Skip to main content

Full text of "The Expository times"

See other formats 


Google 


This  is  a  digital  copy  of  a  book  that  was  preserved  for  generations  on  library  shelves  before  it  was  carefully  scanned  by  Google  as  part  of  a  project 

to  make  the  world's  books  discoverable  online. 

It  has  survived  long  enough  for  the  copyright  to  expire  and  the  book  to  enter  the  public  domain.  A  public  domain  book  is  one  that  was  never  subject 

to  copyright  or  whose  legal  copyright  term  has  expired.  Whether  a  book  is  in  the  public  domain  may  vary  country  to  country.  Public  domain  books 

are  our  gateways  to  the  past,  representing  a  wealth  of  history,  culture  and  knowledge  that's  often  difficult  to  discover. 

Marks,  notations  and  other  maiginalia  present  in  the  original  volume  will  appear  in  this  file  -  a  reminder  of  this  book's  long  journey  from  the 

publisher  to  a  library  and  finally  to  you. 

Usage  guidelines 

Google  is  proud  to  partner  with  libraries  to  digitize  public  domain  materials  and  make  them  widely  accessible.  Public  domain  books  belong  to  the 
public  and  we  are  merely  their  custodians.  Nevertheless,  this  work  is  expensive,  so  in  order  to  keep  providing  tliis  resource,  we  liave  taken  steps  to 
prevent  abuse  by  commercial  parties,  including  placing  technical  restrictions  on  automated  querying. 
We  also  ask  that  you: 

+  Make  non-commercial  use  of  the  files  We  designed  Google  Book  Search  for  use  by  individuals,  and  we  request  that  you  use  these  files  for 
personal,  non-commercial  purposes. 

+  Refrain  fivm  automated  querying  Do  not  send  automated  queries  of  any  sort  to  Google's  system:  If  you  are  conducting  research  on  machine 
translation,  optical  character  recognition  or  other  areas  where  access  to  a  large  amount  of  text  is  helpful,  please  contact  us.  We  encourage  the 
use  of  public  domain  materials  for  these  purposes  and  may  be  able  to  help. 

+  Maintain  attributionTht  GoogXt  "watermark"  you  see  on  each  file  is  essential  for  in  forming  people  about  this  project  and  helping  them  find 
additional  materials  through  Google  Book  Search.  Please  do  not  remove  it. 

+  Keep  it  legal  Whatever  your  use,  remember  that  you  are  responsible  for  ensuring  that  what  you  are  doing  is  legal.  Do  not  assume  that  just 
because  we  believe  a  book  is  in  the  public  domain  for  users  in  the  United  States,  that  the  work  is  also  in  the  public  domain  for  users  in  other 
countries.  Whether  a  book  is  still  in  copyright  varies  from  country  to  country,  and  we  can't  offer  guidance  on  whether  any  specific  use  of 
any  specific  book  is  allowed.  Please  do  not  assume  that  a  book's  appearance  in  Google  Book  Search  means  it  can  be  used  in  any  manner 
anywhere  in  the  world.  Copyright  infringement  liabili^  can  be  quite  severe. 

About  Google  Book  Search 

Google's  mission  is  to  organize  the  world's  information  and  to  make  it  universally  accessible  and  useful.   Google  Book  Search  helps  readers 
discover  the  world's  books  while  helping  authors  and  publishers  reach  new  audiences.  You  can  search  through  the  full  text  of  this  book  on  the  web 

at|http: //books  .google  .com/I 


.yGooi^lc 


I 


=  b,  Google 


^ft 


Digiiizcd  by  V_"i  WL7V 


.yGooi^lc 


.yGooi^lc 


.yGooi^lc 


THE 

EXPOSITORY     TIMES. 


JAMES    HASTINGS,    M.A.,   D.D. 


VOLUME    THE    THIRTEENTH. 
October  ii)oi  -  September  igo3. 


EDINBURGH: 
T.    &    T.    CLARK,     38    GEORGE    ST  RE  E<3.00gle 


THE  NEW  YftM 
PUBLIC  IIBEABY 

410258 


MANCHESTEl: 


T,  &   T.    CLARK, 

EDINBURGH. 

.      SIMPKIN,    MARSHALL. 

HAMILTON,    KENT,    AND 

.      JOHN    HBVWOOD. 

.      JOHN    MKN-ZIES  AND  C 

■o. 

.      JOHN    MKNZIES   ANI>  C 

o. 

.      CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S 

SONS. 

.yGooi^lc 


CONTENTS   OF   VOL.   XIII. 


AUTHORS. 


Ven.  Archdeacon  Aglen,  D.D. — 

Bom  of  Water  and  Spirit      .  .     439 

Rev.  WiLLOUCHBY  C.  Allen,  M.A. — 

1 -^^  Aramaic  Element  in  St.  Mark  .     328 

Rev.  Professor  B.  W.  Bacon,  D.D.— 
I/-'   Priesthood  without  Pedigree  .     345 

Professor  J.  Vernon  Bartlet,  M.A. — 
nj  Twofold   Use  of  'Jerusalem'    in   the 

^  Lucan  Writings  ■     '57 

Rev.  Vice-Principal  J.  H,  Beibitz,  M.A. — 
<^  Critical  Notes  on  Mt  24  .     443 

^     Rev.   Professor  W.   H.   Bennett,   Litt.D., 
^  D.D.— 

l^  LXX  of  I  S  2* 234 

^  Text  of  1  S  68 234 

Wages  in  Ancient  Israel       .        .        .381 
^       Rev.  Canon  E.  R.  Bernard,  M.A, — 

Praytr  in  Early  Christendom        .         -     ^S* 
Rev.  Canon  T.  D.  Bkrnakd.  M,A.— 

Cxsarea 487,  558 

Rev.  Albert  Bonus,  M.A. — 
-^  'Our  Lord'  in   the  Lewis  Palimpsest 

*■  236, 334 

•^  StUct  Narratives  of  Holy  Women  .     379 

Q  Emmaus  Mistaken  for  a  Person    .         ,     561 

\     BoscAWEN,  W.  St.  Chad,  F.R.H.S.— 
.  -Tapyrus  of  Kha-m-uas .         .         .         ■     525 

^ev.  G.  H.  Box,  M.A.— 

Bishop   Blyth  on   the  Jewish  Mission 

Problem 430 

W.  C.  Braithwaite,  B.A.,  LL.B.— 

New  Uncial  of  the  Gospels  .         .         .114 
Professor  K.  Budde,  D.D. — 

The  Opening  Verses  of  Ezekiel     .         .       41 
F.  Hugh  Capron — 

'Son'  in  Lie  16^ 523 


Rev.  F.  G.  Cholmondeley,  M.A. — 

Christ  and  the  Woman  of  Canaan 
Rev.  W.  H.  Cobb,  D.D.— 

Certain  Isaian  Questions 
Rev.  G-  Mackenzie  Cobban,  M.A. — 

Jewish  Mission  Problem 
Rev.  G.  A.  Cooke,  M.A.— 

Korah   and  ^ir-heres  in  the   Moabite 

Stone 

Rev.  James  Croskerv,  B.D. — 

Recent  Discussionsof  the  Title  'Son  of 

Man' 

Rev.  J.  A.  Cross,  M.A.— 

Date  of  Acts 

Aci5^-» 

'Jew,'  'Jewry' 

Rev.  Professor  S.  R.  Driver,  D.D.,  Litt.D.— 

Should  the  Auth.  Version  continue  to 
be  used  in  Public  Service?       .      167, 

Jacob's  Route  from  l^aran  to  Shechem 
Right  Rev.  C.  J.  Ellicott,  D.D.— 

'  Being  Burdened '        .        .        .        . 
Rev.  W.  W.  English,  D.C.L.— 

Jni7'-^ 

Rev.  W.  EwiNG,  M.A.— 

Bishop  Blyth  on  the  Jewish  Problem    . 
Rev.  G.  Ferries,  D.D.— 

Science  and  Faith        .... 
Rev.  J.  D.  Fleming,  B.D.— 

New  French  School  of  Theology  . 
Rev.  A.  E.  Garvee,  B.D.— 

Hist,  and  Dogm.  Method  in  Theology . 

Ro  6* 

Do  we  need  new  Revelations  ? 

Christian  Faith  and  Modern  Thought  . 


Rev.  Canon  F.  Gell — 

Site  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  .  .      46 

Mrs.  M.  D.  Gibson,  LL.D.— 

Born  of  Water  and  Spirit  .  429 

Four  Remarkable  Sinai  MSS  .     509 

Rev.  R.  Glaister,  B.D.— 

Christ  and  the  Woman  of  Canaan         .     188 
Professor  N.  Gloubokovskv — 

The  Gospel  and  the  Gospels  .     loi 

Rev.  A.  Grieve,  Phil.Dr.— 
l^       The  Utterances  of  Jesus  regarding  His 

Death 70 

Professor  G.  GrUtzuacher,  Ph.D. — 

Jeioine 535 

Professor  J.  Rendel  Harris,  LittD. — 

'  Our  Lord '  in  the   Lewis  Palimpsest 

383,  382 
Rev.  Sir  John  C.  Hawkins,  Bart.,  M.A. — 

Arrangement  of  Materials  in  Mt  8,  9    .       30 
N.  Hbrz,  M.A.— 

Doubtful  Hebrew  Words      ■  190 

Rev.  T.  W.  Hodge,  M.A.— 

The  Paraclete  and  the  World       .  10 

Rev.  Principal  J.  M.  Hodgson,  D.D.,  D.Sc.— 

Fairbaim's  Philosophy  of  tht  CkrisHan 
Religion    .... 
■    Professor  Fb.  Hommel,  LL.D. — 

The  Four  Rivers  of  Paradise 

Azeka  in  the  Assyrian  Itiscriptioa        95,  144 

Arpakshad 385 

Professor  A.  van  Hoonacker,  D.D, — 

The  Four  Empires  of  Daniel 
Rev.  M.  J.  Hughes,  M.A, — 

714*  Evolution  of  Immortality 
Rev.  Professor  J.  Iverach,  D.D. 

Herrmann's  Elhtk 
A.  N.  Jannaris,  M.A.,  Ph.D.— 

The  Unrighteous  Steward  and  Mach- 
iavellism 128,  306 

The  Locus  Classims  for  the  Incarnation    477 

Does 'Amen' mean 'Verily'?      .        .     563 
Rev.  J.  B.  Johnston,  B.D.— 

The  Date  of  the  Septuagint .         .         .382 
Rev.  John  Kelman,  M.A. — 

St.  Paul  the  Roman     ....       76 
Rev.  H.  A.  A.  Kennedy,  D.Sc.— 

'Weakness  and  Power'        .  .     349 

Holtzmann  on  the  Synoptics  and  Acts .     450 

Weiss  on  Mark  and  Luke  .     544 

Professor  Ed.  KSnig,  D.D.— 

The  Unity  of  Isaiah  90,132 

The  Early  Verses  of  Ezekiel  .       95 

The  '  Weeks '  of  Daniel        .  .468 


Rev.  J.  C.  Lambert,  B.D.— 

New  Explanation  of  the  Lord's  Supper      398 
Rev.  John  Legge,  M.A. — 

Christ's  Treatment  of  Indignation         .     266 
Mrs.  Agnes  S.  Lewis,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.—      » 

A  Remarkable  Palimpsest    . 

The  New  Edition  of  the  Peshitta  . 

A  Leaf  Stolen  from  the  Sinai  Palimpsest 
Rev.  F.  Warburton  Lewis,  B.A. — 

Christ  and  the  Woman  of  Canaan 

New  Garments  and  Old  Patches  . 
Rev,  James  Lindsay,  D.D. — 

British  Philosophy  of  Religion  .     262 

Two  Great  Dogmatic  Systems       .        .     358 
Rev.  W.  F.  LoFTHoosE,  M.A. — 

The  Hexateuch  and  the  Gospels  .        .     565 
Rev.  D.  Macfadyem,  M.A. — 

Did  our  Lord  use  Irony? 
Rev.  A.  C.  Mackenzie,  M.A. — 

Happiness  at  the  Table — and  After 

'Whosoever'       .... 
Rev.  G.  M.  Mackie,  D.D.— 
\y^  Jewish  Passover  in  Christian  Church 
Rev.  H.  R.  Mackintosh,  Phil.Dr.— 

Soltau's  Gospel  Sources 

Ritschl's  Message  for  the  Plain  Man 

Schleierma Cher's  Conception  of  Religion 

Harnack's  Sokrates 

Holtzmann's  Scribes  of  Palestine  ■ 
Rev.  T.  M'William,  M.A.— 

The  Prophecies  of  Zechariah 
Rev.  Professor  D.  S.  Marcoliouth,  M.A. — 

Arabia  before  Islam 

The  Non-Bibl.  Literature  of  the  Jews 

Three  Notes  on  Ecclesiasticus 
Rev.  W.  Marwick — 

Magic  and  Religion     ....     495 
Professor  J.  Massie,  M.A.— 

Cross-Bearing 348 

Ernest  W.  G.  Mastkrman,  F.R.G.S.— 

The  Rivers  of  Damascus  ,     215,  477 


Rev,  G.  MiLLiGAN,  B.D. — 
f. '      H^nack's  Textual  Problems 

A  Ransom  for  Many    .... 
Rev.  R.  M.  Moffat,  M.A.— 

The  Servant  of  the  Lord       .        .  7,  67, 
Rev.  J.  MoFFATT,  D.D. — 

Tlte  Messianic  Secret  in  the  Gospels 
The  Righteousness  of  the  Scribes  and 
Pharisees 


Rev.  W.  Morgan,  M-A. — 

Schleierroacher's  Doctrine  of  Redemp- 
tion  

Professor  Eb.  Nestle,  D.D. — 

JoT^-S" 

Lk  i» 

Aprons  and  Handkerchiefs  of  St.  Paul 

Bethesda 

Dies  Irae  Dies  Ilia 

The  ArtangemenC  of  the  Lord's  Prayer 
'Jew,'  'Jewess,'  'Jewiih,'  'Jewry' 
Nathanael  under  the  Fig  Tree 
Emmaus  Mistaken  for  a  Person    . 

Mk.4«;Mt6« 534 

'Between  the  Temple  and  the  Altar'  .  563 
'The  Widow's  Mites'  .  .  .  -  563 
The  Distance  of  the  Mount  of  Olives 

from  Jerusalem         ....     563 
Note  on  a  Syriac  MS 563 

Rev.  W.  O.  E.  OESTERt.EV,  B.D,— 

'  Pledged  Clothes '  ■      .        .        .        .40 

Rev.  Professor  J.  Obr,  D.D.— 

Rainy's  Aneienl  Catholic  Church  .        .     305 

Rev.  Adam  Philip,  M.A. — 

Patrick  Walker 356 

Rev.  Augustus  Poynder,  M.A. — 

l3  33^ 94 


Professor  J.  V.  PbaSek,  Ph.D.— 
Sennacherib's  Second  Expedition 

Rev.  John  Reid,  M.A. — 
Three  French  Books    . 

Un  SiicU 

The  Poor  Rich  Fool    . 

Rev.  Professor  A.  H.  Sayce,  D.D.,  LL.D.- 
Ur  of  the  Chaldees      . 
Paran  and  Hagar's  Well 
City  of  Enoch ;  Tarshish      . 
Land  of  Sepharad 
Assyrian  Deeds  and  Contracts 
Anzanite  Inscriptions  , 
Decipherment  of  Hittite  Inscriptions 

Rev.  J.  A.  Selbie,  D.D.— 
Number  of  the  Beast  , 
Strack's  Grammar  of  Aramaic 

1  S  1= 

New  Edition  of  Schiirer 
Baudissin's  Einleilung . 
Frd.  Delitzsch's/,;,*  . 
Konig's  O.T.  Criticism 
Abidmg  Value  of  O.T. 
Jastrow's  Religion  Bab.  u.  Asiyr 
GoUe  on  Dives  and  Lazarus . 


263 
S67 


361 


W.  Taylor  Smith,  RA.— 

History  of  Jesus'  Childhood 

R.  Somervell,  M.A. — 
t^--"  Hist.  Character  of  O.T.  Narratives 

A.  SOUTER,   M.A. — 

Interpolation  in  '  Ambrosiaster '    . 
Emmaua  Mistaken  for  a  Person    . 

Rev.  R.  M.  Spence,  D.D.— 


Rev.  Edmund  Sinker,  M.A. — 
'The  Carcases  of  Your  Idols' 

Rev.  Professor  J.  Skinner,  D.D. — 
Professor  A  B.  Davidson      . 

Rev.  David  Smith,  M.A. — 

Songs  of  Ascents 

le  Marvels  of  Pentecost    . 
Rev.  H.  P.  Boys-Smith,  M.A.— 

St.  John's  Gospel  and  the  Logos 


Ac  i7« 


Rev.  Professor  J.  G.  Tasker — 

Syriac  Busebius  .... 

Nietzsche's  Mission 

The  Text  of  N.T. 

The  Christian  Doctrine  of  Grace  . 

The  Problem  of  the  Lord's  Supper 

Rev.  Charles  Taylor,  D.D. — 
I  Peter  and  Enoch 


Rev.  John  Tavlor,  D.Lit, 
l>uhm's /erf mia  . 
Holzinger's  ybsAua 
The  Songs  of  Palestine 
Benzinger's  Chronicles  . 


383 
348 


39 
69 


Rev.  R.  Bruce  Taylor,  M.A. — 


Rev.  G.  Elmslie  Troup,  M.A. — 

Canon  Henson  on  Apostolic  Succession 

Rev.  A.  H.  Walker,  M.A.— 

Born  of  Water  and  Spirit 
Rev.  Dawson  Walker,  M.A. — 

The  South -Galatian  Thcorj' . 
Rev.  Horace  Ward,  M.A. — 

Christ  and  the  Woman  of  Canaan 
Rev.  Adam  C.  Welch,  D.D.—   i^'«.'VH 

Micah  5^-* ^  . 


309 
358 
238 
4*9 


CONTENTS. 


Acts  of  Apostles,  Dale 

Agnostic's  Faith 

'  Ambrosiasler,'  Interpolation 


elDi 


Apollos 
Apologetic 
Apostles  a 


nptior 


a  John 

'tics  and  ChticUm  .  31 

ApostFes  as  Evangelisu  .     53* 

Apostolic  Succession  .         .     238,  531 
Arsmaic  in  St.  Mack  .  .     328 

Archieology,  Biblical  64,  178,  30S,  4^5 
Arpakshad  ....     3S5 

Assyrian  Deeds  and  Contracts    .     465 
Astronomy  and  Ibe  Kble   .  Z99 

Atonement,  Mobetly's  Theory    .     295 
Aathorized    Version    in     Public 

Worship  167,  240 

Aiekah  ■         ■         ■       95.  144 

Balaam's  Ass      ....     301 
Beast,  Number  ....       30 

Bethesda 333 

Bible,  Errors  .         .      I49>  300 

Biblit^aphy      ...       3',  '27 

Birth,  Kcv         ,         .        .        .     4S4 

Books        .  13,  8z,  135,  158,  180, 

ao8,  218,  z68,  316, 

409,  470.  S14.  554 

Ciesarea     ....     487,  558 

Cbaldseans  ....       64 

Christ,  Brethren         ,  .145 

„      Childhood       .         .         .167 

,,      Death     ....       70 

„      Knowledge      .        .         .53° 

Christianity  and  Modern  Thought    507 

Chronicles 452 

Citizenship,  Roman    .         .         -       78 

Commentary,  Great  Text   35,  61,  130, 

354.  303,  355, 

424.  460,  492 

'Conversation '  .         . 

Creation  in  Bab.  Lit. 
Cross.  Bearing    , 
Cubit,  Length     . 
Damascus,  Rivers 
Daniel,  Date 

,"       'Weeks" 
Davidson,  A.  B. 
Death,  Suffering  at     . 
Dibon 

Dies  Irse  Dies  Ilia      . 
Dives  and  Lazarus      . 
Divinity  Students,  Dearth 
Di^matics,  Method 


Ecch 


Not 


487 


33J 


Ecstasy,  Prophi 

Egyptian  Papyrus  of  Kha- 

Emmaus  Mistaken  for  a  Person 

477,  56 

Enoch,  City        .         .         .         .       ""' 

Episcopacy,  Ilieb-Church  . 

Ethics,  -jcienti^  and  Christian  . 

Eusebius,  Syriac  Version 

Experience,  Religious 

Eiposilion,  Notes  of  Recent  I 
97.  145.  '93.  24", 
337.385.433.481 


50,  233 

535 

4^9, 

6r 

78 


519 


SUBJECTS. 


Foreign  Theology,  Recent .        38,  69, 

361.'  335!  is^'- 
398. 505.  543 

Galatia,  Southern  Theory  .         .     511 

'Generation'      ....     434 

Genesis  and  Bab.  Lit.         .         .       S' 

Gospel  after  Recent  Criticism  146 

„      and  the  Gospels  lol,  146 

Gospels  and  the  Gospel      .      toi,  146 

,,       and  the  Heiateuch  565 

„       New  Uncial  .        .         .114 

„       New  Syriac  ...     509 

,,       Phraseology  ...         4 

,,       Sources         ■         .        •       75 

Grace,  Christian  Doctrine  .         .     359 

Hades 548 

Hagat'sWell  ....  66 
Hand,  Left  ....  524 
Hebrew  Bible,  Smallest  .  .  336 
Hendiadys  in  the  Bible  .  342.  388 
Hexaplaric  Discoveries  .  .  55 
Hexateuch  and  the  Gospels  .  565 
Hittile  Decipherroeul  .         .     490 

„  Discoveries  .  .  .  465 
Illustrations  ....  265 
Imperialism,  Roman  ...  80 
Incarnation,  Laciii  C/assiaii  ,  477 
Index  to  Recent  Theology — 

Books 377 

Periodicals  .  .  .  280,  475 
Indignation,  Christ's  Treatment .  366 
Inspiration  ....  149 
Irony,  Christ's  ....  47 
Isaiah,  Unity  .  .  qo,  133,  385 
Jacob's    Route    from    Ha  ran   to 

Shechem  ....  457 
Jeremiah  ....  71,  135 
535 


'Jerusalem' in  Lucan  Writings   .     157 
,,  Siege  by  Sennacherib    326 

Jesus,  Holti  '    '"' 


Resur 


'Jew,'  'Jewess,'  'Jewish,'  'Jewry 

432.  477 

Jews  and  the  Passion  ...       99 

,,    Mission  Problems       .    241,  333, 

430.  533 

„    Non-Bibl,  Lit.    ...     190 

John  the  Baptist  Sect  .         .     483 

John's  Gospel  and  Synoptics  392 

,,  Recent  Criticism  .     199 

Kiddilsb 437 

Kierkegaard       ....     404 

Kir-hires 186 

Lewis  Palimpsest,  'Our  Lord'  in    336, 
283.  334.  383 
,,  „  Theft  from      .     405 

Life,  Ethical  ....  2 
Logos  and  Si.  John's  Gospel  .  140 
'Lord  (Our)'  in  Lewis  Palimp- 
sest .  236,  383,  334,  383 
Lord's  Prayer,  Arrangement  .  431 
Lord's  Supper  .  .  .  398,  503 
-nd  PitMover      394,  435 


Loi« 


397 


Luke's  Gospel,  Johannine  Docd- 

Maccabees,  Syriac 

Macbiaveliism  in  N.T. 

M^c  and  Religion    . 

Magnificat . 

Mahanaim 

Mark,  Aramaic  in 

Mary  Magdalene 

Melchizedek       .... 

Messiah  ol  Gospels     . 

Miracles  in  Gospels    .      146,  148, 

Mile 

Miipah 

Moabite  Stone    .... 
Moses,  Religioo 

Nathanael 

New  Testament— 

Recent  Criticism     . 

Study 

Text       .  38,  97,  136,  laS, 

Nietzsche 

Nippur  Library  .... 
Old  Testament— 

Abiding  Value  398, 

Palestine,  Discoveries  in  E. 
Paraclete  and  the  World  . 
Paradise,  Rivers 

Passover  and  Lord's  Supper 
„       in  Christian  Church 

„       Order  of  Observance 
Paitiarchs,  Persons  or  Tribes 
Paul  at  Malta     . 
,,    the  Roman 
Pentecost,  Day  of 
Fenuel       .... 
Poetry         .... 
Prayer        .... 

„      in  Early  Christendom 
Priesthood  without  Pedigree 
Prophetic  Ecstasy 
Psalms  and  Christianily 

„      of  Solomon     . 
Psenosiris,  Episile 
Punishment,  Purpose . 
Rahab        .... 
Redemption,       Schleiermachi 

Doctrine 
'Refreshing'      . 
Religion,  Healthy  and  Sick 
Remnant    .... 
Revelation 

Kinds       . 
Revised  Version,  Principles 

„  ,,        American      300 

Righteousness    of    Scribes    and 

Pharisees 
Roads,  Roman  . 
Sabbath  Day's  Journey 
Schleiermacher,  Djcltine  of  Re- 

I   Science  and  Faith 

I    Sennacherib,  Second  Expedi 

Sepharad,  Land 
I   Septuaginl,  Date 


3!8 


:^ 


Sepulchre  (Holy),  Site        . 

Sin,  Conviction , 

4» 

,o8 

„    Original 

„     Four  fisS  from 

Sinim         .... 

Sins  iDd  SiDfulnui     .        . 

SiRich,  Notes     . 

Socrates  and  Christ    . 

40.1 

rrino 


E-ab  - 


'  Son  of  Man,'  Recent  Discussion 

Succotb 

Sulierinf;  at  Death 
Symbolo-Fid^isiD 
Tal>ernacle,  Construction    . 

Tarsbish 

Tehom 

Temple,  The  Two  Cleansings     . 
Theology,  Subject-Index  to  Re- 
Books     

HEBREW  WORDS. 


K"31  . 


IBID 


Theology  (i-nwrtnusjf) — 

Periodicals 
'Tree  and  Pillar  Cull ' 
Unbelief  of  Young  Men 
Union,  Church  . 
UroftheChsldees     . 
'Vile' 

Wages  in  Israel  . 
Walker  (Patrick) 
Woman  that  was  a  Sinner 
Zecbariah  . 


GREEK.  WORDS. 


■     563 

.     463 

HntaXionai 

■     464 

^n^Xcia    . 

.     464 

Ja       . 

■     365 

'UpoaiXvjia 

•IipowoX^ 

■      157 

T<ipAK\,n-Ot 

•    345 

Kiptt, 

c6pay«l        . 

■      97 

TiKOO'           .           .       337 

x.vL  30  . 
xxiv.  17  . 
xxvi.  s     . 

1.  3    ■    ■ 

i\  :  : 

ill.    12        . 

X.  30.    . 

v..  19      . 
Cix.23    . 

J«riii.  36 

«iiK'^" 

li.  2'  .      .' 
lii.  1-7    . 
lix.  1-9   . 
4-9  .     ■ 
1.  13  .     . 

VU  : 

X.  as,  26 
xvii.  10  . 
it.  24-27 

ii.  8 40  1 

V.  2-4 

234 

.  20-24 

527 

39    . 

I4S 

:.3.  ■ 

5*4 

.25  . 
>i.  IS 

3S8 
336 

.26     4 

1« 

5,189 

i.  19- 

11.  27 

iii.  18 

338 

:  34  - 

266 

!"■  35 

562 
443 

33 

267 
,   330 

6,  524 

4S 

14    . 

434 

■  34- 

29 

xn.  2S  . 
XV.  28,  29 
xvi.  6   . 

il 

oi.V     . 
ii.  5      , 

XT.  6     '. 
Cor  iv.  21 
vi.  s      . 
Cor  i.  5 

V.  17     . 

xiii.  3.  4 
al  vi.  6  . 
hit  iii.  20, 
leb  xii.  T 
xii.  2    . 
xiii.  8  . 
Pet  i.  10, 
ev  ix.  7  (  x 
xiv.  3    . 

xi. 

.yGooi^lc 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Qtofee   of  (F«c<nf   (BtpoetHon. 


'It  is  an  extraordinary  phenomenon  of  scientific 
ethics,'  say  the  editors  of  The  Biblical  World  in 
their  issue  for  August, '  that  it  should  have  ignored 
the  significance  of  Christianity.  Historically  there 
has  been  no  more  potent  moral  force  in  occidental 
society  than  the  Church,  and,  whatever  may  be  the 
value  of  other  religious  systems  to  the  orient,  the 
great  teachers  of  right  conduct  in  Europe  and 
America  have  been  the  preachers  of  the  gospel 
Yet  there  is  almost  no  treatise  on  scientific  ethics 
worthy  of  serious  consideration  in  which  Chris- 
tianity is  accorded  any  weight.  Even  when  a 
writer  like  Paulsen  is  led  to  notice  Christianity 
as  a  historical  fact,  he  discusses  it  as  if  it  were  a 
branch  of  asceticism  or  a  matter  of  antiquarian 
information.  Nor  does  scientific  ethics  merely 
ignore  Christianity;  some  of  its  representatives 
explicitly  declare  the  ethics  of  Christianity  to  be 
defective.' 

This  then  is  the  situation.  The  art  of  good 
conduct  taught  by  Jesus  is  preached  by  thousands 
of  men  to  tens  of  thousands  of  people  every  week. 
The  scientific  writers  on  good  conduct  either  silently 
ignore  the  teaching  of  Jesus  or  openly  reject  it. 
It  is  more  than  extraordinary ;  it  is  a  situation  of 
grave  peril  either  to  Christianity  or  to  science. 

Some   reasons  are  given.     The  first  reason  is 
that  scientific  ethics  is  now  evolutionary.    The 
Vol.  XIII.— I. 


present  recognition  of  conscience,  it  is  held,  has 
been  reached  by  continued  efforts  to  find  out  what 
is  best  in  the  long-run.  The  very  idea  of  right 
and  wrong,  the  very  birth  of  conscience,  it  is  some- 
times held,  is  the  result  of  a  process  of  evolution. 
The  teaching  of  Jesus  does  not  fall  in  with  this 
position.  It  reckons  upon  a  sense  of  right  and 
wrong  in  every  man.  It  denies  to  self-interest  the 
honourable  role  of  evolving  that  sense  and  giving 
it  authority.  Self-interest  is  one  of  the  works  of 
the  devil ;  the  Son  of  Man  was  manifest  that  He 
might  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil. 

Scientific  ethics  is  essentially  systematic.  That 
is  another  reason.  Even  if  it  recognizes  Chris- 
tianity, therefore,  it  does  so  merely  by  accepting 
a  precept  here  and  a  precept  there.  Greek  ethics 
it  can  take  over  and  build  on,  because  Greek 
ethics  included  not  simply  scattered  precepts  of 
conduct,  but  a  formal  systematizaiion.  But  of 
Hebrew  or  Christian  ethics  it  can  at  the  most 
find  room  for  only  an  occasional  practical  aphorism. 

Another  reason  is  that  writers  on  scientific 
ethics  believe  that  Christianity  when  it  touches 
on  conduct  teaches  asceticism.  It  denies  life 
its  worth  and  pleasure;  it  represents  this  world 
as  a  vale  of  teats ;  it  describes  the  body  of  man 
as  a  vile  instrument  of  indulgence,  to  be  buffeted 
and  bruised  until  it  is  cast  off  altogether. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Again,  the  rewards  which  ihc  Christian  re- 
ligion ofTers  to  those  who  do  right  and  the  pains 
it  promises  to  those  who  do  wrong  are  held  to 
be  utterly  unscientific.  In  scientific  ethics  there 
is  no  place  for  heaven  or  hell ;  virtue  is  its  own 
reward,  vice  its  own  suflicient  punishment. 

The  last  reason  is  the  most  conclusive.  Chris- 
tian ethics  is  understood  to  rest  upon  a  basis  of 
super  natural  ism.  Jesus  not  only  taught  men  to 
seek  the  kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteousness, 
but  is  understood  to  have  risen  from  the  dead. 
And  on  the  resurrection  the  kingdom  of  God  is 
built,  from  the  risen  Christ  the  authority  to  teach 
His  ethics  and  the  power  to  do  it  is  undeislood 
to  come.  Science  has  no  room  for  the  resurrec- 
tion. So  far  as  scientific  ethics  is  concerned 
miracles  do  not  occur. 

Now  the  editors  of  Tht  Biblical  World  do  not 
deny  that  there  is  force  in  these  objections.  But 
they  assert  that  not  one  of  them  presents  any  fair 
knowledge  of  Christianity.  And  they  have  come 
to  the  deliberate  conclusion  (and  express  it  in 
italics)  that  the  reason  why  writers  on  scientific 
ethics  neglect  or  reject  the  ethics  of  Christianity 
is  because  they  do  not  knoiv  what  the  ethics  oj 
Christianity  is. 

But  scientific  moralists  are  not  alone  to  blame 
for  that,  tor  Christian  preachers  themselves  do 
not  always  seem  to  know  what  Christian  ethics 
is.  The  true  inwardness  of  the  ethics  of  Christ 
and  of  St.  Paul  has  been  missed.  The  liberty 
wherewith  Christ  has  made  us  free,  free  from 
all  external  authority  whatever,  has  been  shunned 
as  antinomianism ;  and  in  its  place  has  been 
established  an  external  ethical  authority — an  in- 
fallible church,  an  infallible  pope,  or  an  infallible 
creed — often  less  attractive  and  less  fruitful  of 
good  works  than  the  law  of  Moses  or  even  the 
tradition  of  the  Pharisees. 

So  the  Church  of  Christ  must  herself  learn 
n'hat  the  ethics  of  Christ  is,  and  her  preachers 


must  preach  it,  before  scientific  moralists  can  be 
fairly  expected  to  take  account  of  it.  And  to 
that  end  three  things  are  necessar}'. 

First,  the  history  of  the  words  which  convey  the 
ethics  of  the  New  Testament  to  us  must  be  ac- 
curately and  sympathetically  traced.  Next,  there 
must  be  a  clear  understanding  as  to  what  is  the 
essential  fact  in  the  moral  teaching  of  the  New 
Testament.  And  then  these  two  must  be  sharply 
separated  and  seen  apart.  For  Christianity  has 
a  husk  as  well  as  a  kernel.  The  husk  is  the  in- 
tellectual forms  of  speech  which  came  from 
Judaism  and  were  modified  by  Greek  and  Roman 
thought ;  the  essence  was  contributed  by  Christ. 

And  that  essence  is  life.  This  is  Christ's  con- 
tribution. '1  came  that  they  might  have  life,' 
The  words  which  describe  the  life  are  of  Jewish 
or  Grseco-Roman  descent,  and  their  provincialism, 
so  to  speak,  must  be  discounted ;  the  thing  itself 
is  wholly  of  Christ.  How  ignorant,  then,  of  the 
essence  of  Christianity  are  the  writers  on  scientific 
ethics  who  say  that  Christianity  belittles  life;  who 
think  that  either  Jesus  Christ  or  the  Apostle  Paul 
was  an  ascetic ;  who  reckon  that  the  chief  obliga- 
tion imposed  by  the  Christian  religion  is  to  despise 
and  destroy  the  body ;  who  declare  that  the  New 
Testament  knows  no  higher  ethical  imperative 
than  escape  from  hell.  It  is  the  ethics  of  the 
New  Testament  that  has  determined  the  conduct 
of  thousands  of  the  noblest  men  and  women 
throughout  the  Christian  era;  and  the  editors  of 
The  Biblical  World  suggest  that  before  the  next 
writer  on  scientific  ethics  'finally  decides  that 
Christianity  should  be  reduced  to  a  footnote,  or 
even  to  an  arch^ological  chapter,  he  would  do 
well  to  understand  the  New  Testament.' 


'  New  Testament  Criticism  and  the  Faith  '  is  the 
title  of  four  articles  which  have  been  contributed 
to  The  Pilot  during  the  month  of  August  by  Canon 
Gore.  The  articles  deal  with  the  most  recent 
criticism  of  the  New  Testament,  the  f. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


the  last  ten  years  or  less.  They  are  written  for 
the  purpose  of  showing  the  direction  which  the 
most  recent  criticism  has  been  taking,  and  the 
effect  it  has  had  upon  'the  Church's  faith  in  Christ.' 

Canon  Gore  does  not  go  back  more  than  ten 
years,  because  ten  years  ago  one  great  critical  era, 
the  era  of  Lightfoot,  had  come  to  an  end.  In 
Germany  the  Tubingen  school  had  been  routed, 
and  Harnack  had  begun  to  lead  a  'backward 
movement  towards  tradition.'  In  England,  Super- 
natural Religion,  'a  book  representing,  not  very 
worthily,  the  destructive  criticism  of  Germany,' 
had  been  fairly  exploded,  and  the  names  of  Light- 
foot,  Salmon,  and  Sanday  stood  for  what  on  the 
whole  was  a  decidedly  conservative  victory.  The 
prospect  was  hopeful.  The  way  seemed  to  be 
open  for  Canon  Gore  or  anyone  else  to  hold  by 
the  Church's  faith  in  Christ,  and  at  the  same  time 
recognize  the  function  of  a  searching  criticism  as 
applied  to  the  New  Testament  documents. 

But  the  criticism  of  the  last  ten  years  has 
'disappointed  these  hopes.  It  is  true  that  Dr. 
Sanday's  Bampton  Lectures  and  '  his  great  article  on 
Jesus  Christ  in  Hastings'  Dictionary'  represent 
-what  Canon  Gore  believes  to  be  the  high-water 
Jevel  of  sane  criticism.  But  Harnack  has  shown, 
'by  the  lectures  recently  translated  into  English 
■with  the  title  What  is  Chnstiamiyi  that  the 
backward  movement  towards  tradition,  whatever 
it  may  do  with  dates  and  authorships,  has  not 
carried  Harnack  himself  any  nearer  the  traditional 
faith.  And  there  are  others,  in  England  as  well  as 
an  Germany — Canon  Gore  names  Professor  Percy 
Gardner,  Mr.  Burkitt,  Mr.  Moffatt,  Dr.  Abbott,  and 
Professor  Schmiedel — whose  writings  have  made 
much  stir  of  late,  and  seem  once  more  to  have 
brought  the  question,  whether  the  gospel  story  is 
really  and  substantially  historical,  into  a  condition 
which  Canon  Gore  describes  as  '  not  much  less 
than  chaotic' 

The  immediate  result,  especially  among  younger 
men,   is  no  little   unsettlement.      There   is,   for 


instance,  a  somewhat  widespread  anxiety  not  to 
affirm,  as  a  fact  resting  on  adequate  evidence, 
the  virgin  birth  of  our  Lord.  And,  beyond  that, 
there  is  a  tendency  to  eliminate  the  divine  claim 
from  the  life  of  Jesus,  and  to  leave  the  reality  of 
miracle  an  open  question — a  tendency  which 
Canon  Gore  finds  illustrated  in  A.  B.  Bruce's  last 
thoughts  on  Jesus  in  the  E>t<yclopmdia  Biblica. 
Nor  is  the  unrest  confined  to  professional 
theologians.  Canon  Gore  believes  that  among 
the  laity  there  is  at  present  a  good  deal  of 
suspicion  that  criticism  has  proved  fatal  to 
orthodoxy,  and  that  the  only  permanent  element 
of  Christianity  is  the  heritage  of  moral  character. 

Now  it  is  easy  to  magnify  the  importance  of  this 
movement,  and  even  to  overestimate  its  men. 
For  it  is  a  critical  movement  pure  and  simple.  It 
has  no  discovery  in  early  Christian  literature  to 
start  from.  The  great  discoveries  of  those  years 
have  all  gone  toward  the  confirmation  of  the 
traditional  faith.  And  not  only  is  it  purely  critical, 
but  its  criticism  is  wholly  of  the  documents  them- 
selves. The  external  evidence  still  throws  back  the 
Synoptic  Gospels  into  the  first  century.  Harnack 
dates  St.  Mark  probably  at  65  to  70  a.d.,  St. 
Matthew  at  70  to  75  A.D.,  St.  Luke  about  78  to  92. 

And  even  on  the  internal  evidence  Sanday  and 
Harnack  are  substantially  at  one.  'In  their 
essential  substance,'  says  Harnack,  'the  Gospels 
belong  to  the  first,  the  Jewish  epoch  of  Chris- 
tianity, that  brief  epoch  which  may  be  denoted 
as  the  palfeontological.'  It  is  therefore  not  only 
upon  internal  evidence  thai  this  recent  criticism 
proceeds,  but  upon  that  evidence  as  it  passes 
through  certain  minds.  These  minds  are  not 
more  '  historical '  than  Lightfoot's.  On  the 
contrary,  they  are  discovered  constantly  asserting 
that  things  cannot  have  been  as  they  are  represented 
in  the  Gospels,  either  because  they  do  not  square 
with  the  writer's  own  conception  of  Jesus  and  His 
times,  or  because  they  contradict  some  of  his 
philosophical  ideas,  such  as  the  impossibility  of 
miracle. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Canon  Gore  thinks  that  we  have  dealt  too 
tenderly  with  such  writers.  'Is  there  not  a 
danger,'  he  asks,  'that  in  exhibiting  a  scrupulous 
anxiety  to  give  due  weight  to  the  yet  undeveloped 
theories  of  the  last  rising  foreign  scholar,  and 
an  even  blind  charity  in  refusing  to  notice  the 
manifestly  naturalistic  bias  in  his  work,  some  of  us 
should  be  found  dissimulating  the  real  strength  of 
our  own  reasoned  convictions,  and  refusing  to 
those  who  are  weaker  the  support  which  they 
really  need?' 

This  criticism,  then,  has  no  discovery  to  work 
upon.  Not  only  so,  but  all  the  evidence  as  yet  to 
hand  conlirms  the  statement  of  St.  Luke's  preface 
as  to  the  way  in  which  the  Synoptic  Gospels  came 
into  existence.  There  was  first  of  all  the  apostolic 
witness  as  to  the  words  and  deeds  of  Jesus ;  '  They 
delivered  them  to  us  who  from  the  beginning  were 
eye-witnesses  and  ministers  of  the  word.'  Then 
this  apostolic  delivery  or  '  tradition '  became  the 
matter  of  common  instruction  in  the  first  Christian 
Churches,  an  instruction  which,  from  the  necessity 
of  the  case,  must  have  been,  at  first  at  least, 
mainly  oral.  Theophihis,  like  all  other  Christians, 
'  was  instructed '  in  the  contents  of  this  tradition. 
Then,  after  a  while,  '  many  took  in  hand  to  draw 
up  a  (written)  narrative '  of  this  gospel  story. 
Now  the  merit  of  these  written  documents 
depended  entirely  upon  the  accuracy  and  fulness 
with  which  they  gathered  up  the  apostolic 
'  tradition.'  St.  Luke  claims  no  qualifications  but 
those  of  opportunity  and  care.  '  Having  followed 
along  with  the  whole  course  of  events  from  the 
beginning  accurately,'  he  writes  his  Gospel  to  give 
'security'  to  the  instruction  which  in  common 
with  others  his  Theophilus  has  received. 

This  process  occupied  a  certain  number  of 
years.  The  matter  which  is  common  to  the  three 
Synoptics  and  even  that  which  is  common  to  two 
of  them,  certainly  assumed  its  form  within  thirty 
or  forty  years  of  the  death  of  Christ.  Now  we 
know  a  good  deal  of  the  life  of  the  Christian 
society    during    those     first    forty    years.      The 


Epistles,  especially  those  of  St.  Paul,  together 
with  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  reveal  that  life,  its 
movements,  and  its  tendencies.  And  the  questiort 
which  we  have  to  ask  is  this,  Are  the  Gospels 
trustworthy  records  of  the  actual  words  and  works 
of  Jesus  Christ,  or  are  they  seriously  coloured  by 
later  notions  of  what  His  words  and  works  ought 
to  have  been? 

Look  at  the  phraseology  of  the  Gospels  first  of 
all.  In  the  Epistles  Christians  are  called  'the 
brethren'  or  'the  saints.'  These  titles  describe 
their  relation  to  the  community.  In  the  Gospels, 
as  in  the  early  history  of  the  Acts,  they  are  '  the 
disciples.'  Again,  in  the  Gospels  the  character 
islic  title  of  Jesus  is  '  the  Son  of  man ' ;  and  '  the 
Christ '  Is  still  the  Jewish  Messiah.  In  the  Epistles 
'Christ'  has  become  almost  a  proper  name,  and 
'  the  Son  of  man  '  is  no  longer  in  use.  The  whole 
style  of  our  Lord's  teaching  in  the  Gospels  (to 
mention  but  one  other  matter),  whether  it  is  by 
parables  or  otherwise,  is  quite  unlike  anything  in 
the  rest  of  the  New  Testament.  The  phraseology 
of  justification,  sanctification,  and  election,  if  it 
appears  at  all  in  the  Gospels,  appears  so  un- 
technically  that  the  contrast  is  only  the  more 
impressive. 

It  thus  appears  that  the  ideas  and  phrases 
which  grew  up  in  the  minds  of  the  apostles  and 
the  Church  throughout  those  forty  years  were  rot 
allowed  to  interfere  with  their  memory  of  what 
'  Jesus  began  both  to  do  and  teach.' 

Look  next  at  the  influence  upon  the  Gospels  of 
Old  Testament  prophecy  or  type.  We  know  that 
the  early  Church  was  much  occupied  with  finding  in 
Christ  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy.  Is  there  reason 
to  believe  that  they  altered  the  record  or  their  own 
recollection  of  events  in  the  life  of  Christ  so  as  to 
make  these  events  more  evidendy  the  fulfilment  of 
the  Old  Testament  prophecies  ?  Canon  Gore  be- 
lieves that  in  St.  Matthew's  Gospel  there  are  three 
passages  which  show  some  trace  of  this  desire.  In 
Mt  21-  the  'ass'  is  added  to  the  'colt';  In  26'* 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


the  thirty  pieces  of  silver  are  specified ;  and  in 
27*'  'gair  is  substituted  for  'myrrh,'  But  the 
common  matter  of  the  Gospels  is  free  from  any 
such  suspicion.  The  Second  and  Third  Gospels 
contain,  indeed,  very  little  reference  to  the  fulfil- 
ment of  prophecy.  And  although  Canon  Gore, 
for  his  part,  feels  compelled  to  admit  modification 
of  details  in  the  three  instances  mentioned,  which 
are  peculiar  to  St.  Matthew,  he  holds  that  there  is 
no  excuse  at  all  for  suggesting  that  the  influence 
of  Old  Testament  prophecy  or  type  has  been 
allowed  to  mould  any  event  of  importance  in  the 
portion  of  the  Gospels  which  we  are  now  con- 
sidering. 

And  this  leads  to  the  further  and  more 
striking  observation  that  the  miraculous  element 
in  the  Gospels  does  not  grow  with  their  age.  It  is, 
indeed,  at  its  highest  in  that  Gospel  which  critics 
with  singular  unanimity  regard  as  the  earliest  of 
alt — the  Petrine  memories  recorded  in  St.  Mark. 
It  is  here  also  inextricably  bound  up  with  scenes 
and  sayings  of  our  Lord  the  most  indisputably 
authentic.  What,  for  example,  can  be  more 
certain  than  that  the  account  of  the  Temptation 
is  the  record  of  a  real  spiritual  experience  of 
our  Lord,  communicated  by  Himself  in  outward 
imagery  to  the  disciples?  But  this  experience 
presupposes  throughout  on  our  Lord's  own  part 
a  consciousness  of  strictly  miraculous  powers  over 
nature. 

Once  more,  and  it  is  yet  more  striking,  St. 
Paul's  Epistles  presuppose  Christ's  incarnation 
and  divine  sonship  as  common  beliefs  of  the 
Ciiurch.  Now  it  cannot  be  said  that  these 
beliefs  are  foreign  to  the  Gospels.  They  occur 
there,  and  it  is  impossible,  says  Canon  Gore,  for 
the  most  hardy  scepticism  to  deny  the  authenticity 
of  the  passages  in  which  they  occur.  Take  the 
assertion  of  the  mutual  knowledge  of  the  Father 
and  the  Son,  a  knowledge  which  is  declared  to  be 
exclusive;  or  take  the  declaration  that  the  day 
and  hour  of  the  End  are  known  neither  to  men 
nor  to  angels  nor  to  the  Son,  where  the  divine 


sonship  is  asserted  to  be  superangelic  in  a  con- 
text that  is  quite  unassailable.  Or,  again,  take  the 
Parable  of  the  Vine-dressers,  where,  quite  incident- 
ally but  quite  unmistakably,  God's  Son  is  contrasted 
with  God's  messengers.  Yes,  the  ideas  of  incar- 
nation and  divine  sonship  are  found  in  the 
Synoptic  Gospels.  But  they  are  not  the  most 
prominent  ideas.  There,  as  in  the  early  speeches 
of  the  Acts,  it  is  the  Messiahshlp  and  heavenly 
exaltation  of  Jesus  that  chiefly  occupy  the 
disciples'  minds.  And  when  the  ideas  of  incar- 
nation and  divine  sonship  do  occur,  they  occur 
in  such  a  way  as  to  put  interpolation  or  later 
colouring  out  of  the  question. 


Canon  Gore  gives  yet  another  example.  The 
resurrection  of  Jesus  from  the  dead  was,  in 
the  early  Church,  the  great  subject  of  apostolic 
preaching.  Being  a  supernatural  event,  its  im- 
pressiveness  depended  upon  the  fulness  and  force 
of  the  evidence  that  could  be  produced  on  its 
behalf.  Accordingly,  St.  Paul  tells  us  that  the 
witness  of  those  who  had  seen  the  risen  Lord 
(omitting  the  women)  was  tabulated,  so  that  it 
might  be  engraved  in  the  faithful  memory  of  all 
Christians.  Now  it  is  surely  remarkable  that  this 
table  is  not  incorporated  in  any  of  the  Gospels. 
The  appearances  of  the  risen  Christ  to  His  disciples 
arc  set  down  in  the  Gospels  in  so  casual  a  way  as 
to  become  a  positive  perplexity  to  the  modem 
harmonist,  It  is  difficult  to  imagine  stronger 
evidence  that  the  Gospels  came  into  existence  in 
the  natural  way  described  by  St.  Luke  in  his 
preface,  and  that  they  were  left  uncoloured  by  the 
thoughts  and  necessities  of  a  later  time. 


Professor  Gwatkin  of  Cambridge  has  published 
the  sermon  which  he  preached  before  the 
University  on  the  16th  of  June  1901,  the  day 
known  as  Commencement  Sunday.  His  text  is 
taken  from  z  Co  5'",  the  Revised  Version  :  '  The 
old  things  are  passed  away;  behold,  they  are 
become  new.' 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Not  'all  things  are  become  new.'  That  is  a 
false  Teading,  says  Professor  Gwatkin ;  and  the 
context  shows  that  St.  Paul  is  not  speaking  of  old 
things  generally  but  of  our  old  selves,  and  the 
things  we  loved  in  past  time.  St.  Paul  is  telling 
us  of  changes  that  are  going  on  now.  He  is  not 
looking  forward  like  St  John  to  the  time  when  he 
that  sitteth  on  the  throne  shall  say, 'Behold,  I 
make  all  things  new.'  He  is  speaking  indeed  of 
powers  that  belong  to  a  future  age.  But  he  is 
speaking  of  them  only  in  their  working  here 
on  earth — the  hriytia,  'earthly  things,'  not  the 
iTTovpavia,  '  heavenly  things.' 

The  old  things  are  passed  away.  They  are 
passing  now.  For  the  age  to  come  in  which  the 
apostle's  'powers'  arc  to  do  their  work  is  this 
present  age,  the  age  In  which  he  and  we  are 
living.  In  its  manifest  out-working  it  was  mostly 
future  to  him,  and  alas !  it  is  mostly  future  still 
to  us.  But  the  powers  are  at  work.  The  old 
things  are  passing,  or  have  passed  away ;  behold, 
they  are  become  new. 

They  pass  often  silently.  We  seem  to  wake  up 
of  a  sudden  to  find  that  the  old  hand  has  tost  its 
cunning,  the  old  custom  is  turned  to  wrong,  the 
old  teaching  emptied  of  its  living  force.  What  are 
we  to  do  then  ?  The  foolish  mother  would  keep 
the  infant  an  infant  always.  The  stupid  politician 
resists  reform.  The  cowardly  Christian  looks  out 
for  a  master  upon  earth,  or  hides  himself  amongst 
the  trees  of  dogma,  that  no  fresh  voice  from 
heaven  may  unsettle  the  thing  he  is  pleased  to 
call  his  faith.  

But  revelation  always  comes  in  change.  And 
change  itself,  says  Professor  Gwatkin,  Is  revelation, 
if  we  have  eyes  to  see  it.  It  is  so  in  life.  When 
we  were  children  we  thought  as  children ;  but  now 
we  have  put  away  childish  things.  It  is  so  in 
history.  Only  decaying  nations  and  decaying 
Churches,  like  the  declining  empire  and  the 
modern  Church  of  Rome,  look  back  to  some 
canonized  past,  and  strive  to   live  by    tradition. 


We  are  simply  unbelieving,  says  Professor  Gwatkin, 
when  we  cling  like  drowning  men  to  the  truth  of 
other  days,  which  cannot  be  God's  message  to  us. 

'  The  old  things  are  passed  away.'  They  were 
good  things  in  their  time  —  the  beauty  of  our 
childhood,  the  proud  powers  of  our  manhood,  the 
words  chat  were  spirit  and  life  to  our  fathers. 
We  look  wistfully  to  the  culture  of  Greece,  the 
splendour  of  Rome,  the  fervour  of  the  early 
Christians,  the  simple  faith  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
the  strong  righteousness  of  Puritanism.  But  we 
can  no  more  recall  them  than  we  can  wake  the 
dead.  They  are  passed  away  for  ever,  and  we 
must  face,  as  best  we  can,  the  work  of  a  world 
which  without  them  seems  cheerless  and  common- 
place. 

The  Victorian  age  and  the  nineteenth  century 
are  of  the  old  things  that  have  passed  away.  But 
behold  they  are  become  new.  What  have  they 
become  to  us  ?  There  are  two  great  guiding  ideas 
— both  contained  in  the  Gospel,  both  made  prac- 
ticable by  the  Reformation,  both  prepared  for  by  the 
clearances  of  the  eighteenth  century — which  the 
nineteenth  century  has  at  last  made  ours.  They 
are  these.  First,  the  worth  and  dignity  of  man  as 
an  individual.  To  some  it  seems  rather  that  the 
great  gift  of  the  nineteenth  century  is  the  worth 
of  society,  and  they  look  upon  the  development 
of  the  social  idea  as  a  reaction  from  individualism. 
To  Professor  Gwatkin  both  seem  parts  of  one  and 
the  same  movement.  It  is  the  higher  value  set  on 
the  individual  that  gave  a  higher  value  to  the 
societies  of  nations  and  Churches  in  which  he 
found  himself.  And  the  social  movement  is 
sound  only  in  so  far  as  it  develops  the  idea  of  the 
worth  of  individual  men.  For  after  all,  says  Dr. 
Gwatkin,  even  the  Church  was  made  for  man,  not 
man  for  ihe  Church. 

The  other  guiding  idea  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury was  that  of  evolution,  which  interpreted  first 
science,  then  history  and  theology ;  and  if  it  has 
thrown  no  light  on  the  final  mysteries  of"  specula- 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


tion — first  principles  cannot  be  demonstrated — it 
has  marvellously  illuminated  for  us  the  methods 
of  God's  working  in  the  world. 


These  then,  the  worth  of  man  as  man,  and  the 
evolution  of  life  and  history,  are  the  new  things 
which  the  things  of  the  old  century  have  become 
to  us.  And  Professor  Gwatkin  claims  that  they  are 
both  intensely  Christian.  The  reddest  of  red  repub- 
licans, he  says,  never  claimed  for  man  such  dignity 
as  is  given  him  in  our  old  story  of  the  Son  of  God 
who  gave  Himself  a  ransom  for  us  all.  The  boldest 
of  levellers,  he  says,  never  went  such  lengths  as  we 
go  in  the  Lord's  Supper,  where  rank  and  race  are 
utterly  ignored,  and  all  come  up  alike  to  feed  by 
faith  on  Christ.  Nor  can  the  greatest  enthusiast 
of  nations — of  man  gathered  into  societies — outdo 
the  love  of  country  which  lights  the  pages  of  his 
Bible.  It  flashes  up  at  the  outset,  when  Miriam 
sings  her  soqg  of  triumph  over  Pharaoh's  host ; 
and  it  shines  out  at  the  end  on  the  gloom  of  the 
gathering  storm,  when  the  last  of  the  Hebrew 
prophets,  James,  the  Lord's  brother,  denounces 
wrath  from  the  Lord  of  Hosts  on  the  oppressors 
of  the  poor. 

And  as  for  evolution,  what  else,  asks  Professor 
Gwatkin,  is  the  majestic  development  of  revela- 


tion, from  the  farthest  past  which  the  astronomer 
can  discern,  to  the  farthest  future  which  the 
prophet  can  divine  ?  Gradually  the  ages  led  up 
to  the  coming  of  their  Lord ;  gradually  the  centuries 
are  unfolding  something  of  the  fulness  of  His  grace 
and  truth. 

But  if  these,  the  guiding  ideas  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  were  in  the  Gospel  from  the  first,  they  could 
hardly,  Professor  Gwatkin  believes,  have  been  got 
out  of  it  without  the  Reformation.  He  gives  the 
Latin  Church  its  due.  But  its  doctrines,  he  says, 
were  all  poisoned  by  one  colossal  blasphemy.  It 
demanded  to  be  believed  without  regard  to  reason, 
and  obeyed  without  regard  to  conscience.  And 
that  is  more  than  God  has  ever  asked  even  for 
Himself.  So  the  yoke  of  Christian  Phariseeism 
had  to  be  broken,  that  man  might  be  free  to  serve 
God  in  spirit  and  truth.  The  unspiritual  unity  of 
Western  Europe  had  to  be  shattered  in  pieces  that 
nations  might  escape  the  tyranny  of  an  alien  and 
sectarian  Church,  Above  all,  the  idea  of  an  in- 
fallible Church  holding  plenary  powers  from  an 
absent  King  had  to  be  rooted  out,  before  men 
could  begin  to  see  the  gradual  development  which 
is  God's  word  to  successive  generations.  But,  adds 
this  great  Church  historian,  'an  infallible  Church  is 
also  incorrigible ;  therefore  He  cut  her  in  sunder 
and  appointed  her  portion  with  the  hypocrites.' 


€h    ^tvv&Mi   of   t^t    Borb. 


The  High  Calling:  of  the  Servant  (Isa.  xlii.  1-7). 


The  character  and  work  of  the  Servant  of  the 
Lord  is  in  some  respects  the  most  important 
subject  with  which  2  Isaiah  deals.  It  is  not  only 
very  important.  It  is  also  on  the  one  hand  very 
interesting,  and  on  the  other  very  difficult.  It  is 
very  interesting,  inasmuch  as  it  is  largely  through 
the  servant  that  Jehovah  brings  about  the  salva- 


tion of  Israel  and  of  other  nations,  and  the 
methods  of  the  unchanging  God  must  be  fraught 
with  the  utmost  personal  interest  for  His  people 
of  any  period.  It  is  very  difficult,  because  the 
greatest  care  is  needed  in  order  to  determine 
precisely  who  the  servant  is ;  and  only  a  close 
comparison  of   different    passages  where    he    i< 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


described  can  entitle  us  to  any  opinion  on  the 
matter. 

The  title  'Servant  of  the  Lord'  is  applied  by 
2  Isaiah  first  to  Cyrus,  the  deliverer  of  the 
captives  from  the  yoke  of  Babylon ;  but  with 
the  fall  of  Babylon  Cyrus  disappears  from  the 
prophet's  view,  and  there  rises  another  figure 
whom  he  invests  with  the  same  title,  one  who 
has  a  great  spiritual  task  to  perform,  instead  of 
a  military  one.  Chapter  41  contains  the  first 
mention  of  him  :  'But  thou,  Israel,  my  servant, 
Jacob  whom  1  have  chosen,  the  seed  of  Abraham 
my  friend ;  thou  whom  I  have  taken  hold  of  from 
the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  called  thee  from  the 
corners  thereof,  and  said  unto  thee.  Thou  an 
my  servant,  I  have  chosen  thee,  and  not  cast 
thee  away;  fear  thou  not,  for  I  am  with  thee; 
be  not  dismayed,  for  I  am  thy  God :  I  will 
strengthen  thee ;  yea,  I  will  help  thee ;  yea,  I 
will  uphold  thee  with  the  right  hand  of  my 
righteousness.' 
w  The  servant  then  is,   in   this  passage,  Israel, 

the  entire  people  whom  the  prophet  is  addressing. 
The  servant  is  not  an  individual,  Let  us  be  clear 
about  this  to  begin  with,  or  2  Isaiah  will  remain  a 
sealed  book  to  us.  With  us  Westerns  the  unit  of 
society  is  a  single  person,  but  in  the  East  it  is  the 
family ;  and  so  the  Old  Testament  is  full  of 
references  to  the  nation,  or  to  some  part  of  it, 
when  to  Western  ears  it  sounds  as  if  an  individual 
were  meant.  Thus,  '  The  men  of  Israel  said  unto 
the  Hivites,  Peradventure  tlieu  dwellest  in  my 
midst;  and  how  shall  /  make  a  covenant  with 
iheey  (Jos  9').  Again,  'The  children  of  Joseph 
spake  unto  Joshua,  saying.  Why  hast  thou  given 
me  but  one  lot  and  one  part  for  an  inheritance, 
seeing  /am  a  great  people,  forasmuch  as  hitherto 
the  Lord  hath  blessed  ««?'  (Jos  17").  Instances 
like  these  might  be  quoted  numerously. 

But  to  come  back  to  the  term  '  servant '  as  applied 
to  the  nation.  It  is  used  at  least  twice  by  Jeremiah 
(3o"»  46"),  and  twice  by  Ezekicl  (28"  37=*). 
2  Isaiah  takes  the  phrase,  and  uses  it  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  develop  a  great  doctrine.  In  find- 
ing out  what  this  is,  it  is  necessary  of  course 
to  compare  the  various  passages  in  which  the 
servant  is  mentioned.  A  little  attention  shows 
that  these  resolve  themselves  into  two  sets,  those 
in  which  God  is  spoken  of  as  doing  something  for 
^is  servant,  and  those  in  which  the  servant  does 
aething  for  Him.     And   the  significant  thing 


I  that  the  servant  of  the  one  set  is  not  identical 
with  the  servant  of  the  other ;  the  servant  who  in 
the  former  case  is  the  whole  nation  becomes  now 
that  part  of  the  nation  which  is  really  serviceable 
to  God. 

When  the  prophet  is  speaking  of  God's  love  t-^ 
for  His  servant.  His  redeeming  activity  on  tho 
servant's  behalf,  he  naturally  thinks  of  all  his 
people,  good  and  bad  alike,  all  needing  God,  all 
dear  to  God.  But  when  he  is  thinking  of  what 
the  people  ought  to  do  for  God,  and  recalls  the 
great  missionary  purpose  for  which  God  selected 
Israel  originally,  and  sought  to  train  them  alt 
along,  he  cannot  but  feel  that  there  are  members 
who  are  morally  incapable  of  doing  that  which 
they  ought.  He  sees  that  the  nation  as  a  whole 
cannot  at  present  be  the  servant  of  the  Lord  in 
the  full  sense ;  and  so  when  he  is  speaking  of  the 
activities  of  the  servant,  he  has  to  restrict  the  term 
to  include  only  the  pious  kernel  within  the  nation. 
Thus  in  the  early  verses  of  chap.  42  it  is  this 
God-fearing  heart  of  the  nation  of  which  the 
prophet  represents  the  Lord  as  speaking  in  such 
lofty  terms ;  and  in  v."  it  is  expressly  said,  '  I 
will  give  thee  for  a  covenant  of  the  people,' 
i.e.  to  be  the  medium  of  the  restoration  of  the 
people  Israel  as  a  whole ;  and  after  that,  '  for 
a  light  of  the  Gentiles.'  Then  from  v.'*  on- 
wards the  prophet  speaks  in  a  very  different  tone, 
because  he  is  now  thinking  of  the  inefficacy  of  the 
nation  as  a  whole  that  ought  to  have  been  the 
Lord's  servant.  As  he  looks  round  upon  the 
people  he  loves,  and  sees  how  very  incomplete 
is  their  knowledge  of  God  and  their  obed'ience 
to  Him,  their  ignorance  seems  to  him  the  veriest 
blindness  to  divine  things,  and  their  disobedience 
deafness  to  the  voice  of  the  Lord.  '  Hear  ye 
deaf,  and  look  ye  blin,d,  that  ye  may  see.  Who 
so  blind  as  my  servant — this  chosen  nation  here? 
or  deaf  as  the  messenger  that  I  send?'  (For 
other  examples  contrast  ^a^-"^^  ^gi. s-ii.  is.  la  ^,.j,)j 
49S.  8  5o<f-) 

Here  then  we  have  an  exemplification  of  that 
saying  of  Jesus,  'Many  are  called,  but  few  are 
chosen,' — a  saying  which  is  true  for  all  time  ;  and 
the  real  servant  of  Jehovah  we  see  to  be  that 
part  of  the  nation  who  recognized  their  duty  to 
the  whole  world,  but  who  felt  their  immediate 
responsibility  to  be  towards  their  own  unbelieving 
countrymen. 

There  was  a  preparation  in  an  earlier  prophet 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


for  this  conception  of  a  section  of  the  people 
being  used  by  God  even  if  the  rest  had  to  be 
given  up.  One  of  Isaiah's  great  doctrines  was 
that  a  remnant  should  return  from  the  Captivity 
which  he  saw  to  be  inevitable;  and  in  order  to 
give  prominence  to  the  idea,  he  called  one  of  his 
sons  Shear  Jashuv,  'A  remnant  shall  return'  (7'). 
Moreover,  he  expressed  his  view  very  emphatically 
in  the  words,  '  Except  the  Lord  of  Hosts  had  left 
unto  us  a  very  small  remnant,  we  should  have 
been  as  Sodom,  we  should  have  been  like  unto 
Gomorrah'  (i'). 

I^t  me  recall  a  recent  instance  of  a  remnant, 
a  remnant  which  may  possibly  still  be  used  as 
the  servant  of  the  Lord  for  the  salvation  of  a 
great  country.  In  France  two  years  ago,  there 
was  waged  a  disgraceful  'campaign,  ostensibly 
having  for  its  object  a  single  individual,  but  in 
reality  being  a  vast  conspiracy  organized  for  the 
overthrow  of  religious  liberty,  and  for  the  sub- 
ordination of  the  civil  10  the  military  power.' 
But  the  '  very  small  remnant '  was  there — a  mere 
handful  of  Jews,  Protestants,  and  non-sectarians — 
who  maintained  their  faith  and  courage  and 
energy  in  spite  of  the  breaking  up  of  old  ties, 
the  boycott  of  society,  and  the  persistent  hound- 
ing down  of  a  Althy  press.  None  of  these  things 
moved  such  men  as  Labori,  De mange,  de 
Pressens^,  Joseph  Reinach,  Cl^menceau,  and  the 
rest,  a  very  small  remnant,  but  strong  in  their 
sense  of  justice  and  their  faith  in  the  eternal 
righteousness.  These  men  were  able  to  with- 
stand in  the  evil  day,  and  having  done  all  to 
stand,  not  merely  because  of  their  own  stead- 
fastness of  purpose,  but  because  they  were  as 
the  servant  of  Che  Lord  of  whom  it  was  said, 
'He  shall  not  fail  nor  be  discouraged,  till  he 
have  set  judgment  in  the  earth,'  and  to  whom 
God  promised,  'I  the  Lord  have  called  thee  in 
righteousness,  and  will  hold  thine  hand  ...  to 
bring  out  the  prisoners  from  the  dungeon,  and 
them  that  sit  in  darkness  out  of  the  prison  house' 

The  early  verses  in  chap.  42  in  which  these 
words  occur  contain  a  very  inspiring  and  very 
attractive  description  of  the  servant,  one  who  is 
able  to  serve  his  fellows  wisely  and  well  because 
he  is  first  and  foremost  the  servant  of  the  Lord. 
It  has  been  beautifully  said  of  the  servant  of 
the  Lord  that  he  is  'useful  only  because  he 
is  used,  influential  only  because  he  is  influenced ; 


victorious  because  he  is  obedient ;  learning  the 
methods  of  his  work  by  daily  wakefulness  to  God's 
voice,  a  good  speaker  only  because  he  is  first  a 
good  listener,  with  no  strength  or  courage  but 
what  God  lends,  and  achieving  all  for  God's 
glory.*  '  Behold  my  servant,  whom  I  uphold ; 
my  chosen,  in  whom  my  soul  delighieth ;  I  have 
put  my  spirit  upon  him :  he  shall  bring  forth 
judgment  to  the  Gentiles'  (Is  42'). 

Now  what  are  the  characteristics  of  this  servant 
who  knows  that  God's  hands  are  about  his  spirit? 


We  must  be  careful  not  to  misinterpret  this. 
This  is  not  the  praise  of  silence.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  description  of  the  servant  suggests  to 
us  a  prophet-preacher  more  than  anything  else. 
The  writer  himself  depended  upon  language  for 
the  service  he  could  do  to  man  and  for  God ; 
and  for  majesty  and  tenderness  alike  his  words 
have  never  been  surpassed.  He  is  not  likely  then 
to  disparage  the  gift  of  public  speech.  What  he 
is  thinking  of  is  not  so  much  the  literal  use  of 
the  voice  as  the  method  and  demeanour  of  him 
who  uses  it.  Matthew  applies  these  words  to 
Jesus  with  rare  insight,  when  he  says  that  Jesus 
charged  those  whom  He  had  healed  not  to  make 
Him  known,  and  adds  that  this  was  a  fulfil- 
ment of  the  words  we  have  before  us.  Our 
Lord  declined  to  be  advertised  in  such  a  manntr 
as  would  draw  attention  merely  to  His  miraculous 
healing  powers:  much  less  would  He  advertise 
Himself. 

Or  to  take  another  case,  Jesus  could  denoutice 
the  Pharisees  in  the  most  scathing  terms,  yet  no 
one  thinks  of  impugning  His  humility.  The 
thing  had  to  be  done  in  the  name  of  God,  and 
Jesus  did  not  shrink  from  the  disagreeable  task 
of  unmasking  the  hypocrites  ;  but  He  never  made 
capital  out  of  their  faults,  nnd  would  have  received 
every  one  of  them  with  the  utmost  graciousness 
had  they  been  penitent.  And  every  servant  of 
the  Lord  must  seek  to  be  like  Jesus  in  this, 
especially  if  his  service  be  of  a  public  character. 
He  must  be  perfectly  fearless  in  uttering  the  will 
of  God,  but  never  sensational.  If  God  is  uphold- 
ing him,  'holding  his  hand,'  he  will  not  be 
hysterical  He  will  be  very  modest,  thinking 
only  of  God,  and  not  at  all  of  himself. 

Another  quality  which  will  be  conspicuous  tn 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


the  servant  who  is  taught  of  God  is  gentleness. 
He  will  manifest  the  gentleness  of  God. 

A  bruised  reed  shall  he  not  break  off. 

The  dimly  butning  wick  he  will  not  quench. 

lie  shall  biing  forth  law  rsithrulty. 
This  was  precisely  what  our  prophet  did  himself. 
The  exiles  were  the  bruised  reed  and  dimly  burn- 
ing wick,  and  the  keyword  of  the  prophet's  utter- 
ances is  comfort.  '  Comfort  ye,  my  people,  saiih 
your  God.'  Bid  them  have  faith  in  God  and  trust 
His  faithfulness.  When  Israel  as  a  whole  had 
realized  this,  she  would  have  the  same  story  of 
iove  to  tell  to  the  nations,  how  that  God  made 
all  men  .  .  .  that  they  should  seek  Him,  if  haply 
they  might  feel  after  Him  and  find  Him,  though 
He  is  not  far  from  each  one  of  us ;  for  in  Him 
we  live  and  move  and  have  our  being.  That  is 
what  the  servant  of  the  Lord  must  make  known 
to  the  Gentiles,  how  that  all  men  have  a  Father 
in  heaven,  '  whose  fondness  goes  far  out  beyond 
our  dreams.'  He  is  able  to  straighten  and  restore 
the  reed  bruised  by  sin,  and  to  refresh  with  the 
supply  of  His  love  the  wick  of  belief  in  goodness 
which  is  burning  dim. 

How  characteristic  of  Jesus  this  was.  If  pub- 
licans and  sinners  were  despairing  of  themselves. 
He  assured  them  that  He  did  not  despair,  and 
neither  need  they.  And  the  common  people 
heard  Him  gladly,  for  He  taught  them  as  one 
having  authority,  and  not  as  the  scribes.  Here, 
again,  He  is  the  model  for  those  who  are  servants 
of  the  Lord  to-day.  Wherever  we  find  those  who 
are  depressed  because  their  life  has  been  a  failure 
i»  the  sight  of  God,  or  those  who  hoped  and 


strove  to  be  so  much  more  serviceable  than  they 
are  in  their  particular  line  of  life,  or  those  to 
whom  the  world  is  hard  in  any  way,  with  these 
we  must  be  very  gentle,  and  tell  them  of  God 
whose  gentleness  and  condescension  makes  men 
great.  But  our  gentleness  must  never  be  mere 
softness.  We  must  never  forget  that  we  are  ser- 
vants of  an  all-righteous  God,  and  therefore  we 
dare  not  offer  the  least  comfort  to  one  who  will 
not  part  with  sin.  Whether  he  be  a  wreck  of 
humanity,  the  miserable  victim  of  his  own  vices, 
or  a  worldling  who  cares  only  for  the  things  of 
this  life,  our  first  word  to  him  from  God  must 
be.  Repent.  The  servant  of  the  Lord  shall  bring 
forth  law  faithfully,  and  he  has  no  mercy  or  hope 
to  offer  to  those  who  are  not  penitent. 

The  reward  of  the  servant  is  mentioned  in  v.'. 
It  is  that  he  shall  succeed  in  the  work  of 
the  Lord.  '  He  shall  not  fail  nor  be  discouraged, 
till  he  have  set  judgment  in  the  earth :  and  the 
Isles  shall  wait  for  his  law.'  '  He  shall  not  faiL 
nor  be  discouraged'  unfortunately  obscures  the 
metaphor.  The  words  mean  literally,  He  shall 
not  burn  dimly  like  a  wick,  nor  break  like  a 
reed,  till  he  have  set  law  in  the  earth.  We  are 
reminded  of  the  beatitude,  '  Blessed  are  the 
merciful  r  for  they  shall  obtain  mercy.'  But 
there  is  more  than  the  assurance  of  God's  pro- 
tection :  there  is  the  guarantee  of  His  strength. 
His  sustaining  power.  If  we  are  working  for  the 
salvation  of  others,  no  less  than  if  we  are  working 
out  our  own,  '  it  is  God  that  worketh  in  us  both 
to  will  and  to  work  according  to  His  good 
pleasure.' 


t^t  ^ataciiU  «n>  i^t  TJ7orf&. 

By  the  Rev.  T.  W.  Hodge,  M.A.,  Leicester. 


It  is  unfortunate  that  the  N.T.  Revisers  had  not 
the  courage  to  render  o  TrapatXijrM  in  Jn  14-16 
by  '  Advocate '  rather  than  by  '  Comforter.'  Their 
marginal  rendering  in  i  Jn  2'  (Comforter  or 
Helper)  is  as  gratuitous  as  it  is  useless,  and  can 
be  meant  simply  to  cover  the  retreat  from  an  un- 
tenable position  in  their  translation  of  the  same 
word  in  the  Gospel. 
To  the  English  reader  the  substitution  of  '  Ad- 


vocate' for  '  Comforter'  in  the  Gospel  would  seem 
a  violent  one.  Equally  violent  would  be  the  sub- 
stitution of  'Comforter'  for  'Advocate'  in  the 
Epistle,  as  it  would  also  be  much  more  unaccount- 
able. And  yet  if  there  is  one  point  upon  which 
scholars  are  agreed  it  is  that,  both  for  the  sake  of 
accuracy  and  of  consistency,  the  same  word  in  the 
Greek  should  be  rendered  by  the  same  word  in 
English. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


On  the  other  hand,  it  has  not  been  clearly 
shown  thai  in  the  Gospel  the  word  has  a  meaning 
tlie  same  as  that  which  it  has  in  the  Epistle.  Dr. 
Dods,  in  his  note  on  Jn  14'*  (Expotitor's  Greek 
Testttment),  with  great  beauty  and  force  paraphrases 
ttAAo5  irapoKkTjTiK  by  alter  ego.  But  there  is  no 
attempt  to  show  how  the  Spirit  is  an  'Advocate' 
in  the  sense  in  which  Christ  is  an  Advocate, 
And  until  this  is  done  the  consistency  gained  by 
uniformity  of  translation  would  be  slight  indeed. 
If  the  Spirit  is  not  an  'Advocate  '  in  the  sense  in 
which  Christ  is  an  Advocate,  then  that  rendering 
might  be  consistent,  but  it  would  also  be  mis- 
leading. 

In  the  Epistle  the  meaning  is  clear  and  un- 
mistakable. TOfja'iiAijTos  was  specially  the  Advocate 
for  the  defence.  Christ  is  the  sinner's  Advocate 
with  God.  Whose  cause,  with  whom  and  on 
behalf  of  whom,  does  the  Spirit  plead  ? 

He  is,  first  of  all,  Chrisfs  Advocate  with  the  be- 
liever (Westcott).  It  is  through  the  teaching  of 
the  Spirit  the  Christian  disciple  learns  the  truth 
about  Christ  (1  Co  a"-'^),  it  was  through  the 
Spirit's  advocacy  thai  the  first  disciples  learned 
how  He  who  was  condemned  and  crucified  as  a 
common  malefactor  and  blasphemer  could  be  the 
King  of  Israel,  the  Saviour  of  the  world,  and  the 
Desire  of  all  nations.  They  learned  how  He  who 
was  smitten  of  God  and  afflicted,  was  wounded 
for  trangressions  and  crushed  for  iniquities  that 
were  not  His  own ;  they  learned  how  they  had 
turned  every  one  to  his  own  way,  and  how  God 
had  laid  on  Him  the  iniquity  of  all. 

But  Christ  needed  an  Advocate  with  the 
WORLD  as  well  as  with  the  disciples.  Only  by  the 
Spirit's  guidance  will  the  world  be  led  into  the  truth 
aboutChrist(iCoia').  Byabilterlyhostile  Church 
He  was  called  a  friend  of  publicans  and  sinners ; 
against  all  forms  of  law  and  justice  He  was  con- 
demned to  scourging  and  death  as  a  blasphemer. 
Never  in  the  whole  history  of  the  world  was  a 
prisoner  so  able  to  plead  His  own  cause,  never 
was  there  so  good  a  cause  to  plead.  And  yet, 
while  justice  was  dragged  through  the  mire,  Christ 
held  His  peace.  Though  in  peril  of  more  than 
mortal  agony,  He  ^opened  nol  His  moutk.'     The 

TIME  FOR  SPEAKING  HAD    NOT  COME.      There  WCfC 

some  things  of  which  He  could  not  speak  to  the 
disciples  (Jn  i^'^).  There  were  some  things  of 
which  He  could  not  speak  to  the  world.  For  a 
moment  His  cause  seemed  to  be  lost  in  hopeless. 


irrecoverable  defeat.  His  death  was  a  perversion, 
not  a  vindicarion  of  justice.  He  was  hated  'gra- 
tuitously' (Jn  15^).  He  was  crucified  through 
ignorance  (i  Co  i^).  The  world  had  misjudged 
Him;  the  verdict  was  confessedly  (Jn  19*)  false 
and  unjust,  and  must  be  reversed.  Only  through 
the  advocacy  of  the  Spirit  could  His  righteousness 
be  brought  forlh  as  the  light  and  His  judgment  as 
the  noonday.  His  hope  is  in  the  Paraclete  (Jn 
1 5=»).  Through  the  Paraclete  will  the  world  be  con- 
vinced of  sin — its  own  sin  ;  of  righteousness — 
His  righteousness;  of  judgment — the  condemna- 
tion of  the  adversary  (Jn  16^""). 

It  is  hardly  adequate  to  say  that  this  conviction 
of  sin  would  secure  the  acquittal  of  the  disciples, 
it  would  secure  the  vindication  of  Christ :  neither 
is  it  sufficient  to  say  that  the  Spirit  '  pleads  the 
believer's  cause  against  the  world  '  (Westcott) ;  for, 
even  in  the  world,  the  Spirit  is  the  Advocate  not  of 
THE  DISCIPLES,  BUT  OF  Christ.  The  discipUs  are 
not  first  of  all  defendants  but  witnesses. 

The  Fourth  Gospel  is,  avowedly,  a  Gospel  with 
a  purpose;  it  was  written  by  a  believer  that  his 
readers  might  share  his  faith  and  so  be  delivered 
from  the  terrible  issues  of  unbelief.  The  writer 
steadily  and  carefully  traces  the  growth  of  faith 
until  it  comes  to  fruition  in  the  repentant  cry  of 
the  first  sceptic :  '  My  Lord  and  my  God.'  In  the 
same  way  he  traces  the  growth  of  unbehef  until  it 
culminates  in  the  rejection  and  crucifixion  of  the 
Redeemer.  Every  other  sin  is  a  tacit,  if  uncon- 
scious, acquiescence  in  the  world's  unjust  judgment 
of  the  Christ.  The  sin  of  which  the  Spirit  will 
convict  {iXiyxia)  the  worid  is  the  sin  of  refusing 
to  believe  on  Christ  (Jn  i6»).  The  conviction 
of  sin  will  secure  the  vindication  of  righteousness  ; 
the  condemnation  of  the  'prince  of  this  world' 
will  lead  to  the  glorification  of  Christ.  And  all 
this  will  be  the  result  of  the  Spirit's  advocacy  of 
Christ  and  of  Christ's  cause.  If  the  Spirit  pleads 
the  cause  of  the  disciple,  He  does  so  only  so  far 
as  He  pleads  the  cause  of  Christ 

Christ  came  in  His  Father's  name,  and  His  work 
was  to  glorify  the  Father.  The  Spirit  comes  in 
Christ's  name  (Jn  14**),  and  the  Spirit's  work  is 
to  glorify  Christ  (Jn  i6»}.  Christ  while  on 
earth  was  God's  Advocate  with  man.  When 
the  Spirit  —  the  SXKck  vapaK\r{tw  (qAXot  not 
htpK — His  work  was  not  different  from  the  work 
of  Christ) — Christ's  alter  ego — came.  He  continued 
the  advocacy  begun  by  Christ.     But  in  coming  as 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


the   Advocate  of  God's  cause,  He  came  as   the  i 
Advocate  of  Chrisfs  cause.  I 

Christ  is  now  man's  Advocate  with  God  (i  I 
Jn  i').  That  is  the  teaching  of  the  Epistle.  The 
Spirit  is  Christ'sadvocale  with  man.  That  is  the 
teaching  of  the  Gospel  (14-16}.  Christ  pleads  the 
cause  of  those  who  did  the  wrong  ;  the  Spirit 
pleads  the  cause  of  Him  who  suffered  the  wrong. 
Christ  pleads  with  the  Holy  the  cause  of  the 
guilty  :  the  Spirit  pleads  with  the  guilty  the  cause 
of  the  Holy. 

And  now  the  Spirit's  advocacy  comes  home  to 
(he  hearts  of  men  with  ever-increasing  power  and 
urgency,     Christ  is  no  longer  regarded  as  a  blas- 


phemer of  God  nor  as  a  cunning  deceiver  of  men. 

Now  at  last  His  name  is  received  with  reverence. 

The  whole  civilized  world  will,  at  length,  be 
I  ashamed  of  the  deed  done  on  Calvary.  Through 
I  the  witness-bearing  of  Christian  disciples  and  the 
I  advocacy  of  the  Spirit  the  world  begins  to  see  in 
!  the  crime  on  Calvary  the  culmination  of  its  un- 
'  belief  and  sin.  The  Spirit  was,  and  is,  the  Advo- 
I  cate  of  disciples  because,  and  only  so  far  as.  He 
I  was  first  of  all  the  Advocate  of  Christ.     He  was 

the  Advocate  of  the  disciples  only  so    far    as 

they  were  witnesses  for  Christ.  Christ  is  the 
'  Advocate  of  disciples :  the  Spirit  is  the  Advocate 
I  of  Christ. 


THE  BOOKS  OF  THE  MONTH. 


AN  INTRODUCTION  TO  CHRISTIAN  MVSTICISM. 
Bv  Kleanoh  C.  Gbegoky.     {Alleiiseii.     i2mo,  pp.  96. 
IS.  fid.  net.) 
Mysticism  is  too  large  a  subject  to  be  intro- 
duced so  briefly,  and  too  '  mystical '  to  he  made 
so  simple.     Yet  this  little  book  was  worth  writing. 
It  wilt  give  to  many  their  earliest  knowledge  of 
the   existence  of  mysticism,  to  some  their  first 
laste  for  it.     And  if  there  are  those  who  will  read 
it  and  then  call  themselves  mystics,  that  is  their 
folly,  not  Miss  Gregory's  fault. 

Mr.  Allenson  is  about  to  issue  the  Old  Testa- 
ment portion  of  Mr,  J.  B.  Roiherham's  Emphasised 
Bible.  He  is  to  issue  it  in  two  forms,  either  in 
three  volumes,  of  which  the  first  will  be  ready  in 
December,  or  in  monthly  parts,  of  which  the  first 
is  in  our  hands  (large  8vo,  pp.  64,  as.). 

For  the  Church  Service  Society  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland,  Dr.  Sprott  has  edited  new  editions  of 
The  Book  of  Common  Order  (Blackwood,  crown 
Svo,  pp.  273)  and  of  Scottish  Liturgies  of  the  Reign 
fif  JatTies  vt,  {pp.  a3i).  With  becoming  modesty 
Dr.  Sprott  speaks  of  the  new  editions  as  '  reprints.' 
But  they  are  not  reprints.  Although  the  first 
editions  were  scholarly  and  attractive,  no  man 
with  Dr.  Sprott's  love  of  things  liturgical  would 
(ve  been  content  to  reprint  the  books.     There 


are  omissions,  additions,  and  alterations  through- 
out. They  might  almost  have  been  called  new 
books.  And  being  now  bound  separately  there  is 
no  edition  of  these  classical  works  so  convenient 
as  this. 

A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  THE  HEBREWS,     Bv  R.  L. 

O-ITLEY.  (Cambridge:  Al  iki  Univtrsity  Prisi.   Crown 

Svo,  pp.  332,  with  Maps.  55.) 
This  Short  History  of  the  Hebrews  must  take 
the  place  of  all  other  text-books.  It  is  less  like  a 
text-book  than  Maclear's  Old  Testament  History, 
for  example,  since  it  is  written  in  a  much  more 
attractive  Enghsh  style,  and  its  chronological 
tables  are  thrown  to  the  end.  But  that  does 
not  make  it  really  less  suited  for  a  text-book. 
.\nd  it  has  the  immeasurable  advantage  over 
Maclear  that  it  makes  use  of  the  last  fifty  years' 
work  on  the  Old  Testament.  It  adopts  the 
results  of  that  work,  though  with  discretion,  and 
what  is  much  more  than  that,  it  frankly  recognizes 
the  validity  of  the  critical  principles  which  have 
produced  those  results.  There  is  no  great  hardi- 
hood in  prophesying  that  Mr.  Ottley's  Short 
History  iif  the  Hebrews  will  mark  a  turning-point 
in  the  study  of  the  Old  Testament. 

Recently  in  the  Biblical  World  there  appeared 
a   remarkably   complete   list   of    Books  for  New 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Testament  Stwiy.  Under  that  italicized  title  the 
list  has  now  been  published  separately,  and  very 
cheaply,  through  the  Chicago  University  Press, 
The  list  is  divided  into  two  pans,  the  one  en- 
titled'Popular,' the  other 'Professional.'  Teachers 
and  theologians  who  can  get  on  as  well  without  as 
with  this  guide  to  the  recent  literature  of  the  New 
Testament  must  be  themselves  very  literary  and 
learned.  The  authors  are  Professor  Voiaw  of  the 
University  of  Chicago,  and  Professor  Bradley  of 
the  Garrett  Biblical  Institute,  Evanston. 

The  Rev.  Hugh  M'lntosh,  M.A.,  has  issued 
the  second  edition  of  his  book.  Is  Christ  In- 
falUbk  and  tht  BibU  Trut?  (T.  &  T.  Clark, 
Svo,  pp.  748,  9s.).  It  contains  a  new  preface, 
in  which  he  says:  'In  issuing  so  soon  the 
second  edition,  I  have  to  acknowledge  most 
gratefully  the  very  favourable  reception  given 
to  this  work,  the  exceedingly  good  reviews  of 
it  by  leading  papers,  both  secular  and  religious, 
nnd  the  highly  appreciative  opinions  of  it,  em- 
phasizing the  urgent  need  of  it  now,  expressed 
by  biblical  scholars  and  leading  men.  In 
this  edition  several  corrections  have  been  made, 
some  changes  introduced,  and  important  additions 
appended.  As  the  last  pages  of  the  first  edition 
were  passing  through  the  press,  there  appeared 
Dr.  G.  Adam  Smith's  Modern  Criticism  and  tht 
Preaching  of  the  0/d  Testament,  treating  partially, 
but  very  unsatisfactorily  of  some  of  the  questions  ; 
as  also,  the  second  volume  of  the  Encyclopedia 
BiblUa,  with  articles  by  Dr.  Schmiedel  and  others, 
which  have  awakened  earnest  attention  and  serious 
concern.  With  these  I  have  here  dealt  specifically, 
though  briefly,  but  I  hope  effectively,  from  the 
standpoint  and  on  the  lines  of  my  book — the 
Divinity  and  Authority  of  Christ.  I  trust  it  may 
now  prove  in  tht  present  crisis  more  helpful  and 
eft'ectual  even  than  before  in  destroying  the  de- 
structive criticism,  and  confirming  faith  in  the 
Word  of  God."  

ANSELM   AND   HIS    WORK.     By  the   Rev.   A.    C. 

Wblcb,  M.A.,  B.D.     {T.  ^  T.  Claii.     Crown  Svo, 

pp.  a65.  3s. ) 
It  was  a  great  idea  to  get  the  history  of  the 
world  written  in  biographies  of  its  epoch-makers. 
There  is  no  other  way,  perhaps,  in  which  it  can 
be  written  now,  there  is  certainly  no  other  form 
in  which  it  will  be  read.     The  work  differs  with 


the  workmen,  but  as  the  volumes  of '  The  World's 
Epoch-Makers '  appear,  it  becomes  more  manifest 
that  in  this  series  we  shall  have  a  history  of  human 
thought  unsurpassed  in  range  and  interest.  But 
there  are  those  who  have  lost  their  ambition  to 
know  the  history  of  the  whole  world.  By  them 
the  volumes  of  this  series  may  be  taken  separately. 
Each  volume  is  complete  in  itself.  It  has  its  own 
interest  and  its  own  independent  worth. 

Mr.  Welch's  masterly  volume  falls  in  with  the 
editor's  grand  ideas  of  a  history  of  the  world,  and 
at  the  same  time  meets  our  less  ambitious  desires 
for  a  good  biography  of  a  great  ecclesiastic.  The 
book  is  by  no  means  an  '  appreciation '  (as  that 
word  has  come  to  be  used).  A  mere  eulogy  of 
Anselm  and  his  work  would  have  been  a  poor 
service  to  render  him  or  us.  But  Mr.  Welch  has 
not  hidden  from  us  the  essential  greatness  of  the 
man,  nor  the  epoch-making  character  of  the  work 
he  did.  It  is  strange  that  for  a  work  so  great  and 
so  trying  this  man  was  chosen,  who  seemed  so 
little  fitted  for  it.  But  perhaps  if  he  had  been 
better  fitted,  after  our  ideas  of  fitness,  he  would 
have  done  it  less  perfectly.  It  is  not  through 
fitness  but  the  shedding  of  blood  ihat  great  work 
is  done,  and  Anselm  was  fit  for  that. 


FAITHS  OF  FAMOUS  MEN.  Bv  J.  K.  Kilbourn, 
l>.D.  ( ['hiladelphia  :  Coaln.  8vo,  pp.  385.} 
The  contents  of  this  book  will  be  often  used  to 
point  a  moral  or  adorn  a  sermon.  Great  men's 
ideas  on  God,  Creation,'  the  Bible,  and  other  great 
subjects  are  gathered  from  their  wrhings  and 
given  in  their  own  words.  The  editor's  purpose 
is  not  apologetic  but  simply  illustrative.  His 
range  is  therefore  very  wide ;  McGiffert  and  Tal- 
mage  stand  side  by  side,  Voltaire  and  Charles 
Hodge.  If  the  book  is  sifted  for  a  new  edition, 
here  is  an  extract  that  might  be  shaken  out — 

Talmage  is  stagg^ered  by  Nothiog;. 

There  is  nothing  in  ihe  Bilile  that  staggers  me.  .  .  . 
Suiting  with  ihe  idea  ihal  God  can  do  anything,  here 
I  stand,  believing  in  1  whole  Bible,  fiotn  lid  to  lid.  .  .  . 
God  was  so  caiefut  to  have  us  have  the  Bible  in  jubt  ihe 
right  shape  thai  we  have  fifty  MS.  copies  of  the  New 
Testameni  looo  years  old.  .  ,  .  Assaulted,  spit  on,  torn 
to  pieces,  and  burned,  yet  still  adhering ;  the  Bible  to-day 
(is)  in  300  languages,  confronting  four-fiflhs  of  the  human 
rice  in  iheir  own  tongue;  3oo,ooo,ooocopiesof  it  are  now 
ID  existence.  ...  I  demand  that  the  critics  of  the  Bible  go 
clear  over  where  they  belong,  on  the  devil's  side. 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


The  new  volume  of  the  Century  Bible  is  Romans 
(Jack,  crown  8vo,  pp.  322,  2s.  net).  The  editor 
is  the  Rev.  A.  E.  Garvie,  M.A.,  B.D.  It  is  per- 
haps the  most  difficult  volume  of  the  series,  not 
only  on  account  of  its  subject-matter,  but  also 
because  of  the  surpassing  excellence  of  some 
recent  commentaries,  and  the  consequent  difficulty 
of  saying  anything  good  and  fresh.  Yet  we  have 
to  acknowledge,  and  we  are  confident  everyone 
will  acknowledge,  that  Mr.  Garvie  is  always  fresh 
and  almost  always  good.  He  is  sometimes  as 
peculiar  as  he  thinks  St.  Paul  was,  for  he  is  almost 
as  independent  as  he  claims  the  apostle  to  have 
been.  And  the  wonder  is  that,  not  being  St. 
Paul,  he  misses  the  mark  so  rarely.  It  is  quite 
probable  that  none  of  the  volumes  of  the  series 
will  be  either  more  original  or  more  helpful. 

Professor  Buitenwieser  of  the  Hebrew  Union 
College,  Cincinnati,  was  invited  to  send  an  article 
to  the/ewish  EneyclopiEdia  on  the  '  New  Hebraic 
Apocalyptic  Literature,'  and  he  sent  it.  But  he 
did  not  approve  of  the  editor's  revision,  and  with- 
drawing the  article  published  it  separately  through 
Messrs.  Jennings  &  Pye.  It  is  a  modestly 
written  pamphlet  of  forty-five  pages,  price  50 
cents.  A  clear  distinction  is  made  between  the 
merely  eschatological  and  the  properly  apocalyptic, 
and  all  the  apocalyptic  writings  are  briefly  de- 
scribed. In  an  Introduction  of  a  few  absorbing 
pages.  Dr.  Buttenwieser  claims  that  there  was  no 
break  in  the  existence  or  character  of  apocalyptic 
from  the  Book  of  Daniel  which  was  written  in  the 
days  of  the  Maccabees,  right  down  to  the  Persian 
.\pocalypse  of  Daniel  which  was  written  in  the 
ninth  century  after  Christ. 

THE  BLESSING  OF  TUt;  WATERS  ON  THE  EVE 

OK  THE  El'Ii'HANV.    Edited  or  traksi.atbh  by 

John,  MARcjUEffi  or  Bute,  K.T.,  and  E.  A.  Wallis 

Budge,  M.A.,  Lin-.D.,  r).L[T.   (Frowdt.   CiownSvo, 

pp.  isS.     6s.) 

It  is  the  Latin  version  that   the  Marquess  of 

Bute  has  edited  and  translated.     But  he  has  also 

helped  Dr.  Budge  with  the  other  versions.     These 

are    Greek,    Syr  lac,    Coptic    and    Russian.     The 

original  texts  are  all  given,  together  with  parallel 

translations    of    all,    except    the    Greek.      The 

interest  of   the  little  book   to  liturgiologists   is 

very  great.     The  publisher  has  joined  hands  with 

■*r.  Budge  to  produce  an  appropriate  and  attractive 

imorial  of  the  late  Marquess  of  Bute. 


Mr.  Gardner  of  Paisley  has  published  a  new 
edition  of  Our  Present  Hope  and  our  Future  Home, 
by  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Sturrocit,  MA.  (crown  8vo, 
pp.  280).  It  is  the  third  edition.  It  is  practically 
a  volume  of  sermons,  and  its  continued  circulation 
is  proof  enough  that  sermons  will  always  sell  if 
they  have  life  in  them.  May  this  vital  evangelical 
volume  pass  through  many  editions  more! 

SPIRITUAL  KELIGION.  BvJohnG,  Taskeb.  {Kdly. 
8vo,  pp.  191.  2s.  6d.) 
This  is  the  Fernley  Lecture  for  1901.  And  it 
will  surprise  no  one,  who  reads  The  Expository 
Times  and  Professor  Tasker's  reviews  of  foreign 
books  therein,  to  be  toid  that  the  Fernley  Lecture 
for  1901  not  only  exhibits  an  unusual  knowledge 
of  recent  theological  literature,  but  also  expounds 
with  rare  insight  the  great  movements  of  recent 
theological  thought.  And  In  doing  so  Professor 
Tasker  preaches  the  gospel.  For  his  interest  in 
theology  is  never  theoretical.  Consciously  or 
not,  he  seems  always  to  ask  how  each  theory  helps 
us  to  the  knowledge  of  God  and  the  love  of  men. 
It  Is  this  practical  purpose  that  prevents  his  wide 
range  of  subject  from  losing  itself  in  the  sand. 
His  single  lecture  is  a  manual  of  theology,  but  he 
so  manages  it  that  each  subject,  ere  it  is  dismissed, 
has  done  its  work  of  revelation  and  reform.  The 
centre  of  practical  interest  for  the  present  moment 
is  the  seventh  chapter,  on  '  Access  to  God  through 
Christ.'  Access  to  God  is  desired  on  every  hand  ; 
but  the  demand  is  often  made.  Why  through 
Christ?  Professor  Tasker  answers  that  demand. 
Thus  his  book  is  an  apologetic,  and  that  none  the 
less  that  his  chief  interest  is  not  in  Christian 
apologetic,  but  in  communion  with  Christ. 

STUDIES  IN  CHRISTIAN  CHARACTER.  WORK, 
AND  E>:i'ERIENCE.  Bv  tub  Ki;v.  \V.  L. 
Watkinson.  (Kelly.  Crown  Svo,  Two  Vols.,  pp.  24S, 
252.      2s.  6d.  each.) 

Studies  for  the  pulpit,  studies  (hat  have  stood 
the  test  of  the  pulpit,  in  short,  sermons  of  great 
pith  and  moment,  fill  Mr.  Watkinson's  volumes. 
Number  eleven  in  vol.  i.  is  about  'Strained 
Piety ' ;  Its  text  is  '  Be  not  righteous  overmuch ' 
(Ec  7'*);  its  divisions  are  (i)  strained  piety  re- 
veals itself  in  doctrinal  fastidiousness;  (s)  in 
morbid  introspectiveness  ;  (3)  in  an  exacting  con- 
scientiousness ;  (4)  in  the  inordinate  culture  of 
special  virtues ;  and  (5)  in  striving  after  impractic- 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


able  standards  of  character.  It  is  quite  a  long 
sermon  for  Mr,  Watkinson,  nearly  filling  twelve 
little  pages ;  the  next  one  scarcely  fills  five,  and 
that  is  nearer  the  average.  But  there  is  matter  in 
the  shortest,  

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  DOCTRINE,  Bv  John 
S.  Basks.  (A>//i',  Crown  8vo,  pp.  274.  as.  6d.) 
Professor  Banks  of  Headtngley  College  recently 
published  a  little  book  on  the  Development  of 
Doctrine  in  the  Early  Church.  The  present 
volume  continues  the  subject,  and  carries  it  down 
to  the  Reformation.  It  is  written  for  beginners. 
And  just  because  it  is  written  for  beginners,  just 
because  he  knows  that  he  may  be  forming 
opinions  that  once  formed  arc  not  easily  altered, 
Professor  Banks  is  careful  to  find  the  actual  facts 
and  to  let  them  speak  for  themselves. 

THE  DAWN  OF  THE  KEFORMATION.     By  H.   B. 

WokKMAN.  M.A.   Vol.  I.  THE  AGE  OF  WVCLIF, 

{Ktlly.  Crown  8vo,  pp.  326.  2s.  6d.) 
This  new  history  of  the  men  and  events  that 
preceded  and  produced  the  Reformatioti  is  to 
appear  in  two  volumes.  It  would  have  been 
easier  to  have  filled  twice  the  number.  But 
Mr.  Workman  has  no  reason  to  lament  his  limits; 
for  his  readers  are  thereby  multiplied  and  his 
effect Iveness  is  not  impaired.  His  previous 
volumes  on  the  Church  in  the  West  proved  him 
possessed  of  clear  ideas,  and  able  in  few  sentences 
to  convey  them  to  his  readers.  He  seizes  the 
essential  in  a  movement,  and  lets  the  trifling  go 
without  yielding  to  the  temptation  of  showing 
how  much  he  knows.  There  is  life  in  his  writing, 
and  it  is  the  life  of  the  period  of  which  he  writes. 
Holding  by  Jessopp's  definition  of  History  as 
'  the  science  which  teaches  us  to  see  the  throbbing 
life  of  the  present  in  the  throbbing  life  of  the 
past,*  he  neither  mingles  the  present  with  the  past 
nor  misses  the  connexion  between  them. 


8vo,  pp.  136.  as.  6d.  nel.) 
The  literature  of  the  Brahmo  Samaj  is  so  large 
that  Mr.  Lillingston  has  done  a  good  work  in 
using  it  freely  and  offering  so  intelligible  and 
manageable  an  account  of  that  curious  religious 
amalgam.  So  careful  has  he  been  that  those  who 
know  the   subject  will   read   his  summary  with 


delight.  But  he  writes  for  the  unlearned  and  the 
Englishman,  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  no  easier 
introduction  to  the  subject  is  to  be  found. 

Mr.  Arthur  S.  Way,  whose  Odyssey  (published 
under  the  pseudonym  of  '  Avia ')  is  held  to 
beat  even  Worsley's  ringing  rendering,  has  now 
produced  a  translation  of  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul 
(Macmillan,  crown  8vo,  pp.  xviii,  223,  5s.  net). 
In  a  Preface  which  marks  him  out  at  once  to 
the  uninitiated  as  a  master  of  the  English 
language,  he  tells  us  why  he  has  made  a  new 
translation  of  St.  Paul's  Epistles  and  how.  He 
thinks  that  we  should  be  able  to  read  them  as 
easily  as  they  did  who  read  them  first.  In  a 
literal  translation  that  is  impossible.  We  do 
not  catch  the  force  of  the  words,  we  do  not  see 
the  allusion  in  the  figures.  The  words  must 
sometimes  be  explained  in  a  phrase,  the  figures 
by  an  expansion.  There  are  snatches  of  hymns 
too, — quite  a  number  of  them,  Mr.  Way  thinks 
(and  he  thinks  St.  Paul  was  often  himself  the 
poet  who  composed  ihem).  These  have  to  he 
shown  as  hymns;  they  have  to  be  lifted  out  of 
the  even  page,  that  the  argument  may  be  seen  to 
flow  on  again  when  they  are  past. 

Is  it  not  needless  to  say  that  Mr,  Way  has  done 
his  work  well  ?  He  has  produced  a  modern 
English  version  which  many  others  have  also 
done :  he  has  done  more  than  that.  While 
others  have  tried  to  bring  St.  Paul  down  to  our 
day  and  to  make  him  speak  in  our  tongue,  Mr, 
Way  has  taken  us  back  to  the  days  of  St,  Paul, 
and  we  are  delighted  to  listen  to  the  public  reader 
in  'the  crowded  upper  room  or  other  barn-like 
structure  lent  for  the  first  Christian  assemblies.' 
There  is  a  tradition  that  a  great  preacher  made 
his  sermon  consist  one  day  of  the  mere  reading 
from  beginning  to  end  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews.  ^\'e  might  all  try  that  method  occa- 
sionally with  a  Pauline  Epistle,  and  if  we  used 
Mr.  Way's  version,  our  hearers  would  'follow'  as 
easily  as  they  do  an  average  s< 


STUDIKS   IN    LEVITICUS.     Bv  hie   Kev.    Hubekt 
Brooke,   M.A,    {.Vanhall  Bros.     Crown  8vo,  pp. 
119.    as.6d.) 
It  is  still  possible,  even  in  the  Book  of  Leviticus, 

to  ignore  the   Higher  Criticism   entirety.     Mr. 

Brooke  does  so.    That  would  not  be  suipri^p^if 

bis  method  of  interpretation  were  allegori<y.     It 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


is  as  literal  as  Wellhausen's.  But  when  we  read 
that  'the  Lord  spake  umo  Moses,'  Mr.  Brooke  re- 
ceives the  words  spoken  as  'the  exact  words  of 
God,' and  since  this  book  contains  that  formula 
often,  he  holds  that  the  very  characteristic  of 
Leviticus  is  this,  that  'it  reports  more  of  the 
exact  words  of  God  than  any  other,'  it  'conveys 
peculiarly  God's  voice  and  God's  words,'  and  so 
'  there  is  an  authority  herein  sufficient  to  calm 
every  doubt,  there  is  a  joyous  assurance  that  all  is 
authenticated  by  God.'  This  conviction  deter- 
mines the  character  of  Mr.  Brooke's  'Studies,' 
and  decides  for  all  of  us  the  value  of  his  book. 


Our  Bible  Students'  Palestine  Party  (Marshall 
Bros.,  as.  6d.)  is  the  title  of  a  book  by  Miss  F. 
J.  Dolby,  containing  notes  of  a  tour  in  the  East. 
Here  is  a  paragraph.  'The  so-called  stables  of 
Solomon  interested  us.  Some  of  the  pillars  are 
very  old.  The  Norman  arches  over  them  were 
built  by  the  Crusaders.  Iron  rings  were  fixed  in 
the  pillars,  and  they  stabled  their  horses  here. 
The  place  was  discovered  by  Sir  Charles  (then 
Captain)  Warren.  He  was  a  most  determined 
explorer,  and  tried  hard  to  effect  an  entrance. 
One  day  he  succeeded  in  digging  a  hole  through 
the  wall,  but  being  overheard  while  talking  inside, 
he  had  to  make  good  his  escape  as  quickly  as 
possible,  or  he  would  have  been  a  dead  man.  He 
has  never  shown  his  face  in  Jerusalem  since.' 

Bible  marking  is  now  a  science.  lis  appren- 
tices have  therefore  to  be  taught,  and  Messrs. 
Marshall  Bros,  have  published  a  manual  for 
the  purpose,  under  the  title  of  The  Bible  Marker 
{pp.  1^6).  

REVELATIONS  OF  DIVINE  LOVE.    Recoiled  mv 

Julian,     Aschoress     at     Norwich,     a.d.     1373. 

EniTBD   BY   Grace   W'arrack.     {Methuen.     Crown 

8vo,  pp.  Ixiviii,  20S.     6s.) 

Whether  it  be  for  good  or  evil,  the  motions 

of  God's  providence  or  the  wrath  of  man  that 

worketh  not  the  righteousness  of  God,  mysticism 

is  upon  us.     It  is  upon  us  in  some  cases  as  a 

study  of  which  we  have   this  very  month  clear 

evidence,  in  most  cases  only  as  a  pastime.     As 

a  pastime  for  most  of  us,  because  it  is  impossible 

for  the  multitude  to  find  anything  in  mysticism 

that  should  touch   the  conscience  or  reach  the 


heart.  In  any  case  it  is  on  us,  and  it  would 
have  been  strange  if  the  '  Revelations '  of  Julian 
had  not  been  made  accessible  to  us.  Where  is 
mysticism  to  be  found  in  sweeter  fragrance?  The 
book  of  the  Revelation  of  Julian  the  Anchoress 
may  be  needless  to  us  and  nothing  after  that 
of  St.  John  the  Divine,  but  Julian  herself  is  most 
attractive.  And  wisely  has  the  editor  given  us 
much  of  Julian.  It  is  manifestly  an  artist's  loving 
masterpiece,  and  we  thank  the  editor  most  heartily 
for  tlie  beauty  and  fidelity  of  the  workmanship. 


Many  are  they  who  being  themselves  under 
the  spell  of  Behmcn  have  tried  to  make  him 
known  to  the  multitude.  It  cannot  be  done. 
But  perhaps  Mr.  Bernard  Holland  (much  helped 
by  his  publishers)  has  come  nearest  success.  He 
has  edited  Dialogues  on  the  Supersensual  Lije 
(Meihuen,  crown  8vo,  pp.  182,  3s.  6d.).  He  has 
prefixed  sentences  selected  from  '  Regeneration ' 
and  'Christ's  Testaments.'  And  he  has  intro- 
duced the  whole  with  a  long  Preface  of  wonderful 
interest  and  instructiveness. 


THE  MORISCOS  OF  SPAIN.  Bv  Henry  Charles 
Lka,  LL.D.  (Qiiarilih.  8vo,  pp,  475.  95.) 
Dr.  Lea's  historical  works  run  into  many  vol- 
umes, but  there  is  one  central  subject  round 
which  they  all  travel,  and  they  never  travel  far 
from  it.  That  subject  is  the  Inquisition.  The 
Inquisition  must  have  had  an  early,  and  it  still 
retains  a  strong,  fascination  for  Dr.  Lea.  He 
does  not  love  it.  With  all  his  heart  and  sout 
and  strength  and  mind  he  hates  it.  He  has  given 
his  hfe  to  the  exposure  and  condemnation  of  it, 
and  not  of  it  only,  but  also  of  the  spirit  of  religious 
intolerance  that  once  produced  it.  He  does  not 
shriek,  for  he  is  a  historian,  but  you  may  say 
that  he  grinds  his  teeth.  And  you  may  feel  happy 
or  otherwise  if  he  does  not  make  you  grind  yours. 
At  least  you  must  throw  your  sympathies  on  the 
side  of  the  Moors  wholly  and  heartily.  Vou  must 
do  that  or  else  lay  down  the  book.  But  the  book 
does  other  service  besides  exciting  strong  feeling. 
By  a  memorable  example  it  shows  how  little  worth 
is  conversion  by  force,  and  by  the  same  example 
it  shows  how  heroic  human  nature  can  become, 
whether  Christian  or  Pagan,  when  persecution 
brings  the  heroism  out. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


A  KEY  TO  UNLOCK  THE  BIBLE.  By  Joseph  Agar 
Beet.  (J.r.S.  Crown  8vo,  pp.  l6o.  i<.  6d,) 
The  Religious  Tract  Society  has  undertaken 
to  publish  a  series  of  small  crown  octavo  books 
to  be  called  '  Bible  Keys.'  This  is  the  first.  It 
is  general  in  character  and  probably  in  purpose. 
It  contains  much  information  about  the  Bible, — its 
contents,  versions,  translations,  criticism,  defence, 
— and  it  seeks  to  show  how  the  good  that  is  ii» 
it  may  be  got  with  the  help  of,  or  in  spite  of, 
all  these  things.  Dr.  Beet  writes  simply  and 
sincerely.  He  opens  the  series  with  a  book  likely 
to  be  well  received.     

THE    MOSAIC    ACCOUNT    OF    CREATION.      Bv 

George   Dickison.      (,£llioi   Slock.      Svo,   pp.   238, 
with  IlluslraliDns.      55.) 

It  is  possible  and  even  easy  for  any  one  to 
reconcile  Genesis  with  Science,  if  he  goes  about 
it  the  wrong  way.  But  who  is  the  better  for  the 
reconciliation  ?  The  Bible  is  religion  and  Science 
is  not  If  they  happen  lo  meet  here  and  there, 
they  only  meet  to  part  again.  What  is  the  Crea- 
tion to  us  without  the  Resurrection  of  Christ? 
And  who  will  reconcile  Science  with  that?  No 
one  should  in  any  case  attempt  to  reconcile  Gen- 
esis with  Science  except  a  Jew,  and  no  Jew  would 
dream  of  iL  Reconcile?  he  would  say,  they 
never  were  at  enmity.  They  never  knew  of  one 
another's  existence.  Let  Science  grow  from  more 
to  more,  and  more  of  reverence  in  us  dwell.  This 
is  an  elaborate,  able,  expensive  book,  but  its  work 
is  beating  the  air.        ^^_^ 

THE  TWO  FIRST  CENTURIES  OF  FLORENTINE 
HISTORY.  Bv  Professor  ViLLARi.  Translated 
BV  Linda  ViLLARi.  {Unwin.  Svo,  pp.  583,  7s.  M.} 
'Old  essays,' says  Professor  Villari,  'old  essays, 
more  or  less  disjointed,  and  containing  many 
unavoidable  repetitions.'  But  it  is  not  so  bad 
as  that.  The  old  essays  are  brought  up  to  date, 
and  the  repetitions  are  quite  inoffensive.  The 
only  criticism  that  the  reader  makes  upon  the 
book  is  that  it  lacks  unity.  Expecting  a  history, 
he  finds  materials  for  a  history.  But  even  that 
disappointment  he  gets  over  after  a  moment.  For 
he  finds  that  the  lack  of  system  is  more  than 
balanced  by  the  vividness  with  which  Florence 
and  her  great  ones  are  brought  before  him.  Dis- 
jointed as  it  is,  the  interest  of  the  book  increases 
steadily  till  it  gathers  into  intensity  around  the 
person  of  Dante,  who  forms  the  centre  and  subject 


of  the  last  two  chapters.  A  more  systematic 
history  of  Florence  would  probably  have  been 
less  read,  and  it  might  have  given  us  less  real 
knowledge  than  this.  The  book  i.<;  well  translated 
and  effectively  illustrated. 


'  S8e  (pfifcMjifs  of  (gefigion; ' 

There  are  those  who  worship  God  in  sincerity 
and  truth  and  are  content  with  that.  There  are 
others  who  ask  why.  They  may  ask  why  they 
themselves  do  so,  and  then  they  are  both  religious 
and  religious  philosophers.  Or  they  may  only 
ask  why  others  worship  God,  and  then  they  are 
philosophers  only.  It  is  better  to  be  only  religious 
than  only  a  philosopher.  It  is  no  doubt  best  to 
be  both. 

The  philosophy  of  religion,  or  the  reason  why 
men  worship  God,  covers  the  questions.  Who  or 
what  is  God  ?  to  some  extent  also,  What  is  man  ? 
and  then  especially.  What  have  God  and  man  lo 
do  with  one  another?  These  questions  are  difficult 
to  answer.  Perhaps  no  two  independently  think- 
ing persons  answer  any  of  them  in  exactly  the 
same  way.  No  doubt  there  are  schools.  Three 
or  four  writers  may  be  near  enough  to  one 
another,  and  far  enough  from  the  next  three  or 
four,  to  be  classed  together.  Smaller  groups  may 
also  be  capable  of  being  gathered  into  larger. 
But  not  only  must  the  student  of  the  philosophy 
of  religion  distinguish  group  from  group,  he  must 
also,  even  in  the  smallest  and  closest  group,  dis- 
tinguish one  individual  from  another.  Who  is 
sufficient  for  all  this? 

Professor  Caldecott  has  been  found  sufficient. 
He  has  gathered  the  writers  on  the  philosophy  of 
religion  into  groups  ;  out  of  smaller  groups  he  has 
formed  larger,  and  in  every  group  he  has  distin- 
guished  the  individual  contribution  of  each  indi- 
vidual philosopher.  His  volume  is  an  index  to 
the  philosophi  CO -religious  literature  of  England  and 
America  since  the  Reformation.  But  it  differs 
from  the  ordinary  index,  for  this  author  has  read " 
beyond  the  title-pages.  With  care  and  discrimina- 
tion he  has  gone  right  through  the  books,  and  in 

'  Tht  Phihscphy  of  Xtli'siffi  in  England  and  America. 
By  Alfred  Caldicoit,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Logic  and  Meotal 
Philosophy  in  King's  College,  London.  Meihuen.  Svo, 
pp.  450.     los.  6d. 


i8 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


clear  outline  he  has  set  down  the  contribution 
which  every  one  of  them  has  made  to  the  philo- 
sophy of  religion.  He  has  read  small  books  as 
well  as  great,  volumes  of  sermons  as  well  as 
systematic  treatises.  Yet  his  space  is  not  thrown 
away,  for  no  book  is  mentioned  that  has  not  some 
independent  thing  to  say. 

Bishop  Westcott  fills  eight  pages.  Let  us  take 
him  as  a  fair  example — we  are  reading  many 
curious  things  about  him  at  present.  The  two 
books  dealt  with  are  The  Gospel  of  Life,  189*,  and 
Religious  Thought  in  the  West,  1891.  His  place 
is  amongst  the  intuitivists  or  mystics.  More  par- 
ticularly his  position  is  described  as  Comprehensive 
Intuitivism,  since  he  holds  to  the  intuitive  nature 
of  the  idea  of  God,  but  articulates  with  it  the 
whole  range  of  human  experience.  God  is  known 
by  direct  outlook,  yielding  immediate  conviction. 
We  become  conscious  of  Him  in  experience,  but 
He  is  Himself  beyond  our  experience — both  the 
experience  of  our  personal  life  and  of  the  history 
of  mankind  Dr.  Westcott  speaks  as  if  totally 
new  facts  were  given  by  Revelation,  but  he  also 
holds  that  all  facts  have,  in  addition  to  their 
significance  for  the  sciences,  aspects  which  are 
spiritual,  and  are  to  be  read  as  signs  of  the  divine 
activity.  These  are  Dr.  Westcott's  fundamental 
beliefs.  Other  points  are  touched  upon  and  other 
books  mentioned.  There  is  occasional  acute 
criticism.  And  it  is  to  be  observed  that  here  as 
elsewhere  Professor  Caldecott  is  very  successful  in 
keeping  himself  out  of  view,  and  letting  us  see  the 
author  whom  he  describes. 


'  t%t  t?eofo5B  of  t^e  TTeefminefM 
^^Bofs.' ' 

In  Britain  the  centre  of  theological  interest  has 
for  a  long  time  been  the  teaching  of  the  Bible, 
though  there  are  signs  that  systematic  theology  is 
coming  to  its  own  again.  In  America  systematic 
theology  has  never  resigned  the  primacy;   it  has 

'  Tkeetogy  of  the  Weslmimter  Symbols.  A  commeiilaiy, 
hislorical,  doctrinal,  practical,  on  ihe  ConfMsion  of  Faith 
and  Catechisms  and  the  related  formularies  of  the  Presby- 
terian Churches.  By  Edward  D.  Morris,  D.D.,  LL,D., 
Emeritus  Professor  of  Systematic  Theoli^y  in  Lane  Theo- 
logical Seminary.  Columbus ;  Smylhe  :  Edinburgh  ;  Thin. 
8vo,  pp.  872-     J3  net. 


always  claimed  the  most  popular  teachers,  it  has 
always  produced  the  greatest  books.  It  is  true 
that  a  year  or  two  ago  Professor  Warfield  of 
Princeton  published  a  pamphlet  on  T7u  Rights 
of  Systematic  Theology.  But  Professor  Warfield 
was  alarmed  at  what  he  thought  was  coming 
ratherthan  jostled  by  what  had  come.  Jn  England 
systematic  theology  has  come  to  be  spoken  of  as 
merely  a  department  of  Church  History ;  in 
America  Church  History  is  merely  a  road  along 
which  to  trace  the  progress  of  systematic  theology. 

Beside  the  great  teachers  of  systematic  theology 
in  America,  Dr.  Edward  Morris  has  long  held  an 
honoured  place.  And  of  the  great  books  on 
systematic  theology  which  America  has  produced, 
one  of  the  greatest  will  now  be  reckoned  his 
Theology  of  the  Westminster  Symbols. 

Its  size  is  an  indication  of  its  thoroughness. 
But,  large  volume  as  it  is,  it  might  have  been  twice 
the  size  if  it  had  not  been  shorn  of  all  superfluity 
both  of  matter  and  of  language.  No  doubt  there 
have  been  theological  treatises  of  less  bulk  than 
this  which  covered  the  whole  field,  but  where  they 
touched  the  surface,  this  digs  down  to  the  centre. 
In  this  volume  the  Westminster  Confession  of 
Faith  and  Catechisms  are  described  in  respect  of 
their  authorship,  contents,  and  relations,  with  so 
great  thoroughness  and,  we  must  add,  scientific 
sympathy,  that  the  book  becomes  a  necessity  to 
the  hand  of  every  well -furnished  theologian.  It 
will  not  turn  aside  the  scomer  of  creeds  and  cate- 
chisms from  the  error  of  his  ways,  for  he  will  not 
read  it,  but  only  be  the  more  scornful  that  so  large 
a  book  should  be  written  on  so  poor  a  subject. 
But  it  will  give  the  earnest  student  a  better  con- 
ception than  he  has  ever  had  of  the  essential  and 
scriptural  greatness  of  the  theology  of  predestina- 
tion. It  may  even  enable  him  to  understand  why 
Presbyterian  ism  is  the  theology  of  the  most  theo- 
logical nations  in  the  world. 


Q^fftcftioooVe  '  (p^ifoeop^tcttf 
Cfaesice.' 

It  is  a  curious  study  to  observe  the  ways  in  which 
the  British  public  does  its  reading,  or  at  any  rate 
buys  its  books.  It  has  three  preferences :  a  great 
orthodox  book  like  Salmond's  Christian  Doctrine 
of  Immortality,  a  little  fierj-  heterodox  iiook  like 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Drummond's  Gnatest  Thing  sit  the  World,  or  a 
series  of  volumes  on  kindred  subjects  and  in 
uniform  binding  but  by  difTerent  authors,  like 
Blackwood's  '  Philosophical  Classics,'  When  the 
practice  began  of  publishing  books  in  a  series  like 
this,  wise  men  disapproved,  and  said  it  was  a  pass- 
ing fashion.  It  has  not  passed,  however,  for  it 
ministers  to  a  laudable  desire  on  the  part  of  the 
British  public  to  gather  as  much  knowledge  as 
possible  within  the  threescore  years  and  ten,  a 
desire  which  does  not  diminish  as  the  time 
approaches  when  knowledge  shall  pass  away.  And 
it  also  ministers  to  the  less  laudable  desire  on  the 
part  of  the  British  public  to  obtain  its  knowledge 
with  as  little  trouble  as  possible.  Moreover,  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  British  public  loves  to 
possess  some  shelves  of  books,  and  nothing  looks 
better  on  a  shelf  than  a  series  uniformly  bound, 
and  especially  when  so  daintily  bound  as  Black- 
wood's Philosophical  Classics. 

So  Blackwood's  'Philosophical  Classics'  have  run 
on  into  many  volumes,  and  the  British  public  has 
bought  and  shelved  them.  Ought  not  the  pub- 
lishers to  be  content?  Perhaps  publishing  and 
money-making,  without  being  absolutely  identical, 
have  this  in  common,  that  the  greater  your  success 
the  greater  is  your  discontent.  If  thousands  have 
bought  the  '  Philosophical  Classics,'  why  should  not 
lens  of  thousands  buy  them?  Does  the  price 
prevent?  Then  Messrs.  Blackwood  will  lower  the 
price,  and  the  volumes  which  once  cost  three  and 
sixpence  apiece  will  be  sold  for  half  or  less.  Ten 
volumes  have  been  issued  at  the  new  price  with 
none  of  the  old  attractiveness  removed  from  them. 
Surely  as  easy  a  way  of  filling  a  new  and  handsome 
shelf  as  one  could  find. 

But  if  the  volumes  are  rather  to  be  read  than 
shelved,  and  if  ten  volumes  are  too  many  to  start 
with,  then  lei  MahafTy's  Descartes  be  chosen  first. 
For  MahafTy  has  a  way  of  making  himself  in- 
telligible with  little  effort  upon  your  part,  and 
apparently  just  as  little  upon  his.  He  has  also 
more  interest  in  men  than  in  philosophy,  just  as 
you  have.  Then,  when  you  have  read  Mahaffy, 
get  Flint's  Vico.  For  here  also  you  will  find  the 
sweet  mystery  of  a  distinguished  English  style, 
and  in  addition  to  that,  as  much  about  Vico  and 
the  Italian  philosophers  as  you  may  ever  need  to 
know.  There  is  no  order  for  the  remaining 
volumes,  but  this  is  the  order  of  issue — Collins' 
But/er,    Campbell    Fraser's   Berkeley,    Adamson's 


FUhte,  Wallace's  Kant,  Veitch's  Hamilton,  Caird's 
Hegel,  Merz's  Leibniz,  Croom  Robertson's  Hobbts. 


*%%t  l^ifitoticaf  (Uew  Testament.'' 

The  first  edition  of  Mr,  Moffatt's  Historical  New 
Testament  is  exhausted ;  the  second  is  published. 
It  is  a  striking  testimony  at  once  to  the  import- 
ance of  the  book  and  to  the  intense  interest 
which  at  present  exists  in  the  criticism  of  the  New 
Testament. 

The  book  is  not  much  altered.  We  notice  with 
pleasure  the  softening  of  certain  expressions,  but 
cannot  say  that  we  find  any  of  the  positions 
abandoned.  In  a  new  preface  Mr.  Moffatt  asserts 
his  belief  in  '  the  reality  and  permanent  signifi- 
cance of  the  New  Testament  as  conceived  upon 
the  principle  of  the  Reformers,  which,'  he  says, 
'from  the  days  of  Calvin  onwards  has  had  to  be 
restated  and  recovered  from  time  to  time  within 
the  bounds  even  of  the  Reformed  Churches  them- 
selves.' And  he  claims  that  the  whole  mass  of 
methods  and  results  within  his  book,  'so  far  as 
they  are  cogent  and  unbiassed,'  flows  from  that 
principle.  He  does  not  deny  that  his  'results' 
may  make  faith  to  some  more  difficult,  but  he  is 
far  from  allowing  that  they  make  faith  impos- 
sible. He  seems  to  say  that  faith  in  Christ  is 
independent  of  research  into  the  New  Testament 
documents,  and  quotes  the  well-known  lines  of 
Principal  Shairp  with  approbation — 


I  have 


I  life  wilh  Christ 
re  I  live  it,  mus 


C  I  « 


Till  learDing  rao  clear  aoswer  give 
Of  (his  ot  that  book's  dale  ? 

I  have  a  life  in  Christ  to  live, 

I  have  a  death  in  Christ  lo  die ; — 

And  must  I  wait,  till  science  give 
All  doubts  a  full  reply? 

Nay  rather,  while  the  sea  of  doubl 
Is  raging  wildly  round  about, 
Queslioning  of  life  and  death  and  sin. 

Let  me  but  creep  within 
Thy  fold,  O  Christ,  and  at  Thy  feet 

Take  but  the  lowest  seat. 

And  hear  Thine  awful  voice  repeat 

In  gentlest  accents,  heavenly  sweet, 

Come  unio  Me,  and  rest : 

Believe  Me,  and  be  blesl. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


C9<  @rtan5«)mnf  of  (Wlaferiafe  m  ^i.  (fXatt^m  viii.-ijc. 

Bv  THE  Rev,  Canon  Sib  John  C.  Hawkins,  Bart.,  M.A.,  Oxford. 


II. 


Some  general  considerations  were  put  forward  in 
the  July  number  of  The  Expository  Times  •  as  to 
the  principles  and  purposes  which  seem  to  have 
influenced  the  compiler  of  our  First  Gospel  in 
this  portion  of  it.  1  wish  now  to  make  some 
more  special  suggestions  as  to  his  selection  and 
arrangement  of  the  miracles — ten  in  number — 
which  constitute  the  main  subject  of  this  division 
of  the  Gospel  (Si-g**). 

I  assume  that  my  readers  will  be  able  to  refer 
to  the  table  printed  in  the  first  part  of  the  article, 
in  which  the  contents  of  this  portion  of  St.  Matthew 
were  divided  into  thirteen  sections,  ten  of  which 
contain  the  miracles.  And  now,  as  before,  I  will 
refer  merely  by  page  and  column  (e.g.  iSia)  to 
Mr.  Allen's  'Study'  in  vol.  xt.  p.  279 tf.  of  The 
Expository  Times,  without  naming  it  on  each 
occasion. 

Before  entering  upon  the  list  of  ten  miracles,  a 
preliminary  question  suggests  itself.  Why  does 
Matthew  omit  altogether  one  miracle,  and  that  the 
first  one,  of  the  six  related  by  Mark  in  i"-5*3 — 
i.e.  in  that  part  of  the  Second  Gospel  which 
evidently  formed  the  principal  quarry  of  materials 
for  the  division  of  the  First  Gospel  now  before  us? 
The  miracle  in  question  is  the  expulsion  of  the 
unclean  spirit  in  the  synagogue  at  Capernaum 
(Mk  i='-28  =  Lk  4"-a'}.  There  must  have  been 
some  reason  for  this  omission.  It  is  true  that 
another  piece  of  Marcan  narrative  is  passed  over 
by  Matthew,  namely,  Mk  i5*-^'  =  Lk  4""",  but  in 
that  case  no  special  explanation  is  needed,  for  the 
omission  is  sufficiently  accounted  for  by  the  first 
evangelist's  habit  of  leaving  out  matter,  however 
picturesque  and  interesting,  which  does  not  supply 
direct  information  either  as  to  the  moral  teaching 
of  Jesus  or  as  to  His  actual  performance  of 
miracles. 

In  the  present  case,  two  conjectures — they  are 
hardly  more  than  that — may  be  hazarded. 

{a)  Possibly  the  simple  cause  of  the  omission 

of  this  narrative  may  be  that  Matthew,  having 

employed    already   some   of    its    opening   words 

'Vol.  xix.  p.  47iff. 


('they  were  astonished  at  his  teaching,' etc.,  Mk 
i''^)  in  his  description  of  the  effects  of  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount  (Mk  7^-  ^),  regarded  this  Marcan 
section  as  used  up  and  done  with,  and  either 
forgot,  or  (iid  not  care,  to  turn  to  it  again  when 
entering  upon  this  historical  division  of  his 
Gospel. 

{i)  But  more  probably  the  cause  of  the  omission 
hes,  mainly  or  exclusively,  in  the  similarity  of  this 
miracle  to  the  more  remarkable  and  outstanding 
one  of  the  Gadarene  demoniac  or  demoniacs 
(Mk  5i-=«,  Mt  8™-",  Lk  S^-^»).  Let  us  suppose 
that  Matthew  had  before  him  among  his  materials 
the  two  Marcan  leaves  or  pages  on  which  these 
appeals  to  Jesus  from  demoniacs  occur — 

i}iur  Kai  <rol,'JitvaSya^ap7}ri:^  iLeyi\g  \iyit  Ti  ^/lol  ml 
J}Xflft  ivoMrm  i^^ot ;  alSd  j  aol,  'Iifffou  vli  tov  ^ilov  toD 
[W.H.  mare-  and  Tisch.  uitiuTou ;  ipdfw  Jf  ri*  6(4ip, 
otiaiUr]  ire  tIs  rf,  i  a^iot  roP    p.^  /tt  fiairarhTi!. 

He  would  thus  see  that  the  only  striking  and 
distinctive  feature  of  the  earlier  and  shorter  of 
these  two  miracles  had  a  close  parallel  in  the  later 
and  fuller  of  them.  Would  he  not  then  be  likely 
to  omit  the  first  of  them,  knowing  that  the  second 
would  have  a  place  farther  on  in  his  list  ?  I  admit 
that  it  is  Luke,  whose  general  habil  of  Spanam- 
keit  would  cause  us  to  expect  him  to  make  such 
an  omission  on  the  ground  of  similarity;  but, 
nevertheless,  Matthew  seems  to  be  the  compiler 
who  made  it  here.  Or  perhaps  it  may  be  said 
that  he  combines  the  two  Marcan  narratives  rather 
than  that  he  leaves  out  either  of  them.  For  here 
may  lie  the  explanation  of  there  being  two 
demoniacs  mentioned  in  Matthew's  nanative  of 
the  Gadarene  miracle,  while  Mark  and  Luke 
respectively  name  but  one.  It  may  well  have  been 
the  case  that  Matthew — or  some  previous  teacher 
whose  compilation  he  used — brought  together 
these  two  similar  though  distinct  miracles  for  the 
purpose  of  explaining  them,  and  especially  of 
explaining  the  two  demoniacs'  acknowledgment 
of  Jesus,  and  that  in  the  course  of  oral  teaching 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


the  two  events  gradually  came  to  be  regarded  as 
simultaneous.  This  process  of  combination  would 
be  helped  by  the  occurrence  of  the  plurals,  iifuv, 
Vf^i,  and  perhaps  oi&afutv  in  the  account  of  the 
Capernaum  miracle  (Mk  i^*).  The  case  may 
have  been  similar  in  Ml  zo",  where  the  blind 
roan  healed  at  Bethsatda  (Mk  8"-^  only)  may  at 
first  have  had  his  cure  described  as  an  appendage 
or  accompaniment  to  the  better  known  cure  of 
Bartimasus,  and  afterwards  may  have  gradually 
come  to  be  regarded  as  having  been  healed  at  the 
same  time. 

Let  us  now  take  the  ten  Matthsean  miracles  in 
the  order  in  which  we  find  them  in  ten  of  our 
thirteen  sections  (see  the  table  on  p.  471). 

Section  i.  Miracle  I.  The  Healing  of  the 
Leper,  Mt  viii.  i  (or  2)-4. 

This  miracle  appears  first  in  Matthew's  list,  not 
merely  because,  as  we  have  just  seen,  Mark's  first 
miracle  is  omitted  altogether,  but  because  his 
second  miracle,  the  healing  of  Peter's  wife's 
mother  (i""^'),  is  by  Matthew  postponed  to  this 
one,  which  stands  third  in  Mark  (!**■**),  after  some 
verses  of  other  kinds  (i'*'^*).  Why  was  this 
change  from  Mark's  order  made? 

I  am  disposed  to  reject,  even  more  decidedly 
than  Mr.  Allen  does  (p.  2810),  the  likelihood  that 
'  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  healing  of  the  leper 
followed  the  Sermon '  on  the  Mount,  and  is  there- 
fore placed  next  to  it  here.  I  believe  that  here,  as 
in  a  few  other  places,  not  only  the  time-honoured 
divisions  into  chapters,  but  also  the  divisions  into 
paragraphs  in  the  R.V.  and  in  W.H.'s  text  are 
misleading.  With  vv.  7'*-  ^'  should  be  read 
8':  these  three  verses  combine  to  tell  us  the 
whole  immediate  result  of  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  namely,  that  o!  ox^oi  were  astonished  at 
the  teaching  of  Jesus,  and  that,  consequently,  when 
He  was  come  down  from  the  mountain  those 
multitudes  or  a  large  portion  of  them— o;(Aoi 
iroAAot— followed  Him.  So  ends  that  incident, 
and  a  completely  fresh  one,  quite  disconnected 
with  what  had  gone  before,  begins  in  8^.  Such  is 
Tatian's  way  of  regarding  the  matter ;  for  he 
passes  on  from  Mt  8',  not  to  Mt  8'  (the  leper), 
but  to  Lk  7^  (the  centurion's  servant),  and  reserves 
the  healing  of  the  leper  for  a  much  later  place 
— indeed,  an  unaccountably  late  place — in  his 
harmony  (see  Biatessaron,  ed.  Hamlyn  Hill,  pp. 


84,  129).  And  in  case  it  may  be  thought  that  the 
KQi  &au  in  Mt  8^  necessarily  implies  some  con- 
nexion with  what  had  gone  before,  it  may  be  well 
to  point  to  some  instances  in  which  that  phrase  is 
used  when  there  is  apparently  complete  discon- 
tinuity with  the  preceding  narrative,  namely,  Mt 
19",  Lk  10^*  as"  24". 

But,  further,  not  only  is  there  thus  no  authority, 
except  that  of  modern  chapters  and  paragraphs, 
for  connecting  the  miracle  before  us  with  the  first 
journey  after  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  but  the 
narrative  itself  contains  internal  evidence  against 
that  connexion.  For  is  it  not  very  difficult  to 
understand  how  the  command  'See  thou  tell  no 
man,  etc.,'  could  have  been  given  by  Jesus,  if  the 
miracle  bad  been  wrought  at  the  time  when  'great 
multitudes  followed  Him'?  And,  accordingly, 
Mark  (i**)  ascribes  the  promulgation  of  the 
miracle,  not  to  any  bystanders,  but  only  to  the 
healed  leper  himself.  And  though  Luke  speaks 
of  5x^  (s")  they  were  evidently  fresh  crowds 
who  then  came  together  (oth^px""™)  because  of 
the  report  of  this  miracle,  and  not  people  who 
had  previously  been  accompanying  Jesus. 

We  have  seen,  then,  as  to  Matthew,  not  only 
that  he  did  not  feel  himself  tied  to  the  order  of 
Mark  (whom  perhaps  he  knew  to  have  written 
i>u  Tofn),  but  also  that  there  is  no  reason  to 
suppose  that  he  thought  of  connecting  this  his- 
torical narrative  with  the  foregoing  record  of  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount.  He  was  therefore  free  to 
commence  his  specimens  and  illustrations  of 
Christ's  power  with  any  one  of  His  early  miracles. 
Why  did  he  choose  this  one?  Partly,  perhaps, 
as  has  been  suggested  by  Mr.  Bartlet  (Hastings' 
D.B.  iii.  300*),  '  because  in  Mark  the  healing  of 
the  leper  comes  between  a  reference  to  a  general 
ministry  in  Galilee  (i'*),  in  which  Matthew  sees 
the  continuation  of  his  own  4^,  and  an  entry  into 
Capernaum.'  The  possibility  of  this  influence 
need  not  be  denied^  but  I  have  no  doubt  that  it 
was  mainly,  even  if  it  was  not  exclusively,  the 
subject-matter  of  this  miracle  which  disposed 
Matthew  to  give  it  the  place  of  honour.  For  it 
would  have  a  unique  interest  for  him,  and  for  the 
Jewish-Christians,  whose  habits  of  thought  and 
whose  needs  he  seems  to  have  primarily  regarded, 
both  because  of  the  prominence  given  to  leprosy 
in  Lv  13-14  and  elsewhere  in  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, and  because  of  the  illustration  of  the 
respectful  attitude  of  Jesus  towards  the  Mosaic 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


law  (as  in-  Mt  5"*")  which  is  supplied  by  the 
reference  to  the  priesthood. 

Section  ii.  Miracle  2.  The  Healing:  of  the 
Centurion's  Servant,  Mt  vUi.  5-13. 

I  do  not  deny  that  Mr.  Allen's  suggestion 
(p.  2Sia)  of  'a  group  of  three  miracles  of  heal- 
ing' may  sufficiently  account  for  the  early  place 
of  this  miracle  and  of  the  next  one;  even  if 
Matthew  did  not  start  with  the  idea  of  triads,  it 
may  have  occurred  to  him  as  he  went  on  that  he 
might  make  such  a  subdivision  in  at  least  the  hrst 
part  of  his  decade.  But  I  should  rather  think 
that  this  miracle  may  be  placed  thus  early,  because 
Matthew  found  it  in  the  Logia  standing  next  to 
the  Great  Sermon,  or  to  such  parts  of  it  as  were 
already  brought  together  in  the  Logia.  It  is  in 
that  position  that  Luke  (7^)  keeps  it.  And  there 
is  considerable  ground  for  assigning  this  narrative 
— though  it  is  a  narrative^to  the  Logia.  We 
have  here,  with  the  brief  exception  of  Ml  iz^^^ 
=  Lk  1 1"- 1'  (which,  however,  may  be  said  to  be 
implied  in  Mk  3*^),  the  only  miracle,  and  with  the 
further  exception  of  the  Temptation,  the  only 
narrative,  which  is  found  in  Matthew  and  Luke 
only,  the  whole  of  the  rest  of  the  matter  common 
to  them  but  not  to  Mark  being  discourse,  with  or 
without  brief  historical  prefaces.  Most  modern 
writers  attribute  this  common  matter  generally  to 
the  Logia  (see,  e.g.,  references  in  Moffatt's  Ifis- 
torical Ntw  Testament,  p.  642f.)j  need  we  except 
this  miracle?  I  think  not,  if  we  take  the  most 
reasonable  account  of  the  term  Logia  to  be  that 
it  implies  not  a  complete  history  like  our  present 
Gospels,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  not  merely  say- 
ings introduced  by  'Jesus  said,' or  'Jesus  saith,' 
as  in  the  so-called  'Oxyrhynchus  Logia,'  but 
sayings  of  the  Lord,  together  with  notices  of  the 
occasions  that  led  to  their  being  delivered,  when  such 
■  notices  are  needed  for  the  full  understanding  of  them. 
Then  the  name  will  cover  this  story.  For  in 
order  to  see  the  force  of  the  saying,  '  I  have  not 
found  so  great  faith,  no,  not  in  Israel,'  it  is  neces- 
sary to  have  read  the  previous  account  of  this 
n on- Israelite,  and  especially  of  his  recognition  of 
power  of  Jesus  to  heal  at  a  distance. 

That  Matthew  had  the  Logian  collection  before 
him  at  this  time  is  rendered  additionally  probable 
by  the  fact  that  while,  according  to  his  frequent 
custom,  he  otherwise  abbreviates  the  narrative  as 


it  is  found  in  Luke  (and  as  I  am  inclined  to 
believe  it  originally  stood),  he  nevertheless  inserts 
into  it  two  presumably  Logian  verses  of  discourse 
(8"-")  which  Luke  has  in  a  quite  different  but 
about  equally  appropriate  setting  (li**-**)- 

Section  liL  Miracle  3.  Heallus  of  Peter's 
Wife's  Mother,  Mt  viii.  14, 15. 

Beyond  the  suggestion  of  the  triad,  the  only 
thing  to  be  said  here  is  that  Matthew  now  returns 
to  take  up  the  Marcan  miracle  which  he  had 
displaced  for  the  (to  him)  more  important  and 
interesting  one  of  the  leper.  He  may  have  been 
reminded  to  do  so  by  the  fact  that,  like  the 
miracle  which  he  had  placed  second,  it  is  con- 
nected with  Capernaum. 

Section  vi.  Miracle  4-  The  Stilling  of  the 
Storm,  Mt  viii.  23-27. 
Why  does  Matthew  here  again  desert  the 
Marcan  order,  even  when  evidently  deriving  his 
materials  from  Mark?  Why  does  he  not  take 
next  the  healing  of  the  paralytic  in  the  house  at 
Capernaum  (Mk  a^'-),  since  that  is  the  miracle 
which  follows  next  upon  those  already  drawn  from 
Mark?  As  to  the  postponement  of  all  the  other 
matter  between  Mk  z'*  and  4",  the  causes  su^ested 
by  Mr.  Allen  (p.  281^)  seem  to  me  to  be  quite 
adequate.  But  why  is  this  miracle  postponed  to 
two  others  which  stand  so  much  later  in  Mark  ? 
No  doubt  Matthew  may  have  known  that  Mark 
wrote  ai  raiti,  and  in  that  case  he  would  require 
no  very  strong  reasons  for  making  such  alterations. 
But  some  reasons  he  must  have  had.  It  is  sug- 
gested (p.  z8i^)  that  there  may  have  been  in  his 
mind  the  fear  of  seeming  to  '  confuse  two  visits ' 
to  Capernaum,  that  being  the  place  where  the 
healings  of  Peter's  wife's  mother  and  of  the  para- 
lytic occurred,  though  at  different  times.  But  I 
doubt  whether  in  this  part  of  his  Gospel  he  suf- 
ficiently cared,  or  expected  his  readers  to  care, 
about  the  times  and  places  of  miracles  for  this 
consideration  to  have  influenced  him.  I  should 
rather  suggest  (a)  with  Mr.  Bartlet  (Hastings' 
D.S.,  p.  3ooi5)  that  the  mention  of  'eventide' 
and  of  the  gathering  of  crowds  which  he  had 
lately  adopted  from  Mark  (Mk  i»!-«  =  Mt  8")  may 
have  brought  to  his  mind  the  somewhat  similar 
occasion  which  Mark  records  much  later  (4^*- ''), 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


but  which  was  none  the  less  suitable  for  Matthew's 
noD-chronological  purpose  here,  (i)  Again,  Mat- 
thew may  have  thought  it  well,  in  this  list  of 
distinct  specimens  of  Christ's  various  miTacles, 
to  keep  the  two  accounts  of  the  healing  of  para- 
lysis (Mt  8*-"  and  g'-*)  at  a  distance  from  one 
another,  (c)  And  this  is  the  place  where  the 
suggestion  of  the  ascending  triad  of  three  miracles 
(2$aa)  'illustrative  of  Christ's  authority  over 
forces  natural  (8**-"),  demoniacal  (8**^),  and 
spiritual  (9^'^)'  should  especially  be  borne  in 
mind. 

It  should  be  noticed  here,  again,  as  at  the  be- 
ginning of  Mt  8,  that  we  should  be  on  our  guard 
against  the  influence  of  the  arrangement  of  chap>- 
ters  and  paragraphs.  If  we  make  our  break  after 
Mt  9'  instead  of  before  it,  we  can  take  that  verse 
merely  as  the  conclusion  of  the  Gadarene  incident 
and  as  the  result  of  the  request  that  He  would 
depart,  and  not  as  the  introduction  to  the  sub- 
sequent miracle.  And  in  that  case  all  direct 
contradiction  between  Mark  and  Matthew  dis- 
appears, though  they  still  arrange  their  matter 
differently. 

Section  vii.    Miracle  S    "^he  Gadareae 
Demoniacs,  Mt  Tiii.  28-34. 

This  obviously  follows  the  fourth  miracle,  both 
historically,  as  in  Mk  5',  and  also  in  the  ascending 
scale  of  the  suggested  second  triad  of  miracles. 

Section  viii.     Miracle  6.     The  Sick  of  the 
Palsy  healed,  Mt  ix.  i-& 

The  causes  of  Matthew's  postponement  of  this 
miracle  have  already  been  discussed  under  the 
heading  of  section  vi.  It  may  perhaps  be  wondered 
why  he  did  not  stil!  further  postpone  it,  so  as  to 
relegate  it,  with  Mk  i**'^  and  Mk  2^*  (also  a 
miracle),  to  the  controversial  or  anti-Pharisaic 
division  of  his  Gospel  contained  in  chap.  13.  It 
is  just  possible  that  at  first  be  held  it  back  from 
its  Marcan  place  with  that  intention,  but  that 
afterwards,  when  it  appeared  to  be  an  apt  climax 
to  the  miracles  which  he  had  just  recorded,  he 
placed  it  in  the  list  of  miracles  instead  of  the  list 
of  controversies.  For,  like  the  healing  of  the 
withered  hand  (Mk  3'*  =  Mt  12"-"),  it  has  its 
fitness  for  either  list 


Sections  x.  and  xi.  Miracles  7  and  8.  The 
Raising  of  Jairus'  Daughter  and  the 
Healing  of  the  Issue  of  Blood,  Mt  ix. 
18-26. 

Although,  as  was  pointed  out  previously  (p.  473), 
these  two  incidents  must  be  reckoned  as  distinct 
miracles,  it  is  well  to  consider  them  together. 

The  matter  contained  in  Mark  up  to  this  point 
has  (with  two  small  omissions  already  noticed, 
p.  so),  either  been  included  by  Matthew  in  this 
division  of  his  Gospel  or  purposely  reserved  for 
other  sections.  'This  brings  him  to  Mk  5"-**' 
(p.  382a).  But  at  this  point  there  arises  a  more 
serious  chronological  difficulty  than  we  have  yet 
encountered.  For  here  Matthew  does  not  only, 
as  in  other  cases  (see  above  the  closing  remarks 
on  section  vi.  as  to  the  most  doubtful  and  diffi- 
cult of  them)  disregard  Mark's  order,  but  he 
certainly  appears  to  contradict  it.  The  request 
of  Jairus,  which  Mark  (5*^'**,  followed  as  usual 
in  Lk  8*')  seems  to  locate  on  the  shore  of  the 
sea  of  Galilee,  immediately  after  the  return  from 
Gadara,  is  by  Matthew  said  to  have  taken  place 
at  the  time  of  the  discourse  on  fosting  after  the 
call  of  Matthew  (ravm  airov  AaAowTos,  9"),  yHow  Y 
did  this  difTerence  arise?  The  suggestion  of 
Matthew  'altering  the  beginning  verse  to  suit  his 
connexion'  (p.  38311),  implies  a  deliberate  con- 
tradiction of  Mark's  express  note  of  time  and 
place  which  I  am  loth  to  accept,  unless  there  are 
some  undoubted  instances  of  such  contradiction 
elsewhere  which  can  be  brought  forward  as  parallel 
to  this  one,  and  unless  there  is  no  other  way  of 
explaining  the  present  passage  except  by  the 
hypothesis  of  such  a  direct  and  intentional  con- 
tradiction here.  Perhaps  the  two  following 
suggestions  may  be  worth  taking  into  account : — 

{a)  Is  it  not  possible  that  Matthew — or  some 
other  compiler  or  copyist  working  upon  the 
Marcan  materials  before  or  after  him — may  have 
accidentally  misplaced  the  words  ravra  avrov 
XoXawTot,  by  means  of  which  the  miracle  now 
appears  to  be  linked  by  him  to  the  discourse  on 
fasting?  For  it  will  be  observed  that  in  Mk  s** 
(and  so  in  Lk  8*'),  where  the  Jairus  -  story  is 
resumed  after  the  episode  of  the  healing  of  the 
woman  on  the  way,  the  recommencement  is  made 
by  the  use  of  the  words  Jn  avrov  XaXovvrtK.  But 
Matthew  has  no  such  words,  and,  indeed,  no 
occasion  for  them  in  this  later  situation,  though 


^^: 


THE   EXPOSITORY 


TIMES,  ■^'    '' 


he  has  the  very  similar  ratTo  airrmj  XoXouKrot  at 
the  commencement  of  the  whole  story.  May 
he  not,  therefore,  either  through  a  slip  of  memory 
or  through  a  too  hasty  glance  at  the  Marcan 
MS.  which  he  was  using,  have  transferred  this 
clause  in  substance  from  the  recommencement  to 
the  commencement  of  the  narrative,  I  venture 
to  make  this  suggestion  because  the  break  in  this 
miracle  makes  it  more  likely  than  others  to  be 
erroneously  referred  to;  twice  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  this  article  I  found  myself  giving  a  wrong 
reference  to  the  incident,  because  my  eye  fell 
upon  the  recommencement  in  Mk  5"  when  I 
was  looking  for  the  commencement  in  5". 

{6}  Though  it  is  highly  probable,  I  should  not 
adroit  it  to  be  absolutely  certain,  that  Mark  in- 
tended to  tix  the  date  of  this  miracle  immediately 
after  the  return  from  Gadara.  No  doubt  it  is  the 
next  incident  that  he  records  after  that  return  and 
after  the  gathering  of  a  multitude  round  Jesus 
when  He  was  on  the  seashore  (Mk  5*'- *5).  But 
since  he  was  writing  without  any  special  attention 
to  order  (for  ov  ro^ti  must  mean  at  least  as  much 
as  this),  he  may  only  have  entered  it  in  this  place 
as  being  a  Galilean  miracle.  And  it  is  to  be 
observed  that  xal  ipxtrai  (used  in  v.^)  and  koI 
ipxovrai  often  form  in  Mark  the  beginning  of  the 
record  of  a  new  incident,  with  little  or  no  refer- 
ence to  what  has  gone  before;  see,  e.g.,  Mk  i*" 
320  gw  10*6  ,,15.27  ,;ig_  Bm  „eji  granting  that 
Mark  did  mean  to  express  that  he  was  record- 
ing the  miracle  in  its  exact  chronological  place,  it 
is  quite  possible  that  Matthew  may  not  have 
noticed  that  this  was  the  case.  For  here  again 
it  is  probable  that  there  would  be  no  marked 
commencement  of  a  paragraph  at  Mk  5''  as  there 
is  in  our  Greek  Testaments ;  and  therefore  it  may 
well  be  that  the  compiler  of  the  First  Gospel,  when 
his  eyes  fell  upon  the  very  familiar  Marcan  open- 
ing Koi  ipx^rai,  might  rush  to  the  conclusion  that 
here  was  the  beginning  of  a  new  incident,  without 
looking  backward  to  see  whether  there  were  any 
previous  words  of  connexion  to  be  found.  He 
would  thus  ignore,  without  intentionally  throwing 
over,  the  Marcan  order  of  events. 

Sections  xii.  and  xiii.  Miracles  9  and  10. 
The  Healing  of  Two  Blind  Men  and 
the  Healing  of  a  Dumb  Demoniac, 
Mt  ix.  27-34. 

It  is   very  difficult,  as  I  have  previously  said 


(p.  474),  to  explain  the  insertion  of  these  two  brief 
records  of  miracles,  unless  it  was  with  the  purpose 
of  making  up  the  number  /en.  Not  only  are  they 
'comparatively  colourless  and  uninteresting'  (A. 
B.  Bruce  in  ioe.)  as  contrasted  with  even  Matthew's 
other  narratives  of  miraclesjbut  they  are  so  very 
similar  to  two  of  those  narratives  that  it  is  almost 
impossible  not  to  regard  them  as  doublets.  (They 
are  so  exhibited  in  Ifora  SynoptUa,  pp.  75-78.) 

(a)  The  former  of  them  (Mt  9^"-")  is  closely 
parallel  to  the  triple  narrative  of  the  healing  of  the 
blind  man  or  men  at  Jericho  (Mk  lo**-*-,  Mt 
2o*»^,  Lk  \%^-*%  where  the  Marcan  account 
seems  most  likely  to  be  the  original  one ;  observe 
especially  in  proof  of  this  parallelism  -mhi  (or  vie) 
AauciS,  iKkt^ov,  ^iparo ;  also  the  less  important 
use  of  the  verbs  Kpd^tiv  and  xoiiiv.  It  is  true, 
indeed,  that  instead  of  the  phrase,  t}  ttujtis  itov 
vixruiKiv  <rt,  which  is  used  by  Mark  and  Luke  (but 
omitted  by  Matthew)  in  the  Jericho  miracle,  we 
have  here  Kara  Tip/  nitrriv  vftCiv  ytvTj&ip-io  vfi-tv ;  but 
this  is  only  an  insunce  of  Matthew's  employment 
of  a  favourite  formula  of  his  own,  as  in  8'^  to  the 
leper,  is  isiiTTtvcrat  ytyrjOtjria  <rot,  and  In  15"  to 
the  Syrophenician  woman,  fxryaXii  trmi  ij  jr«rTi5- 
yoTjtf^Tiu  (Toi  is  6ik(it.  And  in  the  account  given 
of  the  disobedient  promulgation  of  this  miracle  we 
seem  to  find  Matthew,  here  as  elsewhere,  trans- 
ferring the  familiar  language  of  Mark  from  one 
place  to  another,  as  may  thus  be  seen — 


Mk     !"«■    ™l    i^flpi^^i.. 

Ml    9«-    « 

i      in^pip.'tfiT, 

^vet  ain-i  .  .  .  yjya  ai^ri, 

a<Vrwt  i  'Iijffo 

!  \lyar  'QpaTf 

■Opa  ,.^(^1  t^vSi'  'f'TIt  ■  .  . 

ILiiitii  yitiMTti 

TO,-  Olif^Jrt- 

A  a  iit\8wv  ^pioTO  K-npiaaiiv 

eiyyTtiSK<tii,iH<i 

ni-  ai>rii'  it  iXjj 

^•iK\i.    Mi    3m*)j/*ff(,»     t4» 

rg  Yg  istirg. 

X6y».. 

The  rarity  of  the  verb  SioAy/n'^eiv,  which  is  used 
only  three  times  in  the  N. 'IV and  never  in  LXX, 
adds  a  special  probability  to  the  supposition  of 
such  a  transference  of  Marcan  language.  And  if 
that  view  is  accepted,  there  remains  nothing  dis- 
tinctive and  unparalleled  in  the  narrative  now 
before  us  except  the  fact  of  the  entry  into  the 
house.  For  the  substance  of  the  question, '  Believe 
ye  that  I  am  able  to  do  this,'  and  of  the  affirmative 
answer,  is  undoubtedly  implied  in  the  Marcan  and 
Lucan  saying,  'Thy  faith  hath  made  thee  whole.' 

Unless  we  are  to  assume  that  Matthew  had 
some  special  chronological  information  of  his  own, 
which  on  general  grounds  does  not  seem  likely  in 
this  division  of  his  Gospel,  we  must  suppose  that 

X         A    ' 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


25 


the  words  vapdyovrt  iKtWo'  (9'^)  were  added  by 
him  or  some  other  editor  as  an  inference  from  the 
juxtaposition  of  the  Jairus-miracle  and  this  one. 
Possibly  the  two  incidents  had  been  placed  next 
to  one  another  among  the  ten,  merely  because 
they  set  forth  so  similarly  the  spread  of  the  fame 
of  the  miracles  of  Jesus.  Compare  the  con- 
chiding  words  of  the  two— 
Mt  I 

(ff)  The  tenth  and  last  miracle  (Mt  9^^-^)  shows 
no  more  independence  than  the  ninth.  Whether 
we  accept  v.'*  as  original  or  reject  it  as  being 
of  the  nature  of  a  '  U'estern  non-interpolation ' 
(see  W.H.,  Introd.  p.  176;  the  verse  is  omitted  in 
Syt""),  the  narrative  is  closely  parallel  to,  and 
appears  to  be  a  doublet  of,  Matthew's  later  account 
in  x-i^-^^  of  the  exorcism  which  gave  occasion  to 
the  great  'defensive  discourse*  in  chap.  la^"- 
(It  is  curious,  by  the  way,  that  in  la'*'-  Matthew 
speaks  of  the  demoniac  as  blind  as  well  as  dumb, 
and  uses  the  title  vios  AaWS,  thus  suggesting  links 
of  connexion  with  both  the  miracles  which  we 
find  together  here.)  But  the  narrative  now  before 
us  is  even  more  closely  parallel  to  Luke's  record 
(ii'*-")  of  the  miracle,  which  leads  to  the  defen- 
sive discourse;  this  appears  in  the  use  of  the 
verb  iK^aiXtw,  of  the  genitive  absolute,  and  of 
the  verb  l$o.\ifU3.tfai/,  where  Mt  la-^  has  iftWavro. 
These  similarities  seem  to  point  to  a  Logian 
origin  of  the  incident  It  will  be  remembered 
that  in  Mk  3^  no  account  of  the  expulsion  of  a 
demon  is  prefixed  to  the  defensive  discourse, 
though  it  is  assumed  that  such  expulsion  had 
previously  occurred.  There  is  indeed  one  point 
in  which  this  record  does  not  merely  reproduce 
the  description  of  the  later  miracle,  namely,  the 
exclamation  of  the  multitudes,  OiSnror*  i^vrj 
oi'raw  iv  T^  'Iffpo^A,  But  here  an  explanation 
suggests  itself  which  Is  analogous  to  that  which 


we  applied  to  a  sentence  of  our  ninth  miracle ; 
Matthew  seems  here,  as  in  other  cases,  to  have 
adopted  Marcan  words  from  another  context, 
namely,  Ovrms  ofSnrorc  tSto-itxy  (Mk  z'°),  and  to 
have  blended  them  with  his  favouratc  verb  ^alvo^i., 
and  with  the  name  '\sypa.-q\  which  occurs  to  him 
much  more  frequently  and  naturally  than  to 
Mark  (he  uses  it  twelve  times,  and  Mark  but 
twice). 

In  both  divisions  of  this  article,  and  especially 
in  this  second  one,  we  have  been  occupied  with  a 
department  of  the  Synoptic  Problem,  in  dealing 
with  the  details  of  which,  positiveness  of  assertion 
is  singularly  out  of  place.  For  anything  like  cer- 
tainty concerning  them  is  unobtainable.  The 
compiler  of  these  two  chapters  has  left  us  no 
rationale  of  his  plan  and  procedure,  and  therefore 
we  can  only  say — as  I  have  been  saying  or  im- 
plying so  often  here — that  he  may  have  been 
influenced  by  such  and  such  considerations  in 
the  selection  and  arrangement  of  his  materials. 
For  of  course  he  may  have  been  also  influenced 
by  other  considerations — by  his  own  information 
or  lack  of  information,  or  by  the  special  needs  of 
those  for  whom  he  wrote — in  ways  at  which  we 
cannot  even  guess.  So  all  that  is  really  practic- 
able, and  I  think  all  that  is  really  important,  is  to 
pwint  out  some  fairly  probable  causes,  by  some  or 
all  of  which  he  may  have  been  guided  in  his  com- 
pilation, and  which  support,  or  at  least  harmonize 
with,  the  chief  conclusion  which  seems  to  be 
resulting  with  a  fair  amount  of  certainty  from  the 
study  of  the  Synoptic  Problem,  namely,  the 
conclusion  that  our  First  and  Third  Gospels  rest 
mainly  on  a  constant  though  sometimes  a  free  use 
of  our  Second  Gospel,  with  the  insertion  of  sup- 
plementary matter  drawn  from  various  sources, 
but  especially  from  a  second  documentary  source 
which  consisted  mainly  of  sayings  of  Christ,  and 
which  is  usually  identified  with  the  Lo^a  of 
Matthew, 


jyGoot^Ie 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


^inett  Crowns   ani   (Bof^en   ^itiiie. 

By  THE  Rev.  J.  S.  Maver,  M.A.,  Aberdeen. 


'  Od  their  beads  were  «s  it  were  crowns  like  gold.'— Rev.  iz.  7. 
'  The  street  of  the  city  was  pure  gold.— Rev.  xxi.  21. 


We  expect  of  a  crown  that  it  shall  be  of  costly 
material.  Better  no  crown  at  all  than  a  poor 
pinchbeck  thing,  tt  ought  to  be  something  of 
value,  somethiDg  worth  looking  at,  something 
worth  preserving.  On  the  other  hand,  we  do  not 
expect  much  of  a  street.  It  is  for  ordinary  every- 
day traffic,  open  to  all,  free  to  the  tread  of  every 
foot.  All  we  ask  of  it  is  that  it  be  of  hard,  durable, 
serviceable  material.  But  the  crowns  in  the  king- 
dom of  darkness  are  a  sham  and  a  delusion,  while 
the  very  street  of  the  holy  city  is  of  pure  gold. 
The  crowns  are  tinsel,  the  street  is  gold. 

These  strange  creatures,  called  locusts,  on 
whose  head  are  the  crowns,  may  be  taken  to 
represent  the  evil  thoughts  and  passions  that 
debase  and  destroy  man.  Locusts  are  often 
refened  to  in  the  Bible  as  a  plague.  A  swarm  of 
them  will  devastate  a  country  with  more  com- 
pleteness than  a  horde  of  wild  beasts.  And 
terribly  destructive  can  be  the  desires  and  cravings 
of  our  own  evil  nature  if  they  gel  their  way ;  while 
all  the  time  they  have  something  attractive  and 
alluring  about  them,  too,  like  the  glittering  crowns 
on  the  locusts'  heads. 

And  just  as  the  locusts  with  their  crowns  refer 
to  the  evil  in  this  world,  to  the  evil  in  our  hearts, 
so  the  heavenly  Jerusalem  that  St.  John  speaks  of 
also  applies  to  this  world,  to  the  spiritual  beauty 
that  will  yet  one  day  characterize  it.  He  is  not 
speaking  merely  of  something  beyond  the  clouds 
and  beyond  the  tomb.  He  says  expressly,  '  I, 
John,  saw  the  holy  city  coming  down  from  God 
out  of  heavea'  Men  have  ever  dreamed  of  a 
better  day  that  is  to  be,  each  one  picturing  it 
according  to  his  own  idea  of  what  a  happy  life 
should  mean.  And  the  Bible,  too,  has  its  vision 
of  a  brighter  day  to  come.  In  all  other  dreams 
that  men  have  had,  the  chief  thing  lacking  has 
been  God  and  His  glory.  They  have  been  too 
much  of  the  mere  self-seeking,  self-exalting,  God- 
excluding  nature.  Not  so  with  the  Bible  vision. 
In  the  very  forefront  of  his  description  of  the  city, 
t.  John  refers  to  it  as  '  having  the  glory  of  God.' 


God  dwells  in  the  midst  of  it,  and  obedience  to 
Him  is  the  greatest  glory  of  it. 

Putting  these  two  together,  then, — the  locusts 
with  their  glittering  crowns,  and  the  holy  clly  with 
its  street  of  pure  gold, — they  suggest  to  us  very 
forcibly  a  great  distinction  between  the  kingdom 
of  darkness  and  the  kingdom  of  light:  the  things 
of  the  cne  art  unsubstantial  and  deceptive,  the  things 
of  the  other  are  real  and  satisfying.  The  kingdom 
of  darkness  is  emphatically  a  kingdom  of  false- 
hood. It  is  false  in  its  pretensions,  false  in  its 
promises.  You  never  get  what  you  want,  you 
never  get  what  you  expect.  You  are  led  to 
expect  great  things,  but  they  always  turn  out  to 
be  a  delusion.  The  locusts  had  on  their  head 
something  that  had  only  the  appearance  of  a 
crown, — crowns  as  it  were,  and  crowns  like  gold. 
And  therein  lies  the  power  of  the  kingdom  of  evil. 
Its  deceptions  are  so  attractive  and  so  promising. 

Bunyan  tells  us  of  the  man  with  the  muck-rake 
absorbed  in  drawing  to  himself  the  straws  and 
sticks  and  dust  of  the  floor,  while  there  stood  one 
over  his  head  proffering  him  a  celestial  crown  for 
his  muck-rake.  But  often  the  things  sought  and 
gathered  with  the  rake  do  not  appear  like  sticks 
and  straws.  Were  that  so  we  should  have  no 
desire  for  them.  They  have  rather  the  appearance 
of  a  crown  itself.  And  many  are  rather  like  the 
dog  in  the  fable,  who  let  go  his  real  bone  to 
grasp  what  seemed  to  be  a  bone  in  the  water.  But, 
like  him,  you  find  yourself  cheated,  and  a  loser  all 
round  in  the  long-run. 

And  that  is  true,  indeed,  of  everything  in  our 
life  that  is  severed  from  God's  glory  and  service. 
Even  things  innocent  in  themselves  have  no  lasting 
beauty  and  power  save  as  we  connect  them  with 
God's  love  and  God's  will.  Only  thereby  will  the 
sweet  preserve  its  sweetness.  And,  without  that 
view  of  life  as  a  whole,  one  could  well  understand 
the  statesman  who  said  that  he  had  '  weighed 
most  things  in  life,  and  found  their  metal  not 
worth  the  clink  it  made.' 

Secondly,  the  distinction   is  so  great  that  the 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


a? 


highest  things  in  the  kingdom  of  darkness  are  worth- 
Uss,  the  lowest  in  the  kingdom  of  light  are  substantial 
and  real.  Nothing  is  higher  than  the  crown, 
nothing  more  common  than  the  street,  but  the 
crowns  were  tinsel,  the  street  was  gold.  The 
richest  treasures  of  evil  are  counterfeit.  They  are 
like  the  money  Raphael  is  said  to  have  once  paid 
an  innkeeper  for  his  board.  He  painted  some 
coins  on  the  table  that  looked  at  a  distance  like 
gold,  and  only  on  his  departure  was  the  deception 
discovered.  In  his  case,  however,  it  was  good 
value  he  gave,  for  a  painting  of  his  was  worth 
more  than  the  golden  coins  represented.  Not  so 
is  it  here.  Delusion  leads  on  every  seeker,  and 
disappointment  awaits  him. 

Very  difTerent  is  it  with  the  things  of  the  king- 
dom of  God.  The  very  street  is  of  pure  gold. 
As  the  prophet  said  of  old,  '  He  maketh  the  place 
of  his  feet  glorious.'  And  what  is  the  street  in  our 
cities  for?  For  the  common  traffic  and  business 
of  life,  so  full,  as  things  are,  of  worry,  anxiety, 
keen  competition,  and  overreaching.  But  in 
this  heavenly  city  with  its  street  of  gold,  does 
it  not  mean  that  the  traffic  there  will  be  of  a 
transfigured  kind  like  the  ground  we  tread? 
And  is  not  that,  above  all,  what  we  need  in  our 
religion  ? 

Some  one  recently  referred  to  a  saying  of  Samuel 
Rutherford,  that  our  religion  should  be  '  market- 
sweet.'  That  is  the  most  difficult  thing  of  all  to 
make  it,  and  the  most  needful.  It  is  comparatively 
easy  to  make  it  church-sweet  and  prayer-mecting- 
sweet.  But  the  most  precious  and  most  telling 
characteristic  of  it  is  when  it  becomes,  say,  home- 
sweet, — a  home-sweet  religion,  bringing  peace  and 
pleasantness  into  the  home  relationships;  and 
when  it  becomes  market-sweet,  making  us  meet 
our  fellows  on  the  street  and  market  with  honest 
dealings  and  kindly  greetings  and  friendly  help- 
ings. And  the  miriest  street  in  our  cities  would 
become  a  street  of  gold,  were  that  the  nature  of  the 
daily  trafiic  passing  through  it  Said  the  wise  man 
to  a  farmer,  who  was  wont  to  return  from  the 
market  boasting  of  his  gains,  and  that  no  one  was 
ever  able  to  cheat  him,  '  Oh,  my  friend,  were  you 
as  anxious  not  to  cheat  others,  that  lumbering  cart 
of  yours  would  become  glorious  as  a  chariot  of  the 
sun.' 

Now,  sooner  or  later  the  distinction  between  the 
false  and  the  real  is  fully  recognized  by  all.  At 
first  we  are  like  those  savage  tribes  among  whom 


traders  go,  getting  the  costliest  products  of  the 
country  in  return  for  a  few  beads,  or  a  trumpery 
trinket,  or  any  worthless  thing  that  is  bright  and 
glittering,  that  catches  the  fancy  of  the  savage  eye. 
We  are  all  just  like  the  poor  cheated  heathen  in 
connexion  with  this  great  kingdom  of  darkness ; 
we  are  attracted  by  glitter  and  show,  and  part 
with  treasure  beyond  price  for  a  few  gaudy 
trifles.  We  give  years  for  hours,  we  give  soul 
for  body,  we  give  lifelong  heartsease  for  a  pass- 
ing delight.  But  by  and  by,  though  often  after 
great  loss,  we  begin  to  realize  that  always,  and 
in  all  things,  without  exception,  the  promises 
and  rewards  of  evil  are  never  fulfilled  as  we  ex- 
pected. 

There  was  a  picture  in  last  year's  Royal  Academy 
that  attracted  considerable  attention.  It  repre- 
sented a  young  king  making  a  triumphal  entry 
into  his  capital.  Banners  hang  out  from  the 
houses,  and  bright  maidens  scatter  flowers  in  his 
path.  Who  could  be  happier,  one  might  say, 
than  this  king  as  he  rides  through  his  flattering 
subjects?  By  the  side  of  the  road  is  a  plain 
crucifix,  and  on  it  hangs  a  figure.  On  this 
figure  is  also  a  crown.  The  king's  crown  glitters 
with  jewels,  but  this  is  a  crown  of  thorns.  The 
people  seem  to  be  paying  no  attention  to  the 
crucifix,  but  the  king  observes  it  as  he  approaches. 
He  checks  his  horse,  and  thoughts  other  than 
those  of  triumph  come  into  his  face.  It  is  that 
moment  that  is  represented  in  the  picture.  The 
thought  is  passing  through  his  mind,  'AAer  all, 
what  is  all  this  but  a  vain  show?  Here,  unnoticed 
by  the  shouting  and  acclaiming  crowd,  here  is 
the  true  king.' 

Yes,  but  the  crown  may  be  worn,  as  well  as  the 
streets  trodden,  in  the  spirit  of  Him  whose  noblest 
wreath  was  a  crown  of  thorns,  as  was  seen  so  long 
and  so  beautifully  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Victoria. 
And  when  that  is  so,  there  could  be  no  lovelier  spec- 
tacle, and  none  more  worthy  of  homage  and  regard. 
Let  us  all  choose,  in  our  different  spheres,  the 
better  part.  It  is  one  thing  to  see  the  distinction 
between  that  kingdom  whose  crowns  are  tinsel  and 
that  whose  very  streets  are  gold.  We  all  come  to 
see  that,  as  life  goes  on  and  we  meet  with  one  I 

disappointment  and  grief  after  another.     But  may  | 

God  incline  our  hearts  to  choose  the  unsearchable  : 

riches  of  Christ.  And  then,  in  humble  and  joyful 
trust,  it  may  be  ours  to  make  our  own  the  apostle's  [ 

words,  'Henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


crown  of  righteousness,  which  the  Lord,  the 
righteous  Judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day :  and 
not  to  me  only,  but  unto  all  them  also  that  love 
His  appearing.' 

Glorious  ihings  of  thee  »re  spoken  : 
Zion,  cily  of  our  God  ; 


Fading  ii  the  worldling*!  pleasuce, 
All  his  boasted  pomp  and  show  ; 

Solid  joys  and  lasting  treasure 
None  but  Zion's  children  know. 


(S^tunt  J'oretgn  ^^eofogg. 


gdrndcft'B  '  Qprofifeme  tm  ^ejrte  Ut 

There  has  just  been  published  in  separate  form 
the  interesting  paper  read  by  Professor  Harnack 
before  the  KonigHch  Pnusiischen  Akademie  der 
IVisserucha/len  in  Berlin,  in  February  last,  dealing 
with  certain  textual  problems  which  arise  in 
connexion  with  the  history  of  out  Lord's  Passion. 
And  whether  the  veteran  scholar's  conclusions  are 
generally  accepted  or  not,  they  at  least  demand 
careful  consideration  at  the  hands  of  all  workers 
in  the  held  of  textual  criticism.  We  shall  content 
ourselves  here  with  simply  mdicating  what  these 
conclusions  are,  tor  the  benefit  of  those  who  may 
not  have  access  to  the  original  paper. 

The  first  passage  discussed  is  Lk  aa*^"**,  a 
passage  which,  as  is  well  known,  is  not  regarded 
as  part  of  the  original  text  by  such  modern  editors 
as  W'estcott  and  Hort,  B.  Weiss,  and  Nestle, 
who  ate  able  to  point  to  an  imposing  array  of 
authorities  (((*BART  Syr.-Sin.,  etc.)  in  support 
of  its  omission.  Harnack,  however,  regards  this 
conclusion  as  too  hasty,  in  view  of  the  genuine 
Lukan  ring  of  the  words  (note  especially  the 
mention  of  the  angel  compared  with  Lk  i  and  z, 
24^3,  and  Ac  5'^  8^*,  etc.,  and  such  characteristic 
Lukan  expressions  as  uxp$r),  ^vkt^kv,  ixTtvitrnpov 
irpo<rtpj)(tTO,  and  ytvofitvoi  iv  Ayioviq.^  ,  ,  .  xtxl 
tyivero),  and  the  traditional  support  they  receive 
so  early  as  the  first  half  of  the  second  century  in 
Justin,  Tatian,  and  Irenseus.  The  main  difficulty, 
it  the  words  are  genuine,  is  to  discover  why 
they  should  ever  have  been  omitted.  But  here 
Harnack,  as  against  Wcstcott  and  Hort  ['  There 
is  no  tangible  evidence  for  the 

■  Au!  SiltungsWr.  d.  preuis.   Ai.  d.  Wist. 
'.mer.     livo,  pp.  16.     .M,o.50. 


substantial  portion  of  narrative  for  doctrinal 
reasons  at  any  period  of  textual  history '  (JV. y,  ii. 
App.  p.  66)],  does  not  hesitate  to  appeal  to  dogmatic 
grounds.  Exception,  so  he  thinks,  was  early 
taken  to  (he  passage,  both  on  account  of  the 
idea  of  an  angel  strengthening  the  Lord  and  of 
the  mention  of  the  drops  of  blood,  as  pointing  to 
outward  agony,  rather  than  to  inward  conflict  of 
soul,  and  in  consequence,  in  a  certain  number  of 
authorities,  the  words  were  altogether  omitted. 
Further  confirmation  of  this  is  also  sought  in  the 
use  made  of  the  passage  in  the  Fourth  Gospel. 
For  if  it  is  referred  to,  as  seems  probable,  in 
chap.  1 2^  f",  the '  softening  *  thai  it  there  undergoes 
at  the  writer's  hands  is  obvious.  A  voice  out  of 
heaven  now  lakes  the  place  of  the  angel,  and  the 
'strengthening'  and  the  'drops  of  blood'  dis- 
appear. On  ihe  whole,  then,  Harnack  is  of 
opinion  that  the  verses  are  to  be  legarded  as  an 
original  pari  of  Luke's  Gospel,  and  that  in  BA 
and  Syr.-Sin.  we  have  a  purposely  abridged  text 

Harnack's  second  passage  is  Lk  2388-34^  our 
Lord's  prayer  on  the  cross  for  forgiveness  for  His 
enemies,  words  which  are  awanting  in  tfBD  Syr.- 
Sin.,  and  which  in  consequence  are  omitted  by 
Lachmann,  B.  Weiss,  and  Westcott  and  Hort, 
though  the  last  named  claim  them  along  with  the 
passage  we  have  just  been  considering  as  'the 
most  precious'  among  the  remains  of  evangelic 
tradition  (ii.  App.  p.  67).  It  is  indeed  just  this 
very  preciousness  of  ihe  words,  it  is  argued,  which 
makes  it  so  difficult  to  understand  how  ihey  could 
ever  have  been  dropped  out,  if  they  formed  part 
of  the  true  text ;  whereas,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is 
said  to  be  quite  intelligible  how,  say  about  the 
beginning  of  the  second  century,  such  a  prayer 
should  have  been  inserted  either  from  tradition  or 
with  reference  to  Ac  7*'.  If  Stephen  prayed  for 
his  enemies,  how  much  more  likely  that  Jesus 


,    "ffii  EXPOSITORY  TIMES.  ,,         .  .  29 


Vi? 


sliould  have  prayed  for  His.  But,  rejoins 
Hamack,  if  the  necessity  of  ascribing  such  a 
prayer  to  Christ  was  felt  so  strongly,  how  was  it 
that  it  is  found  only  in  the  Lukan  text,  and  that 
not  a  single  copyist  seems  ever  to  have  thought  of 
inserting  it  in  the  closely  parallel  accounts  of 
Matthew  and  Mark  ?  Moreover,  he  continues, 
once  grant  the  originality  of  the  words,  and  their 
omission  may  be  accounted  for  in  one  of  two  ways. 
Either  it  was  accidental  or,  more  probably,  it  was 
deliberate,  owing  to  the  ancient  Christian  pre- 
judice against  the  Jews.  For  though  Hamack, 
wrongly  we  venture  to  think,  makes  the  prayer  refer 
in  the  first  instance  to  the  Roman  soldiers,  he  holds 
that  this  reference  might  easily  be  extended  to 
all  enemies  of  Jesus,  especially  the  Jews,  and 
consequently,  that  in  various  quarters  it  would 
come  to  be  asked.  How  could  Jesus  have  prayed  in 
these  terms  for  those  who  were  in  the  very  act  of 
committing  such  a  crime,  and  that  too  not  in 
ignorance,  but  of  set  purpose?  It  was  in  defer- 
ence to  this  objection  therefore,  and  consequently 
again  on  doctrinal,  or  perhaps  rather  ecclesiastical, 
grounds  that  the  words  were  in  the  authoriries  noted 
above  left  out.  To  say  that  they  certainly  belonged 
to  the  true  text  of  Luke's  Gospel  may  be  too  strong ; 
but  at  the  most  a  query  should  be  attached  to  them. 
Our  third  and  last  passage  is  Mk  15**,  where 
Harnack  discusses  the  strange  but  very  interesting 
reading  b>v*BuTai  for  fyKarcAiirts.'  The  reading 
is  found  only  in  the  Western  text,  and  has  been 
generally  neglected  by  the  editors,  though  West- 
cott  and  Hort  place  it  in  the  margin.  '  But 
Hamack  believes  it  to  be  the  original  reading,  and 
that  mainly  on  the  ground  that  only  in  this  way 
can  a  satisfactory  explanation  of  its  occurrence  be 
found.  For  if  Mark  originally  wrote  iyKaT(\nr<^, 
how  could  any  copyist  ever  have  changed  this  into 
mvdBurai,  the  more  so  as  no  trace  of  this  change 
is  ever  found  in  the  corresponding  Matthsean 
passage  ?  On  the  other  hand,  we  can  easily  see 
how  Matthew,  using  here  the  Mark  text,  and 
finding  in  it  ucft'Sitrai,  would  readily  change  this 
back  into  the  correct  LXX  translation  fyKartXin-ts. 
But  what  are  we  to  understand  by  wmiEwm,  and 
why  should  Mark  ever  have  thought  of  substituting 
it?    This  can   only  have  been,   Harnack  thinks, 

'  Sm  also  the  dlscuision  on  this  text  in  The  Expository 
Times,  1898,  p.  521  ;  1900,  pp.  237,  287,  334  ;  to  which 
Harnack  rerers,  though  he  is  not  personally  acquainted  with 


because  he  had  found  that  the  traditional 
iyKaTtXiwK,  as  pointing  to  desertion  on  the  part  of 
God,  had  proved  a  stumbling-block  to  some,  and 
looking  about  for  an  easier  expression,  was  arrested 
by  the  uivtCBtiov  of  v.^^.  Reviling,  as  he  had 
already  shown  (chap,  igiT-20. m-sjj^  had  played  a 
large  part  in  the  sufferings  of  Jesus,  and  by 
inserting  liniSwas  in  the  Psalmist's  cry,  which 
Jesus  adopted,  the  Evangelist  desired  to  point  to 
God  as,  at  least,  the  j}ermissive  cause  of  this 
reviling.  The  word  was  thus  an  erkidrcnde 
translation,  and  one  rendered  all  the  more  natural 
by  the  stress  laid  upon  the  ovfiZiaii^  rav  Xpurrov 
in  the  early  Church,  as  evidenced  by  He  11^'  13", 

In  each  case  therefore,  it  will  be  observed,  in 
determining  the  true  text,  Harnack  attaches  a 
definite  weight  to  dogmatic  influences,  with  this 
difference  however,  that  in  the  first  two  instances 
these  influences  led  in  certain  quarters  to  the 
omission  of  what  the  original  author  had  written  ; 
but  in  the  third,  the  author  himself,  taking  excep- 
tion to  what  had  been  handed  down  to  him, 
substituted  an  explanatory  translation  of  his  own. 

Want  of  space  has  prevented  our  reproducing 
in  full  the  MS.  evidence  for  and  against  these 
three  passages;  but,  in  general,  Harnack  claims 
that  if  his  conclusions  regarding  them  are  correct, 
then  neither  the  combination  BA  Syr.-Sin.  nor 
BD  Syr.-Sin,  can  be  regarded  as  the  infallible 
authority  sometimes  imagined;  and,  further,  that' 
in  at  least  one  crucial  passage  the  Western  tradition, 
without  the  support  of  the  Syrian,  has  been  shoivn 
to  preserve  the  original  text. 

G.  MlLLIGAN. 
Cafu/A.  .,, 

$^e  #S"^^  (perston  of  6u6e6tue' 
'C^utc^  gicforg.'* 

Dr.  Nestle  has  made  a  valuable  contribution  to 
the  admirable  series  of  Tex/e  und  Unfersuchungen 
sur  GeichkhU  dtr  alUhristHchen  Literatur,  which 
is  being  published  under  the  joint  editorship  of 
Dr.  von  Gebhardt  and  Dr.  Harnack.  The  SyrJac 
version  of  the  original  Greek  text  of  Eusebius* 
Church  History  was,  in  all  probability,  the  earliest 
translation  of  this  great  work ;  many  scholars  are 
of  opinion  that  it  was  made  within  the  lifetime  of 

'  DU  Kirehengtschuhte  da  Euubius.  Aus  dem  Syiischen. 
Ubersetit  von  Ebethard  Nestle.  Leipiig :  J,  C.  Hiniichs, 
1901.     M.9.50, 


3° 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Eusebius  himself,  and  some  believe  thai  the 
translator  worked  under  the  author's  supervision. 
Dr.  Nestle  finds  eirors  in  the  translation  which 
render  the  theory  of  consultation  with  Eusebius 
incredible ;  the  version  was  made,  he  thinks,  not 
long  after  the  time  of  Eusebius,  and  has  been 
preserved  —  with  some  lacunse  —  in  two  ancient 
manuscripts,  one  of  the  fifth  and  the  other  of  the 
sixth  century.  As  the  earliest  Greek  MS.  which 
has  yet  been  discovered  cannot  be  dated  earlier 
than  the  tenth  century,  it  is  obvious  that  the 
Syriac  version  furnishes  important  evidence  for  a 
critical  restoration  of  the  true  text  of  Eusebius. 

Dr.  Nestle's  name  is  a  sufficient  guarantee  for 
the  successful  accomplishment  of  his  purpose, 
which  is  to  give  a  translation  of  the  Syriac  version, 
'as  exact  and  as  literal  as  possible.'  By  the 
publication  of  such  a  rendering  he  has  made 
accessible  to  students  of  patristic  literature,  who  do 
not  read  Syriac,  material  which  cannot  but  be  of 
the  utmost  value.  The  text  translated  is  that  given 
in  the  Wright- M 'Lean  edition  of  the  Syriac,  pub- 
lished by  the  Cambridge  University  Press  in  1898. 

As  an  example  of  the  freedom  with  which  the 
Syriac  translator  dealt  with  the  Greek  text,  Dr. 
Nestle  refers  to  the  quotations  from  the  Bible. 
These  are  usually  given  from  the  version  known 
as  the  Peshito  or  the  Syriac  Vulgate,  even  when 
the  Greek  text  of  Eusebius  dilTers  from  it.  In  the 
famous  passage  in  which  Eusebius  quotes  the 
testimony  of  Irenseus  to  the  writings  of  Papias 
(iii.  39),  Dr.  Nestle  translates:  'These  things 
Papias  says  and  testifies  in  writing  ai  the  btginning 
of  his  books.'  The  Greek  text  has  '  in  his/ourtA 
book '  (TCTaprg) ;  the  Syriac  version  requires 
<^XV>  ^^'^  if  ^^'^  '^  ^^  original  reading,  the 
meaning  of  the  words  of  Ifensus  accords  well 
with  the  subsequent  argument  of  Eusebius,  which 
dwells  upon  what  Papias  declares  '  in  the  preface 
to  his  discourses.'  J.  G.  Tasker. 

Handnaertk  College. 


The  abnormal  manifestations  of  the  religious 
sentiment  are  the  dark  shadows  of  its  brightness. 
'  Les  Mdladti  dii  Religicux  Scntimtnl.  Par  Professor 
E.  Murisier,  Ncuchatel.  Paris:  Felix  Alcau,  editeur.— 
IWalioHi  de  PrepMtt!.  Par  Lucien  Gander.  Lausanne : 
Georgei  Bridel  et  Cie.,edileors. — Aulvurde  La  Mer  Morit. 
Par  Lucien  Gautier.   Geneve:  Ch.  Eggiman  et  Cie.,  edileuis. 


M.  Murisier  follows  the  pathological  method  of 
Ribot.  Ecstasy,  fanaticism,  and  the  contagion  of 
religious  emotion  are  studied  with  the  scientific 
severity  which  is  a  distinguishing  feature  of  the 
work  of  Frenchmea 

We  have  Moses  and  the  prophets.  Do  we  read 
them  ?  Certainly  not  so  much  as  we  ought  to  do. 
This  bright  little  book  on  the  call  of  Ezekiel, 
Jeremiah,  Isaiah,  and  Amos  shows  us  something 
of  their  perennial  interest  and  profit. 

'The  least  of  all  lands'  is  the  best  known  of  all 
lands.      We  never  cry  '  Hold,  enough,'  to  those 

who  have  made  the  happy  pilgrimage.  This  in- 
teresting book  is  the  fruit  of  a  second  visit  made 
to  the  Holy  Land  by  its  distinguished  author  in 
1899.  The  interest  and  value  of  the  book  is  much 
increased  by  the  thirty-four  illustrations  it  contains, 
from  photographs  taken  by  M.  Gautier. 

John  Reid. 

$mon$  i^t  (periobicAfs. 

The  Number  of  the  Beast 
The  much  discussed  question  as  to  who  or  what 
is  referred  to  under  the  number  666  or  616  of 
Rev  13'*  forms  the  subject  of  an  article  in  the 
Z.N.T.  W.  (1901,  Heft  2)  by  Dr.  Carl  Clemen.  In 
opposition  to  Zahn  and  others  he  is  quite  clear 
that  we  have  to  do  here  with  an  instance  of  inter- 
pretation by  Gematria.  The  beast  is  the  Roman 
empire  ;  the  one  [or  possibly  fiiav  of  13^  may  mean 
'  the  first ']  head  wounded  as  unto  death  he  refers 
to  Julius  Ciesar,  whose  assassination  threatened  to 
be  fatal  to  the  continuance  of  the  Roman  Empire. 
As  to  the  word  or  title  whose  numerical  value  = 
666  or  616,  Clemen  does  not  favour  the  notion 
that  a  Hebrew  basts  must  be  sought  for  this  value. 
The  readers  of  the  Apocalypse  could  never  have 
thought,  without  special  instructions,  of  seeking 
any  but  a  Greek  equivalent.  The  author  of  the 
book  does  not  assume  that  they  were  acquainted 
with  Hebrew ;  on  the  contrary,  he  explains  the 
meaning  of  Hebrew  terms  (9"),  or  at  least  notes 
Hebrew  terms  when  he  employs  them  {16*). 
Clemen  sees  no  reason  to  conclude  that  even  the 
author  himself  had  a  knowledge  of  Hebrew.  For 
this  and  for  other  reasons  he  rejects  Gunkel's 
proposal   to  equate   666  with  n'jioip  Dinn,   the 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


primeval  chaos.  The  same  objection  applies  to 
the  explanation  of  Bousset  and  others,  ^Dp  )113  or 
'p  ru  ;  as  well  as  to  p'Tn  (or  U'ln),  i.c.  Trajan,  or 
DUmtt  iin'D  {or  D13*mi«  DUno),  (>.  Trajanus 
Adrianus.  It  so  happens,  indeed,  that  Tiuoc 
Kourap  in  Greek  letters  =  6i6 ;  but  this  interpre- 
tation, like  those  just  mentioned,  is  exposed  to  the 
objection  that  the  number  of  the  Beast  can  be 
represented  only  by  a  Greek  name  for  the  Roman 
empire  and  not  for  an  individual  emperor.  A  term 
satisfying  this  condition  and  yielding  either  666  or 
6i6  Clemen  believes  be  finds  in  ^  'troX^  ^aaiMU 
(666),  or  ^  AaTiio;  fiairiktia  (6l6). 

Wanted  a  Bibliography. 
A  somewhat  novel  but  very  practical  suggestion 
is  put  forward  in  the  same  number  of  the  Z.JV.  T.  W. 
by  the  editor,  Dr.  Preuschen.  It  is  welt  known 
that  a  number  of  our  first-class  theological  maga- 
zines publish  either  periodically,  or  in  every 
number,  a  Bibliography  duly  classified  (cf,  e^. 
the  Z.A.T.W.,  the  Theol.  Lileraturteitung,  the 
Critical  Review,  the  American  Journal  of  Theology, 
etc.).  The  Z.N.  T.  W.  itself  has  been  following  suit, 
and  the  editor  has  been  forcibly  struck  with  the 
superfluous  labour  expended  on  so  many  separate 
lists  of  what  is  to  a  large  extent  the  same  material. 
He  suggests  that  a  body  of  competent  men,  by 
preference  those  engaged  in  libraries,  each  en- 
trusted with  a  special  department,  should  prepare 
a  list  to  be  published  every  two  months,  and  of 
such  a  form  that  it  could  readily  be  issued  as  an 
appendix  or  supplement  to  the  various  periodicals. 
Dr.  Preuschen  is  convinced  that  such  a  scheme 
would  be  a  financial  success  as  well  as  a  great 
saving  of  time-exacting  labour  to  editors  and 
others,  and  he  trusts  that  some  enterprising  pub- 
lisher will  come  forward  to  take  it  up,  or  that 
joint  action  may  be  taken  by  the  various  editors 
concerned. 

Apologetics  and  Biblical  Criticism. 
In  last  February's  issue  (p.  238  f.)  we  gave  some 
account  of  the  remarkable  series  of  letters  in  course 
of  being  addressed  by  Mgr.  Mignot,  archbishop  of 
AIbi,  to  the  clergy  of  his  diocese.  The  aim  of 
these  is  to  fix  the  right  attitude  of  the  Catholic 
Church  towards  the  conclusions  that  are  increas- 
ingly urged  upon  the  public  attention  by  the 
historical  criticism  of  the  O.T.  A  special  interest 
belongs  to  the  papers  as  bearing  witness  to  the 


extent  to  which  the  leaven  of  criticism  has  per- 
vaded the  Church  of  which  Archbishop  Mignot  is 
an  ornament;  and  it  may  be  added  that,  while 
there  are  naturally  a  good  many  considerations  put 
forward  which  have  full  weight  only  with  Roman 
Catholic  readers,  the  greater  part  of  the  letters  are 
suited  to  any  branch  of  the  Christian  Church. 

The  writer  begins  his  fifth  letter,  which  lies 
before  us,  by  urging  the  necessity  of  the  Church 
taking  her  share  in  the  settlement  of  critical 
questions.  '  If  these  are  decided  without  us,  they 
are  decided  against  us.'  To  ignore  criticism 
will  not  prevent  its  progress.  But  the  Arch- 
bishop is  fuUy  persuaded  that  the  Church  has  no 
occasion  for  alarm.  No  dogma  will  be  endangered 
even  if  many  of  the  critical  theories  (as  he  prefers 
meanwhile  to  call  them)  should  one  day  be  estab- 
lished. All  that  will  be  necessary  will  be  for  the 
Church  to  alter  the  order  and  the  form  of  her 
defence.  '  No  apologetic  escapes  the  errors  of  its 
age  or  rises  above  the  level  of  contemporary  know- 
ledge.' Criticism,  he  insists,  is  neither  Christian 
nor  anti-Christian,  neither  good  nor  evil,  any  more 
than  are  mathematics  and  the  natural  sciences.  It 
is  simply  a  method  of  work,  an  instrument  of 
research  which  is  being  daily  brought  to  higher 
perfection;  it  consists  in  an  examination  of  the 
text  in  the  light  of  modem  discoveries,  with  the 
resources,  historical,  scientific,  linguistic,  etc,  put 
at  our  disposal  by  the  constant  advance  of  human 
learning.  It  has  not  to  do  exclusively  with  Scrip- 
ture ;  biblical  criticism  is  but  a  branch  of  historical 
criticism  in  general.  No  doubt  it  is  a  two-edged 
weapon,  and  one  that  is  not  safe  in  all  hands. 
'  One  does  not  trust  firearms  to  a  madman  or  a 
child.'  Still  criticism  is  the  appreciation  (dttcern- 
mtnf)  of  the  true,  not  its  depreciation  {dinigremeni), 
as  those  are  only  too  willing  to  believe  whom  it 
disturbs  in  their  old  habits  of  thought,  and  who 
cling  to  their  ideas  from  vanity  or  interest  or 
spiritual  sloth,  or  at  times,  as  they  imagine,  for  the 
glory  of  God.  The  one  method  of  meeting  the 
danger  of  false  criticism  is  to  set  up  the  right 
critical  system. 

It  IS  a  commonplace  that  the  books  of  the  O.T. 
are  the  result  of  a  religious  and  literary  develop- 
ment. The  Psalter,  the  Proverbs,  the  books  of 
Judges,  Samuel,  and  Kings  all  bear  traces  of  having 
been  composed  at  various  epochs  and  from  a 
variety  of  sources.  Assuming  this  to  be  the  case, 
is  our  faith  imperilled  P    Not  in  the  least.     And 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


why  should  it  be  endangered  if  it  be  proved  that 
the  Pentateuch  is  in  a  like  case,  if  Deuteronomy 
should  turn  out  to  be  a  late  edition  of  ancient  laws, 
and  that  many  enactments  of  recent  origin  have 
been  attached  to  the  primitive  worlcs  of  Moses? 
In  like  manner  the  Archbishop  shows  how  neither 
the  supposed  authority  of  our  Lord  and  His 
apostles  nor  of  the  Church  have  closed  those 
questions  of  authorship  and  date  upon  which 
historical  criticism  alone  has  a  right  to  speak.  But, 
granting  to  the  fullest  degree  the  late  date  of  much 
that  used  to  be  supposed  to  be  very  early  in  the 
O.T.  literature,  the  history  of  Israel  could  be  in  all 
essentials  reconstructed  from  the  prophets,  from 


Amos,  Hosea,  and  Micah,  whose  authenticity  is  as 
indisputable  as  that  of  the  Epistles  to  the  Romans, 
the  Galatians,  and  the  Corinthians.  Archbishop 
Mignot  practically  adopts,  in  fact,  the  apologetic 
ailment  of  the  late  Professor  Bruce,  of  which  he 
speaks  in  laudatory  terms.  From  the  prophets  we 
can  learn  what  was  the  religious  past  of  Israel,  and 
in  their  writings  we  can  see  the  role  they  played  in 
the  preparation  for  the  Messianic  kingdom.  The 
value  of  all  this  is  unaffected  by  critical  conclu- 
sions as  to  the  historical  books.  In  the  history  of 
prophetism  our  author  finds  the  true  Scripture 
basis  of  apologetics.  J.  A.  Selbib. 

MarycuUlr. 


By  the   Rev.   G.   Ferries,   M.A.,   D.D.,   Cluny,   Aberdeenshire. 


Advantages  derived  from  the  Interaction  of  Religion  and  Science. 


It  is  but  half  the  truth  to  say  that  recent  science 
makes  the  acquisition  of  faith  difficult,  and  that 
many  are  chiefly  impressed  by  the  difficulties  and 
are  overborne  by  doubt.  In  the  case  of  those 
who  have  gained  a  spiritual  faith,  and  who  are  also 
in  sympathy  with  the  proper  aims  of  science, 
as  those  may  be  expected  to  be  who  have 
grown  with  its  growth,  the  latter  exerts  a 
rejuvenating,  stimulating,  and  widening  influence 
on  their  religion  itself  A  happy  change  in  this 
respect  is  now  in  progress.  Even  so  lately  as  a 
generation  ago,  the  most  noticeable  effect  on 
religion  of  the  advance  of  science  was  to  draw 
forth  from  pious  and  reflective  people  a  cry  of 
distress.  They  made  many  anxious  endeavours 
to  reconcile  the  cosmogony  of  the  opening 
chapters  of  Genesis  with  astronomy  and  geology, 
and  were  alarmed  at  the  doctrine  of  Evolution, 
as  if  it  implied  Atheism  and  the  overthrow  of 
Scripture,  and  found  themselves  threatened  with 
a  philosophy  which  saw  in  Matter  '  the  promise 
and  potency  of  all  terrestrial  life,'  In  this  connexion 
it  was  the  mere  struggle  for  existence  on  the  part 
of  religion  that  mainly  bulked  in  men's  minds. 
But  truth  in  religion  as  elsewhere  is  set  in  a  clearer 
light,  and  is  therefore  promoted,  by  inquiry  and 


conflict ;  and,  accordingly,  it  is  fitting  that  reference 
should  be  made  to  some  of  the  gains  for  faith 
which  may  now  be  registered  as  the  fruit  of  many 
years  of  earnest  effort;  although  multitudes  still 
find  themselves  unable,  for  such  reasons  as  those 
already  mentioned,  to  share  in  those  fruits,  and 
although  an  Agnostic  philosophy  (often  but  an 
ill-defined  habit  of  thought)  has  come  to  succeed 
the  other  sceptical  systems  whose  influence  has 
waned. 

The  interest  with  which  Schleiermacher  invested 
the  inquiry  into  the  subject  of  religion  as  an 
existing  fact  continues  till  now.  The  study  of 
man's  nature  and  powers  shows  religion  to  be  an 
essential  feature  of  his  life,  placed  as  he  is  in  this 
world.  Religion,  it  is  made  apparent,  is  not 
merely  imposed  upon  him  by  authority,  whether 
of  priests  or  sacred  books,  nor  does  it  consist  of 
questionable  speculations;  it  is  an  element  of  his 
nature  without  which  he  could  not  attain  the  full 
dignity  of  his  rank  among  the  creatures ;  and  men 
and  books  can  only  serve  as  the  means  for  bringing 
this  religious  faculty  to  full  exercise  and  fruition. 
One  returns  with  fresh  zest  to  the  cultivation  of 
what  he  knows  to  be  a  phase,  and  the  richest 
phase,  of  his  own  life,  and  feels    the    stimulus 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


33 


which  is  imparted  to  him  who  works  with  a  high, 
intelligent  appreciation  of  his  position  and 
privileges,  and  not  merely  because  he  is  impelled 
by  authority  or  custom. 

Historical  science,  having  first  been  tested  in 
other  fields,  could  not  fail  to  introduce  its  spirit 
and  methods  into  the  study  of  the  religious  life  of 
old  Israel  and  the  first  Christians,  and  to  elucidate 
as  far  as  possible  the  record  of  that  life  which  we 
possess  in  Scripture.     In  (his  country,  Robertson 
Smith,  following  in  the  steps  of  Graf  and  Well- 
hausen,  pointed  out  (O.T.  in  the  Jewish  Church, 
lect.  vi.)  how  the  Canon  of  the  O.T,  was  esUb- 
lished,  not  by  some  inexplicable  divine  decree, 
but  by  the  discernment  of  the  pious  community  of 
the  Jews,  who,  with  devout  care,  assigned  pre- 
eminence and  exclusive  authority  to  the  writings 
which,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  responded  to  the  faith 
of  their  hearts.     The  principle  of  selection  there 
brought  to  view  is   of  far-reaching  significance. 
Scripture  holds  its  high  rank  in  our  esteem  as 
being  the  record  of  the  religious  life  at  its  best. 
We  are  invited  to  examine  the  grounds  of  its 
claims,  and  to  enter  into  the  life  to  which   it 
testifies,  and  we  cannot  fait  to  derive  much  benefit 
by  so  doing.    The  aim  is  now  to  reproduce,  as  far 
as  may  be,  by  the  resources  of  archeology,  general 
history,  and  literary  criticism  the  exact  situations 
in  which  the  great  men  of  Scripture  were  placed, 
and  so  to  render  their  thought  fluid,  to  discover 
their  spiritual  motives,  and  to  reach  their  heart. 
Their  life  thus  becomes  a  light  to  men  in  every 
age ;  for  the  hearts  of  mankind,  their  chief  needs, 
are  always  the  same.     In  particular,  the  prophets 
are  no  longer  regarded  as  mere  predictors,  whose 
function  was   to  supply  material  for  the  use  of 
latter-day    apologists ;    they   were    the    religious 
guides  of  the  people  of  their  own  land  and  time, 
'  spokesmen  for  God,'  preachers  of  spiritual  religion, 
moral  and  social  reformers,  whose  principles  can 
be  apprehended  by  us  in  their  original  purity  and 
force,  and  ought  to  be  applied  by  all  who  seek  the 
ends  of  Christian  faith  and  eternal  righteousness. 
The  same  line  of  remark  applies  to  the  N.T. 
writings.    They  were  collected  and  set  apart  by 
the  living  faith  of  the  Church ;  and  they  have  the 
authority  which  is  derived  from  the  fact  that  the 
Church's  faith  was  itself  formed  through  the  in- 
dwelling Spirit  of  God,  which  was  supplied  in  the 
early  times  in  special  measure.     And  as  regards 
the  great  men  of  the  new  dispensation,  St.  Paul, 


t.g.  when  viewed  in  his  historical  surroundings,  is 
not  simply  a  hard  dogmatist,  as  he  has  often  been 
supposed  to  be:  he  gains  full  sympathy  and  ad- 
miration; his  spiritual  aims  stand  out  as  the 
loftiest  and  purest ;  his  life  exhibits  devoted  self- 
sacrifice,  and  his  intellect  shows  itself  to  be 
masterly.  In  him  Christianity  commends  itself  to 
our  soul  and  conscience  by  its  magnificent  fruit — 
Above  all,  historical  inquiry  has  impelled  men  to 
set  less  store  by  tradition,  which  often  obscured 
the  will  of  God,  and  to  'return  to  Christ.'  so  as  to 
find  in  Him  the  source  and  centre  of  Christian 
faith  and  life.  This  course  cannot  fail,  when  the 
necessary  precautions  are  taken,  to  convey  incal- 
culable blessing  to  the  Churches.  For  the  gospel 
message,  as  brought  by  Jesus  Himself,  has  a 
peculiarly  convincing  efficacy,  being  at  once  simple, 
translucent,  profoundly  ethical,  and  satisfying  to 
the  heart  by  its  Revelation  of  God  as  Father.  It 
is  true  that  there  is  not  material  to  form  a  '  Life  of 
Christ,'  though  there  have  been  many  so-called 
Lives;  but  the  mind,  the  teaching,  the  Personality 
of  Jesus  can  be  largely  understood,  and  in  so  far 
as  they  are  apprehended,  the  will  of  God  with 
every  man  is  discovered.  Christ  is  not  merely 
the  Redeemer  of  the  world  by  His  deathj  in  a  way 
which  it  is  impossible  to  realize :  He  can  be 
known  as  the  efTeclual  Revealer  of  God  by  the 
perfect  goodness  of  His  Personality,  and  the 
death  of  the  Crucified  One  may  be  rec<%ni2ed  as 
the  crown  and  completion  of  the  goodness  mani- 
fested in  His  life.  Christianity,  as  seen  in  its 
source,  is  not  an  infertile  body  of  dogma,  but  a 
living  power  of  the  Spirit,  uniting  God  and  man 
by  the  bond  of  a  spiritual  faith  and  an  ideal 
morality.  The  spirit  and  the  morality  are  peren- 
nial, and  can  be  infused  with  transforming  effect 
into  the  life  of  the  present.  They  are  applicable 
to  alt  circumstances;  and  as  the  men  of  to-day 
allow  themselves  to  be  baptized  with  that  original 
spirit,  and  enter  into  its  aims  in  their  worldly 
practice,  they  find  that  fresh  intuitions  of  Christian 
truth  are  caught  by  them  in  countless  number ; 
endless  vistas  are  opened  up  in  all  directions ; 
it  is  felt  that  the  whole  of  modern  life  can  and 
ought  to  be  spiritualized.  And,  again,  when 
Christians  are  led  by  careful  scrutiny  to  look 
beyond  the  letter  of  Scripture,  and  to  acknowledge 
the  spiritual  Christ  and  His  perfect  morality  as 
the  enduring  essence  of  the  N.T.,  they  have 
attained  a  principle  of  union  by  which  they  can 


34 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


be  drawn  into  one  spiritual  brotherhood  and  be 
conscious  of  their  fellowship. 

Furthermore,  history  throws  light  on  the  origin 
and  essence  of  dogma,  disclosing  the  circumstances 
which  led  to  its  formation,  and  so  affording  guid- 
ance for  the  intelligent  and  profitable  use  of  it, 
assigning  a  relative  significance  to  it,  and  making 
it  cease  to  appear  as  an  intolerable  yoke. 

But  natural  law,  universal  causation,  which 
science  brings  to  light,  appears  to  many  to  have 
a  chilling  effect  for  faith,  and  to  undo  the  com- 
forting conviction  that  their  life  is  secured  in  all 
its  interests  by  a  watchful  Providence.  Now,  with- 
out order  in  nature,  so  steadfast  that  it  can  be 
counted  on,  they  could  not  get  the  best  and  most 
necessary  gift  of  all,  namely,  righteousness.  They 
have  the  means  of  improving  in  moral  character, 
only  if  they  know  the  natural  consequences  of 
their  action,  from  past  observation  and  from 
memory,  and  if  they  choose  their  course  of  action 
with  the  conviction  that  the  laws  of  nature  will 
hold  good  in  the  present  and  future.  In  propor- 
tion, therefore,  as  those  laws  are  ascertained,  the 
more  opportunities  for  moral  advancement  will 
there  be,  the  more  benefits  of  the  highest  value 
wilt  be  available,  the  more  occasions  will  be  found 
for  pleasing  a  righteous  God.  Causation  in  the 
material  sphere  should  be  welcomed  in  the  interest 
of  ethical  religion.  The  soul  has  its  own  means 
of  rising  to  felt  union  with  God,  and  in  hours  of 
devotion  it  is  clearly  realized  that  He  is  the  God 
'who  holds  all  nature  up,' and  that  no  operation 
whatever  is  withdrawn  from  His  control.  This 
persuasion  can  be  retained  in  those  other  hours 
when  one  pursues  the  even  course  of  obeying 
natural  law  and  using  it  for  righteous  ends:  the 
spiritual  is  now  and  always  set  over  the  material. 
And  in  that  case  nothing  but  advantage  can  accrue 
to  faith  from  any  possible  advance  of  natural 
science  in  future.  In  any  event,  the  spiritual  God 
and  the  perfect  righteousness  known  through  Christ 
will  remain  immovable ;  and  the  more  the  wonders 
in  nature  and  history  are  unfolded,  the  more  will 
our  estimation  be  enhanced  of  that  spiritual  domain 
which  is  yet  more  marvellous  than  the  earth,  and  the 
more  cause  will  be  found  for  ascribing  glory  to  God 
who  rules  the  universe  both  of  matter  and  spirit. 

But  though  there  have  been  advantages  to  faith 
from  the  growth  of  the  scientific  spirit,  the  new 
process  of  thought  in  theology  is  still  very  im- 
perfect; it  has  only  accomphshed  a  stage  in  its 


onward  march,  and  has  not  reached  the  goal. 
Men  have  to  brace  themselves  to  the  intellectual 
tasks  which  are  now  incumbent  on  them.  In 
particular,  while  science  meets  with  universal  ac- 
ceptance, it  has  to  be  admitted  that  no  statement 
of  the  Christian  faith  exists  which  commends  itself 
as  a  necessary  and  sufficient  presentation  of  the 
truth,  in  the  judgment  even  of  that  body  of 
Christians  who  are  in  sympathy  with  moidern 
science.  To  frame  such  a  statement  is  a  work  of 
the  first  importance  that  is  now  pressing.  It  ought 
not,  however,  to  be  surprising  that  the  task  has 
not  yet  been  accomplished,  and  no  blame  is 
necessarily  implied  by  the  non-fulfilment  of  it. 
For  the  historical  sciences  are  but  a  recent  pro- 
duct; it  was  previously  stated  that  not  long  ago 
the  idea  of  Evolution  came  upon  people  as  a 
surprise.  It  is  in  our  day  that  that  idea  has  been 
applied  to  all  departments  of  knowledge,  and 
people  are  only  yet  trying  to  realize  the  changed 
aspect  of  things.  An  adjustment  of  religious 
thought  to  a  view  of  the  world  which  is  only  now 
beginning  to  assume  definite  form  was  hitherto,  as 
a  matter  of  course,  not  practicable  or  conceivable. 
But  already  men  are  animated  with  hope  in  this 
regard,  and  in  view  of  the  spiritual  gains  actually 
achieved,  that  hope  is  well  grounded ;  indeed,  those 
who  are  convinced  that  Christianity  is  the  truth 
must  be  certain  that  with  patience  and  persistent 
effort  it  will  be  realized.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  there 
have  been  praiseworthy  endeavours  of  late  to  carry 
out  the  task  referred  to.  But  at  most  there  can 
only  be  a  relative  and  temporary  settlement.  For 
secular  thought  will  move  on ;  new  truth  will  be 
gathered  in  future  both  in  the  sacred  and  in  the 
secular  sphere ;  and,  as  in  a  chemical  combination, 
any  theology  that  may  arise  will  be  transformed  in 
turn  when  new  truth  is  added  to  it,  for  it  will  be 
seen  in  a  new  light.  Hence  the  applicability  of 
the  maxim,  Ecckiia  semper  reformari  debet. 

The  great  bulk  of  recent  theological  works, 
having  for  their  aim  to  commend  religious  truth 
to  the  present  generation,  have  striven  to  reconcile 
the  spiritual  sphere  with  science.  Such  books  are 
countless,  some  of  the  best  work  being  done  in 
special  and  very  limited  fields,  or  in  commentaries 
on  single  Books  of  Scripture.  Martineau's  Study 
of  Religion  is  a  valuable  eirenicon  between  spiritual 
faith  and  current  science.  Jevons'  Principles  of 
Seiena  and  Eucken's  Die  Grundbegriffe  der  Gegen- 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


35 


wart  insist  on  the  rights  of  the  spiritual  nature  of 
man  in  face  of  certain  widespread  pretensions 
which  are  fathered  on  science.  The  appeal  which 
faith  makes  to  the  intelligence,  the  essentially 
rational  character  of  Keligion,  is  brought  out  in 
BiedermanD's  Dogmatik,  Caird's  Introduction  to  the 
Philosophy  of  Riligion  and  Thi  Fundamental  Ideas 
of  Christianity,  and  in  Faiibairn's  The  Place  of 
Christ  in  Modern  Theology.  These  show  an  affinity 
with  Hegel's  philosophy,  and  supply  the  means  of 
combating  Agnosticism.  Other  sceptical  systems 
are  refuted  in  Flint's  Anti-Theistic  Theories.  From 
the  school  that  succeeded  Hegel  and  aimed  at 
placing  theology  in  touch  with  positive  science 
there  are,  e.g.,  Ritschl's  Justification  and  Reconcilia- 
tion, Herrmann's  Communion  of  the  Christian  with 
God,  Kaftan's  Truth  of  the  Christian  Religion  and 
Dogmatik,  and  in  Church  History  the  voluminous 
writings  of  Harnack,  especially  History  of  Dogma ; 
also  articles  in  the  Ckristliclu  Well  and  in  the 
Zcilschrift  fiir    Theologie    und   Kirche.      Hatch's 


Infiuence  of  Greek  Ideas  and  Usages  on  the  Christian 
Church  is  written  in  this  sense.  Ecke's  Die 
Theologische  Schule  Albrecht  Ritschl's  is  a  sympa- 
thetic and  discriminating  critique ;  so  too  is  Garvie's 
The  Ritschlian  Theology.  Useful  matter  on  the 
nature  of  religious  knowledge  is  given  in  the  first 
part  of  Lipsius'  Dogmatik  and  in  Biedermann's 
Dogmatik,  vol.  i.,  and  in  the  Philosophies  of 
Religion,  e.g.  Sabatier's  Sketch,  a  lucid  and  at- 
tractive exposition,  or  Tide's  Edinburgh  Gifford 
Lectures.  Dillmann's  Commentary  on  Genesis  and 
Schultz  O.T.  Theology  treat  of  the  records  in  the 
earlier  part  of  Genesis  from  the  point  of  view  of 
science  and  history. — The  Lectures  on  the  Gi/Tord 
foundation  at  the  Scottish  universities  are  designed 
to  investigate  the  evidences  for  religious  belief,  so 
far  as  these  may  be  open  to  scientific  or  rational  in- 
quiry, and  do  not  rest  on  mere  authority. — The  more 
important  works  on  Theology  and  its  relation  to 
science  and  philosophy  are  discussed  in  FHeiderer's 
Development  of  Theology  in  Germany  and  Britain. 


THE  GREAT  TEXTS  OF  HEBREWS. 


Hebrews  xu.  i. 
'Therefore  let  us  also,  seeing  we  are  compasoed 
sbont  with  so  gieat  a  cloud  of  witnessea,  lay  aside 
«vei7  weight,  and  the  sin  which  doth  so  easily  beset 
us,  and  let  us  run  with  patieace  the  race  that  is  set 
before  us' (R.V.)- 

Exposition. 

'  So  great  a  cloud  of  witnesses.'— The  writer  legards 
himself  and  bis  Tel  low-Christians  as  placed  in  an  arena,  and 
contending  for  a  great  priie.  The  image  of  the  amphi- 
theatre with  ihc  rising  rows  of  spectators  seems  to  suggest  the 
thought  of  an  encircling  cloud.  The  witnesses  of  whom  the 
cloud  is  composed  are  unqueslioaablf  the  countless  heroes 
of  faith  whose  deeds  have  been  summarized  in  chap.  tl. 
The  testimony  which  they  bear  can  only  be  the  testimony 
which  they  bear  to  God,  either  by  victorious  achievements 
or  by  courageous  sutTerings,  answering  to  that  which  He 
has  wrought  for  and  in  them.  In  both  respects,  ai  con- 
querors and  as  sufferers,  they  witness  to  His  power  and 
faithfulness ;  and  those  who  regard  them  cannot  but  be 
strengthened  by  their  testimony. 

There  is  apparently  no  evidence  that  tiApmi  is  ever  used 
simply  in  (he  sense  of  a  spectator.  ...  At  the  same  time 
it  is  impossible  to  exclude  the  thought  of  the  spectators  in 


the  amphitheatre.  The  passage  would  not  lose  in  vividness 
though  it  would  lose  in  power  if  StaTrSf  were  substituted  for 
fiapripur.  These  champions  of  old  time  occupy  the  place 
of  spectators,  but  they  are  more  than  spectators.  They 
arc  spectators  who  interpret  to  us  the  meaning  of  our 
struggle,  and  who  bear  testimony  to  the  certainty  of  our 
success  ifwe  strive  lawfully. —Westcott. 

'  Every  weight' — The  word  '  weight '  wai  used  techni- 
cally, in  the  language  of  athletes,  to  mean  'superfluous 
flesh' to  be  reduced  by  training.  The  training  requisite  to 
make  the  body  supple  and  sinewy  was  severe  and  long- 
continued.  Metaphorically  the  word  comes  to  mean  'pride,' 
'infiation.'— Farhar. 

The  things  called  '  weights'  are  distinguished  from  'sin,' 
and  are  possibly  things  that  are  laid  aside  by  one  who 
desires  to  run  well,  though  in  others  and  in  tbeii  own 
nature  they  may  not  be  ohjeclionahle,  or  faulty,  but  even 
comely.  An  appetite,  though  lawful,  that  tends  to  gain  on 
one ;  devotion  to  some  pursuit  in  danger  of  absorbing  the 
mind  ;  an  affection  that  threatens  to  turn  away  the  heart, — 
such  things  are  weights. — Davidson. 

'The  sin  which  doth  so  easily  beset  us.'— The  ref- 
erence is  not  to  one  parlieular  sin  as  specially  dangerous, 
but  to  iia  itself.  The  article  is  generic.  All  tin.— 
VAUr.HAN. 

The  six  words  '  which  doth  so  easily  beset  us '  represent 
one  Greek  word,  eupciisiaina,  of  which  the  meaning  is  un- 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


certain,  because  it  occura  nowhere  else.  It  menu  literally 
'  well  standing  [□»□<]'  or  'veil  stood  aroand.'     (i)  If  Uken 

in  the  latter  senie  it  is  interpreted  to  mean  (a)  'thronged,' 
'eagerly  encircled,'  and  so  '  iiitiiA  admired'  or  'much 
applauded,'  and  wilt  thus  put  us  on  oui  guard  acainsl  lins 
which  are  popular  ;  or  (^)  '  cBEily  avoidable,'  with  reference 
lo  the  \a'a  peri-istaso,  ■■void'  (2  Ti  i",  Tit  3'),  The 
objection*  to  these  renderings  are  that  the  writer  is  thinking 
of  private  wo*.  More  probably  it  is  lo  be  taken  in  the  aclivi 
sense,  as  in  the  A.V.  and  the  R.V.  oF  the  sin  which  either 
(a)  'presses  closely  about  us  10  attack  us';  or  (^)  vhich 
'closely  clings  .  .  .  to  us'  like  an  enfolding  robe  [slafas 
chiieii).  The  latter  is  almo*t  certainly  the  tnie  meaning,  and 
is  suggested  by  the  participle  apolhemmoi,  '  stripping  off'  (cf, 
Kph.  4^).  As  an  athlete  lays  aside  every  heavy  01  dragging 
article  of  dress,  so  we  must  strip  away  from  us  and  throw 
aside  the  clinging  robe  of  familiar  sin.— Fakrar. 

'With  puience.'— Endurance  characteriied  the  faith  of 
alt  the*e  heroes  and  patriarchs,  and  be  exhorts  tis  to  endure 
because  Christ  also  endured  the  cross. — Kakrah. 

Methods  of  Treatment, 

I. 

Weighti  ftnd  Sins. 

By  the  Ket;  Aleiaiider  Madaren,  D.D. 

There  is  a  regular  series  of  thoughts  here.  The 
central  itijiinction  is,  'Let  us  run  with  patience'; 
the  only  way  of  doing  that  is  by  'laying  aside  all 
weights  and  sin ' ;  and  the  only  way  of  laying  them 
aside  is  'looking  unto  Jesus.'  Sin  here  is  sin 
generically — all  transgression.  We  must  throw 
aside  the  garment  that  wraps  us  round — '  the  sin 
that  easily  besets  us,'  but  also  'every  weighL' 

1.  There  are  hindrances  which  are  not  sins. 
Sin  by  its  very  nature  is  transgression  of  God's 
law.  A  '  weight '  may  be  legitimate  in  itself,  yet  a 
hindrance  to  us.  Sin  is  sin  whoever  does  it,  but 
weights  may  be  weights  to  me  and  not  to  you. 
They  are  not  so  much  external  ciTCumstances  as 
the  habits  of  mind  by  which  we  abuse  God's  good 
gifts.  We  have  an  awful  power  of  perverting 
God's  greatest  gifts  into  occasions  of  sin,  as  men 
distil  poison  from  flowers.  By  cleaving  to  them 
too  much  or  wrongly  we  may  make  them  hin- 
drances. 

2.  If  we  would  run  we  must  lay  these  aside. 
Our  material  bodies  have  but  to  be  nourished  and 
they  grow.  But  the  spiritual  growth  involves 
warfare.  Every  step  of  the  way  must  be  fought 
for.  Every  progress  involves  a  sacrifice  of  the 
natural  man.  Not  only  must  sins  be  swept  away, 
but  'every  weight'  But  how  can  we  lay  aside 
our  weights?    (1)  By  growing  so  strong  that  they 


are  no  longer  weights ;  (a)  By  putting  them  utterly 
aside.  The  first  condition  is  the  highest,  and  we 
shall  reach  it  one  day ;  but  most  of  us  are  so  weak 
that  the  second  course  is  safest.  There  are  duties 
and  circumstances  which,  by  our  own  sinfulness, 
we  have  made  weights,  which  we  yet  dare  not 
leave,  because  God  has  given  them  to  us,  and  to 
leave  them  would  be  sin.  But  from  other  occa- 
sions of  temptation  we  are  wise  to  flee.  We  must 
be  guided  by  our  own  experience  of  what  does  us 
harm.  No  man  can  judge  for  another.  There  is 
danger  in  freedom,  the  danger  of  licentiousness 
and  of  contempt  for  the  narrowness  of  others, 
which  may  be  the  fruit  of  more  earnest  Christian 
principle.  '  Let  not  him  that  eateth  despise  hira 
that  eateth  not'  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  the 
danger  of  self-righteous  condemnation  of  those 
perhaps  stronger  and  wiser  than  ourselves.  '  Let 
not  him  that  eateth  not  judge  him  that  eateth.' 
We  must  remember  in  things  indifferent  (1)  for 
ourselves,  that  a  weight  retained  is  a  sin;  (a)  for 
others,  that  we  must  neither  judge  their  strength 
nor  offend  their  weakness. 

3.  Laying  aside  every  weight  is  only  possible  by 
looking  to  Christ.  Some  think  that  in  laying  aside 
a  weight  they  have  done  a  meritorious  action.  It 
is  of  no  use  unless  it  fits  us  for  positive  progress. 
The  runner  puts  off  his  garments  that  he  may  run. 
We  empty  our  hearts  that  Christ  may  till  them. 
All  surrender  not  based  on  love  to  Him  is  but 
surface  work.  A  man  may  linker  himself  into  the 
outward  appearance  of  a  perfect  man,  and  be  but 
a  whited  sepulchre.  Look  to  Christ  and  let  His 
love  flow  into  your  soul.  As  the  old  leaves  drop 
from  the  tree  when  the  new  buds  of  spring  come 
out,  the  new  affection  will  expel  the  old.  Then 
you  will  find  all  given  up  for  Him  given  back  by 
Him.  The  hand  cut  off,  the  eye  plucked  out — 
all  are  given  back  when  we  stand  perfect  in 
glory.  

IL 
Help  and  Cheer  from  the  Glorified  Dead. 

By  the  Kei:  David  Girgg;  D.D. 
The  simplest  interpretation  of  the  text  is  that 
the  Church  in  heaven  is  interested  in  the  Church 
on  earth — the  glorified  dead  cheer  us  on  to  our 
goal.  There  is  great  help  in  a  cheer.  It  adds 
the  life  of  those  who  cheer  to  ours,  and  inspires 
us  with  their  coorage.     We  need  this  added  life 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


if  we  are  to  reach  our  goal.  What  is  the  goal 
of  life?  Perfect  manhood  in  Christ — our  best 
self  reached — a  life  in  earnest — ^useful  service — 
honest  success  in  life, — all  are  our  goal.  Success 
is  so  much  power  added  to  the  personality  we 
give  to  God ;  it  is  therefore  our  duty  to  God  and 
man.  But  success  in  anything  means  hard  work 
and  strenuous  effort,  and  so  it  is  in  the  Christian 
race.     How  do  the  gloriAed  dead  help  us  ? 

1.  By  the  heritage  thty  have  left  us.  They  have 
left  us  (i)  the  fruits  of  their  labours;  (s)  their 
influence ;  (3)  a  holy  fellowship ;  (4}  they  have 
left  for  our  admiration  genuine  greatness  worked 
out  in  human  nature;  (5)  their  grand  words. 

2.  By  their  f  resent  interest  in  us,  and  expectation 
for  us.    They  are  interested  witnesses  of  our  race. 

Going  to  heaven  has  not  made  them  indifferent  to 
us.  Because  their  love  has  been  perfected,  their 
interest  is  more  intense  than  during  the  earthly  life. 
Those  in  heaven  took  an  interest  in  the  trans- 
figuration. The  angel  told  Cornelius  that  his 
prayers  and  alms  were  a  memorial  before  God 
in  heaven.  Christ  said  that  there  is  joy  in  heaven 
over  every  sinner  that  repenteth.  This  interest  is 
a  help  to  us.  The  approbation  of  those  in  heaven 
outweighs  our  low  ambitions.  Wc  keep  ourselves 
pure  for  them.  The  saints  have  a  place  in  our 
lives,  but  above  all  we  must  look  to  Jesus.  Are 
you  letting  Him  into  your  life  as  the  dominating 
influence?  Let  Him  come  in.  He  will  teach 
you  your  possibihties.  Men  must  learn  that  they 
can  be  made  belter.  Christ  teaches  them  what 
they  may  be.  But  if  you  are  to  be  anything 
He  must  make  you.  Let  Him  into  your  life. 
Surrender  soul,  body,  and  spirit  to  Him,  that 
you  may  realize  your  best  self,  and  reach  the 
goal  of  life.  

Illustrations. 
A  cloud  of  witoeweB.— The  North  Ameiican  Indians 
lieliered  thai  when  ihe  flowers  faded  in  the  forest  and 
prairie  iheir  beauty  passed  into  the  rainbow :  thus  our 
kindred  anJ  companions,  Ihe  joy  and  ptide  of  our  homes 
and  Churches,  fade  away  ;  but  lifting  our  eyes,  we  see  our 
lost  ones  blossom  forth  again  in  the  holier  beauty  of  the 
rainbow  aboui  the  throoe-^W.  L.  Watkinson. 

Onr  of  the  finest  pictures  in  the  world  is  that  of  the 
MadoDQa  de  Sou  Sislo  at  Dresden,  which  depicts  ibe  infani 
Saviour  ill  the  arms  of  His  mother,  surrounded  by  clouds, 
which  attracted  no  special  notice  Until  lately  ;  but  when  the 
accumulated  dust  of  centuries  was  removed,  they  were  found 
lo  be  composed  of  myriads  of  angel  faces.    Surely  this  is  the 


Weifhti.— When  the  Califomim  ileamer  the  Ceittral 
Anierira  caught  fire  aiul  was  sinking,  the  stewardess  ran  (o 
the  cabins  of  the  pauengert  and  collected  all  the  gold  she 
could  ;  she  then  tied  it  in  her  apron  round  her  waist.  A 
boat  was  leady  to  start.  In  her  eagerness  to  be  saved,  she 
sprang  from  the  deck,  missed  her  aim,  and  shot  bead  first 
into  the  brine  like  a  cannon  ball,  Ihe  weight  of  her  ill-gotlen 
booty  dragging  hei  down  as  effectually  as  a  millstone  would 
have  done.  _^_^_ 

Sometimes  professing  Christians  are  bejel  by  special 
hindrances  to  their  usefulness  —  tendencies  of  speech  or 
action  that  mar  the  beauty  of  holiness  most  sadly.  ^Vhat 
are  you  going  to  do  with  Ihe  evil  habit,  or  the  half-dozen, 
that  ore  hindering  you?  Fight  them  one  by  one;  that  is 
one  way.  What  did  you  do  last  winter  when  the  panes  of 
the  window  were  covered  with  frost,  and  you  could  not  see 
out  of  them?  Did  you  scratch  it  off  with  a  knife?  That 
would  take  too  long.  Heat  up  the  room  and  the  frost  goes 
off  the  pane.  Warm  up  the  soul  with  the  love  of  Christ  and 
the  bad  habits  will  run  ofT.  Thai  is  what  Chalmers  calls 
Ihe 'expulsive  power  of  a  new  affection.'  Bring  Jesus  Christ 
into  the  soul,  and  you  will  overcome  the  evil  habits. — 
T.  L.  CuYiER.  ^_^_ 

BeMtting  sin.— The  words  'easily  beset  us'  are  better 
rendered  'subtly  cncirclinE  as.'  And  that  ii  more  worih 
saying  than  the  other.  It  is  not  the  sin  to  which  we  are 
most  liable  that  is  our  greatest  danger.  Wc  are  conscious 
of,  and  on  guard  against  Ihe  main  temptation  of  our  life  ; 
but  the  sin  thai  has  grown  upon  us,  we  know  not  bow ; 
slowly,  subtly  ;  whose  beginnings  we  thought  Ultle  of,  or 
thought  good  ;  whose  magnitude  we  did  not  conceive  lill 
we  were  at  its  mercy,  till  one  morning  we  found  ourselves 
its  slaves  —  that  is  the  terrible  serpent  that  collars  and 
strangles  out  race.  We  are  like  a  runner  who  has  been 
drugged.  At  first  there  is  drowsiness,  then  languor,  then 
failure  of  will,  then  faltering  steps,  then  blindness  that 
cannot  see  God,  and  singing  ears  that  cannot  hear  Him. 
Or  it  is  as  if  a  fine  net— so  subtly  threaded  that  it  seems 
invisible— had  settled  down  over  our  head,  and  slowly  crept 
down  OUT  body  as  we  ran,  till  we  are  altogether  entangled, 
and  fall  on  the  path,  as  falls  the  dead.  Awake,  ere  it  be 
too  late— cast  off  the  entanglements  of  life.  So  run,  as  not 
uncertainly.  It  is  a  piteous  and  dreadful  thing  to  be  mastered 
by  a  subtle  sin.— S.  A.  Bkookb. 

I  NBVER  Ihink  of  this  Scripture  but  there  comes  back  to 
my  memory  an  experience  of  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  which 
a  man  once  related  to  me.  He  was  a  prisoner  in  a  Southern 
prison,  and  managed,  with  some  others,  to  escape,  and  afler 
almost  intolerable  hard.ship  they  reached  the  North  and  their 
homes.  They  were  pursued  by  bloodhounds,  and  he  said 
thai  no  other  trouble  or  threat  of  trouble  that  bad  come  10 
him  in  the  course  of  an  eventful  life  ever  made  such  a  horrid 
sensation  in  hit  breast  as  the  baying  of  those  bloodhounds. 
At  last  Ihey  were  chased  so  hotly  that  they  saw  they  most 
be  overtaken  and  probably  fearfully  mangled  by  the  cruel 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


beuls  unless  they  could  in  some  way  throw  Iheii  pursaeiii 
off  the  scent.  Suddenly  they  came  on  a  Ugoon,  or  dead 
slough,  in  the  edge  of  a  swamp.  The  water  was  filthy,  but 
into  il  Ihey  went,  wading  where  they  could,  sometimes  being 
compelled  to  swim,  but  not  daring  to  leave  the  stagnant 
stream,  where  sometimes  deadly  moccasin  snakes  writhed 
near  Ihem.  They  pushed  on,  keeping  as  closely  under  cover 
as  possible,  and  remained  in  this  water  for  hours,  until  they 
had  completely  thrown  off  the  bloodhounds  that  had  been 
following  them. — L.  A.  Ba.^ks. 


*  Let  us  run  with  patieoce.' — They  needed  the  exhorta- 
tion, for  if  they  had  not  much  persecution  now,  il  was 
different  a  little  while  afterwards.  Then  another  amphi- 
theatre encompassed  them,  and  another  cloud  of  witnesses 
full  of  cruel  eyes ;  and  ciuel  voices  shouted  for  their  death. 
The  sand  on  which  they  tan  was  stained  with  blood  and 
black  with  lire,  and  when  they  died  the  Roman  world  cried, 
'Fooll'  It  was  something  great  not  to  be  faint-hearted 
then  J  it  needed  then  something  more  than  our  unlortured 
laith  to  run  the  Christian  race.— S.  A.  Brooke. 


Dear  Angels  and  dear  disembodied  Saints 

Unseen  around  us,  worshipping  in  rest. 
May  wonder  that  man's  heart  su  often  faints 

And  his  steps  lag  along  the  heavenly  quest, 
What  white  his  foolish  fancy  moulds  and  paints 

A  fonder  hope  than  all  they  prove  for  best ; 
A  lying  hope  which  undermines  and  taints 

His  soul,  as  sin  and  sloth  make  manifest. 
Slolb,  and  a  lie,  and  sin  :   shall  these  suffice 

The  unfathomable  heart  of  craving  man. 
That  heart  which  being  a  deep  calls  to  the  deep  ? 

Behold  how  many  like  us  rose  and  ran 
When  Christ,  life-giver,  roused  ihem  from  their  sleep 
To  rise  and  tun  and  rest  in  Paradise !— C.  Rossetii. 


Sermotu  for  Reference. 

Ailken  (A.),  Flowers  of  God,  67. 
Banks  (L.  A.),  Paul  and  his  Friends,  ZI5. 
Barrett  (G.  S. ),  Musines  for  Quiet  Houti,  55. 
Bernard  (J.  H.),  Via  Domini,  385. 
Brooke  (S.  A.),  Shorl  Sermons,  166,  173. 

,,  ,,        Unity  of  God  and  Man,  61. 

Browne  (R.  D.),  Sussex  Sermons,  227. 
Butler  (G. ),  Cheltenham  Collie  Sermons,  75. 
Caughey  (J.),  Revival  Sermons,  22S,  333. 
Church  (R.  W.),  Village  Sermons,  ii.  346, 
i^ox  (S.),  Expositions,  iii.  20(. 
Farrar  (F.  W. ),  In  the  Days  of  thy  Youth,  275. 
Gregg  (D.),  Our  Best  Moods,  159. 
Haroilton  (J,),  Faith  in  God,  162. 
Harper  (A.),  Considerations  on  Miracle,  24. 
Hobhouse  (W.),  Spiritual  Standard,  iSo. 
Jenkins  (E.E.),  Life  and  Christ,  297. 

Laing  (F.  A.),  Simple  Bible  Lessons  for  Little  Children,  383. 
Lawlor  (H.  J.),  Thoughts  on  Belief  and  Life,  186. 
Levensij.  T.),  Clean  Hands,  126. 
Lockyer{T.  F.),  Saints  of  Christ,  73. 
Maelaren{A.),  Sermons,  i.  250. 
Maurice  (F.  D.J,  Lincoln's  Inn  Sermons,  i.  57. 
Melvill  (H.),  Fifty  Sermons  from  the  Penny  Pulpit,  351. 
Mej'er  (F.  B.).  Way  into  the  Holiest,  173. 
Miller(W.),  Vision  of  Christ,  56, 
Moore  (A.),  God  is  Love,  218. 
Newman  (J,  H.),  Parochial  Sermons,  til.  236. 
I'atCison  (M.),  Sermons,  273. 
Pearse  (M,  G.),  Gospel  for  the  Day,  18. 
Raleigh  (A.),  Rest  from  Care  and  Sorrow,  132. 
Reeve  (J.  W. ),  Forty-two  Sermons,  96. 
Simpson  (M. ),  Sermons,  405. 
SpurgeonjC.  H.),  The  Messiah,  663. 
Temple  (F.),  Rugby  Sermons,  i.  55. 
Williams  {W.  W.J,  Resources  and  Responsibilities,  44. 
Woodford  (J.   R.),   Sermons  on   Subjects  from   the   New 
Teslament,  152. 


Contvi^utione  anb  Commtnte, 


tU  ^wv  QSiv«te  of  (pdtAbiee. 

In  his  article  last  month,  tinder  the  heading 
'  Recent  Bihlical  Archaeology,'  Professor  Sayce 
has  a  very  friendly  notice  of  the  part  of  my 
Aufsiiize  tind  Abhandlungen  that  appeared  during 
the  summer  (in.  i.  =  pp.  3-j^-4T4,  Miinchen : 
I.ukaschik-Franz,  1901).  I  may  be  allowed  to 
ofTer  some  remarks  on  what  he  says  on  the  first 
of  the  essays  *  there  included. 

'  This  essay  may  be  obtained  separately  under  the  title : 
fVfr  netu  arabischt  LaudsihafUiminen  im  A.  T.,  nthst  eiiiem 
Nacklrag  iiber  dU  vier  ParadiesesfiHsse  in  allbab.  und  atlarab. 
UeberlieftruHs.    8vo,  60  pp.     Price  M,3.5o. 


Professor  Sayce  cannot,  to  use  his  own  words, 
'believe  in  Professor  Hommel's  attempt  to  find 
the  four  rivers  of  Eden  in  northern  and  central 
Arabia ' ;  he  regards  my  arguments  as  '  not  con- 
vincing ' ;  all  this  especially  on  the  ground  that  he 
cannot  admit  that  Beke  and  Winckler  are  right  in 
finding  '  the  Mizraim  of  the  O.T.  in  N.VV.  Arabia 
instead  of  Egypt'  These  last  tpords  may  form 
the  starting-point  of  my  defence,  since  they  would 
leave  on  the  mind  of  the  uninformed  reader  the 
impression  (i)  that  I  would  understand  Mizraim 
everywhere  in  the  O.T.  of  the  land  of  Midian,  and 
(2)  that  this   identification  is  the  whole  basis  of 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


39 


my  new  discovery  of  a  Babylonian  list  of  the  four 
rivers  of  Paradise,  whereas  it  supplies  such  a  basis 
at  best  for  my  arguments  as  to  the  Arabian  situa- 
tion of  these  rivers  (and  even  here  only  to  a 
partial  extent). 

As  it  is  impossible  to  recapitulate  here  all  that 
I  have  written  in  my  essay,  I  would  urge  every 
reader  who  is  interested  in  this  question  to  read 
for  himself  the  readily  accessible  brochure.  Care- 
ful study  of  it  will  show  that  it  is  by  no  means  the 
case  that  I  identify  the  biblical  Mizraim  every- 
Tvkere  with  the  land  of  Midian  (Mozar,  Mu^ut), 
but  that  it  is  only  '  in  a  whole  series  of  passages,' 
all  of  which  I  cite  in  translation,  that  1  maintain 
that  Mozar  has  been  misread  Mizraim,  On  p. 
3Z3,  for  instance,  I  have  expressly  insisted  that  in 
the  passages  where  the  sojourn  of  the  children  of 
Israel  in  Mizraim  is'  spoken  of,  I  do  not  see,  with 
Winckler,  Midian  but  Egypt.  Besides,  in  the 
Paradise  question,  Mizraim  or  a  misread  Mozar 
does  not  come  into  account,  but  other  two  names 
of  countries,  which  are,  indeed,  associated  in 
many  O.T.  passages  with  Mozar,  namely,  Kosh 
(in  my  opinion  -^  Central  Arabia)  and  Ashur  (which 
I  hold  to  be  in  many,  but  not  of  course  in  all 
passages  =  Edom,  instead  of  denoting,  as  usual, 
Assyria).  Now,  of  course,  anyone  is  entitled, 
from  the  old  traditional  exegeticat  standpoint,  to 
refuse  to  admit  of  these  identili  cat  ions  in  any 
O.T.  passage.  If  so,  he  will  naturally  continue 
to  refer  the  statement  that  the  Gihon  compasses 
the  land  of  Cush  to  an  Ethiopian  river,  and  we 
are  just  where  we  were  in  regard  lo  the  mysterious 
statements  of  Genesis  about  the  rivers  of  Eden, 
statements  which  do  not  fit  into  any  scheme  of 
geography.  Gunkel  and  Zimmern  consequently 
adopt  what  is  decidedly  the  most  convenient 
course  in  flinging  these  statements  overboard  and 
transplanting  the  rivers  of  Paradise  to  heaven  ;  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  the  Babylonians  gave  the  names 
Euphrates  and  Tigris  to  the  two  arms  of  the  Milky 
Way  that  cut  the  Zodiac  between  the  signs  of 
Scorpio  and  Sagittarius. 

All  the  above  concerns  simply  matters  of 
opinion.  But  I  should  like  finally  to  emphasize 
the  circumstance  that  my  '  Nachtrag  '  on  the  Four 
Rivers  of  Paradise  (pp.  336-343)  in  any  case  (and 
thus  even  if  the  arguments  of  Winckler  and  myself 
about  the  new  countries,  Ashur  =  Edom,  Kosh  = 
Central  Arabia,  and  Mozar  =  Midian,  should  prove 
to  be  false,  a  question  which  O.T.  scholars  may 


now  be  left  to  discuss  in  all  its  length  and  breadth) 
contains  the  discovery  Ihat  the  Babylonians,  too, 
knew  four  Paradise  rivers.  I  have  been  the  first 
lo  direct  special  attention  to  a  list  of  four  rivers  pub- 
lished as  long  ago  as  1S66.  These  are  marked  as 
sacred  rivers  by  the  circumstance  that  each  one  of 
them  has  before  it  the  determinative  for  'god.' 
Moreover,  as  I  further  pointed  out,  the  fourth  of 
these  rivers  plays  elsewhere  also  a  prominent  role 
in  the  Babylonian  exorcism  formulas.  What,  now, 
can  these  four  sacred  rivers  be  but  3  direct  analogy 
to  the  four  rivers  of  Paradise  of  the  Hebrews,  in 
whose  primeval  history  there  are  so  many  other 
points  of  contact  with  Babylonia?  Herein  con- 
sists the  abiding  significance  of  my  'Nachtrag' 
for  O.T.  science,  however  the  question  may  be 
answered  as  to  the  localizing  of  these  rivers,  and  I 
am  sure  that  Professor  Sayce  will  not  be  the  last 
to  admit  its  importance  from  this  point  of  view. 

On  matters  of  detail  I  may  perhaps  yet  enter  in 
The  Expository  Times,  unless  others,  as  I  should 
much  prefer,  do  it  before  me.  To  satisfy  the 
curiosity  of  readers,  I  will  only  add  the  names — 

I.   River-god  ear' ^lojcf*. 

2 of  diotite  (ihe  chief  pioduct  of  E.  Arabia). 

i of  affeetion.' 

4 of  Ibe  preparer  of  aspbalt. 

The  S.  Arabians  also  knew  four  sacred  districts, 
namely — 

I.  That  oflhegodtoT'iioxijf. 

i messeneer  of  the  gods. 

3.  .     .     .     .     cord  (see  the  note  oi^/m:.). 

That  this  S.  Aiabian  list  is  connected  in  some 
way  with  the  Bab.  list  of  the  four  river-gods  ought 
to  be  clear  to  every  unprejudiced  mind.  But  this 
alone,  whether  my  geographical  explanations  be 
adopted  or  not,  invests  the  whole  with  an  import- 
ance which  is  not  apprehended  at  the  first  glance. 

May  my  brochure  then  be  diligently  read  and 
studied  !  Whatever  may  be  the  ultimate  decision, 
I  have  fully  established  a  primitive  connexion  of 
traditions  regarding  four  sacred  rivers.  Nay,  I 
am  even  persuaded,  further,  that  the  Egyptian 
names  of  the  four  rivers  of  the  Isle  of  the  Blest 
are  to  be  brought  into  the  same  connexion  (Book 

'  The  '  stone  of  affection  '  is,  as  I  showed,  the  chief 
product  of  Meluch  (  =  O.T.  K(\sh)  or  W.  Arabia.  Another 
synonym  of  Ihii  river  was  '  l>and  of  the  kingj  and  , 

(Gibonl  means  in  Bab.  'band  '  ot 'cotd.' 


40 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


of  the  Dead,  chap,  i  lo),  in  spite  of  the  imperfect 

way  in  which  they  have  come  down  to  us.    This 

point,  however,  would  require  an  article  to  itself. 

MuHich.  Fritz  Hommel. 


1  (peter  Anb  <Bnoe((. 

Dr.  Rendbl  Harris,  in  the  Expositor  (September 
1901),  explains  i  P  1'-  by  a  parallel  in  the  Book  of 
Enoch,  and  proposes  to  read  hiaioovvro  (En  1' 
Sicfooiifii/v)  for  SnjKiVoi*.  The  verse  ends  with  the 
remarkable  statement,  'which  things  angth  desire 
to  look  down  into.'  This  is  illustrated  by  En  9', 
where  it  is  said  that  the  four  great  archangels, 
Michael,  etc.,  looked  dmvn  upon  the  earth  in  the 
days  of  violence  before  the  Flood,  irap«ian/™v  (P 

JropoKu^oi)  tvi  r^  y^v  ft  Ttov  arjuav  Tou  OMpavnv. 

Dr.  Abbott,  in  Clue,  %  272,  quotes  i  P  i"-"  in 
his  discussion  of  Mt  13'',  '  prophets  and  righteous 
men  have  desired  10  see,'  etc.,  and  the  parallel 
Lk  10**,  'prophets  and  kings,'  etc  It  is  pointed 
out  that  in  Hebrew  angels  might  easily  have  been 
misread  kings.  A  word  which  means  both  saints 
and  angels  is  'holy  ones.'  It  occurs  several  times 
in  the  Book  of  EDOch,  where  its  meaning  in  one 
or  two  places  is  doubtful.  Mr.  Charles  explains 
it  in  En  103^  by  angels,  but  Dillmann  'takes  the 
holy  ones  here  to  mean  the  saints  or  righteous.' 
Mr.  Charles  writes  on  the  '  mysteries  of  the  holy 
ones '  in  En  106'^,  '  Either  the  secrets  known  to  the 
angels  Or  the  secrets  relating  to  the  righteous  in 
the  future.'  The  ambiguous  word  is  also  an 
epithet  of  the  prophets.  C.  Taylor. 

Caniiri<igc. 

-t- 

@.mo6  it.  8:  '(pfefcgeb  Cfotpee.' 

The  meaning  of  the  first  half  of  this  verse  is  usually 
explained  by  a  reference  to  Ex  22^". 

This  explanation  is  inadequate.  Sut  to  deal 
first  with  the  M.T.,  we  notice  that  as  it  stands  it  is 
ungrammatical,  flD3  is  never  used  of  people  stretch- 
ing themselves  out,  and  even  if  it  were  so  used  wc 
should  require  a  niphal  here;  its  ordinary  us^e 
may  be  seen  from  the  following : — 
z  S  16*2  :Mn-ii!i  Htvig\  ii^z\i>  ie"i 

aSzi^intsni  pi?n-n«  n-K-na  ntn  npni 

Is  54*  ntj'  TniJSE'D  nijni 


Moreover,  Amos  himself  uses  different  words 
when  speaking  of  people  stretching  themselves 
out,  vir. : — 

Am  6'    IT  niDO-b  D'aacn 
Dni}nH>»  D'n-iDi 

Am  (P  '  D'lmD  rmo  ^D1 
It  is  therefore  clear  that  as  the  text  stands  ID* 
has  no  object.  This  difficulty  is,  however,  over- 
come if,  following  Oort,  we  delete  SyF\ ;  by  doing 
so  we  get  perfect  grammatical  sense,  and  we  have 
the  authority  of  the  LXX  behind  us  ;  moreover,  as  is 
pointed  out  by  Lohr  in  his  recently  published 
bookon  the  text  of  Amos,' the  presence  of  iim  spoils 
the  symmetry  of  what  is  otherwise  a  well-balanced 
couplet 

The  sentence  thus  emended  reads :  D'^an  DnJ3 
nniD"i>3  ^iVK  ID',  Pledged  garments  they  spread  out 
beside  every  altar;  that  the  subject  of  ID'  is  the 
priests  of  the  sanctuary  would  seem  to  be  clear 
from  the  context. 

But  what  does  this  mean  ? 

Before  attempting  an  answer  we  should  like  to 
ofTer  the  following  points  for  consideration  : — 

1.  The  LXX  rendering  of  the  passage  :  Koi  ra. 
i^Tia  avTuv  Setr/uiiovTcs  a)(pivi.rtK,  Trapaircratrfiara 
iTToiow  ixo/itva  Tov  Ownaimipiov,  And  tying  their 
garments  together  with  cords,  they  make  curtains 
{or  hangings)  beside  the  altar.  While  fully 
realizing  the  need  of  caution  in  making  use  of 
the  LXX,  it  may  nevertheless  be  surmised  that 
the  LXX  is  giving  (in  the  words  jrapajr«T(i<r/«ir« 
ftroc'ow)  an  explanatory  gloss  such  as  is  frequently 
found  in  that  version.* 

2.  In  2  K  23^  we  have  the  following  interest- 
ing note : — And  he  brake  down  the  houses  .  .  . 
that  were  in  the  house  of  the  Lord,  where  the  women 
wove  hangings  for  the  Asherah.  It  is  worth  point- 
ing out  that  both  here  and  in  the  verse  of  Amos 
preceding  that  under  consideration,  mention  is 
made  of  gross  immorality  in  the  sanctuary. 

3.  The  Asherah  was  the  '  lineal  descendant '  of 
the  sacred  tree,  which  seems  to  have  been  indis- 
pensable in  early  days  wherever  an  altar  was  set ; 
cf.  Dt  16^1 :  Thou  shalt  not  plant  thee  an  Asherah 
of  any  kind  of  tree  beside  the  altar  of  the  Lord  thy 

'  The  metaphorical  sense  which  some  commeniaiors  claiin 
for  rrc  in  this  verse  does  not  aHecl  the  argument. 

'  Uitttrsuthungen  cum  Bmh  Amsi.     MaJi  Lohr.    Gkuen, 

1901. 

•  S.g-  1  S  1°,  where  after  Q'wt  nnit  .tjo  \v  tHn^  the  LXX 
adds :  Sri  <H>ir  ^  a^^  TaiAlw. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Goi,  whidt  thmt  shall  tnake  Ikte;  a  prohibition 
which  clearly  bears  witness  to  the  presence  of 
Asherahs  in  the  sanctuaries.' 

4-  In  speaking  of  the  myth  told  at  Byblus  of 
the  sacred  erica  which  was  worshipped  in  the 
temple  of  Isis,  Robertson  Smith  says :  '  The 
sacred  erica  was  a  mere  dead  stump,  for  it  was  cut 
down  by  Isis,  and  presented  to  the  Byblians 
wrapped  in  a  linen  cloth,  and  annointed  with 
myrrh  like  a  corpse.  It  therefore  represented  the 
dead  god.  But  as  a  mere  stump  it  also  resembles 
the  Hebrew  Asherah.'  *  Isis  and  Osiris  are  really 
the  same  as  Astarte  and  Adonis,  so  that,  as 
Robertson  Smith  surmises,  the  Byblian  myth  may 
have  come  from  a  Semitic  original. 

But,  further,  there  was  a  practice  among  the 
Semites  'of  leaving,'  to  quote  Robertson  Smith 
again,  'at  the  sanctuary  offerings  of  part  of  one's 
clothes  or  other  things  that  one  has  worn,  such  as 
ornaments  or  weapons.  .  .  .  The  clothes  are  so 
far  part  of  a  man  that  they  can  serve  as  a  vehicle 
of  personal  connection.  Hence  the  religious 
significance  of  suspending  on  an  idol,  or  Dhat 
./iniM/("tree  to  hang  things  on"),  not  only  weapons, 
ornaments,  and  complete  garments,  but  mere 
shreds  from  one's  raiment.  These  rag-offerings 
are  still  to  be  seen  hanging  on  the  sacred  trees  of 
Syria,  and  on  the  tombs  of  Mohammedan  saints ; 
tbey  are  not  gifts  in  the  ordinary  sense,  but 
pledges  of  attachment' 3  Rawlinson,  in  his  His- 
tory of  Phmnicia,  describes  a  Phoenician  cylinder 
which  has  upon  it  'a  rude  representation  of  a 
sacred  tree  in  the  central  position.  To  the  left 
stands  a  worshipper  with  the  right  hand  upraised, 
ciad  in  a  very  common  Assyrian  dress.  Over  the 
sacred  tree  is  a  coarse  specimen  of  the  winged 
circle  or  disk,  with  head  and  tail,  and  fluttering 
ends  of  ribbon.'*     May  not  these  ribbons  or  rags 

'  Cf.  Jg  e",  Is  I7»  27'  (where  Ihe  LXX  translate  d-im 
byTi«,ap.),Jer,7=,  jCh33'34'. 

"  Rtligien  aflht  Semilis,  p.  191,  n.  3. 

'  Op  til.  pp.  335-336.  It  may  be  mentioned,  in  passing, 
that  similar  things  are  to  be  seen  nearer  home  as  well.  In 
Borphoven,  on  ihe  Rhine,  nearly  opposite  Boppard,  is  a. 
IVall/ahrlskirche,  which  the  present  writer  has  frequenlly 
visited  ;  inside  this  church  may  be  seen  various  curious 
oflerings,  )uch  as  crutchei,  wax  limbs,  handkerchiefs,  etc., 
hanging  by  the  side  of  the  altars.  They  ore  thankofferings,  1 
and  though  the  immediate  object  of  hanging  them  up  may 
be,  and  probably  is,  different  from  that  of  the  cases  men- 
tioned hy  Robertson  Smith,-  nevertheless  the  principle 
underlying  each  must  ultimately  be  much  the  same. 

'  Mislery  ef  Phceaicia,  p,  233, 


be  a  further  example  of  the  pledges  of  attatkment 
mentioned  by  Robertson  Smith  ? 

These  considerations  have  led  me  to  form  the 
following  conclusion  with  regard  to  the  verse  under 
discussion : — 

The  prophet  has  in  view  the  various  offerings 
(garments,  clothes,  etc.)  which  were  displayed  in  the 
sanctuary  as  tokens  of  piety  by  the  priests.  They 
were  hung  up  ('stretched  out')  as  pledges  of 
attachment  to  the  Asherah,  i.e.  the  conventional 
tree-symbol  of  the  goddess,  which  was  erected  by 
the  side  of  (^jvk)  the  altar.  With  a  fine  touch  of 
irony,  the  prophet  emphasizes  the  fact  that  these 
garments  are  'pledged,'  and  so  far  from  being 
emblems  of  piety,  they  testify  to  priestly  op- 
pression, for  (so  one  is  led  to  infer  from  the 
context)  these  garments  had  been  pledged  by 
those  who  were  too  poor  to  pay  the  exactions 
demanded  for  the  sanctuary  for  real,  or  more 
probably  imagined,  offences.  These  garments  the 
priestly  oppressors,  who  were  zealous  in  their  out- 
ward show  of  religion,  offered  up  in  the  sanctuary 
to  'their  god.'* 

This  last  expression  on'ni'K  is  significant ;  it 
evidently  points  to  the  worship  of  some  foreign 
deity,  and  I  have  ventured  to  identify  it  with  the 
Asherah-worship  connected  with  the  cult  of  Astarte, 
although  strangely  enough  neither  the  Asherah  nor 
Ashtoreth  (Astarte)  are  anywhere  directly  men- 
tioned by  Amos.  The  existence  of  this  type  of 
worship  in  the  time  of  Amos  is,  however,  suffi- 
ciently well  guaranteed  by  passages  in  other 
books,*  and  it  is  difficult  to  suppose  that  it  was 
absent  from  the  prophet's  thoughts  when  he  was 
denouncing  the  false  worship  of  the  time. 

W.  O.  E.  Oesterlev. 
.(. 

©r.  6b.  QKontg  on  ^^eftief  i.  1-4. 

I  HAVE  every  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  the 
reply  of  Dr.  Konig  (September  number,  p.  56C) 
to  my  objections  (August  number,  p.  525 ''^■)  t° 
his  view  of  the  above  passage,  for,  in  spite  of 
its  brevity,  it  is  full  of  important  admissions, 
*  The  spirit  animating  the  priestly  offerers,  on  this  view, 
may  be  compared  with  that  of  the  people  denounced  in  the 
Book  of  Malachi  (1''),  who  have  brought  that  which  was 
laktn  by  viehuie,  and  Ihe  lavie,  and  Ike  sick  10  the  altar  ;  cf. 
also  Mai  1""*. 


4a 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


It  will  not  be  superfluous  to  note  these  expressly,  and 
draw  the  conclusions  where  this  seems  desirable. 

From  the  silence  of  Dr.  Konig  it  follows,  first 
of  all,  that  I  had  not  at  alt  misunderstood  him 
in  attributing  to  him,  as  I  did  only  with  hesitation, 
the  view  described  on  p.  527.  That  is  to  say, 
he  really  means  that  the  original  title  of 
the  book  has  been  handed  down  to  us  in 
the  unpointed  bnprn'  that  stands  outside  the  text. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  silently  admits  that  ht 
has  misunderstood  me.  For  he  is  now  aware  that 
I  meant  to  represent  Ezekiel  as  reckoning  the 
'  fifth  day  of  the  fourth  month '  not  from  the 
day  of  his  birth,  but  according  to  the  calendar 
year;  and,  even  by  urging  that  this  would  be 
less  likely  to  happen  with  a  personal  date  than 
with  an  affair  of  state,  such  as  a  ruler's  accession, 
he  yet  admits  iis  possibility. — Unfortunately  Dr. 
Konig  has  once  more  read  a  little  hastily  what  I  had 
written.  He  makes  me  say  simply  that  '  Neh  i' 
looks  back  to  Ezr  7','  and  refutes  this  by  pointing 
out  that  'Neh  i'-;*  belongs  to  the  Memoirs  of 
Nehemiah,  but  Ezr  -f  to  the  later  [the  Chronicler's] 
I>arts  of  the  Book  of  Ezra,  which  could  not  yet 
have  been  taken  into  account  by  Nehemiah.' 
Any  reader  would  think  from  this  that  I  had 
made  the  tatter  assumption.  But  1  said  expressly 
— I  state  it  at  present  in  somewhat  different  words 
— that  Neh  1' must  be  considered  »/Afr  as  being 
part  of  the  work  of  the  Chronicler,  i.e.  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  redaction,  or  as  having  had  its 
origin  in  the  Memoirs  of  Nehemiah.  Only  in  the 
/ort/ifr  case  did  I  argue,  and  Dr.  Konig  himself  must 
admit  this,  that  the  date  in  Neh  1'  is  to  be  ex- 
plained from  Ezr  7'.  From  the  latter  point  of  view, 
again,  I  referred  to  Neh  2'  13*  as  witnesses  for 
Nehemiah's  way  of  dating,  and  hence  concluded 
that  either  the  omission  in  i'  'is  due  to  a  textual 
loss,  or  the  verse  has  been  torn  from  a  context 
in  the  Memoirs  where  an  exact  date,  rc/M  the 
name  of  the  king,  immediately  preceded.'  Against 
these  conclusions  Dr.  Konig  has  adduced  nothing. 

Dr.  Konig's  most  important  admission  is,  that 
he,  too,  is  now  inclined  to  accept  of  a  genuine 
Ezekiel  element  in  v.'^-,  and  that  in  the  very 
words  'this  is  the  fifth  year  of  the  captivity  of 
king  Jehoiachin,'  which  I  picked  out  of  v.^  as 
genuine.  'This  note,'  he  says,  '  may  have  been 
written  by  the  prophet  in  v.',' — precisely  my 
view  again.  Dr.  Konig  makes  out,  indeed,  that 
his   language  (p.  376)  about  Ezk   i-^-   'did  not 


exclude  the  supposition  that  a  genuine  Ezekiel 
element  has  been  expanded  by  a  later  hand  Into 
the  present  verses';  but  all  the  same  it  is  true 
that  no  one  could  have  gathered  that  this  was 
his  meaning  when  he  simply  said :  '  Vv.*'-  are  a 
later  expansion,  and  I  am  now  inclined  more 
than  formerly  to  the  opinion  that  this  expansion 
is  due  to  a  later  hand  than  that  of  Ezekiel 
himself  {/ae.  at.).  But  it  is  of  little  or  no  con- 
sequence whether  Dr.  Konig  was  first  led  by  me 
to  the  above  recognition  of  a  genuine  Ezekiel 
element  in  v.*'-,  or  whether  that  was  his  view 
beforehand.  Of  far  greater  importance  are  the 
inferences  that  follow  from  this  admission.  If 
the  prophet  himself  considered  it  necessary  to 
explain  the  date,  '  in  the  thirtieth  year,'  in  v.'  by 
the  addition,  '  this  is  the  fifth  year  of  the  captivity 
of  king  Jehoiachin,'  Dr.  Konig's  statement  that 
'  the  prophet  who  lived  in  Babylon  could  assume 
that  this  era  was  familiar  to  his  readers,'  falla 
away.  This  alone  makes  it  unlikely  in  the 
extreme  that  in  the  dale,  '  the  thirtieth  year,'  we 
have  to  do,  as  Dr.  Konig  holds,  with  '  the  publicly 
recognized  system  of  reckoning.'  He  has  further 
admitted  by  his  silence  that  in  not  one  of  the 
mass  of  dates  which  have  come  down  to  us  iti 
inscriptions  from  the  time  of  the  Chaldee  kings 
is  there  an  instance  of  reckoning  by  the  year  of 
Nabopolassar's  accession.  Thereby  his  view  is 
condemned,  for  the  time  is  once  for  all  gone 
by  when  one  was  at  liberty  to  put  forward  any 
hypothesis  he  chose,  because  it  was  impossible 
to  check  its  accuracy. — But  the  recognition  of 
a  genuine  Ezekiel  element  in  v.^  is  important 
from  yet  another  point  of  view.  Dr.  Konig 
detects  '  the  germ  of  death '  in  my  view  '  in  the 
supposition  that  the  very  expression  {'jn?,  '  of 
my  life')  on  whose  presence  his  [viz.  my) 
theory  depends  was  afterwards  dropped  out.' 
Here  Dr.  Konig  forgets,  in  the  first  place,  that 
I  am  by  no  means  alone  in  this  supposition, 
but  that  my  '>r6  is  only  an  improvement  upon 
three  different  proposals  by  other  scholars.  But, 
secondly,  he  himself  testifies  to  the  possibility  of 
our  proposal  by  also  assuming  that  something 
'has  dropped  out 'of  v.'.  Whether  this  has  been 
preserved  somewhere  else  or  not,  cannot  alter 
the  fact  in  question.  And,  further,  if  v.^**  is 
derived  from  v.^,  my  view  is  correct  also  for 
ehrii>  HBtona  of  v.^*,  namely,  that  this  expression 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


43 


simply  coincides  with  the  same  words  in  v.',  that 
it  is  nothing  other  than  the  catchword  to  indicate 
the  right  place  of  v.^"'.  But  in  that  case  v."'"  is 
not,  as  Dr.  Kunig  supposes,  'torn  from  this  con- 
nexion [in  V.']  by  a  later  hand,  with  a  view  to 
its  expansion,'  but  this  explanatory  date  was  only 
meant  to  be  restored  by  v.'"  to  its  original  place. 
Moreover,  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  v.*  can  be 
an  expansion  of  the  explanation  taken  from  v.'. 
On  the  contrary,  if  cut  off  from  v.'',  this  third 
verse  becomes  quite  isolated,  and  in  this  way 
again  the  considerations  that  tell  in  favour  of 
my  proposal  to  regard  v.°  as  the  original  title  of 
the  book  are  materially  strengthened.  Ever>-one 
who  feels  unable  to  believe,  with  Dr.  Konig,  that 
the  ijxprn"  of  the  MSS,  which  stands  outside  the 
text,  belongs  to  the  original  text,  has  every  reason 
to  abide  by  v.^. 

K,    BUDDE, 

Marburg  f.  H. 


Cgecent  Ojjiniono  on  i%t  ©die  of  t^e 
%ait  of  i%t  ®.p08tfea. 


The  Rev.  R.  B.  Rackham's  Plea  for  an 
Early  Date. 

In  an  interesting  article  on  'The  Acts  of  the 
Apostles' contributed  to  the  first  number  of  the 
Journal  of  Theological  Studies,  the  Rev.  R.  B. 
Rackhah  puts  in  an  attractive  '  plea  for  an  early 
date.' 

The  case  for  the  earlier  date  mainly  rests,  he 
says,  on  the  difficulties  attaching  to  any  date  as 
late  as  70  a.d.'  'The  crucial  difficulty  is  the 
silence  of  the  Acts  as  to  St.  Paul's  martyrdom.' 
And  this  difficulty  confronts  us  whether  we  con- 
sider the  structure  of  the  Acts  as  a  whole  or  the 
position  which  St,  Paul  personally  occupies  in  the 
book.  The  Acts,  as  a  whole,  is  constructed  on  a 
plan  which  would  have  been  much  more  complete 
if  the  death  of  St.  Paul  had  been  recorded,  and 
in  the  second  part  of  the  Acts  (chaps.  13-18)  St, 
Paul  is  the  central  figure  (pp.  78,  79),  For  two 
reasons  therefore,  it  is  incredible  that  St.  Luke 
should  not  have  related  the  fate  of  his  hero,  if  he 
knew  it. 

'A  similar  chain   of  reasoning   will   make    it 


probable  that  the  Acts  was  composed  before  the 
end  of  St.  Paul's  first  Roman  imprisonment,  if,  as 
we  believe,  that  ended  in  a  trial  and  acquittal' 
(pp.  79,  80).  Can  we  suppose  that  St.  Luke  knew 
of  the  acquittal,  and  did  not  relate  ft  ? 

'Yet  another  difficulty  lies  in  the  tone  of  the 
Acts.  A  note  of  joy  and  an  air  of  peace  pervade 
the  whole  book.  .  .  .  Could  this  tone  have  been 
possible  after  the  martyrdom  of  the  apostles '  and 
'  the  wholesale  slaughter  under  Nero  ? '  (pp.  80,  8 1 ). 

'  If,  then,  St.  Luke  wrote  subsequently  to  the 
Neronian  persecution,  it  could  only  have  been 
when  the  lapse  of  some  years  had  restored  peace 
to  the  Church,  had  healed  its  wounds,  and  had 
mitigated  the  personal  grief  for  the  loss  of  the 
apostle.  This  could  hardly  have  been  before 
circa  80  A.D.'  (p.  81). 

'Such  a  long  interval,  however,  has  its  special 
difficulties.  A  characteristic  of  the  Acts  is  the 
remarkable  fidelity  of  its  pictures  to  the  con- 
temporary situation.  ,  .  .  The  most  noteworthy 
illustration  is  given  by  the  early  history  of  the 
Church  at  Jerusalem.  There  we  find  reproduced 
with  exactness  the  condition  of  Jerusalem  between 
30  and  40  A.D.,  the  relations  of  Pharisees  and 
Sadducees,  of  Gamaliel  and  the  high  priestly  party, 
of  Jews  and  Hellenists ;  the  attitude  of  different 
parties  to  the  Church ;  the  simplicity  of  the 
Christian  Society,  which  appears  as  a  continuance 
of  the  band  of  disciples  in  the  gospel,  the  place  of 
the  Lord  being  now  tilled  by  the  apostles,  and  the 
whole  body  being  nothing  more  on  the  outside 
than  a  Jewish  aipto-is,  "the  Nazarenes."  These 
conditions  passed  rapidly  away,'  and  such  a  picture 
of  Jewish  politics  would  have  been  hard  to  draw 
after  70  a.d.  (pp.  8r,  82). 

'  Great  as  were  St  Luke's  gifts,  it  would 
argue  a  literary  self-control  which  is  almost  in- 
conceivable that  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem 
should  nowhere  have  visibly  affected  his  retro- 
spect'(p,  82). 

'  Not  a  hint  in  the  Acts  would  enable  a  modern 
critic  to  conjec^ture  the  subsequent  movements  and 
fate  of  St.  Peter,  St.  James  the  Lord's  brother,  or 
St.  John,  or  the  history  of  the  Church  at  Jerusalem, 
at  Ephesus,  at  Rome.  How  different  it  is  in  the 
case  of  St.  John's  Gospel.  We  can  tell  at  once 
that  St,  Peter  has  been  already  girded  and  carried 
"whither  he  would  not,"  and  that  the  great  age 
of  St.  John  is  arousing  sgecula^a  Myjng  the 
brethren'  (p.  83).  '    '  O 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Ooe  of  the  subsidiary  aims  of  the  writer  is  '  the 
apologia  for  Christianity  to  the  Roman  authorities.' 
This  would  have  been  of  no  use  after  Nero's  per- 
secution. '  That  was  settled  from  64  A.n.;  the  em- 
peror had  declared  war ;  Christianity  had  become 
a  religio  illidla ;  and  St.  Luke's  arguments  were 
thrown  away '  (p.  83), 

'  The  Acts  is  a  vindication  of  the  Catholicity  of 
the  Church,  and  a  proof  of  the  true  communion 
between  Jewish  and  Gentile  brethren.  But  in  80 
A.D.  no  vindication  of  the  existence  of  "  Churches 
of  the  Gentiles  "  was  necessary.  The  question  as 
to  Jew  and  Gentile  had  been  settled  by  facts' 
<P.  83). 

'  We  might  also  notice  that  the  Acts  was  written 
at  a  time  when  the  question  of  John  the  Baptist's 
disciples  and  baptism  was  still  a  practical  matter 
of  some  importance  (iS'^^-ig^)'  {p.  84,  note). 

'  If  St.  Luke  was  anxious  to  vindicate  the  apos- 
tolate  of  St.  Paul  as  equal  to  that  of  St  Peter,  and 
yet  prove  the  true  unity  between  them,  what  better 
proof  could  he  have  had  than  the  dramatic  picture 
of  the  two  brother  apostles  martyred  at  Rome, 
showing  that  "  in  death  they  were  not  divided  ?  " ' 
<P-  84). 

'  It  is  clear  that  the  writer  has  not  used  our 
Epistles  of  St.  Paul.'  '  This  is  evident  from  some 
apparent  discrepancies  between  the  Acts  and  the 
Epistles  of  Sl  Paul,  especially  between  the  Acts 
and  Galatians.'  '  If  Sl.  Luke  wrote  at  a  date  when 
the  Epistles  were  the  public  property  of  the  Church 
and  widely  read,  we  cannot  imagine  his  leaving 
such  inconsistencies  in  their  present  form.  But 
if  he  wrote  before  St.  Paul's  death,  all  is  clear ' 
<p.  84). 

On  the  above  extracts,  which  contain  a  fair 
summary  of  Mr.  Rackham's  argument,  we  may 
make  the  following  remarks  : — The  termination  of 
the  Acts  is  certainly  perplexing  when  we  compare 
it  with  later  accounts  of  the  end  of  St.  Paul's  life. 
But  in  our  present  state  of  ignorance  as  to  the 
circumstances  under  which  the  book  was  written 
and  of  the  object  of  the  writer,  and,  we  may  add, 
of  the  real  history  of  St.  Paul's  later  life,  it  would 
be  rash  to  conclude  that  it  can  only  be  explained 
by  supposing  the  narrative  to  have  been  continued 
down  to  the  time  when  the  book  was  written.  Dr. 
Salmon  puts  the  argument  with  his  usual  force  and 
point  when  he  says:  'To  my  mind,  the  simplest 
explanation  why  St.  Luke  told  us  no  more  is,  that 
he  knew  no  more;  and  that  he  knew  no  more, 


because  at  the  time  nothing  more  had  happened — 
in  other  words,  that  the  book  of  the  Acts  was 
written  a  little  more  than  two  years  after  St.  Paul's 
arrival  in  Rome '  (Hist,  Int.  4th  ed.  pp.  337>  338)- 
And  yet,  if  we  apply  these  words  to  the  finish  of 
another  composition  to  which  they  are  equally 
applicable,  we  shall  see  that  the  conclusion  which 
is  drawn  does  not  always  hold  good.  The  way 
in  which  the  Gospel  of  St.  Mark  ends  is  equally 
abrupt,  and  just  as  surprising  as  the  termination  of 
the  book  of  Acts,  and  yet  no  one  ventures  to  argue 
that  the  writer  stopped  where  he  did  because  he 
knew  no  more, 

I  doubt  if  Mr.  Rackham  adds  much  to  the 
strength  of  his  argument  when  he  appeals  to  the 
supposed  intention  of  the  writer  of  the  Acts  to 
make  the  structure  of  his  work  conform  to  the 
structure  of  the  Gospels.  The  idea  is  that  'in 
both ' — that  is,  in  both  the  Gospel  and  the  Acts, 
and  also  in  both  the  Pauline  and  the  Petrine 
portions  of  the  Acts — 'we  have  an  Introduction 
or  Preparation;  then  an  outpouring  of  the  Holy 
Spirit ;  this  is  followed  by  the  body  of  the  work, 
the  active  ministry.  This  ministry  is  concluded 
by  a  Passion,  which  is  early  anticipated,  and  is 
narrated  at  great  length ;  but  the  Passion  is  fol- 
lowed by  a  Resurrection  or  Deliverance,'  and  that 
the  writer  having  this  plan  in  his  mind  cannot  be 
supposed  to  have  written  after  the  death  of  the 
apostle,  for  then  he  would  have  '  not  only  missed 
in  the  Acts  the  obvious  parallel  to  the  Passion  of 
the  Gospels,  but  also  made  it  hard  for  us  to  dis- 
cover any  [ilan  at  the  bottom  of  his  narrative' 
(PP-  77i  78)-  The  supposed  plan  which  this 
argument  discerns  in  the  Acts  is  not  more  certain 
than  many  other  plans  which  have  been  proposed 
to  explain  the  structure  of  the  book.  It  is,  more- 
over, a  plan  which  will  be  of  necessity  more  or 
less  discernible  in  all  Christian  biographies.  It 
can  be  found,  for  instance,  in  the  story  of  Stephen, 
'  where  it  is  even  more  complete  than  in  the  stories 
of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul,  because  the  story  of  St.- 
Stephen's  life  ends  with  the  martyrdom  which  Mr. 
Rackham  desiderates  in  the  story  of  St.  Paul's 
life. 
I  There  does  not  appear  to  be  much  force  in  the 
'  argument  which  seeks  to  deduce  the  date  of  the 
composition  of  the  Acts  from  its  relation  to  the 
Neronian  persecution.  It  is  said  that  the  Acts  is 
'  an  apology  for  Christianity  to  the  Roman  authorities, 
I  and  that  such   an  apology  would  have  been  of 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


45 


no  use  after  persecution  had  commenced.  But 
apologies  might  have  been  made  later,  as  Justin's 
were.  Indeed  it  might  be  said  that  before  the 
close  of  the  period  covered  by  the  book  of  Acta 
there  was  no  occasion  for  an  apologia,  for  all 
the  decisions  of  the  Roman  authorities  recorded 
in  the  Acts  were  uniformly  in  favour  of  Chris- 
tianity,' 

When  we  argue  that  a  book  must  have  been 
written  at  or  near  the  time  of  which  it  treats 
because  of  the  correctness  of  its  historical  colour- 
ing, we  ought  to  be  prepared  to  show  (i)  that  we 
have  some  independent  knowledge  of  the  time 
with  which  to  compare  the  book,  and  (z)  that  such 
knowledge  would  not  have  been  accessible  to  a 
person  writing  at  a  later  date.-  It  is  not  clear 
that  the  examples  of  historical  knowledge  which 
Mr,  Rackham  cites  from  the  Acts  fulfil  these  con- 
ditions. Our  knowledge  of  the  Pharisees  and 
Sadducces,  for  instance,  is,  outside  the  New  Testa- 
ment, chiefly  derived  from  Josephus,  who  wrote 
af\er  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  and  may  be  supposed 
to  describe  Pharisaism  as  it  was  in  his  own  day. 
Gamaliel  was  a  well-known  personage  who  was 
not  soon  forgotten.  Why  should  the  distinction 
between  Jews  and  Hellenists  have  disappeared 
with  the  fall  of  Jerusalem?  Distinctions  of 
language  and  party  do  not  generally  fade  so  fast. 
As  to  the  simplicity  of  the  Christian  society,  we 
are  unfortunately  here  concerned  with  a  period  of 
Church  history  of  which  we  know  very  little  indeed. 
Until  we  know  from  some  independent  source 
more  than  we  do  about  the  development  of  Church 
government  both  in  Jerusalem  and  elsewhere,  we 
can  hardly  argue  with  any  confidence  for  the  date 

'  It  is  not  quite  cleat  what  is  roeanl  by  an  apohgia. 
Schmiedel  apeaks  of  'the  desire  to  say  as  lillle  as  possible 
unfavourable  to  itie  Romnn  civil  powei'  {Eniyilepadia 
Biblita,  vol.  i.  p.  41).  But  this  uems  haidly  consistent 
with  the  way  in  which  the  Roman  otEcials  are  commonlji 
reptcjemed  in  the  Acls.  The  porltaits  of  the  Philippian 
Dingiatrates  (Ac  :6"-"},  of  Gallio  {18'*-"),  of  the  chief 
captain  Claudius  Lyiias  (13"),  and  of  Fclii  (24^)  and 
Feslus  (^S*-"-"*)  ate  not  mote  flattering  (hin  that  of 
Pontius  Pilate  in  the  Gospels.  The  wtiterof  the  Acts  certainly 
seems  to  dwell  with  pleasure  upon  the  occasions  when  the 
verdict  of  the  Roman  authorities  was  pronounced  in  favour 
of  Cbtistianity.  But  this  is  not  more  marked  in  the  Acts 
than  in  the  Gospels,  and  is  not  more  matked  in  the 
Third  Gospel  than   in   Che   Fiisl  and   Second,  oi  in   the 

'  In  the  case  of  a  book  like  the  Acls  we  must  also  bear  in 
mind  that  we  ate  nol  dealing  with  a  mete  romance,  but  with 
the  woik  of  a  writer  who  uses  historical  materials. 


I  of  the  Acls  from  the  fidelity  of  the  pictures  of 
'  Church  life  which  the  book  presents. 
I  The  argument  from  the  silence  of  the  Acts  about 
I  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  as  contrasted  with  the 
'  references  in  the  Fourth  Gospel  to  the  later  years  of 
'  St.  Peter  and  St.  John  is  open  to  the  criticism  that 
I  the  passages  refereed  to  in  the  Gospel  are  all  taken 
I  from  the  appendix,  which  is  generally  believed  to 
'  have  been  an  afterthought,  written  by  the  same  or 
!  a  different  writer.  Before  this  appendix  was  added, 
'  the  Fourth  Gospel  was  as  free  as  the  Acts  from 
references  to  later  history. 

It  may  be  added  that  it  is  dangerous  to  Mr. 
Rackham's  cause  when  he  argues  from  the  pre- 
dictions in  Jn  ai  as  if  they  were  prophecies 
after  ihe  event,  for  if  the  Fourth  Gospel  contains 
\  such  prophecies,  why  may  not  the  Third  Gospel 
;  contain  them  ?  And  if  the  references  to  the  fall 
'  of  Jerusalem  in  St.  Luke  were  written  after  the 
event,  then  the  book  of  Acts  was  written  later  still. 
The  baptism  and  disciples  of  John  the  Baptist 
were  not  forgotten  so  soon  as  Mr,  Rackham's  note 
on  this  subject  implies.  Instead  of  being  forgotten, 
John  was  set  up  by  some  of  his  disciples  as  a  rival 
Messiah,  and  certain  well-known  passages  in  the 
Fourth  Gospel  are  with  much  reason  supposed  to 
have  been  directed  against  this  claim.  Even  at 
the  present  day  there  ts  a  small  sect  in  the  East 
who  are  called  'John's  disciples,'  and  Bishop 
Lightfoot  supposes  that  these  people  may  have 
been  descended  from  some  who  claimed  to  be 
disciples  of  the  Baptist  in  the  first  century  (see 
CUm.  Rtcog.  i.  54,  60 ;  Lightfoot,  Colon,  pp.  401- 
405,  etc.). 

It  is  argued  that  if  St,  Luke  had  written  at  a  date 
when  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  had  become  the  public 
property  of  the  Church,  he  would  have  been  careful 
to  avoid  the  appearance  of  contradiction  between 
the  Acts  and  the  Epistles.     Answer — There  are 
I  stranger  things  in  the  Acts  than  the  appearance  ol 
contradicting  St.  Paul's  Epistles.    There  are  the 
contradictions  (apparent  or  real)  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, of  the  writer's  own  Gospel,  and  of  the  book 
;  of  Acts  itself.     Indeed  we  may  carry  these  obser- 
vations  farther,  and   apply  them  to  other  early 
Christian  writings  as  well  as  to  the  Acts.    The 
writers  of  the  Gospels    have  not    avoided   the 
I  appearance    of   discrepancy    with    one    another, 
{   Either  the  later  of  them  did  not  know  of  the 
I  earlier,  or  if  they  did,  they  were  nol  careful  to 
avoid  the  appearance  of  contradictions. 


46 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


It  may  also  be  asked  what  certain  information 
ne  have  as  to  the  exact  date  at  which  the  Epistles 
of  St.  Paul  became  the  public  property  of  the 
Church.  John  A.  Cross. 

Lilllt  mtbtck,  Ltids. 


Z%t  ^\it  of  i%t  l^ofg  ^fpv.U%xt, 

In  the  paper  contributed  to  the  Quarterly  State- 
ment of  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund,  which 
was  referred  to  in  The  Exository  Times  last 
month,  I  carefully  guarded  myself  from  pronounc- 
ing that  in  my  opinion  the  Tombs  of  the  Kings  are 
the  veritable  tomb  in  which,  as  in  a  mortuary 
chapel,  the  dead  body  of  our  Lord  was  deposited. 
I  merely  used  that  very  remarkable  excava- 
tion as  affotding  the  best  extant  specimen  of  what 
the  Holy  Sepulchre  must  have  been  ;  giving,  as 
you  have  been  good  enough  to  mention,  thirteen 
scriptural  indications  which  must  be  reckoned 
with  by  our  investigators  before  they  can  affirm 
that  they  have  found  it. 

All  the  arguments  which  have  been  reproduced 
in  recent  articles  in  favour  of  v/hat  is  called  the 
traditional  site,  are  to  be  seen  slated  with  Christian 
courtesy  and  moderation  in  Williams'  Holy  City, 
published  in  1845.  They  were  answered  and 
refuted  with  equal  moderation  by  Dr.  Robinson 
(whose  great  learning,  modesty,  and  diligence  are 
beyojid  dispute)  in  1852.  He  did  not  profess  to 
have  found  the  true  sepulchre,  but  he  conclusively 
showed  that  there  is  no  dependence  to  be  placed 
upon  the  traditions  by  which  the  present  Church 
of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  claims  to  cover  so  many 
sites  of  sacred  story.  Let  any  one  read  from 
p.  255  to  p.  263  of  his  Later  Researches,  and  he 
will  feel  how  unjust  is  the  imputation  of 'slipshod 
reasoning'  which  one  angry  disputant  has  pre- 
sumed to  cast  at  him. 

The  arguments  hitherto  have  chiefly  turned 
upon  the  direction  of  the  second  wall.  Much 
ingenuity  has  been  expended  on  the  effort  to 
show  that  its  course  zigzagged  round  south  of  the 
traditional  site,  so  as  to  bring  the  sepulchre  out- 
side that  wall.  Probably  when  Eusebius  in  the 
fourth  century  had  to  explain  the  case  to  Con- 
stantine  and  Helena,  he  forgot,  or  had  not  noticed. 
He  12",  which  demanded  that  the  Crucifixon, 
and  consequently  the  sepulchre,  must  be  outside 
he  city.     In  those  dangerous  times  it  would  be 


far  safer  within,  and  his  object  was  good — i.e.  to 
convince  all   the  crowd  of  pilgrims  demanding 
ocular  proof  that  the  great    facts  had  actually 
,  taken  place  in  Jerusalem.    Supply  and  demand 
I  are  correlative,   alike   in   the   fourth  as    in     the 
twentieth  century.     But  when  it  is  realized  that 
the  tomb  must  have  been  outside  the  limits  of  the 
city  (which   is   interpreted   by  the  writer  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  to  have  been  typified  by 
the  camp),  then  the  course  of  that  wall  ceases  to 
have  any  bearing  on  the  argument.     It  has  been 
proved  that  the  bounds  of  the  city  were  at  that 
time  far  northward  of  it ;  and  that  the  mound 
adopted  by  Conder  and  Gordon  was  surrounded 
.   by  a  thickly  populated  suburb,  to  protect  which 
]  Agrippa  built  his  wall  ten  or  twelve  years  after- 
wards. 

In  examining  the  evidence  for  the  traditional 
site,  we  lind  it  depends  exclusively  on  the  testi- 
mony of  Eusebius,  bishop  of  Csesarea.  One  does 
not  care  to  disparage  the  character  of  a  dead  man 
who  cannot  defend  himself;  but  when  the  only 
authentic  account  of  an  event,  otherwise  disput- 
able, rests  on  one  man,  we  are  bound  fairly  to 
appraise  his  credibility,  and  see  whether  he  had 
any  known  bias.  We  ask,  then,  was  Eusebius 
in  a  position  to  give  reliable  evidence?  Let 
any  one  read  his  biography  of  his  patron  the 
Emperor  Constantine,  and  he  will  see  how  fully 
justified  Lewin  was  in  calling  him  'a  fulsome 
panegyrist.'  Remembering  what  that  potentate 
really  was — a  man  whose  stormy  past  looked  so 
black  that  when  he  applied  to  the  pagan 
Plalonists,  Sopatros  and  others,  asking  if  they 
'  knew  any  means  by  which  he  could  be  absolved, 
it  is  said  they  told  him  that  such  crimes  as 
I  his  could  never  be  washed  away, — and  he  only 
,  consented  to  be  baptized  by  Bishop  Eusebius  of 
Nicomedia  (at  the  instance  of  Hosius  of  Cordoba) 
I  as  a  last  resort  when  death  stared  him  in  the  face. 
Yet  this  man,  with  such  slender  grounds  for  being 
regarded  as  a  Christian  at  all,  is  Raftered  by 
Eusebius  with  sickening  adulation.  We  may  ask 
then,  Was  this  Eusebius  the  sort  of  man  to  with- 
stand the  tremendous  pressure  put  upon  him,  not 
only  by  crowds  of  pilgrims,  but  by  Imperial 
patrons,  to  find  for  them  the  very  spots  where  the 
Crucifixion  took  place  ?  and  this  after  three  cen- 
turies of  terrible  trouble,  such  as  the  world  had 
never  seen.had  swept  over  Jerusalem,  and  tornadoes 
of   destruction   had   removed   many  landmarks ! 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


47 


We   may  pity  the  unfortunate  ecclesiastics  who 
had  to  do  it,  and  who  did  their  best.     No  doubt 
they  felt  it  was  of  paramount  importance  to  con- 
vince their  wavering  pairons  that  the  Crucifixion   | 
and  the  Resurrection  had  really  taken  place  i  and  | 
if  they  could  not  do  so  without  producing  the  i 
crosses  and  the  sepulchre,  why,  at  all  costs,  they  i 
must  be  produced.    I  do  not  suppose  they  thought 
they  were  committing  a  sin  or  a  fraud  of  any  con-   ; 
sequence  in  doing  so.    They  would  certainly  think   i 
it  was  a  dangerous  sin  to  check  the  newborn  zeal  of  , 
the  Imperial  patron,  whose  superstitious  conscience  | 
.and  whose  pious  mother  demanded  it.     Probably  | 
they  dared  not  confess  that  the  Christians  did  not  i 
-care  or  perhaps  did  not  know  exactly  where  the 
true  site  was. 

In  a  discussion  of  this  nature  I  deprecate  as 
heartily  as  you  do,  the  use  of  such  language  as 
you  have  culled  from  one  article.  I  am  contented 
not  to  know  for  certain  where  the  Lord  lay ;  and 
I  agree  with  my  old  acquaintance,  Herr  Schick, 
that  probably  it  is  'ruled'  that  there  should 
always  be  some  uncertainty  about  it ;  but  I  should 
not  be  contented  if  I  neglected  any  means  afTorded 
by  such  a  sepulchre  as  the  Tombs  of  the  Kings  of 
realizing  in  every  detail,  as  far  as  possible,  all  the 
circumstances  of  the  great  fact  to  which  it  is  the 
paramount  function  of  the  Church  to  testify. 

Francis  Gell. 

Kipple,  Tetokesbury. 


irony  in  the  whole  passage.  Though  it  was 
entirely  true  from  the  Speaker's  point  of  view,  it 
would  sound  to  some  who  heard  it  almost  like 
a  caricature  of  Pharisaism ;  the  Speaker  surely 
knew  this  and  meant  to  rouse  His  hearers  by 
appealing  to  the  sense  of  the  incongruous  and 
unexpected.  It  is  not  without  a  touch  of  bitter- 
ness. 

Jowett  was  considered,  I  remember,  to  have 
proved  his  case  for  the  use  of  irony  at  least  in  this 
instance.  Dugali>  Macfadyen. 

Narlhvjood,  Hcntiy. 


*®ib  our  &ort  fotx  Bi>eftft  in  "^xa-K^t 

The  Expository  Times  for  August  begins  with 
this  question, '  Did  our  Lord  ever  speak  in  irony '  ? 
The  question  is  an  interesting  one,  but  the  case 
discussed — Mk  14" — is  by  no  means  the  strongest 
instance  in  the  Gospels.  If  this  question  is  asked 
in  the  absolute  form,  it  is  only  right  to  give  the 
locus  dassicus  to  which  those  who  find  irony  in 
the  Lord's  words  usually  turn. 

I  have  read  somewhere,  or  been  told,  that 
Jowett  was  once  at  a  dinner  table  where  a  dis- 
tinguished ecclesiastic  said  emphatically  that  'our 
Lord  never  used  irony.'  Jowett  asked  for  a  New 
Testament  and  read  the  passage  beginning, '  Full 
well  do  ye  reject  the  commandment  of  God, 
that  ye  may  keep  your  tradition '  (Mk  7""").  If 
read  in  the  Greek,  KoAwt  dtftrciTc  t^  hmXriv 
Tou  0eoS,  K.T.A.,  it  is  evident  that  there  is  a  vein  of 


§it.  3ofn  wii.  1-3. 

The  common  interpretation  of  the  third  verse 
in  the  seventeenth  chapter  of  St.  John  is  that  a 
knowledge  of  God  and  of  Jesus  Christ  gives  or 
constitutes,  in  some  way,  eternal  life.  Bui  if 
eternal  life  is  at  all  equivalent  to  what  is  meant  by 
immortality,  could  we  say,  on  the  common  view 
of  the  above  verse,  that  heathen  nations  who 
know  not  God  and  Jesus  Christ,  are  immorial 
beings?  1  have  long  felt  that  the  common 
interpretation  of  the  above  passage  is  wrong,  and 
that  the  true  reading  is,  that  eternal  life  is  a  '  gift ' 
and  not  the  result  of  knowledge,  a  'gift*  (v,°) 
in  order  that  men  might  attain  to  a  knowledge  01 
God  and  of  Jesus  Christ,  partially  at  least  here, 
but  more  fully  and  perfectly,  hereafter,  in  the  life 
to  come.  This  would  harmonize  with  all  those 
Scripture  passages  from  Job  downwards  which 
afhrm  that  little  is  known,  or  can  be  known,  of 
God  in  this  life.  And  in  the  context,  v,-,  eternal 
life  is  said  to  be  a  'gift,'  as  in  i  Jn  5"  and 
other  places.  In  v.'  'authority  over  all  flesh,' 
iioiKriaf  a-ooT^s  (ropitds,  is  given  to  the  Son  that 
the  Son  might  'give  eternal  life'  to  whatsoever 
God  had  given  Him,  The  ir«<ra  tropf  is  equivalent 
to  all  mankind,  all  humanity,  the  point  therefore 
is  this, — was  the  'gift'  of  eternal  life  in  v.^ 
intended  to  lead  to  the  attainment  of  the  'know- 
ledge' in  v.^? — or  does  the  knowledge  in  v.^ 
I  constitute,  in  any  way,  the  eternal  life  of  v.". 
The  'all  flesh,'  alt  humanity,  makes  for  the  former 
view,  and  against  the  latler.  For  the  knowledge 
of  God  and  of  Jesus  Christ  could  not  be  predicated 
of  all  mankind,  even  in  this  age  after  nineteen 
centuries  of  teaching.  But  eternal  life  is  believed 
to  be  the  common  lot  or  destiny  of  all  mankind. 
It  would  therefore  seem  that  the  common  inter- 
pretation of  v.^  is  incompatible  with  the  common 
belief  of  mankind — ^while  the  common  belief  of 
mankind  agrees  with  the  interpretation  suggested. 
Of  course  a  distinction  may  be  made  between 
eternal  life  and  immortality,  but  if  so,  that  which 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


differentiates  the  former  from  the  latter  should  be 
explained  by  those  who  adopt  the  common 
interpretation.  W.  W.  English. 

Our  fiot^'e  ^Arb  ^^tging  to  i%t 
^gro:((>9oemct<tn  ^ornan. 


The  difficulty  is  not  so  much  in  the  words  used  as 
in  their  attendant  circumstances.  Taken  alone, 
they  might  have  been  spoken  gently  and  carried  a 
deep  meaning  (Gal  3'*),  and  thus  have  served  to 
guide  the  woman's  faith,  as  they  actually  did,  to 
its  true  object  (Eph  5*). 

It  is  their  '  setting '  that  makes  the  words  sound 
harsh  and  unsympathetic — Christ's  previous  deaf- 
ness to  entreaty — His  apparent  unwillingness  to 
help.  Yet  is  not  all  this  capable  of  another 
explanation  ?     Was  it  not  mtntal preoccupation  ? 

Christ  had  enough  to  occupy  His  thoughts  just 
then.  He  was  consciously  nearing  the  crisis  when 
culminating  opposition  and  unbelief  with  their 
necessary  effects  (Mt  i6'-^),  including  their  leaven- 
ing influence  on  His  followers  (Mk  8" — note  the 
Revisers'  just  omission  of  m),  were  to  compel  Him 
to  close  His  ministiy  in  GaiUee,  and  force  Him 
(as  they  shortly  did)  to  prepare  for  His  coming 
Death  and  Resurrection  (Mt  16^'). 

It  was  a  momentous  decision  to  take,  and  He 
needed  time  and  place  where  thought  would  be 
possible  and  uninterrupted.  These  could  not  be 
found  on  Jewish  soil,  where  He  had  no  leisure  so 
much  as  to  eat,  and  where,  like  a  clergyman  in  his 
own  parish,  He  was  not  only  subjected  to  the  calls 
of  any  and  all,  but  where  it  was  His  duty  in  fulfil- 
ment of  His  divine  mission  to  attend  to  them.  The 
needed  refuge  must  lie  beyond  His  appointed  field 
i)f  labour— where  without  neglect  He  can  permit 
Himself  the  necessary  abstraction  and  mental 
concentration.  And  so  '  He  arose  and  went  away 
into  the  borders  of  Tyre  and  Sidon  .  .  .  and  would 
have  no  man  know  it.'  Metaphorically  speaking, 
He  locked  Himself  in  His  study  with  orders  not 
to  be  disturbed.  The  one  answer  to  all  applicants 
is  to  be,  '  I  was  not  sent  but  unto  the  lost  sheep 
of  the  house  of  Israel.' 

We  distinguish  four  stages  in  His  mental  pre- 
occupation. The  first  is  that  of  complete  absorp- 
tion. 'A  Canaanitish  woman  came,  and  cried. 
Have  mercy  on  me,  O  Lord,  Thou  Son  of  David ; 
my  daughter  is  grievously  vexed  with  a  devil.' 
'  But  He  answered  her  not  a  word' — He  simply 
did  not  hear  her.  His  mental  absorption  rendered 
Him  oblivious  of  all  that  was  passing  around. 
This  continued   until   His  disciples  in    concern 


ventured  to  call  His  attention  to  the  woraaii,  and, 
roisinlerpreting  His  silence,  begged  Him  to  send  her 
away.  Here  we  reach  the  second  stage.  Partially 
aroused  for  the  moment,  He  dismisses  the  inter- 
ruption with  the  predetermined  formula,  'I  was 
not  sent  but  unto  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of 
Israel.'  It  is  His  answer,  not  to  the  woman  (of 
whose  presence  and  petition  He  is  still  un- 
conscious), but  to  the  interruption — and  He 
relapses  into  deep  thought! 

Thus  they  arrive  at  the  house  (Mk  7^),  the 
object  of  their  journey,  the  needed  and  needful 
seclusion.  Hither  the  woman  follows,  and  making 
her  way  in,  falls  at  His  feet  and  there  urges 
her  petition  with,  we  may  presume,  intensified 
vehemence.  This  interruption  (third  stage)  is 
effectual  in  arousing  Him  to  consciousness  for  the 
first  time  of  her  presence  and  the  nature  of  her 
petition.  Need  we  import  any  bitterness  or 
harshness  into  the  dignified  reply  with  which  He 
first  met  her  request?  Did  it  not  seem  to  Him 
needed,  to  rebuke  an  importunity  that  would 
appear  to  Him  (oblivious  as  He  was  of  her  long- 
tried  patience),  somewhat  too  insistent — too  eager 
and  passionate  ?  If  we  cannot  but  regard  the  words 
as  stern — were  they  not  natural,  when  we  re- 
member the  nature  of  His  own  thoughts  just  then  ? 
In  what  dark  colours  would  they  paint  everything ! 
Were  there  not  otlier  '  dogs '  to  whom  He  had  been 
fruitlessly  casting  the '  children's  bread  ? ' — '  swine ' 
before  whom  it  was  no  longer  meet  to  cast  such 
pearls?  With  what  bitterness  was  He  realizing 
this(Mk8'2)! 

The'  woman's  answer  in  its  absolute  confidence 
of  faith  and  appeal  sets  Him  completely  free  from 
the  last  vestige  of  preoccupation  (fourth  stage).  He 
sees  her  and  hears  her  petition  as  they  arc — He 
meets  her  and  her  petition  as  Christ  always  meets 
the  seeking  soul— with  full  and  complete  satis- 
faction, 'O  woman,  great  is  thy  faith  :  be  it  unto 
thee  even  as  thou  wilt.' 

It  cannot  surely  derogate  from  the  honour  of 
the  Son  of  God  to  represent  Him  in  the  days  of 
His  flesh  as  subject  like  other  men  to  mental  pre- 
occupation. It  is  impossible  to  think  of  Him  as 
too  really  a  man,  so  long  as  we  know  Him  always 
Son  of  God.  He  was  subject,  we  know,  to  sleep 
when  weary.  He  needed  to  be  aroused  from  it  by 
His  disciples  before  He  was  conscious  of  what  was 
passing  around — where  lies  the  important  difference 
if  we  substitute  mental  preoccupation  for  sleep? 
B.  Horace  Ward. 

Werasltr. 


PhDledbrMoRKisoKftGrBBLtuiTBD,  TanfieldWorktiStid 
Publithed  ttf  T.  &  T.  Cijirk.  3S  Geoise  Street,  Edin- 
burgh. It  ii  teqauied  that  *11  iiierary  commaniatioiM 
be  addresMd  to  Thb  Eoitok,  11  CluendOD  Tcnace, 
Dundee, 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Qlofee   of  (flecenf   6;tpo0t(ton. 


A  DISCUSSION  recently  took  place  in  the  Upper 
House  of  Convocation  on  'The  Dearth  of 
Candidates  for  Holy  Orders.'  A  full  report  of 
the  discussion  appeared  in  the  Guardian  of  15th 
May.  All  the  most  prominent  bishops  of  the 
southern  province  took  part  In  it.  The  Bishop 
of  Winchester  surveyed  the  facts  and  suggested 
the  remedies.  He  was  followed  by  the  Bishops  of 
London,  Rochester,  Exeter,  Lincoln.  It  was  the 
last  of  a  series  of  discussions  on  this  subject 
which  has  been  going  on  for  eighteen  months  or 
more.  When  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury 
closed  the  discussion,  everything  seemed  to  be 
said  that  could  be  said. 

That  there  is  an  increasing  reluctance  to  enter 
into  Holy  Orders  was  admitted*  by  everyone. 
Four  principal  reasons  were  given  by  the  bishops 
for  this  reluctance.  First,  the  poverty  of  the 
clei^.  Second,  the  attractiveness  of  the  Home, 
and,  still  more,  of  the  Indian  Civil  Service. 
Third,  the  decrease  in  the  number  of  clerical 
masters  in  public  schools.  And  fourth,  intel- 
lectual difficulties. 

The  last  was  reckoned  the  least.  It  was 
reckoned  the  least  by  all  the  bishops.  'The 
cause  of  poverty,'  said  the  Bishop  of  Exeter,  '  is, 
I  am  sure,  the  one  great  cause.  The  unsettle- 
ment  of  the  boys'  minds  and  the  men's  minds  is 
Vol.  XIIL— 3. 


really  by  comparison  quite  trifling.  The  unsettle- 
ment  is,  as  a  rule,  an  unsettlement  in  a  man's  first 
year  of  his  University  career.  The  second  year 
wilt  probably  enable  him  to  recover  his  equilib- 
rium. There  is  a  little  wastage,  but  in  com- 
parison it  is  small.' 

The  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  however,  took  a  some- 
what more  serious  view  of  the  force  and  prevalence 
of  intellectual  difficulties.  He  recognized  that  in 
ou»  teaching  professions  there  was  room  for  a  new 
professor;  there  was  need,  as  you  might  say,  in 
our  Colleges  for  the  endowment  of  a  new  chair. 
'  We  need  some  one,'  he  said,  '  to  help  young  men 
to  get  accustomed  to  the  limitation  of  their 
faculties.'  We  have  to  hold  truths  in  tendency, 
he  said.  'We  have  to  admit  our  inability  to 
reconcile  even  the  things  which  we  know  to  be 
true.  We  have  to  confess  that  we  cannot  grasp 
really  the  whole  of  those  truths  which  yet  we  say 
are  necessary  to  salvation.'  And  these  are  just 
the  things  that  young  minds  find  it  most  difficult 
to  do.  They  do  not  see  why  they  should  try  to 
do  them.  

An  anonymous  contributor  to  the  Hlof,  whose 
account  we  are  following,  agrees  with  the  Bishop 
of  Lincoln.  He  even  holds  that  intellectual 
obstacles  are  mainly  accountable  for  the  striking 
decrease  in  students  of  divinity.     He  does  not 


so 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


deny  that  the  acceptance  of  the  Creeds  is  easier 
at  present  than  it  was  during  the  ascendency  of 
Mil]  and  his  school.  But  he  thinks  that  young 
men's  minds  are  more  vigorous  now.  And  he 
says  that  sensitiveness  to  doubt  and  difficulties 
is,  as  a  rule,  in  direct  proportion  to  the  vitality  of 
the  mind. 

He  gives  his  own  experience.  He  himself, 
though  now  he  can  look  back  upon  some  years  of 
clerical  life,  once  hesitated  to  take  Orders,  and 
that  for  intellectual  reasons.  He  believes  that  the 
difficulty  arises  from  the  age  at  which  men  have 
to  decide  to  take  Orders.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
three  or  twenty-four  men  look  upon  the  facts 
of  the  Creed  as  something  outside  their  own  ex- 
perience. They  are  propositions,  to  be  accepted 
or  rejected  as  they  appear  probable  or  improbable 
in  themselves.  By  the  time  the  man  has  reached 
the  age  of  forty,  the  statements  of  the  Creed  have 
verified  themselves  in  his  own  spiritual  experience. 
If  the  man  of  four  and  twenty  could  so  forecast 
the  years  as  see  himself  a  man  of  forty,  subscrip- 
tion would  have  no  terrors  for  him.  He  would, 
at  the  most,  be  surrendering  his  immature  to  his 
own  riper  and  richer  judgment.  Therefore  this 
writer  agrees  with  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  and  says 
that  we  are  greatly  in  need  at  this  time  of  some 
one  to  help  young  men  'to  get  accustomed  to  the 
limitation  of  their  faculties.' 


The  latest  commentary  on  Ezekiel  has  been 
written  by  Dr.  C.  M.  Cobern  and  published  by 
Messrs.  Eaton  &  Mains,  of  New  York.  Its 
strength  lies  in  its  archaeology.  The  explanations 
which  it  contains  of  Ezekiel's  chariot  and  Ezekiel's 
cherubim  owe  their  probability  as  well  as  their 
novelty  to  Dr.  Cobem's  acquaintance  with  the 
monuments.  But  there  are  also  occasional 
touches  of  interpretation  that  are  both  new  and 
notable.  

Take  that  most  difficult  passage,  Ezk  20^-^. 
The  rendering  of  the  Revised  Version  is  this: 


'  Moreover  also  I  gave  them  statutes  that  were  not 
good,  and  judgments  wherein  they  should  not 
live;  and  I  polluted  them  in  their  own  gifts,  in 
that  they  caused  to  pass  through  the  fire  alt  that 
openetb  the  womb,  that  I  might  make  them 
desolate,  to  the  end  that  they  might  know  that 
I  am  the  Lord.' 

What  are  those  statutes  that  were  not  good,  and 
those  judgments  wherein  they  should  not  live? 
Were  they  certain  Mosaic  regulations,  which  were 
permitted  because  of  the  hardness  of  their  hearts  ? 
Or  were  they  the  edicts  of  evil  kings,  such  as  the 
'statutes  of  Omri'{Mic  6"),  which  they  had  to 
accept  because  they  had  accepted  the  kings  them- 
selves? Or  are  these  statutes  and  judgments  the 
cruel  taxes  which  sin  levies  on  every  man  who 
gives  himself  up  to  its  dominion? 

Dr.  Cobern  does  not  decide.  He  does  not 
think  it  necessary  to  decide.  While  God  retains 
His  sovereignty,  it  is  He  that  sends  these  statutes 
that  are  not  good,  and  these  judgments  that  are 
intolerable,  even  though  from  the  side  of  science 
and  of  man  they  are  to  be  described  as  the  inevit- 
able result  of  our  own  transgressions.  It  is  the 
same  laws,  indeed,  which  are  a  savour  of  life  unto 
life  to  the  obedient,  that  become  to  the  disobedient 
a  savour  of  death  unto  death. 

But  the  more  difficult  matter  remains.  In  the 
a6th  verse  it  is  said  that  they  caused  their 
children  to  pass  through  the  fire,  and  even  this 
is  somehow  attributed  to  the  ordinance  of  Jehovah. 
'I  polluted  them  in  theit  own  gifts,  in  that  they 
caused  to  pass  through  the  fire  all  that  openeth 
the  womb.' 

Professor  Konig  doubts  if  this  refers  to  human 
sacrifice.  Dr.  Cobern,  though  he  gives  the  doubt 
its  value,  thinks  it  most  probable  that  it  does. 
But  he  will  not  have  the  suggestion  of  Kuenen, 
Wellhausen,  Smend,  Toy,  and  others,  that  in  the 
early  days  of  Israel  Jehovah  ordained  child- 
sacrifice,   and   that  this  is  one  of   the   statutes 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


St 


which  now  seem  'not  good'  to  Ezekie).  He 
will  not  have  the  explanation  of  Renan,  that  God 
commanded  this  evil  thing  for  the  very  purpose 
of  avenging  Himself  on  the  nation  that  had  dis- 
obeyed Him.  He  calls  that  a  horrible  su^estion. 
He  says  it  is  opposed  to  alt  that  we  know  of  the 
Mosaic  legislation,  and  in  flat  contradiction  to 
the  statements  of  Jeremiah  (j'^  19').  Bertholet 
declares  that  '  the  fact  that  Jeremiah  is  of  a 
different  opinion  is  of  no  impoitance  to  the 
decision.'  But  Dr.  Cobera  prefers  to  hold  with 
Jeremiah  that  Jehovah  did  not  ordain  child- 
sacrifice,  rather  than  with  Bertholet  and  all  the 
rest  of  the  modem  expositors  who  say  that  He  did. 

No  doubt  there  is  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac.  But 
the  sacrifice  of  Isaac  was  not  a  sacrifice.  It  did 
not  come  off.  And  the  very  point  of  it  lies  in 
that.  Other  gods  will  have  the  best  that  their 
worshippers  can  give  them.  Jehovah  will  have 
the  best  also.  Other  gods  demand  the  offering 
of  the  first-born  son.  Jehovah  demands  that  also, 
but  not  for  death,  for  life.  For  a  moment  it  seems 
to  be  for  death,  in  order  that  it  may  be  seen  to  be 
for  life  for  ever. 

So  this  seeming  command  to  the  Israelites  to 
offer  their  children  in  sacrifice,  is  in  Dr.  Cobern's 
eyes  simply  a  particular  example  of  the  universal 
law  that  the  way  of  transgressors  is  hard.  The 
Israelites  rejected  Jehovah,  and  chose  Molech. 
Choosing  Molech  they  chose  the  ordinances  of 
his  worship.  They  had  to  pass  their  children 
through  the  fire.  To  Jehovah  it  was  a  '  pollution.' 
Yet  the  very  pollution  was  administered  by  Him  In 
orderto  bring  the  Israelites  back  to  their  obedience 


During  the  last  eighteen  months  a  series  of 
short  scientific  studies  have  been  appearing  in 
Germany  under  the  general  title  of  'The  Ancient 
East.'  These  studies  are  now  being  translated 
into  English  by  Miss  Jane  Hutchison  and  pub- 
lished by  Mr.  David  Nutt.  Two  have  already 
appeared,    and    have    been     noticed    in    The 


Expository  Times  :  Tie  Jiealms  0/  the  Egyptian 
Dead,  by  Professor  Wiedemann  of  Bonn,  and  The 
Tell  el-Amarna  Period,  by  Carl  Niebuhr.  A  third 
has  just  been  published.  It  is  entitled  The  Baby- 
lonian and  the  Hebrew  Genesis.  It  is  written  by 
Dr.  Heinrich  Zimmern,  Professor  of  Semitift 
Languages  in  the  University  of  Leipzig. 

Dr.  Zimmern  begins  by  recognizing  the  interest 
of  his  subject.  It  is  true  that  the  centre  of  interest 
has  shifted.  Able  editors  who  used  to  welcome 
articles  on  '  The  Bible  and  Natural  Science '  do  so 
no  longer.  It  has  been  discovered  that  the  Bible 
is  content  to  leave  Natural  Science  alone,  and 
Natural  Science  has  been  induced  to  leave  the 
Bible  alone.  Their  provinces  and  their  purposes 
are  distinct.  To  speak  of  'the  mistakes  of  Moses' 
is  therefore  itself  a  fundamental  mistake.  For 
Moses  never  intended  to  say  the  things  that  are 
attributed  to  him.  And  more  than  that,  Moses 
is  at  the  best  only  a  link  In  a  long  chain  of  poets 
and  editors,  who  received  the  materials  out  of 
which  Genesis  Is  composed  from  some  far-distant 
past,  perhaps  also  from  some  far-distant  province, 
and  passed  them  on.  As  they  passed  them  on, 
they  purified  and  fitted  them  for  the  highest  uses. 
But  even  in  the  form  they  at  last  assumed,  a  form 
in  which  they  will  charm  and  instruct  the  genera- 
tions of  men  till  the  end  of  lime,  they  still  bear 
traces  of  the  rock  whence  they  were  hewn,  and 
the  hole  of  the  pit  whence  they  were  digged. 

So  the  centre  of  interest  is  not  in  science  now, 
nor  even  in  Moses.  The  '  First  Book  of  Moses 
called  Genesis '  has  been  discovered,  at  least  in  its 
earlier  portions,  to  belong  to  the  history  and  re- 
ligion of  the  great  nations  of  the  East.  Babylonia 
also  has  her  story  of  the  Creation,  of  Paradise  and 
the  Fall,  of  the  early  Patriarchs,  and  of  the  Flood. 
And  the  great  questions  of  interest  now  are  these : 
What  is  the  connexion  between  the  Babylonian 
narratives  and  those  in  Genesis?  Are  these 
ancient  stories  mere  myths,  or  have  they  a  his- 
torical foundation  ?  And  whether  they  are  myths 
or  not,  what  is  the  meaning  of  them,  and  wherein 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


lies  their  profit  for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correc- 
tion, for  instruction  in  righteousness? 

Our  first  business  is  to  know  what  these  ancient 
narratives  are.  The  narratives  of  the  Bible  we 
^ave  before  us.  The  Babylonian  versions  come 
from  different  sources.  First  there  are  certain 
extracts  happily  preserved  by  Eusebius  and  others 
from  the  work  of  a  Babylonian  priest  named  Ber- 
ossus,  who  flourished  near  the  time  of  Alexander 
the  Great.  Next  there  is  the  Chaldaan  Account 
of  Genesis  of  George  Smith.  Then  there  are  the 
Tell  et-Amama  tablets,  especially  the  series  now 
preserved  m  the  Royal  Museum  at  Berlin,  which 
contain  a  story  evidently  related  to  the  biblical 
narrative  of  Paradise.  And  lastly,  there  is  the 
cuneiform  tablet,  quite  recently  discovered  near 
Babylon  itself,  which  deals  with  the  Babylonian 
versions  of  the  Deluge. 

The  narratives  of  the  Bible  we  have  before  us. 
But  do  we  understand  them,  and  have  we  gathered 
them  all  together?  Professor  Zimmern  presup- 
poses a  general  knowledge  of  the  biblical  story  of 
Creation,  but  he  thinks  it  advisable  to  recapitulate 
Its  chief  incidents  as  found  even  in  Genesis,  and 
he  finds  it  absolutely  necessary  to  gather  together 
the  references  to  it  which  are  scattered  through 
the  Psalms  and  the  Prophets. 

The  chief  source  for  the  Bible  story  of  Creation 
is  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis.  There  the  creation 
of  heaven  and  earth  is  ascribed  lo  the  word  of 
the  Almighty,  The  language,  says  Dr.  Zimmern, 
is  solemn  and  simple,  and  it  is  penetrated  by  a 
sublime  theological  conception,  though  its  phrase- 
ology suggests  priestly  learning  and  abstract  think- 
ing rather  than  the  freshness  and  spontaneity  of 
popular  belief  The  universe  is  represented  as 
lying  in  a  state  of  chaos  until  order  is  introduced 
by  the  word  of  God,  the  Creator,  The  chief 
phenomena  of  this  primal  state  of  chaos  are  dark- 
ness and  water.  An  almost  personal  name  is 
given  to  the  watery  deep.  It  is  called  'Tehom.' 
And  the  first  act  of  the  Creator,  the  first  day's 


work  of  creation,  is  to  bring  light  into  this  gloomy 
chaos. 

Then  the  primeval  waters,  hitherto  a  single 
mass,  are  divided  into  two  parts.  One  part  forms 
the  ocean  that  belongs  to  the  earth.  The  other 
is  sent  to  form  the  celestial  ocean,  which  lies 
above  the  sky.  The  two  oceans  are  understood 
to  be  separated  by  an  actual  and  substantial  vault 
of  heaven,  called  the  firmament.  This  is  the 
work  of  the  second  day.  On  the  third  day  the 
dry  land  appears  and  clothes  itself  in  vegetation. 
The  fourth  day  sees  the  creation  of  the  heavenly 
bodies,  and  special  emphasis  is  laid  upon  the 
'rule'  of  the  sun  and  of  the  moon.  They  are 
not  mere  lights  in  the  sky,  they  have  a  certain 
control,  the  force  of  which  we  see  when  we  turn 
to  the  Babylonian  astrology.  On  the  fifth  day 
are  created  birds  and  fishes.  On  the  sixth, 
beasts  and  reptiles,  and,  as  crown  of  the  whole, 
mankind. 

This  story  is  found  in  the  first  chapter  of 
Genesis :  is  it  the  earliest  written  narrative  in  the 
Bible?  No,  says  Professor  Zimmern,  it  is  one 
of  the  very  latest.  In  its  present  form  it  is  not 
older  than  the  Babylonian  exile,  if  it  is  as  old. 
It  dates  at  the  earliest  from  the  sixth  century  b,c 
So  its  monotheism,  for  which  we  are  so  thankful, 
is  no  more,  he  says,  than  a  reflection  of  the 
monotheism  that  marked  the  Jews  of  the  exilic 
or  post-exilic  period.  Its  learned  author,  who 
betrays  his  hand  in  the  carefulness,  approaching 
to  pedantry,  with  which  the  separate  varieties  of 
animals  and  plants  are  indicated,  'each  after  his 
kind,'  has  taken  care  that  no  gross  polytheistic 
elements  should  be  left  in  the  story  to  scandalize 
a  strictly  monotheistic  generation. 

Nevertheless  he  has  not  eliminated  every  trace 
of  its  primitive  origin.  Chaos ;  '  Tohu-wa-Bohu ' ; 
the  darkness  on  the  face  of  the  deep ;  '  Tehom  ' ; 
the  spirit  of  God  moving,  or  more  literally, 
'  brooding'  upon  the  waters;  the  firmament  divid- 
ing the  waters  above  from  the  waters  below ;  the 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


S3 


'  rule '  of  the  heavenly  bodies ;  the  conception  oi 
other  divine  beings  besides  the  creative  Deity 
implied  by  the  use  of  the  plural  pronoun,  'Let 
us  make  man  in  our  image';  the  poetical  form 
of  expression  retained  in  the  account  of  the 
creation  of  man — 

'  And  God  created  man  in  His  oirn  image, 

In  the  image  of  God  created  He  him,' — 

all  these  are  relics  of  an  earlier  age  and  an  earlier 

belief.      Their  presence    is  unaccountable  until 

we  read  the  parallel  Babylonian  narrative. 

But  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  does  not  con- 
tain all  that  the  Bible  has  to  say  about  the 
Creation.  Following  nov  somewhat  closely  Gun- 
kel's  remarkable  book,  Sckopfung  und  Chaos, 
Professor  Zimmern  discovers  a  series  of  passages 
in  the  poetical  books  of  the  Old  Testament 
which  refer  to  a  struggle  between  Jehovah  and 
a  mythical  monster.  This  mythical  Being  is  the 
primeval  chaotic  deep.  It  is  personified,  and 
appears  under  various  names,  as  Rahab,  leviathan, 
dragon,  serpent,  or  simply  sea,  but  more  especially 
as  Tehom,  the  name  employed  in  Genesis. 

He  quotes  first  of  all  from  the  89th  Psalm,  and 
in  this  translation — 
'Thou  remainest  lord,  when  the  sea  rageih, 

A^hen  the  waves  thereof  arise,  thou  stillest  ihem. 

Thou  hast  defiled  Rahab  as  carrion, 

With    arm   of  strength  thou   hast  scattered  thy 
foes. 

Thine  is  the  heaven,  thine  is  the  earth ; 

The  world  and  its  fulness,  thou  hast  founded  it. 

North  and  south,  thou  hast  created  them.' 

He  sees  there  a  close  connexion  between  the  over- 
throw of  Rahab  and  the  creation  of  heaven  and 
earth  by  Jehovah.  He  sees  that  the  Creation 
takes  place  only  after  the  fall  of  Rahab.  He  sees 
that  in  the  struggle  Rahab  has  had  auxiliaries. 
He  sees  that  they  were  only  scattered,  while  Rahab 
was  slain  and  even  treated  with  ignominy  after 
death.  And  alt  these  things  he  sees  in  the  parallel 
Babylonian  narrative,  as  we  shall  see  them  also. 


His  next  quotation  is  from  the  51st  chapter  of 
Isaiah :  '  Arise,  arise,  arm  thee  with  strength,  O 
arm  of  Jehovah !  Arise  as  in  the  days  of  old, 
in  the  generations  of  ancient  times  1  Art  thou 
not  he  that  shattered  Rahab,  that  defiled  the 
dragon?  Art  thou  not  he  that  dried  up  the  sea, 
the  waters  of  the  great  Tehom ;  that  made  the 
depths  of  the  sea  a  path,  that  the  saved  might  pass 
over  by  it  ?'  The  last  words  refer  to  the  passage 
of  the  Red  Sea.  But  the  passage  of  the  Red  Sea 
does  not  exhaust  the  reference.  The  cutting  of 
Rahab  in  pieces  and  the  defiling  of  the  dragon 
seem  to  Dr.  Zimmem  clearly  to  describe  the 
struggle  of  Jehovah  with  the  chaotfc  monster 
before  the  Creation.  And  he  strengthens  his 
opinion  by  a  quotation  from  the  36th  chapter  of 
Job,  where  it  is  said  of  God — 
'  By  his  power  hath  he  stilled  the  sea, 
By  his  understanding  hath  he  shattered  Rahab, 
His  hand  hath  defiled  the  wreathed  serpent.' 

Lastly,  he  quotes  from  the  74th  Psalm.     Here 
the  part  played  by  Rahab  is  attributed  to  leviathan, 
and  the  slaying  of  the  dragon  is  again  associated 
with  the  creation  of  the  world — 
'  But  thou  Jehovah  art  my  king  from  of  old, 

That  doest  salvation  in  the  midst  of  the  earth  j 

Thou  hast  divided  the  sea  with  might; 

Hast  broken  the  heads  of  the  dragons  in  the 
water. 

Thou  hast  bruised  the  heads  of  leviathan  ; 

Gavedst  him  for  meat,  for  food  to  the  jackals  .  .  . 

Thine  is  the  day,  and  thine  is  the  night ; 

Thou  hast  established  moon  and  sun. 

Thou  hast  appointed  all  powers  of  the  earth ; 

Summer  and  winter,  them  hast  thou  formed.' 

Now  whether  these  passages  are  earlier  or  later 
in  date  than  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  they  are 
clearly  earlier  in  conception.  The  'Jehovah- 
Tehom  myth,'  as  Dr.  Zimmem  boldly  calls  it, 
is  present  in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  but  not 
in  the  crude  form  in  which  these  poems  present 
From  the  strictly  religious  point  of  view, 
therefore,  the  Genesis    narrative    ranks  highest. 


54 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


But  from  the  purely  historical  point  of  view  the 
other  passages  are  by  far  the  more  valuable,  since 
they  exhibit  the  original  story  in  its  more  naked 
and  primitive  form. 

How  remarkable  is  the  parallel  between  this 
story  as  we  now  see  it  in  fulness  and  its  Baby- 
Ionian    equivalent.      The    Babylonian    epic    of 
Creation  begins  in  this  way — 
'  Of  old,  when  above,  the  heaven  was  unnamed, 
Beneath,  the  earth  bore  not  any  name. 
White  yet  the  ocean,  the  primeval,  their  begetter. 
The  primeval  source,  Tihamat,  mother  of  them 

all. 
Their  waters  in  one  mingled  together,  .  .  . 
Then  appeared  the  first  of  the  gods.' 

Here  are  the  primeval  waters,  but  personified  as 
male  and  female,  and  the  female  bears  the  name 
Tihamat,  the  same  as  the  biblical  Tehom.  After 
this  there  follows  an  account  of  the  origin  of  the 
gods,  special  prominence  being  given  to  the  birth 
of  Marduk.  For  it  is  this  Marduk  (the  Merodach 
of  the  Bible)  that  offers  himself  to  give  battle  to 
the  rebellious  and  chaotic  Tihamat.  Marduk  is 
victorious.  He  plunges  his  sword  into  the  body 
of  Tihamat,  slays  her,  casts  forth  her  corpse,  and 
tramples  on  it.  Then  he  turns  on  her  allies  and 
takes  them  captive.  Returning  to  the  body  of 
Tihamat  he  cuts  it  in  two  pieces. 
'  The  one  half  took  he,  thereof  made  the  firma- 
ment, 
Bounds  set  he  to  it,  watchers  he  placed  there. 
To  hold  back  the  waters  commanded  he  them.' 

The  parallel  with  the  biblical  narrative  is  obvi- 
ous. The  epic  goes  on  to  describe  the  creation 
of  the  heavenly  bodies.  Then  comes  a  gap 
through  the  loss  of  some  of  the  cuneiform  tablets. 
But  Berossus,  to  whose  accuracy  the  tablets  bear 
surprising  testimony,  enables  us  to  affirm  that  the 
missing  tablets  roust  have  contained  an  account  of 
the  creation  of  the  dry  land,  plants,  animals,  and 
mankind. 

Now  the  first  thing  that  clearly  emerges  from 


this  comparison  is,  that  the  account  of  the  Crea- 
tion which  we  find  in  the  Bible  and  the  account 
which  we  find  on  the  clay  tablets  of  Babylonia  are 
not  independent.  Recall  the  points  of  compari- 
son. According  to  both  accounts,  before  the 
Creation  all  was  water.  This  watery  deep  is  per- 
sonified as  a  terrible  monster,  called  'Tihamat '  in 
Babylonia,  'Tehom'  in  Hebrew.  No  article  is 
used  before  the  Hebrew  word;  as  in  the  Baby- 
lonian mythology,  it  Is  a  proper  name.  Id  both 
accounts  the  monster  is  dragon-like,  and  in  both 
there  are  variants  implying  that  it  had  several 
heads.  In  the  Babylonian  tradition  there  is 
specific  mention  of  a  seven-headed  serpent.  This 
conception  does  not  appear  distinctly  in  Genesis 
nor  throughout  the  Old  Testament.  But  we  have 
it  when  we  reach  the  Apocalypse  in  the  New 
Testament,  a  book  which  has  preserved  other 
traces  of  this  primeval  conception.  In  the  Baby- 
lonian narrative,  Marduk  gains  his  supremacy 
among  the  gods  by  his  victory  over  the  dragon  ; 
in  the  Israelite  account  Jehovab  is  already 
supreme,  but  other  gods  are  apparently  there 
and  share  in  His  deliberations.  In  both  accounts 
the  dragon  of  the  deep  and  her  allies  are  guilty  of 
rebellion  and  an  impious  ambition  to  obtain  do- 
minion over  the  world.  Marduk  and  Jehovah 
both  go  forth  to  war  bearing  a  sword,  with  which 
they  slay  the  dragon.  The  auxiliaries  of  Tihamat 
are  more  leniently  treated  by  Marduk  than  herself; 
so  likewise  do  the  helpers  of  Rahab  fare,  at  the 
hands  of  Jehovah.  The  body  of  Tihamat  is 
divided  into  the  upper  and  lower  oceans ;  the 
dividing  of  the  deep  into  the  waters  above  and 
the  waters  below,  precedes  in  Genesis  the  creation 
of  heaven  and  earth. 

With  these  resemblances  in  mind  it  is  impossible 
to  believe  that  the  two  accounts  are  independenL 
What  is  their  relation  to  one  another?  There  are 
three  possible  ways  of  it.  The  Babylonians  may 
have  borrowed  their  account  from  the  Israelites  ; 
the  Israelites  may  have  borrowed  theirs  from  the 
Babylonians ;  or  both  may  go  back  to  a  common 
original. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


55 


Did  the  Babylonians  bonow  their  account  of 
the  Creation  from  the  Israelites  7  From  the  his- 
torical point  of  view,  as  regards  both  civilization 
and  religion,  that  is  to  Professor  Zimmem  simpl; 
inconceivable.  Do  they  both  go  back  to  a  common 
original  ?  That  is  quite  conceivable,  but  quite 
improbable.  For  there  are  features  of  the  story 
that  are  evidently  and  exclusively  Babylonian. 
The  whole  scenery,  indeed,  is  specially  Babylonian. 
It  is  the  scenery  of  alluvial  plains,  like  those  of 
Babylonia,  not  the  scenery  of  Palestine,  nor  yet 
of  the  Syrian  or  Arabian  desert.  Its  theology  also 
is  Babylonian.  It  was  not  Jehovah  but  Marduk 
that  was  the  god  of  spring  or  of  the  morning  sun. 
To  Professor  Zimmern's  mind  the  demonstration 
is  now  complete,  that  the  account  of  the  Creation 
in  the  Bible  is  borrowed  from  Babylonia. 

When  was  it  borrowed  ?  Not  at  the  Exile.  No 
doubt  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  in  its  present 
literary  form,  may  be  placed  as  late  as  the  Exile. 
But  it  is  incredible,  says  Professor  Zimmern,  that 
the  Jews  of  the  Exile,  with  their  sharply  distinct- 
ive Jehovah  cult,  should  have  taken  this  myth,  as 
he  calls  it,  ready  -  made  from  their  heathen 
oppressors,  and  placed  it  at  the  beginning  of  their 
sacred  writings.    Some  of  the  later  kings,  as  Ahaz, 


were  friendly  to  the  Assyrians,  and  coquetted  with 
foreign  customs,  but  that  also  is  too  late  a  time 
for  such  an  appropriation.  To  account  for  the 
form  in  which  the  narrative  in  Genesis  appears,  we 
are  bound,  Dr.  Zimmern  holds,  to  assume  a  long 
development  on  Israelite,  and  indeed  on  Pales 
tinian,  soil-  One  period  only  remains  that  suits 
the  conditions. 


It  is  the  period  of  the  Tell  el-Amama  letters. 
These  letters  belong  to  the  middle  of  the  second 
millennium  b.c.  They  reveal  an  active  intercourse 
carried  on  between  Babylonia  and  the  West,  and 
especially  Egypt  and  Palestine.  The  medium  of 
intercourse  was  the  Babylonian  language  and  writ- 
ing. It  was  mythological  texts  that  served  as 
exercises  for  Egyptians  and  Syrians  in  the  study  of 
the  language  of  intercourse,  and  Dr.  Zimmern 
thinks  it  highly  probable  that  the  matter  of  these 
texts  would  have  entered  the  consciousness  of  the 
students.  It  has  come  about  indeed,  by  a  strange 
disposition  of  Providence,  that  one  of  the  mytho- 
logical texts  used  for  this  purpose,  and  discovered 
at  Tell  el-Amarna,  is  no  other  than  that  story  of 
Adapa  which  bears  so  close  a  resemblance  to  the 
biblical  story  of  Paradise. 


(^  (FemorSaBfe  paiimpetet. 

By  Agnes  Smith  Lewis,  Fhiu  Dr.  (Halle),  LL.D.  (St.  Andrews). 


Those  of  your  readers  who  take  an  interest  in  the 
palimpsest  of  the  four  Gospels  in  Syriac  which  I 
discovered  in  the  Convent  of  St.  Catherine  on 
Mount  Sinai  in  1893,  will  be  pleased  to  learn  that 
another  manuscript  has  come  into  my  hands,  prob- 
ably from  the  same  quarter,  which,  though  far  its 
inferior  in  point  of  value,  presents  some  features 
which  are  well  worthy  the  consideration  of  the 
palaeographer  and  the  biblical  scbolstr.  It  is  a 
palimpsest,  purchased  at  Suez  in  1895,  whose 
upper-script  is  a  collection  of  extracu  from  the 
writings  of  the  Christian  Fathers  in  an  Arabic 


translation  assigned  to  the  end  of  the  ninth  or 
beginning  of  the  tenth  century.  The  under-script 
is  chiefly  Syriac,  in  two  columns;  a  fifth  or  sixth 
century  text  of  the  Protevangelium  JacoU  and 
Transitus  Mariae  forming  one  book.  Mingled 
with  this  are  four  leaves  from  two  MSB  of  fifth 
century  Pcshijta  Syriac  Gospels,  three  leaves 
of  an  ancient  Arabic  document,  and  fourteen 
from  the  Syrian  Father,  Mar  Jacob.  Three 
leaves  are  a  double  palimpsest,  Syriac  texts  from 
Exodus  and  Isaiah  crossing  each  other  beneath 
the  later  Arabic     But  the  book  contains  other 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


two  features  which  place  it  among  the  curiosities 
of  literature. 

I  have  been  aware  for  the  last  six  years  that 
many  pages  of  the  under-script  were  not  Syriac, 
but  a  very  peculiar  Arabic.  Until  June  of  this 
year  they  baffled  my  attempts  at  identification, 
for  two  reasons :  partly  that  I  was  seeking  for  a 
Christian  text  under  a  Christian  one,  and  partly 
that  they  were  Cufic.     I  need  not  waste  words 


earliest  Cufic.     But  the  most  curious  occuireoc: 
remains  yet  to  be  told. 

I  had  copied  a  portion  from  each  of  thot 
Cufic  leaves,  and  was  about  to  send  it  to  the  press, 
when  I  observed  a  little  leaf,  f.  1 1  in  the  booL 
which  had  apparently  only  the  one  Arabic  writir.: 
on  it.  Thinking  that  the  reagent  might  possible 
reveal  some  more  of  an  underlying  CorSn  text,  I 
passed  my  brush  lightly  over  its  margin,  and  If 


f,  iib  Gen.  xl.  3,  4 

KHtT^J■^Tcu^J*xlM^^elTcu 

eiCTOAeCMCUTHJ^lONieiCTONI 
TOTTONOY»tL)CH<j>XTTHJ<TO 

CKCi    K^icy^ecTHceW 

O^ij'XlAeCMCOTHCTCUICD 
CH<f>AY'T'OYCKMTTA.peCTH 

f.  n*  ».  7 

^  e"«V'cco«6  T6T^.j^\rMeNorK^iH.rcui';^ 
•^cKYepfonoi   TOYceYNOYxoYc<^>^T^.a^ 

OlHC^MMeTXYTOYCNITH 

eNTwo.    <pY^^KHTT^J»^TcaKco^Y 

TOY^erCDN.TlOTlT^Trj'OCCO 
c  ^"^'^  TT^  Y'^^^'^CKYQTCOTT^CHM'e' 

A  in  the  margin  lUnds  for  Aquila  ;  C  for  Synimachus. 


ieAEMCNOC 


by  telling  how  I  at  last  got  on  to  the  right  (rack, 
and  with  the  help  of  a  chemical  reagent  found 
that  I  possess  seven  leaves  of  a  Cufic  CorSn 
belonging  to  the  first  half  of  the  eighth  century, 
or  possibly  to  the  end  of  the  seventh ;  also  sixteen 
and  a  half  leaves  from  another  Cor^n  MS.,  which 
needed  no  reagent,  and  are  also  of  the  eighth 
century,  though  a  little  later,  as  their  script  shows 
a  very  few  diacritical  points.  The  script  in 
both  these  MSS  has  all  the  characteristics  of  the 


my  intense  astonishment,  instead  of  the  Arabic ' 
letters  for  which  1  was  seeking,  a  row  of  beautiful 
Greek  uncials  appeared,  like  a  vision  from  tbe 
forgotten  past ;  and  these  were  followed  by  eleven 
other  lines,  being  six  on  each  side  of  the  leaf. 
Their  resemblance  to  the  script  of  the  Codes  , 
Sinaiticus  made  me  hope  that  they  belonged  10  ' 
the  fourth  century ;  and  I  lost  no  time  in  identi-  1 
fying  them  with  Gn  40*-  *  on  one  side,  and  Gn  4c' 
on  the  other.     V.'  contains  an  interesting  variaut, 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


57 


TTOfA  Tu  ip)(iitay*ipig,  IDStead  of  xapa  tu  ipx^to'- 
fitx^vXoKi,  which  seems  to  be  a  closer  rendering  of 
the  Hebrew  text,  D'Piaan  ib  n'3. 

On  the  margin,  close  to  the  edge  of  the  leaf,  I 
noticed  the  letters  <rop€  in  small  uncials.  It  was 
then  the  Long  Vacation  in  Cambridge;  but  a 
few  scholars  remained,  and  I  asked  some  of  them 
what  the  mystic  letters  might  mean,  showing  Ihem 
at  the  same  time  the  MS.  I  suppose  that  their 
eyes  were,  like  mine,  too  closely  riveted  on  the 
central  text  to  observe  that  there  was  a  column  of 
small  words  on  the  mai^in  of  each  page,  entangled 
amongst  the  loops  of  the  closely  written  upper 
Arabic  script ;  and  it  was  only  after  I  had  sent 
photographs  of  the  two  pages  to  my  friend, 
Dr.  Nestle  of  Maulbronn,  that  I  was  informed 
of  the  full  value  of  the  fragment.  Dr.  Nestle 
says — 

'  The  manuscript,  from  which  the  photographs 
of  two  pages  have  been  placed  in  my  hands,  is 
important  for  three  reasons — 

'r.  Because  uncial  MS5  of  Genesis  are  few; 
Sinaiticus  and  Vaticanus  being  defective  for  the 
greater  part  of  this  book. 

'  2.  Because  its  texts  appear  particularly  good, 
confirming  Gn  40^,  the  reading  of  Philo,  &px'-l^' 
7<tp<p,  which  had  been  changed  by  the  latest  editors 
of  his  works  (Cohn-Wendland,  ii.  211)  into  the 
reading  of  the  Codex  Alexandrtnus,  di^^'^'^^'*^'^ 
XoKL  The  true  reading  was  known  till  now  only 
from  the  Coptic  and  Syro-Hexaplaric  Version  and 
from  six  cursives  of  Holmes. 

'  3.  Because  it  contains  marginal  readings  from 
the  Hexapla  of  Origen,  adding  to  those  collected 
by  Field  some  which  were  hitherto  unknown,  as 
40',  KOKa  and  xoi'ijpa  for  <TKv6p>aira.' 

Within  the  last  few  years  other  parts  of  the 
Hexapla  have  been  discovered  by  Messrs.  Grenfell 


and  Hunt,  and  by  Dr.  Taylor,  Master  of  St. 
John's  College,  Cambridge.  Dr.  Taylor's  fragment 
was  in  the  collection  brought  by  Dr.  Schechter 
from  the  Genizah  in  the  synagogue  of  Old  Cairo. 
But  mine  is  from  a  different  source.  There  are 
indications  that  before  the  year  1868  it  was  lying 
in  the  Library  on  Mount  Sinai.  How  it  was  taken 
from  that  place,  and  what  vicissitudes  it  has 
undei^one,  are  beyond  my  power  to  investigate ; 
but  I  may  refer  your  readers  to  Professor  E.  T. 
Palmer's  narrative  in  the  Desert  of  the  Exodus, 
vol.  i.  p.  70.  I  hope  to  give  all  the  texts  which 
form  its  under-script  in  No.  xL  of  Sfudia  Sinaitica. 

It  is  indeed  surprising  that  a  small  book  of  i6a 
leaves,  each  measuring  19  centimetres  by  la, 
should  contain  such  a  variety  of  subjects:  selec- 
tions from  Athanasius,  Chrysostom,  Theodosius, 
Theodorus,  Mar  Ephraim,  Mar  Isaac,  Mar  Jacob, 
the  apocryphal  story  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  two  speci- 
mens of  Peshitta  Gospels,  two  specimens  of  very 
early  Cordns,  a  private  document,  Syriac  texts  from 
Exodus  and  Isaiah,  a  beautiful  Syriac  hymn,  and 
a  leaf  of  the  Septuagint,  with  variants  from  the 
Hexapla.  The  occurrence  of  Christian  writing  on 
the  top  of  Mohammedan  is  of  itself  sufficiently 
singular.  But  the  chief  lesson  which  it  conveys 
to  me,  as  to  all  other  owners  of  MSS  dating 
between  the  seventh  century  and  the  eleventh, 
is,  that  we  might  try  a  harmless  chemical,  hydro- 
sulphuret  of  ammonia,  by  way  of  experiment,  over 
a  few  of  the  margins  which  appear  to  us  to  be 
perfectly  blank. 

Since  the  above  was  written  I  have  shown  the 
fragment  to  my  friend,  Dr.  Rendel  Harris,  who 
assigns  it  to  the  sixth  century,  or  possibly  to  the 
beginning  of  the  seventh.  If  the  script  is  like 
that  of  Codex  Sinaiticus  it  is  also  like  that  of 
Codex  Bezfc* 


Z^t  (n«»  5rm5  ^cPoof  of  Z^toio^. 

By  the  Rev.  J,  Dick  Fleming,  B.D.,  Tranent. 


In  the  death  of  M.  Auguste  Sabatier  the  new 
Paris  school  of  theolc^y  has  lost  its  chief 
exponent.  If  this  were  the  place  for  personal 
reminiscences,  the  writer  might  speak  with  a  sense 
of  personal  gratitude  of  the  sterling  qualities  of  M. 
Sabatier  as  a  professor  in  the  Protestant  College 


of  the  Boulevard  Arago,  and  of  many  a  theological 
causerie,  in  which  the  professor  became  a  student 
among  his  students  and  with  the  utmost  freedom 
from  professorial  reserve  discussed  Neo-criticism 
or  Ritschlianism,  or  any  other  '  ism '  that  flourished 
at  home  or  abroad.     But  the   main   interest  of 


S8 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


English  readers  must  be  confined  to  his  literary 
work,  and  his  contributions  to  vhat  is  called, 
for  want  of  a  more  pleasing  name,  'Symbolo- 
Fid^isme.' 

One  of  the  latest  critics  of  this  school  of 
theology.  Dr.  G.  Lasch,>  seeks  to  give  an  estimate 
of  its  significance  for  France.  He  considers  that 
the  ground  had  been  prepared  for  it  in  the  general 
movement  of  literature,  as  well  as  of  religious 
thought  The  sceptical  idealism  of  Renan  could 
satisfy  only  an  aristocratic  few ;  the  '  religion  of 
humanity '  based  on  Positivism  had  borne  little 
fruit ;  while  in  literature  there  was  many  an  indi- 
cation of  a  return  to  the  mystical  and  romantic. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  narrow  dogmatism  of 
scholastic  ProtesUntism  had  lost  its  hold.  Such  a 
work  as  that  of  the  school  of  Paris  was  called  for, 
to  revindicate  the  Christian  religion  and  to  restate 
its  doctrine  in  harmony  with  the  intellectual  needs 
of  the  time.  Dr.  Lasch  characterizes  Sabatier's 
Esfuisse  ifune  Philosophie  dt  la  Religion  as  an 
epoch-making  apologetic  contribution,  and  con- 
fidently predicts  of  the  whole  movement  that,  as 
it  unites  strict  scientific  method  with  religious 
fervour,  it  will  prove  fruitful  in  evangelic 
preaching,  no  less  than  in  the  development  of 
French  theology. 

In  his  critical  exposition  of  this  theology,  Lasch 
has  properly  confined  himself  to  a  study  of  the 
two  works,  Sabatier's  Esquisu  and  M^n^goz's 
Pu&lUations  diverses.  Sabatier's  work  furnishes  us 
with  the  philosophy  and  general  theological  prin- 
ciples ;  M^n^goz's  book  deals,  unfortunately  only 
in  a  fragmentary  way,  with  particular  dogmatic 
questions.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  M.  M^n^goz, 
who  has  proved  an  acute  and  original  thinker, 
may  yet  give  us  a  complete  and  systematic  pre- 
sentation of  Christian  doctrine  from  the  sUnd- 
point  of  the  new  school  This  would  be  the 
best  answer  to  the  charge  repeatedly  made,  though 
strenuously  denied,  that  Christian  beliefs  are 
reduced  by  this  school  to  matters  of  indifference, 
and  that  faith  is  treated  as  quite  independent  of 
them. 

The  theoretic  basis  is  furnished  by  Sabatier; 
and,  accordingly,  Lasch  devotes  himself  to  a 
thorough  exposition  of  the  Esgwsse,  allowing 
himself  a  more  logical  arrangement  of  the  material. 
Sabatier  has  treated  his  subject  under  the  three 

'  Die  Tkialagie  dtr  Pariier  SchuU,  Von  Lie.  Dr.  Gustav 
Lasch.     WiUUnis&  Norgate.     Price  M.1.80. 


heads:  (1)  Religion,  {:)  Christianity,  (3)  Dogma; 
but,  strangely  enough,  relegates  to  the  end  his 
theory  of  knowledge  and  his  doctrine  of  symbolism. 
Lasch  adopts  a  more  scientific  arrangement,  and 
places  in  the  foreground  the  fundamental  theoretic 
principles,  as  governing  and  throwing  light  upon 
Sabatier's  view  of  the  origin  and  nature  of  re- 
ligion. 

Sabatier's  theory  of  knowledge  is  a  modified 
Kantianism.  He  accepts  the  distinction  of  the 
two  inseparable  elements— an  &  priori,  furnished 
by  the  necessity  of  thought,  and  therefore,  he 
maintains,  essentially  and  wholly  subjective  ('  the 
principle  of  causality,  for  example,  is  net  in  Ike 
things,  but  in  the  mind');  and  an  d  posteriori, 
furnished  by  experience.  By  the  conjunction  of 
these  two  elements  the  world  of  science  arises,  the 
world  of  phenomena,  where  the  causal  nexus  is 
unbroken,  and  determinism  reigns.  No  doubt  is 
to  be  cast  on  the  reality  of  this  world  of  pheno- 
mena ;  Kant's  '  thing  in  itself '  is  to  be  rejected  as 
meaningless ;  Sabatier  appeals  to  the  discovery  of 
new  planets  proved  to  exist  before  they  became 
actually  visible,  and  to  the  power  that  man  exerts 
upon  nature  by  his  knowledge,  as  proofs  that  the 
world  we  know  is  the  real  world  existing  without 
us.  (Query — Does  not  the  rejection  of  Kant's 
'thing  in  itself  involve  the  rejection  of  the 
analysis  of  knowledge  which  makes  that  sup- 
position necessary?  Lasch  holds  that  the  '  thing 
in  itself  must  be  retained,  and  that  only  by 
retaining  it  is  there  room  left  for  the  postulates  of 
the  moral  consciousness.  Rather  we  should  revise 
an  analysis  which  so  opposes  subject  and  object, 
that  the  object  becomes  unknowable,  and  the 
subject  is  imprisoned  within  the  necessities  of  its 
own  subjectivity).  But  this  phenomenal  yet  real 
world  is  not  the  only  world.  Besides  this  world, 
governed  by  the  enchainment  of  causes  and  effects, 
there  is  the  world  of  self-consciousness,  of  moral 
effort  and  freedom.  The  physical  sciences  deal 
with  the  first  world,  employing  there  the  category 
of  causality,  and  pronouncing  judgments  of  exist- 
ence ;  the  moral  sciences  deal  with  the  second ; 
their  supreme  category  is  'the  good,'  and  the 
judgments  they  pronounce  ate  Judgments  0/  dignity 
and  value,  la  this  world,  where  the  spiritual 
activities  are  supreme  (the  aesthetic  faculty,  con- 
science, religion),  our  knowledge  is  necessarily 
subjective.  Our  judgments  are  judgments  of 
worth,  and  they  make  only  a  limited  and   cir- 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


59 


cumscribed  appeal.  The  good  is  only  revealed 
to  goodness;  beauty  to  those  who  have  the 
aesthetic  sense;  God  to  the  pious  and  pure  in 
heart  And  our  knowledge  is  necessarily  inade- 
quate and  symbolic.  The  creations  of  art  are 
but  symbols;  attempts  to  enclose  the  ideal  in 
the  real,  to  express  the  inexpressible;  they  are 
more  or  less  perfect  according  as  they  convey  not 
exact  ideas,  but  true  spiritual  impressions.  So  the 
language  of  religion  is  symbolic.  Exact  thought 
is  the  province  of  science,  and  of  the  understanding 
working  with  the  things  of  sense  and  space  and 
time.  We  have  no  modes  of  thought  equally 
adequate  to  the  supersensible  world;  the  proper 
Ut^uage  here  is  a  parable. 

Lasch  finds  that  there  is  in  Sabatier's  working 
out  of  these  principles  considerable  exaggeration. 
Value-judgments  and  existential  judgments  need 
not  be  exclusive;  the  judgments  of  religious 
thought  are  judgments  of  existence  no  less  than  of 
worth,  and  we  cannot  accept  the  dictum  that  the 
existential  judgments  of  religion  are  the  product 
of  value-judgments,  or  are  the  outcome  of  mere 
emotion.  Take  one  of  Sabatier's  own  examples. 
*In  presence  of  some  grand  spectacle  of  nature, 
man,  feeling  his  weakness  and  dependence  over 
against  the  mysterious  power  there  revealed, 
trembles  with  fear  and  with  hope.  This  trembling 
ii  the  primitive  religious  emotion.  But  this 
emotion  implies  necessarily  for  thought  a  certain 
relation  between  the  feeling  subject  and  the  object 
that  produced  the  feeling.  Now  this  thought,  once 
awakened,  will  necessarily  express  this  relation  by 
an  intellectual  judgment  ...  he  will  cry  out,  for 
example,  "God  is  great,"  to  mark  the  infinite 
disproportion  between  himself  and  the  universal 
Being  that  makes  him  tremble.'  Here,  then,  we 
have  a  religious  thought,  a  value-judgment.  But 
it  is  not  subjective  in  the  sense  that  it  is  a  mere 
expression  of  pious  emotion,  or  in  the  sense  that 
it  is  a  mere  value- judgment  and  nothing  more. 
The  pious  emotion  does  not  produce  it ;  the 
intellectual  notion  which  Sabatier  himself  declares 
to  be  essentially  different  in  nature,  accompanies 
the  emotion,  but  has  its  own  intellectual  roots. 
Nor  is  this  intellectual  judgment  a  mere  value- 
judgment  ;  it  is  clearly  at  the  same  time  a  judgment 
of  existence,  and  must  have  its  grounds  in  some 
rational  interpretation  of  experience.  But,  further, 
the  symbolic  character  of  religious  judgments  is 
overstated.     It  finds  its  philosophic  basis  in  the 


Kantian  doctrine  that  our  theoretic  knowledge  is 
limited  *to  experience ;  which  Sabatier  interprets 
in  this  sense  that  all  our  conceptions  of  super- 
sensible objects  necessarily  express  themselves  in 
terms  of  sensible,  time,  and  space  experiences,  and 
therefore  inadequately.  The  very  fact,  however, 
that  we  are  conscious  of  the  inadequacy  of  these 
representations  of  the  supersensible  proves  that  we 
have  some  intuition  or  notion  of  the  transcendent 
after  all.  How  then  do  we  come  in  touch  with 
this  supersensible?  According  to  Kant,  we  do 
stand  in  some  intellectual  relation  to  it;  the 
theoretic  reason  yields  us  at  least  the  idea  of 
God,  and  the  practical  reason  enriches  our  con- 
ception, and  guarantees  the  reality  of  it.  Similarly, 
Schleiermacher,  while  denying  the  adequacy  of 
our  conceptions,  or  the  possibility  of  gathering  out 
thoughts  of  the  supreme  unity  into  a  coherent 
whole,  nevertheless  argues  that  the  reality  of  God 
is  a  presupposition  both  of  the  theoretic  and  the 
practical  reason.  Both  the  leader  of  modem 
philosophy,  therefore,  and  the  leader  of  modem 
theology,  maintain  equally  that  we  stand  in  some 
intellectual  touch  with  the  Supreme  Being,  and 
deny  that  we  are  entirely  imprisoned  in  the  images 
and  categories  of  sense- experience.  Even  Ritschl, 
who  abandoned  the  theoretic  proofs  of  God's 
existence,  held  to  the  knowability  of  God  through 
the  practical  reason  and  by  the  help  of  revelation. 
But  Sabatier,  in  presenting  his  doctrine  of  sym- 
bolism, is  strangely  silent  as  to  the  puwer  of  reason 
to  transcend  the  understanding.  It  is  to  him  as 
though  when  the  human  limited  mind  deals  with 
God,  it  deals  with  a  something  it  cannot  really 
handle,  and  overshoots  itself.  It  is  doubtless 
because  of  this  underlying  scepticism  as  to  the 
adequacy  of  our  thoughts  of  God,  that  Sabatier 
prefers,  instead  of  the  more  definite  language  of 
the  Christian  faith,  the  vague  and  mystical 
expressions  {the  'principle  of  our  being,'  ^rUre 
urtiversel')  which  have  brought  upon  symbolism 
the  charge  of  pantheism. 

There  is  then,  according  to  Sabatier,  no  intel- 
lectual bridge  leading  us  to  God.  How  then  do 
we  really  come  into  touch  with  the  Divine  ?  The 
answer  is  given  by  Sabatier  in  his  Theory  of  the 
Origin  of  Religion.  Religion  has  not  its  spring  in 
any  intellectual  need,  or  sense  of  the  infinite, 
releasing  emotions  of  adoration,  but  solely  in  the 
emotions  awakened  by  the  contradictions  of  life. 
We  have  the  sense  of  moral  freedom,  and'  ideals 


6o 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


that  demand  to  be  realized ;  but  there  lies  before 
us  a  world  of  mechanical  law,  opposing  and 
thwarting  us  at  every  step.  From  the  smart  of 
this  conflict  religion  arises,  affording  a  practical 
solution.  The  spiritual  nature  takes  instinctive 
flight  to  the  universal  being,  the  principle  and  end 
of  life ;  and  uniting  itself  with  that  principle  by 
an  act  of  moral  energy,  it  attains  peace  and  is 
strengthened  for  further  conflict.  Religion  is 
thus,  as  Sabatier  admits,  an  example  of  self- 
preservation,  or  spiritual  self-realization  in  the 
presence  of  the  contradictions  of  life.  This 
theory  is  good  so  far  as  it  goes;  but  it  is  not 
comprehensive  enough.  The  struggles  of  life, 
with  the  obstacles  that  lie  without  and  within, 
are  doubtless  an  all-important  factor  in  religion, 
and  in  all  human  progress.  At  different  stages  of 
his  life  man  has  to  struggle  with  nature  for  his 
subsistence ;  he  stands  face  to  face  with  moral 
ideals  unrealized,  with  problems  of  freedom  or 
destiny  he  cannot  solve.  But  to  find  in  this 
struggle  the  origin  of  religion  and  of  the  con- 
sciousness of  God,  is  to  lead  us  bacli  to  the 
theory  of  Feuerbach,  that  God  is  created  by  our 
need.  Sabatier  sets  religion  upon  too  narrow  a 
basis.  The  contradictions  of  life  have  doubtless 
a  large  part  in  the  development  of  religion,  and 
they  are  present  at  the  very  birth  of  it  (when 
indeed  have  they  been  absent?);  but  there  are 
harmonies  in  life,  and  a  moral  order,  which  may 
also  have  some  part  in  leading  us  to  fellowship 
with  the  eternal  Being.  But  the  fact  is  that 
Sabatier  has  closed  every  avenue  to  God  that 
proceeds  by  the  way  of  the  intellect.  The  teason 
has  nothing  to  do  with  the  origin  of  religion ; 
and  though  it  comes  in  later  to  serve  with  its 
poor  symbols  to  express  the  various  phases  of 
the  pious  consciousness,  its  province  is  wholly 
secondary.  This  neglect  of  the  intellectual 
factor  avenges  itself  in  the  vague  and  shadowy 
God  that  Sabatier  describes ;  and  while  it  enables 
him  to  look  with  philosophic  sympathy  on  all 
the  religions  that  have  traversed  the  stage  of 
history,  its  effect  must  surely  be  to  weaken  the 
vision  to  the  great  variety  of  content,  the  light 
and  shade,  the  height  and  depth  of  religious  ex- 
perience. 

For  the  particular  dogmatics  of  this  school,  we 
have  to  turn  to  the  various  contributions  furnished 
by  M.  M^n^goz  in  his  Publiea lions  diverses. 
Except  for  the  fact  that  the  doctrine  of  symbolism 


encourages  a  free  criticism  of  Church  doctrine,  the 
modifications  of  doctrine  proposed  by  M^n^goa — 
as  to  the  Trinity  or  Eschatology,  for  example — 
do  not  remind  us  of  the  distinctive  princifJes  of 
symbolism  or  fid^isme  ;  they  form  an  independent 
contribution  on  the  lines  of  a  liberal  theology,  and 
stand  or  fall  on  their  own  merits.  But  the  fid^ist 
doctrine  on  which  Men^goz  lays  special  emphasis, 
viz.  that  a  man  is  justified  by  faith,  apart  from 
his  beliefs,  carries  with  it  the  same  undervaluing  of 
the  Intellectual  factor  in  religion,  as  may  be 
chained  against  the  philosophy  of  Sabatier.  It 
would  be  quite  unwanantable  to  condemn  the 
theory  on  the  ground  that  it  makes  faith  independ- 
ent of  belief;  for  M^n^goz  recognizes  that  faith 
is  never  found  alone,  that  it  lies  embedded  in 
beliefs  and  doctrines,  and  is  frequently  produced 
by  them.  But  Lasch  rightly  demurs  to  the  view 
expressed  by  M^n^goz  that  a  man  may  be  justified 
by  faith,  even  though  he  has  no  belief  in  Jesus 
Christ,  or  in  the  working  of  the  Spirit,  nay  even 
though  he  has  no  conscious  faith  in  God.  Is  not 
faith  in  danger  of  being  evacuated  of  all  content, 
when  such  beliefs  are  wanting?  M^n^oz's 
formula  and  his  logical  deduction  from  it  are  both 
attractive  to  a  generous  mind.  If  they  only  mean 
that  God  is  gracious  to  every  one  that  turns  his 
heart  Godward,  or  at  least  in  the  direction  of 
what  is  good,  what  Christian  could  deny  it?  In 
every  upward  turning  of  the  heart  God  is 
graciously  present,  making  His  goodness  and  for- 
giveness felt  in  greater  or  less  degree ;  is  not  such 
a  movement  of  the  heart  God's  own  movement 
and  gracious  work  therein?  Let  it  be  allowed 
that  every  movement  of  the  soul  in  the  nobler 
direction  is  blessed  of  God.  But  there  is  faith 
and  faith ;  there  is  grace  and  grace.  There  is  the 
faith  of  the  poor  heathen  which  is  embedded  in 
error;  and  the  faith  of  the  Christian  solidified  by 
truth.  And  God  meets  each  heart  with  the  grace 
it  is  capable  of  receiving ;  giving  to  the  one  gleams 
of  His  mercy  like  rifts  of  glory  through  the  clouds; 
giving  to  the  other  fuller  supplies  and  a  more 
abundant  assurance.  In  short,  we  cannot  ignore 
the  intellectual  element  in  faith,  or  minimise  it  at 
the  expense  of  religious  emotionS  and  volitions. 
We  can  only  accept  the  fid^ist  doctrine  of  faith 
apart  from  beliefs,  if  we  are  permitted  to  modify 
it  so, — that  a  man  Is  justified  by  faith  independ- 
ently of  all  \i^\Kkt  exceft  su^  as  faith  itself 
involves.  O 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


These  criticisms  run  more  or  less  on  the  lines 
suggested  by  Lasch's  detailed  critical  remarks. 
The  exposition  given  in  that  work  is  thorough 
and  clear;   but  the  running  criticisms,  and  the 


remarks  at  the  close  as  to  the  relation  in  which 
this  school  stands  to  Schleiermacher,  Riischl, 
Lipsius,  and  others,  are  too  brief  and  disconnected 
to  be  of  great  value. 


THE    GREAT  TEXTS   OF   HEBREWS. 


HeHREWS  Xlt.    2. 

•  Looking  unto  Jeaiu  the  author  knd  perfecter  of  our 
faith,  who  for  the  joy  that  was  set  before  Him  endured 
the  cross,  despising;  shame,  and  hath  sat  down  at  the 
light  hand  of  the  throne  of  God '  (R.V.) 

Exposition. 

'Looking  unto  Jesus.' — It  is  not  possible  to  express  io 
English  the  thought  su^esled  by  the  Greek  verb  aphoToale!, 
which  implies  that  we  must  '  look  away  (from  other  things) 
unto  Jesus.'  It  implies  'the  coneentration  of  the  wandering 
gaie  into  a  lirgle  direction.' — Farrar. 

'The  author  and  perfecter  of  our  faith.'— The  'iaith' 
oC  which  the  apostle  speaks  is  faith  in  its  absolote  type,  of 
which  he  has  traced  the  action  under  the  Old  Covenant. 
The  particular  interpretations,  by  which  it  is  refetted  to  the 
faith  of  each  individual  Christian,  as  finding  its  beginning 
and  final  development  in  Christ ;  or  Io  the  substance  of  the 
Christian  Creed  ;  are  foreign  to  the  whole  scope  of  the 
passage,  which  is  to  show  that  in  Jesus  Christ  Himself  we 
have  the  perfect  example— perfect  in  realiiation  and  in 
eHecl — of  that  railh  which  we  are  to  imitate,  tnisling 
in  Him.  He  too  looked  through  the  present  and  the 
visible  to  the  future  and  the  unseen.  In  His  human 
nature  He  exhibiteil  Faith  in  its  tiigheBt  form,  from  first 
to  UsI,  and  placing  Himself  as  it  were  at  the  head  of  the 
great  army  of  heroes  of  Faith,  He  carried  faith,  the 


of  their  strength,  to  its  moi 
loftiest  triumph. — Westcoi 
'Who  for  the  joy  that 
the  cross.'- The  joy  that  n 
as  an  equivalent  (and  mo 
sufferings  which  He  endured 
of  redempl 


M  set  before  Him  endured 

set  before  Him  was  accepted 

than  an  equiralent)  for  the 

The  joy  was  (hat  of  the  work 

iplished   through   self-sacrifice.     The 

of   the  cross,   a  death  at  once  most 


painful  and  most  humiliating.— WestcOtt. 

'  Despising  shame.'— Disdaining  to  shrink  from  any 
kind  of  shame,  even  that  of  being  treated  as  a  slave,  a  rebel, 
a  blasphemer. — Dklitzsch. 

*  Hath  sat  down  at  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of 

God.' — The  contrast  of  tenses  is  significant,  //e  tndurtd 
.  .  .  and  kalk  sat  doom.  The  fact  of  suffering  is  wholly 
pait,  but  the  issue  of  it  abides  for  evermore.— Wbstcott. 

Thk  meaning  is  not  that  our  Lord's  throne  is  placed  at 
the  right  baud  of  the  throne  of  Cod,  but  that  >Ie  sits  on  Ihe 
right  hand  (of  God,  and  with  God)  on  the  lame  throne. — 
Delitzscm. 


Methods  of  Treatment. 
Looking  unto  Jesus. 

By  Iht  Rev.  Henry  JHonlagu  Btitltr,  D.D. 

The  eye  sees  what  it  brings  the  power  of  seeing. 
The  star  is  one  thing  to  the  child,  another  to  the 
mariner,  another  to  the  astronomer.  What  is  the 
sight  of  Jesus  on  the  cross  to  us  ? 

t.  One  thing  all  mujt  see — innocence.  It  was 
not  an  execution  but  a  martyrdom.  It  was  one  of 
those  moments  known  both  to  the  heart  and  to 
history  when  evil  seems  good,  and  good  evil ;  when 
bigotry,  jealousy,  pride,  envy,  eic.  combine  to  rouse 
the  mob-passions  always  in  wait  for  the  hour  and 
the  man.  Pilate's  act  is  a  present  parable.  If 
these  mob-passions  rise  in  us,  and  we  are  tempted 
to  cry  with  the  crowd  against  some  person  or 
cause,  '  Crucify,  crucify ! '  let  us  look  to  Jesus,  and 
remember  that  this  was  part  of  the  'shame'  which 
He  'despised,'  while  He  still  loved  them  who 
shamed  Him. 

2.  We  see  not  only  a  righteous  man.  It  is  He 
who,  the  night  before,  said,  '  I  have  overcome  the 
world.'  Can  we  see  in  Him  the  Conqueror  of  the 
world  ?  Do  we  not  see  here  the  victory  of  good- 
ness over  evil  by  suffering  ?  We  are  often  depressed 
by  the  power  of  evil  in  the  world,  even  in  Christian 
ages.  If  Christ  has  overcome  the  world,  why  this 
flood  of  pollution  ?  We  cannot  answer ;  but  if  we 
'consider'  Him  who  fought  with  evil  even  unto 
death,  we  may  learn  to  win  Christian  triumphs,  if 
not  to  solve  Christian  mysteries.  How  did  He 
confront  evil?  He  did  not  shun  it,  nor  rage 
against  it,  nor  palliate  it.  He  tracked  it  to  its 
root,  and  then  died  for  it.  And  as  we  look  to 
Him  we  learn  that  evil  can  be  conquered  no  other 
way.  We  must  suffer  and  die  for  it  Those  who 
can  say,  in  any  measure,  'I  have  overcome  the 
world,'  are  those  who,  like  Christ,  have  made  evil 


63 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


their  own  'yet  without  sio';  have  home,  for  its 
sake,  shame  and  death,  'looking  to  Jesus.' 

3.  Those  who  have  seen  so  much  have  seen 
more,  —  the  evil  in  themselves.  Only  sinners 
understand  the  Cross.  To  their  conscience  He 
who  hangs  there  is  the  Lamb  of  God,  who  taketh 
away  the  sin  of  the  world.  This  the  eye  of  the 
Christian  brings  the  power  of  seeing.  It  looks  to 
Jesus  and  sees  the  Atoner  for  sin.  The  docirine 
of  the  Atonement  is  full  of  intellectual  difficulty. 
Scarcely  one  in  a  generation  can  state  it  in  a 
way  his  contemporaries  can  approve.  Bui  what 
theory  cannot  do,  the  sight  of  Jesus  on  the  Cross 
can  do.  It  reveals  the  heart  to  itself  and  assures 
it  of  God's  love.  Such  love  and  pity  and  righteous- 
ness cannot  be  in  vain.  The  Holy  One  is  made 
sin  that  we  may  become  righteousness.  \Ve  cannot 
construct  a  flawless  theory  of  the  Atonement  from 
these  words,  but  we  can  feel,  as  we  look  to  Jesus, 
our  burthen  of  sin  fall  off  our  back. 

4.  Wc  see  not  only  His  suffering  but  His  joy. 
This  joy  had  a  place  in  the  word  '  It  is  finished.' 
He  had  conquered  evil  and  set  up  once  for  all  a 
standard  of  what  was  highest  in  God's  sight,  the 
daily  sacrifice  of  the  will  till  it  becomes  one  with 
God's.  From  this  height  He  would  draw  to  Him- 
self all  the  best  impulses  of  His  own,  and  His 
healing  power  would  finally  put  away  sin,  and 
leave  man  at  peace  with  God.  This  joy  nothing 
could  lake  from  Him,  and  it  is  the  joy  of  all 
His  servants,  who  even  before  death,  and  much 
more  after,  see  of  the  travail  of  their  souls. 


II. 
The  Commander's  Conflict  and  Triumph. 
By  the  Rev.  Alexander  Maclarca,  D.D. 
Our  Lord  is  (i)  the  Leader  of  the  army  of  the 
faithful,  and(z)  the  perfecter  of  their  faith.     The 
objects  of  contemplation  which  will  assist  Chris- 
tians in   running   their  race  are    (i)   the   Com- 
mander's conflict  and  our  share  in  it;  {2)  His 
triumph  and  our  share  in  that. 

I.  The  Conflict. — There  arc  three  points  given  : 
the  motive  of  His  sufferings ;  these  sufferings  as 
an  instance  of  patient  endurance ;  the  shame  of  His 
death  as  revealing  His  scorn  of  hindrances.  Each 
is  a  pattern  for  us.  (i)  Our  Lord's  whole  life  was 
influenced  by  realizing  by  faith  an  unseen  reward, 
he  joy  of  sitting  at  God's  right  hand.     His  motive 


is  generally  traced  to  obedience  to  God  or  love 
to  man.  There  is  no  contradiction.  We  must 
combine  all.  Each  is  a  strand  in  the  golden  cord 
which  bound  our  Sacrifice  to  the  horns  of  the 
altar.  It  seems  to  introduce  an  element  of  self- 
seeking;  but  His  exaltation,  like  His  humiliation, 
is  for  our  sakes,  that  He  may  complete  His  work. 
Like  Him  we  must  subordinate  the  present  to  the 
future  issue  discerned  by  faith,  (a)  He  is  the 
pattern  of  heroic  endurance.  He  not  only  endured 
the  pain,  but  stood  steadfast  under  it,  not  only  on 
the  cross,  but  during  His  whole  life,  with  unflinch- 
ing determination.  Such  endurance  must  be  ours. 
Life  is  not  a  garden  but  a  wrestling-ground,  and  to 
make  an  arena  for  wrestlers  the  turf  and  daisies 
must  be  taken  away  and  the  soil  beaten  flat. 
Every  Christian  must  carry  a  cross  and  be  fastened 
to  it,  (3)  Contempt  of  obstacles.  There  are 
difhculties  in  our  lives  which  will  be  big  or  little  as 
we  look  at  them.  Most  of  them  are  only  white 
sheets  with  a  rustic  boor  behind,  like  village 
ghosts.  Go  up  to  them,  and  they  become  small. 
Despise  the  shame,  and  it  disappears. 

2.  The  Triumph. — The  new  thing  which  accrued 
from  Christ's  Incarnation  was  that  His  humanity 
was  lifted  up  to  participate  in  Divinity.  Rest, 
Dominion,  Judgment  are  the  prerogatives  which 
the  Man  Jesus  won  by  His  Passion  and  Sacrifice. 
This  is  a  revelation  and  a  prophecy  for  us.  We 
have  no  knowledge  of  another  world  apart  from 
His  Resurrection  and  Ascension.  In  His  exaltation 
we  learn  what  is  possible  for  us.  He  is  the  type 
of  what  God  means  us  to  be,  and  the  measure  of 
what  we  may  hope  to  become.  And  His  triumph 
has  powers  to  fulfil  its  own  prophecy.  The  ending 
of  the  work  on  the  Cross  was  the  beginning  of 
another  form  of  work  for  us  which  will  never  cease 
till  the  world  has  yielded  to  His  love.  He  beholds 
and  helps  our  conflict ;  He  makes  intercession  for 
us  as  our  great  High  Priest;  He  has  gone  to 
prepare  a  place  for  us.  More,  if  we  are  joined  to 
Him  by  faith,  so  real  is  the  union  that  we  are 
glorified  with  our  Head  and  partake  in  His  victory, 
receive  grace  and  blessing  from  Him,  and  are 
brought  at  last  to  share  His  throne. 

Illustratioms. 


It  takes  >  very  strenuous  cfTorl  to  biing  the  unseen  Chtisl 
liefore  tlie  miod  babilualljr,  and  so  ss  to  produce  effects  in 
the  life.  Von  have  to  shut  out  agreat  deal  betides  in  order 
to  do  ttwl ;  as  a  nan  will  shade  his  eyes  with  bis  hand  in 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


order  to  see  some  distant  thing  the  more  dearly.  Keep  out 
the  crosS'lighls  that  you  may  look  TorHard.     You  cannot  see 

the  tt>rs  when  you  are  walking  down  a  town  street  and  the 
gu-lamps  are  111.  AH  thoae  violet  depths  and  calm  Abysses 
and  blazing  vorlds  are  concealed  from  you  by  the  glare  at 
your  side — sulphurous  and  siioking.  So,  my  brother,  if  yon 
want  to  see  onto  the  depths  and  heights,  lo  see  the  Great 
While  Throne  and  the  Christ  on  it  who  helps  you  to  fight, 
you  have  to  go  out  unto  Him  beyond  the  camp,  and  leave  all 
its  dauling  lights  behind  you. — A.  Mac  la  ken. 

Many  young  Christians  are  kept  weak  for  a  very  long  time 
through  watching  their  own  frames  and  feelings.  If  you 
read  the  diaries  kept  by  young  Christians,  you  will  find  the 
entries  are  usually  of  this  kind :  '  Very  cold  to-diy ;  little 
enjoyment  in  prayer.'  'Faith  is  very  feeble  ;  I  cannot  lay 
hold  of  a  Saviour  for  me.'  'Felt  some  kindlings  of  heart 
to-day  in  reading  the  words  of  Jesus.'  The  almost  exclusive 
reference  is  to  the  emotions,  aflections,  and  desires  of  the 
heart.  All  is  concerned  with  the  element  of  feeling  lo  the 
great  neglect  of  knowing  and  doing.  And  it  is  often  only 
through  a  great  struggle  that  a  soul  frees  itself  from  this 
hindering  peculiarily,  and  learns  to  grow  and  thrive  by 
looking  away  from  self — 'looking  off  unto  Jesus.' — 
R.  Tuck.  

Could  an  emmet  piy  into  itself,  it  might  marvel  at  its 

own  anatomy  i 
But  let  it  look  on  eagles  to  discern  how  mean  a  thing 


Nothing  great  reveals  iiselftoahasty  glance.  No  great 
book  can  be  read  by  snatches.  No  great  picture  can  be 
understood  or  felt  by  the  man  who  runs  through  a  gallery 
and  looks  at  a  hundred  in  half  an  hour.  The  secrets  of  no 
fair  landscape  will  impart  themselves  to  the  hasty  tripper 
who  casts  a  lack-lustre  gaze  for  a  minute  over  it.  This 
modem  life  of  ours,  with  its  hurry  and  its  bustle,  about 
which  so  many  people  are  so  proud,  is  fatal,  unless  we 
exercise  continual  watchfulness  over  ourselves,  to  all  deep 
and  noble  things.  The  most  of  us  spend  our  lives  as  some 
amateur  photographers  do  their  days,  in  taking  snapshots  ; 
and,  of  course,  the  mystery  and  the  beauty  and  the  secret 
and  the  power  escape  us.  Sit  down  and  let  the  loveliness 
soak  into  you,  if  you  want  to  understand  the  fairest  scenes 
of  Nature.  Sit  down  in  front  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  lake  your 
time,  and  as  you  look  you  will  learn  that  which  no  hasly 
glance,  no  couple  of  minutes  in  the  morning  before  you  go 
to  work,  no  still  more  abbreviated  and  drowsy  moments  at 
night  before  you  go  to  sleep  will  ever  reveal  to  you.^ 
A.  Maclaren.  

A  LADV  had  a  dream,  in  which  she  fancied  herself  at  the 
bottom  of  a  deep  pit.  She  looked  round  to  see  if  there  was 
any  way  of  getting  out ;  but  in  vain.  Presently,  looking 
upward,  she  saw  in  that  part  of  the  heavens  immediately 
above  the  mouth  of  the  pit  a  beautiful  slai.  Steadily  gating 
at  it,  she  felt  herself  to  be  gradually  lifted  upwards.  She 
looked  down  to  ascertain  how  it  was,  and  immediately  found 
herself  at  the  bottom  of  the  pit.  Again  her  eye  caught  sight 
of  the  star,  and  again  she  felt  berself  ascending.     She  bad 


^3 

reached  a  considerable  heigbt  Still  desirous  of  an  eiplana- 
tion  of  so  strange  a  phenomenon,  she  turned  her  eye  down- 
ward, and  fell  to  the  bottom  with  fearful  violence.  On 
recovering  from  the  effect  of  the  shock,  she  bethought 
herself  as  to  the  meaning  of  it  all,  and  once  again  turned 
her  eye  to  the  star,  still  shining  so  brightly  above,  and  once 
again  felt  herself  borne  upward.  Steadily  did  she  keephei 
eye  upon  its  light  till, -at  length,  she  found  herself  out  of 
the  horrible  pit  and  her  feet  safely  planted  on  the  solid 
ground  above.  It  taught  her  the  lesson  that  in  the  hour  of 
danger  and  trouble  deliverance  ii  to  be  found,  and  found 
only,  by  looking  to  Jesus.— T.  Guthrie. 

Looking  unto  Jesus, 

Henling  I  shall  find 
For  the  broken  spirit. 

And  the  bruised  mind — 
Yet  I  gaie  on  daily, 

Till  my  eyes  grow  dim, 
Looking  unto  any 

Rather  than  to  Him  ! 

Looking  unto  Jesus, 

I  shall  learn  the  road 
That  the  soul  must  travel 

Going  home  to  God^ 
Yet  I  lag  and  linger. 

Till  I  scarce  can  see 
My  guide  and  sweet  companion 

Beckoning  to  me  I 

Looking  unto  Jesus, 

I  behold  the  heights 
Gleaming  in  the  glory 

Of  Love's  undying  lights — 
Yet  my  heart  unmoved 

Cares  not  to  aspire, 
Nor  for  all  their  splendour 

Would  be  any  higher ! 

What  is  it  that  ails  me? 

Why  am  I  so  dead 
That  looking  unto  Jesus 

Lifts  not  up  my  head  ? 
And  my  heart  so  wanders. 

Him,   its  fount  of  gladness? 
Jesus,  look  on  me.— \V.  C.  Smith. 

Sermons  for  Reference. 

Aichison  0-),  Cross  of  Christ,  27. 

Buckler  (H.  R.).  Perfection  of  Man  by  Charity,  347, 

Butler  (O.),  Cheltenham  College  Sermons,  75. 

,,      (H.  M.),  Univer»ty  Sermons,  30. 
Brooke  (S.  A.),  Short  Sermons,  166,  173. 

,,  „        Unity  of  God  and  Man,  &l. 

Church  (R.  W.J,  Village  Sermons,  ii.  346. 
Cooper  (S.),  Fifiy-two  Family  Sermons,  aSi.-  .     .         I 
EastOD  (T.),  A  Year's  Ministry,  iSi.  *^iOOQIC 

Fartar  (F.)>  In  the  Days  of  thy  Youth,  275.  ^ 


64 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Fiuer  (J.).  Parochial  Sermons,  49. 

Mall  (C.  C),  Gospel  of  the  Divine  SacriRce,  IiS. 

Hamilton  (J.).  Faith  in  God,  261. 

Harper  (F,),  A  Year  with  Christ,  38. 

Jeffrey  (G.),  Believer's  Privileees,  231. 

Laing  (F.  A.).  Simple  Bible  Lessons  for  IJttle  Childrei 

LAwlo'r(H.  J.),  Thoughts  on  Belief  and  Life,  136. 

Maclaren  {A.),  Christ  in  the  Heart,  77,  91. 

,,  „      The  Victor's  Crowns,  93. 

Maurice  (F.  D.),  Lincoln's  Inn  Sermons,  i.  63. 
Miller  (W.),  Vision  of  Christ.  56. 
Newman  (J.  II.),  Parochial  Sermons,  ii.  163. 
Norton  (J.  N.),  Short  Sermons,  36. 
Parker  (J.),  City  Temple  Pulpit,  W.  146. 
Pear5e(M.G.),  Gospel  for  the  Day,  18. 

,,      Short  Talks  tor  the  Tiroes,  130. 


Perren  (C),  ReTival  Sermons,  330. 

Price  (A.  C.),  Fifty  Sermons,  vi.  J09,  vii.  33, 

„         ,,         Flowers  and  Bible  Trees,  t. 
Salmon  {G.),  Gnosticism  and  Agnosticism,  174, 
Simpson  (M.),  Sermons,  405. 
Spai^ieon  (C.  H.),  Facsimile  Pulpit  Note*.  No.  m 

„  ,,        The  Messiah,  663. 

Temple  (F.),  Rughy  Sermons,  ii.  24. 
Torolins<R.},  Sermons,  131. 
Troup  (G.  E.),  Words  to  Voung  Christians,  333. 
Wells  (J.),  Bible  Images,  185. 
Cliri<al  Library,  Three  Hundred  Outlines,  230. 

„  ,,        New  Outlines,  263. 

Sermoni/ar  the  Seasons  (Advent  lo  Lent),  397. 

„      fer  Boys  and  Girls,  155. 
Studies  for  the  Piilfit.  i.  457,  505. 


^iutii   (giBficaf  ©rcjaeofogg. 


Bv  A.  H.  Savce,  LL.D.,  D.C.L.,  Professor  of  Assvrio 


PGv,  Oxford. 


Ur  of  the  Chaldees. 
Ever  since  the  decipherment  of  the  Assyrian  in- 
scriptions made  it  clear  that  the  biblical  Kasdim 
and  the  classical  Chaldtei  were  of  different  origin, 
various  attempts  have  been  made  to  explain  the 
Hebrew  name,  but  thus  far  with  little  success. 
The  classical  name  presented  no  difficulty ;  the 
Chaldfeans  are  the  Kalda  of  the  monuments,  who 
inhabited  the  marshes  at  the  mouths  of  the  Tigris 
and  Euphrates.  It  was  not  until  Merodach- 
baladan  possessed  himself  of  Babylon  that  they 
came  to  form  an  important  element  in  the  Baby- 
lonian population  and  eventually  to  become 
synonymous  with  it ;  before  that  period  they  were 
but  one  of  the  many  West  Semitic  tribes,  like  the 
Puqudu  or  Pekod,  who  were  settled  on  the  fringe 
of  the  Babylonian  kingdom.  Winckler  and  De- 
lattre  have  supposed  that  Nebuchadrezzar  11. 
belonged  to  them;  it  may  be  so,  but  at  present 
there  is  no  proof  that  such  was  the  case. 

But  while  the  name  of  the  Chaldasans  recurs  in 
the  inscriptions,  that  of  the  Kasdim  is  unknown 
to  them.  And  it  is  first  met  with  in  Scripture, 
not  as  a  title  of  Babylonia,  much  less  of  the 
district  inhabited  by  the  Kaldd,  but  as  an  epithet 
of  the  city  of  Ur,  which  stood  on  the  west  side  of 
the  Euphrates,  outside  the  limits  of  Babylonia 
proper.  The  fact  has  been  first  pointed  out  by 
Professor  Hommel  with   his  customary  acumen. 


The  epithet  is  thus  applied,  in  the  Book  of  Genesis, 
not  to  the  alluvial  plain  of  Babylonia, — the  land  of 
Eden  of  the  monuments  and  of  the  second  chapter 
of  Genesis, — but  to  the  region  west  of  the  Euph- 
rates, the  native  home  of  the  Bedawin  and  West 
Semitic  tribes.  The  Bediwin  were  known  to  both 
Babylonians  and  Egyptians  as  the  'Sutu,  or  'child- 
ren of  Sheth'  (Nu  24"') 

These  West  Semitic  tribes,  in  so  far  as  they 
occupied  Mesopotamia  and  Northern  Arabia,  are 
the  Aramieans  of  later  history.  We  must,  how- 
ever, remember  that  the  Aramieans  are  not  neces- 
sarily those  who  spoke  Aramaic  dialects.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  these  latter  dialects  originated  in 
the  contact  of  Arabic  with  that  West  Semitic  lan- 
guage which  may  be  called  Canaanitish  or  even 
Hebrew,  at  a  much  later  date  than  the  time  when 
the  Assyrians  and  their  neighbours  first  spoke  of 
the  AramQ  or  Aramxans.  '  Aramaean '  is  a  tribal 
or  territorial  term,  not  a  linguistic  one,  .and  as 
such  it  is  used  in  the  O.T.  (e.g.  Dt  16*). 

Now  the  western  bank  of  the  Euphrates  on 
which  Ur  was  situated  lay  within  the  territory  not 
only  of  the  'Sutu  or  BedSwin,  but  also  of  the 
Aramsans.  Ur,  indeed,  was  closely  connected  with 
Harran,  the  leading  city  of  Mesopotamia.  The 
two  cities  were  the  seats  of  the  worship  of  the  moon- 
god,  around  whose  sanctuaries  they  had  grown  up. 
And  it  is  therefore  significant  that  according  to 
Gn  23^^,  Chesed  was  the  son  of  Nahor  of  Harran, 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


'S 


the  brother  of  Uz  and  Hazo,  and  the  uncle  of 
Aram  and  Laban.  In  other  words,  he  was  an 
Aramiean  of  Mesopotamia. 

In  the  Kasdim  or  descendants  of  Chesed  we 
must  therefore  sec,  not  the  Babylonians,  but  those 
West  Semitic  tribes  whose  home  was  on  the 
western  side  of  the  Euphrates  and  whose  form  of 
Semitic  speech  extended  from  Canaan  to  Southern 
Arabia.  In  a  former  article  I  have  proposed  to 
call  the  dialects  they  used  Hebraic,  and  perhaps 
the  same  term  might  be  extended  to  them  in  a 
racial  sense.  At  all  events  it  is  important  to 
remember  that  they  occupied  South-Eastem  Arabia 
as  well  as  the  lowlands  to  the  north-east  of  Baby- 
lonia, and  that  the  Assyrians  were  of  the  same 
blood,  though  they  had  adopted  the  Babylonian 
language. 

Under  the  dynasty  to  which  Khammurabi  or 
Amraphel  belonged  the  West  Semites  conquered 
Babylonia,  or  at  any  rate  imposed  upon  it  a  line  of 
kings.  Hebraic  proper  names  occur  plentifully  in 
the  contracts  of  the  period ;  at  a  later  date  most 
of  them  disappear.  It  is  only  in  the  time  of  Kham- 
murabi's  dynasty  that  we  find  names  like  Jacob-el, 
Joseph-el  or  Joel  (Vahum-ilu).  This  therefore 
must  have  been  the  time  when  the  Kasdim  crossed 
the  Euphrates  and  established  themselves  in  Baby- 
lonia; in  the  age  of  Abraham  Ur  was  still  Ur  of 
the  Kasdim  in  contradistinction  to  the  other 
great  cities  of  Babylonia  which  were  purely  Baby- 
lonian ;  but  the  Kasdim  had  already  planted 
themselves  in  the  Babylonian  plain,  and  it  was 
not  long  before  they  gave  a  name  to  it  among 
their  West  Semitic  neighbours.  Not  long  after 
Abraham's  migration  Khammurabi  united  Baby- 
lonia under  a  single  Kasdim  sovereign  and  made 
Babylon  for  the  first  tftne  the  capital  of  the 
country.  Just  as  Merodach-bala dan's  possession 
of  Babylon  in  later  days  caused  '  Chaldsean '  and 
'  Babylonian '  to  become  synonymous,  so  the  rise 
of  Khammurabi's  empire  made  Kasdim  and  Baby- 
lonian synonymous  among  the  Semites  of  the  West. 

It  is  noteworthy  that  in  the  tenth  chapter  of 
Genesis  Babylonia  is  not  mentioned  among  the 
sons  of  Shem.  Hitherto  it  has  been  supposed 
that  it  is  meant  by  Arphaxad,  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  in  I  fi-  Arphaxad  is  the  ancestor,  not  of  the 
Babylonians,  but  of  the  Western  Semites.  M.  de 
Morgan's  discoveries  at  Susa  have  now  put  a  new 
complexion  on  the  matter.  They  have  shown 
that  Elara,  the  son  of  Shem,  is  not  the  non-Semitic 


district  of  Anzan,  but  the  district  of  which  Susa 
was  the  capital,  and  which  was  a  province  of 
Semitic  Babylonia.  Before  the  ^e  of  Kham- 
murabi, in  fact,  it  was  as  purely  Semitic  as  Assyria ; 
it  was  only  after  that  period  that  it  passed  into  the 
hands  of  a  non-Semitic  power.  Western  Semites 
or  'Sutu  were  settled  in  the  lowland  parts  of  it, 
and  proper  names  make  it  clear  that  the  kingdom 
of  Khana,  which  lay  to  the  north  of  it,  was  West 
Semitic  also.  The  sons  of  Shem,  accordingly, 
represented  the  Western  Semites,  and  hence  it  is 
that  Samu,  or  Sumu,  the  biblical  Shem,  was  the 
ancestral  god  of  the  dynasty  to  which  Khammurabi 
belonged.  Its  first  king  called  himself  Samu-abi 
'Shem  is  my  father.'  The  Book  of  Genesis  turns 
out  to  be  strictly  accurate  in  its  ethnology:  Elam, 
AsshuT,  Arphaxad,  Nod  (so  I  read  instead  of  Lud), 
and  Aram  all  formed  one  family,  and  traced  their 
decent  from  Shem,  To  the  same  family,  morover, 
belonged  the  tribes  of  Hadramaut  and  South- 
Eastern  Arabia. 

There  was  a  good  reason  for  not  including 
Babylonia  in  the  same  family.  Its  primitive  pop- 
ulation and  culture  were  alike  non-Semitic  The 
Babylonian  language  and  civilization  of  a  later 
day  were  due  to  the  superposition  of  West  Se- 
mitic upon  Sumerian  elements,  and  the  Babylonian 
language — which  we  generally  term  Assyrian — 
remained,  like  modem  English,  a  mixed  language 
to  the  last.  The  fact  is  witnessed  not  only  by  the 
vocabulary,  which  is  full  of  Semitlzed  Sumerian 
words,  but  also  by  the  grammar  with  its  two 
tenses  expressive  of  time,  and  above  all  by  the 
phonology  which  has  suffered  from  the  inability  of 
the  Sumerians  to  pronounce  the  distinctive  sounds 
of  Semitic  speech,  even  more  than  Egyptian  Arabic 
has  suffered  in  the  mouths  of  a  Coptic  population. 
The  ghain  and  'ain,  the  la,  *?tL  and  Aa  are  all 
gone ;  even  the  tsaddi  and  qopn  have  been  con- 
founded with  zain  and  kaph  or  gimei.  Even  if  all 
remains  of  Sumerian  literature  had  perished,  Sem- 
itic Babylonian  would  have  obliged  the  scientific 
philologist  to  postulate  the  existence  of  a  Sumerian 
language. 

I  have  assumed  that  Arphaxad  is  a  representa- 
tive of  the  Western  Semites.  It  has  long  since  been 
recognized  that  the  name  is  a  compound  of  Chesed, 
and  of  all  the  attempts  that  have  been  made  to 
explain  the  first  element  in  it  that  of  Schrader, 
which  connects  it  with  the  Arabic  arfakf  Eth. 
arfel,  'a  wall'  or  'rampart,'  is  the  most  plausible. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


I  believe  that  I  can  now  give  Schrader's  etymology 
its  needed  confirmation.  In  the  recently  published 
Cuneiform  Texts  from  Babylonian  Tablets  in  the 
British  Museum,  xii.  pi.  ii,  11.  21  fT.  kar,  'a  wall' 
Of  '  rampart,'  is  explained  by  arpv,  narrupu,  and 
irrupu.  Whatever  may  be  the  meaning  of  the 
last  two  fonns,  arpu  has  nothing  to  do  with  arSiu, 
'to  destroy,'  and  is,  I  believe,  the  arpAa  of  Ar- 
phaxad.  The  latter  name,  consequently,  will  signify 
'  the  wall  of  Chesed.'  It  will  thus  be  parallel  to 
Kar-Duniyas,  'the  wall  of  the  god  Duniyas' — 
perhaps  a  Kassite  form  of  Dungi, — which  denoted 
Babylonia,  and  Kar-Kassl,  'the  wall  of  the  Kassi,' 
the  name  given  in  later  days  to  the  mountain- 
ous country  to  the  north-west  of  Elam.  Kar- 
Duniyas,  it  may  be  added,  is  probably  the  Median 
Wallof  Xenophon(see  myarticlein  theiViw.  S.B.A., 
February  1897,  p.  75),  Like  the  Shur,  or  'Wall' 
of  Egypt,  which  defended  the  eastern  frontier  of 
Egypt  from  the  Beddwin  of  Asia  (Gn  25^*),  it 
protected  the  settled  inhabitants  of  the  country 
from  the  incursions  of  the  nomad  'Sutu,  Remains 
of  a  similar  wall  still  exist  on  the  eastern  bank  of 
the  Nile ;  they  are  now  rapidly  disappearing,  but 
when  I  first  visited  Egypt  considerable  portions  of 
it  were  still  to  be  found.  The  fellahin  called  it 
Hct  el-'Agflza,  'the  wallof  the  old  woman,' and 
its  construction  was  ascribed  to  the  mythical 
queen  DilUqa. 

As  I  have  pointed  out  in  the  Proceedings  of  the 
Society  of  Biblical  Archaology  (June  1896,  p. 
172),  the  name  of  Kasda  or  Chesed  is  found  in 
the  cuneiform  inscriptions,  where  it  is  applied  both 
to  a  city  and  to  a  district  Its  situation  is  given 
us  in  W.A.I,  iii.  66,  Rev.  16-35,  where  Um 
Kasda-KI,  '  the  mother  of  the  land  of  Chesed,'  is 
included  among  the  deities  of  the  'Sutu.  It  lay, 
therefore,  on  the  western  side  of  the  Euphrates, 
precisely  where  Ur  was  built.     The  name  may  be 


connected  with  the  word  kasdii,  which  is  stated 
in  a  tablet  (81.  3-4,  287)  to  be  the  equivalent  of 
irzitum,  'earth,'  and  qaqqaru,  'ground.'  At  all 
events,  kasdii  is  not  a  purely  Babylonian  word. 

Paran  and  Ha«:ar's  Well. 

The  winter  before  last  I  copied  at  Kamak 
certain  geographical  cartouches  in  the  famous 
inscription  of  Shishak,  which  the  excavations  of  M. 
Legrain  bad  for  the  Arst  time  exposed  to  view. 
Among  them  M.  Legrain  pointed  out  to  me  the 
name  of  I-u-r-d-n,  or  Jordan.  The  last  five  in  the 
list  are  Sh-l-d-d,  R-p-^ia,  L-b-u-n,  'A-n-p-r-n,  and 
H-a-m.  The  last  name  is  evidently  the  Hum  of 
the  list  of  Thoihmes  iii.,  where  it  is  the  last  name 
but  one.  R-p-ha  is  Raphia,  the  modem  boundar} 
between  Egypt  and  Palestine. 

The  name,  however,  which  is  of  most  interest  is 
'A-n-p-r-n.  This  is  evidently  'fin-Paran,  *ihe 
spring  of  Paran,'  and  the  list  shows  that  it  could 
not  have  been  far  from  Raphia.  Now  it  will  be 
remembered  that  Ishmael  is  said  to  have  grown 
up  'in  the ,  wilderness  of  Paran'  (Gn  21-'). 
which  is  presumably  the  same  as 'the  wilderness 
of  Beer-sheba'  (v,'*),  as  it  was  there  that  Hagar 
found  the  spring  which  saved  her  son's  life  (v.*-^ 
It  has  usually  been  assumed  that  the  wilderness 
of  Paran  was  confined  to  the  district  immediately 
westward  of  Mount  Seir,  since  'Mount  Paran' 
was  synonymous  with  '  Mount  Seir '  (Dt  33-, 
Hab  3°),  but  Shishak's  list  shows  that  the  name 
applied  to  the  whole  stretch  of  country  as  far 
as  the  Mediterranean.  Indeed,  it  is  more  than 
possible  that  'the  spring  of  Paran'  is  the  'well 
of  water'  discovered  by  Hagar.  Lebun  is  probably 
the  I^ban  of  Dt  i',  .which  is  associated  with 
Paran.  Laban  has  been  identified  with  the  Lib- 
nah  of  Nu  33-"",  but  this  is  not  probable. 


jyGoot^Ie 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Z^t    ^txvani   of  i^t   Boxi. 

Bv  THE  Rev,  R.  M.  Mofkat,  M.A.j  Frome. 


The  Servant  as  Spokesman  of  God  and  as  Martyr  (Isa.  xlix.  i-9a,  1.  4-9). 


In  chapters  49  and  50  we  have  a  very  important 
group  of  passages  about  the  Servant  of  the  Lord 
which  carries  us  a  double  step  forward  in  our  con- 
ception of  him.  In  the  beginning  of  chapter  42 
we  found  the  servant  represented  as  one  whose 
hand  is  held  in  the  hand  of  God,  in  order  that  he 
may  bring  his  fellows  help  from  above,  and  may 
not  despair  of  being  able  to  save  them.  Because 
of  his  relation  to  God  he  is  characterized  by 
modesty  and  gentleness,  yet  a  gentleness  that 
never  becomes  softness.  '  He  shall  bring  forth 
law  faithfully.'  We  were  at  pains  in  the  last  paper 
to  make  clear  to  ourselves  that  thia  Servant  of 
the  Lord  is  not  an  individual,  but  the  God-fearing 
heart  of  the  nation  through  whom,  under  God,  the 
whole  people  is  to  be  saved,  and  ultimately  the 
heathen  as  well.  We  must  keep  this  fact.of  wAo 
the  servant  is  steadily  in  view  as  we  approach 
other  passages  which  are  descriptive  of  him.  We 
must  not  be  misled  by  metaphors  used  of  him 
which  would  In  modem  England  be  used  only  of 
an  individual,  and  we  roust,  above  all  things, 
adhere  resolutely  to  what  Scripture  says. 

At  the  beginning  of  chapter  49  the  servant 
speaks  r  '  Listen,  0  isles,  unto  me ;  hearken,  ye 
peoples,  from  far.  The  Lord  hath  called  me  from 
the  womb ;  from  the  midst  of  my  mother  hath  He 
made  mention  of  my  name  .  .  .  and  He  said 
unto  me,  Thou  art  My  servant,  Israel,  in  whom  I 
will  be  glorified.'  Yet  not  the  whole  of  Israel,  for 
he  goes  on  1  '  And  now,  saith  the  Lord  who  formed 
me  from  the  womb  to  be  His  servant,  to  bring 
/acod  again  to  Him,  and  that  Israel  be  gathered 
unto  Him,  ...  I  will  also  give  thee  for  a  light  (o 
the  Gentiles,  that  thou  mayest  be  My  salvation 
unto  the  ends  of  the  earth'  (49'"*). 

I  lay  this  great  stress  upon  the  fact  of  the 
servant  being  neither  an  individual  nor  the  whole 
nation,  but  the  pious  kernel  of  the  nation,  because 
the  qualities  and  functions  of  the  servant  which 
are  mentioned  in  chapters  49  and  50  are  really 
the  qualities  and  functions  of  the  devout  Israelites, 
man   by  man,   who,  as  a  body,  constitute  that 


saving  salt  of  the  nation  to  which  the  naroe 
Servant  of  the  Lord  is  given.  The  prophet  inter- 
prets the  collective  task  through  the  personal 
duty. 

Now  let  us  see  what  the  fresh  features  of  the 
servant  are.  They  are  three,  three  thai  are 
almost  inseparable.  He  is  to  express  the  glory  of 
God,  to  be  a  vehicle  of  that  glory  to  men.  He 
is  to  be  a  witness  by  speech,  and  his  witness  will 
pass  into  roartyrdom  by  suffering. 

I.        Jehovah  tmA  unto  me,  My  eervanl  ail  thou  ; 
Israel,  in  whom  I  will  be  gloiitied. 

The  word  rendered  '  be  glorified '  means  to 
'become  visible.'  The  glory  of  God  is  His 
holiness.  His  character,  known  and  recognized. 
But  God  is  Spirit,  pure  Spirit.  If,  then,  His 
character  is  to  be  made  known  to  those  who  do 
not  know  Him,  He  has  need  of  a  human  mediator ; 
and  until  the  Son  of  God  Himself  became  man, 
God  could  be  made  known  to  mankind  only 
through  those  men  who  followed  their  instinct  for 
Him,  who  fett  after  Him  if  haply  they  might  find 
Him,  and  having  found  Him,  dwelt  in  His  fellow- 
ship, their  spirits  with  His.  God  Is  necessary  to 
the  best  in  roan.  He  is  necessary  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  whatever  is  good  in  man. 

If  Thoo  take  Thy  grace  away, 
Nothing  puie  in  man  will  stay, 
All  his  good  is  turned  to  ill. 

And  so  the  Westminster  divines  were  grandly 
right  when  they  put  as  the  first  question  and 
answer  in  their  Catechism — 

What  is  the  chief  end  of  man? 

Man's  chief  end  is  to  glorify  God,  and  to  enjoy  Him 
for  ever. 

That  is  one  of  the  most  inspired  utterances  of 
modern  times,  and  has  had  an  incalculable 
influence  in  moulding  Scottish  character.  Every 
schoolboy  in  Presbyterian  Scotland  learns  as  his 
earliest  lesson  that  'man's  chief  end  is  to  glorify 
God,  and  to  enjoy  Him  for  ever.'    Teach  a  boy  that 


68 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


from  his  childhood,  teach  him  to  know  God  as  bis 
Father,  to  interpret  God  in  his  life  and  make  Him 
visible  to  men,  and  you  have  set  before  him  a 
peimanent  truth  and  a  present  duty,  a  duty,  the 
fulfilment  of  which  wilt  ennoble  him,  and  make  him 
more  Godlike  all  the  days  of  his  bfe.  If,  then,  the 
Church  is  to  be  a  servant  of  the  Lord,  if  we  who 
are  its  members  are  to  contribute  to  make  it  so,  we 
must  see  to  it  that  the  effect  of  our  lives  is  to  bring 
God  near  to  our  fellows.  There  must  be  some- 
thing about  us  that  needs  explaining,  a  humility 
that  is  impressive  in  its  dignity,  the  reverence  of 
him  who  is  aware  that  God  is  always  near,  and 
knows  God  as  a  Friend.  By  nothing  short  of  this 
can  God  be  glorified  in  us.  Philanthropy  is 
good,  but  it  is  not  redemptive;  it  relieves  from 
without,  it  gives  no  hope  of  change  from  within. 
Any  sort  of  material  help  whatsoever  has  reference 
only  to  material  welfare ;  and  what  men  need 
above  all  things  is  that  we  give  them  a  lift,  a 
lifting  up  of  the  heart  towards  God,  God  who 
understands  and  sympathizes,  and  who  alone  can 
provide  for  all  the  needs  of  the  creatures  He  has 
made.  That  which  we  call  charity  is  good  in  its 
place ;  but  if  it  is  to  uplift  men  and  not  pauperize 
them,  it  must  be  backed  up  by  the  love  whose 
beautiful  name  it  has  usurped,  it  must  be  the  ex- 
pression of  love, — love  which  is  the  character  of 
God  that  men  need  to  have  interpreted  and  made 
visible  to  them. 

3.  In  the  second  place,  the  servant  is  not  only 
to  interpret  God  in  his  life;  he  is,  if  I  may  so 
phrase  it,  to  utter  God  with  his  lips  as  well  as  his 
life.  'He  hath  made  my  mouth  like  a  sharp 
sword,  in  the  shadow  of  His  hand  hath  He  hid 
me ;  and  He  hath  made  me  a  polished  shaft,  in 
His  quiver  hath  He  kept  me  close '  (Is  49^). 

'The  Lord  God  hath  given  me  the  tongue  of 
them  that  are  taught,  that  I  should  know  how 
to  sustain  with  words  him  that  is  weary :  He 
wakeneth  morning  by  morning.  He  wakeneth  mine 
ear  to  hear  as  they  that  are  taught.  The  Lord 
God  hath  opened  mine  ear,  and  I  was  not 
rebellious,  neither  turned  away  backward'  (Is 
5o-«). 

In  these  two  passages  the  prophet  evidently 
puts  his  own  experience  into  the  lips  of  the 
servant.  The  words  describe  the  writer.  His 
utterance  is  like  a  sharp  sword,  which  does  its 
work  perfectly,  because   it  has  been  forged  and 


tempered  by  the  hand  of  God  Himself.  His 
speech  is  like  a  pointed  arrow  going  straight  to  the 
mark  through  all  opposition  of  sin  and  pride  and 
faithlessness.  It  has  lain  in  the  quiver  of  God, 
and  at  length  been  taken  forth  and  drawn  by  the 
divine  hand.  Where,  except  in  the  words  of 
Jesus,  can  we  find  a  message  from  God  more 
calculated  to  make  men  penitent  and  trustfiil 
than  in  the  prophecies  of  2  Isaiah  ?  This  is 
speech  that  comes  from  the  tongue  of  the  learner, 
as  the  prophet  so  significantly  says.  If  any  man 
speak  on  behalf  of  God,  he  must  speak  as  the 
oracles  of  God ;  he  roust  have  listened  with  the 
inward  ear  for  what  the  Holy  Teacher  saith ;  that 
and  that  alone  must  he  utter  without  addition  or 
subtraction.  Here  we  have  what  is  practically  a 
definition  of  prophecy  from  one  of  the  greatest  of 
the  prophets.  And  he  represents  this  utterance 
as  an  ideal  towards  which  all  devout  men,  those 
who  are  the  servant  of  the  Lord,  should  aim.  He 
seems  to  say :  '  Would  God  that  all  the  Lord's 
people  were  prophets!'  Let  us  examine  a  little 
more  closely  what  is  required  in  order  to  make  a 
man  the  spokesman  of  God. 

The  first  condition  is  that  silence  shall  precede 
speech.  The  sword  must  be  hidden  in  the 
shadow  of  God's  hand,  the  arrow  lie  in  His  quiver. 
But  this  silence  is  not  Hstlessness.  So  far  from 
that,  'He  wakeneth  morning  by  moming.  He 
wakeneth  mine  ear  to  hear  as  the  learners.'  No 
listlessness  this,  but  punctual  waking  by  the 
heavenly  voice  with  a  view  to  instruction.  Speech 
that  is  to  be  helpful  must  be  the  outcome  of  a  life. 
Behind  the  speech  must  be  the  life  that  is  hid  in 
God,  a  life  which  is  unseen  by  others,  but  not 
unfelt  by  them ;  the  uplifting,  of  which  they  are 
conscious,  is  something  which  they  know  must  be 
traced  back  to  God.  If  we  are  to  succour  the 
weary  with  words,  we  must  not  be  strangers  to  the 
secret  place  of  the  Most  High.  The  silence  in 
which  the  Lord  Jehovah  opens  our  ear  and  gives 
to  us  the  tongue  of  the  learner  must  precede  the 
speech  which  is  to  convey  the  succour  of  God 
to  those  who  are  weary.  And  even  though  our 
words  be  very  few,  yet  we  ourselves  shall  be  so 
full  of  our  experience  of  God,  that  our  bearing  and 
our  lives  will,  as  I  ventured  to  express  it,  utter 
God  even  beyond  what  the  power  of  words  can 
achieve.  Let  us  see  to  it  that  rooming  by  rooming 
our  ears  are  opened  to  the  heavenly  voice.  Some 
of  us  have  not  many  minutes,  it  may  be,  but  let 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


69 


US  make  the  most  of  vhatcver  time  we  have. 
And  if  yoQ  believe  that  a  conversation  every  day 
with  a  good  man  would  be  a  real  help  to  you  in 
resisting  temptation,  and  would  stimulate  you  to 
do  your  best,  what  may  you  not  expect  from  even 
two  minutes  spent  morning  by  morning  in  the 
presence  of  God  listening  to  His  Toice  ? 

But  mark  this,  after  the  silence  must  come  the 
speech. 

I  was  Dot  tebellious, 

Nor  lumed  away  backward. 

The  speech  may  be  in  many  words  or  few  accord- 
ing to  circumstances,  but  there  is  no  man  who  is 
entitled  to  perpetually  hold  his  peace  and  never 
name  the  name  of  God  to  a  single  human 
being. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  servant  as  one  in  whom 
God  is  glorified  and  made  visible,  and  also  as  the 
spokesman  of  God.  From  v.*  onwards  he  is 
described  as  a  martyr.  Martyr  is  a  Greek  word 
spelled  with  English  letters;  but  in  Greek  it 
means  only  witness,  in  English  it  means  one  who 
suffers  because  of  his  witness  to  the  truth.  In  the 
experience  of  the  servant  of  the  Lord,  the  witness 
becomes  the  martyr.  Now  the  Bible  never  blinds 
this  fact,  and  neither  must  the  expositor  of  the 
Bible  nor  anyone  who  means  to  regulate  his  life 
by  the  Bible.  Jeremiah  spoke  of  himself  as  a 
gentle  lamb  led  to  the  slaughter.  2  Isaiah  uses  a 
similar  phrase  of  the  servant  in  chapter  53.  Jesus 
bade  His  disciples  rejoice  and  be  exceeding  glad 
when  they  suffered  for  righteousness'  sake,  'for  so 
persecuted  they  the  prophets  that  were  before 
you.'  Paul  says  that  we  must,  mux/,  through  much 
tribulation  enter  the  kingdom  of  God.  And 
Browning  echoes  these  greater  voices  of  the  past 


when  he  says,  'How  very  hard  it  is  to  be  a 
Christian.' 

