
 
 Government and Providence of God. 
 
 The idea of a theocracy pervades this whole Book. Je- 
 hovah is the King of Israel. Gideon thus addresses the 
 people : 
 
 "I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you ; 
 Jehovah shall rule over you." Chap, viii 23. 
 
 When the Israelites renounce the worship of Jehovah and 
 fall under the dominion of strangers, and feel the yoke 
 of bondage, it is Jehovah who rescues them. They return 
 to his service, and he raises up for them a leader who sets 
 them free. The prosperity and adversity which succeed the 
 allegiance to, or desertion from Jehovah, form the leading 
 subjects of this Book. 
 
 Jehovah does not drive out all the nations of the Ca- 
 naanites ; he allows some to remain, because he wishes to 
 prove the Israelites, and to ascertain whether or not they 
 will suffer themselves to be led astray by their neighbours 
 to serve other gods ; also because he is desirous that the 
 inexperienced among them shall learn the practice of war. 
 
 " Now these are the nations which Jehovah left, to prove 
 Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the 
 wars of Canaan ; only that the generations of the children of 
 Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as be- 
 fore knew nothing thereof; namely, five lords of the Philis- 
 tines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites 
 that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-hermon unto 
 the entering in of Hamath. And they were to prove Israel by 
 them, to know whether they would hearken unto the command- 
 ments of Jehovah, which he commanded their fathers by the 
 hand of Moses." Chap. iii. 1-4. 
 
 Heroic courage is the effect of the immediate inspiration 
 of Jehovah. Whoever performs any mighty deeds of valour, 
 whoever is wrought up into a state of patriotic enthusiasm, 
 whoever feels himself suddenly impelled to undertake some 
 hazardous enterprise, he is filled with the spirit of Jehovah. 
 It is not his own physical powers which are called into vigor- 
 ous action, but it is the quickening power of his God work- 
 ing within him, that arouses, guides, and strengthens him to 
 achieve a great victory. 
 
 " The Spirit of Jehovah came upon Othniel, and he judged 
 
 Israel, and went out to war, and Jehovah delivered the King of 
 
 Mesopotamia into his hand." Chap. iii. 1 0.
 
 THE BOOK OF JUDGES. 55 
 
 "The Spirit of Jehovah came upon Gideon." Chap. vi. 34. 
 Of Samson we read 
 
 " The Spirit of Jehovah began to move him at times in the 
 camp of Dan." Chap. xiii. 25. 
 
 " The Spirit of Jehovah came mightily upon him." 
 
 " And the Spirit of Jehovah came upon him, and he went 
 down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them and took their 
 spoil." Chap. xiv. 6 and 19. 
 
 "And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted 
 against him : and the Spirit of Jehovah came mightily upon 
 him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that 
 was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands." 
 
 Chap. xv. 14. 
 
 The " angel of Jehovah " takes a part in the divine go- 
 vernment ; sometimes the term " angel of Elohim " is em- 
 ployed. The angel appears in a human form to Gideon, to 
 Manoah, and to his wife. 
 
 " And an angel of Jehovah came up from Gilgal to Bochim, 
 and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought 
 you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers ; and I said, 
 I will never break my covenant with you. And ye shall make 
 no league with the inhabitants of this land ; ye shall throw down 
 their altars : but ye have not obeyed my voice : why have ye 
 done this? Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out 
 from before you ; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and 
 their gods shall be a snare unto you.'' Chap. ii. 1-3. 
 
 The angel of Jehovah here speaks as if he were one and 
 the same with Jehovah. In the sixth chapter, at verse 1 1, 
 it is said " There came an angel of Jehovah and sat under 
 an oak, which was in Ophrah ;" but at verses 14 and 16, 
 this same angel is called Jehovah. He stimulates Gideon 
 " to save the Israelites from the hand of the Midianites." 
 Gideon makes ready a kid, unleavened cakes, and broth, and 
 brings him this repast under the oak. 
 
 "And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and 
 the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour 
 out the broth. And he did so. Then the angel of Jehovah 
 put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched 
 the flesh and the unleavened cakes ; and there rose up fire out 
 of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. 
 Then the angel of Jehovah departed out of his sight." 
 
 Chap. vi. 20, 21. 
 
 It would seem that the visit of a stranger who had
 
 50 THE BOOK OF JUDGES. 
 
 awakened an enthusiastic zeal for his country in the mind 
 of Gideon, and who had been treated by Gideon with patri- 
 archal hospitality, gave occasion to this mythus. It is very 
 similar to the account given in the first Book of the ^Eneid, 
 where the mother 4$ Venus comes to ^Eneas, and is not re- 
 cognised as the goddess till she departs. Homer has many 
 such tales. 
 
 An angel visits the wife of Manoah ; her husband is from 
 home. The angel informs her that, although she has hither- 
 to been barren, she shall have a son, who shall be a Nazarite 
 from the womb. She relates this circumstance to her credu- 
 lous husband, who only wishes that the angel of Jehovah, 
 " the man of God," would come again and give them some 
 further information respecting this child. The wish is com- 
 plied with. The angel appears a second time, but unfortu- 
 nately the husband is again absent ; his wife fetches him, 
 and he speaks with the divine ambassador, who, at verse 22,* 
 
 I * 
 
 is called DYPN " God." Manoah is not aware that he is 
 speaking with the angel of Jehovah ; he regards him merely 
 as a prophet, or " man of God ;" that is, " God's servant," 
 whoever he might be. Manoah offers him refreshment : 
 this is refused, but the angel commands Manoah to offer a 
 sacrifice to Jehovah ; the offering is accordingly placed on a 
 rock, which serves for an altar ; and we read that 
 
 " Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon 
 a reck unto Jehovah : and the angel did wonderously ; and Ma- 
 noah and his wife looked on. For it came to pass, when the 
 flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel 
 of Jehovah ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah 
 and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground. 
 But the angel of Jehovah did no more appear to Manoah and to 
 his wife."- Chap. xiii. 19-21. 
 
 It is not difficult to surmise what might have been the 
 probable foundation of this story : history represents Sam- 
 son, the son of Manoah, as a most extraordinary hero, re- 
 sembling the Hercules of the Grecians. If Samson were not 
 like him, the son of a god, at any rate his birth was an- 
 nounced by a divine messenger, and it was miraculous. 
 Jehovah still appears occasionally in dreams : 
 
 * " And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have 
 seen God.'' Chap. xiii. 2'J.
 
 THE BOOK OF JUDGES. 57 
 
 " It came to pass the same night that Jehovah said unto Gi- 
 deon," &c. Chap. vi. 25. 
 
 "And it came to pass the same night that Jehovah said unto 
 him, Arise, get thee down unto the host ; for I have delivered it 
 into thine hand." Chap. vii. 9. 
 
 The chest or ark is still regarded as the symbol of the 
 Divine presence, and it is said of whoever stands or speaks 
 in front of this chest, that he stands or speaks before Je- 
 hovah : 
 
 " And Jephthah uttered all his words before Jehovah in Miz- 
 peh." Chap. xi. 11. 
 
 An evil spirit is introduced in Judges : this is the first 
 time an evil spirit is mentioned in the Old Testament. 
 
 " Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the 
 men of Shechem ; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously 
 with Abimelech." Chap. ix. 23. 
 
 This passage means to express that Abimelech and the 
 men of Shechem quarrelled. But we learn, from this mode 
 of expression, that the Hebrews regarded God as the author 
 of the discord between the governor and the people, and, in- 
 deed, of all dissensions of moment. The Greeks personified 
 Eris, and attributed all earthly contentions and strife to 
 her agency. 
 
 Jehovah is worshipped by the offering of sacrifices and 
 the vowing of vows. Jephthah, one of the leaders of Israel, 
 a barbarian, who had previously been the captain of a band 
 of lawless ruffians, is of opinion that a vow once vowed to 
 the Deity cannot, under any circumstances, be violated with 
 impunity even though its performance include the perpe- 
 tration of an unjust or immoral deed its non-fulfilment 
 would, nevertheless, call down the fearful vengeance of God. 
 
 Acting under this persuasion, he, after mature delibera- 
 tion, sacrifices a human victim, in the person of his daughter, 
 to his God, Jehovah. Jephthah's religious notions, are no 
 higher than those entertained by Agamemnon, who, follow- 
 ing the advice of a cruel priest, slaughtered his daughter 
 Iphigenia, on the altar of the Gods of the Ocean.
 
 58 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL; 
 
 OR, THE NOTIONS ENTERTAINED CONCERNING GOD DURING 
 THE GOVERNMENT OF SAMUEL AND OF SAUL. 
 
 THE notions concerning God, which prevailed among the 
 Hebrews, during the government of Samuel and of Saul, 
 differ but little from the opinions we examined in the fore- 
 going chapter. 
 
 Representations of God. 
 
 The most just ideas of the being and character of God arc 
 expressed in Hannah's song of praise ; they are very supe- 
 rior to those entertained by her son Samuel. But this song 
 must not be regarded as the production of Hannah, though 
 it is ascribed to her by the author. It is evident from verse 
 10* that it was written during the reign of one of the kings, 
 probably in the time of David ; and it was doubtlessly used 
 as a war-song. It contains the following representations of 
 God : There is no God besides Jehovah : he fixed the pil- 
 lars of the earth, and set the world thereon. He is a God 
 of holiness, and a God of knowledge. He is the governor 
 of all men, even unto the ends of the earth. His providence 
 orders every event : he makes poor, and he makes rich : he 
 kills, and he makes alive : he casts down, and he raises up : 
 he protects his saints, and he punishes those who rebel 
 against him. 
 
 In this Book Jehovah is generally described as the na- 
 tional-God of Israel. 
 
 " Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace ; and the God 
 of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him." 
 
 1 Sam. i. 17. 
 
 " Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel, I brought up Israel 
 out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, 
 and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed 
 
 * 1 Sam. ii. 10.
 
 THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL. 59 
 
 you : and ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved 
 you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye 
 have said unto him, Nay, but seta king over us." Chap. x. 18, 19. 
 
 Character and Attributes of God. 
 
 Jehovah is portrayed as a cruel God. As, in the former 
 Books, he commands the total destruction of the Canaanites, 
 by the mouth of his servant Moses, so, in this Book, he 
 insists on the utter extermination of the Amalekites, by the 
 mouth of his merciless prophet Samuel. 
 
 Jehovah repents of what he does. He had commanded 
 Saul, saying 
 
 " Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they 
 have, and spare them not ; but slay both man and woman, in- 
 fant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass." Chap. xv. 3. 
 
 But Saul, moved by compassion, spares Agag, the king of 
 the Amalekites ; he also saves the best of the sheep and oxen. 
 Jehovah is very angry at this disobedience, and complains 
 of it to Samuel, and says 
 
 " It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king ; for he 
 is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my 
 commandments. Chap. xv. 11. 
 
 Though it is here stated that, when Jehovah discovers that 
 Saul does not perform his commands, he repents that he had 
 set him up to be king, yet in the same chapter Samuel thus 
 addresses Saul 
 
 " The Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent : for he is 
 not a man, that he should repent." Chap. xv. 29. 
 
 Since Jehovah had just repented of what he had done, we 
 can merely understand Samuel to mean, that this determina- 
 tion of Jehovah to reject Saul from being king was final, for 
 the purposes of Jehovah are not so variable as those of 
 human beings.* 
 
 Jehovah is provoked to anger. After a battle had been 
 
 * The following are the emphatic words addressed hy Samuel to Saul: 
 " Jehovah hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath yiveii it to a 
 neighbour of thine that is better than thou : and the Strength of Israel will not lie 
 nor repent : for he is not a man that he should repent." But what was the fact P 
 Saul reigned over Israel four-and-tweuty years from this time, even till the day 
 of his death; and after his death David found great difficulty in establishing 
 himself upon the throne. Ish-bosheth succeeded his father (Saul) in Israel, and 
 for seven years and six mouths David reigned in Hebron over the tribe of Juduh 
 only. S.-e 2 Sam. ii. 10, 1 1 . TK.
 
 60 THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL. 
 
 fought with the Philistines Saul adjures the people,, saying 
 
 " Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that 
 I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people 
 tasted any food." 
 
 " But Jonathan heard not when his father charged the 
 people with the oath ; wherefore he put forth the end of the 
 rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in an honeycomb, and 
 put his hand to his mouth ; and his eyes were enlightened." 
 
 Chap. xiv. 24 and 27. 
 
 Hereupon Jehovah is angry ; and he shows his displeasure 
 by returning no answer when Saul consults the sacred oracle 
 the Urim. Saul instantly concludes that some grievous 
 sin is the cause of the anger and silence of Jehovah ; and 
 therefore inquiry is again made through the Urim and 
 Thummim, " to know and see wherein this sin hath been." 
 
 " Therefore Saul said unto Jehovah, the God of Israel, Give 
 a perfect lot. And Saul and Jonathan were taken : but the 
 people escaped. And Saul said, Cast lots between me and 
 Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken. Then Saul said 
 to Jonathan, Tell me what thou hast done. And Jonathan told 
 him, and said, I did but taste a little honey with the end of the 
 rod that was in mine hand, and, lo, I must die. And Saul an- 
 swered, God do so and more also : for thou shall surely die, 
 Jonathan." 
 
 And the life of Jonathan would have been sacrificed as an 
 atonement, but that the people are more mercifully inclined 
 than their rulers, and rescue him from destruction. 
 
 " And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who 
 hath wrought this great salvation in Israel ? God forbid : as 
 Jehovah liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the 
 ground ; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people 
 rescued Jonathan, that he died not." Chap. xiv. 41-45. 
 
 Jehovah gives a visible sign of his anger. Samuel calls upon 
 Jehovah, who causes a violent thunder-storm to arise at a 
 season of the year when such storms were unusual. The 
 Israelites are desirous that a king shall reign over them : 
 this wish is very displeasing to Jehovah (or more truly 
 speaking, it is very displeasing to Samuel, who plainly fore- 
 saw that the authority of a king in Israel must greatly dimi- 
 nish the power of the prophets). The demand of the people 
 is too urgent to be resisted, it is found necessary to give 
 them a king : this however must not be quietly conceded,
 
 THK FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL. 61 
 
 without some manifestation of the anger of Jehovah, and 
 therefore Samuel thus addresses the people : 
 
 " Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which Jeho- 
 vah will do before your eyes. Is it not wheat-harvest to-day ? 
 I will call unto Jehovah, and he shall send thunder and rain ; 
 that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, 
 which ye have done in the sight of Jehovah in asking you a king. 
 So Samuel called unto Jehovah ; and Jehovah sent thunder and 
 rain that day ; and all the people greatly feared Jehovah and 
 Samuel. And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy 
 servants unto Jehovah thy God, that we die not : for we have 
 added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king." 
 
 Chap. xii. 16-19. 
 
 Samuel profits by the well-known superstition of the Israelites. 
 A thunder-storm, during the wheat-harvest, being an un- 
 common occurrence, he teaches them to regard it as a de- 
 claration of the Divine wrath. 
 
 Jehovah suggests a deception to Samuel. In order to 
 elude the suspicion and anger of Saul, which would probably 
 be excited by the public anointing of David, Samuel is 
 directed by Jehovah to go to Jesse the Beth-lehemite, and 
 pretend that he is come to sacrifice. 
 
 " And Jehovah said unto Samuel, Fill thine horn with oil, 
 and go, 1 will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite : for I have 
 provided me a king among his sons. And Samuel said, How 
 can I go ? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And Jehovah said, 
 Take an heifer with thee, and say I am come to sacrifice to 
 Jehovah. And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show thee 
 what thou shalt do : and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom 
 I name unto thee." Chap. xvi. 1-3. 
 
 Government and Providence of God. 
 
 Jehovah is ever active among his people, and is the imme- 
 diate cause of everything which happens. The Israelitish 
 state is a theocracy, and Jehovah is the king. When the 
 people desire a king, they reject Jehovah, and will no longer 
 have him to reign over them. 
 
 " And Jehovah said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of 
 the people in all that they say unto thee : for they have nof re- 
 jected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign 
 over them." Chap. viii. 7. 
 
 " Ye said unto me, Nay ; but a king shall reign over us ; 
 when Jehovah your God was your king." Chap. xii. 12.
 
 ()2 THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL. 
 
 It is Jehovah who suffers his people to be subdued in the 
 battle, and who also gives them the victory over their ene- 
 mies. He maketh barren and he maketh fruitful.* When 
 Nabal died suddenly it is said 
 
 " And it came to pass about ten days after, that Jehovah 
 smote Nabal that he died." Chap. xxv. 38. 
 
 After Saul has been informed that he is selected to be the 
 king of Israel, and his deportment is consequently more 
 noble and elevated, it is said 
 
 " God gave him another heart." Chap. x. 9. 
 
 And when the warriors who accompany Saul to Gibeah re- 
 main faithful to him, it is God who had 
 " Touched their hearts.'' Chap. x. xxvi. 
 
 Every sudden change of disposition, every movement of the 
 soul, every noble thought leading to great actions, and every 
 improvement of character, is, according to the notions of the 
 ancient Hebrews, the work of the Deity. 
 
 The Spirit of God comes upon Saul when he, joining 
 himself to the prophets, also begins to prophecy. 
 
 " The Spirit of Jehovah will come upon thee, and thou shalt 
 prophecy with them, and shalt be turned into another man." 
 
 " And when they came thither to the hill, behold a company 
 of prophets met him ; and the Spirit of God came upon him, 
 and he prophesied among them." Chap. x. 6 and 10. 
 
 When Saul hears of the insult with which the Ammonites 
 threaten the people of Jabesh 
 
 " The Spirit of God came upon Saul, and his anger was 
 kindled greatly." Chap. xi. 6. 
 
 When Samuel anoints David in the midst of his brethren, 
 
 " The Spirit of Jehovah came upon David from that day for- 
 ward." Chap. xvi. 13. 
 
 Jehovah is the author of evil. All physical evils are the 
 inflictions of Jehovah, and are to be regarded as his punish- 
 ments for sins and transgressions. If a man dies of the 
 plague, it is Jehovah who smites him. When a large num- 
 ber of the men of Beth-shemesh die, their death is ascribed 
 to the smiting of Jehovah, who thus punishes them for hav- 
 ing shown irreverence and curiosity, by looking into the 
 ark. 
 
 * See chap. iv. 3 ; vii. 7, 8 ; i. 5 ; i. 19, 20 ; and ii. 20.
 
 THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL. G3 
 
 " Jehovah smote the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had 
 looked into the ark of Jehovah ; even he smote of the people 
 fifty thousand and threescore and ten men : and the people 
 lamented because Jehovah had smitten many of the people 
 with a great slaughter." Chap. vi. 19. 
 
 The contagious disease, which broke out in the camp of the 
 Grecians, at the siege of Troy, is attributed to the arrow 
 which Phoebus had shot into it. 
 
 Jehovah hardens the heart of wicked men, so that they 
 cannot improve after he has resolved to punish them. When 
 Eli, the high priest, exhorts his sons to amend their lives, 
 we are told that 
 
 " Notwithstanding, they hearkened not unto the voice of 
 their father, because Jehovah would slay them." Chap. ii. 25. 
 
 Melancholy and mania are attributed to the evil spirit 
 sent by Jehovah. As Jehovah's good spirit gives cheerful- 
 ness, cleverness and strength, so his evil spirit causes mad- 
 ness, dejection, and despair. Such an evil spirit proceeds 
 from God, and may be tamed and driven away by music 
 thus was every unusual occurrence, whether good or bad, 
 referred immediately to God, or to his spirit. But we have 
 here the distinction between the good and the evil spirit. 
 Singing and music enliven the mind; and, therefore, the 
 belief that they would dispel the spirit of gloom, or the 
 evil spirit, was natural. 
 
 " But the Spirit of Jehovah departed from Saul, and an evil 
 spirit from Jehovah troubled him. And Saul's servants said 
 unto him, Behold now an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. 
 Let our lord now command thy servants which are before thee 
 to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp : and it 
 shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, 
 that he shall play with his hand, and thou shall be well." 
 
 " And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was 
 upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand : 
 so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed 
 from him." Chap. xvi. 14-16, and 23. 
 
 Wherever the ark of Jehovah is, there Jehovah is present, 
 bestowing prosperity and happiness, health and victory. 
 The same expression occurs in this, as in the preceding 
 Books, " before Jehovah :" meaning, before the ark of Je- 
 hovah.
 
 G4 THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL. 
 
 " Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, 
 and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before Jehovah." 
 
 Chap. x. 25. 
 
 " And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before Jehovah in 
 Gilgal." Chap. xv. 33. 
 
 When the Israelites are beaten by the Philistines, they 
 assign the not having taken the ark of Jehovah with them 
 to the battle, as the cause of their defeat. 
 
 " And when the people were come into the camp, the elders 
 of Israel said, Wherefore hath Jehovah smitten us to-day before 
 the Philistines ? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of Jeho- 
 vah out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it 
 may save us out of the hand of our enemies. So the people 
 sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the 
 covenant of Jehovah of hosts, which dwelleth between the che- 
 rubims." 
 
 " And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come 
 into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us ! for there hath not 
 been such a thing heretofore. Woe unto us ! who shall deliver 
 us out of the hand of these mighty gods ? these are the gods 
 that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilder- 
 ness." Chap, iv. 3, 4 and 7, 8. 
 
 The Philistines capture the ark of Jehovah the plague 
 afterwards breaks out among their troops. This they regard 
 as an infliction from Jehovah for having detained the sym- 
 bol of his presence, and they consequently restore the ark to 
 Israel. 
 
 The sacred oracle of Jehovah, the Urim and Thummim, is 
 consulted before the commencement of any important under- 
 taking, particularly before going to war, or making an attack 
 upon the enemy. Saul inquires of Jehovah : 
 
 " And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by 
 night, and spoil them until the morning light, and let us not 
 leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatsoever seemeth 
 good unto thee. Then said the priest, Let us draw near hither 
 unto God. And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I go down 
 after the Philistines ? wilt thou deliver them into the hand of 
 Israel?" Chap. xiv. 36, 37.* 
 
 David inquires of Jehovah whether he shall attack 
 Keilah: 
 
 " Then David inquired of Jehovah yet again. And Jehovah 
 
 * See chap, xxviii. 6.
 
 THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL. 65 
 
 answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will 
 deliver the Philistines into thine hand." xxiii. 4. 
 
 David inquires whether he shall pursue the Amalekites, 
 and whether he shall overtake them : 
 
 " And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I 
 pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought 
 thither the ephod to David. And David enquired at Jehovah, 
 saying, Shall I pursue after this troop ? shall I overtake them ? 
 And he answered him, Pursue : for thou shalt surely overtake 
 them, and without fail recover all." Chap. xxx. 7, 8. 
 Jehovah not only makes known his will through the 
 Urim and Thummim, he also reveals himself to the prophets 
 in visions and dreams. Visions are, however, but rarely 
 vouchsafed : 
 
 " The word of Jehovah was precious in those days ; there was 
 no open vision." Chap. iii. 1. 
 
 According to the narration given in the third chapter, 
 Jehovah manifests himself to Samuel in a dream, and ap- 
 prises him of his intention to bring a lasting punishment on 
 the family of Eli, the high priest, on account of the sins of 
 his sons. Samuel fancies in his dream that some one calls 
 him, and he thinks it must be Eli. This happens a second 
 time. The pious Eli concludes that Samuel had heard the 
 Divine voice calling tcf him, and instructs him how to an- 
 swer, should he hear it a third time. Nothing could be more 
 natural than that Samuel should dream of those matters 
 which occupied his waking thoughts ; for he was consecrated 
 to the service of Jehovah. 
 
 Jehovah speaks to Samuel in a dream respecting the re- 
 jection of Saul. 
 
 " Then Samuel said to Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what 
 Jehovah said to me this night." Chap. xv. 16. 
 
 Jehovah hears and answers the prayers of his prophets. 
 The prophet, or " seer," is held in high esteem among the 
 people, because he is believed to have influence with Jeho- 
 vah ; also, because he is supposed to know everything by 
 inspiration. The children of Israel, when alarmed at the 
 threatened attack of the Philistines, entreat Samuel to cry 
 unto their God for them : 
 
 " And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel 
 
 F
 
 66 THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL. 
 
 were gathered together to Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines 
 went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard 
 it, they were afraid of the Philistines. And the children of 
 Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto Jehovah our God 
 for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines. 
 And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt- 
 offering wholly unto Jehovah : and Samuel cried unto Jehovah 
 for Israel ; and Jehovah heard him. And as Samuel was offer- 
 ing up the burnt-offering, the Philistines drew near to battle 
 against Israel : but Jehovah thundered with a great thunder 
 on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them ; and 
 they were smitten before Israel." Chap. vii. 7-10. 
 
 When Saul cannot find his father's asses, he applies to 
 " the man of God" to tell him where they are : 
 
 " Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, Tell 
 me, I pray thee, where the seer's house is. And Samuel an- 
 swered Saul, and said, I am the seer : go up before me unto the 
 high place; for ye shall eat with me to-day, and to-morrow I 
 will let thee go, and will tell thce all that ** in thine heart. 
 And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy 
 mind on them ; for they are found." Chap. ix. 18-20. 
 
 Prayer and sacrifice is the worship paid to Jehovah : one 
 circumstance is, however, observable. The sacrifice is not 
 always offered on one particular spot ; but the worshipper 
 may erect his altar wherever he chooses. Supplications and 
 sacrifices are always offered before going to the fight. 
 
 Twice only does Samuel express worthy notions concern- 
 ing the worship due to Jehovah ; and the circumstances 
 which gave rise to their utterance reflect no credit upon this 
 overbearing prophet. 
 
 " Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than 
 the fat of rams." Chap. xv. 22. 
 
 " Jehovah seeth not as man seeth ; for man looketh on the 
 outward appearance, but Jehovah looketh on the heart." 
 
 Chap xvi. 7.
 
 67 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE PSALMS OF DAVID AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES. 
 