Jesus  says  that  if  a  man  will  not  take  up  his 
cross  daily  and  bear  it  after  Him,  he  cannot  be 
His  disciple.  He  says  that '  he  that  endureth  to 
the  end,  the  same  shall  be  saved.'  But  He  says, 
'  I  know  where  thou  dwellest,  even  where  Satan's 
throne  is.'  I  know,  therefore,  all  is  well.  '  Fear 
not,  for  I  am  with  thee.'  If  thou  couldst  have 
served  Me  better  in  another  place,  there  would  I 
have  placed  thee.  Paul,  again,  compares  the 
Christian  life  to  a  warfare.  '  Fight  the  good  fight 
of  the  faith,'  he  said,  and  do  not  be  surprised  or 
discouraged  if  it  feels  like  a  real  fight.  You  were 
never  told  to  expect  anything  else.  But,  thank 
God,  He  knows  all  about  it,  and  is  not  indifferent, 
but  equips  us  in  His  own  armour.  And  so,  when 
His  servant  has  to  endure  hardships,  he  can  con- 
fidently say,  '  The  Lord  God  will  help  me ;  there- 
fore I  have  set  my  face  like  a  flint,  and  I  know 
that  I  shall  not  be  put  to  shame.' 

Savonarola,  a  man  of  noble  family,  gave  up  the 
prospect  of  social  and  political  position  and 
became  a  Dominican  monk.  He  loved  his 
adopted  city  of  Florence  with  a  passion  that  made 
him  labour  by  all  means  for  moral  and  spiritual 
reform.  The  pope  let  him  have  his  way  for  a 
time  until  his  reforms  seemed  likely  to  clash  with 
the  interests  of  Rome ;  and  the  prophet  who  had 
made  the  bonfire  of  vanities  was  himself  burnt  at 
the  stake.  But  it  is  only  he  who  is  ready  to  lose 
his  life  for  Christ's  sake  that  can  truly  save  it. 

'  If  any  man  love  the  world,  the  love  of  the 
Father  is  not  in  him.  And  the  world  passeth 
away  and  the  lust  thereof;  but  he  that  doeth  the 
will  of  God  abideth  for  ever.' 


^tttni   J'oreign    ^Jeofojj, 


(lliet;6C0e'e  (gtission.* 

In  recent  years  German  writers  have  given  much 
attention  to  'the  modern  man'  and  his  attitude 
towards  Christianity.  A  series  of  essays  on  this 
subject  is  appearing  in  the  Ifefie  zur  Christlichett 

'  Dci  modeme  Mensch  und  das  Chrisienihum.  Skizien 
und  Vorarbeiten  ii.  Nietzsche's  Mission.  Chrisiliih  ader 
Medtmt  Von  Hans  Weichelt.   Wil1iams&  Novate.  9d.net. 


Welt;  pL  2  of  this  series,  which  has  just  been 
issued,  contains  two  articles  by  Hans  Weichelt, 
entitled  respectively,  'Nietzsche's  Mission,'  and 
'  Christian  or  Modem  ? ' 

Weichelt  holds  that  Nietzsche  was  nearer  to  the 
kingdom  of  God  than  many  a  Christian  Pharisee, 
and  enters  a  protest  against  the  hard  things  which 
have  been  said  of  him  in  Christian  pulpits.  Never- 
theless, Weichelt  acknowledges  that  Nietzsche  is 


70 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


'unjust  and  often  spiteful'  in  his  sayings  about 
Jesus,  and  that  he  seizes  every  opportunity  of 
besmirching  Christianity.  The  object  of  the 
essay  is  to  show  that  Nietzsche's  criticism  of 
present-day  Christianity  is  to  a  large  extent  true, 
and  that  the  Ritschlian  interpretation  of  the 
Christianity  of  Jesus  Christ  is  best  adapted  to  the 
needs  of '  the  modern  roan.' 

Nietzsche  revolts  against  Christian  teaching, 
because,  in  view  of  the  drunkard  and  the  harlot, 
the  fop  and  the  idiot,  it  proclaims  the  absolute 
equality  and  the  infinite  value  of  all  human  souls ; 
but  Weichelt  truly  says  of  this  part  of  Nietzsche's 
egoistic  and  aristocratic  philosophy  :  '  The  attempt 
to  perfume  the  Christian  teaching  for  the  fine 
noses  that  cannot  endure  the  smell  of  poor 
people  is  an  utter  failure.'  On  this  subject 
the  teacher  and  preacher  must  stand  with  both 
feet  upon  Christian  ground,  for  if  there  was  any- 
thing new  and  great  in  the  teaching  of  Jesus  it 
was  the  thought  of  the  infinite  value  of  every 
human  soul.  Nietzsc'he's  arguments,  in  the  judg- 
ment of  this  sympathetic  interpreter,  tend  to 
estabhsh  the  superiority  of  the  Christian  view  of 

Many  readers  of  this  essay  will  arrive  at  a 
similar  conclusion  in  regard  to  some  parts  of 
Nietzsche's  teaching,  which  Weichelt  defends. 
Nietzsche's  egoism  is  said  not  to  abolish  altruism  ; 
yet  it  is  admitted  that  he  did  not  believe  men 
can  act  from  unselfish  motives.  The  mother 
who  sacrifices  her  own  health  in  nursing  her 
child,  the  missionary  who  exchanges  the  com- 
forts of  home  for  a  life  of  hardship  and  peril, — 
these  are  some  of  the  examples  chosen  to  prove 
that,  in  the  last  resort,  all  human  conduct  is 
prompted  by  selfish  considerations.  'They  would 
not  be  satisfied  unless  they  did  these  seemingly 
unselfish  deeds.'  To  maintain  this  position, 
Weichelt  notwithstanding,  must  involve  the  de- 
preciation of  the  value  of  altruistic  actions. 

Some  sound  and  able  criticisms  of  Nietzsche's 
philosophy  are  marred  by  a  tendency  to  exaggerate 
the  defects  of  present-day  Christianity.  Are 
there  many  Christian  preachers  who  reply  to  the 
question,  '  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ? '  by  say- 
ing 'Thou  shall  nof  do  this,  nor  that,  nor  that'; 
and  who  value  the  Bible  because  it  is  'a  collec- 
tion of  transgressors  of  the  commandments?' 
Weichelt  is  right  in  maintaining  that  morality 
does  not  consist  in  prohibitions  and  restrictions — 


philosophy  does  not  produce  moral 
men ' ;  but  the  teaching,  which  he  thinks  is  rarely 
heard  from  Christian  pulpits,  has  a  familiar  sound : 
'Morality  is  not  negative,  but  positive;  it  con- 
sists not  in  clipping  shrubs  into  the  shape  of 
pyramids,  but  in  chiselling  marble  into  statues.' 
J.  G.  Tasker. 
HmidsviaTlk  Callf^. 


S(e  (^UexMwt  of  ^uvt  »3Ar%tng 

A  SMALL  but  very  interesting  and  scholarly  mono- 
graph on  an  oldtheme.  The  title  iscommonplace 
and  unpromising  enough  (when  will  our  ertidite 
friends  across  the  water  attain  to  skill  in  rubric- 
making?),  but  it  is  not  necessary  to  read  more 
than  half  a  dozen  of  Dr.  Hollmann's  pages  before 
we  learn  that  we  are  in  good  hands,  and  have 
stumbled  upon  something  uncommonly  like  a 
pearl  of  exegetic  skill.  In  approaching  his 
problem,  which  is  to  investigate  the  ideas  held 
by  Jesus  regarding  His  death  (as  recorded  in  the 
Synoptists),  the  author  is  confronted  with  the 
prehminary  question  as  to  whether  we  are  in 
possession  of  the  means  requisite  to  the  gaining 
of  a  true  and  accurate  representation  of  what 
Jesus  thought.  Can  we  ever  be  sure  that  we 
possess  His  actual  utterances,  either  about  His 
death  or  anything  else?  Dr.  Hollmann  is  but 
little  inclined  to  dogmatise  :  his  mind  is  too  well 
furnished  with  critical  categories  to  let  himself 
be  exposed  to  the  charge  of  making  assumptions  ; 
and  it  is  only  after  an  honest  and  careful  probing 
of  the  question  that  he  feels  able  to  answer  in  the 
affirmative,  though,  of  course  this  does  not  imply 
that  he  accepts  the  synoptical  sayinys  of  Jesus 
just  as  they  stand.  Next  he  asks  whether  Jesus 
presurmised  His  violent  death,  and  regarded  it 
as  necessary ;  and,  again,  whether  He  ascribed 
any  special  significance  to  it.  Dr.  Hollmann 
makes  out  that  to  each  of  these  questions  an 
affirmative  answer  is  due;  and  thus  having  cleared 
the  outworks  comes  at  length  face  to  face  with 

'  Die  Bedeiilung  lia  Tctln  Jaa  nacli  siinen  ei^m-H 
Aussagea  an/,  Gnitid  dcr  syiiofiliiihen  l-.vangditn.  Van 
Lie.  Dr.  Geoi^  Hollmann,  l*rivRi<lozeni  der  Tticologie  an 
der  Universiiat  Halle.  TUliingen  und  Leipzig  ;  J.  C.  R. 
ifohr,  1901.     (Williams  i  Noieale.     I'ricc  3s.  6d. ) 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


the  real  problem  :  Wherein  hes  this  special  signifi- 
cance ?  After  having  investigated  some  of  Christ's 
references  to  the  O.T.  generally,  our  author 
concentrates  his  attention  on  the  attitude  of  Jesus 
to  Is  53,  or  rather  S3"-53'-.  This  investiga- 
tion, however,  has  in  the  main  a  negative  result, 
namely,  that  the  one  reference  of  Jesus  to  Is  53, 
i.e.  I.k  33'",  has  nothing  to  do  with  His  death  ; 
further,  however.  Dr.  HoUmann  lays  emphasis 
on  the  extreme  probability  that  had  Jesus  con- 
ceived of  His  death  as  an  atonement  {Siikne),  the 
great  Ebtd-Jahweh  passage  would  have  had  a 
regulative  and  central  place  in  His  thoughts  and 
speech.  Next,  the  Avrpov-passage,  Mk  lo**,  is 
discussed.  After  showing  that  in  the  LXX 
AirTpof  is  used  to  translate  various  Hebrew  words, 
that  not  one  half  of  the  instances  of  Xvrpoi' 
'\  represent  "IDD  {atone),  and  that  the  ma-derivatives 
J  {deliver)  are  always  rendered  by  kvrpov,  or  by  a 
1  word  formed  from  Xvrpov,  Dr.  Hollmann  con- 
cludes that  Airrpof  has  nothing  to  do  with  atone- 
ment, but  simply  means  something  like  deliver, 
{erlSsen,  befrtien).  Finally  he  comes  to  the  words 
used  at  the  Supper ;  and,  again  only  after  careful 
investigation,  takes  Mark's  account,  14'^-,  as  the 
most  original  and  trustworthy.  Here,  too,  he 
finds  nothing  that  suggests  Siihne,  unless  perhaps 
TTfi  Sio,9t)iop,  which,  however,  for  linguistic  reasons 
(awkward  double  genitive,  tu  aifta  [um  -np 
Sta9t)Krit),  he  judges  to  be  a  later  addition. 
The  positive  conclusion  to  which  he  comes  is  as 
follows :— Jesus  looked  upon  His  death  as  con- 
tinuing the  work  of  His  life.  This  lifework  was 
to  deliver  men  from  the  kingdom  of  darkness  and 
place  them  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  But 
as  the  entrance  to  the  kingdom  was  through  the 
gate  of  ftcravota  (e.g.  Repent,  for  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  is  at  hand,  Mt  4'",  ||  Mk  i"),  and 
as  Jesus  laboured  to  bring  men  to  fitravota,  so  He 
believed  that  His  death,  apparently  the  sign  of 
failure,  would  so  influence  mankind  that  it  would 
in  God's  time  bring  about  the  great  change  in  the 
hearts  of  many  (avri  m>AAuiv,  cf.  Mk  14'*  virtp 
iraXAwk),  whom  His  living  words  had  left  apathetic, 
or  who  had  never  heard  them. 

Such  then  is  our  author's  result.  We  may  call 
it  a  new  theory  of  the  Atonement,  if  we  are  willing 
to  keep  that  word  clear  of  every  suggestion  of 
substitution.  The  theory  has  at  least  this  advan- 
tage over  the  orthodox,  namely,  that  while  the 
latter   fails  to  give  a  fairly  satisfactory  account 


of  the  relation  between  the  death  of  Jesus  and 
its  alleged  result — for  substitution,  theoretically  so 
simple,  is  surrounded  by  immense  practical,  even 
moral,  difficulties;  Dr.  Hollmann's  theory  traces 
an  undeniable  psychological  connexion  between 
the  Passion  of  our  Lord  and  the  situ  qua  non  of 
entrance  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  On  the 
other  hand,  our  author  cannot  be  altogether 
exculpated  from  the  charge  of  so  far  emending 
the  synoptic  texts  in  favour  of  his  theory;  for 
although  in  every  case  he  gives  good  reason  for 
his  alterations  and  rejections,  yet  we  know  how 
even  the  ablest  and  fairest  critics  have  too  ol^en 
permitted  their  theories  to  influence  their  vision 
of  the  facts.  Still  when  all  has  been  said.  Dr. 
Hollmann's  book  deserves  the  heartiest  recommen- 
dation :  it  is  learned,  written  in  a  clear  style, 
stimulating,  and  often  original. 

Forfar.  ^  A.  GkIEVE. 

We  are  not  surprised  at  Professor  Duhm's  confes- 
sion that  he  has  shrunk  more  from  attempting  the 
exposition  of  Jeremiah  than  from  that  of  any 
other  Old  Testament  scripture.  The  undertaking 
bristles  with  difficulties.  Much  requires  doing  on 
the  text.  And  in  the  present  state  of  our  know- 
ledge no  one  will  everywhere  satisfy  his  fellow- 
inquirers  or  long  remain  entirely  satisfied  with  his 
own  results.  The  new  instrument,  the  recognition 
of  the  metrical  laws  observed  by  the  prophet-poet, 
will  eventually  prove  of  the  utmost  value.  But  in 
the  use  of  it  great  tact  and  self-restraint  are  needed, 
and  even  where  these  qualities  are  present  the 
result  will  not  always  be  unassailable.  Of  this  we 
see  clear  proof  when  we  compare  the  book  before 
us  with  Comill's  recently  published  brochure,  Die 
metriscften  Stiicke  des  B.Jeremia.^  But  Dr.  Duhm's 
sense  of  the  gravity  of  the  task  has  been  the  best 
possible  preparation  for  it.  He  has  done  every- 
thing under  a  deep  feeling  of  responsibility  and  of 
the  need  for  care  and  thoroughness.  His  own 
preconceived  opinions  have  altered  in  the  course 
of  this  special  study,  and  the  opinions  of  many 
readers  will  be  affected.  He  has  given  us  one  of 
the  most  important  of  the  contributions  so  far 
made  to  this  excellent  series  of  commentaries. 

^Jircmia.     Erkliin  von  Dr.  Bernh,  Duhm.  Tilbingen  u. 
Leipiig:  J.  C.  B.  Mohr,  1901. 
°  Cf.,  (._:;.,  the  ireainient  of  S"-"  aa"-"  in  ihe  two  works. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


The  exegesis  is  fuller  than  in  some  of  the  pre- 
ceding volumes.  That  results  from  the  fact  that 
the  exegete  vividly  realizes  the  scene  or  speech  of 
which  he  treats,  and  is  eager  to  naake  us  realize  it. 
Here  is  part  of  the  note  on  i> :  '  The  idea  that 
Yahweh  forms  a  man  in  his  mother's  womb  is  often 
worked  out  with  wonder  and  astonishment  by  the 
later  writers  (cf.  on  Job  lo^-",  Ps  i^^^^'-).  But 
Yahweh  "knew"  Jeremiah  before  He  made  him 
in  his  mother's  womb.  This  idea  is  an  advance 
on  the  other,  and  reminds  us  of  the  wporyvia  of 
Ro  8^.  Yahweh  knew  beforehand  what  might 
and  should  become  of  the  child  whom  He  would 
give  Co  Hilkiah.  He  needed  a  special  instrument 
for  the  future;  He  did  not  wait  till  the  time  when 
the  man  was  required  and  choose  him  then  out  of 
the  available  material ;  long  ere  that  the  image  or, 
as  a  Greek  would  say,  the  idea  of  the  person  He 
would  employ  stood  before  Him  and  served  as  the 
model  for  what  He  formed.  To  this  we  must  add 
that  in  the  circumstances  and  character  of  the 
priestly  family  at  Anathoth  He  saw  the  opportunity 
for  carrying  out  His  lofty  purpose.  According  to 
Et  33'^  Yahweh  knows  Moses  "  by  name."  Moses 
has  specially  attracted  His  attention,  so  that  He 
notices  him  more  than  others,  occupies  Himself 
with  his  person,  and  ultimately  calls  him.  Amos 
is  taken  from  following  the  sheep.  Isaiah  is  sub- 
mitted to  a  sort  of  test  and  then  offers  himself  for 
the  service.  But  Jeremiah,  before  he  came  into 
existence,  was  a  thought  of  God's,  pre-existed  in 
God's  Spirit,  was  specially  created  by  Him  for  a 
great  mission.  That  is  an  imposing  thought,  a 
deeply  impressive  idea !  Whether  the  author  of 
this  chapter  is  to  be  credited  with  it  or  Jeremiah 
himself  uttered  it  and  it  was  extracted  from 
Baruch's  work,  it  is  one  of  the  most  profound  and 
lofty  in  the  Old  Testament.  If  Jeremiah  carried 
about  with  him  this  consciousness,  he  had  other 
ground  beneath  his  feet  than  all  the  rest  of  human- 
kind. So  far  at  least  as  his  own  person  was 
concerned  the  riddle  of  existence  was  solved, 
But  this  involved  the  loss  of  that  naive  delight  in 
life  which  ordinary  mortals  feel,  that  freedom  from 
presentiment  with  which  we  advance  from  one 
day's  life  to  another.  In  a  world  where  every 
creature  speeds  from  enjoyment  to  enjoyment, 
where  sensuous  happiness  is  held  to  be  the 
supreme  goal,  and  men  care,  fear,  and  struggle, 
only  for  themselves  and  their  friends,  Jeremiah  is 
i  figure  of  tragic  greatness ;  "  before  Thy  hand  I 


sat  solitary"  (15").'  On  26*  Duhm  writes; 
'  Would  that  we  knew  the  manner  in  which 
Jeremiah  recited  these  verses  (or,  more  probably, 
a  portion  of  them) !  The  citizens  of  the  capital, 
the  notables,  many  burghers  of  the  "cities  of 
Judah"  are  assembled  at  their  noisy  sacrificial 
meal.  They  Ulk  about  the  bad  months  which  are 
just  over ;  they  exhort  each  other  to  be  of  good 
courage — "  the  temple  of  Yahweh  is  this  " ;  they 
grow  excited  by  degrees.  Suddenly  the  seer 
appears,  deeply  earnest,  traces  of  spiritual  suflier- 
ings  in  his  face.  Now  in  solemn  monotone,  now 
in  wild  song,  he  repeats  the  terrible  visions  which 
have  so  long  pursued  him,  in  which  the  impending 
chaos  is  depicted,  in  which  the  incurable  corrup- 
tion of  the  people  is  bemoaned,  in  which  is  de- 
scribed the  decay  of  that  green  and  charming  olive- 
tree  with  which  the  people  were  compared  a  while 
ago  in  the  sacrificial  song  (ii**').'  And  on  28"; 
'  He  makes  no  reply  to  Hananiab,  he  goes  away  as 
though  he  were  vanquished,  leaving  behind  the 
yoke  with  which  he  had  appeared  in  public 
Why  ?  He  has  fulfilled  his  mission.  Tlien,  not 
as  an  inspired  person,  but  as  a  thoughtful  man  who 
has  reflected  on  his  own  position,  impulses,  and 
calling,  he  has  adduced  evidence  which  makes  it 
reasonably  probable,  but  not  absolutely  certain, 
that  his  prediction  is  not  founded  on  a  subjective 
illusion.  Then  the  half-mad  fanatic  falls  on  him, 
as  it  were,  snatches  off  the  yoke  and '  breaks  it 
But  he  had  been  convinced  that  Yahweh  gave  it 
him  to  wear!  What,  then,  does  this  mean?  Is 
the  ranter  right  after  all  ?  Has  Jeremiah  been 
moved  by  a  genuine  inspiration?  And,  if  not, 
should  he  contend  with  the  patriotic  enthusiast  ? 
Is  be  not  to  vindicate  his  own  honour  ?  Nay,  he 
has  no  thought  for  himself;  he  feels,  too,  that 
rational  words  are  here  of  no  avail;  he  cannot 
quarrel  with  a  rival,  like  chapmen  who  ciy  their 
wares;  he  must  be  alone  with  God,  We  are 
reminded  of  Mk  15^.  Those  of  the  spectators 
who  were  possessed  of  finer  feeling  must  have 
perceived  that  Jeremiah  was  a  true  man,  un- 
affected, free  from  vanity,  defenceless  against  brutal 
attacks,  tp^  ^-333  (ii"),  used  to  being  reviled, 
but  never  reviling  again,  willing  rather  to  seent 
beaten  than  to  snatch  a  victory.  For  several 
decades  past  they  could  see  him  thus.  He  has 
never  produced  any  result,  but  he  has  always  come 
up  again ;  he  knows  that  he  is  to  be  as  "  Yahweh's 
mouth,"  if  he  bring  forth  "the  precious  without 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


73 


the  vile  "  (15").  And  so  he  goes  this  lime,  but  he 
will  return,  though  Hananiah  meanwhile  strive  by 
still  louder  cries  to  make  himself  and  those  like- 
minded  forget  that  only  the  future  can  decide 
what  is  true,' 

There  arc  shorter  passages  equally  worthy  of 
attention.  For  instance,  on  3'  Duhm  speaks  of 
the  copyist  '  who,  with  his  -tot6  allows  himself 
the  modest  query  whether  a  new  superscription  is 
not  here  required.'  At  3*  he  is  surely  right  in 
omitting  '3K  which  was  interpolated  under  the 
influence  of  v.^*.  There  is  an  important  and 
welcome  pronouncement  with  reference  to  2^': 
'  The  designation  of  the  tree  as  father  and  the  stone 
as  mother  arises  mainly  from  the  fact  that  y^  is 
masc.  and  (SK  fern.  But  this  does  not  authorize 
the  conclusion  that  in  Jeremiah's  days  the  Israel- 
ites believed  themselves  to  be  physically  descended 
from  divine  ancestors  or  thought  that  the  souls  of 
their  ancestors  inhabited  the  tree  or  the  stone.  .  .  . 
So  far  as  we  can  see,  the  people  as  a  whole  were 
not  strongly  drawn  to  this  kind  of  superstition,  and 
ancestor- worship  had  practically  no  signiticance  for 
Israel.'  He  deals  very  satisfactorily  with  24^,  a 
passage  which  readers  who  are  not  familiar  with 
Hebrew  can  feel  to  be  out  of  order :  the  familiar 
formula,  '  for  thus  saith  Yahweh,'  is  omitted  ;  T3R 
is  read  for  [ntt,  as  in  v.^ ;  the  result  is  a  perfect 
parallel  to  v.'.  Then  the  difficulty  connected  with 
the  mention  of  Egypt  is  attacked :  '  The  mention 
of  the  Egyptian  Jews  is  obviously  occasioned  by 
chap  42.  We  are  not  precisely  informed  as  to  the 
reason  why  they  were  so  hated  by  the  itne  haggolah. 
No  doubt  there  was  always  a  sort  of  rivalry  between 
the  Babylonian  and  the  Egyptian  Jews :  the 
former  deemed  themselves  the  better,  the  latter 
were  better  off.  Under  Ptolemy  Soter  (321-283) 
many  Palestinian  Jews  are  supposed  to  have  gone 
to  Egypt,  some  as  prisoners,  others  voluntarily. 
Did  this  fresh  emigration,  opposed  so  flatly  to  the 
hopes  entertained  of  the  gathering  together  of  the 
Diaspora,  embitter  the  rivalry,  and  find  expression 
in  chaps.  24,  42 If. ?'  The  corrupt  text  of  19'*"  is 
dealt  with  as  follows : — '  Even  if  we  had  not  the 
evidence  of  the  LXX  we  should  be  obliged  to  say 
that  the  text  of  v."i*  has  received  many  additions. 
The  three  first  words  of  v."*  are  not  found  in  the 
LXX,  and  only  the  two  first  of  v.";  in  several 
ancient  codices  and  in  the  Pesh.  ^'^  is  missing; 
the  latter  must  have  been  subsequently  inserted  in 


the  LXX.  The  original  text  seems,  therefore,  to 
have  run :  And  if  ye  pray  to  me,  I  will  hear 
you;  if  ye  seek  me  with  your  whole  heart,  I  will 
be  found  of  you  :  I  can  and  will  hear  your  prayers 
in  far-off  Babylonia  also.  The  added  matter  at 
the  beginning  of  v.*^  probably  comes  from  a 
marginal  note  and  the  text  is  corrupt ;  for  the 
altc^ether  meaningless  DBsbn  we  should  perhaps 
read  QSnirn,  after  Is  30''.  The  second  addition, 
v.'**,  is  an  expression  frequently  repeated,  and  is 
modelled  on  Is  65".  V."''  is  to  be  connected 
with  the  two  first  words  of  v.'*,  as  in  the  LXX ;  the 
latter  reads  'ninJl  for  "Dttyoji,  and  seeing  that  the 
M.T.  may  be  influenced  by  Is  55  this  is  perhaps 
the  original.  For  the  rest,  v."  is  an  altogether 
unthinking  addition;  Jeremiah  is  writing  to  the 
elders  in  Babylon,  and  therefore  cannot  represent 
Yahweh  as  saying  that  He  will  gather  them  out  of 
all  the  nations.'  Duhm  declares  that  no  one 
knows  the  meaning  of  the  M.T.  of  3I^^^  but  that 
text  'is  certainly  incorrect  We  must  read  aiDn  '3 
1113  (cf.  Zee  141"),  "The  woman  is  turned  into 
a  man,"  That  is  very  likely  a  proverbial  expression 
which  could  be  mockingly  applied  to  many 
astounding  occurrences,  amongst  others  to  poems 
in  which  one  and  the  same  important  subject 
might  be  treated  now  as  male,  now  as  female. 
Israel  here  has  first  been  regarded  as  a  son,  then 
as  a  wife.  Hence  the  LXX  reading,  ais;  ntfKB 
139,  is  better,  although  they  did  not  understand 
its  meaning.'  The  suggestion,  as  a  whole,  is 
worthy  of  consideration,  but  it  is  by  no  means 
certain  that  the  HCfa,  which  the  LXX  read  («v 
mrrr/pif  vtpitXtv<TovTa.i  S,v$piavoi),  was  a  corruptioD 
of  HB'KS.  Duhm  ascribes  31^  to  the  same  critical 
reader  asv.^**"!  'The  book  is  ended,  the  dream 
over ;  it  would  be  only  too  delightful  if  everything 
could  happen  as  is  promised  here,  but  obviously  it 
is  a  dream,  and  who  knows  whether  it  will  come 
true?' 

We  cannot  do  more  than  indicate  the  general 
results  to  which  Duhm's  searching  and  relentless 
criticism  has  led  him.  Of  course  he  divides  our 
present  Book  of  Jeremiah  into  three  parts:  the 
prophet's  own  utterances,  the  Book  of  Baruch,  and 
the  supplementary  matter ;  the  first  consisting  of 
about  280  verses,  the  second  of  about  220,  and 
the  third  about  S50.  They  are  characterized  in 
the   following   manner; — 'The   main   thing  with 


74 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Jeremiah,  as  with  the  older  prophets,  was  his  oral 
work,  which  seems  to  have  been  performed  in  a 
more  restrained,  one  might  say  a  more  gentle  and 
modest,  manner  than  that  of  Amos  or  Isaiah,  He 
was  patient  and  persistent,  rather  than  passionate 
and  overpowering.  He  is  not  the  ruler  of  men's 
spirits,  but  the  keen  observer,  the  true  mentor  and 
counsellor,  a  hero  in  suffering,  not  in  attack.  The 
only  prose  piece  we  have  of  his  is  the  letter  in 
chap.  29.  Some  of  his  poems  convey  the  impression 
that  he  wrote  them  for  himself  rather  than  for 
others,  yet  it  was  he  who  published  them.  The 
great  majority  of  the  poems  are  very  short,  on  an 
average  less  than  five  Massoretic  verses.  It  is 
significant  of  the  simplicity  of  Jeremiah's  art  that 
the  metre  is  always  the  same  ;  four  lines  of  alter- 
nately three  and  two  accents,'  whether  the  prophet 
is  reproducing  visions  of  the  approaching  cata- 
strophe or  depicting  the  corruption  of  the  people, 
whether  he  is  uttering  his  pain  and  despair,  or 
abandoning  himself  to  consoling  hopes.  To  this 
simple  form  the  poetic  diction  corresponds ;  it  is 
never  artificial  or  adorned  ;  it  is  not  even  pathetic, 
but  always  natural,  appropriate  to  the  thoughts, 
popular  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word.  But  for 
this  very  reason  it  takes  hold  of  us,  moves  us,  often 
stirs  us  deeply,  betrays  the  born  poet  by  its  abund- 
ance of  striking  and  original  images.  Jeremiah's 
poetry  is  chiefly  distinguished  from  that  of  the 
prophets  of  the  foregoing  centuries  by  the  far 
greater  prominence  in  it  of  the  writer's  own  in- 
dividuality, his  feelings,  and  his  state  of  mind,  often 
expressed  in  the  most  masterly  fashion.  Amos 
and  Isaiah  are  orators,  Jeremiah  Is  a  lyric  poet ; 
he  is  most  closely  related  to  Hosea,  who  influenced 
him  considerably  when  he  was  writing  his  youthful 
poems,'  Our  second  extract  relates  to  the  Book 
of  Baruch,  which  'may  be  called  a  biography  of 
Jeremiah,  although  It  does  not  seem  to  have  told 
the  story  of  his  whole  life,  says  nothing  about  his 
youth  or  his  death,  and  sometimes  appears  to  lose 
-Mght  of  him  for  a  considerable  time  (4o"-4i'^); 

*  Cr.  Cornill's  stalemenls :  'The  octastich,  the  eight-line 
do^erel  verse,  is  the  rund»mcnla]  melrical  torm  of  Jere- 
miah's poetry.'  'The  equality  of  the  individual  lines  was 
not  the  fundamental  law  of  his  metre  ;  to  speak  in  modern 
phraseolr^y,  he  wrote  in  "dc^gerel  verse."'  Coroill  is 
not  always  able  to  complete  the  strophe  by  making  out  the 
requisite  eight  lines.  On  the  other  han<l,  it  is  doubtful 
whether  the  original  lines  alwa^  contained  three  and  two 
bears  allemalely  ;  we  cannot  but  lie  suspicious  when  the 
:rilic  (Duhm,  p.  iG)  insert!  a  word  'des  Metrums  wegen.' 


nor  does  it  profess  to  treat  of  the  man  Jeremiah. 
but  of  the  prophet.  Hence  it  is  that  in  the  firs; 
half  it  gives  tis  more  of  the  impression  of  a  chrono- 
logical document,  making  the  word  of  Yahweh, 
which  came  in  such  or  such  a  year,  its  object  c: 
its  starting-point  (cf.  on  a6'  28'  29'  32'  3(>^)-  This 
method  is  less  common,  and  sustained  narrative 
becomes  more  prevalent,  in  the  later  part  of  the 
book,  where  the  events  belonging  to  and  succeed 
ing  the  final  siege  of  Jerusalem  are  described.  Fot 
a  long  time,  probably  for  several  centuries,  the 
book  appears  to  have  had  an  independent  exist- 
ence, as  a  highly  valued  constituent  of  the  histor- 
ical, not  the  prophetical,  literature  (see  on  2  7";. 
It  was  not  united  with  the  Book  of  Jeremiah  at  a 
single  stroke  or  on  a  uniform  plan,  for  as  we  now 
have  it  we  possess  neither  the  original  order,  the 
correct  sequence  of  chapters,  nor  the  original  text. 
The  revisers  who  added  it  piecemeal  to  the  Book 
of  Jeremiah  thought  that  in  order  to  do  this  they 
must  range  it  among  the  prophecies.  They  have 
therefore  laid  stress  on  the  speeches,  have  re- 
modelled and  worked  up  this  scanty  stock  into 
"Words  of  Yahweh,"  have  here  and  there  com- 
posed a  divine  utterance,  have  frequently  abbrevi- 
ated the  historical  matter  (see  on  34*""  or  44'*'-). 
have  misunderstood  or  disregarded  Baruch's  actual 
meaning.  Consequently,  Jeremiah  is  credited  in 
our  present  form  of  Baruch's  book  with  speeches 
which  he  neither  did  nor  could  deliver.  This 
book  has  also  given  an  impulse  to  the  Haggadah, 
and  many  a  Midrash  incorporated  with  or  severed 
from  it,  is  now  a  portion  of  the  collection  of 
speeches  in  Jer  1-25  (cf.  39""'^  40'-*).'  We  have 
already  pointed  out  that  l^uhm  relegates  more 
than  half  our  Book  of  Jeremiah  to  the  realm  of 
supplements;  the  authors  of  these,  whose  work 
was  not  completed  till  the  first  century  li.c,  wished 
'to  contribute  to  the  formation  of  a  kind  of 
People's  Bible,  a  book  of  religious  instruction  and 
edification,  which,  in  conjunction  with  many  other 
writings  of  similar  tendency,  would  help  the  laity 
to  a  better  comprehension  of  their  religion  and 
history."  But  their  literary  skill  was  of  a  low 
order,  '  inferior  even  to  that  displayed  in  Daniel 
and  Jonah.  The  prophet  whom  they  bring  before 
us  has  hardly  anything  in  common  with  the  real 
Jeremiah  whom  we  know  from  his  poems  and 
froni  Baruch's  biography  ...  he  is  a  teacher  of 
the  law  rather  than  a  prophet.' 
We  have  said  enough  to  show  that  the  book 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


75 


will  cause  some  searchings  of  heart.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  it  will  excite  a.  new  and  keener 
examination  of  Jeremiah.  Many  who  reject,  or 
even  resent  some  of  its  conclusions,  will  find  much 
to  charm  and  help  them  in  the  detailed  exposition. 
For  their  sake,  and  for  the  promotion  of  bibHcal 
scholarship  amongst  us,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
Duhm's  Jeremia  will  be  speedily  turned  into 
English.  John  Taylor. 

Winiluambe. 


^oftftu's  '  iBovpit  Sources.' ' 

This  is  one  more  of  the  endless  series  of  German 
monographs  upon  the  supremely  interesting 
problem  of  our  Gospels,  their  origin  and  value  as 
sources  of  history.  It  diRers  from  most  of  the 
others  in  that  its  author  is  not  a  professional 
theolt^ian,  but  a  secular  historian  of  proved 
ability.  Consequently  it  exhibits  in  no  small 
degree  that  freshness  of  view  and  statement  which 
frequently  attaches  to  the  writing  of  a  thoroughly 
equipped  outsider,  such  as  has  so  often  moved 
students  of  theology  in  this  coumry  to  give  thanks 
for  the  works  of  Professor  Ramsay.  Soltau's  aim  is 
to  convey  to  educated  laymen  the  accredited  results 
of  Gospel  criticism,  both  positive  and  negative,  in 
the  hope  of  lessening  their  indifference  to  Chris- 
tianity. It  may  be  that  some  will  feel  his  methods 
and  conclusions  helpful  to  faith;  to  the  ordinary 
believer,  lettered  or  unlettered,  the  adoption  of 
such  results  as  we  have  here  will  probably  appear 
pure  loss. 

Nothing  is  possible  but  the  briefest  rhumk  of  his 
findings.  A  good  deal  of  the  matter  in  this  book, 
be  it  said  in  passing,  is  elementary  and  familiar. 
Sollau,  on  the  whole,  adheres  to  the  two-document 
theory  of  the  Synoptics,  though  with  modifications 
of  his  own ;  and  he  offers  us  a  fresh  and  attractive 
demonstration  of  the  priority  of  Mark.  Our  Mark, 
and  not  a  conjectural  Urmarcus,  is  the  narrative 
source  used  by  the  authors  of  the  First  and  Third 
Gospels.  The  history  of  the  canonical  Matthew  is 
as  follows : — The  Apostle  Matthew  wrote  the  Logia 
in  Aramaic.  About  70  a.d.  an  unknown  editor 
combined  a  Greek  form  of  this  Logia-col lection 

'  Umirc  Svangcliai,  ikrc  Qutllin  und  ikr  Quelleniuert, 
%-om  Standpunktdts  Hisloriiers  aus  belrachut.  Von  Wrfhelm 
isollau.  Leipzig :  Dieterkli'sche  VerUgsbuchhandlung 
Theodoi  Weicher,  1901.     Price  2a.  6d. 


with  the  narrative  of  Mark,  and  so  produced  what 
Soltau  calls  Proto- Matthew.  A  generation  later, 
a  second  editor  (Deutero- Matthew)  elaborated  this 
work  into  an  extended  and  more  modern  Gospel, 
with  copious  additions  from  his  own  pen.  This  is 
the  Gospel  as  we  have  it  now,  and  it  contains  not 
only  a  great  many  quotations  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, but  also  a  large  number  of  alleged  incidents 
really  due  to  the  mythical  tendency  already  be- 
ginning to  work,  such  as  Peter's  walking  on  the 
sea,  the  paying  of  tribute,  several  passages  relating 
to  Pilate,  and  Jesus'  appearance  to  Mary  Mag- 
dalene. 

The  pedigree  of  the  Third  Synoptic  is  more  com- 
plex still.  In  a  word,  it  is  derived  from  Mark, 
a  Judaistically  exjiandcd  form  of  the  Logia,  other 
sources  which  meet  us  again  in  Acts,  and  a  brief 
written  and  legendary  account  of  Jesus'  birth  and 
childhood.  Besides  these,  Luke  took  certain 
mythical  incidents  {e.g.  the  raising  of  the  widow 
of  Nain's  son,  and  the  walk  to  Emmaus)  from 
oral  tradition.  Luke  had  Proto-Matthew  (which 
is  undogmatic  and  universalistic  in  tone)  before 
him  when  he  wrote;  on  the  other  hand  Deuteto- 
Matthew  (whose  sympathies  are  Catholic  and 
dogmatic)  had  read  Luke. 

Of  Mark  we  need  only  say  that,  according  to 
Soltau,  its  author  was  unacquainted  with  the  Logia, 
and  that  in  Its  present  form  it  also  exhibits  mythical 
elements,  amounting  altogether  to  what  would  fill 
three  or  four  chapters.  None  of  the  three  Syn- 
optics was  originally  written  with  a  bias,  and  the 
Third,  so  long  regarded  as/nr  excellence  the  Pauline 
Gospel,  is  in  reality  freer  from  tendency  than  the 
others.  But  the  additions  which  they  have  each 
received  from  later  hands  are  all  of  a  Catholicising 
complexion. 

It  need  hardly  be  said,  in  view  of  alt  this,  that 
Soltau  takes  a  comparatively  low  view  of  the 
authenticity  of  the  Gospel  of  John.  The  apostle 
may  in  some  way  be  responsible  for  part  of  the 
narrative,  but  the  discourses  were  supplied  by 
John  the  Presbyter,  who  developed  and  expanded 
suggestive  sayings  of  Christ  which  the  Church  in 
Asia  Minor  had  received  from  the  belovud  apostle. 
The  Fourth  Gospel  finally  took  shape  under 
Hadrian,  long  after  the  apostle's  death.  These 
conclusions,  Soltau  observes,  are  so  simple  and 
certain  that  he  feels  it  unnecessary  to  offer  proof 
in  detail. 

Soltau's  notions  of  what  constitutes  evidence  are 


76 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


at  times  culpably  defective,  nor  are  the  exigencies 
of  space  sufficient  to  excuse  such  shoncomings. 
Probably  he  himself  would  admit  that  he  works 
upon  the  principle  of  cutting  out  everything  that  is 
miraculous,  merely  to  clear  the  ground  in  a  pre- 
liminary way,  and  what  sort  of  a  niin  the  Gospel 
story  becomes  when  such  a  maxim  is  rigidly  applied 
to  it,  every  one  can  discover  for  himself.  Even 
St.  Paul's  rapid  summary  of  the  appearances  of 
the  Risen  Christ,  which  few  have  had  the  temerity 
to  assail,  has  met  with  the  usual  fate  of  statements 
which  do  not  fall  in  with  preconceived  opinions, 
the  greater  part  of  it  being  audaciously  dismissed 
as  spurious.  There  is  a  typical  footnote  on  one 
page  which  tells  us  that  no  one  can  possibly  regard 


the  questions  of  Thomas  and  Phihp  in  Jn  14 
as  traces  of  historical  reminiscence.  Little  wonder 
that  when  Soltau  came  to  sum  up  the  results  of  his 
investigation  he  found  himself  advising  his  readers 
to  abandon,  as  a  secondary  and  uncritical  excres- 
cence upon  historical  reality,  the  idea  of  a  Saviour 
who  has  come  down  from  heaven  and  gone  to- 
heaven  again  (p.  136).  Let  us  hope  that  calmly 
and  surely  the  Church  will  choose,  and  is  choos- 
ing, between  the  immovable  certainties  of  faith — 
which  are  also  the  demonstrated  verities  of  history 
— and  all  such  unreasonable  aberrations  of  sub- 
jective caprice. 

H.  IL  Mackintosh. 

Aderdien. 


^i.  <|)auf  iU  (Eoman. 

By  the  Rev.  John  Kelman,  Jun.,  M.A.,  Edinburgh. 


We  have  seen  the  greatness  of  Paul  as  it  is  shown 
in  his  dealing  with  the  Hebrew  and  the  Greek 
life  of  his  day — how  he  changed  both  of  these, 
and  made  them  live  again  in  forms  that  conserved 
their  best  elements  and  set  them  free  to  do  their 
work  in  the  world.  Subtle  elements  they  were 
in  both  cases.  For  the  Hebrew  he  gave  a  new 
meaning  to  the  Race,  the  Law,  and  to  the 
Tragedy  of  the  Cross.  For  the  Greek  he  found 
for  them  what  their  poets  and  philosophers  had 
sought — the  true  Appreciation,  the  true  Liberty, 
the  true  Conception  of  Flesh,  the  true  Ideal  Life. 
In  both  nations  these  ideals  were  in  Paul's  time 
but  words  ;  he  made  them  powers — real  things. 
Both  nations  were  dying.  He  made  them  live 
in  the  spirit  for  ever. 

The  case  of  Rome  was  very  different.  She 
was  not  a  dead  but  a  living  power  in  his  time. 
Her  ideals  were  not  subtle,  but  plain  and  common- 
sense.  Her  empire  was  at  its  strongest.  Her 
legions  had  mastered  the  world.  It  was  only 
historians  of  wise  and  penetrating  insight  who 
saw  the  inevitable  decay  and  downfall  which  the 
future  held  for  the  empire.  They  saw  it,  and 
painted  dark  pictures  of  the  worst  side  of  Roman 
life.  But  they  had  no  remedy.  Bitterness  and 
angry  vexation  were  all  they  had  to  give. 

Paul  also  knew  that  seamy  side  of  Rome.     In 


the  first  chapter  of  his  Roman  Epistle  he  describes 
it  in  dreadful  plainness.  But  he  saw  too  the 
magnificent  greatness,  the  practical  effectivenesSr 
the  still  available  possibilities  of  the  empire.  He 
was  large  enough  in  mind  and  imagination  to 
grasp  this  situation  for  Christ,  to  claim  it  in 
Christ's  name,  and  so  to  save  it. 

Rome  was  great  in  common  sense  and  practical 
genius.  'Rome  was  so  successful,  because  she 
almost  always  yielded  to  the  logic  of  facts.'  She 
conquered  the  world ;  but  she  allowed  the  Greek 
language,  not  the  Latin,  to  be  its  speech.  She 
allowed  the  conquered  nations  to  retain  their 
nationality,  the  towns  their  municip>al  govemmentSr 
the  people  their  religions.  And  the  empire  that 
cast  its  shadow  over  every  land  and  sea,  had  for 
its  characteristic  notes  the  Roman  dignity  and 
pride — that  gravitas  which  was  the  Roman  quality. 
It  had  the  Roman  law  and  the  Roman  sense  of 
justice.  It  had  the  Roman  strength  and  belief 
in  strength,  the  Roman  endurance  and  courage 
and  obedience  and  efficiency. 

Now  in  all  this  there  was  a  very  great  deal  which 
must  have  appealed  to  Paul,  who  was  at  heart  far 
more  Roman  than  has  often  been  observed.  A 
recent  writer  tells  us  that  'though  Paul  was 
excellent  as  a  man  in  the  Bible,  be  would  hardly 
have  done  In  real  life.'    But  the  fact  is  just  that 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


77 


he  did  do  in  real  l!fe ;  that  he  was  so  pre-eminently 
a  practical  man ;  that  he  was  so  closeljr  in  touch 
with  everjrthing  that  in  his  day  was  living  and 
effective.  Had  there  been  newspapers  then,  Paul 
vould  have  read  them  to  purpose.  He  was  the 
very  last  man  in  the  world  to  imagine  that 
'intellectual  darkness  was  the  guarantee  of 
spiritual  light,'  or  that  because  a  man  was  not 
a  Christian,  he  must  therefore  be  a  fool. 

Such  a  man  could  not  but  be  in  closest  touch 
with  Rome.  We  find  traces  of  this  continually 
in  his  writings — often  surprisingly.  For  instance, 
the  Roman  law  impresses  him,  and  that  great 
forensic  system  of  theology  which  has  been  for 
so  many  centuries  the  very  centre  and  backbone 
of  Christian  belief,  owes  something  to  this  fact 
Again,  in  his  doctrine  of  adoption,  he  is  using, 
changing,  and  wonderfully  enriching  a  Roman 
practice  of  investing  persons  formerly  not  sons 
with  the  filial  status. 

Thus  Paul  and  the  Roman  spirit  understood 
each  other  well  Everyone  must  have  noted  how 
confidently  and  with  what  gusto  he  appealed  unto 
Csesar.  Every  student  of  his  life  must  have  felt 
how  differently  he  fared  under  Roman  judges 
from  his  treatment  by  either  Jews  or  Asiatics. 
Gallic  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  Jewish 
persecution  of  him,  Lysias  saved  his  life,  Festus 
and  even  Felix  protected  him  in  safety. 

Professor  Ramsay,  to  whose  work  this  article 
is  deeply  indebted,  takes  a  most  interesting  view  of 
the  Book  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  which  brings 
out  this  point.  It  was,  he  says,  a  book  written 
to  prove  that  Christianity  was  legal  in  Roman 
law.  He  thinks  that  it  is  an  unfinished  book, 
and  that  Luke  contemplated  writing  a  third  book 
giving  an  account  of  the  trial  and  acquittal  of 
Paul.  Of  the  book  as  it  stands  he  says ;  '  He 
was  engaged  in  composing  this  book  under 
Domitiau,  a  period  of  persecution,  when  Christians 
had  come  to  be  treated  as  outlaws  or  brigands, 
and  the  mere  confession  of  the  name  was 
rec(^nized  as  a  capital  offence.  The  book  was 
not  an  apology  for  Christianity;  it  was  an  appeal 
to  the  truth  of  history  against  the  immoral  and 
ruinous  policy  of  the  reigning  emperor;  a 
temperate  and  solemn  record,  by  one  who  had 
played  a  great  part  in  them,  of  the  real  facts 
regarding  the  formation  of  the  Church,  its  steady 
and  unswerving  loyalty  in  the  past,  its  firm  resolve 
to   accept   the    (acts    of   Imperial    Government, 


its  friendly  reception  by  many  Romans,  and  its 
triumphant  vindication  in  the  first  great  trial  at 
Rome.  It  was  the  work  of  one  who  had  been 
trained  by  Paul  to  look  forward  to  Christianity 
becoming  the  religion  of  the  empire  and  of  the 
world,  who  regarded  Christianity  as  destined  not 
to  destroy  but  to  save  the  empire.'  Thus  there 
runs  through  the  whole  book  a  very  artful  and 
very  convincing  strain  of  argument.  The  Romans 
find  everywhere  their  law  and  their  sense  of 
justice  leading  them  to  befriend  and  protect 
Christianity,  which  is  thus  quietly  identified  with 
the  honour  of  the  Roman  Empire.  And  this  leads 
us  to  that  new  view  of  Paul's  greatness  which  now 
we  find.  The  greatness  of  St.  John  the  mystic 
went  into  hatred — a  historic  and  undying  hatred 
of  the  harlot  city.  The  greatness  of  St.  Paul, 
the  man  of  affairs,  went  into  a  tremendous  scheme 
for  uriliring  the  Roman  Empire  for  Christ's 
purposes.  '  He  was  beyond  all  doubt  one  of 
those  great  creative  geniuses  whose  policy  marks 
out  the  lines  on  which  history  is  to  move  for 
generations  and  even  for  centuries  afterwards.' 

Let  us  now  consider  three  great  illustrations  of 
this  fact,  viz. :  Paul's  use  of  the  Roman  Roads, 
the  Roman  Citizenship,  and  the  Roman  Im- 
perialism. 

1.  The  Roman  Roads. — As  the  Roman  wars 
brought  the  armies,  and  after  victory  the  colonists, 
farther  and  farther  across  the  world,  it  became 
necessary  to  establish  lines  of  communication  with 
the  most  distant  places.  The  Romans  never  did 
this  sort  of  thing  by  halves,  and  the  roads  they  built 
remain  to  this  day  the  wonder  of  succeeding  genera- 
tions. Radiating  from  Rome  as  a  centre,  these 
grand  military  roads  stretched  like  a  huge  spider 
web  to  the  ends  of  the  earth ;  linking  towns  and 
villages  with  each  other,  uniting  whole  regions 
into  consolidated  states,  and  ali  leading  eventually 
into  one  or  other  of  those  great  Italian  highways 
like  the  Via  Appia  and  the  Via  Latina,  which  at 
last  passed  under  the  arch  of  the  city  gale. 

Looking  back  to  the  first  century,  as  the 
student's  eye  falls  on  that  network  of  highways, 
it  wanders  until  on  one  of  them  it  discovers  the 
solitary  figure  of  this  man  Paul,  staff  in  hand,  and 
with  no  very  large  scrip  to  carry  his  belongings. 
That  figure  walking  on  the  Roman  road  is  one 
of  the  most  significant  in  all  history. 

The  Roman  policy  in  the  main  was  to  allow 
religions  to  propagate  themselves  without  interfer- 


78 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


ence.  In  the  city  itself  men  fTom  all  corners  of 
the  earth  might  worship  their  own  gods.  In  the 
provinces  they  might-  worship  what  they  pleased. 
It  would  seem  that  it  was  Gallio  of  Corinth  whose 
action  determined  finally  Paul's  grand  Hne  of 
conduct  Gallio,  whose  'caring  for  none  of  these 
things'  has  been  much  misunderstood,  really 
showed  Paul  that  Rome  was  not  prepared  to 
check  an  enterprise  he  had  long  been  maturing. 
This  was  no  less  than  the  enterprise  of  making 
Christianity  the  religion  of  the  civilized  world. 
That  this  was  in  his  mind  we  gather  definitely 
from  a  trivial  looking  reference  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans,  where  he  says  he  intends  to  go  on  from 
Rome  to  Spain.  Spain  was  the  most  Romanized 
country,  the  chief  seat  of  Roman  civilization,  in 
the  West,  and  this  plan  is  full  of  significance. 

Thus  when  we  speak  of  Paul  as  the  great 
fouDder  of  foreign  missions, — as  the  apostle  of 
the  Gentiles, — we  must  not  think  simply  of  a 
preacher  and  organizer  of  individual  churches  in 
many  different  heathen  places.  We  mean  rather 
that  here  is  one  grand  organization  which  one 
statesmanlike  mind  found  ready  to  his  hand  and 
deliberately  used.  The  Roman  roads  had  made 
the  world  one,  connecting  the  various  centres  of 
Roman  government  throughout  the  provinces, 
Paul,  like  Wesley,  '  regarded  the  world  as  his 
parish.'  But  it  was  a  world  already  organized  for 
him.  He  did  not  go  to  savage  heathendom,  as  if 
any  one  place  were  as  suitable  as  any  other  for 
the  propagation  of  the  gospel.  He  chose  the 
ganglia  of  the  nerves,  the  central  points  of  the 
roads,  the  chief  Rom.in  centres,  such  as  Puteoli, 
Corinth,  Ephesus,  Antioch.  At  Rome  itself  he 
established  a  church,  with  the  distinct  purpose  of 
making  that  the  headquarters,  the  natural  base  of 
operations,  for  a  missionary  campaign  through 
Western  Europe.  Elsewhere  he  chose  the  com- 
mercial, military,  and  intellectual  centres  in  which 
to  establish  the  gospel. 

What  fascinating  work  it  must  have  been  !  how 
full  of  excitement  and  adventure !  As  we  see  that 
solitary  figure  on  the  Roman  road,  quickening  his 
pace  as  he  comes  near  some  new  centre,  we  can 
feel  the  more  excited  beating  of  the  pulse  and  see 
the  kindling  eye.  He  is  off  to  stand,  to  speak,  to 
take  what  comes,  ever  in  new  towns.  It  Is  his 
lifework.  Yet  it  never  can  have  grown  dull  upon 
him ;  and  to  the  end,  driven  onward  by  his  great 
plan,  he  feels  on  each  occasion  the  excitement  of 


watching  and  speculating  as  to  the  result  of  each 
new  attempt  and  venture. 

A  little  thought  reveals  to  us  at  once  bov 
original  and  how  Titanic  this  plan  of  his  was. 
Who  were  they  who  trod  these  roads  then? 
Soldiers  out  from  the  capital,  merchants,  roarkec- 
ing  countryfolk,  and  all  the  traffic,  old  and  oev. 
that  flows  on  century  after  century.  But  the  most 
significant  thing  of  Paul's  time  was  the  infiatr 
from  the  provinces  to  Rome.  '  All  movements  of 
thought  throughout  the  empire  acted  with  marvel- 
lous rapidity  on  Rome,  the  heart  of  the  vast  and 
complicated  organism.'  .  .  .  'The  Imperial  policy 
fostered  intercommunication  and  unity  to  the 
utmost ;  and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  travel- 
ling was  more  highly  developed,  and  the  dividing 
power  of  distance  was  weaker,  under  the  empire 
than  at  any  time  before  or  since  until  we  come 
down  to  the  present  century.'  This  being  so,  we 
see  a  stream  of  evil  travellers  invading  Rome 
continually.  Impostures,  superstitions,  unnatural 
and  shameful  luxuries  of  vice,— every  imaginable 
degradation  and  corruption  that  could  be  found 
anywhere  in  the  world, — flowed  steadily  Rome- 
wards  to  find  a  market  there ;  until  Sallust  speaks 
of  the  city  as  the  cesspool  of  the  world. 

The  old  Roman  party  of  the  lime,  conservative 
and  staunch,  dreaded  this  evil  inflow.  They  saw 
how  it  was  ruining  Roman  thought  and  manners. 
They  opposed  it  with  all  their  strength.  But  they 
were  powerless  to  check  it.  Rome's  very  great- 
ness, her  brilliance  and  attractiveness,  had  become 
her  danger.  Her  very  highways — the  chief  monu- 
ments of  her  strength  and  robustness — were  be- 
coming the  means  of  her  weakening  and  decay. 

It  was  this  that  Paul  rose  up  to  check,  doing 
what  the  emperors,  the  historians,  and  the 
philosophers  of  Rome  confessed  they  could  not 
do.  Planting  Christianity  at  the  knots,  or  cross- 
ing-places of  the  roads,  he  set  its  stream  also 
flowing  Romewards.  From  all  directions  the 
gospel  of  Christ  flowed  into  the  city,  along  with 
so  many  baser  things.  And  it  was  largely  on 
account  of  this  that  Rome  attained  the  pre- 
eminence she  reached  as  the  centre  of  Christen- 
dom in  these  early  days.  Surely  it  was  a  states- 
manlike way  of  doing  foreign  mission  work. 

2,  The  Roman  Citiunship. — Roman  history  has 
for  its  distinction  this,  that  in  it  we  have  the  record, 
not  of  one  country  governing  other  countries,  but 
of  a  single  city  making  herself  mistress  of  the 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


world.  It  is  interesting  to  remember  how  much 
the  single  city  counts  for  in  the  New  Testament. 
St.  Joho  and  St.  Paul  are  responsible  for  this. 
But  John  hated  Rome.  His  city  was  Jerusalem, 
and  the  whole  magnificence  of  his  inspired  im- 
agination is  spent  in  reconstructing  that  desolated 
capital  into  the  New  Jerusalem,  with  its  sunless 
light,  its  worship  without  a  temple,  its  jewel  gates 
and  golden  streets,  its  river  and  trees  of  life.  It 
is  not  of  the  earth,  but  descends  from  heaven — 
at  least  not  of  the  present  earth,  for  it  may  be  a 
forecast  of  the  better  days  of  the  future  here  as 
well  as  of  the  heavenly  city. 

Paul  also  was  a  man  of  the  city,  but  his  city 
was  Rome.  He  had  nothing  to  say  of  her  streets 
or  gates  or  temples.  It  was  her  citizenship  that 
fascinated  him.  And  he  did  for  that  idea  what 
John  did  for  his  Jerusalem — glorified  and  spiritu- 
alized it,  and  set  it  free  to  conquer  the  imagination 
and  to  draw  the  desires  of  the  world. 

In  the  case  of  a  city  which  is  mistress  of  the 
world,  municipal  ideas  and  privileges  become 
national  and  indeed  universal  ones.  With  us  the 
'  freedom  of  the  city '  is  a  small  affair ;  with  Rome, 
it  was  the  greatest  affair  of  all.  Just  as  the  Greeks 
divided  the  world  into  Greeks  and  barbarians,  so 
the  Romans  divided  it  into  citizens  and  strangers. 
Besides  other  rights,  citizenship  conferred  these; 
that  the  citizen  could  not  be  scourged ;  that  he 
could  not  (except  in  extremest  circumstances)  be 
arrested ;  and  that  he  had  the  right  of  appeal 
from  all  minor  courts  to  Cicsaj  himself. 

At  first  the  citizenship  of  Rome  was  confined 
to  inhabitants  of  the  city.  In  later  days,  Caracalla 
extended  it  to  inhabitants  of  the  provinces.  Paul 
lived  in  the  middle  time,  when  Julius  Cssar  had 
widened  it,  not  to  the  provinces,  but  to  the  whole 
Italian  peninsula.  Thus  in  Paul's  lime  a  citizen 
meant  either  a  native  of  Italy  or  a  stranger  who 
had  received  the  privilege  either  by  buying  it 
at  an  enormous  price,  or  as  a  reward  for  some 
distinguished  service.  It  was  conveyed  in  a 
diploma,  to  forge  which  was  a  crime  punishable 
by  death.  The  possession  of  that  diploma  stamped 
a  family  as  one  of  distinction,  and  at  least  of 
moderate  wealth.  It  superseded  all  other  honours, 
and  pbced  its  possessor  among  the  aristocracy  of 
any  provincial  town. 

To  this  latter  class — the  class  of  strangers  who 
had  in  some  way  acquired  the  privilege — it  would 
seem  that  the  family  of  Paul  belonged ;  though  we 


know  nothing  of  the  circumstances  under  which 
Paul's  father  had  received  the  citizenship. 

This  we  do  know,  that  Paul  prized  and  openly 
boasted  of  the  honour.  It  is  true  that  he,  who 
so  willingly  suffered  alt  things  for  Christ's  sake, 
allowed  his  enemies  to  violate  this  privilege  on 
eight  different  occasions;  but  when  he  asserted 
it,  he  did  so  with  pride  and  with  effect  At 
Philippi  he  brought  the  magistrates  cringing  to 
his  feet  in  the  prison ;  at  Jerusalem  he  turned  the 
cheek  of  Claudius  Lysias  pale  when  he  declared 
himself. 

It  was  not,  however,  for  the  sake  of  the  indi- 
vidual distinction  it  conferred  upon  him  that  Paul 
valued  the  privilege  most  highly.  Like  all  else, 
this  was  valuable  chiefly  as  it  became  an  instru- 
ment in  his  hand  for  Christ's  service.  For  his 
mission  work  it  was  as  perfect  an  instrument  as  a 
man  might  ask.  The  point  where  Paul  most  of 
all  broke  away  from  the  Jews  was  his  universalism. 
He  had  broken  down  that  wall  of  partition  be- 
tween Jew  and  Gentile,  which  formed  so  impass- 
able a  barrier  before  his  time.  Rome,  by  offering 
to  all  the  world  the  fellowship  of  her  city,  led 
men  in  every  province  to  try  to  gain  it  And 
once  a  Roman  citizen  (so  strong  and  glorious  was 
the  bond),  a  man  might  be  said  to  have  changed 
his  nationality,  and  to  belong  to  the  one  great 
family  of  Rome.  It  can  be  easily  seen  how  great 
a  help  this  must  have  been  to  him  when  he  too 
planned  his  universal  brotherhood. 

But  Paul  heightened  and  spiritualized  every 
instrument  he  used.  The  worth  of  citizenship 
must  ultimately  be  measured  by  the  worth  of  the 
city  that  gives  it.  No  one  could  see  more  clearly 
than  Paul  that  the  moral  worth  of  Rome  was 
utteriy  out  of  proportion  to  the  idea  she  had 
created  of  the  worth  and  glory  of  her  citizenship. 
So  he,  to  whom  this  great  political  and  social  fact 
must  have  often  seemed  a  huge  sarcasm,  took  it 
only  for  the  model  of  a  spiritual  ideal.  The  true 
Rome  was  heaven,  the  true  citizenship  was  to 
have  heaven's  diploma.  'Our  citizenship  is  in 
heaven,'  he  writes  to  the  Philippians.  Again,  in 
the  same  Epistle,  he  says,  'Behave  as  citizens 
worthy  of  the  gospel  of  Christ.'  While  writing 
to  the  Ephesians  he  says  more  fully,  'Now  there- 
fore ye  are  no  more  strangers  and  foreigners,  but 
fellow-citizens  with  the  saints,  and  of  the  house- 


We  see  what  he  has  done  in  this.    WM  Paal 


'M  Pat 


So 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


a  metaphor  ceases  to  be  a  metaphor.  It  becomes 
a  force  that  seizes  upon  spiritual  truth,  and  im- 
presses its  own  stamp  upon  it  Just  as  Paul  took 
the  Roman  highways,  and  turned  them  from 
military  and  commercial  to  Christian  and  spiritual 
uses,  so  here  he  does  with  Roman  citizenship. 
It  was  the  highest  point  of  honour,  the  most 
coveted  privilege  in  the  world,  making  men  hold 
themselves  erect  and  Teel  the  dignity  of  their 
position.  It  was  also  the  greatest  political  and 
social  bond  of  union  between  man  and  man.  In 
Paul's  use  of  it  we  see  this  nation  of  the  world 
bringing  its  honour  and  glory  into  the  City  of 
God  (to  quote  John's  expression).  The  citizen 
idea  forces  the  social  and  public  side  of 
Christianity  upon  everyone  who  accepts  it ;  it  also 
confers  upon  every  humblest  Christian  the  self- 
respect,  the  dignity,  the  erect  bearing  of  a  citizen 
of  no  mean  city. 

3.  The  Roman  Imperialism. — In  this  we  have 
by  far  the  most  striking  and  the  most  evident 
connexion  between  Paul  and  Rome.  In  his  time 
Imperialism  absolutely  dominated  the  thought  of 
the  Roman  world.  'Every  group  of  Roman 
citizens  meeting  together  in  a  body  in  any  part 
of  the  empire,  formed  a  part  of  the  great  con- 
ception "  Rome,"  and  such  a  group  was  not  an 
intelligible  idea  except  as  a  piece  of  the  great 
unity.'  While  Rome  allowed  the  provinces  to 
retain  much  of  their  old  life,  she  set  herself  to 
discourage  local  patriotism.  This  she  did  in 
many  different  ways.  She  fed  them  with  com 
in  time  of  dearth  ;  she  set  up  amphitheatres,  and 
instituted  games  and  gladiatorial  shows ;  she  tried 
to  take  up  the  education  question,  and  arrange 
for  educating  the  world  ;  last  and  boldest,  she  set 
up  a  new  Imperial  religion — the  universal  worship 
of  the  Roman  emperor — which  was  to  unite  all 
nations  in  worship;  and,  since  its  priests  of  every 
land  were  to  be  imperial  officers,  it  was  expected 
greatly  to  strengthen  the  imperial  cause. 

Such  is  some  slight  sketch  of  the  Roman 
Imperialism  of  the  time.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  Jesus  Christ  was  cruciiied  on  the  charge  of 
having  set  up  a  kingdom  that  was  to  rival  it. 
This  was  what  His  enemies  took  Him  to  mean 
when  he  spoke  of  a  'kingdom  of  God.'  It  is  true 
His  reply  was,  'My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world.' 
Yet  that  kingdom  of  His  was,  in  fact,  destined  to 
take  its  models  trom  worldly  kingdoms.  First 
Paul  in  his  conception    of   the   Church;    then 


Augustine  in  his  City  of  God ;  then  Dante  in 
his  'Dc  Monarchia,'  set  Christ's  kingdom  along 
the  model  lines  of  the  Roman  Empire.  It 
needed  some  such  defining  and  sharpening. 
Christ's  description  of  it  was  necessarily  a  vague 
and  general  one,  so  given  {in  His  beatitudes  and 
other  sayings)  as  to  adapt  itself  to  the  conditions 
of  each  successive  age.  What  Paul  did  for  it  was 
to  adjust  it  to  the  political  conditions  of  his  time 
— in  a  word,  to  the  Roman  Empire. 

That  this  is  so  is  as  certain  as  anything  we 
know  of  Paul.  As  Professor  Ramsay  has  shown 
past  all  doubt,  he  took  up  an  altitude  of  friendli- 
ness towards  the  Imperial  Government,  which  he 
never  tries  to  conceal.  This,  indeed,  was  usual 
with  provincial  citizens,  and  particularly  with  Jews 
who  had  acquired  the  privilege.  They  were  noted 
as  warm  partisans  of  the  empire.  To  Paul  it  was 
in  every  way  a  congenial  idea.  '  The  grand  style 
of  thinking  about  affairs  came  natural  to  him,'  and 
the  imperial  idea  exactly  suited  that  'grand  style.' 
We  can  see  this  especially  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans.  Evidently  the  writer  is  stimulated  by 
the  thought  that  his  words  were  going  to  Rome. 
It  is  an  epistle  quite  imperial  in  tone  and  style. 
He  is  not  abashed  by  the  imperial  city,  but  in 
strong  sympathy  with  its  large  ideals.  He  writes 
as  one  who  feels  that  he  has  a  thought  imperial  as 
Rome  herself. 

Ay,  a  thought  greater  and  more  imperial.  It  is 
the  thought  of  the  Church  Invisible — the  ideal 
Church,  which  Paul  was  founding  and  realizing 
on  the  earth.  That  Church,  as  Paul  conceived  it, 
was  to  be  a  new  unified  humanity — unified  very 
much  on  the  lines  of  the  Roman  Empire.  Each 
local  church  was  to  have  its  local  home  rule,  and 
yet  all  were  to  be  unified  in  an  imperial  central 
government.  Christendom  was  to  be  a  unity,  at 
once  self-governing  and  subject  to  a  central 
authority.  The  emperor  was  Christ;  the  centre 
heaven.  With  this  difference,  the  Church  was 
practically  a  Holy  Roman  Empire. 

The  intense  spirituality  of  this  conception  was 
the  main  feature  in  which  it  differed  from  and 
excelled  the  Roman  Imperialism.  Its  universality, 
in  which  all  distinctions  were  lost,  was  the  direct 
result  of  its  spirituality.  There  was  to  be  neither 
'Jew  nor  Greek,  barbarian,  Scythian,  bond  nor 
free,'  because  'all  were  to  be  one  in  Christ  Jesus' 
It  was  'a  spiritual  society,  in  which  nothing  was 
to  be  taken  into  account  but  the  personal  relation 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Si 


of  each  member'  to  Jesus  Christ,  the  comroon 
object  of  faith  and  service.  Alt  divisions  were  to 
be  merged  in  that  bond  of  union  ;  all  Christians 
everywhere  forgetting  their  differences  and  re- 
membering their  common  Lord ;  every  body  of 
Christians  who  happened  to  come  together  any- 
where recognizing  their  corporate  existence  to 
mean  for  them  simply  that  here  there  was  a  small 
part  of  that  great  Church  which  was  the  religious 
counterpart  of  the  Roman  Empire. 

This  thought  is  one  which  must  in  a  peculiar 
way  come  home  to  every  thinking  man  to-day. 
What  the  future  of  politics  is  to  be,  God  only 
knows.  There  is  much  that  at  least  seems 
moving  towards  Imperialism.  The  federation  of 
colonies,  the  merging  of  smaller  states  in  larger, 
and  many  other  signs  of  the  times  appear  to  point 
towards  this.  What  the  new  Imperialism  is  to  be, 
who  can  tell?  This  is  not  the  place  to  discuss 
such  things.  But,  while  men's  thoughts  and 
speculations  are  busy  on  these  problems,  here  is 
a  master-thought — one  of  the  greatest  of  Paul's 
thoughts — which  it  will  be  well  for  us  all  to 
remember,  and  to  keep  firmly  fixed  in  our  minds. 
This  is  the  true  Imperialism,  in  which  no  nation 
grudges  another  its  place,  but  all  are  united 
under  the  central  rule  of  Christ.  For,  in  this 
Imperialism,  'the  kingdoms  of  the  world  are 
become  the  kingdom  (singular,  not  plural)  of  God 
and  of  His  Christ.' 

That  was  Paul's  ideal — the  most  Titanic  of  all 
his  thoughts.  How  far  was  it  realized?  How  far 
did  it  fail  ?  To  a  large  extent,  indeed,  it  failed, 
or  seemed  to  fail.  It  was  spoiled  by  individual 
churches,  whose  saints  or  teachers  were  set  up 
by  small-minded  devotees  as  the  successful  rivals 
of  other  churches  and  their  heroes.  It  was 
spoiled  still  more  by  the  worldly-mindedness  of 
the  early  ecclesiastics,  who  accepted  Paul's 
Imperialism,  but  centralized  in  Rome  instead  of 


heaven,  and  took  the  Bishop  of  Rome  for  emperor 
instead  of  Christ,  From  the  side  of  Rome,  too, 
it  failed.  Rome  failed  to  see  in  Paul  one  who, 
better  than  any  man  of  his  time,  understood  her 
policy^ — saw  farther  into  it  than  her  own  statesmen 
saw — was  her  ally;  and  whose  New  Imperialism 
might  have  saved  her  empire  from  ruin.  Spain 
had  only  a  chain  for  Columbus  when  he  returned 
and  gave  her  a  new  world;  Rome  had  but  a 
prison  and  an  executioner  for  Paul  when  he 
offered  her  an  Eternal  Empire. 

Yet  it  succeeded — Rome  would  not  see  it,  but 
Paul's  New  Rome  lived  on.  The  highways,  the 
citizenship,  the  empire  more  and  more  took 
Christian  form,  and  lived  on  through  the  sack 
of  Rome.  'One  of  the  most  remarkable  sides 
of  the  history  of  Rome  is  the  growth  of  ideas 
which  found  their  realization  and  completion  in 
the  Christian  Empire.  Universal  citizenship, 
universal  equality  of  rights,  universal  religion,  a 
universal  Church,  all  were  ideas  which  the  empire 
was  slowly  working  out,  but  which  it  could  not 
realize  till  it  merged  itself  in  Christianity.'  In  a 
word,  'Christianity  did  what  the  Roman  emperors 
tried  to  do  and  failed.'  They  succeeded  in 
feeding  the  world,  and  in  amusing  the  world — 
and  it  is  probable  that  in  both  of  these  respects 
it  would  have  been  better  for  the  world  if  they 
had  failed.  They  failed  in  their  attempt  to 
educate  the  world  and  to  give  it  a  universal 
religion,  and  so  to  unify  it  in  a  permanent  empire. 
These  things  Christianity  did,  and  largely  through 
the  instrumentality  of  Paul.  From  these  early 
days  till  now,  and  from  now  till  the  end  of  time, 
there  goes  on  with  Christendom  the  true  Imperial 
Ideal — all  men  free,  equal,  educated,  worshipping, 
under  one  central  government  which  is  the  empire 
of  God.  It  is  for  each  successive  age  to  realize 
that  ideal  as  God  will  give  it  wisdom,  and  large- 
ness of  mind,  and  power  of  action. 


jyGoot^Ie 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


THE  BOOKS  OF  THE  MONTH. 


MEANINGS  AND  METHODS  OF  THE  SPIRITUAL 
LIFE.  B¥  H.  W.  Clark.  [A/lcmon.  Crown  Svo, 
pp.  238.  65.) 
This  preacher  has  his  own  unmistakable  mes- 
sage. It  is  not  the  message  of  the  Bible,  fully 
and  exactly.  Whose  message  is  ?  It  puts  more 
emphasis  on  character  than  the  Bible  does,  and 
less  on  that  vhich  makes  character  possible, 
Christ  made  sin  for  us.  But  it  is  his  own  mes- 
sage, and  it  will  always  find  its  own  audience. 
There  are  traces  surely  of  a  recoil  from  an  early 
sterner  training,  a  recoil  which  seems  to  colour 
even  the  interpretation  of  Scripture  here  and  there. 
But,  again,  there  are  great  passages  admirably 
interpreted,  and  the  writer  is  particularly  happy  in 
making  one  passage  of  Scripture  illustrate  and 
complete  another.      

To  the  '  Guild  Text -Books,'  edited  by  Professor 
Charteris  and  Dr.  M'Clymont,  and  published  by 
Messrs.  A.  &  C.  Black,  an  addition  has  been 
made  under  the  title  of  Studies  in  tAe  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  by  the  Rev,  W.  Robertson,  M.A.  (izmo, 
pp.  154,  6d.  net).  It  is  a  historical  commentary 
on  the  Book  of  Acts,  such  as  Professor  Ramsay 
has  made  us  familiar  with,  but  clinging  more 
closely  than  Professor  Ramsay  does  to  the  con- 
tents of  the  Scripture  narrative  The  difficulty 
must  have  been  to  avoid  mere  paraphrasing. 
That  difficulty  is  not  only  itself  overcome,  but  in 
overcoming  it  the  author  has  written  many  pas- 
sages of  real  and  independent  eloquence.  The 
exegetical  footnotes  are  so  good  that  it  is  a  pity 
they  are  so  few.        

TRAVEL  IN  THE  FIRST  CENTURV.     By  Carohnb 

A.  J.  SkbbL.     (Cambridge:  At  tht  University  Press. 

Ciown  Svo,  pp.  169,  with  M>ps.     5s.} 

On  many  grounds  this  book  is  most  welcome. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  the  work  of  a  woman. 

More  than  that,  it  is  a  product  of  scholarship, 

working  on  the  original  sources,  and  advancing 

the  knowledge  of  its  subject  by  one  clear  step. 

Still  further,  its  subject  is  one  of  the   highest 

interest  and  importance  for  biblical  science.     We 

have  learned  to  ask  the  geographer  to  help  us  in 

the  study  of  the  Bible;  this  keen-eyed  geographer 


helps  us  greatly,  and  yet  her  book  is  a  fascinating 
volume  of  travel.        

ROBERT  BROWNING  AS  A  RELIGIOUS  TEACHER. 
By  a.  C.  PiGOU,  B.A.  {Cambridge :  At  th4  l/nttxr- 
tUy  Press.  Crown  Svo,  pp.  144.  is.  6<1.  net.) 
This  is  the  essay  that  gained  the  Bumey  Prin 
for  1900.  The  winner  of  the  Bumey  Prize  has  to 
publish  his  essay.  Were  it  not  so,  Mr.  Pigon 
says,  this  essay  would  not  have  been  published, 
since  he  has  corae  to  look  upon  it  as  something  ,01 
a  tour  tie  force.  Mr.  Pigou  means  that  he  has 
made  Browning  out  to  be  more  of  a  philosopher, 
or  at  least  more  consistent  as  a  thinker,  than  he 
really  is.  And  that  is  a  serious  fault  no  doubt 
For  the  more  consistent  Browning  is  as  a  thitiker, 
the  less  a  poet  is  he.  Inconsistency,  the  mark  of 
life,  is  the  most  characteristic  note  of  poetry. 
Mr.  Lang  has  shown  us  that  Gloucester  in 
King  Lear  says  first,  '  No  farther,  sir ;  a  man  maj 
rot  even  here ' ;  and  then,  when  Edgar  reminds 
him  that  men  must  not  seek  their  death  bui 
endure  it  like  men  when  it  comes,  he  adds,  'and 
that's  true  too.'  Not  only  '  that's  true,'  but  '  that's 
true  too.'  But  Mr.  Pigou  has  not  forgotten  thb 
so  utterly  as  he  thinks.  His  Browning  is  by  no 
means  a  consistent  thinker.  He  is  a  poet  still. 
.4nd  his  essay  shows  more  clearly  than  we  have 
ever  seen  that  the  root  of  Browning's  excellence 
as  a  poet  is  his  inconsistency  in  maintaining  his 
belief  in  God  simply  because  he  cannot  do 
without  Him,  while  the  world  of  natural  things 
seems  to  deny  His  existence. 

NEWMAN  HALL:  AN  AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  {CaiieV. 
Post  Svo,  pp.  391.  7s.  6d.) 
Of  Dr.  Newman  Hall's  Autobiography  the  con- 
ventional words  are  strictly  true  that  it  has  not 
one  dull  page.  And  no  wonder.  Dr.  Newman 
Hall  has  not  one  dull  moment.  He  has  come  in 
contact  with  many  of  the  men  and  women  of 
whom  we  delight  to  hear — Gladstone,  John  Bright, 
Cuyler,  Spurgeon — as  well  as  with  many  move 
ments.  But,  throughout  all  the  reading  of  this 
book,  the  man  in  whom  we  feel  most  interest  is 
Newman  Hall  himself,  the  movement  his  own 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


83 


progress  in  grace  and  service.  Why  do  not  the 
servants  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  whose  sole 
business  it  is  to  be  witnesses,  more  frequently 
give  their  witness  in  the  form  of  an  autobiography  P 
It  is  a  dangerous  shore  no  doubt,  and  there  are 
wrecks.  But  this  book  shows  that  the  navigation 
is  not  impossible.       

THE  ATONEMENT  AND  INTERCESSION  OF 
CHRIST  By  PRiNcirAU  D.  C.  Davirs,  M.A. 
IT.  &•  T.  Clark.     Crown  8vo,  pp.  164,     4s.) 

It  used  to  be  the  case  that  the  proper  way  for  a 
theologian  to  make  his  mark  was  by  an  original 
contribution  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Atonement 
Then  can:ie  a  time  when  originality  on  the  doctrine 
of  the  Atonement  was  counted  eccentricity.  It 
was  thought  that  every  possible  theory  had  been 
exhausted,  and  interest  passed  to  other  doctrines, 
especially  the  Incarnation.  But  the  doctrine  of 
the  Atonement  has  returned  upon  us.  LJdgett 
and  Moberley  have  written  something  original 
upon  it,  and  we  have  not  dared  to  call  it  eccen- 
tricity. There  are  indications  that  in  sptte  of  its 
impenetrability  no  doctrine  moves  either  intellect 
or  heart  so  deeply.  We  welcome  a  new  book  on 
the  Atonement  again  more  greedily  than  on  any 
other  subject 

Principal  Davies  of  Trevecca  was  an  original 
thinker.  Said  the  late  Principal  Edwards  of  Bala : 
'  He  was  not  a  product  of  his  age,  nor  was  he 
fashioned  by  it.  He  stood  apart  from  it  by  the 
strength  of  his  own  individuality.'  Now  there  was 
no  doctrine  on  which  he  spent  his  strength  so 
gladly  as  the  Atonement.  His  book  on  the  sub- 
ject is  small,  it  may  be  read  in  an  evening's 
sitting,  but  it  is  so  penetrating  and  so  unexpected, 
that  it  would  have  been  a  great  loss  to  modern 
theology  if  it  had  not  been  published.  We  owe 
its  publication  in  English  to  the  careful  hand  of 
the  Rev.  D.  E.  Jenkins  of  Portmadoc.  We  are 
astonished  to  learn  that  it  is  the  work  of  a  young 
man.  Its  simplicity  makes  that  astonishing  not 
less  than  its  penetration. 


THE  CH RIST OF  HISTORV  AND  OF  EXPERIENCE. 

By  D.  W.  Forrest,   D.D.     (T.  &-  T.   Clark.     8vo, 

Thiid  Edition,  pp.  xx,  4S9.     6s.) 

It  is  four  years  since  Dr.  Forrest  published  the 

(irst  edition  of  his  Kerr  Lectures.     Their  subject 

is  more  prominent,  and  perhaps  more  pressing, 

now  than  it  was  then.    To  this  result  Dr.  Forrest 


himself  may  have  contributed,  with  his  frank  and 
incisive  style  and  his  keen  intellectual  interest 
His  subject,  to  put  it  in  his  own  words,  is  '  the 
problem  raised  by  the  union  of  the  Historical  and 
the  Spiritual  in  Christianity.*  It  compels  him  on 
the  historical  side  to  examine  the  records,  and  on 
the  spiritual  side  to  examine  the  self^consciousness 
of  Christ  and  of  the  believer  in  Christ.  In  short, 
he  answers  the  question,  Why  am  I,  or  why  ought 
I  to  be,  a  Christian  ?  And  that  is  still,  after  all 
these  ages  of  Christianity,  the  burning  question  of 
the  present  moment  In  the  course  of  the  discus- 
sion, Dr.  Forrest's  active  mind  necessarily  touches 
many  matters  that  may  be  called  subsidiary.  One 
of  these  is  the  question,  '  Did  Jesus  pray  with  His 
disciples  i"  upon  which  there  is  a  separate  note 
as  an  appendix  to  this  third  edition.  But  for  all 
that,  no  writer  ever  held  himself  more  rigidly  or 
lucidly  to  his  proper  theme,  and  we  still  think 
that,  unrivalled  as  the  theme  is  in  importance,  as 
a  popular  exposition  his  book  is  also  unrivalled. 

Through  Mr.  Gardner  of  Paisley,  the  Rev.  R. 
Menzies  Fergusson,  M.A.,  of  Logic,  has  published 
an  edition  of  the  Christian  Precepts  serving  lo  the 
Practice  of  Sandification  of  his  great  predecessor, 
Alexander  Hume  (fcap  8vo,  pp.  56).  He  has 
added  in  footnotes  passages  that  are  parallel  in 
thought  from  ^  Kempis. 

NEGLECTED  PEOPLE  OF  THE   BIBLE.     Bv  Dins. 

DALB    T.    Young.      {Madder    &•    Simghton.      8vo, 

pp.  a77.  S"-  6d) 
Surely  the  people  of  whom  Mr.  Young  writes 
are  not  so  utterly  n^lected.  Isaac,  Caleb,  Saul, 
Gehazi,  and  Apollos  are  among  them.  But  no 
matter;  to  believe  that  they  are  neglected  is  at 
least  to  be  original  in  the  treatment  of  them. 
Mr.  Young  is  also  very  practical  Every  turn  of 
experience,  every  trait  of  character  he  makes  the 
occasion  of  some  plain,  modem,  moral  lesson. 

The  fifth  volume  of  the  City  Temple  PulpU\^% 
been  issued  (Hodder  &  Stoughton,  8vo,  pp  396, 
3s.  6d.  net).  There  are  rumours  that  Dr.  Parker's 
strength  has  been  somewhat  overtaxed  of  late. 
No  wonder.  To  the  care  of  the  'City  Temple' 
he  has  recently  been  adding  the  care  of  all  the 
churches.  To  his  pastoral  work  he  has  been 
adding  a  literary  production  of  itself  enough  for 
a  single  man.     But  if  he  has  been  straining  his 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


physical  strength,  he  has  been  losing  none  of  bis 
iDtellectual  vitality.  Dr.  Parker  writes  and  writes, 
yet  he  never  says  what  others  have  said,  he  rarely 
even  says  what  he  himself  has  said  already. 

Professor  ^ar  Beet  has  now  republished  a 
series  of  articles  which  recently  appeared  in  The 
Expositor  on  The  Immortality  of  the  Soul  (Hodder 
&  Stoughton,  crown  8vo,  pp.  115,  as.).  He  calls 
his  book  '  A  Protest.'  It  is  a  protest  against  the 
doctrine  that  the  soul  of  man  is  naturally  im- 
mortal. Dr.  Beet  does  not  believe  that  the  soul 
of  man  is  immortal.  He  denies  that  the  Bible 
teaches  so,  or  that  the  Church  has  a  right  to  ask 
us  to  believe  so.  And  he  concludes  that  the 
notions  of  endless  punishment  of  the  lost  will 
simply  fall  away  so  soon  as  the  belief  in  man's 
natural  imroortality  is  surrendered. 

MESSAGES  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  Bv  thb 
Rbv,  GBORas  H.  C.  Macgkbcor,  M.A.  (Hodder  &• 
Sltrnghlm.  Crown  8vo,  pp.  178,  3s.  6d.) 
Each  book  is  treated  separately,  and  all  the 
books  are  treated  from  Genesis  to  Chronicles, 
while  the  prophet  Joel  is  added  at  the  end. 
Mr.  Macgregor  was  an  ornament  of  the  Keswick 
platform,  and  also  a  higher  critic.  He  believed 
that  the  Bible  was  made  for  man,  and  not  man 
for  the  Bible,  and  he  did  not  even  find  it  neces- 
sary to  keep  his  criticism  and  his  evangelicalism 
in  separate  compartments.  He  found  different 
documents  in  the  Hexaieuch,  but  he  found  in 
every  one  of  them  the  God  and  Father  of  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  not  as  a 
fragment  of  human  history  that  he  treats  each  of 
these  historical  books.  It  is  as  a  step  in  the  revela- 
tion of  the  grace  of  God  in  Christ. 

FLOOD-TIDE.  Bv  the  Rbv.  G.  H.  Morrison,  M.A. 
(Hodder  !^  Stoughlen.  Crown  8vo,  pp.  303.  Ss.) 
This  volume  contains  eight  and  twenty  short 
Sunday  evening  sermons.  They  are  not  evan- 
gelistic. Mr.  Morrison  assumes  that  those  who 
'attend  in  the  evening'  have  an  interest  in  Christ. 
He  further  assumes  that  they  are  ready  to  follow 
Christ  more  fully,  or  at  least  be  more  practically 
religious.  And  his  purpose  is  first  to  retain  their 
interest  in  the  Sunday  evening  service,  and 
second  to  persuade  them  to  a  fuller  life  of  love 
and  service.  The  subjects  are  well  chosen  and 
sometimes   arresting,  as  'The   Ministry  of  Sur- 


prise.' The  texts  are  sometimes  unusual,  as 
'He  stayeth  His  rough  wind  in  the  day  of  the 
east  wind,'  and  always  memorable.  The  style  is 
so  faultless  that  the  hushed  audience  knows  that 
one  word  lost  will  mar  the  impression.  But 
their  strength  is  in  their  brotheriiness.  It  is  a 
strong  brother  speaking  to  others  who  are  not  so 
strong;  but  it  is  always  a  brother. 

The  new  volume  of  the  Century  Bible  is  The 
Pastoral  Epistles,  by  the  Rev.  R.  F.  Horton, 
M.A.,  D-D.  (Jack,  pp.  196,  as.  net).  It  is  the 
commentary  of  a  preacher,  of  a  preacher  who  is 
also  a  scholar.  Now,  when  a  preacher  who  is 
also  a  scholar  is  restricted  in  space  he  produces 
the  best  possible  commentary.  The  unsurpassed 
interest  of  this  little  book  is  partly  due  to  Dr. 
Horton's  unsurpassed  clearness  of  expression,  but 
mainly  to  the  fact  that  he  mentions  nothing  that 
he  is  not  interested  in  himself.  The  authenticity 
of  the  Pastoral  Epistles  is  discussed  in  the  intro- 
duction and  on  almost  every  page  of  the  com- 
mentary itself,  but  the  oftener  it  returns  upon 
us,  the  more  we  get  interested  in  it. 

THE  EARLIEST  GOSPEL.  Bv  Allan  Menzibs, 
M.A.,  D.D.  (Macmillan.  Svo,  pp.  318.  8i.6d.iiel.) 
Why  is  it  that  St.  Mark  has  so  many  commen- 
tators, and  St.  Matthew  so  very  few  ?  Quite 
recently  we  received  both  Gould  and  Swete  on  St. 
Mark,  and  here  is  Menzies  now,  while  there  is  no 
scholar's  commentary  on  St.  Matthew  in  existence 
in  our  tongue.  We  do  not  grudge  St.  Mark  the 
honour;  we  do  not  regret  that  even  after  Swete 
and  Gould  Professor  Menzies  has  published  his 
thoroughly  original,  incisive,  and  instructive 
volume. 

Its  method  is  this.  There  is  first  an  Introduc- 
tion of  fifty  pages,  which  begins  with  the  Synoptic 
Problem  and  ends  with  Paplas.  It  is  written 
straight  on,  being  occupied  from  first  to  last  with 
the  questions  of  authenticity.  Then  follows  the 
Commentary.  A  corrected  Greek  text  is  found  at 
the  top  of  one  page  and  a  new  English  version  at 
the  top  of  the  opposite  page,  throughout.  The 
notes  belong  mostly  to  historical  criticism.  They 
are  occasionally  interrupted  by  an  excursus  on  such 
a  subject  as  demoniacal  possession. 

St.  Mark's  Gospel  is  treated  as  a  piece  of 
literature  pure  and  simple.  Professor  Menzies  is 
as  free  from  theological   (shall  we  dare  to  say 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


8S 


Christian  P)  prepossession  as  it  is  possible  for  a 
man  to  be  whose  hope  is  in  Christ.  This  the  most 
casual  reader  will  perceive,  for  every  sentence 
even  of  the  translation  reveals  it.  Dr.  Menzies 
makes  this  impression  deliberately.  His  aim  is  to 
enable  us  to  read  the  earliest  Gospel  without 
putting  on  the  spectacles  of  Church  History.  If 
he  could  he  would  let  us  read  it  as  if  we  had 
never  heard  of  the  Resurrection  of  Christ  from 
the  dead. 

This  commentary,  therefore,  is  not  written  'for 
edification.'  Horn ile tics  Dr.  Menzies  abhors. 
The  pulpit  is  not  in  all  his  thoughts.  Even  if  he 
makes  preaching  more  difficult  he  does  not  care. 
That  is  your  business.  His  business  is  to  help 
you  to  read  St.  Mark's  Gospel  unfettered  or  un- 
furnished by  anything  that  St.  Mark,  or  any  other 
Gospel,  has  done  for  the  world.  Professor  Menzies 
has  passed  a  self-denying  ordinance  almost  as 
surprising  as  that  of  the  apostle  who  was  content 
to  be  anathema  from  Christ  for  his  brethren's 
sake.  And  we  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that, 
whether  intentionally  or  not,  he  has  thereby  him- 
self become  a  most  potent  preacher  of  the  Gospel. 
For  who  will  resist  the  evangelical  persuasiveness 
of  this  '  earliest  Gospel '  when  read  without 
prepossession  ?  

There  is  no  need  for  the  visitors  to  Keswick 
to  carry  note-book  and  pencil  with  them  now. 
An  official  report  of  every  speech  delivered  is 
published  every  year  at  the  Keswick  House  in 
Paternoster  Row  (Messrs.  Marshall  Bros.),  under 
the  title  of  The  Keswick  Wuk  (as.  net).  The 
volume  for  i9or,  besides  the  usual  introduction, 
contains  an  appendix  called  '  After  Keswick,'  by 
the  Rev.  J.  R.  Macpherson,  M.A. 

TWO    STUDIES    IN    THE    BOOK    OF    COMMON 

PRAYER.      By    T.    W.    Drurv,    B.D.      {NUbel. 

Ctowa  8to,  pp.  155.     3s.  6d.) 

The  first  study  is  on  '  The  Lord's  Prayer  in  the 

Liturgy,'  the  second  is  on  'The  Witness  of  the 

Successive  Revisions  of  the   Book  of  Common 

Prayer  as  to  the  Practice  of  Non-Communicating 

Attendance.'     The  first  study,  in  spite  of  all  that 

has  been  written  on  the  Lord's  Prayer,  in  spite 

even  of  Dr.  Chase's  volume  in  the  'Cambridge 

Texts  and  Studies'  on  Tht  Lord's  Prayer  in  the 

Early  Church,  possesses  a  value  of  its  own.    For 

the  Principal  of  Ridley  Hall  has  confined  himself 


to  the  liturgical  history  of  the  Lord's  Prayer.  It  is 
therefore  strictly  a  study  in  liturgies,  a  department 
of  theology  that  is  only  beginning  to  receive 
adequate  attention.  The  second  study  is  still 
more  limited  in  scope,  and  perhaps  also  more 
ephemeral  in  interest.  Both  are  strictly  historical. 
The  facts  are  here;  dogmatical  and  polemical 
considerations  are  not  here. 


THE  MODERN  MISSION  CENTURY.  By  Akthuk 
T.  PiERSON.     {Nisid.     8vo,  pp.  517.     lOi.  6d.) 

Dr.  Pierson's  pen  is  the  pen  of  a  ready  writer. 
Book  follows  book  in  rapid  succession.  His 
subject  is  foreign  missions.  There  is  no  subject 
upon  which  books  can  be  more  easily  written  in 
these  days.  It  is  a  subject  which  the  most 
prolific  writer  need  never  fear  to  exhaust. 

Dr.  Pierson's  latest  book  is  a  history  of  the 
foreign  missions  of  the  nineteenth  century.  It  is 
a  history  with  a  purpose.  The  purpose  is  to  show 
that  foreign  missions  are  in  God's  bands — their 
ups  and  downs,  their  failures  as  well  as  their 
successes.  The  book  is  divided  into  twelve  parts, 
and  each  part  is  divided  into  three  chapters.  It 
is  a  trifle  mechanical  this,  and  Dr.  Pierson  has  not 
always  resisted  the  temptation  to  '  pad '  a  little 
in  order  to  gain  his  twelve  times  three.  But 
so  fertile  is  the  subject  that,  for  once  he  has  had 
to  make  up,  he  has  ten  times  had  to  cast  away 
most  interesting  facts,  and  be  content  with  a  mere 
selection. 

Probably  the  least  popular,  but  we  think  the 
most  valuable,  part  of  the  book  is  the  seventh, 
which  goes  by  the  title  of,  'They  that  handle  the 
pen.'  It  is  an  appreciative  account  of  the  modem 
literature  of  missions.  It  is  not  exhaustive,  and  it 
is  not  critical,  but  it  serves  as  a  useful  guide  to  a 
rapidly  increasing,  and  already  almost  unmanage- 
able, branch  of  literature. 


Some  popular  discourses  on  Naaman,  the  Syrian 
Soldier,  by  the  Rev.  W.  Lyon  Riach,  M.A.,  have 
been  published  by  Messrs.  Oliphant,  Anderson  & 
Ferrier  (crown  8vo,  128,  as.  6d.). 

Messrs.  Oliphant,  Anderson  &  Ferrier  are  the 
publishers  of  a  series  of '  Little  Books  for  Life's 
Guidance'  (is.  each).  The  latest  issue  is  The 
Kingship  of  Self-Control,  by  W.  G.  Jordon. 


86 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


ONESIMUS.  By  C.  E.  Corwin.  {Olifhanl,  AruUrum 
&•  Ferriir.  Crown  8Ta,  pp.  333.  ss.) 
Stories  that  are  founded  on  Scripture  may  not 
be  to  the  taste  of  all  of  us,  but  they  find  a  great 
and  sometimes  deeply-moved  audience.  No 
doubt  they  serve  a  purpose  beyond  their  theft  of 
time,  giving  to  some,  fiction  though  they  are,  their 
first  sense  of  the  reality  of  the  scenes  and  persons 
that  are  presented  in  the  old-fashioned  language 
of  the  Bible.  The  author  of  Onesimus  has  striven 
to  be  true  to  the  warp  and  woof  of  history.  He 
has  succeeded  in  occasionally  thrilling  and  always 
interesting  his  readers. 

THE  SIGN  OF  THE  CROSS  IN  MADAGASCAR. 
By  J.  J.  KiPPiN  Fletcher.  {Oliphant,  Andinim  &• 
Ftrritr.     Crown  8vo,  pp.  309.     3*.  6d.) 

The  magic  name  of  Madagascar  will  give  this 
book  a  chance,  the  book  itself  will  do  the  rest. 
It  is  Dot  a  dry  diary  of  events,  it  is  not  a  formal 
history.  Where  the  heroic  deeds  done  in  Mada- 
gascar for  Christ  have  already  been  told  with 
sufficient  fulness  to  make  their  heroism  manifest, 
they  are  taken  as  they  are ;  where  they  only  remain 
in  a  meagre  list  of  martyrs'  names,  they  have  been 
worked  up  into  a  connected  and  living  story.  You 
may  call  it  a  work  of  fiction  if  you  will,  the  author 
is  not  afraid  to  call  it  so ;  but  the  only  fiction  is 
the  introduction  of  human  interest  and  connexion 
into  mere  names  and  discoimected  memories. 

PRAYER.  By  the  Rev.  A.  F.  Douglas.  [OUphanl, 
AittUrsim  £r*  Ftrrier.     Crown  8vii,  pp.  ZS4.      3s.  6d. ). 

'  Tennyson,'  says  Miss  Weld, '  was  pre-eminently 
a  man  of  prayer,  and  as  he  told  me  shortly  before 
his  death,  never  had  one  earnest  prayer  of  his 
failed  to  receive  an  answer.'  Mr.  Douglas  quotes 
those  words  as  a  motto  for  his  book.  No  motto 
ever  expressed  the  purpose  of  a  book  more  fittingly. 
He  believes  in  prayer.  He  believes  in  private 
prayer,  in  family  prayer,  and  in  public  prayer. 
And  he  believes  that  no  sincere  prayer  was  ever 
uttered  anywhere  without  receiving  an  answer. 
'More  things  are  wrought  by  prayer  than  this 
world  dreams  of.'  Perhaps  there  are  more  men 
of  prayer,  like  Tennyson,  than  this  world  dreams  of. 
But  how  pitiful  it  is  that,  after  all,  the  thii^s  that 
are  wrought  by  prayer  are  not  more  and  greater 
than  they  are.  For  not  only  are  the  promises 
attached  to  prayer  boundless  of  grace,  but  every 
prayer,  as  Mr.  Douglas  demonstrates,  brings  sure 
and  surpassing  blessings. 


MINISTERIAL  LIFE  AND  WORK.  Bv  J.  S.  Wilson, 
D.D.  (Olipkani,  Anderson,  &•  Ferrier.  Crown  8vo, 
pp.192.  3s-6<J) 
No  men  are  offered  more  advice,  and  no  men 
accept  less  of  it  than  ministers.  The  reason  for 
so  much  good  advice  being  offered  is  that  tt  is  so 
easy  to  be  a  minister,  so  easy  to  be  a  better 
minister  than  those  we  know.  The  reason  why  so 
little  is  accepted  is  that  every  minister  knows 
that  whatever  happens  he  must  be  himself. 
Nevertheless  every  wise  minister  listens  to  every 
word  of  advice  that  is  offered  to  him.  This  book 
recognizes  that  a  minister  must  be  himself,  and 
seeks  to  offer  such  advice,  and  such  advice  only, 
as  may  make  him  so.  It  deals  with  essentials. 
It  leaves  details  to  every  individual.  If  ever 
the  writer's  own  peculiarities  or  preferences  are 
mentioned,  they  are  mentioned  as  illustrations, 
not  injunctions.  In  things  indifferent  it  is  always 
stated  that  a  minister  must  make  his  own  choice. 


THE  UNACCOUNTABLE  MAN.     By  the  Rev.  D.J. 

BuRRBLL,   D.D.      {MsDchestet :    Rebinsan.      Crown 

8to,  pp.  310.  3s.  6d.  ntl.) 
The  Unaccountable  Man  is  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  The  text  is  'What  manner  of  man  is 
this?'  and  that  short  sermon  which  opens  the 
book  is  as  striking  an  apology  for  miraculous 
Christianity  as  you  will  find  within  the  space. 
First  of  all  Dr.  Burrell  lays  out  the  items  upon 
which  we  are  all  agreed.  '  We  are  all  agreed,'  he 
says,  that  He  was  the  best,  the  wisest,  the 
mightiest,  the  most  magnanimous  of  men.  He 
quotes  the  words  with  which  Renan  concludes  his 
Vie  de  Jesus,  and  they  are  worth  quoting  again : 
'Whatever  may  be  the  surprises  for  the  future, 
Jesus  will  never  be  surpassed,  his  worship  will 
grow  young  without  ceasing ;  his  legend  will  call 
for  tears  without  end ;  his  sufferings  wilt  melt  the 
noblest  hearts ;  all  ages  will  proclaim  that,  among 
the  sons  of  men,  there  is  none  born  greater  than 
Jesus.'  But  now  Dr.  Burrell  finds  an  unknown 
factor.  He  finds  it  even  in  the  goodness,  the 
wisdom,  the  might,  and  the  magnanimity  of  Jesus. 
He  was  not  simply  better  than  others, /nmwj  inter 
pares;  He  is  alone  in  His  goodness,  and  in  all 
the  rest.  And  then,  in  the  third  place,  and  most 
wonderful  of  all,  Jesus  claims  to  be  alone  in  His 
goodness  and  in  all  the  rest  It  is  a  striking 
sermon,  you  see,  and  the  sermons  are  almost  all 
striking.     Dr.  Burrell  is  a  great  preacher. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


THE  FIVE  BOOKS  OF  MOSES  IN  MODERN 
ENGLISH.  By  Ferrar  Fenton.  {Partridgi. 
Crown  8vo,  pp.  213.     is,  6d.  ncl.) 

Mr,  Ferrar  Fenton's  purpose  is  to  translate 
the  whole  Bible  into  modern  English.  He  has 
already  translated  the  New  TesUment.  This  is 
the  first  volume  of  the  Old.  We  are  sceptical  of 
new  translations,  more  sceptical  of  those  done  by 
a  single  hand,  most  sceptical  of  new  translations 
into  modem  English.  But  Mr.  Ferrar  Fenton's 
work  is  gradually  removing  all  prejudice,  and  will 
stay.  That  it  is  modern,  whatever  else,  the  follow- 
ing eiample  will  show: — 

'  Numbers  x.  1-5  :  The  Ever-living  also  spoke  to 
Moses  commanding,  Make  two  silver  gongs  for 
yourself.  Make  them  concave,  and  use  them  to 
call  the  Parliament,  and  to  prepare  the  camp  for 
marching,  so  that  when  you  beat  them  all  the 
Parliament  will  know  how  to  come  to  you  at  the 
door  of  the  Hall  of  Assembly.  And  if  you  beat 
one  of  them  the  generals  and  colonels  of  the 
regiments  of  Israel  will  know  to  come  to  you. 
When  you  beat  an  Arise,  then  the  divisions  of  the 
camp  on  the  east  shall  march.' 

In  the  series  entitled  '  The  Westminster 
Biographies'  appears  an  appreciation  of  George 
Eliot,  by  Clara  Thomson  (Kegan  Paul,  pp.  1 3s,  is.). 
The  most  intimate  students  of  George  Eliot's  life 
and  works  should  read  the  little  book,  for  it  contains 
independent  information.  We  doubt  the  wisdom 
of  exalting  George  Eliot  at  the  expense  of  Mrs. 
Lewes,  but  there  is  no  other  adverse  criticism 
which  the  delighted  readers  of  the  book  will 
make. 


THOUGHTS  FOR  THE  SUNDAYS  OF  THE  YEAR. 

Bv   THE   Right    Rev.    H.    C.    G.    Moulb,  D.D. 

{Religims  Tract  Socitty.  Ciown  8vo,  pp.  256,  3s.  6d.) 
The  Bishop  of  Durham  is  dead :  long  live  the 
Bishop  of  Durham !  One  evangelical  mystic  is  fol- 
lowed by  another.  Dr.  Moule's  writings  may  touch 
fewer  thinkers  than  Dr.  Westcott's,  but  they  touch 
more  men,  and  assuredly  more  women.  He  sees 
as  far,  but  he  is  more  timid  in  expression  than  Dr. 
Westcott  was.  When  he  does  express  himself, 
however,  his  meaning  is  unmistakable.  It  is, 
perhaps,  because  of  his  greater  timidity  that  he  is 
also  more  consistent  These  two  things — perfect 
clearness  of  thought  and  perfect  evangelical  con- 
sistency, make  and  maintain  his  great  popularity. 


His  latest  will  be  his  most  popular  book.  At  such 
a  time  as  this,  a  more  acceptable  gift  no  one  could 
give.  

•  LIFE  •  IN  ST.  JOHN'S  GOSPEL.     Bv  the  Rev.  J. 
GuRNBv    Hoare,    M.A.      {S.P.C.K.      lamo,    pp. 

This  study  in  Biblical  Theology  is  an  example 
for  other  students  to  follow.  But  Mr,  Hoare's 
purpose  is  not  literary.  It  is  evangelical.  He 
does  not  wish  to  show  men  how  to  study,  but  to 
teach  them  how  to  live.  It  is  an  earnest  and  even 
popular  appeal  to  receive  Him  who  is  the  Life 
and  to  abide  in  Him. 

ON  THE  PATH  OF  PROGRESS.  Bv  H.  L.  Jacksoh, 
M.A.  {ElliBl  SiDck.  Crown  8to,  pp.  96.  ai.  6d.) 
There  are  many  things  wherein  the  Church  of 
England  needs  reformation.  Mr.  Jackson  sees 
them  and  speaks  out  about  them.  For  he  has 
been  in  Sydney  and  is  able  to  look  at  the 
Church  of  England  almost  as  an  outsider.  He 
speaks  out  about  them  in  words  that  will  be  easily 
understood  by  the  common  people.  So  he  must 
be  a  dangerous  man.  But  it  will  be  better  to 
reform  the  things  than  to  persecute  Mr,  Jackson. 
If  some  of  the  things  really  do  not  need  reforma- 
tion, he  can  do  them  no  harm. 


Mr.  Stockwell  has  commenced  to  publish  a  new 
series  of  volumes  under  the  title  of  'The  Free 
Church  Pulpit.'  The  first  volume  is  entitled 
Apocalyptic  Sketckti,  the  author  is  Dr.  Monro 
Gibson  (crown  8vo,  pp.  146,  2s.  6d.).  A  better 
beginning  could  scarcely  have  been  made.  Dr. 
Monro  Gibson  is  a  great  preacher,  and  in  the 
Book  of  Revelation  he  is  at  his  greatest.  His 
sermons  recognize  the  immense  change  that  has 
come  over  the  interpretation  of  this  book,  through 
the  study  of  apocalyptic  literature  in  general ;  and 
yet  they  bring  home  the  great  mystery  to  heart 
and  conscience  without  any  loss  of  the  old- 
fashioned  u 


The  Sunday  School  Union  has  published  the 
volumes  for  1901  of  its  ever  welcome  and  ever 
more  welcome  magazines,  Young  England  (5s.) 
and  the  Child's  Own  Magasine  (is.).  They  are 
edited  with  much  sympathy,  and  can  be  recom- 
mended without  reserve. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Misconceptions  of  the  Eastern  Church,  its 
position  and  teaching,  which  seem  so  prevalent  in 
England  ought  to  Eall  away  from  one  who  reads 
7^  Greek  Catholic  Church,  by  R.  B.  C.  Sheridan 
(Williams  &  Norgate,  i6mo,  pp.  70,  is.). 

New  T^nes  to  Favourite  Hymns,  published  for 
the  author,  Constantia  A.  Ellicott,  by  Messrs. 
Novello,  is  a  pleasant  addition  to  a  favoured  field 
of  composition.  The  tunes  are  for  words  in 
Hymns  Ancient  and  Modern,  and  wilt  find 
favour  as  agreeable  alternatives  to  the  customary 

The  settings  for  '  The  Day  of  Resurrection '  and 
'  Joy !  because  the  circling  Year '  are  perhaps  the 
best  of  the  collection,  but  there  is  throughout  the 
series  almost  a  uniform  richness  and  delicacy  of 
harmonization.  An  occasional  Wagnerian  bold- 
ness of  modulation,  as,  for  instance,  that  occurring 
in  the  second  line  of  'O  praise  our  great  and 
gracious  Lord,'  will  necessitate  careful  rendering 
on  the  part  of  a  choir. 


tU  (tlew  *3ttfernftfionftf.'' 

Dr.  Bigg  is  not  the  only  man  whom  a  '  Bampton 
Lecture '  has  made  famous,  but  we  cannot  recall 
another  who  sprang  so  suddenly  to  such  a  height 
of  fame  as  a  scholar  and  expositor  as  Dr.  Bigg  did 
by  his  Bampton  Lecture  on  The  Christian  Platon- 
isis  of  Alexandria.  His  choice  as  the  expositor  of 
St.  Peter  and  St.  Jude  in  the  '  International  Critical 
Commentary'  was  received  with  universal  satis- 
faction as  soon  as  it  was  announced.  The  com- 
mentary will  undoubtedly  lift  his  reputation  higher 
still.  Dr.  Bigg  is  an  Oxford  man,  but  it  suggests 
and  represents  the  great  Cambridge  school  of 
exposition,  and  of  that  school  most  especially  the 
work  of  Hort  Perhaps  it  should  be  said  that, 
laying  this  work  beside  Sanday  and  Headlam's 
Romans,  he  has  materially  assisted  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  an  Oxford  school  of  scholarship,  which 
in  fineness  of  workmanship  and  fearlessness  of 
consequence  is  to  carry  the  exposition  of  the  New 
Testament  one  step  nearer  finality. 

'  Tkt  Internatiimai  Critkat  Commentary  :  A  Crilicid  and 
SxegiticaJ  Catitmeniary  en  the  EpiilUs  ef  SI.  Prtir  and  Si. 
Jade.  By  the  Rev.  Charles  Bi^.  D.D.  T.  4  T.  Clark, 
Svo,  pp.  363.     los.  6d. 


Many  things  in  the  Introductions  to  the  three 
Epistles  dealt  with  or  in  their  interpretation  invite 
discussion.  Let  one  suffice.  After  Dr.  Chase's 
great  searching  articles  in  the  Dictionary  of  the 
Bible,  it  will  come  as  a  shock  to  some,  a  surprise 
perhaps  to  all,  that  Dr.  Bi^  should  reach  the 
following  conclusions  regarding  3  Peter:  The 
Second  Epistle  of  Peter  is  older  than  Jude  ;  (2)  it 
belongs  to  the  same  school  of  ecclesiastical  thought 
as  t  Peter ;  {3)  it  conuins  no  word,  idea,  or  fact, 
which  does  not  belong  to  the  apostolic  age;  (4) 
traces  of  the  second  century  are  absent  at  those 
points  where  they  might  have  been  confidently 
expected  to  occur;  (5)  the  style  differs  from  that 
of  I  Peter  in  some  respects,  but  in  others,  notably 
in  verbal  iteration  and  in  the  discreet  use  of  Apoc-  - 
rypha,  resembles  it;  and  (6)  these  facts  are  best 
explained  by  the  theory  that  the  Epistle  is  really  the 
work  of  St.  Peter,  but  that  a  different  amanuensis 
was  employed. 


*  Z%i.  %tm%%  <Bncj>cfopdebtd.* 

The  first  volume  of  a  great  undertaking  called 
The  Jewish  Emyclopadia  has  now  been  published, 
and  we  have  had  time  to  examine  it.  The  twelve 
volumes  of  which  the  work  is  to  consist  will  cover 
the  whole  Bible,  and  continue  the  history  of  the 
Jews  down  to  the  present  day.  They  will  contain 
biographies  of  all  notable  persons  belonging  to 
the  Jewish  race  and  descriptions  of  all  places  with 
which  Jews  have  been  in  any  way  associated. 
They  will  also  explain  Jewish  manners  and  cus- 
toms, political,  commercial,  religious,  and  literary, 
throughout  the  history  and  geography  of  the 
world. 

This  gigantic  programme  has  been  conceived  by 
Dr.  Isidore  Singer,  who,  after  some  difficulty,  found 
in  Messrs.  Funk  &  Wagnalls  a  firm  of  publishers 
willing  to  take  the  risk  and  meet  the  enormous 
outlay.  Dr.  Singer  is  assisted  by  an  editorial 
board  consisting  of  twelve  scholars,  each  of  whom 
is  responsible  for  some  particular  department  of 
study.  He  himself  has  special  charge  of  the  de- 
partment of  Modern  Biography  from  1750  till 
t9oi.  In  addition  to  these  thirteen  departmental 
editors,  there  are  two  boards  of  consulting 
editors,  one  American,  the  other  foreign-  The 
American  board  contains  fifteen  names,  the  foreign 
twenty-nine.     Most  of  these  editors  are  contribu- 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


89 


tors,  but  there  are  also  contributors  who  are  not 
editors. 

The  first  volume  contains  685  pages  of  text,  in 
addition  to  37  of  preliminary  matter.  It  ends 
with  the  word  Apocalyptic  The  siie  is  imperial 
octavo,  and  there  are  two  columns  to  a  page. 
The  space  seems  thus  sufficient.  And  as  the 
volume  is  examined,  the  conviction  settles  in  one's 
mind  that  the  space  has  been  carefuly  used,  and 
that  the  work  is  one  of  first-rate  importance.  It 
is  not  a  Dictionary  of  the  Bible.  That  mistake 
would  misjudge  and  possibly  condemn.  The 
Bible,  as  has  been  said,  is  covered,  but  the 
persons  and  places  are  discussed  not  because 
they  are  io  the  Bible  but  because  they  are 
Jews  or  hare  to  do  with  Jews.  After  a  short 
account  of  what  the  Bible  says  on  Abraham,  for 
example,  there  follows  a  long  account  of  what  is 
said  about  him  in  Rabbinical  and  Mohammedan 
literature. 

The  Encyclopaedia  is  not  to  be  a  mere  record  of 
tradition.  It  seeks  to  reach  the  historical  and 
poetical  truth  throughout  the  whole  course  of 
Jewish  life  and  literature.  And  to  that  end  men 
are  set  to  limited  tasks,  and  apparently  encouraged 
to  sift  thoroughly  and  be  scientific.  There  are  no 
fewer  than  four  articles  on  Abraham.  First  the 
'  Biblical  Data'  are  furnished  in  a  simple  narrative 
by  Dr.  C.  J.  Mendelsohn ;  next  an  account  is 
given  of  Abraham  in  '  Apocryphal  and  Rabbinical 
Literature'  by  Dr.  Kaufmann  Kohler ;  then  Dr. 
Gottheil  writes  on  Abraham  in  'Mohammedan 
L^end'i  and  finally  'The  Critical  View'  is  pre- 
sented by  Professor  Toy. 

We  shall  not  discuss  details  at  present.  It  is 
enough  to  direct  attention  to  this  highly  courageous  ; 
and  undoubtedly  competent  effort  to  place  within 
our  reach,  for  the  first  time  in  history,  a  full  record 
of  the  manifold  activity  of  that  race  which,  if  not 
destined,  seems  determined,  to  live  as  long  as  man, 
and  which  never  ceases  to  possess  for  other  races 
of  the  earth  the  most  absorbing  interest 


A  NEW  Shakespeare.     Are  there    not    editions 
enough  yet?    Has  not  every  variety  of  taste  in 

■  Tkt   IVerks  of  William    Skaieipfare.      Weilmiiuler : 
Archibald  Constable  &  Co.     Twenly  vols.     50$. 


the  readers  of  Shakespeare  yet  been  satisfied? 
Have  not  all  the  possibUities  of  paper  and  print- 
ing and  binding  and  editing  and  illustrating  been 
exhausted?  It  does  not  appear  so.  It  is  like  the 
race  between  offensive  and  defensive  engines  of 
war.  No  sooner  is  the  highest  demand  of  Shake- 
spearian taste  gratified  than  a  new  appetite  is 
bom,  and  artists  and  editors  and  printers  and 
publishers  have  to  set  their  wits  together  to 
meet  it. 

The  taste  at  present  runs  in  the  direction  of 
clear  type  and  good  illustrating.  The  Shakespeare 
that  most  pleases  is  the  Shakespeare  that  has 
these  things  in  their  highest  perfection,  and  at 
their  lowest  price.  Editing  is  of  less  account. 
Perhaps  the  editing  of  Shakespeare  has  been 
overdone.  Perhaps  we  have  been  so  worried 
with  interminable  and  irrelevant  'notes'  in  our 
schooldays,  that  the  most  beautiful  edition  of 
Shakespeare  is  marred  to  our  eyes,  if  it  is  greatly 
edited. 

The  new  edition  which  Messrs.  Constable  have 
published  is  not  over-edited.  It  consists  of  twenty 
volumes.  Each  volume  contains  two  plays.  Each 
play  ends  with  a  glossary,  sufficient  and  yet  rarely 
running  over  two  pages.  And  each  play  has  a  few 
pages  of  '  notes,'  which  are  wholly  textual.  Now 
that  is  really  all  the  editing  that  Shakespeare 
needs.  His  obsolete,  and  still  more  his  obsolescent, 
words  have  to  be  explained  to  us ;  and  any  im- 
portant various  reading  has  to  be  mentioned.  We 
ought  to  do  all  the  rest  ourselves.  For  however 
obscure  his  old  English  words  are,  his  thoughts 
are  never  obscure ;  and  it  is  much  better  for  all  of 
us  to  discover  his  meaning  with  as  little  external 
aid  as  possible. 

The  type  of  this  edition  is  large  and  clear,  and 
thrown  out  boldly  by  the  pure  white  paper ;  and 
the  page  is  broad  enough  to  take  in  a  long  line  of 
it  easily.  This  is  very  restful  to  the  eye.  Though 
there  is  the  minimum  of  annotation,  the  utmost 
care  has  been  taken  to  prevent  misprints.  And  it 
is  an  evidence  of  the  thought  that  has  been  spent 
on  the  volumes  throughout,  that  while  the  pages 
which  are  of  no  use  are  given  below,  the  name  of 
the  play,  the  act,  and  the  scene  appear  at  the  top 
of  every  outer  ma^n. 

But  the  most  distinguishable  feature  of  Messrs. 
Constable's  Shakespeare  is  its  illustrations.  They 
are  not  numerous,  but  they  are  good.  There  is 
spirit  and  originality  in  every  one  of  them.    And, 


90 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


most  significaDt  of  all,  they  are  always  in  colour. 
Thus  have  these  publishers  anticipated  a  taste  that 
is  but  forming.  The  time  is  at  hand  when  no 
illustrations  will  please  thatare  not  coloured.  And 
rightly.  Why  should  we  be  satisfied  with  the  dull 
grey  in  a  copy  which  makes  us  shiver  in  nature 


herself?  Good  illustrations  in  colour  are  but 
beginning  to  be  seen.  The  time  is  at  hand  when 
every  eye  will  be  charmed  by  them. 

The  twenty  volumes  are  packed  in  a  case. 
They  form  a  handsome  set,  the  fair  beginning  of  a 
library. 


€^t  Oueeftcn  of  fge  ^nt^  of  Jeatag. 

Bv  Professor  Ed.  Konig,  M.A.,  D.D.,  Bonn. 


I. 


This  question  has  recently  formed  the  subject  of 
a  study  by  Professor  W.  H.  Cobb  in  the  American 
Journal  of  Biblical  Literature  (1901,  pp.  77-100). 
The  delightful  spirit  which  pervades  his  discussion 
is  itself  a  sufficient  claim  to  the  interest  of  a  wider 
circle.  The  tone  he  adopts  possesses  a  sympa- 
thetic quality  which  readily  awakens  a  similar  tone 
in  the  mind  of  the  reader,  and  the  sweep  of  har- 
mony makes  him  almost  forget  the  dissonances  of 
the  learned  strife.  But,  in  addition  to  this,  the 
subject  of  discussion  is  itself  of  such  importance 
that  any  attempt  to  shed  new  light  upon  it  can 
reckon  upon  commanding  the  widest  interest. 
Hence  I  take  the  hberty  of  submitting  to  the 
readers  of  The  Expository  Times  a  critical  ex- 
amination of  the  article  in  question. 

Professor  Cobb  sets  out  with  the  correct 
hermeneutical  principle  that  a  prophecy  can  be 
fully  understood  only  by  having  regard  to  its 
historical  background.  We  may  remark  in  pass- 
ing that  Luther  long  ago  expressed  himself  on  this 
point  with  admirable  clearness  in  the  Preface  to 
his  Commentary  on  Isaiah.'  But,  Professor  Cobb 
continues,  this  historical  situation  must  not  be 
distorted,  and  this  he  believes  to  have  been  done 
with  chaps.  40-66  of  Isaiah.  Up  till  a  few  years  ago 
Cyrus  was  made  to  pervade  not  only  Western 
Asia,  but  also  all  the  second  part  of  the  Book  of 
Isaiah.      He  was,  further,  presented  as  a  Zoroas- 

'  His  words  (Exegelica  eftra  iMina,  vol.  XKii.  p.  4)  are  1 
'Ad  prophetBs  inielligendos  maxime  Dccessarium  esl  nosse 
qaae  turn  negotia  apud  Jadieos  ^iuta  sint,  quis  reipoblicae 
tum  ttatns,  quaks  bomiDum  tam  inioii,  quae  consMia  Tuerial 
cum  Gnitimis  populis,  cum  amicis  et  contra  inimjcos,  im- 
primis antem  quae  torn  religionis  fuerit  forms,'  etc 


trian  monotheist,  who  out  of  pious  zeal  for  the  one 
God  overthrew  the  idols  of  Babylon,  allowed  the 
Jewish  exiles  to  return  to  their  homes  carrying 
their  sacred  vessels  with  them,  and  built  a  new 
temple  in  Jerusalem  at  his  own  expense.  But 
what  a  modification  of  the  views  regarding  the 
founding  of  the  Persian  Empire  has  taken  place  io 
consequence  of  the  discovery  of  the  inscriptions 
of  Cyrus  and  Nabuna'id !  From  these  we  learn 
that  Cyrus  was  no  monotheist.  Whereas  Nabuna'id 
neglected  the  cult  of  the  gods  of  Babylon,  Cyrus 
reinstated  it  with  splendour.  So  far  from  ascribing 
his  victories  to  Jahweh,  he  attributes  them  to  the 
Babylonian  god  Marduk  (the  O.T.  Merodach). 

In  reply  to  all  this  I  would  point  out  that  the 
reducing  of  the  importance  of  the  role  played  by 
Cyrus  in  Is  40-66  to  its  proper  limits  does  not 
mean  banishing  him  entirely  from  these  prophecies. 
If  his  importance  undergoes  'shrinkage,'  to  use 
the  expression  of  Professor  Cobb,  it  is  not  thereby 
reduced  to  nothing.  In  making  the  '  shrinkage  of 
Cyrus '  the  theme  of  a  burning  question,  Professor 
Cobb  should  not  have  foi^otten  to  propose  as  a 
second  prize-question,  whether  the  last  twenty- 
seven  chapters  of  Isaiah  contain  no  reference  at 
all  to  Cyrus.  Above  alt,  he  should  not  have 
neglected  to  answer  this  question  himself.  But 
instead  of  this,  he  immediately  proceeds  to  give  to 
these  chapters  a  different  historical  background. 

The  historical  situation  contemplated  in  the 
words  of  Is  40  ff.  is,  according  to  Professor  Cobb, 
that  described  in  chap.  37.  This  is,  of  course,  a 
very  natural  supposition,  yet  the  question  arises 
whether  it  does  justice  to  the  text 

What    are    the  circumstances  of   the    period 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


described  in  Is  37  ?  The  kingdom  of  Judah  was 
sore  pressed  by  the  Assyrian  king  Sennacherib  in 
701  B.C.  The  latter  thus  describes  his  success  in 
a  cuneiform  narrative — 

'  As  for  Hez«kiah  of  Judah,  who  had  rot  submilted  to 
my  yoke,  I  took  46  of  bis  fenced  cities,  eounlteu 
fortresKS  and  small  cities  io  their  neighbourhood.  100,150 
perioiu,  gieat  and  sm&ll,  of  mate  and  female  sex,  horses, 
mules,  Mses,  camels,  oxen  and  sheep  wilhonl  number  I 
carried  forth  (rora  them  and  counted  as  spoil.  Himself  I 
shut  up  like  a  bird  in  a  cage  in  Jerusalem,  his  royal  city. 
FortificBlioDE  I  erected  against  him,  the  exits  of  the  chief 
gale  of  bis  city.  .  .  .'  (K.I.B.  ii.  94  f,). 

The  historical  basis  of  this  narrative  cannot  be 
called  in  question.  The  conquest  and  devasution 
of  many  places  in  Judah  and  the  deportation  of  a 
great  many  persons  can  be  brought  into  harmony 
with  the  O.T.  narrative  of  2  K  igi*-",  which  is 
not  incorporated  in  the  Book  of  Isaiah.  For,  in 
consequence  of  this  extensive  conquest  of  the  land 
of  Judah,  Hezekiah  might  be  moved  to  send  the 
embassy  to  Lachish  (S.W.  of  Jerusalem),  and  to 
make  the  olTers  of  which  we  read  in  the  above 
passage  from  2  Kings.  But  when  now  Professor 
Cobb  says :  '  Look  at  these  desolate  cities  of 
Judah,  at  the  enormous  deportation  .  .  .  and  ask 
if  this  is  not  the  time  to  proclaim,  "Comfort  ye, 
comfort  ye  My  people," '  the  reply  must  be,  Yes,  it 
was  without  doubt  such  a  time,  but  it  was  not  the 
only  time  when  such  a  comforting  proclamation 
was  appropriate,  and  it  was  not  the  time  which  is 
presupposed  by  the  whole  text  of  Is  a,Q^  For, 
however  many  cities  of  Judah  the  Assyrian  may 
have  stormed  in  the  year  7or,  he  did  not  capture 
the  city  of  the  temple  of  Jahweh.  But  this  city 
is  mentioned  at  the  very  outset  of  Is  40  ff.  as  a 
special  object  of  consolation  (40*),  and  is  thought  ; 
of  in  these  addresses  as  lying  in  ruins  (44*"-*"  ■ 
'Jerusalem  is  again  to  be  inhabited,'  etc;  49"  \ 
'thy  ruins';  sa*-»  'the  ruins  of  Jerusalem '). 
Further,  in  Is  40  if.  the  nation  of  Israel  is  de-  . 
scribed  as  one  which  in  its  essential  part  is  in  . 
exile.  This  is  sufficiently  clear  from  the  following 
well-known  passages : — '  Where  is  the  bill  of  your 
mother's  divorcement  wherewith  I  have  put  her 
away?'  (50',  cf.  Dt  24');  and  'The  desolate  \i.e. 
the  nation  of  Israel  separated  as  it  were  from  her 
husband,  cf.  Hos  ^\  shall  have  more  children 
than  she  that  hath  an  husband'  (54I).  This 
exiled  nation  is  to  return  to  its  home  only  by  ' 
Jahweh  leading  it  through  the  wilderness  like  a  1 
shepherd.     Professor  Cobb  asks,  indeed  :   '  Who  j 


says  that  Jahweh  is  marching  at  the  head  of 
the  exiles  f '  and  he  replies :  '  Not  the  author 
of  Is  40  ff.'  (p.  Si).  But  here  he  adopts  a 
view  of  Is  40*'-  which  does  not  at  all  agree 
with  the  context^  How?  In  order  to  facilitate 
God's  progress  through  the  wilderness,  the  call  is 
uttered,  '  Prepare  a  way.'  Is  the  form  of  expres- 
sion not  manifestly  such  as  to  show  that  we  have 
to  do  with  a  leading  home  of  the  people  from  exile  ? 
So  in  Ps  68*  <*'  the  call,  '  Cast  up  a  highway  for 
him  that  rideth  through  the  desert,'  is  so  expressed 
with  reference  to  the  circumstance  that  '  God 
setteth  the  solitary  in  families  and  bringethout  the 
prisoners '  (v. ^) ;  and  the  meaning  of  Is  40"-  is 
established  by  the  words, '  He  shall  feed  His  flock 
like  a  shepherd'  (v."),  and  by  the  addition  in 
52i2i>.  tijaj  Jahweh  will  go  before  the  exiles 
returning  to  Zion. 

The  particular  historical  background  of  Is  40  ff. 
on  which  Jerusalem  is  shown  lying  in  ruins,  and 
the  nation  of  Israel  as  separated  from  her  husband 
Jahweh,  i.e.  as  being  itself  and  as  a  whole  in 
exile,  cannot  be  concealed,  although  Professor 
Cobb  thinks  otherwise.  He  says  that  of  the  many 
thousands  deponed,  for  instance,  by  Sennacherib, 
no  doubt  many  were  sold  into  slavery  and  dis- 
persed in  all  directions.  Hence  even  in  the  time 
of  the  older  Isaiah  it  could  be  said :  '  Behold, 
these  come  from  far,  and  those  from  the  north  and 
from  the  west,'  etc.  (49'^).  This  is  undeniable, 
but  these  general  features  of  the  picture  presented 
in  Is  40  ff.  are  not  the  characteristic  ones.  Rather 
are  thett  found  in  the  special  details  as  to  the 
situation  of  Jerusalem  at  the  time.  To  take  one 
or  two  further  instances,  we  read:  'Jerusalem 
shall  be  built  again,  and  the  temple  shall  be 
founded '  (44**) ;  '  and  they  shall  build  the  old 
waste  places'  (58"  61*),  'for  Zion  is  become  a 
wilderness,  Jerusalem  3  desolation '  (64* ""'). 
Professor  Cobb  is  wrong,  then,  in  holding  that  the 
language  of  Is  40  ff.  has  its  historical  background 
in  the  situation  of  701  b.c 

He  next  sets  himself,  in  a  second  section  of  his 
article,  to  answer  the  question  whether  the  religious 
teaching  of  Is  40  ff.  cannot  be  explained  from  the 
lime  of  Hezekiah,  a  question  which  again  he 
answers  in  the  affirmative.  His  argument  is  as 
follows : — 

He  starts  with  the  assumption  (p.  83)  that  the 

'  Setlin  proposed  the  same  interpretation  of  40*''  in  his 
Seniiiaiel,  1898,  p.  141  i. 


93 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


refonns  of  king  Hezekiah  must  be  ascribed  to  a 
somewhat  late  period  in  his  reign.'  These  reforms 
are  held  to  have  been  the  fruit  of  the  work  of 
Isaiah  and  Micah.  They  were  not  undertaken  at 
the  time  when  the  dark  shadow  of  Assyria  threat- 
ened in  the  distance  or  hung  over  the  land  of 
Israel,  but  '  when  the  sole  deity  of  Israel's  God 
had  been  gloriously  vindicated  in  the  downfall  of  the 
oppressor,'  i.e.  after  the  deliverance  of  Jerusalem 
in  701.  It  was  then  that  Hezekiah  entered  on  his 
campaign  against  the  idols,  and  his  reform  is 
wrongly  placed  by  the  Chronicler  (s  Ch  ag')  at 
the  beginning  of  his  reign. 

The  above  judgment,  however,  regarding 
Hezekiah's  reforms  is  very  precarious.  It  lacks 
positive  support,  and  it  has  a  number  of  considera- 
tions against  it.  Would  it  not  still  be  true  that 
these  reforms  were  due  to  the  activity  of  Isaiah 
and  Micah,  even  if  they  were  undertaken  by 
Hezekiah  in  the  early  years  of  his  reign  7  Not 
only  Isaiah  but  even  Micah  had,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  begun  their  mission  under  Hezekiah's  prede- 
cessors. This  is  generally  acknowledged  in  the 
case  of  Isaiah,  and  it  will  be  found  proved  for 
Micah  in  my  Einleit  in  das  A.T.  p.  330.  More- 
over, the  aim  and  the  result  of  these  refonns  must 
not  be  exaggerated,  but  kept  within  the  limits  of 
what  is  said  in  z  K  18*,  according  to  which 
passage  Hezekiah  removed  the  altars  on  the  high 
places,  the  pillars,  the  asheras,  and  the  Nehushtan. 
Can  we  suppose  that  the  Judfeans  in  a  body  and 
permanently  carried  out  the  intentions  of  the 
Jahweh-fearing  king?  Can  it  be  assumed  that 
even  after  that  reform  there  was  no  need  for 
Isaiah  to  preach  against  people  who  gave  them- 
selves over  to  the  fashioning  of  idols?  The  fact 
that  he  had  to  do  this  (31')  does  not  overthrow 
the  statement  that  Hezekiah,  even  if  not  at  the 
very  beginning  (z  Ch  29'),  yet  before  the  fourth 
year  (3  K  18')  of  his  reign,  took  steps  against  the 
dangerous  schism  and  against  certain  false  objects 
of  Israelite  worship. 

And  what  a  tremendous  impulse  to  this  reform 
was  supplied  during  the  first  years  of  Hezekiah's 
reign !  Could  there  have  been  for  the  kingdom  of 
Judah  any  occurrence  more  impressive  than  the 
catastrophe  which   befell  the  sister   kingdom  of 

>  '  HnekUh's  rerorms  came  lati  id  hii  reign.'  Likewise 
Gutbe, ID  liii  Cisch.dis  Ve/tci /inu2 (tSgg),  doetnotmeiitioD 
'he  teforms  of  Hezekiah  till  aher  evecythiDg  elae  that  he 
otes  [yarding  him  (p.  205). 


Israel  in  the  year  722?  Was  this  not  an  un- 
paralleled call  to  Judah  to  repentance?  Heze- 
kiah's reform  is,  accordingly,  quite  intelligible  at 
the  commencement  of  his  reign.  Besides,  it  is 
attributed  to  this  period,  not  only  by  the  Chron- 
icler, as  Professor  Cobb  represents  {p.  S3),  but 
even  by  the  author  of  Kings.  This  very  agreement 
of  testimony  furnishes  a  counter  argument  against 
the  view  that  the  reforms  were  not  undertaken  till 
after  701. 

Consequently,  the  basis  is  wanting  for  tbe  view 
maintained  by  Professor  Cobb  that  the  addresses 
delivered  by  Isaiah  in  701  against  idolatry  are 
represented  by  Is  40**  and  other  passages  in 
chaps.  40"-  (p.  84).  The  addresses  in  the  Book  of 
Isaiah,  which  date  most  probably  from  701, 
namely,  14^'^  chap.  31,  and  the  words  of  Isaiah 
contained  in  chaps.  36-39,  do  not  sound  as  if  the 
prophet  had  to  do  essentially  with  worshippers 
of  images  and  idols.  But  it  is  quite  intelligible 
that  the  exiles,  who  amidst  heathen  surroundings 
might  be  inclined  to  idolatry  and  polytheism, 
should  have  their  attention  drawn  both  in  earnest 
and  in  jest  to  the  helplessness  of  the  idols  and 
the  folly  of  worshipping  them  (4o'*-^  41"^  44*"" 
45"  46*-^),  Professor  Cobb  himself  is  willing  to 
admit  that  there  was  idolatry  in  Israel  during  tbe 
earlier  years  of  the  Exile.  This  is  too  clearly 
proved  by  Ezekie!  (14°'-  i8'  20'  33")  to  make 
any  denial  of  it  possible.  But  he  declares  that  we 
do  not  know  whether  also  towards  the  end  of  the 
Exile  there  was  a  tendency  to  idolatry  on  the  part 
of  the  captives.  But  the  facts  are  not  favourable 
to  his  opinion.  For  he  will  not  venture  to  deny 
that  only  a  small  proportion  of  the  exiles  availed 
themselves  of  the  permission  to  return  to  their 
homes.  The  sum  total  of  those  who  formed  the 
first  caravan  that  returned  was  42,360  (Ezr  2** 
II  Neh  7'*)'  Aversion  to  the  land  of  theChaldacans 
and  to  these  worshippers  of  idols  was  not  strong 
towards  the  end  of  the  Exile.  How  aptly  is  this 
disposition  of  Israel  illustrated  by  the  words,  '  I 
have  called  and  ye  have  not  answered,'  etc 
(65") !  Do  these  words  suit  equally  the  period  of 
Hezekiah's  reign? 

Nor  can  Professor  Cobb  deny  that  in  the 
religious  world  of  ideas  contained  in  Is  40  01  there 
are  certain  points  emphasized  which  fall  into  the 
background  in  the  preceding  parts  of  the  Book  of 
Isaiah.  In  i'"-'*  the  bold  question,  'Who  hath 
required  this  at  your  hands  ? '  is  put  with  reference 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


93 


even  to  the  Sabbath.  I  do  not  mean  to  affirm 
that  here  the  Mosaic  origin  of  the  institution  of 
the  Sabbath  is  called  in  question.  But  the  im- 
pression left  by  the  passage  is  that  the  keeping 
of  the  Sabbath  and  the  other  festivals  has  not 
stress  laid  upon  it  (i'***- 1*).  It  is  otherwise  in 
56*,  'who  keep  my  Sabbaths.'  I  do  not  think  I 
am  wrong  in  discovering  the  idea  of  the  merit 
of  the  relatively  pious  in  the  words,  'She  hath 
received  double  for  her  service '  (40*^),  and  in 
other  expressions  (52*^  **■).  Further,  we  hear  of 
'priests  (and)  Levites '  (66*').'  For  members  of 
the  foreign  races  cannot  have  been  taken  over 
as  'Levitical  priests';  and  for  the  distinction  of 
priests  and  Invites,  cf.  Ezk  44""'-  Again,  was 
the  question  of  receiving  eunuchs  into  the  congre- 
gation of  Jahweh  (56*'-),  or  the  question  of  prose- 
lytes in  general  (v."-)  as  pressing  in  the  time  of 
Hezekiah  as  among  the  exiles  in  whose  neighbour- 
hood not  a  few  of  the  heathen  might  learn  to 
worship  Israel's  God  P  Finally,  should  it  be  over- 
looked that  the  very  collocation  '  Bel  and  Nebo '  of 
46*  meets  us  frequently  in  cuneiform  texts  dating 
from  the  later  years  of  the  independence  of 
Babylon  ?  ' 

But  were  the  addresses  of  Is  40  IT.  really  spoken 
and  written  among  the  exiles  of  Babylon  ?  Pro- 
fessor Cobb  again  denies  this.  He  considers  it 
to  be  a  fact  that  the  standpoint  of  the  author  in 
Is  40  is  Palestine  and  not  Babylonia.  '  Babylon 
is  doubtless  included  in  49*^  among  the  lands  of 
the  dispersion,  but  only  included.  "These  shall 
come  from  far"  may  mean  Babylon,  the  far  east; 
then  follow  the  other  three  cardinal  points' 
(p.  83).  In  this  he  attaches  himself  to  the  inter- 
pretation of  49'',  which  was  proposed  by  Duhm  in 
the  Hdkom.  to  Isaiah  (1893}.  Sellin,  too,  defends 
it  in  his  Serubbabd  (189S),  p.  137,  but  in  his  more 
recent  essay,  '  Der  Knecht  Gottes  bei  Dcutero- 
jesaja,'  *  he  admits  that  the  view  is  untenable  that 
Deutero-Isaiah  wrote  outside  Babylonia.  This 
view  is  maintained,  however,  even  by  Marti,*  and 
hence  demands  renewed  examination. 

Duhm,  in  advocating  the  above  view,  builds  upon 

'  As  »  read  aUo  by  oldest  MS5,  Targ.,  LXX,  Valg. 
(cr,  th«  TuU  discussion  of  thU  patsage  in  my  Einliil.  in  d. 
A.T.aiif-)- 

'  A'./.£.  ii.  i4S(E9arhaddon),  iii.  3.47(NebuchadDeizai), 
127  {Cyrus},  131.  etc. 

•  Sellin,  ShuHtn  tur  EntsttkuHg^grtthiekte  derJUd.  Gemtin- 
di  nadt  dim  bob.  Exil  (i90t)>  i-  I77. 

*  K.  Marti,  Ktintr  Hdcam.  lujtsaja  (1900),  p.  344- 


49'^  thus :  '  Since  it  IS  nothing  more  than  a  chance 
that  in  the  midst  of  expressions  of  a  different  kind 
the  name  of  a  country  should  stand  quite  isolated, 
there  must  be  a  special  reason  for  this.  Let  us 
suppose,  then,  that  Deutero-Isaiah  names  the 
Phoenician  Sinites  of  Gn  lo'^  because  he  himself 
dwells  among  them.'  He  was,  however,  con- 
siderate enough  himself  to  speak  of  this  supposi- 
tion as  'a  hypothesis  of  despair,'  and  neither 
Professor  Cobb  nor  Marti  have  followed  him  in 
seeking  for  Sinim  in  Phoenicia.*  But  are  not  the 
expressions,  '  they  shall  come '  and  '  from  far,' 
indications  pointing  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
speaker  lived  outside  Babylon  ?  Supposing  his 
home  to  have  been  in  Babylon,  would  he  not 
rather  have  said  'they  will  go  out'  and  'from 
here?'  In  answer  to  this  it  has  to  be  said  that 
the  statement  of  49'*  must  not  be  torn  from  its 
nearer  or  more  remote  context,  according  to  which 
the  words  before  us  are  those  of  Jahweh.  His 
joyous  message  to  the  'prisoners'  begins  in  v.* 
with  the  cry  of  release,  '  Go  ye  out,'  and  accom- 
panies them  on  the  march  through  the  wilderness 
(v.") ;  mentions,  further,  how  they  arc  to  over- 
come the  mountains  (v.");  and,  finally,  alludes 
naturally  to  their  final  arrival  in  Canaan  (v.'*).* 
If  one  accompanies  this  line  of  thought  &om  its 
commencement  to  its  close,  neither  the  word 
'they  shall  come'  nor  the  definition  'from  far' 
give  any  occasion  to  infer  the  Palestinian  resi- 
dence of  the  author  of  Is  40  fT  And  how  our 
conclusion  is  strengthened  by  the  more  remote 
context  of  49'* ! 

In  52*'-  we  read  as  words  of  the  Lord:  'My 
people  went  down  at  first  into  Egypt  to  sojourn 

»  Cheyne,  Maiti,  and  Cobb  find  in  o-ra  the  S.  Egyptian 
Syene  (mod.  Asiouan).  But  Sinini  points  most  probably  lo 
I'O,  Pelusium,  of  Eik  30"'-.  Al  all  evenis  this  place  i«  not 
named,  as  Matti  and  Cobb  ('the  far  south')  suppose,  on 
account  of  ils  remote  situation.  It  rather  stands  in  contrast 
to  '  from  far.' 

'  This  last  stage  of  the  Return  of  Israel  would  be  indicated 
in  a  specially  Etriking  fashion,  if  '  My  mountains'  (t?)  in 
49"  are  meant  to  deaignate  the  mountains  of  Palestine,  in 
so  far  as  these  belonged  in  a  special  sense  lo  the  Deity. 
Undoubtedly  this  is  the  meaning  of  HJ  in  14"  and  65*. 
But  in  spite  ri  ASk^  of  Ps  S4',  it  is  difficult  lo  understand 
•C*Vpf,  'My  highways,'  of  Is  49"  in  the  same  sense.  Hence 
the  reference  is  more  probably  to  the  mountains  of  Jahweh 
spoken  of  in  Ps  36'  (cf.  80"  and  104"),  i.e.  the  high 
mountains ;  or  it  may  be  held  that  the  <  of  -ni^  is  a  ditto- 
graphy,  which  was  then  imitated  in  the  parallel  -n.  At  least 
the  possessive  pronotm  '  my '  is  not  eipreued  in  the  LXX, 
Targ.,  Pe«h.,  and  Arab.  VS. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


there;  and  the  Assyrbn  oppressed  them  without 
cause;  now  therefore,  what  do  I  ken,  saith  the 
Lord,  seeing  that  My  people  is  taken  away  for 
nought?'  What  third  oppressor  joined  in  the 
course  of  centuries  the  Pharaoh  of  Egypt  and 
the  Great  King  of  Assyria?  The  tyrant  Babylon 
(Ps  137').  In  what  third  place  of  Exile,  then,  did 
the  people  of  Jahweh  find  themselves  in  presence 
of  the  author  of  Is  40  ff  ?  In  Babylon.  But  the 
speaker  in  these  chapters  also  found  himself  there. 
For  he  alludes  to  the  third,  then  present,  place  of 
Eidle  by  the  adverb  nfa,  a  particle  which  is  em- 
ployed in  the  O.T.  in  such  3  way  that  the  speaker 
is  actually  in  the  place  represented  by  the  word 

But  the  same  chapter  (52)  contains  yet  another 
adverbial  allusion  to  the  place  of  Exile,  namely, 
De*,  sham,  of  v.":  'Depart  ye,  depart  ye,  go  out 
from  thence  (DBta),'  eta    This  mi-sham  is  used  in 

'  This  use  of  nb  I  have  established  by  a  comparison  of  all 

the  passages  where  it  occuis  (see  these  in  my  Slilislii,  etc 
(1900),  p.  113. 


the  O.T.  in  such  a  way  that  the  place  of  the 
speaker  is  not  identical  with  the  locality  to  which 
the  adverb  sham  refers.*  Now  the  mi-shdm  of 
52"  has  in  view  the  place  of  Israel's  captivity. 
Consequently  it  appears  to  result  from  this  that 
the  author  of  Is  40  S.  did  not  find  himself  in  the 
place  of  Exile,  i.e.  Babylon.  But  this  conclusion 
is  only  apparently  justified.  For  the  words, 
'  Depart  ye,  depart  ye,  go  out  from  thence,'  belong 
to  the  consolatory  address  of  the  watchmen  who 
publish  upon  the  mountains  about  Zion  the  tidings 
of  the  near  approach  of  Jahweh's  help.  From 
their  standpoint  they  naturally  cry  to  the  exiles  in 
Jahweh's  name,  '  Go  out  from  thence!  That  I  am 
right  in  this  explanation  of  v.'>  is  expressly  ad- 
mitted by  Sellin.* 

[I  will  conclude  in  one  other,  somewhat  shorter, 
paper  my  examination  of  Professor  Cobb's  in- 
genious but  unconvincing  article.] 


'  See  all  the  passages  where  0^9  occurs,  ii 

c.,p.  l.jf. 

'  Dir  Kneckt  Geltes,  etc  (1901),  p.  175, 


my  Slilistit, 


Con^riBu^ione    an^    Cotnmen^ff* 


'(§t  ^@ou  i^tix  %tm  everg 

Most  commentators  seem  to  find  a  difficulty  in 
explaining  w-yp:h  Djnt  fTn.  Take  for  instance 
Dr.  Skinner,  who  says:  'The  force  of  the  pro- 
noun their  is  uncertain ;  some  change  it  (need- 
lessly perhaps)  to  our.'  '  Be  thou  our  arm  '  would 
certainly  make  very  good  sense  —  but  the  LXX 
testifies  to  the  reading  their.  As  this  pronoun 
most  naturally  refers  to  the  enemy,  I  would  ven- 
ture to  suggest  that  IPX  may  mean  '  scatterer '  or 
'assailant.'  The  radical  meaning  of  mr  is  to 
scatter  or  disperse,  while  in  Arabic  Gesenius  tells 
us  there  is  a  root  derived  from  y^iT,  namely, 
c ,  j  -■  to  attack  violently. 

We  may  compare  also  the  kindred  word  mi, 
which  is  applied  figuratively  to  the  dispersion  of 
enemies  (Jer  15^  Is  41",  Ezek  5*),  In  the  face 
of  Sennacherib  and  his  army  the  prophet  may  well 
have  prayed  to  Jehovah,  '  Be  Thou  their  scatterer 


every  morning,  even  our  salvation  in  the  time  of 
trouble.'  This  exactly  suits  the  words  which 
follow:  'At  the  noise  of  the  tumult  the  people 
iled ;  at  the  lifting  up  of  Thyself  the  nations  were 
scattered.'  Augustus  Povnder, 

Chilunhani, 


So^n  vit.  53-vtit.  11. 

Westcott-Hort  write  in  their  very  careful  notes  on 
the  attestation  of  this  famous  pericope  (it.  p.  85) : 

'  Id  Ibe  whole  range  of  Greek  patristic  literature  before 
cent.  (x.  or)  lii.  there  is  but  em  trait  of  any  knowledge 
of  its  existence,  the  rererence  to  it  in  the  ApestoUe  Camlitu- 
lioni,  as  an  authority  for  the  reception  of  penitents  (associ- 
ated with  the  cases  of  St.  Matthew,  St.  Peter,  St.  Paul,  and 
the  iiia/rrmK^  fvr^  of  Lk  7"),  without,  however,  any  indica- 
tion of  the  book  from  which  it  was  quoted.' 

The  Apostolic  Constitutions,  as  is  well  known, 
rest  on  an  older  work,  the  Didascalia,  preserved  to 
us  as  yet  only  in  Syriac,  and  partially  in  Latin. 
Strange  to  say,  nobody  as  yet  seems  to  have 
asked  how  it  stands  in  this  document  with  the 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


95 


attestation.  Lagatde,  in  his  edition  of  the  Con- 
ititutionSy  placed  on  the  margin  the  pages  of  his 
edition  of  the  Didascaiia,  and  just  there,  where  i 
in  the  ComHtutions  the  reference  to  this  pericope 
begins  (ii.  14  p.  49:  Iripav  Si  rtva  ^/uipnjKuuit* 
iimprac),  stands  the  reference  to  p.  31  of  the 
Didascalta.  Now  a  look  into  this  source  of  the 
Constitutions  shows  that  here  the  association, 
pointed  out  by  Westcott-Hort,  with  the  cases  of 
Matthew,  Peter,  Paul,  and  the  woman  of  Lk  7, 
is  missing;  here  the  woman  of  }n  S  stands  for 
herself.     The  whole  connexion  runs  as  follows  : — 

'ThcFcfore  must  thou,  bishop,  with  all  power  thou  canst, 
prescribe  those  that  have  not  sinned,  thai  Ihejr  remain 
vithout  sinning,  and  those  that  convert  Irom  lias  thou 
mail  heal  and  receive.  But  if  thou  dost  not  receive  him 
that  converts,  because  thou  ail  without  mercy,  thou  sinnest 
against  the  Lord  God,  because  thou  obeycst  not  oui  Saviour 
and  OUI  God,  to  do,  as  at>io  Hedid  lo  her  who  sinned,  whom 
the  elders  placed  before  Him  and  left  the  judgment  in  His 
hands,  and  went  ofT.  But  He,  ihe  perceivcr  ofhearts,  asked 
her  and  said  to  her.  Have  the  elders  condemned  thee.  My 
4aughttr7  She  said  to  Him,  No,  Lord.  And  He  said  to 
her.  Go  ;  nor  do  I  condemn  thee. 

'  In  this,  iherefore,  our  Saviour  and  our  King  must  be  a 
goal  to  you,  bishops,  and  Him  ye  must  imitate,  elc. 

By  a  good  fortune  this  very  piece  has  been  pre- 
served in  the  Latin  fragments  of  the  Didascalia, 
discovered  and  edited  by  E.  Hauler  (Leipzig,  1900, 

p.  35);  there  it  runs  :— 

'  Si  aulem  penitentem,  cum  sis  sine  misericordia,  non 
susciperis,  peccabis  in  Oominum  Deum,  quoniai 
persuasus  nee  ccedidisti  salvatori  Deo  nostro,  u 
sicut  iile  fecit  in  ea  mullere,  quae  peccaverat,  quatn  siuiuci- 
uDt  presbyteri  ante  cum,  et  in  eo  ponentes  iudicium  exieninl. 
Scrutator  autem  cordis  interrogabat  earn,  si  condemnasseot 
ill  am  presbyteri.  Cum  aulem  dixisset^  ""  ""  '' "" 
ad  earn  :  Vade  ;  nee  ^o  le  condemno. 

'  Hunc  salvalorem,  regem  el  dominum  1 
prospectorem  vobis  habere  oporlel  ei  ei 


It  is  interesting  to  compare  these  three  recen- 
sions (Syriac,  Latin,  Greek  of  the  Constitutions) 
with  each  other  and  with  the  Greek  texts  in  the 
Gospel  MSS.  One  touch  is  peculiar  to  the 
Syriac ;  that  Jesus  addressing  her  directly  (as  in 
the  Gospel),  calls  her '  My  daughter '  ( = '  daughter,' 
6uya.rtp,  as  in  Mt  9*^,  etc.). 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  enter  more  fully  into 
the  question  about  this  story  ;  it  seems  only  worth 
while  to  refer  to  the  Didascalia,  because  hitherto 
always  the  ComHtutions  have  been  mentioned  as 
the  oldest  reference  in  the  whole  range  of  Greek 
literature.  Eb.  Nestle. 

Afaulbrenn. 


"Non,"  di»il  > 


1.  Dr.  Budde  had  no  occasion  to  say  that  I  had 
read  his  remarks  on  Neh  i*  '  a  little  hastily.'  This 
is  a  quite  unjustified  reproach.  I  did  not  say 
(vol.  xii.  p.  566)  that  he  had  not  taken  into 
account  the  possibility  that  Neh  i^  belongs  to  the 
Memoirs  of  Nehemiah.  I  simply  stated  his  actual 
opinion.  He  holds  that  the  words  of  Neh  i'  as 
they  stand  do  not  form  part  of  the  Memoirs. 
Hence  he  refuses  to  regard  this  passage  as  a 
support  for  that  interpretation  of  the  'thirtieth 
year'  of  Ezk  i',  which  I  observe  is  held  to  be 
possible  also  by  Baudissin  in  his  recently  pub- 
lished Einieit.  in  die  Biicher  des  A.T.,  p.  453. 
And  the  simple  expression  'in  the  twentieth  year' 
(Neh  i^)  may  furnish  such  support  even  if  a  dif- 
ferent mode  of  dating  is  adopted  in  Neh  2*  and 
13^  Nay,  it  is  probable  that  Nehemiah  himself 
employed  both  ways  of  dating.  If  a  redactor  had 
removed  the  name  of  the  reigning  king  in  Neh  j', 
he  would  have  been  still  more  likely  to  do  so  in 
a',  especially  as  the  interval  between  Ezr  7^  and 
Neh  i'  is  greater  than  that  between  the  last- 
named  passage  and  3'. 

2.  Dr.  Budde  does  not  think  it  possible  that 
the  'thirtieth  year'  of  Ezk  1'  refers  to  the  so-called 
era  of  Nabopolassar.  He  urges  that  no  cuneiform 
documents  have  come  down  to  us  where  the 
reckoning  is  from  the  commencement  of  the  New 
Babylonian  Empire.  Yet  this  form  of  dating  may 
have  been  employed,  and  this  commencement  of 
the  supremacy  of  Babylon  may  have  been  for  the 
Jews  and  other  foreign  peoples  of  more  import- 
ance than  for  the  Chaldeans  themselves.  The 
prophet  may  also  have  assumed  that  this  mode  of 
daung  was  familiar  to  his  readers.  This  is  not 
reduced  to  an  impossibility,  as  Dr.  Budde  sup- 
poses, by  the  circumstance  that  he  appends  yet 
another  form  of  date. 

3.  Why  do  I  oppose  once  more  the  interpre- 
tation of  Ezk  i^  favoured  by  Dr.  Budde?  Be- 
cause I  consider  it  an  unnatural  hypothesis  that 
the  very  word  in  v.*  has  dropped  out  on  which 
the  meaning  of  this  verse  depended. 

Bonn.  Ed.  KSnig. 


Z^t  Opening  (gewee  of  (Sijeftief. 

In  reply  to  Dr.  Budde  (October  number,  p.  41  f.) 
I  may  be  permitted  to  offer  at  least  the  following 
remarks : — 


nijK!  C^^cftd)  in  an  ^BBgridn 
3n8cnpfton, 

A  PLACE,  nptU,  which  is  to  be  sought  between 
Lachish  and  Socho,  is  repeatedly  mentioned  in 
the  Bible  from  the  time  of  the  Judges  down  lo 
that  of  Nehemiah.  It  is  identified,  in  all  prob- 
ability rightly,  by  C.  F.  Seybold  {Miltkeil.  des 
Deutsehen  Pal.-Vercins,  1896,  p.  26)  with  the 
modern  Khirbet  'As^alUn.  According  to  C. 
Bezold,  the  name  is  found  in  the  cuneiform  texts, 
on    tablet    Brit.    Mus.    82-3-23,    131 ;    cf.    the 


96 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Catalogue,  vol.  iv.  p.  1824:  'Part  of  an  inacr. 
of  an  Assyr.  kingi  mcDtion  is  made  of  {mdi) 
Pi-tii-ta-ai,  {m&t)  Mar-lu-kt  (  =  AmurHk)  and  (o/u) 
A-za-ka-a,'  i.e.  Aza^ai,  Aza^iles  (to  be  derived 
from  a  city-name  AzO^at).^  Since  the  Philistines 
are  spoken  of,  the  reference  can,  of  course,  be 
only  to  the  biblical  'Azelfa.  In  the  Index  (Cata- 
I  Cf.  Arab.  MadSnat  ( =  Medina]  but  ai-Madant  ( =  Medi- 


logue,  vol.  V.)  C.  Bezold  gives  only  '  Aza^  dtt,' 
not  '  Palestinian  city '  or  the  like,  so  that  I  hacc 
considered  it  a  matter  of  importance  to  bring  u 
the  notice  of  a  wider  circle  this  note  that  is  buii^ 
in  the  Catalogue.  It  is  very  desirable  that  tk 
fragment  of  twenty  lines  should  speedily  be  pub- 
lished, with  a  transcription  and  translation. 

Fritz  Hommbi. 


<&nixt    Qtoue. 


The  Chunk  Quarterly  Review  opens  a  new 
volume  in  October  with  a  new  editor  and  a  strong 
number.  The  new  editor  is  the  Rev.  A.  C. 
Headlam,  B.D.,  whose  articles  on  the  Theology  of 
the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  in  The  Expository 
Times  will  be  remembered.  He  is  joint-author 
with  Dr.  Sanday  of  perhaps  the  richest  commentary 
in  our  language,  the  '  International  Critical 
Commentary '  on  The  Epistle  to  the  Romans. 

The  number  of  the  Church  Quarterly  for 
October  opens  with  a  criticism  of  Schmiedel's 
recent  article  on  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  The 
article  has  been  handled  before,  but  nowhere  so 
severely  as  here.  One  wonders  what  has  brought 
Professor  Schmiedel  to  the  front.  The  word 
'  certain,'  one  of  the  most  induential  words  in  the 
English  language,  has  done  much  for  him.  'The 
section,'  says  Professor  Schmiedel  (one  example 
will  do),  'in  which,  as  an  eye-witness,  the  writer 
gives  his  narrative  in  the  first  person  plural 
(len"-"  2o=-'5  z|i-"  27I  28")  may  be  implicitly 
accepted.  But  it  may  be  regarded  as  equally 
certain  that  they  are  not  by  the  same  writer  as  the 
Other  parts  of  the  book.'  Says  the  reviewer  in  the 
Church  Quarterly:  'It  would  be  perfectly  legiti- 
mate for  any  Christian  apologist  to  maintain  the 
thesis  that  St.  Paul  wrote  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews,  and  if  his  arguments  were  good  they 
would  demand  respectful  attention ;  but  if  he  be- 
gan by  asserting  that  the  Pauline  authorship  was 
certain  he  would  be  looked  upon  as  a  writer  who 
did  not  know  what  he  was  talking  about.' 

As  Mr.  Miltigan  showed  in  his  paper  in  The 
Expository  Times  last  month.  Professor  Har- 
nack's  contributions  toward  the  problem  of  the 
Western  Text  are  against  its  priority.  He  does 
not  agree  with  Professor  Blass  that  that  text, 
represented  by  Codex  Bezfe,  is  St.  Luke's  first 
draft.  The  best  summary  of  the  arguments 
against  Professor  Blass's  theory  will  be  found  in 

n   appendix  to  the  new  edition  of  Mr.  Page's 

'rti  (Macniillan). 


Mr.  Fisher  Unwin  is  going  to  publish  a  cheapei 
edition  of  the  '  Story  of  the  Nations '  Series  on  the 
instalment  plan.  The  prospectus  should  be  sen: 
for;  it  is  attractive.    

A  beautiful  and  most  useful  booklet  has  been 
published  by  Messrs.  Mabie,  Todd,  &  Bard,  the 
manufacturers  of  the  '  Swan  '  pen.  It  is  called  the 
'Swan  Pen  Christmas  Shopping  List.'  It  contains 
an  alphabetical  list  of  all  likely  gifts  for  Christmas, 
and  space  to  enter  the  names  of  those  for  whom 
gifts  are  to  be  bought,  as  well  as  the  articles  and 
their  price.  It  costs  nothing,  and  is  sent  post 
free  from  93  Cheapside. 


The  author  of  an  article  in  the  Church  Quarterly 
Review  for  October  on  Bishop  Westcott  says  that 
he  well  remembers  the  Bishop's  horror  on  dis- 
covering in  Blass's  New  Testament  Greek  the 
statement  that  St.  Luke  used  a  particular  tense 
because  he  liked  rolling,  loud-sounding  words. 
He  did  not  make  the  mistake  of  supposing  that 
there  is  no  difference  between  Classical  and 
Hellenistic  Greek ;  but  he  maintained  that  each 
had  its  own  exactness ;  that  in  neither  were  words 
or  tenses  used  indiscriminately ;  and  that  there 
was  no  excuse  for  neglecting  any  minute  detail 
that  could  possibly  be  induced  to  yield  a 
meaning. 


The  same  writer  says  that  the  letters  which 
passed  between  Westcott  and  Hort  while  they 
were  engaged  on  the  text  of  the  New  Testament 
are  still  in  existence,  and  he  hopes  that  some  of 
them  may  yet  see  the  light. 


Printed  b]p  Mobkison  &  Gibb  Liuitbd,  TtmBeld  WDrki,ud 
Published  bj  T.  4  T.  Clark,  38  GeoTge  Street,  Edin- 
bnreh.  It  u  leqaoied  that  all  titerarf  cotnamiiicaliooi 
be  addteucd  to  Thb  Editok,  la  Clarcndoa  TcnMC, 

Dundee.  Ij  rri-r-  h,  X^H,'»> ''J  L*^ 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Qtofeet   of  fS^tunt   ^Bjcfoeiiion. 


The  volume  for  igoi  of  Hennathena  has  been 
published.  It  contains  two  articles  of  biblical 
interest.  The  one  is  by  Dr.  Eagar  of  Dublin  on 
the  'Hellenic  Element  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews.'  The  other  is  by  Dr.  J.  H.  Bernard  on 
the  '  Greek  MSS  used  by  St.  Jerome.'  We  hope 
to  return  to  both.  Meantime  let  us  be  content 
to  mention  a  footnote  to  Dr.  Eagar's  paper. 

Through  the  whole  Greek  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, says  Dr.  Eagar,  there  is  a  strongly  marked 
difference  in  meaning  between  the  words  Heaven 
and  Heavens  {aipavot  and  oipavoi).  The  diifer- 
ence,  he  says,  is  clearly  seen  in  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  though  it  is  not  shown  in  our  English 
versions.  The  first  clause  of  the  prayer  is  '  Our 
Father  which  art  in  the  heavens'  {Iv  rait  oipavait). 
If  the  clause  read  '  in  heaven '  the  meaning  would 
be,  says  Dr.  Eagar,  exacily  as  in  Robert  Buchanan's 
'  Devil's  Prayer ' :  '  Our  Father,  who  in  heaven  art 
— not  here.' 

For  'heaven'  in  the  singular  is  contrasted  with 
the  earth,  as  in  the  third  petition :  '  Thy  will  be 
done  in  earth  as  in  heaven '  (tv  ahpav^.  But 
'the  heavens'  include  all  places  of  God's  do- 
minions, terrestrial  as  welt  as  celestial;  and  we 
are  taught  to  pray  to  our  Father  who  is  in  the 

vou  xni.— 3. 


heavens  that  are  here  as  well  as  there,  upon  the 
earth  as  well  as  in  the  sky. 

Dr.  Blass  has  published  his  edition  of  the 
Gospel  of  St.  Matthtw,  and  Mr.  Burkitt  has  re- 
viewed it  in  the  Clasiical  Rtview  for  November. 
Mr.  Burkitt  reviews  it  unfavourably.  He  has 
no  pleasure  in  unfavourable  reviewing,  and  in  this 
case  he  dislikes  it  exceedingly.  For  he  knows 
that  Dr.  Blass  is  a  great  scholar,  who  has  done 
great  things  for  New  Testament  scholarship,  and 
that  he  has  spent  much  labour  and  ingenuity  on 
this  work  in  particular.  But  Dr.  Blass's  St. 
Matthew  contains  a  text  of  bis  own  formation, 
and  Mr.  Burkitt  believes  neither  in  the  text 
itself  nor  in  the  principles  on  which  it  has  been 
formed. 

Mr,  Burkitt  once  saw  a  letter  in  which  Dr. 
Hort  wrote  something  about  one  of  Tischen- 
dorfs  many  editions  of  the  New  Testament.  '  He 
still  thinks,'  wrote  Dr.  Hort,  '  that  he  may  read 
exactly  as  he  pleases.'  That  judgment,  in  Mr. 
Burkitt's  opinion,  would  now  apply  to  Dr. 
Blass.  Not  that  he  ever  accepts  or  rejects  a 
reading  without  a  reason.  But  the  reasons  that 
appeal  to  him  are  not  those  that  would  appeal  to 
anyone  else,  since  they  rest  on  literary  or  even 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


religious   fitness,   as    often    as    on  documentary 
evidence. 

Mr.  Burkitt  gives  Matthew  17"  as  an  example. 
St.  Peter  is  commanded  to  go  to  the  sea  and  cast 
his  net  and  take  the  first  fish  that  comes  up,  'and,' 
says  the  Lord,  '  when  thou  hast  opened  his  mouth, 
thou  shall  find  a  shekel '  (rvprjtrtii  urar^pa).  Dr. 
Blass  omits  the  words  '  when  thou  hast  opened 
his  mouth,' and  then  changes  'thou  shall  find  a 
shekel'  into  'it  will  fetch  a  shekel  wAen  sold' 
(tupjJo-H  erroT^pa).  For  this  reading,  which  con- 
veniently gets  rid  of  the  miracle,  Dr.  Blass  claims 
the  support  of  St.  Chrysostom.  But  Mr,  fiurkiit 
shows  that  St.  Chrysostom  is  a  hearty  believer  in 
the  miracle,  in  which  he  sees  as  clear  a  proof  of 
Christ's  power  over  the  sea  as  when  He  made 
Peter  walk  on  the  waves.  Mr.  Burkitt  himself 
is  willing  to  let  any  miracle  go,  as  soon  as  textual 
or  any  other  criticism  pronounces  against  it.  But 
as  there  is  no  evidence  whatever  against  this  par- 
ticular miracle,  outside  Dr.  filass's  fancy,  he  is 
compelled  for  the  present  to  retain  it. 


At  the  end  of  the  twelfth  chapter  the  Book  of 
Acts  is  divided  into  two  parts.  Mr.  Rackham, 
in  his  new  commentary,  noticed  on  another  page, 
calls  the  first  part  the  Acts  of  Peter,  the  second 
the  Acts  of  Paul,  It  is  a  question  whether  v,**, 
which  is  the  last,  belongs  to  St.  Peter  or  St.  Paul. 
In  favour  of  its  belonging  to  the  Acts  of  Paul  is 
the  fact  that  the  previous  verse  contains  St. 
Luke's  formula  for  closing  a  section:  'The  word 
of  God  grew  and  multiplied.'  But  the  question 
is  really  decided  by  the  choice  we  make  between 
two  disputed  readings. 

According  to  the  Received  Greek  Text  and  the 
Authorized  Version,  '  Barnabas  and  Saul  returned 
from  Jerusalem,  when  they  had  fulfilled  their 
ministry,  and  took  with  them  John  whose  sur- 
name was  Mark.'  The  Revised  Version  makes 
only  two  insignificant  changes.  But  some  MSS 
read  '  Barnabas  and  Saul  returned  fo  Jerusalem,' 


and  among  them  are  the  Vatican  (B)  and  the 
Sinaitic  (n),  the  two  MSS  which  were  followed 
by  the  Revisers  almost  everywhere  else  where 
they  agree.     Why  were  they  not  followed  here? 

They  were  not  followed  here,  because  for  once 
they  seemed  to  unite  in  contradicting  common 
sense.  In  the  end  of  chapter  11  it  is  stated 
that  Barnabas  and  Saul  were  sent  from  Antioch 
to  bring  relief  to  the  brethren  that  dwelt  in 
Judsa.  At  this  point  St.  Luke  inserts  the 
murder  of  James  and  the  escape  of  Peter.  Then 
he  returns  to  Barnabas  and  Saul,  and  says,  in  v.^, 
that  when  they  had  fulfilled  their  ministry  to  the 
poor  brethren  in  Judsea,  they  returned — the  great 
MSS  say  to  Jerusalem,  but  surely  the  little  MSS 
are  right  for  once,  which  say  that  they  returned 
from  Jerusalem,  which  is  the  capital  of  Judaea,  to 
their  own  headquarters  in  Antioch. 

Mr.  Rackham  does  not  believe  that  the  little 
MSS  are  right.  He  believes  that  this  verse 
belongs  to  the  Acts  of  Peter.  Jerusalem  and 
not  Antioch  is  still  the  centre  of  the  history.  It 
is  therefore  the  natural  form  of  expression  to  say 
as  yet,  even  of  Barnabas  and  Saul,  that  they 
returned  or  came  home  to  Jerusalem.  With  the 
first  verse  of  the  next  chapter  the  scene  is  changed. 
Thereafter  Antioch  is  the  Church's  home,  and 
the  apostles  will  be  found  returning  always  thither. 

But  does  not  St.  Luke  say  that  it  was  when 
they  had  fulfilled  this  ministry  (hat  they  returned  ? 
The  ministry  being  to  the  brethren  in  Judsea,  it 
would  be  exercised  chiefly  in  Jerusalem.  How 
could  they  return  to  Jerusalem  after  they  had 
futfiUedit?  

Mr.  Rackham  tells  us  that  if  we  had  observed 
St.  Luke's  style  more  closely,  we  should  not  have 
been  troubled  with  that  difiiculiy.  St.  Luke  is 
fond  of  using  participles.  He  expresses  his  chief 
fact  by  a  finite  verb,  and  then  adds  other  facts  in 
participles.  These  participles  must  be  taken  in 
order.     Accordingly  the  correct  translation  here 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


99 


is  this :  '  They  returned  to  Jerusalem  and  fulfilled 
their  ministry  and  took  with  them  John.*  This 
habit  of  Luke's  style,  he  says,  was  missed  very 
early.  The  meaning  of  the  verse  was  lost  The 
sense  seemed  to  demand  ^from  Jerusalem,'  and 
the  change  was  accordingly  made.  But  the  great 
MSS  were  either  too  early  or  too  faithful  to  make 
the  change,  and  they  are  once  more  found  on  the 
side  of  the  purest  text  and  the  most  appropriate 
mean!  ng. 

The  Jewish  Quarterly  Review  for  October  con- 
tains a  review  by  Mr.  Claude  Montefiore  of  an 
American  volume  of  sermons.  The  writer  of  the 
sermons  is  a  well-known,  almost  notorious.  Rabbi 
of  Philadelphia,  Dr.  Joseph  Krauskopf.  The 
volume  is  called  A  Rabbi's  Impressions  of  the 
Oierammergau  Passion  Play. 

Rabbi  Krauskopf  was  interested  in  the  Passion 
Play  because  of  the  part  played  in  it  by  the  Jews. 
He  understood  that  the  Jews  were  represented  as 
playing  a  black  part  in  the  Passion.  He  believed 
that  that  was  a  misTeprescntation,  and  that  it  was 
doing  injury  to  the  cause  of  Judaism  throughout 
the  world.     So  he  went  to  Oberammergau  himself 


When  Dr.  Krauskopf  reached  Oberammergau 
and  saw  the  Passion  Play,  he  found  that  he  had 
not  been  told  half  of  the  dark  and  dastardly  things 
(hat  were  attributed  to  the  Jews.  He  was  much 
distressed.  The  representation  he  believed  to  be 
a  complete  misrepresentation.  And  he  relumed 
to  America  to  show  that  he  had  witnessed  the 
Play  with  eyes  of  rare  discernment  and  to  de- 
nounce its  evil  influence  in  language  of  rare, 
momentum. 

Mr.  Claude  Montefiore  reviews  the  sermons 
with  sympathy.  He  had  heard  strange  things  of 
Dr.  KrauskopC  He  calls  the  report  of  '  the  sort 
of  things  which  Dr.  Krauskopf  is  wont  to  say' 
Jabuious  nonsense.  These  are  the  sermons  of  a 
Jew  who  is  a  Jew  indeed.    It  is  true  that  '  a  strong 


liberal  or  reform  position '  is  taken  up ;  it  is  true 
that  'Jesus  is  spoken  of  with  high  reverence  and 
honour.'  But  these  are  not  things  that  are  likely 
to  offend  Mr.  Montefiore.  'Sermons,' .he  says, 
'  more  emphatically  Jewish,  it  would  be  impossible 
to  find.' 

What  then  does  this  emphatically  Jewish 
preacher,  with  his  reverence  and  honour  for 
Jesus,  think  of  the  Jews  of  our  Lord's  day  and 
their  attitude  to  Him?  He  thinks  that  they 
have  been  entirely  misrepresented  and  maligned. 
He  saw  the  misrepresentation  in  the  Passion 
Play,  But  the  Passion  Play  rests  on  the  Gospels. 
He  believes  that  in  the  Gospels  there  is  a  double 
and  dreadful  misrepresentation — a  misrepresenta- 
tion of  the  actual  Jesus  and  a  misrepresentation 
of  the  actual  Jews. 

Dr.  Krauskopf  believes  that  the  actual  Jesus 
of  Nazareth  was  a  very  different  person  from  the 
Jesus  of  the  Gospels.  'There  is  not  a  word  of 
truth,'  he  says,  'in  all  these  trumped-up  charges 
against  the  Rabbis,  in  all  the  Gospel-recorded 
bitterness  of  Jesus  against  the  Scribes  and  Phari- 
sees, or  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  against 
Jesus.'  'If  there  ever  was  a  time,'  he  says, 
'  when  peace  was  needed  among  Israel  itself,  that 
was  the  time;  and  if  ever  there  was  a  man  to 
knit  the  people  in  closest  bond  of  mutual  sym- 
pathy and  helpfulness  in  the  hour  of  the  country's 
direst  distress,  Jesus  was  that  man.  Not  he  the 
man  to  brand  the  teachers  of  his  people  "  hypo- 
crites," "  scorpions,"  "  whiled  sepulchres."  There 
was  not  enough  of  gall  in  him  to  force  sucli 
words  to  his  lips.  He  who  preached  to  love 
the  enemy,  to  bless  those  that  curse,  to  do  good 
to  those  that  harm,  to  resist  no  evil,  certainly 
could  not  harm  or  curse  them  that  had  not 
harmed  or  cursed.  From  his  earliest  childhood 
at  his  mother's  breast  he  had  drunk  in  the  Jew's 
reverence  of  the  teacher  in  Israel,  of  the  judge 
who  judges  in  God's  stead ;  and  in  all  his  studies 
of  the  history  of  Israel  he  had  not  come  across 
a  time  when  the  teachers  of  Israel  were  more 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


deserving  of  reverence  than  in  that  age  that  pro- 
duced a  Fhito,  a  Hillel,  a  Gamaliel,  a  Jochanan 
ben-Saccai.' 

Jesus  and  the  Pharisees  were  therefore  never 
in  opposition.  Jesus  '  never  preached  a  doctrine, 
advocated  a  reform,  that  was  not  strictly  Jewish.' 
'There  was  nothing  that  Jesus  ever  preached  that 
had  not  the  heartiest  endorsement  of  the  Rabbis 
of  Israel.  Not  a  precept  that  he  ever  uttered 
that  had  not  proven  him  a  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews. 
His  every  word  breathes  of  the  religious  and  moral 
and  social  atmosphere  of  his  time.  His  every  act 
is  the  translation  into  deed  of  the  aspirations  of 
the  pious  and  cultured  Jew  in  the  days  of  Pales- 
tine's bondage  under  the  cruel  Roman.  His 
every  teaching  with  regard  to  the  Scribes  and 
Rabbis,  members  of  the  Sanhedrin,  was  that  they 
sit  in  Moses'  seat,  and  whatsoever  they  bid  that 
should  be  done.  His  very  manner  of  teaching, 
his  aphorisms  and  quotations,  bis  parables  and 
illustrations,  is  the  manner  of  the  Rabbis  of  his 
time.  Not  a  reform  principle  that  he  taught 
which  they  had  not  taught;  not  a  ceremonial 
abuse  to  which  he  objected  which  they  had  not 
objected  to ;  tiot  an  ethical  lesson  that  he  enjoined 
which  they  had  not  enjoined ;  not  a  prayer  that 
he  offered  which  they  had  not  offered ;  the  very 
Lord's  Prayer  was  a  specimen  of  the  kind  of 
prayer  they  prayed ;  the  very  "  Golden  Rule " 
was  the  rule  taught  in  every  school.' 

How  is  it  then  that  the  Gospels  have  come 
so  utterly  to  misrepresent  Jesus  and  the  Rabbis 
and  the  relations  between  them  ?  It  is  because, 
in  Dr.  Krauskopfs  opinion,  they  are  of  quite 
late  production.  They  do  not  actually  reflect  the 
time  of  Jesus,  because  they  do  not  belong  to  it. 
They  reflect  the  ideas  of  the  times  in  which  they 
were  written.  The  'bitter  denunciation  of  the 
teachers  of  Israel,'  contained  in  the  Gospels, '  is  the 
language  of  the  later-day  Romanized  vindictive 
theologians  of  the  Church  militant.' 

But  here  Mr.  Montefiore  finds  himself  out  of 


touch  with  Dr.  Krauskopf.  The  accepted  date, 
says  Mr.  Montefiore,  for  the  Gospel  of  Mark, 
is  70  to  80  A.D.,  which  at  the  latest  (and  evec 
Mr.  Montefiore's  date  is  much  later  than  ^c 
accepted  date  in  his  own  country)  is  only  fiftj 
years  from  the  life  of  Jesus.  The  picture  or 
Jesus  and  of  the  Rabbis  is  complete  in  the  Gospe! 
of  Mark :  where  do  you  find  time  for  the  '  late- 
day  Romanized  vindictive  theolc^ans  of  the 
Church  militant'? 

And  even  if  you  make  the  Gospels  as  late  15 
Dr.  Krauskopf  does,  how  are  you  to  separate  tiv 
truth  from  the  error  that  is  in  them  ?  Mr.  Monte 
tiore  finds  that  Dr.  Krauskopf  follows  the  metho- 
of  all  the  late-dating  critics  of  every  school 
>  Whatever  Jesus  says  in  favour  of  the  Law  and 
of  the  Rabbis  is  true  and  authentic ;  passage 
which  point  the  other  way  are  unhislorical.'  Ak 
more  than  that,  he  finds  that  Dr.  Krauskop:- 
Jesus,  Uke  the  Jesus  of  the  late-dating  critics,  isj 
historical  impossibility,  'The  Jesus  of  Dr. 
Krauskopf,'  he  says,  'might  have  been  a  mildc 
and  gentler  man  than  the  Jesus  of  the  Synoptit 
Gospels,  but,  in  spite  of  Paul,  such  a  Jesus  wi: 
not  and  could  not  have  been  the  founder  a 
Christianity.  Not  even  all  the  "  parallels  "  drawn 
up  by  Dr.  Krauskopf  between  Talmud  and  Ke« 
Testament  will  suffice  to  destroy  the  originaliii 
of  the  "  Man  of  Naiareth."  Without  a  Jest., 
who  in  hfe  and  tenets  was  not  a  mere  replica 
of  any  other  contemporary  Rabbi,  the  Gospel.; 
are  an  even  greater  puzzle  than  before.' 

As  for  himself,  Mr.  Montefiore  cannot  sk 
that  the  r61e  ascribed  to  the  Jews  in  the  Gospel.- 
is  so  very  improbable.  Jesus  claimed  to  be  the 
Messiah.  He  failed  to  show  then  {Mr.  Monte- 
fiore thinks  He  has  failed  to  show  yet)  that  the 
Old  Testament  passages  on  which  he  based  hit 
claim  could  possibly  have  applied  to  him.  He 
asserted  or  admitted  that  he  was  the  'Son  ci 
God'  in  some  special  or  peculiar  sense  whic 
made  it  an  assertion  or  admission  of  blasphemi 
to    his    hearers.      If  they    did    not    adroit    hi^ 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Messiahsttip,  why  should  they  have  believed  in 
his  Divinity?  If  they  did  not  believe  in  his 
Divinity,  why  should  they  not,  with  their  intense 
and  passionate  monotheism  have  shown  theii 
hatred  of  a  blasphemer?  Therefore,  concludes 
Mr.    MonCefiore,   'though    there   is  doubtless  a 


great  deal  of  exaggeration  of  theatrical  effect  and 
of  designed  contrast  between  light  and  darkness, 
good  and  bad,  in  the  alleged  behaviour  of  the 
Jews  at  the  catastrophe  at  Jerusalem,  the  main 
outlines  seem  to  me  neither  antecedently  improb- 
able nor  morally  atrocious.' 


Bv  Professor  N.  Glouhokovskv,  Thk  EccLKsusTrcAL  Academy,  St.  Petersburc. 


The  Gospels  are  the  law  books  of  the  New 
Testament.  The  word  tiayyiXiov  (good  tidings) 
in  the  ancient  classic  Greek,  as  used  by  Homer, 
Aristotle,  Plutarch,  meant  properly  a  reward  for 
good  news,  in  token  of  gratitude  and  as  an 
expression  of  mental  satisfaction,  especially  in 
relation  to  the  gods;  and,  further,  every  com- 
munication itself  which  contained  something 
agreeable.  Both  these  nuances  of  meaning— 
'  a  reward '  and  '  glad  tidings ' — are  found  in  the 
LXX  when  the  Greek  translators  of  the  Old 
Testament  render  the  Hebrew  word  btsorah  (i  S 
31*,  3  S  4"  1%"^-  -"■  ■■^-  ",  2  K  7*),  as  well  as  in 
the  works  of  Cicero,  Josephus,  etc 

But  besides  this  use,  the  word  ttoyy«Aioc  pre- 
ferentially and  in  its  strict  sense  was  applied  in 
the  Old  Testament  to  the  Messianic  prophecies 
which  announced  the  New  Testament  kingdom 
of  inner  peace  and  of  release  from  the  burthen 
of  sin  (Is  40'  51^  60'  61'-'),  Therefore  goiptt 
ivas  for  a  Jew  chiefly  prediction  respecting  the 
glorious  coming  of  the  Messiah — the  promised 
Reconciler.  Quite  naturally,  when  the  latter 
made  His  appearance  in  the  person  of  out  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  this  term  was  made  use  of  (comp. 
Ac  13'*,  I  Co  9")  in  order  to  point  out  what 
He  had  done  for  the  salvation  of  mankind.  In 
this  case  'gospel '  marks  off  the  fact  itself — 'great 
Joy'  (Lk  11").  'the  mystery'  (Eph  6i»)  of  the 
redemption  by  'the  power  of  God'  (Ro  i")  for 
'  salvation'  (Eph  i")  and  'pacification  '  (Eph6"'), 
'through  the  grace'  (Ac  zo-*),  in  'the  kingdom' 
<Mt  4**  9"*  14")  'of  God'  (Mk  i"),  which  the 
believer  ought  lo  enter  with  hearty  obedience 
<Ro  lo",  2  Th  I*)  and  a  contrite  recognition  of 
his  sinful  weakness   (Mk   i'^),  through  an  effort 


(Ph  i")  of  self-sacrificing  (z  Ti  i*)  declaration 
(Ac  20**)  of  his  gospel  hope  (i  Co  9^'),  of  the 
eternal  (comp.  Rev  14*)  'glory  of  the  great  God' 
(i  Ti  i";  comp.  4*)  and  'Christ '(2  Co  4').  In 
fine,  'gospel'  is  'the  coming  of  God  the  Word, 
even  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  for  the  salvation 
of  the  human  race  was  incarnate  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  of  the  Virgin  Mary.' 

But  if  the  word  'gospel'  denotes  properly  the 
historical  work  of  the  salvation  of  mankind,  only 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  may  be  called  properly  the 
author  of  it.  An  evangelist  may  be  so  called  only 
as  it  can  be  gathered  from  Christ's  own  words 
(Lk  4'*,  Mt  ii<-*;  comp.  Lk  i^\  and  from 
testimonies  both  of  the  New  Testament  (Mt  9^ ; 
comp.  4^^,  Mk  1")  and  Church  writers  (St. 
Ignatius,  Trail.  lo").  And,  indeed,  the  gospel  is 
called  the  gospel  of  the  Son  of  God  (Ro  1*),  the 
gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  (Mk  1^;  comp.  Ro  15^^ 
Gal  1^,  Ph  i^^),  and  from  its  original  source  in 
God,  the  gospel  of  God  (Ro  i'  is'*>  *  Co  n', 
I  Th  1 1^-  8- »,  I  P  4"). 

It  is,  however,  perfectly  natural  to  find  that  this 
term  soon  began  to  be  transferred  also  to  the 
accounts  of  Christ's  work  in  all  its  details, — all  the 
more  readily  that  the  Saviour  Himself  so  designated 
the  announcement  of  certain  episodes  of  His  life 
upon  earth  (Mt  24'*  26" ;  comp.  Mk  14* ;  comp. 
Jn  12*).  It  is  not  difficult  then  to  see  how  and 
why  reminiscences  of  the  apostles  not  only  spoken 
but  written,  began  to  be  called '  Gospels '  (St.  Justin 
the  Martyr,  ist  Apol.  chap.  66).  It  is  quite  possible 
that  the  books  of  the  Gospels  obtained  this  appella- 
tion very  early;  it  is  at  least  found  to  have  been 
used  by  almost  all  the  original  codices  both  of 
the  Greek  and  versions,  and  St.  John  Chiysostom 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


{Dis^.  Matt.  L  2)  distinctly  asseits  that  '  Matthew 
has  justly  called  his  work  Gospel' 

From  the  foregoing  it  follows  thnt  the  first  four 
books  of  the  New  Testament  are  named  the 
Gospels  on  account,  and  in  the  sense,  of  their 
proclaiming  ('evangelizing')  good  tidings  (iv- 
ayycAxov)  of  the  redemption  of  mankind  through 
Christ,  the  incarnate  Son  of  God,  as  of  an  especial 
act  of  God's  love  and  grace  (comp.  Eph  11*). 
And  inasmuch  as  our  Christian  faith  is  based 
entirely  thereon  (comp.  Lk  1*),  the  Gospels  are  in 
a  perfectly  legitimate  way  considered  as  'funda- 
mental '  records  of  the  New  Testament  canon. 

This  definition  is  of  great  importance  for  a 
correct  and  scientific  comjirehension  and  apprecia- 
tion of  the  written  Gospels.  In  their  subject- 
matter  they  have  in  view  the  same  object  which 
our  Saviour  Himself  pursued  in  His  activity,  and 
consequently  they  only  narrate  that  which  has  a 
direct  relation  thereto.  Their  aim  is  practical 
soteriology  ;  everything  that  goes  beyond  its  limits 
is  omitted  by  the  God-inspired  writers  (Jn  20*" 
zi'^).  St.  Luke,  it  is  true,  expresses  his  intention 
of  writing  everything  in  order,  but  only  that  Theo- 
philus  '  might  know  the  certainty  concerning  the 
things  wherein  he  was  instructed '  (i^"*).  Therefore, 
the  books  of  the  Gospels  strictly  so  called,  are 
not  a  historical  and  biographical  work ;  therein 
lies  the  key  to  a  right  comprehension  of  their 
character  and  great  importance  They  endeavour 
to  describe  for  us  the  personality  and  the  work  of 
Christ  as  our  Redeemer.  One  can  easily  understand 
that  in  carrying  out  such  a  plan  many  facts  in  the 
human  existence  of  the  Lord  were  considered  as 
mere  accessories. 

It  is  in  this  sense  that  the  Apostle  Paul 
persistently  calls  his  preaching  of  the  good 
tidings  concerning  Christ  the  Saviour  gospel, 
and  in  so  far  as  this  preaching  was  true,  and 
in  its  exposition  precisely  expressed,  the  actual 
fact  of  Christ's  redemption  in  the  fullest  authen- 
ticity, power,  and  depth  (i  Co  15',  Gal  i"  z^), 
he  himself,  as  it  were,  becomes  identical  with  the 
Lord,  and  appropriates  this  gospel  in  the  quality 
of  his  own  (to  tharffiKtov  fiov,  Ro  a"  16^,  2  Ti 
Z*  ;  TO  €iayyikiov  ^fiwi',  2  Co  4*,  I  Th  l',  2  Th 
z").  This  trait  is  most  characteristic  in  all 
respects ;  so  that  in  speaking  about  the  teaching 
of  St.  Paul  it  is  necessary  to  retain  the  term 
'gospel,'  which  shows  at  once  and  faithfully  all 
'he  peculiarities  of '  preaching  among  the  Gentiles,' 


and  seU  aside  all  kinds  of  misrepresentations  (rot 
instance,  the  period  of  infancy  as  leading  to  that 
of  manhood),  since  out  of  the  facts  of  His  inanifotd 
activity  those  things  alone  must  have  been  seleaed 
which  particularly  expressed  it.  Therefore,  in  tht 
narration  of  His  sojourn  among  men,  that  only  was 
important  and  necessary  which  characterized  Him 
especially  from  this  point  of  view,  showing  Him  to 
beGodlncamate,  Saviour  of  the  world,  which  madt 
it  clear  to  every  one  that  He  was  the  Redeemer. 
Under  this  condition  only  was  it  possible  adequateif 
to  conceive  His  God-man  personality,  inasmuch  u 
in  the  salvation  of  mankind  are  to  be  looked  for 
the  starting-point,  the  life-long  principle,  and  tte 
terminating  point  of  His  life  on  earth.  Isolaidi 
facts  had  to  be  made  use  of  only  for  this  end,  and 
thus  we  find  in  our  canonical  Gospels  that  ever? 
writer,  pursuing  his  practical  objects  and  makiih; 
his  book  subservient  to  the  benefit  of  his  readers. 
presents  his  own  delineation  of  Christ  as  li- 
Saviour  of  men,  and  touches  upon  everything  elK 
solely  on  account  of  its  connexion,  tangericy,  and 
relation  to  this  the  chief  point.  Thus  the  Gospel. 
being  neither  a  yearly  chronicle  nor  a  biograpbv, 
is  an  entire  and  objective  reproduction  of  the 
work  of  Christ,  illuminated  by  an  idea  which 
constitutes  its  inalienable  essence,  and  therefore 
fully  develops  it- 

From  this  point  of  view  one  cannot  fael;> 
characterizing  as  an  obscuration  and  a  reversal 
of  the  true  ideal  of  the  gospel-story,  and  as  an 
entire  loss  of  a  correct  conception  respecting  it 
all  the  latest  of  the  apocryphal  Gospels  which 
endeavour  to  fill  up  the  gap,  as  if  it  had  not  been 
purposely  formed  by  the  Synoptics  and  St.  John, 
with  legends  of  the  period  of  the  infancy  of  Christ 
the  Saviour,  with  narrations  of  His  life,  which 
frequently  appear  monstrous  and  absurd  and  so 
forth.'     For  that  very  reason  we  believe  that  the 

'  Apocryphal  Gosjiels  are  those  sloiies  of  the  Life  i- 
Christ  (he  Suviour  which  were  either  not  recogniied  nr 
were  rejected  by  the  Church  as  not  deserving  credence. 
fabulous  and  even  thoroughly  ioipioas  and  heretical.  Their 
number  is  very  corniderable.  Even  Fabricius  counted  i- 
many  as  lifly,  nod  now  this  total  must  be  raised  still  rurlber : 
thus  in  1892  the  Greek  fragments  of  the  Gospel  of  $.:. 
Peter  were  discovered  in  Egypt,  and  made  a  great  sensation 
in  Western  theological  literature.  Several  similar  fragments 
were  also  preserved  in  (be  old  Slavonian  '  secret '  Kleraturt. 
.Some  of  the  apocryphal  Gospels  are  as  old  as  the  third, 
perhaps  even  the  second  century,  but  at  all  events  it  bu 
not  been  proved  beyond  doubt  that  even  one  of  these  might 
be  accounted  older  Ihan  the  canonical  Gospels.     The  mou 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


103 


actual  Life  of  Christ,  the  God-man,  cannot  possibly 
be  written,  although  attempts  of  t^e  kind  and 
under  such  a  title  are  to  be  met  with  in  Russian 
literature,  not  to  speak  of  their  striking  multitude 
abroad  (Strauss,  Renan,  Keim,  Weiss,  Beyschlag, 
Farrar,  Didon,  etc.). 

The  Gospel,  as  the  work  0}  Christ,  proceeded 
from,  and  can  only  belong  to,  the  Lord  Himself, 
and  may  not  have  other  'authors.'  This  explains 
all  the  peculiarities  in  the  superseriptiom  of  our 
canonical  Gospels.  First  of  all,  we  must  accept 
the  opinion  of  St.  John  Chrysostom  (Discourses 
OH  Rom.  i.  1  ;  Matt,  i.  2)  that  Matthew,  Mark, 
Luke,  and  John  did  not  write  their  names;  the 
superscriptions  have  come  into  use  afterwards, 
although  not  much  later,  as  we  have  to  conclude 
from  the  testimonies  of  Tertullian  ( Vers.  Marcion, 
iv-  »),  Irenxus  {Vers.  Heresies,  iii.  11),  Clement  of 
Alexandria  {Strom.  \.  21),  and  the  Fragment  of 
Muratori  (i.  3).  At  the  same  time  it  is  perfectly 
natural  that  the  designation  of  the  evangelists 
could  not  be  made  in  the  form  of  'genitivus 
auctoris '  or  '  possessivus,'  inasmuch  as  the  author 
of  the  Gospel  was  Christ,  Consequenlly  preference 
was  given  to  a  complex  form,  EuayycXtov  Kara 
Mar^cuov,  Mi^mcov,  Aovkoi',  Imavv))!', — according  tO 
Matthew,  Mark,  etc.  In  accordance  with  the 
character  of  the  Gospels,  this  formula  would 
precisely  express  the  substance  of  the  matter,  if 
it  be  amplified  as  follows: — 'The  Gospel  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  according  to  the  exposition  {as 
related  in  writing)  by  Matthew.'  The  authorship 
of  the  evangelists  would  evidently  not  be  ex- 
cluded thereby,  and,  consequently,  some  savants 
(Kruedener,  Renan,  Volkmar,  Reuss,  HolzmannJ 
have  no  ground  for  finding  therein  support  for 
their  notion  that  our  canonical  Gospels  were 
made  up  in  accordance  with  the  tradition  only  or 

important  or  them  are :  The  Pioto-Evingel  ol  James 
(25  chaps,  from  ihe  time  of  tbe  Annunciation  af 
the  birth  of  the  Theotokos  10  the  Massacre  of  Innocent! 
at  Bethlehem) ;  The  Gospel  of  Pseud 0 -Matthew,  or  The 
Book  of  Birth  of  the  all-boly  hiary  and  of  the  Childhood 
of  the  Saviour  {42  chaps.)  ;  The  Gospel  of  the  Birth  of 
Mary  (10  chaps.):  The  Ilislury  of  Joseph  the  Carpenter 
(32  chaps.)  ;  Tbe  Gospel  of  Thomas  (in  fragments  relating 
in  chaps.  19,  21,  and  35  the  Life  of  Christ  from  the  Flight 
into  Egypt  until  the  Twelfth  Year) ;  Arabian  Gospel  of 
Virginity ;  The  Gospel  of  Nicodemus  (consisting  of  the 
Acts  of  I'jtate  and  of  the  Descent  of  Christ  into  Hades) ; 
The  Report  of  Pilate  ;  The  Gospel  of  the  Hebrews  j  The 
Eternal  Gospel ;  The  Gospel  of  Andrew,  of  the  Twelve 
Apostles,  of  Barnabas,  of  Bartholomew,  and  so  forth. 


built  up  en  the  basis  of  original  notes  of  the  persons 
whose  names  they  now  bear. 

If  the  gospel  is,  strictly  speaking,  the  work  of 
redemption,  it  can,  like  every  hbtorical  event,  be 
one  only  {Adamantius) ;  that  is  why  St.  Irenseus 
{Vers.  Heres.  iii.  8)  speaks  only  of  5  rtrpanapifxnr 
tiayyiXwy — a  four-osfiected  gospel  (comp.  Hieroni- 
mus  on  John  xxxvi.  1 ;  Sermon  ccxxxi.  i,  de  Util. 
crtd.  7),  and  St.  John  Chrysostom  of  one  according 
to  four  {^o.  Ttatrafum'  h).  And  vrith  regard  to  the 
quadruple  number  of  the  Gospels,  the  ancient 
Church  authorities  (Origen,  Augustine,  John 
Chrysostom)  asserted  that  thereby  is  pointed  oat 
the  necessary  fulness  in  the  exposition  of  the 
subject,  authenticity  and  sUbility  of  the  delinea- 
tion, as  well  as  the  universality  of  the  good 
tidings.  On  account  of  such  considerations  as 
this, the  holy  Irenseus  {Vers.  Iferes.'m.  11)  deemed 
the  present  the  only  self-sufficient  quantity,  and 
rightly  judged  it  'vain,  irrational,  and  extremely 
presumptuous  to  attempt  to  introduce  greater  or 
smaller  forms  of  the  Gospels.'  And  when  we 
carefully  examine  into  the  contents  of  the 
canonical  Gospels,  we  can  easily  discover  that 
they  contain  the  life  of  Christ,  from  all  points  of 
view,  in  forms  adapted  to  all  racial  subdivisions, 
and  answering  all  questions  that  human  intellect 
can  raise,  and  by  their  mutual  agreement  with 
some  differences  in  details,  they  convince  us  of 
their  historical  truth  (St,  John  Chrysostom). 

In  this  general  outline  there  remains  still  im- 
touched  the  question  of  the  origin  and  mutual 
relation  of  the  canonical  Gospels.  In  the  Western 
negative  and  sceptical  literature  it  has  become 
very  complicated,  and  has  given  birth  to  such  a 
multitude  of  t:ompIex,  original,  and  fanciful 
theories  that  only  one  who  is  well  versed  in  the 
subject  can  help  feeling  bewildered  amongst  them. 
But  at  the  bottom  of  all  these  ragings  and  re- 
searches lies,  strictly  speaking,  the  distrust  of  the 
fact  itself  in  that  supernatural  form  in  which  it  is 
presented  in  our  Gospels;  from  this  springs  the 
endeavour  to  amplify  and  to  write  a  literary  history 
of  the  Gospels  in  accordance  with  the  originals, 
and  in  different  forms ;  from  this  also  flow  the 
efforts  to  dismiss,  to  deform,  and  to  explain  away 
ancient  testimonies  in  favour  of  Church-tradition, 
etc.  But  the  very  diversity  and  mutual  contra- 
diction of  these  attempts,  the  indefinite  arbitrary 
character  and  instability  of  their  construction, 
prove  that  these  savants  do  not  stand  upon  a  sure, 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


firm,  and  safe  ground.  Before  the  tribunal  of  true 
science  the  proposition  that  our  Gospels  were 
written  by  Saints  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and  John, 
and  appeared,  the  first  three  in  the  second  half  of 
[he  tint  century,  and  the  last  either  at  the  end  of 
the  first  or  not  later  than  the  very  first  years  of  the 
second,  would  stand  firmly  for  ever.  It  is  of  greater 
importance  to  note  that  the  first  three  Gospels, 
differing  somewhat  from  the  fourth,  resemble  one 
another  in  an  extraordinary  degree,  both  with 
regard  to  the  scope,  the  contents,  and  the  treat- 
ment of  the  narrative.  That  is  why  they  are  not 
infrequently  called  in  scientific  terminology,  synop- 
tical, and  their  writers  synoptics,  whose  narrations 
could  be  disposed  in  parallel  lines.  To  explain 
this  fact  different  savants  offered  (i)  the  hy- 
pothesis of  an  oral  primordial  Gospel  of  a  stereo- 
typed form,  which  with  slight  modifications  was 
reproduced   in  our  written  Gospels ;   (a)  the  hy- 


pothesis of  a  written  proto-evangelium,  which  was 
rewritten  by  the  synoptics ;  (3)  the  hypothesis  of 
mutual  use  by  the  evangelists  of  the  work  of  each 
other,  and  so  forth.  No  undoubted  conclusions 
can  be  reached  in  this  direction  on  account  of 
absence  of  direct  and  sure  data.  It  is  only  certain 
that  at  the  foundation  of  our  Gospels  are  laid 
personal  observations  and  oral  communications  of 
eye-witnesses  of  the  life  and  work  of  Christ. 
Naturally,  all  the  information  of  the  kind  was 
sacredly  preserved  by  Christians  on — so  far  as  it 
was  possible — strictly  inviolate  conditions  both  as 
regards  the  form  and  contents.  Nevertheless, 
literary  approximation  of  the  synoptic  Gospels 
permits  of  the  admission  that  the  Synoptics  mutu- 
ally knew  the  writings  of  one  another,  namely,  Mark . 
that  of  Matthew,  Luke  both  that  of  Matthew  and 
of  Mark,  as  it  has  already  been  expressed  by 
blessed  Augustine  {De  cons.  ev.  \.  1). 


15<»|>p»«<««  Oii  t%t  ZaUi — «n6  ^\itx.' 


:  Rev.  A.  C.  Mackenzie,  M.A.,  Dundee. 


We  have  had,  I  believe,  a  joyous  and  profitable 
Communion  season,  and  we  are  all  here,  I  trust,  to 
give  glory  to  God  through  Jesus  Christ.  Whether 
or  not  the  individual  experience  has  in  every  case 
been  of  this  joyous  kind,  I  must  for  the  purposes 
of  my  text  assume  it  to  have  been  so.  And  in 
any  case  we  can  easily  imagine  it  to  be  so,  for  we 
have  a  common  experience  of  humanity.  Christian 
and  unchristian  alike,  to  ^o  upon.  We  have  all 
at  some  time  or  other  been  present  on  a  festive 
occasion  which  we  have  very  much  enjoyed.  Our 
pulses  beat  faster,  our  spirits  rose  with  the  occasion, 
and  our  whole  being  was  suffused  with  an  inde- 
scribable feeling  which  we  usually  express  by 
saying  that  we  greatly  enjoyed  ourselves. 

The  day  after,  when  we  have  brought  it  all  to 
the  clear,  cold  light  of  reflection,  we  sometimes 
wonder  what  it  was  that  we  did  enjoy.  The  lights, 
the  music,  the  viands,  the  decorations,  the  com- 
pany, the  feast  of  reason,  the  flow  of  soul,  —  all 

'  tiiven  ala  post-Cotnmunion  service,  l8(h  Ociober  1901, 


'  For  as  the  sufTeringfs  of  Christ  abound  unto  ua,  erm 
ao  our  comfort  also  aboundeth  tfaroo^h  Christ  —2  Cor. 

i.5tR.v.). 

these  we  pass  through  the  mind  in  turn,  but  our 
account  of  the  occasion  is  unsatisfactory  till  we 
combine  with  these  a  something  that  we  cannot 
name — the  festal  spirit  of  the  hour  which  ex- 
l^ressed  itself  through  the  whole.  It  does  not 
diminish  our  sense  of  the  enjoyment  nor  make  our 
memory  of  it  pale,  that  we  may  not  be  able  satis- 
factorily to  account  for  it,  but  if  we  could  lay  our 
finger  upon  the  true  cause  of  it,  we  could  again 
evoke  the  same  joyous  spirit  to  repeat  the  ex- 
perience. 

Now  in  Christian  joy  the  Communion  is  a  thing 
that  a  man  may  feel  as  he  feels  the  warmth  of 
sunshine  without  being  able  to  account  for  n.  But 
Christian  joy  in  any  of  its  phases  is  not  a  vague 
and  formless,  still  less  a  baseless,  thing.  It  has 
roots  and  foundations  which  can  be  laid  bare.  As 
Christians  we  arc  expected  to  be  able  to  render  a 
reason  for  the  faith  that  is  in  us,  and  as  Christian 
communicants  we  should  be  able  to  say  not  only 
that  we  were  happy  at  the  Table,  but  also  why  we 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


'OS 


were  happy  there  and  look  forward  to  being  happy 
jigain. 

In  trying  to  do  this — to  get  at  the  bases  of 
Christian  joy  in  Communion — we  are  faced  at  once 
with  an  obstruction.  There  is  a  stone  at  the 
mouth  of  the  cave  which  some  of  us  may  not  be 
able  without  assistance  to  remove.  I  think  St. 
Paul  helps  us  here  and  puts  a  lever  into  our  hand 
to  uplift  and  remove  it.  He  is  speaking  in  the 
text  of  the  abounding  towards  us  of  the  sufferings 
of  Christ.  The  stone  in  our  way  is  this.  The 
sufferings  of  Christ  we  know  were  the  deepest  that 
He  could  undergo.  There  was  no  lower  depth  that 
a  suffering  man  could  then  touch  than  to  be 
crucified  as  an  evil-doer  and  in  the  company  of 
«vil-doers.  There  was  no  baser  form  of  death 
then  known  than  crucifixion.  We  know  that  to 
the  natural  horrors  of  crucifixiDn  was  added  un- 
speakable spiritual  distress.  One  might  be  cruci- 
fied in  a  good  conscience,  knowing  oneself  to 
be  innocent,  and  bear  up  under  it  wonderfully, 
just  as  martyrs  in  every  cause  have  borne  similar 
tortures  in  a  frame  of  moral  triumph  and  even  in 
spiritual  ecstasy.  But  no  such  experience  was 
Christ's.  It  was  not  a  martyr's  but  an  evil-doer's 
death  that  Christ  died.  God  and  man  abandoned 
Him  to  that,  for  in  some  way  there  was  '  laid  upon 
Him  the  iniquity  of  us  all.'  He  suffered  in  a 
darkness  inward  and  outward.  All  this  is  plain 
«nough  and  simple  enough  until  we  place  other 
facts  beside  it. 

CruciGxion,  execrable  as  it  was,  and  slow  as  the 
torture  it  produced  was,  is  not  the  most  horrible 
torture  that  the  malignant  ingenuity  of  man  has 
devised.  There  are  deaths  that  are  slower  and 
more  horrible.  There  arc  sufferings  that  are  more 
prolonged  than  Christ's.  The  years  of  Christ's 
earthly  ministry  were  few  in  comparison  with  the 
long-drawn-out  pains,  bodily  and  spiritual,  of  many 
of  His  own  followers  even,  and  of  others  like  the 
Fakirs  of  India.  Men  have  died  in  a  prolonged 
agony  of  spiritual  distress,  self-condemnation, 
inward  agonies  of  the  soul,  up  to  the  full  measure 
of  their  powers  of  endurance.  The  Cains  who 
have  groaned  '  my  punishment  is  greater  than  I  can 
bear '  have  in  all  the  ages  been  many.  None  of 
them  is  a  saviour  of  mankind,  none  of  their  deaths 
is  commemorated  with  joy  as  this  death  is.  We 
honour  the  noble  army  of  martys,  but  we  are  not 
joyful  at  remembrance  of  their  sufferings.  We  turn 
away  from  their  miserable  ends  with  relief.     Why 


do  we  continue  and  why  have  millions  of  men 
for  nearly  2000  years  continued  to  remember  tkis 
one  death  with  joy,  and  to  give  praise  to  God  the 
Father  and  deep  homage  and  worship  to  His  Son 
on  account  of  it  t  What  gives  weight  to  this  stone 
of  obstruction  is  this :  here  were  sufferings  neither 
so  prolodged  nor  so  awful  as  we  have  elsewhere 
beard  of.  Why  should  they  be  so  fruitful  that  instead 
of  turning  away  from  them  we  sing  Psalms  of 
praise  for  them  and  meditate  upon  them  in  the 
night-watches  ?  As  Christians  we  rejoice  with 
trembling.  It  is  a  hope  with  us  that  we  may 
rejoice  with  intelligence  also  and  praise  God  with 
the  understanding. 

Th6  angels  that  have  come  to  our  help  and  have 
not  been  able  to  roll  away  the  stone  are  the  theories 
which  have  come  into  the  minds  of  men  to  explain 
this  suffering  and  our  joyous  attitude  towards 
it.  One  is  that  although  the  sufferings  were  less 
'abounding'  than  those  of  some  others,  the  Sufferer 
was  of  such  transcendent  dignity  that  a  particle 
of  them  might  weigh  against  tons  of  the  suffer- 
ings of  ordinary  human  beings.  I  am  afraid  that 
this  will  not  help  us  much.  The  lever  is  too 
short,  the  fulcrum  too  low.  In  plain  English  it 
suggests  that  a  few  hours  of  divine  suffering  is 
enough  to  outweigh  the  sins  of  the  world  in  all 
ages,  enough-  to  put  away  transgressions  for  ever 
and  ever.  Plainly  this  will  not  do.  Allow  for  the 
transcendent  dignity  and  all  that  can  be  said  or 
thought  about  that,  and  you  still  leave  an  outrage 
upon  common  sense. 

But  here  comes  another  angel  with  a  tale  more 
plausible.  The  Christ  is  suffering  still,  sinners 
prolong  and  multiply  the  suffering.  In  their 
Communion  with  Him  they  reproduce  in  even  more 
terrible  forms  the  pangs  of  crucifiKion.  They 
literally  eat  the  flesh,  they  drink  the  blood  of 
Christ.  In  other  words,  we  are  asked  to  believe 
by  this  expedient  of  inexorable  Roman  l(%ic  that 
OUT  Saviour  is  literally  dying  daily,  hourly,  moment- 
arily, and  enduring  penalties  which  fiends  incarnate 
might  congratulate  themselves  upon  having 
invented.  The  Mass  puts  a  bloody  lever  into 
our  hands,  but  again  it  is  too  short  If  it  lifts 
one  stone  out  of  our  way,  it  plants  a  more  mighty 
one  right  across  the  path.  There  are  other 
so-called  angels  of  deliverance,  but  these  are  the 
chief  among  them. 

All  the  while  St.  Paul  is  waiting  for  us.  And 
his  angel  is  so  sweet  and  calm  of  countenance,  so 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


obvious  too,  that  we  wonder  why  we  had  not 
observed  him.  Before  he  speaks  of  sufTerings,  St 
Paul  speaks  of  comfons  (v.*),  and  of  what  one 
might  call  the  natural  increase  of  comforts  :  God 
comforting  us  and  we  in  turn  comforting  others, 
God's  comfort  bearing  interest  and  compound  in- 
terest. This  is  what  he  means.  And  here  is  an 
illustration  of  it.  In  the  ordinary  course  of  duty 
a  trained  nurse  was  sent  to  attend  a  rich  man  in 
his  last  illness,  which  was  a  peculiarly  painful  one. 
Some  difficulty  was  experienced  in  procuring  the 
nurse.  After  the  rich  man's  death,  his  widow  was 
so  impressed  with  the  comfort  of  having  a  trained 
nurse  in  such  circumstances,  and  felt  so  much  for 
those  who  might  be  unable  to  get  one  that,  in 
memory  of  the  comfort,  she  gave  a  large  sum 
to  establish  a  home  for  such  nurses  where  people 
in  want  of  them  could  be  instantly  supplied. 
This  was  the  compound  interest  of  comfort.  And 
if  one  cared  to  inquire  into  the  secret  history  of 
hundreds  of  comforting  institutions  and  endow- 
ments, one  could  find  similar  records.  Hospitals, 
and  beds  in  hospitals  and  endowments  in  hos- 
pitals (to  mention  only  one  channel  of  comfort), 
are  monuments  erected  to  the  comfort  experienced 
by  individuals  and  communities  from  God  Him- 
self.  'The  pious  founder,' as  we  used  in  better 
days  to  call  him,  was  one  who  was  himself  com- 
forted of  God.  And  so  up  and  down  the  scale  of 
works  of  mercy.  Now  there  is  an  interest  and 
compound  interest  both  in  the  sufferings  and 
the  comforts  of  Christ.  SufTering  on  behalf  of 
others,  and  suffering  even  unto  death  and  unto 
hard  violent,  long-drawn-out  death  for  others,  has 
become  so  common  an  occurrence  that  we  cease 
to  regard  it  as  a  prodigy  of  Christian  valour  or 
virtue.  We  spend  and  are  spent  in  the  service  of 
our  brethren  and  of  the  world,  and  no  one  thinks 
of  giving  us  any  praise  for  it.  They  praise  Him 
who  'left  us  an  ensample  that  we  should  walk  in 
his  steps.'  Whether  Christian  martyrdom  is  short, 
sharp,  and  violent,  or  lasts  a  lifetime,  and  is  like  a 
slow  lire,  we  have  ceased  to  wonder  at  it,  and  when 
we  think  of  ii,  it  is  to  Him  that  we  put  the  glory. 
In  this  sense  there  is  a  fruit  of  Calvaiy  that  is 
perennial  and  grows  on  every  soil  in  which  Chris- 
tianity has  been  planted.  This  of  itself  is  a  fruit 
of  righteousness  entitling  Christ  to  everlasting 
remembrance  and  to  all  the  honour  that  suffering 
humanity  can  confer  upon  Him.  It  is,  if  we  may 
-o  call  it,  a  natural  Increase,  as  wonder- begetting 


as  the  million  spores  tbst  spring  from  one.  But 
this,  though  it  is  more  than  finite  mind  can  grasp 
or  heart  imagine,  is  not  the  reason  why  we  worship 
the  Father  through  Christ,  and  for  what  He  has 
done  in  Christ,  and  are  happy  in  Communion. 
Natural  increase  is  wonderfiil,  spiritual  increase — 
'abounding' — is  much  more.  Our  Communion  is 
with  the  Father  and  the  Son  through  the  Spirit, 
.ind  our  adoration  of  all  three  Persons  is  based  not 
on  the  magnitude  of  the  suETerings,  still  less  on 
their  duration,  but  on  the  Divine  acceptance  of 
these  sufferings,  inadequate  as  they  confessedly  are, 
to  the  putting  away  of  the  sin  of  the  whole  world 
in  all  time. 

The  Son's  sufferings  came  in  the  line  of  the 
sufferings  of  the  lower  creation  fO£  the  putting 
away  of  luan's  sins.  And  it  was  never  the  value 
of  these  sacrifices — rather  it  was  the  valuelesiness 
of  them  and  the  gracious  acceptance  of  them  by 
God  that  awoke  in  the  heart  of  the  true  Israelite 
the  praise  of  His  grace  and  mercy.  The  gods  of  the 
heathen  tuight  exact,  and  did  exact,  the  uttermost 
farthing.  They  were  hard  creditors,  inexorable 
taskmasters,  and  laid  cruel,  sometimes  far  more 
cruel,  retribution  on  their  devotees  than  the  crimes 
for  which  atonement  was  thus  made.  But  our  God, 
so  an  Israelite  would  say,  is  a  gracious  God,  who 
keeps  mercy  for  thousands  and  passes  by  the  in- 
iquity. The  vital  spark  of  the  older  sacrifice  was 
God's  good  pleasure.  His  grace,  which  accepted  so 
little  in  lieu  of  so  much  and  sent  His  worshipper 
away,  not  thinking  of  his  lambs  and  bis  bullocks, 
but  sounding  the  praises  of  the  merciful  God  on 
the  loud  timbrel.  God's  prophets  were  not  left  in 
ignorance  that  it  was  not  ten  thousand  rivers  of 
oil  or  thousands  of  rams  that  were  important,  but 
the  grace  that  accepted  the  cruse  of  oil  and  the 
one  lamb.  The  spiritual  increase,  the  overflow, 
or,  to  use  the  apostle's  phrase,  the  abounding  of 
the  sufferings  of  Christ  unto  us,  has  its  source 
not  in  any  magical  effect  which  His  transcendent 
personality  gave  them,  but  in  the  bosom-love  and 
compassion  of  God,  who  accepted  the  sufferings 
as  a  ransom  for  the  sin  of  the  world.  Thus  our 
Communion  reaches  up  through  the  channel  of 
the  Son's  sufferings  to  the  full-welling  fountain  of 
the  gracious  love  of  the  Father  who  sent  Him. 
And  this  is  why  we  are  glad  with  a  gladness  that 
we  can  renew  and  that  increases  with  every  re- 
newal of  the  sacred  rite,  and  with  every  wind  of 
memory  that  brings  back  the  fragrance  of  it.     As 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


107 


it  is  nith  the  abounding  of  the  sufferings  so  also  is 
it  with  the  comforts.  The  liTe  of  Christ  abounded 
in  consolations.  He  had  no  small  mercies  to  be 
thankful  for.  They  were  all  great  mercies,  follow- 
ing Him  all  the  days  of  His  life  below. 
Nathanael's  faith,  Mary's  devotion,  voices  in  the 
heavens,  the  perpetual  inward  voice,  the  Father's 
'well-done,'  the  assurance  of  His  uninterrupted 
love,— these  strewed  the  thorny  path  of  suffering 
with  fragrant  flowers  of  consolation.  If  devils 
tempted  Him,  angels  came  and  ministered  to  Him. 
And  these  consolations  have  had  an  abounding 
quality  about  them,  a  spiritual  increase  more 
wonderful  than  any  natural  increase  you  can  think 
of.  The  Spirit  of  Christ  dwelling  in  us  has  opened 
our  eyes  to  'things  that  are  for  us  and  make  our 
crosses  seem  as  gay  garlands  displayed  on  festal 
days.     The  Christian  who  dwells  on  the  sufferings 


and  minifies  them,  and  forgets  that  they  were 
accompanied  with  consolations,  which  make  us — 
as  they  made  Him— love  the  weight  we  have  to 
bear,  is  surely  yet  but  an  infant  crying  in  the  night, 
who  knows  not  that  the  Father's  soothing  voice 
and  helping  hand  are  near. 

And  the  sinner,  whose  sin  is  ever  before  him, 
and  who  reflects,  as  reflect  he  must,  that  he  is  but 
one  of  millions  of  his  kind  and  his  sin  but  one 
of  transgressions  that  are  as  the  stars  for  multi- 
tude, may  well  turn  away  in  despair  even  from 
Calvary  until  we  show  him  the  abounding  quality 
which  God,  whose  thoughts,  blessed  be  His 
name,  are  not  as  our  thoughts  nor  His  ways  as 
ours,  imparts  to  them.  Without  this  the  Cross 
is  a  rock  of  offence;  with  this  it  is  the  power  of 
God  and  the  wisdom  of  God  to  everyone  thai 
belie  veth. 


THE  BOOKS  OF  THE  MONTH. 


Uniform  with  the  delightful  edition  recently 
issued  of  the  '  Horae  Subsecivae,'  Messrs.  A.  &  C. 
Black  have  published  a  new  edition  of  Dr.  John 
Brown  and  his  Sisters,  by  Miss  E-  T,  M'Laren 
(2s.  net).  It  is  the  sixth  edition,  and  it  supersedes 
all  others  by  virtue  of  an  Introductory  Note  which 
Professor  Crum  Brown  contributes. 

Dr.  M'Adam  Muir  of  Glasgow  has  written  an 
account  of  the  life  and  works  of  the  cYAef  Religious 
IVriters  cf  England  enough  to  make  a  volume  of 
the  '  Guild  Library '  (A.  &  C.  Black,  crown  8vo, 
pp.  313,  IS.  6d.).  No  desire  for  originality,  no 
determination  to  reverse  the  popular  judgment 
has  led  Dr.  M'Adam  Muir  away  from  his  practical 
purpose  of  making  the  lives  of  these  great  good 
men  remind  the  young  men  of  to-day  that  they 
too  can  make  their  lives  sublime. 

IMMORTALITY,  AND  OTHER  SERMONS.    By  the 
Rkv.  a.  W.   Momerie,  D.Sc,  LL.D.     {Bliuktvood. 
Crown  Svo,  pp.  317.     js.) 
Mrs.  Momerie  has  prepared  this  volume  for  the 
press.     It  contains  the  chief  sermons  of  the  last 
four  years.     They  mostly  treat  of  the  things  con- 
cerning the   End.     They  treat   of  these  things 


unfettered  by  considerations  of  system  or  con- 
formity. Perhaps  the  deepest  interest  in  the 
sermons  lies  in  their  candid  revelation  of  Dr. 
Momerie's  own  hopes  and  fears  as  to  the  things 
that  are  behind  the  veil.  For  he  has  as  little 
hesitation  in  contradicting  our  cherished  notions 
as  in  gainsaying  the  teaching  of  Scripture  and 
the  Church.  They  read  as  if  they  were  the 
sermons  of  a  layman,  and  in  that  unwonted 
aspect  they  are  of  much  value,  the  more  salutoiy 
perhaps  the  less  comforting  they  are. 


THE  LIFE  AND  WORK  OF  THE  REDEEMER. 
(Cassill.  Crown  8»o,  pp.  384.  61. ) 
The  editor  of  the  Quiver  selected  twelve  men 
and  set  them  the  task  of  writing  the  Life  of  our 
Lord.  Each  writer  had  one  period  or  one  set  of 
incidents  to  write  about.  The  result  is  both  more 
homogeneous  and  more  edifying  than  even  the 
editor  of  the  Quiver  could  have  expected.  For 
recent  study  of  the  origins  of  Christianity,  though 
it  has  much  disturbed  the  minds  of  the  unwary, 
has  brought  evangelical  students  of  the  Life  of 
Christ  into  closer  fellowship,  and  eliminated  much 
fruitless  idiosyncracy.     Each  of  these  studies  is 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


the  writer'a  own,  but  an  agreeable  harmony  of 
conception  is  carried  throughout  the  volume.  It 
is  notable  in  itself,  and  it  is  notable  as  a  tribute 
to  scientific  exposition.  Some  modern  paintings, 
beautifully  reproduced,  increase  the  volume's 
value.  

Two  parts  have  been  published  of  the  seventh 
volume  of  the  'Cambridge  Texts  and  Studies.' 
The  first  part  is  The  Meaning  of  Homo-eusios  in  Ike 
*  Constantinopolitan '  Creed.  The  author  is  the 
Rev.  J.  F.  Bethune- Baker,  B,D.  (Cambridge: 
At  the  University  Press,  8vo,  pp.  90,  3s.  net). 
The  second  pari  is  St.  Epkraim's  Quotations  from 
the  Gospel.  The  author  is  Mr.  F.  Crawford 
BurkitI,  M.A.  (Svo,  pp.  101,  3s.  net).  Both  works 
are  of  the  very  finest  workmanship,  their  accom- 
|)lishcd  writers'  enthusiasm  expressing  itself  in 
freshness  of  thought  and  in  patience  of  investiga- 
tion. Nor  are  they  so  confined  in  interest  as  their 
titles  may  suggest  Mr.  Burkitt  is  of  no  little 
value  to  the  exegete  and  critic ;  Mr.  Bethune- 
Baker  compels  the  attention  of  the  Church  his- 
torian and  theologian, 

THE  WORLD'S  EPOCH-MAKEKS :  ORIGEN  AND 
GREEK  PATRISTIC  THEOLOGY.  BY  the  Rev. 
W.  FAlRWEATHSIt,  M.A.  (T.  Sf  T.  Clark.  Crown 
8vo,  pp.  281.  35.) 
The  present  generation  is  said  to  be  less  con- 
versant with  the  Fathers  than  the  generation  of 
Newman  and  Pusey  was.  It  seems  to  us,  on  the 
contrary,  that  the  acquaintance  is  closer  and  more 
critical  There  may  be  less  quotation  (from  con- 
venient Ante-Nicene  libraries  and  the  like),  but 
when  editions  appear  ihey  are  more  scientific, 
and  when  lives  are  published  they  are  more  pro- 
gressive. The  editions  of  Origen  recently  issued 
by  the  Cambridge  University  Press  and  the  life  of 
Origen  now  in  our  hands  are  sufficient  to  bear 
this  out.  Mr.  Kairweather's  work  is  as  pleasant  to 
read  as  though  it  were  a  purely  popular  compilation, 
it  is  as  scholarly  as  though  it  were  to  be  sat  upon 
by  patristic  experts.  That  is  the  consummation 
these  'Epoch-Makers'  seek  to  reach,  and  there 
is  no  reason  why  they  should  not  all  reach  it. 

THE    WORLD'S    EPOCH-MAKERS;    MUHAMMAD 

AND  HIS  I'OWER.    Bv  P.  dk  Lacy  Johnstone. 

M.A.,  M.R.A.S.     (r.  6-  r.  Clari.     Crown  8vo,  pp. 

156-     3s.) 

It  is  not  the  epoch-maker  alone  but  the  epoch 


he  majces  that  this  series  seeks  to  describe. 
Muhammad  we  know  at  least  a  little ;  his  epoch, 
his  whole  wonderful  vital  movement,  we  do  not 
know  so  well.  It  is  difficult  to  know.  Literature 
perhaps  cannot  reveal  it.  We  must  reside  among 
Muhammadans  and  know  them  before  we  can 
hope  to  know  Muhammad.  This  is  what  Mr. 
Johnstone  has  done,  and  every  page  of  his  brilliant 
confident  narrative  reveals  the  man  who  knows. 
His  manner  of  writing  seems  fitted  to  his  subject. 
We  are  swept  into  the  current  of  his  copious 
Eastern  vocabulary.  We  are  helped  to  know  by 
being  made  to  feel.  The  book  is  small  enough 
to  be  read  at  a  sitting,  and  at  a  sitting  it  is  likely 
to  be  read.  We  are  glad  that  Mr.  Johnstone  has 
given  us  the  great  prophet  with  sympnthy. 

A  cheap  edition  of  Mr,  Frederick  C.  Spurr's 
Four  Last  Things  has  been  published  at  the 
Drummond  Tract  Depdt,  Stirling  (is.). 

THE  TEMPLE  BIBLE :  GENESIS.  By  A.  H.  Savce, 
LI..D.,  D.D.  {Dinl.  i2mo.) 
Messrs.  Dent  have  undertaken  the  publication 
of  a  new  series  of  commentaries,  which  they  call 
the  'Temple  Bible.'  They  are  to  be  quite  original 
in  many  ways.  Outwardly  the  volumes  are  as 
charming  as  possible, — their  leather  binding  being 
at  the  money  quite  a  luxury, — and  that  is  origin- 
ality enough  in  commentaries.  But  that  is  not 
all.  The  text  (it  is  the  Authorized  Version)  is 
printed  in  paragraphs  without  chapter  (except  an 
asterisk)  or  verse  division,  and  the  page  is  divided 
off  into  lines,  five  at  a  time.  The  first  volume, 
Genesis,  being  edited  by  Professor  Sayce,  its  notes 
are  mainly  archceologicaL  They  are  extremely 
useful  and  well  expressed.  The  introduction  is  a 
r^sumd  of  what  has  been  discovered  about  Genesis 
in  our  day.  And  there  is  a  list  at  the  end  of 
English  works  which  have  borrowed  materials 
from  Genesis.  


Mr.  Smith  is  a  Canadian,  and  from  Canada  you 
see  the  whole  of  Scotland  at  a  glance,  so  that  his 
Scots  is  not  the  Scots  of  a  single  county.  It  is 
less  provincial  and  less  difficult  to  read  than  even 
the  Scots  of  Bums.  No  Scotsman,  no  man  of 
Scottish  descent,  should  have  any  difficulty  with  it, 
and  even  for  the  occasional  Englishman  who  may 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


109 


seek  nourishment  io  the  volume  there  is  a  glossary 
of  the  most  un-Englbh  words.  There  is  no  deny- 
ing the  pathos  or  even  the  power  of  the  New 
Testament  in  braJd  Scots.  It  is  more  perhaps  to 
tbe  Scotsman,  and  especially  to  the  Scotsman  in 
a  foreign  land,  than  his  native  Hebrew  tongue  was 
to  St.  Paul,  for  it  is  less  a  literary  language,  more 
the  language  of  tbe  mother  and  the  home. 

To  their '  Complete  Library '  Messrs.  Gowans  & 
Gray  of  Glasgow  are  in  the  way  of  adding  tbe 
whole  of  Ceroantts'  IVorks.  Four  of  the  twelve 
volumes,  containing  and  completing  Don  Quixote, 
have  already  appeared.  The  translation  is  Orms- 
by's  with  his  latest  corrections  and  additions ;  the 
editor  ia  Mr. 'James  Fitzmaurice- Kelly.  Are  these 
names  nothing  to  you  ?  Then  you  are  the  *  general 
reader '  for  whom  these  complete  editions  are  being 
prepared.  Take  to  the  reading  of  Don  Quixote 
in  this  translation  and  with  this  editor.  The  four 
handsome  volumes  will  cost  you  but  four  shillings. 

Mr.  Philip  Green  has  just  pubbsbed  new 
editions  of  the  two  famous  volumes  of  sermons  by 
John  Hamilton  Thorn,  entitled  Laws  of  Life  after 
the  Mind  of  Christ  (crown  8vo,  pp.  406,  429, 
3S.  fid.  net  each).  The  sermons,  as  we  know,  are 
Unitarian,  and  of  the  finest  modern  type.  One 
meets  of  course  an  occasional  statement  that 
seems  needless  if  not  unwarranted.  In  the  fourth 
sermon  of  the  second  series,  for  example,  we  read  ; 
'  Faith  in  immortality  with  the  Martyr  Stephen, 
sees  the  heavens  opened  and  the  Son  of  Man, 
Mankind  imaged  in  the  Son  of  man,  on  the  right 
hand  of  the  throne  of  God.'  But  for  the  most 
part  these  sermons  are  as  elevated  in  thought  as 
they  are  rich  in  expression. 

Messrs.  Hodder  &  Stoughton  have  begun  to 
publish  a  series  of '  Christian  Study  Manuals '  at  is. 
net  each.  The  general  editor  is  the  Rev.  R.  E. 
Welsh,  M.A.  Three  volumes  have  been  published : 
Th£  Early  Church,  by  Professor  Orr ;  Ruling  Ideas 
of  Our  Lord,  by  Dr.  IVArcy;  and  Protestant 
Principles,  by  Dr.  Monro  Gibson. 

APOSTOLIC  OPTIMISM.    By  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Jowett, 

M.A.     {Haddtr  6-  SlBugklgn.     Crown  8vo,  pp.  285. 

69.) 

Optimism  is  an  unsatisfactory  word.     It  argues 

a  good  digestion,  or  at  least  a  sunny  temperament. 


and  there  are  those  who  say  that  temperament  is 
all  that  there  is  in  Christianity.  But  Mr.  Jowett's 
magnificent  first  sermon  puts  it  all  right.  The 
optimistic  apostle  is  St.  Paul,  and  three  reasons 
are  given  for  his  victorious  optimism.  There  is, 
first,  his  vivid  sense  of  the  reality  of  the  redemp- 
tive work  of  Christ ;  next,  his  living  sense  of  the 
reality  and  greatness  of  his  present  resources,  that 
is  to  say,  that  he  is  not  only  '  by  Christ  redeemed ' 
but  also  'in  Christ  restored';  and,  finally,  his 
impressive  sense  of  the,  reality  of  future  glory. 
Clearly  these  things  do  not  depend  on  tempera- 
ment, but  on  the  reception  of  Christ.  The 
sermons  are  all  of  the  same  character,  strong 
statements  of  evangelical  doctrine,  to  be  turned 
into  energetic  impulses  of  life. 

A   HISTORY  OF   THE   PLVM01;TH   BRETHREN. 

Bv   W.    B.   Neatby,  -M.A.      I^Heddtr  6*  Steughtou. 

Ciown  Svo,  pp.  360.  6s.) 
Twelve  years  ago  Dr.  Alexander,  the  present 
Primate  of  Ireland,  described  the  warfare  of  his 
own  Church  in  the  following  remarkable  terms: 
'  The  hill  up  which  our  little  host  must  march  is 
steep,  and  the  hail  beats  in  our  faces.  We  hear 
the  steady  tramp  of  the  serried  ranks  of  Rome 
round  us ;  the  shout  of  the  marauders  of  Plymouth 
rises  as  they,  ever  and  anon,  cut  off  a  few 
stragglers.  We  draw  close,  and  grip  our  muskets 
harder.'  Mr  Neatby  begins  his  history  of  the 
Plymouth  Brethren  by  quoting  those  words.  He 
sees  in  those  words  a  tribute  to  the  importance  of 
the  '  marauders  of  Plymouth.'  He  has  himself  a 
yet  higher  estimate  of  their  power  and  persistence. 
He  undertakes  his  subject  with  a  sense  that  it  is  a 
task  worthy  of  the  best  that  a  historian  can  give 
to  it,  and  he  refuses  to  degrade  it  either  by  flattery 
or  by  vituperation.  This  apparently  has  never 
been  done  before.  Here  for  the  first  time  Ply- 
mouth Brethrenism  is  treated  according  to  the 
laws  of  historical  science,  and  as  a  portion  of  the 
history  of  the  Church. 

The  latest  volutite  of  the  '  Century  Bible '  con- 
tains the  General  Epistles,  edited  by  Professor 
Bennett  of  Hackney  College  (Jack,  as.  net).  We 
know  Professor  Bennett  best  as  an  Old  Testament 
student,  and  are  not  surprised  to  find  that  the 
originality  of  this  commentary  consists  in  the 
richness  with  which  the  General  Epistles  of  James, 
Peter,  John,  and  Jude  illustrate,  and  are  them- 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


selves  illustrated  by  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures. 
There  is  much  else  that  is  worthy  in  the  little 
book,  but  this  is  the  most  distinct  and  valuable 
service  it  has  rendered. 

Messrs.  Longmans  have  published  a  new  edition 
of  Dr.  Vance  Smith's  well-known  manifesto,  The 
Bible  and  Us  Theology  (crown  8vo,  pp.  347,  3s.  6d. 
net).  The  book  has  been  largely  rewritten.  It  is 
less  polemical  now,  it  is  more  useful. 

PURGATORY;  THE  FAITHFUL  DEPARTED;  THE 

INVOCATION  OF  SAINTS.     By  A.  J.  Mason, 

D.D,      {Langmans.      CrowD  Svo,  pp.   187.      3s.   6d. 

net.) 

Dr.  Mason  chose  these  subjects  for  his  lectures 

because  they  are  greatly  exercising  the  minds  of 

not  a  few  in  the  Church  of  England  at  the  present 

time.     He  is  peculiarly  well  fitted  to  speak  upon 

them,  for  he  has  made  himself  roaster  of  the  whole 

range  of  their  literature,  and  he  has  the  mind  of 

ChrisL  

Messrs.  Macmillan  have  published  Bishop 
Lightfoot's  celebrated  essay  on  The  Christian 
Ministry  in  a  separate  convenient  form  (crown 
8vo,  pp.  148,  3s.  net).  The  volume  also  contains 
illustrative  extracts  chosen  by  himself  from  the 
Bishop's  other  writings,  for  be  felt  that  an  unfair  use 
had  been  made  of  some  statements  in  the  essay, 

JOHANNINE  PROBLEMS  AND  MODERN  NEEDS. 

Bv  THE   Rbv.  H.  T.  Purchas,  M.A.     [Maemillaii. 

Crown  8vo,  pp.  13?.  3».  net.) 
This  is  too  small  a  book  to  deal  satisfactorily 
with  all  the  great  problems  it  touches,  but  Mr. 
Purchas  is  a  student  and  knows  exactly  where  lies 
the  pith  of  these  problems.  If  we  find  little 
settled  for  us,  we  at  least  are  put  on  the  right 
track  and  stimulated  to  further  pursuit,  A  chapter 
of  exceptional  interest  is  that  on  the  true  idea  of 
the  apostolate.  .^^__ 

ESSAYS  FROM  THE  'GUARDIAN.*  Bv  Waltbb 
PatbR.  (Macmillan.  8vo,  pp.  149.  8s.  6d.  net.) 
This  volume,  which  will  be  gladly  added  to 
Walter  Pater's  previous  works,  contains  nine  essays 
which  were  contributed  anonymously  to  the 
Guardian.  Their  subjects  are  English  literature, 
\m\(:\'s  Journal  Intime,  Browning,  Robert  Eismere, 
their  Majesties'  Servants,  Wordsworth,  Mr.  Gosse's  1 
Poems,    Ferdinand    Fabre,    Les    Contes    of   M.  | 


Auguslin  Filon.  They  range  in  date  from  1886 
to  1890,  They  are  very  short,  but  Walter  Pater 
was  very  intimate  with  these  subjects,  and  wastes 
no  words.  We  read  them  for  their  English  style, 
for  what  he  says  of  Wordsworth  is  true  of  his  own 
essays :  '  He  constantly  endeavours  to  bring  his 
language  nearer  to  the  real  language  of  men,  not 
on  the  dead  level  of  their  ordinary  intercourse, 
but  in  certain  select  moments  of  vivid  sensation, 
when  this  language  is  winnowed  and  enobled  by 
sentiment.'  But  the  language  is  not  everything, 
even  the  twelve  pages  on  Wordsworth  give  us  that 
which  abides  when  the  words  are  forgotten. 

Mr.  Melrose  has  published  the  story  of  the  life 
of  President  M'Kinley,  by  David  Williamson  (is. 


Mr.  Melrose  has  also  published  The  Endeavour 
Greeting,  a  manual  of  information  and  suggestion 
for  new  members  (is.).  The  author  is  Amos  R. 
Wells,  

Mr.  Melrose  has  further  published  a  new  edition 
of  Henry  Drummond,  by  Cuthbert  Lennox  (crown 
8vo,  pp.  xxviii,  350,  2s,  6d,  net).  It  contains  a 
new  preface,  full  of  new  facts,  most  frankly 
suted.  

Again,  Mr.  Melrose  has  published  a  volume  en- 
titled Now  to  Promote  and  Conduct  a  Successful 
Revival  (crown  8vo,  pp.  336,  3s.  6d,),  It 
contains  papers  on  all  the  phases  of  revival  work 
by  leading  American  and  other  evangelists,  a 
large  number  of  condensed  sermons  as  suggestions 
for  speakers  at  revival  meetings,  and  a  smaller 
number  of '  topics  and  texts.'  Why  should  revival 
speakers  need  so  many  hints  and  helps?  If 
revival  work  is  a  good  thing,  send  the  best 
preachers  to  it.  

THE  CHRISTIAN'S   GREAT  INTEREST.     By  Wil- 
liam GUTHRia.     {Melrose.     Crown  8vo,  pp.  li,  351. 
3s.  6d.) 
Have  you   made  acquaintance  yet  with   Mr. 
Smellie's    '  Books  for  the  Heart '  ?      You  have 
other  editions  of  them  all  perhaps — The  Journal 
0/  John    IVeo/man,  Pulsford's  Quiet  Hours,  Jona- 
than Edwards'  Religious  Affections,  and  ihe  rest. 
Nevertheless  you  will  find  that  this  edition  ex- 
celleth  them  alt.    Its  strength  is  in  its  introdw^ons. 
For  these  introductions,  in  spite  of  their^alniost 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


pedantic  accuracy,  so  subtly  exhale  the  right 
literary  fragrance  that  they  seem  to  have  been 
handed  down  from  the  past  as  an  inseparable 
part  of  the  book  they  introduce  to  us.  This  is  a 
roost  rare  gift,  and  makes  a  man  an  editor  indeed. 
The  volume  before  us  is  the  latest  addition  to  the 
series.  It  has  all  the  outward  beauty  and  in- 
ward permanence.      

ROYAL  MANHOOD.  Bv  tHb  Rbv.  Jambs  I.  Vance, 
D.D.  {Melmi*.  Crown  8vo,  pp.  2$\,  3s,  6d,) 
American  sermons  seem  to  run  after  types  more 
closely  than  ours  do.  There  is  the  doctrinal  like 
Shedd's,  the  philosophical  like  Bushnelt's,  and  the 
anecdotal  like  Talmage's.  This  volume  is  of  the 
anecdotal  type. 

'My  father  called  me  to  him.  "John,"  said 
he,  very  kindly,  "I  wish  you  would  get  the 
hammer,"  "  Yes,  sir."  "  Now  a  nail  and  a  piece 
of  pine  board  from  the  wood  shed."  "  Here  they 
are."  "Will  you  drive  the  nail  into  the  board?" 
It  was  done.  "Please  pull  it  out  again."  "That's 
€asy."  "Now,  John,"  and  my  father's  voice 
dropped  to  a  lower,  sadder  key,  "  pull  out  the 
nail  hole."' 

That  is  one  of  its  anecdotes.  It  has  not  only 
point  in  itself,  but  receives  point  from  its  place 
in  the  sermoa  For  this  is  one  of  the  best 
volumes  of  the  anecdotal  type. 

THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  ANDTHE  NEW  SCHOLAR- 
SHIP. Bv  John  P.  Pbtbrs,  Ph.D.,  Sc.D.,  D.D. 
(JHe/ium.  Crown  Svo,  pp.  333.  6s.) 
Messrs.  Methuen's  books  have  a  strong  tendency 
to  run  into  series.  But  an  active  mind  can  keep 
the  various  series  and  their  editors  separate.  This 
book  belongs  to  the  'Churchman's  Library,'  of 
which  the  editor  is  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Burn,  ED. 
Now  the  'Churchman's  Library'  contains  books 
of  the  utmost  variety  both  of  subject  and  accom- 
plishment, and  it  is  quite  evident  that  Dr.  Peters 
got  liberty  to  write  his  book  in  his  own  way.  He 
has  written  about  the  Higher  Criticism  of  the  Old 
Testament.  But  as  that  is  a  large  subject  now, 
he  has  wisely  given  a  general  exposition  of  its 
methods  and  results,  and  only  gone  into  any  ful- 
ness of  detail  in  the  case  of  Daniel  and  the 
Psalms.  Dr.  Peters  is  not  what  would  be  called 
an  extreme  higher  critic,  but  he  firmly  believes  in 
the  divine  mission  of  criticism.  Not  counting  it 
his  business  to  hold  a  brief  for   God,  he   lets 


methods  work  out  their  results,  whatever  their 
tendency  may  be.  But  he  is  most  careful  to  check 
the  results  of  a  mere  literary  criticism  by  the 
findings  of  the  monuments. 


THE  ACTS  OK  THE  APOSTLES.  Bv  R.  B.  Rack- 
HAU,  M.A.     [Aftlhuen.     Svo,  pp.  cKvi,  514.     13s.  6d.) 

This  commentary,  printed  on  thin  light  paper, 
and  pleasantly  bound,  catches  the  attention  first  of 
all  by  its  outward  attractive  appearance.  The 
moment  it  is  opened,  however,  it  arrests  the 
attention  more  completely  by  the  singularity  of 
its  method.  It  belongs  to  the  series  of  'Oxford 
Commentaries,'  edited  by  Professor  Walter  Lock. 
The  first  volume  of  the  series  was  Gibson's  Job, 
and  it  followed  the  accustomed  manner,  the  text 
in  large  type  at  the  top  of  the  page,  the  com- 
mentary in  double  columns  and  smaller  type 
below.  This  is  the  second  volume,  and  its  plan 
is  wholly  different.  The  notes  are  given  in  the 
form  of  a  straightforward  narrative,  to  be  read 
just  as  the  Book  of  Acts  itself  is  read ;  and  the 
text,  which  is  that  of  the  Revised  Version,  comes 
in  when  it  is  wanted.  There  are  frequent  dis- 
cussions, sometimes  learned  enough,  but  no  Greek 
word  is  allowed  to  arrest  the  English  reader's 
interest.  The  footnotes  arc  mosdy  what  we  call 
'marginal  references,'  but  occasionally  they  refer 
to  some  book,  and  they  always  contain  the  mar- 
ginal notes  of  the  Revised  Version. 

Mr.  Rackham's  general  aim  seems  to  be  to 
translate  the  Acts  into  modem  language.  In 
order  to  do  this,  in  order  to  put  us,  as  it  were, 
by  the  side  of  the  original  readers,  his  paraphrase 
has  to  explain  many  allusions,  and  that  makes  it 
far  longer  than  the  original  Book  of  Acts.  But 
the  immense  mass  of  accurate  information  which 
his  book  contains,  not  to  speak  of  its  interest, 
makes  one  only  wish  that  it  had  been  longer. 

Elsewhere  will  be  found  a  note  touching  a  point 
of  scholarship  in  the  book.  It  is  enough  for  the 
present  to  say  that  both  the  Introduction  and  the 
Commentary  prove  Mr.  Rackham's  capacity  for 
Scripture  exposition  of  the  highest  order,  and,  in 
particular,  his  thorough  grasp  of  the  problems  and 
whole  situation  involved  in  the  Book  of  Acts. 
His  indirect  dedication  of  his  book  to  Bishop 
Gore  and  Dr.  Moberly  is  an  indication  that  his 
theological  position  is  moderate  High  Church- 
man ship. 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


FOUNDATION  TRUTHS  OK  THE  GOSPEL.     (AUr- 
gait  6"  SeiHI.     Post  8vo,  pp.  184.     Js.  6d.) 

These  papers,  by  various  evangelical  writers, 
were  originally  contributed  to  the  Christian. 
Sketchy  though  they  are,  they  were  worth  gather- 
ing together.  For  the  one  balances  the  other, 
and  together  they  form  a  fairly  complete  round 
of  doctrine.  Amongst  the  writers  are  Mr.  F.  B. 
Meyer,  who  grapples  with  the  thorny  but  salutary 
doctrine  of  (he  Fall ;  Dr.  Monro  Gibson,  who 
writes  tersely  on  Faith ;  and  Dr.  Moule,  who 
touches  (would  he  had  had  space  to  go  deeper) 
the  most  momentous  of  all  things,  the  doctrine  of 
Regeneration.  

THE  WORKS  OF  JOHN  BUNVAN,  (A'eAoH.  Fcap. 
8vo,  pp.  331,  2S9,  \3&.  3s.  6d.  net.,  in  leather.) 
Messrs.  Nelson  haveaddedthe  Pilgrim's  Progress, 
the  Holy  War,  and  Grace  Abounding  to  their  thin 
paper  editions  of  the  great  English  Classics.  Paged 
separately,  the  three  books  are  bound  in  one 
volume,  which  nevertheless  is  not  too  thick  to  be 
carried  with  comfort  in  the  pocket.  It  is  a  good 
large  type  and  well  spaced,  inviting  even  to  aged 
eyes,  while  the  binding  is  suitable  for  presentation. 
In  beauty  and  convenience  there  is  no  edition  of 
Bunyan  that  can  for  a  moment  compete  with  it. 


The  Ads  of  the  Apostles  and  the  Epistles  of  Paul, 
arranged  in  the  form  of  a  continuous  history,  by 
Thomas  Morrison,  M.A.,  LL.D.  Few  books  are 
more  familiar  to  students  of  the  Bible  in  Scotland. 
This  is  the  third  edition  (Oliphant,  crown  8vo, 
pp.  191,  IS.  6d.).  But  if  a  copy  had  been  bought 
every  time  that  the  book  was  read,  it  would  have 
passed  by  this  time  into  more  than  three  times 
three  editions.  

Under  the  title  of  Thvo  Hebrew  Jdylls,  the 
Rev.  G.  B.  Macnaughtan,  M.A.,  B.D.,  of  Ardoch, 
has  published  some  lectures  on  the  Book  of 
Ruth  and  the  Book  of  Jonah  (Oliphant,  crown 
8vo,  pp.  185,  35.  6d.).  Clearly  and  handsomely 
printed,  the  lectures  make  very  agreeable  read- 
ing, and  the  author  justly  claims  that  the  two 
books  which  he  has  brought  together  deal  with 
the  same  great  lesson  which  Israel  was  so  slow 
to  learn,  the  lesson  that  she  was  called  out 
of  the  world  in  order  to  be  a  blessing  to  the 
world. 


NINETEEN  CENTURIES  OF   MISSIONS.    Bv   Mrs. 

W,  W.  SCODDBH,     {OliphaiU.     Cro«*0  8vo,  pp.  250, 

3s.  6d.). 

The  time  is  at  hand,  it  appears,  when  the  subject 

of  missions   will  be    included    in  the  'Leaving 

Certificate.'     So  Mrs,  Scudder  has  prepared  the 

text-book.     It  is  admirably  adapted  for  cramming, 

the  prominent    matters  in    it    being  dates  and 

districts,  while  every  chapter  ends  with  a  set  of 

examination  questions.    Teachers  of  missions  all 

the  world  over  will  find  it  their  readiest  handbook. 


BIBLE  CHARACTERS:   STEPHEN   TO  TIMOTHY. 
Bv  Albxander  Whvtk,  D.D.     (Olifikant.     Ciown 
8vo,  pp.  304.     3s.  6<1.) 
They  must  be  near  the  end.     This  is  the  fifth 
volume.     When  the  end  does  come,  there  will  be 
lamentation  and  weeping,  for  these  'Bible  Char- 
acters' have  through  the  religious  press  formed 
the  Sabbath   afternoon   reading  of   innumerable 
Christians  in  Scotland  for  a  long  time.     But  the 
volumes  will  remain,  and  we  can  go  over  them 
again,  and  again  and  again,  as  indeed  we  have 
been  doing  with  the  earlier  volumes  all  this  while. 
And  not  only  so,  but  we  all  believe  that  Dr.  Whyie 

'  will  discover  other  topics  for  his  daring  discerning 

I  tongue  and  pen. 

'  WITH  THE  THIBETANS  IN  TENT  AND  TEMPLE. 

By    SusiB    Carson     Rijshart,    M.D.      {OtipkatU. 

Crowti  8»o,  pp.  406,  6s.) 
There  are  foreign  missionaries  who  never  leave 
their  native  land.  Messrs.  Oliphant,  Anderson  & 
Ferrier  are  of  the  number.  By  their  missionary 
literature  they  make  known  the  work  that  foreign 
missions  are  accomplishing,  and  thus,  though  they 
go  not  abroad  themselves,  they  send  into  the 
foreign  field  both  men  and  money.  They  carry 
us  all  abroad  indeed,  and  give  us  a  pei^onal 
interest  in  the  lands  to  which  the  gospel  has  been 
brought,  as  well  as  in  the  men  and  women  who 
have  brought  it.  This  new  volume  has  the  double 
charm  of  a  missionary  of  genius  and  a  land  of 
mystery.  The  writing  is  extremely  simple,  much 
after  the  manner  ofa  picturesque  diary, — the  genius 
is  not  in  that.  But  the  woman  who  passed 
through  all  that  Mrs,  Rijnhart  did,  is  a  genius  as  a 
missionary;  and  the  picturesque  simplicity  of  the 
language,  by  the  very  clearness  and  truthfulness  of 
its  information,  does  not  dispel  but  deepens  the 
religious  mystery  of  the  strange  land  of  Thibet. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES, 


113 


OUTLINE  OF  A  HISTORY  OF  PROTESTANT 
MISSIONS.  Bv  GusTAV  Warnkck.  (Olip/iant. 
8vo,  pp.  379.  IM.  6d.) 
Dr.  George  Robson  introduces  this  new  edition 
of  Dr.  Warncck's  well-koown  Outline.  He  says : 
'  Of  all  existing  histories  of  Protestant  Missions,  I 
have  no  hesitation  in  characterizing  Dr.  Wameck's 
as  by  far  the  best,  not  only  in  respect  of  the 
completeness  and  orderliness  of  its  survey,  but 
also  in  respect  of  insight  into  historical  develop- 
ment and  enlightened  sobriety  of  judgment.'  And 
Dr.  Robson  knows.  His  word  may  be  received 
without  reserve.  The  new  edition  is  a  new  book, 
a  far  larger,  fuller,  richer  book.  Of  course  much 
new  material  comes  to  the  hand  of  the  historian 
of  missions  every  year,  and  Dr.  Wameck  seems  to 
miss  nothing.  But  besides  that,  the  whole  field 
has  been  surveyed  anew,  and  the  former  con- 
clusions have  been  mercilessly  tested  and  revised. 
The  translation  makes  it  an  English  book,  and  the 
occasional  notes  which  the  editor  has  added, 
supplying  fuller  information  about  Scotch  and 
English  missions,  serve  the  same  welcome  purpose. 
The  maps  are  too  full  of  matter  for  ordinary  readers, 
but  they  who  are  interested  in  the  book  will  take 
the  trouble  to  master  its  maps.  Most  cordially  do 
we  thank  author,  translators,  editor,  and  publishers 
for  the  best  history  of  missions  in  existence. 


Only  a  Prayer- Meeting  is  the  title  his  publishers 
have  given  to  a  volume  of  forty  addresses  by  the 
late  C.  H.  Spurgeon  (Passmore  &  Alabaster, 
crown  8vo,  pp.  366,  3s.  6d.),  It  is  Spurgeon  at 
his  best,  and  Spurgeon  at  his  worst  was  better 
than  most  of  us,  

New  volumes  by  C.  H.  Spurgeon  still  frequently 
appear.  For  there  is  not  only  a  great  opportunity 
in  his  published  writings  for  selection  and  airange- 
ment,  but  there  are  also  many  unpublished  manu- 
scripts still.  The  latest  issue  is  entitled  Good 
Tidings  of  Great  Joy  (Passmore  &  Alabaster, 
crown  8vo,  pp.  153,  is.  6d.).  It  is  a  series  of 
experimental  chapters  on  the  Incarnation. 


THE  ROMANCE  OF  RELIGION.    Bv  Olive  Vivian 

and  Hrrb&rt  Vivian,  M.A.     {Pearsaa.     Ciown  8vo, 

pp.  330.     With  ItluilratioDi.    6s.) 

What  mirthful  and  also  what  monstrous  things 

are  done  in  the  name  of  religion  I    This  book  is  a 

repository  of  both.     But  it  is  more  than  that.    For 


its  authors  are  not  content  to  record  occasional 
curious  phenomena,  they  trace  causes  and  effects. 
Their  book  is  scientific,  as  well  as  entertaining. 
They  range  for  their  strange  subjects  over  many 
centuries  and  many  lands.  Their  style  is  highly 
picturesque.  With  whatever  expectation  their 
book  is  opened,  it  will  immediately  secure  the 
attention,  and  it  will  not  be  laid  aside  until  it  is 
read  through.  The  illustrations,  taken  from  life, 
are  in  keeping  with  its  wonderful  contents. 

THV  HEART'S  DESIRE.  Editbd  by  TH«  Rev.  R, 
LovKTT,  M.A.  (R.T.S.  Crown  8»o,  pp.  aSo.  61.} 
This  is  a  book  of  family  prayer.  The  prayers 
are  contributed  by  Dr.  G.  S.  Barrett,  Mr.  G.  E. 
Asker,  Mr.  W.  Roberts,  and  Mr.  W.  T.  Rowley. 
They  are  for  morning  and  evening,  and  they  cover 
thirteen  weeks.  There  are  also  passages  of  Scrip- 
ture suggested.  The  book  is  both  handsome  and 
appropriate.  And  the  prayers — well,  it  is  simply 
impossible  to  read  prayers  with  a  paper-knife  in 
hand.  And  yet  the  one  criticism  that  we  would 
venture  upon  them  is  that  they  seem  written  to 
be  read.  

ROMAN  LAW  AND  HISTORY  IN  THE  NEW 
TESTAMENT.  Bvthb  Rbv.  Septimus  Buss,  LL.B. 
{Rivingiens.  Crowo  8vo,  pp.  480.  6s.  net.) 
The  object  which  Mr.  Buss  has  set  before  him 
is  to  run  through  the  New  Testament  and  lay  his 
finger  on  all  the  signs  it  bears  of  the  presence  and 
power  of  the  Romans.  In  some  parts  these  signs 
are  quite  numerous,  as  when  our  Lord  was  tried 
before  Pilate  and  St.  Paul  before  Festus.  These 
scenes  are  much  more  lifelike  when  we  clearly 
understand  the  Roman  customs  to  which  reference 
is  made,  and  which  Mr.  Buss  fully,  even  elabor- 
ately, explains.  Even  the  words  that  have  any 
Roman  flavour  about  them  receive  a  separate 
paragraph  of  explanation.  It  was  an  excellent 
idea  to  gather  out  of  the  complex  many-coloured 
life  of  Palestine  at  the  beginning  of  our  era  this 
one  influential  element,  and  Mr.  Buss  has  all  the 
scholarship  and  patience  to  realize  his  idea. 
Consequently  we  not  only  see  the  Roman  element 
itself  and  are  surprised  at  its  fulness,  but  we  are 
then  able  to  see  more  clearly  the  Greek  and 
Jewish  elements  that  remain,  A  service  has  been 
rendered  to  the  interpretation  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment by  this  book,  which  it  is  surprising  was  never 
rendered  before. 


114 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


THE  CRIMINAL.  Bv  Havblock  Ellis.  {IVaJter 
See//.  Crown  Svo,  pp.  441.  6s.) 
This  is  the  third  edition  of  the  standard  work 
on  Criminology.  It  has  been  revised  and  enlarged. 
It  contains  forty  pathetic  or  revolting  illustrations. 
It  is  a  book  one  must  either  have  nothing  to  do 
with  or  devour.  To  read  it  for  mere  pastime  is 
impossible.  It  is  a  book  of  science;  its  purpose  is 
noble  and  enobling.  It  reveals  the  working  of 
God's  great  laws  of  moral  and  physical  health,  and 
their  unerring  retribution  as  disease.  It  tells  us 
what  has  been  done  for  criminals.  It  suggests 
the  means  by  which  their  numbers  may  be  re- 
duced. It  asks  us  earnestly  what  bw  have  done 
for  our  fellow-criminal^/'  wAom  Cirist  died. 

LESSONS  FROM  THE  PARABLES.  Bv  Mrs.  W.  J. 
Tait.  {Mlliiil  S/ack.  Crown  8vo,  pp.  216.  51.) 
The  lessons  are  meant  '  for  home  and  school 
use.'  It  is  only  in  the  home  and  in  the  school 
that  you  can  touch  the  parables.  To  the  present 
generation,  at  least,  they  seem  to  be  impossible  in 
the  pulpit  For  their  meaning  is  so  plain  that 
even  the  children  never  miss  it,  and  you  have  only 
to  set  their  minds  to  think.  But  their  meaning 
is  also  so  difficult  that  our  deeper  study  drives 
us  to  despair.  We  can  only  hope  that  unborn 
generations  will  make  more  of  them  than  we 
can  do. 


STONES  FOR  SERMON  BUILDERS.  Bv  THB  Rbv. 
John  Mitchblu  (Sttttwell.  Crown  Svo,  pp.  \2Z.  M.) 
Here  is  not  only  the  straw  for  the  bricks,  but 
the  bricks  themselves.  He  does  not  know  bis 
craft,  and  should  betake  himself  to  another,  who 
cannot  build  with  this. 

AN  EDITOR'S  SERMONS.  Bv  Si»  Edward  Russill. 
(FisAtr  Unwin.  Crown  Svo,  pp.  167.  6s.  nett} 
Clei^men  have  little  patience  with  sermons  by 
a  layman.  It  is  not  professional  jealousy  only. 
They  have  tried  and  found  them  wanting.  But 
these  sermons  stand  apart  They  have  the  pro- 
fessional man's  knowledge  together  with  the  lay- 
man's detachment  For  Sir  Edward  Russell  is 
not  only  a  man  of  surpassing  ability,  but  through- 
out his  public  life  he  has  given  himself  to  the 
interpretation  of  the  great  problems  of  morals  and 
religion.  The  Bishop  of  Hereford  writes  an  intro- 
duction to  the  volume,  commending  it  especially 
to  clergymen,  not  merely,  however,  because  it  lets 
us  see  ourselves  as  others  see  us,  but  because  it 
also  makes  distinct  contribution  to  the  subjects  of 
which  it  treats,  such  as  the  gift  of  prayer,  high- 
mindedness,  and  the  decay  of  experimental  religion. 
If  we  were  allowed  a  phrase  in  which  to  express 
our  obligation  to  these  sermons,  we  should  say 
that  they  had  urged  us  to  be  more  spiritual  in  our 
thinking,  more  intellectual  in  our  spirituality. 


%   Qtm    (Unctaf  of  iU  &06ptie. 

Bv  W.  C.  Braithwaitk,  B.A.,  LL.B.,  Banbury. 


A  YEAR  ago  Mr.  J.  Bevan  Braithwaite  of  London 
procured  from  Macedonia  an  uncial  MS.  of  the 
Gospels  in  Greek,  which  I  have  since  had  the 
opportunity  of  examining  and  collating.  He 
proposes  to  call  it  the  Codex  Macedoniensis.  I 
gave  some  particulars  of  the  document  when 
lecturing  at  the  recent  Friends'  Settlement  for 
Bible  Study  at  Scarborough,  but  its  interest 
justifies  a  wider  publication. 

When  complete  the  MS.  seems  to  have  con- 
sisted of  43  quires  of  8  folios  each,  and  of  one 
odd  folio  containing  part  of  the  MijuiXiua.  of  Luke, 
making  674  pages  in  all,  of  which  66  pages,  or 
9.8  pet  cent.,  are  missing,  namely — 

Ml  l'  .  .  .  Aiari/MTis";  l<f  [eiryayipa  .  .  .  ^Mttrt 
11';  a  folio  with  part  of  the  «#,    of  Mark;   Lk  t"  tit 


«-4Xi»  .  .  .  ir  TiKJui]  l" ;  15"  rptapinpot ,  .  .  TpeetaKtci' 
[>«»«]  16*  i  83"  fi^  .  .  .  liiina  nSrw  33";  Jn  ao" 
X^tpit  fiou  .   .  .  i  lUrpm  ii". 

The  MS.  is  on  parchment  leaves  measuring 
18.1  by  13.2  cm.  io  single<olumn  writing,  11  by 
7.5  cm.,  ruled  16  to  at  lines  to  a  page.  In  the 
side  margins  stand  the  numbers  of  the  Aro- 
monian  sections  with  the  Eusebian  canons,  and 
in  upper  and  lower  margins,  as  the  case  may 
require,  the  TirXot  of  the  Kt^taXata  majora  with 
their  numbers,  which  are  repeated  on  the  side 
margins.  All  these,  and  also  the  initials  in  the 
margin  at  the  opening  of  sections  and  the 
apparatus  of  lection  notes  in  text  and  margin,  are 
in  bright  carmine  ink,  except  the  initials  occurring 
from  Lk  1'  to  11*"  {7  quires),  which  are  in  black. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


"S 


Very  tasteful  frames  of  spot  and  pattern  work  in 
carmine  and  gold  enclose  the  titles  of  the 
Gospels,  and  the  first  letter  of  each  is  also  richly 
illuminated.  The  titles  run  'EtMyyiXiw  Kara 
MofMov,  etc. 

The  writing  is  in  small  dark  brown  continuous 
uncials  (without  use  of  a  syllable  divider)  in 
letters  as  nearly  as  possible  z  mm.  high, 
punctuated  by  a  single  point,  chiefly  at  the  top 
or  bottom.  A  comma  or  colon  is  used  in  a  few 
cases,  a  semicolon  never.  Accents  and  breath- 
ings are  general,  and  are  usually  correctly 
given.  The  breathings  have  the  rectangular  form 
f  -1 .  Double  letters  and  a  few  simple  contrac- 
tions occur  occasionally,  and  the  words  regularly 
contracted  in  uncial  MSS  are  almost  invariably 
so  written  in  the  new  codex. 

The  writing  may  be  confidently  identified  as 
ninth  century,  and  resembles  the  facsimiles  of 
F,  r,  K,  and  Ev  ijo  given  in  Scrivener's 
Introduction,  though  smaller  and  neater  than  any 
of  these.  The  letters  E  0  0  C  have  the  narrow 
oval  shape,  the  base  of  the  A  is  prolonged 
beyond  the  triangle  and  strengthened  at  both 
ends  with  points,  the  middle  stroke  of  the  @  is 
also  prolonged  and  strengthened  with  points,  the 
M  is  broad  out  of  proportion  to  the  other  letters 
and  its  middle  loop  is  carried  below  the  line,  the 
angular  part  of  the  K  is  entirely  separated  from 
the  upright  stroke. 

The  round  uncials  used  for  the  chapter- 
headings,  and  the  occasional  use  in  the  text  of  the 
older  form  of  H,  made  like  a  Z  with  a  horizonUl 
line  above  it,  strengthened  at  both  ends  with 
points  (as  the  modem  copyist  of  an  eighteenth 
century  document  might  preserve  an  occasional 
long  s),  suggest  that  the  codex  from  which  the 
MS.  was  copied  was  a  seventh  century  one.  The 
MS.  is  carefully  written,  and  I  have  found  no 
clear  case  of  omission  of  lines  by  homoioteleuton. 
In  six  cases,  however,  entire  phrases  are  omitted, 
namely,  Mt  9'*  «ai  ti.  /uxtfi^rat  ajyroS ;  Mt  14'  8*1 
yiip  TaiJra  (so  in  margin)  yivia&a*;  Lk  i*'  nai 
rivtufut  7i''Ayiov(so  in  margin)  iw  afirw;  Lk  lo'* 
Kill.  avTot  (itr^Ado'  tw  tva^rpi  tii'ii;  Lk  11'  ou 
SvVa/ioi  dfaoras  SoiVat  (roi ;  Jn  6**  M^  yayyi^.m 
UtT  oAAijXuf.  In  the  first  case  no  words  are 
supplied  in  the  margin,  in  the  next  four  cases  the 
words  are  supplied  in  black,  in  the  last  case  in 
red.  As  neither  Tischendorf  nor  Tregelles 
notices   these  omissions,  they  seem   due  to  the 


copyist,  and  the  probable  inference  is  that  his 
copy  was  written  in  sense-lines. 

A  menological  rubric  to  the  page  Jn  la'*-" 
gives  a  lection  for  Tarasius,  Patriarch  [of  Con- 
stantinople], about  7S0  A.D.,  and,  so  far  as  it 
goes,  confirms  the  palaeographical  evidence  as  to 
date. 

An  examination  of  the  text  of  the  MS.  soon  ■ 
shows  that  it  is  to  be  classed  with  the  mass  of  ' 
later  uncials    of  mixed   '  Syrian '   text,    namely, 
EFGHKMSUVrAXn.     For  instance,  it  contains 
all    the     eight     'conflate'    readings    cited    by  . 
Westcott-Hort  {Tntroduetion  to  the  N.T.  in  Greek, 
pp.  95-104).     Like  the  others,  it  also  has  a  ninth 
conflation,  not  noticed   by  VVestcott-Hort,  as  it 
was  not  taken  into  the  Received  Text. 

Mt  r]**  furi  rwr  ypaiiiMTiur  lat  rpm^vripar.    ((t)A6L 
Mcmph,  Vulg. 
fLtri.  TiHr  7p.  cal  ^fiirafwr.     D,  most  old  Lat., 

furi  rwr  yp,  koI  rpeaff.  <al  ipap.      LttCT  uncwls, 
Syr.— Pesh.,  and  Hark. 

But  though  the  mixture  characteristic  of 
'Syrian'  texts  pervades  the  new  uncial,  it  may 
nevertheless  rank  high  in  its  own  class  by  virtue 
of  its  resistance  to  this  tendency,  and  to  the 
extent  of  this  resistance  may  give  important 
support  to  pre-Syrian  readings.  The  mixture  and 
smoothness  of  text  exhibited  by  the  later  uncials 
are  explained  when  we  remember  that  a  MS.  is 
commonly  the  offspring  of  a  marriage  (often  a 
mixed  marriage)  of  two  older  MSS — one  parent 
being  the  copy  used  by  the  scribe,  the  other  the 
text  followed  by  the  tiofSvinp  or  corrector  who 
went  over  his  work.  This  double  parentage, 
repeated  in  each  generation  of  ancestors,  naturally 
resulted  on  the  one  hand  in  the  mixing  into 
the  text  of  readings  capable  of  mixture,  and  on 
the  other  in  the  disappearance  of  refractory 
readings  and  of  non-interpolations.  The  MS,  now 
under  discussion,  for  example,  contains  omissions 
of  Mt  12",  Mk  15™,  and  part  of  Jn  8",  which,  so 
far  as  can  be  judged,  are  genuine  variants,  but 
the  corrector  has  supplied  the  omitted  words  in 
the  margin,  and  the  variant  would  thus  probably 
disappear  from  any  copy  made  from  this  MS. 
The  survival  of  early  readings  in  a  characteristic- 
ally late  text  is  therefore  excellent  evidence  of 
their  vitality  and  originally  wide  currency. 

How  then  does  the  new  codex  compare  with 
the  other  late  uncials  named  above  in  retaining 


ii6 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


early  readings?  Dr.  Sunday's  convenient  Delectus 
LectioDum  appended  to  the  ClarendoD  Press 
Greek  Testament  may  serve  for  a  rough  test. 
In  the  parts  of  the  Gospels  contained  in  our  MS. 
he  examines  153  variants,  but  in  116  of  these 
the  late  uncials  in  question  all  go  one  way,  and 
in  four  other  cases  (Mk  j^'  14",  Lk  9**,  and 
Jn  5')  their  evidence  is  too  evenly  divided  to 
afford  assistance  on  this  point.  This  leaves 
33  cases  where  one  01  more  late  uncials  of 
'  Syrian '  type  are  found  standing  out  from  thci;r 
felloirs  either  for  the  approved  primitive  reading 
or  for  some  early  variant.  X  (Codex  Monacensis), 
though  far  from  complete,  does  so  17  times,  and 
has  evidently  a  text  of  high  value,  n  (Codex 
Petropolitanus  Tischendorfii)  has  la  cases,  our 
codex  has  10,  of  which  eight  follow  the  approved 
primitive  reading  and  two  an  early  variant;  K 
(Codex  Cyprius  Parisinus)  has  7  cases  ;  none  of 
the  others  has  more  than  5. 

The  new  MS.  therefore  ranks  high  in  its  own 
class.  It  supports  the  Westcott-Hort  text  against 
the  T.R.  about  400  times,  say  once  for  every  ten 
various  readings  in  that  text. 

I  add  a  selection  of  various  readings,  citing 
other  uncials  mainly  from  Tischendorf's  apparatus, 
and  taking  first  good  readings  supported  mainly 
by  non-Syrian  attestation,  which  often  includes 
most  of  the  early  versions. 

Mt  16^'  Omit  'Oflai  ytroiUr7)i  .  .  .  ov  Siraatt,  with 
NBVXr. 

,,    16>1  dprur  fur  dprof,   wilh  (eBCLKMSII. 

„   I9>  Omit  oi  before  't^pmaTo,,  wilb  BCLMAII. 

„  24"  tA  IfiiTior,  with  KBDKL7AI. 

„   14*'  Omit  iij>u  afler  rariip,  wilh  KBDLAIl". 

„  25"  Omit  it  i  i  i/lAi  rev  it8p<iriii/  Ipx'^"*!  with 
KABC'DLXief'n.  Added  probably  to 
round  aS  and  point  the  moral  of  the  leclion, 
^^t  15'"",  read  on  Saturday  of  sevealeenlh 
week  after  Pentecost.  Oui  MS.  add»  the 
words  in  red  ink  io  margin,  which  confirnu 
this  origin. 

„  »7"  Omit  f«»Tit,  withKABC'DEHKVAn. 
Mk  4"  brii  Tfj»  \vx*i"  iriTieS-  So  KB*  13-69-346, 
33,  but  with  verb  riSi.  According  to 
Weslcott-Hort,  iwi  is  a  primitive  corruption 
rightly  corrected  10  ^irl  by  a  very  early  con. 
jecture. 

„    8"  ri»  irBpi^or,  with  AC'DII. 

,.    11"  Srarfotfrt,  with  NBCKLiir. 

,,    14"  Omit  ti  before  Tanjpiw,  with  KBCDLWt>XiS. 

„    14"  OujSo.  for  »,S«^^or,  with  KABCIKLNSM'An. 

„    15" /jtjKtfof.  with  ADGKMI'll". 


Mk  is"  Omit  verse,  with  MABC'DX.      Corrector   adds 

in  margin. 
Lk  13"  Omit(pi,/Mrt,  wilb  KABKLRSVPAn. 

,,    14°  Omit  <i*oiipi0ett,  with  BDLKII. 

„  14'  Read  trot  (not  vl6t),  with  tiKLXn  1,  33,  abci, 
Vulg.,  Syr.-Sin.,  Syr..Hier,  Arm.,  Hempb., 
'^th.  With  the  help  of  the  Sjr.-Sin.  and  the 
new  codex  critici  may  now  be  asked  to  draw 
up  the  'son'oatof  the  well  and  love  the  'ais' 
there  instead. 

„  21*  ft(oi«  for  iixof^vi,  with  KABCLMNRX. 

,,   23"  irirtnifit    yip   a^Ar    wpAi    ^/an,    wilh    ttBK 

LHTn. 

Jn  3»    Read  'Uvtalui  (not  'loiiialov),  with  K*GA*n'. 

„  S'      Omit  i  before  iopri,  with  ABDGKNSUVrA. 

„  6°    \tU\^Ka  for  XoXiS,  with  KBCDKLNTUH. 

,,  7"     Omit  iroXiJj,  with  Dace  IP  1  Arm. 

„  7"    V(XT<u.  with  NBDK(N)TrAn. 

,,  7*'-8"  Kai  iwopeievat  .  .  .  ji^i^Ti  iixJipratt.  Omit 
with  MABCLNTXA.  In  the  maigio  are  two 
&ded  asterisks,  not  by  the  first  hand,  but  the 
text  leaves  no  special  blank,  Che  words  6vk 
tftlptrai.  ndXit  oSr  ai  \  forming  one  line. 
The  table  of  nnp.  contains  no  reference  to  the 
Pericopc. 

„  8"-**  Read  itai  v/uU  tSr  i  ^imoiaaTi  rapA  toO  rarpii 
i/tur  *-«<irc.  Omit  ir  at  end  of  v."  and  ofr 
after  tlnr  in  v.",  and  read  /«  rofi  rarpit  v.**. 

„  I3»  iraT€rwv,  with  BC'KLXn'. 

„  l8'  rod  for  riSr  before  KiSpur,  with  S.  AA  133  have 
TtS  ttipiir,  and  cefq  Vulg.,  Gotb.,  Arm.  sup- 
port the  same  reading. 

In  several  of  the  above  readings  the  principal 
late  uncial  support  comes  from  the  group  KMn, 
and  while  this  is  not  the  only  line  of  relationship 
in  the  new  codex,  which  often  diverges  from  the 
KMn  readings,  there  is  an  important  strain  of 
text  in  common,  as  the  following  cases  of  special 
agreement  with  the  group  will  show : — 

Mt  19»  olKlar,  with  K  33. 

„    12"  Omit  biur  after  ^ir,  with  KAtl. 

„    32*°  Add  if  wnCiuin  after  AajSiJ,  with  DKMAH. 

„    36*  a^ni  for  nji  rfrpip,  wilh  EKMII. 

Mk    7"  ica0apltop,  with  KMOVmS*. 

„       9"  xadwi  for  iral  vui,  with  AKMAII. 

„    10"  AddWh-.  iiTTipii,  withKMNH. 

„  10^  Add  ti  0i\^i  W\»ot  <T>ai  before  ft  oh  ifripii, 
with  KMNn.  , 

„    to"  Omit  Ti,,a,  with  EGKH. 

,,    14"  Add  xitii^t  after  dpxitp^a,  with  AKMII. 

,,    14"  Add  To5  etoS  before  toC  tiXoynrw,  with  AKII. 

„    ■s'*/rryl*<«r«,  witbAKH. 

Lk  9°°'"  Retain  cat  tWir  Ouk  olSaTt  .  .  .  irwirai,  with 
FKMUrAn. 

„    II"  AddTo;j.ira(«i>afteT'A|J(X,  with  KMn. 

,,  18"  Tur  etparur  for  ToC  Gmu,  with  KMO.  Apart 
from  this  reading  and  the  reading  of  K*  in  Jn  3*, 
the  phrase  '  kingilom  C|f  t^^;  ^ew|^<^filMd 


o  Matthew. 


'"'cS'" 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


117 


Lk  30"  Add  Tirit  after  Xiyoucir,  with  AKMII. 
Jn    5*   Add  KvplDU  after  ^Tv^at  yip,  wilh  AKLAD. 
,,     6'*  Add  irBpuTM  before  iriptt,  with  AKII*. 
„  14"  tip^ti  for  oix  Ix'i,  mth  KII- 
,,  l6"*  eiifoT  oixiri,  withll*  131*  w*"'*,  oiJeM  being  at 

viriuice  wiih  out  Lord's  post- resurrection  ap- 

pearaDces. 
,,    iS**  A\\<uir«(Ir(r,  urithMSn'N. 

Other  readings  of  interest  are  the  following : — 

Mt  to"   Omit  rtKpoit  iyiLprrt,  wilh  all  late  undall. 

„    10"  irttiyjtv  (to  call  hj  a  name  of  abuse),  with  U. 

,,  2o"  KanKvpitiirBviiir,  with  B  124.  Also  in  Mk  lo*" 
with  D  (Gk.),  and  Kvpie6isoixri.v  ia  Lk  21",  with- 
out other  authority. 

margin.      In  Ml  20"  the  word*  are  retained, 

and  in  Lk  I4>*  they  are  added,  wit^  GH(X)rA. 

„    26"  Tttarti^Ml,  with  E{G)(H)VA.     Also  in  Mk  14" 

with  EFGH(X)N. 
Lk  1"     rfioaStxiltmr   for  wpoff<ttX^I"'"i   without  other 

authority. 
„   6"    Omit  xd»rrt.  wilh  DFLSVTiA. 
„   9"    Omit  .off' liM^pof,  with  CDEFGHSUVXrAA. 
,,    10"  Omit  t4^  Xoi^  with  GSVTA. 

,,    31*    BoriXafit  for  Bvn\A\yiat,  without  other  authority. 
,,    m"  Omit  if  rp  §aat\tUt  nou,  wilh  EFGHSVFA. 
Jn  8"     Omit  iiuh  oit  otSan  w6So  Ipxnimi  f)  iroS  vvd-yu, 
with  MSl'A  38,  33,  69,  bul  the  words  as  above 
are  added  by  corrector  in  margin. 
„   lo"    Omit  irpi /moC,  with  K'EFGMSUri. 
,.   19"  ilt^pai  for  ^1,  with  AE*  33,  69. 
Except  for  the  lists  of  kc^.  the  only  additional 
matter  in  the  new  MS.  consists  of  short  sentences 
in  the  same  uncial  hand  as  the  text,  which  occur 
at   the   end  of  each  Gospel,   but   relate  to   the 
character  and  composition  of  the  next.     Those  for 
Mark,  Luke,  and  John  remain,  and  belong  to  the 
series  contained  in  the  cursive  Scr.  512-  Greg.  473, 
frotn  which  Scrivener  {Introduction  to  the  Critimm 
of  the  N.T.,  4th  ed.  vol.  i.  p.  66)  cites  the  sen- 
tences for  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke.   They  are  also 
found  among  other  introductory  matter  in  Scr.  236 
and  in  other  cursives  (see    Gregory's  Prokg.    lo 
Tisch.  p.  456).    The  new  uncial  seems  to  be  the 
oldest  authority  for  them. 

The  interest  of  these  sentences  lies  in  the  con- 
firmation they  give  to  the  argument  recently  revived 
by  Mr.  F.  C.  Burkitt  {Two  lectures  on  the  Gosfels, 
London;  MacmlUan  &  Co.,  1901)  in  favour  of 
the  view  that  the  Fourth  Gospel  was  written  at 
John's  dictation  or  prompting  rather  than  actually 
by  John  himself.  Mr.  Burkitt  bases  his  argument 
partly  on  the  ancient  tradition  found  in  the  Mura- 
torian  canon,  and  partly  on  a  prologue  in  the  tenth 


century  MS.  of  the  Vulgate,  now  at  Madrid,  known 
as  the  Codex  Toletanus,  which  states  that  Fapias 
wrote  the  Gospel  at  John's  dictation :  '  Qui  hoc 
euangelium  Johanne  subdiclante  conscripsit.'  He 
also  cites  a  statement  to  the  same  effect  in  a  late 
Greek  catena  palrum  (cited  among  the  fragments 
of  Papias  in  Lighlfoot's  Apostolic  Fathers),  the  word 
there  used  being  vrrnyoptvuv,  'to  suggest,'  'to 
dictate.' 

The  sentences  run  as  follows — supplying  the  one 
to  Matthew  from  Scr.  512  : — 

'lariet  Sri  ri  jrarik  Mar^aioi'  e^Y)^Xiar  tfipatBi  BiaXJiiTif 
tpa^t  vx  niitov-  it  'XtpowoMiii.  i(iS68-ri'  ipinjniiT)  Si  iri 
'ludrnu-  ^(irydToi  St  tHj*  jtori  irBfiuwor  ToB  XptiTToB 
yiriair,  tal  iertt  ArOpiiiriiiiip^r  ToOre  t4  fteyyAisr. 

'larion  Sri  t4  nori  JSApKor  tOaYtiXtor  irriyopeiSji  iti 
II^I»u  ir  'Pii/tj-  ^iDuiffaTO  W  H(F  ipx*!'  i""*  '*■'  rpo^^uBU 
X670U,  To5  fi  D^oui  iwiirret,  roS  'Kratou,  rftr  TTipvtiitiir 
ilrhm  Tou  iHayytXleu  Simrit, 

'Im-ta-  Sti  tA  cari  Aaux^  (i^tyAioi'  irWfyl/fMiBri  ^A 
llotrXou  if'Pijifi^'  &Te  Si  ItpaTLKoC  xapaKT^pot  intapxor  df6 
Zax^tpiiiii  TOU  hpiut  0i>fuui>^oi  ISpiaro. 

'Iffrioir  An  tA  furd  'Itttdimji'  riay^iXior  if  roTr  xfi^"^* 
TpiuaroO  Or-qyi/ptiS-Ji  Ivi'luirrou  it  llir/ufi  t'q  rffiif  8iij7(r- 
Toi  Si  riji'  twl  (sic  pro  4x6}  roC  Tlarpii  Tye^ondjip  ««(  upaicn- 
tijr  nai  /»8ofw  reC  X/hstoB  ytvedr. 

Scrivener,  after  giving  the  three  of  these  which 
he  found  in  his  copy,  says, '  The  reader  will  desire 
no  more  of  this.'  The  matter  cannot,  however,  be 
dismissed  so  lightly.  For  the  second  clause  of 
each  sentence  is  taken  verbally  from  the  well-known 
pass^e  in  Irenxus  (Contra  Har.  iii.  11  §  8);  and 
if  the  compiler  used  equally  good  authority  for  his 
first  clauses,  they  certainly  claim  careful  attention. 
Now  Scr.  51Z  heads  the  sentence  to  Luke  Eo<r/ui 
'IkSucoirA.  CIS  AovK.  xopaypai^ij.  Cosnias  Indico- 
pleustes  flourished  about  520  a.d.,  and  would  base 
his  statements  on  some  earlier  source  of  informa- 
tion. He  uses  the  word  virayoptuHv  in  the  case  of 
Mark,  Luke,  and  John.  Peter  'suggested'  the 
contents  of  Mark,  and  Paul  those  of  Luke,  by 
which  is  evidently  meant  that  these  two  apostles 
were  the  authority  for  the  substance  of  the  Second 
and  Third  Gospels.  When,  therefore,  Cosmas  also 
uses  this  word  of  the  Fourth  Gospel,  he  must  mean 
that  John  stood  behind  the  actual  writer  in  the 
same  way.  The  modi5ed  Johannine  authorship 
advocated  by  Mr,  Burkitt  has  so  much  of  internal 
evidence  to  recommend  it  that  ne  shall  do  well 
to  inquire  carefully  into  the  possible  existence 
of  satisfactory    external    evidence    in    the    same 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


€U   ^onget   of  tU   (^eunie. 

By  the  Rev.  David  Smith,  M.A.,  Tulliallan. 


PersecutiOQs  ia  the  Desert. 


1.  Unlo  Jehovah  in  my  distress 

I  called,  and  Me  answered  me. 
1.  Jehovah,  deliver  my  soul  from  Ihe  lying  tip, 

from  the  deceitful  tongue. 

3.  What  shall  He  give  unto  Ihee,  and  what  add  unlo 

thee, 
thou  deceitful  tongue? 

4.  Arrows  of  a  mighty  man,  well  sharpened, 

together  with  coals  of  juniper. 

5.  Woe  is  me,  thai  I  sojourn  in  Meshech, 

that  I  dwell  by  the  tents  of  Kedar : 
G.  Too  long  hath  my  soul  had  her  divelling 

by  him  that  haieih  peace. 
7.  I  am  all  peace,  but  when  I  speak 

ihey  are  for  war. — Ps.  cxx. 

This  little  poem  is  exquisitely  pathetic.  A  long 
time  has  now  elapsed  since  the  exiles  vith  glad 
hearts  and  eager  steps  quitted  the  land  of  their 
captivity  and  turned  their  faces  joyfully  home- 
ward. But  they  have  encountered  unforeseen 
and  vexatious  obstacles ;  and,  instead  of  arriving 
speedily  at  the  dear  city  of  their  fathers  and  the 
sacred  temple  of  their  God,  they  have  been  kept 
wandering  long  with  weary  feet  and  hungry  hearts 
over  the  homeless  and  inhospitable  desert  that 
stretches  like  an  ocean  of  drifting  sand  betwixt 
Babylonia  and  Palestine.  The  wilderness  tribes, 
with  their  savage  instinct  to  reckon  the  defence- 
less as  fair  game,  have  barred  the  progress  of  the 
pilgrim  band  and  hunted  them  hither  and  thither 
over  the  desert  Northward  as  far  as  Atesheth,  a 
tribe  near  the  Black  Sea,  better  known  by  its 
Greek  name  the  Moscki;  southward  again  to  the 
tribe  of  Kedar  in  the  north  of  Arabia  and  abreast 
of  Palestine,  have  they  been  chased  ;  sometimes 
in  full  view  of  those  westward  mountain  ridges 
which  they  have  only  to  cross  in  order  to  descry 
Mount  Zi'on  and  Jerusalem.  It  is  hard  to  have 
travelled  so  far  only  to  be  detained  here  almost 
in  sight  of  home.  Could  they  but  elude  those 
harassing  tormentors,  a  few  days'  march  would 
bring  them  to  their  own  land. 

It   is   little  wonder   that  one   of  the   pilgrims 


wearily  and  somewhat  revengefully  gives  voice  to 
his  impatience  and  exasperation.  Who  he  may 
have  been  we  cannot  guess,  but  his  opening  word» 
give  us  a  vivid  '■  glimpse  of  his  character  and 
history.  Desperate  and  indignant  he  is,  but  he  is 
neither  cowardly  nor  weak.  On  the  contrary,  he 
is  one  who  can  look  back  on  hosts  of  troubles 
manfully  encountered  and  by  God's  help  van- 
quish ed. 


Here  he  takes  his  sUnd :  'Thou  hast  helped  me 
in  the  pasr,  O  God ;  help  me  now.' 

The  enemies  he  seeks  deliverance  from  are 
lying  lips  and  deceitful  tongues.  Falsehood  and 
treachery  have  always  been  characteristics  of  the 
Arabs,  and  we  can  imagine  how  the  pilgrims 
would  fare  at  the  hands  of  those  fleet  and  wily 
banditti  of  the  desert.  With  a  show  of  friendli- 
ness and  treacherous  promises  of  assistance  they 
would  win  the  confidence  of  the  unsuspecting 
pilgrims,  only  to  surprise  them  suddenly  and 
plunder  them  at  unawares ;  or  they  would  propose 
to  guide  them  over  the  trackless  desert  only  to 
lead  them  into  some  trap ;  and,  when  it  came  to 
fighting,  instead  of  meeting  them  in  a  fair  and  open 
field,  they  would  career  about  them  on  their  fleet 
steeds,  hurling  their  javelins  and  vanishing  in  a 
cloud  of  dust  ere  the  discomfited  Israelites  could 
draw  breath.  It  would  be  experiences  like  these 
that  prompted  the  prayer: 

Jehovah,  deliver  my  soul  from  ihe  lying  Up, 
from  ibe  deceitful  tongue. 

In  the  next  stanza  the  speaker  breaks  out  with 
a  passionate  vindictiveness  not  altogether  unjusti- 
fiable : 

What  shall  He  (i.e.  God)  give  unlo  thee,  and  what  add 
unto  thee, 
(hou  deceitful  tongue? 

He  has  appealed  to  God  for  deliverance,  and  in 
view  of  the  enormous  provocation    he  feels  that 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


119 


God's  reuibution  must  needs  be  terrible.  It  will 
be  retribution  vpon  retribution.  'What,  and 
what  more,  shall  He  give  unto  thee?' 

Then  he  answers  his  own  question.  'What 
shall  He  give  unto  thee?  He  shall  give  arrows 
of  the  mighty,  well  sharpened,  together  with  coals 
of  juniper.'  It  may  be  questioned  whether  'the 
mighty '  should  be  taken  as  referring  to  God  or  as 
meaning  a  valiant  hero.  Most  probably  the  latter 
is  the  true  interpretation.  These  treacherous 
Arabs  have  shot  their  arrows  at  the  defenceless 
exiles ;  but  retribution  will  overtake  them  in  the 
just  providence  of  God.  A  mighty  warrior  will 
one  day  assail  them  with  his  keen  and  invicible 
shafts.  It  is  possible  that  the  Psalmist  was  one  of 
the  leaders  of  the  returning  exiles,  and  is  here 
anticipating  the  day  when  his  people  will  be 
securely  established  in  their  land  and  he  will  be  free 
to  lead  forth  a  disciplined  troop  and  repay  to  those 
Arabs  with  usury  the  injuries  they  have  inflicted. 

In  the  intensity  of  his  passion  he  confusedly 
heaps  metaphor  upon  metaphor.  The  punishment 
of  the  persecutors  is  to  be  not  only  the  warrior's 
sharp  arrows,  but  coals  of  juniper.  Juniper  is  the 
crisp  broom  which  grows  in  the  desert  and  which 
is  still  used  as  fuel  by  the  Bedouins.  It  gives  a 
very  intense  heat.  The  Rabbis  and  St.  Jerome 
tell  fabulous  stories  of  travellers  cooking  their 
food  over  a  fire  of  juniper,  and  on  their  return  that 
way  a  year  after. finding  the  embers  still  smoulder- 
ing. 

This  twofold  punishment  of  the  deceitful 
tongue  would  appear  less  far-fetched  to  the  He- 
brews than  to  us.  Jeremiah  had  already  spoken  of 
the  deceitful  tongue  as  an  arrow.  'Their  tongue 
is  a  deadly  arrow ;  it  speaketh  deceit ;  one  speak- 
eth  peaceably  to  his  neighbour,  but  in  his  heart 
he  layeth  wait  for  him'  (9").  And  later,  St. 
James  said ;  '  The  tongue  is  a  fire  .  .  .  and  is  set 
on  fire  by  hell '  (3*).  Such  is  the  strong  Hebrew 
way  of  describing  the  injurious  consequences  of 
falsehood  and  deceit.  They  pierce  like  sharp 
arrows  and  bum  like  a  fierce  tire. 

The  retribution  here  predicted  for  the  deceitful 
tongue  is  thus  simply  a  figurative  and  Hebraic 
rendering  of  that  solemn  principle  of  God's  provi- 
dence, that  men  are  punished  as  they  sin.  It  is  a 
law  which  operates  as  surely  in  the  spiritual  as  in 
the  natural  world,  that  '  whatsoever  a  man  soweth, 
that  shall  he  also  reap.'  In  his  castle  at  Loches 
that  crafty  and  inhuman  monarch,  Louis  xi.  of 


France,  had  a  variety  of  engines  devised  with 
fiendish  ingenuity  for  the  torture  of  the  hapless 
wretches  who  incurred  his  displeasure ;  and  none 
was  more  appalling  than  those  '  iron  cages '  in 
which  the  captive  could  neither  stand  upright  nor 
lie  at  length.  This  horrid  torture  was  devised  by 
the  Cardinal  la  Balue,  and  many  a  poor  mortal 
did  he  ruthlessly  aid  in  consigning  to  it.  It  is  not 
a  striking  instance  of  the  irony  of  Providence  that 
la  Balue  himself  should  incur  the  tyrant's  dis- 
pleasure and  spend  the  last  eleven  years  of  his 
life  in  one  of  those  cages  which  his  own  diabolical 
ingenuity  had  contrived?  It  would  have  given 
him  pause  when  he  was  planning  the  horrid  device, 
had  he  foreseen  that  he  would  himself  be  one  of 
its  victims ;  and  it  would  surely  give  us  pause  did 
we  but  realise  that,  whenever  we  commit  a  sin, 
we  are,  as  it  were,  letting  loose  a  wild  beast  which 
will  one  day  pounce  upon  ourselves  and  rend  us. 
'Our  deeds,'  says  one  of  our  English  novelists, 
'are like  children  that  are  born  to  us;  they  live 
and  act  apart  from  our  own  will.  Nay,  children 
may  be  strangled,  but  deeds  never :  they  have  an 
indestructible  life  both  in  and  out  of  our  conscious- 
ness.' It  is  an  absolute  law  which  no  contrivance 
or  cunning  is  able  to  arrest,  that  'with  what 
measure  we  mete,  it  will  be  measured  to  us  again'; 
and  it  is  not  only  at  the  Judgment  Seat  that  our 
sins  will  meet  us  face  to  face  and  call  us  to  account. 
The  day  of  reckoning  may  be  postponed,  but  it 
will  certainly  arrive  sooner  or  later;  and  the 
longer  it  Is  postponed,  the  heavier  the  interest  that 
will  have  accumulated. 

By  this  solemn  law  of  retribution  it  is  ordained 
that  we  shall  receive  back  not  merely  what  we 
have  given  but  incalculably  more.  Alike  for  the 
giver  of  good  and  for  the  giver  of  evil  the  law  is : 
'Give,  and  it  shall  be  given  unto  you;  good 
measure,  pressed  down,  and  shaken  together,  and 
running  over,  shall  they  give  into  your  bosom,' 
Accordingly,  the  deceitful  tongue  which  has  pierced 
the  innocent  with  its  arrows  and  scorched  them 
with  its  fire,  is  doomed  to  be  itself  transfixed  with 
arrows  of  the  mighty,  well  sharpened,  and  burned 
with  glowing  coals  of  juniper,  'What  shall  He 
give,  what  add,  unto  thee,  deceitful  tongue  ? '  Not 
simple  retribution,  but  retribution  upon  retribu- 
tion. Thou  shalt  'receive  of  the  Lord's  hand 
double  for  all  thy  sins.'  No  deed  is  trifling  if 
regard  be  had  to  the  magnitude  of  its  results.  It 
is  an  unspeakably  solemn  fact  that  by  the  mani- 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMEa 


fold  actions  of  daily  life,  which  appear  for  the 
most  part  so  trivial  and  of  such  slight  account,  we 
are  laying  up  for  ourselves  a  vast  heritage  of 
blessedness  or  of  sorrow. 

In  the  third  stanza  the  Psalmist  turns  awaj  from 
the  teachetous  Arabs  and  bewails  his  own  sad 
condition : 

Woe  i»  me  that  I  lojourn  in  Meshech, 
that  I  dwell  bj  (be  teols  of  Keiai  I 

In  view  of  the  falsehood  and  treacherjr  of  his 
enemies,  he  eagerly  anticipates  the  retribution 
which  is  sure  to  come;  but  in  view  of  his  own 
distresses  he  is  filled  with  impatience  and  despair. 
Retribution  is  indeed  sure  to  come,  but  it  comes 
so  very  slowly ! 

Too  long  hath  my  soul  bad  her  dwelling 
by  him  that  hateth  peace. 

The  Psalm  closes  in  utter  hopelessness  and  dis- 
couragement. ResisUnce  and  conciliation  were 
alike  vain.  For  the  former  the  exiles  were  too 
weak,  and  the  latter  was  scorned  by  their  per- 
secutors : 

I  am  all  peace,  but  wheo  I  speak 
they  are  for  war. 

One  cannot  help  feeling  that  this  Psalm  begins 
better  than  it  ends.  The  Psalmist  begins  by 
staying  himself  on  God's  past  deliverances.  So 
long  as  he  stands  here,  he  courageously  &ces 
present  distresses  and  confidently  anticipates  that 
God  will  deliver  him  again.  It  is  a  pity  that  he 
quits  this  ground  so  soon  and  betakes  himself  to 
revengeful  imprecation.  His  indignation  is  indeed 
neither  causeless  nor  exa^eiated;  at  the  same 


time  it  does  him  no  good  but  only  hanm.  It 
leaves  him  enfeebled  and  embittered.  It  would  ill 
become  us  to  cast  blame  on  this  sorely  vexed 
man.  His  provocation  was  great,  and  had  we 
been  in  his  place,  we  should  perhaps  have  been 
more  bitter  and  vindictive  than  he.  But  we 
ought  at  least  to  learn  wisdom  from  bis  mistake. 
Had  he  continued  as  he  began,  and,  instead  of 
cursing  bis  persecutors,  committed  himself  to  God 
and  calmly  waited  till  God  should  vindicate  him 
and  his  comrades,  he  would  not  have  ended  so 
darkly  and  dismally.  On  the  contrary,  he  would 
have  been  strengthened  and  encouraged.  The 
situation  would  have  remained  as  dangerous  and 
distressing  as  ever,  but,  had  be  only  trusted  God, 
he  would  have  discovered  that  behind  the  clouds 
the  sun  was  still  shining  and  the  sky  still  blue. 

Here  then  is  the  secret  of  hope  and  courage  in 
the  midst  of  distress  :  Remember  the  iovingkindnest 
of  the  Lord.  Say,  '  God  has  helped  me  in  the 
past,  and  He  will  help  me  again.'  Perhaps,  how- 
ever, we  are  so  blind  and  stupid  that  we  cannot 
see  that  ever  in  all  our  lives  has  God  helped  us. 
Then  we  can  still  say,  'He  has  helped  others. 
I  will  trust  Him,  and  He  will  help  me.*  The 
deliverances  which  God  has  wrought  for  others, 
are  so  many  pledges  that  He  will  do  no  less  for 
us  if  we  will  only  trust  Him  and  bravely  set  our- 
selves to  work  out  His  holy  Will.  When  we  are 
in  distress,  we  can  do  no  worse  than,  like  this 
Psalmist;  give  way  to  bitter  and  revengeful  feel- 
ings; nor  can  we  do  better  than  submissively  and 
lovingly  commit  ourselves  to  Him  who  is  to  all 
that  trust  Him  a  Refuge  and  Strength,  a  veiy 
present  Help  in  trouble. 


(geceni  J'oretgn  ^^eofojj. 


'tU  (Stessianic  Secret  in  t$e 

(Boepefe.'  ^ 

Readers  of  Dr.  Wrede's  earlier  essays  on  The 
Task  and  Method  of  {so-ealled)  New   Testament 

'  Dai  Metsiasgthtimnis  in  dta  Evangtlien.  Zurich  tin 
Btilrag  turn  Ventditdnis  dt!  Markusevangttiumt.  Von  Dr. 
W.  Wrede,  o.  Fioreiior  der  ev.  Theologie  lU  Breslau. 
Gotlingen  :  Vandenhoeck  &  Ruprechl,  190*.  F.  Bauer- 
meUter,  49  Gordon  Street,  Glatgow.  Price  M.S ;  bound, 
M.9. 


Theology  and  the  Epistle  of  Clemens  Romanus  will 
be  prepared  for  the  qualities  of  acuteness  and  inde- 
pendence which  are  conspicuous  in  this  daring, 
fresh,  and  carefully  written  monograph.  The  sub- 
title is  as  important  as  the  tide  itself.  The  thesis 
of  the  book  depends  finally  upon  exegetical  data, 
and  these  are  in  the  first  instance  drawn  from  the 
primitive  evangelic  tradition  embodied  in  Mark's 
Gospel,  which  the  author  believes  to  have  been 
composed  after  70  a.d.  in  advance  of  the  other 
Synoptics.     Priority  and  primitiveness,  however. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


are  not  allowed  to  involve  any  sacrosanct  or  his- 
torical infallibility.  So  far  from  accepting  the 
early  and  common  tradition  as  ipso  facto  entitled  to 
credence,  Dr.  Wrede  proceeds  to  expiscate  its 
contents,  with  the  result  that  the  Gospel  as  a 
whole  is  pronounced  defective  and  deceptive  from 
the  historical  standpoint,  while  one  series  of  pass- 
ages is  set  aside  as  due  to  special  theological  re- 
flection operating  on  the  primitive  tradition.  The 
basis  for  this  criticism  is  found  in  what  are  de- 
clared to  be  conflicting  strata  within  the  narrative. 
The  real  truth,  Dr.  Wrede  believes,  is  that  Jesus 
never  claimed  Messianic  dignity  during  His  life- 
time. He  had  no  such  ambitions,  and  therefore 
there  was  nothing  to  be  concealed  upon  His  part. 
All  was  open,  frank,  and  simple,  alike  in  His 
actions  and  in  His  utterances.  But  by  the  time  that 
Mark  came  to  tell  the  story  of  His  life,  theological 
reflection  had  been  at  work  upon  the  primitive 
tradition,  investing  it  with  Messianic  signiflcance 
and  throwing  back  into  the  earthly  life  part  of  the 
later  mystery  and  glory.  This  dermatic  atmo- 
sphere was  created,  not  by  the  Jewish  idea  of  a 
hidden  Messiah  (preserved,  e.g.,  in  Justin  Martyr), 
but  by  the  early  Christian  belief  that  the  resurrec- 
tion marked  the  full  entrance  of  Jesus  into  His 
Messianic  rule.  Then  for  the  first  time  He  was  re- 
cognized as  the  Christ  {Ro  i^)  and  completely  en- 
dowed with  power.  But,  men  proceeded  to  argue, 
perhaps  half  unconsciously,  what  of  His  life  on 
earth  ?  Must  not  that  also  have  had  some 
Messianic  meaning  and  content?  Surely  Jesus 
must  have  been  Messiah  from  the  first  in  some 
degree  7  And  i^  as  we  learn,  He  was  not  recog- 
nized as  such,  the  reason  must  have  been  that 
secrecy  was  His  desire  and  His  design.  Till  the 
resurrection  (Mk  9*,  etc.)  Jesus  must  have  been  in 
the  nature  of  the  case  a  mystery,  even  to  His  own 
adherents,  and  much  more  to  the  outside  world. 
So,  we  may  conjecture,  the  early  Church  reflected. 
The  result  is  that  its  earliest  product,  in  the  line 
of  evangelic  narrative,  contains  not  merely  a  nu- 
cleus of  historical  value,  but  a  large  amount  of 
variant  matter,  incidents  as  well  as  sayings,  in 
which  we  can  distinguish  more  or  less  clearly  a 
theological  idea  illustrated  and  expanded.  Such 
passages  include  all  recognitions  of  Jesus  as  the 
MessUh  by  dsemons  (iai-».8«  3I1-W  jK-t  ^soj^  ^11 
prohibitions  addressed  to  disciples,  daemons,  and 
others  with  regard  to  the  promulgation  of  His 
Messiahship (e,f.  i«-«>  5"  7«.«  8»-"o  9>-m*  10"'), 


the  repeated  attempts  of  Jesus  to  presene  His 
Messianic  incognito,  His  conception  of  the  parables 
as  an  open  secret  to  disciples  and  a  deliberate 
puzzle  to  outsiders,  His  predictions  of  the  death 
and  resurrection  {8"  ^\  ^o^'-),  and,  finally,  all 
references  to  the  'imbecility'  and  dulness  of  the 
disciples.  The  perspective  of  these  is  at  once 
wider  and  later  than  the  perspective  of  the  original 
hfe. 

Nor  is  this  standpoint  to  be  regarded  as  con- 
fined to  Mark,  although  in  his  Gospel  it  is  first 
and  most  fully  developed.  Matthew,  it  is  true, 
throws  the  daemonic  prohibitions  into  the  back- 
ground, and  regards  the  disciples  as,  on  the  whole, 
less  blameworthy  for  their  failure  to  understand 
Jesus.  To  this  evangelist  the  secret  of  the 
Messiahship  is  an  occasional  element,  no  longer 
primary.  But  in  Luke  the  daemonic  antithesis 
again  becomes  prominent,  and  the  general  con- 
ception of  Christ's  mysterious  Messianic  r61e 
approximates  decidedly  to  that  of  Mark.  Still 
more  evidently  in  the  Fourth  Gospel  the  Marcan 
^econception  is  elaborated.  The  forms  of  ex- 
pression naturally  differ,  but  substantially  the  same 
idea  underlies  both  Gospels.  Here  also  even  the 
disciples  fail  to  grasp  the  divine  revelation  of  their 
Lord.  His  earthly  life  is  a  manifestation  of  the 
divine  truth — but  a  manifestation  <V  ■tn.poi^daix. 
The  secret  things  of  His  person  and  mission 
remain  a  riddle  till  the  Spirit  comes,  and  with 
the  Spirit  light  daWns  for  the  first  time  on  the . 
actual  meaning  of  His  existence. 

With  Dr.  Wrede's  entire  principles  and  positions 
there  is  no  need  to  quarrel.  Some  are  valid 
enough ;  others  are  reasonable,  within  limits.  One 
is  not  concerned  to  claim  absolute  chronological 
accuracy  for  the  order  of  events  in  Mark's  Gospel, 
although  much  more  might  be  urged  on  its  behalf 
than  he  is  disposed  to  admit.  Nor  can  it  be 
denied  that  the  story  embodied  in  this  Gospel 
may  have  been,  and  probably  has  been,  tinged 
with  later  conceptions.  But  this  element  is  seri- 
ously exaggerated.  Doubtless  the  level  of  his- 
toricity is  not  uniform,  and  some  passages  contain 
strange  phenomena.  But  any  sweeping  deprecia- 
tion of  Mark's  historicity  carries  little  or  no  con- 
viction with  it,  and  one  must  admit  that  it  sounds 
almost  like  a  fantastic  paradox  to  describe  such  a 
narrative  as  thoroughly  dogmatic,  destitute  of 
serious  historical  importance,  and  so  symbolic 
that  recurring  phrases  like  ro  opis  and  tit  oiKtac 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


are  practically  symbols  for  stales  of  manifestation 
and  retirement.  Such  a  theory  vouM  require 
far  more  consistent  and  ample  evidence  than  Dr. 
Wrede,  with  all  his  keennesB,  has  been  able  to 
adduce.  Indeed,  many  of  the  discrepancies  upon 
which  his  ai^ument  is  really  based  are  quite 
imaginary;  they  rise  when  too  logical  and  literal  a 
test  is  applied  to  naive  nanatives,  and  for  the 
most  part  they  vanish  so  soon  as  the  criterion 
is  modified  by  common  sense.  Certainly  the 
'psychological'  method  of  interpreting  the 
Gospels  has  often  been  discredited  by  its  har- 
monizing and  modernizing  forms.  It  may  be 
employed  to  explain  away  rather  than  to  explain. 
But  obviously  there  is  a  via  media  between  such 
extravagances  and  so  rigorous  a  rejection  of  the 
method  as  that  proposed  and  practised  in  this 
treatise.  After  all,  the  evangelic  narrative  was 
concerned  with  living  men,  often  inconsistent, 
often  unconscious  of  their  inconsistencies.  Human 
experience  has  a  rhythm  of  its  own,  which  is 
seldom  as  clear  and  straightforward  as  the  move- 
ments of  dialectic.  Vestiges  of  this  are  sure  to 
exist  in  any  record.  And  if  this  factor  had  been 
recognized  more  cordially  by  Dr.  Wrede,  it  would 
have  materially  altered  the  aspect  of  a  number  of 
sayings  and  incidents  which,  when  viewed  merely 
as  passages  in  a  document,  may  seem  dim  and 
incoherent.  In  a  word,  the  standard  applied  here 
to  the  gospel  tradition  appears  to  be  far  too 
.  prosaic  and  literary.  Even  from  a  scientific  stand- 
point, it  is  inferior  to  that  applied  by  writers  like 
J.  Weiss,  Holizmann,  and  Jiilicher. 

This  genera]  criticism  might  be  worked  out  in 
detail.  But  space  forbids.  The  only  special 
remark  which  we  would  make  with  reference  to 
the  exegesis  is  that  the  writer  occasionally  fails 
to  adequately  appreciate  certain  awkward  points  : 
e^.  the  vapfnivia.  in  8'^  (which  forms  the  clue  to 
some  previous  passages  like  2^"- ^  i"**), ihe  oifirio 
in  4*"  (which  surely  implies  some  previous  ac- 
quaintance), and  the  presence  of  iroXtv  in  lo'^. 
Here,  and  at  several  other  stages  in  this  clever 
analysis,  one  is  provoked  to  dissent.  But,  as  a 
whole,  the  discussion,  however  unconvincing, 
always  sets  one  thinking,  although  one  has  to  con- 
stantly discount  a  repugnance  to  the  'super- 
natural '  (which,  by  the  way,  is  never  defined). 
The  real  merit  of  the  book  lies  in  its  stimulating 
quality  rather  than  in  the  conclusions  which  it 
proposes  to  establish.     It  views  things  from  a  new 


angle,  and  it  will  probably  do  service  in  many 
quarters  by  calling  attention  to  quite  a  number  of 
points  in  Mark  and  the  other  Gospels,  which  are 
not  to  be  so  readily  solved  as  many  editors  and 
theologians  apparently  imagine.  We  owe  Dr. 
Wrede  thanks  for  his  obstinate  questioning  and 
undaunted  originality.  He  is  an  Isbmaelite  in 
criticism.  His  work  stands  quite  apart  from  the 
dominant  schools  even  in  Continental  theology, 
his  main  allies  being  of  the  past,  Bruno  Bauer, 
Volkmar,  and  Hoekstra.  But  it  will  be  impos- 
sible for  any  serious  critic  in  future  to  edit  the 
Gospels  or  discuss  the  Messianic  consciousness  of 
Jesus,  without  coming  to  terms  with  the  argument 
which  runs  through  this  radical  and  subtle 
contribution  to  New  Testament  interpretation. 

Unfortunately,  Hollmann's  recent  essay :  Die 
Bedeutung  des  Tedes  Jem,  and  Oscar  Holtzmann's 
Lebenjeiv  appeared  too  late  for  use  in  Dr.  Wrede's 
pages.  This  is  especially  to  be  regretted,  as  both 
volumes,  and  particularly  the  former,  traverse 
by  anticipation  the  ground  which  he  covers. 
Both  find  little  or  no  difficulty  in  treating  the 
gospel  tradition  with  equal  candour,  yet  with  a 
much  less  sceptical  spirit ;  and  in  this  they  repre- 
sent, it  must  be  added,  the  main  current  of  contem- 
porary scientific  thought  upon  the  subject.  Other- 
wise, Dr.  A\'rede  deals  adequately  and  vivaciously 
with  most  of  his  predecessors  and  contemporaries. 
But  his  knowledge  of  the  literature  of  his  subject 
is  hardly  perfect.  He  seems  ignorant  of  Dr. 
Martineau  in  this  country,  whose  position  was  not 
far  removed  from  that  advocated  by  himself.  Nor 
does  he  betray  familiarity  with  French  writers  like 
Stapfer  and  R^ville,  or  with  English  authors  like 
Dr.  James  Drummondand  the  late  Dr.  Bruce,  from 
all  of  whom  even  he  has  some  things  yet  to  team. 
James  Moffatt. 

Dundanald, 


|icmn'«  £«fe«<  <Wotft.' 

Our  readers  will  remember  the  interest  that  was 
awakened  two  years  ago  by  Sellin's  Serubbabel,  in 
which  the  author  sought  to  identify  the  suffering 
'  Studien  :ur  Enlstehungzgctchicktt  der  jiid.  Gemeinde 
nock  dtiti  bahylstt.  Eiil.  VoD  E.  Sellin.  I.  '  Det  Koecht 
Gottc9  bei  Deuterjoeiaja'  (M.  6.  50):  II.  'Die  Reslauia- 
lion  det  jiid.  Gem«inde  in  den  Jabren  538-516.— Das 
Schicksal  Serubbabels'  (M.^-SO)  i  the  two  volume] 
together  M.to.  Leipzig:  A.Deichen;  London:  Williams 
&  Norgate,  1901.  ri/o-  h,  X^7f>'VL»^ 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


"3 


Servant  of  Deutero-Isaiah  with  Zenibbabel.    The 
book  encountered  much  hostile  criticism,  some  of 
it  not  altogether  fair,  as  the  author  points  out  in 
the    work   before    us.     He   takes   exception,  in 
particular    to     the    strictures     of     Oettli     and 
Giesebrecht,  with  both  of  whom  he  deals  some- 
what sharply.     At  the  same  time  he  has  been  led, 
partly  by  the  objections  of  Nowack  and  Meinhold, 
and  partly  by  renetved  examination  of  the  whole 
problem    of   Deutero-Isaiah,    to    reconsider    his 
position,  and,  while  he  still  holds  himself  entitled 
to  believe  in  an  exaltation  of  Zerubbabel  to  the 
Davidic  throne,  followed   by  his  overthrow  and 
imprisonment,  if  not  death,  at  the  hands  of  the 
Persians,  he  gives  up  hb  identity  with  the  Servant 
of  the  Lord.    This  change  of  opinion  has  been 
brought  about  partly  by  his  study  of  Ed.  Konig's 
The    Exiled    Book  of    Consolation    (Edinburgh: 
T.  &  T.  Clark,  1899,  price  3s.   6d.),  and  by  his 
acceptance  of  that  author's  contentions  in  favour 
of  a  Babylonian  origin  for  certain  parts  of  Deutero- 
Isaiah  which  Sellin  formerly  held  to  have  been 
composed  in  Palestine.    But  he  is  still  confident 
that  the  Servant  is  an  individual  and  a  member  of 
the  Davidic  family.     His  new  candidate  for  the 
honour  is   king  Jehoiachin,  whose  surrender  to 
king  Nebuchadnezzar  is  held  to  have  been  an  act 
of  self-sacrifice  on  behalf  of  his  people  (as  it  prob- 
ably was),  and  whose  memory,  it  is  argued  from 
various  O.T.  references,  was  fondly  cherished  in 
the  hearts  of  his  countrymen. 

We  cannot  pretend  to  have  any  expectation  that 
this  new  proposal  will  hold  the  field  any  more 
than  its  predecessor.  For  ourselves  we  are 
convinced  that  the  collutivt  and  not  the  individual 
interpretation  of  the  Servant  is  the  correct  one. 
But  even  those  who  hold  that  the  Servant  is  an 
individual  will  find  weighty  objections  to  the 
identification  with  Jehoiachin  (witness  Bertholet's 
powerful  criticism  in  the  Theol.  Literatuneitung, 
14th  and  £8thSeptemberi9oi).  At  the  same  time 
we  freely  acknowledge  the  great  ability  of  Sellin's 
argument,  and  the  valuable  sidelight  it  throws 
upon  much  that  is  obscure  in  the  period  of  Jewish 
history  with  which  it  deals.  The  book  is  written 
in  a  clear  flowing  style,  and  the  reader's  interest 
is  never  allowed  to  flag.  It  deserves  to  be  widely 
read. 

Pethaps  the  author  will  meet  with  more  assent 
to  his  conclusions  in  that  part  of  his  work  which 
deals  with  the  history  of  the  Return  as  told  in  the 


Book  of  Ezra.  The  Chronicler  fares  much  better 
at  his  hands  than  at  those  of  Kosters,  Wellhausen, 
Maiquart,  and  similar  writers.  Sellin's  results  are 
in  many  ways  akin  to  those  reached  by  Ed.  Meyer 
in  his  Entstekung  des  Jtuien/hums.  The  last  word 
has  not  yet  been  spoken  on  this  subject,  but 
Sellin  has  materially  contributed  to  the  settlement 
of  the  questions  that  yet  remain  open,  and 
the  scientific  spirit  and  value  of  his  investigations 
will  be  universally  acknowledged. 


^ftacft'e  '  (0ramtn<tT  of  Q^iBftcaf 

It  is  very  gratifying  to  note  that  Professor  Strack's 
admirable  Grammar  of  Biblical  Aramaic  has 
reached  a  third  edition.  It  contains  all  that  the 
student  who  wishes  to  make  a  thorough  acquaint- 
ance with  the  Aramaic  portions  of  the  O.T. 
requires.  As  compared  with  former  editions,  the 
present  work  shows  a  considerable  number  of 
additions  and  improvements  which  materially 
increase  its  usefulness.  The  Grammar  proper 
(pp.  9-40)  has  been  thoroughly  revised  and  has 
gained  in  clearness  of  arrangement.  The  texts 
have  been  collated  afresh  and  with  the  aid  of 
additional  MSS.,  while  a  number  of  passages, 
Dn  s'^'"- ^*^*  4*'-?^  are  given  with  the  supra- 
linear  punctuation.  The  vocabulary  is  concise 
but  adequate.  Dr.  S track  is  to  be  heartily 
congratulated  on  the  success,  which,  in  spite  of 
obstacles  that  ought  never  to  have  arisen,  has 
attended  the  publication  of  this  work,  and  we 
rejoice  that  the  expectations  we  expressed  in  these 
pages  in  May  1S96  regarding  what  was  then  only 
an  Abriss,  have  been  realized  in  the  appearance  of 
this  Grammar,  which  ought  to  be  as  popular  as  it 
is  scientific  and  reliable. 


(^ieceffaneouB. 

In  his  Rectorial  Address  last  August,  Professor 
Harnack  of  Berlin  discusses  the  question  which  is 

'  Grammatik  des  Biblisilt-Aramaischen,  mil  den  naik 
Handschrifltn  biricklipen  Texlin  und  einem  WMcrbuck. 
Von  Professor  II.  L.  Sttack,  Dritte  grossenihcils  neubear- 
beiwte  Auflage.  Lcipiig:  J.  C.  Hinriehs,  1901.  Price 
M.Si  bound,  M.a.so.  1  170-  h,  X^iLf*.'^^!*^ 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


often  raised  at  the  present  day,  whether  the 
Theological  Faculty  in  the  Universities  ought  to 
confine  itself  to  the  Christian  religion  or  to  take 
the  wider  scope  of  dealing  with  the  general 
History  of  Religion.  Harnack  does  full  justice  to 
the  arguments  that  support  this  latter  course,  but 
decides  without  hesitation  in  favour  of  the  present 
arrangement.  He  urges  forcibly  that  the  Christian 
religion  has  such  characteristics  that  'the  man 
who  knows  it  not,  knows  no  religion,  whereas  he 
who  knows  it  and  its  history,  knows  all  religions.' 
'  Christianity  in  its  pure  form  is  not  a  religion  side 
by  side  with  others,  it  is  the  religion,'  The 
lecture,  which  is  published  in  pamphlet  form 
by  J.  Ricker,  Giessen  {Die  Aufgabe  der  theoL 
Facuitdlen  und  die  allgemeine  Retigionsgeschichie, 
price  50  pf.),  and  which  we  are  glad  to  see  has 
already  reached  a  third  edition,  deserves  to  be 
widely  read. 

Dr.  Otto  Scahlin  has  rendered  a  real  service  to 
Septuagintal  study  by  the  publication  of  his 
Clemens  Alexandrinus  und  die  Septuaginta 
(Niimberg:  J.  L.  Stich,  1901).  Clement's  quota- 
tions are  numerous,  and  show  an  acquaintance  with 
all  the  books  included  in  the  LXX,  except  Ruth, 
Canticles,  Obadiah,  the  Epistle  of  Jeremy,  and  3 
and  4  Maccabees.  No  distinction  is  made  in 
the  quotations  between  canonical  and  deutero- 
canonical  books.  Dr.  Stahlin  goes  carefully 
through  the  quotations  from  the  various  books, 
and  lias  no  difficulty  in  reaching  the  conclusion 
that  in  many  instances  Clement  quoted,  not  from 
memory,  but  directly  from  MSS.  Unfortunately, 
however,  his  study  has  not  led  him  to  any  positive 
result  as  to  the  particular  form  of  recension  or 
class  of  MSS  to  which  the  text  used  by  Clement 
belonged.  It  is  true  that  his  text  throughout 
diverges  from  B,  and  that  in  the  Pentateuch  it 
shows  a  frequent  affinity  to  Lucian,  or  perhaps, 
rather  to  A.  These  results  may  appear  rather 
meagre  and  disappointing,  but  students  of  the 
LXX  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  Stahlin  for  the 
materials  he  has  collected  and  the  great  care  with 
which  he  has  handled  them.  When  we  add  that 
the  author  expresses  his  indebtednes  for  help 
throughout  the  work  to  Dr.  Nestle,  students  will 
know  what  to  expect  in  the  way  of  fulness  and 
accuracy. 

''ne  of  the  most  important  contributions  that 


have  been  yet  offered  on  the  subject  of  the  origin 
and  history  of  the  tribes  of  Israel  is  contained 
in  Dr.  Carl  Steuemagel's  Die  Einwanderung 
der  israel.  Stdmme  in  Kanaan  (Berlin :  C.  A. 
Schwetschke  &  Sohn,  1901 ;  price  M.3.60).  Dr. 
Steuernagel  is  too  well  known  as  a  critic  (and 
the  present  work  will  sustain  that  reputation)  to 
incur  any  risk  of  being  set  down  as  an  '  apologist,' 
although  some  of  his  conclusions  might,  in  some 
quarters,  earn  for  him  that  name.  He  sets  him- 
self in  this  book  to  a  careful  study  of  the  Israel- 
itish  tradition  regarding  the  tribes  and  their 
movements,  and  discovers  far  more  material  that 
can  be  turned  to  historical  use  than  it  has  been  the 
fashion  to  allow.  Even  the  stories  of  the  patriarchs 
yield,  in  his  hands,  valuable  data,  A  great  deal 
of  interest  attaches  to  his  handling  of  the  period 
of  the  Judges.  He  believes  himself  entitled  to 
conclude  that  the  various  tribes,  immediately  after 
the  entrance  into  Canaan,  occupied  quite  dilTerent 
settlements  from  those  in  which  we  find  them 
at  a  later  time.  On  the  question  of  the  conquest 
of  Canaan,  the  number  of  tribes  that  took  part 
in  it,  etc.,  our  author  reaches  conclusions  that 
differ  greatly  from  the  traditional  ones,  but  which 
are  coming  to  be  familiar  and  widely  accepted. 
Dr  Steuernagel  himself  would  be  the  last  to  claim 
finality  for  all  his  results,  but  he  is  entitled  to 
a  careful  study  of  his  book,  and  to  have  a  more 
excellent  way  pointed  out  to  him,  if  such  exists. 

Dr.  Otto  Weber,  a  pupil  of  Professor  Hommel, 
has  published  his  Inaugural  Dissertation  on  the 
age  of  the  Min^ean  kingdom  {Studien  zur  SUdarah. 
Altertumskunde :  I.  '  Das  Alter  des  Minaischen 
Reiches ' ;  Berlin  (Peiser),  1901,  price  M.3). 
Readers  of  The  Expository  Times  are  well  aware, 
from  Professor  Hommel's  own  contributions,  of 
the  importance  for  O.T.  study  of  the  Mituean 
inscriptions.  A  burning  question  at  present  is 
whether  the  Min^ean  and  Sab^ean  kingdoms  existed 
contemporaneously  (D.  H.  Miiller,  Mordtmann, 
et  al.),  or  whether  the  Minxan  kingdom  was  prior 
to  the  Sabxan,  which  destroyed  it  and  took  its 
place  (Glascr,  Hommel,  et  al.)  Dr.  Weber  argues 
powerfully  in  favour  of  the  latter  theory,  and  in 
the  Dissertation  before  us  collects  all  the  data 
available  for  a  decision.  His  contribution  to  the 
discussion  will  no  doubt  find,  as  it  deserves, 
many  readers,  and  will  receive  full  attention  from 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


"5 


Amongst  the  contributions  to  the  recent '  Fest- 
schrift fiir  B  Stade '  was  Dr.  v.  Gall's  Zusammemtt- 
sung  und  Hirkun/t  dtr  Bikam-Perikope  (Giessen  : 
J.  Ricker,  1900,  price  M.i.so).  We  may  say, 
at  once,  that  while  the  Balaam  episodes  in  Nu 
33-34  b^^c  i)cit\i  difBculties,  and  while  the  analysis 
of  these  chapters  has  perhaps  never  been  satis- 
factorily achieved,  we  find  it  impossible  to  follow 
Freiherr  v.  Gall  in  his  extreme  conclusions.  The 
investigation  of  the  sources  is  certainly  marked 
by  acuteness  and  abundant  learning,  but  the  mere 
sUtement  of  the  results  he  reaches  will  be  enough 
in  the  estimation  of  many  to  condemn  them.  In 
regard  to  the  narrative  portions  he  believes  that 
there  were  originally  two  Balaam  stories,  one  by 
J,  the  other  by  E,  and  that  each  knew  of  only 
one  blessing  of  Israel.  The  two  stories  were 
combined  by  R^^  in  such  a  way  that  again  only 
one  blessing  was  recbrded.  Two  further  blessings 
were  afterwards  interpolated  in  this  narrative  by 
two  different  hands.  And,  finally,  prophecies 
about  other  peoples  were  at  a  later  period 
added  by  various  hands.  The  poetical  passages 
ate  considered  by  v.  Gall  to  be  all  of  late 
origin,  emanating  from  the  post -exilic  period, 
and  in  part  as  late  as  the  days  of  Jesus 
Christ! 

In  consequence  of  the  progress  which  the  last 
few  years  have  witnessed  in  the  investigation  of 
the  laws  of  Hebrew  metre,  and,  in  particular,  on 
account  of  the  appearance  of  various  works  on 
Jeremiah,  Professor  Comill  has  felt  compelled, 
with  the  sanction  of  P.  Haupt,  to  publish  a  text 
of  the  metrical  passages  of  that  prophet,  which 
is  meant  to  be  an  improvement  on  the  text  he 
has  already  furnished  for  the  S.B.O.T.  This 
new  text  will  form  the  basts  of  the  translation 
and  notes  in  the  Polychrome  Bible,  and  it  was 
published  a  few  months  ago  mainly  in  order  that 
it  might  appear  before  Duhm's  'Jeremiah,'  which 
was  issued  very  soon  thereafter.  The  whole 
arcumstances  are  explained  by  Professor  Cornill 
in  his  Preface,  which  invests  with  quite  a  pathetic 
interest  the  figures  of  editor,  contributor,  and 
publisher  in  these  days  of  high  pressure.  The 
little  work,  now  that  it  has  been  safely  issued, 
will  be  welcomed  by  all  O.T.  scholars  {Die 
metristhtn  Stiicke  des  Buches  Jeremia  reconstruirt, 
von  C.  H.  Cornill ;  Leipzig :  J.  C.  Hinrichs,  1901, 
price  M.i.so). 


Dr.  O.  Herrigel,  Stadtvikar  in  Carlsruhe,  ren- 
dered a  service  to  N.T.  students  some  eighteen 
months  ago  by  the  publication  in  Hilgenfeld's 
Zeittchrift  of  his  verbatim  report  of  the  late  Dr. 
Carl  Holsten's  class  lecture  on  the  results  of  his- 
torical criticism  as  regards  the  Canon  of  the  N.T. 
We  called  attention  at  the  time  to  this  publication, 
and  we  have  now  the  pleasure  of  noting  that  in  the 
same  periodical  (pp.  334-369)  Dr.  Herrigel  has 
published  a  similar  report  of  Dr.  Holsten's  latest 
utterances  (from  the  Professor's  own  papers)  on  the 
important  questions  raised  by  the  Epistles  to  the 
Corinthians  {Einleitung  in  die  Korinthtrbrieje). 

Professor  Rothstejn  of  Halle,  so  well  and  so 
favourably  known  as  an  O.T.  scholar  who  always 
has  a  practical  as  well  as  a  speculative  interest 
in  tbe  problems  raised  by  historical  criticism,  has 
published  a  volume  which  ought  to  serve  a  useful 
purpose  at  the  present  juncture  (Bilder  aus  der 
Gesckichte  des  alien  Bundes  in  gemeinverstdndlicher 
Form;  Eriangen  :  Fr.  Junge,  1901).  It  will  reas- 
sure many  as  to  the  possibility  of  combining  the 
scientific  treatment  of  the  O.T.  and  the  acceptance 
of  many  of  the  predominant  results  of  literary 
criticism  with  a  deep  sense  of  the  uniqueness  and 
the  abiding  value  of  Scripture.  It  is  a  work,  too, 
from  which  even  those  who  may  consider  the 
author's  standpoint  somewhat  conservative  may 
learn  much.  The  first  60  pages  of  the  book 
are  occupied  with  preliminary  matter,  and  then 
comes  the  first  Scripture  character  studied,  Moses 
(pp.  61-394),  This  is  only  the  first  of  a  series 
of  studies,  for  which  we  would  bespeak  a  hearty  " 
welcome.  • 

The  first  and  second  issues  of  the  aoth  vol.  of 
Messrs.  Schwetscbke  &  Sohn's  invaluable  Jahres- 
berieht  have  reached  us.  The  former  of  these 
(price  M.9)  has  for  its  subject  'Exegese,'  and 
Bruno  Baentsch  is  responsible  for  the  O.T.  part, 
A  Meyer  for  the  N."!".  The  other  is  devoted 
to  '  Historische  Theologie,'  and  is  the  work  of 
Liidemann,  Preuschen,  Ficker,O.CIemen,  Loesche, 
Kohlschmidt,  Lehmann,  Hcgler,  and  Koehler.  It 
is  unnecessary  to  repeat  the  testimony  we  have 
frequently  borne  to  the  fulness  and  accuracy  of 
this  great  work,  which  is  invaluable  to  all  students 
of  theology. 

Maryiullir,  Aberdten.  O 


THE   EXPOSITORY   TIMES. 


The  Text  of  the  New  Testament' 

The  Theologische  fiundschau  occupies  a  unique 
place  amongst  German  leviews.  It  is  a  monthly 
that  does  not  aim  at  noticing  every  publication  of 
the  month,  but  new  books  are  promptly  entered  in 
the  Bibliography,  which  is  nov  issued  separately. 
Each  of  the  several  branches  of  theological  and 
biblical  study  is  assigned  to  one  of  the  experts  on 
the  long  list  of  contributors,  and  from  time  to 
time  an  article  appears  which  gives  a  survey  of  all 
the  literature  published  on  that  particular  subject 
since  the  last  notice  was  written.  By  this  means 
it  is  possible,  in  a  few  pages,  to  give  reviews  which 
are  not  scrappy  and  which  do  not  overlook  any 
work  of  importance.  An  excellent  example  of  the 
working  of  this  plan  is  furnished  in  a  recent  article 
on  'The  Text  of  the  NewTesUment'  by  the  senior 
editor.  Dr.  Bousset. 

It  is  nearly  three  years  since  the  appearance  of 
Dr.  Boussef  s  first  article  on '  The  Textual  Criticism 
of  the  New  TesUment,'  and  his  formidable  list  of 
books,  which  have  been  published  during  this 
period,  bears  eloquent  testimony  to  the  activity  of 
workers  in  this  department  of  study.  As  was  to 
be  expected,  the  foremost  place  is  given  to  Dr. 
Caspar  R.  Gregory's  great  work,  the  first  volume  of 
which  was  issued  last  year.  '  It  may  be  regarded 
as  a  new  German  edition  of  the  Latin  prolegomena ' 
which  Dr.  Gregory  contributed  to  TischendorPs 
ediiio  octazia  major,  but  use  is  made  of  the  con- 
stantly accumulating  material  which  is  now  so 
abundant  as  almost  to  be  embarrassing.  Special 
praise  is  given  to  the  very  instructive  'Introduc- 
tion '  prefixed  to  the  list  of  Greek  Liturgies. 

The  greater  part  of  Dr.  Bousset's  article  is  de- 
voted to  an  examination  and  estimate  of  the  con- 
tributions made  to  the  solution  of  the  outstanding 
problem — the  value  of  the  'Western'  text, — by 
writers  who  have  supported  or  opposed  the  well- 
known  theories  of  Dr.  Blass.  It  is  a  fault  of 
Nestle's  excellent  and  well-written  Introduction  to 
the  Greek  New  Testament  that  its  arguments  in 
favour  of  the  ^  text  (Western)  read  too  much  like 
special  pleading,  whilst  the  instances  cited  by 
opponents  of  the  theory  of  Blass  ought,  in  a  hand- 

'  Thialegiiche  Rundschau,      Vwiter  Jahi^ang.     Neuntes 
't,     Tubingen:  J.   C.  B.  Mohr.     London:  Williams  & 


book,  to  be  more  'objectively'  considered.  Dr. 
Theodore  Zahn  is  rightly  described  as  one  of  the 
most  influential  supporters  of  the  views  advocated 
by  Dr.  Blass,  and  yet  on  the  important  question  of 
the  variants  in  Ac  15  these  two  critics  come  to 
opposite  conclusions.  The  /3  text  omits  from 
the  apostolic  decree  the  words  '  and  from  things 
strangled '  (koI  xwwrii') ;  it  also  inserts  the  Golden 
Rule.  Zahn  maintains  that  in  this  passage  the 
reading  of  the  /S  text  cannot  be  primary,  and  his 
argument  is  convincing ;  but  Bousset  remarks 
with  force:  'The  conclusion  that  a  secondary 
reading  does  not  belong  to  the  original  ^  text  is  a 
petitio  prindpii,  which  assumes  what  needs  to  be 
proved,  namely,  the  superiority  and  originality  of 
the  J3  text.' 

In  Bousset's  judgment  Hamack  has  established 
the  secondary  character  of  the  j8  text  in  Ac  1 1*^-** 
i8'"".  On  these  and  on  other  grounds  it  is  held 
that  although  the  researches  of  Blass  have  given  a 
powerful  impulse  to  the  work  of  textual  critics,  his 
chief  hypothesis  has  not  been  established.  Quite 
recently  Blass  has  modified  his  own  theory,^  for  he 
no  longer  regards  the  jStext  as  the  original  of  the 
Acts.  The  iS  text  and  the  a  text'  are,  according 
to  his  latest  statement,  the  first  and  the  second 
editions  respectively  of  an  original  which  remained 
in  the  hands  of  Luke. 

Bousset  speaks  in  terms  of  high  appreciation  of 
Mr.  Barnard's  work  ■  in  the  Cambridge  series  of 
'Texts  andStudies.'  Clement  of  Alexandria  is  one 
of  our  oldest  witnesses  ;  in  Barnard's  collection  of 
biblical  quotations  found  in  Clement's  writings  we 
have  fragments  of  a  New  Testament  of  the  second 
century,  and  careful  study  of  these  fragments 
shows  that  the  peculiarities  of  the  j9  text  are  found 
in ,  the  text  used  by  Clement.  Nevertheless, 
Bousset  denies  the  inference  drawn  from  these 
facts  by  Mr.  Burkitt  that  the  /3  text  is  the  oldest 
accessible.  That  it  seems  to  be  older  than  the 
Bk  text  he  allows ;  but  the  Bk  text  may  be  a 
learned  Alexandrine  recension,  and  yet  it  may  also 
be  purer  than  the  ^  text,  for  the  scribe  may  have 
corrected  the  jS  text  by  comparison  with  older 
manuscripts. 

Fragments  of  a  MS.  containing  one-third  of 
Matthew's  Gospel  and  written  in  gold  letters  on 
purple  vellum  were  recently  discovered  in  Sinope. 
Omont's  edition  of  this  MS.  shows  that  its  text  is 


'  Sludittt  and  Kritiktrt,  1900,  11  und  19.  l  '  | 
^  The  Biblical  Ttil  of  Clcmenl  ef  Altxand^. 


11^ 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


127 


almost  identical  with  the  text  of  the  three  purple 
codices  N29.  Bousset  thinks  that  all  these  MSS 
were  produced  in  the  sixth  century  and  probably 
at  Constantinople.  He  appositely  quotes  Cbrys- 
ostom's  polemic  against  those  who  covet  these 
editicnes  de  luxe,  but  do  not  covet  the  wisdom 
treasured  up  in  the  words  written  in  golden  letters. 

The  attention  of  an  editor,  who  seldom  nods 
and  to  whom  all  his  readers  are  greatly  indebted, 
may  be  directed  to  an  amusing  slip  in  the  last 
issue  of  his  Bibliograpkie.  Under  the  heading 
*  History  of  Israel '  there  is  this  entry :  Lamb 
(Charles),  Essays  of  Elia  I  Let  us  hope  that  the 
mistake  has  introduced  some  German  student  of 
the  Hebrew  prophet's  life  to  the  genial  English 
essayist.  J.  G.  Tasker. 

Haitdiwertk  CalUgc, 

Historical  and  Dogmatic  Method  in 
Theology. 

Reischle,  a  member  of  the  Ritschlian  school, 
contributes  to  the  July  and  August  numbers  of  the 
Tfuohgische  Jiundschau  an  important  article  on  the 
above  subject.  It  is  a  criticism  of  an  article  by 
Troeltsch,  written  in  opposition  to  an  apologetic 
essay  by  Niebergall,  'On  the  Absoluteness  of 
Christianity,'  in  which  two  propositions  were 
proved.  'The  moral  personality  is  an  absolute 
magnitude,'  and  'Christ  gives  us  the  perfect 
satisfaction  of  the  deepest  needs  of  our  moral 
personality.'  Troeltsch  condemns  Niebergall's 
method  as  dogmatic,  and  in  antagonism  states  what 
he  calls  the  historical.  While  he  insists  on  the 
application  to  Christianity  as  lo  the  other  religions 
of  the  historical  method  ;  yet  he  modifies  that 
method  in  important  respects :  (i)  he  admits  that 
religious  psychology  reaches  in  the  leading  per- 
sonalities of  religious  history,  '  a  last  fact  akin  and 
yet  unlike  to  moral  judgment  and  aesthetic  taste,  a 
life  of  the  soul,  which  reveals  the  independence, 
the  inner  unity,  and  the  originality  of  religion,' 
'  the  original  actual,  repeatedly  experienced  contact 
with  God ' ;  (a)  he  maintains  that  in  the  history  of 
religions  we  may  discover  progress,  and  are  led  lo 
the  conclusion  that  in  Christianity  this  progress 
has  reached  its  highest  stage.  In  discovering  this 
progress  we  are  guided  by  our  personal  feeling,  and 
in  our  conclusion  about  Christianity  all  we  can 
affirm  is  that '  it  is  relatively  the  highest  of  exist- 
ing religions,  not  that  it  is  the  absolute  religion,' 


although  a  higher  may  be  for  us  inconceivable ; 
(3)  he  holds  that  all  logical,  epistemological, 
and  ethical  problems  point  for  their  solution  to  a 
highest  unity,  an  absolute  consciousness;  and 
although  this  is  not  the  religious  conception  of 
God,  it  leaves  in  human  thought  a  place  where 
this  conception  can  find  room. 

In  criticism  of  this  method,  claiming  to  be 
historical,  and  not  dogmatic,  Reischle  points  out ; 
(i)  that  Troeltsch  'steps  altogether  out  of  the 
limits  of  the  historical  standpoint,'  when  he  in- 
troduces as  an  explanation  of  the  phenomena  of 
religion  a  mystical  experience  of  the  presence  of 
God  in  the  leading  personalities,  based  on  divine 
revelation ;  {%)  that  be  forsakes  the  path  of  purely 
historical  observation,  when  as  a  conclusion  from  a 
comparison,  he  represents  Christianity  as  the  crown 
of  the  religious  development;  (3)  that  personal 
conviction  is  an  active  factor  in  the  solution  of  the 
problems  of  thought.  In  these  respects  a  limit  is 
set  to  historical  relativity  by  a  systematic,  we  can 
even  say  dogmatic  point  of  view,  which  is  due  to  a 
conviction  of  faith.  This  method,  Reischle  con- 
cludes, is  not  so  very  different  from  that  followed 
by  theologians  influenced  by  Ritschl.  For  they 
also  accept  a  comparison  of  religions,  seek  to  carry 
this  out  without  partiality,  admit  a  universal  reve- 
lation, and  attempt  to  base  on  this  comparison  a 
historical  and  philosophical  view  of  the  history  of 
religion.  Further,  they  too  recognize  the  neces- 
sity of  proving  that  Christian  ideas  are  not  opposed 
to  a  philosophical  world-view  or  the  results  of 
particular  sciences. 

But  there  are  also  differences  as  regards  method 
and  result.  As  regards  method;  (i)  instead  of 
attempting  a  spiritual  metaphysics  dealing  with 
these  last  problems  of  thought,  as  Troeltsch  does, 
the  Ritschlians  are  content  with  a  critical  epistem- 
ology,  while  not  denying  that  a  personal  conviction 
of  the  validity  of  intellectual,  aesthetic,  and  moral 
ideals  may  be  reached,  and  a  philosophical  world- 
view  may  be  constructed  out  of  these  elements, 
and  parts  of  our  knowledge  of  the  real  world,  in 
which,  however,  the  individual,  personal  attitude  to 
the  spiritual  contents  of  life  is  decisive;  (i)  how- 
ever valuable,  the  comparison  of  religions  cannot 
be  fundamental,  but  must  be  supplementary  to 
another  method  of  apologetics,  even  a  practical 
one,  the  proof  of  the  value  of  Christianity  to  the 
personal  life  of  the  believer;  (3)  the  estimate  of 
Christianity  as  the  highest  stage  of  a  course  of 


1 98 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


divine  revelation  does  not  rest  on  merely  historical 
grounds,  but  involves  a  judgment  of  faith ;  a  man 
must  himself  have  experienced  divine  revelation 
to  recognize  its  presence  and  operation  in  other 
religions.  '  If  the  method  of  Troeltsch,'  says 
Reiscble,  'seems  to  make  too  high  scientific 
claims,  the  result  is  too  modest ' :  (i)  Christianity 
is  not  only  relatively  the  highest  existing  religion, 
but  absolutely  the  highest  conceivable.  '  He  who 
has  found  in  Jesus  Christ  here  salvation,  com- 
munion with  God  Himself,  and  eternal  life,  has 
therein  experienced  the  absoluteness  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  understands  how  Christianity  must 
carry  on  world-missions,  if  it  is  not  to  deny  itself ; 
(2)  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ  is  not  like  all 
individual  historical  facts  relatively  uncertain  ;  for, 
although  by  historical  inquiry  only  probability  can 
be  secured,  yet '  he  who  in  faith  seizes  Jesus  Christ 
presented  to  him  in  a  living  witness,  because  he  is 
seized  by  Him,  and  finds  eternal  life  in  Him, 
knows  himself,  in  spite  of  all  historical  mediation, 
placed  in  a  personal  intercourse  with  the  person  of 


Jesus  Christ,  and  therewith  gains  a  certainty  of  the 
living  reality  of  this  person,  which  transcends  the 
probability  to  be  gained  in  the  historical  critical 
way.' 

The  interest  and  importance  of  this  essay 
warrants  this  full  outline  of  its  contents.  The 
Ritschlian  school  is  so  often  misrepresented, 
suspected,  and  censured,  that  it  is  desirable  and 
profitable  for  English  readers  to  know  what  a 
thinker  like  Retschle  has  written,  not  only  as  an 
individual,  but  as  a  represenutive  of  the  school 
and  in  its  name,  on  the  right  method  of  theology. 
We  are  not  much  given  in  Britain  to  the  investiga- 
tion of  questions  of  method.  Many  theologians 
seem  to  work  by  'rule  of  thumb.'  And,  therefore, 
besides  the  importance  of  the  essay  as  a  defence 
of  the  Ritschlian  school,  the  subject  itself  should 
possess  interest.  These  two  reasons  seem  not 
only  to  excuse,  but  even  to  justify  this  demand  on 
the  attention  and  patience  of  readers. 

A.  E.  Garvie. 
Montrose. 


C^e   (Unrij^^eoucr  ^Uxoixti  oxia  (Nlac^taveffiffm. 

By  A,  N.  Jannaris,  M.A.,  Ph.D.,  Lecturer  on  Post-Classical  and 
Modern  Greek  in  the  University  of  St.  Andrews. 


Commenting  upon  my  recent  treatise  on  *The 
Logos  in  St.  John,'  which  appeared  in  the  February 
number  of  the  Zeitschrift  fur  die  ntutestamentiiehe 
IVisstnscka/t,  some  critics,  including  The  Exposi- 
tory Times  {April,  p.  290  f.),  have  expressed  sur- 
prise at,  and  even  incredulity  in,  my  statement  that, 
'as  it  appears  in  our  printed  editions,  the  New  Testa- 
ment is  perhaps  the  worst  edited  of  alt  ancient 
books.'  These  words  of  mine,  which  represent  the 
mature  result  of  long  and  assiduous  studies  in  the 
New  Testament,  can  be  substantiated  by  numerous 
instancesofcditorialmisreadingsandmisrenderings 
throughout  the  sacred  text,  and  I  propose  here  to 
adduce  afresh  illustration.'  If  I  select  the  Parable 
of  the  Unrighteous  Steward  (Lk  1 6),  it  is  because  it 
forms  one  of  the  most  vexed  questions  in  the  New 

■  Other  instances  bsve  iliekdy  been  adduced  in  THB 
Expository  Times  of  Jxnuaiy  last,  p.  iS^C,  while  a  lur- 
piinng  numtKT  of  them  will  be  pointed  oul  in  my  foitbconusg 
edition  o(  St.  John't  Gospel  and  Epistlei  (London :  Null). 


Testament,^  and  then  because  I  was  recently 
treated  to  a  sermon  on  that  text  and  derived  there- 
from that  kind  of  pleasure  which  is  of^en  over- 
mingled  with  annoyance.  For  the  minister,  who  is  a 
widely-read,  practical,  and  very  able  preacher,  strove 
to  have  his  audience  believe  that  in  the  parable 
referred  to  Jesus  holds  out  the  dishonest  steward 
as  an  example  to  Christians  who  should  endeavour 
to  spread  the  cause  of  the  Gospel  and  the  Church 
even  by  questionable  means.  After  the  spirited 
sermon  I  could  not  help  approaching  my  reverend 
friend  to  whisper  into  his  ear  the  rather  im- 
'  'The  difficulty  of  thii  parable  is  well  known  and  the 
variety  of  interprelalionsia  very  great.  A  catalogue  of  even 
the  chief  mggcstioas  would  serve  no  useful  purpose.  .  .  . 
The  literature  on  the  subject  is  voluminous  and  unrepaying. 
For  all  that  is  earlier  than  iSoo  see  Scbrei her  [read  Schreiter], 
Hiitorieo-eritira  exflanatUmum  parabetat  de  imfnie  eeiimome 
dtscriptio.  Lips.  1803.  For  1800-1879  see  Meyei-Weiss, 
p.  515,  or  Meyer,  Eng.  ir.  p.  aog'  (A.  Plumner,  St.  Lute, 
in  the  '  Intenutional  Critical  Cammenlary,'  p.  3Sof.). 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMEa 


129 


patient  question,  '  Could  you  not  have  selected  a 
better  text  for  your  sermon?'  to  vhich  he  replied, 
'I  have  done  my  very  best  to  smooth  away  the 
awkwardness  of  the  teaching.'  And  truly  awkward 
it  is.  For  here  we  are  asked  by  the  very  soundest 
and  most  conservative  expositors  of  the  New 
Testament  to  believe  that  the  keynote  of  the 
parable — mat  jyw  (or  xdyat)  v/uv  Xiyw  JoirTot; 
Tot^art  ^iXmK  Ik  tou  /i^/uufa  t^  iSmiai,  '  I  also 
say  unto  you,  Make  to  yourselves  friends  by  means 
of  the  unrighteous  mammon' — is  an  argument  a 
fortiori:  si  laudari  potuit  ille  .  .  .  quanto  amplius 
placent  Domini  (Augustine ;  so  too  Euthymios 
Zigabenos,  Grotius,  Com.  a  Lapide,  Maldonatus, 
and  most  subsequent  expositors  down  to  this  day). 
— '  Hasten  to  make  for  yourselves,  with  the  goods 
of  another,  personal  friends,  who  shall  then  be 
bound  to  you  by  gratitude  and  share  with  you 
their  well-being'  (Godet,  in  /ive);  'In  this  por- 
traitiue  Jesus  does  not  scruple  to  use  the  ex- 
ample of  the  wicked  for  the  purpose  of  stimulating 
His  disciples '  {idem,  ib.).  In  plainer  terms :  The 
end  justifies  the  means. — Nor  do  we  improve 
matters  much  by  reading  into  the  text  the  less  un- 
palatable and  far-fetched  meaning  according  to 
which  'the  steward,  however  wanting  in  fidelity 
and  care,  ihowed  great  prudtnce  in  the  use  which  he 
made  of  present  opportunities  as  a  means  of  pro- 
viding for  the  future  \i\Q\.  The  believer  ought  to 
exhibit  similar  prudence  in  using  material  advan- 
tages in  this  life  as  a  means  of  providing  for  the 
life  to  come.'  (A.  Pluramer,  St.  Luke,  p.  380).  In 
this  respect  Meyer  {Commentary  to  St.  Luke,  p. 
J  26,  note,  Eng.  tr.)  is  praiseworthy  in  honestly  and 
candidly  disallowing  this  lame  and  forced  interpre- 
tation :  '  Also  the  expedient  which  many  have 
adopted  of  maintaining  that  attention  is  not 
directed  to  the  morality  of  the  steward's  conduct, 
but  only  to  the  prudence  in  itself  worthy  of 
imitation  (see  Luther,  Calvin,  Grotius,  Michaelis, 
Loffier,  Bleek,  and  many  others)  must  be  regarded 
as  mistaken,  as  on  general  grounds  it  is  unworthy 
of  Christ.' 

Indeed,  it  must  make  a  sore  place  in  the  hearts 
of  many  a  Christian  to  be  told  that  Jesus  bids 
us,  '  Make  to  yourselves  friends  by  means  of  the 
mammon  of  unrighteousness,'  thus  lending  direct 
support  to  that  immoral  doctrine  which  we  depre- 
cate under  the  name  of  Machiavellism,  the  end 
justifies  the  means.  Happily  we  can  question  the 
grievous   insinuation,   first   because  there   is   no 


parallel  in  the  whole  life  and  teaching  of  Jesus,  and 
then  because  we  can  prove  that  even  the  present 
passage  is  misread.  I  maintain  that  Jesus  no- 
where ever — either  directly  or  indirectly — insinu- 
ated or  encouraged  a  Machiavellian  doctrine ;  for 
the  supposed  parallel  of  the  Unrighteous  Judge 
(Lk  i8'~*)  is  not  a  case  in  point;  there  no  com- 
mendation of  dishonesty  is  implied.  Still  less 
relevant  is  the  case,  sometimes  referred  to,  of 
IS*"'"  where  the  woman  asks  her  friends  and 
neighbours  to  congratulate  her  for  having  recov- 
ered her  lost  piece  of  silver;  or  the  case  in  Mt 
13",  where  the  kingdom  of  God  is  likened  unto 
a  treasure  hidden  in  the  field. 

As  to  our  passage  under  discussion :  kqi  iyit 
ifuv  \tyar  wot-^art  ^iXovs  ^ic  ToiJ  ^puvS,  iva,  orav 
iKXiTTj]  (Rec.  iKXimjTt),  SiitinTOi  vfia\  (fsra;  otu^iotit 
o-mpctf,  '  And  I  say  unto  you,  Make  to  yourselves 
friends  by  means  of  the  mammon  of  unrighteous- 
ness, that,  when  it  hath  failed  (Rec.  when  ye  are 
gone),  they  may  receive  you  into  everlasting  habi- 
tations ' — the  reading  becomes  the  more  doubtful 
the  more  closely  we  examine  the  verse.  For, 
apart  from  the  grievous  imputation  of  Machia- 
vellism to  Jesus,  how  can  we  imagine  friends  re- 
ceiving us  into  'everlasting'  habitations?  Friends 
acquired  in  this  world  by  means  of  mammon  and 
'  everlasting '  habitations  are  two  incongruous 
and  irreconcilable  things.  As  to  the  context, 
the  immediately  succeeding  verses  clearly  im- 
ply that  we  should  make  no  friends  out  of  the 
contemptible  mammon:  'He  that  is  faithful  in 
the  least  thing  (that  is,  in  the  worthless  mammon), 
is  faithful  also  in  a  great  deal;  and  he  that  is 
unrighteous  in  the  least  thing,  is  unrighteous  also 
in  a  great  deal.  If,  therefore,  ye  have  not  (mark 
the  negation  Nat\)  been  faithful  in  the  un- 
righteous mammon,  who  will  commit  to  your 
trust  that  which  is  true?  And  if  ye  have  not(!) 
been  faithful  in  that  which  is  another  man's,  who 
will  give  you  that  which  is  your  own  (rather, 
"mine  own")'? 

So  far,  then,  the  whole  moral  teaching  of  Jesus, 
the  internal  incongruity  of  the  very  passage  in 
question,  and  the  context,  forbid  us  to  accept  the 
current  interpretation, '  Make  friends  by  means  of 
the  unrighteous  mammon';  indeed  they  suggest 
the  very  opposite,  '  Make  no  friends  by  means  of 
the  unrighteous  mammon.'  Now  that  opposite  or 
negative  sense  we  obtain  by  simply  discarding  the 
current  punctuation  of  the  editors,  which  is  doubly 


130 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


wrong  and  grievous,  and  reading  the  passage  inter- 
TOgaCively :  xai  iyai  v/uv  Acyuc  xoiijcrarc  iavroii  ^Aovf 
Ik  tov  fiapMva  r^  dSiKi'as,  iva,  oTov  CKXi'irjf,  S^^tui^ai 
ifi^w;  C(t  rat  autvunn  <rKipas  o  xurrot  cv  cAa;i(((rr([i 
Koi  iv  xoXA<p  iruTrds  tcm,   k.tA,  t'.e.   'Shall  I  also 


say  unto  you,  Make  to  yourselves  friends  by  meatc 
of  the  mammon  of  unrighteousness,  that,  when  n 
halh  failed,  they  may  receive  you  ?  In  the  eva 
lasting  tabernacles  he  that  is  faithful  in  the  leu; 
thing  is  faithful  also  in  a  great  deal,'  etc. 


Zi^t   &vtat    Zt^t   Commentary. 

THE  GREAT  TEXTS  OF  HEBREWS. 


'Jesus  Christ  is  the  same  yesterday  and  to-day,  yea 
and  forever'  (R.V.). 

Exposition. 
'Jesus  Christ  is  the  same/— A  new  sentence  wiih  an 
aspect  behind  and  iMfore.  (l)  Jesus  Ctirist,  who  slrength- 
ened  jrour  departed  pastors  to  live  and  to  die,  is  the  same 
also  for  you.  Imitate  their  faith.  (3)  Jesus  Christ  is  not 
Yea  and  Nay  (2  Co  i").  He  change!  not,  Be  not  carried 
astray  by  novel  and  shifting  doctrines.  The  ambiguous 
rendering  of  tufiaair  in  the  A.V.  (oirf)  in  v.',  and  the 
strange  omission  of  the  verb  is  in  this  verse,  led  to  an  en- 
tirely mistsken  interpretation  .  .  .  and  by  degrees  to  an 
atteralion  of  the  full  stop  into  a  colon  at  the  end  of  v.'. — 

'  Yesterday  and  to-day,  yea  and  for  ever.'— The  notes 

of  time  ate  two,  not  (la  in  the  Authoriied  Version)  three. 
(1)  The  same  to-day  as  yesterday;  (z)  the  same  for  ever. 
(t)  The  same  at  this  day  as  in  the  'yesterday'  of  your 
departed  ^oii/iom  ;  (i)  the  same  in  the  longest  future  of 
time  and  eternity.  Therefore  (1)  trust  as  ihey  trusted. 
Therefore  (2)  hold  fast  the  faiih  once  for  all  delivered.— 
VaUGHAN. 

Thb  clause  xat  tU  roit  alQuai  is  added  10  the  sentence 
which  is  already  complete  to  express  the  absolute  confidence 
of  the  apostle:  'Jesus  Christ  is  the  same  yesterday  and 
lo-day :  yea,  such  a  confession  falls  wholly  below  the  truth  : 


He  is  the  Si 


e  for  ei 


-We! 


Methods  of  Treatment. 

I. 

Inconsistency. 

Sjt  tie  Hn:  C.J.   VaH^Aan.  D.D. 

We  have  two  words  expressive  of  the  same 
general  idea — constancy  and  consistency.  The 
difference  may  be  defined  as  tenacity  of  purpose 
and  tenacity  of  plan.  Either  term  is  applicable  to 
Christ.  He  was  constant  in  that  having  made  the 
rescue  of  man  His  aim.  He  nevef  swerved  from  it. 


He  was  consistent  in  that  He  was  tenacious  0: 
His  plan,  and  that  plan  was  seeking  the  rau 
through  the  individual  He  dealt  with  bumr 
need  in  detail,  not  in  a  grand  philanthropic  roanncr 
To  be  the  Saviour  of  the  world  He  began  by  bein: 
the  Saviour  of  one  or  two — by  touching  here  and 
there  the  innermost  part  of  a  single  human  bejnj. 
And  afterwards  He  caused  the  record  of  it  to  bt 
so  written  that  any  one  in  distress  may  find  Hie 
in  His  Word.  He  has  not  ceased  to  feel  aix! 
help.  He  is  the  same  for  ever.  He  challengo! 
His  generation  to  deny  the  consistency  of  Ha 
life;  and  nothing  impresses  us  more  than  tbe 
unity  of  the  representation  of  Him  given  by  manr 
different  writers.  He  is  the  same  in  childhood, 
youth,  manhood ;  in  all  the  circumstances  of  lift . 
and  He  is  still  the  same,  the  same  in  sympatb) 
and  in  love. 

We  are  not  so;  Scripture,  history,  experiencf 
prove  the  inconsistency  even  of  the  saints.  Pro- 
phets warn  against  it.  Christ  tells  the  Parable  of  ik 
Patched  Garment^— the  parable  of  inconsistency. 

1.  Who  is  consistent  all  through?  We  set  ar 
object  before  us.  We  may  be  constant  in  pui 
pose.  Are  we  consistent  in  plan  ?  (i)  In  thought 
\Ve  profess  to  count  all  things  but  loss  that  «t 
may  gain  eternal  life.  Vet  who  does  not  attach 
too  much  value  to  things  seen  ?  Who  can  indeed 
think  of  death  as  the  gate  to  immortality  ?  (a)  Ir 
speech.  What  worldly  estimates  1  What  uncharit- 
able judgments!  Are  they  consistent  with  Hii 
service?  (3)  In  life.  Every  one  is  conscious  01 
such  inconsistency,  known  only  to  God  and  tht 
heart. 

2.  The  motives  of  inconsistency  are  various- 
fear  of  the  world,  love  of  the  world,  desire  to  shot 
versatility  or  to  attract  others  by  showing  thai 
they  need  not  be  ascetics.     But  all  inconsistent 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


»3i 


is  due  to  the  want  of  God's  spirit  in  the  heart,  to 
unbelief  in  things  unseen  and  in  God's  power  to 
subdue  all  things  to  Himself. 

3,  The  consequences  of  inconsistency,  (i)  Im- 
potence. It  ruins  influence.  In  politics  a  man 
may  be  obliged  to  be  inconsistent  to  change  his 
plan  that  he  may  cling  to  his  purpose.  If  even 
such  conscientious  inconsistency  is  punished  with 
loss  of  strength  and  influence,  how  much  more  in 
that  province  where  inconsistency  is  sin?  (a) 
Misery.  Even  when  it  is  involuntary  inconsist- 
ency due  to  human  infirmity.  To  grieve  Him  to 
whom  all  gratitude  is  due  is  painful,  and  only 
confession  to  Him  and  His  absolution  can  restore 
peace.  How  wretched  must  be  the  life  that  is 
all  inconsistency,  contradicting  constantly  the  pro- 
fession of  the  lips.  (3)  Hypocrisy.  Not  neces- 
sarily in  its  worst  form  of  professing  to  be  good 
when  one  is  utterly  bad.  It  may  consist  in  con- 
cealing OUT  knowledge  of  truth  and  sense  of 
duty.  Hypocrisy  is  duplicity,  having  principles 
not  practised,  convictions  disguised  by  silence, 
professions  contradicted  by  conduct. 

4.  The  Christian  must  fight  this  foe  with  the 
rest.  Determine  to  be  consistent.  Never  outrun 
your  convictions  in  your  professions.  Guard 
against  censorious  judgments.  In  finding  fault 
with  others  we  make  laws  for  ourselves,  which  we 
cannot  break  without  inconsistency.  Walk  cir- 
cumspectly. He  who  guards  against  small  incon- 
sistencies will  be  forearmed  against  great  trans- 
gressions. 

II. 
The  Changeleasneu  of  Christ. 

By  the  A'n:  It'.  A.  Cray. 

The  words  are  generally  read  as  a  qualification 
of  the  preceding  clause.  But  v.'  is  complete 
in  itself.  It  bids  us  remember  those  who  have 
had  the  rule  over  us,  with  regard  to  their  '  faith," 
their  'conversation,'  and  their  'end.'  Then  v.* 
draws  our  attention  to  Him  with  whom  they  had 
to  do  in  all  three.  For  He  is  the  same  to  us  as 
He  was  to  our  fathers,  and  will  be  to  generations 
to  come.  The  changelessness  of  Christ  is  the 
keystone  of  all  theology,  and  lies  at  the  root  of  all 
Christian  experience. 

I.  He  is  changeless  in  His  divine  essence.  He 
is  the  Christ  of  'yesterday,*  existing  from  all 
eternity.     When  He  took  His  place  in  the  sphere 


of  time,  he  became  the  Christ  of  'to-day';  and 
through  all  the  day  of  time,  from  Eden  to  the 
Final  Judgment  He  is  the  same,  parting,  indeed, 
while  on  earth,  with  His  manifested,  but  not  with 
His  essential  glory.  Pass  beyond  time  to  eternity 
and  He  wilt  be  the  same — the  same  in  His  divine 
essence,  in  His  power,  in  His  omnipresence,  in 
,   His  deep  joy. 

i       a.  He  is  the  same  in  His  office.     He  was,  is, 

!  and  shall  be  the  one  Mediator  between  God  and 

I  man.      In    the  'yesterday'    of   Old    Testament 

history,  closed  by  the  Cross,  He  was  the  Mediator. 

,  Through  Him  the  saints  who  died  went  home  to 

:  God.    In  the  fulness  of  time  He  came  and  suffered. 

'  It  is  finished' rang  out  the  old  epoch;  'He  is 

'  risen '  rang  in  the  new.     But  He  is  the  same  Jesus 

now  with  the  selfsame  office.     And  to  all  eternity 

that  office  will  continue.     He  will  always  be  the 

Mediator  of  His  people  in  whom  they  deal  with 

God,  and  God  with  them. 

I       3.  It  is  true  also  of  His  manifestation  in  history. 

In  His  incarnate  life  on  earth,  He  was  always 

accessible,  helpful,    compassionate,   sympathetic. 

I  To.day  when  He  has  ascended  He  is  the  same  in 

His  willingness  to  bless,  to  protect,  to  cleanse. 

And  to  all  eternity  there  is  no  ministry  which  He 

fulfilled  for  His  people  in  grace  that  He  will  not 

fulfil  in  glory.    Helpfulness?    He  waits  to  receive 

them.     Comfort?    He  wipes  the  tears  from  their 

eyes.    Sanctification  ?    He  will  present  the  Church 

to  Himself  as  a  glorious,  spotless  bride. 

4.  He  is  unchanging  in  the  experience  of  His 
I  people.     The   'yesterday'  of   your    history  had 
;  needs  to   be    supplied,   sorrows  to  be  soothed, 
I  temptations  to  be  conquered,  sins  to  be  forgiven. 
I   He  did  all.     Yesterday  has  passed ;  to-day  has  its 
I  own  needs,  but  the  Jesus  Christ  of  yesterday  is 
!  the  Jesus  Christ  of  to-day.    To-day  joins  hands 
with  yesterday  in  attesting  His  faithfulness,  and 
]  to-morrow  will  join  hands  with  to-day.    The  future 
'  is  unknown,  but  the  Companion  is  tried.     Experi- 
ences vary,  but  Christ  is  the  same.    We  may  argue 
not  only  from  our  own  experience  but  from  that 
of  others.     When  they  are  divided  from  us  by 
death,  we  look  back  upon  their  faith,  their  con- 
versation, their  end,  and  argue  from  their  experi- 
ences what  is  possible  for  us.     For  Jesus  Christ, 
who  was  all  to  them  is  the  same  for  ever.    Com- 
passed about  with  a  great  cloud  of  witnesses  let 
us  look  to  Jesus  the  author  and  fini^Cf  of  their 
faith  as  of  ours.  O 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Illustrations. 


ihe  hillside.  Christ 
(self.     Much  in   the 

of  Christianiif  is  in 
I  Christ  is  the  same 


For 


Man's  systems  aie  the  shadows 
is  the  everlisting,  solemn  mounlai 
popular  conception  and  represenlati 
the  act  of  passing.     Let  it  go  i  J< 

yesterday,  to-day,  and  Cor  ever.  We  need  not  feat  change 
within  the  limits  of  His  Church  or  of  His 
change  there  means  progress,  and  the  more  hui 
and  embodiments  of  Christian  truth  crumble  and  disin- 
t^rate,  the  more  distinctly  does  the  solemn,  single,  unique 
figure  of  Chribt  Ihc  same  rise  before  us.— A.  Maclahkn. 

A  FRIEND  is  rare  to  be  found  that  cootiaueth  faithful  in 
all  his  friend's  distresses.  Thou,  O  Lord,  Thou  alone  art 
most  faithful  at  all  times,  and  there  is  none  like  unto  Thee. 
— Thomas  X  Krmpis.  _ 

Tjie  One  remains,  the  many  change  and  pass; 

Heaven's  light  for  ever  shines.  Earth's  shadows  fly  ; 

Life,  like  a  dome  of  many-coloured  glass, 
Stains  the  white  radiance  of  Eternity— 
Until  Death  tramples  it  to  fragments.     Die, 

If  thou  wouldst  be  with  that  which  thou  dost  seek. 
Shellbv- 

Goij's  changeful  providence  comes  into  all  our  lives,  and 
parts  dear  ones,  making  their  places  empty  that  Christ  Him- 
self may  Gil  the  empty  places,  and,  striking  away  other 
props,  though  the  tendrils  that  twine  round  them  bleed  with 
the  wrench,  in  order  that  the  plant  may  no  longer  trail  along 
the  ground,  bkil  twine  itself  round  the  Cross  and  climb  to 
the  Christ  ujjon  the  Throne.  '  In  the  year  thai  king  Uiiiah 
died,  I  saw  the  Lord  sitting  on  a  throne.'  The  true  King 
was  manifested  when  the  earthly,  shadowy  monarch  was 
swept  away.  And  Jusl  as,  on  the  face  of  some  gccal  wooded 
clilf,  when  the  leaves  drop,  the  solemn  strength  of  the  ever- 


lasting rock  gleams  out  pure,  so,  when  our  dear  ones  UW 
away,  Jesus  Christ  is  revealed,  'the  same  yesterday,  to-day, 
and  for  ever.'  '  They  truly  were  many,  because  they  were 
not  suffered  (o  continue  by  reason  of  death  ;  this  Man  con- 
tinue th  ever.'— A.  Maclaren. 

It  Cortities  my  soul  to  know 

That,  though  I  perish,  Truth  is  so ; 

That,  howso'er  I  stray  and  range, 

Whale'er  I  do.  Thou  dost  not  change. 

I  steadier  step,  when  I  recall 

Thai,  if  I  slip,  Thou  dost  not  fall.— Clouuh. 

Sennons  for  Reference. 
Banks  (L.  A.),  Paul  and  his  Friends,  193- 
Barry  (A.),  Westminster  Abbey  Sermons,  109. 
Beecher  (H.  W.),  Sermons,  391. 
Bromfield  (A.),  Sermons  in  Town  and  Country,  1. 
Crawfori".  (T.  J.),  Preaching  of  the  Cross,  198. 
Eiiwards  (H.),  Spiritual  Observatory,  38. 
Gray  (W.  A.),  Shadow  of  the  Hand,  279. 
How  (W.  W.),  Plain  Words,  L  20. 
Hoyle(A.},  Depth  and  Power  of  Christian  Faith,  59. 
Jenkins  (E.  E-),  Life  and  Christ,  47. 
Maclaren  (A.),  Unchanging  Christ,  i. 
Mesurier  (T.),  Bampton  Lectures,  316. 
Meyer  (F.  B.),  Way  into  the  Holiest,  213. 
Price  (A.  C.),  Fifty  Sermons,  iv.  t2l  ;  v,  89- 
Raleigh  (A.),  From  Dawn  to  Perfect  Day,  361. 
Ryle  (J.  C),  The  Christian  Kace,  179. 
Sampson  (E.  F.),  Christ  Church  Sermons,  236. 
Selby  (T.  G.),  The  Unheeding  God,  365. 
Spurgeon  (C.  H.).  Sermons,  vol.  nl.  No.  2358. 
Spurr  (F.  C),  Jesus  Christ  To-day,  1. 
Vaughan  (C.  J.),  University  Sermons,  271. 
White  {E.),  Mysterj-  of  Growth,  195. 


€^t  Oueeflon  of  i^  (Uni^  of  Jeaia^. 

Bv  Profe-ssor  Ed,  Konic,  M.A., 'D.IX,  Bonn. 


II. 


Professor  Cohu  appeals,  in  suppon  of  his  con- 
tention that  Is  40-66  belong  to  the  age  of 
Hezekiab,  to  the  circumstance  that  there  are  only 
a  'few  allusions  to  Babylon  and  to  Cyrus  in 
Is  40-66 '  (p.  85).  Now,  even  if  we  met  with 
only  a  single  mention  of  Babylon  in  these  chap- 
ters, it  would  be  enough.  The  ear  of  the  reader 
would  be  sufRciently  pierced  by  the  shrill  cry, 
'  Come  down,  sit  in  the  dust,  O  virgin  daughter 
of  Babylon,'  etc.  (47'*'*^)i  and  is  not  the  call 
clear  enough,  'Go  ye  forth  from   Babylon,  flee 


from  Chatdasa'  (48-*)?  A  hitherto  unobserved 
indication  of  the  century  in  which  the  author  of 
Is  40  fT.  lived,  is  fotind  in  the  order  of  the  two 
expressions,  'the  Assyrian  oppressed  them  (Israel) 
without  cause'  (52*'')  and  'new,  therefore,  what 
have  I  to  do  Aere'  (v.")?  The  period  of  the 
Assyrian  dominion  over  Israel  is  past ;  the  period 
that  is  present  to  the  author  of  these  chapters  is 
that  when  the  Babylonians  had  led  the  inhabitants 
of  Jerusalem  captive  (v,^). 
In  like  manner  a  single  mention  of  Cyrus  would 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


I  S3 


suffice  to  justify  the  conclusion  that  the  passage  in 
question  was  not  written  in  the  years  immediately 
after  701.  It  is  true,  indeed,  that  the  prophecies 
of  the  O.T.  had  not  their  source  in  the  incidents 
of  history.  Nowhere,  I  suppose,  has  this  been 
more  thoroughly  demonstrated  than  in  my  own 
work,  Der  Offenbarungibegriff  des  A.T.  Never- 
theless prophecy,  in  the  choice  of  its  vehicles 
of  description,  follows  a  course  parallel  with  the 
progress  of  history.  This  fundamental  principle 
of  the  development  of  O.T.  prophecy  I  have 
established  in  my  Einleit.  in  d.  A.T.  p.  323!. 
If  then  Isaiah  had  spoken  even  once  of  the  rise  of 
the  Persian  Empire  and  of  Cyrus,  he  would  have 
gone  ahead  of  what  was  done  by  Jeremiah  and 
Ezekicl and  other  preexilic  prophets.  But  there 
is  a  considerable  number  of  passages  in  Is  40  if. 
which  allude  to  the  conqueror  whom  the  Divine 
disposer  of  the  world's  history  has  called  from 
the  rising  of  the  sun  to  punish  Babylon  for  her 
immorality  (47^'*')  and  tyranny  {4i'-*"''-  44" 
4S'- "  46^'  48'* ;  and  there  is  much  in  favour  of 
reckoning  also  ss"  to  this  series).^ 

Professor  Cobb,  it  is  true,  has  revived  the  ex- 
planation of  4i'-*  which  finds  in  the  words  '  Who 
hath  raised  up  one  from  the  East'?  an  allusion  to 
the  call  of  Abraham.  But,  in  the  first  place,  was 
the  divine  call  of  Abraham  an  occurrence  so  open 
to  question  and  so  recent  that  it  could  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  peoples  as  a  problem  (v.')  ?  Secondly, 
it  is  a  fact,  indeed,  that  Abraham  defeated  Chedor- 
laomer  and  the  kings  allied  with  him  {Gn  x^*"-). 
But  this  military  exploit  of  Abraham  would  be  far 
too  hyperbolically  described  in  Is  41^,  and  the 
words  'a  path  corresponding  to  (=  along)  his  own 
footprints  he  trod  not'  (v.^*)  cannot  be  under- 
stood of  Abraham.  For  there  was  nothing  won- 
derful in  Abraham's  not  returning  to  Mesopotamia 
or  Chaldcea,  and  after  the  defeat  of  Chedorlaomer 
he  did  return  by  practically  the  same  road  as  that 
along  which  he  had  pursued  the  hostile  kings  to 
Dan.  Further,  Abraham's  migration  to  Canaan 
and  his  victory  over  Chedorlaomer  cannot  be 
supposed  to  have  made  such  an  impression  upon 
the  nations  as  is  described  in  vv.'-^.  Finally,  if 
the  allusion  in  vv.^~^  had  been  to  the  ancestor  of 
Israel  and  the  impression  made  by  his  deeds,  we 
should  not  have  had  the  transition,  'and  thou, 
Israel,  my  servant '  (v,*'^),  seeing  that  essentially 

'  This  inlerpreiation  of  55"  will  be  found  discussed  in  mj 
work,  Tki  Exiles'  BoBk  b/ ConsolatUm  {1899),  p.  gif. 


the  same  subject  would  have  been  spoken  of 
immediately  before.  Accordingly,  the  following 
connexion  of  the  principal  parts  of  chap.  41  f.  is 
to  be  preferred : — 

'  In  view  oflhe  cmpbasU  laid  upon  Ihe  divinely  in tpiied 
impulse  given  to  the  hero  from  the  East  (41'"'),  IiraeL,  like 
the  other  nations  (vv. ''''),  might  have  been  filled  with  panic- 
leiTOr,  and  might  have  become  doubtful  of  its  own  special 
retatioD  to  God.  In  this  situation,  the  designalion  of  Israel 
as  the  special  MTvant  of  God  made  its  appearance  all  at 
once  like  the  bubbling  up  of  a  heavenly  spring  of  consola- 
tion. .  .  .  After  (he  following  mention  of  the  Eastern 
conqueror  and  his  proceedings  (41*^),  it  was  natural  thstt  in 
42"-  the  mind  should  turn  to  the  divine  oi^ao  which  had 
been  mentioned  in  41",  namely,  Israel  and  its  way  of  work- 
ing '  (JThe  Exiles'  Beoi  of  Cansolaiian,  p.  6z).' 

Professor  Cobb  feels  himself  that  his  interpre- 
tation of  41*  clashes  with  46",  where  Jahweh  says 
that  He  has  called  a  vulture  from  the  East,  a  man 
of  His  counsel  {i.e.  a  confidant),  from  a  distant 
land.  Professor  Cobb  discovers  here  no  mention 
of  either  Abraham  or  Cyrus.  He  takes  the  allusion 
to  be  to  Sennacherib  and  the  year  701.  He  recalls 
the  exclamation, '  Ho  Asshur !  rod  of  mine  anger,' 
etc.  (Is  JO*).  But  is  it  the  aim  of  the  addresses 
in  Is  40  ff.  to  threaten  Israel,  or  was  it  the  desire 
of  the  prophet  to  comfort  his  people?  Seeing 
that  the  latter  is  the  case,  Sennacherib's  com- 
mission to  chastise  Israel  cannot  be  the  subject 
of  46".  The  words  of  this  verse  must,  on  the 
contrary,  refer  to  the  hero  who,  according  also  to 
41*,  was  called  from  the  East;  and  is  not  the  task 
of  this  hero  menlioned  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  46'!,  namely,  to  bring  about  the  fall  of  Babylon 
(47"^-)?  It  is  self-evident,  of  course,  that  it  is 
nothing  to  the  point  that  Sennacherib  loo  had  to 
contend  with  Babylon,  so  that  there  is  no  value  in 
Professor  Cobb's  quoUtion  (p.  87)  of  Sennacherib's 
account  of  his  war  with  Merodach-baladan. 

A  similar  verdict  must  be  pronounced  upon  the 
following  attempt  of  Professor  Cobb.  He  suggests 
the  possibility  that  such  characteristics  of  the 
godless  portion  of  the  community  as  meet  us,  e.g. 
in  57*"''',  may  be  intended  to  describe  the  inhab- 
itants of  Ephraim,  Manasseh,  etc.,  who  rejected 
with  scorn  Hezekiah's  invitation  to  a  joint  cele- 
bration of  the  Passover  (2  Ch  yi^").  What  avails 
it    to    admit    this    abstract    possibility?     Other 

'  It  may  be  noted  that  my  view  of  Ihe  servant  of  Jahweh 
is  entirely  approved  of  by  Ihe  Swedish  scholar  Malhens 
Lundborg  in  his  interesting  work,  Sep-eppel  Htrrtii! 
TjUnare  hot  Andre-Esaias  (Lund,  1901),  p.  101  fT. 


13+ 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


scholars  suggest  another  possibility.  They  hold 
that  passages  like  57^'^'  present  pictures  of  the 
impenitent  portion  of  the  exiles,  only  that  in  the 
drawing  of  these  the  eye  sometimes  strayed  back  to 
the  centuries  that  were  past.  This  was  natural,  see- 
ing that  the  Exile  was  the  punisljment  for  the  former 
sins  of  Israel,  and  it  actually  happens  in  the  Book 
of  Ezekiel.  The  latter  prophet  also  readily  com- 
bines the  view  of  the  sins  of  his  contemporaries 
with  the  view  of  the  sins  of  their  fathers  (Ezk  2^ 


13*  ig'o  20"" 


In  Professor  Cobb's  opinion,  the  weight  of 
argument  in  favour  of  the  exilic  date  of  Is  40  ff., 
which  is  derived  from  the  form  of  these  chapters, 
is  even  smaller  than  that  from  their  contents. 
'What  the  negative  critics  forget  is  the  Protean 
character  of  genius.  Other  things  being  equal, 
the  greater  the  genius  the  wider  the  limits  within 
which  his  style  will  disport  itself.'  These  words 
are  only  the  variation  of  an  old  theme,  and  even 
the  appeal  to  the  case  of  Goethe  is  not  new.  But 
any  one  who  means  to  treat  of  the  weakness  of 
the  argument  which  is  drawn  from  the  linguistic 
colouring  of  a  literary  product,  will  do  well  to 
distinguish  carefully  the  groups  of  materials  upon 
which  this  argument  is  based.  The  means  of 
making  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  the  nature 
of  this  argument,  I  may  add,  are  at  the  disposal  of 
anyone  who  cares  to  study  the  special  section  I 
have  devoted  to  this  subject  in  my  EinUit.  in  d. 
^.TIpp.  147-151- 

Applying  (he  principles  there  set  forth  to 
Is  40  If.,  we  find,  t.g.,  so  frequent  a  word  as  the 
relative  'who'  expressed  in  the  Book  of  Isaiah 
only  twice  (42-*  43^')  by  It  {zu).  The  pronominal 
forms  '  to  them  *  or  '  to  him '  are  reproduced  only 
three  or  four  times  (43'  44^-",  ?  53*)  by  to^  (IdmS). 
The  negative  'not'  is  expressed  by  ?3  {bai)  in 
40"  43"  44"-  Note  that  DDK  i'^i^s),  besides  its 
single  occurrence  in  5*,  meets  us  other  ten  times 
in  chaps.  40-54-  The  preposition  '  according  to ' 
is  expressed  by  iD3  {id»id)  in  43^  44'^- ",  and  the 
preposition  '  until '  appears  in  the  form  'nji  (ddl) 
in  65".  The  conjunction  'also'  or  'and'  has  its 
equivalent  in  f\»  {'aph)  in  40"  ^lU.^w  ^jia 
43^'*  44>*'-"'  48'*'-i^  Further,  I  have  noted 
such  points  as  that  the  conjunction  '■3  |tr  (y£an 
kt)  occurs  in  3"  7*  8*  29",  but  the  simple  [l*; 
(ySan)   in    61^    65"   66^      Moreover,   the    inter- 


jectional  use  of  ntn  {kazi), '  behold ! '  which  recalls 
the  Aram,  preference  for  the  verb  nrn,  may  be 
noted,  and  not  a  few  other  phenomena  might  be 
added  (cf.  my  £i»/eif.  in  d.  A.T.  p.  321  f.). 
Some  of  these,  such  as  the  writing  of  Tt»  ^dtk)  for 
'("//,  and  nS'SX)  for  JiKO  (54'*  59''),  belong  to  the 
■linguistic  differences  to  which  I  bave  given  the 
name '  successive.' 

It  is  certainly  hard  to  say  why  Isaiah,  if  he  is 
the  author  of  the  whole  book,  should  have  changed 
so  completely  in  his  choice  of  such  frequent  words. 
I  am  not  denying  to  any  one  freedom  in  his  use 
of  words.  But  it  must  be  doubted  whether  an 
author  in  the  exercise  of  this  freedom  would  have 
resorted  to  change  in  so  many  of  the  components 
of  his  vocabulary,  which,  on  account  of  their 
frequency,  are  wont  to  be  employed  unconsciously. 
Doubt  as  to  the  identity  of  the  author  grows  when 
among  the  linguistic  diiferences  we  find  such  as 
characterize  a  different  stage  in  the  development 
of  the  particular  language. 

Thus  stands  the  matter  in  regard  to  the  linguistic 
colouring  of  Is  40  If.,  and  this  condition  of  things 
cannot  be  robbed  of  its  argumentative  value  by 
general  remarks  on  the  possible  variability  of  style. 

Professor  Cobb's  hypothesis  is  set  in  a  peculiar 
light  by  the  circumstance  that  he  connects  it  with 
the  supposition  that  the  name  of  Cyrus,  in  the 
two  passages  where  it  meets  us  in  Is  40  If.  (44^ 
and  45')>  is  ^  \a.\.ir  interpolation  (p.  90).  The 
hazardous  character  of  this  conjecture  is  not 
removed  by  the  fact  that  there  are  actually  glosses 
in  the  O.T.  Such  explanatory  notes  recur  with 
considerable  frequency  from  Gn  z'*''  (fTfl  PBJ, 
cf.  I**")  onwards.  But  the  supposition  that  there 
is  a  gloss  must  be  justified  in  each  particular 
passage,  and — which  is  the  main  point — the  gloss 
embodies  in  any  case  a  very  ancient  view  of  the 
meaning  of  the  passage. — Now,  can  it  be  supposed 
that  in  the  first  of  the  above  two  passages  the 
name  of  Cyrus  is  an  interpolation  ?  No,  for  the 
beginning  of  44^*  proceeds  in  quite  normal  fashion, 
nay,  there  must  be  a  dative  supplied  to  the  words, 
'that  saith,'  if  the  ehl3^  be  removed.  Hence 
there  are  only  a  very  few  exegetes,  such  as  the 
Roman  Catholic  theologians,  Henneberg  and 
Schegg,  who  have  decided  on  seeing  in  ento^  of 
44^  an  interpolation.  I  cannot  associate  myself 
with  them.  Somewhat  different  is  the  situation 
in  45'.  There  nothing  would  be  wanting  as  far 
as  the  external  form  is  concerned,  although  cnU? 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


'35 


were  removed.  But  in  that  verse  the  anointed 
of  Jahweh  is  a  hero  called  firotn  without,  for  it  is 
said,  'whom  I  have  held  by  his  light  hand.' 
Consequently  the  expression  'to  his  anointed' 
would  lack  the  closer  definition  it  needs,  were 
not  the  apposition, '  to  Cyrus,'  added.  The  view, 
moreover,  that  the  two  expressions,  '  his  anointed ' 
(4S')  and  'ray  servant  Jacob'  (v.*»)  cover  the 
same  subject,  has  everything  against  it  and 
nothing  in  its  favour.  All  the  features  of  vv.''^ 
support  the  interpretation  which  finds  in  the  hero 
mentioned  there  a  non -Israel itish  prince  who  was 
conducted  by  the  living  God  of  Israel  to  great 


political  successes,  and  so  received  the  commission 
to  free  the  servant  of  Jahweh  from  captivity. 
There  is  no  proclaiming  here  of  'a  mission  of 
Israel  to  Israel '  (Cobb,  p.  90). 

Finally,  the  verdict  that  the  last  twenty-seven 
chapters  of  the  Book  of  Isaiah  were  not  written 
by  the  prophet  of  the  year  701,  cannot  be 
shattered  even  by  the  ironical  remarks  of  Professor 
Cobb  on  the  rapid  advance  of  critical  theories 
(p.  96 f.).  The  false  extremes  of  criticism  cannot 
throw  suspicion  on  its  reasonable  assumptions, 
which  put  forward  nothing  but  what  is  based  at 
onc«  on  material  and  formal  indications. 


(Uew   &ifi  ani   (S^tnati  Q^ooSer. 


/«  fair  Granada.     By  E.  Everett -Gieen.     5a. 
Held  to  Raas»m.     By  F.  B.  Forester,     ss. 
Jim's  SivMthtart!,     By  E.  L.  Haverlield.     as.  6d. 
Great  Esplortrs.     as. 

Dickie.     By  Mr*.  Hioiillon  Synge.     is.  6d. 
The  Queen'i  Shilling.     By  Geialdine  GUigow.     is. 

Mi»  Everett -Green'i  /»  Fair  Granada  is  a  handsotDC 
Tolume  of  450  pages,  bound  in  blue  and  gold.  It  is  one  of 
her  leries  of  hUlorical  tales.  Ii  is  a  tale  of  Moors  and 
Christians. 

Held  to  Ramam  is  iDoie  modem  md  more  lileiaiy.  It 
cannot  be  said  to  be  more  stirring,  for  both  are  steeped  in 
adventure.  Its  heroes  and  heroines,  strange  to  say,  are 
Spaniards  alto.  It  is  bound  in  a  paler  blue,  set  off  with 
sesthetic  brown  and  blaclc.  Both  books  are  illuslraled,  of 
conrte,  but  Mi.'u  Everett-Green's  has  the  novel  feature  of 
two  coloured  illustrations. 

/I'/Ji'i  Sweetht<ais  are,  of  course,  'grown-ups' — mostly. 
For  Jim  is  only  seven.  He  is  a  brave,  truthful  little  boy, 
and  is  often  puuled  to  find  that  though  the  truth  lells  twice 
it  sometimei  muil  not  be  told  once.  His  mother  enjoys  a 
noniewiial  tearful  responsibility  in  the  upbringing  of  so 
manly  a  boy  ;  but  his  friends  at  the  Vicarage  find  all  things 
in  him  to  be  loved. 

The  Greal  Explorers  are  Marco  Polo,  Christopher 
Columbus,  Vasco  da  Gama,  and  nine  more.  Their  story 
b  told  with  much  brevity,  and  the  marvellous  old  illustra- 
tions, if  seen  by  any  ordinary  boy,  will  speedily  create  an 
appetite  for  its  wonderful  narratives. 

Dickie  is  a  beautiful  little  citcus-girl.  She  is  beloved  by 
an  ill-tempered,  high-spirited  horse  named  'Black  Boy.' 
She  alone  can  manage  the  horse,  who,  indeed,  manages 
himself  when  she  is  with  him.  They  have  conquered  a 
temper  t<^etbcr,  perhaps,  for  she  too  has  had  one.     Their 


story  is  very  pleasant,  and  there  are  many  interesting  circus 
people  besides  them. 

The  story  of  The  Queen's  Shilling  we  seem  to  know 
before  we  read  it. 

Besides  these,  Messrs.  Nelson  have  published  four  picture 
books  at  IS.  each. 


Mei 


\.  Blackie  i^  Son  have  published  the  following  :- 


tVilh  Roberts  to  Preloria.     By  G.  .K.  Henty.     6s. 
Tb  Herat  and  Cabal.     By  G,  A.  Henty.      6s. 
The  Dragon  ef  Ptkin.     By  Captain  F.  S.  Hrereton.    5s. 
The  Doctei's  Niece.     By  Kliia  V.  I'ollaid.     3s.  6d. 
In  Quest  efihe  Giant  Slalh.     By  Dr.  Gordon  Stables. 

3s.  6d. 
The  Boyhood  of  a  Nalitralist.     By  Fred  Smith.    3s.  6d. 

Mr.  Henty 's  volumes,  which  lead  this  attractive  list,  both 
deal  with  camps  and  glory.  Both  are  handsomely  tionnd 
with  olivine  edges,  the  Boer  war  beint;  in  briltiani  military 
red,  the  story  of  the  first  Afghan  war  in  naval  blue.  They 
are  not  histories,  though  the  history  of  both  campaigns  has, 
no  doubt,  been  carefully  studied  for  facts  and  incidents,  and 
the  countries  themselves  for  local  colour.  They  are  stories, 
boys'  Mories.  Both  Ixioks,  therefore,  possess  the  double 
interest  of  public  achievement  and  private  concern.  They 
are  written  in  that  vivid  entrancing  style  which  makes  ihe 
readers  of  Mr.  Henty's  books  hold  their  breath  with  excile- 
menl,  and  tbey  are  lioth  characteristically  illustrated. 

The  Dragon  of  Ptkin,  bound  in  green  and  red  and  yellow 
and  gold,  with  olivine  edges,  is  a  tale  of  the  Boxer  revolt  in 
China.  If  the  wni^bnd  not  been  gtung  on  in  South  Afiica 
our  boys  would  bate  known  far  mote  about  that  terrible 
revolt  than  Ihey  do,  But  stories  [ike  this  will  bring  it  home 
to  them,— its  wild  extravagance,  its  heart-rending  scenes  of 
suffering,  its  heroic  endurance  even  unto  death. 

In  The  Destot's  Niece  we  are  at  home  again.  At  least 
we  are  nearer  home.      Its  scene  is   France,  its   heroine 


136 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


thoroughly  French,  and  must  pslbetic  and  b«Toic.  It  U  a 
story  of  home,  and  home  is  reached  at  last,  though  through 
much  tribulation,  and  there  ia  peace  and  rest. 

Di.  Gordon  Stables  has  had  many  adventures  in  his  life- 
time, but  surely  they  are  as  nothing  to  those  he  hai  invented 
for  hii  little  heroes  and  heroines.  In  Queil  of  the  Giant 
Slolh  sends  little  boys  and  girls  through  (he  most  wonderful 
eiperiences,  but  it  does  not  matter  what  they  set  out  to 
accomplish,    tfacf  always   accomplish   it  and    come   back 


TAf  Boyheod  of  a  Naturaliit  Is  the  most  instructive  of  all 
Messrs,  Blackie's  books,  yet  it  is  without  a  dull  page.  We 
do  not  know  who  Fred  Smith  may  be,^t  is  not  the  author's 
own  name,^ — but  he  must  have  had  a  glorious  boyhood,  for 
it  is  his  own  boyhood  he  describes  here,  and  he  must  surely 
have  K>own  into  a  famous  naturalist. 


Woodland,  Field,  sod  Shore. 
Mt.  Oliver  G.  Pike  has  written  a.  book  which  will  delight 
the  lovers  of  nature,  and  give  them  an  interest  in  outdoor 
things  even  in  winter.  He  has  not  only  written  it,  but  he 
has  also  most  richly  illustrated  it,  and  the  Religious  Tract 
Society  has  given  it  the  best  possible  paper  and  printing 
and  binding,  and  reproduced  two  of  the  full-page  illustra- 
tions in  the  best  style  of  colour-printing.     It  costs  5s.  net. 


The  Awakening  of  Anthony  Weir. 

This  is  Silas  Hocking's  new  stoiy.  It  was  Anthony 
Weir's  moral  nature  that  was  asleep,  clergyman  though  he 
was.  It  was  the  touch  of  true  love  that  awakened  it, 
though  his  mother's  prayers  prepared  the  way.  It  was  a 
true  awakening  and  not  too  late  for  the  duties  of  life  though 
somewhat  laic  for  its  enjoyments.     (R.T.S.,  3s.  6d.) 


Heather's  Mistreu. 

Heather  and  Bluebell  were  twin  sisters  who  lived  in  the 
country  wilh  their  grandmother  and  two  old  servants. 
The  grandmother  died,  and  Abigail  rhe  old  faithful  servant 
was  much  distressed  when  (hey  were  enticed  to  London  and 
itsgaielies.  But  they  came  back  to  their  dear  old  'mistress' 
in  time ;  first  Heather,  Bluebell  much  later,  after  marriage 
and  sorrow.  The  book  is  by  Amy  le  Feuvre.  (R.T.S., 
3s.  6d.) 


The  Gold  that  Pedaheth. 

To  say  thai  The  Geld  thai  Pirishtlh  is  by  David  Lyall  is 
to  give  it  a  circulation  at  once.  It  is  a  domestic  tale,  for 
there  is  both  comedy  and  (ragedy  enough  in  most  family 
circles  to  thrill  us  wilh,  It  is  not  the  comical  side  of  life 
however  (hat  this  great  writer  is  impressed  by.  Happiness 
is  understood  and  well  described,  comicality  is  lost  in  the 
pathoBof  the  things  (ha(  men  and  women  dare  and  endure. 
The  (ragedy  is  deep  enough,  and  although  (he  last  chapter 
says  '  All's  well,'  we  know  (hat  much  is  lost  that  never  can 
■'.  found  again.     (R.T.S.,  3s.  6d.) 


An  Artist'a  Walka  ii 


e  Landi. 


The  Religious  Tract  Society  has  the  honour  of  having 
published  (he  finest  book  on  I'alestine,  if  not  the  finest 
book  on  travel,  this  season.  I<  is  the  work,  both  pen  and 
pencil,  of  (he  late  Mr.  H.  A.  Hacper,  who  knew  Palestine 
intimately,  loved  it,  understood  it,  wro(e  about  it,  and 
sketched  it.  Reading  (his  book  and  examining  i(s  artistic 
pictares  ihey  who  never  saw  '  that  goodly  land '  will  learn 
to  understand  and  love  i(.  The  publishers  have  produced 
a  work  lit  to  be  laid  beside  (he  same  au(hor's  Waiki  in 
Palatine,   and  higher  praise  of  workmanship  is  scarcely 


Shires  of  Etq^Iand. 
In  (he  year  1897  the  Bishop  of  London,  the  late  Di. 
Mandell  Creighton,  published  a  volume  which  he  called  The 
Story  of  samt  English  Shires.  It  covered  seventeen 
counties,  and  (old  their  story  both  historically  from  the 
veiy  earliest  times  till  now,  and  also  geographically  from 
great  city  centre  to  open  weald  or  down.  The  book  has 
now  been  republished  by  Ihe  Religious  Tract  Society 
(Svo,  pp.  3S4,  6s,),  and  contains  an  additional  chapter 
on  the  county  of  Cambridge.  This  permanent  library 
form  of  the  book  is  most  welcome.  The  information  i( 
contains  may  all  be  found  somewhere  else,  but  here  it  is 
related  in  a  most  unassuming  manner,  in  a  pleasant, 
coD(inuous  narrative,  and  with  Ihe  most  scrupulous  accuracy 
of  fact.  Bishop  Creighton's  purpose  seems  to  have  been 
to  leave  on  his  reader's  mind  a  general  but  distinct 
impression  of  each  county's  peculiarities.  He  has  so 
succeeded  that  each  counly  takes  its  characteristic  place 
in  (he  mind  as  clearly  as  i(  occupies  i(s  position  on  a 
coloured  map. 


The  Story  of  Joaeph. 

Messrs,  Hoddet  &  Stoughton  have  published  some  simple 
chapters  by  (he  Rev.  J.  R.  Millet,  D.D.,  on  the  life  of 
Joseph,  with  its  application  to  modem  lives  (2S.  6d.]. 
The  book  is  very  attractively  printed,  and  will  no  doubt 
be  one  of  the  most  popular  Christmas  presents. 


Dr,  Parker's  Pulpit  Bible. 

Messrs.  Hodder  &  S(oughlon  have  published  a  handsome 
quarto  edition  of  (he  Authorized  Version  under  the  title  of 
The  Pulpit  Bible.  It  is  edited  by  the  Rev.  Joseph  Parker, 
D.D,,  minister  of  the  City  Temple.  Dr.  Parker  writes  a 
short  preface  which  he  calls  *  My  last  Will  and  Testament' 
He  also  contributes  brief  homileiical  notes  10  almost  every 
verse  throughout  the  Bible.  These  notes  are  printed  in 
small  (ype  on  (he  margins,  right  opposite  (he  veise  ihey 
annou[e.  They  form  the  distinctive  feature  of  the  Pulpit 
Bible. 

The  notes  we  say  are  homileiical.  This  must  be  under- 
stood or  the  work  will  be  utterly  misjudged.  They  explain 
no  obscurity  of  allusion,  Ihey  identity  no  sites,  (hey  sugges( 
no  new  translations.  Their  sole  intention  is  (o  'improve' 
of  each  verse,  thai  is  lo  say,  to  state  its 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


religious  meaning,  or  at  IfM  to  laggeit  some  religioui 
purpose  to  which  it  may  be  tunled. 

Now  Di.  Parker  ii  a  remirkably  clever  man,  and  this  is 
the  line  of  his  (;ieates(  cleverness.  But  the  slriking  thing 
about  these  homiletical  notes  is  that  he  has  schooled  himself 
not  to  say  elcTer  things,  in  order  thai  he  might  say  things 
that  would  be  oaeful  to  young  preachers. 

But  here  is  an  example.  Let  us  choose  the  passage  <Gn 
19'*"",  occupying  one  column  of  ihe  bookj  which  de»«ib«s 
the  visit  of  the  ingela  to  Lot  in  Sodom. 

Verse  13— The  miniatiy  of  destruction.  Fire  succeeds 
water.     Disregarded  voices,— experience,   revetatioti,   tesli- 

Veise  14— The  preacher  has  often  been  mistaken  for  a 

Verse  16 — Angel -driven .'  Expulsion  may  mean  salvation ! 
God  wniing  Hit  signature  in  capitals  1 

Vers«  17— Do  not  make  a  pastime  of  deliverance  I  Fleet 
Be  energetic  I     Lose  not  a  oioment  I 

Verse   18 — The  prayers  of  ignorance  !    We  offer  Ihem 

Verse  19— Cities  preferred  10  mountains.  Divine  mercy 
stooping  to  human  weakness.     Judgment  wailing. 

Verse  ao— Where  God  can  accommodate  man  He  will. 

Verse  31— God  sometimes  yields  to  man.  It  is  an  error 
10  oppose  human  desire  to  divine  judgment. 


Notable  Hasten  of  Meo. 

There  is  an  idea  at  present  thai  the  doctrine  of  self-help 
has  been  pressed  too  far.  Nevertheless,  we  should  read  and 
heartily  recommend  another  such  book  if  another  Samuel 
Smiles  would  arise  and  write  it.  Mr.  Edward  Prait's 
Notablt  Masters  of  Men  comes  very  near  it.  The  story  of 
the  successful  men  whose  lives  it  relates  and  portraits  it 
presents  is  undoubtedly  made  inspiring  and  enohling,  for  it 
is  clearly  shown  that  their  nobility  did  not  tie  in  the  love  or 
acquisition  of  money.  It  is  a  well-bound,  handsome  priie 
or  present.     (Melrose,  3s.  6d.) 


Boji  of  Our  Empire. 
The  problem  for  an  editor  of  juvenile  literature  is  how  to 
combine  interest  and  edification.  Il  is  one  of  (he  most 
difBcutI  problems  of  our  day.  But  the  issues  at  stake  are  so 
tremendous  that  it  is  worth  all  the  determination  and  patience 
which  it  involves.  A  year  ago  The  Bays  of  Our  Empire 
was  started  with  this  commendable  purpose  clearly  before 
the  mind  of  its  publisher,  Mr.  Andrew  Melrose.  The  year's 
numbers  make  a  heavy  handsome  volume.  Its  title  has  been 
well  chosen  and  never  forgotten.  It  is  a  book  for  British 
boys.  Every  week  introduces  a  new  champion  in  some 
British  sport,  every  week  has  its  stories  of  adventure  and 
its  obvious  jokes,  and  every  week  eicludes  everything  that 
sensitive  parent  or  suspicious  guardian  might  disapprove  of. 

The  Sunday  School  Union  has  published  : — 

Into  Slermy  Waters.     By  Mrs.  Henry  Clarke,     is.  6d. 
Thi  Captairis  Flags.     By  W.  E.  Cule.     is,  6d. 
Calkaritu  tfSitna,     By  Florence  Witts,     is. 


Stories  frem  tie  PUgrim's  Progrtss.     is. 

Tht  Ncm  Playfillew.     By  Gertrude  E.  M.  Vai^ban 

Marley's  Boy.     By  Jennie  Chippell.     9d. 
Gterdit's  VUtory.     By  Margaret  S.  HaycraTt.     9d. 

Info  Stormy  Waters  is  a  girl's  story,  The  Captain's  Flat;) 
a  boy's.  The  first  is  a  story  of  the  home,  the  second  of  the 
school.  Both  are  very  pleasantly  written  with  wholesome 
purpose,  and  suitably  illustrated.  The  5/01^  of  Catharine 
of  Siena,  and  the  Stories  from  the  Pilgrim's  Progress  are  also 
well  illustrated,  the  illustrations  in  the  latter  being  some- 
times quaint  and  original.  The  Nevi  Playfellow  belong*  to 
the  '  Red  Nursery'  Series.  The  illustrations  this  time  are  so 
charming  that  their  author  must  be  named,  Florence  Meyer- 
heim.  Marlins  Bey  and  Geerdie's  Viilory  are  excellent 
prizes  for  the  younger  pupils. 


The  Animals  of  the  Bible. 
Mr.  Gambier  Bolton  has  written  an  account  of  some  of 
the  leading  animals  of  the  Bible,  and  illuslratcd  it  by  photo- 
graphs from  life.  He  does  not  say  that  he  went  lo  Palestine 
to  find  the  living  animals,  some  of  them  indeed  ate  not  to 
be  found  there  now,  but  (hat  does  not  matter.  The  little 
book,  which  is  published  by  Messrs.  Newnes  at  is.  6d.,  is 
both  entertaining  and  useful. 

Tiinea  of  Retirement. 
Messrs.  Nisbet,  in  a  beautiful  Christmas  volume,  have 
published  a  series  of  devotional  papers  which  Dr.  Matheton 
recently  contributed  to  St.  Andreai  (3s.  6d.).  They  are 
very  short,  but  they  are  as  thoughtful  and  (hough t-su^esting 
as  anything  Dr.  Malheson  has  written.  And  Dr.  Matheson 
alone  is  able  to  rescue  our  generation  from  the  charge  of 
inability  (o  write  devotional  lit* 


The  Wide  World  Hasoziue. 
The  seventh  volume  of  the  Wide  World  Mi^aiineomalaMa 
its  issues  from  April  to  September  (Newnes,  6s.  6d.).  Its 
leading  feature  is  Conan  Doyle's  History  of  the  great  Boer 
war,  of  which  il  contains  nine  graphic  chapters,  illustrated 
by  maps  and  pholc^raphs.  But  every  page  palpitates  with 
thrilling  narrative  and  amazing  illustration.  There  is  no 
need  for  adventurous  youth  to  risk  life  or  limb  in  war  or 
wild  beast  chase,  the  utmost  possible  excitement  of  either 
can  be  had  at  the  fireside,  by  some  good  uncle  simply  pre- 
senting a  copy  of  this  volume  of  the  Wide  World  Magadan. 

Bei^en  Worth. 

A  strong  American  story— strong  in  character  and  strong 
in  incident.  It  is  love  that  brings  out  manliness,  and  other 
deep  passions  are  disclosed.  But  perhaps  the  keenest  interest 
in  the  book  arises  from  the  part  played  by  the  men  and 
things  of  God.  It  is  not  a  religious  novel,  but  religion  is  in 
it,  religious  sentiment  and  religious  practice.  Bergen  Worth 
is  a  hero  to  be  remembered.  Wallace  Lloyd's  next  book 
will  be  looked  for.     The  publisher  is  Mr.  Fisher  Unwin.j 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


€ott^tt6tt^ton0   anb   Commtnte, 


Cftriat  dnb  i^t  T3?oman  of  C^ndan. 

Matiubw  XV.  j:-a8. 
It  may  be  that  in  considering  this  narrative  of 
the  wonaan  of  Canaan,  sufficient  attention  has  not 
been  given  to  the  fact  of  her  addressing  our  Lord  as 
'  son  of  David.'  This  is  the  Gospel  of  St.  Matthew 
we  must  remember,  who  was  writing  specially  for 
Jews,  and  was  concerned  to  exhibit  Jesus  as  the 
Jewish  Messiah.  He  would  naturally  be  tender 
with  Jewish  prejudices,  so  far  as  possible,  and  he 
would  be  glad  to  show  Jesus  as  tender  with  those 
prejudices  also.  For  they  were  not  entirely  pre- 
judices. God's  election  of  the  Jews  was  a  great 
historical  fact;  and  as  God  does  nothing  lightly, 
so  'He  abideth  faithful:  He  cannot  deny  Him- 
self.' Their  position  of  privilege  was  a  reality, 
and  it  had  not  been  forfeited  yet  They  had 
claims  upon  Him  such  as  no  other  people  could 
prefer;  they  stood  in  a  unique  relation  to  Him 
still.  Had  Jesus  slighted  those  claims  and 
ignored  that  relation,  the  Jews  might  justly  have 
resented  it,  but  He  did  nothing  of  the  sort.  As 
here  in  the  coasts  of  Tyre  and  Sidon,  so  in 
Samaria  (Jn  4^°),  He  is  loyal  to  the  Jews'  preroga- 
tive. 

Now  what  do  we  notice  about  this  Canaanitish 
woman  ?  She  addresses  Him  as  the  '  son  of 
David.'  This  can  hardly  have  been  accidental; 
it  must  have  been  done  with  a  motive.  Did  she 
think  to  commend  herself  to  Him  by  this  mode 
of  address?  Was  it  done  to  curry  favour?  Was 
it  the  least  bit  insincere  ?  Did  it  amount  to  some- 
thing like  an  attempt  to  sail  under  false  colours? 
for  she  was  using  a  title  which  meant  nothing  for 
her,  taking  up  ground  in  her  approaches  to  Him 
to  which  she  really  had  no  right.  If  this  was  so, 
it  may  partly  account  for  our  Lord's  seeming 
harshness  in  so  deaUng  with  her  that  she  might 
be  ted  to  rest  her  suit  upon  a  truer  ground. 
Those  words  of  His  that  follow  :  '  I  am  not  sent, 
but  unto  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel,' 
are  easily  explained  by  restricting  the  reference 
to  His  own  personal  ministry,  but  as  overheard 
by  the  woman  they  would  bring  home  to  her 
her  mistake  in  addressing  Him  as  the  son  of 
David.     That  title  meant   something ;    it  was  no 


mere  title  of  courtesy ;  and  in  all  their  approaches 
to  Him,  He  would  have  people  to  be  absolutely 
real.  Witness  His  reply  to  the  young  ruler's 
appeal, '  Good  Master,  what  shall  I  do  to  inherit 
eternal  life?'  there  was  something  not  quite 
genuine  in  the  young  man's  standpoint  evidently. 
Even  so,  perhaps,  in  the  case  of  this  woman. 
At  all  events,  it  was  as  '  son  of  David '  that  He 
belonged  quite  specially  to  the  Jews,  and,  in 
choosing  to  address  Him  so,  whatever  her  motive 
may  have  been,  she  had  herself  emphasized  the 
fact  that  she  had  no  claim  upon  Him.  The 
woman  sees  her  mistake,  she  stands  corrected, 
but  she  will  not  therefore  abandon  hope ;  to  be 
corrected  is  to  be  put  in  the  way  of  doing  better ; 
and  she  does  better  when  hereupon  she  falls  at 
His  feet,  and  simply  begs,  'Lord,  help  me,'  her 
only  claim  her  need,  her  only  hope  His  mercy. 
So  now  the  interest  of  the  situation,  and  what 
shall  make  it  instructive  for  all  time,  has  resolved 
itself  into  the  question.  Will  she  really  be  able  to 
accept  this  position  unreservedly,  as  one  who  has 
no  claim,  nothing  to  commend  herself  by  at  all  ? 
Jesus  will  put  it  to  the  proof;  He  will  try  her 
by  a  severe  utterance  from  the  strictest  Jewish 
point  of  view;  He  will  hold  her  for  a  moment 
at  that  extreme  distance  which  a  Pharisee  might 
have  done.  If  from  that  distance  she  can  still 
plead,  if  from  that  level  she  can  be  seen  pre- 
vailing, what  a  door  of  mercy  will  thus  be  found 
opened  for  all  these  dogs  of  Gentiles  I  She  will 
be  pleading  and  winning  her  cause,  not  for  herself 
alooe,  but  for  them  alL  She  is  like  their  repre- 
sentative. Taken  at  the  Jews'  own  valuation, 
they  shall,  by  the  mouth  of  this  woman,  put  in 
their  plea ;  and  as  it  fares  with  her  shall  it  be 
known  how  it  may  fare  with  them.  '  He  an- 
swered and  said,  It  is  not  meet  to  take  the 
children's  bread,  and  to  cast  it  to  dogs.'  Most 
suppliants  would  have  been  silenced  by  receiving 
an  answer  like  that.  But  Jesus  knew  the  faith 
that  was  in  this  woman;  otherwise  one  feels 
certain  that  He  would  not  have  spoken  as  He 
did ;  and  the  high  honour  He  bad  in  view  for 
her  was  that  she  should  be  the  one  to  draw 
out  of  these  very  words,  which  were  only  borrowed 
words  as  Jesus  used  them,  a  ground  of  hope  for 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


»39 


all  who  pass  amoiig  their  fellow-men  as  outcast 
and  despised.  The  Jewish  setting  of  this  incident 
is  accidental.  The  abiding  lessons  seem  to  be 
two :  (i)  Let  the  world  put  upon  us  ihe  lowest 
valuation  that  it  will,  Jesus  will  not  reject  us, 
whatever  that  valuation  be.  (a)  Only  there  must 
be  no  coming  before  Him  pretending  to  be  other 
and  better  than  we  are.  As  candidates  for  grace, 
the  lowest  valuation  we  can  set  upon  ourselves  is 
not  likely  to  be  too  low. 

F.  G.  Cholmondelev. 

Leek  Waallon  Vicarage,  H'arviick. 


iBilfilfiMi  vi.  9. 

'  Let  us  not  be  weaiy  {ji\  fyKaKunif)  in  well-doing :  foi 
in  due  Eeuon  we  shall  reap,  if  we  faint  not  (^4  inXuiiurw),' 

The  commentators  are  careful  to  emphasize  at 
greater  or  less  length  the  distinction  between  these 
words;  and  even  the  ordinary  New  Testament 
reader  cannot  fail  to  observe  the  change  from  '  let 
us  not  fe  weary '  to  '/ain^  not.'  The  distinction 
is,  of  course,  no  idle  one,  and  merits  a  few  words. 
The  ordinary  reader  observes  that  the  apostle 
uses  two  different  terms  to  express  what,  at  first 
flush,  seems  to  be  the  same  thing ;  Sl  Paul  speaks 
first  of '  being  weary,'  and  then  of '  fainting.'  But 
the  two  terms  are  by  no  means  identical  in  mean- 
ing, and  the  subde  mind  of  the  apostle  perceives 
at  once  the  contrast  and  the  connexion  between 
the  two.  The  exhortation,  '  Ui  us  not  be  weary,' 
means,  and  indeed  might  be  more  fittingly  trans- 
lated, 'Let  us  not  lose  heart';  the  reference  is 
more  particularly  to  our  attitude  of  mind,  to  our 
feelings.  The  condition,  ^  if  we  faint  not,' rtim 
to  our  actions,  and  means,  '  if  we  do  not  entirely 
desist,  absolutely  stop.'  That  is  to  say,  there  is  in 
the  two  phrases  all  the  difTerence  between  the 
feeling  of  care-nothing  and  the  state  of  da-nothing. 
Of  course  the  one  is  very  apt  to  lead  to  the  other : 
if  we  care  naught,  we  are  apt  to  do  naught ;  and 
that  is  just  why  the  apostle  writes  as  he  does. 
'  Let  us  not  lose  heart ' ;  he  frames  his  exhortation 
with  reference  to  the  cause,  not  with  reference  to 
the  effect,  for  the  cause  is  at  once  more  common 
in  its  occurrence  and  more  subtle  in  its  influence. 
And  a  further  helpful  thought  is  suggested  by  this. 
The 'reaping' — the  result  we  desire  and  aim  at — 
depends  on  our  actions,  on  our  'not-fainting';  it 


does  not  depend  on  our  feelings,  whether  of  de- 
spondency or  of  hopefulness.  Let  us  be  never  so 
downcast  and  hopeless  as  to  the  issue,  still  if  we 
persist  in  our  labours,  the  reward  shall  be  ulti- 
mately ours. 


Tibbtmiere  Mai 


:,  Perth. 


Harry  Smith. 


£ufte  i.  3. 

It  seems  worth  while  to  point  out  how  early 
ihe  question  whether  Traaiy,  in  the  sentence,  Tofi)- 
Ko\ov0i)K<!n  wMii-  avuidw  dicptfiuK,  was  masculine  or 
neuter,  was  answered  in  the  opposite  direction. 

The  first  who  took  it  as  masculine  seems  to 
have  been  Justin  the  Martyr  (about  150),  when 
he  speaks  of  wrofiv^iuvra  written  by  apostles  of 
Christ  and  those  who  followed  them,  koI  tSiv  ck«Vih{ 
7rapaKo\ov$i)irdvT'j>y  {Dial  103).  For  he  alludes 
here,  apparently,  to  the  Gospels  of  Matthew  and 
John  as  written  by  apostles,  and  those  of  Mark 
and  Luke  as  coming  from  followers  of  the  apostles. 

Thesame  construction  is  maintained  by  Eusebius, 
when  he  writes  on  Luke  {ff.E.  iii.  4,  7) :  ri  irX-aara 
(Tvyytyovis  t^  XIbuXu  koi  tow  XodroTc  oi  ov  irapfpyi^ 
Tuv  avixrroXutv  u/uAijKut,  'He  lived  mostly  with 
Paul,  but  conversed  also  more  than  occasionally 
with  the  other  apostles,  receiving  from  them  the 
art  of  medical  treatment  of  souls  {ijmxliv  Biptartmi- 
K^i),  traces  of  which  he  left  in  two  divinely  inspired 
books  (Iv  Suirii'  .  .  .  BtmrvviaTOK  .  .  .  fiifiXani)  in 
the  Gospel,  which  he  testifies  to  have  written,  as 
delivered  unto  us  by  those  who  from  the  beginning 
were  eye-witnesses  and  ministers  of  the  Word,  with 
whom  all,  he  says,  he  followed  from  the  beginning, 
{ail  KOI,  ^Tjvtv,  iirdvu>6<y  3.iriuri  wofniKoXovSriKivat), 
and  in  the  Acts,'  etc. 

A  third  ancient  authority  for  this  view  is 
Epiphanius,  Haeres.  51.  7.  Like  Eusebius,  who 
expressly  calls  the  books  of  Luke  divinely  in- 
spired, he  emphasizes  that  the  Holy  Ghost  in- 
duced Luke  to  write  his  Gospel  {HyafKo^ti.  to  aytov 
jTWvjua  KOI  cTivwTci  Tov  iytov  AovKov),  'who  intro- 
duces in  proof  of  truth  as  witnesses  the  ministers 
oftheWord  .  .  ,  and  says:  It  seemed  good  to  me, 
after  I  followed  in  order  from  the  first  them  who 
were  eye-witnesses  and  ministers  of  the  Word,  to 
write  unto  thee  (ISoj*  k6^i  xapijKoXov^oTi  aina0t¥ 
Toi<i  ajrTOimuf  k<u  vinjpcrais  rov  Xoyant  ya/o/xirMt). 

The    same  view   is   taken    by  Euthalius  (ed. 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Zacagni,  421),  and,  perhaps,  also  by  Papias  and 
Clement  of  Alexandria,  when  they  used  the  same 
word,  while  speaking  of  the  Gospel  of  Mark : 
Papias,  that  he  did  not  follow  Christ,  but  later 
Peter,  oSrc  «api)KoXoi]fti|(rav  avr^  wrrtpov  Si  .  .  . 
n«-p4i ;  Clement,  that  the  Roman  Christians  asked 
him  as  follower  of  Peter  to  write  his  Gospel,  trapa- 
noA^o-airovMapKoi'  ^h.v  dNoXouftl^atTaaATU  ir^ppuSei' 
Kai  fn^VT\ftAvav  loiv  Kfj^artiav  avaypaij/ai  To.  ttfnffiiva- 

It  seems,  further,  to  be  found  in  the  Latin 
Prologus  to  the  Third  Gospel,  where  Luke  is 
designated  as  dhcipulus  apoitolerum,  poslea  (vero) 
Paulum  seeutus.  The  Latin  version  of  the  text, 
'adsecuto  a  principio  axanibus,'  is  ambiguous; 
but  the  verb  {assegui)  favours  the  neuter,  and  some 
MSS  of  the  Old  Latin  and  of  the  Vulgate,  and 
the  printed  editions  of  the  latter,  put  omnia. 

Grammatically  it  is  possible  to  take  itamv  as 
masculine;  but  the  connexion  excludes  this  view, 
and  it  is  strange  that  it  found  so  much  favour  in 
the  oldest  times,  and  even  later,  after  the  explana- 
tion as  neuter  had  been  put  forward.  The  first 
certain  trace  of  the  latter  explanation  I  find  in 
the  Syriac  palimpsest  from  Sinai,  'When  I  had 
examined  all  these  things  from  the  beginning,' 
En  p  yrhz  pK  m^^^.  The  same  sense  is  given 
as  that  of  the  Peshito  in  the  Uferal  Translation 
from  the  Syriac  Peshitto  Version,  by  James  Mur- 
dock  (sixth  edition,  Boston  and  L^ondon,  1S93), 
'as  they  delivered  them  to  us  ...  as  I  had  ex- 
amined them  all  accurately.'  But  when  we  turn 
to  the  Peshito  text  itself,  we  find  that  it  runs  quite 
differently :  pnioii  n'SBV  n*in  nnpi  ilOD,  i.e.  '  be- 
cause I  was  near  carefully  to  all  of  them.'  It  is 
curious  to  ask  how  Murdock  came  to  anticipate 
in  his  translation  the  reading  of  the  Sinai  Codex 
by  more  than  forty  years.  With  the  Peshito  seems 
to  agree,  again,  the  later  Syriac  version,  the  so- 
called  Philoxeniana,  as  edited  by  White.  It  is 
true  White  translated:  'Qui  assecutus  sum  alte 
omnia  ditigentet,'  but  the  text  has  'jff?  p  nopinm 
n'WVnn  Tin'pz'?,  and  must  be  translated, '  having  fol- 
lowed from  above  a// carefully';  Jints  is  masculine, 
the  neuter  wSunv  is  rendered  in  this  translation  by 
rn^;  see,  for  instance,  Lk  i*"  3"-**. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  quote  other  witnesses; 
only  one  word  about  the  Gothic  version,  in  which 
'  alJaim '  is  again  ambiguous ;  it  may  be  neuter  or 
masculine.  This  version  agrees  with  a  few  Latin 
MSS  (bg  of  the  Old  Latin,  and  BGO  of  the 
Vult'ate)  in  the  gloss :  '  visum  est  mihi  et  spiritui 


sancfa.'    Did  this  gloss  enter  from  the  I^tin  into 
:  the  Gothic,  or  from  the  Gothic  into  the  Latin,  or 
{  is  there  any  trace  of  it  already  in  Greek  sources  ? 
'  See  above  on  Eusebius  and  Epiphanius. 
I  Eb.  Nestle. 

I        Jtfttuibronir. 


A  VERY  interesting  contribution  from  the  pen  of 
Professor  Jannaris  has  lately  appeared,  on  the 
interpretation  of  the  prologue  to  St  John's  Gospel, 
which  deserves  careful  consideration.  The  author 
approaches  his  subject  from  a  standpoint  diflferent 
from  that  of  most  students  of  the  Gospel ;  and  as 
few  things  throw  so  much  light  on  a  well-worn 
study  as  a  new  point  of  view,  this  advantage 
should  be  borne  in  mind. 

A  Greek  himself,  Professor  Jannaris  knew 
colloquial  Greek  as  a  living  tongue  in  the  first 
I  instance,  and  became  a  classical  scholar  in  the 
second ;  and  his  principal  publication  is  meant  to 
show  the  unity  of  the  Greek  language  from  the 
most  ancient  times  to  our  own.-  Being  then  a 
master  of  the  classical  and  the  modem  colloquial 
language  equally,  and  having  traced  the  stages  by 
which  the  one  has  given  place  to  the  other,  he  has 
singular  opportunity  for  reading  the  Greek  of  the 
New  Testament,  which  is  intermediate,  with  all 
the  light  that  can  be  thrown  on  it  from  either  side. 
'  Some  years  since,'  he  says,  '  I  was  struck  by  the 
frequency  in  New  Testament  Greek  of  what  I 
should  call  editorial  misreadings  and  misrender- 
ings.  ...  As  it  appears  in  our  printed  editions, 
alike  Received  and  critical,  the  New  Testament  is 
perhaps  the  worst  edited  of  all  ancient  texts.' 
Professor  Jannaris  finds  in  the  opening  of  St 
John's  Gospel  a  notable  instance  of  this ;  and  his 
paper  is  to  show  how  the  passage  ought  to  be 
read.  He  says :  '  My  object  here  is  not  the 
ambitious  task  of  investigating  or  even  reviewing 
the  Logos  doctrine  in  its  wide  and  post-apostolic 
history,  nor  shall  I  embark  on  philosophical  and 
theological  speculation.     My  research  will  be  con- 

1  Zeitsehrift  fiir  die  NeuUslanunlliehr  IVisseiuchn/l  una 
die  Kundt  dei  Ur<:lirisUiUums.  Giessen :  J.  Ricker.  By 
A.  N.  Janiurb. 

•  An  Mislarica!  Crtii  Grammar,  ihiefly  of  the  Allie 
dialed  ai  virilUa  and  sfmten,  fnm  tli^ssitnl  giilfgtfiff  dauiH 
to  present  limei,     I^ndon 


^^'^';i^?,;'K5'iK'i<i^«f' 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


141 


fined  within  the  N.T.,  or  rather  to  the  Johannine 
writings,  and  the  method  I  shall  adopt  is  that  of  a 
purely  philosophical,  i.e.  grammatical  and  histor- 
ical study.' 

In  the  interpretation  which  he  finally  reaches, 
Professor  Jannaris  innovates  in  two  respects ;  first 
in  the  meaning  of  the  teim  Atryos,  and  secondly  in 
the  punctuation  and  connexion  of  the  text.  He 
assumes  indeed  the  Received  Text  throughout  the 
fourteen  opening  verses,  which  atone  he  discusses 
(save  in  a  triviality  of  spelling),  but  his  division  of 
the  clauses  presents  several  changes. 

First  the  usual  meanings  of  A»yot  are  discussed. 
From  the  two  senses  of  Xeyai — '  say '  and  '  tell ' — 
those  of  a  saying  or  message,  and  of  an  injunction 
or  command,  are  immediately  derived.  To  these 
arc  added  two  other  uses,  namely,  that  of  articu- 
late thought,  or  reason,  and  that  of  an  equivalent 
for  the  Aramaic  memra  when  coupled  with  a 
possessive  in  which  it  is  virtually  merged,  e.g.  '  the 
Name  of  God,'  which  may  be  simply  a  paraphrase 
of  'God.'  These  are  regarded  as  the  only  dis- 
tinct meanings  which  Xdyew  bears  in  the  N.T. 
generally,  while  even  of  these  the  third  is  absent 
from  the  Gospels.  One  would  have  thought 
that  the  meaning  of  a  'recitoning'  or  'account,' 
which  the  word  often  has  in  the  N.T.,  ought  at 
all  events  to  be  added.  However,  Professor 
Jaanaris  considers  none  of  these  senses  applicable 
to  the  opening  of  St.  John,  so  a  full  enumeration 
is  unimportant. 

Next  the  question  is  considered  when  the  term 
Aoyof  first  appears  in  post-biblical  writers 'as  the 
personal  or  anthropomorphic  Logos,  as  the  Incar- 
nate Son  of  God.'  The  form  of  the  question  is 
curious,  as  Christian  writers  have  not  identified 
the  Logos  with  the  Son  of  God  only  when  Incar- 
nate :  but  that  is  perhaps  a  slip.  The  answer 
given  is  that  it  lirst  emerges  in  the  middle  of  the 
second  century ;  and  the  Logos  doctrine  seems  to 
have  gained  currency  only  at  the  end  of  that 
century.  This  meaning  is  therefore  set  aside  also 
as  inapplicable  in  St.  John.  Professor  Jannaris 
very  truly  observes  that  the  introduction  of  the 
term  a  Xoyos  (with  the  article)  in  the  opening 
sentence  of  the  Gospel, — and  that  with  no  pre- 
paration or  subsequent  explanation, — implies  that 
the  author  used  it  in  some  well-known  sense  ;  and 
this  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  he  never  reverts 
to  its  use  afterwards,  as  he  certainly  would  have 
done,  had  he  been  impressing  some  new  meaning 


upon  a  term  selected  for  a  position  of  such  promi- 
nence- 

Wbat  then  can  be  meant  by  this  Logos — the 
Logos — which  the  writer  assumes  will  be  familiar 
to  all?  'It  can  only  be  the  well-known  Aoyot, 
"  der  Spruch,"  the  dictum  or  deliverance  with 
which  the  Book  of  Genesis  opens :  God  said  (clxo' 
6  0«>f),  the  utterance  (Atfyos)  or  Spruch,  by  which 
God  created  the  world,  by  the  repetition  (nine 
times !)  of  which  utterance  all  things  came  into 
being  (^cVcTo)  one  after  another,  and  without 
which  not  a  thing  came  into  being.  ...  In 
beginning  the  life  of  Christ,  St.  John  very  natur- 
ally and  fittingly  thinks  of  the  beginning  of  the 
world,  and  so  opens  or  prefaces  his  narrative  with 
the  account  of  the  creation  in  Genesis.  'God 
said,  Let  there  be  light,  and  there  was  light.'  .  .  . 
Conceiving  Christ  as  the  '  true  Light,'  then,  John 
very  naturally  connects  him  with  the  account  in 
Genesis  where  the  light  marks  the  first  divine 
step.' 

It  is  one  merit  in  this  interpretation,  as  Pro- 
fessor Jannaris  rightly  points  out,  that  it  '  accounts 
for  the  coincidence  —  the  unmistakable  coinci- 
dence—regarding the  use  of  the  term  Ajiyos  both 
in  St.  John  and  Philo.  For  without  necessarily 
copying  or  knowing  each  other,  both  writers  refer 
lo  the  same  well-known  work  of  God  recorded  in 
the  well-known  opening  lines  of  Genesis.' '  And 
quotations  from  the  writings  of  Fhllo  go  to  show 
that  the  resemblances  and  differences  between 
these  and  the  prologue  of  St.  John's  Gospel,  in 
the  use  of  the  term  Koyoti,  are  alike  consistent 
with  its  adoption  by  both  from  the  story  of  the 
creation. 

Notwithstanding  the  limits  that  Professor  Jan- 
naris set  himself  at  the  beginning  of  his  paper,  he 
adds  a  few  paragraphs  to  show  how  the  Aoyo?  used 
by  St.  John  in  this  simple  sense  might  easily,  and 
did  in  fact,  become  the  basis  of  the  theological 
teaching  which  subsequently  identified  the  Logos 
with  the  son  of  God.  This  he  attributes  to  the 
need  felt  by  men  who  were  Hellenic  philosophers 
before  they  became  Christians,  for  bringing  their 
new  faith  into  touch  with  their  philosophic  habits 
and  convictions,  and  presenting  it  to  others  who 

'Cf.  Bigg's  Chriilian  Platonisls  of  Alexandria,  p.  |,S, 
wheie  after  quoting  Troin  the  Di  Agric.  a  passage  on  ihi.- 
XiyoT,  Profcs-sor  Bigg  lemaiks,  '  Hete  Philo  is  thinking,  dol 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


nere  not  yet  believers,  in  a  form  suited  to  specu- 
lative minds.  No  doubt  if  the  reading  of  St 
John's  prologue  on  these  lines  be  accepted,  the 
history  of  the  Logos  doctrine  must  be  explained 
in  such  a  way. 

A  further  point  roust  be  added  if  Professor 
Jannaris'  view  is  to  be  presented  completely. 
Where  Adyos  occurs  in  v.>*,  it  is  not  taken  in  the 
same  sense.  Twelve  verses  intervene  between 
its  previous  mention  and  this  point,  and  these 
contain  many  ideas  weighty  enough  to  carry  the 
mind  forward,  and  so  to  make  a  direct  resumption 
in  v."  far  from  the  only  possible  way  of  reading  it. 
The  natural  reference,  in  (he  opinion  of  Professor 
Jannaris,  for  koi  o  Aoyos  crapi  iyivrro  is  to  the 
iioviria  of  the  sentence  preceding,  this  word  being 
understood  in  the  sense  of '  commandment,'  which 
it  often  bears.  The  charge  given  to  believers  to 
become  God's  children  is  conceived  as  becoming 
embodied  in  us  (iv  ^/^ly)  Christians,  and  so  as 
'becoming  flesh.'  If  Professor  Jannaris'  transla- 
tion of  the  whole  passage  be  given,  no  difficulty 
will  be  found  in  seeing  both  how  he  punctuates 
the  text  in  a  new  way,  and  how  he  gives  effect  to 
these  corrections  in  the  translation  of  the  principal 
terra  in  dispute : — 

V.'  In  the  beginning  was  the  utierance.  Now  the  utler- 
ance  wM  made  unto  God,  and  was  a  god.  This  -ulterance 
was  in  the  beginning  made  unlo  God.  'All  things  came 
into  being  through  il,  and  without  it  not  a  thing  came  into 
being.  That  which  it  come  into  lieing,  'therein  was  life 
and  lb«  life  was  the  light  of  mankind.  'And  the  tight  is 
shining  in  (he  darkneis  and  the  darkness  hath  not  ovei- 

'There  appeared  a  man  sent  from  God;  his  name  was 
John.  ''The  same  came  for  declaration  (to  declare  things 
concerning  the  Light],  so  that  all  may  become  believers 
through  him.  '  He  was  not  the  Light,  but  wa>  (came)  to 
declare  lUni^i  concerning  the  Light.  '  The  true  Light  that 
illuminaleth  every  man  coming  into  Ihe  world  '"wai  in  the 
world,  and  Ihc  world  came  into  being  through  him,  aniyel 
the  world  reeogniied  Him  Del.  "  He  came  into  His  own 
home  and  his  own  people  received  him  not.  "  But  as  many 
as  received  him,  to  (hem  gave  he  authority  (o  become  God's 
children  for  those  which  believe  in  his  name ;  '*  which  were 
[tota  not  through  bloodshed  nor  through  the  will  of  ihe 
Hesh  nor  through  Ihe  will  of  man,  but  from  God.  "And 
the  mandate  became  flesh  and  lodged  in  us,  and  m  we  beheld 
his  (Ihe  Light's)  glory. 

It  will  probably  be  felt  that  some  parts  of  the 
views  which  Professor  Jannaris  thus  puts  forth  are 
more  convincing  than  others.  To  dea!  with  a 
minor  issue  first,  most  readers  will  perhaps  demur 


to  treating  Aoyot  in  v.'*  as  quite  w£ 
with  the  same  term  where  it  occutsui< 
is  it  easy  to  see  how  the  charge  to  b«» 
children  could  be  said  to  '  become  flei> 
to  '  lodge  in  us.'  For  myself  I  shoolc  i 
this  interpretation  was  forced,  and  nxit 
realty  intelligible  sense.  But  it  doensi 
fall  with  Professor  Jannaris'  main  tma 
KoytK  in  v.>  means  the  creative  wvc' 
recorded  in  the  opening  of  Genesis.  U:= 
is  much  to  attract.  It  puts  to  rest  ui^ 
the  difficulties  that  have  always  beenfdt: 
here,  and  here  only  in  the  Johanniiic  rc 
language  of  speculative  theology,  whitl : 
is  characteristic  of  a  later  generation,: 
besides  more  affinity  with  the  philow^ 
schools  than  with  the  profound  simplicrii 
Hebrew  cast  of  mind  so  noticeable  eis^ 
SL  John's  writings.  Of  course  the  Kct^ 
this  interpretation  no  more  involves  ti 
of  the  later-developed  doctrine  conoir:^ 
as  the  Logos  of  God  than  the  rejecdor 
{in  the  Received  Text)  implies  draii  ■ 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  or  the  readio;' 
stead  of  ®«ot  in  i  Ti  3"  implies  the  i;*^ 
the  doctrine  of  the  Incarnation.  Buitf 
once  cut  away  the  strongest  gromi  = 
attacks  upon  the  authenticity  of  the  Of"^ 
been  based ;  and  it  would  bring  the  ofci 
into  complete  accord  with  the  rest  of  tt< 
inasmuch  as  the  ideas  there  expressed'^ 
found  simple,  profound,  and  deeplf  H'' 
elsewhere. 

True    this    does   not    remove  all  ^ 
Whether  one  pUces  the  stop  after  •»' 
treating  this  as  a  clause  complete  (u  ^ 
Jannaris  does),  or  after  the  follo«ua  ■ 
(which  is  the  customary  punctuation).  (^^ 
ovTot  following  (which  is  perhaps  the  btf^ 
it  remains  a  difficulty  that  the  word  r.\ 
uttered  in  creation  should  be  identi^^* 
who  uttered  it.     I  am  disposed  to  taie 
as  intended  to  exclude  the  false  iie 
utterance  once  made  had  a  power  of  ^ 
to  guard  the  truth  that  God,  and  God  i 
the  source  and  origin  of  created  thio;^ 
the  later  Brahmans  taught   that  en>> 
themselves  attained  their  ends  and  bM 
they  were  by  means  of  sacrifice,'  lbs*! 
sacrifice   an  independent  existence V 

.'  £.?.  Sa/a/m/JllaMrJimir--   - 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


143 


virtue  quite  inconsistent  with  its  essential  char- 
acter as  an  act  of  relation  between  roan  and  God, 
so  in  an  age  when  magic  was  still  professed  and 
commanded  respect  the  apostle  guarded  against 
such  '  idols '  by  affirming  that '  The  word  was  with 
God ;  and  God  was  this  word ;  it  was  in  the  be- 
ginning with  God.'  A  further  difficulty  remains  in 
the  latter  part  of  v.'.  It  is  far  from  clear  what 
Professor  Jannaris  understands  by  the  clause, 
'  That  which  is  come  ioto  being,  therein  was  life,' 
etc.  Does  he  mean  '  Life  was  in  what  came  into 
being,'  or  does  he  mean,  'What  came  into  being 
was  life  in  the  word'?  I  am  disposed  to  accept 
the  second  alternative,  treating  '  was  life '  as  again 
a  Hebraism  for  '  lived '  in  correspondence  with 
iyirtTo  above,  just  as  iv  auTw  corresponds  with  Si' 

Despite  these  difficulties  of  detail — from  some 
of  which  no  interpretation  yet  propounded  is  free 
— the  main  point  of  Professor  Jannaris'  rendering 
commends  itself.  The  case  for  reading  X^ym  as 
the  creative  word  which  summoned  all  things  into 
being,  as  Genesis  records,  appears  to  me  even 
stronger  than  Professor  Jannaris  has  shown,  when 
taken  in  the  same  sense  in  v.^*,  with  due  attention 
given  to  the  analogy  drawn  out  in  w.'''  on  the  one 
hand,  and  w,"-"  on  the  other.  The  fundamental 
ideas  in  St.  John's  mind  are  those  which  he  ex- 
presses somewhat  differently  in  1  Jn  i'"*  2"'-'.  He 
had  himself  witnessed  a  new  creation.  A  '  word  of 
Life'  had  once  more  been  uttered  by  God,  and  it 
was  the  apostle's  duty  to  declare  the  Life,  the 
Eternal  Life,  which  was  with  (irpot)  the  Father, 
and  was  manifested.  It  was  no  novelty — this 
creative  command — and  yet  it  was  a  new  word  of 
power.  Light  was  its  first  effect  in  the  beginning 
of  all  things,  and  yet  the  light  did  not  banish  the 
darkness.  Now  again  the  word  of  God  was 
uttered,  and  again  the  same  effect ;  so  that  at  last 
'  the  darkness  is  passing  away,  and  the  true  Light 
is  already  shining.'  This  teaching  is  drawn  out, 
with  of  course  difference  of  form  and  phrase,  in 

'  PacalleU  are  not  uocommon  ;  e.g.  Jn  6*°  m'i  where  the 
senie  is  probably  '  I  am  the  Way ;  Ibe  true  and  living 
Way.' 


the  prologue  to  the  Gospel,  but  in  complete 
harmony  with  the  Epistle.  '  In  the  beginning  was 
the  creative  word.  Through  it  God,  and  God 
alone,  called  all  things  into  being.  All  that  was 
made  became  alive  in  it.  And  this  life  was  light 
for  men.  Yet  a  light  that  left  darkness  surround- 
ing, unable  to  quench  the  light,  but  never  scattered 
by  it.  Then  God's  word  was  heard  again:  the 
word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  John,  who  was  sent 
to  declare  the  Light  which  was  Life  for  men.  And 
once  more  the  true  Light  was  found  not  to  banish 
the  darkness  at  once ;  for  when  in  the  world  the 
world  did  not  recognize  Him, — no,  not  even  His 
own  did  so.  Yet  those  that  were  truly  His  own — 
who  received  Him  and  believed  on  His  Name — 
were  given  the  power  of  a  new  life,  an  eternal  life, 
so  that  they  might  become  sons  of  God.  By  no 
natural  birth  must  they  become  such,  but  being 
begotten  of  God.  So  God's  word  became  flesh — 
took  human  form — and  dwelt  in  our  midst;  and 
we  beheld  the  glory  which  shone  forth  on  this  new 
utterance,  "Let  Light  be," — glory  as  of  an  only 
Son  from  a  Father's  side,  full  of  grace  and  truth.' 

It  is  hard  to  say  whether  the  more  suitable 
pronoun  in  reference  to  the  true  Light  is  'He'  or 
'  it.'  In  any  case,  the  thought  is  wholly  fixed  on 
Jesu:i  Christ;  but,  except  in  the  clause 'became 
flesh,'  itte/arm  of  the  thought  is  not  personal,  the 
Lord  being  conceived  as  the  Light.  Perliaps 
more  justice  would  be  done  to  the  metaphor — 
which  yet  is  more  than  metaphor,  for  'this  is  the 
message  which  we  have  heard  from  Him  and 
announce  unto  you,  that  God  is  Light,' — if  the 
less  personal  pronoun  were  employed.  But  the 
whole  thought  is  so  intensely  personal  at  bottom, 
that  one  can  hardly  deem  this  adequate. 

The  connecting  link  between  o  koyiy;  irhpi  iycvtro 
and  the  previous  iy  ipxB  ^  "  A«yi«  .  .  .  jraym 
&'  atToi'  lyivtra  is  thus  found  in  v.",  which  is  but 
another  way  of  expressing  the  established  O.T. 
phrase,  'The  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  John."' 
And  the  whole  of  the  prologue  answers  to,  and  is 
interpreted  by,  the  ideas  embodied  in  St.  John's 

'  iyltm  XiyM  Kvpl«u  rpbt  .  .  . 


144 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Fitst  Epistle,  whose  very  phrases  continually  aid  its 
exposition.  As  one  last  illustration  of  this  I  may 
add  that  the  key  to  the  understanding  of  ii  aiixd- 
rmr  is  certainly  to  be  found  in  i  Jn  3',  and 
Professor  Jannaris'  translation  '  bloodshed '  is 
without  doubt  a  mistake.  E,  P.  Boys-Smith. 
Hardle  Vicarage. 


When  I  wrote  my  note  on  'Azek^i  published  in 
last  month's  issue  (p.  95  f.),  I  was  unawaie  that 
the  wish  I  then  expressed  for  a  speedy  publication 
of  the  Inscription  82-3-23,  131  had  been  realized 
half  a  year  ago.  Hugo  Winckler,  whom  we  have 
to  thank  for  making  us  acquainted  with  so  many 
new  historical  texts,  gave  to  the  public  a  transcrip- 
tion and  translation  of  the  above  inscription  in  his 
Altorient.  Forschungen,  zweite  Reihe.iii.  a  (Leipzig, 
1901),  i.  p.  570  ff.,  under  the  title  'Bruchstiicke 
von  Kcilschrifttexten,'  No.  rS.  The  inscription 
belongs,  according  to  Winckler,  to  Sargon  (cf.  the 
expedition  of  the  latter  to  Ashdod),  and  runs  as 
follows : — ■ 


to  my  land 

of  Assur,  my  lord,  a  district  (iia§ii)   .... 

the  city  A-ia-ia-a,  his  garrison  town  (*/( 

lutlSli-lu),  which  between  .   .  . 
„  .  .  .  a  high  ...   a  mountain  peak,  was  situated,  like 
the  sheath  of  an  iron  da^cr  .  .  . 
.  .   .  and  rivalled  each  other  the  peaked  mnunlains  .  . 

...  in  bringing  siege  instruroenls  [aramnii') 

[The  approach]  of  my  horses  saw  they  and  the  tumult 
of  my  troop»  [beard  they] 

I  caplured  and  plundeied  .  ■  . 

) ofa  royal[city]of  the /'.iiViJ/i'ifj 


huge  .  .  .  unblemiihed  oxen  [I  offered?] 

of  the  palice.  like  a  mountain  befoie  them  .  . 

.  .  .  then  lose   nut  up  lor  him  bb  Min-god,  at   the 

(drying  up]  of  his  water, 
:5.  [nhilc  he  .  .  .]  hewed  with  axes,  a  trench  round  about 

men  skilled  in  war  he  brought  in 

the  troops  of  Martu,  ill  of  them    ...  he, 

,  .  .  [summoned   I]  againsi   ihem.  with  seven  limes 

siWy  {  =  420)  .  .  . 
who  from  within  [made  a  sally,  I  fought?). 


Strangely  enough  Winckler  has  not  recognized 
the  identity  of  this  city  Azaka,  situated  in  the  hill- 
country,  with  the  O.T.  'Azeka,  holding  as  he  does 
that  from  line  10  onwards  a  fresh  campaign  is 
spoken  of.  'The  name  of  his'  strong  castle, 
Azaka,  is  unknown  elsewhere '  (Winckler,  p.  572). 
But,  in  spite  of  the  fragmentary  character  of  the 
text,  it  is  quite  clear  that  we  have  to  do  with  one- 
and  the  same  war  of  the  Assyrian  king ;  and  indeed, 
as  far  as  I  can  see,  it  may  be  just  as  well  an 
episode  in  the  Judseo  -  Philistine  campaign  of 
Sennacherib,  a  point  which  it  may  be  left  to  others, 
with  the  aid  of  his  inscriptions,  to  discuss  further. 
'Azeka  lay  on  the  route  from  Jerusalem  toPhilistia, 
and  a  glance  at  the  map  shows  abundantly  the 
mountainous  character  of  this  region. 

We  have  now  a  double  interest  in  what  the 
O.T.  tells  us  about  'Azeka.  In  Jos  lo"'-  we  read 
that  the  Amorites  were  pursued  by  Joshua  from 
Gibeon  up  to  Beth-horon,  and  thence  10  'Azeka 
and  Makkeda.  In  i  S  17'  the  Philistines  assemble 
their  host  at  Socho,  and  encamp  at  Ephes 
Dammim,  between  Socho  and  'Azeka.  According 
to  2  Ch  1 1*  Rehoboam  re-fortified  a  number  of 
cities  in  Judah  and  Benjamin,  and  among  them 
Socho,  Lachish,  'Azeka,  and  ?or'a.  In  Jer  34'  it 
is  said  that  Lachish  and  'Azeka  alone  were  left  of 
the  fortified  cities  of  Judah,  on  the  advance  of 
Nebuchadrezzar.  And,  finally,  in  the  post-exilic 
period,  'Azeka  is  once  more  (Neh  11*)  named 
immediately  after  Lachish,  among  the  settlements 
of  the  returned  exiles.  'Azeka  must  thus  from 
ancient  times,  from  the  period  of  the  Judges  until 
after  the  Exile,  have  been  an  important  mountain 
fortress ;  and  that  it  gave  trouble  to  the  Assyrians 
in  their  Philistine  wars,  we  learn  from  the  inscrip- 
tion quoted  above. 


Fritz  Hommel. 


Munith. 

'  J.t.  of  (be  unknown  rebel  in  his  m 


Printed  by  Morkison  &  Gibh  Liuitbi),  Tanfield  Works, 
and  Published  by  T.  £  T.  Clark,  38  George  Suect, 
Edinburgh.  It  is  requested  that  all  literary  com. 
munications  be  addressed  to  The  Eoitok,  .St.  Cyrus, 
N.IS.  Ijii-.  :  h    V.H.ft.J'^JH^ 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Qtofee   of   (B^tctnt   ^xpoBitioru 


In  his  Ufeof  the  Master  (^oAA.tx  &  Stoughton, 
25s.  net),  Dr.  Watson  seems  to  say  that  the 
brethren  of  Jesus  were  sons  of  Joseph  by  an 
earlier  wife  than  Maiy.  That  they  were  sons  of 
Mary  he  cannot  receive.  They  impress  him  as 
older,  not  younger,  men  than  Jesus.  And  he 
thinks  that  if  they  had  been  Mary's  sons  Jesus 
would  have  committed  her  to  their  keeping,  and 
not  to  John's. 

He  thinks  they  were  sons  of  an  earlier  and  less 
spiritual  wife  than  Mary.  For  then  he  can 
understand  '  their  unbelief  in  this  younger  brother 
with  His  unworldly  ideas  and  divine  aspirations.' 
Then  also  he  can  understand  something  of  what 
Jesus  must  have  suffered  in  the  Nazareth  home 
during  His  early  years.  The  misunderstanding 
and  the  criticism  of  His  elder  half-brothers  must 
have  been  hard  to  bear — an  early  cross  laid  on 
His  shoulders,  and  a  heavy  one.  But  at  least, 
thinks  Dr.  Watson,  it  prepared  Him  for  the 
gauntlet  of  Pharisaic  faultfinding  and  slander. 


'  When  Christ  says,  Resist  not  evil ;  but  whoso- 
ever shall  smite  thee  on  the  right  cheek,  turn  to 
him  the  other  al£o — it  is  an  overstatement,  made 
for  the  sake  of  emphasis.'  So  says  Mr,  W.  J. 
Dawson,  in  his  new  life  of  Christ,  to  which  he  has 
Vol.  Xni.— 4. 


given  the  title  of  The  Man  Christ  Jesus  (Grant 
Richards,  los.  6d.) 

He  calls  Christ's  law  of  revenge  an  over- 
statement, made  for  the  sake  of  emphasis.  Surety 
he  himself  is  guilty  of  a  misstatement  in  doing  so. 
An  overstatement  for  the  sake  of  emphasis — Is 
that  not  simply  an  untruth?  And  if  Christ  was 
capable  of  an  overstatement,  was  He  also  capable 
of  an  understatement  ?  And  are  not  these  things 
the  cause  of  half  the  bitterness  in  this  world  ? 

'Koi  a  lie  whicli  is  all  a  lie  may  be  met  and  fought 

with  oui right, 
But  a  lie  which  is  patt  a  Imth  is  a  haider  mauet 

'These  enigmatic  sayings  inculcate  a  certain 
spirit  and  temper;  they  do  not  lay  down  a  literal 
law  of  conduct.'  That  is  on  the  same  page,  but  that 
is  different.  That  means,  that  in  saying  '  Whoso- 
ever shall  smite  thee  on  the  right  cheek,  turn  to 
him  the  other  also,'  our  Lord  lays  down  a  general 
law  and  does  not  state  a  particular  example.  It 
was  the  way  in  which  this  greatest  Lawgiver  gave 
His  laws.  It  was  the  way  His  greatest  countrymen 
gave  them,  and  His  hearers  were  so  familiar  with 
the  way  that  they  did  not  misunderstand  it. 

We  misunderstand  it  because  we  are  Western 


146 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


and  not  parabolic.  When  Jesus  said  the  mustard 
was  the  least  of  all  seeds,  we  go  and  weigh  it  with 
other  seeds,  so  prosaic  and  Western  are  we.  And 
when  He  said,  'Whosoever  shall  smite  thee  on  the 
right  cheek,  turn  to  him  the  other  also,'  we  wonder 
how  it  can  be  done,  and  call  it  an  overstatement. 
It  must  be  done  and  always  done,  else  what  do  we 
more  than  others?  It  must  be  done  and  always 
done,  else  how  can  we  be  perfect  as  our  Father 
which  is  in  heaven  is  perfect  ?  But  how  it  is  to 
be  done  depends  on  circumstances.  I  turn  the 
other  also  to-day;  to-morrow  I  do  not.  To-day 
you  turn  the  other  also,  and  I  do  not.  It  depends 
on  circumstances. 


How  fares  it  with  the  Gospel  after  recent 
criticism  ?  The  Gospels  we  have,  and  after  all  is 
said  against  them  they  will  be  there,  the  wonder  of 
our  youth,  the  strength  of  our  manhood,  the 
comfort  of  our  declining  years.  But  the  Gospel  is 
greater  and  more  vital  than  the  Gospels.  It  is  also 
more  difficult  to  hold.  The  Gospels  might  remain, 
and  we  might  read  '  I  am  the  true  vine  and  My 
Father  is  the  husbandman'  with  the  old  tremor, 
even  after  the  Fourth  Gospel  has  been  proved  to 
be  the  work  of  the  Presbyter,  But  the  Gospel 
wherein  we  stand,  by  which  also  we  are  saved — it 
means  that  Christ  died  for  our  sins  according  to 
the  Scriptures,  and  that  He  was  buried,  and  that 
He  rose  again  the  third  day,  according  to  the 
Scriptures— it  is  not  like  the  Gospels,  it  is  unseen, 
unhandled,  it  is  miraculous.  How  fares  it  with  the 
Gospel  after  recent  criticism  ? 


When  you  ask  the  question,  recent  criiicism 
looks  up  in  wonder.  It  has  not  touched  the 
Gospel,  it  is  with  the  Gospels  that  it  has  had  to 
do.  It  has  shown,  or  tried  to  show,  that  the 
Gospels  are  unhistoric.  But  it  vehemently  pro- 
tests that  it  has  only  shorn  the  Gospel  of  its 
husks  and  hindrances,  and  left  it  belter  than 
ever  it  was. 

But  the  husks  are  the  miracles.  They  include 
the  resurrection   from  the   dead.     They  include 


the  living,  present  Christ.  The  Gospel  that  is 
left  is  not  the  Gospel  as  we  have  received  it.  It 
may  be  as  attractive  as  they  call  it,  but  it  is  not 
the  Gospel  wherein  we  stand. 

They  know  that.  They  may  call  it  a  better 
Gospel ;  they  know  it  is  not  the  same.  They 
know  that  the  essential  thing  in  the  old  Gospel 
is  the  miraculous.  And  they  know  that  they  are 
changing  the  Gospel  completely,  for  it  is  just  the 
miraculous  that  they  assail. 


We  sometimes  blame  them  for  assailing  the 
credibility  of  the  Gospels.  They  are  quite  en- 
titled  to  do  that.  If  they  think  that  the  Gospeb 
are  incredible,  or  if  they  think  that  anything  they 
contain  is  incredible,  they  are  quite  entitled  to  say 
so  and  try  to  prove  it.  Surely  we  are  not  afraid 
of  the  truth.  Surely  we  do  not  want  to  hinder 
the  search  for  it.  But  when  they  assail  the 
credibility  of  the  Gospels,  they  do  so  as  a  means 
towards  an  end.  The  end  is  the  elimination  of 
the  miraculous.  And  we  have  a  right  to  protest 
if  h/ere  they  have  begun  to  examine  the  Gospdt 
they  have  decided  that  the  miraculous  has  no 
business  to  be  there. 

Did  you  hear  that  they  rejected  the  miraculous 
because  they  knew  that  miracles  were  impc^ssible  ? 
None  of  them  say  that.  Schmiedel  says  the  con- 
trary. I  am  not  going,  he  says,  '  to  start  from 
any  such  postulate  or  axiom  as  that  miracles  ait 
impossible.'  Dr.  Percy  Gardner  does  say  that 
'miracles  would  form  exceptions  to  that  great 
law  of  the  Conservation  of  Energy  which  men 
of  science  regard  as  holding  in  all  parts  of  the 
physical  universe.'  But  Dr.  Percy  Gardner,  on 
his  own  admission,  knows  little  about  physical 
science,  and  even  he  docs  not  commit  himself 
explicitly. 

Did  you  hear  that  they  rejected  the  miraculous 
because  they  found  that  the  documents  which 
contained  it  were  composed  so  long  after  the 
event  as  to  be  untrustworthy?     The   date,  says 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Dr.  Schmiedel  again,  has  nothing  to  do  with  it. 
'  The  chronological  question ' — here  are  his  very 
words — 'is  in  this  instance  a  very  subordinate 
one.  Indeed,  if  our  Gospels  could  be  shown  to 
have  been  written  from  50  a.d.  onwards,  or  even 
earlier,  we  should  not  be  under  any  necessity  to 
withdraw  our  conclusions  as  to  their  contents ;  ne 
should,  on  the  contrary,  only  have  to  say  that  the 
indubitable  transformation  in  the  original  tradition 
had  taken  place  much  more  rapidly  than  one 
might  have  been  ready  to  suppose.  The  credi- 
bility of  the  Gospel  history  cannot  be  established 
by  an  earlier  dating  of  the  Gospels.' 

The  date  has  little  to  do  with  it.  It  is  true 
that  Schmiedel  and  all  who  hold  with  him  date 
the  Gospels  pretty  late.  It  is  true  that  in  that 
way  they  get  room  for  sources  of  the  Gospels, 
and  sources  of  sources  of  the  Gospels,  and  ate 
able  to  represent  that  there  are  things  in  the 
Gospels  which  may  not  have  been  there  at  the 
beginning,  and  even  how  these  things  got  added 
to  the  original  Gospels.  But  if  they  cannot  get 
time,  ihey  do  not  mind.  An  'indubitable  trans- 
Jermalion  in  the  original  tradition '  has  taken 
place.  They  know  that  from  looking  at  the 
Gospels  as  they  stand.  For  the  Gospels  as  they 
stand  contain  the  record  of  miracles. 

Now  miracles  may  not  be  impossible,  but  to  the 
modem  critic  they  are  incredible.  After  Professor 
Huxley  he  cannot  say  they  are  impossible;  but 
after  Professor  Huxley  he  says  they  are  incredible. 
And  he  says  that  no  amount  or  quality  of  evidence 
will  make  them  credible.  To  be  incredible  is  there- 
fore to  be  non-existent.  But  he  is  so  loyal  to  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  that  he  will  not  say  He  deceived 
the  people.  He  says  that  they  were  not  there  at 
the  beginning,  probably  not  when  the  earliest 
attempts  were  made  at  writing  Gospels ;  they  were 
added  later,  they  are  an  '  indubitable  transforma- 
tion in  the  original  tradition.' 

There  are  different  ways  of  explaining  how  they 
came  there.     The  latest  and  the  most  ingenious 


way  is  pursued  by  Professor  Percy  Gardner  in  his 
new  book,  A  Hiilorie  View  of  the  New  Testament 
(A.  &  C.  Black,  6s.). 

Professor  Gardner  divides  the  miracles  into 
two  classes.  There  are  the  so-catted  miracles  of 
healing,  and  there  are  the  miracles  proper.  The 
miracles  of  healing  were  not  miracles.  They 
always  demanded  faith  in  the  recipient.  '  Now,' 
says  Dr.  Gardner,  'deeds  of  healing,  in  which  a 
certain  undefined  power  in  the  healer  is  met 
by  faith  in  the  person  healed,  are  in  no  way 
miraculous.'  The  cures  may  have  been  many, 
or  they  may  have  been  few ;  that  depends  on  the 
evidence,  and  the  evidence  in  such  matters  is 
exceedingly  hard  to  sift.  But  they  were  not 
miracles.  '  Jesus  stands  in  history  as  one  among 
a  number  of  faith-healers.' 

The  cases  of  exorcism  come  under  this  head. 
They  were  cases  of  physical  disease,  says  Dr. 
Gardner,  especially  of  epilepsy  and  insanity.  In 
ascribing  them  to  diabolic  agency,  Jesus  '  doubt- 
less spoke  in  the  manner  of  the  age.'  Whether 
he  knew  better  or  not.  Dr.  Gardner  cannot  say. 
He  considers  it  probable  that  He  did  not,  and  he 
holds  that  we  need  think  no  less  of  Him  on  that 
account.  But,  be  that  as  it  may,  the  cases  of 
exorcism  were  simply  cases  of  healing.  The 
same  faith  was  needed  in  the  recipient,  the  same 
influence  was  exercised  by  the  stronger  over  the 
feebler  nature.  In  casting  out  devils  Jesus  took 
His  place  among  the  faith -healers. 

When  we  pass  from  the  so-called  miracles  ol 
healing  we  come  to  the  miracles  proper.  They 
are  deeds  which  'are  inconsistent  with  our  ex- 
perience of  the  working  of  law  in  the  material 
world,  such  as  the  turning  of  water  into  wine, 
and  the  feeding  of  multitudes  from  a  few  baskets 
(hV)  of  food.' 

Now,  what  Dr.  Gardner  has  to  say  of  the 
miracles  proper  is  that  they  are  not  only  not 
miracles,  but  they  are  notl^ipg,^t^l,t^  i1(^^ev jqever 


148 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


were  wrought.  No  one  at  the  time  pretended 
that  they  were  wrought  They  aie  hero-wor- 
shipping inventions  of  a  later  age.  'Jesus  as  a 
healer  of  disease,'  he  says,  'is  historic;  and  the 
tales  told  of  His  cures,  though  doubtless  de- 
formed by  exaggeration  and  distorted  by  very 
imperfect  physiolt^ical  knowledge,  rest  on  a  basis 
of  fact.  But  Jesus  as  turning  water  into  wine,  as 
feeding  multitudes  from  a  few  baskets  of  food  and 
the  like,  belongs  not  to  history,  but  to  a  perfectly 
familiar  field  of  pseudo-historic  tale  and  legend.' 

What  ground  has  Dr.  Gardner  for  saying  this? 
He  has  no  ground.  He  simply  supposes,  and 
says  it  must  be  so.  As  a  critic  of  the  Gospels  he 
has  his  sources,  and  perhaps,  like  Schmiedel,  his 
sources  of  sources.  But,  so  far  as  it  appears,  the 
earliest  sources  are  as  full  of  the  miraculous  as 
the  latest  The  only  proof  he  offers  is  a  proof 
from  analogy.  Other  men,  he  says,  have  had 
similar  legends  lold  of  them;  Jesus  must  also 
have  had  His. 

He  gives  one  example.  He  quotes  it  from 
Dozy's  Hiifoire  dt  rislamisme.  'At  the  outset 
of  his  mission,'  says  Dozy,  '  Mohammed  said  that 
he  also  had  dwelt  in  error,  since  he  had  taken 
part  in  the  worship  of  idols ;  but  God,  he  de- 
clared, had  opened  his  heart.  This  figurative 
fhrase  was  taken  literally,  and  gave  rise  to  the 
following  tale,  which  was  placed  in  Mohammed's 
own  mouth  : — "One  day,  when  I  was  lying  on  my 
side  near  the  Kaaba,  some  one  approached  and 
cut  open  my  body  from  chest  to  abdomen,  and 
took  out  my  heart.  There  was  brought  to  me  a 
basin  of  gold  filled  with  faith ;  in  it  my  heart  was 
washed  and  replaced  in  me."' 

Professor  Gardner  places  that  story  beside  the 
narratives  of  the  Gospels.  And  even  that  siory, 
he  admits,  does  not  fit  into  the  life  of  Mohammed 
as  the  miracle  narratives  fit  into  the  life  and 
character  of  Jesus.  Quoting  again  from  Dozy, 
he  admits  that  'the  earlier  biographies  of 
Mohammed  have  infused  the  marvellous  with  so 


tittle  skill  that  one  can  commonly  with  a  little 
critical  tact  dtstingutsh  between  truth  and  fiction. 
Mohammed  has  never  become  a  mythical  or  super- 
natural being. 

No  one  will  lightly  esteem  the  difficulty  in 
believing  in  miracles.  No  one  will  needlessly 
multiply  them.  But  the  science  of  criticism  is 
as  faithfully  followed  by  retaining  what  seems  to 
be  a  miracle  as  by  rejecting  it  In  his  new  book. 
The  Man  Christ  Jesus,  Mr.  W.  J.  Dawson  declares 
that  that  which  St.  John  describes  as  '  the  second 
miracle  which  Jesus  did  when  He  was  come  out 
of  Judxa  into  Galilee '  was  not  a  miracle  at  all. 

It  is  the  healing  of  the  nobleman's  son.  The 
son  lay  sick  of  a  fever  in  Capernaum ;  Jesus  was 
in  Cana.  The  father  came  down  to  Him  there, 
for  he  believed  that  his  child  was  at  the  point  of 
death,  and,  as  Mr.  Dawson  puts  it,  '  as  a  last 
resource,  he  sought  help  of  One  who  had  already 
achieved  the  reputation  of  a  thaumaturgus.'  Jesus 
was  disinclined  to  interfere.  But  when  the  noble- 
man exclaimed  in  an  agony  of  love  and  vehemence, 
'  Sir,  come  down  ere  my  child  die,'  Jesus  melted 
towards  him,  and  assured  him  that  his  child  would 
not  die.  The  nobleman  accepted  the  assurance, 
returned  to  Capernauoi,  met  his  servants  on  the 
way,  who  had  ridden  out  to  tell  him  that  his  son 
was  convalescent ;  and  when  he  found  that  the 
amendment  synchronized  with  the  hour  when 
Jesus  said  to  him,  'Thy  son  liveth,' he  naturally 
interpreted  so  remarkable  a  coincidence  as  a 
miracle. 

Mr.  Dawson  does  not  find  the  miracles  of  the 
Gospels  incredible,  but  he  thinks  it  'a  safe  rule  to 
seek  a  natural  explanation  of  any  act  described  as 
miraculous  where  such  an  explanation  is  possible ' ; 
and  he  thinks  it  possible  here.  The  child's  illness 
was  a  fever.  The  symptoms  would  no  doubt  be 
described  by  the  anxious  father.  Jesus  had  studied 
the  local  maladies  of  Galilee,  and  the  nature  of 
this  fever  would  be  quite  familiar  to  Hira.  From 
these  data  it  would  be  easy  to  deduce  a  prophecy 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


of  Ihe  child's  recovery.  '  The  modern  physician, 
trained  by  long  experience  in  habits  of  intuition 
and  deduction,  often  ventures  on  such  a  positive 
verdict,  and  is  rarely  mistaken.  Jesus  in  this  case 
did  nothing  more  than  such  a  physician  in  the 
course  of  a  wide  practice  often  does.' 


In  the  Jewish  Quarterly  Review  for  the  present 
quarter  Mr.  Montefiore  discusses  a  new  pamphlet 
by  Abb^  Loisy.  The  pamphlet  is  entitled  Atudts 
£ibliques.  It  contains  six  essays  bearing  upon  the 
Inspirationof  Scripture,  and  upon  BiblicalCriticism. 
Its  object,  as  Abb^  Loisy  states  in  his  preface,  is 
'  the  reconciliation  of  Catholic  dogma  and  dis- 
cipline with  the  scientific  study  of  the  Bible.' 

Mr.  Montefiore  finds  these  essays  by  a  Roman 
Catholic  scholar  and  theologian  refreshing.  He  is 
accustomed  to  Protestant  acceptance  of  the  Higher 
Criticism.  True,  it  is  the  Old  Testament  rather 
than  the  New  that  Protestants  criticize  and  assort, 
which  he  easily  understands,  though  he  does  not 
think  it  is  justified.  In  the  Old  Testament,  and  to 
a  far  more  limited  extent  in  the  New,  he  sees  tra- 
ditional dates,  authorships  of  books,  improbable 
stories,  and  awkward  miracles  all  freely  abandoned. 
In  the  Bible,  as  in  so  many  other  things,  he  hears 
of  a  growth  and  a  development.  The  evolution 
reaches  its  term  in  the  person  and  teaching  of 
Jesus.  He  is  not  sure  that  this  sudden  arrival  at 
perfection  and  finality  with  aparticular  date  and 
person  is  as  '  scientific '  as  the  previous  growth. 
In  any  case,  he  sees  Protestants  freely  handling  the 
Bible  so,  and  finding  it  at  once  'more  human  and 
more  Divine,'  But  it  is  new  to  him  to  find  the 
same  things  going  on  within  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.  

So  Abb^  Loisy  is  refreshing.  And  Mr,  Montefiore 
is  pleased  to  find  that  he  is  only  one  of  a  band  of 
Roman  Catholic  scholars  who  are  seeking'  to 
reconcile  Catholicism  with  free  inquiry  and  critical 
results.  He  hears  with  interest  that  it  has  cost 
them   something.      M.   Loisy  himself  speaks  of 


persecutions  for  his  pains.  But  he  has  not  been 
driven  out  of  the  Church.  And  he  has  no  intention 
of  leaving  it.  Criticism  led  Mr.  Addis  to  abandon 
Roman  Catholicism ;  M.  Loisy  says  that  it  has 
made  him  only  the  stronger  and  more  determined 
Catholic 

Mr.  Montefiore  has  much  sympathy  with  Abb^ 
Loisy  and  his  criticism.  He  only  wonders  that  he 
does  not  carry  it  farther.  There  are  two  matters 
which  M.  Loisy  has  to  reckon  with.  The  Roman 
Catholic  Church  has  declared  the  Bible  to  be 
inspired.  It  has  also  declared  that  it  contains  and 
teaches  no  errors.  Now  it  is  an  infallible  Church, 
and  Abb^  Loisy  has  to  shape  his  criticism  to  agree 
with  both  these  statements. 

As  for  the  first,  it  is  fortunate  that  the  Church 
has  nowhere  explicitly  stated  what  inspiration  is. 
Therefore  Abb^  Loisy  can  divide  the  Bible  into  two 
parts,  a  human  and  a  divine,  and  he  can  find 
ample  scope  for  his  critical  processes  in  the  human 
parts,  while  he  leaves  the  divine  (and  presumably 
'  inspired ')  parts  untouched.  Mr.  Montefiore  has 
no  quarrel  with  him  over  this.  He  is  not  stjre, 
however,  that  it  is  easy  to  separate  the  human 
from  the  divine  elements  in  the  Bible  j  he  is  not 
sure  that  it  is  fair.  It  will  not  do,  he  says,  to 
pick  out  all  the  gems  (that  is,  whatever  seems  to 
you  to  be  good  and  true)  and  to  say,  '  This  is  the 
divine  part  of  the  Bible,  all  the  rest  is  human.' 
For  '  the  rest '  may  be  put  into  the  mouth  of  God 
and  may  be  attested  by  miracles.  Even  M.  Loisy 
himself  admits  that  it  will  not  do  to  '  vivisect '  the 
Bible.  Mr.  Montefiore  thinks  perhaps  it  would  be 
better  to  say  that  in  kind  the  Bible  is  inspired  as 
other  good  and  true  books  are  inspired,  but  that 
in  degree  it  excels  them  all.  But  if  Abb^  Loisy 
does  not  quarrel  with  the  Pope  over  his  ideas 
of  inspiration,  he  will  not  quanel  with  Mr. 
Montefiore, 

The  case  of  the  errors  is  more  serious.  Still, 
the  Church,  while  declaring  that  there  are  no 
errors  in  the  Bible,  has  not  explained  what  an 


150 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMESi 


error  is.  So  Abb4  Loisy  arranges  the  things 
which  look  like  errors  into  departments,  and  says 
they  are  not  errors.  An  error,  he  says,  is  not  an 
enor  when  the  sacred  writer  did  not  definitely 
intend  to  teach  it ;  which  disposes  of  all '  scientific ' 
errors,  since  the  writers  of  the  Bible  never  in- 
tended to  teach  science.  Again,  an  enor  is  not 
an  error  when  it  is  merely  adopted  for  the  pur- 
pose of  conveying  a  truth,  or  when  the  sacred 
writer  did  not  intend  it  to  be  regarded  as  a  fact  or 
truth.  Further,  an  error  is  not  an  error  when  it 
is  only  an  adaptation  of  truth  to  the  moral  and 
religious  capacity  of  the  time  when  it  was  written 
or  told.  And,  lastly,  an  error  is  not  an  error  when 
it  is  in  accordance  with  the  literary  habits  of  the 
age.  

Abb&  Loisy  finds  all  these  kinds  of  error  in  the 
Bible.  So  also  does  Mr.  Montefiore.  Mr.  Monte- 
fiore  is  not  sure  if  these  four  categories  cover  them 
all.  Thus  M.  Loisy  says  of  the  history  of  Israel, 
that  after  Samuel  and  Saul  all  is  comparatively 
clear ;  before  Samuel,  as  far  back  as  Moses,  there 
are  points  of  reliable  light;  between  Moses  and 
Abraham  we  see  dimly  certain  indistinct  figures 
in  the  shadow ;  before  Abraham  all  is  dark  night, 
Mr.  Montefiore  understands  him  to  mean  that  the 
large  majority  of  the  statements  made  about 
Abraham  and  Moses  are  inaccurate,  and  he  does 
not  see  how  that  comes  under  any  of  M.  Loisy's 
convenient  rules.  So  he  frames  a  fifth  rule.  An 
error  is  not  an  error,  he  says,  when  it  was  written 


in  good  faith  and  has  no  relation  to  the  real  object 
or  subject  of  revelation. 

Mr.  Montefiore,  on  the  whole,  agrees  with  Abb^ 
Loisy.  But  he  cannot  understand  why  he  who 
goes  so  far  does  not  go  farther.  Or  rather,  he 
cannot  understand  why  the  popes  do  not  go 
farther, — for  no  doubt  Abb^  Loisy  would  follow 
if  they  led.  Why,  he  asks,  do  they  not  allow  that 
there  are  errors  in  the  Bible,  not  merely  errors 
that  do  not  count,  but  real  errors— theological 
errors,  historic  errors,  religious  errors,  moral  errors  ? 
If  they  did,  they  would  only  make  the  infallible 
Church  the  more  necessary.  For  if  there  were  a 
few  downright  errors,  with  of  course  a  great  re- 
siduum of  truth  for  the  Church  to  rest  upon,  who 
would  be  able,  like  the  infallible  Pope,  to  say  what 
and  where  they  were  ?  And  Jew  as  he  is — but  he 
does  not  deny  a  touch  of  irony  here — he  admits 
that  an  infallible  Church,  interpreting,  in  just  ac- 
cordance with  the  religious  needs  and  capacities 
of  every  age,  a  Bible  true  in  the  main,  but  not 
true  in  every  statement  and  detail,  is  rather  an 
attractive  picture. 

It  is  rather  an  attractive  picture,  '  if  one  could 
accept  the  dogma.'  But  he  does  not  accept  it. 
He  is  a  critic,  and  he  does  not  believe  that  criticism 
will  end  in  Roman  Catholicism,  but  'either  in 
Christian  Unilarianism  or  in  "Reformed  Juda- 
ism.*" He  is  a  Jew,  and  for  him  at  least  it 
has  already  ended  in  '  Reformed  Judaism.' 


By  the  Rev.  R.  Bruce  Taylor,  M.A.,  Aberdeen. 


Few  more  difficult  problems  present  themselves  to 
the  student  of  the  Old  Testament  than  that  of  the 
ecstasy  of  the  early  prophets.  The  phenomena 
described  have  obviously  a  close  relation  in  re- 
ligious history  to  other  phenomena,  which  have 
not  added  to  the  dignity  and  truth  of  men's  inter- 


course with  divine  things.  They  suggest  analogies 
in  the  life  of  to-day  which  are  apt  to  make  us 
think  but  poorly  of  those  manifestations  of  religious 
possession  which  Balaam  and  Saul  exhibited. 

The  narratives  themselves  ascribe  the  pheno- 
mena to  the  direct  action  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  but 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMEa 


15' 


this  does  not  help  us  much  in  our  endeavour  to 
discover  the  positive  element  in  ecstasy.  For  the 
tendency  which  asks  the  '  Why '  of  everything  is 
entirely  modern.  In  those  old  days  the  work  of 
the  Spirit  was  so  implicitly  believed  in,  and  was  so 
evident  a  reality,  that  men  did  not  stop  to  speculate 
about  it.  Nothing  in  human  life  was  thought  of 
as  ouiwith  the  range  of  the  Spirit's  working.  But 
whatever  seemed  to  be  beyond  the  limits  of  man's 
own  ability  was  ascribed  in  special  measure  to  the 
energy  of  the  Spirit ;  and  thus  we  find  a  somewhat 
incongruous  association  of  qualities,  all  deriving 
themselves  directly  from  it.  The  feats  of  Samson 
(Jg  14"),  the  frenzy  of  the  D'K'aa  (i  S  10"),  the 
revelations  of  the  prophet  (Ezk  3^),  the  wisdom  of 
the  ruler  (Nu  11",  i  S  16'^),  the  heroic  valour  of 
the  Judges  (Jg  6**),  the  inspiration  of  the  poet 
(2  S  af),  the  genius  of  the  artist  (Ex  31^  36'),  as 
well  as  the  false  oracles  of  deluded  prophets  (i  K 
22^),  and  the  homicidal  mania  of  Saul,  are  all 
ascribed  to  the  direct  agency  of  the  Almighty.' 

But,  in  the  case  of  the  ecstatic,  the  possession 
was  supposed  to  exist  tn  quite  a  special  sense. 
The  Hebrews  held,  as  the  Arabs  still  do,  that  the 
relation  between  soul  and  body  was  but  slight. 
The  soul  of  the  individual  might  depart  and  be 
supplanted  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  which  thus  used 
the  body  of  the  possessed  simply  as  a  mouthpiece. 
In  the  case  of  the  lunatic  this  dispossession  was 
permanent,  while  in  the  case  of  the  ecstatic  it  was 
temporary.  Hence,  through  all  Semite  peoples,  we 
find  this  conception  that  mental  aberrations  are  a 
sign  of  peculiar  sanctity.  The  Arabic  word  ma/nun 
(mad)  is  from  the  same  root  Asjann, '  to  cover  over,' 
'to  veil,'  from  which  also  the  word /inn  or  (as  it  is 
commonly  transliterated)  ^('nw,  '  a  spirit,'  is  derived. 
When  a  man  is  [>ossessed  by  i-ginn,  his  natural  mind 
is  veiled,  his  own  personality  is  lost  in  that  of  the 
invading  spirit.'  'An  idiot  or  fool  is  vulgarly  re- 
garded by  the  Arabs  as  a  being  whose  mind  is  in 
heaven  while  his  grosser  part  mingles  among  or- 
dinary mortals ;  consequently  he  is  considered 
an  especial  favourite  of  heaven.  Whatever  enor- 
mities a  reputed  saint  may  commit  (and  there  are 
many  who  are  constantly  infringing  precepts  of 
their  religion),  such  acts  do  not  affect  his  fame  for 
sanctity  ;  for  they  are  considered  as  the  result  of 
the  abstraction  of  his  mind  from  worldly  things — 
his  soul  or  reasoning  faculties  being  wholly  ab- 

'  Moore,  Judges,  p.  87,  etc. 

'  SprcDger,  Dm  LcbtHund die  Lekre  des  Mokammad,\.  2ZI. 


sorbed  in  devotion — so  that  his  passions  are  left 
without  control.  Lunatics  who  are  dangerous  to 
society  are  kept  in  confinement,  but  those  who 
are  harmless  are  generally  regarded  as  saints.'* 
Thus  David,  when  compelled  to  fiee  to  Gath, 
found  that  the  best  course  to  secure  his  safety  was 
to  pretend  to  be  mad.  '  David  was  sore  afraid  of 
Achish  the  king  of  Gath,  and  he  changed  his 
behaviour  before  them,  and  feigned  himself  mad 
in  their  hands,  and  drummed  upon  the  doors  of 
the  gate  (LXX,  xat  crv/in-avifo'),  and  let  his  spittle 
fall  upon  his  beard ;  then  said  Achish  unto  his 
servants,  Lo,  je  see  the  man  is  mad :  wherefore 
then  have  ye  brought  him  to  me?'  i.e.  he  was 
exempt  from  punishment,  and  must  be  treated 
with  kindness  (i  S  zi'"").  Here  we  have  typical 
features  of  madness — the  effort  to  be  free  from 
restraint,  QTa  ^^ri'i,  the  senseless  drumming  upon 
the  doors,  and  the  defiling  of  his  beard  by  letting 
the  saliva  fall  upon  it;  an  act  which  in  itself 
showed  all  loss  of  self-respect.* 

There  are  several  other  passages  in  the  Old 
Testament  which  imply  that  in  prophetic  ecstasy 
the  personality  of  the  individual  was  regarded  as 
being  merged  in  the  being  of  the  Spirit  that 
possessed  him — passages  which  can  be  paralleled 
from  what  we  otherwise  know  of  Semitic  life.  We 
are  told  in  Jg-6"  that  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
'clothed' Gideon  (i^vna-nit  ntpaii  "'  rmi),  where  our 
version  gives  the  colourless  'came  upon.'  The 
expression  occurs  in  the  J  narrative,  the  oldest 
stratum  of  the  hisiory.  And  the  conception 
underlying  it  is  that  the  Spirit  was  a  mere  tem- 
porary afflatus,  that  it  was  sent  upon  Gideon  for 
special  work,  that  it  had  no  more  effect  upon 
the  natural  man  Gideon  than  the  cut  of  clothes 
has  on  the  build  of  the  man's  body.  The  Spirit 
was  regarded  as  something  extraordinary,  and 
Gunkel  has  shown  that  even  in  New  Testament 
times  the  conception  was  the  same.*  We  must 
therefore  be  careful  in  such  an  inquiry  as  this  not 
to  impose  our  modern  conception  of  the  working 
of  the  Spirit,  as  something  which  completely  and 
permanently  changes  the  natural  heart,  upon  those 
old  times.  It  is  extremely  interesting  in  con- 
nexion with  the  use  of  t?3S  '  to  clothe,'  as  applied 
to  the  work  of  the  Spirit,  to  find  the  same  word 
employed  in  the  same  way  among  the  Arabs  of 

'  Lane,  Afodrm  Egypliam,  chap.  T.. 

'  Hastings'  BibU  Dittiaaary,  art.  '  McdicIne.S 

'  Gunkel,  Die  Wirkun^n  dis  ffeiligen  Castes. 


iS« 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


to-day.  Burton  tells  how  he  saw  in  Mecca  a 
negro  in  the  slate  called  Malbus  —  religious 
frenzy.  '  He  was  a  fine  and  powerful  man,  as  the 
numbers  required  to  hold  him  testified.  He  threw 
his  arms  wildly  about  him,  uttering  shrill  cries; 
and  when  held  he  swayed  his  body,  and  waved  his 
head  from  side  to  side,  like  a  chained  and  furious 
elephant,  straining  out  the  deepest  groans.  The 
Africans  seem  peculiarly  subject  to  this  nervous 
state,  which,  seen  by  the  ignorant  and  the  imagina- 
tive, would  at  once  suggest  demoniacal  possession. 
Either  their  organization  is  more  impressionable, 
or,  more  probably,  the  hardships,  privations,  and 
fatigues  endured  whilst  wearily  traversing  inhos- 
pitable wilds,  and  perilous  seas,  have  exalted  their 
imaginations  to  a  pitch  bordering  on  frenzy. 
Often  they  are  seen  prostrate  upon  the  pavement, 
or  clinging  to  the  curtains,  or  rubbing  their  heads 
upon  the  stones,  weeping  bitterly,  and  pouring 
forth  the  wildest  ejaculations.'* 

The  word  n?v,  which  is  used  in  several  places  for 
the  operation  of  the  Spirit  (Jg  14",  i  S  io«  16" 
18'"),  seems  to  imply  the  same  temporary  posses- 
sion. Its  root  meaning  is  perhaps  '  to  cleave,' or 
'  lo  burst  through,'  and  it  is  used  for  the  crossing 
ofariver(2  S  19'*  (Heb,)),  or  the  bursting  in  upon 
any  one  (Jg  14*- '»  15*  etc).  It  is  applied  to  Saul 
by  Samuel :  '  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  shall  burst  {or 
rush)  upon  thee,  and  thou  shalt  prophesy  with 
them,  and  shalt  be  turned  into  another  man '  (t  S 

But,  in  considering  the  question  of  ecstasy  in  the 
Old  Testament,  we  inust  remember  that  the  pheno- 
mena which  exhibit  themselves  there  do  not  stand 
alone.  They  have  occurred  frequently  in  history, 
and  almost  always  in  the  history  of  religious  move- 
ments. The  Semites,  indeed,  would  appear  to  have 
a  special  susceptibility  to  those  states,  but  they 
are  common  too  in  the  history  of  European  peoples. 
It  would  not  be  difficult  to  adduce  a  fairly  exact 
parallel  to  the  case  of  Balaam  from  the  Ada  Sanc- 
torum, while  instances  of  such  ecstatic  contagion 
as  we  read  of  in  the  story  of  Saul  are  legion. 

The  explanations  of  ecstasy  have  varied  with  the 
state  of  knowledge  of  the  peoples  giving  them, 
Socrates,  who  fell  into  trances  lasting  for  a  whole 
day,  ascribed  them  to  the  possession  of  the  Soi'/tdii'. 
'He  believed  himself  to  receive,  from  an  inner 
divine  voice,  premonitions  in  regard  to  the  success 
and  unsuccess  of  men's  undertakings,  warnings  of 

'  R.  F.  Burlon,  Meccah  and  Medinah,  p.  413. 


this  and  of  that,' ^  The  Hebrews,  referring  every- 
thing, both  evil  and  good,  directly  to  God,  held 
that  these  phenomena  were  due  to  the  working  of 
that  Spirit  of  Jehovah  which  covered  the  whole 
range  of  life.  The  Arab  thinks  himself  to  be 
possessed  by  a  ginn,  and  according  to  the  character 
of  the  revelation  does  he  consider  the  ginn  to  be 
good  or  bad.*  In  the  Middle  Ages,  and  down  to 
comparatively  modem  times,  possession  was  sup- 
posed to  be  due  either  to  an  evil  spirit,  as  in  the 
case  of  witches,  or  to  the  Spirit  of  God  as  witnessed 
in  the  Tarantism  of  Southern  Italy,  the  Dancing 
Mania  in  Aix-la-Chapelle  in  1374,  the  strange 
hallucinations  of  the  Convulsionnaires  at  the  Tomb 
of  Sl  M^dard,  the  wild  excitements  of  the  Hugne 
nots  in  France,  and  the  cataleptic  conditions  often 
induced  in  women  at  modem  revivals. 

During  the  last  fifty  years  real  progress  has  been 
made  in  the  investigation  of  those  phenomena- 
progress  which  has  advanced  ^an'/awu  with  the  in- 
creasing knowledge  of  the  structure  and  functions 
of  the  different  parts  of  the  brain.  Ferrier,  Hitzig, 
and  MacEwan  have  mapped  out  the  brain,  and 
have  shown  that  catalepsy,  somnambulism,  hysteria, 
and  ecstasy  are  all  due  to  the  fact  that  certab 
parts  of  the  brain  are  thrown  out  of  gear,  while 
other  parts  are  acting  normally. 

The  human  brain  is  the  highest  development  of 
an  immensely  long  process  of  evolution.  In  some 
respects  man  is  not  as  highly  developed  as  many 
of  the  lower  animals ;  his  sense  of  smell  is  not  so 
acute  as  that  of  the  dog,  nor  can  he  see  as  distinctly. 
But  as  a  thinking  machine  he  is  unique  ;  and  bis 
brain  shows  clearly  both  what  he  has  in  common 
with  the  lower  animals  and  what  is  peculiar  to 
himself.  Between  the  aspect  of  the  bottom  of  the 
brain  of  a  man  and  of  a  dog  there  is  no  great 
difference.  It  is  in  the  bottom  of  the  brain  that 
the  sensory  apparatus  is  situated.  But  the  human 
brain,  looked  at  from  the  top,  shows  its  develop- 
ment. It  consists  of  two  hemispheres,  deeply 
convoluted  in  order  that  they  may  have  a  greater 
surface  of  grey  matter,  the  part  in  which  ideas  are 
evolved.  Those  hemispheres  are  not  peculiar  to 
man,  for  they  appear  as  far  back  in  the  scale  of 
evolution  as  the  fish.  In  birds  they  are  consider- 
ably larger  than  in  the  fish.  In  the  mammalia 
they  have  begun  to  cover  the  optic  lobes  ;*  and  as 
we  ascend  in  the  scale  of  life  they  gradually  in- 
»  Schwegler,  HiH.  o/Z'.i.^^p,^^ 
•  Sprenger,  e/.  cil.  i.  p.  311.        Q 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


153 


crease  backward,  until,  in  some  of  the  higher  apes 
and  in  man  they  entiiely  cover  the  cerebellum. 

Roughly  speaking,  then,  (here  are  in  brain  two 
parts — a  constant  and  a  variable.  The  constant  is 
the  sensory  apparatus,  which  roust  exist  in  all 
vertebrates,  and  the  construction  of  which  does 
not  much  vary  in  any.  The  variable  part  is  that 
whichdenotes  intelligence,  those  hemispheres  which 
appear  first  of  all  in  the  fish,  and  increase  as  the 
evolution  proceeds,  until  they  culminate  in  man. 
Creatures  which  have  no  cerebral  hemispheres,  or 
in  which  these  are  imperfectly  developed,  are  ruled 
simply  by  the  sensory  apparatus.  An  impression 
received  along  the  nerves  must  at  once  react 
directly  outwards,  for  there  are  no  ideational 
centres  to  which  they  can  be  transmitted.  There 
is  no  power  of  cogitation.  But  the  process  with  a 
creature  which  does  possess  cerebral  hemispheres 
is  different.  The  impression  received  through  the 
sensory  apparatus  is  passed  onwards  to  the  cells 
spread  over  the  hemispheres,  and  is  there  trans- 
formed into  an  idea  or  perception  or  thought. 
The  hemispheres  are  thus  the  seat  of  the  intellectual 
life,  as  distinct  from  mere  sense,  or  impression, 
life.  They  are  not  necessary  to  sensation ;  they 
stand  above  it.  As  we  might  suppose,  they  are 
themselves  insensible  to  pain — a  point  which  has 
been  demonstrated  by  a  somewhat  gruesome  ex- 
periment 'An  animal  which  makes  violent 
movements  while  the  skin  is  being  cut  and  the 
roof  of  the  skull  removed,  remains  quite  quiet 
while  its  hemispheres  are  being  sliced  away.'^ 

Now  it  is  on  this  fact  that  there  are  different 
nervous  centres  in  the  brain,  each  with  its  distinc- 
tive function,  that  the  phenomena  of  ecstasy 
depend.  Physiologists  recognize  four  such  centres. 
'Each  centre  is  subordinate  to  the  centre  immedi- 
ately above  it,  but  is  at  the  same  time  capable  of 
determining  and  maintaining  certain  movements 
of  its  own  without  the  intervention  of  its  supreme 
centre.'^  And  the  whole  physiological  theory  of 
ecstasy  is  simply  this  :  That,  owing  to  reflex  action 
or  inhibition,  the  supreme  nervous  centre  (the 
hemispheres  or  grey  matter)  gets  thrown  out  of 
gear.  Sensory  impressions  reach  the  lower  nervous 
centres,  and  are  either  acted  on  blindly,  as  when 
a  hypnotic  patient  imitates  everything  that  is  done 
before  him,  or  obeys  any  command  addressed  to 
him,  retaining  no  remembrance  when  awake ;  or 
'  Maudtley,  Fkyiielogy  of  Mind,  p.  98  note. 
*  Maudsley,  p.  ro^. 


when  the  subject  does  conscious-like  things  un- 
consciously, as  when  a  man  in  deep  thought 
walks  along  a  crowded  street  colliding  with  nobody, 
and  yet  consciously  seeing  no  one.  The  impres- 
sion coming  along  the  optic  nerve  reaches  the 
sensory  apparatus,  or  the  part  of  the  brain  which 
serves  as  the  centre  for  the  fusion  of  impressions 
coming  from  the  eyes.  That  this  sensory  apparatus 
is  active,  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  balance  is 
preserved.  But,  while  the  sensations  so  transmitted 
are  at  once  acted  on,  there  is  no  transmission  of 
the  impression  to  the  hemispheres,  and  there  is 
therefore  no  memory  of  the  fact. 

For  this  reason,  a  person  in  an  ecstatic  state 
may  do  and  say  things  which  to  a  bystander 
appear  perfectly  rational,  and  he  will  yet  preserve 
absolutely  no  memory  of  them.  When  we  con- 
sider how  wonderful  this  is,  and  what  extraordinary 
things  have  been  done  in  those  states,  we  cannot 
be  surprised  that  the  subject  should  have  been 
supposed  to  have  been  filled  with  the  Spirit  of 
God,  or  possessed  by  a  devil,  as  the  case  might 
be.  The  individual's  own  soul  seems  to  be  absent, 
because  he  remembers  nothing  of  his  doings ;  and 
yet  his  actions  are  dictated  by  some  apparently 
conscious  and  overwhelming  power.  For  the 
ecstatic  subjects  do  things  in  this  condition  which 
are  supernatural  in  the  sense  of  being  impossible 
for  them  in  the  normal  waking  condition.  In  the 
winter  of  1858  a  girl  living  in  an  Alpine  hamlet 
was  sent  a  message  to  a  neighbouring  villf^e.  As 
she  did  not  return  at  nightfall,  search  was  made 
for  her.  One  mountaineer  said  that  he  had  heard, 
during  the  afternoon,  a  call  coming  from  the  other 
side  of  the  valley,  and,  on  looking  with  his  field- 
glass,  had  seen  the  girl,  with  her  wooden  shoes, 
running  with  the  greatest  swiftness  and  sureness 
of  foot  along  slopes  which  even  the  chamois 
hunter  would  not  think  of  attempting.  Similar 
accounts  came  from  other  valleys,  and  at  last  after 
three  days  on  the  mountains  the  girl  reappeared. 
During  that  time  she  had  eaten  nothing,  and  had 
traversed  immense  stretches  of  the  most  dangerous 
mountain  slopes.  She  thought  that  she  was  being 
led  all  the  time  by  three  men  who  were  accom- 
panied by  a  dog ;  and  she  had  some  recollection 
of  the  steep  places,  because  the  dog,  she  said,  had 
sometimes  to  make  a  roundabout  course.^  This 
remarkable  case  of  hallucination  might  easily  be 
paralleled  from  other  literatures.  The  girl  was  in 
'  Sprenger,  op.  cil.  i.  ar7-2ia 


»54 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


a  state  of  trance.  The  things  which  she  saw  were 
realities  to  her  for  the  time  being,  and  caused  her 
to  perform  feats  which  in  the  normal  condition 
would  have  been  impossible.  Had  she  been  in 
possession  of  all  her  faculties,  she  would  have 
fallen,  because  she  would  have  '  lost  her  head '  as 
we  say.  But  the  sensory  apparatus  alone  was  in 
action.  The  higher  part  of  the  brain,  in  which 
the  conception  of  fear  is  generated,  was  out  of 
gear.  And  so,  because  there  was  no  nervousness, 
she  could  accomplisb  mountaineering  feats  which 
far  more  experienced  climbers  could  not  have 
attempted. 

Many  are  familiar  with  the  very  remarkable  case 
of  trance  which  Coleridge  has  put  on  record,  where 
a  servant  girl  in  high  fever  was  found  to  be  repeat- 
ing sentences  of  Hebrew,  mostly  Rabbinic,  and  of 
Greek.  It  was  discovered  that  at  an  early  age  she 
had  been  taken  to  live  in  the  house  of  a  Protestant 
pastor  who  was  a  great  Hebrew  scholar,  and  who 
was  in  the  habit  of  walking  up  and  down  a  passage 
of  his  house  into  which  the  kitchen  opened,  read- 
ing aloud  from  his  books.  In  her  normal  condition 
the  girl  would  have  been  unable  to  repeat  a  word 
of  what  she  had  thus  heard  in  her  childhood.  It 
was  outside  the  sphere  of  her  consciousness. 
But,  in  the  delirium  of  fever,  the  balance  of  the 
brain  was  upset,  and  those  impressions  made 
unconsciously  upon  the  cerebrum  were  repro- 
duced.' 

Ecstasy,  then,  physiologically  speaking,  is  a  state 
in  which  the  subject  is  possessed  not  by  the  higher 
nature  but  by  the  loner.  Its  phenomena,  in  the 
West  at  all  events,  are  very  varied,  and  range  from 
rigid  catalepsy  to  mere  eccentricity.  But,  in  the 
Old  Testament,  its  manifestations  present  a  re- 
markable uniformity,  and  occur  with  great  fre- 
quency, although  we  might  have  expected  that  the 
bracing  air  of  the  desert  would  not  have  favoured 
abnormal  conditions  of  this  nature.  In  the  desert, 
says  Burton,  'The  mind  is  influenced  through  the 
body.  Though  your  mouth  glows  and  your  skin 
is  parched,  yet  you  feel  no  languor,  the  effect  of 
humid  heat ;  your  lungs  are  lightened,  your  sight 
brightens,  your  memory  recovers  its  tone,  and  your 
spirits  become  exuberant ;  your  fancy  and  imagina- 
tion are  powerfully  aroused,  and  the  wildness  and 
sublimity  of  the  scenes  around  you  stir  up  all  the 
energies  of  your  soul — whether  for  exertion,  danger, 
or  strife.  .  .  .  Your  senses  are  quickened ;  they 

Culeridee,  Biagriifhia  Lileraria,  ed.  1847,  vol,  i.  p.  1 17. 


require  no  stimulants  but  air  and  exercise;  in  the 
desert,  spirituous  liquors  excite  only  disgust.'* 

It  is,  however,  the  very  exaltation  of  the  desert 
air  which  aids  in  producing  the  ecstasy.  The 
senses,  the  facuhies,  are  heightened,  and  yet  there 
is  nothing  in  the  landscape  to  fill  their  activity. 
The  bare  staring  rocks  give  their  echo ;  a  glimpse 
is  caught  of  the  marauder  stealing  along  beside 
the  caravan  route  amidst  the  sand-hills,  and  waiting 
for  darkness  or  the  straggler  to  make  his  dash. 
Hence  the  imagination  of  the  Arab  dwells  on 
these  things;  voices  are  always  whispering  to 
him ;  shadowy  figures  are  always  accompanying 
him.  Not  only  has  he  general  words  for  visions 
and  dreams,  but  in  his  vocabulary  he  has  separate 
words  for  the  particular  ways  in  which  the  gjin 
manifests  himself.  The  voice  that  is  heard  only 
by  tiie  initiated  ear  is  called  Hdtif.  The  Arabs 
of  Africa  call  those  ambushed  phantoms  Jiagl 
(from  ragul,  'a  man').' 

The  whole  earth,  both  for  the  Semites  in  general 
and  for  the  Israelites  in  particular,  was  full  of 
those  genii.  Robertson  Smith,  in  the  Religion  of 
the  Semites,  has  shown  that  the  peculiar  sanctity 
attached  to  trees  and  springs  and  stones  was 
due  to  the  belief  that  the  spirit  actually  dwelt  in 
those  things.  The  stone  was  itself  the  ^KTi'a; 
it  was  carefully  anointed  with  oil,  and  stroked 
to  win  the  favour  of  the  god  that  dwelt  within  it, 
just  as  the  garments  or  beard  of  a  powerful 
man  were  touched  in  supplication  ;  and  from  this 
custom  we  have  the  phrase  nm'-'JBTit*  n^  (i  S 
13'-).*  Trees,  with  their  recurring  evidences  of 
life,  with  the  movements  of  their  leaves  and  the 
elasticity  of  their  branches,  were  regarded  not 
only  as  being  the  abodes  of  the  ginn  but  as  being 
themselves  alive.  On  them  were  hung,  on  feast 
days,  fine  clothes  and  women's  ornaments.  Sick 
men  slept  under  them,  to  receive  counsel  in  dreams 
for  the  restoration  of  health.*  Springs  also  were 
among  the  oldest  objects  of  reverence  among  the 
Semites  ;  and  any  one  who  has  heard  in  that  land, 
after  days  of  wellnigh  arid  travelling,  the  lapping 
of  a  spring,  will  know  why  the  Hebrews  should 
have  called  it  'living  water,'  and  why  they  should 
have  believed  that  'the  water  itself  is  the  living 
organism  of  a  demonic  life,  not  a  mere  dead 
'  Burton,  Miccah  and  Mtdinah,  p.  104. 

,.205;!' 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


IS5 


organ.' '  Each  spot,  in  short,  was  thought  of  by 
the  ancient  Semite  as  having  its  own  Baal,  or 
husband ;  and  a  nation  that  moved  out  of  its  own 
country,  or  a  tribe  thai  fought  beyond  its  own 
bounds,  thought  that  in  so  doing  it  had  forfeited 
the  support  of  its  god.  The  Syrians  ascribed 
their  defeat  by  Ahab  to  the  fact  that  they  had 
been  warring  against  a  people  whose  gods  were 
gods  of  the  hills.  'Their  gods  are  gods  of  the 
hills ;  therefore  they  were  stronger  than  we ;  but 
let  us  fight  against  them  in  the  plain,  and  surely 
we  shall  be  stronger  than  they'  (i  K  20^).^ 

The  Arabs  have  now  modified  this  belief,  though 
it  still  persists  in  essence.  The  ginns  now  have 
their  principal  abode  in  Kdf,  the  chain  of  green 
chrysolite  mountains  which  is  supposed  to  sur- 
round the  earth  and  to  impart  the  blue  colour  to 
the  sky.3  But  they  are  great  rovers.  They  inhabit 
both  air  and  earth.  The  charms  that  Arabs  and 
even  Copts  constantly  carry  with  them  and  fix  to 
their  horses'  heads  against  the  evil  eye  are  proof 
of  the  one,  and  the  expression  that  is  always  used 
before  water  is  spilled  on  the  ground  or  before  a 
bucket  is  lowered  into  a  well,  '  Destoor,'  or  '  Per- 
mission,' is  evidence  of  the  other.* 

Now  it  is  quite  clear  that  in  all  this  belief  in 
spiritual  presences  there  lay  much  opportunity  for 
the  Spirit  of  the  true  God.  There  was  here  a 
belief  in  divine  power  that  was  a  very  difTerenl 
thing  from  the  patronage  that  the  Greek  extended 
to  his  god.  The  god  of  the  Greek  was  simply  a 
glorified  human  being,  not  better,  morally  speak- 
ing, than  the  rest  of  mankind,  but  only  more 
powerful,  and  with  all  human  impulses,  lust,  anger, 
revenge,  remorse,  in  an  exaggerated  degree.  But 
the  Semite,  though  he  rose  only  under  the  revela- 
tion given  by  God  to  Israel  to  the  idea  of  the  one 
true  God,  still  never  fashioned  his  Divinity  after 
his  own  likeness.  The  Semite  ginn  was  incom- 
prehensible, unseen,  manifesting  himself  only 
through  natural  objects,  or  in  dimly-seen  shapes 
or  secret  whisperings.  So  far  from  ever  coming 
to  make  his  God  after  his  own  image,  the  Semite 
felt  that  to  see  God  meant  death.^  But  if  he 
did  not  see  his  God  he  had  intercourse  with  Him. 

'W.  R,  Smith,  f!el.  of  SemiU?,  p.  136. 

'  Von  Baudissin,  StudUn  zur  Stm.  Xeligimsgrsch.  u.  236. 

'  Lane,   Modern  Egyptians,  chap.   x.  ;  Arabian  lii^hts, 

*  Lan«,  Modem  Egyptians,  chap.  x. 


And  it  may  very  possibly  be  that  the  capacity 
which  the  Hebrews  had  for  converse  with  God  was 
due  in  no  small  measure  to  the  familiar  though 
immaterial  communion  supposed  to  exist  between 
the  individual  and  his  ^n».  There  was  here,  at 
all  events,  a  potentiality  of  better  things ;  and  this 
the  Lord  used,  for  His  own  ends,  in  revelation. 

But  a  cause  of  ecstasy  even  more  potent  than 
the  uniformity  and  ghostliness  of  the  scene  is  the 
hardness  of  the  life  that  the  Arab  is  compelled  to 
live.  'The  true  Bedawi  is  an  abstemious  roan, 
capable  of  living  for  six  months  on  ten  ounces 
of  food  per  diem  :  the  milk  of  a  single  camel,  and 
a  handful  of  dates,  dry,  or  fried  in  clarified  butter, 
sufllice  for  his  wants.  He  despises  the  obese  and 
all  who  require  regular  and  plentiful  meals,  sleeps 
on  a  mat,  and  knows  neither  luxury  nor  comfort, 
freezing  during  one  quarter  and  frying  during 
three  quartets  of  the  year.'* 

Under  such  a  treatment  the  body  becomes 
reduced,  while  the  nervous  system  is  heightened. 
There  is  no  rest,  no  absence  from  discomfort. 
The  nomadic  life,  too,  is  of  necessity  solitary. 
The  half- starved  Arab  is  a  prey  to  his  own 
imagination,  alone  in  the  wilderness  with  the  wild 
beasts  of  his  own  creation.  As  Doughty  remarked 
of  one  of  his  desert  friends:  'He  was  a  little 
broken-headed,  and  so  is  every  third  man  in  the 
desert  life.' ^ 

This  undeniable  place  that  familiar  sights  and 
modes  of  thought  have  in  the  phenomena  of 
ecstasy  has  a  most  important  bearing  upon  the 
question  whether  there  is  ever  any  new  revelation 
made  to  persons  in  the  ecstatic  state.  Is  the  eye 
of  the  future  opened  to  them,  or  are  they  simply 
reproducing  in  dramatic  and  intense  form  things 
which  have  been  previously  heard  or  witnessed  ? 
Certainly,  in  hysteria  the  ravings  contain  no  new 
element.  When  hysteria  takes  the  form  of  the 
simulation  of  a  disease,  it  ts  always  some  disease 
prevalent  in  the  locality.  A  hysterical  person 
will  never,  when  in  the  hysterical  state,  exhibit 
symptoms  of  a  disease  which  he  has  never  seen 
or  heard  of.  Mohammed,  who  unquestionably 
suffered  from  hysteria,  imagined  that  he  was  a 
victim  of  intermittent  fever,  which  was  the  prevalent 
disease  in  Medinah.* 

And  when  the  hysteria  takes  the  form  of  seeing 

'  Burton,  Meccah  and  Medinah,  p.  376. 

'  \>a>x^Vf,  Arabia  Destria,  ii.  aSfeS  "- '^"^  "^ 

"  Sprenger,  of.  Hi.  i.  30S. 


'S6 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


visions,  the  same  fact  applies.  The  basis  of  the 
vision  is  to  be  found  in  the  circumstances  in  which 
the  ecstatic  has  been  placed.  As  Renan  observed 
long  ago,  the  saints  of  the  Middle  Ages  were  even 
in  their  visions  the  representatives  of  their  century 
and  nation.!  The  Dancing  Mania  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  for  instance,  was  true  contagious  ecstasy. 
When  dancing,  the  subjects  neither  saw  nor  heard  ; 
they  were  insensible  to  external  religious  impres- 
sions. And  yet  their  visions  were  the  ordinary 
stock-in-trade  of  the  religious  beliefs  of  the  time. 
Some  stated  that  they  had  to  leap  so  high  to 
escape  the  overwhelming  streams  of  blood.  Others 
saw  the  heavens  opened  and  the  Saviour  en- 
throned with  the  Virgin  Mary.  But  there  was 
never  any  fresh  revelation  of  truth — never  so 
much  as  a  ftcsh  statement  of  truth  already  known. 
In  all  (hat  ecstasy  there  was  nothing  to  help  the 
soul's  life."  Santa  Teresa  saw  devils  and  smelt 
brimstone  with  a  vividness  due  to  a  particular 
eschatological  conception,^  It  is  to  be  noticed, 
too,  that  all  the  tongues  in  Regent  Square  Church 
never  revealed  anything  that  was  in  advance  of 
what  people  already  knew. 

This  fact,  that  the  spiritual  impressions  in 
ecstasy  are  always  on  the  line  of  something  that 
has  already  been  seen  or  known,  comes  to  be  of 
the  utmost  importance  in  connexion  with  the 
question  whether  in  the  visions  of  the  prophets 
there  was  any  element  that  was  absolutely  new. 
And  the  evidence  goes  to  show  that  those  visions 
were  striking  presentations  of  truths  already 
present  to  the  prophet's  mind,  or  pictorial  state- 
ments of  an  already  existing  i^olitical  situation. 
They  were  conditioned  by  the  known,  even  in  the 
case  of  so  great  a  prophet  as  Amos.  This  fact 
we  find  brought  out  very  distinctly  in  the  history 
of  Balaam.  When  Balaam  was  brought  to  the 
top  of  Pisgah  to  curse  the  hosts  of  Israel,  instead 
of  cursing  he  blessed.  He  was  impressed  by  the 
multitudes  of  tents  spread  out  before  him,  '  How 
shall  I  curse,  whom  God  hath  not  cursed  ?  .  ,  . 
Who  can  count  the  dust  of  Jacob,  and  the  number 
of  the   fourth    part  of  Israel?'*      Balak  at  once 

'  Renan.  i:iudcs  <tHht.  Rilig.  (858,  p.  307. 

'  Carpenter,  Miiitai  Physiology,  p,  313. 

'  \iiughan,  Haiin  nith  thi  Mysliis,  ii.  i6i. 


sees  that  Balaam's  oracle  is  conditioned  by  the 
splendid  spectacle  of  the  forces  of  Israel,  and 
says,  '  CoRie,  I  pray  thee,  with  me  unto  another 
place,  from  whence  .  .  .  thou  shalt  see  but  the 
utmost  part  of  them,  and  shalt  not  see  them  all : 
and  curse  me  them  from  thence.'  But  even  from 
this  next  station  Balaam  saw  the  tribes,  and  as  he 
looked  '  the  Spirit  of  God  came  upon  him,'  and 
he  foretold  yet  more  distinctly  the  magnificent 
future  of  Israel. 

There  was,  then,  a  relation  between  what  was 
seen  by  the  ecstatic  and  the  content  6f  his  utter- 
ance ;  but  there  was  also  a  relation  between  the 
character  of  the  prophet  and  the  genuineness  and 
validity  of  his  prophecy.  What  the  prophet's 
message  was,  depended  upon  what  he  himself  was. 
The  prophet  was  not  merely  repeating  words  that 
God  had  put  into  his  mouth.  The  Divine  element 
might  be  there  according  as  the  prophecy  was  true 
or  false  ;  the  human  element  was  sure  to  be  there. 
But  in  the  false  prophet  the  determining  factor 
was  the  desire  to  speak  smooth  things  and 
pleasant  things,  as  welt  as  to  secure  his  own  com- 
fort, In  the  true  prophet  the  moral  element  pre- 
dominated, and  he  spoke  what  he  felt  to  be  right, 
regardless  of  comfort  or  consequences.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  suppose  that  the  false  prophet  was 
intentionally  false.  But  his  character  was  not 
suRiciently  strong  to  bear  the  strain  the  prophetic 
calling  put  upon  it.  Ezeklel  goes  so  far  as  to  say 
that  the  Lord  Himself  has  deceived  that  prophet;* 
the  meaning  being  that  if  a  prophet  allows  himself 
to  be  enticed  and  enters  into  the  purposes  of  the 
people,  saying  'Amen'  to  their  plans,  the  Lord 
leaves  that  man  alone  in  his  foolishness'  that  both 
the  prophet  and  the  people  he  had  deluded  may 
perish  together.*  This  fact,  that  the  character  of 
the  man  affected  by  the  ecstasy  determined  the 
nature  and  moral  value  of  the  vision  he  saw,  was 
also  noticed  by  the  Arabs  of  the  time  of  Moham- 
med. As  they  expressed  it,  a  weak  man  had  a  bad 
ginn,  while  a  strong  healthy  man  had  a  good  ginn? 

{TtbemndKdid.') 

•  I-l/k  u'. 

*  A.  B.  Davidson,  EMiid,  Introduction,  p.  \x\v  ;  Schulli, 
0.  T.  Theol,  i.  261 J  .Smend,  AltUst.  Rtlig.'^,  144, 

'  Sprcnger,  op.  lU.  i.  222. 


=  h,  Google 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


€it  ^roofofJ  Qlet  of  '^erueafem'  in  t^t 
Eucan  TDriitngg. 

Bv  J.  Vernon  Bart  let,  M.A.,  Mansfield  College,  Oxford. 


To  begin  with  the  phenomena  in  Luke's  Gospel, 
as  the  simpler,  we  find  that  out  of  31  instances 
Jerusalem  occurs  in  the  Hebraic  form  ('UpovtraX^n) 
in  27,  and  in  the  Hellenic  ('Upovo^v/ia)  only  in  4, 
namely  2^^  13*''  19^  13^,  When  we  analyze  them, 
these  four  cases  seem  due  to  the  final  author  of 
this  Gospel.  Thus  2'*,  'they  brought  Him  (the 
infant  Jesus)  up  to  Jerusalem,  to  present  Him'to 
the  Lord,'  is  the  first  reference  to  the  Jewish 
capital  in  the  worlt,  and  so  it  naturally  appears  in 
the  form  familiar  to  Gentile  readers.  In  marked 
contrast  to  this,  the  five  remaining  cases  of  the 
name  in  the  chapter  present  Jerusalem  under  the 
Hebraic  form  (jSs.m.  «.  *3.  4S.  j  ggg  below).  The 
next  case,  13^,  is  a  purely  objective  topographical 
note,  touching  Jesus'  progress  as  He  'journeyed 
on  towards  Jerusalem';  similarly  19^,  'and  when 
He  had  thus  spoken,  He  went  on  before,  going  up 
to  Jerusalem ' — a  verse  which  simply  reminds  the 
reader  of  the  course  already  indicated  more  than 
once  (and  may  be  suggested  by  Mk  11').  The 
last  instance,  33^,  is  the  verse  which  states  that 
Pilate,  'when  he  knew  that  He  was  of  Herod's 
jurisdiction,  sent  Him  unto  Herod,  who  himself 
also  was  at  Jerusalem  in  these  days.'  lerosoliinia, 
then,  seems  so  far  Co  be  Luke's  own  word  when 
writing  freely  for  his  readers  as  Gentiles.  And 
when  we  pass  to  Acts  the  same  holds  good. 
Thus  it  is  this  form  which  hrst  meets  us  in  the 
preface  linking  Acts  to  the  Gospel,  in  the  words, 
'  He  charged  them  not  to  depart  from  Jerusalem ' 
( I*) ;  whereas  the  next  1 1  occurrences  of  the  name 
(i^-T  fin.)  exhibit  the  Hebraic  form. 

But,  granting  that  the  Hellenic  form  is  that 
which  Luke  naturally  uses  when  telling  a  plain 
tale  to  his  Gentile  readers  (without  regard  to  the 
original  '  atmosphere '  of  the  actors),  what  causes 
can  be  suggested  for  the  frequent  emergence  of 
the  Hebraic  form?  This  happens  in  the  Gospel 
27  limes  out  of  a  total  of  31,  and  in  Acts  36  times 
out  of  some  59.  As  regards  the  Gospel,  the  fact  is 
the  more  noticeable  in  that  the  Hebraic  form 
never  occurs  in  any  other  Gospel   save  in  the 


solitary  case  of  Mt  23*" — the  sad  apostrophe : 
'Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  which  killest  the  prophets* 
(  =  Lk  13**).  Here  there  is  an  emotional  reason 
for  the  persistence  of  the  more  Hebraic  form,  the 
city  being  addressed  as  the  hearth  of  Hebrew 
religion;  that  is,  it  is  regarded  strictly  from  the 
Jewish  or  theocratic  standpoint.  Speaking  broadly, 
then,  we  may  say  that  the  habitual  occurrence  of 
this  form  in  Luke's  Gospel  is  due  to  the  strong 
tradition  (oral  or  written  in  parts),  charged  with 
Hebrew  sentiment,  into  which  Luke  felt  himself 
to  have  entered  in  telling  the  Gospel  story,  and 
which  controls  his  style  even  in  certain  objective 
topographical  notices  where  the  context  is  full  of 
Hebraic  feeling  (see  «^.  l^^^  i^^^-''^-).  This  pro- 
bably explains  the  habitual  use  of  the  Hebraic 
form  in  Lk  1-3  (after  2*'),  as  explained  above.  A 
special  case  is  the  phrase,  'Judaea  and  Jerusalem,' 
always  found  in  the  Hebraic  form  (5"  6''). 

The  like  holds  good  in  Acts,  though  the  pro- 
portions of  the  two  uses  are  greatly  modified  by 
the  change  in  the  narrative,  and  by  the  author's 
freer  hand  in  telling  his  story.  Thus  in  the  long 
section,  1^-7  fin.,  dealing  with  the  early  history 
of  the  Jerusalem  Church,  the  Hebraic  form  alone 
appears,  and  that  in  cases  where  there  is  almost 
certainly  no  question  of  a  written  source  {e.g.  i^* 
3'  6'',  cf,  9™-  ^).  Here  what  one  seems  to  recog- 
nize is  the  instinctive  adjustment  of  the  writer's 
language  to  the  spirit  of  the  situation — a  feature  in 
our  author  which  becomes  plainest  in  his  self- 
identification  with  the  standpoint  of  bis  speakers 
and  their  audiences.  This  psychological  or  sym- 
pathetic cause  of  our  author's  departure  from  his 
own  usage,  and  that  the  one  most  familiar  to  his 
readers,  alone  explains  many  cases  in  speeches 
by  Jews  and  to  Jewish  hearers,  where  the  Hebraic 
form  occurs  apart  from  any  probable  use  of  a 
written  source.  Among  such  cases  I  would 
reckon  9"- 21  and  22"  (in  contrast  to  sS*-^"-^) 
in  parucular.  But  these  cases  of  direct  speech  do 
not  seem  to  exhaust  the  inateriaL  1^^^>^^  ^^^ 
virtual  quotations  or  statt^enis  Vmotlip  which 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


naturally  suggest  the  use  of  the  Hebraic  form. 
To  the  former  variety  may  belong  9'  15*  (in 
contrast  to  15')  as*;  to  the  latter,  8*"  (though 
it  may  be  a  case  of  assimilation  to  the  quotation  of 
angelic  words  in  8™). 

If  now  we  include  the  possibility  of  written 
sources  as  a  factor,  such  a  variety  of  possible 
explanations  of  the  Hebraic  form  leaves  a  certain 
number  of  cases  on  the  border  between  two,  e.g. 
jia  jS,  14  1,2.  2!  1  ji5  (which  is  textually  suspected). 
But,  even  though  it  clearly  has  the  effect  of  making 
more  doubtful  the  actual  use  of  written  sources  in 
some  cases,  it  has  a  most  important  bearing  on 
authorship.  Forthe  GreeWwho  fell  so  instinctively 
into  the  standpoint  and  spirit  of  the  Jews  whose 
words  and  motives  he  reproduces,  can  hardly  have 
been  other  than  a  man  who  had  mingled  in  the 
life  of  those  whose  experiences  and  feelings  he 
thus  sympathetically  reflects.  On  the  other  hand, 
he  must  have  been  a  man  of  wonderfully  fine 
literary  and  historical  sense,  as  regards  his  imagin- 
ative realization  of  what  he  relates.    For  the  shades 


of  distinction  which  we  seem  to  have  found  to  lie 
behind  Luke's  twofold  use  of  'Jerusalem'  are 
totally  absent  from  the  Gospel  of  Mark,  and  are 
hinted  at  only  in  one  passage  in  our  Matthew,  and 
that  a  Logian  passage  of  deep  patriotic  pathos — 
Christ's  lament  over  the  city  of  the  Promises 
(23*^.  Elsewhere  the  evangelists,  including  the 
fourth,  are  content  to  use  the  Gentile  form  in  a 
plain,  matter-of-fact  way,  in  addressing  their  Greek 
or  at  least  Hellenistic^  readers. 

>  It  U  interestbg  la  note  Ihat  in  a  Hellenistic  (Cbristian) 
interpoUlion  in  the  Teilamenls  ef  the  Tackt  Patriarchs 
we  get  the  Hebraic  funn  and  not  the  pure  Hellenic  one: 
Test.  Dan,  S,  to'  oiiKin  Irwciiim  'ItpovniMiii  ^p-/unMtr,  oiit 
alXM^^-'^l^trai  'tirpai\  (cf.  Lrvi^  fauim).  Here  the  city  ii 
used,  not  in  &  geogiaphicnl  but  in  a  quasi -personal  or  col- 
lective human  seme — a  sense  ftnali^oas  10  otie  of  the  Pauline 
uses,  that  in  Gel  4»'-;  cf.  He  la",  Rev  3"  21''°,  and 
Tal.  Dan,  5,  vat  ^rt  r^i  wia%  'Ic/HuraXiTt'  «'fb)Wi>04<n»'Ta( 
Si«(u«.  On  the  dual  I'Buline  usage,  analogous  to  the 
Lucan,  see  Deissmann,  Bible  Studies,  316  n.  The  religious 
use  of  the  name  persists  in  1  Clem,  ili,  z,  sacrifice  being  ir 
'lepDwraXflB  /lirp.  .     _  >        , 


THE  BOOKS  OF  THE  MONTH. 


I. 


BIBLE.  CLASS     PRIMERS;       BABYLONIA     AM) 
ASSYRIA.      Bv   Ross   G.    MuRtsos,    M.A.,    B.U. 
(T.  &'  T.  Clari:     liino,  pp.  116.     6d.) 
Here   is   a   scholar's  estimate  of  the  place  of 
Assyria  and  Babylonia  in  history,  and  it  is  written 
in  language  of  schoolbook  simpUciiy.     Mr.  Muri- 
son  has  studied  his  subject  as  if  for  a  work  of 
exhaustive  magnitude.     He  gives  a  selection  of 
authorities,  without  parade,  but  instructive.     No- 
where can  the  beginner  begin  better  than  here. 

HANDBOOKS    FOR   BIBLE  CLASSKS :    THK  PAS- 
TORAL EPISTLES.    By  the  Rkv.  J.  P.  Lil.i.ey. 

M.A.     {T.  ii' T.  Clark.    Crown  8vo,  pp.  161.    as.  6d.) 

It  is  highly  instructive  to  compare  this  Com- 
mentary on  the  Pastoral  Epistles  with  the  one  by 
Dr.  Horton,  recently  published.  How  two  men 
can  travel  the  same  road  and  never  see  one 
another  is  instructive  to  obsen-c.  Mr.  Lilley  is 
so  serious,   Dr.  Horton  is  so  gay.     Not  a  point 


will  Mr.  Lilley  pass,  the  more  difficult  the  more 
determination ;  Dr.  Horton  trips  from  grammar 
to  Church  government,  and  has  not  his  mind  made 
up  on  this,  and  does  not  think  that  worth  half  the 
dust  it  raises.  In  the  end  it  is  hard  to  say  which 
gives  us  the  best  commentary.  We  only  know 
which  we  should  consult  when  perplexed  and 
which  we  should  read  when  downhearted, 

ST.  PAUL   AND   THE   ROMAN    LAW.      liy  W.    E. 
B*u.,  LL.D.    ir.  &•  T.  C/ari:    Ciowti  Svo,  pp.  3z8. 
I  4s.  6d.) 

I  Dr.  Ball  has  two  rare  gifts.  He  is  a  discoverer 
.  and  a  writer.  Only  a  Tew  men  have  been  both : 
'  Livingstone  in  nature  and  Ramsay  in  literature 
I  occur  as  notable.  Dr.  Ball  discovered  the  place 
1  that  Roman  law  and  custom  have  in  the  Epistles 
I  of  St.  Paul.  And  when  he  first  came  forward 
I  with   his  discovery   in  the  pages  of  the  CoH/em- 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


'59 


of  the  New  Testament.  His  book  before  us  has 
other  discoveries  besides  that,  and  every  discovery 
is  made  known  by  the  same  unconscious  skill — 
the  touch  of  nature,  in  literature  as  in  life,  that 
makes  the  whole  world  kin.  For  example,  what 
is  less  likely  to  catch  the  ordinary  reader's  interest 
than  the  'New  Testament  quotation  of  uncanoni- 
cal  Scripture '  ?  Vet  surprise  that  there  is  such  a 
thing  in  the  New  Testament  leads  to  surprise  that 
it  is  there  so  fully,  and  to  further  surprise  that  it 
rules  the  writer's  thought  so  mightily.  At  last 
we  feel  that  it  is  hopeless  to  understand  the  New 
Testament  Scriptures  without  this  key. 


GOD'S  GENTLEMEN.  By  thb  Rev.  R.  E.  Welsh, 
M.A.  {Allcnian,  Crown  8vo,  Second  Kditiou,  pp. 
264.  3s.  6d.) 
The  Essayist  is  understood  lo  be  out  of  date.  It 
is  the  gentle  art  in  literature  that  is  supposed  to 
have  been  lost.  Its  flavour  is  held  to  be  as  un- 
discoverable  as  the  pigments  of  the  ancient 
illuminators.  And  there  is  truth  enough  in  the 
complaint  to  make  a  volume  of  essays,  even 
though  their  motive  is  so  unmistakably  religious,  if 
(hey  have  somewhat  of  the  ancient  manner,  highly 
delicious  faring.  The  title  comus  from  the  third 
of  the  essays.  It  is  not  the  author's  choice.  Had 
he  been  left  to  his  own  taste,  he  would  surely  have 
chosen  the  second  essay  both  to  introduce  and 
(o  name  his  book.  Its  title  is  'A  Medicated 
Memory.'  For  the  book  treats  of  the  issues  of 
life,  not  its  rippled  surfaces,  and  in  its  treatment 
never  passes  beyond  the  suggested  outline,  which 
stirs  far  more  deeply  than  the  filled-in  and 
blackened  picture.     

A  HISTORIC  VIEW  OF   THE   NEW  TESTAMENT. 

Bv    Pbbcv   Gardnbs,    Litt.D.      {.4.    &■   C.  B!a^k. 

Ciown  8vo,  pp.  174.  6s.) 
This  is  the  latest  and  frankest  presentation  of 
*  unmiraculous  Christianity.  Dr.  Percy  Gardner 
is  far  beyond  the  place  of  those  who  tolerate 
Christ.  He  is  the  nearest  possible  lo  those  who 
worship  Him.  He  cannot  worship  Him  because 
of  the  Conservation  of  Energy.  There  is  no  room 
for  miracle  in  this  world,  and  therefore  there  is 
no  room  for  God  manifest  in  the  flesh.  Yet  he 
labours  earnestly  to  preserve  the  beauty  and  even 
the  integrity  of  the  character  of  Jesus.  How 
marvellous  a  fact  this  is :  that  a  man  who  has  to 
Uke  all  the  supernatural  out  of  the  New  Testament 


can  yet  feel  the  unrivalled,  almost  divine,  attrac- 
tiveness of  the  Jesus  that  is  left.  '  1,  if  I  be  lifted 
up  from  the  earlh,'  He  said  (or  is  said  to  have 
said), '  will  draw  all  men  unto  Me ' ;  and  is  it  not 
true  7  The  book,  which  is  the  third  series  of  the 
Jowett  Lectures,  is  a  popular  rdsum^  of  Dr. 
Gardner's  volume,  Exploraiio  Evaiigelica.  Its 
simplicity  and  sweet  reasonableness  will  draw 
readers  to  the  bigger,  sliffer  book. 

Dr.  J.  H.  Lupton,  the  editor  of  More's  Utopia, 
has  discovered  an  anonymous  but  very  aged 
English  translation  of  Erasmus's  Coitcio  de  Putro 
Jesu,  and  has  reprinted  it  with  introduction  and 
notes  (Bell,  is,  6d.).  The  copy  from  which  Dr. 
Lupton  made  his  transcript  is  unique,  and  has 
since  gone  astray  (through  no  fault  of  his).  But 
besides  that  interest  of  rarity,  the  translation  is 
a  quaint  bit  of  si)(teenthM:emury  English.  The 
notes  are  an  English  scholar's  finest  work. 

Under  the  auspices  of  the  Church  Service 
Society,  Dr,  Leishman  has  published  a  new  edition 
of  The  IVcsttninster  Directory  (Blackwood,  4s. 
net),  He  tells  the  story  of  its  origin  in  sympathetic 
fulness,  and  he  prints  its  title-page  as  it  appeared 
in  the  first  English  edition.  Let  us  print  it  after 
him — 

A 
DI  RECTO RV 

THE   E'UBLIQUE   WORSHIl'   OF   GOD 


EXGLAND,   SCOTLAND,  and  IRELAND 
Together  with  an  Ordinance  of  Parlia- 
ment for  the  taking  away  of  the  Book  of 
Common  .Prayer 


For  eslalii;=hing  and   observing  of  this   preient    Dirtclory 

tbrijughout  the  Kinj^dom  of  England  and  Dominion  of  Walfs. 

Dicjavi$,  13  Maria  1644. 

Ordered  by  the  Lords  and  Commons  assembled  in 

Parliament,  That  this  Ordinance  and  Directory  bee 

forthwith  Printed  and  Published  : 

JOH;  BkoWN,    Clerk.         '  H.   ElsINGE,    Clir. 

rarliamenlonim.  Pea!.  D.  Com. 


LONDON ; 

Printed  for  liTaii  Tyhr,  AUxatidir  Fijicid,  Kalfh  Smith,  and 

Jo/iit  I-'UIJ :   And  are  lo  be  sold  at  the  Si^n  f^  f ^t  i^ble 

in  Cornhill,  Dear  the  Royal  Exchange,     Wt^^ 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS:    BOOKS  IV.  and  V.     Bv 
A,    F.    KiRKPATRiCK,    D.D.       (Cambridge;    At  the 
University  Prtss.     Fcap.  870,   pp.  cxii,  547-847.   29. 
nel.) 
The  first  thing  to  observe  is  the  new  arrangement 
of  prices  of  the  'Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools  and 
Colleges.'     They  are  all  net  prices  now,  and  much 
less  than   before.      This  thick  volume  at  is.  is 
marvellous.    The  Commentary  follows  the  man- 
ner and  the  spirit  of  the  two  volumes  which  pre- 
ceded it.      Professor    Kirkpatrick  works  on  con- 
servative principles,  and  yet  he  is  keenly  alive  to 
the  spirit  as  well  as  aware  of  the  results  of  modern 
critical  scholarship.     Now  that  it  is  finished,  it  is 
our  most  convenient,  complete  Commentary  on 
the  Book  of  Psalms. 


THE  ANNOTATORS  OF  CODEX  BEZ^.  Bv  J. 
Rendbl  Harris,  M.A.,  D.Litt.,  LL,D.  (Cam- 
briilge ;  At  the  Univcrtiljr  Press.  Svo,  pp.  184,  with 
Two  Plates. ) 
The  Western  Text  is  still  the  chief  topic  of 
interest  among  New  Testament  textual  critics. 
And  so  Codex  Bezre,  its  greatest  representative, 
is  still  the  most  studied  of  all  the  uncials.  We 
have  seen  Dr.  Rendel  Harris's  delightful  Study  of 
Codex  Bezie.  We  are  not  less  charmed  with  his 
new  book,  a  study  not  of  the  text  of  the  Codex, 
but  of  its  annotations  and  annoiators.  He  finds 
that  there  was  a  whole  series  of  annotators,  who 
worked  on  the  MS.  from  the  ninth  century  to  the 
twelfth,  and  he  thinks  it  probable  that,  while  they 
worked,  the  MS.  lay  in  some  S.  Italian  Church  or 
monastery.  In  the  course  of  his  investigation  he 
comes  upon  the  matter  of  Sacred  Lots,  and 
digresses  thereon  in  most  instructive  and  enter- 
taining fashion.  

An  old  well-thumbed  favourite  is  The  Child's 
Bible,  with  its  clear,  large  type,  and  its  hundred 
full-page  illustrations.  Messrs.  Cassel]  have  re- 
issued it,  more  handsomely  than  ever.  The 
twelve  coloured  plates  are  highly  attractive.  But 
the  whole  book  is  an  artistic  success  (crown  410, 
pp.  620,  10s.  6d.).       ___^ 

THE  MESSAGES  OF  THE  PROI'HETIC  AND 
PRIESTLY  HISTORIANS.  Bv  John  EncAR 
M'Fadven,   M.A.      [Clarie.      Feap.    8vo,    pp.   382. 

Professor  M'Fadyen  of  Knox  College,  Toronto, 
may  be  proud  to  have  a  hand  in  the  series  called 


'  The  Messages  of  the  Bible,'  but  the  editor  of  the 
series  was  as  proud  to  receive  this  volume  from 
his  hand.  He  has  worked  through  the  historical 
writings  in  the  Old  Testament  from  Genesis  to 
Esther,  and  made  them  read  as  modern  history. 
This  is  literally  to  treat  the  Bible  as  any  other 
book,  and  the  Bible  does  not  suffer  from  the 
treatment.  Here  is  a  specimen  of  Mr.  M'Fad)en's 
translations :  it  is  the  song  of  Isaiah  in  z  K  19"-* 
— the  taunt'Song,  as  Mr.  M'Fadyen  calls  it,  uttered 
against  Sennacherib;  he  translates  its  substance 
only — 

With  scornftil  laughter  Zion's  daughter  greets  thee, 
Thee  who  hasl  blasphemed  Ismel's  holy  God. 
Proudly  thou  boaslesi  no  land  can  resist  theei 
Though  all  the  while  ihou  art  but  Jahweh's  tool. 
Walking  His  ancient  purpose  on  ihe  naiioos. 
Yea,  all  thy  doings  arc  before  mine  eyes, 
And  for  Ihy  rage  and  insolence  I'll  tame  thee — 
Hook  in  Ihy  nose  and  bridle  in  thy  lips — 
And  bring  thee  Inck  the  very  way  thou  earnest. 

EXODUS,  Edited  by  A.  R.  S.  Kennbdy. 
{Dtnl.  lamo.  M.) 
The  second  volume  of  The  Temple  Bible  is 
edited  by  Professor  Kennedy.  It  flatly  contradicts 
the  first  volume,  which  was  edited  by  Professor 
Sayce.  And  that  not  merely  in  repudiating  the 
Mosaic  authorship  of  the  Pentateuch,  but  in 
regarding  it  as  having  come  into  being  through  a 
wholly  different  set  of  causes,  and  as  expressing 
a  wholly  different  idea  of  God's  Providence.  The 
difference  between  the  first  two  volumes  of  this 
beautiful  edition  of  the  Bible  may  fairly  be  counted 
a  gain,  and  not  a  loss,  at  least  by  those  who  do 
not  consider  the  problem  of  the  authorship  of 
the  Pentateuch  quite  settled  yet.  Dr.  Kennedy's 
notes  are  the  terse  expression  of  the  most  accurate 
scholarship.  

MARV  RICH,  COUNTESS  OF  WARWICK.    By  Marv 

E.    Palcravb.     {DetU.    Crowo  Svo,   pp.   330,    with 

Portraits.     4s.  6d.  net.) 

'  April  7. — Being  Easler^day  I  got  up  very  early,. 

when  I  had  first  blessed  God  as  soon  as  I  awoke  : 

when  drest,  I  retired,  and  when  I  had  read  in  the 

Word,  I   meditated  for  a  great  time  upon  the 

sufferings  of  my  Saviour;  and  when  I  had  warmed 

my  heart  by  the  consideration  of  His  love  I  went 

to  prayer.     I  did   earnestly  beg  of  God  to  seal 

unto  me,  in  the  sacrament,  the  assurance  of  my 

everlasting  condition ;  then  went  to  church,  where 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


I  heard  Mr.  Ken  preach  ;  his  text  was  i  John  iii.  3  : 
"  And  every  man  that  hath  this  hope  in  him 
purilieth  himseU,  even  as  He  is  pure."  1  was  very 
attentive  at  the  sermon,  and  moved  by  It ;  when 
sermon  was  done,  I  found  my  heart  exceedingly 
to  long  after  the  blessed  feast :  my  heart  was 
much  carried  out  to  bless  God,  and  I  had  there 
such  sweet  communion  with  Him  that  I  could  say 
it  was  good  to  be  there.' 

That  is  Lady  Warwick  with  her  own  soul.  Let 
us  look  at  her  relations  with  others — her  husband 
will  do  best  of  alt :  '  After  supper  ray  lord,  being 
passionate,  provoked  me  to  a  dispute  with  him, 
wherein  though  I  was  by  God's  mercy  kept  from 
saying  anything  unfit  to  say  to  him,  yet  he  was 
very  bitter,  and  I  was  affected  and  troubled  at  his 
unkindness  and  wept  much,  yet  did  not  come  10 
any  quarrel  with  him,  but  was  troubled  both  at  my 
folly  in  entering  into  a  dispute  with  him,  though  I 
was  in  the  right,  and  at  my  shedding  tears,  which 
1  thought  nothing  deserved  so  much  to  have  them 
shed  for  as  my  sins.' 

The  story  of  this  life  was  surely  worth  telling. 
It  has  been  told  most  pleasantly.  No  effort  is 
made  at  description.  The  life  is  left  to  tell  itself, 
especially  as  revealed  in  the  Diary.  The  Diary  is 
found  in  many  manuscript  volumes  in  the  British 
Museum.  The  service  that  has  been  rendered  by 
this  book  to  literature  and  to  devotion  is  most 
real  and  thankworthy. 

The  yearly  volumes  that  issue  from  Drummond's 
Tract  Depot  in  Stirling  are  The  British  Messenger 
(is.  and  is.  6d.),  TAt  Gospel  Trumfet{(>A.  and  is.), 
and  Good  News  (4d.  and  5d.). 

Messrs.  Eyre  &  Spottiswoode  have  published 
the  second  edition  of  The  Student's  Handbook  to 
the  Psalms  (crown  8vo,  pp.  470,  6s.),  with  a  memoir 
of  the  author,  the  late  Dr.  John  Sharpe,  written 
by  Dr.  Sinker.  It  tells  us  all  that  was  known  and 
understood  about  the  Psaher  before  the  criticism 
of  the  Old  Testament  began,  arranging  its  in- 
formation clearly,  and  not  forgetting  that  the  real 
use  of  the  Poalter  is  its  religious  use. 

Of  the  many  ways  of  studying  the  Epistles  of  St. 
Paul,  the  one  most  pleasing  to  the  apostle  himself 
is  no  doubt  that  which  is  followed  by  Dr.  E.  W. 


Bullinger  in  The  Church  Epistles  (Eyre  &  Spottis- 
woode). For  he  seeks  to  reach  Christ  through 
them,  Christ  in  all  His  fulness  of  grace  and  iruih, 
and  refuses  to  wait  or  waste  his  time  over  matters 
of  date  or  distance.  The  '  Church  Epistles '  are 
Romans  to  Thessalonians.  Their  relation  to  one 
another  is  made  out,  but  chiefly  their  relation  to 
Christ.  

SAMUEL  AND  HIS  AGE.  Bv  G.  C.  M.  Dougi^s, 
D.  D.  (£yre  &-  Spmiisweodt.  Crown  8vo,  pp.  joo, 
65.) 
It  is  perfectly  well  known  that  Dr.  Douglas,  the 
Principal  of  the  Glasgow  United  Free  College,  is 
not  a  Higher  Critic.  It  is  perfectly  well  known 
that  he  distrusts  and  dislikes  the  Higher  Criticism 
of  the  Old  Testament  with  all  his  heart.  Never- 
theless, he  is  an  accomplished  and  most  courteous 
opponent.  When  he  publishes,  he  publishes  what 
will  never  make  him  ashamed,  though  the  Higher 
Criticism  should  triumph  to-monow.  His  sym- 
pathy, in  spite  of  his  scholarship,  is  with  the 
unlearned  reader  of  the  Bible.  Under  the  new 
methods  so  much  seems  lost,  and  all  seems  topsy- 
turvy. He  believes  that  the  traditional  order 
is  the  best  for  science.  But  for  religion  it 
seems  the  only  order  that  escapes  confusion. 
So  in  this  volume  he  reads  the  story  of  Samuel 
as  our  fathers  read  it,  and  he  finds  it  good  for 
instruction  and  for  edification  to  our  fathers' 
children.  _^_^__ 

THE  AGE  OF  FAITH.  By  Amorv  H.  Bbadford, 
D.D.  (Gay  &'  Bird.  Crown  Svo,  pp.  306.) 
In  this  quite  impressive  volume  of  thco1<^icaI 
papers  Dr.  Amory  Bradford  recognizes  that  the 
age  of  authority  has  given  way  to  the  age  of  faith. 
There  are  those  who  say  that  the  age  of  authority 
has  been  succeeded  by  the  age  of  unbelief  (which 
often  is  called  science).  It  is  not  so.  Faith  never 
was  more  general  or  more  intense.  When  a  man 
knows,  as  most  men  know  now,  that  he  must 
believe  for  himself,  facing  the  Unseen  without 
intervention,  he  finds  faith  easy.  It  is  then  not 
how  little  may  I  get  on  with,  but  how  much  can  I 
receive  out  of  the  Divine  fulness?  This  is  the 
age  of  faith,  and  it  will  be  so  more  and  more  as 
books  so  reasonable  yet  so  religious  as  this  are 
read.  Take  the  chapter  on  Sin.  It  is  not  a 
subject  for  theolc^ical  philosophy,  it  is  a  state  of 
personal  loss  and  enmity  and  unrest 


i6i 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


THE  CHRISTOLOGY  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 
Bv  R.  B.  Drummond,  B.A.  (Creeti.  is.  nel.) 
The  five  discourses  which  make  up  this  little 
book  are  described  as  expository ;  and  correctly 
SO.  It  might  even  be  said  that  the  volume  just 
contains  the  exposition  of  a  certain  number  of 
Chiistological  texts.  Their  exposition  is  able, 
thorough,  and  fair.  It  is  true  that,  after  all  the 
pros  and  cons  are  balanced,  the  scale  falls  regularly 
on  the  Unitarian  side.  A  Trinitarian  would  find 
it  fall  the  other  way.  Whence  it  follows  that  it  is 
not  by  texts  but  by  good  works  that  the  doctrine 
of  the  Trinity  is  proved. 


LETTERS  ON  LIFE.  By  Claudius  Clear.  {ffa^J^r 
&•  Sloughlen.  Ccowo  8vo,  pp.  177.  3s.  6(1.) 
What  is  it  that  lifts  these  out  of  the  mass  of 
newspaper  articles  and  makes  them  worth  repub- 
lishing? They  seem  to  be  all  of  the  hour;  they 
seem  to  handle  matters  of  passing  moment—not 
of  occurrence  perhaps,  but  of  thought.  Is  it  their 
expression?  It  is  partly  that.  For  the  expression 
is  somewhat  singular.  Not  that  it  is  old-fashioned 
or  odd,  as  if  it  sought  to  introduce  a  Quaker  to 
our  streets  in  coat  of  leather  and  shoe-buckles. 
Its  singularity  is  in  its  weight  of  feeling.  The 
words  are  alive,  they  breathe,  they  sometimes 
heave  with  pressure  of  emotion.  The  expression 
has  something  to  do  with  it.  But  the  expression 
is  not  all.  These  letters,  which  touch  mere 
matters  of  the  passing  hour,  touch  them  from 
beneath.  The  passing  hour  is  part  of  eternity. 
The  moment's  interest  is  undying.  They  seem 
sometimes  superficial  things;  it  is  only  because 
they  are  on  the  surface,  and  it  is  the  surface  of  a 
great  deep  that  surges  with  issues  in  which  all 
men  are  involved.       

SIX   SAINTS   OF  THE   COVENANT.      Bv   Tatbick 
Walkbr.     Edited  by  D.   Hav  Flkminc,     {Hodder 
&•  Staughlan.    Svo.Two  Vols.,  pp.407, 164.    851.  neL) 
Who  was  Patrick  Walker?    Mr.  Crockett  says 
he  was  a  pedlar ;  Mr.  Hay  Fleming  says  be  was 
not    Mr.  Crockett  calls  him  'the  pedlar 'through- 
out, as  if  peddling  were  his  only  undisputed  occu- 
pation ;  Mr.  Hay  Fleming  believes  that  the  whole 
foundation  for  his  being  a  pedlar  is  the  metaphor 
about   'a   pack  to  pin'  in   this  sentence  of  his 
opponent,  Andrew  Harley:  'As  long  as  we  had  a 
pack  to  pin  we  were  not  troubled  with  him,  but 
when  his  means   went  from  him   he  became  a 


vagrant  person,  vrithout  a  calling,  and  wandered 
through  the  country  gathering  old  stories.'  Now 
as  Mr.  Crockett  writes  the  Foreword  to  this 
edition  of  Patrick  Walker's  Six  Saints,  and  as  Mr. 
Hay  Fleming  writes  the  Introduction  and  edits 
the  volume,  what  is  the  unlettered  and  ignorant 
reader  10  do? 

Why  should  we  read  Patrick  Walker?  Because 
of  his  style,  say  both  Mr.  Crockett  and  Mr.  Hay 
Fleming.  And  they  both  give  reasons,  and  even 
examples.  This  is  Mr.  Crockett's  example  :  '  After 
a  certain  Mr.  Barclay  has  defected  from  the  par- 
ticular section  of  the  Covenantmen  to  whom  this 
hery-tender  pedlar  and  ex-prisoner  of  the  Lord 
pertained,  Patrick  Walker  thus  lays  him  out  for 
decent  burial:  "After  that  expedition  was  over, 
Mr.  Barclay  said  he  had  some  business  at  Edin- 
burgh, but  would  shortly  return  and  take  part  with 
them ;  but  when  he  came  to  the  witty  lown-warm 
air  of  Edinburgh,  the  heat  of  the  summer  of  1685 
being  over,  the  tables  better  covered,  the  chambers 
warmer,  and  the  beds  softer  than  the  cold  hills 
and  dens  of  Carrick  and  Galloway,  or  the  watery 
mosses  and  bogs  of  cold  Calder  Muir,  he  forgot  to 
fulfil  his  promise,  and  suffered  them  to  shift  for 
themselves."  If,'  says  Mr.  Crockett,  '  to  do  such 
things  easily  and  naturally  be  not  style,  I  do  not 
know  what  style  is.' 

But  why  should  we  read  him?  Not  surely 
because,  as  Mr.  Hay  Fleming  tells  us,  '  his  pages 
are  always  racy'  and  'his  epistles  pithy';  not 
surely  because,  as  Mr.  Crockett  tells  us, '  according 
to  his  subject,  Patrick  laments  in  the  language  of 
Jeremiah  the  Prophet ;  he  denounces  like  the 
Book  of  the  Revelation  ;  he  is  bitter  as  the 
Rutherford  of  Lex  Jiex  ;  tender  and  sweet  as  the 
Rutherford  of  Joshua  Redivivus,  that  mysteriously 
named  collection  of  familiar  letters.'  No.  Style  is 
good,  but  truth  is  better.  We  read  Patrick  Walker 
because  he  wrote  the  lives  of  six  Saints  of  the 
Covenant,  and,  in  spite  of  all  his  detractors,  seems 
to  have  laboured  to  get  hold  of  the  truth. 

it  may  be  that  much  of  what  Patrick  Walker 
writes  does  not  look  like  truth.  And  that  con- 
demns it  at  once  in  the  eye  of  the  modern  critic 
and  historian.  All  that  is  ancient  must  now  be 
tested  by  verisimilitude.  The  question  ever  asked 
is,  Is  it  likely?  As  if  the  unlikely  never  did 
happen  by  any  chance  or  wonder  in  this  world.  The 
very  Gospels  are  tested  ^  Js  iLli^'ly  ^l**'  J""* 
said,  '  I  and  the  Father  are  One '  ?    h  it  likely 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


163 


that  Jesus  cried,  'Lazarus,  come  forth'?  And  then, 
because  it  is  not  likely,  the  critic  forthwith  pro- 
nounces that  Jesus  eertaMy  never  did  say  or  do 
such  things.  Patrick  Walker  has  suffered  in  good 
society.  Mr.  Hay  Fleming  says  that  wherever 
Patrick  Walker's  statements  are  due  to  his  own 
observation,  they  may  be  taken  as  absolutely  truth- 
ful; that  his  dates  are,  'on  the  whole,  amazingly 
correct,'  and  even  his  quotations  fairly  accurate. 

It  was  an  excellent  service  to  render  us,  therefore, 
to  print  and  publish  Patrick  Walker's  Six  Saints; 
and  that  it  was  done  so  handsomely  makes  the 
obligation  deeper.       

Messrs.  Longmans  have  published  an  anony- 
mous (unless  'A.  B.  B.'  is  Bishop  Barry)  selec- 
tion of  comments  on  the  Songs  of  Degrees  from 
Neale  and  Littledale's  Commentary  (is.  net), 

Messrs.  Longmans  have  also  published  a  revised 
edition  (being  the  eighth)  of  Mr,  Balfour's  Founda- 
tions of  Belief  (6s.).  Besides  new  matter  through- 
out (which  is  always  distinguished  by  square 
brackets),  it  contains  an  introduction  of  thirty 
pages  and  a  summary  of  twenty  pages.  Both  are 
useful.  In  the  introduction  Mr.  Balfour  explains 
his  object  in  writing  his  book.  For  he  has  found 
it  often  misapprehended.  He  says,  for  example : 
'Awell-known  theologian  (who,  by  the  way,  has  him- 
self completely  failed  to  catch  my  general  drift)  ob- 
served in  a  review,  which  he  has  since  republished, 
that  the  book  is  redeemed  by  its  digressions.' 
A  footnote  tells  us  that  the  theologian  is  Principal 
Fairbairn.  The  notes  also  correct  misapprehen- 
sions, sometimes  with  refreshing  vigour.  Mr. 
Frederic  Harrison  described  a  certain  sentence 
in  the  book  as  a  '  coagulated  clot  of  confusions 
and  misstatements.'  Mr.  Balfour  is  astonished 
no  less  at  Mr.  Harrison's  '  wrath '  and  '  ill- 
humour'  than  at  his  'elegant  language,'  and 
does  not  withdraw  the 


Messrs.  Macmillan  have  undertaken  the  publi- 
cation of  a  new  edition  of  Thackeray,  and 
Vanity  Fair  (3s.  6d.)  is  out.  The  great  novel  is 
found  in  one  quite  convenient  volume,  with  all  the 
author's  illustrations,  for  the  paper  is  just  thin 
enough  not  to  be  transparent,  the  printing  is  a 
good  fair  size  and  very  clear,  the  binding  is 
original  and  most  successful.  It  is  an  edition  to 
do  credit  even  to  this  publishing  house,  and  not 


likely  to  be  surpassed  until  they  surpass  it  with  a 
cheaper  and  better  themselves. 

THE  CLEMENTINE  RECOGNITIONS.    Bv  F.  J.  A. 

HoRT,   D.D.      {Marmillan.      Crown    8vo,   pp.    173. 

4».  6d.) 
Few  men  pubhshed  less  than  Dr.  Hort  when 
he  lived  ;  few  men  have  had  more  of  their  works 
pubhshed  after  death.  But  we  will  buy  and  study 
every  word  that  is  published  of  Dr.  Hort's,  and 
never  cease  to  thank  Mr.  J.  O.  F.  Murray  for  his 
diligence.  This  volume  contains  a  short  course 
of  lectures.  It  therefore  belongs  lo  the  class  of 
Dr.  Hort's  writings  that  are  perfectly  lucid  and 
popular.  It  gives  us  all  we  need  to  know  about 
the  'Recognitions'  before  we  read  them,  and 
much  and  further  information  regarding  the 
Clementine  literature  in  general.  Mr.  Murray 
has  added  some  valuable  notes,  partly  due  to 
new  discoveries.  

THE  CONFERENCE   BETWEEN  WILLIAM    LAUD 
AND  MR.  FISHER  THE  JESUIT.     Edited  for 
'The  Enclisk  Thbolocical  Library'  by  C.    H. 
SlMPKlNSON,    M.A.      {Macmillan.       8vo,    pp.   508. 
los.  6d.) 
Mr.  Rclton,  who  edits  'The  English  Theological 
Library,'  has  passed  his  numerous  rival  editors  of 
old  English  theology  in  selecting  writers  that  are 
really  of  paramount  value,  and   deserve  all  the 
labour  bestowed  upon  them.     It  is  not  what  is 
popular  and  will  sell,  not  what  others  edit,  that  he 
has  selected  and  got  edited ;  it  is  what  has  pur- 
pose and  value  for  to-day,   what  has  in   it  the 
exposition  of  everlasting  truth,   the  exposure  of 
perpetual  error.     Then  the  special  editors  are  so 
carefully  chosen  that  thus  far  there  has  not  been 
a  miss  or  a  mishap ;  every  volume  is  a  classic,  and 
every  volume  has  been  edited  so  as  to  make  it  as 
fit  as  possible  for  our  use.     In  all  respects  this 
volume  maintains  the  reputation  acquired  by  its 
predecessors.    This  series  will  more  and  more  be 
recc^nized  as  distinct  from  all  others  in  workman- 
ship and  worth.  ■ 

LECTURES  AND  ESSAYS.  By  the  latb  W.  K. 
Clifford,  F.R.S.  Euitkd  by  Lkslib  Stbphepj 
AND  Sir  Frederick  Pollock.  {IHarmillan.  Globe 
Evo,  Two  Vols.  IDS.) 
Professor  Clifford's  Lectures  and  Essays  are 
published  in  the  'Eversley'  Series,  which  will 
induce  even  those  who  do  not  know  Professor 


i64 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Clifford  or  do  not  believe  in  his  thoughts  to 
buy  them.  We  do  not  believe  in  his  thoughts 
when  they  pass  the  bounds  of  physical  science. 
It  is  true  that  beyond  the  bounds  of  ph<->ical 
science  he  had  no  thoughts,  he  did  not  believe 
that  there  was  anything  to  think  about.  But  he 
said  that  no  one  else  had  any  thoughts,  and  it  is 
there  that  we  do  not  agree  with  him.  But  in 
these  volumes  Professor  Clifford  is  mostly  within 
the  sphere  of  the  physical.  And  what  a  mastery 
of  simple  exposition  he  had  when  he  found 
a  sympathetic  audience,  and  had  his  favourite 
'  Atoms '  or  the  like  in  hand !  A  mastery  he  had 
of  the  English  tongue,  or  at  least  that  part  of  it 
that  has  to  do  with  the  things  of  the  earth ;  and 
a  great  catching  enthusiasm.  As  a  teacher,  who 
could  excel  him  ?  And,  now  that  the  voice  is  still, 
these  beautiful  volumes  will  bring  delight  to  a  far 
larger  audience  than  ever  was  reached  by  the 
living  voice. 

In  the  first  volume  the  essays  or  lectures  are  on : 
(i)  Some  of  the  Conditions  of  Mental  Develop- 
ment; (a)  Theories  of  the  Physical  Forces;  (3) 
The  Aims  and  Instruments  of  Scientific  Thought ; 
{4)  Atoms;  {s)The  First  and  the  Last  Catastrophe  ; 
(6)  The  Unseen  Universe;  (7)  The  Philosophy  of 
the  Pure  Sciences.  It  is  introduced  by  a  biography 
and  a  selection  from  his  tetters.  The  second 
volume  is  more  debatable  and  even  doubtful : 
Body  and  Mind;  On  the  Nature  ofThings  in  Them- 
selves; On  the  Scientific  Basis  of  Morals;  Right 
and  Wrong,  the  Scientific  Ground  of  their  Distinc- 
tion ;  The  Ethicsof  Belief ;  The  Ethics  of  Religion  ; 
The  Influence  on  Morality  of  a  Decline  in  Religious 
Belief;  Cosmic  Emotion;  and  Virchow  on  the 
Teaching  of  Science. 

HANDBOOK  TO   THE   TEXTUAL  CRITICISM   OF 

THE    NEW    TESTAMENT.      Bv    Fredbric    G. 
Kenvon.      {Macmillan.     Svo,  pp.  321.       lOi,  nel.) 

Quite  recently  we  had  Dr.  Nestle's  Introduction, 
much  the  same  in  size  as  this  volume.  But  this 
is  00  repetition  or  superfluity.  Rather  is  it  sur- 
prising how  completely  Nestle  and  Kenyon  have 
worked  on  separate  lines,  not  intending  to  do  so, 
but  because  their  studies  have  lain  apart.  Nestle 
deals  with  the  text  itself,  discussing  many  pas- 
sages with  minuteness;  Kenyon  deals  with  the 
conveyance  of  the  text,  giving  rich  and  luminous 
information  regarding  the  manuscripts  and  the 
versions.    Thus  both  are   needed,  for  both   are 


masters  in  their  special  way  and  able  to  say  the 
final  word  at  any  moment.  We  do  not  mean  that 
they  never  cross;  we  do  mean  that  they  are  so 
surprisingly  separate  that  no  student  of  the  New 
Testament  can  take  the  one  and  say  it  will  do 
for  the  other. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  part  of  Dr.  Ken- 
yon's  book  is,  after  all,  the  part  wherein  it 
approaches  Dr.  Nestle's  book  most  nearly.  It  is 
the  eighth  chapter;  its  subject,  'The  Textual 
Problem.'  It  is  a  wonderfully  clear  account  of 
all  the  types  of  text  and  the  reasons  why  West- 
cott  and  Horl's  have  won  the  day.  Its  examina- 
tion (and  rejection)  of  Professor  Blass's  theory, 
in  particular,  is  s.o  masterly  that  it  covers  the 
whole  ground  within  a  page  or  two,  never  loses 
a  point,  and  leaves  a  most  distinct  impression. 
Altogether,  the  science  of  textual  criticism  is 
immensely  enriched  by  the  publication  of  thb 
volume,  which  has  succeeded  in  appealing  with 
equal  effect  to  the  beginner  and  to  the  scholar. 
The  sixteen  plates  increase  its  usefulness,  espe- 
cially with  the  beginner,  for  whom  the  book  is 
really  written.  Let  the  beginner  begin  with  it 
rather  than  with  a  smaller,  drier  book. 


A  STUDENT'S  HISTORY  OF  PHILOSOPHV.  By 
ArtmorKenyon  Rogers,  Ph.D.  {Macmillaa.  8vo, 
pp.  516.) 
Professor  Refers  of  Butler  College  is  already 
known  to  literature  by  his  Brief  Introduction  to 
Modern  Philosophy.  In  a  preface  to  the  present 
work  he  frankly  and  modestly  explains  his  pur- 
pose. He  writes  for  the  ordinary  student  taking 
his  college  course,  who  wishes  to  get  up  as  much 
philosophy  as  he  can  in  that  time,  and  if  possible 
understand  what  he  gets  up.  So  he  writes  un- 
technically, — as  untechnically  as  the  subject  allows, 
— emphasizes  the  most  influential  philosophers, 
and,  wherever  it  is  possible,  lets  every  writer  give 
his  own  ideas  in  his  own  words.  Of  Socrates 
he  says :  'In  spite  of  his  insistence  upon  his  own 
ignorance,  no  one  can  be  more  thoroughly  con- 
vinced that  there  is  absolute  truth,  and  that  this 
truth  is  attainable  by  man.  It  is  moral  truth, 
however,  not  scientific  or  metaphysical.  "  This 
is  the  point  in  which,  as  I  think,  I  am  superior 
to  men  in  general,  and  in  which  I  might,  perhaps, 
fancy  myself  wiser  than  other  men — that  whereas 
I  know  but  little  of  the  world  below,  I  do  not 
suppose  that  I  know.     But  I  do  know  " — and  this 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


'6S 


suggests  the  positive  side — "that  injustice  and 
disobedience  to  a  better,  whether  God  or  man,  is 
evil  and  dishonourable,  and  I  will  never  fear  nor 
avoid  a  possible  good  rather  than  a  certain  evil." 
The  moral  scepticism  of  the  sophists  is  entirely 
foreign  to  him.' 

Professor  Rogers  has  more  interest  than  some 
philosophers  in  theology.  His  account  of  the 
'  Religious  Period '  of  philosophy  is  useful,  in 
spite  of  its  brevity,  and  at  any  rate  it  is  not  mis- 
leading. Wisely,  however,  he  has  given  his 
strength  to  the  modern  period,  and  by  that  he 
has  made  his  book  indispensable,  at  least  to  the 
student  who  is  in  a  hurry. 

WHAT  IS  HEAVEN?      Bv  F.  E.  Marsh.      (Afaniall 
Brothers.     9d.) 

What  is  Heaven  1     The  best  recent  answer  is 
Christina  Rossetti's — 
liow  know  I  thai  it  looms  lovely,  that  land  I  have  never 

With    moming-glorin    and    heartsease    and    unenampletl 

green. 
With  neither  heat  nor  cold  in  the  balm -red  olenl  air? 
Some  of  this,  not  all,  1  know  ;  but  thi*  is  so— 
Christ  it  there. 
That  is  Mr.  Marsh's  answer  also. 

Under  the  title  of  Looking  unto  Jesus  the  Rev. 
W,  Milne,  M.A.,  of  Montreux,  has  written  about 
some  aspects  of  our  Lord's  life  and  work  (Mar- 
shall Brothers,  is.  6d.). 

Sunshine  ought  to  succeed.  Its  name  should 
be  its  fortune.  But  it  is  more  than  a  name ;  it  is 
a  cleverly  edited  magazine  for  boys  and  girls, 
published  by  Messrs.  Marshall  Brothers. 

THE  SOUL'S  ASCENT.     Bv  thb  Rbv.  F.  B.  Mevbr, 

B.A.      {Haraii    Marshall.      Ctown    8vo,     pp.     334, 

with  Portrait.     3s.  6d.) 

This  is  the  manual  for  the  mission  worker.     It 

contains  twenty-two  mission  addresses,   arranged 

in   order.     That  is  to  say,  they  begin  with  man 

just  where  the   gospel  begins  with  him — in  the 

fearful  pit  and  the  miry  clay.     They  carry  him 

upward  and  onward  step  by  step.    They  leave 

him  when  he  is  bearing  much  fruit.     And  every 

address  is  in  the  simple  telling  manner  of  this 

preacher,  who  has  so  often  found  men  so,  and  left 

them    so,   as    he    has    passed    on    his    mission 

journeys. 


THE  TRINITY.  By  R.  F.  Hobton,  M.A.,  D.D. 
{Horace  Marshall.  Crown  8vo,  pp.  30a,  with  Por- 
trait. 3s.  6d,) 
The  Trinity  is  a  bold  title  for  a  volume  of 
ethical  sermons.  It  is  the  bolder,  too,  that  it  is 
the  title  and  professed  subject  of  only  one  of  the 
sixteen.  Nevertheless,  it  is  no  haphazard  and  no 
foolhardy  title.  For  Dr.  Horton  has  worked 
these  sermons  on  a  plan.  Ethical  as  they  are, 
bearing  directly  on  the  daily  life  of  men  here 
below,  they  all  have  their  roots  in  doctrine,  and 
the  doctrine  from  which  they  all  derive  is  the 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  When  Charles  Kingsley 
discovered  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  he 
wondered  how  he  could  ever  have  lived  without 
it  1  it  seemed  to  enter  so  far  into  every  region  of 
his  religious  life.  So  seems  it  with  Dr.  Horton. 
Unless  these  strong  sermons  are  all  in  the  air, 
it  is  puzzling  to  know  how  any  man  can  live  a  rich 
religious  life  without  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity. 

TJIE  FOUNDATION  OF  BRITISH  EAST  AFRICA. 
Bv  J.  W.  Grbgorv,  D.Sc.  (Horace  Marshall, 
Crown  Svo,  pp.  393,  with  Maps  and  Illustrations. 
6s.  net.) 
No  novel  can  compete  with  a  plain  history 
of  fact  when  the  historian  has  the  love  of  truth, 
the  patience  lo  attain  it,  and  the  power  to  express 
it.  Professor  Gregory  has  all  that.  Then  it 
does  not  need  a  great  subject — though  this  is 
great  enough  surely,  great  in  extent  of  territory 
and  in  reach  of  interest  involved :  it  will  be 
treated  as  a  branch  of  human  history,  and  be  of 
interest  to  man  and  boy.  We  have  rarely  been 
so  unexpectedly  caught  in  the  meshes  of  a  book. 
Its  matter-of-fact  manner  seemed  lo  promise  too 
much  information  and  too  little  emotion.  But  in 
Professor  Gregory  of  the  University  of  Melbourne 
is  found  a  writer  who  can  handle  statistics  so  as  to 
move  to  tears  ;  and  here  he  has  men  of  the  highest 
type  of  heroism  to  deal  with — General  Lugard  one  of 
them.  Let  your  boy  read  this  book,  and  then  keep 
him  back  from  Uganda  and  heroism  if  you  can. 

THE  TWENTIETH-CENTURY  NEW  TESTAMENT. 

(^Horace  Marshall.     Crown  Svo.      3s.  6d.) 

Two  parts  of  this  anonymous  translation  of  the 
New  Testament  into  modern  English  have  already 
been  received  and  noticed.  The  third  part,  con- 
taining the  Pastoral  and  General  Epistles,  has 
now  been  issued  (at  is.),  and  the  whole  work 
published  as  above. 


t66 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


It  is  a  transtatioQ  direct  from  the  Greek,  Weat- 
cott  and  Hort  being  the  text  fotlowed.  It  is  done, 
we  understand,  by  several  hands,  but  the  author- 
ship is  not  made  pubUc.  The  aim  is  to  present 
the  most  trustworthy  text  in  the  literary  language 
of  to-day.  It  is  no  revision,  therefore ;  it  is  a  new 
translation.  Nor  is  it  a  word-for-word  translation. 
While  nothing  is  omitted,  a  word  or  a  phrase  is 
often  inserted  to  make  the  meaning  clearer.  But 
an  example  (taken  from  the  new  part),  the  fairly 
difficult  first  verses  of  i  John,  will  explain — 

'  Our  subject  is  thai  which  wu  in  existence  ai  the  Begin- 
ning, that  which  we  have  heard,  thai  which  we  have  seen, 
that  which  we  watched  and  touched — it  treats  of  the  Word 
who  ii  the  Life.  That  Life  was  actual!;  made  visible, 
and  we  have  seen,  and  now  bear  our  testimony  to,  and  tell 
you  of,  that  enduring  Life,  which  was  with  the  Father,  and 
was  then  made  visible  10  us.  It  is,  we  repeal,  of  what  we 
have  seen  and  heard  thai  we  have  to  tell  you.' 

IN  LEPER- LAND.  By  John  Jackson.  [Marshall 
Brothers.     Crown  8i-o,  pp.  a8z.     33.  6d.} 

Leper-land  is  India.  Mr.  Jackson  went  seven 
thousand  miles  among  lepers  in  that  land.  He 
wrote  down  his  impressions,  experiences,  and  even 
conversations.  He  look  photographs.  All  is  re- 
produced in  this  handsome  and  painfully  interest- 
ing volume. 

The  most  interesting  part  of  the  volume  is 
Mr,  Jackson's  account  of  his  visit  to  Miss  Mary 
Reed,  the  leper-missionary  to  lepers.  That  part 
is  actually  attractive,  so  beautiful  is  the  personal 
character,  so  Christ-like  the  devotion,  of  this  great 
missionary.  For  'the  tone  and  spirit  of  Miss 
Reed's  life,'  leper  though  she  is,  'are  the  very 
reverse  of  melancholy.  Her  intervals  of  depres- 
sion are  few  and  brief.  The  general  tenor  of  her 
life  for  these  ten  years  past  is  expressed  in  a 
sentence  from  one  of  her  letters  r  "  I  find  so  much 
help  and  blessing  in  song,  and  from  day  to  day  I 
prove  that  faith,  hope,  love,  work,  and  song  cause 
sorrow  to  depart."'  Mr.  Jackson  is  almost  as 
great  an  enthusiast  in  the  leper  cause  as  its  own 
missionaries.  Such  a  work  needs  a  historian, 
and  that  is  his  choice — less  heroic,  perhaps,  but 


profitable  for  our  instruction.  His  vivid  narra- 
tive never  loses  the  impression  of  the  strictest 
accuracy.  

LIGHT  FROM  THE  HOLY  HILLS.     Bv  K.  Moody- 

StuabT,  M.A.     (Morgan  &•  Seett.     Crown  Svo,  pp. 

114.     IS.  fid.) 

Fourteen  great  mountains — great  in  the  history 

of  religion — each  one  familiar  in  our  mouths  as 

household  words,  are  here  turned  to  religious  uses, 

their  names,   their  appearance,  their  history,  all 

being  made  to  read  us  spiritual  lessons  and  declare 

the  glory  of  God.        

THE  REFORMATION.  By  thb  Rev.  J.  A.  Babisg- 
TON,  M.A.  {Murray.  Svo,  pp.  372.  12s.  net.) 
If  the  chief  merit  of  a  historian  is  found  in  his 
style,  this  will  not  be  called  a  brilliant  history.  It 
is  written  after  the  manner  of  Mr.  Freeman,  not 
after  the  manner  of  Mr.  Froude.  And  no  doubt 
style,  if  it  is  distinctive,  even  if  it  is  affected, 
does  arrest  the  ordinary  mind,  and  makes  a 
book  a  popular  success.  But  there  are  greater 
gifts  than  even  style.  The  gift  of  impartiality  is 
greater,  the  love  of  the  truth  is  greater.  Mr. 
Babington  has  not  written  without  reflection.  He 
has  studied  the  whole  course  of  the  Reformation 
in  Europe,  and  some  parts  of  it  with  evident 
minuteness.  He  has  put  himself  successfully 
beside  the  Reformers,  and  beside  those  who 
needed  reform.  He  has  moved  throughout  the 
movement  as  an  impartial  but  sincerely  religious 
spectator — an  Erasmus  with  all  the  advantage  of 
history  behind  him.  And  when  he  writes,  he 
writes  with  perfect  simplicity  of  thought  and 
orderly  arrangement  If  his  book  does  not  move 
to  tears,  it  is  because  Mr.  Babington  has  counted 
it  his  business  to  draw  a  full  and  faithful  picture 
rather  than  excite  emotion  by  strong  partial  colour- 
ing. He  has,  at  the  same  time,  the  deepest  sym- 
pathy with  the  Reformers  and  the  Reformation. 
That  it  was  a  blessing,  and  how  great  a  blessing  it 
was,  we  see  far  more  clearly  in  his  truly  historical 
pages  than  in  any  advocate's  special  pleading. 


jyGoot^Ie 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


^@ouf&  t^i  (^ui^oti^H  (p»eton  con^nue  to  8e  mti  tn 
tl^  ^u6ftc  ^ttvkte  of  i^  £$urc3?' 

Bv  THE  Rev.  S,  R,  Driver,  D.D.,  Regius  Professor  of  Hebrew,  Oxford. 


Phil.  iii.  zo,  ai  (A.V.) :  '  For  our  conversaiion  is 
in  heaven;  from  whence  also  we  look  for  the 
Saviour,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ :  who  shall  change 
our  vile  body,  that  it  may  be  fashioned  like  unto 
his  glorious  body,  accoTding  to  the  working  where- 
by he  is  able  even  to  subdue  all  things  unto  him- 
self.' 

The  verses  which  I  have  just  read,  and  which 
form  part  of  the  Epistle  of  to-day,  afford  two 
examples  of  the  obscurity  and  error  which  have 
been  introduced  into  the  Authorized  Version  by 
changes  which  have  passed  over  the  English 
language  since  the  dale,  now  nearly  three 
centuries  ago,  at  which  it  was  made.  We  all 
know  what  'conversation' is;  but  some  perhaps 
even  in  this  cathedral,  and  certainly  many  of  the 
numbers  who  in  different  churches  of  our  land 
have  heard  this  Epistle  read  to-day,  do  not  know 
that  it  means  here  something  completely  different 
— something  which,  without  a  knowledge  of  the 
original  Greek,  the  most  intelligent  and  painstaking 
reader  would  be  powerless  lo  divine.  'Conversa- 
tion,' wherever  it  occurs  in  the  Bible,  never  means 
what  it  means  now,  discourse;  it  means  usually 
manner  of  life,  behaviour,  being  a  Latin  repre- 
sentative of  h/atrrfM^  (as  in  the  words  of  Wesley's 
familiar  anthem,  'So  be  ye  holy  in  all  manner  of 
conversation  ') ;  and  similarly  in  the  O.T.,  where 
it  stands  for  a  word  meaning '  way,'  as  in  the  Psalm 
which  we  have  just  heard  :  'To  him  that  ordereth 
his  conversation  right  will  I  show  the  salvation  of 
God.'  In  the  text,  however,  it  does  not  even 
conespond  to  dvoorpo^,  but  to  another  Greek 
word  altogether,  iroA('r«v/ia,  and  its  meaning  is 
either  citizenship  or,  better,  constitution, — so  that 
the  apostle's  meaning  is,  the  constitution  or 
commonwealth  to  which  we  belong  is  a  heavenly 
one ;  heaven  is  the  true  country  of  which  we  are 
citizens.  As  it  happens,  the  corresponding  verb 
in  the  Greek  occurs  in  an  earlier  part  of  the 
same  Epistle  (i*^,  in  the  passage  which  in  the 

^  The  opening  paragraphs  of  a  sermon  preached  in  the 
Calhedml,  Oxford,  on  the  Twenty-third  Sunday  after  Trinity, 


Authorised  Version  reads, '  Only  let  your  conversa- 
tion be  as  it  becometh  the  gospel  of  Christ,'  but 
in  the  Revised  Version,  '  Only  let  your  manner  of 
life  be  worthy  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,'  with  the 
correct  explanatory  margin,  'behave  as  citizens 
worthily  of  the  gospel  of  Christ.'  It  is  again  the 
same  very  su^estive  metaphor  of  a  heavenly 
citizenship  which  the  apostle  uses,  but  which,  in 
the  only  version  which  our  Church  in  its  official 
capacity  places  in  the  hands  of  its  members, — and 
at  least  in  the  Prayer-Book  alone  permits  to  be  used, 
— is,  except  by  a  specially  trained  and  educated 
minority,  totally  undiscoverable. 

The  other  word,  the  meaning  of  which  has  been 
changed  by  lime,  is  the  word  vile, — 'our  vile 
body,'  There  are  many  places  in  the  Bible  in 
which  viie  is  not  meant  to  convey  the  idea  which 
it  now  possesses  of  what  is  physically  and  morally 
detestable,  but  has  simply  the  force  of  the  Latin 
vilis,  properly  cheap,  and  then  common,  lightly 
esteemed,  or  at  most  looked  down  upon  ;  *  and  this, 
no  doubt,  is  the  sense  which  the  Translators  of 
1611  intended  to  express  here;  for  the  Greek  is 
TavtivmrK,  lowliness,  low  estate — as  it  is  rendered 
in  the  Magnificat,  '  the  lowliness,  or  low  estate,  of 
his  handmaiden';  and  the  contrast  is  simply 
between  the  lowly  earthly  body  which  we  at 
present  bear,  and  the  future  glorified  body  which 
has  been  made  like  unto  the  risen  body  of  Christ. 

The  two  examples  which  my  text  has  afforded 
are  but  specimens  which  might  be  almfist  in- 
definitely multiplied,  of  cases  in  which — partly 
through  the  imperfect  scholarshipof  the  seventeenth 
century,  pardy  through  the  changes  which  many 
English  words  have  passed  through  since — the 
Authorized  Version  entirely  fails  to  convey  lo  the 
reader  of  the  present  day  the  meaning  of  the 
original ;  or  even,  where  the  word  employed  is  not 
actually  obsolete,  does  what  is  perhaps  worse — 
suggests  a  wrong  meaning  altogether.  Some  of 
the  commonest  words  in  our  language,  such  as 

'  See  Dt  2$'  (''«  s"™*  Hebrew  word  is  in  I  S  18"  rt 
dered  lightly  esteenied) ;  Job  40'  [R.V.  ant  a/sB 
Jeris'*(  =  iv«ini'«);  Laml". 


^ffW^e" 


i68 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


health,  and  wealth,  and  strange,  and  tempt,  mean 
now  something  quite  difTerent  from  what  they  did 
in  1611,  and  wherever  they  occur  must,  to  most 
readers,  suggest  inevitably  a  false  meaning.  And 
there  are  other  passages,  probably  still  more 
numerous,  and  certainly  including  many  important 
ones,  the  true  meaning  of  which  is  never  heard  in 
our  public  services,  on  account  of  their  being 
incorrectly  rendered  in  the  Authorized  Version. 
A  well-known  but  seriously  mistranslated  text 
occurred  only  two  Sundays  ago  in  the  first  lesson 
of  the  morning  service  (Dn  3^). '  Instances  of 
mistranslation  are  roost  frequent  and  glaring  in 
the  Epistles  of  the  N.T.  and  in  the  poetical  and 
prophetical  books  of  the  O.T.,  but  they  occur 
also  often  besides.  Nor  do  they  relate  to  points  of 
merely  antiquarian  or  philological  interest ;  they 
relate  often  to  important  points  of  Christian 
doctrine,  and  they  frequently  have  the  effect  of 
obscuring  an  argument,  and  of  blunting,  or  even 
destroying  altogether,  the  force,  and  life,  and  ex- 
pressiveness of  the  word  or  figure  employed  by  the 
biblical  writer.  Surely  the  time  has  come  for  these 
things  to  be  changed.  It  surely  needs  no  ai^ument 
to  show  that  the  Bible  and  Prayer-Book,  which 
our  Church  places  in  the  hands  of  its  members, 
ought  to  be  written  throughout  in  a  language 
'  understanded  of  the  people,'  in  a  language  which 
ordinary  lay  readers  can  follow  and  comprehend 
without  difficulty.  And  the  Bible,  and  not  less  the 
extracts  from  the  Bible  contained  in  the  Prayer- 
Book,  should  also  be  placed  in  their  hands  in  a  trans- 
lation which  is  accurate  and  trustworthy.  We 
live  in  a  city  in  which  there  are  many  teachers  and 
'  The  Speaker!  Cetnmettlary,  published  now  twenty-five 
yeois  ago,  makei  here  the  required  cotrection. 


tutors ;  and  it  may  be  safely  said  that  there  is  not 
a  single  teacher  here  who,  if  it  were  necessary  for 
his  pupils  to  read  a  work  written  in  some  foreign 
language,  would  recommend  to  them  a  translation 
which  he  knew  to  abound  in  inaccuracies  and 
obscurities ;  he  would,  we  may  be  sure,  if  the 
work  were  an  important  one,  take  steps  to  provide 
a  trustworthy  translation  himself  Our  Church, 
strange  to  say,  seems  to  be  less  careful,  less 
anxious,  in  making  provision  for  an  accurate 
knowledge  of  the  Bible  than  any  teacher  of  a 
secular  subject  would  be.  Else  how  comes  it 
that  it  persists  in  withholding  from  the  laity 
renderings  which  are  confessedly  the  correct  ones, 
and  which  in  any  commentary  taken  at  random 
are  without  hesitation  recognized  as  such  ?  It  is 
surely  a  duty  of  the  Church  to  take  care  that  in 
all  its  public  services  the  Bible  should  be  read  in 
the  best  translation  which  the  scholarship  of  the 
day  can  provide,  in  a  translation  free  from  the 
defects  which,  arising  from  the  causes  that  I  have 
briefly  indicated,  so  constantly  make  the  Authorized 
Version,  in  spite  of  its  inimitable  literary  excel- 
lences, obscure,  inaccurate,  and  misleading.  Is  it 
too  much  to  ask  of  the  authorities  of  the  Church 
that  they  should  either  sanction  and  encourage  the 
public  use  of  the  Revised  Version,  or,  if  in  their 
opinion  this  is  not  sufficiently  good,  that  they 
should  lose  no  time  in  taking  measures  to  pro- 
vide a  version  which  is  better?* 

'  The  Bishops,  it  is  right  to  »y,  have  Eanclioned  the 
public  use  of  the  Revised  Version,  Ihough  hilheilo,  it  is  to 
be  feared,  with  little  efJect ;  and  the  Convocation  of  the 
Province  of  Canterbury,  which  in  1870  norninatcd  ihe 
original  Revision  Companies,  has  taken  no  action   in   the 


^S'tttnt  Jforeijn   ^feofogp. 


$ta6ia  Before  "iaUm.^ 

This  pamphlet  (35  pages  long)  forms  part  of  a 
series  of  sketches  published  by  the  Vorderasiatische 
Gescllschaft  with  the  title  'The  Ancient  East.' 
The  author  summarizes  the  history  of  the  collec- 
tion and  deciphering  of  Ihe  S.  Arabian  inscriptions, 
^  AratiiMvr"-iUm  Mam.  Von  Dr.  Olto  Weber.  Williams 
&  Norgale. 


and  endeavours  to  put  in  an  intelligible  form  the 
chief  results  of  Sabtean  studies.  His  style  is 
lucid  and  easy  ;  he  is  thoroughly  familiar  with  his 
subject,  for  which  he  has  bad  access  to  sources  of 
information  that  are  not  yet  open  to  the  public 
It  is  well  known  that  the  animi  cielesles  engaged 
on  the  study  of  S.  Arabian  antiquities  are  not  free 
from  the  tm  which  Vii^il  thought  incongruous  in 
such  cases.     In  Glaser's  numerous  and  valuable 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


169 


works  many  hard  words  are  to  be  found  about  Dr. 
H.  Miiller,  whom  many  regard  as  the  first  of 
Sabfean  scholars;  and,  from  the  fact  that  Dr. 
Weber  does  not  mention  MiiHer  in  his  list  of 
authorities,  the  reader  could  immediately  guess 
what  side  the  author  takes  in  the  dispute  between 
these  eminent  authorities.  He  is  to  be  thanlced 
for  having  rendered  the  nature  of  Glaser's  services 
clearer  than  previous  statements  have  made  them; 
and  for  attempting  to  rouse  public  interest  in  the 
collection  of  materials  for  the  early  history  of 
Arabia  which  are  still  unprinted,  and  so  to  remove 
the  obstacles  (whatever  they  may  be)  which  stand 
in  the  way  of  their  publication. 

Readers  of  the  first  part  of  Glaser's  History  of 
Arabia  and  of  Wincklei's  History  of  Israel  will  be 
familiar  with  much  of  the  matter  that  is  summarized 
in  this  work;  the  statements  which  it  contains  have 
therefore  ordinarily  the  authority  of  other  investi- 
gators besides  the  writer,  but  it  would  be  premature 
to  say  that  they  had  universal  assent.  There  is 
something  unsatisfactory  about  conclusions  of 
importance  which  are  based  on  inaccessible 
documents,  and  the  sooner  all  the  sources  of 
information  are  made  public  the  sooner  will  the 
main  points  of  disagreement  between  Sabsean 
scholars  be  settled.  Meanwhile  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that  this  pamphlet  may  be  the  means  of  encourag- 
ing many  to  start  the  study  of  the  S.  Arabian 
inscriptions.  D.  S.  Marcoliouth. 

Ox/oril. 

Z^t  l^ources  for  t^t  l^istors  of 
JfcBue'  €5ifb((oob.^ 

The  substance  of  this  learned  but  obscurely  written 
and  unpleasantly  printed  book  is  in  brief  as 
follows.  It  is  argued  .that  the  first  two  chapters 
of  Matthew,  with  the  exception  of  the  genealogy, 
the  journey  to  Egypt,  the  return,  and  the  settle- 
ment in  Nazareth ;  and  the  first  two  chapters  of 
Luke,  with  the  exception  of  the  preface,  the 
Magnificat,  and  the  story  of  the  boy  Jesus  in 
the  temple,  are  based  on  a  common  written 
source.  Both  evangelists  handled  this  source 
with  freedom,  omitting,  adding,  and  manipulat- 
ing   according   to  need;    Luke,    however,    going 

*  Die  Quelle  der  kanotiiiehen  Kindhiilgtsdit'chle  Jesus. 
Ein  wissenschaltlicher  VcTsuch.  Von  Ludwig  Conrad. 
Gottingen :  Vandenhoeck  und  Rupiecht,  1900. 


far  beyond  Matthew,  with  whose  writing  he 
was  acquainted  ;  whilst  Matthew  epitomized 
and  copied  Luke  to  a  considerable  extent  trans 
formed.  They  both  agreed  In  rejecting  the 
Doceiic  teaching  of  the  source,  and  both  en- 
deavoured to  adapt  a  narrative  which  was  in  the 
first  instance  heretical  to  the  use  of  the  orthodox 
Church.  This  source,  which  Resch  has  attempted 
to  reconstruct  in  Hebrew  and  Greek  out  of  the 
canonical  Gospels  and  extra-canonical  parallels, 
is  found  by  Conrady  in  the  apocryphon  which 
is  generally  known  as  the  Protevangelium  of 
James.  Its  author  was  an  Egyptian,  very  probably 
an  Alexandrian,  who  was  in  the  first  instance  a 
heathen,  then  a  proselyte,  and  last  of  all  a 
Christian  of  the  Docetic  type.  As  a  Christian  he 
still  took  deep  interest  in  his  earliest  faith,  and 
strove  to  effect  a  fusion  of  some  of  its  elements 
with  Christianity.  In  concert  with  the  priests 
of  Isis  and  Serapis,  who  are  said  (by  our  author) 
to  have  had  holy  places  at  Jerusalem  and  Bethle- 
hem, he  aided  with  his  inventive  pen  the  appro- 
priation of  these  sacred  sites  by  the  Church.  A 
form  of  the  Isis-legend  supplied  him  with  much 
of  his  material.  The  leading  actors  in  his 
narrative  represent  divine  figures  more  or  less 
associated  with  that  part  of  the  Egyptian  Pantheon, 
Joachim  and  Anna,  the  parents  of  Mary,  stand 
respectively  for  the  earth.god  Teb  and  the  heaven- 
goddess  Nut.  Their  child,  Mary,  is  Isis.  The 
aged  Joseph  is  Tboth,  '  the  eldest  who  was  at  the 
beginning.'  Zacharias  is  Sokari  or  Osiris.  Eliza- 
beth, perhaps,  represents  the  seven-homed  Hathor, 
and  her  name,  which  might  signify  (according  to 
our  author)  '  my  goddess  is  seven,'  might  glance 
at  the  seven  horns.  Elizabeth's  spinning  scarlet 
reminds  us  of  the  description  of  Hathor  as  '  the 
mistress  of  the  red  veil.'  Jesus,  the  child  of  Isis- 
Mary,  is  Hor-pi-chrud,  Horus,  or  the  sun.  The 
birth  of  Jesus  in  the  Protevangelium  has  for  its 
basis  a  description  of  the  sunrise.  A  person 
must  be  blind,  we  are  told,  not  to  see  this.  The 
Magi  are  really  the  solar  baboons  who  greet  the 
new-born  sun.  Now  these  baboons  are  represented 
as  coming  from  the  eastern  region  of  Punt,  the 
land  of  spices.  So  the  Magi  are  said  to  have 
come  from  the  East  with  offerings  of  frankincense 
and  myrrh.  The  star  which  led  them  is  the 
morning-star.  The  cruel  Herod  is  the  spiteful 
brother  of  Osiris,  Set  or  Typho.  It  is  true  that 
Set  was  not  known  to  the  Egyptians  as  a  child- 


170 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


murderer,  but  that  little  difficulty  is  brushed  aside 
by  a  reference  to  the  pseudo-evangelist's  fancy. 
This,  it  may  be  remarked  by  the  way,  is  an 
expedient  repeatedly  adopted  by  our  author. 
When  no  analogy,  however  far-fetched,  can  be 
discovered  for  an  incident  or  an  expression,  it  is 
said  to  have  been  invented.  Simeon,  that  is 
'  hearing,'  is  Serapis,  whom  '  men  at  every  lime 
call  helper.'  The  lime  at  which  the  book  was 
composed  cannot  be  exactly  fixed,  but  it  may 
lie  assigned  with  confidence  to  the  reign  of 
Hadrian.  About  lao  a.d.  is  suggested  as  pro- 
bable. It  was  soon  translated  into  Greek,  very 
probably  in  Alexandria,  by  a  countryman  of  the 
author,  who  had,  like  him,  passed  from  heathenism 
through  Judaism  into  the  Christian  Church.  As 
the  book  in  its  Greek  form  speedily  attracted 
great  attention,  it  was  soon  utilized  for  the  Catholic 
Church  by  the  writers  of  the  First  and  Third 
Gospels,  which  therefore  cannof  have  been  written 
until  about  or  a  little  after  the  end  of  the  first 
quarter  of  the  second  century. 

This  extraordinary  theory  is  supported  by  a 
great  array  of  quotations  and  by  a  multitude  of 
ingenious  suggestions  and  bold  hypotheses,  but 
the  reader's  patience  is  severely  taxed  throughout 
the  greater  part  of  the  volume  by  forced  inter- 
pretations and  fanciful  conjectures  and  combina- 
tions. 

The  first  and  second  sections,  which  treat 
successively  of  the  existence  of  a  source  and  of 
the  relation  of  the  canonical  reports  to  the  source 
said  to  have  been  discovered,  abound  in  passages 
which  shake  the  reader's  confidence.  The  follow- 
ing are  a  few  out  of  many  which  might  be  adduced. 
Apropos  of  the  words  of  the  angel,  'Thou  shalt 
call  His  name  Jesus '  and  the  following  quotation 
from  Isaiah  (Mt  i^''^''),  it  is  suggested  that 
Matthew,  although  acquainted  with  Hebrew,  did 
not  identify  the  name  'iTjaov^  as  used  by  the 
angel  with  the  VK^n''  or  mr"  of  the  O.T.,  but 
regarded  it  as  a  synonym  of  'E^i/iaror^X.  Is  this 
in  the  least  probable  ?  One  acquainted,  as  Matthew 
must  have  been,  with  both  the  Hebrew  text  and  the 
Septuagint,  could  not  fail  to  identify  'Iijo-oCf  with 
VKT,  and  would  therefore  not  for  a  moment  connect 
it  with  'E/ifuivotnjX.  The  prophecy  containing  the 
latter  name  is  no  doubt  cited  as  referring  to  the 
divine  origin  of  the  child  to  be  born,  not  to  the 
name  given  by  the  angel.     The  words  in  the  same 


context,  '  He  shall  save  His  people  from  their 
sins,'  are  thought  to  represent  a  mistranslation. 
The  original  Hebrew  is  supposed  to  have  been 
Dri'KianD,  which  meant,  in  the  writer's  intention,  not 
'  from  their  sins '  but  '  from  sinners '  or  '  the 
sinners  against  them.'  Comment  is  needless. 
The  attempt  to  find  a  common  source  for  Matthew 
and  Luke  has  led  to  the  identification  of  the 
stargazing  Magi  with  the  shepherds  tending  their 
flock  by  night.  The  star  which  led  the  Magi  was 
metamorphosed  by  the  ingenious  Luke  into  the 
angel  who  addressed  the  shepherds,  and  the  other 
stars  suj>plied  the  angelic  host.  It  is  hard  to 
understand  how  this  could  be  seriously  pro- 
pounded. On  p.  25  a  remark  of  Strauss  is 
approved,  that  the  more  wonderful  a  report 
the  safer  is  the  assumption  that  it  was  taken 
from  a  source.  On  p.  27  the  piling  up  of  wonders 
is  said  to  be  always  a  sign  of  a  second  hand. 
How  can  these  positions  be  reconciled  ?  If  the 
latter  is  accepted  the  secondary  character  of  the 
Protevangelium  cannot  be  questioned  for  a 
moment,  and  the  theory  of  Conrady  collapses. 
Were  there  nothing  else  in  this  part  of  the  book 
open  to  criticism,  this  uncertainly  on  a  point 
of  the  first  importance  in  this  department  of 
research  would  justify  want  of  confidence  in  the 
author's  capacity  to  guide  safely  through  so 
difficult  a  region. 

Of  many  points  in  the  following  portions 
which  provoke  dissent  only  three  can  be  briefly 
discussed.  That  the  original  of  the  Protevan- 
gelium was  written  in  Hebrew  is  improbable,  at 
any  rate  on  our  author's  theory.  It  may  be 
allowed  that  a  Palestinian  Jew  of  the  time  of 
Christ  writing  for  Jews  might  select  Hebrew,  but 
is  it  conceivable  that  an  Alexandrian  of  the 
second  century,  of  heathen  origin  and  with  strong 
heathen  sympathies,  would  make  use  of  that 
language  when  writing  for  Christians  who  were 
in  the  habit  of  using  Greek  or  Aramaic  ? 

Again,  the  early  date  assigned  to  the  Prot- 
evangelium is  not  by  any  means  proved.  The 
Ignatian  Epistles,  which  are  said  to  betray  acquaint- 
ance with  the  apjocryphon,  were  not  improbably 
written  before  it.  Harnack  suggests  as  possible 
dates  for  them,  110-117  or  117-125  a.d.  If  the 
Protevangelium  was  written,  as  Conrady  su^ests, 
about  izo  A.D.,  or  a  httle  later  in  the  reign  of 
Hadrian,  the  probability  of  the  use  of  a  Greek 
version  of  it  by  Ignatius  is  exceedingly  slender. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


And,  even  if  he  had  known  it,  would  he  have 
made  use  of  such  a  suspicious  document  tepTC- 
senting,  according  to  our  author,  a  form  of 
teaching  of  which  he  strongly  disapproved?  The 
acquaintance  of  Justin  also  with  the  Protevan- 
gelium  is  not  demonstrated,  although  its  possibihty 
may  be  admitted.  The  reference  to  the  cave  is 
certainly  not  conclusive.  The  Palestinian  Justin 
could  easily  obtain  information  of  that  kind  from 
local  tradition.  In  the  present  state  of  the 
evidence  there  seems  to  be  no  actual  proof  of 
the  existence  of  any  part  of  the  Prolevangel 
before  the  end  of  the  second  century.  The 
reference  of  Origen  to  a  pi^Xw  'ItxKiifiov,  which 
is  not  quite  accurately  reproduced  by  Conrady 
on  p.  210,  is  most  naturally  interpreted  as  an 
allusion  to  the  Prolevangel.  In  that  case,  as 
Origen  elsewhere  exhibits  no  acquaintance  with 
the  story  of  the  death  of  Zacharias  contained  in 
our  present  text,  Harnack's  suggestion  that  he 
knew  only  chaps.  1-17,  and  that  therefore 
the  book  as  we  have  it  was  not  compiled  until 
after  his  time,  seems  highly  probable. 

The  date  for  the  composition  of  Matthew  and 
Luke,  which  follows  from  the  theory,  reminds  the 
reader  of  some  of  the  results  of  the  now  dis- 
credited Tubingen  school.  We  are  asked  to 
believe  that  Matthew  and  Luke  did  not  compose 
their  Gospels  until  the  beginning  of  the  second 
quarter  of  the  first  century,  or  at  the  earliest 
at  the  end  of  the  first  quarter,  and  that  they  had 
no  source  for  the  greater  part  of  their  narratives 
concerning  the  birth  of  Jesus  and  the  events 
which  preceded  it  but  the  Proievangelium,  written 
a  few  years  previously.  This  view  hardly  needs 
refutation.  It  is  entirely  incompatible  with  the 
place  taken  by  these  Gospels  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  second  century. 

Whilst,  however,  'the  scientific  essay'  must 
be  pronounced  a  failure  as  to  its  main  purpose, 
it  is  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  study  of  an 
interesting  apocryphon  which  has  hitherto  hardly 
received  due  attention  from  scholars,  and  contains 
much  useful  matter  about  the  origin  of  Christian 
asceticism  and  some  developments  of  Christian 
ritual.  The  collection  of  references  to  the  birth 
and  infancy  of  Jesus  in  the  writings  of  Justin 
Martyr,  which  is  much  fuller  than  that  in  the 
Antilegoraena  of  Preuschen,  also  deserves  grateful 
W.  Taylor  Smith. 


(gifsc^fs  (Peeedge  for  tge  (Df<tin 

This  brief  lecture  is  an  eminently  reasonable  and 
sympathetic  account  of  Ritschl's  theology  and  its 
message  for  the  plain  man,  Vischer  undertakes 
to  answer  the  question :  What  did  Ritschl  mean 
by  evangelical  Christianity?  For  one  thing,  he 
fought  all  his  life  against  the  idea  that  saving  faith 
is  submission  to  a  number  of  dogmas  or  the  ac- 
ceptance of  a  series  of  historical  facts.  In  this 
he  was  not  singular;  but  he  was  singular,  Vischer 
holds,  in  the  decisiveness  with  which  he  set  forth 
the  historical  fact  of  Christ's  Person  as  the  indis- 
pensable, but  sufficient,  revelation  of  God.  Our 
idea  of  God  must  start  from  Christ,  not  from 
nature.  In  Christ  a  life  was  realized  and  put 
within  the  reach  of  believers,  which  overcomes 
this  hostile  and  refractory  world,  by  making  all  our 
experiences  subservient  to  a  spiritual  faith  and 
spiritual  ends.  A  good  deal  of  attention  is  given 
also  to  Ritschl's  quarrel  with  Pietism.  His  three 
grounds  of  complaint  against  that  movement  as  a 
a  whole  were  its  negative  and  deficient  conception 
of  our  active  life  and  vocation  in  the  world,  its 
tendency  to  foster  a  lack  of  personal  assurance, 
and  its  mystical  familiarity  with  Christ.  Vischer 
admits  that  Ritschl  went  too  far  in  his  aversion  to 
Pietism,  and  in  this  verdict  most  people  will  agree. 
So  brief  a  pamphlet  could  not  well  bring  new 
material  to  the  discussion  of  its  theme  ;  nor  can 
it  be  said  in  any  substantial  degree  to  relieve  the 
ditiicuhies  which  friendly  outsiders  find  in  the 
Ritschlian  system,  especially,  perhaps,  in  its 
Christology.  But  Vischer  writes  with  a  quiet 
earnestness  and  conviction,  which  will  leave  their 
mark  on  the  candid  reader. 


^c&feiermAc^er's  Concei>tion  of 

(^eftgion.* 

Huser's  book  is  the  kind  of  work  which  Germans 
do  to  perfection.      He  goes  steadily  through  all 

'  Alhreiht  RilschU  Amchauung  von  euangtlisihim 
GlaabtnunJ Lebttt.  Von  Ebeihaid  Vischer,  PtivBtdoienlen 
Aa  Theologie  in  Basel.  Tubingen :  J.  C.  B.  Mohr, 
London  :  Williams  4  Norgale.     Price  gd.  net. 

'  Die  Enlwirklung  des  RiHgiambi^gs  bti  Schleiermathfr. 
Von  Eugen  Huber.  Leipzig  :  Dieter ich'sche  Verlagsbuch- 
handlnDg.     London;  Wiltiama  &  Norgate.     1901. 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Schleiermacher's  extant  writings,  printed  or  in 
manuscript,  and  euhibtts  in  all  iis  fulness  the  de- 
velopment which  is  to  be  found  in  liis  conception  of 
religion.  As  he  keeps  strictly  to  the  subject  of  liis 
inquiry,  which  has  only  to  do  with  a  particular 
theory  of  religion  itigeneral,  we  hear  disappointingly 
little  of  the  great  thinker's  interpretation  of  Chris- 
tianity. But  his  Moravian  training  left  its  influence 
deep  upon  his  thought,  and  it  was  thoroughly  in 
accordance  with  the  impression  he  received  at 
Niesky  and  Barby,  ihMfieling—a.  word  which  is  like 
a  red  rag  to  some  theologians — should  always  have 
been  the  most  important  term  in  his  vocabulary. 
So  exclusively,  indeed,  was  he  interested  in  the 
subjective  side  of  religion,  that,  to  quote  Huber, 
'  we  can  state  Schleiermacher's  definition  of  religion 
almost  without  using  the  word  God.'  To  the  very 
end,  philosophical  iheorj'  made  it  difficult  for  him  to 
accept  the  idea  of  the  divine  personality;  in  fact, 
it  is  impossible  not  to  perceive  that  he  never  was 
entirely  successful  in  translating  into  exphcit 
theory  the  whole  depth  and  richness  of  his  religious 
experience. 

The  questions  upon  which  he  is  here  made  to 
speak  for  himself  are  such  as  the  relation  between 
religion  and  knowledge,  the  seal  of  religion  among 
the  faculties  of  the  soul,  the  connexion  of  piety 
with  dogma,  science,  and  action,  and  the  neces- 
sity inherent  in  religion  of  expressing  itself  in 
a  common  fellowship.  A  specially  difficult  and 
intricate  chapter  in  the  exposition  is  that  dealing 
with  his  psychology,  and  Ruber's  pages  show  at 
great  length  the  vacillating  and  indeterminate  char- 
acter of  his  conclusions  on  this  subject.  Schleier- 
macher's theories  were  often  strangely  abstract, 
and  had  only  a  secondary  relation  to  experience  and 
history.  But  one  constant  aim  united  all  his 
varying  modes  of  statement — the  resolve  to  vindi- 
cate for  religion  an  independent  atid  impregnable 
place  in  the  inward  life  of  man. 

Huber  has  done  his  work  so  admirably  that 
many  years  must  elapse  ere  it  will  have  to  be  done 
again.  He  writes  with  all  possible  clearness  and 
precision,  and  not  infrequently  by  a  happy  para- 
phrase brings  much-needed  light  into  the  obscurities 
of  his  author.  He  is  thoroughly  aware  of  the 
greatness  of  the  man  whose  thoughts  he  is  ex- 
pounding. Indeed,  perhaps  the  most  memorable 
pages  in  his  book  are  those  in  which  he  draws  a 
vivid  and  convincing  parallel  between  Schleier- 
machcr  and  Luther,     Both  men  were  Reformers, 


and  both  reformations  were  religious.  But  the 
earlier  was  shaped  more  by  ethical,  the  later  more 
by  intellectual,  conditions.  It  was  Schleiermacher's 
task  to  show  '  that  we  can  possess  the  truth  with- 
out belonging  to  the  learned,  and  be  religious 
without  becoming  unscientific.' 

H.  R.  Mackintosh. 

Abtrdtttt. 


Mutatis  mutandis,  the  general  remarks  made  on 
Holzinger's  Exodus  in  The  Expository  Times  for 
January  1901  might  be  repeated  here.  The  two 
volumes  are  constructed  on  identical  hnes :  the 
same  close  attention  is  paid  to  textual  criticism 
and  the  analysis  of  the  book  into  its  component 
elements ;  there  is  the  same  brevity  in  the  Com- 
mentary proper.  We  cannot  attempt  to  discuss 
the  many  interesting  points  raised  by  the  investiga- 
tion of  the  sources,  nor  would  anything  be  gained 
by  a  cursory  review.  Holzinger's  arguments  must 
be  read  in  his  own  words  if  justice  is  to  be  done 
them.  He  does  not  differ  from  his  predecessors, 
Driver,  G.  A.  Smith,  Bennett,  Steuernagel,  and  the 
rest,  for  the  mere  sake  of  opposition.  He  has 
shown  the  untenableness  of  Steuernagel's  theory 
that  the  compiler  of  Joshua  made  use  of  J  and  £ 
separately  rather  than  in  the  combined  document 
JE,  and  in  many  passages  he  has  set  in  a  clearlight 
the  distinction  between  P«  and  P".  As  an  example 
of  the  way  in  which  he  treats  the  critical  problems 
of  Joshua  we  select  the  analysis  of  chap,  so, 
because  the  reader  who  is  not  familiar  with  Hebrew 
can  easily  satisfy  himself  that  the  chapter  is  com- 
posite :  'The  cities  of  refuge  are  next  appointed, 
no  account  being  taken  of  Dt  4*i-»3  ig*"-,  where 
Moses  appoints  three  such  cities  in  the  east,  and, 
in  accordance  with  Nu  35*"'*,  leaves  three  others 
to  be  appointed  in  the  west.  There  is  nothing  to 
prevent  this  law  being  ascribed  to  P< :  we  may 
therefore  expect  to  be  told  of  its  being  carried  into 
effect.  But  the  chapter  as  now  extant  did  not 
originate  wholly  from  P*;  vv.^-*,  excepting  *^,  is 
a  late  expnsion.  The  discrepancy  betwixt  the 
limits  fixed  in  "^  and  *^  respectively  involves  a 
real  difficulty  both  in  point  of  grammar  and  of 
fact,  and  tells  against  Dillmann's  suggestion  that 

^  Das  Buihjosua.    ErkUrt  von  Dr,  H,  Holtingei.     ;nibiii- 
gen  11.  Leipzig:  J.  C.  Mohr.     1901. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


'73 


the  text  was  abbreviated  by  the  LXX.  Moreover, 
*^ — which  the  LXX,  even  A  and  Luc,  attaches  to 
V.' — is  meaningless  in  its  present  position,  for  the 
action  prescribed  in  v.*''-'  presupposes  a  judicial 
procedure  which  is  also  expressly  ordered  in  *'■ 
Vv.<-  i.  s^Hb  are  therefore  a  late  gloss,  which,  save 
for  the  fragment  '^,  has  driven  out  the  original 
conclusion  (cf.  v,^  LXX,  resembling  Nu  35^-,  but 
not  identical,  and  consequently  not  corrected,  as 
Steuernagel  thinks,  to  bring  the  two  into  harmony). 
The  fragment  ""^  was  probably  retained  from  a 
wish  to  distinguish  between  the  proceedings  before 
the  elders,  v.^  and  the  final  action  before  the  con- 
gregation required  in  v.*.  The  title  AigA  priest, 
used  in  the  gloss  at  •^*,  also  points  to  P',  We 
cannot  here  enter  into  the  results  which  follow 
with  reference  to  Nu  35'*'-  V.'  furnishes  a  proof 
that  vv.<- '■  •»'>^i'  are  a  gloss;  np_  *^33  is  an 
addition  to  njJK'ii  (which  stands  alone  in  v.*), 
taken  from  v.^,  and  not  implied  by  the  text  of 
LXXA,  which  in  other  respects  Is  assimilated  to 
the  M.T,  Here  again  we  find  P'  using  D's 
vocabulary:  Dt  4*^  19*  has  nin  "fclS,  instead  of 
njjefn ;  cf  also  «^  with  Dt  17*,  and  <"  with  Dt 
4«  19*,  and  "^  with  Jos  8»;  at  *'^  we  have 
TVn  'jpi,  as  at  Dt  19"  ji^"-  ji"  ii* ;  at  "'  «1DK, 
as  in  Dt  2%^.  Compare  **  with  Dt  i9«'2'' and  *'' 
with  Dt  19*,  and  D's  influence  is  at  once  evident 
The  gloss  nrnip  inn\  v.",  isfreefrom  any  tendency. 
But  there  are  other  traces  of  expansion  in  '"'■ :  P« 
knew  nothing  about  a  settlement  of  half  the  tribe 
of  Manasseh  in  the  east  (cf.  13^™'-  \!^'-  17'*-). 
The  expressions  employed  are  also  striking :  in  v.^, 
when  the  command  is  given,  we  have  WFi ;  in  v.^, 
when  it  is  carried  out,  we  find  't?*^ip?i,  which,  as  the 
notes  on  the  text  show,  is  probably  a  copyist's 
mistake  for  npy  or  W^D^,  occasioned  by  the 
^J)  in  the  verse ;  v,^  resumes  with  unj ;  in  v.'  we 
are  struck  by  Wi3,  a  word  not  found  in  P«  and 
superfluous  alongside  ^RDi  ^na  ;  in  v.*  by  the  hap. 
leg.  minon  ny  ;  in  the  same  verse  wc  may  accept 
Dtllmann's  view  that  rri — not  implied  by  the  LXX 
— is  an  interpolation  which  takes  account  of  the 
post-exitic  situation.  The  simple  conclusion,  *''^, 
shows  that  we  here  have  portions  of  a  text  of  P« ; 
the  cities  of  refuge  ensure  a  temporary  abode  until 
the  matter  has  been  cleared  up  by  a  legal  process. 


Everything  indicates  that  vv.^-*  were  brought  by 
R  into  harmony  either  (as  Dillmann,  569,  thinks) 
with  a  narrative  by  JED  of  the  carrying  into 
execution  of  Dt  19'^-,  or,  more  probably,  with  the 
position  maintained  in  Di  4'"*.  That  is  a  piece 
of  close  and  careful  reasoning,  worthy  of  being 
pondered  in  every  particular. 

The  second  half  of  Joshua  contains  an  immense 
number  of  geographical  puzzles.  In  many  in- 
stances it  is  impossible  to  retrace  satisfactorily  the 
boundaries  which  are  so  vaguely  described,  or  to 
identify  the  towns,  which  were  never  distinguished 
by  a  historical  association.  The  notes  of  inter- 
rogation appended  to  a  large  number  of  names  in 
Dr.  Smith's  recently  published  Map  bear  witness  to 
the  uncertainty  which  still  remains.  Holzinger's 
note  on  11^  is  enough  to  prove  that  the  Rev.  J.  A. 
Selbie'  was  justified  in  expressing  the  wish  that 
queries  bad  been  appended  in  one  or  two  additional 
examples:  'The  identification  of  Di^p  'S  with  the 
Lake  of  Huleh  is  altogether  arbitrary,  and  is  incon- 
sistent with  the  description  of  the  fight  in  v.*  The 
Northern  Canaanites  would  not  have  suffered  their 
foes  to  march  direct  through  their  territory,  nor 
would  the  Israelites  themselves  have  left  so  many 
unconquered  cities  in  their  rear.  Excepting  in 
I  Mac  11*^  (v&up  rcvfco-ap)  D'p  does  not  mean 
"sea"  (d;).  The  older  tradition  does  not  make 
them  equivalent.  Jos.,  Ant.  v,  t.  8,  relegates  the 
fight  to  the  neighbourhood  of  a  city  called  Bijptoft; 
{Bell.  Jud.  ii.  JO.  6,  and  Vita,  37,  Mijpufl)  near 
Kadesh.  In  the  Onom.,  278.  gg,  the  Waters  of 
Merran  (Mippai-,  cf.  LXX,  Pesh.)  are  placed  in  the 
district  of  Dothan,  twelve  miles  north  of  Sebaste : 
this  situation  suits  admirably ;  the  confederates 
move  south  and  ofler  battle  in  the  plain,  Sahl 
Arrabeh.  The  Map  of  Western  Palestine  has  a 
ruin  el-Maruneh  in  the  south-east  of  the  plain  ;  we 
must  leave  open  the  question  whether  nhp  'D 
means  a  spring  or  the  Wady  es-Salhab  which  runs 
through  the  plain.'  Until  the  old  arguments  here 
recapitulated  have  been  more  satisfactorily  refuted, 
and  the  fresh  ones  advanced  have  been  set  aside, 
it  will  be  advisable  to  hold,  at  least,  that  the 
identification  of  Huleh  and  the  Waters  of  Merom 
is  not  established. 

John  Taylor. 
WinchconiU. 


'  The  ExposiTOkY  Timks,  lii.  ss6. 


■■^rc 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


€h    ^txvani    of    ti^t    £orb. 

By  the  Rev.  R.  M,  Moffat,  M.A.,  Frome. 


The  Suffering  Servant  (Isa.  Hi.  13,  liiL). 


We  are  now  to  study  a  passage  which  is  perhaps 
dearer  to  believers  than  any  other  in  the  Old 
Testament.  Some  of  the  phrases  which  occur  in 
it  are  peculiarly  appropriate  to  Jesus  Christ,  and 
we  love  to  apply  them  to  Him.  We  speak  of  them 
as  finding  their  fulfilment  in  Him.  The  fact  of 
real  importance  is,  that  it  is  from  Himself  that  we 
have  learned  to  do  this  {Lk  22"  a4M),  But  for 
Him  it  is  doubtful  if  we  should  have  come  to  do 
so,  seeing  that  no  Jewish  disciple  of  His  would 
have  dreamed  of  identifying  the  Messiah  with  the 
suffering  servant  of  the  Lord,  until  taught  by  Jesus 
to  do  so.  The  chief  question,  therefore,  which  we 
have  to  answer  is :  What  do  we  mean  when  we 
say  that  this  prophecy  of  II  Isaiah  was  fulfilled  in 
Jesus  Christ? 

The  prophet  himself,  as  we  have  seen,  was  not 
thinking  of  an  individual  at  all  when  he  spoke  of 
the  servant ;  and  we  shall  accordingly  have  to 
draw  a  very  carefuWdistinction  between  the  mean- 
ing of  the  prophet  and  the  further  meaning  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  who  inspired  him.  This  distinction 
has  been  illustrated  by  the  difference  between  the 
understanding  a  workman  has  of  the  part  he  is 
doing  in  the  construction  of  a  great  building,  and 
the  understanding  of  the  same  piece  of  work  by  the 
architectof  the  whole  building.  'While  the  workman 
may  have  perfect  comprehension  of  the  piece  of 
work  he  is  engaged  upon,  and  be  full  of  enthusiasm 
in  the  execution  of  it,  he  may  not  be  able  to  see 
the  place  it  will  hold  in  the  completed  fabric,  or 
the  great  meaning  which  may  accrue  to  it  from  the 
whole.  This  can  be  perceived  only  when  the 
fabric  is  reared."  In  the  same  way,  what  the 
prophet  meant  can  be  fully  determined  by  con- 
sidering his  words  in  the  light  of  the  events  of  his 
own  day.  'The  question  as  to  what  the  Holy 
Spirit  meant  can  be  answered  only  from  the  point 
of  view  of  a  completed  revelation.'  As  we  see  the 
prophecy  unquestionably  fulfilled,  we  are  able  to 
say  how  much  more  was  in  the  mind  of  the  Spirit 
than  in  the  mind  of  the  prophet. 

'  Riehm'i  Mtstianic  Prophecy,  p.  xiii. 


Let  us  begin,  then,  by  interpreting  as  accurately 
as  we  can  just  what  was  in  the  mind  of  the  prophet 
when  he  uttered  this  noble  prophecy.  Only  when 
we  have  done  that  shall  we  be  able  to  proceed 
intelligently  to  the  fascinating  and  all-imponant 
question  of  how  his  words  were  fulfilled.  The 
description  of  the  servant  before  us  is  introduced 
in  exactly  the  same  way  as  the  one  we  studied  in 
chapter  49,  that  is  to  say,  just  after  a  great  appeal 
to  the  people  to  come  forth  from  Babylon.  It 
would  be  altogether  idle  to  question  the  identity 
of  the  servant  in  chapter  53  with  the  servant  in 
chapters  49  and  50,  unless  some  new  feature 
appeared  which  should  make  it  difficult  to  recon- 
cile the  two  descriptions.  No  such  difficulty  pre- 
sents itself;  and,  after  our  careful  inquiry  as  to 
who  the  servant  is,  it  would  be  mere  waste- of  time 
to  labour  the  point  that  he  is  not  an  individual,  but 
the  God-fearing  heart  of  the  nation.  In  chapter 
50  the  servant  was  depicted  as  a  martyr — a  martyr 
because  of  his  determination  to  witness  faithfully 
for  God.  In  chapter  53  we  are  told  the  purpose 
of  his  sufferings,  and  are  shown  that  they  are  in 
order  to  his  people's  salvation. 

The  subject  of  this  passage  is,  then,  the  humilia- 
tion and  the  exaltation  of  the  servant,  and  the 
reasons  for  them.  The  topic  was  briefly  treated  in 
chapter  49,  where  we  read, '  Thus  saith  the  Lord 
...  to  him  whom  man  despiseth,  to  him  whom 
the  nation  abhoneth,  to  a  servant  of  rulers ;  kings 
shall  see  and  arise ;  princes,  and  they  shall  worship; 
because  of  the  Lord  that  is  faithful,  even  the  Holy 
One  of  Israel,  who  hath  chosen  thee.'  This  sub- 
ject is  now  developed  and  explained.  The  passage 
we  are  to  consider  is  divided  in  the  Hebrew  into 
five  strophes,  and  these  are  represented  in  the 
RV.  by  five  paragraphs  of  three  verses  each,  I 
shall  give  a  somewhat  modified  translation  as  we 
proceed — a  translation  partly  suggested  by  the  mar- 
ginal readings  in  the  R.V.  Some  of  the  phrases 
in  the  ordinary  rendering  are  far  from  plain,  and 
I  wish  to  bring  out  the  meaning  as  clearly  as 
possible. 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


>7S 


I.  In  the  first  strophe  (sa"*'*)  we  have  the  state- 
ment of  the  theme.  The  words  are  put  into  the 
mouth  of  the  Lord,  and  they  tell  us  that  the 
servant  shall  succeed  in  his  undertaking  and  be 
exalted;  and  that,  when  he  is  really  known  and 
understood,  he  shall  be  received  with  homage  by 
kings. 

'  Behold,  my  servant  shall  prosper,  he  shall  be 
exalted  and  lifted  up,  and  shall  be  very  high. 
Like  as  many  were  astonied  at  thee  (his  visage  was 
marred  from  that  of  man,  his  form  from  that  of  the 
sons  of  men),  so  shall  he  startle  many  nations ; 
kings  shall  shut  their  mouths  before  him :  for 
that  which  had  not  been  told  them  shall  they 
see;  and  that  which  they  had  not  heard  shall 
they  consider.' 

The  verb  in  the  first  line  is  rendered  "deal 
wisely"  in  the  text,  and  "prosper"  in  the  margin. 
It  really  means,  deal  wisely  in  such  a  way  as  to 
prosper.  The  sufferings  of  the  servant  are 
sure  to  succeed  :  they  will  not  be  thrown  away. 
God  has  a  purpose  in  them,  (^d  who  holds 
his  hand.  Therefore  in  the  long-run  there  will 
be  a  recc^nition  of  his  work  of  faith,  and  labour 
of  love,  and  patience  of  hope,  and  he  will  be 
exalted. 

Truth  tot  ever  on  the  scaffold, 
Wrong  for  evei  on  Ihe  throne ; 
Yel  that  scaffold  iways  the  fuiuie ; 
And  behind  Ihe  dim  unknown 
Slandeth  God  wiihin  ihe  shadow 
Keeping  walch  above  His  own. 

Keeping  watch,  and  seeing  to  it  that  His  servant's 
labour  is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord. 

Many  who  look  on  at  the  time  do  not  under- 
stand the  mighty  power  of  suffering  for  righteous- 
ness' sake.  The  conception  is  too  high  for  them  : 
they  cannot  attain  unto  it ;  but  later  on  they,  or 
their  descendants,  build  the  sepulchres  of  the 
prophets  they  slew,  and  so  acknowledge  the  folly 
and  the  crime.  The  greatest  instance  in  history  is, 
of  course,  the  death  of  Christ.  Did  those  who 
slew  Him  really  suppose  that  that  stupid  cross  was 
going  to  prevent  the  setting  up  of  a  Kingdom  not 
of  this  world  ?  They  actually  hastened  by  mistake 
the  coming  of  the  Kingdom  ;  and  now  it  must 
stand  and  grow  for  ever  till  all  the  nations  own 
Christ's  sway. 

Ever  since  the  black  deed  on  Calvary  there 
have  been  those  who  have  '  considered '  that  to 
which  they  had  previously  shut  their  eyes ;  and 


their  remorse   has  drawn   from   them    the    con- 
fession— 

O  the  bitlei  shame  and  sorrow 

Thai  a  time  could  ever  be 

When  I  let  my  Saviour's  pity 

Pasi  roe  by,  and  proudly  answered, 

All  of  seir  and  none  of  Thee. 

Or  here  is  another  illustration.  When  the  Re- 
formers of  the  sixteenth  century  rose  as  the  servant 
of  the  Lord  to  purify  His  Church  of  scandalous 
abuses,  many  within  the  Church  shook  their  heads 
and  questioned  the  wisdom  of  the  step,  many 
opposed  themselves;  and  the  Council  of  Trent 
made  matters  no  better,  but  merely  asserted  that 
Roman  Cathohcism  would  never  be  reconciled 
to  Protestantism.  Persecution  and  martyrdom 
followed  for  all  heretics  upon  whom  the  Church 
could  lay  her  hands,  and  many  precious  lives  were, 
from  one  point  of  view,  uselessly  sacrificed.  But 
mark  the  result  in  the  long-run. 

'  Everywhere  in  Catholic  countries  as  in  Pro- 
testant, the  practices  have  been  abandoned  which 
the  laity  rose  then  to  protest  against.  The  prin- 
ciples on  which  the  laity  insisted  have  become  the 
rule  of  the  modern  world.  Popes  no  longer  depose 
princes,  dispense  with  oaths,  or  absolve  subjects 
from  their  allegiance.  Appeals  are  not  any  more 
carried  to  Rome  from  the  national  tribunals,  nor 
justice  sold  there  to  the  highest  bidder.  The 
clergy  have  ceased  to  pass  laws  which  bind  the 
laity,  and  to  enforce  them  with  spiritual  censures. 
Felonious  priests  suffer  for  their  crimes  like  uncon- 
secrated  mortals.  Too  zealous  prelates  cannot 
call  poor  creatures  before  them  ex  officio,  cross- 
question  them  on  their  beliefs,  fine,  imprison,  or 
bum  them  at  the  stake.  Excommunications  are 
kept  in  bounds  by  the  law  of  libel.  Itinerant 
pardon -venders  no  longer  hawk  through  Europe 
their  unprofitable  wares.  .  .  .  These  scandals 
against  which  the  laity  cried  so  loudly  are  gone, 
and  the  devoutest  Romanists  would  not  wish  to 
.  revive  them.'     So  says  Mr.  Froude. 

The  whole  world.  Catholic  as  well  as  Protestant, 
has  cause  to  thank  God  for  the  Reformation,  and 
a  man  can  deny  that  statement  only  by  approving 
of  the  evils  which  the  Reformation  did  away  with. 
The  Reformers  were  servants  of  the  Lord,  who 
dealt  wisely  and  prospered  in  the  thing  whereto 
God  sent  them.  Wherefore  also  God  hath  exalted 
them ;  and  kings  who  are  true  kings  are  silent  in 
the  presence  of  these,  who  are  greater  than  kings. 


176 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


a.  After  the  words  of  the  Lord  in  chapter  51, 
chapter  53  appropriately  begins  with  Ihe  confession 
of  the  con  science -stricken  people.  The  Lord  has 
spoken  of  the  servant  as  one  who  shall  startle 
many  nations,  and  before  whom  many  heathen 
kings  shall  shut  their  mouths.  After  this  reference 
10  the  heathen,  the  prophet  represents  the  people 
as  saying  penitently,  '  But  among  us  Jews,  who 
hath  believed  what  we  have  heard?  And  to 
whom  hath  the  arm  of  the  Lord  been  revealed  ? 
For  he  grew  up  before  Him  as  a  tender  plant, 
and  as  a  root  out  of  a  dry  ground  He  hath  no 
form  or  comeliness  that  we  should  look  upon 
htm ;  nor  beauty  that  we  should  desire  him. 
He  was  despised  and  rejected  of  men,  a  man  of 
pains  and  acquainted  with  sickness;  and  as  one 
from  whom  men  hide  their  face  he  was  despised, 
and  we  esteemed  him  not.'  The  beginning  of 
the  last  clause  might  also  be  rendered,  '  He  hid  as 
it  were  his  face  from  us ' ;  the  reference  in  either 
case  being  clearly  to  one  afflicted  with  leprosy. 
We  are  reminded  of  the  'regulation  in  Leviticus : 
'The  leper  shall  cover  his  upper  Hp,  and  shall  cry, 
Unclean,  unclean*  (13**).  The  servant,  then,  is 
here  described  as  a  leper,  hideous  with  a  fearful 
disease,  unsightly  and  despised.  As  we  read 
three  verses  before,  '  His  visage  was  marred  from 
that  of  roan,  and  his  form  from  that  of  the  sons  of 
men,' — he  was  only  just  recognizable  as  human. 

3,  And  Ihe  people  go  on  in  the  next  strophe : 
'  Surely  he  hath  borne  our  sicknesses,  and  carried 
our  pains:  yet  we  did  esteem  him  stricken, 
smitten  of  God  and  degraded.  But  he  was 
wounded  for  our  transgressions,  he  was  bruised 
for  OUT  iniquities  :  the  chastisement  that  brought 
us  peace  was  upon  him ;  and  with  his  stripes  we 
are  healed.  All  we  like  sheep  went  astray :  we 
turned  every  one  to  his  own  way;  and  the  Lord 
made  to  light  upon  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all.' 

Here,  then,  we  have  the  reason  of  His  humilia- 
tion. At  first  the  people  thought  thai  the  servant 
was  suffering  for  his  own  sins:  among  primitive 
men  that  is  always  the  first  conclusion.  The  more 
a  man  suffers,  the  worse  he  must  be,  the  more 
abhorrent  to  God.  But  reflection  shows  that  this 
is  absolutely  false  to  the  facts  of  life.  The  people 
could  not  help  seeing  at  length  that  the  servant 
was  not  suffering  for  his  own  sins;  and  as  they 
were  forced  to  seek  a  moral  reason  for  his  suffer- 
ings, they  had  to  ask  themselves  the  question : 
Whose  sins,  then,  is  he  suffering  for?    And  con- 


gave  the  answer:  Theirs.  The  sufferings 
of  the  servant  were  vicarious  ;  they  were  redemp- 
tive, in  order  that  his  fellows  might  have  peace 
with  God. 

4.  In  the  next  strophe  it  seems  to  be  the 
prophet  himself  who  speaks.  He  tells  how  the 
servant  bore  undeserved  treatment  with  patience 
and  endurance.  None  of  his  contemporaries 
understood  the  real  nature  of  his  sufferings,  and 
even  after  his  death  they  pursued  him  with 
ignominy,  burying  him  with  extortioners.  '  He 
was  oppressed,  yet  he  humbled  himself  and  opened 
not  his  mouth ;  as  a  lamb  that  is  led  to  the 
slaughter,  and  as  a  sheep  that  before  her  shearers 
is  dumb ;  yea,  he  opened  not  his  mouth.  By 
oppressive  judgroent  he  was  taken  away;  and  as 
for  his  generation,  who  among  them  considered 
that  he  was  cut  off  out  of  the  land  of  the  living? 
For  the  transgression  of  my  people  was  he  stricken. 
And  they  made  his  grave  with  the  wicked,  and 
with  extortioners  after  he  was  dead ;  although  he 
had  done  no  violence,  neither  was  any  deceit  in 
his  niouih.'  These  verses  tell  us  how  he  was 
judged  to  be  a  malefactor,  owing  to  the  usual 
judgment  of  those  days  upon  the  afflicted.  We 
shall  at  once  remember  how  the  Book  of  Job 
combats  this  cruelly  and  lack  of  sympathy  towards 
suffering. 

5.  In  verse  ^^  the  prophet  passes  from  what 
the  people  thought  of  the  servant  to  what  God 
thought  of  him ;  and  we  are  shown  in  the  last 
strophe  the  great  reward  to  the  servant  for  all  that 
he  had  to  bear,  as  described  in  verse  *.  'Yet  the 
Lord  had  purposed  to  bruise  him ;  he  laid  sickness 
on  him;  if  his  life  were  to  make  an  offering  for  sin, 
he  should  see  a  seed,  he  should  prolong  bis  days, 
and  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord  should  prosper  in  his 
hands.'  In  the  last  two  verses  the  Lord  Himself 
speaks :  *  Out  of  the  travail  of  his  soul  he  shall 
see,  and  shall  be  satisfied  by  his  knowledge  (i.e. 
knowledge  of  Jehovah).  My  righteous  servant 
makes  many  righteous,  and  bears  their  iniquities. 
Therefore  will  I  divide  him  a  portion  with  the 
great,  and  he  shall  divide  the  spoil  with  the 
strong;  because  he  poured  out  his  soul  unto 
death,  and  was  numbered  with  the  transgressors ; 
yet  he  bare  the  sins  of  many,  and  interposed  for 
the  transgressors.' 

Now  let  us  try  to  get  at  the  heart  of  this  utter- 
ance, so  stately,  so  full  of  pathos.  We  need  not 
pause  to  speculate  whether  the  prophet  had  a 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


177 


particular  sufTcrer  in  view  when  he  spoke  of  the 
servant  as  a  leper,  and  as  treated  as  a  felon.  His 
words  are  too  vague  for  that  to  be  likely.  Leprosy 
and  perverted  justice  are  mentioned  because  these 
are  two  of  the  worst  and  two  of  the  commonest 
misfortunes  in  the  East.  Besides,  the  prophet 
speaks  as  if  he  were  sometimes  referring  to  the 
past,  sometimes  to  the  future;  and  the  more  we 
examine  his  words,  ihe  more  we  feel  that  he  is 
not  thinking  so  much  of  a  definite  event  as  of  an 
ideal.  As  the  spokesman  of  God,  as  one  who 
tarries  in  the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High,  whose 
ear  the  Lord  wakeneth  morning  by  morning,  and 
to  whom  the  Lord  hath  given  the  tongue  of  the 
learner,  the  prophet  comes  forth  and  declares  in 
the  name  of  God  what  must  happen  some  day. 
Because  God  is  love  He  will  assuredly  redeem 
His  people,  and  save  them  from  their  sins ;  and 
this  is  a  magnificent  prophetic  anticipation  of  the 
method  of  redemption.  The  prophet  could  not 
know  that  550  years  after  his  day  God  would 
become  man,  and  suffer  for  the  sins  of  men.  It 
was  not  possible  for  him  to  make  this  truth  known. 
What  he  actually  did  was  a  far  grander  thing — he 
proclaimed  to  his  generation  a  permanent  moral 
and  spiritual  truth.  He  did  not  know  that  God 
would  ever  suffer  on  earth  for  men,  but  he  stated 
the  highest  that  he  knew  :  that  God-fearing,  God- 
like men  would  suffer,  do  suffer,  for  sins  not  their 
own;  and  he  ventured  to  believe  that  their  suffer- 
ings would  be  redemptive  as  well  as  vicarious.  It 
is  a  permanent  truth  that  righteous  men  suffer 
vicariously;  but  since  the  days  of  II  Isaiah  the 
prophet's  words  have  had  a  greater  fulfilment  than 
he  would  have  dared  to  anticipate,  and  we  know 
that  the  sufferings  which  are  redemptive  are  the 
sufferings  of  God. 

And,  now  that  we  have  tried  to  show  that  the 
prophet  describes  a  moral  situation  rather  than  a 
historical  event,  the  way  is  clear  for  us  to  see  how 
his  words  apply  to  Jesus  Christ.  In  a  literal  sense, 
some  of  them  do  not  apply  in  the  least.  Christ 
was  not  a  leper,  nor  have  we  any  reason  to  believe 
that  He  was  outwardly  marred.  Though  virtue 
went  out  of  Him  when  He  bare  men's  sicknesses, 
He  did  not  transfer  them  to  Himself.  And,  of 
course,  neither  did  He  make  His  grave  with  the 
wicked  or  extortioners.  It  is  not  so  much  in  out- 
ward circumstances  as  in  the  moral  and  spiritual 
sphere  that  we  must  look  for  the  resemblance 
between  Jesus  Christ  and  the  servant  of  the  Lord ; 


for  that  is  precisely  what  Jesus  Himself  did.  '  As 
He  read  the  Scriptures,  He  was  always  looking 
for  the  spiritual  situation  and  its  peculiarities.  He 
thus  interpreted  His  own  surroundings  and  the 
situation  in  His  own  time  by  the  light  He  obtained 
from  Scripture.  He  argued  from  the  unchange- 
ableness  of  God  and  the  constancy  of  His  methods 
to  the  way  in  which  God  would  act ' '  in  similar 
circumstances  in  the  future.  And  so,  with  un- 
erring prophetic  insight,  He  made  the  application 
to  His  own  time,  of  permanent  spiritual  truth. 
As  soon  as  He  knew,  after  His  baptism,  of  His 
mission  as  Messiah,  He  applied  to  Himself  the 
Old  Testament  statements  about  deliverers  of 
Israel,  and  thought  out  in  anticipation  what  His 
destiny  or  fate  would  be.  '  He  searched  the  Old 
Testament  to  form  a  spiritual  history  of  His  own 
future.''  He  chose  parts  out  of  psalms  and 
prophets  which  otherwise  would  hardly  be  reckoned 
appropriate  to  Him,  perceiving  that  the  words 
found  a  spiritual  fulfilment  in  Him.  '  He  was  all 
unconscious  of  arbitrariness ;  for  He  felt  Himself 
vindicated  spiritually.' '  In  particular,  with  regard 
to  the  condition  of  the  Jews,  and  their  need  to  be 
redeemed  from  sin,  He  saw  that  the  spiritual 
situation  of  the  time  of  II  Isaiah  'had  repeated 
itself,  and  even  more  emphatically.'  But  most 
remarkable  of  all  is  the  way  in  which  He  conceived 
the  Messiah  and  the  suffering  servant  as  one  and 
the  same,  and  proceeded  to  regard  His  career  as 
destined  to  fulfil  the  prophecies  concerning  both, 
at  least  as  regards  the  spiritual  aspects  of  what 
was  written  of  them.  The  Messiah  of  Jewish 
expectation  was  a  king  on  whom  the  sevenfold 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  should  rest — a  king  who  should 
judge  with  righteousness,  and  with  the  breath  of 
his  lips  slay  the  wicked  (Is  1 1).  The  Messiah  was 
always  conceived  of  as  a  victor,  never  as  a  victim. 
How  abhorrent  the  idea  of  the  Messiah  suffering 
was  to  the  Jew  may  be  gathered  from  Peter's 
words,  after  he  had  acknowledged  Jesus  as  the 
Messiah,  and  Jesus  spoke  of  His  approaching 
sufferings.  '  Peter  began  to  rebuke  Him,  saying, 
Be  it  far  from  Thee,  Lord :  this  shall  never  be 
unto  Thee.'  But  Jesus,  with  matchless  insight,  had 
perceived  that  it  was  a  greater  thing  for  the 
Messiah  to  be  a  persecuted  prophet  than  even  a 
righteous  and  victorious  king — greater  to  stoop 
and  bear  men's  sins  than  to  reign  and  exact  their 
service.  And  so,  to  the  spiritually  lesser  office 
1  Aia^mson'i Siudinm/ lit  Minri in  Christ,  iig-iai^'laj. 


178 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


He  added  the  spiritually  greater,  and  chose  to 
reign  over  men  through  their  hearts,  having  first 
won  their  love  by  bearing  their  sin.  '  I,  if  I  be 
lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will  draw  all  men  unto 
Me,'  He  said.  The  cross  was  to  be  His  throne  ; 
and  through  it  He  has  reigned  ever  since.  '  Where- 
fore also  God  highly  exalted  Him,  and  gave  unto 
Him  the  name  which  is  above  every  name.*  He 
who  was  called  Jesus  because  he  should  save  His 
people  from  their  sins,  bears  in  a  unique  sense  the 
name  of  Redeemer  of  mankind.  Yet  such  is  His 
grace  that  He  calls  believers  to  be  fellow- workers 


with  Him  in  the  work  of  redemption.  The  apostle 
who  most  of  all,  perhaps,  had  the  mind  of  Christ, 
ventures  to  speak  of  '  filling  up  on  my  part  that 
which  is  lacking  of  the  afflictions  of  Christ  in  my 
flesh  for  His  body's  sake,  which  is  the  Church ' 
(Col  i").  So  though  there  has  been  only  one 
who  actually  bore  men's  sins,  only  one  who  has 
made  men  righteous,  yet  it  is  a  permanent  truth 
that  God-fearing  men  in  all  ages  constitute  a 
servant  of  the  Lord,  through  whose  sufferings 
mankind  is  brought  to  own  and  to  love  the 
sway  of  God. 


By  a.  H.  Savce,  LL.D.,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Assvriology,  Oxford. 


The  City  of  Enoch. 
Is  The  Expository  Times  for  May  1899  I  have 
showi]  that  a  close  connexion  exists  between  the 
antediluvian  patriarchs  of  Genesis  and  the  ante- 
diluvian kings  of  Babylonia — so  close,  indeed,  as 
to  make  it  clear  that  the  biblical  account  is  as 
much  dependent  on  Babylonian  traditions  as  is 
the  story  of  the  Flood.  As  has  long  been  recog- 
nized, moreover,  the  genealogy  of  the  Cainites 
is  but  a  variant  form  of  that  of  the  Selhites, 
though  the  reason  of  the  variation  in  the  order  of 
the  names  does  not  seem  to  have  been  explained. 
Whereas  in  the  Selhite  line  the  order  is  Mahala- 
leel,  Jared,  Enoch,  and  Methuselah,  it  is  reversed 
in  the  Cainite  line,  where  we  have  Enoch,  Irad, 
Mehujael,  and  Methusael.  The  fact  is  that  the 
source,  or  sources,  from  which  the  writer  of 
Genesis  derived  his  materials  did  not  indicate  the 
links  of  relationship  between  the  several  names, 
which  must  have  followed  one  another  without 
any  expl.mation,  as  is  sometimes  the  case  in  the 
First  Book  of  Chronicles  {e.g.  a"  4^).  They 
were  taken  from  lists  similar  to  those  with  which 
the  cuneiform  tablets  have  made  us  familiar,  in 
which  groups  of  words  or  names  are  arranged  one 
under  the  other  without  comment,  and  it  is  left  to 
the  reader  to  supply  the  links  of  relationship  that 
exist  between  them.  Where  the  names  stand  in 
genealogical  order,  it  is  open  to  him  to  regard 
them  as  denoting  either  father  and  son  or  son  and 


father.  Hence  Mahalaleel  -  Jared  might  mean 
either  that  Jared  was  the  son  of  Mahalaleel,  or 
that  Mahalaleel  was  the  son  of  Jared.  The  two- 
fold view  that  is  taken  of  the  relationship  in  the 
Book  of  Genesis  points  to  a  cuneiform  tablet  with 
its  vertical  columns  as  the  source  from  which  the 
names  are  derived. 

Why  Enoch  heads  the  list  in  the  Cainite  gene- 
alogy is  clear,  Cain,  'the  smith,'  represents  the 
civilized  inhabitant  of  the  Babylonian  city,  and 
must  therefore  have  been  the  builder  of  a  city  in 
the  country  east  of  Eden,— or  Edin,  the 'Plain ' 
of  Babylonia, — to  which  he  had  migrated.  Here 
was  a  district  which  figured  a  good  deal  in  early 
Babylonian  history,  and  usually  bore  the  name  of 
Khana.  The  proper  names  contained  in  a  con- 
tract from  the  land  of  Khana  published  by  M. 
Thureau-Dangin,  show  that  it  was  inhabited  by  a 
Hebraic  or  West  Semitic  population  similar  to 
that  to  which  the  Israelites  belonged  {see  my  note 
in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical 
Archeology,  January  1899). 

Now  we  learn  from  the  inscriptions  recently 
discovered  by  M.  de  Morgan  at  Susa,  that  in  the 
early  days  of  Babylonian  history  the  Sumerian 
sutSx  KI,  'place,'  was  often  pronounced  by  the 
Semites  at  the  end  of  the  geographical  name  to 
which  it  was  attached,  and  which  was  consequently 
made  to  terminate  in  a  guttural.  Thus  on  the 
obelisk  of  Manistusu  we  have  Zimana-k,  Kharkha- 
muna-kki,  Kazura-kki,  Nana-kki,  and  in  a  text  of 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


179 


Meli-sipak  (p.  99)  we  read  of  the  city  Tama-kku. 
In  the  same  way  Khana-KI  would  have  been 
known  as  KKana-k. 

Here,  then,  we  have  the  name  of  the  city  of 
Enoch,  which,  like  Khanak,  lay  on  the  east  side 
of  Babylonia,  and  was  inhabited  by  members  of 
the  same  West -Semitic  family  as  Ur  of  the 
Kasdim  where  Abraham  was  born.  Indeed,  the 
Khana  contract  which  I  have  already  mentioned 
was  drawn  up  in  'the  city  of  the  country  of 
Kasdaim.' 

If  the  city  of  Enoch  is  Khanak,  the  form  of  the 
name  has  been  assimilated  to  the  Semitic  personal 
name,  which  meant  a  'dedicated  priest.'  Those 
who  will,  however,  may  see  in  the  Phrygian 
Annakos,  or  Kannakos,  a  survival  of  its  original 
pronunciation,  though  for  my  own  part  I  am  more 
inclined  to  believe  that  these  two  variants  of  the 
name  of  the  Phrygian  Enoch  have  been  conformed 
to  the  Asianic  Nannakos. 

Tarshish. 

Tarshish  has  been  so  long  identified  with 
Tartessos,  that  in  spite  of  the  difficulties,  both 
phonetic  and  historical,  that  lie  in  the  way  of  the 
identification,  the  old  supposition  that  it  repre- 
sented the  classical  Tarsos  has  been  almost  for- 
gotten. But  a  closer  examination  of  the  tenth 
chapter  of  Genesis  has  now  led  me  to  believe  that, 
after  all,  the  old  supposition  was  correct. 

In  Gn  lo'-*  we  are  told  that  the  sons  of  Japhet 
were  Gomer  and  Magog  and  Madai  and  Javan 
and  Tubal  and  Meshech  and  Tiras,  and  that  the 
sons  of  Javan  were  Elishah  and  Tarshish,  Kittim 
and  Rodanim.  The  Tel  el-Amarna  tablets  have 
informed  us  what  Elishah  means.  It  is  the  cunei- 
form Alasia,  the  Al{a)sa  of  the  hieroglyphs,  where 
it  is  first  met  with  in  the  list  of  the  conquests  of 
Thothmes  111.  in  the  extreme  north  of  Syria.  The 
name  belongs  to  the  epoch  of  the  eighteenth  and 
nineteenth  Egyptian  dynasties,  and  disappears 
from  the  geography  of  the  post-Davidic  age — a 
fact  which  deserves  to  be  noticed  in  connexion 
with  the  date  of  the  ethnographical  table  of 
Genesis.  I  have  already  identified  it  in  The 
ExposiTOKv  Times,  xii.  p.  29,  with  the  Aleian 
plain  of  Greek  geography,  where  Homer  describes 
the  Lycian  hero  Bellerophon  as  wandering.  The 
Greek  name  implies  an  earlier  Alasion ;  and  the 
Egyptian  Government,  in  the  Tel  el-Amarna 
correspondence,  states  that  the  Lukki  or  Lycian 


pirates,  who  had  made  a  descent  on  the  coast  of 
the  Delta,  were  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  king 
of  Alasia.  In  fact,  Cilicia  adjoined  Lykaonia, 
which  preserved  the  name  of  the  Lycians,  and 
Strabo  makes  the  Aleian  plain  occupy  that  pan  of 
Cilicia  which  extended  from  Tarsus  to  Mallos 
and  included  the  Saros,  or  Royal  river,  on  which 
the  city  of  Adana  stood.  lapetos,  the  brother  of 
Adanos,  and  son  of  heaven  and  earth,  was  one  of 
the  seven  great  gods  of  Cilicia,  according  to 
Stephanus  Byzantinus,  and  in  lapetos  it  is  im- 
possible not  to  recognize  Japhet. 

Elishah  is  associated  with  Tarshish  as  a  son  of 
Javan;  Tarshish  accordingly  must  have  been  in 
Cihcia,  adjoining  Alasia,  and  have  contained  an 
Ionian  population.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
foundation  of  both  Tarsus  and  Mallos  was  as- 
cribed to  Mykensean  Argos.  Kittim  and  Rodanim, 
Cyprus  and  Rhodes,  were  also  occupied  by  Greeks 
at  an  early  period,  and  the  '  Ionian  '  district  of  the 
tenth  chapter  of  Genesis  would  thus  have  em- 
braced the  coast  of  Cilicia  along  with  Cyprus 
and  Rhodes.  It  was  in  Cilicia,  however,  that 
its  chief  centre  was  to  be  found.  This  results 
from  v.  2,  where  Javan  is  associated  with 
Tubal  and  Meshech,  the  Tabala  and  MuskS  of 
the  Assyrian  inscriptions,  as  well  as  with  Tiras, 
which  seems  to  be  the  Tursha  of  the  Egyptian 
texts.' 

The  fact  has  an  important  bearing  on  the 
language  of  the  representatives  of  the  Mykensean 
age  of  culture.  It  looSs  as  if  some  of  them  at 
least  really  spoke  an  early  form  of  Greek.  We 
should  thus  have  an  explanation  of  borrowed 
Greek  words  like  /appid,  Xafirai,  in  the  Hebrew 
of  the  age  of  the  Judges,  to  which  I  have  drawn 
attention  in  my  Higher  Criticism,  p.  495.  At  all 
events,  the  form  Tarshish  seems  to  be  derived  from 
the  Greek  Tarsos  (cf.  also  the  Lykaonian  Tarasis), 
since  the  native  name  is  probably  more  correctly 
reproduced  in  the  Tarzi  and  T-r-z  of  the  Assyrian 
monuments  and  the  Aramaic  coins. 

That  a  particular  class  of  ships  should  be  known 
in  Canaan  as  '  ships  of  Tarshish '  is  not  surprising 
when  we  remember  ^the  maritime  fame  of  the 
Cilicians  in  the  ancient  world.  The  silver  mines 
of  the  Bulgar  Dagh  provided  the  silver  and  lead 

'  I  am  templed  to  rtad  Tiras  in  Eik  27'*  in  place  of  the 
corrupt  'Persia.'  We  should  then  have  'Tiras  (perhaps 
the  Taunis),  Lydia,  and  Hhui,'  which  is  called  '  Phut  of  the 
lonUns '  by  Nebuchodieiiar.  1  17;-  (.,  X^l  *-  "-  '^  '  *- 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


with  which  Tarshish  traded,  according  to  Ezk  27" ; 
perhaps  also  the  iron  and  tin  mentioned  by  the 
prophet  came  from  the  same  locality. 

The  name  of  Elishah,  as  I  have  already  said, 
takes  us  back  to  the  age  of  the  Tel  el-Amarna 
tablets.  I  have  hitherto  regarded  the  three  names 
which  precede  that  of  Javan  as  later  additions  to 
the  table;  Gomer  being  the  Gimirra,  or  Kimmerians, 
who  did  not  appear  on  the  scene  of  Asiatic  history 
till  the  seventh  century  b.c.  But  I  may  have  been 
mistaken,  since  in  a  letter  written  to  his  father  by 
Sennacherib  while  he  was  still  crown-prince,  and 
therefore  at  least  thirty  years  before  Esar-haddon 
defeated  Tcuspa,  the  Kimmerian  leader,  in  Kbu- 
busna,  on  the  northern  frontier  of  Cilicia,  (jamir  is 
given  as  the  name  of  a  part  of  Cappadocia,  This 
is  plainly  the  Gamir  of  Armenian  tradition,  while 
the  vowel  of  the  first  syllable  seems  to  indicate 
that  it  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  Gimirra.  The 
names  of  the  three  sons  of  Gomer,  moreover, 
belong  rather  to  an  early  than  to  a  later  age,  for 
the  discovery  that  Gamir  is  Cappadocia  disposes 
of  the  suggestion  first  put  forward  by  myself  that 
Ashkenaz  is  the  monumental  Asguza  to  the  north- 
east of  Assyria.  We  must  fall  back  on  the  old 
theory  which  connected  it  with  the  Phrygian 
Ascanius,  Askenos,  etc.  As  for  Magog,  no  light 
has  been  as  yet  thrown  on  the  name  by  the  monu- 
ments of  any  age,  whether  late  or  early.  Madai, 
it  is  true,  would  naturally  be  the  Medes  of 
Matiana,  but  M.  Th.  Reinach  has  pointed  out  in 
the  Ada  du  dixiime  Congrh  international  des 
Oritntalistts,  iv.  pp.  13-28,  that  there  was  another 
Matiene  in  Cappadocia,  referred  to  by  Herodotus 
(i.  72),  in  the  land  of  the  Halys,  where  the  ruins 
of  the  Hiltite  city  now  called  Boghaz  Keui  are 
situated.     This  is  the  Matieo€  which  is  said  in 


one  of  the  fragments  {188)  of  HecatEeus  to  adjoin 
the  territory  of  the  Moschi,  the  Meshech  of  the 
Old  Testament. 

To  return  once  more  to  Alasia,  the  final  syllable 
of  which,  it  will  be  noticed,  is  a  Greek  suffix.' 
The  river  Saros,  it  will  be  remembered,  flowed 
through  the  centre  of  the  Al^ian  plain.  We  are 
told  that  the  name  of  the  river  meant  'ruler,'  and 
consequently  must  be  the  Assyrian  sarru,  'king.' 
This  raises  the  presumption  that  Adana  also, 
which  stood  upon  it,  is  the  Assyrian  Adin  (as  in 
Bit-Adini).  How  Assyrian  names  should  have 
been  introduced  into  the  country  has  been  ex- 
plained by  the  Cappadocian  cuneiform  tablets, 
which  have  shown  that  Assyrian  or  Babylonian 
colonies  were  established  there  at  a  very  early 
period.  The  fact  throws  light  on  the  connexion 
with  Babylonia  implied  in  certain  Asianic  myths 
and  divine  names  {like  Nana,  Nineps,  and  Nineis), 
and  it  also  suggests  the  mode  in  which  the  Cilician 
lapetos  came  to  be  identified  with  a  son  of  the 
biblical  Noah. 

'  If  the  name  is  Greek,  or  at  any  rale  related  10  Greek, 

it  would  represent  an  adjective  Ala-s.ya,  'belonging  to 
the  (land  of)  Ala.'  Ala  signified  'horse'  in  Karian,  and 
entered  into  the  composition  of  several  gec^raphical  names, 
Ala.banda,  Hali-karnassus  (?),  Alindo,  etc.  The  Tet  el- 
Amatna  tablets  give,  as  the  name  of  a  native  of  Alasia, 
I'astumme,  the  lerminalion  of  which  may  be  compared  with 
Ihat  of  Tarku-dimme  (Torkondcmos)  and  Inda-lioima. 
Bellerophon's  wanderings  in  the  Aleian  plain  were  llie 
result  of  his  attempt  10  penetrate  into  heaven  on  the  back  of 
[he  winged  horse  Pcgasos,  and  hiii  fall  from  the  horse  seems 
like  an  echo  of  the  Itabylonian  legend  of  Etans,  which  may- 
have  made  its  way  to  Cilicia  through  Cappadocia.  The 
winged  horse  appears  upon  a  Hittite  seal  firsl  published  by 
Lajard  and  reproduced  in  Wright's  Empire  of  the  Hitlilis. 
Another  seal  with  a  wingeil  hotse  and  Hiltite  ioscripliun 
belongs  10  M.  Le  Cicrcq. 


®f    t%t    i.\iix&ti    ea8f«. 

THE  BOOKS  OF  THE  MONTH. 


THE  MISSIONARY  SPEAKKR'S  MANUAL.     Bv  A. 

R.    BUCKLANU,    M.A.,     AND    J.    D.     MULUNS,    M.A. 

{NisbiU     Crown  Svo,  pp.  36B,     6*.) 
This  volume  is  described  as  'A  handbook  for 
deputations  and  workers,'     It  is  further  said  to 


'  comprise  hints  for  chairmen,  preachers,  and 
speakers;  outlines  for  missionary  sermons  and 
addresses ;  missionary  facts,  figures,  illustrative 
anecdotes,  and  independent  testimonies,  a  mis- 
sionary calendar,  a  conspectus  of  British  mission- 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


ary  societies,  etc'  This  programme  is  not  so 
miscellaneous  as  it  seems.  The  book  has  a 
distinct  character  throughout,  the  impress  of  a 
distinct  and  (let  us  say  it  without  offence)  dis- 
tinctly official  mind.  The  statistics  are  the  best 
part  of  it,  the  anecdotes  the  worst.  There  are 
some  excellent  anecdotes,  but  they  might  easily 
have  been  more  and  belter.  They  are  taken 
almost  entirely  Tram  periodicals  and  reports. 

NEW.MAN.  Bv  Alkxandbb  Whvtb,  D.D.  (Otipkani. 
Crown  Sva,  pp.  162.  3s.  6(1.) 
Dr.  Whyie  has  the  proper  notion  of  an  antho- 
logy. He  makes  extracts,  he  makes  extracts  pure 
and  simple,  not  a  word  of  explanation,  not  a 
thread  of  connexion,  and  they  fill  the  bulk  of  the 
volume.  But  then  he  introducei  them.  And  as 
you  read  his  introduction  you  rattle  your  chain  to 
be  at  the  extracts,  and  all  the  while  you  hug  the 
chain  itself,  so  delightful  is  the  introduction. 

FAMOUS  SCOTS:  HENRY  DRUMMOND.  Bv  Jambs 
Y.  Simpson.  {Oliphant.  Crown  Svo,  pp.  164. 
IS.  6d.  nel.) 
This  is  the  third  independent  life  of  Henry 
Drummond,  and  yet  it  comes  to  us  with  the 
freshness  of  a  new  sensation.  Some  of  the  fresh- 
ness is  due  to  new  fact,  but  far  more  to  its  setting, 
or  rather  to  the  spirit  and  vigour  with  which  the 
facts  are  set  forth.  It  is  a  charming  book,  showing 
Drummond  as  charming  as  the  few  favoured  ones 
knew  him.  And  not  outwardly  only,  not  in 
manners  alone,  inwardly,  in  humanity  of  heart 
and  patience  of  love — the  Drummond  we  would 
now  have  with  us  always.  So  let  no  more  lives 
be  written  after  this. 

CO-NSTANTINOI'LE  AND  ITS  PROBLEMS.  Bv 
Henry  Otis  Dwight.  LL.D.  {Olipkant.  Crown 
Svo,  pp.  2^.  65.) 
It  is  the  Constantinople  of  to-day.  Dr.  Dwight 
touches  its  brilliant  past,  but  in  a  few  pages  he 
reaches  its  present,  and  stays.  For  he  knows 
Constantinople  of  to-day.  His  narrative  is  of 
that  which  he  has  seen  with  his  eyes  and  his  hands 
have  handled.  And  if  it  is  an  exposure,  that  is 
not  his  fault ;  it  is  the  fault  of  Mohammedanism 
mainly,  and  is  due  immediately  to  Dr.  Dwight's 
merciless  insistence  upon  morality  as  a  change- 
less thing  in  East  or  West.  It  is  an  exposure  of 
Mohammedan  rottenness  of  heart.  With  its 
magnificent    position,   this    city  might    rule  the 


world  of  commerce  and  lead  the  world  in  virtue. 
Its  impotence,  its  iniquity,  make  the  Turkish  race 
and  the  Turkish  religion  a  byword  and  a  hissing. 
And  it  will  not  do  to  say  that  this  American  has 
too  evident  sympathy  with  American  missionaries 
to  be  impartial.  American  and  other  missionaries 
are  the  salt  of  the  earth  there  :  give  them  time  and 
scope  and  they  will  salt  the  whole  lump.  And  it 
is  just  in  the  light  of  their  American  Christianity 
that  the  degradation  of  the  city  is  so  buried. 
Measuring  themselves  by  themselves,  the  Turks  do 
not  blush.  When  they  see  themselves  as  they  are 
seen  by  the  ambassadors  of  Christ,  even  the  Turks 
abhor  their  history  and  their  habits. 


THE  LORE  OF  CATHAY.  Bv  \V.  A.  P.  Martin,  D.D,. 
LL.D.  {Olipliant.  Svo,  pp.  47^.  los.  6d.) 
The  President  of  the  Chinese  Imperial  Univer- 
sity recently  published  ^i  Cycle  of  Cathay,  z.n^  the 
book  was  found  instructive  beyond  most.  He  has 
now  issued  its  companion.  From  the  title  we  are 
to  understand  that  it  describes  the  intellectual 
interests  and  accomplishments  of  the  Chinese.  It 
is  divided  into  five  Books.  The  first  Book  deals 
with  China's  Contribution  to  Arts  and  Sciences; 
the  second  with  Chinese  Literature;  the  third 
with  the  Religion  and  Philosophy  of  the  Chinese; 
the  fourth  with  Education  in  China ;  and  the 
fifth  contains  some  special  but  related  Studies  in 
Chinese  History.  The  subjects  of  these  several 
books  have  often  been  handled  before,  sometimes 
more  fully  than  in  this  volume.  Thus  Dr.  Gibson 
of  Swatow  lately  described  the  religious  and 
ethical  characteristics  of  the  Chinese  with  more 
minuteness  than  Dr.  Martin  in  his  third  Book, 
and  we  think  with  greater  impress iveness.  But 
nowhere  else  is  the  whole  field  so  competently 
covered.  Dr.  Martin  writes  with  the  confidence 
of  abundant  experience,  and  he  is  not  afraid  to 
express  his  contempt  for  some  of  John  Chinaman's 
weaknesses.  He  gives  us  a  vivid  sense  of  the 
potentiality  of  this  empire  and  of  the  complexity  of 
its  social  problems.  His  book  is  well  illustrated 
and  n: 


Mrs.  Spurgeon  is  the  author  of  A  Basket  of 
Summer  fruit  (Passmore  &  Alabaster,  is.  6d.). 
In  spite  of  its  title  it  is  a  Christmas  gift,  to  be  laid 
when  received  beside  A  Carillon  of  Hells,  and 
A  Cluster  of  Campkire. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


JOY  IN  THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT.  Bv  L.  A. 
GoTWALD,  D.D.  {Reiiell.  CrawnSvo,  pp.  320.) 
These  sermons  are  the  fruit  of  a  high  sense  of 
the  preacher's  calling,  a  sense  that  he  must  do  his 
best  with  the  form  of  his  sermon  as  well  as  with 
its  matter.  They  are  all  textual  sermons.  The 
text  is  expounded  and  never  departed  from.  It  is 
made  clear  and  telling,  made  to  enter  into  every 
part  of  the  life  of  to-day,  by  most  painstaking 
work  in  the  study.  Dr.  Gotwald  was  a  Lutheran, 
and  his  sermons  on  Luther  and  on  the  Reformation 
show  us  how  sincere  a  Lutheran  he  was. 


THE  SOUL  IN  THE  UNSEEN  WORLD.     Bv  R.  E. 

Mutton.     {Rivingieni.     Crown   8vo,   pp.   431.     6s. 

net.) 
From  the  general  findings  of  this  book  on  the 
doctrine  of  the  intermediate  state  few  who  have 
dispassionately  studied  the  subject  will  dissent. 
The  preposterous  positions  of  the  Romish  Church 
are  temperately,  and  so  the  more  mercilessly, 
expressed  and  exposed.  The  Anglican  teaching 
is  explained  and  embraced.  Just  one  considera- 
tion seems  to  have  escaped  Mr.  Hutton — just  one ; 
but  it  is  a  great  one.  Character  is  essential  to 
heaven,  and  spotless  character;  but  He  who  is 
able  to  present  us  spotless  before  the  presence 
of  His  glory  with  exceeding  joy,  is  surely  able  to 
cleanse  the  character  without  the  interference 
of  suffering  or  even  time — '  to-day  shalt  thou  be 
with  Me  in  Paradise.' 

STUDIES  IN  HOLY  SCRIPTURE.   Bvthe  Rev.  A.  G. 
Mortimer,  D.D.    {/iiviiigiimi.    Crown  8vo,  pp.  312. 

Is  it  not  a  somewhat  invidious  title  for  a  volume 
of  sermons  1  Are  not  the  sermons  of  all  of  us 
studies  in  Holy  Scripture?  It  is  somewhat  in- 
appropriate also.  For  Dr.  Mortimer  has  clearly 
much  less  interest  in  Scripture  than  in  human 
character  and  destiny.  The  sermon  on  '  Balaam,' 
for  example,  is  simply  a  study  in  conscience ;  the 
sermon  on  the  'Seed  among  Thorns'  is  a  study 
of  environment.  The  title  of  the  twelfth  sermon 
is  'Character  and  Circumstances.'  That  would 
have  formed  a  truly  descriptive  title  for  the 
volume.  We  believe  that  no  sermons  are  so 
fruitful  as  those  that  are  studies  in  Scripture ; 
after  that,  however,  we  should  place  studies  in 
character  and  circumstance,  and  this  volume 
might  even  head  the  list. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  FORT.  Bv  D.J.  Bumell, 
D.D.  (Maneheslct:  Rabinsan.  Crown  Svo,  pp.  316. 
3s.  6d.  net.) 
Dr.  Burrell  bids  fair  to  lake  a  front  place 
among  the  American  preachers  whose  sermons 
appeal  to  us.  The  place  is,  unhappily,  but  httle 
occupied  at  present.  He  does  not  overcome  us  as 
a  flood  like  Phillips  Brooks,  but  he  has  something 
of  the  fresh  mental  stimulus  of  Newman  Smyth. 
He  even  occasionally  recalls  the  deep  things  of 
Horace  Bushnell.  But  beyond  those  three — 
since  he  is  less  in  their  special  excellence— Dr. 
Burrell  is  determined  on  seeing  good  works  done 
here  and  now.  'If  ye  know  these  things,'  he 
seems  to  say  in  every  sermon,  'happy  are  ye  if  ye 
do  them.'  

The  monthly  parts  of  the  Monthly  Visitor  for 
1901  have  been  stitched  together  and  published 
by  Mr.  R.  Henderson  Smith,  at  the  office  of  the 
Scottish  Monthly  Visitor  Tract  Society,  Edin- 
burgh. It  contains  tracts  by  Dr.  Cunningham, 
of  Edinburgh ;  the  Rev.  Henry  Montgomery,  of 
Belfast;  the  Rev.  Robert  Shindler  and  Mr. 
William  Luff,  of  London;  the  Rev.  D.  M. 
M'Intyre,  Miss  A.  B.  Church,  and  Dr.  Wells, 
of  Glasgow ;  Mrs.  J.  S.  Reaney,  of  Greenwich ; 
and  the  Rev.  Thomas  Duniop,  of  Bootle.  Do 
not  these  names  guarantee  their  literary  worth  as 
well  as  their  evangelical  fervour? 

The  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Know- 
ledge has  published  the  following  Gift  and 
Reward  Books : — 

1.  Ching  the  Chinaman,  and  his  Middy  Friends. 
By  G.  Manville  Fenn.     5s. 

2.  From  Playground  to  Baltltfield.  By  Frederick 
Harrison,  M.A.     35.  6d. 

3.  In  the  Days  of  S.  Anse.lm.  By  Gertrude 
Hollis.     2S.  6d. 

4.  Ma/eking  Day.     By  Phcebc  Allen,     as. 

5.  Golden- Hearted.     By  M.  Bramston.     is.  6d. 

6.  The  Old  Mill  House  at  Ahermede.     is.  6d. 

7.  Little  John  Cope.     By  L.  L.  Weldon.     is. 

They  have  all  the  S.P.C.K.  colours  and  the 
S.P.C.K,  lightness.  They  are  boys'  and  girls' 
books,  not  adults'  condensed.  They  are  also  un- 
impeachable in  morals  and  manners.  Chiog  the 
Chinaman  is  meant  to  show  us  how  even  a  pigtail 
may  become  beloved  by  an  unformed  half-grown 


THE  EXPOSITORY   TIMES. 


183 


Englishman.  Ching  is  a  tine  brotherly  fellow; 
and  many  a  lad  who  reads  his  lively  conversation 
will  hope  to  see  him  when  they  first  set  foot  in 
China. 

Mr.  Frederick  Harrison,  who  writes  of  the  lad 
who  passed  from  Mr,  Timson's  Academy  to  the 
wars  with  Napoleon,  many  many  years  ago,  spells 
his  name  with  a  ^  to  distinguish  himself  from  the 
great  Positivist. 

S.  Anselm  is  a  hero  to  Miss  HoUis,  and  so  well 
does  she  make  him  play  his  fictitious  part  that  we 
should  be  prejudiced  indeed  if  he  did  not  become 
a  hero  also  to  us. 

Maftking  Day  is  further  described  as  '  A 
Snapshot  from  Real  Life.'  The  Day  is  here 
in  vivid  colours,  and  also  the  tragedy.  Yet  it 
is  said,  and  we  almost  seem  to  see  it  true,  that 
one  must  be  absent,  left  behind  in  Africa,  never 
to  return,  in  order  that  Mafeking  Day  may  be 
glorious. 

The  Old  Mill  House  was  deserted  foolishly  by  a 
growing  girl  whose  novel-reading  became  a  snare. 
The  novels  she  read  were  of  course  quite  different 
from  The  Old  Mill  House. 

Gulden- Hearted  is  for  the  older  girls — a  tove- 
tale.  But  Little  John  Cope  is  a  capital  boy's  story 
of  the  '45. 

Mr.  Elliot  Stock  has  published  a  cheaper 
(2s.  6d.)  edition  of  Mr,  Garnier's  Sin  and  Re- 
dempliott.  

Did  Moses  write  the  Pentateuch,  after  all?  This 
book  has  been  republished  with  a  new  preface. 
The  preface,  however,  does  not  contain  anything 
new,  and  the  book  stands  as  it  was.  Mr.  Spencer's 
complaint  against  the  Higher  Criticism  is  that  it 
is  too  subjective.  His  answer  to  it  is  also  sub- 
jective. And  the  difficulty  of  subjective  criticism 
is  seen  in  the  plausibility  of  his  arguments,  for  in 
spite  of  their  plausibility  there  is  not  one  of  them 
that  has  not  been  considered  and  answered 
(Stock,  crown  8vo,  pp.  329)- 


MOMENTA   OF    LIFE.      By  James  Lindsay,   D.D, 

{Slaci!.     Crown  8vo,  pp.  146.      Ss.) 

Dr.  Lindsay's  hand  is  seen  in  many  periodicals, 
always  on  the  relation  between  philosophy  and 
theology,  and  always  with  effect.  Editors  have 
discovered  that  he  has  a  mind  made  up,  that  he 


has  something  to  say  and  can  say  it,  so  that  he 
is  one  of  the  first  to  be  read.  Seven  magazine 
articles  are  gathered  into  this  volume,  of  which 
the  first  is  'The  Development  of  Ethical  Philo- 
sophy,' and  the  last  '  Mysticism — True  and  False.' 
The  last  is  a  sketch,  with  points  to  catch  and 
arrest  our  thinking;  the  first  is  a  clever,  pains- 
taking historical  study.  The  language,  occasionally 
finely  'biblical,'  is  always  direct  and  finished. 


The  Rev.  J.  H.  Bum.  B.D.,  has  undertaken  to 
edit  a  new  theological  series,  and  Mr.  Stock  has 
undertaken  to  publish  it.  It  is  to  be  known  as 
'The  Church's  Outlook  for  the  Twentieth  Cen- 
tury.' The  first  volume  has  appeared  under  the 
all-embracing  title  of  Theology,  Old  and  New  . 
(as.  6d.  net).  Its  author  is  Dr.  W.  F.  Cobb. 
Now  Dr.  Cobb  is  a  scholar,  and  a  liberal  one.  If 
he  goes  over  all  the  great  doctrines  of  Christianity 
— and  he  does  so  here — we  may  expect  the  full 
flood  of  the  modern  methods  of  study  let  in  upon 
us.  Thus  in  the  Atonement  it  is  emphatically 
stated  that  '  the  Christian  consciousness,  when 
set  free  from  the  perverse  bias  of  theological  pre- 
possessions, answers  confidently  that  God  remains 
the  same,  and  that  it  is  man  who  needs  to  be 
changed.'  It  takes  much  learning,  says  Dr.  Cobb, 
to  miss  this  truth.       

The  Morning  WaUh  for  Soldiers  of  the  King  is 
the  title  of  a  thick  volume  of  devotional  medita- 
tions for  every  day  of  the  year.  The  readings  are 
selected  from  modern  writers  like  Pearse,  Parker, 
and  Dale,  with  just  an  occasional  flavour  from  an 
older  author  like  Jeremy  Taylor.  The  editor  is 
the  Rev.  G.  Coates,  and  the  publisher  Mr.  A.  H. 
Stockwcll  (5s.).  

The  Rev.  G.  P.  Thomas,  M.A.,  Ph.D.,  had  a 
dream,  and  in  the  dream  he  journeyed  with  an 
angel  from  heaven  to  earth,  heard  with  the  angel's 
ears,  saw  with  the  angel's  eyes,  and  wrote  down  all 
he  heard  and  saw.  He  calls  the  record  An  Angefs 
Visit  to  the  British  Empire  at  the  Close  of  the 
Nineteenth  Century  (Stockwell,  3s.  6d.).  He  visits 
the  Church,  the  State,  Commerce,  and  Society, 
and  in  each  he  finds  many  things  to  astonish 
and  disgust  him, — in  the  Anglican  Church  its 
schism ;  in  the  State  its  House  of  Lords,  and 
much  else.  i)  ii-o- h,  x^iLfi^JVl*. 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


PICTORIAL  SERMONS  IN  INDUSTRIES.  By 
Gborge  Men'zcbs.  {Stedurill.  Crown  Svo,  pp. 
179.  3*-  M.) 
The  adjective  'ptcloriarin  the  title  simply  seems 
to  tells  us  that  there  are  pictures  in  the  book.  It 
was  worth  telling  so  prominently,  for  they  are  well 
chosen  and  taken  from  the  life.  The  sermons  are 
intended  for  the  British  working-man.  There  is  a 
sermon  to  gardeners,  a  sermon  to  seamen,  a 
sermon  to  bootmakers,  a  sermon  to  bleachers,  and 
many  more.  Mr.  Menzies  seems  to  know  all 
about  these  trades,  as  if  he  had  been  apprentice  to 
each  of  them  in  turn ;  but  he  knows  most  of  all 
about  the  gospel,  and  turns  them  to  account  in 
impressively  preaching  it. 


THOROUGHBRED  PATRIOTS,  flv  THE  Rev.  A.  T. 
PaLubr.  {Stoctwell.  Ciown  Svo,  pp.  114.  3s.) 
The  first  chapter — the  chapter  which  gives  the 
book  its  name — is  an  eloquent  plea  for  the  educa- 
tion of  the  young  in  patriotism.  If  the  line  could 
be  drawn  between  patriotism  and  politics,  the  line 
so  hard  to  draw,  it  would  be  worth  all  that  Mr. 
Palmer  claims  for  it.  Was  Mr.  Gladstone  the 
better  patriot  when  he  forgave  Majuba,  or  Lord 
Roberts  when  he  avenged  it  ?  It  is  the  application 
that  makes  the  perplexity. 

There  were  two  books  on  the  same  subject  pub- 
lished at  one  time  by  one  publisher.  Both  were 
the  work  of  scholars,  and  both  scholars  could 
write.  Vet  one  succeeded,  the  other  failed.  The 
reason  was  that  the  one  was  called  Pseudepigrapha, 
the  other  Books  which  influtnced  our  Lord.  Pro- 
filing by  that  example,  the  Rev.  Joseph  Farquhar, 
M.A.,  has  published,  through  Mr.  Slockwell,  a 
small  volume  entitled  The  Schools  and  School- 
masters of  Christ.  In  a  simple,  popular  way  it 
recalls  the  surroundings  of  our  Lord's  earthly  life, 
touching  also  on  His  pedigree  and  on  His  life 
beyond  the  grave.       


There  is  nothing  new  in  the  matter  of  the 
sermons  which  this  volume  contains.  They  are 
all  the  better  for  that.  There  is  nothing  new  now 
in  the  gospel,  except  when  it  touches  the  soul  into 
life,  and  then  all  things  become  new.  So  is  it 
with  these  sermons.    They  are  old  and  stale  till 


they  kindle  the  spark  of  life ;  but  they  have  that 
in  them.     And  this  is  the  way  of  it — 

God  came  lo  me  as  Trulh.     I  saw  Him  not. 
He  came  to  me  is  Love,  and  my  heart  bioLe, 
And  from  its  inmost  depths  there  came  a  cry, 
'  My  Father !  oh,  my  Father,  smile  on  me  \ ' 
And  the  Great  Father  smiled. 

At  the  office  of  the  Sunday  School  Union  is 
issued  The  Golden  EaU,  of  which  the  numbers  for 
1901  he  handsomely  bound  before  us.  It  is  the 
second  volume  of  the  new  series,  and  at  least  in 
illustration  is  clearly  making  progress. 

NOTES  ON  THE  SCRIPTURE  LESSONS  FOR  1901. 
KS.  S.  Unii/n.     Svo.  pp.  376.      2s.  6d.  net.) 

The  Notes  are  on  the  '  International '  Lessons. 
They  are  anonymous,  as  usual,  but  their  author  or 
authors  need  not  be  ashamed  to  own  them,  for 
they  combine  instruction  with  unction.  The 
books  of  reference  test  the  learning  of  these  writers, 
and  they  stand  the  lest.  The  illustrations  are  not 
many,  but  really  illustrative. 

What  a  Young  IVifi  ought  lo  Know  is  one  of 
the  'Self  and  Sex  Series,'  published  by  the  Vir 
Publishing  Company.  Its  author  is  Mrs.  Emma 
F.  Angell  Drake,  M.D.  (4s.  net). 

Messrs.  Williams  &  Norgate  have  published 
four  (is.)  volumes  by  the  Rev.  George  Henslow, 
M.A.,  F.L.S.,  F.G.S.     Their  titles  are:  (i)  Christ 

no  Product  of  Evolution;  (2)  The  Argument  of 
Adaptation  ;  (3)  The  At-one-ment ;  and  (4)  Spiritual 
Teachings  of  Bible  Plants. 

MONASTICISM  AND  THE  CONFESSIONS  OF  ST. 
AUGUSTINE.  Bv  Atwi.l'  lUttNACK.  {.WilliiuHS 
&  Norgate.      Fcap.  Svo,  pp.  171.     4s.} 

Those  two  popular  lectures  have  been  well 
translated  by  E.  E.  Kellett,  M.A.,  and  F.  H. 
Marseille,  Ph.D.,  M.A.  They  are  as  brilliant  in 
their  reach  of  vision,  as  confident  in  their  sweep  of 
conclusion,  as  anything  Professor  Harnack  has 
written.  They  look  into  the  very  heart  of  their 
two  momentous  subjects,  or  seem  to  do  so ;  and 
they  spoil  none  of  their  impressions  by  hesitating 
to  praise  or  blame.  The  risk  to  the  reader  is  that 
he^ets  himself  be  carried  away,  his  thought  stifled 
rather  than  stimulated.  But  it  is  his  own  fault 
As  for  Harnack,  he  writes  so  that,  ev^r,  p/ter,  his 
writings  must  be  reckoned  with.  c') 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


^8s 


'$6e  (Stan  Christ  3<Bue." 

When  Ecce  Homo  was  published  the  criticism 
most  immediately  uttered  upon  it  was  thai  its 
author  seemed  to  know  no  Jesus  but  the  earthly, 
and  replies  with  the  title  Ecce  Deus  were  speedily 
written.  Mr.  Dawson  challenges  that  recotlection 
with  his  title  TX^  Man  Christ  Jtius.  But,  unlike 
Professor  Seeley,  he  at  once  puts  doubt  aside  by 
his  preface.  He  confesses  that  he  chose  the  title 
in  order  to  express  his  purpose  by  writing  a  life  of 
Christ  upon  the  earth — 'the  human  life  of  Jesus 
as  it  appeared  to  his  contemporaries.'  He  con- 
fesses that  'it  did  at  one  lime  seem  possible  to 
write  a  life  of  Christ  from  the  sole  point  of  view  of 
its  human  grace  and  efficiency.'  But  it  could  not 
be.  As  the  life  unfolded  itself  before  his  mind, 
'it  produced  a  conviction,  at  once  profound, 
gradual,  and  irresistible,  that  in  the  very  nature 
of  the  story  itself,  and  therefore  in  the  nature  of 
Christ,  were  elements  entirely  incommensurate 
with  the  limits  of  the  human.'  So  the  attempt 
was  abandoned,  and  this  book  also  was  written, 
'that  ye  might  believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  God,  and  that  believing  ye  might  have  life 
through  His  name.' 

And  yet  the  mind  which  first  conceived  the 
abandoned  idea  showed  its  inclination  thereby. 
Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God,  but  (to  use  the  phrase 
popularly  though  illegitimately)  He  is  mostly  the 
Son  of  Man.  The  thought  of  the  '  contemporaries  ' 
has  never  been  altogether  absent.  All  matters 
that  touch  the  theology  or  the  philosophy  of  the 
life  of  Christ  are  set  aside.  If  the  divine  would 
not  be  ignored,  it  comes  in  as  naturally  as  the 
human ;  it  comes  into  and  gets  absorbed  by  the 
human,  so  that  it  Is  still  the  Christ  who  became 
Hesh  and  dwelt  among  us.  What  Mr.  Dawson  set 
out  to  do  he  has  actually  accomplished,  though  he 
has  accomphshed  more  than  that.  His  life  of 
Christ  is  a  life  of  Jesus  the  Son  of  God  as  He 
appeared  upon  the  earth. 

There  is  ability  and  much  originality  manifested 
as  the  book  proceeds.  Neither  exegesis  nor 
estimate  is  ever  conventional.  Sometimes  one 
hesitates,  sometimes  one  dissents  at  once.  Two 
matters  are  touched  on  elsewhere,  others  may 
follow.  But  the  great  result  is  the  picture  of 
i  w.  J. 


Jesus.     That  is  worthy  of  its  subject ;  and  how 
rarely  is  it  possible  to  say  so  much. 

The  eight  reproductions  of  famous  pictures  are 
very  fine,  a  feature  in  keeping  with  the  contents 
of  the  book. 


'  Ofb  Testament  J^istorg.* 

Under  this  simple  title  there  has  been  pub 
Hshed  by  Messrs.  Methuen  in  crown  8vo,  at 
the  price  of  six  shillings,  a  new  history  of  the 
Israelites  under  the  Old  Covenant,  The  author 
is  the  Rev.  G.  Woosung  Wade,  D.D.,  of  St. 
David's  College,  Lampeter,  who  is  perhaps 
remembered  by  his  recent  Commentary  on 
Genesis.  Dr.  Wade  is  a  critic — for  that  is  the 
first  matter  we  must  refer  to — occupying  very 
nearly  the  position  of  Piepenbring,  or,  let  us 
say,  of  Driver  and  Ryle  in  England.  It  is  the 
position  towards  which  even  Continental  scholar- 
ship is  settling. 

From  that  standpoint  Dr.  Wade  surveys  the 
whole  of  the  Old  Testament  history  with  a  minute- 
ness that  is  surprising  for  a  volume  of  so  convenient 
a  size  as  this.  He  gains  space,  however,  by  fre- 
quently throwing  subordinate  matter  into  small 
type.  In  spite  of  all  that  has  been  written  upon 
it  of  late,  the  part  that  most  needs  minute  descrip- 
tion is  the  earliest  period  of  all, — the  prehistoric 
and  patriarchal  period,^and  it  is  with  extreme 
pleasure  that  we  find  Dr.  Wade  giving  that  period 
his  closest  scrutiny  and  care.  The  spirit  with 
which  these  delightful  but  difficult  early  narratives 
are  handled  Is  most  commendable,  and  the  desire 
to  get  at  the  narrator's  thought  is  an  evident  sign 
of  a  truly  scientific  mind.  Some  historians  pass 
all  this  by  as  unhistorical ;  we  see  here  how 
greatly  they  miss  the  purpose  of  true  history  in 
doing  so. 

Dr.  Wade  has  not  written  for  schools  or  colleges 
as  Mr.  Otlley  did.  He  has  written  rather  for 
preachers  and  for  those  who  desire  to  learn  the 
truth  according  to  the  modern  scholar,  whether 
they  have  to  preach  it  to  others  or  not.  His  book 
is  a  history  to  be  read,  not  a  class-book  to  be 
conned.  If  it  gets  recognized,— and  we  think  it 
will  get  recognized, — there  is  much  probability  that 
it  will  commend  the  moderate  criticism  of  the 
Old  Testament  as  few  books  have  yet  been  able 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


It  will  not  be  claimed  that  Dr.  Watson's  life  of 
Christ  compares  with  Dr.  Edersheim's  in  learning, 
or  with  Dr.  Farrar's  in  picturesqueness.  But  it  is 
his  own.  It  has  the  stamp  of  his  own  special 
genius.     It  cannot  pass  unnoticed. 

As  befitting  the  subject,  he  has  given  himself  to 
his  task  with  a  serious  purpose,  that  he  may  get 
beyond  momentary  effects,  may  even  rise  out  of 
the  region  of  that  humour  which  was  the  charro  of 
his  earlier  writings,  but  which  depended  for  its  very 
existence  upon  human  frailty.  He  has  sought 
earnestly  to  dwell  apart  with  his  great  theme  ;  he 
has  spent  some  days  upon  the  mountain  and  seen 
the  glory, 

But  yet  he  returns  to  the  earth  to  tell  what  he 
has  seen  and  heard.  His  interest  is  among  men, 
among  men  of  to-day,  and,  unconsciously  perhaps, 
his  Christ  is  not  the  Christ  of  Galilee,  but  of 
London  and  Liverpool  and  Edinburgh.  He 
speaks  of  the  Samaritans.  They  are  not  the 
Samaritans  of  our  Lord's  day.  Them  he  some- 
what misapprehends,  and  the  Jewish  attitude 
towards  them.  They  are  the  heretics  of  our  time, 
'  When  a  Jew  desired  to  express  his  dislike  to  any 

'  Tie  lift  0/ lAe  Afastfr.  By  John  Walion,  D.D.  Hodder 
&  Stoughton.  Imp.  Svo,  pp.  311,  with  l&  illustrations  in 
colour  by  C.  K.  Linson.     255.  net. 


man  with  whose  theolt^y  he  did  not  agree,  he 
called  him  a  Samaritan— just  as  religious  people 
of  our  day  are  apt  to  call  any  teacher  a  Unitarian 
who  does  not  hold  their  theory  of  the  Atonement.' 
This  was  not  the  way  of  the  Jews  with  their 
heretics,  it  is  the  way  of  the  Church  now.  Jesus 
lives  and  moves  among  us  now,  the  human  Jesus, 
and  His  surroundings  have  the  spirit,  and  some- 
times all  things  but  the  name,  of  our  modem 
Western  nations. 

This  gives  the  book  its  character.  This  is  Ian 
Maciaren.  And  is  it  not  the  accomplishment — on 
a  large  scale,  and  with  conspicuous  ability — of 
that  which  every  preacher  tries  to  do  in  every 
sermon  ?  What  is  our  business  but  this,  when  we 
touch  the  incarnate  Christ  at  all?  To  dress  Him 
in  the  unseemly  garments  of  a  Jew  of  the  ttrst 
century — as  Renan  tried  to  do,  till  Renan's  en- 
graver unintentionally  turned  the  attempt  to 
ridicule  —  is  to  contradict  the  Gospels,  not  to 
reproduce  them.  Even  the  human  Jesus  wears  no 
sandals.  He  condescends  to  human  fashion,  that 
He  may  be  flesh  of  Abraham's  flesh  and  mine. 

The  publishers  have  recognized  the  worth  of 
this  book.  Its  sixteen  coloured  plates  are  a 
challenge  to  the  eye,  through  which  they  feed  the 
mind  gradually.  All  else  is  of  generous  quality. 
It  is  a  gift  beyond  the  reach  of  most,  but  by  the 
receiver  to  be  greatly  cherished. 


ConiviSutione  <in^   Commtnte* 


^fone. 

In  the  current  number  of  the  Jf^ue  Biblique 
(October)  Pfere  Lagrange  has  written  a  full  and 
searching  article  on  the  Moabite  Stone.  Like 
everything  that  comes  from  that  accomplished 
scholar,  this  contribution  is  distinguished  by 
equal  learning  and  lucidity.  But  on  two  rather 
fundamental  points  it  may  be  questioned  whether 
his  arguments  will  carry  conviction,  (i)  There  is 
the  familiar  difficulty:  How  comes  it  that  Mesha' 
can  say  'and  I  made  this  sanctuary  {bSmath)  to 
Kemosh  in  Qorhah "' (Moab.  St.  1.  3),  when,  as 
'  I.e.  nirjfl  ;  so  Lagringe,  chiefly  on  account  of  Ihe  LXX 
reading   in  Jer  48  (LXX  31)",  see  below.     But  (he  pro- 


a  matter  of  fact,  the  Stone,  which  is  thus  associated 
with  the  sanctuary,  was  found  at  Didon,  in  its 
original  position,  as  is  generally  agreed  ?  Various 
explanations  of  the  difficulty  have  been  suggested : 
e.g.  Qorhah  was  the  citadel  or  acropolis  of  Dibon 
( Clermont- Can neau) — this  is  inconsistent  with  the 
terms  of  1.  zi  f. ;  or,  Qorhah  was  the  name  of  a 
place  in  the  district  of  Dibon  (Nordlander,  Imchr. 
KBn.  Mesa,  1890) — this  is  inconsistent  with  the 
usage  of  the  O.T.,  where  Dibon  is  always  the 
name  of  a  city.  Lagrange  offers  a  new  suggestion. 
He  renders  1.  3,  'and  I  made  this  sanctuary  to 
Kemosh-of-Qorbah,*  ;'.*.  Mesha'  dedicated  in  his 
native  town  of  Dibon  an  altar  to  the  Kemosh  of 


;   peihaps  ii 


1   .UTip,    like 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


187 


another  town,  where,  as  we  shall  see,  Lagrange 
supposes  that  he  was  marvellously  delivered  from 
a  desperate  situation.  In  support  of  his  render- 
ing, Lagrange  quotes  from  a  Phcenician  inscription 
found  in  Sardinia  the  expression  DVrtU  a^vyA 
(«V),  'to  Ba'al-shamem  in  the  Isle  of  Hawks' 
{C./.S.  i.  139) ;  we  may  add  the  similar  expres- 
sions, Viita  '?30  f\i:rh  'to  Reshcf  of  Mukl  in 
Idalton'  {C./.S.  i.  90),  and  maa  nne'  'Sahar  (the 
Moon-god)  in  Nerab '  (from  the  Aramaic  inscr. 
Nirab  i.  I.  a).  This  particular  idiom  is  used  to 
indicate  that  the  cult  of  a  foreign  or  distant  deily 
has  been  transplanted  from  its  native  home  to 
another  place ;  *  Ba'al-shamem  had  been  intro- 
duced from  the  Phcenician  mother-country  into 
Sardinia,  Apollo  of  Amyklse  (probably  =^D  t)en) 
from  Greece  into  Cyprus,  the  Moon^od  (Sin) 
of  Harran  into  Northern  Syria.  But  is  there  any- 
thing of  this  in  nmp3  IP03^?  The  expression 
used  by  Lagrange  to  support  his  rendering  is 
not  to  the  point.  And  we  may  go  further  and 
say  that  the  notion  of  Mesha'  dedicating  in  Dibon 
a  sanctuary  to  the  Kemosh  of  another  place  is  out 
of  keeping  with  the  religious  ideas  of  the  time,  so 
far  as  we  know  them.  Kemosh  was  the  national 
god  of  Moab ;  the  whole  country  worshipped  him ; 
he  was  at  home  in  every  town  of  it ;  and  we  can 
no  more  imagine  a  Moabite  making  such  a  dedica- 
tion than  we  can  imagine  an  Israelite  of  the  period 
building,  say  at  Bethel,  an  altar  to  the  Yahveh  of 
Jerusalem.  Lagrange's  suggestion  has  indeed  the 
merit  of  getting  rid  of  the  difficulty  noticed  above ; 
but  it  is  safer,  after  all,  to  fall  back  upon  Nord- 
lander's  view,  that  Qorhah  was  the  name  of  a  place 
in  Dibon.  It  is  true,  the  O.T.  is  against  treating 
Dibon  otherwise  than  as  the  name  of  a  town ;  but 
local  usage  in  Moab  itself  may  have  been  different, 
and  certainly  the  language  of  I.  ai  (cf.  II.  28,  19) 
is  more  applicable  to  a  district  than  to  a  city. 

(j)  Qorhah  is  identified  by  Lagrange  with  Qir- 
bares(eth)  of  the  O.T.,  Is  i6'-  ",  Jer  48s'-  5»,  a  K  3=*. 
He  regards  ntsnn  tp  as  a  corrupted  or  misunder- 
stood form  of  nnn  Tp,  i.e.  New  Town,  LXX 
Is  ifP  ^t<Tt9.  "tcij^os  (ftKotViCT-as,'  and  Qorhah 
as  its  ancient  name.     The  idem  iticat ion  is  based 

'  In  ■  newly-discovered  inscription  from  Caithage  mnosb 
paSi  nin'n  (IJzbarski,  Ephimerii,  i.  24),  in  the  Neo-punic 
inscription  of  Aliiburos  PT3n^3  [cn  ^ya  yivS,  and  in  ihe 
Nibatsean  inscription  C.l.S.  ii.  182,  nn'wH  n  .  .  .  jhih  (218, 
it*na3  n  injidS  i»  uncertain),  this  appears  not  to  be  the  CMe  ; 
Ihe  native  deities  ate  tesidinf;  in  (a)  their  native  place. 

'  So  Cheyne,  Enty.  Bibl.  col.  2676. 


upon  the  following  grounds :  (a)  Qir-hareseth  was 
the  capital  of  Moab,  2  K  3^,  and  Qorhah  was  the 
capital  too,  because  Mesha'  built  a  palace  there, 
II.  2 if.,  24;  (b)  Mesha"  was  besieged  in  Qir- 
hareseth,  and  the  measures  which  he  took  at 
Qorhah  suggest  a  siege;  they  resemble  those 
taken  by  Hezekiah  when  Jerusalem  was  threatened 
by  the  Assyrian  advance,  2  Ch  ja^"*' '" ;  {c)  Mesha' 
sacrificed  his  son  at  Qir-tjareseth,  thus  obtaining 
the  favour  of  Kemosh ;  hence  he  dedicates  a 
sanctuary  to  the  deity  of  the  place  where  he  was 
delivered.  It  may  be  doubted  whether  these 
arguments  are  conclusive.  The  mere  fact  that 
Qorhah  became  the  seat  of  Mesha"s  palace  hardly 
proves  that  it  became  the  capital  of  the  country, 
any  more  than  Timah  was  the  capital  of  Israel 
because  Jeroboam  and  other  kings  resided  there, 
I  K  14"  ij^i-ss  etc.  (cf.  Shechem,  also  a  royal 
residence,  1  K  12^).  The  second  argument  about 
the  siege-works  does  not  lead  us  very  far.  The 
impression  one  gains  from  the  account  of  the 
fortifications  and  cisterns  at  Qorliah  (I.  21  ff.)  is 
that  they  were  made,  not  before  or  during  a  siege, 
but  as  precautions  against  possible  dangers  in  the 
future.  However,  this  is  only  an  impression  ;  we 
cannot  be  sure  that  the  Stone  follows  any  chrono- 
Ic^ical  order  in  the  events  which  it  commemorates. 
The  third  argument  has  been  dealt  with  above  (r). 

There  is  one  further  point  which  has  special 
importance  for  the  proposed  identification  of  the 
two  places — the  rendering  of  the  LXX  in  Jer.  48 
(LXX  31)*'  €5r'  JvSpas  «(p<iSa9  (<«8apat.  A)  + 
aiJ;(;tov  =  tnn  Tp  'B'JK  ^.  This  rendering  seems 
to  Lagrange  to  require  an  original  nmp  'tPlN  '  men 
of  Qorhah,'  which  was  misunderstood  to  mean 
'men  of  baldness,' or  'of  shaven  heads'  (Is.  15' 
etc. ).  But  surely  Ktipa.la.t  is  merely  a  transliteration 
of  tPin  Vp,  with  T  for  ^ — a  transliteration  which 
was  made  to  have  some  sense  fairly  suitable  to 
the  context.  Aquila  and  Symmachus  witness  to 
the  M.T.  by  their  version,  hr  Sv^i  toC^ov  oorpo- 
KiVou.  Qir-bares(eth)  =  Qir-Moab  is  generally 
identified  with  Kerak'  (so  Targ.  on  Is  and  Jer, 
loa  Ht.) ;  but  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  there 
is  any  etymological  connexion  between  Kerak 
and  Qorhah.  Noldeke  decided  against  such  a 
view  long  ago  {/nscAr.  Kon.  Mesa,  8  f ). 

G.  A.  Cooke. 

*  For  a  recent  description  oF  this  and  other  sites  in  Moab, 
sec  Professor  Goutier's  delightful  narrative,  Aii'sitr  ,le  la 
Alir  MorU  {\^\\  62  ff. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


C^titi  dni  t^e  #groi(p5oentciftn 
TTomdn. 

I. 

This  story  has  great  difficulties  for  faith.  On  its 
surface  it  is  rich  in  suggestion ;  it  can  be  turned  to 
great  symbolic  use.  But  the  central  facts  of  the 
story  arc  hard  to  understand.  Why  did  Christ  Jesus 
treat  this  woman  as  He  did ;  and  what  exactly  is 
the  faith  which  triumphed  in  the  endi*  That  is 
the  problem,  felt  keenly  by  many  and  loo  often 
ignored  by  the  teacher. 

Jesus  was  in  the  coasts  of  Tyre  and  Sidon. 
There  a  woman  of  the  country,  a  pagan  woman, 
came  to  Him  beseeching  Him  to  heal  her 
daughter.  Sorrowing  love  came  to  Him  as 
naturally  as  birds  to  their  nest.  But  the  response 
of  Jesus  differed  from  all  we  read  elsewhere.  He 
answered  her  not  a  word.  It  was  no  failure  in 
sympathy.  The  importunate  crying  of  this  heathen 
woman  was  the  appeal  of  love;  and  never  was 
Christ's  heart  deaf  to  that  cry.  His  sympathy, 
amid  His  silence,  was  as  keen  as,  when  at  home 
and  among  His  kinsfolk  of  Israel,  love  made  to 
Him  its  appeal  of  sorrow.  Why,  then,  was  He 
silent?  It  is  usually  answered  that  He  meant 
to  put  her  faith  to  the  test.  But  of  what 
moral  value  was  her  faith  in  Him?  He  was  a 
stranger  to  her,  a  man  of  a  different  religion.  The 
only  faith  in  Himself  which  Christ  Jesus  could 
honour  was  surely  a  faith  which  came  from  hear- 
ing the  truths  He  taught,  or  from  marking  the 
brotherliness  of  His  perfect  life.  Faith  is  a  moral 
and  spiritual  vision,  a  trust  consequent  on  some 
intuition  of  goodness.  And  it  is  hard  to  see  how 
any  hope  of  help  which  this  heathen  woman  might 
nourish  within  her  heart  could  partake  of  such  a 
faith.  Besides,  we  cannot  think  that  the  all- 
gentle  and  all-loving  Christ  would  ever  play  with 
an  anguished  heart.  He  was  too  simple  ever 
to  play  a  part.  When  Christ  Jesus  went  on 
in  silence,  was  it  not  because  He  felt  it  His 
duty  so  to  do?  Our  hearts  may  bleed  for 
another's  sorrow,  and  yet  our  hands  do  nothing 
because  they  can  do  nothing.  May  ii  not  well 
have  been  so  with  the  Master  then?  We  think  of 
Him  as  vested  with  divine  power  to  use  at  will; 
we  fancy  that  all  He  needed  to  do  was  to  say  to 
this  woman  of  Canaan,  'Thy  daughter  is  whole.' 
So  the  disciples  thought  when  they  asked  Him  to 


grant  her  request  and  send  her  away.  But  that 
was  not  the  thought  of  Jesus  Himself.  He  was  a 
man  under  authority — a  phrase  that  knit  His  soul 
to  the  soul  of  the  Roman  centurion  who  used  it. 
His  power  was  a  trust.  It  was  not  his  to  use  as 
He  pleased,  even  at  the  bidding  of  sympathy  or 
love.  He  came  from  the  Father  to  do  a  certain 
work,  and  this  power  of  healing  was  part  of  His 
endowment  for  that  work ;  it  was  the  sword  girded 
on  His  thigh  by  the  Father  when  He  sent  Him 
forth,  to  be  wielded  only  in  that  employ.  When 
this  woman  cried  unto  Him  and  His  heart  went 
out  with  that  perfect  sympathy  which  made  all 
human  sorrows  His  own.  He  was  being  put  to  the 
trial  as  well  as  she.  Though  He  was  a  Son,  yet 
He  learned  obedience  by  the  things  He  suffered. 
To  the  disciples  urging  Him  to  heal  the  sick 
daughter  He  said,  '  1  am  not  sent  but  unto  the  lost 
sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel.'  Was  it  not  the 
answer  He  had  given  to  His  own  heart  when  pity 
cried  '  Grant  her  her  request '  ?  Christ  Jesus  had  to 
school  His  own  emotions  of  pity.  And  if  to  heal 
this  woman's  daughter  by  His  word  of  divine  power 
was  not  in  the  line  of  His  mission,  if  it  would  not 
serve  that  purpose  for  which  in  the  days  of  His 
humiliation  He  was  yel  thus  royally  girded,  then 
even  Jesus  the  Son  of  God  had  to  deny  Himself 
the  luxury  of  helping  this  woman  and  drying  her 
sorrow-laden  eyes. 

Christ's  miracles  were  in  place  in  His  work 
among  the  lost  sheep  of  Israel.  Part  of  that  work 
was  to  reveal  God  the  Father  to  men.  That 
revelation  could  only  Atly  be  made  in  Palestine. 
For  there  God  was  already  known ;  there  for 
centuries  the  revealing  word  bad  travailed  with 
the  growing  knowledge  of  God.  There  only 
could  the  crown  be  set  upon  that  knowledge. 
The  fitful  and  partial  voices  of  the  past  which 
spelled  out  the  name  of  God  were  completed 
when  He  who  is  the  brightness  of  God's  glory 
and  the  express  image  of  His  person,  the  very 
Word  of  God,  uttered  Himself.  And  all  His 
works  of  power  were  parts  of  that  completing 
revelation;  they  only  had  their  meaning  there. 
God  was  known  in  Palestine,  though  dimly. 
When  Jesus  healed  the  sick  in  Galilee,  when  all 
in  trouble  cried  to  Him  and  He  delighted  to  help, 
it  was  one  glorious  trait  to  add  lo  their  thought  of 
Jehovah,  the  trait  of  an  infinite  love  yearning  over 
all  burdened  and  sorrowing  ones.  His  miracles 
of  mercy  were  part  of  His  gospel  of  the  Father's 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


189 


love;  they  stamped  with  thedJvinc  seal  His  teach- 
ing of  the  Fatherhood  of  God.  But  they  needed 
for  their  foundation  all  the  knowledge  of  God's 
holiness  and  inflexible  purity  and  justice  which 
the  chequered  history  of  the  past  had  made 
known  to  them.  Only  in  the  framework  of 
Judaism  had  these  works  a  living  voice ;  only  to 
those  who  knew  Jehovah  did  they  bring  their 
message  of  eternal  hope  and  joy. 

It  was  different  in  ihe  coasts  of  Sidon.  Miracles 
there  had  no  enfranchising  light,  rather  the 
opposite.  It  was  easy  for  this  heathen  woman, 
with  her  country's  faith  in  magic  and  sorcery  and 
witchcraft,  to  believe  that  this  stranger  could  heal 
her  daughter.  And  had  Jesus  simply  healed  her 
in  pity,  would  He  not  have  riveted  ihat  superstition 
more  strongly  on  mind  and  heart?  If  so,  was  it 
not  His  duty  to  refrain  ?  It  seems  to  our  unthink- 
ing hearts  as  if  the  tender  soul  of  Jesus  could  not 
see  a  human  grief  without  assuaging  it.  But  God 
forbears  every  day  and  every  hour.  How  many  a 
mother  from  one  end  of  the  world  to  the  other 
cries  to  heaven  to  succour  a  dying  child,  and  yet 
nature  goes  along  its  law -appointed  course! 
Surely  God  on  high  hears  the  cry,  and  yet  the  help 
Jesus  gave  in  the  towns  of  Galilee  is  not  given; 
the  child  sickens  more,  and  dies.  We  can  only 
say  that  in  the  counsels  of  God  it  is  known  to  be 
best  not  to  give  the  prayed-for  help,  and  the  loving 
heart  of  the  Father  therefore  forbears.  When 
Jesus  heard  the  cry  of  that  stricken  mother,  His 
heart  felt  for  her  though  she  was  not  of  His  kins- 
folk of  Israel ;  but  it  was  only  within  the  shelter 
of  the  ancient  revelation  of  God  that  His  divine 
power  was  at  the  mercy  of  His  love,  and  He  was 
ever  faithful  to  His  trust.  His  heart  was  strong 
enough  to  deny  His  own  sympathy  its  desire,  if 
need  be,  and  hold  back  the  divine  power  that  was 
His. 

But  yet  her  daughter  was  healed.  How  was  the 
difficulty  overcome  ?  The  woman  would  not  take 
a  denial.  She  came  nearer  and  worshipped,  say- 
ing, '  Lord,  help  me.'  Then  Jesus  spoke  to  her. 
He  turned  upon  her  those  eyes  eloquent  of  fullest 
sympathy,  and  said,  'It  is  not  meet  to  take  the 
children's  bread,  and  cast  it  to  the  little  dogs.' 
And  she  answered,  '  Yea,  Lord  :  for  these  dogs 
eat  of  the  crumbs  which  fall  from  their  master's 
table.'  And  that  answer  brought  her  her  desire  ; 
Jesus  said,  *0  woman,  great  is  thy  faith:  be  it 
unto  thee  even  as  thou  wilt.' 


What  was  this  faith  which  enabled  Christ  Jesus 
to  grant  her  request  ? 

There  was  in  her  importunacy  a  confidence  in 
that  brotherly  kindness  which  she  read  in  Christ's 
look,  a  faith  in  His  willingness  to  help  a  sorrowing 
fellow-creature  which  divined  the  hand  held  out 
behind  the  seeming  rebuff.  And  there  was  a 
humility  of  love  which  made  her  ready  to  take  the 
lower  place  which  He  showed.  These  brought 
her  into  the  right  position. 

Doubtless  she  heard  Him  say  that  His  mission 
was  only  to  the  lost  sheep  of  Israel.  And  the 
teachable  spirit  of  love,  yearning  after  its  need, 
showed  her  her  position  in  the  eyes  of  this 
Prophet.  The  children  gather  round  the  table, 
but  the  dogs  of  the  household  are  there  too;  and 
the  care  that  broods  over  the  children  embraces 
the  dogs'  needs  also.  Israel  might  be  in  a  sense 
the  children  at  God's  table,  the  people  brought 
nearest  God ;  but  other  nations  are  fed  from 
God's  table  too.  Would  not  this  Prophet  of 
Israel,  servant  of  Israel's  God,  own  this  and  with- 
hold not  the  crumbs  of  His  loving  care? 

That  vision  unsealed  the  divine  power  of  Jesus. 
It  brought  His  work  within  the  shadow  of  the 
ancient  revelation  and  gave  it  the  fulness  of 
meaning  which  is  a  miracle's  sanction.  It  was 
then  no  soothsayer's  or  magician's  spell  of  might, 
but  a  work  of  Jehovah,  God  of  Israel,  a  portion  of 
God's  feast  of  love  going  on  there.  And  the 
woman  knew  ii  as  such.  The  best  of  earth's 
blessings,  she  learned,  were  to  be  had  at  the  table 
where  Israel  was  fed.  For  that  was  the  table  of 
the  Uving  God.  That  knowledge  might  bring  her 
in  gratitude  and  thankfulness  to  inquire  about  the 
God  of  Israel  and  feed  on  the  bread  of  life  there 
broken  for  the  children,  a  good  to  her  own  soul 
and  to  all  her  neighbours  in  that  foreign  land,  who- 
might  learn  from  her  the  news  of  a  Father  in, 
heaven.  Richard  Glaister. 

5/.  CHtkberl-s  Mame,  Kirkcudbrigkl. 
II. 

While  agreeing  with  the  Rev.  P.  G.  Cholmondeley 
in  your  last  month's  issue,  that  'in  considering 
this  narrative  of  the  woman  of  Canaan,  sufficient 
attention  has  not  been  given  to  the  fact  of  her 
addressing  our  Lord  as  "  Son  of  David,"  '  I  do  not 
agree  with  his  exposition  of  Christ's  reply. 

Briefly :  the  woman  regards  herself  as  an  out- 


190 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


aider,  with  no  claim  upon  the  'Son  of  David.' 
She  throws  herself  upon  His  'mercy*  (v.^),  or 
pity.  As  '  Son  of  David,'  He  replies  that  He  has 
only  to  do  with  '  Israel.'  She  can  only  fall  at  His 
feet — '  Help  me.  Lord.'  Then  He  gives  her 
woman  wit  a  chance  of  seizing  a  wider  relationship, 
— the  little  household  dogs  have  a  place  in  the 
home, — and  she  promptly  takes  it.  The  bond  is 
knit,  He  is  more  than  '  Son  of  David '  to  her  now  ; 
and  to  Him  she,  a  woman  of  such  keen  spiritual 
discernment,  has  become  one  of  His  true  Israelites 
(cf.  8"). 

Had  He  granted  her  request  at  first,  He  would 
have  remained  for  her  the  '  Son  of  David,'  who 
'  passed  by '  one  day  and  let  a  blessing  fall ;  a 
wonder-worker  from  another  land.  Now  He  will 
henceforth  be  her  Lord,  and  she  will  'sit  down  in 
His  Kingdom,'  at  home. 

F.  Warburton  Lewis. 


©ouBffuf  JgeBKW  Trot»«. 

Our  soundest  authority  {Heir.  English  Lexicon, 
Oxford)  says  that  the  actual  meaning  and  ety- 
mology of  narw  {2  S  6",  1  Ch  i63)  are  unknown. 
I  should  compare  it  with  the  Egyptian  sefer,  'a 
rib*  (Brugsch,  Thesaurus,  p.  1201),  with  a  pros- 
thetic »;  this  seems  to  suit  the  context. 

The  puzzling   ;3,  D32,  or  D33  (Ex   8''^  al.)   one 

might  perhaps  refer  to  the  Hausa  L<>£,  U^,  flea 
{C  H.  Robinson,  Hau$a  Diet.  pp.  128,  132). 

The  word  nsip  (Is  ss"),  which  the  editors  of 
the  Oxford  Lexicon  (Part  ix.,  1900)  have  not  been 
able  to  trace  to  any  of  the  other  Semitic  languages, 
is  found  in  an  Egyptian  inscription  of  the 
Ptolemaic  period,  where  it  stands  as  srpd  in  a 
list  of  plants.  Brugsch  identifies  it  with  Pliny's 
saripha,  an  edible  kind  of  papyrus  {Thesaurus 
Inscriptionum  ^gyptiaearum,  iii.  p.  605). 

The  problematic  rtno  (Job  38^)  G.  Hoffmann 
(Hiob,  1891)  has  ingeniously  explained  as  follows : 
— Pointing  the  word  n^np,  he  equates  it  with  the 
Egyptian  dhuti,  Thoth  ;  and  as  the  Greeks  and 
Romans  identihed  this  god  with  Hermes, 
Mercury,  Hoffmann  takes  nifiD  to  mean  the 
planet  Mercury.  This  hypothesis  is,  however, 
quite  untenable,  because  in  the  Egyptian  lists  of 
the  planets,  of  all  the  periods  known  at  present, 


namely,  the  nineteenth  and  twentieth  dynasties 
and  the  Ptolemaic  and  Roman,  Mercury  is  never 
called  4h^f'\  liut  Sebgu,  Seiko  (Brugsch,  op.  cit.  i. 
pp.  65-71).  N.  Herz. 

Naciney,  N.E. 


of  i^t  %trot. 

In  notes  contributed  to  this  magazine  and  else- 
where I  have  made  myself  responsible  for  the 
assertion  that  the  Jews  had  no  written  literature 
besides  the  Bible  for  a  series  of  centuries  ending 
well  within  the  Mohammedan  era.  This  propo- 
sition seems  to  me  to  be  based  on  irrefragable 
evidence,  (i)  The  assertion  of  Rashi  (cii.  1105), 
on  B.  Mezia,  33a,  that  the  writing  of  the  Gemara 
was  commenced  in  '  his  own  generations,'  coupled 
with  his  statement  on  Gittin,  60a,  that  the  Tal- 
mudists  were  allowed  to  write  nothing  of  any  sort. 
(2)  The  assertion  of  R.  Semach  GaonofSora,  about 
the  year  880  a.d.  (in  Eldad  Ha-Dani,  ed.  Epstein, 
p.  7,  No.  16),  that  the  Mishnah  was  not,  like  the 
Bible,  fixed  in  writing,  but  was  loose  (noniDD). 
{3)  The  assertion  of  R.  Sherira  Gaon,  near  the 
year  1000  A.D.,  in  reply  to  the  question  how  the 
Mishnah  and  Gemara  were  written,  that  they  were 
not  written  at  all,  but  handed  down  orally.  This 
chain  of  witnesses,  all  men  who  thoroughly 
understood  the  business,  makes  it  certain  that 
Jewish  non-biblical  literature  began  to  be  written 
at  the  close  of  the  ninth  century  a.d.  And  this 
result  is  confirmed  in  many  ways.  The  Arabic 
writer  Jahiz,  who  died  in  868  a.d.,  declared  that 
the  Jews  had  no  literature ;  but  the  author  of  the 
Fihrist,  near  the  year  1000  a.d,,  is  acquainted 
whh  a  written  Mishnah,  while  AI-Biruni,  his  con- 
temporary, is  acquainted  with  the  Seder  Olam. 
And  the  letter  of  R.  Sherira,  which  in  its  original 
form  (published  by  B.  Goldberg,  1845)  is  quite 
consistent,  was  interpolated  so  as  to  make  it  ap- 
pear that  in  this  writer's  opinion  the  Mishnah  and 
Talmud  were  written  by  their  compilers,  though 
he  expressly  states  that  they  were  not.  This 
dehberate  falsification  of  evidence  makes  it  clear 
that  many  had  an  interest  in  maintaining  that  the 
non-biblical  literature  had  been  committed  to 
writing  earlier  than  was  really  the  case,  and  invali- 
dates the  testimony  of  such  writers  as  the  trans- 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


191 


Ulor  of  the  Mqfteach  of  R.  Nissim  (of  the  eleventh 
century),  who  asseit  what  the  interpolated  letter  of 
Sherira  asserts. 

I  have  endeavoured  to  collect  arguments  which 
are  advanced  in  favour  of  Ihe  supposition  that 
this  non-biblical  literature  is  earlier  (in  its  written 
form)  than  880  a.d.  Some  of  these  are  too  weak 
to  be  worth  consideration  :  as  such  we  may  brand 
one  of  Weiss  in  his  preface  to  Sifra,  based  on  the 
readings  which  the  Midrash  Rabbah  says  were  to 
be  found  in  R.  Melt's  copy  of  the  Law.  From 
these  we  cannot  infer  more  than  that  some  of  the 
copies  of  the  Law  were  corrupt.  The  Midrash 
(on  Exodus,  sec.  47)  declares  as  plainly  as  possible 
that  neither  Mishnah,  Halachah,  nor  Aggadah 
were  given  in  writing. 

A  rather  more  interesting  observation  is  that 
made  by  Epstein  {I.e.  p.  xv),  that  Mairaonides, 
Hikoih  Malwek,  sec.  15,  No.  2,  states  that  he  had 
found  copies  of  part  of  the  Gemara  written  on 
parchment  as  they  used  to  write  some  500  years 
before  his  time:  this  would  be  about  675  a.d. 
The  question  is  whether  Maimonides'  palteo- 
graphical  knowledge  was  sufficient  to  secure  him 
from  making  a  mistake  of  some  250  years.  He 
does  not  say  that  the  copies  were  of  the  seventh 
century,  but  written  in  the  style  in  use  in  the 
seventh  century. 

Another  argument  of  some  interest  is  urged  in 
the  work  of  Dr.  Adolf  Schwarz,  Der  Hermemutisckt 
Syllogismus  in  der  Taimudischen  Litteratur  (1901), 
pp.  46-48,  Comparing  a  passage  of  Sifra  with 
another  of  similar  import  in  B.  Menachoth,  5b,  he 
argues  that  the  words  nnairn  Dtt  ttn  must  have 
been  misunderstood  by  authorities  of  the  third 
century  a.d.,  and  that  this  misunderstanding  must 
have  been  due  to  a  written  copy,  and  could  not 
have  arisen  in  oral  teaching.  These  words,  he 
says,  mean  'this  argument  is  already  refuted,'  and 
were  wrongly  interpreted  as  a  conditional  sentence 
by  the  authorities  cited  in  the  Bab.  Gemara,  The 
word  DK,  which  stands  for  'a  rebutter,'  because 
such  arguments  were  regularly  introduced  by  that 
word,  was  wrongly  understood  as  the  conditional 
'if.'  This  error,  he  thinks,  could  only  have  been 
committed  if  a  written  text  were  used. 

I  should  wish  to  speak  respectfully  of  the  author 
of  this  work,  from  which  1  have  learned  much. 
But  it  seems  improbable  that  his  rendering  of  the 
words  nrunn  dm  ttn  will  find  general  acceptance  ; 
the  commentators  on  the  Sifra  seem  to  take  the 
DK  conditionally,  as  did  the  Talmudic  authorities. 
And  whether  they  mean  'you  have  refuted  this 
rebutter '  or  ' supposing  that  you  can  refute  this' 
makes  little  difference  to  the  sense.  Hence  I  do 
not  think  the  Talmudic  authorities  can  be  justly 
accused  of  having  mistaken  the  meaning  of  the 
words. 

The  doctrine,  moreover,  that  the  sense  of  words 


could  not  be  lost  in  oral  tradition  is  difficult  to 
accept.  Mistakes  which  can  be  attributed  to  script 
and  not  to  oral  tradition  would  seem  to  consist 
chiefly  in  cases  where  letters  are  alike  in  writing 
but  not  alike  in  sound.  The  differences  of  tra- 
dition recorded  in  the  Talmud  ate  ordinarily 
where  letters  are  indistinguishable  in  sound  but 
unlike  in  writing.  Thus  several  traditions  are 
variously  recited  with  tliph  and  'ayin,  in  which  the 
variety  is  due  to  certain  reporters  being  unable  to 
pronounce  the  latter  sound.  But,  difHcult  as  it  is 
for  us  to  reproduce  in  thought  a  lime  when  large 
quantities  of  sayings  were  communicated  orally 
for  learning  by  heart,  we  are  only  following  the 
guidance  of  the  Gemara  if  we  suppose  that  any 
number  of  errors  can  introduce  themselves  in  the 
process. 

A  passage  that  seems  at  first  sight  to  make  for 
written  Aggadahs  is  B.  Ckullin,  60b,  where  Rab 
Chesda  is  twice  quoted  as  inviting  R.  Tachlifa 
to  write  down  strange  words  in  his  Aggadah  and 
explain  them.  Like  most  Talmudic  passages,  this 
collapses  when  one  tries  to  build  anything  on  it. 
Many  authorities  read  'in  your  letter'  (^n•l'^{)  for 
'in  your  Aggadah'  (^n^3N).  The  commentators 
think  that  letters  and  Aggadahs  are  both  fit  places 
for  strange  words;  but  it  looks  rather  as  if  the 
reference  were  to  a  collection  q( glosses,  or  difficult 
words,  which  R.  Tachlifa  was  making.  What  is 
remarkable  is  that  the  author  of  the  Aruch  (about 
1070  A.D.),  in  dealing  with  this  passage,  lets  us 
know  that  the  oral  tradition  of  the  Talmud  was 
still  living:  'I  heard  from  the  mouth  of  R. 
Mosheh  Ha-Darshan  of  Narbonne,  "pnjns  nira  b'T 
"l^C  mjna,'  i.e.  a  form  of  the  tradition  different 
from  that  which  the  ordinary  texts  have.  If  the 
oral  tradition  was  not  extinct  in  the  laiier  half  of 
the  eleventh  century,  we  may  be  sure  that  Rashi's 
date  for  the  commencement  of  writing  is  not  far  out. 

Among  the  passages  adduced  by  Weiss,  l.c.,  is 
onefrom  yeiamt>lA,  t 2b.  R.  Jochanan  is  informed 
by  Rish  Lakish  that  R.  Eleazar  B.  Ptdath  has  a 
Mishnah  of  bis  own  on  Leviticus.  He  (R. 
Jochanan  or  Rish  Lakish)  'went  out,  learned  it 
(n'jn)  in  three  days,  and  got  to  understand  it 
(mno)  in  three  months.'  If  it  was  not  in  a  book, 
asks  Weiss,  why  are  we  not  told  of  whom  he 
learned  it?  The  test  implies  that  he  learned  it 
of  R,  Eleazar.     We  should  rather  ask  why,  if  it 

i  in  a  book,  R,  Jochanan  learned  it  for  three 
days  before  he  understood  it.  This  learning  for 
three  days  must  mean  'committed  it  to  memory'; 
I  have  met  many  Indians  who  have  learned  books 
by  heart  before  they  understood  any  of  their  con- 
tents. Hence  it  seems  clear  ihat  this  passage 
implies  the  opposite  of  what  Weiss  supposed  it 
to  imply.  For  the  above  translation  Lamperonti 
{s.v.  psi)  and  Levy  (s.v.  laD)  are  responsible. 

Another  passage  adduced  by  Weiss  is  mGittin. 


i9a 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


44a.  'Said  R.  Jeremiah  to  R.  Zarika,  "Go  and 
study  (rv)  in  your  Mechilia."  He  went  out, 
examined  carefully  (pi),  and  found  Ihat  ihere  was 
a  tradition,'  etc.  The  question  whether  this 
contains  an  allusion  to  books  must  depend  on  the 
sense  of  the  words  rendered  'study'  and  'ex- 
amine carefully.'  The  former  word,  according  to 
Levy,  only  means  'nachdenken,'  to  see  with  the 
mentai  eye;  and  Kohut,  who  thinks  it  can  have 
the  sense  to  see  with  the  physical  eye,  quotes  for 
this  sense  evidence  which  is  quoted  by  Levy  for  the 
opposite  purpose.  Hence  it  is  impossible  to  argue 
from  this  word  that  the  Mcchilta  was  written,  and 
still  less  from  the  word  meanmg  'to  examine  care- 
fully." It  looks  rather  as  if  the  compiler  of  the 
passage  had  taken  trouble  to  avoid  words  that 
could  suggest  a  written  book. 

I  do  not  think  Rashi  infallible,  but  on  Talmudic 
matters  he  seems  a  lirst-rate  authority,  and  there- 
fore   there  is  no   probability  of  bis  words  on  B. 


Mezia  being  due  to  error  or  inadvertence.  De 
Coucy  (cire.  1240)  in  the  preface  to  his  Great 
Code  places  a  whole  epoch  between  the  com- 
pletion of  the  Talmud  in  the  fifth  century  and  its 
being  written  down.  He  agrees,  therefore,  with 
Rashi,  though  from  the  vagueness  of  his  language 
it  is  hard  to  say  how  long  he  supposed  the  epoch 
to  have  been.  Whether  it  follows  (as  was  sug- 
gested in  this  magazine)  that  the  division  of  the 
matter  into  Orders  was  also  post-Mohammedan  is 
not  so  certain  ;  but  a  Responsum,  assigned  to  Hai 
Gaon  (Livorno  collection,  near  the  end),  speaks  of 
the  six  Orders  of  the  Mishnah  having  been  de- 
stroyed (irJJntc)  in  the  days  of  Hill  el  and  Shammai, 
and  (apparently)  having  just  come  to  light. 
Should  I  come  across  any  further  argument 
against  Rashi's  view,  I  shall  communicate  ibera  to 
this  magazine. 

D.  S.  MARcoLiotrrH. 
Otferd. 


i&nfrt    (Tlou0. 


This  is  the  month  of  the  greatest  literary 
output.  More  and  more  the  publishing  season 
gets  contracted.  November  and  March  see  half 
the  books  of  the  year  issued. 

The  chief  feature  of  the  season  in  the  biblical 
way  is  the  issue  of  three  '  Lives '  of  Christ  One 
is  the  result  of  a  co-operative  movement,  the 
other  two  are  highly  individual  and  independent. 
But  they  are  all  characterized  by  their  determina- 
tion to  be  modern.  Our  Lord  is  not  treated  as 
an  object  of  study;  He  has  to  do  with  life,  with 
our  life,  and  there  does  not  seem  to  be  any 
department  of  life  that  He  is  kept  out  of. 

This  is  the  season  still  for  giving  and  receiving. 
Now  if  a  book  may  be  recommended  that  is 
artistic  enough  to  please  everybody,  good  enough 
to  do  good  to  everybody,  young  enough  to  be 
enjoyed  by  the  young,  fresh  enough  to  instruct 
the  old,  the  book  is  Abb^  le  Camus's  The  Children 
of  Nazareth  {^z).  It  reached  and  charmed  us  in 
its  French  edition,  but  Lady  Herbert's  translation 
is  better  for  the  purpose.  And  there  is  no  doubt 
that  the  illustrations  come  out  keener,  because  the 
paper  is  so  smooth  and  good.  They  are  very 
attractive  and  homely,  scattered  all  over  the  page. 

Abb^  le  Camus  went  to  Nazareth  to  see  the 
children  before  he  began  to  describe  them. 
Which  recalls  a  story  the  Literary  World  tells. 
It  is  the  story  of  a  camel.  Three  men  of  different 
nations  were  told  off  to  describe  it.  The  English- 
man went  out  to  Egypt  to  observe  its  habits ;  the 


Frenchman  went  home  and  wrote  charmingly  of 
many  things,  among  which  the  camel  was  men- 
tioned near  the  end;  the  German  entered  a 
public  library,  gathered  the  authorities  tc^ethcr, 
and  is  still  working  at  the  subject.  But  in  the 
case  before  us  it  was  the  Frenchman  that  went  to 
see  his  subject,  

Abb^  le  Camus  came  in  too  late  for  the 
regular  review,  and  so  did  the  usual  three  books 
of  the  Church  of  England  S.S.  Institute.  But 
they  too  must  be  mentioned  this  month,  the 
next  would  be  too  late.  They  are;  (i)  the 
volume  for  1901  of  The  Church  Worker;  the 
same  of  The  Beys'  and  Girls'  Companion,  and  Mr. 
Resker's  course  of  illustrative  lessons  which  he 
calls  Biiile  Scenes  and  Pictures.  There  is  also  this 
year  a  small  volume  of  elementary  lessons  on  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer,  by  the  Rev.  John 
Dickenson,  with  the  title  of  The  Child  and  the 
Prayer  Book.  

The  fourth  volume  of  the  Dictionary  of  the 
Bible  is  nearly  ready,  but  it  cannot  be  published 
till  the  spring.  It  will  be  found,  we  think,  the 
finest  of  the  four.  There  are  great  articles  by 
Dr.  Sanday,  Dr.  Driver,  Dr.  Davidson,  and  many 
others, 


Printed  by  MossisoN  &  GiSB  Liuitcd,  T«nfield  WoAi, 
Mid  PabiUhed  by  T.  &  T.  C1.ARK,  38  Georee  Stnel, 
Edintnirgh.  It  it  requMicd  that  all  tilenrr  coo- 
municMioiu  be  addieued  to  Thb  Edttok,  St.  Cyrus, 

N.B. 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Qtofeet   of  (S^tttnt   ^}cpoeition. 


When  St.  Paul  addressed  the  Athenians  on  Mars 
Hill,  he  said  that  God  '  hath  appointed  a  day,  in 
the  which  He  will  judge  the  world  in  righteousness 
by  that  man  whom  He  hath  ordained.'  Is  it  legiti- 
mate in  reading  that  verse  to  emphasize  the  word 
man  t  We  do  not  mean  in  order  to  distinguish  it 
from  God.  We  mean  in  order  to  distinguish  it 
from  the  beasts. 

Dr.  Matheson  does  so.  He  sends  us  a  Christmas 
message  out  of  his  retirement,  calling  it  The  Sceptre 
without  a  Sword  (CXaiVe:,  is.).  He  finds  it  in  the 
prophecies  of  the  Boole  of  Daniel.  In  the  seven- 
teenth chapter  of  that  book  there  occur  the  words, 
'I  saw  in  the  night  visions,  and,  behold,  one  like 
a  son  of  man  came  with  the  clouds  of  heaven.  .  .  . 
And  there  was  given  him  a  kingdom.'  He  under- 
stands these  words  to  be  a  prophecy  of  the  reign 
of  man  as  opposed  to  the  reign  of  the  beast 

Hitherto,  he  says,  the  symbol  of  imperial  power 
had  been  an  animal.  First  a  lion.  The  lion 
represents  the  earliest  stage  of  the  world's  culture 
—'the  stage  when  men  roared  in  the  forest  and 
wrestled  for  the  prey.'  Next  a  bear.  The  bear  is 
the  tenacity  of  grasp  upon  the  conquered  object. 
It  is  the  age  of  despotism,  when  an  iron  hand 
held  the  wills  of  men.  Then  the  panther.  The 
panther  is  the  symbol  of  cunning,  of  subtlety,  of 
selfish  diplomacy.  After  that  an  unnamed  beast. 
Vol.  XIII.— 5. 


Why  unnamed?  Because  its  object  is  to  stamp 
out  all  distinctions,  to  be  itself  the  whole  world. 
'It  is  the  reign  of  conventionalism,  the  rule  of 
conformity,  the  crushing  of  the  individual  man. 
The  masses  alone  have  life ;  ihe  unit  is  nowhere. 
There  is  room  for  the  thousand,  but  not  for  the 
one.  There  is  a  place  prepared  for  the  nation, 
but  not  a  place  for  Daniel,  not  a  place  for  you.' 
At  last  there  comes  the  man. 


Now  all  these  ages  of  the  world  have  been.  The 
lion  has  ruled,  and  the  bear  and  the  panther  and 
the  horned  beast.  But  when  Christmas  morning 
dawned  there  came  the  Man.  This,  says  Dr. 
Matheson,  is  the  message  of  Christmas.  And 
he  says  that  this  is  also  the  meaning  of  St.  Paul 
on  Mars  Hill.  Do  we  think  the  'day'  of  which 
St.  Paul  spoke  was  the  Judgment  Day?  Dr. 
Matheson  thinks  it  was  Christmas  Day.  He  says 
that  St.  Paul's  message  to  the  Athenians  was  not 
one  of  dread  but  one  of  hope.  Hitherto,  ye  men 
of  Athens,  heroism  has  been  measured  by  con- 
formity to  the  beast.  Has  our  hero,  ye  have  said, 
the  strength  of  the  lion,  the  grasp  of  the  bear,  the 
cunning  of  the  panther?  The  day  is  appointed 
which  will  change  all  that.  The  Man  has  been 
ordained,  and  henceforth  our  heroism  will  be 
tested  by  a  different  standard.  We  shall  no 
longer  ask,   Am   I   living  worthy  of   C%sar   or 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Hannibal  or  Alexander  j  but.  Am  I  living  worthy 
of  Jesus  the  Christ  ? 


Dr.  Jafnes  H.  Moulton  of  the  Leys  School, 
Cambridge,  is  at  present  contributing  to  the 
Classical  Review  some  Notes  from  the  Papyri 
in  illustration  of  the  grammar  of  New  Testament 
<and  similar)  Greek.  In  one  of  his  notes  he  con- 
firms Deissmann's  position  regarding  the  use  of 
the  Greet  preposition  tV,  with  an  instrumental 
dative. 

Deissmann  in  his  Bible  Studies  (pp.  iiS-iao) 
holds  that  in  original  Greek  hi  is  never  used 
instru  men  tally.  If  there  is  the  probability  of 
translation  from  the  Hebrew,  as  in  the  Gospels 
and  the  Apocalypse,  the  iv  may  be  instrumental, 
because  then  it  may  be  simply  a  rendering  of  the 
Hebrew  a.  But  in  St.  Paul's  writings,  for  example, 
he  wilt  not  admit  an  instance. 

The  instances  usually  quoted  are  Ko  15^  and 
I  Co  4^'.  In  the  first,  'that  ye  may  with  one 
mouth  {h/  iv\  a^o^ta-rC)  glorify  the  God  and  Father 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,'  he  considers  that  the  Iv 
simply  stands  for  in  as  usual.  The  Romans,  he 
understands,  are  to  glorify  God  in  the  mouth,  just 
as,  according  to  popular  psychology,  thoughts 
dwell  in  the  heart. 

The  example  of  1  Co  4"  is  more  difficult. 
'What  will  ye?'  asks  the  apostle.  'Shall  I  come 
unto  you  with  a  rod  (Iv  pa^Sv)"  o"'  '"  'ove  (h/ 
iyawg)  ? '  Deissmann  concedes  that  the  meaning 
is  instrumental,  but  he  believes  that  the  construc- 
tion with  iy  is  used  loosely  in  parallelism  with  the 
phrase  (if  iyavj})  following,  and  cannot  properly 
be  brought  under  any  grammatical  rule. 

With  all  this  Dr.  Moulton  would  probably 
agree.  Or  if  the  apparent  examples  of  an  instru- 
mental h  with  the  dative  cannot  be  thus  indi- 
vidually explained,  he  would  suggest  that  'speakers 
of  Greek  were  b^inning  to  feci  that  they  could 


not  trust  the  dative  out  alone,  and  we  can  under- 
stand,' he  says,  'the  occasional  employment  of 
nursemaid  iv  in  places  where  she  would  have  been 
better  left  at  home,  or  replaced  by  (nJv.' 


'Just  as  to  the  naturalist  the  shapings  and 
shadings  of  a  beetle's  wing  are  not  to  be  despised, 
so  in  Hebrew  archaeology  even  minutise,  such  as 
the  exact  spelling  of  a  name  or  the  precise  date  of  a 
battle,  are  worth  ascertaining  if  possible.'  So  says 
Dr.  Gregory  Smith  in  an  article  in  the  Guardian  for 
a4th  December  on  '  The  Psalms  and  Christianity.' 
His  ai^ument  is  that  the  Psalms  are  unaffected 
by  dates  and  names.  Exactness  and  accuracy  are 
things  to  be  desired  by  all  lovers  of  truth ;  ^ 
'archaeological  details  are  irrelevant  to  the  Chris- 
tian faith.'  

Even  the  intention  of  the  Psalmist,  Dr.  Gregory 
Smith  holds,  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  Christian's 
application  of  the  words  to  himself  and  his  own 
surroundings.  Moore's  exquisite  song,  'When  he 
who  adores  thee  has  left  but  a  name,'  may  be  sung 
with  personal  feeling  by  those  who  have  no  affec- 
tion for  the  '  Emerald  Isle,'  which  is  directly  and 
passionately  the  poet's  subject.  And  in  like 
manner  the  beautiful  words  of  the  iioth  Psalm 
(that  Psalm  'so  often  and  so  hotly- wrangled 
about '),  '  He  shall  drink  of  the  brook  in  the 
way,  therefore  shall  he  lift  up  the  head,'  may 
refer  originally  to  some  victorious  army  on  its 
march,  but  to  the  believer  in  Christ  they  suggest 
the  refreshing  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  be- 
stowed on  Christ  and  on  His  followers  in  the 
weary  conflict  with'  evil.  The  Pharaoh  of  the 
Psalter  may  be  Rameses  or  any  other — let  the 
archaeologists  decide  that, — to  the  Christian  he 
stands  for  the  enemy  of  the  soul  in  the  increasing 
conflict  between  good  and  evil. 

The  use  of  the  '  cursing  Psalms '  is  more  diffi- 
cult. Dr.  Gregory  Smith  gets  over  the  difficulty 
by  accepting  the  principle  of  gradual  revelation, 
which   'exculpates   the   original    purport  of  the 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Maledictions,'  and  then  by  taking  the  Psalmist  as 
expressing  his  abhorrence  not  of  any  mortal  foe, 
but  of  the  spirits  that  tempt  him  from  God.  In 
that  sense  'the  execrations  cannot  be  too  fierce 
or  too  pitiless.' 

Most  difficult  of  all  to  a  Christian  is  the 
Psalmist's  occasional  assumption  of  innocence. 
How  can  he  sing  the  17th  Psalm,  'Thou  hast 
proved  mine  heait;  thou  hast  visited  me  in  the 
night;  thou  hast  tried  me,  and  tindest  nothing'? 
Or  how  shall  he  sing  the  iSth,  '  I  was  aleo  perfect 
with  him,  and  I  kept  myself  from  mine  iniquity'? 
Dr.  Gregory  Smith  has  an  easy  answer:  'Through 
the  marvellous  condescension  of  the  Son  of  God 
in  the  Incarnation  a  Christian  is  identified  with 
the  sinless  Son  of  man,  and  in  Him  the  believer 
is  accepted.' 

One  of  the  archxological  minutiae  which  Dr. 
Gregory  Smith  somewhat  depreciates  will  be  found 
in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archae- 
ology for  last  month.  There  E.  J.  Pilcher  describes 
a  cylinder  seal  which  through  an  ancient  but  un- 
known history  has  come  into  the  possession  of 
Mr.  Joseph  Offord.  It  is  of  hematite,  and  meas- 
ures 33  mm.  in  length  by  15  mm.  in  diameter. 
It  is  figured  with  two  conventional  scenes,  the  one 
Babylonian,  the  other  Assyrian;  and  it  originally 
bore  a  cuneiform  inscription  in  three  lines,  which 
is  now  almost  entirely  obliterated. 

About  400  B.C.  the  seal  fell  into  the  hands  of  a 
new  owner.  It  was  he  that  obliterated  the  cunei- 
form. Or  if  it  was  partly  rubbed  off  already,  he 
completed  its  obliteration  by  engraving  his  name 
in  Aramaean  across  it.     His  name  was  Gehazi. 

Never  before  has  the  name  Gehazi  been  seen 
outside  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  And  even  there 
it  has  been  suspected,  so  un-Hebrew  does  it  seem 
to  be,  so  difficult  etymologically,  though  it  may 
mean  '  Valley  of  Vision.'  In  its  place  has  been 
suggested  the  simpler  Gikoni.  But  here  is  Gehazi 
itself  in  the  abbreviated  form  Gehaz  (iMA=tm). 


And  so  'this  little  cylinder  is  an  important  con- 
tribution to  biblical  onomatology.' 


As  we  write,  it  is  the  season  when  men  sing 
'  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  peace  on  earth 
among  men  of  good  will.'  Was  there  ever  a  time 
wherein  we  desired  more  earnestly  to  sing  the 
angels'  song  and  found  it  harder? 

Dr.  Matheson  says  we  vex  ourselves  in  vain- 
He  says  that  when  we  find  the  angels'  song 
so  hard  to  sing,  we  do  not  understand  its 
meaning;  we  do  not  know  what  we  are  trying 
to  sing. 

'  I  have  always  felt,'  he  says,  in  the  little  book 
already  noticed, '  that  these  words  had  a  very  pro- 
found meaning — a  meaning  which  our  Authorized 
Version  has  failed  to  render.'  For  the  Authorized 
Version  —  and  for  that  matter  all  the  versions 
and  all  the  expositions  we  know — give  the  glory  to 
God  and  promise  the  peace  to  man.  Dr.  Mathe- 
son also  gives  the  glory  to  God.  But  he  says  that 
the  peace  is  promised,  not  to  man  but  to  men. 
The  angels'  song,  he  says,  does  not  promise  peace 
to  the  earth,  but  peace  to  men  of  good  will  upon 
earth.  It  does  not  promise  that  nation  will  not 
still  rise  against  nation.  It  promises  that  among 
men,  individual  men,  Christian  men,  there  shall  be 
good  will,  even  though  they  should  be  standing  in 
opposite  camps,  even  though  they  should  be  found 
amid  the  roar  of  battle.  '  The  heart  of  the  man 
will  beat  within  the  breast  of  the  soldier,  and  the 
kinship  of  soul  for  soul  will  not  be  extinguished 
by  the  kindling  of  hostile  fires.' 


In  the  timely  little  book  which  the  Bishop  of 
Gloucester  has  published,  urging  the  use  of  the 
Revised  Version  in  the  service  of  the  Church 
{Addresses  on  theJievised  Version,  S.P.C.K.,  as.  6d.), 
there  occurs  a  reference  to  one  of  the  rules  by 
which  the  Revision  Companies  were  guided,  and 
an  explanation  is  given  which  alters  the  aspect 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


of  that  rule  as  it  has  hitherto  been  publicly  un- 
derstood. 

It  is  the  first  rule  of  all.  It  runs  ;  'To  intro- 
duce as  few  alterations  as  possible  in  the  text  of 
the  Authorized  Version  consistently  with  faithful- 
ness.* That  is  the  rule  which  the  Revisers  are 
charged  with  disobeying,  and  the  charge  is  sup- 
posed to  have  settled  the  fate  of  the  Revision. 
Well,  they  did  disobey  it.  Dr.  Ellicott  admits  that 
they  disobeyed  it,  in  the  sense  in  which  it  is  popu- 
larly understood.  But  he  shows  that  the  sense 
in  which  it  is  popularly  understood  is  not  its 
proper  sense.  And  he  seems  to  say  that  if  it  had 
been  taken  in  the  popular  sense,  he  at  least 
would  have  refused  to  work  under  it. 

It  is  popularly  understood  that  'consistently 
with  faithfulness '  means  '  faithfulness  to  the  general 
sense  and  spirit  of  the  original.'  That  is  to  say, 
if  a  word  or  phrase  in  the  Authorized  Version  did 
not  misrepresent  the  general  sense  and  spirit  of 
the  Hebrew  or  the  Greek,  it  was  to  be  allowed 
to  stand.  If  the  Revisers  had  understood  the 
rule  in  that  way,  tt  is  certain  that  we  should  have 
had  a  very  different  revision.  But  the_  Revisers 
did  not  understand  it  in  that  way. 

Dr.  Ellicott  admits  that  some  of  them  did  at 
first.  He  clearly  remembers  that  at  one  of  the 
early  meetings  of  the  New  Testament  Company, 
3  discussion  arose  as  to  the,  meaning  of  this  word 
'faithfulness.'  An  alteration  on  the  phraseolc^y 
of  the  Authorized  Version  had  been  suggested. 
Some  one  objected  to  it  on  the  ground  that  the 
language  of  the  Authorized  Version  sufficiently 
represented  the  sense  of  the  original.  The  dis- 
cussion became  general.  Dr.  Lightfoot  look  an 
earnest  part  in  it.  He  said  that  such  a  Company 
could  not  be  called  together  again  for  many  years  to 
come.  Their  revision  therefore  must  be  thorough. 
If  a  rendering  could  be  suggested  that  was  more 
accurate  and  more  true  to  the  original  than  that 
of  the  Authorized  Version,  that  rendering  must 
be  adopted.     The  Company  agreed.    Again  and 


again  a  suggested  rendering  was  set  aside  as  tin- 
necessary,  but  only  on  the  ground  that  it  did  not 
represent  the  original  more  accurately.  'Faith- 
fulness' was  taken  to  mean,  in  Dr.  Ellicott's 
language,  'faithfulness  to  the  original  in  its  plain 
grammatical  meaning  as  elicited  by  accurate 
interpretation.' 


'And  they  sing  as  it  were  a  new  song  before  the 
throne,  and  before  the  four  living  creatures  and  the 
elders.'  So  the  prophets  prophesied.  For  the 
Psalms  are  full  of  it  So  it  was  from  age  to  age  in 
Jewry.  For  every  new  age  found  new  wonder  in 
God  and  the  ways  of  God,  and  sang  the  new  song. 
So  must  it  be  throughout  the  Christian  ages  also. 
For  the  new  song  of  Christianity  is  not  to  be 
learned  when  we  get  to  'glory.'  It  is  to  be 
learned  now  and  sung  now.  It  is  the  song  of 
the  Redeemed,  but  the  Redeemed  are  to  sing  it 
upon  earth. 

The  Redeemed  do  sing  the  New  Song  upon 
earth.  When  'they  sang  an  hymn'  that  night  on 
which  He  was  betrayed,  before  they  went  out  to 
the  Mount  of  Olives,  it  was  no  doubt  an  old 
Jewish  hymn  they  sang,  though  they  had  b^un 
to  put  new  meaning  into  it.  But  they  will  not 
be  content  with  Jewish  hymns  always.  Soon 
the  New  Song  was  made  as  well  as  sung. 

And  it  is  made,  as  it  must  be  made,  to  be  sung 
'before  the  throne,  and  before  the  four  living 
creatures  and  the  elders.'  Now  the  song  that  it 
has  been  found  most  difficult  to  compose  and 
sing  is  the  song  before  the  elders. 

It  is  Mr.  Beeching  who  says  that  the  difficulty 
in  the  singing  of  the  New  Song  is  to  sing  it  before 
the  elders.  Mr.  Beeching  has  published,  through 
Messrs.  Macmillan,  a  volume  of  sermons,  calling 
it  Inns  of  Court  Sermons  {4s.  6d.),  because  he 
preached  the  sermons  in  the  Chapel  of  Lincoln's 
Inn.  The  title  of  the  first  sermon  is  '  Religious 
Poetry,'  and    its    text    is    this    verse    from  the 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


197 


Apoalypse,  Mr.  Beeching  finds  that  it  has  been 
hard  to  sing  the  New  Song — h&rd,  he  meuis,  to 
compose  and  sing  it — from  the  first  day  in  which 
(he  Redeemed  in  Christ  began  to  sing  it  until 
now.  But  he  says  it  has  been  hardest  to  sing  it 
before  the  elders. 

For '  the  purpose  of  all  poetry  is  to  illuminate 
our  experience  of  the  world ;  it  is  one  mctliod  of 
interpreting  life  to  us;  and  the  means  it  employs 
are  passion  and  imaginative  thought.'  Now  it  is 
comparatively  easy  for  the  Christian  to  express 
with  passion  and  imaginative  thought  his  delight 
in  God — for  that  is  what  Mr.  Beeching  under- 
stands by  singing  the  New  Song  before  the 
throne.  And  it  is  comparatively  easy  to  express 
his  soul's  delight  in  nature — for  that  is  what  Mr. 
Beeching  understands  by  singing  the  New  Song 
before  the  four  living  creatures.  But  when  the 
Christian  poet  seeks  to  interpret  anew  to  the 
Church  the  meaning  of  the  life  of  man — for  that 
is  how  Mr.  Beeching  understands  the  singing  of 
the  New  Song  before  the  elders — he  finds  it  very 
diHicuIt. 

It  is  comparatively  easy  for  the  Christian  poet 
to  express  his  soul's  delight  in  God.  His  feelings 
of  admiration  and  hope  and  love  and  worship  are 
then  so  simple,  that  there  is  little  chance  of  con- 
flict between  his  passion  and  his  creed.  He  can 
even  take  the  religious  lyrics  of  the  Jewish  Church 
and  sing  them  before  the  throne.  The  only 
alteration  that  he  has  to  make  upon  them,  and  it 
is  enough  to  make  it  in  thought,  is  that  now  he 
sings  them  not  only  before  the  Father  and  the 
sevenfold  Spirit,  but  also  before  the  Lamb  who  is 
in  the  midst  of  the  throne. 

It  is  comparatively  easy  also  to  sing  the  New 
Song  before  the  four  living  creatures.  For  the 
Christian  creed  is  so  broad  that  it  takes  in  the 
heauty  of  nature.  If  only  the  beauty  of  nature  is 
ascribed  to  God  the  Christian  poet  can  sympa- 
thize both  with  Cowper,  who  lays  the  greater  stress 
on  God's  transcendence,  and  also  with  Wordsworth, 


who  lays  the  greater  stress  on  His  immanence. 
He  can  even  sing  the  song  of  those  poets  who  are 
not  called  religious,  if  they  are  only  true  to 
nature.  Let  them  faithfully  describe  the  glory 
that  moves  them  to  song — the  light  that  most 
truly  is  on  sea  and  land  for  those  who  have  eyes 
to  see  it — the  spirit  in  things — 

Be  il  love,  light,  bannony. 

Odour,  or  the  soul  of  all 

Which  from  heaven  like  dew  doth  fall — 

let  them  render  this  faithfully,  and  the  religious 
man  can  join  in  the  song  and  supply  the  inter- 
pretation that  is  lacking.  For  he  knows  that  the 
love  and  light  and  harmony  are  due  to  the  inter- 
penetration  of  things  by  the  Creator-Spirit  of  God. 

But  it  is  very  difiicult  to  sing  the  new  song 
when  its  subject  is  the  life  of  man.  For  a  true 
song  must  have  passion  and  imaginative  thought. 
And  to  be  a  New  Song,  a  Song  of  the  Lamb,  it 
must  be  both  fresh  felt  in  passion  and  fresh  dipt 
in  thought. 

Passion — deep  feeling — alone  will  not  do.  It 
is  too  often  considered,  says  Mr.  Beeching,  that 
feeling  alone  is  equipment  enough  for  a  sacred 
poet.  And  therefore  our  hymn-books  are  full  of 
hymns  that  are  not  true  songs,  but  only  verses. 
They  may  be  the  fruit  of  true  experience,  they 
may  gratefully  acknowledge  the  facts  of  revealed 
religion ;  but  they  bring  no  fresh  insight  to 
recreate  the  experience,  they  bring  no  imagina- 
tion to  illuminate  the  facts.  There  are  many 
emotional  verses  in  our  hymnals  on  our  Lord's 
Atonement,  but  Mr.  Beeching  asks  if  any  of 
them  strike  home  so  deeply  or  so  freshly  to  our 
heart  the  old  truth  that  '  God  so  loved  the  world,' 
as  those  lines  of  Shakespeare — 

Why,  all  the  souls  Ihat  were  were  forfeit  once ; 
And  He  (hat  might  the  vantage  best  have  took 
Found  out  the  remedy. 

Now  it  is  not  strange  that  it  should  be  haroest 
to  sing  the  New  Song  before  the  elders.    There 


198 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


are  three  reasons  for  it.  I'he  first  reason  is 
expressed  by  St,  Paul  when  he  says,  'That  is 
not  first  which  is  spiritual,  but  that  which  is 
natural;  and  afterwards  that  which  is  spiritual.' 
There  is  a  natural  explanation  of  man's  life  with 
its  joy  and  sorrow,  its  sin  and  death,  and  there  is 
a  spiritual,  aad  it  is  not  the  spiritual  that  comes 
first,  it  is  the  natural  Let  it  be  death  that  has 
to  be  explained.  When  the  poet,  if  he  is  a  Chris- 
tian poet,  has  time  to  think  upon  it,  the  Christian 
aspect  of  it  occurs  to  him.  '  But  at  first,'  says 
Mr.  Beeching,  'when  the  shock  comes,  it  is  not 
the  reflective  mind  that  is  at  work,  recalling  and 
reconsidering  the  traditional  religious  interpreta- 
tion, and  perhaps  taking  fire  at  that  to  a  re- 
in terprelat  ion.  It  is  the  imagination  that  is  at 
work,  roused  by  deep  feeling.  The  fact  of  death 
lies  once  more  in  its  naked  awfulness  before 
the  poet,  as  the  world  lay  before  Adam,  com- 
pelling him  to  utter  the  dread  name,  and  shudder- 
ingly  he  names  it.  It  is  the  final  loss  that  appals 
bim.  The  lamp  is  shattered;  the  wine  is  spilt; 
the  silver  cord  is  loosed,  the  golden  bowl  is 
broken ;  the  pitcher  is  broken  at  the  fountain, 
the  wheel  is  broken  at  the  cistern.' 

Those  words  of  Ecclesiasles  just  quoted  are 
poetry,   but  they  are  not   religion.     The  verses 
'wrung  from  the  greatest  poet  of  our  own  day 
by  the  death  of  his  friend ' — 
Break,  break,  break, 

At  Che  foot  of  thy  crags,  O  Sea  ! 
But  the  tender  grace  of  a  day  that  is  dead 
Will  never  come  liack  to  me — 

those  verses  also  are  poetry  but  they  are  not 
religion.  These  are  the  first  thoughts  about 
death,  and  that  is  not  first  which  is  spiritual,  but 
that  which  is  natural,  and  only  afterward  that 
which  is  spiritual.  'And  the  worst  is,' says  Mr. 
Beeching,  '  that  before  this  arrives,  the  impulse 
to  sing  has  gone.' 

Another  reason  is  that  'the  heyday  of  the 
blood  in  which  the  passion  is  strongest,  and  the 
imagination  most  active,  is  often  a  day  of  revolt 


against  tradition,  and  especially  against  that 
traditional  interpretation  of  the  deepest  facts  of 
life  which  we  call  Christianity.'  Mr.  Beeching 
points  to  Shelley — '  expelled  for  the  waywardness 
of  youth  from  this  University  [Mr.  Beeching 
preached  this  sermon  first  before  the  University 
of  Oxford],  but  whose  sepulchre  has  lately  been 
built  in  his  own  college  with  exceptional  honour.' 

And  the  third  reason  is  that  Christianity  is 
essentially  a  religion  of  joy,  but  it  is  the  sombre 
aspects  of  life  which  appeal  to  the  poetical 
sensibility  most  keenly. 

The  sweetest  lODgs  are  thoie  thkt  tell 
of  siddest  thought. 

No  doubt  the  greatest  poets,  if  they  are  Christians, 
soar  above  this  pessimism  or  at  least  rise  out  of  it. 
For  the  most  part,  however,  says  Mr.  Beeching, 
they  need  large  space  to  accomplish  it.  Milton 
accomplishes  it  perfectly  'within  the  sonnet's 
humble  plot  of  ground '  in  the  famous  sonnet  on 
his  blindness,  in  which  the  hne  'They  also  serve 
who  only  stand  and  wait'  contains  the  new 
thought  the  poet  wins  for  us,  and  yet  has  all 
the  passion  within  it  of  that  which  has  pre- 
ceded— 'the  systole  and  diastole  of  the  poet's 
heart  pleading  with  his  Maker.'  But  it  is  in  the 
space  of  the  epic,  or  in  the  drama  with  its  slow 
development,  its  crisis,  its  catastrophe,  that  the 
vindication  of  the  spiritual  force  of  life  is  most 
successfully  accomplished.  In  the  Shakespearean 
drama,  says  Mr.  Beeching,  there  is  no  fate — no 
fate,  at  least,  of  which  man  is  not  master — and  no 
laws  but  the  laws  of  the  spirit. 


Messrs.  Longmans  have  published  a  paper 
which  Professor  Sanday  read  in  October  before 
the  Tutors'  Association  in  Oxford  on  Harnack's 
'  IVAa/  II  Christianity?'  (8vo,  is.  net).  Professor 
Sanday  did  not  read  the  Paper  because  there  was 
a  gap  in  their  programme  which  the  Tutors' 
Association  desired  to  fill  up.  There  are  certain 
questions  at  issue  in   New  Testament  criticism 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


at  present.  Harnack's  book  makes  them  stand 
out  with  unwonted  clearness.  And  Professor 
Sanday  deliberately  chose  the  book  as  an  oppor- 
tunity of '  taking  our  bearings '  in  regard  to  them. 

Professor  Sanday  tinds  Harnack's  book  worthy 
of  praise,  and  he  does  not  grudge  to  praise  it.  He 
mentions  at  once  '  its  fresh  and  vivid  descriptions, 
its  breadth  of  view,  and  skilful  selection  of  points, 
its  frankness,  its  genuine  enthusiasm,  its  persistent 
effort  to  get  at  the  living  realities  of  religion.'  The 
nearest  parallel  he  can  recall  in  English  is  Matthew 
Arnold's  theological  writings  :  St.  Pavt  and  Pro- 
teslantism.  Literature  and  Dogma,  God  and  the 
Bible.  Harnack's  theological  training  gives  him 
an  advantage  over  Matthew  Arnold,  and,  curiously 
enough,  his  book  is  also  a  greater  literary  success 
than  any  of  Matthew  Arnold's,  being  so  much 
more  compact  and  well  proportioned.  Nor  does 
Harnack  ever  commit  himself  to  unfortunate 
definitions  like  Matthew  Arnold's  'stream  of 
tendency  which  makes  for  righteousness.'  Butj 
on  the  other  hand,  Professor  Sanday  doubts  if  he 
has  anything  quite  so  original  as  Matthew  Arnold's 
account  of  the  doctrine  of  Necrosis  {Die  to  live  /). 

Professor  Sanday  has  read  not  only  Harnack's 
book,  but  also  the  criticisms  that  have  been  passed 
upon  it.  They  range  themselves  on  opposite  sides, 
the  Ritschlian  organs  praising,  the  Lutheran  and 
orthodox  condemning.  Of  the  latter  Dr.  Lemme 
of  Heidelberg  is  most  uncompromising.  To 
Lemme  Harnack's  book  is  simple  Nihilism,  a 
radical  breach  with  all  dogmatic  and  ecclesiastical 
Christianity.  Lemme  even  challenges  Hamack 
to  say  whether  or  not  he  denies  the  life  after 
death.  

Professor  Sanday  is  less  concerned  with  the 
Ritschlianism  of  the  book  than  with  its  truth.  If 
Ritschl  and  his  school  should  lay  stress  on  the 
tangible  facts  of  present  religious  experience,  he 
will  not  disapprove,  for  the  Bible  represents  the 
eternal  life  as  beginning  here  and  now.  He  will 
rather  accept  that  as  an  explanation  of  the  little 


attention  that  Harnack  gives  in  his  book  to  the 
doctrine  of  immortality,  and  not  blame  him  for 
denying  what  he  only  omits. 

But  does  Harnack  omit  the  doctrine  of  a  future 
life?  Professor  Sanday  does  not  think  sa  He 
quotes  one  passage.  It  is,  as  Dr.  Sanday  says,  so 
une<]uivocal,  and  it  is  also  so  important,  as  uttered 
by  Harnack,  that  we  had  belter  quote  it  also. 

'Whatever  may  have  happened  at  the  grave 
and  in  the  matter  of  the  appearances,  one  thing  is 
certain — this  Grave  was  the  birthplace  of  the 
indestructible  belief  that  death  is  vanquished,  that 
there  is  a  life  eternal.  It  is  useless  to  cite  Plato ; 
it  is  useless  to  point  to  the  Persian  religion,  and 
the  ideas  and  the  literature  of  later  Judaism.  All 
that  would  have  perished  and  has  perished ;  but 
the  certainty  of  the  resurrection  and  of  a  life 
eternal  which  is  bound  up  with  the  grave  in 
Joseph's  garden,  has  not  perished,  and  in  the 
conviction  that  /aus  lives  we  still  have  those 
hopes  of  citizenship  in  an  Eternal  City  which 
make  our  earthly  life  worth  living  and  tolerable. 
"  He  delivered  tbem  who  through  fear  of  death 
were  all  their  lifetime  subject  to  bondage,"  as  the 
writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  confesses.' 

If  there  are  those  who  say  they  believe  that 
Jesus  lives,  and  mean  that  He  lives  merely  in  His 
influence  on  the  world,  they  cannot  run  for  shelter 
to  Hamack.  For,  as  Dr.  Sanday  points  out,  that 
statement  is  'not  a  matter  of  words  and  phrases, 
the  whole  argument  requires  that  the  life  after 
death  should  be  real.' 

But  Professor  Sanday  is  not  come  altogether  to 
bless.  He  is  somewhat  disappointed  with  Har- 
nack's book.  He  is  disappointed  in  more  ways 
than  one.  He  is  ready,  as  he  always  is  ready,  to 
emphasize  the  matters  of  agreement,  and  to 
emphasize  them  first.  But  he  has  matters  of 
disagreement  alsa  And  he  names  the  principal 
in  a  sentence.  Hamack  says  that  what  he  offers 
is  a  'reduced '  Christianity — a  Christianity,  that  is 
to  say,  reduced  from  theological  and  ecclesiastical 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Christianity.  Dr.  Sanday  believes  that  it  is 
unduly  'reduced.'  He  finds  that  in  reality  it 
consists  of  the  teaching  of  Jesus  and  nothing 
more, 

And  even  the  teaching  of  Jesus  is  unduly 
'  reduced.'  The  Fourth  Gospel  is  excluded. 
'  Our  authorities,'  says  Hamack,  '  for  the  message 
which  Jesus  Christ  delivered  are  —  apart  from 
certain  important  statements  made  by  Paul — the 
first  three  Gospels.  Everything  that  we  know, 
independently  of  these  Gospels,  about  Jesus' 
history  and  His  teaching,  may  be  easily  put  on  a 
small  sheet  of  paper,  so  little  does  it  come  to.  In 
particular,  the  Fourth  Gospel,  which  does  not 
emanate  or  profess  to  emanate  from  the  Apostle 
John,  cannot  be  taken  as  an  historical  authority  in 
the  ordinary  meaning  of  the  word.* 

Dr.  Sanday  is  disap|>oinled  with  that.  He  has 
watched  for  some  time  'a  certain  oscilbtion  of 
opinion'  regarding  the  Fourth  Gospel.  He  had 
hoped  for  another  outcome  than  this.  To  this  he 
enters  '  an  emphatic  protest.'  Such  an  estimate  as 
this,  he  says,  has  often  been  asserted,  but  has 
never  been  proved.  The  Fourth  Gospel  does  not 
stand  apart  in  this  way.  It  simply  develops 
features  in  the  history  and  personality  of  Christ  to 
which  the  other  Gospels  clearly  point.  'On  the 
basis  of  the  Fourth  Gospel,'  says  Dr.  Sanday, '  St. 
Paul  and  the  primitive  Church  are  intelligible,  but 
they  are  not  intelligible  otherwise.'  He  grants 
freedom  in  the  handling — though  the  amount  is 
often  exaggerated — that  very  freedom  showing 
that  the  writer  'must  have  been  in  a  position  of 
command,  and  very  sure  of  his  ground.'  And 
this  tells  for,  not  against,  the  beloved  disciple. 
After  all,  'the  indications  of  trustworthy  character 
long  ago  alleged  remain  where  they  were.'  And 
the  most  real  objection  to  the  Fourth  Gospel  ts  an 
objection  to  the  supernatural.  But  to  remove  the 
supernatural,  says  Professor  Sanday,  is  to  reduce 
all  the  Christian  documents  to  a  chaos. 

Professor  Harnack  does  not  remove  the  super- 


natural. As  a  Rttschlian  he  does  not  make  much 
of  it.  But  his  position  is  a  distinct  advance  on 
the  older  Rationalism.  He  seems  to  recognize  the 
presence  of  an  exceptional  and  perhaps  unique 
cause,  producing  exceptional  and  perhaps  unique 
effects.  He  sees  possibilities  beyond  the  range  of 
our  common  experience.  And  he  leaves  room  for 
the  substantial  truth  of  the  greater  part  of  the 
narrative.  Clearly  his  language  regarding  the 
Fourth  Gospel  is  not  only  unjust  to  the  Fourth 
Gospel,  but  unjust  also  to  himself. 

If,  however,  it  were  right  to  reduce  Christianity 
to  the  teaching  of  Jesus,  then  Dr.  Sanday  could 
go  along  with  Harnack  most  of  the  way.  He  is 
particulariy  pleased  with  Harnack's  doctrine  of  the 
Kingdom.  He  quotes :  '  The  Kingdom  of  God 
comes  by  coming  to  the  individual,  by  entering 
into  his  soul  and  laying  hold  of  it.  True,  the 
Kingdom  of  God  is  the  rule  of  God;  but  it  is  the 
rule  of  the  holy  God  in  the  hearts  of  individuals; 
it  is  God  himself  in  Ais  power.'  He  quotes  also 
Harnack's  description  of  the  triple  meaning  of  the 
Kingdom:  'The  Kingdom  has  a  triple  meaning. 
Firstly,  it  is  something  supernatural,  a  gift  from 
above,  not  a  product  of  ordinary  life.  Secondly,  it 
is  a  purely  religious  blessing,  the  inner  link  with 
the  living  God.  Thirdly,  it  is  the  most  important 
experience  that  a  man  can  name,  that  on  which 
everything  else  depends ;  it  permeates  and  domin- 
ates his  whole  existence,  because  sin  is  forgiven 
and  misery  banished.'  And  'all  that,'  he  says,  '  I 
venture  to  think  is  exactly  right.' 

But  it  is  not  right,  and  it  is  not  possible,  to 
reduce  Christianity  to  the  teaching  of  Jesus. 
And  when  Harnack  comes  to  deal  with  the  Person 
of  Christ,  Professor  Sanday  decidedly  parts 
company  with  him. 

For,  in  the  first  place,  Harnack  wants  to  have 
a  Christianity  without  a  Christology.  He  would 
have  the  Christian  life  without  any  doctrine  as 
to  Christ's  Person.  He  is  impatient  of  dogma, 
and  even  of  doctrine  in  any  form.     He  says  that 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


to  put  a  'Christological'  creed  in  the  forefront  of 
the  Gospel  and  say  that  men  must  first  learn  to 
think  rightly  about  Christ,  is  to  put  the  cart  before 
the  horse.  And  he  even  declares  that  the  gospel 
(chat  is,  the  message  of  Jesus,  not  the  Gospels)  has 
to  do  with  the  Father  only  and  not  with  the 
Son ;  he  even  asserts  that  Jesus  desired  no  other 
belief  in  His  Person  and  no  other  atuchment 
to  it  than  is  contained  in  the  keeping  of  His 
commandments. 

Dr.  Sanday  shows  that  to  deny  its  place  to  the 
Person  of  Christ  is  to  disorganize  the  teaching. 
The  teaching  about  the  Kingdom  involves  the 
Messianic  claim.  For  '  the  Messiah  is  God's  Vice- 
gerent in  that  Kingdom,  and  it  is  through  Him 
that  it  is  accomplished.'  And  he  further  shows 
that  Hamack's  own  language  in  other  parts  of  his 
book  demands  a  doctrine  of  the  Person  of  Christ, 
which  contradicts  these  negative  assertions.  Along 
with  other  passages,  he  quotes  these  words  from 
p.  142:  'With  the  recognition  of  Jesus  as  the 
Messiah  the  closest  possible  connection  was 
established  for  every  devout  Jew  between  Jesus' 
message  and  His  Person ;  for  it  is  in  the  Messiah's 
activity  that  God  Himself  comes  to  His  people,  and 
th2  Messiah  who  sits  at  the  right  hand  of  God  in 
the  clouds  of  heaven  has  a  right  to  be  wor- 
shipped.' 

And,  in  the  next  place,  Harnack  cuts  Jesus' 
teaching  off  from  the  testimony  of  the  first  genera- 
tion  of  Christians.     Not  only   does    he  reduce 


Christianity  to  the  teaching  of  Jesus,  he  redtices 
it  to  his  own  mutilated  version  of  that  teaching. 

At  first,  it  is  true,  he  makes  a  show  of  appealing 
to  the  interpretation  of  the  earliest  followers  of 
Christ  He  says  that  we  must  listen  to  what  the 
first  generation  of  His  disciples  tell  us  of  the  effect 
which  He  had  upon  their  lives.  He  even  proposes 
to  go  beyond  the  f\rst  generation.  '  We  shall  follow,' 
he  says, '  the  leading  changes  which  the  Christian 
idea  has  undergone  in  the  course  of  history,  and 
try  to  recognize  its  chief  types.  What  is  common 
to  all  the  forms  which  it  has  taken,  conected  by 
reference  to  the  Gospel,  and,  conversely,  the 
chief  features  of  the  Gospel,  corrected  by  reference 
to  history,  will,  we  may  be  allowed  to  hope,  bring 
us  to  the  kernel  of  the  matter.' 

But  his  appeal  to  history  is  a  promise  that  is  not 
kept.  The  moment  the  testimony  of  the  early 
Christians  conflicts  with  Harnack's  own  theories 
it  is  overruled.  How  otherwise  could  he  get  rid 
of  Christology  ?  St.  Paul  has  a  high  Christological 
doctrine  of  the  Person  of  Jesus,  Harnack  has  not. 
He  can  only  retain  his  own  by  rejecting  that  of  St. 
Paul.  And  thus  Harnack  misses  his  grand 
opportunity.  For  the  question  of  deepest  intetest 
at  the  present  time  is  how  far  the  remaining  books 
of  the  New  Testament  rightly  interpret  the  data 
contained  in  the  Gospels.  Harnack  was  called 
upon  to  answer  it.  He  has  said  much  on 
questions  of  less  account.  He  has  not  answered 
that  question. 


Bv  THE  Rev.  James  Moffatt,  M.A.,  B.D.,  Dundonald, 


The  following  four  hymns  are  taken  from  the  so- 
called  Psalter  of  Solomon  (3,  6,  5,  10),  which 
represents  the  somewhat  unskilful  Greek  version  ^ 
of  a  Hebrew  original  composed  a  century  or  so 

'  Piobably  made  for  use  in  the  worship  of  Greek -speaking 
Jews  throughout  the  Palesliniin  lynagogues,  though  the 
liturgical  traces  are  sonly  and  indistinct. 


earlier,  i.e.  80-40  b.c.  The  greater  part  of  this 
Psalter,  as  a  whole,  reflects  the  mood  of  the  more 
pious  Pharisaic  circles  in  Palestine  during  the 
years  that  followed  Pompey's  siege  and  capture 
of  Jerusalem  *  in  63  B.C.,  and  the  collection  forms 
'  The  giory  of  the  reoovaied  earthly  Jeiutalem  (Ps  it"-") 
is  partly  reproduced  in  Apoc  Jl'"',  as  is  the  rule  of  (he 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


a  valuable  supplement  to  the  later  and  more  ex- 
ternal sketch  of  the  crisis  furnished  by  Josephus. 
The  catastrophe  of  63  was  evidently  viewed  by 
the  stricter  Pharisees  as  a  judgment  upon  the 
country  for  its  offences,  especially  for  the  com- 
promising and  lax  conduct  of  the  Sadducees,  their 
hereditary  rivals.  Naturally,  with  the  fall  of  the 
Asmoneans,  the  Sadducees  lost  their  paramount 
influence  and  position  in  the  councils  of  the  nation. 
Their  ruin  was  hailed  by  the  Pharisees  with  un- 
disguised delight,  and  the  outburst  of  indignant 
satisfaction  which  followed  is  loudly  sounded  in 
several  of  the  Solomonic  Psalms.  Nor  was  this 
merely  the  animus  of  party  spirit.  We  can  still 
see,  through  the  mist  of  denunciation,  evidence 
enough  to  prove  the  moral  corruption  and  irre- 
ligious methods  by  which  the  political  crisis  under 
Pompey  had  been  heralded. 

The  Psalms  also  bear  witness  to  the  resigned 
'quietism'  which  kept  many  people  clear  of  fresh 
political  intrigues,  such  as  those  fostered  by  the 
Zealots  with  heroic  but  fatal  energy.  From  revolu- 
tionaiy  ambitions  in  the  years  following  63  B.C., 
as  in  those  preceding  69  a.d.,  the  respectable  and 
prudent  Pharisees  sought  carefully  to  dissociate 
themselves.  So  long  as  the  observance  of  the  law 
was  unhindered,  heathen  jurisdiction  (ihey  held) 
must  be  patiently  borne  as  a  providential  dispensa- 
tion. To  this  Pharisaic  author  and  his  circle,  for 
example,  the  recent  distress  be  comes  a  chastisement. 
Patience  is  the  right  attitude  for  God's  people, 
patience  accompanied  by  penitence  and  moral 
reformation.  The  really  outstanding  feature,  so 
far  as  the  outlook  upon  the  future  is  concerned, 
consists  in  a  remarkable  development  of  the 
Messianic  hope  (Pss  17,  18),  which  assumes  quite 
a  fresh  form  of  belief.  Dr.  Charles,  however,  con- 
jectures that  these  two  Psalms  are  due  to  a  different 
author  {Encyclopedia  Biblica,  i.  244,  245)1  ^^^  cer- 
tainly they  stand  in  some  respects  aside  from  the 
general  current  of  the  preceding  hymns. 

The  main  interest  of  the  Psalms,  however,  lies 
in  the  type  of  genuine  and  attractive  piety  to  which 
they  give  expression.  'Their  beauty  simply  con- 
sists in  their  great  simplicity  and  sincerity '  (Ewald). 
They  discover  a  state  of  feeling  and  a  circle  of 

Meuiah  with  His  rodof  iron  (Ps  i7''  =  Apoc  la'  19").  The 
appticalion  of  h  trofun,  i  i/i-i^i>Tu\6t,  lo  Pompey  {17"  a') 
explains  the  similar  usage  in  z  Th  3'**' '  ;  cf.  also  wiipl  f\iryii 
(Ps  ia'  =  iTh  i>),  andiliespititofdeceit(Pa8">=*Th2", 
also  1  Ti  4"). 


ideas  which  contained  much  of  what  was  morally 
and  spiritually  healthy  in  pre-Christian  Judaism, 
For  Judaism,  and  even  Pharisaism,  in  the  age  uf 
Jesus  was  full  of  contrasts.  The  righteousness  of 
the  scribes  and  Pharisees,'  which  the  prophet  of 
Nazareth  pilloried  as  imperfect  and  misleading,  did 
not  cover  all  the  characteristics  and  qualities  of 
contemporary  Pharisaism;  there  were  evidently 
circles  of  quiet  folk,  who  did  not  belong  to  the 
official  or  ecclesiastical  class,  untouched  by  the 
cruder  and  grosser  forms  of  legalism,  and  largely 
out  of  sympathy  with  the  externalism  and  pedantry 
of  the  more  public  Pharisees.  It  was  the  type 
represented  by  numerous  unknown  adherents  of 
Jesus,  possibly  by  men  like  Nikodemus,  Nathanael, 
Paul,^  and  Syraeon  ;  the  latter  of  whom  has  been 
actually  taken  *  as  the  prototype  of  this  Solomonic 
piety  (Lk  2"),  which  yearned  for  a  satisfying  fiototo- 
tritrq  that  was  more  than  mere  legal  precision  and 
performance  (Mt  5*). 

These  four  hymns  have  been  done  into  English 
to  illustrate  this  elemefit  of  pre-Christian  Judaism ; 
especially  as  a  right  estimate  of  it  is  necessary  to 
any  understanding  of  the  Palestinian  soil  for  Chris- 
tianity and  of  the  subsequent  membership  within 
the  primitive  communities  of  Jewish  Christendom. 
More  distinctly,  perhaps,  than  the  rest  of  the 
Psalms,  these  four  express  the  cardinal  feature 
of  this  Pharisaic  piety ;  nor  are  they  tinged  with 
the  colours  of  the  immediate  political  situation 

'There  are  frequent  references  in  the  Solomonic  Psalms  to 
a  righteousness  of  deeds  (Pi  9'-'  17"  i8»),  which  espeeiallir 
point  to  an  observance  of  the  ceremonial  law  (J*""  S")- 
But  it  is  very  doubtful  if  the  majority  of  these  allnsions 
mean  much  more  than  a  scrupulous  regard  for  ethical  correct- 
ness. Their  slriclneis,  after  all,  is  not  any  more  eiceplional 
than  the  similar  tone  in  the  Epistle  of  James;  and  it  U  quite 
gratuitous  (0  interpret  the  references  10  praise  and  prayer  as 
mere  liluigical  injunctions. 

'  The  evident  reluctance  of  Paul  to  employ  terms  like 
j3affi\(Ia  or  ^am^tit  foe  his  conception  of  God's  nature,  may 
have  been  partly  due  to  a  reaction  from  their  use  in  his  older 
Pharisaic  circle,  where  the  motto  had  been,  'The  Lord  ii 
king'  (Ps  Sol  s"-*",  &c.).  On  the  other  hand,  he  repro- 
duces ideas  such  as :  the  neglect  of  God  the  source  of  ruin 
(Ps  2»  =  Ro  1",  I  Co  l",  &c.),  the  discriminating  judg- 
ment of  God  (Pa  2"-"  ~  Ro  a'""),  and  liffni  as  the  divine 
faithfulness  (Ps  8"  =  Ro  3*).  Cf.  also  the  quotations  iti 
Ps9»  =  Ro3',  and  the  patriotic  wail  in  Ps2">'  =  Ro9*. 

>  E.g.  by  Ryle  and  James,  The  Psalnii  ef  Seltmen  {li^i), 
p.  lix,  n,  :  'He  must  have  been  a  man  in  the  prime  of  life 
when  they  were  written.'  On  the  resemblance*  between 
the  Solomonic  Psalms  and  the  hymns  preserved  in  Lk  i,  a, 
cf.  ibid.  pp.  Ix,  Ixii,  xci-xcii ;  and  Dr.  F.  ^(^'I^.C^i^mMds' 
Texts  and  Sluditi,  i,  3,  pp.  I47->SI-  '  "^ 


-'cS' 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


aoj 


and  its  religious  controversies.  The  first  is  occu- 
pied with  the  behaviour  of  the  righteous  man 
under  the  discipline  of  God's  chasiisemeni,  in 
contrast  to  the  conduct  of  the  sinner.  The  second 
describes  the  nobler  side  of  Pharisaic  devotion ; 
it  is  an  attractive  sketch  of  the  Pharisee  at 
prayer.  Immediately  occasioned  by  some  drought 
or  famine,  the  third  rises  into  the  spirit  of  pious 
contentment '  with  God's  Providence ;  while  the 
fourth  is  simply  a  eulogy  upon  affliction  and  the 
blessings  to  be  derived  therefrom. 

The  Greek  text  used  for  this  version  is  that  edited 
by  Dr.  Swete  in  the  Cambridge  manual  edition 
of  the  LXX  (iii.  pp.  764-787),  compared  with  Dr. 
Oscar  von  Gebhardt's  collation  in  the  Texte  und 
UnUrsuchungtn,  1895,  the  text  of  Ryle  and  James, 
and  Kittel's  recent  German  translation  in  Kauizsch's 
Apoaypfun  u.  Pseudcpigrapken  des  A.T.  (ii.  pp. 
127-148).  One  or  two  departures  from  Dr. 
Swete's  text  are  noted  at  the  foot  of  the  page. 

(d)  Psalm  hi. 
I  Why  sleep,  my  soul,  nor  ble»  the  Lord  ? — 
z      SiDg  ye  a  new '  song  ID  God,  who  ii  woilhy  of  praite. 
Sing,  yea  be  wnkeful  for  Him  who  is  wakeful ; 
For  God  delighlcth  in  song  from  a  good  heart. 

3  The  righteous  make  meniion  of  ihe  Lord  conlinually. 

Confessing  the  Lord's  judgments  to  be  just : 

4  Therighteousdothnoldespise  the  chastening  of  the  Lord; 

To  the  Lord  he  is  continually  well- pleasing. 

5  When  the  righteous  iatleth,  he  acquiiteth  the  Lord  ; 

When  he  is  thrown  down,  he  considereth  how  God  will 
deal  with  him  \ 

6  Eagerly  he  watcheth  Irom  whence  his  salvation  comelb. 

7  From   God   their  saviour  cometh   ihe  integrity  of  the 

righteous : 
Sin  upon  sin   lodgeth   not   in   the   household  of  Ifae 

'  The  special  position  assigned  to  this  virtue  of  afrdfKeia, 
as  the  outcome  of  failh,  is  noticeable  in  view  of  Paul's  argu- 
ment in  Ph  4"-"  (cf.  also  I  Ti  6"') ;  and  in  a  later  Psalm 
(16"}  words  occur  which  curiously  remind  one  of  Ph  4" 
\tr  T*^  ^Aff^Dffaf  at  ri^t  'fvx'iir  p-ov  dpician  ftot  rb  So&iir.  Srt 
lir  /tit  irt  ino'X'J'Sft  *■'•  f"pi('rtH  riuStlai'  ir  Tnr{if  =  ri,rra 
laxiu  it  T^  fvSwa^oGprf  lu).  But  in  these  and  other  in- 
stances the  resemblances  in  alt  probability  prove  simply  that 
Ihe  N.T.  language  was  largely  drawn  from  the  current  reli- 
gious vocabulary  of  the  period  ;  it  is  only  now  and  then,  as 
partly  in  Ihe  case  of  Paul,  tha'  we  can  infer  the  precise 
circle  of  thought  and  terminology  which  possibly  influenced 
his  style. 

'  Reading  raifir. 


8  Continually  doth  the  righteous  make  search  in  his  house- 

hold. 
To  put  away  the  iniquity  of  ils  tran^retsion  i 

9  For  unwilling  error  he  atoneth  with  fasting  and  hurabletb 

his  soul; 
10     So  doth  the  Lord  cleanse  every  holy  man,  together 
with  his  household. 

Ii  When  the  sinner  fallelh,  he  curseth  his  life. 

The  day  of  his  birth  and  the  pangs  of  his  mother. 

12  He  addelh  sin  to  sin,  the  more  he  livelh  ; 

13  When  he  is  thrown  down— right  grievous  is  his  down- 

fall—he shall  not  rise  again. 

The  deiiruciion  of  the  sinner  is  for  ever, 

14  Nor  shall  the  Lord  remember  him  when  He  viwtetb 

the  tight  eons. 

1 5  This  is  the  pottion  of  sinners  for  ever ; 

16  But  they  that  fear  the  Lord  shall  rise  again  to  life 

In  the  light  of  the  Lord  shall  be  their  life,  nor  shall  it 
ever  fail. 

(i)  Psalm  vi, 
I  Blessed  is  the  man  who  is  ready  in  his  heart  10  call  on 

the  name  of  the  Lord  ; 
3      When  he  maketh  mention  of  the  Lord's  name,  he  shall 

he  saved. 

3  His  ways  are  directed  by  the  Lord, 

And  by  the  Lord  his  God  are  the  works  of  his  hand* 
made  secure. 

4  By  no  ill  visions  shall  he  be  troubled  in  his  dreamt, 

5  Mar  shall  his  soul  be  terrified  as  he  passelb  through 

rivers  or  amid  the  sweUing  of  the  seas. 

6  When  he  riieth  up  from  his  sleep, 

He  bicssclh  the  name  of  the  Lord  ; 

7  Stable  in  heart,  he  siogeth  praise  to  God's  name, 

And  entieaietb  the  Lord's  favour  for  all  his  household. 

8  And  the  Lord  hearkeneth  to  everyone  who  ptayeth  in 

the  fear  of  God, 
Yea,  every  petition  of  a  soul  that  hopeth  in  Him,  the 
Lord  fulfilleth. 

9  Biased  be  the  Lord  who  showeth  mercy  unto  those 

who  love  Him  in  sincerity  1 


2  For  Thou'  art  gracious  and  merciful,  the  refng«  of  the 

3  Hold  not  Thy  peace  when  I  cry  to  Thee. 

4  No  spoil  is  got  from  a  mighty  man ; 

5  And,  except  Thou  give  it,  who  gettelh  aught  of  all 

that  Thou  hast  made? 

6  A  man  and  bis  portion  are  determined  before  Thee ; 

He  shall  not  add  or  increase  more  than  Thou  hast 
decreed,  O  God. 


'  Reading  ai  x/Mjoriit" 


^iLf*.^' 


■gtc 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


7  Iq  our  dislress  we  will  call  for  help ; 

And  Thou  wilt  not  reject  out  Eupplicalion, 

For  Tbou  art  our  God. 
S  Lay  not  Thy  hand  upon  us  heavily. 

That  we  be  not  driven  lo  sin. 
9  Yel  even  if  Thou  restore  us  nol,  we  will  not  desist ; 

Nay,  still  we  will  come  unto  Thee. 

10  for  if  I  hunger,  to  Thee,  O  God,  will  I  cry ; 

And  Tbou  will  give  unlo  me. 

1 1  Birds  and  iish  Thou  feedest, 

Giving  rain  in  the  deserts  for  the  grass  to  spring  up  ; 
Thou  preparest  food  in  the  wilderness  for  every  living 

12  So  shall  Ibey  lift  their  faces  unto  Thee,  if  they  hunger. 

13  Kings,  rulen,  and  peoples  Tbou  feedest,  O  God  ; 

And  who  is  the  poor  and  needy's  hope  save  Thee,  O 
Lord? 

14  Yea,  Tbou  wilt  hearken,  for  who  is  giadous  and  consider- 

ate, who  but  Thou? 
Gladden  Ihe  lowly  soul,  and  open  Thine  hand  in  mercy. 

15  Man's  kindness  is  niggardly  and  done  for  a  reward'  ; 

Yea,  if  il  be  repealed  without  grudging,  'tis  a  wonder. 

16  But  Thy  giving  is  ample,  kindly  and  bountiful ; 

Yea,  whoso  hopelh  in  Thee  shall  want  for  no  gift, 

17  Thy  mercy  spreads  in  kindness,   Lord,  o'er  all  the 

earth. 

iS  Blessed  is  the  man  whom  God  remembereth  lo  content 
with  a  sufficiency : 

19      If  a  man  increase  exceedingly,  he  fallelh  into  sin. 

ao  Suftice  it  to  live  moderately  and  be  righteous ; 

Vea,  to  be  satisfied  and  to  be  righteous  hath  the  bless- 
ing of  the  Lord. 

31  They  Ibat  fear  the  Lord  delight  in  His  goodness  ; 

Yea,  Thy  kindness  is  upon  Israel  as  Thou  reignest. 
22  Blessed  be'  the  glory  of  the  Lord, 

For  He  is  our  King. 

Id)  PSAI.M   X. 

1  Blessed   is   the  man   whom   the    I>ord   remembereth   lo 

Yea,  scourgelb  aside  from  the  way  of  evil. 

That  he  may  be  cleansed  from  sin— lesl  it  increase. 

2  He  shall  be  cleansed,  who  prepareth  his  Wk  for  the 

scourge ; 
For  the  Lord  is  gracious  unlo  those  who  endure  chasten- 
ing patiently. 

3  The  ways  of  the  righteous  He  will  make  straight. 

Nor  pervert '  them  by  His  chastening. 

4  Yea,  the  mercy  of  the  I.ard  is  upon  those  who  love  Him 

.^nd  in  mercy  will  the  Lord  remember  His  servants. 

5  Witness  the  law  of  the  eternal  covenant  I 

Witness  the  Lord's  oversight  of  the  ways  of  men  I 

6  Righteous  and  boly  in  His  judgments  is  out  Lord  for 


And  Israel  shall  praise  (he  Lord's  name  joyfully. 

'  Reading   with   Kitiel    after   Krankenberg  ^i??^  a 
original. 

'  Reading  iiavrp/i/'d. 


7  The  boly  ones  also  shall  give  thanks  in  tbe  coogregation 

of  tbe  people  ; 
Yea,  God  will  bave  mercy  on  the  poor,  to  Israel's  joy, 

8  For  gracious  and  merciful  is  God  evermore. 

And  the  assemblies  of  Israel  shall  glorify  the  Lord's 

9  The  nlvation  of  the  I<ord  be  upon  the  bouse  of  Israel,  to 

its  eternal  joy  !  • 

The  O.T.  background  of  the  Psalms  is  very 
patent.  But  they  also  help  to  illustrate  several 
traits  and  usages  in  N.T.  thought  antl  diction. 
Besides  feattires  like  some  of  those  noted  by  Ryle 
and  Jaroes  (pp.  Ixvi,  xcf.),  e.g.  the  Davidic  sonsbip 
of  the  Messiah,  the  metaphor  of  the  mighty  man 
(Ps  5*  =  Mk  3"),  the  idea  of  divine  and  human 
kindness  (Ps  5'*-"'  =  Lk  11'),  and  phrases  com- 
pounded of  ^itAoy^  ( =  divine  choice),  wroncpurti 
(only  in  LXX  2  Mac  6^),  and  napropia  (preferred 
as  a  rule,  in  Ps.  Sol.  and  NT.,  to  fiaprvptov),  etc., 
there  are  several  others  which  throw  light  upon 
the  N.T.  language.  The  favourite  Pharisaic 
antithesis  of  tiKouu  and  afutpraiKoi  recurs  in  Paul, 
where  he  speaks  from  the  Jewish  standpoint  (Gal 
a'^  ^fitii  i^viTti  'looSaioi  xai  ovk  i(  iSvuiv  afiapTotKot), 
though  aii.  is  widened  from  the  Sadducees  to  the 
Gentiles  (on  the  relation  of  5^.  in  the  gospels  to 
f0viKoi,  see  Nestle's  interesting  discussion,  Philo- 
logica  Saera,  pp.  31  f.).  This  contrast,  indeed, 
pervades  the  whole  Psalter.  It  was  a  normal 
development  of  Pharisaic  principles,  accentu- 
ated of  course  at  this  epoch  by  the  exigencies  of 
the  historical  situation.  God,  also,  is  termed 
'  the  saviour,'  an  idea  which  (apart  from  Lk  i*') 
happens  to  recur  only  in  the  later  books  of 
the  N.T.  (especially  i  Ti);  He  is  especially  the 
protector  and  succour  of  the  poor  and  lowly 
(Ps  5"'i*  lo^'*),  as  in  the  Epistle  of  James,  which 
in  tone  and  aim  has  certain  affinities  with  the 
Solomonic  Psalter.* 

But  the  main  interest  of  the  Psalms  lies  naturally 
in  their  sketch  of  the  religious  ideal  as  conceived 
by  the  better  class  of  Pharisees  during  the  years 
immediately  preceding  the  Christian  era.  The 
political  situation  obviously  demanded  the  exer- 
cise   of  patience  and  endurance.''      Hence   the 

*  Reading    li^poair^r  (for  auippoainjr,  MSS). 

'  Note,  for  example,  the  tongue  as  a  bre  in  the  forest  (Ps 
iaS->=Jas  3'},  and  the  phrase  rmtie  (ipiji'ij*  (Ps  ii*=Jas 
3")- 

'  Kal-iiiuttiwilVYinrov  Tit  aluma,  Kal  niaTiyamuSilat  mp 
(Ps  7'),  a  proverbial  comparison  of  the  Jewish  law  toayoke, 
which  strikingly  anticipates  the  N.T.  usage.  Cf.  also  16", 
'  when  I  am  'alRicted,  put  far  from  me  all  murmuring  and 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


ao5 


primuy  quality  of  the  righteous  character  is  {a) 
reverent  behaviour  under  the  chastening  of  God 
(Ps  3*'-  lo"-  •),  acknowledgment  of  His  justice  (He 
iswTiot,  as  in  Apoc  15*  16^),  and  a  determination 
neither  to  blame  nor  to  accuse  Him.  All  this  is 
quite  in  accord  with  the  best  traditions  of  O.T. 
piety.  So  is  the  spirit  of  reverent  and  willing 
submission,  which  is  content  to  await  God's  help, 
and  meanwhile,  with  unfailing  praise  {Ps3^),i  to 
accept  the  divine  end  of  chastening,  namely, 
warning  against  sin  (Ps  10"-  18*-*).  The  whole 
mood  is  reproduced  ^  in  Heb  1 2*';  though 
heightened  by  the  Christian  conception  of  God's 
Fatherhood.  Even  the  two  lines  of  evidence  in 
the  Psalter  for  the  divine  mercy  as  shown  in 
affliction — the  written  law  and  the  experience  of 
Providence — are  partially  reflected  in  Heb  12*  and 
ii"-.  Along  with  this  self-abasement  goes  (i) 
a  sense  of  corporate  responsibility.  The  truly 
righteous  man,  as  conceived  by  this  author  and 
his  circle,  cares  strictly  and  keenly  for  his  house- 
hold as  well  as  for  his  personal  life,  in  a  manner 
which  recalls  the  primitive  ideal  of  intercession 
and  authority  sketched  in  Job  i*".  In  some 
way  he  represents  his  household  before  God, 
considering  himself  bound  and  permitted  to 
approach  God  on  their  behalf.  This  feeling  of 
solidarity  possibly  throws  light  upon  passages  like 
I  Co  7",  Ac  i6"'3-**,  etc.,  which  indicate  a  sense 
of  corporate  religious  responsibility  such  as  is  not 
mfrequent  throughout  this  Psalter  (3"-  6^"*  9"), 
The  practice  of  prayer  naturally  involves  (c)  fasting, 
another  jwint  in  which  these  Psalms  (3*)  cor- 
roborate the  later  evidence  of  the  N.T.  Pharisaic 
fasting  was  notorious  by  the  time  of  Jesus.  It  had 
grown  from  a  natural  custom,  such  as  in  the  main 

r*h]Uie>tor  heart'  {i\iya-^uxlar),  &Dd  16"  {^r  rif  uwoiairai 
iitucr  i*  tevrtit  AiijS^eroi  itrh  KupJei')  with  Jas  5'"'. 

'  ThUmeUphoiical  u  se  of  Y/Hrvperr  is  common  in  the  N.T,, 
but  it  is  usually  associated  with  piayer  and  monl  effort,  not 
u  here  with  the  call  lo  praise.  For  the  emphasis  jn  these 
Psalms  (especially  in  Ps  15)  on  praise,  eompare  Heb  rj" 
with  the  words  in  Ps  15*"'  (^oVi*  «(h»4j' «:opiri>' x'lWui-, 
*'«wrt''  X'lXiwii  ari  lopjlai  ioJai  nai  iiitadii).  In  the 
same  epislle  it  is  inteiesling  to  read  11"  along  with  Ps  17" 
(^Xovurra  ir  /p4<i«i),  and  12*  l^iir  itiiaprwXCir  tit  tdwot^) 
with  Ps  9*  (6  roiuir  iSidaf  afrrJt  alnoi  riji  ^I'xi*  i' 
i*Arlf). 

'  Two  (ingular  phrase*  of  the  Solomonic  Psalter  are 
paralleled  in  Hebrews:  ii\f)poretiiu  rit  ^raTTfXfat  (Ps  12* 
=  Heb  6»  ii<}  and  at-iuBt  iiae^in)  (Ps  ioi=Heb  I3«>).  Cf. 
also  Ps  13'  rofBtriiaii,  !l«ttiw  ii«  inif  iyariiaiui  with 
Heb  K»-i. 


it  Still  is  here,  into  a  system  of  external  asceticism, 
by  means  of  which  men  believed  they  exerted 
pressure  upon  a  reluctant  God.  Similarly,  with 
the  conception  of  (d)  prayer  itself.  These  Psalms 
(especially  the  6th)  present  a  simple  and  pious 
outline  of  Pharisaic  supplication  at  its  best, 
according  to  which  the  place  and  use  of  prayer 
affect  (i)  practical  success  in  affairs  of  this  life,  (ii) 
freedom  from  superstition  and  terrifying  dreams 
or  visions,^  and  (iii)  safety  upon  a  journey.  This 
early  and  uncorruptcd  type  of  piety  is  further 
exemplified  in  its  demands  for  (e)  sincerity  (tv 
AXrjStuf,  6*  lo*:  cf  Mt  22")  especially  in  love 
to  God,  a  trait  reproduced  in  the  story  of  the 
scribe  (Mk  la'^-**)  who  answered  Jesus  so  sympa- 
thetically upon  the  essence  of  the  law  (cf.  Eph 
6"),  This  claim  to  sincerity,  of  course,  meant 
that  the  rival  party  of  the  Sadducees  was  stamped 
as  insincere  and  guilty  of  pretence,  when  these 
Psalms  were  written.  The  hostile  side-reference 
is  unmistakable. 

The  outstanding  features*  of  this  theology, 
which  reappear  in  the  N.T.,  are  the  ideas  of 
Providence  and  of  the  Resurrection.  The  former 
was  a  cardinal  tenet  of  the  Pharisees  (Josephus, 
Bell.Jud.  ii,  S.  14,  Antiq,  xviii.  i.  3,  etc),  and  in 
their  ample  and  reverent  recognition  of  God's 
moral  order  they  represented  an  attitude  with 
which,  so  far  as  it  went,  Jesus  was  thoroughly  in 
sympathy  (Ps  5*-«  =  Mk  f,  Mt  I2»  Lk  ii^i-"): 
God  over  all,  but  man  free  and  responsible.  Upon 
the  question  of  the  Resurrection,  however,  it  is  less 
easy  to  determine  what  was  the  exact  standpoint 
of  the  Psalms,  if  indeed  they  had  any.  The  idea, 
in  its  popular  and  dogmatic  form,  was  scarcely  a 
century  old  within  Judaism.  It  was  opposed  i« 
Mo  by  the  Sadducees  as  a  heretical  development, 
and  even  within  the  circle  of  its  Pharisaic  (Ac  23*"*, 
Mt  22*^)  supporters  differences  of  opinion  still 
existed  as  to  its  scope  and  object.  Thus  the 
Solomonic  Psalter,  in  common  with  a  certain 
element  in  Judaism,  rejects  the  conception  of  a 

*  A  curious  feature  (6'),  which,  like  several  others,  goes 
back  to  Che  Book  of  Job  (7'<] ;  irrKurSat  is  used  in  the  N.T. 
also,  but  only  of  rumours  (Lk  2i')  and  ghosts  (24"). 

*  Tbe  angeiology  is  quite  incidental  ;  but,  on  (he  other 
hand,  the  Pharisaic  tenet  of  retribution  throbs  throughout 
all  ihe  Psalms.  The  Messianic  hope  forms  ■  topic  by  itself; 
but  one  may  compare  passages  like  Mt  13",  Lk  10"  wiih 
Ps  Sol  17"°  {/laitdptM  0I  -ttubntvm  it  Tafi  imtpmi  tttlraK, 
iStit  Ti  d7ofl4 'IfffMijX  if  auvaywYB  ^^N"*' xmij«ai  6  Srij), 
i8'. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


general  resurrection  brought  forward  in  Daniel 
(i2^'*).  Only  the  righteous  rise,  according  to 
this  author.  The  sinful  die  and  are  no  more. 
The  lot  of  the  wicked  seems  to  be  nothing  but 
annihilation  (Ps  3>*-"  13'*  14*);  they  die  and  are 
destroyed,  as,  apparently,  in  the  teaching  of  Jesus 
and  of  Paul  ( 1  Th  5',  2  Th  z'- "),  where  extinction 
(ifftoX<ia)  is  their  end  (also,  e.g.,  Ro  6^\  Ph  3"*). 
Upon  the  other  hand,  however,  the  fluidiiy  of  the 
conception  betrays  itself  even  within  the  N.T. 
literature,  where,  more  than  once  (e.g.  Ac  24^', 
jp  i;SS-»,  Apoc  2o'-*-  i2-i3j^  tjjg  general  resurrection 
of  good  and  bad,  especially  the  latter,  to  judg- 
ment is  distinctly  advocated.  The  antinomy  is 
obviously  due  to  the  fact  that  the  early  Christian 
outlook  upon  the  future  was  determined  by 
heterogeneous  and  varied  presuppositions,  drawn 
largely  from  the  fluid  conceptions  of  contemporary 
Jtidaism. 

Apart  from  one  or  two  minor  points,'  these 
'  E.g.  10  atan<3  before  God,  as  the  reward  and  privilege 
ofihe  pious  at  the  end  (Ps  2*  =  Lk  zi");  the  verbal  re- 
semblance  of  wrtDfia  Syiar  and  i\iyiai  (Ps  1 7"- ")  and  the 
collocation  of  'light'  and  'life'  (3"),  both  Joh»nmae 
phrases:  the  very  tare  parallels  of  xpt'^'^f^*  (P^  9"  = 
I  Co  13')  and  Anflpuim^oifot  {P«  4'  =  Col  3",  Eph  6*), 
rti^TMOfi)  (Ps  5"=Col  3")  and  i*6.\^r^^t  {4"=Lk  ^), 
and  the  leference  lo  divine  influence  under  the  Ir^re  of  a 


represent  the  main  directions  in  which  the  Solo- 
monic Psalms  converge  upon  the  language  and 
ideas  of  the  N.T.  Their  especial  value  lies  in  the 
fact  that  they  alTord  evidence  of  a  simpler  and  less 
corrupt  form  of  Pharisaism  than  that  which  the 
historical  exigencies  of  the  situation  have  preserved 
for  us  in  the  N.T.,  and  especially  in  the  Gospels. 
There  the  Pharisee  is  indeed  the  Malvolio  of 
Judaism,  as  he  has  been  called,  with  his  ridiculously 
stiir  formality,  his  assumed  attitudes,  his  absurd 
conceits.  But  it  must  never  be  forgotten  that, 
despite  grave  faults  of  externaiism,  complacency, 
hypocrisy,  and  exclusiveness,  this  type  represented 
only  the  caricature  of  a  religious  ideal  which  itself 
had  not  yet  wholly  perished;  and  that,  if  Chris- 
tianity had  affinities  with  any  of  the  religious 
parties  throughout  Judaism,  it  was  with  the  finer 
elements  of  Pharisaism,  from  which  so  many 
of  its  best  adherents  in  Palestine  were  in  all 
likelihood  drawn. 

goad  {16'  fpiiir  lit  uii  tirrpor  Irwav  ftri  rifr  y/nfyipriair 
■i>roB  =  Ac  26'*).  The  main  coincidences  wilh  the  gospels 
include  divine  inlerveniioo  on  Iwhalf  of  Ihe  sainu  (Ps  2"*- 
=  Mk  13",  Ml  24"'),  God's  knowledge  of  secret  charily 
(Ps  9»=  Mt  e"-*  i  also  the  use  of  ei^avpitii,,  Ps  9"=  Ml  6'»'-). 
Ihe  pious  as  lambs  (Ps  8''  =  Mt  10",  Lk  lo"),  and  the 
Pharisaic  phrase  'to  inherit  eternal  life'  (Ps  14'=  Mk  10", 
Mt  19",  Lk  lo»). 


(gitquteie  oni  (gitptitB. 


1  am  puzzled  by  the  reDdermg  of  1  S  i.  3  in  botb 

A.V.  and  R.V.     The  Heb.  is  ng'p;  □■p.'p.    This  is 

rendered   in    LXX   if   itiup^r   tli  iuiiiat,  aa  one 

might  expect ;  why  then  do  both  English  versions 

give  'yearly'  ?— T.  W. 

The  Heb.    phrase  quoted  above  does   not   mean 

'yearly'  (A.V.)  or  'from  year  to  year'  (R.V.  and 

A.V.m.) ;  it  is  the  context  that  gives  it  this  sense. 

'From  day  to  day'  or  'daily'  would  manifestly  be 

absurd  in  the  instance  in  question.     If  a  strictly 

literal   translation  were  wanted,   'periodically'  or 

'on  the  proper  days'  might  be  suggested,  but,  as 

the  visits  of  Elkanah  to  Shiloh  were  evidently  on 

the  occasion  of  an  annual  festival  (cf,  esp.  i  S  2"), 

the  E.V.  rendering  is  much  to  be  preferred  on 

the  ground  of   clearness.     The  same    technical 

expression  np'p;  0*0^   occurs  also    in   Ex    13'" 

(of  the  Feast  of  Unleavened  Bread),  Jg  1 1*"  (of  the 


mourning  for  Jephthah's  daughter),  ai"  (of  Ihe 
Shiloh  festival).  In  all  these  passages  the  context 
shows  that  'yearly'  is  the  sense  intended.  It 
may  be  further  noted  that  D*p^  probably  answers 
to  '  year '  in  such  passages  as  Gn  4^,  Lv  25*", 
Jg  171",  1  S  ao"  27T,  2  S  14**,  2  Ch  2ii».  The 
Heb.  student  may  refer  for  fuller  information  to 
Professor  Ed.  Konig's  admirable  Hei.  Syntax, 
§  a66».  J.  A.  Selbie. 

AfaryculUr,  Aberdtm. 


I  have  read  with  gre^t  interest  Or.  Jannaiis'  article  00 
'  The  Unrishteoua  Steward  and  MKhiavclUim.'  1 
do  not  criticize  bis  snggestioa  as  to  the  pnnctna- 
tioD,  but  to  suggest  that  the  difficult.  If  the  older 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


»o7 


ponctuadon  is  retained,  is  not  so  great  as  Dr. 
Jannsris  seems  to  think. 

Commenting;  on  Lk.  xvi.  9,  his  words  are : 
'  Frieada  acquired  in  this  world  bj  means  of  mam- 
monandeverlastinifhabilationsare two  incongruous 
and  irreconcilable  things.'  But  may  not  the  ex- 
pression '  mammon  of  unrighteousaess '  be  simply 
an  equivalent  for  'money,'  the  former  term  being 
chosen  by  'attraction'  (to  borrow  a  word  from 
grammar)  from  the  parable,  and  also  because 
money  is  so  often  and  to  so  many  the  unrighteous 
mammon?  The  Sanour's  words  might  then  be 
paraphrased  thus :  '  The  steward  uied  this  mam- 
mon of  unrighteousness  to  prepare  for  himself 
a  welcome  into  temporal  habitations.  You  may 
use  the  same  thing,  i.e.  money  (an  unrighteous 
thing  in  the  steward's  case),  in  such  a  way  that 
when  you  die  you  will  be  welcomed  into  euerlaating 
habitations  by  those  wbo  stilt  remember  with 
gratitude  your  kindness  on  earth.' 

That  the  expression  may  be  used  as  a  mere 
synonym  for  '  money '  seems  to  me  to  be  apparent 
from  rer.  11,  or  ^ow  could  the  Lord  mention  the 
possibility  of  being  '  faithful '  therein  ?— E.  P. 

'E.  P.*  SEEMS  to  overlook  the  fact  that  whether 
ire  say  '  mammon  of  unrighteousness '  or  '  money ' 
(which  is  the  same  thing),  the  difficulty  remains 
insuperable.  His  paraphrase  is  too  free,  speculative, 
and  far-fetched  to  be  admitted.  For  as  commonly 
read,  the  passage  is  unmistakable :  '  Make  friends 
by  means  of  money,  that  they  (i.e.  the  friends  so 
bought)  may  receive  you  into  everlasting  habita- 
tioDS.'  Now  does  '  E.  P.'  mean  to  say  that  friends 
so  unrighteously  and  sinfully  allied  (as  are  dishonest 
givers  and  unlawful  receivers) — I  ask,  can  such 
sinful  confederates  expect  to  meet  in  the  'ever- 
lasting '  habitations  7 

A,  N.  Jannaris. 


Mr.  C.  K.  Henderson  writes  from  Sydney  in 
reference  to  the  prohibition  of  the  uie  of  things 
strangled  and  of  blood  in  the  apostolic  decree 
in  Acts  XT.  38,  a; :  'No  one  that  I  know  of 
acta  on  these  injunctions.  I  know  how  they  can 
be  refuted  from  other  portions  of  the  N.T.,  B.g. 
from  the  writings  of  Paul.  But  bow  can  any 
reasoning  of  Paul  annul  commands  given  with 
snch  anttaority— " the  Holy  Ghost"?' 

Tub  difficulty  which  Mr.  Henderson  has  hit  upon 
ii  only  one  detail  of   the  general  .difficulty  of 


reconciling  the  Acts  wilh  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul, 
about  which  so  much  has  been  written  on  both 
sides.  In  the  present  instance  the  late  Bishop 
Lightfoot's  reply  to  the  question  raised  by  Mr. 
Henderson  would  be  that  there  is  no  reason  for 
supposing  that  the  decree  was  intended  to  be 
'  universal  or  permanent.  He  thinks  that  it  was 
I  not  intended  to  be  universal,  because  it  was 
addressed  only  to  the  Churches  of  Antioch,  Syria, 
and  Cilicia,  which  were  near  Juda;a,  and  therefore 
more  interested  in  the  controversy.  The  adequacy 
of  this  reply  has,  however,  been  questioned  on  the 
ground  that  the  Book  of  Acts  itself  seems  to 
regard  the  decree  as  of  wider  application  (see 
Lightfoot,  Gal.  p.  116,  and  Acts  16'  and  21^,  and 
/ourn.  Theol.  Stud.,  October  1899,  pp.  70,  71). 

It  is  not  so  easy  to  answer  Bishop  Lightfoot  when 
he  says  that  the  decree  was  not  intended  to  be 
permanent.  Nothing  is  said  in  the  Acts  as  to 
whether  it  was  intended  to  be  permanent  or  not, 
The  occasion  for  it' would  certainly  have  grown 
less  as  the  importance  of  the  Gentile  element 
in  the  Church  increased,  and  that  of  the  Jews 
diminished  in  comparison.  But  we  really  know 
very  little  of  what  happened  in  the  early  years 
of  the  Church- 
Mr.  Henderson  asks  another  question.  At 
p.  34  of  the  article  on  the  'Acts'  in  Hastings' 
Bible  Dictionary  it  is  said  that  'the  presence  of 
the  author's  hand  in  the  speeches  cannot  be 
denied.'  On  pp.  28,  29,  the  writer  in  enumerating 
the  contents  of  the  Acts  prints  the  speeches  in 
italics.  He  also  italicises  the  apostolic  letter  (Acts 
15"*,  etc.).  Mr.  Henderson's  question  is:  'Are 
we  to  understand,  therefore,  that  the  apostolic 
letter  may  also  have  been  modified  by  the  writer 
of  the  Acts  as  well  as  the  speeches.'  There  is 
no  reason  why  the  letter  might  not  have  been 
subject  to  the  same  treatment  as  the  speeches, 
except  that  the  letter  being  short,  and  being 
written,  and  of  a  more  authoritative  character, 
would  have  been  more  likely  to  have  been  pre- 
served in  its  original  fonn.  It  might  be  better 
compared  with  a  letter  of  St.  Paul  than  with  one 
of  his  speeches. 

J.  A.  Cross. 
LUlU  Helbctk,  Leids. 


jyGoot^Ie 


THE   EXPOSITORY   TIMES. 


TffE  BOOKS  OF  THE  MONTH, 


I. 


THE  EMPHASISED  BIBLE.     Bv  J.   B.   Roi- 

Vol.  I.  Genesis  to  Rulh.     {AlUmatt.     Rojal  8vo,  pp. 
2SE.     Ss.  nel.) 
There  is  no  little  danger  that  Mr.  Kotherham's 
Emphasised  Bible  will  miss  the  attention   it  de- 
serves, for  on  first  view  it  is  a  highly  elaborate 
system  of  signs  and  symbols  signifying  nothing. 
Take  a  single  verse,  Ex  3'- — 
"  And  he  said — 

I  will  be*  with  thee,  and  ;|  ihis  ll<to  ihee>[shall  be] 
the  sign,  that  ||  I II  have  sent  thee,— 
^When  ihou  bcingest  foith  the  people  out  of  Egypt^ 
ye  shall  do  scivice  unto  God,  upon'  this  mountain. 
iHcb.:  V*>(-1— »sinver.  m-      I     "Or;  'by.' 

Now  what  have  we  here?  We  have  first  a  new 
translation,  which  is  good  enough  to  justify  its 
existence.  Next,  emphasis  marks,  whose  purpose 
is  to  bring  the  English  reader  into  touch  with  the 
original;  for  in  translation  it  is  impossible  to 
present  the  exact  force  of  the  Hebrew  and  be 
idiomatic)  so  Mr.  Rolherham's  marks  say,  'Thus 
the  words  would  be  read  aloud  in  Hebrew.' 
Then  brief  notes,  which  do  for  special  points  what 
even  Che  emphasis  marks  fail  to  do.  The  whole 
desire,  therefore,  is  to  enable  us  to  read  the 
English  and  prodiice  the  very  same  effect  as 
reading  the  Hebrew  does. 

Is  it  worth  the  labour?  Surely  it  is.  Ask  the 
trained  reader  sitting  in  the  pew.  Moreover,  it 
puts  the  English  scholar  on  a  level,  as  nearly  as 
possible,  with  the  Hebrew  scholar. 

Lessons  on  the  Gospel  of  St.  Mark  is  the  title  of 
the  latest  issue  of  Messrs.  A.  &  C.  Black's  'Guild 
Text-Books' (6d.).  It  is  really  a  commentary  on 
the  Second  Gospel,  not,  however,  in  the  usual 
method  of  phrase  by  phrase,  the  incident  or  topic 
itself  being  explained  rather  than  its  language,  and 
all  being  turned  to  immediate  spiritual  results. 
The  author  is  Dr.  Irvine  Robertson  of  Clack- 
mannan.   

THE  UNIVERSE,     By   F.  A.  Pouchet,  M.D.     Re- 
vised and  Edited  BV  J.  R.  AiNswoRTH  Davis,  M.A. 
(Blackie.     8vo,  pp.  591.     7s.  6d.) 
Pouchet's  Universe  ;  or,  The  Infinitely  Great  and 

the  Infinitely  Little,  has  been   one   of  the   most 


successful  of  Messrs.  Blackie's  popular  books. 
It  has  run  so  long  that  it  was  getting  out  of  toucb 
with  scientific  knowledge.  So  it  has  been  revised 
by  a  competent  student.  And  now  it  will  set  out 
on  a  new  career  of  conquest,  captivating  the  hearts 
as  well  as  informing  the  understanding  of  another 
generation  of  young  men  and  maidens. 

The  special  business  to  which  Messrs.  David 
Bryce  &  Son  of  Glasgow  have  set  themselves  is 
the  production  of  ttje  smallest  possible  books. 
Scott's  Lady  of  the  Lake  in  their  '  Dainty  Uttle 
Library '  weighs  less  than  two  ounces.  With  its 
brown  leather  and  brass  clasp  it  is  an  ideal  gift  for 
friends  abroad. 

BEYOND  THESE  VOICES.  Bv  Mas.  EGEaios 
Eastwick.  {Bums  *•  Oalis.  Crown  8vo,  pp. 
328.) 
The  heroine  is  all  the  book.  And  what  a 
heroine !  Powerful,  perplexing,  attractive — but 
good  or  bad?  It  is  marvellous  how  easily  the 
interest  is  maintained.  There  is  a  murder,  but 
even  that  does  not  destroy  or  weaken  iL  For 
there  is  that  beautiful  woman's  life  to  live  and 
account  for.  The  book  is  written  by  a  woman, 
and  the  men,  though  respectable,  are  not  great 
men,  nor  always  consistent  with  their  own  mediocte 
selves.  But  the  greatness  of  this  bad  woman 
makes  up  for  it.  It  is  a  Catholic  book,  and  there 
is  purpose  in  things  we  might  at  first  see  Uttle 
purpose  in. 

The  third  yearly  volume  of  the  new  series  of 
Young  People  (2s.)  has  been  issued  by  Mr. 
Burroughs.  It  is  a  denominational  magazine, 
but  nothing  merely  sectarian  is  to  be  found  in  it, 
and  it  ranks  with  the  best  young  folks'  magazines 
published.  Mr.  Capey  is  an  editor  who  should 
be  introduced  into  the  home. 


Morning  Rays  is  the  children's  magazine  of 
the  Church  of  Scotland.  It  is  edited,  with  a  fine 
sense  of  the  wishes  and  the  wants  of  the  little  ones, 
by  the  Rev.  Harry  Smith,  M.A-     And  it  is  illus- 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


309 


tiated  so  as  to  hold  its  own  with  the  arlistic 
undenominational  magazines.  Its  annual  volume 
is  published  at  41  Hanover  Street,  Edinburgh 
(is.net).  . 

THE  OXFORD  BOOK  OF  ENGLISH  VERSE,  1250- 
1900.  Chosen  and  Edited  bv  A.  T.  Quilleb-Couch. 
(Oxford  :  At  the  Clamtdtm  Press.  Crown  Svo,  pp. 
10S4.  los.  6cl.) 
The  Oxford  Book  Is  the  best  book.  We  say 
so  with  remembrance  of  the  rest  and  with  grate- 
ful obligations  to  them.  It  will  never  take  the 
place  of  the  Go/den  Treasury  in  our  affection,  for 
the  first  is  the  best  toved  always.  But  it  is  the 
best  though  not  best  loved.  Having  all  the  rest 
as  guides,  and  going  more  thoroughly  than  any 
general  anthology  into  the  poetry  of  our  own 
time,  Mr.  Quiller-Couch  seems  to  have  found  what 
others  missed,  and  missed  nothing  of  what  others 
found.  As  fat  as  a  popular  hymn-book  —  it 
contains  883  pieces — the  Oxford  Book  of  English 
Verse  is  nevertheless  so  severely  edited  that  it 
can  only  be  individual  taste  that  will  reject  this 
piece  or  that,  not  common  consent.  For  our  part 
it  would  be  the  few  more  recent  and  more  fanciful 
that  we  should  be  inclined,  not  to  reject,  but  to 
bracket  as  the  textual  critics  do.  For  simplicity, 
which  is  humanity,  is  the  first  law  of  anthology- 
making.  Can  anything  be  better  to  announce  that 
law  and  fix  it  for  ever  than  '  Sumer  is  icumen  in,' 
the  poem  with  which  all  anthologies  must  open  7 
Can  anything  be  belter  to  end  an  anthology,  in 
obedience  to  that  law,  than  Margaret  L.  Woods' 
Genius  Loci}  or  even  the  'Amen'  of  the  Book, 
the  Oxford  motto,  which  we  must  quote — 

Dominus  lUuminatio  Hea. 
In  the  hour  of  death,  after  this  life's  whim, 
When  the  heart  beats  low,  and  the  e^es  grow  dim. 
And  pain  has  exhausted  every  limb — 

The  lover  of  the  Lord  shall  trust  id  Him. 

When  the  will  has  forgotten  the  lifelong  aim, 
And  the  mind  can  only  di^race  its  Came, 

The  power  of  the  Lord  shall  (ill  this  frame. 

When  the  last  sigh  is  heaved,  and  the  last  tear  shed, 
And  the  coHin  is  waiting  beside  the  bed. 
And  the  widow  and  child  forsake  the  dead— 
The  angel  of  the  Lord  shall  lift  this  head. 

For  even  the  purest  delight  may  pall. 
And  power  must  fail,  and  (he  pride  must  fall, 
Atid  the  love  of  the  dearest  friends  grow  small — 
Bat  the  glory  of  the  Lord  is  all  in  all. 
>4 


One  of  the  most  attractive  single  volume  editions 
of  Shakespeare  is  that  which  is  published  by 
Messrs.  Collins  of  Glasgow.  It  contains  an  intro- 
duction by  Henry  Glassford  Bell  (4s.).  Its  paper, 
type,  binding  are  all  effective,  and  form  a  hand- 
some volume.  But  its  special  feature  of  attract- 
iveness is  its  series  of  illustrations.  They  are 
representations  of  modern  actors  and  actresses 
taken  in  the  act  Sir  Henry  Irving  is  here  as 
Hamlet  and  Shy  lock  and  Wolsey  and  Lear. 
Miss  Ellen  Terry  is  seen  in  Beatrice  and  Portia 
and  Queen  Katharine  and  Imogen  and  Cordelia 
and  Lady  Macbeth  and  Ophelia.  Almost  all  the 
plays  are  represented  by  those  two  or  by  others. 
It  is  an  aid  to  interpretation  which  the  most  ardent 
student  of  Shakespeare  will  appreciate  most. 

HE  CHOSE  TWELVE.  Bv  J.  Elder  Cumming.  D.D. 
(Stirling:  Drumaumd.  Crown  Svo,  pp.  371.  2s.  6d.) 
In  publishing  a  volume  of  studies  in  the 
character  of  the  Twelve,  Dr.  Elder  Cumming 
expresses  astonishment,  which  we  must  echo,  that 
he  could  find  only  two  books  (Bruce's  Training 
of  the  Twelve  and  Symington's  Apostles  of  Our 
Lord)  which  cover  the  same  ground.  That  does  not 
encourage  him  to  be  commonplace,  however.  He 
knows  that  separately  the  apostles  have  been 
much  discussed.  His  studies  are  thoughtful,  and 
once  or  twice  independent.  In  the  case  of  Judas, 
for  example,  he  dares  to  suggest,  in  order  to 
account  for  his  choice,  that  our  Lord  never  chose 
him,  but  that  he  offered  himself;  in  fact,  that  he  is 
the  man  who  said, '  Lord,  I  will  follow  thee  whither- 
soever Thou  goesi,'  and  that  he  followed  in  spite  of 
Christ's  warning,  '  Foxes  have  holes.' 

THE  GRAMMAR  OF  PROPHECY.  Bv  R.  B.  Girdle- 
STONB,  M.A.  (Eyre  &•  Spoltimoode,  Crown  Svo, 
pp.  207.  65.  )r 
To  Canon  Girdlestone  prophecy  means  predic- 
tion. He  does  not  deny  that  there  is  prophecy 
in  the  Bible  that  is  not  prediction,  that  the 
prophets  were  sometimes  forthtellers  and  not  fore- 
tellers, but  he  is  only  mildly  interested  in  such 
prophecy.  In  prophecy,  which  is  prediction,  he  is, 
and  has  long  been,  so  deeply  interested,  that  it 
alone  is  prophecy  to  him,  and  with  it  alone  this 
book  has  to  do.  His  purpose  is  to  reveal  the 
rules  by  which  predictive  prophecy  should  be 
interpretated.  He  calls  his  book  The  Grammar  of 
Prophecy — not  its  Arithmetic.     For  he  sees  that 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


it  is  not  by  figures  on  a  skte,  but  by  uoder- 
standing  the  language  of  the  Spirit  of  God  that 
the  times  and  seasons  will  be  found.  So  he  will 
displease  all  the  almanack-makers.  But  if  he 
succeeds,  and  we  think  he  does  succeed,  in  show- 
ing that  in  prophecy  'we  count  time  by  heart- 
throbs,' he  will  do  good  service  to  his  fellow-men. 
The  Lord  shall  come,  the  earth  shall  quake — we 
know  that;  when?  how? — that  we  do  not  know. 
Nor  would  it  be  well  with  us  if  we  knew,  but  ill. 
Therefore  let  us  be  up  and  doing  white  the  day 
lasteth,  knowing  that  the  sun  will  set  and  the 
night  come  down  upon  us,  not  knowing  the  hour 
of  sunset  or  the  darkness. 

This  volume  fitly  closes  the  'Bible  Students' 
Library,' and  the  'Bible  StudenU'  Library'  closes 
a  period  in  the  interpretation  of  the  Bible. 

A  MINISTER  OF  GOD.  {PhUif  Great.  Crown  Svo, 
pp.  2*2.  lu  net.) 
This  volume  contains  first  a  memoir  of  John 
Hamilton  Thorn ;  next  selections  from  his  sermons 
and  addresses,  the  passages  selected  having  a 
special  value  for  preachers,  so  that  the  title,  A 
Minister  of  God,  is  not  meant  to  describe  John 
Hamilton  Thorn  (though  it  would  describe  him), 
but  you  or  me  (if  we  will) ;  then  three  fine  sermons 
chosen  to  reveal  the  author's  most  characteristic 
work  in  the  pulpit;  and,  lastly,  an  address  to 
students  of  theology.  The  book  will  be  made 
most  welcome  by  those  who  know  the  two  volumes 
of  Laws  of  Lift  after  the  Mind  of  Christ,  and  it 
may  do  more  than  even  those  volumes  to  keep 
this  good  man's  Influence  alive. 

EADIE'S  BIBLICAL  CYCLOP.CDIA.  {Crijin.  8vo, 
pp.  687.  los.  fid.) 
This  old  book  has  been  found  out  of  date  and 
a  new  edition  has  been  prepared  under  the  direction 
of  Professor  Sayce.  The  arrangement  and  the 
words  of  Eadie  have  been  as  far  as  possible  re- 
tained. Even  the  old  attitude  has  been  scrupu- 
lously kept  both  in  the  Old  Testament  and  in  the 
New,  so  that,  as  Professor  Sayce  puts  it,  'those 
who  want  the  speculations  of  the  so-called  "  Higher 
Criticism  "  must  go  elsewhere,'  Consequently,  we 
have  the  story  of  Abraham  told  just  as  it  lies  in 
Genesis.  Abraham  denied  Sarah  both  before 
Pharaoh  of  Egypt  and  before  Abimelech  of  Gerar, 
and  Isaac  denied  Rebekah  before  Abimelech  also, 
'or  rather  his  successor  of  the  same  name,  for  the 


term  Abimelech  seems  to  have  been,  not  a  proper 
name,  but  a  Philistine  regal  title.'  No  suspicion 
is  hinted  that  these  might  be  duplicate  accounts 
of  one  occurrence.  As  the  Cyclopedia  proceeds, 
however,  the  possibility  of  such  duplicates  is 
frankly  recognized.  Thus  in  the  history  of  David 
it  is  said, '  In  this  section  of  the  sacred  narrative 
there  occur  several  difficulties  in  the  way  of  recon- 
ciling what  are  apparently  two  accounts  of  this 
part  of  David's  life  which  have  not  yet  been 
thoroughly  harmonized  by  any  su^estions  that 
have  been  made.' 

In  this  new  edition  account  is  taken  of  the 
Apocrypha  and  of  the  monuments.  These,  indeed, 
constitute  its  chief  additions.  But  it  is  evident 
that  the  whole  book  has  been  wrought  over,  and 
consistently  with  the  plan  adhered  to,  brought  up 
to  date. 