 THE Psalms were composed at various times, and by different 
 writers. In this chapter we shall refer to those only which 
 are generally allowed to be the genuine productions of 
 David and his contemporaries.* 
 
 From the time of the formation of Samuel's School of the 
 Prophets, and perhaps even earlier, there were among the 
 Hebrews, men of some education and reflection, who gradually 
 improved the ancient and imperfect notions of their brethren ; 
 and who, by the study of man's moral condition, the contem- 
 plation of nature, and the perception of the adaptation of 
 each mean to its appointed end, discovered convincing proofs 
 of the power, the wisdom, and the beneficence of the Deity. 
 By degrees more worthy conceptions of God became more 
 and more widely diffused, though, owing to the continued 
 observance of the Mosaic ritual, and the existence of a very 
 deficient morality, many unjust and inconsistent opinions of 
 the Supremo Being were long retained. 
 
 David may, with peculiar propriety, be classed among the 
 improvers of his age. . He proclaimed, in beautiful and 
 emphatic language, that Jehovah is God alone, and that 
 there is no God beside him : that he is the Creator of 
 heaven and earth, that he is manifested through his works, 
 and that they display infinite power, wisdom, and goodness. 
 David clothed his religious opinions and feelings in a num- 
 ber of poems and songs, which were sung on many different 
 occasions; they thus became extensively circulated, and 
 firmly impressed on the minds of his people, and they must 
 have been very influential in raising the whole character of 
 the Jewish nation. 
 
 Representations of God. 
 Jehovah is the Creator of the universe : 
 
 * It is generally allowed that above twenty of the Psalms were written during 
 the captivity ; and about an equal number after the return of the Jews to their 
 own land. See the works of Calmet, De Wette, Hitzig. &c. TH. 
 
 F 2
 
 68 THE PSALMS OF DAVID. 
 
 " The earth is Jehovah's, and the fulness thereof ; the world, 
 and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the 
 seas, and established it upon the floods." Psalm xxiv. 1, 2. 
 
 " By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made ; and all 
 the host of them by the breath of his mouth. He gathereth 
 the waters of the sea together as an heap : he layeth up the 
 depth in storehouses. Let all the earth fear Jehovah, let all 
 the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spake 
 and it was done ; he commanded, and it stood fast." 
 
 Psalm xxxiii. 6-9. 
 
 " O Jehovah, God of hosts, who is a strong Jehovah like unto 
 thee ? or to thy faithfulness round about thee ? Thou rulest the 
 raging of the sea : when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest 
 them. Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain ; 
 thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm. The 
 heavens are thine, the earth also is thine : a* for the world, and 
 the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them. The north and 
 the south thou hast created them : Tabor and Hermon shall 
 rejoice in thy name.'' Psalm Ixxxix. 8-12. 
 
 It is unnecessary to multiply quotations ; many might be 
 added under each subject which we shall have occasion to 
 notice. 
 
 Though it cannot be said that David teaches the eternity 
 of Jehovah, in the strict sense of that term, (and the He- 
 brew language has no word expressing the philosophical 
 notion of eternity,} yet he declares Jehovah to have existed 
 prior to the creation, and to be from everlasting to ever- 
 lasting. 
 
 " Jehovah, thou hast been our dwelling-place in all genera- 
 tions. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou 
 hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to 
 everlasting thou art God. Thou turnest man to destruction ; 
 and sayest, Return, ye children of men. For a thousand years 
 in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and a* a watch 
 in the night." Psalm xc. 1-4.* 
 
 It is distinctly stated that there is no God but Jehovah, and 
 that the gods of the heathen are vain, having neither exist- 
 ence, life, nor activity. All nations, instead of being go- 
 verned by their own deities, are dependent on Jehovah for 
 all they possess: therefore all people are called upon to 
 acknowledge the divinity and almighty power of Jehovah. 
 " All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship 
 
 * This psalm is ascribed to Moses, but it contains internal evidence that it 
 could not have been written by him. It belongs rather to the age of David.
 
 THE PSALMS OF DAVID. 69 
 
 before thee, O Jehovah ; and shall glorify thy name. For thou 
 art great and doest wondrous things : thou art God alone." 
 
 Psalm Ixxxvi. 9, 1 0. 
 
 " For all the gods of the nations are idols: but Jehovah made 
 the heavens." Psalm xcvi. 5. 
 
 " I have hated them that regard lying vanities, but I trust 
 in Jehovah." Psalm xxxi. 6. 
 
 " Blessed is the man that maketh Jehovah his trust, and re- 
 specteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies." 
 
 Psalm xl. 4. 
 
 " All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto 
 Jehovah : and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship 
 before thee. For the kingdom is Jehovah's : and he is the go- 
 vernor among the nations." Psalm xxii. 27, 28. 
 
 " Thou shall judge the people righteously and govern the 
 
 nations upon earth God shall bless us ; and all the ends 
 
 of the earth shall fear him.'' Psalm Ixvii. 4. 7. 
 
 Though David speaks of Jehovah as the Creator and the 
 Preserver of all men, he considers him at the same time in 
 a peculiar sense the God of the Hebrews. He represents 
 him as selecting one chosen people from among all nations of 
 the earth, and regarding all other men as nothing in com- 
 parison with Israel. This one favoured race he loads with 
 benefits ; works miracles for their advantage ; guides them 
 by his laws ; gives them a priesthood ; and places his divine 
 oracle among them. It is evident that such a partial view 
 of God must lead to false notions of his relation to mankind 
 in general to all who were not Jews. From the time of 
 Abraham till the time of David Jehovah had been worship- 
 ped as a mere national- God. We now find him recognised 
 as the one only God, besides whom there is none other. A 
 more rapid progress in the knowledge of God could not be 
 reasonably expected. And it is not wonderful that David, 
 who was an Israelite, did not throw aside the prejudices of 
 his nation, but still fondly cherished the belief that Jehovah 
 entertained a particular love and partiality for his people 
 Israel. 
 
 " Jehovah hear thee in the day of trouble ; the name of the 
 
 God of Jacob defend thee. Send thee help from the sanctuary, 
 
 and strengthen thee out of Zion." 
 
 " Now know I, that Jehovah saveth his anointed ; he will 
 
 hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his 
 
 right hand." Psalm xx. 1, 2, and 6.
 
 70 THE PSALMS OF DAVID. 
 
 . 
 
 " They break in pieces thy people, O Jehovah, and afflict 
 thine heritage. They slay the widow and the stranger, and 
 murder the fatherless. Yet they say Jehovah shall not see, 
 neither shall the God of Jacob regard it" Psalm xciv. 5-7. 
 
 " Jehovah is their strength, and he is the saving strength of 
 his anointed. Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance : 
 feed them also, and lift them up for ever." Psalm xxviii. 8, 9. 
 
 " Blessed is the nation whose God is, the LORD ; and the 
 people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.'' 
 
 Psalm xxxiii. 12. 
 
 " O come let us worship and bow down : let us kneel before 
 Jehovah our maker. For he is our God ; and we are the people 
 of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand." Psalm xcv. 6, 7. 
 
 " Jehovah is King for ever and ever : the heathen are pe- 
 rished out of his land." Psalm x. 16. 
 
 "Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine in- 
 heritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy posses- 
 sion. Thou shalt break them with a rotl of iron ; thou shalt 
 dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." Psalm ii. 8, 9. 
 
 The Attributes of God. 
 
 The most beautiful descriptions of the divine attributes 
 are to be met with in the Psalms ; and the firm belief in 
 these attributes produced that steady and never-failing con- 
 fidence in God, which forms so prominent a feature in the 
 character of David. 
 
 Jehovah is omniscient : 
 
 "Jehovah is in his holy temple, Jehovah's throne is in 
 heaven ; his eyes behold, his eyelids try the children of men, 
 Jehovah trieth the righteous." Psalm xi. 4, 5. 
 
 " Thou hast proved mine heart ; thou hast visited me in the 
 night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing." 
 
 Psalm xvii. 3. 
 
 " Examine me, O Jehovah, and prove me ; try my reins and 
 my heart." Psalm xxvi. 2. 
 
 " Jehovah looketh from heaven ; he beholdeth all the sons of 
 men. From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the 
 inhabitants of the earth. He fashioneth their hearts alike ; he 
 considereth all their works.'' Psalm xxxiii. 13-15. 
 
 " Thou tellest my wanderings : put thou my tears into thy 
 bottle : are they not in thy book ?" Psalm Ivi. 8. 
 
 Jehovah is holy : 
 
 " Thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness : 
 neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand 
 in thy sight : thou hatest all workers of iniquity."- 
 
 Psulm \. 4, 5.
 
 THE PSALMS OF DAVID. 71 
 
 " Jehovah, who shall abide in thy tabernacle ? Who shall 
 dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh 
 righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. 
 
 Psalm xv. 1, 2 ; see also Psalm xxiv. 3-5. 
 Jehovah is just and faithful : 
 
 " For the righteous Jehovah loveth righteousness ; his coun- 
 tenance doth behold the upright." Psalm xi. 7. 
 
 " For the word of Jehovah is right, and all his works are done 
 in truth. He loveth righteousness and judgment.'' 
 
 Psalm xxxiii. 4, 5. 
 
 " Good and upright is Jehovah : therefore will he teach sin- 
 ners in the way." Psalm xxv. 8. 
 
 Jehovah is merciful and forgiveth the sins of those who 
 repent and amend. 
 
 " Remember, O Jehovah, thy tender mercies and thy loving- 
 kindnesses ; for they have been ever of old. Remember not the 
 sins of my youth, nor my transgressions : according to thy 
 mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O Jehovah." 
 
 Psalm xxv. 6, 7. 
 
 " I acknowledge my sin unto thee and mine iniquity have I 
 not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto Jehovah ; 
 and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. For this shall every 
 one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be 
 found : surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come 
 nigh unto him." Psalm xxxii. 5, 6. 
 
 " But thou, O Jehovah, art a God full of compassion, and gra- 
 cious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth." 
 
 Psalm Ixxxvi. 15. 
 
 " Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkind- 
 ness : according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot 
 out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, 
 and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgres- 
 sions : and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, 
 have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight : that thou might- 
 est be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou 
 judgest." Psalm li. 1-4.* 
 
 Numerous quotations might be brought forward in which 
 the power, the wisdom, and the goodness of God, are vividly 
 set forth ; for these attributes form the principal subjects of 
 a large portion of the Book of the Psalms. There are entire 
 Psalms which are songs of praise, extolling the greatness, 
 majesty, and righteousness of Jehovah. For instance, Psalm 
 
 * See the whole ef this Psalm.
 
 72 THE PSALMS OF DAVID. 
 
 xcvii., which was probably composed and sung on the occa- 
 sion of the solemn erection of the ark upon Mount Zion : 
 
 " Jehovah reigneth ; let the earth rejoice ; let the multitude 
 of isles be glad thereof. Clouds and darkness are round about 
 him, righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his 
 throne," &c. Psalm xcvii. 1, 2. 
 
 Jehovah is also represented as a God of vengeance. 
 David does not feel the impropriety of ascribing the pas- 
 sions of anger and vengeance to God. Among the warm- 
 tempered Orientalists, the smallest trifles often provoked the 
 deadliest hatred and revenge ; and it was difficult for them 
 to believe it possible that the infliction of punishment could 
 be unaccompanied by angry feelings. Therefore it is that 
 David entreats Jehovah not to punish him in his hot dis- 
 pleasure. 
 
 " O Jehovah, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten 
 me in thy hot displeasure." Psalm vi. 1, and also xxxviii. 1. 
 
 " Who knoweth the power of thine anger ? even according to 
 thy fear, so is thy wrath." Psalm xc. 11. 
 
 " O Jehovah God, to whom vengeance belongeth ; O God, to 
 whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself. Lift up thyself, thou 
 judge of the earth : render a reward to the proud." 
 
 Psalm xciv. 1, 2. 
 
 " Consume them in wrath, consume them that they may not. 
 be." Psalm lix. 13. 
 
 " Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known 
 thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy 
 name." 
 
 " Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God? 
 let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the re- 
 venging of the blood of thy servants which is shed." 
 
 Psalm Ixxix. 6 and 1 0. 
 
 " Thou answeredst them, O Jehovah our God : thou wast a 
 God that forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their 
 inventions." Psalm xcix. 8. 
 
 Jehovah is a jealous God : 
 
 " For they provoked him to anger with their high places, 
 and moved him to jealousy with their graven images. 5 ' 
 
 Psalm Ixxviii. 58. 
 
 " How long, Jehovah? wilt thou be angry for ever? shall 
 thy jealousy burn like fire ?" Psalm Ixxix. 5. 
 David does not hesitate to implore God's vengeance on 
 the heathen. Many of the Psalms contain the most dread- 
 ful imprecations upon the enemies of Israel. David does
 
 THE PSALMS OF DAVID. 73 
 
 not for a moment doubt that such prayers are approved and 
 heard by Jehovah. Thus it is, that a man's notions of the 
 object of his worship will ever be in unison with his views of 
 morality. 
 
 Government and Providence of God. 
 
 Jehovah is not merely the Creator of the universe, but he 
 is its Governor and Preserver. His wise, merciful, and con- 
 tinual Providence rules over all things and all people, " even 
 to the uttermost parts of the earth." 
 
 " They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at 
 thy tokens : thou makest the outgoings of the morning and 
 evening to rejoice. Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it : 
 thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of 
 water : thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided 
 for it. Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly : thou 
 settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: 
 thou blessest the springing thereof. Thou crownest the year 
 with thy goodness ; and thy paths drop fatness. They drop 
 upon the pastures of the wilderness : and the little hills rejoice 
 on every side." Psalm Ixv. 8-12. 
 
 " But Jehovah shall endure for ever : he hath prepared his 
 throne for judgment : and he shall judge the world in righteous- 
 ness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness. 
 Jehovah also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in 
 times of trouble. And they that know thy name will put their 
 trust in thee : for thou, Jehovah, hast not forsaken them that 
 seekthee." Psalm ix. 7-10. 
 
 The belief in a Theocracy is combined with these not 
 very distinct views of a universal Providence. If Jehovah 
 be the Maker and Governor of the world, he is also the King 
 of Israel. Saul and David are his representatives, whom he 
 places on the throne, and whom he guides and directs re- 
 specting the government of his people. 
 
 " Sing praises to God, sing praises : sing praises unto our 
 King, sing praises." Psalm xlvii. 6. 
 
 " And let them know that God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends 
 of the earth." Psalm lix. 13. 
 
 " For Jehovah is our defence, and the Holy One of Israel is 
 our King." Psalm Ixxxix. 18. 
 
 The enemies of Israel with whom the Israelites wage war 
 are consequently the enemies of Jehovah : his anger is 
 kindled against them, and he desires their destruction.
 
 74 THE PSALMS OF DAVID. 
 
 " Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain 
 thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers 
 take counsel together, against Jehovah and against his anoint- 
 ed." Psalm ii. 1, 2. 
 
 " Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies : thy right hand 
 shall find out those that hate thee. Thou shalt make them as 
 a fiery oven in the time of thine anger : Jehoyah shall swallow 
 them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them. Their fruit 
 shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among 
 the children of men." Psalm xxi. 8-10. 
 
 " Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered : let them also 
 that hate him flee before him. As smoke is driven away, so 
 drive them away : as wax melteth before the fire, so let the 
 wicked perish in the presence of God." Psalm Ixviii. 1, 2. 
 
 Jehovah fights for Israel. He wills the decision of the 
 battle, and he awards the victory to those who have the 
 right on their side. 
 
 " Arise, O Jehovah, in thine anger ! Lift up thyself because 
 of the rage of mine enemies, and awake for me to the judgment 
 which thou hast commanded.'' Psalm vii. 6. 
 
 " When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and 
 perish at thy presence. For thou hast maintained my right 
 and my cause ; thou satest in the throne judging right. Thou 
 hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou 
 hast put out their name for ever and ever." Psalm ix. 3-5. 
 
 " Through God we shall do valiantly : for he it is that shall 
 tread down our enemies." Psalm lix. 12. 
 
 Jehovah's throne is in heaven : 
 
 " He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh." 'Psalm ii. 4. 
 
 But he has also his dwelling upon the holy hill of Zion. 
 The hill of Zion is the abode of Jehovah's invisible presence, 
 because the tabernacle and the ark of the covenant rested 
 there. Mount Zion is to be approached with profound re- 
 verence, and by none but clean and holy men. There 
 prayers are offered to Jehovah, and from thence he imparts 
 his blessing and protection. He who dwells in the taber- 
 nacle of the Most High, dwells with God, and is sheltered 
 and preserved by his presence. 
 
 " In Judah is God known : his name is great in Israel. In 
 Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion." 
 
 Psalm Ixxvi. 1, 2. 
 
 " I cried unto Jehovah with my voice, and he heard me out 
 of his holy hill." Psalm hi. 4.
 
 THE PSALMS OF DAVID. 75 
 
 " Jehovah, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the 
 place where thine honour dwelleth." Psalm xxvi. 8. 
 
 " O send out thy light and thy truth : let them lead me ; let 
 them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles. Then, 
 will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy." 
 
 Psalm xliii. 3, 4. 
 
 " Jehovah, who shall abide in thy tabernacle ? who shall 
 dwell in thy holy hill?" Psalm xv. 1. 
 
 " Jehovah said unto my Lord (David), Sit thou at my right 
 hand (remain in thy strong hold in God's tabernacle), until I 
 make thine enemies thy footstool." Psalm ex, 1. 
 
 Jehovah employs angels, or messengers, as the servants 
 of his Providence. It is not certain who these angels were. 
 The notion that good genii stood round the throne of Je- 
 hovah in Heaven, ready to serve him and execute his designs, 
 existed before the time of David, and it is probable that 
 David refers to these subordinate spirits. 
 
 " The angel of Jehovah encampeth round about them that 
 fear him, and delivereth them." Psalm xxxiv. 7. 
 
 " Let them be as chaff before the wind, and let the angel of 
 Jehovah chase them. Let their way be dark and slippery : and 
 let the angel of Jehovah persecute them." Psalm xxxv. 5, 6. 
 
 " The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands 
 of angels." Psalm Ixviii. 1 7. 
 
 But the Psalms in which angels are mostly introduced, and 
 in which the natural and inanimate physical agents of God's 
 providence, such as lightning, fire, hail, tempests, &c., are 
 called God's messengers, or angels, were not written by 
 David, but belong to a much later time than that which we 
 are now considering. 
 
 The plague which broke out among the people, during the 
 reign of David, is said to be inflicted by the hand of an 
 angel. When many had died, Jehovah says to the angel, 
 " It is enough, stay now thine hand." David is described 
 as seeing the angel who smote the people. The narration 
 is not given by David, but by the unknown author of the 
 second book of Samuel. 
 
 " And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusa- 
 lem to destroy it, Jehovah repented him of the evil, and said to 
 the Angel that destroyed the people, It is enough ; stay now 
 thine hand. And the angel of Jehovah was by the threshing-
 
 76 THE PSALMS OF DAVID. 
 
 place of Araunah the Jebusite. And David spake unto Je- 
 hovah when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, 
 Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly : but these sheep, 
 what have they done?" &c. 2 Samuel, xxiv. 16, 17. 
 
 Every tiling that happens is the work of God. Good and 
 noble intentions, superior talents (such as the talent for 
 poetry), unusual energy and enthusiasm, and also a cheerful 
 disposition, are effects attributed to the agency of the spirit 
 of Jehovah, or the divine power : 
 
 " Cast me not away from thy presence ; and take not thy 
 holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation ; 
 and uphold me with thy free spirit.' 1 Psalm li. 11, 12. 
 
 David implores God to give him his good spirit to enable 
 him to do his will and govern the people. 
 
 " Teach me to do thy will ; for thou art my God : thy spirit is 
 good ; lead me into the land of uprightness." Psalm cxliii. 10. 
 
 David believes the power of composing hymns and psalms 
 to be derived from God, and he ascribes the holy emotions, 
 or the deep depression which he felt while inditing them, to 
 the spirit of Jehovah. Every poet is considered as inspired 
 bv Jehovah, numine divino afflatus. The writer of the 
 ninety-ninth Psalm thus sings 
 
 " My mouth shall speak of wisdom ; and the meditation of 
 my heart shall be of understanding. I will incline mine ear to 
 a parable : I will open my dark saying upon the harp." 
 
 He here seems to imply that his hymn is merely the echo of 
 heavenly song of wisdom which sounds in his ear. 
 
 David recognises two revelations ; that which God gives 
 of himself in his works the revelation of Nature, displayed 
 in the whole creation ; and also, the revelation of God given 
 in his law in the religion given by him to Moses. See the 
 19th and the 119th Psalms, both which were probably 
 written by David. 
 
 David teaches the belief in a Providence which rewards 
 the righteous with temporal prosperity, and punishes the 
 wicked with temporal adversity. He encourages the good 
 with the promise of God's favour, and the possession of 
 those external blessings which are most prized by him, 
 who knows nothing of a future state of retribution ; he ad-
 
 THE PSALMS OF DAVID. 77 
 
 monishes the wicked, and reminds them that the evil doer 
 shall be rooted out from the land, that his name shall be no 
 more known, that he shall come to an untimely end, and that 
 his children shall beg their bread : 
 
 " O fear Jehovah, ye his saints, for there is no want to them 
 that fear him. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger : 
 hut they that seek Jehovah shall not want any good thing. 
 Come, ye children, hearken unto me : I will teach you the fear 
 of Jehovah. What man is he that desireth life and loveth 
 many days that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from 
 evil and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil and do 
 good, seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of Jehovah are upon 
 the righteous and his ears are open unto their cry. The face 
 of Jehovah is against them that do evil to cut off the remem- 
 brance of them from the earth. The righteous cry and Jehovah 
 heareth and delivereth them out of all their troubles." 
 
 Psalm xxxiv. 9-17. 
 
 " Behold, the eye of Jehovah is upon them that fear him, 
 upon them that hope in his mercy ; to deliver their soul from 
 death, and to keep them alive from famine." 
 
 Psalm xxxiii. 18, 19.* 
 
 The inculcation of a doctrine, which every day's experience 
 contradicted, led to scepticism and distrust in God and his 
 providence. Some denied God's watchful care over his 
 people, and asserted that God reigned in heaven, and knew 
 not what was done upon the earth. David speaks of such 
 doubters as madmen, fools, holding the most pernicious and 
 false principles : 
 
 " The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not 
 seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. His ways are 
 always grievous ; thy judgments are far above out of his sight ; 
 a* for all his enemies, he puffeth at them. He hath said in 
 his heart, I shall not be moved : for I shall never be in adver- 
 sity. His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud : under 
 his tongue is mischief and vanity." 
 
 " He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten : he hideth 
 his face ; he will never see it." Psalm x. 4-7 and 1 1. 
 
 " The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are 
 corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that 
 doeth good." Psalm xiv. 1. 
 
 But there was another class of doubters ; those who, in 
 firm reliance on the promises of Jehovah, had laboured to 
 
 * Ste also Psalms xxxvii., xci., and cxxviii.
 
 78 THE PSALMS OF DAVID. 
 
 obey his commands and to lead a virtuous life, but who had 
 only reaped the disappointment of all their hopes, and who 
 were at length driven to despair, by witnessing the pros- 
 perity of the wicked. David seeks to comfort such, by 
 assuring them that though heaviness endure for a night, joy 
 cometh in the morning. He tries to convince them, that 
 the good are never finally deserted by God, and that their 
 end shall be peace ; but that the wretchedness of the wicked 
 man shall be great in proportion to his temporal prosperity, 
 and his end terrible : 
 
 " Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither hethou envious 
 against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut 
 down like the grass, and wither as the green herb." 
 
 " For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be : yea, 
 thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.'' 
 
 Psalm xxxvii. 1, 2, and 10. 
 
 " For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity 
 of the wicked." 
 
 " Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world ; 
 they increase in riches. Verily I have cleansed my heart in 
 vain, and washed my hands in innocency. For all the day- 
 long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning." 
 
 " When 1 thought to know this, it was too painful for me ; 
 until I went into the sanctuary of God ; then understood I 
 their end. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places : thou 
 castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought 
 into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed 
 with terrors. As a dream when one waketh ; so, O Jehovah, 
 when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image." 
 
 Psalm Ixxiii. 3 ; 12-14 ; 16-20. 
 
 David and his contemporaries acknowledge that burnt 
 offerings and sacrifices cannot be a form of worship pleasing 
 to a holy God, unless they be offered by an humble and 
 penitent heart, and that purity of mind, obedience to the 
 law, and a thankful spirit are of more worth in the sight of 
 God than the flesh of bulls or the blood of goats : 
 
 " Hear, O my people, and I will speak ; O Israel, and I will 
 testify against thee ; I am God, even thy God. I will not 
 reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to have 
 been continually before me. I will take no bullock out of thy 
 house, nor he goats out of thy folds. For every beast of the 
 forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know 
 all the fowls of the mountains : and the wild beasts of the field 
 are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee : for the
 
 THE PSALMS OF DAVID. 79 
 
 world is mine, and the fulness thereof. Will I eat the flesh of 
 bulls, or drink the blood of goats ? Offer unto God thanks- 
 giving ; and pay thy vows unto the most high : and call upon 
 me in the day of trouble : I will deliver thee, and thou shall 
 glorify me." Psalm I 7-15. 
 
 " O Jehovah, open thou my lips ; and my mouth shall shew 
 forth thy praise. For thou desirest not sacrifice ; else would I 
 give it : thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices 
 of God are a broken spirit : a broken and a contrite heart, O 
 God, thou wilt not despise." Psalm li. 15-17.
 
 80 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 NOTIONS CONCERNING GOD ENTERTAINED BY SOLOMON. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 The Book of the Proverbs. 
 
 A CONSIDERABLE portion of the Book of the Proverbs is un- 
 questionably the production of Solomon ; and those parts 
 which cannot be considered as genuine, are believed to have 
 been written and collected before or during the reign of He- 
 zekiah. Allowing that the first nine chapters may be an in- 
 troduction, written by another author, the religious opinions 
 contained in the entire book are sufficiently harmonious, and 
 consistent, to justify us in regarding it as belonging to one 
 and the same period. 
 
 The Book of the Proverbs is, perhaps, one of the most 
 valuable books of the Old Testament. The religious views, 
 and the moral precepts contained in it, are so excellent, and 
 the truths inculcated are so agreeably, beautifully, and briefly 
 expressed, in the form of maxims easily fixed in the memory, 
 and readily recalled upon appropriate occasions, that it is 
 much to be regretted that it does not teach the immortality 
 of the soul, instead of the descent after death into the gloomy 
 region of Hades ; and that it does not encourage mankind 
 to pursue virtue from a higher and worthier motive than the 
 desire of selfish gratification and reward. 
 
 Representations of God. 
 
 Though in the Proverbs the name of the national-God of 
 the Hebrews, Jehovah, is employed, and though God is 
 spoken of as that God who manifests himself more especially 
 to the Israelites, yet he is much more generally represented 
 as the Creator of the universe, the Governor of the world, 
 the Ruler of man, and the Disposer of human destinies. God 
 is the first, the self-existing cause of all things, and it is 
 man's highest duty to recognise and acknowledge the perfect
 
 NOTIONS CONCERNING GOD ENTERTAINED BY SOLOMON. 81 
 
 wisdom, power, and goodness of Jehovah in the creation and 
 in the government of mankind. These are the truths which 
 must ever form the foundation of all vital religion. 
 
 " Jehovah by wisdom hath founded the earth ; by under- 
 standing hath he established the heavens. By his knowledge 
 the depths are broken up and the clouds drop down the dew." 
 
 Prov., Chap. hi. 19, 20. 
 
 " The hearing ear and the seeing eye, Jehovah hath made 
 even both of them." Chap. xx. 12. 
 
 " The rich and poor meet together: Jehovah is the maker of 
 them all." Chap. xxii. 2. 
 
 The first instance of the personification of wisdom in the 
 Old Testament occurs in the description of the creation, 
 given in the Proverbs. We are here told that wisdom ex- 
 isted prior to the creation ; " From everlasting, from the 
 beginning, or ever the earth was," she was with God, and was 
 his counsellor when he made the world. 
 
 Later Hebrew writers have industriously copied this per- 
 sonification of the heavenly wisdom (<ro<pios) ; and, mingling 
 foreign ideas, derived from the Platonic philosophy with this 
 orientalism, they probably understood it in a sense not 
 merely metaphorical. They regarded the attribute of wis- 
 dom as something substantial, they ascribed to it an actual 
 existence distinct from God, yet possessing the closest in- 
 ternal union with him. But the author of this portion of 
 the Proverbs does not seem to have had any such notions ; 
 for according to him, wisdom is to be found among the 
 qualities possessed by men ; " By wisdom Kings reign and 
 Princes decree justice," and, " All who love wisdom shall 
 find her." When he here speaks of men being gifted with 
 wisdom, he does not refer to something personal, and dis- 
 tinct from these men : and we have no reason to conclude 
 that, when he speaks of the wisdom which guided God 
 in the creation, he meant to express anything more than 
 that all God's works prove him to be possessed of perfect 
 wisdom. 
 
 The creation of the world is poetically described, and 
 the description is in conformity with the conceptions of the 
 Hebrews, who, devoid of knowledge respecting physical and 
 chemical agents, believed the first impressions of their
 
 82 NOTIONS CONCERNING GOD 
 
 senses. The cosmogony of Genesis, though not contra- 
 dicted, is neither repeated nor alluded to. When God, 
 with the skill of an architect, has appointed the foundations 
 of the earth and completed the structure of the globe, 
 WISDOM, his assistant, is represented as contemplating and 
 rejoicing in God's new creation, and especially in man. 
 
 " Jehovah possessed me in the beginning of his way, before 
 his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the 
 beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, 
 I was brought forth ; when there were no fountains abounding 
 with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills 
 was I brought forth : while as yet he had not made the earth, 
 nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. 
 When he prepared the heavens, I was there : when he set a 
 compass upon the face of the depth : when he established the 
 clouds above : when he strengthened the fountains of the deep : 
 when he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not 
 pass his commandment : when he appointed the foundations of 
 the earth : then I was by him, as one brought up with him : 
 and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him : re- 
 joicing in the habitable part of his earth ; and my delights 
 were with the sons of men." Chap. viii. 22-31. 
 
 Character and Attributes of God. 
 
 In the description of the creation just quoted eternity of 
 existence* and infinite wisdom and power are attributed to 
 Jehovah. We also find him represented as holy and just, 
 as knowing everything which takes place upon the earth, 
 even discerning man's most secret thoughts ; as loving, 
 commending, and rewarding piety and virtue, and as abhor- 
 ring and punishing sin and transgression. 
 
 Jehovah is omniscient. 
 
 " For the ways of man are before the eyes of Jehovah and he 
 pondereth all his goings.'' Chap. v. 21. 
 
 " Hell and destruction are before Jehovah ; how much more 
 then the hearts of the children of men?" Chap. xv. 11. 
 
 " Every way of a man is right in his own eyes ; but Jehovah 
 pondereth the hearts." Chap. xxi. 2. 
 
 Jehovah is omnipresent. The presence of Jehovah is not 
 
 * Jehovah " existed from everlasting, before the earth was." This was the 
 Hebrew mode of expressing eternity of duration. And, as our author does not 
 ascribe any origin to God, we may conclude from these expressions that he 
 believed in his eternity.
 
 ENTERTAINED BY SOLOMON. 83 
 
 confined to a particular spot, nor can it be contained within 
 certain limits. However readily the less cultivated among 
 the Hebrews pictured their Jehovah, dwelling on his throne 
 in heaven, or presiding in his temple, his terrestrial palace 
 on earth, that Solomon had far higher conceptions of the 
 God he worshipped, we may conclude from the prayer he 
 utters at the dedication of the temple if indeed this prayer 
 were composed by him. 
 
 " But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven 
 and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee : how much less this 
 house that I have builded ?" 1 Rings viii. 27. 
 
 Yet in this beautiful prayer, in compliance with the gene- 
 rally-received notions, Jehovah is styled " Jehovah the God 
 of Israel" and the heaven is said to be his dwelling place. 
 
 " The eyes of Jehovah are in every place beholding the evil 
 and the good." Prov., Chap. xv. 3. 
 
 Jehovah is holy. 
 
 " For the froward is abomination to Jehovah, but his secret is 
 with the righteous." Chap. iii. 32. 
 
 " These six things doth Jehovah hate : yea, seven are an 
 abomination unto him : a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands 
 that shed innocent blood. An heart that deviseth wicked ima- 
 ginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false wit- 
 ness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among 
 brethren." Chap. vi. 16-19. 
 
 " Lying lips are abomination to Jehovah : but they that 
 deal truly are his delight." Chap. xii. 22. 
 
 " The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination unto Je- 
 hovah : but the words of the pure are pleasant words. Jehovah 
 is far from the wicked : but he heareth the prayer of the 
 righteous." Chap. xv. 26-29. 
 
 Jehovah is incomprehensible. No human powers are 
 capable of comprehending the nature of God or understand- 
 ing his works. The conviction of this inability is beauti- 
 fully expressed by Agur, of whom we know nothing : neither 
 who he was, nor when he lived. 
 
 " I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the 
 holy. Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who 
 hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters 
 in a garment ? who hath established all the ends of the earth ? 
 
 G 2
 
 84 NOTIONS CONCERNING GOD 
 
 who is his name, and what is his son's name, if tliou canst 
 tell?" Chap. xxx. 3,4. 
 
 Government and Providence of God. 
 
 The providence of Jehovah is over all his works, he is ever 
 active in heaven and on earth, and nothing takes place but by 
 his will and ordination. Throughout the book of the Pro- 
 verbs no mention is made of angels. Everything is accom- 
 plished by the exertion of God's almighty power. In this 
 particular, the Proverbs harmonize with the writings of the 
 ancient prophets. Jehovah ruleth the destiny of man. 
 
 " Trust in Jehovah, with all thine heart ; and lean not to thine 
 own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he 
 shall direct thy paths." Chap. iii. 5, 6. 
 
 " The preparation of the heart in man, and the answer of the 
 tongue, is from Jehovah. Commit thy works unto Jehovah, 
 and thy thoughts shall be established. The lot is cast into the 
 lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of Jehovah." 
 
 Chap. xvi. 1,3,33. 
 
 " A prudent wife is from Jehovah." Chap. xix. 14. 
 
 " The king's heart is in the hand of Jehovah, as the rivers of 
 water : he turneth it whithersoever he will." Chap. xxi. 1. 
 
 Jehovah instructs his people by means of his oracle, and 
 he has given them a law, the observance of which shall secure 
 their happiness. 
 
 " "Where there is no vision the people perish : but he that 
 keepeth the law, happy is he." Chap. xxix. 18. 
 
 Jehovah imparts or reveals wisdom to men. 
 
 "Jehovah giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh know- 
 ledge and understanding.'' Chap. ii. 6. 
 
 Blessings are granted to God's favourites, independent of 
 any exertions on their part. Everything is under the 
 guidance of Jehovah, and consequently the success or failure 
 of individuals in their worldly concerns is wholly dependent 
 on the will of Jehovah. 
 
 " The blessing of Jehovah raaketh rich, und he addeth no 
 sorrow with it." Chap. x. 22. 
 
 Jehovah recompenses virtue and punishes vice. Worldly 
 prosperity, health, and long life are the promised rewards of 
 the godly. Adversity and all its attendant sufferings are
 
 ENTERTAINED BY SOLOMON. 
 
 85 
 
 the threatened punishments of the wicked. The fallacy of 
 this doctrine became daily more and more apparent to the 
 Hebrew people, and produced an ever growing distrust in a 
 just Providence. Yet disappointment and scepticism were 
 not perhaps the worst results of this system of temporal 
 rewards and punishments. Such a belief, instead of in- 
 spiring a pure love of virtue and a disinterested obedience, 
 tended to produce cleverness, cunning, and deep selfishness. 
 But how should a barbarous people in a barbarous age ob- 
 tain purer notions of morality ? 
 
 " For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall 
 remain it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and 
 the transgressors shall be rooted out of it. Chap. ii. 21, 22. 
 
 " Honour Jehovah with thy substance, and with the first-fruits 
 of all thine increase : so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and 
 thy presses shall burst out with new wine." Chap. iii. 9, 10. 
 
 " Treasures of wickedness profit nothing : but righteousness 
 delivereth from death. Jehovah will not suffer the soul of the 
 righteous to famish : but he casteth away the substance of the 
 wicked. 
 
 " The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him : but the 
 desire of the righteous shall be granted. 
 
 " The fear of Jehovah prolongeth days: but the years of the 
 wicked shall be shortened. The hope of the righteous shall be 
 gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish." 
 Chap. x. 2, 3, 24, 27, 28. 
 
 The evils and misfortunes which afflict the virtuous man 
 are to be regarded by him as the chastenings of Jehovah, 
 inflicted by God, with a view to promote the moral improve- 
 ment of him whom he loveth : 
 
 " My son, despise not the chastening of Jehovah, neither be 
 weary of his correction. For whom Jehovah loveth he correct- 
 eth ; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth." 
 
 Chap. iii. 11, 12. 
 
 This maxim is much employed in the book of Job in his de- 
 fence against unjust accusations and calumnies. And it is 
 calculated to give much comfort to the sorrowful heart. 
 
 It is said that the curse of Jehovah rests upon the wicked. 
 This, as well as every other harsh expression in the Old Tes- 
 tament, must be interpreted according to the prevailing 
 notions of the age in which it was written. A certain attain- 
 ment in philosophy must be made, before man will cease to
 
 86 NOTIONS CONCERNING GOD 
 
 believe his God to be " altogether such an one as himself." 
 In the age of Solomon the Jew did not consider it immoral 
 to hate and curse all those who were unfriendly to him, nor 
 did he see any impropriety in representing Jehovah as cursing 
 those whose conduct was displeasing to him. 
 
 " The curse of Jehovah is in the house of the wicked.'' 
 
 Chap. iii. 33. 
 
 This expression does not require to be softened : it is in har- 
 mony with the prevailing mode of thought and feeling of the 
 time in which it was written, and no other interpretation than 
 its literal signification can be put upon the words, without in- 
 troducing our own thoughts into the Bible. 
 It is also said 
 
 " Jehovah hath made all things for himself: yea, even the 
 wicked for the day of evil." Chap. xvi. 4. 
 
 This proverb seems to assert that Jehovah predestinated the 
 wicked for punishment. That such is the intended meaning 
 of the writer is probable, for expressions of similar import 
 occur in some of the other ancient books of the Old Testa- 
 ment. We are told that God hardens the hearts of the 
 wicked, in order that he may punish them : that they hearken 
 not to reproof, because Jehovah will slay them. That he 
 closes their eyes that they should not see, and shuts their 
 ears, that they should not hear, in order that they should not 
 obey and should not be healed. At this time there existed 
 no distinct notions of God's moral government, or of man's 
 free agency. 
 
 The necessity of religion, which is described as " the fear 
 of Jehovah" is much insisted upon in the Proverbs. Sacri- 
 fices and offerings for sin are not to be omitted, but they 
 alone cannot secure the forgiveness of Jehovah; it is by 
 amendment of life, obedience to his laws, justice, and judg- 
 ment, that his mercy is to be obtained. 
 
 " The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom.'' Chap. i. 7. 
 
 " Fear Jehovah and depart from evil." Chap. iii. 7. 
 
 " To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to Jehovah 
 than sacrifice." Chap. xxi. 3. 
 
 Such are the views of God and of religion taught in the 
 book of the Proverbs. It certainly contains much that is 
 true and beautiful, and, though only a portion of the book was
 
 ENTERTAINED BY SOLOMON. 87 
 
 written by Solomon, we cannot but acknowledge him to be 
 entitled to be regarded as a wise man and a philosopher. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Religious Notions attributed to Solomon in the Historical 
 Books of the Kings and the Chronicles. 
 
 The prayer offered by Solomon at the dedication of the 
 temple contains some elevated conceptions of the Deity, but 
 in the historical books which narrate the life of Solomon, the 
 religious views ascribed to him are far loss enlightened than 
 those found in the Book of the Proverbs. He is generally 
 represented as regarding Jehovah, not as the only God, the 
 Creator of the universe, but merely as a national-God, the 
 God of Israel. Jehovah appears twice to Solomon in dreams, 
 or visions. 
 
 " In Gibeon Jehovah appeared to Solomon in a dream by 
 night : and God said, Ask what I shall give thee." 
 
 1 Kings iii. 5 ; also 2 Chron. i. 7. 
 
 " Jehovah appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had 
 appeared unto him at Gibeon." 
 
 1 Kings ix. 2 ; also 2 Chron. vii. 12. 
 
 Jehovah is pleased with Solomon's request, and pro- 
 mises him an extraordinary communication of wisdom ; also 
 riches, and power, length of days, and the establishment of 
 his temporal kingdom to his posterity for ever, if he will 
 keep the statutes and judgments of Jehovah. 
 
 " Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon 
 Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There 
 shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel. But 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 byword among all people." 
 
 1 Kings ix. 5-7 ; also 2 Chron. vii. 18-20. 
 
 When Solomon offers sacrifice to Jehovah at the conclu- 
 sion of his prayer at the consecration of the temple, Jehovah
 
 88 NOTIONS CONCERNING GOD 
 
 kindles the sacrifice with fire from heaven, as a proof of his 
 acceptance. 
 
 " Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire 
 came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and 
 the sacrifices ; and the glory of Jehovah filled the house." 
 
 2 Chron. vii. 1. 
 
 Jehovah also says unto Solomon in answer to his prayer 
 
 " I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to 
 myself for an house of sacrifice. If I shut up heaven that 
 there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the 
 land, or if I send pestilence among my people ; if my people, 
 which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and 
 pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways ; 
 then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and 
 will heal their land. Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine 
 ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. For 
 now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name 
 may be there for ever : and mine eyes and mine heart shall be 
 there perpetually." 2 Chron. vii. 12-16. 
 
 Yet, in spite of this warning, Solomon allows himself to be 
 seduced into the worship of idols by his wives, and con- 
 cubines, and strange women. The anger of Jehovah is 
 excited, for Solomon had erected altars to Ashtoreth the 
 goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, 
 and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon : and, as a 
 punishment, Jehovah threatens to wrest from him ten of the 
 tribes over which he reigned, and to give them to another 
 king. 
 
 " And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces ; for thus 
 saith Jehovah the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the king- 
 dom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to 
 thee : (but he shall have one tribe for my servant David's 
 sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen 
 out of all the tribes of Israel :) because that they have forsaken 
 me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zido- 
 nians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god 
 of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to 
 do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes 
 and my judgments, as did David his father. Howbeit I will 
 not take the whole kingdom out of his hand : but 1 will make 
 him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake, 
 whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my 
 statutes : But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, 
 and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes. And unto his son
 
 ENTERTAINED BY SOLOMON. 89 
 
 will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light 
 alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me 
 to put my name there." 1 Kings xi. 31-36. 
 
 It is difficult to understand how Solomon, who in the 
 Proverbs wrote so justly of God, could yet worship Jehovah 
 as the national- God of Israel ; and it is still more incompre- 
 hensible, that he should abandon himself to the most dis- 
 graceful idolatry. These are inconsistencies which we do 
 not attempt to reconcile, but we would remark that the his- 
 torical books express the general and popular religious 
 opinions of the times to which they refer, rather than those 
 ideas which the wiser and more contemplative among the 
 Israelites had, by means of reflection and cultivation, wrought 
 out for themselves. These books represent Solomon as 
 speaking of God, in conformity with the prevailing notions 
 among the people ; and it is very probable that Solomon, 
 when he prayed or offered sacrifice in public, accommodated 
 the expressions he used to the false notions of his subjects, 
 and dwelt more on the relation of Jehovah to the Israelites 
 than on his character as the universal Father. 
 
 With respect to Solomon's idolatry. We believe that in 
 him it was rather tolerance than idolatry. Among the 
 numerous inmates of his harem were many foreign women, 
 Ammonites, Moabites, Zidonians, and others. It belonged 
 to the splendour and state of an eastern monarch or despot 
 to possess an immense harem, whose inmates were chosen by 
 preference from foreign nations. These women were unwill- 
 ing to abandon their own worship and superstitions : slaves 
 in a strange land, they clung closely to the religion of their 
 childhood and nation, and they entreated Solomon to secure 
 to them religious freedom. He yielded to their solicitations 
 and commanded high places and altars to be erected, upon 
 which they might sacrifice to their own deities, after their 
 own manner. Though such an indulgence might have been 
 sanctioned by the laws of humanity, and to a benevolent 
 and reflecting mind might have appeared a reasonable con- 
 cession, this erection of altars to foreign Gods was a direct 
 violation of the Jewish constitution, and led to much sinful 
 idolatry among the people of Israel. The orthodox sighed 
 over this act of their monarch, and regarded the subsequent
 
 90 NOTIONS CONCERNING GOD. 
 
 desertion of the ten tribes,, in the reign of his son (who, for 
 his despotism and folly, merited such a lesson), as the punish- 
 ment inflicted by Jehovah for this permitted and sanctioned 
 idolatry ; and our historiographers do not fail to consider 
 this misfortune, as well as every other evil which afterwards 
 befel the kings and the state, as the consequences of the 
 insult offered by Solomon to the orthodox faith.
 
 91 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE BOOK OF JOB. 
 
 WE should place the Book of Job either in the age of 
 Solomon, or in that immediately subsequent. In the ideas 
 contained in the Book of Job there is a striking similarity 
 to those which are found in the Book of the Proverbs. Several 
 commentators are of opinion that the former is the joint 
 production of some of the wise men who lived during the 
 reign of Solomon, or soon after his death. 
 
 This book is the most sublime and beautiful poetical 
 work of the Hebrews : it surpasses all their other writings in 
 the excellence of its religious sentiments, especially in the 
 purity of its notions concerning God. It may with justice be 
 styled the masterpiece of antiquity. An author who, in a 
 period of general ignorance, could so far expel from his mind 
 the prevailing prejudices and superstitions of his country, 
 and could work out for himself a belief and morality so com- 
 paratively pure and reasonable, must have attained to a high 
 degree of intellectual advancement. The subject of the 
 poem is wholly religious, but it is deeply melancholy, owing 
 to the gloomy views entertained by the author of an here- 
 after ; to him the future is wrapped in an appalling darkness. 
 The object of the work is to explain in what manner the 
 sufferings of the good may be reconciled with the existence 
 of a just providence, and also to afford strength and conso- 
 lation to the afflicted. Job, the hero of the poem, is an Arab ; 
 his opponents are Arabs or Idumeans : they are ignorant of 
 Israel's faith and Israel's worship. Their God is the God of 
 all men. The name Jehovah is employed by the narrator, 
 who in the prologue speaks of himself as an Israelite ; but, 
 in the dialogues between the several personages who are 
 introduced in the drama, the name of Israel's national-God 
 is carefully avoided. 
 
 The opinions of the writer are expressed by Job ; except- 
 ing always those hasty and impatient exclamations, which
 
 92 THE BOOK OF JO15. 
 
 arc uttered by him when irritated by acute bodily suffering, 
 or when heated by controversy avid the unjust accusations of 
 his adversaries. The opponents of Job adopt the popular 
 notions of a Providence, and contend that to suppose that 
 God does not reward virtue, and punish vice, is to impeach 
 the Divine justice ; that a just God cannot do otherwise than 
 secure to the righteous the fruits of their well-doing, and 
 visit the wicked with the curse of his displeasure; that, 
 consequently, whoever is harassed by misfortunes, sickness, 
 poverty, or other ills, though indeed to human observation 
 his conduct may appear not only innocent, but praiseworthy, 
 he is nevertheless to be regarded as receiving the just retri- 
 bution of guilt ; that, if a man experiences adversity, he is 
 assuredly guilty in the sight of God. Job held other and 
 more enlarged views of this subject ; they will be considered 
 in a distinct section. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 Notions of Job's adversaries concerning God and Providence. 
 
 Four opponents of Job, each sustaining his individual 
 character, are introduced into the poem. Eliphas, Bildad, 
 and Zophar agree in their defence of the divine Providence. 
 The arguments employed by Elihu, a younger speaker, differ 
 but little from those used by his companions; but he is 
 much more moderate in his language, and is desirous of 
 acting the part of a mediator. 
 
 ELIPHAS. 
 
 God is the only God. He is therefore called either Eloah 
 (in the singular number, and not as formerly Elohim), or 
 else, the Almighty. He is the Creator and Governor of the 
 whole earth. The weather and all the phenomena of nature 
 depend on him. He brings the machinations of the wicked 
 to nought, and rescues the oppressed. 
 
 " Shall a man be more pure than his Maker f" Job iv. 17. 
 
 " I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my 
 
 cause : which doeth great things and unsearchable ; marvellous 
 
 things without number: who giveth rain upon the earth, and 
 
 sendeth waters upon the fields : to set up on high those that be
 
 THE BOOK OF JOB. 93 
 
 low ; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety. He 
 disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot 
 perform their enterprise. He taketh the wise in their own crafti- 
 ness : and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong. They 
 meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as 
 in the night. But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their 
 mouth, and from the hand of the mighty." Chap. v. 8-J5. 
 God is just and holy. 
 
 " Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man 
 be more pure than his Maker ?" Chap. iv. 1 7. 
 " Man more just/' so that he shall be able to charge God 
 with injustice in the awards of fate : " more pure," so that 
 he shall be able to charge his Maker with the violation of 
 holiness in rewarding vice. 
 
 There exists an intermediate order of beings between God 
 and man, his angels or messengers. These are not free from 
 failings. They appear to men in night visions in order to 
 instruct them. They have no tangible form ; they are 
 spirits, phantoms, who are only recognised by the soft breath 
 which precedes them and announces their approach. 
 
 " Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear 
 received a little thereof. In thoughts from the visions of the 
 night, when deep sleep falleth on men, fear came upon me, and 
 trembling, which made all my bones to shake. Then a spirit 
 passed before my face ; the hair of my flesh stood up : it stood 
 still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was 
 before mine eyes ; there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying, 
 Shall mortal man be more just than God ? shall a man be more 
 pure than his maker? Behold, he put no trust in his servants; 
 and his angels he charged with folly." Chap. iv. 12-18. 
 
 " Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints ; yea, the heavens 
 are not clean in his sight.'' Chap. xv. 15. 
 
 The providence of God is shown in the good fortune which 
 attends the innocent, and the evil fortune which pursues the 
 guilty. This is the contested point this is the position which 
 it is the object of the Book of Job to confute. 
 
 " Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? 
 or where were the righteous cut off? Even as I have seen, they 
 that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. By the 
 blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are 
 they consumed." Chap. iv. 7-9. See chap. v. 3-6 ; xv. 20-35. 
 
 Afflictions sometimes befal the good and pious, but they 
 are merely chastisements permitted by God for a while, in
 
 94 THE BOOK OF JOB. 
 
 order to promote the accomplishment of some wise though 
 secret purpose. Such chastisements are always of short 
 duration. 
 
 " Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth : therefore 
 despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty : for he maketh 
 sore, and bindeth up : he woundeth, and his hands make whole. 
 He shall deliver thee in six troubles : yea, in seven there shall 
 no evil touch thee." Chap. v. 17-19. See verses 21-27. 
 The punishments of God may be averted by repentance 
 and amendment of life. 
 
 " If thou return to the Almighty, thou shall be built up, 
 thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. Then 
 shall thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the 
 stones of the brooks. Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, 
 and thou shalt have plenty of silver. For then shalt thou have 
 thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto 
 God." Chap. xxii. 23-26. 
 
 A man's righteousness cannot be profitable to God : man 
 cannot by obedience and worship add to the happiness and 
 perfection of the Almighty. 
 
 " Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may 
 be profitable unto himself? /* it any pleasure to the Almighty 
 that thou art righteous ? or is it gain to him, that thou makest 
 thy ways perfect ?" Chap. xxii. 2, 3. 
 
 Notwithstanding the justness of this sentiment expressed 
 by Eliphas, his views of religion and virtue are strictly 
 selfish. 
 
 BILDAD. 
 
 Bildad agrees with Eliphas, and repeats the same argu- 
 ments, only with more vehemence. 
 God is almighty, just, and holy. 
 
 " Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert 
 justice?'' Chap. viii. 3. 
 
 " Dominion and fear are with him, he maketh peace in his 
 high places. Is there any number of his armies? and upon 
 whom doth not his light arise ? How then can man be justified 
 with God ? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman ?'' 
 Chap. xxv. 2-4. 
 