THE  CHURCH'S  ONE  FOUNDATION.  BytbkRev. 
W.  Robertson  Nicoll,  M.A-,  LL.D.  {Hcdder  &• 
Stoughten.  Fcap.  8vo,  pp.  227.  3s.  6d.) 
There  has  been  some  startllngly  unorthodox 
writing  recently,  and  some  of  it  has  come  firom 
quarters  whence  orthodoxy  was  expected,  but  this 
is  the  way  to  deal  with  it.  To  get  into  a  panic 
is  absurd.  The  faith  we  hold  has  been  assailed 
before  now,  and  shaken  itself  clear  of  its  assailants. 
Give  it  room  to  declare  itself— its  truth  to  life,  its 
capacity  for  godliness,  its  spiritual  pre-eminence — 
as  Dr.  Robertson  Nicoll  does  here,  and  it  will  ever 
produce  new  conviction  of  its  essential  truth  in  the 
minds  of  honest  men.  The  assailant  may  think 
that  by  nibbling  at  the  supernatural  in  the  Gospels 
he  can  nibble  it  all  away.  He  begins  at  the  wrong 
end.  He  must  take  away  the  Jesus  of  the  Gospels 
first.  He  is  the  Supernatural,  and  after  Him  the 
rest  will  go  or  stay. 

THE  PROGRESS  OF  DOGMA.    By  Jambs  Orr,  M.A., 

D.D.     (Haddir  &•  Slaughtun.     Crown  8vo,  pp.   395. 

7s.6d.) 

Unless  it  be  his  co-editor  on  the  Union  Magatine, 

there  is  no  man  we  know  who  can  make  systematic 

theology  so  easy  as  Professor  Orr.     If  all  '  Bodies 

of  Divinity'  had  the  vivacity  of  this  book,  the 

joke  '  more  body  than  soul '  would  lose  its  point. 

But  Dr.   Oar's  purpose  is  not  simply  to  make 

theology  attractive,  not  simply  to  write  a  Body 

of  Divinity;  it  is  to  show  how  one  theological 

system  and  one  theolc^ical  dogma  developed  out 


THE  EXPOSITORY   TIMES. 


of  another.  The  history  of  Dogma  has  been 
written  by  Professor  Harnack,  Professor  Orr  writes 
its  evolution. 

Having  to  crush  into  a  single  small  volume  the 
whole  mental  development  of  Christianity,  Dr. 
Orr  has  had  ta  practise  economy.  His  gift  how- 
ever lies  there.  When  he  is  most  concise  he  is 
most  lucid ;  when  he  cuts  and  carves  he  is  most 
telling.  We  have  to  fill  in  much  matter  from 
other  sources,  but  Professor  Orr  gives  us  the  spirit 
and  the  life.  And  it  is  a  perpetual  surprise  that 
in  condensing  he  does  not  dictate,  but  continues 
to  offer  us  the  means  of  judging  the  most  vital 
questions  for  ourselves.  We  do  not  always  agree 
with  his  verdict,  but  we  always  respect  it,  for  he 
respects  our  right  to  disagree. 


CULTURE  AND  RESTRAINT.  Bv  Hugh  Black. 
{Bedder  is'  SUugAlon.     Crown  8vo,  pp,  395.     6s.) 

Religion  is  more  difficult  than  theology.  There 
are  those  who  can  discover  a  new  theory  of  the 
Atonement  (and  there  are  easier  things  in  theology 
than  that)  who  cannot  take  up  their  cross  daily 
and  follow  Jesus.  Mr.  Black  does  well  to  address 
himself  to  religion.  The  truth  is  we  have  taken 
in  enough  of  theological  food  for  the  present,  we 
must  get  it  digested.  Not,  What  am  I  to  believe? 
now  for  a  little,  but,  What  am  I  to  do? 

There  are  two  plans  of  life,  the  aesthetic  and 
the  ascetic,  or  the  cultured  and  the  restrained. 
Both  are  wrong.  Jesus  Christ  our  example  followed 
neither.  Nor  is  it  right  to  go  first  a  little  into  the 
one  and  then  a  little  into  the  other.  Nor  again  is 
a  compromise  between  them  right.  The  com- 
promise is  perhaps  of  all  the  devil's  devices  the 
most  devilish. 

The  aesthetic  ideal  is  right  in  so  far  as  it  takes 
of  the  things  that  are  lovely  in  the  world  and 
transmits  them  into  grace  of  character  under  the 
operation  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  The  ascetic  ideal 
is  right  in  so  far  as  it  cuts  off  from  the  life  and 
character  all  that  is  antagonistic  to  the  glory  of 
God,  all  that  is  really  of  the  world,  the  flesh,  and 
the  devil. 

So,  or  nearly  so,  does  Mr.  Black  most  eloquently 
persuade  us.  His  book  Is  itself  a  demonstration 
of  the  truth  and  workableness  of  his  theory.  He 
has  made  it  a  most  attractive  work  of  art,  he  has 
made  it  also  a  most  impressive  advocate  for 'the 
following  of  Jesus.' 


THE  MIRACLES  OF  JESUS.    By  thb  Right  Rev. 

Cosuo  Goi<ix>N   Lang.     {IsbitUr.     Ciown  Svo,   pp, 

296.  6*.) 
It  is  a  curious  commentary  on  our  modern 
Christianity  that  a  writer  on  our  Lord's  miracles 
has  to  explain  at  the  outset  that  he  is  not  writing 
either  critically  or  apologetically.  They  were  not 
done  for  the  use  of  either  the  critic  or  the  apolo- 
gist. They  were  the  expression  of  the  Person, 
the  acts  that  became  Him,  the  inevitable  outcome 
of  His  human  activity.  They  were  done  that  we 
might  behold  His  glory — full  of  grace  and  truth. 
But  we  have  to  be  recalled  to  that.  We  have  to 
be  reminded  that  the  use  of  the  miracles  is  their 
religious  use,  that  the  question.  What  do  they 
mean  for  us?  is  more  than  the  question,  VVere 
they  ever  wrought?  The  critic  and  the  exegete 
will  pass  by  a  book  like  this.  For  they  will  copy 
the  Jews  who  sat  at  Simon's  table,  saying  '  Who 
is  this  that  forgiveth  sins  also?'  when  they  might, 
if  they  read  this  edifying  book  simply  and  sincerely, 
hear  the  Saviour  say,  'Thy  faith  hath  saved  thee, 
go  in  peace.'  _^^^ 

MEMORANDA  PAULINA.  Bv  Gkorge  Jacksojj, 
B.A.  i/sdis/tr.  Crown  8vo,  pp.  a68,  31,  6d.) 
The  contents  of  this  book,  like  those  of  Bishop 
Lang's,  appeared  originally  in  Ge<»i  Words.  Mr. 
Jackson,  however,  has  revised  and  rearranged  his 
Gaoii  Words  paper,  which  Dr.  Lang  had  not  time 
to  do.  Perhaps  it  will  not  be  invidious  to  add 
that  even  before  the  revision  they  had  more  in 
them  of  the  results  of  modern  scholarship.  Dr. 
Lang  was  'religious'  only,  Mr.  Jackson  is  exege- 
tical  also,  and  partly  even  apologetic.  Nevertheless, 
his  business  has  been  to  tell  us  how  we  may  find 
Paul  good  unto  edifying.  His  choice  of  passages 
is  made  for  that  end,  and  they  are  wonderfully 
representative.  Moreover,  he  brings  Paul  near. 
'The  Passion  for  Souls,'  for  example  (chap. 
XXX.), — it  is  the  passion  of  Richard  Baxter  also, 
and  of  Wesley,  and  of  Brownlow  North,  and  of 
George  Jackson.         

THE  CHILDREN'S  LONDON.  Bv  Charlotte 
Thorps.  {LeaiUnAall  Press.  410,  pp.  329.) 
This  is  a  captivating  idea.  Miss  Thorpe  be- 
comes guide  to  all  the  children  who  cannot  visit 
London,  but  long  to.  And  if  anything  will  com- 
fort them  in  their  distress,  this  beautiful  book  is 
the  thing.  How  handsome  it  is,  how  smooth  and 
white  its  paper,  how  clear-cut  its  illustrations,  how 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


efTcctire  its  coloured  frontispiece!  The  illustra- 
tions are  all  by  William  Luker,  jun.,  and  that  is 
enough.  Miss  Thorpe  is  a  kind  children's  friend, 
and  she  seems  to  know  London,  its  great  places 
and  its  small,  most  intimately. 

THE  REAL  CHRISTIAN.  Bv  Lucas  Clebvb.  (Long. 
Crown  8vo,  pp.  334.  6s.) 
The  only  fault  one  has  to  find  with  this  book  is 
its  brevity.  It  is  not  a  common  fault  with  this 
type  of  book,  and  for  that  reason  must  be  foi^iven. 
And  the  brevity  gives  the  impression  of  reserve 
power.  Vet  a  greater  effect,  we  feel  sure,  would  be 
produced  by  greater  scope  in  which  to  develop 
the  characters  and  give  them  more  movement  and 
life.  The  greatest  success  of  the  book  is  the  hero. 
Catholic  though  he  became — a  sorry  Catholic,  the 
hard  ecclesiastic  would  say, — he  is  to  be  accepted 
as  a  real  Christian,  a  far  closer  approach  to  the 
type  we  all  feel  after  and  even  see  in  Jesus  than 
any  recent  effort  we  can  name.  The  heroine  never 
takes  her  place, — that  is,  if  Irma  is  the  heroine, — 
she  is  weaker  than  was  necessary,  and  had  no 
right  to  let  herself  be  set  aside  by  Lady  Fellcroft. 
For  the  rest  the  effect  is  wholesome.  A  great  life 
and  not  impossible,  triumphant  also  in  its  tragedy, 
is  made  ours  for  ever. 

There  are  many  children,  we  are  sure,  to  whom 
the  two  Latin  words  Biblia  Innocentium  were 
familiar  before  they  could  conjugate  amare.  For 
Mr.  J.  W.  Mackail  gathered  the  stories  of  the 
Bible  into  a  book  of  that  title,  relating  them  in 
language  that  had  the  rhythm  of  the  old  version 
and  more  than  its  simplicity,  and  it  fell  into  the 
hands  of  discerning  mothers,  who  thereby  taught 
their  little  ones  to  love  both  the  Bible  and  this 
book.  Now  there  has  been  published  Biblia 
Innottntium  Part  II.  (Longmans,  crown  8vo,  pp. 
197,  5s.).  It  tells  'the  story  of  God's  chosen 
people  after  the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
upon  earth '  far  into  the  history  of  the  Church,  Its 
brief  chapters  will  be  less  familiar  to  mothers,  but 
not  less  enjoyable  to  their  children.  The  same 
simplicity  of  language  attains  the  same  univenal 
charm.  ^__^ 

To  their  new  edition  of  Thackeray  Messrs. 
Macmillan  have  added  Pendennis  (crown  Svo,  pp. 
874,  3s.  6d.),  and  The  Newcomes  (pp.  864,  3s.  6d.). 
'Pendennis'  has  Thackeray's  own    illustrations. 


'The  Newcomes'  Richard  Doyle's.  The  great 
novels  are  each  found  in  a  volume  of  perfectly 
convenient  size,  though  the  type  is  large  enough 
to  be  read  with  ease,  and  the  paper  opaque  enough 
to  let  one  page  be  read  at  a  time.  One  welcome 
feature,  not  noticed  till  Vanity  Fair  had  been  some 
time  handled,  and  therefore  missed  last  month, 
is  the  flexibility  of  the  binding.  At  every  page 
the  book  lies  open  flat,  and  there  is  no  breaking 
or  cracking  of  the  back.  A  pleasanter  volume  to 
hold  you  could  not  take  into  your  hand. 

MORE  LETTERS  OF  EDWARD  FITZGERALD. 
{Moimillat:  Globe  Svo,  pp.  295.  St.) 
The  volume  is  again  edited  by  Dr.  Aldis  Wright, 
and  many  of  the  letters  are  addressed  to  him. 
There  is  as  much  self-revelation  jn  them  as  for- 
merly ;  there  is  as  much  ignorance  of  the  world's 
ways,  as  much  sensitiveness  to  its  opinion  of 
Edward  Fitzgerald ;  there  is  as  much  love  of  books 
and  coffee  and  pipes  and — 1870  Port.  Some  of 
the  letters  are  to  Carlyle,  whose  judgment  he 
feared  and  courted.  He  estimated  Lowell  very 
highly,  one  is  pleased  to  see  how  highly  in  these 
days  when  we  are  all  reading  Lowell's  Lt/e — but, 
while  he  has  more  humour,  even  Lowell  has  'not 
nearly  so  much  Delicacy  of  Perception  or  Refine- 
ment of  Style  as  Ste.  Beuve' — a  just  and  welcome 
judgment  also.  _^^ 

OXFORD  STUDIES.  By  John  Richard  Gkeek. 
(Afactmllait.  Globe  Svo,  pp.  334.  55-) 
Some  will  buy  this  book  to  add  it  to  their  set 
of  John  Richard  Green  in  the  '  Everslcy '  Series ; 
some  to  recall  the  Oxford  scenes  they  love ;  and 
some  to  enjoy  true  history  well  told  although  in 
snatches  only  and  in  hints.  The  papers  which 
the  book  contains  are  contributions  towards  a 
history  of  Oxford  never  accomplished.  The  most 
extended,  filling  330  pages,  is  'Oxford  during  the 
Eighteenth  Century.'  It  is  just  an  extension  of 
the  breezy  essays  that  surround  it,  entering  with 
them  into  the  homes,  as  well  as  the  clubs  and 
colleges,  revealing  the  same  shrewd  knowledge  of 
men,  the  same  keen  relish  of  affairs. 

THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS.    Bv  G.  B.  Stbvens, 
Ph.D.,    D.D.     ^Macmillan.     Crown   Svo,   pp.    »3, 
3«.6d.) 
This    volume    belongs    to    Professor    Shailer 

Mathews'  series  of  '  New  Testament  Handbooks.' 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


If  that  series  is  not  yet  generally  known  in  this 
country  we  are  losing  much.  We  are  losing  ac- 
quaintance with  the  best  theologians  of  America, 
and  we  are  losing  the  benefit  of  the  best  popular 
theological  teaching.  Professor  Stevens  gathers 
our  Lord's  words  into  groups  under  great  topics, 
as  His  Attitude  towards  the  Old  TcsUment,  the 
Kingdom  of  God,  the  Father  in  Heaven,  the  Son 
of  Man,  He  has  no  novelties  of  interpretation  to 
disclose.  He  believes  the  teaching  is  intelligible 
in  itself,  if  we  would  take  it  as  it  stands.  In  his 
preliminary  chapter  on  the  Methods  of  Jesus' 
Teaching,  he  states  that  each  of  the  parables 
teaches  a  single  simple  lesson;  the  unjust  judge 
is  nobody,  and  the  widow  is  nobody,  what  is  said 
by  the  judge  or  by  Jesus  is  everything.  Where  all 
is  so  clear  and  capable,  we  need  not  stay  to  note 
a  smgle  slip — Lock  being  credited  with  the  article 
Son  of  Man  in  the  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  instead 
of  Driver. 


CHARLES  ARMSTRONG  FOX:  MEMORIALS.  By 
Sophia  M.  Nugknt.  (Marshall  Bnlheri.  CrowD 
Svo,  pp.  368.) 

If  all  is  true  that  is  here  said  of  Mr.  Fox,  and 
if  nothing  is  kept  back,  he  was  one  of  those  whose 
walk  is  close  with  God.  We  do  not  doubt 
it  is  all  true,  so  many  have  a  hand  in  it  and  they 
all  concur  so  heartily.  We  do  not  suspect  for 
a  moment  that  anything  is  kept  back,  for  the 
sincerity  is  transparent  both  of  Mr.  Fox  himself 
and  of  bis  biographer.  It  was  a  great  privilege 
to  know  such  a  man,  who  'never  gave  his  "testi- 
mony" on  the  platform  of  Keswick,'  but  gave 
it  'in  the  sweet  and  holy  way  he  did  his  life 
duty,*  and  then  'in  the  sweet  and  heavenly 
patience  with  which  he  bore  his  death.'  It 
ii  now  the  privilege  of  us  all,  if  we  will,  to 
know  him  from  these  '  Memorials.'  We  have 
known  him  partly  already  from  his  books, 
and  Mr.  J.  B.  Figgis,  who  knew  both  him  and 
them  well,  says  that  his  secret  is  in  his  books: 
'This  was,  after  all,  Mr.  Fox's  greatest  character- 
istic ;  not  eloquence,  nor  poetic  power,  not  even 
expository  gift,  though  each  of  these  in  large 
measure  were  his ; — his  great  gift  was  that  when 
he  spoke  and  when  he  wrote  he  did  so  as  one 
who  had  seen  the  King's  Face.  His  was  the 
"  intense  intimacy  "  he  speaks  of  in  Green  Pastures 
and  Golden  Gales.' 


PATTIE  E.  EKINS.     [Marikall  Bralluri.     down  Svo, 


pp.  i 


3S-) 


We  have  conferences  '  for  the  deepening  of  the 
spiritual  life,'  and  we  have  books.  This  is  one  of 
the  books.  It  is  the  simple  record  of  a  simple 
life,  with  some  unaffected  letters.  It  is  the  reve- 
lation of  a  life  that  had  been  spiritually  deepened. 
And  its  spirit  and  depth  were  seen  not  in  words 
of  pious  devotion  only,  though  these  are  not 
withheld,  but  in  deeds  of  sympathy  also.  Nothing 
more  tactful,  more  touching,  could  be  written,  we 
think,  than  the  letter  on  page  81  to  a  cousin  who 
had  lost  her  mother.  'I  would  like  to  get  you 
right  into  my  arms  SO  that  I  could  love  out  a 
little  of  the  sympathy  that  cannot  be  written.' 

BETWEEN    LIFE    AND    DEATH.     Bv    Irene   H. 

Barnbs.     {Marshall  BTslhtn.      Post  Svo,   pp.   308. 

3s.  6d.  net. ) 
The  author  oi  Between  Life  and  Death  believes 
in  Medical  Missions.  She  believes  that  they  are 
to  be  the  missions  of  the  future,  their  success 
being  universal  and  immediate.  In  this  book  she 
tells  the  story  of  Medical  Missions  under  the 
C.E.Z.M.S.  in  India,  China,  and  Ceylon.  The 
story  is  crowded  with  incident,  sometimes  of  the 
most  painful  but  always  of  the  most  impressive 
kind;  and  the  incidents  are  made  memorable  l^ 
excellent  photographs,  which  are  due  to  two  clever 
artists.  If  we  were  teaching  our  Lord's  miracles 
of  healing,  we  should  find  many  useful  illustrations 
in  this  volume. 

JOHN  HOWARD.  By  Edgar  C.  S.  Gibson.  {Mttkutn. 
Fe«p.  Svo,  pp.  234.  3s.  6d.) 
Messrs.  Melhuen  have  done  up  this  little  bio- 
graphy very  charmingly,  and  it  deserves  it.  Dr. 
Gibson  has  not  missed  his  opportunity.  A  short 
bright  life  of  John  Howard  will  be  welcomed  in 
many  schools  and  homes.  The  lads  who  see  life 
before  them,  reading  this,  wilt  seek  to  live  it 
nobly.  And  those  who  look  back  00  life  will  yet 
be  thankful  to  read  that  one  man  fought  the  good 
fight  so  strenuously. 

THE   AGAPE  AND  THE   EUCHARIST.     By   J.   F. 

Keating,    D.D.      {Mclhuen.     Crown   Svo,  pp.  119. 

3S.  6d.) 
'  The  Agape  has  long  been  regarded  as,  if  not, 
like  Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  "the  eternal  enigma  of 
history,"  at  least  one  of  the  obscurest  of  problems, 


314 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


and  I  do  not  profess  to  have  solved  it.'  Dr. 
Keating  thus  introduces  his  book.  He  knows 
what  has  been  said  upon  it  from  the  beginning  to 
the  present  day ;  he  has  studied  the  original 
sources  for  himself;  and  he  has  a  mind  of  his 
own.  From  first  to  last  he  writes  wiih  the  utmost 
modesty,  but  that  never  leads  him  into  sycophancy. 
And  if  he  has  not  solved  the  problem,  it  must  be 
because,  as  he  says  himself,  the  materials  for  its 
solution  are  even  yet  not  sufficient. 

His  conclusions  respecting  the  origin  and 
earliest  observance  of  the  Agape  and  its  relation 
to  the  Eucharist  are  these.  The  Agape  was  a 
distinctly  Christian  feast,  arising  out  of  our  Lord's 
supping  regularly  with  His  disciples,  and  also 
speaking  of  His  kingdom  under  the  image  of  a 
Supper.  The  Agape  and  the  Eucharist  were  at 
first  united,  the  Eucharist  being  the  culmination 
— the  sacrificial  culmination — of  the  Feast, 

The  book  is  the  product  of  very  real  scholar- 
ship, and  in  all  discussions  of  its  subject  not  only 
deserves  but  demands  attention. 

THE  CHURCHMAN'S  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE 
OLD  TESTAMENT.  Bv  Angus  M.  Mackav, 
M.A.  (Mt/hutn.  Crown  8vo,  pp.  317.  &.) 
'  What  he  means  by  the  Churchman's  Introduc- 
tion Mr,  Mackay  nowhere  tells  us.  Perhaps  he 
means  the  church  member,  the  person  who  is 
interested  already  in  the  Old  Testament,  not  the 
outsider  or  the  infidel,  for  he  says  his  book  is 
primarily  intended  for  the  intelligent  layman. 
But  it  does  not  matter.  It  is  just  the  book  which 
hundreds  of  clergymen  have  been  waiting  for,  in 
order  to  get  their  Old  Testament  lectures  into 
modern  shape  and  interest,  it  is  just  the  book 
which  thousands  of  laymen  have  been  expecting, 
in  order  to  understand  what  this  Higher  Criticism 
is,  and  what  the  Old  Testament  is  after  the  Higher 
Criticism  is  done  with  it.  Mr.  Mackay  has  great 
sympathy  with  the  intelligent  layman.  He  does 
not  denounce  the  Higher  Criticism,  he  does  not 
praise  it.  He  tells  what  it  is,  he  shows  what  it 
has  done.  He  has  written  an  Introduction  to  the 
Old  Testament  on  critical  lines,  which  will  be 
welcome  for  its  plain  candid  information,  whatever 
may  be  felt  about  the  Higher  Criticism.  His  first 
chapter  is  on  Inspiration.  In  his  hands  Inspiration 
is  a  matter  of  interest  to  ordinary  men.  He 
makes  it  so.  He  makes  them  feel  it  so.  And  he 
is  not  afraid.     'Inspiration,'  he  says,  'does  not 


guarantee  him  who  possesses  it  against  all  error. 
Here  also,'  he  goes  on,  'an  analogy  may  help  us. 
When  we  say  that  Shakespeare  surpassed  all  other 
men  in  poetic  inspiration,  what  do  we  mean  ?  Not 
that  in  dealing  with  disputed  historical  questions 
he  was  infallible,  but  that  he  had  an  incomparable 
eye  for  the /oetic  and  dramatic  e\tmtx\t%  of  history. 
His  genius  did  not  make  him  an  authority  upon 
botany  or  astronomy,  it  only  inspired  him  to  turn 
stars  and  flowers  to  the  very  highest  poetic  uses 
conceivable.  So  the  prophets  were  inspired  in 
matters  pertaining  to  God ;  they  had  a  genius  for 
religioa' 

Messrs.  Morgan  &  Scott  publish  in  a  cheap 
form  the  remarkable  story  of  the  'Cambridge 
Seven ' — the  athletes  and  scholars  who  sixteen 
years  ago  gave  up  scholarship  to  be  scholars  in 
Christ's  school  and  athletics  to  compass  sea  and 
land  in  the  service  of  the  Gospel.  The  title  is  A 
Story  Retold  (6d.  net). 


A  supplementary  volume  to  Martyred  Mtsiion- 
aritsof  the  China  Inland  Mission  has  been  issued 
by  Messrs.  Morgan  &  Scott  under  the  title  of  Last 
Letters  and  Further  Records  of  Martyred  Mission- 
aries (8vo,  pp.  105,  with  19  illustrations,  zs.  6d.). 
The  book  is  edited  by  Marshall  Broomhall,  B.A. 
It  contains  the  record  of  experiences  that  are  as 
heart-rending  in  their  simple  bravery  as  any  in  the 
first  volume.  To  that  it  adds  complete  lists,  with 
portraits  and  mnch  information,  of  those  who  in 
the  China  Inland  Mission  endured  even  unto 
death. 

JOSHUA  AND  THE  LAND   OK   PROMISE.     8v  F. 

B.  Mbver,  B.A.     (Morgan  &•  Scoll.     Post  Svo,  pp. 

193.  3s.  6d.) 
Mr.  Meyer  names  two  or  three  books,  'to  all  of 
which  I  gladly  confess  my  obligations.'  But  this 
work  is  his  own.  He  has  considered  Joshua  for 
himself,  and  understood  him  in  his  own  way.  It 
is  of  course  a  way  much  influenced  by  the  things 
which  Christ  has  wrought.  Mr.  Meyer  makes  no 
effort  to  detach  himself  from  Christ  and  present 
Joshua  to  us  with  the  aid  of  the  historical  imagina- 
tion alone.  The  things  of  Christ,  even  the  deep 
things,  are  used  to  make  Joshua  ours  in  the  fulness 
of  God's  own  prophetic  vision  of  him.  And  so 
also  the  Land  of  Promise  is  a  land  whioheye  hath 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


21$ 


not  seen  even  yet,  the  'land  of  morning  glories 
and  unexampled  green '  which  awaits  the  people 
of  God.  It  is  Joshua  and  the  Land  of  Promise, 
as  fae  may  be  made  useful  for  inatruction  in 
righteousness  by  us  to-day. 

In  conjunction  with  Messrs.  Nisbet  the  Christian 
Literature  Company  of  Edinbu^h  have  published 
a  small  volume  of  'Verses  on  the  Christian  Life,' 
by  the  late  William  J.  Govan,  entitled  In  His 
Presetut.  Few  of  the  poems  can  be  quoted  at 
length,  yet  few  are  unworthy  if  we  had  space. 
Take  the  first  two  verses  of  'God  Blessed  for 
Ever ' — 

Our  God,  could  we  but  Me 
The  lovelineis  Thou  »it, 
Then  would  our  waking  heart 
Seek  onlf  Thee. 

All  happinest  is  Thine, 
And  happiness  below 
Is  bui  the  atter'glow 
or  joy  divine. 


The  Church  Directory  and  Almanack  is  one  of 
the  bravest  enterprises  in  publishing  of  our  day. 
It  could  be  called  so  last  year  on  its  first  appear- 
ance.    Now  it  may  be  called  also  one  of  the  most 


successful.  So  well  has  it  been  received  that  the 
editor  makes  it  larger  and  fuller  this  year,  and  the 
publishers  issue  it  at  the  same  price  (Nisbet, 
crown  8vo,  pp.  672,  as,  net).  This  is  to  bring 
within  every  man's  reach  all  the  information  he 
can  desire  regarding  the  Church  of  England,  its 
Clergy,  and  its  Benefices,  and  all  in  the  most 
marvellous  accuracy.  This  year's  volume  begins  a 
list  of  the  Colonial  Clergy,  which  next  year's  volume 
is  expected  to  present  in  completeness.  It  is 
useless  for  any  clei^man  to  go  farther  or  pay 
more ;  he  will  get  everything  here,  including  notes 
for  his  sermons  and  a  selection  of  books  for  his 
library.  

LIFE:      ITS     MYSTERIES     NOW     AND     AFTER 

DEATH.     By   the    Rev.    Alexander   Wright, 

M.A.     (Oliphant.     Crown  8vo,  pp.  330.     3s.  6d.) 

The  things  beyond  the  veil  never  lose  their 

interest  albeit  we  get  no  nearer  their  knowledge 

with  all  our  discussions.     Mr.  Wright  knows  now, 

for  he  was  just  on  the  shore,  it  turned  out,  as  he 

prepared  his  book.     But  he  wrote  before  he  knew, 

and  although  he  had  a  pleasant  manner  of  writing 

and  ample  acquaintance  with  the  literature,  he 

leaves  us  where  we  were.     His  book  should  be 

got    by    those    who    cannot    afford    Salmond's 

Christian  Doctrine  of  Immortality. 


C6e  (Bitere   of  ®amaecu». 

Bv  Ernest  W.  Gurney  Mastebman,  F.R.C.S.,  F.R.G.S.,  late  of  Damascus. 


'Art  tut  Amana  (A.V.  Aiatta)  and  Pharfar,  rivers  of 
Danuucui,  ttlter  than  all  the  ■waters  of  Israel  ?  May  I  not 
tuasA  in  iMtm,  and  de  dean  ? '  (2  K  5"). 

Unanimity  of  opinion  regarding  the  identification 
of  the  Amana  and  Fharpar  may  perhaps  be  scarcely 
hoped  for.  It  is  indeed  possible,  though  highly 
improbable,  that  an  entirely  new  theory  may  some 
day  be  started.  It  may  be,  too,  that  some  new 
discovery  may  settle  the  question  once  for  all ; 
but,  meanwhile,  I  am  venturing  briefly  to  review 
the  'Rivers  of  Damascus'  as  I  have  seen  them 
during  three  years'  residence  in  the  capital  of 
Syria,  in  the  endeavour  to  help  others  to  form  their 
own  conclusions  as  to  the  possibility  of  a  satis- 
factwy  identification,  and  as  to  the  merits  of  rival 
suggestions.     My  notes,  made  on  the  spot  some 


years  ago,  have  been  laid  aside,  as  I  thought  it 
was  impossible  much  difference  of  opinion  on  the 
subject  could  be  maintained ;  but  as  I  find  at  least 
two  rival  theories  holding  the  field,  I  venture  now 
to  write  them  up. 

Briefly,  then,  I  propose  (i)  to  describe  all  the 
known  'rivers  of  Damascus'  as  we  find  them 
to-day ;  (a)  to  indicate  the  many  proposed  identi- 
fications ;  and  (3)  to  state  my  reasons  for  adopt- 
ing the  only  one  which  appears  to  be  at  all 
tenable. 

I.  The  Modern  Rivers  0/ Damascui.-^To  those 
visiting  Damascus  for  a  hurried  excursion  there 
appears  to  be  but  one  river — the  Barada — that 
beautiful,  quick  •  running,  noisy  stream  which 
to-day  accompanies  the  railway  train,  as  once  it 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


gladdened  the  wear;  eye  of  the  diligence  traveller, 
for  the  last  hour  and  a  half  of  his  journey  from 
Beyrout  to  Damascus.  The  stream,  and  the 
beautiful  verdure  produced  by  its  distributed 
waters  along  the  narrow  valley  of  the  Wady 
Baiada  and  out  into  the  great  plain — the  GhiHah 
—in  which  the  'Oldest  City  in  the  World'  lies 
'like  a  pearl  set  in  emeralds,'  can  never  be 
forgotten  by  any  who  have  been  privileged  to 
see  it,  much  less  by  any  who  have  lived  on 
its  banks,  and  upon  its  abundant  produce.  Rising 
high  up  in  the  heart  of  the  Anti-Lebanon — at  the 
northern  foot  of  Hermon,  in  a  large  open  pool 
300  yards  long,  it  speeds  quickly  over  the  short 
space  of  level  ground  which  forms  the  southern 
end  of  the  great  plain  of  Zebedani;  and  passing 
to-day  under  a  railway  bridge,  it  plunges  into 
its  valley  path,  down  which  it  descends,  by  a 
long  succession  of  cascades  and  torrents,  a 
thousand  feet  in  33  miles.  The  waters  of  this 
abundant  'Aiit  Fundtfk  are  more  than  doubled, 
rather  over  half-way  down,  by  the  copious,  almost 
ice-cold,  spring  'Atn  Fejeh,  which  to-day  rises 
from  the  bowels  of  the  earth  amid  the  ruins  of 
a  temple  dedicated  in  ancient  times  to  the  god 
of  the  Spring.  As  it  approaches  Damascus,  but 
before  it  leaves  the  Wady  Barada,  the  river, 
now  of  considerable  volume,  is  subjected  to  a 
succession  of  dams,  whereby  its  waters  are  turned 
off  right  and  left  into  canals.  Of  these  there  are 
six,  making  with  the  main  stream  seven,^  'rivers' 
for  the  watering  of  Damascus  and  districL  These 
canals  pass  off  at  different  levels,  so  that  at 
Rubjuek,  the  mouth  of  the  valley,  one  finds  as 
he  passes  out  five  streams  to  the  right  of  the 
road,  and  two  to  the  left.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
very  few  visitors  have  taken  the  trouble,  or  had 
the  opportunity,  to  observe  this;  and  in  many 
travellers'  accounts,  both  ancient  and  modem, 
only  two,  three,  or  maybe  four  streams  are 
mentioned. 

Commencing  with  the  canals  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  river,  we  find  high  up  on  the  cliffs — 

(i)  The  Nahr  Daiwani,  ^V^- — This  arises 
above  the  village  of  Dummar,  and  supplies  a  large 
mill  near  there.      It  contains'  a  comparatively 

'  Eight,  counling  (he  'Airaiani,  which  branches  off  just 
inside  the  modern  city. 

*  The  remarks  on  the  condition  of  the  canals  were  wrillen 
on  the  spot  some  four  je^rs  ago. 


small  quantity  of  water,  through  want  of  repair 
and  consequent  leakage.  It  passes  through  deep 
tunnels  in  the  solid  rock  in  many  places,  and  was 
made  to  hold  much  more  water  than  it  does  at 
present.  As  it  turns  out  towards  the  plain, 
in  (he  direction  of  the  village  of  Darayya,  which 
it  was  apparently  made  to  supply,  It  contains  little 
water,  and  is  much  overgrown  with  reeds. 
Some  10  feet  or  more  lower  down  is  the — 

(a)  Nahr  Missaweh,  t^y*- — This  at  present 
contains  a  somewhat  larger  volume  of  water  than 
the  Daiwani ;  in  places  it  passes  through  rock 
tunnels,  but  it  is  chiefly  an  open  channel;  at 
present  it  is  a  good  deal  overgrown  with  reeds,  etc. 
It  goes  to  the  village  of  Mizseh  and  the  gardens 
beyond. 

(3)  Below  this  again  is  the  Nahr  Kanawal, 
dJljUj  —  the  River  of  Canals,  literally.  This 
stream,  of  course,  leaves  the  Barada  a  good  deal 
further  down  than  the  two  before  mentioned.  For 
any  who  go  to  Damascus,  I  may  mention  that  I  have 
noted  that  it  arises  '  close  to  the  railway  signal-box 
where  the  road  crosses  the  railway.'  It  contains 
also  much  more  vrater  than  the  channels  above. 
It  passes  east  of  the  new  barracks,  runs  parallel 
with  the  new  railway  along  a  covered-in  channel, 
and  passes  into  the  city  by  a  fine  old  Roman 
aqueduct,  now  half  hidden  by  the  high  level  of 
the  road  beside  it,  and  thence  supplies  a  large 
section  of  the  city  with  water. 

(4)  The  Baniai,  ^^bJL',  is  also  a  large  and 
important  canal :  it  arises  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Wady,  and  passing  east  of  the  Merj,  at  several 
spots  traversing  rock  tunnels,  it  enters  the  city 
about  half-way  between  the  Kanawal  and  the 
Barada,  and  supplies  another  large  section  of  the 
city. 

As  these  canals,  at  any  rale  the  ones  of  im- 
portance, are  from  lime  to  time  emptied  by 
diverting  the  waters  in  order  that  they  may  be 
cleaned  out,  the  inhabitants  know  well  enough,  to 
their  cost  very  often,  from  which  canal  their  bouses 
are  supplied. 

(5)  The  main  stream — the  Barada,  ^jJji, — 
would  be  much  smaller  than  it  is  but  for  the  con- 
tinual leakage  into  it  from  its  canals  on  each  side. 
It  [>asses  from  the  Jiubway  through  some  gardens, 
and  emerges  at  the  Merj, — a  large  open  meadow, 
— where  it  runs  beside  the  high  road  (the  French 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


iij 


dil^ence  road)  until  it  reaches  the  Serai  Square. 
Here  it  plunges  beneath  a  bridge,  not  (as  Dr. 
G.  A.  Smith  >  has  it)  to  pass  '  in  lesser  conduits 
and  pipes  to  every  bouse  and  court  in  the  city,' 
but  to  give  off  the  ca.na\.' Akmbane  (^Ijjc)  which 
runs  'between  the  walls,'— that  is,  between  the 
sites  of  the  two  lines  of  walls  which  protected 
this  northern  side  of  the  city.  It  emerges  a  little 
farther  on,  after  passing  under  the  Serai  Square, 
and  runs  along  the  moat  of  the  north  wall  of  the 
city  until  it  reaches  Bab  Tuma.  Here  it  leaves 
the  city  to  wind  among  the  gardens,  and  finally, 
with  much  of  the  water  of  other  channels  also,  it 
loses  itself  in  the  great  marshy  lakes  to  the  east  of 
the  city. 

The  two  remaining  canals,  those  on  the  left 
bank,  are  both  large  and  of  elaborate  construction. 
They  are,  in  many  places,  built  up  of  masonry  to 
a  great  height  against  the  steep  cliffs. 

(6)  The  Taura,  \j^,  or  more  correctly,  Ijjfe,  the 
lower  of  the  two,  arises  not  far  up  the  valley.  At 
Ruhvay  it  makes  a  remarkable  dive  through  a 
tunnel  in  an  obstructing  ridge  of  cliff.  On  reach- 
ing the  open  it  works  north-westward,  making  a 
great  sweep  round  the  western  flank  of  the  city. 
It  passes  chiefly  through  gardens,  but  supplies  the 
western  suburbs  outside  the  ancient  city  walls. 
It  moves  on  as  a  shallow  stream  with  muddy  banks, 
overhung  with  trees,  to  water  the  land  beyond 
the  city,  and,  like  the  Barada,  terminates  in  the 
lakes. 

(7)  The  Yazid,  jyjj.— This,  the  largest  and 
highest  of  the  canals,  leaves  the  Barada  near 
Hameh.  On  reaching  the  Rubwth  it  makes  a 
wider  sweep  northward  than  the  Taura,  almost, 
one  might  say,  skirting  the  foot  of  the  northern 
hills.  It  flows  through  and  supplies  the  suburb 
of  Salyheyek,  and  passes  to  the  villages  of  Harista, 
DUma,  etc. 

The  Arabic  historians,^  Idrasi,  1154  a.d,,  and 
Dimashki,  1300  a.d.,  give  almost  identical  names 
to  these  channels.  The  Yazid,  Thaurah,  and 
Barada  are  identical.  The  Banias  is  called  the 
Banas  by  Idrasi,  and  the  Balniyas  by  Dimashki 
Banas  is  probably  the  ancient  name,  which  has 
become  corrupted  to  Banias  through  some  con- 
fusion with  Banias,  the  site  of  Csssarea  PhiUppi 

'  Hislvriiol  Geography  of  the  Holy  Land,  7th  ed.  p.  646, 
'  See  Paieseittt  under  Ike  Maslemi,  by  Guy  le  Strange 
(Paleitine  Explonlion  Fund), 


and  source  of  the  Jordan.  The  Meziaweh  is 
called  by  both  the  Kanat  et  Mizzeh,  after  the  village 
it  supplies,  and  the  Dairan^  is  the  Adayah  of 
Idrasi  and  the  Darayyah  of  Dimashki — all  practi- 
cally the  same.  The  only  doubtful  one  is  the 
Kanawat,  which,  though  so  called  by  Dimashki, 
must  correspond  to  either  the  Nahr  Sakt  or  the 
Nahr  Yashkiir  of  Idrasi ;  the  'Akrabani  may  be 
the  other. 

It  is  evident  that  these  canals  are  of  extreme 
antiquity,  especially  those  on  the  right  bank,  as 
without  them  the  site  of  the  city  of  Damascus 
would  be  a  waterless  desert,  intersected  with  one 
green-fringed  river — the  Barada. 

When  we  turn  from  the  Barada  we  find  but  one 
other  river  in  the  Damascus  district  This  is  the 
'AwaJ — the  'brawling  little  Awaj,'  as  the  late  Dr. 
Wright  called  it.  It  seems  to  have  fared  badly  in 
his  descriptions,  the  reader's  prejudices  against  it 
being  excited  by  the  mention  of  the  large  number 
of  'toads,  tortoises,  frogs,  and  leeches'  that  sur- 
round any  one  venturing  to  bathe  in  it.  I  shall 
not  attempt  a  detailed  description  of  the  crooked 
Awaj  (that  will  be  found  fully  in  Dr.  Porter's 
works),  but  it  is  far  more  attractive  than  would  be 
supposed.  Rising  from  the  very  heart  of  Hermon 
at  Arny,  or,  by  its  other  head,  from  the  south-west 
slopes  of  that  great  mountain  near  Beit  Jenn,  the 
Awaj  has  as  clear  and  fresh  a  beginning  as  any  river 
in  the  district.  The  two  branches  unite  at  SoiSt, 
and  the  stream  runs  a  very  crooked  course  through 
the  plain  south  of  the  Jebal  el  Aswad,  under  the 
modern  bridge  on  the  Damascus- Mezerib  Railway, 
and  on  to  the  southernmost  of  the  marshy  lakes  of 
Damascus.  It  is  true  that  in  the  latter  part  of  its 
course  it  is  muddy,  but  that  is  no  drawback  to  its 
usefulness.  Even  to-day  it  is  used  for  irrigation 
purposes,  and  one  canal  stilt  passes  towards  the 
city;  but  it  is  evident  that  in  old  days  its  waters 
were  much  more  utilized.  Remains  of  old 
aqueducts  are  found  to-day,  and  the  south  end 
of  the  ghHtah,  which  evidently  should  be  watered 
from  it,  is  now,  for  want  of  water,  little  culti- 
vated, and  a  marked  contrast  to  the  immensely 
fruitful  area  supported  by  the  sister  stream,  the 
Barada. 

I  have  said  there  are  but  two  '  rivers '  of  Damas- 
cus, but  I  should  perhaps  add  that  a  small  stream 
coming  down  the  Wady  Helbott  has  by  some 
been  claimed  to  be  the  Fharpar.  To  me  this 
identification  appears  to   be  impossible,  and  the 


ai8 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


comparison  of  such  a  streamlet  with  the  Jordan 
absurd. 

Putting  this  aside,  there  are  at  least  four  pro- 
posals that  have  had,  or  have,  their  day.  At  the 
middle  of  last  century  I  find^  that  the  Barada 
was  supposed  to  be  the  Pharpar,  and  the  Awaj 
the  Abana.  I  am  unable  to  say  on  what  grounds 
this  identification  was  made ;  but  I  agree  vrith 
a  still  earlier  writer  who  states  that  the  first 
mentioned,  the  Amana  (or  Abana),  was  certainly 
the  more  important,  and  therefore  of  these  two 
must  be  the  Barada. 

Secondly,  we  find  the  two  fountains^  'Ain 
Fundult  (or  Barada)  and  *Ain  Fejeh  suggested 
as  the  two  rivers;  but  it  seems  to  have  been 
made  by  those  who  relied  on  false  descriptions 
of  the  locality. 

Lastly,  we  have  the  two  rival  popular  views 
of  to^lay — that  of  the  tate  Dr.  Wright*  and  that 
supported  by  Robinson,*  Porter,'  and  I  know 
not  how  many  others.  Dr.  Wright  availed  him- 
self of  so  many  opportunities  for  bringing  his 
views  to  the  front,  and  did  so  with  such  assurance 
and  enthusiasm,  that  they  have  been  widely 
adopted  in  spite  of  their  not  having  (as  he  him- 
self says  of  Porter's  views)  '  a  single  claim,  logical 
or  archieological,  to  be  so  honoured.' 

Dr.  Wright's  view  was  briefly  this,  that  the 
Abana  was  the  Canal  Banias,  and  the  Pharpar 
the  Canal  Taura.  For  the  elaboration  of  his 
views  I  must  refer  the  reader  to  the  ExposUor, 
vol.  iv.,«  1896.  Briefly  his  arguments  are — (t) 
that  the  word  Banias  (he  calls  it  Abanias)  is 
like  the  word  Abana;  (z)  that  the  Taura,  inas- 
much as  it  supplied  the  best  baths  of  the  city, 
roust  have  been  the  Pharpar ;  (3)  that  the  Awaj, 
being  too  muddy  for  a  satisfactory  bath,  could 

'John  Wilson,  Zanrfi  of  the  Bible,  1847;  KiHo,  Cte- 
grapky  ef  Palestine,   1850. 

'  Deiiriptive  Geography  ef  Palestine,  by  S.  Schwan,  trans- 
lated by  Isaac  Leeser,  1850. 

'  Wright  in  Expontsr,  1896,  toI.  iv.;  Leisure  Hour, 
1874:  P'llmyraandZenobia;  •  Bibie  Soatlj's  ffaaditxri  sf 
the  Bible,-  etc.  Also  Sir  C.  W.  Wilson  in  Smith's  Ditliimary 
ef  the  Bible  (1893),  vol.  i.  p.  3;  Oxford  Companion  to  the 
Bible,  p.  110;  Armstrong's  Names  and  Places  (Palestine 
Exploration  Fund). 

*  Robinson's  Sescarches,  vol.  ill.  pp.  446,  447. 
'Porter's    Four     Years    aJ    Damascus,    vol.    i.,     I8SS ; 

Journal  of  Saired  Literature,  Kos.  8  and  9  (July  and 
October),   :853. 

•  The  passages  quoted  below  are  either  from  this  source 
or  (rom  Dt.  Wright's  Palmyra  and  Zenoiia. 


not  have  been  the  Pharpar;  (4)  that  his  views 
are  supported  by  local  tradition ;  (5)  that  an 
Arabic  version  of  the  Bible,  published  in  i545> 
supports  his  views;  and  (6)  that  his  view  is 
supported  by  Benjamin  of  Tudela. 

Against  the  first  argument  two  objeclions 
may  be  urged.  The  name  Amana  is  now  gener- 
ally accepted  instead  of  Abana;  and  secondly, 
the  name  Abanias,  on  which  Dr.  Wright  laid 
so  much  stress,  is  certainly  not  the  name  of  the 
canal  in  question.  All  the  best  modem  authori- 
ties give  the  name  as  Banias.  I  myself,  after 
much  inquiry,  never  found  any  trace  of  a  name 
Abanias.  Further,  I  have  just  received  a  letter 
from  the  Rev.  J.  Stewart  Crawford,  who,  in  addition 
to  having  been  bom  and  brought  up  in  Damascus, 
has  spent  many  years  there  as  a  missionary. 
He  says,  'I  have  never  heard  the  Canal  Banias 
called  Abanias.  I  have  inquired  of  Moslems  since 
getting  your  note,  and  none  of  them  ever  beard 


In  the  old  Arabic  writers  the  name  always 
appears,  so  far  as  I  know,  as  Banas  or  Balniyas. 

I  cannot  help  thinking  that  some  Damascenes 
had  endeavoured  to  please  Dr.  Wright  by  further- 
ing his  views  with  a  piece  of  fictitious  nomen- 
clature ! 

2.  The  identification  of  the  Pharpar  seems  to 
rest  on  no  grounds  at  all  —  mere  guesswork. 
The  Taura  is  by  no  means  one  of  the  most 
important  canals  for  the  city.  The  Kanawat, 
Banias,  and  the  Barada  are  all  more  important. 
The  Taura  is  entirely  cut  off  from  the  city  proper 
by  the  main  stream.  As  to  the  '  western  suburbs, 
luxurious  and  healthy,'  they  rest  on  no  historic 
or  antiquarian  grounds,  and  at  such  a  time  of 
political  unsettlement  are,  to  say  the  least,  highly 
improbable.  It  may  be  pointed  out,  too,  that 
Dr.  Wright  entirely  ignores  the  main  stream,  the 
Barada  itself,  which  must  always  have  been  a 
prominent  object  in  the  city. 

When  first  I  became  acquainted  with  Dr. 
Wright's  theory  I  thought  perhaps  that  I  might 
find  evidence  that  once  there  were  but  two  rivers 
entering  Damascus,  and  these,  the  Barada,  bifur- 
cated Into  the  Banias  and  the  Taura ;  but  of  this 
I  find  none.  Dr.  Wright  indeed  himself  admits, 
'There  need  be  no  question  that  the  same,'  i.e. 
seven,  'rivers  with  various  names  flowed  through 
the  city  in  the  days  of  Naaman  and  Eliaha.'  Is 
there  not,  too,  an  almost  insuperable  difBculty 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


219 


in  associating  the  riven  of  Damascus  as  con- 
trasted with  the  Jordan  with  canals,  artificially 
mad«,  and  emptied  and  filled  periodically  at  will? 
The  fact  that  Nakr,  i.e.  river,  is  prefixed  to  the 
names  of  these  canals  adds  nothing  to  Dr.  Wright's 
argument,  as  it  is  used  for  almost  any  running 

3-  Much  of  Dr.  Wright's  argument  is  founded 
on  the  idea  that  Naaroan,  captain  of  the  host 
of  Syria,  was  chiefly  engaged  in  considering  what 
river  would  give  him  the  cleanest  bath !  Surely 
the  question  of  the  purity  of  tbe  water  is  entirely 
beside  the  point.  The  thousands  of  pilgrims 
who  annually  throng  the  banks  of  the  Jordan 
for  a  dip  in  its  sacred  waters  are  not  greatly 
concerned  that  its  waters  are  loaded  with  sedi- 
ment, or  that  it  is  a  dangerous  river  for  a  swim. 
I  imagine  Naaman  may  have  had  two  thoughts 
in  his  mind :  (i)  the  relative  powers  of  the  local 
gods  of  the  two  districts,  and  (a)  tbe  usefulness 
of  the  rivers.  The  first,  and  very  probably  the 
only  thought,  lies  behind  the  whole  story.  Was 
not  his  pride  humbled  at  having  to  submit  to 
the  God  of  Israel?  Did  he  not  connect  that 
God  intimately  with  the  land,'  and  doubtless  also 
with  the  river  of  that  land? 

But  if  the  second  thought  was  also  present, 
how  truly  he  spoke,  that  is,  if  we  m<y  judge 
of  such  early  days  by  what  we  know  since.  Were 
not  Amana  and  Phar'par  (if  the  Barada  and  the 
Awaj)  better  than  all  the  waters  of  Israel  in  the 
immense  area  of  fertility — the  wealth  of  the  whole 
kingdom — produced  by  their  widely  spread  waters  ? 
Where  in  Israel  could  such  rivers  be  shown  ? 

This  wide  outlook  on  his  country's  gods,  or 
his  country's  possessions,  or  both,  is  surely  more 
worthy  of  a  general  than  thoughts  of  'the  crystal 
waters  that  flowed  through  his  court,  and  had 
so  often  refreshed  him  in  his  marble  bath  when 
he  returned  weary  and  dust  -  stained  from  his 
campaigns ' !  - 

4.  With  respect  to  local  tradition,  I  venture  to 
say  it  is  all  against  Dr.  Wright.  The  only  local 
opinion  he  quotes  is  that  of  the  late  Dr.  Mashaka  ° 
— a  learned  Protestant,  no  doubt,  but  not  a  native 
of  the  city  (I  understand  that  either  he  himself  or 
his  father  came  from  the  Ionian  Isles).  Mr. 
Crawford  in  his  letter  to  me  says,  '  I  never  found 
natives  with  any  ideas  about  the  Pharpar  except 
what  they  got  from  Frangitt' 
'  See  3  K  5".         '  Exposilar,  vol.  iv.  p.  296.         •  Lot.  cii. 


$.  The  Arabic  Version  of  the  Bible  published 
in  1545  seems  after  all  to  be  at  the  root  of  the 
whole  thing,  and  all  that  can  be  said  is  that  the 
translator  appeared  to  hold  the  same  views  as 
Dr.  Wright  as  far  as  the  Pharp.ir  is  concerned; 
but  whether  he  had  ever  visited  Damascus  or 
seen  the  rivers  is  an  open  question.  Because 
a  translator  substitutes  for  Amana  and  Pharpar 
the  words  Abana  and  Taura,  it  is  no  proof  of 
any  carefully  reasoned  out  identification.  I  would 
prefer  to  quote  against  this  the  newly  published 
Arabic  Biblical  J>ietionary,  edited  by  Dr.  Post 
of  Beyrout,  in  which  Porter's  identification  is 
unquestioningly  adopted. 

6,  and  lastly.  Dr.  Wright  claims  that  the  pilgrim 
Benjamin  of  Tudela  supports  his  views.  He  wrote 
in  1 163  A.D.,  and  his  writings  have  been  translated 
into  English.  Let  me  quote  what  he  says,  and 
the  reader  who  has  followed  the  description  given 
above  will  be  able  to  see  bow  far  the  pilgrim's 
account  supports  Dr.  Wright,  or  indeed  (allies 
with  the  account  of  the  rivers  given,  nine  years 
before,  by  the  Arabic  traveller  Idrisi.  He  writes  :  * 
'The  rivers  Amana  and  Parpat,  the  sources  of 
which  are  in  Mount  Hermon  (on  which  the  city 
leans),  run  down  here :  the  Amana  follows  its 
course  through  Damascus,  and  its  waters  are 
carried  by  means  of  pipes  into  the  houses  of  the 
principal  inhabitants  as  well  as  into  the  streets 
and  markets.  .  .  .  The  Parpar  runs  between  the 
gardens  and  orchards  in  the  outskirts,  and  supplies 
them  copiously  with  water.' 

A  footnote,  added  perhaps  by  the  translator, 
says  Amana  =  Barady:  Parpar,  now  called,  El 
Faige.  I  can  see  nothing  in  all  this  to  support 
Dr.  Wright's  theory. 

In  conclusion,  let  me  briefly  recapitulate  the 
positive  reasons  for  identifying  the  Amana  with 
the  Barada,  and  the  Pharpar  witK  the  Awaj. 

In  Damascus  as  a  district  there  are  but  two 
rivers ;  in  ancient  time  undoubtedly  both  these 
were  of  essential  importance  to  the  city's  pro- 
sperity, as  the  whole  district  was  irrigated  by  their 
waters ;  both  of  these  rivers  arise  from  the  roots 
of  Hermon,  and  both  end  in  similar  marshy  lakes 
to  the  east  of  the  city,  and  were  therefore  fairly 
comparable  with  the  only  other  river  rising  from 
Hermon,  the  Jordan,  which  also,  it  may  be 
noticed,  ended  in  a  lake;  in  the  rivalry  between 
*  Early  IHlgrimi  in  Patestint  {Bohn's  edition). 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


the  two  countries,  Palestine  and  Syria,  the  great 
rivers  of  the  two  countries  must  have  been  pro- 
minent objects  of  comparison ;  in  many  respects 
the  'rivers  of  Damascus'  must  have,  to  a  Syrian, 
appeared  far  liner  than  the  comparatively  useless 
though  larger  and  longer  Jordan. 

With  respect  to  the  two  rivers  themselves,  the 
larger,  more  important,  and  the  one  that  must  under 
all  circumstances  have  been  mentioned  first,  must 
have  been  the  present  Barada,  which  therefore 
is  the  Amana.  Some  slight  support  to  the  identi- 
fication of  the  Pharpar  may  be  derived  from  the 
present  name  Jebal  Barbar,  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  one  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Awaj.  I  think 
Dr.  Wright  is  quite  correct  in  saying  the  '  Wady 


Barbar'  and  also,  I  may  add,  the  Nahr  Barbar 
which  figures  large  in  the  Palestine  Exploration 
Map,  have  no  existence.  Mr.  Crawford,  who  bas 
unusual  facilities  for  knowing  this  district,  also 
tells  me,  '  I  have  never  been  able  to  find  a  native 
who  said  "Nahr  Barbar."  The  river  you  and  I 
crossed  near  'Ain  esh  Shaara  takes  its  rise  at  Undi 
and  sweeps  around  the  base  of  Jebal  Barbar, 
which  everybody  knows  by  that  name.  There  is 
no  Wady  Barbar,  and  the  river  is  not  known  by 
that  name  in  any  of  the  villages  near  its  source.' 

On  the  whole,  modem  names  do  not  help  us 
much,  and  I  think  a  satisfactory  identification 
can  more  surely  be  obtained  on  the  broad  lines 
given  above. 


(jlecen^  ^^^'^"S^  ^^eofogg. 


tU  Qtew  B'biixan  of  '^c^uter/' 

Amongst  '  those  books  which,  by  no  figure  of 
speech  but  in  the  most  literal  sense,  are  indis- 
pensable to  the  student  of  Scripture,  all  competent 
judges  will  accord  a  place  to  SchOrer'a  Gesch.  d. 
Jud.  Volkts,  QX  History  oj  the  Jewish  PtopU.  The 
frequency  with  which,  in  our  Bible  dictionaries, 
commenlaries,  etc.,  we  find  the  reference  GJ.  V. 
or  HJ.P.  is  the  best  testimony  to  the  reputation 
of  the  book.  It  is  some  time  since  vols.  \\.  and 
iii.  appeared,  and  were  noticed  by  us  in  these 
pages,  and  many  have  been  waiting  with  eager 
impatience  for  the  publication  of  vol.  i.  This  has 
now  happily  been  issued  from  the  press,  and  when 
the  Index,  which  is  promised  shortly,  makes  its 
appearance,  we  shall  be  provided  with  all  that  we 
need  in  this  department  of  study  for  many  years 
to  come.  The.general  character  of  a  work  so  well 
known  needs  no  description.  Accordingly  we 
will  confine  ourselves  to  a  few  points  that  dis- 
tinguish the  new  edition. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  other  two  volumes,  the 
principal  feature  of  the  new  edition  of  voL  i.  is 
found  in  its  additions.    These  have  enlarged  the 

1  GiukUhli  del  /iidiichin  Valiti  im  ZeitaiUrJau  Chrisli. 
VoQ  E.  Schllter,  oid.  Piof.  d.  Th«ol.,  Giiltingen.  Drille 
und  viert«  Auftige.  Erster  Band :  Einleitung  uad  politisdie 
GcKhichle.  Leipiie:  J.  C.  Hinrichs,  1901.  Price  M.iS  ; 
boand,  M.ao. 


volume  by  more  than  a  hundred  pages.  Thqr 
have  been  necessiuted  partly  by  the  fresh  literature 
that  had  to  be  taken  account  of,  and  very  largely 
by  the  numerous  recent  discoveries  of  inscriptions 
and  papyrus  texts.  Witness,  for  instance,  pp.  65- 
70  (on  the  history  of  the  persecutions  of  the  Jews 
at  Alexaadria),  and  pp.  si^S.{i.Troypc^\a  Egypt). 
Similarly,  the  extremely  valuable  account  of 
Josephus  has  been  expanded  from  twenty-five  to 
thirty  pages. — The  burning  question  of  the  shekels 
and  half-shekels  attributed  by  many  numismatists 
to  Simon  the  Maccabee  is  investigated  afresh,  and 
the  author  shows  even  more  inclination  than  before 
to  assent  to  the  view  of  such  experts  as  Reinach, 
Imhoof-Blumer,  and  Babelon,  that  these  coins 
really  belong  to  the  period  of  the  rebellion,  66-70 
A.D.  In  this  he  is  at  one  with  Professor  A.  R.  S. 
Kennedy  in  his  article  'Money'  in  vol.  iiL  of 
Hastings'  I>.B.,  an  article  by  the  way  which  our 
author  describes  as  a  'sehr  gute  Zusammenset^- 
ung." — The  Excursus  on  the  Census  of  Quirinius 
occupies  thirty-five  pages  as  against  thirty  in  the 
previous  edition.  In  view  of  Professor  Ramsay's 
defence  of  the  accuracy  of  Lk  2,  as  put  forward  in 
his  book,  Was  Christ  bant  at  Bethlehem  t  and  in 
his  recent  articles  in  the  Expositor,  many  will  tum 
with  interest  to  ascertain  what  is  Schiirer's  final 
verdict.  He  sees  no  reason  to  alter  his  former 
conclusion  that  St.  Luke  has  perpetrated  a  twofold 
slip :  (a)  in  attributing  to  Augustus  the  order  that 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


a  census  should  be  made  throughout  the  whole 
empire;  {d)  in  placing  the  census,  aiAieA  was 
adually  made  by  Quirirtiits,  some  ten  or  twelve 
years  too  early.  In  particular,  Schiirer  urges  that 
it  would  be  very  strange,  upon  Professor  Ramsay's 
theory,  that  St.  Luke  should  date  the  census  by 
Quirinius,  who,  ex  hypothtii,  held  simply  the 
mililary  command,  instead  of  by  Satuminus  (or 
Varus),  who  had  charge  of  the  internal  administra- 
tion, and  therefore  of  the  census.  Probably  Pro- 
fessor Ramsay  will  have  something  more  to  say  on 
this  point.  His  last  article  in  the  Expositor  (Nov- 
ember 1901)  shows  that  he  is  still  engaged  on  the 
problem,  and  that  he  is  by  no  means  despondent  of 
solving  it  on  the  lines  he  has  been  following. 

We  take  our  leave  of  this  great  work  by  offering 
our  hearty  congratulations  to  Professor  Schiirer  on 
the  accomplishment  of  a  colossal  task,  by  which 
he  has  laid  us  all  under  a  new  and  heavy  obliga- 


The  student  of  Scripture  is  at  present  very 
fortunate  in  having  at  his  command  a  whole  series 
of  first-class  Introductions  to  the  Old  Testament. 
In  our  own  language  we  have  Dr.  Driver's  un- 
rivalled Introd.  to  the  Literature  of  the  O.  T.  (the 
^miliar  L.O.T.  of  references);  in  German  we 
have  the  works  of  Corniil  and  Wildeboer  and 
Strack  (all  three  concise,  but  sufficient  for  their 
purpose)  and  Konig  (more  detailed,  and,  like 
everything  that  comes  from  the  pen  of  that 
author,  marked  by  thoroughness  and  independ- 
ent research).  And  now  we  have  to  add  to 
the  number,  Graf  v.  Baudissin,  the  well-known 
author  of  the  Gesck.  d.  A.T.  Priesterthums 
and  of  many  other  works,  including  the  elab- 
orate article  'Priests  and  Levites'  in  the  forth- 
coming fourth  volume  of  Hastings'  D.B.  He 
has  given  us  a  very  full  Introduction  to  the  O.T., 
consisting  of  no  fewer  than  824  pages.  One 
of  the  principal  and  most  interesting  features  of 
the  work  is  the  attempt,  often  crowned  with 
brilliant  success,  to  give  as  clear  and  connected  a 
view  as  possible  of  the  general  character  and  the 
contents  of   each    book,   before    proceeding   to 

'  Eialeitung  in  die  Backer  dts  Allen  TntamenUt.  Von 
Woir  Wilhelm  Giafeo  Baudissin,  Prof,  an  der  Universitiit, 
Beilin.     Leipzig  :  S.  Hind,  1^1.     Price  M.n. 


discuss  questions  of  date,  unity,  text,  etc.  Our 
author's  exposition  is  all  the  more  easily  followed, 
as  his  text  is  rigorously  purged  from  all  references, 
these  being  relegated  to  the  bottom  of  the  page. 

The  first  part  of  the  work  (pp.  1-54)  is  occupied 
with  a  discussion  of  the  scope  and  history  of  O.T. 
Introduction,  and  an  account  of  the  form  and  the 
transmission  of  the  O.T.  Interesting  and  valuable 
information  is  given  regarding  the  speech  the 
Hebrews  brought  with  them  to  Canaan,  and  the 
extent  to  which  Hebrew  underwent  development 
during  the  period  covered  by  the  literature  of 
the  O.T.  Professor  Baudissin,  so  far  as  we  have 
observed,  ignores  the  hypothesis  maintained  by 
Professor  Hommel,  that  the  Israelites,  prior  to  the 
conquest,  spoke  a  dialect  of  Arabic.  A  short 
account  of  Hebrew  poetry  is  followed  by  the 
history  of  the  formation  of  the  Canon  of  the  O.T,, 
and  this  again  by  an  account  of  the  Text. 

Passing  to  deal  with  the  different  constituents  of 
the  Canon,  Professor  v.  Baudissin  still  adheres  to 
his  opinion  that  the  Fricsily  Code  as  a  whole  is 
prior  to  Deuteronomy,  his  order  of  the  sources 
being  J,  E  (or  perhaps  E,  J),  Book  of  the  Cove- 
nant [all  these  three  probably  belonging  to  the 
ninth  century],  H  [in  its  present  form  much 
interpolated],  P  [which,  however,  he  admits  to 
have  been  practically  unknown  outside  priestly 
circles  prior  to  444  B.C.],  D.  We  need  not  enter 
upon  the  description  of  the  processes  whereby 
these  constituents  were  welded  together  till  the 
present  Hexateuch  was  produced. 

In  dealing  with  the  Prophetical  Books,  our 
author  gives  what  appears  to  be  still  needed  in 
some  quarters — a  convincing  demonstration  that 
Is  40-66  is  not  from  the  pen  of  Isaiah.  The 
Ebed  Jahweh  passages  are  discussed  with  reference 
to  most  of  the  recent  literature  on  that  subject. 
On  such  points  as  the  date  of  Joel  and  the  extent 
to  which  Micah  is  post-exilic,  our  author  is 
cautious ;  he  is  more  certain  as  to  the  flesh  and 
blood  character  of  Hosea's  wife,  and  of  course  he 
adopts  the  view  now  universally  held  by  scholars 
that  the  Book  of  Jonah  is  poetry  and  not  history. 
The  Book  of  Daniel  is  very  fully  discussed,  and 
much  valuable  material  will  be  found  in  the  pages 
devoted  to  it. 

Among  the  Poetical  Books,  the  Psalms  naturally 
hold  a  prominent  place.  While  our  author  is  more 
inclined  than  some  modern  critics  to  admit  that 
there  may  be  truth  in  the  tradition  of-Davidic 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Psalms,  be  points  out  that,  the  titles  being  of  no 
weight,  we  are  really  without  any  certain  criteiia 
for  deciding  which  are  Davidic  and  which  are  not. 
A  short  list,  which  he  would  not  be  altogether 
unwilling  to  extend,  of  Maccabfean  Psalms,  is  re- 
cognized by  him.  The  genuineness  of  the  Elihu 
speeches  in  Job  is,  as  we  should  have  expected, 
rejected.  The  sections  on  Proverbs  and  Ecdes- 
iastes  will  repay  careful  Study. 

As  a  thoroughly  readable,  as  well  as  up-to-date 
and  exhaustive  work.  Professor  v.  Baudissin's 
EinUitung  deserves  the  warmest  commendation. 


It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  high  reputation  of 
Nowack's  Hdkom.  is  fully  maintained  by  this  addi- 
tion to  the  series.  The  veteran  Hebraist  and  critic, 
Dr.  C,  Siegfried,  is  well  worthy  of  a  hearing  on  the 
knotty  questions  that  have  arisen  in  recent  years 
around  the  Books  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  and  on 
the  somewhat  puzzling  problem  of  the  origin  of  the 
Feast  of  Purim. 

The  question  of  the  sources  used  in  Ezra- 
Nehemiah  and  of  the  process  by  which  the  book 
(for  it  was  originally  undivided)  reached  its  present 
form  is  discussed  with  the  fullest  reference  to  all 
the  recent  literature  on  the  subject.  Dr.  Siegfried 
finds  that  the  Chronicler,  who  compiled  the  book, 
had  at  his  command  (i)  an  Aramaic  work  (written 
£.  450  B.C.)  which  contained  a  history  of  the  rise  of 
the  Jewish  community  af^er  the  Exile,  along  with 
certain  official  documents  relating  to  the  history  of 
the  rebuilding  of  the  temple  and  the  walls.  These 
documents  Siegfried  holds  to  be  partly  authentic 
Aramaic  translations  of  decrees  of  the  Persian 
kings.  He  thus  sides  mainly  with  Ed.  Meyer 
as  against  Kosters  and  Wellhausen  in  the  contro- 
versy on  the  genuineness  of  these  decrees.  (3) 
Memoirs  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah.  These  are  some- 
times incorporated  without  change  {e.g.  in  the  '  I ' 
passages),  and  sometimes  worked  over  more  or  less 
by  the  Chronicler.  (3)  Other  sources  and  docu- 
ments, sometimes  quoted  verbatim,  sometimes  in  a 

'  NoiHck'i  Hdkam.  z.  A.T.  I.  vi.  a  :  Etfa,  Nchtmiak, 
und  Either.  Von  C.  Siegfried,  Geh.  Kirchetirath  u.  o. 
Prof.  d.  Theol.  in  Jena.  Guttingeo :  Vandenhoeck  & 
Rupreeht ;  Glasgow  :  F,  Bauetmeistet,  1901.    Price  M.3.80. 


modified  form.  Then  there  is  (4)  the  Chronicler's 
own  work,  to  which  Dr.  Siegfried  attaches  far  more 
value  than  is  allowed  it  by  Kosters,  Torrey,  and 
similar  writers. 

In  dealing  with  Esther,  our  author  gives  a  lucid 
account  of  the  attempts  that  have  been  made  by 
Lagardc  and  others  to  explain  the  real  character 
of  the  book,  and  notably  to  throw  light  on  the 
origin  of  the  Feast  of  Purim.  Special  value  is 
naturally  attached  by  him  to  the  views  of  Zimmem 
and,  above  all,  of  Jensen.  Probably  most  will 
share  his  inclination  to  accept  of  the  latter  scholar's 
identification  of  the  leading  characters  in  the 
Esther  story  with  figures  that  are  found  in  Baby- 
lonian myth-lore,  although  a  great  deal  must  be 
allowed  to  the  Jewish  writer  or  writers  who  trans- 
formed the  story  for  their  own  purposes  and  gave 
it  a  wholly  different  colouring. 

The  Commentary  proper  is,  throughout,  all  that 
could  be  desired. 


(]^5ni5*B  *  3'Unf  neue  %x<A.  ftan*; 
sc^aftsnamen.'- 

Professor  KoNiG  has  rendered  a  real  service  by 
the  publication  of  this  work.  For  years  past, 
certain  views,  of  which  Professor  Hommel  has 
been  a  principal  exponent  in  The  Expository 
Times,  have  been  put  forward  regarding  the  con- 
notation of  a  number  of  place  names  in  the  O.T., 
which  differ  widely  from  those  that  have  hitherto 
been  generally  held.  Professor  Hommel  himself 
will  be  one  of  the  first  to  welcome  the  work  before 
us,  for  he  has  frequently  challenged  criticism  of 
his  views,  and  he  will  also  concede  that  Professor 
Konig  has  written  throughout  in  a  tone  to  which 
no  exception  can  be  taken.  Having  read  the 
brochure  with  some  care,  we  have  no  hesitation  in 
saying  that  for  patient  scholarly  study  and  clear- 
ness of  exposition  it  is  surpassed  by  nothing  that 
has  come  from  Professor  Konig's  pen. 

(i)  There  is  first  the  question  of  a  N.  Arabian 
tribe  of  'A'idr  held  by  Hommel  and  others  to  be 
repeatedly  represented  in  the  0,T.byiiB'«.    Grant- 

*  Fiin/iuut  Arai,  Landichaftsnanien  im  A,  T.  Beleucblel 
von  Ed.  Konig,  o.  Frof.  d.  Theol.  in  Bonn.  Mit  einem 
Excursus  Uber  die  Paradies«*ft*ge.  Berlin;  lUudler  & 
Keichard,  1902.     Price  M.3,  y^-,.,..  (.    v_ti^;»^  jv/  |\_ 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


"3 


ing  the  occasional  equation  ^iMr—Edom,  has 
this  ASSQr  anything  to  do  with  the  tribe  of  Asher? 
And  is  there  anything  in  Hommel's  iiCT  (Geshur) 
—iVnt  <1?  (3)  Then  comes  the  equation  con- 
tended for  by  Hommel,  Mefar  =M\di&Ti,  or,  in 
other  words,  the  contention  that  Afifraim  in  the 
O.T.  frequently  stands  not  for  Egypt,  but  for  a 
N.  Arabian  Mujri.  {3)  There  is  Hommel's  Eber 
ka-nahar.  (4)  Does  the  O.T.  recognize  a  territory 
of  K6i  (or  Kd!  or  Kev6!)  in  Arabia?  (5)  What 
about  the  kingdom  of  AriM  which  Hommel  finds 
in  ^t/areb  of  Hos  5'*  and  10".  All  the  passages 
cited  by  Hommel  in  support  of  his  contentions 
under  those  five  heads  are  subjected  to  a  thorough 
examination,  for  the  results  of  which  we  must  refer 


our  readers  to  the  book  itself.  Finally,  we  have 
(6)  an  examination  of  Hommel's  identifications  of 
the  four  rivers  of  Paradise,  and  his  views  in 
general  on  the  Paradise  question. 

We  hare  the  greatest  pleasure  in  recommending 
this  work  as  absolutely  indispensable  to  all  who 
are  interested  in  the  above  questions.  Its  appear- 
ance is  most  opportune,  and  we  feel  certain  that 
Professor  Hommel  will  acquit  us  of  any  discourtesy 
if  we  add  that  its  author,  if  inferior  to  his  Munich 
colleague  in  forming  daringly  original  combinations, 
seems  to  us  to  be  his  superior  in  adducing  con- 
vincing arguments. 

J.  A.  Selbie. 

Maryculltr,  AberdttH. 


^roj>9<f»c   ^CBfaej. 

By  the  Rkv.  R.  Brucg  Taylor,  M.A.,  Aberdeen. 


II. 


We  have  seen  that  ecstasy  is  not  only  a  common 
enough  feature  among  the  Semites  from  their 
earlist  history  down  to  the  present  day,  but  that  it 
was  considered  to  contain,  as  far  back  as  we  can 
trace  it,  a  Divine  element.  Here  there  was  an 
opportunity  lying  ready  to  the  Spirit  of  God,  and 
the  opportunity  was  taken  and  used  till  it  had  its 
lull  result  in  the  bursting  upon  the  world  of  the 
great  prophets  such  as  Amos  and  Isaiah.  That 
the  Spirit  should  use  such  a  means  as  the  vehicle 
of  His  communication  need  occasion  us  no  sur- 
prise. '  No  permanent  change  takes  place  in  the 
usages  of  a  race  which  is  not  rooted  in  the  existing 
beliefs  and  usages  of  that  race.  The  truth  which 
Aristotle  enunciated,  that  all  intellectual  teaching 
is  based  upon  what  is  previously  known  to  the 
persons  taught,  is  applicable  to  a  race  as  well  as 
(o  an  individual,  and  to  beliefs  even  more  than  to 
knowledge.  A  religious  change  is  like  a  physio- 
logical change,  of  the  nature  of  assimilation  by, 
and  absorption  into,  existing  elements.' '  And  we 
find  that  in  its  origins  the  religion  of  Israel  has 
almost  everything  in  common  with  the  beliefs  and 
customs  of  the  general  Semitic  stock.  There  was, 
in  point  of  fact,  no  such  primitive  setting  apart  of 
Israel  as  the  people  of  God,  no  such  special  re- 
'  lUtcfa,  Hitbert  Ledum,  p.  14. 


ligious  revelation  given  to  her,  no  such  care  taken 
to  preserve  her  separateness  from  other  peoples  as 
the  historical  books  of  the  Old  Testament  have 
tried  to  estabhsh.  Had  there  been  such,  the  sub- 
sequent declension  and  absolute  ignorance  of  Israel 
as  to  the  law  that  had  been  given  her  would  be 
altogether  incomprehensible.  Israel's  God  was, 
till  the  time  of  David,  at  all  events,  a  tribal  God, 
and  His  relation  to  Israel  was  thought  of  as  iden- 
tical with  the  relation  of  Chemosh  to  Moab. 
'  The  ritual  of  Israel  is  full  of  exact  analogies  to 
the  ritual  of  Semitic  sanctuaries  from  Cyprus  to 
Southern  Arabia.  The  sacrifice  of  certain  animals 
at  certain  seasons  of  the  year;  the  smearing  of 
lintels  and  other  objects  with  blood;  the  anoint- 
ing of  pillars  in  honour  of  the  Deity ;  the  presence 
of  human  sacrifices  with  as  much  infrequency  and 
sense  of  the  awful  crisis  that  demands  them  as 
elsewhere  in  the  Semitic  world;  the  worship  of 
images  by  Jacob's  family,  by  David,  and  at  the 
sanctuaries  of  the  northern  kingdom;  the  dis- 
covery of  the  Deity's  will  through  dreams,  in 
ecstasy,  or  by  lot  .  .  .  all  these  things  have  not 
only  for  the  most  part  the  same  names  as  in  other 
Semitic  languages,  but — except  for  a  higher  moral 
character,  which,  however,  only  sometimes  dis- 
tinguishes them — they  are  the   same  as  among 


234 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


other  Semites  in  intention  and  details  of  execu- 
tion.' ^ 

But  if  ecstasy  was  a  feature  common  to  al!  the 
Semitic  people,  it  becomes  extremely  valuable  to 
us  if  we  can  show  that  the  Spirit,  adopting  fo 
crude  but  so  universally  accepted  a  method, 
gradually  changed  its  form,  adapted  it  to  different 
needs,  and  finally  caused  the  prophets,  still  based 
upon  this  primitive  phenomenon,  to  speak  re- 
ligious truth  to  all  times.  And  that  there  is  such 
a  development  in  ecstasy  can,  I  think,  be  proved 
from  the  Old  Testament.  Were  such  a  development 
to  be  established  to  a  demonstration  we  should,  of 
course,  require  to  place  beyond  all  cavil  the  dates 
of  the  documents  in  which  the  various  narratives 
occur.  This  cannot  be  done  with  any  very  great 
certainty  even  for  the  documents  themselves, 
while  it  can  never  be  settled  to  what  extent  the 
Jahvist  and  Elohist  narratives  embody  accurate 
information  reaching  back  to  a  time  long  anterior 
to  that  in  which  they  were  compiled.  And 
another  critical  difficulty  arises  from  the  fact  that 
later  ages  did  their  best  to  eliminate  from  those 
early  records  whatever  seemed  offensive  to  a  later 
religious  taste.  Many  most  widespread  religious 
beliefs — such,  for  instance,  as  human  sacrifice^ 
have  had  all  trace  of  their  existence  destroyed  in 
books  which  came  under  the  revision  of  a  I>euter- 
onomist  or  of  a  Chronicler.  Sometimes,  in  such 
a  book  as  Judges,  primitive  customs  come  crop- 
ping out  of  the  smooth  and  pragmatic  narrative 
of  a  later  time,  like  a  trap  dyke  out  of  a  field  of 
waving  corn;  in  other  cases,  the  unsophisticated 
but  plain  spoken  prophets  preserve  traces  of  a 
belief  which  was  extinct,  according  to  the  historian, 
centuries  before  the  time  in  which  the  prophet 
lived.  The  demonology  of  the  Grjeco-Roman 
period  has  been  shown  by  von  Baudissin  to  have 
been  simply  the  survival  and  resuscitatioii  of  the 
primitive  polytheistic  beliefs,  while  the  worship  of 
unclean  animals  under  Manasseh  was  the  re- 
crudescence of  a  totemism  which  had  never  been 
wholly  extinct.  From  Lv  i  ^^  we  learn  that  even 
after  the  Exile  sacrifices  were  made  to  the  DTift', 
or  demons,  supposed  to  exist  in  the  form  of  hairy 
satyrs;  while  the  curious  rite  of  Azaze)  (Lv  16), 
where  the  sins  of  the  people  were  laid  on  the  head 
of  a  he-goat,  which  was  thereupon  sent  off  to  the 

'G.  A.  Smilh,  Crituispi  and  Frtaching  ef  O.T., 
p.  129. 


evil  spirit  dwelling  in  the  wildemesS)  points  to  the 
lixedness  of  the  same  belief. 

When  we  find,  therefore,  a  case  of  ecstasy,  we 
are  entitled  to  make  the  most  of  it,  and  to  assume 
that  it  is  representative  of  the  feeling  of  the 
people  at  the  time  to  which  it  belongs.  But  now 
the  critical  diflSculty  meets  us.  The  first  case  of 
ecstasy  that  we  find  is  the  story  of  Balaam.  To 
what  period  does  this  belong?  To  discuss  this 
matter  would  require  a  monograph  in  itself.  We 
have  narratives  belonging  to  J,  E,  and  P,  while  the 
oracles  constitute  a  separate  problem  altogether. 
We  cannot,  I  think,  place  the  oracles  earlier  than 
the  time  of  Saul,  while  the  historical  narrative  is 
at  the  earliest  contemporary  with  Isaiah.  But,  even 
allowing  that  the  oracles  cannot  be  earlier  than 
the  days  of  Satil,  their  interest  for  us  as  students 
of  the  Old  Testament  is  in  no  way  lessened. 
They  represent  the  belief  of  the  people  of  the  time 
to  which  they  belong,  and  are  therefore  valuable 
documents  in  the  history  of  thought.  Their  in- 
terest to  us  in  this  study  of  ecstasy  is  not  vitally 
affected  by  the  question  whether  they  actually 
relate  to  Balaam  or  not  In  fact  we  feel  ourselves 
on  far  surer  ground  if  we  understand  that  these 
oracles  do  not  belong  to  the  grey  dawn  of  Israel's 
history,  but  refer  to  a  time  when  similar  pheno- 
mena were  understood  and  valued.  A  very  in- 
structive parallel  is  to  be  found  in  the  Thouiand 
and  One  Nights.  Many  of  these  stories  are  Indian 
and  Persian  in  their  origin,  but  the  setting  is 
purely  Egyptian.  '  Though  the  place  may  be 
nominally  Bagdad,  or  Cairo,  or  even  farthest 
China,  it  is  in  mediasval  Cairo,  in  ihe  days  of  the 
Memlooks,  that  the  scene  of  the  Arabian  Nights 
is  really  laid.  The  people  described  are  not 
Hindus  or  Chinese,  but  Arabs  and  Egyptians  as 
they  lived  and  moved  in  the  fifteenth  century,  ere 
the  devastating  hand  of  the  Ottoman  Turk  hati 
been  laid  on  the  land  of  the  Pharaohs.'^ 

The  Balaam  oracles  date  from  that  early  time 
when  ecstasy  took  the  form  of  predicting  the 
future,  and  (hey  mark  the  transition  period  be- 
tween the  very  primitive  and  the  national  period 
of  ecstasy.  Samuel  is  the  typical  figure  in  the 
earliest  form  of  ecstasy,  when  it  was  concerned 
simply  with  household  matters.  Balaam  repre- 
sents the  intermediate  form  when  it  was  concerned 
still  with  the  future,  but  when  national  interests 
were  becoming  prominent;  and  thiu^^rre  hardly 
'  Lane,  Arabian  Nights,  Adrt.  to  vol.U! 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


235 


know  whether  to  call  Balaam  a  ro'eh  (ntti)  or 
iouh  (rnn)  or  fi(d>C  (m*31)  ;  while  Saul  represents 
ecstasy  at  its  height,  induced  by  a  national  crisis, 
no  longer  seeking  to  elucidate  the  future,  but  to 
rouse  the  dormant  patriotism  of  the  people  in  a 
time  of  great  oppression.  Balaam  is  the  true 
ecstatic,  a  man  not  even  belonging  to  Israel,  but 
to  a  kindred  people ;  brought  to  a  certain  spot  of 
land  so  that  his  vision  might  be  induced  by  what 
he  might  see.  And  the  religious  lesson  inculcated 
is  certainly  a  high  one — that  in  the  case  of  a 
people  blessed  by  God,  every  evil  design  of  its 
foes  must  eventuate  in  blessing. 

But  that  about  this  period  there  was  a  great 
change  in  the  nature  of  ecstasy  may  be  gathered 
from  the  significant  note  in  i  S  9'.  '  He  that  is 
now  called  a  prophet  (iPaj)  was  aforetime  called  a 
seer  (nit'i).'  The  remark  is  made  in  connexion 
with  Saul's  visit  to  Samuel.  Samuel  was  a  HK^ ; 
Saul  was  a  t03:.     What  was  the  difference  ? 

It  is  important  to  notice,  having  regard  to  the 
position  laid  down — that  the  form  of  ecstasy 
depended  upon  the  outward  conditions — that  this 
change  came  about  when  the  state  was  changing 
from  the  patriarchal  to  the  monarchical  condition. 
Prior  to  the  time  of  Saul  the  tribe  had  been  the 
unit.  Only  now  and  then  had  the  temper  of  the 
people  as  a  whole  been  stirred.  Even  the  mag- 
nificent upheaval  under  Deborah  had  not  been 
participated  in  by  all  the  tribes.  National  interests 
were  then  but  little  heard  of.  Each  tribe  was  try- 
ing to  keep  its  own  footing,  and  the  life  of  the 
times  was  rather  an  extended  family  than  a  national 
life.  Under  those  circumstances  what  was  wanted 
in  the  man  of  God  was  that  he  should  be  able  to 
give  information  about  the  events  of  daily  life. 
He  was  consulted  on  domestic  matters ;  he  used 
his  gif^  to  restore  lost  property  to  its  owners ;  he 
was  maintained  by  payment  from  those  who  sought 
his  advice.  The  methods  of  the  nit^  reflect  an 
extremely  simple  condition  of  life.  The  seer  was 
the  spiritual  man  in  each  community  to  whom 
all  went  for  advice,  and  to  whom  none  went 
empty  banded.  In  such  a  primitive  state  of 
society  the  priest  and  the  seer  were  one  and  the 
same.  There  was  none  of  that  division  which 
afterwards  grew  so  bitter  between  priest  and  (t'33 ' 
Both  ideas,  priest  and  seer,  are  etymologically  very 
near  akin.     The   Hebrew  word  for  'priest,' p3, 


means  in  ancient  Arabic  'seer.'  And,  correspond- 
ing to  this  conception,  is  the  fact  that  Samuel, 
before  he  was  a  'seer,'  served  in  the  temple  at 
Shilohand  received  his  upbringing  there.' 

But  it  was  impossible  that  this  simple  condition 
of  life  could  continue  if  Israel  as  a  nation  was 
still  to  persist.  The  tribes  in  their  separation 
were  helpless  against  the  Philistines.  They  were 
gradually  being  disarmed  and  reduced  to  the 
condition  of  a  subject  people ;  and  by  their 
isolation  from  one  another  were  losing  all  patriotic 
feeling.  It  was  the  bitter  complaint  of  Deborah 
that,  in  the  hour  of  need,  some  of  the  tribes  had 
failed  to  rally  to  the  standard.  Unless  something 
were  done  to  rouse  religious  and  patriotic  feeling, 
the  tribes  would  become  merged  in  the  surround- 
ing paganism,  and  make  of  none  effect  their 
splendid  history.  It  was  now  that  ecstasy  changed 
its  form  in  so  notable  a  way,  and  was  used  by  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  to  rouse  the  people  to  a  sense 
of  danger.  Ecstasy  lost  its  domestic  form  and 
became  patriotic.  The  conservatism  of  Samuel 
did  not  understand  the  necessity  of  the  change. 
He  wished  things  to  go  on  as  they  had  been 
doing ;  and  the  later  narrative  sets  down  all  the 
subsequent  troubles  of  Israel  to  its  desire  for  a 
king.  But  it  is  perfectly  evident  that  it  was  the 
efforts  of  the  ecstatics  and  of  Saul  that  saved  the 
nation.  To  the  ecstatics  the  needs  of  the  situa- 
tion presented  themselves  first.  They  were  no 
longer  content  to  give  information  with  regard  to 
lost  property ;  their  object  was  to  save  the  nation. 
.They  formed  themselves  into  bands,  and  swept  up 
and  down  the  country,  rousing  enthusiasm.  In 
their  progress  they  met  this  stalwart  youth  Saul, 
who  had  already  been  recognized  by  Samuel  as 
one  fit  to  lead  the  people,  and  at  once  the  spirit 
fell  upon  him  also.  That  this  aspect  of  ecstasy 
was  new  is  clear  from  the  remarks  that  met  Saul 
when  the  spirit  seized  him.  '  What  is  this  that  is 
come  to  the  son  of  Kish  7  Is  Saul  also,  a  man 
whom  we  know,  and  whose  father  we  know,  is  he 
also  to  be  whirled  off  in  this  enthusiasm  ? '  And 
some  bystander  who  sympathized  with  the  patriotic 
movement,  answered,  '  Yes,  Saul  the  son  of  Kish 
is  among  them.  Who  was  their  father?  Was  he 
any  more  likely  than  Kish  to  have  had  a  son  a 
prophet?  Prophecy  is  no  hereditary  possession j 
and  Saul,  all  whose  forebears  you  have  known,  can 
'  Kraeluchmar,    Pricket   und  Seher   im  AUm    Israel, 


326 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


be  rapt  away  in  it  as  well  as  any  other.'  *  After 
his  anointing,  Saul  returned  home,  where  he  re- 
mained about  a  month  (LXX,  <us  fura  tt.TJva,  i  S 
ii').  His  opportunity  came  then  in  the  invasion 
of  Nahash.  He  assumed  the  sovereignty,  and  his 
action  was  justified  by  the  successful  issue.^ 

Accordingly,  with  the  change  of  function  on  the 
part  of  the  ecstatic,  there  came,  too,  a  change  of 
name.  He  that  was  aforetime  called  a  nttS  was 
now  called  a  ifSj.  This  word  has  nothing  in 
extant  Hebrew  literature  by  which  its  meaning 
may  be  determined;  it  is  either  a  very  ancient 
word  or  else  a  word  borrowed  by  the  language 
from  some  other  source.'  But  whence  could  the 
word  be  derived  ?  Certainly  not  from  any  of  the 
other  Semitic  languages,  as  the  form  in  which  the 
word  occurs  in  those  other  languages  shows  that 
they  have  themselves  borrowed  it  from  Hebrew. 
As  the  word  in  Hebrew  dates  from  the  time  when 
the  Israelites  were  being  brought  into  very  close 
contact  with  the  Canaanites,  and  as  the  Q'K*3] 
were  common  to  Israel  and  the  worshippers  of 
Baal,  the  view  has  been  put  forward  by  Kraetzsch- 
mar  and  Others  that  the  ^23  was  really  an  im- 
portation into  the  religion  of  Israel  from  Canaan,' 
that  he  was  entirely  foreign  to  the  moral  nature  of 
that  religion,  and  that  he  disappeared  before  the 
rise  of  the  great  ethical  prophets. 

But  such  a  view  is  open  to  very  serious  objec- 
tions. It  does  nothing  to  explain  features  that  some 
of  the  Judges,  such  as  Gideon,  had  in  common  with 
the  0''t*^33.  It  carries  no  such  illumination  with 
it  as  Wellhausen's  suggestion  that  the  D'K^lp  arose 
in  the  very  depths  of  the  Philistine  oppression, 
when  the  function  of  the  spiritual  adviser  bad  to 
be  changed  from  that  of  giving  information  in 
domestic  affairs  to  that  of  rousing  the  sleeping 
heroism  of  a  people.'  It  fails  to  account  for  the 
influence  that  Elijah,  a  typical  ecstatic,  had  upon 
the  history  and  traditions  of  the  people  of  Israel. 
And,  most  fatal  objection  of  all,  it  introduces  as  a 
foreign  element,  supposed  to  bold  sway  for  only 
250  years,  a  characteristic  of  Israelitish  religion 
that  there  is   good    ground    for    believing    had 

S  10^. 

,189  lo"'"  II  (omiitiag 

•W.  R.  Smith,  ProphiW^. 

*  Ki*etzichmu,  Bp.  iiU  p.  to. 

■WelUwuteo,  Israel  u.  fud.  Gtuh.  p.  35.,  389  ff. 


existed  in  somewhat  similar  form  centuries  before 
the  Philistine  oppression,  and  of  which  we  find 
(he  repeated  lecnidescence  as  late  as  the  times  of 
the  Maccabees.  Far  easier  is  it  to  think  that  the 
Divine  Spirit  used  a  means  that  was  already  recog- 
nized as  having  in  it  something  supernatural,  and 
adapted  its  special  form  to  the  needs  of  the  time, 
than  to  think  that  this  patriotic  ecstasy  had  its 
source  in  the  religion  of  Canaan. 

But,  like  all  great  movements  that  have  sprung 
into  existence  almost  full  grown  under  the  stress 
of  political  or  religious  uigency,  patriotic  ecstasy 
fell  away  from  its  original  forcefulness  after  it  had 
done  its  immediate  work.  The  'Bands  of  the 
Prophets '  became  a  recognized  institution.  From 
their  original  connexion  with  the  king,  they  soon 
came  to  have  an  official  position  as  advisers  at 
court.  They  adopted  a  particular  dress,  a  hair 
mantle,  and  carried  in  their  flesh  the  sacred  scars 
of  the  Kenites,  the  wilderness  people  from  whom 
Israel  had,  in  all  probability,  received  in  the  first 
place  the  pure  religion  of  Jehovah.  But  no 
oi^anization  or  outward  semblance  of  earnestness 
could  take  the  place  of  the  impulse  that  had 
called  them  into  being,  and  they  rapidly  de- 
generated. All  the  external  appearances  of  the 
genuine  K'3l  they  simulated.  They  wore  the 
coats  of  skin  and  the  garments  of  hair  '  with  intent 
to  deceive*  (Zee  13^).  They  used  the  common 
phraseolt^y  of  the  prophet  in  announcing  a  false 
oracle.  Words  which  in  the  mouth  of  the  true 
prophet  meant  so  much,  words  such  as  mrT  Mb>Q 
and  'RD^n^  they  employed  to  gain  credence  for 
their  false  oracles  (Jer  23**-").  Again,  their 
oracles  were  wanting  in  that  originality  which  so 
characterized  the  true  prophet.  They  stole  their 
words  every  one  from  his  neighbour  (Jer  23"). 
But  the  head  and  front  of  their  offending  was  Iheit 
use  of  their  position  to  obtain  easy  and  luxuriant 
lives  for  themselves,  while  some  took  to  prophesy- 
ing as  a  means  of  earning  a  livelihood  (Am  7'*^ 
Mic  3*).  If  they  were  not  sufficiently  bribed,  they 
would  proclaim  a  holy  war  against  an  innocent 
man  (Mic  3*).  And  as  they  had  begun  by  inciting 
Saul  to  brave  deeds,  so  they  gradually  sank  into 
the  position  of  mere  court  appendages,  saying 
'Yea'  and  'Amen'  to  whatever  a  king  might 
suggest,  hiding  the  real  moral  condition  of  the 
land ;  and  instead  of  stirring  a  nation's  conscience 
to  a  sense  of  its   misdeeds,  they  cried  '  Peace,. 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


aa7 


peace,'  when  there  was  no  peace.  The  '  Bands  of 
the  Prophets '  became  thus  an  offence  to  all  honest 
men.  To  be  a  tf^i  was  to  be  a  fawning  time- 
server.  Amos  indignantly  refused  to  allow  himself 
to  be  associated  with  them.  '  Prophet  t  did  you 
say  ?  No,  I  am  no  prophet ;  I  am  something  vastly 
better  and  honester, — a  herdsman  and  a  gatherer 
of  sycamore  fruit.'  The  'Bands  of  the  Prophets' 
were  the  progeny  of  ecstasy.  They  showed  where 
its  danger  lay.  It  was  too  easily  imitated.  Any 
Semite  could  bring  on  him  the  condition  of  ecstasy 
by  means  of  music ;  and  any  one  at  all  could  wear 
the  externals  of  the  prophetic  oRice.  But  the  soul 
aflame  for  God,  and  the  burning  heart  to  speak 
from,  were  other  things. 

It  was  not  upon  such  'Bands'  that  the  true 
ecstasy  descended  after  the  immediate  danger  of 
the  Philistine  oppression  had  been  removed. 
When  the  occasion  which  had  called  them  forth 
passed,  they  became  a  mere  anachronism.  The 
true  line  of  divine  ecstasy  lay  through  Elijah  to 
Amos.  The  '  Bands  of  the  Prophets '  became 
stereotyped.  The  revelation  came  no  more  to 
guilds  but  to  individuals  persuaded  of  the  rigkleoui- 
ness  of  Jehovah.  Elijah  stands  midway  between 
the  D*ir3J  who  met  Saul,  and  ethical  prophecy  as 
it  reveals  itself  in  Amos.  He  was  a  great  teacher 
of  righteousness  as  well  as  an  ecstatic,  and  yet  in 
him  we  find  that  our  principle  holds  true.  The 
revelation  that  was  given  to  him  in  his  ecstasy  was 
conditioned  by  the  circumstances  of  his  time.  No 
longer  was  it  necessary  that  the  king  should  be 
roused  to  heroism  to  fling  off  danger  coming  upon 
the  state  from  the  outside.  The  danger  was  now 
an  internal  one :  the  danger  that  in  a  time  of 
great  material  prosperity,  when  much  was  to  be 
hoped  from  a  close  association  with  the  Power 
which  held  the  sea-coast  and  the  outlet  to  the 
rapidly  increasing  markets  of  the  Phoenicians,  the 
old  loyalty  to  Jehovah  should  vanish  and  an  un- 
believing syncretism  take  its  place. 

And  so  the  aspect  of  God  which  Elijah  presented 
to  the  nation  and  especially  to  Ahab  was  that  God 
was  a  jealous  God.  mn'h  *riK^j?  vAi>_  was  his  watch- 
word. It  is  very  probable,  as  Smend  contends,* 
that  there  is  exaggeration  in  the  story  of  Elijah. 
There  is  hardly  evidence  to  support  the  assertion 
that  the  prophets  of  Jehovah  were  rooted  out  by 
Ahab  j  nor  is  it  altogether  fair  to  hold  him  specially 
'  Sniend,  A.  T.  Riligiotugtsck.^  p.  155. 


guilty  foe  erecting  shrines  to  foreign  gods  seeing 
that  Solomon  had  done  this  150  years  before  in 
Jerusalem.  But,  while  we  may  admit  this,  we  can 
at  the  same  time  claim  Elijah  as  the  first  who  saw 
that  religious  interests  might  run  counter  to  national, 
and  that  there  was  a  higher  patriotism  than  an 
unthinking  imperialism.  Elijah,  first  of  all  his 
race,  understood  that  where  Jehovah  was  wor- 
shipped no  other  god  could  have  place.  It  was  a 
truth  of  tremendous  import,  far  greater  than 
Elijah  himself  can  have  seen.  It  involved  the 
isolation  of  Israel ;  the  abandonment  of  her 
ambitions  to  play  a  direct  part  in  the  politics  of 
the  world.  For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of 
Israel,  religion  and  politics  became  separate. 
Patriotic  ecstasy,  which  began  by  supporting  the 
monarchy,  has  now  in  its  purest  form  ended  by 
condemning  it. 

Nor  can  we  forget  that  it  is  to  Elijah  the  ifaj 
that  we  owe  the  leaching  of  another  aspect  of 
Jehovah's  character.  The  judicial  murder  of 
Naboth  was  an  act  which  sent  a  thrill  of  honor 
throughout  Israel,  and  which  was  remembered  for 
centuries  afterwards.  Naboth's  offence  was  that 
he  had  clung  to  ancient  custom  and  law ;  and  his 
murder  was  '  an  insult  to  the  moral  sense  of  all 
Israel'  That  it  was  so  vividly  remembered  shows 
how  high  must  have  been  the  sense  of  justice 
already  reached.  But  Elijah  related  the  iniquity 
of  this  deed  to  the  character  of  Jehovah.  His 
words  were  the  expression  of  the  dumb  feeling  of 
the  best  part  of  the  nation.  Ahab  had  sinned  not 
only  against  man  but  against  God.  The  higher 
truth  thus  reached  rapidly  wrought  a  change  in  the 
method  by  which  the  truth  itself  was  conveyed. 
Elisha,  it  is  true,  is  still  an  ecstatic,  in  whom  the 
ecstasy  is  roused  by  music.  But  as  ecstasy  is  its 
most  pronounced  form  was  the  method  by  which 
the  God  of  Israel  revealed  himself  during  a  great 
national  crisis,  so  now,  with  fuller  knowledge  of 
His  nature,  and  under  different  religious  and 
political  circumstances.theecstaticprophet  dropped 
out  of  sight.  Amos  denied  that  he  had  any 
kinship  with  him ;  and  in  the  lime  of  Jeremiah  he 
had  come  to  be  a  subject  of  ridicule  (Jer  29  *«). 
The  function  of  ecstasy  was  at  an  end.  It  always 
had  had  its  dangerous  elements,  and  it  was  possible 
for  a  man  to  imagine  himself  to  be  inspired  and 
yet  to  be  grievously  deceived.  What  was  desired 
now,  as  the  nation  was  looking  out  upopva  j^ider 
world,  and  was  enjoying  a  larger  and  mwe  pio- 


-328 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


sperous  life  in  itself,  was  not  the  quickening  of  the 
sense  of  heroism,  but  the  awakening  of  the  sense 
of  sin.  The  prophet  remained  the  pKtriot,  but  he 
became  the  critic  and  not  the  approver  of  the 
national  politics. 

To  say  that  ecstasy  has  definite  physiological 
causes ;  to  find  reasons  why  it  should  be  peculiarly 
prevalent  among  the  Semitic  races ;  is  not  thereby 
to  deny  that  there  is  a  Divine  element  and  a 
Divine  purpose  in  it  God  generally  works  on  man 
by  the  agency  of  man,  and  He  did  so  here.  Ecstasy 
as  a  power  appeared  when  it  was  needed ;  it  did 
its  work  and  then  it  gave  way  to  something  better. 
The  life  is  present  in  the  opening  bud  just  as  in 


the  fragrant  flower.  If  we  linger  over  the  flower 
and  pay  but  scant  attention  to  the  bud,  it  is 
because  the  flower  has  more  fragrance  and  sweet- 
ness to  yield  us.  But  as  the  bud,  dissected  with 
our  knowledge  of  the  flower,  is  full  of  suggestion, 
so  those  phenomena  of  the  spiritual  childhood  of 
the  race  show  us  bid  in  them  the  germs  of 
developments  which  have  taken  place  in  times  of 
quiet  and  deepened  insight.  Absolute  absorption 
in  duty  to  God,  physical  courage  in  the  cause  of 
right,  the  arousing  of  a  people's  conscience  on 
public  questions,  those  are  the  lessons  for  our  day 
from  the  ecstasy  of  the  prophets.  Another  Saul 
would  find  us  still  learners. 


THE  BOOKS  OF  THE  MONTH. 


II. 


Messrs.  Passmore  &  Alabaster  have  published 
other  two  volumes  of  the  'Twelve  Sermon'  Series 
of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  works.  The  one  is  T^lve 
Sermons  on  Grace  Abounding  (is.);  the  other 
7\oelve  Sermons  on  Decision  (is.). 

THE  PASSING  AND  THE  PERMANENT  IN 
RELIGION.  By  Mihot  Jddson  Savagb,  D.D. 
{Putnams,     Crown  8to,  pp,  336,     6s,) 

Marvellous  is  the  freedom  of  thought  in 
theology.  Philosophy  or  physical  science  are 
orthodoxy  in  comparison.  Here  are  the  great 
thbgs  in  theology,  the  things  that  make  life 
worth  living  for  us — the  Bible,  God,  Prayer,  a 
Saviour,  the  Resurrection  Life — all  discussed  as 
though  nothing  had  yet  been  said  about  them  that 
would  stand,  as  though  they  were  the  newest  and 
airiest  of  speculations.  That  it  is  an  interesting 
book  is  true.     But  what  is  the  use  of  it? 

Dr.  Savage  is  not  thorough  enough,  and  he  is 
not  sensitive  enough  to  the  consent  of  the  human 
mind,  to  serve  his  generation  as  bis  talents  enable 
him. 

SIDELIGHTS  ON  THE  BIBLE.    Bv  Mas.  BaiOHTwaN. 

(RiHtiom  Tratt  Soeitty.     Crown  Svo,  pp.  160.     as.) 

Mrs.    Brightwen    writes    with    the   charm    of 

sympathy  and  simplicity.    Her  books  on  animals 

are  universal  favoarites.     Here  she  describes  with 


almost  equal  affection  some  curiosities  she  has 
secured  from  Palestine  which  illustrate  the  Bible. 
They  are  phylacteries,  lamps,  slings,  alabaster 
boxes,  and  the  like.  And  her  descriptions  are 
sent  home  by  reproductions  in  line  drawing  or 
photograph  of  the  articles  themselves.  Het 
knowledge  is  apparently  as  thorough  as  is  her 
ease  in  writing. 

In  Messrs.  Rivington's  series  of  'Handbooks  to 
the  Bible  and  Prayer- Book'  there  has  appeared 
an  edition  of  St.  Luke's  Gospel  (crovm  Svo, 
pp.  364,  as.  6d.).  It  is  for  teachers.  It  gives 
them  just  such  notes  as  they  may  quickly  get  up 
before  entering  the  class.  The  text  is  the  A.V,, 
but  the  mai^n  gives  select  readings  from  the 
R.V.  The  editor  is  the  Rev.  Morley  Stevenson, 
M.A.  

TYPICAL  NEW  TESTAMENT  CONVERSIONS.    Bv 

Frederick  A.  Noblr,  D.D.,  LL.D.    (Mucbatet: 

JtaHmen,     Crown  Svo,  pp.  336.     3s.  6d.  ncL) 

The  two  things  in  Conversion  which  Dr.  Noble 

insists  upon  are  the  fact  and  the  variety.     He  will 

not  have  it  that  '  the  ethics  of  the  gospel  is  all 

that    is    required.'     The    ethics    of   the   gospel 

certainly,  when  you  have  entered  the  Holy  City, 

but  it  is  Conversion  that  leads  you  in.     Again, 

however,  there  arc  gates  on  every  side  of  the  city. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


329 


You  entered  by  the  north  ?  Do  not  grudge  if  I 
enter  by  the  gate  that  looks  toward  the  sunny 
south.  So  there  are  here  both  Lydia  and  the 
Philippian  jailer,  with  many  others,  and  every  one 
hu  his  own  story  retold  just  as  it  is  told  in 
Scripture,  the  individuality  being  persistently 
preserved. 

THE  STUDY  OF  RELIGION.  BY  Morris  Jastrow, 
JUH.,  Ph.D.  (fValttr  Sratf.  Crown  8vo,  pp.  465. 
6s.) 

The  attention  that  is  now  being  given  in  the 
'Contemporary  Science'  Series  to  religion  is  a 
ngn  of  a  welcome  widening  of  the  word  science. 
Only  yesterday  it  was  restricted  to  physical 
science.  It  is  so  restricted  by  some  even  to-day, 
who  will  not  admit  that  Religion  has  reality  enough 
behind  it  to  stand  the  light  of  scientific  investiga- 
tion. And  on  the  side  of  Religion  itself  there  are 
those  who  reject  the  intrusion  of  scientific  ex- 
ploration, aa  if  they  believed  that  Religion  were 
altogether  supernatural  Professor  Morris  Jastrow 
is  a  Christiaa  He  believes  in  revelation  and  in 
Jesus  Christ.  He  holds  with  Wellhausen  that 
even  in  the  prophets  there  is  a  residuum  which 
science  cannot  reduce  to  ordinary  cause  and 
effect.  Yet  he  is  a  scientific  investigator.  He 
insists  on  the  searchlight  being  sent  in  whenever 
tliere  is  anything  to  see.  He  (inds  his  science 
and  his  religion  thrive  together. 

His  book  is  a  study  of  religion  in  general.  It 
is  not  any  particular  religion  noi  any  particular 
phenomenon  of  religion  that  he  describes,  it  is  the 
origin  of  religion,  its  classification,  its  relation  to 
ethics,  its  practical  issues  on  education,  and  the 
like.  His  work  is  throughout  the  work  of  a 
capable  responsible  scholar  as  well  as  of  an 
enthusiast  in  the  study  of  religion.  The  biblio- 
graphy he  offers  at  the  end  is  of  extreme  value. 


THE  MAKING  OF  A  MARCHIONESS.     By  Francbs 

Hodgson  Burnett.     (Smith,  Elder,  &•  Ca.     Crown 

8to,  pp.  346.     fa.) 

There   is  always   something  distinctive  about 

Mrs.  Burnett's  books,   difficult  as  it  is  now  to 

make  a  story  distinctive.     Nor  are  they  by  any 

means  suggestive  of  one  another.     She  has  many 

manners,  and  yet  they  are  all  her  own  and  not 

iinother's.     And  they  are  all  effective.    This  is  a 

comparatively  short  but  most  moving  book.     Its 

tone,  too,  is  so  good,  without  the  preaching  or  the 


morality-play  that  goody  novelists  indulge  in. 
That  all  ends  well,  after  so  stormy  a  sea,  is  in  its 
favour  greatly;  and  that  also  is  distinctive  in  these 
days. 

ADDRESSES    ON    THE    REVISED    VERSION    OF 

HOLY  SCRIPTURE.    Bv  C.  J.  Eu-icott,  D.D., 

Bishop  OF  Gloucbstbl    {S.F.C.K,    izmo,  [^.  138, 

3s.6d.) 

The  object  of  these  Addresses  is  'seriously  to 

suggest  the  question,  whether  the  time  has  now 

arrived  for  the  most  general  use  of  the  Revised 

Version  at  the  lectern  in  the  public  service  of  the 

Church.'    It  is  a  question  that  is  being  suggested 

by  several  of  the  leading  scholars  in  the  Church 

of  England. 

Dr.  EUicott's  method  of  emphasiring  the  matter 
is  the  best  method  possible.  In  the  first  two 
Addresses  he  traces  the  history  of  Revision ;  in 
the  third  he  describes  the  Hebrew  and  Greek 
text  used  by  the  Revisers ;  in  the  fourth  he  explains 
the  reason  for  some  of  the  more  questioned 
renderings ;  and  then  in  the  fifth  he  draws  the 
whole  together  and  shows  the  great  reasonableness 
of  his  desire.  There  is  no  man  living  who  can  do 
this  work  with  more  authority ;  and  no  man  could 
do  it  with  more  kindly  consideration. 

THE  BIBLE  ATLAS.  Edctkd  by  Sir  C.  W.  Wilson, 
K.C.B.    {S.P.C.X.    410.    los-  6d.) 

This  well-known  Atlas  has  been  re-edited  by 
Sir  C.  W.  Wilson,  K.C.B.,  after  the  latest  results 
ot  Eastern  exploration.  Some  of  the  maps  have 
been  redrawn  and  re-engraved,  and  all  have  been 
revised.  Still  more  has  been  done  (stilt  more 
needed  to  be  done)  with  the  Notes.  There  are 
twelve  plates  in  all,  the  last  being  a  very  full 
exhibition  of  the  Tabernacle  and  the  various 
Temples.  Besides  the  Notes  which  describe  each 
plate  minutely,  there  is  an  Index  of  Scripture 
passages  and  an  Index  of  geographical  names  in 
the  Bible,  including  the  Apocrypha. 

Even  Sir  Charles  Wilson  will  not  be  accepted 
in  every  detail  of  his  identifications.  The  very 
second  word  in  his  Index  of  Names,  which  evi- 
dently identifies  the  Amana  with  the  Nahr 
Banias,  will  be  as  emphatically  condemned  as 
any.  He  even  gives  the  alternalive  name  Nahr 
Abanias,  a  name  which  Dr.  Masterman  shows  in 
the  present  issue  of  The  Expository  Times  to 
have  no  actual  existence.    Again,  it  will  be  found. 


»3° 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


after  Professor  Kennedy's  article  on  the  Taber- 
nacle in  the  fourth  volume  of  the  Dictionary  of 
the  Bible  is  published,  that  the  details  of  the 
Tabernacle  must  be  somcirhat  altered.  Dr. 
Kennedy's  explanation  of  the  frames  and  their 
sockets  has  only  to  be  seen  to  be  accepted. 

But  Euch  corrections  or  differences  of  opinion 
are  of  infinitesimal  amount  over  a  work  so  great 
and  so  elaborate  as  this.  The  S.P.C.K  deserves 
the  thanks  of  all  students  of  the  Bible  for  this 
nevr  and  scholarly  edition  of  their  useful  Atlas. 


HINDU  MYTHOLOGY.  BY  W.  J.  Wilkins.  {Thatker. 
Crown  8to,  pp.  519.  ?»■  6d.) 
Mr.  Wilkins  has  seen  his  Hindu  Mythology  pass 
into  a  second  edition,  which  proves  that  it  has 
met  a  want ;  and  he  has  let  it  pass  without  altera- 
tion, which  proves  that  he  has  carefully  considered 
his  subject  before  writing  on  it.  His  book  is  in- 
deed a  kind  of  classic,  quite  an  authority,  already. 
Not  that  it  has  unravelled  the  complexities  of  the 
Hindu  pantheon,  still  less  enabled  us  to  pass  an 
examination  on  the  names  of  Hindu  deities.  But 
it  is  the  fullest  readable  and  scholarly  introduc- 
tion to  the  religion  of  Vcdic  and  Puranic  mytho- 
logy that  we  possess.  Its  success  is  no  doubt 
largely  owing  to  its  general  ease  and  inlerest. 
Whatever  we  gain  of  mythological  knowledge,  we 
at  least  spend  an  entertaining  hour  among  the 
gods  and  goddesses.  The  selection  of  native 
literature  is  always  right  and  made  at  the  right 
moment 

Mr.  Wilkins  has  also  published  a  volume  on 
Modem  Hinduism  (Thacker,  crown  8vo,  pp.  433, 
7s.  6d.),  and  it  also  has  gone  into  the  second 
edition.  The  earlier  book  was  theoretical,  this  is 
practical.  The  earlier  described  the  gods  and 
goddesses,  this  describes  their  worshippers.  And 
where  will  so  complete  and  orderly  an  account  be 
found  of  the  Hindu  religious  sects, their  ceremonies, 
and  their  moral  (or  immoral)  life  ?  Mr,  Wilkins 
has  a  fine  descriptive  gift  He  seizes  the  essential 
and  not  merely  the  picturesque  in  a  pageant,  but 
he  makes  it  as  visible  and  impressive  as  the  most 
outward  show.  We  should  have  been  glad  if 
further  space  had  been  given  to  the  last  chapter, 
which  tells  of  '  Death,  Shradha,  and  the  Future 
Life.'  Perhaps  Mr.  Wilkins  will  make  that  the 
object  of  a  separate  volume  yet 


Mr.  Sense  called  a  previous  volume  which  he 
published  on  the  Fourth  Gospel,  'A  Free  Enquiry'; 
he  calls  the  present  volume  '  A  Critical  and  His- 
torical Enquiry.'  We  prefer  his  first  title.  It  is 
is  not  so  high-sounding,  and  it  is  more  appropriate. 
For  after  his 'Enquiry' this  is  the  conclusion  to 
which  he  comes  regarding  the  Third  Gospel :  '  The 
Third  Gospel  was  compiled  from  the  writing  used 
by  the  sect  of  the  Marcionites,  known  as  the 
Marcionite  Gospel,  and  from  the  writings  of  minor 
apostles  known  as  the  Apocryphal  Gospels.'  'The 
site  and  date  of  publication  of  the  so-called 
Marcionite  Gospel  were  Pontus  and  the  first  half 
of  the  second  century,  i.e.  before  150  A.D.,  and  its 
author  was  Luke,  Lucanus,  or  Lucianus  the 
Marcionite.'  Our  canonical  Luke  was  published 
between  168  and  177  a.d.  Mr.  Sense  found 
after  he  had  reached  these  conclusions  that  they 
did  not  agree  with  the  conclusions  of  Westcott 
and  Hort  So  he  considered  their  method,  and 
finding  that  they  relied  on  the  Codex  Vaticanus 
and  the  Codex  Sinaiticus,  which  they  conjectured 
to  belong  to  the  fourth  century  or  a  little  later, 
but  which  he  believes  to  belong  to  the  ninth, 
he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  their  edition  of  St. 
Luke's  Gospel  is  '  not  only  incompatible  and 
inconsistent  with,  but  abo  utterly  repugnant  to, 
their  great  merits  as  scholars  and  gentlemen.' 

Is  Mr.  Sense  quite  honest  ?  In  another  para- 
graph he  says,  '  I  doubt  if  many,  or  any,  of  the 
learned  clergy  are  conversant  with  Dr.  Hort's 
Introduction.  The  Quarterly  Reviewer,  1881, 
admits  that  he  had  not  read  it'  It  is  the  word 
'admits'  that  raises  our  suspicion.  Dean  Burgon 
boasted,  he  did  not  admit — and  that  makes  all 
the  difference.  If  we  misjudge  him,  however,  for 
it  may  be  ignorance,  we  crave  pardon,  which  he 
will  the  readier  grant  that  on  the  following  page 
he  himself  accuses  Volckmar  of 'great  swinging 
falsehoods.' 

These  things,  together  with  the  brave  state- 
ment that  historical  criticism  is  in  favour  of 
Irenfeus,  bishop  of  Lyons,  being  regarded  as  the 
founder  of  the  Christian  religion,  not  Jesus,  are 
all  found  in  Mr.  Sense's  preface.  As  for  the  book 
itself  we  do  not 'admit' that  we  have  not  read  it, 
but  we  admit  that  we  have  found  it  trying  to  read. 

'  The  Origin  of  Iht  Third  Gaspe!.  By  P.  C.  Sense,  M.A. 
Wiltiams &  Novate.     8vo,  pp.  614.     7s.  fid.       ,' ^ 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


an 


About  the  middle  of  the  volume  we  discover  that 
Mr.  Sense  is  inclined  to  credit  the  story  of 
Simonides  that  he  had  himself  '  penned  Che 
Codex  Sinaiticus  in  the  monastery  of  Pajitelsemon 
on  Mount  Athos  as  recently  as  1839  and  1S40,' 
which  surely  is  enough  to  discredit  his  own 
capacity  as  a  critic  and  historian.  Nor  wil!  his 
fame  as  an  exegete  tise  much  higher  if  his  elaborate 
fooling  about  the  Parable  of  the  Unrighteous 
Steward  on  pages  184  to  192  be  Tead.  His  con- 
clusion on  the  difficult  verse  in  that  parable  is 
interesting, — a  net  has  been  omitted.  It  should 
be  '  Make  tioi  friends  to  yourselves  of  the 
of  unrighteousness.' 


(JSUcmithn'B  'fiiut&e  to  IpAfestine  and 

When  the  report  came  that  Mr.  Murray  had  to 
give  way  before  the  keen  competition  of  Baedeker, 
there  was  surprise  and  disappointment.  It  seemed 
strange  that  the  travelling  nation  could  not  furnish 
its  own  guide-books.  But  Messrs.  Macmillan  have 
.stepped  forward.  Cutting  down  the  size  and  the 
price,  they  have  produced  a  book  which  is  more 
easily  handled  and  bought,  and  which  at  the  same 
time  restricts  itself  to  giving  information  pure 
and  simple — leaving  other  books  to  discharge  the 
function  of  universal  critic.  The  new  Guides  are 
thus  more  easily  mastered.  They  do  not  demand 
preliminary  days  of  hard  study.  They  contain 
what  they  ought  to  contain,  it  is  in  its  proper 
place  and  can  be  found  at  once,  and  it  is 
expressed  in  good  simple  Saxon  English. 

The  volumes  are  anonymous,  as  guide-books 
ought  to  be.  If  they  mislead  us  through  lack  of 
scholarship,  we  shall  discard  them,  nnd  they  will 
come  to  nought ;  if  they  lead  us  aright  we  do  not 
mind  whose  name  stands  on  their  title-page,  we 

,  feel  more  assured  if  there  is  no. name  there. 

Four  volumes  have  now  been  published — Italy, 
the  Eastern  Mediterranean,  the  Western  Mediter- 
ranean, and  Palestine  and  Egypt.  We  have  to  do 
with  the  last.  Its  size  is  globe  8vo  (ihe  same  as 
the  'Eversley'  Series),  it  runs  to  270  pages,  it 
contains  forty-eight  maps  and  plans,  and  it  is 
published  in  cloth  at  10s.  net    The  editor  politely 

.  asks  us  to  send  him  correciions  of  errors  found. 

■  We  cannot  oblige  him  yet,  but  we  may  notice  two 


points  of  wider  interest,  and  at  least  taste  his  style 
thereby. 

He  believes  in  '  Gordon's  Tomb.'  Of  the 
traditional  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  he  says, 
'Regarded  as  a  shrine  of  holy  memorial,  the 
church  would  claim  our  most  reverential  homage ; 
but,  considered  as  an  actual  site  of  sacred  events, 
it  must  be  dismissed  as  a  fraud  and  an  imposture.' 
As  for  the  'Skull  Hill,'  he  admits  that  the  shape 
of  the  whole  mound  does  not  determine  the 
matter,  'though,  as  General  Gordon  showed  by 
the  models  made  from  his  very  careful  survey  and 
measurements,  the  resemblance  is  remarkable ' ; 
but  its  face  at  once  reminds  him  of  a  skull :  '  once 
seen,  there  can  be  no  further  doubt  about  it'  He 
knows  the  argument  for  the  Resurrection  of 
Jesus  from  the  undisturbed  cloths  that  were  wound 
around  His  body,  states  it  tersely,  and  uses  it  with 
effect. 

With  still  less  hesitation,  when  he  comes  to 
Damascus,  does  he  identify  Amana  with  the 
Barada  and  Pharpar  with  the  Awaj.  On  that 
matter  Dr.  Mastcrman's  article  in  the  present 
number  of  The  Expositorv  Times  will  probably 
settle  doubtful  minds.  Of  Damascus  itself,  he 
says, '  Rome  proudly  arrogates  to  herself  the  title 
of  the  "  Eternal  City,"  but  Damascus  is  infinitely 
more  entitled  to  the  claim.  Thousands  of  years 
before  Rome  was  bom  or  thought  of,  Damascus 
was  just  as  populous,  thriving,  and  beautiful  as 
she  is  at  the  present  day.  When  Abraham  engaged 
the  services  of  Eliezer  of  Damascus  nearly  4000 
years  ago,  if  he  in  truth  visited  that  city,  as  his- 
torical tradition  relates,  he  saw  in  all  probability 
almost  identically  the  same  types  of  costume, 
countenance,  and  character,  the  same  bazaar 
scenes,  the  same  modes  and  methods  of  bargain- 
ing, the  same  habits  and  customs  of  daily  life,  as 
are  witnessed  by  the  modern  European  or  Ameri- 
can tourist.  The  cause  of  this  immortality  of  life 
and  prosperity  is  simply  the  presence  of  those  two 
rivers,  Abana  and  Pharpar,  of  which  Naaman  the 
Syrian  so  proudly  and  so  justly  boasted  (2  Kings 
V.  12).  But  for  them  there  never  could  have 
been  any  city  or  plain  of  Damascus  at  all,  for  all 
would  have  been  a  dreary,  uninhabitable  desert 
In  fact,  Damascus  itself  really  stands  as  an 
oasis  in  the  desert,  for  it  cannot  be  approached 
from  any  quarter  (unless,  indeed,  it  be  the  south- 
west) without  crossing  at  least  some  portion  of 
desert.'  Drn-r-h,  x^H,f».'Vl»^ 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


(JXtfBon's  '(]Xm  Centurj'  CUstka. 

Messrs.  Nelson  have  published  editions  of  Scott, 
Thackeray,  and  Dickens  which  are  so  distinctive 
that  they  deserve  and  are  likely  to  be  remembeTed 
by  a  special  title — the  '  New  Century  Scott,*  the 
'  New  Century  Thackeray,'  and  the  '  New  Century 
Dickens.'  Their  '  New  Century  '  feature,  the 
reason  of  their  existence,  is  the  thinness  and 
opacity  of  the  paper  used.  Very  thin  paper  is  a 
trial  to  turn  over,  but  this  paper  enables  the  type 
to  be  so  large  and  the  book  so  small  that  all  the 
advantage  of  a  library  edition  is  secured  in  a 
volume  that  goes  comfortably  into  the  pocket. 
The  volume  containing  Wamrley  crushes  660 
pages  into  half  an  inch  of  thickness.  Yet  the 
page  is  white  and  every  line  distinct  and  clear. 

After  the  paper,  the  most  striking  feature  is  the 
price;  the  price  varies  with  the  binding.  In  cloth 
each  volume  of  Dickens  costs  is.  net ;  in  smooth 
blue  leather  with  gilt  top  and  four  artistic  illustra- 
tions it  costs  3s.  net.  Thackeray  and  Scott  in 
leather,  similarly  gilt  and  illustrated,  cost  but  as.  6d. 
each,  net.  Such  prices  as  these  are  quite  new  and 
enough  to  give  the  scries  their  name.  It  is  some 
years  since  Mr.  Gladstone  prophesied  that  books 
would  be  so  reduced  in  price  in  the  new  century 
that  we  should  have  to  see  to  our  joists  and  beams. 
He  did  not  foresee  that  with  the  price  the  size  and 
weight  would  also  be  reduced. 


'  tU  ^tors  of  iU  Qtdtions.' 

•The  Story  or  the  Nations 'has  now  reached 
its  fifty-sixth  volume,  and  Mr.  Fisher  Unwin  has 
determined  to  follow  the  example  set  by  the 
publishers  of  other  great  books,  such  as  the 
Etuytlopadia  Britanniea,  and  offer  it  at  a  special 
subscription  price  in  a  special  subscription  bind- 
ing. We  say  '  binding,'  because  that  is  the  only 
difference  between  the  subscription  edition  and 
the  original.  The  paper,  printing,  plates  arc  the 
same  ;  the  contents  are  the  same  throughout 

'The  Story  of  the  Nations '  is  not  a  children's 
book.  Nor  is  it,  in  the  ugly  sense  of  that  word, 
a  popular  book.  The  editor's  first  thought  has 
always  been  to  find  the  best  authority  on  the 
history  of  each  country,  so  that,  whatever  else, 
the  volumes  could  at  least  be  relied  upon  to  tell 
the  truth.     These  authorities  write  with  varying 


literary  skill,  no  doubt  also  with  varying  concep- 
tion of  the  aim  of  the  series,  but  they  all  know 
that  their  volumes  are  expected  to  be  reliable  and 
to  advance  our  knowledge  of  the  countries  on 
which  they  write. 

The  editor's  next  thought  seems  to  have  been 
to  find  the  best  possible  illustrations.  Artists 
have  sometimes,  we  understand,  been  sent  to 
the  country  in  question  to  draw  or  photograph 
on  the  spot  The  drawings  or  photographs  have 
been  in  all  cases  skilfully  reproduced.  This  gives 
the  books  a  value  that  may  properly  be  called 
unique.  No  other  continuous  history  of  the 
nations  of  the  world  furnishes  illustrations.  And 
yet  we  have  now  come  to  understand  that  without 
illustrations  no  history  of  any  nation  can  properly 
be  written. 

We  have  said  the  volumes  vary  in  literary  skill 
Those  that  strike  us  as  most  successful,  of  the 
volumes  we  have  read,  are:  Church's  Carthage, 
Mahiffy's  A/exand^r's  Emp're,  Chaldea  by  Madame 
Ragozin,  with  her  other  volumes,  namely,  Assyria, 
Media,  and  Vedtc  India,  Monison's  Jews  undtrtht 
Romans,  Oman's  Byzanline  Empire,  Miss  Dufl^'s 
Tuscan  Republics,  Murray's  Japan,  Maurice's 
Bohemia,  Douglas's  China,  and  Edwards's  Waks. 
The  volume  which  most  successfully  fulfils  the 
aim  of  the  series  has  always  seemed  to  us  to  be 
Freeman's  Sicily,  It  is  a  thoroughly  original 
work,  based  on  the  most  painstaking  persistent 
researches,  and  yet  it  is  written  in  language  which 
appeals  to  the  reader  whose  knowledge  of  Sicily 
is  nothing.  Freeman's  volume  alone  would  make 
the  series  notable. 

The  fifty-sixth  volume  is  Wales.  It  has  just 
been  published.  Its  author  is  Mr.  Owen  M. 
Edwards,  Fellowof  Lincoln  College,  Oxford,  Mr. 
Edwards  has  had  to  face  the  difficulty  which 
almost  all  the  writers  have  met,  the  difficulty  of 
managing  the  mass  of  details  so  as  not  to  neglect 
them  and  yet  let  us  see  the  way  through  the  wood. 
He  has  produced,  it  seems  to  us,  one  of  the  best 
volumes  of  the  series.  The  special  character  of 
the  Welshman,  the  national  characteristic,  is  easily 
felt  throughout,  and  shapes  the  history.  The 
individual  has  his  due ;  but  it  is  not  a  single  hero^ 
exploits  we  desire  to  know,  not  even  Llywelyn's, 
and  the  nation  is  never  hid  behind  the  towering 
form  of  its  great  ones.  This  last  volume  shows 
with  peculiar  clearness  the  great  purpose  this  serits 
is  able  to  accomplish.    The  Welsh  people  take 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMEa 


133 


their  place  among  the  nations  of  the  world ;  their 
character,  their  hisioiy,  their  country,  their  literary 
and  artistic  powers,  their  aims,  and  their  future 
prospects — all  is  given  in  sufficient  fulness  for  the 
ordinary  reader  to  master.  It  is  a  portion  of  the 
history  of  the  world,  distinct  and  detachable,  yet 
best  understood  after  all  when  read  along  with 
the  other  volumes  which  give  us  the  history  of 
other  nations. 

We  need  not  say  more  to  commend  this  great 
series.  It  is  its  own  best  recommendation.  One 
volume  read  will  lead  to  the  reading  of  another. 
The  reader  who  can  master  the  whole  will  have 
gained  a.  knowledge  of  the  nations  of  the  world 
which  no  other  series  could  have  furnished  him 
with. 


€U  (Ren)  Edition  of  i^e  (pte^iHi^.' 

Mk.  Gwilliah's  edition  of  the  Fesbitta  version 
of  the  New  Testament  supplies  a  real  want,  and 
will  receive  a  hearty  welcome  from  all  students 
of  textual  criticism.  It  is  a  work  of  great  learn- 
ing, accuracy,  and  research,  and  yet,  strange  to 
tell,  the  labour  expended  upon  it  has  been  less 
than  what  we  should  have  expected,  in  view  of 
the  wealth  of  materials  which  lay  ready  to  the 
editor's  hand.  One  great  service  which  it  has 
done,  is  to  bring  more  prominently  into  view  the 
fact  that  the  Syrian  Church  has  the  unique 
distinction  of  having  been  absolutely  faithful  to 
her  duty  in  handing  down  the  version  which 
she  adopted,  probably  at  the  beginning  of  the 
fifth  century,  practically  unchanged  and  uncor- 
rupted  till  our  own  day.  At  first  sight  one  might 
have  expected  that  the  number  of  manuscripts 
to  be  used  for  a  standard  text  would  have  made 
the  work  one  of  immense  labour.  But  it  is  not 
so.  This  '  queen  of  the  versions,'  as  it  has  been 
well  called,  exists  in  no  less  than  ten  fine  manu- 
scripts of  the  fifth  century,  and  in  thirty  of  the 
sixth ;  whilst  the  Greek  branch  of  the  Church 
Catholic  offers  us  only  two  important  manuscripts 
of  the  fourth  century,  two  of  the  fifth,  and  two  of 
the  sixth.  The  Latin  branch  offers  us  two  MSS 
of  the  Vulgate  assigned  to  the  sixth  century  and 
three  to  the  seventh  (we  cannot  credit  her  with 

'  Ttlraeuangclium  Sancltiin  juxia  Simplieim  Syrvrvm 
Venimim.  Edited  by  G.  H.  GwillUm,  S.T.B.  Oxford: 
CUtendoD  Freu.     Crown  4to>  PP-  ivi,  608.    439.  net. 


those  pre-VuIgate  Old  Latin  MSS  which  she 
discarded).  But  that  is  not  all.  Between  the 
official  revised  edition  of  the  Vulgate,  published 
under  the  care  of  Cardinal  Caraffa  in  1590,  by 
the  authority  of  Pope  Sixtus  v.,  and  that  published 
in  159J  under  his  successor,  Clement  viii.,  there 
were,  according  to  Dr.  Nestle,  3000  variants. 
How  many  there  may  be  between  the  last-men- 
tioned edition  and  that  of  Wordsworth-White 
(1889-98)  we  have  not  at  present  time  to  ascer- 
tain ;  but  Tischendorf  has  drawn  attention  to  the 
discrepancy  between  the  authorized  edition  of 
159*  and  the  text  of  the  best  and  oldest  MSS. 
Let  us  look  at  the  Greek  critical  editions  of  the 
New  Testament.  Tischendorf  has  used  about 
forty-four  Greek  MSS  in  his  edition  of  1869; 
Mr.  Gwilliam  forty-two  in  his  edition  of  the 
Peshitta.  Compare  any  one  verse  in  the  two 
books,  and  the  very  appearance  of  the  pages 
tells  you  that  there  is  infinitely  less  divei^ence 
between  the  MSS  of  the  PeshitU  and  those  of  the 
Greek  text  Nor  is  this  question  merely  one  of 
quantity,  for  the  variants  themselves  are  for  the 
most  part  of  little  importance,  being  to  a  great 
extent  merely  orthographical.  For  interesting 
and  suggestive  readings  in  Syriac,  we  must  go  to 
the  Curetonian  and  to  the  Sinai  Palimpsest. 

The  reading  of  these  manuscripts  is,  however, 
confirmed  in  one  remarkable  passage,  Lk  34^, 
as  it  stands  in  Mr,  Gwilliam's  translation :  Nonne 
cor  nostrum  grave  erat  in  medio  nostri.  As  the 
difference  between '  heavy '  and  '  burning '  depends 
in  Syriac  merely  upon  the  position  of  a  dot,  this 
might  well  have  been  taken  for  a  scribe's  mistake. 
But  when  we  find  that  all  MSS  of  the  Peshitta, 
the  Arabic  of  Tatian's  Diatessaron,  and  the  Sinai 
Palimpsest  have  the  same  reading,  we  are  at 
once  convinced  that  the  Syrian  Church  believed 
it  to  be  the  true  one. 

We  find  in  the  Angels'  song  of  Lk  a"  another 
agreement  in  all  Peshitta  MSS  with  the  Sinai 
Palimpsest,  '  on  earth  peace,  and  good  will  to 
men."  The  Syriac  word  for  'good  will'  or  'good 
hope'  is  not  the  same  as  in  the  Sinai  Palimpsest, 
but  the  Greek  original  of  both  these  ancient  Syriac 
versions  must  have  contained  tiSoKta,  not  rfSoKias, 

We  think  that  Mr.  Gwilliam  has  shown  true 
wisdom  in  refraining  from  any  discussion  on  the 
relation  of  the  Peshitta  text  to  that  of  the  so- 
catled  Old  Syriac.  The  question  of  their  relative 
antiquity  will  be  fought  out  on  other  fields,  and 


»34 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Mt.  Gwilliam's  book  will  remain  as  a  standard  one 
long  after  it  has  been  decided. 

We  are  glad  also  that  he  has  not  burdened 
his  pages  and  tried  our  patience  with  such 
minute  points  as  m\n*>n  foi  mli,a2  in  Mt  a', 
and  «a|i  for  tS)}  in  v."  of  the  same  chapter,  as 
they  are  found  in  Cod.  Add.  14,454,  of  the 
British  Museum.  These  are  interesting  only  from 
an  orthographical  point  of  view,  and  their 
inclusion  would  have  detracted  from  the  use- 
fulness of  the  volume  by  increasing  its  bulk. 

The  type  and  printing  are  all  that  can  be 
desired,   for  though  small,   they  are    clear  and 


agreeable  to  the  eye.  The  Syriac  system  of 
Sections  and  Canons  is  roost  welcome,  and  so 
are  the  Tables  of  Harmonies  at  the  foot  of 
each  column.  Out  one  complaint  about  the 
book,  and  it  is  a  serious  one,  is  that  with  so 
many  figures  in  the  margins,  the  numbering  of  the 
chapters  is  not  in  sufficiently  large  type ;  and  that 
consequently  it  is  no  easy  task  to  find  one's  way 
in  the  book.  But  this  does  not  detract  from  our 
gratitude  to  Mr.  Gwilliam  for  the  thorough  way 
in  which  he  has  accomplished  his  laborious  task. 
Agnes  S.  Lewis. 
CambriJsi. 


ContrtSutions  and   Commente. 


auttt  on  tie  £QC($  of  1  fidmuef  it.  i. 

In  the  clause  translated  by  R.  V., '  Yea,  the  barren 
hath  borne  seven,'  the  LXX  translates  the  intro- 
ductory particle  IV  (R-V.,  'Vea')by5Ti.  Since  in 
other  cases,  e.g.  Hag  2^*,  iv  is  represented  by  In, 
i.e.  "fiV,  probably  on  in  Samuel  is  a  corruption  of 
iru 

W.  H.  Bennett, 

/irvi  Celhgt,  Lendan. 


t%t  Coffet  C^tsa?). 

Note  on  the  Text  of  i  Samuel  vr.  8. 

The  Massoretic  text  of  this  passage  tells  us  that 
when  the  Philistines  were  returning  the  ark  they 
placed  their  guitt-offering  in  the  coffer  i^argaz)  by 
the  side  of  it.  The  word  only  occurs  in  this 
passage  in  vv.*-  "- '' ;  the  clauses  in  which  it 
occurs  in  vv."- 1'  are  regarded  as  very  late  glosses 
by  Budde  (S.S.O.T.),  H.  P.  Smith,  etc.  The 
interest  taken  by  the  glossators  in  the  'argdt 
suggests  that  they  are  also  responsible  for  its 
presence  in  v.*.  Cheyne,  The  Expository 
Times,  x.  511,  suggests  that  the  original  read- 
ing was  pK,  'm,  and  that  'the  "coffer"  was  not 
-  really  distinguished  by  its  name  from  the  ark.'  I 
would  suggest  that  he  is  right  as  to  the  original 
reading,  but  that  the  history  of  the  corruption  is 


rather  different.  M.  Jastrow,  in  his  Dkt.  of  the 
Targumim,  etc.,  gives  'argdz,  ins,  as  used  in  post- 
biblical  literature  for  '  box '  or  '  chest,'  and  as  occur- 
ring in  one  instance  with  a  various  reading,  'drdn, 
iinR,  '  ark.'  It  seems  likely  that  the  original  text 
suted  that  the  guilt-offering  was  placed  in  the  ark. 
This  was  naturally  offensive  to  later  editors,  who 
substituted  for  ark,  friK,  the  similar  word  'argas, 
niK,  'coffer';  and  inserted  'by  the  side  thereof 
and  the  glosses  in  "  and  ^'.  Various  texts  of  the 
LXX,  including  that  ascribed  to  Lucian,  have  a 
double  rendering:  (i)  ^«/u>,  usually  an  equivalent 
of  ToyjO,  'row';  (z)  some  more  or  less  accurate 
transliteration  of  'argas.  This  suggests  the  exist- 
ence either  of  a  Hebrew  text  in  which  naijio  had 
been  substituted  for  'argdz,  or  else  of  one  in 
which  it  had  been  added  as  an  explanation  of 
that  word.  W.  H.  Bknnett. 

//em  CoUegt,  Ltmden, 


(Bltc48  V.  1-3  ((Enj.  2^). 

It  has  become  customary  to  regard  Beth-Ephrath 
as  the  original  reading  in  v.\  instead  of  Bethlehem 
Ephrathah,  but  with  no  sufficient  reason.  The 
only  reason  which  is  advanced  is  that  the  LXX 
has  Bir^AtV  otcos  'E^p<£0a,  and  that,  in  order  to 
explain  the  origin  of  the  Greek,  it  is  necessary  to 
suppose  that  Bethlehem  was  added  in  the  Hebrew 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


to  an  original  Beth-Ephrath.  But  Beth-Ephrath 
as  a.  place-name  is  without  parallel;  the  place  is 
always  called  Ephrathah  (once  Ephrath).  A  com- 
parison of  the  passages  where  Bethlehem  and 
Ephrathah  occur  together  makes  it  probable  that 
the  latter  was  the  district  in  which  ihe  village  of 
Bethlehem  lay;  note  especially  r  S  17",  Ru  i*, 
where  Jesse  and  Elimelech's  sons  are  called  Ephta- 
Ibiies  from  Bethlehem.  Bethlehem  Ephrathah  is 
Bethlehem  of  E. ;  cf.  Bethlehem-Judah.  The 
Greek  translators  failed  to  recognize  this  distinc- 
tioQ,  and  found  it  necessary  to  insert  otxiK  here. 
At  the  end  of  Jos  j$''  they  add  'E^pofio,  avnj 
Arri  ^ifdXit^  and  again  identify  the  two.  If 
Bethlehem  Ephrathah  was  the  original  text,  it  is 
easier  to  explain  the  two  glosses  in  Gn  35"  48^, 
where  the  Ephrathah  of  Rachel's  burial  is  taken 
to  be  the  same  as  Bethlehem.  The  glossator, 
finding  the  two  places  named  together,  under- 
stood ihem  to  be  identical,  but,  unlike  the  LXX 
translator,  did  not  add  a  second  n'3.  The  Ephra- 
thah of  Rachel's  tomb  was  of  course  in  Benjamin ; 
ct  I  S  10*,  Jer  ji"*, 

Oort  thinks  the  passage  in  Micah  refers  to  the 
Ephiath  of  Benjamin,  and,  counting  Bethlehem  an 
incorrect  addition,  declares  the  prophet  anticipated 
that  the  crown  would  pass  from  the  discredited 
Davidic  line  to  the  stock  of  Saul  the  Benjaminite. 
His  theory  requires  us  to  remove  not  only  Bethle- 
hem but  TTViTV  'bVk3  from  the  present  text,  ignores 
all  the  other  instances  where  Bethlehem  and  Eph- 
rath occur  together,  demands  the  unproved  sup- 
position that  Saul's  race  retained  some  hold  on 
the  popular  imagination  till  this  late  period,  and 
the  further  gratuitous  supposition  that  Saul's 
house  had  any  association  with  the  Ephrath  of 
Benjamin. 

The  reading  'too  little  to  be  among  the  thou- 
sands of  Judah '  is  grammatically  difficult,  since  it 
would  require  to  be  followed  by  rri'np  instead  of 
n^'n?.  It  does  not  agree  with  i  S  3o«,  where 
Bethlehem  finds  its  place  among  the  ninibp  of 
Judah.  Omit  Tfcrh  as  having  found  its  way 
hither  from  the  following  clause,  and  perhaps 
fead  vjwri  'the  least.'  The  article  may  have 
dropped  out  because  of  the  n  with  which  Ephra- 
thah ends. 

The  real  sequel  of  v.',  as  has  been  fre- 
i)nently   recognized,   is   not    v.*   but   v.'.     The 


grammar  requires  this,  since  the  subject  of  the 
verbs  in  v,^  is  the  ^D  or  ruler  of  v.^  while  the 
subject  of  v.*  is  Jabveh.  The  sense  also  demands 
it :  the  promised  ruler  is  to  arise  'h  for  Me,  i^.  to 
fulfil  Jahveh's  ends,  and  these  ends  are  more 
nearly  defined  in  v.'. 

Hence  the  two  verses  will  read,  'But  thou, 
Bethlehem  Ephrathah,  least  among  the  thou- 
sands of  Judah,  out  of  thee  shall  one  arise 
unto  Me  to  be  a  ruler  in  Israel,  whose  goings 
forth  are  from  of  old,  from  ancient  time.  And 
he  shall  stand  and  shall  feed  bis  flock,'  etc.,  as 
in  R,V. 

V.i  is,  as  Wellhauseo  recognized,  made  up  of 
two  references  to  Isaiah.  The  first  refers  to  Is  7'^ 
which  the  writer  understood  to  contain  a  Messianic 
prediction.  The  second  refers  to  Isaiah's  pro- 
phecy of  l?xr  "1KB' '  a  remnant  shall  return,'  which 
the  writer  also  interprets  in  his  own  way.  Read 
'  therefore  is  He  (Jahveh)  surrendering  them,  until 
one  who  beareth  hath  borne,  and  (until)  the 
remnant  of  His  (Messiah's)  brethren  return 
unto  the  children  of  Israel.'  The  Messiah  was 
to  arise  from  Bethlehem-Judah :  when  there- 
fore the  remnant  of  His  brethren  returned  to 
the  children  of  Israel,  there  would  be  a  reunited 
nation. 

I  take  the  verse  to  be  an  exilic  or  post-exilic 
addition.  The  indefiniteness  of  the  pronouns — 
IFi^  has  no  subject,  the  'his'  in  vnK  cannot  refer 
to  the  subject  of  jn'^  but  must  refer  to  the  '  ruler ' 
— is  entirely  in  the  manner  of  such  marginal  in- 
sertions. The  scholastic  use  of  and  appeal  to 
early  prophecies  is  a  sign  of  a  later  age.  The 
nation  is  waiting  and  longing  for  its  promised  re- 
demption. The  students  of  prophecy  are  search- 
ing into  the  cause  of  the  delay.  We  have  in  this 
verse  an  explanation  why  the  deliverer  from  Beth- 
lehem tarries.  For  this  cause  Jahveh  gives  ihem 
up,  until  a  bearer  has  borne.  The  'therefore' 
with  which  the  verse  begins  has  no  meaning, 
unless  it  refers  to  some  such  thought  in  the 
writer's  mind.  It  has  no  direct  connexion  with 
our  first  verse.  The  verse  offers  us  an  early 
example  of  Jewish  exegesis,  and  an  illustration  of 
how  prophecy  was  interpreted. 

This,  however,  makes  it  only  the  more  certain 
that  vv.'-*  are  early,  and  likely  that  they  date 
from  Micah's  time.     Men  do  not  annotate  any- 


236 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


thing  except  their  classics.  The  presence  of 
this  note  makes  it  the  more  certain  that  they 
were  dealing  nith  what  had  already  become  a 
classic. 

Wellhausen  has  declared  it  difficult  to  suppose 
that  the  prophecy  of  a  ruler  arising  from  Bethle- 
hem could  emanate  from  a  period  nhen  the 
Davidic  stock  was  actually  seated  on  the  throne 
of  Judah.  He  contrasts  this  pass^e  with  Isaiah's 
promise  of  a  shoot  out  of  the  stem  of  Jesse  (Is 
ii^'i*),  and  seems  to  suggest  that,  if  the  one  is 
genuine,  the  other  can  hardly  claim  to  be  so. 
But  is  the  gulf  between  the  two  promises  so  great 
that  the  difference  between  the  attitudes  of  the 
two  prophets  is  insufficient  to  explain  it?  Both 
men  find  their  hope  for  their  nation  in  the  race 
which  once  made  the  kingdom.  Jahveh  used  the 
old  stock  once  for  great  ends,  He  can  and  will 
use  it  again  for  higher  ends. 

But  Isaiah  was  a  court  prophet  He  lived  in 
the  great  world,  and  understood  it.  He  hated  the 
corruption  which  was  manifest  in  the  capital,  but 
he  did  not  despair  of  the  people's  princes.  He 
still  hoped  that  Jahveh  might  reform  them,  for  in 
his  God's  name  he  stiil  continued  to  preach  to 
them.  To  warn  and  to  rebuke  are  signs  of  faith 
in  the  men  one  warns.  His  faith  in  Israel's 
future  clothes  itself  in  the  promise  of  a  new 
shoot  from  the  old  Jesse  stock,  who  shall  reign 
in  righteousness. 

Micah  despaired  of  the  court  and  its  princes. 
He  saw  in  them  nothing  but  men  who  robbed 
and  flayed  the  helpless  poor.  He  had  ceased  to 
preach  to  themj  he  was  content  to  denounce" 
them.  But  that  God  had  cast  Israel  off"  for  ever, 
he  did  not  believe.  Only  God  must  leave  this 
lustful,  cruel  race  in  the  capital.  Micah's  faith  in 
his  people's  future  and  in  Jahveh  clothed  itself  in 
these  forms.  God  will  give  us  back  the  old 
simple  king  of  the  ancient  times,  a  king  from 
Bethlehem,  not  from  Jerusalem — a  king  who  will 
shepherd  instead  of  fleecing. 

Adah  C.  Welch. 

I/tUmburgA. 


'Our  £orb'  in  i^t  tmis 
Ipafimpsesf. 

In  ray  collation  of  Codex  I^wisianus  (Lp),  other- 
vise  known  as  Syr.  Sin.,  with  the  Curetonian  Syriac 


(Sc),  published  by  the  Clarendon  Press,  1896,  I 
drew  attention  in  the  following  words  to  the  fact 
that  the  term  ^^  -  '  our  Lord '  is  of  frequent 
occurrence  in  the  former  MS. :  '  Non  abs  re  hie 
est  notare  Lewisianum  ^^  pro  '^"m  i  persaepe 
legere,  et  hoc  quidem  plurimis  in  locis  contra  alios 
testes  omnes '  {p.  v). 

The  fact  here  alluded  to  is  of  course  well  known 
to  those  who  have  studied  this  important  palimp- 
sest, but  it  has  been  spoken  of  in  a  way  not  wholly 
in  accordance  with  the  facts  of  the  case.  Mrs. 
Lewis  herself,  to  whom  all  Syriac  students  owe  so 
much,  wrote  in  the  preface  to  her  first  translation 
of  Lp,  published  by  Macmillan,  1894 :  'There  are 
a  few  expressions  which  may  point  to  a  later  origin 
[than  Cureton].  The  chief  of  these  is,  as  it  seems 
to  us,  the  persistent  use  of  the  title  "our  Lord," 
instead  of  the  name  Jesus  throughout  the  narrative 
of  all  the  Evangelists'  (Introduction,  p.  xxxi). 
These  words  were  probably  written  in  baste  and 
under  the  influence  of  a  flrst  impression,  for  they 
do  not  correctly  represent  the  facts.  For  instance, 
it  may  be  remarked  by  the  way,  that  so  far  from 
the  phrase  in  question  occuning  throughout  all  the 
four  Gospels,  it  is  found  only  once  in  Mk  (11^), 
and,  as  will  be  pointed  out,  its  use  can  hardly  be 
described  as  persistent  in  the  other  three  evan- 
gelists. 

Before  giving  the  actual  facts,  which  are  cer- 
tainly curious,  let  me  explain  the  method  adapted 
in  their  investigation.  Briefly,  then,  no  notice  has 
been  taken  of  the  use  of  the  phrase  'our  Lord' 
by  speakers  in  the  Gospel  narratives,  e.g.  as  in 
Mt  28^,  for  these  cases  stand  on  a  different  footing, 
and  here  Lp  presents  no  special  peculiarity ;  the 
examination  is  entirely  con6ned  to  the  use  of  the 
word  y^  by  the  Gospel  narraiors,  and  the  result 
is  undoubtedly  remarkable.  Furthermore,  the  use 
of  this  term  in  Sc  and  in  the  Peshitta  (P)  has 
been  examined,  since  the  comparison  of  these 
with  Lp  in  the  employment  of  ,^  is  not  to  be 
neglected  in  any  attempt  which  may  be  made  to 
solve  the  problem  set  before  us  by  the  peculiar 
occurrence  of  the  word  in  Lp. 

First  of  all,  then,  it  appears  that  the  term  '  our 
Lord'  is  found  in  Lp  64  times,  as  against  it 
times  in  P,  including  Lk  16*,  and  rs  times  in  Sc, — 
a  preponderance  which  fully  justifies  the  words 
cited  from  my  collation.  It  is  of  course  true  that 
a  large  part  of  Sc  is  lost,  including  all  of  Mk, 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


exceptiDg  a  few  verses  at  the  end  of  chap.  i6,  and 
it  might  be  argued  that  were  we  in  possession 
of  the  lost  portions  we  should  find  ,^  to  be  used 
by  Sc  with  as  great  frequency  as  by  Lp.  Of 
course  it  might  be  so,  and  no  doubt  those  lost 
portions  would  give  us  several  fresh  instances  of 
the  use  of  'our  Lord ';  but  judging  from  the  facts 
before  us,  it  does  not  seem  very  likely  that  the 
phrase  would  be  found  to  occur  with  any  extra- 
ordinary frequency.  The  employment  of  ,f^  in 
Lp,  to  which  I  am  about  to  draw  attention,  is 
quite  peculiar,  and  in  the  two  passages  which 
display  an  abundant  use  of  the  term,  enough  of 
Sc  is  fortunately  extant  to  enable  us  to  institute  a 
comparison,  and  we  find  that  Sc  in  these  passages 
presents  no  peculiarity.  Thus,  in  a  portion  of 
Jn  where  Lp  has  'our  Lord'  34  times,  Sc  reads 
'Jesus'  with  P  25  times,  once  'Jesus'  where  P 
omits  the  name,  the  remaining  S  passages  being 
lost  This  affords  a  presumption,  at  least,  that 
Sc  contained  no  extraordinary  proportion  of  ^j^ 
readings.  But  let  this  be  as  it  may,  we  are  here 
dealing  of  course  only  with  existing  material,  and 
as  was  stated  above,  ^lSd  occurs  64  times  in  Lp., 
12  times  in  Sc,  and  11  times  in  P.  This  great 
preponderance,  however,  does  not  justify  us  in 
saying  that  the  use  of  the  word  in  Lp  is  persistent 
throughout  the  four  Gospels.  Quite  the  contrary, 
indeed.  There  is  nothing  remarkable  about  the 
use  of  fj^  by  Lp  in  Mk  and  Lk,  and  there  are  large 
tracts  of  Mt  and  Jn  where  the  term  occurs  with 
no  more  frequency — though  in  different  places — 
than  in  Sc  and  P.  The  fact  which  is  deserving 
of  the  closest  attention  is  briefly  this,  that  the 
peculiarly  frequent  employment  of  the  word  in 
Lp  is  confined  to  two  well-defined  sections  of  Mt 
and  Jn,  namely,  Mt  8»-ii^  and  Jn  i^MS'.  In 
these  two  sections  'our  Lord'  occurs  no  less  than 
56  times,  leaving  the  balance  of  8  times  only  to  be 
distributed  throughout  the  rest  of  the  Gospels.  In 
52  of  these  56  places  P  has  'Jesus';  once 'Christ' 
(Mt  iiS);  and  thrice  (Jn  i«  2^4«bi)  gives  neither 
name  nor  title.  Sc  is  extant  in  36  of  these  56 
places,  and  in  all  of  them  reads  '  Jesus.*  Thus, 
then,  excluding  these  two  sections  of  Lp,  we  find 
that  elsewhere  the  palimpsest  has  the  term  8  times, 
as  against  12  times  in  Sc,  and  11  times  in  P. 
The  passages  are  here  given  for  the  sake  of  com- 
parison. 

'  Lp  faM  here  a  diflereiit  text. 


Lp. 

s..      1    .    : 

Mt  4"  omits. 

?4"  'J«u..' 
Mkll*" our  Lord.' 

iC"  wanting. 
Lk8» 'our  Lord.* 

10"  '   esns.' 

11"  '  esui,' 

I2«"   esus.' 

14"  '   esus.' 

16"  Lord  {«.<.  God).' 

;^:&'' 

,^  'Jrsu..' 
22»  omits. 
12"  omits. 
22'"Jesu..- 
22" 'Jesus.' 
Jn  8" 'our  Lord.' 
n" 'our  Lord.' 
12'"  our  Lord.* 
i3»"oorLord.' 
20"  'our  Lord.* 
20»  omits. 
2i"oi.tLoH.' 

'oar  Lord.- 
'Jesus.' 

lost. 

LoRD(..c.  God).' 

'o'wLord.' 
'our  Lord.' 
'  our  Lord." 
■oar  Lord.* 
'lord'    (of    the 

Btewsrd).' 
'our  Lord." 
'our  Lord.* 
'our  Lord.* 
'our  Lord.* 
'our  Lord.' 
'our  Lord.' 
'our  Lord.' 
lost. 

lost. 

losl! 

lost! 

'our  Lord.' 

•Jesus.' 

'our  Lord.' 

'our  Lord.' 
'our  Lord.' 

'  esus.' 
'   esus.' 

'our  Lord.' 

'   cans.' 

'our  Lord.' 
'our  Lord.' 
'our  Lord.' 
'our  Lord.' 

8 

" 

■■ 

To  sum  up,  we  are  confronted  with  the  very 
curious  fact  that  in  two  well-defined  sections  of 
Mt  and  Jn  Lp  employs  the  expression  '  our  Lord ' 
persistently '  to  the  exclusion  of  the  name  '  Jesus,' 
but  that  elsewhere  Lp  reads  'our  Lord'  with  no 
special  frequency. 

To  tabulate  the  foregoing  facts  is  a  comparatively 
easy  task,  demanding  as  it  does  only  a  little  time' 
and  patient  investigation,  but  to  explain  the  facts 
is  by  no  means  so  easy,  and  perhaps  it  requires 
the  ingenuity  of  a  Rendel  Harris  to  suggest  a 
satisfactory  explanation  of  them.  If,  indeed,  we 
had  found  that  Lp  generally  throughout  the 
Gospels  substituted  'our  Lord'  for  'Jesus,'  we 
should  probably  say  at  once  that  it  was  a  case  of 
editing ;  but  when  we  find  that  this  repeated 
employment  of  'our  Lord'  is  confined  to  two 
short  sections  only,  conjecture  becomes  less  cer- 
tain and  explanation  less  obvious.  What,  then, 
are  we  to  say?    Must  we  conclude  that  our  facts 

'  The  Syriic  word  ia  }^t^. 
'  The  Sytiac  word  ii  ](io. 

*  In  the  three  Berlin  leaves  printed  piivalelj  by  Dr. 
WrighL 

*  Except  in  Mt  1 1*,  where  it  has  *  Jeans,'  with  Sc  and  P. 


238 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


are  due  merely  to  the  caprice  of  the  scribe  of  Lp 
or  of  some  one  of  its  ancestors — that  for  reasons 
known  only  to  himself  he  began  in  these  two 
sections  to  write  '  our  Lord,'  and  then  suddenly 
ceased  making  the  alteration?  Or,  what  amounts 
to  nearly  the  same  thing,  shall  we  suggest  that 
another  scrilje  than  he  who  wrote  the  main  part  of 
Lp's  ancestor,  wrote  these  two  sections,  and  chose 
to  write  'our  Lord'  instead  of  'Jesus'?  Of 
course  it  might  be  so,  and  the  fact  that  in  the 
majority  of  the  56  places  the  reading  'our  Lord ' 
has  the  support  of  no  existing  authority,  may  lend 
some  colour  to  the  theory  of  arbitrary  alteration. 
To  quote  again  from  my  collation :  '  Certe  res 
buiusmodi  [the  frequent  occurrence  of  o^]  quam- 
vis  parva,  minime,  ut  censeo,  praetermittenda  erit 
si  quaeretur  utrum  textus  verus  alibi  {e.g.  Mt 
ii»-»)  perverse  vel  saltem  mera  voluntate  scribae 
immutatus  sit '  (p.  v).  But  there  is  another  sugges- 
tion. Have  we,  perhaps,  in  the  facts  before  us 
traces  of  the  influence  of  the  once  widely  known 
Diatessaron  of  Tattan?  When  we  compare  the 
Dialessaron  as  published  by  Ciasca  with  the  earlier 
form  of  it  derived  from  the  Ephrem  fragments,  we 
see  that  in  the  latter  'our  Lord'  occasionally 
occurs  where  'Jesus'  stands  in  the  former;  and  it 
is  probable,  if  we  had  the  complete  Diatessaron 
of  Ephrem's  day,  or  a  yet  earlier  form,  that  '  our 
Lord '  would  be  found  in  it  with  still  greater  fre- 
quency. Now  the  authority  and  influence  of  the 
Diatessaron  in  the  early  Syrian  churches  must 
have  been  very  great,  for  it  was  really  a  church 
lectionary,  as  Dr.  Rendel  Harris  has  pointed  out, 
and  for  many  a  long  year  after  Rabbula's  famous 
order  that  the  'distinct'  Gospels  should  be  read, 
and  Theodoret's  clearance  of  it  from  his  diocese, 
scribes  must  continually — -now  of  set  purpose  and 
now  unconsciously — have  'corrected'  or  altered 
ihe  copies  they  were  making  of  the  '  distinct  ' 
Gospels  by  the  Diatessaron.  This  consideration 
is  of  great  importance  in  any  attempt  to  account 
for  the  differences  between  the  PeshJtta  and  the 
Curetonian  type  of  Gospels,  and  more  especially 
in  accounting  for  the  very  many  and  great  differ- 
ences which  exist  between  Cureton  and  Lewisianus. 
We  might  argue  that  these  differences  are  in  no 
small  degree  due  to  Diatessaron  inRucnces,  and 
that  possibly  this  is  so  in  the  case  before  us — the 
repeated  occurrence  of  ,tlc  in  our  two  sections 
m^ht  be  explained  by  the  suggestion  that  the 


scribe  when  writing  these  sections  '  corrected  * 
his  work  by  the  Diatessaron. 

Mr.  Reid,  in  an  instructive  paper  in  Ths 
Expository  Times  for  June,  has  examined  the 
use  of  the  word  '  Lord '  in  the  Greek  Gospels.  On 
p.  428  he  gives  a  list  of  passages  where  '  Lord  '  is 
applied  to  Jesus  by  others  than  Himself.  Setting 
aside,  in  accordance  with  the  scheme  of  the 
present  paper,  instances  of  the  word  as  used  by 
speakers  in  the  Gospels,  and  the  compounds  '  Lord 
Jesus'  of  Mk  16"  and  Lk  24',  there  remain  21 
places  where  the  term  is  used  by  the  Gospel 
narrators,  i.e.  1  in  Mk,  r4  in  Lk,  and  6  in  Jn. 
So  far  the  Greek  Gospels.  But  now,  when  we  turn 
to  the  Peshitta,  we  find  that  out  of  these  ai  places 
'our  Lord'  occurs  in  8  only,  namely,  Mk  i5*, 
Lk  lo**  17"  i8«  a^"^  and  Jn  ao^  ii'i^.  Of  the 
r3  remaining  places,  P  reads  'Jesus'  in  12,  and 
in  r  (Lk  17")  'he  saith ' without  name  or  title. 
Mr.  Reid  contends — and  it  is  the  usual  conclusion, 
that 'Lord'  implies  a  somewhat  later  date  than 
'Jesus.'  I  express  no  opinion  on  this  conclusion 
but  if  it  be  correct,  the  facts  and  considerations 
set  out  in  this  paper  have  their  bearing  on  the 
controversy,  now  slumbering  but  certain  to  be 
again  aroused,  concerning  the  relative  values  and 
ages  of  the  Peshijta  and  Curetonian  forms  of  text 
If  it  be  held  that  'Jesus' implies  an  earlier,  'our 
Lord  '  a  somewhat  later  date,  then  let  it  be 
remembered  that  it  is  to  some  extent  Cureton  and 
Tatian  so  far  as  we  known  them,  and  to  a  larger 
extent  Lewisianus,  which  read  '  our  Lord '  in  place 
of  the,  on  this  view,  more  ancient  'Jesus'  of  the 
Peshitta  ;  and,  furthermore,  that  in  this  matter  the 
Peshitta,  as  appears  by  comparing  Mr.  Reid's  list, 
goes  to  a  large  extent  behind  accepted  Greek  texts 
as  well.  Albert  Bonus. 

Alfhingtvn,  Extttr, 


Cdnon  l^enson  on  ^^efofic 
Succession. 

Last  year,  on  the  third  Sunday  of  December, 
Canon  Hensley  Henson  preached  in  Westminster 
Abbey  a  sermon  on  Apostolic  Succession,  which 
will  have  remarkable  results.  Like  many  at  the 
moment,  his  mind  and  heart  are  much  turned  to 
the  subject  of  Christian  unity.  He  sees,  as 
everyone  does,  that  the  docrtine  of  Orders,  strenu- 
ously held  by  a  large,  and  possibly  the  more 
influential,  portion  of  the  Anglican  Church,  and 
which  closes  the  door  against  at  least  every  external 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


'39 


token  of  union  in  worship,  is  really  the  chief 
barrier  at  the  moment  to  Christian  fraternity ;  and, 
accordingly,  he  has  devoted  himself — and  his 
sermon  is  full  of  the  traces  of  care  and  restraint 
— to  an  examination  of  the  position.  It  is  safe 
to  say  that  no  such  declaration,  certain  to  be  so 
fruitful  in  efTect,  has  for  many  a  year  been  made 
in  any  historic  pulpit  of  the  Church  of  England. 

Canon  Hcnson  takes  his  text  from  i  Co  4',  '  Let 
a  man  so  account  of  us,  as  of  ministers  of  Christ, 
and  stewards  of  the  mysteries  of  God/  and 
such  a  word  at  once  carries  him  into  the  heart  of 
his  subject.  His  business  is  to  inquire  as  to  'a 
theory  about  the  Christian  ministry,  which  has 
maintained  its  ground  from  the  third  century, 
which  has  influenced  most  powerfully  the  course 
of  Christian  history,  and  which  now  presents  one 
of  the  most  formidable  obstacles  to  that  restora- 
tion of  external  fellowship  among  the  disciples  of 
Christ,  which  the  most  precious  interests  of  man- 
kind manifestly  and  urgently  demand.' '  The 
theory  is  that  of  Apostolic  Succession,  well  known 
and  simple,  and  it  accounts  for  the  origin  and 
virtue  of  the  '  Episcopal  ministry.'  '  The  modem 
bishop  is  held  to  derive  his  authority  through  a 
line  of  r^ularly  ordained  bishops  reaching  back 
in  an  unbroken  chain  to  the  apostles  themselves. 
This  succession  is  held  to  be  the  sole  security  we 
have  that  our  clergy  now  possess  a  divine  com- 
mission, and  authority  to  exercise  a  valid  ministry. 
Thus  the  validity  of  the  sacraments  comes  to 
depend  on  the  apostolic  succession  of  the  bishops, 
and  a  fatal  insecurity  is  attached  to  all  non-episco- 
pal ministrations.' 

It  is  peculiarly  difficult  for  anyone  outside  the 
Anglican  communion  to  write  sympathetically,  or 
even  justly,  of  this  doctrine  of  Orders.  It  is  so 
hard  to  catch  the  point  of  view,  the  claim  appear- 
ing at  first  not  only  preposterous  but  ridiculous. 
One  feels  there  is  surely  more  than  one  has  under- 
stood ;  and  the  very  theory  itself  precludes  much 
weight  being  given  to  anything  advanced  from 
the  outside.  Accordingly,  we  shall  follow  Canon 
Henson  as  closely  as  possible.  He  can  speak 
both  with  sympathy  and  authority. 

He  begins  by  quoting  Dr.  Liddon's  well-known 
declaration  that  Apostolic  Succession  '  rests  upon 
the  broad  fact  that  in  the  Church  of  the  apostles 
there  was  an  order  of  men,  such  as  were  Timothy 
and  Titus,  who  notoriously  discharged  the  apos- 
tolic functions  of  ordination  and  chief  govern- 
ment in  particular  portions  of  the  Church,  and 
who  had  been  solemnly  entrusted  with  these 
functions  by  apostolic  hands.' 

'  The  quolilions  «re  from  the  semion  as  reported  in  Ihe 
Chriitian  H'erld  Fulfil,  2$l\\  December  1901.  The  sennon 
is  the  lait  of  1  series  on  '  InteicommunJon '  shortly  U>  be 

pablkhed. 


This  statement  Canon  Henson  traverses.  He 
points  out,  first,  again  quoting  Dr.  Liddon,  that 
'  the  question  of  the  Episcopacy  is  increasingly 
seen  to  be  bound  up  with  that  of  the  apostolic 
origin  and  authority  of  the  Pastoral  Epistles,' 
and  that  this  is  slender  ground  upon  which  to  sup- 
port a  theory  which  prohibits  the  recognition,  and 
invalidates  the  communion,  of  the  vast  majority 
of  the  Reformed  Churches.  For  there  is  the 
doubt  as  to  the  Pauline  authority  of  the  Pastoral 
Epistles.  It  is  true  Canon  Henson  accepts  them, 
though  with  difficulty,  '  as  genuine  writings  of  St. 
Paul ' ;  but  there  are  scholars  who  do  not ;  and 
consequently  in  themselves  these  letters  are  '  an 
extremely  unsatisfactory  foundation  for  so  tre- 
mendous an  ecclesiastical  claim.' 

But,  even  assuming  the  Pastoral  Epistles  to  be 
Paul's  writings.  Canon  Henson  doubts  if  they 
'justify  the  necessity  of  Episcopal  ordination,' 
and  he  quotes  Dr.  Lightfoot  and  Dr.  Hort  to 
prove  that  they  do  not.  Timothy  and  Titus  were 
not  members  of  an  order,  but  were  merely  set 
apart  to  an  occasional  and  personal  mission  ;  nor 
'  is  the  gift  of  God,  which  was  in  Timothy  bestowed 
by  the  laying  on  of  St.  Paul's  hands,  to  be  under- 
stood of  the  grace  of  ordination'  (Dr.  Hort). 
Of  course  Dr.  Hort  and  Dr.  Lightfoot  may  be 
mistaken,  yet  so  also  may  Dr.  Liddon.  But  such 
being  the  case,  one  may  well  be  slow  to  base 
'  anything  of  importance  on  the  point  of  differ- 
ence,' And,  accordingly,  Canon  Henson  is  led 
to  the  conclusion  that  '  the  basis  in  Scripture  for 
the  necessity  of  Episcopal  ordination  is  insuf- 
ficient.'   At  most  the  question  is  left  open. 

The  itcond  line  of  proof  for  the  doctrine  of 
Order  comes  out  of  the  testimony  of  the  Fathers. 
Canon  Henson  does  not  examine  this  in  his  ser- 
mon in  detail ;  but  it  is  clear  what  his  own  opinion 
is.  It  is,  he  says,  no  difficult  matter  to  determine 
the  truth.  The  decisive  facts  are  comparatively 
few ;  average  intelligence  is  sufficient  to  appraise 
them.  And  Canon  Henson  fearlessly  challenges  in- 
quiry. He  does  so  because  if  Apostolic  Succession 
be  a  fact,  then  multitudes  are  left  in  'spiritually  fatal 
error';  and  because  there  ought  not  to  be  lightly 
bound  '  upon  Christianity  the  burden  of  a  doc- 
trine which  affikCs  men's  hearts  and  perplexes 
their  consciences,  which  is  strangely  alien  to  the 
spirit  of  the  gospel,  and  which  involves  practical 
consequences  of  a  character  which  no  Christian 
can  contemplate  without  misgiving.'  '  Surely  we 
are  guilty  of  presumption  when  we  attribute  to 
God  what  is  not  His,  wrapping  the  creatures  of 
our  own  credulity  or  ignorance,  or  even  interest, 
with  the  awful  insignia  of  His  authority.'  '  I 
charge  you  not  to  accept  unexamined  and  un- 
judged  this  doctrine  of  Apostolic  Succession, 
which  rends  our  Christendom  asunder.'  v'lf  we 


340 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


could  at  length  renounce  that  obstinate  fiction  of 
divine  right  attaching  to  one  or  another  form  of 
ecclesiastical  organization,  we  should  at  least  have 
secured  the  external  condition  of  Christian  re- 
union ;  so  long  as  that  barrier  remains,  fraternity 
is  a  futile  hope.' 

Stronger  and  truer  words  than  these  have  sel- 
dom been  spoken,  and  Canon  Henson  deserves 
our  gratitude  for  speaking  them.  No  doubt  he 
does  not  touch  upon  what  is  felt  to  be  specially 
fatal  to  the  doctrine  of  Orders,  namely,  that  the 
'  gift,'  even  if  the  channel  through  which  it  came 
were  unbroken,  was  passed  on  by  many  notori- 
ously corrupt  in  themselves  ^  that  therefore  the 
'grace  of  God'  was  able  to  exist  independently 
of  character,  and  was  mechanical,  so  to  speak, 
which  it  never  is.  But  there  can  be  no  question 
that  Canon  Henson's  sermon  is  of  epoch-making 
importance,  and  that  he  has  done  a  great  and  bold 
service  to  our  common  Christianity. 

Turning  from  the  false  to  the  true  Apostolic 
Succession,  he  dwells  upon  the  divine  vocation  to 
the  ministry  '  conveyed  through  the  constitutional 
action  of  the  Christian  society.*  The  precise 
form  of  the  constitutional  action  has  not  been 
prescribed  by  Christ  or  determined  by  apostles, 
nor  has  it  conformed  to  one  type.  But  the  prin- 
ciple remains ;  and  it  forbids  the  exercise  of  the 
ministry  without  a  'call,'  and  without  a  sanction. 
It  is  here  that  all  will  admit  a  fitting  place  for  the 
Episcopate. 

Canon  Henson  has  also  some  edifying  remarks 
on  the  supposed  priestly  functions  of  the  ministry, 
which  very  easily  pass  into  sacerdotal  assumption. 
He  regards  this  conception — that  of  a  ministry 
succeeding  to  the  sacrificial  character,  if  not  the 
exact  functions,  of  the  Jewish  priesthood  —  as 
'  utterly  opposed  to  the  apostolic  conception.' 
There  is  no  trace  of  sacerdotalism  in  the  Pastoral 
Epistles.  The  ministry  is  'a  ministry  of  the 
word,'  and  the  first  duty  of  the  minister  is  to 
labour  'in  the  word  and  teaching.' 

In  asingularly  fine  passage  Canon  Henson  brings 
his  sermon  to  a  close:  'Nor  has  the  apostolic 
succession  ceased.  Sometimes  from  scenes  of 
holy  toil,  without  recognition  and  without  reward, 
as  the  world  counts,  from  self-forgetting  pastorates, 
carried  on  in  solitary  hamlets  and,  in  the  crowded 
ghettos  of  the  wretched,  year  in  and  year  out, 
under  the  chilling  bitterness  of  poverty  and  neglect, 
the  splendid  devotion  of  the  Christian  ministry 
startles  the  world.  No  conflict  stirs  about  this 
apostolic  succession  of  service  and  suffering ; 
for  the  commissioning  Cross  of  Christ  shines 
apparent  upon  it,  and  everywhere  men's  hearts 
bend  in  homage  before  it,  and  their  consciences 
endorse  its  claim.'  G.  Eluslib  Trouf, 

Brmghly  Firty. 


%  €ort«cfion. 


I  REGRET  to  find  that  in  the  note  on  p.  168 
of  your  last  issue  I  was  guilty  of  an  inaccuracy, 
and  did  inadvertently  some  injustice  to  the 
Canterbury  Convocation.  I  had  not  at  the  time 
of  writing  the  note  seen  the  recently  published 
excellent  Charge  of  the  Bishop  of  Gloucester 
{S.P.C.K.,  1901)  on  the  subject  of  the  Revised 
Version,  and  was  under  the  impression  that  the 
sanction  which  I  referred  to  had  been  given  by 
the  Bishops,  as  such,  and  not,  as  Bishop  Etlicotf  s 
volume  now  reminds  me  (p.  6),  by  the  Bishops  as 
constituting  the  Upper  House  of  the  Convocation 
of  Canterbury.  The  exact  terms  of  the  Resolu- 
tion to  which  I  referred,  and  which  was  passed  on 
9thFebnjary  1899, are:  'Thatin  theopinion  ofthis 
House  the  use  of  the  Revised  Version  at  the 
lectern  in  the  public  service  of  the  Church,  where 
this  is  desired  by  clergy  and  people,  is  not  open 
to  any  well-founded  objection,  and  will  tend  to 
promote  a  more  intelligent  knowledge  of  Holy 
Scripture.'  This  Resolution  was  adopted  unani- 
mously by  the  Bishops  present,  after  a  strongly 
worded  recommendation,  contained  in  the  report 
of  a  Committee,  consisting  of  the  Bishops  of 
Winchester,  Gloucester,  Salisbury,  Ely,  Southwell, 
and  Rochester,  had  been  presented  to  the 
House,  and  after  several  Bishops  had  independ- 
ently spoken  emphatically  in  support  of  it.'  It 
seems  to  me,  I  must  own,  that  after  this  dis- 
tinctly expressed  sanction  on  the  part  of  the 
Bishops,  no  English  clergyman,  at  least  within 
the  Province  of  Canterbury,  need  feel  the  smallest 
difficulty  or  scruple  in  adopting  the  Revised 
Version  in  the  public  services  of  the  Church,  or 
need  fear  that  in  doing  so  he  will  be  acting 
otherwise  than  with  the  complete  approval  of  his 
ecclesiastical  superior.  I  may  add  that  the  Bishop 
of  Gloucester,  in  his  Charge  (p.  raofll),  olTers 
some  good  practical  su^estions  as  to  the  manner 
in  which  the  Revised  Version  might  be  suitably 
introduced  in  a  church  in  which  it  had  not 
previously  been  used. 

S.  R.  Driver. 

'  The  report  of  the  Commiltee  ti  contained  in  No.  319 
of  those  published  b^  the  Nationil  Sodetr  (price  id.); 
the  debate  may  be  read  either  in  the  GuatdioH  for  istb 
Febiuaiy  1899,  01  in  the  Chnia'tle  ef  CvmrnMiem  for 
Febniary  1S99. 


Printed  by  MoaaisoN  ft  Gih  Limited,  Tan6eld  Work*, 
and  PnbUshed  by  T.  &  T.  Clakk,  38  Georse  Street, 
Edinbargh.  It  ii  leqacited  that  all  literaiy  cooi- 
mnnintioiu  be  addrctscjC^-tc)  "jTH^l^i^f i S[.,C7nit, 
N.B.  C^ 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Qtotter   of  (Recent   ^Sjepoeiiion. 


Why  is  it  that  so  very  few  Jews  are  being  saved  ? 
If  there  is  anyone  who  can  answer  the  question 
it  is  the  Bishop  of  Jerusalem.  He  has  had  ex- 
ceptional opportunities  of  studying  it,  and  he  has 
studied  it  very  carefully.  He  says  that  the  reason 
why  so  very  few  Jews  are  being  saved  is  because 
we  insist  on  making  them  Gentiles. 

At  the  beginning  (here  was  a  great  controversy 
about  Jews  and  Gentiles.  The  controversy  arose 
over  the  question  whether  Gentiles  could  be  saved 
without  becoming  Jews.  The  Church  decided 
that  they  could.  Now  there  is  no  controversy. 
,  We  simply  take  it  for  granted  that  Jews  cannot 
be  saved  without  becoming  Gentiles.  The  Bishop 
of  Jerusalem  believes  that  that  assumption  is  the 
chief  hindrance  to  the  spread  of  Christianity 
among  the  Jews. 

Bishop  Blyth  says  that  we  have  no  right  to 
demand  that  the  Jews  should  become  Gentiles. 
That  demand  was  not  made  at  the  beginning.  It 
was  never  made  officially  throughout  the  history 
of  the  Church.  It  simply  grew  up  and  got  to  be 
taken  for  granted.  But  we  must  refuse  to  take  it 
for  granted.  We  must  tell  the  Jews  that  they 
need  not  become  Gentiles.  We  must  tell  them, 
he  seems  to  say,  that  they  may  be  circumcised 
Vol.  XIIT.— 6. 


and  keep  the  Law  of  Moses.     And  if  we  do,  he 
believes  that  many  Jews  will  then  be  saved.  • 

It  is  in  Chureh  and  Synagogue,  the  quarterly 
of  the  Parochial  Missions  to  the  Jews,  so  ably 
edited  by  the  Rev.  W.  O.  E.  Oesterley,  M.A.,  with 
the  assistance  of  the  Rev.  G.  H.  Box,  M.A.,  that 
the  Bishop  of  Jerusalem  makes  these  statements. 
His  article  is  'The  Revival  of  the  Church  of  the 
Hebrews.'  He  gives  it  that  title  because  he 
holds  that  the  Hebrews  must  be  allowed  a  Church 
of  their  own  within  the  pale  of  the  Catholic 
Church.  And  he  holds  that  until  the  Hebrew 
Church  gets  its  place  there,  the  Catholic  Church 
is  one-sided  and  incomplete. 

The  Hebrew  Church  once  had  a  place  within 
the  bosom  of  the  Church  Catholic.  Theoretically 
it  has  it  still.  For  it  never  was  disannulled.  It 
was  simply  allowed  to  disappear.  The  Bishop  of 
Jerusalem  says  it  is  merely  in  abeyance.  The 
restoration  of  the  Jews  to  their  land  is  much 
desired  by  some  amongst  us.  Bishop  Blyth 
much  more  desires  the  restoration  of  the  Jews 
to  the  bosom  of  the  Catholic  Church.  And  he 
would  take  measures  for  that  restoration  at  once. 

He  would  allow  the  Jew  who  embraced  Chris- 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Hanity  to  remain  a  Jew.  He  would  allow  him 
the  practice  of  his  national  rites  and  ceremonies. 
He  would  regard  them  as  incomplete  Christianity, 
but  not  antagonistic  to  Christ,  who  came  not  to 
destroy  the  Law  and  the  Prophets  but  to  fiilfil. 
We  teach  the  Old  Testament,  he  would  allow  the 
Jew  to  practise  it.  The  acceptance  of  Jesus  as 
the  Messiah,  the  only  demand  he  would  make, 
would  slowly  fill  the  Old  Testament  practice  with 
the  Spirit  and  fulness  of  the  New.  Thus  he 
would  gather  together  a  community  of  Jews  who 
still  were  Jews  though  believers  in  Christ.  And 
into  that  community  in  every  place  new  converts, 
he  believes,  would  be  easily  and  numerously 
received.  Thus  he  would  restore  the  Church  of 
the  Hebrews  to  its  place  in  the  Catholic  Church, 
and  he  would  obey  the  Lord's  command,  'To  the 
Jew  and  also  to  the  Gentile.' 


TAe  Continental  Presbyterian  is  an  annual 
edited  by  the  Rev.  J.  E.  Somerville,  B.D.,  and 
published  in  Edinburgh  by  Messrs.  Macniven  & 
Wallace.  The  issue  for  1903  contains  an  article 
on  *St.  Paul  at  Malta'  by  the  Rev.  G.  A.  Sim  of 
Valetta.  The  article  discusses  three  questions: 
the  spot  where  the  shipwreck  occurred,  the  resi- 
dence of  the  apostle  on  the  island,  and  the 
formation  of  a  Christian  community  there. 

Mr.  Sim,  who  has  studied  the  whole  situation 
for  himself,  believes  that  the  traditional  San  Paul 
Bahr,  or  'St.  Paul's  Bay,'  is  the  spot,  the  only 
possible  spot,  for  the  shipwreck.  He  believes 
that  somewhere  in  what  is  now  the  modern  Cittk 
Vecchia  St  Paul  spent  the  time  of  his  sojourn  on 
the  island.  And  he  believes  it  is  highly  probable 
that  before  the  apostle  departed,  a  Christian 
Church  was  formed. 

The  last  matter  is  the  most  precarious.  On  the 
place  of  the  shipwreck  and  the  residence  the 
locality  can  be  examined,  and  Mr.  Sim  is  on  the 
spot  On  the  formation  of  a  Church,  or  even  the 
existence  of  converts,  the  locality  gives  no  help, 


and  even  tradition  seems  to  be  at  fault  The 
reasons  Mr.  Sim  gives  for  his  decision  are  two. 
First,  there  were  the  materials  of  a  Church.  For 
besides  the  Punic  natives,  there  was  probably  a 
small  Jewish  colony  in  the  island,  as  well  as  Greek 
and  Roman  residents.  And  secondly,  there  was 
a  great  preacher.  It  is  scarcely  credible  to  Mr. 
Sim  that  St  Paul  spent  three  months  in  Malta, 
and  made  no  converts  there. 


Shall  we  ever  succeed  in  solving  all  the  diffi- 
culties in  the  construction  of  the  Tabernacle  P  No 
model-maker  has  ever  been  able  to  follow  the  text 
fully,  perhaps  none  ever  will  be  able.  To  get 
things  to  fit,  some  departure  has  to  take  place,  if 
not  here,  then  there.  And  it  may  be  that  the  ex- 
planation is  the  simple  and  'critical'  one,  that  the 
Tabernacle  cannot  be  made  because  it  never  was 
made,  but  only  existed  in  the  writer's  imagination. 

Nevertheless,  men  will  always  attempt  to  recon- 
struct the  Tabernacle.  The  latest  attempt  is  by 
the  Rev.  W.  S.  Caldecott.  Taking  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund  aside, 
he  explained  his  model  of  the  Tabernacle  and 
how  he  made  it.  He  overcame  its  difficulties,  he 
said,  and  adhered  to  the  text,  by  the  simple  device 
of  using  three  cubits  of  different  lengths  in  the 
measurements. 


First  he  used  the '  great  cubit '  to  measure  all  the 
areas  with.  It  is  a  cubit  of  live  palms  in  breadth, 
or  fifteen-tenths  of  an  English  foot  Next  he  used 
the  'ordinary  cubit'  of  four  patm-breadths,  or 
twelve-tenths  of  a  foot,  with  which  the  walls  were 
measured.  And  then  he  used  the  '  small  cubit,' 
of  three  palm-breadths,  or  nine-tenths  of  a  foot, 
to  measure  the  gold  and  silver  work.  There  is  a 
narrative  of  the  interview  in  the  current  Quarterty 
Statement.  There  is  no  record  that  the  Committee 
accepted  Mr.  Caldecott's  ingenious  device. 


Were  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob  individuals, 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


243 


or  were  they  not?  In  the  Sunday  School  Times  of 
America  Professor  Konig  of  Bonn  undertakes  to 
show  that  they  were. 

The  issue  lies  between  individual  oi  tribe.  No 
one  need  be  considered  who  says  that  the  names 
are  pure  invention.  Now  Professor  Konig  admits 
that  the  word  'beget'  is  not  at  once  decisive. 
Ham  'begat'  Mizraim.  But  Mizrairo  is  a  dual 
word  and  means  the  two  Egypts,  Upper  and 
Lower.  The  Egyptians  themselves  called  thera 
ta-ui,  or  the  two  worlds.  Again,  Mizraim  'begat' 
Ludim.  But  Ludim  is  a  plural  form  and  clearly 
signifies  a  nation.  Yet  more  unmistakably,  Canaan 
'begat'  the  Jebusite  (Go  lo"),  and  no  one  will 
deny  that  '  the  Jebusite '  means  the  tribe  of  the 
Jebusites,  whose  ancestor,  the  son  of  Canaan,  would 
likely  have  been  called  Jebus. 

The  word  'beget'' does  not  settle  it  at  once. 
The  Hebrews  evidently  could  speak  of  one  nation 
begetting  another  without  a  violation  of  idiom. 
Still,  Professor  Konig  believes  that  when  Abraham 
is  said  to  have  begotten  Isaac,  and  Isaac  Jacob, 
the  word  is  used  in  its  literal  sense.  For  that  is 
its  usual  sense,  the  metaphorical  being  quite  ex.' 
ceptionaL  Besides,  the  names  themselves  have 
nothing  of  the  appearance  of  tribal  names  about 
them.  The  very  difficulty  of  the  derivation  of 
such  a  name  as  Abraham  is  a  testimony  in  favour 
of  his  individuality. 

Cornill  suggests  that  Ishmael  and  Isaac  stand 
on  a  level  with  Eunomos  and  Eukosmos,  the 
reputed  sons  of  Lycurgus.  Professor  Konig  says 
we  have  but  to  look  at  the  two  pairs  of  names  to 
see  the  absurdity  of  the  comparison.  Lycurgus 
was  believed  to  be  a  great  lawgiver;  the  names 
Eunomos  (that  is,  'legality,'  or  the  like),  and 
Eukosmos  (that  is, '  harmony.'or  the  like)  were  his 
sons  only  in  the  tradition  which  in  that  way  sought 
to  testily  to  the  results  of  his  work  among  the 
Spartans.  How  different  are  the  names  Ishmael 
and  Isaac  The  one  means  '  God  shall  hear,'  the 
other  'One  who  laughs.'    There  is  no  personifica- 


tion of  qualities  in  that,  there  is  no  reference  to 
any  acts  of  Abraham  their  father.  To  Dr.  Konig 
the  names  simply  explain  particular  features  in 
the  character  and  lives  of  the  men  who  bore 
them. 

But  there  are  more  serious  arguments  than  this. 
The  first  is  that  tribes  and  nations  never  originate 
through  the  splitting  up  of  rapidly  increasing 
families,  but  always  by  the  amalgamation  of  families 
and  of  races. 

Now,  if  that  is  true,  especially  if  the  word 
'always'  is  true,  the  matter  is  settled.  Dr.  Konig 
has  often  seen  it  asserted.  He  has  seen  it  asserted 
in  Stade's  Hitiory  of  Israel,  in  Holzinger's  Genesis, 
in  Guthe's  History  of  the  People  of  Israel.  But  be 
has  never  seen  it  proved  Once  only  is  the  attempt 
made,  in  a  reference  to  a  book  on  Siberia,  wherein 
it  is  sUted  that  in  that  northern  land  nations 
are  now  rising  through  the  amalgamation  of 
families  and  races.  Professor  Konig  does  not 
think  one  instance  enough  to  esUblish  a  rule. 
And  on  the  other  side  he  holds  that  in  Arabia 
great  tribes  have  been  known  to  originate  after  the 
manner  described  in  the  Bible. 

Another  argument  is  that  'nations  never  call 
themselves  after  individuals,  but  the  name  of  the 
ancestor  is  in  every  case  at  first  a  comprehensive 
title,  a  personification  of  the  people.'  So  Comilt 
expresses  it  Guthe  says  more  briefly :  '  There  is 
not  a  nation  in  history  that  can  name  its  pro- 
genitors.' 

Professor  Konig  does  not  seem  to  deny  the 
general  truth  of  this  assertion,  he  denies  its 
universal  application.  He  denies  its  application 
to  the  Hebrews.  The  Hebrews  of  the  days  of 
Moses  had  no  immense  stretch  of  history  to  look 
back  upon.  They  came  into  being  only  six 
hundred  or  four  hundred  years  (according  as  the 
Hebrew  or  the  Greek  of  Exodus  ii*°  is  preferred) 
before  the  deliverance  from  Egypt  Dr.  Konig 
sees  no  impossibility  in  their  preserving  the  tradi* 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


tion  of  their  origin  all  that  time.  He  thinks  it 
probable  that  they  had  already  begun  to  keep 
genealogical  lists.  Do  not  the  Arabs  make  out 
the  pedigrees  of  their  very  horses  and  hand 
them  down  from  generation  to  generation  ?  There 
is  nothing  to  binder  the  Israelites  in  Egypt  and 
the  Wilderness  from  knowing  Abraham  as  their 
father. 

But  there  is  a  third  argument.  In  the  very 
traditions  themselves  Cornilt  discovers  the  evidence 
that  nations  and  not  individuals  are  dealt  with. 
Is  it  not  said  to  Rebekah,  'Two  nations  are  in  thy 
womb'!*  And  is  not  the  transaction  between 
Jacob  and  Laban  a  manifest  device  to  explain  the 
fact  that  the  Israelites  and  Aramaeans  regarded  the 
mountains  of  Gilead  as  their  dividing  line  ?  Pro- 
fessor Konig  answers  that  it  is  just  as  likely  that 
the  choice  of  the  mountains  of  Gilead  as  the 
dividing  line  between  the  two  nations  rose  out  of 
the  transaction  between  Jacob  and  his  uncle.  And 
the  words,  '  Two  nations  are  in  thy  womb,'  mean 
no  more  to  him  than  that  Jacob  and  Esau  were  to 
be  the  heads  of  two  nations.  It  is  merely  a 
matter  of  style. 

Then,  when  he  has  answered  the  critics'  argu- 
ments. Professor  Kdnig  gives  reasons  on  his  own 
account. 

His  first  reason  is  that  if  the  pedigrees  of  the 
patriarchs  were  invented  to  explain  existing 
relations  of  tribes,  it  is  very  puzzling  to  And 
that  Gad  and  Asher  —  tribes  whose  territories 
lay  far  apart  —  are  represented  as  having  been 
born  of  the  same  mother  as  well  as  the  same 
father.  It  is  puzzling  also  that  Reuben  is  repre- 
sented as  having  had  improper  relations  with 
Bithah,  the  mother  of  Dan  and  Naphtali,  whose 
territories  lay  far  away  from  his,  not  with  Zilpah, 
whose  ion  Gad  lay  alongside  the  tribe  of  Reuben. 
It  is  puzzling  to  understand  why  Reuben  (being  a 
tribe  and  not  a  man)  should  be  spoken  of  as 
having  had  these  improper  relations  at  all.  Critics 
say  that  it  is  a  fiction   invented  to  express  the 


desire  of  Reuben  to  lord  it  over  the  other  tribes. 
But  history  knows  no  such  desire.  Judah  and 
Ephraim  sought  the  first  place.  But  in  the  Song  of 
Deborah  Reuben  is  ridiculed  for  keeping  at  a  safe 
distance  when  the  fatherland  was  in  extreme  peril. 

Dr.  Kdnig's  second  reason  for  accepting  the 
personality  of  the  patriarchs,  and  for  believing  that 
the  history  of  the  early  Hebrews  is  more  reliable 
than  criticism  is  at  present  inclined  to  admit,  is  that 
it  was  a  custom  in  Israel  from  the  earUest  times  to 
erect  memorials  of  great  events.  These  memorials 
are  very  numerous  in  the  Old  Testament.  There 
are  the  '  heap  of  witness'  of  Gn  31",  the  pot  of 
manna  (Ex  16"),  the  tables  of  the  law  (34**),  the 
budding  rod  of  Aaron  (Nu  17"*),  the  stones  taken 
out  of  Jordan  (Jos  4*),  the  stone  'Ebenezer'  (i  S 
7"),  the  sword  of  Goliath  hung  up  in  the  tabernacle 
at  Nob  (i  S  21%  the  pillar  which  Absalom  reared 
(3  S  t8'"),  and  more.  These  monuments  testified 
to  actual  events,  of  which  records  were  no  doubt 
otherwise  preserved,  as  in  the  Book  of  Jashar  and 
the  Book  of  the  Wars  of  the  Lord ;  the  events 
were  not  invented  to  explain  the  monuments. 

Finally,  the  very  fact  that  Israel  claimed  a  pre- 
Mosaic  existence  is  to  Dr.  Kdnig  proof  of  that 
existence.  If  it  had  not  been,  there  was  no  reason 
why  they  should  go  back  behind  their  great  Law- 
giver, under  whom  the  foundations  of  their  political 
independence  were  laid  and  the  most  important 
principles  of  their  religious  history  unfolded. 


The  smallest  scientific  Introduction  to  the 
Texidal  Criticism  of  the  New  TesUment  is  pub- 
lished by  Messrs.  Rivingtoos  and  written  by  the 
Rev.  Kerson  Lake,  M.A,  Mr.  Lake  has  now  con- 
tributed an  article  to  The  American  Journal  of 
Theology  for  January  on  'The  Text  of  the  Gospels 
in  Alexandria.' 

The  attention  of  students  of  the  New  Testament 
text  has  for  some  time  been  concentrated  on  the 
'Western'  text  and  its  phenomena.      Mr.  Lake 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


MS 


does  not  find  that  that  study  has  borne  fruit  at  all 
com  mens  urate  with  its  duration  and  intensity. 
Westcott  and  Hort  rejected  this  type  of  text  be- 
cause they  counted  it  corrupt  and  licentious,  but 
they  admitted  that  it  possessed  both  very  wide 
and  very  ancient  attestation.  The  only  result  of 
recent  study  upon  it  is  to  show  that  its  attestation 
is  wider  and  older  than  Westcott  and  Hort  knew, 
and  that  perhaps  Westcott  and,  Hort  were  not  well 
advised  in  rejecting  it  so  emphatically. 

What  we  have  to  explain  is  why  this  corrupt 
text  is  so  widely  attested  and  why  this  widely 
attested  text  is  so  corrupt.  Mr.  Lake  thinks  we 
cannot  do  that  as  we  have  been  attempting  it 
We  must  change  our  method  of  attack.  Let  us 
approach  the  '  Western '  problem,  he  says,  not  by 
a  frontal  movement  on  the  Codex  Btzx  or  the 
Old  Latin  or  the  Old  Syriac  versions,  but  by  a 
flank  movement  directed  against  the  'Neutral'  or 
'  Alexandrian '  texts.  This  will  bring  us  at  once 
before  the  great  uncials  K  and  B  on  which  West- 
cott and  Hort  rely.  If  it  shows  that  they  are 
less  trustworthy  than  Westcott  and  Hort  con- 
sidered them  (and  Mr.  Lake  firmly  believes  it 
will  show  that),  then  it  may  also  show  that  the 
rejected  'Western'  text  is  more  worthy  of  con- 
sideration. 

Mr.  Lake  takes  us  to  Alexandria.  He  bids  us 
forget  for  a  moment  that  text  to  which  Westcott 
and  Hort  gave  the  name  of  'Alexandrian,'  and 
try  if  we  can  find  out  for  ourselves  what  the  text 
of  the  Gospels  was  which  the  earliest  writers  who 
lived  in  Alexandria  used.  He  means  Clement, 
Origen,  Athanasius,  Cyril.  We  may  not  And  this 
out  in  every  particular,  for  the  works  of  these 
early  Alexandrian  writers  are  still  waiting  for  their 
critical  editor.  But  we  shall,  at  least,  discover 
the  type  of  text  they  had  in  their  hands,  and  that 
is  enough  for  our  purpose. 

Take  Clement  of  Alexandria  first.  We  find 
that  the  text  which  Clement  used  was  a  '  Western ' 
text.     It  is  not  identical  with  any  other '  Western ' 


text  we  know.  It  is  not  identical  with  the 
Western  text  of  the  Old  Latin  or  of  the  Old 
Syriac.  It  sometimes  differs  from  the  one,  and 
sometimes  from  the  other;  it  sometimes  differs 
from  both.  Still  it  is  a  text  whose  peculiarities 
are  so  predominantly  '  Westeni '  that  it  cannot  be 
called  anything  else  than  a  'Western'  text 

We  pass  to  Origen.  We  have  now  reached  a 
later  stage  in  the  history  of  the  text  of  Alexandria. 
Origen's  text  is  no  longer  distinctly  'Western.' 
It  is  what  Westcott  and  Hort  called  'Neutral.' 
It  is  best  represented  by  k  and  B,  How  this 
change  arose  it  is  not  easy  to  say.  The  older 
'Western'  text  of  Clement  is  not  entirely  for- 
gotten. It  crops  up  here  and  there  in  Origen. 
But  it  is  no  longer  fashionable.  The  fashionable 
text  is  the  text  which  Westcott  and  Hort  (calling 
it  Neutral  or  no-sided)  adopted  as  nearest  to 
the  original.  And  it  is  to  be  noted  as  very  sig- 
nificant that  in  Alexandria  it  does  nui  represent 
the  oldest  type  of  text,  but  only  the  second 
oldest. 

The  third  type  of  text  used  at  Alexandria  is 
found  best  in  the  writings  of  Cyril.  It  is  in  the 
main  a  recension  of  the  'Neutral'  text,  and  is 
chiefly  remarkable  for  certain  small  grammatical 
and  stylistic  changes.  It  is  best  represented  in 
CL,  the  Bohairic  version,  and  the  great  cursive  33. 
It  is  the  text  which  Westcott  and  Hort  called 
specially  the  '  Alexandrian '  text.  It  also  contains 
'Western*  readings.  And  Mr.  Lake  does  not 
believe  that  they  were  imported  from  some  other 
place.  It  is  extremely  improbable,  he  thinks, 
that  strange  readings  thus  imported  would  have 
been  accepted  by  Alexandrian  scribes.  He  be- 
lieves that  these  '  Western '  readings  are  survivals 
still  of  the  oldest  Alexandrian  text,  the  text  which 
was  mainly  '  Western '  itself. 

Then  Mr.  Lake  draws  his  conclusions.  His 
first  conclusion  is  that  Westcott  and  Hort's  edition 
is  a  failure.  It  is  a  failure  'without  which  we 
should  be  poor  indeed,'  but  it  is  a  failure.     1' 


246 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


has  not  succeeded  in  reconstructing,  as  it  claims 
to  do,  the  original  Greek  of  the  Gospels.  Its 
text  is  one  that  was  dominant  in  Alexandria,  not 
in  the  first,  but  in  the  second  stage  of  the  history 
of  the  text  in  that  city.  We  must  therefore  regard 
it  and  the  MSS  on  which  it  is  based  as  secondary 
rather  than  primary  authorities  for  the  text  of  the 
New  Testament. 

And  his  second  conclusion  is  that  no  one  can 
tell  at  present  what  the  primitive  text  of  the 
Gospels  was.  We  have  it  in  no  manuscripts,  we 
have  it  in  no  versions.  We  niust  give  ourselves 
in  the  days  to  come  to  gather  it.  And  we  shall 
have  to  pay  far  more  attention  than  we  have  done 
to  the  quotations  in  the  early  Fathers.  No  one 
can  tell  what  the  primitive  text  of  the  Gospels 
was,  but  Mr.  Lake  believes  that  it  is  more 
nearly  represented  by  the  despised  and  rejected 
'Western'  than  by  any  other. 


The  editor  of  the  Guardian,  in  his  issue  of 
izth  February,  has  published  the  sermon  which 
Professor  Sanday  preached  before  the  University 
of  Oxford  on  Sexagesima  Sunday  in  1902.  It  is 
1  Reunion, 


The  text  is  Isaiah  ii>*-'»,  'And  He  shall  set  up 
an  ensign  for  the  nations,  and  shall  assemble  the 
outcasts  of  Israel,  and  gather  together  the  dis- 
persed of  Judab  from  the  four  corners  of  the 
earth.  The  envy  also  of  Ephraim  shall  depart, 
and  they  that  vex  Judah  shall  be  cut  off:  Ephraim 
shall  not  envy  Judah,  and  Judah  shall  not  veii 
Ephraim.' 

Dr.  Sanday  is  struck  with  the  modemness  of 
that  ancient  prophecy.  Spoken  long  before  the 
coming  of  Christ,  it  is  central  now.  Deep  and 
earnest  is  the  prophet's  yearning  for  union :  it  is 
the  deepest  and  most  earnest  yearning  of  many  of 
us  to-day.  So  the  history  of  this  tiny  people 
U  Israel  is  typical  of  the  greatest  movements  that 

spread  over  the  face  of  Christendom  and  the  world. 


The  difference  between  the  prophet  and  us  is  a 
difference  of  distance.  But  it  is  not  distance  in 
the  past,  it  is  distance  in  the  future.  He  is  one 
with  us  in  his  yearning  for  union,  he  differs  from 
us  in  his  burning  faith  that  union  is  near  at  hand. 
We  do  not  think  it  is  near  at  hand,  says  Dr. 
Sanday;  we  think  it  is  very  far  off.  And  then  he 
turns  and  asks  if  after  all  it  is  so  far  off  as  we 
think.  Is  it  not  rather  that  we  measure  time  as 
God  does  not  measure  it?  In  His  sight  and 
in  the  sight  of  the  true  prophet  a  thousand  years 
are  as  one  day.  Had  he  measured  time  as  we  do, 
the  prophet's  sight  would  have  been  strained  to 
see  the  fulfilment  of  his  prophecy  in  the  far,  far 
distant  future.  But  prophecy  is  really  timeless, 
says  Dr.  Sanday.  '  The  time  of  its  fulfilment  is  a 
very  secondary  matter.  The  certainty  is  the  great 
thing  —  the  certainty  that  God  will  some  day 
comfort  His  people  and  bind  up  the  stroke  of  their 
wound.' 

Therefore  this  is  the  great  lesson  to  those  who 
yearn  for  reunion — and  Dr.  Sanday  expresses  it  at 
once:  Do  not  trouble  about  times  and  seasons 
which  the  Father  has  kept  within  His  own  power ; 
do  not  be  impatient  and  cry.  Where  is  the  promise 
of  His  coming?  and  above  all,  do  not  seek 
to  hasten  His  coming  in  ways  that  He  may  not 
approve. 

Five  years  ago  this  mistake  was  made  in  the 
Church  of  England.  Dr.  Sanday  does  not  name, 
and  he  will  not  blame,  those  who  made  it. 
'  Their  action  was  not,  perhaps,  that  of  the  wisest 
and  most  far-seeing  statesmanship.'  It  was  not 
statesmanship  that  was  at  work  at  all.  Rather 
was  it  a  chivalrous  instinct,  a  truly  Christian 
instinct,  which  felt  that  our  divisions  were  not 
Christian,  and  made  one  great  effort  to  diminish 
them. 

Dr.  Sanday  will  not  blame  them.  He  will  not 
even  r^ret — at  least  he  will  not  regret  too  much 
— that  they  made  the  attempt.  He  is  proud  of 
the    spirit    and    manner    in  which    they    made 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMEa 


»47 


it.  '  Those  who  acted  for  the  Church  of  England 
did  so  with  a  combination  of  knightly  dignity  and 
Christian  zeal  of  which  we  may  well  be  proud.' 
And  on  the  other  side,  the  little  band  of  French 
c'6>^Syi  who  were  their  best  allies,  were  no  whit 
behind  them.  Moreover,  he  thinks  they  were 
not  far  from  succeeding.  '  If  report  spoke  truly, 
even  at  Rome  itself  the  issue  for  some  time 
trembled  in  the  balance ;  the  word  of  recognition 
for  which  we  waited  was  all  but  spoken,  when  the 
tide  suddenly  began  to  ebb  as  before  it  had 
flowed.' 

And  yet  it  was  a  mistake.  Its  failure  has 
checked  the  whole  course  of  the  movement  and 
thrown  it  back.  <  It  may  take  some  years — we  do 
not  know  how  many — to  recover  the  lost  ground.' 
Moreover,  it  had  not  a  large  enough  body  of 
opinion  behind  it.  Even  if  it  had  been  successful. 
Dr.  Sanday  doubts  if  success  would  not  have  been 
more  embarrassing  than  failure.  For  the  Church 
of  England  is  not  ready  for  union  with  the  Church 
of  Rome  yet.  To  diministf  the  breach  on  that 
side  might  have  widened  it  on  the  other. 

Therefore  Dr.  Sanday  believes  that  for  the 
present  time  it  is  the  duty  of  English  Churchmen 
to  watch  and  pray  and  do  nothing.  In  the  inner 
chamber  of  their  minds  they  may,  no  doubt,  do 
much.  But  for  the  rest,  let  them  deliberately 
adopt  a  policy  of  strict  non-aggression  and  non- 
intervention as  regards  all  other  religious  bodies. 
Let  them  adopt  a  policy  of  working  out  their  own 
Christian  calling  as  best  they  may,  with  the  least 
possible  interference  and  friction  outside. 

Let  us  clear  our  minds  of  controversy,  cries 
Professor  Sanday,  during  this  time  of  waiting. 
And  his  language  trembles  with  emotion  as  the 
picture  of  such   a    time    rises   up    before    him. 


'  What  an  effect  it  would  have  upon  Church  life,' 
he  says,  'if  each  congregation  could  go  on 
worshipping  God  in  its  own  way  without  any 
sense  of  antithesis  or  contradiction,  how  much 
happier  would  its  worship  be;  and,  because 
happier  and  more  undisturbed,  how  much  more 
acceptable,  we  would  hope,  to  God  Himself?' 

And  what  a  change  would  come  over  the  field 
of  theological  study.  Every  branch  of  that  study 
would  be  remodelled,  and  all  in  the  interest  of 
impartial  truth.  'Think,'  he  says,  'of  our  dog- 
matics, rewritten  with  a  view  to  no  foregone  con- 
clusions, but  simply  seeking  to  ascertain  the 
balanced  mind  of  the  Church  universal.  Think 
of  our  Church  History,  no  longer  concentrating 
all  its  light  or  all  its  shade  on  one  side,  but 
letting  both  freely  and  delicately  intermingle  with 
each  other,  as  they  do  in  the  subtlety  of  nature. 
Think  of  our  exegesis,  not  always  anxiously 
considering  to  what  its  admissions  may  lead,  but 
seeking  earnestly  to  discover  the  original  sense  by 
the  best  means  in  its  power.' 

To  cease  from  controversy,  it  seems  a  Uttle 
thing.  Yet  these  are  some  of  the  gains  it  would 
bring.  And  there  would  be  no  losses  to  reckon 
against  the  gains.  In  the  pursuit  of  the  truth, 
the  highest  attainable  truth,  there  would  be  no 
loss  to  lament.  The  only  loss  would  be  the  loss 
of  the  assumption  that  what  we  believe  to  be  true 
must  be  true  for  all  the  world.  And  even  that 
assumption  we  might  be  ready  to  lose  with  less 
regret.  

Dt,  Sanday  does  not  think  this  happy  con- 
summation is  at  hand.  But  he  thinks  we  might 
begin  to  look  for  it.  He  thinks  that  we  may  set 
our  faces  toward  Zion,  even  though  we  know 
that  we  have  a  considerable  journey  before  us. 


jyGoot^Ie 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES 


{pxofteeot  @.  Qgi.  ®avi&eron. 

Bv  Professor  John  Skinner,  M.A.,  D.D.,  Westminster  College,  Cahbridgb. 


In  the  November  of  1S77  it  fell  to  Professor 
A.  B.  Davidson  to  deliver  the  -  Inaugural  Lecture 
of  the  session  in  the  New  College,  Edinburgh. 
The  present  writer,  a  second  year's  student  who 
had  learned  the  rudiments  of  Hebrew  elsewhere, 
then  saw  and  heard  him  for  the  first  time ;  and  be 
can  still  recall  the  curiousl]'  mistaken,  but  distinct 
and  memorable  impression  which  his  first  sight  of 
the  great  teacher  made  upon  bis  mind.  As  he 
stood  at  the  desk,  and  announced  with  quiet 
passionless  incisive  tones  the  subject  of  bis  dis- 
course, be  looked  like  a  doughty  champion  of 
criticism,  at  a  time  when  criticism  was  fighting  for 
its  life, — a  resolute,  fearless,  somewhat  truculent, 
and  wholly  redoubtable  personage,  who  would  go 
great  lengths  in  the  pursuit  of  truth,  and  strike 
hard  in  its  defence.  There  must  have  been  some 
truth  in  that  impression,  crude  and  evanescent  as 
it  was ;  for  a  trace  of  it  lurks  in  Sir  George  Reid's 
portrait.  Yet  within  a  few  weeks  it  was  dissipated 
in  the  genial  atmosphere  of  the  class-room,  and 
was  replaced  by  that  more  engaging  and  enduring 
vision,  of  the  kindly  eyes  and  the  refined  and 
sensitive  features,  which  lives  in  the  hearts  of  all 
bis  pupils. 

Professor  Davidson  was  then  at  the  height  of 
bis  popularity,  and  wielding  the  marvellous  ascend- 
ency over  the  minds  of  bis  students  to  which  so 
many  eloquent  tributes  have  been  paid.  His 
influence  does  not  appear  in  the  least  degree  to 
have  declined  since  then,  but  it  can  hardly  have 
increased.  It  is  no  doubt  possible  to  convey  to 
the  outside  world  some  idea  of  his  unique  power 
as  a  lecturer  and  a  teacher,  and  of  the  subtle  and 
stimulating  influences  that  played  on  the  minds  of 
his  bearers,  and  silently  revolutionized  the  think- 
ing of  many  of  them.  So  far  as  that  can  be  done, 
it  has  been  done  by  the  distinguished  men  who 
during  his  life  or  since  bis  death  have  tried  to 
express  what  they  have  owed  to  him.  The  im- 
mediate elTect  of  his  lectures  has  never  been  more 
powerfully  described  than  by  the  late  Professor 
Elmslie,  in  a  passage  much  too  long  to  quote 
here,'  but  worth  referring  to,  because  it  has  been 
strangely  misunderstood  as  evidence  of  the  negative 
'  See  Exfiaiitor.  3rd  Kries,  vol.  vii.  ((888),  p.  33  ff. 


and  destructive  tendency  of  Dr.  Davidson's  teach- 
ing. Apparently  it  has  been  supposed  that  the 
'emancipation'  and  ' disimprison ment '  of  which 
the  writer  spoke  could  only  mean  dismissal  into 
the  arid  regions  of  Rationalism  and  Natural 
Theology.  Nothing  could  be  farther  from  the 
truth.  His  work  was  eminently  constructive,  and 
in  the  best  sense  edifying.  No  man  was  ever 
more  careful  to  exhibit  the  essential  continuity  of 
his  teaching  with  the  forms  in  which  the  tradidonal 
view  of  Scripture  bad  been  wont  to  express  its 
inner  meaning  in  the  past.  It  is  true,  of  course, 
that  the  traditional  doctrine  was  transformed  in 
his  hands,  but  it  was  not  treated  with  contempt  or 
rejected  as  worthless.  It  was  rather  treated  as  a 
seed,  containing  a  living  principle  of  truth  which 
could  be  made  to  fructify  even  in  minds  where 
it  had  hitherto  lain  dormant.  Many  a  lecture 
would  start  from  some  unpromising  iraginent  of 
Typology,  or  a  seemingly  discredited  Messianic 
interpretation,  and  mto  this  be  would  breathe  a 
new  significance,  and  finally  leave  the  idea  firmly 
lodged  in  the  mind  as  something  not  tenable  or 
defensible  merely,  but  a  luminous  and  unassail- 
able truth.  Such  was  the  effect  produced,  not 
once  or  twice,  but  many  times  j  and  each  time  the 
willing  hearer  was  left  with  a  deeper  conviction  of 
the  reality  of  the  religion  of  Revelation,  and  a 
fresh  inspiration  to  the  service  of  God.  Of  him, 
in  his  own  department,  and  in  relation  to  the 
theology  of  bis  time,  it  might  truly  be  said  that  be 
came  not  to  destroy  but  to  fulfil. 

But  when  we  pass  from  description  to  analysis, 
and  come  to  ask  where  the  secret  of  his  influence 
lay,  we  realize  how  hopeless  is  the  attempt  to  give 
any  adequate  account  of  the  singular  effectiveness 
of  his  teaching.  It  is  difficult  to  say  whether 
natural  endowments,  or  scholarly  training  and 
equipment,  or  observation  of  human  life,  or  moral 
and  religious  sensibility,  had  the  most  to  do  in 
forming  his  mind  into  the  subdc  instrument  of 
thought  which  it  was.  All  these  contributed  their 
shares,  and  worked  harmoniously  to  one  result. 
The  most  that  can  be  said  is,  that  somehow  he 
had  attained  an  unrivalled  indght  into  the  spirit 
of  the  Old  Testament  religion,  and  possessed  a 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


249 


remarkable  power  of  expressing  it.  It  is  in- 
structive to  remember,  in  this  connexion,  what 
his  own  idea  of  his  calling  was.  He  has  told  us 
that  he  considered  his  work  as  a  professor  to  be 
essentially  a  form  of  preaching ;  that  is,  of  course, 
preaching  as  he  himself  understood  it.  Id  point 
of  fact,  between  the  lectures  he  delivered  to  his 
class  and  the  sermons  he  addressed  to  the  public, 
there  was  no  fundamental  difference.  In  the 
pulpit,  as  in  the  chair,  he  was  scrupulously  truthful 
in  exegesis,  faithful  to  the  exact  historical  sense  of 
the  Scripture  he  was  expounding,  and  disdainful  of 
all  subjective  and  arbitrary  conceits  that  obscured 
the  true  meaning  of  the  passage.  His  method 
appeared  to  be  first  to  lay  bare  his  mind,  with  all 
its  native  susceptibilities  and  its  acquired  faculties, 
to  the  impression  of  the  idea  or  scene  or  character 
which  was  his  theme ;  and  then  to  reproduce  the 
message  which  it  conveyed  to  his  own  heart 
When  his  imagination  kindled,  and  the  stream  of 
rich  poetic  language  came  charged  with  spiritual 
emotion  and  deep  human  sympathy,  one  felt  that 
this  was  not  done  to  impress  the  audience ;  it  was 
the  genuine  response  of  his  own  nature  to  the 
truth  which  he  had  discovered  in  the  Scripture. 
That  was  bis  method :  the  only  method  accordant 
with  'the  right  idea  of  Scripture,  which  is  the 
reflexion  of  the  presence  of  the  living  God  in 
human  history.'  And  that,  too,  was  doubtless  the 
chief  source  of  his  power  both  as  a  preacher  and  a 
teacher ;  be  made  himself  a  transparent  medium, 
through  which  the  light  of  the  divine  revelation 
was  flashed  on  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  men. 
It  was  not  so  much  his  voice  that  spoke,  as  the 
spirit  of  the  Old  Testament  that  found  an  organ  in 
him ;  it  was  the  voice  of  the  living  God,  whose 
shining  track  down  the  ages  of  history  it  was  his 
lifelong  work  to  explore. 

It  will  be  an  interesting  chapter  of  Dr.  Davidson's 
biography  (if  it  can  be  written)  which  tells  how  his 
mind  was  first  drawn  towards  Oriental  study,  and 
what  impulses  stirred  into  activity  the  peculiar 
qualities  of  intellect  that  gave  him  so  vivid  a  per- 
ception of  the  genius  of  the  Hebrew  literature. 
Only  once  has  the  writer  heard  him  touch  on  that 
matter,  when  he  made  the  characteristic,  if  not 
very  sensational,  disclosure,  that  his  interest  in 
Hebrew  was  first  awakened,  while  he  was  teaching 
a  country  school,  by  a  volume  of  prose  com- 
position of  T.  Kerchever  Arnold  which  came  into 
his  bands.     It  might  be  fanciful  to  suggest  that  in 


that  now  forgotten  work  he  had  found  the  key  of 
the  magic  casement  which  looked  out  on  that 
strange  new  world  of  thought  whose  radiance  was 
to  be  the  master  light  of  all  his  seeing.  But  he 
was  a  born  grammarian ;  and  it  is  just  permissible 
to  indulge  the  fancy  that  even  then  the  forms  of 
ancient  speech  had  for  him  a  fascination  which 
was  the  foretaste  of  an  inspiration  hardly  as  yet 
divined  by  the  scholarship  of  his  age  and  country. 
At  a  somewhat  later  period,  it  is  rumoured  that  he 
gave  his  days  and  nights  to  the  study  of  Ewald. 
Se  tion  i  itro  i  ben  trovato.  For,  in  spite  of  glaring 
dissimilarities,  the  two  scholars  had  much  in 
common.  Not  to  speak  of  their  personal  influ- 
ence over  their  pupils, — which  in  degree  was  re- 
markable in  both,  though  probably  very  different 
in  kind, — there  are  some  striking  mental  afi&nities 
between  the  Edinburgh  Professor  and  the  '  Lehrer 
ohne  Gleicben'  of  Gottingen.  Both  have  been 
accused  of  a  defect  in  critical  method  {whatever 
that  may  mean) ;  and  both  had  a  profound  con- 
viction of  the  religious  value  of  the  Bible  for 
modern  life.  Of  Davidson  it  might  truly  be  said, 
as  Wellhausen  has  said  of  Ewald,  that  in  him  the 
fruits  of  philol(%ical  science  reveal  themselves 
'  um  so  machtiger,  weil  mit  einer  urwiichsig 
religiosen  Anlage  zusammentieffend  und  daraus 
selbststandig  wiedergeboren.'  Scholarship  reborn 
in  a  religious  mind  ! — that  is  no  inapt  characteriza- 
tion of  Davidson's  idiosyncrasy  amongst  the  intel- 
lectual leaders  of  his  day.  From  Ewald,  also,  he 
might  have  learned  a  certain  'genetic'  way  of 
looking  at  things,  which  was  half  the  charm  of 
his  thinking.  His  grammatical  sense  seemed  to 
conceive  of  'the  language'  as  a  living  oiganism, 
growing  under  phonetic  laws,  arraying  itself 
naturally  in  parts  of  speech,  and  adjusting  itself, 
as  if  by  conscious  effort,  to  the  expression  of 
thought.  The  same  turn  of  mind,  carried  into 
higher  regions,  gave  him  his  singular  faculty,  often 
remarked  upon,  of 'getting  at  the  heart  of  a  sub- 
ject,' by  some  intuitive  perception  of  the  inner 
principle  of  its  development.  To  listen  to  his 
exposition  of  an  historical  idea  was  like  seeing  the 
mango  tree  grow  by  the  art  of  the  Indian  juggler. 
The  evolutionary  process  of  an  age  was  com- 
pressed into  an  hour ;  the  idea  germinated,  and 
put  forth  its  branches  and  produced  leaves  and 
flowers  before  our  eyes;  and  if  the  effect  was  in 
one  sense  magical,  it  was  nevertheless  real,  for  it 
left  the  mind  with  a  true  impression  of  the  creative 


aSo 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


thought  which  had  moulded  the  institutions  and 
literature  of  the  Old  Dispensation. 

How  intense  and  living  his  own  feeling  for  the 
Old  Testament  was,  is  best  seen  from  the  fact 
that  he  never  lost  his  interest  in  its  study,  never 
reached  finality  in  his  researches,  never  ceased  to 
be  a  learner.  The  Old  Testament  he  has  de- 
scribed as  'the  most  unintelli;;ible  of  books'; 
and  to  his  latest  years  he  would  speak  freely  of 
the  'surprise'  with  which  he  read  this  thing  or 
that  in  the  prophets.  The  stimulus  of  his  train- 
ing consisted  very  largely  in  the  openness  and 
freshness  of  mind  which  he  brought  to  his  work. 
Each  day  he  seemed  to  come  prepared  to  think 
out  the  subject  afresh,  and  to  reveal  the  working 
of  his  own  thought  upon  it.  He  readily  welcomed 
suggestions  from  the  class ;  some  he  would  dis- 
miss abruptly  and  discisively  enough,  on  others  he 
would  dwell,  as  if  there  might  be  something  in 
them  1  It  was  the  example  of  a  master  at  work 
in  his  calling;  but  a  master  who  constantly  ap- 
pealed to  the  intelligence  of  his  pupils,  and  sought 
to  make  them  fctlow-labourers  in  the  great  and 
delicate  art  of  interpretation. 

His  theological  standpoint  was  determined  by 
his  profound  sense  of  the  unity,  and  the  unique- 
ness, of  the  Bible  Revelation.  His  interest  in  the 
New  Testament  was  hardly  less  keen  and  scholarly 
than  in  his  own  special  province ;  and  in  the 
Bible  as  a  whole,  he  found  the  complete  expres- 
sion of  the  knowledge  of  God  on  which  the  re- 
ligious life  is  based.  He  was  very  chary  of 
admitting  the  intrusion  of  foreign  influences  in 
the  religion  of  Israel,  preferring  to  explain  alt  its 
developments  in  the  light  of  its  own  fundamental 
principles.  Nor  was  his  attitude  towards  modern 
scientific  and  philosophical  speculation  much 
more  sympathetic,  when  they  encroached  on  the 
sphere  of  religion,  and  confused  the  deeper 
intuitions  of  the  spirit.  Philosophy  has  one  view 
of  the  world  and  the  Bible  has  another,  and  these 
can  no  more  conflict  than  the  statement  that  the 
world  is  round  conflicts  with  the  other  statement 
that  it  is  green.  But  religion  lives  upon  the 
scriptural  view,  and  that  view  he  expounded  with 
a  directness  and  a  force  that  were  at  times 
startling.  Criticism  was  to  him  no  concession 
to  an  alien  and  irreligious  tendency  of  mind;  it 
was  a  product  of  the  true  religious  spirit ;  it  was 
the  effort  of  exegesis  to  be  historical,  'just  that 
we  may  trace  God's  historical    fellowship  with 


mankind.'  But  when  science  professed  to  explain 
away  such  moral  mysteries  as  death  and  sin,  his 
resistance  was  scornful  and  uncompromising.  And 
he  had  no  overweening  anxiety  to  'harmonize' 
the  dictates  of  religion  with  the  teachings  of 
science  ;  he  was  not  afraid  of  a  paradox-  '  It  is 
no  sign  that  you  are  wrong,'  he  would  say,  '  when 
you  come  to  a  precipice  in  religion ' :  adding, 
however,  in  a  characteristic  aside, '  it's  a  sign  that 
you're  wrong  if  you  go  over.' 

With  all  his  religious  idealism,  and  all  bis  re- 
finement and  scholarly  self-repression,  there  was 
visible  in  his  work  at  all  times  the  play  of  a 
strongly  marked  and  racy  individuality.  The 
caustic  humour  of  his  northern  birth  could  not 
be  hidden  ;  and  sometimes  it  made  strange  play 
with  the  abtruse  matters  that  emerged  in  a  critical 
discussion.  One  might  have  trembled  for  the 
effect  on  rigid  dogmatists  of  some  of  his  more 
daring  sallies:  as  when  he  compared  the  Satan 
of  the  Book  of  Job  to  a  sheep-dog,  over-officious 
in  his  calling ;  or  declined  to  settle  a  difference  of 
opinion  between  the  same  Satan  and  Professor 
Budde,  having  too  much  respect  for  the  acuteness 
of  both ;  or  twitted  Wellhausen  for  saying  that 
Jahveh  was  a  Being  subject  to  unaccountable 
humours,  by  hinting  that  His  servant  in  Gottingen 
was  hardly  the  man  to  throw  stones.  No  one  was 
ever  hurt  by  these  rapier  thrusts,  and  few  mis- 
understood them.  They  did  not  disturb  the 
fundamental  seriousness,  the  absolute  intellectual 
sincerity,  of  his  work.  And  it  counted  for  much 
in  the  influence  he  exerted  that  men  had  un- 
bounded faith  in  his  veracity,  and  knew  that  his 
matured  conclusions  were  uttered  without  reserve 
or  fear.  If  he  did  not  speak  out  everything  that 
passed  through  his  mind,  he  taught  nothing  that 
was  not  the  genuine  expression  of  his  own  think- 
ing. He  has  been  blamed  for  excessive  reticence 
in  the  disclosure  of  his  views,  especially  his  critical 
views ;  and  it  is  true  that  he  both  hated  con- 
troversy and  showed  considerable  adroitness  in 
keeping  out  of  it  But  when  one  considers  that 
for  forty  years  this  man  was  in  his  place,  quietly 
disseminating  principles  whose  vitality  none  knew 
better  than  himself,  retracting  nothing  and  ex- 
plaining nothing,  though  he  witnessed  the  theo- 
logical transformation  he  was  bringing  about,  one 
will  be  little  disposed  to  speak  of  diffidence  or 
timidity :  one  will  rather  admire  the  high  courage, 
the  simple  loyalty  to  truth,  which  enabled  him. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


«5i 


through  good  and  ill  repoit,  to  hold  on  the  even 
tenor  of  his  way. 

What  Dr.  Davidson  was  to  his  intimate  friends, 
the  writer,  who  knew  him  but  slightly  and  chiefly 
in  his  later  years,  cannot  tell.  He  did  not  go 
out  of  his  way  to  form  personal  attachments  with 
his  pupils ;  and  probably  few  were  ever  admitted 
to  the  sanctuary  of  his  inmost  thoughts.  But  it 
can  truly  be  said  that  even  a  slight  acquaintance 
with  him  was  more  than  most  men's  close  com- 
panionship. There  was  always  something  elusive 
about  his  personality;  and  intercourse  with  him 
involved  a  series  of  surprises.     But  every  fresh 


glimpse  of  his  nature  revealed  something  that 
was  attractive :  he  was  so  genuine  and  unassum- 
ing and  kind,  so  ready  to  help,  so  generous  in  his 
appreciation  of  other  men's  work.  Even  more 
than  the  charm  of  his  conversation,  one  loves  to 
think  of  his  genial  homely  ways,  his  simplicity  of 
mind,  his  humility,  his  wondering  what  made 
people  so  good  to  him,  his  sympathy  with  common 
folk,  his  fondness  for  little  children :  these  and 
a  hundred  kindred  traits  of  character  will  long  be 
talked  of  by  many  firesides,  when  men  name  with 
reverence  and  affection  the  greatest  teacher  they 
have  known. 


>ra]per   in   £arfg    C^tieitnior 

Bv  THE  Rev,  Canon  E,  R.  Bernard,  M.A.,  Salisbury. 


A  NEW  book  on  this  subject  has  recently  appeared 
in  Germany.*  It  is  a  book  of  much  interest  and 
of  permanent  value.  The  matter  ia  well  arranged, 
and  the  style  lucid  and  attractive.  The  aim 
which  the  author  sets  before  him  is  not  merely 
critical  OT  antiquarian  investigation,  but  something 
deeper  as  well.  He  studies  the  prayer  of  early 
Christendom  as  an  expression  of  its  special  re- 
ligious life.  Hitherto,  he  says,  there  has  been 
a  reluctance  to  enter  on  this  aspect  of  the  subject. 
There  have  been  preliminary  questions  to  be 
settled,  and,  further,  it  is  a  subject  which  re- 
quires special  delicacy  in  its  treatment.  It  may  be 
said  without  hesitation  that  the  author  has  this 
delicacy  of  sympathy  and  appreciation.  The  tone 
of  the  book  throughout,  and  especially  of  the  part 
of  it  which  relates  to  the  prayer  life  of  Christ,  is 
reverent  and  full  of  feeling.  The  critic  speaks, 
but  it  is  the  devout  critic. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  clear  from  the  first  that 
the  writer  is  a  disciple  of  Harnack,  and  the  book 
is  dominated  by  a  conception  of  the  Person  of 
Christ  similar  to  his,  appreciative,  enlightening, 
as  far  as  it  goes,  but,  as  we  believe,  wholly  in- 
adequate. The  Fourth  Gospel  is  regarded  as 
emanating  from  the  circle  of  the  disciples  of 
St.  John.  The  narratives  of  the  Synoptists  are 
very  freely  criticized;  and  the  Pastoral  Epistles, 
'  Doi  Gel<et  in  der  dhesten  Ckrislenktil.  Von  Eduard 
('reibcTcn  vod  dec  Golti.     Leipzig,  1901. 


which  afford  so  much  light  on  the  subject  of 
early  prayer,  are  dated  in  the  generation  after 
St.  Paul 

Considering  the  extent  to  which  our  knowledge 
of  the  inner  life  of  Christ  depends  on  the  Fourth 
Gospel,  it  might  be  supposed  that  the  refusal  to 
acknowledge  the  historical  character  of  that  Gospel 
would  vitiate  the  whole  inquiry.  But  this  ia  by  no 
means  the  case.  He  grants  that  the  writer  had 
access  to  oral  or  written  sources  of  information  of 
the  highest  value.  So  far  does  he  go  in  this  direc- 
tion that  he  loses  scarcely  anything  of  importance 
by  his  formal  abandonment  of  the  JohannJne 
authorship.  One  may  almost  say  that  he  privately 
forms  a  conception  of  the  character  and  aims  of 
Christ  from  a  study  of  this  unhistorical  document, 
and  then  coming  back  to  his  source,  naively  con- 
fesses that  although  the  narrative  is  unhistorical, 
yet  it  is  an  admirable  presentation  of  what  Christ 
really  was. 

The  strongest  insunce  is  the  sympathetic  treat- 
ment of  the  prayer  in  Jn  17,  It  is,  he  says,  a 
free  composition  by  the  author  of  the  Gospel. 
It  is  quite  impossible  to  say  how  much  of  it  is 
genuine.  It  defies  analysis.  [Cp.  p.  234,  where 
he  says  the  author  forgets  in  17*  that  he  is  repre- 
senting the  Lord  as  the  speaker.]  And  yet  he 
proceeds  to  say  (p.  31),  'One  cannot  fail  to  recog- 
nize that  nowhere  else  in  the  New  Testament  is 
the  inner  relation  of  Jesus  to  His  Father,  and  to 


852 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


those  who  believe  on  Him,  chanicterized  with 
such  tenderness  and  appreciation.'  And  he  goes 
on  to  point  out,  in  a  passage  of  much  heauty, 
how  precisely  the  leading  thoughts  of  the  prayer 
(it  |he  moment  and  circumstances  to  which  they 
are  attributed.  The  same  kind  of  acknowledg- 
ment is  made  with  regard  to  the  words  of  Jesus 
to  the  woman  of  Samaria  Qn  4'*'*').  There  he 
fails,  as  he  does  with  regard  to  1 1"'^,  to  see  the 
precise  fitness  of  the  words  to  the  connexion  in 
which  they  stand,  but  of  the  words  themselves  he 
sayi;  'Whether  the  words  of  Jesus  (Jn  4*''"), 
on  worship  in  spirit  and  in  truth  are  in  this  form 
an  original  saying  of  Jesus  or  not,  at  any  rale  they 
express  what  is  most  essential  and  important  in 
the  actual  teaching  of  Jeaus  respecting  prayer' 
<P-  54)- 

In  short,  we  have  to  thank  the  author  for 
bringing  out  the  truth  and  beauty  of  the  por- 
traiture of  Christ  in  the  Fourth  Gospel,  though 
he  is  precluded  by  his  doctrinal  preoccupation 
from  realizing  the  full  value  of  his  own  work. 
No  writer  has  better  shown  how  much  the  life  of 
Jesus  was  a  life  of  prayer,  and  how  essential  to 
Christian  prayer  is  the  conception  of  the  filial 
relation  to  God,  which  was  shown  and  taught  by 
the  Lord  to  His  disciples.  The  treatment  of  the 
Lord's  Prayer  in  pp.  43-53  is  admirable.  One 
point  must  be  specially  mentioned.  He  shows 
the  wonderful  capacity  for  expansion  possessed  by 
the  Lord's  Prayer.  '  The  Lord  puts  in  the  mouth 
of  His  disciples  only  what  is  most  natural  and 
most  simple,  what  from  their  conditions  and  their 
circumstances  must  be  the  wish  of  their  hearts. 
And  yet  there  lay  in  the  same  words  for  the  Lord 
Himself  much  more  than  the  disciples  could  then 
understand ;  the  whole  depth  of  His  own  religious 
consciousness,  so  far  as  He  could  communicate  it 
to  others,  found  simultaneously  its  expression 
therein '  (p.  43).  The  prayer  is  an  expression 
of  the  innermost  feelings  of  the  believer  at  the 
most  different  stages  of  religious  apprehension. 
The  simple  surface  sense  of  the  petitions  and  the 
profound  developed  sense  are  equally  true.  Again, 
he  points  out  with  truth  that  in  the  three  first 
petitions  there  is  no  essential  difference  in  the 
contents,  but  merely  a  change  of  the  aspect  in 
which  the  things  of  God  are  regarded.  His 
suggestion  that  the  words  ix  koi  ^/ims  iffy^Ka/uv 
K.T.X.,  are  to  be  regarded  as  a  warning  to  the 
worshipper  and  not  a  part  of  the  prayer,  seems 


unnecessary.  In  St.  Matthew's  form  the  cUuse 
is  not  a  claim  of  merit,  but  merely  states  the 
necessary  condition  for  forgiveness  as  having  been 
fulfilled.  Attention  should  also  be  called  to  the 
fearless  and  devout  exposition  (p.  60)  of  the  great 
promise  to  prayer  (Mk  ir^f.). 

The  treatment  of  prayer  in  the  name  of  Jesus  is,  as 
might  be  expected,  unsatisfactory.  It  is  not  merely 
reduced  to  an  appeal  to,  or  commemoration  of, 
Jesus  as  the  teacher  by  whom  the  new  spirit  of 
filial  prayer  had  been  taught ;  but  it  is  actually 
suggested  (p.  124)  that  the  growing  practice  of 
using  the  formula  of  prayer  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ,  led  the  author  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  to 
ascribe  the  command  to  use  it  to  the  Lord  Him- 
self (as  in  Jn  15").  The  real  origin  of  the 
usage  is,  we  are  told,  to  be  traced  to  the  personal 
experience  of  St.  Paul,  whose  whole  relation  to 
God  was  conditioned  by  'the  day  of  Damascus,' 
and  the  revelation  then  made  to  him.  To  most 
English  readers  this  will  seem  a  strange  inveisioD 
of  the  facts.  In  the  same  section  there  is  what 
may  appear  a  slight  inaccuracy,  but  is  nevertheless 
an  important  one.  '  Until  now,  He  (Jesus)  had 
prayed  with  them  and  for  them.'  There  is  no 
record  of  the  Lord  having  prayed  with  His 
disciples.  His  teaching  them  the  Lord's  Prayer 
cannot  rightly  be  so  understood..  The  absence  of 
any  notice  of  prayer  with  the  discipleft  is  remark- 
able and  deeply  significant. 

Later  on  in  the  work  the  author  returns  to  the 
subject  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  in  connexion  with 
his  leading  idea  of  the  freedom  of  prayer  ('das 
frcie  Gebet ')  tilt  far  into  the  third  century  (p.  181). 
His  frequent  insistence  on  the  view  (hat  die 
Lord's  Prayer  was  intended  as  a  lesson  in  prayer 
and  not  as  a  formula,  though  he  admits  that  its 
certain  use  as  a  formula  must  have  been  foreseen, 
may  appear  exaggerated.  But  it  is  part  of  a  spirit 
of  protest  against  the  medieval  notion  of  prayer, 
which  is  as  necessary  to-day  as  it  was  at  the 
Reformation.  The  ideal  for  worship  is  prayer  in 
the  Spirit,  in  which  the  words  uttered  correspond 
precisely  to  the  mind  of  the  worshipper,  or  of  the 
congregation  united  in  the  Spirit.  Human  nature 
being  what  it  is,  forms  of  prayer  were,  of  conrse, 
inevitable  and  indispensable,  as  the  author  fiil'T 
confesses;  but  they  were  a  declension  from  the 
original  ideal,  and  it  is  a  merit  in  the  boot 
to  press  upon  us  the  conviction  that  they  we« 
such. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


3S3 


The  question  of  prayer  to  Jesus  during  His  life 
OD  earth  is  treated  in  pp.  68-78,  and  is  closed 
with  the  sound  observation  that  the  question  of 
the  justification  of  prayer  to  Jesus  is  not  de- 
cided when  it  has  been  established  that  Jesus 
Himself  has  nowhere  said  anything  about  such 
prayer. 

The  second  chapter  deals  with  the  prayers  of  St. 
Paul,  and  does  full  justice  to  the  position  of  the 
apostle  in  the  development  of  the  Christian  life 
(pp-83-84).  But  the  failure  to  recognize  the  authen- 
ticity of  the  Pastoral  Epistles  leads  to  a  strange 
misapprehension  of  the  apostle's  mind  towards 
those  who  lay  outside  the  Christian  circle  (pp.  1 17, 
118).  The  severity  of  St.  Paul  which  he  refers  to 
was  to  save  the  Church,  and  not  from  disregard 
of  the  individual. 

The  chief  interest  of  this  chapter  lies  in  the  full 
investigation  of  the  Pauline  use  of  Kv'piof,  o  Kvpw^ 
The  author  is  largely  indebted  to  Daiman's  IVorte 
Jesu ;  and  for  a  clear  understanding  of  the  diffi- 
culties which  beset  the  use  of  these  terms  in  the 
Synoptists,  the  original  investigation  in  Worlejau^ 
pp.  266-372,  should  by  all  means  be  consulted. 
But  the  examination  of  the  Pauline  use  is  von  der 
Goltz's  own  work.  He  concedes  all  that  Chrisc- 
ology  requires  as  to  the  implication  of  Deity  in  the 
Pauline  use  of  kv/mk.  It  was  for  the  apostle  very 
nearly  equivalent  to  the  later  phrase  of  Greek. 
.  Christians,  d  ®€o^  ^fiZv.  It  was  the  name  for  the 
revealed  God  on  His  cognizable  and  visible  side 
(p.  98).  But  instead  of  drawing  the  natural  infer- 
ence that  St.  Paul  regarded  Christ  as  truly  God, 
he  proceeds  to  explain  away  his  concession  very 
much  in  the  manner  of  Harnack  and  Herrmann. 
The  conception  of  a  vague  appeal  to  Christ  in 
prayer  really  directed  to  God,  which  is  all  that 
the  author  acknowledges  to  be  found  in  the 
Pauline  Epistles,  has  already  been  well  analysed 
by  Seeberg  {Z)ie  Anlvtung  dts  Herm  bei  Pauius,  p. 
50  (i.),  and  von  der  Goltz  has  done  nothing  to 
meet  Seeberg's  criticisms.  It  is  interesting  to 
note  that  the  author  takes  the  verb  in  '  Maranatha ' 
as  imperative,  and  accepts  this  formula  as  one  of 
the  earliest  beginnings  of  prayer  to  Christ.  See- 
berg has  shown  that  this  is  almost  certainly  the 
true  interpretation,  and  thus  Rev  ii'",  ipx""  Kup« 
'Ivcrou,  appears  to  be  the  Greek  equivalent  of  the 
Aramaic  phrase 'Maranatha'    It  must,  however, 

'This  work  will  thortl/  be  published  in  an  EoglUh 
translation  by  T.  &  T.  Clark. 


be  allowed  that,  although  direct  prayer  to  Jesus  is 
fully  justified  by  N.T.  usage,  there  is  a  practical 
danger  of  such  prayer  'putting,  as  it  were,  into  the 
background  the  glory  and  love  of  the  Father ' 
(Bishop  Westcott,  Leaimsfrom  Work,  p.  53).  The 
bishop  has  in  view,  especially,  'modem  hymns 
addressed  to  Jesus,'  and  to  this  we  may  add 
modem  manuals  for  communicants. 

In  the  third  chapter  we  pass  from  St.  Paul  to  a 
general  survey  of  Christian  prayer  in  the  apostolic 
and  sub-apostolic  age.  Here  we  find  an  examina- 
tion  of  the  phrase,  MitaXtTfrtfoi  to  ovd/xo,  which  had 
been  dismissed  in  a  summary  way  in  the  preceding 
chapter.  The  author's  endeavour  is  to  give  it  such 
a  wide  and  general  sense  as  may  invalidate  its 
evidence  for  direct  prayer  to  Christ.  But  Seeberg's 
full  and  careful  examination  of  the  phrase  in 
relation  to  the  O.T.  {op.  at.  pp.  35-46),  appears  to 
establish  the  contrary.  He  claims  to  have  proved 
that,  '  in  LXX  language,  tTitKakvir$tu  is  the  specific 
expression  for  calling  on  Jahweh,  and  that  the 
cases  where  the  word  is  otherwise  applied  are  only 
rare  exceptions '  {op.  et't.  p,  40).  The  force  of  his 
argument  depends  largely  on  the  amount  of  credit 
given  to  the  early  chapters  of  Acts,  For  those 
who  accept  them,  the  quotation  of  Jl  x"  may  well 
seem  to  bi;  the  turning  point  in  the  meaning  of 
the  phrase,  '  to  call  upon  the  Lord.' 

There  are  interesting  passages  in  this  chapter 
(3rd)  on  early  forms  of  doxology  (p.  15S),  on  the 
use  and  misuse  of  Amen  (p.  160  f.),  followed  by  an 
able  survey  of  the  first  beginnings  of  the  inevitable 
declension  from  the  standard  of  primitive  prayer 
(p.  161  anti passim).  Next  we  come  to  'Das  freie 
Gebet,'  which  is,  as  has  already  been  observed,  a 
ruling  idea  in  the  book  as  a  characteristic  of  early 
Christianity.  He  considers  that  the  variants 
in  the  text  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  point  to  an 
absence  of  any  sense  of  an  obligation  to  an  exact 
repetition  of  the  Lord's  own  words.  It  is  satis- 
factory to  observe  the  warm  appreciation  which 
he  shows  throughout  for  Dr.  Chase's  'excellent' 
work  on  the  Prayer.  Space  forbids  notice  of  the 
interesting  observations  on  the  prayer  in  C/em.  ad 
Rom.,  and  on  the  Eucharistic  prayers  in  the 
Didache.  The  latter  are  especially  suggestive  and 
original.  Of  prayer  and  praise  in  the  Apocalypse, 
he  says  that  the  book,  instead  of  being  a  type  for 
Christian  worship,  is  itself  dominated  by  the 
impression  created  by  the  contemporary  worshiik 
of  the  early  Church. 


a  54 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


The  fourth  chapter  surveys  the  evidence  as  to 
Christian  prayer  in  the  end  of  the  second  century 
and  in  the  third  century.  Here  he  can  only  rely 
on  '  occasional  statements  in  Christian  writers  or 
on  the  wearisome,  and  always  insecure  endeavour 
to  ascertain  which  are  the  older  elements  in  the 
liturgies  of  the  fourth  century.'  The  Canons  of 
Hippolytus,  and  the  Prayers  of  Serapion,  however, 
form  a  happy  exception.  The  chapter  contains  a 
full  and  interesting  account  of  Origen's  beautiful 
treatise  on  Prayer,  which  exhibits  clearly  its  apolo- 
getic purpose,  and  its  consequent  weaknesses, 
especially  in  the  exposition  of  the  Lord's  Prayer. 
But  when  all  is  said,  Origen  has  done  more  to 
meet  the  philosophical  difficulties  attaching  to 
prayer  than  any  one  has  done  since. 

An  appendix  (pp.  328-353),  gives  the  more 
important  texts  which  have  been  dealt  with  in  the 
course  of  the  book. 


It  has  not  been  possible  in  this  brief  review  to 
give  an  adequate  idea  of  the  abundance  of  sug- 
gestive thought,  and  the  thoroughness  and  honesty 
which  characterize  the  work.  A  sense  of  its 
defective  Christology  has  necessitated  what  may 
appear  to  be  depreciatory  criticism,  and  one 
cannot  but  feel  that  there  was  scarcely  need  to 
give  the  question  of  Prayer  to  Christ  so  predom- 
inant a  position.  The  vigorous  and  eloquent 
defence  of  such  prayer  by  Th.  Zahn,  which  sUnds 
first  in  his  Siitten  aus  dem  Leben  der  alien  Kirehe, 
will  surely  hold  its  ground  against  our  author's 
comments.  It  would  well  repay  translation  into 
English. 

But  we  have  no  desire  to  depreciate  the  valuable 
contribution  to  theological  literature  which  von  der 
Goltz  has  given  us,  and  must  again  express  our 
sense  of  the  insight,  reverence,  and  ability  with 
which  he  has  performed  his  task. 


THE   GREAT   TEXTS   OF   THE   ACTS   OF   THE   APOSTLES. 


Acts  1.  8. 

'  But  ye  ahoU  receive  povrer,  when  the  Holy  Ghost 

is  come  upon  you :  and  ye  shall  be  Hy  witoesaes  both 

in  Jemaalem,  and  in  all  Judoa  and  in  Samaria,  and 

unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth'  (R.V.). 


Bat. — Instead  of  the  useless  knowledge  they  had  asked, 
'Vou   cannot  itiavi  the   future,  but  yon  can  maie  it.' — 

Ye  shall  receive  power.— This  power  includes',  (i) 
the  power  of  working  miracles;  (z]  personal,  moral,  and 
spicitual  power  in  the  conflicts  and  temptations  of  life,  and 
especially  in  bearing  suffering  and  persecution  for  Christ's 
sake  ;  (3)  power  in  the  ministry  of  the  word.— Abbott. 

When  the  Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon  you.— This  clause 
describes  the  method  by  which  they  were  to  receive  power, 
namely,  by  the  Holy  Ghost  coning  upon  them.  It  con- 
templates, not  a  single  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  on  the  day 
of  Pentecost,  as  the  Authoriied  Version  implies,  but  a  new 
dispensation  of  the  Spirit,  whose  i  ad  welling  presence 
should  become  a  continuous  power  within  them. — 
Rendall. 

AndyesfaaUbeHywitnesses.- >My(notM«,  'tome,' 
but  |M>u,  'of  me,'  with  the  best  MSS)  witnesses'- not  only 
>  the  facts  of  their  Lord's  life,  but  also  Ifis 
His  by  a  direct  personal  relationship. — 
Knowlino. 


I      DocTRiNA  el  sanguine. — Bengbl. 

I       The  more  special   theme  of  their   witness    is    to   Hii 

I   resurrection  ;  see  1=  a''  3"  4"  5"  lo"-"  13"  aa"  26"  {the 

last  two  referring  to  Paul). — Barti.bt. 


Lord's 


imply  ' 


:  tonihip  of  Jes 


s  of  Jesus'  (as  the 
the  truth) ;  and  as 
the  crucial  fact  which  proved  the 
IS,  an  '  apostle '  is  in  particular  one 
that  with  bis  own  eyes  he  has  leen 
the  risen  Jesus,  and  it  becomes  a  criterion  of  an  'apostle' 
to  ask,  Has  he  j«»  Jesus  our  Lord  ?— Rackham. 

Botb  in  Jerusalem,  etc — The  Acts  themselves  form  the 
best  commentary  on  these  words,  and  the  words  themteWes 
might  be  given  as  the  best  summary  of  the  Acts.  We  have 
first  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  in  Jerusalem  until  the 
martyrdom  of  Stephen  ;  then  the  dispersion  throughout 
JudxB  and  Samaria  (8')  ;  Philip  going  down  to  Samaria  (8')  ; 
and  afterwards  Peter  and  John  (8") ;  then  the  conversion  of 
Paul,  the  'ApostleoftheGenriles.'and  the  vision  of  Peter  ; 
finally,  a  full  account  of  the  misiionary  labours  of  Paul  and 
others,  culmioatiDg  in  the  establishment  of  the  gospel  in 
the  capital  of  the  world. — Pace. 


ExECETiCAL  Note, 
Power- 
In   v.'   the  word  is  ({ewJa  {R.V.   'authority'),   in   v,» 
6r*ius.     The  former  is  authority  [dthra  as  delegated  or 
unrestrained,  the  liberty  of  doing  as  one  pleases  (({tm-i) ; 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


255 


the  tftlUr  is  oataral  i.lnU(7,  inberenl  power,  lesiding  in  a 
thiDK  by  virtue  of  iti  ulnre,  or,  which  a  person  or  thing 
exerts  at  puts  foctb.— Knowlinc. 


The    Sermon. 

5[UTitiial  Power. 

By  the  latt  Caatm  Liddon,  D.  D. ,  D.  C.  L. 

It  is  difficult  for  us  to  enter  into  the  bewildering 
sense  of  desolation  which  the  apostles  must  have 
felt  on  the  eve  of  the  Ascension.  They  had  re- 
ceived a  commission  to  make  disciples  of  all  the 
nations.  But  they  seemed  to  lack  nearly  all  the 
conditions  of  success,  and  the  Lord  Himself  was 
about  to  leave  them.  He  promises  that  they  shall 
be  strCDgthened  for  all  that  lies  before  them  :  *  Ye 
shall  receive  power  when  the  Holy  Ghost  is  come 
upon  you.' 

I.  What  was  this  power?  We  see  it  best  at 
work  in  the  earliest  history  of  the  Church,  (i) 
^Vas  it  political  power?  The  Church  of  Christ 
did  in  course  of  time  acquire  something  very  like 
the  power  of  the  sceptre.  But  at  the  beginning 
it  was  not  so.  It  was  not  so  when  she  worshipped 
in  the  catacombs,  and  bled  in  the  amphitheatres. 
Political  power  is  always  a  clumsy  instrument  for 
achieving  spiritual  success.  (2)  Was  it  intellectual 
power?  The  gospel  has  undoubtedly  lightened 
man's  understanding  and  fertilized  his  thought. 
Out  Lord  had  dwelt  on  the  illuminating  office  of 
the  Comforter — '  He  shall  guide  you  into  all  the 
truth.'  And  perhaps  the  first  apostles  needed  this 
asdstance  and  profited  by  it  in  a  special  manner. 
Yet  this  was  not  the  chief  element  of  the  promised 
gift,  for  the  gospel  is  meant  for  the  whole  human 
family  and  not  many  learned  were  called.  (3)  Was 
it  the  faculty  of  working  miracles?  This  was 
promised — '  Greater  works  than  these  shall  ye  do 
because  I  go  to  My  Father.'  It  was  realized  in 
a  remarkable  way  upon  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Almost  every  step  of  early  Christianity  is  preceded 
or  accompanied  by  miraculous  manifestations. 
Yet  miracle  was  not  the  essence  of  the  promised 
power.  The  evidence  of  miracle  can  easily  be 
evaded.  Something  more  constantly  available  and 
more  nearly  irrresistible  was  needed.  (4)  It  is 
spiritual,  it  is  personal,  it  is  moral  power.  And 
spiritual  power  may  be  felt  rather  than  described- 
It  is  nothing  else  than  CItrist's  spiritual  presence, 
mantling  upon  His  servants ;  they  live  in  Him ; 
they  lose  in  Him  something  of  their  proper  person- 


ality ;  they  are  absorbed  into,  they  are  transfigured 
by  a  life  higher  than  their  own.  This  dated  from 
the  gift  of  Pentecost.  A  power  was  abroad  in  the 
world  and  men  began  instinctively  doing  homage 
to  its  silent  influence. 

1.  This  power  may  be  known  by  two  leading 
symptoms  : — (i)  Consisieiicy.  The  whole  life  is  of 
a  piece.  Thought,  feeling,  action  are  in  harmony. 
Throughout  the  life  there  runs  a  line  of  manifest 
persistent  continuity  of  purpose.  {2)  Sympathy. 
Not  merely  fellow-feeling  with  those  who  suffer 
pain  or  experience  pleasure,  but  the  power  of 
entering  with  intelligence  and  tenderness  into  the 
inner  life  and  circumstances  of  others,  however 
remote  from  us.  Education  may  make  men  large- 
minded,  but  sympathy  is  the  creation  of  religious 
conviction,  and  without  sympathy  religious  influ- 
ence is  scarcely  possible.* 

3.  Three  words  of  exhortation.  See  in  the 
text:  {\)  A  ground  of  confidence  ;  (3)  a  stimulus  to 
continuous  effort;  (3)  a  preservative  against  the 
snare  of  spiritual  stlf-conceit. 

WitoeHii^. 
By  F.  N.  Pilmitt,  D.D. 

1.  Witnessing  is  still  the  most  effective  way 
of  preaching  Jesus  and  His  gospel.  The  great 
Psalms,  the  great  poems  that  reach  the  depths  of 
the  soul,  grew  out  of  the  experiences  of  those  who 
wrote  them. 

2.  The  witness  is  to  what  Jesus  has  actually  done 
for  us,  to  the  fullilmeni  of  His  promises,  to  His 
conscious  presence,  to  His  power  to  save  from  sin, 
to  help  in  trouble,  to  the  transformations  be  has 
wrought  in  character  and  life. 

3.  The  witness  is  borne  {a)  by  words,  for  there 
is  much  which  can  be  made  known  only  by  ex- 
pressing through  speech  the  inner  thoughts,  {i) 
By  life,  deeds,  conduct,  and  all  outward  expression 
of  the  inner  character  under  various  circumstances. 


Illustrations. 

Two  slighi  changes  may  be  made  in  the  wording  of  the 
text  (o  bring  it  yet  nearer  to  the  Greek  ;  '  Ve  shall  receive 
^■ntT  by  the  coming  of  IhtMely  Chest  iifoaymi  ;  and  ye  shall 
be  My  witHttus,'  Thus  read,  the  sacred  promise  seemi  to 
present  two  additional  points  of  truth.  First,  the  'recep- 
tion of  power'  is  practically  identified  wiih  the  'coming 
upon  you  of  the  Holy  Ghost' ;  it  is  not  merely  its  sequel,  it 
is  its  other  side.     Then,  the  '  witnesses'  are  not  only,  as  of 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


courie  tbeywc,  'unto  Me';  ibty  are  tho  'Mine.'  They 
belong  to  Him  to  whom  tbef  testiry.  They  testify  faecaase 
they  belong.  They  belong  that  ihey  may  testify.— H.  C.  G. 
Mot/LE. 

I  SHALL  never  forget  seeiDg  sooie  four  hundred  men  and 
boys,  some  of  them  very  little  boys,  turn  out  of  a  mine, 
each,  every  one,  with  a  candle  stuck  in  the  front  of  his  cap 
— all  light-bearers.  This  is  our  need — for  a//  the  church  to 
witness  for  Christ.^R.  H.  Lovbll. 

Ohcb  I  had  a  series  of  meetings  for  any  who  wished  to 
see  me  for  individual  counsel,  which  of  coarse  could  not  be 
given  in  the  usual  service  of  the  church.  Many  remained 
spontaneoutly,  and  lequesied  to  be  talked  with.  We  had 
twelve  church -ollicer!,  as  good  and  true  Christian  men  as 
ever  churcb  had  ;  ihey  sympathized  with  and  helped  the 
meetings,  but  when  I  asked  them  to  go  and  speak  lo  the 
anxious,  and  pointed  out  that  they  might  give  their  own 
leitimony  if  nothing  else,  the  reply  was  the  same  from  all : 
'  We  will  do  anything  else,  but  this  we  do  not  like  to  do.' 
I  repeat  that  not  preaching,  but  personal  testimony,  is  out 
great  need.  And  I  urge  you,  if  Christ  has  done  anything 
for  you,  to  tell  it  I    Tell  it !    Oh,  tell  it !— R.  H.  Lovell. 


1  SAW  the  other  day  a  numerical  calculation  in  which  I 
wu  greatly  interested,  and  which  is  fitted  to  alfect  us 
deeply.  Assuming  the  unevangeliied  population  of  the 
globe  to  be  one  billion  and  a  seventh,  and  the  number  of 
Hue  followers  of  JesuB  Christ  to  be  ten  millions,  allowing 
that  each  Christian  were  from  this  lime  forward  to  make 
one  convert  each  year,  within  eight  years  from  the  present 
time  the  whole  population  of  the  globe  would  be  at  the  foot 
o(  the  Cross  1— C.  H.  Parkhurst. 

As  Dr.  Dale  once  pointed  out,  'preaching  about  Christ 
is  not  preaching  Christ.'    When  Leonardo  look  some  one 


to  tee  bis  great  vrork  of  the  '  Last  Supper,'  the  first  remailc 
of  the  visitor  wu,  '  What  a  beautiful  commimion  cup  it  was 
in  front  of  Christ  I '  The  nilist  at  once  took  bis  brush  and 
painted  oat  the  cup.  'Nothing,'  said  be,  'should  ever 
divert  attention  from  Christ,'  When  I  have  seen  a  mother 
holding  her  child  for  its  likeness  to  be  photographed,  I  have 
often  been  delighted  to  notice  her  ingenuity  in  getting 
behind  the  child  and  concealing  herself,  giving  up  the 
whole  picture  for  her  loved  one.  Oh,  that  we  could  all 
live  and  so  preach  that  men  never  saw,  never  heard,  never 
thought  about  us,  but  only  saw  and  heard  and  admired 
Christ—'  witnesses  for  ifim  !' — R.  H.  Lovbll. 


For  Rbfsrenck. 
Bright  (W.),  Uw  of  Faith,  ax&. 
Chnich  (R.  W.),  Pascal  and  other  Sermons,  336. 
Dixon  (A.  C),  Person  and  Ministry  of  Holy  Spirit,  37. 
Davies  (T.},  Philippians  and  other  Sermons,  413. 
Harris  (H.),  Heart  Purity,  93. 
Hathaway  (E.  P.),  Ten  Command mcnls,  116. 
Fuller  (M.),  In  Terra  Pax,  aTj. 
Liddon  (H.  P.),  Clerical  Ufe  and  Work,  149. 

,,  Easter  Sermons,  ii.  259. 

Lovell  (R.  H.),  First  Types  of  the  ChrUtian  Life,  173. 
Mocgregor  (G.  H.  C),  A  Holy  Life,  91. 
Macleod  (D.),  Sunday  Home  Service,  164. 
Miller  (W.),  Vision  of  Christ,  68. 
Moule  (H.  G.  C),  Thoughts  for  the  Sundays  of  the  Year, 

194- 
Parkhurst  {C.  H.),  Blind  Mao's  Creed,  80. 
Pearse  (M.  G. ),  Chrisiianity  of  Jesus  Christ,  i. 
P;iown*KJ.  J.  S.),  Sermons,  205. 
I'erren  {C),  Revival  Sermons,  118. 
Stanford  (C),  From  Calvary  to  Olivet,  244. 
Stuart  (J.  G.),  Soul-Winning,  1 1,  21. 
Williamson  (M.  B.],  Truth  and  the  Wilneis,  1 13. 


By  THE  Rev.  Adam  Philip,  M.A.,  Longforgan. 


We  admire  the  enterprise  and  the  national  spirit 
that  have  led  to  the  publication  of  this  work.' 
Little  can  Patrick  Walker,  in  his  humble  shop  in 
Bristo  Port,  have  dreamt  that  well  on  to  twenty 
editions  of  some  or  of  ail  his  writings  would  be 
issued,  and  that   the  latest,  published   in   1901, 

'  The  title-page  of  the  two  volume*  of  which  we  propose 
to  speak  reads  :  Six  Sainh  aflkt  Covenant:  Per/en,  Simple, 
Wilvoed,  Caiieroii,  Cargill,  Smith,  hy  Patrick  Walter. 
Edilat,  with  Illustrative  Dxumtnts,  IntroduclieH,  Noirs, 
end  a  GUsieay.  by  D.  Hay  Fleming,  and  a  I-orrwvrd  by 
S,  R.  Crockett.     London  :  Hodder  &  Stoiijliton. 


would  be  the  most  sumptuous  and  appreciative 
of  all. 

It  was  in  1724  that  his  first  brochure.  Some 
Remarkable  Passages  of  the  Life  and  Death  of  Mr. 
Alexander  Peden,  appeared.  This  has  been  re- 
printed again  and  again.  In  1727  he  issued  Stnne 
Remarkabk  Passages  of  the  Life  and  Death  of  Mr. 
John  Semple,  Mr.  John  IVe/wood,  Mr.  Rkhard 
Cameron,  and  five  years  later  appeared  the 
sketches  of  Cargill  and  Smith.  In  1837  the 
Edinburgh  firm  of  Stevenson  put  out  a  collected 
edition  of  Walker's  writings,  with  some  ^ditional 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


»57 


matter,  under  the  rather  pretentious  title  Bio- 
graphia  Pretbyttriana.  Ten  years  later  it  was  re- 
issued in  almost  identical  form.  These  have  been 
superseded  by  the  appearance  recently  of  Dr. 
Fleming's  edition.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  handle  the 
volumes,  which  are  similar  in  appearance  to  the  , 
Edinburgh  edition  of  R.  L.  Stevenson's  works. 

Dr.  Fleming  is  facitt  friruejis  our  authority  on 
'Covenanting  lore,'  and  it  is  scant  praise  to  say 
that  his  workmanship  is  masterly.  Within  the 
compass  of  about  twenty  pages  he  has  given  us  an 
Introduction  crowded  with  facts  and  ripe  judg- 
ments. The  index  is  a  model  in  fulness;  the 
glossary  is  good;  his  remarks  on  the  various 
editions  of  Walker,  and  other  bibliographical 
matters,  erudite ;  and  his  notes,  covering  more 
than  a  hundred  pages,  are  a  mine  of  curious  and 
helpful  information  about  books  and  pamphlets, 
about  men  and  movements.  Compare,  for  ex- 
ample, his  succinct  sketch  of  the  progress  of  the 
Marrow  Controversy  {ii.  iji),  and  his  delightful 
note  on  the  origin  of  the  word  '  cant '  as  a  term 
of  reproach  (ii.  156-157).  Dr.  Fleming  hazards 
the  suggestion  that  it  perhaps  owes  its  present 
use  to  the  signature  of  some  of  the  Archbishops  of 
Canterbury.  Parker,  for  instance,  signs  him- 
self sometimes  as 'Matth.  Cant.'  What  could  be 
more  natural.  Dr.  Fleming  asks,  than  that  the  dis- 
aifected  should  irreverently  appropriate  the  most 
abbreviated  title  of  the  head  of  the  English  hier- 
archy as  a  suitable  synonym  for  hypocritical  or 
affected  talk  P 

Of  one  other  note  we  must  make  mention,  that 
referring  to  the  parentage  of  Donald  Cargill  (ii. 
199-303).  As  an  example  of  patient  investiga- 
tion, skilfully  grouped  facts,  and  sifted  evidence, 
nothing  could  be  finer.  The  result  is  that  Dr. 
Fleming  has  made  a  real  contribution  to  the 
elucidation  of  the  matter. 

Of  Patrick  Walker  little  need  be  said.  Accord- 
ing to  the  Biographia  Presbyteriana,  he  was  born 
between  1650  and  i66a  This,  however,  is  a 
mistake.  For,  in  1684,  he  is  described  in  the 
Hegiittr  ef  the  Privy  Council  as  'but  a  boy  of 
eighteine  years  of  age.'  So  that,  probably,  he  was 
bom  in  1666,  the  year  of  the  Pentland  Rising. 
He  seems  to  give  us  a  glimpse  of  his  parents  when 
he  writes :  '  I  have  had  the  happiness  to  be  a 
hearer  of  the  gospel  from  my  infancy,  in  fields 
and  houses.'  He  was  possibly  present  at  Both- 
well  Bridge  in  1679.    Three  years  later  he  was 


denounced  as  a  rebel  at  Edinburgh.  In  1684  he 
was  brought  beforethePrivyCouncil,  and  received 
sentence  of  banishment  to  America.  The  sentence 
was  not  carried  through,  but  other  cruelties  met 
bira.  In  all,  he  was  examined  eighteen  times. 
If  not  the  first,  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  be 
tortured  in  '  the  thumbekins '  described  by  the 
lords  of  council  as  '  a  new  inventione  and  ingyne ' 
which  was  likely  to  be  very  effectual  'for  expis- 
cateing  of  matters  relateing  to  the  Govemement.' 
For  a  time  he  was  a  prisoner  in  Dunnottar  Castle, 
shut  up  in  a  vault  with  eight  score  persons,  '  with- 
out air,  without  ease,  without  place  either  to  lie  or 
walk,  and  without  any  comfort  save  what  they  had 
from  heaven.'  Still  later  he  was  brought  back  to 
Leith,  whence  he  was  to  be  shipped  to  New 
Jersey.  But  he  escaped,  and  finally  joined 
Renwick.  He  hailed  the  Prince  of  Orange  as  a 
deliverer,  but  was  far  from  being  satisfied  with 
the  Revolution,  and  he  was  displeased  with  the 
Union. 

Walker  is  commonly  described  as  a  pedlar; 
'a  Cameronian  pedlar,' the  ' half  crazy,' ' murder- 
ous pedlar,'  Mark  Napier  politely  calls  him.  Dr. 
Fleming  doubts  the  accuracy  of  the  'pedlar 
theory,'  which,  in  spite  of.  his  interesting  com- 
ment, will  probably  continue  to  live.  The  point, 
however,  is  of  little  importance. 

Walker  lived  a  good  deal  in  Edinburgh,  at 
one  time  within  Bristo  Port,  at  another  in 
Candlemaker  Row,  where  doubtless  his  window 
overlooked  the  churchyard  of  Greyfriars,  in  which 
so  many  of  his  comrades  had  been  laid.  He 
seems  to  have  died  in  1745,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 

Of  the  value  of  his  work  the  most  contradictory 
opinions  have  been  expressed.  Between  Walker 
and  Wodrow  there  was  no  love  lost ;  and  Wodrow's 
references  to  him  in  his  Cerrespandenee  U^  no  more 
flattering  than  are  Walker's  allusions  to  Wodrow. 

The  younger  M'Crie  speaks  of  his  rude  ungainly 
style,  observing  that  it  is  hardly  possible  to  read 
his  vulgar  and  gloomy  pages  without  an  occasional 
feeling  of  disgust. 

To  these  and  such  judgments  the  present  edition 
of  Walker  is  answer.  And  throughout  it,  notably 
in  Mr.  S.  R.  Crockett's  Foreword,  there  is  evidence 
of  the  persistent  power  that  Walker's  pages  have 
been  exerting.  Mr.  Crockett  tells  us  how  they 
were  the  delight  of  his  childhood  He  carried 
them  about  in  his  blouse,  he  look  them  to  bed 


2S8 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


with  him,  he  stored  his  mind  with  them,  and 
wherever  he  goes  he  takes  them  with  him  stilL 
'  I  can  see,  of  course,'  he  says,  '  all  the  narrowness 
and  occasional  bitterness  of  the  creed  he  expressed 
so  admirably  in  the  most  vivid  and  distinctive 
Scots  (of  the  biblical  sort)  ever  written.'  Again : 
'Any  gift  of  understandable  writing  which  I'  may 
have  attained  since  has  been  first  of  all  owing  to 
this  nigged,  vehement,  discursive  Patrick.'  '  About 
much  of  the  writing  of  this  unlettered  packman 
there  seems  a  natural  melody  and  fervour — like 
that  of  a  linnet  singing  on  a  twig,  a  moment's 
burst  and  no  more.' 

Once  again  he  writes ;  '  I  have  always  thought 
that  a  great  deal  of  the  incision  and  directness  of 
the  late  Mr.  Stevenson's  style  in  narration  could 
be  traced  to  his  familiarity  with  Patrick  Walker's 
account  of  the  death  of  John  Brown.' 

R.  L.  Stevenson  himself  tells  us  that  when  he 
was  a  child,  indeed  until  he  was  nearly  a  rdan,  he 
consistently  read  Covenanting  books.  '  Now  that 
I  am  a  grey-beard,'  he  writes  in  one  of  his  letters, 
'  I  have  returned,  and  for  weeks  back  have  read 
little  else  but  Wodrow,  Walker,  Shields,  etc.  .  .  . 
My  style  is  from  the  Covenanting  writers.' 

TXe  Pentland  Rising  and  Tkrawn  Janet  are 
steeped  in  the  spirit  of  Walker's  pages,  and  else- 
where in  Stevenson  are  words  and  turns  of  ex- 
pression that  recall  the  Cameronian. 

Of  this  influence  too  much  may  be  made,  and 
also  too  little.  It  is  not  claimed  that  Stevenson 
formed  his  style  on  the  model  of  Walker.  Walker 
was  an  uneducated  man.  His  spelling  was  bad, 
albeit  better  than  the  spelling  of  Claverhouse. 
Some,  he  tells  us,  quarrelled  with  his  life  of 
Peden  for  its  want  of  grammar,  although  others 
who  knew  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew,  had  fathered 
it  upon  him.  He  sometimes  commences  sentences 
and  does  not  finish  them,  leaving  them  standing, 
as  it  were,  on  one  leg.  But  a  writer  is  to  be 
judged  by  his  best,  rather  than  by  his  worst.  And 
Walker  at  his  beat  can  scarcely  be  matched.  A 
competent  critic  asserts  that  the  most  moving 
passage  in  Homer  —  the  speech  of  Priam  to 
Achilles  —  is  not  more  moving  than  Walker's 
account  of  the  death  of  John  Brown. 

But  there  are  many  passages  which  for  force, 
directness,  simplicity,  and  pathos  wilt  not  easily 
be  surpassed.  Amongst  these  we  would  name 
his  account  of  the  death  of  Peden  (i.  97);  of 
Peden's    interview    with    Renwick    (i.    108);    of 


Cargill  rebuking  Sir  George  Mackenzie  (ii.  55); 
of  Samuel  Rutherford  and  the  Parliament  (I  359). 
And  we  take  it  from  Stevenson's  lips  as  true 
that  it  was  through  Walker  and  his  comrades  that 
he  was  impelled,  perhaps  unconsciously,  to  seek 
the  qualities  of  style  that  have  given  him  his 
supremacy. 

In  the  preface  to  the  Biographia  Preibytertatta, 
the  writer  refers  to  three  grounds  on  which 
Walker's  writings  may  be  reckoned  of  value. 

J.  They  are  valuable  to  the  writer  of  fiction  as 
containing  much  outline  of  character,  and  innu- 
merable incidents  illustrative  of  the  manners  of  the 
time.  That  this  is  so,  is  evidenced  by  the  extent 
to  which  our  two  foremost  Scottish  novelists  have 
been  influenced  by  them.  We  have  referred  to 
R.  L.  Stevenson's  indebtedness  to  them.  Not  less, 
perhaps,  was  Sir  Walter  Scott's.  According  to 
Mr.  Andrew  Lang,  Patrick  Walker  is  the  original  of 
Davie  Deans,  and  some  of  the  best-known  passages 
in  the  Heart  of  Midlothian  are  founded  on  Walker, 
while  Scott  has  reproduced  some  of  his  phrases. 
John  Glas  of  Tealing,  for  example,  is  described  by 
Walker  as  '  a  gazing  glancing  glass  who  loves  to 
hear  himself  speak  and  the  world  to  notice  him.' 
Stott  makes  Davie  Deans  speak  of  '  gazing 
glancing-glasses,'  and  he  took  part  of  Davie's 
tirade  against  dancing  from  \^'alker.  One  of  the 
fine  bits  in  the  Heart  of  Midlothian  is  where 
Deans  speaks  to  Reuben  Butler  of  his  wife's 
death,  and  in  it  he  attributes  the  saying  about 
the  banks  of  Ulai  to  Carsphaim  John  {Semple), 
instead  of,  as  should  be,  to  James  Welwood  of 
Tundergarth,  the  father  of  John  Welwood.  In 
his  notes  Scott  repeats  the  error,  which  double 
inaccuracy  is  to  be  noted  in  view  of  charges  that 
are  flung  at  Walker.  In  John  Welwood's  life 
we  are  told  how  Welwood  said  of  a  person : 
'  He's  a  round-spun  Presbyterian.'  Scott  makes 
Saddletree  recommend  Mr.  Crossmyloof  the  advo- 
cate to  Deans  as  '  weet  ken'd  for  a  round-spun 
Presbyterian,' 

But  let  these  instances  suffice. 

1.  They  are  valuable  to  the  historian,  con- 
taining many  minute  facts  for  which,  though 
huddled  together  without  method  and  order,  we 
may  elsewhere  search  in  vain. 

One  of  the  services  which  Dr.  Fleming  has 
rendered,  has  been  to  trace  to  their  source  many 
of  Walker's  statements,  with  the  result  that  while 
some    have  been  disproved,  others    have   been 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


359 


notably  confinned.  He  has  found  his  quotations 
'(airly  accurate'  and  his  dates  'on  the  whole 
amazingly  correct*  About  the  encounter  at 
Ayrsmoss,  Sheilds  and  Walker  are  more  accurate 
than  Wodrow,  Thomson,  and  Herkles*. 

'  When  he  records,'  writes  Dr.  Fleming, '  what 
he  had  personally  seen  or  heard,  his  statements 
may,  I  think,  be  takuv  as  absolutely  truthful, 
subject  of  course  to  some  allowance  in  details  for 
lapse  of  memory.'  If  this  be  a  just  judgment,  it 
is  remarkable,  and  has  a  close  bearing  on  the 
truthfulness  of  his  description  of  the  death  of 
John  Brown. 

But  accurate  or  not.  Walker  both  has  and  gives 
us  his  views  of  the  leaders  of  the  day,  on  the  side 
of  the  Covenant  and  against  it,  and  there  are  also 
in  these  volumes  many  curious  glimpses  into  the 
religious  life  of  Scotland  during  the  earlier  part  of 
the  eighteenth  century.  One  such  is  Walker's  own 
appearance  at  Kinross  in  1737,  to  lodge  objections 
at  the  Associate  Presbytery  against  their  first  two 
divinity  students.  (Cf.  Andrew  Clarkson  and 
Patrick  Walker,  1737.  Vol.  ii.  235.  The  Illus- 
trative Dontments,  published  for  the  first  time,  are 
full  of  interest.) 

3.  They  are  valuable  to  the  lexicographer  as 
containing  words  and  phrases  peculiar  to  the 
country  at  the  period  in  which  he  wrote. 

We  pick  the  following,  almost  at  random,  from 
the  glossary  : — Bauchle,  brat,  coldrife,  deaved, 
dissle,  feelless,  fell,  ferly,  gollerings,  grat,  hag  and 
hash,  letten,  shoot  the  shower,  wersh,  wisned, 
to  vaige. 

With  words  like  these  leaping  from  his  pen  it 
need  not  be  said  that  his  style  is  strong ;  and 
while  some  of  his  descriptions  are  rude,  unreason- 
able, and  harsh,  others  are  quaint,  pithy,  and 
forceful  He  describes  Sharp  as  '  that  compend 
of  wickedness '  (i.  157);  he  speaks  of  'wisned, 
warsh,  coldrife,  formal  sermons,'  of  'liths  and 
nicks  of  the  gospel,'  of  'feeble,  feelless  fingers,' 
«tc 

There  is  often  a  quaint  humour  in  what  we  find. 
To  restrain  vanity,  we  should  remember  that  'the 
-sheep'sold  clothes  are  our  new '  (i,  161).  'When 
we  were  poor  and  had  wooden  cups  at  our  sacra- 
■raents,  we  had  golden  ministers;  but  since  we 
have  turned  rich  and  have  gotten  golden  cups,  we 
have  wooden  ministers,'  etc.  (i.  184). 

But  the  most  valuable  service  which  Walker  has 
^rendered,  is  to  give  us  what,  quite  apart  from  the 


accuracy  of  particular  incidents,  is  a  living  picture 
of  great  and,  in  the  main,  noble  men  and  itinring 
movements.  We  have  an  atmosphere.  We  have 
what  was  talked  of  and  thought  of  in  the  moss- 
hags.  We  have  the  speech  and  the  thoughts  of 
the  people  by  one  of  the  people.  And  if  it  is 
true,  in  any  sense,  that  the  local  paper  reveals  the. 
inner  life  of  the  country  better  than  the  larger 
journal,  it  is  equally  true  that  we  get  from  the 
pamphlets  and  broadsheets  and  minor  poetry  of  a 
people,  glimpses  of  men  which  the  stately  historian 
may  fail  to  catch.  We  should  say  that  a  good 
deal  of  insight  into  sides  of  Scottish  life  in  the 
eighteenth  century  is  to  be  got  in  Scotland's  Glory 
and  her  Shame,  doggerel  though  the  verses  be. 
And  in  Walker  we  have  what  none  but  one  who 
had  been  hunted  and  tortured,  who  had  passed 
through  the  tribulation  of  those  days,  could  do 
more  than  suggest  '  I  for  one,*  says  Dr.  Fleming 
truly,  'would  rather  forego  whole  volumes  of 
commonplace  histories  written  or  revised  "by 
men  of  sound  judgment,"  than  give  up  Patrick's 
lifelike  sketches  of  the  weird  Peden,  the  resolute 
Cameron,  the  devoted  Cargill,  and  the  lovable 
Renwick—the  hunted  leaders  of  what  seemed  to 
all  but  themselves  and  their  followers,  a  forlorn 
hope  and  a  lost  cause.' 

Lives  seem  often  narrow  on  account  of  their 
surroundings.  And  we  all  share  to  some  extent 
the  prejudice  and  superstition  of  our  time.  But 
the  test  of  a  Ufe  is  its  persistence,  its  fidelity,  its 
aspirations,  its  flights.  And  what  is  certain  is 
that  few  men  have  stood  more  bravely  in  Scotland 
for  what  they  judged  to  be  the  will  of  God,  or 
ruled  their  lives  in  view  of  loftier  truths.  What 
if  it  be  that  there  is  not  in  their  lives  the  culture, 
the  quiet,  the  beauty,  the  richness  that  themselves 
are  an  adorning  ?  Were  they  not  saints  ?  We  trow 
they  were;  and  perhaps  among  the  noblest. 
They  bad  the  strenuousness  of  the  saints,  the 
patience  of  the  saints,  their  passion  for  Christ  and 
their  invincible  faith  in  His  triumph :  'They  over- 
came by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  and  by  the  word 
of  their  testimony;  and  they  loved  not  their  lives 
unto  the  death.' 

' Pray  meikle,'  said  Peden;  'it  is  praying  folk 
that  will  win  through  the  storm.'  When  Vilant 
was  told  of  Cargill's  courage  in  preaching  at  every 
hazard,  he  said,  'What  needs  all  this  ado?  We 
will  get  heaven,  and  they  will  get  no  more.'  On 
this    being    repeated    to    Cargill,    he    answered 


36o 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


superbly, '  Yes,  wc  will  get  more ;  we  will  get  God 
glorified  on  earth,  which  is  more  than  heaven.' 
Take  this  from  his  last  testimony :  '  I  have  followed 
holiness,  I  have  taught  truth,  /  havt  been  most  in  the 
main  things ;  not  that  I  thought  the  things  concern- 
ing our  time  little,'  etc  (ii.  9).  Elsewhere  he  says 
that  be  '  never  durst  undertake  to  preach  Christ 
and  salvation  to  others  until  he  was  sure  of  his 
owi,'(ii.s6). 

Renwick  would  say  that  he  was  never  satisfied 
with  himself  unless  his  forenoon  sermon  '  was  upon 
the  doctrine  of  the  gospel,'  and  bis  afternoon 
'  upon  the  way  of  bearing  the  cross '  (i.  168).  And 
listen  to  John  Welwood : '  I  have  no  more  doubt  of 
my  interest  in  Christ  than  if  I  were  in  heaven 
already,'  and  almost  his  last  words  were;  'Now, 
eternal  light,  no  more  night  or  darkness  to  me ' 
(i.  Ji6). 

Let  any  one  read  Peden's  prayers  or  his  letters 
to  the  prisoners  at  Dunnottar  and  be  will  know 
what  kingly  men  they  were.  'It  is  easy  for 
Christ  to  be  holden  busy  in  dividing  the  fulness  of 
His  Father's  house  to  His  poor  friends;  He 
delights  not  to  keep  mercy  o'er  night.'  And  so 
on  in  this  strain.  Or  take  this  from  Cargill, 
Tennysonian  in  its  figure:  'Fear  not,  and  the  God 
of  mercies  grant  a  full  gale  and  a  fair  entrie  into 
His  kingdom,  that  may  carrie  sweetly  and  swiftly 
over  the  bar  that  you  find  not  the  rub  of  death ' 
(ii.  >o). 

There  are  questions  that  occur  to  any  one 
reading  those  sketches  which  can  scarcely  be  an- 
swered. What  are  we  to  make  of  their  prophecies? 
It  was  just  as  if  they  had  second  sight — such  was 
their  prevision  of  the  future.  We  do  not  need  to 
credit  everything  that  is  attributed  to  Peden  and 
Semple  and  Cameron  and  Welwood,  and  yet 
much  remains  unexplained.  Something  may  be 
put  down  to  superstition;  something  to  imagina- 
tion ;  something  to  clear-sighted  judgment  on  the 
issue  of  events.  But  there  is  an  element  beyond, 
as  if  in  those  stormy  days  the  grace  that  seized 
then)  acted  like  a  new  sense. 

In  certain  quarters,  it  is  held  that  Dr.  Fleming, 
though  erudite  as  a  historian,  is  biassed  in  favour 
of  the  men  of  the  Covenant.  In  so  far  as 
enthusiasm  for  heroic  character  and  deeds  may 
bias,  he  stands  condemned.  Yet  it  can  hardly  be 
gainsaid  that  he  always  brings  a  stem  array  of 
facts  to  sanction  his  judgments,  whether  of  praise 
or  blame.      As  one  illustration  we  would  refer  10 


his  capable  analysis  of  Mr.  J.  Drummond's 
argument  about  TAe  Bluiiy  Banner,  said  to  have 
been  used  at  Drumclog,  and  his  well-marshalled 
facts  to  explain  the  story  of  the  banner.  Another 
illustration  is  his  note  on  the  death  of  John 
Brown.  Writing  in  the  Athenaum,  Mr.  Lang 
contests  his  position,  adding,  however,  that  on 
this  point  alone,  his  note  is  inadequate.  It  is 
possible  that  the  final  word  has  not  been  spoken 
on  this  incident.  But  in  a  couple  of  pages  (ii. 
135-137),  Dr.  Fleming  has  carried  the  story  up 
to  its  earliest  reliable  sources,  he  has  exposed  the 
sorry  blunders  of  Aytoun,  discovered  the  taint  in 
Mark  Napier,  and  indicated  why  the  statement 
of  Claverhouse,  written  on  the  back  of  the  event, 
is  open  to  suspicion. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  after  testing  Patrick 
Walker  in  every  conceivable  way,  Dr.  Fleming 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  when  he  recorded 
what  he  had  personally  seen  or  heard.  Walker's 
statements  might  be  taken  as  absolutely  truthful, 
subject  of  course  to  some  allowance  in  details  for 
lapse  of  memory.  Patrick,  it  is  clear,  asseru  that 
he  got  the  story  from  John  Brown's  widow 
'sitting  upon  her  husband's  gravestone.'  It  is 
not  to  be  expected  that  Claverhouce  should  have 
detailed  the  story  of  Brown's  death.  He  simply 
writes  to  Queensberry,  that  having  'found  bullets 
and  match  in  his  house,  and  treasonable  peapers, 
I  caused  shoot  him  dead ;  which  he  suffered  very 
inconcernedly.'  But  how  much  even  seems  to 
be  covered  by  those  words,  'which  he  suffered 
very  inconcernedly,' 

Beyond  this  the  Drumlanrig  papers  show  that, 
especially  in  1684,  the  atmosphere  was  one  of 
falsehood  and  suspicion.  At  times  Claverhouse 
was  only  too  anxious  to  vindicate  his  fidelity. 
We  find  him,  for  example,  writing  in  that  year 
that  those  who  thought  to  misrepresent  him  would 
find  themselves  mistaken,  'for  both  in  the  King 
and  churches  interest,  dryve  as  fast  as  they  think 
fit,  they  will  never  see  me  bchynd.'  In  December 
he  was  in  a  stale  of  irritation.  He  had  declared 
that  he  would  never  again  plead  for  any  one. 
There  is  coarser  speech  than  this  in  his  correspond- 
ence. So  far  as  we  see,  there  is  nothing  in  his 
letters  to  di^redit  the  story  of  Brown's  death, 
while  there  is  much  in  the  treatment  of  hiS' 
nephew  to  discredit  himself. 

Mr.  Lang  thinks  that  John  Binning  (i.  397), 
who  was  hanged  by  Drummond  at  Mauchltne  oa 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


the  6th  of  May  1685,  was  Brown's  nephew.  Dr. 
Fleming,  notwithsUoding  the  Despol's  Champion, 
leaves  Binning  unidenti6ed.  He  calls  attention 
to  him,  but  commits  himsdf  to  no  precarious 
ground 

It  is  in   this  spirit,   with  care   for  facts  and 
accuracy,  that  the  volumes  have  been  prepared. 


The  reference  in  the  note,  vol  i.  p.  xx,  should 
be  i.  363,  not  i.  163. 

And  who  is  correct  about  Marion  Kinlocb? 
Dr.  Fleming  or  Walker?     Cf.  i.  xxxix  and  I  185. 

We  venture  to  express  the  hope  that  the 
volumes  will  be  reissued  in  a  less  expensive 
form. 


(F^cen^  SoxtiiXi  CJeofojj. 


I^errmann's  '  ^f^ift/ ' 

It  is  a  token  of  the  merits  of  this  treatise  that  it 
has,  within  so  short  a  time,  attained  to  a  second 
edition.  Alt  the  more  striking  this  is,  because  it 
is  one  of  a  series  of  handbooks  dealiogwith  all 
the  theological  sciences.  No  doubt  individual 
books  in  a  series  are  helped  by  the  scries,  but  it 
also  happens  that  individual  books  are  heavily 
weighted  by  the  series.  But  the  Etkik  of  Herr- 
mann has  found  its  readers,  and  has  deserved  to 
find  them,  speedily.  It  has  those  characteristics 
which  have  established  a  lasting  bond  between 
Herrmann  and  his  readers,  and  makes  them  feel 
as  if  they  and  he  were  on  terms  of  personal  friend- 
ship. Certainly  his  readers  rise  from  the  perusal 
of  his  books  strengthened  and  refreshed  from  con- 
tact with  a  man  of  such  simplicity  of  aim,  fervour 
of  character,  and  clearness  of  thought.  They  may 
differ  from  him  in  many  ways,  may  hold  that 
metaphysics  has  its  share  in  legitimate  human 
thought,  and  that  epistemological  problems  may 
obtain  a  solution,  but  they  cannot  fail  to  profit  by 
his  strenuous  insistence  on  the  necessity  of  having 
regard  to  experience  in  morality  and  religion. 
Many  other  elements  of  worth  in  his  writings 
might  be  mentioned  were  there  time,  but  we  need 
all  our  time  to  give  some  account  of  the  work 
before  us. 

The  Preface  to  the  second  edition  contains  a 
brief  description  of  the  attitude  of  the  author 
towards  the  sciences  and  towards  metaphysics. 
He  affirms  that  the  scientific  view  of  nature  has 
become  part  of  our  mental  and  spiritual  life,  and 

•  Grundriss  der  Theohgisthtn  Wisienichajiea :  Elhit. 
Von  D.  H.  Herrmann,  Professor  der  Theol.  an  der  Uni- 
Tcrdtiit,  Marburg.  Zweite  Auflage.  Tubic^en  und  Leipzig  ; 
J.  C  B.  Mohr.     Price  M.3.60i  bound,  M.4.60. 


that  it  is  really  a  revelation  of  the  eternal  God. 
We  sympathize  with  this  attitude  of  mind,  and  are 
glad  to  meet  with  any  vindication  of  science  as  a 
means  of  enabling  us  to  understand  the  earlier 
revelation  of  God,  to  wit,  that  revelation  which  He 
has  been  able  to  put  into  His  works.  But  after 
all,  the  works  of  God  are  but  a  very  partial  revela- 
tion of  Him.  Herrmann  decUres  that  he  does  not 
know  a  metaphysic  that  is  helpful  as  science  is 
helpful  to  man.  He  proceeds  to  his  work  without 
any  metaphysical  presupposition ;  at  least,  he  says 
so,  and  he  means  what  be  says,  ^^'e  are  not  sure 
that  he  has  succeeded  in  avoiding  metaphysics. 
In  fact,  the  resolution  to  avoid  metaphysics  implies 
a  metaphysic,  at  least  of  a  negative  kind.  These 
perennial  questions  about  the  nature  of  things, 
about  God,  man,  and  the  world,  that  press  on 
every  generation,  and  which  will  not  leave  men 
alone,  can  a  writer  on  ethics  pass  them  by,  or 
n^lect  them  ?  Do  not  the  sciences  leave  the 
fundamental  question  of  their  foundations  to 
metaphysics?  and  must  we  not  at  one  stage  01 
other  raise  the  ultimate  questions  involved  in  the 
possibility  of  experience  and  of  knowledge?  Our 
author  has  his  metaphysic  after  all,  as  might  be 
easily  shown. 

The  first  part  of  the  treatise  deals  with  ethics 
generally,  and  the  second  part  with  Christian 
ethics.  An  Introduction  sets  forth  the  problem 
of  ethics,  and  describes  the  method  of  ethics. 
After  the  sutement  of  the  problem  and  the  de- 
scription of  the  method  of  ethics,  we  enter  on  the 
task  of  ethic  proper.  '  Natural  Life  and  a  Moral 
Thinking  *  (Dtnken)  ts  the  title  of  the  first  part 
Life  controlled  by  natural  impulse  and  how  it  is 
transformed  into  a  life  regulated  by  moral  con- 
siderations may  be  roughly  indicated  as  the  thesis 
of  the  first  part     A  series  of  sections  lead  us 


30a 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMEa 


easily  and  in  a  most  interesting  way  along  from 
the  mere  self-preservation  of  a  creature,  on  through 
a  description  of  desire  and  will  to  the  conception 
-  of '  self-con tToL  At  this  point  emerges  the  moral 
problem,  properly  so-called.  The  moral  problem 
is  set  forth,  and  the  growth  or  emergence  of  the 
moral  out  of  the  natural  is  described,  and  we  have 
two  sections  on  individual  eudsemonism  and  social 
eudsemonism.  Many  questions  are  left  on  one 
side ;  he  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  determinism 
OT  indeterminism.  Hedonism  ,iii  all  its  forms  is 
rejected  i  and  he  will  not  lay  stress  on  anything 
which  he  cannot  verify  by  an  interrogation  of  the 
individual  moral  consciousness  as  it  exists  in  a 
society  which  may  be  regarded  as  normal.  It  is 
wonderful  how  much  he  has  accomplished  by  this 
method,  and  how  fruitful  are  the  results  he  has 
won.  The  root  of  all  ethical  life  he  tinds  in  the 
trust  which  is  evoked  in  us  by  intercourse  with  our 
fellow-men.  Through  that  trust  we  win  the  great 
moral  ideas  of  the  worth  of  persons,  the  independ- 
ence of  persons,  and  the  infinite  character  of 
obligation.  Here  comes  a  characteristic  recon- 
ciliation of  ^oism  and  altruism.  Self-assertion 
must  be  suppressed  so  far,  at  least,  as  to  enable  us 
to  have  moral  communion  with  other  people. 

Moral  thought  in  its  historical  reality  is  well  set 
forth  in  a  number  of  sections  which  lead  us  over 
important  ground.  The  beginning  of  moral  life, 
the  moral  law,  the  significance  of  moral  law 
for  the  personal  life  of  man,  freedom  in  the 
moral  meaning  of  the  word  and  the  world  into 
which  freedom  leads  us,  the  dualism  of  moral 
thought,  moral  evil,  the  feeling  of  guilt  and  the 
perfection  of  moral  thought,  are  themes  discussed 
luminously,  and  on  them  much  might  be  said  in 
approval  and,  perhaps,  in  dissent  were  there  time ; 
but  there  is  no  lime. 

The  second  part  has  for  theme  the  Christian 
Moral  Life.  Moral  life  is  the  direct  outcome  of 
Christian  life,  in  fact  it  is  the  direct  expression  of 
that  life.  The  first  section  deals  with  the  origin 
of  Christian  life,  and  the  second  deals  with  its 
development.  Through  various  subsections  we 
are  gradually  led,  and  each  part  adds  distinctly  to 
the  wealth  of  a  highly  interesting  and  important 
argument.  '  Redemption  through  Christ  Jesus,' 
'  Christian  Faith,' '  Christian  Faith  as  the  Conscious- 
ness of  Divine  Forgiveness,'  '  Christian  Faith  as  the 
Power  of  doing  Good,'  are  the  names  of  sections 
which  lead  to  Christian  faith  as  communion,  and 


the  description  of  moral  law  as  set  forth  by  Christ, 
Under  the  title  of  'The  Development  of  Moral 
Life'  he  treats  of  the  service  of  God  first  in  those 
institutions  naturally  constituted.  Thus  we  have 
lucid  accounts  of  the  service  of  God  in  the  fomily. 
in  culture-fellowships,  and  generally  in  the  state. 
There  is  a  fine  and  beaurifiil  description  of  the 
function  of  a  Christian  man  in  the  world.  Sections 
on  the  Christian  Character,  Virtues,  and  Duties 
complete  an  edifying  and  instructive  book. 

We  are  glad  to  have  the  opportunity  of  calling 
attention  to  this  significant  book  and  to  its  im- 
portance. Christian  ethic  in  the  proper  sense  of 
the  word  has  been  late  in  its  appearance  in  the 
Christian  world ;  at  all  events,  in  the  world  of 
Christian  literature.  The  specific  task  of  it  was 
set  forth  first  by  Schleiermacber.  And  it  is  only 
since  its  statement  by  him  that  it  has  won  for 
itself  a  place  among  the  theological  sciences. 
Many  treatises  have  been  written  on  Christian 
ethics  in  Germany;  in  English  we  cannot  re- 
member half  a  dozen.  Happily,  theologians  have 
awakened  to  the  need  of  a  Christian  ethic.  We 
owe  much  to  Germany,  but  we  must,  after  all, 
write  our  own  theology.  For  German  theology 
cannot  be  transplanted  bodily.  It  may  be  assimi- 
lated, but  there  are  German  peculiarities  and  pro- 
vincialisms which  will  always  appear  strange  to  us. 
While  we  are  thankful  for  all  they  teach  us,  we 
must  do  our  own  work,  and  in  no  sphere  is  this  so 
needful  as  in  Christian  ethics. 

J.  IVERACH. 


C^nti8$  CF^9ifosoi>9s  of  Q^efi^ion.' 

Marshall's  book  on  present-day  tendencies  in 
our  philosophies  of  religion  is  a  very  interesting 
and  creditable  work.  But  it  is  not  possible  to 
regard  it  as  a  wholly  satisfactory  performance.  It 
deals  with  the  second  half  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Yet  the  treatment  leaves  the  first  half  of  that  period 
practically  a  total  blank.  Its  list  of  the  literature 
relied  upon  by  the  author  is  as  remarkable  for 
what  it  includes  as  for  what  it  omits.  Not  eveit 
German  thoroughness — were  it  more  in  evidence 
than  it  is  here — could  make  the  handling  adequate 

'  Die  gegtHVrarli.1^  /lUh/uagm  dir  Rtligietupkilatatliit 
in  Bug/and  und  ihrt  ttktmtltiitthtertliiehtn  Gntndlagrti. 
Von  Newlon  H.  MMshLlI,  Berlin :  Verlig  von  Reuthei  & 
Reichard,  1903.     I^  vil,  136.     M.4.50. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


»«J 


with  such  evident  gaps  In  knowledge.  Notwith- 
standing this  unhoperul  aspect,  the  author  shows 
himsetr,  within  his  somewhat  limited  and  stereo- 
typed range  of  writers  and  themes,  in  the  main  a 
careful  and  capable  thinker. 

Marshall  treats  the  subject  under  three  types : 
(i)  Naturalism;  (2)  Objective  Idealism;  (3) 
Idealism  of  Freedom.  He  adopts  Professor 
Dilthey's  definition  of  each  of  these  types.  Pro- 
fessor Eraser,  in  less  pronounced  form,  adopts  this 
method.  It  has,  no  doubt,  the  merit  of  simplicity. 
But  if  Religion  be,  as  our  author  says  in  his 
introduction,  the  most  complex  product  in  the 
development  of  human  life,  then  it  becomes  very 
questionable  if  such  division  can  be  adequate  or 
serviceable.  Some  fuller  scheme,  like  that  of  Dr. 
Caldecott's  recent  work,  is  likely  to  be  more 
useful  Marshall  follows  the  peculiarly  German 
mode  of  considering  the  epistemological  principles 
involved,  in  each  of  the  three  cases  or  types, 
after  which  he  examines  the  religious  contents  of 
each.  One  of  the  best  and  freshest  features  of  the 
book  is  its  occasional  grouping  of  theories  and 
tendencies. 

His  criticisms  of  Huxley  an  teaching  and 
Spencerian  doctrine  carry  nothing  new,  but  his 
arrangement  and  way  of  slating  the  case  have 
their  interest.  The  religious  content  of  Naturalism 
is  dealt  with  in  a  way  too  discursive  and  slight  to 
be  of  value  to  English  readers. 

Objective  Idealism  opens  with  a  discussion  of 
Bradley's  Appearance  and  Reality,  and  its  criteria 
of  reality  and  truth.  This  is  one  of  the  best  parts 
of  the  book.  It  will  not  be  without  interest  even 
for  such  as  may  have  read  Professor  de  SaHo's 
fine  critique  in  Italian  on  Bradley,  or  that  in 
English  by  Professor  Pringle  Pattison.  Good 
also,  but  at  points  not  so  fortunate,  is  the  handling 
of  the  religious  content  of  Objective  Idealism. 
He  sees  no  escape  for  Cairdian  philosophy  from 
the  brand  of  Pantheism. 

Passing  to  the  Idealism  of  Freedom,  we  have 
Martineau  taken  as  chief  representative.  There  is 
nothing  remarkable  in  the  treatment  of  this  part 
of  the  subject,  which  betrays  a  too  implicit  or 
exclusive  reliance  on  one  or  two  authorities. 
Indeed,  the  author's  insufScient  knowledge  of  the 
recent  British  literature  of  the  subject  becomes  at 
times  painfully  evident.  A  certain  lack  of  range, 
justice,  variety,  and  up-to-dateness  is  the  result. 
This  is  a  pity,  for  the  author  has  a  genuine  love  of 


his  subject  and  an  undoubted  fitness  for  his 
difficult  task,  and  it  is  to  be  sincerely  hoped  be 
will  one  day,  with  wider  knowledge,  erect  this 
book  into  the  notable  achievement  it  might  very 
well  become.  The  style  is  much  to  be  com- 
mended. But  is  it  not  a  pity  that  the  conclusion 
of  the  whole  matter  to  which  he  has  come  should 
be  so  negative?  His  findings  are:  (i)  none  of 
the  three  forms  of  religious  content  is  satisfactory, 
the  epistemological  base  being  in  every  case 
untrustworthy,  and  metaphysical  moments  vitiating 
the  religious  result;  (3)  the  need  is  for  a  surer 
epistemological  basis  on  which  to  rest  scientific 
theology  in  the  future.  But  who  would  not  prefer 
to  stand  with  those  great  minds  in  Germany  itself 
to  whose  clear  vision  larger  truth,  reality,  fruitful- 
ness,  and  inspiration  present  themselves  in  British 
philosophy  of  religion  to-day  than  have  been 
garnered  by  our  author  7 

James  Lindsay. 


Z%t  (Utnefeenfp  Cenfurg.' 

This  is  a  great  book  on  a  great  subject.  It  is 
nothing  less  than  a  well-planned  attempt  to  review 
the  progress  of  the  world  from  1800  to  1900. 
One  man  could  hardly  accomplish  the  task,  even 
if  such  a  review  were  within  his  power,  until  the 
succeeding  century  was  well  advanced;  but  it 
has  been  done  to  date,  and  well  done,  by  a  band 
of  thirty-two  writers,  each  taking  up  one  aspect 
of  the  movement  of  the  world.  The  separate 
articles  are  introduced  by  a  general  review  of  the 
whole  century  from  the  pen  of  Vicomte  Eug^ne- 
Melchoir  de  Vogii^.  They  are  concluded  by  an 
appeal  towards  unity,  under  the  sheltering  wings 
of  the  (Roman)  Catholic  Church,  by  His  Eminence 
Cardinal  Richard,  Archbishop  of  Paris.  The  work 
has  been  published  by  a  Committee  working  under 
the  presidency  of  Monseigncur  P^hanard.  It  has 
the  rare  privilege  of  bearing  on  its  front  page  a 
dedication  graciously  written  by  His  Holiness 
Leo  XIII. :  '  Regi  Saeculorum  Immortali,  Honor 
et  Gloria.' 
The  writers  are  mostly  men  of  note,  and  a  few 

>  Un  SihU.  Moiivement  du  Monde  dc  iSoo  >  1900. 
Huid^e  mille.  Publie  par  les  Soins  d-un  Comit^  sous  In 
presidenee  de  MonteiKneur  P^hanatd.  Vam,  Rne  de 
Meii^rca  to.     H.  Oudin,  LiluBire-^diteui. 


264 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


of  them  bear  names  well  known  beyond  France, 
With  all  the  lucidity  and  charm  of  French  writing, 
they  tell  us  how  the  world  has  fared  during  the 
last  one  hundred  years.  In  general,  their  point 
of  view  is  twofold — as  Frenchmen  and  as  Roman 
Catholics.  As  is  natural  and  inevitable,  the  import- 
ance of  the  French  Revolution  and  the  work  and 
influence  of  Napoleon  i.  are  widely  recognized, 
but  with  a  wise  discrimination.  A  very  inter- 
esting parallel  is  drawn  between  the  sixteenth 
and  the  nineteenth  centuries,  showing  how  thought 
and  life  in  both  have  been  affected  by  the  new 
knowledge  of  the  world  and  its  laws.  Like  all 
Gaul,  the  subject  of  this  work  is  divided  into  three 
parts  :  (i)  the  Political  and  Economic  Movement, 
<i)  the  Intellectual  Movement,  and  (3)  the  Reli- 
gious Movement.  Under  the  first  division  we 
find  such  subjects  as  the  Work  and  Influence 
of  Napoleon  1. ;  the  Growth  of  Nationalities ; 
Methods  of  Government  and  Legislation ;  the 
Partition  of  the  World;  then  War,  Commerce, 
Literature,  and  the  Social  Question  in  the  Nine- 
teenth Century.  In  the  second  section  there  are 
reviews  on  such  matters  as  the  Press,  Education, 
Criticism,  Philosophy,  Literature,  Music,  etc. 
Under  the  third  head  are  treated  Religion  and 
Religions,  Non-Christian  Religions,  the  Expansion 
of  the  (Roman)  Catholic  Church,  and  other  cog- 
nate subjects.  It  is  not  easy  to  characterize  each 
article  in  this  remarkable  volume,  but  for  general 
interest  we  may  specially  commend  those  on  the 
Partition  of  the  Worid,  by  M.  Ren6  Pinon,  and 
on  Literature,  by  M.  F.  Bruniti^re. 

In  the  third  division,  which  deals  with  the 
religious  history  of  the  century,  we  have  an  exceed- 
ingly interesting  account  of  the  Traclarian  Move- 
meat,  from  a  Roman  Catholic  point  of  view.  The 
strength  of  the  present  Catholic  tendency  in  Eng- 
land is  recognized,  but  the  proofs  of  it  which  are 
given,  are  not  those  to  which  we  are  accustomed. 
It  is  theimitation  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  not  the  imitation  of  its  forms 
of  worship  which  is  noticed.  'The  Pan-Anglican 
Synods  of  Lambeth  were  intended  to  be  Universal 
Councils.  .  .  .  One  could  even  believe  for  a 
moment  that  Anglicanism  was  going  to  have  a 
pope.  Its  head,  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
endeavoured  to  secure  a  supreme  jurisdiction  over 
the  161  Anglican  bishops  of  the  whole  world, 
and  over  the  numerous  missionary  societies,  .  .  . 
but  this  attempt  at  "popery"  did  not  succeed, 


and  the  rights  of  individualism  regained  the  upper 
hand.  .  .  .  The  English  Church  remains  what  it 
has  always  been,  "a  juxtaposition"  of  believers, 
over  whom  there  is  only  the  political  power  of 
the  Crown.'  This  declaration,  however,  should 
be  noted :  '  When  the  prodigal  son  returned  to 
his  father's  house,  he  confessed  and  deplored  his 
errors.  The  English  must  repeat  the  "  Peecavi" 
before  re-entering  the  pale  of  the  Church.  .  .  . 
Such  is  the  opinion  which  has  prevailed  in  the 
councils  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff'  (p.  763). 

In  a  work  like  this  it  is  inevitable  that  the 
place  and  work  of  Great  Britain  in  the  last  century 
should  receive  prominent  notice.  If,  however, 
the  opinion  of  intelligent  contemporary  foreigners 
is  the  nearest  approach  to  the  judgment  of  history, 
it  is  to  be  feared  that  our  sentence  will  not  be 
one  of  honour.  But  as  we  read  this  tentative 
estimation  of  what  we  have  done,  we  begin  to 
hope  that  when  present  jealousies  and  prejudices 
are  forgotten,  our  place  and  work  in  the  world 
win  appear  in  a  better  light.  There  are,  we  think, 
indications  of  prejudice  against  us  in  some  portions 
of  this  work.  For  instance,  it  is  acknowledged 
that  the  firit  serious  step  towards  the  suppression 
of  slavery  was  taken  when  Britain  secured  the 
insertion  of  an  article  in  the  Treaty  of  Paris  in 
1815,  by  which  the  signatory  Powers  engaged 
themselves  to  suppress  it;  but  this  admission  is 
introduced  by  the  statement  that  Britain's  interest 
in  this  case  found  itself  in  accord  with  humanity 

(p.  .00). 

We  are  not  proud  of  the  Crimean  War,  but 
we  were  under  the  impression  that  our  soldiers 
did  more  than  is  allowed  them  here.  '  At  Bala- 
clava the  English  cavalry  sacrificed  themselves  with 
their  traditional  bravery ;  at  Inkerman,  where  the 
English  were  surprised  and  surrounded,  Bosgnet 
came  up  with  his  zouaves  and  released  them' 
(p.  100).  The  pacific  conquests  of  Christian  mis- 
sionaries are  attributed,  above  all.  to  the  labours 
of  French  Catholic  missionaries,  for  '  English 
missionaries  have  too  often  been  instruments  of 
politics  or  commercial  agents'  (p.  144).  Again, 
they  '  propogate  with  Protestantism  the  political 
and  economic  influence  of  the  mother-country' 
(p.  763).  Is  it  not  prejudice  which  allows  such 
a  statement  as  the  following  to  appear  in  a  sober 
review :  '  Gordon  was  left  to  perish  without  help ; 
was  it  not  necessarj-  that  the  whole  of  the  Soudan 
should  belong  to  the   Dervishes,  that  'it'  might 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


265 


afterw&rds  become  English  by  the  right  of  con- 
quest?' Or,  that  the  ruin  of  Abyssinia  and  the 
Boer  States  seems  resolved  on  from  to-day.  'The 
hour  is  marked  by  the  hurrying  watch  (d  la  montrt 
impatUnte)  of  Mr.  Chamberlain '  (p.  1 14). 

A  partisan  newspaper  might  write  of  the  South 
African  war  that  'all  right  and  honour  are  on 
the  one  side,  and  all  injustice  and  villainy  on  the 
other'  (p.  54),  but  such  a  sentence  is  out  of  place 
in  a  work  which  aims  at  an  unbiassed  review  of 
the  world's  history.     Our  Colonial  expansion  and 


are  accounted  for  as  follows :  '  An  identical 
policy  persisted  in  for  a  century  carried  out  by 
men  of  the  first  rank ;  an  undisputed  naval  pre- 
eminence; the  possession  in  all  the  seas  of  the 
great  junctions  of  international  commerce;  and 
also,  it  must  be  said,  the  total  absence  of  every 
scruple  of  international  probity  —  these  are  the 
causes  of  the  success  of  the  English  expansion.' 

John  Reid. 


(potn<    an^    Jffu&^taHon. 


Prayer  is  High  Work, 

Thi  PiriBHal  Life  of  Iht  Cltrgy  (Lonpnins). 
Those  wbo  piay  much  are  increasiasly  convinced  thai 
Praytr  is  high  work.  Have  we  not  been  guilty  of  making 
s  serioat  mistake  in  the  waj  ia  which  wc  h&ve  aomelimei 
nllovred  ouiselves  to  apeak  about  pnyer  ?  How  common  it 
is  to  hear  it  snggested,  'If  you  cannot  do  anything  else,  at 
least  you  can  pray.'  Surely  that  must  be  wrong.  Surely  it 
would  be  more  Inie  to  say,  '  If  you  can  pray,  if  you  have  in 
any  degree  acquired  the  holy  ait,  then  for  God's  sake  and 
nuu)**  sake  do  not  do  anything  else.  Give  yourself  to  it ; 
continue  on  the  mount  with  bands  upraiwd.  There  will  be 
no  lack  of  fighters  down  below,  who  will  triumph  by  the 
helpofyoor  prayers.'— A.  W.  RoBINSON. 

An  Examination  Paper. 
Tht  Perseiul  Lift  of  the  Clergy  (Longmans). 
On  the  closing  page  of  the  Gospels  there  is  contained 
what  we  might  not  inaptly  describe  ai  an  examination 
paper  intended  to  test  proficiency  in  discipleship.  It  con- 
sists of  but  three  questions,  and  they  are  all  alike :  '  Lovest 
thou  Me?'  Christianity  can  only  have  Its  perfect  work  in 
as  as  we  let  ourselves  lo  learn  the  lesson  of  absolute  de- 
votion to  our  Lord. — A.  W.  Robin'son. 

And  I  Work. 

Thoughts  for  Everyday  Living  (Scribners). 
'Mv  Father  workeih  hitherto,  and  I  work,'  And  I 
work !  Say  that  too.  If  you  destroy  the  sequence,  life 
loses  heart,  and  joy,  and  meaning,  and  value.  Swing  into 
line  with  the  eternal  energy,  be  a  force  among  foicfs,  a 
toiler,  a  producer,  a  factor,  and  life  never  loses  its  tone  and 
flavour,  its  bead  or  glamour.  There  is  no  real  lasle  to 
bread  nor  bliss  In  sleep  for  the  idler.  He  is  the  doubter, 
the  sceptic,  the  unhappy  man,  Hii  idleness  proclaims  him 
diseased  and  decaying.— Malt  bib  D.  Babcock. 

Self-BetrayaL 
Thoughts  for  Eviryday  Living  (Scribners). 
'EvBRV  man  impates  himself,'— so  Tennyson  once  said. 
It  is  a  itartling  thought.    Judging  is  self- bet  ray  at.     By  the 


judRment  with  which  we  judge,  we  are  ourselves  judged. 
By  our  words  we  are  justified  or  condemned.  We  should 
be  more  slow  to  judge  if  we  realized  thai  the  judgment  we 
utter  transfers  us  instanlly  from  the  judge's  bench  to  the 
pritoner's  bar. — Maltbib  D.  Bagcock. 

A  Whole  Crown. 

Gipsy  Smith  (Vx<m\ 
Mv  father  was  on  one  occasioil  preaching  in  the  open  air 
to  a  great  crowd  at  Leytonstone.  A  coster  pasui^  by  in 
his  donkey-cart  shouted  out :  'Go  it,  old  party;  you'll  get 
'arf  a  crown  for  that  job.'  Father  stopped  his  addresi  for  a 
motneot,  looked  at  the  costei,  and  said  quietly,  '  No,  young 
man,  you  are  wrong.  My  Master  never  gives  half-crown* 
away.  He  gives  whole  ones.  "  Be  thou  faithful  unto  death, 
and  I  will  give  Ibee  a  crown  of  life." ' 

The  Giver  or  the  Gift 

Gipiy  Smith  (Law), 
Mv  wife  and  I  took  our  children  to  the  bazaar,  and  there 
I  encountered  my  good  friend  Mr.  Byrora — -a  bachelor  he 
then  was.  My  daughter  Zillah  was  hanging  around  me, 
and  1  was  delighted  with  her  love  and  sweet  attenljoiti. 
But  I  was  afraid  that  she  might  worry  my  bachelor  friend, 
unaccustomed  to  children  :  so  I  took  some  money  out  of  my 
pocket,  and  displaying  il  in  the  palm  of  my  hand,  said  to 
my  little  girl,  '  Ziilah,  takf  what  you  tike  and  go  and  spend 
it.'  Her  big,  dark  eyes  filled  with  tears.  She  looked  np 
wistfully  at  me,  and  said,  '  Daddy,  I  don't  want  your  old 
money,  I  want  you  ]  You  have  been  away  from  us  for 
seven  months;  do  you  know  it?'  I  felt  that  my  little  girl 
had  justly  rebuked  me,  and  I  felt  at  that  moment  how 
different  she  was  from  many  people  in  the  world  who  are 
willing  to  have  the  gifu  of  God,  and  yet  do  not  recognise 
Him  as  the  Father. 

Where  are  yon  converted? 

Gipsy  Smith  (Law). 
Hb  marched  boldly   forward  and  knelt   down   at    the 
penitent -form.     He  came  back  to  his  aunt  and  said,  *  I  have 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


been  down  there.    I  have  knelt,  and  it  ii  all  ligbl  ddit.    Or 
course  it  U  :  I  am  laved.' 

A  few  days  later,  entering  the  house,  1  found  a  great 
commotioQ  wat  proceeding.  Albany  and  the  maid  bad 
fallen  out,  and  he  was  giving  her  a  very  li»«lji  time,  I 
called  the  Utile  rebel  to  me  and  said,  '  Albany,  what  ia  the 
matter?' — 'I  am  in  a  fearful  temper.'  'So  it  teems,  but 
you  must  not  get  into  a  temper.  They  tell  me  you  went 
forward  lo  Ihe  penitent.form  the  other  nighi?' — 'Yes.'  'I 
am  afraid,  then,  you  are  a  backslider  to-day.'— '  No,  I  am 
not ;  I  an)  not  a  slider  al  all,'  'But  when  people  are  con- 
vetted  their  temper  gels  converted  too.  Come,  let  u>  con- 
sider the  matter.  How  do  you  know  you  were  converted  ? 
Where  were  yon  converted  ? '  The  poor  iitlle  fellow  looked 
at  me  for  a  long  time  in  deep  puulemeni,  casting  his  eyes 
ap  to  the  loof,  then  down  to  the  floor,  and  round  Ihe  room, 
lacking  his  little  brain  lo  discover  in  what  part  of  him  con- 
version  took  place.      Al   last  an  inspiration  visited  him. 


'  Daddy,  I  am  taved  all  roimd  my  head  I '  I  am  afraid  thu 
Albany's  case  is  the  case  of  a  great  many  people ;  Iheir 
religion  is  in  Ihcir  heads ;  and  thai  means  that  il  is  too  h^h. 

We  In  Him  and  He  in  U*.  | 

Gipsy  Smith  <Uw). 
Mr  father  has  an  alert  mind,  and  some  of  the  illustrations 
in  hit  addresses  ate  quaint.  During  my  mission  at  the 
Metropolitan  Tabernacle,  be  spoke  to  the  people  briefly. 
His  theme  was  'Chriit  in  n*  and  we  in  Christ,'  ami  he 
taid :  '  Some  people  may  think  that  that  it  impoadble ;  but 
it  is  not.  The  other  day  I  was  walking  by  the  teatide  si 
Cromer,  and  I  picked  up  a  botlle  with  a  cork  in  il.  I 
Riled  the  bottle  with  the  salt  water  and,  driving  in  the  coik, 
I  threw  the  botlle  out  inio  the  sea  as  br  ai  my  right  arm 
could  send  it.  Turning  to  my  wife  1  said,  "  Look,  the  sea 
is  in  tbe  bottle  and  the  bottle  is  in  the  sea."  So  if  we  are 
Christ's,  we  are  in  Him  and  He  is  in  us.' 


C^rief  0  Crea^nen^  of  ^^bt^a^on, 

A   STUDY   IN  CHRISTIAN   ETHICS. 
By  the  Rev.  Johk  R.  Legcb,  M.A.,  Buckhurst  Hill,  Essex. 


It  has  beeti  said  that  our  age  '  has  lost  the  genius 
of  indignation.'  If  so,  it  is  a  grievous  loss.  For 
the  instinct  of  indignation  has  a  holy  root.  It  is 
'a  spatk  that  distiirbs  our  clod.'  It  is  an  indica- 
tion of  the '  divine  root  of  the  human  pedigree.' 
The  man  and  the  people  that  have  little  of  it  are 
morally  anaemic. 

A  study  of  the  Gospels  to  see  how  Jesus  deals 
with  the  manifestation  of  indignation  will  initiate 
us  into  the  secret  and  method  of  Jesus.  An  hour 
in  the  divine  academy  will  be  an  hour  well  spent 
It  will  pass  in  the  company  of  the  Master,  and  it 
will  show  us  '  the  training  of  the  twelve '  going  on 
under  His  hand. 

i.  Taking  passages  in  the  evangelists  and  one 
other  passage  in  the  Epistles,  where  persons  ate 
seen  '  moved  with  indignation,'  it  will  be  found 
that  there  was  an  educational  curriculum  in  the 
treatment  of  this  feeling  which  involved  uprooting 
on  the  one  hand,  and  included  the  planting  and 
the  nourishing  on  the  other,  of  the  Christian 
temper  of  indignation  in  the  heart  of  humanity. 
For  this  flame  of  feeling,  this  tongue  of  fire,  this 
flash  of  the  warmth  of  the  soul,  which  we  call 
Indignation,  shot  across  the  life  of  the  Saviour  of 
the  world.  In  the  sky  of  that  life  its  jagged  and 
forked   streaks   of  light  and   its  waves   of  heat 


vibrate,  circulate,  and  dart  forth  like  the  undula- 
tions of  the  '  Northern  Streamers'  in  the  skies  of 
winter.  And  at  the  first  gleam  of  them  it  is  not 
always  easy  to  say  whether  they  have  been  set  on 
fire  of  hell  or  are  heaven-ltindled. 

Mash  the  first  (not  in  order  of  time  but  of  treat- 
ment) is  seen  in  Mt  2ii^  to  be  issuing  from  the 
stony-hearted  chief  priests  and  scribes.  It  is  the 
spatk  out  of  the  flint,  struck  out  of  the  flinty 
souls  by  the  clearing  of  the  temple  courts  of 
money-changers  and  dove-sellers,  by  the  wonderful 
works  which  He  did  on  blind  and  lame,  and  last, 
but  not  least,  by  the  shoutings  of  the  little  ones 
which  prolonged  yesterday's  echoes  of  the  acclaim- 
ing multitudes.  The  men  of  the  flinty  hearts  were 
exasperated,  and  they  took  to  bullying  the  bairns 
and  the  Master.  Whence  this  flash  came  is  all 
too  clear;  who  Stoked  its  angry  fires  is  beyontl 
all  doubt. 

Flash  the  settmd,  in  Mt  20^,  gleams  in  another 
atmosphere.  Not  foes  of  Christ,  but  friends  of 
His,  are  on  fire  with  it.  It  shoots  up  in  the  midst 
of  the  memorable  scene  when  the  mother  of  the 
two  sons  of  thunder  asks  for  front  reserved  seats 
near  the  throne  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
Mother-like,  she  thinks  her  sons  equal  to  that 
high  station.     But  Jesus  tells  her  that  He  cannot 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


267 


make  a  free  gift  of  such  seats.  All  this  the  ten 
heard,  and  felt  very  sore.  Every  word  was  fuel 
for  their  fire  of  indignation.  Whence  this  flame? 
Was  it  wholly  pure  ?  Was  it  buming  brightly  un- 
mixed whh  unworthy  elements  ?  iWait  and  let  the 
treatment  of  Jesus  answer. 

J'lash  the  third  glitters  in  Mt  i6*.  It  leaps  out 
amid  the  courtesy  and  hospitality  of  the  house  of 
Simon  the  leper.  Again  it  is  the  disciples  who  are 
the  sinners.  And  the  alabaster  box  with  its  costly 
unguent  of  anointment  is  the  occasion  of  their 
sin.  The  lavish  outlay  of  the  woman  made  them 
indignant.  They  were  not  equal  to  'consuming 
their  own  smoke.'  The  fire  flamed  out  tn  the 
question,  'To  what  purpose  is  this  waste?'  And 
'  the  muttering  grew  to  a  grumbling,  and  that  to 
a  mighty  rumbling.  This  is  luxury.  This  is  ex- 
travagance. ^\'e  do  not  and  cannot  approve. 
Judas  'drew  out  the  damper' to  let  those  flames 
roar.  As  to  what  Jesus  thought  let  His  treatment 
show. 

Fiash  tkejourth  is  a  jet  of  anger  that  Luke  alone 
has  made  note  of — Lk  13'*,  A  poor  woman  long 
tried  by  a  spirit  of  infinnity  comes  to  Jesus  for 
relief.  He  called  her  to  Him  in  the  synagogue, 
bade  her  leave  her  pew  and  come  to  the  front  and 
be  loosed  from  her  infirmity.  She  came,  was 
loosed  from  her  infirmity,  and  glorified  God 
Then  the  ruler  <A  that  synagogue  was  moved 
with  indignation.  He  took  it  as  a  personal  insult 
that  it  should  have  happened  in  bis  diurch.  He 
resented  such  desecration  of  the  Sabbath  and  the 
sanctuary.  His  tongue  was  set  on  tire  of  hell. 
He  began  to  make  a  speech  and  lay  down  the 
law  that  there  were  six  other  days  (places  he 
does  not  number)  for  people  to  come  and  be 
healed.  What  a  spitfire,  what  a  firebrand  of  a 
minister  I 

Hash  the  fifth  is  found  in  yet  another  Gospel. 
It  is  discovered  in  the  pages  of  Mark  (io'<).  And 
it  is  not  the  Master's  foes  nor  His  friends  in 
whom  it  shines  out  like  the  sun  in  a  lowering  and 
threatening  sky.  It  is  the  Master  Himself  who  is 
moved  with  indignation.  And  He  showed  that 
quality  and  degree  of  moral  heat  in  a  scene,  than 
which  none  is  better  known,  none  is  more  valued 
in  all  the  world.  It  is  when  the  rebuked  mothers 
bring  their  little  ones  for  Him  to  touch  that  the 
flash  of  indignation  shot  from  the  eye  of  Jesus, 
and  His  whole  being  was  stirred  and  rocked  to  its  . 
centre  by  the  conduct  of  His  disciples.     It  was  so  , 


heartless  and,  besides,  so  full  of  gaiuherie,  that  in 
the  pure  and  holy  fire  of  His  indignant  love  He 
burnt  up  all  their  remonstmnces  in  words  which 
are  the  children's  charter  of  the  kingdom,  '  Suffer 
the  little  children  to  come  unto  Me.'  His  heart 
was  hot  within  Him.  That  was  '  the  wrath  of  the 
Lamb.' 

FJash  the  sixth  and  last  is  in  an  Epistle  {2  Co  7") 
not  in  an  et'angelist.  Here  it  is :  '  Behold  this 
selfsame  thing,  what  earnest  care  it  wrought  in 
you !  what  clearing  of  yourselves !  yta,  what  indig- 
nation,' etc.  It  is  Paul  who  writes,  but  it  is  Christ 
who  kindled  that  fiery  heat  of  indignation.  It  JS 
a  wonderful  flash,  a  supernatural  flame.  It  is 
alight  in  a  Christian  Church.  It  is  not  a  tongue 
of  fire  in  a  single  foe  or  friend.  It  is  a  whole 
Church  that  is  lambent  with  the  sacred  flame.  It 
shone  in  men  and  women  who  did  not  know  Christ 
after  the  flesh,  but  only  in  the  spirit.  And  this  is 
what  the  knowledge  has  wrought :  Christ  in  the 
heart  of  His  own  has  kindled  even  the  Church  of 
God  in  Corinth  into  one  body  of  indignant, 
because  holy,  love.  Let  this  suffice  for  the  series 
of  flashes. 

ii.  Such  are  some  of  the  smoking  wicks  with 
which  the  Son  of  man  had  to  do  the  best  that  He 
could.  Let  us  study  His  treatment  of  the  fire  of 
indignation.  What  does  He  do  with  flashes  \ 
to  4  and  the  people  who  have  such  a  ulent — if 
not  genius— of  indignation,  who  are  as  com- 
bustible as  tinder  and  whom  the  least  spark 
sets  on  fire  ?  Jesus  rebukes  them.  So  much  of 
common  treatment  they  get.  Yet  distinctions 
exist.  Flashes  i  and  4  belched  forth  from 
foes;  flashes  3  and  3  were  emitted  from  the 
defiled  hearts  of  friends.  The  children  who  sang 
Hosanna  had  their  part  taken  by  Him.  Against 
priestly  flames  of  anger  He  defended  them,  and 
gave  a  sharp  thnist  at  both  priest  and  scribe  for 
not  reading  the  Old  Testament  to  better  pur- 
p(»e  (Mt  ai).  The  testy  and  fiery  ruler  of  the 
synagogue  had  his  challenge  at  once  taken  up. 
He  >nd  his  supporters  were  told  that  they  were 
hypocrites,  and  that  they  cared  more  for  the 
comfort  of  an  ox  01  an  ass  than  for  the  release  of 
a  poor  woman  from  her  prison  of  pain.  Indeed, 
the  Master's  own  indignation  scorched  His  adver- 
saries.  And  in  both  instances  Jesus  laid  bare  the 
inhumanity  of  the  indignant  foes,  who  were  cruel 
to  women  and  children.  ^  , 

Nest  look  at  the  Master  dealing  with  indignant 


268 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


friends.  While  the  displeasure  of  'the ten'  was 
blazing  at  Salome's  sons,  Jesus  began  to  speak  to 
them.  He  opposed  the  ideal  of  greatness  in  the 
Gentile  kingdoms  to  the  ideal  of  greatness  in 
God's  kingdom,  and  in  which  He  showed  that  it 
was  '  a  more  excellent  glory '  to  be  serviceable  than 
to  be  served.  He  instructed  them  in  'the  true 
knighthood  of  humanity.' 

Thus,  again,  in  the  dining-room  of  Simon,  when 
He  beheld  their  frowning  faces,  He  said,  '  Why  do 
you  trouble  the  lady?  Why  are  you  so  lacking  in 
chivalry?  Why  are  you  so  narrow  in  youi  judg- 
ment? It  is  a  good  work  that  has  been  wrought.' 
When  they  had  come  to  see  that,  there  would  be 
no  such  escape  of  indignation,  as  there  had  been. 
It  would  find  quite  another  safety  valve.  But  it 
is  when  '  Mothers  of  Salem  their  children  brought 
to  Jesus '  that  we  best  see  what  treatment  He  is 
dealing  out  It  is  in  studying  the  direction  in 
which  His  own  indignation  spent  itself  that  we  are 
guided  into  the  way  in  which  He  wished  to  con- 
serve this  spiritual  energy  and  what  channels  of 
transference  He  would  provide  for  the  force  of 
indignation  when  at  white  heat.  His  holy  fire 
of  indignation  at  the  exclusion  of  the  children  is 
just  that  sacred  flame  of  love  which  Jesus  kindled 
on  the  earth,  and  would  keep  burning.  Many  a 
time  has  '  the  cry  of  the  children  '  entered  into  the 
ears  of  later  disciples  of  the  Lord,  and  many  a 
time  has  it  roused  their  holy  burning  zeat  against 
those  who  have  wronged  'these  little  ones,' 

To  sum  up  Christ's  treatment  uf  indignation,  it 
may  be  said  that  the  Master  found  it  a  wasting 
and  a  wasted  lire.  It  was  exceptional  for  in- 
humanity to  be  rebuked — hence  a  wasting  fire. 
It  was  the  rule  to  find  that  which  was  worthy 
condemned.  Therefore  it  was  part  of  the  work  of 
Christ's  redemption  of  man  to  make  it  impossible 
for  His  friends  to  be  full  of  indignation  after  the 
fashion  of  the  flinty-hearted  priests  or  that  fire- 
brand of  a  synagogue  ruler.  It  was  His  hard  but 
noble  task  to  take  this  misdirected  energy  and  to 
make  it  into  'a  dame  of  the  Lord,'  kindled  against 
the  wrongs  of  man  to  man,  not  a  fiery  dart  of  the 
devil,  striking  neither  at  women  healed  of  infirmity 
nor  at  children  in  their  mothers'  arms.  'Fire,'  it 
is  said,  '  is  a  bad  master  but  a  good  servant.'  It 
was  part  of  the  wisdom  of  the  work  of  Jesus  to 
make  this  moral  fire  and  spiritual  heat  a  good 
servant  of  humanity. 
The  significance  of  the  Pauline  Epistle  is  the  un- 


designed witness  that  it  gives  to  the  success  of  the 
methods  of  Christ's  treatment  of  indignation.  It 
shows  us 'Christian  ethics'  in  the  making.  'The 
Church  of  God  in  Corinth,  grand  and  joyous  para- 
dox,' says  Bengal.  Yet  it  is  there,  in  the  Church  of 
Christ,  that  the  extraordinary  exhibition  of  indigiu- 
tion  is  seen.  The  hearts  of  the  Christians  are  like 
'a  field  that  some  fire  runs  through.'  Not  a  man 
of  them  has  known  Christ  after  the  flesh.  But 
their  hearts  have  been  captured  by  Christ  glorified 
by  the  Holy  Ghost.  Paul  has  charged  them  with 
being  indifferent  to  the  purity  of  Christian  character 
and  fellowship.  That  has  awakened  a  passion  of 
indignation.  They  repudiate  the  charge  with  a 
heat  that  glows  in  Paul's  own  words.  They  in- 
tensely disapprove  of  his  saying  and  writing  that 
they  are  not  grieved  that  disgrace  has  besmirched 
the  life  of  their  Church. 

Now  the  vehement  heat  of  their  indignation  is 
a  measure  of  the  height  to  which  the  moral 
thermometer  has  risen  within  the  Church,  as  com- 
pared with  the  city  without.  How  is  that  rise  to 
be  accounted  for?  It  is  the  virtue  that  went  out 
of  Christ,  it  is  the  Holy  Spirit  as  Fire  that  explains 
this  new  creation.  This  short  study  in  a  great 
subject  conducts  us  to  a  whole  Church  with  'a 
genius  of  indignation,'  when  it  is  charged  with 
indifference  to  Christian  standards  and  ideals  of 
life.  That  Church  was  an  apostolic  one.  'There 
were  spots  in  its  feasts.'  But  in  her  membership 
were  those  who  longed  for  the  beauty  of  the  Lord 
to  be  on  her  and  to  see  her  keep  her  garments 
unspotted  from  the  world.  It  is  the  gloiy  of 
Christ  that  He  has  kept  alive  the  fire  of  holy  leal 
in  his  Church,  as  the  sacred  fire  burnt  on  in  the 
Temple  of  Vesta  in  Rome.  It  is  the  glory  of 
His  Church  that  at  times  she  has  felt  that  God 
was  in  the  midst  of  her  as  a  consuming  fire,  and, 
'  as  it  were,  a  burning  fire  shut  up '  in  her  bones,  so 
that  she  became  weary  with,  and  went  forth  to 
find  fuel  for  her  fires  of  indignation  in  all  who 
enslaved  their  brother  man,  in  all  who  showed  no 
chivalry  to  woman,  and  in  all  who  were  '  deaf  to 
the  cry  of  the  children.' 

It  is  the  abiding  glory  of  the  Church  of  God  to  be 
His  instniment  for  the  solution  of  some  problems, 
which  arc  tike  some  metals,  refractory  to  low 
temperatures,  but  which  'dissolve  with  fervent 
heat.'  One  form  of  that  heat  raised  to  a  high 
power  Jesus  conserved  and  transformed  in  His 
treatment  of  Indignation. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


THE    EVOLUTION    OF    IMMORTALITY. 

THE  EVOLUTION  OF  IMMORTAUTV.    Bv  S.  D.  McConnell,  D.D„ 

D.C.L.       {Macmiilan.       Crown  Svo,  pp.  304.      1901.) 


To  those  who  followed  the  interesting  discussion 
between  Dr.  PeUvel  and  Professor  Agar  Beet  on 
Che  above  subject,  the  altogether  admirable  book 
of  Dr.  S.  D.  McConnell  will  prove  opportune  and 
instructive.  The  writer's  theory,  briefly  stated, 
seems  to  be  this :  Man  is  not  immortal ;  but  some 
men  are.  The  attainment  of  immortality  is 
conditional,  but  the  line  which  separates  mortal 
from  immortal  is  not  clearly  defined;  on  the 
contrary,  it  is  an  indefinite  line  passed  by  each 
individual  when,  in  a  state  of  moral  evolution,  he 
ascends  into  the  higher  and  spiritual  life.  The  con- 
dition of  immortality,  according  to  Dr.  McConnell, 
is  goodness.  Evidently  the  largest  interpretation 
must  be  put  upon  this  statement.  The  condition 
of  life  appears  to  be  the  adaptation  of  the  organism 
to  its  environment.  The  regeneration  and  the  new 
birth  include  the  gift  of  immortality,  which  is 
conditioned  by  moral  development  or  growth  in 
goodness,  but  it  is  not  he  who  is  good,  but  he  who 
is  in  fellowship  with  the  Father,  who  receives  both 
goodness  and  immortality  from  Him  whose  gifts 
ihey  are.  According  to  St.  Paul,  'the  gift  of  God 
is  eternal  life  through  Jesus  Christ.'  Some  such 
supplementary  statement  appears  necessary  from 
the  Christian  standpoint,  and  doubtless  Dr. 
McConnell  implies  as  much  in  his  significant  use 
of  the  word  'goodness.'  Clearly  the  divine 
method  is  not  to  make  immortal  those  who  have 
first  been  made  worthy,  but,  on  the  contrary,  to 
make  worthy  those  who  have  first  been  made 
immortal.  The  spiritual  organism  in  the  new 
birth  is  adapted  to  its  environment,  that  environ- 
ment is  the  Divine  Spirit ;  and  the  condition  of  life 
mbst  be  sought  in  the  ever-growing  consciousness 
of  harmony  with  spiritual  surroundings. 


Dr.  McConnell,  in  a  luminous  and  suggestive 
-.,  makes  a  valuable  and  original  contribution 
to  theological  thought.  He  writes :  '  It  may  be 
ages  before  we  recover  from  the  misfortune  of 
having  had  the  truth  of  Christ  interpreted  and 
fixed  by  jurists  and  logicians  instead  of  by 
naturalists  and  men  of  science.'  From  the  days 
of  St.  Augustine  the  Gospels  have  been  interpreted 
in  terms  of  law.  This  is  a  parallel  case  to  the 
ordinary  method  of  treating  Biblical  Psychology, 
which  consists  either  in  fitting  the  ideas  of  the 
sacred  writers  into  the  dogmas  of  a  philosophy  or 
else  in  first  propounding  definitions  and  theorems 
of  one's  own,  and  then  trying  to  recommend  them 
on  the  authority  of  Scripture.  This  attitude  to 
the  Bible  is  that  of  a  judge  to  a  witness  and  not 
that  of  a  disciple  to  a  teacher.  It  distinguishes  a 
dead  positivism  from  a  spiritual  comprehension 
and  a  living  reproduction  of  Scripture  truth. 

Similarly,  the  legal  interpretation  of  the  words 
of  the  Divine  Redeemer  has  led  to  the  bard 
forensic  attitude  of  mind  in  which  the  foi^ivenesS' 
of  sins  is  regarded  as  synonymous  with  the  re- 
mission of  penalty  and  the  atonement  as  the 
imposition  of  that  penalty  upon  an  innocent 
victim.  Dr.  McConnell  believes  that  the  language 
of  the  New  Testament,  and  therefore  of  Jesus- 
Christ,  is  biological  rather  than  legal.  It  wouldi 
be  a  distinct  gain  to  Christian  thought  if  this, 
valuable  suggestion  led  anyone  familiar  with  the 
principles  of  biological  science  to  apply  this 
method  to  the  interpretation  of  Scripture.  In  a 
word,  10  render  to  biblical  exegesis  the  service 
which  Beck,  in  1843,  sought  to  render  to  biblical 
psychology.  Meredith  J.  Hughes. 

Bryn-y-Maen   Viiara^,  Colviyn  Bay. 


THE    MINISTRY    OF    GRACE. 

THE  MINISTRY  OF  GRACE :  STUDIES  IN  EARLY  CHURCH  HISTORY, 
WITH  REFERENCE  TO  PRESENT  PROBLEMS.  Bv  John  Words- 
W0ETH,D.D.,LL.D.,  Bishop  OF  Salisburv.    {LeHgmaus.   8vo,pp,xiiv,486.) 

'The  Law  (says  St.  John,  i'^)  was  given  by  Moses,  ]  Jesus  Christ.'    So  the  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  after 
the  Grace   and  the  Truth  came  into  being  by  I  Westcott,  translates  the    passage.     He    finds  a 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


contrast  in  three  particulars..  Moses  is  a  servant, 
Jesus  Christ  a  Son ;  Moses  gave  an  external  code 
of  rules,  Jesus  Christ  brought  God's  message  to 
bear  on  the  whole  inward  life  of  the  believer; 
Moses  gave  his  code  once  for  all  on  Sinai,  Jesus 
Christ  brought  His  message  gradually  as  man's 
need  required. 

The  Grace  and  the  Truth,  says  Dr.  Wordsworth, 
are  Christ's  gifts  to  the  Church,  They  are  given 
gradually  as  the  Church  requires  them  and  can 
receive  them.  And  they  are  distinct.  The  Grace, 
is  seen  in  the  Church's  organization  and  rites  ; 
the  history  of  the  Truth  may  be  traced  in  her 
doctrine,  ti^ether  with  her  moral  and  social 
progress.  To  write  the  history  of  the  Church  of 
Christ  is  therefore  to  write  the  history  of  the  Grace 
and  the  Truth  which  came  into  being  by  Jesus 
Christ.  And  be  alone  is  the  true  historian  who 
has  them  both  in  view.  He  may  deliberately 
wr'te  of  one,  even  of  a  part  of  one — Dr.  Words- 
worth deliberately  confines  himself  to  the  history 
of  the  Grace,  and  of  only  part  of  the  Grace,  the 
organization  of  the  Church — but  he  must  have  the 
whole  in  mind  as  he  writes,  else  is  he  sure  to 
mistake  the  temporary  for  the  eternal,  the  local 
for  the  universal. 

Dr.  Wordsworth  writes  only  of  the  organization 
of  the  Church,  That  is  why  he  calls  his  book 
Tht  Ministry  of  Grace.  He  hopes  by  and  by  to 
■write  another  book,  which  he  will  call  'The 
Means  of  Grace.'  And  these  two  will  cover  the 
^alf  of  the  history  of  the  Church — its  organization 
.and  its  sacramental  rites.  He  will  leave  the  other 
>half,  the  history  of  doctrine,  with  its  issue  in 
imoral  and  social  progress,  to  others. 

He  carries  his  history  down  to  the  year  435. 
He  writes  it  out  of  the  literature  of  those  years, 
,not  out  of  modern  books.  And  he  furnishes, 
first  of  all,  a  clear  convenient  summary  of  what 
the  literature  is  and  where  it  may  be  found. 

Now  we  need  not  trouble  to  ask  what  ground 
;Dr.  Wordsworth  has  for  identifying  the  Grace 
•which  came  into  being  by  Jesus  Christ  with  the 
jninisterial  organization  and  the  sacramental  rites 
of  the  Church,  It  is  more  important  to  ask  what 
ground  he  has  for  believing  that  Christ  left  any 
organization  at  all,  or  even  contemplated  its  com- 
ing into  being.  This  question  is  central.  Because 
*y  organization  Dr.  Wordsworth  means  somethit^ 
very  definite.  He  means  an  organization  resting 
.upon  a  ministry  which  sUrts  with   the  apostles, 


and  continues  through  their  successors  to  the  end 
of  time.  And  he  has  a  generous  conception  of 
the  length  of  that  ministry.  He  sees  that  the 
Church  has  already  lasted  some  two  thousand 
years.  It  is  a  long  period.  But  he  counts  it 
probable  that  a  far  longer  period  of  existence  is 
before  her.  What  ground  has  he  then  for  believ- 
ing that  our  Lord  contemplated  such  an  organ- 
ization in  the  hands  of  the  apostles  and  their 
successors  throughout  the  history  of  the  Church  ? 

Christ  came  to  found  a  visible  Church,  not  to 
create  a  school  of  philosophy.  That  is  clearly 
suggested  by  His  constant  use  of  the  term 
'  Kingdom  of  Heaven,'  even  when  that  term  was 
likely  to  cause  suspicion  and  jealousy.  It  is 
suggested  also  by  His  acceptance  of  the  title 
'King'  when  Pilate  ironically  bestowed  it  upon 
Him.  For  Dr.  Wordsworth  observes  that  the 
words '  My  Kingdom  is  not  of  this  world '  {Jn  18**) 
mean  'My  Kingdom  has  not  its  origin  from  {ex) 
this  world.'  Now  a  Kingdom  needs  external 
organization,  and  Dr.  Wordsworth  believes  that 
our  Lord  arranged  for  that  external  organization 
after  He  rose  from  the  dead  and  before  He 
ascended  to  the  Father. 

For  in  that  interval  He  renewed  the  Com- 
mission which  He  had  already  givca  to  the 
apostles.  And  now  He  removed  the  limits  which 
He  bad  previously  set  to  their  activity.  He  gave 
them  the  world  for  their  sphere.  He  commanded 
them  to  go  and  make  disciples  of  all  the  nations. 
He  sent  them  forth  into  the  world  as  His  repre- 
sentatives also,  bidding  them  wait  for  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  enable  them  to  become  His  witnesses 
{iataSi  lurv  fiaprvfits,  Ac  I*).  Further,  He  put 
new  means  into  their  hands  to  accomplish  this 
work.  At  first  they  were  ordered  to  heal  the  sick 
and  cast  out  devils.  Now  these  miracles  and  gifts 
of  healing,  though  not  withdrawn  at  once,  were 
counted  subordinate  to  the  preaching  of  repentance 
and  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  And  this  was  definitely 
connected  with  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism. 

And  all  this  was  clearly  meant  now  to  be  per- 
maoent  He  gave  the  new  commission  to  the 
apostles,  but  He  looked  forward  to  a  continuance 
of  their  ministry  to  the  end  of  time.  The  Spirit 
was  granted  them  to  make  them  witnesses  in  every 
generation.  The  Sacrament  of  Baptism  was  not 
confined  to  the  first  disciples.  And  besides  the 
Sacrament  of  Baptism,  another  Sacrament  was 
instituted,  'to  render  permanent  and  continuous 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


171 


those  spiritual  blessings  which .  the  presence  of 
Christ  on  earth  had  made  so  precious  to  His 
disciples.'  It  is  a  double  Sacrament.  The 
Sacrament  of  His  Body  supplied  the  place  of 
His  healing,  strengthening,  vivifying  touch,  such 
as  He  had  shomi  it  on  earth  in  cleansing  (lie  leper, 
lifting  up  Peter's  wife's  mother,  raising  Jairus' 
daughter.  The  Sacrament  of  His  filood  was 
interpreted  by  Calvary  and  the  Ascension.  It 
bore  historic  witness  to  the  Atonement  and  the 
Saviour's  perpetual  pleadii^  in  heaven. 

That  is  the  way  in  which -the  Bishop  of  Salis- 
bury defends  Apostolic  Succession.  Not  that  he 
is  anxious  to  defend  that  or  anything  else.  He  is 
not  an  apologist  But  he  believes  in  Apostolic 
Succession.  He  believes  that  Christ  xxtntemplated 
Apostolic  Succession  and  called  it  into  existence. 
He  thinks  that  our  Lord's  commission  made  it  at 
least  inevitable  that  a  single  officer  (they  called  him 
bishop  afterwards)  should  arise  in  every  Christian 
community,  and  become  its  head  in  nearly  every 
function  of  the  ministry.  And  although  the  steps 
are  hard  to  trace,  he  thinks  that  that  was  brought 
about  in  the  following  way. 

As  long  as  the  apostles  lived,  they  would  be 
able  to  supply  general  control,  so  as  to  make  it 
unnecessary  for  each  community  to  have  an  inde- 
pendent and  permanent  head.  But  unity  must  be 
maintained — unity  of  doctrine,  unity  of  adminis- 
tration, and  unity  of  worship.  And  on  the  death 
of  the  apostles  it  would  be  felt  that  unity  in  the 
faith,  in  the  face  of  abundant  heresy,  unity  of 
administration  as  the  community  grew  in  wealth 
and  came  in  contact  with  the  civil  power,  and 
unity  of  worship,  could  best  be  secured  through  a 
tradition  handed  on  by  a  single  responsible  leader, 
in  constant  communication  with  similar  colleagues 
in  other  Christian  communities. 

As  regards  unity  in  the  faith.  Dr.  Wordsworth 
counts  this  advantage  of  the  Kpiscopate  self- 
evident.  It  is  the  point  singled  out  by  'the  able 
writer  now  generally  called  Hilary  the  Deacon '  as 
leading  to  the  differentiation  of  bishops  from 
presbyters — '  that  the  thickets  of  heresies  might  be 
rooted  out'  (/n  Ti/um,  i.  5).  And  he  notes  that 
Episcopacy  grew  up  faster  or  slower  according 
to  the  greater  or  less  opposition  of  heretical 
teaching. 

As  regards  administration,  there  was  a  maxim 
of  Roman  law  requiring  every  corporate  body  to 


have  its  tutor  or  representative.  And  although 
Christian  bodies  did  not  become  corporate  so 
soon  as  Jewish,  they  would  be  anxious  to  do  all 
they  could  to  acquire  corporate  rights. 

As  regards  unity  of  worship,  Dr.  Wordsworth 
has  more  difficulty.  Why  should  a  special  head 
be  necessary  to  secure  unity  of  worship  which  was 
not  already  secured  in  unity  of  faith?  He  even 
sees  that  it  opened  the  door  to  great  abuse.  For 
although  he  finds  no  wrong  in  the  special  priest- 
hood of  the  bishop,  he  acknowledges  that  it  has 
not  always  been  kept  from  obscuring  either  the 
unique  High -Priesthood  and  Mediatorship  of  our 
Saviour  or  the  priestly  character  of  the  whole  con- 
gregation. And  he  also  acknowledges  that  the 
priestly  character  of  the  bishop  was  the  latest  to 
emerge. 

The  Bishop  of  Salisbury's  theory  of  the  origin 
of  Church  organization,  then,  is  this :  Christ 
founded  a  Church,  not  a  school  of  philosophy, 
and  a  Church  or  Kingdom  needs  organization. 
Christ  must  have  contemplated — '  made  provision 
for' — such  organization.  For  various  reasons  the 
organization  must  be  centred  in  one.  That  centre 
and  representative  was  at  first  called  apostle, 
afterwards  bishop.  Christ  myst  have  contem- 
plated that  the  apostle  or  bishop  should  be  the 
representative  of  the  Church  through  all  genera- 
tions—the one  succeeding  the  other  by  what  is 
usually  known  now  as  Apostolic  Succession. 

But  the  Bishop  of  Salisbury  goes  on  to  show, 
frankly  enough,  that  the  facts  do  not  correspond 
with  his  theory.  The  apostles  were  not  set  over 
separate  communities  of  Christians  as  their  centre 
and  representative.  The  Church  did  not  recognize 
any  intention  of  Christ's  to  have  one  centre  or 
representative  as  a  successor  of  the  apostles  over 
each  Christian  community.  The  organization  of 
the  Church  was  for  some  time  in  the  East,  and  for 
a  longer  time  in  the  \Vest,  in  the  hands  of  a 
college  of  elders  or  presbyters,  of  whom  one,  who 
at  first  was  merely  chairman,  gradually  rose  to  be 
president,  and  then  to  be  recognized  as  separate 
from  his  brethren.  The  rise  of  the  bishop  proper 
was  due,  says  Dr.  Wordsworth,  not  to  Christ's 
intention  (that  is  only  the  theory),  but  (this  is  the 
fact)  to  the  need  of  a  central  capable  administra- 
tive authority  and  representative  as  doctrinal  and 
political  difficulties  grew  with  the  growth  of  the 
Church.  Ijrri-r-h,  x^n,f».'Vl»^ 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


THE  BOOKS  OF  THE  MONTH. 


THE  SAINTS  IN  CHRISTIAN  ART. 
Mrs.  Arthur  Bell  has  made  herself  a  name 
amor^  the  multitude,  as  Mrs.  Jameson  among 
the  learned,  by  her  studies  in  Christian  Art.  Her 
range  is  wider  than  Mrs.  Jameson's.  She  has 
written  much  on  art  and  artists  outside  the  sphere 
of  religion.  But  her  studies  are  less  original  and 
less  severe. 

In  the  new  volume  there  is  found  the  same 
unpretending  nairative,  of  fact.  The  writing  ma; 
be  read  to  children.  It  is  simple,  dignified,  and 
reverent.  And  yet  the  utmost  care  is  spent  on 
the  effort  to  tell  the  truth  and  that  alone.  The 
chief  value  of  the  book  lies  in  the  readiness  with 
which  it  can  be  made  use  of  by  the  preacher.  It 
is  full  of  good  points.  And  the  artist  is  frequently 
called  in  to  illustrate  and  impress.  There  are 
fifty  full-page  illustrations,  reproduced  with  skill 
from  rich  soft  photographs.  Most  of  the  early 
painters  are  represented,  and  some  of  the  latest 
find  an  honourable  place  beside  them.  Bume- 
Jones*  'Nativity,'  Holman  Hunt's  'Flight  into 
Egypt,'  Miliars'  'Christ  in  the  House  of  His 
Parents'  follow  ohc  another. 

There  is  no  fine  writing  after  the  guide-book 
manner.  The  great  pictures  are  described,  but 
simply,  locally,  their  artistic  and  religious  import 
being  left  to  the  maturer  student  and  to  other 
books.  This  reticence  is  one  of  the  chief  attrac- 
tions of  the  book.  The  volume,  which  is  itself 
an  artistic  success,  is  published  by  Messrs.  George 
Bell  &  Sons.  

SCOTTISH  MEN  OF  LETTERS. 
Having  won  great  fame  (and  some  opprobrium) 
by  his  Social  Life  of  Scotland  in  the  Eighteenth 
Century,  Dr.  Graham  has  quickly  followed  it  with 
another  book  on  the  intellectual  life  of  the  same 
period.  He  has  called  it  Scottish  Men  of  Letters 
in  the  Eighteenth  Century  (A.  &  C.  Black).  It  is 
one  of  the  notable  books  of  the  season.  Impos- 
ing in  appearance  and  illustrated  with  thirty-two 
fine  portraits,  it  has  all  the  expecution  of  the 
most  solemn  scientific  work,  and  yet  it  is  highly 
entertaining  from  cover  to  cover.  Dr.  Graham's 
own  style  has  much  to  do  with  its  good  cheer. 
He  gathers  good  stories,  but  he  makes  them 
better  by  the  telling.    Morethan  that,  he  believes 


these  century-old  men  and  women  were  men  and 
women  of  like  passions  such  as  we  are,  and  he 
gives  them  leave  to  live  and  move  before  us. 

How  old-fashioned  their  names  are ;  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  they  seem  much  older  than 
the  men  of  letters  of  the  sixteenth.  We  have 
forgotten  them.  It  is  only  for  a  moment  perhaps. 
We  shall  return  to  them  and  make  them  our 
friends  for  ever.  But  they  are  too  recent  to  be 
worshipped,  they  are  too  ancient  to  be  familiar  with. 

Dr.  Graham  begins  with  Allan  Ramsay  and 
ends  with  Dugald  Stewart.  Within  that  compass 
there  came  David  Hume  and  Adam  Smith  and 
Robert  Bum»,  who  are  already  placed  among  the 
immortals.  But  Dr.  Graham  deals  with  them  as 
with  William  Wilkie  and  John  Skinner.  They  ate 
all  'Scottish  Men  of  Letters  of  the  Eighteenth 
Century.'  He  is  as  daringly  familiar  with  the 
gods  as  with  the  little  fishes.  He  sunds  so  little 
in  awe  of  Hume,  for  example,  that  one  marvels 
at  his  hardihood,  and  wonders  if  the  great  could 
have  sometimes  been  so  little.  Is  it  a  portrait  of 
Hume?  or  is  it  only  glimpses  of  him — snapshots, 
to  use  the  new  and  melodious  word — in  the  few 
moments  in  his  life  when  Homer  nodded?  Was 
Hume  really  so  fat  that  children  had  to  bold  on 
by  his  buttons  to  keep  upon  his  knee  ?  Did  he 
wonder  with  such  complacent  wonder  at  the  flutter 
he  caused  among  the  duchesses?  Was  Lord  Sal- 
toun  right,  '  David,  maun,  you'll  believe  onything 
except  the  Bible'?  And  did  he  think  himself 
supremely  orthodox,  complaining  that  he  was 
'called  a  drunkard  because  he  had  been  found 
fuddled  once  in  his  lifetime'? 

The  most  difBcuIt  of  all  these  men  of  letters  to 
keep  from  caricaturing  is  James  Boswell.  Who 
has  described  him  truly?  Dr.  Graham  scarcely 
finds  his  greatness,  his  space  being  done  before 
he  is  done  with  his  foolishness. 

In  many  respects  it  is  a  book  to  shake  the  head 
at,  but  it  is  to  be  read  from  cover  to  cover. 

BAEDEKER'S  'EGYPT.' 
'Baedeker'  has  a  good  market  in  Britain.  He 
may  be  somewhat  pressed  in  these  days  by  native 
publishers,  but  he  is  resolved  not  to  be  beaten 
off.  The  Egypt  has  entered  its  fifth  edition.  It 
has  been  remodelled.     It  contains  in  one  the  two 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


»73 


volumes  previously  known  as  Lower  Egypt  and 
Upper  Egypt.  This  has  been  accomplished  by 
condensing  the  material  rather  than  by  enlarging 
the  volume.  Travellers  are  more  in  a  hurry  now 
than  they  used  to  be.  They  have  not  time  to 
climb  ladders  and  look  behind  the  carved  leaves 
of  a  Corinthian  pillar.  They  want  the  striking 
objects  pointed  out  to  them,  and  they  want  them 
at  once.  The  new  Baedeker  supplies  them  with 
the  information  which  they  must  know,  and  lets 
them  hurry  on.  Maps,  plans,  pictures,  everything 
is  done  to  arrest  the  eye  as  well  as  the  ear.  And 
if  the  traveller  does  not  know  the  language, 
enough  is  furnished  to  etiable  him  to  find  his 
breakfast  and  his  bed,  and  even  enter  on  a  little 
human  intercourse.  Marvellous  is  the  amount  of 
matter  that  is  compressed  within  the  compass  of 
this  volume,  which  could  almost  be  got  into  a 
lady's  pocket.  It  will  be  interesting  to  see  whether 
this  volume  holds  its  own  or  loses  in  the  race  with 
Macmillan.  Knowing  that  so  much  depends  on 
the  maps  of  a  guide-book,  the  editor  has  had  all 
the  maps  revised  for  this  edition,  using  for  that 
purpose  the  latest  published  and  some  unpublished 
material.  Baedeker  is  published  by  Messrs. 
Dulau. 

THE  MISSIONAR  KIRK  OF  HUNTLY. 

This  is  the  ancient  and  honourable  name  which 
Mr.  Troup  chose  for  a  series  of  articles  contri- 
buted by  him  to  the  Huntly  Express,  and  now 
republished  by  the  capable  editor  of  that  news- 
paper at  his  office  in  Huntly.  It  is  just  such  a 
record  as  one  should  so  gladly  see  written  for  every 
historical  congregation  in  the  land.  This  is  often 
done  for  parishes,  it  is  rarely  done  for  congregations. 
Yetit  is  in  the  congregation  that  the  centre  of  human 
interest  in  the  parish  is  found,  as  Mr.  Barrie  of 
Thrums  has  not  been  slow  to  perceive.  It  may  be 
that  few  congregations  possess  so  honourable  a 
history  as  this,  whether  spiritually  or  intellectually. 
It  is  George  MacDonald's  congregation,  the  con- 
gregation he  was  'brought  up'  in.  It  is  the 
congregation  to  which  belonged  also  Dr.  Milne 
and  Dr.  Legge,  both  of  China.  And  above  all, 
it  is  the  congregation  of  the  Rev,  George  Cowie. 
Mr.  Troup  has  enabled  us  to  see  how  great  this  man 
was,  and  surely  now  the  most  stiffnecked  among  us 
will  be  willing  to  recognize  it.  His  history  is  a 
i  of  the  history  of  the  whole  Church  of 


Christ.  From  the  beginning  even  until  now  the 
policy  of  the  Church  ecclesiastic  has  been  the 
'Ca'  canny'  policy;  and  it  was  because  Gcoi^ 
Cowie  would  be  up  and  doing  that  they  cast  him 
out.  What  were  the  charges  brought  against 
him?  They  were  these:  First,  he  helped  the 
London  Missionary  Society  with  money.  Secondly, 
he  held  a  monthly  meeting  for  prayer  and  allowed 
laymen  to  pray  publicly.  Thirdly,  he  encouraged 
laymen  to  teach  in  Sabbath  schools.  And  fourthly, 
he  received  itinerant  preachers  and  ate  with  them. 
For  these  things  the  Anti-Burgher  Presbytery  cast 
Mr.  Cowie  out,  and  sent  him  with  God's  blessing, 
though  not  with  theirs,  to  build  'The  Missionar 
Kirk  of  Huntly.'  It  is  a  book  to  be  much  sought 
after,  especially  by  antiquaries  and  ecclesiastics. 

THE  TEACHERS'  COMMENTARY  ON 
THE  ACTS. 

Mr.  Frowde  has  published  at  the  Oxford  Uni- 
versity Press  the  second  volume  of  Dr.  Peloubet's 
series  of  commentaries  for  Sunday  -  school  and 
other  teachers.  It  is  the  volume  containing  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles.  As  it  was  in  the  first 
volume,  as  it  will  be  in  all  the  volumes,  the  text 
used  is  a  combination  of  both  English  versions, 
with  the  marginal  references  of  the  Revised 
edition.  £oth  features  are  as  nearly  perfect  for 
their  purpose  as  we  can  get  them.  The  com- 
mentary itself  is  full,  and  special  attention  is  given 
to  illustrations.  The  most  available  literature  has 
been  consulted,  and  there  is  no  reluctance  to 
accept  critical  results.  In  this  respect  Dr. 
Peloubet  has  made  an  advance  upon  popular 
commentaries.  His  scholarship  is  good,  his 
proof-reading  careful.  Without  the  claim  to  much 
original  research — frankly  disclaiming  it,  indeed — 
he  has  produced  a  commentary  on  the  Acts 
which  will  find  an  honourable  and  most  useful 
place  even  in  the  crowd  of  good  commentaries 
which  have  lately  been  provided.  Without  re- 
serve we  recommend  it  to  the  teacher  as  the 
best  for  his  purpose  at  present, 

GREAT  RELIGIONS  OF  THE  WORLD. 

The  great  religions  dealt  with  in  this  volume 
(which  is  published  by  Harpers)  are  Confucianism, 
Buddhism,  Mohammedanism,  Brahminism,  Zoroas- 
trianism,  Sikhism,  Positivism,  Babism,  Judaism, 


J74 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Christianity,  and  Catholic  {i,e.  Roman  Catholic) 
Christianity.  And  these  great  religions  are  dealt 
with  as  they  manifested  themselves  in  the  nine- 
teenth century.  It  is  their  present  position, 
their  recent  progress,  their  immediate  future, 
that  the  authors  of  these  essays  have  laid  before 
us.  The  authors  are  all  men  of  commanding 
authority.  Dr.  Herbert  Giles  writes  of  Confu- 
cianism, Mr.  Frederic  Harrison  of  Positivism,  Dr. 
Washington  Gladden  of  Christianity,  and  Cardinal 
Gibbons  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  Their 
faculty  for  clear  thinking  is  less  uniform  than 
their  capacity  for  knowing,  and  still  less  equal  is 
their  skill  in  forceful  expression.  Perhaps  Mr. 
Harrison  knows  his  subject  best  and  writes 
about  it  most  forcefully.  Dr.  Gaster  is,  however, 
the  chief  surprise.  His  power  of  comprehen- 
sion is  as  amazing  as  his  boundless  confidence 
in  the  future  of  Judaism.  His  language  is  strong 
and  free.  He  claims  that  in  England  the  sym- 
pathies of  the  masses  are  with  the  Jews.  But 
it  is  not  so  in  any  other  European  country,  and 
least  of  all  in  Germany.  There  '  Nationalism— f.f. 
egotism  in  its  most  brutal  form — has  taken  the 
place  of  humanitarianism ;  seclusion  that  of  ex- 
pansion; personal  interests  that  of  general  wel- 
fare ;  and  all  together  have  produced  and  still  pro- 
duce a  spirit  of  bitter  jealousy  and  envy,  of  hatred 
and  persecution  against  anything  and  everything 
that  runs  counter  to  the  new  racial  and  national 
prejudices,  which  are  set  up  as  the  only  standard 
of  true  patriotism.  .  .  .  This  is  the  psychological 
origin  of  the  new  moral  disease  known  under  the 
name  of  Anti  -  Semitism.  Born  and  bred  in 
Germany,  it  was  nurtured  there,  and  has  spread 
like  a  plague  from  country  to  country,  following 
in  the  wake  of  mi,]itarism,  despotism,  the  brutaliza- 
tion  of  the  masses,  false  patriotism,  greed,  and 
jealousy.' 

It  is  altogether  a  nouble  book,  not  to  be 
neglected  by  the  statesman  or  the  student  of 
religion. 


RELIGION  IN  RECENT  ART. 
This  very  artistic  volume  is  at  last  a  worthy 
casket  (as  the  old  writers  would  have  said)  for  so 
beautiful  a  gem.  It  contains  Dr.  Forsyth's  Lectures 
on  Rossctti,  Burne-Jones,  Watts,  Holman  Hunt, 
and  Wagner.  The  former  volume  was  not  worthy, 
but  now  all  that  paper  and  binding,  all  that  print- 


ing and  engraving  can  do,  have  been  poured  out 
unsparingly.  The  lectures  are  unaltered.  To  alter 
would  have  been  to  rewrite.  For  Dr.  Forsyth 
could  not  insert  new  sentences  undetected,  so  far 
has  he  travelled  since  this  book  was  first  published. 
And  Dr.  Forsyth  could  not  have  rewritten  them 
now.  Something  else  he  could  do  now,  some- 
thing more  penetrating  than  this,  but  not  this. 
He  could  not  .let  himself  go  now  and  scatter  his 
gladness  and  his  praise  as  be  does  here.  So  this 
for  this  purpose  is  best  It  scarcely  could  be 
better.  We  should  be  glad  to  see  the  book  that 
will  more  readily  give  young  men  and  maidens  a 
glimpse  of  the  Holy  of  Holies  in  Art  or  more 
abidingly.  There  are  eight  full-page  illustrations 
and  they  are  very  good.  The  publishers  are 
Messrs.  Hodder  &  Sioughton. 

GIPSY  SMITH. 
Did  St.  Peter  write  the  Epistles  we  know  by  his 
name  ?  No.  For  how  could  an  unlettered  fisher- 
man write  such  excellent  Greek?  And  so  Dr. 
Selwyn  turns  to  St.  Luke  and  thinks  he  was  the 
actual  author.  But  turn  to  Gipsy  Smith  rather. 
Bom  a  Gipsy,  brought  up  a  Gipsy,  unable  to 
read  one  word  of  English  as  he  entered  man's 
estate,  he  writes  this  book  in  the  prime  of  his 
manhood,  and  it  carries  you  away  with  the  vigour 
and  felicity  of  his  language.  There  is  no  ex- 
perience he  cannot  record,  there  is  no  emotion 
he  cannot  awake.  He  has  passed  through  life 
believing  in  miracle,  receiving  and  doing  miracles 
himself,  but  no  miracle  is  greater  than  this,  and 
it  lies  unmistakable  and  undeniable  before  our 
eyes,  'We  are  God's  workmanship '—/wn  is 
the  literal  word.  What  a  poem  this  man's  life  is ! 
It  is  all  of  God's  shaping.  Hov  can  a  man  doubt 
'the  second  birth'  who  reads  a  book  like  this? 
How  can  he  miss  the  demand  for  it  ?  No  doubt 
the  book  will  be  read  by  many  for  its  good  stories 
— but  it  is  greater  than  its  stories.  Its  ritle  is 
Gipsy  Smith:  His  Life  and  Work,  by  Himself. 
Its  publisher  is  Mr,  Thomas  Law  of  the  Memorial 
Hall,  London. 


HANDBOOKS  FOR  THE  CLERGY. 

Messrs.   Longmans  have   commenced    a    new 

series  in  practical  theology.     It  is  to  be  edited  by 

the  Rev.  A.  W.  Robinson,  B.D.,  and  tovbe  called 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


275 


'Handbooks  for  the  Clergy.'  The  first  volume 
has  been  written  by  the  general  editor.  Its  sub- 
ject is  The  Personal  Lift  of  the  Clergy.  A  more 
fitting  subject  with  which  to  open  such  a  series,  or 
indeed  a  more  fitting  volume,  could  scarcely  be 
conceived.  Mr.  Robinson's  manner  is  quiet  and. 
impiessive.  He  recognizes  the  greatness  of  the  high 
calling  with  which  the  Christian  minister  is  called, 
and  demands  a  great  devotion.  Taking  his  note 
from  the  first  Earl  of  Selbome,  he  gathers  all  his 
demands  into  one  word,  spirituality.  He  will 
have  nothing  in  the  place  of  that.  And  it  does 
not  seem  so  hard  to  reach  that  when  he  points  the 
way.  He  says  that  the  difficulty  of  getting  some 
men  to  speak  on  spiritual  things  is  often  due  to 
the  fact  that  a  spiritual  attitude  was  not  adopted 
with  them  at  the  first.  He  adopts  it  with  us  at 
once,  and  he  maintains  it  easily  to  the  end.  There 
is  nothing  that  a  Church  need  fear  whose  clergy 
hold  before  their  eyes  such  ideals  as  this. 

CHRISTIAN  ART  AND  ARCHAEOLOGY. 

Messrs.  Macmillan  are  issuing  a  series  of '  Hand- 
books of  Archaeology  and  Antiquities.'  Some 
volumes  of  classical  interest  are  already  out.  The 
first  that  seeks  the  ear  of  the  theologian  is  a 
volume  on  Christian  Art  and  Archaology,  by 
Walter  Lowrie,  M.A.  It  is  a  book  of  the  finest 
quality  of  workmanship,  whether  we.  think  of  its 
research,  its  scientific  exposition,  its  rich  and 
choice  illustration,  or  its  artistic  production.  It 
stands  alone.  No  other  book  exists  for  the 
student  beside  it.  For  the  wealthy  and  the 
luxurious  there  are  more  sumptuous  and  more 
ponderous  works ;  for  the  casual  reader  there  are 
more  sketchy  and  popular  writings;  there  is 
nothing  for  the  student  but  this. 

The  period  in  the  history  of  the  Church  which 
Mr.  Lowrie  covers  is  that  which  commences  with 
the  second  century  and  ends  with  the  sixth.  His 
subjects  are  Christian  Cemeteries  (within  which 
are  described  the  Catacombs),  Christian  Archi- 
tecture, Pictorial  Art,  The  Minor  Arts,  and  Civil 
and  Ecclesiastical  Dress.  There  is  no  effort  at 
exhausting  any  of  these  subjects;  nor  is  there  any 
straining  after  an  originality  of  handling  them. 
It  is  the  student's  wants,  not  his  own  reputation, 
that  the  author  has  studied.  The  illustratiotis  are 
all  selected  from  books,  and  the  books  are  named ; 
the  letterpress  is  all  dependent  on  literature  or 


living  authorities,  and  the  literature  is  mentioned 
also.  But  thus  each  is  thoroughly  representative 
and  thoroughly  trustworthy. 

Occasionally  points  of  wider  interest  emerge. 
We  recall  how  poetically  Matthew  Arnold  uses  the 
fact  that  the  Good  Shepherd  is  represented  some- 
times with  a  kid  instead  of  a  lamb  upon  His 
shoulders.  Mr.  Lowrie  gives  us  the  prose  of  IL 
'  The  fact  that  it  is  sometimes  a  kid  instead  of  a 
lamb  is  probably  not  significant.' 

REGNUM  DEI. 

After  the  Person  of  Christ,  the  most  glorious 
subject  of  human  study — and  the  most  difficult — 
is  the  Kiiigdom  of  God.  For  its  difficulty  as  well 
as  for  its  glory  Dr.  Robertson  chose  it  as  the 
subject  of  his  Bampton  Lectures  for  1901.  The 
Bampton  Lectures  have  now  been  published  under 
the  title  ai £egnum  .Z^/ (Methuen). 

Dr.  Robertson  has  worked  his  great  subject 
after  the  historical  method.  In  that  method  he 
still  has  implicit  confidence,  after  all  that  Canon 
Moberly  has  said.  It  does  not  go  all  the  way,  but 
so  far  as  it  goes  it  leads  aright.  It  leaves  many 
questions  half  solved,  but  they  are  known  to  be  only 
half  solved,  and  the  other  half  cannot  be  solved 
by  any  process  of  guessing,  but  only  by  waiting  for 
more  facts.  Canon  Moberly  may  call  his  guessing 
deduction,  but  it  is  deduction  be/ore  the  facts  are 
gathered,  and  Dr.  Robertson  will  have  none  of  it 
His  method  is  the  historical  one  pure  and  simple, 
for  the  historical  method  has  given  us  all  our 
gains  in  theological  as  in  physical  science  these 
many  days,  and  we  are  tiot  lightly  to  let  it  go.  In 
his  first  lecture  he  seeks  out  the  references  to  the 
kingdom  of  God  in  the  Old  Testament,  classifies 
them,  and  draws  their  meaning  forth.  In  the  next 
two  he  similarly  deab  with  the  New  Testament, 
separating  the  Epistles  from  the  Gos[>els,  and 
taking  each  New  Testament  writer  by  himself.  And 
thus  he  works  right  on  through  the  history  of  the 
Church,  till  in  the  eighth  he  comes  to  'The  King- 
dom of  God  in  Modern  Thought,  Work,  and  Life.' 

Dr.  Robertson  distinguishes  the  three  expres- 
sions: Church,  Kingdom  of  Christ,  Kingdom  of 
God.  He  believes  they  are  kept  distinct  in  the 
teaching  of  the  New  Testament  generally.  He 
puts  his  distinction  in  various  ways,  for  it  is  a 
characteristic  of  his  style  as  a  teacher  to  repeat  his 
thought  in  a  variety  of  language  and  send  it  gradu- 


276 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


ally  home.  In  one  place  he  says :  .'  The  Church  is 
becoming  the  Kingdom  of  Christ,  and  the  Church  in 
her  glory  to  come  would  seem  to  rise  to  the  full 
height  of  the  perfection  of  the  Kingdom  of  God.' 
Elsewhere  he  says  that  the  Church  is  the  Nurse 
and  Home  of  the  Kingdom  of  Christ,  and  the 
Kingdom  of  Christ  is  the  present  incomplete  reign 
of  Christ  which  reaches  its  perfection  in  the  future, 
when  God's  will  is  perfectly  done  on  earth  and  in 
heaven  and  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  realized.  Thus 
the  Church  is  impferfect  in  growing  tares  as  well  as 
wheat ;  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  is  also  imperfect, 
though  it  grows  only  wheat,  in  that  it  is  not  yet 
fully  realized;  when  the  final  and  perfect  slate  of 
the  Kingdom  of  Christ  has  come,  it  is  called  the 
Kingdom  of  God. 

Respecting  the  Millennium,  Dr.  Robertson 
doubts  if  we  have  data  enough  to  come  to  a  de- 
cision. There  are  three  questions.  They  arise  and 
have  to  be  settled  before  we  discuss  the  question  of 
pre- or  post -millenarian ism.  Is  the  expression  'a 
thousand  years '  to  be  taken  literally,  as  Justin  and 
Irensus  take  it  7  Or  is  it  to  be  taken  in  a  semi- 
realistic  sense,  as  a  prophecy  respecting  the 
Roman  Church,  as  many  '  miilennarians '  apply 
it  ?  Or  is  it,  finally,  to  be  regarded  as  a  concrete 
image  for  a  spiritual  truth,  the  truth  that  the  reign 
of  Christ  is  found  in  hearts  hid  with  Christ  in  God, 
and  that  this  inner  relationship  to  Christ  can  only 
be  ideally  exhibited  on  a  great  scale  on  earth  ? 
With  Augustine,  Dr.  Robertson  inclines  to  the 
last  of  these  positions. 

Such  matters  indicate  the  scholarly,  capable, 
independent,  reserved  character  of  this  book.  It 
is  not  a  popular  book.  It  will,  however,  be  found 
for  many  a  day  at  the  hand  of  the  most  serious 
students  of  the  'things  pertaining  to  the  Kingdom 
of  God.'  

THE  RELATIONSHIPS  OF  LIFE.  By 
C.  Silvester  Home,  M.A.  (v4//««J0ff).— There  is 
a  spirit  of  quiet  encouragement  in  these  sermons. 
They  seem  to  say  that  Mr.  Home  remembers  his 
fellow-Churchman's  advice  —  the  advice  of  Mr. 
Jowett  —  to  let  the  winning  element  prevail  in 
preaching.  Parents  and  children,  brothers  and 
sisters,  lovers,  husbands  and  wives,  masters  and 
servants  are  encouraged  to  serve  one  another  in 
love.  There  is  a  beautiful  chapter  on  the  true 
gentleman.  And  always  strong  common  sense  is 
touched  with  earnest  Christian  piety. 


BLACKWOOD'S  PHILOSOPHICAL 
CLASSICS.  —  The  new  edition  of  the  Philo- 
sophical Classics  is  now  complete.  It  is  a  great 
opportunity  which  the  publishers  have  afforded  to 
students  of  philosophy.  There  is  no  other  way 
in  which  a  vivid  conception  of  the  great  modem 
philosophers  can  be  so  easily  obtained.  And  the 
volumes  are  written  with  the  very  object  of  urging 
the  student  to  further  reading.  Not  a  few  owe 
their  earliest  love  of  philosophy  to  these  beautiful 
volumes.  ^^__ 

THE  MEDICI  AND  THE  ITALIAN  RE- 
NAISSANCE.  By  Oliphant  Smeaton,  M.A. 
(7".  ^  T.  Clark).— mr.  Smeaton  has  given  himself 
to  this  difficult  period — perhaps  the  most  difficult 
in  all  the  series  of 'World's  Epoch-Makers' — with 
his  whole  strength,  and  he  has  produced  a  book 
that  will  live.  Who  knows  this  subject  enough  to 
be  independent  of  a  guide  ?  Who  dares  be  ignor- 
ant of  it  ?  Mr.  Smeaton  has  been  patient  and 
discriminating,  not  scattering  praise  or  blame,  but 
seeking  motives,  seeing  providence,  and  making 
his  book  a  contribution  to  history.  He  has  had 
to  correct  some  predecessors,  even  great  ones, 
here  and  there,  but  with  good  reason  and  much 
reverence.  His  picture  of  Lorenzo  is  a  great 
success.  Nowhere  has  'the  Magnificent'  beea 
better  set  forth  in  short  space  than  here. 

THE  RIGHTS  OF  MAN.  By  Lyman  Abbott 
(Clarke). — Dr.  Lyman  Abbott  lives  in  his  own 
lime.  He  loves  to  read  about  Abraham,  Isaac, 
and  Jacob,  but  he  would  not  dwell  in  tents  with 
the  patriarchs.  He  has  the  sense  of  right  and 
wrong,  but  he  rejoices  most  in  advocating  the 
rights  of  the  homy  hands  around  him.  He  is 
most  in  love  with  modem  life,  and  he  is  most  at 
home  there.  This  is  one  of  his  best  books.  It 
is  good  throughout.  Here  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott 
speaks  of  the  things  that  have  made  America, 
great,  and  he  speaks  well,  for  he  heartily  believes 
in  them  and  in  their  future.  'There  is  certainly 
no  people  on  the  globe,  except,  perhaps,  the 
equally  democratic  communities  of  Australia  and 
New  Zealand,  where  happiness  is  so  general  as  in 
America.'  The  things  that  have  made  America  so 
happy  he  sums  up  under  the  one  potent  nanie 
'Democracy.'  He  believes  that  '  Democracy  in 
some  form  is  the  ultimate  and  permanent  form  o£ 
government.' 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


277 


THE  TEMPLE  BIBLE  {Deni).~The  first  two 
volumes  of  this  series  were  published  in  a  most 
attractive  leather  binding,  the  three  before  us  are 
in  ordinary  green  cloth.  This  is  the  more  regret- 
table as  half  the  charm  of  the  Temple  Bible  lies  in 
its  '  get  up.' 

The  first  volume  is  Professor  J.  H.  Paterson's 
Lemtieus.  It  is  popular,  but  it  is  popular  with 
precision.  To  give  us  more  than  a  dainty  book 
on  Leviticus  within  this  space  seemed  scarcely 
possible,  but  Dr.  Paterson  has  also  given  us  an 
insight  into  the  origin  and  the  ethics  of  the  Mosaic 
ritual,  and  he  has  shown  us  the  roads  that  lead  to 
deeper  study. 

Dr.  ^Vilson  Harper  knows  his  subject  (Ezra, 
Nehemiah,  and  Either)  better  than  Canon  Benharo 
seems  to  know  his  (The  Johannine  Books),  but  he 
has  been  mercilessly  hampered  for  room. 

Each  volume  opens  with  an  appropriate  etching. 
And  the  etching  alone  is  worth  the  price  of  the 
volume.  

THE  CAMBRIDGE  PLATONISTS.  By 
E.  T.  Campagnac,  M.A.  (Frowde). — Oxford  and 
Cambridge  have  begun  to  dwell  at  peace.  '  They 
hang  the  trumpet  in  the  hall  and  study  war  no 
more.'  At  the  Oxford  Press  is  published  a  most 
enthusiastic  estimate  of  the  Cambridge  Platonists. 
Mr.  Campagnac  did  well  to  go  to  Oxford  with  his 
book,  for  Cambridge  could  not  have  welcomed 
him  with  a  more  beautiful  binding,  and  he  has 
been  able  to  show  that  Benjamin  Whichcote,  John 
Smith,  and  Nathanael  Culverwel  are  now  of  the 
wide  world.  His  Introduction  is  racy  yet  sym- 
pathetic. His  quotations  are  chosen  with  great 
discretion.  Who  will  admit  ignorance  of  the 
Cambridge  Platonists  after  this  ? 

A  HEBREW  AND  ENGLISH  LEXICON 
{J^owde). — This  part  carries  the  alphabet  into  Q ; 
another  should  finish  the  work.  When  finished 
it  will  be  the  most  serviceable  Hebrew  Lexicon 
in  existence.  The  more  we  use  it,  the  more  we 
rejoice  in  its  accuracy,  accessibility,  and  com- 
pleteness.   

THE  CENTURY  BIBLE  :  THE  ACTS. 
By  J.  Vernon  Bartlet,  MA.  (/aci).— This,  even 
within  the  compass  of  a  smalt  and  beautiful  book, 
is  the  commentary  of  a  scholar  and  fit  for  scholars' 
using.      Some  volumes    in   this   dainty  series  we 


like  to  look  at ;  we  shall  have  to  use  this  one. 
On  all  the  problems  it  has  a  short  incisive  word. 
On  some  of  the  phrases  it  throws  the  light  of 
recent  discovery  or  original  thought.  The  study 
of  the  Book  of  Acts  is  made  more  difficult  by  this 
book,  but  that  is  necessary  in  order  that  it  may 
become  more  profitable  than  it  used  to  be. 

THE  THINGS  ABOVE.  By  G.  G.  Findlay, 
D.D.  (Kelly). — Professor  FindJay's  sermons  are 
the  delight  and  the  despair  of  all  earnest  preachers. 
Their  scholarship  is  so  exact  and  so  full  of  sur- 
prise, their  unction  is  so  irresistible.  In  this 
volume  of  ten  sermons  there  is  no"  effort  after  such 
originality  as  makes  the  hearer  say, '  How  clever  J ' 
but  there  is  throughout  the  felt  breath  of  that 
originality  which  is  the  peculiar  possession  of  the 
Christian,  the  newness  in  Christ.  '  Oh  taste  and 
see  that  the  Lord  is  gracious ;  blessed  is  the  man 
that  trusleth  in  Nim: — that  is  not  one  of  the 
texts,  it  is  the  spirit  of  al!  the  sermons. 

Two  more  volumes  of  the  series  entitled  '  Books 
for  Bible  Students '  have  been  published  by  Mr. 
Kelly.  Mr.  Pope's  Timothy  and  Titus  is  the  third 
small  commentary  on  the  Pastoral  Epistles  issued 
within  three  months.  It  is  for  education;  its 
audience  is  the  Bible  class ;  it  is  the  fruit  of  much 
experience.  Dr.  Townsend's  The  Great  Symbols 
explains  in  the  traditional  manner  the  prophetical 
meaning  of  the  Tabernacle  and  its  Furniture. 
There  is  as  little  straining  as  possible,  there  is 
very  much  spiritual  edification. 

Mr.  Kelly  has  also  published  the  twelfth  volume 
of  The  Preacher's  Magazine,  being  the  volume  for 
1901,  which  is  edited  by  Dr.  A  E,  Gregory  with 
more  appreciation  of  the  needs  of  the  preacher  and 
more  consideration  for  his  self-respect  than  ever. 

ST.  LUKE  THE  PROPHET.  By  Edward 
Carys  Selwyn,  D.D.  (Macmillan). — This  is  the 
most  original  book  of  the  month.  Dr.  Selwyn 
seems  determined  to  turn  all  our  histories  of  the 
Eariy  Church  into  waste  paper.  When  a  man 
appears  in  our  busy  streets  clothed  in  originality 
as  in  a  Celtic  garment,  we  usually  pass  him  by  as 
an  eccentricity.  We  cannot  pass  Dr.  Selwyn  by. 
He  is  too  good  a  scholar  for  that.  He  has  too 
much  insight  into  the  heart  and  soul  of  early 
Christianity.  And  besides  all  that,  we  ourselves 
are  too  well  aware  that  we  know  very  little  indeed 


J78 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


of  the  sub-Apostolic  Church.  It  is  startling 
enough  to  be  told  that  St.  Luke  nas  (under  St. 
Peter's  direction)  the  writer  of  the  First  Epistle  of 
St.  Peter,  and  that  St.  Luke  is  Silas,  and  Silvanus 
St  Luke.  But  there  are  great  results  that  follow, 
if  we  can  be  persuaded.  For  then  it  is  easy  to 
understand  how  St  Peter,  who  (says  Canon 
Armitage  Robinson),  '  could  not  write  or  preach, 
even  if  he  could  speak  at  all,  in  any  language  but 
bis  mother  tongue,  the  Aratnaic  of  Galilee,' could 
nevertheless  be  the  'author'  of  both  the  First  and 
the  Second  Epistles  which  go  by  his  oame. 

STANLEY'S  LIFE  OF  THOMAS  ARNOLD, 
D.D.,  'Teachers'  Edition,  with  a  Preface  by  Sir 
Joshua  Fitch  {Murray). — 'I  should  describe  him 
35  a  great  prophet  among  schoolmasters  rather 
than  an  instructor  or  educator  in  the  ordinary 
sense  of  the  term  .  .  .  the  secret  of  his  power 
consisting  not  so  much  in  the  novelty  of  his  ideas 
and  methods,  as  in  his  commanding  and  magnetic 
personality,  and  the  intensity  and  earnestness  with 
which  he  impressed  his  views  and  made  them — 
as  a  prophet  makes  his  message — a  part  of  the 
living  forces  of  the  time.'  That  estimate  of 
Arnold  is  quoted  by  Sir  Joshua  Fitch,  in  his 
preface  to  this  new  and  most  convenient  edition 
of  Stanley's  Life,  from  a  private  letter  of  Bishop 
Percival  of  Hereford — 'one  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished of  Arnold's  successors  at  Rugby.'  Its 
truth  is  unchallenged.  Dr.  Thomas  Arnold  was 
one  of  the  latter-day  prophets.  The  very  famili- 
arity of  his  ideas  testifies  to  it.  They  have  become 
part  of  our  common  everyday  slock.  And  yet 
reading  the  book  again  (for  this  edition  would 
draw  the  dullest  to  the  reading  of  it),  we  found 
no  lack  of  interest.  If  the  ideas  were  less  striking, 
the  man  was  more.  No  wiser  act  was  ever  done 
by  the  Board  of  Education  than  when  it  '  departed 
from  tradition  and  precedent '  and  prescribed 
this  volume  as  part  of  the  curriculum  to  be  fol- 
lowed in  the  preparation  of  candidates  for  the 
Teacher's  Certificate. 

THE  THIN  PAPER  SHAKESPEARE 
{Newnes). — There  is  nothing  connected  with  the 
production  of  books  that  has  made  greater  progress 
within  recent  years  than  leather  bindings.  Their 
beauty  and  their  cheapness  are  the  marvels  of  out 
day.  It  does  not  seem  possible  that  at  its  price 
a  more  beautiful  edition  of  Shakespeare  could  be 


published  than  that  which  Messrs.  Newnes  have 
issued  in  their  'Thin  Paper'  edition.  Where 
have  they  got  this  miraculously  thin  and  yet  opaque 
paper?  It  used  to  be  considered  the  monopoly 
of  the  Oxford  Press.  Its  great  value  is  to  do  away 
for  ever  with  the  small  type  of  the  old  editions. 
This  edition  is  in  three  volumes,  and  although 
each  volume  contains  close  on  a  thousand  pages, 
it  is  yet  of  quite  convenient  pocket  size. 

THE  TITLES  OF  JEHOVAH.  By  the 
Rev.  H.  W.  Webb-Peploe,  M.A.  (./HuAr/).— Mr. 
Webb-Peploe  is  not  a  Higher  Critic  In  this 
volume  of  sermons  he  ignores  the  Higher  Criticism 
entirely.  He  therefore  accounts  for  the  sudden 
introduction  of  the  name  Lord  God  (Jehovah 
Elohim)at  Gn  a*  in  this  way.  The  title  'God' 
expresses  the  general  ideas  of  greatness  and  glory, 
while  '  Jehovah  '  represents  self-existence  and  un- 
changeable ness.  It  is  therefore  fitting  that 
throughout  the  story  of  the  lower  creation  the 
name  'God'  should  be  used,  but  when  man  is 
introduced  with  his  capacity  to  apprehend  the 
Infinite  and  Unchangeable,  the  title  'Jehovah' 
should  be  added.  And  he  says  that  'Jehovah* 
seems  always  to  be  used  in  connexion  with  beings 
who  can  apprehend  and  appreciate  the  Infinite. 
Well,  it  is  much  more  attractive  than  the  critical 
theory  of  a  new  document  beginning  in  that 
verse,  and  a  new  writer  using  his  own  favourite 
name  for  God.  It  is  more  attractive,  whether 
it  is  truer  or  not  The  other  great  titles  of  God 
are  discussed  in  the  same  spiritualizing,  alle- 
gorical, almost  mystical  manner.  It  is  a  notable 
book  of  its  kind,  represenUtive  of  our  most 
popular  devotional  literature. 

S.B.O.T:  THE  BOOK  OF  PROVERBS. 
By  A.  Miiller,  Ph.D.,  and  E.  Kautzsch,  D.D. 
(A^tf//).— This  is  the  latest  volume  of  the  Poly- 
chrome (or  Rainbow)  Bible  in  its  Hebrew  edition. 
Fifteen  volumes  of  that  edition  are  now  published, 
and  other  two  are  announced  as  nearly  ready, 
namely.  Smith's  Deuteronomy,  and  Stade  and 
Schwally's  Kings.  Very  little  colouring  is  re- 
quired in  this  volume.  The  notes  are  rigidly 
textual,  but  within  that  title  lie  many  interesting 
suggestions  and  much  marvellous  ingenuity.  As 
before,  the  general  editor's  initials  are  often  seen, 
and  are  always  as  welcome  as  anything  in  the 
book. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


379 


THE  METROPOLITAN  TABERNACLE 
PULPIT.  Vol.  xlvii.  {^Pammore  ir  Alabaster).— 
What  is  it  that  gave  Spurgeon  his  immortality? 
All  the  gifts  he  received  seemed  to  be  for  the  day. 
We  found  him  orator,  pastor,  homiletical  provider. 
But  he  lives.  He  lives  in  those  sermons  which 
seemed  to  owe  their  popularity  to  their  absolute 
adaptation  to  the  moment.  It  must  be  the  Gospel 
that  is  m  them.  It  must  be  that  beyond  other 
men  Spurgeon  got  at  the  heart  of  the  gospel  of  the 
grace  of  God,  and  gave  it  forth.  Here  is  another 
big  volume,  and  it  comes  to  us  as  fresh  and  mov- 
ing as  though  it  had  been  spoken  yesterday. 

THOUGHTS  FOR  EVERYDAY  LIVING. 
By  Maltbie  D.  Babcock  (ibi'^wirrj).— There  is 
only  one  way  of  reviewing  a  book  like  this.  That 
way  is  by  quoting  some  of  its  'Thoughts'  entire. 
They  will  be  found  under  the  heading ''  Point  and 
Illustration.'  Let  it  be  said  here  that  the  little 
book  has  the  severe  simplicity  so  much  admired 
in  American  binding.  We  love  a  gaudier  style  on 
this  side,  btit  we  may  learn. 

TWO  TREATISES  ON  THE  CHURCH. 
By  Thomas  Jackson  and  Bishop  Sanderson  (Stock). 
— Besides  the  two  Treatises,  the  volume  contains 
a  '  Letter  of  Bishop  Cosin  on  the  Validity  of  the 
Orders  of  the  Foreign  Reformed  Churches.'  The 
documents  are  all  well  known  to  students  of 
English  Church  History;  they  are  found  here 
most  conveniently.  The  present  volume  is  a 
reprint  of  the  1843  edition. 

THE  GREATEST  THINGS  IN  THE 
WORLD.  By  R.  A.  West  (,^ocku-eU).—lx  is 
a  volume  of  short  sermons.  The  greatest  theme 
is  the  salvation  of  the  Lord  ;  the  greatest  treasure 
is  the  Word  of  God ;  the  greatest  question  is,  What 
think  ye  of  Christ  ?     

THE  DIVINE  IDEA  OF  PREACHING. 
By  G.  J.  Kelly  (St<Hkw€l[).—Ur.  Kelly's  chapter- 
headings  are  captivating.  Theyare  (i)  Preaching, 
a  Message-Bearing  :  (3)  Preaching,  a  Wooing  and 
Pleading;  (3)  Preaching,  Fearless  Personal  Wit- 
nessing ;  and  (4)  The  Preaching  of  the  Life.  These 
are  so  good  that  we  are  not  surprised  to  find  them 
followed  by  earnest  candid  speaking.  The  book 
is  too  short  for  the  deepest  impression,  but  it  will 
give  some  an  idea  of  what  it  takes  to  be  a  preacher. 


SCENES  AND  CHARACTERS  OF  THE 
MIDDLE  AGES.  By  the  Rev.  Edward  L.  Cutts, 
B.A.  { r»>/w}.— Mr.  Cutts.  has  set  out  with  the 
purpose  of  making  the  life  of  the  Middle  Ages 
intelligible  to  ordinary  English  readers  of  the 
present  day. 

His  method  is  to  select  the  most  characteristic 
scenes  and  the  most  representative  characters, 
and  let  them  tell  their  own  story  in  simple  language, 
with  the  aid  of  original  woodcuts.  No  effort  is 
made  to  write  strikingly.  Every  effort  is  spent  on 
getting  out  of  sight,  that  the  mediaeval  saint  or 
sinner  and  not  the  modern  author  may  be  seen 
and  heard.  The  book  is  divided  into  seven  parts. 
The  first  part  describes  the  Monks,  the  second  the 
Hermits  and  Recluses,  the  third  the  Pilgrims,  the 
fourth  the  Secular  Clergy,  the  fifth  the  Minstrels, 
the  sixth  the  Knights,  and  the  seventh  the 
Merchants. 

Mr.  Cutts  has  gone  to  the  most  picturesque 
sources.  Chaucer  is  leading  favourite.  One  might 
even  say  that  this  pleasant  book  is  a  good  and 
easy  introduction  to  the  study  of  that  'Well  of 
English  undefiled.'  There  is  a  quaint  old-worldli- 
ncss  about  the  narrative,  either  the  result  of  un- 
conscious imitation  or  of  consummate  art,  like 
the  atmosphere  the  lotos-eaters  breathed,  charming 
us  into  appreciation.   

STUDIES  IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS 
AND  THE  APOSTLES.  By  E.  T.  Bosworth 
{Intern.  Com.  of  KJ/.C".^.).— The  Teaching  is 
divided  into  four  parts,  namely,  Jesus'  Conception 
of  Himself  and  His  Mission ;  the  Apostolic  Con- 
ception of  Jesus  and  His  Mission;  Jesus' Concep- 
tion of  the  Disciple  and  his  Mission;  the  Apos- 
tolic Conception  of  the  Disciple  and  his  Mission. 
Each  part  is  much  subdivided.  And  then  on 
each  subdivision  are  given  minute  directions  for 
study.  Thus  on  '  Jesus '  Conception  of  the  King- 
dom of  God,'  the  Fourth  Day  begins  with :  '  Notice 
the  fundamental  condition  implied  in  Mt  7''  and 
compare  it  with  Mt  6".  What  is  the  relation  of 
this  condition  to  'repentance,'  the  condition  dis- 
cussed yesterday  ? '  It  is  all  methodical,  searching, 
unsparing,  and  it  is  bound  to  bear  much  fruit. 

A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 
By  John  M.  Robertson  ( Watts).— Thts  volume  is 
issued  by  the  Rationalist  Press  Association.  Its 
aim  is  to  account  for  Christianity,  its  origin  and 


28o 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


its  history,  without  the  aid  of  the  supernatural. 
The  difficulty  is  at  the  start,  Mr.  Robertson's 
method  of  accounting  for  the  early  belief  in  the 
supernatural  is  to  see  in  all  the  mitaculous  in- 
cidents copies  of  heathen  myths.  '  The  resurrec- 
tion of  Jesus  is  made  to  take  place  like  that  of 
Mithra,  from  a  rock  tomb.  .  .  .  Christ  is  made  to 
turn  water  into  wine,  as  Dionysos  had  been  ini. 
memoriaJly  held  to  do ;  he  walks  on  the  water 
like  Poseidon ;  hke  Osiris  and  Phcebus  Apoilo 
he  wields  the  scourge.  ,  .  ,  Above  all,  the  Christ 
has  to  be  born  in  the  manner  of  the  ever- 
cherished  Child-God  of  the  ancient  world ;  he 
must  have  a  virgin  for  mother,  and  he  must  be 
pictured  in  swaddling  clothes  in  the  basket  manger, 
preserved  from  immemorial  antiquity  in  the  myth 
of  Ion  and  in  the  cult  of  Dionysos,  in  which  the 
image  of  the  Child-God  was  carried  in  procession 
on  Christmas  day.' 

After  that,  things  are  easier.  The  rest  of  the 
book  can  be  read  with  simpler  fatth,  and  it  never 
fails  to  interest,  it  rarely  fails  to  instruct.  There 
is  no  natural  affection  for  the  Church,  for  ecclesi- 
astical things  of  any  form,  but  there  is  honesty  of 
purpose,  and  even  in  things  hostile  on  the  whole 
are  discovered  elements  of  truth  and  of  beauty. 
The  monks  were  no  better  morally  than  other 
men,  but  they  kept  learning  and  philosophy  alive ; 
Luther  and  Calvin  were  alike  bigots,  as  little  dis- 
posed to  religious  toleration  as  the  papacy  ever 
was,  but  the  Protestant  movement,  in  Geneva  as 
well  as  Germany,  was  essentially  one  of  a  moral 


and  intellectual  revolt,  'certainly  fanatical,  but  in 
large  measure  disinterested.'  Mr.  Robertson 
seems  to  us  sometimes  to  confuse  philosophy 
with  history,  his  own  ideas  with  the  turn  of  events, 
but  he  is  not  singular  in  that  respect.  It  would 
be  either  a  very  wise  or  a  very  foolisJi  man  that 
could  learn  nothing  from  his  clever  unsparing  pages. 

The  Books  of  the  Month  include  also:— 2Tfc 
Touch  of  Faith,  by  Arthur  F.  Winnington-Ingram 
D.D.,  Bishop  of  London  (Wells  Gardner);  Rt- 
miniscenees  of  a  Long  Life,  by  the  late  President 
W.  D.  Killen,  D.D.,  LL.D.  (Hodder  &:  Stough- 
ton);  The  White  Stone,  by  John  M'Gaw  Foster 
(Longmans);  T/u  Social  Gospel,  by  the  Rev.  T. 
Rhondda  Williams  (Lund);  The  World  and  the 
Individual,  being  the  second  series  of  the  Gilford 
Lectures  delivered  at  Aberdeen  by  Josiah  Royce, 
Ph.D.,  LL.D.  (Macmillan);  Life  Everlasting,  by 
the  late  John  Fiske  (Macmillan) ;  Elisha  the  Pro- 
phet of  Vision,  by  the  Rev.  F.  S.  Webster,  M.A. 
(Morgan  &  Scott);  The  Story  of  Ike  Calalar 
Mission,  by  Jessie  F.  Hogg  (Oliphant)  ;  Scripture 
Beatitudes,  by  the  late  Rev.  R.  A.  Mitchell,  M.A. 
(Oliphant) ;  Human  Nature  in  its  Fourfold  Slate, 
by  Thomas  Boston  (R.T.S.) ;  Notes  on  Ihe  Round 
Table,  by  the  Rev.  N.  Dimock  (Stock) ;  Jesus 
Christ,  Memorials  and  Miracles,  by  Alfred  Starkey 
(Stock) ;  Sermons  on  Ihe  Book  of  Futh,  by  the  Rev. 
Henry  Briggs  (Stockwell) ;  Some  Unique  Aspects 
of  the  Baptist  Position,  by  E.  C.  Pike,  B.A. 
(Stockwell). 


AN  INDEX    TO    CURRENT  LITERATURE  IN  THEOLOGY. 

E.F.St.  (1902),  23  (Cl.-Ganiwauji 


Acts,  Bible  SUidml,  v.  13  (I).  B.  Waifield). 

,,      Spceclies,  Bible  Studnit ,  v.  I  (B.  li.  Waifield). 
Adam  and  Golgotha,  Pal.  Expl.  Fund  Slalemeitt  (1902),  67 

(C.  A.  Wilson). 
Amer.  Ind.   Beliefs,  Amer.  Joum.    Theal.   vi.  89  (H.  G. 

Smith). 
Amos,  UnUn  Mag.  ii.  79  (W.  M.  Rankin). 

,,     Prediction  of  Captivity,  Bibl.  Sacra,  lix.  193  (E.  E. 

Biaiihwaite). 
Antliro[iomorpliism,    Necessity,    In  J.    ETaii^.    A'ci:    »xv. 

370. 
Apocalypses,  BifiU  Sludenl,  v.  7  (W,  M.  M'Pheelers). 
Aposl.  Succeisior,    Ci.   gf  Eng.   Fulfil,   Uii.   61  (H.   II. 


islon,  Bible  Slu-lenl,  v.  26  (A.  T.  Robertson). 


Ashtemlh-Karnaim,  i 

27  (G,  A,  Smith). 
Alargslis,  P.E.F.Si.  (1902),  28  (G.  A.  Smiih). 

Baal-bosor,  P.E.F.St.  (190*)  IS,  (Cl.-Ganneau). 
Bir.Bahltll,  Ca/h.  Univ.  Bulletin,  viii.  5S  (II.  Hyvemal), 
Beatitudes,  Preach.  Mag.  jciii.  74  (R.  II.  Lloyd). 

,,  Wei.  Meth.  Mag.  exKV.  127  (A.  J.  Southouse). 

Beauty  and  Religion,  Ch.  Eclectic,  xxix.  9S9  (E.  Wilson). 
Bei  (Egyp.  God,  illusl.),  Froc.  Soc.  Bibl.  Arch,  xiiv,  21 

(A,  Grenfcll). 
Bosor,  P.E.F.St.  (1902),  15  (Cl.-Ganneau). 
Bushnell  and  Ritschl,  Aniir.  Jeurn.   Tkcol.  vi.  35  (G.  B, 

Slevens). 


P.S.. 


Chinese  Calend; 
Christian  Science,  Uni 


3.A.  xiiii.  367  (E.  M.  Plnnltet). 
Ma^.  ii.  73  (D:  E 

ll'4.nzr;-hy  ■ 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Chmlianit]!  and  Humanism,  Ch.  Quart.  A'ev.  liii.  376. 
Church  in  Ireland,  CA.  EtUau,  xxix.  959  (Foster). 
Competition,  Pm. -Day  Paper s,  v,  14  (E.  Grubb), 
Conscience,  Guide,  iii.  35  (R.  P.  R,  Anderson). 
Com,  Bruised,  Biil.  IVnrld,  xix.  17  (G.  Dalroao). 
Coioiwlions,  Eng.,  Ck.  Quart.  Rev.  liii.  357. 
Crete,  Discoveries,  Ck.  Quart.  Stv.  liii.  337. 
Cross,   Chiisl's  Words  on,    CA.   EcU^lk,   xxix.   1010  (M. 

Creiehton). 
Cubit.  P.E.F.St.  (190a),  79  (W.  S.  Caldecotl). 

Dav  of  Jehovah,  BiiU  Student,  v.  46  (A.  S.  Csnier). 
Diana  of  the  Eph.,  Prsc.  Soe.  Biil.  Arch,  xxiii.  396  (S.  de 

Ricci). 
Dinbabah,  P.E  F.St.  [1901)  to,  (Cl.-Ganneau), 

Education  and  Choreh,  Ch.  Quart.  Rev.  liii.  456. 
Egypt,  Famine,  Bibl.  Sacra,  Wx.  169  (G.  F.  Wright). 
Egyptian  'Aitarte'  Papyrus,  P.S.B.A.  xxiv,  41   (Spit^el- 

berg). 
E^pii«n  God  Bes  (illusi-),  P.S.B.A.  xxiv.  21  (Greofell). 
Egyptian  Weights.  P.S.B.A.  xxiii.  378  (A.  E.  Weigall). 
Emmons,  Nath.,  Amer.Journ.  Theol.  vi,  17  (A.  MUlard). 
Erasmus,  Ch.  Quart.  Rev.  liii.  399. 
Eucharist,  History,  Ck.  Quart.  Rev.  liii.  433. 
Evolution,  Lang.,  Calh.  Univ.  Bull.  viii.  35  (Shanahan). 

Faith,  Pauline,  Prts.-Day  Papers,  v.  10  (R.  M.  Jones). 

Fenelon,  Ch.  Quart.  Ret:  liii.  497. 

Flour  in  Pal.,  Biil.  iVorld,  lix.  16  (G.  Dalman). 

Golgotha,   P.E. P.St.   (1902),   66  (C.   W.   Wilson);    93 

(Gray  Hill). 
Grinding  in  Pal.  (illust.),  Biil.  IVarld,  xii.  9  (G.  Dalman). 
Grotefeod,  Amer,  S.S.  Times,  iliv.  45  [K.  W.  Rogers). 

Heb. -Christ.  Piayer-Book,  Ch.  and  Synagogue,  iv.  g  (Box). 

Hcb.  Mythology,  Pitet,  v.  64  (A.  Lang). 

Hebrews,  Hell.  Element,  Hermalhina,  xi.  263  (Eager). 

Heredity,  Land.  Quart.  Rev,  vii.  17  (J.  A.  Thomson). 

Humanism,  Ch.  Quart.  Rev.  liii.  376. 

Hyperbole,  Jesus'  use,  Biil.  t^erU,  xix.  3. 


o(A. 


Jkhbmuh's  Grotto  (illusl,),  P.E. F.St.  (1901),  38  (Schick). 
Jerome,  Gk.  MSS.  used  by,  Hermalhena,  xi.  335  (J.  H. 

Benurd). 
Jeiusalcm  as  Centre  of  Earth,  P.E.F.St.  (1903),  69  (C.  W. 

Wilson). 
Jesus,  Influence  on  Brothers,  Ind.  Evang.  Rev.  xxv.  338 

(J.  A.  Joyce). 
Jesui,  Inner  Life,  Expos.  1.  ,34,  136  (A.  E.  Gatvie). 

„      Mesi.  Consciousness,  Expas.  v.  73,  148  (G.  Mitligan). 

„     Vi^in  Birth,  Expas.  v.  116  (A.  E.  Outvie). 
JewsinCath.  Ch.,  Ck.  and Synag.  iv.  I  (G.  F.  P.  Blyth). 

„    in  Gr.-As.  States,  Expos,  v.  19,  93  (W.  M.  Ramsay). 
Joli,  Country,  P.E.F.St.  (1903},  10  (Cl.-Ganneau). 

„     Wife,  P.E.F.St.  (1903),  14. 
John,  Prologue,  Sial.  Ccngrig.  xvi.  31  (W.  Hamilton). 


Justice,  Guide,  iii.  31  (J.  Stalker). 

JuBtificalion  in  Paul  and  James,  Ind.  Ev.  Rev.  ixv.  369. 

King's  Pool.  P.E.F.St.  (1903),  34  (B.  Schick). 

Lay  Franchise,  Ck.  Qnarl.  Rev.  liii.  380. 

Love  of  God  in  Sciipt.,  Pres.  Re/.  Rev.  xiii.  I  (G.  Vos). 

Luke  (St.),  Amer.  S.S.  Timis,  xliii.  87;  (W.  RauscheDbush). 

Magic  in  Greece,  Cltus.  Rev.  xv\.  53  (W.  Headlam). 
Malta,  St.  Paul  at,  Contin.  Pres.  xi.  30  (G.  A.  Sim). 
Mephaath,  P.E.F.St.  (1903),  10 (Cl.-Ganneau). 
Messiinism,    Social    Content,   Biil.    ll'ar.'d,    xix.   34    (S. 

Mathews). 
Meleorolc^  at  Jerui.  and  Tiberias  in  1900,  P.E.F.St.  56, 

63  y.  Olaisher). 
Mohammedan  Gnosticism  in  Amer.,  Amer.  Journ.  Tke«l. 

vi.  57  (S.  K.  ValralsUy). 
Muhammed,  Doct.  of  Rev,,  Crit.  Rev.  xiL  13  (J.  A.  Selbie). 
MurisUo  (plan),  P.E.F.St.  (1903),  43  (Cl.-Ganneau). 
Music,  Ceremonial,  i'iliit.  v.  10. 
Mycenaean  Age,  Ch.  Quart.  Rev.  liii.  331. 

Naturalism  of  Spencer  and  Spinoza,  Pies,  and  Reformed 

Rev.  xiii.  38  (E.  H.  Griffin). 
Nature  in  Browning,  Geod  IVoris,  xliii.  89  (S.  A.  Brooke). 
Navel  of  Earth,  P.E.F.St.  (1903),  68  (C.  W.  Wilson). 
New  Test,  and  Jewish  Lit.,  Expos,  v,  52,  135  (Bennett). 
New  Test.  Grammar,  Bibl.  Saera,  \\x.  76  (H.  A.  Scomp). 

pASSOVER,Sam.,^.£.F.5r.  (1903),  83  (J.  E.  II.  Thomson). 
Patriarchs  as  Individuals,  Amer.  S.S.  T:mes,  xliii.  837  (K. 