 Whoever suffers makes atonement for the sins he has 
 committed. The justice of God is proved by his punishment 
 of the guilty. It invariably fares ill with the wicked and 
 well with the good, either sooner or later.
 
 TF1K BOOK OF JOB. 95 
 
 " If thy children have sinned against him, and he have cast 
 them away for their transgression ; if thou wouldost seek unto 
 God betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty ; if 
 thou wert pure and upright ; surely now he would awake for 
 thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous. 
 Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should 
 greatly increase. Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, 
 neither will he help the evil doers : till he fill thy mouth with 
 laughing ; and thy lips with rejoicing." Chap. viii. 4-7, 20, 21. 
 See chap. viii. 13-19 ; and xviii. 5-21. 
 
 ZOPHAR. 
 
 2ophar is the most violent and the most ignorant of Job's 
 opponents. He repeats what the others have previously 
 asserted : that God is almighty and just : that consequently 
 he cannot but punish the wicked ; and that they who would 
 escape the just retribution of their sins, must reform their 
 conduct. 
 
 " Canst thou by searching find out God ? canst thou find out 
 the Almighty unto perfection ? It is as high as heaven ; what 
 canst thou do ? deeper than hell ; what canst thou know ? The 
 measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the 
 sea." Chap. xi. 7-9. 
 
 " But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not 
 
 escape, and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost." 
 
 Chap. xi. 20. See chap, xviii. 4-29. 
 
 " If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands 
 towards him ; if iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and 
 let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles. For then shalt 
 thou lift up thy face without spot ; yea, thou shalt be steadfast, 
 and shalt not fear." Chap. xi. 13-15. 
 
 ELIHU. 
 
 Elihu, though rather too vain of his knowledge, speaks 
 more temperately, and on the whole more justly, than Job's 
 other adversaries ; but he is unable to give any satisfactory 
 explanation of the debated point. 
 
 God is the Creator of the world. If he withdraw his 
 breath men die and return to the dust. According to the 
 ancient mythus man is formed out of the earth, and God's 
 breath breathes in his nostrils. 
 
 " Who hath given him a charge over the earth? or who hath 
 disposed the whole world ? If he set his heart upon man, if he
 
 96 THE BOOK OF JOB. 
 
 gather unto himself his spirit ami his breath ; all ilesh shall 
 perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust." 
 
 Chap, xxxiv. 13-15. 
 
 The character and attributes of God are portrayed by 
 Elihu, with a poetical beauty which cannot fail to excite our 
 admiration. God is eternal and almighty ; the thunder is 
 his voice, and his right hand is armed with lightning. He 
 is omniscient, incomprehensible and immutable. He is 
 veiled in light. He is holy and just, rewarding every man 
 according to his deeds. His attributes are to be discerned 
 in the wonderful operations of nature, though we are igno- 
 rant of the laws by which they are regulated. 
 
 " (God directeth) his lightning unto the ends of the earth. 
 After it a voice roareth : he thundereth with the voice of his 
 excellency ; and he will not stay them when his voice is heard. 
 God thundereth marvellously with his voice ; great things doeth 
 he, which we cannot comprehend." Chap, xxxvii. 3-5. 
 
 " Behold, Godexalteth by his power: who teacheth like him? 
 Who hath enjoined him his way ? or who can say, Thou hast 
 wrought iniquity ?" 
 
 " Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can 
 the number of his years be searched out. For he maketh small 
 the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour 
 thereof: which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abun- 
 dantly. Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, 
 or the noise of his tabernacle ? Behold, he spreadeth his light 
 upon it, and covereth the bottom of the sea. For by them 
 judgeth he the people ; he giveth meat in abundance." 
 
 Chap, xxxvi. 22, 23 ; 26-31. 
 
 " Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding : far 
 be it from God, that he should do wickedness : and from the 
 Almighty, that he should commmit iniquity. For the work of 
 a man shall he render unto him, and cause every man to find 
 according to his ways. Yea, surely God will not do wickedly, 
 neither will the Almighty pervert judgment." 
 
 " For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all 
 his goings. There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where 
 the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. For he will not 
 lay upon man more than right ; that he should enter into judg- 
 ment with God. He shall break in pieces mighty men without 
 number, and set others in their stead. Therefore he knoweth 
 their works, and he overturneth them in the night, so that they 
 are destroyed." Chap, xxxiv. 10-12; 21-25. 
 
 God warns, exhorts, and instructs mankind in dreams; 
 but he does not appear upon the earth, or give any visible
 
 THE BOOK OF JOB 97 
 
 manifestation of his presence, since man cannot endure the 
 splendour of his majesty, nor the terror his greatness would 
 inspire; neither does he talk with man, since man's faculties 
 are too limited to admit of his conversing with the Almighty. 
 
 " Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not account 
 of any of his matters. For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet 
 man perceiveth it not. In a dream, in a vision of the night, 
 when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the 
 bed ; then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their in- 
 struction, that he may withdraw man from his purpose, and 
 hide pride from man. He keepeth back his soul from the pit, 
 and his life from perishing by the sword." Chap, xxxiii. 13-18. 
 
 " Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out : he is 
 excellent in power, and in judgment, and in plenty of justice: 
 he will not afflict. Men do therefore fear him : he respecteth 
 not any that are wise of heart." Chap, xxxvii. 23, 24. 
 
 The consideration most frequently presented to us and 
 most continually dwelt upon in the Book of Job is that of 
 the immeasurable distance between the Creator and the 
 creature God's omnipotence, and omniscience man's ig- 
 norance and littleness. How opposed are such views of God 
 to those representations of the Deity, and of his familiar 
 intercourse with man, given in the early Books of the Old 
 Testament ! It is difficult to believe that the most enlight- 
 ened of the Hebrew sages did not regard these ancient 
 traditions as the mythi of their nation. 
 
 All diseases and temporary sufferings are the chastise- 
 ments of God the wicked are punished as long as they live. 
 Eliphas and Elihu admit that afflictions occasionally befal 
 the righteous, but contend that they are never of long dura- 
 tion. 
 
 " He is chastened also with pain upon his bed, and the mul- 
 titude of his bones with strong pain." Chap, xxxiii. 19. 
 
 " Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastise- 
 ment, I will not otfend any more." Chap, xxxiv. 31. 
 
 " Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any : he is mighty 
 in strength and wisdom. He preserveth not the life of the 
 wicked : but giveth right to the poor." Chap, xxxvi. 5, 6. 
 
 God profiteth nothing by man's righteousness, and sufler- 
 eth nothing from his iniquity. This opinion was also ex- 
 pressed by Eliphas 
 
 H
 
 98 THK BOOK OF JOB. 
 
 " Look unto the heavens, and see ; and behold the clouds 
 which are higher than thou. If thou sinnest, what doest thou 
 against him ? or (/thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest 
 thou unto him? If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? 
 or what receiveth he of thine hand ? Thy wickedness may hurt 
 a man as thou art ; and thy righteousness may profit the son 
 of man." Chap. xxxv. 5-8. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Religious opinions of the writer of the Book of Job. 
 
 Job's adversaries formed many just conceptions of God 
 and of his attributes, but they failed in their endeavours to 
 explain the distribution of good and evil. The opinions of 
 the author are found in the calm reflections of Job ; in the 
 Prologue and the Epilogue ; and also in the answers which 
 God is represented as giving to Job out of the whirlwind. 
 
 Representations of God. 
 
 God is the Creator of man and of the universe ; the breath 
 of man's nostrils is the spirit of God. 
 
 " Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together 
 round about ; yet thou dost destroy me. Remember, I beseech 
 thee, that thou hast made me as the clay ; and wilt thou bring 
 me into dust again ? Hast thou not poured me out as milk, 
 and curdled me like cheese ? Thou hast clothed me with skin 
 and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews. Thou 
 hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath pre- 
 served my spirit." Chap. x. 8-12. 
 
 " All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is 
 in my nostrils.'' Chap, xxvii. 3. 
 
 The description of the creation is very similar to that 
 given in the Book of the Proverbs God laid the foundations 
 of the earth and fastened the corner-stones upon nothing. 
 The stars sang together and the sons of God the angels 
 shouted for joy on the day of creation. 
 
 " Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth ? 
 declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the mea- 
 sures thereof, if thou knowest ? or who hath stretched the line 
 upon it ? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened ?
 
 THE BOOK OF JOB. 99 
 
 or who laid the corner stone thereof; when the morning stars 
 sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy ? Or who 
 shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued 
 out of the womb ? When I made the cloud the garment thereof, 
 and thick darkness a swaddling-band for it, and brake up for it 
 my decreed place, and set bars and doors, and said, Hitherto shall 
 thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be 
 stayed?" Chap, xxxviii. 4-11. 
 
 Here as in the writings of Solomon the wisdom of God is 
 personified. She dwells in a palace whose entrance is known 
 to God only. She attended at the creation when God ap- 
 pointed the rain, the thunder, and the lightning. 
 
 " Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of 
 understanding ? Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, 
 and kept close from the fowls of the air. Destruction and death 
 say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears. God un- 
 derstandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof. 
 For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the 
 whole heaven ; to make the weight for the winds ; and he 
 weigheth the waters by measure. When he made a decree for 
 the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder: then 
 did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched 
 it out." Chap, xxviii. 20-27. 
 
 Attributes of God. 
 
 God is omnipotent and omniscient ; his existence is im- 
 mutable and incomprehensible. Man can form but a very 
 inadequate conception of his power. 
 
 " He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath har- 
 dened h imself against him, and hath prospered? Which re- 
 moveth the mountains, and they know not : which overturneth 
 them in his anger. Which shaketh the earth out of her place, 
 and the pillars thereof tremble. Which commandeth the sun, 
 and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars. Which alone 
 spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the 
 sea. Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the 
 chambers of the south. Which doeth great things past finding 
 out; yea, and wonders without number." Chap. ix. 4-10. 
 
 " Are thy days as the days of man? are thy years as man's 
 days." Chap. x. 5. 
 
 " Lo, these are parts of his ways ; but how little a portion is 
 heard of him ? hut the thunder of his power who can under- 
 stand?" Chap. xxvi. 14, 
 
 See the entire Chapter ; also Chapters xxxviii. and xxxix. 
 
 In seasons of deep dejection and great bodily suffering 
 
 H 2
 
 100 THE BOOK OF JOB. 
 
 Job charges God with injustice, and with the capricious ex- 
 ercise of his power, in continually favouring the wicked, and 
 deserting the good. 
 
 See Chapters ix. 11-24, xii. 6-9, xiii. 17-28, xxi. 5-26. 
 For such expressions of impatience and distrust, Job is re- 
 proved by God. 
 
 ' Wilt thou also disannul my judgments? wilt thou condemn 
 me, that thou mayest be righteous ?" Chap. xl. 8. 
 Such were not, however, Job's abiding convictions : we find 
 him soon after reposing, with firm reliance, on the justice of 
 God. 
 
 " I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at 
 the latter day upon the earth : and though after my skin 
 worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God : whom 
 I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not an- 
 other ; though my reins be consumed within me. 1 '* 
 
 Chap.xix. 25-27. 
 
 " Yet in my flesh," while I yet live, " shall I see God :" 
 not as now will he manifest himself to me as my consumer 
 and destroyer, but as my preserver and redeemer.f 
 
 Government and Providence of God. 
 
 Job's opinions of the government and providence of God 
 differ from those which are held by Eliphas and Elihu, and 
 their two companions. He agrees with them in believing 
 that all earthly events are under the especial guidance of the 
 Almighty, and that all the vicissitudes of human life are to 
 be attributed to the will of God, but he denies the position 
 of his adversaries that prosperity is to be regarded as the 
 reward of virtue, and adversity as the punishment of vice. 
 
 * In this translation, the authorised English .version of the Bible has been 
 invariably followed in the quotations ; but in this passage the rendering is so 
 obviously incorrect, that we here subjoin a literal translation of Eichhonr s ver- 
 sion, adopted by Bauer: 
 
 " For I know that my vindicator liveth, and at last he will stand 
 forth on the field of combat. And although my skin and this body are 
 corroded by disease, still out of this body shall I see God. As 1 am, 
 I shall look upon him as my defender, my eyes shall behold him, but 
 no longer as an opponent." TR. 
 
 f That this confident expectation was realised in Job's latter days, we find from 
 the concluding chapter of the book ; in which we are told that Job's trials and 
 sufferings are come to an end ; and that he returns this answer to God : 
 
 " I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye 
 seelh thee" Chap. xlii. 5. Tu.
 
 THE BOOK OF JOB. 101 
 
 On the contrary, he contends that God dispenses good and 
 .evil, as he sees fit, according to his own good pleasure ; and 
 that, however incomprehensible his ways however inscrut- 
 able his purposes may be to man, the divine government is 
 regulated by infinite wisdom, and whatever God does is just 
 and right. He, even in the hour of deep affliction, thus ex- 
 presses his own confidence in the justice of God : 
 
 " Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." Chap. xiii. 15. 
 
 Job commends entire submission and resignation to the 
 will of God, and the stedfast pursuit of virtue, even during 
 the time of suffering and the season of adversity, as the 
 highest wisdom. 
 
 The passages which contain the opinions of the author 
 respecting the providence of God are much too long for 
 quotation. We must refer our reader to the Book of Job, 
 particularly to the following 
 
 Chapters vii., ix., x., xii., xxxviii., xxxix. 
 
 In the concluding chapter we find Job commended by 
 God, and his opponents condemned. 
 
 " My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two 
 friends : for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, a* 
 my servant Job hath." Chap. xlii. 7. 
 
 Spirits, subordinate to God, are introduced in the beginning 
 of the poem. God is represented, according to the patri- 
 archal manner, as a father who assembles his family around 
 him and enters into discussion with them. They are called 
 " the sons of Elohim" They stand before God to receive his 
 commands and do his pleasure. 
 
 " Now there was a day when the sons of God came to pre- 
 sent themselves before Jehovah." Chap. i. 6. 
 
 Some of these spirits are well disposed towards mankind, 
 while others regard the actions of men merely in order to 
 note their evil deeds and report them to God. 
 
 " Again there was a day when the sons of God came to 
 present themselves before Jehovah, and Satan came also among 
 them to present himself before Jehovah. And Jehovah said 
 unto Satan, From whence comest thou ? And Satan answered 
 Jehovah and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and 
 from walking up and down in it." Chap. ii. 1, 2. 
 
 This Satan, who appears among the sons of God in heaven,
 
 THE BOOK OF JOB- 
 
 docs not exactly correspond with the Satan believed in by 
 the Jewish people at a later period, after their sojourn among 
 the Chalcfeans, and after they had become acquainted with 
 the Ahriman of Zoroaster's philosophy. The Satan here 
 spoken of is probably that evil spirit or angel believed by 
 the Hebrews to be employed by Jehovah as the messenger 
 of evil ; for before the exile they attributed both good and 
 evil alike to God. It is the same evil spirit who came over 
 Saul,* and who also went forth from Jehovah as a lying- 
 spirit to persuade Ahaz to go up to Ramoth-gilead.f 
 
 Satan has considerable power, which he holds in subjection 
 to God. He can afflict men with death, with severe bodily 
 diseases, and all kinds of evils. 
 
 " Jehovah said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant 
 Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an. 
 upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil ? and 
 still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me 
 against him, to destroy him unthout cause. And Satan an- 
 swered Jehovah and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man 
 hath will he give for his life. But put forth thine hand now, 
 and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy 
 face. And Jehovah said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine 
 hand ; but save his life. So went Satan forth from the pre- 
 sence of Jehovah, and smote Job with sore boils, from the sole 
 of his foot unto his crown." 
 
 Chap. ii. 3-7. See also the whole of chap. i. 
 
 Freedom from sin, and obedience and submission to God 
 are much insisted upon. Job is called the servant of God 
 because " he was perfect and upright, a man that feared 
 God and eschewed evil.J Sins are atoned by the sacrifices 
 offered (not indeed by the priests, for among Nomadic tribes 
 there was no priest), but by the father of the family. 
 
 " And his sons went and feasted in their houses every one 
 his day ; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and 
 to drink with them. 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 be 
 that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. 
 Thus did Job continually." 
 
 Chap. i. 4, 5. See also chap. xlii. 7, 8. 
 
 * 1 Samuel xvi. 14 f 1 Kings xxii. 22. J Job i. 1 and 8.
 
 103 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 NOTIONS CONCERNING GOD CONTAINED IN THE BOOKS OF THE 
 CONTEMPORANEOUS PROPHETS ISAIAH, HOSEA, AMOS, AND 
 MICAH. 
 
 THE religious opinions and representations contained in the 
 writings of those prophets who were nearly contemporaneous 
 are so similar, that no advantage would be gained by a 
 separate examination of the several books : we shall there- 
 fore class them together, and thus avoid useless repetition. 
 
 Only a portion of the Book of Isaiah comes under present 
 consideration. There is reason to believe that much of it 
 was written at a subsequent period.* 
 
 The views of God and of moral obligation taken by these 
 writers are often just, but their peculiar position as the Pro- 
 phets of Jehovah, called upon to address his chosen people, 
 led them to regard the Almighty, and to speak of him, too 
 exclusively as the God of Israel, rather than as the God of 
 all men. In this respect these Books of the Prophets are 
 inferior to the Book of Job. 
 
 * " Isaiah was the son of Amos, an unknown individual. Of the personal 
 history of the Prophet we are ignorant. We are told by himself (chap. vi. 1) 
 that he first appeared as a prophet in the year of the death of Uzziah and also 
 (chap. i. 1) that he prophesied in the reigns of Jot hum, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. 
 The subjects of his prophecies confirm this statement." 
 
 " The whole of the second part of the Book of Isaiah, beginning at the xlth 
 chapter, contains internal evidence of having been written at a subsequent 
 period, probably at the time of the appearance of Cyrus. In style of composi- 
 tion and language it differs essentially from that portion of Isaiah which may be 
 considered as genuine. The author of the second part must have lived during 
 the Babylonian exile, for he describes (not in the spirit of prophecy) the changed 
 position of his nation. He addresses consolatory exhortations to the captive 
 people, and predicts their immediate return to the land of their fathers and the 
 future splendour and stability of the Jewish kingdom." De Wette's " Einlei- 
 tung." 
 
 The portion of the Book of Isaiah, comprising the xxxvi., xxxvii., xxxviii., 
 and xxxix. chapters, belongs to the period subsequent to the captivity. It is 
 the opinion of De Wette. that this historical section may be regarded either as 
 having been derived from the 2nd Book of Kings, or as being a later arrange- 
 ment of 2 Kings xviii. 13 to xx. 19 ; that the mystical contents and the style 
 of the language prove it to have been written at a later age than that in which 
 Isaiah lived. 
 
 Consult the works of Eichhorn, L. J. E. Justi, Bertholdt, Paulus, Gesenius, 
 Koppe. TK.
 
 104 NOTIONS OK GOD IN THE BOOKS OF 
 
 Representations of God. 
 
 Jehovah is the Creator of heaven and earth, and the pre- 
 server of man, and of everything which exists. Among 
 these Prophets, Amos inculcates this truth the most forcibly. 
 
 " For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the 
 wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that 
 maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high 
 places of the earth, Jehovah the God of hosts is his name." 
 
 Amosiv. 13. 
 
 " Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and 
 turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the 
 day dark with night : that calleth for the waters of the sea, 
 and poureth them out upon the face of the earth : Jehovah is 
 his name." Amos v. 8. 
 
 " Jehovah the God of hosts is he that toucheth the land, and 
 it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn : and it 
 shall rise up wholly like a flood ; and shall be drowned, as by 
 the flood of Egypt." Amos ix. 5. 
 
 " Surely your turning of things upside down shall be es- 
 teemed as the potter's clay : for shall the work say of him that 
 made it, He made me not ? or shall the thing framed say of 
 him that framed it, He had no understanding ? 
 
 Isaiah xxix. 16. 
 
 The prophets speak contemptuously of idols ; they regard 
 them as the work of men's hands, void of animation and 
 power; but they do not absolutely deny the existence of 
 the Gods of the heathen, though they insist upon their 
 being set aside among the Hebrews, on account of their 
 insufficiency to afford them protection. Had not the writ- 
 ings of David and Solomon clearly taught the doctrine of 
 Monotheism, some expressions of the prophets might be 
 understood as confirming the actual existence of the various 
 Gods of the surrounding nations. 
 
 " Their land also is full of idols : they worship the work of 
 their own hands, that which their own fingers have made : 
 
 " In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his 
 idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, 
 to the moles and to the bats.'' Isaiah ii. 8 and 20. 
 
 " Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of 
 silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold : thou 
 shalt cast them away." Isaiah xxx. 22. 
 
 " And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that 
 have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that
 
 ISAIAH, HOSEA, AMOS, AND MICAH. 105 
 
 mutter: should not people seek unto their God? for the living 
 to the dead ?" Isaiah viii. 19. 
 
 " Behold, Jehovah rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come 
 into Egypt : and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his pre- 
 sence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it." 
 
 Isaiah xix. 1. 
 
 " For all people will walk every one in the name of his God, 
 and we will walk in the name of Jehovah our God for ever and 
 ever." Micah iv. 5. 
 
 The King of Assyria is represented as saying 
 
 " As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and 
 whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of 
 Samaria ; shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her 
 idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?" Isaiah x. 10, 11. 
 
 All nations shall be instructed in the wisdom of Jehovah : 
 they shall become proselytes to his religion, and acknow- 
 ledge him as their God. This is to happen " in the last 
 days." 
 
 " And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the moun- 
 tain of Jehovah's house shall be established in the top of the 
 mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills ; and all nations 
 shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come 
 ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house 
 of the God of Jacob ; and he will teach us of his ways, and we 
 will walk in his paths : for out of Zion shall go forth the law, 
 and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem." 
 
 Isaiah ii. 2, 3 ; also Micah iv. 1,2. 
 
 " In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the 
 language of Canaan, and swear to the Jehovah of hosts ; one 
 shall be called the city of destruction. In that day shall there 
 be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt, and 
 a pillar at the border thereof to Jehovah. 
 
 '* And Jehovah shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyp- 
 tians shall know Jehovah in that day, and shall do sacrifice and 
 oblation ; yea they shall vow a vow unto Jehovah, aud perform 
 it." Isaiah xix. 18, 19, 21. 
 
 God is sometimes spoken of under similitudes, which are 
 in the highest degree unbecoming the divine Majesty. The 
 people of Israel are represented as the wife of Jehovah ; 
 they are instructed to call Jehovah " my husband," and he 
 betroths Israel unto himself. 
 
 " And it shall be at that day, saith Jehovah, that thou shall 
 call me Ishi OtfPN my husband) ; and shalt call me no more 
 Baali.
 
 106 NOTIONS OF GOD IN THE BOOKS OF 
 
 " And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will 
 betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in 
 loving-kindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto 
 me in faithfulness: and thou shall know." Hosea ii. 16, 19, 20. 
 
 See the three first chapters of the Book of Hosea, and the 
 commands there given by Jehovah to Hosea. 
 
 Jehovah is compared to a moth which frets a garment, 
 and to a lion which tears and destroys. 
 
 " Therefore will I be unto Ephraira as a moth, and to the 
 house of Judah as rottenness. 
 
 " For I mil be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion 
 to the house of Judah : I, even I, will tear and go away ; I will 
 take away, and none shall rescue him." Hosea v. 12 and 14. 
 
 Character and Attributes of God. 
 
 Jehovah is full of wisdom and understanding. His attri- 
 butes are omniscience, justice, goodness, and mercy. 
 
 " This also cometh from the Jehovah of hosts, which is won- 
 derful in counsel, and excellent in working." 
 
 Isaiah xxviii. 29. 
 
 " Therefore will Jehovah wait that he may be gracious unto 
 you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy 
 upon you: for Jehovah is a God of judgment : blessed are all 
 they that wait for him." Isaiah xxx. 18. 
 
 " He also is wise. 1 ' Isaiah xxxi. 2. 
 
 " Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and 
 passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage ? 
 he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in 
 mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us ; 
 he will subdue our iniquities ; and thou wilt cast all their sins 
 into the depths of the sea." Micah vii. 18, 19. 
 
 Many unworthy representations of the character of God 
 are given in the Prophets. Jehovah is passionate and re- 
 vengeful, and his anger endureth for ever. 
 
 " O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their 
 hand is mine indignation." Isaiah x. 5. 
 
 " For the indignation of Jehovah is upon all nations, and his 
 fury upon all their armies : he hath utterly destroyed them, he 
 hath delivered them to the slaughter. 
 
 " For it is the day of Jehovah's vengeance, and the year of 
 recompences for the controversy of Zion. And the streams 
 thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into 
 brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. 
 It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof
 
 ISAIAH, HOSKA, AMOS, AND MICAH. 107 
 
 shall go up for ever : from generation to generation it shall lie 
 waste ; none shall pass through it for ever and ever." 
 
 Isaiah xxxiv. 2, 8-10. 
 
 Jehovah repents, and, however greatly enraged he may 
 be, allows himself to be moved by intercession. 
 
 " Jehovah repented for this : It shall not be, saith. Jehovah. 
 
 " Then said I, O Jehovah God, cease, I beseech thee : by 
 whom shall Jacob arise ? for he is small. And Jehovah re- 
 pented for this : this also shall not be, saith Jehovah God." 
 
 Amos vii. 3, 5, 6. 
 
 Jehovah swears by himself when he wishes to confirm a 
 promise or declaration. 
 
 " Jehovah God hath sworn by his holiness." Amos iv. 2. 
 
 " Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to 
 Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the 
 day of old." Micah vii. 20. 
 
 Jehovah hardens men's hearts and blinds their under- 
 standings, in order that they may not obey the truth, lest 
 they be converted and healed. 
 
 " Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears 
 heavy, and shut their eyes ; lest they see with their eyes, and 
 hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and con- 
 vert, and be healed." Isaiah vi. 1 0. 
 
 " Jehovah hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, 
 and hath closed your eyes : the prophets and your rulers, the 
 seers hath he covered." Isaiah xxix. 10. 
 
 Government and Providence of God. 
 