Konig). 
Paul,   Divine-Human   in  Teaching,   Biil.   Iforld,  xix.  34 

(S.  Malhews). 
Paul,  Myslicism,  Pres.-Day  Papers,  v.  4  (R.  M,  Jones). 

,,     Social  Teaching,  Bibl.  World,  xix.  34  (S.  Mathews). 
Persia,  Missions  (illust.),  Sun.  Afag.  xxxi.  133  (W.  St.  C. 

Tisdall). 
Peshitla,  Lond.  Quart.  Rrv.  vii.  99  (J.  R.  Harris). 
Philosophy,  Study,  Pies.-Day  Papers,  v.  19  (A.  I';.  Garvie). 
Phicnicia  and   Israel,  Ch.  and  Synag.  iv.  33  (W.  O.  E. 

Oesterley). 
I'oor  Laws,  Pilot,  v.  9. 

Prophets,  Christian,  Expos,  v.  I,  109  (E.  C.  SeUyn). 
Ptotestantisra,  German,  Prim.  Melh.    Qu.irl.  xxiv.  34  (R. 

Heath). 
Psalms  am!  Christianity,  Guardian,  No.  3935  (Gregory). 
Psychological  Experiments,  Pilot,  v.  is,  36,  i26(Hol>house}. 

Rainfall    in    Cfelosjria,   P.E.F.St.   (1903),   65   (G.   E. 

Post). 
Redemption  in  St.  Paul,  Bible  Student,  v.  51  (Ci.  Voi). 
Reunion,  Guardian.  No.  2932  (W.  Sanday). 
RirschI  and  Bushnell,  Amer.  Journ.    Theol.  vi.  35  (G.  B. 

Stevens). 


Sarcasm,  Union  Mag.  ii.  63  (J.  Oman). 
Scotland,    Epiicop.  Ch.   in,  ^  Clfardi 
(G.J.  Cowley-Brown). 


'fi'f'vii^''^^**^!'^^' 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Scripture  Study  amoi^  Catholics,  Pilut,  v.  40. 

Sepulchre.  Holy,  P.E.F.Sl.  (i9oa),66(C.  W.  Wilson)  j  93 

{Gray  Hill). 
Shekel,  P.E.F.Sl.  (190J),  94  (C.  Warren). 
Son  of  God,  Exfcs.  v.  14G  (G.  Mitligan). 
Spirituality,  AUlh.  Nevi  Cen.  Mag.  cv.  41  (W,  Matthews). 
Sunday    School,   Graded    Lessons,   BiU.   IVorM,   xix.   51 

(Blakeslec). 
SuperslitioD,  Ci.  of  Eag.  Fiilfiit,  Uii.  50  (H.  II.  Henson). 

Tabkrnaclb,   Colours,    Ch.   and  Synag.   iv,   15   (W.    S, 

Ishcrwood). 
Tabernacle,  Cubil,  P.E.F.Sl.  (190?),  79  (W.  S.  Caldecoti). 
Tel  el-Amama  Tablets,  P.S.B.A.  xxiv.  10  (A.  H.  Sayce). 
Temple,  Christ's  Cleansing,  Bibl.  Saera.  lix.  (A.  M.  Crane). 
Text  of  Gospels  in  Alei.,  Anur.Journ.  Thiol,  vi.  79  (K. 

Uke). 
Thayer,  J.  H.,  Antr.  S.S.  Times,  iliv.  35  (M.  B.  Riddle). 
TheoloeyofXXlhCent.,^m«-./.'«r».rfe<./.Yi.  l(A.GtanI). 
Threshold,  Blood  on,  Amir.  S.S.  Timet,  xliii.  878. 
Tribe,  Exjios.  1.  24  (W,  M.  Kamsay). 


Trinity,  Bibl.  Saera.  lix.  85  (J.  N.  Brown). 

Trinity  of  Spirit,  Bibl.  Saera.  lix.  58  (S.  W.  Howlwid). 

Ul,  P.E.F.S/.  (1902),  la  {O.-Ganneau). 

Vinbt's  Apologetic,  Guardian,  Nos.  3931,  3. 
Virgin  Birth,  Exfias.  v,  ia6  (A.  E.  Gaivie). 

„     Fount    (illust.),    P.E.F.SL    xg    (B.    Schick);    35 
(MasterniaD). 
Vulgate,  Gr.  MSS.  used,  Hirmalktna,  xi.  335  (  BetlUtfd). 

Water,  Wet.  Mtth.  Mag.  cxiv.  t2i  (F.  Ballard). 
Weights,  Egypt,  (illust. )  P.S.B.A.  xxiii.  378  (Weigall). 
I   Wesley,    Biographers,    Land.    Quarl.   Xev.   vli.    I19   (T. 
M'Cullagh). 
Wesley's  Journal,  CA.  Quart.  Rev.  Ixiii.  314. 
Westminster  Confession,  Printing,  Prct,  and  Rtf,  Kec.  xiii. 
60,  {B.  B.  Warfield). 
j   Witchcraft  in  O.T.,  Sibl.  Sacra.  lix.  a6  (C.  E.  Smith). 

1  Zeus-Helios,  P.E.F.St.  (190J),  15  (O.-Ganneau). 


CotttrtBuhoner  att6  Commettter. 


What  were  the  aprons  of  St.  Paul,  Ac  19'*? 
SifUKiVdiov,  semicinctium,  seems  to  be  a  lare  word. 
Blass  quotes  Martial.  14,  153,  Pctron.  94.  The 
patriarch  Severus  of  Antioch,'  put  lupopia  and 
if^iplha  ;  both  words  are  translations  of  Hebrew 
yriD,  Gn  38'*  (see  Field's  Hexapla,  which  is  to  be 
corrected  in  this  passage).  A  gloss  in  Cod. 
Barocc.  76  of  the  Bodleian  Library  declares 
(Ti/uKiV^ioi'  TO  n-apa  tous  foSas  aa.yha>J.w  {sic;  see 
Coxe's  Calalogus,  I.  129).  In  the  Dictionary  of 
tht  Bible  it  is  said  that  '  the  apron  of  Ac  19'^  was  a 
wrapper  of  coloured  cotton,  in  shape  and  size 
resembling  a  bath  towel,  worn  by  grocers,  bakers, 
carpenlers,  and  craftsmen  generally  as  a  protec- 
tion to  their  clothes  from  dust  and  stains,  and  as 
something  to  wipe  their  perspiring  and  soiled 
hands  upon.  St.  Paul  would  wear  an  apron  when 
making  tent<loth.  Handkerchiefs  and  aprons 
were  chosen  because  they  were  light  and  portable 
and  of  the  same  shape  for  all.' 

1  don't  think  that  [his  explanation  does  full 
justice  to  the  context.  The  people  of  Ephesus 
wished  to  have  pieces  of  clothing  which  were  in 
immediate  contact  with  the  very  body  or  skin  of 

'  Quoteil  on  the  margin  of  the  so-called  PhiUxeniana. 


Sl  Paul  (ttTTO  toS  j^poiroi),  and  not  an  apron  worn 
over  the  regular  clothes.  Now  compare  with  the 
meaning  o-avSaXtoc,  given  above,  the  passage  from 
the  Martyrium  Polycarpi  (13,  3),  where  it  is  told 
that  when  the  pile  was  ready,  he  took  off  his 
garments,  loosened  his  girdle,  and  tried  to  unshoe 
himself,  cVcipSro  kqi  WoXvctv  iavrov,  while  hitherto 
he  had  not  done  this  himself,  p^  irportpoi'  row-o 
TiruMv,  because  always  everyone  of  the  faithful  was 
hurrying  (Sia  to  liti  ckootoi'  tutv  tcvrrtov  <nroi&i(«>') 
who  might  first  touch  his  body  (or  skin)  Strrn 
tayuxr  Tov  f,yati>%  avTou  ailnp-au  And  compare, 
further,  the  fact  that  up  to  the  present  day  in 
Roman  Catholic  circles  stockings  worn  by  the 
holy  Father  are  considered  as  especially  helpful 
against  gout  and  all  kind  of  diseases.  There  is 
another  gloss  quoted  in  Matthew  Pole's  Synapsis, 
which  renders  (rt^inVfiiov  by  Airolujui,  whatever 
the  meaning  of  the  latter  word  may  be.  At  all 
events,  it  seems  to  me  that  a.  must  mean  an 
underwearing,  and  not  an  apron  worn  above  the 
regular  clothing.^  Eb.  Nestle. 

Maulhrcan. 

'  The  siidariiim  is,  according  to  the  Gospel  of  Pseudo- 
Mat  thaeus,  chap.  40,  worn  on  the  bead  ;  Jesus  said  to  Joseph, 
Tolle  sudarium  quod  est  super  caput  luum  et  vadc  ct  pone 
illud  super  faciem  morlni  .  .  .  ct  sudariura  qu9()   habebat 


super  caput  suum,  posuil  super  faciem  ei(u^ 


■c^" 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


'  Our  feort '  in  t^e  £«wiB 
(pAdmpstet 

In  The  Expositorv  Times  for  ■  February  Mr. 
Bonus  has  drawn  attention  to  the  peculiar  dis- 
tribution of  those  passages  in  the  Lewis  Palimpsest 
which  substitute  the  term  Maran  (' our  Lord ')  for 
the  more  usual  'Jesus'  of  the  canonical  Gospels, 
According  to  his  investigations  (and  the  statistics 
are  certainly  valuable)  'we  are  confronted  with 
the  very  curious  fact  that  in  two  well-defined 
sections  of  Mt  and  Jn,  Lp  [the  Lewis  Palimpsest] 
employs  the  expression  "our  Lord"  persistently 
to  the  exclusion  of  the  name  "Jesus,"  but  that 
elsewhere  Lp  reads  "our  Lord  "with  no  special 
frequency,'  The  two  tracts  of  the  Gospel  text 
over  which  the  substitution  is  found  are  Mt  8*-t  i^ 
and  Jn  i**-6',  as  may  easily  be  verified  by  the 
student.  Mr.  Bonus  goes  on  to  say  that  in  these 
sections  the  substitution  referred  to  has  no 
support  either  in  the  Curetonian  (Sc)  or  in  the 
Peshito  (P).  In  order  to  establish  more  clearly 
that  the  singular  phenomenon  is  confined  to  the 
regions  in  question,  or  almost  entirely  so  confined, 
he  gives  a  tabular  statement  of  the  occurrences  of 
'  our  Lord '  in  the  narrative  of  the  Gospels  ^  outside 
these  sections,  and  comes  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  Palimpsest  has  the  term  elsewhere  8  times  as 
against  12  times  in  Sc  and  1 1  times  in  P.  I  pro- 
pose to  show  that  these  figures  are  incorrect, 
and  that  the  matter  requires  to  be  re-stated.  In 
order  to  establish  this,  I  reprint  below  the  tabular 
statement  as  given  by  Mr.  Bonus  in  The  Exposi- 
tory Times,  p.  237. 

At  first  sight  the  table  seems  to  bear  the  in- 
terpretation put  upon  it  by  Mr.  Bonus,  but  a  closer 
examination  shows  that  in  a  number  of  cases  the 
expression  'our  Lord'  is  not  a  substitution  for 
'  Jesus,'  but  an  attempt  to  translate  6  KvpuK  so  as  to 
escape  from  the  sense  which  the  word  normally 
bears  in  the  O.T.  Quite  rightly  the  rendering  is 
given  as  'our  Lord.'  But  these  are  not  cases 
which  come  under  the  definition  of  Mr.  Bonus  in 
his  collation,  '  Lewisianum  ^O  pro  uo^.^  per- 
saepe  legere.' 

For  instance,  the  last  four  instances  on  the  list 

'  Mr.  Bonus  has  laken,  as  he  safs,  '  do  notice  of  the  use 
of  the  phrase  "oui  Lord  "  by  ipcaten  in  the  Gospel  narra- 
lit-es,  e.g,  as  in  Mt  38',  (or  these  cases  stand  on  a  diflerenl 
fooling.'  I  Aa  not  understand  the  distinction.  The  refer- 
ence to  Mt  z8*  is  peculiaily  unfortunate. 


must  be  removed;  so  must  Mk  16",  Lk  10™  i 
ia*2  i6»  i7»  i8«  i9«  i2«''''. 


Lp. 

Sc. 

P. 

Mt  4"  omits. 

'our  Lord.- 

omits 

14"  •;«"»■■ 

'JeiDS.' 

'our  Lord.' 

Mkl2« 'our  Lord.' 

■Jesus.' 

16"  wanting. 

LoBD(/.c.God). 

•iurLord,' 

Lk  8* 'our  Lord.* 

'Jesus.' 

10*  '  esus.' 

'oorLord.' 

'out  Lord.' 

It"'   esu..' 

'our  Lord.' 

'Jesus.' 

'our  Lord.' 

1  Jesus.; 

14"  '   esus.' 

'our  Lord.- 

i6»  Lord  {i.t.  God). 

'lord'    (of    the 
steward]. 

'orr^Lord.' 

17'  'Jesus.' 

'our  Lord.' 

'our  Lord.' 

!»• 'Jesus.' 

'our  Lord." 

'our  Lord.' 

.9» 'Jesus.' 

'our  Lord,' 

aa»  omits. 

'Jesus,' 

32"  omits. 

'our  Lord.' 

■Jesus.' 

12"  ' Jesus.' 
22"  •  jesu..' 

'our  Lord.' 

'our  Uid.' 

'our  Lord.' 

Jn8»"ot.rLord.' 

lost. 

'   esus.; 

ll«'ou.  Lord.' 

lost. 

12« 'our  Lord.' 

lo»1.                       1 

.3" 'our  Lord.' 

lost.                      1 

w" 'our  Lord.' 

'our  Lord.'; 

2o»  omits. 

'our  Lord.' 

21^^'ourLord.' 

lo^i.                       \ 

'our  Lord.' 1 

lost.                          ! 

'our  Lord.' 1 

S 

"        i 

"     1 

Then  we  must  remove  from  the  list  Mk  13^ 
where  the  reading  of  the  Palimpsest  has  been 
wrongly  given  in  the  published  text.  Again,  in 
Jn  13^^  the  reading  is  not  clearly  established. 
We  must  also  remove  Mk  4I',  for  there  is  no 
name  given  in  the  Greek,  and  so,  although  Sc 
has  added  '  our  Lord,'  there  is  no  evidence  that 
it  is  a  substitution  for  'Jesus.' 

Three  further  cases  occur,  which  are  a  little 
more  doubtful:  they  are  Lk  14"  22*^  22".  In 
all  these  cases  there  does  not  appear  to  be  any 
name  in  the  original  Greek,  and  it  is  doubtful 
whether  the  name  and  title  inserted  are  more 
than  independent  attempts  to  fill  up  an  ambiguous 
lacuna.  If  we  omit  these  cases  we  are  left  with 
the  following  statistical  result  of  the  substitutions 
of  'our  Lord'  for  'Jesus.'  The  Palimpsest  has 
three  passages,  namely,  Lk  8**,  Jn  8**,  Jn  11"; 
the  Cureton  text  has  none ;  and  the  Peshito  only 
one,  namely,  Mt  4'*.  Nothing  could  express  more 
clearly  the  fact  which  Mr.  Bonus  wishes  us  to 
notice,  that  the  substitution  of  '  Maran '  for 
'Jesus'  belongs  to  two  regions  of  the  Lewis 
Palimpsest  and  practically  nowhere  else,  and  as 
far  as  these  two  regions  are  concerned,  Mrs.  Lewis 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


was  surely  right  in  describing  them  as  of  a  later 
type  than  what  corresponds  to  ihem  in  the 
Cureton  text.  For  this  is  an  evident  consequence 
from  the  two  statements,  that  the  Cureton  Gospels 
have  a  common  origin  with  the  Lewis  Gospels, 
and  that  the  '  Maran '  readings  have  come  into 
the  Lewis  Gospel  as  corruptions. 

Now  the  occurrence  of  these  two  groups  of 
readings  has  realty  nothing  to  do  with  the  gene- 
alogical tree  of  the  Syriac  versions,  not  even  if 
the  readings  should  be  proved  to  be  due  to  the 
influence  of  the  Tatian  Harmony;  for,  as  we 
have  shown,  in  the  Lewis  texts  they  are  an  in- 
trusion, and  in  the  Cureton  and  Peshito  versions 
they  do  Dot  exist;  at  least  there  is  no  sufficient 
proof  of  their  existence,  as  regards  these  versions, 
when  we  are  discussing  the  problem  whether  we 
should  read  'Maran'  or  'Jesus,'  And  it  only 
tends  to  obscure  the  problem  when  Mr.  Bonus 
introduces,  in  connexion  with  the  '  Maran '  readings 
the  question  of  the  antiquity  of  the  Peshito.  I  per- 
ceive that  Mr,  Bonus  r^ards  the  controversy  over 
the  relative  ages  of  Sc  and  P  as  a  slumbering  ques- 
tion, which  he  or  someone  else  is  going  to  reopen. 
However,  on  this  point  he  will  probably  see  reason, 
before  long,  to  retrace  his  steps,  as  there  is  no  road 
that  way.  And  recent  investigations  into  the  sup- 
posed antiquity  of  the  Peshito  will  probably  deter 
any  further  attempt  on  the  part  of  scholars  to  find 
or  force  a  path.  As  to  the  way  in  which  the  '  Maran ' 
readings  came  into  the  Lewis  text,  the  steadiness 
with  which  they  occur  shows  them  to  be  the  result 
of  deliberate  art.  The  region  Mt  8'-ii^  is  almost 
exactly  that  occupied  by  four  leaves  of  the  actual 
MS.,  for  fol.  II*  begins  with  Mt  8*,  and  fol.  14* 
ends  with  Mt  ii^.  (The  objection  arises  that  the 
leaf  before  fol.  1 1  is  missing,  and  consequently  the 
region  is  not  accurately  defined  in  which  the 
phenomenon  occurs.)  Mt  r^  begins  on  fol,  3', 
and  allowing  for  one  blank  page  at  the  beginning, 
this  is  eight  leaves  before  the  four  '  Maran '  leaves. 
The  suggestion  is  that,  in  the  archetype  or  ancestry 
of  the  Lewis  text,  a  single  quire  (namely,  the  third) 
was  '  Maranized.'  Will  this,  however,  explain  the 
tract  Jn  i*«-6*?  AVe  find  that  foL  120*  begins 
with  Jn  i^ ;  that  is  suggestive :  Jn  6*  is  near  the 
end  of  the  first  column  in  fol.  129';  that  is,  the 
space  covered  is  a  column  short  of  a  region  of 
nine  leaves.  This  is  a  little  more  than  we  ex- 
pected ;  if  it  had  been  eight  leaves,  we  should  have 
said  at  once  that  a  couple  of  quires  in  the  early  part 


of  John  had  been  '  Maranized.'  Now  we  are,  of 
course,  in  the  dark  as  to  the  previous  history  of 
the  text  of  Lp.  We  are  assuming  the  pages  of  the 
archetype  were  something  like  the  present  pages, 
and  that  the  archetype  was  arranged  in  groups  of 
four  leaves.  It  is  impossible  to  do  more  than  make 
a  guess;  but  we  suggest  that  from  the  fact  that 
the  second  region  is  very  little  more  than  double 
the  first  region  (it  should  be  remembered  that  the 
definition  of  the  regions  is  only  made  by  the 
nearest  'Maran'),  it  is  probable  that  a  scribe 
introduced  the  word  by  which  we  made  the 
delimitation  into  two  quires  of  John  and  one  of 
Matthew.  It  is  only  a  conjecture ;  but  the  data 
do  not  admit  of  anything  stronger.  We  do  not 
even  know  that  in  the  archetype  the  Gospels 
followed  the  same  order  as  in  Lp. 

Last  of  all  comes  Mr.  Bonus'  suggestion  that 
perhaps  the  scribe  was  under  the  influence  of  the 
Diatessaron  in  making  the  change  from  '  Jesus ' 
to  '  Maran.'  For  this,  however,  the  proof  is  not 
yet  forthcoming ;  and  it  appears  unlikely,  in  view 
of  the  defect  of  similar  phenomena  in  5c  and  P. 
We  should  rather  be  disposed  to  think  that  the 
same  tendency  which  we  find  in  the  later  Gospels, 
to  write  '  our  Lord '  or '  the  Lord '  for  '  Jesus,'  had 
begun  to  colour  Syriac  speech  and  literature,  and 
so  had  become  reflected  on  to  the  texts  of  tbe 
Gospels  from  the  minds  of  the  Scribes ;  but  here 
we  are  still  in  the  dark  and  can  hardly  venture  so 
much  as  a  conjecture. 

Mr.  Bonus  deserves  our  thanks  for  drawing 
attention  to  the  matter  of  the  distribution  of  the 
term  '  Maran  '  in  the  Syriac  Gospels ;  but  I  cannot 
help  wishing  that  he  had  presented  the  statistics 
(a)  more  completely,  (b)  in  a  form  more  suitable 
for  drawing  critical  conclusions.  In  a  private 
communication  he  informs  me  that  it  was  not  his 
object  to  draw  any  conclusions  at  all,  but  only  to 
present  the  facts.  I  am  sorry  if  I  have  not 
sufficiently  recognized  the  limitations  under  which 
he  was  working,  and  if  I  have  appeared  to  criticize 
him  for  doing  what  he  had  never  attempted. 

J.  Rendel  Harris. 


(Ihofeeeor    $.    Q^.    ^.    QITennebs's 
®rttcfc  '(fiXoneg':  %  Cotrectton. 

In  last  month's  issue  (p.  z2ob),  in  a  review  of 
the   new   edition   of  Schiirer's   G.J.  V.,    I   called 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


attention  to  his  complimentary  references  to 
Professor  Kennedy's  article  '  Money'  in  vol.  iii. 
of  Dr.  Hastings'  D.B.  By  an  unfortunate  slip 
of  the  pen  Dr.  Schiirer  was  made  to  describe  the 
article  as  a  'sehr  gute  Zusamnien-j'^/swMf  (i.t. 
'collection,'  or  'compilation').  Of  course  it 
ought  to  have  been  '  Zusammcn^^jjwwj'  (i.e. 
'r&um^').  A  more  unsuitable  term  than  'com- 
pilation '  could  not  be  found  for  an  article  which 
is  not  only  'sorgfiiltig'  (I  have  quoted  Schiirer 
correctly  this  time),  but  marked  by  the  highest 
originality  and  independence,  qualities  which  will 
be  found  to  characterize  also  Dr.  Kennedy's 
article  'Weights  and  Measures,'  and,  above  all, 
his  article  '  Tabernacle '  in  the  forthcoming  volume 
of  the  D.B  J.  A.  Selbie. 

Maryeithcr,  Abtrdeen. 


tXft  S^rue  (penning  of  ©.rpafte^ftb. 

It  had  long  been  conjectured  that  Arpakshad 
meant '  boundary  of  the  Chalda^ns,'  and  the  Arab. 
word  urftt,  'border,'  'district,'  had  even  been  cited 
by  way  of  comparison.  But,  unfortunately,  the 
existence  of  a  word  arpM  in  Bab,-Assyrian  with 
this  sense  was  not  demonstrable.  The  latest 
attempts  to  explain  the  word  were  by  Canon 
Cheyne  {Expositor,  February  1897,  pp.  145-148; 
Arpakshad  =  '  Arpak,  Keshad,'  i.e.  Arrapachitis  and 
Chaldxa),  and  by  myself  {An^.  Htb.  Trad.;  Ar- 
pa-kshad  =  'Ur-pa-kshad'  =  Ur  Kasdim, /a  being 
the  Egyp.  article).  Both  these,  however,  which 
were  merely  last  resorts,  must  be  definitively  aban- 
doned naw  that  I  have  succeeded  in  adducing  from 
W.A.I,  vol.  ii.  pi.  9,  lines  zo  and  37,  a  Bab.  arpu  as 
a  synonym  of  tiM,  '  bordering,' '  neighbourhood.' 
The  corresponding  Sumerian  is  iar,  'rampart,' 
'embankment,'  'dam';  and  there  could  be  no 
more  suitable  synonym  for '  border,' '  district,'  than 
a  word  which,  like  iar  (Semitic  Mru),  signifies 
'  bank-wall,'  '  dam,' '  boundary  wall.'  The  circum- 
sunce  that  iar  is  represented  elsewhere  by 
narrubu,  '  flee  '  (Nifal  of  arS^,  Arab,  hariia)  does 
not  necessitate  reading  arbu  instead  of  arpu  (cf. 
e.g.  sQg=  both  dam&ku  and  temefiu,  root  poy),  as  is 
done  by  Frd.  Delitzsch  {H.W.B.  p.  laS).  More- 
over,  the  context  of  W.A.I.  ii.  9, 37  ('  this  arpu,  he 
gave  it  to  his  father,  and  he  caused  him  to  enter 
into  that   which   he  had   in  possession')  points 


clearly  to  such  a  sense  as  '  district ' ;  cf,  further, 
Eth.  araft,  'wall,'  and  Arab,  mudrif,  'neighbour.' 
Fritz  Hommel. 

MunUA. 

P.S. — 1  have  just  observed  that  Professor  Sayce 
(The  Expository  Times,  xiii.  p.  65  f.)  has  already 
sought  to  explain  'Arpakshad'  by  the  Bab.  arpu  = 
kar,  'wall,'  'ramparL'    He  writes: — 

'  I  have  assumed  that  Arphaxad  is  a  representative  of  ihe 
Western  Semites.  It  has  long  since  been  recognized  that 
the  name  is  a  compound  of  Chesed,  and  of  all  the  attempts 
that  have  been  made  to  explaio  the  first  element  in  it  that 
of  Schrader  [fC.A.T.*  p.  113,  cf.  also  Hommel,  StmUen, 
i.  p.  431],  which  cotinects  it  with  the  Arabic  arfah  (read 
urfah\  Elh.  arfet  [read  araft\  "  a  wall '"  i>r  '■  rampart,"  is 
the  most  plausible.  I  believe  that  I  can  now  give  Schiader's 
elymoloey  its  needed  confirmation.  In  the  recently  pub- 
Ushed  C.T.B.T.  nii.  pi.  11,  lines  21  fT.,  iar  "a  wall"  w 
"rampart,"  is  explained  by  arpu,  uarrupu,  and  imifiu. 
Whatever  may  be  the  meaning  of  the  lost  two  forms,  arfia 
has  nothing  to  do  with  ar^fiu,  "  lo  destroy  "  [so  Deliiisch, 
//.  W.  p.  liS],  and  is,  I  believe,  the  erplia  of  "  Arphaxad  " ; 
the  latter  name,  consequently,  will  signify  "the  wall  of 
Chesed."' 

Thus  Professor  Sayce,  The  lines  cited  by  him 
{kar  =  arpu)  are  found  in^  the  lexicographical  list 
83-1-18,  1330,  col.  4,  11.  21  f.  (see,  already, 
Meissner,  Suppl.  p.  15,  where  narrubu  is  given 
correctly  as  infin.  Nif.  [to  the  ptcp.  muHnarbu\  = 
'  flee,'  but  its  connexion  with  the  Arab,  hariba 
is  not  yet  recognized).  In  any  case  arpu  is  to  be 
kept  distinct  from  narrubu ;  there  was  in  Sumerian 
a  kar  =  ^  flee'  as  well  as  a  kar^  '  wall,'  'boundary  ' 
(whence  also  iar  =  f/^/K, 'protect, "sheller,"spare'). 
The  decisive  passage  for  the  latter  sense  {iar 
=  arpu),  derived,  too,  from  a  continuous  text,  and 
not  a  mere  lexicographical  list,  has  now  been 
adduced  by  me  from  the  above  W.A.I,  ii.  9.  20 
and  37,  and  thus  the  final  proof  has  been  offered 
of  the  correctness  of  the  interpretation  already  put 
forward  by  Professor  Sayce. 


On  Certain  5BAtAn  ff^ueetions. 

I  DESIRE  to  put  briefly  before  your  readers,  most 
of  whom  have  not  seen  my  article  which  Professor 
Kdnig  has  criticized  in  so  kindly  a  spirit  (The 
Expository  Times,  November  and  December 
1901),  the  chief  points  of  that  articld*- "- '^>J  "^ 


286 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


1.  Although  not  a  professor,  as  Dr.  Konig  calls 
me,  I  have  studied  the  Book  of  Isaiah  long  and 
carefully,  and  I  hope  to  set  the  younger  generation 
of  biblical  students  at  work  upon  problems  which 
cannot  be  fully  solved  at  present.  Recc^nizing 
later  interpx>lations  in  the  book,  I  yet  hold  to  its 
essential  unity.  The  trend  of  Isaian  criticism  for 
the  last  eighty  years  reminds  me  of  a  road  which 
bifurcates,  the  right-hand  path  constantly  ramifying, 
till  it  loses  itself  in  a  labyrinth.  It  is  lime  to  go 
back  to  the  fork  of  the  road. 

2.  Gesenius  (1821)  exercised  a  reasonable 
criticism  in  dividing  the  Book  of  Isaiah ;  we  should 
do  the  same  if  we  had  only  his  light.  Though  he 
had  predecessors,  he  was  the  first  to  bring  the 
world  of  scholars  to  believe  in  the  exilian  origin 
of  Isaiah  40-66.  But  his  chief  bulwark,  the 
historical  situation  in  the  time  of  Cyrus,  we  now 
perceive  to  rest  on  a  misreading  of  the  facts  of 
histoTj'.  The  inscriptions  of  Cyrus  and  Nabuna'id 
show  that  Cyrus  was  no  monotheist ;  that  he  never 
laid  siege  to  Babylon ;  that  the  city  welcomed  him 
as  a  deliverer;  that  he  worshipped  its  idols  and 
ascribed  his  conquests  to  Marduk,  not  to  Jehovah. 

Among  the  burning  questions  yet  to  be  settled 
are  these :  Did  Cyrus  do  anything  whatever  for 
the  Jews?  Was  there  any  return  from  Babylon 
before  Ezra's?  Was  there  even  such  an  exile  as 
tradition  supposes? 

3.  Is  38  and  39  are  generally  held  to  precede 
chaps.  36,  37;  hence  40  directly  follows  37,  and 
naturally  refers  to  the  same  historical  situation, 
which  indeed  it  admirably  fits.  Jehovah  comes  to 
comfort  Jerusalem  after  Sennacherib's  devastation 
of  the  cities  of  Judah  (compare  his  inscriptions). 
The  prophet,  as  usual,  addresses  Jerusalem  (40^) ; 
his  standpoint  is  there.  The  exiles  accosted 
throughout  40-66  are  not  simply  in  Babylon,  but 
in  the  fourquarters  of  the  earth  (43*'- 49"  cf.  11"). 
That  dispersion,  begun  long  before  Hezekiah's 
time,  was  in  full  progress  during  bis  reign.  There 
is  no  occasion  to  postulate  a  miraculous  prediction 
of  events  170  years  in  the  future,  or  to  abandon 
the  historical  tradition  as  to  authorship. 

4.  The  polemic  against  idolatry  in  40-48  well  I 
suits  the  period  of  Heiekiah's  reforms,  of  which  1 
Isaiah  was  doubtless  the  chief  oi^an.  This  re-  | 
mains  true,  whether  those  reforms  marked  the  end  I 
or  the  beginning  of  the  reign  ;  but  the  parallels  are  1 
striking  if  we  assume  with  most  recent  critics  that 
they  followed  the  overthrow  of  Sennacherib.  \ 


That  very  juncture,  too,  was  singularly  apt  for 
setting  forth  the  mission  of  Israel  as  the  servant 
of  Jehovah.  Professor  Konig  seems  not  to  grasp 
my  view  of  the  course  of  thought  in  41'-*. 

5.  Chaps.  57,  65,  66  furnish  another  historical 
point  of  contact  with  the  times  of  Isaiah.  The 
division  of  parties  in  Northern  Israel  (2  Ch  30), 
and  the  influx  of  foreign  colonists  (z  K  1 7),  seem 
to  account  for  the  various  elements  in  those 
puzzling  chapters. 

Parallels  may  be  adduced  in  this  as  in  other 
cases  from  later  times,  but  the  time  of  Isaiah  has 
the  right  of  way. 

6.  The  name  Cyrus  occurs  but  twice :  44^*  45^ 
The  latter  is  generally  recognized  as  an  interpol- 
ation, while  the  former  verse  is  probably  a  variant 
plus  a  gloss.  The  Babylon  passages  are  explicable 
in  various  ways,  t^.  43'*  and  46'  are  remarkably 
paralleled  in  Sennacherib's  account  of  bis  campaign 
of  700  against  Merodach-Baladan.  No  one  who 
holds,  with  modern  critics,  that  the  older  prophecies 
were  adapted  by  later  interpreters  to  their  own 
circumstances,  can  prove  that  the  Book  of  Isaiah 
belongs  to  several  authors,  instead  of  to  one 
author  and  a  few  editors. 

7.  The  arguments  from  style  and  diction  depend 
upon  the  ability  to  appreciate  minute  and  charac- 
teristic resemblances  and  differences,  and  cannot 
be  exhibited  in  a  summary.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
the  strength  of  the  combined  results  of  many  recent 
and  independent  investigators,  who  have  favoured 
Isaiah's  authorship  of  some  or  all  of  the  disputed 
passages,  has  been  strangely  overlooked. 

8.  As  Professor  Konig  makes  no  allusion  to 
my  final  topic,  '  Isaiah's  Place  in  the  World  of 
Thought,'  let  me  quote  a  few  sentences  from 
it:— 

'If  their  race  is  not  extinct,  the  masters  of 
general  literature  will  some  day  be  beard  from  on 
this  question.  I  do  not  refer  to  masters'  appren- 
tices or  literary  dilettanti.  I  mean  men  of  power, 
like  Coleridge  and  Emerson ;  men  who  combine  a 
taste  as  delicate  as  Sainte-Beuve's  with  an  insight 
as  keen  as  Browning's.  They  recognize  a  kindred 
spirit  when  they  meet  it ;  they  know  that  the  good 
God  has  sent  to  this  planet  a  few  men  of  towering 
literary  genius,  and  that  Isaiah  was  one  of  them. 
The  great  masters  may  ignore  historical  construc- 
tions ;  they  will  be  indifferent  to  literary  skirmishes 
on  the  outposts;  but  the  moment  you  b^n  to 
argue  that  Isaiah  having  written  A,  could  not  have 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


287 


writien  B,  having  soared  to  this  height  could  not 
reach  that  dq>th,  or  even  the  common  level  be- 
tween, they  will  exclaim  "  Hold !  that  is  our  pro- 
vince.    Face  to  the  right  about  and  retreat."     For 


no  argument  that  would  shatter  Shakespeare  and 
dismember  Dante  will  have  a  feather's  weight  with 
such  men.'  William  H,  Cobb. 

Boston. 


3n<tr  %i\ti.. 


The  death  of  Professor  A.  B.  Davidson  of  the 
New  College,  Edinburgh,  is  the  sorest  loss  that 
biblical  scholarship  could  sustain.  His  health 
had  not  been  good  for  some  time;  the  sudden 
flush,  so  characteristic  of  his  face,  betokened  a 
heart  weakness;  and  perhaps  we  ought  not  to 
have  been  taken  by  surprise.  But  his  mind  was 
as  vigorous  as  ever,  his  interest  in  men  and  books 
was  as  fresh ;  he  was  investigating  the  oldest 
problems  with  the  old  zest,  and  reading  the  latest 
German  brochure  on  them ;  and  just  before  this 
session  began  he  told  us  that  he  was  preparing 
some  new  work  for  his  students  this  year. 

Estimates  of  his  work  and  himself  have 
appeared  in  the  British  Wtekly  and  elsewhere; 
we  offer  one  also  by  one  of  his  most  distinguished 
pupils.  But  every  writer  feels  the  impossibility  of 
reproducing  on  paper  the  effect  of  his  personality. 
Perhaps  Professor  Driver  of  Oxford  comes  as 
near  as  any.  He  has  written  at  the  request  of  the 
editor  of  the  Guardian,  and  has  kindly  furnished 
us  with  a  proof  of  his  paper,  from  which  we  quote 
two  paragraphs.  For  ourselves,  we  feel  as  one  of 
the  ehildren  in  the  house. 

For  by  Ihe  hearlh  the  children  ail 
Cold  in  that  atmosphere  of  Death, 
And  scarce  endure  to  draw  the  biealh, 

Or  like  lo  noiieless  phantomi  flit : 

Bat  open  convene  i*  ihetc  none, 
So  much  the  vital  spirits  sink 
To  see  the  vacant  chair,  and  think, 

'  How  good  t  how  kind  !  and  he  is  gone.' 

This  is  what  Dr.  Driver  says  of  Dr.  Davidson's 
work:  'Professor  Davidson  was  a  man  of  rare 
powers,  and  of  still  rarer  qualities  of  mind. 
Whatever  subject  he  touched,  his  treatment  of  it 
always  displayed  two  qualities — it  was  masterly, 
and  it  was  judicial.     No  one  had  a  better  power 


of  penetrating  to  the  heart  of  a  subject;  no  one 
was  more  skilful  in  the  discovery  and  delineation 
of  the  characteristics  of  an  age,  the  drift  of  an 
argument,  the  aim  of  a  writer;  no  one — witness 
his  Job — could  more  powerfully  analyse  moral 
feeling  or  exhibit  the  conflict  of  motives  in  a 
difficult  moral  situation.  His  mastery  of  a  subject 
was  always  complete ;  he  grasped  it  firmly,  he 
saw  it  under  all  its  bearings,  he  expotinded  it 
with  clearness,  and  he  enabled  his  reader  to  see  it 
with  him.  And  his  discussion  of  it  was,  moreover, 
always  judicial.  He  weighs  reasons,  he  balances 
opposing  considerations,  he  is  never  carried  away 
by  a  brilliant  but  hazardous  speculation,  he  can 
always  distinguish  the  certain  from  the  hypo- 
thetical. His  native  caution,  shrewdness,  and 
insight  never  fail  him.  If  his  final  judgments 
seem  sometimes  to  show  indecision,  it  is  because 
indecision  is  warranted  by  the  facts.  His  exe- 
getical  works  are  of  the  very  highest  quality;  one 
reads  them  with  the  feeling  that  whatever  he  says 
is  the  result  of  long  and  mature  study,  that  he  has 
considered  his  subject  from  every  point  of  view, 
and  applied  the  best  available  methods  with  the 
single  object  of  getting  precisely  at  what  his 
author  thought  and  meant.  And  so  one  feels  that 
his  interpretation  of  a  difficult  passage,  or  con- 
clusion on  a  controverted  question,  has  an  ante- 
cedent presumption  of  being  the  best  attainable.' 

This  again  is  what  Dr.  Driver  says  of  Dr. 
Davidson's  influence:  'His  lot  was  cast  in  a 
time  when  influence  and  guidance  were  greatly 
needed.  Professor  Davidson  supplied  both.  He 
moved  circumspectly :  but  he  was  gifted  with 
openness  of  mind ;  and  when  he  saw  the  way 
clear,  even  though  it  might  be  a  new  way,  he  did 
not  hesitate  to  follow  it.  The  judgments  of  a 
man  whose  temper  and  habits  of  mind  were  such 
as  Professor  Davidson's  were  well  known  lo  be, 


388 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


naturally  commanded  confidence;  and  he  nas 
instrumental  in  leading  many  safely  through  a 
difficult  and  trying  transition.  His  work  was 
always  spiritually  fruitful.  He  deepened  and 
enlarged  the  spiritual  perceptions  of  his  students ; 
he  illuminated  and  widened  their  mental  view ; 
many  parts  of  the  Old  Testament  he  placed 
before  them  in  a  new  light ;  and  he  set  the  whole 
upon  a  far  surer  foundation  than  it  occupied 
before.  The  loss  of  a  teacher  thus  highly  gifted 
may  well  be  deemed  irreparable :  but  Professor 
Davidson  will  still  live  for  long  in  the  grateful 
memories  of  his  pupils  and  friends;  and  by  his 
writings,  and  the  writings  of  those  who,  in  the 
formative  period  of  their  lives,  imbibed  his 
principles  and  methods,  he  will  continue  to  teach 
many  generations  of  readers.' 

In  the  article  from  which  we  have  quoted  Pro- 
fessor Driver  expresses  the  hope  that  some  of 
Dr.  Davidson's  promised  work  will  yet  see  the 
light,  especially  his  Theology  of  the  Old  Testament. 
We  believe  that  that  hope  will  be  realized. 


Another  volume  which  has  been  long  looked 
for,  and  almost  as  eagerly  as  Dr.  Davidson's 
Theology  of  the  Old  Testament,  is  Principal  Rainy's 
history  of  The  Ancient  Catholic  Church.  Happily 
it  has  been  published,  and  its  author  is  still  with 
us.  How  like  its  author  the  book  is.  We  hear 
his  voice  in  every  sentence.  Some  of  the  words 
are  so  associated  with  his  speech  that  they  might 
have  been  coined  by  him.  The  whole  volume, 
however,  is  a  characteristic  product  of  his  peculiar 
genius.  It  begins  slowly,  it  moves  slowly  for  a 
time,  every  word  right,  every  sentence  telling,  the 
whole  picture  clear  and  memorable.  Then  it 
suddenly  awakens  emotion,  deep  thrilling  emotion, 
we  hold  our  breath,  we  seem  to  watch  the 
speaker's  lips  again,  we  resent  the  slightest  sound 
near  us,  we  are  ready  to  cry  '  Well  done,  well 
done';  we  have  had  an  experience  which  is  more 
than  memorable,  an  experience  which  has  gone 
to  the  making  of  our  life.  When  the  book  has 
once  got  hold  it  does  not  let  us  go,  Surely  those 
who  never  read  the  history  of  the  Church  of 
Christ  will  read  it  now. 


little  book  which  he  has  prepared  for  the  '  Young 
People's  Commemoration  Day '  is  Our  Scots 
Reformers  and  Covenanters  :  Their  Humanity  and 
Humour  (Oliphaot).  It  is  a  right  well-chosen 
title.  It  is  the  title  of  a  most  opportune  and 
happy  little  book.  Led  by  the  great  wizard,  who 
never  did  a  sorrier  service,  the  novehsts  and  even 
the  historians  have  taught  that  the  noble  fore- 
fathers of  religious  Scotland  had  neither  humour 
nor  humanity.  Here  is  the  abundant  and 
triumphant  refutation  of  the  ghastly  calumny. 
Let  Englishmen  especially  seek  this  morsel  of 
good  reading — it  costs  but  three  halfpence — and 
learn  how  John  Knox  loved  England  and  dis- 
trusted France,  and  never  wavered,  for  had  he 
I  not  an  English  wife  to  love  most  dearly  and  never 
lose  the  memory  of  her  sweetness? 


In  the  Auburn  Seminary  Review,  Professor  A. 
T.  Robertson  of  Louisville  reviews  Deissmann's 
Bible  Studies,  and  says  that  it  marks  an  epwch  in 
the  study  of  New  Testament  Greek,  The  phrase 
is  sometimes  used  foolishly,  here  its  use  is  quite 
accurate.  For  Deissmann's  Ixwk  marks  the 
change  that  has  come  over  the  study  of  New 
Testament  Greek  from  the  evidence  of  the  con- 
temporary inscriptions. 


The  Testament  of  our  Lord  is  now  ready. 
Professor  Cooper  and  Dean  Maclean  have  spent 
much  pains  upon  the  translation,  notes,  and  intro- 
duction. It  will  be  one  of  the  greatest  books  of 
the  spring. 

The  Guardian  receives  Dr.  Ball's  book  on  St. 
Paul  and  the  Roman  Law  as  Professor  Robertson 
receives  Deissmann,  saying  that  his  '  most  useful 
suggestive  studies'  illustrate  the  fact  that  'the 
language  of  the  Greek  Testament  and  of  Dogmatic 
Theology  is  charged  with  associations  which  can 
only  be  fully  understood  in  the  light  of  a  lai^er 
knowledge  of  contemporary  philosophy,  law,  and 
literature." 


'ille  which  Sheriff  Guthrie  has  given  to  the 


Printed  by  Moikison  &  GtiB  Limitid,  Tanfield  Wotki, 
ud  Publwbed  by  T.  1  T.  Clark,  38  Geo^  Street, 
Edioborgb.  It  ii  reqne*ted  that  all  literuy  com- 
muoicatioiu  be  addiesKd  to  Thi  Editok,  St.  Cynis, 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


IJloUe   of  (Jl«<«f   ^&Jcpoeition. 


In  his  recently  published  Life  of  Christ,  entitled 
TSe  Man  Christ  Jesus,  the  Rev.  W.  J.  Dawson 
suggests  an  interpretation  of  the  scene  in  the  house 
of  Simon  the  Pharisee  {Lk  ;>•■«>)  which  seems  to 
be  new. 

Mr  Dawson  suggests  that  '  the  woman  who  was 
a  sinner '  entered  the  banqueting  hall  accordir^  to 
a  carefully  arranged  plot  of  Simon's.  He  says 
that  the  whole  occasion  was  part  of  a  stratagem 
to  entrap  Christ.  Simon  wished  to  place  Him  in 
a  false  position,  to  compromise  both  His  reputa- 
tion and  His  influence.  And  'the  means  by 
which  this  piece  of  astute  malignity  was  to  be 
achieved  was  a  woman.' 

The  woman  came  to  the  banquet,  says  Mr. 
Dawson,  on  Simon's  invitation.  She  was  accus- 
tomed to  attend  banquets.  That  was  her  trade. 
She  brought  fragrant  oils  and  essences  to  anoint 
the  hair  and  brows  of  the  guests.  The  custom 
was  really  a  Roman  one,  and  Simon, '  in  his  pride 
of  wealth,  was  merely  imiuting  the  manners  of  the 
conquerors  of  his  country.'  It  would  be  this 
woman's  duly  to  anoint  the  head  of  Jesus.  Every 
one  would  see  her  play  her  part.  If  Jesus  resented 
hei  touch,  then  He  was  a  prophet ;  if  He  did  not, 
then  '  Simon's  banquet  would  long  be  remembered 
Vol.  XIII.— 7. 


for  its  complete  exposure  of  the  prophetic  claims 
of  Christ.'  For  this  woman  'was  a  beautiful 
daughter  of  shame.'    

Simon  was  disappointed.  'This  woman,  full  of 
gaiety  and  loveliness  and  youih,  draws  near  the 
long  divan  on  which  the  guests  recline,  to  fulfi] 
the  duties  of  her  calling.  She  is  all  smiles ;  she 
knows  her  beauty ;  she  is  conscious  of  the  admira- 
tion it  attracts ;  she  is  glad  to  find  herself  con- 
spicuous, and  there  is  no  thought  of  shame  or 
sadness  in  her  mind.  She  approaches  Christ  with 
careless  grace,  and,  behold,  she  stands  suddenly 
arrested  as  by  some  unknown  force,  silent  as 
a  statue,  with  all  her  smiles  frozen  on  her 
mouth.' 

The  interpretation  seems  to  be  new.  But  it  is 
not  credible.  It  falls  to  pieces  over  the  single 
circumstance  that  Simon  was  a  Pharisee.  No 
Pharisee,  however  wealthy,  would  be  found  '  imitat- 
ing the  manners  of  the  conquerors  of  his  country.' 
He  was  a  Pharisee  just  because  he  refused  to  do 
any  such  thing.  It  falls  to  pieces  over  its  own 
unnaturalness  also.  The  story  in  the  Gospel  is 
natural  and  consistent;  it  is  spoiled  of  both  by 
this  supposition.  And  it  falls  to  pieces  over  the 
notion  that  it  was  because  she  was  '  a  beautiful 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


daughter  of  shame,'  that  Christ  was  blamed  foi 
allowing  her  to  touch  Him. 

In  the  last  respect  Mr.  Dawson  is  at  one  with 
the  most  ordinary  and  orthodox  interpreters.  It 
is  taken  as  quite  an  undisputed  fact  that  this 
woman  is  called  a  'sinner'  because  she  was  a 
prostitute.  It  is  taken  for  granted  that  the 
objection  to  Christ's  allowing  her  to  touch  Him 
was  because  she  was  so  bad. 

But  was  that  an  objection?  Would  any  one 
at  the  feast  have  been  offended  at  Christ" s  allowing 
a  'bad 'woman  to  touch  Him?  Would  Simon? 
Simon  did  not  care  how  bad  she  was.  What  he 
cared   for  and   considered    was   that  she    was   a 


For  the  word  'sirmer'  carried  a  technical  and 
universally  understood  meaning.  There  were  two 
classes  of  persons  in  Palestine  at  the  time — the 
righteous  and  the  sinners.  They  were  quite  dis- 
tinct. They  had  no  social  intercourse.  They 
were  almost,  if  not  altt^ether,  as  separate  from 
one  another,  as  were  the  whole  race  of  the  Jews 
from  the  Samaritans.  No  righteous  person  would 
sit  at  meat  with  a  sitmer.  When  Jesus  entered 
the  house  of  the  'sinner'  Zacchieus  (all  the 
publicans  were  'sinners'),  none  of  the  righteous 
persons  (most  of  whom  were  Pharisees)  entered 
with  Him.  They  would  not  allow  a  'sinner'  even 
to  touch  them.  

Now  Jesus  belonged  to  the  righteous  class.  He 
knew  the  Law.  He  was  not  one  of  'this  people 
that  knoweth  not  the  Law '  and  is  accursed.  And 
the  great  offence  which  the  righteous  persons 
found  in  Him  was  that  He  would  not  keep  away 
from  the  sinners.  Their  continual  complaint  was 
that '  He  ate  and  drank  with  publicans  and  sinners.' 

Well,  this  woman  was  a  '  sinner.'  She  belonged, 
not  to  the  'righteous,'  but  to  the  'sinner'  class. 
If  she  had  been  as  bad  as  we  make  her,  she  would 
not  have  been  more  offensive  to  Simon.     What  he 


considered  was  not  her  badness  but  her  class.  He 
knew  that  she  belonged  to  the  sinner  class,  be- 
cause she  lived  in  his  own  city.  Jesus  pre- 
sumably did  not  know  that.  But  then,  reasons 
Simon,  if  He  were  a  prophet,  He  would  know, 
and  would  not  let  her  touch  Him. 

But  was  she  as  bad  as  we  make  her  ?  The  proof 
is  supposed  lo  be  conclusive.  On  examinauon 
it  breaks  down  altc^ether.  'A  woman  which 
was  in  the  city,  a  sinner,'  —  to  quote  the  Re- 
vised Version,  after  what  is  supposed  to  be  the 
best  attested  text  {yuvij  ^tw  ^v  iv  tg  iroAo, 
oftapToikos),  —  there  is  nothing,  as  we  have  seen, 
in  that.  Besides  that,  there  is  the  phrase,  'who 
and  what  manner  of  woman  this  is'  (nV  loi 
TTorainJ).  But  these  words  carry  nothing  by  way 
of  description,  and  they  are  Simon's  words.  They 
express  exactly  Simon's  astonishment,  not  at  the 
badness  of  the  woman,  but  at  her  class  distinction. 
As  the  latest  scientific  expositor  puts  it,  though 
he  holds  the  ordinary  and  orthodox  doctrine,  the 
word  translated  '  what  manner '  a/ways  implies 
asfoniihment,  wilk  or  without  admiration. 

And  more  than  all,  we  lose  the  meaning  of  our 
Lord's  rebuke  if  we  do  not  see  that  the  woman 
was  simply  one  of  the  sinner  class,  as  Simon  was 
one  of  the  righteous.  No  doubt  the  sinners  were 
on  the  whole  worse  behaved  than  the  righteous. 
In  the  parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son,  the  younger 
son,  who  represents  the  sinner  class,  goes  farther 
astray  than  the  elder,  who  represents  the  righteous. 
And  so  here.  The  woman  owes,  as  it  were,  five 
hundred  pence,  Simon  only  fifty.  But  what  of 
that,  when  neither  has  a  penny  to  pay?  It 
must  be  a  matter  of  grace  with  both.  Both  mjjst 
be  frankly  forgiven.  Then  their  positions  will  be 
reversed.  For  Simon  thinks  he  owes  little,  if  he 
owes  anything  at  all.  The  woman  knows  that  she 
owes  much,  and  when  she  is  forgiven  she  will  love 


Who  was  this  woman  that  was  a  sinner  ?    ^^'l1at 
was   her  name?     We  cannot  teli.     Mr,  Dawson 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


391 


thinks  Sc  Luke  concealed  it  out  of  courtesy, 
though  it  is  possible  that  his  Source  bad  concealed 
it  already.  But  many  names  are  concealed  where 
no  courtesy  can  be  thought  of.  Of  all  the 
demoniacs  who  were  healed  by  Christ,  there  is  one 
name  given,  and  only  one.  If  courtesy  had  ruled, 
that  name  of  them  all  would  have  been  concealed. 
For  the  name  was  Mary  of  Magdala. 

Mary  of  Magdala.  It  is  hard,  Mr.  Dawson 
must  think,  that  her  name  should  come  down  to 
history,  fiut  how  much  harder  that  it  should 
come  down  as  that  of  'a  beautiful  daughter  of 
shame.'  For  so  the  Church  in  its  carelessness  has 
treated  her.  She  has  been  identified  with  this 
woman  that  was  a  sinner,  and  this  woman  that 
was  a  sinner  has  been  counted  'a  beautiful 
daughter  of  shame.'  Mary  Magdalene —  her 
malady  was  sore  enough  no  doubt,  for  she  was 
possessed  by  seven  demons,  but  to  have  been 
made  '  the  palroneas  of  unfonunates '  is  surely 
harder  stilL 

^Vhat  was  Mary  of  Magdala's  misfortune  ?  To 
be  possessed  with  seven  demons,  what  was  that? 
It  is  a  question  few  can  answer.  It  is  a  question 
which  few  can  even  attempt  to  answer  in  the 
present  day.  But  there  has  just  been  published  a 
thorough  examination  of  tliis  difficult  matter  of 
Possession,  and  we  turn  to  it  with  interest. 

Mary  Magdalene,  says  Dr.  Menzies  Alexander 
(his  book  is  mentioned  on  another  page),  was  prob- 
ably a  widow  in  affluent  circumstances,  like  Lydia 
of  Thyatira.  Her  appearance  in  the  company  of 
the  wife  of  Herod's  steward,  and  her  ministrations 
to  Jesus  in  life  and  death,  confirm  his  conjecture, 
he  thinks,  as  to  her  good  social  position.  And 
the  interest  of  the  situation  lies  in  its  indication  of 
the  existence  of  mental  disease  among  the  upper 
classes  of  the  Jews  at  this  date. 

But  what  was  her  disease  P  And  what  is  it  to 
be  possessed  with  seven  demons  ?  Dr.  Alexander 
understands  the  seven  to  be  the  number  of  com- 


pleteness. In  the  Magical  Texts  of  Babylonia,  he 
says,  the  'Seven  Spirits'  are  of  frequent  occtir- 
rence.  Possession  by  the  seven  spirits  was  of  the 
gravest  significance,  necessitating  an  appeal  to  Ea, 
lord  of  spirits.  The  mention  of  the  '  seven '  thus 
attests  the  severity  of  Mary's  disorder.  Her  ail- 
ment, says  Dr.  Menzies  Alexander,  was  acute 
mania. 


Is  it  possible  still  to  believe  that  the  Fourth 
Gospel  was  written  by  St.  John  ?  It  seems  to  be 
difficult  to  believe  it  in  Germany.  In  England  it 
is  not  so  difficult. 

It  is  not  so  dIfGcult  in  England,  because  the 
victory  of  the  last  generation  in  favour  of  the 
Johannine  authorship  was  won  in  England,  and 
we  have  some  proper  pride  in  seeking  to  retain  it. 
And  besides  that,  it  is  not  so  difficult  here,  be- 
cause here  we  are  less  moved  by  prepossessions 
which  tell  against  the  authorship. 

Is  it  offensive  to  speak  of  prepossessions? 
The  offence  is  committed  by  the  Bishop  of 
Worcester.  Now  the  Bishop  of  Worcester  is  the 
last  man  needlessly  to  offend.  If  he  is  candid,  he 
is  also  considerate.  It  is  only  when  he  has  care- 
fully studied  the  Johannine  problem  over  again, 
and  has  found  that  there  is  neither  new  discovery 
nor  new  a^ument  to  explain  the  strong  tendency 
of  recent  criticism  in  Germany  to  deny  the 
authenticity  of  this  Gospel ;  it  is  only  when  he 
has  perceived  that  many  German  critics  start 
with  premisses  which  make  the  authorship  of  St. 
John  impossible ;  it  is  only  then  that  he  speaks  of 
prepossession.  And  he  seems  to  be  entitled  to 
speak  of  it  then. 

The  Bishop  of  Worcester  has  written  two  articles 
for  the  PiUl  on  'The  Problem  of  the  Fourth 
Gospel.'  They  follow  bis  articles  in  the  same 
journal  on  the  Synoptics.  Together  these  articles 
form  a  sort  of  Apologia  pro  vita  sua.  For  Dr. 
Gore  is  a  higher  critic.    As  a  higher  critic  he 


19' 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


made  much  sensation  in  England  some  years  ago. 
Why  is  it,  he  has  been  asked,  that  he  believes  in 
the  h^hcT  Griticism  of  the  Old  Testament  and  not 
in  the  higher  criticism  of  the  New.  These  articles 
are  his  answer.  And  what  these  articles  say  is 
that  Dr.  Gore  believes  in  the  higher  criticism  of 
the  New  Testament  just  as  he  believes  in  the 
higher  criticism  of  the  Old;  but  whereas  the 
evidence  was  to  his  mind  against  the  Mosaic 
authorship  of  the  Pentateuch,  the  evidence  is  in 
favour  of  the  Johannine  authorship  of  the  Fourth 
Gospel.  He  is  a  higher  critic  throughout.  But 
as  a  higher  critic  he  considers  it  his  business  to 
approach  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New  without 
prepossession,  and  to  rest  on  the  evidence  alone. 

So  Bishop  Gore  warns  us  against  prepossession. 
He  has  found  English  and  French  scholars  ready 
to  doubt  the  authenticity  of  the  Fourth  Gospel. 
He  has  recently  been  astonished  on  one  or  two. 
occasions  to  find  distinguished  Roman  Catholic 
scholars  and  priests  speaking  of  the  belief  that 
St.  John  the  Apostle  wrote  the  Fourth  Gospel  as 
a  position  which  has  to  be  abandoned.  And  he 
cannot  but  think  that  this  is  'largely  owing  to  an 
undue  deference  to  the  supposed  authority  of 
German  *  critics,  without  regard  either  to  their 
fixed  prepossessions  or  to  the  real  weight  of  their 
arguments.' 

The  authenticity  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  seemed 
10  be  established  twenty  years  ago,  why  should  it 
be  abandoned  now?  There  have  been  no  new 
discoveries  either  for  or  against,  there  have  been 
no  new  arguments.  Unlike  the  controversy  over 
the  Synoptic  Gospels,  the  problem  of  the  Fourth 
Gospel  has  been  stationary  since  the  day,  some 
quarter  of  a  century  ago,  upon  which  its  use  by 
Justin  Martyr  and  Basilides  was  finally  estab- 
lished.   

If  there  la  any  change  at  all.  Dr.  Gore  believes 
that  it  is  in  favour  of  the  authorship  of  St.  John. 
The  most  significant  fact  is  the  admission  by 
Harnack  that  the  writer  of  the  Fourth  Gospel 


was  probably  a  younger  contemporary  and  disciple 
of  St.  John,  and  that  he  may  have  used  memoranda 
of  the  apostle  himself.  The  questions  of  keenest 
interest  therefore,  at  present,  are  who  this  disciple 
was,  and  whether  he  was  capable  of  that  which  is 
attributed  to  him. 

Hamack  says  that  he  was  John  the  Presbyter. 
Now  whether  John  the  Presbyter  was  or  was  not 
capable  of  writing  the  Fourth  Gospel,  we  cannot 
tell ;  for  we  know  nothing  about  him.  But  if  he 
was,  even  with  the  aid  of  St.  John's  memoranda, 
then  it  is  surprising  in  the  extreme  that  we  know 
nothing  else  about  him.  For  he  was  cerUinly  the 
most  remarkable  literary  product  of  his  day. 

Tradition  says  that  the  Fourth  Gospel  was 
written  by  'John.'  If  this  John  was  John  the 
Presbyter,  then  John  the  Presbyter  was  a  more 
remarkable  man  that  John  the  Apostle.  For  John 
the  Apostle  may  be  supposed  to  have  had  recol- 
lections to  draw  upon,  but  John  the  Presbyter  had 
none.  Now,  says  Bishop  Gore,  if  John  the  Pres- 
byter had  been  this  isolated  literary  phenomenon, 
we  must  have  known  more  of  him  than  his  bare 
name.  What  he  contends  for,  therefore,  is  that 
(except  by  some  hypothesis  of  a  literary  prodigy), 
'the  man  of  the  memories'  must  have  been  also 
the  author  of  the  Fourth  Gospel,  and  that  can  be 
none  other  than  St.  John. 

But  the  Bishop  of  Worcester  does  not  imagine 
that  to  be  shut  up  to  St.  John  solves  all  the  diffi- 
culties of  the  Johannine  problem.  For  then  the 
question  arises  in  its  acutest  form.  How  does  it 
come  to  pass  that  St  John's  Gospel  difiers  so 
greatly  from  the  Synoptics?  Certainly  Dr.  Gore 
does  not  make  light  of  the  differences.  He 
believes  that  they  are  chiefly  due  to  two  causes. 
The  first  is  that  St.  John  wrote  to  supplement 
the  Synoptics,  The  second  is  that  St.  John 
was  himself  something  of  an  idealist. 

It  is  the  supplementary  character  of  St.  John's 
Gospel  that  explains  to  Bishop  Gore  the  omission 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


393 


of  inddents  so  significant  as  the  birth  of  our  Lord, 
His  baptism,  His  temptation,  His  transfiguration, 
most  of  His  familiar  miracles  and  discourses.  His 
institution  of  Baptism  and  of  the  Lord's  Supper, 
and  the  rest.  His  Gospel  being  supplementary, 
and  being  known  to  be  supplementary,  SL  }ohn 
does  not  even  mention  these  inddents.  Doubt- 
less he  had  taught  them  for  many  years,  his 
hearers  were  familiar  with  them.  But  he  some- 
times supplies  a  narrative  which  presupposes  the 
incident,  as  the  baptism  of  Jesus  in  the  first 
chapter ;  or  a  discourse  which  expbins  it,  as  the 
Eucharist  in  the  sixth.  Sometimes,  ^ain,  he 
silently,  but  Dr.  Gore  believes  deliberately,  cor- 
rects a  prevalent  misunderstanding  of  the  Synoptics. 
He  corrects  the  impression  that  the  Last  Supper 
was  the  ordinary  Paschal  meal  celebrated  at  the 
ordinary  time,  and  (in  1^)  he  perhaps  corrects 
the  impression  taken  from  Mt  3"  that  John  the 
Baptist '  knew '  Jesus  before  His  baptism. 

But  the  great  difference  between  St.  John  and 
the  Synoptists  lies  not  in  omissions  or  additions. 
It  lies  in  the  whole  impression  which  is  conveyed 
to  us  by  the  miracles  which  St.  John  describes 
and  the  discourses  which  he  records.  In  the 
Synoptics  Christ's  miracles  are  mainly  works  of 
mercy  or  of  judgment;  in  St.  John  they  are  mainly 
self-manifestations.  The  longer  discourses  in  the 
Synoplics  are  parables  of  the  kingdorq  and  laws 
for  the  conduct  of  its  subjects ;  in  St.  John  they 
are  largely  revelations  of  Himself  in  His  divine 
Sonship,  with  occasional  plain  assertions  of  His 
pre^xistent  being. 

Well,  on  this  Bishop  Gore  says,  first  of  all,  that 
the  ideas  of  the  early  Church  are  unintelligible 
without  some  such  teaching  as  we  find  in  St.  John. 
The  Synoptics  may  be  simpler  and  seem  more 
primitive,  but  St  John  sunk  deepest  into  the 
mind  of  the  earliest  believers.  Again,  he  says 
that  great  as  the  difference  is,  it  is  a  difference 
more  of  impression  over  the  whole  than  of  sepa- 
rate contradiction.  St.  John  asserts  the  divine 
supremacy,  but  so  do  the  Synoptists.    The  '  son ' 


of  the  parable  is  distinguished  from  the  '  servants.' 
Christ  is  not  merely  David's  son,  but  also  hb 
Lord.  And  apart  from  St.  John's  unique  recep- 
tivity or  other  personal  consideration,  it  has  to 
be  remembered  that  the  discourses  recorded  by 
him  are  in  inseparable  relations  to  the  ideas  and 
thoughts  of  the  contemporary  Judaism  of  Judaea. 
If  St.  John  chose  to  supplement  the  Synoptics  by 
recording  the  Judiean  ministry  mainly,  he  had 
also  to  choose  to  record  -such  incidents  and  dis- 
courses as  were  suitable  to  the  Jews  of  Judaea. 

But  the  form  of  the  discourses  is  more  difficult 
to  explain  than  their  matter,  and  Dr.  Gore  leaves 
that  to  the  last.  Here  he  admits  a  good  deal  of 
the  pleading  of  his  opponents.  He  has  no  doubt 
that  the  Synoptists  give  us  the  more  accurate  idea 
of  our  Lord's  manner  as 'a  teacher.  St.  John's 
mind  was  more  original.  It  caught  and  retained 
the  rarer  and  deeper  notes.  But  the  more  original 
a  man's  mind  is,  the  less  effectually  it  can  merely 
report.  '  In  St.  John's  mind,  then,  what  he  had 
seen  and  heard  and  gazed  upon  and  handled 
gradually  shaped  itself  as  a  continued  self-revela- 
tion of  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God.' 

Thus  Dr.  Gore  'admits,'  and  uses  the  word 
himself,  that  St.  John  was  to  some  extent  an 
idealist.  Nevertheless,  he  does  not  admit  that 
he  had  any  of  the  faults  of  the  idealist.  His 
ideas  are  not  general  and  abstract.  On  the 
contrary  he  has  the  greatest  possible  appreciation 
of  individuality  and  of  concrete  events.  His 
interest  in  particular  persons  and  the  divine 
dealings  with  them  is  at  least  as  prominent  as 
his  interest  in  the  divine  self-manifestation  gener- 
ally. And  his  idea  of  the  divine  self-manifesta- 
tion is  attached  indissolubly  to  particular  scenes 
and  incidents  vividly  remembered. 

Then  the  Bishop  of  Worcester  closes  his  papers 
with  'a  real  appeal  to  Englishmen'  to  use  their 
own  judgment  on  the  Gospel  according  to  St. 
John.  The  present  excessive  deference  to  'critics,' 
he  says,  is  a  mere  fashion.    Let  us  not  be  carried 


S94 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


away  with  it.  But  if  we  must  have  contemporary 
intellectual  authority,  let  us  remember  that '  there 
are  no  saner  or  fairer  judgments  to  be  found  in 
the  last  generation  of  historical  scholars  or  in  the 
present  than  Lightfoofs  and  Sanday's.' 


While  Bishop  Gore  is  writing  on  the  problem 
of  the  Fourth  Gospel  and  deploring  our  excessive 
deference  to  German  criticism,  there  is  published 
in  English  a  contribution  to  the  subject,  which 
is  the  most  original  and  most  arresting  of  the 
last  quarter  of  a  century,  and  it  is  the  work  of 
a  German  critic. 

In  the  year  1886  Professor  Wendt  of  Jena 
published  his  Lehre  Jem.  The  first  part  dealt 
with  the  sources  for  tlie  teaching  of  Jesus,  and 
•was  not  translated  into  English.  The  second  part 
dealt  with  the  teaching  itself,  and  appeared  in 
English  in  two  volumes  in  the  year  1892,  trans- 
lated by  Dr.  John  Wilson,  and  published  in 
this  country,  under  the  title  of  THt  Ttatking 
of  Jesus.  In  the  first  part  of  the  German  work 
Professor  Wendt  devoted  one  section  to  the 
discussion  of  the  sources  of  the  Fourth  Gospel, 
and  propounded  a  theory  which  at  once  attracted 
attention. 

He  has  now  removed  that  section  and  rewritten 
it.  The  years  that  have  passed  and  the  criticisms 
that  have  appeared  since  1886  have  convinced 
him  of  the  correctness  of  his  main  position.  He 
has  found  no  hypothesis  in  any  work  on  the 
Fourth  Gospel  that  so  well  explains  its  phenomena. 
But  he  has  found  much  in  other  works  to  support 
his  own  hypothesis,  and  even  to  render  it  neces- 
sary. He  has  therefore  rewritten  it  and  encouraged 
its  translation  into  English.  It  appears  under  the 
title  of  The  Gospel  aceording  to  St.  John:  Art 
Inquiry  into  its  Genesis  and  Historical  Value,  pub- 
lished by  Messrs.  T.  &  T.  Clark. 

Professor  Wendt's  hypothesis  may  be  stated  in 
a  sentence.     He  believes  that  St  John's  Gospel 


as  we  now  have  it  consists  of  two  parts  :  one  part 
is  the  work  of  St.  John  himself,  the  other  is  the 
work  of  an  editor.  But  easily  as  it  can  be  stated, 
it  is  neither  easily  believed  nor  easily  refuted. 
Dr.  Wendt  understands  the  conditions  of  the 
problem.  He  has  many  arguments,  some  of  which 
are  most  impressive,  and  he  uses  them  with  con- 
summate skill.  Writing  clearly  himself,  he  has 
also  been  translated  into  nervous  natural  English. 
His  book  is  at  once  the  most  imporunt  and  the 
most  attractive  contribution  to  the  subject  which 
all  these  years  have  brougfit. 

The  difficulty  which  Professor  Wendt  has  ex- 
perienced is  not  in  suggesting  an  apostolic  source 
and  an  editorial  redaction  in  the  Fourth  Gospel, 
but  in  distinguishing  the  one  from  the  other. 
There  are  critics  who  are  most  dogmatic  when 
the  evidence  is  least  convincing.  Dr.  Wendt  is 
not  one  of  them.  He  is  never  dogmatic ;  he  often 
confesses  doubt ;  he  sometimes  yields  to  despair. 
One  example  of  his  method  may  be  given. 

It  has  to  do  with  the  familiar  sentence  in  Jn  3^ 
about  the  necessity  of  being  born  'of  water  and 
the  Spirit'  (jj  vSai-of  koI  Uftv/taTot).  Many  are 
the  attempts  that  have  been  made  to  explain  the 
necessity  of  water  in  so  spiritual  an  experience. 
Professor  Wendt's  explanation  is  that  the  words 
'  water  an4 '  (v&trof  icai)  are  no  part  of  St.  John's 
original  writing.  'Probably,'  he  says,  'they  have 
been  added  by  the  redactor  to  the  Source.  For 
it  is  the  birth  of  the  Spirit  only  that  is  spoken 
of  {vv.«  and  »).  This  birth  of  the  Spirit  of 
God,  which  initiates  a  life,  not  of  the  flesh,  but 
divine,  comes  to  pass,  in  the  meaning  of  the 
Apostolic  Source,  when  man  receives  with  faith 
the  words  of  Jesus,  which  are  spirit  and  life 
(5'*  6**).  It  was,  however,  very  natural  to  the 
redactor  to  think  of  the  new  birth  to  life  eternal 
as  happening  specifically  in  baptism  (cf.  Mk  16"), 
and,  in  order  to  make  this  relation  to  baptism 
clear,  to  denote  it  as  a  being  bom  of  water.' 

The  most  obvious  objection  to  this — it  is  also 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


«95 


the  most  obvious  objection  to  the  whole  hypo- 
thesis— is  that  the  critic  who  distinguishes  apostolic 
source  from  redaction,  must  first  have  a  concep- 
tion in  his  mind  of  what  St.  John  was  likely  to 
write.  Where  did  Professor  Wendt  obuin  this 
conception?  Has  he  altogether  escaped  the 
chaise  which  the  Bishop  of  Worcester  makes,  the 
chaise  of '  prepossession '  ? 


Dr.  Hastings  Rashdall  has  contributed  an  article 
to  the  Journal  of  Theological  Studies  on  Dr. 
Moberly's  theory  of  the  Atonement. 

Dr.  Rashdall  is  glad  that  Dr.  Moberly  has 
written  on  the  Atonement.  For  'within  the 
Church  of  England,  as  well  as  outside  it,'  an 
enormous  but  singularly  silent  revolution  has 
taken  place  in  the  current  conceptions  of  the 
Atonement  The  most  glaring  sign  of  this  re- 
volution is  in  the  subordinate  place  now  occupied 
by  the  doctrine  of  the  Atonement  'In  official 
pronouncements,  in  formal  theological  teaching, 
as  well  as  in  the  pulpit,'  the  doctrine  of  the 
Atonement  is  ignored,  the  doctrine  of  the  In- 
carnation has  taken  its  place.  But  it  is  also  seen 
in  the  new  conception  of  the  Atonement  wherever 
it  is  touched.  Dr.  Rashdall  derives  the  new  con- 
ception from  Maurice  and  Robertson.  It  has 
been  accepted,  he  says,  'by  the  school  who  are 
looked  upon  (even  more  perhaps  than  they  look 
upon  themselves)  as  the  disciples  of  Newman 
and  Pusey.'  He  calls  it  'the  preaching  of  the 
Atonement  as  a  revelation  of  the  love  and  the 
character  of  God.' 

Dr.  Moberly  is  a  disciple  of  Newman  and  Pusey. 
He,  too,  preaches  the  Atonement  as  a  revelation 
of  the  love  and  the  character  of  God.  But  Dr. 
Rashdall  has  observed  that  even  accomplished 
writers  and  preachers  are  apt  to  repeat  traditional 
formulae,  which  they  have  no  right  now  to  repeat. 
They  are  apt  to  use  language  which  implies  a 
theory  of  Substitution  where  no  real  Substitution 
is  intended.     He  attributes  this  contradiction  to 


the  bloodless  nature  of  the  revolution  that  has 
taken  place.  Having  been  accomplished  in 
silence,  there  has  been  no  occasion  to  distinguish 
battle-cries  and  sharpen  verbal  weapons.  But  the 
ghosts  of  dead  doctrines  are  often  troublesome. 
And  Dr.  Rashdall  is  thankful  that  in  his  now 
quite  famous  book,  called  Atonement  and  Per- 
sonality, Dr.  Moberly  has  come  forward  to  put 
an  end  to  vague  thinking  on  the  Atonement,  and 
let  us  see  how  thorough  is  the  revolution  that  has 
taken  place. 

Dr.  Rashdall  is  at  first  well  pleased  with  Dr. 
Mobeily's  book.  He  calls  it  'a  great  advance 
upon  any  attempt  to  deal  in  a  formal  and  system- 
atic way  with  the  doctrine  of  the  Atonement, 
which  has  been  made  by  any  Anglican  theologian 
of  late  years,'  For  Dr.  Moberly  recognizes  that 
theology  cannot  be  approached  without  first  making 
terms  with  philosophy.  Roman  Catholic  theo- 
logians, and  even  Protestant  theologians  on  the 
Continent,  usually  recognize  this.  They  usually 
have  some  philosophical  basis  for  their  belief. 
But '  there  are  whole  libraries  of  modem  theology, 
especially  of  Anglican  theology,  which  betray  not 
the  slightest  consciousness  that  they  are  discussing 
great  problems  of  human  thought,  which  form  the 
subject  of  a  science,  or  group  of  sciences,  called 
Philosophy,  and  which  have  been  treated  by  some 
of  the  greatest  intellects  of  modem  Europe.'  Dr. 
Moberly  appreciates  the  existence  of  such  prob- 
lems— ^wilness  his  title,  'Atonement  and  Person- 
ality'— and  he  recognizes  the  need  of  determining 
one's  relation  to  them  before  one  can  reaoh  a 
scientific  or  rational  Theology. 


Dr.  Moberly  desires  to  reach  'a  scientific  or 
rational  Theology.'  He  attempts  to  explain  the 
doctrine  of  the  Atonement  in  such  a  way  as  to 
reconcile  it  with  'the  imperative  demands  of 
Reason  and  of  the  moral  consciousness.'  The 
value  of  his  theory  lies  in  that.  In  that  lies  also 
its  invitation  to  criticism.  And  Dr.  Rashdall 
proceeds  to  criticize  it  ' '  '"    '     '         o 


39$ 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


The  first  thing  that  Dr.  Rashdall  expects  of  a 
man  who  writes  on  the  doctrine  of  the  Atonement 
and  appeals  to  '  Reason  and  the  moral  conscious- 
ness,' is  that  he  should  say  where  he  finds  his 
materials  and  what  authority  he  accords  them. 
Canon  Moberiy  ignores  that  expectation.  Dr. 
Rashdall  thinks  that  he  must  know  something 
about  New  Testament  criticism.  He  thinks  that 
he  must  have  some  theory  of  Inspiration.  But 
Dr.  Moberiy  lets  no  hint  of  belief  or  knowledge 
escape  him.  And  when  he  writes  he  practically 
ignores  the  existence  of  all  such  questions.  Dr. 
Rashdall  finds  that  when  he  uses  Scripture  he 
uses  it  as  the  Schoolmen  did.  When  the  philo- 
sophical armour  is  getting  a  little  thin,  he  Ukes 
refuge  in  an  isolated  text,  torn  from  its  context, 
without  any  attempt  to  ascertain  its  real  meaning 
or  the  intellectual  atmosphere  of  its  author. 

In  this  way  texts  from  St.  John's  Gospel  are  used 
as  If  they  were  not  even  coloured  by  their  author's 
own  reflexion,  but  in  every  case  were  the  ipsissima 
verba  of  the  Lord  Himself.  And  texts  from  St. 
Paul — sayings  the  most  difficult  to  reconcile  with 
his  own  general  thought  as  well  as  with  the  general 
teaching  of  the  New  Testament  (Dr.  Rashdall 
refers  in  a  footnote  to  a  Co  5^1,  Gal  3",  Ro  5", 
etc) — are  treated  as  in  their  most  obvious  and 
hteral  interpretation,  a  conclusive  and  sufficient 
basis  for  a  whole  system  of  Doctrine,  eternall)' 
binding  upon  the  Christian  Church. 

But  Dr.  Moberly's  deference  to  authority  does 
not  end  with  the  Scriptures.  He  places  the 
Church  Fathers  beside  them.  He  uses  the  de- 
cisions of  Councils,  as  if  they  carried  with  them 
not  merely  authority,  but  absolute  infallibility. 
Fortunately  this  singular  subservience  does  little 
harm,  for  there  is  little  or  nothing  in  the  Church 
Councils  that  can  be  treated  as  a  pronouncement 
on  the  doctrine  of  the  Atonement.  But  Dr. 
Rashdall  is  surprised  that  a  writer  who  seeks 
to  commend  his  theology  to  '  Reason  and 
the  moral  consciousness'  should  proceed  with 
his  work  as  though  for  him  all  that  is   implied 


by  the   phrase   'historical  criticism'   simply   did 
not  exist. 

Still  Canon  Moberiy  has  authorities  and  author- 
ities. Some  of  his  authorities  have  more  authority 
and  some  have  less.  Great  is  now  Dr.  Rashdall's 
surprise  to  find  that  the  Latin  Fathers  have  more 
authority  than  the  Greek. 

In  the  discussion  of  the  great  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity,  it  has  generally  been  supposed  that  the 
Greek  Fathers  struck  out  definitions  by  means  of 
their  pliable  Greek  tongue,  which  the  Latin  theo- 
logians could  only  seek  in  crude  and  bewildering 
'  efforts  to  imitate.     Dr.  Moberiy  does  not  think  so. 
i  The  great  historical  word  hypostasis  (tnwrrains) 
I  dissatisfies  him.      It  is  too  impersonal.      It  is 
\  abstract  rather  than  actual.     There  is  something 
\  positive  lacking  to  it,  and  that  'lack  of  full  com- 
I  pleteness'  the  word  'Person'  supplied.     So  the 
i  true  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  was  never  grasped,  or 
'  at  least  not  expressed,  by  Basil  or  the  Gregoriea, 
!  It  was  left  to  be  discovered  by  the  Latin  Fathers. 
I  With  needless  apologies  and  foolish  confessions  of 
'  its  unsuitability,  they  translated  the  Greek  kyposlasis 
I  by  the  Latin  word  persona.    And  no  sooner  had 
'  they  translated  it  than  their  word.  Dr.  Moberlf 
j  holds,  became  eternally  binding  on  the  Christian 
I  Church.      Or    does    he    mean    the   Latin  word 
persona   after   all?      He   uses   the   English   word 
person.    Does  he  understand  (he  tacitly  assumes 
at  any  rate,  says  Dr.  Rashdall)  that  the  word  which 
the  Latin  Fathers  so  wonderfully  struck  out  had 
alt  the  meanings  and  associations  which  gather 
round  tlie  modern  idea  of  Personality  ? 

What  is  eternally  binding  upon  us,  therefore,  is 
this.  Personality,  in  the  modern  use  of  that  word, 
belongs  to  the  Father,  to  the  Son,  and  to  the 
Holy  Ghost.  But  elsewhere  Dr.  Moberiy  affirms 
Personality  in  this  full  sense  of  the  God.  who  is 
One  in  Three.  He  accordingly  lands  himself  and 
alt  of  us  in  an  authoritative  impossibility. 

,o\c 

It  is  not  the  Trmity   that  is  Dr.    Moberly's 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


297 


subject,  however,  aod  Dr.  Rashdall  passes  from 
it.  He  passes  from  it  with  this  significant  word. 
Dr.  Moberly's  confusion  on  Fersonality  is  due  to 
his  very  strength.  It  is  due  to  his  philosophical 
basis.  But  his  strength  is  not  strong  enough. 
Like '  so  many  of  our  more  thoughtful  theol<%ians, 
his  philosophical  equipment  is  a  slight  tincture  of 
Hegetianism  rather  than  a  serious  study  of  the  one 
original  modem  thinker  of  the  very  highest  rank, 
whose  thought  is  profoundly  and  without  qualifi- 
cation, Christian — Hermann  Lotze.' 

Dr.  Moberly's  subject  is  the  Atonement,  and 
Dr.  Rashdall  passes  to  that  He  is  greatly  pleased 
with  Dr.  Moberly's  recognition  of  the  necessity  of 
clear  thought  on  Punishment,  Forgiveness,  and  the 
like.  Modem  theologians  do  not  recognize  that. 
Even  Ritschl  does  not  And  he  is  well  pleased 
with  his  theory  of  punishment.  For  Dr.  Moberly 
distinctly  declares  that  punishment  by  God  can 
never  be  retributive  or  vindictive,  but  must  always 
be  remediaL  Dr.  Rashdall  says  '  Amen '  most 
heartily.  He  has  reached  the  heart  of  Dr. 
Moberly's  subject  and  he  is  delighted. 

But  a  difficulty  arises.  Dr.  Moberly  betieves  in 
a  Hell.  He  says  that  when  punishment  fails  to 
reform  the  sinner,  we  do  not  cease  to  punish  him, 
we  punish  him  only  the  more.  Do  we?  asks  Dr. 
Rashdall  For  the  protection  of  society  we  may, 
but  Dr.  Moberly  is  speaking  of  God.  And  now 
there  arises  the  curious  position  that  God's  punish- 
ment is  wholly  remedial,  and  yet  when  remedial 
punishment  fails,  God  goes  on  punishing.  '  Such 
an  astonishing  combination  of  opinions  has  never, 
so  far  as  I  am  aware,  been  held  before.'  What  is 
its  explanation  ?  Its  explanation  is  not  far  to  seek. 
It  lies  in  that  potent  monosyllable.  Hell.  Says 
Dr.  Moberly:  'We  dare  not,  until  the  possibility 
of  Hell  has  been  authoritatively  explained  away, 
deny  the  ultimate  possibility  of  the  idea  of  a 
punishment  which  is  not  restorative.' 

Now  Dr.  Rashdall  has  no  patience  with  this 
word  Hell.      The  whole   question  of  its  exist- 


ence turns,  he  says,  upon  the  correctness  of  an 
evangelist's  Greek  translation  of  a  single  Aramaic 
adjective,  and  even  on  the  correctness  of  the 
popular  interpretation  of  that  translation.  For  he 
doubts  if  it  is  possible  to  make  aionios  mean  '  ever- 
lasting.' As  for  punishment  going  on  after  all  hope 
of  the  sinner's  amendment  i$  abandoned,  and  going 
on  to  all  eternity,  he  says  it  is  a  doctrine  opposed 
to  the  reason  and  conscience  with  which  God  has 
endowed  us,  as  well  as  to  the  conception  of  His 
nature  which  Christ  has  revealed  to  us.  He  asks 
whether  Dr.  Moberly  can  point  to  a  single  word 
in  the  teaching  of  SL  Paul  or  St.  John  in  favour  of 
the  doctrine  of  everlasting  punishment.  And  yet 
he  finds  him  willing  to  undermine  his  own  concep- 
tion of  punishment  and  to  land  himself  in  an 
amazing  contradiction,  because  this  doctrine  has 
been  handed  down  to  him  by  authority. 


What  authority  ?  asks  Dr.  Rashdall  indignantly. 
It  is  not  the  authority  of  Scripture ;  it  is  not 
the  authority  of  Reason  or  of  Conscience ;  it  is 
not  even  the  authority  of  the  theologian  whom 
Dr.  Moberly  is  presumed  most  to  follow.  For 
Dr.  Rashdall  quotes  some  sentences  from  Dr. 
Pusey  which  seem  to  show  that  to  him  the 
doctrine  of  everlasting  punishment  was  'incon- 
ceivable unless  we  are  prepared  to  resign  our 
faith  in  One  God  and  Father  Almighty.'  It  is 
the  authority  of  the  Quicungue  Vult  perhaps.  Dr. 
Rashdall  passes  on  in  silence. 

Then  he  reaches  Dr.  Moberly's  actual  theory 
of  the  Atonement.  It  has  been  long  in  coming, 
but  it  has  come  at  last.  It  lies  in  the  chapter 
on  Penitence.  For  Dr.  Moberly  holds — and  he 
offers  it  as  his  contribution  to  the  subject  on 
which  he  writes,  he  writes  on  the  subject  because 
he  holds  it  —  Dr.  Moberly  holds  that  Christ's 
Atonement  for  sin  consisted  in  His  being  jjerfectly 
penitent.* 

The  purpose  of  punishment  is  ty  lyal^^ .iKpeni- 
tent  —  for   In   spite    of   his  belief  in  Hell,   Dr. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Moberly  still  holds  that  all  God's  punishment  is 
remedial  Now,  if  we  were  perfectly  penitent,  we 
should  be  accepted.  If  we  were  perfectly  peni- 
tent, we  should  not  need  an  Atonement.  We 
should  by  our  Penitence  make  the  Atonement 
ourselves.  But  we  cannot  be  perfectly  penitent. 
So  Christ  is  needed  as  our  Atonement.  He 
becomes  our  Atonement  by  booming  perfectly 
penitent  for  our  sin. 

Dr.  Rashdall  calls  this  a  surprising  doctrine. 
He  wonders  how  a  sinner  whose  penitence  is 
imperfect  can  be  forgiven  his  sin.  He  wonders 
how  he  can  be  forgiven  because  some  one  else 
is  penitent.  He  wonders  how  One  who  knew 
no  sin  can  be  said  to  be  penitent  at  all.  Dr. 
Moberly  seems  to  answer  that  it  all  comes  from 
the  solidarity  of  the  human  race.  'Are  we  not 
after  all,'  he  asks,  '  much  more  of  one  piece 
than  we  are  willing  to  recognize  ? '  All  humanity, 
he  says,  is  found  in  Christ.  Each  individual  may 
be  imperfectly  impenitent,  but  humanity  is  per- 
fectly penitent  in  the  perfect  penitence  of  Christ, 
and  receives  the  perfect  pardon. 

Dr.  Rashdall  calls  it  a  surprising  doctrine  still. 
And  he  is  not  less  surprised  at  it  that  he  knows  it 
is  not  new.  He  believes  that  Dr.  Moberly  has 
found  it  mainly  in  M'Leod  Campbell.     It  has  also 


been  held  by  the  Lutheran  Theologian  Hiring  in 
a  form  closely  resembling  Dr.  Moberly's.  But 
that  only  makes  it  the  more  surprising  that  Dr. 
Moberly  holds  it  now.  For  he  surely  knows  that 
in  the  form  in  which  Hiring  held  it  Ritscbl  so 
answered  it  as  to  put  an  end,  one  had  imagined, 
to  its  existence.  Dr.  Rashdall  gives  the  reference 
to  the  English  translation  of  Ritschl's  /ustifica- 
tion  and  Reconciliation  by  Mackintosh  and 
Macaulay,  the  553rd  page. 

With  which  Dr.  Rashdall  Ukes  leave  of  Dr. 
Moberly's  theory  of  the  Atonement.  He  has 
found  the  theory  wanting.  He  has  found  the  book 
which  contains  it  wanting  also.  For  two  great 
contradictions  run  throughout  it.  The  one  is  a 
confusion  between  an  effect  on  the  character  of 
the  sinner  and  an  obliteration  of  the  sin  or  guilt 
which  takes  place  independently  of  any  such 
eSect.  The  other  is  a  confusion  between  the 
retributive  view  of  punishment  and  the  disciplinary. 


Dr.  Moberly  has  not  discovered  a  doctrine  of 
the  Atonement.  He  thought  he  had.  But  then 
his  mind  is  'incapable  of  appreciating  the  fact 
that  the  gulf  between  fundamentally  opposite  and 
inconsistent  modes  of  thought  cannot  be  bridged 
over  by  a  dexterous  turn  of  phrase.' 


t%t  gietoricof  C?«Md«  of  t?t  Ote  ttzi<m(i»i 
(Itawaftwet. 

By   R.   Somervell,    M.A.,   Assistant  Master  and   Bursar  of   Harrow  School, 


In  order  to  judge  fairly  of  the  character  of  any 
literary  work,  we  must  begin  by  asking  what  sort 
of  work  it  purports  to  be.  We  must  not  condemn 
a  Waverley  novel  because  it  is  not  accurate  from 
the  point  of  view  of  the  historian,  nor  judge  a 
popular  sermon  as  if  it  were  a  treatise  on 
theology. 

If  we  neglect  this  elementary  canon  of  criticism, 
we  shall  inevitably  blunder.     We  shall  condemn 


works,  which,  judged  from  the  standpoint  of  their 
own  purport  and  object,  we  ought  to  praise.  Scott 
was  a  great  romancer,  though  he  was  not  a  his- 
torian. Savonarola  and  Spurgeon  both  knew  how 
to  speak  to  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  men, 
— of  Righteousness,  Temperance,  and  Judgment  to 
come, — though  neither  of  them  made  any  per- 
manent contribulion  to  theology  by  their  sermons. 
Such  a  mistake  is,  of  course,  far  more  serious 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


299 


when  it  is  made  in  regard   to  the  books  that 
compose  the  Old  Testament 

And  just  such  a  mistake  was  foi  long  made  by 
the  Church,  in  legardtng  their  references  to  the 
physical  world  as  a  revelation  of  scientific  truth. 
For  example,  up  to  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  it  was  believed,  almost  universally,  that  the 
earth  stood  still  in  the  centre  of  the  universe,  and 
that  the  sun  and  the  starry  heavens  moved  round 
it.  Texts  of  Scripture,  not  a  few,  were  quoted  in 
support  of  this  theory,  and  it  had  been  raised  to 
the  rank  of  a  theological  dogma  by  Sl  Thomas 
Aquinas  and  other  doctors  of  the  Church. 

Kopemik — whom  we  know  better  by  his  Latin 
name  Copernicus — first  stated  the  truth  about  the 
earth's  motion  in  his  book  published  in  1543,  but 
died  within  a  few  hours  of  its  publication.  His 
work,  however,  was  immediately  condemned  by 
the  Church  of  Rome,  and  the  faithful  were  ordered 
not  to  read  it,  under  pain  of  damnation. 

An  answer  to  Kopernik  was  prepared  by 
Fromundus.  Fromundus  declares  that  '  sacred 
Scripture  itself  fights  against  the  Copernicans.' 
To  prove  that  the  sun  revolves  about  the  earth,  he 
cites  the  passage  in  the  Psalms  which  speaks  of  the 
sun  '  which  cometh  forth  as  a  bridegroom  out  of 
his  chamber.'  To  prove  that  the  earth  stands  still, 
he  quotes  the  passage  from  Ecclesiastes,  'the  earth 
standeth  fast  for  ever.'  To  show  the  utter  futility 
of  the  Copernican  ideas,  he  indulges  in  scientific 
reasoning,  as  he  understands  it,  declaring  that 
if  the  hated  theory  were  true,  'the  wind  would 
constantly  blow  from  the  east;  we  should  with 
great  difficulty  hear  sound  against  such  a  wind'; 
that '  buildings  and  the  earth  itself  would  t^y  off  with 
such  a  rapid  motion  ' ;  and  greatest  weapon  of  all, 
he  works  up,  by  the  use  of  Aristotle  and  Thomas 
Aquinas,  a  demonstration  from  theology  and  science 
combined,  that  the  earth  must  stand  in  the  centre 
and  that  the  sun  must  revolve  about  it.' 

Nor  were  the  Protestants  behind  hand  in  de- 
claring that  the  Bible  was  opposed  to  Copernicus. 
Luther  said,  '  People  gave  ear  to  an  upstart  astro- 
loger, who  strove  to  show  that  the  earth  levolves, 
not  the  heavens  or  the  lirmanent,  the  sun  and  the 
moon.  .  .  .  This  fool  wishes  to  reverse  the  entire 
science  of  astronomy.  But  sacred  Scripture  tells 
us  that  Joshua  commanded  the  sun  to  stand  still 
and  not  the  earth.' 

'  Melanchthon,  mild  as  he  was,  was  not  behind 
1  White's  Warfare  ef  Rtligion  andSiietiie,  p.  29. 


Luther  in  condemning  Kopemik.  In  his  Latin 
treatise  on  the  EUmtnts  of  Physical  Saence  he 
says :  "  The  eyes  are  witnesses  that  the  heavens 
revolve  in  the  space  of  twenty-four  hours.  But 
certain  men,  either  from  the  love  of  novelty  or  to 
make  a  display  of  ingenuity,  have  concluded  that 
the  earth  moves;  and  they  maintain  that  neither 
the  eighth  sphere  nor  the  sun  revolves.  .  .  .  Now, 
it  is  a  want  of  honesty  and  decency  to  assert  such 
notions  publicly,  and  the  example  is  pernicious.  It 
is  the  part  of  a  good  roind  to  accept  the  truth  as 
revealed  by  God,  and  to  acquiesce  in  it."  Melanch- 
thon then  cites  passages  from  the  Psalms  and  from 
Ecclesiastes  which  he  declares  assert  positively  and 
clearly  that  the  earth  stands  fast  and  that  the  sun 
moves  round  it,  and  adds  eight  other  proofs  of  his 
proposition  that  "  the  earth  can  be  nowhere,  if  not 
in  the  centre  of  the  universe.  "  '  ^ 

It  being  thus  agreed  on  all  hands  that  God  had 
revealed  in  the  Bible  that  the  earth  is  immovable 
in  the  centre  of  the  universe,  and  that  the  sun 
moves  round  it,  it  was  not  long  before  Giordano 
Bruno  was  burnt  alive  for  reasserting  the  teaching 
of  Kopemik. 

'  Within  ten  years  after  the  martyrdom  of  Bruno, 
after  a  world  of  trouble  and  persecutions,  the  truth 
of  the  doctrine  of  Kopernik  was  established  by  the 
telescope  of  Galileo,  Herein  was  fulfilled  one  of 
the  most  touching  of  prophecies.  Years  before, 
the  enemies  of  Kopernik  had  said  to  him,  "  If  your 
doctrine  were  true,  Venus  would  show  phases  Uke 
the  moon."  Kopemik  answered,  "  You  are  right ; 
I  know  not  what  to  say  ;  but  God  is  good,  and  will 
in  time  find  an  answer  to  this  objection,"  The 
God-given  answer  came  when  the  rude  telescope 
of  Galileo  showed  the  phases  of  Venus.' 

In  the  same  way,  even  in  our  day,  the  conclusions 
of  geologists  and  biologists  were  condemned  as 
godless  by  many  excellent  men,  on  the  ground 
that  they  did  not  Ully  with  statements  in  the 
Bible. 

This  condition  of  things  is  passing,  or  has  passed, 
away.  We  have  learnt  to  admit  that  many  of  the 
expressions  upon  which  a  scientific  meaning  was 
fixed  are  of  the  nature  not  of  science  but  of  poetry, 
and  to  recognize  that  the  inspiration  under  which 
the  authors  of  the  Bible  wrote  did  not  preserve 
them  from  scientific  error. 

While  to  those  who  still  object,   '  Is  not   the 

Bible  then  true  ? '  we  point  out  that  the  inquiry 

'  White,  p.  30. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


involves  the  well-known  logical '  fallacy  of  many 
questions' — the  so  combining  two  or  three  ques- 
tions into  one  that  no  true  answei  can  be  given  to  it 

There  ate  various  kinds  of  truth,  truth  of  natural 
science,  truth  of  history,  moral  and  religious  truth ; 
and  the  Bible,  we  say,  was  not  given  to  teach  us 
natural  science. 

It  is  well  to  recognize  not  only  how  complete 
and  revolutionary  is  this  change  of  view,  but  also 
how  much  the  Bible  and  the  Church  have  gained 
by  it.  To  realize  this  will  give  us  courage  to  face 
another  problem  which  is  indeed  the  special 
subject  of  the  follon-ing  pages. 

Many  who  have  abandoned  the  claim  of  the  Old 
Testament  to  be  a  guide  in  matters  of  physical 
science,  still  uphold  the  claim  of  its  narratives  to 
be  received  as  history. 

Now  in  accordance  with  the  principle  of  which 
I  reminded  you  at  the  outset — that  we  must  judge 
books,  not  by  arbitrary  canons  of  criticism,  but  by 
the  aim  and  intention  of  their  writers, — it  is  im- 
portant to  notice  that  the  classification  of  books 
like  Judges,  Samuel,  Kings,  and  Chronicles  as '  his- 
torical '  was  quite  unknown  to  the  compilers  of  the 
sacred  canon.  In  the  Jewish  Bible  the  books  of 
Judges,  Samuel,  and  Kings  belong  to  the  prophets, 
and  the  book  of  Chronicles  to  the  hagiographa  or 
writings. 

This  fact,  familiar  enough  no  doubt  to  all  of  us, 
is  very  important.  That  the  narratives  of  the  Old 
Testament  are  not  classed  as  history,  suggests  a 
doubt  as  to  whether  the  writers  or  the  compilers  of 
the  canon  had  any  conception  of  history  at  ail 
answering  to  our  own ;  whether  our  careful  classifi- 
cation of  authorities,  our  distinction  between  legend 
and  tradition  and  verified  fact,  are  not  processes 
and  conceptions  essentially  modem,  and  foreign  to 
the  minds  of  the  authors  with  whom  we  are 
dealing ;  whether  as  prophets  they  may  not  have 
written  for  edification,  without  caring  or  pausing 
to  criticize  their  authorities,  or  to  distinguish  facts 
from  legends  and  traditions.  And  if  this  be  so,  we 
are  doing  them  a  grave  injustice  and  running  the 
risk  of  missing  the  real  importance  of  their  work, 
if  we  approach  it  as  history  in  the  modern  sense. 

The  question  is  one  that  admits  of  being  brought 
to  the  lest  of  facts.  We  are  agreed,  I  take  it,  that 
the  inspiration  under  which  our  authors  wrote  did 
not  preserve  them  from  errors  in  physics.  Did  it 
enable  them  to  distinguish  history  from  legend,  or 
preserve  them  from  historical  errors? 


To  accumulate  a  mass  of  evidence  upon  this 
point  would  occupy  too  much  time ;  nor  indeed  is 
it  necessary.  Let  me,  however,  remind  you  of 
some  examples,  familiar  enough  no  doubt  in 
themselves,  but  from  which  perhaps  we  have  never 
drawn  the  definite  conclusion  to  which  they  point. 

Few  things  strike  one  as  more  accurate  and  care- 
ful than  the  references  in  the  Book  of  Kings  to  the 
length  of  each  reign,  and  the  year  of  the  contem- 
porary king  of  Judah  or  Israel  in  which  each  king 
began  to  rule.  But  when  we  examine  these  chrono- 
logical references  we  find  that  between  the 
accession  of  Rehoboam  and  the  fall  of  Samaria,  , 
255  years  are  assigned  to  the  kings  of  Judah  and 
241  to  those  of  Israel.  Some  writers  assume 
periods  of  interregnum  in  the  northern  kingdom  to 
account  for  the  missing  years.  Others  assume 
that  in  Judah  father  and  son  sometimes  reigned 
together,  and  that  fourteen  years  are  thus  counted 
twice  over.  But  in  any  case,  the  writers  who  made 
and  perpetuated  the  confusion  were  not  thinking 
primarily  of  writing  history. 

Again,  when  the  Chronicler  tells  us  that  333,30a 
armed  men  came  to  Hebron  to  offer  David  the 
crown,  and  that  this  was  only  the  nucleus  of  a 
larger  body  who  went  with  him  to  find  the  ark,  we 
are  driven  to  conclude  that  he  was  not  preserved 
from  a  serious  numerical  error  in  this  instance. 

Again,  we  have  in  not  a  few  cases  two  stories 
told  to  account  in  different  ways  for  the  same  fact. 
The  names  of  Bethel  and  Beersheba  have  thus  a 
double  origin,  and  the  proverb, '  Is  Saul  also  among 
the  prophets  ? '  is  connected  with  two  very  different 
events.  Of  the  first  appearance  of  David  we  have 
two  accounts,  in  one  of  which  he  comes  upon  the 
scene  as  '  a  mighty  man  of  valour,  a  man  of  war,' 
and  cunning  in  playing;  and  in  the  subsequent 
chapter,  as  a  youth,  too  young  to  be  sent  to  the 
war,  and  unknown  by  sight  to  Saul. 

Of  Saul's  own  rise  to  the  position  of  king  we 
have  at  least  two  accounts,  in  one  of  which  the 
initiative  is  taken  by  Samuel,  acting  under  divine 
guidance,  while  in  the  other  the  people  agitate  for 
a  king,  and  incur  the  divine  displeasure  by  doing 
so. 

We  now  explain  these  contradictions,  and  I 
have  no  doubt  rightly  explain  them,  by  saying  that 
they  are  narratives  of  entirely  distinct  origin,  pre- 
served in  older  writings,  and  pieced  together  by  « 
compiler.  But  both  cannot  be  history,  and  the 
compilers  who  placed  them  side  by  side  must  have 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


301 


had  some  object  in  view  very  different  from  that 
of  aliistorian.  And  I  think  we  can  hardly  escape 
the  inf|erence  that  the  Bible  is  no  more  inspired 
history  than  it  is  inspired  natural  science. 

AVhen  we  are  striving  to  reconcile  the  contra- 
dictory dates  and  statements  of  Jewish  writers,  we 
are  sometimes  tempted  to  wish  that  they  had  left 
us  a  mass  of  imperishable  contemporary  records 
like  the  Assyrian  tablets.  But  we  should  make  a 
poor  exchange  indeed  if  we  were  to  barter  the 
spiritual  insight  of  these  prophetic  writers  for  a 
chronicle,  however  accurate,  of  mere  events. 

The  early  history  of  all  peoples  is  full  of  matter 
of  a  legendary  character,  concerning  which  we 
may  indeed  ask.  What  kerne!  of  historic  fact  does 
it  enshrine?  But  we  may  much  more  profitably 
inquire, '  What  light  does  it  throw  upon  the  ethical 
and  reUgious  ideas  of  those  who  wrote  and  re- 
ceived it  ? ' 

It  is  from  this  point  of  view,  and  not  from  the 
point  of  view  of  the  mere  political  historian,  that 
we  should  approach  the  narratives  of  the  Old 
Testament.  The  Old  Testament  is  primarily  a  re- 
cord of  the  revelation  of  God.  It  is  in  the  picture 
it  presents  of  the  growth  of  truer  and  loftier 
conceptions  of  the  divine  nature  that  its  value 
consists.  And  thus  to  receive  and  to  understand 
it  is  not  only  to  abandon  the  attempt  to  regard 
it  as  inspired  history ;  it  is  equally  to  part  com- 
pany with  the  attempt  to  escape  from  the  diffi- 
culties of  the  record  by  rationalistic  explanations. 
And  this  surely  is  a  very  great  gain.  Let  me  dwell 
upon  this  point  for  a  moment. 

Elijah,  the  story  tells  us,  was  fed  by  ravens. 
Rationalistic  criticism,  finding  this  incredible, 
points  out  that  with  the  alteration  of  a  single 
vowel  in  the  Hebrew,  we  may  read  for  ravens 
'  Arabs,'  and  thus  maintains  the  accuracy  of  the 
historian  by  throwing  blame  on  the  carelessness 
of  a  scribe  or  interpreter.  The  more  fruitful 
view  appears  to  be  to  admit  that  the  story  is 
not  history  at  all,  but  a  legend  bearing  witness 
to  the  popular  belief  in  the  Divine  Providence 
that  guarded  the  life  of  the  man  of  God;  just 
as  our  own  story  of  Alfred  and  the  cakes,  though 
we  are  forced  to  reject  it  as  history,  bears  witness 
to  the  universal  faith  in  the  simplicity  and  humility 
ofthat  great  king. 

So  of  the  pillar  of  6re  and  cloud  which  appeared 
at  the  crossing  of  the  Red  Sea.  Rationalistic 
criticism  has  resolved  this  into  a  dust    cloud. 


raised  by  the  wind  and  illuminated  by  the  moon 
to  the  Israelites.  But  this,  besides  destroying  all 
the  poetry  of  the  story,  supplies  no  explanation  of 
the  cloud  that  abode  upon  the  completed  Taber- 
nacle. 

And  now  I  would  ask  whether  we  ought  not  to 
try,  with  much  care  and  tenderness  and  reverence 
to  lead  the  minds  of  those  we  teach  to  this  truer 
view  of  the  Old  Testament  narratives.  If  it  be 
asked.  Is  it  worth  while  disturbing  a  simple  faith 
in  the  old  stories? — I  would  answer.  It  is  worth 
while,  because  we  can  olfer  a  higher  faith  in  its 
place.  And  we  have  to  consider  not  only  those 
who  accept  as  matter  of  fact  whatever  is  in  the 
Bible,  simply  because  it  is  there,  but  the  far  larger 
number  who  quietly  disbelieve,  and,  quite  illogic- 
ally  perhaps,  but  not  less  certainly,  feel  a  sort  of 
uncertainty  thrown  over  the  whole  Bible,  over  the 
claims  of  religion,  even  over  morals,  by  the  fact 
that  they  do  not  and  cannot  accept  what  it  puts 
before  them  as  sacred  history. 

I  have  been  told  that  at  a  recent  conference  on 
Old  Testament  teaching,  after  much  had  been  said 
about  Assyrian  inscriptions,  geographical  research, 
and  higher  criticism,  an  outspoken  man  got  up 
and  said,  'What  I  want  to  know  is  what  am  I  to 
say  about  Balaam's  ass  ? '  As  there  is  nothing  like 
a  concrete  example  for  removing  obscurity,  I  will 
try  to  answer  this  question,  and  I  think  I  should 
do  BO  as  follows  ; — 

Good  men  take,  and  have  taken,  very  different 
views  of  this  story. 

Some  accept  it  as  history,  and  believe  that  the 
ass  spoke,  by  a  miracle — a  divine  interference  with 
the  ordinary  course  of  nature.  It  seems  probable 
that  the  writer  who  incorporated  the  story  in  his 
narrative  so  believed. 

Others  think  that  though  the  ass  did  not,  and 
could  not  speak,  Balaam  fancied  it  did,  and  re- 
mained under  the  delusion,  which  he  communi- 
cated to  his  friends.  Others  suppose  him  to  have 
dreamt  the  incident,  and  that  his  dream  was 
gradually  transformed,  by  constant  inaccurate 
repetition,  into  a  statement  of  fact. 

For  my  own  part  I  think  it  is  better  to  take  the 
story  as  it  stands,  as  a  story,  not  as  history.  We 
find  similar  stories  of  marvels  iA  the  early  records 
of  all  races — in  Homer  and  Livy  and  Herodotus, 
and  in  our  own  English  Chronicle.  We  reject 
such  stories  as  history,  but  we  do  not  on  that 
account  throw  them  aside  as  worthless.    They  are 


302 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


indeed  often  of  the  highest  value.  We  ask  what 
they  mean,  what  they  show  us  of  the  thoughts  and 
views  of  life,  and  man  and  God,  that  were  held  by 
those  who  believed  and  preserved  them.  In  this 
way  we  team  a  great  deal  about  the  Greeks  and 
Romans,  for  example,  that  a  mere  record  of  facts 
would  not  have  told  us. 

Now  if  the  Old  Testament  were  given  us  as  a  Book 
of  authentic  history,  we  could  not  treat  its  stories 
in  this  way.  But  it  is  given  us  as  a  Book  of 
religion,  a  record  of  the  gradual  revelation  of  God 
to  the  Jewish  people.  Thus  it  serves  a  far  higher 
purpose  than  a  mere  history.  And  instead  of 
spending  time  in  trying  to  prove  that  an  ass  might 
speak,  or  that  a  dream  of  such  an  event  might  be 
converted  into  a  story,  we  should  ask  what  this 
old  legend  taught  those  who  handed  it  down  to 
us,  and  what  we  ourselves  may  learn  from  it.  And 
here  the  lesson  is  the  same,  the  moral  and  religious 
value  of  the  story  is  the  same,  whether  we  regard 
it  as  a  fact  or  a  parable — that  when  man  refuses  to 
listen  to  the  voice  of  God,  he  sinks  below  the 
brutes. 

And  whatever  view  we  take  of  the  story,  let  us 
always  remember  that  our  attitude  towards  such 
stories  is  not  a  question  of  religion  at  all.  To 
accept  the  story  as  history  brings  us  no  nearer  to 
God.  To  take  it  as  a  legend  cannot  separate  us 
from  the  love  of  Christ. 

Something  like  this  I  think  I  should  try  to  say, 
indeed  have  often  said,  when  face  to  face  with  the 
question,  Is  this  true? — meaning.  Is  it  true  in  the 
historical  sense?  With  a  subject  so  large  it  would 
be  easy  to  say  more,  and  in  particular  to  safeguard 
what  has  been  put — perhaps  too  briefly — from 
misapprehension.  But  enough  has  been  said,  I 
think,  to  make  clear  my  main  point;  that  we 
should  lead  men  to  see  that  the  Old  Testament 
being  primarily  a  Book  neither  of  natural  science 
nor  of  history,  we  are  not  required  to  accept  its 
statements  as  historical  in  the  ordinary  sense. 

Learned  men  will  still  try  through  the  mists  of 
the  past  to  interpret  and  reconstruct  the  history, 
and  perhaps  with  increasing  success.  But  for  the 
Christian  Church  the  value  of  the  Old  Testament 
lies  in  its  witness  to  a  progressive  revelation.  Let 
us  frankly  admit  that  the  literature  that  enshrines 
it  has  a  large  element  of  legend  blended  with  its 


narrative  portions.  Let  us  neither  demand  belief 
in  marvels,  unsupported  by  contemporary  evidence, 
nor  try  to  mend  matters  by  rationalistic  iitjerpte- 
tations,  but  ask.  What  is  the  meaning  and  value  of 
the  material  before  us  from  the  point  of  view  of 
religion  ? 

I  will  conclude  with  some  words  of  the  wise  and 
saintly  John  M'Leod  Campbell : — 

'  It  seems  to  me  also  that  the  character  of  our 
time  makes  us  to  need,  and  should  encoun^e  us 
to  ask,  more  intellectual  light,  in  order  that  we 
may  be  fully  furnished  for  commending  the  grace 
of  God  to  men,  and  may  not,  -as  we  may  often  un- 
consciously do,  put  stumbling-blocks  in  the  way 
of  minds  by  words  without  knowledge  ...  As 
we  pray  morally  and  spiritually  that  God  may 
search  us  and  try  us,  and  see  if  there  be  any 
wicked  way  in  us,  and  lead  us  in  the  way  ever- 
lasting ;  so  also  is  it  right  for  us  to  pray  for  deliver- 
ance from  such  misconceptions  of  truth  as  may  be 
intellectually  a  shortcoming  in  reference  to  our 
high  calling  as  children  of  the  light  and  of  the 
day,  and  God's  witnesses.  Nor  will  any  man  be 
straitened  in  such  prayer,  whose  peace  really  flows 
from  the  knowledge  that  God  is  love,  and  who 
can  invite  God  to  search  out  what  evil  may  be  in 
him  beyond  his  own  consciousness,  because  he  knows 
the  freeness  of  the  grace  of  God,  and  that  "herein 
God  commcndeih  His  love  toward  us,  in  that 
while  we  were  yet  sinners  Christ  died  for  us." 
God  "raised  Christ  from  the  dead,  and  gave  Him 
glory  that  our  faith  and  hope  may  be  in  God. " 
He  whose  faith  and  hope  are  in  God  rests  not  on 
the  assumption  of  perfection  in  his  conceptions  of 
truth,  any  more  than  on  the  measure  of  his  pro- 
gress in  the  higher  teaching  which  he  is  receiving 
in  the  school  of  Christ.  He  knows  God,  and 
peacefully  waits  for  any  modification  of  his 
thoughts  of  the  Divine  Counsels  which  increased 
light  may  bring.  I  often  feel  that  there  is  infinite 
comfort  in  the  knowledge  that  "the  Comforter"  is 
"  the  Spirit  of  Truth  " ;  for  this  implies  that  the 
more  we  know  of  the  truth  of  things  the  more  will 
our  comfort  abound.  In  the  faith  that  God  is 
love,  we  can  be  patient  and  peaceful  in  darkness ; 
while  in  that  faith  we  are  also  prepared  to  find  all 
additions  to  our  light  additions  to  our  joy  in  the 
Lord.' 


.h,  Google 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMEa 


$$e   &ttat   Ztjct   Commentary* 

THE  GREAT   TEXTS   OF   THE   ACTS   OF   THE   APOSTLES. 


'  And  when  He  had  said  theK  things,  «■  they  were 
looking.  He  waa  taken  np ;  and  a  cloud  received  Him 
ont  of  their  sight '  (R.  V.) 


Exposition. 

And  when  He  had  said  theae  things. —And  many  moic, 
IS  is  plain  froio  Ihe  Gospels.— Cook. 

As  they  were  lookiiv- —'!''>>'  they  might  have  m  clear 
proof  of  Hit  Asceasion  as  they  hod  leceived  of  the  lealily  of 
Hii  ResunecltoD,  He  is  taken  from  them  white  they  are 
still  gaiing  OQ  Him,  and  with  His  words  yet  sounding  in 
their  ears.  In  the  Gospel  (24")  il  is  '  while  He  ble«sed 
ihcm,' — Farkar. 

Seeing  Christ  afi^  His  Resurrection  qualilied  them  for 
being  witnesses  of  that  fact ;  for  their  bearing  personal 
testimony  to  His  Ascension  it  vai  necessary  that  they 
should  sec  it.  They  were  not  left  in  amaiement  at  His 
vanUhing,  as  the  two  at  Emmaus  had  been  {Lie  24"). — 
Cook. 

He  waa  taken  up. — He  was  taken  up  from  the  earth  in 
His  'bodily  form"  (Lk  3")  in  the  sight  of  their  eyes,  until  a 
bright  cloud  intervened  and  concealed  Him,  as  at  Ihe  Trans- 
figuration. In  the  language  of  tbe  Creed,  He  was  raised  up 
to 'Ihe  right  hand  of  the  Father.'  As  God  is  Spirit,  this  is 
of  course  a  metaphor.  But  Ihe  reality  cannot  be  represented 
It)  us  otherwise.  What  is  signified  is  that  the  manhood  of 
JesDS  was  exalted  to  heaven  or  glorified.  A  foretaste  of  this 
had  been  given  at  the  TransHguraiiun.  But  now,  having 
died  and  risen  again,  Ihe  Son  relurns  to  Ihe  gloiy  which  He 
had  with  the  Father  before  the  world  was  (Jn  17°);  he 
reassumes  all  those  glories  of  Deily  of  which  He  had  emptied 
Himself  at  the  Incamation,  and  in  this  glorification  Ihe 
human  nature  which  He  then  atsumed  has  now  a  part. — 
Rackham. 

The  word  translated,  'He  was  taken  up'  (ir^pBTi)  ex- 
presses, not  the  whole  transaction,  beginning  on  earth  and 
ending  in  heaven  (that  is,  4i'(\^*#i|,  v."),  but  the  first  stage 
or  incipient  act  of  the  Ascension,  that  of  rising,  or  rather 
being  raised,  above  the  lurface  of  the  ground.  The 
nearest  English  equivalenl  would  be,  '  He  was  lifted.'— 
Alexander. 

And  a  dond  received  Htm  out  of  their  sight.— 
Received  Him  so  that  He  seemed  to  be  supported  by 
il.  'A  royal  chariot,'  Chryiostom  calls  it.^PACE  and 
Walpole. 

In  Ihe  Old  Testament  Ihe  incomprehensibleness  of  Ihe 
divine  nature  was  typified  by  a  cloud  which  hid  Jehovah 
from  human  view  :  so  now  the  human  body  of  Jesus  is  con- 
cealed by  the  same  cloud  which  is  the  cloud  of  the  Shekinah 
or  divioe  glory.  He  is  now  in  glory  (i  Ti  3"). — 
Rackham. 


The  Reserve  of  the  Ascension. 

£y  Preftstor  Franth  ragcl.  D.  D. 

1.  '  A  cloud  received  Him  otit  of  tlieir  sight.'  It 
could  not  have  been  otherwise.  It  was  only  the 
first  moments  of  the  Ascension  that  could  be  seen 
by  men.  It  is  not  mere  distance  that  divides  Him 
from  them.  Beyond  that  intervening  cloud  there 
is  a  translation  of  His  glorious  manhood  such  as 
no  eye  could  see  or  imaginaiion  represent  They 
may  see  changes  during  the  forty  days,  but  now 
He  has  reached  the  Conqueror's  resting-place  and 
entered  on  that  perfection  of  glory  which  eye  hath 
not  seen  nor  ear  heard.  All  their  intercourse  with 
Him  there  was  a  cloud  that  concealed  Him. 
There  were  words  and  deeds  concerning  which 
they  feared  to  ask  Him.  And  now  tbe  mystery 
of  the  Ascension  sustained  and  interpreted  the 
mystery  of  the  companionship.  He  left  them  as 
He  had  lived  with  them,  revealing  some  things, 
veiling  others. 

2.  So  in  a  measure  is  it  with  all  men.  We 
cannot  give  a  complete  account  of  any  human 
character.  It  is  well  to  presume  upon  and  so 
evoke  the  noblest  in  a  man.  But  when  the  man 
is  living  close  to  God,  we  feel  that  there  is  a 
reserve  of  another  kind.  The  rules  of  a  good  life 
may  be  few  and  plain,  but  that  only  makes  the 
height  and  beauty  of  the  result  more  wonderful. 

3.  And  this  reserve  of  life  is  greatest,  the  veil 
is  thickest,  when  those  who  move  mysteriously 
here  pass  beyond  this  world.  Prophets  and  poets 
have  spoken  of  the  glory,  but  after  all  we  can  only 
say,  '  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be.'  A 
few  bare  words  are  all  we  can  say  with  confidence 
— sin  forgiven  and  taken  away,  temptation,  dis- 
appointment, weariness  banished,  eagerness  with- 
out effort,  the  joy  of  the  Lord,  and  especially  the 
central  assurance,  'They  shall  see  God.' 

4.  Let  us  learn  from  the  veiling:  (i)  The 
change  from  earth  to  glory  is  not  a  change  of 
place,  btit  a  change  in  ourselves.  He  who  has  not 
the  mind  of  Christ  cannot  have  His  joy.  Without 
holiness  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord,  (a)  There  is 
a  line  of  continuity  between  the  seen  and  the 


304 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


unseen.  The  purest  happiness  that  is  known  on 
earth  is  akin  to  the  happiness  of  heaven.  We 
know  enough  now  to  make  us  seek  the  highest ; 
it  is  the  highest  that  shall  not  pass.    Love  abideth. 

The  Asceosioii  of  the  Body. 
By  lie  Rev.  C.J.  Ball,  D.D. 

The  apostles  had  not  seen  Jesus  rise,  but  they 
were  to  see  Him  ascend.  So  He  had  promised : 
'I  ascend  unto  My  Father';  and  so  their  testi- 
mony would  be  definite,  decided,  complete.  The 
form  of  the  Ascension  was  a  concession  to  their 
expectations  formed  on  the  promise.  To  us  it 
may  be  a  difficulty,  but  we  remember  Pascal's 
words:  'Whenever  the  Word  of  God,  which  is 
true,  would  be  false  if  taken  literally,  it  is  true 
spiritually.' 

He  rose  in  the  body,  yet  we  know  that  flesh 
and  blood  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God. 
We  understand  that  the  Resurrection  Body  of  our 
Lord  had  been  mysteriously  changed  by  the  power 
of  the  (iodhead  into  a  form  of  ethereal  mould, 
exquisitely  adapted  and  subtly  responsive  to  the 
motions  of  the  indwelling  Spirft. 

And  by  His  Resunection  and  Ascension  He 
has  redeemed  our  bodies  also  from  bondage. 
Henceforth  they  are  lo  be  temples  of  His  Spirit. 
Our  entire  being,  body  and  spirit,  is  to  be 
preserved  and  presented  blameless  before  God  in 
the  day  of  His  coming. 

Illustrations. 
t  SHALL  always  rcmembei  wilh  gratitude  the  words  which 
a  poor  woman  used  to  me,  not  long  afler  her  husband's 
death,  in  ipeaking  oi  her  difficulty  of  thinking  clearlji  about 
heaveii.  Her  husband  had  borne  with  very  beautiful  and 
steadfast  palience  an  illness  of  many  years'  duration  ;  and 
she,  in  Ihe  intervals  of  bard  work,  had  (ended  him  with 
constant  gentleness.  And,  having  spoken  quite  simply  of 
her  privilege  in  (his,  as  she  felt  about  in  her  mind  Tni  tfae 
thoughl  thai  inighl  come  nearest  lo  her  hope  about  the  rest 
that  remaineth  for  God's  people — 'Sometimes,'  she  said, 
'  t  think,  sir,  that  being  very  happy  with  some  one  as  yon 
know  is  living  a  good  life  must  be  more  like  it  than  anything 
else.'  Surely  she  was  not  wrong.  A  writer  of  line  culture 
and  penetration,  sometime  a  student  of  Christ  Church,  has 
spoken  of '  the  earthly  rudiments  of  the  elemal  happiness.' 
— F,  Pacbt. 


Thk  ascension  of  Elijah  nay  be  coropard  to  the  flight 
of  a  bird,  which  none  can  follow;  the  Ascension  of  Christ 
is,  as  it  were,  a  bridge  between  earth  and  heaven,  laid  down 
for  all  who  are  drawn  to  Him  by  His  earthly  e 
Baumgarten. 


London,  with  its  enormous  and  ever-growing  populatioa, 
constiluies,  in  many  respects,  •  porlentoui  danger  to  our 
national  life.  It  has  a  tendency  to  sap  the  springs  of  local 
interest  and  local  self-reliance.  Other  cities  and  colonist* 
■re  inclined  to  fling  upon  London  the  care  and  responsibility 
for  the  empire's  protection,  in  which  all  it*  separate  part) 
should  take  their  proportionate  share.  As  London  thus 
is  to  our  colonists,  such,  and  infinitely  more,  would  the 
localiied  presence  of  Jesus  Christ  have  been  for  the  Christian 
world  had  not  the  Ascennon  taken  place. — G.  T.  Stokbs. 


KETtJRN  unto  your  hearts. 

And  you  shall  find  Htm  there. 
He  bath  but  risen  that  you  may  ri 

And  breathe  of  heaven's  own  ab 
Ascended  and  enthroned 

At  the  right  band  above, 
He  re-descends  to  dwell  with  men 

In  His  blest  feast  oflove. 


He  has  finished  Hit  work,   He  has  gtoriRed  God ; 
The  Forerunner  has  gained  His  reversion  of  bliss ; 
And  now  must  Hi*  followers  tread  where  He  trod. 
Till  they  see  Him,  are  like  Him,  and  rest  where  He  is. 
No  longer  by  sight,  they  must  joumey  by  &ilb. 
And   with   prayer,  and  wilh   patience,   must  heavenward 


a  Spirit  shall  gladden  their  path, 
irrive  where  that  Saviour  ha*  gone. 


For  Reference. 


Alford  (H.),  Homilies  on  Acts.  19. 
Ball  (C.  J. ),  Testimonies  to  Christ,  15a. 
Benson  (R.  M.),  Final  Passover,  iv.  616. 
Butler  (A.),  Sermons,  ii.  183, 
Harper  (F.),  A  Year  with  Christ,  115. 
Howson  (J,  S-),  Our  Collects,  67. 
Jeffrey  (K.S.),  Visits  10  Calvary,  418. 
Meyer  (F.  B.),  Calvary  10  Pentecost,  34. 
Moberly  (G.),  Sermons  at  Brighstone,  109. 
Mortimer  (A.  G.),  Jesus  and  the  Kesurreclion,  375. 
Paget  (F.),  Studies  in  Christian  Character,  346. 
Sadler  (M.  F.),  Sermon  Outlines,  171. 
Vaughan  (C.  J.),  Church  of  First  Day*,  i. 

,,  Family  Sermon  Book,  627. 

While  (E.),  Mystery  of  Growth,  181. 


jyGoot^Ie 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


'tU  @ncienf  tat^oiie  C^urc?." 

By  the  Rev.  Professor  James  Orr,  D.D.,  Glasgow. 


■ctPAL  Rainy  has  presented  ui  with  a  volume 
which  students  of  its  subject,  and  the  wider 
.ircle  who  desire  to  get  a  faithful  idea  of  the  early 
age  of  the  Church  without  being  burdened  with 
too  many  details,  will  be  grateful.  The  work  has 
no  doubt  an  interest  which  may  be  called  adven- 
titious from  its  author's  personality — for  who  is 
better  known  or  more  typically  identified  with  the 
ecclesiastical  life  of  Scotland  than  Dr.  Rainy  ? — 
and  it  will  have  a  yet  subtler  chaim  for  those,  no 
small  number,  who  retain  the  memory  of  the 
classroom  for  which,  presumably,  the  bulk  of  its 
material  originally  took  shape.  These  will  join 
with  their  reading  an  invisible  commentary — 
reminiscences  of  look,  tone,  and  manner,  by-play 
of  comment  and  illustration — which  will  illuminate 
the  text,  and  enhance  appreciation  of  its  manifold 
nuarues  of  thought  and  expression.  But  the 
ordinary  reader,  who  must  be  content  to  discount 
the  personal  element,  and  rely  on  the  intrinsic 
merits  of  the  book,  wilt  not  on  that  account  be 
disappointed  in  what  he  finds. 

It  is  something  to  be  thankful  for  that  we  have 
a  volume  of  the  kind  at  all.  There  has  long 
been  a  crying  need  for  home-work  in  the  region  of 
Church  history- — especially  of  patristic  and  medi- 
asval  Church  history.  The  freshest  recent  investi- 
gator in  our  country — Professor  Ramsay — is  not  a 
professed  theologian,  and  has  confined  himself  to 
labour  in  special  fields.  For  treatment  of  the 
period  covered  by  this  volume,  at  all  adequate  to 
modern  wants,  we  are  mainly  dependent  either  on 
cumbrous  German  works — partly  in  translation,  or 
on  the  productions  of  Anglican  scholars.  Every- 
one who  has  to  teach  is  aware  that,  of  the  books 
at  present  open  to  him,  no  one  quite  meets  the 
requirements  of  a  handbook  at  once  comprehen- 
sive and  readable,  suitable  for  use  as  a  guide  to 
study,  or  for  class-work.  But  beyond  handbooks, 
there  is  the  demand  for  a  work  in  which  the  entire 
field   of   early  Church  history  —  life,   literature, 

'  The  Inftmalional  Theolegical  Library,  The  AniUnl 
Calholu  Church,  from  the  Aceeisitin  of  Trajan  In  the  Fourlh 
General  Council  (98-451  a.d.).  By  Robert  Rainy,  D.D., 
Principd  of  the  New  College,  Edinburgh.  Edinburgh: 
T.  &  T.  Clark,  1902. 


beliefs,  institutions — will  be  reviewed  afresh  in  light 
of  the  results  of  modern  research,  yet  in  a  spirit  of 
faith,  and  of  sympathy  with  the  ideals  of  Church 
polity  favoured  in  this  land.  We  are  not  sure  that 
Dr.  Rainy's  volume — though  it  appears  in  'The 
International  Theological  Ubrary '  —  altogether 
supplies  what  is  needed  for  the  purposes  of  a  text- 
book ;  but  we  are  sure  that  it  does  afford  a  view 
of  the  phases  of  thought  and  life  of  the  early 
Church,  and  of  the  action  and  interaction  of  forces 
involved  in  the  production  of  its  greater  phen- 
omena, which,  without  starting  any  novel  or 
paradoxical  theories,  will  give  the  intelligent 
reader  more  insight  into  the  heart  of  the  situation 
than  a  dozen  books  more  systematically  planned, 
and  more  laden  with  learned  detail ! 

The  special  quality  of  excellence  in  Dr.  Rainy's 
volume  does  not  lie  in  its  plan  or  arrangement, — 
for  on  that,  as  we  shall  see,  he  bestows  the 
minimum  of  pains, — but  in  the  fact  that  it  is  the 
product  of  his  own  mind,  and  bears  on  it  through- 
out the  stamp  of  original  perception  and  reflexion. 
Sources,  no  doubt,  have  been  investigated,  and 
authorities  carefully  weighed;  but  this  not  with 
the  view  of  setting  before  the  reader  all  the  steps 
by  which  conclusions  have  been  reached,  but  of 
presenting  results  in  the  purified  and  generalized 
form  they  have  assumed  after  infiltration  through 
the  author's  own  thought,  with  only  so  much  of  the 
concrete  as  is  necessary  for  illustration.  Dr.  Rainy 
is  not  concerned  simply  to  narrate;  his  aim  invari- 
ably is  to  get  behind  the  movement  or  phase  of 
thought  he  is  expounding— to  see  from  what  causes 
it  originated,  how  it  related  itself  to  surrounding 
conditions,  what  gave  it  meaning  and  reasonable- 
ness to  the  minds  influenced  by  it.  In  every  part 
of  the  volume,  therefore,  and  notably  in  its  more 
expository  chapters,  there  is  an  air  of  what  may  be 
called  'impression' — the  word  is  one  constantly 
recurring — an  atmosphere  which  suggests  that  it  is 
not  the  bare  fact  we  are  getting,  but  the  author's 
particular  way  of  looking  at  it  and  feeling  about 
it, — his  judgment  on  its  significance  and  value. 
One  effect  is  a  certain  aloofness  of  mind  or  de- 
tachment of  interest  from  details,  leading  some- 
times to  an  unevenness  of  treatment :  those  sub- 


3o6 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


jects  to  which  the  author's  mind  is  specially 
attracted  being  handled  with  exceptional  fulness; 
others,  on  which  we  should  have  liked  to  hear 
more,  being  occasionally  very  summarily  con- 
sidered. The  sinking  of  detail  is  not  indeed 
invariable:  in  the  chapter,  for  instance,  on  the 
Post-Niccnc  (Arian)  Controversy,  and  in  those  on 
Ecclesiastical  Personages,  there  is  no  lack  of  iL 
But  it  is  not  in  these  chapters  that  the  strength 
of  the  book  is  mainly  seen. 

The  volume,  as  its  title  indicates,  deals  with 
the  rise  and  shaping  of  the  Ancient  Catholic 
Church  —  ancient  in  distinction  from  the  later 
Papal  phase  of  Catholicism  —  and  extends  its 
survey  from  the  reign  of  Trajan  at  the  close  of  the 
Apostolic  Age  {98A.D,)  to  the  Fourth  General  Coun- 
cil— that  of  Chalcedon  (451  a.d.),  which  forms  a 
convenient  halting- place.  A  future  volume,  which 
will  be  looked  for  with  interest,  is  to  continue 
the  history  to  Gregory  vii.  Within  the  limits 
specified,  three  periods  are  distinguished  —  the 
first  extending  to  the  death  of  Marcus  Aureltus 
(180  A.D.);  the  second  to  the  Edict  of  Milan, 
which  practically  marked  the  triumph  of  Chris- 
tianity in  the  Empire  (313  A.D.);  and  the  third 
and  longest  to  the  Council  of  Chalcedon  (451 
A.D.).  In  this  last  division  a  break  might  perhaps 
have  been  advantageously  introduced  with  the 
Council  of  Constantinople,  at  the  close  of  the 
Arian  period,  in  the  reign  of  Theodosius  (381 
A.D.) ;  in  which  case  the  chapter  on  '  Ecclesiasttcai 
Personages  of  Fourth  Century'  would  have  come 
in  a  little  earlier,  though  then  the  unity  of  the 
chapter  on  Donatism  would  have  been  interfered 
with.  The  author  had  no  doubt  his  own  reasons 
for  dividing  as  he  did- 

The  minor  divisions  under  these  various  heads 
do  not,  on  the  other  hand,  follow  any  very  definite 
order,  but  take  up  topics  much  as  they  arise,  and 
treat  them  with  a  degree  of  unconcern  for  formal 
plan,  which  illustrates  very  strikingly  how  secondary 
a  place  mere  order  has  in  the  author's  mind  tn 
comparison  with  the  things  on  which  his  attention 
is  focussed.  The  chapters,  in  consequence,  follow 
each  other  sometimes  almost  as  a  series  of  mono- 
graphs. But  it  is  just  in  these  monographs,  as 
on  Gnosticism,  Montanism,  Neo-Platomsm,  Mon- 
aslicism,  Donatism,  that  Dr.  Rainy's  peculiar 
genius  of  felicitous  and  illuminating  exposition 
pre-eminently  discovers  itself.  The  reader  feels 
himself  at  every  point  in  contact  with  a  mind 


thoroughly  versed  in  its  subject,  and  possessing  a 
rare  gift  of  sympathetically  interpreting  it.  Turns 
of  expression  and  literary  touches  abound,  which 
give  a  happy  unconventional ity  to  the  treatment, 
and  keep  alive  interesL  Surprise  may  sometimes 
be  awakened  at  the  headings  adopted,  e^.  'The 
Church's  Life  '  (chap.  3),  to  describe  what  is  really 
an  account  of  the  literature  of  the  Post- Apostolic 
Age  ('Apostolic  Fathers,'  'Apologists,'  'Apocry- 
pha') ;  and  to  gain  a  complete  view  of  a  subject 
the  reader  may  have  to  consult  several  chapters — 
e.g.,  for  the  writings  of  the  Apologists,  the  chapter 
just-named;  for  their  general  view  of  Christianity 
in  relation  to  the  thought  of  the  time,  chap.  5, 
entitled  'The  Apologists';  for  their  distinctive 
Christology,  chap.  11  in  the  next  division  on 
'Christ  and  God.'  But  the  successive  chapters 
have,  notwithstanding,  a  completeness  and  literary 
unity ;  and  the  partial  isolation  of  subjects  leads 
in  another  way  to  a  clearer  conception  of  each. 
The  book  has  a  law  of  its  own,  to  which  the  reader 
will  find  it  his  gain  to  accommodate  himself. 

It  is  characteristic  of  a  mind  habitually  open 
to  impressions,  and  accustomed  to  place  itself 
in  another's  point  of  view,  that  it  is  more  than 
ordinarily  sensitive  to  the  many  sides  and  re- 
lations of  a  subject  or  movement,  and  is  generally 
tempered  and  balanced  in  the  judgment  it  forms 
regarding  it.  This  quality  is  needed  alike  by  the 
historian  and  statesman,  and  Dr.  Rainy's  volume 
shows  that  he  possesses  it  in  a  special  degree.  There 
is  always  a  large  outlook,  and  commonly  caution, 
qualificatioD,  and  reserve — invariably  moderation 
— in  the  judgments  pronounced  on  men  and 
things.  Even  the  Roman  emperors  from  Tiberius 
to  Nerva  are  let  down  with  almost  excessive 
gentleness  as  ruling  persons  who  'on  the  whole 
evoked  little  attachment  and  created  little  con- 
fidence.' The  author's  own  sympathies  are  not 
concealed,  but  it  is  rarely  that  a  strongly  worded 
verdict  is  passed  even  on  those  from  whose  views 
or  actions  he  most  dissents.  Always  large-minded 
and  sympathetic,  he  is  charitable  in  judging  of 
motive,  tolerant  of  divei|;ence  in  belief,  more 
anxious  to  see  the  soul  of  good  in  men's  errors, 
than  harshly  or  unsparingly  to  condemn  them. 
This  is  so  general  a  feature  of  the  volume  that 
particular  illustrations  are  hardly  necessary.  It  is 
shown  in  the  capacity  everywhere  displayed  of 
entering  into  and  expounding  the  most  diverse 
phases  of  thought ;  in  the  sympathetic  account  of 


THE  EXPOSITORV  TIMES. 


307 


Gnosticism;  in  the  kindly  judgment  passed  on 
Marcion ;  in  the  appreciation  of  the  better 
elements  tn  Montanism  ;  in  the  portraits  of  the  dif- 
ferent Fathers — specially  of  a  man  like  TertuUian ; 
in  the  balanced  verdicts  on  the  Arian  Controversy ; 
in  the  sympathy  shown  with  the  Semi-Arians;  in 
the  qualiScation  of  the  customary  sweeping  judg- 
ment upon  Cyril :  '  At  the  same  time  he  was  a 
theological  thinker  of  great  power,  and  undoubtedly 
he  felt  the  religious  value  as  well  as  the  intellectual 
or  sympathetic  importance  of  the  doctrines  which 
he  maintained';  in  the  mild  interpretation  put 
upon  the  views  of  Nestorius,  etc.  Dr.  Rainy  no 
doubt  bad  in  view  his  own  experience  in  dealing 
with  Assemblies  when  he  wrote  as  the  sagacious 
man  of  affairs  of  the  Nicene  Council :  '  Theo- 
logically the  writer  believes  that  the  turn  of  think- 
ing on  this  high  subject  sanctioned  at  Nicasa,  was 
the  just  outcome  of  the  whole  discussion.  ,  .  . 
But  while  this  may  be  maintained  theologically, 
ecclesiastically  it  is  a  question  whether  the  Church 
was  prepared  for  the  Nicene  doctrine."  In  one 
sense  the  result  showed  it  was  not;  but  it  was, 
nevertheless,  a  great  achievement  for  the  Nicene 
Council  to  decide  as  it  did;  and  probably  that 
decision  saved  the  Church  from  worse  evils,  and 
longer  wanderings  in  the  ways  of  Arianism,  in  the 
end.  With  regard  to  Nestorius,  one  would  like  to 
acquiesce  in  Dr.  Rainy's  judgment  that  his  views 
involved  no  real  departure  from  the  doctrine  of 
the  unity  of  Christ's  Person ;  but  there  are  a  good 
many  declarations  and  formulae,  if  not  of  Nestorius 
himself,  at  least  of  his  followers,  difficult  to 
harmonize  with  this  favourable  interpretation. 
Perhaps  as  finely  balanced  a  piece  of  discussion 
as  any  is  that  which  relates  to  the  type  of 
thinking,  and  impoverished  representation  of 
Christianity,  of  the  Apologists.  Some  necessary 
qualifications  of  Professor  Harnack's  positions  are 
brought  forward  in  this  connexion ;  but  Dr.  Rainy 
leans  considerably  to  Hamack's  view.  It  seems 
only  fair  to  add— as  Dr.  Rainy  does  add— that 
if  this  view  is  to  be  adopted,  *  Justin  Martyr  and 
the  writer  to  Diognetus  (with  TertuUian  and 
Origen  later)  should  have  much  more  ascribed 
them.' 

Reference  is  made  above  to  subjects  either 
untouched  or  slightly  passed  over  in  the  volume, 
in  comparison  with  others  to  which  large  space  is 
devoted.  It  may  have  lain  outside  the  scope 
of  the  work,   but  perhaps  some  illustration  of 


Christian  life  and  worship  might  have  been  gained 
from  the  Catacombs,  to  which  we  observe  only 
a  single  passing  allusion.  The  great  revolution 
introduced  by  Constantine  into  the  relations  of 
Church  and  State  is  naturally  commented  Upon ; 
but,  in  a  subject  on  which  much  haziness  and 
misconception  still  exist,  it  might  have  been 
useful  had  the  precise  nature  of  the  relations  thus 
established  been  more  fully  defined.  In  the 
doctrinal  sections,  nothing  could  be  more  admirable 
than  the  expositions  given  of  the  successive 
developments  of  belief  and  heresy,  with  the 
rationale  of  each ;  but,  considering  the  importance 
attached  by  Augustine  to  his  doctrine  of  pre- 
destination, and  the  influence  of  that  doctrine  on 
subsequent  theology,  one  could  have  desired  to 
see  Dr.  Rainy's  views  upon  it  more  distinctly 
elaborated.  After  the  restoration  of  Nicene 
orthodoxy  under  Theodosius,  the  growing  Church 
had  as  its  counterpart  the  decisive  downfall  of 
paganism  in  the  Empire.  Though  touched  on 
in  connexion  with  Syramachus  and  Libanius,  this 
singularly  interesting  change  might  well  have 
claimed  more  special  description.  Still  it  is  to  be 
recognized  that  a  volume  cannot  contain  everything, 
and  we  are  much  more  disposed  to  be  grateful  for 
what  we  have  that  is  excellent,  than  to  complain 
of  what  may  chance  to  be  absent. 

On  no  part  of  his  subject  does  Dr.  Rainy  bestow 
more  pains  than  in  the  tracing  of  the  growth,  in 
successive  periods,  of  the  Church's  constitution, 
worship,  institutions,  and  offices.  What  is  said 
here  on  the  origins  of  Episcopacy,  and  the 
development  of  the  clerical  offices  and  privileges, 
deserves  all  attention.  Stress  is  laid  on  the 
simplicity  and  freedom  of  early  Church  organiza- 
tion, and  on  the  congregational  character  of  even 
second  century  Episcopacy.  'The  points  to  be 
emphasized  are  that  the  Episcopate,  in  the  later 
sense,  developed  at  a  time  when  a  "  Church  "  was 
still  a  congregation,'  and  when  'presbyters  and 
deacons,  and  from  an  uncertain  date  a  presiding  ' 
bishop'  were  not  'a  professional  class  as  we  now 
understand  the  term.  They  were  no  more  so 
than  town  councillors  and  justices  of  the  peace 
are  now,'  though  '  their  office  was  part  of  a  divine 
system.' 

Space  fails  to  illustrate,  as  one  would  wish  to 
do,  the  literary  felicities  and  striking  turns  of 
sentences  with  which  the  chapters  teem,  but  the 
reader  will  soon  discover  these  for  himself.     Nor 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


is  it  necessary  to  dwelt  on  scattered  points  that 
suggest  interrogation.  In  the  remarks  on  the 
Apostles'  Creed,  e^.,  in  chap  a,  is  *5o  a.v.  (p.  74) 
not  intended  for  150  a.d.  (cf.  p.  511)?  Are  the 
Elkesaiies,  who  'retained  circumcision'  (p.  21) 
and  had  a  revelation -book  of  their  own,  really  one 
with  the  party  of  the '  Clementines,'  which  conceded 


the  point  of  circumcision,  01  only,  as  Ritschl 
thought,  a  related  branch  of  Essenian  Judaism? 
In  another  connexion,  is  'Beron'  (pp.  170,  217) 
to  be  regarded  as  a  historical  person?  But  as  a 
contribution  to  the  history  of  the  Church  in  its 
formative  period,  the  book  stands  quite  unaffected 
by  the  answers  to  such  minute  questions. 


(Recent    (gtSficaf   (^tcgaeofogg. 


The  Land  of  Sepharad. 

'  The  captivity  of  Jerusalem,  which  is  in  Sepharad, 
shall  possess  the  cities  of  the  south '  (Ob  "*). 
Where  was  this  land  of  Sepharad,  to  which  some 
at  least  of  the  Jewish  captives  of  Nebuchadrezzar 
had  been  carried  or  sent  ?  Our  first  idea  would  be 
that  it  was  in  Babylonia,  or  at  all  events  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Babylonia,  It  is  here,  and  here 
only,  that  we  elsewhere  hear  of  the  Jewish  exiles 
being  settled. 

The  name  of  Sepharad  is  met  with  in  the 
cuneiform  inscriptions,  where  it  is  written  'Sapardu 
and  'Saparda.  So  far  as  I  know,  it  is  first  found 
in  the  prayers  addressed  to  the  sun-god  by  Esar- 
haddon  at  the  time  when  Assyria  was  threatened 
by  a  coalition  of  the  northern  tiations.  The 
'S^ard^  are  associated  with  the  Medes,  the 
Mann£  or  Minni  and  the  Gimirr^  or  Kimmerians. 
The  Manni  lived  to  the  east  of  Ararat,  on  the 
shores  of  Lake  Ururaiyeh  ;  and  as  the  Medes  were 
also  in  the  same  part  of  Asia,  it  seems  natural  to 
assume  that  the  'Sapard^  were  their  neighbours. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  principal  seat  of  the 
depredations  of  the  Kimmerians  was  Asia  Minor, 
and  it  was  in  Khubusna  or  Khubisna,  on  the 
borders  of  Cilicia  and  Cappadocia,  that  their 
leader  Teuspa  was  defeated  and  slain  by  Esar- 
haddon.  Here,  too,  his  successor  Tugdamme,  the 
Lygdamis  of  Strabo,  was  killed  in  battle,  in  the 
reign  of  Assur-bani-pal,  while  the  name  of  his  son 
'Sanda-ksatru  or  'Sanda-khshatra  is  compounded 
with  that  of  the  Cicilian  god  Sandys. 

Moreover,  we  have  positive  testimony  that  at  a 
later  date  the  land  of  'Sapardu  was  in  Asia  Minor. 
In  the  great  inscription  of  Darius  1.  at  Behistun, 
'Sapardu  (^parda  in  the  Persian  text)  comes 
between   '  Egypt    on  the    sea '  and    Y^vanu   or 


Ionia,  and  at  Naksh-i-Rustem  in  the  list  of 
satrapies  the  order  is :  Egypt,  Armenia,  Cappa- 
docia, 'Saparda,  Ionia.  The  geographical  position 
of  'Sapardu,  however,  is  still  more  closely  defined 
in  a  tablet  published  by  Dr.  Strassmaier  in  the 
Zeitichrift  fur  Assyrtologie,  vi.  3,  pp.  235,  136. 
The  tablet  is  dated  in  'the  37th  year  of  Antiochus 
and  Seleucus  the  kings,'  that  is  to  say,  in  274  e.c 
In  the  previous  year  it  is  said  the  king  had  col- 
lected his  troops  and  gone  to  the  country  of 
'Sapardu.  Here  he  had  left  a  garrison  in  order  to 
face  the  Egyptian  army  ai  the  fords  of  a  river, 
which,  nevertheless,  it  succeeded  in  crossing.  A 
few  days  later  '  twenty  elephants  which  the  governor 
of  Baktria  had  sent  to  the  king,  were  brought  to 
the  ford  of  the  river  to  meet  him.'  Then  came  the 
new  year,  and  Antiochus  marched  at  the  com- 
mencement of  it  to  'the  ford  of  the  river.' 
Throughout  the  year  prices  in  Babylon  and  the 
neighbouring  cities  were  calculated  according  to 
the  standard  of  the '  lonians,'  and  there  was  much 
sickness  in  the  country. 

The  first  event  that  marked  the  beginning  of  the 
new  year  was  the  return  of  'the  governors  of 
Babylonia  and  the  royal  bodyguard,  which  had 
gone  to  Sapardu  to  meet  the  king  the  previous 
year,  to  Seleucia,  the  royal  city,  which  lies  upon 
the  Tigris."  As  it  had  been  stated  in  an  earlier 
part  of  the  tablet  that  the  bodyguard  had  been  left 
in  Babylonia  for  a  whole  month  at  the  end  of  the 
preceding  year.  Holm  {Grteek.  Geschichte,  iv.  p. 
202)  infers  that  an  Egyptian  garrison  had  been 
established  east  of  the  Euphrates,  in  the  very  heart 
of  the  territory  of  the  Syrian  king,  and  that  'Sapardu 
consequently  was  eastward  of  Babylonia.  But  the 
inference  cannot  be  sustained.  The  campaigns  of 
the  Egyptian  king  Ptolemy  11.  were  carried  on  in 
Gyrene  and  Asia  Minor,  not  in  Babylonia;  and  in 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


309 


the  enumeration  of  his  foreign  conquests,  accord- 
ingly, which  we  find  in  Theocritus  (xvii.  86-90), 
Arabia  is  the  only  country  mentioned  that  does 
not  he  on  the  Mediteiraneon  coast.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  at  the  time  the  cuneiform  tablet  was  written, 
Antiochus  was  defending  Asia  Minor  against  the 
invasion  of  the  Gauls.  The  earlier  part  of  his 
reign  had  been  occupied  in  a  struggle  with  Nico- 
medes  of  Bjthynia,  and  the  defeat  of  the  Gauts  in 
Gatatia  275  b.c.  procured  for  him  his  title  of  Soter. 
'Sapardu  must  therefore  have  been  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Galatia,  if  indeed  it  were  not  Galatia 
itself,  and  we  are  thus  brought  back  to  the  locality 
in  which  it  is  placed  in  the  list  of  the  satrapies  of 
Darius. 

The  difficulty  still  remains  of  reconciling  this 
locality  with  the  fact  that  the  Jewish  captives  of 
Nebuchadrezzar  were  in  exile  there.  The  central 
districts  of  Asia  Minor  never  formed  part  of 
Nebuchadrezzar's  empire,  and  we  can  only  suppose 
that  the  reference  in  Obadiah  is  to  Jewish  slaves 
like  those  of  whom  we  hear  in  Jl  3*.  There  is, 
however,  another  possible  explanation.  Besides 
'Saparda,  a  country  of  Saparda  is  mentioned  in  the 
Assyrian  inscriptions.  Saparda  was  one  of  the  six 
Median  districts  attached  by  Sargon  to  Kharkhar 
after  his  conquest  of  the  latter  province  (Ann. 
Ixxiii.  84),  and  the  name  occurs  again  in  a  letter 
(Rm.  1,  463,  Rev  3),  which  probably  belongs  to 
the  reign  of  Esar-haddon.  Between  two  such 
similar  names  a  confusion  could  easily  arise,  and 
it  is  therefore  quite  possible  that  in  the  prophecy 
of  Obadiah  we  should  read  liBE*  instead  of  niDD. 
Kharkhar  lay  not  far  from  Ecbatana,  and  is  placed 
by  Streck  between  Paikul  and  Qasr-i-Sirin  on  the 
east  bank  of  the  Diyala.  Sargon  made  it  the  seat 
of  an  Assyrian  satrap.  A.  H.  Sayce, 

Ox/ord. 

'  Tree  and  Pillar  Cult''  ' 
Since  1876,  when  Schliemann  burst  into  the 
torobs  in  the  citadel  at  Mycenae,  and  thought 
that  he  had  discovered  Agamemnon  and  all  his 
house,  a  complete  change  has  come  over  some 
of  the  problems  connected  with  the  origins  of 
civilization,  a  change  to  which  O.T.  students  are 

'  Tie  Myitnaan  Trie  and  Pillar  Cult  and  iti  Medittr- 
raiuan  Relations,  tailk  /lluilralions  from  riienl  Cretan 
Finds.  Bj-  Arthur  J.  Evans,  M.A.,  F.S.A.  London: 
MacmillaD,  rgor.     Price  6i. 


hardly  yet  alive.  Up  till  that  time  the  a  priori 
conception  had  held  its  ground,  that  civilization 
had  always  moved  west,  and  that,  consequently, 
the  Phcenician  mariners,  leaving  their  shelterless 
coast  to  seek  harbours  and  commerce  in  other 
lands,  had  carried  the  culture  of  the  Semites  to 
the  islands  of  the  /Egean.  But  the  discoveries  at 
Mycenae  proved  it  to  have  been  the  seat  of  an 
advanced  art,  at  a  time  when  there  were  neither 
Hellenes  in  Greece  nor  Israelites  in  Canaan. 
The  influence  of  this  Mycenasan  art  has  been 
shown  by  subsequent  discoveries  in  the  ^gean 
Islands,  in  Crete,  in  Cyprus,  in  Egypt,  and  in 
Phoenicia,  to  have  had  a  very  strong  hold  by 
r4oo  fl.c  And  to  the  problem  of  the  marvel- 
lously rapid  development  of  Greek  art  a  solution 
has  probably  been  given  in  the  suggestion  that  the 
Hellenes,  when  they  had  conquered  the  ^geans 
and  usurped  their  land,  absorbed  their  artistic 
nature,  and,  bringing  their  own  independent  genius 
to  bear  upon  results  already  arrived  at,  produced 
the  masterpieces  of  the  age  of  Pericles. 

The  excavations  in  Greece,  in  Egypt,  and  in 
Assyria  that  have  so  immensely  widened  our  con- 
ception of  historic  time,  the  re-reading  of  Greek 
mythology  and  legend  in  the  light  of  new  facts, 
the  attention  given  to  the  hints  in  biblical 
genealogy  and  prophecy  of  the  western  source 
of  the  Philistines,  the  undoubted  fact  of  a  primitive 
jEgean  paganism  at  Gaza, — all  these  things  have 
completely  upset  old  views.  The  art  of  the 
^geans,  so  far  from  being  derived  from  the 
Semites,  was  indigenous.  The  resemblances 
which  ^gean  alphabets  present  to  the  Phoenician 
may  be  due  to  a  common  derivation  from  a 
Carian  source.  The  Semite  still  remains  the 
religious  genius  of  the  world.  The  crass  customs 
of  other  peoples,  and  the  mythology  of  Babylon, 
he  transmuted  into  moral  and  spiritual  forces. 
But  what  art  he  had  he  seems  to  have  borrowed. 
Mr.  Evans'  statement,  that  '  the  Tyrian  civilization 
of  historic  times,  so  far  as  we  know  its  actual 
remains,  is  little  more  than  a  depository  of 
decadent  Mycenaean  art,'  is  not  the  exaggeration 
of  an  explorer  in  a  new  field,  tempted  to  lay  too 
much  weight  on  the  wonders  the  spade  is  reveal- 
ing, but  the  expression  of  sober  fact  The  war 
has  thus  been  carried  into  the  Semite  country. 
The  artistic  influences,  if  not  the  religious,  are 
roundly  declared  to  have  moved  not  west  but 
east.     The  discovery  of  a  bronze  civilization  in 


310 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Myceiue  and  in  other  prehistoric  sitea,  tiie  earlf 
Cypriote  and  Hittite  systems  of  tniting, — systems 
&r  older  than  the  Phcenician  alphabet, — the  two 
non-PhcBnician  systems  of  writing  which  Mr. 
Evans  has  discovered  in  Crete,  have  shown  that 
in  the  west  we  have  to  do  with  an  influence  that 
was  not  Semitic,  powerful  enough  to  create  a  most 
remarkable  and  distinctive  art,  and  to  originate 
several  systems  of  writing. 

Crete,  though  a  field  worked  only  in  the  last 
five  years,  has  proved  itself  to  be  a  perfect  mine  of 
arch  geological  wealth.  From  its  position  it  was 
within  reach  of  i4^ean,  of  Egyptian,  and  of 
Semitic  influences,  and  all  those  are  found  to  have 
stamped  themselves  on  its  early  civilization.  But 
the  virility  of  the  Cretan  character  made  it 
creative  as  well  as  synthetic  It  did  not  merely 
receive  impressions :  it  also  reacted  powerfully 
upon  the  civilizations  that  brought  it  so  much. 
The  legend  that  Dtedalus  built  the  propylxum 
of  Hephzestos  at  Memphis  has,  at  all  events,  a 
groundwork  of  truth  in  the  influence  of  Cretan 
art  in  Egypt. 

Mr  Evans,  in  this  most  valuable  book,  conflnes 
himself  largely  to  the  religious  significance  of 
Mycenaean  art.  He  shows  that  in  it,  tree  and 
pillar  worship  were  associated  with  one  another,  as 
they  were  by  the  Semites  and  by  the  Druids,  and 
as  they  are  in  the  India  of  to-day.  One  of  the 
most  interesting  sections  in  the  book  explains  the 
evolution  of  the  Bsetylic  alUr — a  slab  with  cups 
for  libations,  supported  on  a  stout  central  pillar 
with  smaller  pillars  supporting  the  corners.  The 
primitive  altar  consisted  simply  of  the  central 
pillar,  and  over  this  the  offering  was  poured.  But, 
to  prevent  the  offering  running  to  waste,  a  slab 
with  depressions  in  it  was  fixed  across  the  top  of 
the  pillar,  and  the  corner  parts  were  added  to  give 
security.  The  O.T.  student  is  at  once  reminded 
of  the  evolution  of  the  altar  of  sacrifice.  At  first, 
it  too  was  a  mere  sacred  stone,  the  Beth-el  (from 
which  ficuTvXot  may  be  derived.)  But  in  the 
Book  of  the  Covenant  it  has  come  to  be  shaped,  a 
square  altar  which  had  to  be  built  of  unhewn 
stone,  lest  the  deity  in  it  should  be  hurt  by  the 
use  of  a  tool.  And,  finally,  we  have  the  elaborate 
Solomonic  altar. 

This  aniconic  image  cult  explains  the  small 
size  of  the  Cretan  shrines.  When  the  god  was 
thought  of  as  dwelling  in  a  pillar,  he  did  not 
require  a  great  abode.     It  was  only  as  the  anthro- 


pomorphic conception  of  the  deity  grew,  that 
his  worshippers  came  to  think  be  must  have  a 
palace  to  house  him.  Mi.  Evans  shows,  in 
some  most  interesting  illustrations,  this  transi- 
tion firom  the  aaiconic  to  the  anthropomorphic 
cult. 

Along  with  the  history  of  the  sacred  pillar,  Mr. 
Evans  traces  the  analogous  development  of  the 
cult  of  the  sacred  tree,  which  generally  accom- 
panied the  pillar.  In  the  first  stage  the  living 
tree  itself  was  worshipped — a  fig,  a  palm,  a  vine,  a 
cypress,  a  pine.  Then  for  the  tree  a  wooden  post 
vras  substituted,  corresponding  exactly  to  the 
Asherah  of  Semitic  worship.  And,  finally,  the 
sacred  tree  was  found  taking  its  part  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  house  as  'the  pillar  of  the  house,' 
the  function  which  the  two  pillars  of  the  Solomonic 
temple,  Jachin  and  Boaz,  were  probably  meant 
to  subserve. 

Most  interesting,  too,  are  the  derivation  of  the 
word  Labyrinth,  from  Labrys,  the  Cariao  word  for 
T^Kvt,  the  double-headed  axe,  the  symbol  of  the 
Cretan  Zeus;  and  the  sections  dealing  with  the 
influence  of  Egyptian  art  upon  the  typical 
Mycenaean  forms. 

The  reader  will  thus  see  that  this  interesting 
volume  contains  a  great  deal  more  than  a  mere 
statement  of  discoveries.  It  is  an  attempt  to 
place  the  religious  aspects  of  the  Mycenaean  art 
in  relation  to  Semitic  and  Egyptian  religions. 
Thus,  there  are  theories  as  well  as  facts,  and  to 
differ  from  Mr.  Evans  in  some  of  the  theories 
that  he  advances  with  regard  to  Semitic  religion 
is  not  to  underestimate  the  force  of  his  facts. 
The  book  is  stronger  on  its  Greek  and  f^ptian 
sides  than  on  its  Semitic.  It  is,  for  instance, 
surely  an  unwarrantable  inference  to  conclude 
that  because  Jehovah  revealed  Himself  to 
Abraham  under  the  terebinth  at  Mam  re,  in 
the  form  of  three  persons,  therefore  there  was  a 
special  group  of  three  holy  trees  at  that  place ! 
Mr.  Evans'  rebuke  (p.  9)  to  Reichel  for  hasty 
theorizing  might  have  a  wider  application. 

The  work  is  beautifully  printed,  and  is  published 
at  a  reasonable  price.  If  it  should  lead  some 
to  study  the  new  aspect  that  has  been  given  by 
the  Mycenaean  discoveries  to  many  questions  of 
the  origins  of  civilization,  Mr.  Evans  would  doubt- 
less feel  he  had  been  well  rewarded. 

1 ,   1 1-,  R|.  Bruce  Tavlor, 

Abtrdttn. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


'@  (JUneom  fox  (Wlang.' 

By  THE  Rkv.  George  Milugak,  B.D.,  Caputh. 


There  are  fev  words  in  the  Gospels  more  familiar 
than  these.  And  yet  our  very  familiarity  with 
them  may,  if  we  are  not  on  our  guard,  blind  us  to 
their  full  significance.  This  at  least  Is  certain, 
that  they  have  been  often  misapplied  and  a  meaning 
forced  into  them  which  they  cannot  bear.  And  it 
is  only  by  noticing  clearly  the  context  in  which 
they  occur  that  we  can  hope  to  discover  exactly 
what  they  meant  upon  the  lips  of  Christ. 

V.**  of  the  chapter  marks,  as  no  one  can  fail  to 
obserre,  the  beginning  of  a  new  period,  what 
we  may  fairly  call  a  crisis  in  the  life  of  Jesus. 
His  GaUlean  ministry  was  now  practically  at  an 
end;  and  though  for  a  time  apparently  it  had 
been  very  successful,  and  great  multitudes  had 
followed  Him,  latterly  it  had  been  different ;  and 
no  sooner  had  the  people  come  to  realize  that  He 
was  not  the  kind  of  Messiah  for  whom  they  had 
been  looking,  than  they  went  back  from  Him. 
Nor  was  this  all;  along  with  this  desertion  on 
the  part  of  the  people,  there  had  now  for  some 
time  been  traces  of  a  growing  hostility  towards 
Jesus  on  the  part  of  the  Jewish  priests  and  leaders. 
And  Jesus  saw  what  from  the  first  He  had  antici- 
pated, and  experience  had  made  ever  clearer,  that 
there  could  be  but  one  end  to  His  mission.  And 
it  was  therefore  with  the  full  consciousness  of  the 
death  that  awaited  Him  there,  that  He  set  His 
face  towards  Jerusalem. 

We  are  not  to  suppose  that  this  resolve  was 
reached  without  an  inward  struggle.  And  there  are 
few  more  graphic  pictures  in  the  Gospels  than  the 
verses  in  which  St.  Mark  brings  the  Saviour  before 
us  pressing  forward  in  prophetic  elevation  and 
subhmity  of  soul,  and  the  awestruck  disciples 
following  timidly  behind.  Not  yet  could  they 
understand  what  it  all  meant;  and  there  was  a 
mingled  majesty  and  sorrow  in  our  Lord's  actions, 
which  they  dared  not  disturb.  But  He  took  pity 
on  their  ignorance;  and  they  had  not  gone  far 
upon  the  way  when,  joining  Himself  to  them  once 
more,  Jesus  foretold — it  was  now  for  the  third 
time — the  death  with  all  its  shameful  accompani- 


'  For  verily  the  Son  of  mu  cune  not  to  be  ministered 
unto,  but  to  minister,  and  to  give  His  life  a  ransom 
for  many'— Mark  i.  45, 

mcnts  that  awaited  Him.  No  intimation  could 
have  been  clearer;  but  still  the  disciples  either 
could  not  or  would  not  understand.  So  far 
indeed  were  they  from  doing  so,  that  the  sons  of 
Zebedee  actually  chose  this  ill-timed  moment  for 
their  selfish  request  that  they  might  sit,  the  one  on 
His  right,  the  other  on  His  left  band  in  Hts 
kingdom. 

It  was  a  request  that  might  well  have  brought 
down  on  them  the  severest  condemnation;  but 
none  such  fell  from  the  lips  of  Jesus.  And  it 
was  rather  with  infinite  patience  that  He  sought 
to  bring  home  to  His  erring  disciples  what  their 
request  really  involved.  To  have  any  part  in  His 
kingdom.  He  pointed  out,  a  man  must  be 
prepared  not  for  outward  glory,  but  for  sharing  in 
His  cup  of  suffering,  and  being  baptized  in  His 
baptism  of  blood.  And  then  to  make  His  mean- 
ing still  clearer,  Jesus  gathered  all  His  disciples 
together,  and  proceeded  to  show  them  how  His 
kingdom  differed  from  man's. 

Itdiffered  first  with  regard  to  those  who  ruled.  In 
man's  kingdom  it  is  the  great  ones  who  exercise 
authority,— those,  that  is,  who  obtain  their  lordship 
by  means  of  conquest,  or  whose  authority  is  based 
upon  might.  But  in  His  kingdom  the  note  of 
eminence  is  service ;  it  is  the  servant  of  all  who 
alone  is  great.  And  then  corresponding  to  this 
difference  in  the  rulers  is  the  difference  in  the 
means  by  which  their  rule  is  established.  The 
earthly  ruler  prevails  by  power.  He  uses  the 
persons,  the  lives  of  others,  to  further  his  selfish 
ends  and  to  minister  to  his  will.  But  in  Jesus' 
kingdom  the  man  who  will  be  great  must  consent 
not  so  much  to  use,  as  to  be  used.  And  in  his 
efforts  to  further  the  good  of  those  he  desires  to 
win  and  to  save,  he  must  be  prepared  to  sacrifice 
his  own  interests,  it  may  even  be  his  own  life. 

Nor  is  this  a  solitary  law,  but  a  law  which 
runs  through  all  nature,  all  life,  a  law  to  which 
even  He,  the  kingdom's  Head  and  Lord,  must 
bow.  'For' — so  Jesus  concludes,  applying  to 
Himself  His  favourite  title,  the  title  which,  while 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


asserting  His  Messianic  dignity,  implies  also  His 
oneness  with  the  men  He  came  to  save — 'the 
Son  of  man  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to 
minister,  and  to  give  His  life  a  ransom  for  many.' 

Such,  then,  is  the  connexion  in  which  the  words 
occur,  and  whatever  else  is  involved  in  them,  they 
at  least  show  that  Jesus  Himself  r^arded  His 
mission  as  above  all  else  a  mission  of  service,  and 
of  service  that  was  to  culminate  in  His  own  death. 
And  in  so  regaiding  it,  does  He  not  throw  a  new 
light  upon  the  meaning  of  that  death  ?  I  say,  a 
new  light;  for  it  is  a  very  significant  fact  that 
though  before  this  Jesus  had  frequently  referred 
to  His  death,  sometimes  in  clear  words,  at  other 
times  in  dark  and  mysterious  allusions,  hitherto 
He  had  spoken  only  of  the  fact  itself,  or  of  the 
manner  in  which  it  was  to  be  brought  about,  and 
never  of  its  inner  meaning.  But  now  for  the  first 
time  we  find  Him  helping  us  to  enter  at  least 
a  little  into  that  meaning,  and  giving  us  a 
glimpse,  a  passing  glimpse,  it  must  be  allowed, 
but  still  a  very  real  one,  into  the  how  and  the  why 
He  died. 

I.  For,  first  of  all,  this  saying  of  Jesus  brings 
His  death  before  us  very  clearly,  as  a  voluntary 
death. 

Just  before,  He  had  been  speaking  of  it  from  a 
different  point  of  view  as  caused  by  the  malice 
and  wickedness  of  men  (vv.'*- ").  And  to  that 
outwardly  no  doubt  it  was  due.  Jesus  died  as  a 
martyr  at  the  hands  of  the  rulers  of  the  Jews.  But 
that  was  only  one  aspect  of  His  death.  Perhaps 
the  most  astonishing  thing  about  it,  as  Dante 
has  remarked,^  is  that  in  one  and  the  same  death 
both  God  and  the  Jews  rejoiced.  And  when  we 
think  of  Jesus'  death  from  the  divine  side,  it  is  its 
freewill  character  that  at  once  impresses  us.  He 
might  have  escaped  it  if  He  would.  'Thinkest 
thou,'  so  He  asked  in  the  very  moment  of  betrayal, 
'  that  I  cannot  beseech  My  Father,  and  He  shall 
even  nova  send  Me  more  than  twelve  legions  of 
angels V  (Ml  a6").  But  no!  brushing  the  very 
thought  of  escape  aside,  He  went  forward  calmly 
to  the  Cross. 

And  He  did  so  because  that  was  the  very  object 
for  which  He  came.  '  The  Son  of  man  came ' — 
came  from  a  position  of  previous  power  and  glory, 
came  taking  upon  Him  the  form  of  a  servant — 'to 

chi  ■  Dio  tA  >i  Giudri  piacquc  una  morte. 

I  Paradiso,  rii.  46,  47. 


give' — with  all  the  freedom  involved  in  the  very 
thought  of  giving — '  His  life  a  ransom  for  many' 

It  may  seem  hardly  necessary  to  recall  this,  it 
is  so  self-obvious  a  truth,  were  it  not  that  rightly 
understood  it  cuts  at  the  root  of  a  very  common 
popular  misconception  regarding  the  Atonement. 
For  is  there  not  still  a  tendency  in  some  quarters 
to  think  of  Christ's  death  as  a  sacrifice  wrung  from 
Him,  if  not  an  unwilling  at  least  a  passive  sufferer? 
But  here  He  shows  us  Himself  an  active  willing 
agent  in  it  all.  His  offering  was  a  voluntary 
ofTering.  His  life  was  His  own  life  to  give  or  not, 
as  He  pleased.  And  it  was  not  the  death  of  Christ 
in  itself,  but  the  will  and  the  love  lying  behind 
the  death,  that  made  it  acceptable  in  the  sight  of 
God.  As  He  Himself  has  told  us :  '  Therefore 
doth  the  Father  love  Me,  because  Hay  down  My  life, 
that  I  may  take  it  again.  No  one  taketh  it  away 
from  Me,  but  I  lay  it  down  of  Myself.  I  have  power 
to  lay  it  down,  and  I  have  power  to  take  it  again ' 
(Jn  .0".  >■). 

3.  But  Jesus  has  more  to  tell  us  about.  His 
death  than  that.  He  tells  us  that  He  gave  Him- 
self a  ransom  for  many. 

The  figure  seems  at  first  sight  a  very  simple 
one ;  but  all  who  have  taken  the  least  interest  in 
the  progress  of  theological  thought,  know  to  what 
strange  uses  it  has  sometimes  been  put. 

Thus  in  the  early  Church  there  were  many  who 
thought  of  this  ransom  as  a  price  paid  to  the 
devil.  By  sin,  so  they  argued,  man  had  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  the  devil,  and  was  by  him  held 
captive.  The  devil  could  not  therefore  be  expected 
to  free  man,  unless  he  received  some  equivalent  in 
exchange.  And  the  blood  of  Christ  proved  to  be 
such  an  equivalent.  Sometimes  the  theory  was 
presented  under  even  grosser  forms,  as  If  a  certain 
amount  of  deception  or  trickery  had  been  practised 
on  the  devil,  on  the  principle  that  in  war  all  is 
fair.  But  the  underlying  idea  was  always  the 
same — that  the  devil  required  and  was  entitled  to 
a  ransom  for  the  liberation  of  man,  and  that  this 
ransom  Christ  paid  to  him. 

We  are  not^likely  to  fall  into  such  an  error  now  \ 
but  we  must  equally  guard  against  the  even  more 
insidious  view,  which  regards  the  ransom  as  paid 
to  God.  All  sin,  we  are  told,  is  of  the  nature  of 
debt  due  to  God.  God  cannot  forgive  sin,  that  is 
to  say,  forgive  the  debt  due  to  His  honour,  without 
first  of  all  receiving  a  payment  in  full.  And  such 
a  payment  the  death  of  Christ,  bearing  our  sin  in 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


its  exact  burden  and  measure,  could  alone  provide. 
We  see  the  glimmerings  of  truth  underlying  such 
a  theory  in  the  emphasis  laid  upon  God's  justice 
and  man's  responsibility.  But  how  reconcile  it  in 
the  hard  material  form  in  which  it  is  thus  presented, 
with  the  free  unconditional  love  of  God  in  which 
we  have  been  taught  that  our  salvation  begins? 
It  was  because  '  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  He 
gave  Sis  only^gotlen  Son.'  The  love  came  before 
the  giving;  and  not  only  after  the  sacrifice  was 
complete. 

The  fact  is,  that  these  and  all  such  theories  err 
in  pressing  the  figure  of  ransom  too  far.  Christ 
says  nothing  here  of  the  person  to  whom  the  ran- 
som is  paid,  or  of  any  exact  equivalence  in  the 
payment  And  we  arc  more  likely  to  arrive  at 
His  meaning  if,  observing  the  same  studious 
reserve,  we  think  of  '  ransom  '  simply  in  its  general 
wide  sense  as  the  means  of  redemption,  deliverance, 
freedom.  Jesus  thinks  of  man  as  enslaved  to  the 
dark  powers  of  sin  and  of  death,  and  He  leaches 
that  by  His  death  man  has  been  set  free  from  the 
slavery  in  which  he  is  held.  As  to  the  exact 
method  by  which  this  is  accomplished,  we  are  here 
told  nothing. 

3.  But — and  here  is  our  third  and  last  truth — 
we  cannot  do  full  justice  to  the  very  idea  of 
'ransom,'  still  less  to  the  idea  of  '  ransom  for,'  or, 
as  the  original  undoubtedly  implies,  'ransom  instead 
of  many,'  without  recognizing  that  in  some — what 
to  us  must  always  be  mysterious — way  Jesus  re- 
presents Himself  as  securing  our  deliverance  by 
Himself  taking  our  place.  It  is  because  He — 
the  representative  Head  of  our  Humanity — served 
and  suffered  to  the  uttermost  for  us  that  man  is 
free. 

It  is  hardly  possible,  indeed,  not  to  believe  that 
here,  as  on  so  many  other  occasions,  Jesus  was 
thinking  of  the  great  prophecy  of  the  Servant  of 
the  Lord  in  the  second  half  of  Isaiah,  and  finding 
its  fulfilment  in  Himself :  '  By  His  knowledge 
shall  My  righteous  Servant  Justify  many :  and  He 
shall  hear  their  iniquities.  Therefore  mill  I 
divide  Htm  a  portion  with  the  great,  and  He 
shall  divide  the  spoil  with  the  strong;  because  He 


poured  out  His  soul  unto  death,  and  was  num- 
bered with  the  transgressors.-  yet  He  bare  the 
sin  of  many,  and  made  intercession  for  the  trans- 
gressors' (Is  53^'-").  Only  we  must  not  think 
that  Jesus,  because  He  speaks  of  many,  is  pointing 
only  to  a  limited  atonement.  The  many  do  not 
stand  in  opposition  to  all:  but  to  the  One  by 
whom  the  atonement  is  effected.  On  the  one 
side  stand  the  many,  of  whom  no  one  'ean  by 
any  means  redeem  his  brother,  or  give  to  God  a 
ransom  for  him '  (Ps  49^.  On  the  other  stands 
the  One,  perfect  God  and  perfect  man,  pre-eminent 
in  what  in  Himself  He  is,  and  so  able  to  do  what 
no  one  else  can  do,  and  to  'give  His  life  a  ransom 
far  many.' 

It  is  vain  to  try  to  hide  the  difficulties  which 
thus  inevitably  gather  round  the  thought  of 
the  Cross  of  Christ — the  Holy  suffering  for  the 
unholy,  the  Just  for  the  unjust.  But  so  much  at 
least  is  clear,  that  we  cannot  think  of  the  death  of 
Christ  in  the  light  in  which  it  is  here  presented  to 
us  as  the  supreme  example  of  service  and  self- 
sacrifice  without  understanding  something  of  the 
irresistible  sway  which  it  has  always  exercised  over 
the  hearts  of  men. 

How  much  more  ie  involved  in  Christ's  words, 
whether  we  have  not  in  them  at  least  the 
elements  of  that  sacrificial  and  propitiatory  char- 
acter which  all  the  Apostolic  writers  agree  in 
ascribing  to  His  death,  is  a  question  of  immense 
interest  and  importance,  but  it  is  one  on  which  we 
cannot  enter  just  now.  And  we  must  be  content 
with  again  simply  affirming  what  in  our  own  con- 
sciousness we  are  so  well  able  to  verify,  that  it  is 
just  when  we  are  most  conscious  of  sin's  degrading 
and  enslaving  piower,  or  are  most  nearly  confronted 
with  the  sad  realities  of  suffering  and  death,  that 
we  find  in  the  thought  of  the  Cross  of  Christ  a 
peace  and  a  strength  that  we  can  find  nowhere 
else,  and  enter  most  fully  into  the  meaning  of 
the  great  words  ;  '  For  it  became  Him,  for  whom 
are  all  things,  and  through  whom  are  all  things, 
in  bringing  many  sons  unto  glory,  to  make  the 
author  of  their  salvation  perfect  through  sufferings ' 
(He  .»). 


.yGooi^lc 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


€$e  ^ong&  of  paiteHnt^' 

By  the  Rev.  John  Taylor,  M.A.,  D.Lit.,  Winchcombb. 


Professor  Dalm&n's  PaiasliniscAer  Dtwan  is 
equally  happy  in  its  conception  and  its  execution. 
Anxious  to  obtain  a  fuller  knowledge  of  the  mind 
and  manners  of  the  people  who  inhahit  the  Holy 
Land,  and  convinced  that  foreign  influences  are 
rapidly  obliterating  the  peculiarities  which  have 
stood  the  wear  and  tear  of  ages,  he  spent  the 
fifteen  months  from  March  1899  to  June  1900  in 
the  closest  intercourse  with  all  classes  of  the 
population.  There  is  no  surer  way  of  getting  at 
the  thoughts  of  sucli  races  than  by  studying 
their  songs.  They  sing  everywhere.  They  have 
favourite  ditties  to  accompany  all  the  occupations 
and  all  the  customary  events  of  life.  In  the  rural 
districts  the  popular  poetry  which  springs  direct 
from  the  hearts  and  lips  of  the  peasantry  still 
flourishes.  In  the  towns  the  professional  singer 
has  not  lost  the  art  of  pleasing  his  hearers.  Dalman 
has  gone  about  amongst  them  all,  collecting  the 
verses  of  shepherds  and  ploughmen,  mule-drivers 
and  singers  in  the  coffee-house,  men  and  women 
afflicted  with  leprosy,  and  glad,  in  their  afflic- 
tion, to  recall  the  things  which  gladdened  their 
brighter  hours.  Missionaries  and  other  residents 
■  in  the  country  have  put  at  his  disposal  the  material 
which  they  have  gathered.  He  has  found  witling 
helpers  in  the  Hauran,  in  Northern  Syria,  in 
Sidon,  in  Aleppo :  to  every  poem  he  has  been 
able  to  prefix  the  name  of  its  town  or  district,  and 
to  most,  that  of  the  individual  from  whom  it  was 
learnt  Not  only  are  they  here  translated  closely 
into  German,  but  the  Arabic  is  also  given,  printed 
in  Roman  letters  and  the  quantities  of  the  vowels 
indicated,  so  that  one  who  is  not  familiar  with  the 
original  language  can  yet  acquaint  himself  with 
the  prosody  of  each  poem.  A  brief  account  is 
given  of  the  various  forms  of  verse  here  repre- 
sented, Kajida,  'Ataba,  etc.  At  the  close  of  the 
book  thirty-two  of  the  airs  are  reproduced,  thus 
enabling  us  to  form  an  approximate  idea  of  how 
the  marriage-song,   the    dirge,    etc.,    sound.     It 

'  Paldstinisclur  Di-aiaa,  als  Bcitrag  lut  Volkikunde 
PalSstiiuks,  geummeU  und  mit  Ubeisetiung  und  Melodien 
herausg^eben  von  Gnstar  H.  Dalman.  Leipzig:  J.  C. 
Hinrichs.     M,9. 


would  be  tedious  to  enumerate  the  classes  to 
which  the  songs  are  assigned;  suffice  it  to  men- 
lion  those  heard  in  the  fields,  on  the  loads,  by  the 
tent-fire,  at  village  gatherings,  on  the  sea,  on 
pilgrimage,  in  war,  by  the  child's  cradle,  at  the 
various  points  of  an  Eastern  wedding,  at  dances, 
at  leave-takings,  at  home-comings,  at  funerals. 
The  result  is  a  most  valuable  set  of  illustrations 
of  Semitic  life.  And  the  work  has  not  been  done 
too  soon.  Mission  schools  are  replacing  the 
native  way  of  singing  by  ours.  And  one  of  the 
Belka  poets  whose  lines  are  preserved  in  this 
volume  declares  that  he  will  send  a  telegram 
(Ulrrdf)  descriptive  of  the  charms  of  the  woman 
he  loves !  On  the  other  hand,  we  see  bow  quick 
Dr.  Dalman  has  been  to  appropriate  even  the 
most  recent  productions,  for  he  prints  an  elegy  on 
a  sheikh  who  died  last  year. 

As  to  the  thoughts  which  here  find  expression, 
we  must  not  pitch  our  expectations  too  high. 
Many  of  the  songs  are  very  brief,  being  of  only 
two  or  four  lines,  and  the  few  words  of  which  they 
consist  seem  to  us  pointless  or  irrelevant  But 
they  have  a  meaning  for  the  peasant  or  the 
Beduin.  And  whereas  we  read  them,  he  sin^ 
them.  Many,  again,  are  decidedly  interesting, 
intrinsically  or  by  reason  of  the  light  they  throw 
on  other  fields.  The  following  is  a  rough  version 
of  one  of  the  love-songs :  ^ — 

My  beloved,  thau  ait  niQe  efc,  and  thou  art  my  soul ; 
If  (hou  weiC  gone,  who  would  cheer  me,  O  my  soal  1 
If  Death  comes  near  thee,  I'll  ransom  Ihee  with  my  soul ; 
Nor  shall  I  then  wiih  to  draw  tueath  any  more. 

My  beloved,  isy  not  that  I  fo^et  thee, — 

My  soul  I  can  forget,  but  never  thee. 

Thy  paieots  have  sold  ihee :  'tj*  I  who  have  bought  ihee. 

For  two  thousand  mejidi,  and  the  rest  in  gold. 

As  tbou  tumest,  O  serpent,  so  do  I  turn. 
As  a  stranger:  too  long  have  we  been  strange. 
I  implore  thee,  O  Moon,  by  God,  give  me  light, 
For  mine  oil  is  run  low  and  my  lamp  is  gone  out. 

The  two  songs  which  follow  give  some  indication 
of  the  feelings  which  the  adherents  of  rival  faiths 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


315 


entertain  toward  each  other.    The  first  is  in  the 
lips  of  Moslem  boys  at  Aleppo ' — 

And  the  kids,  the  white  ones,  the  white  ooei, 
Ace  now  come  down  to  the  camp  r 
Thejr  have  given  me  mgu*  to  e«t, 
The  lugar  of  the  prophet  have  they  given. 
And  the  prophet  cairies  k  book 
From  Aleppo  to  'Ainiab. 
O  ye  Chiislisnt,  O  ye  d(^. 
Why  bleu  ye  not  the  prophet? 
The  Other  also  comes  from  Aleppo,  and  is  used  by 
Christian  children  at  Easter  > — 

On  the  First  Sunday— Nothing,  nothing, 

On  the  Second  Sunday— Nothing  again, 
On  the  Third  Sunday— We  cut  out  the  cloth, 
On  the  Fourth  Sunday- We  lew  [he  cloth, 
On  the  Fifth  Sunday— Palm  twigs. 

On  the  Siith   Sunday— We  cook  ^gs  and  go  into 
the  gardens. 

The  Feait  came,  and  we  kept  it. 

We  went  (o  the  grave  of  our  Lord  : 
Our  Lord  He  is  our  Guardian, 

He  hath  l>ought  us  with  His  blood. 
And  the  Jews  are  sad. 
But  the  Christians  glad. 
Thine  eye  cracked,  O  Jew ! 

The  Song  of  Songs  is  abundantly  illustrated  in 
the  collection  before  us,  especially  such  parts  of  it 
as  Ca  i"  41-5 — 


O,   her  eyebrows  1 


:  of  ink  drawn  with   : 


And  her  hair  as  birds'  feathers  coloured  with  henna ; 
Her  nose  like  the  sword-hilt,  the  glittering  one  from  lod  ; 
Her  roseate  cheeks  are  like  the  apples  of  Damascus, 
And  her  eyes  as  the  eyes  of  the  lynn  when  he  is  aroused, 

etc.* 

In  this  connexion  it  is  desirable  to  note  Dalman's 
remark »  that  the  similar  verses  in  Canticles  are 
not  necesarily  epithalamia,  seeing  that  such  de- 
scriptions of  the  beloved  are  sung  on  many 
occasions  besides  weddings.  To  this  we  may  add 
that  an  Eastern  poet's  imagination  does  not  wait 
for  the  knowledge  of  facts.  The  stress  laid  in  the 
Pentateuch  on  the  duty  of  helping  to  restore  lost 
propeny  is  heard  again  in  the  public  crier's  pro- 
clamation * — 


May  he  who 
children  I 

May  he  play  with  the  mice 
Because  his  little  ones  are  gone. 

May  he  play  with  the  cat 
Because  his  skipping  child  is  lost 


tell  be  stripped  of  cattle  and 


'P.  40. 


'  Sweet  roilk. 


'  P.  161. 
'  P.  55- 


Whilst  we  listen  to  the  peasant  lad  in  the  Belka  ' 
we  think  of  the  idyllic  scenes  by  the  wells,  de- 
scribed so  toucbingly  in  Genesis ;  but  there  is  a 
wide  difference  of  tone — 

I  Mw  her  go  for  water  to  the  well, 

A  maiden,  a  true  coquette. 
I  said  to  her,  'O  maiden,  give  me  to  drink, 

Give  me  to  kiss  thy  cheeks.' 
But  she  answered,  '  Depart,  O  youth. 

Stay  not  to  explain  thy  words  ! 
Who  asks  for  kisses  meets  with  Death, 

For  the  sons  of  Churshan"  know  what  is  done.' 
'  By  God,  if  thou  crieit  out,   I  cry  out  also. 

And  call  the  sons  of  Mefali|i'  to  my  aidi 
The  sons  of  Churshan  know  the  soreness  of  wounds.' 

Amonst  the  dirges,  whilst  there  is  much  to  remind 
us  of  those  in  the  Bible,  there  is  one  frequently 
recurring  peculiarity:  the  departed  speaks,  or  is 
spoken  of,  as  if  he  were  not  yet  dead  " — 

0  Physician,  heal  Thy  sick  one, 

Before  Thou  giveit  drink  to  Thy  thirsty  one ! " 

1  cried ;  O,  my  Lord,  I  implore  Thee, 
O  my  God,  show  pity  upon  me  I 

We  should  fail  to  do  justice  to  Dr.  Dalm^  if 
we  omitted  to  mention  his  ample  elucidation  of 
all  customs,  allusions,  and  modes  of  thought  which 
may  be  presumed  unfamiliar  to  the  ordinary 
Western  reader.  Here  are  four  lines  from  children 
in  Jerusalem  '* — 

Say  thy  prayer,  ' 

O  lizard  ! 

Thy  mother  died 

In  the  oven. 

They  would  be  almost  unintelligible  without  the 
note  which  mentions  the  habit  of  the  great 
Palestinian  lizard  of  perching  itself  on  the  top  of 
stone  heaps  and  holding  up  its  head ;  if  it  looks  ' 
southwards  the  children  call  it  a  Moslem,  if  east- 
wards a  Christian.  At  the  head  of  each  section 
of  marriage  songs  or  elegies  there  is  an  account  of 
the  ceremonies  observed  at  that  stage :  any  one 
who  will  take  the  trouble  to  put  these  accounts 
together  will  have  a  tolerably  complete  idea  of  all 
these  rites  and  customs.  Dalman  calls  attention 
to  the  fact  that  food  is  eaten  in  the  last  portion  of 
the  funeral  ceremonies,  and  thinks  that  this  brings 
out  the  significance  of  a  S  3",  Jer  16'.  The 
of  the  supposition  is  open  to  doubt. 

'  Her  tribe, 

"  P.  317. 


'P.  53- 


■Jfit^^}ff^ 


3'6 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


283^  seems  to  imply  such  a  fast  as  was  natural 
on  the  occasion,  and  to  record  an  equally  natural 
though  futile  attempt  of  the  people  to  induce  their 
king  to  take  requisite  nourishmenl.  Jer  16"  is 
satisfactorily  explained  by  Duhni :  '  As  funeral 
guests  at  the  present  day  try  to  hinder  a  Jewish 
widow  from  rending  her  garments,  so  in  Jeremiah's 
time  they  sought  to  prevent  the  son  from  following 
his  father  to  death,  offering  him  food  and  drink  to 
bring  him  back  to  the  life  which  he  seemed  to  be 
abandoning  by  abstaining  from  needful  susten- 
ance.' Not  improbably  the  custom  which  Dalman 
refers  to  is  a  survival  of  the  practice  which  is  re- 
probated in  such  verses  as  Dt  z6".  Very  fre- 
quently in  these  songs  a  Bedawio  cries,  '  For  thine 
eye  I'  'The  Bedawin  performs  his  heroic  deeds 
in  honour  of  his  beloved.  Ere  riding  forth  to 
battle  he  makes  a  brave  show  on  horseback  before 
her  and  utters  this  cry.'     It  reminds  us  of  the 


days  of  chivalry,  when  the  knight  dedicated  all  his 
exploits  to  the  glory  of  the  lady  whom  he  had 
chosen.  The  two  facts  that  a  mother-in-law  ei- 
pects  her  son's  wife  to  relieve  her  of  work,  and 
that  in  several  districts  of  the  Holy  Land  a  bride, 
before  entering  her  new  home,  receives  a  lump  of 
dough,  and  sticks  part  of  it  on  her  forehead  and 
part  on  the  lintel,  are  mentioned  as  explaining  the 
Song  to  the  Bridegroom's  Mother ' — 

O,  Molhei  of  the  BridtgrooTn,  be  glid  to  deep. 
To  thee  comes  a  bride  like  Bedr  of  Me'iin.' 
We  btought  her  from  the  South  and  «re  here  at  l«st, 
We  have  put  the  dough  on  the  bair  a(  bet  brow. 

It  will  be  a  great  surprise  to  us  if  the  Falas- 
iinischtr  Dlwan  does  not  become  a  sUndard  work, 
highly  esteemed.  J.  Tavix)R. 

mnckcamhe. 


'  P.  192. 


•  A  legendary  beiuty. 


Qlt    t^t   Biferarg    t«6fe. 

THE  BOOKS  OF  THE  MONTH. 


ARCHBISHOP   BENSON  ON  THE  ACTS. 

The  late  Archbishop  Benson  delivered  a  series  of 
lectures  to  a  congregation  of  ladies  in  Lambeth 
Palace  Chapel  from  1887  to  1892  on  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles.  The  addresses  were  never  written 
out,  being  spoken  from  notes,  but  some  of  the 
listeners  took  reports  from  the  first,  and  after  a 
time  a  professional  reporter  was  employed.  These 
addresses  have  now  been  edited  by  one  of  the 
Archbishop's  daughters,  and  in  a  remarkably 
handsome  volume  they  have  been  published  by 
Messrs.  Macmillan. 

Dr.  Benson's  object  was  not  to  give  his  hearers 
a  general  conception  of  the  times  and  circumstances 
in  which  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  took  place.  He 
was  not  the  man  to  be  content  with  the  mere 
external  history,  nor  was  his  audience  likely  to 
thank  him  for  an  account  of  the  state  of  the 
Roman  Empire  in  the  days  of  the  Apostles.  He 
gives  a  good  deal  of  historical  and  pol ideal 
information,  but  it  is  always  caught  up  into  the 
■gion  of  the  moral  and  the  spiritual,  and  made  to 


serve  the  ends  of  spiritual  nourishment  and  growth 
in  grace. 

Dr.  Benson  is  neither  an  exegete  nor  a  critic 
in  these  addresses.  Occasionally  he  stays  his 
hand  to  bring  out  the  force  of  some  participle  or 
the  distinction  between  two  nearly  synonymous 
words.  For  example,  he  translates  Ac  19", 
'Jesus  I  perceive,  Paul  I  know,'  and  gives  the 
explanation  that  the  evil  spirit  in  saying  'Jesus  I 
perceive,  Paul  I  know  or  thoroughly  understand,' 
showed  '  an  awful  sense  of  the  enormous  difference 
between  even  St.  Paul  and  Jesus.'  But  his 
purpose  is  practical  guidance.  He  is  a  preacher 
first  and  last. 

And  his  practical  guidance  is  not  always  obvious 
or  even  immediately  acceptable.  Continuing  the 
use  of  the  same  incident  in  Ac  19,  in  which  the 
seven  sons  of  Sccva  took  upon  them  to  name  over  a 
man  with  an  evil  spirit  'the  name  of  Jesus  whom 
Paul  preacheth,'  and  were  roughly  handled  for  their 
pains,  Archbishop  Benson  says  that  the  mistake 
which  the  seven  sons  of  Sceva  made  was  to  try  to 
do  good  by  way  of  example.     Turning  out  an 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


317 


evil  spirit,  he  says,  is  never  easy  work,  but  when 
it  is  attempted  as  a  good  example  to  others,  then 
it  is  quite  impossible.  Dr.  Benson  tells  us  that 
we  should  not  give  up  anything  which  we  ourselves 
do  not  feel  to  be  wrong  merely  that  we  niay  by 
our  example  lead  others  to  give  it  up.  'I  was 
startled  once,'  he  says,  '  by  (he  vehement  utterance 
of  a  well-known  person,  who  finished  a  sermon 
with  the  words:  "To  do  good  for  the  sake  of 
setting  an  example  is  simply  silly."  Such  an 
utterance  is  useful;  and  I  feel  inclined  to  say 
that  to  do  good  for  the  sake  of  setting  an  example 
is  more  than  silly.' 

That  the  ladies  who  listened  to  these  addresses 
appreciated  them  is  evident.  The  Duchess  o( 
Bedford,  for  one,  writes  an  introduction  to  the 
volume,  and  not  only  expresses  her  appreciation 
without  reserve,  but  also  indicates  clearly  wherein 
the  value  of  the  addresses  lay.  Her  estimate 
corresponds  with  that  which  we  have  formed  on 
reading  the  volume.  'We  find,'  she  says,  'an 
almost  startling  perception  of  the  relation  of  the 
great  Christian  doctrines  to  the  fundamental 
characteristics  of  human  nature  which  issue  in  the 
familiar  facts  of  human  life.  .  .  .  The  common 
tendency  to  regard  the  truths  of  the  Christian 
religion  as  an  addition  to  rather  than  as  an  integral 
part  of  life  in  its  ordinary  manifestations,  had  no 
place  in  the  Archbishop's  mind.' 

POSSESSION. 

Demonic  Possession  in  the  New  TestamenI  is  still 
an  unsolved  problem.  That  sentence  in  italics 
opens  the  introduction  to  a  new  work  on  Demonic 
Possession  by  Dr.  W.  Menzies  Alexander  (T.  &  T. 
Clark).  It  is  not  only  unsolved,  it  is  a  problem 
which  few  expositors  are  anxious  even  to  touch.  It 
is  the  point  at  which  the  difficulties  of  the  super- 
natural in  the  New  Testament  concentrate.  To  give 
it  up  is  easy — both  the  problem  and  the  Possession 
— but  it  is  unsatisfactory.  Jesus  believed  in  it, 
and  if  it  was  a  delusion  He  could  be  deluded. 
Or  He  did  not  believe  in  it,  and  if  it  was  a  sham 
He  helped  its  propagation.  It  is  easy  to  deny 
Possession — but  after  ? 

Demonic  Possession  is  still  an  unsolved  prob- 
lem. Perhaps  the  solution  has  been  improperly 
attempted.  It  has  been  attempted  either  by 
theologiails,  who  have  generally  received  it,  or  by 
historians  who  have    hesitated,    or   by   medical 


writers  who  have  mostly  denied  it.  Could  we  not 
find  a  man  who  has  the  qualifications  for  coming  to 
it  from  all  these  sides  at  once?  Dr.  Menzies 
Alexander  is  such  a  man.  His  degrees  are  M.A., 
B.Sc,  B.D.,  CM.,  and  M.D.  He  has  studied  the 
subjects  that  are  touched  by  the  problem,  he 
has  most  patiently  studied  the  problem  itself. 
His  book  is  more  than  a  contribution  to  the  sub- 
ject, it  brings  the  subject  of  Possession  into  line 
with  our  latest  medical,  historical,  and  theological 
knowledge, 

LIFE  AND  LETTERS  IN  THE  FOURTH 
CENTURY. 

The  method  of  study  most  commonly  used  in 
respect  of  the  early  Church  writers  is  to  measure 
them  by  the  standard  of  orthodoxy.  Professor 
Glover  has  chosen  a  new  method.  He  calls  it 
'  reading  across  the  period.'  He  has  chosen  the 
writers  of  the  fourth  century  and  studied  their 
writings;  he  has  also  studied  the  writings  of 
others  about  them,  both  early  and  late.  And  he 
has  set  himself  to  consider,  not  what  the  Orthodox 
Catholic  Church  thinks  of  them,  not  where 
ecclesiastical  historians  have  placed  them,  but 
what  they  actually  contributed  to  the  solution  of 
the  problems  of  life  which  emerged  in  Iheir  day. 
Professor  Glover  has  probably  little  interest 
in  orthodoxy  and  little  concern  for  the  opinion 
of  the  Catholic  Church.  Certainly  he  never 
commits  the  folly  of  condemning  orthodoxy 
because  it  is  orthodox.  He  simply  lets  it  alone. 
He  strikes  across  it,  to  use  his  own  expression, 
neither  running  with  its  stream  nor  rowing  against 
it.  And  thus  he  produces  a  series  of  studies  of 
the  men  and  women  of  the  fourth  century  which 
are  very  fresh,  and  he  adds  something  to  our 
knowledge  of  those  problems  of  life  which  are 
ours  as  well  as  theirs. 

His  method  is,  of  course,  not  absolutely  new. 
Julian  has  been  studied  by  the  'cross-reader' 
times  without  number.  Yet  it  is  the  study  of 
Julian  that  has  given  us  most  pleasure  in  reading 
Professor  Glover's  book  For  in  this  brief  chapter 
Julian  is  set  amidst  the  great  processes  of  his  day 
with  a  detachment  which  reveals  with  memorable 
distinctness  his  incapacity  for  the  tremendous  task 
he  set  himself,  and  yet  Julian's  amazing  failure  is 
recognized  as  the  judgment  of  the  great  God. 

The  book  is  not  only  literary  and  unecclesias- 


3i8 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


tical,  it  is  popuUi.  The  titles  of  the  chapters, 
such  as  '  Greek  and  Early  Christian  Novels,'  are 
meant  for  '  the  man  in  the  street.'  And  in  that 
the  Cambridge  Press  has  rendered  a  gracious 
service  to  us  all  For  we  must  get  the  average 
Englishman  to  undersUnd  that  the  triumph  of 
Christianity  was  really  due  to  its  being  on  the 
side  of  the  nature  of  things,  and  that  interested 
ecclesiastics  were  neither  its  authors  nor  effectual 
promoters.  We  must  get  the  average  Englishman 
to  nad  the  history  of  the  Church,  and  this  Is  the 
book  in  which,  the  fourth  century  may  be  read 
with  most  joy  and  gain. 


THE  FORMATION  OF  CHRISTIAN 
CHARACTER. 

Dr.  W.  S.  Bruce,  whose  study  of  The  Ethia  of 
the  Old  Tettament  had  a  gratifying  reception  a 
year  or  two  ago,  has  now  published,  through 
Messrs.  T.  &  T.  Clark,  a  study  in  The  Formation 
of  Christian  Character,  It  is  a  fuller  and  riper 
study  than  the  other;  it  deserves  a  yet  heartier 
reception. 

The  book  comes  in  time.  Never  was  stress 
more  unreservedly  laid  on  the  value  of  character; 
never  was  it  more  generally  admitted  that  the 
noblest  character  is  the  character  of  Christ.  It 
comes  also  under  the  influence  of  the  right  method. 
There  has  been  a  slight  tendency  of  late  to  let  go 
the  historical  method,  or  at  least  dilute  it  with  the 
imaginative.  But  our  great  gains  have  been  made 
along  the  historical  line,  and  Dr.  Bruce  adheres  to 
it  faithfully.  And,  better  than  all,  he  has  laid  the 
only  true  foundation.  Of  course  he  has  not  tried 
to  describe  that  New  Birth  from  which  Christian 
character  springs,  for  his  book  is  not  theological. 
But  he  sUrts  from  the  New  Birth.  He  does  not 
hang  his  character  in  the  air.  And  starting  from 
the  New  Birth,  he  has  the  Spirit  of  Holiness  with 
him,  and  is  able  to  show  how  character  is  made, 
— to  show  it,  one  might  say,  in  the  making. 

Dr.  Bruce  has  not  exhausteil  his  subject.  It  is 
too  great  for  that  He  has  not  given  his  points 
the  relative  prominence  which  other  men  would 
in  every  case  have  given  them.  He  has  not 
attempted  to  make  an  original  contribution  to  the 
science  of  Ethics.  But  the  follower  of  Christ  who 
sits  down  with  this  book  in  his  hand  will  find 
himself  in  a  wealthy  place.     And   the  preacher. 


above  all,  will  revel  in  fresh  matter  for  the  pulpit, 
clearly  arranged  and  pointedly  expressed. 

THE  WORLD  BEFORE  ABRAHAM. 
This  is  an  able  and  useful  book,  with  a  mislead- 
ing title.  It  is  an  introduction  to  the  critical  study 
of  the  Hexateuch.  It  states — very  lucidly,  and 
thoroughly  enough  for  a  popular  book — the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Higher  Criticism,  and  then  applies 
them  in  detail  to  the  first  eleven  chapters  of  Genesis. 
But  one  must  stand  back  and  take  a  much  more 
comprehensive  survey  of  the  materials  before  be 
can  gain  a  clear  conception  of  the  world  before 
Abraham.  When  we  are  past  the  title,  however, 
the  book  is  right  and  highly  opportune.  There  is 
no  other  book  we  know  which  will  more  readily 
give  one  an  idea  of  what  the  Higher  Criticism  has 
done  to  the  Hexateuch.  And  is  not  that  just 
what  the  thousands  of  thinking  Church  people  are 
asking?  Nor  does  it  demand  excessive  toil 
While  the  notes  give  the  opportunity  of  almost 
endless  further  study,  the  body  of  the  book  is 
easily  read.  Perhaps  its  most  welcome  feature  is 
its  quiet  reasonableness.  A  follower  of  Driver, 
Professor  Mitchell  can  quote  Sir  William  Dawson 
with  appreciation.  The  publishers  are  Messn. 
Constable  of  Westminster. 


PRAYER. 

The  'Oxford  Library  of  Practical  Theology,' 
which  Messrs.  Longmans  are  publishing,  would 
have  been  very  incomplete  had  it  not  included  a 
volume  on  Prayer.  For  prayer  is  theology.  The 
old  saying,  pectus  faeit  theoiogum,  '  It  is  the  heart 
that  makes  the  theologian,'  might  be  turned, '  He 
only  is  a  theologian  who  is  on  his  knees  in  prayer.' 
And  prayer  is  practical  theology — the  only  pity  is 
that  it  is  so  little  practised.  Prayer  had  to  be 
included,  the  only  question  was,  Who  is  to  write 
the  volume  on  Prayert 

The  choice  fell  on  Canon  Worlledge  of  Truro. 
We  cannot  make  comparison  between  the  work 
which  Canon  Worlledge  has  done  and  the  work 
which  another  might  have  given  us.  We  can  only 
say  that  the  editors  of  the  series  must  be  highly 
gratified  with  the  issue  of  their  confidence.  We 
do  not  agree  with  all  that  Canon  Worlledge  says ; 
we  find  omissions,  and  we  find  over-elaboration 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


319 


penetrates  into  the  heart  of  the  great  subject,  and 
never  for  one  moment  does  it  offend  by  irreverence 
01  presum|)tion. 

The  difficulty  has  been  to  meet  various  classes 
of  readers.  Canon  Worlledge  is  strongest  when 
he  speaks  to  the  most  devout ;  his  answers  to  the 
objector  are  less  impressive.  But  who  would  do 
better  with  the  objector  after  all?  Is  not  the  only 
answer  to  the  objector  to  prayer,  Try  it  P  '  Can 
any  good  thing  come  out  of  Nazareth  ? '  '  Come 
and  see.*    There  is  no  answer  but  that 

More  things  are  wrought  by  prayer  than  this 
world  dreams  of.  And  yet  many  things  more 
might  be  wrought  by  prayer,  if  we  would  pray 
more,  if  more  of  us  would  pray.  This  book  will 
teach  us  to  pray  as  John  also  taught  his  disciples. 
For  this  man  has  tried  the  power  of  prayer  ere  he 
could  write  of  it  with  power,  such  power  as  this 
book  carries. 

THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST. 

'  The  Church  of  Christ,  her  Mission,  Sacraments, 
and  Discipline '  is  the  full  title  of  Professor  Tyrrell 
Green's  volume,  which  belongs  to  'The  Church- 
man's Library'  edited  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Burn  and 
published  by  Messrs.  Methuen.  The  sub-title  is 
curious  and  interesting.  Why  its  Discipline?  It 
is  well  chosen  for  all  that.  Professor  Green  under- 
stands by  the  '  Church  of  Christ '  a  very  definite 
organization  in  this  life,  and  knows  that  organiza- 
tion must  have  the  power  of  discipline.  In  short, 
the  Church  of  Christ,  in  Professor  Green's  con- 
ception, is  what  would  now  be  called — the  word  is 
used  in  utmost  reverence,  though  it  is  not  easy  to 
use  it  so — a  Club.  Now  a  Club  has  a  mission,  to 
its  own  members  certainly,  perhaps  to  those  also 
who  are  without  its  membership.  It  has  also  its 
sacraments,  which  are  the  exercises  whereby  its 
corporate  life  is  expressed  and  perhaps  main- 
tained ;  and  of  course  it  must  reject  as  well  as 
take  in,  suspend,  or  otherwise  exercise  the  right  of 
discipline. 

Is  the  Church  of  Christ  a  Club  then  ?  Professor 
Green  calls  it,  with  less  risk  of  misunderstanding, 
a  Society,  a  visible  Society  on  earth.  He  believes 
it  is  a  Club.  Its  President,  its  officers,  they  are 
all  well  known  to  him.  And  so  he  will  not  have 
the  notion  that  the  Church  is  an  Invisible  Body, 
its  head  the  Invisible  Christ,  its  members  in 
heaven  as  well  as  on  earth.    The  Church  is  the 


visible  Society  of  outwardly  professing  Christians. 
And  they  must  be  accepted  in  due  form  into  the 
Society  by  the  proper  officials,  as  they  may  be 
rejected  by  the  same  00  contumacy  or  misconduct. 

One  weakness  of  this  conception  lies,  as  we  all 
know,  in  its  test  of  membership.  The  risk  is  that 
the  will  of  the  officers  rather  than  the  worth  of  the 
individual  be  the  basis  of  decision.  No  doubt 
the  officers  are  more  and  more  making  their  will 
square  with  character,  but  after  all  there  are  so 
many  without  the  society  whose  fitness  to  be 
within  is  never  questioned.  It  is  not  a  perfect 
conception.  Perhaps  Professor  Tyrrell  Green 
knows  that  it  is  not. 

His  book  is  thorough.  There  is  little  space  for 
digressions,  facts  rather  than  processes  are  given, 
results  rather  than  proofs.  That  makes  it  possible 
to  cover  the  whole  great  subject  within  the  hand- 
book space.  It  is  a  book  to  do  credit  to  author 
and  editor. 

CHRIST  OUR  LIFE. 
Professor  Moberly's  influence  is  not  extensive, 
but  it  is  intense.  The  circle  of  admirers,  or  even 
readers,  of  a  man  who  could  preach  such  sermons 
as  this  volume  contains,  cannot  be  a  wide  one. 
Their  plainness  of  style  and  their  obviousness  of 
thought  may  be  popular  enough.  But  no  preacher 
can  be  popular  in  these  days  who  insists  so 
mercilessly  on  practice,  how  much  less  one  who  will 
have  practice  cost  pain,  and  least  of  all  one  who 
demands  that  this  painful  practice  be  not  of  duty 
but  of  love.  Dr.  Moberly's  mind  is  pre-Reforma- 
tion.  A  man  is  justified  by  the  deeds  of  the  law. 
But  the  deeds  of  the  law  lake  him  out  of  bed 
very  early  in  the  morning  and  watch  him  rigorously 
all  the  day,  and  if  the  most  minute  of  all  the  pre- 
cepts is  done  without  the  glow  and  the  grace  of 
love  within,  its  doing  is  mere  damnation.  Dr. 
Moberly's  saint  is  mediaeval,  but  he  ruthlessly 
takes  away  all  his  saint's  joy  in  prayers  said  and 
penance  done.  Who  is  sufficient  for  these  things  ? 
The  multitude  of  believers  will  do,  more  readily 
than  believe;  but  if  there  is  no  chance  of  being  I 

accepted  in  the  doing,  what  comfort  can  it  bring?  : 

Surely  Dr.  Moberly  must  hold  that  a  man  is  justi-  I 

fied  by  faith  without  the  deeds  of  the  law,  or  else 
hold  that  deeds  done  with  less  than  the  purest 
motive,  if  there  are  enough  of  them, 


n  practically  sure  of  heaven. 


ToT'R^t''" 


330 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Wherein  lies  the  keen  interest  one  feels  in 
leading  or  hearing  these  sermons?  In  their 
reflexion  of  the  speaker's  personality,  in  their 
searching  psychology,  or  in  their  deep  demand? 
They  are  not  evangelical,  nor  are  they  Broad 
Church.  But  is  there  a  third  position  possible  in 
theology  or  in  practice?  That  is  the  question 
they  make  us  ponder. 

ABRAHAM  AND  MOSES. 
Two  volumes  of  the  new  edition  of  the  Rev. 
F.  B.  Meyer's  works  have  been  issued  by  Messrs. 
Morgan  &  Scott  this  month.  The  one  is  entitled 
Abraham ;  or.  The  Obedience  of  Faiih,  the  other 
Mosei,  the  Servant  of  God.  They  are  alike  in  the 
manner  in  which  they  handle  their  subjects,  for 
Mr.  Meyer  is  always  far  more  edifying  than 
critical,  yet  the  individuality  of  the  two  patriarchs 
is  by  no  means  lost  The  simplest  way  to  express 
the  special  excellence  of  both  books  is  to  say  that 
'  Christ  is  all  and  in  all '  in  them.  Even  Abraham 
and  Moses  would  be  nothing  to  Mr.  Meyer  if  he 
did  not  find  Christ  in  them.  The  most  eloquent 
sentence  about  him  whom  critics  call  'the  mythical 
progenitor  of  the  Hebrew  race'  is  'your  father 
Abraham  rejoiced  to  see  my  day  and  he  saw  it' 
And  yet,  again,  it  must  not  be  thought  that  Mr. 
Meyer  has  no  sense  of  perspective.  He  finds 
Christ  in  the  Old  Testament,  but  he  knows  the 
difference  between  the  faith  of  Moses  and  the  love 
of  John.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  this  popular 
writer,  who  seems  to  ignore  scholarship,  is  himself 
a  scholar,  and  does  not  stumble  forward  but  selects 
his  footing  deliberately.  Nor  is  his  strength  im- 
paired by  his  choice,  which  reaches  its  highest 
when  he  is  dealing  with  the  things  that  are  nearest 
the  Throne, 

BIBLICAL  AND  SEMITIC  STUDIES. 
Messrs.  Charles  Scribner's  Sons  have  published 
in  New  York  a  volume  of  essays  by  members  of 
the  Semitic  and  Biblical  Faculty  of  Yale  Univer- 
sity. The  essays  are  described  as  'Critical  and 
Historical.'  There  are  six  of  them.  The  first  is 
on  'The  Tribes  of  Israel,'  by  E.  L.  Curtis,  Ph.D., 
D.D.,  Holmes  Professor  of  the  Hebrew  Language 
and  Literature;  the  second  is  on  'The  Growth  of 
the  Israelitish  Law,'  by  C.  F,  Kent,  Ph,  D,,  Wootsey 
Professor  of  Biblical  Literature,  and  F.  K.  Sanders, 


Ph.D.,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Biblical  History  and 
ArchiBology;  the  third  is  on  'The  Yeser  Hara, 
being  a  Study  in  the  Jewish  Doctrine  of  Sin,'  by 
F.  C.  Porter,  Ph.D.,  D.D.,  Winkley  Professor  of 
Biblical  Theology;  the  fourth  is  on  'The  Signifi- 
cance of  the  Transfiguration,'  by  W.  G.  Moulton, 
B.D.,  Ph.D.;  the  fifth  is  on  'Stephen's  Speech :  its 
Argument  and  Doctrinal  Relationship,'  by  B.  W. 
Bacon,  LittD.,  D.D.,  Buckingham  Professor  of 
New  Testament  Criticism  and  Interpretation ;  the 
sixth  is  on  'The  Mohammedan  Conquest  of  Egypt 
and  North  Africa,'  by  C.  C.  Torrey,  Ph.D.,  Professor 
of  the  Semitic  Languages.  It  is  a  book  of  much 
imporUnce,  and  we  hope  to  deal  with  it  next 
month  at  greater  length.  The  English  publisher 
is  Mr.  Edwin  Arnold. 

LEADERS  OF  RELIGIOUS  THOUGHT 
IN  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY.  By  S. 
H.  Mellone,  M.A,  D.Sc.  (J/of.hciWi/).— The  essays 
which  this  volume  contains  have  the  outward 
appearance  of  being  what  newspaper  editors  with 
shocking  rudeness  call  '  pot-boilers.'  But  we  have 
-no  business  to  judge  by  the  outward  appearance 
and  go  so  utterly  astray.  Newman,  Martineau, 
Comie,  Spencer,  Browning — their  subjects  may  be 
suspiciously  like  'throwo-off'  magazine  articles. 
And  there  is  no  doubt  that  they  may  be  separately 
read  with  comfort.  But  they  are  not  separate. 
A  great  and  serious  purpose  runs  throughout  It 
is  to  discover  how  each  of  these  leaders  of  reli- 
gious thought  faced  the  question  of  the  belief  in 
God.  How  did  they  reach  it  and  rest  on  it? 
How  do  they  agree  and  differ  in  their  belief,  and 
why  ?  And  it  is  not  merely  a  series  of  interesting 
discussions  of  this  question..  Dr.  Meilone  comes 
to  definite  conclusions.  One  conclusion  is  that 
belief  is  the  fruit  of  experience;  another,  that 
experience  must  be  rationally  interpreted  before  it 
can  be  relied  on.  But  the  chief  conclusion  is  that 
experience  does  not  come  through  contemplation 
but  through  Work  (the  capital  is  to  be  noticed) — 
through  activity  and  energy  of  spirit  The  last 
and  greatest  study  is  Browning, 

THE  CAMBRIDGE  BIBLE  FOR  SCHOOLS 
AND  COLLEGES.  THE  PSALMS.  By  A.  F. 
Kirkpatrick,  D.D.  {Cambridge:  At  the  University 
I^ess). — The  Cambridge  Press  has  done  a  grace- 
ful thing  in  issuing  Dr.  Kirkpatrick's  three  volumes 
in  one.     The  size  is  somewhat  larger,  the  paper 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


321 


thinner  (964  pages  are  contained  in  a  volume  of 
comfortable  thickness),  and  altogether  this  edition 
is  more  convenient  than  the  other.  Let  us  add 
that  it  is  at  present  without  doubt  the  one  com- 
mentary on  the  Psalter  through  which  the  English 
reader  will  most  surely  and  most  immediately  get 
at  the  meaning  of  the  original. 

OUTLINES  OF  TEXTUAL  CRITICISM 
OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.  By  C.  E. 
Hammond,  M.A.  (Oxford:  Clarendon  Prtss). — 
The  study  of  textual  criticism  must  be  getting 
popular.  Mr.  Hammond's  Outlines  has  reached 
the  sixth  edition,  although  there  have  been  many 
competitors  in  the  field  for  some  time  now.  The 
sixth  edition  has  been  largely  rewritten,  the  won- 
derful gains  and  more  wonderful  guesses  of  the 
last  ten  years  being  all  made  use  ofl  The  success 
of  Mr.  Hammond's  book  is  due,  we  fancy,  in  no 
small  measure  to  its  elementary  character.  More 
even  than  Mr.  Lake's  tiny  volume,  it  is  a  be- 
ginner's book.  Nothing  is  taken  as  known, 
nothing  is  pursued  into  technicality.  Moreover, 
it  is  a  good  teacher's  book,  and  that  no  doubt  also 
counts  for  much. 

THE  WORLD'S  EPOCH -MAKERS: 
PLATO.  By  David  G.  Ritchie,  M.A.,  LL.D. 
(T.  &•  T.  Clark).— \a  the  original  intention  of 
this  series  Plato  and  Aristotle  went  tt^ether  to 
form  one  volume.  Professor  Ritchie  himself 
approved  of  the  plan,  and  tried  to  «^ork  it  out,  but 
he  found  that  the  treatment  would  be  too  slight 
for  any  service,  so  Plato  comes  out  alone,  with  the 
promise  that  Aristotle  may  follow.  Professor 
Ritchie  fears  that  as  it  is  the  book  may  be  too 
condensed.  We  do  not  think  so.  Plato's  position 
among  the  world's  epoch-makers  can  be  told  with- 
out describing  every  aigument  in  everyone  of  the 
dialogues.  There  is  information  enough  in  this 
volume  for  its  purpose.  We  are  thankful  that  so 
ardent  a  student  of  Plato  was  compelled  to  make 
a  selection  of  his  materials,  and  give  us  to  under- 
stand, without  wearisome  detail,  what  Plato  has 
done  pro  bono  publico. 

THE  TEACHINGS  OF  DANTE.  By  Charles 
Allen  Dinsmore  {Constable). — Mr.  Dinsmore,  by 
this  delightful  and  instructive  book,  lets  one  see 
what  can  be  done  in  the  study  of  Dante  without 
a  knowledge  of  Italian.     Mr.  Dinsmore  was  in- 


debted for  his  first  affection  to  Longfellow's  render- 
ing of  the  '  Inferno,'  and  even  now  he  acknow- 
ledges that  his  pleasure  in  the  great  poem  has 
come  through  Longfellow's  and  Norton's  transla- 
tions.    There  may  be  deeper  studies  of  Dante 
than   Mr.  Dinsmore's,  but  there  is  no  book  on 
Dante  more  likely  than  this  to  catch  the  interest 
!  of  the  unlearned  and  ignorant     Dante  is  seen  as 
a  prophet,  and  all  his  message  is  a  prophet's 
'  message.     Therefore  it  is  that  his  message  is  so 
,  applicable  to-day.     For  no  prophet  ever  spoke  to 
his  own  generation  only.     The  sins  which  Dante 
j  sees  and  smites  are  our  sins,  their  punishment 
I  falls  on  us.     We  may  be  separated  by  more  than 
!  centuries  from  the  theology  of  the  theologians  of 
I   Dante's  day,  but  Dante  is  close  at  hand.     And 
even  our  discoveries  he  made  before  us,  as  that 
'  great  and  dreadful  discovery  that  it  is  not  for  our 
sin  we  are  punished,  but  in  our  sin  and  by  it 
\  Take  this  volume  and  a  good  translation,  if  you  can 
I  do  no  better,  and  in  the  spare  minutes  of  a  month's 
holiday  you  will  be  a  devoted  Dante  student 

THE  BOOK  OF  ISAIAH.  Edited  by  A.  B. 
Davidson,  D.D.,  LL.D.  (Dent).—i:\i\&  little  work 
is  the  last  that  occupied  the  mind  of  the  late  Pro- 
fessor Davidson  of  Edinbu^h,  and  small  as  it  is, 
it  proves  how  sensitive  to  the  least  ray  of  the  light 
of  truth  his  mind  was,  up  to  the  very  end.  The 
Introduction  is  a  series  of  perfectly  cut  cameos, 
and  even  the  Notes,  though  mostly  but  a  line, 
contain  a  scholar's  precise  selection  and  decision. 
It  raises  questions  of  the  world  to  come.  Know- 
ledge passeth  away — but  we  see  it  passing  even  in 
this  book,  the  knowledge  of  the  head  passing  into 
the  knowledge  of  the  full  stature  of  manhood  in 
Christ  

Messrs.  Dent  have  also  published  the  volume 
of  the  Temple  Bible,  which  contains  Hebrews  and 
the  General  Epistles  of  James,  Peter,  and  Jude. 
The  editor  is  Professor  Herkless  of  St.  Andrews. 
The  reader  of  these  commentaries  wishes  to  know 
what  scholars  hold,  not  why  they  hold  it,  and  Dr. 
Herkless  has  simply  said  that  this  and  this  is  so 
and  so.  And  he  knows  quite  well  what  scholars 
hold,  though  such  a  statement  as  'In  the  judg- 
ment of  the  vast  majority  of  scholars  3  Peter  was 
not  written  by  St.  Peter,'  is  just  strong  enough. 
The  latest  and  greatest  English  commentary  on 
2  Peter  says  it  was.  "''" ''  ^"-"-'^^"^ 


3" 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


ON  THE  ATONEMENT.  By  the  Rev.  P. 
Barclay,  M.A.  {Hunter).— Qx.  Rashdall  has  just 
been  telling  us  that  a  silent  revolution  has  taken 
place  regarding  the  Atonement.  No  one  now  (no 
one  worth  calling  anyone)  speaks  of  Substitution. 
The  Atonement  is  an  atonement  of  sympathy. 
And  here  comes  Mr.  Barclay  to  answer  Dr.  Rash- 
dall, The  Atonement  of  Sympathy  is  nothing, 
the  Atonement  of  Substitution  is  all  in  all.  And 
Mr.  Barclay  is  nearer  the  natural  sense  of  Scripture, 
in  spite  of  the  revolution.  Nor  does  he  ofTend  by 
denying  a  place  for  Sympathy,  or  by  making  an 
immoral  idol  of  Substitution. 

HEBREWS.  Edited  by  A.  S.  Peake,  M.A. 
{/ack). — Was  Priscilla  really  the  author  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  ?  When  Harnack  uttered 
it  and  arrayed  his  arguments,  most  men  read  with 
a  smile.  But  here  is  Professor  Peake,  a  clever 
critic,  a  thoroughly  informed  and  sagacious 
scholar,  and  he  says  Harnack's  identification  is 
the  most  probable  that  has  yet  been  proposed. 
To  think-that  the  advocates  of  the  higher  educa- 
tion of  women  never  knew  this  argument  and  the 
use  that  might  be  made  of  it !  Professor  Peake 
has  done  well  by  this  Epistle  throughout.  His 
commentary  is  always  pointed  and  often  incisive. 
He  never  uses  words  like  nature  to '  half  reveal 
and  half  conceal  the  thought  within.'  Few  com- 
mentators have  more  unreservedly  shown  the  con- 
trasts between  this  Epistle  and  the  Old  Testament, 
yet  none  have  written  on  it  less  ofiTensively. 

SCENES  AND  STUDIES  IN  THE  MIN- 
ISTRY  OF  OUR  LORD.  By  the  Rev.  J.  H. 
Ri^,  D.D.  (Kelly).  — TheK  are  many  ways  of 
preparing  the  sermon  for  the  pulpit.  Dr.  Rigg's 
way  is  to  make  studies,  just  as  a  painter  makes 
studies  for  his  great  picture.  And  as  the  painter's 
studies  and  sketches  are  sometimes  published  and 
fetch  good  prices,  so  here  Dr.  Rigg  has  published 
his  'Scenes  and  Studies,'  and  they  are  worth  their 
price.  That  they  are  studies  with  the  pulpit  con- 
stantly in  mind  is  evident.  For  example,  when 
Dr.  Rigg  'studies'  the  Woman  of  Samaria,  he 
says  of  the  phrase,  Jesus  '  must  needs  go  through 
Samaria,'  that  the  '  must  needs '  means  more  than 
that  the  road  lay  that  way ;  '  it  is  more  than  lawful 
to  believe  that  the  Saviour  at  this  time  chose  that 
way  for  high  spiritual  reasons.'  Again,  in  the 
study  of '  the  Woman  that  was  a  Sinner,'  it  is  said 


that  our  Lord's  Parable  of  the  Two  Debtors  does 
not  compare  the  woman  with  the  Pharisee,  but 
with  'an  imaginary  fifty-pence  debtor.'  This  also 
is  rather  homiletical  than  expository,  and  so  is 
the  severity  of  the  judgment  on  Simon.  They 
are  studies  for  the  pulpit ;  let  us  rather  say  they 
I  sketches  in  the  study. 


\  PATRISTIC  STUDY.  By  Henry  Barclay 
'  Swete,  D.D.,  Litt.D.  (Longmans).  — The  second 
!  volume  of  the  new  series  of  books  entitled  '  Hand- 
books for  the  Clergy,'  is  written  by  Professor 
Swete  of  Cambridge.  It  is  a  guide  to  the  study 
of  the  Fathers.  What  has  Dr.  Swete  set  before 
him  ?  He  has  set  it  before  him  to  reveal  to  the 
younger  clei^y  the  wealth  of  wisdom  that  lies  in 
patristic  writings,  telling  tbem  that  it  will  repay 
them  to  spend  time  on  this  study ;  he  has  also  set 
it  before  him  to  do  nothing  that  would  make  his 
book  a  substitute  for  study.  Now  when  Dr.  Swete 
has  a  task  before  him  he  lets  no  ease  or  indolence 
prevent  him  from  accomplishing  it.  This  work 
could  not  be  done  better.  The  knowledge  is 
most  intimate ;  the  tact  in  selection,  the  skill  in 
presentation,  are  both  a  constant  delight.  The 
book  is  at  once  a  student's  stimulus  and  a  scholar's 
ready  reference.  

THE  MINISTRY  OF  CONVERSION.  By 
A.  J,  Mason,  D.D.  {Longmans). — Canon  Mason 
has  the  rare  combination  of  accurate  scholarship 
and  frequent  surprise  of  happy  thought.  It  is 
the  combination  that  produces  the  most  valuable 
work.  And  Canon  Mason's  books  are  sought  for 
by  the  discerning  at  all  cost.  He  is  at  his  best 
when  he  undertakes  a  volume  on  Conversion. 
1  For  Conversion  is  pooh-poohed  by  the  uneducated 
Anglican  as  a  preserve  of  Dissent.  Canon  Mason 
chooses  it  for  his  volume  in  the  '  Handbooks  for 
the  Clergy '  series  out  of  his  scholarship  and  love 
of  fresh  thought.  He  treats  the  subject  sympa- 
thetically— not  dwelling  on  generalities,  but  weigh- 
ing words  and  gathering  definite  results — and 
makes  it  quite  manifest  that  the  believer  in 
Baptismal  Regeneration  and  Confirmation  does 
not  need  to  reject  the  doctrine  of  Conversion, 
but  rather  dare  not.    

THE  ELIZABETHAN  PRAYER  ■  BOOK 
AND  ORNAMENTS.  By  Henry  Gee,  D.D., 
F.S.A.  (Maennllan). — Dr.  Gee  has  made  a  small 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


3^3 


portion  of  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  his  special  study. 
He  has  studied  that  portion  for  a  special  purpose, 
the  purpose  of  discovering  what  was  done  in  the 
matter  of  Prayer-Boole  and  Church  Ornaments 
revision.  He  has  been  led  to  overthrow  the 
accepted  history  out  and  out  He  has  then  re- 
constructed what  he  believes  to  be  the  true 
history.  The  eventful  year  is  1559.  In  that  year 
the  Prayer-Book  of  1552  was  passed  with  three 
alterations,  and  the  Ornaments  Rubric  was  super- 
seded by  'Provisos'  and  'Orders.'  Subsequent 
years  only  carried  these  changes  into  effect.  Dr. 
Gee  goes  over  the  ground  cautiously,  and  gives 
documents.  His  work  is  possible  only  in  such  a 
time  as  this  when  the  keenest  interest  is  felt  in 
the  least  detail  in  the  history  of  the  Prayer-Book 
and  the  Ornaments  Rubric,  when  the  very  fate  of 
true  religion  is  felt  to  turn  on  that  history. 

WORDS  AND  THEIR  WAYS  IN  ENGLISH 
SPEECH.  By  J.  B.  Greenough  and  G.  L.  Kit- 
tredge  {Macmillati). — Since  Archbishop  Trench 
wrote,  there  has  been  no  study  so  universally 
popular  as  the  study  of  words.  And  it  is  inex- 
haustible. Words  are  often  compared  to  coins, 
and  they  have  as  many  sides  and  edges  and 
interests.  Professor  Greenough  and  Professor 
Kittre(^;e  stand  on  Trench's  shoulders  and  see 
farther  than  be  did.  They  are  also  more  scien- 
tific, and  discover  more  complexity  of  association 
in  the  ways  of  words.  Yet  they  write  in  almost 
as  entertaining  a  manner,  and  are  almost  as  sure 
of  a  great  audience.  They  are  not  so  '  moral '  as 
the  Archbishop,  who  was  at  his  best  when  he 
was  drawing  out  the  deep  lessons  of  linguistic 
degeneration.  But  they  are  more  philosophical. 
They  trace  their  word  with  a  larger  outlook  on  the 
influences  that  shaped  or  sharpened  it,  and  they 
reci^nize  the  imperative  operation  of  the  laws  of 
the  human  mind.  Perhaps  their  greatest  achieve- 
ment, as  they  discuss  separate  words  so  easily,  is  I 
their  demonstration  that  words  are  not  separate,  | 
and  cannot  be  separated  from  their  own  history  or  I 

the  human  mind,        

I 

Messrs.  Macmillan  have  published  other  two  ] 
volumes  of  their  most  attractive  edition  of  ' 
Thackeray — The  Virginiam  and  Tie  Huiory  of  1 
Hinry  Esmond.  Each  of  these  novels  is  con-  ' 
tained  in  a  volume  of  convenient  size,  and  there  j 
is  neither  excessive  thickness  to  displease  the  eye  | 


nor  excessive  thinness  of  paper  to  weary  it.  A 
more  pleasing  volume  to  read  we  have  never  had 
in  our  hands.  Thackeray's  admirers  will  ask  no 
dearer,  and  will  be  content  with  no  cheaper, 
edition  than  this.       

HOME  IN  THE  WORLD  BEYOND.  By 
the  Rev.  George  Philip,  D.D,  {Afanhall  Brothers). 
— 'Set  your  affection  on  things  above.'  Dr. 
Philip  ful61s  the  apostolic  precept  gladly.  He 
has  discovered  that  he  has  not  here  an  abiding 
city,  and  already  he  has  his  conversation  in  heaven. 
How  vast  is  the  difference  between  one  who  cries, 
'Is  this  the  end?  Is  this  the  end?'  seeing 
only  darkness  and  uncertainty  beyond,  and  one 
who  like  Dr.  Philip  knows  that  it  is  but  the  be- 
ginning, and  sees  the  home  of  light  and  joy  and 
peace  above.  This  book  is  the  reward  of  many 
years  of  the  closer  walk  with  God.  It  will  lead 
others  to  that  closer  walk,  and  then  to  the  open- 
ing of  the  golden  gates. 

THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  NARRATIVE 
FOR  SCHOOLS.  By  Marcus  Dods,  M.A, 
(JVe/so/t). — Mr.  Dods  (there  is  a  Marcus  Dods  we 
know  better  than  this  yet)  has  published  in  this 
volume  a  history  of  the  Old  Testament  times  in 
the  language  of  the  Authorized  Version.  Each 
incident  has  its  own  tiiie,  and  is  printed  in  ordi- 
nary paragraphs  without  the  familiar  chapter  and 
verse  divisions.  The  whole  narrative  almost  is 
given,  with  just  a  few  inevitable  omissions — in- 
evitable to  one  who  looks  upon  them  as  untit  for 
schoolgirl  reading.  And  the  outcome  is  a  book 
of  the  best  stories  the  world  ever  heard,  with  the 
living  God  as  their  soul  and  centre. 

THE  POEMS  OF  JOHN  MILTON. 
{Newnes.) — The  paper  in  this  '  thin-paper  edition ' 
of  Milton  is  so  thin  that  536  pages  ate  compressed 
within  half  an  inch.  Yet  it  is  quite  opaque  and 
no  interference  is  permitted  from  the  other  side. 
The  type  is  good  sized  and  clear  cut.  The  read- 
ing has  been  done  with  utmost  care.  It  is  an 
edition  of  Milton  to  be  inquired  after. 

TENNYSON'S 'IN  MEMORIAM.'  {Newnts.) 
— The  '  Caxton '  Series  has  been  made  richer  and 
will  probably  be  made  better  known  by  this  edition 
of  In  Mtmeriam.  In  outward  and  inward  appear- 
ance the  book  is  all  that  modem  skill  can  mak' 


324 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


it  But  its  great  attractiveness  lies  in  its  illustra- 
tions. They  are  daringly  original  Wide  eyes 
will  open  wider,  only  wondering.  But  the  pene- 
trating student  of  nature  will  find  that  these  hints 
and  bold  surfaces  awaken  echoes  of  the  past  and 
hopes  for  the  future,  stirring  the  deepest  things  in 
life.  

MEN  OF  MIGHT  IN  INDIA.  By  Helen  H. 
Holcomb  (piiphant).  —  Messrs  Oliphant,  Ander- 
son &  Feiriet  of  Edinburgh  have  taken  a  most 
honourable  place  as  the  publishers  of  mission 
literature.  To  them  application  should  be  made 
by  those  who  desire  to  instruct  or  interest  mission 
work-parties.  Their  latest  issue  is  a  popular 
account  of  the  great  Indian  missionaries  from 
Ziegenbalg  to  Kellogg.  Each  biography  forms  a 
'reading'  of  about  30  pages,  and  as  the  book  is 
written  in  a  spirited  popular  style,  it  may  be 
safely  chosen.   There  are  thirteen  biographies  in  all. 

THE  BAPTIST  PULPIT.  {Stockwdi.)—\At. 
Stockwell  has  published  two  more  volumes  of  his 
*  Baptist  Pulpit,'  which  has  now  reached  its  twen- 
tieth volume.  The  one  is  Tht  Gospel:  What  it  is 
and  what  it  does,  by  the  Rev.  W.  Ingli- James ;  the 
other  is  Christ  the  Centre,  by  the  Rev.  H.  C. 
Williams.  There  is  no  dispute  as  to  the  earnest 
desire  of  both  preachers  to  know  nothing  save 
Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified.  Both  seek  the 
conscience  rather  than  the  understanding,  or 
rather  the  conscience  through  the  understanding, 
for  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  graces  of  style 
are  forgotten.  

BUILDING  IN  SILENCE.  By  the  Rev. 
James  Black,  M.A.,  A.T.S.  (Stockwel}).—\i  is  the 
application  to  the  niceties  of  daily  conduct  that 
is  the  test  of  the  gospel.  At  home,  at  play,  its 
glory  is  greatest  or  its  shame.  Mr.  Black  seeks  to 
make  it  enter  in  at  these  lowly  doors.  He  finds  it 
applicable  to  all  circumstances,  all  experiences,  all 
tempers.  It  tells  best  in  silence,  in  that  quietness 
and  confidence  in  which  we  have  the  promise  of 
winning  our  souls.  And  he  urges  silence  with 
great  plainness  of  speech,  silence  in  building,  and 
silence  even  in  taking  down. 

SERMONS  FROM  A  LITTLE -KNOWN 
PULPIT.  By  the  Rev.  Solon  Rees  [Stoekwell). 
— There  is  surely  a  taste  of  humour  in  the  title 


Mr.  Rees  has  given  his  volume  of  sermons.  As 
if  to  be  from  a  little-known  pulpit  made  them 
singular.  It  is  the  little-known  pulpits  that  have 
given  us  almost  all  the  sermons  that  live,  and  that 

'  is  the  hope  by  which  so  many  preachers  preach  and 
wait.  These  sermons  will  not  make  the  puljat  in 
the  Church  of  Bethany  at  Aberaman  well  known, 
they  are  too  simply  solidly  of  the  evangelical  type 
for  that     But  they  will  serve  their  purpose  as 

'  sermons,  rousing  some  out  of  forgetfulness,  cheer- 
ing others  along  the  way  to  the  rest  that  re- 

\  roaineth.  

FAITH  AND  LIFE  IN  INDIA.  By  R.  L. 
Lacey  {Slockwelt).  —  This  is  the  gospel  in  its 
application  to  the  necessity  of  the  case  in  India. 
The  sermons  are  evangelical  to  the  core,  but  they 
contain  more  'Apologetic'  than  the  ordinary 
evangelical  sermon  at  home.  They  are  also  illus- 
trated out  of  the  preacher's  experience.  And  in 
that  lies  their  virtue  for  us.  Many  a  text  will  be 
made  more  impressive  when  seen  in  the  light  of 
Indian  life  and  thought  'The  man  of  India — 
likewise  the  woman— covets  a  son,  because  only 
a  SOD  can  deliver  the  soul  of  father  or  mother  from 
hell,  they  say.     Well,  Unto  us  a  Son  is  bom.* 

THE  ALABASTER  BOX.  By  the  Rev. 
Joseph  Pearce(i'/<v^^//).— 'The  Alabaster  Box' 
is  the  title  of  the  first  sermon.  The  title  of 
the  second  would  have  been  more  striking, '  The 
Gospel  in  a  Grumble.'  Its  text  is,  '  The  Pharisees 
and  scribes  murmured,  saying,  This  man  re- 
ceiveth  sinners,  and  eateth  with  them.'  The 
sermons  are  as  outstanding  as  their  titles  in  filtitig 
language  and  felicitous  division. 

THE  GOSPELS  AND  THE  GOSPEL.  By 
G.  R.  S.  Mead,  B.A.,  M.R.A.S.  (Theosophical  Pub. 
Ce>.). — In  this  volume  Mr.  Mead  investigates  the 
historical  sources  of  Christianity.  His  sub-title  is 
'A  Study  in  the  most  recent  Results  of  the  Lower 
and  the  Higher  Criticism.'  He  is  not  an  expert  in 
either  form  of  criticism,  but  he  possesses  a  good 
general  knowledge  of  both.  His  interest,  however, 
is  not  in  criticism  but  in  religion,  not  in  facts  but 
in  ideas.  And  this  is  at  once  the  strength  and  the 
weakness  of  his  book.  For  he  is  right  to  em[dia- 
size  the  helplessness  of  scientific  facts  to  make  or 
prove  a  religion ;  he  is  right  in  pointing  out  that 
to  religion  itself  all  our  progress  in  physical  science 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


3^5 


has  added  nothing.  But  then,  his  comparative 
iadifTerence  to  historical  fact  makes  him  follow 
leadere  in  historical  science  who  are  not  trust- 
worthy, and  adopt  positions  which  are  not  tenable. 
He  supposes  that  all  the  Synoptics  were  written 
somewhere  in  the  reign  of  Hadrian,  while  on  the 
date  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  he  is  afraid  to  trust  him- 
self away  from  the  actual  words  of  Scbmiedet. 
And  worse  than  that,  he  confounds  indefiniteness 
with  toleration.  He  claims  to  have  no  axe  to 
grind  as  others  have,  and  then  ends  his  book  with 
this  characteristic  sentence :  '  No  longer  should  we 
be  anxious  to  declare  ourselves  Christians  or 
Buddhists,  Vedantins  or  Confucianists,  Zoroas- 
triansorMohammedans,.but  we  should  strive  to  be 
lovers  of  truth  wherever  it  is  to  be  found,  and 
candidates  for  Baptism  into  that  Holy  Church  of 
all  races,  climes,  and  ages,  that  true  Communion 
of  Saints,  whose  members  have  been  aiders  and 
helpers  of  all  religions,  philosophies,  and  sciences 
which  the  world  may  have  from  time  to  time 
required.'  

WHAT  A  MAN  OF  FORTY-FIVE  OUGHT 
TO  KNOW.  {Fir  Pub.  Co.)— This  is  one  of  a 
'Self  and  Sex'  Series,  which  has  been  well  com- 
mended. The  information  is  valuable,  is  necessary 
indeed,  and  it  is  put  inoflensively.  Without  doubt 
these  books  will  do  something  for  the  physical 
and  moral  well-being  of  the  community.  Their 
extensive  circulation  should  be  encouraged. 

MR  GLADSTONE  AS  I  KNEW  HIM,  AND 
OTHER  ESSAYS.  By  Robert  Brown,  jun., 
F.S.A.  { WilHamt  6*  A'twyrt/*).— Besides  the  essay 
which  gives  the  book  its  name,  Mr.  Brown  has  re- 
published in  this  volume  'The  General  Election 
of  1900,  and  After,'  'John  Leland  in  Cornwall,' 
'Studies  in  Pausanias,'  'Samuel  and  Teiresias,' 
'Sappho,  a  Retrospect  and  a  Reverie,'  and 
'  Victoria.'  The  only  one  with  a  direct  biblical 
interest  is  the  fourth.  In  that  essay  Mr.  Brown 
discusses  the  religious  value  of  the  Witch  of 
Endor  and  the  Rising  of  Samuel  with  welcome 


detachment  from  professional  interest  and  with 
much  curious  and  illustrative  lore.  His  conclusion 
is  that  Sheol  was  not  so  dreary  an  abode  as  we, 
who  listen  to  Hezekiah's  despondent  cry,  im^ine, 
but  that  it  was  'not  unaccompanied  by  thoughts 
of  quiet,  peace,  and  rest;  nor  wholly  accepted  as 
the  ultimate  goal  and  final  abode  of  the  hopeful 
and  aspiring  soul  of  man,  but  was  at  times  bravely 
questioned  whether  its  mysterious  abysses  did  not 
contain  a  secret  which  should  link  the  Eden  of 
the  past  with  a  Paradise  to  come.' 

The  essay  on  Pausanias  is  most  after  Mr. 
Brown's  manner,  and  most  valuable.  But  the 
political  essays  are  good  and  sometimes  searching 
reading.  The  first  gives  many  examples  of  Mr. 
Gladstone's  ability  to  detach  himself  from  politics 
at  the  most  engrossing  and  anxious  times,  and 
express  his  mind  on  men  and  things  that  went  to 
rest  long,  long  ago.     

The  Books  of  the  Month  include  also : — Htno 
to  Please  God,  by  the  Rev.  George  Everard,  M.A. 
(Drummond);  /  Hope,  by  the  late  Bishop  Ryle 
(Dnimmond) ;  A  Gift  from  God,  by  J.  Forbes 
Moncrieff  (Drummond) ;  A  Help  to  the  Spiritual 
Interpretation  of  the  Penitential  Psalms,  by  A.  B. 
Bailey-Browne  (Longmans);  Life  Everlasting,  by 
John  Fiske  (Macmillan)  ;  A  Tale  of  Red  Pekin,  by 
Constancia  Serjeant  (Marshall  Brothers) ;  Me  First, 
by  Florence  A.  Markham  (Marshall  Brothers) ; 
Light  for  Lif^s  Eventide  (Marshall  Brothers) ; 
St.  Mark's  Gospel,  by  A.  E.  Ruble,  M.A. 
(Melhuen);  T/u  Evangelistic  Hymn- Book,  by 
I.  D.Sankey  (Morgans  Scott);  A  Great  Salvation, 
by  E.  Marriott- Ford  (Nisbet);  Thoughts  on  the 
Ptniteatial Psalms,\}y 'Et\\e\  Romanes  (Rivingtons); 
The  Devil  and  his  Angels  (Stock);  Talks  with 
Young  Christians,  by  W.  Ridley  Chesterton  (Stock- 
well)  ;  A  Pka  for  the  Old  Faith,  by  J.  Tuckwell 
(Stockwell);  The  Poor  Minister's  Dream,  by 
Stanley  Frazer  (Stockwell) ;  Reasons  why  I  am  a 
Catholic,  by  0.  M.  Yonge  (Wells  Gardner) ;  The 
Touch  of  Faith,  by  A.  F.  Winnington- Ingram,  D.D. 
(Wells  Gardner). 


jyGoot^Ie 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


^ennoc^ertB's  ^econi  ^jcfiiiiion  to  t^i  10}tet,  and  t^t 
'Sati  cf  l^ie  ^ii^t  of  ^tmtmttm. 


Bv  Professor  J.  V.  PrASbk,  Ph.D.,  Prague. 


III. 


The  Scripture  account  of  Sennacherib's  operations 
in  the  West  consists  of  three  parts:  A  =  aK  i8"-»; 
-ff  =  a  K  i8"-i9»;  and  C=  a  K  ipi'-^'.  A  relates 
how,  in  the  fourteenth  year  of  Hezekiah,  Sennach- 
erib went  up  against  Judah,  and  captured  most  of 
its  cities,  whereupon  Hezekiah  sought  safety  in 
paying  tribute,  and  Jerusalem  thus  remained  un- 
molested by  the  enemy.  Thanks  to  Assyrian 
records,  it  can  be  determined  that  the  fourteenth 
year  of  Hezekiah  coincides  with  the  year  701  b.c. 
A  thus  describes  the  events  of  the  third  campaign 
of  Sennacherib  (following  the  arrangement  of  the 
Taylor  cylinder) ;  but  this,  while  it  has  a  record  of 
terrible  devastation  of  the  lowland  of  Judah,  knows 
nothing  of  a  siege  of  Jerusalem,  at  most  we  hear 
only  of  measures  being  taken  with  a  view  to  such. 
Sennacherib  himself  does  not  appear  before  Jeru- 
salem at  all,  it  is  in  Lachish  that  he  receives  the 
homage  of  Hezekiah.  The  narrative  we  have 
called  B  was  already  stylistically  complete  in  itself 
when  it  was  incorporated  in  1  Kings,  and  yet  the 
additions  are  recognizable  in  the  present  text. 
Hence,  from  the  standpoint  of  historical  research, 
S  must  be  regarded  as  of  less  account.  But  even 
this  section  has  nothing  to  say  cither  about  a  siege 
of  Jerusalem  or  about  help  from  Egypt.  C  is  in 
its  present  form  also  of  later  origin,  and,  more- 
over, comes  from  quite  a  different  region.  Accord- 
ing to  it,  Sennacherib  learns  somewhere  in  S. 
Palestine  that  king  Tirhakah  of  Kush  is  moving 
against  him  with  an  army.  Surprised  by  this 
intelligence,  he  at  once  despatches  messengers  to 
Hezekiah  with  a  demand  for  the  surrender  of 
Jerusalem.  Hezekiah,  however,  receives  from  the 
mouth  of  Isaiah  the  encouraging  assurance  of  God 
that  Jerusalem  shall  not  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
Assyrian.  That  very  night  the  Assyrian  camp  is 
visited  by  a  sudden  pestilence  which  sweeps  otf 
185,000  men,  and  Sennacherib  sees  himself  com - 
■elled  to  return  to  Assyria,  where  some  time 
fterwards  he  is  murdered  by  two  of  his  sons. 


Let  us  examine  this  narrative  C  more  closely. 
The  principal  incidents  it  describes  are  the  action 
of  the  Egyptian  king  Tirhakah  on  behalf  of  the 
sorely  pressed  king  of  Judah,  and  the  murder  of 
Sennacherib.  On  the  last  point  we  have  now 
precise  information.  We  know  that,  besides  ASur- 
n^dinsum  and  Assarhaddon,  Sennacherib  had 
several  other  sons,  of  whom  one,  whom  Abydenos 
calls  Nergilos,  disputed  Assarhaddon's  right  to  the 
succession,  and  entered  into  an  ^eement  with 
his  full  brother  Aiur£umu£ab£i,  the  Adrammelech 
of  the  Bible,  in  this  matter.  This  Adrammelech 
murdered  his  father  on  the  20th  of  Tebet,  681 
B.C.,  and  thereby  gave  the  signal  for  a  destructive 
civil  war,  which  Assarhaddon  brought  to  a  close 
only  after  a  lengthy  struggle.  Now  the  murder  of 
Sennacherib  is  recorded  in  C,  and  that  in  a  some- 
what loose  connexion,  the  remark  being  made 
that  the  king,  after  the  catastrophe  that  befell  him 
before  Jerusalem,  withdrew  and  'abode  at  Nineveh,' 
This  sojourn  in  Nineveh  is  not  indeed  more  pre- 
cisely defined,  but  it  justihes  the  assumption  that 
between  the  catastrophe  referred  to  and  the 
death  of  the  king  we  must  place  some  years. 
We  thus  obtain  the  terminus  ante  guem  fm  the 
incidents  recorded  in  C,  which  we  may  suitably 
presume  to  have  happened  some  years  before 
681  B.C. 

Far  more  important  is  the  mention  of  king 
Tirhakah,  whose  reign  is  now  fixed  at  691-665 
B.C.  This  shows  that  the  campaign  of  Sennach- 
erib dealt  with  in  C  cannot  have  taken  place 
till  after  691.  Hence  the  historical  contents  of 
C  have  their  boundaries  sharply  drawn,  and  the 
incidents  sketched  in  the  latter  must  be  placed  at 
least  ten  years  later  than  the  first  expedition  of 
Sennacherib  to  Syria.  Consequently  the  narrative 
of  C  relates  to  another  campaign  of  Sennacherib 
to  the  West,  which  must  have  fallen  between  691 
and  681  B.C.  From  it  we  learn  that  Sennacherib 
in  the  course  of  a  second  expedition  to  the  West 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


3n 


fouod  himself  again  in  Syria,  and  indeed  before 
Jerasalem,  which  he  besieged.  There  he  beard 
of  the  advance  of  the  Egyptian  relieving  force 
under  king  Tirhakah.  How  far  onwards  Tirhakah 
moved  is  not  said,  but  the  approach  of  the  Egyp- 
tians caused  Sennacherib  no  little  perplexity,  as  it 
made  the  success  of  his  siege  of  Jerusalem  very 
doubtful.  He  determined  therefore  to  approach 
Hezekiah  with  direct  overtures  for  the  surrender 
of  the  city.  Hezekiah  must  have  been  unaware  of 
the  advance  of  the  Egyptian  relieving  army,  so 
that  Sennacherib  may  have  had  good  hopes  re- 
garding the  issue  of  the  negotiations.  But  Isaiah 
inspired  Hezekiah  with  courage,  and  expressed 
tbe  firm  conviction  that  Sennacherib  would  fail  in 
his  attempt  to  capture  the  city.  The  unexpected 
actually  happened.  The  following  night  the  camp 
of  the  Assyrians  was  visited  by  a  terrible  stroke,  of 
which  no  fewer  than  185,000  men  were  the  victims. 
This  enormous  figure  must  be  taken  to  represent 
by  far  the  greatest  part  of  the  army.  The  con- 
sequence was  that  Sennacherib,  feeling  that  he 
was  no  match  for  the  double  enemy,  hurriedly 
raised  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  and  returned  with 
all  possible  speed  to  Assyria,  where  he  was 
murdered  by  his  sons. 

Both  the  chronological  facts  and  also  the  con- 
tents of  C  just  summarized,  completely  exclude 
its  identity  with  A  and  B.  We  have,  therefore, 
to  do  in  C  with  another  expedition  of  Sennacherib 
which  must  be  placed  subsequent  to  701  b.c. 
Unfortunately,  the  continuous  cuneiform  texts  of 
the  age  of  Sennacherib  which  we  possess  come 
down  only  to  691  h.c,  ;  for  the  history  of  his 
second  campaign  to  the  West  we  are  wholly 
dependent  on  some  statements  of  Assarhaddon, 
coupled  with  a  few  scanty  remains  of  Greek 
historical  literature.  According  to  Assarhaddon's 
statement,  Sennacherib  advanced  pretty  far  into 
the  heart  of  Arabia,  coming  from  the  N.-W.,  i.t. 
from  Syria,  which  supports  the  inference  that  there 
was  a  second  Syrian  campaign  of  this  kind  sub- 
sequent to  691  B.C. 

While  we  possess  no  continuous  account  of  this 
second  expedition  of  Sennacherib,  the  fragments 
of  historical  tradition  which  survive  allow  us  to 
suppose  that  it  was  of  considerable  duration, 
seeing  that,  tike  the  later  Arabian  campaign  of 
Assurbanipal,  it  had  its  natural  termination  in 
Idumjea  and  Nabatfea,  and  at  the  same  time 
threatened  5.  Palestine.      Tbe  conflict  with  S. 


Syria,  which  was  not  yet  subdued,  and  which 
was  powerfully  supported  from  Egypt,  will  have 
had  the  character  of  a  defence  against  encroach- 
ment on  the  part  of  Tirhakah.  Hezekiah  of  Judah 
was  in  any  case  a  member  of  the  new  anti- Assyrian 
coalition,  for  it  is  obvious  from  C  that  he  had 
repudiated  his  former  obligations  towards  Assyria, 
including  of  course  the  payment  of  tribute,  and 
that  his  disloyalty  was  sought  to  be  chastised  by 
the  great  king.  The  siege  of  Jerusalem  by  Sen- 
nacherib himself  presupposes  unconditionally  that 
Hezekiah  had  taken  pwrt  in  an  anti -Assyrian 
coalition.  Now  this  coalition  will  have  taken  root 
also  in  Arabia,  K.  Syria,  and  Cilicia  ;  at  all  events, 
it  is  to  this  period  that  we  must  assign  the  end  of 
the  N.  Syrian  state  of  Samal,  renowned  through 
the  discoveries  of  Zinjerli;  for  the  year  681  B.C. 
the  limmu  Nabu-arki-iSsK  bears  the  title  of  an 
Amfl  of  Carnal.  The  conflicts  in  N.  Syria  must 
have  preceded  the  S.  Syrian  and  Arabian  ex- 
pedition, for  it  could  be  only  after  the  conquest  of 
the  enemy  who  threatened  his  right  flank  that 
Sennacherib  was  in  a  position  to  attaclc  the  centre 
of  the  coalition  in  S.  Syria. 

Now  the  question  suggestsitself  in  what  temporal 
relation  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  recorded  in  C  stands 
to  Sennacherib's  operations  in  the  West.  It  might 
beconsidered  natural  that  Sennacherib,  in  approach- 
ing from  Cilicia  and  N.  Syria,  meant  first  to  crush 
the  rebellious  Hezekiah,  The  biblical  narrative, 
however,  knows  nothing  of  the  king's  Arabian 
campaign,  but  represents  him  as  fleeing,  immedi- 
ately after  the  sudden  catastrophe,  to  Nineveh. 
The  inference,  accordingly,  lies  to  hand  that  the 
Arabian  expedition  is  to  be  placed  before  the  siege 
of  Jerusalem,  a  result  which  is  confirmed  by  the 
Memphitic  tradition  of  the  priest-king  Sethos. 
When  Herodotus  gives  the  Assyrian  opponent  of 
Sethos  the  title  of  Sanacharibos,  king  of  the 
Arabians  and  Assyrians,  this  implies  that  Sen- 
nacherib had  fought  Sethos-Tirhakah  as  king  of 
Arabia,  i.e.  after  the  Arabian  campaign ;  but 
Tirhakah  cannot  be  separated  from  the  siege  of 
Jerusalem.  Remarkably  enough,  in  the  Mem- 
phitic tradition  the  deliverance  of  Tirhakah  is 
attributed  to  a  wonderful  occurrence  in  a  similar 
way  to  the  deliverance  of  Jerusalem  in  C. 

The  surprising  result  of  our  investigation,  then, 
is  that  the  much  discussed  siege  and  deliverance 
of  Jerusalem  cannot  have  taken  place  till  the 
second  half  of  Seiraacherib's  reign.    If  the  biblical 


3>8 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES- 


statement  is  correct,  which  allows  to  Hezekiah  a 
reign  of  twenty-nine  years,  the  second  campaign 
of  Sennacherib  to  the  West  and  the  closely  con- 
nected siege  of  Jerusalem  must  be  placed  between 


the  year  of  Tirhakah's  accession  (69  r  ac)  and 
that  of  Hezekiah's  death  (686  B.&). 

The  detailed  justification  of  my  views  I  reserve 
for  the  present. 


ContriSuftone    and    Commence. 


V  He  ^canKlic  &ement  in 

It  is  now  generally  admitted  that  the  words  of 
Christ  underwent  translation  from  Aramaic  into 
Greek  when  they  were  brought  westwards  by  the 
first  Christian  evangelists.  Unfortunately  we  have 
no  clear  knowledge  of  their  history  until  they 
appear  in  the  form  in  which  we  have  them  in 
our  Gospels.  Were  there  written  Gospels  before 
our  primary  Gospel  St.  Mark?  If  so,  in  what 
language  were  they  written  ?  '  The  earliest 
Christian  writing,'  says  Dr.  Dalman,'  'may  have 
been  composed  in  Greek.'  That  is  no  doubt 
true ;  but  it  leaves  the  question  open,  for  there 
is  just  as  much  probability  in  a  '  may  have  been 
composed  in  Aramaic'  I  exclude  here  the 
alternative  of  a  primitive  Hebrew  Gospel.  There 
is  an  d  priori  improbability  that  the  Palestinian 
Christians  would  have  written  in  Hebrew  rather 
than  in  Aramaic,  which  none  of  the  attempts  at 
reconstruction  of  a  Hebrew  Gospel  *  seem  to 
have  been  able  to  overcome.  I  set  aside  also, 
for  the  purpose  of  this  paper,  the  much-debated 
'  Logia '  question.  Mt  and  Lk  in  re-editing  Mk 
may  have  drawn  from  written  sources ;  but  if  so, 
such  sources  as  were  common  to  them  were 
already  in  a  Greek  dress  when  they  used  them, 
and  therefore  the  possibility  of  reconstructing  so 
remote  a  Semitic  original  cannot  be  discussed 
here.  The  purpose  of  this  paper  is  to  endeavour 
once  again  ^  to  reassert  the  Semitic  element  in 
St.  Mark. 

This  Semitic  element  consists  in  part  of 
linguistic  turns  and  forms  of  expression  which 
are  common  to  Hebrew  and  Aramaic  modes  of 


'  IVffrft /ei«,  57. 
*Rach,   Die   Legia  Jesi. 
Carrtctan  b/  Mark,  1901. 


Abbott,   CIm,    1900;    The 


'  Exfenttr,  June  1890. 


thought,  but  in  part  of  such  forms  as  are  distinct- 
ively Aramaic*  The  conclusion  which  will  be 
drawn  is  that  the  Gospel  is  a  translation  of  an 
Aramaic  original.  It  is  necessary  here  to  protest 
against  a  loose  and  slipshod  use  of  the  terms 
Hebrew  and  Aramaic  in  this  connexion.  Dalman 
has  shown,  with  great  clearness,  that  Hebraisms 
in  a  New  Testament  writer  are  no  proof  that  he 
originally  wrote  in  Hebrew.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  Aramaisms  can  be  detected  in  a  writer,  there 
are  only  two  alternatives  —  either  he  was  an 
Aramaic-speaking  Jew  writing  in  Greek  (a  lan- 
guage with  which  he  was  imperfectly  acquainted), 
or  his  work  has  been  preserved  only  in  a  trans- 
lation. The  decision  must  then  depend  upon 
such  considerations  as  the  relative  extent  of  the 
Aramaic  and  Greek  element.  In  a  paper  in  the 
Expositor  of  June  1900  it  was  urged  that  the 
Aramaic  element  in  St.  Mark  is  so  considerable 
as  to  make  it  probable  that  he  wrote  in  Aramaic. 
In  the  art. '  Gospeb  *  in  the  Encycl.  Bibl.  coL  1870, 
this  paper  is  criticised  in  the  following  words: 
'The  language  of  Mk  Hebraizes  still  more 
strongly  than  does  that  of  Mt.  Nevertheless  the 
combinations  of  Allen  do  not  prove  that  the 
evangelist  wrote  in  Aramaic, —  Lk  also  has  He- 
braisms,— and  yet  no  one  holds  Lk's  writings  to 
be  a  translation  of  a  Hebrew  original.' 

Such  criticism  entirely  misses  the  point,  and 
the  nevertheless  shows  that  the  writer  has  no 
appreciation  of  the  fundamental  difference  between 
the  Hebraistic  and  the  Aramaic  element  in  the 
Gospels.  Mk  is  not  more  Hebraistic  than  Mt,  but 
more  Aramaic.  Hebraisms  certainly  would  not 
suggest  a  Hebrew  original,  much  less  an  Aramaic 
original.  The  reference  to  Lk  has  no  point  He 
Hebraizes,  therefore  he  may  well  have  written  in 
Greek,  as  Dalman  has  shown.     Mk  Aramaiies, 

*  Tbe  following  have  declared  id  fiTonr  of  «s  orifioal 
Aramaic  Mark  ■.— Blau, /■Ai7,  e/Gesp.;  Halirj,  Jiev.  Sm., 
Stud.  u.  Krit.,  1901,  p.  4*0- 


'^  Jl^-^c^-^tU,  liuAAu^^  a/jM^AJ^  /n.>^A  <^<jJL//iJ^  /u  n. 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


therefore  be  probably  wrote  in  Aramaic.  I  past 
on  now  to  restate  the  amount  of  the  Semitic 
element  in  St.  Mark,  under  two  heads — A.  Semlt- 
isros  (Aramaic  or  Hebrew) ;  B.  Distinctive  Ara- 
maisms. 

A.  Under  this  head  only  two  features  of  the 
Gospel  will  be  emphasized  here.  The  repetition 
and  tautology  and  fulness  of  expression  which  is 
so  striking  a  feature  of  Mk's  style  is  thoroughly 
Semitic  in  character.  How  unnecessary  it  seemed 
to  the  Greek  writer  of  Mt  is  shown  by  the 
frequency  with  which  he  abbreviates  Mk.  In  the 
following  table  words  in  brackets  are.  omitted 
by  Mt :— 

l"  [a-ir-Xitpwrot  h  «Uf)ii  ml]  ifTTtin  i)  pairAila  toS  StoS 
lirrarotiTi  [ml  nrriitrt  it  r^  ttayytUif^. 
**  d^iai  Si  Tfvtv^ntf  \6n  ISvctr  6  4^tM]. 
*>  nl   <Mi>t   [dr^Scr  dr']   ah-oB  4  >Jrpa  [ml]  imBi- 
plaBT,. 
3'*  [tvvr    xP^i"    IX""'"''    ''ii'     rvitfttr    /ut     a6rQr    Di 

ifimrrat  t'^fTtittri. 
a"  t4™— (ft  itilrg  rg  inUpf.]. 
••  Sti  [xfiaf  Irx"  ««i]  irtiMiiTir. 

[a^Af]  gal  ol  fAtr   ai^TQV, 
4'  Tpdi  tJ)»  SiXaavav  irl  rflt   7^1.      Mt  M    rir    atyi- 

aXJr. 
*  [4  Ai  rlri  o*Hi»  TBpajSoXj  ff^fur.] 
"  [ica(  ttbwaetr  6  irtitet]  lol  iyintTii  TiiXitn)  /irydXif. 
5"  iti)i<lii>r  ^^Si    til    Toii  xo^P^"*    ['"  *'•  ai^i>i>»  tisi\- 

■  t«  [(tuSb  mi]  fijirij. 
6'  [OStl  rpin  i,^,. 
*  [(ol  /r  TOit  riryyr^tHriF  oMv]  ml  /r  rg  o/jcf;  a^C. 
"  til  rft  Wpv  [xp4l  Bi,#™Sd»J. 
7"  r^  TapoJirti  i>>iulv  [i  wtpfSiiKan}. 

"  llauOtr]  yip  Ik  r^i  napjlot. 
8"  oCtw  ntlr,  [am  nurltTt], 
9^  (sr  lilar  [/lirovi]. 
10"  [itAV  06  Topi  #t»i]- 
1 1 "  \_-*iniatlrx"9t  ml]  aiT(><r#(. 

13"  [M^»  ^  /xi,  aaM«^]. 

13"  d^'  ipx^t  trlTtm  [flr  (trurir  i  9tii]. 

«  rodf  ftXcim^  [oh  ^(rUfaro]. 
14*  [d^(  a^r]. 

"  Kol  [dvauifi/rur  oh-ur  ml]  J(F0ii>Tur. 

"  [ffi}(i«^]  toStb  td  in/Jtrf, 

"  ^irtidira  [tal  oit  iwtKplrtro  siWr], 

w  o0rc  nZSa  [oiTtt  irlara/xat}. 

„  [««]  ri.  ri  rp<K.A.B». 
15"  [firu  7-^1  ai)X^]  t  iartv  *patT<tf|Hi>r. 

"  [rja^i**]  cal  xi(r™)ffii««>'. 
14**   fort   [fffW  <fl]   H)!"   bCXjJ*. 

Cases  in  which  Mt  avoids  the  repetition  of 
words  or  clauses  so  characteristic  of  Mk — 

l"  Zl/iwtot.     Mt  alSrsG. 
2"  \fiear  -yip  wtWol  lal  i}«oXalV«i<r  afrf ]. 
'*  [liirTtt  Sri  fttla  /uri  rwr  dfcoprarXur  lal  TtXutOw']. 


6"  'rill'  yvraXxa  reC  iSt\^»B  v»v.  ,  Mt  aMir, 
"  [t4  Ktpiattr]. 
8"  rj  7M>(9  Toi*Tji.      Ml  aiirj. 
Il-Pmrae™™^,]. 

4"  ['■£•■  ^'l  T*  -rt']- 

4'  [''  rv  8a\iaVTi\. 

Secondly,   the  unscholarly  use  of  prepositions 

is  probably  due  to  translation  {cf.  the   repeated 

<Itin  i"). 

£.  Turning   now   to   the   distinctive   Aramaic 

;  element,  the  most  striking  feature  is  the  evan- 

!  gelist's  use  of  verbal   tenses.    The  frequent  use 

I  of  the  historic  present  and  of  the  imperfect  is  a 

'  case  in  point. 

'  There  are  about  150  instances  of  the  historic 
'  present,*  and  (excluding  ^,  ^crw)  about  £30 
'  imperfects.  It  might  seem  that  in  many  of  the 
latter  the  imperfect  was  a  very  natural  tense  to 
use,  but  it  is  a  striking  foct  that  in  the  First  Gospel, 
which  is  much  longer  than  Mk,  there  are  only 
some  70  historic  presents,  most  of  which  are  due 
to  Mk,  and  only  some  60  imperfects.  In  other 
words,  the  editor  of  Mt  found  these  historic 
presents  and  imperfects  in  Mk  unusual,  and 
frequently  converted  them  into  other  tenses. 
They  are  probably  due  to  translation  from  an 
Aramaic  original.  A  striking  parallel  may  be 
found  in  Theodotion's  version  of  Daniel.  In  that  ^ 
book  some  149  verses  ate  in  Hebrew,  some  306 
verses  in  Aramaic.  In  rendering  the  Hebrew 
Theodotion  uses  about  9  imperfects  (excluding 
iytyrro).  In  rendering  the  Aramaic  he  employs 
some  64.  Of  these  about  4  correspond  to  a 
perfect,  about  12  to  an  imperfect,  but  some  27  to 
a  participle,  and  some  21  to  the  participle  with 
mn.  That  is  to  say,  a  literal  translator,  where  he 
had  an  Aramaic  participle  or  participle  with  mn 
before  him,  thought  it  natural  to  render  them  by 
imperfects.  Once  or  twice  he  uses  the  present, 
e^.  2'*  6'*  Xiytmnv  =  pDR,  3*''  trvrayotTiu  = 
fwano.  In  this  way  we  can  explain  Mk's 
historic  presents,  his  imperfects,  and  his  not 
infrequent  use  of  tlvai  or  yiyvtadai  with  a  parti- 
ciple, if  we  suppose  that  we  had  before  him  an 
Aramaic  original,  in  which  there  was  a  liberal  use 
of  mn  with  a  participle,  and  of  the  participle  alone 
used  as  an  historic  tense.  In  Syriac  this  use 
seems  to  be  practically  limited  to  the  verb  'to 
say'  (cf.  Nold.,  Syr-  Gr.  190).  It  occurs  fre- 
quently in  the  Harclean  Syriac  as  a  rendering  of 
1  See  a  fiill  list  in  Hm-h  SynopHc^,  tuff. 


330 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Mk's  presents;  but  there  it  may  be  due  to  the 
scrupulous  accuracy  of  the  translator.  In  the 
biblical  Aramaic  tt  is  not  uncommon  (cf.  Strack, 
AMss  dei  Bibl.  Aram,  a]),  and  I  have  noticed 
the  follomng  instances  in  Dalman's  Aram.  Letts- 
liickf.—YysiA,  frequently;  i^w,  17.  17  J  i^3pOl,  '6, 
9;  T3W,  16,  10;  ran',  16,  2z;  TPB:,  22,  13;  cf. 
also  Tobit  (ed.  Neubauer)  5, 9,  J'ani  For  yiyvtirBai 
with  a  participle,  cf.  iyrvtro  .  .  .  Awupov/iwos,  Dn 
l";  tytvarra  ,  .  .  ^^avur^c'roi,  La  i" ;  iyivtxo 
.  .  .  fiairriifov,  Mk  I*  D  ;  tyivrro  .  .  .  liruTitia^owra. 
9^;  tytvtro  .   .   .   trriK^ovra,  9^ 

The  following  Aramaic  constructions  found  in 
Mk  have  been  discussed  by  Dalman,   IV./.  16- 
29 :— d*frT«  .   .  .  itapaXap.^dvmxny  Mk  4^,  cf.  8" 
12"  14";  liwMrris  i$^\en-  i»*,cf.  i"  ?«  lo'  i4«';   j 
iXAmra  vprurivtaar  ^^,  cf.  5**   12**    16';   Ka^iVas 
iifHotr^t    9^ ;    ^fi^aro    Kijpannuf    i  *^,    and    ^piaro   I 
(-(UTo),  with  an   Inf.  about  25  times.     Some  of  | 
these  are  Hebraistic  as  well  as  Aramaic.    The 
following   point  clearly  to  an   Aramaic   original.   ! 
The  frequent  use  of  Sn  =  T  after  verbs  of  saying. 
Mt  frequently  omits.     The  frequent  iroXAo  as  an 
adverb  may  be  due  to  translation  of  the  Aramaic  1 
'JD.    Cf.Dn  2ii'l«'aB'=.5roU^e,5»«'3e'  =  iroXv,6""   I 
the  same.      Mk  4^  cit  rpioKovra  kqi  cv  ii^KOvra  koX   \ 
tv  iK0.T6r.    The  MSS  offer  many  variations  and 
combinations  of  ««  and  cf.     But  whichever  be 
original,  it  is  no  doubt  due  to  over-scrupulous  j 
translation   of  in;  cf.   Dn   3"  nwc  nn,   or  of 
3  in,  or  of  in  \>y. 

Mk   6^*  r^«  ftryarpos  atrrov  ( =  KB,   afir^t   AC) 
'HpuSuiSos.     Neither  ovtoC  nor  o&t^  can  be  right. 
Whichever  of  the  two  is  original  in  the  Greek 
text,  it  is  DO  doubt  due  to  mistranslation  of  nni3, 
K'Tpm  or  of  Kinn  na  = '  the  daughter  ^Herodias.' 
Mk  3**  ToTs  uIo«  fwv  AvSpvyirmv,  a  pure  Aramaism.   : 
For  other  Semitisros  in  the  Gospel,  cf.  Expos.,  \ 
June  1890,  pp.  439,  440.     Here  there  need  only  be  ' 
added  some  difficulties  in  the  Greek  text  of  Mk   j 
which  may  be  due  to  translation.     The  suggestions  ' 
here  made  are  offered  with  much  hesitation. 

Mk  1'  liipx^  TOO  cvayytXiov.  If  apx^  is  a  mis- 
translation of  the  Aramaic  preposition  'before,' 
and  this  be  substituted  for  it,  the  structure  of 
VV.1-"  becomes  very  much  easier,  'Before  the 
good  tidings  of  (brought  by)  Jesus  Christ,' — just  as 
it  has  been  written, — '  John,  who  baptized  in  the 
desert,  was  preaching,  etc  ..."  And  after  that 
John  was  delivered  up,  Jesus  came  into  Galilee 
preaching  the   good   tidings.'     Vv.'  and  '  were 


probably  added  by  the  Greek  translator  (cf.  The 
Expository  Times,  January  1901,  p.  189;  and  Dr. 
H.  P.  Chajes'  Markus-Studien,  p^  1,  from  whom 
the  above  is  borrowed).  Mk  14'*  hri^aXav,  perh. 
=  '![?  (D  has  ^foTw),  misread  as  ntP.  Mk  12' 
tHf^oX^MT-av,  perh.  =  lir*K3K,  misread  as  linnM 
(cf.  Journal  Thiol  Stud.,  Jan.  i9or,  p.  298). 
Mk  3"  eaXSaww.  The  Western  gloss  At^jSoIw 
shows  how  difficult  copyists  found  this  name  to 
be.  Atp^aioi  is  presumably  an  endeavour  to 
substitute  for  Qo^uk,  by  someone  who  con- 
nected it  with  IjZ  =  mamma,  a  name  more  appro- 
priate to  an  apostle.  It  is  probably  due  to 
corruption.  Lk  6'^  has  'lovSat,  and  this  may 
represent  the  original  Aramaic,  iri(l)n*  or  m(i)n". 
For  the  6,  cf.  #ovS<nii(£  =  nmn,  a  Es  17";  $ovi  = 
wntt,  2  Es  8^';  e*XKa$  =  njhn,  Jo  21"  A.  For 
the  doubling  of  the  middle  letter,  cf.  MoWouk  = 
•no,  'loBSalot  = 'T,  De  Vogu^,  Syr.  Cent.  63 ;  and 
'PtpiKKa  =  np2-i,  Gn  22*'. 

Mk  12^,  the  difficult  Witiov  is  probably  due  to 
mistranslation  of  the  neutral  Aramaic  pn^. 
Mk  i^  avOpmnK  Iv  Trvfvuari  IS  harsh.  It  is 
probably  a  mistranslation  of  na  n'ltn  fiH  =  '  homo 
in  quo  erat  (spiritus),'  or  rb  n'KT  =  'qui  habuit.' 
The  title  of  the  Baptist,  0  ^ainiiiov,  i*  6"  and  ^, 
for  which  the  later  Gospels  substitute  a  ffainurnjs, 
is  probably  due  to  an  Aramaic  original.  In  view 
of  the  difficulty  which  attaches  to  Mk  14'*  and 
parallels  (cf.  Chwolson,  £>as  Letzle  Passamahl, 
p.  3),  it  seems  advisable  to  acquiesce  in  the  view 
that  Mk  and  the  later  Gospels  present  here  a 
corruption  due  to  translation.  The  original 
Aramaic  of  Mk  may  have  run  'on  the  day  before 
the  feast  of  unleavened  bread,  when  they  were 
sacrificing  the  Passover.'  Further  mistranslations 
may  be  found  in  on,  8",  for  1  =  ovs;  rouro,  i", 
neut.  for  fern.,  the  Aramaic  pronoun  being  wrongly 
separated  by  the  translator  from  its  subsUndve; 
dAAti,  6*,  (tin  being  read  as  vbvt;  htpycmmv  at 
Svm/uis,  6'*  =  p'ajl  ifVo  =  '  mighty  works  are 
done  by';  Ipxtnu,  4^',  is  a  mistranslation  of  the 
Aph.  or  Ittaf.  of  nnn  =  '  bring '  or  '  be  brought' 
Lastly,  it  is  possible  that  in  some  of  the  cases 
where  Mt  and  Lk  differ  from  Mk,  the  Greek 
copies  of  Mk  which  they  used  may  have  con- 
tained a  translation  differing  from  our  Greek 
Mk.  E.g.  Mk  5"  ■)(atpa^  =  lX  8"  a^ixro-ov  may 
be  due  to  a  confusion  between  Kt3inn  and  KQinn 
(cf.  Nestle, /!S(V:  Sao:  22).  W^C.  Allen. 


E;ci/er  CelU^,  Ox/on/. 


■'3" 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


331 


€^xu  Qtotes  on  ^uhsiABiicut. 

I.  Bbn-Zev,  who  pubUshed  a  tetranslation  of 
Ecclesiasticus  in  179S,  was  in  many  respects 
possessed  of  qualificadons  so  exactly  similar  to 
those  of  his  predecessor,  the  author  of  the 
Cairene  document,  that  I  was  convinced  (^/rion 
that  Ben-Zev's  work  must  contain  doublets  similar 
to  those  which  occur  so  frequently  in  the  Cairene 
retianslation,  i.e.  places  in  which  two  verses  are 
given  corresponding  with  the  Greek  and  Syriac 
translations  of  one  verse.  Of  the  specimens  which 
I  have  found  in  Ben-Zev  the  following  is  the  most 
interesting : — 

40"  (Syr.) '  Like  a  weed  which  grows  on  a  river- 
slope  and  dries  up  before  all  greenness,'  (Gr.) 
'  acAei  on  all  water  and  river-banks  is  plucked  up 
before  aU  grass.'  These  renderings  doubtless 
represent  ant  original  verse :  the  Syr.  is,  as  usual, 
rather  free,  and  harmonizes  with  the  passage 
imitated  (Job  8").  Frankel,  who  retranslated 
from  the  Greek,  also  could  not  resist  the  tempta- 
tion to  harmonize  with  Job. 

Ben-Zev  gives  us  two  verses — 

'*  Like  reeds  on  a  river-bink  and  before  be  produces 
greenness  bis  source  dries  up. 

"  They  are  swift  as  foam  on  Ihe  face  of  water ;  at  once 
they  bur^t  and  are  not. 

The  first  of  these  verses  is  near  enough  to  the 
Syriac.  But  what  is  the  source  of  the  second? 
Whence  comes  the  comparison  to  foaml  Evi- 
dently it  must  come  from  the  Greek  translation, 
which  Ben-Zev  tells  us  he  used  as  well  as  the 
Syriac,  And  evidently,  too,  some  one  has  mis- 
taken the  form  ttx^  of  some  editions  (meaning  'a 
weed ')  for  ax»T),  '  foam.'  This  is  the  obvious  ex- 
planation :  but  it  is  also  the  true  explanation. 
For  in  the  T^tin  translation  of  Tremellius  the 
verse  is  rendered  sicut  ipuma  imposita  cuivis  aqua, 
and  the  marginal  note  tells  us  that  the  former 
Greek  word  is  identical  with  the  latter.  But  sup- 
posing we  had  not  Tremellius  and  it  occurred  to 
some  one  to  declare  that  Ben-Zev  was  the  '  Original 
Hebrew  of  Ecclesiasticus,'  at  least  ten  reasons 
could  be  discovered  for  rejecting  the  above 
explanation.  Yet  it  would  none  the  less  be 
the  true  one.  And,  doubtless,  in  those  many 
cases  in  which  the  Cairene  text  gives  us 
doublets,  the  discovery  of  the  intermediate 
translation  of  the  Greek  whence  it  was  made 
would  render  even  its  worst  errors  intelligible. 


2.  The  argument  that  the  Cairene  text  must  be 
original  because  it  embodies  the  Talmudic  quota- 
tions applies  also  to  Ben-Zev ;  since  his  retransla- 
tion  embodies  the  Talmudic  quotations,  therefore 
it  must  be  the  original  also  1  But  it  is  astonishing 
that  both  retranslators  use  these  Talmudic  quota- 
tions equally  unskilfully.  14''  runs  thus  in  the 
Greek :  '  Remember  that  death  will  not  delay  and 
the  covenant  of  hell  has  not  been  shown  thee.' 
After  four  verses  follows  the  clause,  '  for  there  is  no 
luxury  to  bt  sought  in  hell'  There  is  a  loose 
reminiscence  of  this  passage  in  the  Talmud 
(Erubin  543) :  '  Said  Rah  to  Rab  Hamnuna,  "  My 
son,  if  thou  hast  ought  do  good  t.alhj%e{f,for  tfiere 
is  no  luxury  in  hell,  and  no  delay  for  death ;  and 
shouldst  thou  say,  I  will  leave  to  my  sons  and 
daughters,  a  covenant  with  hell  who  has  shown 
thee^"'  Ben-Zev  utilizes  this  passage  for  his  re- 
translation  thus :  '  For  there  is  no  tarrying  for 
death  andno  luxury  in  hell;  thou  knowest  not  the 
lime  of  thy  death  (this  is  a  doublet  from  the 
Syriac),  and  the  covenant  of  hell  who  has  shown 
thee?'  Hence  if  we  were  to  ask  Ben-Zev  how  it 
comes  that  in  his  text  'there  is  no  luxury  in  hell' 
comes  in  v.^*,  whereas  in  the  Greek  it  does  not 
come  till  v.",  he  would  reply  by  referring  us  to 
his  Preface  in  which  this  Talmudic  citation  is 
given.  But  since  we  know  (on  his  authority,  and 
indeed  that  of  any  one  who  is  not  blind  to  facts) 
that  the  Talmud  puts  verses  of  Ben-Sira  together 
quite  careless  of  their  original  order,  we  should 
not  approve  of  this  desertion  of  the  Greek 
order;  since,  however,  he  does  not  repeat  the 
clause  in  v.'*,  he  shows  a  certain  amount  of  con- 
sistency. 

Now  what  does  the  Cairene  text  offer?  In  v." 
it  gives  us  with  the  Greek, '  for  there  is  no  luxury 
to  be  sought  in  hell.'  If  it  were  the  original  it 
would  of  course  not  give  this  clause  in  v.'^ ;  for, 
as  we  have  seen,  it  is  mixed  with  v,'^  merely 
through  the  inaccuracy  of  the  Talmudic  quotation. 
But,  alas,  it  does  give  it  also  in  v.'^ :  '  Remember 
that  there  is  no  luxury  in  hell,  and  death  will  not 
delay,  and  the  covenant  with  hell  who  has  shown 
thee  ? '  To  those  who  choose  to  think,  this  passage 
proves  beyond  any  question  that  the  Cairene  text 
has  utilized  the  Talmudic  quotations;  and  also 
shows  a  singular  similarity  between  its  methods 
and  those  of  Ben-Zev. 

It  may  be  added  that  had  the  Talmudists  had 
access  to  a  Hebrew  Ecclesiasticus  they  would  not 


33' 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


have  ascribed  to  '  Rab,'  a  doctor  of  the  third  cen- 
tury, one  of  Ben-Sira's  paragraphs. 

3.  The  only  passage  known  to  me  in  all  the 
remains  of  the  Cairene  retranslation  that  might 
justly  cause  a  qualified  scholar  to  dream  he  had 
the  original  before  him  is  41^*.  The  discussion  of 
shame  is  being  introduced.  The  Greek  has  the 
following  ; — 

Discipline  in  peace  presene  children ; 

Hidden  wimIoid  and  a  concealed  tieasare,  what  ia  the  use 
of  either? 

Betler  is  a  man  concealing  his  Tolly  than  a  nuin  conceal- 
ing his  wisdom  ;  [Therefore  take  heed  at  my  word. 

It  is  very  obvious  that  the  two  clauses  between 
which  the  two  whole  verses  are  iuserced  should  go 
together ;  and  Ben-Zev  rightly  puts  them  tc^elher. 
But  the  Cairene  text  not  only  does  this,  it  also 
substitutes  for  the  first  clause  'the  discipline  of 
shame  hear  children.'  Both  Bea-Zev  and  the 
Cairene  text  put  this  clause  after  the  two  whole 
verses  which  in  the  Greek  come  between  the  two 
hemistichs. 

At  first  sight  this  is  a  great  improvement,  and  a 
sign  of  originality ;  at  second  sight  it  is  a  certain 
proof  of  fabrication.  For  the  two  verses,  '  Hidden 
wisdom,'  etc,  and  '  Better  is  a  man,'  etc,  are  re- 
peated from  2o''-  **.  Therefore  Aere  they  are  an 
interpolation;  and  why  should  any  one  inter- 
polate them?  Clearly  because  they  bore  some 
relation  to  the  present  subject.  And  this  relation 
is  very  obvious.  'Discipline  in  peace  preserve 
children'  of  the  Greek  seems  to  mean  'keep  your 
learning  quiet,  do  not  make  a  display  of  it ' ;  which 
doctrine  is  flatly  contradicted  by  the  two  verses 
which  are  here  inserted,  advising  the  learned  to 
display  their  learning.  Hence  the  interpolation  is 
in  its  right  place;  it  is  put  against  the  clause  which 
it  is  meant  to  contravene.  But  the  interpolation 
implies  the  existence  of  the  Greek  form  of  the 
half-verse,  not  of  the  Hebrew  form ;  the  Hebrew 
form,  '  hear  the  discipline  of  shame,'  hat  nothing 
to  do  with  the  subject  of  the  interpolated  verses. 
[  Hence  '  the  Original  Hebrew  of  the  Ecclesiasticus ' 

in  its  very  best  place  is  convicted  of  being  a 
fabrication  made  from  some  descendant  of  the 
Greek. 

Ben-Zev  and  the  author  of  the  Cairene  docti- 
ment  seem  to  me  to  have  been  singularly  alike 
both  in  what  they  knew  and  what  they  did  not 
know:  Ben-Zev  was  the  better  Hebraist,  but  he 
marred  his  work  by  the  prejudice  that  Ben-Sira 


must  have  written  in  biblical  Hebrew.  He  also 
can  conceal  ignorance  more  cleverly  than  his 
predecessor.  In  43'^  any  one  who  looks  at 
Ben-Zev's  edition  will  feel  convinced  that  Ben- 
Zev,  had  he  had  to  translate  Knjn,  would  have 
rendered  it  'knowledge';  but  he  evades  the 
difficulty  where  bis  predecessor  grossly  betrays 
himself.  I  Eancy  there  may  be  four  Syriac 
scholars  in  Europe  now  who  would  not  make  the 
same  mistake;  there  are  probably  not  more. 
Neither  of  them  has  the  least  idea  what  is  meant 
by  'a  decoy  partridge  in  a  basket';  but  Ben-Zev 
does  not  come  off  quite  so  badly  in  his  rendering  of 
the  phrase  as  his  predecessor.  Of  course  neither 
of  them  is  of  the  slightest  help  for  the  restoration 
of  the  real  original. 

D.  S.  Margoliouth. 


The  latest  number  of  the  Tkeologische  Siudien 
und  Kritiken  (1902,  i.  p.  r33  ff.)  contains  a  sug- 
gestive article  on  '  The  Pool  Bethesda,'  by  Lie.  E, 
Brose.  In  one  respect,  however,  the  article  is 
not  sufficient.  Brose  objects  to  the  received 
translation,  '  House  of  Mercy,'  on  the  ground  that 
the  pool  itself  was  called  '  Bethesda,*  and  that  a 
pool  cannot  well  be  called  house  of  mercy  or 
'  chants '  (like  the  famous  hospital  in  Berlin). 
Very  good ;  but  was  Bethesda  the  name  of  the 
pool,  and  not  of  the  house  adjoining  it?  Brose 
does  not  even  mention  the  reading  adopted  by 
B.  Weiss  in  the  text,  and  first  mentioned,  among 
I  modern  editions,  by  Tregelles  on  the  margin, 
which  spells  KoKvu^^Bp^  with  ia/a  suiieripium, 
placing  it  in  the  dative :  '  There  was  above  the 
sheep-pool  (a  house)  which  was  called  in  Hebrew 
Bethesda,  having  jive  porches'  I  do  not  know 
who  was  the  first  to  start  this  explanation. 
Matthew  Poole  quotes  it  in  hb  Synopsis  from 
Castalio,  who  tersely  said :  '  KoKvii^'ifBpif  lego : 
(1)  quod  vpofiaTiK^  sine  substantivo  non  bene 
poneretur,  (z)  quia  sic  piscina  vocaretur  Befhesda, 
quod  non  pisdnam,  sed  domum  sonet.' 

It  is  there  further  stated  that  Flacius  lUyricus 
also  proved  this  explanation.  I  do  not  intend  to 
enter  into  a  minute  discussion  of  this  reading,  I 
only  wish  to  call  the  attention  of  readers  to  the 
fact  that  by  a  curious  chance,  by  a  mere  clerical 
error,  quite  against  their  intention,  Westcott-Hort 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


335 


have  given  this  very  reading  as  their  own  text  in 
their  Ngtet  on  Select  Readings  in  vol.  ii.  p.  76  (in 
both  impressions,  1882  and  1896),  while  in  the  text 
they  read  KoKx^^-^po.  as  nominative  without  iota. 

On  the  various  forms  of  the  name  (Bi;f>{;o^ 
Bi^ficriu&i,  B>;tffcrSa)  I  can  only  say  that  the  re- 
ceived form  Bijt)((r&i  may  have  arisen  by  trans- 
position from  Bij^aiSo,  after  it  was  pronounced 
Beths«da ;  but  the  other  way  is  equally  possible, 
that  Bethesda  went  over  in  M5S  into  the  better- 
known  'Bt^aax^o..  A  strong  prejudice  for  the  re- 
ceived explanation,  '  House  of  Mercy,'  is  raised  by 
the  spelling  of  the  Syriac  versions  (Knon  ri'Z). 
For  it  is  to  be  observed  that  these  translators 
had  either  some  knowledge  of  the  original  form  of 
the  names  or  a  good  etymological  feeling.  The 
names  Ki;^s  and  Kotai^ai,  for  instance,  both 
beginning  with  K,  they  spell  quite  differently, 
KDK3  and  eCB'p,  exactly  according  to  their  ety- 
mology. The  reading  Bi^^foSa,  which  is  perhaps 
the  best  attested,  is  spelt  by  Barhebneus  n'n 
KHKy,  i.e.  '  House  of  the  Excrements.'  There  was 
a  tradition  that  the  sheep  of  '  the  offerings '  were 
washed  there.  He  further  mentions  that  some 
ascribed  the  healing  power  of  the  water  to  the 
fact  that  the  body  of  the  prophet  Isaiah  was 
buried  there.  Very  curious  is  the  translation  of 
the  Palestine-Syriac  version  :  '  There  was  at  the 
entrance  a  lish-tank,'  tW'pDS  KitjJD  i^f,'  and  of  some 
old-Latin  MSS:  '/«  inferiort  parte  natatoria  pis- 
cina.' The  explanation  of  Delitzsch,  '  House  of 
the  Porches '  {Zeiischrift  fjir  iutherische  Theologie, 
1856,  4)  is,  at  all  events  so  clever  that  it  does  not 
deserve  the  oblivion  into  which  it  seems  to  have 
fallen.  Equally  clever  is  the  explanation  proposed 
by  the  Dutch  scholar  Cramer  {Exegetica  et  eritica, 
I.  1890,  p.  64),  p7)0itTa=  Kn'E?  n'a,  'House  of 
the  S/uefi.'  Against  the  explanation  Kie'K  n<3, 
'  House  of  Outpouring,'  speaks  the  circumstance 
that  a  noun,  tt^BV,  '  outpouring,'  is  not  known  as 
yet  in  literature.  Eb.  Nestle. 

MtiuJirDan. 


(gis^op  (gfjf6  on  iU  %mit^ 
(Stission  (ptoiftm. 

The  views  of  Dr.  Blyth,  the  Anglican  bishop  in 
Jerusalem,  regarding  the  conversion  of  the  Jews, 
'The  Latin  N.T.  of  Wordsnorth -White  hu   (wo  mis- 
pcints  in  the  quolation  of  this  leading. 


noticed  in  the  March  issue  of  The  Expository 
Times,  are  certainly  interesting.  Although  neither 
new  nor  original  to  him,  they  derive  importance 
from  his  endorsement 

Dr.  Blyth  seems  to  assume  that  a  Jew  becomes 
a  Gentile  if,  abandoning  the  synagogue  and  the 
ancient  ceremonies,  he  becomes  a  Christian.  Is 
this  so?  Recent  Jewish  history  sheds  light  on 
their  own  ideas  of  nationality.  Zionism  is  a 
purely  secular  movement.  It  has  no  more  to  do 
with  the  faith  of  the  Jew  than  with  that  of  the 
Moslem  or  the  Hindoo.  The  great  mass  of  its 
supporters  have  broken  with  the  religion  of  thdr 
people.  Mosaic  as  well  as  Talmudic  Judaism  is 
repudiated.  Are  they  therefore  Gentiles?  With 
what  scorn  Max  Nordau,  e.g.,  would  receive  the 
suggestion  that  he  is  one  whit  less  a  Jew  than 
the  most  bigoted  Talmudist  in  Jerusalem  I  The 
religious  transformation  involved  in  conversion  to 
Christianity  is  small  compared  with  that  which 
these  men  have  experienced.  Yet  they  remain 
intensely,  one  might  almost  say  violently,  Jewish, 
united  solely  by  the  bond  of  blood,  by  the 
sentiment  of  race.  To  the  maintenance  of 
this  sentiment,  therefore,  not  a  single  religious 
ceremony  is  necessary.  How  then  can  it  be  said 
that  by  inviting  them  to  faith  in  Christ,  in  whom 
their  ancient  system-  finds  perfection,  the  mission- 
aries 'demand  that  the  Jews  should  become 
Gentiles '  ? 

The  idea  of  a  Hebrew  Christian  Church  deserves 

careful  consideration.     Jewish  missions  are  at  a 

disadvantage  in  asking  the  sympathy  and  support 

of  Christians.      Missions    in    heathen   countries 

have  native  Churches,  into  which  their  converts 

are  gathered.    As  these  grow  they  lend  weight  to 

missionary  appeals.      After   baptism    the   Jewish 

convert  is  !ost  sight  of.     More  than  100,000  Jews 

were   baptized    during   the    last   century.      They 

joined  the  various  Christian  Churches;  and  so  the 

missionaries  have  nothing  in  the  way  of  a  distinct 

;  and  growing  community  to  show  for  their  work, 

I  They  seem  always  to  be  at  the  beginning.      To 

I  this   may  be  traced   the   impression,   so  widely 

I  entertained,  that  Jewish  missions  are,  on  the  whole, 

I  unsuccessful. 

'       But  the  constitution   of  a   Hebrew  Christian 

:  Church    is   a    problem    beset    with    difficulties. 

Attempts  in  this  direction  have  not  been  encour- 

^ing>    ^-ff-    Rabinowitz's    experiment    in    South 

I  Russia.      Converts,  especially  in  fanatical  com- 


334 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


munities,  are  apt  to  prefer  the  comfort  of  fellow- 
ship and  protection  offered  by  an  existing  Church, 
to  the '  inevitable  isolation  and  hostility  to  be 
faced  in  a  new  organization.  Success  of  the 
gospel  on  a  large  scale  among  Jews  in  Jerusalem, 
or  other  great  centre  of  Jewish  population,  would 
probably  result  in  the  formation  of  a  Hebrew 
Christian  Church,  It  may  be  doubted,  however, 
whether  the  Jew  .would  find  it  easier  to  identify 
himself  with  a  Church  which  his  leaders  would 
infallibly  regard  as  a  visible  embodiment  of 
apostasy  from  the  ancient  faith. 

Some  teachers,  among  them  the  Christian  Rabbi 
Lichtenstein  of  Leipzig,  hold  that  the  convert 
may,  or  even  must,  submit  to  the  requirements  of 
Moses'  law ;  and  not  a  few  Christian  Jews  continue 
in  the  practice  of  ancient  ceremonies.  It  does  not 
appear  that  this  in  any  way  promotes  their  success 
as  missionaries  among  their  brethren.  They 
admit,  of  course,  as  every  Christian  whether  of 
Jewish  or  Gentile  origin  must,  that  righteousness 
is  not  won  by  works  of  the  law.  They  only 
maintain  that  as  the  law  was  laid  by  God  upon  the 
Jews,  they  should  not  cease  to  observe  it  without 
an  explicit  divine  direction.  But  if  'Christ  is  the 
end  of  the  law  unto  righteousness,'  is  it  not 
perilously  near  to  playing  with  the  question  to 
proclaim  that  a  man  who  accepts  Jesus  as  the 
Messiah  may,  if  he  likes,  continue  to  practise 
ceremonies  which,  just  because  their  purpose  is 
fulfilled,  are  now  emptied  of  all  significance  ?  In 
any  case,  it  can  hardly  be  the  missionary's  place  to 
make  such  announcement.  Nor  at  this  time  of 
day  can  we  forget  the  danger  of  may  becoming 
muit;  where  then  would  be  the  freedom  wherewith 
Christ  has  emancipated  us? 

Dr.  BIyth  would  require  from  the  Jew  only 
acceptance  of  Jesus  as  the  Messiah.  Is  any  more 
than  this  ever  demanded  ?  And  is  not  this  the  one 
supremely  difficult  thing?  The  man  who  sincerely 
accepts  Jesus  as  the  Messiah  may  safely  be  trusted 
to  adjust  his  own  relations  with  the  old  law. 


Glasgovi. 


\V.  EWING. 


'Our  iAtt'  in  i^t  ^etois 

In  The  Expository  Times  for  March  Dr.  Rendel 
Harris  discusses  my  paper,  which  appeared  in 
February,  under  the  above  heading.     I  am  inter- 


ested in  his  remarks  on  the  two  sections  of  the 
Lewis  Palimpsest  where  'our  Lord*  occurs  with 
special  tf'requency;  but  I  am  sorry  that  he  has 
devoted  so  much  of  his  paper  in  attemptii^  to 
pull  to  pieces  my  table  of  the  passages  in  which 
'  our  Lord '  occurs  in  Cureton,  the  Peshitta,  and 
in  Lewis  outside  the  two  special  sections.  His 
labour — I  hope  he  will  let  me  say  so — is  quite 
thrown  away,  so  far  as  the  purpose  is  concerned 
for  which  I  gave  that  table;  for  after  he  has 
'  removed '  from  the  table  certain  instances  of  the 
occurrence  of  (lLo  therein  exhibited,  they  still 
remain  '  in  their  respective  places  in  the  three  texts. 
The  fact  is,  that  Dr.  Harris  and  I  are  thinking  about 
different  things,  and  he  has  read  into  my  paper — 
undesignedly  of  course — what  I  never  intended 
to  say ;  and  I  am  glad  to  see  that  he  recc^nizes 
this  in  a  measure,  in  his  courteous  paragraph  at 
the  end  of  his  article.  He  credits  me  with  putting 
a  certain  interpretation  upon  the  occurrences  of 
,|io  in  Sc,  in  P,  and  in  Lp  outside  the  two  special 
sections.  This  is  not  so.  Dr.  Harris  may  or 
may  not  be  right  in  maintaining  that  there  are 
only  four  cases  in  all  of  the  substitution  of  'our 
Lord '  for  '  Jesus '  in  Sc,  P,  and  Lp,  in  the  passages 
given  in  my  list.  I  have  maintained  nothing  on 
that  point  one  way  or  another,  my  sole  purpose 
in  giving  that  table  was  that  readers  might  see  at 
a  glance  where  '  our  Lord '  occurs  in  Lewis  out- 
side the  two  special  sections,  and  where  the  same 
term  occurs  in  Sc  and  in  P.  The  word  certainly 
does  stand  in  these  passages,  and  therefore  my 
figures  are  not  incorrect.  Dr.  Hanis  has  him- 
self answered  for  me  his  criticism  of  my  table  when 
he  writes  :  'These' — i.e.  the  instances  in  the  table 
— '  are  not  cases  which  come  under  the  definition 
of  Mr.  Bonus  in  his  collation,  "  Lewisianum  ,>!£ 
pro  \^o.A_i  persaepe  legere." '  Exactly  so ;  I  do 
not  say  that  they  do. 

Dr.  Harris  has  some  playful  words  about  a 
remark  of  mine  to  the  effect  that  the  slumbering 
controversy  over  the  Peshitta  would  certainly  be 
aroused  again.  That  remark  has  already  had  a 
singular  verification.  For  it  so  happens  that  my 
paper  was  written  in  June,  though,  owing  to  some 
oversight  at  the  printer's,  it  did  not  see  the  light 
until  February.  Now,  precisely  in  that  interval 
Mr.  Burkitt's  noteworthy  book  on  the  Ephraim 

'  With  the  exceplioA  of  Mk  la",  where  Dt.  Hmit  aft 
the  piiated  text  of  Lewis  is  wrong ;  aod  with  the  potable 
exception  ofjn  13",  where  it  is  donbtfok^  *- "- '^^ '  *- 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


335 


quotations,  which  has  given  us  so  much  to  think 
about,  has  appeared;  and  this,  in  conjunction 
with  the  almost  simultaneous  issue  of  Mr.  Gwilliam's 
TetraevangtUum,  has  led  in  some  quarters  to  a 
stirring  up  of  the  old  controversy,  as  no  one 
knows  better  than  my  friendly  critic  On  this 
point  let  me  say,  that  Dr.  Rendel  Harris  is  much 
more  of  an  optimist  than  I  am,  if  he  thinks  that 
there  will  be  no  more  controversy  among  serious 
critics  about  '  the  relative  values  and  ages  of  the 
Peshitta  and  Curetonian  forms  of  text.'  Even  if 
Mr.  Buikitt's  important  suggestion  that  Rabbula 
was  the  maker  of  the  Peshifta,  should  finally  be 
accepted,  we  should  still  have  to  inquire  what 
use  —  if  any  —  he  made  of  older  Syriac  texts 
when  he  translated  out  of  the  Greek  into  Syriac ; 
and  in  what  degree  Dr.  Hort's  theory  of  a 
Syriac  revision  before  about  350  a.d.  is  still  ten- 
able. Then  there  is  the  question,  which  as  yet 
has  received  so  little  attention,  of  an  '  old  Syriac ' 
of  the  New  Testament  outside  the  Gospels,  and 
how  far  the  Pesbitta'preserves  such  an  '  old  Syriac' 
There  are  few  serious  critics,  I  think,  who  realize 
the  obscurities  which  still  hang  over  the  question 
of  the  'relative  values  and  ages  of  the  Peshitta 
and  Curetonian  forms  of  text,'  who  will  maintain 
that  no  further  resuscitation  of  the  old  controversy 
is  possible. 

On  this,  however,  I  will  not  enlarge,  for  it  is 
beside  my  present  purpose,  which  is  rather  to 
rescue  a  part  of  my  paper  from  a  misconception 
of  it  which  may  be  caused  by  my  friendly  critic's 
article.  Let  me  then  briefly  restate,  (a)  I  have 
shown  that  while  Mrs.  Lewis'  original  observation 


that  '  our  Lord '  occurs  persistently  in  Lewis 
throughout  the  four  Gospels  is  incorrect,  yet  that 
this  term  is  found  with  surprising  frequency  in 
two  particular  sections  of  the  Palimpsest.  (^)  That 
elsewhere  in  the  Palimpsest  the  term  occurs  with 
no  special  frequency ;  these  instances  I  exhibited 
in  a  table,  and  added,  for  the  sake  of  comparison, 
the  passages  where  the  same  term  is  found  in  Sc 
and  in  P.  (r)  I  then  threw  out  two  suggestions  as 
possible  explanations  of  the  curious  occurrence  of 
'our  Lord'  in  the  two  special  sections  of  Lewis. 
I  did  not  say  that  I  necessarily  accepted  either ; 
but  they  seemed  to  be  worthy  of  attention.  Dr. 
Rendel  Harris,  if  I  understand  him  rightly,  appears 
inclined  to  favour  my  first  suggestion  that  the 
scribe  of  Lewis  or  of  some  one  of  its  ancestors, 
'  Maranized '  the  two  sections  under  discussion ; 
and  he  writes;  'As  to  the  way  in  which  the 
"  Maran"  readings  came  into  the  Lewis  text,  the 
steadiness  with  which  they  occur  shows  them  to 
be  the  result  of  deliberate  art.'  It  may  be  so; 
though  I  do  not  yet  feel  quite  confident  about  the 
validity  of  this  view.  At  anyrate,  if  we  admit  it, 
we  shall  be  led  to  ask  with  more  insistence,  as  I 
remarked  some  six  years  ago, '  utrum  textus  veius 
alibi  {e.g.  Mt  !'*■'*)  perverse  vel  saltern  mere  vol- 
untate  scribae  immutatus  sit.' 

Dr.  Harris  says  my  statistics  are  valuable  ;  they 
are  at  least  interesting;  and  I  trust  that  other 
scholars  will  be  led  to  discuss  the  curious  fre- 
quency of  ^jiiO  in  the  two  sections  of  Lewis.  I 
for  my  part  shall  be  quite  satisfied  with  having 
drawn  attention  to  the  matter. 

Al/hinglan,  Exelcr.  ALBERT  BoNUS. 


^ttt-^i   ^Jforeign    CJ^ofog^, 


This  is  a  work  which  has  a  freshness  and  an  in- 
terest of  its  own,  and  possesses  many  valuable 
features.  The  author  explains  in  his  preface  the 
origin  and  the  aim  of  his  book,  whose  inception 
took  place  during  a  period  of  leisure  spent  at 
Constantinople,  with  no  books  at  his  command 
except  the  O.T.  and  his  own  Hebrew  Lexicon. 

'  Doi  Bud  Hiob  nta  iiterselzi  and  tun  ertldrl.  Von 
Fricdrich  DeliUsch.  Leipzig:  J.  C.  Hiniichs,  1903. 
Price  M.2.50. 


The  feeling  is  strongly  expressed  by  Delitzsch 
that,  in  spite  of  all  the  efforts  that  have  been 
spent  on  the  Book  of  Job,  much  has  yet  to  be 
done,  especially  in  regard  to  the  translation  and  the 
exegesis  of  the  book.  He  has  no  great  faith  in 
the  radical  emendations  of  the  text  which  have 
been  proposed  by  many,  and  his  trust  in  the  LXX 
has  diminished  instead  of  increasing. 

The  work  before  us  opens  with  a  translation  of 
what  Delitzsch,  in  common  with  many  modem 
scholars,  regards  as  'the  popular  story  of  the 
pious  man.   Job.'    This  embraces  chaps.    1,  z, 


336 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


and  4s"'.  Then  comes  '  the  poem  of  Job,  or 
the  paean  of  pessimism':  chaps.  3-31,  and  the 
speeches  of  the  Almighty  (38,  39,  [except v v.""*], 
4o*-",  42'"*).  As  appendices  to  the  book  we  have 
<i)  the  speeches  of  Eiihu  (chaps.  32-37);  (")  the 
passage  on  Wisdom  (chap,  28);  (3)  the  descrip- 
tions of  the  ostrich,  the  hippopotamus,  and  the 
crocodile  (39**"^*,  4o'*-4i^).  The  work  closes 
with  a  '  Sprachlicher  Commentar,'  which  will  be 
found  to  be  one  of  its  most  useful  features. 
We  may  add  that  the  translation  is  spirited  and 
often  very  successful  in  preserving  the  life  and 
force  of  the  original.  Dr.  Delitzsch  has  made  a 
distinct  contribution  to  the  literature  of  Job. 


The  Text  of  Romans  i.  7. 
In  the  Journal  of  Biblual  Lileralure  for  1901 
an  attempt  is  made  by  W.  B.  Smith  to  cast 
doubt  upon  the  view  that  the  destination  of 
what  we  know  as  SL  Paul's  Epistle  to  the 
Romans  was  really  Rome  (see  The  Expository 
Times,  August  1901,  p.  481),  To  a  certain  extent 
his  argument  is  t^ed  upon  Ro  i^,  and  this  forms 
the  subject  of  an  "important  note  by  Professor 
Harnack  in  the  Z.N.T.  IV.  (190a,  Heft  i,  p.  83  ff.}. 
The  way  the  matter  stands  is  as  follows.  The 
g;reat  majority  of  MSS  read ;  -kooiv  roit  oBtr-iv  iv 
Vio/tn  AyamjroTs  6fov,  Kkt/TOK  dyt'ois,  'to  all  that  are 
in  Home,  beloved  of  God,  elect  saints.'  On  the 
other  hand,  G  g  Ambrosiaster  have :  iraaw  tois 
oZiTiv  iv  ayairg  6toi,  KKijTolf  dyioii,  '  to  all  that  are  in 
the  love  of  God,  elect  saints.'  Origen  reads  :  ttoo-iv 
TO(s  oBcTiv  ayaw^raii  tftoC,  'to  all  that  are  beloved  of 
God.'  It  is  quite  characteristic  that  we  should 
find  also  the  conflate  text :  irSo-iv  tow  olatv  iv 
■"Ptu/tg  h  iydwg  9tov,  kXttois  ayiW,  '  to  all  that  are 
in  Rome  in  the  love  of  God,  elect  saints.'  In 
seeking  to  decide  between  the  rival  readings, 
Professor  Harnack  finds  it  incredible  that  if  hr 
'Puj/t;;  had  stood  originally  in  the  text  it  could  hare 
been  dropped  and  replaced  by  iv  iyaiq}.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  would  be  natural  enough  that  iv 
iydwTj  should  be  changed  into  fi-  'Piu^jj  dyoTnJrois. 
It  is,  no  doubt,  somewhat  difficult  to  suppose 
that  St.  Paul  omitted  the  words  indicating  the 
destination  of  the  epistle,  and  yet  it  is  intelligible 
in  view  of  the  length  and  the  character  of  the 
parenthesis  that  precedes  v.L  Professor  Harnack, 
then,  concludes  that  the  words  iv  'Pw/tH  are  an 
ancient  interpolation.  But  he  shows  that  this 
circumstance  does  not  in  the  least  disprove  the 
Roman  destination  of  the  epistle.  He  attaches 
more  weight  to  the  bearing  of  this  fact  upon  textual 


,  criticism,  for,  if  bis  conclusion  is  correct,  we  have 

,  here  an  instance  where  Origen   and  a  pair  of 

,  Western  authorities  have  preserved  the  correct 

'  text,   in    opposition    to  all    the  other  witnessed 

I  (including  Bk  and  Syr.). 

I  Matt.  xiiL  15  compared  with  Mark  iv.  12: 

j       In  the  Evangel.  Kirchenblatt  (1903,  No,  5)  Dr. 

\  Nestle  calls  attention  to  the  remarkable  circum- 
stance that  the  citation  from  Is  d*-'",  as  given  in 
Mt  r3«  Jn  i2«,  and  Ac  27",  has  the  LXX  read- 

,  ing  latrofiai  avrov^,  answering  to  the  Massoretic 

.  text,  but  that  in  the  parallel  passage  Mk  4'^, 
we  find  d^^id  avTOK  (v.li.  d^^i^ofuu,  o^ctfp, 
li^cA^cTai).  His  original  impulse  was  to  dis- 
cover here  a  simple  confusion  between  KB")  ('heal') 
and  ^D'l  ('be  loose').  But  this  explanation  has 
to  be  set  aside  when  it  is  observed  that  the  Targum 
and  the  Pesh.  have  in  Isaiah  a  rendering  (tv- 
yishlebe^  lehon)  exactly  corresponding  to  that  of 
Mark.  And  the  same  sense  is  adopted  in  the 
recently  discovered  Syr.  Sin.  palimpsest  of  Jn  1 2**, 
All  this  would  appear  to  give  new  importance  to 
the  Targums  in  connexion  with  the  citation  of 
O.T,  passages  by  N.T.  writers. 

The  Smallest  Hebrew  Bible. 

There  was  recently  advertised :  '  Biblia  He- 
braica,  nach  genauem  masoret.  Text  herausgegeboi 
von  Menachem  ben  Chaim  Scholtz  (Diamantausg.). 
Berlin:  M.  Poppelauer  (605  S.  16).  Geb.  in 
Leinw.  1.50.'  Dr.  Nestle  ordered  and  received 
the  book,  which  he  found  to  weigh  less  than 
90  grammes,  to  be  capable  of  being  carried 
in  the  waistcoat  pocket,  and  thus  an  interesting 
object  to  the  collector  of  literary  curiosities. 
But  it  had  the  name  of  neither  printer  nor 
publisher  attached  to  it,  and  proved  to  be 
simply  a  mechanically  reduced  impression  of  the 
edition  of  the  Heb.  Bible  printed  by  Trowitsch  of 
Berlin  for  the  British  Bible  Society.  Actually  the 
'  signatures '  of  the  original,  which  is  in  octavo,  are 
retained  in  this  pretended  i6»ic  edition.  The  name 
Menachem  ben  Chaim  Scholtz  is  substituted  for  that 
of  Meier  Levi  Letteris,  who  actually  did  the  work. 

Dr.  Nestle  appeals  to  all  well-disposed  theol(^- 
ical  publications  to  join  him  in  his  protest  against 
such  procedure,  which  he  trusts  it  may  be  found 
possible  to  bring  under  the  sweep  of  the  laws  of 
copyright  J.  A.  Selbie. 

Marycuttir,  Aberdeen. 


Printed  by  Mokkison  &  Gibb  Liuitkd,  Tinfield  Work*, 
■nd  PubUsbed  by  T.  &  T.  Clark,  38  GeorEc  Street, 
Edinburgh,  It  is  icqaated  that  ill  litsuy  cod- 
municationt  be  iddreMedto  T>\B  ^J^O^j^tt^Cyrait 


Mootrose. 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


(Uofeet    of   (B«c*n<    ^xpoeition. 


'  Vou  know  this  boolt  ? ' 
'  The  Bible !  Of  course !  Everybody  knows  it ! ' 
'  Pardon !  It  would  be  more  correct  to  say 
nobody  knows  it  I  To  read  it  is  not  always  to 
understand.  There  are  meanings  and  mysteries 
in  it  which  have  never  yet  been  penetrated,  and 
which  only  the  highest  and  most  spiritually  gifted 
intellects  can  ever  hope  to  unravel.' 

Mr.  Hugh  Capron  makes  that  quotation  from 
Marie  Corelli  in  order  to  introduce  the  twenty- 
seventh  chapter  of  his  new  book  on  The  Conflid  of 
Truth  (Hodder  &  Stoughton),  He  agrees  with 
Marie  Corelli.  There  are  meanings  and  mysteries 
in  the  Bible  which  have  never  yet  been  penetrated. 
It  is  more  correct  to  say  that  nobody  knows  it. 
But  the  immediate  point  he  wishes  to  make  is  not 
that  He  has  been  struck  with  the  truth  that  lies 
hidden  in  the  most  familiar  texts.  We  read  them 
again  and  again,  and  think  we  know  them.  Then 
something  turns  our  attention  to  them  from 
another  side,  and  their  meaning  flashes  out  upon 


Mr.  Capron  has  just  bad  that  experience.  His 
mind  had  been  full  of  the  subject  of  the  New  Birth. 
He  knew  it  was  a  doctrine  of  the  Bible.  He  knew  it 
was  '  the  very  foundation  of  the  whole  fabric  of 
religion.'  He  was  considering  how  he  could  make 
Vol.  XIII.— 8. 


known  its  condition.  Its  condition  is  simply  'trust 
in  Christ.'  He  knew  that,  but  he  could  not  find  a 
text  to  declare  it.  Then  the  original  word  in 
a  familiar  but  mistranslated  passage  occurred  to 
his  mind,  and  he  saw  it  all  in  a  moment. 

It  is  the  passage  which  describes  the  healing 
of  the  paralytic  who  was  '  borne  of  four.'  Mr. 
Capron  quotes  it  from  St.  Mark's  Gospel.  The 
scene  is  graphically  and  naturally  described.  We 
follow  it  by  easy  stages.  Then  we  come  upon  the 
words, '  Son,  thy  sins  have  been  forgiven,'  and  we 
are  brought  to  a  standstill.  That  was  not  what 
the  man  came  there  for.  That  was  not  what  his 
four  friends  brought  him  for.  The  Jews  themselves 
were  startled.  They  asked  the  question,  Who  is 
this  that  forgiveth  sins?  We  do  not  ask  that 
question.  We  ask  why  the  sins  were  forgiven  before 
the  man  had  fulfilled  the  condition  of  forgiveness. 

But  the  man  had  fulfilled  the  condidon  of 
forgiveness.  That  is  the  discovery  which  Mr. 
Capron  made.  The  condition  is  faith  in  Christ. 
He  found  the  man's  fulfilment  in  the  one  word, 
•  Son.'  

That  word  is  a  mistranslation  in  our  English 
versions.  The  Translators  of  the  Revised  Ve^ton 
acknowledge  that  it  is  a  mistranslation.     In  their 


338 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


text  they  say,  '  Son,  thy  sins  are  forgiven ' ;  but  in 
their  margin  they  say  that  the  Greek  word  for 
'  son '  means '  child.'  And  Mr.  Capron  believes  that 
under  the  circumstances  there  is  all  the  difference 
in  the  world  between  'Son,  thy  sins  are  forgiven 
thee,'  and  'Child,  thy  sins  are  forgiven  thee.' 

For,  in  the  first  place,  it  is  then  no  longer  a 
mere  epithet  of  tenderness.  Jesus  was  only  thirty. 
The  roan  was  old,  or  at  least  of  middle  age,  for 
was  he  not  so  heavy  that  four  men  were  required 
to  cany  him?  How  could  the  youthful  prophet 
of  thirty  speak  to  this  man  of  middle  i^e  and  call 
him  '  Chikl '?  It  is  not  a  mere  epithet  of  tender- 
ness. It  has  a  definite  meaning.  It  describes 
one  who  is  just  bom.  Teknon,  from  tiito, '  to  bear ' ; 
it  is  equivalent,  says  Mr.  Capron,  to  the  Scotch 
word  '  bairn.'  It  is  used  with  special  reference  to 
birth.  It  is  an  indication,  brief  but  pregnant,  that 
the  man  had  set  his  trust  on  Christ  for  the 
forgiveness  of  sins,  and  that  in  that  moment  he  had 
been  'born  again.' 

But  there  is  a  difiSculty.  It  does  not  seem  to 
have  occurred  to  Mr.  Capron.  We  wish  it  had, 
that  he  might  have  got  us  over  it.  This  is  not  the 
only  place  in  which  this  word  'child'  (r^nw) 
occurs.  In  particular,  we  remember  that  it  is  used 
in  a  passage  in  St  Luke,  and  is  addressed  there  to 
a  man  who  may  be  supposed  to  be  of  middle  age, 
just  as  here.  The  passage  is  the  Parable  of  the 
Rich  Man  and  Lazarus.  And  it  is  used  by 
Abraham  in  addressing  the  Rich  Man  in  bell. 


The  Conference  on  Confession  and  Absolution, 
which  was  held  at  Fulham  Palace  in  December, 
and  of  which  a  Rtport  has  been  published  by 
Messrs.  Longmans,  opened  with  a  discussion  of 
the  meaning  of  two  familiar  passages  in  the 
Gospels— Mt  i8"  and  Jn  io«-»  It  was  felt  by 
the  Bishop  of  London,  at  whose  invitation  the 
Conference  met,  that  the  controversy  regarding 
private  confession  and  priestly  absolution  turned 
upon  the  interpretation  of  these  passages.     He 


assigned  the  duty  of  expounding  them,  and 
thereby  of  opening  the  Conference,  to  Professor 
Swete. 

The  first  passage  refers  to  'binding'  and 
'  loosing,'  the  second  to '  remitting '  and '  retaining ' 
men's  sins.  Dr.  Swete  found  it  necessary  first  of 
all  to  explain  what  'binding'  and  'loosing'  mean. 
'  To  bind  and  to  loose,'  he  said, '  is  a  well-known 
Rabbinical  formula,  meaning  to  prohibit  and  to 
permit.'  The  synagogue  claimed  the  office  of 
acting  as  arbiter  and  judge  in  all  questions  of 
religious  right  and  wrong.  Our  Lord  committed 
this  office  to  His  Church,  the  new  Israel  '  The 
Church  is  to  exercise  on  earth  a  judicial  authority 
in  spiritual  things,  which,  so  far  as  she  is  true  to 
Christ  and  guided  by  His  Spirit,  will  be  ratified 
in  heaven.' 

In  other  words,  the  commission  given  to  the 
Church  to  bind  and  to  loose,  is  the  right  and  the 
duty  of  ecclesiastical  discipline.  In  the  passage 
in  St.  John  one  special  application  of  this  right  is 
mentioned.  It  is  the  power  to  forgive  or  not 
to  forgive  sins.  In  the  Old  Testament  this  right 
is  reserved  for  God  in  heaven :  'Then  bear  Thou 
in  heaven  Thy  dwelling  place,  and  forgive'(i  K8*>). 
After  the  Incarnation  it  was  exercised  by  our  Lord 
upon  the  earth — exercised  by  Him  as  Moh,  in 
virtue  of  the  authority  so  committed  to  Him  by 
the  Father :  'That  ye  may  know  that  the  Son  of 
Man  hath  power  (authority)  on  earth  to  foi^ive 
sins'  (Mt  9»).  And  then  after  the  Resurrection 
and  Ascension  it  was  committed  to  men,  as 
members  of  His  body  and  partakers  of  His  Spirit 

So  now  men  have  the  right.  Dr.  Swete  believes, 
to  forgive  other  men's  sins  or  refuse  to  forgive 
them.  But  they  possess  that  right  only  as 
members  of  the  body  of  Christ  and  as  ruled  by 
the  Spirit  of  Christ  Then,  and  only  then,  is  their 
action  ratified  in  heaven. 

But  on  whom  was  this  light  bestowed  ?  On  all 
the  members  of  the  body  of  Christ,  or  only  on  the 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


339 


apostles  and  their  successors  7  On  all  the  mem- 
bers, says  Professor  Swete  unreservedly.  '  Like 
the  wider  authority  to  bind  aiid  loose,  the 
forgiveness  of  sins  is  committed  to  the  Church 
collectively.'  Dr.  Swete  presumes  that  the  Church 
may  exercise  her  authority  either  in  her  corporate 
capacity  or  through  duly  qualified  officers,  but  the 
authority  belongs  to  the  Church,  and  the  Church 
cannot  lid  herself  of  the  responsibility.  If 
individual  members  of  the  Church  exercise  the 
authority,  they  do  so  in  the  name  of  the  whole 
Christian  society. 

Thus  Professor  Swete  interpreted  the  authority 
to  forgive  sins  and  to  retain  them  as  committed 
to  the  Church  as  a  whole,  and  not  to  any 
individual  or  individuals  within  the  Church. 
And  all  the  members  of  the  Conference  agreed 
with  him.  When  the  Bishop  of  London  entered 
the  room  at  the  close  of  the  Conference  to  receive 
the  report,  the  Chairman  said :  '  The  members  are 
agreed  that  our  Lord's  words  in  St.  John's  Gospel, 
"Whosesoever  sins  ye  remit,  they  are  remitted 
unto  them,  and  whosesoever  sins  ye  retain,  they 
are  retained,"  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  addressed 
only  to  the  Apostles  or  the  Clergy,  but  as  a  com- 
mission to  the  whole  Church,  and  as  conveying  a 
summary  of  the  message  with  which  it  is  charged.' 
And  the  Bishop  of  London,  when  he  wrote  a 
Preface  to  the  Rtport  of  the  Conference,  called  it 
a  most  valuable  point  of  agreement,  and  said :  '  If 
once  it  is  understood  that  the  clergy  are  acting  as 
oi^ns  of  a  priestly  body,  all  the  members  of 
which  are  themselves  in  their  measure  kings  and 
priests  to  God,  more  than  half  the  misunderstand- 
ing which  centres  round  the  word  Sacerdotalism 
would  die  away.' 

It  is  curious  to  hear  the  Bishop  of  London 
speak  of  the  members  of  the  Church  of  Christ  as 
kings  and  priests  in  their  measure.  Does  he  mean 
that  after  all  they  are  kings  and  priests  in  a  less 
measure  than  the  clergy  ?  or  does  be  mean  that 
they  are  kings  and  priests  in  the  measure  of  their 
progress   in    grace?    On  either  explanation  the 


words  are  a  mistake.  On  the  lirst  because  the 
very  point  of  the  agreement  was  that  the  members 
of  the  Church  have  received  everything  from 
Christ,  and  if  the  clergy  seem  to  receive  anything 
further,  it  is  only  because  the  Church  is  pleased, 
for  convenience  of  administration,  to  entrust  them 
with  the  discharge  of  certain  offices.  And  on  the 
second  because  '  He  hath  made  us  kings  and 
priests ' :  it  is  not  dependent  on  moral  progress, 
it  is  a  full  and  final  gift  of  grace. 

But  there  is  a  matter  of  yet  greater  conse- 
quence. The  members  of  the  Conference  agreed 
that  the  authority  to  bind  and  loose  was  coofened 
upon  the  whole  Church.  They  based  their  agree- 
ment on  Mt  i8"  and  Jn  ao'^*'.  They  seem 
also  to  have  agreed  to  ignore  an  earlier  passage 
than  either  of  these,  which  contains  a  greater 
difficulty. 

When  Professor  Swete  began  his  interpretation 
of  Mt  r8",  he  said :  '  We  arc  thrown  back  by  this 
passage  upon  a  still  earlier  declaration  closely 
resembling  it,  namely,  Mt  j6i*.'  It  is  the  passage 
which  contains  the  commission  given  to  St.  Peter. 
Professor  Swete  mentioned  it  and  then  passed  on, 
and  the  rest  did  not  refer  to  it.  But  in  this 
passage  the  commission  is  clearly  given  to  a  single 
individual  in  the  Church,  and  it  is  the  very 
commission  to  bind  and  to  loose,  together  with 
the  gift  of  the  Keys  and  the  promise  of  becoming 
the  Foundation  Stone  of  the  Church.  Dr.  Swete 
understands  that  the  metaphor  of  the  Keys  is  the 
same  as  the  metaphor  of  binding  and  loosing. 
The  mention  of  Keys  might  have  led  our  Lord  to 
speak  of  opening  and  shutting.  But  He  passes 
rather  to  the  familiar  figure  of  binding  and  loosing, 
His  meaning  being  the  same.  We  do  not  doubt 
that  Dr.  Swete  is  right.  But  then  this  very 
authority  to  bind  and  to  loose  was  conferred  on 
St.  Peter,  an  'individual  officer  of  the  Church.' 
and  it  is  conferred  before  the  Resurrection  and 
Ascension.  In  what  relation  is  St  Peter  thus 
placed  to  the  whole  Church  ?  Was  his  authority 
to  be  held  in  abeyance  till  after  the  Ascension  P 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


And  even  then  was  he  only  to  become  the  mouth- 
piece of  the  infant  Church  ? 

The  Church  of  Rome  does  not  so  understand 
it.  To  St.  Peter  alone  was  this  power  granted, 
says  the  Church  of  Rome, — to  St  Peter  and  to  his 
successors  in  the  Papal  Chair  in  all  time  coming. 

And  it  must  be  confessed  that  if  the  power  thus 
conferred  is  the  power  of  ecclesiastical  discipline 
or  of  absolution,  it  is  difficult  to  deny  the  claims 
of  the  Church  of  Rome.  It  is  not  only  the  right 
of  binding  and  loosing  that  is  conferred  on 
St.  Peter ;  he  is  also  said  to  be  the  Rock  on  which 
the  Church  is  built.  The  one  declaration  is  as 
difficult  to  get  over  as  the  other.  If  St.  Peter  is 
to  be  but  the  mouthpiece  of  the  Church  in  all 
matters  of  Church  discipline,  it  is  a  striking  thing 
of  our  Lord  to  say,  '  \Vhatsoever  thou  shah  bind 
on  eanh  shall  be  bound  in  heaven,  and  whatsoever 
thou  shall  loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven.' 
And  how  then  can  it  be  said  that  St.  Peter  in 
particular  is  the  Rock  on  which  the  Church  is  to 
be  built?  

A  remarkable  sermon  on  the  passage  has 
recently  been  published  in  Rome.  It  was  also 
preached  in  Rome.  It  was  preached  by  the  Rev. 
J.  Gordon  Gray,  D.D.,  who  has  added  to  his 
scholarship  a  residence  of  many  years  in  the 
Eternal  City,  and  is  familiar  with  all  the  phases  of 
the  'Roman  question.'  It  is  called  'The  Rock 
on  which  Christ  built  His  Church.' 

It  is  remarkable  that  such  a  sermon  can  be 
preached  in  Rome  at  all.  Dr.  Gordon  Gray  says 
so  himself.  '  Fortunately,"  he  says,  '  we  now 
enjoy  such  liberty  in  this  very  city,  where  for 
centuries  the  papal  claims  could  not  be  called  in 
question  without  running  the  risk  of  fines, 
imprisonment,  or  even  death  itself,  that  we  can 
bring  them  openly  to  the  test  of  Scripture.'  But 
the  sermon  itself  is  more  remarkable. 

For    there  in   the  city  of   Rome,   under  the 


shadow  of  St  Peter's,  Dr.  Gordon  Gray  will  have 
none  of  the  escapes  from  the  meaning  of  this 
passage  which  Protestantism  has  so  often  had 
recourse  to.  The  Rock  is  not  Christ  Himself, 
nor  the  words  which  Christ  has  spoken.  St  Peter 
and  no  other  is  the  Rock  on  which  the  Church  of 
Christ  is  to  be  built  No  doubt  the  other  apostles 
are  associated  with  him  as  the  Rock;  and  not 
apostles  only.  St.  Paul  makes  '  the  temple,' 
which  is  'the  habitation  of  God  through  the 
Spirit,'  rest  on  a  foundation  of  apostles  and 
prophets.  But  St.  Peter  was  the  first  confessor  of 
'  the  Christ.'  From  that  position  no  one  could 
ever  afterwards  displace  him.  And  as  first  con- 
fessor he  has  a  place  assigned  to  him  which  no 
other  apostle  or  prophet  shares  with  him. 

But  what  is  that  place }  What  is  the  power  of 
the  Keys?  What  is  the  right  to  bind  and  loose 
which  was  thus  uniquely  conferred  on  St.  Peter  ? 
Dr.  Gordon  Gray  does  not  believe  that  it  was 
ecclesiastical  discipline  or  any  power  of  absolu- 
tion. He  cannot  conceive  that  such  a  thought 
was  in  the  mind  of  our  Lord  when  he  handed 
the  Keys  to  His  confessor.  It  was  not  the  after 
history  of  the  Church  that  was  occupying  Him. 
It  was  not  the  way  in  which  the  Church  would 
deal  with  offenders  within  her  visible  border.  It 
was  not  the  way  in  which  she  would  take  in  or 
cast  out  It  was  not  the  way  in  which  she  would 
exercise  any  judicial  function  whatever.  It  was 
the  beginning  of  the  Church.  It  was  the  opening 
of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  to  believers.  St  Peter 
had  'confessed'  that  Jesus  was  the  Christ  That 
confession  will  always  be  the  entrance  into  the 
Kingdom.  St.  Peter  has  made  it  first,  and  be 
first  will  be  the  instrument  through  whom  others 
will  make  it,  when  the  time  has  come  and  the 
Spirit  has  been  given.  And  it  was  so.  It  was 
St.  Peter's  sermon  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  that 
opened  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  to  all  beliereis. 
He  was  the  first  stone  laid  in  the  foundation  of 
the  Christian  Church.  He  and  his  wtnds  were 
the  key  which  unlocked.  He  loosed  and  he 
bound,  for  some  believed  and  some  Uasphemed. 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


341 


And  what  he  did  on  earth  was  done  by  God  in 
heaven. 

That  is  Dr.  Gordon  Gray's  beliet  That  is  also 
the  belief  of  some  of  the  men  who  sat  in  Con- 
ference at  Fulham.  Said  Canon  Hay  Aitken : 
'Our  Lord  rises  from  the  dead,  and  meets  His 
disciples  with  the  burden  of  His  great  salvation 
on  His  heart.  He  communicates  to  them  the 
capacity  for  remitting  sins;  makes  them  de- 
positaries of  the  great  secret,  which  had  been 
hid  from  previous  ages,  that  sins  are  to  be 
forgiven,  through  the  atoning  blood  of  Calvary, 
by  the  union  of  sinners  with  the  Saviour  in  that 
act  of  faith  which  makes  the  work  of  redemption 
their  own.  They  thus  received  the  Holy  Spirit, 
revealing  to  them  that  in  the  application  of  this 
supreme  truth  lay  the  function  of  remitting  and 
retaining  sins.  Then  they  went  forth  and 
preached,  as  in  the  day  of  Pentecost,  "  Repent 
and  be  baptized  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  for 
the  remission  of  sins";  or  again,  "Repent  and 
be  converted  that  your  sins  may  be  blotted  out," 
thus  opening  the  door  of  salvation.  This  was 
just  what  our  Lord  needed  to  say,  and  what  the 
world  was  waiting  for.' 


Before  we  pass  from  the  Fulham  Conference 
another  matter  may  he  touched  upon.  It  is 
mentioned  by  Dr.  Llewelyn  Davies  in  a  letter  to 
the  Guardian, 

The  Conference  was  almost  at  an  end  when 
Lord  Halifax  said:  'The  necessary  thing  is  to 
confess  our  sins,  not  our  sinfulness.'  Dr.  Llewelyn 
Davies  is  arrested  by  the  significance  of  this 
utterance,  and  wonders  it  was  missed  by  the  other 
members.  He  believes  that  the  discipline  of  the 
Confessional  is  unevangelical  and  unspiritual,  and 
in  these  words  he  finds  a  brief  and  succinct 
revelation  of  the  fact 

For  it  is  our  sinfulness  and  not  our  sins  that  the 
New  Testament  urges  us  to  confess.    There  are 


passages  which  seem  to  be  on  the  other  side, 
but  Browning  is  in  touch  with  all  that  makes 
the  teaching  of  the  New  TesUment  distinctive 
when  he  says — 

Not  on  the  vulgar  mass 
Called  nwrk  must  sentence  pass, 
Thingi  done,  which  took  the  eye  and  had  the  price  ! 
Robertson  of  Brighton  also  is  in  sympathy  with 
the  New  Testament,  and  surely  with  unpervcrted 
human  need :  '  This  is  the  sting  of  sinfulness,  the 
wretched  consciousness  of  an  unclean  heart.     It 
is  just  this  feeling,  God  is  not  my  friend ;  I  am 
going  on  to  the  grave,  and  no  man  can  say  aught 
against  me,  but  my  heart  is  not  right.     It  is  not 
so  much  what   I   have  done,  it   is  what   I  am. 
Who    shall    save   me    from  myself?'    {Sermons, 
iii-  >T9).  

But  Lord  Halifax  says,  and  Dr.  Llewelyn 
Davies  believes  that  he  says  quite  truly,  that  at 
the  Confessional  it  is  just  our  sins  and  not  our- 
selves, it  is  just  things  done  which  take  the  eye 
and  have  their  price,  that  are  spoken  of.  In 
saying  that  we  should  confess  our  sins  and  not 
our  sinfulness.  Dr.  Davies  believes  that  Lord 
Halifax  ranges  himself  with  the  Pharisee  of  the 
parable,  and  separates  himself  from  the  publican, 
who  would  not  so  much  as  lift  up  his  eyes  to 
heaven,  but  smote  upon  his  breast  and  said, 
'  God,  be  merciful  to  me  the  sinner."  The  Pharisee 
thought  he  went  home  justified,  but  'this  man,' 
said  the  Lord,  '  went  home  to  his  house  justified 
rather  than  the  other.' 


'Except  a  man  be  bom  of  water  and  the 
spirit'  (Jn  3').  We  have  not  overcome  the 
diificulty  of  these  words  yet,  nor  lost  our  interest 
in  them.  Last  month  there  was  mention  made 
of  Professor  Wendt's  way  with  them,  and  it  has 
called  forth  further  references  and  suggestions. 


The  difficulty  is  with  the  water, 
the  material  element  of  water  be  nc 
process  that  is  so  absorbingly  spiritual  ? 


How  I 


342 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Wendt's  short  way  is  to  omit  the  word  'water.' 
It  did  not  belong  to  the  saying,  he  thinks,  as  it 
left  the  mouth  of  Jesus,  or  even  as  it  was  com- 
mitted to  writing  by  St.  John.  It  was  added  by 
the  redactor  of  the  Fourth  Gospel.  But  there 
are  less  drastic  methods  than  that. 

A  well-known  scholar  has  given  us  a  reference 
to  Dr.  Taylor's  IHrqe  Abotk ;  or.  Sayings  of  ihe 
Jewish  Fathers  (Camb.  Press,  1897,  p.  159). 
Dr.  Taylor  recalls  the  Old  Birth,  the  Creation 
of  material  things,  and  what  is  said  of  it  in 
Gn  I*.  It  is  there  said  that  'the  spirit  of  God 
moved  upon  the  face  of  the  waters.'  Here  also 
are  the  two  elements,  spirit  and  water.  It  is 
most  probable  that  our  Lord— or  St.  John,  if 
you  will,  reporting  Him — had  the  first  Creation 
in  mind  when  describing  the  second.  The 
probability  is  expressed  even  by  Clement  of 
Alexandria.  To  be  born  of  water  and  spirit, 
therefore,  says  Dr.  Taylor,  is  to  be  born  'not  of 
the  one  only,  but  also  of  the  other.'  £x  nihi/o 
nihil  fit,  he  seems  to  mean.  There  must  be  the 
element  of  'water'  to  work  upon.  But  the 
element  of  water  which  may  be  considered  literal 
in  the  first  Creation  is  figurative  in  the  second. 
Expressing  that  nature  in  man  which  the  Spirit 
works  upon,  it  is  taken  up  by  the  Spirit,  is 
transformed,  and  becomes  spiritual.  As  the 
spirit  of  God  brooding  upon  the  face  of  the 
watery  waste  brought  forth  order,  so  the  same 
spirit  brooding  upon  the  watery  waste  of  man's 
sinful  nature  brings  forth  spirit  and  life. 

If  that  is  Dr.  Taylor's  meaning, — and  he  must 
tetl  us  if  we  have  misunderstood  him  or  carried 
htm  too  far, — there  is  no  reference  in  this  signifi- 
caot  saying  to  Baptism.  And  when  we  look  at 
the  examples  of  the  New  Birth,  as  they  are  recorded 
of  the  early  years  of  Christianity  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  do  we  not  see  that  it  is  rather  with  the 
Laying  on  of  Hands  than  with  Baptism  that  the 
gift  of  the  Spirit,  the  essential  matter  in  regenera- 
tion, is  received  ?  The  twelve  Ephesian  disciples 
had  been  baptized,  but  they  bad  not  received  the 


gift  of  the  Spirit.  No  doubt  they  had  been 
baptized  'into  John's  baptism.'  But  even  aftet 
they  were  baptized  'into  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,'  it  was  not  until  Paul  had  laid  his  hands  on 
them  that  the  Holy  Ghost  came  on  them  (Ac  19*). 
So  also  in  that  earlier  incident,  where  Peter  and 
John  are  the  instruments  (Ac  8").  Samaria  had 
received  the  word  of  God.  The  Samaritans  had 
also  been  baptized  into  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus.  But,  as  yet,  the  Holy  Ghost  was  fallen 
upon  none  of  them.  '  Then  laid  they  their  hands 
on  them,  and  they  received  the  Holy  Ghost.' 

And  where  water  is  mentioned  in  reference  to 
the  gift  of  the  Spirit,  is  it  not  rather  in  contrast 
than  concomitance 7  'I  indeed  baptize  you  with 
water,'  said  John, '  but  He  shall  baptize  you  with 
the  Holy  Ghost,  and  with  fire.'  '  For  John  indeed 
baptized  with  water,'  said  Jesus  Himself, '  but  yc 
shall  be  baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost  not  many 
days  hence.'  'Then  remembered  1  the  word  of 
the  Lord,'  said  Peter,  when  the  case  of  Cornelius 
and  the  Gentiles  was  before  him,  'how  that  He 
said,  John  indeed  baptized  with  water;  but  ye 
shall  be  baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost.' 

The  answer  is  made  that  in  the  examples  re- 
ferred to,  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  not  the 
occasion  of  the  New  Birth.  It  may  not  be  even 
coincident  with  it.  And  that  answer  is  very 
popular  just  at.  present.  But  we  find  it  rather 
the  watchword  of  a  party  than  a  commonplace 
of  exegesis.  The  most  reliable  expositors,  indeed, 
either  do  not  commit  themselves  to  it,  or  else 
deliberately  reject  it. 

But  if  the  reference  to  Baptism  is  to  be  retained, 
there  is  no  explanation  of  the  words  in  Jn  3'  so 
simple  01  so  sufhcient  as  that  which  is  given  by 
Mr.  James  Neil  in  his  little  book  called  Figurative 
Language  in  the  Bible  (Nisbet,  is.).  Mr.  Neil's 
explanation  was  mentioned  in  an  early  volume  of 
The  Expository  Times  (iii.  97),  and  need  not  be 
repeated  at  length.  lis  point  is  this.  In  Eastern 
tongues  hendiadys  is  a  common  fdRti  of  speech. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


343 


In  hendiadys  the  qualifying  adjective  ii  turned 
into  a  substantive.  Thus  when  St.  Luke  tells  us 
(Ac  14*)  that  the  priest  of  Jupiter  brought  'oxen 
and  garlands,'  with  which  to  offer  sacrifice  to  Paul 
and  Barnabas,  we  understand  that  he  means 
wreathed  or  garlanded  oxen.  So  when  St.  Paul 
rejoices  (in  a  Ti  i")  that  'our  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light 
through  the  Gospel,'  we  may  consider  whether  he 
means  more  or  other  than  immortal  or  incorrup- 
tible life.  And  in  like  manner  where  our  Lord 
says  that  except  a  man  be  bom  of  water  and  spirit 
(jf  vSaroc  KOI  nvcti^Tot)  he  cannot  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  God,  Mr.  Neil  perceives  the  employ- 
ment again  of  the  figure  of  hendladys,  and  says 
that  in  our  Western  tongues  it  should  be  rendered, 
'  Except  a  man  be  bom  of  spiritual  water' — the 
emphasis  being  strong  on  the  adjective. 


In  the  explanation  of  Jn  3',  which  has  just 
been  given,  it  will  be  observed  that  the  word 
'spirit'  is  spelt  with  a  small  i.  That  raises  one  of 
the  difficulties  of  tbe  passage.  And  not  of  this 
passage  only.  Even  where  the  word  '  holy ' 
accompanies  'spirit*  it  is  not  always  certain  that 
'  spirit '  should  be  spelt  with  a  capital. 

A  series  of  small  commentaries  on  the  books  of 
the  New  Testament  is  being  issued  by  Messrs. 
Jack  of  Edinburgh,  under  tbe  general  editorship 
of  Professor  Adeney.  In  that  series  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles  is  edited  by  Mr.  Bartlet  of  Mans- 
field College,  Oxford.  At  the  end  of  Mr. 
Bartlet's  commentary  there  is  an  'additional 
note'  on  the  meaning  of  the  phrase  'holy  spirit' 
in  the  New  Testament. 

Mr.  Bartlet  believes  in  tbe  grammar  of  the 
Greek  New  Testament.  The  question  here  turns 
on  the  presence  or  absence  of  the  definite  article 
He  holds  that  the  definite  article  is  present  or 
absent  not  at  haphazard,  but  from  deliberate 
choice.  He  believes  that  when  the  article  is 
present  we  should  translate     'The  Holy  Spirit,' 


for  then  the  reference  is  to  a  Person  in  action ; 
and  when  the  article  is  absent  we  should  translate 
'holy  spirit,'  the  reference  being  then  to  an  in- 
fluence or  force. 

In  a  very  few  cases  there  is  difficulty,  perhaps 
indecision.  This  is  where  the  article  may  be  due 
to  some  grammatical  necessity,  not  to  the  Personal 
agency.  Mr.  Bartlet  refers  to  Ac  8^*, '  Now  when 
Simon  saw  that  through  the  laying  on  of  the  ■ 
apostles'  hands  tbe  Holy  Ghost  (ri  wmfux  ri 
iyutf)  was  given.'  Here  the  anicle  may  be  due 
to  tbe  previous  mention  of  'holy  spirit'  in  verses 
15  and  16  (both  irvivna  ayiov  without  the  article). 
The  article  would  then  be  merely  used  for  identi- 
fication, and  the  proper  translation  would  be 
'holy  spirit.'  So  would  it  be  with  Ac  4"  19*^, 
and  possibly  Ac  11''.  In  these  places  it  ii  not 
the  Person  working  but  the  influence  or  power 
wrought  that  is  in  mind.  Mr.  Bartlet  would 
therefore  explain  the  presence  of  the  article  by 
some  such  grammatical  rule  as  all  students  of  the 
language  are  familiar  with.  Elsewhere  he  believes 
that  there  is  no  doubt  of  the  meaning.  Where  the 
article  is  present  emphasis  lies  on  the  divine 
energy  involved,  or  on  God  as  personally  exercising 
power,  indwelling  and  working  in  man  ;  where  the 
article  is  absent  the  emphasis  is  on  the  result  of 
God's  action,  the  'divine  enthusiasm,'  as  Mr. 
Bartlet  would  then  translate  the  phrase,  which 
belongs,  as  a  fact  of  experience,  to  the  elect  souls 
in  whom  the  Spirit  of  God  thus  dwells  and  works. 


Mr.  Murray  has  published  a  new  Zux  Mundi. 
Its  title  is  ConUntio  Vtritafis.  It  is  written  by  six 
Oxford  tutors.  None  of  them  wrote  in  Lux 
Mundi  hseit.  Perhaps  the  new  book  is  less  tbe 
manifesto  of  a  party  in  tbe  Church  than  the  old. 
Perhaps  the  writers  are  more  scholars  and  less 
ecclesiastics.  But  Contentio  Veriiatis  will  do  for 
the  beginning  of  the  Twentieth  Century  what  Lux 
Mundi  did  for  the  end  of  the  Nineteenth.  It  will 
mark  the  pace  at  which  we  are  '—"""'ii  nA  '' 
progress  we  have  made.  O 


344 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


There  are  six  writers  and  seven  essays.  Mr. 
Inge  writes  both  on  the  Person  of  Christ  and  on 
the  Sacraments.  Mr.  Wild  writes  on  the  Teaching 
of  Christ,  Mr.  Burney  on  the  Old  Testament,  and 
Mr.  Allen  on  the  New.  The  Church  is  Mr. 
Carlyle's  subject.  And  Dr.  Rashdall  opens  the 
book  with  a  philosophical  essay  on  'The  Ultimate 
Basis  of  Theism.' 

Throughout  the  book,  from  Dr.  Rashdall  who 
opens  to  Mr.  Inge  who  closes,  the  matter  of  most 
consideration  is  the  miraculous.  In  that  there 
lies  the  great  distinction  between  the  present 
writers  and  the  authors  of  Lux  Mundi.  The 
authors  of  Lux  Mundi  were  not  disturbed  by 
miracles.  To  the  average  High  Churchman 
miracles  are  an  everyday  occurrence.  He  meets 
the  Amoldian  dogmatism,  'But  miracles  do  not 
occur,'  with  a  flat  denial.  And  thus  he  is  delivered 
from  the  necessity  of  producing  such  overwhelming 
evidence  as  others  demand  for  their  occurrence  in 
the  past.  But  the  new  writers  are  scholars  rather 
than  Churchmen.  They  rest  their  case  on  evi- 
dence. As  scholars,  too,  they  feel  the  pressure 
from  the  side  of  physical  science  more.  They 
see,  they  all  see,  that  at  the  present  moment 
the  thing  that  most  needs  facing,  and  is  most 
difficult  to  face,  is  the  presence  in  the  Word  of 
God  of  the  supernatural. 

Now  it  is  satisfactory  to  observe  that  none  of 
these  writers  denies  the  possibility  of  miracles. 
It  is  satisfactory  to  observe  that  none  of  them 
denies  their  credibility.  They  feel  the  scientific 
pressure  keenly ;  they  know  the  relief  that  has 
come  to  some  from  criticisms-criticism  which 
finds  various  elements  in  the  Gospels,  for  example, 
and  the  miracles  always  among  the  latest  and 
least  reliable,  yet  they  never  begin  their  business  by 
saying  that  the  miracles  must  be  got  rid  of.  They 
are  tried  by  them,  but  they  deal  with  them  as 
subject  to  the  rules  of  historical  evidence. 

Dr.  Rashdall  bandies  them  philosophically. 
His  position  seems  tentative,  perhaps  untenable. 


but  it  is  significant.  He  says  that  there  are  some 
regions  in  which  our  knowledge  of  nature  is  so 
complete  as  practically  to  exclude  the  possibility 
of  miracles;  there  are  other  regions  where  it  is 
not  complete,  and  the  way  is  open  to  the  intro- 
duction of  an  unsuspected  law,  to  the  occurrence 
of  a  miracle.  We  iuiow  the  laws  of  the  earth's 
motion,  and  we  depend  upon  their  regularity  as 
an  absolute  necessity  of  thought.  Therefore,  he 
says,  the  '  stopping  of  the  sun '  (he  is  speakii^  of 
the  miracle  in  Joshua)  is  simply  unthinkable  by  us 
now.  And  this  principle,  he  fears,  cannot  stop 
with  the  Old  Testament  '  The  rising  of  the 
saints  out  of  the  tomb  with  their  bodies,  and  some 
of  what  are  called  the  "nature-miracles,"  may 
surely,  with  tolerable  confidence,  be  placed  in 
this  class.' 

On  the  other  hand,  we  know  so  little  of  the 
operations  of  the  mind  that  it  is  questionable  how 
far  we  can  apply  this  idea  of  '  law '  in  its  ordinary 
sense  at  all.  'To  suppose  that  the  most  excep- 
tionally endowed  human  soul  could  have  stopped 
the  motion  of  the  sun  would  be  to  reject  the 
assumptions  upon  which  all  historical  research  and 
all  scientific  reasoning  proceed.  But  to  suppose 
that  some  diseases  can  be  healed  by  mental 
means,  that  some  persons  possess  more  power 
than  others  of  such  healing — this,'  says  Dr. 
Rashdall,  'is  not  opposed  to,  but  in  conformity 
with,  what  we  know  of  the  action  of  mind  upon  the 
physical  organism ;  nor  can  our  present  knowledge 
be  held  to  exclude  the  belief  that  one  person  may 
have  had  a  power  unparalleled  in  history  of 
effecting  such  cures.' 

This  is  as  far  as  we  should  have  expected  Dr. 
Rashdall  to  go.  But  he  goes  a  little  further.  He 
touches  the  Person  of  Christ  before  the  essay 
closes.  And  then  he  says  that  historical  criticism 
leaves  '  the  beliefs  about  Christ's  Person  which  are 
most  cherished  among  ordinary  Christians' modi- 
fied but  still  recognizable  in  two  particulars. 
First,  it  admits  the  general  fact  that  much  of  His 
time  was  spent  in  the  healing  of  physical  diseases 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


345 


by  means  of  extraordinary  spiritual  capacities. 
And,  next,  it  acknowledges  that  after  His  death 
there  occurred  to  His  disciples  visions  of  Himself 
which  were  not  mere  subjective  delusions,  and 
which  confiim — for  them  and  for  us — the  fact  of 
His  continued  life  and  love  for  His  followers. 

Mr.  Inge's  paper  is  on  the  Person  of  Christ,  and 
he  has  much  to  say  about  the  miracles  in  the 
Gospels,  but  we  pass  him  over  for  a  momeilt.  Mr. 
Wild  writes' on  the  Teaching  of  Christ. 

Now  in  an  essay  on  the  Teaching  of  Christ 
Mr.  Wild  need  not  have  touched  the  question  of 
miracles.  It  would  have  been  better,  perhaps,  if 
he  had  not  touched  it.  But  he  cannot  help 
himself.  He  is  under  the  spell  of  the  spirit  of  the 
age.  He  sees,  as  all  the  responsible  exponents  of 
the  Teaching  of  Christ  now  see,  that  the  teaching 
and  the  miracles  are  bound  together.  And  yet 
he  comes  as  near  to  separating  them  and  then  re- 
jecting the  miracles  as  it  is  possible  for  a  scholar 
now  to  come. 

Mr.  Wild  divides  the  miracles  into  classes.  He 
places  his  different  classes  '  in  a  certain  perspec- 
tive.' In  the  dim  background  are  some  isolated 
actions,  like  the  transference  of  the  devils  to  the 
Gadarene  swine  and  the  cursing  of  the  barren  fig 
tree,  which  he  cannot  explain.  Nearer  ihe  fore- 
ground are  acts  which  seem  more  consistent  with 


the  character  and  personality  of  Christ,  such  as 
the  raising  of  Lazarus  from  the  dead,  which  demand 
more  evidence  for  certainty  than  at  present  we 
possess.  Finally,  and  in  the  forefront,  the  cases 
of  spiritual  healing.  The  last  are  in  no  sense 
inconceivable  to  modem  thought  or  modern 
science.  Possibly  they  are  the  foundation  of  all 
the  other  stories  iu  a  wondering  age. 

Mr.  Inge,  we  have  mentioned,  has  much  to  say 
about  the  miraculous.  How  could  he  avoid  it  in 
writing  on  the  Person  of  Christ  ?  And  he  sees,  as 
the  others  we  have  mentioned  scarcely  see,  or 
partly  ignore,  that  the  miracles  cannot  be  separ- 
ated from  the  Person  of  Christ.  To  separate 
them  from  His  Teaching  may  be  possible;  from 
His  Person,  says  Mr.  Inge,  it  is  not  possible  to 
separate  them. 

Mr.  Inge  admits  that  the  miracles  in  the  Gospels 
cannot  be  established  upon  historical  evidence 
alone.  There  is  not  historical  evidence  for  any 
past  event  that  will  make  it  impossible  to  deny 
that  event.  But  the  miracles  of  the  Gospels  do 
not  rest  upon  historical  evidence  alone.  Ulti- 
mately they  rest  upon  the  Person  of  Christ.  And 
even  as  a  historical  critic  Mr.  Inge  holds  that 
belief  in  the  Person  of  Christ,  such  belief  as 
includes  the  Incarnarion, — and  the  Incarnation 
includes  all  we  consider  miraculous, — is  essential 
to  the  Christianity  of  history  and  of  to-day. 


By  Professor  the  Rev.  Benjamin  W.  Bacon,  D.D.,  Yale  Umiversitv. 


The  author  of  Hebrews  has  two  Psalms  which 
form  the  foundation  for  his  (or  her  ?)  argument  in 
behalf  of  the  supreme  authority  of  Christ,  and 
which  are  intermingled  in  the  two  preliminary 
chapters.  That  first  developed  is  Ps  8,  the  use  of 
which  our  author  borrows  from  Paul,  along  with 
the  doctrine  of  Christ  as  the  'appointed  Heir 
of   ill    things    through    whom    God    made    the 


worlds'!  {iS;  cf.  Gal  4'^  Ro  4"  8"",  i  Co  S* 
1  s^*-^*^,  Col  i"'», Eph  i» 39,  Ph  2'0 i  cf.  Rev  2 1"-'). 
'  On  the  Pauline  docirine  of  ibe  nXtiparo^ia  miing  oa  Gn 
l""",  P»  8',  »nil  Mk  la'"",  identical  with  the  contemponry 
doctrine  of  the  Pharisee*  (cf.  Assumpt.  Mot,  t"-'*,  Apee. 
Bar.  u""-  15'  ai".  3  El  e*"  7"  8'-«  9"),  »nd  tnni- 
milted  to  (he  e«iliest  F»thers  in  the  fom,  '  God  ctetted 
the  world  on  behalf  of  the  Church '  (Herrn*!,  VU.  iL  4.  t; 
Maud.  lii,  4;  Justin,  Afvl.  i.  10;  ii.  4.  5,  Dial.  xli. ;  Ittraeat, 


346 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


It  serves  hiro  as  the  basis  of  his  cosmology. 
That  which  he  develops  next,  in  chap.  5  to  7, 
is  Ps  no,  the  use  or  which  he  derives  by  oial 
or  written  tradition  from  Jesus  (cf.  Mt  aa*'-*'), 
in  this  respect  also  following  the  example  of 
Paul,  who,  in  i  Co  15"- *^  as  well  as  in  Eph 
i**^",  and  throughout  the  Epistle  (cf.  4^"),  con- 
joins the  doctrine  of  creation  as  the  inheritance 
destined  for  the  'adoption,'  with  that  of  the 
ascension  to  the  right  hand  of  God,  Paul  also 
yoking  tt^ther  Ps  no'  and  Ps  8'.  This  serves 
our  author  as  the  basis  of  his  sotcriology  (2"  4" 
510  ftio  jM  gi  gtty  It  is  characteristic  of  his 
pre  -  eminently  rhetorical  method  that,  in  his 
exordium  (He  i'-^),  he  should  link  the  two 
together,  '  a  Son  of  God  whom  He  appointed 
Heir  of  all  things,  through  whom  also  He  made 
the  worlds ;  who  .  .  .  when  He  bad  made  purifi- 
cation of  sins,  sat  down  on  the  right  hand  of  the 
Majesty  on  high.' 

These  two  conceptions,  Pauline  and  pre-Pauline, 
are  the  most  vital  and  essential  of  the  Epistle  to 
the  Hebrews,  and  are  employed  by  its  author,  as 
Paul  had  employed  them,  against  a  superstitious 
Judaism  which  treated  the  law  as  'an  ordinance 
of  angels,'  turning  its  ceremonial  into  magic,  in  a 
'gratuitous  self-humiliation  end  worship  of  the 
angels '  (Col  z*-  '*•").  Its  real  significance  is  quite 
overlooked  when  we  ignore  this  superstitious 
tendency  of  contemporary  Judaism,  not  to  say  of 
Christianity  as  well.'  But  we  are  concerned  at 
present  with  only  a  single  feature  in  our  author's 
exposition  of  his  second  fundamental  passage,  Ps 
no,  the  use  of  which  rests,  as  we  have  seen, 

fftr.  V.  39.  I,  cic],  see  my  coDtribution  to  the  BiceoteonUI 
volume  of  tbe  Yale  Semitic  and  Biblical  Faculty,  Hiitarical 
and  Critital  Coniribuliens,  pp.  343-147. 

'  Von  Soden(Hollrmann'»ffanrf^«ini™/of  arf/of.  p.  ao), 
it  both  coirect  and  incorrect , in  saying,  'All  eine  Polemik 
gCEen  Engelveiehrung  i»l  der  .  ,  .  Abschnilt,  !*■"  nichl 
lU  deuten.'  It  is  true  that  the  wrong  influence  to  which  the 
readers  are  exposed  x%  neo-Judaism,  and  the  superiority 
everywhere  argued  for  the  Christial]  faith  a  superiority  to 
tbe  Old  Covenant,  bat  the  characteristic  feature  of  the 
author's  Bnti-Judaism  is  misted  unless  we  recogniic  his 
tssumptioD  that  this  Old  Covenant  is  'an  ordinance  of 
■ngels.'  This  is  a  point  of  departure,  as  in  Stephen's 
speech,  Ac  7",  the  fragment  of  Ktrygma  Petri  in  CI.  Al. 
Strain,  vi.  J.  43,  and  kindred  writings.  On  Jewish  magic 
and  conjuration  of  angeli  and  demons  of  this  period, 
tee  Deisimann,  Sit/t  SludUt,  pp.  321-336,  especially  the 
quotation  from  the  supposed  letter  of  Hadrian  to  Servtaont 
describing  the  Jews  and  Christians  of  Egypt  as  alt 
'astrologers,  aruspices,  and  quacksalvers.' 


primarily  upon  Synoptic  tradition  rather  than  on 
Paul.  As  the  point  is  of  some  importance,  it  is 
well  to  note  that  the  doctrine  of  the  Ascension 
must  be  connected  directly  with  the  implied  appli- 
cation by  Jesus  to  Himself  of  the  words,  '  The 
Lord  said  unto  my  lord.  Sit  thou  on  My  right 
hand,'  etc. ;  for  tbe  appeal  to  the  pentecostal  gifts 
as  evidence  of  fulfilment  of  this  Messianic  promise 
in  the  Petrine  speech,  Ac  a"*-**,  is  not  derived 
from  the  similar  argument  in  Eph  4^''*,  but  both 
descend  by  independent  lines  from  the  saying  of 
Jesus  itself  (cf.  Ac  2»»^  and  Eph  4^"  i».  Col 
3»  with  Mt  22«-*s). 

Enhanced  as  it  was  in  significance  to  the  utmost 
degree  by  the  enigmatic  saying  of  Jesus,  we  cannot 
be  surprised  at  the  paramount  influence  of  Ps  no 
in  the  formative  period  of  Christological  doctrine. 
God  had  'given  Him  the  same  which  is  above 
every  name'  (i.e.  Kiipiot,  Ph  a*;  cf.  Mt  22*", 
'  David  in  the  Spirit  catleth  Him  "  Lord  " ') ;  to 
confess  Christ  was  to  declare  that '  Jesus  is  Lord ' 
(r  Co  r2*).  On  this  name  of  'Lord,'  therefore, 
whosoever  called  should  be  saved  according  to 
promise  (Ac  2«  4";  cf.  Ro  10").  'The  Name' 
became  a  technical  term  for  Christianity  (Ac  5*'). 
Again,  confession  of  Jesus  as  standing  or  sitting 
'  at  the  right  hand  of  God '  ('  Sit  Thou  at  My  right 
hand ')  was  the  essence  of  that  '  blasphemy '  (Ac 
26")  which  provoked  the  death  of  Stephen  (Ac 
7"^)  and  the  persecution  of  Saul.  No  wonder 
the  Church  incorporated  in  its  earliest  creed  the 
declaration  that  its  Lord  had  not  only  risen  from 
the  dead,  but  that  '  He  ascended  into  heaven,  and 
sitteth  on  the  right  hand  of  God  the  Father.' 

Our  author,  accordingly,  in  devoting  so  large  a 
part  of  his  Epistle  to  an  exposition  of  Ps  no,  is 
giving  it  no  disproportionate  prominence  ;  especi- 
ally when  we  consider  the  superstitious  tendencies 
he  was  opposing.  With  him,  as  with  Paul,  the 
doctrine  of  the  Ascension  to  the  right  hand  of 
God  is  the  one  sure  weapon  to  be  employed 
against  that  superstitious  and  bastard  Judaism 
which  used  the  ordinances  of  the  taw  as  'a  wor- 
ship of  the  angels,'  a  '  philosophy  and  vain  deceit 
after  the  tmu.x'ao.  toS  Kotrfxov,'  and,  accordingly,  his 
necessary  resort  is  to  the  classic  Psalm  of  the 
Ascension.  Only,  as  we  all  know,  his  conception 
of  Christ's  entering  into  heaven  is  not  so  much  in 
the  character  of  King,  as  in  that  of  High  Priest. 
In  other  words,  in  using  the  Psalm,  he  makes 
special    development    of   the    4th    verse,    '  The 


THE  EXPOSITORY   TIMES. 


347 


Lord  bath  sworn  and  will  not  repent.  Thou  art  a 
priest  forever  after  the  order  of  Metchizedek ' ;  for 
this  was  port  of  that  accepted  description  of  the 
Messiah  as  David  in  the  Spirit  had  conceived  Him, 
which  had  the  sanction  of  Jesus'  own  undisputed 
example.  Our  more  particular  inquiry,  however, 
is  this:  How  did  he  come  to  conceive  of  Mel- 
chizedelc,  or  at  least  the  priesthood  of  Melchizedek, 
as  'without  father,  without  mother,  without  a 
genealogy'? 

Let  us  turn  for  a  moment  to  Jesus'  use  of  the 
Psalm,  and  see  both  what  is  implied  in  the  original 
intent  of  the  Psalmist,  and  what  is  the  purpose  of 
Jesus,  and,  finally,  what  was  understood  by  believers 
after  the  Resurrection. 

Even  before  the  discovery  of  the  acrostic  so 
clearly  set  forth  by  Bickell,  Duhm,  and  others, 
most  recently  by  Dr.  A.  Duff  in  his  Hebrew 
Grammar  (iqoi),  and  which  decisively  establishes 
the  date  of  Ps  no  as  within  the  reign  of  Simon 
the  Macca bee,' it  was  quite  obvious  that  it  belonged 
to  the  Maccabean  period.  Then  alone  since  the 
times  of  Abraham  had  Jerusalem  a  dynasty  of 
priest-kings  'after  the  order  of  Melchizedek,' 
though  Zee  6'B  is  evidence  that  so^e  such  hope 
had  been  cherished  even  before  Simon  assumed 
in  his  own  person  the  prerogatives  of  the  Davidic 
monarchy  and  Zadokite  high-priesthood.  If  by 
the  Pharisees,  as  we  know,  this  came  to  be  re- 
garded as  an  unpardonable  usurpation,  it  is  equally 
certain  that  it  was  not  and  could  not  have  been 
accomplished  without  the  hearty  approval  of  a 
people  who,  as  a  whole,  made  themselves  '  a  free- 
will offering  in  the  day  of  his  power.'  It  is  from 
one  of  these  that  comes  the  coronation  ode  where- 
in the  patriotic,  and  hence  unavoidably  Messianic, 
hopes  of  that  age  of  unparalleled  divine  deliver- 
ance are  expressed,'      If  wc    follow  the    usual 

'  The  four  iniliil  letten  of  the  four  strophe*  spell  the 
name  SimoD  (iPBtf],     It  is  perbapi  worth  notinE  that  Pss 


'  FinI  Mkcobee*  expresm  Ihe  complete  independence  of 
Judea  first  achieved  under  Simon  bjrHying,  'The  jroke  of 
the  Gentiles  wai  ulcen  away  from  Israel.'  Expression  was 
given  to  the  lace  by  the  adoption  of  a  new  era  dating 
'  according  to  the  year  of  Simon  as  high  priest  and  prince  of 
the  Jews'  (SchUrer,  /fii/.  ef  Jmitk  PtepU,  %  7,  p.  257). 
Simon  was  proclaimed  heieditaiy  high  priest  by  a  popular 
decree,  141-140  w.c.  (1  Mac  14""").  The  terms  of  the 
decree,  which  declared  him  ifx<-*f^,  (rr^nrY^'i  and 
/Srd/>x<j(,  and  that  'forever,  until  there  should  arise  a  faithful 
prophet '  were  engraved  on  biaien  tablets,  and  these  set  up 
in  Uie  court  of  ibe  temple.     On  the  union  of  Messianic  and 


rendering^  of .  v.^  we  must  suppose  with  the 
author  of  Hebrews  that  the  Psalmist  reverts  to  a 
chapter  whose  insertion  in  Genesis  belongs  to  the 
very  latest  period,  though  its  contents  are  perhaps 
in  part  derived  from  very  ancient  Babylonian 
sources.  We  must  suppose  that  he  compares  the 
royalty  of  his  liege  in  Jerusalem  to  that  of  the  priest- 
king  of  God  Most  High  who  came  from  Jerusalem 
to  bless  Abram,  returning  from  the  rescue  of  Lot 
(Gd  14).  In  any  event  he  bids  his  hero  see  how 
Yahweh  will  make  him  his  vicegerent  upon  earth ; 
for  now,  on  this  day  of  his  enthronement  in  Jeru- 
salem, Vahweh  invites  him  to  ascend  to  the 
heavenly  throne,  sit  beside  the  siipreme  King,  and 
witness  how  the  nations  that  oppressed  Jerusalem 
shall  be  humbled  beneath  his  feet. 

So  splendid  a  vision  of  the  heir  of  the  Davidic 
rule  whom  God  should  Himself  enthrone,  albeit 
its  author's  attention  was  primarily  directed  only 
to  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  Maccabean  heroes, 
was  worthy  to  be  taken  by  Jesus  to  counteract  the 
meaner,  more  servile  views  of  the  Pharisees. 
Doubtless  the  true  origin  of  the  Psalm  was  then 
completely  lost;  but  Jesus  really  enters  into  the 
broader  spirit  of  its  author  when  He  protests 
against  the  idea  that  the  king  through  whom  God 
will  grant  His  deliverance  to  Zion  must  be  by 
demonstrable  descent  and  pedigree  a  literal  Son  of 
David.  '  If  he  be  David's  lord,  how  can  he  be  his 
son?'  Jesus  would  no  more  have  sympathized 
with  the  Pharisaic  llteralists  who  opposed  the 
assumption  of  the  high-priestly  and  the  royal 
prerogatives  by  the  Maccabean  dynasty,  on  the 
ground  that  their  pedigree  could  be  traced  neither 
to  David  nor  to  Zadok,  than  He  sympathized  with 
the  Pharisees  of  His  own  day.*  His  argument 
does  not  depend  upon,  although  it  of  course 
assumes,  the  Davidic  authorship  of  the  Psalm ;  for 
its  essence  is  this,  that  the  Messianic  function  is 

Maccabean  hopes  in  this  period,  see  Wellhausen's  note  on 
Ps  110*  in  S.B.O.T.,  ed.  of  Haupl,  Engl.  text. 

'  So  Cheyne  and  Wellbauseil. 

*  The  aclnal  breaking  away  of  the  Pharisees  as  a  distinct 
political  party  on  the  ground  of  opposition  to  the  assumption 
of  the  high-priestly  and  royal  prerogatives  l^  Ihe  Maccabean 
dynasty  occnrred  some  ten  years  later  than  the  popular 
decree,  onder  John  Hyrcanus  (entitled  on  the  coinage  of  his 
reign,  '  John  the  High  Priest,  Prince  of  the  Commonwealth 
of  the  Jews').  Their  opposition,  however,  must  have  been 
latent  from  the  time  of  the  decree  itself.  From  the  time  of 
John  Hyrcanus  they  appear  as  Ihe  parW  cj^stijct  1 
liouists  or  '  tealots  for  the  law.'      "  Q 


348 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


too  great  a  thing  to  be  made  a  matter  of  pedigree 
and  genealogy. 

And  it  is  upon  this  essential  feature  of  the 
argument  that  the  author  of  Hebrews  has  wisely 
fixed  in  the  development  of  his  doctrine  of  the 
priestly  function  of  the  Messiah.  Was  there  a 
disposition  to  cling  with  mysterious  awe  to  the 
elaborate  ceremonial  of  the  Mosaic  law,  as  of 
magical  value  for  conjuration  of  angels  and  world- 
elements;  a  magnifying  of  'endless  genealogies, 
Jewish  fables,  strifes  and  fightings  about  the  law ' ; 
an  obscuration  of  the  direct  access  by  one  Spirit 
unto  the  Father,  secured  to  Jew  and  Gentile  alike 
by  the  atoning  death  of  Christ  (Eph  a")  ?  Then 
it  was  time  to  fall  baclc  upon  what  Jesus  Himself 
had  said  as  to  His  Messiahship  as  not  a  matter  of 
pedigree,  and  to  point  out  that  just  as  He  had 
argued  from  Scripture  that  His  right  to  the  throne 
of  David  was  not  a  matter  of  physical  descent,  so 
in  the  very  same  Scripture  it  was  implied  that  He 
has  also  a  priesthood  superseding  that  of  Aaron, 
and  that  the  characteristic  of  this  priesthood  is 
that  it  is  '  without  father,  without  mother,  without 
genealogy,'  a  priesthood  forever  after  the  order  of 
Melchizedek. 

Is  it  then,  as  is  so  universally  assumed,  because 
the  figure  of  Melchizedek  is  introduced  in  Gn  14 
with  so  little  preparation,  without  mention  of  his 
descent,  that  our  author  is  led  to  characterize  Him 
in  this  extraordinary  manner  as  'without  father, 
without  mother,  without  genealogy '?  Not  at  all ! 
There  is  nothing  exceptional  on  this  score  either  in 


Gn  14  or  Ps  1 10  in  the  figure  of  Melchizedek.  No 
one  would  expect  mention  of  His  father  or  mother 
or  genealogy.  If  anywhere,  we  should  expect  it  in 
the  case  of  Jethro  the  priest-king  of  Midian.  Our 
author  in  thus  characterizing  the  Melchizedekian 
priesthood,  is  simply  following  the  example  of 
Jesus  in  the  matter  of  the  Uavidic  monarchy. 
Neither  His  kingly  nor  His  priestly  office  comes 
to  Him  by  descent,  but  by  divine  appointment. 
'For  no  man  taketh  the  honour  unto  himself, 
but  when  he  is  called  of  God,  even  as  was 
Aaron.'  So  Christ  also  glorified  not  Himself 
to  be  made  a  high  priest,  but  He  that  spake 
unto  Him,  Thou  art  My  Son,  this  day  have  I 
begotten  Thee ;  as  He  saith  also  in  another  place, 
Thou  art  a  priest  forever  after  the  order  of 
Melchizedek.' 

With  all  the  strangeness  and  subtlety  of  his 
reasoning  and  the  limitations  of  his  time,  our 
author  is  true,  as  Jesus  had  been,  to  the  real  spirit 
of  the  great  Messianic  Psalm  to  which  he  appeals. 
It  does  mean  by  its  kingship  and  priesthood 
'  after  the  order  of  Melchizedek,'  a  kingship  and 
priesthood  which  are  not  of  descent  but  of  divine 
appointment,  'without  father,  without  mother, 
without  a  geneal<^.'  It  would  have  been  well  for 
the  Church  if  it  had  listened  more  attentively  to 
Jesus  than  to  the  two  evangelists  who  on  this 
point  have  placed  themselves  rather  on  the  side  of 
the  Pharisaic  legitimists. 


(£leque&^0    anb    ({lepft^e* 


Croes;(J^earin0. 


Has  any  lisht  ever  been  thrown  upon  the  arig;in  of  thii 
phrase  ?  Does  it  exist  anywhere  in  pre-Christian 
literature,  or  wu  Jesus  the  first  to  notice  the 
gruesome  custom  and  to  turn  it  into  a  picture  of 
the  self-denying  life  f  If  the  phrase  first  fell  from 
Christ's  lips  how  it  must  have  thrilled  Hia  audience 
with  horror  I  Whit  an  imag-e  of  terror  and  de- 
gradation I  and  He  laid  it  down  aa  indispensable 
for  all  His  followers.  A  higher  critic  might  be 
inclined  to  si^fgest  that  it  waa  not  till  Christ  Him- 
self had  been  crucified,  and  Simon  of  Gyrene  had 
borne  the  cross  for  the  fainting  Saviour,  that  the 
phrase  waa  coined,  and  such  sympathetic  conduct 
required  of  vittj  member  of  the  Christian  brother- 


hood. Yet  Simon's  bearing  of  the  cross  was  ontf 
temporary,  and  not  that  he  should  be  crucified  upon 
it,  but  that  Christ  should  be :  whereas  the  point  of 
the  phrase  is  that  cross- bearing  is  only  the  prelude 
to  cnieifxian.  Compare  Paul's  atatNoeot,  '  1  die 
daily.-— A.  G. 

The  phrase,  '  to  bear  a  cross,'  does  not,  I  believe, 
occur  in  any  shape  in  Greek  literature,  outside  the 
Hew  Testament,  before  Plutarch's  essay,  Coruemitig 
those  whom  God  is  slow  to  punish  (chap.  9),  written 
probably  towards  the  close  of  the  first  century.  I 
am  not  aware  that  it  occurs  even  in  a  Latin  form 
(though  crucifixion  was,  characteristically,  a  Roiran 
mode   of  punishment)    before    Hew    Testament 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


349 


times :  the  two  allusions  in  Plautus  to  the  practice 
are  couched  in  diderent  phraseology.'  In  all 
these  passages  the  thought  is  literal,  though 
Neander  {Life  of  Christ,  Eng.  trans.,  p.  341,  note) 
fancied  he  saw  a  proverbial  usage  behind  Plutarch's 
parallel  between  the  malefactor  carrying  his  own 
cross  to  the  place  of  execution,  and  wickedness 
entailing  its  own  punishment;  while  Grotius  (in 
his  Aftnoiationts  in  Novum  Ttsiamentuwt,  Mt  10") 
tries  to  justify  Christ's  phrase  by  the  metaphorical 
use  of  the  Latin  crux  (chiefly  in  Plautus  and 
Terence,  and  in  connexion  with  slaves)  in  the 
sense  of  trouble  or  torture. 

Accordingly,  there  is  no  evidence  that,  in  the 
time  of  Christ,  there  was  anything  proverbial  01 
metaphorical  in  the  phrase,  in  whatever  shape  it 
occurs  in  the  New  Testament  ('bear  his  own 
cross,*  Lk  14*^;  'take  his  cross,'  Mt  10";  'take 
up  his  cross,'  Mt  16"  a;",  Mk  8",  Lk  9«»).  Nor 
do  I  think  that  Jesus  Himself  used  it  metaphor- 
ically, or  (to  quote  the  words  of  your  inquirer 
'A.  G.')  'turned  the  gruesome  custom  into  a 
picture  of  the  self-denying  life.'  He  seems 
rather  to  have  had  in  His  mind,  quite  literally,  the 
spectacle  so  often  seen  in  those  days, — a  malefactor 
burdened  with  his  own  cross  (or,  more  accurately, 
perhaps,  iht  patiiulum,  the~  transverse  beam  of  it) 
on  the  way  to  his  own  execution.  And  the  lesson 
Christ  intended  to  read  to  His  disciples  was  one 
exactly  suited  to  a  time  when  confession  of  the 
Master  might  mean  a  cruel  and  degrading  martyr- 
dom :  'In  discipleship  there  is  no  room  for  half- 
and-half  renunciation.  He  who  would  be  My 
disciple,  he  who  would  "follow  Me,"  must  from 
the  outset  willingly  and  deliberately  carry  even 
his  life  in  his  hand ;  nay  more,  he  must,  in  mind 
and  wilt,  shoulder  his  cross,  bearing  it,  in  mind 
and  will,  to  his  own  execution  by  the  most  painful 
and  shameful  of  all  forms  of  death ;  then,  and  not 
till  then,  lei  him  call  himself  My  disciple.' 

The  'diluted  figurative  significance '  of  'cross' 
(to  borrow  Wendt's  phraseology)  as  suffering  of 
various  kinds,  often  slight  enough,  is  a  later  con- 
ception, and  seems  to  have  been  foreign  to 
Christ's  mind  at  the  time  of  His  utterance. 

There  is  no  need  to  think  of  Christ  as  prophesy- 
ing in  this  passage  the  mode  of  His  own  death ; 
for  the  idea  of  'following'  is  one,  not  of  the 
imiution  of  Christ's  personal  experience,  but  of  a 

'  Milts  Glffrietu!  ii.  4,  6  (palibuluni  .  .  .  habebis) ;  and 
M»it*llaria  i.  t,  53  (patibuUtut).     See  next  paragraph. 


discipleship    deliberately  counting    the    heaviest 
cost  which  those  times  could  impose.     It  is  equally 
unnecessary,  for  the  same  reason,  to  surmise  that 
a  subsequent  generation  moulded  some  equivalent 
phrase  of  Christ  into  a  form  suited  to  the  historical 
facts  of  His  cross-bearing  and  His  crucifixion. 
Nor  need  Paul's  language,  '  I  have  been  crucified 
with  Christ,'  have  helped  to  shape  the  passage  by 
way  of  later  '  reflexion ' ;    for  his   figure  was  sug- 
gested to  him  by  his  previous  phrase, '  1  died  to 
the  law,'  as  he  recalled  the  actual  manner  of 
Christ's  literal  death  to  the  law ;  and  the  Pauline 
conception  of  the  ethical  reproduction  in  the  in- 
,  dividual  Christian  of  Christ's  physical  experiences 
does  not  find  its  way  into  the  Synoptic  Gospels. 
Thus  the  theory  that  the  phrase  we  are  dealing  with 
was  'coined  later'  is  unnecessary  and  improbable. 
Nor  does  the  carrying  of  Christ's  cross  by  Simon 
I  of  Cyrene  touch  the  point.      Christ  specifies,  as 
I  the  prerequisite  of  effective  discipleship,  not  the 
I  temporary  and  compulsory  carrying  of  His  cross 
j  to  His  execution,  but  the  persistent  and  voluntary 
carrying,  by  the  disciple,  of  his  own  cross  (accord- 
ing   to  the    practice  of   that    day)  to  his  own 
execution,  if  execution  it  had  to  be. 

But,  I  need  not  add,  the  saying  has  its  message 
for  us  too.  While  the  literal  and  temporary 
vanishes,  the  ideal  and  essential  abides.  By 
Christ  and  His  followers  in  Judxa,  under  the 
Sadducee  and  the  Roman,  cruel  and  degrading 
death  had  to  be  deliberately  faced.  For  the 
Christian  missionary,  man  or  woman,  it  is  some- 
times the  same  srill.  And  for  us  also,  ■  living  at 
home '  and,  in  a  sense,  '  at  ease,'  society  of  lo-day 
is  not  without  its  substitutes  for  crucifixion,  iis 
modes  of  torture,  social  and  individual ;  and  so  the 
essence  of  Christ's  thought  survives,  summoning 
us  to  be  ready,  voluntarily  and  with  premeditation, 
for  the  deadliest  cruelty  and  the  most  shameful 
degradation  that  modern  civilization  knows  how 
to  inflict.  J.  Massie. 

Ojc/erd.  .J, 

*n}3eaftne8s  an^  (power/ 

2  Corinthians  xiii.  3,  4. 
Reading'  these  versei  in  connexion  wtth  tv.*-'-'"  of 
the  precediuE  chapter,  and  ■vy."-*'  of  chap.  11, 
it  would  Bppearthattliereiflamore  subtle  meaning 
to  the  two  terms,  'Wealcnes*  and  Power,'  than 
any  which  has  been  given  in  the  ezplanations  I 
lutTe  yet  teen.    WUl  70U  be  so  kind  as  to  explai- 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


tbcM  terms  In  tt.'-  *  of  chsp.  13,  keeping  in  view 
the  tame  or  aynoDTmoiu  terms  in  the  other  verses 
referred  to  ?— J.  R. 

This  highly  condensed  passage  can  only  be 
understood  by  keeping  clearly  in  view  the  precise 
situation  in  the  Corinthian  Church.  On  his 
former  visit  to  them,  St.  Paul  had  been  shocked 
by  disorders  which  prevailed.  But  he  had  re- 
frained from  adopting  the  strongest  measures  in 
putting  them  down :  that  seemed  the  wisest  course 
in  the  circumstances.  When  he  had  left  Corinth, 
his  opponents  insinuated  that  bis  conduct  was 
weak :  this  they  made  a  ground  of  disparagement 
(e.g.  chaps.  10'"  11°').  He  is  not  ashamed  of  his 
so^^led  weakness,  but  on  this  visit  he  will  follow 
a  different  method,  that  of  disciplinary  rigour. 

They  will  discover  that  the  Christ  who  speaks 
in  him,  whose  representative  he  is,  is  anything 
but  weak, — his  opponents  had  hinted  that  he  gave 
a  distorted  view  of  Christ,  —  from  the  strong 
action  taken  by  the  apostle  in  the  name  of  bis 
Lord.  Even  if  they  do  accuse  him  of  weakness, 
it  is  an  accusation  which  he  may  share  with  his 
Master.  Men  might  have  pointed  to  ^is  weak- 
ness, for  He  was  crucified,  done  to  death  by  sinful 
men,  who  seemed  to  be  too  strong  for  Him.  But 
that  was  only  a  stageon  the  path  to  His  victorious 
life,  in  which  He  has  all  power  over  sin  and  death. 
This  will  be  their  experience  of  the  apostle.  They 
sneered  at  his  weakness  because  he  had  not 
taken  extreme  measures  against  the  evils  which 
confronted  him  at  Corinth.  But  that  apparent 
powerlessness  before  sin  was  merely  temporary.  It 
was  part  of  his  fellowship  with  the  sufferings  of 
Christ  (u/T6tvoiiiar  Iv  avr^).  He  also  shares  in  the 
victorious  life  of  his  Lord.  It  is  a  life  of  power. 
And  this  power  they  will  soon  experience  in  his 
dealings  with  them  when  he  comes. 

H.  A.  A.  Kennbdv. 

Cal/atuUr. 


Q^omane  vi.  4. 


Some  7ears  mgo  I  read,  but  I  do  not  remember  where, 
that  'our  translators  have  dropped  out  an  article 


which  Paul  used  in  this  passage,  and  they  have 
not  giv«a  any  equivalent  for  that  article.  Had 
they  done  so  the  passage  would  have  read,  "  We 
were  buried  therefore  with  Him  through  Hii 
baptism  into  death."'  If  an  expert  in  Greek  will 
tcU  me  whether  such  a  tmnslatlon  is  justifiable 
I  shall  be  obliged.  If  we  read  'through  the 
baptism'  instead  of  'through  His  baptism,'  does 
'  the  baptism '  refer  to  our  water  baptism  or  to 
Christ's  baptism  of  sufTeiing  into  death,  and  to 
which  He  referred  in  the  words,  'The  baptism 
that  I  am  baptised  withal  shall  ye  be  baptised' ; 
and  again,  'But  I  have  a  baptism  to  be  baptized 
with ;  and  how  am  I  stntitened  till  it  be 
accomplished?' — U.*  J.  B. 

Both  the  Revised  and  the  Authorized  Versions 
agree  in  failing  to  give  an  equivalent  for  the 
Greek  definite  article  which  is  found  before 
both  words  haptum  and  death.  The  force  of  the 
article  in  the  two  cases  is  clearly  brought  out  by 
Professor  Denney's  rendering  (The  Exposilor't 
Greeh  Testament,  a.  p.  632):  'We  were  buried 
with  Him  through  that  baptism  into  His  death.' 
There  seems  to  be  no  allusion  to  either  the 
literal  or  the  figurative  baptism  of  Jesus  Himself. 
There  is  nothing  in  the  context  to  suggest  any 
such  reference,  and  we  have  no  evidence  that 
Paul  assigned  any  such  significance  to  the  baptism 
of  Jesus  by  John,  or  was  familiar  with  the 
utterances  of  Jesus  in  which  His  Passion  was 
figuratively  described  by  Hira  as  a  baptism.  The 
force  of  the  definite  article  is  this.  The  baptism 
means  the  baptism  which  is  now  under  discussion, 
namely,  the  rite  by  which  we  were  introduced  into 
the  Christian  community.  The  thread  of  the 
whole  argument  would  be  torn  by  any  other 
rendering ;  as  the  aim  of  this  passage  is  to  show 
that  the  baptism  of  every  Christian  commits  him 
to  die  to  sin,  and  to  live  to  God,  and  so  to  pass  in 
his  own  experience  through  the  spiritual  equivalents 
of  Christ's  death  and  resurrection.  As  it  is 
Christ's  death  that  is  being  dealt  with,  the  article 
before  death  is  correctly  rendered  by  I/is  rather 
than  by  the,  which  would  make  the  reference 
to  death  generally. 

Alfred  E.  Gar  vie. 

Monlrvn. 


.yGooi^lc 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


(£Ucenf  'Siecueeione  on  i^t  Qflleamnj  of  tf^t  ^itit 
'^on  of  (Man.' 

By  the  Rev.  James  Croskery,  M.A.,  B.D.,  Mountjoy,  Omagu. 


Baldensferger,  in  two  articles  on  this  subject  in 
the  Tlieoiogiscke  Rundschau  for  June  and  July  1900, 
is  of  opinion  that  the  results  of  the  investigations 
of  different  scholars  go  so  far  apart  that  ve  seem 
further  than  ever  removed  from  general  agreement. 
Some  progress,  however,  is  being  made,  and  he 
marks  out  stages  in  this  progress. 

At  first,  exegetical  study  of  K.T.  passages  was 
the  principal  feature,  and  the  results  varied  accord- 
ing to  the  exegete's  conception  of  Jesus'  person ; 
reference  to  the  passage  in  Daniel  was  rare.  The 
najne  was  the  outward  emblem  of  Jesus'  secret 
aims  ;  '  The  Master,  venerated  by  His  followers  as 
the  Jewish  Messiah,  wished  by  it  to  describe  Him- 
self as  in  some  sense  belonging  to  the  human 
family,  as  the  ideal  man,  as  a  lowly  human  being, 
or  the  like.'  This  is  called  by  Baldensperger  the 
exegetieal  and  erilkal  stage. 

About  twenty  years  ago  a  new  phase  of  the 
investigation  began.  A  more  thorough  conception 
of  the  title  was  to  be  reached  by  going  back  to 
Daniel  and  Jewish  literature  of  the  same  kind;  a 
view  founded  thus  on  the  ideas  of  the  time  would 
be  free  from  arbitrary  notions.  An  old  theologian 
(Weisse)  had  thought  that  to  go  to  Daniel  was  an 
assault  on  the  originality  of  Jesus ;  now  it  was  held 
that  this  very  procedure  would  lead  to  the  dis- 
covery of  the  authentic  thought  of  Jesus.  The 
debate  now  went  outside  the  literature  of  the  N.T. 
and  discussed  the  presence  of  the  title  in  the 
Jewish  apocalyptic  literature  and  its  Messianic 
meaning  there.  Attention  was  drawn  to  the 
Messianic  and  to  ipso  eschatological  sense  of  the 
name  in  the  Gospels  {e.g.  its  use  in  the  passages 
about  the  Parousia).  Was  there  a  continuity 
between  the  Jewish  apocalyptic  usage  and  that  in 
the  N.T.  ?  But  then  Jesus  could  hardly  bave  used 
the  title  in  the  extravagant  meaning  of  Jewish 
Apocalypse.  Some  scholars  weakened  more  or  less 
the  apocalyptic  sense.  Besides,  the  usage  in  the 
Gospels  was  peculiar  and  puzzling,  and  many 
desired  to  find  an  interpretation  more  available  for 
modem  faith.  The  name  was  still  a  riddle.  Some 
found  a  claim  in  it;  the  personage  thus  described 


belonged  to  the  future  after  the  Ascension ;  some 
even  reached  in  this  way  the  old  conception  of  the 
heavenly  ideal  man.  Thus  'the  current  which 
started  from  Daniel  was  crossed  and  checked  by 
an  undercurrent  created  by  Jesus.'  Some  sug- 
gested that  the  apocalyptic  idea  of  the  word 
reappeared  in  the  Christian  community  and  its 
gospel  literature,  and  was  not  in  the  roind  of  Jesus 
at  all.  This  is  the  historical  and  psychological 
stage. 

Next  comes  the  third  stage,  the  'Aramaic,' 
which  is  called  t\it  philological  and  linguistic  i  the 
title  is  translated  into  the  mother  tongue  of  Jesus, 
and  the  meaning  of  this  original  investigated. 
Wellhausen  and  Eerdmanns  (1894)  give  the  name 
in  Aramaic  as  bamash  {iamasha).  This  means 
simply  '  man,'  and  so,  according  to  Wellhausen, 
Jesus  called  Himself  'the  man.'  The  Dutch 
scholar  held  that  the  title  could  not  possibly  mean 
'  Messiah,'  especially  as  it  did  not  exist  in  the 
Jewish  apocalyptic  in  this  sense.  Jesus  did  not 
claim  Messiahship,  and  by  this  name  hinted  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  Messianic  expectations  around  Him, 
that  He  was  only  a  man.  The  Greek  translation, 
i  viof  ToC  iv6fMwov,  is  the  cause  of  the  Aramaic 
expression  being  wrongly  taken  as  a  Messianic 
title.  So  began  the  linguistic  attempts.  '  Investi- 
gation of  the  original  words  used  by  Jesus  was 
now  in  the  air,  and  was  soon  to  ripen  further 
researches.' 

A.  Meyer  in  his  book,  Z)«  Mutierspracht  Jtsu 
(1896),  aims  to  discover  the  actual  dialect  Spoken 
by  Jesus.  This  dialect  is  West-Aramaic-Galilean. 
Now  retranslations  from  Greek,  especially  where 
the  idiom  in  the  Gospels  is  not  Greek,  might  lead 
to  the  real  sense,  and  the  expression  '  Son  of  Man ' 
is  treated  in  this  way  by  Meyer.  He  rejects  the 
meaning  given  by  Wellhausen,  because  the  hearers 
of  Jesus  could  not  tell  whether  He  meant  by  it 
Himself  or  man  generally.  Barnash  is  used  in 
different  senses  :  =  ' man  in  general,'  Mk  z^, 
Mt  iz'*;  =  'I'  (distinguished  from  other  living 
creatures),  Mt  8*';"'anyone,' Mt  11'*.  It  is  not 
a  title  at  all,  and  the  meaning  of  Jesus  is  to  be 


35* 


THE   EXPOSITORV  TIMES. 


found  in  the  context  in  each  case.  Thus  a  num- 
ber of  passages  lose  any  apocalyptic  meaning. 
But  Meyerhasnot  disposed  of  the  great  mass  of  the 
passages,  the  sayiDgs  about  the  Parousia  and  the 
prophecies  of  the  sufferings  of  the  Son  of  Man. 
And  the  investigation  of  the  Aramaic  use  of  barnash 
was  not  thorough  enough,  f^.  the  examples  quoted 
for  barnash  =  '\,'  seemed  only  emphatic  idioms  of 
rare  occurrence. 

Lietzmann  in  his  book,  Z>er  Mensehensokn 
(1S96),  attempts  to  go  through  the  entire  Aramaic 
material,  and  thus  discover  out  of  these  sources 
the  meaning  of  barnash  in  all  its  different 
acceptations.  His  result  is  that  the  formula  was 
not  usual  in  Judtcan  Aramaic,  but  in  Galilean  was 
the  word  most  used  for '  man,'  not  a  definite  man 
nor  the  genus  man,  but  a  colourless  expression 
for  individual  man.  Like  '  son  of  in  all  Semitic 
languages,  har  in  Aramaic  is  used  to  make  plain 
something  relating  to  the  subject,  and  if  the  word 
in  the  genitive  is  a  person,  it  is  quite  pleonastic ; 
e.g.  son  of  the  ungodly  =  the  ungodly. 

Wellhausen  in  1899  replies  to  Meyer  and  Lietz- 
mann.  He  thinks  barnash  is  not  peculiarly 
Galilean,  but  belongs  to  all  Aramaic  dialects  in 
sense  oi.h  avdpiairoi,  and  bar  is  not  pleonastic,  for 
nosh  is  a  colleclive  (  =  people)  which  bar  indi- 
vidualizes. Jesus,  then,  speaking  Aramaic  could 
not  make  any  distinction  between  '  the  man '  and 
'  the  son  of  man.' 

Could  Jesus  apply  such  a  name  to  Himself  i* 
If  it  means  the  true  man,  Jesus  was  not  a  Greek 
philosopher  nor  a  humanist,  and  not  likely  to 
make  a  speculation  about  the  true  humanity  the 
centre  of  His  teaching.  Why,  if  so,  is  the  name 
not  used  always,  and  why,  for  the  most  part,  only 
in  Messianic  passages?  It  cannot  mean  'a  man 
like  any  other,'  for  in  the  apocalyptic. passages 
Jesus  alone  is  referred  to.  The  expression,  indeed, 
is  so  unnatural  and  incomprehensible  that,  to  use 
Wellhausen's  phrase,  the  people '  would  take  Jesus 
for  possessed.'  Was  no  one  found  to  inquire  the 
reason  of  this  strange  procedure  of  Jesus?  There 
is  no  trace  of  such  in  the  Gospels.  Hence,  if  the 
Aramaic  expression  in  its  true  sense  is  incompatible 
with  Jesus'  use  of  the  phrase,  and,  besides,  cannot 
mean  '  the  Messiah,'  as  0  vlos  tov  Mpunrov  certainly 
does  in  the  majority  of  places,  then  Jesus  cannot 
have  applied  this  title  to  Himself,  because  such  a 
title  did  not  exist  at  all  in  Aramaic.  Thus 
Lietzroann  infers  that  Jesus  never  used  the  name 


Son  of  Man,  and  Wellhausen  in  1899  agrees  with 
him. 

A  strange  conclusion !  We  began  to  investigate 
the  meaning  of  the  phrase,  assured  that  thereby 
we  should  discover  the  central  meaning  of  the 
person  of  Jesus,  and  we  reach  the  result  that  Jesus 
had  nothing  to  do  with  it.  Again,  Aramaic  study 
was  to  put  an  end  to  the  subtleties  founded  on 
the  Greek  expression  ;  now  it  is  indeed  agreed  that 
barnash  cannot  mean  the  Messiah,  but  as  to  its 
actual  positive  meaning  Meyer  criticises  Well- 
hausen, Lietzmann  criticises  Meyer.and  Wellhausen 
both.  Thus  the  ambiguity  of  barnash  bids  fair 
to  equal  that  of  6  vios  too  ArOpanrov.  Here 
Baldensperger  permits  himself  a  doubtful  jest. 
All  these  attempts  to  locate  the  Son  of  Man  have 
brought  about  the  conclusion  that  whether  the 
passages  about  the  Son  of  Man  are  genuine  or  not, 
there  is  a  profound  truth  in  the  saying  that  the 
Son  of  Man  has  no  home  or  resting-place. 

The  results  reached  through  the  Aramaic  are 
now  brought  into  harmony  with  passages  in  the 
Jewish  Apocalypses  which  mention  the  Son  of 
Man  (Daniel,  Enoch,  4  Ezra).  Here,  Baldensperger 
thinks,  too  strict  demands  are  made  upon  these 
clumsy  Apocalypses.  The  strange  turns  and  the 
elasticity  of  the  Jewish  and  the  early  Christian 
exegesis  are  forgotten.  The  figurative  sense  in 
Daniel,  and  the  use  of  the  comparative  particle 
'like'  {'one  /tie  a  son  of  man,')  are  insisted  on. 
In  Enoch  the  passages  containing  the  name  are 
not  indeed  en  masse  treated  as  Christian  interpola- 
tions (as  by  Bousset ;  not  so  Beer  in  Kautzsch's 
Pseudepigraphen),  but  Lietzmann  and  Wellhausen 
lay  stress  on  the  fact  that  the  pronoun  'this'  or 
'that'  generally  precedes,  hence  it  is  not  a  title 
and  not  the  same  as  Messiah.  4  Ezra,  which  speaks 
of  Messiah  rising  out  of  the  sea  like  the  form  of 
a  man,  goes  back  to  Daniel,  and  we  are  to  note 
(they  tell  us)  that  he  gives  the  correct  translation 
'  man,'  not '  son  of  man.'  But  all  minute  points  of 
this  kind  leave  out  of  view  the  positive  tendencies 
of  this  literature.  Enoch  and  4  Ezra  make  plaic 
references  to  Dn  7,  and  allude  to  the  details  in 
that  picture  without  naming  the  old  familiar 
source;  this  surely  shows  how  much  reflection 
there  was  about  the  '  One  beside  the  "Ancient 
of  Days  with  the  appearance  of  a  Son  of  Man.' 
The  transition  to  use  as  a  title  is  not  indeed 
complete  in  Enoch,  but  it  is  on  the  way,  and  our 
logic  must  not  regulate  the  process.     If,  as  these 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


353 


scholars  imply,  the  early  Chiistian  apocalyptic 
writers  vho  stand  close  to  Judaism  were  able  to 
make  the  phrase  into  a  title,  this  surely  proves 
what  was  possible  for  purely  Jewish  circles. 
Again,  why  speak  of  Messiah  as '  the  man '  in  face 
and  form  (the  same  could  be  said  of  the  angels  and 
other  persons  m  the  context),  unless  some  particular 
man,  the  special  man  of  Daniel,  is  meant  t  Here 
we  have  what  is  almost  a  title  (cf,  the  use  of  '  the 
elect  one '  of  Messiah  in  Enoch).  If  the  transition 
is  not  complete  in  Enoch,  there  is  still  room  for 
development  in  the  days  of  Jesus.  It  is  very 
probable  that  other  Apocalypses,  and  these  with 
more  advanced  Messianic  conceptions,  existed. 
And  the  interpolations  in  the  similitudes  of  Enoch 
(unless  these  are  certainly  Christian)  give  us 
information  about  this  development. 

We  arc  next  pointed  to  the  fact  that  except  in  the 
Gospels  the  title  is  not  found  in  the  Christian 
literature.  But,  not  to  speak  of  Ac  7'*,  which  goes 
along  with  the  Third  Gospel,  this  is  not  so  certain. 
The  Apocalypse  i"  14"  (we  are  told)  uses  the  name 
as  Daniel  does,  though  plainly  referring  to  Jesus 
the  Messiah;  but  the  writer  speaks  there  as  an 
apocalyptic  seer,  and  keeps  strictly  to  the  turns  of 
phrase  in  the  pattern  Apocalypse.  Hebrews  refers 
to  Ps  8  {Son  of  Man),  and  Paul,  also,  in  1  Co 
15",  where  he  combines  it  with  Ps  1 10, 
certainly  considered  Messianic.  Paul,  indeed, 
speaks  of  the  heavenly  man,  when  we  should 
expect  him  to  use  the  name  Son  of  Man ;  perhaps 
he  thought  the  former  more  suitable.  At  anyrate 
the  argumcntum  ex  sikntio  is  a  doubtful  one  ;  and 
arguments  based  on  the  mere  Use  of  a  word  lead  to 
strange  resuhs,  as,  (^.,  if  we  should  make  inferences 
from  the  subordinate  role  of  the  kingdom  of 
God  in  Paul  to  the  teaching  of  Jesus  on  this 
subject. 

AU  that  precedes,  according  to  Baldensperger, 
both  the  argumentation  and  the  Aramaic  re- 
searches, touches  only  the  periphery  of  the  prob- 
lem. As  regards  the  Aramaic  question,  it  has 
now  been  practically  settled  by  Dalman  in  his 
book,  Dit  Worte  /esu  {1898),  in  which  there  is 
a  chapter  on  the  Son  of  Man.  This  great  Aramaist 
calls  the  view  of  Wellhausen  and  the  others,  that 
the  Aramaic  for  'man'  can  only  be  'son  of 
man  *  (which  is  hence  an  impossible  title  in  Jesus' 
mouth),  a  serious  error.  Jewish  Aramaic  of  older 
date  uses  anash  for '  man ' ;  the  singular  bamash  was 
unusual  and  an  imitatipaQC^eii|brew  ben  adam. 


which  again  is  rare,  and,  in  the  apocryphal  litera- 
ture, used  only  in  allusion  to  the  O.T.  passages. 
The  Galilean  of  Jesus'  time  was  no  exception. 
Only  at  a  later  date  was  dumaM  used  as  '^  man.  In 
Dn  7''  we  have  no  prosaic  idiom,  but  a  phrase  of 
the  same  character  as  the  'Ancient  of  Days,'  and 
one  that  might  readily  become  a  title.  With  the 
article  it  means  '  the  son  of  man '  not  'the  man.' 
The  strangeness  of  the  expression  is  brought  out 
in  the  strange  Greek,  h  viot  rov  dvtfponrov,  with 
double  article.  Dalman  also  shows  that  the  Jews 
had  the  usage  where  a  speaker  speaks  of  himself 
in  the  third  person.  It  would  not  seem  strange  to 
His  hearers  that  Jesus  should  do  so.  Further, 
Dalman  considers  it  a  great  illusion  to  suppose 
that  by  a  linguistic  argument  the  Messiahshtp  of 
Jesus,  which  has  so  many  roots  in  the  original 
Christian  soil,  can  be  got  rid  ot  Even  if  we  had 
clearer  knowledge  of  the  linguistic  facts  of  Jesus' 
time,  we  should  need  always  to  exercise  reserve 
on  this  point.  Might  not,  for  instance,  the 
language  of  religion  have  differed  often  from  the 
language  of  everyday  life?  Must  Jesus  have 
always  used  Aramaic  expressions  even  when  the 
holy  things  of  the  O.T.  were  discussed?  In 
regard  to  the  title  in  question,  Dalman  holds  that 
Jesus  has  put  His  own  stamp  on  it  though  there 
are  preparations  for  His  use  of  it  in  Jewish  Apoca- 
lypses. He  describes  Himself  by  it  as  the  child  of 
man,  who  is  by  nature  weak,  but  whom  God  wills 
to  make  Lord  of  the  world.  It  is  not  a  title  ex- 
pressive of  glory,  but  a  declaration  of  humiliation. 

There  still  remain  the  passages  about  the 
Parousia,  which  are  not  sufficiently  considered  by 
Dalman.  These  were  the  first,  in  Welthausen's 
view,  in  which  Jesus  was  made  to  name  Himself 
Son  of  Man.  Linguistic  grounds  led  Wellhausen 
to  use  his  critical  knife  on  all  these  passages.  If 
the  linguistic  grounds  fall  away,  and  Dalman's 
authority  as  an  Aramaic  scholar  settles  that  point, 
what  then  ?  Indeed,  how  in  any  case  were  they 
smuggled  into  the  Gospel  tradition  and  not  into 
eschatological  passages  alone,  but  into  others  as 
well? 

The  impression  left  by  the  whole  debate,  con- 
cludes Baldensperger,  is  that  in  the  last  resort  the 
decision  of  the  question  still  depends  on  each 
man's  total  conception  of  the  Person  and  Work  of 
Jesus,  Are  we  to  understand  the  Messiahship  of 
Jesus  as  ^n  actual  historical  fact,  the  comer-^tone 
of  His  innei  life,  or  only  as  a  mete  accident? 


354 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


InterpTetations  which  weaken  the  sense  of  the 
phrase  '  son  of  man '  will  find  a  ready  hearing  with 
those  who  lay  the  chief  weight  on  'rational' 
motives.  The  Aramaic  solution  owes  its  rapid 
growth  and  popularity  to  the  rationalistic  leaven 
which  still  works  on  in  the  theological  world.  Lielz- 
mann  will  not  identify  the  problem  of  the  Son  of 
Man  with  that  of  the  Messiahship,  but  if  the 
former  is  unhistorical,  such  a  shock  is  given  to  the 
Messianic  position  of  the  Gospels  that  it  amounts 
to  a  practical  annihilation  of  it.  A  last  point : 
Did  Jesus,  besides  the  special  Messianic  reference 
to  Himself,  mean  to  imply  prerogatives  which  have 
force  for  all  meii?  Lagarde  once  thus  formulated 
it:  "'Man"is  with  Indo-Germans  a  word  of  honour, 
with  Semites  a  word  of  blame.'  When  he  added 
that  Jesus  ennobled  it,  he  only  characterized  him- 
self thereby  as  an  Indo-German.  In  Jesus'  view, 
there  is  for'  man  only  one  goal ;  to  be  a  child  of 
God,  or  perfect  as  the  Father  in  heaven. 

To  the  above  we  may  add  a  short  account  of  an 
independent  and,  it  seems  to  us,  successful  study 
which  has  appeared  since  Baldensperger  wrote 
his  articles.'  Fiebig  does  not  think  that  Dalman 
has  settled  the  Aramaic  question,  and  complains 
that  he  does  not  give  a  clear  statement  of  the 
linguistic  evidence.  He  has  himself  searched 
through  all  the  relevant  Aramaic  literature,  and 
the  most  valuable  part  of  the  little  book  gives  the 
results  of  this  arduous  undertaking.  The  evidence 
leads  Fiebig  to  the  conclusion  that  all  the  words 
for  '  man '  in  Aramaic  are  ambiguous ;  thus,  bar- 
nasha,  bamask,  and  nasia  may  all  mean  *  a  man,' 
'the  man,'  or  'anyone.'  Wcllhausen  is  wrong 
when  he  holds  that  iar  individualizes  the  collective 
nasha  in  the  expression  barnasha.  Dalman  is 
equally  wrong  in  making  bamaiha  =  '  son  of  man,' 
and  different  from  nasha.  Lietzmann  also  is  mis- 
taken in  saying  that  barnash  is  the  only  Aramaic 
for  '  anyone,'  and  that  it  has  this  colourless  sense 
alone.  Fiebig's  clear  summary  of  the  evidence 
and  his  account  of  the  Aramaic  expressions  for 
'  man,'  are  very  interesting.  We  turn  to  the 
Gospels,  and  start  from  the  basis  that  6  riot  roS 
i.v$f>biwov  is  a  literal  version  of  an  ambiguous  expres- 
sion (either  barnasha  or  barnash,  not  nasha),  which 
may  mean  either  'the  man'  or  'a  man'  or  'any- 
one.'    It  is  possible,  then,  that  the  Greek  may  con- 

'  t>er  Mtnsckin!skn,Jisu  Selbslbeteichnniig,  mit  bisttndirir 
Beriichsichligang  dtt  aramaischeii  Sprachgebrtuihti  fiir 
•  JUtnicA.'    Von  Paul  FieWg,  Lie.  Th.     Mohr,  I901. 


tain  a  mistaken  translation,  and  that  Jesus  did  not 
name  Himself,  but  used  the  expression  bamash(a) 
in  the  indefinite  sense.  Thus  in  Mk  a",  'The 
Son  of  Man  bath  power  on  earth  to  forgive  sins.' 
The  people  seem  to  have  understood  the  word  in 
the  indefinite  meaning,  for  they  '[raised  God 
who  had  given  such  power  A?  men.'  They  were 
wrong  and  the  Greek  is  correct,  for  Jesus'  argu- 
ment proves  that  He  spoke  of  Himself.  Similarly, 
Fiebig  deals  with  the  other  passages  where  mis- 
translation is  suspected  and  finds  it  nowhere. 
Jesus  used  the  name  '  the  man '  of  Himself,  but 
the  expression  was  ambiguous  and  might  be 
misunderstood. 