 Jehovah is the Governor of the whole earth. He is the 
 Disposer of all events. All nations are under the guidance 
 of his providence. This more general view of God's govern- 
 ment does not supersede the ever-enduring belief that 
 J ehovah is the protecting Deity of the Hebrews ; that Israel 
 is his peculiar people, the especial object of his protection. 
 The passages in which this relation of Jehovah to his people 
 are expressed are too numerous to be quoted. 
 
 See Isaiah i. 4-24, viii. 13, xii. 4-6, xxx. 26-29, xxxiii. 22 ; 
 Amosm. 2 ; Hosea i. 2 ; Micah iv. 5. 
 
 Jehovah is in heaven. He is represented as sitting like an 
 earthly monarch upon a high throne. He is clothed in a 
 long flowing robe, whose train fills the whole heavenly
 
 108 NOTIONS OF GOD IN THE BOOKS OF 
 
 temple, and seraphs stand around him, and worship with 
 fearful adoration. 
 
 " I saw also Jehovah sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, 
 and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphiras : 
 each one had six wings ; with twain he covered his face, and 
 with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And 
 one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah 
 of hosts: the whole earth ufull of his glory." Isaiah vi. 1-3. 
 
 But Jehovah has likewise his dwelling-place among his 
 people on his holy hill of Zion. There he manifests himself, 
 and thence gives laws, and declares judgments. He reigns 
 in Zion and in Jerusalem. 
 
 " Behold I and the children whom Jehovah hath given me 
 are for signs and for wonders in Israel from Jehovah of hosts, 
 which dwelleth in Mount Zion." Isaiah viii. 18. 
 
 " Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, 
 when Jehovah of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and in Jeru- 
 salem, and before his ancients, gloriously.'' Isaiah xxiv. 23. 
 
 " Jehovah will roar from Zion and utter his voice from Jeru- 
 salem." Amos i. 2. 
 
 " Hear, all ye people ; hearken, O earth, and all that therein 
 is: and let Jehovah God be witness against you, Jehovah from 
 his holy temple. For behold Jehovah cometh forth out of his 
 place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the 
 earth." Micah i. 2, 3. 
 
 Jehovah is ever active, and whatever happens upon earth 
 is the effect of his agency. He brings to nought the devices 
 of men. 
 
 " Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought ; speak 
 the word, and it shall not stand : for God is with us." 
 
 Isaiah viii. 10. 
 
 The armies of the different nations are instruments in the 
 hand of Jehovah, employed by him to chastise his own people 
 when they have rebelled against him. But if, when his pur- 
 pose has been effected, the conquerors become arrogant, and 
 ascribe their success to their own strength and prudence, 
 they in their turn are immediately punished by Jehovah. 
 Thus are the calamities and defeats of the heathen also re- 
 garded as the consequences of the will and power of the God 
 of Israel. 
 
 " O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their 
 hand is mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocriti- 
 cal nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give
 
 ISAIAH, HOSEA, AMOS, AND MICAH. 10'J 
 
 him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to 
 tread them down like the mire of the streets. Howbeit he 
 meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so ; but it is in his 
 heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few. 
 
 " Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when Jehovah hath 
 performed his whole work upon Mount Zion, and on Jerusalem, 
 I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, 
 and the glory of his high looks. 
 
 " Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth there- 
 with ? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh 
 it ? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, 
 or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood." 
 Isaiah x. 6-7, 12 and 15. 
 
 " For the indignation of Jehovah z'supon all nations, and his 
 fury upon all their armies : he hath utterly destroyed them, he 
 hath delivered them to the slaughter." Isaiah xxxiv. 2. 
 
 Jehovah rewards the fidelity of his people with national 
 prosperity, and the righteousness of individuals with tempo- 
 ral blessings. His punishments are national calamities and 
 personal afflictions. 
 
 " The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; be- 
 cause they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, 
 broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse de- 
 voured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate : 
 therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men 
 left." Isaiah xxiv. 5,6. 
 
 " And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your 
 cities, and want of bread in all your places : yet have ye not re- 
 turned unto me, saith Jehovah. And also I have withholden 
 the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the 
 harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not 
 to rain upon another city." Amos iv. 6, 7. 
 
 " Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him : for 
 they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe unto the wicked ! 
 it shall be ill with him : for the reward of his hands shall be 
 given him." Isaiah iii. 10, 11. 
 
 " The ways of Jehovah are right, and the just shall walk in 
 them : but the transgressors shall fall therein." Hosea xiv. 10. 
 
 " Shall there be evil in a city, and Jehovah hath not done 
 it?'' Amos iii. 6. 
 
 Jehovah makes known his will through the mouths of his 
 prophets, who speak that which they are inspired to say by 
 the spirit of Jehovah. They generally preface their exhorta- 
 tions and announcements to the people with, " Thus saith 
 Jehovah/' or, " By the command of Jehovah."
 
 110 NOTIONS OF GOD IN THE BOOKS OF 
 
 " Surely Jehovah God will do nothing, but he revealeth his 
 secret unto his servants the prophets." Amos iii. 7. 
 
 " Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets ; I have slain 
 them by the words of my mouth : and thy judgments are as the 
 light that goeth forth." Hosea vi. 5. 
 
 " I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied 
 visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets." 
 Hosea xii. 1 0. 
 
 Jehovah answers and instructs his prophets by means of 
 dreams and visions. 
 
 " Thus saith Jehovah concerning the prophets that make my 
 people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace ; and he 
 that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war 
 against him : therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall 
 not have a vision ; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall 
 not divine ; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and 
 the day shall be dark over them. Then shall the seers be 
 ashamed, and the diviners confounded : yea, they shall all cover 
 their lips ; for there is no answer of God.'' Micah iii. 5-7. 
 
 Those persons who possess any unusual attainments, or 
 who are particularly wise and good, are animated by the 
 spirit of Jehovah. 
 
 " The spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him, the spirit of wis- 
 dom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spi- 
 rit of knowledge and the fear of Jehovah. And shall make him 
 quick of understanding in the fear of Jehovah : and he shall not 
 judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hear- 
 ing of his ears." Isaiah ix. 2, 3. 
 
 " In that day shall Jehovah of hosts be for a crown of glory, 
 and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people, 
 and for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, 
 and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate." 
 
 Isaiah xxviii. 5, 6. 
 
 " But truly I am full of power by the spirit of Jehovah, and of 
 judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgres- 
 sion, and to Israel his sin." Micah iii. 8. 
 
 These prophets agree in encouraging the people to greater 
 spirituality, and in teaching that inward purity, and the ob- 
 servance of the moral law, are more acceptable to Jehovah 
 than a mere external worship of forms and observances, of- 
 ferings and sacrifices. 
 
 " To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto 
 me ? saith Jehovah ; I am full of the burnt oiferings of rams,
 
 ISAIAH, HOSEA, AMOS, AND MIC AH. Ill 
 
 and the fat of fed beasts ; and I delight not in the blood of bul- 
 locks, or of lambs, or of he goats. 
 
 " Wash you, make you clean ; put away the evil of your 
 doings from before mine eyes ; cease to do evil ; learn to do 
 well ; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the father- 
 less, plead for the widow.'' Isaiah i. 11, 16, 17. 
 
 " Wherefore Jehovah said, Forasmuch as this people draw 
 near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but 
 have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me 
 is taught by the precept of men : Therefore, behold, I will pro- 
 ceed to do a marvellous work among this people.'' 
 
 Isaiah xxix. 13, 14. 
 
 " I hate, I despise your feast days, and 1 will not smell in your 
 solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and 
 your meat offerings, I will not accept them : neither will I re- 
 gard 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 righteous- 
 ness as a mighty stream." Amos v. 21-24. 
 
 " For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice ; and the knowledge 
 of God more than burnt offerings." Hnsea vi. 6. 
 
 " Wherewith shall I come before Jehovah, and bow myself 
 before the high God ? Shall I come before him with burnt offer- 
 ings, with calves of a year old? Will Jehovah be pleased with 
 thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil ? Shall 
 I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body 
 for the sin of my soul ? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is 
 good ; and what doth Jehovah require of thee, but to do justly, 
 and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God ?" 
 
 Micah vi. 6-8.
 
 112 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 NOTIONS CONCERNING GOD CONTAINED IN THE WRITINGS OF 
 THOSE PROPHETS WHO LIVED IMMEDIATELY BEFORE, OR 
 DURING THE CAPTIVITY. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 The Book of Jonah. 
 
 JONAH is the subject, and not the author, of the book which 
 bears his name. He lived in the reign of the second Jero- 
 boam ; but the Book of Jonah, judging from the internal 
 evidence afforded by its language, and the opinions con- 
 tained in it, could not have been written till considerably 
 later. We are inclined to believe that it was composed by 
 an Israelite during the Babylonian exile. This book has 
 been too literally interpreted : it has been looked upon as a 
 record of history rather than as a tale ; it has, consequently, 
 been the occasion of great offence, and has excited much 
 unjust ridicule. The narrative has a moral tendency. It is 
 an apologue ; a moral poem, either founded in truth, or 
 altogether fictitious. The intention of the author appears 
 to us to be, to combat a prejudice which prevailed universally 
 among his countrymen. He endeavours, by means of a fic- 
 tion, to oppose the existing notion that Jehovah is the pro- 
 tector and preserver of Israel, exclusive of all the remaining 
 inhabitants of the earth, and to inculcate his own belief that 
 Jehovah is the God of all men, and is merciful alike to all 
 his creatures. If it be not admitted that such is the object 
 of the writer, it will not be denied that this Jewish prejudice 
 is strongly assailed in the Book of Jonah. It cannot be 
 matter of surprise that the Hebrews should have held all 
 foreign nations in the utmost contempt, and that they should 
 have indulged the most malignant feelings towards them. 
 Such, indeed, was the natural effect of the selfish and exclu-
 
 NOTIONS ENTERTAINED BY THE PROPHETS. 113 
 
 sive faith in which they were educated, and the system of 
 polity under which they lived. Taught to believe that 
 Jehovah is a jealous God jealous of the gods of the 
 heathen; the Israelite, consequently, regarded the wor- 
 shippers of these gods as the enemies of Jehovah, and as 
 the objects of his hatred and vengeance. 
 
 Representations of God. 
 Jehovah is the Creator of heaven and earth. 
 
 " I am an Hebrew ; and I fear Jehovah the God of heaven, 
 which hath made the sea, and the dry land." Jonah i. 9. 
 
 The declaration of the universal government of God is 
 accompanied by the most decided denial of the reality of any 
 other God. 
 
 "They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy." 
 
 Chap. ii. 8. 
 
 The expression lying vanity is equivalent to, a nonentity ; 
 a thing that has neither life nor power. How could a He- 
 brew express himself more forcibly respecting the nothing- 
 ness of idols, and the worthlessness of the worship paid to 
 them? 
 
 Jonah is in a ship going to Tarshish, when a violent storm 
 arises. The mariners in the vessel cry to their own God, 
 and the ship- master awakens Jonah, and desires him to cry 
 to his God : but as soon as the sailors perceive the superior 
 power of Jehovah, they fear him exceedingly, and offer a 
 sacrifice to him. 
 
 " Wherefore they cried unto Jehovah, and said, We beseech 
 thee, O Jehovah, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this 
 man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood : for thou, O 
 Jehovah, hast done as it pleased thee. So they took up Jonah 
 and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her 
 raging. Then the men feared Jehovah exceedingly, and offered 
 a sacrifice unto Jehovah, and made vows." Chap. i. 14-16. 
 
 Jehovah rules the wind and the weather ; he raises and 
 calms the storm ; he creates the worm and the plant. Though 
 the author of the fiction represents every wonderful event 
 as the immediate work of Jehovah, we can always trace his 
 abiding conviction that Jehovah is the God of the creation, 
 and the sustaining influence of all that exists.
 
 114 NOTIONS ENTERTAINED BY THE PROPHETS 
 
 " Jehovah sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was 
 a mighty tempest." Chap. i. 4. 
 
 " And Jehovah God prepared a gourd, and made it to come 
 up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to 
 deliver him from his grief. But God prepared a worm when 
 the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it 
 withered." Chap. iv. 6, 7. 
 
 Attributes of God. 
 
 Jehovah is everywhere, he knows all things, and is all- 
 powerful. Jonah foolishly imagines that he can escape from 
 the presence of Jehovah ; regarding him as a national-God, 
 he circumscribes his power within the limits of Palestine. 
 Jehovah proves to him that his power is universal ; he pursues 
 the fleeing Jonah, and raises a mighty tempest. Jehovah 
 is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kind- 
 ness. 
 
 " Thou art a gracious God, and merciful ; slow to anger, and 
 of great kindness." Chap. iv. 2. 
 
 But he is represented as repenting him of the evil, as if 
 he punished in anger. 
 
 " Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away 
 from his fierce anger, that we perish not? And God saw their 
 works, that they turned away from their evil way ; and God 
 repented of the evil that he had said he would do unto them, 
 and he did it not." Chap. iii. 9, 10. 
 
 The Providence of God. 
 
 Jehovah is not merely the God of the Jews ; he is the 
 God of all men, and has mercy on all his creatures. This is 
 the prominent idea throughout the book. God sends a 
 prophet to the heathen city of Nineveh. The ignorant and 
 hard-hearted Jonah, who was an Israelite, and shared the 
 prejudices of his country, cannot believe that God cares 
 for the heathen, or seeks their amendment ; far less that he 
 should send a divine messenger to them. Jonah, on the 
 contrary, would willingly have pronounced a curse against 
 the heathen city, and would have rejoiced in its fulfilment. 
 He is very angry when he finds his threatenings remain 
 unaccomplished. He sits under a booth in the shade to 
 " see what would become of the city." God prepares a gourd
 
 BEFORE OR DURING THE CAPTIVITY. 115 
 
 for a shadow over his head : when it is eaten the next day by 
 a worm, Jonah sits under a burning sun still watching the 
 city, to see what will become of it, till he faints with the 
 heat ; and, finding that it is not destroyed as he anticipated 
 and desired, in his anger and mortification he wishes to die, 
 and he receives this reproof from Jehovah: 
 
 " Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast 
 not laboured, neither madest it grow ; which came up in a 
 night, and perished in a night: and should not I spare 
 Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thou- 
 sand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and 
 their left hand ; and also much cattle?" Chap. iv. 10, 11. 
 
 Here is the thought that God is the Creator of the many 
 inhabitants of Nineveh, and that as such, he regards them, 
 also, as objects of his watchfulness, and consideration, and 
 desires, and provides for their welfare and amelioration.* 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 The Books of the Prophets Joel, Obadiah, Nahum, Habakkuk, 
 and Zephaniah. 
 
 But a few fragments of the writings of these prophets 
 have been transmitted to us. The notions of a theocracy 
 predominate in them. 
 
 Representations of God. 
 
 Jehovah is regarded as the peculiar Deity of the Jews, 
 rather than as the universal Father. The prevalent ideas 
 contained in these books may be seen by a few quotations : 
 
 " And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and 
 that I am Jehovah your God, and none else : and my people 
 shall never be ashamed." Joel ii. 27. 
 
 " The King of Israel, even Jehovah, is in the midst of thee. 
 
 " Jehovah thy God in the midst of thee is mighty ; he will 
 save, he will rejoice over thee with joy.'' Zephaniah iii. 15, 17. 
 
 * Nachtigall thus writes of the Book of Jonah:" In this book we can 
 " discern the writer's perception of that great truth which was first placed in a 
 " clear and true light by Christ: that God is the God of all men, and that his 
 ' kind Providence is extended equally over all his creatures ; that he has no 
 " exclusive regard for the Jews, but that there are also good and right-thinking 
 " people among the heathen, whom God deems worthy of his love."
 
 11G NOTIONS ENTERTAINED BY THE PROPHETS 
 
 These prophets use figurative language in reference to 
 Jehovah, which is derogatory and degrading, and which 
 clearly proves how human a Deity they figured to themselves. 
 See, for instance, Nahum iii. 4-6. 
 
 Character and Attributes of God. 
 
 Jehovah is holy and just. He cannot endure the sight of 
 wickedness. 
 
 " Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not 
 look on iniquity : wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal 
 treacherously, and boldest thy tongue when the wicked devour- 
 eth the man that is more righteous than he?" Habak. i. 13. 
 
 He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and unwilling 
 to punish his people. He threatens them in order to frighten 
 them into obedience, and as soon as they turn again to his 
 worship, Jehovah repents him of the evil he meditated to do 
 unto them. 
 
 " Turn unto Jehovah your God : for he is gracious and mer- 
 ciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentethhim of 
 the evil." Joel ii. 13. 
 
 Jehovah is jealous ; he is likewise furious and revengeful 
 towards his enemies, that is, the enemies of his people. The 
 prophecies of Obadiah consist of denunciations of the divine 
 vengeance upon the Tdumeans, for their offences against the 
 Jews, and the Book of Nahum is almost wholly occupied with 
 God's threatened vengeance upon the Assyrians. The sub- 
 ject of the Book of Habakkuk is God's punishment of the 
 Jews by the Chaldeans, and the subsequent annihilation of 
 the Chaldeans. 
 
 " Shall I not in that day, saith Jehovah, even destroy the wise 
 men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau? 
 And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end 
 that every one of the mount of Esau may be cutoff by slaughter. 
 
 " And the house of J acob shall be a fire, and the house of 
 Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall 
 kindle in them, and devour them ; and there shall not be any 
 remaining of the house of Esau ; for Jehovah hath spoken it." 
 
 Obadiah, verses 8, 9, 18. 
 
 " God is jealous, and Jehovah revengeth ; Jehovah revengeth 
 and is furious ; Jehovah will take vengeance on his adversaries, 
 and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.' 1 Nahum i. 2.
 
 BEFORE OR DURING THE CAPTIVITY. 117 
 
 " Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder 
 marvellously : for / will work a work in your days, which ye will 
 not believe, though it be told you. For, lo, I raise up the Chal- 
 deans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through 
 the breadth of the land, to possess the dwelling-places that are 
 not theirs.'' 
 
 " Art not thou from everlasting, O Jehovah my God, mine 
 Holy One ? We shall not die. O Jehovah, thou hast ordained 
 them for judgment; and O mighty God, thou hast established 
 them for correction." Habak. i. 5, 6, 12. 
 
 But as soon as the Chaldeans have corrected God's people, 
 God's judgment and indignation fall upon the Chaldeans 
 for what they have done. See the whole of chap. ii. 
 
 " Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and 
 awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto 
 them? Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the rem- 
 nant of the people shall spoil thee ; because of men's blood, and 
 for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell 
 therein." Habak. ii. 7, 8. 
 
 " Thou (Jehovah) didst march through the land in indigna- 
 tion, thou didst thresh the heathen in anger." Habak. iii. 12. 
 
 " I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the 
 children of Ammon, whereby they have reproached my people, 
 and magnified themselves against their border. Therefore as I 
 live, saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall 
 be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even 
 the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation : 
 the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of 
 my people shall possess them. This shall they have for their 
 pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves 
 against the people of Jehovah of hosts." Zephan. ii. 8-10. 
 
 Government and Providence of God. 
 
 In these Books the government and providence of Jehovah 
 are most conspicuously displayed in the promised blessings 
 to his chosen people ; in the punishments inflicted on them 
 on account of their sins ; and in the fearful vengeance with 
 which he threatens to pursue those heathen nations, which 
 have been the enemies of the Jews, especially those by whom 
 they have been subjugated. Each of these prophets close 
 their writings with predictions of the future prosperity and 
 greatness of the Jewish kingdom. A comparison of the con- 
 cluding chapters of each Book will show how confidently the
 
 118 NOTIONS ENTERTAINED BY THE PROPHETS 
 
 prophets of Jehovah expected that the Babylonian captivity 
 should be succeeded by a season of great prosperity, and that 
 the Jewish kingdom should be larger than at any previous 
 period of its history, and that Jehovah should thus manifest 
 his glory to the heathen. % 
 
 Scarcity and famine are the punishments of Jehovah. Ze- 
 phaniah and Habakkuk regard the attack of the Chaldeans 
 and the subsequent exile of the Jews, as punishments from 
 Jehovah on account of the sins of his people, but especially 
 for their idolatry. 
 
 Calamities are to be averted and sins atoned by repent- 
 ance and fasting, weeping and mourning. In the Book of 
 Joel the people are called upon to sanctify a fast, and to turn 
 unto Jehovah, and to cry unto him, that he may no longer 
 visit them with locusts and dearth. 
 
 " Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders 
 and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of Jehovah 
 your God, and cry unto Jehovah." Joel i. 14. 
 
 " Therefore also now, saith Jehovah, turn ye even to me with 
 all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with 
 mourning : and rend your heart, and not your garments, and 
 turn unto Jehovah your God." Joel ii. 12, 13. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah. 
 
 Representations of God. 
 
 Jehovah is the only God; he is the Creator of heaven and 
 earth ; he hath fixed the course of the sun, and of the stars, 
 according to wise and immutable laws ; he is also the ruler 
 and sustainer of everything which exists. 
 
 " Jehovah is the true God, he is the living God, and an ever- 
 lasting king : at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the na- 
 tions shall not be able to abide his indignation." 
 
 " He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established 
 the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by 
 his discretion. When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude 
 of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend 
 from the ends of the earth ; he maketh lightnings with rain, 
 And bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures." 
 
 Jerem. chap. x. 10, 12, 13.
 
 BEFORE OR DURING THE CAPTIVITY. 119 
 
 " I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon 
 the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, 
 and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me." 
 
 Chap, xxvii. 5. 
 
 " Fear ye not me ? saith Jehovah : will ye not tremble at my 
 presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea 
 by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it : and though the 
 waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail ; though 
 they roar, yet can they not pass over it?" Chap. v. 22. 
 
 " Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can 
 cause rain ? or can the heavens give showers ? art not thou he, 
 O Jehovah our God ? therefore we will wait upon thee : for thou 
 hast made all these things." Chap. xiv. 22. 
 
 The gods of the heathen, to whose worship the Jews were 
 so addicted, are vain : they have neither life nor breath ; 
 they are senseless idols, carved by the hand of the sculptor. 
 Jeremiah speaks of the continual idolatry of the Jews, as a 
 shame and a reproach to them. They not only build nu- 
 merous altars to these vain gods, and sacrifice to them the 
 first fruits of their flocks and their herds, but they even 
 slaughter their sons and their daughters, making them pass 
 through the fire, to Moloch. 
 
 " Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no 
 gods ?" Chap. xvi. 20. 
 
 " Thus saith Jehovah, What iniquity have your fathers found 
 in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after 
 vanity, and are become vain ? 
 
 " Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? 
 but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not 
 profit." Chap. ii. 5 and 11. 
 
 " For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith 
 Jehovah : they have set their abominations in the house which 
 is called by my name, to pollute it. And they have built the 
 high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hin- 
 nom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire ; which I 
 commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.'' 
 
 Chap. vii. 30, 31. See Chap. x. 1-10. 
 
 Attributes of God. 
 
 This only God Jehovah is omnipotent and omniscient 
 holy and just. He penetrates into the secret recesses of the 
 heart, and judges righteously. 
 
 " Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O Jehovah ;
 
 120 NOTIONS ENTERTAINED BY THE PROPHETS 
 
 thou art great, and thy name is great in might. Who would not 
 fear thee, O King of nations ? for to thee doth it appertain : for- 
 asmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their 
 kingdoms, there is none like unto thee." Chap. x. 6, 7. 
 
 " Ah, Jehovah God ! behold, thou hast made the heaven and 
 the earth by thy great power and stretched-out arm, and there 
 is nothing too hard for thee : thou shewest loving-kindness unto 
 thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the 
 bosom of their children after them : the Great, the Mighty God, 
 Jehovah of hosts is his name, great in counsel, and mighty in 
 work : for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of 
 men : to give every one according to his ways, and according to 
 the fruit of his doings." Chap, xxxii. 17-19. 
 
 " But thou, O Jehovah, knowestme: thou hast seen me, and 
 tried mine heart towards thee." Chap. xii. 3. 
 
 " Am I a God at hand, saith Jehovah, and not a God afar off? 
 can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him ? 
 saith Jehovah. Do not I fill heaven and earth ? saith Jeho- 
 vah." Chap, xxiii. 23, 24. 
 
 But Jehovah is also a God who is transported with passion, 
 and who thirsts for vengeance. He fights against his own 
 people in his fury. 
 
 " Behold, a whirlwind of Jehovah is gone forth in fury, even a 
 grievous whirlwind : it shall fall grievously upon the head of the 
 wicked. The anger of Jehovah shall not return, until he have 
 executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: 
 in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly." 
 
 Chap, xxiii. 19, 20. 
 
 " And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched 
 hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in 
 great wrath." Chap. xxi. 5. 
 
 See also Chap. iv. 26 ; vi. 15. 
 
 Government and Providence of God. 
 
 The Jewish people are governed by Jehovah ; the destiny 
 of all the kingdoms of the earth is likewise under his con- 
 trol. He is styled " King of nations,"* but his power is 
 most frequently exerted upon the heathen to pluck them up, 
 to pull them down, and to destroy them. According to all 
 these prophets, it is the object of Jehovah to crush the 
 heathen and to exalt his own peculiar people. The only 
 means by which other nations can become prosperous and 
 
 * Jerem. x. 7.
 
 UEFORE OR DURING THE CAPTIVITY. 121 
 
 happy is the adoption of the worship of Jehovah, the acknow- 
 ledging him to be their God : then will he protect them, and 
 save them from destruction. Jeremiah predicts that many 
 lands will embrace the Jewish religion, and that ultimately 
 all nations shall be gathered to Jerusalem, and shall there 
 worship before the throne of Jehovah. 
 
 " At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and 
 concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to 
 destroy it; if that nation, against whom I have pronounced, 
 turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to 
 do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning 
 a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it ; 
 if it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will 
 repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them." 
 
 Chap, xviii. 7-10. 
 
 " And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them 
 out I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring 
 them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his 
 land. And it it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn 
 the ways of my people, to swear by my name, Jehovah liveth ; 
 as they taught my people to swear by Baal ; then shall they be 
 built in the midst of my people. But if they will not obey, I 
 will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith Jehovah." 
 
 Chap. xii. 15-17. 
 