Whence  comes  this  strange  name  7  And  why  has 
the  Greek  6  vim  rov  avSpiowov  and  not  o  Sv0ta7rot  ? 
The  passage  in  Daniel  (7'')  is  the  source,  and  there 
the  LXX  have  in  vibt  Avfipiawav,  of  which  6  ulot 
Tou  &v$fnorvo  is  the  definite  form.  Fiebig  then 
brings  together  all  the  places  where  the  name 
occurs  in  the  synoptic  Gospels  under  three  heads : 
(1)  where  'the  man'  means  the  Messiah  with 
manifest  allusion  to  Dn  7",  e.g.  Mt  le**;  (3) 
where  'the  man'  -^  the  Messiah,  but  without 
direct  reference  to  Daniel ;  (3)  where  '  the  man ' 
virtually  ■=  I.  The  latter  two  are  not  easily  distin- 
guished, for  even  in  (3)  the  name  is  not  colourless 
but  ever  suggests  the  Messiah.  It  is  altogether 
wrong  with  A.  Meyer  to  say  that  barnasha  can  be 
a  simple  substitute  for  '  I.' 

What  does  the  name  mean?  Daniel  is  the 
point  of  departure  but  not  the  limit  of  the  sense. 
It  is  eschatological  in  Daniel,  but  on  Jesus'  lips  it 
is  fuller  and  richer  in  sense,  and  loses  its  particular- 
ism. But  was  Jesus  original?  Was  this  name  for 
the  Messiah  in  general  use  or  at  least  familiar  in 
certain  circles?  This  is  denied.  It  is  an  im- 
possible name,  say  W.  and  L.,  nor  can  Jesus  have 
used  it.  This  is  absurd.  Other  general  expres- 
sions have  become  titles,  and  facts  must  decide. 
Fiebig  finds  the  title  in  4  Ezra  and  in  Enoch,  and 
argues  point  by  point  with  L.,  who  wishes  to 
prove  that  it  is  not  a  terminus  iecknicus  where  it 
occurs.  I  cannot  go  into  details.  Fiebig  holds 
that  the  usage  was  not  confined  to  narrow  circles, 
as  against  Dalman,  who  does  not  believe  it  was  a 
current  title  for  the  Messiah.  Fiebig  agrees  with 
Wetlhausen  that  the  Gospels  presuppose  the  name 
as  well  known  and  readily  understood.  Djd  then 
Jesus  openly  proclaim  Himself  Messiah^  That 
was  not  His  manner.    The  solution  of  the  riddle 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


355 


is  that  whenever  Jesus  used  it  it  was  always 
possible  for  those  who  heard  to  misunderstand 
Him,  while  believing  that  they  understood.  Jesus 
availed  Himself  of  the  inherent  ambiguity  of  the 
name  (cf.  the  example  above,  Mk  2'").  Even  if 
'  the  man '  was  a  familiar  Messianic  title,  where 
nothing  Messianic  marked  the  context  or  the 
occasion,  men  might  readily  mistake  His  meaning, 
and  where  the  Messianic  reference  was  clear,  that 
Jesus  meant  Himself  was  not  so  clear.  Fiebig 
finds  the  use  of  the  name  by  Jesus  historical,  and 
is  clearly  right.  His  lucid  discussion  of  the 
various  passages  makes  this  view  more  easy  to 
hold  and  defend.  Wellhausen,  in  Che  latest  edition 
of  his  history  (igor),  still  agrees  with  Lietzmann. 
The  verdict  of  the  future  will  decide  against  him. 

Why  did  Jesus  choose  this  title?  It  was  not 
unknown,  but  admitted  ambiguity.  It  was  in  its 
origin  particularistic,  but  not  so  much  so  as  Son 


of  David.  It  involved  more  of  what  Jesus  in- 
tended the  Messiah  to  be,  e.g.  a  judge  to  every 
human  soul.  He.  could  develop  it  as  it  suited 
Him,  as  it  was  in  His  time  a  variable  and  fluid 
term.  The  conception  of  '  suffering '  is  an  original 
addition.  Again,  it  was  an  exalted  name — a  fit 
expression  for  the  lofty  consciousness  of  Jesus, 
placing  Him  in  the  company  of  God  rather  than 
of  man.  Finally,  Jesus  saw,  in  Dn  7*^  as  it 
were,  the  sign  of  His  calling  to  which  He  was 
to  be  obedient    unto   death,  a  true   6^xTt°^  ^* 


The  passages  where  the  name  occurs  in  the 
Fourth  Gospel  agree  in  usage  with  the  Synoptics, 
and  bring  out  into  clear  relief  the  pre-existence 
involved  in  the  expression.  A  discussion  of  these 
and  references  to  the  rest  of  the  New  Testament 
literature  conclude  this  interesting  and  clearly 
written  essay. 


THE   GREAT   TEXTS   OF   THE   ACTS   OF   THE   APOSTLES. 


'And  whea  the  da;  of  Pentecost  wBS  now  come, 
they  were  aJI  together  in  one  place.  And  suddenly 
there  caine  from  heaven  a  sound  u  of  the  rushing  of  a 
mighty  wind,  and  it  filled  all  the  house  where  they 
were  sitting.  And  there  appeared  unto  them  tongues 
parting  asunder,  like  as  of  fire ;  and  it  sat  upon  each 
one  of  them.  And  they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  began  to  speak  with  .other  tongues,  as  the 
Spirit  gave  them  utterance '  (R.  V.). 


Exposition. 

'And  when  the  day  of  Pentecost  was  fully  come.' — 
Literally, '  was  now  being  fullilled,'  i.t.  it  bad  begun,  but 
WM  not  yet  pa«t.  This  day  was  one  of  the  three  great 
fcitivals  when  the  law  required  the  attendance  of  all  Israel 
at  the  temple,  and  Jerusalem  would  be  thronged  with 
pilerims.  As  the  Passover  fell  rather  eaiiy  for  the  naviga- 
tion season,  Jews  from  the  West  especially  would  prefer  to 
make  their  pilgrimage  at  the  time  of  Pentecost,  as  we  find 
St.  Paul  doing  later  on.  Pentecost  was  also  called  the 
Feast  of  Weeks,  because  it  fell  seven  {i.e.  a  week  of)  weeks 
aFtei  the  Passovei.  To  be  exact,  it  was  the  fiftieth  (Greek 
pmlecBsIt)  day  after  the  offering  of  the  sheaf  of  the  first-fruits 
of  the  harvest  during  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread.— 
Rack  HAM. 

'Together  in  one  place,'— Rather   'together  in  com- 


pany,' or  '  in  fellowship ' ;  see  1"  a"- ".    Emphasis  on  mere 

unity  of  place  seems  superflaous.-BARTLET. 

'A  sound  as  of  the  rushing  of  a  mighty  wind.'— 
Literally,  'a  sound  as  if  a  violent  gust  were  being  home 
along.'  S(.  Chrysostom  rightly  emphasiies  the  ui,  so  that 
the  sound  is  not  that  of  wind,  but  as  of  the  rushing  of  a 
mighty  wind  (so,  too,  the  tongues  are  not  of  fire,  but  at  ej 
fire).  The  words  describe  not  a  natural  but  a  supernatural 
phenomenon. — Knowling. 

'  It  filled  all  the  house.'- For  the  hundred  and  twenty 
must  have  occupied  more  than  one  chamber. — Rackham. 

'Where  they  were  sitting.' — A  Hebraism  for  'were 
dwelling,'  or  'abiding.' — Cook, 

'  Tongues  parting  asunder.'— The  present  part,  denotes 
a  process  seen  in  actual  operation. — Kendall. 

Thb  fiie-like  appearance,  originally  one,  broke  up  into 
tongues  of  flame,  as  it  were,  and  distributed  itself  among 
those  assembled,  and  sat  upon  each  one  of  them.  The 
phenomenon  is  taken  in  the  narrative  to  symbolize  the  gift 
of  tongues  described  in  (he  next  verse,  namely,  as  one  in 
source  and  essence,  but  various  in  manifested  forms. — 
Bartlet. 

'And  they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit'— 
There  is  some  danger  of  forgetting  that  this  was  the  main 
fact,  of  which  the  'speaking  in  tongues'  was  but  a  Iraiisi- 
tory  consequence. — Pace  and  Walpole. 

I  SEE  no  warrant  in  Scripture  for  the  very  common 
impression  that  the  Holy  Spirit  was  now  first  given  to  the 
Church.      The   language  here  employed   is  also   used   of 


3S5 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


ElUabeih  (Lk  i*'),  Zicharias  (Lk  i*'),  ind  John  ibe  Baptist 
(Lk  i"),  ind  io  the  O.T.  thete  is  repealed  mention  of  the 
influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  on  the  minds  of  prophets  ond 
others  (Nu  ii"-"  24'"',  >S  to'"  19",  a  S  aj*.  z  Ch  20", 
Keh  ^,  Is  48",  Elk  2'  3"  Il»,  Zee  7",  Mt  22").  That 
which  is  peculiar  in  this  e»eni  ii  that  (1)  now  for  the  first 
time  ail  were  lilled  with  the  Holy  Spirit,  not  merely  the 
apostlts,  but  the  entire  Christian  assembly ;  and  (2)  the 
influence  was  not  occasional  and  transient,  but  abiding. 
That  which  distinguishes  the  N.T.  fiom  the  O.T.  dispensa- 
tion is  that  under  the  O.T.  dispensation  the  Holy  Spirit 
guided  B  few  prophets,  who  thus  became  the  inspired  leaders 
of  the  people,  while  under  the  N.T.  dispensation  He  is 
given  (oali.  Thus  Moses'  prayer  is  fulfilled  (Nu  it™),  the 
Lord  puis  His  Spirit  upon  all  His  people  (Ac  4"  lo**, 
Ro  8",  I  Co  3"  12'-",  Gal  j'*-  ",  Eph  3"-").— Abbott. 

'And  began  to  apeak  with  other  tOBgUK*.'—Btptn 
conveys  the  twofold  idea  that  what  is  here  received  happened 
for  the  first  time,  anil  that  it  was  afterwards  repealed  01 
con  ti  nued.  — Alex  A  n  d  kr  . 

'Witfa  Other  tongues.'— Called  'new  tongues'  in  Mk 
16".  It  means  languages  which  they  had  not  known 
before,  and  from  the  history  it  would  appear  that  some  of 
the  company  spake  in  one  and  some  in  another  language, 
for  the  crowd  of  foreigners,  when  they  come  logelhet,  all 
tind  somebody  among  the  speakers  whom  they  are  able  to 
understand. — Fabrar. 

'Aa  the  Spirit  gave  them  utterance.'— The  word 
(dxo^^o/uu}  is  peculiar  10  Acls  (cf,  5"  26») ;  in  the  LXX 
It  ill  nted  not  of  ordinary  conversation,  but  of  the  utterances 
of  prophets  (cf.  Eik  13',  Mic  s",  1  Ch  25').— Know  ling. 

Critical  Note. 

The  literature  of  the  Gift  of  Tongues  (Ac  a*)  is  volu- 
minous. The  following  are  accessible  and  worth  consult- 
ing :—Weii«icker,  A^slvHe  Agt,  ii.  271  ff.  ;  McGiffert, 
Christianily  in  Iht  ApBstoHi  Agt,  50  (T.,  521  S. ;  Wright, 
Smai  N.T.  Prohlemi,  277  ff. ;  Robertson  in  Hastings' 
Diitianary  of  the  Bible,  iv,  793  ff. ;  Henson,  Godly  Union 
and  Concord,  55  ff. ;  also  the  commentaries  on  Ac  2,  especi- 
ally Meyer-Wendt,  Knowling,  Rackham.  Barltet,  and  on 
I  Co  II,  14,  especially  Meyer-IIeinrici.  Stanley,  Godet, 
Edwards,  Ellicotl. 


The  Sermon. 

The  Genera)  Frepamtion  for  Pentecost. 

By  the  Rev.  Ji.  H.  Lovell. 

M'hen  the  Church  of  Christ  is  to  do  some  great 

thing  every  precaution  should  be  taken  again&t 

failure.     There  should  be  plan,  force,  method. 

God  planned  this  great  inauguration  at  Pentecost, 

even  as  to  minor  details.     (1)  The  day  and  time 

were  chosen.     It  was  the  harvest  festival.     (2)  It 

was  the  best  time  for  travelling  and  for  open-air 

preaching.     (3)  It  was  the  best  attended  feast  of 

the  year.    (4)  It  was  the  only  feast  at  which  all 


the  sacrifices  were  offered.  (5)  It  was  the  largest 
union  of  diverse  nationalities.  (6)  The  disciples 
were  not  only  met  together  with  one  heart,  but 

(7)  they  were  all  in  one  place,  not  one  has  a  prior 
engagement,  promising  to  be  with  them  in  spiiit 

(8)  They  all  had  the  gift  in  fulness. 


The  Special  Preparation. 

By  the  Rev.  Andrev)  Murray. 
The  disciples  were  specially  trained  for  Pcnl^ 
cost.     Wherein  consisted  their  preparation  for  the 
baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit  ? 

1.  They  were  men  who  had  forsaken  all  to 
follow  Jesus.  I  am  not  speaking  of  forsaking  sin, 
— that  is  forsaken  at  conversion, — but  of  absolute 
surrender  of  everything. 

2.  They  were  intensely  attached  to  Jesus.  Some 
forsake  all  for  the  sake  of  their  religion — and  it 
may  be  a  false  religion ;  some  for  the  sake  of  theii 
fellow-men.  We  must  forsake  all  for  Jesus'  s:ike, 
(or  personal  love  to  Him  and  joy  in  Him. 

3.  They  were  men  who  had  been  led  to  despair 
of  themselves.  They  gave  up  their  nets  at  the 
beginning  of  the  three  years  with  Jesus,  themselves 
at  the  end.  To  be  filled  with  the  Spirit  we  must 
first  die  to  self. 

4.  They  were  men  who  had  accepted  the 
promise  of  the  Spirit  in  faith.  He  said,  '  Ye  shall 
be  baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost'  They  couW 
not  tell  what  He  said.  But  they  took  His  word 
for  it  and  waited.  Say,  'This  promise  is  for  «».' 
A  promise  from  God  is  as  much  as  a  fulfilment. 

5.  On  the  strength  of  the  promise  they  waited 
in  united  prayer.  Look  to  God,  and  exped  GW 
te  do  something. 

The  Day  of  Pentecost 

Hy  the  Rev.  /ohn  Morgan,  M.A. 

1.  They  waited  for  it.  They  wailed  in  prayer. 
They  waited  with  one  accord  in  one  place. 

2.  Two  signs  were  associated  with  the  gift  of 
spiritual  power  that  day.  (i)  The  first  sign  met 
the  ear.  It  was  a  thundering  voice  to  Moses,  a 
great  strong  wind  and  earthquake  to  Elijah,  a 
rushing  heavenly  hurricane  to  the  disciples.  It 
suggests  irresistible  and  overwhelming  force  i  and 
the  movement  is  downward,  manward,  a  gracious 
beatowment  of  God's  own  hand.  '  It  is  the  Spirit 
that  quickeneth ;  the  flesh  pro6tcth  nothing.'    (1) 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


The  second  sign  appealed  to  the  eye.  Fire  re- 
presents the  life-giving  energy  and  consecrating 
power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  But  these  spires  of 
flame  were  an  investment  of  power — promised 
power — to  qualify  them  to  be  Christ's  faithful  and 
true  witnesses. 

3.  Behind  these  signs  was  the  thing  signified — 
'they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost.'  (i) 
They  were  filled.  It  suggests  many  vessels,  all 
empty  at  first,  all  filled  at  last.  Of  all  sizes,  they 
are  filled  to  the  brim.  'The  whole  nature,'  as  Dr. 
Maclaren  phrases  it,  'filled  with  Him  will  flame 
with  new  brilliance,  like  a  bit  of  black  carbon  in  a 
stream  of  electricity.'  (t)  They  were  all  filled. 
High  as  this  dignity  is,  it  is  conferred  on  every 
single  true  member  of  the  Christian  Church,  and 
sanctions  the  royal  priesthood  of  all  believers, 

4.  The  manifestation  of  the  power  enabled  them 
to  begin  evangelizing  the  world  at  once.  Although 
in  its  special  form  temporary  and  provisional,  it 
has  been  prophetic.  In  the  end  of  the  nineteenth 
century  there  is  hardly  a  tribe  of  earth's  heathen 
millions  that  has  not  among  them  some  Christian 
teacher  who  is  trying  to  reduce  their  rude  language 
to  written  form,  and  to  give  them  in  their  own 
mother  tongue  the  Bible  and  the  Gospel. 


Illustrations. 
It  has  been  said,  vhether  by  poetry  m  gcience  malters 
not,  that  there  is  a  certain  point  in  the  upper  sit.  in  which 
all  the  discordant  sounils  of  the  earth— the  rattle  of  wheels, 
the  chime  of  bells,  the  roll  of  the  drum,  the  laugh  of  the 
child — meet  and  blend  in  perfect  harmony.  Sorely  it  is 
more  than  a  pleasant  conceit,  that  when  once  lifted  up  in 
fellowship  in  Christ  Jesus  we  meet  in  a  high  and  heavenly 
place  where  alt  things  are  gathered  together  in  one. — 
W.  Adams. 


It  nay  be  >  profitable  eiercise  for  us  to  note  the  intimate 
cooneiion  between  the  divine  promise  and  men's  praj'ers. 
It  might  appear  as  if  the  promise  superseded  the  necessity 
for  the  prayer.  But  it  is  emphatically  the  other  way.  The 
promise  is  the  warrant  for  prayer ;  and  prayer  is  the  con- 
dition of  its  fulfilment.  '  I  the  Lord  have  spoken  it,  and  I 
will  do  it.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God,  I  will  yet  for  this  be 
inquired  of  hy  the  house  of  Israel,  to  do  it  for  them.' — 
J.  Morgan. 

I  KN'ow  a  man  of  great  wealth,  who  lives  in  a  tine 
mansion-house,  surrounded  by  every  element  and  influence 
fitted  to  make  life  •  luiuty  and  delight ;  and  yet  that  man  is 
miserable,  and  drags  out  a  dwarfed  and  wretched  existence. 
lie  lives  in  two  rooms,  and  denies  himself  the  ordinary  com- 


forts of  existence,  lest  he  come  to  want  and  die  in  the  work- 
house.— J.  Morgan. 

Blessed  be  the  hour  when  that  tongue  of  (ire  descended 
from  the  Giver  of  speech  into  a  cold  world.  Had  it  never 
come,  my  mother  might  have  led  me,  when  a  child  lo  see 
slaughter  for  worship,  and  I  should  have  taught  my  little 
ones  that  »tones  were  gods.— W.  Arthur. 

SOMR  two  or  three  years  ago  a  young  lady  missionary 
came  out  to  -South  Africa,  and  she  spoke  so  much  of  the 
blessing  she  had  received  at  Keswick.  She  told  me  how, 
from  a  child,  she  had  loved  tbe  Lord,  and  been  educated  in 
a  godly  home,  t  said  to  her,  '  What  then  is  the  diflerenee 
between  the  life  you  then  led  and  the  life  you  entered  upon 
afterwards  ?  '  Her  answer  was  simple  and  ready  and  bright, 
•It  is  just  this,'  she  said,  '  the  fersgHal/ellcivship  with  Jesus.' 


When  the  Spirit  of  God  fills  a  man  he  speaks  so  as  to  be 
understood.  If  my  friend  talks  in  a  Latiniied  style  to  a 
company  of  coslermongers,  I  wilt  warrant  you  the  Holy 
Ghost  has  nothing  to  do  with  him.  If  a  learned  brother 
fires  over  the  heads  of  his  congregation  with  a  grand  oration, 
he  may  trace  his  elocution  to  Cicero  and  Demosthenes,  but 
do  not  let  him  ascribe  it  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  for  that  is  not 
after  His  manner.— C.  H.  SPtJRCEON. 

Fire  is  always  a  sign  of  tbe  divine  presence.  So  it  was 
at  the  burning  bush  and  throughout  the  Old  Testament. 
Pagan  writers  also  recogniied  the  symbol,  as  when  Vi^l 
describes  the  portent  which  appears  to  ^neas  {^Eh.  ii. 
683-4,  Conington's  trans.)- 

Between  us  while  lulus  stands 
'Mid  weeping  eyes  and  clasping  hinds, 
Lo,  from  the  summit  of  his  head 
A  lambent  flame  was  seen  to  spread. 
Sport  with  his  locks  in  harmless  play, 
.And  grating  round  his  temples  stay. — 

R.  B.  Raokham. 

Literattire. 
Benson  (R.  M.),  Final  Passover,  iv.  6a8. 
Budgen  (J.),  Parochial  Sermons,  39. 
Henson  (H.  H.),  Godly  Union  and  Concord,  55. 
How  (W.  W.),  Plain  Words,  i.  57. 

Huntington  (G.),  Sermons  for  the  Christian  Seasons,  276. 
Keble  (J.)  Ascension  to  Trinity,  269. 
Lovell  {R.  H.),  First  Types  of  the  Christian  Life,  mj. 
Maclaren  (A.),  Creed  and  Conduct,  143. 
Matheson  (G.),  Voices  of  the  Spirit,  1 17. 
Meyer  (F.  B.),  Calvary  to  Pentecost,  loi. 
Morgan  (G.),  Ministry  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  173. 
Murray  (A.),  Absolute  Surrender,  I,  12. 
Spurgeon   (C.    H.),  Twelve  Sermons  on  the  Holy  Spirit, 

Vaughan  (C.  J.),  Churcb  of  the  First  Days,  i.  37. 

Wilson  (J.  H.),  Gospel  and  its  Fruits,  272. 

Woodford  (J.  R.),  Sermons  on  the  Old  Testament,  ii.  67. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


(Siutnt  ^oui^n  C^eofoj^. 


The  Varderasialisc/ie  Geselhchaft  is  doing  excel- 
lent work  in  making  available  to  the  educated 
public  the  results  of  modern  research  in  the 
history,  literature,  and  religion  of  Western  Asia. 

Four  numbers  of  their  popular  series  on  these 
subjects  are  to  be  obtained  for  a  subscription  of 
2S.  a  year;  single  numbers  maybe  obtained  for 
about  Sd.  each,  while  three  or  four  of  them  have 
been  already  translated  into  English,  and  are  thus 
more  widely  available. 

This  particular  number  contains  an  excellent 
account  of  the  Phoenicians  —  or  rather  of  the 
Northern  Phoenicians ;  for  the  author  has  not 
attempted  to  follow  that  branch  of  the  people 
which,  according  to  the  discoveries  and  writings 
of  Bent,  Glaser,  and  others,  passed  across  Arabia 
into  Africa  as  far  as  Mashonaland.  Perhaps  this 
is  as  well  for  the  present,  since  scholars  have 
much  to  do  in  this  department  before  any  certain 
results  can  be  given  to  the  public. 

The  plan  of  tlie  work  is  necessarily  simple. 
The  introductory  pages  are  followed  by  an  account 
of  the  name  Phoenicia  and  of  the  cities  which 
the  Phcenicians  inhabited,  for  Phisnicia  was  a 
collection  of  cities  and  not  a  kingdom.  In  the 
description  of  these  cities  will  be  found  an 
account  of  some  of  the  chief  monumental  re- 
mains. The  second  half  of  the  work  is  given  to 
the  history  of  the  cities,  more  especially  of  Tyre 
and  Sidon  from  the  time  of  the  Tel  el-Amaroa 
tablets  to  the  Roman  period.  Their  relations 
with  the  Egyptians,  Assyrians,  Hebrews,  Persians, 
Alexander  the  Great,  the  Selcucids,  and  Ptolemies, 
are  all  touched  upon  briefly  but  lucidly. 

One  special  feature  of  the  introduction  deserves 
mention,  namely,  the  suggestion  that  the  Phoe- 
nicians came  into  a  land  already  civilized,  and 
having  connexions  of  its  own  with  the  North 
African  coast,  and  that  the  Phcenician  settlements 
in  Africa  were  the  result  of  conquest,  and  not 
simply  of  commercial  connexions. 

G.  W.  Thatcher. 

Maiis/ield  CelUgt,  Oxford. 

'  Die  FMoHtiier.  Von  Wilhelm  Freihert  v.  Landau. 
Leipzig  :  ].  C.  Hinrichs,  1901- 


It  has  often  seemed  to  the  present  reviewer  a 
somewhat  unpromising  feature  of  British  theology 
that  it  has  studied  but  little  systems  so  rich  in 
speculative  interest  as  those  of  Biedermann  and 
Lipsius.  These  must  carry  a  deep  attraction 
for  every  one  with  any  genuine  interest  in  critico- 
specutative  theism.  We  gladly  hail  Fleisch's  book, 
for  the  subject  is  an  inviting  one.  Those  who 
have  studied  the  Dogmatik  of  Biedermann  must 
have  felt  the  masterly  power  and  unwonted 
intellectual  interest  of  the  work,  while  the  critical 
and  constructive  abilities  of  Lipsius  are  no  less 
striking.  Clearness,  precision,  intrepid  candour, 
iron-like  consistency,  piety,  and  nobility  of  mind 
—these  are  the  qualities  of  Biedermann.  Philo- 
sophical acuteness,  subtlety,  analytic  power,  and 
religious  profundity  are  among  the  chief  virtues 
of  Lipsius.  To  consider  the  relations  of  these 
two  thinkers,  in  respect  of  their  theories  of  know- 
ledge and  the  metaphysical  bases  of  their  systems, 
is  the  task  essayed  by  Fleisch.  In  a  somewhat 
lengthy  and  interesting  Introduction,  he  gives  an 
account  of  the  rise  of  Neo- Kantianism  and  its  chief 
exponents,  and  also  of  the  friendship  that  existed 
between  the  two  great  dogmatists,  spite  of  the 
fact  that  Lipsius  was  so  severely  critical  of  Bieder- 
mann's  speculations.  Nobly  one  they  were  in 
championing  the  cause  of  scientific  theology. 
Where  they  mainly  differed  was,  that  Biedermann 
disallowed  alike  the  personality  of  God  and  the 
continuance  or  persistence  of  the  individual 
spirit,  both  of  which  Lipsius  strenuously  upheld. 
Their  differences  did  not  keep  them  from  a  large 
measure  of  theological  agreement  in  the  working 
out  of  their  respective  systems.  And  Fleisch 
asks  whether  the  fact  that  these  two  thinkers  in 
so  different  ways  come  at  last  to  like  result  does 
not  argue  for  the  correctness  of  the  conclusion. 

The  first  section  of  the  book  is  devoted  to 
Biedermann.  Biedermann  declares  his  theory  of 
knowledge  to  consist  of   the  principle  of  pure 

*  Die  erktnntniitheorelistheH  und  mtlafihyiischen  Crvnd' 
lagen  dtr  degmalisihen  Sysleme.  Von  A.  E.  Biedeiniann 
und  R.  \.  Lipsius.  KrilUch  darge$l«l]t  von  Urban  Fleisch, 
Lie.  Theol.  Berlin :  C.  A.  Schn-ettchke  und  Sohn,  1901, 
Pp.  iv,  ao,,. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


359 


realism.  The  term  is  meant  only  in  a  methodo- 
logical sense,  not  a  metaphysical  one.  After  the 
essential  moments  in  this  connexion  hare  been 
set  forth,  Fleisch  expresses  his  agreement  with 
critics  like  Lipsius,  Liidemano,  and  others  in 
thinking  that  fiiedermann  has  not  kept  out  onto- 
logical  questions,  as  he  intended,  but  given  meta- 
physical considerations  very  real  place.  Fleisch 
thinks  it  signihcant  that  a  thinker  who  proceeds 
with  so  much  circumspection  as  Biedermann,  has 
not  been  quite  able  to  proscribe  oncological 
questions  in  connexion  with  his  theory  of  know- 
ledge. This  anticipation  of  the  metaphysical 
result  is  apt,  in  the  view  of  many,  to  prejudice 
the  psychological  inquiry  which  follows.  Fleisch 
corrects  this  impression,  and  then  sets  forth  the 
[>sychotogic  process  at  some  length.  Pursuant 
to  the  fuller  determination  of  the  limits  of  meta- 
physical knowledge,  Biedermann's  relations  to 
Kant  and  Hegel  are  next  dealt  with.  He  is  no 
despiser  of  Kant,  though  he  for  the  most  part 
places  himself  in  stiff  opposition  to  that  thinker. 
His  great  objection  to  Kantism  is  its  abstract 
dualism  —  between  form  and  matter,  between 
thing- in-itself  and  appearance,  and  between  pure 
and  practical  reason.  Touching  his  relation  to 
Hegel,  the  central  Hegelian  conception  of  pure 
thought  is  adopted  by  Biedermann.  That  is  to 
say,  he  agrees  with  the  fundamental  Hegelian 
position  that  the  essence  or  substance  of  spirit 
is  logical  Ijeing,  to  be  comprehended  only  in 
lexical  categories.  But  from  this  position  Bieder- 
mann works  out  his  way  quite  differently  from 
Hegel.  Biedermann's  way,  briefly  put.  Is  not 
that  of  d  priori  deduction,  but  that  of  empirical 
induction ;  his  way  proceeds  not  from  above  to 
below,  but  in  inverted  fashion  from  below  to 
above.  Biedermann,  in  fact,  roundly  rejects  the 
method  of  Hegel,  and  his  conception  of  pure 
thought  is  essentially  different  fioro  Hegel's. 
This  is  specially  evident  if  we  inquire  what  power 
of  performance  Biedermann  attributed  to  pure 
thought  For  the  practically  unlimited  power 
postulated  for  it  by  Hegel  is  in  marked  contrast 
with  the  modest  chums  set  up  for  it  by  Bieder- 
mann. The  section  on  Biedermann  concludes 
with  interesting  discussions  on  religious  know- 
ledge in  its  relation  to  metaphysic,  and  on  the 
way  to  God. 

The  second  division  of  the   book   follows   a 
like  treatment  with  respect  to   Lipsius  and  his 


distinctive  religious  and  philosophical  positions. 
Not  the  least  interesting  part  of  the  work  is  the 
third  section,  consisting  of  the  author's  own 
critical  and  constructive  attempts.  There  is 
much  valuable  discussion  of  points  of  speculative 
importance,  such  as  the  problem  of  experience, 
the  nature  of  metaphysics,  and  the  relation  of 
meUphysic  to  dogmatics.  The  task  of  dogmatics 
is  then  dealt  with,  in  which  connexion  Fleisch 
effectively  criticises  both  Biedermann  and  Lipsius, 
the  former  because  he  deals  not  satisfyingly  by 
religious  experience,  and  the  latter  because  he 
does  not  give  critical  speculation  its  due  place. 
Fleisch  maintains  well  his  independence,  on  the 
whole ;  his  sympathies  are,  however,  mainly  with 
Biedermann ;  on  some  points  of  importance,  as, 
for  example,  the  personality  of  God,  our  own 
leanings  are,  on  the  other  hand,  decidedly  with 
Lipsius ;  but  this  fact  abates  not  one  jot  or  tittle 
of  our  appreciation  of  Fleisch's  extremely  useful 
and  ably  executed  performance. 

James  Lindsay. 
Kilmameck. 


tU  C%x\ti\M  ©octtine  of  ^rdct/ 

In  1893  the  University  of  Jena  conferred  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  on  Pfaner  Dieck- 
mann  for  his  essay  on  'The  Christian  Doctrine  of 
the  Wrath  of  God,  with  a  Criticism  of  Albert 
Ritschl's  Teaching.'  The  studies,  of  which  that 
essay  was  the  first-fruits,  have  been  continued 
during  the  last  eight  years,  and  Dr.  Dieckmann's 
latest  treatise  on  'The  Christian  DocUine  of 
Grace '  is  much  more  than  a  reply  to  Ritschl's 
Christian  Doctrine  of  Justificaiiott  and  Reconcilia- 
tion,—  it  is  an  able  apologetic  which  aims  at 
showing  the  central  significance  of  grace  in  the 
kingdom  of  God. 

In  defining  his  own  attitude  to  Ritschl,  Dr. 
Dieckmann  says  truly  that  to-day  many  march 
under  the  flag  of  Ritschl  who  have  little  first-hand 
acquaintance  with  his  works.  True  respect  to  a 
great  teacher  is  shown  by  learning  directly  from 
him,  without  of  necessity  adopting  all  his  opinions. 

»  Dit  ihTislHehe  Lehrt  von  tier  Gnade.  Apologie  des 
bibliuhen  ChiisMDtDmi,  insbesondeie  EeBcnllber  der 
Riuchlschen  Rechlferligungslehre.  Von  Lie.  Dt.  August 
Dieckmann.  Pp.  ivi,  424._  BeiUn :  Schwelscbkc  und 
Sobn.     Pteis  M.S.  "'      '     V.7V.H,  Wl*. 


36o 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


The  link  of  connexion  between  RitschI  and  some 
who  claim  to  belong  to  his  school  is  now  worn 
very  tbin;  writeis  like  Lipsius  bear  far  stronger 
testimony  to  the  greatness  of  Ritschl's  influence, 
for  the  results  of  his  researches  have  modified 
their  conclusions,  although  they  never  allow  his 
confident  self-assertion  to  override  their  own  judg- 
ment. In  an  appreciative  reference  to  Hamack's 
Whal  is  Christianity}  there  is  a  significant  sen- 
tence which  applies  to  other  writers  of  our  day: 
'  It  shows  that  the  historic  judgment  cannot  come 
to  a  satisfactory  conclusion  on  the  questions  at 
issue,  if  the  dogmatic  standpoint  of  the  historian  is 
not  definitely  fixed.' 

Dr.  Dieckmann  leaves  his  readers  in  no  doubt 
as  to  his  own  standpoint.  On  the  one  hand,  he 
maintains  that  RitschI,  in  his  earnest  polemic 
against  Cathoh'cism  and  Pietism,  has  given  a  one- 
sided representation  of  the  orthodox  doctrine  of 
Justification,  and  has  laid  too  exclusive  stress  on 
its  juridic  aspect;  on  the  other  hand,  he  reminds 
defenders  of  Protestant  orthodoxy  that  it  is  hetero- 
dox for  them  to  refuse  to  revise  dogmatic  statements 
in  the  light  which  historical  criticism  has  shed 
upon  the  writings  to  which  Protestants  appeal  as 
the  source  of  doctrine.  '  Modern  researches  in 
the  domains  of  exegesis  and  biblical  theology 
have  added  to  our  knowledge ;  the  time  has  come 
for  a  revision  of  the  central  dogma  of  Protest- 
ant ism^Justificat  ion  by  grace  through  faith,' 

The  reason  why  the  Christian  doctrine  of  Grace 
has  been  so  often  misunderstood  is  that  dogmatic 
theology  has  greatly  erred  in  limiting  the  concep- 
tion of  grace  to  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  A  forceful 
protest  is,  therefore,  entered  against  the  substitu- 
tion of  the  conception  of  justification  tor  that  of 
grace.  It  would  be  easy  to  name  influential 
English  theologians  against  whom  this  charge 
cannot  be  made;  nevertheless,  English  readers 
may,  with  advantage,  be  reminded  of  the  twofold 
use  of  the  word  grace  in  the  Bible.  In  its  wider 
meaning,  grace  is  the  condescending  love  of  God 
as  it  is  made  known  in  His  dealings  with  men ;  in 
its  narrower  meaning,  grace  is  one  species  of 
divine  love,  viz.  sin -forgiving  love.  In  the 
Christian  view  of  the  world,  grace  describes  the 
attitude  of  God  to  all  men ;  the  grace  that 
pardons  the  sinner  re-establishes  the  normal  re- 
lation of  man  to  God.  'In  the  teaching  of  jesus, 
grace,  in  the  nanower  sense,  appears  as  a  restitu- 
tion of  grace  in  the  wider  sense.'     Between  these 


two  conceptions  of  grace,  it  is  ai^ed,  there  is  no 
chasm;  neither  must  be  sacrificed  to  the  other. 
It  is  grace  that  says  to  the  elder  son :  '  Thou  art 
ever  with  me,  and  all  that  I  have  is  thine';  and  it 
is  grace  that  runs  to  meet  the  returning  prodigal 
and  kisses  him  before  the  prayer  for  forgiveness 
has  passed  his  lips. 

Issue  is  joined  with  RitschI  when  it  is  shown 
that  Justification  or  the  Forgiveness  of  Sins  does 
not  exhaust  the  significance  of  Christ's  appearing. 
'  In  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  had  no  fellow- 
ship with  sin,  the  grace  of  God  is  revealed  in 
union  with  perfect  righteousness,  and  this  perfect 
righteousness  is  seen  to  have  its  roots  in  reverence 
for  the  God  whose  entire  nature  is  grace.'  Accord- 
ing to  the  Christian  conception,  God's  love  to  men 
is  essentially  and  under  all  circumstances  grace; 
condescending  love  is  grace,  and  such  is  the  dis- 
position which  the  God  who  made  us  cherishes  to 
all  men  as  His  creatures.  When  grace  is  rightly 
understood,  God's  greatness  and  His  condescen- 
sion. His  holiness  and  His  love,  are  seen  to  blend 
in  perfect  harmony;  moreover,  such  a  conception 
of  grace  renders  it  impossible  to  imagine  any 
conflict  in  the  divine  nature  between  grace  and 
righteousness.  These  theses  are  shown  to  rest 
on  Scripture,  and  are  contrasted  with  Ritschl's 
inadequate  treatment  of  the  holiness  of  God. 

Subsequent  divisions  of  the  book  deal  respect- 
ively with  '  Faith  in  its  Relation  to  Grace,' '  Sin  in 
the  Light  of  Grace,' and  'Redemption  through  the 
Grace  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ.'  On  these  vast 
themes  Dr.  Dieckmann  has  thought  for  himself, 
and  to  good  purpose.  The  exposition  of  the 
significance  of  the  death  of  Christ  from  the  ethical 
point  of  view  is  fruitful  of  suggestion,  its  leading 
idea  being  that  whilst  the  grace  of  God  gives  to 
the  death  of  Christ  its  atoning  virtue,  the  grace 
must  never  be  separated  from  the  positive  right- 
eousness of  Christ  which  was  fully  revealed  upon 
His  Cross.  There  are  passages  which  must  be 
marked  as  resting  on  a  faulty  exegesis,  as,  e^., 
when  it  is  said  that '  as  in  Jesus  the  Word  became 
flesh,  in  us  also  it  must  become  flesh.  The  very 
purpose  of  the  appearing  of  Jesus  on  earth  was 
that  we,  in  all  our  earthly  life,  might  give  ex- 
pression and  form  to  the  Divine  Spirit.'  But  far 
more  frequently  the  reader  of  this  stimulating 
book  will  note  sentences  which  shed  welcome 
tight  on  questions  raised  by  recent  theological 
discussions,  as,  e^.,  '  Faith  in  Christ  rests  on  faith 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


361 


in  God,  and  the  former  is  the  proof  of  the  genuine- 
ness of  the  latter';  or,  'Our  thoughts  do  not 
descend  but  ascend,  when,  after  describing  the 
nature  of  grace  in  general,  we  strive  to  set  forth 
the  nature  of  sin-forgiving  grace.  The  latter  in- 
volves no  breach  in  the  universal  principles  of 
God's  government,  rather  does  it  mark  the  cul- 
mination of  the  grace  which  operates  in  them  all ; 
.  .  .  the  prodigal  son  did  not  find  on  his  return 
home  that  his  father's  disposition  had  changed, 
the  difference  was  that  until  then  he  could  not 
appreciate  his  father's  love,  only  then  did  he 
realize  what  a  treasure  he  had  always  possessed  in 
the  grace  of  his  father.  The  father  was  the  same, 
but  the  son  had  become  another  man.' 

J.  G.  Taskkr. 
Nandswerth  Caliege, 


Q^nis  on  '  Ofb  ^stament 
Ctitictam.'  • 

Professor  Konig  possesses  a  combination  of 
qualifications  for  the  office  of  guide  on  questions 
of  Old  Testament  criticism  during  a  transition 
period  like  the  present.  An  uncompromising 
defender  of  criticism,  as  at  once  a  right  and  a 
duty,  he  is  at  the  same  time  absolutely  free  from 
that  subjectivity  and  arbitrariness  which  have  so 
often  brought  criticism  under  suspicion.  The 
tractate  which  forms  the  subject  of  this  notice 
will  help  to  reassure  those  who  feel  that  in  the 
main  the  O.T.  critics  are  right,  but  who  are  some- 
what apprehensive  as  to  the  final  issue  of  the 
course  to  which  they  have  committed  themselves. 
It  will  also  secure  the  respectful  attention  (due  to 
anything  that  comes  from  Dr.  Konig's  pen)  ofthose 
critics,  against  some  of  whose  methods  and  con- 
clusions our  author  finds  it  necessary  to  protest. 

The  leading  aim  of  the  work  may  be  said  to  be, 
to  indicate  the  principles  upon  which  O.T.  criticism 
ought  to  be  conducted,  and  to  point  out  instances 
of  the  abuse  or  the  neglect  of  these  in  some  well- 
known  recent  publications.  It  is  shown,  for 
example,  how  the  firmly  established  laws  of  gram- 
mar may  at  times  decide  unerringly  on  questions 
of  text,  and  how  the  history  of  the  language  and 
of  the  ideas  of  the  Hebrews,  may  guide  to  certain 

'  NeiuHt  Prinxipicn  dtr  alltist.  Kritik  geprUft.  Von 
Ed.  Krtnig,  ord.  Prof.  d.  Thcol.,  Bonn.  Berlin:  Edwin 
Runge.     1900-     I'rieeM.s. 


conclusions  as  to  the  date  or  the  genuineness  of 
particular  passages.  Conclusions  based  on  style 
(in  which  connexion  some  of  Duhm's  utterances  in 
his  Commentary  on  Isaiah  are  examined  in  detail), 
or  on  supposed  metrical  or  strophical  laws  {e.g.,  those 
contend&j  for  by  Bickell,  Ley,  or  Grimme),  intro- 
duce us  to  a  more  debatable  region,  where  one  is 
thankful  to  have  so  competent  a  guide.  The  same 
is  the  case  where  the  comparative  history  method 
is  applied  (for  instance,  in  dealing  with  the  patri- 
archal narratives,  and  the  origin  of  the  tribes  of 
Israel).  In  this  connexion  Dr.  Konig's  examina- 
tion of  Gunkel's  contrast  between  legend  (,Sage) 
and  history  is  marked  by  singular  ability  and 
interest.  Altogether  the  book  will  be  found  of 
much  value,'  and  deserving  of  study  by  O.T. 
scholars  of  all  shades  of  opinion. 

J.  A.  Selbie. 
MaryculUr,  Abtrdtttt. 


The  great  German  undertaking,  entitled  Die  grte- 
chischen  ChristlUhen  Sehriflsleller  der  erslen  diet 
Jakrkunderle,  which  is  carried  on  under  the  aus- 
pices of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Prussia,  is  making 
steady  progress.  The  first  volume  of  the  Works 
of  Eusebius'  has  now  been  pubh'shed,  edited  by 
Dr.  Ivan  A.  Heikel  (Leipzig :  J.  C.  Hinrichs).  It 
contains  three  writings:  (i)  The  Life  of  Con- 
stantine;  (a)  The  Translation  of  Constantine's 
Oratio  ad  Santtotum  Coetum  ;  (3)  The  Oration  at 
the  Tricennaiia  of  Constantine.  Professor  Heikel's 
Introduction  occupies  107  pages,  and  it  is  full  of 
matter  at  once  pertinent  and  well  expressed.  There 
is  no  space  wasted.  Eusebius  himself  may  be  an 
interesting  and  even  a  puzzling  personality,  but  it  is 
the  works  of  Eusebius  with  which  Professor  Heikel 
has  to  do,  and  in  particular  the  three  works  before 
him,  and  he  gives  himself  to  that,  so  that  we  are 
told  all  that  is  known  and  worth  telling  about 
them.  There  is  no  translation ;  but,  besides  the 
Introduction  there  are  textual  footnotes  to  every 
page;  and  at  the  end  complete  indexes  of  texts, 

'  Eujiiiiis  IVerii :  Erster  Band ;  ilber  das  Leben  Con- 
stantins,  Constmlins  Rede  an  die  heilige  Vers&mmlung, 
Tricennatstede  an  Constantin.  Von  Dr.  Iviit  A.  Heikel, 
Professor  an  der  Kaiserl.  Alexanders  Univeriitat  in  Finlani). 
Leipzig:  J.  C.  Hinrichs,  1902. 


36a 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


proper  names,  and  Greek  words.  The  last  index 
fills  nearly  1 06  pages,  three  columns  to  a  page.  We 
have  not  yet  been  able  to  examine  the  book  by  use, 
but  testing  it  here  and  there,  have  been  impressed 
with  its  German  thoroughness  and  the  wonderful 
accuracy  of  its  proof-reading.  This  edition  of 
Eusebius  will  take  the  place  of  all  others. 


JSome  ^vcnc^  QSoofts. 

In  the  year  1898  M.  Israel  L£vi  published  an 
edition  of  Sirach  39"  to  49"  in  the  recently  dis- 
covered Hebrew,  with  Introductions,  a  Translation 
{in  French)and  Notes  (both  critical  and  expository). 
He  has  now  published  the  second  volume  of  that 
work.  It  contains  chaps.  3^-16^;  extracts  from 
18,  19,  as,  i6;  3i"-33»;  3S'*-38";  49"  W  >he 
end.  That  is  to  say  it  contains  all  the  rest  that 
has  yet  been  discovered.  In  the  two  volumes, 
which  are  published  by  M.  Ernest  Leroux  in  Paris, 
we  have  the  whole  of  the  Hebrew  Ecclesiasticus 
yet  unearthed,  with  the  best  available  commentary, 
and  with  all  other  information  in  its  most  scholarly 
and  compact  form. 

No  French  (or  Swiss)  commentator  has  taken 
a  strong  hold  on  English  readers  since  Godet. 
Perhaps  no  man  has  given  himself  with  a  like 
combination  of  gifts,  both  natural  and  spiritual,  to 
the  exposition  of  Scripture.  We  should  be  most 
unwise,  however,  if  we  were  to  imagine  that  the 
exposition  of  Scripture  is  at  a  standstill  in  Godet's 
fatherland,  or  had  nothing  to  teach  us.  The  new 
edition  of  Dr.  Bonnet's  commentaries  is  in  touch 
with  the  latest  scientific  knowledge,  and  at  the 
same  time  manifests  much  originality  of  treatment. 
St.  John's  Gospel  and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles 
appear  in  one  volume,  revised  and  enlarged  by 
M.  Alfred  Schroeder  (Lausanne :  Georges  Bride! 
et  Cie).  With  the  keenest  sensitiveness  to  criticism 
M.  Schrceder  unites  the  frankest  evangelical  fer- 
vour. This  is  the  great  distinction  between  (he 
German  and  French  commentator — the  German  is 
content  to  be  scientific,  the  Frenchman  or  Swiss 
wishes  to  be  religious  also.  And  his  religion  (or 
even  his  unction)  does  not  hinder  but  only  tests 
his  science. 

The  notes  are  full,  but  the  introductions  are 
brief.    There  is  only  one  complaint  we  make  — 


we  should  desire  a  somewhat  closer  acquaintance 
with  English  work ;  there  is  no  lack  of  knowledge 
of  German. 

M.  Victor  LecofTre  of  Paris  has  begun  the  publi- 
cation of  a  'Library  of  Church  History.'  Five 
volumes  are  already  issued,  and  many  are  under 
way.  Of  those  already  issued  two  have  been  sent 
for  review.  They  are  Le  Grand  Schtime  ^Occident 
by  L.  Salembier,  and  L'£giise  ei  ks  Origirus  de 
la  Jtenaissance,  by  J.  Guiraud.  They  appear  in 
what  we  call  crown  8vo,  well  printed,  and  of  course 
unbound.    The  price  of  each  volume  is  jfr.  50  c 

We  cannot  write  Church  History  so  well  as 
French  theologians  can.  We  cannot  combine 
grace  of  style  with  accuracy  of  description  so 
perfectly.  Both  these  volumes  are  what  we  should 
call  masterpieces,  and  yet  they  take  their  ^lace 
without  distinction  in  the  series.  In  one  respect, 
however,  we  can  surpass  the  French  historian. 
We  can  usually  be  more  tolerant.  It  seems  to  be 
difficult  for  a  French  theologian  to  avoid  being  an 
advocate.  We  can  be  more  like  a  judge.  It  must 
be  confessed,  however,  that  these  volumes  are  as 
free  from  bias  as  one  could  desire.  It  is  evident 
that  the  utmost  care  has  been  taken  to  be  historical 
rather  than  polemical.  If  they  were  well  trans* 
lated,  they  would  serve  a  good  purpose  in  the 
English  tongue. 


THE4tb  'Ablheilung'  of  the  Tkeol.  Jahresberuht 
(Schwetschke  &  Sohn,  Berlin)  has  reached  us. 
This  completes  the  record  of  theological  literature 
for  the  year  1900,  and  is  devoted  to  Praktische 
Theologie  (price  M.8).  This  issue  contains  also 
an  obituary  list  prepared  by  Dr.  Nestle.  We  have 
to  notice  at  the  same  time  that  the  publishers  have 
issued  what  will  prove  to  be  an  exuemely  handy 
volume.  This,  which  is  entitled  Bibliographit 
der  Theol.  Litleralur,  contains  a  complete  classified 
catalogue  (without  the  critical  remarks)  of  all 
the  works  in  theology  that  were  dealt  with  in 
the  four  separate  parts  of  the  JahreiberUht.  It 
will  be  a  great  convenience  thus  to  have  the 
list  in  a  single  volume,  instead  of  having  to 
turn  from  one  to  another,  and  the  price  (M.2) 
is  extraordinarily  low  (the  list  running  to  344 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


S63 


Pirke  Aboth  is  generally  recognized  to  be  one  of 
the  most  important  Mishnic  treatises.  In  our 
own  country  we  have  the  very  careful  edition  by 
C.  Taylor  {Sayings  of  the  Jewish  Fa/furs).  Pro- 
fessor Strack,  who  published  an  edition  of  it  as 
long  ago  as  i88j,  has  now  issued  a  third  edition, 
improved  in  many  ways.  For  exercise  in  reading 
Hebrew  it  will  be  found  of  much  use,  the  text 
being  pointed,  and  notes  explaining  all  peculi- 
arities, especially  differences  from  the  Hebrew  of 
the  O.T,,  being  added.  Yoma,  Aboda  zara,  and 
Shahbath  have  also  been  published  by  Dr. 
Strack,  who  hopes  also  to  issue  annotated 
texts  of  Berakkoth  and  Pesachim.  The  full 
title  of  the  work  before  us  is  Die  Sptiiche  dtr 
Voter,  kerausgegeben  und  trklart,  von  Professor 
H.  L.  Strack.  Leipzig:  J.  C.  Hinrichs,  1901. 
Price  M.I.30.  

A  mere  notice  of  their  appearance  will  suffice 
for  H.  Winckler's  Himmels-  und  WeiUnbild  der 
Babylenier,  all    Grundiage    der    Weltanschauung 


und  Afythologie  aller  Volker,  and  A.  Wiedemann's 
Die  VnlerhaUungslitteratur  der  alien  Agyfter. 
Both  these  belong  to  the  admirable  series  'Der 
alte  Orient'  (published  by  J.  C.  Hinrichs,  Leip- 
zig), of  which  we  have  frequently  spoken  in  terms 
of  the  highest  commendation.  Each  issue  of  the 
scries  costs  only  60  pfennigs,  and  in  every  in- 
stance is  the  work  of  an  expert. 

The  Song  of  Deborah  has  a  special  interest  for 
the  O.T.  student,  on  account  of  its  undoubted 
antiquity  and  the  light  it  casts  upon  the  early 
tribal  history  of  Israel.  We  have  much  pleasure 
in  commending  Professor  C.  Bruston's  Le  Canlique 
de  Debora  (Montauban,  Librairie  Laforgue)  as  a 
tractate  that  contains  much  valuable  material 
both  for  the  text  and  the  exegesis  of  the  Song. 
Professor  Bruston  argues  forcibly  in  favour 
of  the  author  (who  can  be  easily  shown  not  to 
be  Deborah)  having  belonged  to  the  tribe  of 
Naphtali,  and  having  thus  been  a  compatriot  of 
Barak. 


Z-%t  QYlatoefer  of  i%t  ®aj  of  ^miitazt 

By  THE  Rev,  David  Smith,  M.A.,  Tuluallan. 


Whatever  diversity  of  opinion  there  may  be 
regarding  the  narrative  in  Acts  i,  on  one  point 
there  must  be  absolute  unanimity — that  something 
happened  on  that  Day  of  Pentecost  which  has 
exercised  a  mighty  influence  on  the  history  of  the 
Church  and  of  mankind.  That  day  found  the 
disciples  a  perplexed  and  timid  band ;  it  left  them 
strong  and  courageous,  conscious  of  their  mission, 
and  eager  to  go  forth  and  win  the  world  for  their 
Risen  Lord.  Would  we  realize  the  completeness 
of  the  transformation  ?  Then  let  us  think  of  Peter 
quailing  at  the  mockery  of  a  mischievous  maid- 
servant and  denying  his  Lord  in  abject  terror; 
and  then  consider  the  selfsame  Peter  a  couple  of 
months  later — the  same,  yet  how  different !— facing 
the  Sanhedrin  undaunted,  and  meeting  their 
threats  with  this  sublime  defiance :  'Whether  it  be 
right  in  the  sight  of  God  to  hearken  unto  you  more 
than  unto  God,  judge  ye ;  for  we  cannot  but  speak 
the  things  which  we  have  seen  and  heard.'  What 
was  it  that  wrought  this  amazing  transformation? 


The  Scriptures  say  it  was  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  and  what  less  can  it  have  been  ? 

The  Lord's  parting  injunction  to  His  disciples 
had  been :  '  Tarry  ye  in  the  city  of  Jerusalem, 
until  ye  be  endued  with  power  from  on  high ' ;  and 
they  had  tarried  at  His  command.  For  just  a 
week  they  waited,  expecting  '  the  Promise  of  the 
Father ' ;  and  then  came  the  Day  of  Pentecost. 
In  the  morning  at  the  hour  of  prayer — 9  o'clock — 
they  repaired  to  the  Temple  and  seated  themselves 
in  the  House  of  God  (v.^)  among  the  multitude  of 
worshippers  who  had  come  up  from  far  and  near 
to  the  Holy  City  to  celebrate  the  Feast  of  Harvest. 
There  were  a  hundred  and  twenty  of  them ;  and, 
though  they  sat  in  a  group  by  themselves  (v.'xoi^ts 
i/totr  Jn-i  TO  avrd),  there  would  be  nothing  to  dis- 
tinguish' them  from  the  other  worshippers  who 
thronged  the  Temple,  save  perhaps  their  poor 
attire  and  dejected  aspect. 

There  sat  the  great  congregation,  hushed  and 
reverent,  waiting  till  the  hour  should  strike  and 


3^4 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


the  voice  of  the  priest  be  heard ;  when  suddenly 
the  stillness  was  broken  by  'a  sound  as  of  the 
rushing  of  a  mighty  wind,' and  the  astonished  wor- 
shippers, raising  their  heads  which  had  been 
bowed  in  silent  prayer,  and  looking  about  them, 
saw,  as  it  were,  a  heavenly  light  gleaming  on  the 
faces  of  the  hundred  and  twenty,  Sia/upiiop-tvai 
yAtoo-trai  bxrtt  irvpoi  is  the  phrase,  and,  as  Erasmus 
says.  Potest  geminus  intelligisensus,ulvel  accipiaiKM 
ipsai  linguasfume  sectiUs,  vet  ut  intelltgamus  em  e 
ccelo  delapsas  sese  in  singula  disdpulos  fuisse  dispar- 
tilas.  Surely  the  latter  is  the  true  interpretation. 
It  was  a  light  that  shimmered  from  face  to  face, 
irradiating  first  one  and  then  another,  like  the 
dawn  breaking  on  peak  after  peak.  The  Promise 
of  the  Father  had  been  fulfilled  ;  the  Risen  Lord 
had  baptized  His  waiting  disciples  with  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  with  fire.  'What  does  this  mean?'  the 
spectators  would  exclaim ;  and  immediately  those 
simple  peasants,  a  moment  ago  so  timid  and 
retiring,  burst  into  eloquence  and  declared  what 
God  had  wrought.  And,  though  their  hearers 
were  mostly  strangers  from  distant  lands,  there 
was  no  one  that  did  not  understand  the  wondrous 
story. 

Now  there  are  three  marvels  here  :  the  sound  as 
of  the  rushing  of  a  mighty  wind,  the  light  that 
gleamed  on  the  disciples'  faces,  and  that  strange 
power  which  was  given  Ihem  of  reaching  the 
understandings  of  all  those  diverse  hearers  and 
stirring  their  emotions.  Endless  is  the  diversity 
of  views  which  have  been  taken  of  these  marvels, 
and  one  may  well  hesitate  to  pronounce  a  dogmatic 
judgment  on  a  subject  which  is  not  only  obscure 
but  very  sacred,  and  should  be  handled  with  equal 
diffidence  and  reverence.  There  are  two  errors  to 
be  avoided  in  the  treatment  of  such  a  theme :  on 
the  one  hand,  the  irreverence  which  would  lightly 
explain  difficulties  away,  and,  on  the  other,  the 
false  reverence  which  clings  to  traditional  misinter- 
pretations and  encumbers  the  sacred  text  with 
alien  and  needless  difficulties.  It  may  be  that,  if 
1  we  consider  this  narrative  with  open  eyes  and 

I  unprejudiced  minds,   we  shall  discover    that    it 

admits    of   a    simple,   natural,   and  illuminating 
I  explanation. 

The  Descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit  would,  in  the 

,  first  instance,  be  attended  by  no  outward  mani- 

I  festation,  according  to  that  deep  saying   of  our 

t  Lord,  'The  Kingdom  of  God  cometh  not  with 

observation.'    It  would  be  an  inward  experience 


in  the  hearts  of  the  disciples.  But  scarcely  bad 
the  Heavenly  Visitant  taken  possession  of  their 
souls  when  His  power  was  felt  and  His  presence 
seen.  He  illumined  their  minds,  revealing  to 
them  the  meaning  of  the  Gospel  and  showing 
them  their  high  calling  as  the  representatives  and 
ambassadors  of  their  Risen  Lord.  It  was  like  the 
illumination  of  a  landscape  by  a  vivid  lightning- 
flash  or  the  sudden  opening  of  a  blind  man's  eyes. 
All  that  Jesus  had  done  was  clothed  with  a  new 
and  unthought  of  significance ;  and  words  of  His 
which  they  had  forgotten  or  puzzled  over,  were 
remembered  and  understood.  It  was  the  fulfil- 
ment of  His  promise  :  '  The  Comforter,  which  is 
the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  the  Father  will  send  in  My 
Name,  He  shall  teach  you  all  things,  and  bring 
all  things  to  your  remembrance,  whatsoever  I  have 
said  unto  you.' 

It  was  a  sudden  and  overpowering  visitation. 
An  exclamation  of  surprise,  a  murmur  of  astonish- 
ment, broke  from  the  lips  of  the  hundred  and 
twenty,  and  there  was  a  rustling  as  they  rose 
in  their  places.  Amid  other  surroundings  the 
commotion  might  have  attracted  no  attention, 
but  in  the  breathless  stillness  of  the  Temple  where 
a  pinfall  could  be  heard,  the  sudden  stir  seemed 
a  very  storm.  It  was  like  'a  sound  as  of  the 
rushing  of  a  mighty  wind,  and  it  tilled  all  the 
House,'  echoing  through  pillared  aisle  and  vaulted 
roof. 

The  great  assemblage  was  startled,  and,  looking 
round,  they  saw  the  hundred  and  twenty  on  their 
feet  as  they  had  started  up  in  sudden  surprise,  and 
a  strange  light  gleaming  on  their  faces.  What 
was  it?  It  was  a  look  of  wonder  and  awe,  the 
effulgence  of  Che  glory  which  had  flooded  their 
souls,  the  outward  reflection  of  the  holy  presence 
within.  What  is  there  here  miraculous  or 
incredible?  When  Moses  came  down  from  the 
Mount  after  forty  days  and  nights  of  communion 
with  God,  'the  skin  of  his  face  shone.'  He  'wist 
not'  of  it,  but  the  people  saw  it,  and  he  seemed  to 
them  as  one  transfigured — 'apparelled  in  celestial 
light.'  And  is  it  not  written  of  Stephen  that,  as 
he  stood  before  the  Sanhedrin,  they  'saw  his  face 
as  it  had  been  the  face  of  an  angel '  ? 

What  is  there  incredible  or  even  mysterious  in 
this  ?  The  flesh  is  the  spirit's  tenement,  the  face 
the  mirror  which  reflects  its  every  emotion  and 
passion,  the  eyes  the  windows  through  which  it 
looks.     It  is  no  poetic  fancy  but  a  familiar  fact 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


365 


that  the  soul  has  power  to  transfigure  the  flesh  and 
clothe  the  face  with  a  new  aspect.  One  of  the 
masterpieces  of  Praxiteles  was  a  statue  of  Love, 
and  it  is  said  that,  if  a  bandage  was  bound  acio^ 
its  e^es,  the  face  looked  plain  and  sad ;  but  when 
the  bandage  was  removed,  it  was  transfigured  into 
beauty  and  a  sweet  smile  played  upon  it.  And 
what  was  the  secret  of  the  transfiguration  ?  It  was 
the  soul  within  that  looked  out  through  the 
uncurtained  windows  and  glorified  the  face.  Mow 
beautiful  the  plainest  countenance  appears  when 
the  lovelight  is  on  it !  What  a  transfiguration  the 
thought  of  his  Beatrice  wrought  on  Dante.  '  When 
she  appeared  in  any  place,'  he  says  in  the  fifa 
JVuova,  'it  seemed  to  me,  by  the  hope  of  her 
excellent  salutation,  that  there  was  no  man  mine 
enemy  any  longer;  and  such  warmth  of  charity 
came  upon  me  that  most  certainly  in  that  moment 
I  would  have  pardoned  whosoever  had  done  me 
an  injury ;  and  if  one  should  then  have  questioned 
me  concerning  any  matter,  I  could  only  have  said 
unto  him  "  Love,"  with  a  countenance  clothed  in 
humbleness.  And  what  time  she  made  ready  to 
salute  me,  the  spirit  of  Love,  destroying  all  other 
perceptions,  thrust  forth  the  feeble  spirits  of  my 
eyes,  saying,  "Do  homage  unto  your  mistress," 
and  putting  itself  in  their  place  to  obey :  so  that 
he  who  would,  might  then  have  beheld  Love, 
beholding  the  lids  of  my  eyes  shake.' 

And  what  wonder  if  a  like  transfiguration  be 
wrought  on  one  whose  soul  is  visited  by  the  Love 
that  excelleth  ?  Have  we  not  seen  a  man  of  mean 
aspect  stand  up  before  his  fellows  to  proclaim  the 
Great  Salvation,  and  been  ofl'ended  by  his  uncouth- 
ness  ?  But  presently  he  spoke  of  Jesus  and  His 
Love,  and,  behold,  what  a  transfiguration  I  The 
rude  tongue  became  eloquent,  and  the  plain  face 
shone  with  a  strange  light  till  it  seemed  like  the  face 
of  an  angel ;  and,  looking  over  the  congregation, 
one  saw  the  reflection  on  their  faces  as  though 
they  had  caught  the  glow. 

And  now  what  of  the  sudden  eloquence  which 
burst  from  the  lips  of  the  hundred  and  twenty? 
Here  we  have  the  earliest  mention  of  that 
yXiomToXaixa.  which  prevailed  in  the  primitive 
Church.  The  common  notion  is  that  it  was  a 
supernatural  endowment  whereby  men  were 
enabled  by  sudden  inspiration  to  speak  strange 
languages.  The  subject  is  involved  in  much 
obscurity,  but  a  careful  perusal  of  the  /ocus  classicus, 
1   Co   14,   may  lead   us  to  a  somewhat  different 


conclusion.  The  apostle  there  makes  two  state- 
ments which  seem  pretty  decisive;  One  is  that, 
when  a  man  spoke  in  a  tongue,  he  spoke  not  unto 
men  but  unto  God;  no  man  understood,  but  in 
the  Spirit  he  spoke  mysteries  (v.*).  The  other 
is  that  speaking  in  a  tongue  was  like  the  music  of 
a  harp  or  a  pipe — mere  sound  without  words 
(v.^).  Hence  it  would  appear  that,  when  a  man 
spoke  in  a  tongue,  he  spoke  no  language  whatsoever. 
Such  at  any  rate  was  the  Corinthian  ytjaaaoKaiUa. 
It  was  a  sort  of  dithyrambic  outpouring,  the 
impassioned  utterance  of  a  soul  in  ecstasy.  One  is 
tempted,  even  at  the  risk  of  appearing  irreverent, 
to  trace  this  Corinthian  yAuHro-oXoXui  to  an  heathen 
origin,  when  one  remembers  that  in  ancient  days 
insanity  was  regarded  as  a  divine  possession,  and 
that  the  Pythian  priestess  was  a  mad  woman,  and 
her  frenzied  ravings  were  accepted  as  inspired 
oracles.  It  is  no  wonder  that  St.  Paul  looked 
askance  at  the  excesses  of  the  Corinthian  giossola- 
lists,  so  alien  to  the  sanity  of  the  Gospel. 

It  was  no  such  frenzy  that  seized  the  disciples 
on  the  Day  of  Pentecost.  Their  yXoxriroXaAia 
was  the  eloquence  of  minds  divinely  illuminated 
and  inspired  with  a  holy  enthusiasm.  Their  lips 
were  opened,  and  they  spoke  as  they  had  never 
done  before — '  with  other  tongues '  (v.').  It  is 
inconceivable  that  they  should  have  spoken  strange 
languages,  nor  indeed  is  there  anything  in  the 
narrative,  rightly  in terp related,  which  implies  that 
they  did.  Greek  was  the  universal  language  in  the 
East  at  that  period,  and  it  would  be  perfectly 
understood  by  all  those  strangers  who  had  come 
up  to  celebrate  the  Feast  at  Jerusalem.  It  is  a 
pity  that  our  versions  should  have  fostered  the 
prevailing  error  by  a  palpable  mistranslation  in  v.'. 
The  word  there  translated  'tongue'  in  A.V.  and 
'language'  in  R.V.  is  SioXcktik,  and  here  is 
Erasmus's  just  comment :  Gracis  dialectus  est 
lingua  proprietas  aul  species,  velut  afud  Gma>s 
cum  una  sit  lingua,  quinqut  tamen  sunt  dialecti,  ut 
qui  Grace  calleat  mox  possit  agnoscere  Atticus  sit 
qui  loquitur,  an  Doricus,  lonicus,  an  Lactdtenionius. 
The  marvel  was  not  that  the  disciples  spoke  a 
variety  of  unknown  languages.  They  alt  spioke 
Greek,  but  every  stranger  heard  the  peculiar  accent 
with  which  it  was  spoken  in  the  remote  province 
where  he  dwelt.  Such  is  the  plain  meaning  of 
the  words  ■^koikto'  tis  tuaerros  t^  (Sip  SioAtitTU 
XuXotitTu)'  avTwv  (v.°) ;  and,  as  though  to  put  the 
matter  beyond  the  possibility  of  misunderstanding, 


366 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


it  is  added  in  v.",  'we  do  hear  them  speaking 
with  owr  tongues  (rai*  i^/urcpais  yXioaaoK)  the 
mighty  works  of  God.'  It  is  as  though  there 
were  an  assemblage  in  London,  and,  while  all  the 
speakers  spoke  the  English  language,  one  spoke 
it  with  the  accent  of  Aberdeenshire,  another  with 
that  of  Fifeshire,  another  with  that  of  Lancashire, 
and  another  with  that  of  Dublin ;  ao  that  strangers 
from  every  province  of  the  land  were  addressed  each 
'  in  his  own  dialect '  and  '  with  his  own  tongue.' 

Now  what  is  the  explanation  of  this  marvel? 
(i)  It  is  more  than  likely  that  the  hundred  and 
twenty  were  not  all  Galileans.  It  was  natural 
that  the  spectators,  recognizing  the  eleven  as 
Gjlilsans,  should  leap  to  the  conclusion  that  their 
followers  were  Galilseans  likewise  and  slump  them 
all  in  the  same  category  (v.').  But  it  is  probable 
that  not  a  few  of  the  hundred  and  twenty  were  not 
Galilieans  nor  even  Palestinians,  but  strangers  who 
hadvisited  Jerusalem  on  the  occasion  of  some  of  the 
sacred  festivals  and  had  there  been  '  apprehended 
of  Christ  Jesus.'  Here  is  one  of  them  who  was 
bom  in  Mesopotamia,  and  of  course  he  speaks  in 
the  Mesopotamian  dialect  and  with  the  Mesopo- 
tamian  accent. 

(z)  Even  if  they  were  all  Galileans,  it  is  no 
wonder  that  their  words  should  have  gone  home 
to  their  hearers'  hearts  with  a  thrill  as  of  their 
kindly  mother-tongue.    There  is  an  accent  of  the 


heart  as  well  as  of  the  lips,  a  dialect  of  faith  as 
welt  as  of  speech,  and  when  the  burning  eloquence 
of  the  disciples  kindled  the  souls  of  their  hearers, 
it  would  seem  no  alien  tongue  but  the  voice  of 
brethren.  It  is  Cold  of  a  godly  Highlander  who 
understood  not  a  word  of  English,  that  be  once 
visited  the  Lowlands  and  went  to  church  in  the 
place  where  he  was  staying.  On  his  return  home 
he  dilated  with  much  fervour  on  the  sermon  he 
had  heard ;  and  when  asked  how  it  could  be  that 
he  had  received  so  much  edification  from  it  when 
it  was  preached  in  a  strange  language,  he  answered 
that  the  name  Christ  had  never  been  out  of  the 
preacher's  mouth.  He  had  understood  that,  and 
it  had  been  as  a  feast  of  fat  things  to  his  soul. 
Hearing  that,  it  was  as  though  he  were  listening  to 
his  own  mother-tongue.  It  was*  with  a  foreign 
accent  thai  St.  Bernard  spoke  when  he  preached 
the  first  crusade  to  the  nations  of  Northern  Europe ; 
yet  he  roused  the  enthusiasm  of  multitudes  and 
moved  them  to  forsake  home  and  kindred  on  that 
perilous  enterprise.  When  St.  Francis  Xavier 
went  among  the  savages  of  India  and  the  China 
seas,  he  knew  little  or  nothing  of  their  barbarous 
tongues ;  yet  he  melted  their  hearts  and  won 
them  for  Christ.  Love  has  an  eloquence  of  its 
own,  though  it  have  no  other  speech  than  looks 
and  tears.  And  the  language  of  Love  is  man's 
mother-tongue  the  wide  world  over. 


JAMES  RUSSELL  LOWELL.' 


One  of  the  last  acts  recorded  of  James  Russell 
Lowell  by  his  biographer  was  to  re-read  BoswcH's 
Jokmon  for  the  fourth  time.  Would  he  have  read 
his  own  biography  twice?  Perhaps  he  would,  for 
he  had  ever  a  healthy  interest  in  the  things  con- 
cerning himself.     But  will  others  read  it  twice? 

Yet  it  is  a  successful  biography.  It  does  all 
that  a  biography  professes  to  do,  and  does  it  well. 
It  tells  us  all  we  need  to  know  of  the  life  of  James 
Russell  Lowell,  and  it  never  wearies  or  worries  us 
in  the  telling.  It  is  just  because  it  is  so  good  a 
biography,  just  because  it  fulfils  its  proper  purpose 
By    Horace 


SO  satisfactorily,  that  it  will  not  be  read  twice. 
Having  read  it  once  we  know  the  man.  We  do 
not  need  to  read  it  twice.  And  being  a  biography 
and  not  a  work  of  literary  art,  it  will  be  read  once 
by  everybody,  twice  by  none.  If  Boswell'syfAwcK 
had  been  as  good  a  biography  as  Scudder's  Laweiif 
James  Russell  Lowell  would  not  have  read  it  for 
the  fourth  time.  Boswell's  Johfison  is  literature, 
but  it  is  not  a  biography ;  Scudder's  Lowell  is  not 
literature,  and  will  not  last,  but  it  is  nearly  as  good 
a  biography  as  it  could  be. 

James  Russell  Lowell  was  a  prophet.  He  seemed 
to  be  a  politician.  He  was  also  known  as  a  poet. 
He  had  more  title  to  the  name  of  critic.    He  might 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


3^7 


be  called  all  three — poet,  critic,  politician ;  but  he 
was  really  only  a  prophet.  He  never  took  seriously 
to  the  writing  of  poetry.  He  would  not  spend 
time  on  it,  to  make  it  even  a  perfect  vehicle  for  his 
prophecies,  but  it  was  only  as  a  vehicle  for  his 
prophecies  that  he  took  it  up  at  all.  He  had  more 
title  to  be  called  a  critic  He  did  spend  time  on 
that  He  read  his  author  twice,  and  then  laid  him 
aside  for  a  while,  that  he  might  not  lose  the  im- 
pression of  the  whole  in  the  memory  of  the  pans. 
He  strove  to  be  just.  He  would  let  all  the  ends 
he  aimed  at  as  a  critic  be  Truth's.  And  why? 
Not  because  he  counted  criticism  his  life's  work, 
but  because  he  knew  that  the  most  difiiqilt  office 
the  prophet  has  to  fulfil  is  the  office  of  judge. 
His  own  message  he  receives,  and  he  can  rush  out 
into  the  streets  with  it.  But  other  men  have  their 
messages  from  God.  If  they  seem  to  differ  from 
his,  he  must  consider  the  difference  carefully  and 
take  time.  The  office  of  critic  is  the  most  difficult 
office  on  earth.  He  was  also  a  politician.  But 
that  was  simply  because  the  prophet  must  always 
speak  to  the  men  of  his  own  time.  And  Lowell's 
time  being  the  time  of  the  abolition  of  slavery,  he 
had  to  be  conspicuously  a  politician  or  be  no 
prophet.  How  could  a  man  be  a  prophet  who  did 
not  take  a  side  between  North  and  South  in  the 
Civil  War?  Lowell  had  even  a  certain  'sagacity,' 
as  Mr,  Watts-Dunton  calls  it,  which  in  later  years 
made  him  an  acceptable  ambassador  to  Spain  and 
to  England.  But  he  was  not  a  politician.  He 
was  a  prophet,  taking  his  side. 

Do  not  think  that  this  notion  that  he  was  a 
prophet  is  thrust  upon  Lowell  by  the  paradox 
hunter.  He  made  the  discovery  himself.  '  I  had 
a  revelation  last  Friday  evening.  I  was  at  Mary's, 
and  happening  to  say  something  of  the  presence  of 
spirits  (of  whom,  I  said,  I  was  often  dimly  aware), 
Mr.  Putnam  entered  into  an  ai^ument  with  me  on 
spiritual  matters.  As  I  was  speaking,  the  whole 
system  rose  up  before  me  like  a  vague  Destiny 
looming  from  the  abyss.  I  never  before  so  clearly 
felt  the  Spirit  of  God  in  me  and  around  me.  The 
whole  room  seemed  to  me  full  of  God.  The  air 
seemed  to  wave  to  and  fro  with  the  presence  of 
Something,  I  knew  not  what  I  spoke  with  the 
calmness  and  clearness  of  a  prophet' 

Lowell  was  born  in  1819.  This  occurred  in 
1843.  He  was  on  the  threshold  of  manhood. 
And  it  is  significant  of  God's  ways  with  men  that 
it  came  when  the  whole  manhood  was  moved  at 


the  presence  of  earthly  love.  This  is  the  great 
chapter  in  the  biography.  The  biographer  feels 
it.  For  a  moment  it  seems  as  if  the  book  were  to 
be  less  a  biography  and  more  a  work  of  art.  New 
thought  and  deep  feeling  combine  to  produce  a 
chapter  of  the  literature  that  will  last,  the  literature 
that  will  he  read  again.  And  it  must  he  said  for 
the  biographer,  that  if  he  descends  to  prose  again 
and  pure  biography,  he  does  so  reluctantly,  and 
never  loses  sight  of  the  revelation.  From  that  day 
Lowell  is  a  prophet  even  to  his  biographer. 

His  biographer  sees  quite  well  that  he  was  at 
least  more  of  a  prophet  than  anything  else.  '  In 
his  eager  impulsive  desire  to  right  wrongs  and  his 
impatience  at  compromise,  he  chafed  under  the 
restraints  laid  upon  him.'  He  would  not  take  lime 
to  be  a  poet  pure  and  simple.  He  would  be  a 
poet  like  Isaiah  or  St.  Paul,  not  polished  but  fervid, 
not  artistic  but  earnest.  It  worries  him,to  read  hii 
proofs  for  press.  But  in  order  to  be  a  prophet  he 
seizes  on  the  vernacular  with  its  impossible  spelling 
— though  that  spelling  makes  the  proofs  doubly 
difficult  to  read— and  hurls  the  Biglow  Papers  at 
an  astonished  community  of  easy-goers.  This  is 
the  language  of  the  people,  the  people  who  feel 
the  inequality  of  slavery.  It  is  their  own  '  A  man's 
a  man  for  a'  that.'  It  gives  them  heart  and  hope. 
It  gives  them  laughter — and  there  is  triumph  in 
laughter.  The  Biglow  Papen  are  Lowell's  claim 
to  be  a  poet.  But  they  settle  his  title  lo  be  called 
a  prophet. 

There  were  poets  near  him  who  were  poets 
indeed,  who  were  only  poets.  He  was  not  always 
patient  with  them,  Br}'ant  was  one.  Brjant 
thought  Lowell's  poem  'To  the  Past'  was  sug- 
gested by  a  poem  of  his  own  with  the  same  title. 
'Does  he  think  that  he  invented  the  past?'  asks 
Lowell, '  and  has  a  prescriptive  title  to  it  ?  I  might 
have  knocked  him  into  a  cocked  hat  in  my  satire 
[the  '  Fable  for  Critics '].  But  that,  on  second 
thoughts,  would  be  no  revenge,  for  it  might  make 
him  President,  a  cocked  hat  being  now  the  chief 
qualification.  It  would  be  more  severe  to  knock 
him  into  the  middle  of  next  week,  as  that  Is  in  the 
future,  and  he  has  such  a  partiality  toward  the 
past: 

The  italics  are  ours.  But  Lowell  was  able  to 
appreciate  Bryant's  poetry.  '  Bryant's  "  Water- 
fowl,"'  he  said  once,  'has  begun  that  immortal 
flight  that  will  be  followed  by  many  a  delighted 
eye  long  after  ours  shall   have  been  darkened.' 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


With  other  poets  he  was  more  in  sympathy 
throughout,  perhaps  because  they  had  more  of  the 
prophet  in  them,  especially  with  Longfellow. 
Longfellow  was  not  the  piophet  Lowell  would 
have  made  him.  In  an  early  letter  to  Longfellow 
he  says :  '  Christ  has  declared  war  against  the 
Christianity  of  the  world,  and  it  must  down. 
There  is  no  help  for  it.  The  Church,  that  great 
bulwark  of  our  practical  paganism,  must  be 
reformed  from  foundation  to  weathercock.  Shall 
we  not  wield  a  trowel,  nay,  even  carry  the  heavy 
bricks  and  mortar  for  such  an  enterprise  ? '  Long- 
fellow read  that,  and  listened  to  Lowell  personally, 
but  he  never  felt  the  'burden.'  'Lowell  passed 
the  morning  with  me,'  he  notes  in  his  diary  under 
date  23rd  October  1845.  'Amiable  enthusiastl 
He  proposes  to  write  a  book  in  favour  of  fanati- 
cism,' But  yet,  when  Ixingfellow's  sixtieth  birth- 
day occurred  in  1867,  Lowell,  whose  love  never 
wavered,  wrote  a  poem,  and  printed  it  in  the  daily 
paper  which  he  knew  would  be  laid  on  Longfellow's 
breakfast- [able. 

But  what  do  prophets  do  for  us?  That  is  to 
say.  What  has  Lowell  done?  There  are  three 
things  which  might  be  mentioned.     He  looked  to 


the  future.  His  Paradise  lay  there,  not  u  with 
the  poets  in  the  past.  He  also  linked  himself  with 
the  past.  A  prophet  must  be  in  the  succession. 
He  must  not  speak  from  himself;  but  what  he 
hears,  that  he  must  speak.  And  all  the  prophets 
receive  the  same  message,  to  be  applied  by  them 
to  the  circumstances  of  their  own  day.  Lowell  did 
not  bring  slavery  to  an  end.  Neither  did  St.  Paul. 
But  Lowell  linked  himself  to  St.  Paul  and  said, 
'  God  made  man  in  His  own  image.'  And  when 
the  day  came  for  the  practical  vindication  of  that 
principle,  Lowell  was  where  St.  Paul  would  have 
been.  Finally,  he  believed  in  God  as  the  God  not 
of  the  dead  but  of  the  living.  He  believed  that 
God  was  the  God  of  this  world. 
Cireles)  seems  tbe  great  Aveoger ;   histoiT's  pages  but 

One  dealh-grapple  in  the  darkness  'twixl  old  sjrsteois  and 
the  World  ; 

Truth  forever  on  the  scaffold,    Wrong  forever  on    the 

Yet  that  scaflbid  tways  the  futore,  and,  behind  the  dim 

unknown, 
Standelh  God  within  the  shadow,   keeping  watch  above 

His  own. 
Lowell  wrote  that. 


THE  BOOKS  OF  THE  MONTH. 


THE  CONFLICT  OF  TRUTH.' 

Mr.  Capron  is  a  very  clever  man  and  a  very 
skilful  debater.  He  has  written  a  great  book  on 
the  Creation,  developing  in  it  a  line  of  defence 
(or  rather  of  attack)  which  be  suggested  in  an 
earlier  and  smaller  volume  a  year  or  two  ago. 
He  has  met  the  men  of  science  on  their  own 
ground,  accepted  their  principles  and  adopted  their 
very  words,  and  he  has  proceeded  to  prove  that 
the  account  of  the  Creation  in  Genesis  is  strictly 
and  scientifically  true. 

We  are  not  convinced  by  the  book.  There  are 
places  where  it  seems  to  prove  too  much ;  wc  feel 
under  the  glamour  of  Mr.  Capron's  clever  rhetoric 
all  through.  But  as  an  answer  to  Huxley  or 
Haeckel  it  is  perfect.  Huxley  would  not  have 
condescended  to  notice  Mr.  Capron.  He  had 
a  cunning  and  convenient  way  of  selecting 
antagonists  with  name  and  position  and  without 

'  Tht  Cunfiici  0/  Truth.  By  F.  Hugh  Capron.  Hodder 
&  Stoughton,  1902. 


the  necessary  equipment.  Haeckel  will  not  notice 
him  either.  He  is  too  well  satisfied  with  his  own 
impossible  and  ridiculous  position  to  notice  any- 
body. But  the  innumerable  multitude  who  care 
for  the  truth  more  than  for  Huxley  or  Haeckel 
will  see  that  if  the  account  of  the  Creation  in 
Genesis  is  wrong,  it  is  not  Huxley  nor  Haeckel 
nor  even  Herbert  Spencer  that  is  entitled  to  say  so. 
We  are  not  convinced  by  the  book,  because  we 
feel  that  it  ignores  the  origin  or  at  least  the 
affinity  of  the  Creation  narratives  in  Babylonian 
lore.  That  the  narratives  in  Genesis  and  the 
narratives  on  the  Babylonian  tablets  are  the  same 
in  substance  no  one  can  doubt.  Mr.  Capron 
would  perhaps  answer  that  the  author  (or  authors, 
for  he  does  not  touch  the  critical  questions) 
of  the  Genesis  narratives  was  instructed  to 
separate  out  the  polytheism  and  error  from  the 
Babylonian  account,  and  even  to  bring  it  into  line 
with  the  scientific  discovery  of  all  time.  But  that 
would  have  demanded  another  chapter,  perhaps 
several  chapters. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


369 


It  may  be,  however,  that  Mr.  Capron  has  for 
the  moment  aRbrded  welcome  relief  to  many 
disturbed  minds.  If  all  this  can  be  said  for  the 
strict  scientific  accuracy  of  the  Book  of  Genesis, 
who  will  undertake  to  prophesy  how  far  we  may 
be  from  a  new  conception  of  revelation  ?  And 
assuredly  Mr.  Capron  has  rendered  one  estimable 
service  by  his  book.  He  has  shown  that  the 
common  division  of  the  Bible  into  elements 
human  and  elements  Divine  is  as  unscientific  as 
it  is  destitute  of  religious  worth. 

HISTORICAL  CHRISTIANITY.' 
The  Dean  of  Christ  Chuich  undertook  a  bold 
task  when  he  determined  to  show  that  historical 
Christianity — the  Christianity  that  existed  before 
criticism  was  bom — is  the  best  religion  yet  dis- 
covered for  the  life  of  man.  He  found  that  the 
two  greatest  religious  needs  of  man  are  Com- 
munion with  God  and  ImmorUlity.  These  needs 
all  the  highest  religions  have  tried  to  satisfy.  But 
they  have  all  miserably  failed.  In  Greece  art  rose 
till  it  reached  a  climax  and  then  declined.  At 
its  climax  the  art  of  Greece  became  a  permanent 
possession  for  mankind.  But  the  religion  of 
Greece  has  done  nothing  for  mankind.  Only  the 
religion  called  Christianity  has  enriched  the  world 
and  satisfied  the  soul  of  man. 

And  it  is  historical  Christianity.  Dean  Strong 
does  not  deny  a  place  to  criticism,  but  it  is  the 
Gospels  as  they  stand  that  have  made  the  im- 
pression upon  men,  it  is  the  Christ  of  riie  Gospels 
that  has  given  them  communion  with  God  and 
brought  life  and  immortality  to  light.  In  the 
result  there  is  a  prominent  place  even  for  the 
Fourth  Gospel.  And  thus  Dean  Strong  will  let 
the  keenest  critical  dissecting  knife  carve  away. 
Christ  and  the  Christianity  of  Christ  have  been, 
and  will  still  be,  the  supreme  satisfaction  of  the 
life  of  roan. 

PRINCIPLES   OF   WESTERN 

CIVILIZATION.* 

Mr.  Kidd  is  an  evolutionist.     That  is  nothing, 

however.      We  are  all  evolutionists  now.     Mr. 

'  Hiittrical  Clirittianily  the  Seligien  of  Human  Lift. 

By  Thomas   B.    Sliong,   B.D.,   Dean  of  Christ  Church, 

Oxford.     Frqwde,  1901. 

•  Princifilei  of  Western  Civilitaiien.  By  Benjamin  Kidd. 
Macmillan,  1901. 


Kidd  is  a  Darwinian.  He  even  goes  one  beyond 
Darwin.  He  looks  before  and  after,  especially 
does  he  look  before;  Darwin  only  looked  after. 
He  holds  that  Darwin  as  an  evolutionist  had  this 
great  defect,  that  he  thought  all  the  struggle  for 
existence  was  in  favour  of  the  existing  individuals, 
to  make  them  as  nearly  perfect  as  possible.  Mr. 
Kidd  shows  that  it  has  nonsuch  purpose.  The 
struggle  for  existence  is  all  in  behalf  of  those  that 
have  yet  to  be  bom. 

Darwinism  rests  on  two  conceptions.  The  first 
is  that  the  rate  of  increase  of  all  living  creatures 
is  so  enormous  that  if  unchecked  it  would  speedily 
overreach  the  conditions  of  existence.  The  second 
is  that  in  all  forms  of  life  individuals  show  a 
tendency  10  variation,  together  with  the  capacity 
of  transmitting  these  variations  to  their  offspring. 
These  two  principles  produce  the  phenomenon 
which  Darwin  described  as  Natural  Selection,  and 
which  constitutes  the  right  of  the  name  Darwinism 
to  exist  Out  of  the  hosts  of  living  creatures 
that  come  into  the  world,  a  few  are  always  selected 
to  continue  their  kind.  They  are  selected  natur- 
ally. They  are  selected  because  they  have 
acquired  certain  characteristics  which  give  them  a 
superiority  in  the  battle  of  life.  They  survive  and 
propagate ;  the  rest  perish.  Thus  the  earth  moves 
on,  and  the  living  beings  in  it  steadily  advance 
toward  perfection,  and  its  sky  is  not  blackened 
nor  its  green  grass  devoured  by  even  the  most 
prolific  of  the  creatures  which  swarm  upon  the 
face  of  it. 

Darwinism  as  thus  outlined  '  has  stopd  the  test 
of  attack  and  examination  from  innumerable 
points  of  view  in  one  of  the  most  strenuous  and 
remarkable  intellectual  periods  in  history.'  It 
holds  its  ground.  But  within  the  most  recent 
years  a  remarkable  discovery  has  been  made,  a 
remarkable  development  of  Darwinism  has  taken 
place.  Darwin  understood  that  whenever  an  indi- 
vidual possessed  characteristics  which  gave  it  a 
better  chance  in  the  struggle  for  existence,  that 
individual  was  benefited  by  the  possession.  It  is 
not  so.  The  great  discovery  has  been  made  that 
the  individuals  do  not  exist  for  themselves  but 
for  their  posterity.  Their  advantage  in  the  race 
of  life  is  not  theirs  but  their  offspring's.  Darwin 
said,  'Natural  Selection  works  solely  by  and  for 
the  good  of  each  being.'  Mr.  Kidd  and  others 
have  discovered  that  Darwin  was  wholly  wrong. 
In  the  struggle  for  existence  the  individual  and 


37° 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


the  present  are  ever  sacrificed  in  the  interests  of 
the  future  and  the  race.  The  title  of  Natural 
SeUetion  must  now  give  place  to  the  title  of  Fr^ 
j'ected  EfficUney. 

One  result  is  this.  It  is  no  advantage  that  any 
creature  should  live  long.  Darwin  thought  it  was. 
It  seemed  to  give  more  time  for  the  development 
and  enjoyment  of  the  useful  qualities.  But  now 
that  we  see  that  the  iudividual  exists  for  the  sake 
of  posterity,  a  long  life  is  a  positive  hindrance. 
If  it  has  lived  long  enough  to  propagate  its 
kind  and  pass  on  its  acquired  characteristics,  the 
sooner  the  individual  dies  and  makes  way  for  the 
next  generation  to  do  the  same,  the  better  for  the 
process  of  evolution. 

Now  this  principle  of  Projected  Efficiency 
applies  to  human  society  as  well  as  to  the  lower 
animals.  It  is  the  principle  in  which  progress 
has  been  made  in  all  the  ages  of  the  world,  and 
especially  in  the  civilization  of  the  Western  nations 
within  the  Christian  era.  Let  Mr.  Kidd's  book 
prove  and  illustrate  that  position.  Critics  have 
been  crying  it  down,  but  it  is  a  great  book,  and  will 
outiive  the  critics'  envy.  We  do  not  think,  how- 
ever, that  the  discovery  is  so  new  as  Mr.  Kidd 
would  have  iL  Was  it  not  made  long  ago  by 
the  writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  when 
she  said  (Hamack  assures  us  that  Priscilla  is  the 
author),  'These  all,  having  had  witness  borne  to 
them  through  their  faith,  received  not  the  promise, 
God  having  provided  some  better  thing  concerning 
us,  that  apart  from  us  they  should  not  be  made 
perfect '  ? 

APOSTOLIC  SUCCESSION.' 
Apostolic  Succession  is  not  the  title  of  Canon 
Henson's  book.  His  title  is  Godly  Union  and 
Concord,  And  no  doubt  his  own  title  is  the  more 
dignified  and  comprehensive.  But  ApostoHc 
Succession  is  the  subject  of  the  book.  It  is  Apos- 
tolic Succession  that  is  the  hindrance,  in  Canon 
Henson's  belief,  to  godly  union  and  concord,  and 
from  first  to  last  Apostolic  Succession  is  in  his 
mind  and  ours. 

Canon  Henson  does  not  believe  in  Apostolic 
Succession.  He  believed  in  it  once.  In  a  frank 
and  positively  fascinating  preface,  he  tells  us  that 
once  be  wrote  to  the  Times  protesting  against  the 


action  of  the  late  Bishop  of  Worcester  in  admitting 
Nonconformists  to  communion  at  Grindelwald; 
and  a  little  later  he  wrote  to  the  Guardian 
criticizing  a  sermon  of  Archdeacon  Sinclair  which 
advocated  a  recc^ition  of  the  non-Episcopal 
Churches.  But  he  has  come  to  think  that  he  was 
wrong,  and  says  so.  He  said  so  some  time  ago, 
first  in  one  volume  and  then  in  another.  But  it 
was  not  till  he  said  so  boldly  in  the  pulpit  of 
St  Margaret's,  Westminster,  and  with  the  authority 
of  a  canon  of  Westminster,  that  people  stayed  to 
listen  to  him. 

Canon  Henson  has  delivered  a  number  of 
sermons  on  Apostolic  Succession  in  St.  Margaret's, 
Westminster,  and  one  or  two  elsewhere,  and  it 
is  these  sermons  that  he  has  now  published  under 
the  title  of  Godiy  Union  and  Concord.  Now  it 
may  be  said  at  once  that  they  are  deeply  interest- 
ing sermons,  and  that  their  deepest  interest  lies 
in  the  preacher's  personality.  Canon  Henson 
preaches  himself.  Not  offensively,  not  instead  of 
Christ,  but  his  own  mind,  his  own  convictions, 
himself.  He  holds  back  nothing  of  what  he  has 
received.  But,  besides  that,  there  is  the  interest 
of •  scholarship.  Canon  Henson  has  studied  his 
subject.  He  did  not  deny  his  own  past  without  a 
struggle,  it  came  as  the  result  of  the  evidence,  and 
he  searched  for  the  evidence  and  sifted  it  for 
himself.  In  the  preface  to  this  volume  he  criticizes 
Canon  Moberly's  Ministerial  Priesthood  in  a  way 
which  shows  that  he  knows  what  he  is  speaking 
about.  Canon  Moberly  is  a  scholar  too.  It  is  not 
on  that  ground  that  Canon  Henson  has  the  best  of 
him,  it  is  on  the  ground  of  resolution  to  be  guided 
by  the  evidence.  But  if  he  were  not  a  scholar  he 
would  not  know  the  points  to  touch,  he  would  not 
see  where  Canon  Moberly's  theories  clash  with 
fact. 

And  then,  finally,  there  is  the  interest  in  this 
book,  and  an  intense  interest  it  is,  of  the  forlorn 
hope.  Canon  Henson  does  not  realize  that  yet. 
He  knows  that  there  are  two  classes  who  will  have 
nothing  to  do  with  him,  but  he  does  not  know  that 
there  is  not  one  class  who  will  say,  Well  done. 
He  does  not  know  how  absolutely  forlorn  his  hope 
is.  One  might  expect  that  the  '  non-Episcopal 
Churches' as  he  calls  them,  might  hail  him  brother, 
but  they  will  not  do  so  at  present.  They  say 
they  have  had  'Irenicons'  and  things  of  that 
kind  too  often.  They  do  not  ask  recognition. 
They  have  a  higher  sanction  than  Canon  Henson 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


can  give  them  or  any  who  may  agree  with  Canon 
Henson,  and  they  are  content.  For  the  present 
they  ask  to  be  left  to  do  their  own  work  for  God. 
Canon  Henson  is  leading  a  forlorn  hope,  and 
when  he  sees  that,  we  shall  leam  how  heroic  he 
really  is. 

CONFESSION  AND  ABSOLUTION.! 
The  Bishop  of  London  called  together  a  certain 
number  of  Church  of  England  theologians  to  his 
palace  at  Fulham  and  set  them  down  to  discuss 
Confession  and  Absolution.  He  wavered  between 
that  and  the  relation  of  National  Churches  to  the 
Church  Catholic.  He  decided  in  the  end  that 
Confession  and  Absolution  was  more  pressing  and 
more  likely  to  unite  the  theologians.  He  chose 
his  theologians  carefully  and  well  Canon  Hay 
Aitken,  Father  R.  M.  Benson,  Canon  Body,  Dr. 
C.  V,  Childe,  Principal  Coles  of  the  Pusey  House, 
Principal  Drury  of  Ridley  Hall,  Principal  Gee, 
Viscount  Halifax,  the  Hon.  Canon  Lyttelton, 
Canon  Mason,  Canon  Moberly,  Chancellor  Smith, 
Dean  Strong,  Professor  Swete,  and  Prebendary 
Wace — that  is  the  list.  You  see  how  they  repre- 
sent every  shade  of  theological  opinion  within  the 
Church.  The  Bishop  of  London  told  them  to 
spend  two  days,  with  two  sessions  in  each;  he 
would  not  be  present  himself  and  no  reporter 
would  be  present,  but  Dr.  Wace,  who  was  chosen 
Chairman,  would  take  some  notes,  and  he  himself 
would  attend  at  the  close  of  the  last  session  and 
pronounce  the  benediction.  It  all  came  off.  The 
book  before  us  has  been  made  out  of  Dr.  Wace's 
notes,  corrected  by  each  of  the  speakers. 

The  first  impression  is  admiration  of  Dr.  Wace's 
ability  as  a  reporter.  The  gist  of  the  speeches  is 
h«e,  and  all  is  most  intelligible  and  orderly.  The 
book  will  live,  not  only  on  account  of  the  historic 
occasion  which  gave  it  birth,  but  on  account  of  its 
actual  contribution  to  the 'pressing' subject  with 
which  it  deals.  The  result  of  the  Conference  was 
expressed  by  the  Chairman  to  the  Bishop  at  the 
close  of  the  last  sitting.  The  members  all  agreed 
that  our  Lord's  words  in  St  John's  Gospel,  'Whose- 
soever sins  ye  remit,'  etc,  were  addressed  not  to 
the  apostles  or  clergy  only  but  to  the  whole 
Church ;  and  they  further  agreed  that  Confession 

'  Cenfessiim  and  Aisoluliim  ■  Rtpart  ef  a  Conference  held 
al  Fulham  Folate  on  Jo/A  ami  Jitt  December  r^r,  and 
jsl  January  igoi.     Longmans. 


and  Absolution  (private  of  course)  were  permitted 
by  the  formularies  '  under  certain  circumstances.' 


EARLY  CHRISTIANITY  AND  PAGANISM.* 

When  the  Dean  of  Gloucester  wrote  his  history 
of  the  Church  of  England  he  called  it  A  Httiory 
for  the  People.  He  has  now  written  a  history  of 
Early  Christianity.  He  might  have  called  it  A 
History  for  tke  People  also.  lis  purpose  is  plain. 
Perhaps  Dr.  Spence  cannot  write  but  for  the 
people.  This  book  in  any  case  demands  no 
previous  study  and  demands  the  very  minimum  of 
study  now.     It  is  written  for  the  people. 

Now  it  is  clearly  impossible  to  write  a  popular 
history  of  Christianity  covering  that  immense  and 
momentous  period  'from  64  a.d.  to  the  Peace  of 
the  Church  in  the  Fourth  Century '  in  a  few  pages. 
Accordingly,  Dean  Spence's  publishers  have  given 
him  scope.  The  volume  is  a  thick  octavo  of  560 
pages.  Besides  this  generosity  of  space,  however, 
they  have  added  to  the  book  a  large  number  of 
full-page  engravings,  the  first  of  which  is  done  in 
green  and  gold.  They  have  entered  into  the  plan 
and  resolved  to  make  it,  out  and  out,  a  history  for 
the  people. 

The  history  is  divided  into  great  spaces  with 
attractive  titles.  'Nero,'  'The  Revival  of  Pagan- 
ism,' '  A  Chapter  of  Martyrdoms,' '  The  Catacombs 
of  Rome,'  are  some  of  the  chapter  headings. 
These  titles  indicate  subjects  which  are  worth 
pursuing.  They  are  pursued  at  some  length. 
Less  interesting  matters  are  left  alone.  The  main 
thing  is  to  get  the  people  to  read.  And  when  a 
good  subject  is  in  band  it  would  be  folly  to  drop 
it  when  the  people  are  interested  in  it,  for  the  sake 
of  symmetry  or  completeness.  To  tell  the  people 
the  story  even  of  the  Catacombs  is  to  accomplish 
something. 

Dean  Spence  says  he  has  worked  his  history 
mainly  off  contemporary  records  and  remains.  It 
is  difficult  to  understand  thai.  Of  course  he  has 
read  Eusebius  and  the  '  Cambridge  Tejfts  and 
Studies.'  But  he  has  read  Neander  also  and 
Milman  and  Schaff,  even  the  '  Eras  of  the  Christian 
Church.'  There  is  no  fault  to  be  found  with  that. 
It  is  not  what  one  reads  that  makes  the  difference, 
it  is  what  one  does  with  the  reading.  On  the 
whole  the  Dean  of  Gloucester  uses  his  materials 
'  Early  Christianity  and  Paganism.  By  H.  Donald  M. 
Spenee,  D.D.,  Dean  of  Gloucester.     CasselE*-"- '^>^'^ 


37a 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


well.  He  has  not  the  supreme  gift  of  language 
which  makes  the  reading  alive  and  irresistible. 
But  he  is  orderly  and  reasonable,  and  never  rests 
content  unless  he  has  made  the  matter  intelligible. 
There  are  a  few  misprints.  We  have  noticed  that 
Ramsay's  book  is  sometimes  called  '  The  Church 
and  the  Roman  Empire ' ;  we  notice  Bithynia  spelt 
Bythinia,  Barlaam  Baalaam,  and,  worse  than  all. 
Professor  J.  Rendel  Hanis  is  called  S.  Reader 
Harris  wherever  he  occurs. 

THE  PSALMS  IN  THREE  |C0LLECT10NS.' 
A  new  commentary  on  the  Psalms,  for  that 
matter  a  new  commentary  on  any  book  of  the  Bible 
now,  must  justify  its  existence.  And  the  only  justi- 
fication is  that,  better  than  other  books,  it  translates 
the  Psalms  into  the  language  of  to-day.  It  need 
not  present  us  with  a  formal  and  complete  render- 
ing, though  Dr.  King  does  that  in  the  work  before 
us.  It  need  not  follow  the  customary  method  of 
explaining  clause  by  clause  and  phrase  by  phrase 
in  footnotes,  though  Dr.  King  does  that  also. 
One  of  the  best  recent  commentaries  is  Mr. 
Rackham's  Ads,  and  instead  of  a  translation  he 
gives  a  free  and  easy  paraphrase,  instead  of  foot- 
notes he  discourses  easily  but  most  accurately  in 
the  body  of  his  book  and  in  good  round  type  on 
the  author's  meaning  and  its  application  to  our 
day.  The  manner  used  to  be  everything,  it  is 
nothing  ;iow.  Two  things  only  are  asked  now : 
Does  this  commentator  know  his  author  intimately, 
and  can  he  make  him  intelligible  to  us  ? 

Some  years  ago  Dr.  E.  G.  King  published  the 
first  part  of  a  new  commentary  on  the  Psalms.  In 
three  '  Collections '  he  said  it  would  appear.  That 
was  the  first  Collection.  He  has  now  published 
the  second.  It  contains  Fss  42-89,  or  Books  ii. 
and  iii.  of  the  Psalter.  Out  of  the  multitude  of 
commentaries  on  the  Psalms  that  first  Collection 
rose,  and  was  well  received.  Daily  use  has  in- 
creased men's  respect  for  it.  The  author  is  a 
scholar.  Without  parade  of  reference,  he  shows 
that  he  has  read  the  commentators  that  have  gone 
before  him  as  well  as  the  Psalms  themselves.  But 
his  great  merit  is  that  he  is  not  so  literary  as 
human.  The  usual  symbok  J,  E,  D,  P  are  known 
to  him.  But  they  are  more  than  literary  symbols. 
They  are  men  and  address  men.  They  do  not 
>  The  Pialmt  ii>  Tkrit  ColUrliims.  Part  II.  Second  Collec- 
tion.   By  E.  G.  Kinf,  D.D,    Deightoa  Bell. 


write  because  they  are  writers,  but  because  they 
are  men.  So  is  it  with  all  the  nameless  Psalmists. 
And  this  humanity  enables  Dr.  King  to  fix  dates. 
His  Psalmists  are  not  incapable  of  imiuting  the 
ancients,  but  they  are  more  concerned  to  declare 
the  truth  as  they  understand  it,  and  their  place  io 
the  historical  training  of  Israel  can  be  fixed  with 
sufficient  closeness. 

The  interest  of  this  book  is  human  then.  Not 
human  as  opposed  to  Divine,  though  the  old  notion 
of  a  mechanical  dictation  is  far  enough  from  Dr. 
King's  idea  of  inspiration.  It  is  human  as  opposed 
to  literary.  The  Psalmists  move  amongst  men. 
They  receive  and  they  give.  And  so  across  the 
centuries  they  take  our  hand.  We  have  made 
progress  even  in  the  conception  of  God  and  truth 
since  their  day.  That  is  one  of  the  very  lessons 
the  Psalter  teaches  us.  But  our  aspirations,  our 
highest  hopes,  are  theirs  also.  They  speak  for  us 
when  we  are  most  moved. 

THE  HARMONY  OF  THE  COLLECTS, 
EPISTLES,  AND  GOSPELS.  By  Melville 
Scott,  M,A.  {Bemrose).  — ■  To  preach  from  the 
Gospel  and  Epistle  for  the  day  is  one  thing,  to 
teach  them  is  another.  Yet  they  were  chosen  to 
be  taught.  How  they  fit  in,  and  how  the  Collect 
fits  in  with  them,  day  after  day  throughout  the 
year,  and  what  lessons  then  arise  naturally  out  of 
them— that  is  the  object  Mr.  Scott  has  had  io 
jrriting  his  book.  His  book  is  a  complete  course 
of  systematic  theology,  and  there  is  not  the  Amplest 
believer  but  may  follow  it  all. 

SHALL  WE  UNDERSTAND  THE  BIBLE  ? 
By  the  Rev.  T.  Rhondda  Williams  {BlofA). — 
More  and  more  the  willing  preacher  is  finding  it 
possible  to  adjust  himself  to  the  new  inteipre- 
tation  of  the  Old  Testament  with  its  new  con- 
ception of  the  God  of  the  Old  Testament.  More 
and  more  he  is  finding  some  such  adjustment 
profitable  and  victorious.  Mr.  Rhondda  Williams 
writes  as  a  strong  man  running  a  race.  He  has 
lost  nothing,  he  says.  He  says  he  has  gained 
precious  and  enduring  substance.  One  sweeping 
chapter  is  on  'The  Idea  of  a  Devil.'  He  runs 
risks  in  that  chapter,  but  he  is  very  courageous, 
and  his  courage  tempts  us  to  run  risks  with  him. 

THE  FIRST  THINGS.  By  the  Rev.  John 
Buchan  {Blackwood).— Ut.  Buchan  first  asks  the 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


373 


question,  Does  evolution  dispense  with  God  ?  So 
be  accepts  evolution,  he,  a  working  pastor,  a 
preacher  to  working  men.  He  accepts  it  as— well, 
not  blind  force  working  blindly,  a  conception 
which  can  only  be  called  a  miracle  of  unbelief— 
but  as  the  method  whereby  God,  the  God  and 
Father  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ, 
governs  all  His  creatures  and  all  their  actions. 
He  accepts  evolution.  But  that  demands  a  re- 
examination and  reslatemeni  of  all  the  funda- 
mental things  of  the  Fdich — the  Creation,  the  Fall, 
the  Fatherhood  of  God,  the  groaning  and  travail- 
ing Creature.  It  is  all  done  under  the  influence 
of  the  evolutionary  acceptance,  and  yet  all  the  oid 
doctrines  are  held  with  all  the  old  definiteness. 
If  Calvin  had  been  alive  in  Darwin's  day,  be  would 
have  accepted  Darwinism  (readier  than  some  of 
us),  and  been  a  Calvinist. still. 

LIFE  AND  LIBERTY.  By  the  Rev.  Gordon 
B.  Watt,  M.A.  {Cir.  Lit.  Cf.).— The  teaching  of 
this  little  book — the  very  tone,  the  very  attitude, 
as  well  as  the  substance,  of  it  —  reminds  one 
strongly  of  the  late  G.  H.  G  Macgiegor.  And 
that  is  to  bestow  great  praise  on  the  book,  to 
secure  it  a  great  circulation. 

IS  CHRIST  INFALLIBLE  AND  THE 
BIBLE  TRUE?  By  the  Rev.  Hugh  M'Intosh, 
M.A.  (T.  (s-  T.  Clark).^A  third  edition  of  this 
book  has  already  been  issued.  It  is  unabridged 
but  cheaper.     Mr.  M'Intosh  is  himself  astonished 


THE  TEMPLE  BIBLE:  DEUTERONOMY. 
By  C.  Wilkins,  M.A.,  B.D.— L  and  II.  SAMUEL. 
By  James  Sime,  M.A.,  F.R.S.E.  {Denl).— The 
editor  of  this  series  has  gone  out  of  the  beaten 
track  in  seeking  for  his  commentators,  and  in  so 
doing  he  has  recorded  some  welcome  surprises. 
If  his  men  had  had  more  space.  But  even  within 
their  space  tbey  occasionally  show  the  hand  of  a 
cunning  workman.  The  Introductions  give  the 
best  opportunity.  In  both  volumes  they  are  worth 
reading,  though  Mr.  Sime's  is  more  for  reading 
than  remembering.  His  task  was  the  more 
difficult,  and  he  has  not  all  the  technical  famili- 
arity that  be  should  have  had.  We  are  not  sure 
if  he  has  discovered  how  difficult  his  task  was. 

THE    DIVINE    AUTHORITY    OF    THE 


SCRIPTURES  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT. 
By  David  M.  M'Intyre  (DrumnwHd).  —  The 
Reformation,  we  are  told,  substituted  an  infallible 
Bible  for  an  infallible  Church  ;  now  we  are  trying 
to  subsilute  an  infallible  Saviour  for  an  infallible 
Bible.  But  we  are  not  all  trying.  To  Mr. 
M'Intyre  and  to  many  more  the  Bible  is  infallible 
still.  This  is  his  apologia  for  it.  It  is  a  generous, 
iine-toned,  well-informed  apologia.  And  after  all 
we  find  that  it  is  the  infallible  Christ  that  is  most 
dear  to  him.  If  Jesus  had  not  said  '  Moses  and 
the  prophets,'  Mr.  M'Intyre  would  not  have  urged 
so  earnestly  the  divine  authority  of  the  Old 
Testament.  

THE  JOURNAL  OF  GEORGE  FOX 
{ffeadley  Brothers). — The  great  classics  of  Re- 
ligion are  few,  but  Fox's  Diary  is  among  them. 
Let  them  be  gathered  into  the  library  and  read. 
Most  of  them  are  now  easily  and  attractively 
accessible.  Messrs.  Headley  Brothers  have  pub- 
lished for  the  Friends'  Tract  Association  The 
Journal  of  George  Fox  in  two  handsome  volumes 
at  a  most  moderate  price.  It  is  called  the  eighth 
edition.  Eight  editions  in  two  centuries !  And 
the  modem  novel  which  is  wholly  of  the  earth, 
earthy,  wilt  run  into  eight  editions  in  eight  months. 
For  sdll  the  many  savour  not  the  things  that  be  of 
God,  but  the  things  that  be  of  men.  And  yet  this 
is  just  the  book  to  show  how  certainty  the  few  are 
right,  the  many  wrong.  George  Fox  often  called 
his  contemporaries  before  God's  judgment  seat 
God's  judgment  seat  is  here.  His  enemies  were 
very  numerous,  his  friends  very  few ;  yet  who 
would  be  found  to  take  his  enemies'  side  to-day  ? 
We  see  them  stand  before  God's  judgment  seat : 
out  of  their  own  mouths  we  hear  theif  judgment. 


TWENTY-TWO  TALKS  ON  EVERYDAY 
RELIGION.  By  T.  L.  Cuyler,  D.D.,  LL.D. 
{Isbisttr). — The  old-fashioned  sermon  was  three 
heads  and  an  application,  and  the  application 
cost  the  preacher  more  than  the  three  heads. 
Here  are  twenty-two  applications.  Dr.  Cuyler 
has  no  time  now  to  write  sermons,  he  has  time 
only  for  applications.  He  can  write  applications 
better  than  any  man  living.  They  have  all  the 
doctrinal  pith  of  a  great  sermon  in  them,  and 
yet  they  are  thoroughly  practical.  His  mind  is  a 
literary  mind,  and  it  has  twen  won  for  the  king- 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES, 


dom,  so  that  all  he  says  is  for  God's  glory,  and  all 
is  in  most  exquisite  literary  form. 

THE  CENTURY  BIBLE:  CORINTHIANS. 
By  J.  Massie,  H.A.,  D.D.  (/afi*).— Professor 
Massie  has  the  keenest  intellectual  interest  in  the 
New  Testament.  Almost  any  book  could  be  put 
into  his  hands,  and  he  would  do  it  well.  He  has 
done  the  Epistles  to  the  Corinthians  very  well 
indeed.  Long  familiarity  has  shaken  out  all  the 
irrelevant  things  and  left  the  essential  matters 
exposed  to  view.  The  difficult  places  are  seen 
to  be  difficult,  and  sometimes  their  difficulty  is 
resolved.  Especial  care  is  spent  in  the  explanation 
of  the  apostle's  thought,  that  the  purpose  of  the 
Epistles  may  be  seen  to  be  fulfilled  in  them.  And 
this  is  accomplished  by  having  the  utmost  respect 
for  the  apostle's  felicity  of  language.  St.  Paul 
was  no  blunderer  with  words. 

FOREIGN  MISSIONS.  By  Henry  H.  Mont- 
gomery, D.D.  (Longmans).~ln  this  summary  Dr. 
Montgomery  confines  himself  to  the  work  of  the 
S.P.G.,  the  C.M.S.,  and  the  L.M.S.  And  even  of 
these  three  agencies  he  gives  but  a  sketch.  Yet 
he  knows  the  field,  and  can  select  with  judgment. 
He  also  affords  the  means  of  fuller  study  by  re- 
commending a  list  of  books  at  the  head  of  every 
chapter.  And  above  all,  what  he  does  say  is 
memorable,  for  his  love  abounds  in  knowledge 
and  in  all  discernment.  The  little  book  fulfils  its 
practical  purpose  admirably. 

AN  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  THESSA- 
LONIAN  EPISTLES.  By  E.  H.  Askwith,  B.D. 
{Mtumillan). — Mr.  Askwith  has  re-examined  all 
the  old  objections  to  the  Pauline  authorship  of  the 
Epistles  to  the  Thessalonians,  and  even  suggested 
some  new  ones.  He  is  wise  to  suggest  all  the 
objections  he  can  think  of,^nd  so  prevent  objectors 
to  come.  And  he  makes  out  a  good  case,  a 
marvellously  strong  case  indeed.  What  classical 
book  of  the  first  century  could  stand  so  searching 
and  unbiassed  an  examination?  But  flie  most 
original  contribution  which  Mr.  Askwith  has  made 
is  on  the  eschatology  of  the  Second  Epistle.  That 
is  the  great  difficulty.  He  has  handled  it  with 
much  subtlety  and  persuasiveness. 

WORDS  OF  FAITH  AND  HOPE.  By  the 
late  Brooke  Foss  Westcott,  D.D.,  D.C.I-  (Mae- 


millan). — This  is  no  doubt  the  last  volume  we 
shall  have  from  the  late  Bishop  of  Durham.  It  is 
not  altogether  new.  Its  contents  range,  indeed, 
from  1866  to  1901.  It  is  all  good,  however.  And 
it  has  the  marks  of  finality  on  every  page.  First 
comethreesermons  on 'Disciplined  Life';  next  five 
sermons — addresses  on  certain  signs  of  the  life  of 
the  Spirit  within  the  Christian  community ;  and  then 
five  sermons  which  partake  of  the  nature  of  pro- 
phecy and  look  toward  the  future.  The  last  is 
the  sermon  delivered  to  the  miners  on  the  30th 
July  1901.  Perhaps  the  Article  which  most  clearly 
covers  them  all  is  this :  '  I  believe  in  the  Holy 
Catholic  Church.'  And  yet  how  different  was  the 
Bishop's  conception  of  the  Church  from  the  so- 
called  Catholic,  or  even  the  extreme  Anglican 
one.  '  I  believe  in  the  Holy  Catholic  Church,'  he 
seems  to  say  in  every  sentence  of  every  serrooni 
but  he  does  not  define  boundaries  and  erect 
barbed-wire  fences.  'I  believe  in  the  Holy 
Catholic  Church,'  he  says,  and  hts  eyes  are  toward 
the  future.  Ul>i  eccktia  ibi  Christus — yes,  he  is 
willing  to  take  the  sentence  that  way,  for  he 
remembers,  'Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even 
unto  the  end,'  and  be  calls  it  'the  crowning 
promise.'  

DANIEL  IN  THE  CRITICS'  DEN.  By  Sir 
Robert  Anderson,  K.C.B.,  LL.D.  {Nisbe().—\\  is 
a  pity  that  Sir  Robert  Anderson  chose  so  ephemeral 
a  title.  It  may  give  his  book  greater  popularity, 
but  it  will  scare  aWay  the  earnest  student  And  it 
is  the  earnest  student  that  in  the  end  decides  the 
mind  of  the  public.  It  is  also  a  pity  that  he  has 
not  taken  more  time  and  made  more  modifications. 
There  are  statements  which  the  unlettered  readtt 
will  see  to  be  too  sweeping.  But  he  has  no  patience 
with  hesitation.  He  says  in  one  place  '  Dr.  Driver 
{more  suo)  takes  a  middle  course,  and  brands  it  as 
doubtful.'  He  himself  is  never  doubtful  about 
anything.  It  makes  his  book  the  more  delightful 
reading  to  those  who  are  wholly  with  him,  bul  it 
makes  the  earnest  student  sometimes  doubtful 
about  him.     For  there  are  difficulties  in  Daniel. 

THE  DIACONATE  OF  JESUS.  By  C.  R. 
DaveyBi^s,  T>.X).(Rivingtons). — Dr.  Biggs  would 
have  the  distinction  between  priest  and  deacon 
made  more  emphatic.  It  is  clear  enough  in  the 
Prayer-Book,  but  it  is  ignored  in  practice.  Now 
thetnodel  for  the  deacon  is  the  human  life  of 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


375 


Jesus.  He  was  here  as  'one  that  served'  (i 
Siaxavtiv).  And  the  deacon  will  find  the  pattern 
of  his  service  in  the  year  (the  acceptable  year)  of 
Jesus'  public  ministry  in  Galilee.  Christ's  work 
as  deacon  consisted  in  worship  (Lk  a"),  witness 
(Lk  4**),  resolution  (Lk  13^),  and  relaxation  (Lk 
19^) — and  in  each  case  a  must  introduced  the 
sUtement  of  it.  Let  the  deacon  follow  Jesus,  and 
let  him  say,  'I  must.'  Do  not  become  a  deacon 
if  you  can  help  it.       

THE  CONTINENTAL  REFORMATION. 
By  the  Rev.  B.  J.  Kidd,  B.D.  (JiivingtoHs).— 
Within  the  bounds  of  one  of  the  Oxford  Church 
Text-Books — and  we  know  how  contracted  their 
bounds  are — Mr.  Kidd  has  given  a  history  of  the 
Reformation  on  the  Continent  quite  full  enough 
for  the  ordinary  reader,  and  as  pleasant  to  read  as 
the  most  popular  octavo.  He  is  also  careful  as  to 
fact,  and  fair  in  his  judgments.  The  picture  of 
Luther  is  not  the  masterpiece  Professor  Lindsay 
made  it  in  the  '  Epoch- Makers '  series,  but  It  is 
distinctive  and  memorable.  Even  Calvin  is  dis- 
covered of  heroic  mould.  To  Zwingli  Mr.  Kidd 
is  least  generous,  scarcely  allowing  himself  even 
to  be  just.  

SEDBERGH  SCHOOL  SERMONS.  ByH.G. 
Hart,  M.A.  {Jiivingtons). — These  are  not  the  usual 
school  sermons.  There  is  a  note  of  distinction. 
They  are  extremely  personal  for  one  thing.  They 
separate  each  boy  by  himself,  and  address  him 
alone.  Even  as  we  read  them  we  are  boys  in  the 
school  and  separated  to  be  spoken  to  seriously. 
And  then  it  is  simple  goodness  that  they  canonize. 
Cleverness  is  not  once  in  it,  nor  even  industry. 
Even  at  a  public  school  it  is  the  good  boy  that 
is  made  the  hero.  And  the  good  boy  is  again 
described  as  he  who  sees  most  good  in  others. 

DISCOURSES  ON  PHILIPPIANS.  By  the 
Rev.  Frederick  A.  Noble,  D.D.  {Xo^imen).— 
These  discourses  are  thoroughly  exegetical.  They 
have  great  merit,  and  it  comes  from  the  fidelity 
with  which  they  cling  to  their  text.  Dr.  Noble  is 
a  clever  man,  but  he  shows  it  here  by  acknow- 
ledging a  cleverer.  He  thinks  that  no  independent 
words  of  bis  will  be  so  weighty  as  the  words  of  St. 
Paul,  and  he  bends  all  his  energies  to  let  them  be 
heard  in  their  sublimity  and  force.  There  are 
sentences,  even  phrases,  in  this  Epistle  that  de- 


mand a  whole  discourse  for  their  mere  elucidation, 
and  Dr.  Noble  has  given  it.  He  does  not  throw 
away  a  pointed  modern  illustration,  but  he  counts 
it  his  business  just  to  let  the  apostle  speak  for 
himself.  

Mr.  Robinson  of  Manchester,  the  publisher  of 
Dr.  Noble's  Discoursis  on  Fkilippiam,  has  also 
published  a  new  edition  of  Charles  Finney's 
Strmens  on  Gospel  Tktmcs.  These  sermons  being 
thus  made  so  accessible,  let  us  lay  aside  all  other 
statements  of  the  evangelical  faith  till  we  have 
mastered  them.  

REDEMPTION  ACCORDING  TO  THE 
ETERNAL  PURPOSE.  By  the  Rev.  W.  Shirley 
(Stock). — This  is  an  effort  to  receive  the  doctrine 
of  Evolution  into  the  bosom  of  the  Catholic 
Church.  It  is  received  by  the  appearance  of  a 
compromise.  There  is  evolution  for  a  good  way, 
and  then  there  is  a  gap;  again  the  evolution  goes 
on,  and  again  there  is  a  gap.  At  these  gaps  occur 
the  special  creations  which  the  Bible  records. 
Darwin  admitted  these  gaps.  He  said  'all  but.' 
Evolution,  he  said,  all  but  bridged  the  gulf  between 
life  and  no  life,  between  animal  and  man.  Mr. 
Shirley  finds  God's  hand,  and  introduces  the  old 
biblical  doctrine  of  special  creations  at  these  'all 
buts.'  So  it  is  rather  the  Catholic  doctrine  that 
is  admitted  into  the  bosom  of  Evolution,  than 
Evolution  that  is  admitted  into  the  bosom  of  the 
Catholic  Church.  Still,  since  at  one  of  these 
gaps  Christ  can  be  let  in,  all  is  altered,  and  the 
Catholic  Church  has  its  own. 


A  LAMP  UNTO  MY  FEET.  By  M.  Bidder 
{Stoek). — This  title  is  chosen  for  a  most  useful 
book  of  suggestion  on  the  principles  and  practice 
of  Bible  study.  The  great  question  is,  Why  is  the 
Bible  studied  to  so  little  profit  7  Mere  reading  of 
the  Bible  may  do  nothing  for  us;  deep  study 
seems  to  do  no  more.  We  may  find  out  our 
mistakes  ourselves.  But  this  practical  book  will 
reveal  them  to  us  more  readily.  Its  chief  revela- 
tion is  that  the  study  is  worth  little  which  costs 
little,  though  the  amount  of  gain  may  not  be  com- 
mensurate with  the  anguish.  We  may  vex  our- 
selves in  vain  over  the  study  of  the  Bible.  But 
still,  it  is  through  much  tHbtil^dii^thkV  pe  enter 
into  this  possession  also. 


376 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


THE  TWIN  SISTERS.— By  John  Gates 
{Stedtwei/). — The  twin  sisters  are  the  Roman  and 
Anglican  Communions.  Mr.  Oates  has  written 
his  book  to  show  that  Roman  and  Anglican  are 
identical  in  certain  doctrines  and  practices,  that 
these  doctrines  and  practices  are  unscriplural,  but 
have  arisen  through  historical  corruption,  and 
should  now  be  rejected.  The  doctrines  and 
practices  are  the  Primacy,  Infallibility,  Baptismal 
Regeneration,  Auricular  Confession,  Priestly  Ab- 
solution, Transubsuntiation,  Penance,  Indulg- 
ences, and  Purgatory. 

OPTIMISM  AND  THE  VISION  OF  GOD. 
By  B.  A.  Millard  {Sto(kwell).—li  is  not  easy  to 
discuss  in  the  pulpit  the  difGculties  that  science 
has  raised  up  for  the  Christian  faith.  And  it  is 
not  necessary.  For  some  time  science  has  been 
answering  herself.  The  pulpit  is  most  powerful 
when  it  is  least  apologetic.  Mr.  Millard  is  well 
informed,  but  he  is  strongest  when  be  tells  the 
story  of  the  Cross.      

CHRIST  IN  ASTRONOMY.  By  the  Rev. 
John  Spence,  F.R.A.S.  {Stockmlt).—T\\tK  is 
nothing  alarming  in  this  little  boolt.  It  does  not 
mean  that  Christ  is  among  the  stars.  There  is  no 
subtle  new  idolatry  of  the  heavenly  bodies  intro- 
duced. The  author  is  firmly  convinced  that 
Christ  is  all  and  in  all,  and  he  finds  that  a  know- 
ledge of  the  stars  gives  one  the  command  of  many 
beautiful  and  impressive  illuitrauons.  It  is  a  new 
irenicon  between  science  and  religion,  and  the 
only  one  likely  to  be  of  use. 


THE  BOOKS  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT. 
By  J.  H,  Weatherall,  M.A.  {S.S.  Aisocialion).— 
Usually  such  a  book  as  this  would  be  called  an 
Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament.  After  an 
introductory  chapter — comprehensive  and  dear, 
which  at  once  sets  our  minds  kt  rest  as  to  ^r. 
Weatherall's  capacity — the  Hexateuch  is  described 
in  reference  to  its  sources  and  dates  after  the 
latest  findings  of  the  higher  criticism,  and  then 
the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  are  similarly 


dealt  with  in  order.  Mr.  Weatherall  can  write 
popularly  on  the  most  unpopular  theme  without 
wasting  a  word.  His  position  is  not  extreme. 
He  has  no  pet  theories  to  advocate.  He  gives 
no  needless  offence.  We  may  agree  or  disagree; 
but  this  is  a  clear  capable  account  of  what  modem 
scholarship  believes  regarding  the  way  in  which 
the  Old  Testament  came  outwardly  into  existence. 

THE  FAITH  OF  AN  AGNOSTIC  By 
George  Forester  ( IValts).  —  There  is  a  fine 
pleasure  in  'objecting'  which  may  always  be 
worth  the  pains  it  costs.  But  to  enjoy  the  fruit 
of  Agnosticism  fully  one  must  be  less  serious 
than  Mr.  Forester  seems  to  be.  As  long  as  be 
holds  before  his  mind  that  great  sore  of  modem 
religion  which  he  calls  'Church -Christianity,' 
every  attempt  at  demolition  may  be  agreeable. 
But  to  demolish  all  the  reasons  for  an  after-life 
must  be  painful  in  the  extreme  to  one  who  longs 
for  an  after-life  so  ardently.  What  is  the  matter 
with  Mr.  Forester  ?  He  says  that  one  of  the  chief 
causes  of  the  persistent  success  of  Church- 
Christianity  is  'atavism.'  We  fear  Mr.  Forester 
suffers  from  '  atavism '  also.  His  forefathers  were 
agnostics,  so  is  he.  But  he  must  not  think  that 
all  the  knowledge  is  on  his  side  and  all  the  ignor- 
ance on  the  other.  On  the  last  page  of  his  book 
he  quotes  Mr.  Leslie  Stephen  as  saying,  'what  is 
mystery  but  the  theological  phrase  for  agnosticism?' 
and  agrees.  It  shows  how  much  both  he  and  Mr. 
Stephen  have  to  learn  about  theology  and  the 
language  of  tbe  Bible. 

The  Books  of  the  Month  iacXaAt  ■.—Christ  tht 
Way,  by  the  Bishop  of  Oxford  (Longmans); 
Renundattotty  and  other  Poems,  by  William  Hall, 
M.A.  (Sonnenschein) ;  Dreams  and  RtalitUs,  by 
G.  E.  Morgan,  M.A.  (Morgan  &  Scott);  Frithie/ 
the  Bold,  by  Frederick  I.  Winbolt  (Sonnenschein) ; 
The  Bible  and  the  Crilics,  by  the  Rev.  John 
M'Ewan,  D.D.  (Hunter);  A  Friday  Night  Horrar, 
by  C.  Stander  (Passmore  &  Alabaster);  The 
Sign  of  the  Son  of  Man  in  Heaven,  by  Arch.  F. 
Gibson ;  The  Second  Coming  of  Christ,  by  W.  M. 
Pascoe  (Stock). 


lyGoot^Ie 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


A  SUBJECT-INDEX  TO  CURRENT  THEOLOGICAL  LITERATURE: 


A  =  Glovei  (T,  R. ),  Lifi  and  Letters  in  the  Fourth  Century; 
B  =  Greeii{E.  T.),  Ckurth  of  Christ;  C  =  BiiI.  and  Sem. 
Studut  (Yale  Uaiv.};  D  =  Raiay  (R.),  Aneiait  Catk, 
Ch.;  E  =  Kidd  <B.),  PrinHfUj  ef  Western  Civilitatim; 
F  =  Mobetl7(R.  C),  Christ  ear  Life  %  G  =  Mellone  (S.  H. ), 
Leaders  of  Rel.  Thaugkl  in  XIX,  Cent.  ;  H  =  Worlledge 
(K.  }.),  Prayer ;  I  =  Daviti  (J).  C),  Atmement  and  Inter- 
eessum;  J  =  B«11  (W,  E.J,  Si.  Paul  and  the  Rem.  Lav, 
K  =  FiDdla7  (G.  0.),  Things  Aitrne;  L  =  Lowrie  (W.), 
Christian  Art  and  Archaehgy;  M  =  SmeatoD  (O.J,  Mediti 
and  Hal.  Remiss.  ;  N  =  For»rlh  (P.  T,),  R'i-  '«  Recent 
Art;  0  =  Robinson  (A.  W.),  PerssmU  Life  of  the  CUrgy; 
P  =  Robert»oii  (A.),  Regtium  Dei;  Q  =  SelwyQ  (E.  C), 
Christian  Prophets;  R  =  SelwrD  (E.  C),  St.  Luie  the 
Pr^ket;  S  =  Dinsmoie  (C.  A.),  Teachings  ef  Danle; 
T  =  AtcxaiideT  (W.  M.),  Demonic  Possession  in  N.  T.  ;  M 
=  Wendt  (H.  H.),  Gospel  ace.  to  St.  John;  V=Bruce 
(W.  S.),  FenjiaiianafChr.  CAifOiC^;  W  =  Heoson  (H.  H.J, 
Ccdly  Union  and  CoHcard;  X  =  Spence  (H,  D.  M.).  Eariy 
Christianity  and  Paganism ;  Y  =  Mason  (A.  J. ).  Ministry 
ej  Conversion ;  Z  =  Great  Religions  of  the  World. 

Acts,  Two  PmIs  Parallel,  R  319-345. 

„      Prophetic,  R  266-306. 
Agnosticism,  G  1S2-347. 
Ancestor. wonhip,  E  i63. 

Apocaln»e  and  Fonilh  Goip.,  Q  81-106,  322-357. 
„         LeadioE  Ideas,  Q  1S3-221. 
,,        Prophetic,  Q  41-S0. 
,,        SotecUnu,  Q  358-163. 
Apologisu,  Earl7,  D  85. 
Apostlei  and  Propheu,  R  30,  39. 
Apo«tolic  Succession,  B  106,  W  i,  239. 
AjchKoIogy,  Christian,  L. 
Aichiteeture,        ,,        L83-1S2. 
Art,  Christian,  L, 
,,    Recent  Religious,  K. 
,,   Standards,  E  147,  1S3. 
AscenaioD,  K  119-138. 
Angustine,  D  460. 

„         Concessions,  A  194. 
„  Doctrine  of  Grace,  P  187,  336. 

Kinedom  of  God,  P  169-224. 
Aathorit7  in  Religion,  G ;  P  175,  217,  283 ;  W  45. 

Baalzibub,  T  179. 
Babism,  Z  189-2:8  (Ross). 
Beelzebul,  T  11,  174,  190. 
BrahmaniMn,  Z  81-108  (I^all). 
Brownii^  G  34S-290. 
Buddhism,  Z  33-53. 
Bnme-Jones,  N  40-85. 

Catacombs,  L  23-83  ;  X  263-289. 
Catholic  ChrUiianity,  Z  381-301  (Gibbons). 
Ceosers,  Early  Chr.,  L  353. 


Character,  V  46-55. 

„         Christian,  V  396-316. 
„         and  Christ,  V  91-103. 
and  Sin,  V  66-76. 
Christ,  Name  (in  Prayer),  H  98-108. 
„      Fenon,  D  198,  376. 
„      Ptayer  to,  H  93. 
„      Praying,  F  172  j  H  137-IS9- 
Chrislianity,  Apostolic,  W  55-112. 

,,  and  Ancient  Philos.,  E  204. 

„  and  Mod.  Thought,  E  iii,  390. 

,,  in  Middle  Ages,  E  350. 

„  Outlook,  Z  353-380  (Giatlden). 

Church,  B,  P. 

,,      Discipline,  B39S;  D43,  249,455;  £216,  346. 
„      Early  History,  D,  X. 
„  „     Literature,  D  533. 

„      Visible,  B  16 ;  P  187  ;  W  144. 
ConiessioD,  B  320  ;  V  113-143. 

,,         Auricular,  B  339. 
Conftidanism,  Z  3-32  (Giles). 
Conscience,  Culture,  V  363-178. 
CoDslantine,  X  439-473. 
Conversion,  Y  i. 
Conviction  of  Sin,  Y  60-S8. 

Dante,  Teaching,  P  385  ;  S. 
Darwinism,  E  33-64. 
Decalogue,  Origin,  C  67. 
Democracy,  E. 
Demonoli^y,  T. 
Depression,  O  145-160. 
Devotion,  H  184,  350. 

„         to  Christ,  O  84-103. 
Diocletian,  X  396-438. 
Dress,  Early  Eccles.,  L  383-414. 

Emotions,  Culture,  V  246-271. 

Enoch,  Book,  J  l6a 

Epbesians  and  I  Pet.,  R  183-329. 

„        and  St.  Luke,  R  175. 
Ethics,  Evolutionary,  E  6j. 
Eucharislic  Vessels,  L  343. 
Evangelistic  Work,  Y  143-168. 
Evil,  Origin,  C  117. 
Experience,  Rel.,  G  146-181. 

Fastih»3,  B  299 ;  F  45,  52. 

„  and  Exorcism,  T  278. 

Fatherhood  of  God  and  Prayer,  H  73-93- 

Gbrasbnb  Miracle,  T  11,  194-316. 

Habit,  Power,  V  317-335. 

Hadrian,  X  114-136. 

Holman  Hunt,  N  141-173) 

Holy  Spirit  and  Prayer,  H  193,  119-136. 


„GooQ  Ic 

-136.  o 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


ICHATItIS,  V  94-106. 

InlHcession  of  Christ,  I. 

John  (he  Baptist,  F  106. 
John(Ap.),  Life,  V  76-80. 

,,    &nd  Philo,  J  95-I3J. 

I,    the  Elder,  Q  107-14S.  232-257. 

11    Gospel,  AutiiOTShip,  U  207. 

II  „       Source  and  Value,  U. 

•I         >,      and  Synoptics,  U  7,  183. 

I,  „      andEpistlei,  U  171. 

Judaism  in  XIX.  Cent,  Z  ai9-?S2  (Gisier). 
Jude,  Ep,,  R  230. 
Juliau,  A  47. 


Lamps,  Early  Chr,,  L  347. 
Law  and  Gospel,  P  1 14- 

„   Growth  of  Israelilish,  C  41-92  (Kent  and  Sanders). 
Life  after  Rei.,  K  141-157. 
,,    in  Dante,  S  161-216. 
I,    LeuEth,  E  44. 
L<^os.  J  95- 

Lord's  Prayer,  H  160-183. 

Love  and  Prayer,  H  199. 

„    to  Christ,  O  83-103. 

Luke,  R. 

„      in  Petrine  Epp.,  K  113-150. 

„     and  Jude  K  2jo. 

Maranatha,  K  89-1 16. 

Martineau,  G  106-145. 

Martyrs,  Early  Chr.,  X  190-221, 

Medici,  M. 

Millenarianisin,  P  1 19-168. 

Mind,  Culture,  V  221-245. 

Minittry,  Christian,  W  i. 

Mohammedan  Conquest  of  Egypt,  C  277-330  (Torrey). 

Mohammedanism  To-day,  Z  53-70  (Mann). 

Montanism,  D  iz8 ;  Q  26-38. 

Mosaics,  Early  Chr.,  L  292-332. 

Nero,  X  40-59. 
Newman,  G  46-105. 
Novels,  Early  Chr.,  A  357. 

Paganism  and  Christianity,  X. 
Painting,  Eariy  Chr.,  L  187-246. 
Paul  and  Roman  Law,  J. 
Penitence,  F  59 ;  O  32-53. 
Peter,  Epp.,  R  113. 

„     2nd  Ep,,  Q  146-159. 
Philo  and  9l.  John,  J  95-133. 
Pilgrims,  Women  in  Early  Ch.,  A  125. 


Polycarp,  X  So-93. 
Posaeition  in  N.T.,  T. 
Power,  Spiritual,  V  336-366. 
Prayer,  F  142,  152,  162  ;  H. 

„      DifBeulty,  O  57-82. 

„       Intercessory,  S  143. 
Fotitivism,  G  1S2;  Z  167-188  (Kanison). 
Promise  and  Prayer,  H  310-334. 
Prophecy,  Christian,  Q,  R. 
Propitiation,  I  21-74. 

Quotations  in  N.T.,  J  134-218. 

Redemption  in  Dante,  S  109-160. 
Religion  in  Recent  Art,  N. 

,,        and  Morality,  S  141. 
Renaissance,  Italian,  M. 
Roman  Law  in  Paul,  J  1-37. 

„     in  Creeds,  J  38-94. 
Rosseiti  (D.  G.),  N  1-39. 

SCULPIUHK,  Early  Chr.,  L  247-289. 
Seculaiiialion,  O  104-129. 
Self-Development,  V  197-220. 

„   Preservation,  V  170-196. 
Signs,  Christ's,  U  21,  58. 
Sikhiim,  Z  139-166  [Griffin). 
Silas,  Silvanus,  R  3,  6,  75. 
Sin  in  Dante,  S  77-108. 

„  Jewish  Doctrine,  C  91-156  (Potter). 
Society  and  State,  E  67-96. 
Spencer  (H),  E  80-87  i  G  219-247. 
Stephen's  Speech,  C  ai  1-278  {Bacon). 

Tapestry,  Early  Chr.,  L  370. 

Temper,  V  143-169. 

Temperance,  V  124-142. 

Trajan,  X  107-114. 

Transfiguration,  C  157-220  (Moulton). 

Tribes  of  Israel,  C  3-37  (Curtis). 


Unity,  Chtiaiian,  V 


1 25-1 43- 


Waokbr,  N  209-316. 
War,  Intercession  in,  F  205,  212. 
Watts-Dunton,  N  S6-140. 
Will,  Training,  V  279-395. 
Wills  in  Roman  Law,  J  17. 
Woman  and  the  Church,  A  115. 
Worship  in  Early  Ch.,  D  229. 

Vejer  Haia,  C  91-158  (Porter). 

ZiON,  Spiritual,  K  41-66. 
Zoroaslrianism,  Z  109-136  (Menant). 


.yGooi^lc 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


379 


*Mtftci  QlarTdtiv»  of  S^^S 
Women.' 

In  the  two  companion  volumes,  forming  Nos.  ix. 
and  X.  of  the  important  series  'Studia  Sinaitica," 
Mrs.  Lewis  has  laid  readers  in  general,  and  Syriac 
students  in  particular,  under  a  fresh  obligation, 
and  has  definitely  increased  our  knowledge  of  a 
very  curious  literature. 

These  '  Select  Narratives '  form  the  upper  writ- 
ing of  the  famous  palimpsest  of  the  so-called  'old 
Syriac '  Gospels  which  Mrs.  Lewis  discovered  in 
1893,  and  they  were  written  by  John  the  Reduse, 
778  A.D.  Although,  of  course,  greatly  inferior 
in  importance  to  the  gospel  text  which  lies  below 
them,  these  narratives  are  not  without  their  value 
and  interest ;  and  Mrs.  Lewis's  time  and  labour 
have  been  well  spent  in  their  publication.  The 
first  of  the  two  volumes  contains  the  Syriac  text  of 
eleven  of  the  narratives,  and  of  fragments  of  a 
hymn  of  S.  Ephraim  found  amongst  them.'  These 
are  followed  by  appendices,  giving  the  text  of  the 
story  of  Susanna;  collations  of  the  texts  of 'the 
stories  of  Thecla,  Pclagia,  Theodosia,  and  Thfto- 
dou;  a  portion  of  a  Greek  text  of  S.  John's 
Gospel;  fragments  of  a  Syriac  text,  witbtransla- 
tion,  of  the  Acts  of  Judas  Thomas — this  being 
due  to  Mr.  F.  C.  Burkitt ;  and  a  valuable  aot6  by 
John  the  Recluse  throwing  l^ht  on  the  colophon 
at  the  end  of  the  narratives.  An  index  of  proper 
names,  and  eight  handsome  reproductions  of  pages 
of  the  famous  palimpsest,  complete  the  volume. 
In  the  second  volume  Mrs.  Lewis  gives  a  transla- 
tion of  the  eleven  narratives,  and  of  the  hymn 
named  above.  These  translations  leave  very  little 
to  be  desired ;  they  are  characterized  by  a  de- 
lightful smoothness,  and  are  quite  pleasant  reading, 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  here  and  ihere  John  the 
Recluse's  stories  are  certainly  a  little  dull.  Pre- 
ceding the  translations  are  useful  'introductory 
notes,'  which  give  some  brief  »:count  of  the 
holy  women,  together  with  explanations  of  the 
method  adopted  in  editing  the  text. 

John  the  Recluse  was  not  the  original  writer 
of  these  narratives :  they  are  evidently  from  vari- 

'  S/iH/iaSiHaiHea.  IX.  Selicl  Narrativis  of  Holy  Women, 
rroin  ihe  Syro-Anliochene  or  Sinai  PalimpKcsl,  as  wriUcD 
above  tbe  Old  Syriac  Gospels  by  John  the  Stylit«  of  Beth- 
Man  Qanun  in  a.d.  778.  Edited  by  Agnes  Smilh  Lewis, 
M.R.A.S.  Syriac  Teil.  Cambridge  University' Press. — 
Sliidia  Sinailica.  X.  Stiecl  Narrative!  ef  Hely  IVmien. 
Tianstkted  by  Agn«  Smith  Lewis,  M.R.A.S.  '      '  ' 


ous  sources,  and,  so  far  as  be  can  be  tested,  he 
reproduced  them  with  sufficient  accuracy.  Some 
of  the  stories  are  knowq  to  exist  in  MSS  written 
long  before  John's  day,  yet  the  differences  between 
his  text  and  theirs  are  unimportant  He  seems, 
too,  to  have  resisted  the  temptation  to  import  the 
marvellotis  into  the  stories,  where  it  did  not  pre- 
viously exist.  Thtf  ■arvellous  certainly  did  not 
shock  hnn,  or  he  would  never  have  given  his 
readers  sucb  an  extravagant  tale  as  that  of  Irene ; 
yet  his  account  of  Theodosia  is.  free  from  the 
niiraculous,  and  agrees  substantially  with  the  story 
as  told  by:Eusebius.  The  narratives  accordingly 
are  of  various  degree  of  probability,  ranging  from 
the  almost  certainly  true  to  the  almost  entirely 
imaginative  and  legendary.  How  much  did  John's 
pious  readers  believe  of  these  stories,  which  some- 
rimes  hardly  rise  above  the  level  of  fairy  tales? 
We  need  not  necessarily  suppose  that  they  were 
ultra-credulous — probably  they  read  and  were 
edified  by  them,  much  as  we  may  read  and  be 
edified  by  the  Pilgrim's  Progrtts.  Admitting, 
however,  that  these  pious  monks  did  not  believe 
to  be  true  all  the  impossible  Incidents  told  in 
these  narratives,  we  cani^ot  so  readily  acquit  them 
of  entertaining  very  confused  and  imperfect  ideals 
of  Christian  conduct.  And  this  suggests  a  point 
of  view  from  which  these  stories  may  be  studied 
with  profit.  A  popular  religious  literature  gives 
no  uncertain  indication  of  the  religious  tone  and 
ideals  of  its  age  ;  and,  looked  at  in  this  way,  these 
narratives  throw  a  curious  light  on  what  was  then 
thought  to  be  not  unworthy  of  Christian  martyrs, 
and  presumably  of  those  for  whom  they  were  set 
forth  as  examples.  Thus,  passing  by  mere  ex- 
travagances, some  of  these  heroines  treat  their 
parents  with  scant  respect ;  some  pray  for  ven- 
geance on  their  persecutors;  one  of  them  curses 
a  shepherd  who  betrays  her  biding>place ;  another 
persists  in  a  suppression  of  the  -truth,  notwith- 
standing that  this  brings  trouble  and  scandal  on  a 
whole  monastery,  and  upon  religion  in  general. 
All  this  is  very  strange,  and  is  in  striking  contrast 
to  what  we  find  in  the  histories,  as  told  by  Euse- 
bius,  of  the  martyrs  of  Palestine.  Reading  the 
vivid  pages  of  his  deathless  records,  we  feel  our- 
selves in  a  real  world  with  nothing  in  it  contrary 
to  the*  spirit  of  the  New  Testament :  but  John  the 
Recluse's  stories  testify  to  a  lamentable  degenera- 
tion and  confusion  of  Christian  ideals;  and  we 
cease  to  wonder  that  the  monks,  among  whom  the   ■ 


380 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


tales  nere  popular,  exercised  go  little  influence 
for  good  in  the  regions  where  they  dwelt.  At 
the  same  time,  there  is  much  in  these  stories 
which  breathes  a  better  spirit ;  and  from  every 
point  of  view  they  will  well  repay  careful  study. 
There  is  only  one  matter  for  regret,  namely,  that 
Mrs.  Lewis  did  not  print  in  full  the  text  of  the  four 
narratives  of  which  she  has  only  given  collations. 

Thanks  to  Mrs.  Gibson's  careful  search  for  errors, 
the  short  list  of  errata  requires  but  few  additions. 
Among  these  may  be  noted,  in  vol.  x.  t^^-O  on 
p.  xiv,  which  should  be  -^^ '"' ;  '  twenty-eight '  on 
p.  xxiv,  which  should  be  'eighteen';  'Magdu' 


on  p.  113,  which  should  be  'Magedo';  and  on 
p.  67,  'the  besoms  of  the  prison-house'  hardly 
represents  the  original.  In  vol.  ix.,  rififnt  l| 
in  the  list  of  errata,  is  an  obvious  printer's  slip  foe 
Yn  t  "^  '1  These,  however,  and  a  few  other 
trifling  errors,  the  critical  reader  will  correct  for 
himself;  they  do  not  detract  from  the  general 
excellence  of  these  volumes ;  and  Mrs.  Lewis,  and 
those  who  have  assisted  her,  are  to  be  congratu- 
lated on  the  successful  carrying  through  of  > 
difficult  and  important  vori. 

Albert  Bonus. 
JIpkiHghH,  £jteler. 


Con^vtfitt^iona  OixC^  Commence. 


^n  3nteri>ofdtion  in  '  ^'mBrosidfiter.' 

There  is  a  certain  number  of  passages  in  the 
printed  text  of  '  Ambrosiaster's '  commentary,  as 
it  appears,  for  example,  in  the  Benedictine  (Migne, 
Patrol,  Lat.  xvii.)  edition,  which  are  wanting  in 
the  majority  of  MSS.  I  am  unaware  that  any 
attempt  has  been  made,  in  modern  times,  at  least, 
to  track  these  passages  to  their  sources.  I  propose 
here  to  indicate  the  source  of  one  of  them,  in  the 
hope  that  others  may  be  traceable  to  the  same 
origin,  and  that  some  light  may  thus  be  cast  on 
the  vexed  question  of  the  transmission  of  '  Am- 
brosiaster's '  text. 

In  the  commentary  on  i  Co  6"  occur  the  fol- 
lowing words ; — ' "  Fugite  fomicationem."  Recte 
fugiendam  monet  fornicationem,  per  <)uam  filii 
dei  fiunt  filii  diaboli.  "  Omne  peccatum,  quod- 
cumque  fecerit  homo,  extra  corpus  est."  [Quia 
cetera  peccata,  etsi  per  corpus  generantur,  non 
tamen  animam  ita  camali  concupiscentia  faciunt 
obstrictam  et  obnoxiam,  quem  ad  modum  com- 
misceri  facit  animam  cum  ipso  corpore  usus 
libidinis,  agens  in  opere  camalis  fornicationis ; 
quia  in  tantum  adglutinatur  anima  corpori,  ut  in 
ipso  momento  nihil  aliud  cogitare  homini  liceat 
aut  intendere,  quia  ipsam  mentem  captiuam  subdit 
ipsa  Eubmersio  et  absorbitio*  libidinis  et  con- 
cupiscentiae  carnalis.     Unde  subditur:]      "Qui 

'  It  w>i  Ibii  word  which  gave  me  the  scent.  See  mr  nole 
in  tbe  T!iesatirta  Lingttai  Latinsu  i.  (1900),  !.v. 


autem  fomicatur,  in  corpus  suum  peccat."    Osten- 
dit  grauissimum,'  etc. 

The  passage  within  square  brackets  is  inter- 
polated from  Augustine,  &rm««»,  163,  a  (a sermon 
on  the  above  text),  a  document  which  is  known 
only  from  the  excerpts  of  Eugippius.  KnoU'i 
edition  of  the  latter  in  the  Vienna  Corput  (vol.  ii. 
p.  1018,  3  if.)  offers  some  trifling  differences  of  text, 
which  do  not  afl'ect  the  argument  Tbe  Benedic- 
tines, in  their  note  on  the  passage  of '  Ambrosiaster,' 
say :  '  Hie  articulus  abest  a  mss.  nostris,  at  contra 
in  cunctis  exsut  edit.'  The  passage  is  absent  also 
from  seven  of  Father  Brewer's  MSS,  collations  of 
which  he  has  lent  me,  and,  according  to  Billerini, 
from  the  MSS  of  Monte  Cassino  and  Monu 
Rabanus  Maurus,bishopof  Moguntiacum  (Mainz) 
in  the  ninth  century,  in  his  vast  commenUry  on 
the  Pauline  Epistles,  which  is  a  'catena'  of  pass- 
ages from  patristic  commentaries,  including  those 
of '  Ambrosiaster '  and  Augustine,  reads  the  above 
passage  thus  (Migne,  P.L.  ciii.  col.  6oa)  ;— 
' "  Fugite  fomicationem."  Recte  fugiendam  moaet 
fornicationem  per  quam  filii  dei  fiunt  filii  diaboli. 
"  Omne  peccatum  quodcumque  fecerit  homo  extra 
corpus  est,  qui  autem  fomicatur  in  corpus  suum 
peccat"  Ostendit  grauissimum,'  etc.  He  thus 
knew  nothing  of  the  interpolated  passage.  It  is 
probable  that  it  exists  in  no  MS.,  but  as  to  this  I 
cannot  make  a  definite  statement.  If  this  should 
be  the  case,  however,  we  should  be  led  to  the  con- 
viction that  the  early  editors  added  anything  which 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


seemed  profitable  to  the  te#  a*  it  appeared  in 
the  MSS.  Such  a  belief  is  warranted  bj  a  com- 
parison of  other  patristic  writings,  as  printed,  with 
the  early  MSS  now  known  to  us. 

A,    SOUTER. 
Aherdetn  Untvtnity. 


TJ74S«B  in  Ancient  "^vtut 

There  are  few  references  to  paid  workmen  in 
the  Old  Testament,  because  most  work  was  done 
by  members  of  the  family  or  by  slaves.  Free 
labourers  were  a  comparatively  small  class,  and 
of  these  many  were  their  own  masters,  smiths, 
carpenters,  etc.,  the  price  of  whose  services  is  to 
be  distinguished  from  wages  paid  to  a  worker 
wholly  employed  by  a  single  master.  Yet  the 
'  hired  servants,'  tdk/Ur,  were  sufficiently  numerous 
to  be  the  Object  of  ordinances  in  the  later  codes 
(Dt  14",  LV3  2»H,  Exii«  P).  The  'hireling' 
is  not  referred  to  in  the  J£  legislation  (Ten 
Commandments,  Book  of  the  Covenant,  etc.),  so 
that,  apparently  tbe  class  was  small  in  early  times, 
and  increased  with  the  growth  of  civilization. 
This  increase  would  be  furthered  by  the  attempt 
of  the  Priestly  Code  (Lv  is***)  to  minimize  the 
slavery  of  Jews.  Still  even  in  the  Apocrypha 
and  the  N.T.  there  are  comparatively  few  refer- 
ences to  'hired  servants.'  The  'hireling' seems 
to  have  been  at  the  mercy  of  his  employers  as  to 
the  amount  of  his  wages  and  even  as  to  getting 
them  paid  at  all.  Both  the  prophets  and  the  law 
intervene  on  bis  behalf  in  this  matter  (Dt  24", 
Jer  2a",  Ma!  3');  he  was  to  be  paid  promptly, 
usually,  as  it  seems,  at  the  end  of  each  day  (Dl 
24",  Lv  19",  Job  7');  but  Lv  25**  refers  to  a 
'servant  hired  year  by  year.'  The 'hireling' was 
considered  inferior  in  industry  to  a  slave;  of 
whom  it  is  said  (Dt  151*) '  to  the  double  of  the 
hire  of  a  hireling  hath  he  served  thee.'  In  the 
earlier  periods  of  Israelite  history,  when  almost 
every  family  had  its  own  land,  it  would  be  the 
exceptionally  poor  ne'er  do-well  who  was  out  with 
his  kin  or  the  foreigner  who  hired  himself  out; 
Dt  34"  speaks  of  the  hireling  as  'poor  and 
needy  ...  of  thy  brethren  or  of  thy  strangers.' 
Naturally  the  connexion  of  the  hireling  with  the 
family  is  less  close  than  that  of  the  slave ;  he  has 
no  share  in  tbe  family  sacra ;  he  may  not  eat  the 
passover  (Ex  ii**P);  nor  may  the  hired  servant 


of  a  priest  eat  the  holy  food  (Lv  2i">).  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  Moses'  grandson  was  hired  by 
Micah  of  Ephraim  for  a  yearly  salary  to  be  priest 
of  his  sanctuary,  and  afterwards  transferred  his 
services  to  the  Northern  Danites  in  their  sanctu- 
ary of  Dan  (Jg  17,  18).  The  narrative  is  fair 
ground  for  supposing  that  such  hiring  of  priests 
was  not  uncommon.  An  important  class  of 
'  hirelings '  consisted  of  the  mercenary  bodyguard 
of  the  kings.  The  social  status  of  the  'hireling' 
was  similar  to  that  of  the  '  mean  white '  in  the 
slave  states  of  America. 

The  term  sdk/Ur,  'hireling,'  'hired  servant,' 
seems  confined  to  persons  not  reckoned  as  be- 
longing to  the  family ;  but  there  must  often  have 
been  relations  who  practically  received  wages  from 
the  head  of  a  family.  Jacob  speaks  of  receiving 
wages,  idkfiar,  from  Laban,  which  consisted  partly 
in  wives  and  partly  in  a  share  of  the  increase  of 
the  flocks  which  he  tended.  Doubtless,  the  narra- 
tive describes  a  typical  arrangement,  otherwise  we 
have  no  information  as  to  how  the  income  of  a 
family,  in  the  larger  Eastern  sense,  was  divided 
amongst  its  members. 

In  the  Apocrypha,  the  angel  Raphael,  profess- 
ing himself  to  be  a  man  of  a  distinguished  Jewish 
family  akin  to  Tobit,  is  hired  by  the  latter  as 
travelling  companion  to  his  son,  and  subsequently 
sent  to  collect  a  large  debt.  Apparently  hired 
servants  were  sometimes  placed  in  positions  of 
trust  So,  loo,  Sir  7™  speaks  of  the  'hireling 
who  giveth  thee  his  life  {Mg.  soul).'  On  the  other 
hand  we  are  bidden  (Sir  37")  not '  to  take  counsel 
.  .  ,  with  a  hireling  in  thy  house  about  finishing 
his  work.'  It  was  still  necessary  (Sir  34",  and 
later  still,  Ja  5*),  to  denounce  those  who  kept 
back  the  wages  of  their  hired  servants.  Mercen- 
ary soldiers  appear  in  1  Mac  6*». 

In  the  New  Testament  Zebedee  has  a  paid 
crew  for  his  fishing-boat  (Mk  1'");  and  hired 
servants  appear  in  the  Parables  of  the  Prodigal 
Son  (Lk  is"-")  and  of  the  Labourers  in  the 
Vineyard  (Mt  20'-  ^).  The  former  implies  that  the 
household  of  a  wealthy  man  included  several 
'  hired  servants ' ;  and  the  latter  that  there  was  a 
class  of  free  labourers,  who  were,  as  in  the  O.T., 
hired  and  paid  by  the  day.  So,  too,  the  reaper 
receives  wages  (Jn  4**,  Ja  g*,)  The  service  of  the 
'hireling'  is  still  lightly  esteemed;  'the  hireling 
.  .  .  fleeth,  because  he  is  an  hireling,  and  careth 
not  for  the  sheep'  (Jn  10");  the  apostles  style 


38> 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


themselves  and  their  fellow-Chnstians  the  'slaves,' 
never  the  'hired  servanU'  of  Christ.  Christ's 
ministers  lec^ve  '  hire '  from  men  whom  they 
serve  (Lit  lo^  i  Ti  5",  2  Co  11*).  God  is  said 
to  give  'hire'  or  'wages,'  mislfios  (Mt  5"  lo*, 
Heb  1 1",  etc);  on  the  other  hand,  there  are  'the 
wages  {ppsoma)  of  sin '  (Ro  6**),  and  '  the  wages 
{msthon)  of  unrighteousness'  (j  P  2'*),  etc 

As  regards  rate  of  wages,  Judah's  payment  of 
a  kid  to  Tamar  (Gn  38")  can  hardly  be  brought 
into  relation  to  our  other  data.  Jacob  purchased 
a  wife  by  seven  years'  service,  and  afterwards  was 
paid  by  a  portion  of  the  increase  of  the  flock 
(Gn  29,  30).  Micah's  Levite  was  promised  ten 
pieces  of  silver  (shekels),  a  suit  of  clothes,  and  his 
board  and  lodging  (Jg  lyi"-'*).  No  doubt  this  was 
fairly  liberal,  yet  when  the  Danites  invited  the 
Levite  to  go  with  them,  '  he  was  pleased '  {Poly- 
chrome  Biile),  probably  expecting  a  larger  income. 
The  angel  Raphael,  when  acting  as  courier  to 
Tobias  received  a  drachma  a  day  and  all  found, 
with  a  promise  of  a  bonus  at  the  end  of  the  en- 
gagement (To  5^*).  Similarly  the  labourers  in  the 
vineyard  received  a  denarion,  or  denarius,  whose 
value  'was  the  same  as  that  of  the  drachma  '  in 
ordinary  transactions.'  The  shekel  contained 
rathei  more  silver  than  a  half-crown,  and  the 
denarius  about  four-Rfths  as  much  silver  as  a 
shilling.  Obviously  Jacob,  and  probably  the 
labourers  in  the  vineyard,  received  food.  The 
mere  sUtement  of  the  weight  of  silver  tells  us 
nothing  as  to  real  wages,  and  we  must  not  forget, 
as  many  do,  to  allow  for  food  when  that  was 
given.  These  facts  as  to  wages  do  not  so  much 
inform  us  as  to  the  real  wages  of  labour,  but  I 
furnish  data  for  determining  the  value  of  silver,  ■ 
If  we  may  reckon  the  price  of  wheat  in  New  1 
Testament  times  at  from  16s.  to  jQ\  a  quarter,  a 
denarius  or  drachma,  about  9^d.  a  day,  with  food, 
would  be  very  roughly  equivalent  to  the  present 
wages  of  a  London  charwoman,  about  as.  a  day, 
with  food,  wheat  being  about  jgs.  a  quarter.  But 
when  we  consider  what  has  been  said  about  the 
status  of  the  hireling,  the  control  of  the  labour 
market  by  the  employers,  and  the  full  advantage 
which  the  latter  took  of  the  situation,  we  may  be 
sure  that  the  usual  rate  of  wages  afforded  only 
a  bare  subsistence  to  the  free  labourer.  The 
description  of  the  miserable  condition  of  the  ' 
working-classes  in  Job  24'-'*  will  refer  to  hired  j 
ervants.     In  the  case  of  the  tvrvee  or  compulsory  | 


[  service  for  public  vorks,  no  wages  were  paid  be- 

I  yond  food  and  lodging.    The  corvie  was  used  by 

Solomon  to  build  theTemple(i  K  5"  12*),  and 

doubtless  by  other  kings  and  nobles  (Jer  2»'»). 

„     ^  „       ,    ^  W.  H.  Bennett. 

A'tui  Collegi,  Lonaan. 


'Our  £orb'  in  i%t  fkxn^K  ^^^dc 

There  is  nothing  to  be  gained,  as  far  as  I  know, 
by  discussing  Mr.  Bonus'  statistics  any  further  at 
present.  I  may,  however,  remark  that  Mrs.  Lewis 
reports,  as  the  result  of  a  recent  examination  of 
the  MS.,  that  in  Jn  13^  the  codex  really  has 
Maran  (the  last  two  letters  are  quite  clear). 
Mrs.  Lewis  also  detects  the  reading  in  Jn  6'*, 
where  the  Curetonian  shows  no  trace  of  it. 

J.  Rendel  Harris. 
Cambric^. 


t§e  ®afe  of  f^e  ^erfuajinf . 

Does  not  the  time  approach  when  we  may  be  a 
little  more  definite,  perhaps  even  dogmatic,  as  to  the 
dateof  the  LXX?  Ifwe  can,  the  result  for  biblical 
criticism  will  be  very  important  Space  is 
precious,  so  I  can  deal  only  in  brief  assertions ; 
there  is  no  room  for  proof.  But  if  any  of  the 
assertions  be  challenged,  we  shall  know  better 
where  we  are,  and  proofs  can  then  be  added.  To- 
day it  is  hardly  disputed  that  the  Pentateuch  was 
translated  into  Greek  in  Egypt  in  the  days  of 
Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  c.  380  b.c  This  is  our 
terminus  a  quo.  Only  the  man  with  some  theory 
to  serve  has  any  reason  to  dispute  that  the  transla- 
tion of  the  whole  O.T.  must  have  been  finished 
before  the  days  of  the  well-known  prologue 
of  Ben-Sira's  grandson,  132  ac  (or  quite  possibly 
earlier) ;  nor  does  the  prologue  indicate  that  the 
translation  had  been  finished  recently.  Here,  then, 
should  be  our  terminus  ad  quern.  The  tradition  is 
that  the  whole  LXX  belongs  to  the  third  century 
B.C.  Of  this  being  true  there  is  both  possibility  and, 
in  some  ways,  very  strong  likelihood ;  see  Swete, 
Introd.  to  O.  T.  in  Greek,  pp.  2a~23.  What  facts  con- 
tradict the  tradition  ?  Facts  there  are  really  none ; 
but  of  important  suppositions  there  are  three. 
I.  That  the  vocabulary  of  many  books  of  the 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


383 


LXXis  late,  and  can  not  be  dated  before  Polybius.f. 
150  B.C.  Our  lexicons  till  quite  recently  did 
tend  to  make  us  think  so ;  but  the  many  finds  of 
Egyptian  papyri  have  changed  everything.  The 
proof  is  far  from  complete  yet,  but  it  all  tends  to 
show  that  it  would  be  highly  dangerous  to  affirm 
that  any  word  in  the  LXX  must  be  later  than  300 
B.C  Swcte  (p.  291)  gives  a  list  of  38  words,  from 
all  parts  of  the  LXX,  very  rare  elsewhere,  which 
have  now  been  found  in  papyri  of  the  early 
Ptolemies ;  and  Deissmann  {Bibie  Studits)  has  also 
picked  out  some  valuable  crumbs  to  show  us  how 
misleading  even  our  best  lexicons  are. 

2.  The  Book  of  Daniel  must  be  of  the  Maccabean 
age.  Many  high  in  repute  think  so;  and  the 
case  founded  on  the  possibilities  of  predictive 
prophecy  is  formidable.  But  if  this  one  point  be 
barred,  as,  on  strictly  scientific  grounds,  it  should, 
what  then?  Few  present-day  students  seem 
aware  that  eveiy  scrap  of  evidence  we  possess, 
apart  from  theories  as  to  prophecy,  points  and 
points  strongly  to  the  conclusion  that  our  Daniel 
must  have  been  compiled  before  300  b.c.  Denial 
of  this  raises  very  formidable  difficulties,  though 
the  student  will  certainly  not  find  the  strength  of 
the  case  either  in  Canon  Driver  or  Mr.  Bevan. 

3.  A  good  many  of  the  Psalms  must  be  Macca- 
bean also.     Many  high  in  repute  think  this  too ; 
but  the  point  has  always  been  a  debatable  one, 
and  therefore  surely  not  to  be  pressed  as  a  crucial 
piece  of  evidence.     The  case  for  the  existence  of 
any  Maccabean  Psalms  has  certainty  been  seriously 
weakened  by  the  discovery  of  the  Hebrew  text  of 
EccUiioitiats,  both  because  of  the  vocabulary  of 
Ben-Sira    and    his    actual    quotations    from  the  | 
Psalter.     Even  Canon  Cheyne,  our  chief  '  Macca-  I 
bean '  champion,  feels  acutely  the  cogency  of  this  | 
{Expositor,  1899,  ix.  258). 

Thus  we  have  found  nothing  conclusive  against  I 
the  third  century  dale ;  is  there  anything  more  to  I 
be  said  in  its  favour?    At  any  rate  there  is  no  | 
shred  of  a  hint  in  history  that  the  LXX  was  made 
at  any  other  time.    Our  earliest  authorities,  the  , 
pseud o-Aristeas  and  Aristobulos,  c,  170  b.c,  speak 
definitely  only  of  the  Law.      Our  next  authority 
is  Ben-Sira's  prologue;  then  comes  Philo,  Jew 
and  Egyptian,  who  seems  definite  enough  as  to 
the  whole  Scripture,  if  only  he  were  a  little  earlier.  < 
But  any  way,  to  this  man   born  t.  40  b.c  the  \ 
LXX  was  no  thing  of  yesterday,  it  was  already  1 
holy  and  reverend.     It  is  a  favourite  assertion  of  . 


those  with  a  theory  to  maintain,  that  the  Palestinian 
and  the  Alexandrian  canons  of  the  O.T.  were 
quite  distinct.  Dr.  Swetc  does  not  think  so. 
'Nothing  was  farther  from  their  [the  Egyptian 
Jews]  intention  than  to  create  an  Alexandrian 
canon.'  '  The  point  is  one  important  to  remember ' 
(p.  23).    Indeed  it  is. 

Almost  all  agree  the  canon  of  the  O.T.  prophets 
must  have  been  completed  by  100  b.c.  Now, 
according  to  every  authority  we  possess  up  to 
the  death  of  Origen,  Daniel  stood  then  in  the 
canon  of  the  prophets.  There  is  no  evidence  for 
placing  Daniel  in  the  Hagiographa  until  we  come  to 
the  fourth  century  a.d.  And  the  testimony  of  Sl 
Matthew,  Josephus,  and,  in  particular,  the  very  ex- 
plicit words  of  Melito  of  Sardis,  ought  to  be  witness 
enough  to  all  unprejudiced  persons  that  Daniel  was 
once  in  the  Palestinian  prophetic  canon  as  well  as 
the  Alexandrian.  Again,  the  stories  oi  Susanna  and 
Bel  and  the  Dragon,  so  far  as  we  know,  have  always 
formed  part  of  the  Greek  Daniel.  If  the  LXX  was 
already  a  sacred  document  when  Philo  was  a  lad, 
then  these  stories  cannot,  as  Driver  would  fain 
aflinn,  '  be  assigned  without  improbability  to  the 
first  century  b.c'  There  is  nothing  in  them  to 
prevent  their  being  placed  in  the  third  century  B.C., 
and  their  origin  must  go  back  to  the  days  of  the 
Persian  monarchy.  They  certainly  presuppose 
our  Daniel,  and  yet  their  whole  lone  is  so  palpably 
different  that  a  good  while  must  have  elapsed 
between  their  composition  and  our  Daniel's. 

Finally,  we  have  the  much-despised  little  note 
in  the  Greek  Esther,  which  tells  how  this  book 
was  brought  to  Egypt  in  the  fourth  year  of  Ptolemy 
and  Cleopatra,  i.e.  either  189  or  17S  b.c  The 
note  may  be  a  foigery ;  if  so,  it  is  a  curious  and 
rather  aimless  one.  If  not,  it  serves  to  show  both 
that  the  Hebrew  Esther,  one  of  the  latest  books  in 
the  O.T.  canon,  was  then  in  existence,  and  also 
that  the  Greek  version  with  its  apocryphal  additions 
was  all  in  writing  then  too. 

James  B.  Johnston. 


*  Z%t  CdWdBtB  of  'Bowr  J^oCb.' 

Leviticus  xxvi.  30. 

:  tshhi  ^D-^v  tianjD-nK  "nnji 
The  remarkable  phrase,  tu^inss,  'the  carcases 
of  your  round  blocks  or  logs,'  occurs  in  the  M.T. 


3*4 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


only  here  (however,  cf,  Jer  16^*  for  a  similar 
phme). 

The  word  "UD,  like  the  Syriac  );    .  q.,  is  used  of 

an  inert  mass,  and  its  being  used  here  in  con- 
nexion with  men  and  idols  shows  that  life  was 
lacicing  in  both. 

It  would  seem  that  just  as  the  man  became  a 
corpse  when  fallen  to  rise  no  more,  so  the  idol 
ceased  to  be  a  god  when  fallen  down  and  broken. 
Still  the  man  might  fall  and  yet  not  be  dead,  so 
too  the  god.  Dagon  falls  before  the  ark  of  Jehovah 
and,  because  unbroken,  is  set  up  in  his  place  again 
{i  S  5^)1  but  when,  on  the  morrow,  broken  (like  a 
man  grievously  wounded,  to  rise  no  more)  t>a%on 
is  not  set  up  in  his  place  again.  Dagon,  on  whom 
the  hand  of  Jehovah  had  been  sore  (t  S  5^,  had 
become  a  "UD,  and  so  we  find  that  Dagon  is  not 
mentioned  again  by  name,  save  in  i  Ch  10'", 
which  passage  after  all  only  proves  (if  trustworthy) 
that  the  sanctuary  still  retained  its  old  name  of 
'  the  house  of  Dagon.' 

In  close  connexion  with  Lv  26'"  we  should 
compare  £zk  6^  '  I  will  lay  the  carcases  of  the 
children  of  Israel  before  their  idols,'  but  in  the 
following  verse  we  read  that  the  idols  ubbi  are  to 
be  broken  and  cease,  and  so  this  passage  brings 
out  the  same  thought  that  life  is  lacking,  both  in 
the  men's  carcases  and  in  the  broken  idols,  which, 
because  broken,  cease  to  have  numina  residing  in 
them.  Going  back  to  earlier  times,  it  is  clear  that 
the  numen  was  not  supposed  to  take  up  his 
residence  in  the  stone  until  the  stone  was  set 
up.  At  the  place  where  Jacob  had  a  Theophany, 
he  set  up  the  stone  for  a  pillar,  and  poured  oil 
upon  the  top  of  it,  and  the  stone  became  '  God's 
house' <Gna8"). 

A  more  striking  instance,  however,  occurs  in 
Jos  24^^-'~.  Joshua  took  a  great  stone  and  set  it 
up,  and  when  it  was  set  up,  then  the  numen  entered 
the  stone  and  was  looked  upon  as  capable  of 
hearing  words  spoken:  'Behold  this  stone  shall 
be  a  witness  against  us ;  for  it  hath  heard  (K*n*^3 
njnsB'')  all  the  words,  etc'  The  Hebrew  is  re- 
markable and  emphatic. 

If,  then,  the  god  only  entered  the  stone  when 
set  up,  it  would  be  quite  in  accordance  with  olden 
ideas  that  the  numen  should  leave  the  stone  when 
fallen  down  and  broken,  and  so  for  all  practical 
purposes  the  god  would  be  dead.  And  it  is  for 
this  reason  that  we  so  constantly  read  that  the 
idols  and  images  and  mofiebahs  were  to  be  thrown 
down  and  broken  in  pieces. 


It  was,  of  course,  not  until  much  later  that  these 
idols  were  looked  upon  as  dead,  even  when  '  stand- 
'  ing '  or  '  set  up.'    In  Ps  r  06**  we  read:  'Theyate 
j  the  sacrifices  of  the  dead,'  referring  to  the  orgies 
I  at   Baal-peor.     But  at  the   time  spoken  of,  the 
I   idols  {mafseiaAs,  or  whatever  else  they  might  have 
been)  were  certainly  standing.    The  enlightened 
'  writing-prophets  had  taught  that  the  gods  of  the 
I  people  round  about  were  no  gods.      And  the 
I  writer  of  Ps  106  (see  vv,"  and  *')  would  have 
I  their  teaching  behind  him.     And  so  the  author 
of  Ps  106  reads  into  the  story  of  Baal-peor  the 
prophetic  teaching,  and  calls  the  'standing'  gods 
dead.     For  in  DTiD  'nat  •h^ttn  1  think  it  is  clear 
that  the  Psalmist  refers  D^riD  to  the  gods  of  Baal- 
peor.     It  is  hardly  necessary  to  point  out  that 
this  interpretation  would  not  need  a  ^  before  O'ttD, 
for_we  have  a  similar  instance  in  Ps  51'*  *n3t 

EDMtJMD  Sinker. 


*Biu  3rae  'Bita  3frA. 

The  new  Critieal  and  Exegetieal  Commentary  on 
the  Epistles  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Ju4e,  by  Ch.  Bigg 
(T.  &  T.  Clark,  1901),  quotes,  p.  215,  on  a  P  3", 
'  the  opening  lines  of  the  famous  hymn— 

"  Dies  irae,  dies  ilia 
Suluet  saeclum  in  fautlla. 
Teste  Dauid  cum  Sibylla  " ' ; 

and  prints  them,  as  it  is  perhaps  mostly  done,  in 
the  preceding  form,  with  comma  after  irae,  with- 
out comma  after  ilia.  May  I  be  permitted  to 
point  out  that  the  first  line  is  in  all  probability  & 
sentence  for  itself,  dies  ilia  being  the  subject,  dies 
irae  the  predicate ;  for  it  is  a  quotation  from 
Zeph  i^*,  where  in  Hebrew,  Greek,  and  Latin 
the  sentence  is  quite  identical,  VXTiT}  Dl'n  may  Dl', 
Tllt-ipa  opy^  ^y-ip"-  iKtivrj,  '  dtes  iroe  dies  ilia,'  * 
rendered  in  the  A.V.  and  R.V. :  '  That  day  is  a 
day  of  wrath.'  The  opening  lines  must  therefore 
be  printed 


e  dies  ilia, 


Eb.  Nestle. 


by  Salwtier  from  '  Oild.  Sap.  \.  de  excid.  Britani)-,  p.  714c, 
rests  on  good  aulhoritf,  I  Ao  not  know.    Ai  it  cornea  from  a 

BiLiish  wiiler,  it  may  be  menlioned  here. 


Printed  b]r  Hokkhon  &  Gibb  Limitbi>,  Tanfield  Wocfci^ 
•nd  Pnbliihed  by  T.  &  T.  Clakk,  38  GeoiEe  Stnct, 
EdialMirEh.  It  ii  reqaealed  that  all  literuT  con* 
nnwcatioiu  be  addrcned  lo  Tut  EoiTOa,  St  Cyras, 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Qlofes   of  (Becen(   Hjcpoeition. 


The  remarkable  communication  from  Mrs. 
Lewis  to  this  issue  of  The  Expository  Times  is 
sure  to  attract  attention,  and  scarcely  need  be 
mentioned  here.  Copies  of  The  Expository 
Times  will  be  sent  to  all  the  great  libraries 
throughout  the  world,  and  to  all  scholars  who 
are  in  a  position  to  assist  in  the  search. 


The  fourth  volume  of  the  Dictionary  of  the 
Bible  has  been  published.  It  conuins  994  pages 
or  1988  columns.  Its  first  article  is  Pleroma  by 
Professor  Walter  Lock,  its  last  is  Zuzim  by 
Professor  S.  R.  Driver. 

It  is  the  largest  volume  of  the  four,  and  contains 
more  than  its  share  of  the  great  theological 
articles.  Beginning  with  Pleroma,  it  gives  us 
Poor  by  Professor  Driver,  an  exhaustive  article 
on  a  theme  that  is  almost  new  to  English  readers  ; 
Power  of  the  Keys  by  Professor  Mason,  his  only 
article  in  the  Dictionary;  Praver  by  Canon 
E.  R.  Bernard  of  Salisbury,  who  also  writes  the 
articles  on  Resurrection  and  Sin  ;  Predestina- 
tion by  Professor  VVarfield  of  Princeton,  an 
unflinching  representation  of  the  Bible  doctrine, 
to  be  read  along  with  Professor  Stanton's  article 
on  the  Will;  Promise  by  Professor  Denney; 
and  Prophecy  by  the  late  Professor  A.  B. 
Davidson. 

Vol.  XIII.— 9 


The  article  on  Prophecv  fills  forty-one  columns. 
It  is  the  finest  work  we  believe  that  Professor 
Davidson  ever  published.  We  do  not  know  if  that 
was  his  own  judgment.  Of  the  previous  articles 
which  he  contributed  to  the  Dictionary,  he  himself 
said  that  none  of  them  was  better  than  Jeremiah, 
but  most  of  the  reviewers  gave  the  preference  to 
the  article  in  the  same  volume  on  God  in  the  Old 
Testament. 

There  are  many  other  theological  articles  in  this 
volume.  Prophet  in  the  New  Testament  has 
been  written  by  Professor  Gwatkin,  and  Propitia- 
tion by  Professor  Driver.  Propitiation  is  a  subject 
which  has  been  strangely  shunned  of  late,  even  by 
evangelical  preachers,  the  result,  perhaps,  of  un- 
scholarly  misrepresentation.  Dr.  Driver's  article 
puts  the  facts  forth  plainly  and  exhaustively.  It 
proves  that  propitiation  is  the  very  heart  of  the 
Gospel.  Ransom  and  Redemption  have  been 
contributed  by  Professor  Adams  Brown  of  New 
York,  Regeneration  and  Sanctification  by 
Professor  Bartlet  of  Oxford,  Reconciliation  by 
Mr.  Adamson  of  Dundee,  and  Repentance  by 
Mr.  W.  Morgan  of  Tarbolton,  Righteousness 
in  the  Old  Testament  by  Professor  Skinner  of 
Cambridge,  and  in  the  New  by  Professor  Stevens 
of  Yale.  The  Sacraments  have  been  dealt  with 
by  Dr.  Plummer  of  Durham,  and  Sacrifice  by 


386 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Professor  Paterson  of  Aberdeen,  Then  come 
the  two  important  articles  on  the  Son  of  God  and 
the  Son  of  Man,  the  former  by  Professor  Sanday, 
the  latter  by  Professor  Driver.  Professor  Stanton 
of  Cambridge  has  written  Truth  and  World, 
and  Dr.   Moulton  has  contributed  an  article  on 

ZOROASTRIANISM. 

In  other  departments  than  that  of  theology  this 
volume  is  not  so  conspicuous.  Only  a  few  of  the 
books  of  the  Bible  fall  within  its  range.  But  the 
Book  of  Psalms  does  so,  the  article  being  written 
by  Professor  W.  T.  Davison ;  Revelation  also, 
written  by  Professor  Porter  of  Yale,  whose  article 
on  the  Apocrypha  was  declared  by  the  late 
Professor  Davidson  to  be  the  best  thing  ever 
written  on  that  subject.  We  have  also  Romans 
by  Principal  Robertson  of  King's  Collie, 
Samuel  by  Mr.  Stenning,  Song  of  Songs  by 
Professor  Rothstcin,  Thessalonians  and  the 
Pastoral  Epistles  by  Professor  Lock,  Tobit  by 
Principal  Marshall  of  Manchester,  Wisdom  by 
Professor  Siegfried)  Zechariah  by  Professor 
Nowack,  and  Zephaniah  by  Dr.  Selbie.  Some 
of  the  great  Versions  are  here.  Besides  the 
general  article  by  Principal  Bebb,  we  have  the 
SvRiAC  Versions  and  the  Septuagint  by  Pro- 
fessor Nestle,  who  also  writes  on  SiRACH  and  the 
Text  of  the  New  Testament,  the  other  Greek 
Versions  by  Mr.  Redpath,  the  Vulgate  by 
Mr.  H.  J.  White,  and  the  English  Versions 
by  Mr.  Mill^n. 

For  the  Geography  of  Palestine  General  Sir 
Charles  Wilson's  name  is  as  conspicuous  in  this 
volume  as  that  of  General  Warren  was  in  vol.  iii. 
and  of  Colonel  Conder  in  vols,  i.  and  ii.  Some 
difficult  places  have  been  described  by  Professor 
Driver.  Professor  Max  Miiller  has  written  on  Put 
and  Tarshish,  Professor  Margoliouih  on  Sheba, 
Dr,  Pinches  on  Shinar,  Professor  Rendel  Harris 
on  Mount  Sinai,  Professor  G.  Adam  Smith  on 
Trachonitis,  Mr.  Ewing  on  several  places  in 
Palestine,  Dr,  Mackie  of  Beyrout  on  Tyre  and 
ZiDON,   Professor  Patrick  and   Mr.   Relton  con- 


jointly on  Roue,  while  Professor  W.  M.  Ramsay 
has  as  formerly  done  all  the  Asia  Minor  work. 


Next  to  the  Biblical  Theology,  there  is  no  depart- 
ment so  strong  as  that  of  Antiquities.  The 
articles  on  the  Tabernacle  and  the  Temple  fall 
within  this  volume,  the  former  by  Professor  A. 
R.  S,  Kennedy,  the  latter  by  Professor  Witton 
Da  vies.  Professor  Kennedy  also  writes  the 
article  on  the  Weights  and  Measures  of  the 
Bible,  and  the  articles  on  Sanctuary  and  on 
Urim  and  Thummim.  An  article  on  Pottery, 
illustrated  from  recent  discoveries,  is  contributed 
by  Dr.  F.  J,  Bliss.  Professor  Graf  Baudissin  gives 
a  full  account  of  Priests  and  Levites,  while 
Professor  Bacher  has  handled  the  allied  subjects 
Sanhedrin  and  Synagogue.  The  volume  also 
contains  Sabbath  by  Professor  Driver,  and 
Sabbatical  Year  by  Mr.  Harford  -  Battersby, 
Sepulchre  by  Professor  Nicol,  Slavery  by  Prin- 
cipal Whitehouse,  Shekinah  by  Principal  Marshall, 
Precious  Stones  by  Professor  Flinders  Petrie, 
Confusion  of  Tongues  by  Professor  Driver,  and 
Gift  of  Tongues  by  Principal  Robertson,  Trade 
AND  Commerce  by  Professor  Bennett,  Unclean- 
NESS  by  Professor  Peake,  Time  by  Mr.  Abrahams, 
War  by  Professor  Emery  Barnes,  Water  by  Mr. 
James  Patrick,  Woman  and  Worship  by  Professor 
Adeney,  and  Writing  by  Dr.  Kenyon. 


There  is  an  article  in  the  Sunday  School  Times 
of  Philadelphia  of  36th  April  on  the  superiority  of 
the  American  Revised  Version.  The  article  is 
written  by  the  Rev.  Louis  Agassis  Gould.  He 
shows  the  superiority  of  the  Mew  Testament  of 
1901  over  that  of  1881  by  printing  parallel 
quotations. 

The  first  quotation  he  prints  is  Mt  6",  '  Which 
of  you  by  being  anxious  can  add  one  cubit  unto 
his  stature?'  That  is  the  Revision  of  iSSi,  the 
American   Revision  reads,   'can  add  one  cubit 


unto  the  measure  of  his  l^e,' 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


3S7 


passage  is  Ac  17^,  'Ye  men  of  Athens,  in  all 
things  I  perceive  that  ye  are  somewhat  supersti- 
tious.* The  American  Revisers  prefer  '  very 
religious.'  Take  i  Co  15**  next.  '  Evil  company 
doth  corrupt  good  manners'  says  1881.  'Evil 
companionships  corrupt  good  morals'  says  1901. 
In  Ph  a*,  '  Who,  being  in  the  form  of  God,  counted 
it  not  a  prize  to  be  on  an  equality  with  God,' 
becomes,  '  Who,  existing  in  the  form  of  God, 
counted  not  the  being  on  an  equality  with  God 
a  thing  to  be  grasped,'  Mr.  Gould  says  that  the 
n=w  translation  of  He  11'  'is  worth  the  price  of 
the  book.'  The  English  Revision  gives, '  Now  faith 
is  the  assurance  of  things  hoped  for,  the  proving 
of  things  not  seen,'  the  American,  '  Now  faith  is 
assurance  of  things  hoped  for,  a  conviction  of 
things  not  seen.' 

Those  are  the  best  examples.  Of  the  rest  we 
notice  that  instead  of  'a  penny'  in  Mt  22'",  the 
American  Revision  gives  '  a  denarius,'  with  the 
marginal  note,  '  about  seventeen  cents.'  '  Be- 
wrayeth  thee '  in  Mt  z6^^  is  changed  into  '  maketh 
thee  known* — which  does  not  seem  to  hit  the  mean- 
ing. '  The  perfect'  of  1  Co  3'  becomes  *  full-grown,* 
'mortify*  in  Col  3*  is  'put  to  death,'  'instant*  in 
a  Ti  4'  is  'urgent,'  and  'conscience  of  sins'  in 
He  10*  is  'consciousness  of  sins'  —  all  good 
changes,  and  more  necessary  than  our  Revisers 
seem  to  have  been  aware  of. 

There  is  an  article  on  the  same  subject  in  the 
Bibliotheta  Sacra  for  April  by  Professor  Whitney. 
Its  title  is  '  The  Latest  Translation  of  the  Bible.' 
It  is  less  laudatory  of  the  American  Revision. 
Professor  Whitney  is  dissatisfied  with  all  the 
translations  that  exist. 

For  he  holds  that  Western  translators  have 
never  realized  the  difference  between  their  own 
and  an  Eastern  tongue.  There  is  a  boldness  of 
figure  in  the  East  which  takes  a  Western's  breath 
avay.  This  figurative  language  has  for  the  most 
part  been  tamely  translated  into  literal  English. 
And  then  it  has  often  afforded  occasion  for  pro- 


tracted disputes  in  theology.  And  besides  that, 
there  is  a  plainness  of  speech  in  the  Bible  which 
is  easily  capped  in  modern  Arabic,  but  which  our 
translators  have  been  afraid  to  reproduce,  being 
much  concerned  for  the  dignity  of  the  sacred  page. 

When  Professor  Gould,  in  his  commentary  on 
St.  Mark  in  the  '  International '  series,  translated 
the  words  of  our  Lord  to  the  evil  spirit,  '  Shut 
up!'  (Mk  I**),  his  reviewers  burst  into  ridiculous 
laughter.  Professor  Whitney  would  probably 
approve  the  translation.  There  is  a  passage  in 
Lk  ia*>  which,  he  says,  has  never  yet  been  trans- 
lated correctly.  The  Authorized  Version  gave, 
'  I  am  come  to  send  [how  much  better  east,  says 
Professor  Whitney  in  a  parenthesis]  lire  on  the 
earth,  and  what  will  I  if  it  be  already  kindled?' 
The  English  Revisers  made  two  slight  changes  in 
the  passage,  but  left  the  words,  '  What  will  I  if  it 
is  already  kindled  P'  in  their  obscurity.  The 
American  Revisers  were  bolder.  '  What  do  I 
desire  if  it  is  already  kindled  P '  is  their  version. 
But  they  were  not  bold  enough.  Professor 
Whitney  believes  that  they  were  feeling  towards 
the  translation,  '  What  do  I  care  if  it  has  been 
already  kindled?' — that  is,  by  John  the  Baptist — 
but  did  not  dare  to  be  so  familiar. 

Of  the  figures  of  speech  Professor  Whitney 
gives  many  examples.  One  of  the  boldest  of  the 
metaphors  is  found  in  Hos  14^,  'So  will  we 
render  the  calves  of  our  lips.'  The  Septuagint 
and  the  Syriac  translations  watered  this  down  to 
'  the  fruit  of  our  Hps,'  and  the  writer  of  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews  seems  to  have  been  content  with 
that.  The  Revisions  attempt  a  paraphrase,  both 
English  and  American  having  '  So  will  we  render 
as  bullocks  the  offering  of  our  lips.'  But  it  is  too 
clumsy,  says  Professor  Whitney.  He  does  not  say 
how  he  would  render  it. 

A  telling  instance  of  the  mischief  which  a  literal 
rendering  of  a  figure  may  do  is  seen  in  i  S  ao**. 
Addressing  his  son  Jonathan,  Saul  says,  '  Thou  son 
of  the  (R.  V. "  a  ")  perverse  rebellious  woman,'  The 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


words  seem  to  cast  a  slur  on  Jonathan's  mother, 
as  well  as  on  himself.  Saul  has  no  such  intention. 
His  words  simply  meaa  that  Jonathan  is  himself  a 
perverse  rebel.  The  same  figure  is  used  in  the 
next  verse,  where  Saul  says  that  David  is  'the 
son  of  death.'  But  here  the  translators  have 
dropped  the  figure  entirely  and  rendered  '  for  he 
shall  surely  die.' 

Some  reference  was  made  last  month  to  the 
occurrence  of  hendiadys  in  the  Bible.  Professor 
Whitney  finds  some  examples.  In  Ro  a*  all  the 
versions  read,  '  After  thy  hardness  and  impenitent 
heart.'  But  the  English  idiom  is  '  After  the 
hardness  of  thine  impenitent  heart.'  In  Mt  ii^ 
our  Lord  is  represented  (to  our  ears)  as  thanking 
the  Father  that  He  has  hid  the  mysteries  of  the 
kingdom  from  the  wise  and  prudent  and  has 
revealed  them  to  babes.  It  is  an  instance  of 
hendiadys.  The  Hebrew  or  Hellenistic  idiom 
joins  two  co-ordinate  sentences  by  and  to  make 
a  single  affirmation.  Jesus  did  not  thank  the 
Father  for  hiding  truth  from  anyone,  only  for 
revealing  it.  The  translation  may  be  difficult, 
but  now  the  sense  is  clear.  Take  one  more 
example.  'Ought  not  Christ  to  have  suffered 
these  things  and  to  enter  into  His  glory?' 
(Lk  14*').  The  versions  all  retain  the  and  with 
childlike  liieralily.  The  meaning  is,  'Did  not 
the  Christ  have  to  suffer  these  things  in  order  to 
enter  into  His  glory?' 


The  second  part  for  1901  of  the  Journal  of 
Biblical  Literature  opens  with  an  article  by  Dr. 
J.  P.  Peters  on  '  The  Religion  of  Moses.'  The 
history  of  the  religion  of  Israel  according  to  the 
new  critical  interpretation  must  be  written  soon. 
This  is  one  chapter  of  it. 

Dr.  Peters  seems  to  understand  that  it  is  the 
first  chapter  of  it.  For  he  says  that  the  first 
thing  one  must  find  who  sets  out  to  write  the 
history  of  Israel  is  an  ethical  foundation  for 
it.     And  he  believes  that  that  fouudaiion  must 


be  sought  in  the  teaching  of  Moses,  or  at  least 
in  some  acts  or  events  connected  with  Moses. 

Does  the  critical  view  of  the  history  of  Israel 
find  its  ethical  foundation  in  Moses?  Not  in 
the  most  popular,  the  Wellhausian,  form  of  it. 
The  most  popular  form  of  the  critical  interpre- 
tation, says  Dr.  Peters,  is  a  reaction  from  the 
impossible  traditional  picture,  and  like  most  re- 
actions it  has  swung  too  far.  It  reduces  Moses 
to  the  ranks.  It  makes  him  a  creature  of  his 
time.  It  denies  him  any  ethical  or  religious 
outlook  beyond  that  of  the  commonest  men  and 
women  among  whom  he  lived  and  moved.  And 
this  it  is  driven  to  do,  so  it  believes,  in  the 
interests  of  the  evolutionary  view  of  history  and 
of  religion. 

Now  Dr.  Peters  does  not  deny  the  evolutionary 
view  of  history  or  of  religion.  He  does  not  keep 
the  history  or  the  religion  of  Israel  outside  its 
scope.  He  believes  that  no  religion,  ancient  or 
modern,  has  been  created  de  nova.  Each  religion 
has  been,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  evolved  out 
of  pre-existing  ideas,  and  has  been  affected,  in 
its  development,  by  the  historical,  climatic,  and 
other  conditions  of  the  people  who  adopted  it. 
And  if  this  is  true  of  a  religion,  it  is  equally 
true  of  every  man  who  possesses  a  religion.  A 
man  is  explained  by  his  antecedents  and  his 
environment 

But  neither  a  man  nor  a  religion  is  altogether 
explained  by  antecedent  and  environment.  A 
man  is  after  all  himself.  He  is  affected  by  his 
environment,  but  he  has  something  which  his 
environment  has  not  given  him.  And  the  greater 
the  man  the  greater  will  this  peculiar  individual 
element  in  his  character  be.  Now  place  the 
man  and  the  religion  together.  The  religion  owes 
its  origin  or  its  new  impulse  to  the  genius  of 
the  man.  If  he  is  the  author  of  it,  as  Mohammed 
may  be  said  to  be  the  author  of  Islam,  he  uses 
all  the  forces  of  heredity  and  environment  to 
assist  him.     But  he  adds  his  own  indiiMuality, 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


and  that  gives  individuality  to  the  religion.  Dr. 
Peters  says  that  modern  critical  students  have 
shown  a  tendency  to  apply  the  doctrine  of  evolu- 
tion and  environment  to  the  religion  of  Israel 
to  an  extent  which  eliminates  the  personal  factor 
altogether.  They  are  determined  to  stand  so 
atraight,  be  says,  that  they  lean  backward.  The 
old  view  made  Mosea  the  creator  of  the 
religion  of  Israel ;  the  new  denies  that  Moses 
was  spiritually  or  mentally  in  advance  of  those 
about  him. 

Dr.  Peters  holds  that  Moses  was  the  founder 
of  the  religion  of  Israel  in  very  much  the  same 
sense  as  Jesus  Christ  was  the  founder  of  Chris- 
tianity, Mohammed  of  Mohammedanism,  Zoroaster 
of  Zoroastrianism,  and  Gautama  Siddhartha  the 
Buddha  of  Buddhism.  '  He  was  a  unique  man, 
lowering  above  his  time,  anticipating  future  ages, 
reaching  out  beyond  his  own.'  The  reformers 
of  Israel  refened  their  reforms  to  Moses.  The 
more  the  religion  of  Israel  developed,  the  greater 
was  the  inclination  to  make  Moses  and  bis  law 
the  standard  for  comparison. 

But  if  Moses  was  the  founder  of  the  religion 
of  Israel  in  the  same  way  as  Mohammed  was  the 
founder  of  Mohammedanism,  why  is  the  religion 
of  Israel  not  called  Mosaism  ?  Dr.  Peters  answers, 
because  we  do  not  feel  that  we  have  sufficient 
information  regarding  the  life  and  teaching  of 
Moses  to  warrant  the  use  of  the  name.  We  know 
less  about  Moses  and  his  work  than  about  the 
life  and  work  of  any  of  the  great  founders  of 
religion.  For  Moses  lived  in  a  more  remote  age  and 
under  conditions  less  civilized  and  less  adapted 
to  the  exact  transmission  of  tradition  than  any 
of  the  others  who  have  been  named. 

It  is  evident  that  Dr.  Peters  does  not  accept 
the  history  of  Mosc&as  it  stands  in  the  Pentateuch. 
He  mentions  the  points  of  that  history.  They 
are  familiar  enough.  We  need  not  mention  them 
after  him.  What  incidents  in  the  traditional 
career  of  Moses  does  he  accept  ? 


He  accepts  the  sojourn  in  Egypt  of  the  tribes 
of  Israel,  or  at  least  a  section  of  them.  ,He 
believes  that  ihey  dwelt  in  Goshen  and  were 
oppressed  by  the  Egyptians  there,  the  oppression 
taking  the  form  of  conscription  for  enforced 
labour.  He  believes  that  the  Israelites  rebelled 
and  fled  to  the  wilderness,  and  that  in  that  flight 
they  felt,  through  the  force  of  certain  providences, 
that  they  were  brought  into  a  peculiar  relation 
to  the  Deity.  He  believes  that  Moses  was  their 
leader  in  the  flight  and  the  interpreter  of  God's 
action  towards  them.  He  believes  that  in  the 
wilderness  of  Sinai  and  Horeb  the  Israelites  found 
kindred  tribes.  These  tribes  were  either  some  of 
those  which  were  afterwards  known  as  the  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel,  but  which  had  not  gone  down 
into  Egypt  noi  shared  the  oppression  there  j  or 
else  they  were  tribes,  like  the  Kenttes  and  Keniz- 
zites,  of  somewhat  more  remote  kindred,  but  still 
capable  of  amalgamation  with  the  Israelites  who 
fled  from  Egypt.  The  dwelling-place  and  sanc- 
tuary of  these  tribes,  he  believes,  was  the  Horeb- 
Sinai  wilderness.  Moses  was  connected  with  one 
of  them  and  even  with  its  priesthood. 

The  early  history  of  Moses,  you  sec,  is  soon 
written.  Those  are  all  the  facts  that  even  Dr. 
Peters  feels  it  safe  to  rest  upon.  But  now  Moses 
assumes  the  leadership  of  the  whole  of  those 
tribes  that  have  gathered  in  the  wilderness,  and 
at  that  moment  his  genius  or  inspiration  makes 
itself  felt  and  the  religious  history  of  Israel  begins. 
For  it  is  evident  to  Dr.  Peters  that  Moses  united 
the  tribes  of  Israel  by  a  religious  bond,  and  that 
that  bond  had  a  local  association,  connecting  them 
with  the  wilderness  that  lay  to  the  south  and  east 
of  Judah.  It  is  the  Song  of  Deborah  that  makes 
this  clear  to  him.  That  song  may  not  have  been 
written  by  Deborah,  but  at  least  it  is  contem- 
porary with  the  prophetess  and  with  the  events 
which  it  narrates.  Now  the  Song  of  Deborah 
describes  the  tribes  of  Israel  as  a  united  people, 
bound  to  Yahveh  their  god  and  bound  to  one 
another  under  Him.  If  any  tribe  or  portion  of 
a  tribe  denies  the  bond  '  and  refuses  tfl.'t^otne  to 


390 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


the  aid  of  Yahveh  and  the  nation,  the  curse  of  a 
nation  and  a  god  is  invoked  at  once — 

Cvrse  ye  Meioz,  said  the  angel  of  Yahveh, 

Curse  f«  bitterly  the  inbabilants  thereof; 

Because  they  came  Dot  to  the  aid  of  Yahveh, 

To  the  aid  of  Vahveh  like  heroes. 

Before  the  tribes  of  Israel  could  have  recognized 
the  claim  of  Vahveh,  before  the  curse  of  Meroz 
could  have  had  any  terror,  a  bond  of  union  must 
have  been  formed,  and  Yahveh  must  have  been 
recognized  as  the  one  God  over  all.  Now  it  is 
clear  that  this  bond  was  made  in  the  wilderness 
and  under  Moses.  Because,  though  the  tribes  are 
settled  in  Palestine  when  the  events  take  place 
which  are  recorded  in  the  Song  of  Deborah,  yet 
Yahveh  is  not  the  God  of  the  land  of  Palestine 
yet.  His  dwelling-place  is  still  at  Horeb-Sinai,  in 
the  wilderness  of  Seir,  where  the  home  of  the 
Israelites  used  to  be.  When  the  battle  .with  the 
native  Canaanites  is  to  take  place,  Yahveh  comes 
forth  out  of  Seir,  He  marches  out  of  the  field  of 
Edom. 

This  leads  us  to  the  name  by  which  the  God 
of  Israel  is  known,  the  name  of  Yahveh.  For 
whenever  a  religious  bond  was  formed  between 
various  tribes,  it  was  formed  under  the  recognition 
of  one  God,  and  the  God  thus  recognized  received 
a  new  name.  As  Mohammed  united  the  tribes  of 
heathen  Arabia  under  the  name  of  Allah,  so  Moses 
united  the  scattered  tribes  of  Israel  under  the 
name  of  Yahveh. 

Not  that  Moses  was  able,  or  perhaps  attempted, 
to  obliterate  the  older  names  for  God  among 
the  Israelites.  The  evidence  of  proper  names  is 
enough  to  show  that  El  or  Elohim  was  still  the 
favourite  designation  for  God  among  the  Israelites 
down  to  the  time  of  the  kingdom.  Nor  is  it 
claimed  that  Moses  was  the  first  to  make  use  of 
the  name  of  Yahveh,  On  the  contrary,  it  is  clear 
to  Dr.  Peters  that  the  name  was  already  in 
existence,  that  it  was  the  name  of  the  God  of  the 
tribes  who  inhabited  the  Sinaitic  wilderness  when 


the  fugitives  from  Egypt  under  Moses'  leadership 
joined  them.  What  Moses  did  was  to  persuade 
those  who  had  iled  with  him  out  of  Egypt  to 
embrace  the  God  of  the  wilderness  of  Sinai  as 
their  God  under  His  name  of  Yahveh.  He  was 
the  God  of  the  land.  Horeb-Sinai  was  His  home. 
That  name  is  general,  and  covers  the  mountainous 
territory  to  the  south  and  the  south-east  of  Pales- 
tine. It  was  there  that  He  had,  according  to 
tradition,  first  made  Himself  known  to  Moses. 
Moses  himself  was  already  bound  to  Him  as 
worshipper  and  priest.  And  when  he  persuaded 
the  tribes  which  fled  from  the  oppression  of  the 
Egyptians  to  receive  Him  as  their  God,  he  formed 
that  union  which  created  the  nation  of  Israel,  and 
he  laid  the  foundation  of  that  religion  which  In 
Christ  Jesus  is  to  become  the  religion  of  the  world. 

Of  the  ritual  of  the  religion  of  Moses  not  much 
can  be  affirmed.  Its  most  significant  embodiment 
was  the  Ark.  There  is  no  question  in  Dr.  Peter's 
mind  that  the  Ark  is  to  be  traced  back  to  the 
Mosaic  period  of  Israel's  history,  and  that  it  was 
brought  with  Moses  out  of  the  wilderness. 

Now  the  unique  circumstance  connected  with 
the  Ark  was  that  it  was  carried  from  place  to  place.. 
This  involves  two  surprises.  First  it  involves  a 
double  tradition.  By  the  one  the  dwelling-place 
of  Yahveh  is  at  Horeb-Sinai.  By  the  other  it  is 
the  Ark  which  moves  from  place  to  place.  But 
more  remarkable  than  that,  it  involves  the  entirely 
new  idea  of  the  God  being  no  longer  confined  to  a 
locality  or  a  building,  but  being  capable  of  moving 
as  the  march  of  His  worshippers  led  Him — or 
leading  His  worshippers  with  Him  wherever  He 
marched.  There  is  no  such  conception  in  any 
of  the  nations  that  were  akin  to  the  Hebrews 
or  surrounded  them  in  Palestine.  The  nearest 
analogy  is  the  boat  in  which  the  Egyptians  carried  - 
their  god  in  solemn  procession  through  his  land. 
And  on  the  whole  Dr.  Peters  is  inclined  to  think 
that  the  Egyptian  boat  was  the  source  of  the 
Hebrew  Ark.  But  the  connexion  is  by  no  means 
obvious.    And  in  any  case  it  seems  to  show  that 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


391 


under  the  skilful  guidance  of  Moses  there  was  a 
certain  giving  and  taking  among  the  tribes  that 
assembled  in  the  wilderness.  If  the  fugitives 
accepted  the  God  of  the  land,  the  tribes  who 
dwelt  there  permitted  Him  to  be  moved  from 
His  home,  and  carried  about  from  place  to 
place. 

The  Ark  contained  no  image  of  God.  There 
are  those  who  hold  that,  from  the  time  of  Moses 
to  at  least  the  time  of  David,  the  Ark  contained  a 
rude  stone  or  fetich,  and  that  its  presence  in 
the  camp  of  Israel  was  really  a  proof  of  Israel's 
idolatijr.  Dr.  Peters  does  not  believe  it.  That  in 
the  time  of  David  the  Ark  contained  the  two 
tables  of  the  Law  is  evident  to  his  mind,  and  that 
in  the  unethical  period  between  David  and  Moses 
a  rude  stone  fetich  should  have  been  displaced  by 
the  two  tables  of  the  Decalogue  is  simply  beyond 
belief.  Dr.  Peters  holds  that  the  Ten  Command- 
ments were  contained  in  the  Ark  as  it  moved 
from  place  to  place  in  the  wilderness.  He  believes 
that  Moses  was  their  author. 

The  great  difficulty  is  with  the  Second  Com- 
mandment. Its  form  in  the  Ark  Dr.  Peters 
believes  to  have  been,  '  Thou  shalt  not  make  unto 
thee  a  graven  image.'  Yet  David  consulted 
Yahveh  by  means  of  an  ephod ;  in  David's  time 
teraphim,  sometimes  of  considerable  size  and  in 
human  shape,  were  in  use  as  household  deities ; 


Jeroboam  set  up  golden  bulls,  and  neither  Elijah 
nor  Elisha,  nor  yet  Amos  condemned  them.  Dr. 
Peters  believes  that  during  all  this  time  the  Second 
Commandment  was  known  to  Israel,  but  simply 
was  not  understood  to  refer  to  such  'aids'  to  the 
worship  of  Yahveh.  It  was  supposed  to  forbid 
the  worship  of  other  gods  under  the  form  of 
images.  When  the  party  of  reform,  led  by  Hosea, 
began  to  denounce  all  such  'aids'  to  the  worship 
of  Yahveh  as  essentially  idolatrous  and  rebellious, 
the  Second  Commandment  received  a  new  inter- 
pretation, and  was  then  used  with  irresistible  effect 
in  canying  the  reformers  to  victory. 

If,  then,  the  religion  of  Moses  had  the  Decalogue 
within  it,  it  is  worthy  of  the  name  of  religion.  Dr. 
Peters  is  assailed  with  the  impossibility  of  so 
spiritual  a  code  arising  out  of  so  primitive  and 
heterogeneous  a  nation  or  being  of  any  use  to 
them.  But  he  does  not  give  way.  The  second 
pentad  of  the  Decalogue  is  the  most  spiritual,  and 
yet  it  is  just  the  second  five  of  the  Ten  Command- 
ments that  are  paralleled  in  the  Egyptian  sacred 
law.  Dr.  Peters  has  not  forgotten  his  evolution. 
He  believes  still  in  heredity  and  environment. 
He  sees  that  as  Moses  may  have  got  the  idea  of 
the  Ark  from  Egypt,  so  also  out  of  the  confessions 
which  may  still  be  read  in  the  Egyptian  Book  of  the 
Dead  he  may  have  received  the  spiritual  thoughts 
which  he  afterwards  embodied  in  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments. 


Bv  THE  Rev.  George  M.  Mackie,  M.A.,  D.D.,  Beyrout. 


The  Hebrew  manual  for  the  Jewish  FasSover 
relates  with  evident  approval  about  Rabbi  Eliezer, 
Rabbi  Joshua,  Rabbi  Eleazar,  Rabbi  Aktba,  and 
Rabbi  T^rphon,  how  that  they  began  talking,  one 
evening,  about  the  deliverance  from  Egypt,  and 
were  still  deep  in  the  discussion  when  their  pupils 
opened  the  door,  and  announced  to  their  surprise 
that  it  was  tine  for  Morning  Prayer  I 


I.  Passover  and  the  Writers  of  the 
Epistles. 
I.  Preparation  for  Passover. — The  Passover 
night  is  still  regarded  in  Israel  as  'a  night  much 
to  he  observed  unto  the  Lord'  (Ex  ia«).  That 
which  once  recalled  how  the  nation  began  has 
ever    since    the    Dispersion    been    maintained. 


39* 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


although  without  the  Temple  sacrifice,  as  a  bond 
of  brotherhood  in  dilTercnt  lands  and  a  time  of 
prayer  for  visible  reunion.  In  every  Jewish 
family  the  chief  event  of  the  year  is  the  turmoil 
caused  by  the  attempt  to  remove  every  particle  of 
leaven  from  the  house. 

When  the  work  of  inspection  and  cleansing  is 
completed,  a  formal  declaration  is  made  to  the 
effect  that  any  crumbs  of  unleavened  bread  still 
lying  unseen  in  the  house  are  to  be  reckoned  as  dust 
of  the  earth.  This  is  no  easy  judicial  assumption, 
for  the  formula  is  only  pronounced  after  every 
endeavour  has  been  made,  and  because  it  is  felt 
that  the  work  is  still  unfinished.  St.  Paul's  words 
seem  to  issue  from  the  same  familiar  mould  of 
thought  when,  in  warning  the  Corinthians  against 
the  evil  around  them,  he  refers  to  the  influence  of 
ordinary  leaven,  and  then  quickly  passes  on  to  the 
illustration  from  the  unleavened  bread  of  Passover 
(.  Co5«.'). 

a.  Passover  as  a  Family  Festival. — Whatever 
may  be  the  ultimate  definition  of  Inspiration,  the 
fact  will  be  recognized  by  all,  that  the  nation  to 
which  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament  belonged 
was  a  nation  living  for  religion.  In  Israel  the 
greatest  event  of  the  year  was  the  Feast  of  Passover. 
It  was  B  commemoration  in  which  the  children, 
always  go  ready  to  be  impressed  by  things  new, 
and  so  capable  of  remembering  what  was  wonder- 
ful, were  especially  represented.  This  annual 
observance,  which  thus  impressed  itself  by  its 
novelty  and  rarity,  became  endeared  afterwards  as 
a  time  of  family  reunion  and  a  bond  of  kinship 
uniting  all  classes  in  the  nation. 

In  the  Hebrew  manual  the  deliverance  from  F^pt 
is  referred  to  as  a  change  from  bondage  to  freedom, 
from  darkness  to  light,  from  sorrow  to  joy,  and  had 
so  many  points  of  likeness  to  the  gospel  deliverance 
from  sin,  that  the  truths  and  symbolisms  of  the 
one  were  very  easily  and  effectively  applied  to  the 
other.  And  so  when  the  apostles  came  to  write 
of  the  bondage  of  sin  and  the  new  liberty  and  life 
in  Christ,  their  teaching  would  be  all  the  more 
easily  understood  and  more  lovingly  accepted, 
because  to  many  of  their  readers  it  recalled  the 
Passover  table  of  the  family  and  the  sound  of 
silent  voices.  Thus  the  leading  facts  of  the  Pass- 
over feast  and  the  terms  of  expression  used  in 
referring  to  them,  and  the  modes  of  thought  thus 
made  popular,  would  inevitably  provide  a  fund  of 
quotation  and  become  a  medium  of  instruction 


acceptable  alike  to  speaker  and  hearer,  to  writer 
and  reader,  inspiration  does  not  lose  its  authority, 
nor  the  Bible  become  less  the  word  of  God,  because 
it  employs  the  experiences  of  human  life  and 
sometimes  sets  its  truth  to  the  music  of  home 
memories. 

3.  Passover  as  a  Perpetual  Memorial. — In  the 
Passover  service-book  it  is  said  that '  although  alt 
the  Israelites  were  without  exception  men  of 
wisdom  and  fully  instructed  in  the  Law,  it  would 
still  be  their  duty  to  recall  and  show  forth  the 
departure  from  Egypt.'  Very  similarly  St.  Peter 
declares  his  purpose  to  remind  his  readers  of  the 
calling  and  promises  of  God,  of  the  escape  from 
corruption,  the  life  of  holiness,  and  the  entrance 
into  the  eternal  kingdom,  although  they  were 
already  familiar  with  those  things  (z  P  i''). 

4.  Passover,  its  Fulness  of  Blessing. — In  the  same 
office  the  enumeration  of  God's  mercies  at  the 
Exodus  and  in  the  Wilderness  takes  the  form  of 
a  chant,  which  begins  by  saying,  '  If  He  had 
brought  us  out  of  Egypt  and  had  not  sent  judg- 
ments upon  the  Egyptians,  it  would  have  sufficed 
us ;  if  He  had  sent  judgments  upon  the  Egyptians 
and  not  upon  their  gods,  it  would  have  sulHced 
us;  if  He  had  sent  judgments  upon  their  gods 
and  had  not  destroyed  their  first-bom,  it  would 
have  sufficed  us.'  The  recapitulation  then  passes 
on  and  up  from  the  death  of  the  first-born  to  the 
possessed  wealth  of  the  Egyptians,  the  dividing  of 
the  Red  Sea,  the  passage  of  the  Israelites,  the 
drowning  of  the  Egyptians,  the  maintenance  of 
life  in  the  Wilderness,  the  gift  of  manna,  the 
approach  to  Mount  Sinai,  the  bestowal  of  the 
Law,  the  settlement  in  the  Land,  and  the  building 
of  the  Temple.  A  similar  literary  form  is  used 
by  St.  Peter  when  he  adds  virtife  to  faith,  know- 
ledge to  virtue,  temperance  to  knowledge,  patience 
to  temperance,  godliness  to  patience,  love  of  the 
brethren  to  godliness,  and  love  to  love  of  the 
brethren  (2  P  1'-^). 

Here  the  two  pyramids  have  a  similar  scale  of 
ascending  values,  although  in  one  case  it  is  made 
up  di  outward  blessings,  and  in  the  other  of  inward 
graces.  The  two  ladders  slope  upwards  in  the 
same  way,  but  it  will  be  noticed  that  in  the  one 
the  angels  are  all  descending,  and  in  the  other  all 
ascending.  Again,  in  the  nth  verse  of  the  same 
chapter  the  Christian  parallels  of  the  calling 
and  deliverance  of  the  children  of  God  fill  the 
Passover  mould  and  overflow  into  that  of  the 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


393 


Wilderness  temptations  and  the  inheritance  of  the 
Land. 

5.  Passover,  its  Personal  Sigm)Scan£e.—5tvtTi\ 
tini;s  in  the  Hebrew  ritual  of  the  Passover,  the  duty 
of  personal  interest  in  the  Passover,  and  of  personal 
identification  with  its  deliverance,  is  insisted  upon. 
The  manual  commands  each  partaker  to  regard 
himself  as  an  eye-witness  and  a  redeemed  one, 
and  quotes  in  justification  Ex  13'; '  //  is  because  0/ 
that  which  th^  Lord  did  far  me.'  It  was  but  a  fresh 
application  of  an  old  form  when  the  Apostle  Peter 
appealed  to  his  audience  on  the  day  of  Pentecost, 
and  said,  '  To  you  is  the  promise,  and  to  your 
children' (Ac  a»»). 

6.  Passover,  the  Fulfilling  of  God's  Purpose.— 
Again,  in  the  Passover  office  the  Israelites  are 
reminded  (Jos  24')  that  their  fathers  dwelt  of 
old  time  beyond  the  River  and  served  other  gods, 
but  that  God  had  brought  them  nigh  to  His  own 
service.  So,  when  the  wall  of  separation  between 
Jew  and  Gentile  was  removed  in  Christ,  the 
Gentiles  were  similarly  told  that  they  who  had 
once  been  far  away  had  been  brought  near,  and 
were  no  longer  strangers  and  foreigners  but  fellow- 
citizens  with  the  saints  and  of  the  household  of 
God.  This  was  the  stone  of  stumbling.  Calling 
involved  separation,  but  how  could  Israel  remain 
distinct  if  others  were  to  be  called  along  with 
them  ?  How  could  one  nation  be  the  people  of 
God  if  others  also  were  to  bear  His  name  ?  Thus 
Israel  fell  over  its  own  barrier  of  self-preservation. 

II.   Passover:  the  Order  of  its  Observance. 

Many  other  instances  of  Passover  symbolism 
and  suggestion  might  be  quoted  from  the  writings 
of  the  apostles.  Before  dealing  with  the  closer 
affinities  of  the  Passover  and  the  Lord's  Supper, 
it  will  be  found  helpful  to  give  a  brief  description 
of  the  order  observed  at  the  Jewish  Passover. 
When  the  hour  of  Passover  has  come  after  sunset 
on  the  14th  of  April  (Nisan),  the  family  sit  down, 
most  of  them  reclining  a  little  to  the  left  side. 
During  the  celebration  four  cups  or  small  tumblers 
of  mingled  wine  and  water  are  drunk,  and  the 
chief  items  of  the  ceremony  may  best  be  described 
in  connexion  with  these  cups. 

First  Ck/.— The  cup  is  filled  and  God  is  thanked 
for  permitting  the  family  once  more  to  celebrate 
Passover,  which  is  called  '  the  time  of  our  freedom, 
a  holy  convocation  in  love,  a  memorial  of  the 
departure  from  Egypt.'    The  wine  in  each  glass 


is  drunk  or  part  of  it,  the  hands  are  washed,  and 
the  usual  blessing  for  the  fruits  of  the  earth 
is  pronounced  over  the  bitter  herbs.  The  father 
of  the  family  then  draws  out  the  middle  cake  of 
the  three  large  unleavened  cakes  in  front  of  him. 
He  breaks  it  and  puts  one  half  of  it  in  a  place 
by  itself  as  the  aphi^imen,  that  is,  the  cake  to  be 
used  after  supper,  so  that  the  feast  may  conclude 
with  unleavened  bread.  The  dish  with  the  two 
cakes  and  the  half  of  the  broken  cake  is  then 
lifted  up  so  that  all  at  Ubie  may  see  it,  and  the 
father  says,  '  This  is  the  bread  of  affliction  tvhich 
our  fathers  ale  in  Egypt ;  this  year  here,  the  next  in 
Jerusalem  ;  this  year  slaves,  the  next  free' 

Second  Cup.— The  wine  cups  are  filled  again,  and 
the  youngest  son  asks  the  meaning  of  the  feast 
with  its  unusual  food  and  formalities.  An  ex- 
planation follows,  chiefly  given  in  the  words  of 
Scripture  (Ex  iiS.u.3t_Ex  138,  Dt  6™,  Jos  24*), 
along  with  various  references  to  the  sayings  of 
Jewish  fathers.  The  dp  is  then  lifted  up  to  be 
seen  like  the  bread,  and  is  called  the  cup  of  the 
covenanf-^the  cup  of  hope  in  all  times  of  trouble. 
Reference  is  made  to  Laban  and  Pharaoh  and  the 
plagues  upon  Egypt  (Gn  15",  Ex  i,  3,  3,  4"  8" 
gs  ijST  i^si^  Ps  j8M_  Joel  28(.j.  The  chief  inci- 
dents of  the  Wilderness  journey  are  recapitulated. 
A  piece  of  the  unleavened  bread  is  again  lifted  up 
and  the  reason  for  making  and  eating  such  bread 
is  quoted  (Ex  i  j™). 

A  piece  of  the  bitter  herbs  is  similarly  held  up 
as  symbolical  of  the  embittered  life  in  Egypt 
(Ex  i'*),  and  every  Israehte  is  charged  to  consider 
himself  as  having  been  personally  present,  saying, 
'  //  is  because  of  thai  which  the  Lord  did  for  me 
when  J  came  forth  out  of  Egypt' {^ii  13*).  The  cup 
is  then  drunk  after  a  E^i?,  Kaddish,  of  thanksgiving, 
and  the  chanting  of  Ps  113  and  114,  the  first  part 
of  the  Hallel  or  Hallelujah  Psalms. 

Third  Ctf/.— The  preceding  part  is  all  explana- 
tory, and  the  actual  supper  now  begins  by  the 
washing  of  the  hands,  the  uplifting,  breaking,  and 
distribution  of  the  unleavened  bread  among  the 
members  of  the  family.  The  usual  grace  is  spoken 
over  bread,  and  with  it  the  special  thanksgiving  for 
the  privilege  of  eating  the  Passover  cakes  and 
herbs.  The  supper  of  ordinary  food,  only  without 
any  leavened  bread  used  in  its  preparation  or 
served  with  it,  is  then  set  on  the  table  and  eaten. 
The  meal  closes  with  the  distribution  and  eating 
of  the  reserved  aphi^dmen  cake,  and  the  cups  are 


394 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


filled  for  the  third  time  and  drunk,  and  grace  after 
meat  is  pronounced.  After  this  are  offered  thanks- 
givings for  present  mercies,  intercessions  for  the 
restoration  of  Jerusalem,  and  various  blessings, 
with  prayer  that  those  partaking  may  be  fitted 
for  the  days  of  the  Messiah  and  the  joys  of  the 
world  to  come.  A  mysterious  incident  then  lakes 
place.  The  door  is  opened  for  the  entrance  of 
Elijah  the  forerunner,  and  a  malediction  is  pro- 
nounced against  all  the  troublers  of  Israel. 

Fourth  Cw/.— This  is  filled  and  the  concluding 
Hailel  Psalms,  115  to  118,  are  sung,  along  with 
Ps  136.  The  observance  is  here  made  somewhat 
weird  and  mysterious  by  the  chanting  of  a  passage 
containing  a  collection  of  Bible  incidents  that 
happened  or  might  have  happened  'at  midnight.' 
The  celebration  then  returns  to  the  note  with  which 
It  started  ;  ^  Next  year  may  we  be  in  Jerusalem' 

III.  The  Passover  and  the  Lord's  Supper, 

1.  Attitude, — At  the  Jewish  Passover  the  partici- 
pants are  seated,  but  from  time  to  time,  by  an  act 
of  recollection,  the  left  arm  is  made  to  rest  on  the 
table  or  chair  and  they  lean  a  little  awkwardly  to 
that  side.  It  is  a  faint  reminiscence  of  the  reclin- 
ing attitude  observed  at  the  time  of  the  institution 
of  the  sacred  Christian  rite.  The  change  from  the 
original  standing  posture  is  explained  by  the  Jews 
as  due  to  the  difference  between  the  state  of 
slavery  in  Egypt  and  that  of  freedom  in  the  land 
of  Israel.  The  Lord  Jesus  countenanced  the 
change,  and  the  power  to  alter  forms  in  order  to 
suit  altered  conditions  is  one  of  the  vital  rights  of 
the  prt^ressive  Church  of  Christ.  Thus  to  receive 
the  sacrament  kneeling  is  an  archaeological  de- 
parture, but  if  accepted  by  all  and  without  super- 
stition, it  might  be  pleaded  as  a  reverential  reminder 
that  He  who  once,  in  the  days  of  His  flesh,  sat 
with  His  disciples  and  washed  their  feet,  is  now 
the  risen  and  exalted  I^rd. 

2.  Unworthy  Partaking. — The  Jewish  commen- 
tators recognize  four  different  types  among  those 
who  ask  the  meaning  of  the  Passover  and  require 
instruction  before  partaking  of  it, 

(1)  There  Is  the  wise  son  who  says  {Dt  6^*), 
'What  mean  the  testimonies,  the  statutes,  and 
the  judgments,  which  the  Lord  our  God  hath  com- 
manded you  ? '  Such  a  reverent  and  sympathetic 
inquiry  deserves,  the  Passover  manual  says,  full 
attention,  even  to  explaining  about  the  obscure 
'thi^omen. 


(z)  The  graceless  son  who  holds  himself  aloof 
and  sceptically  asks  (Ex  la^*),  'What  mean  ye  by 
this  service?' 

(3)  The  simple-hearted  son  who  merely  asks 
(Ex  13"), 'What  is  this?' 

(4)  The  son  who  doesn't  know  how  to  ask,  and 
who  has  to  be  helped  over  the  difficulty,  according 
to  Ex  13^  'Thou  shalt  tell  thy  son  in  that  day. 
It  is  because  of  that  which  the  Lord  did  for  me 
when  I  came  forth  out  of  Egypt,'  To  all  these 
the  words  of  Ex  13*  are  to  be  read,  but  in  the 
case  of  No.  z  emphasis  must  be  put  on  the 
pronoun  ' me^  in  the  reading,  so  that  he  may 
understand  and  realize  that  if  he  had  been 
then  living  in  Egypt  he  would  have  been  left 
there  ! 

3,  The  Nature  of  the  Bread. — It  is  with  a  Cordelia- 
like bewilderment  of  smiles  and  tears  that  one 
discovers  in  the  Jewish  Passover  both  a  theory 
of  memorial  symbol  and  a  foreshadowing  of  tran- 
substantiation.  There  are  two  Chaldaic- Hebrew 
readings  in  the  Passover  manual,  one  being  wy 
Korte,  ha  kelahma,  'this  is  like  the  bread,'  and 
the  other,  KDni>  Kn^  ha  lahma,  '  this  is  the  bread.' 
The  explanation  given  is  that  until  the  temple 
was  destroyed,  the  former  term  was  used  as  a  re- 
minder of  the  far-back  days  of  adversity,  but  ever 
since  then  the  latter  term  is  used  to  indicate  that 
it  is  consubslantial  with  the  original  leaven,  and 
has  become  in  deed  and  truth  the  actual  bread  of 
bondage. 

4.  The  Elevation  of  the  Bread.— KX.  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Passover  ceremony  the  dish  with  the 
unleavened  bread  is  lifted  up,  and  later  on  a  piece 
of  the  cake  is  held  up  before  being  broken  and 
distributed  around  the  Wble,  The  purpose  is 
simply  that  all,  without  exception,  may  see  it  and 
be  able  to  discern  that  which  gives  its  name  to 
the  feast  and  a  meaning  to  the  whole  commemor- 
ation. There  is  also  another  and  more  devotional 
reason.  It  is  a  custom  in  Israel  at  the  beginning 
of  their  Sabbath,  or  our  Friday  evening,  and  at 
the  forenoon  and  sunset  meals  on  the  Sabbath 
day,  and  by  the  more  zealous  Je^s  at  other  times 
also,  for  the  father  of  the  family  to  lift  up  the 
bread  in  bis  hand  while  saying  grace  before  food. 
It  is  an  act  of  adorauon  and  thanksgiving  called 
'saying  the  Kaddish,'  and  thus  not  only  at  Passover, 
but  at  other  times  also,  the  bread  is  elevated,  and 
thus  the  whole  meal  is  eucharistic,  'sanctified 
through  the  word  of  God  and  prayer'  (i  Ti  4*). 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


395 


When  the  early  Christians  of  Jewish  origin  met 
to  celebrate  the  Lord's  Supper,  they  could  not 
fail  to  lift  up  the  bread,  both  because  the  omission 
of  such  a  devout  act  would  seem  like  godlessness 
when  partaking  of  bread,  and  because  it  shtnoed 
forth,  as  at  the  Passover,  the  very  reason  and 
occasion  of  the  ceremony.  In  this  they  also 
followed  the  example  of  Him  who  took  the  bread 
and  blessed  and  brake  and  gave,  saying, '  This  is 
My  body,  broken  for  you.' 

To  the  Gentile  Christians  of  the  early  Church 
the  uplifting  of  the  bread  would  be  a  solemnly 
dramatic  act  that  might  well  have  so  arrested 
their  attention  as  to  give  its  name  to  the  entire 
celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  The  word  Mass 
is  usually  derived  from  dimtssa  or  missa  tst,  the 
intimation  given  to  catechumens  and  others  at  the 
close  of  the  general  service,  so  that  they  might 
retire  before  the  communicants  began  the  cele- 
bration of  the  Lord's  Supper.  The  matter  is 
admittedly  obscure,  but  the  above  seems  to  be 
a  somewhat  helpless  and  artiAdal  attempt  at 
etymology.  If  the  mass  received  its  name  from 
the  fact  of  shutting  out  all  but  those  participating, 
it  is  difficult  to  see  how  there  could  be  a  mass  for 
the  dead. 

To  any  Gentile  Christian  sitting  to-day  as  an 
invited  guest  at  the  Jewish  Passover,  and  watching 
the  elevation  of  the  bread,  the  suggestion  comes 
with  a  strong  push  of  conviction  that  the  name 
may  be  due  to  this  act.  It  was  the  K&p,  massa, 
the  uplifting  of  the  bread,  both  for  manifestation 
that  it  might  be  set  forth  and  discerned,  and  as  an 
act  of  consecration  usually  performed  before  bread 
was  broken.  In  keeping  with  this  meaning  the 
act  of  consecration  was  called  the  Aviufiopd,  the 
uplifting,  in  some  of  the  old  liturgies  of  the  sacra- 
ment, and  on  account  of  the  prayer  of  thanksgiving 
and  adoration  accompanying  the  uplifting,  the 
Communion  service  was  called  the  Eucharist,  the 
thanksgiving.  In  the  Oriental  Greek  Church  the 
Arabic  equivalent  is  the  Kudd£ts,  the  sanctification, 
corresponding  to  the  Hebrew  Kaddish.  The  Mass 
may  thus  be  a  loan-word,  borrowed  without  ac- 
knowledgment from  the  Hebrew  by  the  Western 
Church,  much  in  the  same  way  as  the  Lord's 
Fassio  was  sometimes  regarded  by  it  as  indifferently 
derived  from  Tra.a)iai,  to  suffer,  and  the  Chaldaic- 
Hebrew,  «nDB,  Pa^-ha,  the  Passover. 

5.  The  Cup  of  the  Covenant.— "W^x^  in  the 
Hebrew  ritual  is  held  up  like  the  bread,  and 


for  the  same  two  reasons,  to  be  clearly  discerned 
by  those  present  and  as  an  act  of  devout  thanks- 
giving. 

It  is  one  of  the  many  impressive  incidents  in 
the  Passover  service  when  the  second  cup  is 
raised  and  the  appeal  is  made  to  God's  covenant 
with  Abraham  (Gn  is"-").  The  cup  is  lifted  up, 
and  in  a  tone  of  triumphant  confidence  springing 
from  a  hundred  deliverances,  the  families  of  Israel 
join  in  saying :  '  This  is  the  promise  that  has  been 
our  fathers'  support  and  our  own  also,  for  it  is 
not  that  one  enemy  merely  has  risen  up  to  make 
an  end  of  us,  hut  many  have  tried  to  do  so,  and 
the  Lord  hath  ever  delivered  us  out  of  their  hand.' 
It  is  the  cup  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  as  one 
listens  to  the  words  of  grateful  remembrance  and 
fervent  appeal,  one  almost  sees  the  uplifting  act 
in  the  midst  of  the  first  disciples,  and  catches 
the  emphasis  of  the  voice  that  said,  'This  cup  is 
the  New  Testament  in  My  blood.' 

The  third  cup  is  sometimes  called  'the  cup 
of  blessing'  (i  Co  10"),  because  it  is  drunk  after 
eating  the  ordinary  supper  now  incorporated  with 
the  Passover  as  a  substitute  for  the  Passover  lamb 
slain  within  the  Temple.  The  wine  cup  is  not 
referred  to  in  the  original  Passover,  and  may 
have  been  introduced  as  a  testimony  to  the  state  of 
freedom  afterwards  enjoyed.  The  wine  is  used  to 
represent  the  wonders  that  were  wrought  and  all 
the  power  that  was  exerted  in  order  to  obtain 
deliverance.  The  names  of  the  ten  plagues  are 
slowly  recited,  and  the  finger  is  dipped  into  each 
cup  as  the  name  is  pronounced,  and  a  drop  of 
the  wine  is  allowed  to  fall  on  the  plate  of  bread 
and  herbs.  Something  akin  to  this  seems  to  have 
been  imported  into  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  when  a  piece  of  the  bread  was  dipped 
into  the  wine,  and  the  sign  of  the  Cross,  the 
remembrance  of  the  shed  blood  of  Christ,  was 
made  upon  the  bread  and  wine. 

Altogether  the  Passover  covenant  impresses 
strongly  upon  the  mind  the  conviction  that  the 
religion  of  Israel  was  originally  and  essentially  a 
personal  relationship  of  the  living  soul  with  the 
living  God,  of  the  living  God  with  the  living  soul, 
and  on  the  simple  natural  basis  of  the  family  life 
and  no  other,  this  bond  came  to  include  the 
whole  nation  that,  as  an  expanded  family,  in  all 
grades  of  rank  and  stages  of  education  and  con- 
ditions of  wealth,  shared  _thc:  (me .  i^nrfmi^-re- 
lalionship.  O 


396 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


If  so,  it  tells  what  a  long  road  must  have  been 
travelled  before  the  Christian  religion,  which  in 
its  most  sacred  rite  has  received  so  much  from 
Israel,  could  become  what  it  is  now  in  Great 
Britain  and  America, — a  metaphysical  nodulation 
of  creeds,  catechisms,  and  Church  governments 
lying  like  so  many  boulders  of  the  ice  period 
stranded  and  stationary  on  the  surface  of  the  soil. 

6,  The  Passover  L^mb. — At  the  present  day  the 
lamb  of  the  sacrifice  is  represented  by  a  small 
blackened  shank  of  bone  and  meat  'roast  with 
fire.'  To  the  Christian  onlooker  it  is  sorely  and 
irresistibly  suggestive  of  the  moonshine  expedient 
in  The  Midsummer  Nights  Dream.  To  the  Jew 
it  is  a  pathetic  memorial  of  religious  atrophy, 
national  disruption,  and  vanished  glory.  He  lifts 
it  slowly  from  one  side  of  his  plate  and  lays  it 
down  on  the  other,  and  withdraws  his  gaze  from 
it  as  one  would  turn  away  from  the  grave  of  an 
only  child. 

As  explanatory  of  the  Passover  and  the  Lord's 
Supper  it  is  a  reminder  of  the  family  meal  for- 
merly furnished  by  the  Passover  lamb  that  had  to 
be  slain  in  the  Temple  area,  and  of  which  the 
blood  was  sprinkled  beside  the  altar.  This  temple 
act  gave  consecration  to  the  feast,  and  communion 
to  all  the  families  similarly  connected  with  the 
same  altar.  It  was  by  appeal  to  this  fact  of 
communion  that  the  Apostle  Paul  restored  peace 
and  propriety  at  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  in  Corinth  (i  Co  lo'^*^).  It  was  one 
of  those  transition  difficulties  that  occur  constantly 
in  the  ever-expanding  mission  field.  The  family 
supper  of  (he  Passover  was  imported  into  the  new 
rite  to  make  the  '  holy  convocation  in  love '  of 
the  Hebrew  office,  which  became  the  agapk,  or 
love-feast,  of  the  first  disciples.  Amid  such  dis- 
traction of  family  contributions  there  was  danger 
that  the  Bread  of  Passover  might  be  unnoticed, 
that  the  Lord's  death,  the  meaning  of  the  whole 
celebration,  might  not  be  discerned.  The  imme- 
morial supper  of  the  Jewish  family  became  quickly 
transfigured  as  the  spiritual  feast  of  the  household 
of  faith,  the  communion  of  all  who  love  Christ 
with  Him  and  with  one  another. 

The  Jewish  relic  is  thus  the  reminder  of  a  great 
forfeiture.  But  it  is  a  national  forfeiture,  the  token 
of  what  all  alike  and  together  have  lost,  and  per- 
haps just  because  of  this  communion  in  negation, 
this  fellowship  in  loss,  it  may  be  more  pleasing  to 
the  great  Lord  of  the   Passover  than  His  own 


Communion  table  when  it  is  used  to  furnish  stat- 
istical lists  for  Church  rivalry. 

7.  The  Bitter  .fff^.— 'With  bitter  herbs  shall 
they  eat  it'  {Ex.ii').  Here  the  connexion  is 
entirely  lost  Assuming  that  the  Lord's  Supper 
was  instituted  at  the  Passover  celebration,  we 
cannot  but  regard  the  omission  as  instructive. 

The  bitter  herb  was  the  symbol  of  compulsory 
hardship,  recalling  the  toil  and  oppression  of  the 
bond-slave.  It  had  no  affinity  with  the  Life  that 
was  willingly  laid  down.  Theology  has  sometimes 
spoken  unguardedly  about  the  wrath  of  God  lying 
on  the  sin-bearer,  and  in  common  life  we  some- 
times forget  that  the  Cross  has  a  higher  meaning 
than  the  bearing  of  troubles  that  cannot  be  avoided. 
Thus  though  Renaissance  Art  may  live  by  the  im- 
mortality of  beauty,  yet  in  an  age  more  truth-loving, 
and  therefore  in  deeper  sympathy  with  Christ,  its 
face  of  the  Man  of  Sorrows  ceases  to  satisfy.  It 
is  perhaps  a  seal  that  no  one  will  ever  be  able  to 
unfasten,  for  along  with  its  marks  of  infinite 
sorrow  the  face  must  have  borne  as  the  very  soul 
of  its  expression  the  infinite  'joy  that  was  set 
before  Him.' 

8,  Homiletic Extravagances. — The  Christian  com- 
mentator has  done  much  towards  equalizing  the 
strangeness  of  truth  and  fiction,  but  the  Jewish  dar- 
sh&n  is  a  strong  rival,  or  interpreter,  in  this  respecL 
Only  too  often  the  sacred  Christian  rite  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  has  been  pressed  to  yield  fanciful 
inferences  and  artificial  applications  of  sacramental 
truth  and  duty.  Similarly,  rabbinical  interpreta- 
tion finds  some  of  its  choicest  opportunities  in  the 
Passover  ceremonial. 

Thus  Htllel  is  quoted  as  teaching  that  great 
care  must  be  taken  to  lay  the  leaf  of  bitter  herb 
close  to  the  bread,  and  to  put  them  into  the  mouth 
in  this  state  of  Juxtaposition,  so  as  to  obtain  the 
correct  flavour  of  simultaneousness  inherent  in  the 
preposition  id  the  verse,  '  With  bitter  herbs  shall 
ye  eat  it '(Ex  it*). 

Again,  by  a  series  of  facetious  quibblings  for 
God's  glory,  it  can  be  demonstrated  that  the  catas- 
trophe at  the  Red  Sea  amounted  to  exactly  two 
hundred  and  fifty  Egyptian  plagues. 

The  Passover  manual  tells  how  Rabbi  Jos^  of 
Galilee  was  the  first  to  find  out  that  the  disaster  at 
the  Red  Sea  was  equal  to  fifty  plagues.  At  the 
Red  Sea  Israel  saw  the  great  work  [hand,  Hebrew) 
which  the  Lord  did  upon  the  Egyptians  (Ex  14^'), 
whereas  in  Egypt  the  magicians  could  only  say 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


397 


ibout  the  plagues,  'This  is  the  fingtr  of  God' 
(Ex  81*}.  Thus,  if  the  ten  plagues  made  a  finger, 
the  hand  would  be  five  times  greater,  or  fifty 
plagues. 

Then  Rabbi  Eliezer  calls  attention  to  the  fact 
that  each  plague  is  capable  of  a  sort  of  polychrome 
disintegration. 

Each  plague  is  really  four  plagues  according  to 
Ps  78",  'He  cast  upon. them:  (1)  the  fierceness 
of  His  anger,  (2)  wrath,  (3)  indignation,  and  (4) 
trouble — a  band  of  angels  of  evil.' 

In  this  way,  by  multiplying  the  above  result 
by  four,  the  total  amounted  to  two  hundred 
plagues. 

Finally,  Rabbi  Al(iba  works  over  this  source, 
and  contends  that  the  above-mentioned  embassy  of 
evil  is  not  a  comprehensive  summary  of  the  pre- 
ceding particulars,  but  quite  an  independent 
item.  He  therefore  multiplies  by  five  and  reaches 
a  grand  total  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  plagues ! 

9.  Paiiover  Politics. — As  the  door  is  thrown 
open  for  the  admission  of  Elijah  as  their  guest,  and 
for  the  proclamation  of  the  Lord's  day  of  vengeance, 
an  anathema  is  read  out  against  all  those  who  have 
devoured  Jacob  (Ps  69"  79*''',  La  3°*). 

It  is  practically  the  same  collect  that  according 
to  the  early  Church  Fathers  was  added  to  the 
eighteen  Benedictions  of  the  Jewish  prayer-book 
in  order  to  curse  the  Christians  who  had  brought 
confusion  into  the  synagogue. 

It  is  the  Te  Deum  of  rabbinical  Judaism. 

Occurring  as  it  does  In  the  heart  of  the  Passover 
service,  the  memorial  of  escaped  slaves,  the  male- 
diction sounds  cruel  and  unnatural.  It  reminds 
one  of  what  was  done  in  a  narrow  and  bitter  day 
in  England,  when  in  the  eighteenth  century,  so 
soon  after  the  deliverance  of  the  Reformation,  the 
national  Church  made  or  had  to  make  the  partak- 
ing of  Holy  Communion  the  test  of  political  loyalty 
and  of  fitness  for  public  office.     Religion  was  thus 


refrigerated  to  the  heart,  and  the  dear  family 
covenant  of  national  religion  was  so  enfeebled 
that  Dissent  and  Nonconformity,  the  needed  pro- 
tests of  the  hour,  became  permanent  and  painless 
names,  and  the  parent  Church  felt  relieved  by  the 
loss  of  some  of  her  saintliest  children. 

10.  Things  to  Come.^As  the  Christian  rite  is 
perpetuated '  till  He  come,'  so  the  Hebrew  Passover 
closes  with  a  prayer  that  the  temple  may  be  rebuilt, 
and  that  the  long  expected  Messiah  may  come. 
He  will  come  to  His  own  who  have  hoped  in  Him, 
and  in  His  presence  the  Passover  will  fade  away, 
and  be  forgotten  with  alt  its  remembrances  of 
sorrow  and  suffering. 

The  Lord  Jesus  touched  the  same  tender  chord 
when  He  said,  '  In  My  Father's  house  are  many 
mansions :  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you.' 

The  Passover,  as  an  embodiment  of  Judaism, 
tells  what  happens  when  the  progressive  is  made 
permanent,  and  an  institution  more  important  than 
the  purpose  for  which  it  was  instituted.  Professing 
to  serve  and  glorify  God,  Judaism  made  God  the 
servant  and  glorifier  of  Israel.  Theirs  was  the 
kingdom  of  God,  and  the  rest  of  the  world  con- 
sisted of  Gibeonite  convenience  and  Canaanite 
contamination. 

The  living  spirit  of  the  religion  of  Israel  is  now 
facing  humanity,  and  going  out  into  the  great 
world  for  which  Christ  died. 

That  religion  still  possesses  its  Passover  sacri- 
fice, its  unleavened  bread,  and  its  altar  of  Com- 
munion, for  its  Sacrifice  once  slain  is  now  the 
living  Saviour  from  sin,  its  bread  of  memorial 
is  the  witness  of  a  cleansed  heart,  and  its  only  altar 
of  the  holiest  is  the  needs  of  the  world. 

This  study  of  Passover  meanings  and  affinities 
in  relation  to  the  Christian  Church  seems  to  teach 
that  while  the  leaves  of  the  Gospel  tree  are  for  the 
healing  of  the  nations,  the  soil  still  clinging  to  its 
roots  is  from  the  old  land  of  Israel. 


jyGoot^Ie 


398 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


^tun(  J'ot^tgn  ^Jeofogp. 


$  Qlew  <S^fan4tion  of  i^  Sorb's 

Readers  of  The  Expository  Times  who  have 
followed  the  course  of  the  keen  controversy 
regarding  the  Lord's  Supper  which  has  gone  on 
in  Germany  during  the  last  decade,  may  be 
interested  in  having  their  attention  directed  to  a 
quite  novel  attempt  that  has  recently  been  made 
to  solve  the  problem.  Dr.  A.  Schweitzer,  the 
latest  contributor  to  the  discussion,  works  upon  a 
much  larger  and  more  ambitious  plan  than  any  of 
his  predecessors,  and,  indeed,  has  set  himself  to 
produce  a  kind  of  theological  trilogy,  the  last 
member  of  which  has  not  yet  appeared.  The 
essential  features  of  his  theory,  however,  are 
sufficiently  disclosed  in  the  two  ffe/ie  already 
published,  and  it  is  to  these  essential  features 
alone  that  I  wish  to  refer. 

The  main  stages  hitherto  in  the  voluminous 
controversy  that  was  started  in  1891  by  Harnack's 
brochure,  jSroi  und  tVasser :.  die  eucharistiichtn 
Etemente  bet  Justin,  may  perhaps  be  best  marked 
by  the  contributions  of  Jiilicher,  Spitta,  and  Pro- 
fessor Eichhom  of  Halle.  Of  the  host  of  other 
writers  who  have  joined  in  the  fray,  the  majority 
have  contented  themselves  in  the  main  with 
criticizing  their  predecessors,  or  with  giving 
elaborate  summaries  of  what  has  be«n  said  from 
one  point  or  another.  The  views  of  Harnack, 
Jiilicher,  and  Spitta  are  pretty  well  known,  and  a 
brief  but  adequate  account  of  Eichhom's  startling 
essay  was  given  in  the  pages  of  The  Expositorv 
Times  (October  1899,  pp.  42-43)  not  long  after 
it  appeared  in  Germany.  Eichhom  virtually 
ran  the  discussion  into  a  blind  alley,  for 
while  all  previous  investigators  had  busied  them- 
selves with  attempting  to  arrive  at  the  truth 
regarding  the    Lord's    Supper    by  applying    the 

'  Das  Abendmakl  im  Zusammtiiiang  nil  dim  Ltbin  fim 
und  dcr  Gesihickte  des  Urchriiltnlumi.  Von  Albeit 
Schwcitxer.  ErtlM  Heft :  Das  Ahmdmahhprablem  auf 
Grand  dtr  laisstnschafllii/lett  PerschuHg  dis  rg.  Jahr- 
kuiiierls  und  dir  kislorisihtn  Btrichli.  1901.  M.I. 60. 
7.*eiles  Heft :  Das  Meisianilals-  und  I^dtiisgthdmniis. 
hint  Silt:/  dis  Libem  Jau.  1901.  M.a.40.  Drittes 
Hefl !  Gntkickle  des  Abindmakis  wn  dtr  hisloriscHen  Ftitr 
it's  auf  Irtnoius.  ErKheinl,  1902.  Tubingen  uod  Lelpiig  : 
J,  C.  B.  Mohr. 


methods  of  historical  criticism  to  the  various 
narratives,  he  declared  the  attempt  to  be  useless, 
inasmuch  as  there  is  no  ground  to  believe  that  we 
have  any  authentic  narratives  whatever  of  what 
really  took  place  in  the  upper  room  in  Jerusalem. 
For  before  the  date  of  the  oldest  stratum  of 
tradition  preserved  in  the  N.T.,  indeed  during 
the  very  first  decade  of  Christian  historj-,  the 
original  tradition  must  have  experienced  the 
greatest  transformations  of  all. 

Schweitzer  freely  admits  that  critical  discus- 
sions hitherto  have  not  merely  failed  to  solve  the 
problem,  but  have  only  served  to  bring  its 
difficulties  into  stronger  relief.  But  the  reason, 
he  maintains,  is  not,  as  Eichhorn  suggests,  that 
historical  criticism  is  utterly  inadequate  to  the 
task,  but  that  it  has  hitherto  been  travelling  upon 
the  wrong  road.  What  is  needed  is  a  new  way,  a 
way  that  will  lead  us  out  of  Eichhom's  oil  de  sac. 
This  way  he  claims  to  have  discovered.  Lack  of 
confidence  in  himself  and  his  theories  is  not  one 
of  his  qualities;  and  it  is  evident  that  he  firmly 
believes  that  he  has  got  nothing  less  than  what 
has  been  called  'a  Columbus  egg'  to  lay  upon 
the  critical  table. 

In  Hefi  I.  Schweitzer  gives  a  rapid  and 
interesting  sketch  of  the  main  conceptions  that 
have  been  formed  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  from  the 
time  of  the  Reformation  down  to  the  present  day, 
and  shows  that  they  fall  into  two  leading  groups, 
according  as  the  re  presentation -moment  or  the 
participation-moment  is  made  fundamental.  But 
both  representationists  and  participationists,  he 
holds,  have  only  been  deceiving  themselves  and 
leading  others  astray  by  concentrating  their  atten- 
tion on  the  so-called  words  of  institution.  For  at 
the  Holy  Supper  we  have  to  do  with  a  distribution 
on  the  part  of  Jesus  and  a  participation  on  the 
part  of  the  disciples,  and  with  two  parables  ('  this 
is  My  body,' '  this  is  My  blood ')  which  coincided 
with  the  process.  They  coincided;  that  is  the 
point.  In  the  narratives,  from  the  nature  of  the 
case,  they  cannot  be  made  to  coincide,  and  have 
to  be  reported  in  succession.  But  go  to  Ober- 
Ammergau,  or  simply  represent  to  yourself  the 
scene  as  it  took  place  in  the  upper  room,  and  you 
will  perceive  that  it  was  in  the  course  of  the 
distribution  of  the  bread  and  the  passing  round  of 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


399 


the  wine  Khat  Jesus  spoke  the  parabolic  words. 
Now  all  previous  conceptions  have  manufactured 
a  causal  succession  out  of  a  supposed  chronological 
one,  and  in  so  doing  have  made  the  problem  of 
the  Supper  insoluble.  Jesus  has  been  represented 
as  summoning  His  disciples  to  partake  of  the 
profTered  bread  and  wine,  inasmuch  as  they  were 
His  body  and  blood.  Yet,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
disciples  did  not  eat  and  drink  what  Jesus  had 
previously  consecrated  to  be  His  body  and  blood, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  while  they  were  eating  the 
bread  and  drinking  the  wine  Jesus  said, '  This  is  My 
body ' ;  '  This  is  My  blood,'  So  the  parable  does 
not  constitute  the  feast,  or  even  belong  to  its 
essence,  but  only  springs  out  of  it.  The  problem 
of  the  Lord's  Supper  has  nothing  to  do  with  Che 
two  impossible  questions,  How  Jesus  gave  His 
disciples  His  body  to  eat  and  His  blood  to  drink, 
and  How  the  disciples  reproduced  this  feast 
afterwards  in  a  corresponding  way.  The  problem 
is  quite  dilTerent.  The  question  is  not,  What  do 
the  parables  signify,  so  that  we  may  explain  the 
Supper  f  but,  What  did  the  Supper  signify,  so  that 
we  may  explain  the  parables  ?  The  parables  then 
roust  be  laid  aside  altdgether  at  the  first.  This  is 
the  only  way  to  a  solution  of  the  problem  of  the 
Lord's  Supper. 

Schweitzer  now  passes  to  a  consideration  of  the 
narratives.  And,  first  of  all,  he  draws  attention 
to  the  peculiarities  of  Mark's  account,  which,  he 
affirms,  have  never  hitherto  been  worked  out,  but 
have  simply  been  explained  away  by  the  help  of 
the  other  narratives.  The  right  to  do  so,  however, 
is  an  unproved  assumption.  If  we  had  only 
Mark's  narrative  before  us,  we  should  never 
conclude  that  Jesus  distributed  bread  and  wine 
to  His  disciples  as  His  body  and  blood,  and 
summoned  them  to  participation  in  this  tense. 
Moreover,  we  should  interpret  the  first  act  of  the 
supper  by  the  second,  as  regards  the  temporal 
relation  between  the  actions  and  the  words, 
and  so  should  establish  it  as  a  fact  that  Jesus 
in  the  course  of  the  distribution  of  the  bread 
spoke  Che  parable  about  His  body,  and  not  till 
all  had  drunk  of  the  wine  the  parable  of  His 
blood. 

This  brings  us  to  consider  Che  authenticity  of 
Mark's  narrative.  Schweitzer  lays  it  down  as  an 
absolute  principle  of  historical  criticism  that  that 
narrative  must  be  pronounced  authentic  which  is 
found  to  have  been  Influenced  in  no  way  by  the 


conceptions  of  the  feast  which  afterwards  prevailed 
in  the  primitive  community.  He  accordingly 
compares  Mark's  narrative  with  those  of  Matthew, 
Paul,  Luke,  and  Justin  Martyr,  with  the  view  of 
establishing  a  new  conception  of  authenticity. 
His  criterion  is  the  presence  or  absence  of  a 
tendency  to  assimilate  the  two  parts  of  the  supper. 
The  peculiarity  of  Mark's  narrative  is  this,  that 
the  two  acts  differ  in  their  extent  and  points  of 
view.  The  first  is  quite  short,  being  limited  to  the 
prayer,  the  breaking  for  distribution,  and  the 
parable  j  the  second,  on  the  other  hand,  contains 
the  prayer,  the  distribution,  the  mention  of 
participation,  the  parable,  the  reference  to  the 
saving  significance  of  the  death,  and,  a  point  on 
which  the  author  lays  great  stress,  the  eschato- 
logical  concluding  words  about  the  drinking  of  the 
new  wine  in  the  heavenly  kingdom.  Now  history 
shows  that  in  the  later  feast  of  the  community  the 
two  parts  of  the  supper  came  to  be  completely 
assimilated ;  and  in  all  of  the  nanatives  except 
Mark's  we  see  this  process  going  on,  and  gradually 
nearing  its  completion.  The  process  of  assimila- 
tion was  undoubtedly  due  to  the  influence 
exercised  by  the  primitive  Christian  feast  upon 
the  idea  of  the  historical  one.  And  as  Mark 
stands  quite  outside  that  process,  his  narrative  is 
certainly  authentic.  Thus  we  have  gained  '  a  new 
conception  of  authenticity,  founded  no  longer  on 
opinions,  but  on  laws.'  Here  follows  a  hit, 
presumably  at  Eichhorn  :  '  Hitherto  it  passed 
as  interesting  to  dash  off,  with  a  certain  sceptical 
nonchalance,  the  statement  that  we  can  never 
know  anything  of  the  authenticity  of  the  narratives. 
Even  if  among  our  narratives  there  were  an 
authentic  one,  we  bad  no  means  of  discovering  it 
among  the  rest.  But  by  the  new  conception  of 
authenticity  this  scepticism  is  done  away.'  In 
Mark's  account  then,  .  it  Can  be  scientifically 
proved,  we  do  possess  an  authentic  narrative. 
This  being  so,  it  becomes  historically  certain  that 
Jesus  never  summoned  His  disciples  to  eat  His 
body  and  drink  His  blood,  but  that  He  spoke  two 
parables  in  the  course  of  the  participation. 

But  another  datum  of  Mark's  narrative  is  that 
an  eschatological  character  belongs  essentially  to 
the  original  feast.  It  is  a  feature  of  all  the 
modern  historical  conceptions  of  the  Supper, 
according  to  Schweitzer,  that  they  do  not  give 
full  value  to  the  eschatological  thoughts  that  are 
present  in  all  the  N.T.  narratives.    To  this  sUte- 


400 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


ment  readers  of  Spina's  brilliant  monograph  will 
be  inclined  to  demur,  for  Spitta  certainly  con- 
centrates attention  upon  the  joyful  meal  of  the 
future  in  Messiah's  kingdom.  But  his  conceptions, 
Schweitrer  insists,  do  not  really  rest  upon  the  N.T., 
but  upon  the  Apocrypha  and  the  Wisdom  literature. 
Moreover,  Spitta  makes  the  Messiah  offer  Himself 
to  the  disciples  as  the  food  and  drink  of  the 
coming  Messianic  meal,  whereas,  according  to  the 
Synoptists,  Jesus  is  not  to  be  the  food  and  drink 
of  His  disciples,  but  is  Himself  to  drink  the  new 
wine  with  them  in  His  Father's  kingdom.  Spitta 
apart,  however,  modern  investigators  all  tend  to 
push  the  eschatological  elements  of  the  situation 
into  the  background,  and  to  find  the  essence  of  the 
feast  in  the  thought  of  the  Lord's  approaching 
death.  But  it  was  not  of  His  death  merely  that 
Jesus  spoke,  but  of  His  death  as  followed  by  a 
speedy  reunion  at  the  joyful  meal  in  the  kingdom 
of  God.  The  thought  of  the  Passion  is  placed  in 
the  very  closest  connexion  with  the  eschatological 
expectation.  The  modern  historical  conceptions 
of  the  Lord's  Supper  are  thus  unhistorlcal,  since 
the  thought  of  the  Passion  with  which  they  operate 
shows  no  connexion  with  the  escbatology.  In 
order  to  grasp  the  nature  of  the  last  meal  of  Jesus, 
however,  one  must  have  a  view  of  the  eschato- 
Ic^ical  character  of  the  secret  of  His  Messiahship 
and  Passion.  The  Supper  of  Jesus,  consequently, 
can  only  be  understood  if  we  have  a  right  under- 
standing of  the  life  of  Jesus.  Thus  the  problem 
of  the  Lord's  Supper  becomes  the  problem 
of  His  life.  A  true  conception  of  the  former 
can  only  grow  out  of  a  new  conception  of  the 
latter,  which  so  contains  the  secret  of  the 
Messiahship  and  of  the  Passion  that  this  cere- 
monial action  at  the  last  meal  becomes  thereby 
intelligible. 

This  brings  us  to  'Hfft  IT.,  in  which  the  author 
sets  himself  the  rather  serious  task  of  rewriting 
the  life  of  Jesus,  with  a  special  view  to  the 
discovery  of  the  secret  of  His  Messiahship  and 
Passion.  This  part  of  his  work  is  considerably 
larger  than  the  first  part,  and  it  is  impossible  to 
attempt  to  do  it  any  justice.  Schweitzer's  views 
are  certainly  original;  but  the  Daniel-come-to- 
judgment  airs  with  which  he  treats  all  previous 
investigators  occasionally  provoke  a  smile.  'Up 
to  the  present,'  he  tells  us,  'the  "historical" 
conception  of  the  Messianic  consciousness  of 
Jesus  is  false,  because  it  does  not  explain   the 


history.'  He  offers  us,  therefore,  'a  new  con- 
ception of  the  life  of  Jesus'  which  has  grown  out 
of  insight  into  an  existing  antinomy  which  the 
historical  critics  do  not  explain.  The  tendency  of 
his  views,  he  claims,  is  distinctly  conservative. 
They  make  the  synoptical  question  much  simpler 
and  clearer,  and  deliver  us  from  a  great  deal  of 
the  artificial  redaction  with  which  critics  have 
hitherto  been  obliged  to  operate.  They  prove 
that  the  influence  of  the  faith  of  the  primitive 
community  upon  the  synoptical  narratives  does 
not  go  nearly  so  deep  as  has  hitherto  been 
supposed.  As  to  their  teaching,  the  Synoptics 
reveal,  when  rightly  read,  that  the  absolutely  nev 
magnitude  which  is  bound  up  with  the  death  of 
Jesus,  is  the  eschatological  realization  of  the 
kingdom.  'On  the  Atonement  which  Jesus 
provides,  there  hangs  the  coming  of  the  kingdom 
in  power.  That  is  the  fundamental  secret  of  the 
Passion.'  The  modern  historical  attempts  to  deal 
with  the  life  of  Jesus  are  all  completely  wrong. 
The  eschatological-historical  conception  is  the  only 
right  one — that  the  thought  of  the  Passion  is 
altogether  dominated  by  the  eschatological  idea  of 
the  kingdom. 

But  to  come  to  the  bearing  of  Heft  II.  on  the 
problem  of  the  Supper.  To  find  the  true  explanation 
of  the  meal  in  the  upper  room,  Schweitzer  takes  us  to 
the  evening  meal  at  the  sea  of  Gennesaret.  Jesus 
had  around  Him  there  a  community  inspired  by 
the  most  exalted  eschatological  expectations.  The 
meal,  which  took  place  beside  the  sea  at  the 
evening  hour,  was  not  a  miracle ;  that  is  a  later 
distortion  of  the  historical  truth,  due  to  the  fact 
that  what  was  a  religious  meal,  being  mis- 
understood, came  to  be  conceived  of  as  a  meal  for 
satisfaction  of  hunger  (a  little  touch  that  serves  to 
remind  us  that  the  author's  conservatism  is  a 
somewhat  eclective  quantity).  Es^sentially  it  was  a 
ceremonial  religious  meal.  Jesus  took  the  scanty 
provisions  brought  for  Himself  and  His  disciples, 
and  ceremonially  distributed  them  to  the 
multitude.  With  the  exception  of  the  two 
parables  regarding  His  body  and  His  blood,  we 
have  absolutely  the  same  procedure  as  at  the  Last 
Supper.  The  fellowship  at  this  meal  had  an 
eschatological  character;  it  bore  upon  the 
expectation  of  the  manifestation  of  the  kingdoni 
of  God.  But  the  full  meaning  of  the  meal  was 
meanwhile  clear  to  Jesus  alone.  He  was  acting 
from  His  Messianic  self-consciousness.     Knowing 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Himself  to  be  the  Messiah,  He  distributed  to 
His  followers  ceremonial  food,  as  giving  them 
a  claim  thereby  to  participation  in  the  future 
feast. 

So  a  light  falls  upon  the  nature  of  the  Supper 
in  Jerusalem.  Ther«  the  disciples  represent  the 
company  of  those  who  believe  in  the  kingdom, 
and  Jesus  imparts  to  them  the  same  ceremonial 
food.  But  now  the  disciples  know  their  Lord's 
estimate  of  Himself.  He  has  discovered  to  them 
His  Messianic  secret,  and  from  that  they  can 
divine  the  relation  of  His  present  distribution  to 
the  glorious  Messianic  meal.  Jesus  Himself  gives 
this  signification  to  His  action  by  concluding  the 
supper  with  a  reference  to  the  reunion  soon  to 
take  place,  when  He  and  they  shall  drink  the  new 
wine  tc^ether  in  the  kingdom  of  God.  Thus  the 
supper  by  the  sea  and  the  supper  in  the  upper 
room  completely  correspond,  only  at  the  latter 
Jesus  explains  to  His  disciples  the  nature  of  the 
feast,  and  at  the  same  time  gives  expression  in  the 
two  parables  to  the  thought  of  the  Passion.  So 
one  understands,  for  the  first  time,  how  in  its 
nature  the  Lord's  Supper  is  quite  independent  of 
the  two  parables,  and  in  its  essence  is  nothing  else 
than  this — a  feast  anticipative  of  the  Messianic 
meal,  within  the  circle  of  the  fellowship  of  those 
who  believe  in  the  kingdom  of  God. 

A  detailed  criticism  of  Schweitzer's  theories 
would  be  out  of  place.  That  they  ate  weak  at  not 
a  few  points  appears  manifest.  Nor  are  they  quite 
so  original  as  he  imagines.  To  Spilta  especially 
he  owes  more  than  he  seems  to  be  aware  of; 
while  his  arguments  go  to  support  the  view  of  the 
latter,  that  the  historic  Supper  of  Jesus  was  the 
festival  of  the  Messianic  meal.  Most  readers  will 
probably  be  inclined  to  say  to  Schweitzer,  as 
Harnack  said  in  rejecting  the  hypothesis  of  Spitta  : 
'The  words  of  i  Co  n^  are  too  strong  for  me' 
{Hist.  Dogm.  i.  66).  That  the  death  of  Jesus 
was  the  central  thought  of  the  Supper  we  cannot 
but  believe;  but  it  is  possible  that  more  weight 
should  be  given  to  those  eschatological  elements 
in  the  situation  which  are  certainly  present  in 
Paul's  conception  (i  Co  ii'*),  and  present  very 
strikingly  in  the  Synoptists,  if  we  connect  the 
words  about  drinking  the  new  wine  in  the 
kingdom  of  God  with  the  Lord's  Supper  itself, 
and  not  with  a  preceding  paschal  feast. 

John  C.  Lambert. 

FitvUk, 
36 


©0  We  n«i  ^X6  {]J«ipefA<!on«  ? ' 

In  the  fiftieth  supplement  to  the  Christliche  Welt, 
the  minister  of  the  German  Protestant  congregation 
in  Manchester  asks  and  seeks  to  answer  the  ques- 
tion. Do  we  need  new  revelations  P  His  argument 
runs  as  follows : — (i)  It  is  as  an  htstoriaii reality  thai 
Christianity  meets  us,  and  whatever  we  owe  to  it  has 
come  to  us  by  historical  mediation.  It  is  a  positive 
religion  in  the  sense  that  '  it  indicates  a  point  of 
time  in  history  which  is  the  hour  of  its  birth,'  a 
period  in  which  an  immediate  revelation  was  experi- 
enced. This  immediate  revelation  is  claimed  for 
Christ  in  a  unique  mode.  While  the  Christian's 
consciousness  of  God's  fatherhood  is  similar  to 
Christ's,  yet  in  Him  that  consciousness  came  to  be 
in  a  fundamentally  different  way.  Mediated  for 
the  Christian  by  Christ,  it  was  immediate  for  Him. 
But  the  question  remains.  Along  with  this  historical 
mediation  of  Christian  piety,  is  the  other  way  of 
immediate  revelation  still  possible  ?  Such  a  possi- 
bility is  indicated  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  found  within  the  Scripture  canon  itself. 
As  Christ  has,  however,  laid  down  the  normal 
features  of  the  religious  life,  every  claim  to  an 
immediate  revelation  must  be  tested  by  this 
standard.  Any  type  of  piety  that  contradicts  or 
hinders  this  only  legitimate  type  or  even  is  in  no 
way  helpful  to  it,  must  be  declared  out  of  place  in 
the  Christian  religion.  If,  however,  tasks  are  set 
to  Christian  piety,  which  it  cannot  discharge  with 
the  historical  means  at  its  disposal,  the  possibility 
of  an  immediate  revelation,  fitting  it  to  solve  these 
problems,  may  be  admitted.  Three  forms  of 
immediate  revelation  are  possible :  the  mystical, 
the  apocalyptic-gnostic,  and  the  prophetic. 

(i)  '  The  contents  of  all  mystical  revelation  is  the 
union  of  the  soul  and  God.'  Mysticism  tends  to 
deny  the  reality  of  the  world,  and  to  identify  the 
creature  and  the  Creator.  It  experiences  extreme 
variations  of  emotion,  now  enjoyment  of  God's 
presence,  then  loneliness  of  soul.  It  is  not  Christian 
piety  which  has  a  steadfast  sense  of  God's  fatherly 

(3)  Apocalyptic  and  gnosis,  although  a  closer 
study  might  enable  us  to  distinguish  them  accur- 
ately, have  much  in  common.  They  seek  in  revela- 
tion a  solution  of  the  problem  of  the  Universe,  its 
origin,  course,  and  destiny.    The  mystic  revelation 

'  Brauchen  wir  Neue  Offenbarun^n  ?  Von  Vyliy  Veit. 
Williams  &  No^le,     Price  is.  net. 


403 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


is  exclusively  individual,  the  secret  of  each  soul. 
The  apocalyptic  or  gnostic  is  the  esoteric  doctrine 
of  a  select  circle.  It  is  not  Christian,  for  it  puts 
for  the  soul's  trust  in  God  interest  in  speculative 
ideas. 

(4)  The  revelations  oi  prophecy  are  concerned 
with  the  will,  what  God  would  have  men  da  In 
contrast  to  mysticism,  prophetic  revelation  repre- 
sents God  as  'a  free,  living,  active  personality,' 
who  in  the  concrete  circumstances  of  histoiy 
communicates  to  men  His  definite  commands. 
Unlike  the  apocalyptic  01  gnostic  revelation  the 
prophetic  is  not  speculative  but  practical  It 
does  not  seek  to  solve  the  problem  of  the  Universe, 
but  to  assign  to  a  man  or  a  nation  a  task  in  the 
kingdom  of  God.  It  alone,  therefore,  is  in  no  way 
inconsistent  with  the  Christian  type  of  piety.  But 
it  is  not  enough  to  show  this  consistency.  It  must 
be  proved  that  Christian  piety,  to  meet  the 
demands  made  upon  it,  still  needs  prophetic 
revelations. 

(5)  The  two  poles  of  Christian  piety  are  love  to 
God  and  love  to  man.  In  man's  relation  to  God 
Christ's  consciousness  cannot  be  transcended. 
Consequently,  'in  the  Christian  communion  of 
God  and  the  soul,  there  is  no  room,  no  occasion, 
and  no  justification  for  prophetic  revelation.'  In 
his  relations  to  his  fellows  man  has  tasks  set  to 
him,  not  only  the  task  of  relieving  such  need  and 
misery  as  he  meets  with,  but  also  the  task  of  so 
reorganizing  society  as  to  remove  the  causes  of 
want  and  woe.  Christian  love  must  recognize  the 
truth  that  is  in  socialism.  The  Christian  idea  of 
the  kingdom  of  God  points  in  this  direction,  and 
in  present  circumstances  the  idea  of  the  kingdom 
of  God  and  the  command  of  love  must  be  com- 
bined. The  task  of  Christian  piety  and  of  prophetic 
is  thus  seen  to  be  the  same.  There  is  one  aim ; 
must  there  be  the  same  means  ?  Does  Christian 
piety  even  as  prophetic  need  immediate  revela- 
tions? At  first  Christian  thought  turned  to  'the 
historical  Jesus '  for  guidance  in  dealing  with  these 
social  questions.  But  it  has  been  discovered  that, 
while  '  He  gives  power  and  courage,  inspiration 
and  constancy,'  yet  as  He  only  offers  general  prin- 
ciples, and  not  their  practical  appUcation  to  present 
conditions,  all  that  is  needed  is  not  found.  'If 
that  task  of  Christian  piety  is  not  to  be  allowed  to 
drop, — which  would  mean  a  lapse  from  true 
Christianity, — then  the  courage  and  ability  for 
this  work  can  be  felt  only  by  such  piety,  as  not 


only  feels  itself  generally  called  to  this  work,  but 
with  a  certainty  which  cannot  be  shaken  knows 
itself  possessed  of  concrete  divine  directions  and 
instructions.'  Accordingly  we  may  expect  that 
Christian  piety  for  the  same  end  as  prophetic  will 
be  afforded  by  God  the  same  means,  immediate 
divine  reveUtions.  This  idea  may  seem  strange, 
but  a  consideration  of  the  features  of  the  prophetic 
revelation  may  help  us  to  feel  more  at  home  with 
it.  It  will  be  psychologically  mediated,  will  come 
without  extenul  evidence,  but  only  with  inward 
certainty,  and  will  not  encourage  ease,  idleness,  or 
sloth,  for  the  work  will  remain  to  be  done,  even 
when  God's  will  has  been  discovered.  For  such 
revelations  we  must  wait,  but  meanwhile  we  must 
work,  so  far  as  light  is  already  ours ;  for  if  we  do 
our  part,  God  will  do  His. 

This  essay  may  be  cordially  commended  as 
interesting  and  suggestive.  Its  argument  should 
not  be  dismissed  as  a  pious  fancy,  but  contains 
much  that  is  worthy  of  close  study.  It  is  signifi- 
cant as  an  indication  of  the  prominence  and 
dominance  of  the  social  aspect  of  Christianity  in 
much  of  the  freshest  religious  thought  in  Germany 
and  England,  for  it  is  evident  that  the  author  has 
been  influenced  in  his  thinking  both  by  the  land 
of  his  birth  and  by  the  country  he  has  made  bis 
home. 

Dissent  must,  however,  be  expressed  on  the 
following  points: — (i)  It  seems  a  vain  logical 
abstraction  to  distinguish,  as  is  here  done,  the 
emotional,  the  speculative,  and  the  practical 
aspects  of  piety,  as  none  of  these  is  actually  found 
in  isolation,  although  one  or  other  may  be  more 
prominent  (i)  The  comparison  of  mystic,  apoca- 
lyptic, or  gnostic,  and  prophetic  revelation  has  too 
exclusively  an  historical  interest  The  essay  would 
have  been  more  valuable  had  the  author  dealt 
with  contemporary  phases  of  piety,  which  in 
some  degree  reproduce  these  distinctive  features. 
{3)  The  representation  of  the  prophetic  revelation 
seems  disproportionate,  as  the  prophets  brought 
more  to  their  people  than  commands.  (4)  The 
writer  has  not  convinced  me,  at  least,  that  the 
Christian  Church  has  not  in  the  teaching  of  Jesus 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the  study  of  social  phenomena 
on  the  other,  with  the  promised  guidance  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  all  the  means  it  needs  for  the  discharge 
of  its  social  task. 

I , -IP, -Alfred  E.  Gakvie. 

AlonlrtiC. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


403 


'Socrates  aad  the  Ancient  Church'  is  the  title 
of  the  Recloral  Address  delivered  by  Professor 
Hxmaclc  in  the  University  of  Berlin  at  the  open- 
ing of  the  academical  year  1901.  Like  his  other 
studies  in  the  great  spiritual  figures  and  systems  of 
the  past,  this  address  is  genuinely  eloquent  and 
incisive,  marked  by  power  and  sympathy  in  a  very 
impressive  degree,  and  instinct  with  a  learning 
which  is  alive  to  its  very  extremities.  Christ  and 
Socrates — one  does  not  need  to  be  a  prophet,  he 
says,  to  realize  that  the  problem  represented  by 
that  antithesis  will  meet  us  again  in  all  its  force 
within  the  next  half<entury.  A  few  pi^es  are 
given  to  a  concise  but  adequate  statement  of 
the  new  elements  of  moral  ardour,  self-sacrifice, 
and  inwardness  which  Socrates  brought  into  the 
spiritual  life  of  Greece — aspects  of  his  work  which 
inevitably  appealed  to  the  Christian  mind.  And 
yet  there  is  a  great  gulf  fixed  :  '  he  calls  men  to 
knowledge,  Christianity  calls  them  to  faith.'  For 
many  years,  as  is  proved  in  some  detail,  Socrates 
enjoyed  the  highest  favour  among  Church  writers. 
Justin,  the  first  to  touch  the  subject,  views  him  as 
almost  a  prototype  of  Christ  Himself;  he  is  named 
with  singular  veneration  by  such  apologists  as 
Tatian  and  Athenagoras.  He  had  died  for  his 
creed,  as  the  martyrs  died  for  theirs — this  one 
fact  was  triumphantly  appealed  to  by  the  Chris- 
tians, and  recognized  as  an  embarrassing  difficulty 
by  the  more  noble  of  their  opponents.  The 
Christian  Platonists  of  Alexandria  only  followed 
their  natural  bent  when  they  quoted  him  as  an 
authority  even  for  the  Church.  The  Western 
theologians  were  the  first  to  lay  their  finger  upon 
the  real  discrepancy  between  the  teaching  of 
Socrates  and  the  teaching  of  Christ.  Tertullian 
and  Lactantius  were  by  no  means  blind  to  the 
higher  aspects  of  his  influence,  yet  their  judgment 
shows  too  plainly  the  dark  lines  of  contempt  and 
animosity.  Tertullian  even  ventures  in  language 
of  strange  violence  to  attack  the  last  hours  and 
parting  words  of  the  dying  philosopher.  And 
Augustine  took  the  last  step  in  this  direction 
'  by  his  frightful  doctrine  that  all  the  virtues  of 
the  heathen  are  but  brilliant  vices.'  Time  has 
taught  us  better.     '  We  no  longer  claim  Christ  for 

"  Soiratts  und  dU  alu  Kirihc.     Von   Adolf   Hamack. 
Gicssen :   J.    Ricker'sche   VeiUgsbuchhandlung.      Pp.   34. 


philosophy,  or  Socrates  for  Christianity;  yet  we 
confess  with  Justin  that  in  Socrates  also  was 
manifested  the  power  of  the  Logos.' 

Now  and  then,  in  this  as  in  his  other  writings, 
one  is  tempted  to  say  that  Harnack's  ideas  need 
shading.  Life  does  not  seem  to  exhibit  the 
absolute  oppositions  which  figure  so  constantly 
in  his  memorable  pages.  There  was  less  in  the 
apologists  than  he  would  have  us  believe,  of  a 
desire  to  rewrite  natural  theology,  with  the  Chris- 
tian facts  brought  in  merely  by  way  of  illustration  ; 
they  aspired,  not  without  success,  to  enable  their 
age  to  think  in  Christian  terms  without  betraying 
the  faith  to  heathen  philosophers.  Does  not 
Harnack  himself  admit  (p.  23)  that  there  is  a 
point  of  view  at  which  philosophy  and  Chris- 
tianity can  be  seen  in  friendly  correlation,  and  as 
mutually  interpreting  each  other? 

This  may  be  one  of  Harnack's  slighter  pieces, 
but  we  are  safe  to  say  that  scarcely  any  will  be 
read  with  more  genuine  interest  and  enjoyment. 
H.  R.  Mackintosh. 

Aberdten. 


Z%t  ^crtSes  of  ^afesttne. 

We  have  also  received  a  brief  pamphlet '  by 
Professor  O.  Holtzmann  of  Gicssen,  dealing  with 
the  Jewish  scribes  in  the  time  of  Jesus.  Originally 
delivered  as  a  lecture  at  a  theological  conference, 
it  succeeds  in  investing  a  rather  forbidding  subject 
with  a  real  human  and  historical  interest.  It  was 
the  scribes,  he  tells  us,  that  called  the  synagogue 
into  existence,  and  not  vice  versi,  as  some  suppose. 
The  scril)es  were  the  successors  of  the  prophets, 
and  looked  back  to  Ezekiel  as  their  ideal  and 
original  leader.  They  charged  themselves  with 
the  distinctively  religious  education  of  the  people, 
and  in  this  respect  Holtzmann  does  not  hesitate 
to  characterize  the  work  of  the  scribes  as  far 
superior  to  that  of  the  prophets  in  incisive  and 
painstaking  closeness  to  life.  Not  only  did  they 
preach  in  the  synagogues ;  they  trained  disciples, 
and  frequently  filled  the  place  of  judges.  But 
while  in  certain  respects  their  influence  told  more 
deeply  than  that  of  the  prophets,  they  fell  far  short 

'  Diijadisiht  Sthri/igilthrsamkeii  tur  Ziitjesu.    \oa  Dr. 
Oscar  HoUimann,  a.o.   Professor  det  Theologie,  Gicssen. 

Giessen  :  J.  Ricker'sche  Verlagsbuchhandlung.  London : 
Williams  &  Norgate.     Pp.  32. 


404 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


of  the  prophetic  ideal  as  such.  For  they  were 
occupied  with  law,  and  could  not  but  lay  very 
minor  stress  on  motives.  Hence  formality  and 
hypocrisy ;  hence,  too,  artificiality  in  exegesis  and 
intolerable  aridity  of  discourse.  Vanity,  hypocrisy, 
and  avarice  were  their  besetting  sins.  It  was  part 
of  Jesus'  work,  not  only  to  rebuke  them,  but  to 
antiquate  their  teaching  by  reaching  back  to,  and 
developing  more  richly,  the  great  thoughts  of 
prophecy.  On  the  other  hand,  He  may  be  com- 
pared to  the  scribes  in  so  far  as  He  did  perfectly 
what  they  did  with  such  glaring  deficiencies.  He 
retained  many  of  their  forms,  but  the  content  He 
poured  into  them  was  new  and  creative.  When 
everything  has  been  said,  the  scribes  still  remain 
as  a  phenomenon  which  helped  to  prepare  the 
way  for  Christianity,  for  in  character  and  work  they 
stand  between  the  prophets  and  Christ,  and  their 
zeal  for  tradition  was  the  medium  by  which  even 
40  Him  were  conveyed  some  of  the  spiritual 
treasures  of  the  past. 

The  little  brochure  is  eminently  instructive,  and 
every  page  brimful  of  movement.  The  author 
makes  his  points  with  great  clearness,  and  writes 
with  a  pleasing  vigour.  His  arguments  help  to 
correct  that  habit  of  indiscriminately  condemning 
certain  classes  of  people  in  Scripture  to  which  we 
are  all  prone ;  and  one  who  is  content  to  learn 
what  Holtzmann  has  10  teach  may  be  assured  that 
his  more  charitable  views  of  the  scribes  now  rest, 
not  upon  a  counter- prejudice  in  their  favour,  but 
upon  the  basis  of  belter  and  clearer  knowledge. 
H.  R.  Mackintosh. 

Abirdein. 


Kierkegaard  '  has  come  to  his  kingdom  slowly. 
For  many  years  after  his  death   his  name  was 

'  Zinei    tthiich  -reiigiite    Aihandlungen.      Vun     Sijren 
Kierk^nard.      Zum    erslen    Male    aus    dem    Danischen 


almost  unknown  beyond  the  Danish  frontier,  and 
even  yet  one  or  two  magazine  articles  represent  all 
the  influence  he  exerts  in  this  country.  Yet  he  is 
not  a  man  to  be  neglected  without  loss.  One 
who  has  been  variously  designated  '  the  Christian 
Socrates,'  and  '  the  Tycho  Brahe  of  modern  ethics,' 
has  surely  some  deep  truth  to  impart  to  the  world. 
He  did  not  write  for  the  great  public.  His 
methods  are  altogether  different  from  those  of 
the  professed  theologian.  He  wrote  because  he 
must ;  and  from  the  first  he  found  discerning 
readers,  whose  number  at  present  bids  fair  to 
increase. 

These  two  essays  were  written  as  far  back  as 
1847,  and  have  at  last  been  admirably  translated 
into  German  by  a  loving  disciple.  They  utterly 
defy  analysis  or  criticism  of  the  conventional  kind. 
The  first,  entitled  '  Ought  a  man  to  let  himself  be 
killed  for  the  truth's  sake  ? '  deals  with  the  absolutely 
voluntary  character  of  Christ's  atoning  passion : 
the  second  treats  of  the  difference  between  a 
genius  and  an  apostle,  and  contains  many  memor- 
able sayings  upon  the  authority  of  the  N.T. 
Scriptures.  Suffice  it  to  testify  that  very  seldom 
indeed  do  we  remember  to  have  read  papers  of  a 
like  originality,  ingenuity,  subtlety,  and  elemental 
and  passionate  power.  Their  spirit  is  profoundly 
Christian.  Like  the  work  of  all  really  great  minds, 
they  leave  irritating  trifles  on  one  side,  and  go 
straight  to  the  centre  of  things.  Had  Kierkegaard 
written  in  German  or  (which  is  more  difficult  to 
imagine)  French,  his  name  would  long  ago  have 
been  a  household  word.  Will  some  one  not 
translate  a  selection  of  his  shorter  pieces  into 
English?  The  task  would  be  a  comparatively 
light  one,  for  his  style  has  all  the  simplicity  of 
nature,  and  his  are  thoughts  which  appeal  to  the 
universal  heart.  H.  R.  Mackintosh. 

Aberdeen. 


Ubersetit  von  Julie  von  Reincke-     Gi 
VerlagsbuchhandluDg,  1901.     Pp.  72, 


:  J.   Ricker'sche 


.yGooi^lc 


.yGooi^lc 


.yGooi^lc 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMEa 


^  £«af  ^ioitn  from  t^t  ^inai  fpaiimifetei. 

By  Agnes  Smith  Lewis,  Phil.  Dr.  (Halle),  LL.D.  (St.  Andrews). 


All  students  of  the  textual  criticism  of  the  New 
Testament  will  learn  with  deep  regret  that  a  leaf 
has  disappeared  from  the  Syriac  Palimpsest  of  the 
Four  Gospels  on  Mount  Sinai.  I  missed  it  whilst 
I  was  in  the  Convent  Library  in  February  of  this 
year ;  but  the  monks  had  previously  noticed  its 
disappearance.  It  is  f.  loi,  which  contains  part 
of  the  story  of  Mary,  slave  of  Tertullus,  and  in 
tbe  under-script  the  text  of  Mk  2"-3^i.  I  was 
informed  that  a  party  of  several  scholars  had 
worked  for  some  time  at  that  MS.  during  the 
course  of  last  summer ;  and  it  is  safe  to  suppose 
that  a  fair  number  of  passing  travellers  have  been 
permitted  not  only  to  look  at  it,  but  also  to 
handle  it.  My  surmise  is  that  one  of  these  latter, 
wishing  to  make  an  addition  to  his  own  collection 
of  Oriental  curios,  has  slipped  the  leaf  betwixt 
the  pages  of  a  book,  in  the  fond  belief  that  it 
would  never  be  missed. 

The  manuscript  is  kept  in  a  box  of  mahogany, 
lined  with  cedar-wood,  which  I  presented  to  the 
Convent  in  1893,  for  its  safe  custody.  This  box 
has  two  lids,  the  inner  one  being  of  glass,  so  that 
the  manuscript  might  be  displayed  to  visitors 
without  its  having  to  bear  the  touch  of  their 
fingers.  It  is  further  protected  from  dust  by  a 
silken  cover,  made  for  it  by  the  late  Mrs.  Bensly, 
and  the  monks  are  very  careful  to  put  it  neatly 
into  this ;  for  any  want  of  dexterity  in  so  doing 
would  lake  something  from  the  crumbling  margins. 
Except  for  the  loss  of  a  leaf,  the  manuscript  has 
suffered  in  no  way  since  I  last  saw  it  in  1S97 ; 
indeed,  as  the  years  roll  on,  its  pages  have  tended 
to  become  cleaner. 

But  most  of  the  binding  bad  disappeared  before 
1S95,  the  cord  which  held  the  quires  together 
having  given  way  even  earlier.  Many  quires  and 
several  leaves  are  therefore  quite  loose,  thus 
the  latter  offer  a  too  ready  temptation  to  the 
spoiler. 

But  who  has  done  this  deed?  Who  has  found 
it  in  his  heart  to  mutilate  one  of  the  most  ancient 
of  Gospel  manuscripts,  a  codex  eccentric  in  its 
readings,  if  you  will,  but  unique  in  the  light 
ivhicb  it  has  shed  on  some  of  our  Lord's  sayings, 
and  in  the  interest  which  its  text  has  awakened 


amongst  biblical  scholars?  It  is  not  only  the 
monks  who  have  been  robbed,  it  is  the  Christian 
world,  which  has  surely  a  right  of  heritage  in 
those  sacred  records  which  enshrine  the  earliest 
forms  of  the  Gospel  story.  For  twelve  hundred 
years  that  codex  has  remained  unaltered,  intact 
so  far  as  its  later  script — the  Lives  of  Holy 
Women — is  concerned,  and  for  sixteen  hundred 
years  its  142  leaves  of  the  Gospel  writing  have 
held  together,  preserved  to  us,  we  may  well  believe, 
by  something  more  than  mere  chance. 

The  theft  has  certainly  not  been  the  act  of  a 
scholar.  This  we  may  know  from  the  fact  that 
f.  100  has  several  rents  near  the  top,  as  if  its 
neighbour  had  been  roughly  and  hurriedly  torn 
off.  F.  102  is  quite  detached  from  it,  and  now 
naturally  begins  the  eleventh  quire,  as  will  be  seen 
from  Dr.  Rendel  Harris'  Table  A  in  the  edition 
of  1894.  The  thief  has  evidently  been  restrained 
by  no  scruple  about  injuring  the  context;  we 
therefore  judge  that  he  was  unable  to  read  the 
Syriac  text,  and  was  probably  a  thoughtless 
visitor,  eager  to  acquire  a  specimen  of  something 
either  for  himself  or  for  the  Library  of  his  Uni- 
versity. Even  if  we  allow  that  there  may  have 
been  an  excuse  for  such  conduct  in  the  old  days, 
when  the  manuscript  treasures  of  Eastern  mon- 
asteries were  hidden  from  the  view  of  scholars,  it 
is  surely  now  a  great  breach  of  faith  and  honour 
towards  the  hospitable  monks  of  Mount  Sinai,  who 
have  spent  both  thought  and  money  in  the  re- 
arrangement of  their  books,  and  who  receive 
every  European  visitor  with  a  kindness  and  a 
simple  trustfulness  which  should  place  him  on 
his  honour.  Suppose  the  monastery  did  not 
exist,  there  would  be  no  haven  of  rest  for  the 
wanderer  in  these  magnificent  solitudes  (for  a 
hotel  would  never  pay  its  way),  and  no  effective 
power  to  make  the  Bedawin  tractable  And  in 
case,  too,  of  an  accident  happening  to  the  thief 
whilst  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood,  we  are 
confident  that  the  very  slender  resources  of  the 
monks  would  have  been  taxed  to  the  utmost  to 
comfort  and  succour  him. 

But  this  is  not  all.  The  man  who  knowingly 
injures  a  fourth- century  codex  of   the  Gospe'' 


4o6 


THE  ECPOSITORY  TIMES. 


commits  an  act  of  sacrilege  and  places  himself 
under  the  ban  of  Christendom.  On  such  a 
one  we  may  well  invoke  the  curse  of  the  Last 
Minstrel — 

Go,  mark  him  well ; 
For  him  no  minstrel  raplures  iwell ; 
High  though  his  titles,  proud  his  name, 
Boundless  his  wealth  as  wish  can  claim  ; 
Despite  those  titles,  power,  and  pelf. 
The  wretch,  cooccnter'd  all  in  self. 
Living,  ihall  forfeit  fair  reoown. 
And,  doubly  dying,  (hall  go  down 
To  the  vile  dust,  from  whence  be  sprung, 
Unwept,  unbonoar'd,  and  unsung. 

But  there  is  still  a  place  for  repentance.     If 


the  possessor  of  the  lost  leaf,  or  any  one 
who  may  recognize  it  from  our  photographs,  will 
send  it  by  post,  carefully  protected  between  two 
pieces  of  cardboard,  either  to  me  at  '  Castlebrae, 
Cambridge,'  or  to  the  Editor  or  the  Publishers  of 
The  Expository  .Times,  we  will  undertake  to  re- 
place it  in  the  codex.  No  questions  will  be  a^ed, 
nor  any  attempt  made  on  our  part  to  acquire 
information  which  is  not  voluntarily  given.  Thus 
the  disgrace  attaching  to  the  present  ownership 
of  the  leaf  will  be  rolled  away,  and  in  its  place 
there  will  come  a  pleasing  consciousness  of  having 
earned  by  a  timely  act  of  reparation  the  gratitude 
of  all  who  love  the  Gospels. 


By  the  Right  Rev.  C.  J.  Ellicott,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Gloucester. 


The  words  are  taken  from  a  mysterious  and 
difEcult  passage  which  comes  before  us  perhaps 
a  little  unexpectedly,  as  we  dwell  upon  the 
general  context  of  this  portion  of  the  Epistle. 
The  general  tenor  of  what  has  preceded  is  con- 
solatory,— the  light  of  the  present  as  contrasted 
with  the  fulness  of  the  glory  of  the  future, — 
but  it  changes  into  the  contemplation  of  a  serious 
aspect  of  a  burdened  present,  on  which  we  may 
profitably  dwell. 

I  have  thus  chosen  the  text  with  some  reference 
to  modern  conceptions  as  to  the  relations  of  this 
life  and  the  future,  which,  in  many  respects, 
utterly  ignore  the  scriptural  aspects  of  death,  and 
the  whole  nature  of  the  passage  from  the  life  on 
this  side  the  grave  to  the  life  that  is  to  follow  it. 

The  modern  view,  which  claims  to  rely  on 
modem  scientiRc  disclosures,  is  that  death  is 
merely  a  passage  from  one  state  of  physical  con- 
ditions into  another.  The  body  that  is  here 
subject  to  the  limitations  of  our  present  existence 
surrenders  to  the  earthly  and  the  material  the 
particles  of  which  its  tabernacle  was  composed, 
and  passes  into  the  mysterious  ether  of  science ; 
therein  to  continue  existence  under  the  new  con- 
ditions which  the  change  necessitates,  but  in  a 
form  and  tenor  which  certainly  differs  but  little 


from  the  more  innocent  phases  of  life  on  this  side 
the  grave.  Those  who  are  acquainted  with  con- 
ceptions of  this  nature  will  know  well  the  source 
from  which  they  have  been  derived,  but  will  be 
not  unprepared  for  my  saying  that  they  are  com- 
pletely non -scriptural,  and,  further,  that  they  tend 
to  obliterate  the  true  conception  of  death,  and  of 
its  indissoluble  connexion  with  disobedience  and 
sin.  Into  the  discussion  of  such  views  it  is  cer- 
tainly not  ray  intention  to  enter  in  a  sermon  like 
the  present. 

I  should  not  have  alluded  to  them  if  I  had  not 
known  that  they  find  expression  in  many  of  the 
popular  treatises  on  the  after-life,  and  have  even 
found  sympathetic  notices  in  the  Christian  pulpiL 
The  attractive  ideas  of  continuity  in  existence,  and 
of  death  being  no  more  than  the  natural  passage 
from  the  material  and  visible  to  the  immaterial  and 
invisible,  have  made  men  forget  the  changeless 
truth  that  death  is  the  wages  of  sin,  and  the  enemy, 
the  last  and  the  most  persistent,  that  will  be 
swallowed  up  in  the  victory  of  which  Easter  Day 
is  the  abiding  testimony. 

But  let  us  now  leave  these  unscriptural  concep- 
tions, and  turn  to  the  mysterious  text,  which,  when 
rightly  explained,  will  bfing  home  to  us  not  only 
what  was  passing  through  the  mind  of  the  apostle 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


407 


when  he  wrote  the  words,  but  also  those  concep- 
tions of  the  life  beyond  the  grave  on  which  the 
believing  Christian  may  humbly  and  hopefully  rely, 
when  thoughts  >uch  as  those  of  the  apostle  are 
felt  to  be  more  than  usually  disquieting  to  the  soul. 
Such  times  there  are  with  the  very  best  of  us,  and 
such  times  while  we  are  itill  in  the  body  will  only 
pass  finally  away  when  time  shall  have  become  no 
more. 

It  seems  hardly  possible  to  doubt  that  some  of 
the  shadows  cast,  not  by  the  fear  of  death,  but  by 
the  contemplation  of  the  state  of  the  soul  when 
dissociated  from  its  lifelong  companion  the  body, 
were  then  resting  on  the  mind  of  the  apostle. 
The  ceaseless  trials  and  sufferings  of  the  life  he 
was  living,  the  bearing  about  in  the  body  what  he 
solemnly  speaks  of  as  '  the  dying  of  Jesus '  (what  a 
wondrous  expression),  the  decaying  of  the  outward 
man,  all  tended  to  bring  out  the  unshaken  con- 
viction that  in  the  end  He  who  raised  up  the  Lord 
Jesus  will  in  like  manner  raise  up  His  suffering 
servants,  and  that  when  the  earthly  home  of  the 
soul  is  dissolved,  its  place  will  be  assumed  by  a 
building  from  God,  a  house  not  made  with  hands, 
eternal  in  the  heavens. 

This  conviction  never  leaves  the  apostle,  but, 
even  while  he  holds  it,  and  clings  to  it,  even  while 
he  groans  for  its  realization,  the  thought  unbid- 
denly  presents  itself  that,  in  the  procedure  by  which 
the  tabernacle  in  which  we  now  are  is  changed  into 
the  building  from  God,  there  must  be  some  shock, 
something  alien  to  the  familiar  continuity  of  earthly 
existence,  from  which  we  may  crave  to  be  ex- 
empted when  the  critical  moment  of  the  laying 
aside  of  the  earthly  tabernacle  has  come,  and  the 
house  not  made  with  bands  is  awaiting  the  entry 
of  its  new  occupant. 

It  is  this  anxiety  that  leads  the  apostle  to  use 
the  words  of  the  text,  and  to  repeat  the  tenor  of 
the  foregoing  thoughts,  and  even  to  substantiate 
them  by  a  kind  of  appeal  to  the  general  experience 
of  all  to  whom  his  words  were  addressed.  We 
that  are  in  this  tabernacle,  he  says,  in  this  tran- 
sitory and  perishable  body,  'do  groan,  being 
burdened.' 

But  why  burdened?  What  is  this  enduring 
burden  (for  the  tense  of  the  original  implies  this) 
which  calls  forth  this  utterance  of  the  inmost 
feeling  of  the  soul  ?  This  very  natural  question 
has  been  somewhat  differently  answered.  It  has 
been  considered  by  many  to  refer  to  the  burden  of 


cares  aod  sorrows  which  mark  the  whole  course 
and  tenor  of  mortal  life,  and  to  the  pressure  which 
they  exert  on  the  inward  spirit.  'The  earthy 
frame,'  to  use  the  language  of  the  Wisdom  of 
Solomon  (9'*),  'lieth  heavy  on  a  mind  that  is 
full  of  cares.'  Such  a  reference,  however,  is  plainly 
incompatible  with  the  words  which  follow,  in 
which  there  is  no  allusion  to  the  general  sorrows 
and  trials  of  life,  but  to  a  deeper-seated  feeling, 
and  to  a  more  mysterious  antipathy,  which  the 
apostle  discloses  in  the  words  which  follow  the 
text.  The  context  appears  to  make  it  certain  that 
the  principal  elements  of  the  burden  under  which 
we  groan  is  our  recoil  from  a  bodiless  existence, 
or,  as  the  apostle  now,  by  a  change  of  metaphor, 
speaks  of  it,  from  the  unclothed  state — a  state  so 
alien  to  every  feeling  of  our  mortal  nature  that 
we  at  once  long  for,  what  the  apostle  longed 
for,  a  being  clothed  upon  with  the  future  body, 
and  the  merging  into  it,  as  it  were,  of  this  poor 
perishable  body,  so  that,  to  use  the  language  of 
the  apostle, '  what  is  mortal  may  be  swallowed  up 
of  life.*  This,  then,  if  we  follow  the  reasoning  of 
the  words  which  follow  the  text,  must  be  the 
burden,  that,  while  we  long  for  emancipation  from 
the  mortal  and  all  that  it  involves,  we  still  are 
haunted  with  the  dread  that  such  an  emancipa- 
tion may  carry  with  it  the  very  nakedness  from 
which  our  present  nature  makes  us  instinctively 
recoil. 

There  must  be  few  among  those  who  think 
deeply  on  these  subjects  who  are  not  conscious 
that  they  too  have  shared  in  this  longing  to  be 
clothed  upon,  even  though  soul  and  spirit  may 
have  recognized  that  such  a  longing  was  one 
that  could  not  be  granted.  It  was,  however, 
different  with  St.  Paul.  A  holy  apostle  in 
whose  warm  heart  the  hope  of  being  among 
those  who  might,  in  their  earthly  bodies,  behold 
and  welcome  their  descending  Lord,  might  justify 
such  a  longing,  but  to  such  as  us,  who  can  look 
back  on  nineteen  hundred  years  of  a  Master's 
yet  unfulfilled  return,  such  longings  assume  the 
form  of  impatience,  and  a  shrinking  from  the 
burden  which  sin  and  disobedience  have  laid  upon 
us  till  the  Advent.  'We  that  are  in  this  tabernacle 
verily  do  groan,  being  burdened.'  And  the  burden, 
as  we  have  seen,  is  what  every  deeper  thinking 
Christian  would  recognize  to  be  a  real  and  verit- 
able burden,  a  shrinking,  not  from  death,  but  from 
what  may  be  a  possible  concomitant  of  death — an 


4o8 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


unclothed  state,  a  state  in  which  the  sou)  is  left 
naked  and  alone  till  the  promised  body  is  vouch- 
safed to  it. 

We  have  now,  I  think,  fully  arrived  at  the  true 
meaning  of  the  mysterious  text  on  which  we  have 
been  meditating,  and  there  remain  only  two  or 
three  reflexions  which  the  subject  naturally  brings 
before  us. 

And  the  first  reflexion  is  this:  That  there  is 
nothing  in  Holy  Scripture  that  throws  any  direct 
light  on  the  state  of  the  soul  when  it  has  been 
separated  from  the  body.  Conjecture  has,  of 
course,  been  busy,  and  sometimes  even  reason- 
able and  plausible.  Writers,  like  Cudworth,  have 
imagined  a  kind  of  preparatory  body  which  would 
be  perfected  at  the  Advent ;  but  no  sober  Chris- 
tian could  for  a  moment  rely  on  such  conjectures, 
when  Scripture,  as  far  as  anything  of  a  direct 
nature  is  concerned,  is  profoundly  silent,  and 
especially  when  it  would  even  seem  that  this 
silence  is  designed  and  intentional.  After  a  long 
life,  which  must  ever  have  been  a  life  of  closest 
communion  with  God,  the  holy  Apostle  St.  John, 
alluding  no  doubt  mainly  to  spiritual  after^death 
developments,  does  not  hesitate  to  use  language  so 
general  as  to  be  applicable  to  the  whole  of  our 
after-death  developments,  aud  broadly  says,  '  it  is 
not  yet  made  manifest  what  we  shall  be,'  and 
leaves  the  inference  that  what  our  state  will  be, 
when  the  soul  will  have  left  the  body,  is  unrevealed 
and  unknown. 

Our  burden  then,  as  regards  any  direct  scriptural 
disclosure,  must  remain  the  burden  it  is  felt  to  be 
by  the  anxiously  meditating  apostle.  In  a  word — 
as  to  what  the  state  of  the  soul  will  be  when  it 
leaves  the  body  we  must  come  to  the  conclusion, 
unwelcome  it  may  be,  that  we  have  no  definite 
knowledge  whatever. 

But  can  we  rest  for  one  moment  satisfied  with 
such  a  cold  and  joyless  conclusion  ?  Be  it  so,  that 
we  know  not  how  it  will  be  with  the  soul  in  the 
hour  when  it  leaves  the  body ;  be  it  so,  yet  this  we 
do  know,  that  the  soul  that  has  loved  Christ  here 
on  earth  can  never,  and  will  never,  be  separated 
from  Him.  Clothed  or  unclothed,  the  soul  will 
ever  be  with  its  death-conquering  Lord.  On  this 
point,  blessed  be  God,  Holy  Scripture  gives  us 
every  form  of  varied  assurance.  Was  not  the  soul 
and  spirit  of  the  poor  believing  malefactor  with  the 
soul  and  spirit  of  Jesus  in  Paradise?  Did  not  the 
dear  Lord,  before  He  resumed  His  body,  vouch- 


safe to  preach  to  those  who  were  waiting  for  the 
body  that  was  to  be,  soul  and  spirit  speaking  to 
souls  and  spirits,  and  ministering  the  assurance  of 
an  ever-enduring  union,  whether  in  the  clothed  oi 
in  the  unclothed  state,  with  those  He  had  died  for 
and  saved?  In  whatever  state  He  was,  in  that 
mystic  realm  which  we  have  now  learned  to  call 
Hades,  in  the  same  state  were  they  who  were  now 
hearing  the  message  of  love  and  salvation,  the  very 
similarity  of  state  and  condition  enhancing  the 
holy  persuasiveness  of  the  gospel  that  the  Lord 
Himself  out  of  the  depths  of  His  love  and  mercy 
was  vouchsafing  to  preach  to  them. 

These  considerations,  and  they  might  be  almost 
indefinitely  increased  from  the  only  true  source  of 
all  teaching  about  the  Last  Things — God's  Holy 
Word, — these  considerations  will  ever  be  found  to 
have  these  two  great  and  salutary  effects — 

In  the  first  place,  they  will  disclose  to  us  the 
utter  unwholesomeness,  to  use  the  most  charitable 
expression,  of  much  of  the  teaching  relative  to 
death  which  is  now  obtaining  increasing  currency. 
This  teaching,  to  which  I  alluded  in  the  earlier 
part  of  my  sermon,  obscures,  if  it  does  not  inferen- 
tially  deny,  the  pervading  doctrine  of  Holy  Scrip- 
ture as  to  the  intimate  relation  of  sin  and  death. 
Death,  we  must  ever  remember,  formed  no  part  of 
the  idea  of  man ;  but,  as  a  great  writer  has  said, 
has  impaired  the  blessedness  of  man's  Godlike 
personality. 

In  the  second  place,  our  considerations  will 
have  shown  us  that  when  that  gloom  and  anxiety 
does  rest  on  the  soul,  as  we  have  seen  that  it  did 
rest  on  the  soul  of  an  inspired  apostle,  when  'we 
groan,  being  burdened,'  that  gloom  can  only  be 
dispelled,  and  that  burden  only  removed,  by  the 
master-thought  of  the  enduring  reality  of  our  union 
with  Christ ;  and  that,  whether  in  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death  or  in  the  silent  realms  of  the 
waiting  under-world,  He  who  vouchsafed  to  pass 
through  both  will  ever  be  with  us ;  His  tod  and 
His  staff  ever  supporting  us,  until  we  come  into 
the  fiiU  brightness  of  His  adorable  presence  and 
abide  with  Him  for  evermore. 

It  is  a  good  thought  to  part  with,  that  the  holy 
apostle  who  wrote  the  grave  words  on  which  we 
have  meditated— he  who  had  felt  the  burden, 
under  which  from  time  to  time  we  all  verily  do 
groan — he  who  felt  all  this,  was  permitted  to  write 
in  another  Epistle  words  relative  to  the  enduring 
nature  of  our  union  with  Christ,  that  true  solvent 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


409 


of  every  doubt  and  difficulty — words  which  fer 
power  and  sublimity  stand  almost  alone  in  the 
pages  of  the  Book  of  Life.  '  I  am  persuaded,'  he 
says, '  that  neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor 


principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  present,  nor 
things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any 
creature,  shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the  love 
of  God,  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord.-' 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  BIBLICA.     Vol.  IILi 


The  third  volume  of  Cheyne  and  Black's 
Encyclopmdia  Biblka  has  been  published.  It 
contains  1298  columns  or  649  pages,  covering 
the  letters  L  to  P,  its  first  word  being  Laadah, 
its  last  Python. 

The  characteristics  which  distinguished  the 
previous  volumes  reappear  in  this  volume,  some- 
what more  prominently.  That  is  to  say,  to  put  all 
into  a  sentence,  it  is  a  crilical  dictionary,  as  the 
title-page  describes  it,  or  rather  a  dictionary  of 
criticism.  Its  purpose  is  not  to  describe  but  to 
criticize,  not  to  furnish  an  account  of  the  contents 
of  the  Bible,  but  to  discover  and  appreciate  its 
literary  sources.  This  is  a  new  conception  of 
what  a  dictionary  of  the  Bible  should  be,  but  it  is 
an  intelligible  and  a  serviceable  conception.  It 
has  been  argued  that  such  a  service  is  best 
rendered  by  the  magazines  and  ephemeral  pam- 
phlets, there  being,  from  the  nature  of  the  case, 
no  stability  in  criticism  pure  and  simple.  But  it 
may  at  least  be  replied  that  it  is  of  much  import- 
ance to  see  criticism  at  work  over  the  whole  field 
of  the  Bible  at  once,  and  to  be  able  ta  refer  to  its 
position  at  a  given  date,  however  soon  we  may 
leave  that  position,  and  however  unlikely  it  may 
be  that  we  shall  return  to  it.  A  more  serious 
objection  has  been  made  that  criticism  has  never 
been  in  the  position  advocated  in  the  Encyclopadia 
Bibtica,  that  two  or  three  men,  selected  for  their 
skill  in  negatives,  have  been  chosen  to  air  their 
fancies,  rather  than  that  critical  scholarship  has 
been  reflected  over  the  whole.  That  objection 
may  possibly  be  met  by  the  claim  that  the  criticism 
represented  here  is  the  only  criticism  that  deserves 
the  name  of  scholarship,  the  wider  scholarship 
referred  to  being  weakened  by  ignorance  or  com- 

'  Eniytlepadia  Bihlka.  Edited  by  the  Rev,  T.  K.  Cheyne, 
D.LitL,  D.D,,  and  J.  SulherUnd  Black,  M.A.,  LI-D. 
Volnme  iii.,  L.  to  P.     A.  &  C.  Black. 


promise.  That  claim  may  not  be  admitted, 
but  the  editors,  whose  word  is  final  for  the 
book  they  edit,  are  within  their  right  if  they 
make  it. 

There  are  writers  in  this  volume,  as  in  the 
previous  volumes,  who  have  not  understood  the 
purpose  of  the  book,  and  their  work  will  be  most 
appreciated.  But  for  the  reviewer,  at  least,  the 
fascination  of  the  criticism  is  inesistible,  the  more 
irresistible  as  it  is  the  more  radical,  and  to  that  we 
must  turn. 

There  is  a  pr<^ress  in  criticism.  It  is  repre- 
sented in  this  order :  Professor  Cheyne,  Pro- 
fessor Schmiedel,  Professor  van  Manen. 

Professor  Cheyne's  initials  occur  as  frequently 
as  before.  And  it  is  certain  that  his  hand  is  to  be 
found  in  many  articles  under  which  his  initials  do 
not  appear.  For  now  there  is  a  test  by  which  Dr. 
Cheyne's  hand  can  be  discovered.  It  is  the 
occurrence  of  the  word  Jerahmtel.  For  reasons 
which  he  has  not  yet  divulged,  but  for  which  he 
refers  us  frequently  to  Critica  BibHca,  a  work  as 
yet  unpubUsbed,  Dr.  Cheyne  believes  that  a  vast 
number  of  proper  names,  both  of  places  and  of 
persons,  in  the  Old  Testament,  are  corruptions  of 
the  aamz /erahmeel.  He  would  therefore,  in  each 
instance,  restore  that  name,  and  in  most  cases  blot 
the  present  name  out  of  the  Bible.  To  give  some 
idea  of  the  enormous  number  of  names  which 
would  thus  be  removed,  and  of  the  immense  influ- 
ence of  the  Jerahmeelites  in  the  history  of  Israel, 
let  us  begin  with  the  first  word  of  the  present 
volume  and  go  through  some  pages.  The  follow- 
ing proper  names  are,  in  Dr.  Cheyne's  opinion, 
corruptions  of  the  name  Jerahmeel : — Laadah, 
Laban,  Ladan,  Lahad,  Lahai  -  roi,  Laish  (7), 
Laishah  (?),  Leah,  Lebbaeus,  Leb  -  karoai, 
Lebonah  (?),  Lecah,  Lehi,  Lemuel,  Leshem  (?}, 
Leummim,  Levi,  Libnah  (?),  Libni  (P),  Lo-ruhamah, 


4IO 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Lud,  Maacah,  Machi,  Machir,  Macbpelah,  Magdiel, 
Mahalalel,  Mahalath,  Mahlah,  Mahli,  Mahol, 
Makheloth,  Malchiel  (?),  Malchijah,  Malchiram, 
Malchi-shua,  Malluch,  MalluchJ,  Mamre,  Maon, 
Masrekah,  MatrJ. 

We  have  gone  far  enough  lo  reach  an  estimate 
of  the  whole  volume.  There  are  42  names  in  the 
above  list.  Between  Laadah  and  Matri,  95  Old 
Testament  names  are  dealt  with  altogether.  We 
thus  obtain  some  idea  of  the  proportion  of  Old 
Testament  names  which  Dr.  Cheyne  would  restore 
to  their  original  form  of  '  Jerahmeel,' 

In  this  respect  the  third  volume  is  an  advance 
upon  the  second,  and  a  still  greater  advance  upon 
the  first.  In  dealing  with  the  words  given  above, 
Dr.  Cheyne  incidentally  mentions  that  the  follow- 
ing names  are  also  corrupted  from  Jerahmeel : — 
Aram,  Amram,  Abram,  (Abraham),  Deborah,^ 
Ham,  Ariel,  Elam,  Abishalom,  Kemuel,  Azrilcam, 
Jerubbaal,  Hamor,  Elam,  Jehallelel,  Bela,  Balaam, 
Eliel,  Bahurim,  Hamul,  Kchelathah,  Hammelech, 
Harim,  (Beth)lehem,  Ammon,  Amaiek,  Hul.  Some 
of  those  words  occur  in  the  first  volume,  but  none 
of  them  are  there  traced  to  Jerahmeel,  while  of 
those  which  fall  within  the  second,  only  Kemuel, 
Jerubbaal,  Jehallelel,  Hamul,  and  Hammelech  are 
so  traced. 

Of  the  many  questions  which  Dr.  Cheyne 
solves  by  textual  reconstruction  one  may  be 
mentioned.  Melchizedek,  king  of  Salem,  is  spoken 
of  in  On  14  and  in  Ps  no.  In  Gn  14  "Melchi- 
zedek, king  of  Salem,'  says  Dr.  Cheyne,  '  is  surely 
a  late  editor's  attempt  to  make  sense  of  a  badly 
written  text';  and  he  thinks  that  'Melchizedek' 
is  a  corruption  of  meUk  ziklag,  'king  of  Ziglak,' 
while  Salem  is  a  transposition  of  Leshem.  '  Now 
Leshem  and  Ziklag,'  he  continues,  'are  both 
corruptions  of  Halusah,  It  was,  according  to  the 
first  narrator,  the  priest-king  of  the  sacred  city  of 
Halusah  who  came  out  to  meet  Abram,  and 
blessed  him,  and  to  whom  Abram  (the  hero  of 
the  Jerahmeelite  tribe)  paid  tithes,'  The  text  of 
Ps  no  is  also  probably  corrupt.  Instead  of 
'Thou  art  a  priest  for  ever  after  the  order  of 


Melchizedek,'  Dr.  Cheyne  would  read  '  I  establish 
thee  for  ever  because  of  my  covenant  of  loving- 
kindness.'  Thus  the  name  Melchizedek  goes  out 
of  the  Old  Testament,  and  the  use  made  of  it  in 
the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  is,  in  Dr.  Cheyne's 
words,  'mere  temporary  rhetoric' 

But  Professor  Schmiedel  is  more  critical  than 
Dr.  Cheyne.  It  may  be  that  it  is  more  keenly 
felt  when  the  subject  is  the  New  Testament.  In 
his  long  article  on  Ministry,  he  touches  on  the 
gift  of  tongues  at  Pentecost.  He  denies  the  gift, 
and  he  denies  that,  whatever  occurred,  it  occurred 
at  Pentecost.  His  reasons  are  two.  First,  Pentecost 
is  the  feast  of  the  giving  of  the  Law  at  Sinai ;  but 
the  giving  of  the  Law  at  Sinai  is  described  by  Philo 
'in  terms  quite  similar  to  those  used  in  the 
description  of  the  miracle  in  Acts.'  The  narrative 
and  the  date  were  therefore  probably  derived  from 
Philo.  Second,  our  Lord's  disciples  were  not  in 
Jerusalem  at  that  time.  After  His  departure  they 
betook  themselves  to  Galilee,  and  'it  would  have 
been  very  singular  if  they  had,  within  a  few  weeks, 
again  left  house  and  home  for  a  place  where  the 
greatest  danger  threatened  them  without  any, 
apparent  motive  or  necessity  for  such  a  migration.' 
That  they  established  themselves  in  Jerusalem, 
rests  only  on  the  presupposition  of  Luke, '  which 
cannot  be  accepted.' 

Most  critical  of  all,  however,  is  Professor  van 
Manen,  Professor  Schmiedel  accepts  some  of  the 
Pauline  Epistles,  not  only  the  four  great  Epistles — 
Romans,  i  and  2  Corinthians,  Galatians, — but  also 
Fhilippians  and  i  Thessalonians.  But  Professor 
van  Manen  rejects  them  all.  '  We  possess,'  says 
Dr.  van  Manen  shortly,  'no  epistles  of  Paul, 
the  writings  which  bear  his  name  are  pseud- 
epigraph  a.' 

Much  as  the  Encyclopadia  BibUca  is  occupied, 
and  deliberately  occupied  with  criticism,  it  is 
impossible  to  say  that  its  strength  lies  in  thaL 
Rather  does  it  lie  in  the  articles  on  antiquities  and 
geography  and  the  like,  which  do  actually  reflect 
the  scholarship  of  to-day,  and  will  not  soon  be 
out  of  date. 


jyGoot^Ie 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


THE  BOOKS  OF  THE  MONTH, 


THE  APOSTLES'  CREED.i 
All  Professor  McGifierfs  work  is  his  own 
research  and  thought,  and  it  is  all  expressed  in 
refined  expressive  English.  But  the  new  book 
which  he  has  published  on  the  Apostles'  Creed 
seems  to  surpass  his  previous  work  in  both 
respects.  It  is  the  kind  of  book,  rare  enough  in 
these  days,  which  compels  one  to  read,  whether 
one  ia  interested  in  its  subject  or  not  To  find 
oneself  in  close  contact  with  an  original  thinker  is 
always  refreshing,  so  many  still  are  the  scribes  who 
do  not  speak  with  authority,  and  yet  persist  in 
writing  books. 

Dr.  McGiffcrt  has  mastered  the  literature  of  the 
subject  up  to  the  issue  of  Kattenbusch's  latest 
volume,  He  has  not  made  the  mastery  of  the 
literature,  however,  a  sufficient  reason  for  writing. 
Leaving  the  literature,  he  has  studied  the  references 
to  the  Apostles'  Creed  in  the  early  Church  for 
,  himself,  and  endeavoured  to  feel  the  atmosphere  in 
which  the  Creed  or  rather  its  nucleus,  the  Old 
Roman  Symbol,  arose.  His  conclusions,  thus 
independently  obtained,  he  has  expressed  in  a 
lecture,  and  then  tn  a  series  of  notes  he  has  given 
the  reasons  for  his  conclusions.  His  book  is 
perhaps  the  easiest  introduction  to  the  Creeds 
which  we  possess,  and  yet  it  has  to  be  reckoned 
with — answered  or  accepted — by  the  ripest  creedal 
scholarship. 

It  is  enough  to  mention  some  of  Dr.  McGiffert's 
points.  He  believes  that  there  is  no  reference  of 
any  kind  to  the  Old  Roman  Symbol  earlier  than 
Irensus  and  TertuUian.  He  believes  that  the 
Symbol  originated  at  Rome  between  150  and 
175  A.D.  He  believes  that  the  reason  why  it  is 
all  belief  and  no  conduct  is  that  it  is  drawn  up 
deliberately  to  meet  certain  heresies,  especially 
those  of  Marcion.  He  believes  therefore  that  the 
word  '  Father'  in  the  opening  statement  does  not 
express  what  we  understand  by  the  Fatherhood  of 
God,  but  that,  in  answer  to  Marcion's  denial  that 
the  God  of  Christians  was  the  God  of  Jesus,  the 
God  who  m^de  the  world,  it  expresses  the  belief 
that  the  Almighty  God  whose  Son  is  Jesus  Christ, 
is  the  Father  of  the  Universe. 

'  The  Apesttes'  Creed,  its  Origin,  its  Purpose,  and  its 
Hislorical iHttrprtlatUm.  By  A.  C.  McGiffert,  Ph.D.,  D.D. 
T,  &  T.  Clark. 


VISION  AND  AUTHORITY.* 

Mr.  Oman  is  out  in  search  of  authority  in  religion. 
Things  have  been  so  much  shaken  of  late.  There 
are  things  that  remain,  there  must  be  always,  but 
what  are  they,  what  are  they  to-day? 

One  thing  is  secured  very  early;  God  is  truth. 
Things  that  are  untrue,  unreal,  insincere  are  not 
God's  things;  they  are  opposed  to  God  and  God  to 
them.  God  is  truth  and  on  the  side  of  truth.  It 
is  a  great  thing  to  secure,  to  secure  it  early  is  to 
make  sure  of  everything  ere  the  end  comes.  It 
cost  the  discipline  of  the  Wilderness,  the  Canaanite 
thorn  in  the  Land  of  Promise,  Solomon,  and  even 
the  Captivity,  to  secure  it  for  Israel  and  for  the 
world.  It  was  secured  in  Christ.  Israel  and  the 
world  were  ready  for  it,  but  Christ  brought  it  to 
light  along  with  life  and  immortality. 

The  next  thing  secured  is  that  truth  and  the 
certainty  of  it,  that  is  to  say  authority  in  religion, 
is  a  visioa  It  is  revelation,  and  it  is  made  to 
every  man  who  opens  the  eye  of  his  soul  to  receive 
it.  God  is  the  giver,  man  is  the  receiver.  And 
it  is  a  vision  granted  to  the  individual.  Every 
separate  soul  has  the  eye  that  opens  or  the  re- 
sponsibility. No  one  can  be  authority  for  another, 
no  body  of  men,  however  accredited,  can  be 
authority  for  even  one  single  person.  Not  even 
Christ  said  Believe  Me,  but  Believe  the  truth  In 
Me,  believe  Me  in  so  far  as  the  truth  in  Me  reaches 
the  eye  of  your  souL  The  open  eye  sees  that  He 
and  the  Truth  are  one,  and  believes  Him  for  the 
truth's  sake,  but  He  never  asked  and  never  would 
have  obedience  in  disregard  of  the  Truth. 

It  follows  strongly  that  there  is  no  infallible 
Church  and  no  infallible  outside  Scripture  to  lean 
upon.  If  the  Church  is  infallible,  she  must  show 
it  by  correspondence  with  the  Truth,  and  she  will 
be  obeyed  in  proportion  as  she  and  the  Truth  are 
one.  And  so  also  with  the  Scriptures.  '  Because 
the  Bible  tells  me  so'?  No,  but  because  the 
Bible  and  the  vision  correspond  and  in  so  far  as 
they  do  correspond. 

But  the  vision  is  not  for  the  individual  to  receive 
and  secrete.  The  individual  stands  among  his 
fellows.  He  gives  and  receives.  He  corrects  and 
is  corrected.     He  recognizes  the  accumulation  of 

»  Vision  and  Authority.  By  John  Oman,  M.A.,  B.D. 
Hoddcr  &  Stousbton. 


412 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


individual  experience  in  Scripture  and  in  Church. 
He  receives  more  than  he  gives.  But  still  it  is 
only  that  which  he  receives  as  truth,  making  itself 
light  to  touch  the  inward  eye,  that  becomes 
authoritative  to  him.  He  receives  that  which  he 
is  able  to  receive.  And  he  gives  forth  that  which 
others  with  their  inward  eye  can  recognize  as  truth 
in  him.  Does  the  Church  say,  '  I  am  infallible, 
believe  that  David  wrote  the  iioth  Psalm'?  He 
says.  No,  that  is  not  of  the  Vision  till  it  has 
been  veniied.  I  could  not  believe  it  if  Jesus 
should  bid  me  (which  I  know  He  never  would), 
so  long  as  the  evidence  appears  to  me  to  be 
.  against  it. 

Those  are  not  Mr.  Oman's  words,  but  that  is 
Mr.  Oman's  argument  It  is  pressed  forward  step 
by  step  throughout  a  full  large  book,  a  book  that 
will  make  a  name  for  its  author. 


THE  EVOLUTION  OF  THE  ENGLISH 
BIBLE.i 

Nothing  seems  easier  than  to  write  the  story  of 
the  English  Bible.  The  story  is  so  romantic,  and 
the  materials  are  so  accessible.  Yet  few  things 
are  really  more  difficult  For  besides  the  difficulty 
of  excluding  the  personal  prepossession,  Catholic 
on  the  one  side,  Protestant  on  the  other,  the  force 
of  which  may  be  seen  by  comparing  Eadie  with 
Dore,  there  are  questions  that  need  extremely 
delicate  balancing,  and  even  paths  that  lead  into 
impenetrable  and  bafHing  darkness.  But  in  all 
literary  work  we  must  be  satisfied  with  less  than 
perfection.  Mr.  Hoare  has  not  attempted  to 
penetrate  the  darkness,  but  he  has  a  good  judgment 
and  be  is  as  free  as  any  man  from  disqualifying 
prepossession.  He  has  written  deliberately  for 
those  who  know  nothing  of  the  subject  When 
he  wrote  first  he  had  something  to  learn  about  the 
subject  himself.  But  his  second  edition,  which  is 
before  us,  has  corrected  the  slips  of  the  Arst.  It  is 
altogether  worthier  and  weightier.  Even  yet  Mr. 
Hoare  resolutely  keeps  the  uninitiated  in  mind, 
and  leaves  the  problems  alone.  For  the  great 
multitude  who  love  the  English  Bible  he  writes, 
and  he  gives  them  excellent  reasons  for  loving  it 
yet  more.  It  is  a  story  of  the  most  real  heroism, 
and  it  loses  none  of  its  glory  in  Mr.  Hoare's  hands. 
He  has  given  most  attention  to  Wyclif  and  his 


work,  which  is  well,  for  there  is  much  misunder- 
standing of  Wyclif  and  his  work  abroad  at  present 
The  very  best  part  of  the  book,  in  our  opinion,  is 
the  description  of  the  evolution  of  the  language  in 
which  Wyclif  and  his  successors  wrote.  This  is  a 
chapter  in  the  history  of  the  English  language  of 
independent  and  real  worth. 

THE  CROWN  OF  SCIENCE.' 
'  The  large  instinct  of  Man  is  what  we  call 
Inspiration.  It  is  the  possession  of  gifted  minds. 
.  .  .  Each  man  of  Inspiration  has  some  comer  of 
his  intelligence  which  lets  in  a  flood  of  Omni- 
science, and  according  to  the  part  of  him  which  is 
illuminated,  he  is  a  poet,  or  artist,  or  prophet  .  .  .' 
This  quotation  from  a  chapter  in  The  Crown  of 
Scitnce  indicates  the  attitude  of  mind  which  is 
necessary  on  the  part  of  a  reader  who  would  get 
the  help  and  suggestion  contained  in  this  remark- 
able work.  It  is  a  book  of  natural  law  in  the 
spiritual  world,  but  its  power  lies  not  in  the 
accuracy  of  its  analogies  between  natural  and 
spiritual  evolution,  but  in  the  Inspiration  or  Vision 
which  enables  the  author  to  see  in  the  Coming  of 
Christ  and  the  Advent  of  the  World-Birth  the 
complement  and  crown  of  physical  life.  It  is  the 
work  of  a  Christian  believer,  but  not  of  one  who 
feels  that  he  can  only  keep  his  faith  by  squaring  it 
with  the  discoveries  of  science.  It  is  the  message 
of  one  to  whom  the  spiritual  development  of  man 
is  the  inevitable  culmination  of  physical  laws  which 
were  founded  with  this  culmination  in  view,  one  to 
whom  the  spiritual  is  an  integral  and  indispensable 
part  of  human  life.  The  intensely  spiritual  quality 
of  the  book  invests  its  dicta,  to  the  recepdve  mind, 
with  an  impressiveness  and  an  authority  independ- 
ent of  the  Btarding  analogies  between  natural  and 
spiritual  laws  which  the  author  discovers  in  the 
latest  findings  of  biological  science.  The  reader 
of  The  Crown  of  Science  has  no  uneasy  sense  of 
straining  an  analogy,  or  of  intellectual  juggling  on 
the  part  of  the  author.  As  we  have  hinted,  it 
presupposes  on  the  part  of  the  reader  a  measure  of 
faith ;  the  faith  of  a  believer  in  Jesus  Christ  and 
the  essentials  of  the  Christian  religion.  Its  design 
is  not  to  make  believers  by  showing  analogies 
between  the  Christian  religion  and  natural  law, 
but  to  strengthen  the  faith  of  believers  by  de- 
'  Tht  Cnmin  ef  Scienct,     By  A.  Morris  Stewart,   M.A. 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


413 


monstraiing  that  Christ  and  the  New  Biiih  are 
sequential  events  in  the  progress  of  evolution. 

A  book  like  this,  to  make  a  successful  appeal  to 
the  modem  mind,  must  show  an  intimate  acquaint- 
ance with  the  latest  results  of  biological  research 
and  the  investigations  of  psychology.  In  this 
connexion  the  author  displays  the  intimate  know- 
ledge of  the  scientific  student  no  less  markedly 
than  in  other  relations  he  discovers  himself  chiefly 
as  a  man  of  spiritual  insight  The  result  is,  that 
the  reader  who  might  dismiss  some  of  the  author's 
conclusions  as  the  visions  of  a  religious  enthusiast,  | 
finds  his  attention  compelled,  and  later  his  reason 
led  captive,  by  the  theory  which  sees  in  the  Chris- 
tian religion  the  self-preservative  final  stage  of 
human  life,  and  Christ  the  flower  and  completion  1 
of  natural  evolution.  I 

The  literary  style  of  the  book  is  no  less  dis- 
tinctive than  its  thought,  and  it  suggests  that  for 
the  most  part  the  work  has  been  written  at  white 
heat  There  is  no  attempt  at  phrase-making,  and 
yet  there  is  the  instinctive  use  of  the  right  word 
which  only  happens  in  moments  of  intense  con- 
viction or  inspiration.  Every  word  means  some- 
thing, every  phrase  tells ;  there  is  no  redundancy 
and  no  prolixity.  Hence  although  there  are 
fifteen  '  Studies '  in  the  book,  the  whole  runs  to 
tittle  more  than  zoo  pages.  Compact  of  thought 
and  expression,  it  is  absorbing  in  its  interest ;  to 
sit  down  to  read  the  first  'Study'  is  to  be  held 
until  the  last  chapter  has  been  covered,  and  to 
read  the  book  once  is  to  read  it  again.  The 
present  writer  has  read  it  twice  carefully,  and  felt 
the  pulse  of  its  thought  and  the  momentum  of  its  j 
style  as  much  on  the  second  reading  as  on  the 
first  ' 

Of  late  years  there  has  been  a  growing  feeling 
that  a  restatement  of  the  Christian  faith  is  the 
most  urgent  need  of  our  times.  In  Mr.  Morris 
Stewart's  book  this  work  of  restatement  is, 
apparently  without  design,  begun.  It  is  an  en- 
couraging sign,  that  the  first  essay  in  this  important 
direction  by  a  modem  scientific  mind  should  be 
unmistakably  in  favour  of  the  essential  truth  of 
the  Christian  faith.     

OXFORD  UNIVERSITY  SERMONS. 
Edited  by  U.  J.  M.  Bebb,  M.A.  (George  Allen). 
— '  This  is  no  ordinary  volume  of  sermons.'  The 
phrase  is  much  abused,  but  the  most  abused 
phrase  will  be  applicable  sometimes.     Out  of,  we 


know  not  how  many,  sermons  preached  before 
the  University  of  Oxford — and  do  they  not  preach 
their  best  who  preach  before  a  University? — Mr. 
Bebb  has  made  his  choice.  Once  or  twice  the 
suspicion  crosses  one  that  Mr.  Bebb  has  con- 
sidered the  preacher  and  not  the  sermon.  But 
that  is  rarely,  and  it  is  never  more  than  a  sus- 
picion. Almost  every  one  of  the  sermons  is  great 
enough  for  so  great  an  occasion.  Some  of  the 
authors  are  reckoned  among  the  greatest  preachers 
in  the  land.  Bishop  Gore  is  here  more  than  once. 
Bishop  Ingram  also,  Bishop  Fercival,  Canon 
Ainger,  Professor  Lock,  Mr.  Beeching.  To  take 
the  last-named  first,  Mr.  Beeching  has  a  fine  exe- 
getical  sermon  on  'Mercy  and  Truth.'  In  a 
sermon  on  'Gehazi,'  Dr.  Merry,  the  Rector  of 
Lincoln  College,  looks  upon  that  Old  Testament 
'liar'  as  the  successor-designate  of  the  prophet, 
and  therefore  a  sinner  against  brighter  light  than 
he  is  usually  counted  to  have  been.  Professor 
Lock  begins  a  sermon  on  'Intercessory  Prayer'  in 
this  way :  '  Not  long  ago  the  principal  of  a 
theological  college,  who  was  accustomed  to 
receive  university  graduates  as  his  students,  was 
asked  the  question,  What  would  you  roost  like 
done  for  your  students  while  at  the  universities? 
How  could  they  be  best  prepared  while  there? 
The  answer  was,  I  think  the  chief  thing  they  want 
is  to  be  taught  how  to  pray.' 

THE  CHALLENGE  TO  CHRISTIAN  MIS- 
SIONS. By  R.  E.  Welsh,  M.A.  {AlUnson)— 
It  seems  that  there  are  people  in  the  world  who 
'do  not  believe  in  foreign  missions.'  Mr,  Welsh 
deals  with  those  people  here.  He  takes  them 
seriously.  He  offers  reasons  on  behalf  of  foreign 
missions,  he  pleads  for  time.  His  book  mns  the 
risk  of  all  apologetic  work,  the  risk  of  suggesting 
doubt  where  no  doubt  was  before.  But  he  is 
right  to  encounter  that  risk  if  he  thinks  that  there 
are  many  persons  who  do  not  believe  in  missions 
and  are  likely  to  listen  to  arguments.  He  has  a 
good  case,  and  he  makes  a  good  deal  of  it,  though 
his  concern  for  the  tender  conscience  of  those 
who  do  not  believe  in  missions  holds  his  hand 
now  and  then. 

THE  EMPHASISED  BIBLE.  Vol.  IL  I. 
SAMUEL  TO  PSALMS.  By  J.  B.  Rotherham. 
(AHenson). — If  we  would  believein  themere  reading 
of  the  Word  more  than  we  do,  we  should  give  more 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


pains  to  read  it  well  How  rarely  do  we  hear  a 
reader  who  reveals  the  meaning  of  every  sentence, 
gives  evei^  sentence  its  place  in  the  narrative, 
and  hides  himself.  How  great  is  the  profit 
when  we  do.  Mr.  Rotherham  is  translating  the 
Bible  anew,  and  translating  it  well.  But  the 
chief  purpose  of  his  great  task  is  to  enable  us 
to  read  the  Bible,  He  sets  it  forth  with  every 
conceivable  device  for  guiding  us  to  the  right 
meaning  and  the  right  emphasis.  His  marks 
once  mastered,  a  little  practice  in  reading  his  text 
will  do  more  to  give  us  facility  in  reading,  and 
more  to  give  our  hearers  pleasure  in  listening, 
than  many  lessons  of  a  master  in  elocution.  May 
he  see  his  work  completed.  The  end  is  not  far 
off  now.  

THE  CHURCH  AND  ITS  SOCIAL  MIS- 
SION. By  John  Marshall  Lang,  D.D.  {Black- 
wood).— Principal  Marshall  Lang  made  a  wise 
statesmanlike  choice  when  he  chose  (he  Social 
Mission  of  the  Church  for  his  Baird  Lectures.  It 
is  only  now  that  this  subject  is  coming  to  its  own. 
No  doubt  the  relation  of  the  individual  to  the 
Church  comes  first,  and  bad  to  be  first  dealt  with 
by  the  modern  Church.  But  the  Church  is  a  social 
organism,  and  has  social  duties  to  perform.  How 
imperative  they  are  and  how  beneficent  we  are 
now  beginning  to  Realize.  Dr.  Marshall  Lang  has 
treated  the  subject  historically.  But  he  has  given 
his  strength  and  the  best  half  of  his  book  to  the 
modem  problem,  He  has  studied  the  subject, 
and  he  has  definite  opinions  about  it.  He  does 
not  denounce  all  secular  schemes  of  social  pro- 
gress, but  he  believes  that  the  only  permanent 
progress  will  come  alongside  the  life  of  the  Church. 
And  then  he  pleads  with  the  Church  not  to  let  the 
occasion  pass,  for  he  does  not  doubt  that  she  was 
called  to  the  kingdom  for  just  such  a  time  as 
this.  

TEXTS  AND  STUDIES:  CODEX  I.  OF  THE 
GOSPELS  AND  ITS  ALLIES  By  Kirsopp  Lake, 
M..\.  (Cambridge:  Al the  University Fress). — When 
the  great  debate  about  the  text  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment is  on  us — it  will  be  on  us  as  soon  as  Pro- 
fessor von  Soden  publishes  his  book, — Mr.  Kirsopp 
Lake  will  be  ready  for  his  share  in  it  He  has 
prepared  himself  by  slow  careful  collation  end 
comparison  of  MSS,  such  as  this  volume  con-  1 
lains.      The  volume    contains    the    text  of  the  | 


Gospels  according  to  Codex  r,  together  with  an 

apparatus  eritiaa  showing  the  variations  of  the 

other  MSS  of  the  same  group,  118,  131,  309,  and 

of  the  TextuB  Receptus.     It  also  contains  an 

exemplary  introduction,  which  traces  the  history 

and  relationship  of  that  famous  group  of  MSS. 

Mr.  Lake  distinguishes  the  group  by/im>,  as  he 

does  the  other  which  is  headed  by  13  as/ow". 

'  That  noMtion  should  be  adopted,  it  is  convenient 

I  and  explanatory.     As  foi  the  group  fan^   Mr. 

I  Lake  argues,  amongst  other  things,  that  i,  118, 

I  131,  309  have  a  common  ancestor  W;  and  that 

'.  either  118,  209  have  a  common  archetype  X,  or 

I  118  is  a  copy  of  309.    The  book  is  a  character- 

I  iscic  addition  to  the  Texts  and  Studies,  it  is  also  a 

'  real  contribution  to  the  textual  criticism  of  the 

I  New  Testament.         

A  METHOD  OF  PRAYER.  By  Madame 
Guyon,  Edited  by  Dugald  Macfadyen,  M.A. 
(Clarke). — 'In  every  generation,'  says  Mr.  Mac- 
fadyen, '  there  are  a  certain  number  of  predestined 
readers  of  this  treatise  of  Madame  Guyon's, — 
happy  the  generation  which  has  many  such ! ' 
On  which  we  remark  that  the  number  depends  on 
such  circumstances  as  good  encouragement  and 
a  good  translation.  This  generation  is  blessed 
with  both.  We  have  been  of  late  much  en- 
couraged to  cast  aside  our  prejudice  against  the 
word  '  mysticism '  and  endeavour  to  see  it  as  it  ts ; 
and  now  we  have  the  best  translation  ever  made 
of  this  most  characteristic  product  of  the  mystic 
mind.  Mr.  Macfadyen  translates  with  sympathy, 
but  he  does  more  than  translate.  He  gives  intro- 
duction and  notes — elementary,  intelligible,  per- 
suasive notes.  His  edition  of  the  Method  of 
Prayer  is  an  introduction  to  the  study  of  mysti- 
cism. If  there  are  many  predestined  readers,  it  is 
through  his  work  that  the  predestination  will  reach 
its  elect.  

RECREATIONS  AND  REFLECTIONS 
{Dent). — What  made  the  reputation  of  the  Satur- 
day Meviewl  Its  unconnected,  unclassified,  about 
anything  you  like,  articles.  What  does  this  book 
contain  ?  Fifty  of  the  best  of  them.  And  the 
charm  that  was  theirs  in  the  Saturday  Review 
clings  to  them  here.  These  essays  add  nothing 
to  our  scientific  accumulation.  They  do  nothing 
for  history  or  even  psychology.  They  simply  add 
a  zest  to  life,  a  flavour  to  the  food  we  must  find 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


415 


somewhere  else.  They  are  all  perfume  and  no 
flower.  As  perfume,  however,  their  variety  is 
considerable,  though  most  are  of  the  pungent 
peaetratiag  sort,  not  sweet  violets  often,  not  often 
musk  roses.  What  are  the  subjects?  It  really 
does  not  matter,  but  here  are  some  of  them: 
'The  Goodly  Company  of  Duffers,'  by  Arthur 
A.  Baumann;  'Savonarola'  and  'Zwinglius,'  by 
Canon  Henson ;  '  Fashions  in  the  Virtues,'  by 
Armine  T.  Kent ;  '  Quotability,"  by  Stephen 
Gwynn.  

RELIGIONS  OF  BIBLE  LANDS.  By  D.  S. 
Mai^oliouth,  M.A.  {Hoddtr  &'  StougUimy—tio 
man,  not  even  Professor  Margoliouth,  could  give 
more  than  a  sketch  of  the  religions  of  the  lands 
of  the  Bible  within  this  space.  Few  men,  however, 
would  have  made  the  sketch  so  vivid  and  accurate. 
The  longest  chapter  treats  of  Semitic  religions. 
Then  the  religion  of  Egypt  and  the  religion  of 
Persia  are  handled  separately. 

THE  SACRAMENT  OF  PAIN.  By  John 
Morgan  {Hodder  &•  Stougklon). — This  sUiking 
title  is  further  explained  by  the  words  'A  Book  of 
Consolation,'  Now  there  are  few  things  harder  to 
do  than  to  write  a  book  of  consolation.  Mr. 
Morgan  recognizes  the  difBculty.  He  has  dis- 
covered that  it  is  difficult  to  speak  even  a  few 
words  of  consolation  that  really  console.  So  he 
starts  out  with  that  first  requisite,  a  conception 
of  the  magnitude  of  his  task.  His  next  step  is 
still  wiser.  He  tums  to  the  Bible.  There  is  no 
consolation  outside  the  Bible.  Whatever  else  the 
Bible  has,  it  has  that  and  the  whole  of  it  To 
make  the  Bible  speak  naturally  and  appropriately, 
there  is  no  way  of  consoling  like  that.  Mr. 
Morgan  uses  the  Bible  by  selecting  sufferers  that 
are  in  it  and  showing  how  they  suffered  and  over- 
came. He  gives  nearly  all  his  attention  to  two 
examples.  The  first  is  the  woman  with  the  issue 
of  blood.  It  is  a  wonderful  study  in  its  combina- 
tion of  delicacy  and  penetration.  The  other 
example  is  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  woman 
is  an  example  of  one  who  was  comforted.  Christ 
was  comforted  that  He  might  become  the  only 
Comforter.  For  if  there  is  no  salvation  in  any 
other,  neither  is  there  any  comfort  of  the  spirit. 

THE  GLORY  AND  JOY  OF  THE  RESUR- 
RECTION.    By  James  Paton,  D.D.  (ffodder  &- 


Stoughton). — Dr.  Paton's  definite  object  in  this 
book  is  to  trace  the  references  to  the  Resurrection 
of  Christ  throughout  the  books  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment He  does  it  uncritically  (using  the  word  in 
its  technical  sense),  for  he  has  no  interest  in  the 
cooking  and  carving  which  Germans  delight  in, 
but  with  the  books  as  they  sUnd  he  does  it 
thoroughly.  His  volume  is  thus  a  convenient 
summary  of  all  that  the  New  Testament  tells  us 
of  the  fact  and  the  value  of  the  Resurrection. 
Such  work  is  welcome  always  and  abide*. 

THE  SPIRITUAL  MIND.  By  Robert  Henry 
Roberts,  B.A.  {Hodder  is-  St6ughton).—1\Ai  is  a 
great  book  in  spite  of  defects  of  arrangement  and 
lack  of  finish.  It  well  deserved  to  be  published. 
It  is  a  persistent,  even  a  magnificent  plea,  for  the 
presence  of  the  Spirit  in  the  Church  of  Christ,  the 
test  and  the  power  of  the  Church,  against  all  ex- 
ternal organizations  and  superstitious  ceremonies. 
The  late  Principal  of  Regent's  Park  College  must 
have  felt  this  to  be  the  great  need  of  our  time. 
He  shows  it  has  been  the  great  need  of  all  time 
since  the  morning  of  the  pentecostal  gift.  He 
traces  the  presence  of  the  Spirit  in  the  Church, 
and  shows  it  to  be  blessing  throughout  the  cen- 
turies of  its  existence ;  or  he  detects  its  absence, 
and  deplores  the  loss  and  barrenness  that  ensue. 
It  is  a  history  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  written 
regardless  of  the  petty  incidents  and  heedless  of 
the  busybodies  which  are  usually  understood  to 
be  the  Church  and  to  have  made  its  history.  It 
is  a  history  regardful  of  the  one  great  fact,  the 
presence  or  absence  of  that  Spirit  of  God  whose 
history  in  relation  to  the  Church  is  really  the 
history  of  the  Church. 

AFTER  THE  RESURRECTION.  By  the 
Rev.  Alexander  Maclaren,  D.D.  (Hodder  6* 
Stoughton). — The  first  ten  sermons  treat  of  the 
events  which  lay  between  the  Resurrection  and  the 
Ascension.  The  eleventh  appropriately  explains 
what  it  is  to  be  '  risen  with  Christ.'  After  that 
the  topics  are  general.  But  all  through  the  book 
it  is  Dr.  Maclaren  that  we  have,  and  it  really 
matters  little  what  his  subject  is,  or  whether  his 
texts  are  consecutive  or  disconnected.  He  is 
himself  in  every  one  of  them,  with  his  threefold 
division  and  his  thrilling  illustration.  We  wonder 
that  the  division  into  three  should  still  be  tolerable. 
It  is  Dr.  Maclaren  that  keeps  it  alive,  and  in  his 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


hands  it  seems  to  be  the  only  really  living  and 
impressive  form  of  preaching. 

THE  CITY  TEMPLE  PULPIT.  Vol.  VI.  By 
the  Rev.  Joseph  Parker,  D.D.  {Hodder  6-  Stough- 
ton). — The  impression  is  abroad  that  it  is  no  use 
reading  Dr.  Parker's  sermons,  their  power  lies  in 
their  utterance.  Out  of  the  spealcer's  mouth  they 
come  with  power,  but  on  the  printed  page  they 
are  commonplace.  It  is  a  great  mistake.  Dr. 
Parker  cannot  be  judged  by  the  standard  of 
ordinary  eloquent  and  extemporaneous  speakers. 
His  sermons  are  full  of  thought.  The  thought  is 
expressed  in  memorable  language.  The  printed 
page  is  almost  as  movingly  eloquent  as  the  spoken 
word.  And  the  latest  printed  page  is  as  full  of 
thought  and  fitting  expression  as  the  earliest. 
This  sixth  volume  is  both  an  intellectual  and  a 
spiritual  feast.  

THE  GREAT  SAINTS  OF  THE  BIBLE. 
By  L.  A.  Banks,  D.D.  {Kelly).  —  If  Talmagism 
died  with  Dr.  Talmage,  it  has  something  like  a 
resurrection  in  Dr.  Banks.  The  first  thing  that 
catches  the  eye  is  the  titles  of  the  sermons :  'The 
Second  Violin,'  '  Mrs.  Achsah  Othniel's  Wedding 
Present,'  '  The  Shepherd  who  whipped  Champion 
Brute,' — these  are  some  of  them.  The  next  thing 
is  the  intense  modem  and  even  American  atmo- 
sphere. Thus  '  Isaac  was  nervous  and  could  not 
rest.  Put  youreelf  in  His  place  and  see  if  you  do 
not  sympathize  with  him.  Abraham,  no  doubt, 
had  talked  the  matter  all  over  with  Isaac  before 
Eliezer  was  sent  on  his  embassage  to  select  a  wife 
for  him.  Isaac  could  only  bear  his  uncertainty 
and  wait,  for  there  was  no  telegraph  by  which 
Eliezer  could  send  him  a  despatch,  announcing  I 
his  success.  There  was  no  long-distance  telephone 
to  Mesopotamia  by  which  he  could  call  him  up  in 
the  Arab  tent'  Then  Dr.  Banks  '  spiritualizes '  i 
the  incident,  and  that  is  most  startling  of  all. 

THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE  ENCYCLOPEDIA. 
Edited  by  the  Rev.  C.  Randall   Barnes,  A.B., 
A.M.,  D.D.  {Kelly).— ThK  is  the  fullest  of  all  the 
small  Bible  dictionaries  we  have  yet  received.     It  ' 
contains  the  antiquities,  the  geography,  history,   i 
archaeology,  even  the  theology  and  the  Old  English   ' 
words.     Its  articles  are  well  expressed  and  fairly   i 
up  to  date.     Its  illustrations  are  numerous  and 
apt.    One  grudges  space  for  quotation,  whether  ! 


from  Kitto  or  Edersheim,  better  always  to  refer 
us  to  those  books,  most  of  us  have  them  nowi 
One  feels  also  the  touch  of  the  dead  hand  through- 
out. The  editions  referred  to  are  often  old  and 
out  of  date,  the  very  men  so  freely  quoted  are  no 
longer  our  supreme  authority.  But  the  book  is 
full  and  good.  With  a  little  discretion  and  the 
infusion  of  a  little  fresh  air,  it  will  serve  the 
teacher's  purpose  very  well, 

CHRIST  THE  INDWELLER.  By  John 
Thomas  Jacob  {Macmillan). — We  have  all  had  our 
intellectual  discoveries.  Happy  are  we  if  they 
have  been  so  mighty  in  themselves,  so  influential 
with  us,  as  the  discovery  which  Mr,  Jacob  has 
made  and  here  sets  forth.  It  is  the  discovery  that 
the  Incarnation  was  not  accomplished  rgoo  years 
ago,  but  that  it  takes  place  in  every  human  life 
that  opens  to  its  reception.  '  As  many  as  receive 
Him '  to  them  He  still  comes  to  be  '  Christ  in 
them  the  hope  of  glory.'  And  this  individual 
incarnation  rules  thereafter  every  act  and  every 
emotion  of  life.  Nor  does  it  separate  &  man  from 
his  fellows.  Rather  is  it  the  great  uniter.  When 
Christ  dwells  in  the  heart  by  faith,  then  does  the 
heart  feel  the  strength  of  the  communion  of  saints, 
receive  the  good  of  the  Sacraments,  and  in  love 
obey  the  Church.  Mr.  Jacob  carries  his  great 
thought  right  on  through  all  the  experiences  of 
life.  Christ  in  us  is  a  perpetual  song,  a  perpetual 
song  of  victory  and  of  peace.  Read  this  book. 
It  may  give  you  the  greatest  gift  on  earth.  If  you 
have  the  gift  already,  it  may  help  you  to  use  it  in  all 
the  way  in  which  you  have  to  go,  and  so  make  life, 
death,  and  that  vast  forever  one  grand  sweet  song. 

A  PRIMER  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  RE- 
LIGION. By  G.  H.  Gilbert,  Ph.D.,  D.D.  {Mat- 
millan). — It  is  in  the  form  of  a  Catechism,  made 
distinctive  among  catechisms,  first  for  simplicit)'  of 
doctrine,nextfor beautyofworkmanship.  The  one 
is  due  to  the  author,  the  other  to  the  publisher.  The 
Catechism  contains  eighty-five  questions ;  the  ques- 
tions are  divided  amongst  eight  separate  subjects. 
The  subjects  are  Jesus,  God,  The  Spirit,  The  King- 
dom of  God,  Following  Jesus,  The  Bible,  Sunday, 
and  The  Hereafter,  Take  question  33  as  an 
example:  'Wherein  does  the  Fatherhood  of  God 
consist  1- — Jesus  teaches  that  God  is  our  Father 
because  He  loves  us  (Mt  5"-",  Lk  ij",  Jnj"). 
Note. — We  might  call  God  our  Father  because  He 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


417 


made  us,  or  because  He  rules  over  us,  but  that  is 
not  the  usage  of  the  Gospels.  The  name  "  Father " 
is  there  used  to  suggest  the  character  of  God,  what 
He  (V  in  Himself.  And  the  burden  of  its  meaning, 
as  the  words  and  life  of  Jesus  clearly  show,  is  love," 
It  is  a  highly  interesting  book,  but  the  wonder  of 
it  is  how  Dr.  Gilbert  can  place  Jesus  so  high  and 
not  place  Him  higher. 

Ttach  Us  lo  Pray  is  the  title  of  a  little  book, 
useful  and  beautiful,  which  Lucy  A.  Bennett  has 
written  for  the  beneiit  of  girlsi  and  which  Messrs. 
Marshall  Brothers  have  published. 

DIVINE  DUAL  GOVERNMENT.  By  W. 
Woods  Smyth  {Horace  MarsAaii).^T\i\s  is  a  new 
edition.  It  is  revised,  enlarged,  and  illustTaled. 
It  is  altogether  a  much  better  and  much  more 
attractive  book  than  in  its  first  edition.  Even  Ibe 
English  is  improved,  though  it  is  still  stilt  and 
trying.  But  what  is  '  Divine  Dual  Government '  ? 
It  is  the  belief  that  God  rules  and  governs  all  His 
creatures  by  a  system  of  'Legal  Government,' 
under  which  they  feel  the  scourge  of  physical  law 
and  groan,  but  that  He  governs  His  own  by  a 
system  of '  Moral  Government,'  under  which  they 
recognize  the  hand  of  a  Father  who  loves  while  He 
chastens.  This  dual  government  is  recognized  by 
the  powers  that  be.  The  magistrate  who  represents 
legal  government  hands  over  criminals  to  the  Sal- 
vation Army,  and  so  calls  in  the  aid  of  moral 
government.  The  thoughts  are  not  always  kept  dis- 
tinct, perhaps  they  could  not  be,  but  Mr.  Smyth 
has  written  a  large  book  in  defence  of  a  great  idea. 

GOSPEL     TEMPERANCE     ANECDOTES. 
By  C.  W.  Scrimgeour  (Dundee:   Matkav).—Ur. 
Scrimgeour  has  tried  these  anecdotes,  and  knows 
that  they  will  do.     He  has  tried   them   over  a 
service   of    twenty-five  years  in   the  Cherryfield 
Mission  of  Dundee.     It  is  a  long  period,  but 
there  are  so  many  anecdotes  that  ihey  have  stood 
out  the  time  withoijt  repetition.    They  are  cleverly 
told,  even  on  paper,  and  there  are  many  mission 
workers  who  will  rejoice  in  the  possession  of  this 
new  collection.     One  feels,  but  no  one  will  feci  it 
more  keenly  than  Mr.  Scrimgeour  himself,  that  the  j 
temperance  anecdote,  with  all  its  humour  and   | 
point,  has  little  chance  against  the  open  door  of  \ 
the  public  house.     But  the  gospel  is  here  as  well  I 
as  the  anecdote.  ! 

a; 


I       JAMES  CHALMERS  OF   NEW  GUINEA. 

.  By  Cuthbert  Lennox  {Melrose). — We  must  have  a 
greater  book  than  this  on  Chalmers  yet,  but  a 

,  small  book  will  do  more  for  Chalmers  and  for  us 
than  a  great  one,  and  within  its  compass  this  book 
is  as  good  as  it  could  be.  It  does  indeed  what 
the  greatest  book  might .  never  do,  it  draws  us 
close  to  Chalmers  himself.  It  may  leave  us 
ignorant  of  many  details  of  hts  work,  but  it  shows 
us  why  men  loved  the  worker,  it  teaches  us  to 
love  him  too.  The  well-chosen  illustrations  add 
something  to  the  charm  of  the  work,  holding  the 
reader's  eye  until  his  heart  is  held  by  the  narrative. 

THE  CHURCHMAN'S  BIBLE:  ISAIAH 
I.-XXXIX.  By  W.  E.  Barnes,  D.D.  {Methuen).— 
The  simple  purpose  of  the  Churchman's  Bible  is 
to  supply  the  reader  with  such  introductions  to 
the  chapters  and  comments  on  the  verses  as  will 
make  the  situation  and  the  language  intelligible. 
In  the  public  reading  of  the  Word  especially,  one 
feels  what  a  difference  it  would  make  to  the 
hearers'  interest  and  understanding  if  a  few  words 
were  first  spoken  on  the  situation  involved  and 
then  a  difficult  phrase  or  obscure  allusion  were 
briefly  explained  as  it  occurred.  The  Church- 
man's Bible  does  all  that  well,  and  no  more  than 
that.  This  volume  by  Professor  Emery  Barnes 
might  serve  as  a  model  to  the  other  contributors. 

THE  DIVINE  PURSUIT.  By  J.  Edgar 
M'Fadyen  (Oliphant). — Short,  fervent,  nervously 
expressed  papers  on  the  things  pertaining  to  the 
kingdom  of  God  hft  this  book  out  of  the  common- 
place. Sermons  they  may  have  been,  sermons 
they  are,  but  of  keener  edge  and  more  liberty  of 
vision  than  sermons  usually  dare  to  be. 

EAST  OF  THE  BARRIER.  By  the  Rev.  J. 
Miller  Graham  {C/(>Aan/).— Under  this  title  Mr. 
Graham  has  written  the  story  of  the  Manchuria 
Mission.  It  is  as  'apostolic,'  as  like  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  as  any 
mission  story  we  have  read.  In  one  respect 
it  is  more  intimate  than  even  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  for  whereas  critics  separate  the  'We- 
document '  from  the  rest  of  the  Acts,  this  is  a  '  We- 
document'  throughout.  Mr.  Graham  has  seen 
the  things  of  which  he  writes  so  simply  and  yet  so 
movingly;  he  has  seen  them  and  suffered  from 
them. 


4i8 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


GOD  SAVE  THE  KING!  By  Thomas 
Spurgeon  (Pasimore  (s'  Alabaster). — Our  thoughts 
go  out  to  King  Edward  the  Seventh,  especially  on 
this  his  coronation  year.  But  it  is  a  greater  king 
we  have  here.  '  Addresses  concerning  King  Jesus 
and  His  royal  estate,'  adds  Mr.  Spurgeon  on  his 
title-page.  He  will  yield  to  none  in  loyalty  to  his 
king,  but  there  is  'another  King,  one  Jesus,'  and 
the  highest  loyalty  is  due  to  this  King  of  kings, 
the  loyalty  to  the  earthly  being  the  more  actual 
and  abiding,  as  the  loyalty  to  the  heavenly  is  the 
more  absorbing.  The  addresses  are  direct,  the 
tongue  is  the  pen  of  a  ready  writer,  the  words  are 
always  '  touching  the  King.' 

SERMONS  AND  LECTURES.  By  the  late 
Rev.  Brooke  Lambert,  M.A.,  B.C.L.  (Greenwich  : 
RUhardsoii). — This  volume  is  of  three  parts.  First 
there  is  a  biography  of  Brooke  Lambert  by  Mr. 
J.  E.  G.  de  Montmorency,  B.A.,  LL.B.  Next 
come  nine  sermons,  to  which  have  been  given  the 
general  title  of  'Crossing  the  Bar.'  And  lastly, 
three  lectures  on  the  '  Heroes  of  Progress '  have 
been  printed  as  examples  of  their  author's  '  mind 
and  teaching  out  of  the  pulpit.'  The  sermons  are 
of  most  importance.  Their  subject  is  'the  larger 
hope.'  Now  the  treatment  of  such  a  subject  in 
the  pulpit  has  its  limitations,  and  it  would  be  easy 
to  show  that  Mr.  Lambert  did  not  take  all  the 
facts  into  account,  nor  always  used  blameless 
arguments.  But  it  has  also  its  advantages.  Its 
appeal  is  to  the  Christian  conscience,  where  the 
victory  is  gained,  if  it  is  ever  gained  at  all.  And  it 
will  be  acknowledged  that  Mr.  Lambert  knew  how 
to  send  that  appeal  home.  We  do  not  say  that 
this  book  must  be  reckoned  with  in  all  discussion 
of  eternal  punishment,  but  we  say  that  one  who 
reads  this  book  will  find  eternal  punishment 
harder  to  believe  than  before.  It  is  not  the 
attraction  of  the  larger  hope,  it  is  the  repulsion  of 
the  everlasting  despair  that  Mr.  Lambert  dwells 
upon.  

THE  KINGDOM  AND  THE  EMPIRE. 
By  R.  O.  Assbeton,  M.A.  (Rivingtons).—1Vi^  ten 
sermons  in  this  little  book  are  mainly  occupied 
with  the  war.  Mr.  Assbeton's  attitude  to  the  war 
is  not  political,  it  is  Christian.  He  hates  war, 
deplores  it,  works  for  its  end,  its  end  for  ever. 
But  war  is  like  an  unruly  son  in  a  family — it 
should  be  otherwise,  but  we  have  not  authority  to 


say  it  must  be  otherwise.  One  thing  he  is  clear 
about :  the  extension  of  the  empire  without  the  co- 
extension  of  Christianity  would  be  a  crime. 

To  their  series  called  '  Handbooks  to  the  Bible 
and  Prayer-Book,'  Messrs  Rivington  have  added  a 
volume  by  the  Rev.  A.  R.  Whitham,  M.A.,  on  the 
Hebrew  Monarchy,  covering  the  history  of  Saul 
and  David.  .  The  text  of  the  Revised  Version  is 
printed,  each  topic  is  introduced  so  as  to  be  easily 
remembered  by  schoolboys,  and  a  few  notes  are 
added  to  explain  its  geography  or  antiquities.  It 
is  a  school-book,  modern,  teachable. 

THE  SUNNY  SIDE  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 
By  Charles  H.  Parkhurst,  D.D.  (Manchester: 
Robinson). — Dr.  Parkhurst's  theme  is  Love.  The 
sunny  side  of  Christianity  is  the  warm  side  where 
love  loves  and  is  loved  again.  Then  what  is  the 
shady  side?  Apparently  it  is  the  side  where 
creeds  lie  and  questions  of  the  Catechism.  Dr. 
Parkhurst  would  prepare  his  candidates  for  the 
ministry  by  asking  the  question,  '  Loves t  thon 
MeP'  not  by  asking,  'What  are  the  decrees  of 
God?'  

RELIGIO  LAICI.  By  the  Rev.  H.  C.  Seech- 
ing, M.A.  {Smith,  Elder,  ii'  Co.).— Mr.  Beeching's 
purpose,  if  a  single  purpose  may  be  said  to  run 
through  these  essays,  is  to  commend  the  clei^yman 
to  the  layman.  There  is  a  certain  suspicion  crept 
in  between  them  at  present.  Foolish  High  Church 
persons  have  done  part  of  it,  and  foolish  Low 
Church  persons  the  rest.  There  is  a  loss  of 
esteem,  almost  of  belief.  There  is  a  sense  that 
the  clergyman  is  on  the  other  side,  perhaps  a 
nuisance.  Mr.  Beeching  knows  the  clergyman, 
for  he  is  one.  He  knows  the  layman  too,  for 
he  has  not  forgotten  that  he  was  one.  He  under- 
stands both,  and  sympathises  with  both.  He 
stands  between  them  and  seeks  to  bring  them 
together.  He  attempts  it  directly  in  the  two 
papers  entitled  'Apologia  pro  Clero,'  indirectly 
in  all  the  papers.  Perhaps  the  keenest  in  wit, 
the  most  unsheathed,  is  'Izaak  Walton's  Life 
of  Donne.'  Here  he  allows  such  words  as  'the 
perennial  layman's  sneer  at  the  mercenariness  of 
the  clergy.'  The  reference  is  not  to  Walton,  of 
course,  it  is  to  a '  brilliant '  article  by  Mr.  Leslie 
Stephen  in  the  National  Review.  It  is  of  Mr. 
Leslie  Stephen  he  says  that ;  because  Mr,  Leslie 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


419 


Stephen  would  by  such  phrases  widen  the  breach 
between  the  layman  and  the  clergyman.  The 
book  must  be  pronounced  successful.  It  will 
serve  its  end.  And  in  doing  so,  it  will  furnish 
much  delightful  reading,  for  be  its  subject  what 
it  will,  there  is  always  that  insight  with  which 
he  credits  Mr.  Leslie  Stephen  which  '  looks  quite 
through  the  deeds  of  men,'  and  that  style  which 
he  also  grants  to  Mr.  Stephen  '  as  sinewy  as  the 
thought,  with  DO  preciosity  of  phrase  and  no  word 
to  spare."  

THE  AUTHORSHIP  OF  THE  BOOK  OF 
DEUTERONOMY.  By  J.  W.  M'Garvey,  LL.D. 
(Cincinnati :  Standard  Pub.  Co.\ — Here  is  a  new 
and  minute  examination  of  the  evidence  for  and 
against  the  Mosaic  authorship  of  Deuteronomy, 
and  the  conclusion  is  that  Moses  was  the  author. 
It  is  a  book  to  Uke  account  of.  Its  tone  is  unex- 
ceptionable. No  argument  and  no  writer  against 
the  Mosaic  authorship  is  evil  entreated.  It  bal- 
ances probabilities,  and  there  is  an  honest  en- 
deavour to  let  all  the  probabilities  have  their  weight 
on  the  one  side  as  on  the  other.  It  is  a  book 
to  be  read  by  students.  Let  them  take  this  book 
and  Principal  Andrew  Harper's  Deuteronomy  to- 
gether. Both  are  full  and  fair,  both  are  thorough  ; 
they  come  to  opposite  conclusions — let  the  student 
read  them  both  and  make  up  his  mind.  No 
doubt  the  question  is  really  settled  for  our  gener- 
ation, but  every  man  should  settle  it  for  himself. 

THE  HARVEST  OF  THE  SOUL.  By  R. 
L.  Bellamy,  B.D.  {Stock).— W\%  essay  on  the 
Christian  doctrine  of  future  reward  and  punish- 
ment ought  certainly  to  be  read.  It  is  not  dog- 
matic, it  is  not  denunciatory.  It  neither  suggests 
with  Gouiburn  that  those  who  doubt  everlasting 
torment  deserve  it,  nor  with  Cox  that  the  left 
hand  is  the  next  best  place  to  the  right.  It  is 
fair  and  patient.  It  will  harm  none  and  help 
many.  

THE  DISSOLUTION  OF  DISSENT.  By 
Robert  F.  Horton  {Siockwell). — Dr.  Horton  has 
been  warned  that  Dissent  is  nearly  dead.  The 
day  is  at  hand  when  the  newspapers  will  no  longer 


say  'good  vicarage,  small  population,  no  Dis- 
senters,' because  it  will  be  assumed  that  Dissent 
has  disappeared,  and  Dissenters  have  gone  where 
'  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling  and  the  weary 
are  at  rest.'  And  he  asks,  What  then?  Will 
England  be  better  then?  Will  all  the  loss  be 
gain?  He  doubts  it.  Where  will  England  find 
her  Carlyles,  her  Brownings,  her  Ruskins  then? 
And  more  than  that,  where  then  will  religious 
England  iind  authority  in  religion  ?  For  Dissent, 
says  Dr.  Horton,  has  saved  her  from  the  exter- 
nal, oppressive,  obstructive  authority  of  Church 
and  of  Scripture.  Dissent  has  insisted  on  the 
authority  of  the  Vision  and  the  Life.  And  when 
Dissent  is  dead,  England  may  pass  to  the  con- 
dition of  either  mere  external  authority,  ray  con- 
science in  the  hands  of  the  priest,  or  no  authority 
and  no  religion.  

Mr.  Stockwell  has  issued  other  two  volumes 
of  the  'Baptist  Pulpit.'  The  one  is  Christian 
Verities,  by  the  Rev.  S.  G.  Woodrow ;  the  other. 
Thou  Remainest,  by  the  Rev.  Archibald  G.  Brown. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  SHAKESPEARE.  By 
Charles  Ellis  (Sioneman). — This  is  a  new  edition, 
with  a '  deeply  interesting '  Supplement.  Passages 
from  Shakespeare  are  quoted  on  one  page,  and  on 
tile  opposite  page  passages  from  Scripture.  The 
passages  from  Scripture  are  understood  to  be 
illustrated  by  the  passages  from  Shakespeare. 
There  are  also  quotations  from  other  writers,  and 
in  the  'deeply  interesting'  Supplement  letters 
from  friends,  who  thank  Mr.  Ellis  for  a  copy  of 
his  book.  The  passages  from  Scripture  are  quoted 
from  a  Genevan  Bible  of  the  date  1606.  It  is  a 
curious  book,  a  curious  mixture.  But  readers  of 
books  love  mixtures. 

The  Books  of  the  Month  also  include : — 
Addresses  on  Baptism,  Confirmation,  and  Holy 
Communion,    by    C.    E.    Beeby,    B.y.    (Midland 

Educational  Co.) ;  Christian  Heresies,  by  the  Rev. 
%.  C.  Tickell,  A.K.C.  (Stock);  The  Babylonian 
Conception  of  Heaven  and  Hell,  by  Alfred  Jeremias, 
Ph.D.  (Null) ;  A  Preacher's  Library,  and  Words 
on  Immortality,  by  the  Rev.  John  S.  Banks. 


jgic 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Z^t  jfour  (Binptwe  of  (^  (goofi  of  ©anief. 

Bv  Proiessor  a.  van  Hoonacker,  D.D.,  Louvain. 


In  the  description  of  the  dream  of  Nebuchad- 
r.ezoLi  in  chap.  2,  and  in  that  of  the  vision  of 
Daniel  in  chap.  7,  the  Book  of  Daniel  speaks  of 
four  empires  which  succeeded  one  another.  The 
identification  of  these  four  empires  has  greatly 
exercised  the  sagacity  of  commentators.  The 
problem,  we  think,  is  to  be  fomiiilated  in  other 
terms  to-day  than  it  was  in  former  times.  And 
this  because  an  essential  point,  which  has  been 
the  subject  of  much  controversy,  may  be  con- 
sidered as  definitively  settled,  without,  however, 
the  difticullies  inherent  in  this  solution  having 
been  sufficiently  elucidated. 

In  chap.  2  the  first  of  the  four  empires  is  that 
of  Nebuchadnezzar.  The  author  himself  declares 
this  in  2'*:  'Thou  art  this  head  of  gold.'  In 
the  same  manner,  in  chap.  7,  the  first  of  the  four 
animals  which  arise  from  the  sea,  namel)',  the 
lion  with  the  wjngs  of  a  vulture,  symbolizes 
Nebuchadnezzar  (Driver,  Dani^,  p.  81). 

A  question  which  has  occasioned  much  difficulty, 
is  that  of  the  identification  of  the  fourth  empire. 
But,  alike  from  the  examination  of  chaps.  2  and 
7  by  themselves,  and  by  comparison  with  the 
data  of  other  parts  of  the  Book  of  Daniel,  we 
consider  it  as  absolutely  certain  that  the  fourth 
empire  is  that  of  Alexander  and  his  successors. 
It  is  possible  that  there  are  some  who  are  not 
convinced  of  this.  We  can  but  refer  our  readers 
to  the  luminous  demonstration  which  Driver  has 
given  of  the  truth  of  this  interpretation  in  his 
commentary  (p.  94  ff.). 

Nevertheless,  we  do  not  believe  that  the  prob- 
lem is  completely  solved  in  this  manner.  The 
first  empire  being  without  doubt  that  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, the  fourth  that  of  Alexander  and  his 
successors  ;  the  ([Ucstion  is.  How  are  we  to  identify 
the  second  and  the  third  empires?  The  second, 
we  are  told,  cannot  be  any  other  than  that  of  tl* 
Medes,  the  third  that  of  the  Persians,  which, 
according  to  the  Book  of  Daniel,  should  be 
distinguished  as  two  successive  empires  (Driver, 
D,  29  and  p.  100  f.).  This  distinction 
en  the  Medan  and  the  Persian  empires 
le  inferred,  it  is  said,  from  the  passages 
Darius    the    Mede,  after  the   fall  of    Bei- 


shazzar,  and  before  Cyrus,  appears  and  acts  as 
the  supreme  king  (5'*  6'  -  "■  ^-  -*).  Darius  the 
Mede  (cf,  9'  1 1')  is  succeeded  by  Cyrvs  the  Penian 
(6^),  or  the  king  of  Hie  Persians  (10').  Another 
argument  is  taken  from  the  two  horns  of  the 
ram  (S-^),  the  higher  of  which,  symbolizing  Cyrus 
and  his  successors,  raises  itself  after  the  smaller 
one,  which  symbolizes  Darius  the  Mede. — \\'e 
need  not  occupy  ourselves  here  with  the  difficulty 
which  results  from  these  passages  in  regard  to 
history,  a  difficulty  attaching  in  any  case  to  the 
personality  and  reign  of  Daiius  the  Mede. 

If  there  were  not  certain  other  data  to  be 
considered  which  also  essentially  concern  the 
question  of  the  identification  of  the  second  and 
the  third  empires,  one  could  without  doubt  find  in 
the  passages  indicated  a  su^ent  foundation  for 
their  identification  with  the  supposed  empires  of 
the  Medes  and  the  Persians.  But,  as  we  shall 
see,  there  are  other  data  which  do  not  seem  to 
be  in  harmony  with  this  theory.  Before  bringing 
them  forward,  we  have  to  answer  an  objection 
and  to  ask  ourselves  if  the  distinction  between 
the  Medes  and  the  Persians  in  the  Book  of 
Daniel  is  not  perhaps  of  such  a  nature  as  to 
amount  to  a  direct  and  positive  demonstration 
of  the  interpretation  we  are  about  to  oppose? 
Under  what  conditions  does  the  succession  of 
Darius  the  Mede  and  Cyrus  the  Persian  present 
itself? 

In  order  to  answer  this  question,  we  must  not 
lose  sight  of  the  various  passages  in  which  the 
domination  of  the  Medes  and  the  Persians  is 
explicitly  represented  as  simultaneous,  as  one  and 
the  same  political  rl-^ime  in  which  Darius  the 
Mede  and  Cyrus  the  Persian,  or  the  king  of  the 
Persians,  precede  and  succeed  each  other.  Thus 
in  5^  the  kingdom  of  Belshazzar  is  given  to  the 
Medes  and  Persians;  the  last  word  of  the  prophetic 
inscription  on  the  wall  (rD-.Q'i  =  D-iD,5--''-  ^^),  already 
contained,  as  Driver  allows  (Ix.  p.  69),  an  allusion 
to  the  name  of  the  Persians,  who  are  accordingly 
thought  of  as  the  immediate  heirs,  along  with 
the  Medes,  of  the  kingdom  of  Belshazzar. 
During  the  very  reign  of  Darius  it  is  understood 
{0*J  that  the  decrees  in  force  are  those  of  /A^ 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


421 


Medes  and  the  Persians;  see  also  6"-  '*.  In 
chap.  8  it  is  the  empire  of  the  Medes  and  Persians 
(v.^),  which  is  represented  by  one  animal  alone, 
the  ram  with  two  horns,  as  opposed  to  the  he- 
goat,  which  represents  the  empire  of  Alexander. 
Without  doubt,  from  the  manner  in  which  the 
author  insists  on  the  relation  existing  between 
the  two  horns  of  the  ram,  we  may  conclude  that 
be  has  in  view  here  a  distinction  and  a  succession 
which  are  of  importance  to  him.  Vet  it  is  not 
the  less  evident  that  for  him  the  Medo-Persian  is 
one  and  the  same  empire.  We  shall  have  to 
speak  immediately  of  the  distinction  signiHed  by 
the  two  horns  of  the  ram. 

These  remarks,  let  us  repeat,  do  not  tend  to 
demonstrate  by  themselves  that  the  second  empire 
could  not  be  that  of  Darius  the  Mede,  and  the 
third  that  of  Cyrus.  Nothing,  in  fact,  proves  that 
in  the  Book  of  Daniel  the  empires  which  succeed 
one  another  necessarily  represent  the  successive 
hegemony  of  different  peoples  or  political  regimes. 
But  this  is  precisely  the  conclusion  which  we 
derive  from  the  observations  which  we  have  just 
mjde.  Whether  or  not  the  second  empire  is  that 
of  Darius  the  Mede,  it  is  supposed,  according  to 
the  Book  of  Daniel  itself,  that  already  under 
Darius  the  Persians  as  a  people  enjoyed  the 
hegemony  conjointly  with  the  Medes.  The  suc- 
cession signified  by  the  two  horns  of  the  ram  in 
chap.  8  refers  only  to  the  two  elements  which 
succeeded  each  other  on  the  throne  under  the 
same  monarchy.  The  ram  has  a  smaller  horn  and 
a  bigger  one,  and  the  latter  appeared  in  the  second 
place ;  the  smaller  horn  is  Darius,  who  alone  was 
to  represent  the  Medan  element  on  the  throne ; 
(he  higher  horn  Cynis  and  the  series  of  kings  of 
Persian  origin  who  followed  him.  But  the  ram 
is  represented  with  its  two  horns  together,  even 
at  the  moment  of  its  fight  against  the  he-goal  (ihe 
Alexandrian  empire),  because  these  reigns,  first  of 
Darius  the  Mede,  then  of  Cyrus  and  his  Persian 
successors,  are  conceived  as  belonging  to  the  same 
Medo-Persian  empire. 

We  have  thus  determined,  we  hope,  the  con- 
ditions under  which,  according  to  ihe  Book  of 
Daniel,  Cyrus  the  Persian  succeeds  Darius  the 
Mede.  By  this  fact  alone  we  consider  we  have 
shown  that  the  identification  ot  the  second  and 
the  third  empires  with  that  of  Darius  the  Mede 
and  that  of  Cyrus,  does  not  impose  itself  as 
positively  and  directly  demonstrated,  although  we 


have  not  as  yet  established  its  want  of  harmony 
with  the  data  of  the  Book  of  Daniel.  This  identi- 
fication should  not  be  accepted  unless  It  should 
prove  impossible  to  propound  another,  in  which 
the  succession  presents  itself  under  the  same  con- 
ditions as  that  of  Darius  and  Cyrus,  and  which  is 
at  the  same  time  more  in  harmony  with  the  in- 
dications which  our  book  furnishes  concerning 
the  character  of  the  two  empires  in  question. 
According  to  the  Book  of  Daniel,  the  second  and 
the  third  empires,  which  took  their  place  between 
that  of  Nebuchadnezzar  and  that  of  Alexander, 
cannot  in  any  case  be  distinguished  as  belonging 
to  successive  monarchies  differing  in  nationality 
from  one  another;  because,  even  for  the  author 
of  our  book,  there  was,  between  the  Babylonian 
and  the  Grecian  empires,  only  one  empire  in  the 
sense  indicated,  which  he  knows  as  that  of  the 
Medo- Persians.  It  is  even  to  be  remarked  that 
in  9'  Darius  the  Mede  is  presented  as  ruling  over 
the  kingdom  of  the  Chaldseans  J 

Is  the  second  empire  intended  by  Daniel  in 
reality  that  of  Datius?  Let  us  consider  how 
Daniel  characterizes  the  second  empire,  (i)  In 
the  interpretation  of  the  diflTercnt  parts  of  the 
statue,  it  is  said  (a^^)  that  after  Nebuchadnezzar 
there  will  rise  another  kingdom  inferior  to  him 
Ojd  inx,  K^eri).  {2}  In  chap.  7  the  second  empire 
is  represented  under  the  image  of  a  bear,  which 
raised  itself  up  on  one  side,  and  which  had  three 
ribs  in  its  mouth,  between  its  teeth  ;  and  they  said 
thus  unto  it:  'Arise,  devour  much  flesh!' — It 
seems  evident,  in  a  general  way,  that  the  second 
empire  has  not  the  sympathies  of  our  author;  and 
this  already  could  only  with  difficulty  be  reconciled 
with  his  attitude  towards  Darius  the  Mede,  the 
benefactor  and  disinterested  protector  of  Daniel 
(chap.  6). 

But  let  us  consider  more  attentively  the  dis- 
tinctive traits  of  the  second  empire,  and  sec  if 
these  can  be  applied  to  the  empire  of  Darius. 
The  two  distinctive  trails  which  we  have  discovered 
in  chaps,  z  and  7  do  not  in  any  way,  as  it  seems 
to  us,  apply  to  Darius  the  Medc.  (r)  The  empire 
of  Uarius  was  founded  on  the  ruins  of  the  Chal- 
dean empire.  It  should  be  noted  here  already 
that  in  the  description  of  the  statue  in  chap.  3 
it  is  only  in  view  of  the  contrast  between  the  first 
and  the  second  empires  that  the  former  is  sym- 
bolized by  gold,  the  latter  by  silver;  for,  in  any 
case,  the  third  empire,  though  symbolized  by  brass, 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


is  represented  as  superior  to  the  second,  ir 
Nebuchadnezzar  is  taken  as  the  personification 
of  the  Chald<ean  empire,  it  is  not  intelligible  why 
the  empire  which  succeeded  the  Utter,  and  which 
was  that  of  the  conquerors  of  fiabyton,  should 
have  been  characterized  as  inferior  to  Nebuchad- 
nezzar. Besides,  in  chap.  6,  the  kingdom  of  Darius 
is  described  as  very  vast  and  perfectly  organized 
(vv.^-  **).  In  chap.  8  the  ram  which  repre- 
sents the  Medo-Persian  empire  appears  endowed 
with  a  power  which  nothing  can  resist  (v.*).  It 
is  true  that  the  ram  has  two  horns,  and  that  the 
smaller  one  symbolizes  the  reign  of  Darius;  but 
it  is  not  in  comparison  with  the  Chaldxan  empire, 
it  is  in  comparison  with  the  series  of  Persian  kings, 
that  the  first  horn  of  the  ram  appears  as  the 
smaller;  and  this  circumstance  does  not  signify 
an  inferior  power  or  a  lesser  extension  of  the 
kingdom  of  Darius,  but  the  dynastic  inferiority 
of  the  Medan  element  relatively  to  the  Persian 
element  in  the  series  of  kings  who  reigned  over 
the  Medo-Persian  empire.  Any  other  interpreta- 
tion would  be  contrary  to  the  data  of  the  Book 
of  Daniel :  Cyrus  is  here  represented  (6^)  simply 
as  a  successor  of  Darius,  whose  power  extended 
itself  over  all  people,  nations,  and  languages  that 
dwell  in  all  the  earth  (6^).  (a)  The  other  trait, 
which  serves  to  characterize  the  second  empire 
in  chap.  7,  does  not  apply  any  better  to  Darius 
the  Mede.  Driver  states  that  what  is  intended 
by  the  image  of  the  bear,  half  standing,  cannot 
be  said  to  be  altogether  clear.  Perhaps,  he  says, 
on  the  whole,  the  most  probable  view  is  that  the 
trait  is  intended  to  indicate  the  animal's  aggressive- 
ness. This  seems  to  us  to  be  hardly  in  accordance 
with  the  context,  since  we  hear  people  exciting 
the  animal  by  saying  unto  it:  'Arise!  .  .  .' ;  a 
bear  holding  itself  in  the  attitude  of  aggressiveness 
would  have  had  no  need  of  being  aroused  to 
devour  much  flesh.  We  infer  from  this  detail 
that  in  presenting  the  bear  to  us  as  'standing 
upon  one  side,'  the  author  meant  us  to  understand 
that  it  was  lying  on  the  other;  in  other  words, 
that  it  was  standing  only  on  one  side.  It  is 
therefore  an  attitude  of  sloth  which  is  attributed 
to  the  bear  which  represents  the  second  empire. 
And  this  attitude  corresponds  to  another  element 
of  the  description;  the  bear  holds  in  its  mouth 
three  rids ;  they  tell  it  to  arise  in  order  to  devour 
much  fiesh:  it  is  an  animal  which  knows  nothing 
except  how  to  satisfy  its  voracious  appetite.    These 


traits,  however,  it  is  needless  to  say,  do  not  appear 
at  all  to  suit  Darius  the  Mede  and  the  empire 
founded  by  him.  The  Medes  and  the  Persians 
combined,  are,  according  to  Daniel,  the  conquerors 
of  Babylon ;  it  could  not,  therefore,  be  a  bear  stand- 
ing on  one  side  in  the  attitude  of  indolence,  which 
was  the  symbol  best  suited  to  the  empire  under 
Darius  the  Mede.  Nor  is  it  evident  why  voracity 
should  have  been  a  mark  of  this  empire  rather 
than  of  the  others  which  come  under  consideration 
in  the  Book  of  Daniel. 

It  is  time  to  come  to  the  interpretation  which 
seems  to  us  to  suit  best  all  the  data  of  the  problem. 
We  think  that  the  first  empire  must  be  understood, 
not  as  the  Chaldaean  empire  in  its  whole  line  of 
history,  but  in  a  more  restricted  manner,  as  stand- 
ing for  the  reign  of  Nebuchadnestar.  The  words 
employed  in  the  text  to  designate  the  first  empire 
are  not  in  any  way  opposed  to  this  view,  rather 
the  contrary  :  '  Thou  art  the  head  of  gold,'  says 
Daniel  to  Nebuchadnezzar;  '(i/i'«r/^e  shall  rise  up 
another  kingdom  inferior  to  thee'  (z*®').  Again, 
in  7*,  in  the  description  of  the  first  animal, 
several  authors,  whose  opinion  Driver  shows  him- 
self disposed  to  accept,  recognize  an  allusion  to 
certain  personal  traits  of  the  life  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, namely,  to  the  famous  story  of  his  mental 
derangement  and  of  his  cure  in  chap.  4.  The 
wings  of  the  animal  are  plucked  off  (7*) ;  this  b 
Nebuchadnezzar  deprived  of  his  reason  ;  when  he 
regained  it  and  gave  glory  to  God  {4'''),  he  was 
delivered  from  the  heart  of  a  beast  by  which  he 
had  been  afflicted  (5^')  and  he  received  a  heart  of 
man  (7*),  The  lion  with  the  wings  of  a  vulture 
as  an  emblem,  not  of  the  empire  of  Babylon  in 
general,  but  of  Nebuchadnezzar  In  particular,  re- 
calls the  figures  under  which  this  same  prince 
had  been  designed,  as  the  lion  (Jer  49'*),  as  the 
vulture  (Jer  49™,  Ezk  17'-  '*). 

Assuming  that  the  first  empire  is  in  a  special 
manner  that  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  would  there  be 
any  serious  diflicuhy  in  admitting  that  the  seirand 
is  that  of  Bels/iatsarl  No  doubt  Belshazzar 
succeeds  Nebuchadnezzar,  whose  son  he  is  even 
called,  as  the  sovereign  of  the  same  Chaldsean 
empire.  But  we  have  already  said  that  upon  any 
hypothesis  we  meet  with  a  difficulty,  or  rather 
with  a  case,  of  the  same  nature.  According  to 
the  Book  of  Daniel,  Cyrus  himself  succeeds  Darius 
(who  rules  over  the  kingdom  of  the  Chaldeans ! 
9')  as  sovereign  over  the  same  empire.     On   the 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


423 


other  hand,  the  characteristic  traits  of  the  second 
empire,  which  could  scarcely  be  applied  to  Darius, 
are  perfectly  suitable  to  Belshazzar.  (i)  The 
second  empire  is  inferior  io  Nebuckadntzzar  \  it 
was,  indeed,  under  Belshazzar  that  the  Medo- 
Persians  destroyed  the  Chaldsean  empire  and 
attained  to  the  hegemony.  We  call  special  atten- 
tion to  s'*'-,  where  Belshazzar  is  explicitly  put  in 
contrast  with  Nebuchadnezzar,  (z)  The  emblem 
of  the  bear,  standing  half  upright,  indolent,  satis- 
fying its  voracious  appetite,  applies  very  well  lo 
the  Belshazzar  of  the  Book  of  Daniel.  Just  as 
in  the  description  of  the  first  animal  allusion  is 
made  to  personal  facts  of  the  life  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, so  also  could  the  image  of  the  indolent 
and  voracious  bear  be  interpreted  as  an  allusion 
to  the  story  of  the  banquet  which  marked  the  end 
of  the  reign  of  Belshazzar  {chap.  5). 

The  third  empire  represented  in  chap.  7  by  the 
leopard  with  four  wings  and  four  heads  (v.*), 
would  be  that  of  the  Medo- Persians,  over  which 
reigned,  in  the  first  place,  Darius  the  Mede,  then 
Cyrus  and  his  Persian  successors.  This  identifi- 
cation is  commended  afresh  by  an  attentive  exam- 
ination of  the  text.  Already  in  a^'  the  author 
had  contented  himself  with  mentioning  the  second 
empire  of  silver,  without  speaking  of  its  power, 
setting  forth  only  its  inferiority  as  compared  with 
Nebuchadnezzar ;  then  passing  to  the  third  empire 
ht  had  insisted  upon  its  power  extending  itself  over 
all  the  world  (v.'*'').  Now,  in  7*-*,  we  notice 
the  same  fact :  of  the  power  of  the  second  empire 
there  is  no  question ;  but  for  the  third  the  author 
adds  that  dominion  was  given  to  it.  This  parallel 
shows  us  that  it  is  with  intention  that  the  author 
abstains  from  mentioning  the  power  of  the  second 
empire,  and  that  he  mentions  it  for  the  third. 
But  the  judgment  implied  in  such  an  attitude 
cannot  be  understood  on  his  part,  unless  we  sup- 
pose that  for  him  the  second  empire  was  that  of 
Belshazzar  which  ended  in  an  orgie,  and  the  third 
that  which  was  founded  by  Darius  the  Mede.  For 
it  is  evident  from  chap.  6  that  the  author  con- 
sidered the  empire  which  the  conquerors  of  Baby- 
lon founded  as  very  powerful,  as  extending  itself 


over  all  the  earth.  What  reason  could  he  have 
had  to  pass  ovet  in  silence,  in  'chap.  3,  as  well 
as  in  chap  7,  the  p>ower  of  the  empire  of  Darius 
the  Mede,  while  attributing  great  power  and  do- 
minion to  the  subsequent  empire?  And  this  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  in  chap.  6  he  shows  manifest 
sympathy  for  Darius  the  Mede. 

A  consideration  which  further  recommends  the 
interpretation  which  we  have  just  proposed,  is 
that  the  succession  of  the  four  empires  identified 
in  conformity  with  our  explanation,  furnishes  ex- 
actly the  framework  of  the  whole  Book  of  Daniel. 
It  is  true,  Cyrus  is  named  in  the  book  as  the 
successor  of  Darius  the  Mede  (6^*),  or  in  order 
to  furnish  the  date  of  a  vision  of  Daniel  (10'). 
But  we  do  not  learn  anything  in  particular  about 
the  relations  in  which  Daniel  found  himself  with 
him,  or  anything  about  the  events  occurring 
during  his  reign.  The  reigns  which  are  dis- 
tinctly placed  before  our  view  are,  in  the 
narrative  part,  those  of  Nebuchadnezzar^  Bel- 
shazzar, and  Darius;  in  the  pait  devoted  to 
the  visions,  those  of  Alexander  and  his  successors 
(7""- 8,  etc).     ■ 

Let  us  note,  in  conclusion,  that  there  reigns 
in  the  book  of  Daniel  a  certain  elasticity  in  the 
symbolic  value  of  the  figures  by  means  of  which 
the  author  describes  the  kings  and  the  kingdoms 
which  he  has  in  view.  Symbols  of  the  same 
nature  do  not  always  strictly  represent  objects  of 
the  same  extension.  The  two  horns  of  the  ram 
in  chap.  8  are  the  two  dynastic  elements,  Medan 
and  Persian,  of  the  series  of  kings  who  reigned 
over  the  third  empire;  the  horns  of  the  he-goat 
in  the  same  chapter  are  in  the  first  place  Alex- 
ander himself,  then  the  four  kingdoms  (or  dynas- 
ties?) that  issued  from  the  empire  of  Alexander, 
and  finally  Aniiochus  Epiphanes. — In  chap.  8  the 
two  animals  represent  the  two  empires,  Medo- 
Persian  and  Grecian ;  in  chap.  7  the  first  animal 
represents,  with  a  rather  personal  meaning,  the 
Babylonian  empire  as  ruled  by  Nebuchadnezzar; 
the  second  the  same  empire  as  ruled  by  Belshazzar ; 
the  third  the  Medo-Persian  empire ;  and  the  fourth 
the  Grecian. 


jyGoot^Ie 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


THE  GREAT  TEXTS  OF  THE  ACTS. 


Acts  ti.  42. 
'And  they   continoed    stedfutly   in  tbe  apostles' 
teaching;  and  fellowship,  in  the  breaking  of  brCMl  and 
the  prayers '  (R.V.). 

Exposition. 

Baptism  ' added'  or  'joined'  ineo  (v.").  This  vetse 
shows  us  (o  whom — lo  (be  apostles,  as  icpicsenting  the 
Church.  Membership  in  Ibis  sociely  meant  a  continuous 
etforl  i  il  was  >  ftrtevering  adhtrenei  both  to  persons  and 
10  duties,  especially  prayer.  Here  St.  Luke  gives  the  four 
essentials  which  must  nol  be  abandoned,  and  ihey  fail  into 
two  pairs,  dealing  with  (a)  organiialion  and  {i)  worship. — 
Rackham, 

'The  apostles'  teachli^;.'— The  absence  of  a  written 
Gospel  made  the  testimony  of  these  living  witnesses  essential 
to  every  Christian.  Ttiey  had  gone  in  soul  with  Jesus  and 
been  taught  by  Him  ihroughoui  Ilii  ministry,  had  stood 
beside  His  cross  and  open  sepulchre,  had  seen  the  risen 
Jeius  ascend  into  heaven.— K  END  ALL. 

'The  fellowship.'— Nol  of  the  apostles  only,  but  of  the 
Church  in  general.  This  fellowship  of  Christians  was  an 
outward  expression  -of  the  unity  of  spirit  which  knit  the 
whole  body  i<^ether  in  one  communion.  It  was  at  once 
teligioDS  and  social ;  their  communion  faith  in  one  Father, 
one  Lord  and  Saviour,  one  Spirit,  issued  in  common  ordi- 
nances, words,  and  acts  of  worship  ;  and  their  mutual  love 
bound  them  tc^ether  in  so  real  a  brotherhood  that  no  man 
lived  for  himself  alone,  but  each  made  the  good  of  the 
whole  body  his  foiemosi  object.  The  most  tangible  outcome 
of  this  social  lie  was  seen  in  their  ungrudging  provision  for  the 
relief  of  the  poorer  members  by  ■  common  fund. — Kendall, 

'The  breaking  of  bread.'— We  cannot  explain  this 
expression  of  a  mere  common  meal.  It  may  be  true  that 
every  such  meal  in  the  early  days  of  the  Church's  first  love 
had  a  religious  signilicaQce,  that  it  became  a  type  and 
evidence  of  tbe  kingdom  of  God  amongst  the  believers ; 
but  St.  Paul's  habitual  reference  of  the  words  before  us  to 
the  Lord's  Supper  leads  us  to  see  in  ihem  here  a  reference 
to  the  commemoration  of  ihe  Lord's  death,  although  we 
may  admit  that  it  is  altogether  indisputable  that  this  com- 
memoralioD  at  first  followed  a  common  meal. — Knowling. 

To  simply  explain  '  the  breaking  of  bread'  as  equivalent 
to  'the  Holy  Communion '  is  to  pervert  the  plain  meaning 
of  words,  and  10  mar  Ihe  picture  of  family  life  which  the  lent 
places  before  us  as  the  ideal  of  the  early  believeri.— Page. 

'The  prayers.' — This  term  implies  the  establishment 
from  Ihe  hrsl  of  united  prayer  at  fixed  hours  and  in  some 
appointed  place.  In  Jerusalem  it  appears  that  they  repaired 
to  the  temple  courts  at  the  regular  hours  of  prayer,  accord- 
ing to  the  habit  of  pious  Jews  {3').  But  4''-*  suggests 
private  gatheTit)gs  also.  In  Greek  cities  members  of  the 
Church  met  for  worship  in  the  houses  of  Christians. — 
Kendall. 


The  Sermon. 

How  to  Contiane  in  the  Ctanrcb. 

By  Iht  Rev  J.  D.  Gi!mor<. 

In  this  verse  ne  have  a  complete  answer  to  the 

question,  How  can  we  secure  Christian  stedfastness 

to-day  ? 

1.  They  continued  in  the  apostles'  doctrine. 
Teachings  the  R.V.  has  it ;  but  teaching  implies 
something  taught,  and  that  is  doctrine.  Tbe 
teaching  would  be  in  the  words  and  works  of 
Jesus,  and  His  Messianic  dignity  as  proved  by  tbe 
prophetic  Scriptures.  We  too  must  attend  to  the 
teaching  of  the  apostles.  We  must  study  the 
great  doctrines  which  cluster  round  the  Cross. 
Then  when  we  have  learned  the  truth  '  as  it  is  in 
Jesus,'  let  us  go  forth  and  manifest  the  power  and 
beauty  of  our  creed  in  the  purity  and  blameless- 
ness  of  our  lives. 

2.  They  continued  in  the  fellowship.  The  word 
translated  fellowship  means  'sharing  in  common.' 
I'be  practical  nature  of  the  fellowship  is  seen  by 
observing  how  the  word  is  translated  elsewhere. 
In  Ro  15"*  it  is  rendered  contribution;  in  3  Co  9" 
it  is  distribution;  in  He  13"  it  is  communicate;  in 
I  Co  10'^  it  is  eofnmunion.  Thus  the  word  shows 
the  oneness  of  the  whole  body  of  the  faithful  in 
state,  in  privilege,  and  in  obligation.  {i)The 
brethren  encouraged  one  another  in  the  things 
of  God.  Their  intercourse  was  a  constant  inter- 
change of  thought  in  matters  of  spiritual  experience. 
This  aspect  of  fellowship  has  been  lost  in  our  day ; 
we  seldom  talk  about  God.  (3}  They  had  a  mutual 
regard  for  each  other's  welfare.  They  were  shareis 
in  common.  Whatever  touched  one  touched  all. 
They  rejoiced  with  those  that  rejoiced,  and  wept 
with  those  that  wept  (3)  Practical  help  was  given 
where  required.  They  gave  freely  as  the  Lord 
prospered  them  for  the  relief  of  poor  saints.  They 
looked  upon  the  'collection'  as  a  part  of  the 
worship  of  God,  and  felt  that  the  Master  was  still 
sitting  over  against  the  Treasury. 

3.  They  continued  in  the  breaking  of  bread. 
This  is  the  New  Testament  description  of  the 
simple  feast  in  commem oration  of  our  Lord's 
death.     By  this  they  kept  aflame  their  love  to  His 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


4=5 


sacted  person.  By  this  they  looked  forward  with 
eager  anticipation  to  His  return.  Let  us  continue 
in  the  breaking  of  bread.  For  hete  the  love  of 
Christ  is  specially  displayed ;  and  as  we  partake 
of  the  simple  emblems,  there  is  borne  upon  our 
minds  with  renewed  vividness  the  fact  that  we 
are  commemorating  the  greatest  manifestation  of 
compassion  and  love  that  was  ever  displayed  in 
the  universe.  This  is  pre-eminently  the  Christian's 
distinctive  ordinance.  He  upon  whom  we  feed  is 
also  Master  of  the  feast,  and  spreads  berore  us  the 
wonders  of  His  grace. 

4-  They  continued  in  the  prayers.  Their  life 
was  spent  in  an  atmosphere  of  communion  with 
God,  until  prayer  became  the  habit  of  their  souls 
— private  prayer  and  public  prayer,  family  prayer  and 
social  prayer.  They  had  discovered  that  no  more 
powerful  weapon  was  ever  placed  in  the  hands  of 
man  than  that  which  a  Christian  wields  in  prayer. 

Apostolic  Christiaiiitr. 

By  thi  Ko!.  David  Davits. 

The    apostolic   order   for    entrance   upon    the 

Christian  life  has  been  described  in  the  context. 

It  is  preaching,  repentance,  belief,  baptism.     Our 

text  tells  us  what  follows  baptism. 

1.  TeaMng. — Being  baptized  they  followed  on 
tu  know  the  Lord  more  fully.  Life  had  begun,  it 
was  a  life  of  progress,  it  must  go  on  advancing  to 
all  eternity.  They  sought  to  scan  new  heights,  and 
fathom  new  depths  of  the  boundless  riches  both 
of  the  knowledge  and  wisdom  of  God. 

2.  Fellowship. — Christ  has  graciously  ordained 
that  there  shall  be  a  Church  in  the  world.  He  or- 
dained that  those  who  loved  Him  should  remain 
in  fellowship  with  Him  and  with  each  other.  The 
Church  is  His  body.  His  visible  protest  against 
everything  unchristian  like  in  the  world.  By  a 
communion  of  heart  with  heart  and  a  fellowship 
of  spirit  with  spirit,  the  early  believers  were  made 
Strong  for  Christian  service. 

3.  Breaking  of  Bread. — The  breaking  of  bread 
was  observed  in  conformity  to  the  expressed  wish 
and  example  of  Christ  in  the  upper  room.  'This 
do  in  remembrance  of  Mc'  It  was  their  privilege, 
as  those  who  loved  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  conform  to 
His  wishes.  By  conformity  to  His  will,  the 
spiritual  life  within  them  was  developed  by  their 
being  partakers,  through  this  channel  of  His  own 
institution,  of  the  intinite  blessing  which  He  only 
can  bestow. 


4.  Prayers, — Prayer  is  the  life  of  the  Christian, 
and  it  is  the  life  of  the  Church.  The  Church 
progresses  in  the  divine  life  according  as  it  is 
'instant  in  prayer.'  If  the  Church  forgets  its 
prayers  it  is  doomed.  The  Christian  Church  in 
all  ages  has  secured  its  greatest  triumphs  on  its 
knees. 

Illustrations. 
Teaching. 
The  promincDce  of  teaching  among  the  Jews  was  due  to 
their  possession  of  wiiltcn  Scripluces.  The  Scriptures  con- 
tained their  law  and  rule  of  life,  social  and  civil,  as  well  as 
religious,  and  so  llicir  iDterprelation  was  a  mailer  of 
supreme  impotlance.  Learned  siuilents  of  ihe  law  became 
rabbis  01  teachers,  who  expounded  the  Scriptures  and 
taught  publicly;  Ihej  were  surrounded  by  classes  of 
disciples,  and  formed  diffeienc  schools  of  interpretation. 
The  Christian  Society  first  appeared  a&  such  a  school.  The 
Lord  was  a  great  teacher  or  rabbi,  who  taught  with  authority. 
He  was  the  Master  surrounded  by  His  disciples  (Jn 
3'  13").  and  when  He  was  taken  away  the  apostles  took 
fiis  place  as  teachers.  They  taught  publicly,  having  a 
place  of  teaching  in  the  temple,  and  were  recognized  as 
rabbis,  although  they  taught  in  an  unlechnical  manner. 
As  with  their  Master,  their  work  also  was  both  '  to  do  and 
teach ' ;  and  teaching  and  preaching  go  side  by  side  as  the 
normal  work  of  the  Church — both  to  those  without  and  to 
those  within.  The  believers  underwent  a  regular  course  ot 
instruction  which  became  known  as  the  (alechcsii.  Later 
on  a  prolonged  (altchisii  became  a  necessary  qualification 
for  baptism,  and  the  candidates  were  known  as  laieehumens, 
or  'those  under  instruction.'  All  this  instruction  called  for 
a  number  of  teachers  and  catccbisls  of  more  or  lessauihoriiy, 
and  so  there  grew  up  a  definite  order  of  teachers  in  the 
Church.  At  the  lirst,  however,  the  apo^iles  were  the 
teachers.  The  subject  of  the  teaching  was  '  the  things  con- 
cerning the  Lord  Jesus  Christ '  (sS^'},  of  which  the  apostles 
were  the  witnesses  and  interpreters.  As  yet  there  was  no 
written  gospel,  and  all  depended  upon  the  lips  of  the 
apostles  for  full  and  authoritative  infoimalion. — R.  B. 
Kackham. 

Fellowship. 
On  the  social  instincts  of  man  all  civil  and  political  life 
depends.  But  fellowship  is  no  less  a  necessity  in  the  regions 
of  thought  and  faith.  Greek  philosophers  had  their  schools, 
and  the  empire  was  honeycombed  wilh  religious  societies  and 
guilds.  Israel  itself  was  a  great  religious  fellowship ;  and 
in  it  were  found  societies  still  more  closely  knit,  such  as  the 
'sects'  of  Ihe  Pharisees  and  Sadducees,  or  the  '  brother- 
hoods'of  the  Essenes  and  Therapeul.-e.  .And  now  Christ- 
ianity is  revealed  as  a  fellowship  ;  rather  it  is  The fillawsAip, 
'  the  communion  of  the  saints.'  This  fellowship  was  begun 
by  our  Lord  when  He  called  the  apostles  10  leave  all  and 
follow  Him.  So  they  formed  a  fellowship,  living  a  common 
life  and  sharing  a  common  purse,  ^^'hen  the  Lord  was 
taken  up  Ihe  common  life  continued ;  anil  the  moit  char- 
words  ill  the  early  chapters  of  Ihe  Acts  ate  all. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


■milA  oiie  a«srd,  logtllur.  The  (ellowibip  was  altaipcd 
through  (a)  clniuiDg  by  tbe  blood  of  JeiDi  Hit  Son  ;  (J) 
pTor<ci5ioD  or  Ibe  commoo  faJcb ;  and  \c)  iclaal  lellowsbip 
of  (he  body  and  blood  of  Christ  through  the  surament  of 
Holy  Fellowship.— R.  B.  Rackham. 

Tbe  Brealdnff  of  the  Breml. 

The  human  race  has  always  looked  upoa  eating  as  a  solemn 
action,  and  eating  logelber  as  a  >ign  of  fellowship.  Especi- 
ally was  (and  is)  this  the  case  among  the  Semites.  To  eat 
bread  or  lalt  with  another,  even  a  deadly  enemy,  cteaicd  a 
bond  which  could  not  be  violated  ;  on  the  other  band,  Jeits 
might  not  eal  with  Gentile*  who  were  opt  of  the  covenant. 
Hence  a  common  meal  became  nol  only  an  emblem  but  a 
seal  of  fellowship. 

The  solemnity  of  eating  was  no  doubl  due  to  lis  con- 
nexion with  life.  The  same  conacxbn  imparted  to  it  a 
religious  character.  Life  came  from  the  gods,  and  was 
preserved  by  communion  with  them.  And  as  with  men,  so 
with  the  gods,  fellowship  was  realized  by  eating  with  them, 
that  is,  in  a  sacrificial  meal.  The  ordinary  meals  of  the 
Jews  bore  a  religious  character.  The  head  of  the  house 
would  begin  the  meal  by  solemnly  breaking  bread  and  giving 
thanks  over  it ;  and  so  the  icrm  breaking  of  bread  came  to 
denote  this  commencement  of  a  meal  with  blessing. 


After  Pentecost  we  God  (he  Christian  sodeij  daily  break- 
ing bread  tt^ ether  (3*| ;  and  tfae  itKal  mast  have  held  a 
central  place  in  their  life.  It  was  the  bond  of  fellowship  ; 
it  gave  opportunity  for  commoo  warship  and  mutiul  iostruc- 
tion  ;  it  provided  sustenance  for  the  proper  members  of  tbe 
society.  Later,  ihis  common  meal  became  specialized — it 
was  called  an  agapi,  or  love-feast. 

Bui  Christ  made  a  feast  tbe  central  rile  of  His  Church 
as  the  memorial  of  His  sacrifice,  and  at  the  lame  time 
transformed  the  meal  into  the  deepest  mystery.  For  the 
food  and  drink  were  to  be  His  own  body  and  blood, 
and  by  feeding  upon  Him  the  worshipper  was  to  attain 
lo  communion  with  God.  This  feast  is  the  EachatisU  The 
'breaking  of  the  bread'  would  inclode  both  agap£  and 
eucharist.  In  might  be  the  agapi  alone,  or  the  eucharist 
alone,  or  as  ai  the  lirst  the  agape  followed  by  the  encbarist. 
— R.  B.  Rackham. 

The  PriTera. 

At  first  the  Christians  of  Jerusalem  continued  to  rreqneni 
the  temple  for  prayer  and  worship  both  public  and  private. 
But  just  as  Jerusalem  was  full  of  synagi^^nes  io  addition  to 
the  temple,  so  the  Christians  would  meet  for  prayer  and 
worship  'at  home,'  that  is,  in  'synagogues'  of  their  own. — 
R.  B.  Rackham. 


Jc9feutrmac0<«'6  ©ocftrtne  of  (jleSetttpftott. 

By  the  Rev.  W.  Morgan,  M.A.,  Tarbolton. 


The  once  prevalent  view  that  the  theology  of 
Schleiermacher  has  its  spring  in  a  speculative 
and  Kslhetic  rather  than  in  a  religious  and  ethical 
interest,  has,  since  Ritschl,  been  largely  modified 
if  not  completely  surrendered.  The  author  of  the 
book  before  us,'  while  not  denying  the  existence 
of  a  strongly  speculative  and  .esthetic  strain,  seeks 
to  exhibit  Schleiermacher  as  above  all  a  teacher  of 
religion ;  and  he  has  singled  out  his  doctrine  of 
Redemption  for  treatment,  for  the  reason  that  it  is 
precisely  in  this  doctrine  that  the  praciical  signifi- 
cance of  any  theolt^y  comes  to  expression.  In  the 
fact  that  the  conception  of  Redemption  occupies  the 
central  postion  in  Schleiermachet's  system,  he  finds 
an  additional  proof  that  his  genius  was  in  the 
first  place  religious,  and  only  in  the  second 
philosophical. 

The  book  falls  into  two  parts;  the  first  being 
mainly  expository,    the  second  occupied   partly 


'  I^hrc  SckltU 

maikir-, 

■en  dir  Er 

Itiiung. 

on  II 

StL'phin,  Gymna 

sinllehrer 

n  ZilUu, 

London 

Willi 

fi  Norgaie. 

with  appreciation  and  criticism,  partly  with  an 
investigation  of  the  various  streams  of  influence 
that  meet  in  Schleier machetes  system. 