 " At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of 
 Jehovah, and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the 
 name of Jehovah to Jerusalem : neither shall they walk any 
 more after the imagination of their evil heart." Chap. iii. 17. 
 
 From the beginning of the book to the end, Jeremiah 
 teaches that wars, subjection to the enemy, capture, annihi- 
 lation of states, &c., are punishments inflicted by Jehovah. 
 In nearly all his predictions he foretells the invasion of 
 the Chaldeans and the destruction of the Jewish nation, on 
 account of the immoralities of the people, of the false pro- 
 phets, of the king, and of his ministers. We might quote 
 the whole book in confirmation of this. 
 
 " Jehovah said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break 
 forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. For, lo, I will call 
 all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith Jehovah ; 
 and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at 
 the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the 
 walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah. 
 And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their 
 wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense
 
 122 NOTIONS ENTERTAINED BY THE PROPHKTS 
 
 unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own 
 hands." Chap. i. 14-16. 
 
 " Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of 
 Israel, saith Jehovah : it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient 
 nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither 
 understandest what they say. 
 
 " And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore 
 doeth Jehovah our God all these things unto us ? then shalt 
 thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served 
 strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land 
 that is not yours." Chap. v. 15 and 19. 
 
 " And thou, Pashur, and all that dwell in thine house shall 
 go into captivity : and thou shalt come to Babylon, and there 
 thou shalt die, and shalt be buried there, thou, and all thy 
 friends, to whom thou hast prophesied lies." Chap. xx. 6. 
 
 The captivity is to be succeeded by the return of the 
 Jews to their own land. Jehovah promises that he will 
 make an everlasting covenant with them, and that he will 
 not turn away from them, to do them good : that the Jewish 
 kingdom shall be one of great splendour, and that, as long 
 as the covenant of day and night endures, so long shall a 
 man of the line of David sit upon the throne of the house of 
 Israel. 
 
 " Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel, concerning this city, 
 whereof ye say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of 
 Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence ; 
 behold I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have 
 driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath ; 
 and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them 
 to dwell safely : and they shall be my people, and I will be 
 their God : and I will give them one heart, and one way, that 
 may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their chil- 
 dren after them : and I will make an everlasting covenant with 
 them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good ; 
 but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart 
 from me. Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and 
 I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart 
 and with my whole soul. For thus saith Jehovah, Like as I 
 have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring 
 upon them all the good that I have promised them. And 
 fields shall be bought in this land, whereof ye say, It is desolate 
 without man or beast ; it is given into the hand of the Chal- 
 deans. Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe evi- 
 dences, and seal them, and take witnesses in the land of Ben- 
 jamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of
 
 BEFORE OR DURING THE CAPTIVITY. 123 
 
 Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of 
 the valley, and in the cities of the south : for I will cause their 
 captivity to return, saith Jehovah." Chap xxxii. 36-44. 
 
 " For thus saith Jehovah, David shall never want a man to 
 sit upon the throne of the house of Israel ; neither shall the 
 priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offer- 
 ings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually. 
 Thus saith Jehovah, If ye can break my covenant of the day, 
 and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day 
 and night in their season ; then may also my covenant be broken 
 with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign 
 upon his throne ; and with the Levites the priests, my minis- 
 ters. As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the 
 sand of the sea measured : so will I multiply the seed of David 
 my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me. Moreover 
 the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah, saying, Considerest 
 thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two families 
 which Jehovah hath chosen, he hath even cast them off? thus 
 they have despised my people, that they should be no more a 
 nation before them. Thus saith Jehovah ; If my covenant be 
 not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordi- 
 nances of heaven and earth ; then will I cast away the seed of 
 Jacob, and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his 
 seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob : 
 for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on 
 them." Chap, xxxiii. 17-26. 
 
 When the Chaldeans shall have accomplished the designs 
 of Jehovah in punishing his rebellious and idolatrous people, 
 the kingdom of Babylon shall become a perpetual desola- 
 tion. Jeremiah was a distinguished individual of the chosen 
 race; it was therefore natural that he should regard the 
 heathen with contempt, and believe them to be doomed to 
 destruction. 
 
 " O Jehovah, correct me but with judgment ; not in thine 
 anger, lest thou bring me to nothing. Pour out thy fury upon 
 the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call 
 not on thy name : for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured 
 him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation deso- 
 late." Chap, x. 24, 25. 
 
 " Thus saith Jehovah against all mine evil neighbours, that 
 touch the inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to 
 inherit ; Behold, I will pluck them out of their land, and pluck 
 out the house of Judah from among them." Chap. xii. 14. 
 
 " And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accom- 
 plished, that 1 will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation,
 
 124 . NOTIONS ENTERTAINED BY THE PROPHETS 
 
 saith Jehovah, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chal- 
 deans, and will make it perpetual desolations." 
 
 Chap. xxv. 12. 
 
 The relation between God and his people, between man 
 and his Maker, is still represented, even by Jeremiah, under 
 the form of a covenant. " Jehovah will perform the oath 
 which he sware unto the fathers." 
 
 " Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel; Cursed be the man 
 that obeyeth not the words of this covenant, which I commanded 
 your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the 
 land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, 
 and do them, according to all which I command you : so shall 
 ye be my people, and I will be your God : that I may perform 
 the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a 
 land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then 
 answered I, and said, So be it, O Jehovah." Chap. xi. 3-5. 
 
 Jehovah sends his prophets to make known his will to his 
 people. These prophets are inspired by him. His word in 
 their hearts is " as a burning fire," which they cannot forbear 
 to utter. Sometimes Jehovah communicates his designs in 
 visions and dreams. But besides these prophets of Jehovah, 
 there are also false prophets in Israel, who, though uninspired, 
 speak in the name of Jehovah, and profess to have received 
 revelations from him in visions and dreams. 
 
 " O Jehovah, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived : 
 thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed : I am in derision 
 daily, every one mocketh me. For since I spake, I cried out, 
 I cried violence and spoil : because the word of Jehovah was 
 made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily. Then I said, 
 I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his 
 name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut 
 up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could 
 not stay." Chap. xx. 7-9. 
 
 " The word which came unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, when 
 king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and 
 Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying, Enquire, I 
 pray thee, of Jehovah for us ; for Nebuchadrezzar king of 
 Babylon maketh war against us ; if so be that Jehovah will deal 
 with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up 
 from us." Chap. xxi. 1, 2. 
 
 " I have heard what the prophets said, that prophecy lies in 
 my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. How long
 
 BEFORE OR DURING THE CAPTIVITY. 125 
 
 shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies ? 
 yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart." 
 
 Chap, xxiii. 25, 26. 
 See chap. i. 1 1-13 ; chap. vii. 25. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel. 
 
 The prophecies and visions of Ezekiel form a large book ; 
 but the religious, and moral instruction, which may be ga- 
 thered from its pages, is very scanty. Its contents are 
 chiefly political religiously political ; for among the Jews, 
 who believed themselves to be governed by Jehovah, whose 
 government was a theocracy, rather than a monarchy, reli- 
 gion and politics were intimately connected. The judg- 
 ments of God on the house of Israel, on account of the 
 idolatry of his people ; their captivity ; the desolation of 
 their kingdom ; predictions of the ruin and destruction 
 which should overtake the Chaldeans ; and prophecies of the 
 future splendour and greatness of God's people, are the sub- 
 jects which, variously wrought out by a fertile imagination, 
 occupy the entire Book. 
 
 The notions of God entertained by this prophet are strictly 
 and genuinely Judaical. 
 
 Representations of God. 
 
 Jehovah is the God of Israel. He is exceedingly enraged 
 when other Gods are worshipped and placed on an equality 
 with himself: in his wrath he rejects his own people, and 
 abandons them, for a while, to the mercy of their enemies. 
 
 " Wherefore, a* I live, saith Jehovah GOD; Surely, because 
 thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, 
 and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish 
 thee ; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any 
 pity. A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with 
 famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee : and a third 
 part shall fall by the sword round about thee ; and I will scatter 
 a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after 
 them. Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will 
 cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted : and 
 they shall know that I Jehovah have spoken it in my zeal, when 
 I have accomplished my fury in them. Moreover I will make
 
 126 NOTIONS ENTERTAINED BY THE PROPHETS 
 
 thee waste, and a reproach among the nations that are round 
 about thee, in the sight of all that pass by. So it shall be a 
 reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto 
 the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute 
 judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious re- 
 bukes." Ezek. \. 11-15. 
 
 See chap. i. 1-17 ; chap. xiv. 12-23 ; chap. xxiv. 13, 14. 
 
 From the Book of Jeremiah, and from some of the other 
 sacred writings of this period, we learn that the most en- 
 lightened among the Jews were monotheists ; but it would 
 be extremely difficult to prove, from the Book of Ezekiel, 
 that Jehovah was regarded as the only true God, by any of 
 his worshippers. 
 
 Very unsuitable representations of Jehovah are given in 
 the xvith chapter. Ezekiel, in the first chapter, relates a won- 
 derful vision, in which God appears in a human form, sitting 
 " as the appearance of a man" on a throne of sapphire. 
 
 " From the appearance of his loins even upward, and from 
 the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the 
 appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. As the 
 appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, 
 so was the appearance of the brightness round about." 
 
 Chap. i. 27, 28. 
 
 Is it not possible that in this representation Ezekiel may 
 have mingled the Chaldaic notion attributed to Zoroaster, 
 that God is the purest fire, with the earlier and more human 
 conceptions of Jehovah ? 
 
 Character of God. 
 
 Jehovah is described as loving justice and mercy, and 
 having no pleasure in the death of him that dieth ; but his 
 attribute of mercy is exerted toward his own people exclu- 
 sively. 
 
 " As I live saith Jehovah God, I have no pleasure in the 
 death of the wicked ; but that the wicked turn from his way 
 and live : turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways ; for why will ye 
 die, O house of Israel?'' Chap, xxxiii. 11. 
 
 " Yet ye say, The way of Jehovah is not equal. Hear now, 
 O house of Israel : Is not my way equal ? are not your ways 
 unequal?" Chap, xviii. 25. 
 
 Jehovah is jealous of the worship paid to heathen Gods ; 
 in his anger, he is furious.
 
 BEFORE OR DURING THE CAPTIVITY. 1'2? 
 
 " So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my jealousy 
 shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more 
 angry." Chap. xvi. 42. 
 
 Jehovah declares that it is not because he loves his rebel- 
 lious people, that it is not for their sakes, that he rescues 
 them from captivity ; but because he will be jealous for his 
 holy name, because he will set his glory among the heathen, 
 that they may know that he is Jehovah, and that his great 
 name, which the Jews had profaned, may be sanctified before 
 their eyes. 
 
 " But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of 
 Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went. 
 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith Jehovah 
 GOD ; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for 
 mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the 
 heathen, whither ye went. And I will sanctify my great name, 
 which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have pro- 
 faned in the midst of them ; and the heathen shall know that 
 I am Jehovah, saith Jehovah God, when I shall be sanctified 
 in you before their eyes.'' Chap, xxxvi. 21-23. 
 
 " And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the 
 heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my 
 hand that I have laid upon them. 
 
 " Therefore thus saith Jehovah GOD ; Now will I bring again 
 the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house 
 of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name.'' 
 
 Chap, xxxix. 21 and 25. 
 
 Government and Providence of God. 
 
 The whole Book of Ezekiel is an illustration of the Judaic 
 belief that Jehovah is the King and Governor of his people 
 Israel. He rewards and punishes them ; blesses them with 
 prosperity, and afflicts them with adversity. Ezekiel teaches, 
 (in direct opposition to the Mosaic doctrine that God will 
 visit the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third 
 and fourth generation,) that the son shall not bear the ini- 
 quity of the father : that moral conduct will ensure to the 
 individual length of days ; that the righteousness of the 
 righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the 
 wicked shall be upon him, and that the soul that sinneth he 
 shall die. The xviiith chapter is the most beautiful and the
 
 128 NOTIONS ENTERTAINED BY THE PROPHETS 
 
 most useful in the Book, but it has reference, exclusively, to 
 God's conduct towards his own people. 
 
 " Behold, all souls are mine ; as the soul of the father, so also 
 the soul of the son is mine : the soul that sinneth, it shall die. 
 But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right, 
 and hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up 
 his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel ; 
 
 " Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, 
 to deal truly ; he *is just, he shall surely live, saith Jehovah 
 God. 
 
 " Yet say ye, Why ! doth not the son bear the iniquity of the 
 father ? When the son hath done that which is lawful and 
 right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he 
 shall surely live. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son 
 shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father 
 bear the iniquity of the son : the righteousness of the righteous 
 shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be 
 upon him." Chap, xviii. 4-6, 9, 19, 20. 
 
 Amendment is not the result of man's own exertion and 
 determination to do rightly ; but it is the operation of God's 
 Spirit within him, constraining him. This doctrine is also 
 taught by St. Paul in the New Testament. 
 
 " 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 an 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" 
 
 Chap, xxxvi. 25-27. 
 
 Ezekiel agrees with the other Prophets in predicting the 
 total annihilation of those nations, who rejoiced in the cala- 
 mities of the Israelites and Jews. Jehovah will destroy 
 them, for it is against Jehovah that they " have boasted and 
 multiplied their words." 
 
 " For thus saith Jehovah GOD ; Because them hast clapped 
 thine hands, and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced in heart 
 with all thy despite against the land of Israel ; behold, there- 
 fore I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and will deliver thee 
 for a spoil to the heathen ; and I will cut thee off from the 
 people, and I will cause thee to perish out of the countries : I 
 will destroy thee ; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah."- 
 Chap. xxv. 6, 7.
 
 BEFORE OR DURING THE CAPTIVITY. 129 
 
 " Because thou hast said, These two nations and these two 
 countries shall be mine, and we will possess it ; whereas Jeho- 
 vah was there : Therefore, as I live, saith Jehovah GOD, I will 
 even do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy 
 which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them ; and I 
 will make myself known among them, when I have judged thee. 
 And thou shalt know that I am Jehovah, and that I have heard 
 all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the moun- 
 tains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us 
 to consume. Thus with your mouth ye have boasted against 
 me, and have multiplied your words against me : I have heard 
 them" Chap. xxxv. 10-15. 
 
 " Therefore thus saith Jehovah GOD ; Surely in the fire of 
 my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, 
 and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into 
 their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful 
 minds, to cast it out for a prey. Prophesy therefore concerning 
 the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, 
 to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith Jehovah GOD ; Be 
 hold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye 
 have borne the shame of the heathen : Therefore thus saith 
 Jehovah GOD ; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen 
 that are about you, they shall bear their shame." 
 
 Chap, xxxvi. 5-7. 
 
 Jehovah promises to gather his people from among the 
 heathen ; to bring them out of captivity, and to establish 
 them in their own land upon the mountains of Israel, they 
 and their children for ever. Judah and Israel shall no 
 more be two nations, nor be divided into two kingdoms, for 
 one king shall reign over them. 
 
 " Thus saith Jehovah GOD ; Behold, I will take the children 
 of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and 
 will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own 
 land : and I will make them one nation in the land upon the 
 mountains of Israel : and one king shall be king to them all: 
 and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be 
 divided into two kingdoms anymore at all: neither shall they 
 defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their de- 
 testable things, nor with any of their transgressions : but I will 
 save them out of all their dwelling-places, wherein they have 
 sinned, and will cleanse them : so shall they be my people, and 
 I will be their God. And David my servant shall be king over 
 them ; and they all shall have one shepherd ; they shall also 
 walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. 
 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob 
 
 K
 
 130 NOTIONS ENTERTAINED BY THE PKOPHKTS, &C. 
 
 my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt ; and they shall 
 dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's 
 children for ever : and my servant David shall be their prince 
 for ever.'' Chap, xxxvii. 21-25. 
 
 Jehovah enters into covenant with his people. If they 
 will worship and serve him, he engages to be their God. 
 
 " And T will establish my covenant with thee ; and thou shalt 
 know that I am Jehovah." - Chap. xvi. 62." 
 
 " Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them ; it 
 shall be an everlasting covenant with them : and I will place 
 them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst 
 of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them : 
 yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people." 
 
 Chap, xxxvii. 26, 27. 
 
 When the Prophets inquire of Jehovah he gives them a 
 divine answer. They see visions and dream dreams, and 
 the Spirit of Jehovah falls upon them. The divine influence 
 is recognised by the suddenness and vividness with which 
 inspired thoughts present themselves to the mind. The 
 Prophets, belicAdng themselves to be the subjects of divine 
 revelations, constantly preface their predictions and their 
 addresses to the people with the words : " Thus saith Je- 
 hovah," and yet more frequently with : " The word of Je- 
 hovah came unto me, saying." 
 
 " Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Also 
 thou son of man, thus saith Jehovah GOD." Chap. vii. 1, 2. 
 
 " And the Spirit of Jehovah fell upon me, and said unto me, 
 Speak ; thus saith Jehovah ; Thus have ye said, O house of 
 Israel : for I know the things that come into your mind, every 
 one of them.' 5 Chap. xi. 5. 
 
 " Thus saith Jehovah Goo ; Woe unto the foolish prophets, 
 that follow their own Spirit, and have seen nothing !"- 
 
 Chap. xiii. 3. 
 
 " Son of man, speak upon the elders of Israel, and say unto 
 them ; Thus saith Jehovah GOD ; are ye come to enquire of 
 me ? As I live, saith Jehovah GOD, I will not be enquired of by 
 you." Chap. xx. 3. 
 
 " And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a 
 thing, I Jehovah have deceived that prophet, and I will 
 stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from 
 the midst of my people Israel. And they shall bear the punish- 
 ment of their iniquity : the punishment of the prophet shall be 
 even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him." 
 
 Chap. xiv. 9, 10.
 
 131 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 NOTIONS CONCERNING GOD CONTAINED IN THE BOOKS OF LATER 
 
 PROPHETS. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 The Books of the Prophets Zechariah, Malachi, 
 and Haggai. 
 
 THERE are two striking distinctions between the writings of 
 the earlier, and the later Prophets. 1st. In the Books of those 
 Prophets who wrote before, or during the exile, no mention is 
 made of angels: they form no part of their theology;* 
 whereas, in the Books of those who wrote after the exile, 
 angels are more frequently introduced, and occupy a, more 
 prominent position in the administrations of the divine pro- 
 vidence, than in any other of the writings of the Old Testa- 
 ment. 2nd. In the Books of the later Prophets, we find no 
 farther traces of polytheism among the Jews. The religious 
 notions of the Jewish people had become purified and 
 elevated by their intercourse with the Persians ; and though 
 they never discarded their national prejudices, respecting 
 their own election, and the peculiar and exclusive relation 
 in which they stood to God, yet, after their return from 
 captivity, they never again relapsed into idolatry. 
 
 Representations of God. 
 
 Jehovah is represented as the God of the whole earth, 
 and as the Creator and Father of all men. He is also the 
 " great King " of his people, whom he treats with favour 
 and partiality. 
 
 * The angel of Jehovah is mentioned in the Book of Isaiah, chap, xxxvii. 
 On this portion of Isaiah see note at page 103. TR. 
 
 K2
 
 132 NOTIONS CONCERNING GOD 
 
 " Before Jehovah of all the earth," &c. Zech. vi. 5. 
 
 " Have we not all one father ? hath not one God created 
 us?" Mai ii. 10. 
 
 " I have loved you, saith Jehovah. Yet ye say, Wherein hast 
 thou loved us? was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith Jehovah : 
 yet ye say, I loved Jacob, and hated Esau, and laid his mountains 
 and his heritage waste, for the dragons of the wilderness. "- 
 Mai. i. 2, 3. 
 
 " I am a great King, saith Jehovah of hosts." Mai. i. 14. 
 
 Character and Attributes of God. 
 
 Jehovah knows everything. He keeps a book of remem- 
 brance in which the names of those who fear him are written. 
 The seven lamps described by Zechariah are the eyes of 
 Jehovah which run to and fro through the whole earth. 
 
 " Then they that feared Jehovah spake often one to another : 
 and Jehovah hearkened and heard it, and a book of remem- 
 brance was written before him for them that feared Jehovah, 
 and that thought upon his name." Mai. iii. 1 6. 
 
 " They are the eyes of Jehovah which run to and fro through 
 the whole earth." Zech. iv. 1 0. 
 
 We do not imagine that these metaphorical representations 
 were intended by their authors to be literally understood. 
 Jehovah is unchangeable. 
 
 " For I am Jehovah, I change not ; therefore ye sons of Jacob 
 are not consumed." Mai. iii. 6. 
 
 Jehovah is revengeful, and curses those who bring im- 
 perfect sacrifices. 
 
 " But cursed be the deceiver," &c. Mai. i. 14. 
 " Ye are cursed with a curse : for ye have robbed me, even 
 this whole nation." Mai. iii. 9. 
 
 Government and Providence of God. 
 
 Jehovah is jealous for Jerusalem. He will comfort Zion, 
 and choose Jerusalem, and his house shall be built there ; 
 and he will dwell among his people, and will be their God, 
 in truth and in righteousness. 
 
 " Thus saith Jehovah of hosts ; I am jealous for Jerusalem 
 and for Zion with great jealousy.
 
 CONTAINED IN THE BOOKS OF LATER PROPHETS. 133 
 
 " I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies : my house shall 
 be built in it, saith Jehovah of hosts, and a line shall be stretched 
 forth upon Jerusalem. Cry yet, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of 
 hosts ; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad ; 
 and Jehovah shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jeru- 
 salem.''^^, i. 14, 16, 17. 
 
 "Thus saith Jehovah of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with 
 great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury. Thus 
 saith Jehovah ; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the 
 midst of Jerusalem : and Jerusalem shall be called a city of 
 truth : and the mountain of Jehovah of hosts the holy moun- 
 tain. 
 
 "Thus saith Jehovah of hosts; Behold, I will save my people 
 from the east country, and from the west country ; and I will 
 bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem : 
 and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth 
 and in righteousness." Zech. viii. 2, 3, 7, 8. 
 
 The name of Jehovah shall be great among the heathen, 
 and incense shall be offered unto his name in every place. 
 
 " For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of 
 the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles ; and in 
 every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure 
 offering : for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith 
 Jehovah of hosts." Mai. i. 11. 
 
 And yet in the prophet Haggai the total overthrow of the 
 heathen kingdoms is predicted. 
 
 " And again the word of Jehovah came unto Haggai in 
 the four and twentieth day of the month, saying, Speak to 
 Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens 
 and the earth ; and I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, 
 and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen ; 
 and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them ; 
 and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by 
 the sword of his brother." Haggai ii. 20-22. 
 
 Jehovah rewards those who fear and honour him, but 
 they who are negligent of God's service cannot expect to be 
 favoured with the divine blessing. The principal subject of 
 the Book of the Prophet Haggai, is the rebuilding of the 
 temple of Jehovah. Jehovah calls a drought upon the land 
 because the people said, " The time is not yet come that 
 Jehovah's house should be built." From the day that they 
 lay the foundation of the temple Jehovah gives them fruitful 
 seasons and plenteous harvests. See Haggai i. 11.
 
 134 NOTIONS CONCERNING GOD 
 
 " Is the seed yet in the barn ? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig 
 tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought 
 forth : from this day will I bless you. And now, I pray you, 
 consider from this day and upward, from before a stone was laid 
 upon a stone in the temple of Jehovah. Since those days were, 
 when one came to an heap of twenty measures, there were but 
 ten : when one came to the pressfat for to draw out fifty vessels 
 out of the press, there were but twenty. I smote you with blast- 
 ing and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your 
 hands ; yet ye turned not to me, saith Jehovah. Consider now 
 from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the 
 ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of Jehovah's 
 temple was laid, consider it" Haggai ii. 15-19. 
 
 The Prophet Malachi is as intent on enforcing the observ- 
 ance of tithes and offerings, as the Prophet Haggai is on 
 urging the building of the temple. When disabled and 
 imperfect cattle are offered as sacrifices the priests are very 
 angry, and Malachi says that God is, by this means, robbed 
 in tithes and offerings. The belief that God will be grati- 
 fied by the building of a magnificent temple, and by the 
 offering of sacrifice, is quite in accordance with the religious 
 notions of this period. 
 
 " Ye said also, Behold what a weariness is it ! And ye snuffed 
 at it, saith Jehovah of hosts ; and ye brought that which was 
 torn, and the lame, and the sick ; thus ye brought an offering : 
 should I accept this of your hand ? saith Jehovah. But cursed 
 be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth,and 
 sacrificeth unto Jehovah a corrupt thing : for I am a great King, 
 saith Jehovah of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the 
 heathen." Mai. i. 13, 14. 
 
 " Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith Jehovah 
 of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return ? Will a man 
 rob God? yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have 
 we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with 
 a curse : for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring 
 ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in 
 mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith Jehovah of hosts ; 
 if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out 
 a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. 
 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not 
 destroy the fruits of your ground ; neither shall your vine cast 
 her fruit before the time in the field, saith Jehovah of hosts. 
 And all nations shall call you blessed : for ye shall be a delight- 
 some land, saith Jehovah of hosts." Mai. iii. 7-12. 
 
 The Prophet Zechariah sees many angels in visions.
 
 CONTAINED IN THE BOOKS OF LATKR PROPHETS. 135 
 
 They are in the form of men : some ride upon red, speckled, 
 and white horses, and go to and fro through the earth, to 
 see what goes forward. The angel of Jehovah, who, in the 
 first of the eight visions seen by Zechariah, stands among 
 myrtle-trees, appears many times to the Prophet, talks with 
 him, and gives him the interpretation of the allegorial repre- 
 sentations, seen by him in the visions. 
 
 " I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, 
 and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom ; 
 and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white. 
 Then said I, O my lord, what are these ? And the angel that 
 talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be, 
 And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and 
 said, These are they whom Jehovah hath sent to walk to and 
 fro through the earth. And they answered the angel of Jeho- 
 vah that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have 
 walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth 
 sitteth still, and is at rest." Zeck. i. 8-11. 
 
 " And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and 
 another angel went out to meet him, and said unto him, Run, 
 speak to this young man," &c. Zech. ii. 3, 4. 
 
 The four winds are personified. They are the four 
 spirits of the heavens, who go forth, from standing before 
 Jehovah of all the earth, into the north and south countries, 
 in four chariots drawn by different-coloured horses. 
 
 "And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, 
 behold, there came four chariots out from between two moun- 
 tains ; and the mountains were mountains of brass. In the 
 first chariot were red horses ; and in the second chariot black 
 horses ; and in the third chariot white horses ; and in the 
 fourth chariot grisled and bay horses. Then I answered and 
 said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my 
 lord ? And the angel answered and said unto me, These are 
 the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing 
 before Jehovah of all the earth. The black horses which are 
 therein go forth into the north country ; and the white go forth 
 after them ; and the grisled go forth toward the south country. 
 And the bay went forth, and sought to go that they might walk 
 to and fro through the earth : and he said, Get you hence, walk 
 to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro 
 through the earth. Then cried he upon me, and spake unto 
 me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the north country 
 have quieted my spirit in the north country." Zech. vi. 1-8. 
 
 Satan, the accuser of men, is opposed to these good angels.
 
 136 NOTIONS CONCERNING; GOD 
 
 He appears in heaven, and accuses the high priest Joshua. 
 The angel of Jehovah stands as judge. Joshua is released 
 and Satan rebuked. This whole scene appears to us to be 
 an imitation of that, in the beginning of the Book of Job, 
 where Satan comes with the sons of God to present himself 
 before Jehovah. There is a striking similarity between the 
 two. In each case Satan accuses just men, and in each 
 instance his accusation is found unjust. 
 
 " And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before 
 the angel of Jehovah, and Satan standing at his right hand to 
 resist him. And Jehovah said unto Satan, Jehovah rebuke 
 thee, O Satan ; even Jehovah that hath chosen Jerusalem re- 
 buke thee : is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now 
 Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the 
 angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood 
 before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. 
 And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to 
 pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. 
 And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they 
 set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. 
 And the angel of Jehovah stood by. And the angel of Jehovah 
 protested unto Joshua, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts ; If 
 thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, 
 then thou shall also judge my house, and shalt also keep my 
 courts, and 1 will give thee places to walk among these that 
 stand by." Zech. iii. 1-7. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 The anonymous Portion of the Book of Isaiah.* 
 
 This portion of the Book of Isaiah contains some most 
 beautiful, and poetical descriptions, of the return of God's 
 chosen people to their own land : of the joy and gladness 
 with which they come forth out of captivity : of the numerous 
 blessings their God will shower upon them : and of the 
 splendour and stability of their future kingdom. 
 
 Representations of God. 
 The representations of God arc for the most part true and 
 
 * Chap. xl. to the entl. See note, page 103.
 
 CONTAINED IN THE BOOKS OF LATER PROPHETS. 137 
 
 sublime. The divine unity is most clearly and unequivocally 
 asserted. 
 
 " Fear ye not, neither be afraid : have not I told thee from 
 that time, and have declared it $ ye are even my witnesses. 
 Is there a God beside me ? yea, there is no God : I know not 
 any. They that make a graven image are all of them vanity ; 
 and their delectable things shall not profit ; and they are their 
 own witnesses ; they see not, nor know ; that they may be 
 ashamed." Isaiah xliv. 8, 9. 
 
 "Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and 
 there is none else ; 1 am Gad, and there is none like me, de- 
 claring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the 
 things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, 
 and 1 will do all my pleasure." Chap. xlvi. 9, 10. 
 
 " Thus saith Jehovah, The heaven is my throne, and the 
 earth is my footstool : where is the house that ye build unto 
 me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things 
 hath mine hand made, and all those things have been." 
 
 Chap. Ixvi. 1, 2. 
 
 Character and Attributes of God. 
 
 The attributes of God displayed in the creation of the 
 world, are beautifully set forth. 
 
 " Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, 
 and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the 
 dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in 
 scales, and the hills in a balance? Who hath directed the 
 spirit of Jehovah, or being his counsellor, hath taught him? 
 With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and 
 taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him know- 
 ledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?" 
 
 Chap. xl. 12-14. 
 
 " For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your 
 ways my ways, saith Jehovah. For a* the heavens are higher 
 than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my 
 thoughts than your thoughts." Chap. Iv. 8, 9. 
 
 God is just but he feels fury and vengeance towards his 
 enemies. 
 
 " For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet 
 of salvation upon his bead ; and he put on the garments of 
 vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak. 
 According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his 
 adversaries, recompence to his enemies ; to the islands he will 
 repay recompence." Chap. lix. 17, 18. 
 God is merciful towards his people.
 
 138 NOTIONS CONCERNING GOD 
 
 " For a small moment have I forsaken thee ; but with great 
 mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from 
 thee for a moment; hut with everlasting kindness will 1 have 
 mercy on thee, saith Jehovah thy Redeemer." 
 
 Chap. liv. 7, 8. 
 God is a God of truth. 
 
 " That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless him- 
 self in the God of truth ; and he that sweareth in the earth 
 shall swear by the God of truth ; because the former troubles 
 are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.'' 
 
 Chap. Ixv. 16. 
 
 Government and Providence of God. 
 
 These representations appear far less just and beautiful 
 when we find the writer combining with them the belief that 
 the Almighty is the peculiar God of the Jews ; that they 
 are his people, selected by him, and called by his name. 
 God, having punished his people for their sins and idolatry, 
 proclaims by the mouth of his prophet, that their iniquity is 
 pardoned, that they shall be comforted, and that the time of 
 joy and gladness is come. 
 
 " Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak 
 ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare 
 is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned : for she hath 
 received of Jehovah's hand double for all her sins." 
 
 Chap. xl. 1, 2. 
 
 "O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the 
 high mountain ; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift 
 up thy voice with strength ; lift it up, be not afraid ; say unto 
 the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, Jehovah GOD 
 will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him : 
 behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He 
 shall feed his flock like a shepherd : he shall gather the lambs 
 with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently 
 lead those that are with young." Chap. xl. 9-11. 
 
 " But now thus saith Jehovah that created thee, O Jacob, 
 and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not : for I have re- 
 deemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. 
 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee ; 
 and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee : when thou 
 walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned ; neither 
 shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am Jehovah thy God, 
 the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour : I gave Egypt for thy 
 ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou wast precious
 
 CONTAINED IN THE BOOKS OF LATER PROPHETS. 139 
 
 in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee : 
 therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. Fear 
 not : for I am with thee : I will bring thy seed from the east, 
 and gather thee from the west ; I will say to the north, Give 
 up ; and to the south, Keep not back : bring my sons from far, 
 and my daughters from the ends of the earth ; even every one 
 that is called by my name : for I have created him for my 
 glory, I have formed him ; yea, I have made him.'' 
 
 Chap, xliii. 1-7. 
 
 Purity of heart, holiness of life, and the exercise of justice 
 and benevolence, are more pleasing in the sight of God than 
 the observance of fasts and the offering of sacrifices. 
 
 " Seek ye Jehovah while he may be found, call ye upon him 
 while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the un- 
 righteous man his thoughts ; and let him return unto Jehovah, 
 and he will have mercy on him ; to our God for he will abun- 
 dantly pardon." Chap. Iv. 6, 7. 
 
 " Is it such a fast that I have chosen ? a day for a man to 
 afflict his soul ? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to 
 spread sackcloth and ashes under him ? wilt thou call this a 
 fast, and an acceptable day to Jehovah? /* not this the fast 
 that I have chosen ? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo 
 the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye 
 break every yoke ? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, 
 and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house ? 
 when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him ; and that thou 
 hide not thyself from thine own flesh ?" Chap. Iviii. 5-7. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 The Book of Daniel. 
 
 The Book of Daniel is divided into two parts ; the earlier, 
 and the later. Though the name of Daniel became attached 
 to each (as well as to many other productions), neither part 
 is the genuine, for neither could have been written quite so 
 early as his time. 
 
 The sections comprised in the first part may, however, 
 have been composed during the existence of the Persian 
 monarchy. The second part was not written till after the 
 reign of Antiochus Epiphanes; till during the time of the 
 Maccabees.* 
 
 * See Eichhoru, Bertholdt, Bleek, DC Wette, Gescnius, Von Lengeikc. TR.
 
 140 MOTIONS CONCERNING GOD 
 
 PART THE FIRST. 
 
 Chapters I. VI. 
 Representations of God. 
 
 The Chaldeans were polytheists ; they therefore speak of 
 the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. But the 
 God of the Book of Daniel is " the God of heaven :" " the 
 Most High God." 
 
 See Daniel ii. 19; Chap. v. 1 8. 
 
 Attributes of God. 
 
 God is omnipotent, omniscient, and eternal. 
 
 " Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever : for wisdom 
 and might are his : and he changeth the times and the seasons : 
 he removeth kings and setteth up kings : he giveth wisdom unto 
 the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: he 
 revealeth the deep and secret things : he knoweth what is in the 
 darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. I thank thee, and 
 praise thee, O thou God of my fathers." Chap. ii. 20-23. 
 
 " I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him 
 that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, 
 and his kingdom is from generation to generation : and all the 
 inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing : and he doeth 
 according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the 
 inhabitants of the earth." Chap. iv. 34, 35. 
 
 Government and Providence of God. 
 
 All events are ordered by God. Kings reign by his 
 appointment, and he ruleth in the kingdoms of men. 
 
 " Till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom 
 of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will." 
 
 Chap. v.21. 
 
 " Thou, O king, art a king of kings : for the God of 
 heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and 
 glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts 
 of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine 
 hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all." 
 
 Chap. ii. 37, 38. 
 
 Wisdom and knowledge, skill and accomplishments, are 
 the immediate gifts of God. 
 
 "As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and
 
 CONTAINED IN THE BOOKS OF LATER PROPHETS. 141 
 
 skill in all learning and wisdom : and Daniel had understanding 
 in all visions and dreams." Chap. i. 17. 
 
 Among the Babylonians the interpretation of dreams was 
 regarded as a science : it formed the peculiar study of a class 
 of the learned. And consequently, the histories of dreams 
 occupy a large portion of the Book of Daniel. They are 
 represented as the suggestions or inspirations of the Al- 
 mighty ; as the principle means, employed by God, for re- 
 vealing his will to man. These dreams have a prophetic 
 signification, but their hidden meaning cannot be discovered 
 by the unassisted human reason : God only can reveal the 
 secret. 
 
 " The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There 
 is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king's matter: 
 therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things 
 at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean. And it is a rare 
 thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can 
 shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not 
 with flesh. For this cause the king was angry and very furious, 
 and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon." 
 
 " Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would 
 give him time, and that he would shew the king the interpreta- 
 tion. Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing 
 known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions; 
 that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concern- 
 ing this secret ; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish 
 with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then was the secret 
 revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed 
 the God of heaven." Chap. ii. 10-12, and 16-19. 
 
 Angels are the instruments of God's providence. An 
 angel is sent to protect the three children in the fiery 
 furnace, also to preserve Daniel when cast into the lion's 
 den. The angel is in the form of a man. 
 
 " Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, 
 and they have no hurt ; and the form of the fourth is like the 
 Son of God." 
 
 " Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, 
 who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted 
 in him." Chap. iii. 25 and 28. 
 
 "My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lion's 
 mouths." Chap. vi. 22. 
 
 These angels are called "watchers," likewise "the holy 
 ones." They are sent from heaven by God.
 
 142 NOTIONS CONCERNING GOD 
 
 " I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a 
 watcher and an holy one came down from heaven ; he cried 
 aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree. 
 
 " This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand 
 by the word of the holy ones : to the intent that the living may 
 know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and 
 giveth it to whomsever he will, and setteth up over it the basest 
 of men." Chap. iv. 13, 14, 17. 
 
 In this division of the Book of Daniel we find two notions, 
 which are new. 1 st. A prophetic voice falls from heaven. 
 2nd. Atonement for sins may be made by the exercise of 
 charity towards the poor. This idea points to yet later 
 times when almsgiving was considered highly meritorious. 
 
 " While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice 
 from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is 
 spoken ; The kingdom is departed from thee." Chap. iv. 31. 
 
 " Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, 
 and break oif thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by 
 shewing mercy to the poor ; if it may be a lengthening of thy 
 tranquillity. 1 ' Chap. iv. 27. 
 
 PART THE SECOND. 
 
 Chapters VII.-XII. 
 
 The prevailing notions of God, contained in this part of 
 the Book of Daniel, are highly Judaical ; they manifest all 
 that illiberality, which characterised the opinions of the 
 later Jews. 
 
 Representations of God. 
 
 God is the God of gods : the great and dreadful God : 
 he liveth for ever. 
 
 " And the king shall do according to his will ; and he shall 
 exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall 
 speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall 
 prosper till the indignation be accomplished." Chap. xi. 36. 
 
 " And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the 
 waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left 
 hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it 
 shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have
 
 CONTAINED IN THE BOOKS OF LATER PROPHETS. 143 
 
 accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these 
 things shall be finished." Chap. xii. 7. 
 
 He is represented as an old man sitting upon a throne, 
 his garment white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure 
 wool; his throne like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burn- 
 ing fire, and a fiery stream issuing from before him. 
 
 " I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of 
 days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of 
 his head like the pure wool : his throne was like the fiery flame, 
 and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came 
 forth from before him : thousand thousands ministered unto 
 him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him : 
 the judgment was set, and the books were opened." 
 
 Chap. vii. 9, 10. 
 
 Character and Attributes of God. 
 
 Daniel portrays the character of God in the prayer he 
 addresses to him. Towards his own people, those who love 
 him, he is just and merciful. He is dreadful to his enemies. 
 
 " I prayed unto Jehovah my God, and made my confession, 
 and said, O Jehovah the great and dreadful God, keeping the 
 covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that 
 keep his commandments. 
 
 " O Jehovah, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us 
 confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to 
 the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, 
 and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast 
 driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed 
 against thee. O Jehovah to us belongeth confusion of face, to 
 our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have 
 sinned against thee. To Jehovah our God belong mercies and 
 forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him." 
 
 Chap. ix. 4, and 7-9. 
 
 Here we find a trace of the ancient belief inculcated by 
 Moses in the Pentateuch, that bondage and exile are the 
 punishments of sin and rebellion against Jehovah. 
 
 Government and Providence of God. 
 
 God watches over the welfare of his own people, but cares 
 little about the other inhabitants of the earth. After a 
 succession of severe trials, he will establish to the Jews an
 
 144 NOTIONS CONCERNING GOD 
 
 everlasting kingdom, the kingdom of their Messiah, which 
 shall surpass every other in greatness, majesty, and power- 
 All people shall serve and obey the Jews, who are called the 
 saints of the most High. 
 
 " And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the 
 kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people 
 of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting 
 kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him." 
 
 Chap. vii. 27. 
 
 God's government of the world, through the instrument- 
 ality of angels, is not so fully and distinctly set forth in 
 any other part of the Bible, as in this portion of the Book of 
 Daniel. Thousand thousands minister unto God, and ten 
 thousand times ten thousand stand round before this throne. 
 
 See Dan. vii. 10. 
 
 Daniel sees visions, and angels are sent to interpret them 
 to him. Here angels are distinguished by their several 
 names. The one who always visits Daniel is called Gabriel ; 
 we read of another whose name is Michael. Both these are 
 Hebrew names. 
 
 " And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, 
 which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand 
 the vision. So he came near where I stood : and when he 
 came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face : but he said unto 
 me, Understand, O son of man ; for at the time of the end 
 shall be the vision.'' Chap. viii. 16, 17. 
 
 " Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Ga- 
 briel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being 
 caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening 
 oblation. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, 
 O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and under- 
 standing." Chap, ix. 21, 22. 
 
 Gabriel is thus described : 
 
 " A man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine 
 gold of Uphaz : his body also was like the beryl, and his face 
 as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, 
 and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and 
 the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude." 
 
 Chap. x. 5, 6. 
 
 Every land has its guardian angel, who watches over its 
 well-being and furthers its interests. These angels are
 
 CONTAINED IN THE BOOKS OF LATER PROPHETS. 145 . 
 
 called the princes of the respective provinces. They are 
 sometimes opposed to one another, and sometimes two 
 angels combine together, in order to protect a state against 
 the malicious designs of a third angel. Michael is the 
 guardian-angel of the Jewish nation, but the princes or 
 angels of Persia and Greece are also mentioned here. 
 An angel, probably Gabriel, says to Daniel 
 
 " The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and 
 twenty days : but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to 
 help me. 
 
 And also 
 
 " Now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia : and 
 when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come. 
 But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of 
 truth : and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, 
 but Michael your prince. 1 ' Chap. x. 13, 20, 21. 
 
 " Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood 
 to confirm and to strengthen him." Chap. xi. 1. 
 
 These descriptions are similar to those later Jewish fables 
 respecting angels, which \ve meet with in the Book of Tobit. 
 
 Fasting is meritorious. God listens to the prayer of those 
 who fast and chasten themselves. Daniel's fasting and 
 mourning are approved and rewarded by God. 
 
 " In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. I 
 ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my 
 mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks 
 were fulfilled." 
 
 " Fear not, Daniel : for from the first day that thou didst set 
 thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy 
 God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words." 
 
 Chap. x. 2, 3, 12. 
 
 We find fasting, as a sign of repentance, enjoined in some 
 of the earlier Books ; but nowhere is so much importance 
 attached to it as in the Book of Daniel.
 
 14G 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 ECCLESIASTES, OR THE PREACHER. 
 
 THOUGH the Book of Ecclesiastes professes to be " the 
 words of the son of David, the king of Jerusalem/' it has 
 been shown to belong to a later period than the reign of 
 Solomon.* But we do not pretend to decide whether it 
 were written before or after the captivity, or whether it 
 contain foreign fragmentary additions. 
 
 For the object we have in view, it is sufficient to remark, 
 that notwithstanding the intense melancholy, and the painful 
 scepticism which pervade it, more just and elevated notions 
 of God are to be found in this book, than in any other, 
 excepting Job, in the Old Testament. The narrow and sel- 
 fish belief in a God who limits his benign care to a favoured 
 few to one spot of his creation : and the doctrine of a 
 national God who governs the world by his angels, have no 
 place in Ecclesiastes. We cannot but lament that the writer 
 has not enlarged on those first principles of religion, at which 
 he only cursorily glances. The Book is occupied with one 
 great subject the impossibility of comprehending the mys- 
 terious purposes of God to man the divine awards of good 
 and evil. The conviction that " all is vanity" is continually 
 presenting itself to the mind of the author, and yet a deep 
 sense of the reality of religion is discernible in the midst 
 of his scepticism. 
 
 The writer of Ecclesiastes is a confirmed monotheist, but 
 he has no knowledge of a state of consciousness beyond the 
 grave. He believes that at death man returns to the dust 
 out of which he was created, and that his breath, or life- 
 giving spirit returns to God who gave it. Such appears to 
 him to be the history of man, and likewise of the beasts ; 
 one thing befalleth them both. 
 
 " I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of 
 men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see 
 
 * See Grotius, Jahn, van der Palm, De Wette, Knobcl. TH.
 
 ECCLESIASTES, OR THE PREACHER. 147 
 
 that they themselves are beasts. For that which befalleth the 
 sons of men befalleth beasts ; even one thing befalleth them : 
 as the one dieth, so dieth the other ; yea, they have all one 
 breath ; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast ; for 
 all is vanity. All go unto one place ; all are of the dust, and 
 all turn to dust again." Eccles. iii. 18-20. 
 
 " Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might ; 
 for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in 
 the grave, whither thou goest." Chap. ix. 10. 
 
 " Man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about 
 the streets : or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl 
 be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the 
 wheel broken at the cistern. Then shall the dust return to the 
 earth as it was : and the spirit shall return unto God who gave 
 it.'' Chap. xii. 5-7. 
 
 Character and Attributes of God. 
 
 The ways of God are past finding out. 
 
 " No man can find out the work that God maketh from the 
 beginning to the end." Chap. iii. 11. 
 
 " When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the 
 business that is done upon the earth : (for also there is that 
 neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes :) then I beheld 
 all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is 
 done under the sun : because though a man labour to seek it 
 out, yet he shall not find it ; yea, farther ; though a wise man 
 think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it."' 
 
 Chap. viii. 16, 17. 
 
 The arrangements of God are eternal and immutable ; no 
 man can add to them, or take from them ; He governs the 
 world by fixed laws, and therefore that which has been, 
 happens ever and ever again. 
 
 " I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever : 
 nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it : and God 
 doeth it, that men should fear before him. That which hath 
 been is now ; and that which is to be hath already been ; and 
 God requireth that which is past." Chap, iii, 14, 15. 
 See also chap. i. 9-11. 
 
 God, who maketh and ruleth all things, is omnipotent. 
 He is also omniscient. 
 
 " For also there is, that neither day nor night seeth sleep 
 with his eyes." Chap. viii. 16. 
 
 God is just : he brings every action into judgment, whe- 
 
 L 2
 
 148 ECCLKSIASTES, OR THE PREACHER. 
 
 ther it be good, or whether it be evil. The most secret 
 things are known to him. 
 
 " For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every 
 secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." 
 
 Chap. xii. 14. 
 
 It is on account of the excellence of this sentiment that 
 Ecclesiastes has been admitted among the canonical Books, 
 notwithstanding all the objections which have been raised 
 against it. 
 
 Whether the judgment here spoken of, relates to the pre- 
 sent life, or to a future state of existence, is uncertain. This 
 can only be determined by ascertaining the date at which 
 it was written. We think it probably refers, merely to a 
 divine retribution in this world. If the author here speaks 
 of a judgment after death, we must agree with those com- 
 mentators who contend that the whole passage, as well as 
 some other portions of Ecclesiastes, are additions, appended 
 many years subsequent to the Babylonian exile, at that time 
 when a belief in a retribution after death prevailed. 
 
 " And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, 
 that wickedness was there ; and the place of righteousness, 
 that iniquity was there. I said in mine heart, God shall judge 
 the righteous and the wicked : for there is a time there for 
 every purpose and for every work. 
 
 Chap. iii. 16 and 1 7. See also Chap. viii. 11-13. 
 
 Ecclesiastes asserts that God created man upright, but 
 he has sought out many inventions : there is not one just 
 man upon the earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not. 
 
 " For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, 
 and sinneth not." 
 
 " Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man up- 
 right ; but they have sought out many inventions." 
 
 Chap. vii. 20, and 29. 
 
 Providence of God. 
 
 The passages already cited prove a belief in a divine, 
 though incomprehensible, Providence. This belief is still 
 more clearly expressed. God is the author of life and he 
 fixes the term of its duration. 
 
 " Behold that which I have seen : it is good and comely for
 
 ECCLESIASTKS, OR THK PREACHER. 149 
 
 one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour 
 that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God 
 giveth him." Chap. v. 18. 
 
 Wisdom and knowledge, riches and happiness, the power 
 of enjoying the fruits of man's labour, and likewise a cheer- 
 ful and contented mind, are the gifts of God. 
 
 " There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat 
 and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his 
 labour. This also 1 saw, that it was from the hand of God." 
 
 " For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, 
 and knowledge, and joy : but to the sinner he giveth travail, 
 to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good 
 before God." Chap. ii. 24 and 26. 
 
 " Behold that which I have seen : it ts good and comely for 
 one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour 
 that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God 
 giveth him : for it is his portion. Every man also to whom 
 God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power 
 to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his 
 labour ; this is the gift of God." Chap. v. 18 and 19. 
 
 God sometimes bestows riches, and wealth, and honour, 
 on those whose covetous dispositions will not allow them to 
 rejoice in their possessions, which therefore are enjoyed by 
 a stranger. 
 
 " There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is 
 common among men : A man to whom God hath given riches, 
 wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of 
 all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, 
 but a stranger eateth it.'' Chap. vi. 1 and 2. 
 
 A man should preserve a silent and reverend deportment 
 in the house of God. He should not be rash with his mouth. 
 But when he vows a vow, he should be exact in its payment. 
 It were better not to vow, than to vow and not pay. 
 
 " Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be 
 more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools : Be not 
 rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter 
 any thing before God : for God is in heaven, and thou upon 
 earth : therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh 
 through the multitude of business ; and a fool's voice is known 
 by multitude of words. When thou vowest a vow unto God, 
 defer not to pay it ; for he hath no pleasure in fools : pay that 
 which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not 
 vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. 1 ' 
 
 Chap. v. 1-5.
 
 150 ECCLES1ASTES, OR THE PREACHER. 
 
 Religion is man's first and highest concern, and though 
 " he knoweth not the works of God who maketh all," it is his 
 duty to fear God and keep his commandments. 
 
 " Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter : Fear God, 
 and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of 
 man." Chap. xii. 13.
 
 151 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 NOTIONS CONCERNING GOD CONTAINED IN THR REMAINING 
 HISTORICAL BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 The Books of the Kings and the Chronicles. 
 
 THE notions concerning God contained in the Historical 
 Books of the Old Testament are very inferior to those 
 found in some of the writings of the Prophets : for in the 
 former Jehovah is invariably portrayed from the contracted 
 and one-sided point of view, namely, his relation to his own 
 people. 
 
 The religious history of the Jewish people, from the time 
 of Moses to the period of the Babylonian exile, presents a 
 series of vacillations between the worship of Jehovah, and 
 that of the Gods of the surrounding nations. The people 
 always wish to serve that God, who they think will render 
 them the most powerful assistance and protection : and 
 the succour which they cannot obtain from one God, they 
 seek to procure from another. They are of the same opi- 
 nion with Ahaz. 
 
 " He sacrificed unto the Gods of Damascus, which smote 
 him : and he said, Because the Gods of the kings of Syria help 
 them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help 
 me." 2 Chronicles xxviii. 23. 
 
 
 
 Representations of God. 
 
 The representations given of God in these Books are 
 generally those of a merely national- God the God of the 
 Hebrews the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 
 
 " Ye children of Israel, turn again unto Jehovah the God of 
 Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and he will return to the remnant
 
 152 BOOKS OF KINGS AND THE CIIRONICLKS. 
 
 of you, that are escaped out of the hand of the kings of Assyria. 
 And be not ye like your fathers, and like your brethren, which 
 trespassed against Jehovah the God of their fathers." 
 
 2 Chron. xxx. 6 and 7. 
 
 Numerous quotations might, if necessary, be brought 
 forward. 
 