The  work  of  exposition  is  done  with  much  care, 
and  with  considerable  insight.  Schleiermacher's 
doctrine  of  Redemption,  like  his  theolt^cal 
system  in' general,  is  constructed  on  the  bads 
of  a  psychological  analysis  of  consciousness.  In 
the  evolution  of  our  consciousness  of  self  and 
of  a  world  overagainst  us,  he  finds  two  main 
stages  or  levels.  The  level  on  which  we  stand 
by  nature  has  its  characteristic  in  this,  that  the 
self  regards  itself  as  a  merely  particular  being  in 
a  world  of  particulars,  and  conceives  its  relation 
to  the  world  as  one  merely  of  free  action  and 
reaction.  There  is  no  controlling  sense  of  'the 
all,"  of  which  every  particular  is  bat  the  expression 
and  the  minister.  It  is  the  emergence  of  this 
feeling  for  the  unity  of  things  that  conducts  us 
from  the  sense-consciousness  to  the  second  and 
higher  level  of  the  God-consciousness.  In  tbe 
God-consciousness  the  sense  of  particularity,  inde- 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


4J7 


pendence,  freedom,  while  not  wholly  submerged, 
is  penetrated  and  overshadowed  by  the  sense  that 
all  particular  beings  and  objects  are  parts  of  an 
infinite  and  harmonious  whole,  and  that,  in  relation 
to  this  whole,  the  position  of  the  self  is  one  of 
absolute  dependence.  While  there  is  in  man  an 
innate  impulse  to  rise  from  the  lower  stage  to 
the  higher,  he  is  yet  too  much  in  subjection  to 
the  lower — and  this  is  what  Schleicrmacher  means 
by  sin — to  be  able,  from  his  own  resources,  to 
achieve  the  transition.  An  act  of  Redemption  is 
therefore  necessary,  if  he  is  to  reach  the  goal  of 
his  being.  Redemption — from  sense-consciousness 
to  God<onsciousness — is  viewed  in  two  aspects, 
according  as  it  alTects  thought  and  feeling  on  the 
one  hand,  or  will  and  conduct  on  the  other.  The 
redemption  of  the  will  (conversion)  signifies  the 
subjection  of  every  impulse  and  purpose  to  the 
determining  influence  of  the  God<onsciousness. 
With  respect  to  thought  and  feeling — the  primary 
seat  of  Redemption^t  has  the  significance  of 
reconciliation  or  justification.  The  sense  of  evil 
desert  and  guilt  fades  away  before  the  overpowering 
sense  of  union  with  God;  and  the  natural  ills  of 
life  lose  their  power  to  alienate  and  distract,  since 
the  redeemed  consciousness  no  longer  interprets 
them  as  punishment.  For  Schleicrmacher  the 
sense  of  guilt  belongs  only  to  the  lower  level,  and 
possesses  no  more  than  a  relative  validity,  as  a 
divinely  ordered  means  of  preventing  men  from 
resting  contentedly  there.  The  new  personality 
that  is  born  of  the  consciousness  of  union  with 
and  dependence  on  God,  leaves  it  behind,  with 
other  sources  of  unblessedness,  as  a  thing  with 
which  it  has  nothing  more  to  do.  The  blessed- 
ness that  is  the  goal  of  redemption  is  described 
also  in  more  positive  terms  as  sonship,  freedom, 
satisfaction,  but  in  language  which,  in  the  matter 
of  definiteness,  leaves  much  to  be  desired.  Re- 
demption is  an  historical  act  of  God,  and  has  its 
starting-point  in  the  person  and  work  of  Jesus 
Christ.  The  significance  of  Christ  as  Redeemer 
is  based  on  the  complete  supremacy  of  His  God- 
consciousness  over  His  sense-consciousness,  and 
in  the  manner  in  which  the  former  takes  the 
various  elements  of  the  latter  into  its  service. 
Christ  is  the  perfect  type  of  the  true  God- 
consciousness, — this  is  what  we  are  to  understand 
by  His  sinlessness, — and  as  such  he  is  the  power 
that  creates  it  in  others.  These  two  ideas  of  type 
and  power  are  summed  up  by  Schleiermacher  In 


the  Platonic  category  of  Architype  (urbild)  which 
he  is  fond  of  applying  to  Christ.  The  effective 
element  in  Christ  is  not  to  be  sought  in  isolated 
moments  of  His  life,  such  as  His  death  and  resur- 
rection, but  in  the  total  impression  produced  by 
His  words  and  deeds.  His  death  has  significance 
only  as  exhibiting  the  fulness  and  steadfastness  of 
His  God-consciousness ;  and  while  the  resurrection 
was  the  visible  seal  of  God's  acceptance  of  His 
work,  the  true  disciple  does  not  stand  in  need  of 
such  external  witness.  Schleiermacher  led  the 
way  in  assigning  to  the  Christian  community  a 
place  and  significance  in  the  work  of  redemption. 
Through  the  believing  community  it  was  that 
redemption  was  introduced  as  an  operative  force 
into  the  course  of  historical  development,  to 
diffuse  itself  in  accordance  with  psychological 
and  historical  laws.  Since  the  God-consciousness 
lies  in  the  region  of  feeling,  it  cannot  be  com- 
municated by  doctrine,  commandment,  or  even 
by  example,  but  only  through  a  self-exhibition  in 
word  and  deed.  Thus  to  exhibit  the  God- 
consciousness  is  the  function  of  the  Christian 
community  ;  and  the  result  of  its  witness  is  that 
the  flame  is  communicated  from  soul  to  soul. 
But  while  the  Christian  community  in  some  sense 
mediates  the  God-consciousness  of  Christ  to  the 
individual,  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  it  takes 
the  place  of  Christ.  What  it  contributes  to  re- 
demption, apart  from  the  holding  up  of  Christ's 
image,  is  only  of  a  preparatory  character  ;  fellow- 
ship with  Christ  Himself,  the  historical  Christ, 
remains  the  one  source  of  blessedness  and  per- 
fection. 

The  second  part  of  Stephan's  book  is  less 
satisfactory  than  the  first  It  suffers  from  frequent 
repetition  and  a  want  of  perspicuity  and  order. 
The  characteristics  that  rendered  Schleiermacher's 
work  of  epoch-making  significance,  though  not 
overlooked,  are  scarcely  brought  into  sufficient 
prominence.  Undue  importance  is  attached  to 
the  fact  that  he  placed  redemption  at  the  centre  of 
his  system.  With  greater  justice  Stephan  lays 
stress  on  the  service  he  rendered  in  rescuing 
religion  from  the  barren  intetlectualism  that  was 
as  characteristic  of  current  orthodoxy  as  of  current 
rationalism.  He  could  accomplish  this  because — 
partly  under  the  influence  of  the  Romantic  move- 
ment, but  especially  from  his  Moravian  training — 
he  found  the  root  of  religion,  not  in  knowledge  or 
in  action,  but  in  feeling  or  immediate  sense.     God 


426 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


is  not  a  product  of  the  understanding,  nor  does 
He  approach  us  through  dogmas,  but  He  meeis  us 
as  a  living  power  in  our  innermost  experience, 
and  lays  His  hand  upon  us.  Schleiermacher's 
own  view  of  religion  as  the  sense  of  '  the  all '  and 
of  our  dependence  on  it,  may  not  be  tenable, 
certainly  it  is  not  adequate;  his  view  of  religious 
knowledge  as  a  product  of  reflexion  on  the  God- 
consciousness  may  not  exactly  hit  the  mark ; 
nevertheless  it  is  due  to  him  that  the  peculiarity 
of  religion  as  distinguished  alike  from  morality 
and  from  philosophical  meditation,  and  of 
religious  knowledge  as  distinguished  from  theo- 
retical knowledge,  has  come  to  some  measure  of 
theological  recognition.  The  whole  Protestant 
theology  of  the  present  may  be  said  to  stand  on 
the  ground  which  he  marked  out.  Even  the 
strictest  orthodoxy  is  not  now  content  to  treat 
"  religious  truth  as  a  mere  system  of  authoritative 
and  miraculously  communicated  dogmas ;  and  the 
most '  liberal '  theology  looks  less  to  the  subjective 
reason  than  to  the  historically  nourished  and 
conditioned  consciousness  as  the  ground  of 
religious  truth.  Hardly  less  important  was 
Schleiermacher's  service  in  calling  attention  to 
Christianity  as  a  fiower.  Rationalism,  isolating 
the  individual  from  the  past,  recognized  no 
redemptive  forces  but  those  native  toy  the 
individual ;  Christianity  was  allowed  to  con- 
tribute nothing  more  than  precept  and  example. 
Orthodoxy,  doubtless,  had  not  wholly  forgotten 
that  the  gospel  is  the  power  of  God,  but  its 
conception  of  this  power  was  of  a  purely  magical 
character,  without  any  relation  to  the  psycho- 
logical laws  of  man's  life.  In  setting  Christ  at  the 
centre  of  the  Christian  consciousness,  as  the 
power  through  which  it  is  generated  and  sustained, 
Schleiermacher  prepared  the  way  for  a  true  his- 
torical and  psychological  conception  of  redemption, 
and  for  a  Christo-centric  theology. 

With  respect  to  the  influences  which  met  in 
Schleiermacher's  system,  Stephan  gives,  as  the 
most  important,  the  aesthetic  culture  and 
monistic  philosophy  of  the  day  on  the  one  hand, 
and  the  philosophy  of  Kant  on  the  other.  The 
influence  of  Kant  is  perhaps  somewhat  over- 
estimated. There  is  less  resemblance  between 
the  transcendentalism  of  the  founder  of  modern 
philosophy  and  that  of  the  founder  of  modern 
theology  than  Stephan  tries  to  make  out.  About 
'he    influence    of    the    current    .-esthetic    culture 


(Schiller,  Goethe,  and  the  Romantic  movement 
generally)  and  of  monistic  philosophy  (Fichte, 
Schlegel,  etc.)  there  can  be  no  doubt.  It  is  stamped 
on  every  conception  in  Schleiermacher's  system. 
We  miss  in  Stephan  any  adequate  criticism  of  bis 
conception  of  God,  although  it  is  precisely  here 
that  the  aesthetic  and  monistic  strain  is  most 
prominent  and  most  injurious.  The  deficiency  is 
partly  made  up  in  his  criticism  of  other  points.  He 
finds  the  stamp  of  an  sesthetic,  rather  than  of  a 
religious-ethical,  view  of  the  world  and  of  life 
in  Schleiermacher's  conception  of  blessedness. 
Schleiermacher  has  nothing  to  say  about  mxr- 
cammg  the  world;  his  blessedness  amounts  to 
little  more  than  a  sense  of  harmony  with  the 
world.  In  the  God-consciousness  the  soul  is 
caught  up  into  a  region  where  the  pains  and 
struggles  of  earth  cease  to  distract.  The  same 
esthetic  and  monistic  influence  is  at  least  partly 
responsible  for  his  undervaluing  of  personality. 
The  world  is  for  Schleiermacher  a  uniform  whole. 
Man  is  not  lifted  above  nature ;  in  God's  sight  he 
stands  on  the  same  level  with  it,  and  God  has  no 
particular  concern  with  him  whether  in  his  right- 
eousness or  in  his  sin.  The  result  is  that  a  real 
communion  with  God  is  excluded,  that  the  relation 
of  the  divine  purpose  of  redemption  to  sin  is 
taken  away,  aad  that  man  loses  his  self-purpose, 
retaining  a  religious  right  to  existence  only  in  so  far 
as  he  is  an  instrument  of  the  divine  world-govern- 
ment A  further  consequence  of  this  under- 
valuing of  personality  appears  in  his  conception  of 
the  person  of  ChrisL  Christ  is  considered  only 
as  the  architypal  subject  of  the  new  piety;  His 
personal  work  and  His  character  as  Revelation 
are  almost  entirely  overlooked.  The  ethico- 
religious  traits  that  constitute  Him  a  revelation  of 
the  invisible  God,  disappear  in  the  purely  a2Sthetic 
conception  of  His  life  as  a  self-exhibition  of  the 
God-consciousness.  To  this  more  than  anything 
else  is  due  Schleiermacher's  failure  to  bring  Christ 
into  any  direct  connexion  with  the  forgiveness  of 
sin.  The  holy  love  that  creates  at  once  the  sense 
of  sin  and  the  assurance  of  forgiveness  has  no  value 
attached  to  it.  We  have  not  been  able  to  agree  with 
the  author  in  all  that  he  claims  for  Schleiermacher 
as  one  who  has  a  message  even  for  the  present, 
but  none  the  less  we  can  cordially  rec<%nize  his 
careful  work  as  a  real  contribution  to  the  under- 
standing of  a  system  which,  whatever  its  defects, 
is  yet  of  unique  historical  significance. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Con^rtSu^ione    anb    Comm^nie, 


*(§cvn  of  T3?ftfer  an^  ^i>irif.' 
I. 

I  AM  so  much  interested  in  your  remarks  on 
p.  342  of  The  Expository  TnrES  for  May 
on  ihe  subject  of  the  laying  on  0/  hands,  rather 
than  Baptism,  being  the  occasion  when  the  Holy 
Spirit  was  given,  that  I  trust  you  will  excuse 
roe  troubling  you  with  a  yet  further  point,  which 
I  got  in  Matthew  Henry's  Commentary  on  Aits 
{19'-').  These  are  his  words:  'Paul  solemnly 
prayed  to  God  to  give  them  those  gifts,  signified 
by  his  laying  his  hands  on  them,  which  was  a 
gesture  used  in  blessing  by  the  patriarchs,  especi- 
ally in  conveying  the  great  trust  of  the  promise, 
as  Go  48'^  The  Spirit  being  the  great  promise 
of  the  New  Testament,  the  apostles  conveyed  it 
by  the  imposition  of  hands.' 

Was  it  not  the  prayer  of  Jacob  or  of  Paul  that 
was  effectual  in  bringing  down  a  blessing?  and 
would  not  those  for  whom  Luke  and  Paul  wrote 
understand  '  the  laying  on  of  hands '  to  mean  the 
prayers  of  those  who  used  this  gesture,  which  was 
only  meant  10  designate  the  person  for  whom  the 
prayers  were  offered  up?  This  suggestion  of 
Henry's  appears  to  me  to  lift  the  ceremony  to  a 
more  spiritual  level. 

Margaret  D,  Gehsox. 


II. 

Referring  to  the  exposition  of  the  words, '  Except 
a  man  be  born  of  water  and  the  spirit,'  is  not  the 
simplest  way  after  all  to  explain  them  with  the 
thought  in  our  mind  that  the  whole  of  the  con- 
versation is  not  recorded  in  (he  Fourth  Gospel, 
and  it  is  therefore  quite  necessary  to  read  between 
the  lines,  however  much  the  principle  has,  as  a 
rule,  to  be  guarded  ?  Now  it  is  probable  in  the 
highest  degree  that  the  subject  of  John  the 
Baptist's  mission  and  methods  would  be  discussed 
in  this  connexion  by  our  Lord  and  Nicodemus,  and 
the  fact  would  be  dwelt  upon  naturally  that  John 
was  baptizing  with  water,  while  pointing  forward  to 
the  coming  baptism  of  Jesus :  '  I  indeed  baptize 
you  with  water :  but  He  shall  baptize  you  with  the 
Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire.'  So  that,  with  His  own 
mission  and  method  upon  His   heart,  our  Lord 


would  logically  and  naturally  say,  '  Except  a  man 
be  bom  of  water  (John's  preparatory  work,  which 
Nicodemus  might  not  only  be  acquainted  with, 
but  a  partaker  in)  and  of  the  spirit'  (our  Lord's 
completion  of  John's  mission),  etc. 

Do  we  need  any  other  explanation  than  this, 
either  Wendt's  or  Dr.  Taylor's  or  Mr.  Neil's? 
Albert  H.  Walker, 
Biislol. 

in. 

Mr.  James  Neil's  explanation  of  'water and  the 
spirit'  as  a  hendiadys  is  at  least  as  old  as 
Coleridge  {Aids  to  Reflection  on  Spiritual  Religion, 
Aph,  xxiv.  Comment) — 

'You  are  not  so  unretentive  a  scholar  as  to 
have  forgotten  l\\^  paten's  et  auro  of  your  Virgil ; 
or  if  you  were,  you  are  not  so  inconsistent  as  to 
translate  the  Hebraism  "spirit  and  fire"  in  one 
place  by  "spiritual  fire,"  and  yet  to  refuse  to 
translate  "  water  and  spirit "  by  "  spiritual  water  " 
in  another  place  ;  or  if,  as  I  myself  think,  the 
different  position  marks  a  different  sense,  yet 
that  the  former  must  be  ejusdem  generis  with  the 
latter — the  water  of  repentance,  reformation  in 
conduct;  and  the  spirit  that  which  purifies  the 
inmost  principle  of  action,  as  fire  purges  the 
metal  substantially,  and  not  cleansing  the  surface 
only.'  A,  S,  Aglen. 

.■Ilylh. 


'(Smmaue'  mietctften  for  <t  ll^erson. 

Three  of  the  Old  Latin  MSS  offer  in  Lk  24" 
the  rather  remarkable  reading,  cleo/as  et  ammaus 
{ainmaus  ei  cleopas),  where  the  Vulgate  has  emmaus 
simply  (see  Wordsworth  and  White's  apparatus  ad 
loe.).  There  is,  as  far  as  I  can  find,  no  trace  of  such 
a  reading  in  any  Greek  manuscript.  It  shows  that 
Emmaus  was  regarded  by  some  as  the  name  of  the 
second  of  the  two  companions  on  the  memorable 
journey.  This  reading  has  additional  interest 
from  the  fact  that  it  was  the  reading  in  the  Bible 
used  by  '  Am brosi aster.'  This  fact  could  not  be 
learned  from  the  Benedictine  text,  which  has  been 
'doctored'  to  suit  the  ordinary  reading.  But 
collations  of  various  old  MSS,  which  have  been 


430 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


kindly  put  at  my  disposal  by  Father  H.  Brewer,  S.J., 
of  Feldkirch,  show  what  the  author  realty  wrote. 
It  is  in  the  commentary  on  Ro  i^  (Migne, 
Patrel,  Lai.  xvii.  50  B  (of  old  edition),  516  (of 
later  edition))  that  the  verse  Lk  24''  is  thus  intro- 
duced;  'Dicente  Ckopka  in  Emmaus'  (so  the 
Benedictines).  Bat  both  the  Cologne  MSS  read  '  ti 
Emmau,'  and  this  is  undoubtedly  the  correct  read- 
ing. Again,  on  i  Co  15'  (Migne,  P.L.  xvii.  i6i  B 
(175  D)),  the  Monte  Cassino  and  Vatican  MSS  read 
'  Cleophas  it  Emmaus  testaniur  in  euangelio  cata 
tucam.'  The  MS.  tradition  of  the  commentaries 
of  '  Ambrosiaster '  is  very  confused,  whereas  that 
of  the  Quaestionts  Veteris  et  Novi  Testamenti  by  the 
same  author  is  comparatively  clear.  Fortunately, 
there  is  a  parallel  passage  in  the  latter  work  to  prove 
that  a  correct  view  of  the  passage  in  the  commen- 
tary has  been  taken.  Again,  the  Benedictine 
edition  (reprinted  in  Migne,  P.L.  xxxv.)  has  given 
an  inferior  reading.  In  Quaesl.  73  (col,  ai6S, 
11,  16  IT.)  we  read  as  follows  : — 'Denigae  Ckophai  ef 
alius  disdpubts  Emmaus  euntes  in  via  tristes,'  etc. 
(then  follows  Lk  24^').  Four  ninth-century  manu- 
scripts, three  of  which  I  have  collated,  read 
'  I}«nique  Cleophas  et  Emmaus  euntes  in  via  tristes,' 
etc.  I  regard  alius  disciputus  as  an  editorial  in- 
sertion, without  any  MS.  authority.  The  order  of 
the  names  is  that  of  the  Old  LaUn  Codex  Veron- 
ensis  {b)  of  the  Gospels.  The  copy  of  the  Gospels 
used  by  'Ambrosiaster'  was,  therefore,  closely 
akin  to,  if  not  identical  with,  b. 

St.  Ambrose  {expos,  euang.  Luc.  lib.  x.  g  173, 
and  often  elsewhere')  speaks  of  ' Ammaoni  et 
Cleopae.'  I  have  not  access  to  the  new  edition 
of  the  commentary  on  Luke  by  C.  SchenkI,  just 
published  in  the  Vienna  Corpus,  where  details 
about  the  MSS  readings  are  given,  but  Mr.  W.  B. 
Anderson,  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  kindly 
copied  this  passage  for  me,  and  another  from  the 
same  work  (p.  340),  '  Ammaus  et  Cleopas  .  .  . 
tesiantur.'  A.  SouTER, 

AbcriUen  Unnieriily. 


C?is9o|>  (gi^i^  on  iU  %m\t^ 
(fission  (proBfem. 

With  reference  to  Mr,  Ewing's  interesting  com- 
munication on  this  subject,  printed  in  the  April 
'  Sec  the  note  in  Migne. 


number  of  The  Expositorv  Times,  I  trust  I  may 
be  allowed  to  make  one  or  two  remarks. 

I.  Mr.  Ewing  says :  '  Dr.  BIyth  seems  to  assume 
that  a  Jew  becomes  a  Gentile  if,  abandoning  the 
synagogue  and  the  ancient  cermonies,  he  becomes 
a  Christian.  Is  this  so?'  What  Bishop  Btyih 
insisted  on  in  the  article  in  question  was  the 
necessity  of  recognizing  Jewish  nationality  in 
Christian  missionary  work.  Western  forms  and 
expressions  of  Christianity  are  suitable  to  Westerns, 
but  not  necessarily  to  Easterns.  But  the  only 
forms  of  Christianity  as  a  matter  of  fact  presented 
to  the  Jew  are  Western  (/>.  non-Jewish).  If  a 
Jew  is  taught  to  regard  the  acceptance  of  Chris- 
tianity as  necessarily  involving  absorpdon  in  one 
or  other  branches  of  the  Western  Church,  this  is 
practically  equivalent  to  asking  him  to  become  a 
Gentile.  Hence  the  significant  fact  that  the  vast 
majority  of  those  Jews  who,  e.g.,  in  England  accepi 
Chrisitanily,  are  drawn  from  the  ranks  of  those 
who  are  willing  to  become  anglicized.  As  Mr. 
Lukyn  Williams,  in  his  admirable  little  book, 
Missions  to  the  Jews  (S.P.C.K.),  says  : »  *  If  a  Jew 
is  converted  he,  from  want  of  sufficient  choice 
among  Jewish  women,  marries  a  Gentile,  while 
his  children  for  a  certainty,  and  even  he  himself 
for  a  probability,  become  assimilated  to  Gentile 
surroundings,  and  practically  become  indistinguish- 
able  from  the  English,  Germans,  or  French  among 
whom  they  dwell.' 

To  adduce  the  case  of  the  Zionists  is  hardly  to 
the  point.  Whatever  Zionism  may  mean  (and  it 
by  no  means  involves  necessarily  separarion  from 
the  synagogue),  il  certainly  does  not  imply 
identification  with  any  non-Jewish  society  ot 
organization.  Christianity  as  it  is  now  presented 
to  the  Jews  does.  The  remedy  for  this  is  surely 
in  the  direction  for  which  Bishop  Blyth  pleads, 
namely,  the  recognition  within  Christianity  of 
Jewish  nationality  and  racial  distinctiveness. 

If  a  Hebrew  Christian  congregation  (or  congre- 
gations) could  be  formed,  with  their  own  officcis 
and  clergy,  and  their  own  distinctive  forms  of 
prayer,  this  defect  would  be  remedied.  Chris- 
tianity would  then  appeal  with  greater  force  to 
those  members  of  the  Jewish  race  who  are  not 
willing  to  be  absorbed,  who  are  proud  of  their 
race  and  their  national  past,  and  who  cannot 
believe  that  that  race  has  been  kept  distinct,  all 
through  the  Chtisrian  centuries,  in  order  to 
=  '■■  55  f. 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


43' 


become  absorbed  in  non-Jewish  societies  at  the 
last  Of  course  those  Jews  who  wish  for  absorp- 
tion can  always  identify  themselves  with  non- 
Jewish  organizations.  There  is  nothing  to  prevent 
them  doing  so. 

1.  Mr.  Ewjng,  I  am  glad  to  see,  by  Jio  means 
scouts  the  idea  of  a  Hebrew  •  Christian  Chuich. 
No  doubt  there  are  formidable  difficulties  in  such 
an  undertaking.  But  Rabinowitz's  experiment 
need  not  deter  those  who  come  after.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  Rabinowitz  did  not  attempt  or 
profess  to  found  a  Church.  Theie  was  no 
organization  in  connexion  with  his  movement 
worthy  of  the  name — no  administration  of  sacra- 
ments, as  far  as  he  was  concerned.  He  simply 
preached  in  a  mission  hall  to  floating  congrega- 
tions. In  a  new  movement  in  this  direction 
(such  as  Bishop  Blyth  contemplates)  greater 
definiteness  would  be  aimed  at,  and  it  remains  to 
be  seen  whether  it  would  not  prove  a  success. 

3.  Of  course  there  is  the  danger  of  Judaizing 
tendencies  in  such  a  movement,  which  must  be 
carefully  guarded  against.  But  I  am  sanguioe 
enough  to  believe  that  this  difficulty  can  be  over 
come.  Genuine  Christianity  can,  I  venture  to 
think  after  some  study  of  the  question,  be  ex- 
pressed in  real  Jewish  Forms.  By  the  bye,  does 
not  Mr.  Ewing,  in  this  connexion,  confuse  Mr. 
J.  Lichtenstein  of  the  Imtiiutum  Ddilzschianutn 
of  Leipzig  with  the  famous  Christian  Rabbi 
Lichtenstein  of  Budapest  ?  As  a  matter  of  fact 
they  are  not,  I  believe,  related. 

G.  H.  Box. 

MerthaiU  Taylor f  Sckool,  E.C. 


S9e  ^nftngement  of  i^t  feorb'e 
(prdger, 

I  HAVE  begun  lately  to  glance  through — I  am 
sorry  want  of  time  forbids  me  to  study — the 
earlier  volumes  of  The  Expository  Times 
which  had  appeared  before  I  became  a  subscriber 
to  the  journal.  There  are  plenty  of  topics  on 
which  I  should  like  to  enter  into  a  discussion, 
but  at  present  I  beg  only  to  express  my  indebted- 
ness on  the  point  named  above. 

When  I  was  favoured  with  the  task  of  writing 
the  article  '  Lord's  Prayer '  for  Encyclopedia  Btblica, 
I  devoted  a  short  paragraph  also  to  its  'number- 
ing and  arrangement,'  and  said  (col.  2819) : '  Ori- 


gen  and  Chrysostom  counted  six  petitions ;  they 
are  followed  by  the  Reformed  Churches.  WH 
print  tht  Lord's  Prayer  in  Mt  in  3  x  j  stiehi, 
in  Lk  without  s trophic  arrangement.  Words- 
worth-White make,  in  their  Latin  New  Testament, 
of  pater-nomen  tuum  one  stichus,  of  el  ne  indutas 
and  sed  libera  two.  .  .  .  The  divition  and  arrange- 
ment of  WH  prove  the  best: 

I  am  sure  that  almost  everyone  who  takes  a 
copy  of  the  Greek  edition  of  WH  in  hand  will 
share  my  view ;  but  from  vol.  li.  of  The  Exposi- 
tory Times  I  learn  that  I  have  misunderstood 
their  arrangement.  In  the  said  volume  there 
appeared  (in  May  1891)  an  article  by  Principal 
M'Clellan,  'On  the  Rendering  "Daily  Bread"  in 
the  Lord's  Prayer.'  This  was  followed  by  some 
communications.  One  correspondent  sent  a  letter 
of  Bishop  Jebb  on  the  subject  from  Foster's 
Life,  and  the  Editor  printed  the  most  important 
part  of  this  letter,  its  arrangement  of  the  Prayer, 
exactly  as  it  stands — 
1.  IIATEP  q/iii>  e  ic  Tuif  OK «{•»«;,  "1 

'  kyiiuiltttt  TO  0»0/««  9W,  \ 

EtiitTU  i  fiuoAiia  am,       \ 
Titttinrt,  TO  iAii/tu  tw,    I  1 

nc  It  l>vp»Kjl,  Km   IK  TBf  -/lit.  ] 


suggestion  of  the  Bishop  in  con- 
nexion with  this  arrangement,  namely,  that  the 
corresponding  lines  end  with  the  same  tetter  of 
the  alphabet,  the  reader  may  consult  vol.  h. 
p.  242. — On  p.  254  f.  the  Editor  reprinted  another 
communication  from  \ht  Bible  Christian  Magazine 
for  June,  by  Rev.  H.  W,  Horwill,  Plymouth. 
This  writer  refers  to  a  passage  in  Westcott-Hort's 
Introduction,  which  I  had  overlooked,  giving  the 
key  to  their  arrangement,  which  is  exactly  the 
same  as  that  of  Bishop  Jebb.  The  passage  runs 
thus  (§421)— 

'We  have  been  especially  glad  to  mark  the 
essentially  metrical  structure  of  the  Lord's  Prajer 
in  St.  Matthew's  Gospel,  with  its  invocation, 
its  first  triplet  of  single  clauses  with  one  common 
burden  expressed  after  the  third  but  implied  after 
all,  and  its  second  triplet  of  double  clauses 
variously  antithetical  in  form  and  sense.' 

The    difference   is  clear :    I    had    understood 


43' 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


u)S  iv  ovpav^  Kai  cVt  y^s  as  second  line  of  the 
third  petition,  while  they  really  understand  it 
as  common  'burden'  of  the  first  part,  parallel 
almost  with  the  invocation.  Now  if  one  will 
look  more  closely  than  I  did  on  their  typo- 
graphical arrangemenr,  applying  a  rule  to  the 
beginnings  of  the  lines,  it  will  become  apparent 
that  in  fact  the  first  letter  of  uis  iv  otparif  does  not 
stand  in  an  exact  line  with  the  first  letter  of  &s 
flfuf,  (OS  Ktt!,  and  (UAi,  as  it  would  be  necessary  in 
my  understanding  of  their  arrangement,  but  stands 
a  little  farther  back,  exactly  under  the  first  letter 
of  the  word  Udrtp.  This,  however,  only  in  the 
original  edition  ;  in  the  minor  edition  and  in  the 
impression  with  the  '  Macmillan  fount  of  type,' 
this  distinction  is  not  to  be  observed,  and  even 
in  the  original  impression  the  difference  ought  to 
have  been  marked  a  little  more  clearly,  that  no 
mistake  about  its  meaning  would  have  been 
possible. — Perhaps  it  may  be  added  in  this  con- 
nexion, that  in  their  first  attempt,  in  the  privately 
distributed  copies  of  1871,  they  had  put  is  in 
brackets,  printing  [is]  Iv  oipav£  kqi  «Vi  -/^s. 

This    is   one  specimen  of  what  may  be  learnt 
from  earlier  volumes  of  The  Expository  Times. 
Ed,  Nestle. 


'3ew/  '2itm6B,'  *3e»i65,'  'Jewrg.' 

The  appearance  of  the  first  volume  of  the  great 
/ejvis/i  Encydopediit  (New  York  and  London : 
Funk  &Wagnalls,  1901)  suggested  to  the  under- 
signed the  question  when  and  how  in  English  the 
form  'Jew,'  'Jewish'  originated  with  the  loss  of 
the  essential  /  On  'Jewry'  the  editor  of  the 
Dictionary  of  the  Bible  gives  some  details,  but  not 
on  '  Jew.'  Perhaps  others  besides  the  undersigned 
would  be  thankful  for  some  instruction  on  this 
En.  Nestle. 


point. 

Afaiiltro. 


Recent   commentators  agree    in    the  suggestion 
that  Christ  alludes  (Jn  i**)  to  some  recent  crisis 
or  special  incident  in  Nathanael's  spiritual  experi- 
ence which  had    taken  place  while  he  sat  under  j 
the  fig  tree  (see  H.  Cowan  in  the  Dictionary  0/  , 
the  Bible,  iii.   489);  but  note  that  the  sitting   is  \ 


not  expressly  stated  (i")  >.  Very  different  was  one 
of  the  old  traditions. 

When  the  murder  broke  out  against  the  children 
of  Bethlehem,  tells  the  Syriac  of  the  story  of  Maiy 
{published  by  E.  A.  W.  Budge,  London,  1899, p.  Si 
of  the  English  translation),  and  they  were  about 
to  be  slain  by  Herod,  the  mother  of  Nalhanael 
took  him  and  set  (literally,  hung)  bim  up  in  a 
fig  tree  and  covered  him  with  the  leaves  thereof. 
And  when  he  came  to  Jesus  to  see  Him,  Jesus 
answered  and  said  unto  him,  '  Behold  a  child  of 
Israel,  in  whom,  verily,  there  is  no  guile.'  And 
Nathanael  said  unto  Him :  'Where  didst  Thou  know 
me?'  Then  Jesus  said  unto  him:  'I  saw  thee 
before  Philip  called  thee,  when  thou  wast  under 
the  fig  tree.'  And  Nathanael  went  and  told  his 
mother  everything  which  Jesus  had  narrated  unto 
him  ;  and  his  mother  said  unto  him,  'Verily,  my  son, 
this  is  the  Messiah,  for  whom  creation  waiteth.' 

In  almost  the  same  way,  only  a  little  shorter, 
this  is  told  in  the  Book  of  the  Bee,  the  edition  of 
which  we  owe  to  the  same  scholar  (Oxford,  1886, 
p.  86  of  the  English  translation) :  There  it  is  the 
father  of  the  child  Nathanael  who  '  took  him  and 
wrapped  him  round  and  "laid  him  under"a  ii$ 
tree,  and  he  was  saved  from  slaughter.' 

Did  the  explanation  originate  on  Syriac  soil, 
because  in  the  Syriac  Bible  '\iTpaT}kt[t-ip  is  rendered 
iiNX"  13,  '  a  son  of  Israel,'  which  might  also  be 
understood,  a  child,  '  one  of  the  children  of  Israel,' 
and  thus  remind  of  the  children  of  Bethleheni,  in 
whom  there  was  '  no  guile'? 

It  is  further  worth  mentioning  that  in  the  words 
of  Jesus,  'an  Israelite  indeed,  in  whom  Is  no 
guile,'  there  may  be  an  allusion  not  only  to 
-lUJ',  ■'  upright,'  but  also  to  ^N  ntr\  C"K,  '  a  man  who 
sees  God'  (Cn  25^''  32*9).  Eb.  Nestle 

'  Anolher  curious  case  that  silling  is  ascribed  10  one,  of 
whum  the  Bible  does  not  state  it  expresi>ly,  otfecs  Juslin  the 
Martyr,  who  twice  writes  on  John  the  Baptist  :  'lii^«»  ^ip 
KaSttofUvov  /wl  rou  'lopJilrov  {Dial.  Stj),  and  'luxir'^  l^> 
TpofMl\vet  ^oHf  TOit  itep<^oi!  mroKK'ii'  Koi  Xpurrit  hi 
oiVroS  ■taSitofi'i'ov  iirl  ToS'lopSiycu  ranmoD  ixc\eiir  frtwt 
T(  aOrir  toS  wpo^ntri^"'  «a'  iiarrlltir  {iiiJ.  51).  We  Me 
accuslomed  to  imagine  the  BaplisI  as  slaiulingM  the  Jotdao. 


Primed  by  Morkison  &  Gibb  Limitkd,  Tufield  Works, 
and  Published  by  T.  &.  T.  Clabk,  38  George  Sueei, 
Edinburgh,  It  is  requested  that  atl  lilenr;  eom- 
mimicaiions  be  addr^i{K<|  fo  ^Kf^^ifif^^SA.  Cynis, 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


aHLotte   of  (gtcenf   Hjcpoeidon. 


Where  were  the  disciples  assembled  on  the  Day 
of  Pentecost?  St.  Luke  says  'they  were  all 
together  in  one  place';  and  again  he  says  that 
the  sound  'filled  all  the  house  where  they  were 
sitting.'  What  house  was  it?  Professor  Chase 
believes  that  it  was  the  Temple, 

The  question  arises  at  the  very  beginning  of 
his  new  book  on  the  Cndibility  of  the  Ads  of  the 
Apostles  (Macmillan).  For  Dr.  Chase  says  that 
we  cannot  get  into  touch  with  the  author  of  the 
Acts  till  we  observe  that  he  gives  the  fulfilment  of 
Christ^  promise  of  the  Spirit  the  foremost  place 
in  bis  record.  But  St.  Luke  is  interested  in  men. 
He  is  not  interested  in  dates  and  places.  He 
therefore  makes  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise 
unmistakable  and  impressive,  but  he  is  not  care- 
ful to  tell  us  where  it  occurred.  That  it  occurred 
in  Jerusalem  there  is  no  doubt ;  Dr.  Chase  believes 
that  it  also  occurred  in  the  Temple, 

Does  not  St.  Luke  telb  us  that,  both  before  and 
after  the  day  of  Pentecost,  the  apostles  were  'con- 
tinually in  the  Temple'?  He  tells  us  also  that  they 
went  to  the  Temple  at  the  appointed  hours  of 
prayer.  Dr.  Chase  believes  that  the  Master  had 
consecrated  the  Temple  anew  for  them.  He 
coants  it  probable  that  they  went  with  Him  to 
the  Temple  on  the  eve  of  the  Passover,  and  that 
Vol.  XIII.— io. 


it  was  there  they  listened  to  His  prayer  of  con- 
secration, recorded  for  us  in  the  seventeenth 
chapter  of  St.  John.  Now  it  was  the  custom  of 
the  priests  to  open  the  gates  of  the  Temple  at 
midnight,  both  at  the  Passover  and  at  Pentecost, 
in  order  that  before  the  morning  sacrifice  they 
might  examine  the  oflerings  of  the  people  as  they 
crowded  in.  If  other  pious  Jews  were  at  the 
Temple  when  'the  day  of  Pentecost  was  being 
fulfilled,'  Dr.  Chase  cannot  believe  that  the 
apostles  were  anywhere  else. 

And  the  language  of  St.  Luke  fits  the  Temple 
best  St,  Luke  says  'they  were  all  together  in  one 
place.'  St.  Paul  twice  uses  almost  the  same 
phrase  of  assembling  for  worship  (i  Co  w'"'  14^). 
St.  Luke  says  that  'it  filled  all  the  house  where 
they  were  sitting,'  The  'house'  is  the  regular 
term,  both  in  the  Septuagint  and  in  Josephus,  for 
the  chambers  of  the  Temple.  St.  Luke  says 
again  that  'the  multitude  came  together.'  'The 
multitude' — note  the  definite  article  (to  irX^tfos) 
— is  St.  Luke's  own  expression  for  the  worshippers 
in  the  Temple  courts  (Lk  i»,  Ac  21"). 

Well,  if  it  was  the  Temple,  what  then  ?  Then, 
says  Professor  Chase,  certain  obscurities  in  the 
narrative  are  at  once  disposed  of.  The  presence 
of  large  numbers  of  Jews  of  the  Dispersion,  and 


434 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


the  immediate  gathering  of '  the  multitude '  to  the 
place  where  the  apostles  were  sitting,  are  hoth 
explained.  The  worshippers,  waiting  in  the 
Temple  courts,  heard  at  once  of  the  occurrence, 
and  flocked  to  the  chamber  where  it  took  place. 
Aod  it  is  easy  to  understand  how  a  large  crowd 
could  be  accommodated  there,  and  could  listen  to 
St.  Peter's  speech.  It  is  not  so  easy  if  it  was  a 
house  in  one  of  the  narrow  streets  of  Jerusalem. 

Has  the  President  of  Queens'  College  proved 
his  point?  He  passes  at  once  to  a  deeper  and 
more  debatable  matter. 

He  passes  to  the  wonder  of  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost: 'There  appeared  unto  them  tongues  parting 
asunder,  like  as  of  lire ;  and  it  sat  upon  each  one 
of  them,'  There  are  two  ways  of  r^arding  this 
statement  The  one  way  is  to  put  it  entirely  aside 
as  mythical ;  the  other  is  to  accept  without  under- 
standing or  questioning  it.  Are  there  only  two 
ways  7     Dr.  Chase  thinks  there  must  be  a  third. 

It  is  possible,  he  thinks,  to  understand  it.  Mow 
Dr.  Chase  does  not  deny  the  supernatural  in  the 
New  Testament.  But  when  he  seeks  to  '  under- 
stand '  this  miracle,  he  finds  it  easiest  to  explain  it 
away.  He  accepts  the  miracles  in  the  Gospels  and, 
apparently,  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  But  this 
miracle  is  different.  It  belongs  to  a  dilTerent 
order.  It  stands  alone.  And  he  thinks  that  at 
the  moment  when  the  illuminating  Spirit  was 
poured  upon  the  Church,  it  was  the  sunlight,  the 
sunlight  of  a  new  day,  that  smote  upon  the 
apostles.  'Was  it  unnatural,'  he  asks,  'that 
Christians  should  see  a  deeper  meaning  in  the 
sun's  rays  streaming  through  the  colonnades  and 
the  arches  of  the  Temple  and  resting  upon  the 
apostles,  and,  connecting  the  sight  with  the 
wonders  of  apostolic  utterance  which  ensued, 
should  play  upon  a  not  uncommon  use  of  the 
word  "tongue,"  and  speak  of  "tongues  like  as  of 
fire"  resting  on  the  apostles'?  And  he  concludes 
that '  in  the  compressed  narrative  of  the  Acts  at 
this  point  St.  Luke  has  blended  the  language  of 


history  and  the  language  of  the  allegorical  inter- 
pretation of  history.' 


'  Verily  1  say  unto  you,  This  generation  shall  not 
pass  away  till  all  these  things  be  accomplished.' 
What  did  our  Lord  mean  by  saying  that  ?  The 
'things'  belonged  to  the  end  of  the  world.  Did 
He  mean  that  some  of  those  who  were  then  alive 
would  see  the  end  of  the  world?,  Or  is  it  our 
records  that  are  astray?  The  words  occur  in 
almost  identical  language  in  all  the  three  first 
Gospels  {Mt  m".  Mk  i3~,  Lk  21").  They  are 
always  introduced  by  the  emphatic  'Verily.'  It 
is  hard  to  say  that  the  Synoptic  Gospels  are 
untrustworthy,  it  is  harder  to  say  that  the  Lord 
was  mistaken. 

An  American  writer,  whose  name  is  the  Rev. 
J.  Louis  M'Clung,  writes  on  this  great  crux 
interpretum  in  the  Bible  Student  for  February  and 
March.  He  does  not  believe  that  our  Lord  was 
mistaken.  To  hold  by  the  infallibility  of  Jesus 
he  counts  the  fundamental  principle  of  all  true 
exegesis.  Nor  does  he  believe  that  the  Gospel 
reports  are  untrue.  He  believes  that  the  whole 
difficulty  has  arisen  from  our  misunderstanding 
the  words  'this  generation.' 

Mr.  M'Clung  has  examined  the  use  of  the 
phrase  '  this  generation '  in  the  Gospels.  He 
comes  to  the  conclusion  that  it  does  not  refer 
to  time.  It  does  not  describe  the  generatitra 
then  alive.  It  is  ethical  'This  generation'  is 
a  shorter  way  of  saying  'a  sinful  and  adulterous 
generation.'  On  the  lips  of  our  Lord  it  is  a  terse 
description  of  all  those  in  all  time  who  are  outside 
the  Kingdom  of  God. 

To  the  mind  of  Christ  there  have  always  been 
two  classes  of  men  in  the  worid,  and  only  two — 
the  children  of  this  world  and  the  children  of  the 
Kingdom.  On  one  occasion  He  calls  the  children 
of  this  world  'the  children  of  this  wwld  »k '*«> 
generalien.'    He  did  not  mean  m  OHL'jMUticuUr 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


435 


generation  in  which  He  was  living.  On  another 
occasion  He  said, '  Whosoever  shall  be  ashamed 
of  Me  and  of  My  words  in  this  adulterous  and 
sinful  generation,  the  Son  of  man  shall  also  be 
ashamed  of  him  when  He  cometb  in  the  glory  of 
His  Father  with  the  holy  angels.'  Was  this  retri- 
bution to  be  confined  to  those  who  were  alive 
when  Jesus  was  incarnate  on  the  earth?  Clearly, 
it  applies  to  those  who  shall  deny  Him  throughout 
all  the  generations  of  men.  Therefore,  says  Mr. 
M'Clung,  the  phrase  'this  adulterous  and  sinful 
generation,'  or  more  shortly  'this  generation,' 
applies  to  those  who  remain  without  the  circle  of 
His  confessors  in  all  time  to  come. 

When,  therefore,  our  Lord  said,  '  This  genera- 
tion shall  not  pass  away  till  all  these  things  are 
accomplished,'  He  meant  to  encourage  His  dis- 
ciples. He  had  called  them  that  they  might  go 
into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature.  He  encourages  them  now  to  go  and 
preach  with  all  earnestness.  For  He  says  that 
their  redemption  will  not  be  accomplished  until 
'this  generation'  is  ready  to  pass  away.  Now 
there  is  but  one  way  in  which  'this  generation' 
can  'pass  away.'  It  is  by  being  absorbed  in 
the  Kingdom  of  God. 


Some  reference  was  made  last  month  to  the 
American  Revised  Version  and  its  new  transla- 
tions. One  of  the  new  translations  mentioned 
was  this:  'Ye  men  of  Athens,  in  all  things  I 
perceive  that  ye  arc  very  religious'  (Ac  17**). 
The  English  Revised  Version  has, '  I  perceive  that 
ye  are  somewhat  superstitious.'  The  difference  is 
more  than  the  difference  between  a  courteous  and 
a  curt  form  of  speech.  Which  of  these  transla- 
tions is  right? 

Professor  Chase  has  no  doubt  that  the  Eng- 
lish translation  is  right.  In  his  new  book  on  the 
Credibilily  of  the  Acts  he  says,  'The  opening 
words  of  St.  Paul's  speech  at  Athens,  though  they 
are  often  interpreted  as  expressive  of  commenda- 


tion, are  in  reality  words  of  rebuke  not  wholly 
unmingled  with  contempt'  And  he  translates : 
'  In  all  things  I  perceive  that  ye  are  very  super- 
stitious.' 

Dr.  Chase  justifies  his  translation  in  a  footnote. 
He  quotes  Theophrastus ;  he  quotes  Menander 
and  Aristotle.  These  writers  use  the  word  which 
St.  Paul  uses  here  (Sfto-iSatViuv),  and  they  use  it 
with  reprobation.  And  then  he  says  that  in 
point  of  fact  the  words  of  the  apostle  (it 
ScunSai^un'tfrTfpovt)  express  St.  Paul's  view  of 
heathen  idolatry  already  noticed  by  the  historian : 
'  His  spirit  was  provoked  (ropufvi^ro)  within  him, 
as  he  beheld  the  city  full  of  idols.' 

And  Professor  Chase  will  not  allow  that  the 
comparative  softens  the  censure,  as  Field  con- 
tends. On  the  contrary,  he  holds  that  it  hardens 
it.  In  the  previous  verse  St.  Luke  has  said  that 
the  Athenians  spent  their  time  in  nothing  else  but 
either  to  tell  or  to  hear  some  new  thing.  There 
is  no  softening  of  censure  there.  There  is  the 
keenest  expression  of  it.  And  yet  it  is  the 
comparative  that  is  used  (^  \iytiy  n  ^  okouuv  n 
KowoTtpov).  He  will  not  even  allow  that  the  ok 
is  EoAening.  That  little  word  certainly  removes 
all  impression  of  rudeness,  for  it  is  as  much  as 
to  say  'in  my  opinion.'  But  even  that  word 
does  not  mitigate  the  sweep  or  the  severity  of 
the  apostle's  censure. 


In  the  Journal  of  Theological  Studies  for  the 
present  quarter  the  Rev.  G.  H.  Box,  M.A., 
deplores  the  indifference  with  which  Christian 
scholars  regard  the  archaeology  of  the  Jews. 
There  were  Christians  once,  be  says,  who  studied 
Jewish  institutions,  and  found  the  study  profitable 
for  the  interpretation  of  Christianity.  He  names 
Edersheim,  Delitzsch,  Weber,  Biesenthal,  and 
Caspari.  But  where  are  thetr  successors?  He 
can  name  only  Dr.  Charles  Taylor  in  England, 
and  Strack  and  Dalman  in  Germany.  He  hopes 
that,  when  the  English  translation  of  Dalman'' 


«6 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


great  work  Die  Wortt  Jtiu  appears,  'some  im- 
provement '  will  take  place.  But  in  the  meantime 
critical  results  are  quite  unnecessarily  one-sided 
and  tentative  because  Jewish  scholarship  is  so 


Of  the  problems  which  a  closer  study  of  Jewish 
antiquities  might  solve,  the  most  important  per- 
haps is  the  connexion  between  the  Christian 
Eucharist  and  the  Jewish  Passover.  Was  the  Last 
Supper  a  Passover?  If  it  was  not,  how  is  it  so 
like  a  Passover  P  Where  and  when  did  it  take  on 
the  features  which  even  in  the  Synoptic  Gospels 
at  once  suggest,  and  are  manifestly  meant  to 
suggest,  the  Jewish  Passover? 

Mr.  Box  takes  these  questions  in  order.  The 
first  question  is,  Was  the  Last  Supper  a  Passover? 
The  Synoptic  Gospels  distinctly  say  that  it  was. 
St.  Mark  (141^)  says  that  on  'the  first  day  of 
unleavened  bread,  when  they  sacrificed  the  Pass- 
over,' the  disciples  inquired  where  the  Passover 
was  to  be  eaten.  Now  the  Passover,  that  is,  the 
Paschal  lamb,  was  sacrificed  on  the  afternoon  of 
the  fourteenth  of  Nisan.  On  that  evening,  which 
after  sunset  was  reckoned  the  fifteenth  of  Nisan, 
the  Passover  was  eaten.  And  the  Synoptic  ac- 
counts imply  that  on  the  same  evening  the  Last 
Supper  took  place.  Thus  the  Passover  and  the 
Last  Supper  would  hare  coincided,  and  the 
Crucifixion  would  have  occurred  in  the  afternoon 
of  the  following  day,  which,  according  to  Jewish 
reckoning,  was  still  the  fifteenth  day  of  Nisan. 

But  the  Fourth  Gospel  has  a  different  account 
When  such  passages  are  compared  as  Jn  13*  18^ 
19^*-  ^',  it  is  seen  that  according  to  this  Gospel  the 
Crucifixion  took  place  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
fourteenth  day  of  Nisan.  It  is  a  day  earlier  than 
the  represenution  in  the  Synoptics.  Then  the 
Crucifixion  would  coincide  with  the  slaying  of 
the  Paschal  lamb,  and  the  Last  Supper  would  uke 
place  on  the  evening  previous  to  the  Passover. 


Now  the  first  explanation  that  < 


to   a 


random  reader  is  that  the  writer  of  the  Fourth 
Gospel  wanted  to  represent  Christ  as  the  true 
Passover  'slain  for  us,*  and  so  made  His 
Crucifixion  and  the  slaying  of  the  Paschal  lamb 
correspond.  Mr.  Box  does  not  think  so.  He 
thinks  that  if  the  Synoptics  and  St.  John  conflict,— 
and  he  believes  that  they  do  conflict, — St  John 
is  right  and  the  Synoptics  wrong. 

For,  in  the  first  place,  the  evidence  of  the 
Synoptic  accounts  contradicts  itself.  The  con- 
tradiction is  in  the  words,  '  On  the  fir^  day  of 
unleavened  bread  when  they  sacrificed  the 
Passover.'  They  did  not  sacrifice  the  Passover, 
says  Mr.  Box,  on  the  first  day  9f  unleavened 
bread.  The  first  day  of  unleavened  bread  was 
the  fifteenth  day  of  Nisan,  but  they  sacrificed 
the  Passover  on  the  fourteenth.  There  are  other 
contradictions  and  there  are  other  inconsistendes 
with  Jewish  usage  in  the  Synoptic  narratives. 
But  this  contradiction  and  inconsistency  seems 
to  Mr.  Box  to  be  'absolutely  decisive.' 

In  the  second  place,  it  is  significant  to  Mr. 
Box's  mind  that  there  is  no  mention  in  the 
Synoptics  of  the  Paschal  lamb.  The  Fourth 
Gospel  says  that  Jesus  Himself  was  the  Paschal 
Lamb,  and  St.  Paul  agrees  with  that.  'Christ 
our  Passover,'  says  the  apostle,  '  has  been 
sacrificed'  (1  Co  5^).  The  Synoptics  say 
nothing  about  this.  They  imply  that  Christ 
was  sacrificed  a  day  later  than  the  Paschal  lamb. 

Again,  there  is  a  striking  difference  between 
the  custom  of  the  Passover  feast  and  the 
Synoptic  account  of  the  Last  Supper.  At  the 
Passover  each  person  drank  out  of  his  own 
cup;  at  the  Last  Supper  all  drank  out  of  one 
cup.  And,  finally,  there  is  a  difference  between 
St  Luke's  account  and  the  accounts  of  St 
Matthew  and  St.  Mark.  It  is  in  regard  to  the 
number  of  the  cups.  As  it  is  now  generally 
agreed,  St.  Luke,  according  to  the  best  text, 
mentions  only  one  cup;  St  Matthew  and  St 
Mark  mention  more  than  one. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


For  those  reasons  Mr.  Box  concludes  that 
the  Last  Supper  was  not  a  Passover.  What 
was  it,  then?  He  believes  that  it  was  the 
weekly  Kiddush. 

The  weekly  KidcKksh  was  a  senrice  in  the 
home.  It  took  place  on  Friday  evening, 
according  to  our  reckoning,  just  after  the 
Jewish  Sabbath  began.  Its  purpose  was  the 
sanaification  of  the  Sabbath,  for  so  the  word 
KiddUsh  means.  Whilst  the  father  and  his 
sons  are  absent  at  the  Friday  night  service  in 
the  synagogue,  the  mother  prepares  the  table 
for  the  evening  meal,  and  lights  the  extra 
candles  in  honour  of  the  day.  When  the  father 
and  sons  return  they  find  the  table  spread,  and 
two  loaves  instead  of  one  placed  at  the  head 
of  it  where  the  father  is  to  sit.  They  are 
covered  with  a  napldn.  Near  them  stand  an 
empty  cup,  and  a  battle  filled  with  wine.  The 
family  take  their  places  at  the  table.  The 
father  chants  the  praises  of  the  virtuous  wife 
out  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs  (chap.  31),  and 
the  ceremony  of  the  KiddQsh  begins. 

First  the  story  of  the  Creation  and  of  the 
Rest  on  the  seventh  day  is  read  out  of  the  Book 
of  Genesis.  Then  the  father  fills  the  cup, 
and  as  he  holds  it  up  he  pronounces  the  bless- 
ing of  the  Sabbath  day,  ending  with  the  words, 
■Blessed  art  Thou,  O  Lord,  who  hallowest  the 
Sabbath.'  Then  he  drinks  from  the  cup  and 
hands  it  to  his  wife.  She  hands  it  to  the 
children  and  others  at  the  table.  When  they 
have  all  drunk  of  it  they  wash  their  hands. 
And  when  they  have  sat  down  again  the  father 
utters  the  benediction  for  the  bread,  and  cuts 
one  of  the  loaves,  taking  a  piece  to  himself  and 
distributing  pieces  to  the  others.  Then  the 
ceremony  of  the  Kidddsh  is  over,  and  the 
ordinary  evening  meal  begins. 

The  points  of  similarity  between  the  Kiddfish 
and  the  Lord's  Supper  are  evident.  Both  are 
family  meals.     At  both  there  is  but  one  cup, 


which  is  passed  round  to  all  at  the  table.     And 
the  order  of  the  service  is  the  same. 

The  last  statement  will  be  challenged.  The 
order  of  the  Kiddtlsh  is,  first  the  cup,  next  the 
washing  of  the  hands,  and  then  the  distribution 
of  the  bread.  The  order  in  the  accounts  of 
the  Lord's  Supper  is,  first  the  breaking  of  the 
Bread,  and  then  the  Cup.  And  even  if  Mr.  Box 
is  right  in  following  Edersheira,  who  believed 
that  for  the  washing  of  the  hands  our  Lord 
deliberately  substituted  the  washing  of  the  dis- 
ciples' feet,  still  there  remains  the  fact  that  in  the 
Kidddsh  the  wine  precedes  the  bread,  while  in  the 
Supper  the  breaking  of  the  Bread  comes  first. 

Mr.  Box  replies  that  the  breaking  of  the 
Bread  does  not  come  first  in  the  account  which 
we  have  in  St  Luke.  There,  'according  to  the 
true  text,'  only  one  Cup  is  mentioned,  and  it 
comes  before  the  Bread.  Moreover,  this  is  the 
order  which  St.  Paul  twice  follows  (i  Co  io>«- «). 
It  is  true  that  in  one  familiar  passage  ( t  Co  1 1^") 
St.  Paul  reverses  that  order,  saying, '  For  I  received 
of  the  Lord  that  which  also  I  delivered  unto  you, 
how  that  the  Lord  Jesus  in  the  night  in  which 
He  was  betrayed,  took  bread.'  Mr.  Box  believes 
that  St.  Paul  in  this  passage  is  quoting  a  liturgical 
formula.  Before  he  wrote  that  passage  there 
had  begun  a  movement  towards  identifying  the 
Lord's  Supper  with  the  Passover.  Features  of 
the  Passover  feast  were  introduced  into  the 
celebration  of  the  Supper.  The  order  of  the 
Cup  and  the  Bread  was  changed.  And  already 
the  new  practice  had  got  expressed  in  liturgical 
language,  which  St.  Paul  allows  himself  to  adopt 
because  of  its  familiarity  to  his  readers. 

If  this  difBculty  in  regard  to  St.  Paul  demands 
more  evidence  for  the  order  which  is  claimed  by 
Mr.  Box,  he  is  ready  to  furnish  it  In  the 
Didache,  the  most  venerable  and  unimpeachable 
authority  outside  the  New  Testament,  the  order 
is  first  the  Cup  and  then  the  Bread.  This  is 
the  passage  after  the  translation  of  Dr.  Taylor — 


438 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


'And  as  touching  the  Feast  of  Thanksgiving 
[Eucharist],  thus  give  ye  thanks : 

'First,  concerning  the  cup,  We  thank  Thee,  O 
our  Father,  for  the  holy  vine  of  David  Thy  child, 
vhich  Thou  hast  made  known  to  us  by  Thy  child 
Jesus.    Thine  be  the  glory  for  ever. 

'And  concerning  the  broken  bread,  We  thank 
Thee,  0  our  Father,  for  the  life  and  knowledge 
which  Thou  hast  made  known  to  us  by  Thy  child 
Jesus.    Thine  be  the  glory  for  ever. 

'As  this  broken  bread  was  once  scattered  in 
grains  upon  the  mountains,  and  being  gathered 
together  became  one;  so  let  Thy  Church  be 
gathered  together  from  the  ends  of  the  earth 
unto  Thy  kingdom.  For  Thine  is  the  glory  and 
the  power,  through  Jesus  Christ  for  ever.' 


It  is  the  business  of  the  Christian  prophet — 
accept  the  word  instead  of  theologian,  it  is  better 
— to  declare  what  he  has  been  taught  of  the 
things  of  the  Spirit.  It  is  the  business  of  the 
student  of  natural  science  to  tell  what  he  has 
learned  of  the  phenomena  of  nature.  But  some- 
times the  student  of  natural  science  has  something 
to  say  about  the  things  of  the  Spirit.  And  then 
he  should  be  listened  ta  It  may  be  true  that 
he  will  not  listen  to  the  prophet  speaking  of 
natural  science.  It  may  be  that  when  he  speaks 
of  the  things  of  the  Spirit  he  speaks  to  deny 
their  existence  or  even  their  possibility.  Still 
he  should  be  listened  ta  If  he  has  nothing  to 
teach,  he  has  a  soul  to  save.  And  he  may  speak 
for  other  men  of  science  who  have  the  same 
attitude  to  the  things  that  are  unseen  and  eternal, 
but  are  silent. 

Sir  Henry  Thompson  published  an  article  in 
the  Forinightly  Review  for  March  on  'The 
Unknown  God.'  He  has  now  republished  the 
article  through  Messrs.  Frederick  Wame,  under 
the  same  title.  He  was  in  no  hurry  to  publish. 
The  materials  for  the  article  were  collected 
upwards  of  twenty  years  aga  He  was  in  no 
anxiety  to  publish.     Even  when  it  was  written, 


the  article  was  written  for  himself  alone.  But 
he  believed  that  the  paper,  brief  as  it  is,  might 
be  to  others  what  it  had  been  to  himself,  'a 
veritable  Pilgrim's  Progress,'  and  that  is  why 
he  pubhshed  it 

Sir  Henry  Thompson  is  an  agnostic.  He  never 
uses  the  name,  and  he  may  repudiate  it  But  he 
is  an  agnostic  as  Professor  Huxley,  who  claimed 
to  have  invented  the  name  for  himself,  was  an 
agnostic.  He  does  not  believe  in  revelation. 
He  believes  only  in  research.  He  believes  that 
all  the  knowledge  that  man  possesses  or  has 
ever  possessed  has  come  from  the  exercise  of 
his  natural  faculties.  There  is  but  one  way  he 
says  of  gaining  knowledge,  and  there  never  has 
been  but  one, — '  the  patient,  diligent  examination 
of  natural  phenomena  on  a  large  scale.'  In  one 
part  of  his  paper  he  gives  a  brief  outline  of  the 
history  of  man's  progress, —  man's  'long  and 
painful  progress', —  and  his  purpose  is  'to 
demonstrate  that  he  has  attained  bis  present 
position  solely  by  his  own  unaided  efforts.' 

Sir  Henry  Thompson  does  not  believe  in  prayer. 
The  student  of  nature,  he  says,  must  be  both  a 
cultivated  and  a  truly  religious  man.  But  his  re- 
ligious feelings  do  not  suggest  to  him  the  validity 
of  the  Christian  practice  of  prayer.  He  knows 
that  '  atl  events  must  follow  the  laws  of  naturet 
which  are  unalterable.'  He  does  not  pray  'to  a 
Deity,'  therefore,  for  gifts  of  any  kind,  not  for  the 
recovery  of  the  sick  or  protection  from  personal 
danger,  not  even  for  the  means  of '  moral  or  mental 
improvement.'  No  doubt,  he  says,  the  act  of 
prayer  on  the  part  of  one  who  believes  in  its 
power  to  move  the  Deity  to  bestow  a  precioas 
boon,  brings  consobtion  to  the  feelings  of  the 
applicant.  It  is  a  spiritual  sedative  which  affords 
indescribable  relief  and  enjoyment  to  many. 
Nevertheless,  the  only  prayer  is, '  not  my  will,  but 
Thine  be  done.'  And  he  hints  that  'the  sensible 
Christian '  should  be  grateful  that  that  is  the  only 
acceptable  prayer.  For  '  what  a  chaos  would  the 
world  present  if  short-sighted  men  could  interfere 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


439 


with  the  working  of  the  laws  which  determine  the 
course  of  events ! ' 

Is  this  Sir  Henry  Thompson's  Pil^m's  Progreu, 
then  ?  No,  it  is  not  this.  AH  this  is  pure  agnos- 
ticism, and  it  is  agnosticism  with  the  stretch  of 
Professor  Huxley's,  who  not  only  said, '  I  do  not 
know,'  but  also, '  No  more  do  you.'  Mark  the  title 
of  the  paper:  it  is  'The  Unknown  God?'  When 
Sir  Henry  Thompson  could  only  write 'The  Un- 
known God '  he  was  in  the  City  of  Destruction. 
His  Pilgrim's  Progress  lies  in  the  mark  of  inter- 
rogation. 

Sir  Henry  Thompson  believes  in  God.  He 
never  names  Him.  He  even  refuses  to  name 
Him.  He  says  that  the  names  by  which  God 
has  been  known — whether  Jehovah,  Theos,  Jove, 
or  God — carry  associations  with  which  he  cannot 
agree.  He  therefore  accepts  Mr.  Herbert  Spencer's 
phrase,  the  'Infinite  and  Eternal  Energy.'  But  he 
believes  in  a  God  of  wisdom,  almost  in  a  God  of 
love. 

He  finds  God's  wisdom  in  phenomena.  For 
nothing  will  persuade  him  to  go  beyond  pheno- 
mena. It  is  a  curious  situation.  He  finds  the 
Unseen  and  Eternal  in  the  seen  and  temporal. 
He  finds  Him  there,  because  the  very  regularity 
of  the  laws  of  nature  which  make  prayer  impos- 
sible is  a  sufficient,  and  to  Sir  Henry  Thompson 
irresistible,  proof  that  God  is  very  wise. 

And  he  finds  God's  love  in  the  life  of  His  living 
creatures.  For  He  has  made  them,  and  are  they 
not  happy?  They  would  be  happy,  he  hears  the 
unbeliever  in  his  '  Pilgrim's  Progress '  answer,  if 
it  were  not  for  suffering  and  for  death.  So  Sir 
Henry  Thompson  sets  himself  to  consider  the 
suffering  and  death  that  are  in  the  world ;  and  he 
ends  by  saying  that,  in  spite  of  sufTering  and  death, 
God's  creatures  are  happy,  and  God  is  a  God  of  love. 

For  it  is  a  misuke,  he  says,  to  suppose  that 
death  is  a   time   of  pain.      'I   shall  venture  to 


state,' — these  are  his  words, — 'as  the  known 
result  of  long  and  careful  observation  of  the 
phenomena  which  then  occur,  that  a  really 
painful  death  from  disease  is  never  witnessed.' 
There  may  have  been  suffering  before  death,  but 
even  that  may  now  be  avoided ;  thanks  to  one  of 
the  most  recent  of  man's  scientific  researches — the 
inhalation  ofana^thetic  vapours.  It  may  also  be 
that  death  caused  by  terrible  wounds  on  the  battle- 
field, by  the  accidents  of  daily  life,  or  the  tortures 
of  the  Inquisition,  is  painful  enough.  But  death  by 
disease,  death  in  its  most  usual  forms.  Sir  Henry 
Thompson  believes  to  be  always  preceded  by  a 
considerable  period  of  insensibility.  There  may 
be  automatic  movements  which  distress  the  by- 
standers, but  they  are  not  feh  by  the  subject  of 
them.  The  surrender  of  life  by  man  generally, 
and  by  the  lower  animals  almost  universally,  is 
accomplished  without  suffering. 

By  the  lower  animals  almost  universally.  For, 
in  the  first  place,  Shakespeare  greatly  erred  when 
he  said  that  the  poor  beetle  we  tread  upon  feels  a 
pang  as  great  as  when  a  giant  dies.  The  sense  of 
pain  corresponds  with  the  development  of  the 
nervous  system.  The  dog  and  the  horse  there- 
fore, which  have  had  their  emotional  powers 
much  developed  through  intercourse  with  man, 
are  susceptible  to  pain,  and  may  suffer  much  if 
they  are  not  relieved  as  man  is  by  antestheiics. 
But  there  are  countless  species  of  living  active 
beings  whose  nervous  system  is  so  little  developed 
that  pain  can  scarcely  be  felt  by  them. 

And,  in  the  second  place,  when  death  occurs 
through  violent  means,  as  in  the  state  of  nature  it 
so  often  occurs,  it  is  mostly  painless.  For  the 
fierce  Camivora  seize  their  victim  at  a  vital  spot, 
as  by  the  neck  at  the  top  of  the  spinal  cord,  and 
at  once  destroy  sensation.  It  is  called  instinct. 
It  is  due  perhaps  to  the  necessity  of  preventing 
retaliation,  now  crystallized  in  that  universal  habit 
which  we  call  instinct.  But  its  result  is  to  make 
death  painless,  and  to  prove  to  Sir  HenryvThomp- 
son  that  God  is  a  God  of  love.  '-^' 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


"Wi^oeotvtx." 

By  the  Rev,  A.  C.  Mackenzie,  M.A.,  Dundee. 


Rerelation  xxU.  VJ. 


We  study  the  Scriptures  as  we  study  the  finna- 
ment,  non  in  galaxies,  now  in  constellations,  now 
in  one  bright  particular  star,  through  the  attentive 
reading  of  which  some  of  the  glory  of  the  heavens 
as  a  whole  may  break  upon  us. 

In  God's  gracious  message  to  us,  as  in  the  sky 
itself,  there  are  words  that,  like  stars,  shine  out  with 
a  peculiar  brilliance,  and  that  seem  to  us  worth 
pondering  by  themselves.  And  this  word  '  who- 
soever '  seems  chief  among  them. 

'  Whosoever '  is  a  late  word  in  the  gracious  lan- 
guage of  God  to  man.  There  is  ho  word  in  that 
language  that  is  so  costly,  none  that  took  so  long 
a  time  to  pronounce;  no  word  that  the  ears  of 
men  were  so  strained  to  hear;  no  word  that  is 
so  slowly  learnt,  so  easily  forgotten ;  and  no  word 
which  when  learnt  and  acted  upon  is  so  far  above 
rubies. 

And  it  is  fitting  that  the  word  should  find  a 
place  in  the  great  book  with  which  the  Revelation 
closes.  The  book  is  a  great  lake  which  many 
streams  have  gone  to  fill.  There  you  have  the 
majesty  and  sweep  of  prophetic  thought  wedded 
to  new  and  gorgeous  symbols;  there  you  have 
the  voices  of  celestial  beings  in  their  ranks  and 
orders  sounding  out  the  praises  of  God's  love 
to  man ;  there  you  see  the  march  of  history,  the 
conflict  of  good  and  evil,  the  armies  of  heaven  and 
the  congregations  of  men,  the  stringency  of  the 
Law,  the  sweetness  of  the  gospel,  the  lion  of 
the  tribe  of  Judah,  and  the  Lamb  slain  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world.  It  is  fitting,  surely,  that, 
ere  it  closes,  this  magical  word  of  divine  hospi- 
tality should  there  find  emphatic  utterance. 

Slowly,  very  slowly,  the  letters  and  syllables  of 
the  word  have  been  brought  together.  Infinite 
love,  wisdom,  and  power  have  gone  to  the  fashion- 
ing of  it.  Can  we  trace  the  letters  and  syllables  of 
this  magical  word  of  divine  hospitality  f 

In  some  nide  and  childlike  fashion  I  think 
we  can,  but  only  as  children  who  dimly  perceive 
and  feebly  estimate  a  Father's  boundless  love. 

Though  it  is  a  late  word,  it  is  not  an  after- 
thought Nature  has  been  lisping  it  since  the 
'  Given  &t  the  dedication  oF  a  church,  February  1902. 


morning  stars  sang  together.  The  over-arching 
sky — the  roof  of  ibe  world, — how  hospitable  it 
is,  bending  over  every  man  and  making  the 
elements  of  a  home  for  him !  Be  where  you  may, 
on  land  or  sea,  on  the  highest  peak  or  in  the 
deepest  valley,  the  benediction  of  the  heavens  is 
over  you,  and  there  is  no  voice  01  language  where 
this  speech  is  not  heard.  On  saint  and  sinner 
alike  their  blessings  descend;  the  starry  heavens 
and  the  shining  sun  seem  as  if  they  were  spelling 
out  the  letters  of  the  word  '  whosoever.' 

Consider,  too,  how  hospitable  the  earth  is, 
how  responsive  to  the  labour  of  whosoever  tills 
or  sows  or  plants.  She  asks  no  questions  of 
your  descent ;  she  fills  your  bams ;  her  fruits  fall 
into  your  lap  and  crown  your  year  with  her 
goodness.  The  mother-earth  erects  no  fences, 
warns  no  trespasser  olf.  She  invites  you  to  rest 
on  her  fresh  upspringing  grass  when  you  are  weaiy, 
to  toil  when  you  are  able ;  and  her  generosity  is 
out  of  all  proportion  to  your  care  and  labour. 

How  hospitable  also  is  the  sea  that  takes  all 
burdens,  small  and  great,  on  her  broad  bosom; 
that  lifts  the  tiny  boat  and  the  leviathan  of  com- 
merce with  equal  ease — accommodating  herself  to 
the  needs  and  wante  of  man — untiring,  unresting, 
by  her  million  waves  on  the  pebbled  shore,  seeming 
to  whisper  '  Whosoever.' 

The  liberal  air,  the  universal  dew,  the  copious 
rivers,  all  seem  to  join  in  this  chorus  and  pro- 
claim the  Maker  of  them  generous,  hospit- 
able, accommodating,  and  comprehensive  in  His 
beneficence.  Before  the  word  'whosoever'  was 
written,  the  letters  of  it  were  spelt  out  in  the 
Father's  great  book  of  Nature  and  of  Providence. 

But  this  language,  clear  as  the  after-i^es  have 
made  it,  was  hard  for  men  to  decipher.  The 
very  alphabet  of  it  was  known  only  to  a  few, 
the  full  word  to  none. 

We  said  a  little  ago  that  this  word  '  whoso- 
ever' was  one  which  the  ears  of  men  were 
straining  to  hear.  They  caught  faint  echoes  of 
it,  but  they  could  not  reduce  it  to  articulate  sound. 
The  syllables  could  not  shape  themselves  aright. 
Men  could  not  get  their  tongues  round  it  nor  thejc 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


44  » 


hearts  enlarged  enough  to  utter  it.  The  world 
by  wisdom  knew  not  God.  But  men  could  not 
help  making  guesses  at  Him.  There  was  that 
within  them,  around  them,  and  above  them  that 
would  not  let  them  rest  The  religions  of 
heathendom  are  guesses  at  God.  We  speak  of 
them  as  the  darkened  peoples  of  the  earth.  The 
darkness,  however,  is  not  anywhere  total  Gleams 
of  light  run  athwart  it;  some  dim  foretelling  of  a 
dawn  there  is  in  every  one  of  them.  But  just  how 
to  get  out  into  the  light  they  knew  not  We 
think  of  them  sometimes  as  fallen  from  hght  and 
knowledge.  Some  of  them  may  have.  Many 
never  saw  the  light,  deeply  though  they  yearned 
for  it  The  inequalities  of  experience  fed  this 
yearning  hope.  Life  itself  is  so  unequal  in  dura- 
tion, so  uncertain,  so  full  of  ups  and  downs;  the 
relations  of  men  to  one  another  are  so  inexplicable 
—  the  king  on  the  throne,  the  beggar  on  the 
dunghill,  the  master  and  the  slave,  the  learned 
and  the  ignorant,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  man 
of  good  character  and  of  bad. 

On  a  small  scale  it  was  as  perplexing  as  on 
the  large.  Some  races,  proud  and  valiant,  going 
forth  conquering  and  to  conquer;  others,  mean 
and  cowardly,  apparently  marked  out  for  sub- 
mission and  slavery,  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers 
of  water — Pharaoh  on  the  throne,  the  brickmaker 
in  the  lield. 

Blessings  undoubted  there  were,  and  depriva- 
tions that  had  to  be  home.  Out  of  all  this  and 
more  sprang  what  we  call  false  religions,  which 
are  only  false  because  they  could  not  reach  to 
the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  true.  They 
could  not  say  or  shape  to  themselves, '  Whosoever.' 
They  could  only  say,  'Obey  the  god  of  your 
race  or  land  or  tribe,  render  the  sacrifices,  pay 
the  dues  in  prayers,  entreaties,  sacrifices,  and 
render  them  all  in  the  right  way — you  may  come, 
and  welcome.'  But  as  for  the  man  who  is  not  of 
our  race  or  tribe,  the  man  who  knows  not  the 
god,  nor  his  sacrifices,  nor  his  dues,  nor  how  to  pay 
them,  let  him  stand  afar  off.  The  heathen  was 
a  heathen  to  his  brother  heathen.  All  sought 
the  same  thing;  they  sought  the  hospitality  of 
God,  but  they  could  never  find  the  main  door 
of  the  House.  They  sought  to  enter  by  side  doors, 
and  landed  in  underground  cellars  in  a  yet  grosser 
darkness.  The  light  of  nature  was  not  nearly  so 
poor  a  light  as  this. 

If  you  could  keep  man  to  that  light,  he  would 


still  be  in  a  darkness,  at  least  in  a  comparative 
darkness,  but  it  could  not  be  so  dense  a  darkness 
as  he  has  made  for  himself  in  the  search  for 
light  If  you  could  keep  men  from  having  a 
religion  at  all,  it  would  be  better  than  some  of 
those  which  by  their  wisdom  they  have  found  out. 

This  could  never  be  done.  Man  would  have 
a  religion.  He  must  needs  have  a  religion,  but 
he  could  not  extend  it  beyond  his  own  'tribe. 
His  god  was  just  his  god,  and  be  was  not  yours 
or  mine. 

The  word  'whosoever'  had  no  place  in  the 
vocabulary  of  any  heathen  religion.  We  know 
of  languages  in  which  there  are  no  words  for 
certain  common  virtues  among  us,  and  the  reason 
the  word  is  not  there  is  because  the  thing  was 
unknown. 

Until  the  fulness  of  time,  when  God  could 
speak  freely  to  man,  no  such  word  as  'whosoever' 
could  shape  itself  on  human  lips.  Until  it  could 
be  said,  'Thus  saith  the  Lord,"  the  best  guesses 
of  men  were  but  babblings  in  the  dark. 

The  voice  of  the  Lord,  however,  had  to  be 
attuned  to  the  ear  on  which  it  fell.  Israel  was 
a  giant  in  religion  when  all  the  rest  of  the  world 
were  but  babes.  It  was  not  by  searching  that 
he  found  out  the  Almighty.  The  voice  came 
to  him.  He  did  not  catch  the  full  significance 
of  it  The  voice  of  his  God  was  the  most  power- 
ful voice  among  all  the  gods. 

But  it  was  long  before  he  reached  the  con- 
clusion that  there  was  no  voice  but  only  his 
God's — that  not  only  some  of  the  gods,  but  all 
the  gods,  were  dumb  idols.  Slowly  the  Israelite 
reached  the  idea  that  the  nations  were  something 
to  God  other  than  fuel  for  the  fires  of  destruction. 
Slowly  he  reached,  but  with  much  faltering  and 
halting,  the  idea  that  the  heathen  also  might 
have  a  place.  The  statutes  began  to  make  pro- 
vision for  the  stranger  within  the  gate,  but  over 
the  gate  were  written  restrictions  and  limitations 
by  which  the  many  were  excluded,  the  few  only 
admitted ;  and  these,  as  not  sons  of  Abraham,  not 
to  the  full  privileges  of  the  House.  When  he 
looked  around  him,  even  the  man  of  God  of  that 
time — the  man  who  heard  the  voice — was  often 
amazed  and  perplexed.  He  wondered  if  God  saw 
or  heard,  and  he  put  his  wonder  and  his  perplexity 
into  psalms  of  plaintive  doubt  The  burden  of 
the  nations  pressed  heavily  upon  him,  and  be 
called  loudly  for  judgment.    He  was  a  child  of 


44a 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


God  indeed,  but  a  spoilt  one.  He  fretted  and 
fumed  at  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked.  In  his  zeal 
for  Jerusalem  he  forgot  Nineveh  with  its  much 
people  and  catlte. 

It  was  not  when  he  looked  around  him  that  the 
Israelite  was  great.  It  was  when  he  looked  ahead 
of  him  and  law  the  promise  of  the  great  Light. 
It  was  then  that,  forgetful  of  the  twilight  in  which 
he  moved,  he  saw  the  Star  of  the  coming  day  and 
broke  forth  into  singing.  Not  until  Shiloh  came 
would  all  the  nations  be  God's,  and  all  peoples  and 
languages  be  His.  Some  elect  souls  there  were  on 
whom  the  Star  already  ^one,  but  its  light  was 
fitful  and  obscured  by  clouds  of  doubt  and  the 
rising  dust  of  racial  pride  and  prejudice.  '  Whoso- 
ever' cannot  yet  be  pronounced,  it  can  only  be 
vaguely  hinted  at  until  some  divine  far-off  event 
shall  have  come  to  pass. 

After  what  seems  to  our  wisdom  a  long  time,  but 
what  we  may  be  sure  was  not  one  instant  behind 
time,  came  the  One  who  could  pronounce  the  magic 
word.  Neiiher  a  son  6t  Egypt,  nor  of  Assyria,  nor  of 
Babylon,  nor  Greece,  nor  Rome,  not  even  a  son  of 
Abraham,  but  a  Son  of  JIfan,  who  also  is  a  Son  of 
God,  could  speak  the  word  for  which  the  world 
was  waiting.  No  prophet  of  one  race,  no  spiritual 
hero  of  one  people,  can  gather  all  into  one.  No 
one  in  a  relation  less  close  than  that  of  a  son  can 
speak  for  God  out  of  His  own  experience,  and  no 
one  can  speak  to  man  in  a  language  which  not 
alone  this  man  and  that  man,  but  which  all  men, 
can  hear.  Jesus  speaks  the  universal  language. 
His  nationality  is  nothing.  He  makes  tremen- 
dous affirmations.  They  cost  Him  untold  humilia- 
tion and  suffering,  a  great  part  of  which  came  out 
of  the  word  'whosoever.'  If  He  could  have 
limited  His  salvation,  if  He  could  have  said 
anything  less  than  '  Whosoever  cometh,  I  will  in 
no  wise  cast  out,'  much  of  His  suffering  would 
have  been  avoided.  Said  we  not  rightly  that  the 
word  is  the  most  costly  that  was  ever  spoken? 
Costly  to  the  Father,  costly  to  the  Son — costly 
to  the  men  who  heard  and  followed  Him.  '  Preach 
the  gospel  to  every  creature '  has  sealed  the  mar- 
tyrdom of  thousands.  For  wherever  they  went  it 
was  this  word  which  aroused  anger  and  kindled 
the  fires  of  persecution.  If  you  could  let  Diana 
of  the  Ephesians  alone,  you  might  preach  Jesus,  a 
new  God,  from  the  housetop  and  the  market-place 
unmolested.  It  was  the  universal  Saviour,  the 
universal  Salvation  implied   in  the  invitation  of 


the  Gospel  that  fua/Ze  tt  a  Gospel,  but  it  was  that 
too  that  made  a  being  crucified  with  Christ. 

Slowly,  very  slowly,  was  the  word  pronounced, 
slowly  was  it  learnt ;  but  how  easily  and  quickly 
forgotten  I  Even  Peter  had  to  releam  it  in  vision, 
and  again  at  Antioch  he  forgot  it  until  the  sharp 
rebuke  of  a  fellow-apostle  reminded  him  of  it. 
It  is  not  surprising,  then,  that  the  individual 
man,  whose  charter  of  salvation  it  is,  forgets  it. 
It  seems  to  him  too  good  for  belief.  In  his  best 
moments  it  seems  so,  in  his  bad  moments  it  is 
to  him  simply  incredible.  The  denser  his  ignor- 
ance, the  more  flagrant  his  folly,  the  deeper-dyed 
his  sin,  the  less  easily  will  he  believe  it.  He  can 
believe  in  Christ  for  the  instructed,  for  the  con- 
sistent, for  the  wise,  for  the  holy ;  but  Christ  for 
the  sinner,  hardened,  rebellious,  unblushing  in  his 
shame  1  He  will  believe  in  anything  almost,  but 
not  in  that.  'Whosoever'  is  too  much  for  him. 
Yet  God  longed  to  utter  it.  He  suffered  for  it. 
His  Son  suffered  for  it,  the  Spirit  longed  and 
groaned  to  say  it.  Why  should  you  limit  it  ?  Why 
put '  some '  in  the  place  of '  all '  ?  Why  put '  a  few ' 
in  the  place  of  'whosoever'?  One  bends  in  awe 
before  the  grace  of  it,  but  one  stands  back  in 
honor  of  amazement  at  the  blindness  and  folly 
that  would  exclude  itself  from  the  invitation, '  Who- 
soever will,  let  him  uke  of  the  water  of  life  freely ' ; 
'  Come  unto  Me,  and  whosoever  cometh,  I  will  in 
no  wise  cast  out.'  A  gospel  for  the  good,  who  would 
preach  it?  A  gospel  for  the  righteous,  for  the 
ninety-nine  that  need  no  repentance !  I  would  not 
ascend  this  pulpit  stair  to  give  it  voice.  I  stand 
here  only  on  the  ground  of  '  Whosoever.'  Were 
there  any  limitation  of  it  in  any  direction,  who 
would  dare  to  look  God  in  the  face,  fir  less  to 
speak  for  Him  ?  In  my  darkest  hour  it  is  light  to 
me,  in  sore  perplexity  it  is  the  counsel  of  God's 
wisdom  to  me.  Skill  would  part  from  my  right 
hand,  hope  would  die  out  of  my  heart,  if  I  fo^ot 
it.  I  carry  the  word  as  a  talisman  to  charm  away 
my  doubts,  my  fears,  my  sins.  Why  should  not 
you  also?  Would  that  one  could  brand  this  word 
'whosoever'  on  the  heart  of  every  halting,  timor- 
ous, or  callous  hearer  1 

But  this  individual  ignoring  of  the  hospitality  of 
the  gospel,  disastrous  and  death-dealing  as  it  is,  is 
not  the  only  one  which  we  have  to  acknowledge 
and  deplore.  Many  branches  of  the  Chiiitian 
Church  in  many  lands,  and  through  the  course  of 
many  centuries,  ignored  or  obscured  it    God's 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


443 


'Whosoever '  was  limited  to,  Whosoever  agrees  with 
us  on  every  point  of  doctrine,  of  church  govern- 
ment, and  of  worship,  is  welcome,  but  whosoever 
does  not  shall  be  walled  out  and  left  to  un- 
covenanted  mercies.  It  is  well  for  the  Churches 
to  have  creeds  and  forms  of  worship.  They  are 
the  citadels  on  which  it  &lls  back  in  times  of 
attack,  but,  when  these  citadels  are  converted 
into  fences  to  bar  and  hinder  the  free  offer  of 
salvation,  when  they  are  turned  into  tests  of  mem- 
bership and  of  communion,  they  are  an  evil  sore 
and  humiliating,  a  trial  to  faith  and  patience,  and 
a  deep  discouragement  to  evangelic  zeal.  Our 
own  land,  as  much  as  any,  perhaps  even  more  than 
any,  has  for  centuries  been  a  stage  on  which  this 
miserable  play  of  limitation  has  been  enacted. 
One  of  the  worst  consequences  of  it  has  been  the 
hindrance  to  the  conversion  of  the  heathen.  Had 
this  great  word  and  the  infinite  love  that  under- 
lies it  been  rightly  spelt  out,  would  missions  to 
the  heathen  and  the  outcast  have  so  long  been 
delayed  ?  How  could  it  have  been  possible,  less 
than  a  century  ago,  for  a  master  in  our  national 
2ion,  in  response  to  timid  overtures  on  foreign 
missions,  to  declare  that  not  until  every  soul 
within  our  own  land  was  converted  was  it  other 
than  preposterous  to  speak  of  sending  missionaries 
to  the  heathen  ? 

How  could  it  be  possible  in  our  lime  for  some 
professing  Christians  to  have  lurking  in  the  secret 


corners  of  their  minds  shadows  of  doubt  as  to 
their  duty  to  the  heathen?  We  have  no  respon- 
sibility for  the  unbelief  of  any  heathen  at  home 
oi  abroad,  but  we  have  a  responsibility  for  his 
ignorance.  We  never  can  forget  that  the  pictures 
which  Jesus  drew  of  His  Father's  hospitality  are 
drawn  upon  the  great  scale  of  public  banquets, 
and  not  of  select  coteries.  His  main  anxiety  is 
that  the  'House  may  be  full.' 

And  this  house  of  God,  so  spacious  and  beautiful, 
what  is  it  but  an  embodiment  of  divine  hospitality. 
What  mean  iu  wide  portal,  its  tolled  bell,  its 
heaven-pointed  spire,  but  just  'Whosoever'? 

We  have  in  our  country  outgrown  the  childish 
things  of  symbolism.  We  seek  no  sermons  in 
stones,  nor  in  costly  architecture  and  quaint  fur- 
nishings aids  to  devotion.  But  in  many  places 
we  are  erecting  not  what  an  artist  would  call 
poems  in  stone,  but  seemly  and  spacious  structures 
not  all  unworthy  of  the  message  we  have  to  pro- 
claim. It  is  much  that  we  should,  as  it  were, 
build  'Whosoever.'  It  is  more  that  we  should 
live  it  and  look  it.  Let  us  throw  open  the  door 
of  our  hearts  as  well,  inviting  all  and  welcoming 
all.  Not  to  our  own  glory,  but  to  His  who  bought 
us,  have  we  done  these  things ;  reminding  ourselves 
that  the  Lord's  portion  is  His  people,  and  that  His 
people  are  they  of  every  clime  and  condition  who 
have  hearkened  when  He  spake,  '  Whosoever  will, 
let  him  take  of  the  water  of  life  freely.' 


€5e  <E>n{i  of  ih  (^34. 

SOME  CRITICAL  NOTES  ON  ST.   MATTHEW,  Chap.  xxiv. 
By  the  Rev.-  J.  Hugh  Beibitz,  M.A.,  Vice-Principal  of  Lichfield  Theological  College. 


I  strpposE  that,  with  the  exception  of  some  por- 
tions of  the  Apocalypse,  no  part  of  the  New 
TesUment  is  the  object  of  so  much  real  though 
unacknowledged  aversion  to  thoughtful  orthodox 
Christians  as  this  chapter  of  St.  Matthew's  Gospel, 
with  its  parallels  in  the  other  Synoptists.  The 
cause  of  this  feeling  is  only  partially  and  inade- 
quately explained  by  the  discredit  which  nineteenth 
and  twentieth  century  apocalypses  reflect  back  on 
the  masterpieces  they  caricature.  There  is  a 
deeper  reascn, — the  fear  lest  the  result  of  a  nearer 


acquainunce  with  Christ's  great  prophecy  of  the 
'  End  of  the  Age '  should  be  the  presentation  of 
an  alternative  from  which  the  mind  of  the  Chris- 
tian reader  shrinks,  between  the  absolute  acceptance 
of  the  truth  of  Christ's  words  and  the  frank  recog- 
nition of  historical  facts.  This  fear  is  not,  of 
course,  explicitly  set  out,  even  in  the  form  of  a 
confession  made  to  oneself  in  one's  own  mind ;  but 
that  it  does  exist,  and  does  deter  the  ordinary 
reader  from  the  study  of  such  parts  of  the  Gospels 
as  deal  with  the  Parousia,  there  can  be  no  doubL 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Vet  to  one  who  approaches  these  passages  with  a 
frank  desire  to  assimilate  the  results  of  the  latest 
criticism,  or  at  least  to  appreciate  the  grounds 
on  which  such  criticism  is  based,  there  is  revealed 
a  field  for  serious  study  of  limitless  extent  and 
interest 

The  view  which  I  would  wish  not  so  much  to 
develop  as  to  suggest  as  a  promising  line  of 
research,  is  the  extraordinary  interest  which  this 
chapter  and  its  parallels  possess  as  throwing  light 
on  the  origin  and  date  of  the  first  three  Gospels. 
There  must  be  many  like  myself  who  have  some 
acquaintance,  however  superficial,  with  the  various 
solutions  suggested  of  the  Synoptic  Problem,  and 
who  have  provisionally  adopted  the  '  Two  Docu- 
ment Hypothesis,'  but  in  whom  the  conviction  is 
slowly  forming  that  this  theory,  whatever  amount 
of  truth  it  may  contain,  is  really  too  simple  to 
explain  all  the  facts  of  the  case.  The  object  of 
this  paper  is  to  suggest  that  in  the  great  Farousia 
Discourse  we  have  an  unrivalled  opportunity  of 
detecting  and  even  of  assigning  a  relative  date  to 
the  various  strata  of  the  evangelic  narrative.  In 
the  literary  criticism  of  the  Gospels  no  other 
method  can  be  pursued  with  the  hope  of  a  fruitful 
result,  than  that  which  has  achieved  such  marvel- 
lous results  in  the  field  of  natural  science.  There 
must  be,  in  the  first  place,  the  careful  painstaking 
study  of  the  observed  phenomena.  But  second 
only  to  this  as  an  instrument  in  the  discovery  of 
truth  is  the  legitimate  use  of  the  scientific  imagina- 
tion. The  view  which  is  here  supported  claims 
only  to  be  an  hypothesis  which  does  at  least  explain 
some  of  the  facts,  but  which  can  only  be  proved  or 
disproved  by  the  possibility  of  its  extension  to 
cover  the  whole  area  of  the  phenomena  presented 
by  the  Synoptists.  I  would  wish,  then,  to  set  out 
the  facts,  first  of  all,  in  the  form  of  critical  notes 
on  Mt  24,  and  then  to  outline  the  hypothesis 
which  they  seem  to  support  And  here  I  must 
express  my  profound  debt  to  two  works,  above  all 
others  (next  to  '  Synopticon '),  namely,  Professor 
Swete's  Commenlary  on  St.  Mark,  and  the  article 
on  SL  Matthew's  Gospel  by  Mr.  Vernon  Bartlet  in 
Hastings'  Dictionary  of  the  Bible.  In  these  notes 
'  Mt,'  '  Mk,'  '  Lk  '  stand  for  the  element  pecuhar 
to  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke  respectively ;  '  Mt,  Mk ' 
for  the  common  source  of  the  first  two  Synoptists ; 
'  Mt,  Mk,  Lk '  for  the  '  Triple  Tradition.' 

Critical  analysis  of  Mt  34. 

Vv.»-3.  Introduction.    Prophecy  of  the  Destruc- 


tion of  the  Temple,  and  the  twofold  question  of  the 
disdptes  as  to  (a)  the  time,  {b)  the  sign.  Parallels, 
Mk  131-*,  LkaiK 

The  main  fitcts  are  In  Mt,  Mk,  Lk.  But  notice 
two  local,  obviously  genuine,  touches  in  Mt,  Mk. 

(a)  The  fact  that  the  disciples  pointed  out  the 
beauties  of  the  temple  to  our  Lord ;  {b)  that  the 
question  was  asked  when  He  had  taken  His  seat 
on  the  Mount  of  Olives,  overlooking  the  temple. 
Neither  of  these  touches  is  in  Lk.  But  Mk  is 
still  more  particular,  {a)  The  temple  adornments 
were  pointed  out  as  our  Lord  was  in  the  act  of 
leaving  its  precincts,  tmroptvoiiivw  airav,  as  con- 
trasted with  Mt,  J£cA6uJ>-.  (b)  The  names  of  the 
inquiring  disciples, '  Peter  and  James  and  John  and 
Andrew' (notice  the  order,  and  the  wide  separation 
of  Peter  and  Andrew),  as  contrasted  with  Mt,  oi 
/la^TToi  abrov. 

But,  again,  there  are  two  features  in  Mt  well 
deserving  of  attention.  For  Mk's  onw  ^UXXg 
Toin-a  <Twrt)i.tur6ax  jtovto  (which  is  closely  akin  to 
Lk,  and  may  belong  to  the  common  source  of  all 
three)  he  substitutes  an  obviously  later  recasting 
of  the  question — introducing  two  quite  Matthxan 
phrases,  1;  Trapowia,  and  17  wvt&ixm  toC  omuk- 
Now  irapovo-ui  only  occurs  in  the  Gospels  in 
four  places,  all  in  this  chapter  of  St.  Matthew — 
vy  s.37(W»).3» — the  word  being  used  by  St  Paul 
fourteen  times,  by  St,  James  twice,  three  times  in 
3  P,  and  once  in  i  Ju.  17  avrriXtia.  roC  aiMfK 
(with  or  without  the  articles)  is  peculiar  to  St. 
Matthew,  i35».«.«  x&w^ 

Vv.*-".  The  general  circumstances  of  the  Church 
immediately  after  the  departure  of  Christ. 

Vv.'-*.  The  ip^  liBiKiuv  —  '  the  preliminary 
troubles '  which  are  to  be  '  the  birth-pangs  of  the 
new  order.'     Parallels,  Mk  io>-»,  Lk  21*^". 

The  greater  part  of  this  section  (w.*-*)  is  in  Mt, 
Mk,  Lk.  But  the  element  which  lies  outside  the 
Triple  Tradition  so  closely  resembles  St  Mark  u 
to  show  that  a  common  Greek  doeumenf  underlies 
the  two.  In  fact,  the  only  important  element  in 
Mt  is  the  insertion  of  a  Xpurroi  after  iyai  tlfu  in 
v,^  Lk  goes  his  own  way,  not  merely  in  several 
minor  though  not  unimportant  variations,  but 
especially  in  the  additions  in  ch.  si^^',  and  no 
reason  can  be  assigned  for  this  fact  if  he  had  the 
document  '  Mt,  Mk '  before  him.  One  peculiar 
feature  of  Mt,  Mk  is  the  extraordinarily  suggestive 
phrase  i/>x^  iSivoiv,  Mt  14*,  Mk  13*. 

I   do  not  propose  to  deal  with  the-  paralld 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


445 


drawn  by  Mr.  Baitlet  with  Apoc.  Banich  37-30^. 
While  decliniag  to  prejudge  the  view  thus  sug- 
gested, we  should,  at  any  rate,  expect  to  find 
Christ's  lai^age,  like  that  of  the  O.T.  prophets, 
moulded  by,  while  transcending,  contemporary 
modes  of  thought. 

It  is  perhaps  worthy  of  notice  that  Lk  has 
Aot/io!  KOI  Xi/UH  for  the  simple  Ai/uu  of  Mt,  Mk. 

Vv.»-".  Further  trials  of  the  disciples.  Parallels, 
Mk  i3»-",  Lk  ai"-". 

Here  we  have  some  new  features.  Only  v.> 
belongs  to  Mt,  Mk,  Lk,  though  fragments  may  be 
embedded  in  yv.'"-".  Even  in  v.»  we  have  a 
Matthsean  addition  in  the  words  iw  i&vSiv.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  important  passage,  '  he  that 
endureth,'  etc.,  and  'this  gospel  shall  be  preached 
to  alt  the  nations,'  in  w."-",  are  from  Mt,  Mk, 
but  are  combined  with  Matthsan  matter.  The 
curious  feature  of  this  passage  is  undoubtedly  the 
fact  that  the  corresponding  passages  of  St.  Mark 
and  St.  Luke  are  far  more  closely  paralleled  by 
Mt  lo"-"  {the  charge  to  the  Twelve)  than  by 
Mt  94^'*.  And,  further,  in  the  former  passage 
there  are  not  only  more  traces  than  in  the  latter 
of  the  Triple  Tradition,  but  also  that  here,  most 
decisively,  the  close  connexion  of  Mt  and  Mk  is 
apparent.  Two  more  points  claim  attention,  both 
in  v.".  (a)  For  the  simple  Marcan  tU  vdyra  ra 
3.0tnj  Mt  has  fr  a\-Q  T^  oucou/io^  €i!  fuipripimi  iramv 
r<x«  i0v«nv;  and  {b)  the  peculiar  phrase,  Ton  ^u 
TO  IXos,  as  Mr.  Bartlet  has  pointed  out,  goes  far 
to  date  the  First  Gospel  (or  rather,  we  should  say, 
the  peculiar  colouring  of  Mt)  to  some  time  not 
long  before  70  a.d.,  when  the  crisis  of  the  fate  of 
the  Holy  City  was  seen  to  be  approaching. 

Vv,i3-M.  The  invasion  of  the  Holy  Land  by  the 
Roman  armies.   Parallels,  Mk  i  s"-",  Lk  a  i "-"  1  -j^^. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  this  section 
describes  the  confusion  and  misery  in  Judaea  just 
before  the  siege.  Vv.'*-'*  belong,  almost  wholly, 
to  the  Triple  Tradition.  For  the  rest,  the  con- 
nexion of  Mt,  Mk  is  close  and  obvious.  Lk,  while 
he  clearly  is  indebted  to  the  common  source 
(which  appears  also  in  Lk  17''),  is  as  clearly  in- 
dependent of  Mt,  Mk.  But  when  we  come  to 
examine  these  resemblances  and  diiferences  more 
closely,  several  points  emerge  of  extraordinary 
importance. 

(d)  'The  abomination  of  desolation'  in  Mt, 
Mk.  Although  these  notes  are  not  intended  to  be 
exegetical,  we  may  be  permitted  to  differ,  with  all 


respect,  from  the  view  of  Dr.  Driver,  and  to 
express  our  inclination  to  that  of  Prof.  Swete  (as 
also  of  A.  B.  Bruce),  that  what  is  meant  is  the 
intrusion  of  the  armies  of  the  aliens  upon  the 
sacred  soil.  But  this  verse  ("*)  bristles  with  points 
of  interest  for  our  present  purpose.  The  well- 
known  note,  0  AyayiyviMTKiav  vmitui,  IS  ID  Mt,  Mk, 
and  we  conclude  (a)  that  this  note  occurred  in  the 
document  from  which  our  'Mt'  and  'Mk'  are 
derived ;  (yS)  that  it  was  intended  thereby  that  the 
reader  {ivayiyvinrKtw  =  read  in  public)  should  in 
some  way  mark  or  explain,  or  perhaps,  if  he 
were  a  'prophet,'  give  an  inspired  commentary 
upon  the  passage  in  which  these  words  occur. 
(y)  The  very  fact  that  no  trace  of  this  'direction 
to  the  reader'  is  to  be  found  in  Lk  inevitably 
suggests,  as  a  tentative  explanation,  that  the 
peculiar  matter  of  Lk  is  later  than  the  crisis  indi- 
cated, and  belongs  therefore  to  the  period  alter 
70  A.D.  (S)  But  if  the  recently  maintained  views 
of  the  earlier  date  of  the  Acts  (and  therefore  of 
the  Gospel)  have  sufficient  influence  on  our  minds 
to  make  us  hesitate,  the  fact  that  St.  Luke  substi- 
tutes 'Jerusalem  surrounded  by  armies'  for  the 
Matthsan  and  Marcan  '  abomination  of  desolation,' 
goes  far  to  confirm  us  in  the  belief  that  the  Third 
Gospel  is  to  be  dated  after  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem.  The  arguments  of  the  scholars  above 
refened  to  are  indeed  conclusive  to  this  extent, 
that  the  mere  occurrence  of  the  phrase  in  Lk  is  not 
decisive  as  to  the  later  date  of  the  GospeL  But 
the  point  is  not  the  occurrence  of  the  phrase,  but 
the  fact  that  it  is  substituted  for  the  simpler,  in- 
determinate, and  therefore  presumably  earlier,  to 
fiSiXvyfui  T^  iprjfMtrtias.  More  than  that,  the 
occurrence  of  the  words  orav  JSipe  and  r^s 
iprjIiMatati  {-q  cpij/uucns)  in  Mt  34",  Mk  13",  Lk  ai^ 
seems  to  prove  that  the  phrase  really  belongs  not 
to  'Mt,  Mk,'  but  to  the  common  source  of  all 
three,  and  that  the  alteration  by  St.  Luke  was 
deliberate  and  intentional.  (<)  A  precisely 
parallel  argument  establishes  to  our  mind  the 
posteriority  of  the  peculiar  colouring  of  Mt  to 
that  of  Mk.  For  in  Mt  the  more  or  less  precise 
Iv  TOTna  ayuf  is  substituted  for  the  vague  Marcan 
5irov  oi  &tt. 

{6)  We  now  come  to  that  part  of  the  Triple 
Tradition  represented  by  Mt  34^^^*;  and  here  we 
can  hardly  avoid  touching  upon  the  theory  that 
the  strictly  eschatological  portions  of  Mt  34  and 
parallels  are  really  a  Jewish,  or,  as  some  say,  a 


446 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Jewish-Christian  apocalypse,  composed  about  67-8 
A.D.,  and  incorporated  in  oar  evangehc  narratives. 
This  is  certainly  an  effectual  way  of  disposing  of 
exegetical  difficulties.  According  to  this  view, 
this  apocalyptic  'fiy-sheet'  consisted  probably  of 
Mk  1 3'-^  ^*-^-  "■"■  **■  *^  and  the  synoptic  parallels. 
Weiffenbach  (quoted  by  Prof.  Sanday)  holds  that 
the  portions  which  remain,  '  the  critically  verified 
allusions  to  the  second  coming,  all  originally 
referred  to  the  Resurrection.'  Into  anything  like 
a  full  discussion  of  this  theory  it  is  obviously  im- 
possible here  to  enter.  But,  like  most  violent 
expedients  of  disposing  of  difficulties,  it  is  liable, 
we  believe,  to  still  graver  objections  than  those 
which  it  seeks  to  remove. 

It  is  almost  an  integral  part  of  this  view,  that 
the  'fly-sheet'  thus  intruded  into  the  midst  of 
genuine  Logla  of  Christ  is  to  be  identified  with  the 
•oracle'  mentioned  by  Eusebius,  I/.i:.  iii.  5.  3, 
which  warned  the  Christians  of  Jerusalem  before 
the  war  broke  out,  to  flee  to  Pella  in  Penea — Kard 
Tiva  vpmruav  Toit  airoSi  SoKtftoK  &'  dnvKoXv^fiuf 
tKhoBivTO.  vpa  TOV  TroXt/iov, 

Now,  if  we  are  right  in  the  interpretation  of  i 
AvayiyvtairKiav  voiinn,  It  seems  to  US  that  we  have  a 
simpler  explanation  of  the  XPV/^  •"  question, 
We  would  lay  some  stress  on  the  words  81' 
AiroKaXvtpfioi,  which  would  clearly  be  appropriately 
used  of  an  utterance  of  a  Christian  'prophet.' 
Cf.  for  avoKoXviliii  in  some  such  sense,  i  Co  i4'-  ^, 
Gal  2*  81'  &iroKakviji*ioi,  if  we  accept  Professor  Ram- 
say's reference  of  this  passage  to  the  prophecy  of 
^abus,  Ac  II**.  The  verb  is  actually  used  of  the 
'prophets'  at  Corinth  in  i  Co  14"';  see  also  Eph 
3>  iw<KaXv<t>$i)  .  .  .  wpo^ijrais.  Now,  surely  the 
passage  of  Eusebius  is  at  least  capable  of  some 
such  explanation  as  this,  that  the  yjnjirfxw  was 
given  on  the  occasion  of  the  public  reading  of  this 
passage  of  the  Gospels  by  a  reader  {6  AvayiyvunrKiav) 
who  happened  to  be  also  a  prophet.  The  parti- 
cular JjToitaXv^rt  given  to  the  prophetic  '  reader,' 
and  through  him  to  his  hearers,  consisted  in  the 
special  explanation  of  *U  ri  opij,  '  over  the  moun- 
tains of  Judjea  and  Moab  to  Pella  in  Penea.' 

But  we  believe  that  the  strongest  argument 
against  the  existence  of  this  alleged  'fly-sheet'  is 
furnished  by  a  critical  study  of  the  different  strata 
of  the  evangelic  narrative.  The  result  of  this 
study,  we  hold,  is  to  show  that  certainly  both  the 
'Triple  Tradition'  and  the  common  source  of 
Mt,  Mk,  and  also  probably  the  peculiar  colouring 


of  Mt,  are  of  earlier  date  than  that  assigned  to  the 
Jewish  apocalypse,  which  this  theory  postulates. 
The  peculiar  colouring  of  Lk,  we  have  already 
seen  some  reason  to  conclude,  is  later  than  the  &11 
of  the  city.  It  was  no  longer  necessary  to  insert 
the  original  '  note '  o  ava.yiyvuKiKiiM'  vottno.  In 
its  place  we  have  a  long  passage  of  amplificatioa 
and  what  looks  like  commentary  on  the  event, 
Lk  2iSi*'-ii-".  We  do  not  mean  that  we  are 
bound  to  hold  that  no  genuine  Logia  of  Christ 
are  contained  in  the  peculiar  colouring  of  Lk. 
We  leave  open  this  possibility.  But  it  is  difficult 
not  to  think  that,  if  not  the  whole,  at  least  some 
part  of  the  verses  just  referred  to  contain  St. 
Luke's  own  reflexions  on  the  events  of  70  a,d. 

In  vv.»-''  we  have  the  source  Mt,  Mk.  But 
in  v.^  we  find  Mk's  indefinite  'va  /i^  yinjn 
defined  by  the  more  precise  ^  ^vy^  v/uov.  Now, 
taken  by  itself,  this  variation  cannot  prove  vety 
much.  But  it  does  seem  to  fit  in  with  the  other 
indication,  that  the  peculiar  setting  of  Mt  belongs 
to  the  period  after  66  and  before  70  a.d.,  when 
the  trials  predicted  by  Christ  were  coming  upon 
the  Jewish  Christians,  while  the  crisis  had  not  yet 
arrived,  and  therefore  attention  was  concentrated 
on  the  means  of  self- preservation.  In  the  same 
verse,  and  belonging  to  the  same  stratum  of 
variation,  ve  should  notice  the  addition,  so 
characteristic  of  the  Jewish  Gospel,  of  the  words 

As  regards  the  additional  matter  in  this  section 
conuined  in  St.  Luke's  Gospel,  while  perhaps 
we  have  not  as  yet  the  means  of  exactly  defining 
the  relation  of  the  two  passages,  we  ought  by  no 
means  to  overlook  the  very  remarkable  parallelism 

between  Lk  31^  a.)ffu  ov  irKtiptaOuXTiy  Kcupoi  jAi«f, 
and  Ro  Ii"*  a^i  ov  to  xA^pu^  tuv  i&vQf  tiaiXfig. 
The  concluding  verse  of  the  section  in  Mt  belongs 
to  the  source  Mt,  Mk.     (Mt  24*^  Mk  13".) 

Vv.M-28.  This  section  is  supposed  by  Godet  to 
describe  the  interval  between  the  fall  of  Jerusalem 
and  the  Parousia.  Very  decidedly  he  expresses  his 
dissent  from  Holtzmann,  who  divides  the  portion 
into  two,  namely,  vv."-"  and  vv.***.  But,  for  our 
part,  we  give  our  allegiance  to  Holtzmann  in  this 
point.  Forinspiteof  theoSvofv,",  inserted(aswe 
shall  see)  in  order  to  furnish  a  link  wanting  in  the 
original,  the  division  between  the  two  parts  is  clearly 
seen.  Vv.**-^  are  a  resumption,  with  fiiller  par- 
ticulars, of  the  warning  against  being '  led  astray '  tn 
w.*- '.    For  the  most  part  they  belong  to  Mt,  Mk. 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


447 


But  w.*-**  are  from  another  source  which  we  have 
not  delected  hitherto,  but  to  which  our  attention 
will  be  called  agaio.  For  the  mam  substance  of 
them  is  found  in  Lk  i;**-  "• "  in  a  different  con- 
test. It  is  notoriously  difficult  to  'place'  the 
different  situations  of  the  so-called  'Persean 
section*  of  St.  Luke.  It  appears,  indeed,  to  be  a 
kind  of  general  receptacle  for  acts  and  logia  of 
Christ  for  which  a  place  could  not  be  found  in  the 
development  of  the  narrative,  or  of  the  precise 
context  of  which,  both  in  place  and  in  time,  the 
evangelist  was  uncertain.  But,  however  this  may 
be,  it  remains  that  Mt  24=*-^  occurs  in  Lk  in 
close  if  not  immediate  connexion  with  the 
question  of  the  Pharisees,  'When  cometh  the 
kingdom  of  God?'  We  shall  see  some  reason, 
when  we  come  to  a  general  summary  of  con- 
clusions, for  believing,  that  whether  or  not  this 
section  is  out  of  its  place  in  Lk,  it  probably  did 
not  belong  to  the  context  where  we  find  it  in  Mt. 
But  we  are  reminded  of  one  of  the  cruxes  of  the 
Synoptic  Problem,  the  precise  history  and  bearing 
of  the  source  '  Mt,  Lk.'  Here,  at  any  rate,  each 
evangelist  freely  places  the  words  of  the  source  in 
a  setting  of  his  own.  The  meaning  of  the  passage 
seems  to  be  given  in  the  last  words,  in  answer  to 
the  question,  'Where,  Lord?'  Mt  14,",  Lk  17". 
The  '  body '  (Mt  nru^ui,  Lk  iraj/ui)  is  the  Jewish 
State,  and  the  'vultures'  or  'eagles'  are  either 
the  Roman  armies  or  else  the  forces  which  tend 
to  the  disintegration  of  a  society  become  hope- 
lessly corrupt.  Possibly  we  ought  not  sharply  to 
distinguish  between  the  two  explanations.  Going 
back  one  verse,  we  find  that  tj  trapova-ia  belongs  to 
Mt's  own  setting  (cf  above,  and  r^  tr^  mifiovo-iai, 
V.').  If  indeed,  as  we  incline  to  believe,  the 
placing  of  the  passage  here  is  due  to  the  evangelist, 
it  will  be  only  one  out  of  a  very  great  number 
of  instances  where  words  of  Christ  spoken  on 
different  occasions,  but  united  by  a  general 
similarity  of  subject,  are  all  grouped  together  in 
Sl  Matthew  as  though  they  formed  one  great 
discourse.  To  return  for  a  moment  to  v.^^:  the 
Matlhsean  phrase  oJ^tuk  forcu  ^  irapowria  roO  v(Ov 
Tov  SirBpaiwov  reads  like  a  periphrasis  and  an  ex- 
planation   of   the    Lucan    oin-«tf   tarm    o   vut  tov 

If  Tv.^^  do  constitute  a  separate  logion,  the 
difficulty,  that  they  seem  to  place  the  Parousia  in 
immediate  connexion  with  the  fall  of  the  city,  will 
disappear. 


Vv.»-»i.  Picture  of  the  Parousia.  Parallels, 
Mk  I3"-",  Lk  2i»»». 

Here  we  find  a  block,  as  it  were,  of  the  'Triple 
Tradition '  inserted  among  other  matter.  Curiously 
enough,  Mk  and  Lk  preserve  the  principal  portion 
of  this  untouched,  Mk  13^,  Lk  31"  km  tot*  .  .  . 
ho^  TnAX^.  But  Mt  34*"  preserves  the  whole, 
though  combined  with  '  Mt'  But,  of  this  peculiar 
colouring,  '  the  sign  of  the  Son  of  Man '  reads  like 
an  echo  of  Dn  7".  Cf.  also  Did.  16*  vpSnw 
OTjfutor  iKTrtraatiat  iv  ovpavif  (v."')  ttm  irtifuZor 
iftav^  a-akiriyy<K  (v.*^)  itai  ro  rpirav  Avatmurit  vtKpSai 
(Mt  25»=).  (From  V.  Bartlct).  The  tribes  of  the 
earth  mourning  are  an  echo  of  Zee  ii'^-. 

We  return  to  v.^,  which  is  an  unusual  combina- 
tion of  *  Mt,  Mk,  Lk,' '  Mt,  Lk,'  and  '  Mt'  But 
the  history  of  the  passage  becomes  clearer  if  we 
compare  it  with  Lk  ai'*-'*.  There  we  see  the 
'Triple  Tradition' in  an  altogether  different  and, 
we  should  say,  later  setting.  The  setting  of 
Mt  34*  is  the  very  early  'Mt,  Mk.'  But  the 
difficult  word  tifiinn  is  'Mt'  alone.  This  has  a 
distinct  bearing  on  questions  more  fundamental 
than  those  of  criticism.  It  does  constitute  a 
difficulty  if  Christ  really  placed  the  Parousia 
'immediately'  after  70  a.d.  Notice,  first,  the 
setting  of  the  note  of  time.  Mk  has  tv  UtumK 
Ttus  ^/Kpois,  Mt  tiiBiia^,  Lk  omits  all  indication 
of  time.  It  is  at  least  a  probable  hypothesis  that 
(d)  out  Lord's  words  were  quite  indefinite  as  to 
time.  Observe,  for  example,  how  the  parabolic 
ending  of  the  chapter  makes  for  the  view  of  a 
delayed  Parousia.  {6)  That  this  original,  indefinite 
form  of  speech  is  most  nearly  represented  by 
Mk's  tv  iKtiran  raU  ^fUpoK,  (c)  That  Mt's  tiStiet 
reflects  the  hopes  and  fears  of  Jewish  Christians  c. 
66  A.D,  (d)  That  Lk  represents  Christian  thought 
some  time  after  70  a.d.,  when  Jerusalem  had  fallen, 
yet  Christ  had  not  come.  For,  on  the  one  hand, 
it  would  be  natural  that  the  intense  expectation  of 
the  Parousia  in  their  own  time,  especially  when,  as 
in  66  A.D.,  the  signs  of  the  end  foretold  by  Christ 
were  evident,  should  colour  the  account  of  Christ's 
words  given  by  His  first  disciples.  And,  on  the 
other  hand,  to  quote  the  words  of  Prof.  Sanday, 
'  the  ease  with  which  the  apostles  postponed  their 
expectation  under  the  teaching  of  events  would 
teU  against  the  supposition  that  the  teaching  of 
Christ  had  been  precise  on  the  subject.'  The 
'colossal  imagery'  of  v.*  is  derived  from  the 
ancient  prophetic  style  (Is  13I*  34');  and  while 


448 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


(as  Svete)  ve  do  not  necessarily  exclude  a  further 
fulfilment  of  the  words  of  the  Lord,  it  is  important 
to  notice  that  their  primary  reference  is  not  to 
astronomical  and  geological  but  to  political  and 
social  convulsions. 

v.",  again,  is  from  '  Mt,  Mk.'  Belonging  to 
Mt's  peculiar  setting  are  (a)  the  Jewish  symbolism 
of  'the  great  trumpet."  CI.  Did.  i6«  (as  quoted 
above)  <lf  a  trriiitioy  ifnav^  o-oXiriyyos ;  {6)  the 
addition  of  the  pronoun  airov.  The  angels  of  the 
Parousia  are  Messiah's. 

Lk,  as  so  often,  is  absolutely  independent,  Lk 

The  time  of  the  Parousia.  Parallels,  Mk  la**^, 
Lk  2i»-«. 

This  section  is  very  instructive  in  regard  to 
our  present  purpose.  The  main  body  is  'Triple 
Tradition.'  But  the  influence  of  'Mt,  Mk'  is 
decisive  as  to  the  setting  in  which  the  common 
source  appears  in  our  first  two  Gospels;  and  v.** 
is  cither  'Mt,  Mk'  pure  and  simple,  or  else  the 
common  source  has  been,  for  some  reason, 
abandoned  by  St,  Luke  in  favour  of  the  much 
longer  and  more  generalized  warning  of  Lk  2 1"- ". 

But  if  the  '  Mt,  Mk '  setting  of,  for  example,  v.** 
had  been  known  to  St  Luke,  there  would  be  no 
reason  why  he  should  have  substituted  the  tamer 
and  colourless  setting  of  the  'Triple  Tradition' 
in  Lk  21".  As  bearing  on  the  early  date  of  the 
source  '  Mt,  Mk,'  notice  the  extraordinarily  graphic 
and  picturesque  ivl  Bvpait  of  Mt  24*',  Mk  13*', 
while  *  Lk '  not  only  omits  these  words,  but  loses 
in  force  and  vividness  by  substituting  jj  ffairiXtia 
rov  Otov  for  the  indefinite  construction  of  Mt,  Mk. 

But  v."  is  certainly  one  of  the  cruxes  of  the 
Parousia  discourse.  'This  generation'  appears, 
without  doubt,to  refer  to  the  Lord's  contemporaries; 
cf.,  for  example,  Mt  23**,  Lk  ii"*.  We  would 
venture'on  a  suggestion,  founded  upon  the  critical 
study  of  sources.  It  may  appear  perhaps  arbitrary, 
where  Mt  and  Mk  agree  and  differ  from  Lk,  to  say 
sometimes  Lk  has  abandoned  the  common  source 
of  all  three,  and  sometimes  that  we  have  evidence 
of  another  source  which  we  have  called  '  Mt,  Mk,' 
and  to  which  we  have  more  or  lesi  definitely 
assigned  a  d&te.  Now  it  was  the  former  hypothesis 
to  which  we  resorted  in  connexion  with  the  critical 
passage  Mk  i3"  =  Mt a4"  =  Lk  3i»  Butwesaw 
that  this  differed  in  one  remarkable  respect  from 
those  passages  in  which  we  traced  the  agreement 
of  Mt  and  Mk  to  their  use  of  a  separate  source, 


presumably  unknown  to  Lk.  For  just  as  the 
primitive  igneous  rocks  are  observed  sometimes 
intruding  into  and  laid  side  by  side  with  the  later 
sedimentary  rocks,  so  in  Lk  31^  we  discovered, 
side  by  side  with  the  much  later  Lucan  setting, 
fragments  or  insertions  of  the  oldest  stratum  of 
evangelic  narrative  in  orot-  rSi^rc  and  i;  ipj/xwim. 
Now  in  Mk  i3»s  =  Mt  a4'»  =  Lk  aiW-w  we  have 
a  precisely  parallel  case. 

I  suppose  no  one  will  doubt  the  lateness  of 
Lk  ai"s4,  not  in  an  absolute  sense,  but  relatively 
to  Mt,  Mk.  But  right  into  the  heart  of  this  later 
matter  we  have  the  decisive  phrase  17  ^fiipa  txc^ 
echoing  the  r^  ■niJ^ipat  ixtivrp  of  Mt,  Mk,  just  as 
Lk  21™  ^  jpijjuixrtt  echoes  t^s  (piyuoo'cdw  of  Mt,  Mk 
in  that  place.  And  we  believe  that  the  reason  is 
the  same.  Mt  24"=  Mk  13"  and  Mt  24««  =  Mk 
13S1  are  both  of  them  from  the  common  source  of 
all  three  Synoptists,  and  in  both  cases  Lk  has  recast 
the  whole  passage,  just  retaining  one  or  two  char- 
acteristic phrases — enough  to  show  us  that  we  have 
really  to  deal  with  the  '  Triple  Tradition '  and  not 
with  '  Mt,  Mk.'  But  how  does  all  this  bear  on  the 
exegesis  of  Mt  24"  ?  We  venture  to  put  forward 
an  hypothesis,  somewhat  tentatively,  which  seems 
at  any  rate  to  give  a  tolerable  explanation  of  the 
observed  facts.  In  order  to  avoid  constant  qualifi- 
cations, we  will  set  out  this  hypothesis  in  a  rather 
dogmatic  fashion. 

{a}  St.  Luke  then  knew  the  Triple  Tradition, 
and  substituted  the  general  warning,  lest  'that  day 
should  come  upon  you  unawares  (or  suddenly)  as 
a  snare'  (Lk  21"-**),  for  the  difficult  phrase  of 
Mt  24''  =  Mk  13^*.  After  all,  such  a  paraphrase 
would  not  be  altogether  alien  from  the  general  style 
of  St.  Luke,  who,  on  a  lesser  scale,  is  constantly 
modifying  and  recasting  the  common  material. 

{i)  His  reason  for  doing  so  was  not  the  dog- 
matic dtf&culty  which  has  led  to  the  omission  of 
the  words  ouSi  6  vuk  in  a  good  many  authorities 
from  the  text  of  Mt,  and  in  some,  though  fewer, 
from  that  of  Mk,  Such  a  difficulty  would  scarcely, 
perhaps,  have  much  influence  in  the  period  70-So 
A,D.,  to  which  we  are  inclined  to  refer  St.  Luke's 
Gospel  in  its  present  form.  Rather,  his  object  was 
to  remove  the  apparently  direct  contradiction  with 
Mt  24"=. Mk  13**.  If  'this  generation'  were  to 
see  '  all  these  things '  fulfilled,  how  could  '  that 
day '  and  '  the  hour '  be  hidden  from  the  Son  ? 

{e)  The  contradiction  is  a  real  difficulty,  which, 
however,  is  not  incapable  of  solution.    For  (a)  we 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


449 


see  no  reason  why  the  Lord  should  not  have 
clothed  His  prediction  of  the  end  in  somewhat 
ambiguous  language,  or  rather,  let  us  sajr,  in 
language  not  incapable  of  being  misunderstood. 
It  is  a  profoundly  wise  remark  of  the  late  Professor 
A.  B.  Bruce  that  the  object  of  true  prophecy, 
no  less  that  of  Jesus  Christ  than  that  of  the  O.T., 
is  primarily  ethical.  Nothing,  we  can  safely 
assert,  is  more  alien  from  the  spirit  of  the  true 
inspired  prophecy  than  to  give  a  detailed  account 
of  future  events — than,  in  other  words,  to  write 
history  beforehand.  The  prophet  has  fulfilled  his 
function  when  he  has  proclaimed,  with  an  un- 
erring moral  iotuitioi],  that  the  divine  judgment 
is  at  hand,  and  that  it  behoves  men  to  order  their 
lives  accordingly.  To  think  that  we  can  read  in 
our  Lord's  words  an  exact  summary  of  the  events 
of  far  distant  history,  appears  to  us  precisely 
parallel  with — to  take  an  example — making  His 
miracles  to  be  TtjooT*  instead  of  tnuUIa,  or 
regarding  them  as  intended  to  serve  as  proofs  of 
His  divinity. 

ifi)  While,  however,  we  may  admit  the  probable 
existence  of  some  ambiguity  in  Christ's  prophecy 
of  the  end,  still  we  would  be  inclined  to  think 
that  this  ambiguity  would  not  be  too  great  to  be 
resolved  by  patient  and  accurate  study  of  His 
words.  And  it  seems  to  us  that  the  clue  is  to  be 
found  {here  we  follow  Godet)  in  the  antithesis 
between  17  yttna  avnj,  which  would  witness  the 
fall  of  the  city,  and  t^  ^/lipai  iKtiyrp,  that  more 
remote  day— the  '  Day  of  Jehovah ' — of  which  He 
says  that  it  lies  within  the  knowledge  of  the  Father 
alone. 

There  is  then  an  apparent  contradiction,  but 
the  means  of  resolving  it  is  not  far  off.  And  our 
gratitude  is  due  rather  to  Mt  and  Mk,  who  have 
preserved  a  difficult  but  instructive  phrase,  con- 
sisting of  two  antithetical  members,  rather  than  to 
Lk,  who  has  tried  to  keep  only  to  the  general  sense, 
avoiding  a  contradiction  by  the  evasion  of  a 
paraphrase. 

Vv."*>.  Conclusion  of  the  Parousia  discourse 
summed  up  in  the  command  to  'watch,'  based 
upon  the  uncertainty  of  'the  day.'  This  precept 
is  enforced  in  two  parables  in  germ — the  thief 
(w."'**),  and  the  faithful  and  unfaithful  upper 
servants  (w.«-»>). 

Now  it  seems  to  be  beyond  doubt  that  the  great 
discourse  did  end  with  an  injunction  to  '  watch,' 
But  the  ending  given  in  Mk  if^-^^  is  far  simpler 


than  that  of  Mt,  and  we  believe  more  original. 
In  fact,  w.*^-"  of  our  chapter  are  most  instructive 
as  a  lesson  in  the  composition  of  our  First  Gospel. 
For  they  exhibit  what  we  believe  will  be  found  to 
be  the  characteristics  of  the  evangelist,  namely, 
the  collection  of  sayings  of  Christ  delivered  on 
different  occasions  into  one  great  discourse.  At 
the  same  time,  the  verses  throw  a  great  deal  of 
light  on  the  source  '  Mt,  Lk.'  In  regard  to  this, 
we  believe  that  St.  Luke  received  certain  logia  of 
Christ,  some  written  down,  others  perhaps  orally 
delivered.  The  source  of  both  was  the  common 
catechesis  of  Greek  converts.  The  evangelist,  who, 
as  he  tells  us  in  his  preface,  took  great  trouble 
both  in  the  collection  of  written  and  oral  informa- 
tion and  in  the  composition,  based  on  that 
information,  of  a  consecutive  (ko^c^  ypd^nu) 
narrative,  placed  these  logia  in  what  he,  at  any 
rate,  conceived  to  be  their  proper  historical  setting. 
On  the  other  hand,  St.  Matthew  handled  these  logia 
in  an  altogether  different  spirit,  collecting  all  those 
heard  on  the  same  or  kindred  subjects,  and  con- 
tinuing them  into  the  great  discourses  which  form 
so  important  and  striking  a  feature  of  our  First 
Gospel.  (We  consider  that  we  can  arrive  at  some 
measure  of  truth  regarding  the  origin  of  our 
Greek  Gospels,  even  if  we  exclude,  for  our  present 
purpose,  the  examination  of  the  various  views  as 
to  Aramaic  originals). 

To  return  to  our  passage. 

Vv,"-w.  '  The  days  of  Noah '  is  ulUmately  from 
the  same  Greek  logion  as  Lk  17W.  st — jus{  ^s  **-"8 
=  Lk  17"-  "•  '^  But  we  recognise  the  peculiar  set- 
ting of  Mt  in  i)  Traptnxria  of  v.^^,  and  ij  vapowria  rov 
v'loO  Tov  i.v6puivov  of  v.*"-  Vv.^"-",  in  the  same 
manner,  correspond  to  Lk  17**"**.  But  observe 
how  freely  St.  Luke  uses  his  source.  For  the 
difficult  h  TY  l^vX^if  be  has  the  simpler  tirt  ro  avro, 
and  for  the  more  graphic  presents  he  substitutes 
the  tamer  futures,  n-apoAij/t^tfijcrtTtu — d^c^ijcm-ai 
(in  each  verse).  Perhaps  those  scholars  who  trace 
differences  in  our  Gospels  to  different  translations 
of  an  Aramaic  document  can  explain  why  for  Mt's 
jv  np  dyp^  Lk  has  <irt  KXinjf  luav. 

But  in  regard  to  the  two  'parables  in  germ'  of 
yv.^-Ai  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  behind  Mt 
and  Lk  there  is  the  same  Greek  original.  Yet 
the  parallel  passage  in  Lk  is  found  in  the  entirely 
different  context,  Lk  la'"^'.  This  seems  to  con- 
firm our  view  that  Mt  and  Lk  dealt  separately 
and  independently  with  Greek  logia  which  were 


450 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


the  subjects  of  the  common  catcchesis.  We  may 
notice  a  few  instructive  features  in  this  passage, 
fewer  perhaps  than  usual,  owing  to  the  large 
extent  of  verbal  identity.  Even  in  small  deuils 
we  observe  the  striving  of  St.  Luke  after  a  more 
correct  and  smooth  version.  In  fact  there  is  a 
curious  parallel  between  the  peculiar  setting  of 
Lk  and  the  variations  of  the  'Alexandrian'  text 
of  the  N.T.  For  examples  of  these  minor  altera- 
tions, observe  («)  in  Lk  i  a''  ( =  Mt  24")  the  sub- 
stitution of  up^  for  iftvXaK^  and  the  omission  of 
the  repeated  av ;  {i)ia  Lk  13*' the  more  classical 
Btpainia^  replaces  the  oLrtrtt'ot  of  Mt  34*';  (1:)  for 
the  thoroughly  Jewish-Christian  fiera  riv  viro- 
KpiTw  of  Mt  24'^,  Lk  has  /iiri  riv  iirumov 
(is").  And,  finally,  we  may  notice  that  whereas 
the  two  'germ  parables'  follow  one  another  with- 
out a  break  in  Mt,  St.  Luke  has  supplied,  as  an 
introduction  to  the  second,  a  historical  setting  in 
the  question  of  St.  Peter,  '  Lord,  speakest  Thou 
this  parable  unto  us,  or  even  unto  all  7 ' 

It  would  be  tedious  to  give  even  a  short 
summary  of  the  evidence,  which  is  contained  in 
the  whole  collection  of  facts  which  we  have 
examined,  for  the  hypothetical  scheme  which  we 
are  about  to  put  forward.  But  we  claim  for  our 
hypothesis  that  it  does  enable  us  to  give  a  rational 
explanation  of  the  lacts  which  we  have  reviewed. 

(t)  First,  then,  we  have  the  oldest  stratum  of 
all,  the  so-called  Triple  Tradition,  which  we 
strongly  suspect  to  have  been,  in  parts  at  any  rate, 
not  reduced  to  writing,  but  committed  to  memory 
by  catcchtsts  and  catechumens.  Our  reason  for 
holding  this  opinion  is  the  extraordinarily  frag- 
mentary way  in  which  pieces  of  the  Triple 
Tradition  are  placed  amid  the  peculiar  setting 
of  each  evangelist.  But,  whether  written  or  oral, 
we  are  inclined  to  assign  a  very  early  date  to  this 
stratum  of  Gospel  narrative.  At  any  rate,  it 
assumed  its  final  form  some  years  before  66  a.d. 


(1)  Next  we  have  an  important  documentary 
source  lying  behind  Mt  and  Mk.  The  date  of 
this  Greek  document  is  about  the  year  66  a.d. 
(the  year  which  saw  the  first  investment  of 
Jerusalem). 

(3)  In  the  peculiar  setting  of  Mt  we  have 
evangelical  matter  second  to  none  as  an  authority 
for  Christ's  words  and  acts.  If  we  are  not  mis- 
taken, we  see  in  this  peculiar  colouring  of  Mk  the 
direct  influence  of  St.  Peter. 

(4)  The  peculiar  colouring  of  Mt  reflects  the 
feelings  and  judgments  of  the  Jewish -Christian 
Church.  It  is  to  be  dated  in  any  case  earlier 
than  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  but  after  66  a.d.;  in 
other  words,  it  belongs  to  the  period  when  the 
crisis  which  was  beginning  by  the  date  of  'Mt, 
Mk '  had  already  so  far  advanced  as  to  disclose 
the  inevitable  end. 

(5)  Mt  and  Lk  both  draw  from  a  Greek 
document  which  represents  another  stratum  of 
the  common  catechesis  to  that  revealed  by  the 
agreement  of  Mt,  Mk,  and  Lk. 

(6)  The  peculiar  colouring  of  St.  Luke  is  later 
than  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  We  are  in- 
clined to  refer  it  to  some  date  between  70  and  80 
A.D.  It  is  marked  by  a  striving  after  the  more 
correct  Greek  word,  and  the  avoidance  of  not 
merely  linguistic  and  grammatical  but  also  of 
exegetical  difficulties. 

We  do  not  pretend  that  a  synoptic  theory  can 
be  considered  as  proved  if  it  is  only  based  upon 
the  critical  study  of  a  single  chapter.  But  we  ven- 
ture  to  put  forward  our  hypothesis  as  a  tentative 
explanation  of  niany  of  the  phenomena  of  the 
Gospels.  And  we  venture  to  think  that,  in  the 
light  of  some  such  analysis  as  this,  some  of  the 
difficulties  which  have  been  felt  by  ordinary 
readers  in  regard  to  the  great  Discourse  on  the 
Parousia  will  be  found  to  be  capable  of  a  satis- 
factory explanation. 


iS^tuni  j^oretgn  ^Jeofojg, 


^off^mann  on  t^t  ^^^optk 

This  is  the  third  edition  (thoroughly  revised)  of 


'  Hand-C9mmentar  turn 
Band,     Eisle  Abth«i]ung. 


JV.r.     Dritte  Auflage.      Ersie 
Hie  Sytwfitiier.     Ersle  HSilfle. 


the  first  volume  of  the  well-known  Hand-Cimt- 
tntniar.  The  parts  before  us  include  the  first  half 
of  Holtzmann's    commentary  on  the  Synoftists 

Zweit«  Abtheilung.  Du  AJieslelgeschitkie.  Beaibeitet  voo 
H.  J.  Holumann.  Tilbingen  und  Leipzig:  J.  C.  B.  Mohr, 
1901.     London:  Willianw &  Norgate. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


45* 


(containing  the  introduction  to  the  three  Gospels 
and  the  notes  on  Mark)  and  that  on  Acts.  It 
would  surely  have  been  advisable  to  publish  the 
Synoptic  Gospels  together,  even  although  Acts 
should  have  to  be  deferred.  It  is  difficult  to  see 
what  advantage  has  been  gained,  as  the  first  half 
of  this  first  part  cannot  be  obtained  without 
ordering  the  second.  We  will  deal  with  the  parts 
separately. 

Holtzmann's  commentary  on  the  Synoptic 
Gospels  has  long  since  gained  a  wide  reputation. 
By  careful  condensation  he  was  able  to  pack  a 
large  amount  of  material  within  the  smallest  pos- 
sible space.  His  notes  are  clear,  acute,  always 
scholarly.  No  man  is  entitled  to  speak  with 
higher  authority  on  the  Synoptic  Problem.  His 
first  work.  Die  Synoptischen  Evangelien,  published 
as  far  back  as  1863,  remains  a  storehouse  from 
which  all  investigators  must  draw.  He  belongs 
to  the  radical  school  of  criticism ;  so  that  readers 
may  be  prepared  for  the  most  uncompromising 
treatment  of  the  Gospel  narratives.  This  attitude 
of  continual  protest  against  tradition  is  apt,  in  our 
view,  to  exercise  as  damaging  an  influence  on  the 
scientific  judgment  as  that  of  the  closed  mind 
which  prefers  dogma  to  history. 

The  new  edition  of  the  commentary  has  been 
entirely  recast.  Formerly  there  was  a  short, 
general  introduction,  dealing  with  the  Synoptic 
Problem,  followed  by  a  commentary  on  the  three 
Gospels  taken  together.  In  order  to  avoid  con- 
stant reference  from  one  Gospel  to  another,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  treat  each  on  a  uniform  plan, 
the  editor  has  now  thought  it  advisable  to  prefix 
an  elaborate  introduction,  in  which  atl  those 
sections  common  to  the  three  Gospels  are  dis- 
cussed, '  in  so  far  as  they  present  the  same  problem 
to  literary  or  historical  criticism.'  This  scheme 
also  admits  of  the  treatment  of  many  matters 
belonging  to  N.T.  theology.  The  introduction 
leads  on  to  a  detailed  and  separate  exegesis  of 
Mark  (conlained  in  this  part),  Matthew,  and 
Luke.  The  method  is  admirable,  avoiding  the 
wearisome  repetitions  to  be  found  in  editions  of 
such  authority  as,  e.g.,  that  of  Meyer-Weiss. 

Perhaps  we  cannot  give  a  better  idea  of  Holtz- 
mana's  standpoint  than  by  quoting  from  the 
closing  paragraph  of  that  section  of  his  introduc- 
tion which  is  entitled  'Results'  (pp.  35-36), 
'The  chief  value  of  every  exegetical  and  critical 
investigation  of  the  Synoptic  Gospels  consists  in 


the  fact  that  it  forms  the  indispensable  prelimi- 
nary to  our  knowledge  of  the  life  of  Jesus.  The 
theological  conflict  carried  out  in  this  direction 
may  be,  perhaps,  briefly  expressed  as  follows. 
On  the  one  side  it  is  presupposed  that,  in  the 
composition  of  the  Gospels,  nothing  save  the 
function  of  the  historian,  in  our  modern  sense  of 
the  term,  was  the  regulating  factor.  In  that  case 
the  narratives  of  the  evangelists  claim  the  validity 
of  official  records  of  bare  facts.  On  the  other 
side  it  is  recognized  that  a  second  interest  (we 
may  call  it  ...  at  one  time  the  practical,  at  an- 
other the  religious,  at  one  time  the  dogmatic,  at 
another  even  the  sesthetic)  has  prevailed  from  the 
very  beginning.  The  representation  of  our  Gos- 
pels is  subservient  not  so  much  to  the  impulse 
of  historical  knowledge  as  to  devout  feeling  and 
edification,  accompanied,  at  times,  by  apologetic 
and  polemic  tendencies  in  view  of  Jewish  assump- 
tions and  reproaches  (in  Matthew),  or  by  the  pur- 
pose of  recommending  Christianity  to  the  Roman 
government  (in  Luke),  or  by  their  interest  in 
referring  usages  and  arrangements  of  the  develop- 
ing ecclesiastical  system  back  to  the  sayings  and 
precepts  of  Jesus  (in  both  evangelists).'  At  the 
same  time,  Holtzmann  protests  against  an  exaggera- 
tion of  this  second  hypothesis,  admitting  that  'a 
kernel  of  information  belonging  to  eye-witnesses 
is,  in  any  case,  present  in  the  threefold  Gospel 
narrative  .  .  .  We  can  definitely  assert  regarding 
the  Synoptic  Gospels  that  they  even  have  within 
their  framework  the  genuine  portrait  of  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  a  portrait  clearly  discernible  in  its  main 
lineaments'  (p.  36).  In  these  days  of  small 
mercies  at  the  hands  of  the  advanced  school  of 
N.T.  criticism  we  ought  probably  to  be  Ihankiiil 
for  so  candid  an  admission  as  this  from  one  of  its 
ablest  representatives,  although  it  does  far  less 
than  justice  to  the  fads. 

In  comparing  the  new  with  the  older  edition  of 
Acts,  we  find  that  large  amplifications  have  been 
made.  As  one  might  expect  from  a  scholar  of 
Holtzmann's  range  and  thoroughness,  the  refer- 
ences to  recent  literature  are  very  complete.  He 
acknowledges  that  it  was  impossible  to  make  any- 
thing like  a  full  use  of  the  enormous  mass  of 
works  relating  to  the  Apostolic  Age,  and  singles 
out  several  English  books  to  which  he  has  not 
referred,  including  McGifTert's  very  important  con- 
tribution to  this  department.  We  should  have 
supposed  that  few  of  the  numerous  works  which 


45  a 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


have  appeared  wittiia  recent  years  are  so  fruitful 
in  suggestion  as  that  of  McGiffert. 

Holtzmann  accepts  Hanuck's  cbaracterization 
of  Ads  as  'a  very  ancient  document  of  heathen 
Christianity  developing  into  Catholicism'  (p.  3). 
He  decides  for  a  date  not  earlier  than  94  A.D.,  on 
the  following  (to  our  mind)  piecarious  grounds : — 
'  (i)  Highly  probable  acquaintance  with  Josepfaus  ; 
(2)  conscious  readjustment  of  pass^es  in  Gala- 
tians ;  (3)  kinship  of  the  whole  point  of  view  with 
the  Pastoral  Epistles ;  (4)  unhistorical  conceptions 
of  the  speaking  with  tongues,  of  the  legality  of 
Paul,  of  the  opening  of  the  mission  to  the 
heathen  by  Peter  .  .  ,  ;  (5)  proximity  in  time  to 
the  literary  products  of  a  Plutarch  (parallel 
Lives),  of  an  Arrian  and  a  Pausanias  (works 
of  travel);  (6)  atmosphere  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  reflecting  itself  in  the  parallelism  between 
Peter  and  Paul  .  .  .  ;  (7)  emphasis  on  Ute  poli- 
tical side  of  Christianity  and  connexion  with  the 
apologetic  tendencies  of  Justin.'  Some  of  these 
reasons  may  possess  a  certain  weight,  but,  as  a 
whole,  they  arc  good  samples  of  the  type  of  argu- 
ment used  by  critics  who  pride  themselves  on 
their  scientilic  method.  A  hasty  glance  reveals 
the  lack  of  historic  imagination  which  most  of 
them  involve.  If  the  processes  of  history  could 
be  iitted  into  certain  definite  schemes,  they  might 
pass  muster.  But  this  constant  derivation  of  the 
separate  elements  in  '  a  very  ancient  document ' 
from  this,  that,  and  the  other  external  or  (sup- 
posed) contemporary  influence  is  arbitrary  and 
mechanical,  and  therefore  untrue  to  human  ex- 
perience. 

There  are  numerous  points  of  interest  both  in 
the  notes  and  introduction.  In  dealing,  e.g., 
with  the  conversion  of  Paul,  Holtzmann  is  very 
candid.  '  It  is  at  all  events  certain  that  the 
apostle  himself  knows  nothing  of  a  gradual  pro- 
cess which  has  drawn  him  closer  to  Christianity, 
but  only  of  a  sudden  halt  which  he  was  compelled 
to  make  in  the  midst  of  an  active  career.  He 
knows  only  of  an  instantaneous  revolution,  not  a 
bridge  which  might  have  led  from  one  bank  to 
the  other  (Ph  3'').  He  looks  on  himself  as  a 
suddenly  subdued  rebel  (1  Co  2^^),  whom  God 
leads  in  triumph  over  the  world.  .  .  .  These 
are  unassailable  personal  testimonies,  which  cor- 
roborate the  essentia)  content  of  our  narrative 
\Aets  9]  with  immense  demonstrative  power.' 
This  is  an  instance  of  a  refreshing  freedom  from 


prejudice  which  every  now  and  then  distinguishes 
Holtzmann  from  other  representatives  of  the  same 
general  critical  standpoint.  There  is  an  admir- 
able section  on  the  text,  in  which  the  well-known 
theory  of  Blass  is  severely,  and  we  believe  with 
justice,  criticized.  On  16*  we  should  have  ex- 
pected a  definite  reference  to  Professor  Ramsay's 
South  Galatian  hypothesis.  There  is  no  mention 
of  Ramsay,  but  we  are  interested  to  find  that 
Holtzmann  both  here  and  on  18*^  rejects  the 
supposition  that  the  author  had  the  Roman  pro- 
vince of  Galatia  before  his  mind. 

H,  A.  A.  Kennedy. 
Callandir. 


lS>M;iti3er*e  '  C^ronicfea.'  ^ 

It  is  not  every  one  who  would  care  to  undertake  a 
commentary  on  Chronicles.  The  long  lists  and 
numerous  genealogies  look  harsh  and  repellent. 
The  text  abounds  in  corruptions,  some  of  which 
are  beyond  remedy.  The  labour  required  seems 
out  of  proportion  to  the  result  which  may  be 
hoped  for.  The  Chronicler's  treatment  of  Hebrew 
history  does  not  display  the  freshness  and  variety 
of  the  Book  of  Kings,  and  is  far  more  limited  in 
scope  and  aim.  We  might  therefore  be  tempted 
to  deem  the  writer  to  whom  this  work  is  assigned 
less  fortunate  than  most  of  his  colleagues.  Yet 
there  is  another  side  to  the  picture.  Many  of  the 
lists  and  genealogies  are  parallel  to  those  contained 
elsewhere  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  it  is  delight- 
ful to  a  genuine  student  to  account  for  the  dis- 
crepancies between  two  accounts  and  bring  order 
out  of  chaos.  Benzinger's  note  on  i  Ch  i**^ 
will  serve  as  a  specimen  of  the  thoroughness  with 
which  he  has  thrown  himself  into  the  attempt 
He  begins  with  the  reminder  tliat  we  have  before 
us  an  excerpt  from  Gn  36'''°,  and  then  proceeds  : 
'V.  36.  Instead  of  'M  Gn  has  iM,  LXX  in  both 
passages  Sio^ap:  it  cannot  be  decided  which  is 
correct.  Timna  and  Amaiek  appear  here  as 
brothers,  sons  of  Eliphaz.  In  Gn  (36")  Tinma  is 
the  concubine  of  Eliphaz,  and  Amaiek  is  her  son. 
The  alteration  is  of  course  not  accidental  but 
intentional — an  inleresdng  evidence  of  the  tenacitr 
with  which  such  variants  in  the  genealt^cal 
■  Dit  Bather  der  Chrmii.  Eiktbt  nm  Lie.  Dr.  J. 
Beniineer.    Tubingen  a.  Ldpiig :  J.  C.  B.  Molu,  1901. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


453 


tradition  have  been  maintained  in  spite  of  the 
establishment  of  an  "ollicial'' genealogy.  V.  37. 
The  combination  of  the  list  of  Horites'  with  the 
genealogy  of  Esau  is  also  found  at  Gn  36".  But, 
whilst  V."  in  that  passage  explains  to  some  extent 
how  the  list  comes  into  that  connexion,  no  such 
lemaik  is  made  here.  Here  again  (see  above,  on 
v.*)  we  see  how  the  glossator  confines  himself  to 
the  scantiest  genealogical  outline.  V.  39.  Against 
DiMn  and  io  favour  of  the  OQ^n  of  Gn  the  LXX'Aifuv 
CH/uiv)  is  both  timet  decisive.  V.  40.  fpv,  Gn 
J^-j  LXX  Vat.  %ie\afi.;  Luc,  probably  corrected 
after  the  Heb.,  'AAoim^ — the  latter  is  in  favour  of 
p'lV.  'fie',  Gn  iDBi,  is  uncertain ;  LXX  Vat.  Soft 
Alex.  Sw^op,  Luc.  %av<ft€t  =  Ch.  V.  41.  Oholi- 
bamah,  the  daughter  of  Anah  (Gn  36^),  is  omitted ; 
in  LXX  Luc.  the  omission  is  supplied.  It  remains 
uncertain  whether  pon  or  pon  (Gn)  should  be 
read;  LXX  Vat  'Eiupav  is  like  the  Heb.,  Luc. 
'A/iaJo^Ukev.**,  corrected  after  Gn.  V.  41.  Not  the 
sons  of  Dishon,  who  have  already  been  named  in 
v.",  but  the  sons  of  Dishan  are  here  in  place; 
alter,  therefore,  into  Jpn  as  in  Gn.'  The  following 
remarks  on  1  Ch  6^**^  are  an  example  of  com- 
parison worked  out  on  more  general  lines :  '  The 
section  contains  (1)  a  detailed  list  of  the  priests' 
towns,  vv.*'^ ;  (1)  a  summary  statement  as  to  the 
number  of  towns  belonging  to  the  several  tribes 
assigned  to  the  three  families  of  Levites,  vv,**^ 
(on  v.'^  sec  below) ;  (3)  a  deuiled  list  of  all  the 
towns  of  the  Levites.  The  section  is  taken  almost 
verbally  from  Jos  ai^^.  But  the  arrangement 
there  is  2,  1,  3,  the  only  really  possible  one. 
That  a  rational  editor  should  have  arranged  the 
verses  in  the  irrational  order  given  above  is 
rendered  all  the  more  impossible  by  the  fact  that 
V."  forms  the  introduction  to  the  enumeration  of 
the  priests'  towns,  vv.*"-" !  Two  things  only  are 
possible:  either  the  Chronicler  reproduced  the 
text  as  it  is  in  Joshua  and  a  later  hand  prefixed 
the  priests'  towns,  or  the  Chronicler  gave  the  list 
of  the  priests'  towns  in  exteaso,  after  Joshua,  whilst 
a  later  hand  took  the  opportunity  of  appending 
the  text  of  Jos  ii  in  full.  The  latter  supposition 
is  the  more  probable,  for  (i)  there  is  a  shorter  title 
for  the  whole,  written  by  the  Chronicler  (v.**)  in 
place  of  the  fuller  vv.'  and  *  in  Jos  3 1 ;  and  (3)  the  list 
of  the  Levites'  towns  has  been  specially  corrupted 
in  transmission,  and  the  blunders  are  of  a  kind  to 
indicate  careless  copying  of  the  original  (Jos,  cf. 


e^.  on  v.M).  The  numerous,  absolutely  meaning- 
less omissions  especially  point  to  this.'  Here  we 
have  sound  criticism,  worth  the  trouble  of  making 
and  worth  pondering.  Benzinger  knows  also  the 
art  of  recovering  from  his  documents  fragments  of 
historical  and  archaeological  lore.  The  remarks 
made  on  p.  6  concerning  the  lists  of  Caleb's 
descendants  are  excellent.  We  are  reminded 
that  in  earlier  documents  the  distinction  between 
the  Calebites  and  Israel  continued  to  be  observed 
even  after  they  had  been  incorporated  in  David's 
kingdom  (i  S  35'  37"  3o»»,  Jos  14*,  Gn  15") ;  in 
those  times  they  were  never  reckoned  as  Israelites. 
But  our  lists  show  that  in  post-exilic  times  they 
were  inscribed  on  the  family-tree  of  Judah.  The 
note  on  i  Ch  i"-**  is  equally  helpful:  'This 
genealogy  makes  Jair  a  member  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah.  Elsewhere  he  appears  as  a  Manassite 
{Nu  33*',  Dt  3").  We  cannot  explain  this  as  a 
mere  variant  of  the  legend.  But  there  was  a  time 
when  the  designation  of  the  region  east  of  the 
Jordan  as  Judahite  had  a  meaning — the  time,  that 
is,  when  Judaic  colonies  had  settled  in  Gilead.  It 
was  to  rescue  them  out  of  the  hands  of  the  heathen 
that  Judas  Maccabeus  undertook  his  campaign  in 
those  districts.  In  those  times  the  statement 
might  have  an  intelligible  meaning,  whether  it 
were  that  the  Jews  endeavoured  in  that  way  to 
vindicate  their  right  to  those  districts — Hyrcanus  i. 
also  justified  his  proceedings  against  the  Edomites 
by  alleging  that  their  land  really  belonged  to  the 
Jews— or,  as  is  less  likely,  that  the  Jews  there 
gave  themselves  out  to  be  descendants  of  Jair, 
and  made  out  their  connexion  with  the  Judeans 
by  means  of  this  genealogy.'  On  r  Ch  3*  there  is 
a  glimpse  into  the  history  of  Jewish  thought :  '  At 
14^  in  place  of  T^  there  still  remains  the 
original  form  jn*^a ;  the  LXX  also  witnesses  to 
bl3  in  our  passage.  Hence  it  must  have  been  a 
later  age,  not  the  Chronicler,  that  got  rid  of  TPa  in 
proper  names.'  Neither  our  A.V.  nor  R.V.  would 
help  a  mere  English  reader  to  understand  the  note 
on  I  Ch  9=»:  'The  formula  of  benediction,  Yah- 
weh  bt  wilh  Mm,  at  the  mention  of  a  holy  name, 
corresponds  with  an  ancient  custom  which  is  still 
kept  up,  especially  amongst  the  Moslems.'  If  the 
text  is  pure  and  the  division  of  verses  correct, 
Benzinger's  translation  will  hold  good,  and  the 
analogous  usage  amongst  the  Arabs  will  illustrate 
it.     But  it  must  be  admitted  that  toy  rm  at  the 


454 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


end  of  a  verse  looks  strange :  LXX  Vat.  has  kuI 
oCr«  fttr'  avTM,  Alex,  connects  the  mn'  with  the 
preceding  word,  l/iirpoffStv  Kvpum.  One  is  inclined 
to  think  that  the  conect  reading  may  have  been 
mn;  '»!>,  though  it  is  difScuIt  to  account  for  or 
dispose  of  the  to».  Whatever  may  be  said  of  this 
passage,  the  reference  to  another  Mohammedan 
practice  on  i  Ch  a*"- "  is  justified :  '  This 
reminds  us  strongly  of  the  Kunya  of  the  Arabs, 
the  designation  of  a  man  as  father  of  his  first- 
bom  son.' 

A  commentary  on  Chronicles  embraces  some 
points  of  more  general  interest  than  those  hitherto 
touched  by  us.  What  has  it  to  say,  e^.,  about  the 
differences  between  the  two  narratives  of  David's 
numbering  the  people?  'The  Chronicler  cannot 
omit  this  narrative  which  is  not  favourable  to 
David,  for  it  is  the  apparition  of  the  angel  on 
Oman's  threshing-floor  and  the  command  of  Yah- 
weh  that  David  shall  build  an  altar  there  which 
occasion  the  choice  of  this  spot  for  the  temple,  ai^ 
2  S  34  is  the  parallel  section.  But  the  text  of 
that  passage  has  not  served  as  the  Chronicler's 
model  The  divergences  are  far  too  significant 
and,  above  all,  they  cannot  be  explained  by  a 
reference  to  any  principle,  either  to  the  Chronicler's 
theology  (leaving  aside  some  exceptions)  or  to  the 
desire  to  abbreviate.  But  the  Chronicler  does  not 
narrate  independently,  from  memory  for  instance, 
as  though  that  would  explain  the  differences.  On 
the  contrary,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  he  is  here  mak- 
ing use  of  a  source,  which  he  probably  reproduces 
pretty  literally,  seeing  that  its  view  of  the  matter 
corresponds  with  his.  ...  In  Samuel  it  is  God 
Himself  who  stirs  up  the  Icing  to  sin.  That  is  the 
old  idea;  cf.  on  i  K  la'^f-;  but  meanwhile  theo- 
logy has  advanced,  and  the  figure  of  Satan  has 
been  laden  with  the  burden  of  the  origination  of 
evil.  In  Zechariah  (3"-)  he  is  still  nothing  more 
than  the  accuser  of  man  to  God,  similarly  also  in 
the  prologue  to  Job,  except  that  in  the  latter  he 
takes  pleasure  in  evil.  The  use  of  the  name  with- 
out the  article,  i.e.  as  a  proper  name,  shows  how 
well  known  and  familiar  his  figure  is.'  Another 
debated  question  is  that  of  Manasseh's  captivity  in 
Babylon.  Benzinger  writes :  '  Some  have  wished 
to  treat  the  Chronicler's  narrativei  which  is  not 
found  in  Kings,  as  a  mere  Midrash.  According 
to  his  theory  of  retribution  the  long  reign  of  the 
ungodly  king  needs  to  be  explained  by  his  con- 


version, and  his  wickedness  demands  a  correspond- 
ing punishment.  But  Winckler  (AUitst.  Unlers. 
122  f.)  rightly  remarks  that  the  self-contradictory 
sutement  about  the  Assyrians  carrying  the  king  to 
Baiy/on  cannot  possibly  have  been  invented  by  a 
later  writer.  But  it  is  explained  as  a  /art  by  the 
circumstance  that  after  the  fall  of  his  brother  in 
647  Assurbanipal  assumed  the  status  of  king  of 
Babylon,  and  this  compelled  him  to  reside  durii^ 
some  portion  of  every  year  in  that  city.  This  was 
connected  with  the  insurrection  of  Assurbanipal's 
brother,  Shamash-shum-ukln,  who  wished  to  make 
himself  independent  in  Babylon.  The  Palestinian 
princes,  probably  including  Manasseh,  were  natur- 
ally ready  to  support  the  insurrection  ;  at  all 
events,  Manasseh  refused  to  pay  bis  tribute.  After 
the  fall  of  Shamash-shum-ukln  be  was  called  to 
account,  and  had  to  appear  in  person  at  Babylon 
to  do  homage.  The  extant  Assyrian  documents 
do  not  entitle  us  to  decide  positively  whether  this 
is  the  historical  kernel  of  the  narrative,  or  whether 
Manasseh  overtly  supported  the  insurrection  so 
that  his  subsequent  journey  to  Babylon  was  not  a 
voluntary  one.'  This  is  surely  a  more  satisfactory 
way  of  handling  the  subject  than  Kittel's  {History 
of  the  Hebrews,  ii.  378):  'Even  if  it  were  not 
altogether  probable  that  the  narrative  originated 
in  the  necessity  felt  of  bringing  Manasseh's  long 
and  peaceful  reign  into  harmony  with  the  theocratic 
standpoint  of  the  book,  still,  taking  into  account 
the  well-known  character  of  Chronicles,  very  few 
serious  reasons  can  be  advanced  in  favour  of  its 
historicity.  Besides,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  the 
nanative  possesses  a  striking  analogy  in  the  history 
of  Pharaoh  Necho  1.,  who  was  carried  away  in 
chains  to  Nineveh,  and  was  afterwards  set  at 
liberty.'  No  one  would  dispute  Kittel's  tacts  and 
views  as  here  set  forth ;  but  the  additional  fact  of 
which  Benzinger  reminds  us  must  also  be  taken 
into  account.  A  careful  reader  will  not  need  to 
be  told  that  ferobeam,  p.  105,  is  a  misprint  for 
Josaphat.  J.  TAvum. 

yVinehrembi. 


A  VERY  lively  controversy  seems  likely  to  be  called 
forth  by  the  recently  published  work  of  Professor 
Friedrich  Delitzsch,  Babel  und  Bibtl.    Amongst 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


others  who  have  felt  compelled  to  protest  against 
a  Qumher  of  the  positions  there  contended  for,  is 
Professor  Ed.  Konig,  who  has  promptly  come 
forward  with  a  tractate  entitled  SiM  und  Babel 
(Berlin :  M.  Waineck,  piice  So  pfennigs).  Dr. 
Konig  feels  that  the  relation  between  the  Baby- 
Ionian  literature  and  the  Bible  is  presented  by 
Delitzsch  too  much  from  one  side,  and  that 
light  and  shade  are  unequally  distributed  by 
bim. 

The  little  work  before  us  opens  with  a  succinct 
but  most  interesting  history  of  the  progress  of 
cuneiform  discoveries  during  the  past  century. 
The  author  then  passes  to  the  important  question 
of  the  value  which  the  monuments  possess  as 
sources  for  ancient  history,  and  of  the  relative 
weight  to  be  assigned  lo  them  and  to  the  O.T. 
records  in  certain  instances.  We  need  not  remind 
OUT  readers  that  Professor  Konig  is  no  traditionalist 
or  '  apologist,'  yet  he  finds  it  necessary  to  utter 
some  cautions  against  treating  everything  that  is 
cuneiform  as  therefore  bearing  the  stamp  of  abso- 
lute truth.  For  instance,  these  records  are,  at 
least  in  a  great  many  cases,  not  the  originals  but 
copies — often  long  removed  from  the  archetypes. 
Nor  can  we  be  always  certain  that  the  narrative  is 
unwarped  by  prejudices  and  partialities,  leading 
now  to  invention,  and  at  other  times  to  sup- 
pression of  the  truth  {e^.  Sennacherib's  silence 
about  the  disaster  that  compelled  him  to  retreat 
from  Judah  in  701  b.c.).  From  this  point  of  view 
it  is  sbown  that  the  advantage  lies  on  the  side  of 
the  Hebrew  records,  although  in  such  a  minor  point 
as  chronological  exactitude  the  superiority  belongs 
to  Babylon. 

Perhaps  the  two  points  that  will  interest  readers 
most  are  Dr.  Konig's  very  careful  examination  of 
the  ethnological  relations  between  Babylonia  and 
Palestine  (including  the  cognate  question  whether 
the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel  sprang  from  Canaanite 
tribes),  and  his  comparison  of  the  religious  and 
ethical  ideas  of  the  respective  records.  Here  we 
must  refer  our  readers  to  the  tractate  itself,  where 
abundant  reasons  are  adduced  for  the  con- 
clusion, that  'if  Babylon  was  the  fontal  source 
of  many  elements  of  culture  found  in  regions 
nearer  or  more  remote,  religion,  the  final  factor  in 
all  civilization,  has  its  classical  literature  in  the 
Bible.'  We  have  very  great  pleasure  in  recom- 
mending this  work  of  Dr.  Konig's  as  at  once  most 
interesting  and  informing. 


tU  ^Biding  (^afue  of  iU  ^f& 

It  will  be  felt  by  many  to  be  especially  appro- 
priate that  at  the  present  juncture  we  should  have 
a  pronouncement  upon  this  subject  by  so  well- 
known  and  competent  an  O.T.  scholar  as  Professor 
Kautzsch  of  Halle.  The  work  in  question  {Die 
bkibende  Bedeutung  des  Alien  Testaments,  Tiibin- 
gen :  J.  C.  B.  Mobr,  price  65  pfennigs)  has  for  its 
basis  a  lecture  delivered  by  Dr.  Kautzsch  last 
year  at  the  Saehsiseht  kirehitcke  Konfertnt  at 
Chemnitz. 

Passing  over  what  our  author  says  so  well  re- 
garding the  futility  and  misunderstanding  of  Social 
Democrat  attacks  upon  the  O.T.,  we  come  to  the 
kernel  of  the  discussion.  We  are  called  upon  to 
abandon  unreservedly  positions  that  are  no  longer 
tenable  {e.g.  the  mechanical  view  of  inspiration 
which  attributed  inerrancy  and  equal  value  to 
every  letter  of  Scripture).  We  have  also  to  be 
careful  not  to  press  unduly  arguments  in  favour 
of  the  O.T.  based  upon  its  value  from  the  point  of 
view  of  mere  history  and  sesthetics.  Its  real 
abiding  value  must  be  discovered  from  the  religious 
and  ethical  side.  We  feel  certain  that  it  will  rejoice 
and  reassure  many  of  our  readers  to  have  such 
testimonies  as  the  following  from  Professor 
Kautzsch;— 'The  abiding  value  of  the  O.T.  lies 
above  all  in  this,  that  it  guarantees  to  us  with 
absolute  certainty  the  fact  and  the  process  of  a 
divine  plan  and  way  of  salvation,  which  found  its 
conclusion  and  fulfilment  in  the  New  Covenant, 
in  the  Person  and  the  work  of  Jesus  Christ.' — 
'There  is  one  thing  which  utterly  refutes  every 
attempt  to  trace  the  matter  to  human  reflexion, 
every  appeal  to  natural  development,  in  short, 
every  form  of  the  evolutionist  theories  at  present 
so  much  in  vogue,  —  and  that  is  Prophecy.' — 
<  Having  been  for  more  than  forty-five  years  occu- 
pied with  the  O.T.  in  its  original  text,  I  can  testify 
with  the  utmost  sincerity  that  anything  imperfect 
or  even  repugnant  attaching  to  the  O.T.  .  ,  .  has 
year  by  year  shrunk  to  nothing  in  face  of  a  deepen- 
ing penetration  into  the  overpowering  phenomenon 
of  Prophecy.'  Although  meant  especially  to  be  a 
plea  for  the  continued  use  of  the  O.T.  in  schools, 
this  brochure  of  Professor  Kautzsch  has  a  much 
wider  scope,  and  deserves  careful  study  by  all 
lovers  of  Scripture. 


4S6 


THE   EXPOSITORY   TIMES. 


(pisc«ffaneou6. 


A  WELCOME  is  due  to  Professor  0.  Holtzmann's 
ReligionsgtiehicktUchi  Vorfrdge  (Giessen:  J.Rickers, 
pHce  M.3).  The  volume  is  made  up  of  lectures 
delivered  by  the  author  at  Davos  to  a  popular 
audience,  and  will  be  found  interesting  by  all,  and 
not  without  value  even  to  experts.  The  lectures 
include  the  following  range  of  subjects :  Israel  and 
the  Prophets ;  The  Jewish  Law ;  The  Century  of 
Jesus  Christ ;  The  Conquest  of  the  World  by  the 
Church ;  The  Gospel  and  the  Confessions. 

A  WORK  on  Confession  as  an  ecclesiastical  practice 
cannot  fail  at  present  to  find  readers.  And,  like 
many  other  subjects,  this  cannot  be  satisfactorily 
treated  except  from  the  historical  standpoint. 
Pastor  &  Fischer  has  accordingly  commenced  a 
work  on  the  History  of  Evangelical  Confession, 
of  which  the  First  Part  has  appeared,  dealing  with 
the  Roman  Catholic  practice  of  Confession  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Reformation,  and  describing 
Luther's  attitude  to  it  at  the  initial  stage  of  his 
activity.  The  whole  subject  is  treated  with 
scholarly  detail  and  exactness,  and  Pastor  Fischer's 
work  will  supply  a  felt  want,  besides  maintaining 
the  reputation  of  Bonwetsch  and  Seeberg's 
'Studien  zur  Geschichte  der  Theologie  und  der 
Kirche,'  to  which  it  belongs  [Zur  Gtichichie  der 
tvangtUschen  Betchte,  von  Pastor  E.  Fischer, 
Seminaroberlehrer  in  Sagan;  I.  Die  katholische 
Beichtpraxis  bei  Beginn  der  Reformation,  und 
Luther's  Stellung  dazu  in  den  Anfangen  seiner 
Wirksamkcit,  Leipzig :  Dieterich,  price  M.4.S0). 

The  same  series  (Bonwetsch  and  Seeberg) 
contains  a  work  by  H.  Boehmer  with  the  startling 
title,  'The  Forgeries  of  Archbishop  Lanfranc  of 
Canterbury'  {Die  Fdbchungen  Erzbischof  Lan- 
/ranis  von  Canterbury,  Leipzig:  Dieterich,  price 
M.4).  Before  now,  doubts  have  been  expressed 
as  to  the  genuineness  of  some  of  the  documents 
involved  in  the  inquiry  before  us,  but  Boehmer 
goes  the  length  of  maintaining  that  the  whole  ten 
Papal  Privileges  were  either  forged  or  falsified  by 
Lanfranc,  whose  misapplied  skill  is  supposed  to 
have  found  vent  also  in  the  Canon  Law  and  else- 
where. The  argument  of  the  book  is  supported 
by  the  style  as  well  as  the  character  of  the  arch- 
bishop,  whose  motives  are    examined,  and    on 


whose  behalf  Boehmer  declines  to  hear  of  any 
extenuating  circumstances.  It  may  be  taken  for 
granted  that  the  last  word  has  not  been  spoken  in 
this  controversy,  but  any  champion  of  Lanfranc 
will  have  to  encounter  a  powerful  adversary. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  works  we  have 
met  with  on  Primitive  Christianity  is  E.  von 
Dobschiitz'  Die  Urchrist lichen  Gemeinden  (Leipzig : 
J.  C.  Hinrichs,  price  M.6,  bound  M.7).  The 
name  of  the  author  will  be  a  sufficient  guarantee 
of  the  thorough  scholarship  ilnd  accuracy  of  his 
account  of  the  sodal  and  moral  conditions  of 
the  early  Christian  communities.  From  many 
points  of  view  the  questions  he  handles  have  a 
special  interest  at  the  present  time,  whether  one 
looks  upon  the  primitive  Church  as  our  ideal  or 
not. 

After  an  introductory  chapter  on  the  Problem 
and  the  Sources,  Professor  von  Dobschutz  goes  on 
to  examine  the  state  of  things  in  the  various 
Pauline  Churches  (Corinth,  Macedonia,  Asia 
Minor,  and  Rome).  In  each  case  the  burning 
questions  in  these  Churches  are  clearly  exhibited, 
and  a  great  deal  of  side-light  is  thrown  upon  them. 
Then  comes  a  chapter  on  Judaistic  Christianity, 
which  is  followed  by  one  on  the  later  Gentile 
Christianity  (including  the  Churches  under  Pauline 
influence;  the  Johannine  circle;  the  beginnings 
of  Gnosis;  the  Churches  of  the  period  that  wit- 
nessed the  transition  to  Catholicism).  Then 
comes  a  useful  summary  (pp.  153-163),  followed 
by  a  Bibliography,  and  Additional  Notes  on 
various  subjects,  'James  the  Lord's  brother,* 
'Slavery  in  Antiquity,'  etc  We  have  said  enough 
to  show  that  the  student  of  Church  History  will 
find  a  valuable  addition  to  his  authorities  in  the 
treatise  of  Professor  von  Dobschiitz. 

It  will  be  welcome  news  to  many  of  our  readers 
that  Mr.  J.  Ricker  of  Giessen  is  about  to  publish  a 
German  edition  of  the  work  of  Morris  Jastrow,  jun., 
on  the  Religion  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria.  This 
will  be  practically  a  new  work,  the  English  edition 
having  been  thoroughly  revised  by  the  author 
himself,  who  takes  full  account  of  all  more  recent 
investigations  and  all  texts  that  have  beeta  pub- 
lished since  the  English  edition  appeared.  The 
Bibliography  has  undergone  corresponding  expan- 
sion. The  book  is  to  be  published  in  some  tm 
parts,  to  be  completed  within  the  present  year. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMER 


457 


and  the  price  for  the  whole  worlc  will  be  about 
■  5  shillings.  Even  those  who  already  possess  the 
English  edition  will  find  the  new  work  indis- 
pensable, if  they  wish  to  be  up  to  date;  while 
students  who  have  not  yet  made  acquaintance 
with  Jastiow  may  be  confidently  recommended 
to  procure  the  forthcoming  volume  as  tie  authority 
on  its  subject  J.  A.  Selbie. 

Maryculltr,  AbtrdetH. 


®mon0  i%t  0)erioMc(tf6. 

The  Book  of  DanieL 

Pkofbssor  Hommel  contributes  to  the  Theol. 
Literaiurblatt  (28th  March  last)  a  paper  on  'The 
Date  of  the  Book  of  Daniel,  and  the  Lunacy  of 
Nabonidos.'  The  Annals  of  the  latter  monarch 
contain  repeated  notices  (extending  over  five 
years)  of  the  absence  of  Nabonidos  from  Babylon 
and  his  sojourn  in  Te-ma-a  (T^ma),  while  his  son 
Bel-Sar-usur  (Belshazzar)  with  the  nobles  and  the 
troops  was  in  the  land  of  Akkad.  Hommel  argues 
that  this  exile  of  the  Babylonian  king  can  have 
been  due  to  nothing  but  some  malady  which  it 


was  sought  to  conceal  from  the  knowledge  of  his 
subjects,  and  which  in  all  probability  was  of  a 
mental  character.  The  special  interest  of  Hommel's 
article  lies  in  his  attempt  to  bring  this  into  con- 
nexion with  what  the  Book  of  Daniel  relates  of  the 
lycanthropy  of  Nebuchainesiar.  It  is  well  known 
that  a  serious  difficulty  is  occasioned  by  the  circum- 
stance that  in  that  book  Belshazzar  is  called  the  son 
of  Nebuchadnezzar,  whereas  there  was  no  blood 
relationship  whatever  between  them.  Nabonidos, 
on  the  other  hand,  was  the  father  of  Belshazzar, 
and  Hommel  seeks  to  show  reason  wfay  in  Dn  a-5 
we  should  read  *i]3i  (Nabonidos)  for  ^X31333 
(Nebuchadnezzar)  everywhere  except  in  5'.  He 
finds  a  similar  error  of  transcription  in  chap.  6, 
where  he  would  change  Darius  (B'^*^'1)  into 
Gobryas  (5!*ni)).  The  bearing  of  all  this  upon  the 
date  of  the  Book  of  Daniel,  especially  if,  with 
Hommel,  one  could  be  brought  to  accept  of  the 
Aramaic  portions  (chaps.  2-7)  as  part  of  an  original 
work,  and  to  look  upon  chaps.  8-n  as  of  Macca- 
bsean  date,  is  of  no  litde  importance.  But  the 
present  is  not  the  place  in  which  to  examine  the 
validity  of  his  arguments.  J.  A.  Selbib. 

Marytulter,  Aberdeen. 


^acoB'et  (Jloufe  from  jparan  fo  ^5<c5«tn. 

By  Professor  S.  R.  Driver,  D.D.,  Litt.  D.,  Oxford. 


Of  none  of  the  four  places,  Mizpah,  Mahanaim, 
Fenuel,  and  Succoth,  which  Jacob  is  stated  to 
have  passed  on  this  journey,  has  the  name  been 
preserved  locally;  and  the  identifications  which 
have  been  proposed  are  in  consequence  entirely 
conjectural.  From  such  indications  as  are  afforded 
by  the  way  in  which  the  places  are  mentioned 
either  in  this  narrative  or  elsewhere,  it  may  be 
inferred  that  Mizpah  was  some  elevated  spot  on 
the  north-east  of  Gilead;  that  Mahanaim  was  within 
sight  of  the  Jordan  (Gn  32" ;  cf.  z  S  2»  i8««-  [see 
1 7**]),  near  some  ford  of  the  Jabbok  (32"),  and 
also  a  city  of  Gad,  bordering  closely  on  Manasseh 
(Jos  i3»«-»»  ai");  that  Penuel  was  close  to  the 
Jabbok  (Gn  yz^*'^-),  on  higher  ground  than  Suc- 
coth, and  to  the  cast  or  south-east  (Jg  8*',  cf.  v."); 
and  that  Suaoih  was  on  the  route  between  Penuel 
and  Shecbem,  which  would  pass  most  naturally 
over  the  ford  ed-D£miyeh  (a  little  south  of  the  point 
at  which  the  Jabbok  enters  the  Jordan),  in  the 


territory  of  Gad,  and  in  a '  vale '  (Jos  \^,  Ps  6o»), 
— presumably,  therefore,  in  the  part  of  the  Jordan 
valley  through  which  the  Jabbok  flows  into  the 
Jordan,  and  which  is  very  fertile.  The  following 
synopsis  will  perhaps  assist  the  reader  to  estimate 
the  relative  probability  of  the  principal  identifica- 
tions that  have  been  hypotbetically  proposed : — 

Meibill-  Con  Dan.*  Dillmahh. 

Hinnh.         KoTu  cc-R>ti>4.I       SM.  AninltHnninsbJeipot 


il'OihA.    Undilemuiicd. 

r'AUl.  Sotilli  of  the  Jjibbnk, 
in  the  JordAji  valley, 
on  Ihc  road  fniin  cs- 


1  ASaiueoic  caailc :  lec  phoLognphiia  Mim.u,Sachr,  <UtZ,D-P.  y., 

TS9S,  p.  A5f.  Jl  uudi  on  ihe  top  of  a  bJH,  uid  coouiuDds  ■  puticu- 
luly  fine  viaw  of  the  tntire  Jordan  nllcy,  from  Ihe  lake  of  Geaneunth 
to  ibt  Dead  Sea  (Le  Snaoge,  in  Si^humachei'i  Actva  /Jkt  JardaH,  p. 

I'ThetailliorioId.'io  called  from  ihc  yelioviifa  meulliferoua  und- 
Hone  of  which  Ihey  are  compoKd,— iwo  conical  bllli,  imnd  which  ihe 
JabboV  windi,  about  t  mile  cut  of  Diir  'Alll,  up  the  valley. 


458 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


All  these  places,  except  Suleikli&t,  as  well  as  the 
routes  and  fords  mentioned  in  the  following  re- 
marks, are  shown  on  G.  A.  Smith's  large  Topo- 
graphical Map  of  Palestine.  The  reader  will  also 
be  able  to  follow  the  argument  with  the  help  of 
the  Map  of  Gilead  in  the  Ene.  Bibl.  ii.  s.v.,  or 
even  with  the  shillii^  Map  of  Palestine  in  Murray's 
Classical  Maps  (both  of  which  indicate  the  ele- 
vations by  shadings).  Suleikhat,  according  to 
Merrill's  description,  is  in  the  higher  part  of  the 
W.  Suleikhat,  3  miles  north  of  the  W.  'Ajlun,  and 
a  mile  east  of  the  road  through  the  Ghor  from 
Beisan  to  the  south ;  it  would  therefore  in  G.  A. 
Smith's  Map  be  in  the  second  wady  north  of  W. 
"Ajlun,  a  little  below  the  figure  '500.'  At  the 
spot  indicated  there  are  considerable  ruins,  stand- 
ing some  300  ft.  above  the  plain,  and  commanding 
an  extensive  view  of  the  Jordan  valley ;  the  site 
therefore,  it  is  argued,  if  adopted  for  Maljanaim, 
would  well  suit  the  conditions  of  the  narrative  in 
3  S  tS  (see  Hastings'  D.B.  j.».). 

On  the  topography  of  the  Jabbofe:  valley,  the 
article  of  Professor  J.  A.  Paine,  '  Succoth  and 
Penuel  not  yet  identified.'in  the  Bibl.Sacra,  1878, 
pp.  481-98,  should  especially  be  consulted.  This 
article  is  mainly  a  criticism — and,  so  far  as  one 
who  has  not  personally  visited  the  locality  can 
judge,  a  conclusive  criticism — of  an  article  by 
Merrill  in  the  same  periodical,  1877,  pp.  742  ff.,  in 
which  sites  are  proposed  for  these  two  places.  Pro- 
fessor Paine  describes  the  region  about  the  JabboV 
minutely,  with  a  sketch-map  (p.  483),  examines 
Merrill's  identifications  from  the  point  of  view  of 
both  topography  and  philology,  and  (if  his  de- 
scriptions may  be  assumed  to  be  correct)  shows 
convincingly  that  they  cannot  be  sustained.  As 
regards  the  lower  course  of  the  Jabbok  valley, 
there  is  a  remarkable  conllict  of  testimony :  while 
Merrill  (pp.  748-50)  speaks  of  it  as  the  'main 
thoroughfare  to  the  east '  with '  a  good  and  easy 
road,'  Professor  Paine  declares  emphatically  that 
there  is  practically  no  road  through  it  whatever 
from  the  ford  ez-Zubliyeh,  a  little  south  of  Jerash, 

Tar  Mia*,  or  Dt^alak 


ul  in  Ih>  Tiilin. 

a  h>v< 

b«n  cilJcd  b  Uur  (ims 

•ilo^ibuihunrydoub 

ulwh 

ihs.uM 

nillihinks 

uiSrtiu: 

uid  Anbic 

MiwaofpUicM) 

>«imin 

Mttnr.'-h 

ichlhertis 

^r<KKti>>Ein< 

.7-*- 

«fla 

r>(willl«ll 

lh.,«Oof 

Cf.  PaiiK,  FL  19 

ff,). 

-*».  pp.  .8—86 

Snulh 

D.B 

J.P.  ClLE 

plun  (Bml^ra  U 

ll»  dimin.  of 

«.».ridg«W, 

ka»d 

Aftai 

tSSX    Con 

dt^CSmilh, 

k>  >hu  (he  nunc 

MaH<^ 

UIM 

in  J/.M. 

ed«=ofaiu. 

till  it  enters  the  Jordan  valley,  some  10  miles  lower 
down;  the  stream  rushes  along  swiftly,  at  the 
bottom  of  a  deep  chasm  like  a  caSon,  with  very 
lofty  and  precipitous  banks.^  fringed  by  tall  canes 
and  rushes,  and  with  no  road  or  passage  along 
either  side,  except,  as  it  seems,  rough  paths  through 
the  jungle,  the  best  of  which  is  a  rocky  and 
perilous  bridle-path,  on  the  face  of  the  bluff  on  the 
north  side,  along  which  Professor  Paine  found 
himself  frequently  obliged  to  dismount  (p.  489  f.). 
The  real  ancient  thoroughfare  in  these  parts  ^om 
west  to  east,  says  Professor  Paine,  is  a  well-marked 
Roman  road  (not  ishown  on  G.  A.  Smith's  Map), 
leading  up  from  Deir  'A1I3,  past  Shihan  and 
Mukhmah  to  'Ammin.  Professor  Paine's  state- 
ments certainly  produce  upon  the  reader  the  im- 
pression that  they  are  accurate ;  it  is  difficult  to 
think  that  he  could  have  come  forward  to  contra- 
dict Merrill  as  categorically  as  he  does,  without  the 
assurance  that  he  was  on  firm  ground  in  doing  so. 
It  is  probable  that  the  'Mi;pah'  of  Gn  31**  was 
further  to  the  north  or  north-east  than  either  Kal'at 
er-Rabad  or  SQf  (for  it  seems  to  mark  the  border  in 
these  parts  between  Israelitish  and  Aramsan  terri- 
tory) :  but  that  hardly  affects  the  main  question ; 
Jacob  will  in  any  case  have  approached  the  region 
of  the  Jabbolj  from  the  north  or  north-east.  To 
consider,  then,  Merrill's  route  first.  If  Jacob  passed 
by  (or  near)  Suleikhat,  he  will  naturally  have  come 
down  to  it  by  the  route  passing  north  and  south  along 
the  Gh6r  * ;  but  a  glance  at  the  map  will  show  how 
improbable  it  is  that,  having  reached  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Deir  'Alia,  he  should  then,  if  his 
goal  were  the  ford  ed-DJlmiyeh,  have  made  a 
diiour  of  6  miles  to  the  east,  up  the  valley  of  the 
Jabbok,  to  TulQl  edh-Dhahab  (»^  Penuel),  and 
then  back  again, — crossing  the  stream  (Gn  3a**) 
as  he  relumed,  and  afterwards,  of  course,  recross- 
ing  it,  to  Deir  'Alia  ( =-  Succoth),  in  order  then  to 
resume  his  journey  to  cd-Damiyeh.  Moreover, 
if  Tulfil  edh-Dhahab  is  Penuel,  it  must  have  been 
useless  either  for  the  Midianites  to  take  flight  up 
to  it,  or  for  Gideon  to  pursue  them;  for,  as  has 
been  shown,  according  to  Professor  Paine,  the 
banks  of  the  stream  for  some  10  miles  above  TulQl 

'Similarly  Thomson,  Land  and  Seat,  iii.  5S4:  'The 
gorge  or  the  Zei1;>  is  exceedingly  wild  and  picluresque  ;  and 
the  cliSs  rite  almtui  perftndUalia-ly  to  a  great  height  on 
either  ^de.' 

*  The  route  straight  down  from  Ral'at  ei-Raba^  would 
have  led  him  to  the  head  of  the  W.  'Ajlno,  not  into  the 
W.  SnIeiWhaL 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


459 


edh-Dhahab,  as  far  as  the  ford  ez-Zubliyeh,  are  so 
lofty  and  precipitous  as  to  be  virtual];  impassable 
on  either  lide.  It  thus  seems  impossible  that 
Tultll  edh-Dhahab  can  really  be  the  ancient  Penuel. 

Conder's  localization  of  Mabanaim  and  Fenuel 
brings  Jacob  by  an  entirely  different  route.  Pass- 
ing through  Gerasa,  he  will  have  crossed  the 
Jabbolf  by  the  ford  ez-Zubliyeh  (on  G.  A.  Smith's 
Map,  just  north  of  el-Mastabeh) ;  pursuing  the  route 
southwards  he  will  have  climbed  from  the  level  of 
the  Jabboif  (between  500  and  1000  ft.),  1000  ft. 
or  mcM«,  up  to  el-Bul^ei'a  ^  (1000  ft) ;  then  turning 
off  to  the  west,  at  a  point  not  clearly  indicated, 
but  perhaps  at  Jogbehah,  he  will  have  climbed 
1 300-1500  ft  more,  past  es-Salt,  till  he  reached 
Jebel  'Osha  (3597  ft.),  then — though,  if  bis  goal 
was  ed-Dimiyeh,  the  shorter  and  more  obvious 
route  would  have  been  for  him  to  go  straight  down 
to  it  from  es-Salt  (see  the  route  in  G.  A.  Smith's 
Map) — going  on  in  a  north-westerly  direction  he 
will  have  come  down  to  the  Jabbolf,  have  crossed 
it  at  about  one  mile  south-east  of  Deir  'Alia,  after- 
wards, turning  southwards  along  the  Ghor  route,  be 
will  have  crossed  it  again  in  order  to  reach  the  ford 
ed-Damiyeb.  Can  this  extremely  circuitous  route 
of  journeying  from  any  part  of  the  Jebel  'Ajlun  to 
ed-D&miyeh  be  deemed  probable?  Is  it  likely 
that  Jacob  would  have  gone,  with  his  numerous 
flocks  and  herds,  up  and  down  these  lofty  moun- 
tains 7  Let  it  also  be  remembered  that  el-BuVei'a 
( =  Mahanaim,  upon  this  hypothesis),  so  far  from 
being  'near'  either  the  Jordan  or  the  Jabbolr,  is 
30  miles  from  the  former  river  and  8  from  the 
latter,  while  even  Jebel  'OshS  (  =  Penuel)  is  10 
miles  from  the  Jordan  and  8  from  the  Jabbolf. 
Conder's  localizations  obviously  do  not  satisfy  the 
conditions  of  the  biblical  narrative. 

On  33^  says  that  Jacob  passed  over  the  *ford ' 
of  Jabbolf.  According  to  both  Paine's  sketch  and 
G.  A.  Smith's  Map,  there  are  four  fords  in  the 
lower  Jabbolf :  (t)  The  ford  crossed  by  the  Gh6r 
route  (ace.  to  Paine,  p.  497  f.,  the  Mesra  Klttan,  or 
'Canaan-ford'^);  (2)  the  ford  on  the  road  from 
es-Salt  to  Deir  'Alia  and  Belsan ;  (3)  the  ford  on 
the  road  from  es-Sal;  to  Burmah  and  Gerasa  (the 
Mesra  en-Nisariyeh,  Paine);  (4)  the  ford  on  the 

>  CoDdet  himieir  (p.  1S5)  lak«a  him  moch  fuither  round 
hj  the  CMt  lo  reach  el-Bukei'a,  vie.  by  the  present  Haj  route. 

*  Whence,  alto,  on  Paine'a  sketch,  a  roate  ii  marked,  and 
spoken  of  (p.  49S),  as  [eading  up  to  'Ajlun  and  other  towni 
oftheJebel'Ajlan. 


road  from  'Amman  to  Gerasa  (the  Mesra  et- 
ZuiliyeA,  Paine).  According  to  Paine,  (3)  is 
dangerous,  and  quite  impassable  for  large  droves 
of  cattle,  the  descent  being  very  steep  and  the 
current  swift  (p.  484)  ;*  hence  natives  always  send 
loaded  animals  round  by  (4).  But  even  supposing 
Jacob,  coming  from  the  north,  had  crossed  the 
Jabbok  6y  (4),  this,  as  the  Map  shows,  would  not 
have  taken  him  in  the  direction  of  ed-Dimiyeh : 
there  is,  as  we  have  seen,  no  passage  down  the 
Jabbok,  at  any  rate  for  flocks  and  herds;  and  the 
road  over  the  ford  leads  naturally  up  to  Jogbehah 
and  "AmmSn.  If  he  crossed  by  (a),  be  could  no 
doubt  have  '  picked  his  way '  (Paine,  p.  489)  down 
past  Tuiai  edh-Dhahab  (-Penuel)  to  Deir  'A114 
(  =  Succoth) :  but  this  implies  that  Matian aim  was 
not  at  Merrill's  site,  but  somewhere  (say)  near 
Burmah ;  and  there  remains  the  further  difficulty 
mentioned  above,  that  there  would  be  no  route  for 
Gideon  and  the  Midianites  above  TulOl  edh- 
Dhahab.  The  moat  natural  ford  for  Jacob  to 
cross  would  be  (r) :  then  Mahaoaim  might  be 
(say)  at  Deir  'Alia,  4  miles  north  of  the  ford;' 
Penuel  might  be  (say)  near  where  the  GhSr  route 
crosses  the  route  from  es-Salt  to  ed-D5miyeh ;  and 
Succoth  on  one  of  the  lower  terraces  of  the  Jordan 
valley  (which  here  sinks  from  -500  ft.  to  -1000  ft.) 
west  of  the  point  just  suggested  for  Penuel,  in  the 
position,  south  of  the  Jabbolf,  and  consequently  in 
the  territory  of  Gad,  postulated  by  Dillmann.* 
Perhaps,  at  some  future  time,  excavation  will  show 
whether  towns  stood  anciently  upon  the  sites  thus 
indicated. 

It  is.  to  be  regretted  that  in  recent  maps  of 

•  Pjofessor  Paine's  own  horee  was,  in  July,  swept  off  iu 
legs.  When  Tristram  crossed  by  this  ford  (ianrf  ef  Israel, 
S49),  '  the  strong  current  reached  the  horse'a  girths'  ;  it  is, 
however,  'not  verj  formidable'  in  September  (Thonaon, 
Land  and  Book,  iii.  584  ;  see  for  the  date  p.  578). 

•Sulfflkhat,  Merrill's  site  (see  above),  13  miles  north  of  the 
Jabbok  ford,  would  not  perhaps  be  too  distant  from  it  for 
the  narrative  of  Go  31  (it  is  not  certun  that  'there'  in 
Sa"*  is  Ma^anaim :  w."  imply  that  Jacob  had  stayed  at 
Mal^naim  (or  some  time,  10  '  and  he  lodged  there  that 
night'  reads  like  a  nea  slatemeut  relating  to  a  place  to 
which  he  had  now  advanced,  and  which  seems  10  be  the  one 
named  afterwards  (».")  Peniel).  However,  a  site  nearer 
the  Jabbok  would  seem  to  be  more  suitable  for  a  place  on 
the  border  between  Gad  and  Manossch  (Jos  13**-  **),  and 
belonging  properly  to  Gad  (2i*). 

•  The  route  from  the  south  up  the  GhOr,  through  Moab, 
and  past  Heshbon  and  Beth-Nimrah  (see  G.  A.  Smith's 
Map),  would  also  be  a  natural  one  for  Esau  to  take  in  coming 
from  Edoen  to  meet  Jacob  {Gn  33). 


460 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Palestine  no  attempt  is  made  to  distinguish  sites 
which  are  certain  from  sites  which  are  merely 
hypothetical.  The  student  who  uses  Murray's  Map 
would  suppose,  for  instance,  that  the  sites  there 
given  for  Betonim,  Ramath-Mizpeh,  Ramoth- 
Gilead,  Penuel,  Ed,  Zoar,  Zophim,  Beth-Peor, 
were  as  certain  as  those  of  Jerusalem  or  Hebron, 
whereas,  in  fact,  they  are  one  and  all  purely  con- 
jectural, and  at  least  in  some  cases  anything  but 
probable.  Even  in  G.  A.  Smith's  extremely  valu- 
able Map  it  is  difficult  not  to  think  that  the  note  of 
interrogation  might  have  been  suitably  used  more 
freely  than  it  has  been.  The  maps  in  the  Etuy- 
ciopmdia  Biblka,  however,  show  in  this  respect  a 
commendable  judgment  and  reserve.  That  a 
place  should,  in  two  different  maps,  be  shown  with 
equal  certainty  in  two  different  positions,  is  surely 


the  reductio  ad  absurdum  of  map-making ;  and  yet 
this  is  by  no  means  unexampled  in  maps  of  Pales- 
tine.' Thus  in  maps  of  this  country  the  sitei 
shown  for  many  places  must  often  be  accepted 
with  caution  and  distrust.  A  critical  map  of 
Palestine,  on  a  convenient  scale,  in  which  the 
certain  sites  were  distinguished  consistently— 
whether  typographically  or  otherwise — from  those 
which  are  (o)  only  more  or  less  probable,  and  (b) 
purely  conjectural,  is  a  desideratum  of  biblical 
students  at  the  present  day. 

■  Sm,  t.g.,  Lobith  {LnithJ  in  G.  A.  Smith's  Map  ud 
Muiraj's  Map.  The  grounds  upon  which  lhi«  is  plawd  Id 
the  former  on  (he  south  of  Rm  ^fighah  are  not  apparent ; 
thoK  assigned  in  P.E.F.M.  Weit  Pal.,  pp.  asS,  353,  to. 
surely  questionable  and  inconclusive  in  the  e 
trast  Buhl,  p.  372. 


THE  GREAT   TEXTS  OF   THE   ACTS   OF   THE  APOSTLES. 


Acts  111.  19-21. 
*  Repent  ye  therefore,  and  turn  ^aio,  that  your  sins 
nuiy  be  blotted  out,  ttut  so  there  taaj  come  seasons  of 
refreshing  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord ;  and  that  He 
may  send  the  Christ  who  hath  been  appointed  for  you, 
even  Jema :  whom  the  heaven  must  receive  until  the 
time*  of  restoration  of  all  thinga,  whereof  God  spake 
by  the  mouth  of  His  holy  prophets  which  have  been 
since  the  world  began '  (R. v.). 


Exposition. 

Repeat  ye  therefore.— The  apostles  began  (Ac  a*),  as 
the  Baptist  began  (Mt  3'),  as  the  Christ  Himself  b^an 
(Mt  4",  Mk  i"),  with  the  exhortation  to  repentance,  Co  a 
change  ofheart  and  life,  not  to  mere  regret  for  the  pasL^ 
Knowling, 

And  turn  ■gain.— A»  in  Mt  ij",  Mk  4",  Ac  28",  so 
also  here,  the  verb  is  active,  'turn,'  though  it  is  rendered 
'  be  converted '  in  the  Authorized  Version.— Knowli no. 

Repent — indicatei  a  change  of  aim  and  purpose,  while 
'  tuni  again'  expresses  a  consequent  change  in  direction 
and  coune  in  life.  Both  changes  are  wrought  ijr,  not  en, 
the  individual. — .\bboit. 

That  your  sins  may  be  blotted  out  ^Particularly  their 
being  so  terribly  at  cross  purposes  with  God  as  to  have 
rejected  His  Chosen  One  as  a  sinner. — Bartlet. 

Thi  ancient  mode  of  obliteration  was  by  applying  the 
blunt  end  of  the  stylus  to  the  wai  00  which  letters  had  been 
traced  with  the  sharp  end. — Jacobson. 


Seasons  of  refreshing^.— The  word  'refreshing'  wu 
used  t^  the  Greek  translators  in  Ps  66"  for  the  totallfy 
place  into  which  Israel  was  brought  after  pasdog  thnx^ 
fire  and  water,  and  so  it  lakes  us  back  in  tbought  to  tbt 
Exodus.  As  Israel  then  gioaned  under  the  tyrannjr  of 
I'haiaob,  so  were  the  Jews  now  groaning  under  the  yoke  of 
Rome.  It  was  the  'seasons  of  the  Gentiles'  (Lie  21"),  and 
thejewsiouged  for  a  second  Exodus.  They  wanted  scatox 
of  tefresbiog  or  of  rareaiim,  for  that  is  the  better  meaniag, 
as  in  Ps  39"  where  the  word  again  occurs.  In  &ct,  Isnd 
wanted  '  the  regeneration '  (Mt  19"*),  to  be  made  once  not 
a  people. — Rackham. 

That  He  may  send  the  Christ. — This  sending  is,  by 
the  construction  of  the  Greek,  dependent  on  their  repent' 
anfe,  as  are  the  seasons  of  refreshing. — Abbott. 

Who  hath  been  appointed  for  yon,  seen  Jesuk'— 
The  eiprcssioo  here  not  only  refers  to  the  fact  that  Jesis 
was  the  appointed  Christ,  inasmuch  as  the  covenant  with 
Abraham  was  fulAlled  in  Him,  but  also  to  the  return  0' 
Jesus  as  the  Christ,  the  Messianic  King,  at  His  Paroniia,  is 
accordance  with  the  vmces  of  the  prophets. — Knowung. 

Restoration  of  all  things.— The  same  word  is  used  by 
Josephus  for  the  return  from  the  Captivity,  and  by  Philo  fot 
the  restoration  of  inheritiuiccs  at  the  Jubilee.  The  times 
which  had  to  run  their  course  before  the  restitution  of  alJ 
things  were  already  in  progress.  St.  Peter  embraced  Ibe 
whole  period  between  the  Ascension  and  the  Second  Advent, 
when  the  r^^neration  (Mt  19")  will  take  full  effect,  wb™ 
the  creature  shall  be  delivered  from  the  bondage  of  cot- 
tuption  into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of  God 
(Ro  8''~»)  by  the  bringing  back,  in  the  new  heavens  and 
new  earth  (a  P  3",  Rev  21''*).  of  all  things  out  of  the  con- 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


461 


1,  into  tbehannoDjrof  cr 


■a  before  the 


fmion  cau 
Fill.— JA. 

Since   the    world    beg;*!).— That  U,   the    whole    Old   | 
Testament,  from  Gn  3"  to  M»l  4',  bad  looked  Toiward  lo   | 
—Rack  HAM. 


Conversioii. 
ByfheRai.J.  H.  TAom. 

Is  it  possible  foi  great  and  radical  changes  to 
take  place  in  character— changes  so  affecting  the 
fountain  of  a  man's  nature,  that  of  ita  own  accord 
it  will  now  send  forth  sweet  water  instead  of 
bitter  7  Is  it  extravagant,  or  against  experience, 
to  believe  that  there  may  be  a  mighty  action  of 
God  within  the  soul,  giving  the  knowledge  of  sin, 
and  at  the  same  time  such  assurance  of  divine 
love  and  power,  as  will  transform  all  the  relations 
of  the  sinner  to  his  God,  and  all  the  inclinations 
of  his  heart  ?  Must  it  be  once  bad,  always 
bad?  once  mean,  always  mean?  once  a  prey  to 
vile  passions,  steeped  in  them  for  ever?  Is  there 
no  power  to  alter  this?  If  not,  then  we  have  no 
contact  with  Him  to  whom  all  things  are  possible, 
and  nature  and  habit  hold  us  helpless. 

It  will  not  serve  to  answer  such  questions  by 
scriptural  quotations — '  Can  the  Ethiopian  change 
his  skin,  or  the  leopard  his  spots  ? '  Other  quota- 
tions, ready  to  hand,  exhibit  both  the  possibility 
and  the  fact  of  entire  conversion,  while  leaving  the 
truth  in  that  quotation  untouched.  No  change  is 
desired  in  the  Ethiopian  or  the  leopard,  for  every- 
thing is  good  according  to  its  kind.  The  con- 
templative and  the  active  type  of  man  are  each 
good  in  its  kind,  and  conversion  does  not  seek  to 
change  a  Washington  into  a  Newton,  or  a  Shake- 
speare into  a  Cromwell.  Conversion  cannot  make 
a  man  different  from  what  God  made  him,  but  it 
can  make  him  all  that  God  intended  him  to  be : 
it  cannot  add  one  element  to  those  of  his  nature, 
but  it  can  introduce  peace  into  the  midst  of  them, 
and  make  God  their  rulei  instead  of  selfishness  or 
passion. 

Conversions  may  be  called  natural  and  super- 
natural. A  natural  conversion  may  take  place 
when  a  man  has  found  his  calling,  and  becomes 
engaged  in  a  pursuit  which  is  large  enough  and 
arduous  enough  to  occupy  all  bis  nature.  I  have 
known  a  man's  whole  nature  and  character 
absolutely  transfigured,  and  in  a  wonderfully  short 


time,  by  suddenly  developing  a  taste,  and  at  no 
early  period  of  life,  for  one  difficult  and  obscure 
branch  of  natural  history. 

But  it  is  another  class  of  conversion,  even 
though  the  hand  of  God  is  not  immediately  seen 
in  it,  when  the  sense  of  God  comes  for  the  first 
time  upon  those  who  have  been  living  without  Him 
in  the  world.  All  real  conversions  take  place  in 
this  way  :  Me  heavenly  Spirit  looks  in  itpoit  Ike  soul, 
and  the  soul  sees  Him  as  He  is.  This  was  St 
Paul's  conversion.  The  only  question  now  is, 
'  How  are  we  really  to  look  into  God's  face  ? '  It 
is  God  who  brings  us  into  contact  with  Himself. 
He  is  ever  willing.  He  is  ever  seeking.  The 
light  is  ever  shining  towards  us,  we  have  but  to 
turn  our  eyes  and  see  it. 


Bylhelale  Very  Rev.  C.J.  Vati^kati,  D.D. 
The  leading  idea  in  the  word  used  by  St.  Peter 
ii  the  bringing  back  to  an  original  state  which  has 
been  damaged  or  forfeited  by  sin. 

1.  The  restitution  of  all  things  will  be  a  clearing 
away  of  suffering.  This  is  the  special  point  of  that 
mysterious  passage  in  Ro  8  in  which  St.  Paul 
speaks  of '  the  earnest  expecution  of  the  creature ' 
as  waiting  for  the  manifestation  of  the  sons  of  God. 
It  is  a  hard  thing  this  '  bondage  of  conuption,'  this 
servitude  of  suffering,  laid  alike  upon  righteous 
and  wicked,  upon  animal  life,  and  even  in  some 
sense  upon  Nature  herself.  There  is  only  one 
escape  from  charging  God  foolishly.  The  groans 
are  but  the  groans  of  birth ;  they  are  '  in  hope ' ; 
when  hope  is  seen,  the  creature  shall  no  more 
remember  the  anguish  in  the  joy  of  a  delivery  and 
the  transport  of  a  new  life.  Earth  shall  be  restored 
to  its  original  beauty  \  its  face  shall  be  wiped  from 
tears;  its  scaned  and  seamed  countenance  shall 
be  radiant  again,  with  a  more  than  Eden  loveliness ; 
for  the  earth  is  one  of  those  all  things  which  must 
receive  '  restitution '  when  the  Heaven  which  has 
received  Him  shall  send  Jesus  back. 

2.  Man  himself  is  among  the  '  all  things '  waiting 
a  restoration.  The  person  you  most  admire,  the 
person  you  best  love,  can  anything  but  blind 
idolatry  paint  him  perfect  ?  You  may  say  you  do 
not  wish  him  perfect,  you  love  him  best  as  he  is. 
We  do  not  believe  it.  When  you  disparage  perfec- 
tion you  speak  of  that  which  often  takes  its  name, 
an  inanimate  negative  faultlessness,  out  of  which 


463 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


has  departed  all  the  zest  and  sparkle  of  the  human. 
But  if  the  very  qualities  which  you  love  in  their 
imperfection  were  intensified,  if  the  dross  were 
refined  away,  the  last  lingering  selfishness  extin- 
guished, would  not  the  restoration  be  a  joy  unspeak- 
able and  full  of  glory?  But  this  restoration  will 
take  place  not  only  in  the  case  of  the  exceptionally 
endowed,  but  of  every  one  who  has  Bed  for  refuge 
to  the  hope  set  before  him  in  the  gospel. 

3.  In  the  restoration,  God  Himself — the  conscious 
presence,  the  spiritual  Shekinah,  the  divine  com- 
panionship— will  be  restored.  Thus  the  restoration 
affects  not  only  nature  and  man,  but  also  God. 
The  one  great  fact  of  the  first  Paradise  was  the 
nearness  of  God  to  sinless  Adam.  The  sinner  has 
ever  since  been  in  hiding  from  the  face  of  God. 
Calling  upon  Him  has  been  an  effort.  His  absence 
has  made  worship  format,  prayer  toilsome,  pro- 
sperity thoughtless,  and  trouble  desolate.  In  the 
restoration  we  shall  be  admitted  again  to  the 
presence  of  God.  In  the  light  of  that  sun  all 
lesser  luminaries  will  pale  ;  all  true  love  will  shine 
in  the  love  of  God.  Let  the  prospect  make  us 
willing  to  endure  now  the  difficulty  of  the  pursuit 
and  the  delay  of  the  attainment  The  way  is 
long  and  hard,  but  one  moment  of  heaven  will 
overpay  all. 

Illustrations. 
Seuona  of  refrcsbins. 

The  seasons  of  refreshing  follow  on  the  repenunee. 
Refreshing  is  a  beautiful  word,  if  we  remembei  (hat  it  it 
deri*ed  from  nfrigtrium,  bringing  the  association  of  cool- 
ness like  the  idea  of  a  ciyltal  spcing  in  the  midit  of  a  diji 
weary  plain  through  which  a  caiavan  drags  along  till  it 
comes  to  the  water  and  palm  trees  and  rocks,  and  the  suffer- 
ing is  turned  into  comfort  and  peace. — E.  W.  Bbston. 

The  effective  preacher  must  have  elevation  and  winning' 
nets.  He  must  be  able  to  bring  the  far-off  sky  a  little  nearer, 
and  show  ui  the  sweet  distance  where  earth  melts  iway  into 
the  blue  of  heaven.  His  tone  must  have  softoeis.  He  must 
not  perpetually  be  shouting  his  di^ma  through  a  speaking- 
trumpet.  His  doctrine  must  drop  as  the  rain,  his  speech 
distil  as  the  dew.     How  toft  a  breathing,  how  lender  a  fall. 


Whom  the  Heaveni  muat  receive  until  the 


Is  not  this  a  strange  saying,  that  Christ  must  become 
invisible  until  tbingi  are  put  right  ?  Would  we  not  have 
expected  that  God  would  reveal  Himself  when  things  aie 
going  wrong?  Why  should  the  heaven  be  silent  when  the 
earth  is  io  confusion  ?  Because  discord  cannot  hear  music. 
The  heaveru  keep  many  things  to  themselves  because  the 
earth  is  not  prepared  for  them ;  if  there  were  more  restitutioD 
below,  there  would  be  less  reticence  above. — G.  Mathbson. 


Adam,  according  to  Jewish  ideas,  underwent  six  losses 
wben  he  fell :  he  lost  the  glory  on  his  face,  life,  bi*  super- 
human stature,  the  fruits  of  the  ground,  the  fruits  of  trees, 
and  the  brightnesa  of  the  lights  of  heaven.  But  these  losses 
are  all  to  be  made  good  to  man  in  the  Messianic  age. — H, 
St.  J.  Thackbrav. 


\t  it  has  happened  to  any  one — whom  has  it  not  befallen 
as  life  ran  its  course? — lo  behold  the  gradual  overcloudii^, 
at  last  the  utter  bewilderment,  of  magniticent  faculties, — the 
growth  of  small  imperfections,  in  a  soil  once  fertile  only  of 
good,  till  the  result  was  almost  the  littleness  of  the  great, 
almost  the  unlovelinefis  of  the  lovely  ■.  if  it  has  been  yours  to 
stand  finally  by  the  grave,  and  bury  oat  of  your  sight,  yonr- 
self  consenting,  a  face  and  a  form  once  all  but  divine  to  you, 
and  lo  go  back  alone  to  your  work  and  to  your  labonr  until 
the  evening  :  surely  you  have  felt  then  that  the  one  solace  for 
the  loving  must  be  the  thought  of  the  restoration,  in  sonl  and 
body,  of  the  loved;  you  coutd  marvel  no  longer  at  being 
hidden  lo  fasten  the  eye  of  hope  and  of  longing  upon  that 
glorious  Advent  which  shall  be  the  restitution  of  all  things. — 
C.  J.  Vaughan. 


For  Reference. 
Davies  [J.  LI.),  Spiritual  Apprebensiott,  351. 
FegaeoD  (F.),  Sermons,  155. 
Keble{J.),  Sermons,  iv.  315. 
Maibeson  (G.),  Searchings  in  the  Silence,  58. 
Maurice  (F.  D. ),  Sermons  in  Country  Churches,  350. 
Thom  (J.  H.),  Lanes  of  life,  ij.  iii. 
Vaughan  (C.  J.),  Church  of  the  First  Days,  i.  ill. 

„  ,,         Family  Prayer  aiod  Sermon  Book,  ii.  315. 

,,  .,         Temple  Sermons,  66. 


.yGooi^lc 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


463 


A  STUDY  IN  THE  RELIGIOUS  LANGUAGE  OF  THE  BIBLE. 


The  word  'Refreshing'  occurs  in  the  Enghsh 
Bible  but  twice  (Is  a8",  Ac  3").  The  verb  *  to 
refresh,'  however,  occurs  more  frequently. 

Hkbrsw  Words. 

1.  Naphash  (g'BI),  a  denom.  from  nephesh 
(B^),  the  soul.  Tlie  Hiphil  (-take  breath)  is 
translated  'be  refreshed'  in  Ex  33'*  31",  and 
'refresh  oneself  in  a  S  16",  The  reference  in 
Ex  is  to  the  refreshing  which  the  rest  of  the 
Sabbath  affords :  the  second  passage  speaks  of  the 
refreshing  of  that  day's  rest  to  God  Himself.  The 
Sabbath  came  to  be  regarded  as  a  'breathing- 
spell'  (McCurdy)  in  the  week,  and  Hosea  (a") 
speaks  of  it  as  a  day  of  'enjoyment';  but  the 
primary  meaning  is  simply  ceasing  or  quitting  the 
ordinary  toil  (McCurdy,  Hhi.  Propk.  and  the  Men. 
iij.  376).  In  3  S  16"  David  and  his  men  're- 
freshed themselves '  with  rest.  Those  are  the  only 
occurrences  of  the  Heb.  verb. 

2.  Mawah  (ni")),  a  denom.  from  r&a^  (^^), 
breath,  spirit,  is  translated  'be  refreshed' in  i  S 
16",  Job  3a*'.  It  also  occurs  (as  a  Pual  ptcp.) 
in  Jer  aa'\  and  is  translated  in  A.V.  'large' 
(A.V.m.  'through-aired'),  inR.V.  'spacious.'  The 
reference  in  r  S  i6*<  is  to  the  effect  upon  Saul  of 
David's  music:  H.  P.  Smith  translates  'would 
breathe  freely,'  and  believes  that  the  word  favours 
the  idea  that  Saul's  malady  was  accompanied  by 
fits  of  suffocation.  In  Job  31*  Elihu  compares 
himself  to  a  bottle  filled  with  fermenting  wine; 
he  will  speak  that  he  may  'get  vent,'  R.V.m. 
'find  relief.'  Gibson  (in  lee.)  compares  Words- 
worth, '  Ode  on  Intimations  of  Immortality ' : 

A  limeljr  utierance  gare  that  thought  relief, 
And  I  agun  tun  ittoDe. 

3.  Sa'adA  (ifD),  to  support  or  stay,  is  translated 
•  refresh  oneself  only  in  1  K  13^  The  means  of 
refreshing  is  'food,'  as  in  On  18*  (where  the 
E.V.  trans,  is  'comfort'),  Jg  ig*-"  (E.V. 'com- 
fort'), Ps  104"  (E.V.  'strengthen'). 

4.  5*(!M(3ie*)  in  the  Hiph.  is  trans,  'refresh' 
(liL  'restore')  in  Pr  as".  A  laithful  messenger 
is  said  to  refresh  his  master's  soul  'as  the  cold  of 
snow  in  the  time  of  harvest'     In  a6*  'snow  in 


summer'  is  said  to  be  unseemly;  but  here  the 
reference  is  probably  to  'a  draught  (of  wine) 
made  cool  by  snow.'  Cf.  25^  'As  cold  water 
to  a  thirsty  soul'  (Montefiore  in/.Q.^.  iiL  643). 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  Vulgate  trans, 
of  'refreshing'  both  in  Is  aS"  and  Ac  3"  is 
re/rigerium. 

5.  In  Is  aS"  margtak  (nyiio)  is  trans,  're- 
freshing.' It  is  the  only  example  of  the  word. 
Isaiah  calls  his  advice  to  wait  on  Jehovah  and 
not  go  to  war,  the  true  rest  and  the  true  re- 
freshing. 

Greek  Words. 

r.  dvoiravw « '  make  to  cease,'  for  the  purpose 
of  giving  rest  from  work.  It  is  used  actively, 
and  is  translated  'refresh'  01  'be  refreshed'  in 
I  Co  16I*,  a  Co  7",  Pbm  '■*".  In  every  case 
the  thought  is  of  the  refreshing  that  comes  from 
sympathy  actively  exercised  towards  one  who  is 
toiling  or  in  distress.  This  is  the  word  used  by 
our  Lord  in  Mt  11**  'I  will  give  you  rest.'  In 
Rev  14"  it  introduces  the  rest  of  the  blessed 
dead. 

3.  trwavairauaiuu,  to  find  rest  or  refreshing  in 
company  with  another,  and  employed  in  LXX  of 
Is  1 1'  of  sleeping  together.  It  occurs  in  N.T.  only 
in  Ro  15'^  11^  .  ■  ■  imvi'airai^trxitfuu  vfiv,  A.V. '  may 
with  you  be  refreshed,'  R.V.  '  may  together  with 
you  find  rest.'  The  word  is  chosen  by  St.  Paul 
from  characteristic  delicacy  of  feeling.  Cf.  Ro  1", 
and  see  Hort,  Ckr.  Ecd.  133.  The  word  occurs 
in  the  fragment  of  Hegesippus  preserved  in  Eu- 
sebius,  H.E,  iv.  la,  where  Heg.  says  that  he 
spent  several  days  with  the  Corinthians,  '  during 
which  we  had  restful  sympathy  with  the  right 
doctrine'  (trufiu'ciraij^n-  t^  hpBa  Xoyy).  See  Hort, 
JudaistU  Christianity,  107. 

3.  The  phrase  lTriy.iKxia.%  ruyfiv  in  Ac  37'  is 
trans,  'to  refresh  oneself,'  lit.  as  R.V.m.  'to  re- 
ceive attention.'  Rackham  {in  loc.)  says,  'The 
apostle  was  now  suffering  from  depression  or 
illness,  and  Julius  permitted  him  to  visit  his 
friends  and  obtain  the  requisite  rest  and  attention.' 
Field  {Notes,  p.  143)  calls  it  'an  excellent  Greek 
phrase,*  and  quotes  parallels  from  Greek  writers ; 


464 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


in  one  of  the  quotations  the  verb  M/uAoC/uu  is 
used  of  giving  medical  attendance.  See  Hobait, 
Med.  Lang,  of  St.  Luke,  p.  369. 

4.  ttro^x"*  {'^ro'n  ^X*^  to  breathe,  cool  by  blow- 
ing, whence  ^xv>  breath,  hfe,  soul),  found  in 
N.T.  only  in  a  Ti  i^*,  where  it  is  used  actively, 
'to  refresh  one,'  apparently  by  sympathy  as  well 
as  attention  to  one's  bodily  wants. 

5.  iydiln4ii  also  occurs  only  once  in  N.T., 
Ac  3",  and  is  rendered  'refreshing.'  St.  Peter 
promises  to  those  who  repent  and  turn  again 
'seasons  of  refreshing  (Kotpm  i.vailru(tan)  from  the 
presence  of  the  Lord.' 

Thus  the  thought  of  Refreshing  in  the  Bible 
runs  through  a  considerable  range  of  meaning. 

1.  It  expresses  the  relief  which  comes  when  one 
finds  utterance  to  thoughts  that  are  pent  up  in  the 
breast  Elihu  felt  this  relief,  and  so  did  the 
prophets, 

2.  The  tired  body  is  refreshed  by  food  and  by 
a  cooling  summer  drink.  The  distracted  mind 
is  refreshed  by  the  soothing  power  of  music. 

5.  The  spirit  also  is  refreshed  by  the  sympathy 
of  friends,  and  by  their  loving  attentions  when 
one  is  weary  or  depressed. 

4.  The  Sabbath  rest  brings  refreshing  to  God 
and  man ;  not  merely  because  it  is  the  cessation 
of  toil,  but  also  because  it  is  the  occasion  for  the 
exercise  of  sympathy  and  love. 

5.  And  so  the  fulness  of  Refreshing  is  ob- 
tained under  the  Sabbath  rest  and  divine-human 
sympathy  of  the  gospel.  This  is  the  Refreshing 
promised  by  the  prophets.  It  is  realized  by  those 
who  repent  of  their  sins  and  turn  to  God,  and 
through  faith  in  Christ  'obtain  the  promises.' 

Religious  Thoughts. 
The  most  important  occurrence  of  the  word  is 
in  Ac  3".  This  is  its  'great  text.'  The  question 
is  much  discussed  whether  St.  Peter,  when  he 
spoke  of  'times  of  refreshing'  coming  from  the 
presence  of  the  Lord,  referred  to  the  immediate 
results  to  the  believer  of  faith  in  Christ,  or  to 
those  things  which  accompany  the  Consumma- 
tion and  the  Second  Coming,  CommenUtors 
are  almost  equally  divided.  But  the  difference 
is  perhaps  not  so  glaring  as  we  make  it.  St. 
Peter  speaks  of  two  blessings.     He  calls  the  one 


of  refreshing '  (ictupoi  iva^n^toK),  the  other 
'the  times  of  restoration  of  all  things'  (xp^vot 
iiroKaTauTatTioK  Travraiv).  The  one  may  seem  to 
us  to  belong  to  the  beginning  of  the  Christian 
era,  the  other  to  its  close.  To  Sl  Peter  both 
belonged  to  the  Messianic  age,  the  i^e  promised 
long  and  now  arrived.  And,  since  both  belonged 
to  the  Messianic  age,  they  could  not  seem  to  be 
separated  by  any  great  interval  of  time.  For  it 
was  not  in  terms  of  time  that  St  Peter  conceived 
the  age  that  had  now  begun  for  him,  it  was  in 
terms  of  blessedness.  The  followers  of  Jesus  had 
waited  long  for  the  Christ  to  appear;  now  that 
He  had  come  and  brought  all  His  favours  with 
Him,  they  could  not  begin  to  consider  bow  long 
some  of  these  favours  would  take  to  reach  them. 
Having  Him,  they  already  had  everything.  Do  we 
not  make  too  much  of  the  difference  in  time,  too 
little  of  the  difference  in  glory  ? 

Yet  the  phrases  are  not  synonymous.  They 
were  probably  familiar  to  St  Peter's  Jewish  hearers, 
and  recalled  different  ideas  to  their  minds.  The 
very  words  used  by  the  apostle  are  rare  in  the 
Greek  Old  Testament  One  of  them  does  not 
occur  there  at  all,  the  other  (dva^fts)  occurs  but 
once  (Ex  8").  But  Sya-lmin  "s  found  in  Pbilo 
(Z>«  Air.  29},  and  its  verb  is  common  enough 
both  in  the  Old  Testament  and  in  the  New; 
while  aroKaratrraffK  is  used  both  by  Philo  and 
Josephus,  and  its  verb  is  of  very  frequent  occur- 
rence in  the  LXX.,  one  passage  being  so  pertinent 
as  to  have  probably  been  in  St.  Peter's  mind, 
Mai  4'.  The  'Season  of  Refreshing'  was  the 
promised  period  of  respite  from  the  yoke  of  the 
foreigner,  and  the  '  Time  of  Restoration '  was  the 
promised  ingathering  of  Israel  to  their  own  land. 
St.  Peter  gives  a  deeper  and  more  spiritual  mean- 
ing to  both.  Under  the  gospel  the  seasons  of 
Refreshing  are  enjoyed  by  every  one  who  through 
repentance  and  turning  again  finds  the  load  and 
even  the  '  consciousness  of  sins '  removed.  The 
Restoration  had  already  been  made  leas  political 
and  more  ethical  by  Malachj.  St  Peter  makes  it 
spiritual  now,  and  at  the  same  time  broadens  its 
application.  Not  only  will  Israel  be  restored  to 
the  Land  of  the  true  Israel,  even  to  the  new 
heavens  and  the  new  earth,  but  the  nations  will 
follow,  all  mankind  will  receive  of  the  blessing 
and    even   Nature    herself,    now  'groaning  : 


travailing  in  pain,'  will  share  in  t^l^X,?^ 
glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of  Goo.  O 


the 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


4«5 


Bv  Professor  A.  H,  Savce,  LL.D.,  Oxford. 


Professor  Hilpbecht  has  recently  communicated 
some  very  interesting  news  to  the  Sunday  School 
Times  of  America.  In  return  for  the  services  of 
the  professor  in  gratuitously  arranging  and  cata- 
loguing the  cuneiform  collections  of  the  Museum 
at  Constantinople,  the  Sultan  has  presented  him 
with  the  larger  part  of  the  thousands  of  inscribed 
tablets  discovered  by  himself  and  the  other 
members  of  the  American  expedition  in  the  ruins 
of  the  ancient  library  of  Nippur.  The  library  was 
destroyed  and  buried  in  the  age  of  Abraham ;  and 
Professor  Hilprccht  calculates  that  the  task  of 
examining  its  contents  will  fully  occupy  the  next 
twenty  years.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  he  has 
handed  on  the  gift  to  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, at  whose  expense  the  excavations  at  Nippur 
have  been  carried  on.  When  the  tablets  arrive  in 
America  it  will  be  possible  to  copy  them  at  leisure, 
and  we  may  feel  sure  that  startling  discoveries  will 
be  the  result,  A  cursory  examination  of  them  has 
already  shown  that  tbey  relate  to  all  the  branches 
of  learning  that  were  studied  at  the  time  of  their 
composition,  history  not  excluded. 

In  addition  to  the  excavations  at  Nippur, 
another  American  expedition  has  been  endeavour- 
ing to  obtain  permission  to  excavate  on  the  site  of 
Ur,  and  Dr.  Banks  has  been  vainly  applying  for  a 
firman  on  behalf  of  it  for  the  last  sixteen  months. 
A  compromise,  however,  seems  at  last  to  have 
been  effected,  and,  instead  of  Muqayyar  or  Ur, 
Dr.  Banks  and  his  party  are  to  be  allowed  to 
work  at  Tell  IbrSblm  or  Kutha.  Meanwhile  the 
German  excavators  are  steadily  and  sjrstematically 
proceeding  with  their  work  at  Babylon,  where 
they  have  been  joined  by  Professor  Friedrich 
Delitzsch.  They  arc  now  about  to  attack  two 
other  sites,  Abli  H'atab  and  F3ra,  in  southern 
Babylonia. 

Professor  Hitprecht  also  gives  an  account  of 
Dr.  Belck's  latest  discoveries  in  Asia  Minor. 
While  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Kaisariyeh  he 
found  one  of  the  missing  leaves  of  the  Codex 
Purpureas,  recently  acquired  by  Russia,  in  the 
hands  of  a  Greek;  and  near  the  village  of 
Bc^hche,  about  25  miles  west  of  Kaisariyeh, 
he  discovered  a  Hittite  stela  of  pyramidal  shape 


and  about  5  feet  high,  previously  unknown. 
Its  four  sides  are  inscribed  with  Hittite  hiero- 
glyphs, each  side  being  divided  into  four  panels, 
each  of  which  contains  two  lines  of  text.  The 
inscription,  it  is  said,  is  'clear  and  well  preserved.' 
Dr.  Belck  has  visited  Eyuk  among  other  places, 
and  believes  the  remains  there  to  be  those  of  a 
great  Hittite  temple  belonging  to  the  period 
3000-1500  B.C. 

As^rrian  Deeds  and  Cootracts. 

Mr.  C.  H.  W.  Johns  has  lately  published  the 
third  volume  of  his  monumental  work  on  Assyrian 
Deeds  and  Documents  {Cambridge:  Deighton, 
Bell,  &  Co.,  1898-1901).  I  have  called  it 
monumental,  for  it  is  one  of  those  works  which 
we  are  accustomed  to  associate  with  German 
patience  and  minuteness  of  treatment  rather  than 
with  the  less  elaborate  scholarship  of  England  or 
France.  The  labour  that  has  been  expended 
upon  it  is  enormous,  and  can  be  fully  appreciated 
only  by  those  who  have  worked  in  the  same  field. 
The  commercial  and  legal  documents  of  Assyria, 
brought  from  the  library  of  Nineyeh  to  the  British 
Museum,  have  been  edited  once  for  all ;  here  and 
there  additions  may  be  made  to  Mr.  Johns'  work, 
or  doubtful  points  cleared  up  and  corrected,  but 
the  work  itself  need  never  be  done  again. 

The  first  volume  and  part  of  the  second  contain 
copies  of  the  original  texts,  among  which  are  to  be 
found  amended  readings  of  those  which  have  been 
already  published.  I  gather  from  certain  remarks 
in  the  third  volume  that  some  supplementary 
copies  of  inscriptions  are  still  to  follow,  including 
what  seems  to  be  a  very  interesting  one,  in  which 
Sennacherib  traces  his  genealogy  back  to  the  hero 
'Gilgames,  [the  friend  of]  £a-bani  [and  the  con- 
queror of]  Khumbaba.'  One  of  the  names  in  the 
genealogy,  Egiba,  is  noticeable  on  account  of 
Professor  Delitzsch's  view,  that  it  is  the  biblical 
Jacob  j  another  name,  Assur-na  .  ,  .,  must  be 
completed  as  Assur-na[zir],  which  I  have  found 
on  a  fragment  from  Kouyunjik. 

It  is,  however,  not  with  royal  genealogies,  but 
with  the  so-called  contract  tablets,  that  Mr.  Johns' 
volumes  are  concerned.     They  differ  considerably 


466 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


from  the  contract  tablets  of  the  second  Babylonian 
empire  in  both  character  and  phraseology,  and 
Mr.  Johns  may  be  right  in  holding  that  they  are  of 
royal  rather  than  of  private  origin.  The  chapters 
in  which  he  analyzes  and  discusses  their  contents 
and  the  questions  which  arise  out  of  them  are  a 
model  of  exhaustive  treatment.  Indeed  the  only 
fault  I  have  to  hnd  with  them  is  that  they  are  too 
German  in  their  thoroughness ;  the  author  gives 
us  not  only  his  results  but  also  all  the  processes  of 
his  workshop,  so  that  we  assist,  as  it  were,  at  the 
gradual  formation  of  his  conclusions  as  fresh 
evidence  came  before  him.  The  consequence  is 
that  the  reader  is  sometimes  puzzled  by  finding 
different  translations  or  interpretations  of  words 
and  phrases  in  different  parts  of  his  work. 

To  me  the  most  interesting  of  his  chapters  are 
those  on  the  officials  and  on  Babylonian  and 
Assyrian  metrology.  The  satammu,  by  the  way, 
was  the  superintendent  of  the  sutummu,  or  '  public 
granaiy,'  and  Mr.  Johns  will  find  the  fact  that 
the  Sumerian  kkal,  'the  divider,'  is  the  Semitic 
bar&  or  'seer'  stated  in  papers  of  mine  more 
than  twenty  years  ago.  As  regards  the  use  of 
coined  money  in  the  Babylonia  of  Nebuchad- 
rezzar, and  probably  therefore  in  the  Assyria  of 
the  contract  tablets,  I  am  entirely  at  one  with 
him;  the  employment  of  the  Babylonian  metro- 
lexical  system  and  the  Babylonian  word  mna 
goes  to  show  that  Babylonia,  and  not  Lydia,  was 
its  original  home.  But  anaku  must  be  'lead,' 
not  'tin';  Asia  Minor  was  one  of  its  principal 
sources,  and  mention  is  made  of  it  in  the  Cappa- 
docian  tablets. 

Mr.  Johns  promises  a  chapter  on  chronology 
in  a  future  volume.  I  hope  he  will  also  write 
on  the  proper  names,  of  which  the  tablets  are 
full.  Many  of  them  are  of  great  interest.  The 
gefc^raphical  name  Tarbiisiba,  for  instance,  is  the 
same  as  Tarbiisip,  which  Winckler  has  shown  to 
be  the  native  name  of  the  city  near  Carchemish, 
which  the  Assyrians  called  Til-Bdrsip  (in  which 
I  see  the  classical  Barsampse).  Mr.  Johns  notes 
that  the  name  is  also  written  Tarbuse.  It  is  the 
Tarbus  and  Tarbu  of  the  geographical  lists  of  the 
Egyptian  Pharaohs,  Thothmes  iii.  and  Ramses 
III.  The  final  -ip  is  probably  the  Mitannian 
suffix  -ifipi,  as  in  Tun-ip,  by  the  side  of  Tuna, 
and  Khal-ip,  by  the  side  of  Khal-os.  The  foreign 
word  salkhi,  or  zarakhi,  'lead,'  quoted  by  Mr. 
Johns  at  the  end  of  his  last  chapter,  is  also  Mitan- 


nian, like  other  words  ascribed  by  the  lexical 
tablets  to  the  language  of  '  SU.'  Heucc  its 
variant  spelling  by  the  Assyrian  scribes. 

Khandapt  of  the  city  of  Khubaba  is  another 
interesting  name,  as  the  parallel  names  Tarkhun- 
dapt  and  Sandapl  show  that  it  is  Hittite.  Perhaps 
the  name  of  his  city  throws  light  on  the  Kh-l-b-b 
of  one  of  the  Sinjirli  texts. ^  Another  name  from 
the  Hittite  region  may  be  Maganizi,  the  Egyptian 
Magnas  and  classical  Tel-menissus.  On  the 
other  band,  Adunaiz  is  certainly  the  Greek 
Adonais. 

It  only  remains  to  say  that  the  excellent  indices 
Mr.  Johns  has  added  to  his  volumes  are  a  priceless 
boon  to  the  student 

The  Anzanite  Inscriptions. 

The  third  volume  of  the  results  of  M.  de  Mor- 
gan's excavations  at  Susa  has  been  printed,  con- 
taining the  'Anzanite'  or  non-Semiric  inscriptions 
of  the  Elamite  kings,  which  have  been  edited  and 
translated,  with  notes,  by  Dr.  Scheil.^  Nearly 
all  of  them  have  been  found  in  the  mins  of  the 
ancient  capital  of  Elam.  They  add  con^derably 
to  our  knowledge  of  the  agglutinative  language 
of  Elam,  as  well  as  of  the  history  of  the  country 
itself,  and  Dr.  Scheil  has  shown  his  usual  ability 
and  philological  penetration  in  the  deciphermeat 
of  them.  That  in  many  cases  his  renderings  of 
particular  words  or  grammatical  forms  would  be 
questioned  by  other  scholars,  goes  of  course  with- 
out saying ;  in  fact,  in  his  Preface  he  points  out 
how  provisional  and  uncertain  much  of  the  trans- 
lation must  be.  At  the  same  time  the  amount 
of  material  collected  by  M.  de  Morgan,  and  the 
analogy  of  the  Semitic  inscriptions  published  io 
!  a  preceding  volume,  allow  the  general  sense  of 
the  texts  to  be  determined  with  certainty,  and 
;  the  historian  of  the  ancient  East  accordingly  has 
a  large  amount  of  new  and  interesting  matter  now 
.  placed  at  his  disposal 

At  the  end  of  the  volume  the  rock-cut  inscrip- 
tions of  Malamir,  to  the  east  of  Susa,  for  which 
we  have  hitherto  had  to  depend  upon  the  imper- 
fect eye-copies  of  Layard,  are  given  from  squeezes 
I  and  casts.     Many  of  Layard's  readings  are  cor- 
I  rected,  and  uncertain  passages  restored.     On  the 
I  whole,  however,  Dr.  Scheil  has  not  been  so  sac- 

'  Panammu  i.  3,  9.     It  b  retd  Khnlbfibi  bf  Sactiau. 
'  DlUptHen  tn   Perst:  Miinairts,   iii. ;    TtxUi  /lamifu- 
,   anianilti.     Paris:  Leroux,  1901. 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


447 


cessful  in  dealing  with  the  deciphennent  of  these 
Malamir  texts  as  he  has  been  vith  that  of  the 
more  purely  Susian  ones.  He  does  not  seem 
to  have  seen  my  Memoir  upon  them  in  the  Trans- 
attions  of  the  Sixth  Oriental  Congress,  and,  though 
my  readings  and  renderings  must  now  be  given  up 
in  many  cases,  there  are  others  in  which  he  would 
have  done  well  to  follow  them.  From  time  to 
time  he  rides  rough-shod  over  Anzanite  grammar, 
making  the  participial  genitive  takkkha-na,  for 
instance,  a  first  person  singular,  and  he  has  never 
gone  for  help  to  the  trilingual  Amardian  or  '  Neo- 
Susian'  inscriptions,  which,  after  all,  constitute 
the  only  sure  basis  for  decipherment.  In  place  of 
these,  he  depends  too  much  upon  the  existence  of 
Semitic  loan-words  in  the  agglutinative  texts.  It 
is  certainly  true  that  many  such  loan-words  are  to 
be  found,  but  Dr.  Scheil  discovers  them  everywhere, 
and  is  sometimes  led  astray  by  the  meaning  of  an 
Assyrian  word  which,  without  any  reason,  he  be- 
lieves to  have  been  boirowed  by  the  non-Semitic 
Elamites.  Nor  has  he  always  recognized  the 
ideographs  that  occur  in  the  texts.  Thus  '  the  river 
Pirin '  is  turned  into  '  the  country  of  Amespirin ' ; 
and  'the  god  Kirissa,  the  lord  of  the  Little  River,' 
into  '  Kirissana,  Tepti,  the  fathers,  the  sons.' 

But  we  must  not  be  ungrateful  to  a  work 
which  has  put  into  our  hands  the  rich  stores  of 
linguistic  and  historical  spoil  obtained  by  the 
excavations  of  M.  de  Morgan,  and  has  placed 
them  before  us  with  French  lucidity  and  conscien- 
tious labour.  The  photographic  reproductions 
of  the  inscriptions  leave  nothing  to  be  desired, 
and  the  elaborate  index  of  words  enables  us 
to  control  without  difGcuhy  the  translations  pro- 
posed by  the  editor.  M.  J^quier  has  added  a 
description  of  the  site  of  Malamir,  where,  however, 
he  is  mistaken  in  saying  that  it  was  from  here  that 
the  Elamite  contracts,  now  in  the  British  Museum, 
have  come.  I  suppose  he  alludes  to  those  which 
I  have  published  in  the  Reeueil  4e  Travaux,  since 
the  British  Museum  contains  no  others;  but  all 
these  were  found  at  Kouyunjik. 

Discoveries  ia  Eastern  Palestine. 

In  the  SUzungsberichtt  ier  Kais.  AkademU  der 
W'issensehaften  in  Wien,  vol,  cxliv..  Professor  Musil 
has  pubhshed  the  first  instalment  of  his  account  of 


his  exploratory  journeys  on  the  eastern  side  of  the 
Jordan.  It  is  mainly  occupied  with  a  description 
of  the  very  interesting  fortress  called  Qu^ir  'Amra 
which  he  discovered  in  the  desert,  eastward  of 
Moab  and  the  Pilgrims'  route,  and  to  which  he 
paid  two  visits.  The  walls  and  domes  of  the  cham- 
bers inside  it  are  decorated  with  well-preserved 
and  really  artistic  frescoes,  photographs  of  some  of 
which  are  given.  From  their  subjects  it  would 
seem  that  the  fortress  belongs  to  the  later  period  of 
the  Roman  empire,  when  art  was  passing  into  its 
Byzantine  phase,  but  was  still  pagan.  The  fact  is 
of  considerable  interest,  as  Quseir  'Amra  forms 
one  of  a  series  of  fortresses  wfaich  have  been 
carefully  examined  by  Professor  Musil.  He  notes 
that  they  constitute  a  chain  which  once  separated 
the  cultivated  land  from  the  desert,  and  in  the 
architecture  of  some  of  them  Perso- Byzantine 
influence  may  be  detected.  His  own  view  appears 
to  be  that  their  builders  were  'the  powerful  chiefe 
of  the  Beni  GhassSn.' 

In  any  case,  a  most  interesting  group  of  struc- 
tures has  been  made  known,  the  wonderful  state 
of  preservation  of  which  is  explained  by  their 
situation.  In  one  of  them,  that  called  El-Khar&ni, 
Professor  Musil  found  remains  of  Greek  inscriptions. 
The  discovery  and  exploration  of  them,  however, 
was  attended  with  considerable  danger  and  hard- 
ship. The  country  is  infested  by  mutually  hostile 
tribes  of  Bedawin,  and  only  a  scholar  like  Professor 
Musil,  who  can  travel  as  an  Arab,  and  is  in  fact 
'blood-brother'  of  an  Arab  chief,  could  have 
ridden  through  it. 

The  journeys  to  'Amra  and  its  sister  fortresses 
formed  only  part  of  a  systematic  exploration  of 
the  whole  unknown  or  little  known  district  which 
lies  to  the  east  of  Moab,  The  work  of  exploration 
was  commenced  by  Professor  Musil  in  1896,  and  it 
is  still  unfinished,  as  the  old  Midianitish  territory  of 
El-^egr  has  still  to  be  explored.  But  meanwhile 
the  desert  between  the  Dead  Sea  and  El-*Arish  in 
the  north  and  Ei-'Aqaba  in  the  south  has  been 
mapped  out,  and  this  first  instalment  of  the 
traveller's  results  will  be  followed  by  two  more 
volumes  on  Moab  and  Edom,  illustrated  by  maps, 
plans,  and  photographs.  Future  volumes  will  deal 
with  the  ethnology  of  Arabia  Fetrsea  and  the 
Nabalhean  inscriptions. 

D  gmzo.  hy  GoOg  IC 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


t^t  "IPeefie'  of  <S>aniti. 

By  Professor  Ed.  Konig,  D.D.,  Bonn. 


Thb  nature  of  the  concept  'weeks,'  which  occurs 
in  the  difficult  passage  Dn  9'*'^,  still  continues 
to  be  somewhat  obscure,  in  spile  of  all  the  investi- 
gations of  bygone  centuries.  Hence  I  may  be 
permitted  the  attempt  to  shed  some  light  upon  the 

1,  The  first  feature  that  marks  the  peculiar 
nature  of  these  'weeks'  is  found  in  the  circum- 
stance that  they  are  an  exact  counterpart  of  the 
expression  shi^im  ('seventy')  of  Jer  25"  |{  29", 
as  is  expressly  noted  in  Dn  9'.  For  it  is  a  hitherto 
unexplained  fact  that  the  plural  of  the  Hebrew  word 
for  'week'  occurs  in  the  form  shai&'im  only  in  the 
Book  of  Daniel,  and  that  six  times  (gW- =«•''. » 
jQab.  M^  whereas  the  plural  everywhere  else  in  the 
O.T.  (Ex  34**,  Nu  28*«,  Dt  i6*»'"",  Jcr  5« 
Ezk  4s",  2  Ch  8")  is  shabitSth.  Perhaps  the 
circumstance  that  the  consonants  (VVZV)  of  the 
Hebrew  word  shii'im  ('seventy')  could  be  pointed 
also  with  the  vowels  of  shab^tnt  {'  weeks ')  is  the 
principal  ground  of  the  change  of  the  word  sfuSim 
(Jer  25"  II  19",  Dn  9')  into  shab^im  (Dn  g^**-). 
But  it  may  be  that  a  contributory  cause  was  also 
the  further  circumstance  that  the  number  of  days 
in  a  week,  namely  seven,  was  itself  again  a  round 
as  well  as  a  sacred  number  (cf.  my  art  '  Number ' 
in  voL  iii.  of  Hastings'  D.B.).  A  third  motive 
which  led  to  the  multiplying  of  [hose  'seventy' 
(Jer  15"  II  29",  Dn  9^)  by  'seven,'  may  have  lain 
in  the  circumstance  noted  by  Professor  Bevan  in 
his  admirable  work,  A  Short  Commentary  on 
Daniel  {ad  loc),  that  the  Israelites,  according  to 
Lv  26"-  °i-  ^'  *',  were  to  be  punished  '  seven  times ' 
for  their  sins. 

2.  These  'weeks'  are  to  be  taken  as  actual 
sevens.  This  follows  (a)  from  examining  the  first 
seven  'weeks.'  For  these  are  reckoned,  in  all 
probability,  from  the  first  going  forth  of  the  word 
contained  in  Jer  25^'  ||  29'",  i.e.  from  c.  606  b.c 
(Jer  25')  down  to  the  entrance  upon  the  stage  of 
history  of  the  anointed  (Is  451")  prince  Cyrus,  i.e. 
558    B.C.     It   is    extremely  likely   that  what   the 

I  author  of  the  Book  of  Daniel  looked  back  to  was 

the  prophecy  of  Jer  25"-"  ||  191",  for  it  is  there 
that  we  find  both  the  word  'seventy '  (Dn  9^)  and 
the  expression  '  bring  back '  (a'pn,  Jer  29""',  Dn 


9^).  Further,  the  '  going  forth '  of  this  prophecy 
took  place  defore  the  Chaldaean  conquest  of 
Jerusalem,  and  even  its  epistolary  communication 
(Jer  29'""^)  was  prior  to  that  date.  Hence  there 
is  less  probability  in  the  method  favoured  by 
Professor  J.  D.  Prince  in  his  Critieal  Commentary 
on  the  Book  of  Daniel  (1899),  p.  159,  who  reckons 
the  first  seven  'weeks'  from  586  B.C.,  appealing  to 
z  Ch  36'*'*i,  In  the  latter  passage,  however,  what 
is  in  view  is  the  'seventy  yeare'  of  Jer  25'^  and 
not  the  '  seventy  weeks,'  But  even  if  Prince's  way 
of  reckoning  should  be  prefcned,  the  first  seven 
'  weeks '  are  to  be  understood  as  49  years,  namely 
from  586  to  537  B.C,  the  latter  being  the  year 
when  Cyrus'  edict  of  liberation  was  issued. — (^) 
That  the  '  weeks '  of  Dn  9""-  are  meant  to  be 
sevens,  follows  no  less  from  an  examination  of  the 
last  'week,'  which  covers  the  period  171-164  ac. 
This  point  need  not  be  further  insisted  upon,  as 
it  has  quite  recently  been  thoroughly  cleared  up 
by  Canon  Driver  in  the  very  exhaustive  excursus 
he  devotes  to  Dn  g**-"  in  his  excellent  Commen- 
tary on  Daniel  ('Cambridge  Bible'  Series,  1900). 
— (c)  It  is  true  that  the  62  'weeks'  lying  between 
must  be  regarded  a  non-chronological  expression 
for  the  period  from  Cyrus  down  to  the  murder  of 
the  legitimate  high  priest  Oaias  iii.  (2  Mac  4**). 
This  high  priest,  who  was  murdered  by  Andronicus 
in  the  year  171,  is  in  all  probability  the  'anointed 
one '  of  Dn  9^,  for  the  term  masfdafy  is  used  of 
Aaron  in  Lv  4^ '■ '•  6"  (cf,  zi'*,  Ps  133*),  and  in 
Dn  g****  it  is  said  'no  one  was  to  him,'  i.e.  he  had, 
in  the  judgment  of  the  Hasidceans,  no  legitimate 
successor  in  Jason  or  Menelaus.  Thus  the  62 
'weeks'  are  a  non-chronological  expression.  But 
we  note  also  elsewhere  that  chronological  materials 
are  ranged  under  the  rule  of  an  idea.  For  instance, 
there  are  the  70  or  72  peoples  enumerated  in  the 
list  of  Gn  10;  the  70  descendants  of  Jacob  who 
migrated  to  Egypt  (Gn  46",  Ex  i*);  the  70 
descendants  of  Noah  (i  Ch  i""^)  and  of  Abraham 
(w.^-*');  the  thrice  14  generations  which  are 
reckoned  from  Abraham  to  Christ  (Mt  i**'^.  At 
all  events,  it  is  an  undeniable  fact  that  the  later 
Jews  at  times  show  themselves  inexact  in  defining 
periods  of  time.     Are  not  thetwenty  years  between 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


469 


701  and  68t  b.c.  contracted  to  fifty  (or,  according 
to  another  reading,  forty)  days  in  Tob  ii«-"?  (A 
number  of  other  instances  of  the  same  thing  have 
been  given  by  me  in  The  Expository  Times,  x. 
p.  356  f.).  Nay,  even  to  biblical  writers  chrono- 
logy appears  to  have  been  a  point  of  secondary 
importance.  According  to  the  Massoretic  text  of 
£x  12*"  the  sojourn  of  Israel  in  Egypt  lasted  430 
years,  anj— a  circumstance  which  has  not  yet 
been  observed — this  statement  of  the  M.T.  is 
proved  by  the  390  +  40  years  ofEzk  4*'-  to  be  the 
original  one,  as  compared  with  the  LXX  of  Ex 
ii".  But  according  to  Gal  3"  the  430  years 
covered  rather  the  whole  period  from  the  covenant 
with  Abraham  down  to  the  giving  of  the  Law  at 
Sinai. 

3.  These  'weeks'  are  not  'labourers'  weeks'  of 
six  days.  This  hypothesis  is  maintained  by  Mr. 
Buchanan  Blake,  both  in  his  very  readable  work 
ITow  to  read  the  Prophets,  vol.  v.  ad  he,  and  in  a 
friendly  letter  I  received  from  him  some  time  ago. 
This  attempt  at  a  new  explanation  of  the  '  weeks ' 
of  Dn  9  is  not  so  much  as  touched  on  by  Canon 
Driver  in  his  very  instructive  excursus.  It  may 
thus  be  of  interest  to  the  readers  of  the  present 
periodical  to  hear  what  it  appears  to  me  must  be 
the  judgment  passed  on  Mr.  Blake's  theory. 

He  supports  his  view,  first  of  all,  by  the  assertion 
that  the  product  of  70  x  6,  namely  420,  actually 
brings  us  down  from  588  to  168  B.C.  This  aigu- 
ment  is  almost  fascinating,  but  it  cannot  be 
regarded  as  decisive.  For,  in  the  first  place,  there 
is  the  possibility  that  the  circumstance  just  men- 
tioned is  fortuitous.  Secondly,  the  context  of 
Dn  9^"  demands  that  'the  going  forth  of  the 
commandment  to  bring  back,'  etc.  (9^)  be  taken  as 
the  starling-point  in  reckoning  the  '  weeks,'  Now 
the  'going  forth'  of  this  promise  was  Jeremiah's 
announcement  regarding  the  70  years  (Dn  9^),  and 
this  took  place  in  the  fourth  year  of  king  Jehoiakim 
{Jer  25"^-),  i.e.  about  606  B.C. 

In  the  second  place,  Mr.  Blake  appeals  to  the 
circumstance  that  in  Dn  9*'-"  the  word  yamim, 
*  days,'  is  wanting  with  shab^im,  but  is  read  in 
io»f..  But  this  difference  is  no  evidence  of  the 
correctness  of  his  theory.  It  proves  nothing  more 
than  that  in  9^^^  a  different  kind  of  'weeks'  is 
intended  from  that  in  lo^-,  namely,  in  the  first  case 
'  weeks  '  of  years,  and  in  the  other  '  weeks  '  of  days. 
This  difference  would  support  Mr.  Blake's  view 
only  if  in  lo^-  the  number  of  days  was  specified. 


Thirdly,  Mr.  Blake  cites  the  expression '  years 
of  an  hireling'  (Tab  'JB',  Is  ai"),  which  he  inter- 
prets to  mean  '  years  minus  the  Sabbath.'  But 
bow  can  this  be  made  plausible?  The  day- 
labourer,  to  besure,doeinot  work  on  the  Sabbath. 
But  the  Sabbath  does  not  cease  on  that  account  to 
be  part  of  his  year.  For  the  same  reason  there  is 
no  probability  in  Kittel's  view  {Kg/,  exeg.  Hdb., 
1898,  ad  loc.)  that  in  Is  ai'*  'years  of  scrimp 
measure'  are  to  be  understood.  Is  there  any 
likelihood  that  the  attribute  '  labour'  or  '  hireling,' 
which  is  attached  to  '  years,'  is  meant  to  describe 
the  years  quantitatively'^  Surely  it  is  much  more 
natural  to  take  it  quattiatively.  In  this  way 
all  the  four  O.T.  passages  are  explained,  where 
the  expression  Tsb  is  connected  with  the  notion 
of  time.  In  Lv  25"  t^^e  words  'as  the  days  of 
an  hireling'  mean  'as  if  one  had  to  do  with  the 
reckoning  of  a  particular  number  of  days'  service 
by  a  hired  labourer.'  Is  16^*  expresses  the  idea 
'  three  years,  which  are  as  full  of  toil  and  struggle 
as  the  years  of  a  hired  labourer  or  soldier.' 
[Marti,  in  the  Kurzer  Hd.com.,  1900,  ad  lac, 
suggests  that  it  was  customary  to  hire  mercenary 
soldiers  for  a  period  of  three  years.  This,  how- 
ever, is  very  questionable.  The  number  'three' 
is  here  probably  a  round  number,  as  in  many 
other  passages  cited  in  my  SliUstik,  etc.,  p.  52]. 
In  like  manner,  in  Is  21"  what  is  meant  is  simply 
years  full  of  labour  and  want  (cf.  w.^^-"'). 
Finally,  '  the  days  of  an  hireling '  in  Job  7^*"  are 
plainly  toilsome  and  anxious  days.  None  of  the 
four  passages  contains  any  indication  that  'years' 
of  an  hireling  are  of  a  different  length  from  the 
years  of  other  people.  And  what  holds  good 
of  the  two  expressions  'years  of  an  hireling' 
(Is  16"  21")  and  'days  of  an  hireling'  (Lv  25**, 
Job  7^'')  would  hold  good  also  of 'weeks  of  an 
hireling'  if  such  were  mentioned  in  Dn  g^-^'. 
They  would  not  be  distinguished  quantitatively 
from  the  weeks  of  other  people,  they  would  be 
simply  toilsome  and  anxious  weeks,  such  as  Goethe 
describes  in  the  lines — 


But  the  notion  of  a  '  labourer's  week '  is  not  found 
at  all  in  Dn  9**''',  but  simply  the  term  '  week ' 
{shabOa',  plur.  shabitim),  and  there  are  two  further 
circumsUnces  which  show  that  this  simple  ex- 
pression could  indicate  nothing  other  than  a  period 
of  seven  days  (or  years).     1  refer  to  the  phonetic 


470 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


and  etymological  connexion  between  ihabHa, 
'week,'  and  the  Hebrew  for  'seven'  {skeia,  fem. 
shib'a).  Any  one  who  used  shabUe^  would  be 
directly  reminded  of  'seven,'  and  it  cannot  be 
doubted,  further,  that  shaiHa  and  skeba  are  derived 
from  one  and  the  same  root. — For  all  the  above 
reasons  I  am  unable  to  accept  of  the  very  interest- 
ing theory  of  Mr.  Blalce. 

Perhaps  the  question  may  be  on  the  lips  of  not 
a  few  of  my  readers  whether  the  'weeks  'of 
Dn  9^*-"  point  to  the  time  of  Christ  My  reply  is. 
Mo.  The  justification  for  this  negative  answer  is 
really  contained  in  my  previous  observations,  to 
which  I  may  be  permitted  to  add  the  following. 
The  clearest  evidence  that  the  author  of  Dn  9""'^ 
had  not  the  time  of  our  Lord  in  view  is  found  in 
his  statement  that  the  offerings  in  the  temple  are 


to  be  suspended  during  the  second  half  of  the  last 
'  week '  (v.*^) — a  sutement  which  implies  that  the 
sacrificial  cuttus,  which  existed  in  the  temple  at 
Jerusalem  before  this  last  'week,'  is  to  be  resumed 
after  this  period.  On  the  other  band,  our  Saviour 
has  'accomplished  an  eternal  redemption'  by 
giving  Himself  a  ransom  for  many  (Mt  20^,  i  Co 
5',  He  9'*).  And  are  we  to  grieve  that  the  'weeks' 
of  Dn  9**-*T  do  not  come  down  to  the  Christian 
era?  No,  we  may  rejoice  on  that  account.  For 
if  Jesus  Christ  had  come  upon  the  scene  at  the 
actual  termination  of  these  seventy  '  weeks,'  it 
might  have  been  said  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
derived  His  commission  from  this  circumstance. 
Let  us  thank  God  that  He  has  deprived  the 
enemies  of  Christianity  of  the  possibility  of 
wielding  this  weapon  against  our  religion ! 


THE  BOOKS  OF  THE  MONTH. 


THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES.» 
For  some  time  now  it  is  the  Gospels  that  have 
been  passing  through  the  fire.  But  it  is  of  no 
account  to  destroy  the  credibility  of  the  Gospels 
if  the  credibility  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  re- 
mains. For  it  is  not  the  Gospels  themselves  that 
matter,  it  is  the  gospel  that  they  contain.  And 
so  long  as  the  Book  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  is 
allowed  to  testify  to  the  facts  contained  in  the 
Gospels,  especially  to  the  resurrection  of  Christ 
from  the  dead,  there  is  nothing  gained  or  lost  by 
dating  the  Gospels  in  the  second  century.  So  it 
is  to  the  Acts  that  unbelieving  criticism  ever 
returns. 

Professor  Chase  is  well  aware  of  the  strategical 
importance  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  And 
when  he  was  appointed  Hulsean  lecturer  for  1900- 
1901  he  determined  to  make  the  credibility  of  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles  his  subject.  It  is  a  subject 
that  demands  minute  investigation.  Dr.  Chase 
knew  that  it  would  not  be  easily  handled  in 
lectures.  But  he  could  not  have  been  uncon- 
scious that  he  possessed  the  gift  of  combining 
'  TheCredibiUly  of  the  A<n  of  the  Aposthi.  By  FtederJcIt 
lenry  Chue,  D.D.     Macmillui. 


accuracy  with  lucidity  of  statement,  and  he  no 
doubt  promised  himself,  if  not  his  audience,  that 
when  he  published  the  lectures  he  would  supply 
all  the  proofs  and  processes  in  footnotes.  In 
reality  the  footnotes  are  not  numerous.  The 
lectures  themselves  contain  the  whole  argument 
for  the  credibility  of  the  Acts.  It  is  the  most 
convincing  presentation  of  the  evidence  in  the 
English  language  outside  the  Dictionaries. 

Dr.  Chase  is  not  an  advocate  at  all  costs.  He 
does  not  believe  in  the  traditional  account  of  the 
Acts  because  it  is  traditional.  Examining  tha 
whole  of  the  evidence  for  himself,  he  rejects  not 
a  few  points  that  tradition  has  both  handed  down 
and  held  essential.  His  attitude  to  the  whole 
subject  indeed  is  different  from  that  of  tradition, 
for  he  knows  that  the  early  Christian  writings  did 
not  come  into  existence  as  tradition  has  asserted. 
But  his  detachment  makes  his  investigation  at 
least  as  thorough  as  it  would  have  been,  and  his 
results  much  more  acceptable.  If  he  is  even 
provokingly  suspicious  of  the  apostolic  miracles, 
it  is  the  more  convincing  when  he  finds  the  evi- 
dence for  the  miraculous  Call  of  the  Apostle  to 
the  Gentiles  to  be  irresistible. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES- 


THROUGH  SCIENCE  TO  FAITH." 

Id  bis  new  book  Dr.  Newman  Smyth  is  at  his 
best.  The  subject  is  congenial.  His  interest  in 
it  has  grown  with  his  devotion  to  its  study.  His 
belief  in  its  sweep  and  its  certainty  could  not 
now  be  stronger.  His  subject  is  evolution.  He 
carries  it  from  the  infinitesimal  biological  dot  that 
hides  itself  from  the  most  powerful  microscope 
right  up  to  the  personality  of  St.  Paul,  without 
a  gap.  Even  the  inanimate  passes  into  the  ani- 
mate without  outside  interference  or  intervention 
— though  Dr.  Smyth  cannot  tell  how. 

Is  Dr.  Newman  Smyth  become  a  rationalist, 
then?  By  no  means.  There  is  intelligence  in 
the  whole  process,  and  it  is  intelligence  which 
knows  to  adapt  means  to  ends  with  perfect  nicety. 
'  Yesterday,'  relates  Kepler  the  astronomer,  '  when 
weary  with  writing,  and  my  mind  quite  dusty  with 
considering  the  atoms,  I  was  called  to  supper,  and 
a  salad  I  had  asked  for  was  set  before  me,  "  It 
seems  then,  I  said,  that  if  pewter  dishes,  leaves  of 
lettuce,  grains  of  salt,  drops  of  vinegar  and  oil, 
and  slices  of  eggs,  had  been  floating  about  in  the 
air  from  all  eternity,  it  might  at  last  happen  by 
chance  that  there  would  come  a  salad,"  "  Yes," 
said  my  wife,  "  but  not  so  nice  and  well  dressed  as 
this  of  mine  is."' 

That  intelligence  is  God.  No  less  will  do,  for 
the  evolutionary  process  refuses  to  stop  until  it 
has  reached  God.  But  the  noticeable  matter  is 
that  God  puts  St  Paul  into  an  anemone  or  even 
into  a  handful  of  white  sea-sand.  And  He  does 
not  need  to  watch  St.  Paul  working  his  way  out  of 
the  sea-sand  and  introduce  life  here  and  con- 
sciousness there.  It  is  all  in  the  sea-sand  at  the 
beginning.  How  wonderful  is  nature,  seen  under 
the  process  of  evolution!  In  wisdom  hast  Thou 
made  it  all. 

But  what  about  the  Fall  ?  Well,  the  truth  is, 
evolution  is  not  always  forward.  This  is  the  in- 
explicable in  science,  as  it  has  been  in  theology 
since  the  world  began.  When  we  have  got  to  man 
and  found  the  freedom  of  the  will  at  work,  it  is 
not  so  bard  to  understand  that  there  might  be  an 
occasional  back-set  to  the  evolutionary  process,  or 
even  such  a  'jog'  as  'maist  ruined  a'.'  The 
mystery  is  in  the  way  this  disturbance  works  back- 
wards.    What  have  the  brutes  to  do  with  it?    Dr. 


Newman  Smyth  repudiates  (tacitly)  Dr.  Dat 
linger's  terrible  pictures  of  the  sufiering  of  the 
lower  creation,  and  holds  by  Dr.  Russel  Wallace, 
who  believes  it  is  mostly  an  imagination  of  ours. 
Still  the  mystery  remains,  why  the  creature  should 
groan  and  travail  in  pain  at  all,  especially  why  if 
it  is  on  man's  account. 

But  there  are  certain  things  which  we  consider 
signs  of  degeneracy,  and  they  are  not.  Death  is 
the  chief  of  them — physical  death.  The  fear  of 
death  is  a  mark  of  human  degeneracy,  a  primitive 
consequence  of  man's  sin.  But  death  itself  is  one 
of  the  most  necessary  and  most  beneficent  gifts  of 
an  all-wise  and  all-loving  Creator.  It  is  not  a 
sign  or  consequence  of  degeneracy,  it  is  a  means 
rather  of  the  rejuvenescence  and  enrichment  of 
life. 

GEORGE  MEREDITH. 

An  edition  of  George  Meredith  is  not  a  neces- 
sity like  a  Bible  Dictionary.  It  has  therefore  been 
for  most  of  us  a  desire  rather  than  a  possession. 
But  the  publishers  of  Meredith  have  now  brought 
him  so  near,  and  made  him  even  so  tempting,  by 
cheapness  and  beauty,  that  it  is  possible  for  many 
of  us  to  turn  the  tables  on  '  the  vanity  of  human 
wishes'  and  see  the  volumes  stand  on  our  own 
shelves  waiting  our  own  convenience. 

And  no  one  need  be  ashamed  of  George  Mere- 
dith. The  rage  for  romance  needs  checking,  and 
we  may  consider  with  sincerity  whether  we  could 
not  check  it  by  example.  Christianity  is  non- 
indulgence.  It  is  here  that  indulgence  is  most 
successful  with  some  of  us,  sending  our  Chris- 
tianity asleep,  or  even  into  the  grave  of  incom- 
petency. We  have  had  our  arguments.  The 
knowledge  of  men  and  women,  even  bad  men  and 
women,  was  so  necessary  to  the  teacher  of  ethics 
and  religion— the  worse  the  men  and  women, 
said  our  argument,  the  more  necessary  that  we 
should  know  them ;  for  we  can  all  be  Calvinisis 
when  it  suits  us.  But  the  arguments  have  not 
arrested  the  incompetency.  And  we  might  con- 
sider. 

But  George  Meredith  is  apart.  It  is  not  the 
self-indulgent  who  read  George  Meredith,  And 
the  argument  that  life  has  to  be  seen,  and  seen  in 
novels,  holds  good  with  him.  It  is  actually  applic- 
able. To  which  has  to  be  added  this  fact,  that 
George  Meredith   does   not   blunt   the  appetite 


47a 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


for  the  wholesome  and  the  clean.  That  he 
becomes  their  'favourite  author'  to  those  who 
possess  and  read  him,  almost  a  shrine,  at  which 
certain  forms  of  intellectual  worship  are  gone 
through,  even  that  does  not  make  him  dangerous. 
For  wherever  worship  elevates,  it  should  be  per- 
formed. The  difference  between  Jehovah  and  Baal 
was  just  there — the  one  lifted  up,  the  other  dragged 
down.  There  are  those  who  worship  at  the  shrine 
of  Thomas  Hardy — it  is  Baal-worship;  let  them 
choose  Geoi^e  Meredith  this  day. 

The  new  edition,  we  said,  was  cheap  and 
charming.  Messrs.  Constable  know  that  Geoi^e 
Meredith  must  select  his  audience,  for  the  thou- 
sands who  indulge  in  novel-reading  will  not  have 
patience  with  him.  So  their  enterprise  is  most 
commendable.  A  'fine  set' every  one  exclaims, 
seeing  it  on  the  shelf.  Yet  finer,  we  add,  as  a 
book  to  go  railway  travelling  on,  so  small  is  it  in 
size,  so  fair  is  the  type  even  in  the  lai^est  of  the 
volumes,  the  thinness  of  the  paper  making  all  that 
possible. 

THE  INTEGRITY  OF  SCRIPTURE.' 

There  is  just  one  John  Smith  in  Scotland.  This 
is  he.  His  friends  have  wondered  what  has 
sent  him  into  open  conflict  with  the  popular 
scholarship  of  the  day.  He  has  no  enemies, 
and  this  book  will  make  none.  But  its  attitude 
is  unexpected,  for  Dr.  Smith  has  read  the 
books,  and  he  lifts  his  hand  to  strike,  not  to 
beat  the  air.  What  is  it  that  has  sent  him 
to  the  front  who  hates  war  with  Quaker  fervour, 
and  says  so  ?  It  cannot  be,  it  plainly  is  not,  the 
'integrity  of  Scripture'  in  the  old  use  of  the 
phrase.  The  old  defenders  of  the  integrity  of 
Scripture  said,  '  If  your  science — your  geofogy, 
astronomy,  arctueology,  criticism,  and  what  not — 
does  not  agree  with  Scripture,  it  is  the  worse  for 
your  science.'  Dr.  Smith  knows  better  than  say 
that  He  knows  that  if  the  Bible  touches  as- 
tronomy, or  even  criticism,  it  must  be  judged  where 
it  touches  by  the  astronomy  and  the  criticism  of 
every  age,  and  no  theory  of  inspiration  can  save 
it.  He  would  no  more  dream  of  setting  the  Bible 
before  the  modem  critic  and  saying,  'Thus  far 
shalt  thou  go,'  than  he  would  approve  the  priests 
who  set  it  before  Galileo  and  condemned  his  as- 

'  Tht  Inltgtity  af  Striptitre.  By  ihe  Rev.  John  Smith, 
M.A.,  D.D.     Hoddet  &  Sloughlon. 


tronomy.  He  knows  that  there  is  no  word  more 
faithful  to  the  Bible  and  to  God  than  E  pvr  si 
tnuove. 

What  is  it,  then  ?  It  is,  we  think,  that  Dr.  John 
Smith  and  the  critics  have  their  minds  on  different 
things  in  the  Bible.  The  critics  have  their  minds 
on  its  science,  Dr.  Smith  has  his  on  its  rehgion. 
The  religion  of  the  Bible  is  the  Bible,  and  as  a 
matter  of  pursuit  Dr.  John  Smith  has  all  the  glory. 
But  the  critics  have  some  room  for  the  sole  of 
their  feet  even  in  the  Bible.  And  it  is  clear  that 
the  utmost  zeal  for  the  integrity  of  the  religion  of 
the  Bible  need  never  come  into  conflict  with  the 
science  of  the  Bible.  Dr.  Smith  is  absorbed  in  the 
religion  of  the  Bible.  He  sees  nothing  else  in  it. 
And  in  these  days  when  so  many  who  ought  to  be 
preachers  of  the  religion  of  the  Bible  are  spendiog 
their  time  with  its  science,  we  rejoice  exceedingly 
in  his  whole-hearted  devotion  to  what  is  first  and 
last  in  Bible  study. 

ZWINGLI.* 

There  is  a  wealth  of  literature  as  well  as  art 
about  the  series  called  '  Heroes  of  the  Reforma- 
tion '  which  ought  to  set  it  apart  from  others  and 
make  it  desirable.  The  authors  have  been  chosen 
with  great  care.  They  have  been  historians  who 
could  write  well.  And  no  expense  or  trouble  has 
been  considered  too  much  to  get  the  most  ac- 
curate and  interpretative  illustrations,  of  which 
every  volume  is  full 

The  latest  volume  is  written  for  the  most  part 
by  the  general  editor  of  the  series.  We  say  'for 
the  most  part,'  because  there  is  a  chapter  on  the 
History  of  Switzeriand  before  the  Reformation  by 
Professor  Vincent  pf  Johns  Hopkins  University, 
and  one  on  ZwJngli's  theology  by  Professor  Foster 
of  the  University  of  California, 

Professor  Jackson  has  the  biography  of  Zwingli 
to  write.  He  writes  it  historically,  rarely  sUying 
his  hand  from  the  narrative  to  make  a  reflexion. 
The  history  is  itself  the  best  biography.  '  This  is 
what  Zwingli  did  and  said,  this  is  how  he  suffered 
and  fought — what  do  you  think  of  him?  it  does 
not  matter  what  I  think.'  It  is  the  best  kind 
of  biography.  For  if  the  man  is  a  hero,  you 
see  that  he  is  a  hero,  and  you  never  forget  it, 
Zwingli  is  a  hero.  Are  they  not  all  heroes,  as  they 
call  them  in  this  series,  these  men  of  the  Reforma- 

*  Huldrcich  ZmiHgli.  By  Samuel  MacauUf  Jacktoa 
ruinams. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


473 


tion?  Where  were  there  men  like  them  then? 
Where  are  there  men  like  them  now  ?  The  simple 
narrative  of  Zwiogli's  death  is  a  picture  to  remain 
for  ^ver  in  the  memory. 

And,  on  the  whole,  one  feels  that  the  man  is 
more  than  the  theology.  The;  were  great  theo- 
logians. But  we  have  made  a  mistake  to  foi^et 
that  they  were  greater  men.  They  were  indeed 
the  true  successors  of  the  early  Christians — 
great  in  theology,  but  greater  in  life,  and  greatest 
of  all  in  death. 

There  are  many  '  Heroes  of  the  Reformation ' 
to  come  yet.  This  is  but  the  fifth.  The  volumes 
are  most  handsome  in  their  uniform  binding,  but 
we  desire  their  contini^ance  for  the  inside  rather 
than  the  outside  appearance. 

BROOKS  BY  THE  TRAVELLER'S  WAY. 
By  J.  H.  Jowett,  M.A.  {Alltnsoti^—Crov&s  go  to 
heat  Mr.  Jowett  preach,  they  say.  Were  we 
within  reach  we  should  go  too.  For  he  touches 
us  with  these  sermons.  The  cold  page  does  not 
keep  him  from  touching  us.  And  it  is  the  touch 
of  Ufe.  He  is  a  spiritual  channel,  grace  flows  from 
his  lips,  there  is  no  resisting  the  healing  eloquence 
of  his  words.  When  the  very  majesty  of  the 
gospel  is  fitted  into  the  necessities  of  the  daily  life 
with  such  art  of  moving,  mastering  language,  who 
can  resist  it  ? 

AIDS  TO  PRACTICAL  RELIGION. 
(Casse/I). — Under  this  title  has  been  published  a 
volume  of  selections  from  the  writings  of  the 
present  Bishop  of  Ripon.  The  selections  have 
been  made  by  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Burn, -B.D.  And 
that  is  to  say  that  they  have  been  made  with 
experienced  judgment  and  out  of  the  largest 
possible  range  of  material.  Some  passages  have 
not  appeared  in  book  form  before.  For  their 
purpose — and  the  title  expresses  their  purpose 
admirably — these  selections  are  most  suitable. 

THE  TEMPLE  BIBLE  {Deni).~Ytv 
publishers  know  the  secret  of  attractiveness  so 
well  as  Messrs.  Dent.  Their  range  of  publication 
is  wide,  and  there  must  be  variety  in  its  worth. 
But  there  is  never  a  failure  in  outward  charm. 
The  Temple  Bible  is  sure  to  be  chosen  out  of  a 
multitude  of  commentaries  simply  because  each 
volume  is  so  beautiful.  And  yet  there  is  worth 
along    with    the   beauty.     Two   volumes   which 


have  just  been  published — Numbtrs,  by  Professor 
Buchanan  Gray,  and  the  Earlier  Pauline  Epistles, 
by  Professor  Bartlet  (both  of  Mansfield  College) 
— carry  as  much  scholarship  as  it  is  possible  to 
pack  into  their  space. 

THE  CENTURY  BIBLE  (/.ifA).— Small  as 
they  are  and  of  little  promise,  dainty  in  appear- 
ance and  seeming  to  be  made  more  for  ornament 
than  use,  this  series  of  commentaries  will  yet  take 
its  place  among  the  most  scholarly  expositions, 
and  will  advance  the  science  of  the  interpretation 
of  Scripture.  The  two  latest  volumes  fall  into 
the  ranks  with  the  earliest  and  give  the  series 
additional  strength.  They  expound  some  of  the 
Pauline  Epistles — Thessalonians  and  Galatians,  by 
Professor  Adeney  himself;  Ephesians,  Colossians, 
Philemon,  and  Pbilippians,  by  Mr.  G.  Currie 
Martin.  One  or  two  of  the  series  are  already  the 
very  first  we  turn  to  when  we  look  for  a  fresh 
interpreution  of  a  difficult  text. 

The  latest  issue  of  Messrs.  Rivington's  '  Oxford 
Church  Text  Books'  is  the  The  Church,  its 
Ministry  and  Authority,  by  Principal  Darwell 
Stone.  No  subject  presents  such  difficulties  at 
present  to  a  conscientious  learned  Anglican.  Mr. 
Stone  is  definite  and  decided  enough  in  his 
Anglicanism,  but  he  is  most  courteous,  almost 
conciliatory,  in  his  statement  of  it.  We  are  on  the 
edge  of  a  new  world  of  thought  here ;  Mr.  Stone 
feels  it — we  feel  it  as  we  read  him.  Is  it  a  union 
of  forces  in  one  great  army  against  the  foe,  so 
confident  and  contemptuous  to-day?  Or  is  it 
still  to  be  divided  forces,  suspicion,  and  some- 
times civil  war  ? 

FELICIA  SKENE  OF  OXFORD:  A 
MEMOIR.  By  E.  C.  Rickards  {Murray).— Tht 
interest  of  this  book  is  in  the  record  it  contains  ot 
Felicia  Skene's  good  works  in  Oxford.  She  '  went 
about  doing  good.'  And  it  is  a  deep,  lasting 
interest  There  are  many,  thank  God,  of  the 
wealthy  and  well-born  who  give  themselves  in  our 
day  to  good  works.  But  Felicia  Skene  was  so 
identified  with  one  sphere  of  labour,  and  spent 
herself  with  such  unstinting  goodwill  upon  it, 
that  she  stands  apart  from  the  multitude  of  women 
who  will  reap  the  crown  of  life,  and  deserves  even 
here  the  honour  of  this  glowing  memoir.  Her 
work   was  among   the  prisoners.     Its  record   is 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


a  terrible  revelation.  But  it  is  a  revelation  with 
its  bright  side  as  well  as  its  dark  side,  and  we  see 
the  'compass'  of  human  nature — Felicia  Skene 

at  the  one  end  of  the  scale,  Mrs.  H ,  who 

'  represented  herself  as  a  model  of  virtue,  and  has 
been  a  villainous  old  wretch  for  years,'  at  the  other. 
But  there  is  another  interest.  It  gathers  round 
Sir  Walter  Scott.  For  Sir  Walter  Scott  and 
Felicia  Skene's  father  wete  closest  friends,  as  one 
may  read  in  Marmion.  And  the  whole  family 
tradition  carries  the  flavour  of  Scottish  chivalry 
and  romance.  It  is  very  fine  to  see  this  strain  in 
Felicia  herself.  But  it  is  finer  to  see  its  heathen 
elements  melt  away  or  become  transfigured  in  the 
love  of  Christ  The  book  is  altogether  a  success. 
And  Mr.  Murray  has  added  so  many  portraits 
thai  one  easily  makes  the  acquaintance  of  the 
whole  romantic  family. 

A  BOOK  OF  SECRETS.  By  Horatio  W. 
Dresser  {Putnanu). — The  thoughts  so  nakedly 
uttered  in  this  hook  are  human  thoughts,  else 
they  could  not  be  understood.  The  writing  is 
severe  and  straining.  There  is  no  illustration  or 
other  relief.  It  is  like  hearing  ai^umentative 
sermons  for  hours  on  end.  But  the  thoughts 
redeem  all.  They  are  simple,  ordinary,  level  with 
life.  They  touch  the  humanity  in  us.  They  are 
not  mystical,  nor  scientific,  nor  critical,  they  are 
just  human.  That  is  the  secret  of  all  theirsecrets, 
the  secret  of  Mr.  Dresser's  invariable  success. 

Another  volume  has  been  issued  by  the  Vir 
Publishing  Co.  of  the  'Self  and  Sex'  Series.  Its 
title  is,  What  a  Woman  of  Forty- jive  ought  to  kntm ; 
its  author  is  Mrs.  Drake,  M.D. 

THE  DIVINE  ORDINANCE  OF  PRAYER. 
By  W.  Hay  M.  H.  Ailken  {Wells  Gardner).— The 
devotional  writer  often  lacks  knowledge  of  men, 
the  practical  writer  often  fails  of  true  confidence 
in  God.  Mr.  Aitken  has  had  unrivalled  experience 
of  men,  and  he  waits  upon  God  unceasingly.  No 
simpler,  no  more  sincere  or  penetrating  guide  to 
the  practice  of  prayer  has  been  written  in  our  day. 
If  Mr.  Aitken  had  chosen,  he  might,  by  adopting 
an  old-fashioned  style  and  ending  his  tenses  in  -eth, 
have  taken  his  place  among  the  devotional  classics 
at  once.     He  will  yet  take  his  place.     Meantime 


he  writes,  as  did  the  prophets,  and  all  the  classical 
writers,  for  his  own  age.  And  is  there  anything 
that  needs  to  be  urged  more  earnestly  upon  the 
present  generation  than  the  practice  of  prayer  ? 

REUGION  AND  MORALITY.  By  the  Rev. 
James  J.  Fox,  S.T.D.  (New  York:  Voung).— This 
volume  contains  a  dissertation  written  for  the 
doctorate  in  theology  at  the  Catholic  University  of 
America.  It  will  not  do  to  say  that  it  deserved 
publication.  Rather  ought  it  to  be  said  that  its 
great  practical  subject  has  been  sensibly  enriched 
by  its  publication,  and  even  advanced  a  step 
towards  its  final  comprehension.  The  book  is  a 
large  one,-lhe  style  is  direct;  there  is  ample  spac«, 
and  no  space  is  lost :  thus  the  subject  receives 
adequate  treatment.  It  is  divided  into  three  parts. 
The  first  part  contains  a  short  statement  of  the 
idea  of  religion,  its  universality,  and  its  origin. 
The  second  is  historical.  The  religions  of  Assyria 
and  Babylonia,  of  Egypt,  of  India,  Persia,  China, 
Arabia,  Greece,  and  Rome  are  sketched,  and  the 
conclusion  is  reached  that  belief  in  a  religious 
sanction  for  conduct  is  common  to  all  forms  of 
religion ;  and  it  is  this  religious  sanction  which  has 
everywhere  held  men  together  and  made  sodal 
existence  possible.  But,  apart  from  revelation, 
morality  has  been  before  religion.  It  has  not 
been  religion  that  has  said  to  the  nations  of  the 
world,  'This  do  and  thou  shalt  hve';  the  neces- 
sity of  right  conduct  having  been  seen,  the  sanction 
of  religion  has  afterwards  been  sought  for  it.  It  is 
only  revelation,  by  saying  'God  is  love,'  that  has 
placed  religion  before  morality,  and  made  known 
both  what  to  do  and  bow  to  do  it.  The  third 
part  of  the  book  is  doctrinal.  It  deals  with 
revelation.  It  places  religion  first,  and  then  ex- 
pounds the  text,  '  If  ye  know  these  things,  happy 
are  ye  if  ye  do  them.' 

The  books  of  the  month  include — Professor 
Hamatk  and  his  Oxford  Critics,  by  T.  Bailey 
Saunders  {Williams  &  Norgate)  ;  Frands  E.  Clark, 
by  W.  Knight  Chaplin  (Melrose) ;  Daily,  A  Help 
to  Family  Prayer,  by  C.  F.  Harford  Battersby 
(Marshall  Brothers) ;  Towards  the  Sunrising,  by 
J.  G.  Greenhough,  M.A.  (Stockwell);  Just  in 
Time,  by  W.  Sampson  (Stockwell) ;  The  EptstU  of 
Psenosiris,  by  A.  Deissmann  (Black). 

|j::ri-r;-h,  x^H,f»..'Vl»^ 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


SUBJECT-INDEX  TO  RECENT  THEOLOGICAL  LITERATURE. 
PERIODICALS. 


Abraham   t)i«   AramEEan,   Amtr.    S.S.   Mag.    ixii.    156 

(Peters). 
Acts,  Bible  Student,  v.  7a,  130  (B.  B.  Wirfield). 

,,    Charsclei   and  Composition,   Biil.    World,  lii.   368 

(Bartlet). 
Ain  et-Fesbkhab,  Pal.  Exfl,  Fund  SlatimcrU,  1903,   160 

(Mastemaa). 
Amos,  Date,  BiM.  Saera,  lix.  366  (Biailhwaite). 
Anabapiists,  £xfi>s.  v.  377  (Winterbolhim). 
Aiisteas,  hettet,/ew.  Quart.  Rev.  xiv.  321  {Abrahams). 
AscemioD,  Trtaiury,  xix.  664  (Purvcs). 
Athanasius,  MSS./iw™.  Thfol.  Studies,  iii.  245  (Wallis). 
Atheism,  Prti.  Day  Papers,  v.  29,  59,  91. 
Alonement.  Moberly's  Theory,  /mm.   Theol.  Studies,  iii. 

178  (Rashdall). 
Anthropology   and   Chtislianity,   Land.    Quart.    Rev.    »ii. 

3ZO(MoultOD). 

Amhtoporaorphism  among  Mod.  Semitei,  Bibl.  SVcrtd,  lii. 
Ill,  and  Amtr.Joum.  Theal.  vi,  3Q4  (Curtiis). 

Baalbbk,  Pal.  Exfil.  Fund  Staletnent,  1901,  16S  (Bliss). 
Bial.bosor,   Pal.  Expi.   Fund  Statement,  1902,   155  (CI.- 

Ganneaa). 
Baal  Wonhip  in  Israel,  Ch.  and  Syn.  iv.  69  (Sinker). 
Babylonian,  Greek  Transcriptions,  Pri>c.  Sm.  Bibl.  Arck. 

«iy.  108  (T.  G.  Pinches),  120  (Sayce). 
Barnabas,    Mob.   Gospel,  Jaum.    Theal.   Studies,  iii.   441 

Beatitudes,   Pnaei.   Afa^.   xiii.   173,    208  (Lloyd) ;    IVet. 

AletA.  Mag.  cxxv.  271  (Southouse), 
Belief,  Ethical,  Pret.  Ref.  Rai.  xiii.  207  (Griffin). 
Benjamin,  Genealogies,  /ew.    Quart.  Rai,  nv,  343  (Mar- 

Bible  Reading,  Ch.  Quart.  Rev.  liv.  22. 

Bohairic  Teat.,/eurn.  Theol.  Studies,  iii.  258  (Brooke). 

CaphtOR,  Clais.  Rev.  xii.  185  (Ton). 
Chariot,  Pmc.  SM.  Bibl.  Arch.  ixiv.  130  (Offord). 
Chinese  Chr.  Inscr.,  Cath.  Univ.  Bull.  viii.  175  (Aiken). 
Christian  lMe,jBum.  Theal.  St.  iii.  321  (Waggelt). 

,,       Science,  Union  Mag.  a.  tt6,  173  (Bannerman), 
Church  of  Eng.,  Pilot,  v.  176  (Dolling). 

,,  ,,       before  Civil  Wats,  Ch.  Quart.  Rev.  My.  43. 

beunion,  Ch.  Quart.  Rev.  liv,  178. 
Clemenl  (Ps.),  Dale,  /oum.  Thiol.  St.  iii.  436  (Chapman). 
Colour-blindness   (illust.),    Wts.    Melh.   Mag.   cixt.    17S 

(Ballard). 
Competition,  Pru.  Day  Papers,  1.  41  (Grubb), 
Cross,  Words  on,  Ch.  Eclectic,  xiix.  1117  (M.  Creighton). 
Cfprian,  Oldest  tiS.,/i>um.  Theal.  St.  iii.  282  (Tuinei). 

Daniel  (Bk.),  Pres.  Re/.  Rev.  ziii.  324  (Douglas). 

„        „        Critical  Opinion,  Crit.  Rev.  xii.  99  (Selbie). 
Davidson  (A,B.),  Expas.  v.   161  (Simpson);  Prim.  Melh. 

Quart.  Rev.  xxiv.  193  (Mackintosh,  Peake] ;  Union  Mag. 

\L  107,  160,  Z03  (G.  A.  Smith). 


Dead  Sea  Levels,  F.E.F.  Statement,  1902,    155  (Master- 

Detuge  and  Geology,  Bibl,  Sacra,  lix.  282  (Wright). 
Deuteronomy,  Authorship,  Bibl.   World,  xix.   132  (W.  R. 

Harper). 
Distaff  in  Ancient  Egypt  (illust.),  P.S.B.A.  xxiv.  84. 
Dogma,  /Vk/.  Day  Papers,  v.  47,  79,  III  (Garvie). 
Dogmatics,  Recent, /<nirH.  Theal.  St.  iii.  304  (Gayford). 

Ecclbsiasticus,  Heb.,  Ch.  Quart.  Rev.  liv.  164. 
E^ptian   Prefects,   Prac.   Sac.   BUI.   Arch.   xxiv.   56,   97 
(de  Ricci). 
„        Travel  Stories,  Amer.  S.S.  Mag.  xxix.  437{Pete(s). 
Elymas,  Expos,  v.  193  (Harris). 
Epbesas,    Mod.    (illust.),    «'"■   Melh.    Mag.    cxxv.    167 

(Dickinson). 
Eucharist,  Jewish  Antecedents,  /aum.   Theol.  St.  iiL  357 
(Box). 
„         in  and  and  3rd  Cent.,  /aurn.   ThtoL  St.  iii.  161 
(Swete). 
Eusebius  and  Coptic  Ch.  Hist.,  P.S.B.A.  xxiv.  68  (Crum). 
Eiekiet,  Biil.  World,  xix.  199  (W.  R.  Harper). 

Faith,  Guide,  iii.  51  (Stalker). 

'Gv,VZS^1\0t^,'  Bible  Student,  \.  109,  156  (M'Clung). 

God,  Idea,  Land.  Quart.  Rev.  viL  209  (Orr). 
„    among  Mod.   Semites,   Bibl.    World,   xix.    IZ2,   168, 
288 ;  Amer.  /aum.  Theol.  vi.  304  (Curtiss). 

Golgotha,  Pal.  Expl.  Fund  Statement,  1902,  141  (Wilson). 

Gregory  (Nyst.)   'Oral.   Cm.,' /oum.   Theal.   St.  iii.   421 
(Srawley). 

Habakkuk,  Expas.  v,  171  (Farrar),  388  (Stevenson). 
Ha^ai,  Expos,  v.  275  (Farrat). 

HaroacV's  Theology,/™.  Quart.  Rev.  xiv.  517  (Perles). 
Heb.  and  Arab.  Translir.,  P.E.F.  St.,  1901,  202. 

,,   Rhythm,  yourn.  Biil.  Ut.  xx.  158  (Cobb). 

„   Roots,  Pres.  Ref.  Rev.  liii.  277  (R.  D.  Wilson). 
Heresy,  Pilot,  v.  448  (Armstrong). 
Hermaa  and  Cebej./na™.  Philology,  xxviii.  87  (Stock). 
HUtorical  Method,  Bibl.  World,  xix.  83. 
Hope,  Guide,  iii.  75  (Stalker). 
Hosea,  Union  Mag.  iL  119  (Orr). 

Immortality,  Experience,  xxii.  229  (Leormount). 
Isaiah,  Social  Conditions,  Union  Mag.  ii.  163  (Taylor). 
Israel's  Separateness,  Bibl.  World,  xix.  163. 

Jacob  at  Peniel,  Exfas.  v.  176  (A.  B.  DaWdson). 
Jerusalem,   Water  Supply  (illust.),  Bibl.    World,  xix.   87 

(Maslerman). 
Jesus,  Growth  in  Wisdom,  Expas.  v.  260  (Garvie). 

„      Resur.,  in  Acts,  BibU  Student,  v.  137  (Dickey). 

„      Vicarious  Sacrifice,  Expat,  v.  366  (Garvie).    , 
Jews  in  Cath.  Ch.,  Ch.  and  Syn,  iv.  43(Hcathcatc). 


476 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Joel,  Exfo!.  V.  381  <Fariai). 

John  (Ap,),  Trtamry,  lii.  831  (G«gg). 

„     Gospel,  Pilot,  ».  203,  229  (Gore). 

,,      Mysticism,  Pris.  Day  Papers,  v,  62,  95  (Jones). 
Jonah,  ExfBS.,  v.  282  (Farrar). 
JudaUin  in  Eng.,  Limd.  Quari.  Rev.  vii.  280  (Japp). 
„       Reform,  Amtr./oum.  Thtol.  vi.  266  (Gottheil). 

Law,    Pauline   Emancipation,   Pre-Christian,  Jem.  Quart. 

Rrv.  ixv.  26s  {FriedlSndet). 
Leaven,  Life  and  Work,  ^miv,  1 16  (Mackie). 
Leprosy,  Eitinction,  Pilat,  v.  369. 
Lighl,  Speed,  Pilat,  v.  424  (Fisher). 
Logoi  in  2Sotoa£tiianisin,  Amir.  Joum.  Philology,  xxii.  432 

(Mills). 
Love,  God's,  for  World,  BihU  Sttidtnl,  t.  211  (Breed). 
Lnke,  Western  Teil,  Churchman,  ivj.  176  (Dundas). 

Malachi,  Ch.  and  Sy«.  \i.  55  (Oe«terley);  Expoi.  v.  284 

(Farrar). 
Mass   Books  in   9th    Cent.,   fourn.     Thtol.    Si.   iii,    429 

(Wilson). 
Messiah  and  Chrisi,  Expos,  v.  141  (Charles). 

„       in  N.T.,  AW.  World,i\i.  113,  178.  279  (Mathews). 
Micah.  Union  Mag.  a.  206  (Welch). 
Miracles  in  Acts,  Bible  Student,  v.  80  (Gordon). 
Moral  Utilhy,  Lond.  Quart.  Rev.  vii.  306  (Dove). 
Uases,  Religion, /oufTi.  Bibl.  Lit.  ix.  101  (Peters). 
Mysticism    in    Christianity,    Pra.    Day    Papers,    v.    105 
(Angus). 
„        of  St,  John,  Pres.  Day  Papers,  v.  62,  95  (Jones). 

Natuke  In  Browning.  Good  Words,  xliii.  182,  287  (Brooke). 
New  Test,  and  Culture,   fourn.   Thiol.   Studies,   iii.    212 
(Sanday). 
Greek,  Bibl.  World,  xix.   190  (Moulton) ;  Bibl. 
Sacra,  Iii.  325  (Scomp). 
„         1t%X,j0am.  Thiol.  Studies,  iii.  294  (Lake). 

Obadiah,  Expos.  V.  274  (Fairat). 

Old  Test.  Criticism,  Prts.  Ref.  Rev.  xiii.  177  [Davis). 

„         Teaching  the,  Ch.  Quart.  Rev.  tiv.  izo. 
Ordination,  Ceremonies,  Ch.  Eclectic,  xxi.  23  (Firminger). 
„  of  E^ily  Bps.  of  Alexandria,  Journ.  Tk.  Studies, 

ili:  ai8  (Go,rt 
Origen's   '  Gphraians,'  Joum,   Tk.   SluJits,   iii,    233,   398 
(GrtB). 

PAt;L,  Divine-human  in  Teaching,  Pres.  Day  Papers,  v.  32 
Jones). 
„     Social   Teaching,   Bibl.   World,   xix.    113,  178,  279 

(Mathews). 


Plymoath  Brethren,   Sacramental   Ideal,  Guaraian,   April 

23,  1902. 
Prayer,  Benefits,  Ch.  0/  Eng.  Pulpit,  liii.  18a  (Mackay). 
Priest  and  Pastor,  AngU-Calh.  iv.  182  (Radford). 
Priestly  Code,  Bibl.  World,  xix.  300  {W.  R.  Harper). 
Prophet,  Chr.,  Expos,  v.  195,  321  {Selwyn)j  Bible  Student, 

V.  67(M'Pheetera). 
Punishment,  Capital,   among  Jews.  P<U.  Expl.  Fund  St. 

19OZ,  152  (Wilson). 

Rbsurrbction  of  Jesus,  in   Acts,  Bible  Student,  v.    137 

(Dickey). 
Revelation,  Bible  StudetU,  v.  123  (Warfield). 
Reverence,  IVes.  Meth.  Mag.  cxxv.  336  (Piatt). 
Romans  (Ep.),    Destination,  Journ.   Bibl.   Lit.    xx.    129 

{W,  B.  Smith). 
Ruth,  Expos.  V.  360  (A.  Black). 

SaadVana,  /ew.  Quart.  Rev.  xiv.  197,  449  (Scbechter). 

Sardican  Canam — Guardian,  February  26,  1902,  (Words- 
worth); /™™.  Thiol.  St.  iii.  370  (Turner). 

Saviour  in  O.T.,  Bible  Student,  v.  165  (Kerswell). 

Sepulchre  (Holy),  Pal.  Expl.  Fund  St.,  1902,  142 
(Wilson). 

Simon  Magus,  Expos,  v.  1S9  (Harris). 

Son  of  Man,  Cril.  Rev.  xii.  153  (Muirhead). 

Soul  (Word),  Guardian,  March  19,  1902  (Palmer). 

Spindle,  Egypt,  (illusl.),  Proc.  Soc.  Biil.  Arch.  xxiv.  85. 

Stephen,  Amer.  S.S.  Times,  iliv,  78  (Rausehenhusch). 

Supernalural  and  Spiritual,  Biil.  Sacra,  lix.  247  (Baicom). 

Symbolo-fi deism,  Amir.  Joum.  Th.  vi.  294  (Zcnot)- 

Synod  in  Csesatea,  fourn.  Th.  Sludiis,  iii.  433  (Brooks). 

Syracuse,  Chr.  Remains,  Pilot,  v.  420. 

Syriac  CodM  'Dawkins  %'  Joum.  Th.  Studies,  iii.  452 
(Gwilliam). 

Tabernaclb,  Colours,  Ch.  and  Syn.  iv.  80  (Isherwood). 
Totemism  in  Israel,  few.  Quart.  Rev.  xiv.  413  (Cook). 
Transfiguration,  Amer.  Joum.  Th.  vi.  236  (Bacon). 
Tribes  of  Israel,  Lists,  Expos,  v.  225  (Gray). 

Vbrsion,  Amer.  Rev.,  Bibl.  Sacra,  lix.  217  (Whitnej). 

Wbigiits  and  Measures,  Heb.,  Pal.  Exfl.  Fund  Statement, 

igo2,  175  (Condet). 
Westminster  Confession,  Printing,  Pres.  Ref.  Rev.  xiii.  254 

(Warfield). 
Worship  in  O.T.,  Bibl.  World,  ziz.  132  (W.  R.  Harper). 

ZeChariah,  Expos,  v.  277  (Farrar). 

Zoroastrianism,  Logos  in,  Amer.  fourn.  Philol.  xxiv.  433 

(Mills). 


jyGoot^Ie 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


ConiviSuiicne    an^    CcmmtntB* 


*3«w/  'Senwj.' 


In  reply  to  one  of  Professor  Nestle's  questions, 
the  JVew  English  Dictionary  dates  its  tirst  reference 
to  the  word  'Jew'  (Gyv),  c  1175,  and  tells  us 
that  the  English  word  was  adopted  from  the  old 
French  giu,  gyu,  giuc,  eailier/uim,  Juiu,  Jueu.  The 
i^does  not  appear  to  have  been  dropped  by  the 
Latin.  J.  A^  Cross. 

Letdi. 


'(SmmdU0'  (Stistdftcn  for  a  Qpereon. 

Mr.  a.  Souter,  in  the  note  thus  inscribed  in 
The  Expository  Times  for  June,  is  right,  so  far 
as  my  knowledge  goes,  that  there  is  no  trace  of 
this  mistake  'in  any  Greek  manuscript.'  But  he 
ought  to  have  added  that  this  mistake  was  possible, 
and  probably  occasioned,  by  the  reading  iSfd/utTi  in 
the  Greek  Codex  D  for  ^  ovo^  of  the  rest  of  the 
MSS.  Compare  my  Introduction  to  the  Textual 
Criticism,  p.  121  f,  where  I  discuss  these  Greek 
and  Latin  readings.  Ea  Nestle. 


t,%t  Q%i9cr6  of  ®amas«u6. 

As  I  aro  on  a  visit  to  this  place,  I  have  been  look- 
ing over  my  paper  in  the  February  number  of 
The  Expository  Times,  and  notice  two  or  three 
things  that  require  correction.  Firstly,  'Ain 
Fun4uk  ought  to  be  'Ain  Barada ;  the  former 
spring  is  higher  up  the  valley,  and  most  of  its 
waters  are  used  up  in  the  plain  of  Zebedani. 
Secondly,  for  cast,  on  p.  216,  under  the  headings 
Nahr  Kanawat  and  Nabr  Banias,  read  south ;  and 
for  western,  under  heading  Taura,  p.  217,  read 
northern.  Thirdly,  Daiwani  ought  to  be  Dairani, 
and  Mezzaweh  ought  to  be  Mezzttwi. 

E.  W.  G.  Masterman. 
Damascus,  April  1903. 


t,%t  Locus  Classicus  for  f^e 
3nc<trn<tfion  ovcrfoofteb* 

Students  of  the  New  Testament  cannot   have 
failed  to  observe  that  Christology  in  the  Gospels 


presents  two  different  aspects  of  development. 
Whereas  the  Synoptists  start  from  ielow,  regarding 
Jesus  as  a  man,  and  follow  Him  through  the 
successive  stages  of  His  life  up  to  His  rise  to 
heavenly  glory  and  full  divinity,  the  Fourth  Gospel 
seems  to  start  from  adove,  by  representing  Jesus 
as  a  Divine  Being  possessing  and  manifesting,  at 
the  very  outset,  all  the  fulness  of  God  In  the 
Synoptists  Christ  is  regarded  as  a  man  in  whom 
God,  or  the  spirit  of  God,  dwells,  and  who,  after 
His  probation  on  earth,  is  raised  by  God  to 
heavenly  glory;  in  the  Fourth  Gospel  He  is  re- 
garded as  a  heavenly  Spiritual  Being,  the  highest 
after  God,  who  has  assumed  flesh,  and  who  after 
His  work  on  earth  returns  to  heaven.'  It  is  this 
latter  aspect  of  the  Incarnation  that  will  form  the 
subject  of  the  present  paper,  my  object  being  to 
examine  the  doctrine  and  adduce  what  1  believe  is 
a  new  and  important  passage  hitherto  overlooked. 

The  doctrine  of  the  Incarnation  is  indeed  im- 
plied through  the  whole  of  the  Fourth  Gospel 
^cf.  especially  ii*3'"-  6"- **'■**■  *^),  which  represents 
Jeaus  as  dwelling  on  earth  in  the  shape  of  a  human 
being  labouring  under  hunger  (4*-  ^'),  thirst  (4^-  • 
19**),  fatigue  (4*),  grief  (ii**),  fear  (12^),  hesitation 
(7*),  etc. ;  but  the  act  of  His  Incarnation,  i.e.  the 
act  by  which  the  spiritual  Christ  became  a  man,  is 
believed  to  underlie  i'*  '  and  the  Word  became 
flesh '  (koI  o  Adyw  (ri/>f  ^('v«to),  where  the  term 
IVordis  alleged  to  be  identical  with  that  contained 
in  the  opening  sentence  of  the  Gospel  (i^)  ;  'In 
the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  IVord  was 
with  God,  and  was  God.'  Again,  the  spiritual  pre- 
existence  or  pre-incarnate  state  of  Christ  is  not 
explicitly  stated,  but  we  are  left  to  infer  it  from 
certain  passages  {e.g.  i"-  '*  3'*-  '^  6^-  •*■  •*■  *•• 
w-Bi.M.Bi  ifiOT  jy»j  which,  in  some  cases,  defy 
grammar  and  sense  {cf.  17*-").  It  is  this  pre- 
incarnate  existence  of  Christ  and  the  act  of  His 
Incarnation  that  we  have  to  investigate  here. 

In  a  previous  article  published  in  the  Zeitschrift 
Jur  neuiestamentUche  H^issenscha/t  {February  rgoi) 
— of  which  article  The  Expository  Times  gave  a 
summary  and  a  review  in  last  March  and  December 
respectively — I  have  shown  that  the  Logos  in  the 
opening  sentences  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  does  not 

•  So  Hamack,  in  his  Histoty  of  Degma,  p.  i88f,,  sum- 
■Darned  l>y  Junes  Orr,  714*  Progress  of  Dogma,  p.  76. 


478 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


mean  the  Incarnate  Word  or  the  Son  of  God,  but 
that  it  echoes  the  cosmogonic  word  which  God, 
after  creating  heaven  and  earth,  uttered  in  calling 
the  world  into  existence.  I  further  showed  that 
the  language  employed  in  the  Prologue  of  the 
Fourth  Gospel  has  no  direct  bearing  on  Phllo's 
parallel  language,  but  that  both  he  and  the 
evangelist  had  in  view  the  same  historic  event, 
the  well-known  account  of  cosmogony  recorded  in 
the  Book  of  Genesis.  I  further  pointed  out  that 
the  unmistakable  coincidence  in  the  language 
used  by  the  evangelist  and  Philo  respectively  was 
due  to  the  identity  of  the  subject,  ftnd  that  while 
Fhtio  is  concerned  especially  or  exclusively  with 
the  whole  account  of  Genesis,  discoursing,  com- 
menting, and  speculating  upon  it  in  the  interest  of 
his  race,  the  evangelist,  being  little  concerned  with 
Jewish  beliefs  and  institutions,  considers  only  the 
opening  verses  of  Genesis  as  a  historic  event  well 
known  to  his  readers,  and  utilizes  it  as  a  suitable 
and  appropriate  introduction  to  his  subject 

Now  there  are  three  ways  of  reporting  a  story 
or  a  well-known  event  We  may  reproduce  it 
faithfully,  taking  it  in  a  literal  unse,  without  passing 
critical  comments  upon  it :  this  is  the  case  with 
the  writer  of  the  Book  of  Genesis  ; — then  we  may 
interpret  the  story  in  a  ipeculative  or  allegoric 
sense,  a  method  very  popular  in  Greco-Roman 
times,  especially  among  Neoplatonic  and  Judaso- 
Alexandrine  philosophers:  this  is  the  case  with 
Philo,  the  trained  Jewish  philosopher;  —  then, 
again,  we  may  interpret  the  story  in  a  godly  spirit 
or  in  a  spiritual  and  etki(ai  sense :  this  is  the  case 
with  the  writer  of  the  Fourth  Gospel,  who  inter- 
prets the  subject  of  cosmogony  in  a  spiritual  sense, 
and  so  attaches  a  spiritual  and  ethical  meaning  to 
the  language  of  the  story.  Hence  the  words  \6yw, 
■waina.  (Kmr/uis),  t'^t  ^^i  tkotio,  found  in  the 
exordium,  then  apriK,  rpotp^,  ^S<up,  Tonjp,  vids, 
d-yum},  voof,  and  many  other  terms  constantly 
recurring  in  the  Gospel,  are  used  in  a  spiritual  or 
metaphoric  sense.  It  is  in  this  spiritual  principle, 
then,  that  we  must  approach  the  Prologue  and  try 
to  disclose  its  true  purport.  Before  doing  so, 
however,  it  will  be  expedient  and  necessary  to 
clear  up  two  points  which  otherwise  would  impede 
our  investigation. 

Though  accepting  the  Old  Testament  'Scrip- 
ture '  in  a  sense,  our  evangelist  does  not  exhibit 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  its  contents.  He  even 
regards  the  system,  on  the  whole,  especially  as  in- 


terpreted by  the  Jews,  as  a  fallacy.  Accordingly, 
when  he  quotes  the  Old  Testament  Scripture, 
he  does  so  either  to  strengthen  some  particular 
argument  of  his,  such  as  the  Messiahsbip  of  Christ 


(cf.  I 


.  31.  5i» 


[2«TK   jjlSJ  .    Qj  j[,    Qfdct 


to  correct  or  even  disprove  it,  as  in  cases  referring 
to  Moses  (e.g.  1"  6"  j^). 

The  other  point  requiring  elucidauon  is  of  a 
grammatical  nature,  and  refers  to  i',  that  is,  to  the 
first  instance  introducing  the  account  about  John 
the  Baptist  '  There  was  (R.V.  came)  a  man  sent 
from  God  ;  his  name  was  John.'  The  Greek  text 
in  all  editions,  both  common  and  critical,  give  the 
reading  tyivtro  SvOpanrtK,  dimrroA/i^iK  n-apa  6*(A' 
ovofui  air<|t  'Iiady{v)rf^  True,  one  of  our  leading 
uncial  codices,  T>*,  for  0tov  reads  Kopimi,  but, 
even  if  adopted,  this  reading  would  not  materially 
affect  the  sense.  On  the  other  hand,  «•  D*,  our 
leading  authorities  of  the  so-called  Western  S-text, 
as  well  as  Irensus,  after  Gtov  (D*  Kvpiov)  insert  ijr, 
which  is  very  important,  especially  if  considered  in 
its  bearing  on  the  context.  For  in  the  first  place 
the  words  vapa  6€ov  undoubtedly  belong  not  to 
fywero,  SO  as  to  mean  'there  was  or  came  from 
God,'  a  construction  unanimously  rejected  by 
editors  and  critics ;  it  belongs  to  AmtrraXitifK, 
'sent  from  God.'  A^ain,  all  critics  are  agreed  that 
AvtaraX^uyoi  does  not  depend  upon  iyivtTo,  serving 
as  its  predicative  complement,^  but  that  it  stands 
by  itself.  Moreover,  this  participle  of  nmxrrciAn 
presents  two  points  of  interest  for  us,  in  that 
aToarOJua  is  more  formal,  '  to  despatch,  mission, 
delegate,' .than  W^n-u  'to  send';  and  then  that 
the  participle  dn-eoroX/iei'iK  acts  like  a  noun,  de- 
noting '  a  delegate,'  '  an  envoy,'  '  an  ambassador '  (i** 
3=8  9'  (cf.  5«),  Mt  23",  Lk  138^  19W  Ac  lo'-  1 1"). 
This  being  so,  dJTHmiAjuo'M  n-api  ftoC  means  'an 
envoy  from  God.'  As  to  the  other  two  words  pre- 
ceding, they  remain  isolated,  and  so  give  rise  to 
doubts  as  to  their  real  purport  and  function  in  the 
context.  Now  it  is  manifest  that  dv^fxaroc  cannot 
be  mistaken,  for  it  always  means  homo,  'a  human 
being,'  'a  person,'  'a  man,'  oftenwith  the  connotation 
of  insignificance :  '  somebody ' ;  but  the  case  of 
fycccTo  is  very  different   True,  the  A.V.  renders  it  by 

'  Such  a  combination,  ^y/wro  dTtffroX^/j'Dt,  which  wooM 
mean  '  a  man  became  an  envoy  or  delegate,'  and  so  could 
not  t>e  equivalent  to  i,vmi.\ii,  as  Chrysouom  wishes  it  lo 
be  taken,  has  no  parallel  (3",  Rev  i6"  are  irrelevant); 
hence  editon  and  eiposilon  arc  unanimoui  in  dissodadng 
ixtFtaisfiAwot  from  t-^rm>. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


479 


'amy,' but  this  'was'  is  a  mistiaiulation  of  the^iV 
of  the  Latin  versions,  and  corresponds  to  an  ^,  trot, 
bjt  not  to  lyivtTo,  which  means  futi  and  foetus  est. 
As  to  the  rendering  '  came '  of  the  R.V.,>  it  is  in- 
admissible, seeing  that  yivoixat  in  this  sense  {'  to 
come,'  'to  arise,'  '  to  appear ')  should  be  followed 
by  an  adverbial  complement  denoting  the  plate 
'*here'  or  'whence,'  as  iyivtro  tyyot,  fuutpai/,  iv, 
(K,  iri,  Kari,  irpot,  ix,  &ir6.^  Nor  could  we  main- 
tain for  a  moment  that  iyivtro  here  stands  for 
trwifii) :  '  a  man  came  to  pass,  happened,  occurred.' 
So  there  remains  only  the  alternative  of  talcing  the 
word  in  the  sense  of  faetus  est,  beca/ne,  was  made, 
its  commonest  and  most  natural  meaning.  But 
'  who  became '  and  '  what  became  he '  ?  Now  we 
readily  see  that  in  the  two  words  iyiVero  dv6p<jm<K 
the  nominative  ovSptairtK  cannot  be  the  subject, 
since  in  that  case  iyivtro  would  have  imoraXfUviK 
for  its  predicate,  a  construction  which,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  is  unanimously  and  justly  rejected 
by  all  editors  and  critics.  The  only  alternative 
left,  then,  is  to  read  iyivtro  orBpunro^  as  meaning 
'became  a  man.'  But  who  or  what  is  it  that 
'became  a  man'? 

Let  us  examine  more  closely  the  preceding 
account  and  language  of  the  Prologue,  always  bear- 
ing in  mind  the  principle  of  spiritual  interpretation 
upon  which  the  evangelist  goes.  Here  we  are  told 
that  God's  Word — itself  God — was  the  original 
author  of  all  things,  that  it  created  the  Life  and 
the  Light  of  manlcind,  but  that  darkness  having 
failed  to  understand  that  Light  .  .  .  it  beainte  a 
man :  Yes,  the  Light  became  a  Man  (avdpioro^), 
— evidently  to  interpret  or  reveal  the  true  Life  and 
Light,  that  divine  or '  spiritual '  creation  which  dark- 
ness or  ignorance  had  failed  to  comprehend.  But 
in  order  to  make  sure  of  our  interpretation  let 
us  read  the  Greek  text,  and  let  us  at  the  same  time 
emancipate  ourselves  from  the  current  punctuation 
and  verse  division  which  editors  have  introduced 
as  a  means  of  convenience,  though  in  very  many 
cases  also  as  a  means  of  confusion. 

k!v  ApxO  W  °  ^^oyK,  icai  o  Aoyos  ^v  Trpbi  Toy  0toy 

KQt  flok   ^l".         O  koytK  oEtM  ^  iv  dpXB   TTpOi   TOV  Btov. 

miiTa  V  airou  iyivtro  koI  xuipU  avrov  iyivtro  aiSi 

'  lo  this  rendering  of  ifiitro  b;  camt,  tlie  Revisers  were 
appucDtlj  milled  by  the  succeeding  aSrof  i^ltv;  but  this 
V^JIt*  obviously  refers  lo  drnrraX^i^rM :  h&viog  been  stHl, 

*  Lk  I* :  iytrrro  irtpuwat  .  .  .  ti  ti^/uplat  'A^Io,  ii . 
ineleritit. 


tr.  i  yiyavtv  iv  air^,^  (taif  ^,  koi  i;  inn)  ^v  ro  ^us  tui' 
ivSpivxuv.  lau  TO  ^«K  iy  fg  trKorif  ipoivti,  koX  ^  axoTia 
aVrro  '  ov  KoriXafity ;  iyivtro  oyOparmK, 

' AvarraXniytK  rapa  6tov  fyf  *  Syo/ta  avr^  'Ioku^s. 

'  /»  tie  beginning  was  the  Word  (i.e.  the  cosmo- 
gonic  oracle  which  God  uttered  in  creating  the 
world),  and  that  Word  was  with  God  and  so 
was  a  God  (i.e.  itself  of  the  nature  of  God).  // 
was  this  Word{i.e.  not  the  literal  word  as  recorded 
and  understood  in  the  O.T.,  but  the  divine  or 
spiritual  Word)  that  was  in  the  beginning  with 
God.  Alt  things  (i.e,  the  world  in  a  spiritual 
sense,  cf.  v.^*)  came  into  deing  through  it  {i.e. 
through  the  divine  Word),  and  without  it  not  a 
thing  came  into  being.  That  which  came  into  being 
thereby  {i.e.  whatsoever  was  created  by  the  said 
Word) '  was  (not  matter,  but)  Life,  and  this  Life 
was  the  Light  of  men.  Now  is  the  Light  shining  in 
the  darkness,  and  hath  darkness  failed  to  apprehend 
it  f  •  it  became  a  man. 

'  There  was  an  envoy  from  God ;  his  name  was 

If  this  interpretation  and  exposition  of  the  Pro- 
logue reflect  the  true  meaning  and  purport  of  the 
evangelist,  many  new  points  come  to  light  and 
deserve  consideration.  Thus  (a)  the  openii^ 
Aoyot  appears  once  more,  beyond  all  reasonable 
doubt,  to  echo  the  weliknown  oracular  word  which, 
according  to  Gn  i*"-,  God  uttered  (nine  times)  in 
creating  the  world;  if  this  Xoyot  referred  to  the 
Person  of  Christ  as  the  pre-existent  Son  of  God, 
the  evangelist  would  have  used  the  term  vi6%. 

{b)   v.*  h   \6yOt  ouTOs  5c   iv   i.py^    irpw  T^v   Stov 

is  not,  as  commonly  and  conveniently  assumed,  a 
tautology,  nor  an  emphatic  repetition  of  v.*,  nor 
a  combination  of  the  two  sentences  contained  in 

'  Codex  H  has  awrov,  similitly  ibe  Ltttin  e  ff  (lucem)  tarn  ; 
so,  further.  Theodoli  excerpla,  §  8  (a/i.  Clem.  Alex.  969) :  lol 
il  motJo  afrrJv  oi  taUXapir,  then  Clem.  Alei.  Faed.  i.  6,  iS 
(p.  115]:  col  tA  (r«A7-n  a.<niv  oil  laraXa^i^dvci,  and  ii.  9,  7S 
(p.  ZlS)  :  xal  4  BKorla.  a.<nhv  oii  Ko.TB.\a^^ini  (but  not  ii. 
10,  99  [p.  219] ;  «ol  ii  SKinlii,  ijijolf,  atrl  ai  iroTBXo^df«) ; 
then  Ephraem  Syr.  5  ;  et  hae  lux  in  tenebris  lucebat,  ei 
tenebrae  lam  non  vicerunl. 

*  So  with  K*  D*  and  Irenaeus. 

"  Here  iir  air^  belongs  to  the  pteccding  yiyem,  not  lo 
the  following  words ;  the  latter  construction  would  imply 
that  '  whatsoever  was  created  contained  life,'  but  the  author 
insists  on  the  \lrim  as  the  creative  agent. 

*  Question  and  answer,  a  mode  of  discourse  and  narrative 
very  &vourite  with  the  evangelist,  as  may  be  seen  through- 
out the  Gospel,  and  will  be  more  amply  illustrated  in  my 
forthconuDg  edition  of  St.  John't  Getffl  and  BfistUs. 


48o 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


v.i ;  it  is  a  pointed  allusion  to  Gn  i^'-,  that  is,  to 
its  literal  and  earthly  interpretation,  and  so  serves 
to  correct  that  misinterpretation,  on  the  part  of 
the  Jews,  by  emphasizing  the  spiritual  nature  of 
the  divine  Word  in  question. 

(f)  The  spiritual  Life  and  Light,  having  been 
misapprehended  (ov  KariAa/3(v)  by  darkness  ot 
ignorant  mankind,  assumed  the  shape  of  a  man 
in  order  to  interpret  or  reveal  to  men  the  true 
meaning  of  God's  word  or  doctrine. 

(i^  The  loms  elassieus  for  the  Incarnation, 
especially  for  the  aet  of  the  Incarnation,  is  con- 
tained in  the  Pro1og;ue  i'  lyifm  SvOpiawK.  Cp. 
Phil     3^     iy     i/jLOVitfLan     drtpthntw     ycr^iicrat     kq! 

(e)  As  to  l'*  Koi  o  AdyM  vop(  fyfvcro,  'and  the 
Word  became  {cr  was  made)  Hesb,'  I  still  maintain 
that  it  has  no  connexion  with  the  opening  koyot 
in  i',  but  that  it  refers  to  the  immediately  preced- 
ing iiawria,  to  the  authority  or  mandate  given  to 
those  who  had  received  Him  {i.e.  to  His  disciples) 
to    become    (dutiful)    children,  i.e.    servants    or 


apostles  on  behalf  of  those  who  had  believed  in 
Him,  so  that  the  passage  alludes  to  the  mission 
received  by  the  tpostles  (20°';  cp.  l^^).  Hence 
it  is  not  the  >>oy<K  but  the  Life  or  Light  that 
became  roan.  This  being  so,  the  passage  1" 
Koi  o  \6yw  tfopi  iyivtro  does  not  refer  to  the  act  of 
the  Incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God,  (1)  becatue 
the  Incarnation  is  already  implied  in  i"-  'the 
true  light  which  lighteth  every  man,  as  it  comedi 
into  the  world,  was  (i.e.  had  been)  in  the  word, 
yea,  the  world  had  been  made  by  Hira,  albeit  the 
world  knew  Him  not ' ;  (z)  because  neither  Jecni 
ever  assumes  the  title  Aoyoe,  nor  does  the  evange- 
list ever  designate  Him  by  that  epithet ;  (3)  be- 
cause, even  assuming  that  the  X6y<K  meant  the 
'  Son  of  God,'  it  would  be  strange  indeed  that  He 
who  is  and  calls  Himself  the  Zi/e  (17  £019,  6^  14*; 
cp.  I*,  Col  3*)  should  enter  the  world  not  as 
living  S.v$piinroi  but  as  <rap(,  as  '  lifeless  tl»h,'  that 
very  '  flesh '  which  He  so  often  and  so  strongly 
decries. 

A.  N.  Jannaris. 


3n<<it  %t\&. 


The  theft  of  the  leaf  of  the  great  Sinaitic  Pal- 
impsest, made  public  in  The  Expository  Times 
last  month,  has  necessarily  attracted  wide  attention. 
Some  time  must  elapse  before  the  fact  can  become 
known  everywhere.  It  is  interesting,  however, 
to  know  that  by  the  natural  circulation  of  the 
magazine  the  news  will  be  carried  throughout  the 
world.  Mrs.  Lewis  says  that  she  sent  word  of 
the  then  to  us,  because  she  found  that  The 
Expository  Times  was  read,  not  only  on  the 
continent  of  Europe,  but  even  in  the  East.  She 
came  upon  two  Dominican  monks  at  Sinai  itself 
who  were  reading  it. 


Mr.  Box  hopes  that,  when  the  English  transla- 
tion of  Dalraan's  Die  Worte  Jesu  appears,  the 
present  scandalous  neglect  of  Jewish  antiquities 
will  cease.  Well,  the  translation  has  been  pub- 
lished. It  is  made  by  Professor  Kay,  recently 
appointed  to  the  Chair  of  Hebrew  in  St.  Andrews. 
It  is  published  by  Messrs.  T.  &  T.  Clark  (7T4« 
Words  of  Jesus,  7s.  6d.  net).  It  comes  too  late  for 
review  this  month,  but  it  is  a  book  that  has  not 
to  wait  on  the  opinion  of  reviewers. 

Another  great  book  comes  loo  late  this  month. 
It    is    Fairbairn's    Philosophy    of  the    Christian 


Religion  (Hodder  &  Stoughton).  It  is  not  to 
be  dealt  with  as  Dalman.  Reference  roust  be 
quotation.  The  words  belong  to  the  thought. 
And  quotation  is  impossible.  Every  thought 
belongs  to  the  whole  argument.  We  shall  do  our 
best  with  it,  but  there  is  only  one  review  that  will 
serve  any  good  purpose,  the  review  that  sends  its 
readers  to  the  book. 


One  of  the  reviewers  of  the  fourth  volume  of  the 
Dictionary  of  the  Bible  includes  Professor  Mai 
Miiller  among  the  authors  who  have  died  since  the 
work  began.  But  there  were  two  Max  MuUers. 
The  Max  Miiller  of  the  Chips  is  dead.  But  Mai 
Miiller  of  Philadelphia,  the  author  of  Asien  ttnj 
Europa,  the  great  authority  on  Eastern  Geography, 
is  happily  with  us  slill.  The  Max  Miiller  who  is 
dead  wrote  nothing  in  the  Di  nary  of  the  Biile. 
That  was  not  his  line. 


Printed  br  MoaalBON  h  Giai  LtuiraD,  Tufield  Wotki, 
and  Pnbliihed  by  T.  &  T.  CLARK,  38  Georee  Sttert. 
Ediobarefa.  It  it  reqocited  that  all  litem;  «eb- 
atniiicatioiu  be  addnned  to  Trk  EorrOK,  St.  Cyn&, 

Montrose. 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


aXotte   of  (Recent   ^jcpoeiiion. 


There  are  two  directions  in  which  the  study  of 
the  New  Testament  promises  the  freshest  results 
at  present.  The  one  is  the  discovery  and  de- 
cipherment of  papyri  and  inscriptions.  It  is  best 
represented  by  Deissmann's  Bi&le  Studies.  The 
other  is  investigation  into  the  language  chiefly 
spoken  in  Palestine  in  the  time  of  Christ.  It  is 
made  most  accessible  in  Dalman's  Words  of  Jesus. 

Dalman's  Words  of  Jesus  has  just  appeared  in 
an  excellent  English  translation.  It  is  noticed 
on  another  page.  Here  we  shall  be  content  to 
touch  on  the  interpretation  of  a  single  New 
Testament  sentence. 

It  is  the  statement  in  St.  Luke  17**,  'Behold, 
the  kingdom  of  God  is  within  you.'  That  is  the 
translation  of  the  Authorized  Version.  It  is  re- 
tained in  the  Revised  Version.  But  there  is  doubt 
in  both.  The  margin  of  the  Authorized  Version 
reads,  '  Behold,  the  kingdom  of  God  is  among 
you,'  and  the  margin  of  the  Revised  Version  '  in 
the  midst  of  you.'  The  question  is  whether  it 
should  be  '  within  you '  or  '  among  you,'  and  it  is 
a  question  that  is  much  debated. 

The  words  used  by  St.  Luke  (ivriK!  vpMiv)  may 

mean  either.     But  when  be  expresses   'among' 

elsewhere,  he  always  uses  another  phrase  {tv  itiaif, 

Lk  3«  8T  10*  a2«T-M  J43«,  Ac  1"  a"  27").     The 

Vol.  XIII.— 1 1 


probability,  therefore,  is  that  here  the  meaning  is 
'within  you.'  Again,  the  contrast  is  with  the 
words  '  with  observation ' — '  the  kingdom  of  God 
Cometh  not  with  observation'  (17**).  Now,  says 
Dalman,  the  complete  negation  of 'with  observa- 
tion' is  not  'among  you,'  but  'within  you,'  'in 
the  secrecy  of  the  heart.'  And  so  he  would 
not  disapprove  of  Ephrem's  rendering,  'in  your 
heart,*  though  it  is  rather  a  paraphrase  than  a 
translation. 

But  the  words  were  addressed  to  the  Pharisees. 
How  could  it  be  said  that  the  kingdom  of  God 
was  in  the  Pharisees'  heart?  Dalman  replies 
that  the  words,  'then  is  the  kingdom  of  God 
come  upon  you,'  in  Lk  11^  were  also  addressed 
to  the  Pharisees ;  and  these  words  were  spoken 
when  the  Pharisees  had  obstinately  refused  to 
recognize  the  claims  of  Jesus.  It  was  to  the 
general  company  of  His  hearers  that  our  Lord 
said,  '  The  kingdom  of  God  is  within  you,'  He 
thought  of  the  seed  of  the  word.  It  is  always 
sown  in  the  heart.  Some  hearts  may  be  too  hard 
or  too  shallow  to  admit  it  or  retain  it  But  when 
it  is  retained  it  germinates  silently,  secretly.  One 
is  brought  within  the  kingdom,  and  another,  and 
another.  The  kingdom  of  God  comes.  And  it  is 
all '  without  observation.' 


I,. 


Professor  Dalman  has  published  through  Messrs. 


48» 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


A.  &  C  Black  the  facsimile  of  a  letter  which  he 
describes  as,  'apart  from  a  letter  from  Rome  to 
the  FayQm,  the  oldest  original  letter  that  has  so 
far  been  transmitted  to  us  from  the  hand  of  a 
Christian.' 

During  one  of  the  fierce  Roman  persecutions 
a  woman  named  Politike  '  stood  before  one  of  the 
highest  officials  in  the  kingdom.'  She  was  charged 
with  being  a  Christian,  and  confessed  the  crims. 
Two  courses  of  action  were  set  before  her.  If 
she  offered  sacrifice  to  the  Genius  of  the  Emperor, 
she  was  set  at  liberty.  If  she  refused,  her 
possessions  were  confiscated  and  she  was  sent 
into  banishment  Consent  was  the  act  of  a 
moment.  Refusal  was  a  lifelong  misery*.  And 
for  Politike  it  was  the  harder  that  it  meant 
separation  from  her  dear  son  Neilos.  But  what 
help  is  it  to  a  woman  if  she  keep  the  whole  world 
and  harm  her  own  soul  ?  She  refused  to  sacri- 
fice; she  forsook  her  child  for  His  name's  sake, 
and  was  sent  into  the  Great  Oasis. 

'  They  reach  Syene,  take  a  hurried  farewell  of 
the  eternal  river, — the  river  Politike  loved  so  well 
that  her  son  was  named  after  it, — and  then  a  little 
caravan  moves  westwards  into  the  barren  land, 
the  bare  tops  of  whose  hills  are  traced  in  sharp 
outlines  in  the  evening  sky — the  desert !  The 
desert  with  its  parching  heat  and  bleaching  bones, 
unfolding  a  tale  of  robbers,  murder,  and  the 
malice  of  demons!  And  what,  forsooth,  will 
happen  when,  all  these  terrors  passed,  they  arrive 
at  the  Oasis?'  Six  times  the  sun  rose  and  set. 
The  tortures  of  the  desert  were  becoming  in- 
tolerable. Outlines  of  buildings  and  trees  began 
to  appear  on  the  horizon.  They  reached  at  last 
the  city  of  Kysis.  The  soldiers  made  their  report 
to  the  captain  of  the  castle.  Politike  was  set 
free.  She  might  go  wherever  she  pleased — alone, 
like  the  scapegoat  in  the  wilderness. 

A  man  approached.  He  had  been  waiting  till 
she  should  be  set  at  liberty.  She  shrank  from 
him.     He  uttered  the  name  of  Jesus — 


How  sweet  thi 
In  a  believe 

It  soothes  his 
And  drives  i 


rows,  heals  his  wounds, 
y  his  fear. 


We  sing  that  lightly;  Politike  felt  it.  In  a  little 
time  she  was  among  friends,  cared  for  and  com- 
forted. She  was  sent  further  inland  for  greater 
security,  and  an  effort  was  set  on  foot  to  bring 
her  son  Neilos  to  her. 

She  was  sent  further  inland  to  one  Pscnosiris. 
When  she  arrived,  Psenosiris  wrote  a  letter  to  his 
friend  and  brother-presbyter  ApoUon,  who  had 
spoken  to  Politike  that  day  she  arrived  in  Kysis. 
This  is  the  letter— 

'  From  Psenosiris  the  Ptesbyter  lo  Apollon 
(he  Piesbyter,  his  beloved  twother 

in  the  Lord,  Gieeting  ! 
Above  all  I  salute  ibee  often- 
times,  and  all  the  brethren  that  are 
with  thee  in  God.     I  would  have  thee 
know,  brother,  that  the  grave-d^gert 
here  into  the  inner  part 
have  brought  Polilike,  who  was 
sent  into  the  Oasis  by  the 
government.     And  her  have  I 
forthwith  given  over  to  the  care  of 
ihe  good  and  faithful  among 
the  giave-diggeis,  nntil  (hat 
her  son  Neilos  be  come.    And 
when  be  hath  come  with  God, 
he  will  bear  thee  witness  of 
all  that  they  have  done  to 
her.     Do  thou  also  on  Ihy  part 
make  known  to  me  what  thou  dost  wish 
done  here.     I  will  do  it  gladly. 

I  wish  thee  welfare 
in  the  Lord  God.' 

It  is  a  slip  of  papyrus.    On  the  one  side  is  that 

letter.    On  the  other  this  address — 
To  Apollon       y.   from  Psenosiris 
the  Presbyter    x   the  Presbyter  in  the  Lord. 

It  is  a  simple  letter  enough,  tt  has  to  do  with 
simple  folk.  But  it  is  an  original  source  for  the 
history  of  the  Chrislian  Church.  Now  'the 
further  back  into  the  past  we  transport  ourselves, 
the  more  scanty  do  such  sources  become,  the 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


483 


moTC  carefully  must  every  relic  of  the  culture 
of  that  time  be  turned  to  the  best  advantage  for 
the  purpose  we  have  in  view.  It  is  in  this  way 
that  we  accumulate,  by  quiet,  unassuming  work — 
work  removed  from  the  straggle  for  law  and 
orthodoxy — the  foundation-stones  for  a  history  of 
the  Church,  not  indeed  of  the  official  Church, 
often  rather  of  the  unofficial,  yet  always  of  the 
Church,  if  we  mean  by  it  Christianity, — proofs  of 
its  elasticity,  of  its  inexhaustible  power  of  adapt- 
ing itself,  of  transforming  itself,  of  bending  to 
the  lowly  and  of  ennobling  the  commonplace.' 
Professor  Dalman  quotes  those  words  from  Dr. 
Jiilicher,  the  Rector  of  the  University  of  Mar- 
burg, They  give  the  reason  why  he  writes  so 
much    and    so   carefully    on   The   Epistle   of 

PSENOSIRIS. 


Mr.  J.  R.  Wilkinson,  M.A.,  formerly  Scholar  of 
Worcester  College,  Oxford,  believes  that  he  has 
discovered  A  fehannine  Document  in  the  first 
Chapter  of  St.  Lukis  Gospel,  and  upder  that  title 
he  has  published  a  thin  octavo  through  Messrs. 
Luzac,  in  which  he  tells  the  whole  story.  It  is  a 
story  of  gospel  criticism,  always  acute  but  not 
always  convincing,  and  the  reader  must  go  to  Mr. 
Wilkinson's  book  for  it.  Here  it  is  enough  to 
notice  an  incident  in  the  progress  of  the  dis- 
section.   

The  chief  value  of  Mr.  Wilkinson's  discovery  is 
perhaps  the  search  which  it  sent  bim  to  make  into 
the  evidence  for  the  existence  of  John  the  Baptist's 
disciples  in  Palestine  after  our  Lord's  resurrection. 
For  it  is  to  be  observed  that  when  he  speaks  of  a 
'Johannine  document'  Mr.  Wilkinson  means  a 
document  having  to  do  with  the  party  of  John  the 
Baptist  The  evidence  for  the  existence  of  such 
a  party  is  not  plentiful,  but  Mr.  Wilkinson  be- 
lieves that  it  exists  and  is  sufficient  That  after 
the  imprisonment  of  their  master  and  during  the 
ministry  of  our  Lord  the  disciples  of  John  held 
together,  is  shown  by  the  reference  to  them  on 
the  subject  of  fasting  {Mk  t^^  and  parallels). 


But  if  they  held  together  during  Christ's 
ministry,  His  cracifixion  was  not  likely  to  disperse 
them.  The  crucifixion  of  the  Messiah  was  a 
stumbling-block  to  the  Jews  in  general,  how  much 
more  to  the  ardent  disciples  of  John  the  Baptist. 
No  doubt,  in  opposition  to  other  Jews  they  and 
the  disciples  of  Jesus  bad  much  in  common.  Each 
party  made  the  immediate  approach  of  the 
Messianic  kingdom  the  chief  anicle  of  their 
faith,  each  urged  the  supreme  importance  of 
repenunce  and  change  of  heart,  each  laid  sUcss 
on  moral  goodness  and  depreciated  the  saving 
efficacy  of  Jewish  privileges,  each  acknowledged 
John  the  Baptist  to  be  a  prophet.  They  agreed 
in  almost  everything.  In  one  thing  only  did 
they  differ.  But  it  was  the  vital  thing.  John's 
disciples  could  not  accept  Jesus  as  the  Messiah. 
They  could  not  reckon  Him  so  great  as  their  own 
roaster,  from  whom  He  had  been  glad  to  receive 
baptism.  One  thing,  but  it  was  the  vital  thing, — 
they  rejected  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus,  and  the 
crucifixion  was  not  likely  to  induce  them  to 
recognize  it 

Mr.  Wilkinson  believes  that  in  the  early  days 
of  the  primitive  Church  the  disciples  of  John  ex- 
tended far  beyond  the  bounds  of  Palestine.  In 
the  city  of  Ephesus  there  were  found  both  Chris- 
tians and  Johannines.  They  do  not  seem  to 
have  been  actively  hostile,  though  they  were  dis- 
tinct When  Paul  came  upon  some  twelve  of 
the  Johannine  sect  together,  and  put  to  them  the 
question,  '  Did  ye  receive  the  Holy  Ghost  when 
ye  believed?'  they  answered  in  all  sincerity  that 
they  had  not  heard  that  the  Messianic  gift  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  had  yet  been  poured  forth.  Another 
reading  of  their  answer  is,  that  they  had  not  so 
much  as  beard  of  the  existence  of  a  Holy  Ghost. 
But  Mr.  Wilkinson  thmks  that  is  too  much  to  believe 
of  any  disciple  either  of  Jesus  or  of  John.  What 
they  said  in-  effect  was  that  they  did  not  know 
that  the  Holy  Ghost  had  been  poured  out  in 
recognition  of  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus.  When 
they  were  led  by  Paul's  words  to  believe  that  this 
evidence  of   the   Messiahship  of  Jesus  was   in 


484 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


existence  and  could  be  furnished  them,  they 
believed,  and  were  baptized  into  the  nanae  a{ 
Jesus.  And  when  Paul  laid  bis  hands  on  them, 
they  also  received  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Apart  from  those  twelve,  however,  and  in  an 
earlier  narrative,  one  of  John's  disciples  is  given 
by  name.  His  name  was  Apollos.  That  Apollos 
was  a  member  of  the  Johannine  sect  is  evident, 
Mr.  Wilkinson  holds,  from  the  statement  that  he 
'knew  only  the  baptism  of  John'  (Ac  18").  And 
he  thinks  that  when  Priscilla  and  Aquila  'took 
him  unto  them  and  expounded  unto  him  the  way 
of  God  more  perfectly,'  what  they  did  was  to  carry 
him  further  than  yet  he  had  been  able  to  go, 
until  he  acknowledged  Jesus  to  be  the  Messiah. 

There  is  certainly  a  somewhat  serious  difficulty. 
For,  in  the  same  sentence  in  which  it  is  stated 
that  Apollos  knew  only  the  baptism  of  John,  it 
is  also  stated  that  he  'taught  carefully  the  things 
concerning  Jesus.'  Mr.  Wilkinson  has  no  way 
with  this  difficulty  but  the  drastic  way.  It  is  an 
interpolation.  But  he  is  not  alone  in  thinking 
so.  Jiingst  and  Spitta  have  called  it  an  inter- 
polation before  him.  Well,  if  that  statement  ii 
out  of  the  way,  the  course  is  clear.  Apollos  was 
a  Johannine;  he  was  likely  to  be  a  tower  of 
strength  to  the  sect;  but,  being  brought  to  the 
Lord  by  the  instrumentality  of  Priscilla  and  her 
husband,  it  was  almost  worth  placing  his  con- 
version by  the  side  of  that  of  Paul  himself.  And 
when  Apollos  found  it  advisable  to  leave  Ephesus 
(as  Paul  had  had  to  leave  Damascus)  after  his 
conversion,  the  Christians  in  Ephesus  encouraged 
him,  and  wrote  to  the  brethren  in  Achaia  to 
receive  him.         

'  God  has  two  families  of  children  on  this  earth, 
says  Francis  W.  Newman,  '  iAe  Diue-dom  and  tie 
twice-born.'  If  we  are  familiar  with  our  Lord's 
conversation  with  Nicodemus,  and  with  the  theo- 
logy that  has  sprung  from  it,  we  understand  at 
once  that  all  are  bom  once  into  this  world,  that 
all  ought  to  be  born  again,  but  some  refuse  or  are 


rejected;  and  so  we  say,  Ves,  there  are  the  two 
classes  of  God's  creatures,  the  once-bom  and  the 
twice-born.  We  understand  what  Francis  New 
man  means. 

But  that  is  not  what  he  means.  What  he  means 
is  that  we  are  all  God's  children,  but  some  of  us 
think  that  we  are  not  God's  children  until  we  are 
'bom  again,'  and  so  we  agonize  till  we  have 
passed  through  that  experience.  We  are  no 
better,  however,  and  we  may  be  much  worse, 
than  those  who  accept  their  sonship  by  natuie 
without  agony.  There  are  the  once-bom  and 
there  are  the  twice-born,  and — well,  it  is  better 
to  let  Newman  describe  the  once-born  and  wc 
shall  understand. 

The  once-born,  says  Newman  {TTie  Soul,  3nl 
ed.,  1853,  pp.  89,  91),  'see  God,  not  as  a  strict 
Judge,  not  as  a  glorious  Potenute;  but  as  the 
animating  Spirit  of  a  beautiful,  harmonious  world, 
Beneficent  and  Kind,  Merciful  as  well  as  Pure. 
The  childlike  quality  of  their  nature  makes  the 
opening  of  religion  very  happy  to  them :  for  they 
no  more  shrink  from  God,  than  a  child  from  in 
Emperor,  before  whom  the  parent  trembles.  They 
read  his  character,  not  in  the  disordered  world  of 
man,  but  in  romantic  and  harmonious  nature.  Of 
human  sin  they  know  perhaps  little  in  their  own 
hearts  and  not  very  much  in  the  world;  and 
human  suffering  does  but  melt  them  to  tenderness. 
Thus,  when  they  approach  God,  no  inward  dis- 
turbance ensues;  and  without  being  as  yet 
spiritual,  they  have  a  certain  complacency  and 
perhaps  romantic  sense  of  excitement  in  their 
simple  worship.' 

Is  this  religion?  Professor  William  James  of 
Harvard  seems  to  think  it  is.  He  calls  it  'the 
Religion  of  Healthy-Mindedness.'  Professor  James 
delivered  the  Gifford  Lectures  on  Natural  Religion 
before  the  University  of  Edinburgh  during  the 
session  1901-1901.  He  has  now  published  them 
through  Messrs.  Longman  under  the  title  of  The 
Varieties  of  Religious  Experience.    They  have  be«l 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


485 


somewhat  condensed  for  publication.  Neverthe- 
less, the  volume  offers  a  generous  page  to  the 
Teader,  and  we  shall  not  run  any  risk  when  we 
prophesy  that  this  will  have  the  widest  circulation 
of  all  the  volumes  on  the  Gifford  foundation  that 
have  yet  been  published. 

Well,  it  is  Professor  James  that  makes  the 
quoution  from  Francis  Newman.  And,  as  we 
have  said,  he  seems  to  agree  vrith  Newman  that 
the  once-bom  are  really  religious,  for  he  describes 
them  throughout  a  whole  chapter,  to  which  he 
gives  the  title  of  'the  Religion  of  Healthy- 
Mindedness.' 

It  is  easier  for  Professor  James  to  class  'the 
healthy-minded '  as  religious  than  for  some  of  us, 
because  he  is  a  psychologist,  and  not  a  theol(%ian. 
As  a  psycholf^ist  he  concerns  himself  only  with 
phenomena,  that  is,  religions  which  show  the 
signs  of  religion.  And  the  signs  of  religion 
being  'to  do  justly,  love  mercy,  and  walk  humbly 
with  one's  God,'  it  is  quite  within  the  power  of 
Professor  James  to  call  the  healthy  -  minded 
religious,  and  proceed  to  olTer  us  examples  of 
them. 

He  says  that  Emerson  is  an  admirable  example 
of  the  healthy-minded  in  religion.  Theodore 
Parker  is  another.  He  quotes  two  passages  from 
Theodore  Parker's  writings.  This  is  part  of  one 
of  them :  '  I  have  done  wrong  things  enough  in 
my  life,  and  do  them  now ;  I  miss  the  mark,  draw 
bow,  and  try  again.  But  I  am  not  conscious  of 
hating  God,  or  man,  or  right,  or  love,  and  I  know 
there  is  much  "  health  in  me  " ;  and  in  my  body, 
even  now,  there  dwelleth  many  a  good  thing, 
spite  of  consumption  and  Saint  Paul.' 

That  is  well  enough.  But  a  still  better  example 
is  Dr.  Edward  Everett  Hale,  the  eminent  Uni- 
tarian preacher  and  writer.  Many  of  Professor 
James's  examples  are  taken  from  MSS  belonging 
to  Professor  Starbuck  of  Stamford  University,  who 
sent  certain  questions  on  the  subject  of  personal 


religion,  to  many  and  various  individuals,  and 
received  many  and  various  replies.  It  was  to  one 
of  Dr.  Starbuck's  circulars  that  Dr.  Hale  replied 
and  said:  'I  observe,  with  profound  regret,  the 
religious  stru^les  which  come  into  many  bio- 
graphies, as  if  almost  essential  to  the  formation 
of  the  hero.  I  ought  to  speak  of  these,  to  say 
that  any  man  has  an  advantage,  not  to  be  esti- 
mated, who  is  bom,  as  I  was,  into  a  family  where 
the  religion  is  simple  and  rational ;  who  is  trained 
in  the  theory  of  such  a  religion,  so  that  he  never 
knows,  for  one  hour,  what  these  religious  or 
irreligious  struggles  are.  I  always  knew  God 
loved  me,  and  I  was  always  grateful  to  him  for 
the  world  he  placed  me  in.  I  always  liked  to  tell 
bim  so,  and  was  always  glad  to  receive  his  sugges- 
tions to  me.  I  can  remember  perfectly  that,  when 
I  was  coming  to  manhood,  the  half-philosophical 
novels  of  the  time  had  a  deal  to  say  about  the 
young  men  and  maidens  who  were  facing  "the 
problem  of  life."  I  had  no  idea  whatever  what 
the  problem  of  life  was.  To  live  with  all  my 
might  seemed  to  me  easy ;  to  learn  where  there 
was  so  much  to  leam  seemed  pleasant  and  almost 
of  course ;  to  lend  a  hand,  if  one  had  a  chance, 
natural ;  and  if  one  did  this,  why,  he  enjoyed  life 
because  he  could  not  help  it,  and  without  proving 
to  himself  that  he  ought  to  enjoy  it.  A  child  who 
is  early  taught  that  he  is  God's  child,  that  he  may 
live  and  move  and  have  his  being  in  God,  and 
that  he  has  therefore  infinite  strength  at  hand  for 
the  conquering  of  any  difficulty,  will  take  life  more 
easily,  and  probably  will  make  more  of  it,  than 
one  who  is  told  that  he  is  born  the  child  of  wrath 
and  wholly  incapable  of  good.' 

Those  men  are  religious.  More  than  that,  they 
have  at  least  a  nominal  connexion  with  Chris- 
tianity. But  there  are  others.  For  '  in  that  theory 
of  evolution  which,  gathering  momentum  for  a 
century,  has  within  the  past  twenty-five  years 
swept  so  rapidly  over  Europe  and  America,  we 
see  the  ground  laid  for  a  new  sort  of  religion  of 
Nature,  which  has  entirely  displaced  Christianity 
from  the  thought  of  a  large  part  of  our  genera- 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


tion,'  Professor  James,  as  usual,  gives  an  example. 
He  takes  it  from  Dr.  Starbuck's  collection.  In 
this  case  he  gives  the  questions  as  well  as  the 
answers. 

First  question —  What  does  Religion  mean  to  you  f^ 
Answer — '  It  means  nothing ;  and  it  seems,  so  far 
as  I  can  observe,  useless  to  others.  I  am  sixty- 
seven  years  of  age,  and  have  resided  in  X.  fifty 
years,  and  have  been  in  business  forty-five,  con- 
sequently I  have  some  little  experience  of  life  and 
men,  and  some  women  too,  and  I  find  that  the 
most  religious  and  pious  people  are,  as  a  rule, 
those  most  lacking  in  uprightness  and  morality. 
The  men  who  do  not  go  to  church  or  have  any 
religious  convictions  are  the  best.  Praying,  sing- 
ing of  hymns,  and  sermonizing  are  pernicious — 
they  teach  us  to  rely  on  some  supernatural  power, 
when  we  ought  to  rely  on  ourselves.  I  /eftotally 
disbelieve  in  a  God.  ...  As  a  timepiece  stops, 
we  die — there  being  no  immortality  in  either  case.' 

The  second  question  was — Wkat  comes  before 
your  mind  corresponding  to  the  words,  God,  Heaven, 
Angels,  etc.  i  The  answer  is— 'Nothing  whatever. 
I  am  a  man  without  a  religion.  These  words 
mean  so  much  mythic  bosh.'  Question  three — 
Have  you  had  any  experiences  which  appeared  pro- 
videntiali  Answer — 'None  whatever.  There  is 
no  agency  of  the  superintending  kind.  A  little 
judicious  observation  as  well  as  knowledge  of 
scientific  law  will  convince  any  one  of  this  fact.' 
Two  questions  follow,  and  then  comes —  iVhat  is 
your  temperament  1  To  which  the  answer  is — 
'  Nervous,  active,  wide-awake,  mentally  and  physic- 
ally ;  sort;  that  Nature  compeb  us  to  sleep  at  all.' 

'  If  we  are  in  search  of  a  broken  and  contrite 
heart,'  says  Professor  James,  'clearly  we  need  not 
look  to  this  brother.'  No.  But  is  he  religious? 
Professor  James  apparently  thinks  he  is.  He  says 
that  his  '  slate  of  mind  may  by  courtesy  be  called 
a  religion,  for  it  is  his  reaction  upon  the  whole 
nature  of  things,  it  is  systematic  and  reflective, 
and  it  loyally  binds  him  to  certain  inner  ideals.' 


Professor  James  seems  driven  to  acknowledge  his 
religion.  For  if  his  own  word  may  be  taken  lot 
it,  he  manifests  the  fruits  of  religion  in  his  life.  So 
the  question  arises — Is  this  person  one  of  'the 
healthy-minded'  in  religion?  Is  he  one  of  the 
once-born  ?  And  are  all  the  once-born,  including 
such  an  one  as  this,  who  expects  the  same  im- 
mortality as  a  timepiece,  really  heirs  of  eternal 
life?  

This  question  is  the  question  of  questions  for 
us  to-day.  Other  difficulties  will  wait,  this  one 
must  be  settled.  The  '  sick  souls '  are  not  too 
welt  received  among  us  at  present  It  is  the 
'  healthy-minded '  we  encourage.  Our  God  is  '  the 
happy  God.'  And  we  seem  to  have  settled  it  in 
our  minds,  though  we  have  not  yet  inserted  it  iu 
our  creeds,  that  in  Adam  all  do  not  die,  and  ^\ 
there  is  less  joy  in  the  presence  of  the  angels  of 
God  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth  than  over  one 
happy  and  healthy  person  who  sees  no  occasion 
for  repentance.  

We  have  settled  it  so  in  our  practice.  Sooner 
or  later  it  was  bound  to  come  into  our  theology. 
This  very  month  it  seems  to  have  come. 

Mr.  F.  R.  Tennant,  M.  A.  (Camb.),  B.Sc.  (Lond), 
was  appointed  Hulsean  lecturer  before  the  Uni- 
versity of  Cambridge  in  the  session  1901-1901. 
He  lectured  on  The  Origin  and  Propagation  ofSii- 
After  the  lectures  were  listened  to,  they  were 
published  at  the  Cambridge  University  Press.  No 
one  took  exception  to  the  lectures,  no  one  has 
banned  the  book.  And  yet  Mr.  Tennant  rejects 
the  doctrine  of  the  Fall,  and  calls  Original  Sin  a 
figment. 

Does  Mr.  Tennant  deny  that  the  doctrines  of  the 
Fall  and  Original  Sin  are  contained  in  Scripture? 
No,  he  does  not  deny  that.  He  holds,  however, 
that  they  occupy  a  much  less  prominent  place  io 
Scripture  than  they  do  in  historical  theology.  '  The 
fictitious  importance,'  he  says,  'assigned  by  Theo- 
logy, in  its  most  scholastic  and  artificial  period^ 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


487 


to  the  doctrines  of  the  F:ill  and  Original  Sin  is  an 
accident  of  history,  not  the  outcome  of  the  neces- 
sary development  of  the  Faith.'  And  he  believes 
that  though  they  are  found  in  Scripture  they  have 
no  business  to  be  there,  and  may  be  dropped  out 
with  advantage. 

The  doctrine  of  the  Fall,  on  which  hangs  the 
doctrine  of  Original  Sin,  is  found  in  Scripture 
twice.  It  is  found  in  the  third  chapter  of  Genesis 
and  in  the  fifth  chapter  of  St.  Paul's  Epistle  to 
the  Romans. 

It  is  found  first  in  the  third  chapter  of  Genesis. 
To  understand  its  place  there,  we  must  remember 
that  God's  way  with  the  human  race  is  according 
to  evolution.  Revelation  is  by  gradual  develop- 
ment. And  it  does  not  matter  whether  we  say 
that  God  gradually  made  Himself  known  to  man, 
or  that  man  gradually  became  sensible,  by  the  use 
of  his  God-given  faculties,  of  God.  Now,  the  Book 
of  Genesis  strikes  into  this  gradual  process  at  a 
certain  point.  The  mind  of  man  has  emancipated 
itself  from  mere  Nature  religion,  but  it  has  scarcely 
yet  passed  into  Ethical  Monotheism.  The  book, 
therefore,  contains  echoes  of  remoter   thought. 


elements  of  prehistoric  speculation,  when  religion 
was  a  kind  of  natuie-poetry  and  the  deities  were 
natural  phenomena.  It  has  been  purified  and 
adapted  to  the  spiritual  and  ethical  standpoint  of 
a  writer  or  collector  of  oral  traditions  (the  critics 
call  him  J  or  E),  who  lived  somewhere  near  the 
threshold  of  the  prophetic  age.  But  the  prehistoric 
unethical  elements  have  not  been  purified  out  of 
existence ;  and  we  see  one  glaring  example  of  them 
in  the  third  chapter :  it  is  the  story  of  the  Fall. 

St.  Paul  accepted  this  story.  He  believed  that 
Adam  was  a  historic  person,  and  that  this  sad 
experience  of  his  was  historic  also.  For  St.  Paul 
had  been  trained  in  the  Jewish  schools,  and  in 
such  a  matter  as  this  simply  accepted  the  cuijent 
Rabbinical  teaching.  But  it  is  doubtful  to  Mr. 
Tennant's  mind  if  St,  Paul  does  more  than  use 
this  prehistoric  survival  as  an  illustration.  At  any 
rate,  Mr.  Tennant  counts  it  none  of  his  business 
to  get  entangled  in  Talmudic  methods  of  inter- 
pretation. He  takes  the  words '  in  Adam  all  died ' 
as  'a  useful  mode  of  speech  for  practical  exhorta- 
tion, without  troubling'  himself  'about  its  incom- 
patibility with  the  results  of  accurate  psycholc^cal 
or  ethical  analysis.' 


an  expository  study  of  acts  x. 
By  the  Rev.  T.  D.  Bernard,  M.A,,  Canon  of  Wells. 


There  were  two  stages  in  the  delivery  of  the 
gospel  to  mankind,  divided — or  we  should  rather 
say,  conjoined — by  an  act  of  God,  which  expanded 
the  Judaic  into  the  Catholic  Church.  It  takes 
place  at  the  fitting  moment  and  on  the  appropriate 
spot.  The  narrative  leads  us  from  Jerusalem,  the 
centre  of  Judaism,  to  Ceesarea,  its  point  of  coo- 
tact  with  the  empire  and  the  world. 

For  that  purpose  Csesarea  was  built  by  Herod, 
a  seaport  and  a  citadel.  A  spacious  harbour  was 
formed  by  a  solid  breakwater,  and  the  lines  of  a 
great  city  laid  out.  '  It  speedily  became  the 
virtual  capital  of  Palestine.      Casarva  ludact  caput 


est,  says  Tacitus ;  he  means  the  Roman  province 
of  that  name.  Judiean,  Cesarea  never  was.  The 
gateway  to  Rome,  the  place  was  already  a  piece  of 
Latin  soiL  The  procurator  had  his  seat  in  it ; 
there  was  an  Italian  garrison;  and  on  the  great 
white  temple  that  shone  out  over  the  harbour, 
stood  statues — of  Augustus  and  of  Rome.  It 
was  heathendom  in  all  its  glory  at  the  very  door 
of  the  true  religion.  Yes,  but  the  contrast  might 
be  reversed.  It  was  justice  and  freedom  in  the 
most  fanatical  and  turbulent  province  in  the 
world'  (G.  A.  Smith,  Geography  of  Holy  Land, 
p.  140).     In  this  place,  and  in  the  very  heart  of 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


its  militiry  life,  it  pleased  God  by  His  own  im- 
mediate act  to  'open  the  door  of  faith  unto  the 
Gentiles.' 

Up  to  that  moment  all  'disciples'  had  been 
Jews,  Hebrew  or  Hellenist,  of  Palestine  or  of  the 
Dispersion,  or  at  least  such  as  by  proselytism  or 
mixed  nationality  were  included  in  the  Circum- 
cision. When  this  Judaic  Christianity  has  been 
presented  in  its  central  features  and  ciitical  events, 
the  writer  of  the  Acts  (with  all  his  graceful  ease,  a 
most  systematic  historian)  takes  up  the  lines  of 
advance  on  the  borders  of  the  Church,  following 
the  work  of  Philip,  and  that  of  Saul  after  the 
supreme  event  of  his  conversion.  If  Philip  in 
Samaria  and  Saul  in  Syria  are  on  the  outskirts  of 
the  circle,  they  are  still  within  it.  The  invisible 
wall  of  separation,  on  the  one  side  of  which  lay 
the  chosen  people,  and  on  the  other  the  multitudes 
of  mankind,  remains  inviolate.  Both  preachers  are 
brought  to  the  predestined  spot.  Philip,  coming 
from  the  south  '  preached  in  all  the  cities  till  he 
came  to  Csesaiea.'  Saul,  to  save  his  life,  is  sent 
down  by  the  brethren  to  Caesarea.  Here  is  a 
great  field  of  action ;  but  not  for  them.  Neither 
of  them  has  yet  a  commission  to  the  Gentiles ; 
but  one  who  will  have  that  commission  is  on  his 
way. 

Peter,  'passing  through  all  quarters,'  comes 
into  sight.  His  path  is  laid  out  for  him  and  is 
marked  by  signs.  One  sign  at  Lydda  is  felt  through 
the  plain  of  Sharon,  and  men  turn  to  the  Lord. 
A  sad  appeal  calls  him  to  Joppa ;  and  a  sister  laid 
out  for  burial  is  brought  back  to  life.  With  what 
a  sympathetic  touch  is  it  all  depicted, — the  natural 
pathos,  the  sorrow,  the  joy,  the  homely  charities 
and  neighbourly  affections.  It  is  a  precious 
cabinet  picture  in  the  gallery  of  sacred  scenes. 
There  were  many  disciples  there,  and  'Peter  abode 
many  days  in  Joppa  with  one  Simon  a  tanner, 
whose  house  was  by  the  seaside.'  That  was  the 
only  Jewish  seaport,  through  which  the  narrow 
stream  of  traffic  flowed ;  where  ships  of  Tarshish 
touched  of  old ;  where  visitors  to  the  Holy  Land 
disembark  to-day.  The  '  many  days  at  Joppa '  was 
probably  to  St.  Peleratime  of  unwonted  thoughts, 
prelusive  to  what  was  to  follow.  Resting  on  the 
roof  of  the  house,  he  looked  out  on  the  great  sea 
westward.  He  looked  towards  the  isles  of  the 
Gentiles  and  the  regions  whence  came  the  powers 
that  possessed  and  changed  the  world, — arms  and 
arts,  conquest  and  culture,  and  all  knowledge  but 


the  knowledge  of  God.  Some  day  those  r^ons 
will  have  that  knowledge  in  the  fulness  of  the 
gospel  of  Christ;  and  the  revelation  of  this 
divine  purpose  begins  in  the  trance  of  Peter  on  ibe 
housetop.  What  means  that  vision  thrice  repealed 
with  the  words  that  followed?  They  seem  to 
involve  a  change  from  the  traditional  ideas  ol 
sanctity  and  uncleanness.  Are  the  customs  which 
have  been  the  defence  of  the  holy  people  to  be 
set  aside?  Is  the  wall  of  separation  breaking 
down?    Peter  is  represented  as  exercised  with 

doubtful  anxious  thought   (cv  iavr^   Snpropti),  and 

he  is  still  revolving  the  question  in  his  mind  (&■ 
tv$vpA>viiivov  TTtpt  Tt™  hpaftaTo%),  when  '  the  Spirit 
said,  Behold,  three  men  seek  thee.  Arise  and  go 
with  them,  nothing  doubting  -.  for  I  have  sent 
them.'  In  fact  they  are  at  the  door.  They  give 
their  message.  '  Cornelius  the  centurion,  a  just 
man,  one  that  feareth  God,  with  all  his  house,  and 
of  good  report  with  all  the  nation  of  the  Jews, 
has  been  warned  of  God  by  an  holy  angel  to  send 
for  thee  into  his  house,  and  to  hear  words  of  thee.' 
The  proposal  is  a  shock  to  settled  principles  and 
habits.  But  the  will  of  God  is  made  plain.  He 
must  go.  It  is  a  serious  matter ;  and  he  asks  the 
support  and  witness  of  six  brethren  of  Joppa.  The 
next  day  the  little  company  is  on  the  great  north- 
ward road,  and  the  morrow  after  they  enter  lalo 
Oesarea. 

All  was  ready  there.  A  lively  picture  is  given 
us  of  the  reception.  We  see  Cornelius  anxiously 
expectant  at  the  calculated  hour,  with  all  his 
preparations  made.  He  meets  the  heaven-sent 
teacher  with  an  act  of  prostration,  quickly  arrested 
by  'Stand  up;  I  also  am  a  man.'  Talking  to- 
gether, they  pass  in.  There  is  a  company  as- 
sembled, kinsmen  and  near  friends  of  the  centurion, 
some  probably  his  comrades  in  the  Italian  cohort, 
men  of  like  mind  with  himself,  seekers  after  God, 
and  now  expectant  of  His  word.  There  is  i 
straightforward  soldierly  tone  in  the  proceedings- 
St.  Peter,  having  explained  that  he  is  there  con- 
trary to  the  law  and  custom  of  his  people,  but  by 
direction  of  God,  puts  the  question, '  I  ask  there- 
fore with  what  intent  I  was  sent  for.'  Cornelius 
in  reply  tells  how,  four  days  before,  he  was  keeping 
the  ninth  hour  of  prayer  {'fasting  to  this  Hourl 
A. v.,  cannot  stand  in  the  text),  when  a  man  in 
bright  clothing  stood  before  him,  saying  'Thy 
prayer  is  heard,  and  thine  alms  are  had  in  remem- 
brance before  God,'  and  bidding  him  send  for  the 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


489 


person  who  is  now  come.  '  Now  therefore,'  says 
he,  '  we  are  all  here  present  in  the  sight  of  God,  to 
hear  all  things  that  are  commanded  thee  of  the 
Lord."  What  words  could  belter  express  the 
positions  of  the  hearers  and  the  speaker?  and 
what  words  could  better  place  in  their  right 
relations  congregations  and  preachers  at  this 
day? 

Then  Peter  opened  his  mouth  (the  usual  formula 
for  deliberate  address)  in  response  to  this  appeal. 
With  what  warmth  of  heart  does  he  first  welcome 
the  fresh  conviction  now  brought  home  to  him ! 
'  Of  a  truth  I  perceive  (KaToXaupdva/uu,  '  I 
apprehend,' '  uke  it  in ')  that  God  is  no  respecter  of 
persons :  but  in  every  nation  he  that  feareth  Him, 
and  worketh  righteousness,  is  acceptable  to  Htm.' 
In  the  abstract  of  the  discourse  which  follows,  the 
ideas  are  distinct  throughout,  but  in  the  opening 
the  expression  is  confused,  which  is  more  remark- 
able in  this  smoothly  flowing  narrative.  Com- 
mentators try  in  vain  to  bring  the  broken  sentences 
and  irr^ular  construction  into  shape.  Is  it  faulty 
reporting  ?  Is  it  not  rather  the  best  reporting  ? 
since  it  gives  a  lively  sense  of  contending  thoughts 
under  which  the  speaker  began  his  message. 
*  The  word  which  God  sent  unto  the  sons  of  Israel, 
preaching  good  tidings  of  peace  by  Jesus  Christ — 
He  is  Lord  of  all  (of  Gentiles  as  well  as  Jews}.' — 
That  is  a  grand  introduction  worthy  of  the  subject 
and  proper  to  the  man  who  speaks.  But  in 
relation  to  his  hearers  did  it  not  assume  too 
much?  and  to  continue  'that  word  I  deliver  to 
you '  might  be  going  beyond  his  commission.  He 
stops ;  and  says  only — '  ye  know,'  (i/ins  otSari) — 
and  then  proceeds  to  describe  what  they  knew  in 
an  altered  strain.  Tie  word  S  kayot,  the  coropre- 
heosive  word  of  revelation,  is  exchanged  for  ^iia, 
the  word  spoken ;  the  divine  mission  to  Israel  for — 
TO  ytvofttvov  p^fta— lis  actual  publication  through 
Judxa ;  Jesus  Christ,  the  composite  title  used  in 
the  Church,  for  Jesus  who  was  from  Nazareth  (tov 
aito  Noioper) ;  and  the  good  tidings  of  peace  for 
the  visible  beneficent  works.  Thus  he  passes 
from  doctrinal  assumptions  of  the  Word,  the 
Christ  and  the  gospel,  to  the  facts  which  had 
taken  place  within  the  knowledge  of  his  hearers, 
observant  men  interested  in  the  religious  move- 
ments in  their  neighbourhood.  How  clearly  he 
told  the  story  we  can  judge  from  the  abstract 
given,  relating  how  the  great  movement  began 
from  Galilee  in  succession  to  the  baptism  of  John ; 


how  'God  anointed  Jesus  with  the  Holy  Spirit 
and  power,  who  went  about  doing  good  (Si^Xficv 
cuijiycTuv),  and  healing  men  oppressed  by  the  devil ; 
for  God  was  with  him' — (words  which  might  well 
stand  as  a  characteristic  summary  of  the  Second 
Gospel,  associated  in  our  minds  with  St.  Peter 
and  with  Romans).  That  manifestation  of 
holiness,  love,  and  power  was  not  left  to  common 
observation  and  varying  reports.  We,  says  the 
speaker,  were  witnesses  of  all  which  He  did,  up  to 
the  dark  hour,  here  so  briefly  and  impersonally 
mentioned,  as  if  not  to  dwell  upon  his  people's 
crime ;  'whom  they  slew,  hanging  Him  on  a  tree.' 
Then  began  the  higher  manifestation,  '  Him  God 
raised  up  the  third  day' ;  and  those  M-ho  followed 
His  walk  amongst  men  then  became  the  witnesses 
of  His  risen  life.  It  was  their  part  to  give  the 
testimony  to  the  world.  He  bad  charged  them  to 
preach  (s^pv^t),  make  proclamation  as  heralds, 
setting  forth  the  relations  which  He  now  bears  to 
mankind.  The  first  announcement  of  these  relations 
is  startling.  We  are  to  testify,  says  St.  Peter,  that 
'  this  is  He  who  is  ordained  of  God  to  be  the  Judge 
of  the  living  and  the  dead.'  This  Jesus  from 
Nazareth,  whose  brief  career  came  soon  and 
suddenly  to  a  tragic  end,  who,  if  seen  after  death, 
yet  had  wholly  vanished  from  the  scene,  is  to  be 
held  as  the  ruler  and  judge  of  the  moral  life  of 
men  here  and  hereafter.  What  a  claim  was  this 
for  those  Roman  soldiers  to  admit  1  one  that 
must  change  all  their  thoughts  on  life  and  death ! 
But  it  is  advanced  by  the  Lord's  own  command, 
and  with  no  uncertain  sound.  He  is  o  •ipMr/necos 
iuro  ToC  0<ou,  the  Judge  designated  by  divine 
determination  and  decree.  [The  same  verb  is 
used  by  St.  Paul  on  the  same  subject  (chap  1 7 "')  and 
on  the  Divine  Sonship  (Ro  1*).  The  Resurrection 
is  TO  df)(£oi',  that  which  draws  the  line  of  defined 
certainty  in  the  manifestation  of  Christ.]  Those 
few  words  gave  to  human  hfe  a  living  authority,  a 
perfect  standard,  and  a  final  result.  The  mists 
which  covered  it  were  cleared  away  in  the 
consciousness  of  a  present  and  future  relation  to 
the  'most  worthy  Judge  eternal.' 

This  clearer  light  makes  grave  discoveries,  and 
sin  appears  more  distinct  in  its  nature  and  more 
fearful  in  its  issues. 


But  tliough  lis  IQ 
Tnas  not  llie 


sounded 
were  firmer/o 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


.  .  .  And  I  said — 
Oh  that  1  knew  if  He  foiijiveth. 

My  soul  is  bini  within  ; 
Because  in  grievous  feai  it  Uveth 

or  wages  due  to  sin. 

The  answer  was  ready  from  the  beginning,  as  the 
foretold  purpose  of  God.  'The  Judge  was  to  be 
and  is  the  Saviour.'  '  To  Him  give  all  the  prophets 
witness,  that  through  His  name  every  one  that 
believetb  on  Him  shall  receive  remission  of  sins.' 
Here  is  the  whole  doctrine  of  forgiveness — the 
author  of  it,  the  living  Lord, — the  power  for  it, 
'  through  His  name,'  the  revelation  of  what  He  is 
and  does, — the  one  condition  of  it,  faith  in  Him. 
The  name  does  not  work  as  a  charm ;  it  takes 
effect  on  the  believer — ewryone  that  believeth  in 
Him.  There  are  subjects  for  reflexion,  truths  to 
sink  down  into  the  heart. 

But  here  the  first  apprehension  was  enough. 
Faith  in  the  risen  Lord,  submission  to  His  rule 
and  judgment,  a  sense  of  sin  forgiven,  even  while 
the  word  is  spoken,  have  risen  like  the  light  of 
morning  on  these  sincere  expectant  souls  \  and 
'God  who  knoweth  the  hearts  bare  (hem  witness' 
by  an  instantaneous  baptism  of  the  Spirit.  At 
the  word  '  remission  of  sins '  there  is  a  sudden 
rush  of  certainty  and  joy.  A  power  not  of  nature 
is  upon  them,  a  spirit  not  their  own  possesses 
them.  Adoration  and  praise  burst  from  their  lips 
in  strange  voices  as  under  irresistible  impulses.  St. 
Peter's  companions  knew  the  signs.  Men  of  the 
circumcision,  they  stood  amazed,  because  that 
on  Gentiles  also  was  poured  out  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  GhosL  What  is  to  follow?  It  was  clear 
to  the  apostle.  As  he  said  afterwards  (it"),  'I 
remembered  the  word  of  the  Lord,  how  He  said, 
John  baptized  with  water ;  but  ye  shall  be  baptized 
with  the  Holy  GhosL'    God  has  shown  that  He 


them — the  Church  must  recwve  them. 
'  Can  any  roan  forbid  the  water,  that  these  should 
not  be  baptized,  who  have  received  the  Holy 
Ghost  as  well  as  we  ?  And  he  commanded  them 
to  be  baptized  in  the  name  of  Jesus  ChrisL'  His 
companions  were  the  ministers  of  the  sacrament— 
to  be  the  witnesses  afterwards  of  all  these  things, 
when  the  Church  at  Jerusalem  calls  the  deed  in 
question  and  reaches  the  conclusion, '  Then  to  the 
Gentiles  also  hath  God  granted  repentance  unto 
life.' 

The  special  inspiration  has  passed;  the  decisive 
act  of  adhesion  is  accomplished ;  and  these  first- 
fruits  of  the  Gentiles  are  translated  into  the 
kingdom  of  Christ.  It  has  been  very  rapid. 
How  much  there  is  to  be  learned  I  how  much  to 
be  added  that  St.  Peter  would  have  said.  'As  1 
began  to  speak,'  he  says,  the  Holy  Ghost  fell  on 
them  that  heard  the  word.  He  might  well  remain 
for  instruction  and  converse.  '  Then  prayed  they 
him  to  tarry  certain  days.' 

We  hear  no  more  of  Cornelius  and  his  com- 
panions. Were  any  of  them  in  Caesarea  twenty 
years  later,  when  St.  Paul  pleaded  before  Festus 
and  Agrippa,  and  made  his '  Apologia  pro  vita  saa,' 
an  appeal  to  his  hearers'  hearts?  Were  any  of 
these  soldiers  from  Oesarea  among  the  unknown 
founders  of  the  Church  in  Rome,  where  the 
Gentile  element  was  strong  in  the  Praetorium? 
We  know  not.  Cornelius  and  his  friends  bad 
done  their  part  in  the  history,  as  the  chosen 
persons  in  whom  '  God  opened  the  door  of  faith 
to  the  Gentiles.'  For  the  rest  their  'judgment 
is  with  the  Lord,  and  their  work  with  their  God.' 
Such  is  the  manner  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 
They  are  not  biographies,  but  records  of  the 
Kingdom. 

{To  be  cunlimie'l.) 


Z^t  <S)idf^ixvMid  of  i^t  %iUiii  Jnempftone. 

By  Professor  A.  H.  Savce,  LL.D.,  Oxford. 


The  decipherment  of  the  Hittite  texts  is  a  problem 
which  1  have  kept  constantly  in  view  for  more 
than  twenty  years.  But  the  attempts  made  by 
myself  and  others  to  solve  it  have  ended  in  failure  : 
they  have  satisfied  only  their  authors,  and  not 
always  even    their  authors.     Before  a  system  of 


decipherment  could  be  accepted  it  was  necessaiy 
that  it  should  fulfil  three  conditions:  (i)  the 
phonetic  values  assigned  to  the  characters  must  be 
such  as  to  yield  not  only  names  similar  to  those 
met  with  in  the  Egyptian  and  Assyrian  monu- 
ments, but  also  the  geographical  names  belonging 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


491 


to  the  several  localities  in  which  the  inscriptions 
on  which  they  occur  have  been  found;  (i)  they 
must  also  be  such  as  to  give  a  coherent  series  of 
grammatical  suffixes  consistent  with  what  we  know 
of  Asianic  grammar,  as  well  as  with  the  termina- 
tions of  the  Hittite  names  recorded  by  the  Egyptian 
and  Assyrian  scribes ;  {3)  and,  finally,  they  must 
support  and  verify  one  another,  the  same  phonetic 
values  appearing  in  forms  and  names  which  we 
know  on  other  grounds  had  a  similar  pronunciation. 
The  two  main  difficulties  in  the  way  of  decipher- 
ment have  been  on  the  one  hand  the  paucity  and 
imperfection  of  the  texts,  and  on  the  other  the 
untrustworthiness  of  the  eye-copies  we  possessed 
of  them.  These  difficulties  have  now  been  in 
great  measure  removed.  More  texts  have  been 
discovered,  and  we  now  have  photographs,  squeezes, 
and  casts  of  those  the  originals  of  which  are  not  in 
the  museums  of  London  or  Berlin.  One  of  th^ 
results  of  being  able  at  last  to  consult  accurate 
copies  of  the  inscriptions  was  the  discovery  that 
the  ideographs  of 'king'  and  'district,'  which  have 
hitherto  been  confounded  together,  are  always 
carefully  distinguished  in  them.  The  confusion 
was  due  to  myself  in  the  early  days  of  Hittite  re- 
search, and  I  have  been  followed  in  the  error  by  sub- 
sequent investigators.  The  consequences  have  been 
fatal,  and  the  primary  key  to  the  decipherment  of 
the  hieroglyphs  has  thus  been  hidden  from  sight. 
The  discovery  once  made,  I  knew  where  to  look 
for  the  groups  of  characters  denoting  geographical 

For  more  than  twenty  years  it  has  been  known 
that  the  nominative  singular  in  -s  was  represented 
by  a  yoke,  and  that  another  character  which  I 
believe  to  represent  a  sacred  stone  wrapped  in 
cloths  was  the  determinative  of  Deity,  while  the 
bilingual '  boss '  of  Tarkondemos  had  given  us  four 
ideographs,  two  of  them  being  the  ideographs  of 
'  king '  and  '  country,'  as  well  as  the  phonetic  char- 
acter me.  From  the  inscription  on  a  Bowl  it  had 
further  been  inferred  that  a  particular  character, 
which  is  frequently  used  as  a  suffix  after  a  noun, 
denoted  the  suffix  of  the  accusative,  and  another 
character  the  suffix  of  the  first  person  of  the  verb. 
A  'word-divider'  had  also  been  detected,  so  that 
it  was  possible  to  break  up  a  passage  into  its 
separate  words.  Recently  I  had  pointed  out  that 
the  phonetic  characters  accompanying  the  picture 
of  the  head  and  tiara  of  a  high  priest  (an  ideo- 
graph which  is  attached  to  the  figure  of  the  high 


priest  at  Fraktin)  must  correspond  to  the  word 
abakies,  stated  by  Strabo  to  be  the  title  of  the 
'  high  priest '  at  Komana,  or  baMlos,  as  it  is  written 
by  Hesychius,  who  interprets  it  as  '  gallos  priest ' 
and  'magnate.'  In  this  way  we  obtain  ka  or  ga 
as  the  value  of  a  character  which  Mr.  Rylands 
identifies  with  a  rabbit's  head. 

Many  years  ago  M.  Six,  the  eminent  numis- 
matist, suggested  to  me  that  a  particular  group  of 
characters  which  is  found  in  the  inscriptions  of 
Carchemish  and  nowhere  else  represents  the  name 
of  that  city.  The  first  character  is  not  met  with 
elsewhere,  and  therefore  would  probably  express 
a  closed  syllable,  the  second  is  the  rabbit's  head, 
the  third  tne,  and  the  last  a  goat's  bead.  But, 
misled  by  the  bilingual  'boss,'  where  the  goat's 
head  is  used  ideographical ly  to  denote  tarku, '  a. 
goat,'  as  well  as  by  my  false  conception  of  the 
character  which  is  really  the  determinative  of 
'district,'  I  rejected  the  suggestion  at  the  time. 
Since  then,  however,  inscriptions  have  been  found 
in  which  the  goat's  head  interchanges  with  the 
ordinary  representative  of  the  nominative  suffix  -s, 
while  the  discovery  I  made  last  winter  that  the 
determinative  always  attached  to  the  group  of 
characters  is  not  the  ideograph  of  '  king,'  as  I  had 
supposed,  but  of 'district,'  made  it  suddenly  clear 
that  M.  Six  was  right  after  all,  and  that  the  name 
actually  reads  Kar-ka-me-is,  or,  adopting  the 
Assyrian  pronunciation,  Gargame-is. 

Now  the  cuneiform  tablets  discovered  by  M. 
Chantre  at  Boghaz  Keui,  the  Hittite  northern 
capital,  have  proved  to  be  in  the  same  language 
as  the  two  letters  from  Arzawa  in  the  Tel  el- 
Amarna  collection,  or  at  all  events  in  a  closely 
related  dialect,  and  thanks  to  ideographs  and  the 
stereotyped  formula  of  the  Tel  el-Amarna  letters, 
some  of  the  Arzawa  grammatical  forms  can  be 
made  out.  Thus  the  nominative  singular  of  the 
noun  ends  in  -s,  the  accusative  in  -n,  and  the  first 
person  of  the  verb  in  -»  and  -ya,  while  gentilic 
adjectives  are  formed  by  the  suffixes  -tias  and  -yas. 
The  Hittite  names  found  in  the  Egyptian  and 
Assyrian  inscriptions  also  give  us  the  gentilic 
sufhxes  -nas,  -yas,  and  sis.  Applying  this  to  the 
Hittite  texts  we  get  the  value  of  n  for  the  sleeve 
which  in  the  Bowl  inscription  marks  the  accusa- 
tive. Along  with  two  other  characters  which  in- 
terchange with  it,  it  also  represents  the  first  letter 
or  syllable  of  a  gentilic  suffix  which  can  on  other 
grounds  beshowntobe-«<if£'"*''  ^t-"-'^^"^ 


49a 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


The  gentilic  adjective,  however,  formed  from 
the  name  of  Carchemish  does  not  terminate  in 
-nas.  For  reasons  too  detailed  to  be  given  here, 
the  suffix  can  be  shown  to  be  -yas.  This  gives  us 
the  value  of  three  more  characters,  si  {which  takes 
the  place  of  is),  ya,  and  yas,  which  last  interchanges 
with  ya-s.  The  second  -ya  is  also  the  character 
which  in  the  Bowl  inscription  represents  the  suffix 
of  the  first  person  of  the  verb. 

There  are  two  characters  which,  from  their  fre- 
quency and  the  fact  that  they  are  omitted  or  in- 
serted at  will  after  syllables  like  na  and  tne  or  mi, 
must  be  vowels,  and  since  one  of  them  follows 
syllables  ending  in  a  and  the  other  syllables  ending 
in  €  and  i,  I  assign  to  the  first  the  value  of  a  and 
to  the  second  the  value  of  i.  M.  Hal^vy  has 
already  long  ago  pointed  out  that  this  latter  must 
represent  a  vowel. 

With  the  phonetic  values  thus  obtained  we  can 
now  proceed  to  read  some  more  of  the  geographical 
names  to  which  the  determinative  of  'district'  is 
attached.  The  name,  for  instance,  of  the  prince 
who  is  commemorated  on  the  stela  of  Tyana  is 
followed  by  a  word  which  ends  with  the  deter- 
minative. This  word  reads :  *-a-n-a-n-a-s.  Here 
it  is  obvious  that  we  must  give  the  first  character 
the  value  of  tu,  and  so  get  the  geographical  name 
that  will  alone  suit  the  inscription,  Tuana-nas, 
'  the  Tyanian.' 

The  suffixes  are  invariably  written  phonetically. 


The  stems  of  the  noun  and  verb,  on  the  other 
hand,  are  usually  expressed  by  ideographs,  and 
the  pictorial  character  of  Hittite  writing  gives  us, 
not  unfrequenlly,  a  clue  to  their  significatioiu 
Determinatives  are  numerous,  especially  in  the 
inscriptions  of  Carchemish. 

In  Syria  the  geographical  names  are  for  the 
most  part  written  phonetically,  an  indication  that 
they  were  not  of  Hittite  origin.  As  we  advance 
northward,  however,  idet^aphs  take  the  place  of 
phonetic  characters,  thus  confirming  the  view  of 
Professor  Ramsay  that  the  primitive  home  of  the 
Hittites  and  the  script  they  invented  or  adapted 
was  in  Cappadocia.  On  the  other  hand,  my  de- 
cipherment of  the  texts  has  brought  to  light  a  fact 
which  I  did  not  at  all  expect.  The  name  of 
'Hittite' — Khatta-nas  and  Khatta-is — is  found  in 
the  inscriptions  eastward  of  the  passes  of  the 
Taurus,  but  not  in  Cilicia  and  Cappadocia.  We 
meet  with  it  in  the  inscriptions  of  Kamath  and 
Carchemish,  of  Mer'ash  and  I^n,  but  not  farther 
west.  It  thus  occupies  exactly  the  region  in  which 
the  Hittites  of  the  Egyptian,  Assyrian,  and  Vannic 
monuments  are  placed.  Westward  of  the  Taurus 
it  seems  to  have  been  either  unknown  or  disused.^ 

'  The  above  is  a  synopsis  of  the  lecture  I  deliveied  before 
the  Suciety  of  Biblical  Archeology  on  Wednesdij,  iilb  June 
1902.  My  Memoit  dealing  with  the  subject  in  detail  aad 
accompanied  by  a  list  of  Hittite  characters  will  be  published 
in  the  course  of  the  year  in  the  Pncttdinp  of  the  Society. 


THE   GREAT  TEXTS  OF  THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES. 


Acts  iv,  11,  \t. 
'  He  is  the  stone  which  was  set  at  nought  of  yon  the 
bnilders,  which  was  oiAde  the  head  of  the  comer. 
And  in  none  other  is  there  salvation :  for  neither  is 
there  any  other  name  under  heaven,  that  is  given 
among;  men,  wherein  we  must  be  saved '  (R.V.). 


Exposition. 

He  is  the  stone.— All  English  versions  before  the  Revised 

translate  il  '  this,'  reierring  ihc  pronoun  to  '  stone,'  but  in 

the  next  vctse  a  firsoii  is  directly  spoken  of,  nol  under  the 

The    stone  which  was  set  at    nought— This    very 
passage  from  Ps  iiS  was  quoted  by  Jesus  Himself,  in  re- 


sponse to  the  challenge  of  His  fight  to  teach  in  the  temple 
made  by  certain  of  '  (he  chief  priests  and  the  scribes,  wiih 
the  elders'  (Lk  20''");  and  it  was  probably  read  in  a 
Messianic  sense  by  the  Jewish  teachers  of  that  day.  Il 
recurs  in  1  P  s'.—Barti.et. 

Set  at  nought. — St  Peter,  quoting  apparently  from 
memory,  used  a  different  word  (6  iiai'Birteth)  from  that 
which  is  used  in  the  I.XX  and  in  the  Go<ipels,  a  wofd 
expressing  still  greater  contempt. — Knowltng. 

For  the  English  phrase,  'set  at  nought,' see  Hasitngs* 
Diilioitary  of  th/  Bibli,  under  NAtJGHT  {vol.  iii.  p.  496a] 
and  Skt  (vol.  iv.  p.  470a). 

Of  yon  btiilders. —There  is  more  severity  here  than  in 
the  speech  to  the  people  (3"). — JacohsON-  i 

Which  was  made  the  head  of  the  cAi^^'~Bot>i  («t 
found  aLon-sione  and   (A)   corner-stone   of   God's    temple 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


49J 


The  Jew*  were  bmilitr  with  the  ido  of  Imel  >s  '  the  house 
of  God ' ;  Ihej  oiled  ihemielvei  '  the  temple  of  (be  Lord.' 
The  mien  of  their  polily  would  be  ike  builden,  but  the 
chief  Utmt  wu  ihe  M«E)iab  or  Christ.  The  stone  had  been 
laid  (a)  for  a  fouodation  in  Zion  by  God,  but  the  miers  had 
stt  it  at  mm^it,  and  cast  it  out.  God,  however,  had  lifted  it 
up  Irom  ibe  nibbisb-heap  where  it  had  been  cast,  that  is, 
from  the  grave,  and  made  il  (i*)  tit  htad  ef  iht  conur.— 
Rackham. 

See  article  Corner-stonb  in  Hastings'  Dictionary  ef  the 
Bitit,  to),  i.  p.  499b. 

And  in  none  other  ia  there  salvation. — Absolntcljr, 
'the  salvation '(4  ffumj^ila),  ihat  is,  the  promised  salvation 
which  Me&sioh  is  to  bring  (cf.  Mai  4*). — Pack. 

For  neither  is  there  «ij  other  name.— The  word  used 
(or  'other' ((rfpci) makes  a  contrast (iXXot  implies  addition, 
'  one  more  ').  '  Salvilion  is  not  to  be  found  in  any  Uiidts, 
for  indeed  ihtre  does  not  exist  a  second  name.'— PAGE. 

That  is  E'T^  among  men.— Our  Lord  is  fiequently 
marked  out  as  given  as  Ihe  source  of  this  greater  and  uni- 
versal salvation  (]n  3".  '  Co  3',  i  Ti  2').— MacEvillv. 

Wherein  we  roost  be  aaTcd.— The  position  of 'we,' as 
the  last  word  in  the  Grerk,  is  too  emphatic  for  it  to  mean 
simply  '  we  men,'  mankind  at  large.  The  salvation  is  the 
Messianic  deliverance  of  Israel  from  all  her  foes  oulward 
and  inward,  and  so  Jesus  is  the  personality  or  'name'  of 
authority  'whereby  we  US'")  """'  ^  saved.' — Bartlbt. 

Moat.— According  to  God's  unalictable  destination.— 
Meyer. 

The  Sermon. 

The  One  Salvation. 

By  ihi  tail  Canea  H.  F.  Lidden,  D.  C.L. 

For  the  first  time  the  young  Church  of  Christ 
stood  fairly  face  to  face  with  the  hostile  power  of 
the  world.  A  miracle  of  healing  had  been  wrought 
by  Peter  and  John.  The  Sanhedrin  was  con- 
voked to  try  the  apostles,  the  question  being, 
according  to  the  law  of  Deuteronomy  {13'*), 
whether  the  apostles  were  true  prophets,  or  seducers 
to  idolatry ;  for  the  cripple  had  been  healed,  not  in 
the  name  of  Jehovah  but  in  the  name  of  Jesus. 
The  court  does  not  enter  upon  the  general  question 
of  the  apostles'  teaching,  but  simply  asks.  Who 
had  been  invoiced  to  work  the  miracle.  Peter 
answers,  'Jesus  of  Nazareth,  whom  ye  crucified, 
whom  God  raised  from  the  dead,'  and  then  makes 
the  claim  for  Jesus  of  our  text. 

I.  Jesus  can  save. — Jesus  is  the  Messiah  who 
brings  the  salvation.  What  is  this  salvation? 
(i)Was  it  bodily  healing?  Was  it  simply  that  He 
could  heal  others,  as  He  had  healed  the  cripple  7 
Now,  bodily  pain  may  by  patience  and  resignation 
be  transfigured  into  a  consummate  blessing,  but  it 
is  a  disorder  and  anomaly  in  nature  \  and  as  then 


by  the  apostles,  so  now  by  generous  heaits  and 
kind  hands,  God  relieves  and  cures  it  where  it 
may.  (3)  But  the  great  word  'salvation'  does 
not  make  itself  easily  at  home  in  this  association. 
Salvation  was  a  consecrated  word  to  Israel;  it 
meant  the  deliverance  of  Israel  from  all  her  foes, 
a  national  salvation.  Such  is  the  reference  in 
Fs  11$  which  Peter  quotes.  This  salvation  the 
Messiah  was  to  bring.  But  the  apostles  knew, 
having  been  taught  by  the  Lord  Himself,  that  no 
political  salvation  would  save  Israel  now.  The 
political  must  give  way  to  the  spiritual,  the  out- 
ward to  the  inward.  And  that  which  is  spiritual 
roust  be  universal.  (3)  So  here  is  a  third  and 
deeper  sense  in  the  word.  Salvation  really  means 
here  the  rescuing  from  moral  ruin  tht  separate 
souls  of  men.  This  is  the  salvation  which  Jesus 
brought.  He  who  gave  Himself  a  ransom  for  all, 
died  for  each,  with  the  same  deliberate  concentra- 
tion of  purpose  as  if  He  had  to  die  only  for  one 
(Gal  2=»). 

2.  Jesl's  is  the  only  Saviour. — 'In  none 
other,"  says  Peter,  'is  there  salvation.'  If  he  had 
been  living  now,  would  he  not  have  avoided  this 
appearance  of  rivalry  between  the  gospel  and  other 
religious  systems?  He  deliberately  makes  his 
exclusive  claim,  because  he  knew  (the  Resurrection 
had  made  the  matter  conclusive)  that  no  philosopher 
or  prophet  can  share  the  power  to  save  with  Gi>d. 
The  gospel  has  always  made  this  exclusive  claim. 
'  No  man,*  said  Jesus,  '  cometh  unto  the  Father  but 
by  Me.'  'There  is  one  Mediator,'  says  Paul,  'be- 
tween God  and  men,  the  Man  Christ  Jesus.' 
'  God/  says  John,  '  hath  given  to  us  eternal  life, 
and  this  life  is  in  His  Son.'  Peter  does  not  deny 
that  other  religions  contain  elements  of  truth,  or 
that  other  agencies  may  improve  mankind.  The 
question  was  with  him,  and  is  with  us  now,  not 
some  truth  but  the  Truth,  not  improvement  but 
salvation.  ^____ 

No  Other  Name. 
By  Iht  Rev.  R.  F.  Harion,  D.D. 
I.  God  the  Father  is  know»  only  through  the 
Son. — Apart  from  Christ,  all  men,  even  good  men, 
are  fatherless.  Plato  recognizes  but  does  not 
know  God ;  Marcus  Aurelius  is  resigned  but  not 
comforted.  And  the  Father  is  not  only  unknown 
but  unknowable  without  Christ.  Son  ship  was  first 
seen  in  Christ,  and  until  ^^be  ^o^^^^sf^^he 
Father  could  not  be  known. 


-cV 


494 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


a.  Only  through  Christ  do  men  understand  the 
■will  of  God  to  do  it. — Virgil's  j£neid  was  written 
just  before  the  birth  of  Christ.  It  is  a  profoundly 
religious  poem.  It  expresses  men's  best  thoughts 
of  the  will  of  God,  But  the  gods  are  themselves 
at  cross-purposes ;  oracles  are  ambiguous.  And 
to-day  there  is  the  same  blindness  of  purpose 
wherever  men  are  living  without  God  in  Christ. 
Christ  is  the  way  :  as  the  Chart  of  life  and  Pass- 
'  port  to  heaven,  Christ  in  His  gospel  saves  us. 

3.  Only  by  Christ  are  we  delivered  from  sin.— 
What  is  that  ?  Think  of  it,  if  you  will,  only  as  the 
reconciliation  of  the  soul  with  itself,  the  conflict 
within  stilled — is  that  found  elsewhere  or  only  in 
Christ?  Does  Krishna,  the  favourite  god  of  India, 
the  incarnation  of  abandoned  immorality,  deliver 
from  sin?  Swani  Vivekananda,  the  hero  of  the 
'  Parliament  of  Religions,'  in  the  presence  of 
Krishna  denies  that  men  are  sinners.  He  might 
as  well  deny  the  existence  of  the  plague  in 
Bombay.  But  '  being  justified  by  faith,  we  have 
peace  with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.' 

4.  Only  in  Christ  have  we  assurance  of  pardon, 
eoirimunion  with  God,  eertainty  of  immortality. — 
Communion  with  God  is  diiferent  from  the 
absorption  and  apathy  of  Eastern  mystics.  It  is 
quickened  personal  consciousness,  it  is  activity  of 
service  to  the  world.  It  comes  from  sitting  with 
Christ  in  heavenly  places.  The  assurance  of 
pardon  is  sealed  by  the  Spirit  of  Jesus,  and  the 
love  of  God  is  shed  abroad  in  the  heart.  And, 
finally,  Christ  in  us  is  the  hope  of  glory. 

Far  and  wide,  though  all  uoknowing. 
Pants  fo[  liim  each  human  breast. 


Illustrations. 
The  Head  of  the  Corner. 
Ths  earner  is  the  critical  part  of  a  building — (l)  ttructur- 
ally,  because  here  Ibc  side  walls  meet ;  and  {2)  in  warrare, 
because  it  is  the  vantage  point  of  defence,  and  here  the 
batllemenl*  often  rise  into  a  lower.  Strength  then  should 
be  the  maik  of  the  comci ;  and  this  is  lypilied  most, of  all  in 
Xhe  head  of  ike  currur,  or  the  stone  or  tower  which  crowns 
the  balllemenls.  Wecan  understand  then  the  mctapborics] 
vteot^Krntr  for 'prince'  in  the  Old  Testament  [Nu  24", 
Ig  30^,  Is  19").  And  now  Jesus  is  made  head  of  the 
comer— (1)  As  the  foundation-stone  Bis  Messiahship  had 
been  lying  hid  in  God's  foreknowledge,  but  now  it  had  been 


made  manifest  lo  the  world  ;  it  was  raised  from  the  lowest 
layer  lo  the  top.  {z)  As  corner-stone  He  bindt  the  two 
walls  of  Jews  and  Gentiles  into  the  one  building  of  the 
Christian  Church  {i/.  Eph  i"-").  (3)  As  comei-tower  or 
battlement  He  is  our  defence,  and  this  building  is  lh«  bovst 
of  salvation. — K.  B.  Kackhaii. 


Whii 


No  Other  Name. 
i   the  old   Hindu  Scriptures  have  given 


beautiful  precepts  of  living,  the  New  Dispensatioii  of  Chrin 
has  given  us  grace  to  carry  these  precepts  into  practice,  and 
that  makes  all  the  difference  in  the  world.  The  precepu 
are  like  a  steam  engine  on  the  track,  twautiful  and  with 
great  possibiliiiet ;  Christ  and  His  gospel  are  the  steam,  the 
motive  power  that  can  make  the  engine  move. — PtJNDlTA 
Ramarai. 

Sous  able  women,  says  Archdeacon  Wilson,  at  a  women's 
college,  gave  themselves  to  help  the  poor  men  in  a  neglectoi 
suburb.  In  pure  and  noble  seal  they  taught  them  to  read 
and  to  write,  they  delivered  lectures,  they  sang  to  them, 
they  entertained  them.  The  men  were  greatly  attracted. 
At  length  they  asked  the  men  to  say  if  there  was  anything 
in  particular  they  wished  to  bear  about.  There  was  silence, 
and  then  a  low  inaudible  voice — 'Yes,'  said  the  ladj; 
'  what  is  it  you  wish  to  hear  about?'  'Could  you  tell  as,' 
was  the  bashful  reply,  'something  about  the  Lord  Jeras 
Christ?'— K.  F.  Hobton. 

Thbbb  is  a  story  lold  of  two  Alpine  climbers  who  were 
caught  in  a  terrible  snowstorm,  and  as  they  descended 
wearily  came  upon  another  traveller  completely  overcome 
and  lying  in  the  snow.  They  knew  that  if  he  was  left  10 
lie  it  meant  death.  One  of  Ibem  said,  'We  cannot  savt 
him,  let  us  look  after  ourselves,'  and  went  on.  The  ocber 
remained,  rubbed  his  hands  and  feel,  and  revived  him.  Tbc 
exercise  sent  an  electric  thrill  of  warmth  through  hii  awt 
body,  restoring  bis  circulation.  Together  they  reached 
home  in  safety,  while  the  man  who  hastened  on  to  save  ha 
own  life  perished  in  the  snow.— T.  L.  Williams. 

This  famous  passage  occupies  a  prominent  position  in  the 
Smalcald  Atlicles  drawn  ap  by  Luther,  and  adopted  in  the 
year  1537.  It  has  been  said,  with  some  truth,  that  the  adop- 
tion of  these  Articles  completed  the  Reformalion,  and  «ai 
the  definite  declaration  of  Ihe  separation  of  the  sigrutoiiet 
from  Rome.— J.  S.  Koivson. 


For  Reference. 

Horton  (R,  F.),  The  Trinity,  191. 

Jeffrey  (R.  T.),  Salvation  of  the  Gospel,  104.  133. 

Uddon  (H.  P.),  Sermons  on  Special  Occasions,  167. 

Perren  (C],  Revival  Sermons,  397. 

Spui^eon  (C.  H.),  Twelve  Popular  Sermons,  No,  209. 

Vaux  (J,  E.),  Sermon  Kote*,  Hi.  94- 

Williams  {T.  LI.},  Thy  Kingdom  Come,  67. 


^glc 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Bv    THE    Rev.    William    Marwick,    Old    Calabar. 


Is  a  previous  uticle  the  subjecl  of  Sympathetic 
Magic  as  based  on  the  association  of  ideas  by 
virtue  of  resemblance  or  contiguity  was  dealt  with. 
It  was  attempted  to  be  shown  that  sympathetic 
magic  involved  no  belief  in  the  supernatural, 
and  was  related  to  science  rather  than  to  le- 
ligion.  In  this  view  the  question  of  the  priority 
of  magic  to  religion  or  of  religion  to  magic  need 
not  be  raised.  Sympathetic  magic  is  simply 
the  applied  science  of  the  savage.  Sympathetic 
magic  is  not  rooted  out  by  religions,  high  or 
low,  but  survives  alongside  of  even  the  highest, 
and  may  therefore  have  coexisted  with  religion 
from  the  beginning. 

Wc  shall  now  discuss  Magic  in  its  various 
aspects  as  set  forth  by  Mr.  Frazer '  in  relation  to 
Religion  as  defined  by  him. 

Premising  that  it  is  impossible  to  frame  a 
definition  that  will  satisfy  everyone,  and  that  all 
that  a  writer  can  do  is  to  say  clearly  what  he 
means,  and  to  employ  the  word  consistently  in 
that  sense  and  throughout  his  work,  Mr.  Frazer 
says:  'By  religion  I  understand  a  propitiation 
or  condliation  of  powers  superior  to  man  which 
are  believed  to  direct  and  control  the  course  of 
nature  and  of  human  life.  In  this  sense  it  will 
be  perceived  that  religion  is  opposed  in  principle 
both  to  magic  and  to  science.  For  all  conciliation 
implies  that  the  Being  conciliated  is  a  conscious  or 
personal  agent,  that  his  conduct  is  in  some 
measure  uncertain,  and  that  he  can  be  prevailed 
upton  to  vary  it  in  the  desired  direction  by  a 
judicious  appeal  to  his  interests,  his  appetites,  or 
his  emotions.  Conciliation  is  never  employed 
towards  things  which  are  regarded  as  inanimate, 
nor  towards  persons  whose  behaviour  in  the  par- 
ticular circumstances  is  known  to  be  determined 
with  absolute  certainty.  Thus  in  so  far  as  religion 
assumes  the  world  to  be  directed  by  conscious 
agents  who  may  be  turned  from  their  purpose  by 
persuasion,  it  stands  in  fundamental  antagonism  to 
magic  as  well  as  to  science,  both  of  which  take  for 

'  Tie  Geldtn  Beugh.  A  Study  id  Magic  and  Religion. 
By  J.  G.  Fmer,  D.C.L.,  LL.D.,  Litl.D,  Second  edition. 
Micmillan.  3  vols,  36s.  net. — Magic  and  Helipan.  By 
Andtew  Lang.     Longnians.     los,  6d.  net. 


granted  that  the  course  of  nature  is  determined, 
not  by  the  passions  or  caprice  of  personal  beings, 
but  by  the  operation  of  mechanical  laws  operating 
mechanically.  In  magic,  indeed,  the  assumption 
is  only  implicit,  but  in  science  it  is  explicit.  It  is 
true  that  magic  often  deals  with  spirits,  which  are 
personal  agents  of  the  kind  assumed  by  religion ; 
but  whenever  it  does  so  in  its  proper  form,  it 
treats  them  exactly  in  the  same  fashion  as  it  treats 
inanimate  agents — that  is,  it  constrains  or  coerces 
instead  of  conciliating  or  propitiating  them  as 
religion  would  do'  {G.B?  i.  63,  64).* 

Mr.  Frazer  appears  to  define  magic  in  several 
ways,  or  to  look  at  it  from  different  stages  in  the 
evolution  of  the  race,  and  the  terms  witchcraft  and 
sorcery  seem  to  be  used  by  him  as  synonymous 
with  magic. 

I.  Sympathetic  (including  Mimetic)  Magic  prior 
to  Jieligion. — He  defines  it  as  'nothing  but  a 
mistaken  application  of  the  very  simplest  and  most 
elementary  processes  of  the  mind,  namely,  the 
association  of  ideas  by  virtue  of  resemblance  or 
contiguity '  (i.  70).  The  germ  of  the  idea  of  the 
world  as  a  system  of  impersonal  forces  acting  in 
accordance  with  fixed  and  invariable  laws,  the 
savage,  whether  European  or  otherwise,  'cer- 
tainly has,'  says  Mr.  Frazer,  'and  acts  upon  it 
not  only  in  magic,  but  in  much  of  the  business 
of  daily  life'  {G.B.^  i.  31,  »  i.  119).  But 
this  'mistaken  application  of  the  very  simplest 
processes  of  the  mind '  is  not  characteristic  of 
primitive  man  and  the  lowest  contemporary 
savages  alone.  Educated  people  make  similar 
mistakes,  and  probably  four-fifths  of  mankind 
believe  in  sympathetic  magic  in  the  sense  of  this 
minimum  definition,  while  at  the  same  time  they 
have  always  believed  in  'religion.'  The  higher 
processes  of  thought  which  result  in  the  conception 
of  religion  {if  it  be  a  purely  intellectual  conception) 
may  be  at  work  in  the  mind  of  the  savage  along 
with  the  most  elementary.  '  If  magic  be  deduced 
immediately  from  elemenUry  processes  of  reason- 
ing, and  be,  in  fact,  an  error  into  which  the  mind 

•  Witk  this  view  of  religion  cf.  Tick's  Eleaunls  of  the 
Science  ef  Religien,  vol.  ii.  135,  and  W.  R.  Smith's /^r/i^>n 
tf  the  Semiles  {eA.  1894),  pp.  54,  55. 


496 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


falls  almost  spontaneously,  while  religion  rests  on 
conceptions  which  the  merely  animal  intelligence 
can  hardly  be  supposed  to  have  yet  attained  to,  it 
becomes  probable  that  magic  arose  before  religion 
in  the  evolution  of  our  race'  (G.B.^  i.  70).  This 
(i/nW  conclusion  is  supposed  by  Mr,  Frazer  to 
be  confirmed  inductively  by  what  we  know  of  the 
lowest  existing  race  of  mankind,  the  aborigines  of 
Australia.  'Without  metals,  without  houses,  with- 
out agriculture,  the  Australian  savages  represent 
the  stage  of  material  culture  which  was  reached  by 
our  remote  ancestors  in  the  Stone  Age ;  and  the 
rudimentary  state  of  the  arts  of  life  among  them 
reflects  faithfully  the  stunted  condition  of  their 
minds'  (i.  71).  This  ai^ument  for  the  priority  of 
magic  (sympathetic  and  mimetic)  is  based  on  the 
assumption  that  'just  as  on  the  material  side  of 
human  culture  there  has  everywhere  been  an  Age 
of  Stone,  so  on  the  intellectual  side  there  has 
everywhere  been  an  Age  of  Magic '  prior  to  the 
dawning  of  an  Age  of  Religion  (i.  73  e/  seg.). 

The  correlation  of  material  and  intellectual 
evolution  in  certain  aspects  is  no  doubt  verifiable, 
but  Sir  Arthur  Mitchell  points  out  in  his  Rhind 
Lectures  in  Archseology,  The  Past  in  the  Prtsent: 
Whatis  Cimiizaiioni  (1880):  'that  a  classification 
of  antiquities  into  those  belonging  to  the  stone, 
bronze,  and  iron  ages  fails  to  indicate  stages 
of  culture  and  capacity,  necessarily  consecutive,  and 
universally  applicable  to  all  the  races  of  the  human 
family'  (p.  117).  Similarly,  a  classification  of  the 
phenomena  of  intellectual  culture  into  successive 
ages  of  magic,  religion,  and  science,  though  it 
may  have  a  certain  '  practical  utility,'  as  in  the 
case  of  material  culture,  'may  lead  to  error  when 
its  nature  is  imperfectly  understood'  {pp.  dt. 
p.  109). 

2.  Magical  Spills. — Sympathetic  magic,  in  both 
forms,  especially  in  the  simpler  or  mimetic  form, 
seems  to  involve  nothing  of  that  constraining  or 
coercing  which  Mr.  Frazer  regards  as  the  dis- 
tinguishing mark  of  magic  as  opposed  to  that  con- 
ciliation or  propitiation  which  he  considers  to  be 
the  distinguishing  mark  of  religion.  It  is  when 
man  essays  '  to  bend  nature  to  his  wishes  by  the 
sheer' force  of  spells  and  enchantments'  (i,  70)  that 
magic  is  something  more  than  mere  'sympathetic 
magic,'  which  rests  'on  the  belief  in  a  cerUin 
secret  sympathy  which  unites  indissolubly  things 
that  have  once  been  connected  with  each 
other,'    or    than    even     '  mimetic,'    the    efficacy 


of  which  'must  be  supposed  to  depend  on  a 
certain  physical  influence  or  sympathy  linking  the 
imaginary  cause  or  subject  to  the  imaginary  effect 
or  object'  (i.  10),  The  spells  or  enchantments 
may  or  may  not  involve  a  belief  in  spirits  or  in 
personal  powers  superior  to  man,  but  they  are 
something  or  other  used  to  supplement,  accel- 
erate, control,  or,  it  may  be,  to  counteract 
the  action  of  the  secret  sympathy  or  physical 
influence.  A  careful  study  of  the  instances  of 
so-called  mimetic  and  sympathetic  magic  given 
by  Mr.  Frazer  will  supply  illustrations  of  what  I 
mean. 

The  very  Srst  examples  of  magical  images  cited 
by  him  {G.B.  i.  10,  11)  do  this.  When  the 
Ojebway  Indian  intends  to  kill  his  enemy  outright, 
he  burns  or  buries  the  puppet,  uttering  certain 
magical  words  as  he  does  so.  In  the  first  form  of 
the  Malay  charm  given  on  p.  ti,  in  order  to  kill 
the  intended  victim,  you  '  scorch  the  figure  slowly 
by  holding  it  over  a  lamp  every  night  for  seven 
nights,  and  say — 
It  19  not  wan  [h>t  I  am  icotchlng. 
It  is  the  liver,   heart,  aod  spleen  of    So-and-io    that  I 

And  so,  as  Mr.  Tylor  points  out  in  his  interest- 
ing chapter  on  '  Images  and  Names '  in  his  Ea^ 
History  of  Mankind,  a  man  may  be  cursed  or 
bewitched  through  his  name  as  well  as  through 
his  image  (p.  134).  But  in  numerous  instances 
of  this  variety  of  mj^ic  there  is  more  involved  than 
the  mere  mimetic  principle,  there  is  belief  in  the 
virtue  of  the  use  of  set  words  and  phrases  accom- 
panying mimetic  action. 

3.  Demonology. — A  third  aspect  of  magic  is  that 
in  which  it  is  supposed  to  deal  with  spirits  (good 
or  bad).  '  Whenever  it  does  so  in  its  proper  form ' 
(i.e.  as  magic  unalloyed  with  religion),  '  it  treats 
them  exactly  in  the  same  fashion  as  it  treats  in- 
animate agents — that  is,  it  constrains  or  coerces' 
them. 

The  definition  of  magic  in  this  aspect  given  by 
Principal  Wbilehouse  in  bis  article  on  'Magicv 
Magician'  (Hastings'  Dictionary  of  the  Bible, 
vol.  iti.  p.  307a),  may  appropriately  be  quoted 
at  this  point :  '  Magic  may,  in  its  historic  sense, 
be  best  described  as  the  special  and  abnormal 
agency  whereby  certain  superhuman  personal 
powers  are  constrained  cither  to  create  evil  (or 
good)  or  to  avert  baneful  effects.  Accordingly, 
magic  falls  into  two  parts,'  viz. :  (i)  sacred  mapt— 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


497 


the  art  'whereby  the  superioT  deities  or  good 
demons  are  influenced  to  exercise  their  good  offices 
to  avert  the  evil,'  i.e.,  whereby  couatcr-spelts  or 
cbanns  are  worked;  and  (i)  sorcery,  or  the  black 
art,  'whereby  evils  are  wrought  on  the  human 
victim  through  the  power  of  the  evil  eye,  etc.,  by 
the  male  sorcerer,  or  more  frequently  through  the 
female  witcb,  who  is  able  to  summon  supernatural 
powers  of  darkness  to  his  or  her  aid,'  Here  magic 
is  regarded  as  '  the  necessary  accompaniment  of 
a  belief  in  demons.'  'These  spirits,'  says  Blau 
(quoted  in  D.B.*  ioya),  'the  magician  endeavours 
by  his  occult  methods  to  bring  under  his  power, 
or  to  compel  them  to  carry  out  his  wilt.  The 
conceptions  respecting  the  nature  and  power  of 
these  spirits,  whom  man  can  make  serviceable  to 
himself,  differ  with  the  different  races.'  Dcmono- 
iogy,  however,  says  Principal  Whitehouse,  'does 
not  wholly  explain  magic  in  all  its  varied  forms 
aod  ramifications.' 

These  three  aspects  of  magic  are  included 
in  what  Mr.  A.  E.  Waite  calls  'the  popular 
significance  attached  to  the  term  magic'  Put 
briefly,  in  the  popular  significance  'there  is 
generally  implied  one  of  two  things — either  that  it 
is  the  art  of  producing  effects  by  the  operation  of 
causes,  which  are  apparently  inadequate  to  their 
production,  and  are  therefore  in  apparent  defiance 
of  the  known  order  of  nature ;  or  that  it  is  the 
art  of  evoking  "  spirits,"  and  of  forcing  them  to 
perform  the  bidding  of  the  operator.'' 

Mr.  Waite,  after  quoting  the  definitions  of  magic 
given  by  the  historians  of  magic — Christian,  Enpe- 
moser,  and  Lfivi— says  :  '  By  these  definitions  it  is 
plain  that  magic  is  not  merely  the  art  of  evoking 
spirits,  and  that  it  is  not  merely  concerned  with 
establishing  a  communication  with  other  forms  of 
intelligent  subsistence  In  the  innumerable  spheres 
of  the  transcendental.  If  such  communication 
can  be  truly  established,  it  is  evidently  by  the 
intervention  of  certain  occult  forces  retident  in  the 
communicating  individual,  man.  Now  it  is  reason- 
able to  suppose  that  the  same  forces  can  be 
applied  in  other  directions,  and  the  synthesis  of 
the  methods  and  processes  by  which  these  forces 
are  utilized  in  the  several  fields  of  experiment, 
combined  with  a  further  synthesis  of  methods  and 
processes  by  which  the  latent  potentialities  of  a 
variety  of  physical  substances  are  developed  into 

'  Thi  Onult  Slitnces  (iSgi),  pt.  i.  Magical  Practices: 
Qefiiiition!,  p.  lo. 


manifold  activity,  constitute  magic  in  the  full, 
perfect,  and  comprehensive  sense  of  that  much 
abused  term.'^  I  have  quoted  this  definition  in 
full,  italicizing  what  seems  to  be  the  essence  in  all 
forms  of  the  art  of  magic 

Mr.  Lang  has  devoted  the  first  part  of  his  work. 
The  Making  of  Religion,  to  an  examination  of 
'the  X-region  of  our  nature,'  the  phenomena  of 
which  may  'indicate  the  existence  of  a  transcend- 
ental region  of  human  faculty.'  'Anthropologists,' 
he  says,  '  have  gone  on  discussing  the  trances  and 
visions,  and  so-called  "demoniacal  possession"  of 
savages,  as  if  no  new  researches  into  similar  facts 
in  the  psychology  of  civilized  mankind  existed;  or, 
if  they  existed,  threw  any  glimmer  of  light  on  the 
abnormal  psychology  of  savages.  I  have,  on  the 
other  hand,  thought  it  desirable  to  sketch  out  a 
study  of  savage  psychology  in  the  light  of  recent 
research'  (Pref.  2nd  ed.  p.  viii.).  The  importance 
of  such  examination  is  still  hardly  realized  by 
students  of  early  religion  or  by  anthropologists 
generally.  Mr.  Frazer  does  not  appear  to  realize 
it,  though  his  work  is  full  of  illustrations  of  ab- 
normal psychological  phenomena.  The  history  of 
the  'Occult  Sciences'  also  throws  light  on  the 
subject.     See  Waite's  Occult  Sciences,  passim. 