 In the kingdom of Israel Jehovah, like the Egyptian 
 God Apis, is worshipped under the figure of a calf. Two 
 golden calves, one in Bethel and the other in Dan represent 
 the God who brought the Israelites up out of the land of 
 Egypt. The setting up of these calves was the sin of Jero- 
 boam, which the kings who succeeded him departed not 
 from following after, and against which the prophets were 
 so zealous. 
 
 " Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of 
 gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to 
 Jerusalem : behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up 
 out of the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Beth-el, and 
 the other put he in Dan. And this thing became a sin : for the 
 people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan." 
 
 1 Kings xii. 28-30. 
 
 The popular belief was not the belief of the enlightened 
 among the Hebrews. Their sages and prophets worshipped 
 but one God Jehovah. Some traces of a monotheistic 
 faith are consequently met with in these Books. 
 
 " Elijah came unto all the people and said, How long halt ye 
 between two opinions ? If Jehovah be God follow him : but if 
 Baal then follow him.'' 1 Kings xviii. 21. 
 
 Jehoshaphat prays, 
 
 ' O Jehovah God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven ? 
 and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen ? and 
 in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is 
 able to withstand thee ?" 2 Chron. xx. 6. 
 
 " Then Manasseh knew that Jehovah he was God," 
 
 2 Chron. xxiii. 16. 
 
 Naaman is made to say 
 
 " Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth 
 but Israel.'' 2 Kings v. 15. 
 
 " Hezekiah prayed before Jehovah, and said, O Jehovah, God 
 of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the 
 God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth ; thou 
 hast made heaven and earth. Jehovah bow down thine ear.
 
 BOOKS OF KINGS AND THE CHRONICLES. 
 
 153 
 
 and hear : open Jehovah thine eyes and see : and hear the 
 words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the 
 living God." 2 Kings xix. 15, 16. 
 
 Micaiah, the prophet of Jehovah, gives the following re- 
 presentation of God. 
 
 " I saw Jehovah sitting on his throne, and all the hosts of 
 heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left." 
 
 Character and Attributes of God. 
 
 The attributes of power and might, glory and majesty, 
 so frequently mentioned as the characteristics of God in the 
 Psalms, are ascribed to Jehovah by David in the Book of 
 the Chronicles. 
 
 " Thine, O Jehovah, is the greatness, and the power, and the 
 glory, and the victory, and the majesty : for all that is in the 
 heaven and in the earth is thine ; thine is the kingdom, O Je- 
 hovah, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and 
 honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all ; and in thine 
 hand is power and might ; and in thine hand it is to make 
 great, and to give strength unto all." 
 
 2 Chron.xx.iTi. 11, 12. 
 
 Jehovah is omniscient, and all things are under his con- 
 trol. 
 
 " But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming 
 in, and thy rage against me. Because thy rage against me 
 and thy tumult is come up into mine ears, therefore I will put 
 my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn 
 thee back by the way by which thou earnest." 
 
 2 Kings xix. 27, 28. 
 
 To his own people Jehovah is gracious and merciful, 
 because of the covenant he had made with Abraham, Isaac, 
 and Jacob. 
 
 " And Jehovah was gracious unto them, and had compassion 
 on them, and had respect unto them, because of his covenant 
 with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, 
 neither cast he them from his presence as yet. 1 ' 
 
 1 Kings xiii. 23. 
 
 " For Jehovah saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very 
 bitter : for there was not any shut up, nor any left, nor any 
 helper for Israel. And Jehovah said not that he would blot 
 out the name of Israel from under heaven : but he saved them 
 by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.'' 
 
 2 Kings xiv. 26, '27.
 
 154 BOOKS OF KINGS AND THE CHRONICLES. 
 
 Jehovah is provoked to anger and jealousy by the worship 
 of other gods. 
 
 " And Judah did evil in the sight of Jehovah, and they pro- 
 voked him to jealousy with their sins which they had com- 
 mitted, above all that their fathers had done." 
 
 1 Kings xiv. 22. 
 
 "And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass 
 through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and 
 sold themselves to do evil in the sight of Jehovah to provoke 
 him to anger. Therefore Jehovah was very angry with Israel, 
 and removed them out of his sight : there was none left but the 
 tribe of Judah only. Also Judah kept not the commandments 
 of Jehovah their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel 
 which they made. And Jehovah rejected all the seed of Israel, 
 and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, 
 until he had cast them out of his sight." 2 Kings xvii. 17-20. 
 Jehovah is very vindictive. The instances of his ven- 
 geance are very numerous ; the most striking perhaps is 
 that related in Chronicles ; where, in his wrath against Aha- 
 ziah, for having sent to inquire of the god of Ekron whether 
 he should recover from disease, Jehovah not only causes the 
 king to die, but he sends his fire from heaven to consume 
 the two captains and their two bands of fifty each, who were 
 sent by Ahaziah to Elijah. 
 
 " And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. 
 And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his 
 knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O 
 man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty 
 thy servants, be precious in thy sight. Behold, there came fire 
 down from heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the former 
 fifties with their fifties : therefore let my life now be precious 
 in thy sight." 2 Kings i. 13, 14. 
 
 Humility before God, fasting, and the wearing of sack- 
 cloth will turn away the anger of Jehovah, and secure his 
 favour. 
 
 "And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he 
 rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, 
 and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. And the word of Jeho- 
 vah came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Seest thou how Ahab 
 humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself 
 before me, I will not bring the evil in his days : but in his son's 
 days will I bring the evil upon his house." 1 Kings\\i. 27-29. 
 " Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride 
 of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that
 
 BOOKS OF KINGS AND THE CHRONICLES. 155 
 
 the wrath of Jehovah came not upon them in the days of Heze- 
 kiah.'' 2 Chron. xxxii. 26. 
 
 Government and Providence of God. 
 
 The historical writers of the Old Testament never fail to 
 consider everything that happens as the work of Jehovah. 
 They do not inquire or decide whether or not he employs 
 intermediate means : without troubling themselves on this 
 point, they refer all events to his continually interfering 
 providence. It is difficult to select from examples which 
 are so numerous, and occupy so large a share of their entire 
 writings. 
 
 It is Jehovah who commands the ten tribes to revolt from 
 Rehoboam. 
 
 " Thus saith Jehovah, ye shall not go up, nor fight against 
 your brethren the children of Israel : return every man to his 
 house ; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore 
 to the word of Jehovah, and returned to depart, according to 
 the word of Jehovah." 1 Kings xii. 24. 
 
 Jehovah excites terror in the enemy's army, and thus puts 
 it to flight. 
 
 " Jehovah had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise 
 of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host : 
 and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired 
 against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyp- 
 tians, to come upon us. Wherefore they arose and fled in the 
 twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, 
 even the camp as it was, and fled for their life." 
 
 2 Kings vii. 6, 7. 
 He delivers his people into the hands of foreign powers. 
 
 " And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel, and 
 he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and 
 into the hand of Ben-haded the son of Hazael, all their days." 
 
 2 Kings xiii. 3. 
 He raises up enemies against Judah. 
 
 " In those days Jehovah began to send against Judah Rezin 
 the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah. 
 
 2 Kings xv. 37. 
 
 When the king of Assyria brings men from Babylon, and 
 places them in the cities of Samaria, in the place of the chil- 
 dren of Israel, Jehovah sends lions among them to slay 
 them, because they do not worship " the God of the land."
 
 156 BOOKS OF KINGS AND THE CHRONICLES. 
 
 " And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that 
 they feared not Jehovah : therefore Jehovah sent lions among 
 them, which slew some of them. Wherefore they spake to the 
 king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast removed, 
 and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of 
 the God of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among them, 
 and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the man- 
 ner of the God of the land. Then the King of Assyria com- 
 manded, saying. Carry thither one of the priests whom ye 
 brought from thence ; and let them go and dwell there, and let 
 him teach them the manner of the God of the land. Then one 
 of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came 
 and dwelt in Beth-el, and taught them how they should fear 
 Jehovah." 2 Kings xvii. 25-28. 
 
 Jehovah afflicts with diseases. 
 
 " And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked 
 upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they 
 thrust him out from thence ; yea, himself hasted also to go out, 
 because Jehovah had smitten him." 2 Chron. xxvi. 20. 
 
 See also 2 Kings xv. 5. 2 Chron. xxi. 18. 
 
 Jehovah appoints to utter destruction. 
 
 "And he said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Because thou 
 hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter 
 destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy peo- 
 ple for his people." 1 Kings xx. 42. 
 
 Jehovah makes men to be of one mind, of one heart. 
 
 " Also in Judah the hand of God was to give them one heart 
 to do the commandment of the king and of the princes, by the 
 word of Jehovah." 2 Chron. xxx. 1 2. 
 
 These writers believe in the Mosaic doctrine of temporal 
 rewards and punishments, they therefore ascribe a pros- 
 perous reign to the monarch's zeal for the religion of Jeho- 
 vah, and an unsuccessful reign to the king's desertion of 
 Jehovah, for the worship of other gods, and they regard the 
 captivity as the punishment of Jehovah for the idolatry of 
 his people. 
 
 " And Jehovah was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in 
 the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim ; 
 but sought to Jehovah God of his father, and walked in his 
 commandments, and not after the doings of Israel. Therefore 
 Jehovah stablished the kingdom in his hand ; and all Judah 
 brought to Jehoshaphat presents ; and he had riches and 
 honour in abundance." 2 Chron. xvii. 3-5. 
 
 " Uzziah did that which was right in the sight of Jehovah.
 
 BOOKS OF KINGS AND THE CHRONICLES. 157 
 
 And he sought God in the days of Zechariah : and as long as 
 he sought Jehovah, God made him to prosper." 
 
 2 Chron. xxvi. 4, 5. 
 
 " For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against 
 Jehovah their God, which had brought them up out of the land 
 of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and 
 had feared other gods, and walked in the statutes of the hea- 
 then, whom Jehovah cast out from before the children of Israel, 
 and of the kings of Israel, which they had made." 
 
 " For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam 
 which he did ; they departed not from them ; until Jehovah 
 removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his ser- 
 vants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their 
 own land to Assyria unto this day." 2 Kings xvii. 7, 8, 22, 23. 
 Jehovah makes known his secret designs to his prophets, 
 and they reveal them to his people. Therefore before 
 entering upon any important undertaking the kings in- 
 quire of Jehovah by means of the prophets. The art of 
 divination was held in the highest veneration, and all mental 
 excitements, and all the transports of enthusiasm, were 
 ascribed to the Spirit of Jehovah. 
 
 " And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I 
 pray thee, at the word of Jehovah to-day. Then the king of 
 Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, 
 and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, 
 or shall I forbear ? And they said, Go up ; for Jehovah shall 
 deliver it into the hand of the king. And Jehoshaphat said, 7s 
 there not here a prophet of Jehovah besides, that we might 
 enquire of him ? And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, 
 There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we 
 may enquire of Jehovah ; but I hate him ; for he do thnot pro- 
 phesy good concerning me, but evil." 1 Kings xxii. 5-8. 
 
 " Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah came 
 
 the Spirit of Jehovah in the midst of the congregation ; and he 
 said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, 
 and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith Jehovah unto you," &c. 
 
 2 Chron. xx. 14, 15. 
 
 The Spirit of Jehovah is awakened in the minds of the 
 prophets by the aid of music. Elisha says 
 
 " But now bring me a minstrel. And it came ( to pass, when 
 the minstrel played, that the hand of Jehovah came upon him. 
 And he said, Thus saith Jehovah, Make this valley full of 
 ditches." 2 Kings iii. 15, 16. 
 When Elijah wishes to hide himself it is said 
 
 "The Spirit of Jehovah shall carry thee whither I know 
 not." 1 Kings xviii. 12.
 
 158 BOOKS OF KINGS AND THE CHRONICLES. 
 
 We have already had occasion to refer to the Spirit sent 
 forth by Jehovah to be a lying Spirit in the mouths of all his 
 prophets.* How human must his conceptions of God have 
 been, and how false his views of morality, who could represent 
 Jehovah as requiring one of his Spirits to act the part of a 
 deceiver, and to cause the prophets to utter lying prophecies, 
 in order to allure a man to do that which will prove his 
 destruction ! 
 
 " Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at 
 Ramoth-gilead ? And one said on this manner, and another said 
 on that manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before 
 Jehovah, and said, I will persuade him. And Jehovah said 
 unto him, Wherewith ? And he said, I will go forth, and I will 
 be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, 
 Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also : go forth, and do so. 
 Now therefore, behold Jehovah hath put a lying spirit in the 
 mouth of all these thy prophets, and Jehovah hath spoken evil 
 concerning thee." 1 Kings xxii. 20-23. 
 
 Jehovah sometimes employs angels to convey messages to 
 his prophets and to execute his purposes upon the earth. 
 He four times sends an angel to Elijah : once to bring him 
 a cake and some water, and again to remind him to eat 
 before a long fast. The angel of Jehovah appears twice to 
 Elijah respecting the death of Ahaziah. 
 
 See 1 Kings xix. 5-7; 2 Kings i. 3-15. 
 
 Jehovah employs his destroying angel to slay one hun- 
 dred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. 
 
 " And it came to pass that night, that the angel of Jehovah 
 went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred 
 fourscore and five thousand : and when they arose early in the 
 morning, behold, they were all dead corpses." 
 
 2 Kings xix. 35. 
 
 " And Jehovah sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty 
 men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the 
 king of Assyria." 2 Chron. xxxii. 21. 
 
 The people of Israel are afflicted with pestilence: this 
 pestilence is inflicted by the hand of the destroying angel, in 
 obedience to the will of Jehovah, who, when seventy thousand 
 men are dead, repents him of the evil, and desires the 
 angel to stay his hand. 
 
 * Page 102.
 
 BOOKS OF EZRA AND NEHEMIAH. 15 ( J 
 
 " So Jehovah sent pestilence upon Israel : and there fell of 
 Israel seventy thousand men. And God sent an angel unto 
 Jerusalem to destroy it : and as he was destroying, Jehovah 
 beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel 
 that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the 
 angel of Jehovah stood by the threshingfloor of Oman the 
 Jebusite. And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of 
 Jehovah stand between the earth and the heaven, having a 
 drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem." 
 
 1 Chron, xxi. 14-16. 
 
 In these Books Satan is mentioned once, and once only. 
 It is said that " Satan provoked David to number Israel." 
 In the account given of this circumstance in the 2nd Book 
 of Samuel it is said, that " Jehovah moved David against 
 them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah." * These con- 
 tradictory statements clearly prove that the writer of the 
 2nd Book of Samuel adopted the opinions of the age in 
 which he lived, and ascribed good and evil alike to God ; 
 and that the writer of the 1st Book of the Chronicles adopted 
 the opinions of the age in which he lived, and ascribed evil 
 and evil thoughts to an evil principle. 
 
 " And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to 
 number Israel." 1 Chron. xxi. 1 . 
 
 SECTION II. 
 The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah. 
 
 In the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah it is more distinctly 
 stated than in the Books of the Kings and Chronicles that 
 Jehovah is the God of heaven and earth. 
 
 " Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, Jehovah God of heaven 
 hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth ; and he hath 
 charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in 
 Judah. Who is there among you of all his people ? His God 
 be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, 
 and build the house of Jehovah the God of Israel, (he t* the 
 God,) which is in Jerusalem.'' Ezra i. 2, 3. 
 
 " And thus they returned us answer, saying, We are the 
 
 * 2 Sam. xxiv. 1 .
 
 BOOKS OF EZRA AND NEHEM1AH. 
 
 servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the house 
 that was builded these many years ago, which a great king of 
 Israel builded and set up." Chap. v. 11. 
 
 " Stand up and bless Jehovah your God for ever and ever : 
 and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all 
 blessing and praise. Thou, even thou, art Jehovah alone ; thou 
 hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, 
 the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that 
 is therein, and thou preserves! them all ; and the host of heaven 
 . worshippeth thee." Nehem. ix. 5, 6. 
 
 This same Jehovah is the national-God of the Hebrews. 
 The general remarks in the preceding chapter respecting 
 th,e representations, attributes, and providence of God, apply 
 equally to the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah. 
 
 " And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my 
 face to thee, my God : for our iniquities are increased over our 
 head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens. Since 
 the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto 
 this day ; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our 
 priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, 
 to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of 
 face, as it is this day. And now for a little space grace hath 
 been shewed from Jehovah our God, to leave us a remnant to 
 escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may 
 lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. For 
 we were bondmen ; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bond- 
 age, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings 
 of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, 
 and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in 
 Judah and in Jerusalem. And now, O our God, what shall we 
 say after this ? for we have forsaken thy commandments, which 
 thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The 
 land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land with the 
 filth iness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, 
 which have filled it from one end to another with their unclean- 
 ness. Now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, 
 neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their 
 peace or their wealth for ever : that ye may be strong, and eat 
 the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your 
 children forever. And after all that is come upon us for our evil 
 deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast 
 punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us 
 such deliverance as this ; should we again break thy command- 
 ments, and join in affinity with the people of these abomina- 
 tions? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst 
 consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping ? 
 

 
 BOOKS OF EZRA AND NEHEMIAH. 
 
 O Jehovah God of Israel, thou art righteous : for we remain yet 
 escaped, as it is this day : behold, we are before thee in our 
 trespasses : for we cannot stand before thee because of this." 
 
 Ezra IK. 6-15. 
 
 " Thou art Jehovah the God, who didst choose Abram, and 
 broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him 
 the name of Abraham ; And foundest his heart faithful before 
 thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the 
 Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and 
 the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his seed, 
 and hast performed thy words ; for thou art righteous : And 
 didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest 
 their cry by the Red sea ; 
 
 " But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their 
 necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, And refused 
 to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst 
 among them ; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion 
 appointed a captain to return to their bondage : but thou art a 
 God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and 
 of great kindness, and forsookest them not. 
 
 "Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst 
 against them by thy spirit in thy prophets : yet would they not 
 give ear : therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people 
 of the lands. Nevertheless for thy great mercies' sake thou 
 didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them ; for thou art 
 a gracious and merciful God. Now therefore, our God, the 
 great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant 
 and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before thee, that hath 
 come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, 
 and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, 
 since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day. Howbeit 
 thou art just in all that is brought upon us ; for thou hast done 
 right, but we have done wickedly." 
 
 Nehemiah, ix. 7-9, 16, 17, 30-33.
 
 1G2 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 NOTIONS CONCERNING GOD CONTAINED IN THE LATER 
 PSALMS. 
 
 THE Psalms of David and his contemporaries contain many 
 beautiful descriptions of God and of his attributes, but the 
 ideas which are embodied in the later Psalms, written dur- 
 ing or after the captivity, are still more just and elevated ; 
 and yet in these many expressions are found which clearly 
 show that the author retained the cherished belief of his 
 nation, that Jehovah is the God of his people Israel. 
 
 Representations of God. 
 
 The representations of God are poetical and sublime. 
 
 " O Jehovah my God, thou art very great ; thou art clothed 
 with honour and majesty. Who coverest thyself with light as 
 with a garment : who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain : 
 Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters : who 
 maketh the clouds his chariot : who walketh upon the wings of 
 the wind. 
 
 " The glory of Jehovah shall endure for ever : Jehovah shall 
 rejoice in his works. He looketh on the earth and it trembleth : 
 he toucheth the hills, and they smoke." 
 
 Psalm c\\. 1-3, 31, 32. 
 
 The idols of silver and gold are no Gods Jehovah is the 
 God of Gods. He dwelleth on his throne in the heavens. 
 
 " Jehovah hath prepared his throne in the heavens ; and his 
 kingdom ruleth over all." Psalm ciii. 19. 
 
 " The heaven, even the heavens, are Jehovah's : but the earth 
 hath he given to the children of men." Psalm cxv. 16. 
 
 " Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their 
 God ? But our God is in the heavens : he hath done whatsoever 
 he hath pleased. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of 
 men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not : eyes 
 have they, but they see not : They have ears, but they hear not : 
 noses have they, but they smell not : They have hands, but 
 they handle not : feet have they, but they walk not : neither
 
 NOTIONS OF GOD IN THE LATER PSALMS. 163 
 
 speak they through their throat. They that make them are like 
 unto them ; so is every one that trusteth in them." 
 
 Psalm cxv. 2-8. 
 
 " For I know that Jehovah is great, and that our Jehovah 
 is above all Gods." Psalmc\x\v. 5. 
 
 " O give thanks unto the God of Gods : for his mercy en- 
 dureth for ever. O give thanks to Jehovah of Jehovah's : for 
 his mercy endureth for ever." Psalm cxxxvi. 2, 3. 
 But Jehovah is the God of Jacob, the God of Zion. 
 
 " Jehovah hath chosen Jacob unto himself and Israel for his 
 peculiar treasure.'' Psalm cxxxv. 4. 
 
 " Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose 
 hope is in Jehovah his God : Which made heaven, and earth, 
 the sea, and all that therein is : which keepeth truth for ever." 
 
 Psalm cxlvi. 5, 6. 
 
 " Jehovah shall reign for ever, even thy God O Zion unto all 
 generations." Psalm cxlvii. 20. 
 
 Attributes of God. 
 
 God's wisdom and eternity, his omniscience and omni- 
 presence, his mercy and loving-kindness are beautifully 
 portrayed. 
 
 " O Jehovah, how manifold are thy works ! in wisdom hast 
 thou made them all : the earth is full of thy riches." 
 
 P*a/mciv. 24. 
 
 " Great is Jehovah, and greatly to be praised ; and his great- 
 ness is unsearchable." Psalm cxlv. 3. 
 
 " Great is our Jehovah and of great power : his understanding 
 is infinite." Psalm cxlvii. 5. 
 
 " 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 Jehovah pitieth them 
 that fear him." Psalm cm. 1 1-13. 
 
 ' Whither shall I go from thy spirit ? or whither shall I flee 
 from thy presence ? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there : 
 if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the 
 wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the 
 sea ; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand 
 shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me ; 
 even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness 
 hideth not from thee ; but the night shineth as the day : the 
 darkness and the light are both alike to thee." 
 
 Psalm cxxxix. 7-12. 
 
 " Men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts : and I 
 will declare thy greatness. They shall abundantly utter the 
 
 M 2
 
 164 NOTIONS OF GOD IN THE LATER PSALMS. 
 
 memory of the great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteous- 
 ness. Jehovah is gracious, and full of compassion ; slow to 
 anger, and of great mercy. Jehovah is good to all : and his 
 tender mercies are over all his works. All thy works shall 
 praise thee O Jehovah ; and thy saints shall bless thee." 
 
 Psalm cxlv. 6-10. 
 
 Government and Providence of God. 
 
 God's tender Providence is extended over all his works, 
 he openeth his hand, and filleth all things living with plen- 
 teousness. But it is to his chosen people that he is pecu- 
 liarly gracious, rewarding such as keep his covenant and 
 remember his commandments to do them, and punishing 
 those who are wicked. 
 
 " Jehovah upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those 
 that be bowed down. The eyes of all wait upon thee ; and thou 
 givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine 
 hand, and satisfies! the desire of every living thing. Jehovah 
 is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. Jehovah 
 is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon 
 him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him : 
 he also will hear their cry, and will save them. Jehovah pre- 
 serveth all them that love him : but all the wicked will he de- 
 stroy." Psalm cxlv. 1 4-20. 
 
 " But the mercy of Jehovah is from everlasting to everlasting 
 upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's 
 children : to such as keep his covenant, and to those that re- 
 member his commandments to do them." Psalm ciii. 17, 18. 
 
 " Jehovah hath been mindful of us : he will bless us : he 
 will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless them that fear 
 Jehovah both small and great. Jehovah shall increase you 
 more and more, you and your children. Ye are the blessed of 
 Jehovah which made heaven and earth.'' Psalm cxv. 12-15. 
 
 " He sheweth his words unto Jacob, his statutes and his 
 judgments unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with any nation : 
 and as for his judgments they have not known them." 
 
 Psalm cxlvii. 19, 20. 
 
 Not only are angels introduced as the host of heaven and 
 the messengers of Jehovah, but the natural and inanimate 
 agents of God's providence, such as fire and lightning, snow 
 and hail, are also called his messengers or angels. The 
 diseases and plagues which befel the Egyptians are said to 
 be evil angels sent from Jehovah.
 
 NOTIONS OF GOD IN THE LATER PSALMS. 165 
 
 " Bless Jehovah ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do 
 his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. 
 Bless ye Jehovah all ye his hosts ; ye ministers of his, that do 
 his pleasure.'' Psalm ciii. 20, 2 1 . 
 
 " Who maketh his angels spirits ; his ministers a flaming 
 fire." Psalm civ. 4. 
 
 " Praise ye him, all his angels : praise ye him, all his hosts. 
 
 " Fire, and hail ; snow, and vapours ; stormy wind fulfilling 
 his word." Psalm cxlviii 2 and 8. 
 
 " There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague 
 come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge 
 over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee 
 up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone." 
 
 Psalm xci. 10-12. 
 
 " He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and 
 indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them. 
 He made a way to his anger : he spared not their soul from 
 death, but gave their life over to the pestilence : And smote all 
 the firstborn in Egypt." Psalm Ixxviii. 49-51.
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Our investigation has led us to the following conclusions : 
 
 I. THE historical Books of the Old Testament contain 
 the most crude and unworthy notions of God and of his 
 Providence. The human representations of the Deity given 
 in Genesis are quite in character with the mode of thinking 
 which prevailed in the infancy of mankind. Jehovah is 
 portrayed as the national-God of the Hebrews throughout 
 the historical writings. 
 
 II. The notions concerning God contained in the Books 
 of the Prophets, particularly in those which were written 
 after the captivity, though strictly Judaical, are certainly 
 less limited, and less remote from truth. 
 
 III. The purest and most elevated conceptions of God 
 are to be found in those Books which were composed by 
 private individuals ; who either disregarded the peculiar 
 national ideas and prejudices of their countrymen, or had 
 raised themselves above them. It was not so much by the 
 teaching of their priests and prophets, as by the studies 
 and contemplations of their other wise men, that the reli- 
 gious principle was cultivated and developed among the 
 Jewish people.
 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED BT WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS 
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