Between  magic,  in  the  full  sense  of  the  term, 
or,  as  it  may  otherwise  be  described,  occult  or 
transcendental  science,  and  religion  in  general, 
'as  a  frame  of  mind,  an  emotion,  and  at  the  same 
time  as  the  inspiration  of  a  higher  spirit,' '  there  is 
no  necessary  antagonism.  Religion,  as  Professor 
Ticie  points  out,*  is  not  truly  hostile  to  science, 
philosophy,  poetry,  etc. ;  and  in  so  far  as  magic 
is  the  science  of  occult  or  transcendental  pheno- 
mena, the  existence  of  which  has  been  vouched 
for  in  all  ages  among  all  races,  and  studied 
in  all  the  so-called  occult  sciences,  religion  is  not 
necessarily  hostile  to  it. 

4.  Fusion  of  Magic  with  Xeligion. — Mr.  Frazer 
adduces  evidence  to  show  that  in  the  earlier 
stages  of  the  history  of  religion  there  is  'fusion 
or  confusion  of  magic  with  religion'  (G.B.*  i.  65) 
and  that  'the  functions  of  priest  and  sorcerer 
were  often  combined,  or,  to  speak  perhaps 
more  correctly,  were  not  yet  differentiated  from 
each  other'  (p.  64).     He  cites  Dr.  Codrington 

=  Op.  (it.  p.   12. 

'  Professor  C.  P.  Tiele,  Elements  of  the  Science  a/ Religim 
(Gifford  Lectures),  vol.  ii.  p.  257-        ,     .-,,  „  ,^,,, 
'  Of.  cit.  p.  JS7  "  ^eq.  I  I  '      '  '  •^T-"-'^!'- 


498 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


with  reference  to  the  Melanesians.  With  them 
the  belief  in  an  invisible  supernatural  power  (mana) 
residing  in  spiritual  beings,  whether  in  the  spiritual 
part  of  tnan  or  in  the  ghosts  of  the  dead,  and  in 
the  efficacy  of  the  various  means  by  which  spirits 
and  ghosts  can  be  induced  to  exercise  it  for  the 
benefit  of  men,  is  the  foundation  of  religious  rites 
and  practices,  and  from  it  everything  which  may 
be  called  magic  and  witchcraft  draws  its  origin 
(p.  65).  Here  apparently  is  no  opposition  of 
principle  between  magic  and  religion.  Mr.  Frazer 
himself  adds  that  'the  same  confusion  of  magic 
and  religion  has  survived  among  peoples  that  have 
risen  to  higher  levels  of  culture.  It  was  rife  in 
ancient  India  and  ancient  Egypt;  it  is  by  no 
means  extinct  among  European  peasantry  at  the 
present  day'  (p.  66).  Professor  Wiedemann  is 
quoted  as  saying  that  Egyptian  religion  was  com- 
pacted of  the  most  heterogeneous  elements,  which 
seemed  to  the  Egyptian  to  be  all  equally  justified. 
He  did  not  care  whether  a  doctrine  or  a  myth 
belonged  to  what  we  would  call  faith  or  supersti- 
tion, whether  we  would  rank  it  as  religion  or  magic, 
as  worship  or  sorcery  (p.  67), 

The  evidence  adduced  by  Mr.  Frazer,  which,  it 
seems  to  me,  may  bear  another  interpretation  than 
that  given  by  him,  and  other  evidence  that  might 
be  produced,  rather  support  Mr.  Lang's  contention 
that  'religion  and  magic  may  have  been  concurrent 
from  the  first,'  but  that  'we  have  no  historical 
evidence  on  this  point  of  relative  priority.' 1  This 
hypothesis  seems  a  more  reasonable  one  than 
the  hypotheses  (i)  that  magic  is  prior  to  religion 
(Frazer);  or  (3)  that  religion  is  prior  to  magic, 
and  that  'magic,  wherever  it  sprang  up,  was 
a  d^radation  or  relapse  in  the  evolution  of 
religion '  (Jevons,  I.H.R.  pp.  25  and  1 77). 
That  is  true  of  magic  in  its  third  aspect,  in 
what  may  be  called  its  fourth  aspect,  where 
there  is  fusion  or  confusion  of  magic  with  religion, 
and  in  a  fifth  aspect,  where  the  belief  in  and 
practice  of  magic  survives,  in  a  debased  form, 
in  civilized  or  semi-civilized  countries  among  the 
aborigines  or  isolated  races,  survivors  of  which  are 
to  be  found  coexisting  with  the  higher,  perhaps 
conquering,  race  that  has  dispossessed  their  an- 
cestors, or  even  in  civilized  countries  among  back- 

1  'Mi.  FrBMr's  Theoty  of  Totemism,'  by  A.  Lang, 
Fortnightly  Reviem,  June  1899,  p>  1013  ;  see  alio  Lang's 
Magic  and  Religion,  and  Tide's  Giflbid  Lectures  (1899), 
ladei,  uader  'Magic' 


ward  or  uneducated  members  of  a  community. 
At  this  stage  the  opposition  between  religion  and 
magic  has  become  acute,  and  reputed  wizards  and 
witches  are  persecuted,  perhaps  even  put  to 
death  at  the  instance  of  the  religious  and  civil 
authorities.     (Tylor's  Primitive  Culture,  c  iv.) 

But  if  the  practice  of  magic  be  based  on  the 
action  of  certain  occult  forces  resident  in  indi- 
viduals in  all  races,  savage  and  civilized  alike,  and 
religion  be  a  '  psychological  necessity '  of  human 
nature,  which  the  possession  even  of  mana,  or 
occult  powers,  cannot  satisfy,  which  the  belief  in 
religious  or  magical  man-gods  only  accentuates, 
each  has  its  function  in  the  evolution  of  humanity, 
and  as  a  creed,  a  science,  or  a  philosophy,  call  it 
what  you  like,  each  has  its  justification,  in  its  own 
successive  developments,  as  a  working  hypothesis 
for  its  devotees.  The  history  of  magic  and  re- 
ligion, on  this  view,  is  something  more  than  a 
'  melancholy  record  of  human  error  and  folly,'  as 
Mr.  Frazer  deems  the  illustrations  of  it  unfolded 
in  his  volumes.  It  is  surely  the  effort  of  the 
human  spirit,  aided  by  the  divine,  to  free  itself 
from  illusion  in  thought  and  wrong  in  conduct  by 
means  of  a  synthesis  that  harmonizes,  without 
confusing,  the  divine  and  the  human,  that  weds 
thought  and  action  in  a  union  fruitful  of  good  to 
humanity  through  the  action  and  reaction  on  each 
other  of  a  creed  that  is  '  the  highest  science  ot 
wisdom,  based  upon  knowledge  and  practical  ei- 
perience,'  and  of  conduct  that  is  true  service  of 
God  and  of  man  in  his  physical,  mental,  moral, 
and  spiritual  needs,  no  element  being  ignored  or 
neglected.  If  this  synthesis  be  the  Christian  re- 
ligion, purified  of  the  accretions  and  corruptions 
that  have  gathered  around  it  and  at  times  hindered 
its  growth  into,  and  influence  over,  the  life  of  the 
races  of  men  it  has  reached,  the  faith  of  the  future, 
as  of  the  past,  will  be  religious,  not  magical  not 
scientific,  but  religious  in  a  sense  that  includes  all 
that  is  true  in  the  imperfect  syntheses  of  magic 
and  science. 

Mr.  Frazer  asks  whether  there  is  not  'some 
more  general  conclusion,  some  lesson,  if  possible, 
of  hope  and  encouragement,  to  be  drawn  from 
the  melancholy  record  of  human  error  and  folly 
which  has  engaged  our  attention  in  these  volumes. 
If  then  we  consider,  on  the  one  hand,  the  essen- 
tial similarity  of  man's  chief  wants  everywhere 
and  at  all  times,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
wide  difference  between  the  means  he  has  adopted 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


499 


to  satisfy  them  in  dilferent  ages,  we  shall  perhaps 
be  disposed  to  conclude  that  the  movement  of 
the  higher  thought,  so  far  as  we  can  trace  it, 
has  on  the  whole  been  from  magic  through  reli- 
gion to  science'  (G.B.^  iii.  458),  But  science — 
though  'the  hope  of  progress,  moral  and  intel- 
lectual, as  well  as  material,  in  the  future  is  bound 
up  with  the  fortunes  of  science ' — is  not  neces- 
sarily a  complete  and  final  synthesis.  'In  the 
last  analysis  magic,  religion,  and  science  are 
nothing  but  theories  of  thought ;  and  as  science 
has  supplanted  its  predecessors,  so  it  may  here- 
after be  itself  superseded  by  some  more  perfect 
hypothesis,  perhaps  by  some  totally  different  way 
of  looking  at  the  phenomena, — of  registering  the 
shadows  on  the  screen, — of  which  we  in  this 
generation  can  form  no  idea.  The  advance  of 
knowledge  is  an  infinite  progression  towards  a 
goal  that  for  ever  recedes.  .  .  .  The  dreams  of 
magic  may  one  day  be  the  waking  realities  of 
science.  But  a  dark  shadow  lies  athwart  the 
far  end  of  this  fair  prospect.  ...  In  the  ages 
to  come  man  may  be  able  to  predict,  perhaps 
even  to  control,  the  wayward  courses  of  the  winds 
and  clouds,  but  hardly  will  his  puny  hands  have 
strength  to  speed  afresh  our  slackening  planet 
in  its  orbit  or  rekindle  the  dying  fire  of  the 
sun.  Yet  the  philosopher  who  trembles  at  the 
idea  of  such  distant  catastrophes  may  console 
himself  by  reflecting  that  these  gloomy  appre- 
hensions, like  the  earth  and  the  sun  themselves, 
are  only  parts  of  that  unsubstantial  world  which 
thought  has  conjured  up  out  of  the  void,  and 
that  the  phantoms  which  the  subtle  enchantress 
has  evoked  to-day  she  may  ban  to-morrow.  They 
too,  like  so  much  that  to  common  eyes  seems 
solid,  may  melt  into  air,  into  thin  air'  (3iii, 
460-461). 

It  is  impossible  to  do  other  than  feel  respectful 
sympathy  with  this  eloquent  but  sombre  conclu- 
sion, however  little  one  may  be  disposed  to  agree 
with  Mr.  Frazer's  complex  argument  through- 
out his  learned  and  fascinating  volumes  and 
the  more  general  conclusion  to  which  his  own 
studies  and  the  state  of  modern  thought  seem  to 
point  him. 

Over  against  Mr.  Frazer's  agnostic  summing  up 


I  would  fain  set  the  closing  pages  of  the  second 
volume  of  Professor  Tide's  Gifford  Lectures,  but 
of  these  I  have  room  for  only  a  few  extracts : — 

Discussing  the  theory  that  science  may  perhaps 
take  the  place  of  religion,  he  says :  '  Science  has 
indeed  worked  marvels  during  the  present  century 
in  every  department,  and  has  thus  earned  a  rich 
harvest  for  our  social  life,  and  earned  our  gratitude, 
We  who  love  it,  and  devote  our  lives  to  it,  can 
but  rejoice  that  its  light  shines  around  us  more 
brightly  than  at  any  previous  period  in  the  world's 
history.  That  light  is  essential  to  our  very  lives  ; 
but  light  is  not  the  only  essential — we  also  require 
warmth  for  our  souls,  and  science  has  no  warmth 
to  offer.  .  ,  .  Among  other  things,  our  science 
has  demonstrated  by  historical  and  psychological 
research  that  the  religious  need  is  a  general  human 
need.  .  .  .  Our  science  cannot  call  forth  a  new 
manifestation  of  religious  life,  but  it  may  pave  the 
way  for  it  by  tracing  the  evolution  of  religion, 
explaining  its  essentials  and  showing  where  its 
origin  is  to  be  sought  for.  Let  it  do  its  own 
duty  in  throwing  light  upon  the  part  that  religion 
has  ever  played  in  the  history  of  mankind,  and 
still  plays  in  every  human  soul.  And  then,  with- 
out preaching,  or  special  pleading,  or  apologetic 
argument,  but  solely  by  means  of  the  actual  facts 
it  reveals,  our  beloved  science  will  help  to  bring 
home  to  the  restless  spirits  of  our  time  the  truth 
that  there  is  no  rest  for  them  unless  "  they  arise 
and  go  to  their  Father." '  ^ 

May  these  noble  words  of  a  master  of  the 
science  of  religion  reassure  those  who  may  be 
led  by  Mr.  Frazer  and  others  to  fear  that  the 
science  of  religion,  with  its  'battery  of  the  com- 
parative method,'  must  necessarily  'strike  at  the 
foundations  of  beliefs  in  which,  as  in  a  strong 
tower,  the  hopes  and  aspirations  of  humanity 
through  long  ages  have  sought  a  refuge  from 
the  storm  and  stress  of  life.'  Where  it  does  its 
own  duty,  it  but  demonstrates  the  eternal  founda- 
tion of  religion.  May  Mr.  Frazer's  general  treatise 
on  religion,  which  all  students  eagerly  await, 
breathe  the  more  hopeful  spirit  of  Professor 
Tide's  Gifford  Lectures. 

'  Professor  Tide's  Elements  of  the  Science  ef  Religion 
(Gifford  I>ctuie5),  vol.  ii.  pp.  259-263. 


,y  Google 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


€^t   ^onge   of  t^t   Qlectnie. 

Bv  THE  Rev.  David  Smith,  M.A.,  Tulliallan. 


Mount  Zion  in  S^ht 


Psalm  cxxL 


I.  I  will  lift  np  mine  ejet  udIo  the  moualiini : 

Whence  shall  come  my  help? 
s.  My  help  Cometh  from  Jehovah, 

Maker  of  heaven  and  earlh. 

SECOND  riLCKIM. 
3-  May  He  not  tuBei  thy  foot  to  wLver, 
May  He  not  slumber, 
even  thy  Keeper! 

4.  Behold,  He  can  neither  slumber  noi  ileep, 
the  Keeper  of  Israel. 

CHORUS  OF    PILGRIMS. 

5-  Jehovah  is  thy  Keeper  j 

Jehovah  is  Ihy  shade  upon  thy  right  hand. 

6.  By  day  the  lun  ihall  not  smite  thee, 

Nor  the  moon  by  night. 

7.  Jehovah  shall  keep  thee  from  alt  evil ; 

He  shall  keep  (hy  soul, 

8.  Jehovah  shall  keep  Ihy  going  out  and  thy  coming  in. 

From  hencefoTth  and  for  ever. 

When  last  we  had  a  glimpse  of  the  Tcturning 
exiles,  they  were  in  a  distressful  plight.  They 
were  in  the  desert,  not  far  indeed  from  their  own 
land,  but  harassed  and  hunted  by  the  fierce  and 
treacherous  Arabs.  It  is  a  brighter  scene  that  we 
are  now  to  look  upon.  The  exiles  have  eluded 
their  tormentors,  crossed  the  mountain-ridges  that 
fence  in  Palestine  from  the  desert,  forded  the 
river  Jordan,  and  sighted  the  hills  which  stand 
like  patient  sentinels  around  Jerusalem. 

What  emotion  would  flood  the  hearts  of  the 
exiles  when  after  long  years  of  servitude  they  trod 
once  more  their  sacred  mother-soil  and  looked 
upon  those  grand  hills  I  On  the  vast  plain  of 
Babylonia,  with  its  stagnant  pools  and  sluggish 
canals,  and  never  a  hillock  to  break  the  mono- 
tonous level,  how  they  must  have  longed  for  the 
wide  horizon  of  that  'land  of  far  distances'  (Is 
33")  and  the  free  breath  of  its  mountain  air ! 


For  the  health,  for  the  air,  of  the  hearts  deep  and  broad. 
Where  grace  not  in  rills  but  in  cataracts  rolls '. 

They  have  now  attained  their  desire,  and  one 
of  them  reverently  salutes  those  dear  and  sacred 
mountains: 

I  will  lift  np  mine  eyes  unto  the  mounCaios. 
Then  suddenly  he  checks  himself.  Strong  and 
beautiful  as  these  mountains  may  be,  there  is  One 
who  is  more  worthy  than  they  of  trust  and 
adoration — Jehovah,  who  made  the  mountains 
and  alt  things  else.  'Whence  shall  my  help  eomeV 
From  the  mountains?  No  I  '  My  helpcometkfivm 
Jehmiah,  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth.'  It  is  Jeho- 
vah that  has  delivered  the  exiles  from  their  cap- 
tivity, and,  now  that  they  are  back  in  their  own 
land,  it  is  in  Him  that  they  must  still  hope. 

Here  another  of  the  exile-band  chimes  in. 
Addressing  his  comrade  who  has  just  spoken,  he 
says: 

May  He  not  luSer  thy  foot  to  waver, 

May  He  not  slumber, 
even  thy  Keeper  I 
There  is  a  touch  of  querulousness  in  this,  and 
more  than  a  touch  of  faithlessness.  The  speaker 
is  one  who  has  grown  morose  and  bitter.  The 
hard  experiences  of  those  years  of  bondage  ha« 
crushed  the  hope  and  the  courage  out  of  him. 
And,  now  that  deliverance  has  come,  he  cannot 
believe  that  it  will  last.  His  comrade's  courageous 
hopefulness  irritates  him ;  and,  after  the  manner 
of  his  sort,  instead  of  keeping  his  gloom  and 
cowardice  to  himself,  he  must  needs  let  them  out 
on  those  about  him. 

May  He  not  suffer  tby  foot  to  waver. 

May  He  not  slumber, 
even  thy  Keeper ! 
It  is  as  though  he  had  said,  'Be  not  over  con- 
fident. Jehovah  has  been  asleep  all  those  years ; 
and,  though  He  has  awakened  for  our  deliverance, 
it  is  more  than  likely  He  will  fall  asleep  again  and 
leave  ua  to  our  fate.  I  trust  not,  but  I  feir  there 
may  be  troubles  in  store  for  us  yet.' 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


SOI 


It  is  a  thousand  pities  that  there  should  be 
people  of  this  stamp  in  the  world,  and  a  thousand 
pities  more  that  they  should  be  so  numerous.  The 
world  has  no  need  of  pessimists.  It  is  full  enough 
of  sorrow  and  distress,  visible  to  the  dullest  eye ; 
and  what  it  sorely  needs  is  men  with  the  keen 
vision  that  discovers  the  blue  sicy  behind  the 
clouds,  and  the  brave  heart  that  persistently  hopes 
for  the  best  and  encourages  the  fainting  and  dis- 
pirited to  believe  that  the  hardest  lot  is  rich  in 
undreamed-of  possibilities  for  such  as  trust  and 
obey  God.  If  we  have  no  hope  and  no  faith,  it  is 
our  duty  to  be  silent,  lest  by  our  despairing  and 
cowardly  complaints  we  make  life  darker  and 
sadder  for  our  fellows.  It  is  shallow  and  undis- 
ciplined souls  that  are  distrustful  and  querulous. 
Did  they  but  look  deeper  and  more  earnestly  into 
their  lives,  they  would  discover  in  their  hardest 
experiences  a  divine  significance  and  a  precious 
use.  These  lives  of  ours  would  wear  an  altogether 
different  aspect  if  only  we  learned  to  regard  them 
as  the  wonderful  and  mysterious  workmanship  of 
our  Heavenly  Father — unfinished  as  yet  and  there- 
fore unintelligible,  but  with  foresh  ado  wings  upon 
them  of  the  perfect  beauty  that  will  crown  them 
when  God  has  '  wrought  in  us  all  the  good  pleasure 
of  His  goodness.' 

There  is  an  accent  of  indignation  in  the  answer 
which  the  first  speaker  returns  to  this  prophet  of 
sorrow.  To  the  half-sneering  wish  that  Jehovah 
his  Keeper  may  not  fall  asleep  again,  he  replies : 


Behold,   He  can  neilber  slumber  n 
ihe  Kcepei  of  Israel. 


The  sneer  had  been,  '  May  iky  Keeper  not 
slumber'!  and  the  answer  is,  'The  Keeper  of 
Israel  cannot  slumber.'  Here  lies  the  man's 
a^ument :  '  Not  my  Keeper  merely,  but  the 
Keeper  of  Israel,'  His  view  of  life  is  as  broad  and 
deep  as  his  sneering  critic's  is  narrow  and  shallow. 
He  rises  above  his  own  individual  experience,  so 
troublous  and  seemingly  purposeless,  and  reposes 
on  the  grand  Purpose  of  God  disclosed  so  plainly 
in  the  national  life  (o  all  who  have  eyes  to  discern 
it  and  hearts  to  understand  it-  Instead  of  re- 
garding only  the  calamitous  present,  he  surveys 
the  long  process  of  Israel's  history  and  recognizes 
it  as  having  been  from  first  to  last  a  wise,  though 
often  painful,  education  by  which  the  nation  has 
learned  to  know  God  better  and  trust  Him  more. 
To  one  who   lives  tn  the  midst  of  a  troublous 


period  it  may  appear  as  though  God,  in  the  sneer- 
ing phrase  of  this  Hebrew  cynic,  had  fallen  asleep ; 
but  one  who  traces  the  unerring  purpose  of  events 
and  considers  how  all  the  fortunes  of  humanity, 
dark  and  bright  alike,  have  kept  working  towards 
beautiful  and  beneficent  ends,  must  needs  recog- 
niie  in  all  the  ever-wakeful  and  ever- watchful 
presence  of  the  Living  God. 

These  words  of  hope  and  confidence  command 
the  assent  and  approbation  of  the  listeners. 
Scarcely  have  they  been  spoken  when  from  the 
rest  of  the  pilgrims  who  have  been  witnesses  of 
the  encounter  between  the  two,  there  breaks  a 
chorus  of  acclamation : 

Jehovah  is  thy  Keepei : 

Jehovah  is  thy  shade  upon  Ihy  right  band  ; 

and  so  on.  The  man's  indomitable  trust  in  God 
despite  the  sneers  of  his  neighbour  strikes  a  re- 
sponsive chord  in  the  breasts  of  the  bystanders, 
and  they  confess,  spontaneously  and  enthusiasti- 
cally, that  he  is  in  Ihe  right. 

The  metaphors  in  the  closing  verses  are  most 
natural  and  appropriate  on  the  lips  of  men  who 
have  been  wandering  in  the  wilderness. 

'Jehovah  is  thy  shade;  ...  the  sun  shall  not 
smite  thee  by  day,  nor  the  moon  by  night."  Such 
language  abounds  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  the 
beauty  of  it  would  be  very  apparent  to  dwellers  in 
a  sultry  land.  '  He  that  dwelleih  in  the  secret 
place  of  the  Most  High,  shall  abide  under  the 
shadow  of  the  Almighty.'  'Thou  hast  been  a 
shadow  from  the  heat,'  '  as  the  shadow  of  a  great 
rock  in  a  weary  land.'  The  precise  meaning  of 
the  phrase  'upon  thy  right  hand'  is  uncertain. 
It  may  be  that  Jehovah  is  the  Champion  of  them 
that  trust  Him,  standing  on  their  right  and  shelter- 
ing them  with  His  left  hand,  while  with  His  right 
hand  He  sweeps  back  their  assailants.  Thus  we 
read  in  Ps  no: 

Jehovah  ■(  thy  right  hand 

Shall  strike  through  kiog*  in  the  day  of  His  wrath. 

Again,  since  the  Hebrews  in  fixing  the  points  of 
the  compass  faced  towards  the  sunrise,  'on  the 
right'  may  mean  southward;  and  then  the  sense 
would  be, '  Jehovah  is  thy  shade  on  thy  southward 
side,'  i.e.  against  the  fierce  glare  of  noonday. 

Not  only  at  noonday,  however,  is  Jehovah  a 
shelter  to  them  that  trust  Him. 


By  day  the  sun  shall  not 
Not  the  moon  by  night. 


e  thee,  , 


501 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


The  peril  here  is  twofold — sunstroke  and  the 
hurtful  influences  of  the  moonlight  It  was  an 
ancient  belief,  embalmed  in  the  word  lunatic  (/una, 
the  moon),  that  exposure  to  the  moonlight  pro- 
duced madness  and  even  death — a  nolion  which 
was  not  wholly  a  superstition,  since  in  the  cool  of 
night  noxious  vapours  and  mists  exhale  from  the 
heated  sands. 

From  these  and  all  other  perils  of  this  wilder- 
ness-journey Jehovah  protects  the  man  who  Ukes 
refuge  under  His  shadow:  'Jehovah  shall  keep 
thee  from  all  evil.'  Jehovah's  protection  of  them 
that  trust  Him  is  complete.  Their  persotts  are 
safe:  'Jehovah  shall  keep  thee.'  Their  spiritual 
and  eternal  welfare  is  assured :  '  He  shall  keep 
thy  soul.'  Then, '  their  going  out  and  their  coming 
in ' — their  daily  pursuits  and  their  nightly  restings, 
the  labours  they  go  forth  to  in  the  morning,  and  the 
homes  they  return  to  at  nightfall;  and  (shall  we 
not  add 7}  that  final  'going  out'  and  that  'coming 
in'  which  has  no  'going  out,'  their  exit  from  the 
wilderness  of  mortal  life  and  their  entrance  into 
the  Eternal  Homeland — these  are  ordered  in  all 
things  and  sure. 

.1  and  tfay  coming  in, 

Perhaps  the  most  impressive  thing  in  this  psalm, 
when  thus  interpreted,  is  the  quick  and  eager  re- 
sponse of  the  band  of  pilgrims  to  the  first  speaker's 
courageous  and  trustful  hope  in  God.  We  ought 
not  to  blame  the  second  speaker  too  severely  for 
his  faint-heartedness.  He  had  behind  him  a  pain- 
ful and  bitter  experience;  and  the  prospect  ap- 
peared dismal  enough.  The  exiles  were  indeed 
back  again  in  their  own  land,  but  that  land  was 
either  lying  desolate  or  occupied  by  strangers. 
Jerusalem,  their  sacred  capital,  had  been  a  heap 
of  ruins  ever  since  its  capture  more  than  half  a 
century  before.  The  little  band  of  exiles  had 
before  them  toilsome  years  of  reconstruction  and 
restoration,  and  (hat  not  only  without  assistance 
but  in  the  teeth  of  opposition.  The  wonder  is,  not 
that  one  of  them  was  so  faint-hearted,  but  rather 
that  they  were  not  all  alike  despondent  and  de- 
spairing. It  was  the  indomitable  courage  of  this 
one  true  hero,  who  spoke  out  so  confidently  the 

I  faith  which  was  in  him,  that  nerved  the  others  and 

i  rescued  them  from  despair. 

Deep  down  in  every  human  heart  there  is  an 
destructible  conviction,  that,  in  spile  of  all  ap- 


pearances to  the  contrary,  God  is  worthy  to  be 
trusted.  Brave  men  who  have  learned  by  stem 
discipline  that  most  precious  of  all  lessons — to 
hope  in  God  and  believe  unshakably  in  the  great 
goodness  which  He  has  laid  up  for  them  that  fear 
Him,  and  the  unimagined  glory  which  He  has 
prepared  for  them  that  love  Him — are  supremely 
needed  and  ever  welcomed  by  a  suffering  and 
despondent  world.  By  their  mere  presence — so 
strong,  so  calm,  so  reassuring — they  play  the  noble 
and  beneficent  part  so  touchingly  portrayed  by 
the  ancient  prophet,  '  preaching  good  tidings  unto 
the  meek,  binding  up  the  broken-hearted,  pro- 
claiming liberty  to  the  captives  and  the  opening 
of  the  prison  to  tbem  that  are  bound,  comforting 
all  that  mourn.' 

Languor  Is  not  In  ihelr  heait, 

Weaknett  is  not  in  their  word. 

Weariness  not  on  tbeir  brow. 

They  alight  in  our  van  !  at  tbeii  voice. 

Panic,  despair,  flee  away. 

They  move  through  the  ranks,  recall 

The  stragglers,  refresh  the  outn-on, 

Praiae,  re-inspiie  the  brave  t 

Order,  courage,  return. 

Eyes  rekindling,  and  prayers. 

Follow  their  slops  as  ihey  go. 

They  fill  up  the  gaps  in  out  5les, 

Strengthen  ihe  wavering  line, 

Slabliah,  continue  oar  march, 

On,  to  the  bound  of  the  waste. 

On,  to  the  City  of  God. 
And  this  part  every  one  of  us  may  play  by  simply 
believing  utterly  the  tovingkindness  of  our 
Heavenly  Father  and,  in  the  confidence  of  this 
great  faith,  encountering  courageously  and  lov- 
^gly  whatever  of  sorrow  and  hardship  He  may 
appoint 

The  key-note  of  the  psalm  is  the  word  '  keep ' ; 
and  it  is  unfortunate  that  this  should  have  been 
obscured  in  the  Authorized  Version  by  the  infeli- 
city of  rendering  the  Hebrew  word  now  by  '  keep ' 
and  anon  by  'preserve.'  'Jehovah,  thy  f^eeper, 
the  Keeper  of  Israel,  shall  keep  thee,  shall  keep  thy 
soul,  shall  keep  thy  going  out  and  thy  coming  in.' 
Of  course  this  does  not  mean  that  those  who  trust  in 
God  are  kept  from  all  trouble  and  misfortune  and 
live,  as  it  were,  a  charmed  life.  The  Psalmist 
could  not  have  cherished  such  a  delusion  in  view 
of  the  troubles  which  beset  himself  and  his  com- 
rades. It  is  in  a  far  deeper  and  grander  sense  that 
God  'keeps'  His  people.  He  does  not  keep  them 
out  of  trouble,  but  He  keeps  them  when  they  are 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


S03 


in  trouble— keeps  ihem  from  the  evil,  that  it  may 
Dot  grieve  them ;  keeps  them  from  discontent, 
bitterness,  and  rebellion ;  keeps  them  sweet  and 
brave  and  ge title-hearted,  making  it  all  a  sacred 
disciplioe.  Outward  circumstances  are  commonly 
much  the  same  for  those  who  love  God  and  those 
who  do  not ;  but  they  work  very  differently  on  the 
two  classes,  just  as  the  rain  and  sunshine  which 
refresh  and  nourish  a  living  plant  rot  one  that 
is  dead.  Look  at  these  two  men  in  our  psalm. 
They  had  passed  through  the  self-same  trials,  had 
toiled  side  by  side  as  slaves,  and  had  marched  to- 
gether over  the  burning  sands.    Their  experiences 


had  been  precisely  alike;  but  to  the  one,  just 
because  he  had  trusted  God  and  accepted  his  lot 
as  ordained  by  Eternal  Love  and  Wisdom,  those 
common  trials  had  served  as  a  discipline  and  an 
education ;  while  to  the  other,  inasmuch  as  he 
gave  way  to  feeble  repining  and  faithless  despair, 
they  brought  nothing  but  weakness  and  paralysis. 
The  issue  of  a  man's  life -battle  depends  very 
little,  if  at  all,  on  the  enemies  he  has  to  encounter 
and  the  difficulties  he  has  to  surmount  It  de- 
pends mainly,  if  not  entirely,  on  the  spirit  he 
brings  to  the  struggle  and  the  use  he  makes  of  the 
help  which  Cometh  from  Jehovah. 


(JSitunt  ^ovd^n  C§eofogj. 


tU  (pvoBttm  of  i^t  feorb's  ^upptx. 

The  author  of  this  work,'  who  is  a  pupil  of  Dr. 
Hottzmann,  traces  its  origin  to  studies  begun  four 
years  ago,  when  he  was  required  to  write  an  essay 
on  'The  Relation  of  Schleiermacher's  Doctrine  of 
the  Lord's  Supper  to  the  Teaching  of  the  New 
Testament  and  to  the  Creeds.'  The  reading  of 
Schleiermacher  had  the  same  effect  upon  Dr. 
Schweitzer  as  the  reading  of  Hume  had  upon 
Kant,  and  for  the  same  reason :  the  failure  to 
solve  the  fundamental  problem  of  causation  roused 
him  from  his  dogmatic  slumbers.  Neither  the 
theologians  who  set  forth  the  ecclesiastical  view, 
nor  the  critics  who  exf)ounded  the  scientific  view, 
furnished  him  with  any  satisfactory  proof  of  a 
causal  connexion  between  the  Supper  of  the  Lord 
as  described  in  the  Gospels  and  the  Sacrament  of 
the  lord's  Supper  as  celebrated  in  the  Christian 
Church. 

It  will  be  granted  on  all  hands  that  Dr. 
Schweitzer  has  slated  the  problem  clearly  when 
he  says  that  two  questions  must  be  answered : 
'  What  motives  led  the  first  Christians  to  celebrate 
the  Lord's  Supper?'  and  'Do  these  motives 
appeal  as  powerfully  to  us?'    The  first  part*  of 

'  Viis  Abtndmahl  im  ZusamminAaag  mil  dim  Lthen  Jiiu 
unddtr  GesikUkU  del  Urchriitealums.  Von  Lie.  Dt.  Albert 
Schweitzer.     Tubingen ;  J.  C.  B.  Moht. 

*  Erstes  Heft.  Dai  AbendmahlsprobUm  auf  Grund  der 
■aii»tmchaflli(hen  Forschung  des  19  Jahrhuaderls  uad  der 
kiiloriKktn  Btrickte.     M.l,6o. 


his  book  considers  the  problem  as  it  is  affected 
by  nineteenth  century  criticism  of  the  Gospels. 
With  great  force  it  is  shown  that  explanations 
which  assume  that  our  Lord  never  intended  the 
Supper  to  be  repeated,  altogether  fail  to  account 
for  the  fact  of  its  repetition  from  the  earliest  times 
to  the  present  day.  'If  the  Lord's  Supper  has 
been  celebrated  in  the  Christian  Church  from  the 
beginning,  then  that  fact,  considered  only  from 
the  objective  point  of  view,  is  far  more  decisive 
than  the  absence  of  the  words,  "  Do  this  in  re- 
membrance of  Me,"  from  two  ancient  narratives.' 

Dr.  Schweitzer  has  read  widely  and  gives  in 
detail  acute  criticisms  of  modern  discussions  of 
the  problem,  confining  his  attention,  however,  to 
German  authors.  In  his  judgment,  Spitta  and 
Eichhorn  make  use  of  'modem' ideas  to  cast  an 
artificial  light  upon  the  mystery.  Probably  it  is 
impossible  to  obtain  in  any  other  work  so  clear 
and  fair  a  statement  of  the  trend  of  thought  during 
the  last  century ;  but  the  investigation  leads  by 
various  paths  to  the  same  final  dilemma :  Theories 
which  are  based  upon  the  thought  of  feeding  upon 
Christ  account  for  the  sacrament  of  the  early 
Christians,  but  do  not  explain  the  historic  Supper 
as  described  in  the  Gospels.  On  the  other  hand, 
theories  which  are  based  upon  the  symbolic  nature 
of  our  Lord's  actions  account  for  the  historic 
Supper,  but  do  not  explain  its  repetition  from  the 
earliest  ages  to  the  present  time.  Keys  which 
open  one  door  do  not  ^V^''f<  '^^'Fk^Q^tbCif^ther 


door. 


■'S" 


504 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


It  is  essential,  in  Dr.  Schweitzer's  judgment, 
that  the  explanation  of  the  symbolic  words,  '  this 
is  My  body '  and  '  this  is  My  blood,'  should  be 
sought  in  the  narrative  of  the  Supper,  and  not 
via  versd.  He  would  have  us  lay  aside  the 
'prejudice'  that  Jesus  required  His  disciples  to 
eat  the  bread  and  to  drink  the  wine  because  He 
had  spoken  of  them  as  His  body  and  blood. 
There  must,  however,  be  something  wrong  in  any 
exposition  of  the  Gospel  history  which  explains 
away  the  symbolic  words  which  are  not  omitted 
by  any  of  our  four  authorities.  Fully  recognizing 
the  author's  learning  and  ingenuity,  we  are  com- 
pelled to  say  at  the  close  of  a  careful  reading  of 
his  book,  what  he  himself  grants  it  would  be  quite 
natural  for  his  readers  to  say  at  the  beginning; 
'It  is  a  despairing  rattling  of  the  locked  door.' 
Moreover,  we  hesitate  to  accept  his  statement  that 
the  door  is  locked,  knowing  that  in  the  opening  of 
a  door  something  depends  upon  the  way  in  which 
the  key  is  inserted  in  the  lock  and  upon  the 
direction  in  which  it  is  turned. 

Mark's  narrative,  it  is  contended,  must  be  the 
starting-point  of  every  scientific  investigation, 
inasmuch  as  its  authenticity  is  established  by  its 
freedom  from  all  attempts  to  assimilate  the  pro- 
cedure at  the  Supper  of  the  Lord  to  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  Lord's  Supper  in  the  Early  Church. 
From  Mark  we  learn  that  'Jesus  did  not  require 
His  disciples  to  eat  His  body  and  to  drink  His 
blood ;  the  symbolic  words  were  not  spoken  before 
they  partook  of  the  bread  and  of  the  wine,  but 
during  the  supper.  The  words,  "  This  is  My 
blood,"  etc.,  were  not  uttered  until  all  had  drank 
of  the  cup.'  Mark  also  gives  prominence  to  the 
solemn  words,  'Verily  I  say  unto  you,  I  will  no 
more  drink  of  the  fruit  of  the  vine,  until  that  day 
when  I  drink  it  new  in  the  kingdom  of  God.' 
Hence  it  was  '  not  of  His  death,  but  of  His  death 
and  speedy  reunion  with  them  at  the  feast  in  the 
new  kingdom,'  that  Jesus  spoke  with  His  disciples 
at  the  List  Supper.  These  important  words  are 
not  sufhciently  regarded,  it  is  said,  in  modern 
discussions  of  the  problem ;  and  the  reason  why 
our  conceptions  of  the  Lord's  Supper  are  faulty  is, 
that  we  misunderstand  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus, 
and  do  not  connect  His  words  about  His  sufferings 
with  His  sayings  about  the  kingdom  that  is  yet  to 
come. 

It  is  beyond  dispute  that  our  conceptions  of  the 
life  of  Jesus  will  determine  our  view  of  the  Lord's 


Supper ;  and  in  part  ii.'  Dr.  Schweitzer  sets  about 
the  formidable  task  of  writing  such  a  Life  of  Jesas 
as  will  explain  his  view  of  the  events  of  the  night 
of  the  betrayal.  Here  it  must  suffice  to  state  His 
main  conclusions :  Jesus  became  conscious  of  His 
Messiahship  at  His  baptism ;  He  revealed  the 
secret  first  to  His  three  most  intimate  disciples  at 
the  Transfiguration ;  a  few  weeks  later  the  secret 
was  made  known  to  all  His  disciples  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Csesarea  Philippi ;  there  was  no 
public  confession  of  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus 
until  He  distinctly  avowed  it  in  reply  to  the  high 
priest.  (Dr.  Schweitzer  thinks  that  the  Gospels 
place  what  is  known  as  the  Transfiguration  later 
than  it  really  took  place.)  Underlying  Jesus' 
preaching  of  the  kingdom  was  this  consciousness 
of  Messiahship,  but  He  never  presupposed  this 
knowledge  in  His  hearers;  the  faith  which  Here- 
quired  was  not  trust  in  Himself,  but  belief  of  His 
message  that  the  kingdom  was  at  hand.  Such 
passages  as  Mt  <f^^-  12*'  14"  15"  are  relegated 
to  'a  secondary  source,' — they  show  'how  in  a 
later  age  descriptions  of  His  life  started  from  the 
presupposition  that,  not  only  was  He  conscious  of 
His  Messiahship,  but  that  His  hearers  also  had 
formed  this  estimate  of  Him.'  Commentators 
have  erred  in  supposing  that  the  triumphal  entry 
into  Jerusalem  was  a  popular  welcome  of  the 
Messiah.  When  Mark  says  that  the  people  greeted 
Jesus  as  '  the  coming  one  '  (o  lp^^w<K),  it  is  clear 
that  they  welcomed  Him  as  the  Forerunner  of  the 
Messiah,  and  although  Matthew  says  that  the 
multitudes  cried,  '  Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  Davidl 
his  narrative  '  represents  the  point  of  view  of  those 
who  mistakenly  supposed  that  the  contemporaries 
of  Jesus  regarded  Him  as  the  Messiah.'  Eveo 
the  disciples  of  Jesus,  after  they  had  learnt  His 
secret,  did  not  understand  Him  to  mean  anything 
more  than  that  He  would  appear  as  the  Messiah 
after  He  had  suffered  and  risen  from  the  dead. 
His  rising  would  coincide  with  His  coming  on  the 
clouds,  and  on  the  great  day  of  resurrection  He 
would  reveal  His  Messianic  glory.  When  Jesus 
forewarns  His  disciples  of  tribulation,  He  refers 
not  to  their  experiences  after  His  death,  but  to 
those  sufferings  with  Him  which  were  the  condi- 
tion of  their  sharing  His  future  joy.  It  was  after 
the  conversation  near  Cxsarea  Philippi  that  Jesus 
began  to  speak  of  sufferings  which  His  disciples 
left.     Das  Mtssianitah  und  /jiJaifgeluiBiia!. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


50s 


would  be  spared,  because  He  would  endure  them 
on  their  behalf;  how  He  came  to  the  conscious- 
ness that  His  Messianic  office  required  the  giving 
of  His  life  is  not  explained,  but  from  the  Deuteio- 
Isaiah  He  seems  to  have  learnt  that  the  kingdom 
would  be  established  without  universal  tribulation, 
because  He,  as  God's  elect  Servant,  would  be 
treated  as  a  transgressor.  Afterwards,  in  the  day 
of  His  exaltation,  those  who  had  esteemed  Him 
smitten  by  the  punishments  of  God,  would  per- 
ceive that  in  innocence  He  had  sulTered  for  them ; 
Jesus  did  'really  die  for  the  sins  of  men,  though 
not  in  the  sense  required  by  the  theory  of 
Anselm.' 

Such  is  the  conception  of  the  life  of  Jesus  which 
Dr.  Schweitzer  has  elaborated,  to  enable  us  to 
understand  the  significance  of  the  Last  Supper. 
Our  Lord,  he  thinks,  wished  His  disciples  to 
regard  that  Supper  as  a  foretaste  of  the  Messianic 
feast  which  they  were  to  enjoy  with  Him.  'At 
the  close  of  their  last  meal  on  earth,  Jesus  rises 
and  distributes  to  His  disciples  bread  and  wine; 
after  the  cup  has  been  handed  back  to  Him,  He 
reminds  them  that  it  is  their  last  supper  on  earth, 
because  shortly  they  will  be  reunited  at  the  feast 
in  His  Father's  kingdom.  .  .  .  After  the  resur- 
rection He  will  gather  them  around  Him  and  go 
before  them  in  Messianic  glory  to  Galilee,  along 
the  road  upon  which  they  had  followed  Him  as 
He  journeyed  to  His  death.' 

Dr.  Schweitzer's  arguments  are  stimulative  to 
thought,  and  instructive,  even  when  they  fail  to 
convince.  In  the  early  part  of  his  treatise  he 
speaks  of  critics  who  deal  arbitrarily  with  the 
Gospels,  and  in  so  speaking  he  holds  out  the  hope 
that  his  own  discussion  of  the  problem  will  be 
conducted  on  strictly  scientific  lines;  it  is  a  dis- 
appointment to  find  that  on  purely  subjective 
grounds — in  consistency  with  the  writer's  theory — 
some  sections  of  the  narrative  are  condemned 
as  untrustworthy  primary  sources.  The  book 
deserves  the  attention  of  students,  for  it  in- 
dicates clearly  the  lines  on  which  the  coming 
assault  upon  the  Gospels  will  be  made ;  but  it 
fails  to  solve  the  problem  of  the  Lord's  Supper, 
as  all  attempts  must  fail  that  reject  the  only  key  to 
the 'closed  door' — Christ  died  for  our  sins.  On 
Dr.  Schweitzer's  principles,  it  is  impossible  to 
defend  the  historicity  of  the  interview  between 
Jesus  and  the  high  priest,  on  the  genuineness  of 
which  his  theory  depends.     To  other  narratives, 


which  he  relegates  to  secondary  sources,  on  the 
sole  ground  that  they  are  inconsistent  with  his 
theory,  his  own  words  apply ;  '  It  is  a  pure  tour  de 
forte  to  explain  these  scenes  as  unhistorical.  If 
sucb  encroachments  are  permitted,  what  remains 
intact  of  the  historic  tradition  recorded  in  the 
Gospels  7 ' 

The  third  part  ^  of  Dr.  Schweitzer's  work  will  be 
published  in  1902,  and  will  be  entitled,  'The 
History  of  the  Lord's  Supper  from  the  Historic 
Feast  to  the  Time  of  Irenjeus.' 

J.  G.  Tasker. 

Handivisrtk  Callige. 


35ofti[inAntt'B  'fcife  of  3«u8.'* 

A  NEW  Life  of  Christ,  which  would  appear  from 
the  preface  to  have  been  a  comfort  to  the  author 
during  a  somewhat  shadowed  academic  career, 
comes  to  us  from  the  pen  of  Professor  O.  Holtz- 
mann  of  Giessen,  already  favourably  known  to 
scholars  by  his  work  on  the  Fourth  Gospel  and  a 
NeuUstameniliche  Zeiigtschiehie.  Thoroughly  re- 
presentative of  the  moderately  advanced  school  of 
German  scholarship,  the  book  is  a  most  valuable 
and  attractive  specimen  of  its  class.  Though  in 
no  sense  inordinately  long,  it  is  probably  the  most 
comprehensive  attempt  made  in  recent  years  to 
utilize  the  results  of  the  modern  study  of  the 
Gospels  in  recasting  the  general  narrative  of 
Christ's  life.  If  for  no  other  reason,  it  demands 
the  careful  perusal  and  attention  of  all  serious 
students  of  the  N.T.  Needless  to  say,  it  raises  at 
least  as  many  questions  as  it  solves,  and  is  neither  to 
be  accepted  nor  rejected  as  a  whole.  But  the  life 
of  Christ  is  the  spot  where  most  theological  threads 
cross,  and  accordingly  a  work  like  this  compels  us 
once  more  to  view  all  things  from  the  centre, 
and  estimate  the  real  bearing  of  many  subsidiary 
problems. 

Nothing  particularly  striking  or  novel  is  to  be 
found  in  Holtzmann's  preliminary  discussion  of  the 
sources.  The  vast  majority  of  critics  to-day  ad- 
here to  one  or  other  variety  of  the  two-document 
hypothesis,  and  Holtzmann  is  no  exception.     We 

'  Dritles  Heft.  GtsthitkU  dif  Abendmakh  vmt  der  Ms- 
lariiehen  Flier  bis  auf  Irenaus. 

'  Lebtnjisu.  Von.  Dr.  Oscar  Holliraano,  Professor  der 
Theologie  an  der  UniversiUlt,  Giessen.  Tubingen  und 
L«ipiig:  J.  C.  B.  Mohr,  1901.    Price,  7s.  ^d.  net. 


5o6 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


have  his  conclusions  put  concisely  in  the  following 
passage: — 'First  of  all,  Matthew  collected  the 
words  of  Jesus  in  Aramaic;  this  collection  was 
soon  translated  into  Greek.  But  clearly  such  a 
work  did  not  meet  the  necessities  of  the  Church 
at  large ;  they  wanted  to  know,  not  merely  what 
Jesus  had  said,  but  also  what  He  had  done  and 
suffered.  Obviously  even  Mark  could  not  pass 
over  Christ's  sayings  altogether;  he  took  them, 
when  required,  from  Matthew's  collection.  Later 
the  desire  was  felt  to  have  Christ's  words  combined 
with  His  deeds  and  sulTerings,  and  in  this  way 
there  arose,  along  with  others,  the  Gospels  of 
Matthew  and  Luke,  the  latter  having  made  use  of 
the  former.'  A  good  many  readers  will  feel  some 
astonishment  that  Holtzmann  should  set  so  high  a 
historical  value  upon  the  Gospel  of  the  Hebrews, 
which  he  speaks  of  as  equal  in  worth  to  our 
Gospels,  and  from  which  he  draws  certain  dubious 
items  in  his  narrative  of  the  early  life  of  Christ. 
The  Gospel  of  John,  we  are  told,  had  belter  not 
be  included  in  our  list  of  trustworthy  sources. 
We  may  note  as  curious  features  in  the  account 
given  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  the  assertion  (p.  32) 
that  the  washing  of  the  disciples'  feet  in  chap. 
13  represents  the  institution  of  baptism,  and  the 
unqualified  statement  (p.  iSo,  note)  that  the 
author  regards  the  Pharisees  as  a  class  of  officials. 
At  the  same  time  Holtzmann  has  words  of  warm 
praise  for  the  historicity  of  Mark,  and  accepts  his 
chronology  practically  without  reserve. 

There  is  an  excellent  chapter  dealing  with  the 
opening  years  of  Jesus'  manhood,  and  discussing 
such  topics  as  our  Lord's  study  of  Scripture, 
the  educative  influences  amid  which  He  grew  in 
wisdom  and  stature,  and  the  love  of  the  natural 
world  wbich  comes  out  in  His  parables.  Here, 
however,  the  tendency  first  shows  itself  to  regard 
Christ  too  much  as  the  product  of  His  environ- 
ment, and  obliterate  those  traces  of  His  originality 
and  spiritual  supremacy  which  the  most  cursory 
reader  of  the  Gospels  may  observe.  Had  Jesus 
been  so  like  a  mere  pious  Jew  as  He  is  depicted 
here,  fewer  attempts  would  have  been  made  to 
write  His  life.  That  He  used  the  language  and 
ideal  currency  of  His  time  did  not  prevent  Him 
from  treating  Jewish  beliefs  in  a  spirit  of  serenely 
confident  and  soverei^  freedom. 

In  a  brief  notice  like  the  present  it  is  impossible 
to  do  more  than  allude  to  a  few  of  the  innumer- 
•ble  points  of  controversy  raised  by  this  book. 


Holtzmann  contends  that  after  Peter's  confession^ 
Jesus'  self-designation  as  the  'Son  of  Man' 
gradually  assumed  a  new  significance  in  the 
disciples'  minds.  Formerly  they  had  viewed  it 
merely  as  equivalent  to  the  general  phrase,  'one 
of  the  children  of  men,'  in  other  words  as  ei- 
pressive  of  Christ's  unostentatious  humility,  which 
led  Him  to  denote  Himself  thus  by  a  title  which 
would  have  suited  any  individual  member  of  the 
human  race ;  later,  subsequently  to  this  recognition 
of  Him  as  the  Messiah,  it  became  connected  in 
their  minds  with  the  picture  of  future  glory  in 
Dn  7'^  Our  author  is  perhaps  less  lucid  than 
is  his  wont  in  dealing  with  this  whole  subject. 
Again,  we  should  hardly  have  expected  to  find 
the  explanation  of  Jesus'  works  of  healing  helped 
out  by  comparison  with  the  marvels  wrought  by 
the  Holy  Coat  of  Treves!  Jesus  is  throughout 
represented  as  having  expected  the  end  of  all 
things  within  the  lifetime  of  His  own  generation^ 
His  resurrection  being  merely  the  indispensable 
preliminary  to  His  return.  He  never  meant  the 
Supper  to  be  repeated  as  a  religious  service  of  His 
Church,  but  as  a  domestic  celebration  attached  to 
the  ordinary  meal.  We  err  in  attributing  too 
much  intention  to  Christ  in  the  matter ;  it  may 
quite  well,  e.g.,  have  been  the  accidental  breaking 
of  the  bread  in  His  hand  which  led  to  the  words, 
'  This  is  My  body.'  Here  we  have  an  instance — 
and  others  might  be  given — of  bizarre  conjectures 
which  it  is  difficult  to  entertain  seriously  or  discuss 
patiently.  Another  is  the  suggestion  that  the 
body  of  Jesus — which  Holtzmann  thinks  we  cannot 
prove  to  have  revived — was  quietly  removed  by 
Joseph  of  Arimathea  when  the  Sabbath  was  over, 
from  a  feeling  of  disinclination  to  allow  the  corpse 
of  a  crucified  person  to  remain  in  his  family  tomb. 
The  whole  discussion  of  the  Resurrection  in 
works  of  this  class,  indeed,  leaves  upon  the  mii>d 
the  feeling  that  a  great  problem  has  been  evaded 
in  a  fashion  curiously  lacking  in  intellectual 
thoroughness  and  consistency.  We  cannot  run 
with  the  hate  and  hunt  with  the  hounds.  Chris- 
tianity is  not  a  religion  of  ideas  merely,  but  of 
creative  facts,  and  we  must,  in  the  interests  of 
mental  sincerity,  beware  of  speaking  as  though  it 
mattered  nothing  to  the  ideas  to  have  their  roots 
in  history  cut.  When  we  find,  as  we  do  in  this- 
book,  protestations  that  without  faith  in  Jesus' 
resurrection  the  Church  could  never  have  sprung 
into  life,  combined  with  the  d<^;matic  assenioa 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


507 


that  no  more  can  be  known  than  that  on  Easter 
morning  the  grave  was  empty  and  the  disciples  had 
visions,  we  feel  that  faith  is  being  sacrificed,  not  to 
knowledge,  but  to  confused  and  imperfect  theory. 
One  misses  in  German  theology  at  the  present  day 
that  deep  and  commanding  sense  of  the  Incarnation 
which  alone  can  unlock  the  deepest  mysteries  of  the 
life  and  truth  depicted  in  the  N.T. ;  and  without 
that  no  biography  of  Christ  can  be  written  which 
has  more  than  a  partial  right  to  our  confidence 
and  approbation. 

Nevertheless,  there  is  much  in  this  book  which 
deserves  the  warmest  possible  commendation. 
There  is  learning,  there  is  candour,  there  is  a  fresh 
presentation  of  old  facts,  and  moderation  in  the 
statement  of  theories  not  so  old ;  there  is  much 
admirable  exposition  by  the  way,  and  there  is  no 
controversial  refutation  of  other  scholars.  We 
may  not  regard  its  conclusions  as  satisfactory,  but 
in  the  class  to  which  it  belongs  this  Lebtn  Jesu 
cannot  be  denied  an  extremely  distinguished 
place. 


The  author  of  this  interesting  and  suggestive 
volume  franlUy  faces  a  fact  which  is  too  com- 
monly overlooked,  and  bravely  discharges  a  duty 
which  is  being  most  inadequately  recognized  in 
Britain.  He  admits  the  indifference,  if  not  hos- 
tility, to  the  Christian  Church  of  many  who  have 
become  accustomed  to  modern  modes  of  thought, 
both  because  they  have  been  led  to  believe  that 
iMe  modern  world-view  contradicts  the  Christian 
faith,  and  because  they  find  Christian  teachers 
still  presenting  its  contents  in  intellectual  forms 
which  belong  to  ancient  thought.  He  attempts 
to  restate  Christian  doctrines  in  such  terms  as  will 
make  them  intelligible  and  credible  to  men  who 
live  and  move  in  the  modem  mental  environment. 
He  distinguishes  between  a  world-view  and  a 
world-valuation  or  interpretation ;  and  insists  that 
there  is  only  one  modem  world-view,  the  Coper- 
nican,  in  which  the  earth  has  ceased  to  be,  as  in 
the  ancient  or  Ptolemaic,  the  centre  of  the  universe. 

'  Die  modtme  iVttlansikavung  und  das  apoilelhiht 
Glaubettibtkennlnus.  Von  August  Tiuempelmann.  B«rlin  : 
C.  A,  Schweticke  und  Sohn,  1901.     M.7. 


Much  Christian  theology  he  blames  for  assuming 
this  old  view,  and  urges  that  the  Christian  faith  to 
be  made  acceptable  to  men  of  our  own  time  must 
be  released  from  these  antiquated  modes  of  repre- 
senlation.  Accepting  the  Apostle^  Creed  as  oi> 
the  whole  a  faithful  expression  of  the  contents  of 
the  Christian  faith,  on  the  ground  that  it  contains 
little  which  may  not  be  found  implicitly  in  Peter's 
discourse  in  the  house  of  Cornelius,  he  sets  him- 
self the  task  of  examining  each  article  and  each 
clause  of  this  ancient  symbol,  and  explaining  it  so 
as  to  be  consistent  with  the  modern  world-view. 
He  rejects  as  later  additions  the  clauses  aftiiming 
the  virgin  birth,  the  descent  into  hell,  and  the  resur- 
rection of  the  flesh. 

He  atfirms  the  personality  of  God  in  the  form  in 
which  Loize  has  stated  the  doctrine ;  but  asserts 
the  infinity,  fhe  eternity,  and  the  unity  of  ihe 
world,  which  is  the  manifestation  of  God.  Imman- 
ence in  his  view  excludes  transcendence,  and  the 
natural  the  supernatural.  God  and  the  world  are 
two  organically  related  and  mutually  conditioned 
realities.  Evolution  is  the  mode  of  the  divine 
operation  in  the  world.  The  doctrine  of  an 
essential  Trinity  is  rejected  as  non-apostolic,  and 
even  the  conception  of  an  economic  Trinity  is 
avoided  as  misleading.  All  that  it  is  safe  to  afhrm 
is  that  God  reveals  Himself  in  the  world,  Christ, 
and  Ihe  Spirit  in  the  Christian  community.  Taking 
the  term  only-begotten  as  equivalent  to  only  or 
unique,  he  sets  aside  the  doctrine  of  pre-existence, 
and  conceives  Christ  as  the  highest  product  of 
human  development,  and  yet  as  a  new  beginning 
of  divine  action  in  human  history.  The  person- 
ality of  Christ  has  its  roots  in  God  more  im- 
mediately and  completely  than  any  other.  He  is 
sinless,  absolutely  righteous,  and  life-giving.  He 
has  wrought  a  change  in  human  history  which 
Ihe  external  features  of  His  ministry  cannot 
account  for.  The  Christian  community  recognizes 
Him  as  Lord  because  He  is  Saviour,  having 
brought  to  men  in  His  person,  work,  and  suffering 
the  redemption  from  sin  and  death,  which  com- 
pletes the  personal  development  of  man.  His 
death  is  not  a  ransom  paid  to  the  devil,  or  a  pro- 
pitiation of  God  by  sacrifice,  but  is  a  self-sacrifice 
in  which  He  breaks  the  power  of  sin  on  our  behalf, 
and  in  the  struggle  with  sin  suffers  in  our  stead. 
His  Resurrection  as  victory  over  the  power  of 
death,  and  as  continuance  of  His  life  with  aod  for 
us,  is  a  fact  essential  to  Christian  faith ;  but  the 


ScA 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Ascension  into  heaven  and  the  Sitting  on  God's 
right  hand  are  to  be  taken  as  simply  symbolic 
expressions  of  the  belief  in  His  Lordship  over  His 
Church,  which  it  is  an  exaggeration  to  represent 
as  a  cosmical  dominion.  The  personality  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  denied.  It  is  the  Spirit  of  God 
which  is  present  and  operative  in  the  Christian 
community,  in  more  determinate  form  as  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  revelation  in  Christ,  than  in  con- 
science or  reason.  The  Spirit  in  the  community 
evokes  and  educates  and  develops  the  Spirit  in 
the  individual.  The  Church  is  not  an  institution 
administering  and  controlling  means  of  grace,  it  is 
simply  the  community  of  saints,  in  which  the 
Word  of  God  is  the  sole  means  of  grace.  Baptism 
and  the  Lord's  Supper  have  no  mysterious  virtue, 
they  have  only  symbolic  value,  and  their  efficacy 
depends  wholly  on  the  accompanying  Word  of 
God.  Prayer,  of  which  our  Lord's  is  a  model, 
is  a  moral  deed  of  communion  with,  and  sub- 
mission to,  God.  It  is  no  magical  spell  which 
gives  us  power  to  bend  God  to  our  will.  The 
Word  of  God  is  not  the  Bible,  for  there  is  much  in 
the  Bible  which  it  would  be  profane  to  ascribe  to 
God,  and  the  Word  of  God  may  be  found  outside 
of  the  Bible.  The  Word  of  God  Is  in  the  Old 
Testament  the  hope  of  salvation,  in  the  New 
Testament  the  certainly  of  salvation,  and  outside 
the  Scriptures  the  aspiration  for  salvation.  The 
doctrine  of  verbal  inspiration,  along  with  its  neces- 
sary accompaniment,  the  allegorical  method  of 
interpretation,  must  be  absolutely  rejected.  The 
means  of  revelation  are  nature,  conscience,  history, 
and  Christ,  For  /Ae  modem  world-view,  in  which 
God  and  world  are  correlative  terms,  the  old 
distinction  between  a  natural  and  supernatural 
revelation  has  become  meaningless,  as  the  human 
development  is  the  divine  revelation. 

The  great  good  which  Christianity  offers  is  the 
forgiveness  of  sin.  The  story  of  the  Fall  is  not 
historical,  but  is  a  parable  of  an  inner  experience. 
Sin  is  due  neither  to  Satan  nor  to  God,  but  it  has 
its  source  in  the  survival  in  man  of  animal  in- 
stincts, and  in  its  nature  is  a  relapse  to  these.  In 
sin  the  impulse  of  self-maintenance  and  self- 
development  is  perverted  into  a  self-assertion, 
which  diverts  the  human  personality  from  the  path 
of  progress.  The  sense  of  shame  is  due  to  man's 
consciousness  of  dishonouring  himself  in  sinning, 
and  his  sense  of  guilt  to  his  recognition  of  his  sin 
as  disobedience  to  God,  whose  purpose  is  thwarted 


in  the  perversion  of  man's  development  In  this 
reaction  of  shame  and  guilt  against  sin  lies  the 
opportunity  for  the  entrance  into  human  person- 
ality of  new  life.  In  forgiveness  the  power  of  holy 
love  in  Christ  grasps  man,  and  faith  yields  to  the 
grasp.  By  this  new  power  the  personal  develop- 
ment is  restored  to  its  normal  course.  While  the 
doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of  the  flesh  had  wily  a 
temporary  significance,  the  Christian  hope  of 
eternal  life  is  as  necessary  and  as  possible  as  ever. 
Evolution  is  the  ruling  idea  of  the  modem  view, 
and  the  Christian  hope  is  consistent  with  thb  idea. 
The  Christian  life  now  makes  the  demand  for,  and 
bears  the  assurance  of,  a  continued  and  completed 
development.  This  hope  extends  to  those  who 
desired  and  strove  for  the  salvation  which  Christ 
offers,  although  they  never  knew  Him.  For  those 
who  never  sought  the  higher  life,  there  can  be 
anticipated  only  extinction.  Eternal  life  is  assured 
only  to  those  who  by  desire  and  effort  have  shovn 
themselves  worthy  of  the  gift 

This  brief  sketch  of  the  writer's  theology  will 
suffice  to  show  how  many  and  great  are  the 
changes  which  he  finds  it  needful  to  make,  not 
only  in  the  form,  but  even  in  the  substance  of  the 
Christian  laith  as  expressed  in  the  AposUu'  Crud, 
in  order  to  commend  it  to  men  who  hold  Ihe 
modem  world-view.  The  motto  of  his  book  is : 
•Truth  my  goal,  truthfulness  my  way.'  Without 
entering  at  ail  into  any  detailed  criticism,  which 
the  limits  of  space  forbid,  the  reviewer  roust  afiinn 
that  the  goal  has  not  been  reached,  but  he  can 
heartily  bear  witness  that  the  way  has  been  kept. 
If  not  always  a  successful,  this  is  altogether  a 
sincere  book.  The  spirit  of  the  whole  discussion 
is  refreshing  and  bracing,  if  the  ai^metkts  are  not 
always  convincing  and  the  conclusions  acceptable 
A  summary  cannot  do  justice  to  the  contents,  as 
there  are  many  significant  critical  suggestions  and 
valuable  exegetical  considerations.  The  Holy 
Scriptures  are  treated  with  freedom,  but  with 
reverence.  There  may  appear  undue  severity  in 
the  censure  meted  out  freely  to  theologians  for 
their  attempts  at  compromises  between  the  old 
and  the  new  modes  of  thought.  There  is,  how- 
ever, a  genuine  desire  to  be  loyal  to  alt  that  is 
essential  to  Christian  faith,  and  also  to  be  helpful 
to  those  who  cannot  accept  that  faith  as  it  is 
commonly  presented.  To  all  who  recognize  the 
urgent  necessity  for  the  attempt  to  restate  the 
gospel  for  the  modern  mind,  the  book  may  be 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


509 


cordially  commended.  It  is  well  written,  and  may 
be  more  easily  and  pleasantly  read  than  many 
German  theological  works.  Its  outward  form, 
however,  forces  on  one  the  question  :  Why  do  so 
many   German  writers  do  nothing  to  help  their 


readers  in  the  study  of  their  works?  This 
volume  has  no  chapter  headings,  no  table  of 
contents,  no  index,  no  list  of  the  texts  of  Scrip- 
ture discussed. 

Alfred  E.  Garvie. 


;^our    (^emarSaBfe    ^inai    (nianuecripfe. 

By  Margaret  D.  Gibson,  LL.D.,  Cambridge. 


During  my  visit  to  the  Convent  of  St.  Cathaitne 
on  Mount  Sinai  this  year  with  my  sister,  Mrs. 
Lewis,  I  examined  four  manuscripts,  each  of  which 
has  its  peculiar  value. 

I.  Another  Svriac  Gospel  Palimpsest. 

The  one  I  shall  describe  first  is  that  which 
came  into  my  hands  last.  When,  in  1893,  I  was 
making  the  catalogue  of  the  Arabic  books  in  the 
Convent  (Siudia  Sinailua,  No.  iii.),  I  found  that 
they  had  all  been  numbered  at  some  previous 
period,  but  that  some  numbers  had  no  books 
forthcoming  to  represent  them.  This  was  the  case 
with  Nos.  514  and  515,  and  to  them,  as  to 
several  others,  I  had  to  put  in  the  catalogue  the 
unpleasant  word  'Aifi^prjuiva.  One  day  in  March 
last  I  went  up  to  the  library,  with  Mrs.  Lewis  and 
a  deacon,  to  examine  some  Arabic  MSS,  and  was 
helping  my  sister  to  find  what  she  wanted,  when  I 
noticed  a  vellum  book  lying  on  one  of  the  shelves. 
It  had  a  stout  binding,  much  broken  at  the  back, 
and  on  taking  it  up  I  got  a  double  surprise.  It 
had  the  number  of  one  of  these  missing  volumes, 
514  ;  it  was  made  of  good  tine  vellum  ;  its  leaves 
measuring  about  23  centimetres  by  15,  the  writing 
being  Arabic,  in  a  fine  hand  of  the  early  tenth 
century,  very  much  like  the  upper  writing  of  a  MS. 
which  Mrs.  Lewis  possesses,  and  whose  under  script 
she  is  about  to  publish  as  Studia  Sinaitica,  No.  xi. 

But  what  was  more  interesting  still :  it  was 
a  palimpsest  throughout  the  whole  of  its  175 
leaves,  the  under  writing  being  Estrangelo-Syriac, 
in  a  large  bold  hand,  sometimes  running  the  same 
way  as  the  Arabic,  oftener  across  the  page,  but 
always  in  two  columns.  I  can  dismiss  the  line 
upper  Arabic  writing  in  a  few  words.  There 
are  four  sermons  of  Jacob,  Bishop  of  Serug. 
The  first  one,  with  which  the  book  in  its  present 


defective  condition,  begins,  is,  by  the  irony  of 
fate,  on  the  subject  that  no  man  may  alter  the 
least  value  of  anything  which  our  Lord  has  said  in 
the  holy  Gospel.  We  will  acquit  the  good  bishop 
of  any  inconsistency  between  his  preaching  and 
his  practice,  for  we  have  no  proof  that  this  record 
of  his  sermon  was  written  by  his  own  hand ;  yet 
we  cannot  help  wondering  that  an  Arab  scribe, 
even  if  unacquainted  with  Syriac,  should  have 
thought  proper  to  efface  a  Gospel  text  in  order  to 
obtain  vellum  on  wiiich  to  write  a  sermon  on  its 
value.  The  greater  part  of  the  Arabic  text  con- 
sists, however,  not  of  sermons,  but  of  martyrology. 
The  names  of  the  martyrs  are  not  very  easy  to 
identify,  but  there  are  Philemon,  Euthalius,  Cyricua 
and  Julitta,  Eustratius  and  Arsenius. 

I  could  decipher  little  of  the  under  script  without 
using  the  re-agent  (hydro-sulphuret  of  ammonia), 
but,  whenever  I  painted  a  page  with  it,  the  Syriac 
lines  came  up  clearly,  and  were  very  easy  to  read. 
I  consider  this  handwriting  to  be  not  later  than  the 
sixth  century,  but  I  am  not  an  expert,  and  it  seems 
to  me  probable  that,  being  a  palimpsest,  it  may  be 
the  oldest  Peshitta  in  existence.  Its  appearance 
tells  at  once  that  it  is  not  quite  so  ancient  as  the 
Old  Syriac  palimpsest  discovered  by  Mrs.  Lewis  in 
1892.  I  had  ample  opportunity  to  place  the  two 
together,  and  there  can  be  no  question  about  their 
relative  antiquity. 

The  first  page  I  tried  was  f.  162b,  which  began 
at  Jn  ■}^'>,cq\.  I,  ending  at  'others'  in  v.'^.  Col.  b 
began  at  v.^*  and  ended  in  v.''.  This  shows  that 
the  leaves  of  the  original  Syriac  MS.  had  been 
folded  in  two,  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  Arabic 
martyrologist  in  the  tenth  century. 

I  compared  these  passages  with  the  American 
Bible  Society's  version  (New  York,  1886),  and 
in   col.  a  found  three  small  variants.     V.'"  the 


5" 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


word    .^ox.*     between    oee    and    Jilis ;    v. 
iA^  K'oco   Jur^insteadoftAfc.  ***"    iu*^; 
and  after  ^T.SQr^'.i,    ooca  is  added.     In  col.  b 
there  were  no  variants. 

I  next  tried  f.  41b,  the  writing  of  which  is  in  the 
same  direction  as  the  upper  script,  and  found  that 
it  began  at  Mt  16*  and  went  on  continuously  to 
the  end  of  v.",  the  only  variant  being  in  col.  b, 
where  r^\  is  repeated  before  ___^iua.4u»'<'- 
Another  page  I  tried  was  f.  86a,  which  begins  near 
the  end  of  Jn  19",  col.  1,  stopping  at  the  end  of 
V.*' ;  col.  b  commencing  near  the  end  of  v.**  and 
finishing  at  the  end  of  v.*".  These  columns  have 
three  small  variants:  in  v."  oOAi  for  A&l ;  in 
v.«  r^i^l  for  fTTi\a\ ;  and  in  v."  the  mistake 
of  .^^Aa-inj,!  for  .^^iaal.l. 

I  tried  col.  b.  on  f.  Spb,  and  read  from  the  middle 
of  Jn  19"  to  the  middle  of  v.",  with  the  two  in- 
significant variants  that  r^i^CU^l^^rC  is  spelt 
without  its  initial  AU/,  and  that  in  v.-^  it  is  f<iu» 
instead  of  coiuf. 

Every  page  I  had  tried  thus  far  had  therefore 
been  Peshi^ta  Gospel,  but  as  the  word  floo\ck& 
bad  caught  my  eye,  and  that  could  not  possibly 
belong  to  a  Gospel,  I  painted  up  the  page  on  which 
it  occurred  (f.  173b)  with  the  chemical,  and  found 
it  was  part  of  the  Transitu!  Maria  In  Mrs,  Lewis' 
forthcoming  edition,  from  p.  r<l»,  col.  b,  1.  4,  to 


p.  wsa,  col.  b,  1.  16,  with  a  few 

I  do  not  believe  there  is  much  of  this,  but  that 
by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  volume  contains 
Peshitca  Gospels  of  a  very  early  period. 

In  the  binding  is  a  fragment  of  a  Syriac  hymn 
in  honour  of  the  Virgin. 

II.-III.  Sinai  Svriac  Antilegomena. 
The  next  two  MSS  to  which  I  shall  draw  atten- 
tion are  the  Syriac  volumes,  Nos.  5  ^nd  15. 
They  have  both  been  adequately  described  in  Mrs. 
Lewis'  catalogue  {Sfudia  Sinaiti^a,  No.  i.).  They 
consist  of  St.  Paul's  Epistles,  the  Acts,  and  the 
Catholic  Epistles,  the  one  arranged  differently  from 
the  other,  but  their  most  distinctive  feature  is  that 
they  both  contain  the  so-called  Antilegomena 
(1  Peter,  2  and  3  John,  Jude)  in  the  Philoxenian 
version,  in  their  regular  positions,  2  Peter  coming 


after  the  First  Epistle,  and  r  John  following  before 
2  John.  These  are  all  marked  for  lectionaiy  pur- 
poses, so  that  they  must  have  been  read  in  the 
church  services,  contrary  to  the  usage  of  the 
Syrians.  The  subject  of  these  Syriac  Epistles  has 
been  fully  treated  by  Dr.  Gwynn  in  the  TraruacHeii 
of  (he  Royal  frisk  Academy,  vol.  Jtxvii.  On  the 
Nestorian  monument  of  Hsl-an-FQ,  in  Shan-hsi, 
China,  it  is  said  of  our  Lord  that  He  '  left  behind 
Him  the  twenty-seven  sUndard  books.'  This 
shows  that  in  the  eighth  century,  when  the  inscrip- 
tion on  this  atone  was  written,  the  Syrian  Church 
received  all  the  books  of  our  present  New  Testa. 
ment.  There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  date  of 
the  monument  being  781  a.d.,  for  it  is  thus  in- 
scribed in  Syriac  characters,  and  the  name  of 
Hanem  Yesha  is  given  as  that  of  the  reigning 
Patriarch  (see  Legge,  Christianity  in  China,  p.  j). 
The  silent  testimony  of  these  two  codtces  strangely 
corroborates  that  of  the  stone  in  far-off  China.  I 
hope  to  give  a  collation  of  the  Antilegomena  as 
contained  in  them  in  some  future  publication. 

Meanwhile  I  record  a  variant  which  seems  to 
me  of  the  highest  importance.  It  occurs  in  Jude 
v.*°,  where,  by  the  omission  of  the  Syriac  word 
equivalent  to  the  Greek  Sia,  we  get  an  assertion  of 
our  Lord's  divinity  from  the  pen  of  one  of  His 
brethren  according  to  the  flesh.  The  passage 
would  be  translated  thus:  'To  the  only  God  our 
Saviour,  Jesus  the  Christ  our  Lord,'  etc. 

IV.  SvRiAC  Maccabees. 

The  fourth  codex  of  which  I  have  to  tell  may  be 
inferior  to  the  other  three  as  touching  its  canonicity, 
but  its  adventures  in  modern  times  are  worthy  of 
record.  It  contains  in  Estrangelo-Syriac  the  greater 
part  of  the  First,  the  whole  of  the  Second,  and  a 
portion  of  the  Third  Book  of  the  Maccabees.  It  is 
defective  at  both  ends,  beginning  at  bk.  i. 
chap.  3,  V.*',  and  flnishing  at  bk.  iii.  chap.  5,  v.". 
It  is  on  vellum,  34  x  15  centimetres,  in  one  column 
throughout  of  26  lines. 

Though  the  leaves  are  now  all  broken  away  from 
one  another  at  the  back,  the  binding  being  also 
completely  gone,  it  is  evident  that  the  quires  were 
quinions,  for  on  f.  9a  the  mark  .\^  may  be  seen 
at  the  foot  of  the  page ;  on  f,  19a  there  is  a  trace 
of  a  quire-mark ;  on  f.  39a  there  is  £ ;  on  f.  391  a , 


_,^--  I    ^T^^-Jiiii- 
indistinct;  on  f.  49a    \^  ;  on  f.  59a  *ts^; 


:  on  f- 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


5" 


1  f.  79a  •■• ;  on  f.  89a  traces  of  n 


on  f.  99a 'no  trace.  Perhaps  goat-skins  are  re- 
ferred to. 

This  book  was  seen  at  the  Convent  by  Dr.  Rendel 
Harris  in  1 8S9,  when  he  photographed  some  pages 
of  it.  When  he  returned  with  us  on  our  second 
visit  in  1893,  and  Mrs.  Lewis  was  making  her 
catalogue  of  the  Syriac  books,  it  could  not  be 
found.  As  Dr.  Harris  was  convinced  that  it  had 
been  stolen  since  he  had  seen  it  in  1889,  Mrs. 
Levi;  asked  him  to  give  her  one  of  the  photographs 
he  had  taken  from  it  on  his  former  visit,  that  she 
might  make  from  it  the  frontispiece  to  her  catali^ue 
{Sludia  Sinatlica,  No.  i.).  This  was  accordingly 
done,  with  a  view  to  discovering  the  whereabouts 
of  the  MS-  and,  if  possible,  its  ihief. 

One  Sunday  in  January  1895,  a  Cairo  dealer 
brought  some  MS5  to  Mrs.  Lewis  and  me  for  sale 
at  our  hotel.  While  I  was  examining  an  Arabic 
codex,  Mrs.  Lewis  said  to  me  in  a  mysterious 
whisper,  '  It  is  stolen,'  and  I  saw  her  go  (o  a  sofa 
where  she  had  laid  this  identical  volume  open, 
with  her  catalogue  in  her  hand.  A  glance  from 
the  frontispiece  to  the  MS.  was  sufficient  to  assure 
her  of  its  identity,  and  she  asked  the  dealer 
to  allow  her  to  keep  the  latter  for  twenty-four 
hours.  When  he  was  gone,  we  consulted  as  to 
what  we  should  do.  There  were  two  plans  open 
to  us.  One  was  to  buy  the  MS.  and  say  nothing, 
which  would  have  been  the  one  more  to  our 
advantage  in  future  transactions  wilh  dealers;  the 
other  being  to  denounce  the  theft.  The  second 
course  recommended  itself  to  our  conscience, 
besides  which  it  would  have  seemed  a  shady 
transaction  for  my  sister  to  buy  the  very  volume 
she  had  professed  to  take  the  means  to  protect  for 


the  Sinai  Library.  To  do  so  might  even  have  led 
the  monks  to  suspect  that  we  had  stolen  it  our- 
selves. We  therefore  wrote  to  the  agent  of  the 
Branch  Convent  in  Cairo,  and  he  came  to  consult 
with  us.  On  Monday  morning  we  took  it  to  the 
British  consul,  Mr.  Borg,  along  with  the  catalogue, 
and  a  glance  at  the  frontispiece  of  the  latter  beside 
ils  corresponding  page  in  the  book  was  sufficient 
to  convince  him  that  we  were  not  mistaken.  The 
book  was  accordingly  seized  in  our  rooms  that 
afternoon  by  an  agent  of  the  Mixed  Tribunal. 
When  the  dealer  came  in  the  evening,  there  was  a 
scene  in  the  manager's  room;  happily  the  agent 
of  the  Convent  happened  to  call  about  the  same 
time,  and  the  two  men  fought  out  the  matter 
between  them.  A  suit  was  brought  by  Archbiehop 
Porphyrios  against  the  dealer;  it  was  decided 
during  our  absence  at  the  Convent;  and  we  saw 
no  account  of  it ;  but  we  understood  that  it  could 
not  be  proved  that  the  volume  had  actually  been 
stolen,  and  therefore  the  Court  kept  possession  of 
it.  This  unsatisfactory  state  of  things  lasted  till 
last  year,  1901,  when  the  MS.  was  released  on 
payment  of  ^25  by  the  archbishop  and  monks. 
It  was  shown  us  with  much  satisfaction  by  Father 
Polycarp,  the  librarian,  and  we  have  the  conscious- 
ness at  least  that  we  have  acted  in  a  straightforward 
way  with  regard  to  it.  I  have  now  photographed 
the  whole  of  it,  and  copied  all  its  weak  places  with 
the  help  of  the  re-agent.  It  is  a  very  fine  manu- 
script. I  have  compared  its  text  on  some  dozen 
pages  with  those  published  by  Lagarde  and  Ceriani 
from  the  ancient  MSS  at  Milan  and  in  the  British 
Museum.  It  is  not  exactly  identical  with  either 
of  these,  but  it  does  not  yield  to  them  in  the 
purity  of  its  text.  Until  I  can  develop  all  my  ao8 
photographs  of  it,  its  exact  value  can  hardly  be 
determined. 


Bv  THE  Rev.  Dawson  Walker,  M.A.,  Durham. 


Those  of  us  who  have  been  converted  to  Pro-  t 
fessor  Ramsay's  view  on  the  locality  of  the 
Galatian  churches  have  to  reckon  with  the  fact 
that  certain  English  scholars,  of  acknowledged 
eminence  in  this  field  of  study,  still  decline  to 
come  over  to  his  side.    Two  notable  examples  I 


are  Professor  Findlay  and  Professor  Chase.  The 
latter  gave  emphatic  expression  to  his  dissent  in 
the  Expositor  soon  after  the  publication  of  the 
Church  in  the  Roman  Empire,  and  we  expect  with 
keenest  interest  a  further  statement  of  his  views  in 
his  Commentary  on  the  Aets  in  the  '  International 


513 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Critical  Commentary.'  Professor  Findlay  has  in 
two  places  indicated  the  reasons  why  he  cannot 
accept  the  South-Galatian  theory  :  in  a  postscript 
to  the  third  edition  of  his  invaluable  book  on 
The  Epistla  of  Paul  the  Apostle,  and  in  bis  article 
on  '  Paul '  in  Hastings'  Dictionary  of  the  Bible. 
The  position  is  substantially  the  same  in  both 
places,  but  the  postscript  gives  it  in  a  form  that 
most  easily  lends  itself  to  discussion. 

The  first  objection  is  based  on  the  language  of 
Ac  i6'.i  Professor  Findlay  denies  that  v.*  is 
recapitulatory  of  vv.*  and  ';  he  also  agrees  with 
the  Revisers  in  treating  the  participle  KuAv^tfrc; 
as  causal.  '  They  went  through  the  region  of 
Pbrygiaand  Galatia  "^caww  they  were"  forbidden 
to  preach  the  word  in  Asia.'  (This  is  the  point 
on  which  Professor  Chase  laid  such  great  emphasis 
in  the  Expositor,  1893,  vol.  viii.  pp.  409-411.} 
He  thinks  the  '  Phrygian  and  Galatian  country ' 
means  the  country  lying  north  and  north-east  of 
Antioch,  and  says,  'Under  the  Roman  govern- 
ment surely  (the  italics  are  mine)  some  passable 
road  existed  from  Antioch,  "the  governing  and 
military  centre  of  the  southern  half  of  the  vast 
province  of  Galatia,"  to  Ancyra,  its  capital  city.' 

Now  are  not  the  words  introduced  by  this 
'  surely '  a  little  too  vague  for  the  purposes  of  a 
definite  argument?  The  supposition  may  turn  out 
to  be  true ;  but  a  simple  '  must  have  been '  is  too 
d  priori  to  be  very  effective  as  a  controversial 
argument. 

Professor  Findlay's  second  pioint  is  that  Pro- 
fessor Ramsay  is  compelled  by  his  theory  to  place 
Galalians  '  in  the  first  group  of  Epistles  with 
I  and  2  Thessalonians,  instead  of  the  second,* 
whereas  '  Lightfoot's  conclusion  that  Galatians 
comes  between  2  Corinthians  and  Romans  will 
not  easily  be  set  aside."  To  this  last  remark  I 
assent  entirely.  Lightfoot's  argument  for  the 
position  of  the  Epistle  among  the  Pauline  writings 
seems  to  me  to  be  unanswerable.  Mr.  Askwith, 
however,  has  shown  that  if  to  irportpav  (Gal  4'^) 
be  translated  simply  formerly  instead  of  on  the 
former  visit  (of  two),  those  who  hold  the  South- 
Galatian  theory  are  not  necessarily  compelled  to 
agree  with  Professor  Ramsay's  dating  of  the 
Epistle  ;  as  he  says  '  the  words  to  irpanpov  seem 
to  me  to  be  absolutely  neutral.' 

Professor  Findlay's  second  point,  therefore,  may 

call  for  an  answer  from  Professor  Ramsay  ;  but  it 

'  According  lo  the  letding  adopted  by  Ihe  Revisers. 


does  not  affect  those  holders  of  the  South-Galatian 
theory  who  are  still  able  to  accept  Lightfoot's 
dating  of  the  Epistle. 

In  the  third  place,  Professor  Findlaj  holds  that 
the  references  to  Barnabas  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Galalians  are  hard  to  reconcile  with  the  Soutli- 
Galatian  theory.  The  Churches  of  the  Pint 
Missionary  Journey  owed  allegiance  to  Barnabas 
as  well  as  to  Paul  Yet  Paul  only  refers  thrice  to 
Barnabas — once  in  terms  of  condemnation — and 
thus  seems  to  ignore  'the  paternal  rights  and 
interest'  of  Barnabas  in  these  churches,  and  so 
seems  lo  have  '  elbowed  him  out  of  the  partner- 
ship.' Professor  Findlay  thinks  that  all  this  is 
quite  inconsistent  with  Paul's  habit  of  refraining 
from  interference  with  another  man's  sphere  of 
work. 

May  we  not,  however,  account  for  Paul's  action 
on  other  grounds?  Since  the  First  Missionaiy 
Journey  he  had  had  'a  sharp  contention'  with 
Barnabas.  They  had  agreed  to  part,  and  bad 
gone  to  different  spheres  of  work.  Possibly  the 
breach  between  them  was  still  so  wide  that  Paul 
did  not  care  to  associate  Barnabas  with  himself  in 
his  reproachful  Epistle  to  the  Galatian  converts. 
Or,  again,  may  not  Paul  have  felt  that  the  quarrel 
was  solely  between  himself  &nA  the  Galatian  con- 
verts, and  that  the  debate  must  lie  solely  between 
them  and  himself  i  If  so,  he  would  naturally  leave 
Barnabas  out  of  the  question,  and  speak  in  his 
own  name  only.  Indeed,  it  is  not  impossible  that 
the  sympathies  of  Barnabas  may  have  been  so 
much  on  the  side  of  the  Judaizers  as  to  make  it 
out  of  the  question  for  Paul  to  claim  him  as  *■ 
ally. 

The  fourth  point  does  not  count  for  very  much 
either  way.  Professor  Ramsay  has  argued  that 
South  Galatia  was  a  district  of  greater  importance 
than  North  Galatia  in  the  first  century,  and  that  its 
churches  played  a  larger  part  in  the  propagation 
of  the  gospel  than  those  of  the  northern  district. 
Professor  Findlay  quite  rightly  argues  that  Paul 
need  not  necessarily  have  '  written  his  letters  only 
to  churches  of  the  first  rank,'  and  instances  the 
case  of  Coloss^e.  He  suggests  that  North  Galatia 
was  not  so  unimportant  as  Professor  Ramsay  would 
have  us  think.  These  considerations  are  interest- 
ing, but  inconclusive  either  way.  There  is  one 
suggestion,  however,  made  by  Professor  Findlay 
in  this  connexion  which  is  open  to  criticism.  He 
thinks  the  fact  that  the  gospel  had  reached  Pontui 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


5'3 


so  sooD  3.5  is  indicated  in  i  Peter  i^  shows  that  it 
'  must  have  travelled  to  North  Galatia  early  in  the 
apostolic  age.'  But  need  the  gospel  have  reached 
Pontus  by  way  of  Galatia  at  all  ?  Could  it  not 
have  equally  well  been  taken  there  by  voyagers 
landing  at  some  of  the  busy  and  populous  ports  on 
the  Pontus  coast  of  the  Euxine  ?  > 

Professor  Findlay  thinks,  finally,  that  if  Paul 
had  not  evangelized  the  district  '  north  of  the 
Syrian  high  road  and  put  the  gospel  in  the  way  of 
reaching  the  whole  of  Asia  Minor,'  he  boasts  too 
rauch  in  Ro  rs".  Is  not  this,  however,  we  may 
ask,  to  lay  too  much  stress  on  a  statement  couched 
in  very  general  terms?  He  also  thinks  it  not  im- 
probable that  the  Galatian  churches  were  lost 
ultimately  to  the  Pauline  mission,  and  that  this 
may  explain  Luke's  brief  mention  of  them  in 
Ac  r6*.  Some  such  hypothesis  becomes  almost 
necessary  if  the  North-Galatian  theory  be  true. 
If,  on  other  grounds,  the  South- Galatian  theory 
be  accepted,  the  hypothesis  is  unnecessary,  as  the 
Galatian  churches  play  a  very  large  part  in  Luke's 
narrative. 

It  would  seem,  then,  that  Professor  Findlay's 
a^ments  do  not  seriously  affect  the  position  of 
those  who,  while  accepting  Professor  Ramsay's 
view  of  the  locality  of  the  Galatian  churches, 
prefer  to  keep  Lightfoot's  dating  of  the  Epistle  to 
the  Galatians.  One  point,  however,  calls  for  a 
little  further  attention. 

I  have  always  had  feelings  of  suspicion  about 
the  rendering  of  KmXvffivTtf  in  Ac  r6'  given  by 
some  prominent  upholders  of  the  South-Galatian 
theory — notably  Professor  Ramsay  himself,  Mr. 
Askwith,  and  lately  Mr.  Rackham  (Ads,  p.  274). 
They  all  agree  to  make  the  participle  part  of  the 
predicate  and  =  xal  iKa>Kv0ij<rav.  Now  one  cannot 
help  feeling  that,  if  we  retain  the  reading  agreed 
on  by  the  Revisers  and  Westcott  and  Hort,  the 
Revisers  are  right  in  taking  the  participle  causally. 
And  what  is  more,  if  it  had  simply  been  a  matter 
of  translating  the  Greek  as  it  stands,  and  no  other 
considerations  had  claimed  a  place  in  the  field, 
no  one  would  have  ever  dreamed  of  translating 
the  words  in  any  other  way. 

Is  it  possible  to  translate  nwkvfiivTK  causally, 
with  the  Revisers,  and  still  retain  the  South- 
Oalatian  theory?    I  think  it  is. 

Examining  the  passage  in  detail  we  see  that  the 

'  Hoit  (following  Ewald)  suppoies  thai  Silvanus,  the 
beater  of  i  Peter,  landed  at  a  Maporl  of  Pontn*. 

33 


last  places  de6nitely  mentioned  are  Lystra  and 
Iconium  in  v.*.  From  there,  '  as  they  went  on 
their  way  through  the  cities  they  delivered  them 
the  decrees,'  etc  (v.').  Now  it  is  not  at  all  im- 
probable that  Paul's  intention  was  to  go  straight 
forward  to  Ephesus — but  his  plans  were  divinely 
thwarted.  '  Having  been  forbidden  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  to  speak  the  word  in  Asia,  they  went 
through  the  region  of  Phrygia  and  Galatia  (v.'), 
i.t.  on  an  itinerant  preaching  tour.  Being  ex- 
cluded from  work  in  Asia,  Paul  and  his  com- 
panions then  turned  their  faces  to  Bithynia  and 
attempted  to  reach  the  province  by  a  route  '  over 
against  Mysia '  (v.'),  i.e.  by  the  high  road  leading 
up  to  Dorylieum,  and  again  were  divinely  thwarted, 
this  time  by  '  the  Spirit  of  Jesus.'  One  naturally 
speculates  as  to  how  these  divine  monitions  were 
conveyed,  and  I  am  not  at  all  sure — at  the  risk  of 
seeming  excessively  fanciful — that  this  part  of 
Luke's  narrative  does  not  find  its  interpretation 
in  a  Co  I  ■i''^. 

Let  me  in  the  briefest  outline  recall  the  circum- 
stances. Paul  had  had  one  successful  missionary 
journey.  His  action  there,  in  admitting  Gentiles 
freely  to  Christian  fellowship,  had  been  chal- 
lenged by  a  section  of  the  Church  at  Jerusalem, 
and  from  the  resulting  conference  he  bad  emerged 
triumphantly.  Paul  would  no  doubt  realize  more 
vividly  than  most  men  the  importance  of  the 
interests  at  stake  and  the  greatness  of  the  victory 
which  had  been  won.  It  must  have  been  a  lime 
of  intense  spiritual  strain  and  high  spiritual  exalta- 
tion. He  went  up  to  Jerusalem  for  the  momentous 
conference  'by  revelation.'  a  Co  la'  speaks  of 
'  visions  and  revelations  of  the  Lord.'  Soon  after 
the  victory  was  won  he  proceeded  to  revisit  his 
converts  of  the  First  Missionary  Journey  —  the 
converts  on  whose  behalf  he  had  won  so  great  a 
victory.  He  would  then  feel  eager  to  press  on  to 
a  grander  sphere  of  work  in  Ephesus.  Was  it  not 
natural  that  he  should  feel  something  of  the  great- 
ness of  the  part  he  had  played  and  so  be  'exalted.' 
But  {as  he  afterwards  said)  that  he  '  should  not  be 
exalted  over  much,'  there  was  given  to  him  a  thorn 
in  the  flesh.* 

Is  it  too  fanciful  to  think  that  the  intervention 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  preventing  him  and  his  com- 
panions from  working  in  Asia,  came  in  the  form  of 
a  distressing  illness — a  thorn  in  the  flesh  which 
made  him  for  the  time  being  incapable  of  work  ? 
And  that  when  they  essayed  to  find  in  Bithynia  a 


514 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


worthy  sphere  for  their  eiforls,  '  the  Spirit  of  Jesus ' 
again,  by  the  interrention  of  the  distressful  malady, 
checked  the  designs  of  Paul  ?  If  Professor  Ram- 
say be  right  in  supposing  that  Paul's  weakness  was 
maiarial  fever  contracted  in  Pamphylia,  which 
caused  him  to  alter  his  plans  on  that  occasion  too, 
we  have  a  curious  coincidence  with  2  Co  13", 
'Concerning  this  thing  I  besought  the  Lord 
THRICE,  that  it  might  depart  from  me.'  Once  in 
Pamphylia,  once  in  Phrygo-Galalia,  when  he  was 
aiming  at  Ephesus,  and  once  again  when  Bithynia 
was  his  goal,  did  this  trouble  come  upon  him  to 
hinder  his  work.    On  each  of  the  three  occasions 


did  he  pray  for  release.  But  the  Master  said, '  My 
power  is  made  perfect  in  weakness.'  Looking 
back  upon  these  times  Paul  saw  himself,  and 
taught  his  loving  biographer  to  see  that  it  was  the 
Spirit  of  Jesus  that  thus  brought  him  low  that  he 
'  should  not  be  exalted  over  much.' 

Whatever  be  the  truth  of  this  supposition — and 
I  do  not  think  it  is  an  utterly  impossible  one— I 
feel  strongly  convinced  that  the  Greek  text  of 
Ac  16*  compels  us  to  believe  that  it  was  because 
Paul  and  his  companions  were  prevented  by  the 
Holy  Spirit  from  preaching  in  Asia  that  they  went 
through  the  Phrygo-Galatian  r^ion. 


THE  BOOKS  OF  THE  MONTH. 


THE  WORDS  OF  JESUS." 
No  German  book  has  been  more  quoted  by 
English  scholars  for  many  a  day  than  Dalman's 
Die  Worte  Jesu.  But  an  English  book  is 
always  better  than  a  German  one  to  an  English- 
man, and,  besides  that,  Dalman  has  worked  over 
his  book  for  this  translation,  and  says  it  is  prac- 
tically a  second  edition.  The  translation  is  a  work 
of  art  Most  patient  has  Professor  Kay  been  to 
discover  the  exact  shade  of  the  author's  meaning, 
most  skilful  has  he  been  in  finding  the  exact 
English  to  express  it.  Dr.  Dalman  himself  is  no 
mean  English  scholar,  and  co-operated  heartily 
with  the  translator.  Professor  Kennedy  also  lent 
bis  aid.  It  is  as  satisfactory  as  one  can  desire. 
It  does  not  fall  behind  Professor  Paterson's  trans- 
lation of  Schultz's  014  Testament  Theology,  the 
standard  and  model  for  the  translator  of  German 
in  our  day. 

Of  the  book  itself  nothing  has  now  to  be  said. 
He  who  does  not  know  that  Dalman  is  necessary, 
does  not  know  much  yet  about  the  study  of  the 
New  Testament  in  Greek.  There  are  two  recent 
books,  both  translated  admirably — Deissmann's 
BU>k  Studies,  and  Dalman's  Words  0/  Jesus— 
on  which  the  ripest  scholar  and  the  rawest  student 
can  meet.     They  are  not  final — they  would  be 

'  Thi  lVt>rd!  ofjesui.  By  Gusiaf  Dnlman.  Aulhoriied 
English  Version  by  D.  M.  Kay.  B.D.,  B.Sc.  T.  &  T. 
auk. 


little  worth  if  they  were.  They  may  be  super- 
seded soon.  But  no  book  will  supersede  them 
that  does  not  absorb  them.  And  for  the  present 
they  are  the  avenues  that  lead  to  the  freshest 
and  most  fruitful  fields  of  New  Testament  in- 
terpretation. 

The  volume  deals  with  what  Dalman  calls 
Fundamental  Ideas.  Its  subjects  are :  The 
Sovereignty  of  God — the  Future  Age — Eternal 
Life — the  World — 'the  Lord'  as  a  designation 
for  God — the  Father  in  Heaven— Other  Divine 
Names — Evasive  or  Precautionary  Modes  of  re- 
ferring to  God — the  Son  of  Man — the  Son  of 
God— Christ— the  Son  of  David— 'The  Lord' 
as  a  designation  of  Jesus  — '  Master '  as  a 
designation  of  Jesus.  And  the  whole  is  made 
accessible  at  any  moment  by  excellent  indexes 
at  the  end. 

IMMANUEL  KANT.« 

'  But  how  now  is  it  possible  to  bring  leather 
in  a  unitary  view  of  the  world  these  two  inde- 
pendent  ways  of  regarding  things, — the  scientific 
explanation  and  the  religious  interpretation? 
Kant's  answer  b,  by  means  of  the  distinction 
between  a  sensible  and  a  supersensible  world. 
The  world  which  constitutes  the  object  of  mathe- 

'  Jmmanuct  KanI :  His  Life  and  DtKlriue.  By  Kritdrich 
Paulsen.  Tiunslaled  Irom  ihe  Revised  German  Edition  l^ 
J.  F.  Creighlon  and  Albert  Lefevre,    John  C.  NImmo. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


S'S 


Tnatico-scieotific  knowledge  is  not  reality  as  such, 
but  only  the  appearance  of  reality  to  our  sensibility. 
The  world  of  religious  conviction,  on  the  contrary, 
is  the  supersenuous  reality  itself.  This  can  never 
become  the  object  of  scientific  knowledge,  on 
account  of  the  nature  of  human  cognition,  which 
presupposes  perception.  Regarding  it  we  can 
know  only  that  it  exists;  that  is  the  ultimate 
point  to  which  knowledge  attains.  In  reflecting 
critically  on  its  own  nature  and  limits,  the  under- 
standing recognizes  that  there  is  an  absolute 
reality  beyond  the  world  of  sense.  And  now 
the  spirit  (which  is  something  more  than  under- 
standing) claims,  as  a  moral  being,  to  be  a  mem- 
ber of  this  absolute  reality,  and  defines  the  nature 
of  this  reality  through  its  own  essence.  This  is 
Kant's  doctrine  of  the  primacy  of  the  practical 
reason  over  the  theoretical.' 

Better  than  any  words  of  our  own,  that  early 
but  central  paragraph  will  give  the  reader  an  idea 
of  the  intelligibility  of  Professor  Paulsen's  great 
book,  and  at  the  same  time  will  reveal  the  ease 
and  fidelity  of  the  translation.  It  will  be  seen 
at  once  that  Professor  Paulsen  has  clear  concep- 
tions of  Kant's  place  and  work,  and  that  he 
expresses  them  clearly,  though  he  makes  no  heroic 
«ffort  to  write  for  the  absolutely  uninitiated.  He 
uses  the  technical  word  whenever  he  finds  it  the 
right  word.  But  he  has  a  masterly  way  of  leading 
up  to  its  use,  so  that  even  the  uninitiated  will 
rarely  call  for  a  glossary.  And  then  his  thoughts 
are  dear  in  themselves,  and  they  are  set  down  in 
the  right  order.  The  book  may  be  read  without 
halt  or  hesitation,  and  all  the  while  the  reader 
(unless  he  is  a  specially  well-versed  Kantian)  will 
find  himself  adding  rapidly  to  his  knowledge  and 
rapidly  enlarging  the  horizon  of  his  mind.  Even 
the  best  informed  student  of  Kant  will  acknow- 
ledge steady  benefit.  Professor  Paulsen  cannot 
write  without  giving  forth  some  of  his  unique 
^vealth  of  insight. 

The  study  of  Kant  stands  next  in  importance 
at  present,  in  our  judgment,  to  the  study  of  Lotze; 
and  this  is  the  book  which  should  be  recommended 
as  the  easiest  and  most  satisfactory  introduction 
4o  the  study  of  Kant. 

ENGLISH  MEN  OF  LETTERS. 
Xhe    method  of  publishing    books  in  series, 
•which  is  now  so  common,  was  begun,  we  believe. 


by  Messrs.  Macmillan  and  with  the  '  English  Men 
of  Letters.'  Being  first,  they  deserved  success  and 
got  it  No  series  since  has  reached  so  great  a 
popularity.  It  has  appeared  in  several  forms — 
first  the  half-crown  red  cloth,  next  the  white 
buckram  with  label  (the  book-lover's  edition), 
then  the  flexible  cheaper  volumes.  And  now  the 
whole  series  is  to  be  reissued  in  two-shilling 
volumes  with  square  backs. 

But  more  than  that.  The  series  is  to  be 
enlarged.  Ten  additional  volumes  are  promised ; 
and  the  first  is  out.  It  is  George  Eliot  by  Sir 
Leslie  Stephen. 

A  worse  beginning  with  the  additional  volumes 
could  not  have  been  made.  When  Sir  Leslie 
Stephen  is  at  his  best  he  is  very  good — style  and 
temper  and  taste ;  when  he  is  at  his  worst  he  is 
execrable.  He  is  at  his  worst  in  this  volume. 
He  is  utterly  unconscious  of  it  He  admires 
George  Eliot,  and  approves  of  her  work.  But  he 
does  both  detestably.  If  one  would  be  cured  of 
George  Eliot  worship,  one  will  find  the  cure  speedy 
and  complete  in  this  book.  It  is  impossible  to  say 
whether  it  is  incompetency  or  perversity  ai  bad  tuck, 
but  almost  every  judgment  is  wrong.  And  worse 
than  that,  the  simplest  statements  of  fact  are  taken 
oS  with  some  ugly  phrase,  which  scrapes  the  sur- 
face and  exposes  raw  flesh  quivering  horribly.  The 
Geoige  GilfiUan  style  of  writing  literary  biography 
may  have  few  admirers  now.  This  is  the  other 
style.  We  wish  with  all  our  heart  that  George 
Gilfillan  were  back  again. 


THE  SEMITIC  SERIES. 
Two  volumes  of  this  series,  which  is  edited  by 
Professor  Craig  of  the  University  of  Michigan,  and 
published  in  this  country  by  Mr.  John  C.  Nimmo, 
were  issued  last  year.  Other  two  volumes  have 
just  appeared.  They  are  The  Theology  and  Ethics 
of  the  Hebrews  by  Professor  Archibald  Duff  of 
Bradford,  and  The  Early  History  of  Palestine  by 
Dr.  Lewis  Bayles  Paton.  Professor  DufT  has  a 
way  of  wholly  dissatisfying  some  of  his  readers, 
he  never  succeeds  in  wholly  satisfying  any  of  them. 
But  this  is  his  least  offensive  volume.  Once  or 
twice  a  touch  of  sureness  where  no  one  else  is 
sure  makes  one  start  and  tremble  for  him :  '  The 
Deity  whom  they  worshipped  they  called  Yahweh. 
The  pronunciation  of  the  word  is  made  certain  to 
us  by  the  usage  of  early  Greek  Christians  who  were 


5^6 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


free  from  the  Jewish  superstition  that  the  name  was 
ineffable,  or  dangerous  if  pronounced.  This  pro- 
nunciation is  preserred  also  in  many  early  Hebrew 
names  compounded  of  the  name  Yahu,  or  Yahw, 
and  the  added  predicate,  as  for  example  the  name 
Isaiah,  which  is  Yes/ia-  Yakui.  The  word  Vabweh 
is  a  causative  incipient,  3rd  sing.,  from  the  stem 
Hawah.  This  plain  bit  of  Hebrew  grammar  re- 
mains sure  in  spite  of  many  obstinate  objectors. 
Hamak  means  "  fell " ;  this  is  also  certain.  Thus 
the  name  of  the  Deity  was  very  naturally  explained 
in  the  prophets'  days  as  Ht  who  is  going  to  cause 
falling  rain  and  so  cause  life  and  all  things' 

Dr.  Paton's  book  is  wholly  satisfactory,  delight- 
fully fresh  and  informing.  Who  would  have  be- 
lieved that  the  early  history  of  Syria  and  Palestine 
was  so  independent  of  the  Bible?  Who  could 
have  dreamed  a  few  years  ago  that  the  Bible  would 
be  so  wonderfully  and  delightfully  framed  in  it? 
Dr.  Paton  is  most  competent  and  most  agreeable. 

FROM  PARKER  TO  MAURICE. 

For  the  Church  Historical  Society  the  S.P.C.K. 
has  published  a  handsome  volume  of  lectures  on 
Typical  English  Churchmen.  The  lectures  were 
delivered  last  year  in  St.  Margaret's,  Westminster, 
and  at  St.  Albans.  Purposely  and  avowedly  the 
lectures  differ  with  all  the  difference  of  the  lec- 
turers. Some  are  long  and  some  are  short,  some 
are  general  and  some  are  particular,  some  have 
notes  and  some  have  none.  One  thing  only  is 
insisted  on  in  all — the  politician  and  ecclesiastic 
is  forgotten  in  the  historian. 

Well,  that  is  all  good,  admirable.  Now  who 
are  the  lecturers  ?  Dr.  Henry  Gee  begins.  His 
subject  is  Matthew  Parker  (1504  to  1575).  He 
fills  twenty  pages  with  it.  He  has  a  few  notes 
which  are  worth  much.  He  never  wastes  a  word. 
He  keeps  clear  of  petty  detail  and  leaves  an  un- 
mistakable impression.  —  The  next  is  Professor 
A.  J.  Mason.  His  subject  is  Richard  Hooker. 
It  is  easier  and  more  difficult  to  write  on  Hooker 
within  twenty  pages.  That  is  his  length  also.  It 
is  easier  from  the  absence  of  interfering  facts,  it 
is  more  difficult  from  the  greatness  of  intellectual 
achievement.  Few  men  can  say  what  they  want 
to  say  so  memorably  as  Professor  Mason. — The 
third  is  Dr.  Hastings  Rashdall.  Master  of  forc- 
ible language  and  of  a  resolute  will,  he  sees  his 
way  to  judgments   from   which  more  emotional 


men  shrink,  he  sees  and  he  utters  them  :  '  It  can 
hardly  be  said  that  Chillingworth  bad  reached 
the  idea  of  salvation  as  a  purely  moral  state  of 
which  there  may  be  degrees,  or  the  belief  that 
accuracy  of  religious  belief  is  only  valuable  so 
far  as  it  helps  towards  holiness  of  life ' — that  is 
one  of  them. — The  remaining  lecturers  are  Mr. 
E.  W.  Wateon  (Usher),  Professor  W.  E.  Collins 
(Brambali),  Dr.  Hensley  Henson  (Jeremy  Taylor), 
Mr.  H.  W.  C.  Davis  (Bumet),  Dr.  Wacc  (Boder), 
Mr.  J.  N.  Figgis  (Warburton),  Mr.  C.  H.  Simp- 
kinson  (Simeon),  Dr.  E.  C.  S.  Gibson  (Phillpolts), 
and  again  Professor  Collins  (Maurice). 

CONSTRUCTIVE  CONGREGATIONAL 
IDEALS.  By  D.  Macfadyen,  M.A.  {Allensen).— 
Are  the  Congregational  Churches  a  Church  ?  The 
question  is  honestly  asked  by  some,  however 
scoffingly  by  others.  This  is  the  simplest  and 
most  sufficient  answer  we  can  point  to.  The  book 
consists  of  two  distinct  parts.  The  first  part  con- 
tains extracts  from  the  writings  of  great  Congre- 
gational writers  —  Fairbaim,  Miall,  Dale,  and 
others  —  touching  on  the  idea  of  Congrega- 
tionalism. The  second  gives  Mr.  Macfadyen's  own 
interpretation.  The  two  parts  are  distinct,  yet 
they  are  united — as  the  Congregational  Churches 
are  united;  making  one  homogeneous  book,  as 
they  and  the  rest  make  one  homogeneous  Church. 
Here,  then,  you  find  in  modest  brevity  and  much 
persuasive  earnestness  what  Congregationalism 
has  done,  is  now  doing,  and  by  God's  help  means 
to  do  in  the  future.  See  it,  sympathize  with  it. 
Your  Methodism,  Presbyterianism,  what  not,  will 
be  the  better  to  you  that  you  find  Congrega- 
tionalism is  better  than  you  knew.  God  fulfils 
Himself  in  many  ways. 

Apart  from  Mr.  Macfadyen's  own  writing,  the 
chapter  that  has  impressed  us  most  is  Dr.  Dale's 
on  '  The  Evangelizing  Power  of  a  Spiritual  Fel- 
lowship.' That  chapter  is  new  to  literature.  It 
deserves  the  greatest  possible  publicity. 

Messrs.  Banks  have  published  Dangers  arid 
Confiicis  of  the  British  Empire  by  Col.  Gamier, 
and  The  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  a  Supplement  to 
'What  is  Truth?'  by  the  Rev.  Robert  Waters, 
A.K.C.L.  

Messrs.  Bemrose  have  published  a  small  volume 
of   essays  on    Church    and   Reform.    They   are 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


5>7 


written  by  the  Bishop  of  Hereford,  the  Dean  ot 
Norwich,  Canon  Hay  Aitlcen,  and  others.  They 
deserve  careful  reading;  they  may  lead  to  some 
reforming.  

REVISED  CATECHISMS.  By  the  Rev. 
Duff  Macdonald,  M.A.,  B.D.  {£lMi).~lt  is 
doubtful  if  a  man  ever  becomes  a  theologian  who 
has  not  been  brought  up  on  the  Assembly's  Shorter 
Catechism — or  some  satisfactory  equivalent.  The 
controversy  about  Catechisms  and  Creeds  with 
many  people  is,  Mend  them  or  end  them  ?  There 
■5  a  preliminary  recommendation,  Understand 
them.  The  menders  and  enders  have  not  always 
been  taught  them  in  youth,  and  do  not  know  that 
it  is  with  the  Catechism  as  with  [he  food  we  live 
by — some  of  it  makes  blood  and  bone  and  some 
is  rejected.  It  is  a  natural  process  to  the  healthily 
nurtured,  and  it  is  just  as  absurd  to  insist  on 
mending  a  Catechism  so  that  every  proposition 
shall  go  to  make  blood  and  bone  (oi  us,  as  to 
insist  so  with  our  food ;  while  to  end  it  is  to  die 
of  starvation. 

Professor  Flint,  who  writes  a  Preface  to  Mr. 
Macdonald's  own  Jitviied  Catechism,  has  no  sym- 
pathy with  revised  Catechisms.  '  The  time  even 
for  revision  will  not,  I  think,  come  in  the  near 
future.  Nor  does  the  question  of  revision  itself 
seem  to  be  an  urgent  one.  Far  more  important, 
I  think,  is  the  question  as  to  how  to  get  a  thor- 
oughly good  teaching  of  the  Catechism  which  we 
have,  and  to  that  end  this  work  may  well  be 
expected  to  contribute.'  We  heartily  agree — to 
both  statements.  That  is  the  use  of  this  work. 
It  is  for  the  teacher,  the  teacher  who  has  been 
brought  up  on  the  Catechism.  It  may  help  him 
to  use  it  well  for  himself;  it  will  help  him  greatly 
to  make  it  useful  to  others. 

The  feature  of  Mr.  Macdonald's  book  is  the 
modern  scientific  light  in  which  the  Catechism  is 
placed.  For  a  moment  it  looks  unhealthy  in  that 
light;  the  next  moment  you  see  that  half  the 
unhealthy  look  is  due  to  the  light  If  the  wall- 
paper were  '  mended  *  to  suit  your  new  gas-tittings, 
how  would  it  appear  in  the  light  of  the  sun? 
The  next  tenant,  too,  may  introduce  a  new  style 
of  artificial  lighting  with  a  hue  that  is  wholly 
different  It  is  quite  true  that  the  makers  of  the 
Catechism  made  it  to  suit  their  own  artificial 
lighting,  and  we  see  that  glaringly  in  statements 
about '  the  corruption  of  his  whole  nature,  whereby 


he  is  utterly  indisposed,  disabled,  and  made 
opposite  unto  all  that  is  spiritually  good,  and 
wholly  inclined  to  all  evil,  and  that  continually.' 
The  prevailing  light  at  present  is  the  very  opposite 
of  that  But  we  fall  back  on  our  simile  of  food. 
In  any  case,  it  is  the  business  of  the  teacher  to 
point  out  wherein  both  lights  differ  from  the  light 
of  the  sun.  And  we  may  add  in  a  word  that  this 
is  the  book  that  at  present  will  help  him  most 

STUDIES  IN  THE  GREEK  AND  LATIN 
VERSIONS  OF  THE  BOOK  OF  AMOS.  By 
the  Rev.  W.  O.  E.  Oesterley,  B.D.  (Cambridge: 
At  the  University  Press). — Mr.  Oesterley  has  made 
certain  original  investigations  in  the  Septuagint, 
the  later  Greek  versions,  the  Complutensian  and 
Aldine  Texts,  and  the  Latin  versions,  and  he  has 
presented  the  results  of  his  investigations  first  to 
the  examiners  for  the  degree  of  B.D.  in  Cam- 
bridge, and  now  for  the  student  of  the  Book  of 
Amos  in  this  volume.  The  volume  is  most 
welcome.  Such  first-hand  work  is  always  wel- 
come. It  is  in  this  way  that  knowledge  grows 
from  more  to  more.    

The  first  four  volumes  of  the  Oxford  Stadia 
Biblica  et  Ealestastica  were  issued  in  cloth.  The 
fifth  is  coming  out  in  paper  parts.  This  is  the 
second  part  of  it.  It  contains  some  account  of  a 
journey  which  Mr.  Kirsopp  Lake  made  to  Mount 
Athos,  and  of  the  MSS  he  studied  and  catalogued 
there.  lu  contents  are:  (r)  Description  of  Codex 
^;  (a)  Text  of  that  Codex  in  St  Mark;  (3)  A 
Collation  of  it  in  Lk,  Jn,  and  Col ;  (4)  A  Colla- 
tion of  Codex  loyr ;  (5)  Some  Chapters  of  a 
Codex  of  the  Acta  Pilati ;  (6)  A  Fragment  of  the 
Acta  Thomje ;  (7)  A  Catalogue  and  Description  of 
all  the  MSS  examined.  The  volume  is  published 
at  the  Clarendon  Press. 

The  'Bible  Class  Primers'  which  Principal 
Salmond  edits  now  fill  a  long  red  shelf.  They 
suit  the  present  taste  for  theological  pemmican 
perfectly.  They  are. more  uniform  in  their  scholar- 
ship than  any  similar  series  we  know.  And  yet 
some  of  their  authors  are  the  foremost  scholars 
among  us.  The  latest  'Primer' has  been  written 
by  the  Rev.  John  Adams,  B.D.  Its  subject  is  the 
Minor  Prophets.  Many  Btble-class  teachers  make 
the  Minor  Prophets  the  subject  of  study,  and  need 
much  help  to  make  it  useful.     This  will  do.     It 


5i8 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


will  do  better  than  almost  anythiog.     It  is  com- 
petent, it  is  clear,  and  it  is  enough. 

What  a  vitality  Ullmann's  Sinkssness  of  Jesus 
has.  One  would  have  said  that  after  the  dis- 
cussions of  the  last  few  years  on  the  human 
nature  of  our  Lord,  this  book  of  all  books  was 
sure  to  go  out  of  date.  But  Ullmann  seems  to 
have  anticipated  these  discussions  and  what  would 
come  out  of  them,  and  his  sixth  edition,  which 
Messrs.  T.  &  T.  Clark  have  published,  is  as  fresh 
and  pertinent  as  the  first. 

THE  PENTATEUCH  IN  THE  LIGHT  OF 
TO-DAY.  By  Alfred  Holbom,  M.A.  {T.  6*  T. 
C/ari).— The  further  title  is  'A  Simple  Intro- 
duction to  the  Pentateuch  on  the  Lines  of  the 
Higher  Criticism.'  This  is  just  the  book  (and  it 
is  quite  inexpensive)  which  will  give  the  un- 
learned an  idea  of  what  the  Higher  Criticism  is. 
Mr.  Holborn  has  succeeded  in  writing  at  once 
accurately  and  attractively.  He  is  not  an  advocate, 
he  is  an  expositor,  but  he  has  been  able  to  under- 
stand how  this  Higher  Criticism  is  got  to  range 
itself  along  the  lines  of  the  progress  of  knowledge, 
and  if  he  does  not  plead  for  it,  he  makes  it  the 
more  credible.  With  all  its  simplicity  the  book 
is  full  of  matter,  and  will  not  waste  the  time  of 
any  man  who  reads  it.  In  an  Appendix  will  be 
found  the  most  accessible  Table  of  Sources,  taken 
from  Driver's  Introduction. 

HEBREW  IDEALS.  By  the  Rev.  James 
Strachan,  M.A.  (T,  df  T.  Clark).— h\  sundry 
times  and  in  divers  manners  has  the  story  of 
God's  dealings  with  the  Patriarchs  been  told.  But 
new  times  bring  new  manners.  Never  before  has 
it  been  done  so  rdtgiovsly  with  so  wholehearted 
a  desire  to  see  Go^s  way  with  the  Patriarchs,  and 
to  show  the  character  in  all  its  variety  which 
God's  hand  on  sensitive  souls  brings  forth.  The 
life  of  the  Patriarchs  is  not  divided  into  chapters 
of  external  but  into  chapters  of  internal  history. 
One  chapter  is  Ideals,  another  Separation,  another 
Blessedness,  another  Worship,  and  so  on.  Then 
each  chapter  has  its  sections.  Thus  Decision, 
which  is  chapter  vi.,  is  divided  into  Wealth, 
Restoration,  Friendship,  Destiny,  Renunciation, 
Decision,  Paradise,  Recompense.  Each  section 
is  a  little  sermon,  clean-cut  in  language,  close- 
packed  with  thought. 


The  book  is  one  of  the  '  Handbooks  for  Bible 
Classes'  which  Professor  Dods  and  Dr.  Whyte 
edit     It  will  be  one  of  the  most  useful  of  all  the 


THE  WORLDS  OF  THE  EARTH.  By 
Captain  John  Spencer  Hall,  A.O.D.  {Digby).— 
This  book  should  have  been  published  two  genera- 
tions ago.  Our  grandfathers  loved  to  measure  the 
dimensions  of  the  ark  and  count  the  animals  that 
entered  it,  bidding  Christ  wait  till  their  arithmetic 
came  out  right.  We  look  at  these  things  in 
another  way  now.  And  interesting  as  it  would 
be  even  to  us  to  be  told  what  was  the  length  of  a 
cubit,  we  must  in  the  meantime  encourage  men 
to  do  justly.  

GOD'S  THEATRE.  By  the  Rev.  D.  L 
Thomson  {Gardner). — Mr,  Thomson  is  not  in 
his  best  humour.  He  invites  reprisals,  and  they 
may  arise  from  unexpected  quarters.  Huxley  was 
always  ready,  but  Huxley  is  out  of  it  now,  and  it 
is  not  fair  to  recall  the  'pluralities'  and  *L.S.D.' 
Who  is  to  be  won  by  this  ?  Who  is  to  smile  at  it  ? 
Mr.  Thomson  has  lost  the  very  chastity  of  his 
language:  'He  (Darwin's  father)  was  a  man  of 
Falstaflian  proportions,  and  stories  bordering  on 
the  marvellous  are  told  of  the  food  that  he  could 
tuck  in  at  a  single  sitting.  A  turkey  is  represented 
as  aiTording  him  a  solitary  repast,  with  which 
under  his  ribs  he  was  quite  as  comfortable  as 
another  man  would  be  who  had  dined  on  a 
pigeon.'  

THE  GOD  OF  THE  FRAIL.  By  Thomas 
G.  Selby  {Hodder  6-  Slougkton).  —  Another 
volume  of  sermons  from  Mr.  Selby.  Another 
series  of  vivid,  sometimes  startling,  aspects  of  the 
ways  of  God  and  men,  illuminated  with  new 
flashes  of  illustration,  and  all  sent  home  to  the 
modern  conscience  with  unmistakable  earnest- 
ness of  purpose.  One  cannot  call  them  expository 
sermons,  and  yet  the  text  is  sometimes  better 
understood  after  they  are  read  than  after  all  the 
commentaries  at  command  are  studied.  For  they 
seek  to  catch  the  heart  and  soul  of  the  passage 
and  reveal  that,  leaving  the  language  to  follow 
and  fall  into  its  proper  place — great  principles 
are  sometimes  thus  pressed  out  of  a  simple  familiar 
passage,  and  the  world  that  now  is  is  l^jked  closely 
with  the  world  of  Scripture.       "  O 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


519 


Professor  Banks  of  Headingley  College  has  the 
distinction  of  having  mnxXta  Sl  Manuai  of  Christian 
Doctrine  which  has  run  a  race  in  popular  favour 
with  Dr.  Clarke's  Outlines.  Its  seventh  edition 
having  been  sold  out,  he  has  revised  and  largely 
rewritten  the  work  for  an  eighth  edition,  which  is 
now  issued.  Its  simplicity  and  its  sanity  are  its 
commendation.    The  publisher  is  Mr.  Kelly. 

HUMAN  NATURE  A  REVELATION  OF 
THE  DIVINK  By  C.  H.  Robinson,  M.A. 
{Longmans). — The  title  of  this  interesting  and 
instnictive  volume  is  comprehensive.  It  is  com- 
prehensive enough  to  cover  the  miscellaneous 
contents  of  the  volume,  which  is  made  up  of  three 
parts.  The  first  part  consists  of  Studies  in  the 
Character  of  Christ ;  the  second  part  seeks  to  show 
that  the  critical  view  of  the  Old  Testament  does 
not  destroy  its  inspiration ;  the  third  part  contains 
Studies  in  Worship,  and  consists  of  addresses 
which  were  given  at  certain  'Quiet  Days'  for 
clergy. 

It  is  an  interesting  and  instructive  book,  we  say. 
ItB  miscellaneousness  makes  for  both  interest  and 
instruction.  There  is  no  attempt  to  stretch  an 
indiarubbcT  band  round  the  three  subjects.  They 
may  be  taken  apart,  begun  and  ended  and 
relished.  But  the  same  sweet  reasonable  mind 
runs  through  them  all.  There  is  that  much  bind- 
ing at  least.  Very  valuable  to  our  thinking  is  the 
part  dealing  with  the  Old  Testament  Take  this 
for  sample:  There  are  four  doctrines,  says  Mr. 
Robinson,  which  serve  (o  differentiate  the  teach- 
ing of  the  Old  Testament  from  that  of  other  old 
religions,  and  more  especially  from  that  of  those 
religions  with  which  the  Hebrews  were  likely  to 
have  come  in  contact.  These  are:  (i)  the 
Unity  of  God;  (2)  Morality  as  a  necessary  char- 
acteristic of  God;  (3)  the  divinity  of  human 
nature,  with  its  correlative,  the  potential  equality 
of  all  men ;  (4)  the  recognition  of  a  continuous 
purpose  in  history.      

This  square  little  red-bound  volume  is  the 
work  of  an  'Ancient  Bramin.'  It  was  found  in 
MS.,  translated  by  somebody  unknown,  and  pub- 
lished in  1751.  It  ran  through  fifty  editions  and 
then  was  forgotten.  Its  republication  by  Messrs. 
Luzac  lets  us  see  how  noble  a  worldly  man  can 
be,  and  how  worldly  a  man  must  remain  who  has 
not  known  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus. 


The  Macmillan  edition  of  Thackeray  has 
reached  its  sixth  volume,  which  contains  Barry 
Lyndon  and  Catherine.  No  inexpensive  edition 
of  Thackeray  can  touch  it. 

THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  By 
B.  W.  Bacon,  D.D.  {Maemillan).^T)it  volume 
contains  a  lecture  on  the  literary  structure  and 
didactic  purpose  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount, 
and  three  critical  or  analytical  appendixes.  The 
subject  is  handled  with  great  acuteness  and  great 
freedom.  Thus  the  'Parable  of  the  Rich  Man 
and  the  Beggar,'  as  Dr.  Bacon  calls  it,  is  divided 
into  two  sizes  of  type  in  Appendix  C.  The  first 
part  of  it  (Lk  i6'^»*)  is  in  large  type,  the  last 
(16^*-")  in  small  And  then  there  is  a  footnote : 
'The  addition,  vv.**^\  introduces  a  theme  alien 
to  the  parable.  Moreover,  it  is  borrowed  from 
current  apocalyptic  expectation,  which  taught 
that  Moses  and  Elias  {sometimes  Enoch  and  Elias, 
or  Elias  alone.  Rev  ir»'*,  Mk  9"")  would  rise 
from  the  dead  to  witness  for  Messiah  and  turn 
Israel  to  Him  in  repentance.'  This  is  therefore 
not  exactly  a  handbook  for  Sabbath  schools.  But 
it  is  extremely  suggestive  to  those  who  have  made 
some  prc^ess  in  the  criticism  of  the  Gospels. 

THE  ENGLISH  CHURCH  IN  THE  SIX- 
TEENTH CENTURY.  By  James  Gairdner, 
C.B.,  LL.D.  {Macmillan).— i:\i^  fourth  volume 
of  Messrs.  Macmillan's  'History  of  the  English 
Church '  covers  the  period  from  Henry  viii.  to 
Mary.  That  period  tests  the  historian  more  than 
any  other  in  the  whole  range  of  the  Church's 
history.  There  are  three  possible  positions :  Make 
the  best  you  can  of  Henry  and  idolize  Elizabeth ; 
proveCatherineasaintand  Mary  a  martyr;  or  leave 
the  acts  and  facts  to  speak  for  themselves.  Dr. 
Gairdner's  way  is  the  third  way.  It  is  the  least 
interesting  of  the  three  ways.  It  is  the  most  pro- 
voking. For  we  all  have  taken  a  side,  and  to 
have  no  chance  of  defending  our  side  from  unjust 
attack,  to  have  no  joy  even  in  hearing  our  side  be- 
praised,  is  quite  disappointing.  But  it  is  the 
historical  way,  and  no  doubt  the  best  way  in  the 
end.  It  is  a  merciless  picture  Dr.  Gairdner  draws. 
He  has  no  mercy.  He  feels  no  sympathy  with 
Cranmer's  shrinking  from  the  fire ;  he  has  no  pity 
for  Mary's  hunger  of  heart.  He  is  a  historian,  re- 
cording the  facts,  describing  the  acts,  letting  history 
tell  its  own  tale ;  and  just  as  a  surprise,  once  or 


S20 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


twice  in  all,  showing  the  hand  called  God   or 
Nemesis  in  it. 

Dr.  Gairdner's  period  is  the  period  of  person- 
ality. The  human  will  has  its  way.  The  men 
and  women  may  not  have  been  greater  than  those 
who  surrounded  the  Georges,  but  they  are  better 
seen;  they  did  more  and  aufTcred  better.  When 
the  Sheriff  of  Hampshire  stayed  the  execution  of 
a  heretic  named  Bembridge,  because,  when  the 
poor  man  felt  the  flame,  he  cried  out  '  I  recant,' 
Mary  through  her  Council  wrote  sharply  to  him, 
and  told  him  to  see  the  execution  cairicd  out  even 
yet:  'if  the  poor  penitent  continued  steadfast,  the 
Bishop  of  Winchester  would  appoint  a  priest  to 
attend  him  and  help  him  "to  die  God's  servant,"' 
So  men  were  made  great  against  theirwill  at  times. 
Cranmer  himself  was  in  no  hurry  to  come  home 
and  be  anointed  archbishop.  They  were  visible 
and  had  to  play  their  part,  and  if  some  played  it 
miserably  ill,  some  are  still  ensamples  to  those 
that  would  follow  after  and  inherit  the  crown. 

Messrs.  Marshall  Brothers  have  published  An 
Awakening  by  H.  N.,  and  Ctvwns  for  Chrisiians 
by  Jesse  Page,  F.R.G.S. 

The  new  edition  of  Mr.  Meyer's  works  has 
reached  Jeremiah.  Its  full  title  (after  Mr.  Meyer's 
manner)  is  Jeremiah  :  Priest  and  Prophet  (Morgan 
&  Scott).  Now  Jeremiah  offers  himself  to  Mr. 
Meyer's  treatment  with  wonderful  readiness.  How 
full  of  incident  was  the  prophet's  life,  how  moving 
the  incident.  The  '  weeping  prophet,'  foolish  men 
have  called  him.  The  greatest  personal  hero 
among  all  the  prophets  rather,  made  of  stuff  for 
battle  and  endurance  as  no  other,  with  all  his 
sensitiveness  and  modesty.  And  so  he  comes  so 
close  to  Christ — which  is  his  great  charm  for  Mr. 
Meyer.    Surely  he  too  hath  borne  our  griefs. 

Messrs.  Newnes  have  enriched  their  library  of 
thin  paper  and  green  leather  editions  with  an 
edition  of  Bacon's  Works.  The  volume  is  quite 
thin  and  portable,  and  yet  it  contains  the  Essays, 
the  Colours  of  Good  and  Evil,  the  New  Atlantis, 
the  Advancement  of  Learning,  the  History  of 
Henry  vii.,  the  Wisdom  of  the  Ancients,  and 
fifty  pages  more  of  Miscellaneous.  The  spelling 
is  modernized.  

MOSAICS  FROM  INDIA.     By  Margaret  B. 


Denning  (OHphanf). — So  rich  has  Messrs.  OUpbant, 
Anderson,  &  Ferricr's  Library  of  Mission  Litera- 
ture now  become  that  they  have  to  be  most  exact- 
ing in  admitting  newcomers.  But  this  volume 
could  not  be  refused.  The  whole  field  of  Missioa 
interest  in  India  is  ransacked,  and  its  tit-biti 
gathered.  There  is  no  exhaustion  either  of  any 
subject  or  of  any  reader.  And  yet  there  is  just  » 
little  sense  of  distraction.  For  India  is  not  as  any 
other  country.  What  ia  Indian  is  never  con- 
founded with  what  is  Chinese.  There  is  in  all  the 
variety  unity  enough  to  make  the  book  hold  well 
together.  This  is  the  book,  then,  for  those  who 
cannot  master  a  whole  library  of  mission  literature. 
This  is  the  book  for  those  who  would  like  to  know 
what  Christ  has  done  for  India  unmistakably,  and 
what  unmistakably  He  has  yet  to  do.  Chapters 
could  be  read  alone  moreover,  so  that  it  would 
serve  girls'  clubs  and  mothers'  meetings  and  such 
like  gatherings  well.    

THE  BIBLE  IN  MODERN  ENGLISH.  By 
Ferrar  Fenton  {Partridge). — Previous  parts  of  this 
brave  enterprise  pleased  us  greatly.  This  volume 
contains  the  Books  of  Joshua,  Judges,  Samuel, 
Kings.  It  is  not  the  most  diflicult  part  of  the 
Bible  to  render  into  everyday  speech,  but  Mr. 
Fenton  has  not  let  it  send  him  to  sleep.  In  the  case 
of  the  Song  of  Deborah  he  has  been  bold  enough 
to  introduce  responsive  singing,  Deborah,  Barak, 
and  the  troops  taking  up  their  parts  in  turn. 

Mr.  Elliot  Stock  has  published  Baptism  and 
Regeneration  by  W.  H.  K.  Soames,  M.A. 

VITAL  RELIGION.  By  G.  H.  S.  Walpole, 
D.D.  {Stock)  — This  book  will  have  to  overcome 
its  own  unattractiveness.  The  very  title  is  un- 
attractive. The  subtitle  would  have  been  better: 
'  The  Personal  Knowledge  of  Christ'  That  is  Vital 
Religion  in  Dr.  Walpole's  judgment,  and  in  oun. 
For  the  book  belongs  to  the  'Church's  Outlook' 
Series,  and  is  in  the  most  intimate  touch  with  our 
present  ways  of  thinking. 

THE  CREED  OF  AN  EVANGELICAL 
CHURCHMAN.  By  the  Rev.  H.  Lawrence 
Phillips  (Sioei). — If  every  man  would  bestow  as 
much  care  on  the  formation  of  his  Creed  as  Mr. 
Phillips  has  done,  the  Church  of  England  would 
loose  the  reproach  of  theological  ignorance  it  now 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


52  > 


so  commonljr  carries.  If  every  man  would  dis- 
tJDguish  between  essence  and  accident  as  Mr. 
Phillips  does,  controversy  would  become  less 
barren  znd  less  bitter.  It  is  a  manual  of  theology, 
the  more  certainly  workable  that  in  one  case  it 
has  been  foand  to  work.  Its  intelligibility  is 
much  to  the  author's  credit  Here  is  an  Oxford 
Don  taking  pains  to  understand  ordinary  men's 
wants  and  giving  of  his  best  and  ripest  to  satisfy 
them.  

SEEING  THE  KING  IN  HIS  BEAUTY. 
By  Ihe  Rev.  W.  Griffiths,  M.A.  (Ao^).— Where 
should  a  writer  go  to  find  a  more  attractive  theme 
than  this  ?  Where  should  a  reader  go  to  find  it 
more  attractively  described?  Atler  all  that  has 
been  said  about  Him,  against  Him,  for  Him; 
after  all  that  has  been  said  about  others,  like  Him, 
unlike  Him,  we  return  to  Himself.  He  is  still  the 
chiefest  among  ten  thousand,  and  altogether  lovely. 
It  was  the  grace  that  flows  from  the  lips  of  Jesus 
Himself  that  gave  this  subject  to  Mr.  Griffiths,  it 
is  with  that  grace  overflowing  that  he  handles  it. 
Nor  is  there  the  least  taste  of  over-sweetness.  Here 
beauty  is  truth,  truth  beauty.  We  have  but  to  see 
Him  as  He  is  here  described  to  be  changed  into 
the  same  image.  Choose  the  unpretentious  but 
loyal  little  book  out  of  many  others  for  quiet 
meditation.  

The  new  volume  of  the  'Baptist  Pulpit'  (Sipci- 
well)  is  My  Gospel  by  Thomas  Spurgeon.  There 
are  no  misunderstandings  in  it  What  'my 
gospel'  is,  he  who  reads  may  see,  and  he  finds 
nothing  in  contradiction  or  hesitancy.  Moreover, 
'my  gospel'  ought  to  be  yours — as  assuredly  as 
St  Paul  would  have  said  so.  And  therein — in  the 
gospel  and  in  its  assurance — lies  the  power  of  this 
preaching. 

AFTER  THIS  MANNER.  By  Hugh  C. 
Wallace  {Stockwell).~A.  book  of  direct  practical 
good  advice  regarding  the  use  of  the  Lord's  Prayer, 
Use  it,  says  Mr.  Wallace,  and  you  will  understand 
it.  Without  praying  the  whole  Prayer  no  one  will 
understand  a  single  petition.  He  is  surely  right 
and  apposite.  We  speak  so  much  about  the  Lord's 
Prayer  and  use  it  in  sincerity  so  very  very  little. 

THE  EPIC  OF  GOD.  By  A.  H.  Moncur 
Sime  {Slockweli). — This  is  merely  another  volume 


of  sermons.  It  contains  only  seven  sermons.  Vet 
it  has  given  us  more  uplifting  of  heart,  it  has 
brought  us  closer  to  the  mind  of  Christ,  than  any 
of  the  great  volumes  of  theological  speculation  we 
have  ever  read.  No  man  can  be  so  sincere  with 
himself,  his  message,  and  us,  without  having 
passed  through  'gloomy  valley  and  sultry  hill.' 
We  accept  these  hopes  as  wholly  beyond  the 
range  of  natural  optimism,  as  'found  in  Christ'; 
we  share  them,  perceiving  that  they  express  the 
truth  of  God's  overmastering  love  for  us  also,  won 
though  it  is  as  yet  by  another  man's  experience. 

THE  DIARY  OF  A  SOUL  IN  THE  YEAR 
tgoi.  {SfMkwell.) — Take  one  day's  entry,  all  are 
alike  in  length,  but  some  refer  to  incidents  that 
are  easily  identified,  some  do  not ;  'Sat  Sept  7 — 
He  went  out  in  the  morning  to  his  lowly-high 
task  in  the  flush  of  manhood's  strength.  With  a 
love-embrare  he  parted  from  those  who  were  dearer 
to  him  than  life  itself — for  did  not  he  risk  life  itself 
daily  and  hourly  on  their  dear  behalf?  They 
looked  for  him  in  the  evening,  but  he  came  not, 
and  Something — an  awful  Something — whispered, 
He  will  not  come!  Anon  they  brought  him, 
noble  in  death — dead  for  bread !  Ah,  and  some- 
thing far  better,  dead  for  love  !  They  wept  bitter 
tears  for  him.  As  they  wept  the  angels  gathered 
round — unseen  !  And  a  beautiful  Something  whis- 
pered, He  has  come  to  stay  !  He  will  go  no  more 
out'  

Mr.  Fisher  Unwin  has  published  the  story  of  the 
life  of  Booker  T.  Washington,  under  the  title  of 
From  Slave  to  College  President.  It  is  written  by 
Mr.  G.  Hoiden  Pike. 

CAPTAIN  JOHN  BROWN.  By  John  Newton 
{Fisher  Unwin). — The  stirring  and  heroic  career 
of  John  Brown  of  Harper's  Ferry  cannot  be  re- 
lated too  often,  cannot  be  known  too  well.  This 
is  a  popular,  vivid,  sympathetic  narrative.  It  will 
serve  the  purpose  of  a  book  for  the  library,  a  gift 
for  the  boys,  or  a  good  hour's  reading  for  oneself 
— any  of  these  purposes  admirably. 

MEDIEVAL  ROME.  By  William  Miller, 
M.A.  {Fisher  Unwin).— So  the  'Story  of  the 
Nations '  is  not  at  an  end  as  we  thought  it  was. 
Fifty-six  volumes,  and  then  Mr.  Fisher  Unwin 
issued  a   'Subscription   Edition,'  and  the  serie' 


THE   EXPOSITORY   TIMES. 


seemed  complete.  But  here  is  volume  the  fifty- 
seventh.  Its  topic  is  rather  a  Church  than  a 
Nation,  but  who  would  restrict  the  use  of  the 
name  when  the  books  are  so  acceptable  ?  It  is  the 
Church  of  Rome  from  1073  to  1600,  for  that  was 
the  nation  of  Rome  so  far  as  poor,  harassed,  priest- 
ridden  Rome  had  a  nationality  at  all.  The  story 
is  told  with  straightforward  impartiality,  and  so  it 
is  a  sordid  story  enough.  What  did  these  capable 
ambitious,  unscrupulous  men  live  for?  This 
world  ?  It  was  a  poor  living  they  got  out  of  this 
world,  most  of  them.  The  next?  They  deliber- 
ately and  sometimes  ostentatiously  'jumped  the 
life  to  come.'  But  these  things  also  are  written 
for  our  admonition.  Mr.  Miller's  book  deserves  its 
place  in  a  long  honourable  roll  of  volumes. 

CHRISTIAN  TEACHING  IN  THE  OLD 
TESTAMENT.  By  G.  A.  Barton,  A.M.,  Ph.  D. 
(Philadelphia:  John   C.    Winston  Co.).— The  title 


suggests  an  antiquated  method  of  interpretation, 
but  the  book  is  wholly  modern.  It  is  a  contribu- 
tion to  the  spiritual  understanding  of  the  Old 
Testament,  not  only  in  the  light  of  Christ,  but  also 
in  the  light  of  the  most  modern  conceptions,  botb 
of  Christ  and  of  the  Old  Testament.  The  most 
modem  conception  of  Christ  lays  stress  on  His 
growth,  the  most  modem  conception  of  the  Old 
Testament  lays  stress  on  its  growth  also.  Pro- 
fessor Barton  recognizes  thai  through  these  views 
we  understand  better  than  our  fathers  did  how 
Christ  came  not  to  destroy  the  Law  or  the  Pro- 
phets, but  to  fulfiL  In  brief,  pregnant,  sometimes 
most  pithy,  chapters,  he  shows  how  easily  at  one 
point  or  another  of  life  or  doctrine,  the  Old 
Testament  leads  up  to  Christ.  We  wonder  how 
we  are  to  teach  the  Old  Testament  now.  This  is 
the  way  to  teach  it.  And  our  fathers,  if  they 
knew,  would  envy  us  the  ethical  and  spiritual 
wealth  at  our  command. 


ContrtButtoner   anb  (Commence. 


L 


Qteio  iS«xmtnU  anb  Of6  (patches. 

No  light,  however  narrow  the  ray,  on  Christ's 
difficult  parabolic  sayings  in  answer  to  the 
Pharisees'  question  about  fasting  (Mt  9^*'*s  Lk 
j!»-3»j  can  be  other  tlian  welcome.  Perhaps  the 
following  rays  have  not  hitherto  been  focussed. 

It  seems  to  me  that  Jesus  is  making  a  double 
defence  (i)  of  John  the  Baptist,  (2)  of  His  own 
practice,  and  that,  as  in  other  cases,  the  two 
evangelists  have  each  caught  one  of  the  two 
impressions.  Christ's  sword  is  here  double- 
edged. 

1,  The  defence  of  John  clearly  appears  in  Lk 
jSiiM  as  brought  out  by  Hort  (after  Weiss)  in  his 
Judaistic  Christianity,  pp.  13,  34  (?.»-). 

2.  It  is  of  Christ's  defence  of  Himself  that  I 
wish  to  say  just  this  :  It  is  a  reductic  ad  ahsurdum 
of  the  Pharisaic  expectation  that  he  would  graft  on 
to  His  religion  the  customs  of  Judaism.  Only, 
it  being  one  of  His  earlier  encounters  with  His 
critics.  He  is  fencing  with  a  buttoned  foil,  and  the 
keenness  of  the  point  is  hidden  by  a  change  of 
figure  in  Mt  9'^.    He  has  announced  a  new  method 


of  life  (v.i").  He  acknowledges  that  this  new 
method  cannot  be  taken  as  a  patch  and  put  upon 
the  garment  of  Judaism.  He  is  past  His  opponent's 
guard — 'neither  can  I  patch  my  new  garment  with 
old  patches  from  yours.'  But  it  is  really  too 
absurd  to  speak  thus  in  plain  words :  who  ever 
put  an  old  patch  on  a  new  garment  for  the  sake  of 
the  patch  ?  So  He  changes  the  figure  to  gain 
verisimilitude  of  language.  Only  the  point  is  not 
seen  until  we  observe  that  it  is  translation,  and 
revert  to  the  original.  Hence  the  strange  title  at 
the  bead  of  this  note. 

Interpreters  have  erred  in  not  adhering  to  the 
rule  of  interpretation  that  the  essential  thing  is  to 
find  the  gist  of  a  parable,  and  not  to  seek  for 
point-by-point  identification.  The  gist  of  Christ's 
argument  is :  patches  are  nothing,  are  not  needed ; 
but  an  entirely  new  garment — a  new  life.  Hence 
Paul  says  that  Christianity  cannot  be  patched  with 
circumcision  or  with  uncircumcision — they  are 
not  anything;  what  is  wanted  is  a  new  creature 
(Gal  6"). 

I ,  -  f,,,\\lARBURTON    LEWIS. 

Bewdori. 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


523 


*#on'  in  t$e  (p<nt^BU  of  iU  CB^c^ 
(Stan  an^  £a;aru6. 

It  will,  I  suppose,  be  very  generall]'  admitted,  as  a 
sound  principle  or  interpretation,  that  in  every 
document  the  meaning  of  each  word,  not  merely 
may,  but  must,  be  ascertained  by  reference  to  the 
context  in  which  it  occurs,  A  word  occurring  in 
two  different  contexts  may,  and  very  often  does, 
possess  two  entirety  different  meanings;  and  to 
insist  that  any  given  word  shall  always  receive  the 
same  rendering,  no  matter  how  various  may  be  the 
contexts  in  which  it  is  placed,  involves  a  principle 
of  interpretation  to  which  few  scholars  would  be 
will  log  to  subscribe  allegiance. 

For  instance,  when  Christ  says  that  '  a  certain 
man  had  two  sons'  (Wuva  Sw,)  (Mt  ai"),  He  is 
evidmtly  using  the  term  'son'  in  the  physical 
sense  of  the  word.  But  when  Paul  calls  Timothy 
'my  beloved  son'  Ijuni  ■tiKVOv  a-yoinp-dc),  (l  Co 
4''),  it  is  equally  evident  that  he  is  using  the 
word  'son,'  not  in  the  physical  sense,  but  in  that 
spiritual  sense  in  which  he  applies  it  to  the  Corin- 
thians, when  he  calls  them  '  my  beloved  children ' 
(Wicra  ftou  iyamfTo.),  and  proceeds  expressly  to 
explain  that  he  is  using  the  term  in  the  spiritual 
sense  by  adding,  '  for  in  Christ  Jesus  I  begat  you 
through  the  gospel '  {ibid.  "■  1^). 

These  passages  make  it  sufficiently  clear  that 
the  word  tc'hvov  is  used  in  the  New  Testament  in 
two  very  different  senses,  referring,  in  the  one 
case,  to  physical  gtneration,  and,  in  the  other,  to 
spiritual  regeneration. 

Now,  in  which  of  these  two  senses  is  the  term 
employed  in  the  Parable  of  the  Rich  Man  and 
Lazarus  ?  It  will  be  observed  that  the  Rich  Man 
addresses  Abraham  three  times,  and  each  time  he 
calls  him  '  Father.'  Abraham  replies  three  times ; 
but  only  once — in  his  first  answer — does  he  use 
the  word  'son'  (tmvov).  Now,  if  we  turn  to 
Mt  3',  we  shall  find  that  the  Jews  were  in  the 
habit  of  indulging  in  the  expectation  that  their 
physical  descent  from  their  'Father  Abraham' 
would  secure  to  them  the  enjoyment  of  future 
felicity,  irrespectively  of  all  other  considerations. 
This  comfortable  doctrine,  which  is  clearly 
expounded  in  Justin  Martyr's  well-known  dialogue 
with  Trypho  the  Jew,  is  absolutely  discountenanced 
by  Christ :  '  Do  not  fancy  that  you  may  say  within 
yourselves,  We  have  Abraham  to  our  father' — i.e. 
Do  not  place  a  vain  reliance  upon  your  physical 


descent  from  Abraham,  for  it  will  not  avail  you. 
And  in  the  Parable  of  [he  Rich  Man,  the  vanity  of 
this  expectation  is  being  exposed.  Thus  the  Rich 
Man  instantly  and  persistently  claims  the  benefits 
which  he  expected  would  result  from  his  relation- 
ship, by  addressing  Abraham  on  each  occasion  as 
'Father.'  Abraham,  on  the  other  hand,  with  a 
touch  of  'sublime  irony,' admits  the  relationship, 
by  addressing  the  Rich  Man  as  'son'  (tckvov);  but 
he  thereupon  proceeds  to  explain  that  the  relation- 
ship was  valueless;  and  in  doing  so  he,  with 
perfect  propriety,  drops  the  appellation  to  which 
the  suppliant,  in  his  desperation,  persistently 
clings. 

From  the  foregoing  considerations  it  appears 
clear  to  me  that  in  the  parable  before  us  the  term 
TCKi^f  is  employed  in  the  physical  sense,  in  which 
it  is  certainly  used  in  Mt  zt^.  While,  in  the 
Miracle  of  the  Healing  of  the  Paralytic  Man,  it  is 
for  the  reasons  discussed  in  the  twenty-seventh 
chapter  of  my  work,  The  Conflict  of  Truth, 
equally  clear  to  me  that  in  that  passage  the  term 
is  employed  in  the  spiritual  sense,  in  which  it  is 
most  certainly  used  in  1  Co  4^*  and  '^. 

F.  Hugh  Capron. 

Lenden. 


AfiiTlSaCfliilV. 
With  reference  to  the  meaning  which  Dr.  Chase 
assigns  to  SctmSatfuuv  in  Ac  17^,  allow  me  to 
state  that  in  classical  writings  the  word  is  not 
always  used  with  reprobation.  In  Cyrop.  iii. 
3.  26  Xenophon  has  the  noble  expression,  ot  S«- 
<ri&u]^ov(s  $TTOf  Tovs  actfpiuirow  ^ySoviTai. 

R.  M.  Sfence. 
Manse  of  ArbMhnalt. 


t,%t  %txoi%%  (Stteeion  OfhoBfem. 

I  DOUBT  whether  your  correspondents,  or  even 
Dr.  Blyth,  have  gone  deep  enough  in  their  studies 
of  the  Hebrews  and  their  relation  to  Christianity. 
We  Christians  admit  that  Hebraism  contained  a 
way  of  salvation,  and  produced  saints  whom  we 
honour,  and  all  this  before  the  historical  Christ 
and  Christianity  appeared  on  the  horizon;  but 
few  attempt  to  give  a  precise  answer  to  the 
question,  'How  was  the  average  Hebrew  saved 
prior  to  the  incarnation  of  Christ  ? '     Unless 


5^4 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


have  an  answer  to  this  question,  I  do  not  see  how 
it  is  possible  adequately  to  present  Christianity  to 
the  Hebrews.  If  there  was  an  old  Hebrew  way 
to  the  city  of  God,  who  shall  say  that  It  has  been 
closed  ?  Men  may  gain  harvests  though  they  use 
rude  instruments  of  agriculture,  and  though  for 
soul-culture  the  New  Faith  may  be  better,  is  the 
use  of  the  older  and  ruder  aids  of  Hebraism  on 
this  account  precluded?  We  go  to  London  now 
by  railway  and  motor  car,  yet  men,  if  they  choose, 
can  go  by  footpath  and  ancient  highway,  walking 
on  foot. 

How  the  missionary  Societies  engaged  in  work 
among  the  Hebrews  answer  the  above  question 
I  do  not  know.  That  the  exact  relation  of 
Christianity  to  the  truth  and  goodness  within  the 
non-Christian  missionary  area,  which  is  a  probletu 
for  our  scholars  and  specialists,  should  still  be  left 
to  be  settled  or  shelved  by  every  young  man  and 
every  young  woman  who  goes  to  the  foreign 
mission  field,  is  not  to  the  credit  of  Christendom. 
Christianity  should  have  an  intelligent  and 
adequate  representation. 

G-  Mackenzie  Cobban. 

Preslen. 


(Bl«»  w.  12. 

Asking  myself  how  Mark  comes  to  say  Kot  A^ftj) 
airo«,  while  Mt  13",  Jn  t2**,  and  Ac  28^' have, 
in  agreement  with  both  the  Hebrew  and  the 
Greek  text  of  Is  6^*,  kbI  lomiMi  ixvtow=1?  CBll, 
it  occurred  to  me  that  Mark  might  have  taken 
KB1,  ' to  heal^  for  nai,  ' to  be  loste'  Referring  to 
the  concordances  I  find  that  nci  is  really  translated 
three  times  by  d^tVai  {2  K  9^,  Pr  9",  Ca  3*),  and 
CKDI  coming  from  nsi  by  Xo-Tpol,  Ps  87(88)'"; 
compare  further,  Pr  18*.  I  had  therefore  no 
doubt  that  the  explanation  of  this  a^^  had  been 
found.  But  ray  conscience  did  not  allow  me  to 
close  this  note,  before  I  had  referred  also  to  the 
Targum  and  Peshito  of  Isaiah.  And  to  my  sur- 
prise both  these  versions  offer  the  very  same 
reading  as  Mark,  the  Talcum  pn?  p"3p2"l,  the 
Peshito  1^  panE'il.  None  of  the  commentaries  at 
my  disposal — not  even  Swele  or  Menzies— quote 
this  fact.  Is  there  really  no  one  who  has 
noticed  this  before?  Mark  agreeing  with  the 
Targum  and  the  Peshito,  Matthew  with  the 
Massorah  and  the  Septuagint,  surely  this  is  im- 


portant enough  for  the  Synoptic  question  to  deserve 
to  be  mentioned.  Eb.  Nestle. 

Matdbrenn. 

P.S. — Neither  do  those  who  have  lately  made  the 
O.T.  quotations  in  the  New  the  subject  of  special 
publications  (Diitmar,  Hiihn)  refer  to  the  Tar- 
gum.' And  Mrs.  Lewis  writes  for  this  journal  in 
her  paper,  '  What  have  We  gained  by  the  Sinaitic 
Palimpsest'  (xii.  419):  'From  Jn  la'*  to  la"  mo 
variant  occurs  worth  mentioning.  This  is  very 
satisfactory,  as  it  contains  so  many  of  the  sayings 
of  our  Lord,"  and  omits  10  mention  a  gain,  which 
we  owe  to  her  quite  personally  (not  to  be  found 
in  the  first  edition  of  Ben sly-Burkitt- Harris,  but 
in  her  supplement :  Some  Pages,  etc),  namely, 
that  the  Sinai  Palimpsest  also  reads  (Jn  ta*»)  p3PW 
pn?,  instead  of  koc  Eoirofuu  aurovs,  i.e.  and  should 
forgive  them,  kql  A^ifyru  avroZt.  The  same  reading 
is  given  by  the  second  hand  in  the  Codex  Bez£ 
in  Mark  (its  first  hand  having  there  d^cAjcrofuu), 
with  some  old  I.atin  MSS,  which  have  dimittam 
or  remittam.  In  Mt  the  Sinai  Palimpsest  omits 
the  whole  clause  after  KopSuf  tmrtoMriy.  The 
Arabic  Tatian  gives  the  passage  from  Mt  with 
the  reading  uuro^uu.  With  reference  to  D  it  mutt 
be  noted  that  the  impossible  li^cftjo-o/iiu  may  be 
due  to  a  combination  of  d^ij-crui  and  la-oxyux, 
just  as  well  as  to  the  influence  of  the  third  person 

The  consequences  of  this  variant  are  great :  it 
conoborates  the  surmise  that  the  evangelists, 
in  telling  the  words  of  Jesus,  made  use  of  the 
Bible  MSS  in  their  hands,  either  those  of  the 
Septuagint,  as  Mt  15*,  where  (linji'  is  not  found  in 
the  Hebrew  text  of  Is  29'^,  or  of  other  versions, 
as  here  in  Mk,  or  of  the  original.  £b.  N. 


^^a.  w.  3. 

A  CURIOUS  application  of  Christ's  saying  about  the 
right  and  the  left  hand  is  made  in  the  Didascaiia, 
chap.  2.  In  Syriac,  as  in  the  Greek,  the  word  *hand' 
is  omitted,  which  ought,  therefore,  to  be  printed 

'  It  n  with  great  salisfBCtbn  that  I  found  U  lasi 
Biu  reference  lo  the  Targum,  in  Henry  Cougb,  TAi  if.T. 
Quotations  (London:  Walton  &  Mobcrly,  1855),  lie 
writes,  p.  320,  on  Mk :  '  This  agrees  remarkably  with  the 
Targum  of  Jonathan  on  Is  6,  especially  if,  wilh  some  MSS, 
we  omit  t^  dMa/rr^^ra.*  v  ' 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


in  italics  in  (he  English  version ;  it  is  originally 
only '  thy  left '  (one), '  thy  right '  (one).  Now  in  the 
Didaualia  the  passage  is  quoted  to  varn  Christians 
against  going  to  law  before  unbelievers  (i  Co  6'). 
The  passage  runs — 

II  ii  the  glory  o(  the  Christian  to  hive  no  bad  matter 
wiih  any  one ;  but  when  by  means  of  the  Enemy  a  tempta- 
tion comes  upon  any  and  he  has  a  suit,  he  ought  to  t>e 
careful  (o  get  free  from  it,  even  it  be  with  some  loss  ;  and  to 
tile  judgment  of  Ihe  heathen  he  must  not  go,  nor  must  ye 
receive  witness  from  heathen  against  one  of  ours.  For 
through  the  heathen  the  Enemy  is  busy  against  the  aervanti 
of  God.  Therefore,  because  the  heathen  will  slmnd  to  the 
left  (Mt  35"),  he  called  them  the  Ufl.  For  our  Saviour 
said  so  ;  Nor  ihall  ktavj  year  left,  ■whal  yeur  right  is  doing: 
nor  sIibII  know  the  htathtn  in  youi  jud{^ents,  and  ye  shall 
not  receive  from  them  witness  against  yourselves,  and  ye 
shall  not  go  to  law  before  them.  As  He  further  said  in  the 
Gospel :  Give  to  the  Cesar  what  is  Cesar's,  and  to  God 
what  is  God's. 

In  the  Apoitolk  Constitutions,  that  recast  of 
the  Didascalia,  ii.  45,  this  passage  is  changed  and 
replaced  by  a  reference  to  1  Co  6° — 

iA  fi.p  ulnSiw  (i.t.  rSa  iffnuai)  6  tidpoKet  tnTfite6tt  rott 


aapir  rir  SvydfUfot  iteraid  0j>aptV9ai  ri  Slxauir  4  rii  drri- 
Xo^lai  SiaXisroi.  >iJ}  etir  yeynevtiTuirar  t4  IBrti  Tdi  wpit 
dXAi^Xevi  ifiur  Sia^opit,  etc. 

In  Syriac  the  Devil  is  sometimes  called  directly 
'the  left  one'  (see  Thesaurus  Syrtacus,  2662),  and 
it  is  not  impossible  that  Sammael,  the  well-known 
Jewish  name  for  the  chief  of  all  Satans  (S'^reo, 
Targum/oi,  18^),  may  be  originally  htxao^  Ihe  left, 
vocalized  after  Rafael  and  similar  names.'  A 
corresponding  designation  for  the  Devil  in  the 
Constitutions  is  6  'AAAorpu«,  'the  other  one,'  in 
Hebrew  "ir ;  compare,  for  instance,  >i^  £f  rmrov  tw 
'AXXoTfuy  Ko.-r  auToiv,  Const.  8"  =  Eph  4^,  ^v<np-ai 
Tovs  am'ou  iKtVaf  diro  r^f  rtjv  'AXXwpiou  Ko-raJbuvaa- 
T«'ot,  ibid.  chap.  7,  trt  wapoxaXoC/teV  ffc  .  .  ,  i6irip 
Twi*  •jfv.^jo^a^vi^v  VTTO  Toi!  'AXXoTptdu,  ibid.  chap.  12. 
Eh.  Nestle. 

Mioilbrantt. 

'  It  is  also  io  Arabic  that  the  left  side  is  connected  with 
the  Devil.  When  ye  eat  and  drink,  says  a  word  of  Moham- 
med, eat  and  dtink  with  your  right  band,  for.  Io,  the  devil 
is  eating  and  drinking  with  the  lefi. 


QUueeum  contain  ^arf^  C^rieftan  (P^corber  ? 


By  W.  St.  Chad  Boscawen,  F.R.H.S. 


It  may  indeed  be  truly  said  that  Egypt  is  the 
land  of  surprises.  Year  after  year  the  explorer 
and  the  decipherer  seem  to  bring  more  and  more 
of  the  unexpected  to  light.  But  a  few  years  ago 
the  threshold  of  Egyptian  history  was  bounded 
by  the  age  of  Senefru,  the  builder  of  the  pyramid 
of  Medum,  at  a  period  of  some  three  thousand 
seven  hundred  years  before  the  Christian  era. 
The  researches  of  De  Morgan  and  Petrie  at 
Abydos  and  Nagada  have  proved  the  age  of  Mencs 
and  the  birth  of  dynastic  rule  to  be  historic 
events.  Even  here  the  limit  was  not  reached,  for 
the  undaunted  student  of  human  origins  has  passed 
far  beyond,  into  the  dark  and  labyrinthine  regions 
of  the  prehistoric,  and  still  the  spirit  of  inquiry 
remains  unsatisfied,  and  would  pass  on  and  on. 
Still  new  problems  arise  demanding  solution. 


It  is  not  with  the  early  history  of  Egypt,  or  the 
dark  hinterland  which  stretches  like  a  primeval 
African  forest  beyond  that  age,  that  I  have  to 
deal  in  this  article.  It  is  with  the  later  links  in 
the  chain  of  findings  that  I  would  concern  myself. 
In  recent  years  the  sandy  dunes  of  the  Fayoum 
and  the  Roman  cemeteries  of  Akhmin  have 
yielded  up  an  astonishing  trouvaille  of  buried 
literature.  Fragments  of  famous  classical  authors 
—  Homer,  Demosthenes,  Aristophanes,  many 
writers  known  to  us  by  name  but  whose  works 
were  lost,  such  as  Hysperides  the  poet — have  been 
brought  to  light  The  lost  Politics  of  Aristotle 
and  a  poem  of  Sappho  are  all  proof  of  the  exist- 
ence in  Egypt  of  a  literature,  and  a  reading  public. 
More  important  still  has  been  the  discovery  of 
some  few — as  yet  very  few — fragments  <of  Christian 


Sa6 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


literature.  Chief  among  these  are  the  portions  of 
the  Gospel  and  Apocalypse  of  St.  Peter  from 
Akhmin  and  the  Logia  of  Jesus  from  the  Fayoum. 
These  fragments  at  least  prove  the  existence  of  a 
Christian  literature  in  Egypt ;  and  when  we  add 
to  these  the  numerous  fragments  of  Gospels  found 
at  Oxyrhynchus,  we  may  hope  for  yet  more 
important  discoveries.  There  have,  however, 
been  discovered  other  papyri  which,  while  not  of 
Christian  origin,  belong  to  a  period  contempoTary 
with  the  advent  of  the  gospel  preaching  in  Alex- 
andria, and  which  certainly  seem  to  throw  a  side, 
if  not  a  direct,  light  upon  the  earliest  traditions 
of  Christianity.  According  to  the  best  received 
tradition,  the  gospel  teaching  was  introduced  into 
Egypt  by  St.  Mark  about  the  year  a.d.  67.  Of 
this  we  have  no  authentic  evidence ;  but  if  it  is 
not  possible  to  fix  this  definitely,  there  is  evidence 
that  the  new  teaching  had  been  promulgated  in 
Egypt  towards  the  end  of  the  first  century,  and 
borne  considerable  fruit  by  the  early  part  of  the 
second.  The  writings  of  the  Gnostics  Bassilides 
and  Valentinus  contain  references  and  quotations 
from  the  Gospels  which  imply  that  the  pupils  of 
these  teachers  must  have  known  the  books  upon 
which  the  Christian  faith  was  based. 

The  Gnostic  papyri,  written  in  demotic,  con- 
tain, as  De  Groof  has  shown,  charms  in  which  the 
names  of  St.  Peter  and  other  apostles  occur,' 
We  may  therefore  assume  that  Christian  teaching 
would  be  known  to  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
population  of  Egypt,  at  least  in  Alexandria,  be- 
tween A.D.  67  and  A.D,  150.  One  other  point  I 
would  venture  to  suggest  has  a  considerable  bear- 
ing on  this  subject.  It  is  hardly  to  be  supposed 
that  the  earliest  Christian  community  was  one 
derived  from  the  Greco- Roman  population,  or  from 
the  Hellenized  Egyptians,  but  rather  from  the 
poorer  Jewish-Aramsan,  and  possibly  a  few  of  the 
lower  Egyptians.  The  only  convert  we  know  of 
from  the  New  Testament  is  Apotlos.an  Hellenistic 
Jew.  It  was  therefore  to  this  class  the  first 
teaching  would  be  known.  Now  among  this 
class  the  Egyptian  patois  would  be  the  debased 
tongue  which  we  find  in  use  in  the  demotic 
papyri.  Moreover,  the  demotic  was  the  script 
of  the  trading  community,  as  we  know  from  the 
numerous  contracts,  wills,  letters,  etc.,  which  have 
been  found.  To  place  the  matter  clearly,  and  it 
will  be  seen  to  be  of  importance,  there  was 
'  BuHclin  lit  tlnsliliite  Egyftiennc. 


probably  a  small  Christian  community  in  Egypt 
to  whom  St.  Mark  went;  indeed,  De  Groof  de- 
duces considerable  evidence  to  ascribe  the  foun- 
dation of  this  nucleus  10  the  preaching  of  Philip, 
and  the  Egyptian  language  of  this  community 
would  be  that  which  we  find  in  the  demotic 
papyri. 

Egypt  was  par  excellence  the  home  of  magic, 
indeed  the  Talmud  styles  it  the  land  to  which 
eleven  portions  of  magic  were  given  when  only 
twelve  had  been  created.  It  was  also  the  home 
of  the  novel  or  popular  tale,  as  shown  by  such 
tales  as  that  of  '  The  Two  Brothers '  in  Daubeney 
Papyrus,  or  the  Magic  Tales  in  the  'Westcan: 
Papyrus,'  or  the  'Story  of  Sinhuit,'  etc  The 
magical  tales  were  the  literary  pabulum  of  the 
common  people.  Such  a  literature  took  a  firm 
hold  upon  the  popular  imagination,  and,  like  the 
Arabian  Nights,  was  handed  down  orally  mote 
than  in  written  form.  LJke  all  folk-lore  tales,  these 
stories  grew  with  centuries ;  all  legend  being  fish 
for  the  net  of  the  popular  raconteurs  of  Thebet 
and  Memphis,  and  in  later  times  for  those  ot 
Alexandria.  The  vitality  of  magic  and  wonder 
tales  was  great ;  and  when  rel^ion  and  priestly 
tradition  had  lost  their  power,  and  popular  faith 
grew  dim,  these  stories  survived.  The  decadence 
of  the  Egyptian  faith  after  the  fall  of  the  Theban 
priesthood,  followed  by  the  overthrow  of  the 
Saite  rule,  obliterated  much  of  the  canonical 
literature  of  Egypt.  The  'Book  of  the  Dead,' 
a  vast  emporium  of  magic,  gave  place  to  shorter 
rituals,  such  as  the  '  Book  of  Breathings,'  or  the 
still  shorter  rituals  of  Greco-Roman  times;  but 
the  magicians  held  their  own.  In  Ptolemaic  and 
Greco-Roman  times  there  was  a  great  revival  of 
the  love  of  these  tales,  of  the  tales . '  of  the  things 
which  men  of  olden  time  knew,'  as  the  prince  in 
the  Westcarr  Papyrus  calls  them,  and  several  col- 
lections were  made. 

Chief  among  such  cycles  of  stories  was  one 
grouped  round  a  certain  Kha-m-uas  '  ManifcsU- 
tion  in  Thebes,'  who  was  the  son  of  the  Pharaoh 
named  Usamara,  whom  we  may  identify  with  the 
User-mat-Ra  of  the  monuments,  or  Ramescs  11., 
the  Pharaoh  of  Moses.  The  prince  is  known  to 
us  from  several  monuments  as  the  '  High  Priest 
of  Memphis,'  and  there  is  a  statue  of  him  in  the 
British  Museum.  In  ancient  times  he  had  a 
great  reputation  for  knowledge  of  esoteric  learning 
and  magic ;  and  it  is  curious  to  note  thatitthe  in- 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


scription  on  his  statue  seems  to  be  partly  written  in 
some  secret  writing.  Throughout  these  legends  or 
tales  we  find  him  usually  mentioned  as  Seine  or 
Setme,  a  name  really  derived  from  his  title  as  High 
Priest  of  Memphis ;  but  in  some  ca^s  his  full 
name  is  given,  so  that  there  can  be  no  doubt  as 
to  the  identity. 

Of  these  tales  we  possess  two  manuGcripts ;  the 
first  is  in  the  Museum  at  Gizeh,  aod  has  been 
published  by  Bnigsch,  Hess,  and  recently  by  Mr. 
Griffith.  The  date  is  uncertain,  but  undoubtedly 
it  belongs  to  the  Ptolemaic  age.  The  second,  and 
in  many  respects  more  important  manuscript,  is 
now  in  the  British  Museum,  where  it  is  numbered 
Papyrus  dciv.,  and  has  recently  been  published  in 
facsimile  by  the  Oxford  Clarendon  Press,  and 
translated  and  edited  by  Mr.  F.  M.  Griffith,  F.S.  A., 
reader  in  Egyptology  at  Oxford  Of  this  valuable 
document  we  are  able  fortunately  to  fix  the  date 
with  considerable  accuracy.  It  consisted  of  two 
sheets  of  papyrus  originally  used  for  the  writing 
of  a  series  of  accounts  and  land  registers  of  the 
city  of  Crocodilopolis,  and  is  dated  in  the  seventh 
year  of  the  Emperor  Claudius,  that  is,  a.d.  46-47. 
The  reverse  of  the  papyrus  has  been  cleaned,  and 
upon  it  has  been  transcribed  in  demotic  of  a 
very  cursive  character,  a  series  of  talcs  of  Kha- 
m-uas.  Judging  from  the  re-usage  of  the  Greek 
papyri  in  the  Fayoum,  the  interval  between  the 
two  writings  may  be  fairly  placed  at  about  thirty 
years,  which  would  give  for  the  demotic  tran- 
script a  date  of  a.d.  76-77,  that  is,  from  ten  to 
twelve  years  after  the  reputed  mission  of  St.  Mark. 

The  contents  of  the  papyrus  may  be  divided  into 
two  portions :  (i)  the  story  of  the  birth  and  child- 
hood of  Se-Osiris  (son  of  Osiris)  the  son  of  Kha- 
m-uas,  and  (1)  the  weaving  in  of  an  old  story  of 
a  contest  between  rival  m^icians  and  Se-Osiris 
which  contains  matter  closely  resembling  the 
episodes  in  the  life  of  Moses  at  the  court  of 
Rameses  il  ;  but  with  this  portion  I  cannot  now 
deal. 

The  tale  commences  with  the  story  of  the  birth 
of  Se-Osiris.  Setme  (Kha-m-uas)  and  his  wife  are 
anxious  for  a  child,  and  are  aged,  as  several  refer- 
ences in  the  papyrus  imply.  The  wife's  name  is 
Mek-ustkht '".  The  first  complete  portion  of  the 
story  commences  with  the  dream  of  Setme. 

We  read — 

Setme  kid  him  down  one  night  and  dreamt  >  dream, 
they  speaking  lo  him,  saying,  Melj-usext   thy  wife  hath 


taken  conception  in  ihe  night.  The  child  that  shall  be  bom 
he  ihall  be  named  Se<Osiris  ;  Ibi  many  are  Ihe  mairels  thai 
he  shall  do  in  the  land  of  Egypt  {Kemi). 

Here  we  are  at  once  struck  with  a  similarity  to 
the  Gospel  narrative ;  but  before  dealing  with  this 
section  one  other  quotation — 

Her  lime  of  bearing  came.  She  gave  birth  to  a  male 
child.  They  caused  Setmetoknow  it ;  (and)  he  named  him 
Se-Osiris,  according  to  what  was  raid  in  Ihe  dream. 

Here  we  have  in  both  passages  a  most  striking 
parallelism  with  the  Gospel  narrative.  The  passage 
may  be  quoted  from  Mt  i»*-^*-  2*-  I  have  placed 
in  italics  the  parallels. 

'  But  when  he  (Joseph)  thought  upon  these  things, 
behold,  an  angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  unto  him  in  a 
dream,  saying,  Joseph,  thou  son  of  David,  fear  not 
to  take  unto  thee  Mary  thy  wife  :  for  that  which  is 
cotueivtd  in  her  is  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  And  she  ihcdl 
bring  forth  a  son,  and  thou  shalt  call  His  name 
Jesus :  for  He  shall  save  His  people  from  their 

Here  also  we  may  quote  v.^'  '  And  Joseph  rose 
from  his  sleep  and  did  as  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
commanded  him,  and  .  .  .  unto  him  his  wife :  and 
knew  her  not  till  she  had  brought  forth  a  son ;  and 
he  called  His  name  Jesus' 

It  is  also  necessary  to  quote  a  passage  from 
the  Gospel  of  St.  Luke,  as  it  throws  considerable 
light  upon  the  comparisons  we  may  institute. 

In  the  Annunciation  as  described  by  St.  Luke  we 
have  again  the  naming  of  the  child,  for  we  read, 
'Behold,  thou  shalt  conceive  in  thy  womb,  and 
bring  forth  a  son,  and  shalt  call  His  name  Jesus.' 
Then  follows  (i"),  'That  which  is  to  be  bom 
shall  be  called  holy,  the  Son  of  God,'  Incidentally, 
we  have  also  a  parallelism  with  the  naming  and 
birth  of  St.  John  the  Baptist  as  described  by  St 
Luke. » 

Without  pushing  these  comparisons  too  far, 
there  are  some  points  of  interest  to  be  noticed. 
From  the  few  fragments  of  the  commencement  of 
the  papyrus  and  also  a  passage  near  the  end,  we 
learn  that  the  birth  of  5e-0siris  was  of  the  nature 
of  a  miraculous  conception.  Se-Osiris,  who  was 
with  his  father  Osiris  in  Amenti,  saw  the  trouble 
that  was  being  placed  upon  Egypt  by  wicked 
magicians  who  would  '  bring  shame  upon  the  land 
of  Kemi.'     Now  in  Egyptian  theology  shame  (betes) 

'  Very  similar  circumstances  attend  the  birth  of  the  Coptic 
Saint  Shenadi,  as  described  in  bis  Life  by  M.  E.  Am^tineau, 
Les  Meints  Egyptitm  Vie  dt  Sckaoudi,  p.  15  el  sti/^ 


5»8 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


is  the  equivalent  of  sin ;  as  in  the  Book  of  the 
Dead,  chap.  14  we  read:  'Behold  the  god  hath 
shame  of  me,  but  let  my  faults  be  washed  away.' 
He  then  requests  his  father  Osiris  to  allow  him 
to  go  and  deliver  the  land.  To  this  end  he  is 
transformed  into  a  plant,  of  the  seed  of  which 
Mel^-usext  eats  and  conceives  of  the  child.  A 
somewhat  similar  legend  is  current  as  to  ihe  birth 
of  Zoroaster;  and  to  trace  this  to  Persian  in- 
fluence may  be  possible,  but  the  doctrine  of  trans- 
migration of  souls  through  the  medium  of  plants 
was  a  great  power  in  Gnosticism.  The  end  of  the 
story  may  also  be  quoted  after  the  contest  with 
the  magician,  the  Pharaoh  and  his  court  took  for 
the  wonder-working  child,  but  he  was  taken  out  of 
their  sight.  It  is  not  my  intention  to  deal  with 
any  of  the  difficult  theological  problems  which 
arise  from  these  parallels,  but  I  now  pass  to 
another  striking  passage  describing  the  youth  of 
Se-Osiris, 

It  cime  to  past  that  «h«o  the  child  Se-0*iris  wu  one 
year  people  migbl  have  said  he  wai  two  years,  he  being  two 
yean  they  might  have  Mid  be  was  three  years.  He  grew 
big,  he  grew  strong,  he  was  put  to  school,  and  he  riTatied 
the  scritM  whom  they  caused  to  give  him  instiaction.  The 
child  Se<Osiris  began  lo  speak  magic  {I/ti)  with  the  scribes 
ID  the  House  of  Life  in  Memphis,  and  all  the  land  wondered 

Behold  the  boy  Se-Osiiis  was  tvielve  years,  and  it  came  to 
pais  that  there  was  no  cood  scribe  or  learned  man  in  Mem. 
phis  that  rivalled  him  in  reading  or  writing  a  spell. 

Here  again  we  seem  to  be  almost  in  touch  with 
Lk  2*^  el  seq. :  'And  the  child  grew,  and  waxed 
strong,  filled  with  wisdom  :  and  the  power  of  God 
was  upon  Him.  And  when  He  was  twelve  years 
of  age  (2")  they  found  Him  sitting  in  Ihe  temple  in 
the  midst  of  the  doctors,  both  hearing  and  asking 
them  questions.  And  all  that  heard  Him  were  amazed 
at  His  understanding  and  His  answers'  Here  the 
verbal  correspondence  is  even  more  close  than 
in  the  former  passages,  and  even  the  differences 
are  important.  We  have  agreement  in  age,  in 
growth,  in  wisdom  and  stature,  and  in  the  resort  to 
the  temple  and  consultation  with  the  learned  men. 
In  the  case  of  Se-Osiris  it  is  magic  that  constitutes 
his  great  wisdom,  at  which  all  wondered.  We 
must  remember  that  this  is  the  very  source  to  which 
Talmudic  writers  attribute  the  miracles  of  Jesus, 
who  say  that  Ben  Stada,  one  of  the  Talmud 
names  of  Jesus,  brought  his  magical  spells  from 
Egypt. 

The  superiority  of  learning  of  Se-Osiris  agrees 


with  that  ascribed  to  Jesus  in  the  '  Gospel  of  the 
Infancy,' 

A  word  must  be  said  as  to  the  name  of  the 
hero,  Se-Osiris.  It  means,  as  I  have  said, '  the  ton 
of  Osiris ' ;  but  as  I  have  shown,  the  legend  points 
clearly  to  his  being  a  miraculous  birth,  and  an 
incarnation.  Throughout  the  papyrus,  Osiris  is 
always  called  "the god"  {pa  neter),  or  "the  great 
god  "  {pa  neter  da),  and  is  really  the  only  god  who 
appears  prominently,  both  Anubis  and  Thoth,  who 
appear  in  the  judgment  scene  in  Amenti,  being 
inferior  to  him.  So  that  Sc-Osiris  becomes  a  very 
close  equivalent  of '  the  Son  of  God '  or  '  the  son 
of  the  God.'  We  must  rememlier,  as  Am^lineau 
says,  the  Egyptian  Christians  never  entirely  aban- 
doned their  own  creed.  He  says : '  Isis  or  Horns  lost 
none  of  their  popularity;  Anubis  remained  always 
the  one  who  conducted  the  souls  ofthe  dead  to  the 
supreme  judge  Osiris,  and  he  Thoth  was  still  the 
supreme  recorder.  The  Christian  Hell  did  not 
change  in  any  way  anything  of  the  Egyptian  Hell, 
it  was  always  Amenti  in  the  west  of  Heaven.'  So 
that  we  have  in  this  papyrus  all  that  might  hive 
been  gathered  from  an  Egyptian  Christian  and 
utilized  by  the  story-teller. 

It  is  important  to  notice  that  all  the  matter 
affords  parallels  with  the  writings  of  St.  Matthew 
and  St.  Luke,  but  there  is  no  contact  with  Sl 
Mark.  The  part  which  describes  the  visit  of 
Se-Osiris  and  his  father  to  Amenti  contains  a 
curious  parable  resembling  that  of  the  '  Rich  man 
and  Lazarus,'  again  in  touch  with  St.  Luke,  and 
also  teaching  as  to  the  judgment  and  future  life 
quite  different  from  the  ordinary  eschatology  of 
the  Egyptians.  But  to  deal  with  this  portion, 
which  is  of  great  value,  would  require  the  study 
of  several  important  new  inscriptions.  In  con- 
clusion, we  have  here,  within  twenty  years  of  the 
mission  of  St.  Mark,  folk  tales  which  present  most 
striking  parallels  to  the  Gospel  writings,  and  whitJi, 
so  far  as  we  know,  occur  nowhere  previously  in 
Egyptian  literature.  It  is  very  tempting  to  see  in 
them  the  first  echoes  of  the  preaching  of  the 
Christian  faith  in  the  land  where  it  made  its 
earliest  and  greatest  conquests. 


Printed  by  Moekisom  k  Om  Limitid,  Tanfield  Woiki, 
and  Published  by  T.  &  T.  CLAKK,  38  George  Stnei, 
Edinbo^h.  It  is  requested  that  alt  literary  oob- 
munications  be  addre»ed  to  Thi  EoiTOa,  St.  Cynu. 

Montrose.  U  gitizr-  hy  »^7>,;«..»^^l«. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


(Uofee   of  (Jttceni   &xifoeition. 


Ik  the  Expoittor  for  July  the  Rev,  A.  E.  Garvie, 
KD.,  makes  an  original  attempt  to  meet  an  old 
difficulty  in  the  harmony  of  the  life  of  Christ. 
The  difficulty  has  to  do  with  the  cleansing  of  the 
temple.  It  is  a  serious  difficulty,  but  its  serious- 
ness does  not  lie  in  the  fact  that  there  are  two 
cleansings  reported,  one  by  St.  John  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  ministry  and  one  by  the  Synoptists 
at  the  end.  It  ties  in  the  fact  that  the  cleansing 
recorded  by  St.  John  is  an  exercise,  as  it  seems, 
of  Messianic  authority,  whereas  the  Synoptists  are 
caiefiil  beyond  all  things  to  show  that  Christ  did 
not  assert  His  Messianic  claims  throughout  all 
the  early  ministry. 

The  difficulty  is  old,  for  it  is  obvious.  We 
hare  all  made  our  attempts  to  explain  it.  Mr. 
Garvie  says  he  once  made  an  attempt  before  this, 
but  it  does  not  satisfy  him  now.  He  thought  that 
St.  John  had  made  a  mistake.  St.  John's  memory 
was  at  fault.  Marvellously  accurate  as  to  times 
and  places,  be  was  inaccurate  in  his  old  age  as  to 
early  impressions.  The  husband  can  scarcely 
think  himself  into  the  time  when  he  did  not 
know  his  wife,  can  scarcely  recover  the  impression 
of  bis  first  chance  meeting  with  her.  So  St.  John. 
He  bad  passed  through  many  developing  experi- 
ences since  the  early  days  of  his  following  of 
Jeaus,  and  he  cannot  put  himself  wholly  back 
into  them.     He  remembers  where  the  impressions 

VOL.XIII.— 12. 


were  made,  he  can  say  when,  but  the  impressions 
themselves  have  passed  away.  Jesus  did  not 
assert  His  Messianic  dignity  at  the  outset  by 
cleansing  the  temple.  Sl  John  is  confused  in 
his  recollections. 

That  was  once  Mr.  Garvie's  explanation.  It  is 
not  his  explanation  now.  He  does  not  say  why  he 
abandoned  it.  But  we  gather  that  further  study 
gave  him  more  respect  for  St.  John's  memory.  This 
explanation  would  not  do,  because  everywhere  else 
St.  John  shows  that  his  memory  for  impressions 
is  as  good  as  his  memory  for  times  and  places. 

So  Mr.  Garvie  had  to  find  another  way  of 
meeting  the  difficulty  about  the  early  claim  of 
Messiahship.  He  now  holds  that  Jesus  did  make 
it.  St.  John  has  made  no  mistake.  Rather  St. 
John  is  earlier  in  his  recollections  than  even  the 
Synoptists — we  do  not  say  clearer,  we  say  earlier. 
He  records  an  experience  or  set  of  experiences 
through  which  Jesus  passed  before  the  time  at 
which  the  Synoptists  take  up  the  public  ministry. 
They  were  humiliating  experiences  for  Jesus.  But 
Mr.  Garvie  thinks  that  He  could  not  help  passing 
through  them. 

Jesus  began  by  announcing  His  Messiahship. 
It  may  not  be  in  its  fullest  sense,  it  may  not 
be   in  much  deliberate  language,  but  He  began 


S3° 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


naturally  by  showing  what  He  found  Himself  to 
be.  So  He  drove  the  buyers  and  sellers  out  of 
the  temple.  But  He  had  to  answer  for  it.  To 
His  surprise  the  priesthood  did  not  believe  in 
Him.  They  demanded  a  sign.  They  would  not 
accept  the  only  sign  He  could  give  them.  He 
had  accordingly  to  be  more  cautious.  He  did 
not  cleanse  the  temple  again  till  the  ministry  was 
near  its  end  and  the  claim  of  Messiahship  at 
once  imperative  and  inevitable. 

This  early  confiding  period  in  the  life  of  Jesus 
Mr.  Garvie  traces  through  other  events.  It  is 
seen  in  the  interview  with  Nicodemus.  It  was  a 
time  of  testing.  If  Jesus  was  disappointed,  it 
had  to  be.  For  it  must  first  of  all  be  seen 
whether  the  rulers  and  the  people  are  ready  to 
believe  in  Him.  How  can  that  be  seen  if  they 
do  not  get  a  chance?  Jesus  gave  them  all  a 
chance — John  the  Baptist,  the  priests,  the  Phari- 
sees, His  mother,  His  disciples.  The  few  disciples 
stood  the  test  The  rest  failed,  and  Jesus  sorrow- 
fully withdrew  into  Himself,  for  now  by  this  dis- 
appointing experience'He  'knew  what  was  in  man.' 


There  is  a  quotation  in  Mr.  Garvie's  article,  just 
noticed,  which  had  better  be  looked  at  separately. 
It  is  the  words  of  St.  John  (a"),  'Jesus  did  not 
trust  Himself  unto  them,  for  that  He  knew  all 
men.'  Mr.  Garvie  thinks  that  in  these  words  we 
may  find  'a  hint  of  a  change  from  confidence  to 
caution.'  That  is  to  say,  Jesus  knew  all  men  now, 
after  He  had  gone  through  the  bitter  experience 
of  trusting  them  and  being  disappointed.  He 
did  not  know  all  men  until  He  had  tried  what 
was  in  them.  Now  He  had  tried  them,  and  as 
the  result  of  His  experience  He  knew  them,  and 
would  commit'  Himself  no  longer  to  them. 

Is  that  St.  John's  meaning?  It  is  not  the 
meaning  that  occurs  to  one.  What  reasons  does 
Mr.  Garvie  give  for  his  interpretation  ?  He  gives 
no  reasons.  But  Mr,  Garvie  is  not  an  interpreter 
at  haphazard;  nor  is  he  simply  desperate  here, 
being  driven  into  a  corner.     When  we  search  for 


ourselves,  we  notice  at  once  that  tbe 
verb  which  St.  John  uses  (yiviua-Kctv),  is  the  verb 
which  signifies  knowledge  that  has  been  acquired 
by  observation  and  experience,  not  the  verb 
which  expresses  intuitive  and  absolute  knowledge 
(tihivai).  Mr.  Garvie's  exposition  may  not  con- 
vince us  yet;  but  if  the  distinction  between  the 
two  Greek  verbs  to  knom,  which  is  so  persistently 
drawn  out  and  defended  by  Westcott,  is  to  be 
relied  on,  then  we  must  at  least  consider  why  it  is 
that  St,  John  here  says  Christ's  knowledge  of  men 
was  acquired  knowledge,  and  how  and  when  He 
acquired  it. 

In  the  Journal  of  Biblical  Littrature  for  igoi, 
of  which  the  first  part  has  just  been  published. 
Professor  Irving  Wood  of  Northampton,  Massa- 
chusetts, discusses  the  origin  of  the  Magnificat. 

There  are  at  present  four  views  respecting  the 
nature  and  origin  of  the  Magnificat  fighting  for 
supremacy  among  scholars.  The  oldest — we  may 
still  call  it  the  orthodox  view — is  that  the  Song  is 
Mary's  own,  an  utterance  inspired,  as  Professor 
Wood  says,  by  the  emotional  situation,  the  content 
of  which  is  determined  by  Mary's  familiarity  with 
the  lyric  religious  poetry  of  her  nation.  Tbe 
newest  view — which  of  course  is  Hamack's — is 
that  the  Magnificat  is  a  literary  composition  of 
the  author  or  editor  of  the  Third  Gospel  Be- 
tween these  two  views  He  other  two.  One  of 
them  is  that  the  Song  is  a  Jewish -Christian  hyniD- 
The  other  is  that  it  is  entirely  Jewish,  with  the 
exception  of  a  single  phrase. 

Of  these  four  views  Professor  Wood  adopts  the 
last  and  defends  it.  The  Magnificat  is  simply  > 
Jewish  patriotic  psalm,  one  phrase  having  been 
introduced  to  fit  it  for  its  place  in  the  Gospel 
according  to  St.  Luke.  He  gives  two  reasons 
for  his  opinion. 

One  reason  is  that  the  Magnificat  makes  no 
allusion  to  Mary's  peculiar  position.  With  the 
exception  of  a  single  phrase,  it  might  have  been 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


531 


composed  at  any  time  by  a  Jewish  Messianic  poet. 
The  other  reason  is  that  it  is  national  and  not 
personal.  Cut  out  one  phrase,  and  all  that  is  lefl 
refers  to  the  nation  of  Israel,  none  to  any  indi- 
vidual. The  Lord  is  praised  because  He  hath 
done  'great  things.'  But  what  are  these  'great 
things '  7  They  are  scattering  the  proud,  putting 
down  princes,  lifting  the  humble  to  exalted  places, 
feeding  the  poor  with  good  things  while  the  rich 
are  sent  empty  away,  helping  Israel  His  servant 
^or  son,  nuif)  according  to  the  promises  of  old. 
These  'great  things'  are  all  the  common  stock  of 
the  national  Messianic  poetry. 

The  phrase  that  is  so  much  in  the  way  is  found 
in  the  48th  verse.  The  whole  verse  is,  '  For  he 
hath  looked  upon  the  low  estate  of  his  hand- 
maiden.' The  phrase  is  made  up  of  the  words 
*of  his  handmaiden'  (jip  SavXijt).  It  is  the 
gender  that  causes  the  trouble.  If  it  were  mascu- 
line (roii  SoAou),  there  would  be  no  difficulty.  For 
then  it  would  apply  to  the  '  Servant,'  used  of  the 
nation  of  Israel  Such  a  use  of  'Servant'  is 
familiar.  We  find  it  in  Isaiah  (48"  49''*),  in 
Ezekiel  (37"),  and  in  the  Psalms  (136").  And 
Professor  Wood  believes  that  the  'editor' of  St. 
Luke  changed  the  masculine  to  the  feminine 
when  he  chose  this  national  song  and  put  it  into 
ithe  mouth  of  Mary.  There  was  no  sinister  pur- 
pose in  his  act.  He  had  no  thought  of  having 
the  Song  regarded  as  Mary's  composition.  '  He 
used  it  only  as  a  fitting  literary  expression  for  the 
Messianic  hopes  and  patriotic  aspirations  which 
ihe  assumed  to  have  filled  her  mrnd  during  the 
period  preceding  the  birth  of  Chrisl,' 


The  first  place  in  the  American  Journal  of 
Theology  for  July  is  given  to  Professor  McGiffert 
of  New  York  with  an  article  on  'The  Origin  of 
High-Church  Episcopacy.' 

Wiiat  does  Professor  McGiffert  mean  by  '  High- 
Church  Episcopacy'?  He  means  'the  theory 
which    maintains  that   Episcopacy  is  of   divine 


appointment  and  is  essential  to  the  very  being  of 
the  Christian  Church  ;  that  only  he  is  a  true  bishop 
who  stands  in  the  direct  line  of  apostolic  succes- 
sion, and  is  consequently  in  possession  of  grace 
handed  down  from  the  apostles  in  unbroken 
sequence ;  that  Ej^iscopal  ordination  is  not  simply 
expedient,  but  necessary  to  the  constitution  of 
the  clergy;  and  that  the  sacraments  through 
which  alone  the  grace  of  Christ  ordinarily 
operates  can  be  validly  performed  only  by  one 
episco  pally  ordained,' 

It  is  no  question,  therefore,  with  Professor 
McGiffert  of  rival  forms  of  Church  government. 
It  is  not  the  origin  of  Episcopacy  that  he  con- 
siders. It  is  the  origin  of  Apostolic  Succession. 
It  is  a  special  theory  of  Episco[>acy.  He  accepts 
the  definition  of  his  subject  which  he  finds  in 
Haddan's  Apostolic  Sueasston,  where  the  matter 
is  put  cumulatively  and  completely  thus :  ^  Without 
bishops  no  presbyters ;  without  bishops  and  pres- 
byters no  legitimate  certainty  of  sacraments; 
without  sacraments  no  certain  union  with  the 
mystical  body  of  Christ,  namely,  with  His  Church ; 
without  this  no  certain  union  with  Christ,  and 
without  that  union  no  salvation.' 

That  is  the  '  High-Church'  theory  of  Episcopacy. 
Professor  McGiffert  asks.  When  and  under  what 
circumstances  did  it  arise? 

It  did  not  arise  in  our  Lord's  day.  There  was 
a  Christian  Church  if  you  choose,  but  there  was 
no  definition,  no  theory  of  it  then.  Nor  after- 
wards, as  long  as  the  disciples  reckoned  them- 
selves members  of  the  Jewish  covenant  The 
Jews  constituted  God's  true  Church.  And  the 
early  Christians  were  Jews.  They  were  distin- 
guished from  other  Jews  only  in  accepting  Jesus 
as  the  Messiah.  It  was  a  considerable  distinction. 
But  they  did  not  know  yet  that  it  made  them  a 
separate  Church.  So  they  continued  to  observe 
the  customs  delivered  unto  the  fathers  and  to 
count  themselves  of  the  number  of  that  elect 
people  who  formed  the  Church  of  God. 


53» 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


The  first  person  to  frame  a  theory  of  the  Church 
was  St.  Paul.  The  limits  of  Judaism  bad  been 
passed.  Gentiles  had  been  received  into  the 
Church,  and  they  were  Gentiles  stilL  The  Chris- 
tian community  could  no  longer  persuade  itself 
that  it  formed  part  of  the  old  Jewish  ecclesia. 
It  was  a  new  covenant  people,  the  true  Israel  of 
God,  a  new  Church.  The  idea  is  first  explicitly 
stated  in  St.  Paul.  And  it  is  stated  so  frequently 
there  that  the  list  of  passages  which  Professor 
McGiGTert  gives  need  not  be  repeated. 

But  there  is  another  and  a  wholly  novel  con- 
aption  of  the  Church  in  St  Paul.  The  Church 
is  the  mystical  Body  of  Christ.  Where  did  the 
apostle  find  that  idea?  He  found  it  in  his 
own  experience.  He  knew  by  experience  that 
Christ  dwelt  in  him.  Christ  dwelt  similarly  ih 
every  true  believer.  But  believers  formed  the 
Church.  Therefore  Christ  dwelt  in  the  Church. 
And  as  believers  were  related  to  one  another 
as  are  the  members  of  the  human  body,  the 
Church  in  which  Christ  dwells  is  the  Body  of 
Christ. 

So  there  is  in  St.  Paul  first  of  all  the  simple 
thought  of  the  Church  as  a  collective  name  for 
Christians.  He  can  salute  the  'Church'  in  a 
particular  place  or  the  'saints'  in  a  particular 
place.  It  is  immaterial  which  word  he  uses.  He 
can  even  say,  '  Unto  the  Church  of  God  which  is 
at  Corinth,  unto  them  that  are  sanctified  in  Christ 
Jesus,  called  to  be  saints'  (i  Co  i').  And,  in  the 
second  place,  there  is  the  thought  that  these 
saints  make  up  a  Body  for  Christ  to  dwelt  in,  both 
because  they  fulfil  the  functions  of  the  members 
of  a  body,  and  because  Christ  dwells  in  every  one 
of  them. 

These  are  St.  Paul's  theories  of  the  Church. 
It  is  to  be  noted  regarding  them  that  St.  Paul 
never  thinks  of  the  Church  as  existing  before  its 
members  or  independently  of  them.  In  St.  Paul 
and  in  every  New  Testament  writer,  the  Church 
apart  from  its  members  is  nothing. 


That  is  Professor  McGiffert's  first  step.  The 
second  is  that  as  each  member  of  the  Church  has 
his  own  peculiar  gift — the  gift  which  fits  him  for 
his  place  in  the  Body — he  is  to  exercise  it  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Body.  The  possession  of  a  special 
gift  was  regarded  by  the  early  Christians  as  a 
divine  call  to  some  specific  form  of  service  in  the 
Church.  Some  were  called  to  be  apostles  in  the 
Church,  some  to  be  prophets  and  teachers,  some 
to  be  workers  of  miracles,  some  healers  of  the 
sick,  some  interpreters  of  tongues,  some  helpers, 
some  counsellors,  some  shepherds  of  the  fiock 
(i  Co  t2«  Eph  4").  These  gifts  were  the  gifts  of 
the  Spirit.  All  Christians  received  of  the  Spirit 
But  some  received  more  liberally  than  others. 
And  especially  did  one  Christian  differ  from 
another  in  the  nature  and  purpose  of  his  gift. 

Now  the  greatest  of  all  spiritual  gifts  was  the 
gift  of  teaching.  For  to  leach  was  to  declare  the 
will  of  God.  There  was  no  code  of  laws  in  the 
new  Covenant  as  in  the  old.  There  was  no 
tradition  of  the  elders.  When  occasions  rose  and 
surprises  came  the  Church  turned  to  those  who 
possessed  the  gift  of  teaching. 

There  were  three  classes  of  those  who  possessed 
this  gift.  They  were  called  apostles,  prophets, 
and  teachers.  The  last  had  the  gift  in  a  special 
and  n 


The  apostle  and  the  prophet  were  believed  to 
receive  more  direct  revelations  than  the  teacher, 
who  gained  his  knowledge  of  God's  will  more 
by  study  and  reflexion  than  by  immediate  inspira- 
tion. Again  the  apostle  was  more  of  an  evangelist 
or  missionary  than  the  prophet  or  teacher.  He 
went  from  place  to  place  preaching  the  Word. 
But  all  were  teachers  in  the  broadest  sense.  All 
revealed  the  will  of  God.  And  all  exercised 
the  authority  that  belonged  to  the  superiority  and 
value  of  their  gift.       

But  now  the  imporUnt  thing  to  observe  is  that 
they  exercised  authority  only  in   so  far  as  the 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


533 


Church  admitted  their  inspiration,  their  possession 
of  the  gift  of  the  Spirit.  It  was  not  they  that 
exercised  the  authority,  it  was  the  Spirit  speaking 
by  them.  Practically  they  were  the  rulers  of  the 
Church,  but  their  rule  could  be  challenged  by  any 
community  and  simply  set  aside.  St.  Paul  was  an 
apostle,  but  he  had  to  establish  his  position  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  Churches  in  Corinth  and  Galatia. 
And  in  the  Apocalypse  (2^)  reference  is  made  to 
the  fact  that  the  Church  of  Ephesus  had  tried 
certain  men  who  claimed  to  be  apostles,  and  had 
found  that  they  were  not. 

The  Church  had  to  test  its  teachers.  It  must 
have  been  difficult.  But  the  Church  of  Christ 
has  never  been  permitted  to  shirk  a  responsibility 
simply  because  it  is  difficult  It  seems,  however, 
to  have  been  found  expedient  to  frame  some 
rules  for  the  testing  of  professed  teachers.  They 
may  be  found  to-day  in  that  early  manual  of 
Christian  practice  called  the  Didaeht.  They 
deserve  attention :  '  Concerning  the  apostles  and 
prophets  so  do  ye  according  to  the  ordinance  of 
the  gospel.  Let  every  apostle  when  he  comcth 
to  you  be  received  as  the  Lord  ;  but  he  shall  not 
abide  more  than  a  single  night,  or  if  there  be 
need  a  second  likewise;  but  if  he  abide  three 
days  he  is  a  false  prophet.  And  when  the  apostle 
depaiteth  let  him  receive  nothing  but  bread, 
until  he  flndeth  shelter;  but  if  he  asketh  money 
he  is  a  talse  prophet.' 

Thus  the  apostles  and  prophets  went  every- 
where preaching  the  Word,  and  thus  they  were 
received  and  tested.  They  had  authority.  They 
were  the  practical  rulers  of  the  Church.  But  they 
ruled  it  only  in  so  far  as  the  Church  acknowledged 
the  gift  of  the  Spirit  that  was  in  them. 

Now  the  High-Church  theory  of  Episcopacy  is 
that  one  of  these  classes  of  teachers,  that  Is  to  say, 
the  apostles,  were  themselves  the  Church.  Or  at 
least  that  they  were  the  foundation  of  the  Church 
in  such  a  sense  that  the  Church  derives  its  powers 
from  them,  and  exists  only  because  of  its  permanent 


connexion  with  them.  Is  there  any  hint  in  the 
New  Testament  that  the  apostles  were  thus 
separate  from  the  other  teachers  ?  Professor 
\fcGifrert  says  that  the  only  shadow  of  a  hint  is 
found  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  (2'^-). 

The  pass^e  is :  '  So  then  ye  are  no  more 
strangers  and  sojourners,  hut  ye  are  fellow-citizens 
with  the  saints,  and  of  the  household  of  God,  being 
built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and 
prophets,  Christ  Jesus  Himself  being  the  chief 
corner-stone.'  If  it  is  a  hint,  it  is  a  very  meagre 
one.  For,  in  the  first  place,  prophets  as  well  as 
apostles  are  mentioned  as  the  foundation  of  the 
Church.  And,  in  the  second  place,  the  apostles 
and  -prophets  are  the  foundation  on  which  the 
Church  is  built  as  preachers  of  the  gospel,  not  in  any 
official  capacity.  That  is  made  clear  in  the  next 
{  chapter,  where  St.  Paul  speaks  of  the  my^ery 
which  has  been  revealed  to  the  apostles  and 
prophets  in  the  Spirit.  Neither  here  nor  else- 
where in  the  New  Testament  is  there  even  a  hint 
that  the  apostles  are  essential  to  the  existence  of 
the  Church,  or  essential  to  the  salvation  of  its 
members. 

How  did  that  idea  arise,  and  when  ?  It  arose 
early  in  the  history  of  the  Church,  but  after  the 
times  of  the  New  Testament,  and  it  arose  in  three 
steps  of  evolution. 

The  first  step  was  made  when  the  ruler, — 
whether  apostle,  prophet,  or  teacher, — who  ruled 
as  occasion  demanded  by  declaring  the  mind  of 
the  Spirit,  and  only  in  so  far  as  the  mind  of  the 
Spirit  was  recognized  in  him,  became  a  settled 
regular  officer  of  the  Church.  This  step  is  already 
accomplished  in  Clement  of  Rome.  How  far 
Clement's  instruction  in  the  matter  represents  the 
practice  of  the  Church  we  cannot  say.  Writing 
from  Rome  to  the  Church  in  Corinth,  a  generation 
later  than  St.  Paul  wrote  to  the  same  Church  on 
the  same  subject,  Clement  did  not  give  his  own 
mind  as  St.  Paul  did,  and  appeal  to  the  Cor- 
inthians to  recognize  therein  the  mind  of  the 


S34 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Spirit ;  be  laid  down  rules  (for  the  most  part  out 
of  the  Old  Testament)  which  weie  to  be  rigidly 
enforced  and  be  referred  to  regular  officers,  who 
were  to  be  implicitly  obeyed. 

These  regular  officers  were  already  there.  They 
had  arisen  out  of  the  necessities  of  the  time,  aided 
by  the  weakened  sense  of  the  Spirit's  presence. 
They  were  chosen  for  the  most  part,  we  need  not 
doubt,  from  the  wandering  apostle  or  the  prophet 
or  teacher.  For  it  was  necessary  that  some  one 
should  be  set  apart  to  administer  the  charities  of 
the  Church.  It  was  necessary  that  'Some  one 
should  possess  authority  to  regulate  the  order  of 
worship,  some  one  who  should  be  always  present. 
And  it  was  necessary  that  some  one  should  be 
chosen  to  express  the  mind  of  the  Church  in  the 
exercise  of  ecclesiastical  discipline.  These  duties 
were  all  spiritual.  It  was  therefore  natural  thai 
the  Church  should  choose  for  their  exercise  the 
men  whose  gifts  were  spiiitual  above  those  of  all 
other  men,  the  apostles,  prophets,  and  teachers. 
But  as  soon  as  the  apostle,  prophet,  or  teacher 
received  permanent  and  absolute  control  of  the 
activities  of  the  Church,  it  was  of  less  consequence 
to  the  majority  that  he  spoke  the  mind  of  the 
Spirit,  it  was  of  more  importance  that  he  main. 
tained  good  order.  Clement's  letter  was  probably 
called  forth  by  the  struggle  between  the  regular 
official  of  the  Church  in  Corinth  and  the  visiting 
apostle  or  prophet.  For  the  two  must  have 
existed  together  for  a  time  and  often  have  come 
in  conflict.  Clement  decided  in  favour  of  the 
regular  official,  and  the  first  step  was  taken. 

The  second  step  is  seen  in  Ignatius  of  Antioch. 
It  is  still  early  in  the  second  century. 

In  the  early  Church  the  conduct  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  demanded  the  presence  of  a  regular 
official  more  than  any  other  Christian  exercise. 
It  was  recognized  as  the  most  important  thing  in 
worship.  It  was  most  difficult  to  observe  it 
decently  and  in  order.  The  alms  of  the  Church, 
moreover,  were  usually  distributed  at  its  celebra- 


tion. And,  finally,  it  was  in  connexion  with  the 
Eucharist  that  discipline  was  most  commonly 
administered.  The  celebration  of  the  Supper  was 
the  occasion  upon  which  the  regular  Church  officer 
was  most  needed,  and  upon  which  he  was  most 
influential.  The  right  to  administer  the  Eucharist 
became  the  most  coveted  privilege.  Clement 
seems  to  say  that  this  right  belonged  to  the  regular 
officials  of  the  Church.  But  Ignatius  goes  farther 
and  says  that  unless  administered  by  the  regular 
officials  of  the  Church  it  is  no  true  Eucbanst. 
It  did  not  matter  much  what  name  the  officiab 
went  by — overseer,  bishop,  deacon,  leader, — it  did 
not  matter.  For  the  most  part  one  man  was 
found  best  fitted  for  the  office,  and  the  name  of 
bishop  (hrvTKOvoi)  or  overseer  was  usually  given 
to  him.  But  the  name  did  not  matter  just  at  first 
No  official,  no  Eucharist — that  is  the  attitude  (rf 
Ignatius.     The  second  step  is  taken. 

These  steps  were  made  in  the  interest  of  good 
order.  The  third  step  was  more  theoretical,  and 
it  was  longer  in  being  taken.  Before  the  end  of 
the  second  century  we  find  it  accomplished.  Again 
it  has  lo  do  with  the  Eucharist.  The  Eucharist 
is  recognized,  not  only  as  the  great  feature  of  the 
Church's  worship,  not  only  as  its  chief  sacrament 
and  means  of  grace,  but  also  as  a  true  and  real 
sacrifice.  Now  the  officiating  bishop  becomes  a 
priest.  He  is  separate  from  his  brethrerL  He 
exercises  powers  they  do  not  possess.  Henceforth 
the  Church  is  the  Clergy.  And  they  have  the 
power,  simply  in  virtue  of  their  office,  of  admitting 
to  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  For  none  can  enter 
without  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  And  the  foi^ve- 
ness  of  sins  is  dependent  on  the  sacrifice  of  the 
Eucharist,  which  none  but  the  priest  can  make. 
The  theory  is  in  existence  in  the  second  century. 
By  the  middle  of  the  third  it  is  in  full  exercise. 
The  High-Church  doctrine  of  Episcopacy  has 
begun  its  singular  career. 


7!S«  Epistle  of  Psenosiris  was,  by  a  slip  of  the 
pen,  attributed  in  last  month's  issue  (p.  481)  to  Pro- 
fessor Dal  man  instead  of  to  Professor  Deissmann. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


^tvomt:   (^  (CJaMrfw  ^Sefcg  from  iU  (periO  of  i^t 

By  Professor  Georc  Grutzmacher,  Ph.D.,  Heidelberg. 


We  have  a  picture  by  the  German  painter,  Albrccht 
Diirer,  entitled  'Jerome  at  Home.'  The  saint, 
withdrawn  from  the  world,  appears  seated  In  a 
pleasant  chamber.  Everything  wears  a  friendly 
aspect :  the  polished  woodwork,  the  useful  articles 
on  the  walls,  the  large  pumpkin  depending  from 
the  ceiling.  In  the  foreground  lies  a  lion,  which 
can  hardly  keep  his  good-natured  eyes  open  for 
sleep,  and  side  by  side  with  him  the  house  dog 
lies  sunning  himself.  The  principal  subject  of  the 
picture  has  placed  his  shoes  under  the  window  sill, 
hung  the  large  cardinal's  hat  on  the  nail  beside  the 
sand-glass,  and  set  himself  to  work.  He  is  en- 
gaged on  the  translation  of  the  Bible,  the  task 
which  has  immortalized  his  name.  Seated  at  the 
beautifully  wrought  table,  he  is  deeply  engrossed 
with  his  work.  The  picture  of  a  pious,  quiet,  con- 
tented scholar  I  Through  the  window  panes  the 
bright  sun  pouis  its  mild  aod  kindly  rays.  The 
same  neatness  and  order  that  appear  in  the  home 
seem  to  characterize  the  heart  of  this  saint.  Peace 
pervades  the  whole  scene,  and  is  diffused  also  over 
his  lofty  intellectual  brow.  Such  is  the  picture 
which  ALbrecht  Durer,  building  upon  legend,  has 
painted  of  St.  Jerome.  What  was  the  real  char- 
acter of  this  man  who  deserves  to  be  better  known 
than  he  is,  the  author  of  what  is  still  accepted  by 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church  as  the  authoritative 
Latin  Version  of  the  Bible,  the  so-called  Vulgate  ? 
When  the  emperor  Theodosius  died  in  395  a.d., 
the  mighty  Roman  Empire  was  divided  between 
his  two  sons,  Honorius  and  Arcadius.  Honorius 
received  the  West,  Arcadius  the  East.  But  scarcely 
had  the  powerful  emperor,  Theodosius,  breathed 
his  last  when  revolt,  bloodshed,  poverty,  pestilence 
began  within,  while  outside  Huns,  Germans, 
Parthians  pressed  upon  the  frontiers  of  the 
Empire.  Men  were  seized  with  the  idea  that 
the  world  had  grown  old  and  that  its  course  was 
run,  and  that  life  was  not  worth  living.  And,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  a  great  epoch  in  the  history  of 
mankind  was  coming  to  an  end.  The  Roman 
Empire,  the  ancient  world,  was  on  the  point  of 
dying,  and  terrible  was  the  death  struggle.    There 


was  nothing  now  to  oppose  to  the  destroying 
forces :  neither  the  strength  of  a  State  that  could 
control  itself  nor  the  power  of  a  harmonious  well- 
tried  ideal  of  culture.  The  Empire  fell,  the  culture 
fell  to  pieces ;  it  had  become  hollow  and  false ; 
there  was  no  longer  such  a  thing  as  a  good  con- 
science, a  frank  natural  disposition,  or  pure  hands. 

It  was  at  this  time,  when  the  Roman  Empire 
was  decaying  and  there  were  signs  of  the  dissolu- 
tion of  all  existing  relations,  that  Jerome  was  born. 
When  he  first  saw  the  light,  c.  340  {the  exact  year 
of  his  birth  is  not  determined),  the  Empire  was 
ruled  by  the  sons  of  Constantine,  and  when  he 
died,  an  old  man  of  eighty,  in  420,  he  had  had  to 
mourn  the  fall  of  Rome,  This  Rome,  so  full  of 
vices,  but  at  the  same  time  matked  by  the  noblest 
strivings,  rich  in  genius  and  culture,  with  its  un- 
surpassable works  of  art,  with  its  wealth  ennobled 
by  the  impress  of  genius,  this  city  which  had 
formed  the  starting-point  of  a  marvellous  period 
in  the  history  of  intellectual  development,  had  be- 
come in  410  a  prey  to  the  barbarians. 

Jerome  was  born  at  Stridon,  in  Dalmatia,  a  petty 
country  town  of  the  province  which  formed  the 
dividing  line  between  West  and  East.  Thus  by 
his  very  birth  he  was  marked  out  and  qualified,  as 
no  one  else,  to  serve  as  intermediary  betwixt  the 
two  halves  of  the  Empire,  and  he  devoted  his  life- 
work  more  than  any  of  his  contemporaries  to 
efiTecting  this  interchange  of  ideas.  Sprung  from 
a  good  Catholic  family,  not  unpossessed  of  means, 
he  grew  up  under  the  charge  of  attendants  and 
pedagogues.  The  times  when  Roman  mothers 
themselves  nursed  and  educated  their  children, 
were  long  gone  by.  Associating  with  the  domestics, 
an  onlooker  at  the  marriages  of  slaves,  Jerome 
early  picked  up  many  a  foul  word  and  received 
many  objectionable  impressions.  It  was  no  wonder 
if  afterwards,  when  plunged  into  the  turmoil  of  the 
great  city,  young  men  succumbed  to  the  countless 
temptations  to  a  dissolute  life.  In  the  parental 
home  he  received  also  the  first  elements  of  educa- 
tion. In  the  first  place,  letters  of  boxwood  or 
of  ivory  were  put  into  the  hands  of  the  child.     He 


536 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


was  told  the  names  of  these,  and  had  then  to  learn 
their  order  and  to  repeat  the  names  like  a  poem. 
Then  the  letters  were  mixed  up,  and  the  child 
had  to  practise  identifying  them.  When  he  was 
familiar  with  the  letters,  instruction  in  writing 
began.  With  trembling  hand  he  copied  the  letters 
with  the  style  on  the  wax  tablet,  or  he  had  given 
to  him  a  small  wooden  tablet  with  the  letters  cut 
into  it,  that  he  might  copy  the  characters  in  the 
same  grooves,  without  the  possibility  of  deviating 
from  the  prescribed  form.  The  next  stage  was 
the  making  of  letters  into  syllables,  syllables  into 
words,  words  into  sentences.  Elementary  instruc- 
tion had  even  then  been  completely  reduced  to  a 
system,  and  had  many  points  of  contact  with  the 
methods  of  to-day.  The  children's  zeal  for  learn- 
ing was  stimulated  by  small  rewards,  but  severity 
was  also  an  accompaniment  of  the  process  of 
education.  Jerome  has  humorous  reminiscences 
of  his  ftrst  pedagogue,  a  savage  schoolmaster,  from 
whose  chastisement  he  often  fled  to  the  arms  of 
his  grandmother,  and  who  sought  him  out  and 
brought  him  back  a  prisoner  to  the  repellent  task 
of  writing  and  reading. 

While  quite  a  youth,  Jerome  came  to  Rome. 
Here  he  sat  at  the  feet  of  the  famous  grammarian, 
Donatus,  and  received  instruction  in  all  the 
subtleties  of  grammar  and  all  the  artifices  of 
rhetoric.  The  Latin  language,  pressed  into  the 
service  of  all  the  devices  of  education,  had  long 
lost  its  innocence.  With  the  decline  of  culture 
the  language  also  had  paid  the  penalty  in  the  loss 
of  the  virtue  of  truthfulness,  and  the  gifted  boy 
learned  all  the  deceitful  arts  of  which  he  afterwards 
availed  himself  with  such  biting  eloquence  in  his 
conflicts  with  opponents.  He  exercised  his  in- 
genuity in  the  discussion  of  imaginary  points  of 
law.  Even  in  extreme  old  age,  when  his  head  was 
already  snow-white,  he  dreamt  that  he  was  back 
again  in  these  days  of  youthful  instruction.  He 
saw  himself  with  carefully  dressed  hair  and  clothed 
in  toga  declaiming  with  pathos  his  little  contro- 
versial speech  before  the  rhetor;  but,  when  he 
awoke,  he  rejoiced  that  he  had  left  behind  him 
those  days  when  a  strict  master  subjected  his  raw 
efforts  to  rigorous  criticism.  That  such  a  course 
of  education  could  not  fail  to  exert  an  influence 
on  the  formation  of  character  is  a  matter  of  course. 
In  the  case  of  Jerome,  with  his  strong  passions 
and  rich  imagination,  these  influences  found  a  very 
^rtilc  soil.      In  Rome  he  began,  moreover,  to 


collect  a  library.  A  sincere  love  for  science,  mi 
ineradicable  inclination  to  learned  occupations 
already  show  themselves  prominently  in  him,  and 
amidst  all  his  changes  of  opinion,  he  remained 
ever  faithful  to  this  love.  Science  was  his  bride, 
first  secular,  afterwards  theological  science.  When 
in  later  days  he  began  a  life  of  asceticism,  his 
library  accompanied  him  into  the  dreary  wilder- 
ness. In  Rome  Jerome  as  an  adult  submitted 
himself  to  baptism.  It  had  become  customary  to 
defer  baptism,  because  this  sacrament  effected  the 
pardon  of  all  sins,  and  there  was  the  fear  of  again 
forfeiting  by  transgression  the  grace  that  had  been 
received.  In  spite  of  his  baptism,  however,  he  was 
guilty  of  serious  lapses  from  morality.  He  drank 
full  draughts  from  the  intoxicating  cup  of  sensual 
indulgence.  In  this  matter  we  are  not  to  judge 
him  too  severely;  a  greater  than  he,  Augustine 
himself,  likewise  fell  at  the  same  time.  Christ- 
ianity had  not  yet  devised  proper  forms  for  edu- 
cating the  young  in  accordance  with  the  principles 
of  Christian  ethics.  In  the  schools  the  heathen 
authors  were  studied,  and  the  lewd  mythological 
tales  worked  like  poison  on  the  young  mind.  It 
is  easy  to  understand  how,  under  such  circum- 
stances, a  Christian  character  could  then  as  a  rule 
be  developed  only  as  the  result  of  severe  moral 
stru^les.  But  it  is  characteristic  that  Jerome,  at 
the  very  time  when  he  was  leading  a  life  of  sensual 
indulgence,  used  to  go  on  Sundays  to  the  cata- 
combs and,  filled  with  the  piety  of  an  enthusiast, 
descend  to  the  graves  of  the  apostles  and  martyrs. 
Here  he  would  wander  through  the  deep  subter- 
ranean passages  in  whose  walls,  to  right  and  left, 
the  bodies  of  martyred  saints  were  interred. 
Amidst  dreadful  darkness  shrouding  him,  the 
word  of  the  prophet  occurred  to  his  mind, '  Thou 
shalt  go  down  living  to  SheoL'  It  was  a  remark- 
able double  life  he  led ;  at  one  moment  he  would 
abandon  himself  without  a  scruple  to  sensual  en- 
joyment, and  then  with  awakened  conscience  de- 
light to  allow  the  terrors  of  death  and  the  grave  to 
work  upon  him  in  the  gloomy  shadows  of  the 
undei^ound  cemetery. 

From  Rome  Jerome,  in  company  with  his  young 
friend,  Bonosus,  undertook  a  journey  to  Gaul. 
He  visited  the  semi-barbarian  banks  of  the  Rhine, 
and  made  some  stay  in  Mainz,  Worms,  and  Treves. 
It  was  in  the  last-named  flourishing  town  that  he 
formed  the  resolution  of  dedicating  himself  to 
Christ.     Disgusted  with  the  wild  life  of  excess,  he 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


determined  to  be  a  monk.  From  Treves  he  pro- 
ceeded to  Aquileja,  not  far  from  the  modem 
Venice,  irhere  he  lived  for  a  short  time  in  the 
company  of  those  who  felt  called  to  a  clerical 
profession.  His  hot-blooded  friend  Bonosus  had 
already  begun  the  monastic  life  upon  a  solitary 
island  on  the  Dalmatian  coast  In  romantic 
solitude,  where  the  stormy  sea  raged  and  the  surf 
broke  with  tremendous  roar  upon  a  much  indented 
wall  of  cliffs,  he  sought  like  a  joyous  child  to  live 
to  hia  God.  Where  no  green  blade  ever  showed 
itself,  where  in  spring  the  whole  place  offered  no 
shady  resting-place,  he  sought  rest  from  the  world. 
The  difficulty  of  escaping  destruction  in  the  vortex 
of  life,  weariness  of  the  empty  common  life,  and 
the  prospect  of  a  higher  good  were  driving  those 
who  were  not  the  worst  of  men  out  into  the 
wilderness,  to  escape  from  society  and  its  vices. 

Then  Jerome  too  set  to  work.  In  the  desert 
of  Chalcis,  near  Antioch,  at  what  was  a  classic  site 
of  monasticism,  he  determined  to  commence  the 
penitential  life.  From  his  native  town  of  Stridon, 
the  home  of  rustic  barbarism,  from  his  parents 
and  relatives  he  parted  without  regret.  He  reached 
Antioch,  but  had  not  the  courage  to  become  a 
hermit  There,  in  the  course  of  Lent,  shortly 
before  mid-Lent  Sunday,  he  had  a  severe  illness, 
and  experienced  a  remarkable  vision.  He  was 
brought  in  spirit  before  the  judgment-seat  of  God 
and  asked  who  he  was.  He  answered, '  A  Christian,' 
but  the  Judge  replied,  '  Thou  liest ;  thou  art  a 
Ciceronian  and  not  a  Christian,'  and  caused  him 
to  be  beaten  till  he  took  an  oath  never  to  read 
heathen  books  again.  Upon  swearing  to  this  he 
was  let  go  and  returned  to  the  world.  This  vision 
led  him  to  fuIRl  his  original  resolution.  But  he 
had  many  surprises  when  he  found  himself  trans- 
ferred all  at  once  to  the  society  of  the  hermits. 
These  men,  with  their  penitents'  chains  and 
mourning  garments,  their  unkempt  hair  and  filth, 
did  they  embody  the  highest  Christian  idea)  of 
life?  Jerome  soon  discovered  that  his  hermit 
friends  were  by  no  means  the  saints  they  were 
taken  to  be.  '  In  the  wilderness,'  he  writes,  'pride 
quickly  slips  in,  and  when  one  has  fasted  for  a 
little  and  seen  no  human  being,  he  considers  him- 
self somebody,  and  goes  astray  inwardly  with  his 
heart  and  outwardly  with  his  tongue.'  It  did  not 
elude  his  observation  what  an  amount  of  cheating 
was  practised  in  connexion  with  fasting,  how 
frequently  they  ate  what  was  unlawful,  how  they 


would  in  sinful  sloth  spend  whole  days  in  sleep, 
or  invent  ghost  stories  about  their  conflicts  with 
evil  spirits,  and  allow  themselves  to  be  looked 
upon  with  admiring  wonder  by  the  vulgar  crowd, 
from  all  of  which  they  derived  profit.  At  the 
death  of  a  hermit  a  perfect  Crcesus  treasure  was 
discovered,  which  he  had  saved  from  the  alms 
given  him.  At  first  Jerome  sought  to  emulate  his 
dirty  comrades  in  the  matter  of  fasting,  but  he 
speedily  made  the  painful  discovery  that  the 
temptations  he  had  meant  to  escape  assailed  him 
in  other  forms.  The  holiness  of  which  he  was  in 
search  he  neither  found  in  his  companions,  nor 
attained  for  himself.  So  energetic  a  spirit  as  that 
of  Jerome  could  not  possibly  find  permanent  scope 
for  its  activity  in  penitential  exercises.  He  began 
to  learn  the  Hebrew  language,  of  which  he  gained 
a  very  considerable  knowledge.  His  translation 
of  the  Old  Testament  from  the  Hebrew  is  an 
unimpeachable  witness  how  thoroughly  and  dili- 
gently he  gave  himself  to  the  study  of  a  language 
so  difficult  to  a  Roman,  and  all  this  with  the  use 
of  very  imperfect  aids  which  had  first  to  be  created 
by  himself. 

But  a  longing  for  the  society  of  his  friends  soon 
revived  within  him,  and  the  doctrinal  conflicts  in 
which  he  became  involved  made  his  sojourn  in 
the  wilderness  growlngly  irksome.  Finally,  he  lef^ 
it,  saying, '  It  is  belter  to  dwell  among  wild  beasts 
than  with  such  Christians.'  In  Antioch  he  re- 
ceived priestly  consecration,  after  which  he  went 
for  a  short  time  to  Constantinople,  where  he  sat 
at  the  feet  of  its  learned  bishop,  Gregory  of 
Nazianzus.  In  381  we  find  him  again  at  Rome, 
where  the  sunshine  of  papal  favour  fell  upon  him. 
He  enjoyed  the  protection  of  Damasus,  the  bishop 
of  Rome,  at  whose  instance  he  began  his  translation 
of  the  Bible.  He  revised  the  Old  Latin  version 
of  the  New  Testament,  with  the  aid  of  the  best 
Greek  text  accessible  to  him,  but  the  friends  of 
tradition  sounded  the  note  of  alarm  at  the  idea 
that  the  learned  monk  should  presume,  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  authority  of  the  ancients,  to  correct 
anything  in  the  sacred  text.  Jerome  made  an 
angry  retort  to  those  '  who  mistake  boorish  ignor- 
ance for  sanctity,  two-legged  asses  who  understand 
the  blare  of  a  trumpet  better  than  the  soft  notes 
of  the  guitar.'  He  had  to  make  acquaintance 
with  a  species  of  martyrdom  from  which  no  scien- 
tific theologian  is  exempt. 

Beside  his  learned  labours  he  acted  as  spiritual 


53« 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


adviser,  while  at  Rome,  to  a  circle  composed  of 
ladies  belonging  to  the  principal  noble  families. 
The  noble  widow  Marcella,  who  after  the  death 
of  her  husband  had  rejected  all  proposals  of 
marriage,  first  plucked  up  courage  and  sent  an 
invitation  to  the  interesting  man  who  had  lived  in 
the  East  as  a  hermit.  'I  had  shyly  kept  out  of 
sight  of  the  noble  ladies,  when  Marcella,  in  the 
words  of  the  apostle,  addressed  herself  to  roe  in 
season  and  out  of  season,  until  by  her  importunity 
she  overcame  my  shyness.  And  because  it  was 
believed  that  I  had  a  vocation  for  biblical  studies, 
she  never  met  me  without  addressing  to  me  some 
question  about  Holy  Scripture.'  She  gave  him  no 
rest,  submitting  to  him  all  kinds  of  impossible 
questions  about  obscure  passages.  The  new  life 
that  commenced  within  the  ascetic  circle,  presents 
itself  as  an  intellectual  emancipation.  The  ascetic 
movement  brought  an  inward  enrichment  to 
woman's  world  which  cannot  be  too  highly 
estimated.  In  painting  their  faces  with  carmine 
and  white  lead,  in  decking  themselves  with 
trinkets,  silken  attire  and  flashing  jewels,  the  life 
of  Roman  matrons  had  been  spent  hitherto. 
Now  they  were  able  to  satisfy  their  intellectual 
and  religious  interests  in  converse  with  men  of 
like  disposition.  And  Jerome  possessed  all  the 
qualities  that  could  attach  inquisitive  women  to 
him.  He  was  too  vain  ever  to  acknowledge  his 
ignorance,  and  imposed  upon  the  noble  ladies  by 
his  all-comprehending  knowledge.  Marcella,  in- 
deed, was  not  so  easily  satisfied,  and  was  not 
blind  Co  (he  weaknesses  in  the  saint's  character. 
But  quite  different  was  it  with  the  lady  who  stood 
next  to  her  in  eminence  in  the  ascetic  band, 
Paula.  She  was  a  true  woman,  she  had  been  a 
loving  wife  and  a  happy  smiling  mother.  After 
the  death  of  her  beloved  husband,  Toxotlus,  she 
lived  a  life  of  the  strictest  asceticism.  She  dis- 
pensed her  wealth  with  lavish  hand,  completely 
indifferent  whether  the  recipient  of  her  favours 
was  deserving  or  the  reverse.  With  devoted  un- 
questioning love,  she  attached  herself,  along  with 
her  daughter  Eustochium,  to  Jerome.  At  times, 
however,  the  relations  between  Jerome  and  his 
female  friends  lost  their  serious  character,  and 
assumed  a  gallant  and  sportive  tinge.  For  in- 
stance, on  St.  Peter's  Day  Eustochium  sent  to 
her  revered  teacher  armlets,  doves,  a  basket  of 
cherries.  Jerome  in  his  letter  of  thanks  interprets 
the  gifts  allegorically.     But  strict  asceticism  leaves 


the  field  entirely,  and  polite  adulation  dictates  the 
words:  'We  have  also  received  a  basket  of 
cherries,  so  fresh  and  bright  with  maidenljr 
blushes  that  I  imagined  they  had  just  come  from 
Lucullus.  Now,  since  we  read  in  Scripture  of  a 
basket  filled  with  figs,  but  have  no  word  of 
cherries,  we  commend  in  what  has  been  brought 
what  has  not  been  brought,  and  wish  that  you 
may  be  one  of  those  fruits  which  are  placed  before 
the  temple  of  God,  and  of  which  God  tays, 
"  They  are  good,  very  good." ' 

As  long  as  Pope  Damasus  lived,  Jerome, 
according  to  his  own  account,  enjoyed  the  good- 
will of  the  whole  city,  and  even  cherished  the 
hope  of  succeeding  Damasus  on  the  papal  throne. 
But  when  the  latter  died  in  3S4  and  Siricius  took 
his  place,  a  veritable  crusade  began  against  the 
man  who  was  hated  by  so  many.  Blasilla,  the 
eldest  daughter  of  Paula,  had  come  to  a  prema- 
ture end  through  severe  asceticism,  and  the  fury  of 
the  Roman  mob  found  expression  at  her  funeraL 
It  was  proposed  to  fling  the  foreign  monks  into  the 
Tiber  to  be  drowned.  Then  Jerome  resolved  to 
leave  the  ungrateful  city.  Remote  from  hostile 
attacks  he  determined  to  live  in  sacred  spots  an 
exemplary  monastic  life,  which  was  to  fill  the 
world  with  admiration  and  to  enrich  the  West 
with  brilliant  scientific  achievements.  He  did  not 
go  alone ;  his  pious  friends  Paula  and  Eustochium 
followed  him  directly  afterwards.  Paula  parted 
from  her  family  without  shedding  a  tear ;  the  little 
Toxotius  stretched  his  hands  imploringly  after  her 
from  the  shore ;  Rufl^na,  whose  marriage  was. 
close  at  hand,  silently  conjured  her  by  her  tears 
to  wait  at  least  for  that  event.  But  Paula,  turning 
her  dry  eyes  towards  heaven,  overcame  her  love 
to  her  children  by  her  love  to  God.  At  Antioch 
she  met  with  Jerome,  and  now  began  a  tour  round 
the  Holy  Land,  in  which  every  spot  was  hallowed 
by  some  dear  memory.  With  burning  devotion  they 
knelt  before  the  sacicd  cross,  wept  at  the  sepulchre 
of  the  Lord,  kissed  the  resurrection  stone.  Next 
they  bent  their  steps  to  Egypt,  where  a  visit  was 
paid  to  the  famous  settlers  in  the  Nitrian  moun- 
tains. Paula  was  seized  with  an  enthusiastic 
reverence  for  these  heroes  of  asceticism,  she  flung 
herself  on  her  knees  before  them,  imagining  that 
in  each  one  of  them  she  beheld  Christ.  Then 
the  return  was  made  to  Bethlehem,  where,  at  the 
expense  of  Paula  were  erected,  in  the  vicinity  of 
the    Saviour's  birthplace,  a  monastery  presided 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


539 


over  by  Jerome,  and  a  nunnery  directed  by  Paula 
herself.  Here  Jerome  was  able  to  complete  his 
great  task  of  Bible  translation  and  to  compose  a 
number  of  exegetical  wortcs  on  the  O.T,  and 
N.T.  Soon,  however,  financial  difficulties  began 
to  be  felt.  Paula  by  her  beedless  benevolence 
had  almost  exhausted  her  fortune,  and  Jerome 
was  driven  to  raise  money  by  the  sale  of  his 
ancestral  property  at  Stndon.  The  monastery, 
moreover,  was  so  overrun  by  pilgrims  coming 
from  the  West,  that  hostelries  for  them  had  to 
be  erected  along  the  highway  leading  through 
Bethlehem.  The  learned  leisure  of  the  scholar 
was  grievously  disturbed.  He  describes  how  he 
was  frequently  pressed  by  pilgrims  to  give  them 
a  letter  to  take  to  a  friend  at  home.  'Already 
were  the  papers  made  out  and  the  post-horse 
saddled,  already  had  the  noble  youth  with  his 
Phoenician  tunic  girded  himself  with  his  sword- 
belt,  when  he  would  bring  forward  a  scribe  and 
press  me  to  speak,  so  that  what  was  quickly 
spoken  was  written  down  by  the  swift  hand,  and 
the  letters  of  the  words  kept  pace  with  the  tongue.' 
From  every  country  of  the  West,  from  Gaul, 
North  Africa,  Rome,  Italy,  Spain,  men  came  to 
see  the  revered  patriarch  of  monasticism.  A  rich 
Spaniard  did  not  shrink  from  the  enormous  ex- 
pense of  sending  six  scribes  to  Bethlehem  to  copy 
out  for  him,  under  the  author's  superintendence, 
the  works  of  Jerome.  It  was  the  custom  that, 
when  a  noble  Roman  lady  took  the  veil,  she 
applied  to  the  aged  apostle  of  virginity  for  a  letter. 
Twenty  years  after  he  had  left  Rome  the  object 
of  anything  but  honour,  he  can  write  in  triumph  : 
'  The  number  of  monks  in  Rome  increases  enor- 
mously; the  monastic  state,  once  ridiculed  and 
despised,  is  now  one  that  commands  honour  and 
praise.'  Roman  senators  like  Pammachius,  ex- 
consuls  hke  Paulinus  of  Nola,  took  monastic  vows. 
The  decaying  heathen  religion  sank  more  and 
more  every  day,  the  rigidly  conservative  Roman 
aristocracy,  which  had  so  long  clung  to  the  old 
gods,  turned  to  Christ  and  completed  the  breach 
in  the  rudest  fashion  by  many  of  those  aristocrats 
becoming  monks.  Although  the  leader  of  the 
heathen  party,  Q.  Aurelius  Symmachus,  a  patriot 
enthusiastic  for  the  ancient  order  of  things,  did  his 
utmost  to  stir  up  the  emperors  to  protect  heathen- 
ism, he  accomplished  nothing,  because  he  himself 
had  no  real  faith  in  his  cause.  He  might  be  a 
noble  character,  a  benevolent  man,  a  kind  and 


painstaking  father,  and  in  more  than  one  respect 
he  might  stand  morally  higher  than  Jerome,  but 
he  was  a  sceptic  in  religious  matters,  whereas 
upon  the  side  of  his  Christian  opponent  there 
were  strength,  energy,  intellectual  superiority,  and 
a  living  faith.  And  in  spite  of  the  bizarre  forms 
which  this  faith  assumed,  it  conquered  the  world. 

On  the  26th  of  January  406  Jerome  received 
a  heavy  blow  in  the  death  of  his  dear  friend 
Paula  She  was  solemnly  interred  at  the  birth- 
place of  Jesus,  and  Jerome  composed  for  her  a 
warmly  appreciative  epitaph.  Then  in  410  came 
the  news  that  Rome,  the  eternal  city,  was  besieged. 
The  city  that  bad  been  the  scene  of  his  sins  of 
youth,  but  in  which  also  he  had  spent  the  most 
brilliant  period  of  his  life,  was  captured  by  the 
Gothic  barbarians.  His  patriotism  was  aroused. 
'One  is  stricken  dumb,  and  the  words  of  him  that 
dictates  are  interrupted  by  sobs.'  '  O  God,  heathen 
break  into  thine  inheritance  and  defile  Thy  holy 
temple,'  he  complains.  His  friend  Marcella  died 
immediately  after  the  fall  of  the  city.  His  one 
comfort  was  Euslochium,  who  now  presided  over 
the  convent  in  her  mother's  place.  Ten  years 
after  the  conquest  of  Rome  by  Alaric,  Jerome  him- 
self died,  havingremained  to  thelastakeen  contro- 
versialist, whose  intellectual  vigour  was  unabated. 
Jerome  was  a  remarkable  personality,  the  trusted 
adviser  of  a  powerful  pope,  and  the  idol  of  the 
noble  ladies  of  Rome,  hermit  and  monk,  scholar 
and  witty  conversationalist.  We  must  always  keep 
in  mind  that  he  lived  in  an  age  of  decadence  and 
degeneration,  whose  features  are  deeply  impressed 
upon  his  character.  He  was  passionate  and  yet 
cowardly;  stained  with  youthful  sins,  and  yet  a 
hero  of  chastity ;  consumed  with  the  fire  of  impure 
sensuousness,  and  yet  an  uncompromising  prophet 
of  asceticism  ;  vain  and  greedy  of  power,  and  yet  a 
weak  man ;  strictly  orthodox,  and  yet  with  an 
undogmatic  mind ;  a  champion  of  dogma,  and  yet 
no  witness  to  the  truth;  pious,  and  yet  no  child 
of  God;  an  impassioned  scholar,  and  yet  at  tiroes 
a  learned  trifler.  Yet,  in  spite  of  these  unpleasing 
traits  in  his  character,  who  can  deny  the  immense 
historical  influence  which  the  life  of  this  man  has 
had?  The  intellectual  renaissance  which  took 
place  in  the  West  in  his  time,  owed  its  origin  in 
great  part  to  him,  while  in  his  translation  of  the 
Bible  he  produced  a  work  which,  in  spite  of  many 
imperfections,  must  be  reckoned  amongst  the 
greatest  products  of  Christian  genius  in  any  age. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


By  Principal  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Hodgson,  M.A.,  D.D.,  D.Sc,  Edinburgh. 


In  this  remaTkably  able  and  comprehensive  woik,^ 
Principal  Fairbaim  seeks  to  vindicate  for  the 
Christian  religion  the  unique  and  pre-eminent 
position  among  the  religions  of  the  world  which 
its  disciples  claim  for  it.  In  doing  so  he  proceeds, 
in  a  logical  and  masterly  fashion,  from  the  philo- 
sophical interpretation  of  Nature  to  the  Theistic 
conception  of  Creation ;  from  Creation  as  an  un- 
finished work,  an  evolutionary  process,  to  the 
philosophy  of  History  under  the  guidance  of 
Moral  Intelligence;  and  from  the  philosophy  of 
the  historical  training  and  development  of  Man  as 
a  free  and  ethical  being  to  the  Philosophy  of 
Comparative  Religion. 

Among  the  religions  of  the  world  the  author 
ascribes  superior  significance  and  value  to  those 
which  are  differentiated  from  the  rest  by  the  fact 
that  they  were  founded  by  historical  personages 
in  whom  their  disciples  have  found  'the  inter- 
pretative and  normative  term  of  the  highest 
religious  ideas,' — namely  Buddhism,  Islam,  and 
Christianity. 

This  line  of  thought  occupies  the  first  half  of 
the  volume  before  us.  As  would  be  anticipated 
by  all  who  know  anything  of  Dr.  Fairbairn's  wide 
reading  and  dialectical  skill,  the  discussion  of  the 
various  topics  dealt  with  is  conducted  with  con- 
spicuous ability  and  thoroughness. 

Among  the  features  of  special  interest  and  value 
in  this  part  of  the  work,  reference  may  be  made  to 
the  way  in  which  through  the  entire  process  of 
human  evolution,  the  co-ordination  of  the  objective 
and  subjective  factors  is  emphasized  and  ap- 
preciated. Nature  and  personality,  energy  in  the 
universe  and  spontaneity  in  man,  an  external 
intelligible  world  and  intelligence  in  man  com- 
petent to  interpret  it,  and  an  ethical  purpose  and 
trend  in  the  divine  guidance  and  government  of 
history  and  the  mora!  nature  with  which  men  are 
endowed,  are  traced  in  continuous  correspondence 
and  co-operation.  The  congruity  and  kinship  of 
man  and  his  environment,  which  is  really  the  key- 
note of  the  doctrine  of  Evolution,  is  fully  recog- 
nized and  insisted  upon ;  and  yet  the  spiritual  and 

'  T&e  Phitesophy  of  the  ChrisliaH  ReligisK.  By  A.  M. 
FHirb«ini,  D.D.,  LL.D.     Hoddet  &  Stooghlon. 


divine  principle  in  man,  his  intelligence  and 
etbicality,  is  never  regarded  as  absorbed  in  or 
subordinated  to  its  cognate  manifestations  in  the 
external  world. 

The  educative  purpose  and  efficacy  of  the 
various  physical  evils  incident  to  human  life  are 
lucidly  and  suggestively  expounded  in  some  of  the 
most  eloquent  passages  of  the  volume.  In  ex- 
planation of  the  existence  of  moral  evil,  it  is 
contended  that  'if  it  were  good  to  have  moral 
beings  under  moral  law,  evil  must  be  possible.' 
Probably  this  is  as  satisfying  an  attempt  to  solve 
the  mystery  as  any  that  finite  intelligence  can 
suggest,  though  the  dtclum  upon  which  it  rests 
will  seem  to  some  minds  to  preclude  too  dog- 
matically the  possibility  of  the  existence,  in  other 
realms  of  the  wide  universe  of  God,  of  moral 
beings  not  exposed  even  to  the  risk  of  moral  evil. 
Dr.  Fairbairn's  further  contention  that  'to  allow 
evil  to  become  and  continue  without  any  purpose 
of  redemption,  were  to  us  an  absolutely  incon- 
ceivable act  in  a  good  and  holy  and  gracious 
God,'  is  of  less  questionable  validity. 

The  section  treating  of  the  Evolution  of  Religion 
is  an  extremely  valuable  one,  especially  in  its 
application  of  the  principle  of  reciprocity  between 
man  and  his  environment,  to  the  mutual  character 
of  the  relation  which  the  human  consciousness 
recognizes  between  suprasensible  being  and  him- 
self. Religion  is  thus  shown  to  be  not  a  mere 
subjective  process,  but  one  'in  which  man's  whole 
environment  takes  part,'  as  the  medium  through 
which  his  Maker  is  continuously  exercising  in- 
fluence over  him. 

The  examination  of  the  manifold  forms  of 
religion  and  the  consideration  of  the  secondary 
causes  of  the  variety  in  the  phenomena  of  religion 
is  full  of  interest  and,  for  the  most  part,  is  illum- 
inating and  convincing.  But  on  one  point,  and 
that  a  point  somewhat  vital  to  the  main  argument 
of  the  work,  it  may  be  doubted  whether  the  view 
advanced  can  be  maintained.  In  chap.  8  of 
bk.  i..  Dr.  Fairbairn  contends  that  'founded 
religions  constitute  a  classor  order  by  themselves' 
— a  founded  religion  being  one  'whose  ultimate 
truth  is  a  historical  person  speculatively  construed.' 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


541 


For  this  class  he  claims,  in  addition  to  Christianity, 
Buddhism  and  Islam. 

Spontaneous  or  impersonal  religions  'are  not 
the  work  of  any  one  man  or  any  special  body  of 
men,  but  rather  of  oui  common  nature,' and  'may 
be  termed  apotheoses  of  Nature,'  whilst  founded 
religions  'may  be  described  as  apotheoses  of 
personality.'  The  author  admits  that  there  is 
needed  for  the  creation  of  a  personal  religion,  'a 
historical  background  or  a  fit  ancestry,'  and  'a 
congenial  society  or  environmeDt  upon  or  within 
which  the  genius  may  operate.'  But  it  was,  it 
is  urged, '  the  transcendental  interpretation  of  its 
founder,  his  apotheosis,  as  we  have  termed  it, 
which  made  Buddhism  a  religion.'  'On  the  one 
side  he  personified  the  moral  energies  of  the 
universe ;  on  the  other  he  became  the  governing 
ideal  and  example  of  human  duty,  the  humanity  of 
the  standard  making  the  ethics  humane.' 

In  the  case  of  Islam,  its  'primary  belief  is 
not  the  unity  of  God,  but  the  apostolate  of 
Mohammed.'  'His  authority  was  ultimate,  for 
through  him  God  had  finally  and  fully  spoken,  and 
only  through  him  could  God  be  really  known.' 
These  are  undoubtedly  significant  and  char- 
acteristic features  of  these  two  great  religious 
systems ;  but  the  emphasis  placed  upon  these 
features  as  a  principiunt  divisionis  by  which  these 
religions  are  brought  into  a  class  by  themselves 
(along  with  Christianity)  has  too  much  the  appear- 
ance of  the  exaggeration  of  special  pleading  with 
a  view  to  the  line  of  exposition  to  be  pursued  in 
the  second  part  of  the  work.  Notwithstanding 
all  that  is  said  respecting  the  relation  of  Moses  to 
the  religion  of  Israel,  the  difference  between  the 
function  of  one  who  is  described  as  '  not  only  its 
lawgiver,  but  its  prophet,  as  indeed  (be  greatest 
because  the  first  of  the  prophets,  the  type  of  the 
ideal  servant  of  God  whose  voice  men  were  to  hear 
and  obey,'  and  the  founder  of  Islam,  is  not  so 
obvious  or  marked.  And  hero-worship  has,  of 
course,  had  a  place,  even  to  the  extent  of 
apotheosis,  in  connexion  with  other  religions 
besides  Buddhism. 

The  second  part  of  the  work  applies  the 
principles  formulated  in  the  first  part  to  the 
relation  of  the  Founder  of  the  Christian  religion 
to  the  religion  which  He  founded.  The  life  of 
Jesus  is  examined  not  simply  as  a  historical  event 
recorded  in  biblical  literature,  but  with  a  view  to 
the  discovery  of  the  seeds  and  causes  of  the 


thought  and  belief  in  which  the  Christian  religion 
essentially  consists.  The  question  to  be  investi- 
gated is  stated  thus :  '  Can  it  be  claimed  for  His 
Person  that,  as  interpreted  in  the  apostolic 
writings,  it  made  an  absolute  and  ideal  religion 
possible?'  It  is  pointed  out  that  the  Gospel 
narratives  were  written  after  the  interpretative 
process  was  well  advanced,  and  by  men  who  read 
the  life  in  terms  of  the  supernatural.  To  the 
evangelists  Jesus  was  'a  Being  who  transcends 
Nature  even  while  He  lives  under  the  forms,  and 
subject  to  the  conditions,  of  the  Nature  He  trans- 
cends.' With  this  part  of  the  argument.  Dr. 
Faiibaim  deals  in  a  remarkably  fresh  and  sug- 
gestive fashion,  pointing  out  that  the  supernatural 
power  with  which  Jesus  is  credited  and  the 
miraculous  acts  He  is  said  to  have  performed  are 
never  represented  as  rendering  Him  'anomalous 
or  abnormal,  but  as  leaving  Him  simple  and 
rational  and  real.'  He  never  ceases  to  be  like 
unto  His  brethren  nor  to  be  dependent  upon 
God.  Moreover,  His  supernatural  power  is  always 
held  in  control  by  the  perfect  righteousness  and 
beneficence  of  His  moral  nature.  '  Men  think 
Him  so  possessed  by  a  moral  will  that  they  do  not 
feel  fear  in  a  presence  they  believe  to  be  super- 
natural. He  is  more  marvellous  for  the  grace  He 
impersonates  than  for  the  miracles  He  accom- 
plishes. He  was  higher  as  a  moral  miracle  than 
as  a  physical  power.'  And  further,  whilst  the 
ideal  of  ethical  character  which  Jesus  embodies  is 
unique,  original,  catholic,  and  transcendently 
perfect,  He  is  still  truly  human,  'not  so  much 
taken  out  of  humanity  as  placed  at  its  head,  and 
so  becomes  the  First-born  among  many  brethren.' 
Closely  connected  with  the  view  taken  of  the 
life  and  work  of  Jesus  by  the  evangelists  is  the 
light  in  which,  as  gathered  from  the  Memoirs, 
Jesus  seems  to  have  regarded  Himself  and  His 
special  function  in  religion.  The  claims  which 
He  makes  '  represent  a  sovereignty  which  only  a 
singular  and  pre-eminently  privileged  relation  to 
the  Father  could  justify.'  Christ's  view  of  His 
death  combines.  Dr.  Fairbaim  contends,  two 
distinct  elements.  'From  the  idea  of  death  He 
never  shrinks ;  He  contemplates  it  calmly,  speaks 
of  it  with  the  serene  dignity  of  one  who  knew  that 
the  most  tragic  moment  of  His  life  was  at  once 
His  own  supreme  choice  and  the  real  end  of  His 
being.  But  when  He  knows  its  mode,  and  thinks 
of  the  agents  it  needed,  His  feeling  changes,  and 


54^ 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


His  speech  is  charged,  now  with  admonition  and 
judgment,  now  with  pity  and  regret.'  'The 
antecedent  of  the  agony  was  not  the  idea  of  death, 
but  the  feeling  is  to  its  means  and  agents.' 
Christ's  thought  as  to  the  result  to  be  attained  by 
His  death,  as  it  found  expression  in  the  words 
spoken  at  the  Last  Supper,  is  expounded  in 
accordance  with  the  significance  of  the  Paschal 
Limb,  whose  blood  was  not  shed  to  propitiate 
a  vengeful  Deity,'  but  as  'the  seal  of  a  mercy 
which  had  been  shown  and  was  now  claimed,  not 
the  purchase  of  a  mercy  which  was  withheld  and 
roust  be  bought.'  The  blood  shed  for  many 
denotes  that  'the  inner  obedience  which  is 
accomplished  by  His  spirit'  becoming 'a  fact  of 
their  history,  and  a  factor  of  their  new  experience,' 
sets  them  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death,  and 
AS  the  inspiration  of  a  new  and  spiritual  life  pro- 
duces in  them  a  character  increasingly  conformed 
to  all  righteousness  and  goodness.  'Christ  is  the 
end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to  every  one  that 
believeth.'  The  frank  statement  by  a  theologian 
of  the  eminence  and  ability  of  Dr.  Fairbairn,  of 
what  may  be  called  the  dynamic  theory  of  the 
atoning  efficacy  of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  may  be 
commended  to  any  who  are  still  enthralled  by 
judicial  notions  as  to  the  meaning  and  purpose  of 
the  Saviour's  death. 

The  discussion  naturally  passes  next  to  the 
inquiry,  'What  idea  had  the  men  who  followed 
Jesus,  the  apostles  and  the  apostolic  writers,  of 
His  person i*  How  did  this  idea  come  to  be?' 
The  teaching  of  the  Epistles  of  Paul,  the 
Apocalypse,  and  the  Gospel  by  John  is  ac- 
cordingly briefly  reviewed  with  a  view  to  arrive 
at  their  interpretation  of  the  Person  of  Christ. 
Paul  is  shown  to  have  conceived  Jesus  '  as  the 
Son  of  God,  not  officially  nor  figuratively,  but 
essentially,  i.e.  as  Himself  Divine.'  It  is  argued 
that  whilst  Christ's  'potency  to  command 
obedience  and  to  inspire  with  the  love  that  was 
willing  for  His  sake  to  endure  the  loss  of  all  things 
and  even  of  life  itself,'  had  its  place  and  value  as 
the  subjective  factor  in  the  formation  of  this  con- 
ception, its  true  historical  source  was  the  mind  of 
Christ  Himself,  'the  expression  of  His  own  con- 
sciousness touching  His  own  being.' 

In  a  too  brief  section  Dr.  Fairbairn  then  pro- 
ceeds to  expound  the  thesis  which  will  be  regarded 
probably  by  some  earnest  seekers  after  truth  as  the 
weak  point  in  the  entire  argument — that  'the  idea 


as  to  the  Person  of  Christ  created  the  Christian 
religion.  That  religion  is  built  upon  the  belief 
that  He  was  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God.' 
'  What  made  the  religion  was  the  significance  His 
Person  had  for  thought,  the  way  in  which  it  lived 
to  faith,  the  mode  in  which  it  interpreted  to  reason 
God  and  the  universe,  man  and  history.' 

The  meagreness  of  the  treatment  of  this  point  is 
certainly  to  be  regretted.  The  author,  no  doubt 
wisely,  avoids  any  metaphysical  discussion  of  the 
essential  nature  of  the  Person  of  Christ,  but  it 
would  have  been  satisfactory  if  he  had  explaiiied 
somewhat  more  definitely  what  is  to  be  understood 
by  the  idea  of  the  Person  of  Christ  which  created, 
as  He  holds,  the  religion  that  He  founded. 
Professor  Hamack,  for  instance,  in  his  fVia/  is 
Christianity  f  agrees  that  Jesus  describes  Himself 
as  the  'Son  of  God';  but  the  interpretation 
which  he  puts  upon  that  term  is  very  different  from 
that  which  is  formulated  in  the  ecclesiastical 
Creeds.  'The  Gospel,'  he  asserts,  '  as  Jesus 
proclaimed  it,  has  to  do  with  the  Father  only,  and 
not  with  the  Son.' 

Moreover,  it  may  well  be  doubted,  even  by 
those  who  have  no  hesitation  in  accepting  in  the 
fullest  sense  the  conception  of  the  essential  Deity 
of  Christ,  whether  any  idea  of  His  person  is  to  be 
recognized  as  the  fundamental  and  formative  one 
of  the  Christian  religion.  In  the  chapter  on  'The 
Death  of  Christ  and  Christian  Worship,'  it  is 
affirmed  that  'the  function  which  apostolic 
thought  assigns  to  His  death  can  be  belter 
described  as  an  institution  than  as  a  doctrine,' 
and  in  some  eloquent  pages  of  exposition  it  is 
shown  how  the  Apostle  Paul  'translated  the 
Person  who  had  been  made  the  sole  religious 
institution  into  a  sovereign  and  sufficient  divine 

The  question  that  may  be  raised  is.  Was  it  the 
idea  of  the  Person  that  was  thus  translated  into 
the  formative  principle  of  the  religion  ?  or.  Was  it 
the  grace  of  God  which  Christ  proclaimed  and 
which  was  manifested  to  men  in  and  through  Hii 
life  and  death  which  really  made  and  constituted 
the  Christian  religion,  from  which,  in  turn,  human 
thought  deduces,  as  a  more  or  less  necessary 
corollary,  the  highest  possible  conception  of  Him 
by  whom  this  Gospel  message  has  been  mediated 
and  brought  home  to  the  hearts  and  consciences 
of  men? 

In  the  closing  pages  of  the  work.  Dr.  Fairbairn 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES 


543 


seems  himself  to  endorse  the  latter  view  as  to  the 
'relation  between  His  pcison  and  the  function  He 
has  actualljr  fulfilled  in  history.'  'Causes  are 
known,'  he  says,  'in  their  effects,  for  cause  and 
effect  ever  correspond  in  quality  and  characti 


And  so,  all  who  know  the  grace  and  power  of     truth.' 


Christ  may  be  justilied  in  expressing  their  con- 
ception of  Him  in  the  biblical  formula,  '  The 
Word  became  flesh  and  dwelt  amongst  us,  and 
we  beheld  His  glory,  a  glory  as  of  the  only 
begotten    from    the   Father,   full    of  grace   and 


(F^c^nf   ^ovti^n   Zitoioc^^. 


foniens  unb  ^eegrienB/' 

Not  long  ago  it  was  announced  in  these  columns 
that  a  German  edition  of  Professor  Jastrow's  well- 
known  Religion  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria  was  in 
the  press.  The  first  issue,  running  to  So  pages, 
has  reached  us,  and  we  have  read  it  with  eager 
interest,  anxious  to  ascertain  what  judgment  its 
author  has  formed  upon  certain  questions  that 
have  arisen  or  have  been  thrown  into  a  new  light 
by  discoveries  that  have  taken  place  since  the 
English  edition  of  his  work  was  given  to  the 
public.  It  goes  without  saying  that  Professor 
Jaslrow  appreciates  to  the  full  the  value  of  the 
work  of  the  Pennsylvanian  University  at  Nippur 
and  the  excavations  of  de  Sarzec  at  Telloh,  and 
that  he  takes  account  of  the  historical  investiga- 
tions of  Winckler,  Hilprecht,  Scheil,  Thureau- 
Dangin,  Price,  and  others.  Fuller  materials  have 
'been  supplied  also  by  the  publication  of  King's 
Lttiers  and  Inscriptions  of  Hammara/ii,  3  vols. 
<London  1898-1900);  the  Cuneiform  Texts  from 
Babylonian  Tablets  in  the  British  Museum  (London, 
1896);  and  by  the  numerous  additions  made  to 
the  religious  literature  by  such  Assyriologists  as 
Delitzsch,  Haupt,  Hommel,  Zimmern,  Jensen, 
Jeremias,  Knudtzon,  Craig,  Boissier,  Johns,  and 
Thomson. 

In  his  Preface  the  author  informs  us  of  the 
principles  he  has  kept  steadily  in  view  throughout 
his  work.  One  of  these  is  admirably  fitted  to  gain 
the  confidence  of  the  reader,  the  principle,  namely, 
of  adapting  such  results  only  as  have  found  general 
acceptance,  and  may  thus  be  regarded  as  final.  Pro- 
fessor Jastrow  is  careful,  too,  to  remind  us  again 

'  Dit  Rdigiott  BahylonitHS  tiiid  AnyrUns.  Von  M, 
Jaxliow,  jun.  Giessen  :  J.  Rieket,  1902,  Lieferungi.  Price 
M.I.50.     Price  of  work,  when  complete,  about  155. 


and  again  that  the  time  has  not  yet  come  for 
writing  an  exhaustive  history  of  the  Babylonian 
and  Assyrian  religion.  This  will  be  the  task  of 
the  children  or,  it  may  be,  the  grandchildren  of 
the  present  generation  of  Assyriologists.  Yet  the 
store  of  materials  at  our  command  is  a  very  rich 
one,  and  the  more  fully  these  are  examined,  the 
more  clearly  do  we  see  that  their  study  is  indis- 
pensable for  the  proper  understanding  of  the  Old 
Testament. 

The  first  instalment  of  this  great  work  is  made 
up,  in  nearly  two-thirds  (50  pages)  of  its  extent, 
of  introductory  matter,  regarding  the  history  of 
Babylonia  and  Assyria,  with  an  account  of  the 
material  available  for  a  description  of  their  religion. 
The  story  of  the  excavations,  etc.,  of  the  past 
sixty  years  has  never  been  told  in  a  more  lucid 
and  interesting  manner,  and  the  account  of  the 
land  and  the  people,  whose  civilization  probably 
goes  back  to  at  least  4500  B.C.,  is  all  that  could  be 
desired.  Then  comes  chap.  4,  entitled  '  Die 
Babylonische  Cotter  vor  Hammurabi,'  in  which 
the  author  proceeds  to  tell  us  all  that  is  known, 
from  that  stage  of  Babylonian  historj',  about  the 
cult  of  En-lil  or  Bel,  Ea,  Sin,  etc.  etc.  P.  80 
ends  in  the  middle  of  a  sentence  belonging  to  the 
section  on  Nina,  and  we  shall  have  to  wait  for  the 
appearance  of  part  ii.  to  continue  our  study  of  the 
Babylonian  Pantheon.  These  80  pages  have  only 
served  to  whet  our  appetite  for  more. 

We  may  touch  on  one  point  in  a  little  more 
detail.  The  great  'Sumerian  question,*  10  which 
we  presume  Dr.  Jastrow  will  return  later  in  his 
work,  is  presented  to  us  (pp.  18  ff.)  clearly  by 
our  author,  whose  impartiality  and  freedom  from  , 
dogmatism  are  very  striking.  He  points  out  both 
the  strength  and  the  weakness  of  the  traditional 
opinion  that  the  cuneiform  style  of  writing  am 
many  other  elements  of  civilization  were  borrow© 


544 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


by  the  Semite  settlers  in  Babylonia  from  an 
older  Don-Semitic  race,  the  so-called  Sumerians. 
He  does  full  justice  to  the  opposite  contention 
(originally  put  forward  by  Joseph  Hal6vy)  that 
the  most  ancient  civilization  of  Babylonia  can  be 
explained  without  calling  in  the  aid  of  the  supposed 
Sumerian  factor.  It  must  be  conceded,  in  any 
case,  that  the  most  ancient  Babylonian  literature, 
even  what  is  composed  in  the  ideographic  style, 
emanates  from  the  Semite  settlers.  On  the  other 
hand,  indications  arc  not  wanting  which  point  to 
the  presence  of  an  early  mixture  of  races  in 
S.  Babylonia,  and  it  is  possible  that  the  oldest 
form  of  picture  writing,  as  practised  in  this  region, 
from  which  the  Babylonian  cuneiform  is  derived, 
was  employed  by  a  non-Semitic  people.  The 
problem,  in  short,  cannot,  in  our  author's  opinion, 
be  regarded  as  a  chose Jugee,  and  its  solution  must 
be  sought  by  taking  into  account  archaeological 
and  anthropological  as  welt  as  philological  con- 
siderations. Jules  Oppert,  whom  Jastrov  calls 
the  'Nestor  of  cuneiform  studies,'  was  the  first  to 
put  forward  definitely  the  Sumerian  hypothesis, 
which  still  receives  the  suffrages  of  the  majority  of 
scholars,  including  names  lilce  those  of  Weissbach, 
Zimmern  (latterly),  Sayce,  Hommel,  etc.  etc.  But 
Hal^vy  rallied  to  his  banner  such  eminent  French 
Assyriologists  as  Stanislaus  Guyard,  Thureau- 
Dangin,  and  Pognon ;  in  Germany  his  theory  has 
been  championed  by  A.  Jeremias,  Jager,  and  (at 
one  time)  Frd.  Delitzsch ;  while  America  has 
sent  him  the  support  of  Professors  Price  and 
McCurdy.  Under  these  circumstances  it  will  be 
wise  for  non-experts  to  keep  an  open  mind  on 
this  question.  J.  A.  SEtJtiE. 

Afajycullir. 


nVeiBB  on  (^arft  anb  £ufte.> 

The  appearance  of  this  book  is  a  remarkable 
testimony  to  the  appreciation  which  is  still  won 
by  the  sober  and  careful  exegesis  of  Meyer,  whose 
tradition  has  been  faithfully  maintained  by  the 
veteran  scholar,  B,  Weiss.  Most  students  of  the 
N.T.  know  what  to  expect  in  Weiss.  They  are 
sure  to  find  accurate  scholarship,  cautious  judg- 
^  KriHitk-exegelinher  Kommmtar  uber  d.  N.T.  Be- 
grtlndet  von  H.  A.  W.  Merei.  Die  Evangtlun  des  Markup 
und  Lukas.  9  Auflage.  Von  Dr.  Bernhiid  Weiss. 
GottinKen  -.  Vsndechoeck  u.  Ruprecht ;  Glasgow ;  F. 
BuenneUter,  1901.     Pp.  i»,  694.     rriceSa. 


ment,  minute  attention  to  details.  These  good 
qualities  are  accompanied  by  a  dry  style  of  writing 
and  a  considerable  lack  of  historical  imagination. 
In  the  commentaries  on  the  Gospels,  valuable  as 
they  are,  we  miss  discussions  of  those  matters 
pertaining  to  biblical  theology  which  constantly 
present  themselves.  Further,  in  view  of  recent 
critical  investigations  affecting  the  historicity  of 
the  narratives,  we  might  expect  a  careful  handling 
of  the  questions  at  issue.  For  these  have  a  most 
direct  bearing  on  the  credentials  of  the  Christian 
faith.  But  Weiss,  as  a  rule,  passes  them  by  in 
silence.  At  the  same  time  we  may  be  confident 
that  no  fA:ir^«/iVa/ difficulty  will  be  shirked.  Indeed, 
the  exegesis  is  apt  at  times  to  be  so  detailed  as  to 
leave  an  impression  of  pedantry.  But  in  this  last 
respect  the  volume  before  us  shows  a  marked 
advance  beyond  some  other  sections  of  Meyer 
which  Weiss  has  revised. 

The  special  characteristics  of  this  edition  are 
described  in  the  Preface.  In  the  critical  notes 
particular  attention  has  been  given  to  Cod.  D  and 
the  texts  akin  to  it.  This  is  a  valuable  feature  in 
view  of  the  prominence  lately  assigned  to '  Western ' 
readings.  The  exposition  of  Mark  remains  sub- 
stantially the  same  as  in  the  former  edition,  the 
main  difference  being  the  references  made  to 
recent  commentaries.  The  treatment  of  Lukt  is 
completely  new.  The  eighth  edition  of  Meyer's 
commentary  on  that  Gospel  was  revised  by 
Professor  Johannes  Weiss,  the  son  of  the  present 
editor.  He  wrote  independently  of  Meyer's  notes. 
B.  Weiss  does  the  same.  But  for  the  sake  of  con- 
tinuity, he  constantly  refers  to  his  son's  edition, 
largely  in  the  way  of  criticism.  Indeed,  their 
theories  as  to  the  composition  of  the  Gospeb 
are  so  divergent  that  the  older  scholar  feels  it 
necessary  to  go  much  more  elaborately  into 
critical  questions  than  has  been  his  custom, 
of  set  purpose,  in  former  revisions  of  Meyer. 
Hence  we  have  a  full  though  concise  introduc- 
tion to  Luke. 

Weiss'  own  standpoint  as  to  the  mutual  relations 
of  the  Synoptic  Gospels  has  long  been  familiar  to 
New  Testament  students.  He  holds  that  all  three 
Gospels  go  back  to  the  Apostolic  Soutce,  while 
Matthew  and  Luke  are  also  dependent  on  Mark 
as  we  have  it.  But  J.  Weiss,  in  ed.  8,  had  adhered 
to  the  theory  of  an  Urmarkus,  in  that  modification 
of  it  adopted  by  Weizsacker.  According  to  this 
hypothesis  the  canonical  Mark  consists   of   the 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


original  Apostolic  Source  plus  comprehensive  sec- 
tions added  by  the  evangelist  J.  Weiss  had  availed 
himself  of  Weizsacker's  theory  to  account  for  the 
considerable  series  of  passages  which  Luke  omits 
with  MatlhoB  as  against  Mark.  The  omission 
of  these  sections  could  be  explained  by  the  fact 
that  they  did  not  belong  to  the  original  Mark, 
which  formed  the  basis  of  the  First  and  Third 
Gospels. 

B.  Weiss  rejects  the  hypothesis  in  toto,  pointing 
out  that  the  supposed  additions,  both  in  style  and 
conception,  are  most  intimately  connected  with  the 
Gospel  of  Mark  as  a  whole.  He  also  controverts 
the  solution  of  the  difficulty  proposed  by  Simons, 
that  Luke  was  influenced  both  consciously  and 
also  through  unconscious  recollection  by  the  text 
of  Matthew  with  which  he  was  acquainted.  His 
main  reason  is  that  if  this  influence  were  present 
at  all,  it  must  have  shown  itself  on  a  far  wider 
scale.  And  to  fortify  his  position  he  draws  atten- 
tion to  the  lavish  use  which  Luke  has  made  of 
Mark.  But  this  seems  a  most  unconvincing  argu- 
ment, for,  as  critics  have  shown,  the  agreement 
between  Luke  and  Matthew  is  only  prominent  in 
discourses,  not  in  narratives  or  in  the  general 
arrangement  of  the  material. 

Weiss  concludes  that  when  Luke  agrees  with 
Matthew  as  against  Mark,  he  has  preserved  the 
plan  of  the  older  source  (p.  357),  which  must 
have  contained  narrative  sections  as  well  as  say- 
ings. He  admits  that  this  explanation  will  not 
suffice  for  alt  the  phenomena,  and  so  he  supple- 
ments it  by  the  ever-convenient  factor  of  oral 
tradition.  Further,  following  J.  Weiss  (in  ed.  8), 
he  assumes  an  additional  source  peculiar  to  Luke 
(designated  L),  to  which  he  assigns  the  material 
divergences  in  a  number  of  groups  of  sayings 
between  him  and  the  First  Gospel.  All  that  can 
be  said  of  L  is,  that,  from  its  linguistic  character, 
it  was  Jewish-Christian ;  from  repeated  references 
to  traditions  collected  in  Judaea,  it  originated  in 
Southern  Palestine;  from  its  presupposition  of 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  it  was  later  than  the 
Apostolic  Source  (Q).  Whether  we  agree  with 
(he  suggested  solutions  of  the  various  problems  or 
not,  the  Introduction  is  valuable  as  presenting  us 
with  the  mature  conclusions  of  a  most  careful  and 
judicious  scholar  in  a  department  of  criticism  to 
which  he  has  devoted  the  energies  of  a  long  and 
strenuous  life.  H.  A.  A.  Kennedy. 

Callandtr. 

i5 


*  %%t  ®.|K>6fofic  faf^CTB." 

This  edition  of  The  Apostolic  Fathers  opens 
with  the  Didaehe,  and  by  SO  doing  records  a  step 
forward  in  our  assured  knowledge  of  the  earliest 
Christian  literature.  Henceforth,  until  some 
earlier  discovery  shall  make  us  glad,  all  editions 
of  the  Fathers  we  believe  will  have  to  begin  with 
the  Didaehe.  This  editor  is  up  to  date,  however, 
not  only  in  the  position  he  definitely  assigns  to  the 
Didaehe,  but  also  in  the  beauty  and  scholarship  of 
his  work.  The  text  is  a  very  careful  one,  differing 
in  several  places  from  Lightfoofs,  in  a  few  places 
from  all  others.  It  is  a  text  that  commends  itself 
for  its  reserve,  taking  the  middle  way,  as  one  might 
say,  in  disputed  places.  We  admit  that  the  maxim, 
in  mediis  tutissima,  has  still  to  fight  for  recogni- 
tion in  textual  criticism,  but  we  have  hope  that  it 
may  win  a  place  yet.  For  if  'the  middle  way' 
means  the  author's  u^ual  manner,  it  is  as  safe  a 
guide  as  the  well  accepted  axiom,  froclivi  leclioni 
praestai  ardua.  The  introductions  are  extremely 
brief,  but  that  is  of  purpose.  There  is  no  room 
for  discussion  in  a  text-book  pure  and  simple. 


'Z%t  %tis  of  till  (BtotfjtB.'" 

This  convenient  and  charming  little  book  opens 
with  an  excellent  bibliography,  which  takes  account 
of  at  least  some  of  the  recent  English  work. 
Gibbon  is  referred  lo  after  the  best  edition,  and 
besides  Ramsay  (whose  initials  are  given  by 
mistake  as  W.  R.  instead  of  W.  M.},  there  is 
mention  made  of  Gregg  and  Hardy  and  Mason. 
Then  at  the  head  of  each  chapter  the  special 
authorities  are  slated.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that 
for  the  martyrdom  of  Polycarp  it  is  considered 
sufficient  to  mention  Zahn  and  T.ightfoot.  And  it 
is  sufficient.  Fuuk's  convenient  manual  edition  of 
The  Apostolic  Fathers  having  been  published  sim- 
ultaneously with  the  present  work,  and  Hilgenfeld's 
splendid  edition  of  Polycarp  still  later.  There  are 
no  introductions.  The  bibliography  and  the  text 
are  enough. 

'  Die  Aposiclischcn  VdUr.  Ilenuigegcben  von  F.  X, 
Fank.  Tubingen  und  Lcipiig  :  J.  C.  B.  Mohr.  London  : 
Williams  &  NorgXe. 

'  Ausgcaaldlt  Martyreracltn.  Herauigegeben  *on  Lie 
Rudolf  Knopf.  Tubingen  und  Leipiig  1  J.  C.  B.  Mobr. 
London  :  Willi«ins  &  Noigate. 


546 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


Two  additions  have  recently  been  made  to  von 
Gebhardt  and  Harnack's  '  Texte  und  Untersuch- 
ungen  zur  Geschichte  der  Altchrist lichen  Literatur ' 
(Leipzig:  J,  C.  Hinrichs).  The  one  is  the 
Ethiopic  text  of  The  Book  of  Enoch,  edited  by  Dr. 
Joh.  Flemming  of  Bonn ;  the  other,  Books  vi,  and 
vii.  of  Eusehiu^  Church  History,  according  to  the 
Armenian  version,  edited  by  Erwin  PreuBchen. 
They  form  the  first  and  second  parts  of  vol.  vii.  in 
the  new  series. 


There  is  much  stir  in  Germany  at  present  among 
the  early  Fathers.  At  home  we  have  scarcely 
gathered  courage  to  unsettle  Lightfoot  yet.  The 
Germans  have  much  respect  for  Lightfoot  also, 
but  not  to  paralysis  of  the  brain.  Three  editors 
are  constantly  quoted  by  Hilgenfeld,  and  Lightfoot 
is  one  of  them.  But  he  do^s  not  stay  to  apologize 
ere  he  differs  from  Lightfoot,  whether  in  text  or  in 
interpretation.  And  he  does  differ  frequently 
from  him  in  both.  In  the  very  first  note,  the  note 
on  the  name  'Thophoros,'  used  by  Ignatius  of 
himself,  he  differs  from  Lightfoot,  as  well  as  from 
Zahn  and  Funk,  the  other  editors  whom  he  quotes 
most  frequently.  For  he  will  not  have  it  that 
Ignatius  used  this  simply  as  a  proper  name.  It 
carried  its  own  meaning  to  his  mind.  He  points 
out  that  Ignatius  himself,  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Magnesians  (i.  z),  recalls  the  very  occasion  from 
which  he  derived  the  surname.  And  he  says  that  it 
definitely  designated  him  '  confessor  and  martyr.' 

Again  he  differs  from  the  editors,  and  this  time 
from  his  own  past  self  also,  in  the  rendering  of 
iTwSiSo<rKaAiT)7s  in  Ignatius,  in/  Eph.  lii.  i.  Light- 
foot translates  '  [For]  now  am  I  beginning  to  be  a 
disciple ;  and  I  speak  to  you  as  to  my  school- 
fellows *  (cvv  [yop]  apxV  ^X"  '""''  ^a^TToJfcrSiM  kqi 
n'p«0'XitXw  v/ui'  us  <rvi'Si&io'KaAiTat;  pav).  But  this 
is  simply  <rt>i'SiSa<rKa\oif.  '  I  did  not  notice,'  says 
Hilgenfeld,  '  that  (ruvStSoirKaAirTE  must  mean 
"teacher"  here,  even  though  1  saw  that  in  the 
same  sentence  Ignatius  calls  himself  a  learner 
{fia^tv«r0iu)  at  the  Ephesians'  feet.'  He  now 
sees  that  Ignatius  surpasses  Barnabas  in  humility, 
who  simply  spoke  of  himself  as  of^  an  StSa'o-ira^os, 
oAA'  uit  (U  ii  vf^v.    Ignatius  says  he  is  not  even 

'  Ignalii  Antieekani  it  Pelyiatfi  Smyrnaei  Epislutat  el 
Martyria.  Edidit  «t  adnotalionibut  iiutruijt  Adolphus 
HiJgenfeld.     Berlin  :  Schwetichke,  190Z. 


a  schoolfellow  of  the  Ephesians ;   they  are  his 
teachers. 

Hilgenfeld  has  neither  joy  nor  sorrow  in  differ- 
ing from  Lightfoot  or  any  other  editor.  He  makes 
his  own  investigations  and  draws  his  own  infer- 
ences. His  work  is,  of  course,  in  constant  refer- 
ence with  other  work,  and  he  carefully  records  the 
agreements  and  the  differences.  But  tbey  do  not 
trouble  him.  With  confidence  and  independence 
he  proceeds  on  his  own  way,  making  his  edition  of 
Ignatius  and  Polycarp  refreshing  and  indispen- 
sable. 


•for  §(uphK  Qlig^fe.*' 

We  have  happily  had  no  sleepless  nights  lo 
weather  since  this  little  book  came,  but  it  has 
given  us  some  very  pleasant  waking  hours.  There 
is  a  single  thought  for  every  night,  quite  enough  to 
keep  one  awake,  for  it  is  a  real  thought,  and  often 
quite  fresh  as  well  as  searching.  So  the  purpose 
is  not  to  send  the  wakeful  to  sleep,  but  to  give 
them  something  to  think  about. 

Dr.  Wimmer,  the  author  of  I>as  Leben  im  Litkl, 
has  written  a  small  volume  of  '  Religious  Letters' 
to  which  he  has  given  the  title  of  Geviissensjragen 
(Tiibingen und  Leipzig;  J.  C.  B.  Mohr ;  London: 
Williams  &  Norgate). 

Professor  Bois  of  Montauban  has  written  an 
essay  on  Le  Sentiment  Religieux,  which  is  pub- 
lished by  Fischbacher  of  Paris. 


From  the  publishing  house  of  J.  C.  Hinrichs  in 
Leipzig  has  come  the  second  volume  of  the  second 
edition  of  Weiss's  '  Commentary  on  the  New 
Testament.'  It  contains  the  Pauline  Epistles  and 
the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  {Die  Eaulinischen 
Brie/e  und  der  Hebrderbrief,  1902,  M.8).  It  does 
not  need  formal  review.  Weiss  is  known,  and  his 
way  of  carefully  revising  all  his  work  is  known  also. 
The  new  edition  is  a  new  book. 

The  fourth  and  final  Heft  of  the  '  Bibliograpbie ' 
(for  1901),  published  in  connexion  with  the  Thcs- 

'  Fiir  ScklaJiBse  Naihli.  \'on  Profesiot  Dr.  C,  Hilty. 
Leipzig :  J.  C.  Hinrichs. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


547 


logische  Rundschau  {Tiibingen :  J.  C.  B.  Mohr), 
reached  us  recently.  The  four  quarterly  issues  of 
this  list  of  theological  literature  have  been  pre- 
pared with  much  care  by  Lie.  Wilhelm  Luekcn, 
pastor  at  Bardewisch  (Oldenburg).  The  contents 
are  arranged  under  the  heads  of:  (L)  Exegetische 
Tbeologie ;  (ii.)  Historiscbe  Theologie ;  (iii.) 
Systemaiische  Theologie;  (iv.)  Praktische  Theo- 
logie; and  an  Index  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  Heft 
gives  appropriate  subdivisions  of  these,  with  the 
necessary  references.  The  work,  which  is  a  worthy 
companion  to  the  well-known  Rundschau,  may  be 
heartily  commended  to  students  of  theology  in 
any  of  its  departments. 

The  current  (fourth  year's)  issue  of  Der  AiU 
Orient  devotes  Heft  i  to  '  Die  Heititer '  (Leipzig : 
J.  C.  Hinrichs ;  price  60  pfennigs).  The  work  is 
from  the  competent  pen  of  Dr.  Leopold  Messer- 
schmidt.  Readers  of  The  Expository  Times  do 
not  need  to  be  told  that  there  are  Hittite  problems, 
and  in  particular  that  the  decipherment  of  the 
Hittite  inscriptions  has  been  the  subject  of  pro- 
longed controversy  on  the  part  of  such  scholars  as 
Jensen,  Hommel,  and  Sayce,  not  to  mention  a 
host  of  others.  Professor  Sayce's  paper  in  the 
August  number  will  have  shown  thai,  upon  his 
system  of  deciphering  the  signs,  there  is  still  a 
large  unknown  field,  even  if  one  were  inclined  to 
accept  of  certain  alleged  results  as  demonstrated. 
Messerschmidt,  whose  tractate  appeared  before 
Professor  Sayce's  paper  was  read  to  the  S.B.A., 
speaks  with  the  utmost  caution  of  the  success 
of  attempts  at  decipherment.  By  the  aid  of 
facsimiles  of  some  of  the  inscriptions,  he  makes  it 
very  plain  to  every  reader  how  difficult  and  com- 
plicated the  problem  is.  But  there  are  many 
subjects  connected  with  the  Hittites  on  which  it  is 
possible  to  speak  with  a  fair  amount  of  confidence, 
and  no  better  summary  could  be  desired  than  this 
little  work  gives  us  of  all  that  is  known  of  the 
history  of  this  remarkable  people  or  group  of 
peoples,  their  ethnological  characteristics,  their 
dress,  their  military  system,  their  religion,  and 
their  attainments  in  art 

Professor  Bertholet  of  Basel  is  well  known  to 
our  readers,  especially  for  his  contributions  to  the 
great  O.T.  scries  known  as  the  Kurztr  Hand- 
fomm^fi'ar,  published  by  J.  C.  B.  Mohr  of  Tiibingen. 
The  same  publisher  has  just  issued  Buddhismus 


und  ChrisUntum  (price  M.  1.30),  being  a  some- 
what expanded  form  of  a  lecture  delivered  by  Dr. 
Bertholet  to  the  students  at  Basel,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  'Christliche  Scudentenvereinigung 
der  deutschen  Schweii '  in  May  of  this  year.  We 
need  not  say  that  there  are  special  reasons  why, 
at  the  present  day,  the  great  religion  known  as 
Buddhism  excites  widespread  interest  Ourauthor 
exhibits  very  dearly  the  affinities  between  it  and 
Christianity,  although,  with  Kuenen  and  others,  he 
denies  any  direct  influence  of  the  Buddha  legend 
upon  the  primitive  Christian  system.  Far  more 
striking  are  the  differences  between  the  two 
religions,  as  Dr.  Bertholet  shows  in  a  very  satis- 
factory and  convincing  manner.  The  capacity  of 
Christianity  to  be  a  universal  religion  is  well 
illustrated,  as  well  as  the  limitations  of  Buddhism, 
which,  in  spite  of  its  wonderful  spread,  always  fails 
to  adapt  itself  to  a  certain  stage  of  human  progress. 
Many  readers  will  feel  grateful  to  our  author  for 
the  stirring  inspiring  language  with  which  he  closes, 
and  his  logical  optimism  as  to  the  future  of  Chris- 
tianity. We  trust  that  his  lecture  will  find  its  way 
into  many  hands.        

A  work  that  will  meet  a  felt  want  has  been 
prepared  by  Professor  Kraetzschmar  of  Marburg. 
Its  title  is  Hebrdisches  Vokabular  (Tiibingen ; 
Mohr;  London:  Williams  &  Norgate;  price  is, 
net).  It  is  well  known  to  every  one  who  has 
learned,  or  is  learning,  Hebrew,  that  one  of  the 
principal  difficulties  at  the  outset  is  the  retention 
in  one's  memory  of  the  words  that  make  up  the 
Hebrew  vocabulary.  In  passing  from  the  Grammar 
to  the  work  of  reading  the  O.T.,  it  is  very  tiresome 
to  have  to  look  up  words  in  the  lexicon  at  every 
turn.  Now,  it  is  perfectly  true  that  there  is  no 
royal  road  to  learning.  Patience  and  hard  work 
will  be  demanded  of  the  student  upon  any  system. 
But  we  are  convinced  that  much  valuable  help 
will  be  derived  from  this  work  of  Dr.  Kraetzschmar, 
the  essential  aim  of  which  is  to  give  a  classified 
list  (neither  too  large  nor  too  small)  of  Hebrew 
words,  the  learning  of  which  will  enable  at  least 
the  principal  parts  of  the  O.T.  to  be  read.  The 
use  of  the  list  will,  however,  serve  other  purposes. 
It  will  be  a  useful  companion  to  the  Heb.  Grammar, 
whether  that  of  Gesenius-Kautzsch  (according  to 
whose  divisions  the  classification  of  words  is 
arranged)  or  any  other.  A  very  comprehensive 
list  of  the  various  classes  of  nouns,  verbs,  etc.,  is 


548 


THB  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


thus  supplied  to  the  student  for  practice.  We  feel 
sure  the  work  will  be  adopted  as  a  text-book  by 
teachers  of  Hebrew,  and  that  it  will  prove  a 
welcome  addition  to  the  apparatus  of  the  solitary 
student  Might  the  publisher  and  the  author 
consider  the  advisability  of  increasing  its  chances 
of  success  in  England  and  America  by  giving  it  an 
English  dress?  We  have  a  strong  feeling  that 
such  a  translation  would  be  popular. 

Messrs.  C  A.  Schwetscbke  u.  Sohn's  Tieo- 
lopscher  JahresberUht  has  entered  upon  the  2ist 
year  of  its  existence,  and  we  trust  that  long.con- 
tinued  life  and  success  lie  before  it.  Instead  of 
the  opening  part  being  included  in  a  single  volume 
under  the  title  'Exegese,'  as  formerly,  we  have 
now  two  Abteilungen,  the  first  being  devoted  to 
'  Vorderasiatische  Literatur  und  Ausserbiblische 
^eligionsgeschichte.'  This  is  prepared  by  Beer 
and  Lebmann.  The  second  division  has  for  its 
subject '  Das  Alte  Testament,"  and  has  been  en- 
trusted to  Bruno  Baentsch.  This  new  arrange- 
ment will  be  recognized  to  be  an  improvement 
The  price  of  the  first  part  is  M.3.40,  of  die  second, 
M.  6.50. 


Dives  and  Lazarus. 
The  Parable  of  the  Rich  Man  and  Lazarus  forms 
the  subject  of  a  paper  in  the  current  number  of 
the  Stuiien  und  Kritiktny  The  writer,  Lie.  R. 
Golle  of  Erichsburg,  before  proceeding  to  discuss 
the  question  what  is  the  essential  lesson  of  the 
parable,  remarks  on  two  points  that  have  been  the 
subject  of  dispute.  The  first  is  as  to  the  meaning 
of  the  dAXi  Koi  of  V.*"*.  GoUe  would  agree  with 
the  rendering  '  yea,  even '  of  our  R.V.,  holding 
that  the  licking  of  Lazarus'  sores  by  the  d<^s  is 
presented  as  the  climax  of  his  pitiable  condition. 
The  other  question  is,  whether  in  w.*^-  'Hades' 
is  thought  of  as  a  single  sphere,  divided  into  two 
compartments,  which  is  the  (?  intermediate)  abode 
of  those  who  enjoy  consolation  in  Abraham's 
>  Our  readers  will  learn  with  sincere  regie!  that  one  of  the 
editors  of  Ibis  periodiCRl,  Proressor  Julius  Kostlin,  died  on 
13th  Maj'  last,  at  the  age  of  76.  His  name  wa*  one  that 
cOTnnunded  universal  honour  and  eslecm.  The  surviving 
editor,  Professor  Kautisch,  promises  an  account  of  the  life 
•nd  work  of  his  colleague  in  the  next  number  of  the  5'.  A*. 


bosom  and  of  those  who  are  tormented  (so  Godet, 
and  B.  Weiss  in  Meyet^,  or  whether  it  is  thought 
of  exclusively  as  the  place  of  punishment,  with 
Paradise  opposed  to  it  as  the  abode  of  btiss.  Our 
author  decides  for  the  latter  view. 

But  what  is  the  main  thought  of  the  parable? 
Golle  finds  four  possible  answers  to  this  question. 
(1)  The  emphatic  note  in  the  contrast  between  the 
condition  of  the  two  men  in  this  world  and  in  the 
next,  may  be  change.  The  lesson  would  thus  be 
that  those  who  have  riches  in  this  world  are  not 
to  build  upon  these  as  if  they  guaranteed  their 
happiness  for  time  and  for  eternity.  No  very 
profound  teaching  this,  says  Golle.  (1)  The  con- 
trast may  suggest  the  idea  of  balance,  the  thought 
being  that  God  assigns  to  every  man  only  a  definite 
amount  of  wealth  and  enjoyment  (cf.  v.*^),  so  that 
one  who  has  a  superfluity  of  these  in  this  world 
shall  experience  want  in  the  next  world,  and  vue 
versA  (so  J.  Weiss  in  Meytf").  But  Golle  objects 
that  this  mechanical  action  of  God  towards  men  is 
contrary  to  the  analogy  of  the  N.T.  (3)  The  idea 
of  retribution  may  be  the  underlying  one.  Accord- 
ing to  this  view  (that  of  the  Tiibingen  school),  the 
possession  of  riches  is  thought  of  as  a  sin,  for  which 
Dives  is  punished  in  the  next  world,  whereas  the 
beggar  receives  a  reward  for  the  poverty  he  had 
endured.  The  lesson  to  rich  men  would  thus  be 
to  renounce  their  wealth.  Golle  argues,  however, 
that  this  Ebionite  teaching,  although  it  agrees  in 
the  tetter  with  Lk  6*"-",  cannot  be  accepted  as 
representing  Luke's  view  of  Jesus'  opinion  about 
wealth,  in  face  of  such  passages  as  ij"-*!-", 
t6*-i^-",  not  to  speak  of  the  fact  that  in  this 
very  parable  Abraham,  in  spile  of  his  well-known 
wealth,  holds  the  place  of  honour  in  Paradise. 
(4)  In  the  contrast  between  the  condition  of  the 
two  men  in  the  next  world,  we  may  be  intended  to 
see  A  punishment  ioT  a.n  unnamed  fault  of  conduct, 
that  was  closely  connected  wiih  the  possession  of 
riches,  andarnfan/for  those  moral  qualities  which 
in  Scripture  are  frequently  attributed  to  'the  poor.' 
This  is  the  interpretation  adopted  by  our  author, 
who  argues  that  the  whole  spirit  of  the  parable  is 
in  harmony  with  it. 

It  has  been  urged,  indeed,  notably  by  the 
Tubingen  school,  that  the  original  parable  in- 
cluded only  vv.i*-^, and  that  w.*^*'  (Dives'  request 
on  behalf  of  his  five  brethren,  and  Abraham's 
reply)  are  a  later  addition,  intended  to  transform 
an  Ebionite,  Jewish-Chnstian  discourse  into  an 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


549 


anti- Jewish,  Pauline  one.  The  rich  man,  'who  in 
the  original  intention  of  the  parable  stood  simply 
for  riches,'  became  thus  '  the  type  of  Jewish  un- 
belief in  the  resurrection  of  Jesus.'  Golle  finds  no 
justification  for  this  breaking  up  of  the  present 
form  of  the  parable.  Accordingly,  he  uses  v.**  as 
proof  that  the  rich  man  had  not '  repented.'  Of 
what?  Is  it  unreasonable  to  hold  that  he  had 
succumbed  to  the  temptation,  connected  with  the 
possession  of  wealth,  to  forget  God  !*  And  does 
not  the  parable  suggest  that  his  want  of  love  to 
God  manifested  itself  in  lack  of  love  to  man,  as 
shown  in  his  treatment  of  the  beggar  at  his  gate? 
Not  in  the  way  of  actual  ///-treatment  but  of 
neglect  {cf.  Mt  25*^-  '  For  I  was  an  hungred,  and 
ye  gave  me  no  meat,'  etc.).  In  short,  'the  sin  of 
the  rich  roan,  against  which  Jesus  means  to  warn. 


consisted  in  this,  that  he  found  his  highest  good 
not  in  God  but  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  wealth,  and 
that,  absorbed  in  sclf^njoyment,  he  omitted  those 
acts  of  kindness  that  were  due  to  his  sorely  dis- 
tressed neighbour.  Thus  his  whole  life  can  be 
epitomized  in  the  words:  "There  was  a  certain 
rich  man,  and  he  was  clothed  in  purple  and  fine 
linen,  faring  sumptuously  every  day."  '  Golle  finds 
in  the  parable  a  call  addressed  still  by  Jesus  to 
men  of  wealth,  who  are  to  abandon  or  to  guard 
against  the  sin  of  Dives.  And  he  finds  an  indica- 
tion in  w.*^-''  of  how  his  fate  is  to  be  escaped, 
namely,  by  '  repentance '  and  by  attending  to  the 
teaching  of  '  Moses  and  the  prophets,'  which,  for 
us  Christians,  is  now  supplemented  by  that  of  our 
Lord  and  His  apostles.  J.  A.  Selbie. 

Afary^uUer,  Abcrdttti. 


C$e   (prop^eciee   of  2ec$arta9* 

(1.-V111.) 

By  the  Rev.  T.  M'William,  M.A.,  New  Bvth. 


The  Book  of  Zechariah  must  be  studied  in  parts. 
The  first  eight  chapters  are  linked  together  by 
the  same  individuality,  like  a  dear  range  of 
mountain  peaks  that  ends  in  broken  country, 
or  like  a  vein  of  precious  metal  that  suddenly 
ceases.  Our  present  study  is  concerned  only  with 
these  opening  chapters — the  undoubted  prophecies 
of  the  prophet  Zechariah. 

Zechariah,  the  son  of  Berechiah,  the  son  of 
Iddo,  was  of  a  priestly  family,  and  was  therefore 
sprung  from  a  class  which,  in  camp  and  court,  in 
forum  and  temple,  has  so  often  given  a  nation  its 
foremost  men.  He  was  not  that  Zacharias  spoken 
of  by  our  Saviour  as  slain  by  his  countrymen 
'  between  the  temple  and  the  altar.'  That  was  an 
incident  of  much  later  date.  Our  prophet's  work 
was  distinctly  connected  with  the  rebuilding  of  the 
temple  (520-516  b.c.).  He  was  one  of  the  noble 
band  which  included  the  prophet  Haggai,  who 
saw  that  to  a  laige  extent  the  salvation  of  the 
people  lay  in  the  rebuilding  of  their  temple. 
Haggai,  with  sound  statesmanship,  had  already 
begun  to  emphasize  the  importance  of  the  mortar 
tub.     It  was  our  prophet's  distinct  characteristic 


that  he  threw   the  glamour  of  poetic  spiritual 
thought  round  practical  purpose. 

His  grandfather,  Iddo,  was  one  of  the  leaders  of 
the  p>eople  on  that  glorious  day  when  they  marched 
forth  from  Babylon  under  the  approval  of  the 
Persian  king  Cyrus,  to  return  to  the  old  coun- 
try—  a  name  dearest  and  hohest  to  the  Jew. 
With  most,  the  discovery  of  prosaic  facts  dis- 
pelled the  cherished  dreams  of  years.  The  land 
was  poor;  neighbours  like  the  Samaritans  were 
troublesome ;  the  grand  ceremonial  of  laying  the 
foundation  stone  of  the  new  temple  on  the  first 
days  of  the  Return  (536  b.c.)  had  become  a 
clouded  memory;  for  the  work  was  interrupted 
and  the  people  had  lost  heart.  Already,  however 
(520  B.C.),  the  practical  prophet  Haggai  had 
roused  the  people  from  torpid  misery  to  active 
effort.  Zechariah  came  forth  in  the  same  year  to 
show  them  that  their  work,  if  well  done  and 
followed  up,  would  usher  in  a  golden  age;  and 
we  can  imagine  how  these  toiling  depressed 
workmen,  susceptible  naturally  to  thought  of 
noble  destiny  and  high  spiritual  ideals,  would 
be  thrilled  by  the  word  of  the  young  prophet 


55° 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


who  shared  their  suffering,  and  yet  saw  a  glory 
to  follow. 

Our  object  is  to  bring  this  dreamy  poet- 
prophet,  with  his  lofty  spiritual  ideas  and  his 
practical  puipose,  into  the  sympathetic  apprecia- 
tion of  the  present  day. 

Amos,  Hosea,  Micah,  and  others  had  seen 
God's  action  in  the  big  events  of  their  day. 
Ha^ai  had  prophesied  '  a  shaking  of  the  nations.' 
Zechariah  believed  in  a  God  overruling  human 
history,  but  his  hope  did  not  lie  in  human  means 
so  much  as  in  supernatural.  His  intense  beUef, 
his  previous  associations,  and  above  all,  his  heart- 
hunger  for  the  ideal,  led  him  to  the  dreamy  realms 
of  apocalypse.  This  has  been  regarded  as  a 
declension  in  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  but  surely 
we  have  room  in  our  hearts  for  both  Amos  and 
St.  John.  Believing  as  we  do  in  the  direct  action 
of  the  providence  of  God,  we  have  yet  sympathy 
enough  and  to  spare  for  that  old  refuge  of  de- 
spairing yet  loyal  hearts,  faith  in  the  spiritual  hosts 
of  heaven.  '  Nay  more,  have  we  not  at  any  time 
a  fond  car  for  the  word  and  spell  of  the  poet  who 
lifts  us  from  a  weary  earth  to  thought  of  a  spirit- 
land  encircling  all  ? 


But  it  seemed  as  the   harp  of  Ihe  sky  had  rung. 
And  the  aits  of  heaven  played  round  her  longue, 
When  she  spoke  of  the  lovely  Ibims  she  had  seen, 
And  a  land  where  tin  had  never  been  ; 


Turning  to  practical  treatment  of  these  pro- 
phecies, we  must  realize  in  Zechariah  a  poet-prophet 
whose  comparative  lack  of  faith  in  ordinary  human 
means  evoked  his  faith  in  the  supernatural ;  and 
who,  amongst  the  Minor  Prophets,  virtually  intro- 
duces the  new  apocalyptic  era,  in  which  men  dream 
under  the  shadow  of  spiritual  truth  of  heavenly 
armies  carrying  out  the  will  of  God  upon  earth. 
Very  beautiful  it  often  is,  and  has  given  to  us  the 
Revelation  of  St.  John  and  the  sublime  thoughts 
of  our  own  Milton ;  but  after  all,  we  recognize  that 
we  have  been  introduced  into  the  mystic  realm  of 
the  poet,  and  that  even  beautiful  allegory  is  to 
us  of  less  importance  and  lasting  value  than  the 
real  spiritual  thoughts  taught  through  it.  Zechariah 
undoubtedly  was  no  mere  poetic  religious  dreamer, 
but  a  keen  observer  and  man  of  action,  who  by 


his  temperament  and  belief  called  in  the  aid  of 
allegory  to  enforce  great  spiritual  truths  and 
purposes. 

The  book  opens  with  the  precision  of  history. 
Inspiration  descended  on  Zechariah  in  the  eighth 
month  of  the  second  year  of  the  Persian  king 
Darius  (5x0  b.c). 

Our  prophet  believes  in  God  acting  in  history. 
He  begins  by  summoning  the  people  to  repent- 
ance, and  thereby  proves  himself  a  true  prophet. 
The  past,  he  shows,  is  eloquent  with  warning. 
Repentance  is  a  nation's  first  duty  and  only  hope. 
True  prosperity  is  impossible  and  suffering  in- 
evitable, unless  there  be  a  turning  from  the  evil. 
Let  the  people  turn  to  God  and  He  will  turn  to 
them.  Let  them  learn  from  their  forefathers  who 
had  sinned  and  suffered  by  turning  a  deaf  ear 
to  God's  prophets.  Fathers  and  prophets,  where 
are  they  ?  They  are  but  voices  of  the  past  haunt- 
ing life  with  the  wail  of  warning  ;  '  The  word  of 
God  is  forever  sure — learn  by  our  suffering. 
Whoso  turneth  not  to  Him  must  live  and  suffer 
in  weary  exile.' 

Our  prophet  thus  begins  mournfully  and 
sternly  with  the  strong  everlasting  truth  of  the 
first  necessity  for  spiritual  progress,  namely, 
repentance. 

Next  we  come  to  his  visions,  which  may  be 
stilted  in  form,  but  are  living  with  purpose.  They 
are  all  seen  in  one  night,  the  twenty-fourth  day  of 
the  eleventh  month,  that  is,  almost  three  months 
later  than  the  summons  to  repentance. 

The  first  vision  is  that  of  the  angel-horsemen  in 
the  myrtle  grove.  The  prophet  may  have  seen 
Persian  scouts  meeting  there  near  Jerusalem,  or 
it  may  have  been  simply  the  Persian  courier-posts 
that  suggested  the  thought,  but  to  this  dreamer 
they  become  the  horsemen  of  heaven.  The  scene 
is  a  myrtle  grove  near  Jerusalem.  He  sees  a  man 
on  a  red  horse,  and  behind  him  are  others  on 
horses,  'red,  sorrel,  and  white.'  Addressing  the 
leading  horseman,  who  is  the  Angel  of  the  Lord's 
host,  the  prophet  asks,  'O  my  Lord,  what  are 
these?'  The  prophet's  own  angel  promises  him 
the  interpretation.  The  leader — the  angel  of  the 
Lord — says  that  they  are  God's  hosts.  The  anget- 
horsemen  next  report  that  they  have  returned  from 
worid-wide  scouting,  and,  behold,  the  eanh  is  at 
peace. 

Haggai  had  prophesied  a  'shakings  ,o(  the 
nations '  {x^'-  °').    The  hrs^  answer  is,  that  ti^  euth 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


551 


is  at  peace.  The  angel  of  the  Lord  now  appeals 
for  God's  mercy  on  Jerusalem  and  the  cities  of 
Judah  afflicted  by  Israel's  seventy  years  of  exile, 
and  is  answered  with  comforting  words.  The 
angel  of  the  prophet  bids  him  tell  the  people  that 
God  is  angry  with  the  heathen,  for  they  have  over- 
ridden their  divine  commission.  God,  however, 
has  once  more  made  Jerusalem  His  dwelling-place. 
The  temple  and  Jerusalem  will  be  rebuilt.  Pro- 
sperity and  comfort  are  coming  to  Zion  and  the 
cities  of  Judah.  Zechariah's  aim  is  plain  in  all 
this.  Although  the  earth  may  seem  at  peace,  yet 
God  and  His  horsemen  are  ever  on  the  alert. 
The  oppressors  wil!  yet  be  punished.  Joy  and 
prosperity  are  coming  soon.  Not  an  opportunity 
will  be  neglected  by  the  hosts  of  heaven  to  hasten 
retribution  and  doom  to  the  foe,  and  joyful  reward 
for  over-suffering  to  God's  people. 

That  is  how  Zechariah  regards  Jehovah's  present 
action  in  history.  His  heart-hunger  for  the  ideal 
and  his  positive  conviction  of  the  everlasting 
truthfulness  of  these  two  facts,  that  God  punishes 
wickedness  and  shows  mercy  to  repentant  hearts, 
have  led  him  to  the  quick  solution  that  the 
spiritual  hosts  of  God,  in  whose  presence  he  had 
learned  from  childhood  to  believe,  will  do  what 
his  nation  itself  is  too  weak  to  do. 

The  second  vision — the  four  horns  and  the  four 
carpenters  or  smiths — is  a  sequel  to  the  foregoing. 
The  horns  (of  iron)  were  a  symbol  of  the  heathen 
powers  from  all  quarters  that  had  'tossed  and 
gored'  Israel;  but  equal  power  from  God  would 
yet  break  these  in  pieces. 

The  third  vision  reveals  the  prophet  in  his  true 
light  as  a  prophet  of  peace.  The  predicted  war- 
fare of  the  previous  visions  is  to  be  done,  not  by 
Israel,  but  by  the  hosts  of  heaven. 

He  sees  now  ^  young  man  going  forth  with  a 
mason's  measuring-line,  and  inquires  of  him  his 
purpose.  He  is  told  that  it  is  a  survey  for  the 
rebuilding  of  the  city  on  its  old  lines.  The  inter- 
,  preting  angel  of  the  prophet  at  once  goes  forth,  is 
met  by  another  angel,  and  is  charged  with  an 
urgent  message  to  the  young  man,  that  Jerusalem 
must  not  be  built  on  its  old  lines.  Great  numbers 
will  yet  Row  into  it,  both  of  men  and  cattle.  It 
will  be  the  centre  of  world-wide  rule.  No  fortress 
walls  are  needed  for  the  great  Jerusalem  to  come. 
The  Lord  God  Himself  will  be  a  wall  of  fire  round 
it,  terrifying  prowling  foes,  and  at  the  same  time  a 
gloiy  in  the  midst  of  it. 


We  notice  here  how  our  prophet  is  inspiring  his 
people  with  the  enthusiastic  thought  of  a  great 
future  for  their  beloved  city,  divine  protection 
around  it,  divine  illumination  within  it. 

Then  follows  a  lyric,  full  of  beauty  and  spirit. 
This  rallying  trumpet-call  to  the  scatterSd  of 
Israel,  the  dwellers  in  far  lands,  to  return,  is 
apparently  from  the  prophet's  interpreting  angel, 
and  so  may  be  looked  on  as  the  word  of  God  to  the 
prophet  himself.  It  declares  high  divine  purpose 
in  the  Exile.  It  asserts  the  dearness  of  the  people 
of  Zion  to  God.  It  promises  divine  retribution 
on  the  spoiler.  It  ends  with  a  psean  of  rejoic- 
ing over  Jehovah's  return,  and  expresses  the 
fulfilment  of  the  preceding  vision.  Hush !  The 
great  Jehovah  has  come  home  to  His  city  and 
temple.  A  silent  cowering  world  awaits  the  result 
of  that  all-powerful  Presence. 

The  next  vision  illustrates  clearly  the  practical 
progressive  aim  of  our  prophet.  Haggai's  life-aim 
was  revealing  itself  in  stone  and  lime.  It  was  our 
prophet's  part  to  people  the  building  with  a  holy 
priesthood.  For  the  ushering  in  of  the  new 
Messianic  era,  the  establishment  of  a  revered  minis- 
try was  absolutely  essential.  -The  people  had  lost 
confidence  generally.  They  must  be  shown  that  the 
past  sin  which  weighed  alike  on  priest  and  people 
had  been  forgiven.  Once  again  might  they  turn 
with  reverence  and  trust  to  look  for  benediction 
through  a  divinely  approved  holy  priesthood. 

In  the  vision,  Satan  the  Accuser  appears  and 
says  the  worst  that  can  be  said  in  favour  of  further 
affliction.  He  is  rebuked.  Israel  is  a  precious 
brand  plucked  from  the  burning.  Joshua  the 
high  priest,  who  appears  humbly  and  fitly  in 
filthy  robes  to  represent  priest's  and  people's  sin, 
is  clothed  in  festive  garments,  adorned  with  a 
holy  mitre,  and  assured  that  if  faithful  he  will  be 
given  a  fixed  place  in  the  Court  of  God  to 
represent  the  people  and  plead  their  cause  for  the 
time  to  come.  Joshua  and  the  assessors  of  the 
temple-court  are  summoned  to  listen,  as  men  who 
themselves  are  men  of  portent,  typical  of  an  ideal 
future.  They  will  understand  what  is  meant  when 
'  God  announces  a  Messiah  to  come — His  servant 
'Branch'  —  the  full  fruition  of  the  beauty  of 
holiness.     Behold  a  stone  set  before  Joshua  ! 

This  is  probably  the  top-stone  of  the  temple, 
representative  of,  to  be  watched  and  guarded  by, 
the  seven  eyes  of  the  all-seeing  God  who  has  a 
part  in  every  detail  of  the  holy  building.     Observe 


5S» 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


here  (as  the  writer  will  recur  to  the  fact)  the 
intimate  connexion  between  this  stone  of  the 
temple,  which  is  symbolic  of  the  detective,  pro- 
tective presence  of  the  all-seeing  God  against 
external  foes,  and  the  following  significant  state- 
ment which  indicates  that  this  same  all-seeing 
Presence  who  has  taken  up  his  abode  in  the 
temple,  will  exercise  a  protective,  detective 
influence  on  Israel  internally;  for,  adds  the 
prophet,  in  a  short  time  the  whole  iniquity  of  the 
land  will  be  removed.  Thereafter  will  dawn  the 
age  of  peace  and  prosperity. 

The  following,  the  fifth,  vision  is  that  of  the 
seven-branched  lamp  fed  with  oil  by  pipes  from 
two  olive  trees — one  on  each  side.  The  prophet, 
as  if  awakened  out  of  sleep,  is  called  by  his  angel 
to  look  at  this  wondrous  spectacle. 

It  is  a  picture  of  what  Church  and  State  may 
do  to  enlighten  a  people's  worship  when  their 
representatives  are  branches  of  the  olive  trees  of 
God.  No  great  man,  apparently,  is  Zerubbabel ; 
but  what  man  is  not  great  when  endowed  by  the 
might,  the  power,  and  the  spirit  of  the  Most  High  ? 
Difficulties  disappear,  the  day  of  small  things 
becomes  great,  the  work  is  done,  and  a  day  of 
glorious  consummation  comes,  when  God  blesses 
the  worker.  Such  a  day  of  national  triumph  after 
national  effort  will  throw  an  aureole  round  the 
leaders,  as  it  undoubtedly  will  round  Zerubbabel, 
whose  hand  will  complete  the  building.  Antici- 
pation lends  its  warm  glowing  colours  to  the 
prospect.  Let  the  people  rejoice  and  shout  with 
unstinted  joy  on  the  great  day  when  the  nation's 
long-cherished  dream  of  a  completed  temple  is 
fulfilled  in  fact ;  and  let  them  also  remember  the 
noble  truth  that  priest  and  prince — like  Joshua 
and  Zerubbabel — when  chosen  to  do  God's  work, 
are  inspired  by  Him,  and  are  His  anointed  ser- 
vants standing  by  His  side. 

All  this  our  poet-prophet  sees  as  leading  up  to 
the  golden  Messianic  age,  and  he  would  croon 
these  sweet  longings  into  the  people's  willing  ears. 

The  cleansing  of  the  land  from  sin  has  already 
been  predicted  (3'),  and  is  now  typified  by  the 
sixth  and  seventh  visions- 

The  sixth  vision,  that  of  the  'Flying  Roll'  or 
the  'Winged  Volume,'  of  immense  size,  is  fascin- 
ating for  its  weirdness  and  also,  to  the  student 
of  the  Bible,  for  its  mysterious  meaning.  It  is 
described  as  a  curse  going  forth  against  the  thief 
and  the  perjurer,  who  are  to  be  cut  off  'as  on  this 


side  according  to  it,'  or  'on  that  side  according  to 
it'  (or  hence).  It  has  been  explained  as  the 
record  of  the  crime  of  the  land  —  Israel's  past 
sin — which  is  seen  by  the  prophet  as  in  the  new 
age  flying  far  from  it  This  may  be  accepted  so 
far,  and  we  may  therefore  look  upon  the  Volume 
— 'the  Curse' — as  a  leaf  torn  out  of  God's  Book  of 
Remembrance  and  flung  to  the  winds. 

This,  however,  does  not  meet  the  whole  case, 
for  this  '  Flying  Roll '  enters  the  house  of  the  thief 
and  of  the  perjurer,  and  remains  till  it  consumes 
all  to  the  ground.  An  attempt  to  explain  this  is 
given  in  the  old  Eastern  practice  of  writing  a  curse 
against  an  enemy  on  a  piece  of  paper  and  throw- 
ing it  down  the  wind  toward  his  house.  This  is 
quite  inadequate.  A  much  more  likely  explana- 
tion— one  which,  indeed,  may  so  far  be  accepted — 
is  that  the  'Curse'  is  the  bill  of  crime  sent  in 
to  the  sinner.  'God  will  send  the  bill  to  you.' 
This  comes  to  every  man  who  has  sinned,  and 
undoubtedly,  without  repentance,  'roosts'  and 
consumes.  It  represents  divine  Law  and  kindles 
like  a  far-flung  fork  of  flame. 

To  the  writer's  mind  a  full  and  satisfying 
solution  of  the  problem  is  found  by  recurring 
to  the  line  of  Zechariah's  aims.  The  rebuilt 
temple  has  all  along  been  the  basis  of  glorious 
ideals  to  be  realized.  We  have  already  seen  what 
a  high  place  has  been  given  to  the  priesthood,  to 
its  highest  representative,  and  the  temple  assessors. 
Divine  grace,  he  has  also  taught,  would  flow  to 
Church  and  Sute  to  feed  the  sacred  lamps  of 
temple  worship.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  ima- 
gine that  the  'Moral  Law,'  the  Deuteronomic 
code,  discovered  in  the  days  of  good  king  Josiah, 
— then  the  initiative  of  a  too  superficial  reforma- 
tion, but  still  full  of  promise  (to  be  delivered  by 
the  mouths  of  the  priests  of  the  temple,  as  it  was 
till  the  days  of  Ezra), — should  have  no  place 
in  our  poet-prophet's  line  of  vision.  That  it  had 
such  a  place  we  consider  this  vision  shows. 
Its  very  functions  are  described  here  by  two  out- 
standing characteristics  of  all-powerful  Law  at  any 
time,  namely,  granting  amnesty,  and  bringing  home 
crime  to  the  criminal.  Nay  mote,  the  present 
writer  considers  that  there  is  almost  conclusive 
proof  of  the  correctness  of  his  view  in  3',  the  vision 
of  the  All-seeing  God  taking  up  His  abode  in  the 
temple,  immediately  to  be  followed  by  the 
cleansing  of  the  land  from  sin.  In  the  poet's 
vision  the  great  Judge,  as  well  as  the  merciful 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


553 


God,  has  talceo  up  His  abode  in  the  temple,  and 
the  temple  is  the  centtat  court  of  Law  with  its 
abiding  statutes,  with  its  responsible  officials,  with 
its  roister  of  dime  (the  Book  of  Remembrance), 
and  its  le^  exponents.  The  issue  is  now  clear. 
Convinced  of  the  true  repentance  of  Israel, 
God,  the  merciful,  all-powerful  Judge,  grants  a 
complete  amnesty  for  the  past,  and  by  His  orders 
the  curse — the  record  of  national  crime,  the  leaf 
of  previous  convictions — is  torn  from  that  register 
— the  Book  of  Remembrance — and  flung  to  the 
winds,  that  it  may  fly  for  from  the  land.  Still,  that 
is  not  all ;  for  we  are  taught  here  that  the  same 
volume  of  the  sacred  Law  goes  forth  like  a  bird  of 
piey  to  swoop  down  on,  or  to  stretch  like  a  far- 
flung  fork  of  flame,  and  to  enter  the  bouse  of  the 
criminal — a  summons,  a  bill  sent  in,  a  nemesis  to 
the  unrepentant  heart  which  is  thus  sternly  con- 
sumed by  the  'Thou  shalt  not,'  or  the  'Cursed' 
of  the  old  Sinaitic  Law,  or  the  Deuteronomic  code 
generally  (Dt  33*;  cf.  Is  10''  30",  Ps  104*). 

To  this  day,  as  with  the  Israel  of  the  prophet's 
vision,  amnesty  is  granted,  sin  is  detected,  and  the 
land  is  cleansed  of  flagrant  crime. 

The  action  of  direct  Law,  however,  must  always 
be  to  a  large  extent  superficial.  To  have  a  perfect 
land  the  temptation  to  sin  roust  also  be  removed. 
This  is  next  typified  in  the  seventh  vision  by  an 
ephah — '  the  symbol  of  merchandise.'  The  leaden 
Ud  is  lifted  and,  behold,  a  woman ! 

The  writer  hesitates  to  assert  that  we  have  here 
the  prototype  of  the  '  scarlet  woman '  of  Revela- 
tion,— that  'mother  of  harlots,'  Babylon, — to 
ancient  prophets  the  incarnation  of  all  iniquity. 
If,  however,  the  ephah  indeed  be  '  the  symbol  of 
heathen  merchandise,'  then  it  seems  a  fair  infer- 
ence that  the  prophet  has  partly  in  view  the 
previous  evil  influence  of  association  contracted 
on  the  heathen  soil,  from  which  the  people  of  the 
new  era  must  be  cleansed ;  but  it  must  also  readily 
be  said  that  the  root-idea  of  the  vision  goes  deeper, 
and  reveals  woman  af  her  worst  and  her  best.  The 
lid  is  pressed  down  on  the  evil  woman,  and  two 
other  women  with  great  wings,  like  the  far-flying 
stork,  cany  off  the  load  to  the  home  of  wickedness 
— the  land  of  Shinar — Babylon.  One  thing  may 
be  noted  of  our  prophet  here,  namely,  that  if  he 
made  woman  appear  as  the  type  of  wickedness,  he 
made  women  appear  as  sisters  of  purity,  whose 
mission  was  to  remove  all  iniquity  from  the  land. 

The  last  vision  recurs  to  thoughts  of  the  hosts 
36 


of  heaven.  Israel's  old  oppressors  will  no  longer 
molest  her  in  her  re-established  order  and  peace. 
Nay,  they  will  meet  with  the  judgment  of  God. 
In  this  vision  four  chariots  are  seen  coming  rush- 
ing forth  from  between  two  mountains  shining  like 
brass.  The  flrst  is  a  chariot  with  red  horses ;  the 
second,  vrith  black ;  the  third,  white ;  and  the 
fourth,  roan.  These,  it  is  explained  to  the  prophet 
by  his  angel,  are  God's  mighty  spiritual  agencies 
for  accomplishing  His  purposes.  Forth  go  the. 
black  followed  by  the  white  to  the  North  country 
— Babylonia.  Away  go  the  roan  to  the  South,  to 
Edom  and  Egypt.  The  red  horses  seek  work 
to  do,  but  are  held  as  a  reserve  force,  and  are 
bidden  walk  to  and  fro  through  the  earth.  Mean- 
time, the  chariots  in  the  North  country  have  won 
victory,  and  have  appeased  the  spirit  of  God. 

These  consecutive  visions  end,  and  the  prophet 
enters  upon  fresh  work.  The  dawn  of  a  great 
day  is  realized  when  certain  exiles  from  Babylonia 
appear  with  gifts  of  silver  and  gold  for  the  re- 
building of  the  temple.  What  a  joyous  sign  of 
the  times  1  The  prophet  is  instructed  to  celebrate 
the  lasting  importance  of  this  by  a  solemn  act. 
He  is  to  take  the  silver  and  the  gold  to  make  two 
crowns,  which  he  shall  place  on  the  head  of  Joshua 
the  high  priest ;  and  thereafter  declare  him  to  be 
'  The  Branch,'  typical  of  the  great  priestly  Messiah 
yet  to  come — the  Builder  of  the  spiritual  Temple 
of  God,  whose  reign  shall  also  be  Kingly.  The 
crown  shall  remain  in  the  temple  for  a  memorial, 
and  those  who  come  from  a  far  land  shall  come 
and  build,  and  know  that  Zechariah  was  divinely 
sent.  All  this  shall  be,  if  the  voice  of  God  be 
obeyed. 

After  a  pause  of  two  years,  the  word  of  God 
again  comes  to  Zechariah.  The  narrative  is  easily 
read,  and  may  be  briefly  summarized. 

In  Babylonia,  the  land  of  Exile,  a  custom 
of  fasting  and  mourning  on  special  days  had 
grown  up.  The  day  of  the  burning  of  Jerusalem 
and  the  temple,  the  day  of  the  murder  of  Gedaliah, 
the  day  of  the  capture  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  day 
of  the  beginning  of  its  siege  were  the  fast-days  of 
these  Exiles. 

Certain  highly  intelligent  men  of  Bethel  realized 
that  such  fasting  was  now  incongruous  in  view  of 
the  new  temple.  For  priestly  sanction,  a  depu- 
tation headed  by  Sherezer  and  Regemmelech 
appeared  at  the  temple;  and  the  word  of  God 
came  to  Zechariah.     He  diagnoses  carefiiUy,  and 


554 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


finds  that  in  such  fasting  there  is  nothing  specially 
pleasing  to  God,  and  that  it  is  really  a  matter  of 
personal  or  national  idiosyncrasy.  Ringing  the 
thought  aside  as  unworthy  of  further  serious  con- 
sideration, he  immediately  asserts  what  is  of  the 
most  awful  importance.  He  rings  the  changes  on 
the  everlasting  truths  proclaimed  by  prophets  of 
old,  and  thereby  at  the  end,  as  at  the  beginning  of 
his  lifeworlc,  proves  himself  the  true  prophet,  who 
voices  the  everlasting  word  of  God  in  its  constant 
bearing  upon  human  life.  Execute  true  judgment, 
he  cries ;  show  mercy,  oppress  not ;  think  not  evil 
of  a  neighbour ;  and  learn  by  the  mournful  past, 
for  it  was  because  of  the  neglect  of  common 
morality,  justice,  and  kindness  that  destruction 
overtook  your  fathers. 

Next  follow  ten  other  short  oracles  full  of 
'  tender  charm  and  strong  simplicity.'  This  eighth 
chapter  recurs  to  the  noble  picture  of  the  new 
Jerusalem  which  God  has  made  His  home. 


What  a  beautiful  picture  our  prophet  gives  of 
the  city  blessed  by  'the  two  benedictions  of  life,' 
old  age  and  childhood  seen  on  its  happy  streets  1 
What  a  contrast  to  homes  desolated  by  war,  and 
faces  hunger-bitten  by  famine !  There  will  yet  be 
a  glorious  return  of  God's  people  from  the  ends  of 
the  earth.  There  will  be  no  more  poverty,  but 
only  prosperily.  The  past  with  its  bitter  lesson 
has  melted  into  a  glorious  present.  Therefore,  let 
them  speak  truth  and  follow  justice  and  peace, 
and  think  no  evil  one  of  another;  and  as  for  fasts, 
why,  past  fast-days  shall  now  be  turned  into  feast- 
days,  and  the  world  itself  shall  in  the  end  be 
won  to  God.  Then  men  of  all  nations  shall  take 
hold  of  the  skirt  of  the  Jew,  saying,  'We  shall  go 
with  you,  for  we  have  heard  that  God  is  with 
you.'  With  this  glowing  picture  of  happy  streets 
within  the  city,  and  Jerusalem  itself  the  centre  of 
the  world's  worship,  these  pithy,  beautiful  oracles 
close. 


THE  BOOKS  OF  THE  MONTH. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  By  the  Rev. 
Andrew  Harper,  D.D.— ST.  MARK  IN  GREEK. 
By  Sir  A.  F.  Hort,  BarL,  M.A.  (Cambridge:  At 
the  University  Press). — The  latest  addition  to  the 
Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools  and  Colleges  is 
worthy  of  the  highest  reputation  of  the  series. 
Principal  Harper  of  Sydney  was  an  ideal  choice 
for  the  Song  of  Solomon,  he  is  so  accomplished 
a  scholar,  he  is  so  religious  a  writer.  The  out- 
standing feature  of  his  commentary  is  the  plea 
he  enters  for  the  recovery  of  the  allegorical  inter- 
pretation. His  position  is  stated  best  in  one 
sentence  of  his  own:  'Nevertheless,  it  is  still 
possible  that  while  the  exhibition  of  human  love  at 
its  best,  so  far  as  that  was  known  in  his  time,  was 
the  primary  object  of  the  writer  or  compiler  of  the 
Song,  he  may  also  have  felt  and  intended  his 
readers  to  feel  that  he  was  therewith  setting  forth 
also  the  excellence  of  the  highest  love  to  God,' 
That  possibility  is  then  urged  in  a  most  entertain- 
ing and  edifying  chapter. 

Sir  A.  F.  Hort  is  less  religious,  more  strictly 
exegeticaL    But  he,  too,  can  be  allegorical  when 


he  needs  to  be.  Thus:  'The  iarut,  thejMt,  and 
the  eye  stand  for  things  good  and  useful  in  them- 
selves which  may  be  put  to  a  bad  use,  and  are 
then  better  dispensed  with.  The  disciple  must  be 
willing  to  sacrifice  even  something  which  might 
supply  his  needs  (Aan^,  or  which  might  be  to  him 
a  support  {foot),  or  which  might  aid  his  perception 
{eye),  so  soon  as  he  finds  that  it  does  not  do  so,  but 
has  become  a  snare.'  His  notes  are  as  brief  as 
notes  can  be,  but  there  is  scarcely  an  irrelevant 
word  in  them.  ^^_^ 

THE  ROMANES  LECTURE,  1902:  THE 
RELATIONS  OF  THE  ADVANCED  AND 
THE  BACKWARD  RACES  OF  MANKIND. 
By  James  Bryce,D.C.L.  (Oxford:  At  the  Clarttuiim 
Press). — Among  the  matters  dealt  with  in  this 
lucid  and  judicious  lecture  is  the  burqing  question 
of  the  white  and  black  races  in  the  United  States. 
Dr.  Bryce  has  shown  that  when  a  higher  and  a 
lower  race  intermarry,  the  world  is  on  the  whole  a 
loser.  So  be  says  that  this  is  against  the  mixture 
of  whites  with  negroes.     'The  wisest  men  among 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


555 


the  coloured  people  of  the  Southern  Slates  of 
America  do  not  desire  the  intermarriage  of  their 
race  with  the  whites.  They  prefer  to  develop  it  as 
a  separate  people,  on  its  own  lines,  though  of 
course  by  the  help  of  the  whites.  The  negro  race 
in  America  is  not  wanting  in  intelligence.  It  is 
fond  of  learning.  It  has  already  made  a  consider- 
able advance.  It  will  cultivate  self-respect  better 
by  standing  on  its  own  feet  than  by  seeking  blood 
alliances  with  whites,  who  would  usually  be  of  the 
meaner  sort.' 

There  are  questions  suggested  by  this  book 
which  go  to  the  very  root  of  theology  and  of  life. 
They  are  suggested,  not  answered.  But  one  thing 
is  certain,  and  Dr.  Bryce  can  state  it  emphatically. 
The  sense  of  a  common  humanity  among  the 
races  of  mankind  is  steadily  gaining  strength. 

STUDIES  INTHE  LIVES  OFTHE SAINTS. 
By  Edward  Hutton  {Constabll).—ll  is  not  easy 
within  the  space  of  a  few  pages  to  make  a  saint 
alive  and  interesting,  but  Mr.  Hutton  has  suc- 
ceeded. He  has  sympathy  and  knowledge,  he 
writes  naturally,  and  what  is  more  than  those 
things,  he  has  some  single  clear  thought  to  combat 
or  express  in  every  study.  There  are  twelve 
portraits,  all  done  within  150  pages.  No  other 
book  is  so  likely  to  touch  the  first  chords  of 
interest  in  those  noble  and  blessed  men  and 
women  whom  we  call  the  Saints. 

Do  you  know  the  SuH-Children's  Budgetf  It  is 
a  quarterly  magazine  solely  devoted  to  the  open 
air.  Its  motto  must  be  '  He  prayeth  best  who 
loveth  best  all  things  both  great  and  small,'  for 
^e  editors  never  weary  in  commending  the  love  of 
the  garden  and  the  lane  and  all  things  that  grow  in 
them,  crawl  over  them,  or  fly  above  them.  No,  its 
.  motto  we  have  discovered.  It  is  less  hackneyed, 
but  it  means  the  same :  'To  win  the  secret  of  a 
weed's  plain  heart.'  The  editors  are  Phcebe  Allen 
and  Henry  W.  Godfrey.  The  publishers  are 
Messrs.  Wells  Gardner,  Darton,  &  Co.  The  fourth 
yearly  volume  has  been  published. 

THE  CENTURY  BIBLE  :  REVELATION. 
By  C.  Anderson  Scott,  M.A.  (yafi).— This  volume 
might  itself  be  the  making  of  the  '  Century  Bible.' 
The  opportunity  was  unique ;  for  no  commentary 
we  can  consult  in  English  on  the  Apocalypse  yields 
any  satisfaction ;  and  Mr.  Scott  has  seized  it.    His 


qualifications  are  an  open  mind — itself  a  unique 
advantage  here — and  thorough  knowledge  of  what 
bas  hitherto  been  done.  He  may  never  satisfy  us 
wholly,  probably  he  never  satisfies  himself;  but  be 
delivers  us  from  innumerable  follies  of  interpreta- 
tion, and  lets  us  see  that  even  this  book  can  be 
handled  at  once  historically  and  religiously. 

ENGLISH  MEN  OF  LETTERS :  WILLIAM 
HAZLITT.  By  Augustine  Birrell  {Macmilhn). 
— Mr.  Birrell  is  as  much  in  this  book  as  William 
Hazlitt,  and  he  is  as  interesting.  Some  day  a 
volume  of  the  '  English  Men  of  Letters '  will  have 
Augustine  Birrell  for  its  subject,  and  this  volume 
will  be  useful  for  material.  The  very  choice  of  sub- 
ject is  characteristic.  The  treatment  is  thoroughly 
so.  Mr.  Birrell's  motto  is,  'A  man's  life  is  his 
whole  life,  not  the  last  glimmering  snuff  of  the 
candle,'  nbich  is  neither  very  Christian  nor  very 
remarkable,  but  it  is  very  appropriate.  For  the 
life  of  William  Hazlitt  is  slowly,  steadily  allowed  to 
run  its  course  before  us  like  a  lazy  midland  river, 
and  we  understand  him  all  in  all.  It  is  not  a 
heroic  life.  An  English  man  of  letters — the  title 
does  not  claim  much,  and  it  carries  no  more  than 
it  claims  in  this  case.  But  there  is  a  pleasant 
sensation  of  something  yet  to  come,  which  never 
lets  you  set  the  book  down.  And  there  is  also  an 
occasional  flash  of  genius — it  may  be  Hazlitt's  or 
it  may  be  Birrell's,  but  it  is  genius. 

THE  LAW  OF  GROWTH.  By  the  Right 
Rev.  Phillips  Brooks,  D.D.  {Maanillan).~V/e 
thought  we  had  all  Phillips  Brooks'  sermons 
already.  But  there  is  no  doubt  these  are  his. 
Look  at  the  second.  '  Truth  shall  spring  out  of 
the  earth,  and  righteousness  shall  look  down  from 
heaven.'  We  know  the  ordinary  treatment  of  that 
text.  Phillips  Brooks'  treatment  is  extraordinary. 
There  is  a  heaven  and  an  earth,  he  says,  in  every 
man.  His  earth  is  the  practical  part  of  him,  what 
he  does ;  his  heaven  is  the  ideal,  why  he  does  it. 
The  earth  is  his  method,  the  heaven  his  motive. 
And  there  are  four  kinds  of  men,  three  bad  and 
one  good.  The  first  bad  man  has  the  world  of 
motive  alive  within  him,  but  not  the  world  of 
method ;  the  second  has  the  world  of  method 
alive,  but  not  tbe  world  of  motive ;  the  third  has 
both  at  work,  but  they  are  not  in  harmony.  These 
men  are  failures.  The  good  man  is  he  'who 
never    thinks   a  high  thought  without  instantly 


5S6 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


seeking  to  send  It  forth  into  its  fitting  action  ;  who 
never  undertakes  an  active  duty  without  struggling 
to  set  behind  it  its  profoundest  motive.' 

THE  BOOKS  OF  THE  BIBLE.  By  Adeline 
Campbell  {Afar&oreugh). — The  '  criticism'  in  this 
book  is  not  quite  acceptable,  but  there  is  not 
much  of  it.  The  idea  of  the  author  is  to  express 
the  leading  characteristics  of  every  book  of  the 
Bible,  and  in  some  striking  way  indicate  its  chief 
contents.  Occasionally  the  '  studies '  remain  with 
us,  and  may  bear  fruit  in  further  reflexion.  And 
no  doubt  the  author  desires  this  above  all,  to  make 
us  think  and  give  our  thinking  to  the  Word  of 
God.  

A  little  book  of  expositions  of  Scripture,  light  of 
touch,  and  delightful  within  and  without,  has  been 
written  by  the  Rev.  Charles  G.  Moore,  and  pub- 
lished by  Messrs.  Marshall  Brothers.  Its  title  is 
Out  of  Bis  Treasure. 

Messrs.  Marshall  Brothers  have  published  a 
new  edition  of  Hymns  of  Consecration  and  Faith. 
The  first  edition  was  compiled  by  the  Rev.  }. 
Mountain.  The  new  edition  is  compiled  by  Mrs. 
Evan  Hopkins.  It  is  a  new  book,  not  merely  a 
new  edition.  It  contains  604  hymns.  In  such  a 
number,  especially  when  they  are  restricted  to 
'consecration  and  faith,'  there  must  be  some — 
there  are  some— that  are  neither  poetry  nor 
religion.  But  the  surprise  is  that  so  many  are 
both.  Surely  no  subject  of  religious  thought 
could  lend  itself  to  song  as  the  spiritual  life  does. 
The  settings  are  mostly  familiar,  of  course.  Yet 
some  are  both  new  to  us  and  very  melodious. 

WITH  THE  ARABS  IN  TENT  AND 
TOWN.  By  A.  Forder  {Marshall  Brothers).— 
Dr.  Selah  Merrill,  who  introduces  Mr.  Forder, 
speaks  of  him  as  a  second  Doughty.  And  it  is  at 
least  true  that  he  goes  to  see  for  himself  and  sees. 
His  experiences  have  been  sometimes  thrilling 
enough,  and  they  have  been  among  the  Arabs  as 
Doughty's  were.  He  has  also  something  of 
Doughty's  inconsequential  way  of  telling  his  story. 
His  book  is  assuredly  good  reading,  and  first  hand 
information  which  may  be  relied  on.  Among 
the  illustrations,  all  of  which  are  well  chosen, 
there  is  a  fine  one  of  a  scene  on  the  Abana,  near 
Damascus.     It  has  not  the  picturesque  tumble 


and  tangle  course  of  the  Jordan,  but  for  bathing 
in,  clearly  the  Abana  is  the  better  stream.  Still 
better  and  more  valuable  is  the  photograph  of  the 
ancient  temple  at  Petra. 

METHODS  OF  BIBLE  STUDY.  By  W.  H. 
Griffith  Thomas,  B.D.  {Marshall  Brothers). — At 
various  times  we  have  seen  'Bible  Studies'  in  the 
Record  by  Mr.  GriRith  Thomas,  and  they  have 
seemed  su^estive  and  scholarly  enough  to  demand 
preservation.  The  latest,  we  think,  was  in  the 
issue  of  30th  May,  the  subject  being  '  Royal  and 
Loyal.'  So  it  is  no  surprise  to  receive  this  book 
describing  his  methods  for  studying  the  Bible,  it 
is  no  surprise  to  find  it  surpassingly  sane  and  en- 
lightening. Some  of  the  methods  of  studying  the 
Bible  that  are  commended  to  us  turn  the  Bible 
into  a  child's  box  of  puzzles.  Mr.  Griffith  Thomas 
sees  the  religious  and  not  the  mere  verbal  corre- 
spondences, and  gets  at  the  purpose  of  the  Bible. 

THE  MAKING  OF  THE  EMPIRE.  By 
Arthur  Temple  {Melrose). — The  publisher  explains 
that  this  is  a  new  edition  of  Mr.  Temple's  well- 
known  book  only  in  name.  '  For  the  most  part,' 
he  says,  '  it  has  been  recast  and  rewritten,  and  a 
slight  juvenility  in  its  appeal  removed,  in  order 
that  it  may  uke  its  place  as  a  serious  record  of  the 
marvellous  development  of  the  British  Empire.' 
It  is  the  book,  we  should  think,  which  boys  would 
select  out  of  the  crowd  and  thoroughly  enjoy, 
though  it  is  less  than  before  a  mere  boy's  book. 
It  is  the  book  which  their  fathers  will  read  when 
the  boys  are  done  with  it  For  it  is  on  such  a 
subject  and  with  such  a  book  as  this  that  boys 
find  themselves  old  and  men  find  themselves 
young  again.  The  volume  is  tastefully  bound  and 
enriched  with  photographs. 

The  Religious  Tract  Society  has  published  a 
very  good  historical  novel  under  the  title  of  77^ 
Friends  of  Pascal.  It  carries  us  into  the  heart  of 
a  great  movement  until  we  throb  with  sympathy. 
It  introduces  us  to  men  and  women  who  would 
have  been  great  or  mean  in  any  age,  but  whom 
circumstances  made  great  exceedingly  or  mean  in- 
credibly. It  diverts  us  for  an  hour,  it  makes  us 
wise  for  all  time.    The  author  is  Mr.  D.  Alcock. 

ANGLO-JEWISH  CALENDAR.  By  Matthew 
Power,  S.J.,  B.A.  {Sands).— Tci\&  title  Mr.  Power 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


gives  lo  a  work  in  which  he  discusses  the  dates  ia 
the  life  of  our  Lord.  His  discussion  is  based  on 
ancient  Jewish  authorities;  but  be  is  chiefly  in- 
debted for  impulse  and  direction  to  two  masterly 
essays  (though  they  arc  little  known  and  very  rare) 
by  Job.  Fried.  Wurm, '  the  eminent  mathematician 
and  astronomer  of  Stuttgardt.'  The  first  date 
which  Mr.  Power  fixes  is  the  date  of  the  Cruci- 
fixion. It  occurred  on  Friday,  27th  April,  Nisan 
15,  in  the  year  31  a.d.  That  date,  which  is 
central,  is  defended  with  confidence,  and  the 
authorities  are  referred  to  in  voluminous  footnotes. 
When  the  discussion  is  over,  a  complete  calendar, 
Jewish  and  English,  is  given  for  every  day  in  our 
Lord's  public  ministry. 

ADDRESSES  FOR  HOLY  WEEK.  By  A. 
F.  Winnington-Ingram  (S.P.C.K.)— The  Bishop  of 
Londcm  preaches  Christ,  not  sermons  merely. 
Bvery  word  tells.  And  it  is  all  modem  because  it 
is  all  eternal.  '  I  used  to  think,'  he  says,  '  as  a 
young  man  that  there  was  something  almost  unreal 
in  year  by  year  pretending,  as  some  people  put  it 
to  me,  to  believe  that  the  whole  great  scene  was 
happening  over  again ;  but  if  the  Incarnation  is 
true — in  a  perfectly  true  sense  it  i>  happening 
over  again.'  His  first  address  is  on  Judas,  and  he 
says  that  he  chose  Judas  because  there  were  pos- 
sible Judases  among  his  hearers.  For  his  concep- 
tion of  Judas  (got,  he  acknowledges,  from  Hanna's 
Zaii  Days  of  Our  Lor^s  Passion)  is  that  he  was 
overmastered  by  one  dominant  idea — the  love  of 
power  and  the  love  of  money. 

HOW  JESUS  HANDLED  HOLY  WRIT. 
By  the  Rev.  H.  Rose  Rae  {Slodiweir^.—'iAx.  Rac 
not  only  quotes  the  places  where  Jesus  quoted  the 
Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament,  but  he  also  makes 
many  unconventional  remarks  thereupon.  Other- 
wise, perhaps,  he  could  not  have  written  a  book 
about  it,  for  his  subject  is  limited  in  scope.  His 
vemarks  are  thoroughly  modern,  and  their  refer- 


ences and  illustrations  are  taken  from  the  latest 
popular  literature.     No  space  is  lost  in  platitude. 

OINOSVILLE.  By  William  Gourlay  {Stock- 
well). — Oinosville,  which  being  interpreted  is  the 
drunkards'  town,  is  a  novel  with  a  purpose.  The 
Church  has  much  to  do  and  suffer  in  it.  Church- 
membership  and  deep  ■  drinking  are  properly 
anUgonistic  things,  and  they  are  unable  to  walk 
together  in  this  book.  The  effect  of  the  picture  is 
to  be  got  best  when  standing  back,  but  its  purpose 
is  as  good  as  it  is  unmistakable. 

Messrs.  Watts  have  published  a  cheap  edition 
of  Samuel  Laing's  Modern  Science  and  Modem 
Thought,  for  which  Mr.  Edward  Clodd  has  written 
a  preface.  They  have  also  issued  a  cheap  edition 
of  Mr.  Clodd's  own  Pioneers  of  Evolution. 

Wi  SEARCH  FOR  TRUTH  AND  WHAT 
I  FOUND.  By  J.  Horton  { Williams  fs-  Norgate). 
— Mr.  Horton  found  that  the  Fall  of  Man  and  his 
Redemption  in  Christ  are  scarcely,  if  at  all,  taught 
in  Scripture,  and  are  not  true  to  fact.  'Christ 
Himself  never  mentions  the  Fall  of  Man,  nor  once 
speaks  of  Himself  as  our  Redeemer  or  as  a  Sacrifice,' 
is  one  of  his  sentences.  But  there  is  no  question- 
ing Mr.  Horton's  sincerity. 

The  Books  of  the  Month  include — The  Scrip- 
tural Limitations  of  the  Friends'  Doctrine  of  the 
Sacraments  and  The  Eschatological  Pendulum,  by 
W.  Tallack  (Headley  Brothers);  The  Buccaneer 
Queen,  by  J.  H.  Townsend  (Marshall  Brothers) ; 
The  Master's  Guide  (new  ed..  Stock)  ;  Sermons  in 
Brief,  by  J.  J.  Knight  (Stockwell) ;  Asked  of  God, 
by  L.  St  Clare  (Stockwell) ;  The  Blessing  of  Peace, 
by  the  Bishop  of  London  (Wells  Gardner)  ;  Early 
Conversion,  by  the  Rev.  E.  Payson  Hammond 
(Passmore  &  Alabaster) ;  The  Passover,  the  Com- 
munion,  and  the  Mass,  by  R.  B.  Girdlestone,  M.A. 
(Charles  Murray). 


jyGoot^Ie 


558 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


CatBAtta* 

AN  EXPOSITORY   STUDY   OF  ACTS  X. 
By  THE  Rev,  T.  D.  Bernard,  M.A.,  Canon  of  Wells. 


II. 


Having  followed  the  narralive  of  the  Baptism  at 
Cassarea,  we  are  left  to  reflect  upon  that  pregnant 
story. 

The  first  reflexion  is  on  the  immense  import- 
ance of  the  event.  In  the  kingdom  of  Christ  it 
is  not  an  incident,  it  is  a  revolution;  yet  the 
consummation  of  a  puipose,  in  which  the  King,  by 
His  own  act  and  deed,  enfranchises  the  whole  race 
of  mankind.  To  us  that  seems  natural  .  Was  not 
the  salvation  one  for  all  men?  and  was  it  not 
wrought  by  the  Son  of  man  ?  Yet  it  came  as  a 
strange  unexpected  truth  to  the  first  citizens  of  the 
kingdom.  It  was  '  the  mystery  of  Christ,  which  in 
other  generations  was  not  made  known  unto  the 
sons  of  men,  as  it  has  now  been  revealed  unto  His 
holy  apostles  and  prophets  in  the  Spirit;  that  the 
Gentiles  are  fellow-heirs  and  fellow-members  of 
the  Body,  and  fellow-partakers  of  the  promise  in 
Christ  Jesus  through  the  gospel'  (Eph  3*-*).  It 
was  a  revelation,  and  this  revelation  was  first  made 


I.  In  the  whole  transaction  we  distinguish  the 
act  of  the  author  and  that  of  the  agent.  We 
see  how  the  Lord  in  glory  has  His  hand  on  the 
first  movements  of  the  gospel,  and  Himself  directs 
its  promulgation  to  the  world.  Where  there  is 
cause  this  intervention  is  made  clear,  as  by  the 
visit  of  the  angel  to  Cornelius,  by  the  vision  and 
the  Spirit  to  Peter,  and  by  the  coming  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  on  the  hearers  of  the  Word.  There  was  no 
gainsaying  these  facts,  and  the  conclusion  was 
ineviuble.  '  Then  to  the  Gentiles  also  hath  God 
granted  repentance  unto  life'(iii*).  That  Roman 
baptism  carried  with  it  the  baptism  of  converts 
from  every  nation  under  heaven.  From  that 
moment  it  was  established  that  equally  for  all  there 
is  'one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism.'  At  the 
same  time  the  method  taken  made  it  manifest  that 
the  divine  plan  of  communication  was  also  a  plan 
of  derivation.  'Salvation  is  of  the  Jews'  in  the 
sense,  not  of  possession,  but  of  origination  (»  twv 
'I(n&u<uv).  'Theirs  were  the  adoption,  and  the 
glory,and  the  covenants,  and  the  law.givtng,  and  the 


service,  and  the  promises ;  theirs  were  the  fathers, 
and  of  them  as  concerning  the  flesh  Christ  came ' 
(Ro  9*).  Among  them  He  accomplished  His 
work  in  life  and  death.  There  was  the  birthplace 
of  His  Church,  and  not  until  sufiBcient  time  had 
been  givetl  for  settlement  of  the  gospel -in  Israel 
was  it  allowed  to  pass  out  into  the  world.  We  can 
see  the  necessity.  Had  the  Word  consisted  only 
of  ideas  and  abstract  truths,  it  might  have  been 
sown  broadcast  at  once.  But  it  consists  funda- 
mentally in  a  Person  and  in  facts;  then  its  historic 
origin  is  at  the  root  of  its  life.  And  this  historic 
origin  involves  a  doctrinal  origin,  in  its  inheritance 
not  only  of  monotheistic  truth,  but  of  ideas 
embodied  in  a  great  economy  associated  with  tt, — 
ideas  of  divine  intervention,  of  election  and 
calling,  of  redemption  and  sacrifice,  of  covenant 
relation  and  the  predestined  Christ — typical  and 
rudimentary  elements  of  the  future  creed.  Thus 
was  it  provided  that  Christianity  should  come  to 
us  in  the  way  of  derivation,  and  the  Gentile 
believer  has  need  to  be  reminded,  '  Thou  bearest 
not  the  root,  but  the  root  thee.'  In  Oesarea  was 
the  first  grafting  on  this  root,  soon  to  extend  into 
'  a  fruitful  field,  and  the  fruitful  field  to  be  counted 
for  a  forest.'  We  see  this  grafting  as  manifestly 
the  act  of  God,  and  its  chosen  instrument  is  the 
chief  apostle  of  the  circumcision.  His  mioistiy, 
conspicuous  in  the  foundation  of  Judaic  Christ- 
ianity, is  now  employed  in  the  foundation  of 
Gentile  Christianity,  in  fulfilment  of  the  declared 
purpose,  '  I  say  unto  thee  that  thou  art  Petei, 
and  upon  this  rock  I  will  build  My  Church.' 
Now  the  second  part  of  the  great  fabric  is  founded, 
in  derivation  from  and  conjunction  with  the  first, 
the  Lord  Himself  the  builder,  St  Peter  the 
workman  employed. 

2.  If  the  narrative  is  one  of  divine  action,  it  is 
one  of  human  action  too ;  and  there  is  much 
instruction  in  what  St,  Peter  does  and  says.  He 
receives  intimations,  but  draws  bis  own  con- 
clusions and  acts  upon  them.  He  shows  himself 
a  considerate,  open-minded,  clear-judging  man. 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


SS9 


Old  ideas  do  DOt  confuse  hts  mind  or  malce  him 
hesitate  undei  new  convictions.  These  he  is 
ready  to  receive,  prompt  to  acknowledge,  prompt 
to  obey ;  as  we  see  in  the  readiness  with  which  he 
complies  with  the  sudden  call,  eaters  into  the 
man's  house,  utters  all  his  mind,  and  commands 
the  immediate  baptism.  His  subsequent  state- 
ments of  his  reasons  for  action  (ii^)  and  of  his 
view  of  the  whole  matter  (15^-  •*)  show  with  what 
clearness  he  remembered  his  Lord's  woids  and 
apprehended  his  Lord's  will. 

His  address  on  this  unique  and  momentous 
occasion  has  its  suggestive  lessons,  though  the 
abstract  is  brief  in  the  extreme,  and  the  discourse 
is  abruptly  cut  short.  Wc  have  observed  in  the 
first  sentences  the  sudden  break  in  which,  having 
begun  with  language  natural  to  himself,  he  changes 
his  tone  to  suit  his  hearers.  There  is  double 
suggestion  here.  To  whomsoever  the  Christian 
preacher  speaks,  he  needs  to  have  present  to  his 
own  mind  the  full  sense  of  the  gospel  as  it  is  in 
itself  and  as  it  is  to  him,  the  revealed  Word  sent 
from  God  to  Israel, '  good  tidings  of  peace  through 
Jesus  Christ.'  That  is  the  heading  of  the  chapter, 
and  that  will  be  its  conclusion,  though  in  particular 
cases  it  may  have  to  be  unfolded  by  degrees. 
Again,  in  the  foundation  word,  ^ye  know,'  there  is 
a  lesson  to  all  teachers,  to  take  that  which  is 
already  known  as  the  basis  of  what  they  have  to 
communicate,  and  to  appeal  to  what  is  in  men's 
thoughts,  in  order  to  lead  them  further  into  truth. 
The  abstract  given  of  the  discourse  shows 
Bufhciently  how  that  which  was  partially  known 
was  set  forth  in  fulness  and  put  in  its  true  light, 
with  the  power  of  original  witness  to  all  that  was 
done  in  the  country  of  the  Jews  and  in  Jerusalem, 
and  in  the  manifestations  which  attested  the 
Resurrection.  And  so  it  is  for  evermore.  The 
gospel  revelation  is  always  '  the  Word  which  began 
from  Galilee  after  the  baptism  which  John 
preached,'  based  on  historic  facts  and  actual 
events  'in  the  land  of  the  Jews  and  in  Jerusalem.' 
All  teaching  and  preaching  has  its  source  and 
power  in  the  scenes  and  incidents  of  that  brief  life 
on  earth,  in  the  words  and  acts  of  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  sealed  and  certified  by  the  resurrection 
from  the  dead. 

From  the  manifestation  in  the  world  the  dis- 
coui%  ascends  to  the  Judge  and  Saviour  in 
heaven.  St.  Peter  said  afterwards  that  he  was 
arrested  when  he  *  began  to  speak'  by  a  power 


greater  than  his  word ;  but  be  had  time  to  impress 
two  foundation  truths  of  the  relations  of  Christ 
with  men,  and  to  set  us  an  example  to  do  the 
same.  We  may  note  the  orders  of  these  truths. 
He  claims  allegiance  before  he  testifies  forgiveness. 
We  pUce  the  judgment  of  quick  and  dead  far  on 
in  the  Creed,  at  the  end  of  human  history.  But 
the  office  is  not  assumed  in  the  day  of  its  con- 
summation. It  is  the  present  prerogative  of 
the  Lord  as  head  and  ruler  of  the  moral  life  of 
man  among  the  living  and  among  the  dead. 
'Whether  we  live,  we  live  unto  the  Lord;  or 
whether  we  die,  we  die  unto  the  Lord:  whether 
therefore  we  live  or  die,  we  are  the  Lord's'  (Ro 
14').  Our  relations  arc  with  Him  to  whom  'the 
Father  hath  given  all  judgment '  in  both  stages  of 
our  existence,  as  will  be  fully  and  finally  manifested 
in  the  day  of  His  appearing  (Jn  5"-»).  This 
truth,  which  He  testified  Himself,  He  charged  His 
apostles  to  testify,  with  all  its  consequences  to 
conscience,  character,  and  conduct.  It  may  be 
questioned  whether  it  has  quite  the  place  in  our 
missions  and  ministries  which  St  Peter  gives  it  in 
his  opening  of  the  gospel  message  to  men,  to  whom 
it  was  new. 

That  message  blossoms  out  in  a  moment  into 
the  grace  which  is  a  gospel  indeed — the  grace 
which  is  the  first  necessity  to  the  awakened  soul — 
the  grace  of  forgiveness.  It  is  found  in  the  same 
Person  who  is  ordained  as  Judge ;  it  is  bestowed 
through  His  name ;  it  is  enjoyed  by  the  believer  in 
Him.  Never  were  the  several  points  in  the 
doctrine  of  forgiveness  more  distinctly  and  com- 
pactly given  than  they  are  here.  They  await 
development  in  the  larger  teaching  which  will 
follow,  and  in  the  experience  of  the  first  hearers, 
and  in  that  of  unnumbered  souls.  They  are  too 
lai^e  for  present  reflexion.  One  thing  only  it  is 
right  to  notice  as  bearing  on  the  preaching  of  our 
times, — St  Peter's  appeal  to  prophecy.  He  is 
himself  the  proclaimer  of  this  forgiveness;  but 
associates  with  himself  a  larger  company ;  '  To 
Him  give  all  the  prophets  witness,  that  through  His 
name  every  one  that  believeth  on  Him  shall  receive 
remission  of  sins.'  Why  the  prophets?  and  this 
in  an  address  to  Gentiles  1  The  great  evangelical 
promise  shall  not  appear  as  a  novelty.  Has  it 
not  been  transmitted  through  all  generations 
assuring  the  gracious  purpose  of  God  to  meet 
the  deep  necessity  of  man  ?  As  promise,  it  has 
shed  its  comfort  on  every  age ;  but  as  prophecy, 


560 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


it  bears  directly  on  the  Person  and  Work  of 
Messiah.  'In  Him  we  have  redemption — the 
forgiveness  of  our  sins'  (Col  i^*),  not  only  as 
publishing  it,  which  the  prophets  did,  but  as 
procuring  it,  which  they  did  not  There  was  a 
twofold  reason  for  this  introduction  of  the 
prophets.  They  expressed  the  old  faith  and 
expectation  of  Israel,  and  they  extended  the 
participation  in  it  to  the  Gentiles. 

'  The  words  spoken  by  the  prophets  were  not  for  them- 
selves alone,  not  for  Ibeir  own  counlijmen  or  contem- 
pOMiiei  alone,  but  (or  the  Gentiles,  and  for  the  whole 
future.  In  roalcing  known  the  appearance  of  the  Messiah, 
the  apostles  found  the  old  prophetic  Word  endued  with  new 
power  and  instructiTeness,  as  the  Acts  and  Epistles 
abundantly  attest.  Its  place  in  their  teaching  ii  distinctly 
marked,  Rom.  itI  36.  Their  bilh  was  not  a  new  religion, 
but  a  new  stage  in  the  old  religion  of  Israel,  and  it  derived 
a  large  part  of  its  claim  to  acceptance  from  this  appeal  to 
the  patt  in  conjunction  with  the  present.  The  dieam  of 
a  Cbriitianily  without  Judaism  soon  arose,  and  could  not  but 
arise ;  but,  though  it  could  make  appeal  to  a  genaiae  leal 
for  the  purity  of  the  gospel,  it  was  in  effect  an  abrc^aCion  of 
apostolical  CbristiaJiily.  When  robbed  of  his  Messiabship, 
our  Lord  became  an  isolated  portent,  and  the  true  meaning 
of  faith  in  Him  was  lost' (Hort,  Notts  on  i  Peter,  p.  57}. 

St.  Peter's  view  of  prophecy  is  known,  illustrated 
in  his  earliest  speeches  in  the  Acts,  thought  out 
and  impressed  in  his  latest  writings  (i  P  i"-  ", 
2  p  ii>-si).  As  there  explained,  it  has  ever  been 
held  in  the  Church,  and  some  tendencies  of 
present  criticism  detracting  from  it  definiteness 
and  fulness  warn  us  to  hold  it  fast.  In  the 
occasion  at  Oesarea  it  was  natural  indeed  that  the 
prophets  should  be  in  his  thoughts,  for  he  was 
in  the  act  of  fulfilling  their  predictions.  The 
day  which  they  foretold  for  the  nations  was 
breaking  before  his  eyes. 

He  knew  it  was  so  when  the  Spirit  fell  on 
those  who  heard  the  word.  That  gift  at  Caesarea 
corresponded  to  the  pentecostal  gift  at  Jerusalem. 
That  was  not  a  single  event,  but  the  manifestation 
of  a  new  order  of  things.  It  was  a  baptism  which 
constituted  the  Church.  This  also  had  like 
meaning  and  effect  for  Gentile  believers,  as  being 
equally  a  part  of  the  whole  Society,  'builded 
tc^ether  for  an  habitation  of  God  in  the  Spirit.' 
The  sudden  and  sensible  illapse  of  the  Spirit  was 
to  these  first  converts  the  seal  of  their  faith  and 
the  sign  of  their  accepunce,  being  also  their  first 
experience  of  a  power  which  dwelt  in  the  kingdom 
they  were  entering.  It  was  a  revelation  of  the 
will  of  God,  yet  such  as  to  make  a  demand  on  the 


intelligence  and  concurrence  of  the  apostle.  He 
acted  on  his  own  judgment  and  responsibility 
when  he  drew  the  practical  conclusion,  withoot 
any  question  of  preliminary  proselytism  or  circum- 
cision, '  Can  any  man  forbid  the  water  that  these 
should  not  be  baptized,  who  have  received  the 
Holy  Ghost  as  well  as  we?'  What  passed  in  hit  mind 
he  tells  us  afterwards  (i  i").  He  remembered  the 
words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  saw  that  this 
perceptible  gift  of  the  Spirit  was  a  baptism,  a 
passage  from  one  spiritual  sUte  to  another.  But 
the  sacramental  act  had  its  part  in  the  passage,  an 
effective  part;  and  to  withhold  it  would  be  a 
withstanding  of  God.  '  What  was  I  that  I  should 
withstand  God?'  He  was  not  going  to  count 
the  symbolical  act  superseded  and  superfluous. 
To  him  the  water  had  by  divine  ordinance  an 
essential  part  in  the  new  birth  of  those  who  '  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God.'  After  that  the  question 
of  Gentile  baptism  was  closed.  Only  there  was 
soon  a  strong  effort  to  recover  the  lost  ground,  by 
the  contention  that  one  who  was  baptized  should 
also  be  circumcised,  and  that  one  who  had 
become  a  Christian  should  also  become  a  Jew. 
On  this  question  St.  Peter  became  the  decisive 
authority  (is"Mi  though  the  stress  of  the  con- 
troversy was  committed  to  a  more  practised  hand 
than  his.  So  by  the  inclusion  of  the  truth  of  doc- 
trinal Judaism  and  the  exclusion  of  the  virus  of 
ceremonial  Judaism,  the  safety  of  Christianity 
was  secured. 

3.  Our  reflexions  have  been  on  the  action  of 
the  Lord  and  of  His  apostle  in  which  the  import* 
ance  of  the  narrative  consists;  but  its  interest  is 
largely  increased  by  the  character  of  the  man 
chosen  to  be  the  firstfiuits  of  the  Gentile  Church ; 
a  just  man  of  high  repute,  generous,  and  beneficent ; 
a  religious  man,  fearii^  God  with  all  his  house ;  a 
man  of  prayer,  fervent  and  habitual;  one  who 
has  embraced  such  truth  as  he  has  encountered, 
who  has  gained  the  esteem  of  the  nation  where  he 
sojourns,  and  who  exerts  a  happy  influence  on 
kinsmen  and  comrades;  and  there  is  nothing 
superficial  in  all  this;  for  his  sincerity  is  witnessed 
in  heaven,  where  his  prayers  and  alms  come  up 
for  a  memorial  before  God.  This  remaikable 
character  exists  outside  the  Covenant  system,  and 
apart  from  revelation,  save  some  partial  and 
refracted  light  from  neighbouring  Judaism.  What 
shall  we  say  of  such  a  case  ?  At  least  we  must 
say  as  frankly  and  cordially  as  St,  Peter,  'In  every 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


S6l 


nation  he  that  feareth  God  and  worketb  righteous- 
ness is  acceptable  to  Him.'  'Them  that  are 
without  God  judgeth;'  aad  in  the  vast  aiea  of 
human  life,  in  vhich  the  lesponsibilities  of  man  and 
the  judgment  of  God  are  beyond  our  cognizance, 
Coraeiias  suggests  thoughte  of  comfort  'The 
eyes  of  the  Lord  are  in  every  place,  beholding 
the  evil — and  the  good.'  Who  can  tell  what  may 
be  before  those  eyes,  in  quartern  unlikely  and 
unknown,  of  moral  attainment  and  spiritual 
aspiration  ?  What  grace  of  God,  what  work  of 
the  Spirit,  is  present  in  these  cases  we  have  no 
warrant  to  affirm.  In  the  present  instance  we 
have  to  do  with  believers,  men  who  have  all  the 
faith  that  is  possible,  outside  revelation  and  the 
Covenant.  As  to  Cornelius,  we  have  this  testi- 
mony that  he  pleased  God.  But  without  faith  it 
is  impossible  to  please  IJim ;  '  for  he  that  cometh 
to  God  must  believe  that  He  is,  and  that  He  is  a 
rewarder  of  them  that  seek  Him  out'  {Heb  ii'). 
Those  are  few  and  elementary  articles.  But  the  faith 
which  fastens  on  them  may  be  more  intense  and 
practical  than  that  of  some  believers,  who  have  all 
the  treasures  of  truth  in  possession.  So  it  plainly 
was  with  Cornelius ;  and  God  was  a  rewarder  of 


one  who  diligently  sought  Him  by  bringing  him  to 
know  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ.  One  can 
scarcely  imagine  a  mind  more  qualified  to  receive 
them  by  existing  capacity  of  faith,  and  desires 
poured  forth  in  prayer.  The  full  apprehension  of 
what  he  had  received  would  come  by  degrees, 
perhaps  in  the  experience  of  a  long  Christian  life. 
But  there  would  be  an  immediate  consciousness 
that  in  the  union  given  him  with  the  living  Lord 
the  needs  of  the  soul  were  met,  its  desires 
satisfied,  the  past  cancelled,  and  the  future 
secured.  The  justice  and  charity,  the  faith  and 
prayer,  which  had  beautified  former  days,  were 
now  to  be  continued  on  a  higher  plane  of  life  in 
the  power  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  and  in  the  fuhiess 
of  a  hope  which  had  been  unknown  before.  We 
bid  farewell  to  the  firstfruits  of  the  Gentiles  as  they 
vanish  irom  our  view,  confident  that  the  later 
words  of  their  teacher  would  become  their  own : 
'  Blessed  b«  tb«  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesui  Christ, 
who  according  to  His  greal  meicy  begat  us  again  uato  a 
liriag  hope  by  the  resuneetion  of  Jesus  Christ  from  the 
dead,  to  an  inherilance  incoiniplible,  undefiled,  and  Chat 
f»deth  not  away,  leseTved  in  heaven  for  (them),  who  by  the 
power  of  God  are  guarded  through  faith  unto  a  salvation 
ready  to  be  reseated  in  the  last  time'(i  P  i""'). 


Contti^utione    an^    Comments. 


<Smmau0  (^tefaften  for  a  (ptvson. 

I  HAVE  in  my  possession  a  folio  copy  of  the  works 
of  S.  Ambrose  printed  in  1493,  in  which,  in  three 
places,  the  companion  of  Cleophas  is  called 
'Amaus.'  The  volume,  unfortunately,  is  not 
quite  perfect,  lacking,  inter  alia,  the  Expos.  Evang. 
Luc,  but  it  contains  the  following  eight  references 
to  the  Emmaus  incident.  De  Isaac  ei  anima : 
'sicut  testatur  cleophas  dicens.'  In  Fsai.  118, 
sermo  3 :  <  Oenique  duobus  ex  his  euntibus  in 
castellum  cui  nomcn  emaus.'  Idem,  sermo  13: 
'  Hoc  igne  cleophas  cor  suum  dicebat  ardere  cum 
ipsi  et  socio  ejus  christus  scripturas  aperiret' 
Id.  sermo  17:  '  Illi  qui  dicebant,  Nonne,'  etc. 
Id.  sermo  18':  'Cleophas  et  ille  alius  .  .  .  dice- 
bant' De  gratto  sinapis,  sermo  i  :  'Sicut  in 
sancto  evangelic :  amaon  (in  the  margin  is  printed, 
AL  Amaus)  et  cleophas  dixerunt.'  Sermo  72, 
de  Natali  Sancti  Lauretttii:   'Quo  igne  succensi 


amaus  (marg.  Al.  Amaon)  et  cleophas  dixerunt'; 
and  again  in  the  same  sermon,  'sicut  amaus 
(marg.  Al.  Amaon)  et  cleophas  dixerunt' 

The  book  from  which  these  passages  are  taken 
was  printed  by  John  de  Amerbach,  and  is  a  finely 
executed  specimen  of  early  printing.  John,  a 
Carthusian  monk,  who  wrote  the  printer  a  pre- 
fatory epistle  and  divided  the  work  into  sections, 
probably  supplied  the  marginal  readings.  I  know 
nothing  of  the  MSS  on  which  this  printed  text 
was  based ;  the  strange  reading  in  question,  how- 
ever, must  have  had  some  considerable  attestation 
in  North  Italy.  On  the  other  hand  the  '  socio  ejus  * 
and  the  '  ille  alius '  of  two  of  the  passages,  with 
their  obvious  avoidance  of  a  name,  if  not  later 
correctiotis,  indicate  that  S.  Ambrose  was  also 
acquainted  with  other  texts  which  did  not  call  the 
companion  of  Cleophas  'Amaus.' 

It  may  interest  book-lovers  to  know  that  the 
copy  of  S.  Ambrose  above  referred  to  belonged 


S6a 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


at  one  time  to  Henry  Howard  of  Norfolk,  and 
was  one  of  the  books  (see  Fepys'  Diary,  sub.  7th 
January  1667)  which  he  presented  to  the  Royal 
Society,  by  whom  it  was  subsequently  sold 

Albert  Bonus. 
Alpkinglmt,  Extier. 


The  most  probable  explanation  of  Mt  23^  =  Lk 
11"  on  Zacharias,  son  of  Baracbias,  who  was 
slam,  /UTofv  Tov  vaav  kiu.  toS  dMauurrrfpiov  (Mt), 
or  fma$ii  TOV  Bvirtturrqpuiv  not  toC  oucov  (Lk),  is  to 
find  here  a  reference  to  3  Chr  24™-  *'.  But  there 
Zechariah  (the  son  of  Jeboiada)  is  said  to  have 
been  stoned  'in  the  court  of  the  house  of  the  Lord' 
(fr  duXp  TOV  oXkw  Kvpiou,  LXX),  mYf^  n'3  ivna. 
Why  this  change  in  the  designation  of  the 
locality?  Perhaps  it  is  explained  by  a  reference 
to  Ezk  8",  Jl  a",  I  Mac  7**.  vqos  in  i  Mac  and 
Mt,  oUot  in  Lk,  is  translation  of  the  Hebrew  D^K, 
'the  porch,'  rendered  MDi^tSDp  in  the  Syriac 
version.  Compare,  further,  the  Syriac  version  of 
the  Prot evangel ium  Jacobi,  c,  23  (to  be  published 
by  Mrs.  A.  S.  Lewis  in  Studia  Sinailica,  xi.),  and 
the  Vilae  Prophetarum  of  Pseudo-Epiphanius  (in 
Nestle,  Marginalien),  p.  34,  1.  9,  ivh.  fucrov  Ivl  roS 
atX<tftsp.  35,  I.  4,  dva  fMaov  tou  jK&|l  ii  oIkov 
Kvpiov.  The  addition  in  the  Targum  of  2  Chr  24™ 
shows  how  much  importance  was  attached  to  this 
Zechariah.  In  an  older  edition  of  the  A.V.  with 
marginal  references,  I  find  Mt  23^  quoted  on  the 
margin  of  Jl  a";  in  the  R.V.  with  Dr.  Moulton's 
references  it  is  missing.  Therefore  I  call  the 
attention  to  these  passages. 

£b.  Nestle. 


Preachers  and  teachers — it  seems,  in  England 
as  well  as  in  Germany — usually  call  the  paragraph 
Mk  i2«-«  =  Lk  31'-*,  'The  Story  of  the  Widow's 
Mite '  (in  the  singular — thus,  for  example,  in  the 
lateit  commentary  on  Mark,  that  of  Allan  Menzies 
(Macmillan,  1901)),  and  spoil  by  this  designation 


the  very  point  of  the  story.  For  the  widow  had 
two  mites,  and  that  she  threw  in  both  and  did  not 
keep  back  one  of  them,  this  is  what  was  noticed 
and  praised  by  Jesus :  '  she  cast  in  all  that  the 
had.'  Perhaps  He  saw  her  struggling  whether  she 
was  to  part  with  both.  I  am  glad  to  see  that  A. 
Wright,  in  due  recognition  of  this  point  of  the 
story,  inscribes  it  in.  his  Synopsis  (in  the  plural) : 
'The  Widow's  Mites,'  and  still  more  correct  is 
H.  B.  Swete,  who  gives  to  the  story  the  heading 
'The  Widow's  Twq  Mites.' 

I  came  across  the  story  lately  in  reading  the 
new  Oxford  edition  of  the  Syriae  Tetraeuangelium, 
and  noticed  in  it  a  variant  reading  not  mentioned 
by  our  commentaries.  For,  instead  of  the  remark 
of  the  Greek  text,  that  the  two  mites  together 
were  of  the  value  of  a  farthing  (Xcnra  Svo  o  ttrra/ 
Ko&pwTrfi),  the  Syriac  text  has  p.TlVKn  fw  rj" 
WWDB',  in  the  rendering  of  G.  A.  Gwilliam:  'duo 
minuta  <iuae  sunt  chald'  (in  the  plural).  The 
translation  of  Luke  renders  already  Svo  Xorr^  by 
inn  K3«W'.  In  the  Sinaitic  Palimpsest  we  read 
in  Mark  (tyan  jnTPKi  itiioi?  pn  (not  wmn,  as  was 
first  printed),  i.e.  two-eighths,  which  are  a  farthing. 
The  Syriac  Dtdascalia,  in  which  the  story  is 
quoted  in  chap.  r5  (treating  of  the  Widows)  makes 
a  strange  mistake  by  giving  trun  'nwi'tn  pTn  Rsioe' 
in, '  two-eighths, which  is  ortt  denarius'  (ed.  Lagarde, 
p.  6fi),  quoted  in  the  Thesaurus  Syriacus,  col.  4213 
(from  a  Syriac  lexicographer,  without  reference  to 
this  source). 

The  importance  of  the  Peshito  rendering  will 
be  clear  to  any  one  who  reads  the  excellent  article 
'  Money'  in  the  Dictionary  of  the  Bible  (iii,  429a, 
note  t),  where  it  is  assumed  that  the  reading  is 
shdmond  (in  the  singular),  while  it  is  shdmoneiia 
the  plural).  It  is  of  course  possible  to  assume 
that  the  plural  is  a  corruption  of  the  singular. 
But,  then,  how  are  we  to  explain  the  passage  in 
Luke  (Anrra  B  Kii&E'')>  and  in  the  Sinaitic  Palimp- 
sest? I  am  not  versed  enough  in  these  money 
matters  to  suggest  a  solution ;  perhaps  the  author 
of  the  article  '  Money '  will  be  good  enough  to  state 
his  views.  But  I  may  perhaps  add  a  word  on  the 
English  expression  '  mile,'  as  the  Dictionary,  against 
its  custom,  gives  no  explanation  of  this  word.  It 
was  used  in  proverbial  sayings  in  South  Germany, 
'  not  a  mite '  = '  not  a  bit,*  as  late  as  the  sixteenth 
century.  1,  .^  ^^, .. ,    ^^^^,Ite^LK. 

Maulbrenn.  O 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


S63 


Z^t  ®tBtAnce  of  t$e  (Stount  of 
€>fivtB  from  Jferuedfem. 

Ik  Ac  i^*  this  distance  is  said  to  be  'a  Sabbath 
day's  joumey.'  ].  Massie,  In  his  article  oa  this 
expression  in  vol.  iv.  of  the  Dktumary  of  the  Biile, 
remarks  that  'according  to  Josephus,  in  his  Ant, 
XX.  8.  6,  the  Mount  of  Olives  is  5  furlongs 
from  Jerusalem,  while  in  his  B.J.  v.  2.  3  it  is 
stated  to  be  6,  the  variation  being  perhaps  due 
either  to  the  fact  that  the  distance  lay  between 
the  two,  or  to  the  fact  that  the  older  Hebrew  ell 
was  rather  shorter  than  the  later  one.'  But  there 
is  no  variation  at  all  between  the  statements  of 
Josephus.  As  other  commentators,  J.  Massie  has 
not  read  the  second  passage  of  Josephus  exactly 
enough.  Josephus  speaks  there  of  the  Roman 
army  marching  from  Jericho  towards  Jerusalem, 
and  says  (g  70,  ed.  Niese)  :  -rpoariraxro  S"  avrotc  If 
ari)(OvTa^  tuk  'IcpotroXufuui'  omStovs  OTporOTriSni- 
o-ocrffiu  kqtA  to  'EXawn'  KoXovfitfov  opot,  S  rj  toXh 
vpof  &fa,ro\ipr  avruttnat,  fico^  iftdpayyt  ^oBtUf 
Sttipyofiti'ov,  9  KtSpaiv  ^vo/tnaTau  Here  nothing  is 
said  about  the  distance  of  the  Mount  itself.  The 
troops,  coming  from  Jericho,  encamp  on  the 
eastern  slope  of  the  Mount  (miTa)  at  a  disunce  of 
6  furlongs  from  the  town,  not  on  the  top  itself. 

But  in  the  former  passage  of  Josephus  there  is 
an  interesting  variant  not  mentioned  by  J.  Massie, 
nor  indeed  by  the  best  editor  of  Josephus,  B. 
Niese.  Theophylact  in  his  commentary  on  Acts 
(Migne,  Patrologia  Graeca,  vol.  t25)  remarks  on 
this  passage,  after  he  has  repeated  the  view  of 
Chrysostom  (without  mentioning  his  name)  that 
the  mentioning  of  the  distance  seems  to  prove 
that  the  Ascension  took  place  on  a  Sabbath  day : 
Icrropti  ck  Ksi  'liirrpnro^  iv  T<|>  (iKOtrr^  Xdyy  r^ 
'Ap)(tuoktiyuKf  i-n)(tiv  i-ro  'Itpovakvuaiv  oraSux 
IwnL 

This  variant  (7  instead  ofs),  which,  according  to 
the  edition  of  Niese,  is  found  in  no  MS.  of  Josephus, 
is  the  more  interesting,  as  the  Syriac  and  the 
Sahidic  version  of  Acts  have  this  very  same  state- 
ment as  translation  of  'Sabbath  day's  journey.' 
According  to  one  statement  it  is  also  found  with 
Chrysostom,  and  Bengcl  inferred  from  it  that 
Chrysostom  was  dependent  on  Josephus  and  the 
Syriac  version  on  Chrysostom.  In  fact,  the 
opposite  view  will  hold  good  that  Chrysostom 
made  use  of  the  Syriac  version,  as  in  the  other 
case  frtnn  Acts  when  he  calls  Paul  a  tncvrtniiiot 


in  accordance  with  the  expression  lerarius  in 
the  Peshito  (Ac  i8*).  But  what  then  about  the 
Sahidic  version }  is  it  also  influenced  by  the 
Peshito?  The  present  writer  believes  he  has 
found  traces  pointing  to  such  a  connexion  between 
these  two  versions.  And  what  about  the  statement 
of  Theophylact  regarding  Josephus  ?  The  space  of 
an  article  does  not  allow  one  to  enter  into  these 
questions.  As  showing  how  much  remains  to  be 
done  till  a  single  statement  of  the  New  Testament 
is  explained  with  certainty,  I  Ulce  the  liberty  of 
calling  attention  to  this  passage. 

Eb.  Nestle. 
SfatiUnmn. 


(]lote  on  t^  ^srioc  (^anuecni>t 
besmBcb  on  pp.  510,  311. 

The  Syriac  signs  in  the  MS.  of  the  Maccabees 
described  by  Mrs.  Gibson  on  pp.  510-511  do  not 
contain  a  reference  to  goatskins,  as  Mrs,  Gibson 
was  inclined  to  believe,  but  are  the  Syriac 
numerals  for  6,  7,  and  8,  as  may  be  seen  on  Table 
XXV.  of  Land's  Anecdota  Syriaca,  vol.  i.,  where  he 
gives  specimens  from  three  MSS  in  the  British 
Museum,  the  oldest  of  which  is  ascribed  to  the  fifth 
century.  See  also  Duval,  Grammaire  Syriaque, 
pp.  XV  and  15  :  '  M.  Wright  a  trouv^  ces  demiers 
(signes)  dans  des  manuscrits  du  Vie  et  du  Vile 
sidles  et  pense  qu'ils  sont  rares  apr^s  cette 
^poque,'  In  the  MS,  described  by  Mrs,  Gibson 
the  numbers  are  expressed  both  by  letters  and 
figures.  A  fine  specimen  of  such  a  figure  may  be 
seen  in  the  second  facsimile  in  Sachau's  new 
description  of  the  Syriac  MSS  of  Berlin. 

Eb.  Nestle. 
Mottlhnmn. 


®oe6  o-i^iv  medn  *C5etifg'? 

Every  intelligent  person  knows  that  our  Amm 
is  the  Hebrew  word  IDK,  commonly  exclaimed  at 
the  end  of  a  prayer,  benediction,  or  doxology- 
In  Hebrew  it  is  both  an  adverb  and  a  noun, 
meaning  jfMB(^),  vaU^ly),  and  expressing,  in  the 
form  of  a  reply  {responsorium),  assent  to  a  pre- 
ceding statement  or  summons;  thus  being  used 
absolutely  as  a  responsive  exclamation.  The  LXX 
renders  it  genendly  by  the  desiderativevoptative 


564 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


yw.iTo,  rarely  by  o^^  (i  Ch  16*',  Neh  5"  6*), 
white  Aquila  uses  the  adverbal  tenns  TorMrraifio'iin 
and  vtimo$rJT<a.  Likewise,  when  they  have  occasion 
to  express  a  similar  wish  or  thought,  the  N.T.  writers 
adopt  and  transliterate  the  Hebrew  term,  ^,  by 
Afi^,  as  I  Co  14"  twtl  iav  tiAoy^  mrfvftaTi  a 
ia'aTrXt]pan'  roi'  twov  tm  I&wroir  irut  tpti  to  dftfiv 
^i  r^  irg  tiffafiurri^  hniBii  rt  Xtyw  oiit  oIScv ;  50 
too  2  Co  i»  cf.  Rev  3"  o  in^v.  Then  Ro  i*» 
OS  toTO'  cvXoyiTTos  ((s  Tovs  aluivav  dfii^i'.  Amen. 
So  further  (as  an  exe/a motion)  ia  Ro  9°  ii**  is** 
i6W.w.s7^  Gal  I*  6",  Eph  3",  Phil  4*'-»»,  i  Ti 
i"  6W,  He  13"-  »,  I  P  4"  5»,  a  P  3",  Jude  « 
Rev  i«-T  5"  7"  19*  j3**. 

Entirely  different  from  this  Hebrew  ]DK  ((t/i^> 
fiMfM)  is  the  asieverative  *&n^  of  the  Gospels, 
which  the  English  versions  correctly  render  by 
verify.  This  solemn  *^Tp'  by  which  Jesus — and 
Jesus  alone — introduces  a  weighty  and  impressive 
assertion,  and,  moreover,  always  precedes  JJyo 
(31  times  in  Mt,  14  in  Mk,  6  in  Lk,  25  and 
always  double  in  Jn)  in  the  standing  phrase  *<!^V 
(*ii^^)  Atyu.  In  this  way  it  is  apparently  em- 
ployed where  an  ordinary  spealter  would  have 
used  6iarv<a,  '  I  swear,' '  I  take  an  oath,'  which 
oath  Jesus  not  only  avoids  but  expressly  and 
strongly  disapproves  (cf.  Mt  5****,  23"-i''*''''-*' 
36",  Ja  5'*).  Here,  therefore,  we  have  a  word 
Hebrew  in  form  with  a  non-Hebrew  meaning  and 
construction.  For  as  an  asseveration,  it  does  not 
appear  in  the  O.T.,  nor  does  it  occur  in  the  N.T. 
outside  the  Gospels,  not  even  in  St  Paul  the 
Rabbi.  This  strange  use  of  *&ii^  becomes 
more  glaring  when  we  remember  that  the  phrase 
*&fap'  (*ay^)  Xiyu  vfuv  (iTot),  SO  favourite  with 
Jesus,  and  otherwise  so  natural  and  suitable  for 
colloquial  intercourse,  is  never  turned  to  account 
by  His  disciples  nor  by  the  sub-apostolic  and 
early  Church  fathers ;  all  of  whom  use  in  its  place 
some  such  expression  as  Miftfuf,  br'  SXrfitiai,  Iv 
iXrj8ti(f,  SvTiat,  etc.  It  is  further  striking  that  of 
the  evangelists  the  Synoptists  should  represent 
Jesus  as  saying  *i/iip',  while  John  reports  Him  as 
saying  *fl^^  iifi^v.  It  is  singular,  indeed,  that 
Jesus'  reporters  should  so  disagree  in  recording 
so  simple  a  word,  and  still  more  strange  that, 
in  His  daily  discourses,  Christ  should  have  con- 
EtaoUy  used  such  a  household  Jewish  word  as  ;dk 
in  a  sense  and  construction  so  singular  and  in- 
comprehensible to  His  Jewish  audience. 


So  far,  then,  we*  clearly  see  that  the  term 
*^ip/  or  *&fL>p'  i/i^v,  as  an  asseveration,  verify,  is 
neither  Hebrew  nor  Greek,  and  so  cannot  be 
authentic.  I  believe  that  the  evangelists  wrote 
§  /iV  i^hV")  o'  *'  ^'f''  i'k^V")  verify,  surefy,  for- 
sooth, a  colloquial  expression  exactly  suiting  our 
text  and  Jesus'  mode  of  speech.  The  change  of 
manuscriptal  ■^^tpi  or  tt^rfo  to  a^ip  presents  do 
difficulty.  Palsographists  and  classical  students 
know  that  before  and  during  the  first  two  Christian 
centuries,  Greek  scribes  wrote  without  accentual 
marks,  and  that,  in  matters  of  spelling,  they  used 
promiscuously  and  freely  if  tfi(  =-q)  m  as  equivalent 
and  interchangeable  symbols.  In  our  case  of 
^^ti»tii).iiy-a\aiv  we  have  even  express  testimony 
from  Herodian  i.  508  (ed.  Lentz)  to  Si  \f^9 
opKiKOf  hrippTiiia,  6ivvtTiLL,  and  Efym.  Magnum,  416, 
50  (referring  to  LXX,  On  zz"")  4|  hrippiifia  apKuAv 
ortp  Kal  S(a  Sn^06yymi  (i.e.  with  «I)  ypa^*T<u-  1\  (li)' 
(et  (if|f)  tiiXMySiv  fCXtty^ui  w  jj  iyratv  not  iXifd^K. 
This  usage  is,  moreover,  amply  confirmed  by 
evidence  from  various  other  sources.  Thus  LXX, 
Ezk  33'^,  C"  'y"  (by  my  life)  t^  y.\v  iv  rols  Tip^iwy 
[uy/ui  Ha)(aipaK  irtiromTat.  34"  (w  ly<o,  Xcyti  mipUK, 
*l  fif|i'  Ayrt  ToS  ytvi<r@ai  ktX.  35*  £5  fyii,  Xey** 
KiifHov,  ct  fii]K  111  tUfia  ^liaprn  "oX  oT/ut  fuu^mu  vc 
38",  tv  ffupi  T^s  opyij^  fuiv  tXaXiqira  tl  j*))f  If  fg 
^fiipf  Imiv^  larat  (r<(o/iot  jUyiK,  Nu  14'',  if, 
klyti  Kvpioi,  j)  fifif  Si-  rpoTrov  XcAoA^KftTc  cii  Ta  Siri 
fiov,  ovTui  -rofqaai  i/uv.  Job  3  7^  j[^  o  6*6s  .  .  .  cl 
ji^li-  In  T^  nyo^E  /lov  tfovvTp  .  .  ■  ;t^  XoAjjo^w  to 
X*iXi]  fum  avoiia.  Jth  I^,  (S/umt*  .  .  ,  )J  fif|K  (KSunf- 
trav  irdyra  ra  opta  r^  KiXixia^.  Bar  3**  <ar  /ill 
ixvivifri  T^  ^v^s  lutv  ^  (1^1"  fi  fi&ii^-qiTK  AtroTpiilm 
ktX.  So  further  in  the  papyri  and  inscriptions 
of  the  time :  G.  Dittenberger,  Syiloge  Inscr.  388 
{93-91  B.C.),  27  (t  fi&r  ffiiv  i-miuktaai.  Grieck. 
Urkunden  su  Berlin,  534  (38— 2j  B.C.),  2  f  Simi/u 
KniVapa  avroKparopa  9tov  vixtv  <!  ^i\v  vapajfiop^irta' 
nv  Kk^pov.  Papyr.  Erth.  Rainer,  224  (f-rf  AC.), 
ipvio  (sie)  avroKpiropa  ct  |ii|i'  cr^icvcii'  <v  wain  rois 
yt^o^ftckMs].  J.  H.  Moulton  adduces  (in  Ciass- 
icai  Jievietv,  February  and  December  1901)  five 
more  examples  from  papyri  of  the  first  century 
A.D.,  and  remarks:  'This  form  (ft  ju^)  is  thus 
fairly  established  as  vernacular  Greek  in  the  first 
century.'  Add  finally:  Apecal.  Mariae,  133,  15, 
^  fii)i'  o^x  iuipatas  Tat  iitydKm  KoXotrctt.  Cf.  H. 
117,9. 

There  remains  now  to  say  a  word  on  the  pro- 
cess of  change  or  corruption  of  i)^i;)^t^i7>-  to  ofi^ 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


sfs 


or  atop-  QfiiTv.  In  the  course  of  the  second  cen- 
tury the  asseveration  ^  fi^v — then  evidently  uttered 
as  a.  single  word* — began  to  retreat  from  the 
spoken  language,  while  the  gradual  spread  of 
Christianity  made  AfLrpt  more  and  more  familiar  to 
Chiistian  Greeks.  Copiers,  then,  ignorant  of 
earlier  Greek  speech  (and  all  early  copiers  were 
poorly  educated  Christians)  lighting  upon  ijuriv  or 
tifirpf  mistook  it  for  the  familiar  and  Biblical 
iixrjy,  and  so  piously  emended  or  rather  'mis- 
corrected'  it,  notwithstanding  that  its  meaning 
and  position  at  the  opening  of  a  clause  ought  to 
have  warned  them  against  such  proceeding.  As 
a  matter  of  course,  the  process  of  corruption  may 
have  been  also  indirect.  The  obsolete  word  ij^Lrpi 
or  tifirir  may  have  been  '  explained '  by  Afiip'  on 
the  margin  or  above  the  line,  and  the  explanation 
ifiip'  then,  being  mistaken  for  a  word  of  the  author 
accidentally  omitted,  found  its  way  into  the  text,^ 
and  produced  ij/wtk  ofajv.  The  next  copier  then 
believing  this  complex  to  be  a  scribal  error, 
dutifully  '  corrected  '  it  to  antjv  aiajy,  as  we  have  it 
in  John,  while  copiers  of  the  Synoptists  struck 
out  the  meaningless  and  superfluous  '^fop',  and 
kept  the  familiar  and  biblical  a/irfy,  as  we  read  it 
in  the  Synoptists. 

The  conclusion  warranted  by  the  above  con- 
siderations would  be  that,  while  in  John's  double 
oft^  one  ip-riv  is  obviously  interpolated,  in  the 
single  afiip'  of  the  Synoptists  this  reading  stands  for 
original  i}  /t^c  or  *t  fv^,  an  asseveration  borrowed 
by  Jesus  from  the  colloquial  speech  of  the  time, 
probably  after  the  example  of  the  LXX,  with  which 
He  is  so  familiar.  A.  N.  Jannaris. 


It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  main  contentions  of  the 
Higher  Criticism  have  now  been  won.  Many 
readers  of  The  Expository  Times  will,  indeed, 

'  This  is  implied  by  Hetodian's  remark  already  cited  : 
ri  ^n^r  ^iiir  iwipptiiia  i^iirrrai.  Here  if  JjfV  consisted  of 
two  separate  words,  Herodian  would  have  faid :  rl  f.ifr 
iptiKit  irX. 

'  This  process  of  inteipotatioD  for  the  period  referred  (o 
ii  well  illustrated  by  Galen's  remark  {Ttoiw.  y'  tit  iriS.  a, 
ToL  xvii.  I  =  p.  Z23f.);  ^ivrro*  yip  ili  i^ifYfyrti  wparypa^r 
liri  Tifoi,  aMis  tli  r«a3a^  (into  the  lext)  irri  toD  ^^\io- 
ypi^tav  ncTaTtStiaBm, 


number  among  their  friends  earnest  students  of  the 
Bible  who  find  no  cogency  in  the  arguments  for  the 
newer  view  and  no  value  in  its  results ;  but  apart 
from  these  there  are  probably  many  of  us  who 
cannot  avoid  some  feeling  of  hesitation,  not  so 
much  at  the  separation  of  the  documents  J,  E, 
and  P,  as  at  the  process  by  which  they  came  to  be 
welded  into  one.  How  can  we  assume  the  seem- 
ingly immense  labours  of  the  various  'redactors'? 
The  object  of  the  following  paragraphs  is  to  point 
out  a  further  instance  of  narratives  parallel,  but 
not  combined  into  one  whole,  namely,  the  narra- 
tives of  the  Gospels. 

We  do  not  need  here  to  go  into  the  question  of 
the  sources  of  our  Gospels,  compilations  as  they 
doubtless  are,  to  some  extent.  It  is  well  known 
that  in  Matthew  at  least  there  are  apparent '  over- 
lappings'  such  as  we  find  in  the  Hexateuch,  though, 
of  course,  to  nothing  like  so  great  an  extent  But 
neglecting  these  and  treating  the  Gospels  as  we 
have  them  now,  i.e.,  as  separate  documents,  we 
observe  that  just  as  J  and  E  stand  close  together, 
with  P  mucii  farther  off,  so  Matthew  and  Luke 
with  close  relations  to  each  other  are  at  once 
distinct  from  John,  and  yet  to  a  careful  student 
strangely  connected  with  it'  J  and  E,  it  is 
generally  agreed,  cover  for  the  most  part  the  same 
ground,  although  the  first  appearance  of  E  is  some 
time  later  in  (he  Bible  history  than  that  of  J.  P, 
while  going  over  the  same  ground,  treats  the  whole 
subject-matter  from  a  different  point  of  view. 
With  his  own  limitations  and  his  own  special 
literary  powers,  and  with  a  distinct  object,  be 
leaves  so  distinct  an  impression  of  his  style  that  it 
is  easily  felt  to  baffle  all  the  efforts  of  the  compiler 
to  make  it  a  part  of  another  narrative.  Compared 
with  the  Fourth  Gospel,  Matthew  and  Luke  might 
almost  seem  (like  J  and  E  when  compared  with  F) 
to  be  written  by  the  same  author ;  yet  there  are 
distinct  differences,  both  of  style  and  attitude, 
between  them — differences  which  only  emphasize 
the  distinctness  of  John  from  botK  'As  regards 
the  analysis  of  JE,'  says  Driver,  'the  criteria  are 
fewer  and  less  definite  (than  in  the  case  of  P)  and 
the  points  of  demarcation  cannot  in  all  cases  be 
determined  with  the  same  confidence.'  J,  for 
example,  as  the  name  shows,  speaks  of  Jehovah ; 

>  Nothing  is  here  said  of  Mark,  as  it  is  simply  the  literary 
parallel  which  is  in  question.  Thai  we  have  only  J  and  E 
against  P  in  the  Heiaieuch,  while  we  have  ihiee  Synoptic 
Gospels  does  not  alter  our  present  argument. 


5«6 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


E  of  Elohim.  Most  critics  hold  that  J  shows 
special  sympathy  with  Judah,  E  with  Israel,  Joseph, 
oi  Ephraim.  In  spite  of  many  anthropomorphisms 
and  a  certain  '  nalre  way  of  speaking  of  God ' 
(Dillmann),  J  ,is  the  prophetic  book,  rich  in 
moral  reflexions  and  spiritual  thought.  E,  on  the 
other  hand,  is  the  richer  in  detail  and  the  more 
picturesque;  with  a  far  la^er  reference,  as  Dill- 
mann  adds,  to  angels  and  visions.  Similarly,  to 
take  an  obvious  example,  Matthew  speaks  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  Luke  of  the  kingdom  of  God : 
Matthew  is  the  Jewish  Gospel,  Luke  the  Gentile ; 
hence,  while  Matthew  pays  special  attention  to 
Old  Testament  prophecies,  to  visions,  at  least  in 
the  earlier  part  peculiar  to  himself,  and  to  the 
doom  of  the  Jews'  rejection  of  their  Mesdah, 
Luke  emphasizes  prayer  and  compassion,  the 
humane'  and  the  universal  side  of  the  Gospel. 

From  both  J  and  E,  P  is  marked  off  as  being 
the  work  '  of  a  jurist  rather  than  a  historiaiL  It  is 
circumstantial,  formal,  and  precise '  (Driver),  where 
the  others  are  flowing  and  varied.  It  abounds  in 
set  formube  and  precise  sUtistics,  but  cares  nothing 
for  the  pictureiqueness  of  the  other  two  writers. 
The  distinction  of  John  is  equally  well  mariccd, 
though  not  in  the  same  direction. 

Where  the  others  give  brief  narratives  or  collec- 
tions of  aphorisms  selected  on  no  evident  prin- 
ciple, he  gives  us  flowing  discourses  based  on  an 
elaborate  plan.  Curiously  enough  bis  language 
abounds  in  set  phrases,  with  many  repetitions  and 
much  symbolism,  though  in  his  case  these  only 
add  to  the  literary  effect  of  his  work. 

To  make  this  clearer,  let  us  now  take  a  simple 
instance  of  compilation  in  the  case  of  two  narra- 
tives, one  of  J  and  the  other  of  E,  in  Genesis,  and 
afterwards  attempt  the  combination,  playing  the 
part  of  'redactor,'  of  two  parallel  narratives  in 
Matthew  and  Luke.  The  well-known  instance  of 
the  sale  of  Joseph  by  his  brethren,  Gn  s?'"",  will 
serve.  The  following  is  DiUmann's  analysis.  To 
E  he  assigns  vv.*-''  (the  account  of  the  dreams, 
isb.  ita.  ifc.  i».  ao. «  and  aa  (omitting  the  last  clause), 
M-  s»  (first  sentence),  **  (first  sentence),  *"'  (with 
fragments  of  the  following  verses),  to  J  the  rest. 
It  will  thus  be  seen  that,  making  allowances  for 
the  compiler  (e.^.  in  '^  'And  they  hated  him  yet 
the  more' — cf.  "", —  and  in  ••  'then  bis  brothers 
said  unto  him,'  etc.,  and  "'', '  and  they  conspired 
against  him '),  each  of  the  two  narratives  is  com- 
plete, and  while  E  makes  Reuben  the  deliverer 


and  the  Midianites  the  purchasers,  J  gives  Judah 
as  the  deUverer  and  hands  over  Joseph  to  the 
Ishmaelitet. 

It  will  at  once  be  acknowledged  that  in  the 
Gospels  the  divergencies  are  for  the  most  part  less 
noticeable,  and,  if  we  may  believe  Westcott  and 
Hort  and  the  majority  of  textual  critics  at  present, 
the  work  has  been  partly  done  for  us  in  the  'con- 
flate' Syrian  readings.  We  may  however  lake 
the  narrative  of  the  Temptadon  (Mt  4*''*  and  Lk 
4*'*^),  and  assuming  a  compilation  such  as  we 
have  in  the  Hexateuch,  the  result  would  run  some- 
what as  follows: — 'Then  Jesus,  being  full  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  returned  &om  Jordan,  and  was  led  up 
by  the  spirit  into  the  desert  to  be  tempted  by  the 
devil  forty  days.  And  having  fasted  forty  days 
and  forty  nights  he  was  afterwards  an  hungered; 
and  he  did  eat  nothing  in  those  days ;  and  when 
they  were  ended  he  was  an  hungered.'  Then  the 
account  of  the  first  temptation  as  it  is  given  in 
Matthew.  Then  the  temptation  of  the  pinnacle  of 
the  temple,  the  second  in  Matthew's  order.  Then 
Matthew's  third  temptadon,  'Again  the  devil 
taketh  him  up  into  an  exceeding  high  mountain, 
and  showeth  him  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world' 
(using,  no  doubt,  Matthew's  kosmas,  if  we  suppose 
the  redactor  to  be  using  Matthew  as  a  base)  *  in  1 
moment  of  time.  And  the  devil  saith  to  him,  All 
these  things  will  I  give  thee  if  thou  wilt  fall  down 
and  worship  me,  for  to  me  have  they  been  entrusted, 
and  I  give  them  to  whom  I  will  Then  Jesus 
answered  and  said.  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan,  for,' 
etc  Next  will  follow  what  is  the  third  temptation 
in  Luke  ending  with,  'Then  the  devil  leaveth  hun 
for  a  season,  having  finished  all  things ;  and  behold 
angeb  came  and  began  to  minister  to  him.' 
Another  good  example  might  be  found  in  the 
account  of  the  preparation  for  the  Paschal  meal 
(Mt  j6"''»and  Lk  aa^'")  where  we  should  prob- 
ably have,  '  Go  your  way  into  the  city  to  such  an 
one,  and  there  shall  meet  you  a  man  bearing  a 
pitcher  of  water.  Follow  him  into  the  house,  etc. 
.  .  .  Where  is  the  guest-chamber  where  I  may  eai 
the  passover  with  my  disciples  ?  for  my  time  is 
near,  and  I  must  eat  the  passover  at  thy  house 
with  my  disciples.'* 

Let  us  now,  returning  to  the  Old  Testament, 
take  an  instance  where  P  has  been  combined  with 
the  other  narratives,  e.g.  that  of  the  Flood,  a  com- 

)  A  umilar  fulness  of  expfcssion  maj  be  foond  "■"*■■"£ 
tbrougii  the  namtivcs  of  t  ^oaneL 


THE   EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


567 


bination  of  P  and  J.  As  the  narrative  stands  we 
have  at  once  referencei  to,  and  neglect  of,  dis- 
tinction between  clean  and  unclean  beasts,  difTerent 
numbers  of  animals  of  »ach  species  received  into 
the  ark ;  diifeient  causes  md  a  difTerent  statement 
of  the  length  of  the  Flood  itself;  two  quite  homo- 
geneous narratives  will  temlt,  if,  out  of  chaps.  6-8, 
we  take  out  the  following  —6,  •-« ;  7,  •-»■  »»i»»- 1»-" 
and  ";  8,  i-»^  sw.  i»»  aid  '*-".  (A  well-known 
instance  of  similar  comlination  is  to  be  found  in 
T  S  16-18,  where  Davidippears  to  be  at  once  of 
mature  age,  '  a  man  of  'ar  and  clever  in  speech,' 
and  an  inexperienced  bi:  daring  shepherd  lad). 

The  parallel  in  the  Gopels  that  will  most  readily 
occur  is  probably  the  da  of  the  Crucifixion,  which 
the  Synoptics  identifyith  the  Passover,  while 
St.  John  clearly  seemsto  make  the  Crucifixion 
come  first.  An  instan;  of  equal  interest  might 
be  found  in  the  accoun  of  Peter's  denial  narrated 
by  all  four  Gospels,  w;re  for  the  sake  of  clear- 
ness we  may  simply  cabine  John  and  Matthew. 
'John  spake  unto  be.that  kept  the  door  and 
brought  in  Peter.  Nv  Peter  was  sitting  within 
the  court,  and  a  dancl  came  unto  him.  The 
damsel  therefore  thakept  the  door  said  unto 
Peter,  Art  thou  also  <e  of  this  man's  disciples? 
He  denied  before  the  all,  and  saith,  I  am  not. 
Now  he  was  standinpnd  warming  himself,  and 
when  he  was  gone  outito  the  porch  another  maid 


saw  him,*  etc  (Mt  26"-^').  Lastly,  the  question  of 
Malchus'  kinsman. 

If  we  may  thus  argue  from  the  New  Testament 
to  the  Old  we  shall  probably  feel  more  clearly 
the  uncertainty  that  inevitably  follows  from  the 
theory  of  compilation  to  which  all  the  phenomena 
of  the  parts  of  the  Old  Testament  in  question 
seem  to  point  us ;  we  would  at  least  urge  that  10 
those  who  question  the  accuracy  of  the  'critical ' 
results,  their  difficulty  is  connected  with  the  com- 
pilation, at  least  as  much  as  with  the  sources, 
and  that  before  any  of  the  analyses  can  be  held 
to  be  final,  we  must  at  least  consider  what  is 
involved  in  the  synthesis. 

It  may  be  that  as  the  Darwinian  theory  first  had 
to  fight  strenuously  for  recognition,  then  seemed 
the  final  statement  of  truth,  and  is  now  felt  to 
be  in  considerable  need  of  being  modified  and 
supplemented,  so  the  'higher'  view  of  the  Old 
Testament,  fiercely  opposed  and  then  accepted 
as  authoritative,  may  be  on  the  way  to  a  further 
modification,  which  will  prove  to  be  a  sign  not  of 
retrogression  but  of  true  progress ;  just  as,  after 
the  assaults  of  the  inkaltlUhe  kritik,  the  accuracy 
of  the  narratives  of  the  Old  Testament  is  coming 
to  be  once  more  established.  (See  Konig's  tract, 
Die  Bedeutung  des  Allen  Testamenlts.  Leipz., 
1901.)  W.  F.  LOFTHOUSE. 


t,^t    (poor    ®ic5    f-oof. 

LUKE  XII.  31. 
By  the  Rev.  John  Rbid,  M.A.,  Dundee. 


The  parable  which  ises  with  these  words  can 
never  be  forgotten,  a  hear  or  read  it  once  is  to 
remember  it  always,  'he  story  needs  no  explana- 
tion; its  teaching  tsimistakable.  It  is  a  story 
of  judgment  Chrisad  such  a  man  as  He  speaks 
of  in  view.  Perhapane  of  those  who  heard  Him 
could  remember  thjdden  death  of  a  rich  land- 
owner whose  unexped  end  had  been  the  sensa- 
tion of  a  week.  Hasses  judgment  on  his  life. 
The  man  who  lived  1  planned  thus  was  a  fool. 

The  parable  expis  how  it  is  that  'a  man's 
life  consistetb  not  i»e  abundance  of  the  things 
which  he  possesset(Lk  la").     It  is  a  poor  life 


'  So  ti  he  that  layeth  up  treasure  for  himself,  and  is 
not  rich  toward  God '  (Luke  xij.  ai). 

whose  possessions  are  outward  and  materiaL  The 
life  that  is  rich  toward  God  is  rich  in  itself.  The 
life  on  which  judgment  was  passed  was  poor  and 
foolish,  because  it  was  not  rich  toward  God.  What 
did  it  lack?  What  qualities  were  awanting? 
What  are  the  proofs  of  this  rich  man's  real 
poverty  ? 

I.  The  lack  of  thanksgiving.  He  was  rich,  and 
his  ground  brought  forth  plentifully,  but  bis  heart 
is  never  stirred  by  a  feeling  of  gratitude.  Never 
a  thought  of  God  as  the  giver  of  increase  comes 
to  his  mind.  He  thinks  only  of  'my  fruits,' 
'  my  goods,'  '  my  bams.'    He  speaks  only  ot  him- 


568 


THE  EXPOSITORY  TIMES. 


self.  '  I '  is  his  only  councillor.  Most  likely 
he  attributed  his  prosperity  to  his  skill,  his  sharp- 
ness at  a  bargain,  his  wise  planning,  and  anxious 
toil.  Perhaps,  like  many  another,  he  boasted  of 
the  little  be  had  when  he  started  life,  and  spoke  of 
his  present  worth  with  pride.  He  did  not  sec 
that  God  had  any  part  in  it.  That  of  itself  is  a 
proof  of  poverty.  'A  grateful  mind  is  a  great 
mind.*  Thankfulness  of  spirit  is  one  of  God's 
treasures.  It  'blesseth  him  that  gives,  and  him 
that  takes.'  '  I  will  praise  the  Lord  with  a  song. 
.  .  .  This  will  please  the  Lord  belter  than  any  ox  or 
bullock  which  hath  horns  and  hoofs.'  It  was  one 
of  the  chief  offences  of  the  heathen  and  one  great 
source  of  their  enors  that  '  neither  were  ihey 
thankful'  (Ro  i").  Pride  and  presumption  are 
children  of  unthankfulness.  Not  to  be  able  to  see 
God's,  goodness  is  a  greater  lack  than  colour- 
blindness. It  misses  all  the  glory  of  life,  as 
colour-blindness  misses  at]  the  glory  of  the  world. 
To  be  lacking  in  thankfulness  means  that  we  are 
poor  in  ourselves.  To  look  at  the  gift  and  not  at 
the  giver  is  to  show  that  we  lack  all  the  finer  in- 
stincts of  the  soul.  The  thankless  life  is  a  poor  life. 
2.  The  lack  of  helpful  service.  The  man  is 
embarrassed  with  his  riches.  He  has  no  room 
where  to  bestow  his  fruits.  He  takes  counsel 
with  himself  as  to  what  he  shall  do.  In  a  flash 
the  answer  is  found.  He  will  pull  down  his  bams 
and  build  greater,  and  there  bestow  all  his  fruits 
and  all  his  goods.  It  is  a  resolve  to  '  stow,'  not 
to  '  bestow.'  He  will  carry  on  business  as  before, 
but  on  larger  lines.  No  other  thought  comes  to 
him.  But  this,  too,  is  a  proof  of  his  poverty.  He 
has  no  idea  of  giving,  only  of  getting ;  no  idea 
of  using,  only  of  storing.  He  sees  none  of  the 
possibilities  that  are  in  his  hand.  He  has  nothing 
to  give  to  the  poor;  nothing  to  contribute  to 
the  temple  or  the  synagogue.  No  wise  large- 
hearted  plan  for  elevating  or  enriching  the 
people  around  him  is  cherished  by  him.  Perhaps 
the  houses  of  his  servants,  where  men  and 
women  lived,  and  little  children  were  born, 
were  not  equal  to  the  old  bams  which  were 
found  too  small  for  his  goods.  Power  is  in  his 
hand,  and  all  he  can  think  of  is  to  accumulate 
more  of  it.  He  is  one  of  those  of  whom  men  ask 
when  they  die, '  How  much  was  he  worth  ?  What 
did  he  leave?'  They  do  not  talk  or  tell  oftheuse 
he  made  of  his  means,  of  the  services  he  rendered 
by  his  riches.  His  'life'  consisted  in  getting. 
He  has  no  higher  conception  of  the  use  of  pro- 
sperity than  to  store  it  in  a  bam.  He  saw  not  that 
all  gifts  are  gifts  for  men,  to  be  used  as  such  in 
the  service  of  God.  He  never  dreamed  of  steward- 
ship or  service.  He  was  'like  an  ass  whose  back 
with  ingots  bows.'  To  have  and  to  hold  are  his 
ambitions.     He  is  'a  man  of  means,'  too  mean  to 


see  his  power.  The  plenty  which  came  from  his 
fields  should  have  taught  him  better.  The  in- 
crease came  not  from  slowing,  but  from  sowing. 
Had  he  used  his  means  is  he  used  his  grain,  put- 
ting them  out  to  service  in  the  help  of  man,  true 
riches  would  have  come  to  him.  He  would  have 
been  rich  toward  God  ami  rich  in  himself. 

3.  The  lack  of  any  vcfthy  outlook  or  interest. 
What  are  bis  thoughts  for  the  future?  What 
hopes  and  plans  docs  he  cherish?  'Soul,  thou 
hast  much  goods  laid  upfor  many  years.  Take 
thine  ease,  eat,  drink,  ant  be  merry.'  He  plays 
with  the  thought  of  retiriig  from  business.  He 
has  enough  and  more  thai  enough.  There  is  no 
need  to  rise  early  and  toil  ite  or  endure  the  heat 
of  the  day.  He  will  tak«life  easily,  will  enjoy 
himself.  He  is  his  own  A>ha  and  Omega.  All 
is  for  self.  He  will  'eat  aif  drink  and  be  meny.' 
That  is  all.  He  will  be  1  glutton  and  a  wine- 
bibber.  His  pleasures  are  it  the  flesh.  No  higher 
vision  dawns  upon  his  soul.  Ko  interest  in  spiritual 
aims  or  objects  suggests  itstif.  God  and  the  here- 
after are  absent  from  his  sheme  of  life.  '  Many 
days'  is  the  limit  of  his  o^look.  Til!  those  are 
ended  he  '  will  eat  and  drinj  and  sleep,  and  then 
will  eat  and  drink  and  ieep  again.'  All  his 
labour  is  for  his  mouth.  Tls  made  life  pleasant. 
This  gave  value  to  his  weali.  It  is  a  poor  life — 
abject  in  its  poverty.  Man  grandest  powers  are 
atrophied.  Man's  highest  iitcrests  are  without  in- 
terest to  him.  The  soul  of^oodness,  the  love  of 
truth,  the  gladness  of  helping  the  joy  of  fellowship 
with  God  are  no  attractioni  The  life  is  so  poor 
and  mean  that  it  knows  not  that  it  lacks. 

4.  In  what  he  leaves  befnd  him,  and  takes 
with  him.  He  is  summonel  hence  by  the  voice 
none  can  disobey.  He  ha<l  planned  for  '  many 
days,' and  he  has  not  even  »ne.  'This  night' — 
in  the  midst  of  plan  and  hole,  the  inevitable  end 
surprises  him.  What  does  le  leave  behind  him  ? 
His  fruits,  his  goods,  his  b<ns.  Nothing  more. 
No  one  rises  up  to  bless  his  memory.  His 
mourners  are  few  if  any,  tho^h  he  may  have  had 
a  grand  funeral.  He  leaies  no  imperishable 
monument  in  deeds  of  kindness,  or  of  helpful 
service,  or  in  an  honoured  name.  What  does 
he  take  with  him?  Nothi%  of  what  he  had. 
His  treasures  were  of  the  Arth,  and  the  earth 
keeps  them.  He  only  takei  his  character,  such 
as  it  was.  And  with  that  he  entered  the  eternal 
world  a  b^gar,  and  a  fool. 


Printed  by  HOKKISON  &  Gibb  Limited,  Tinfield  Woriu, 
uid  Pnblitbed  by  T.  &  T.  Cuak,  38  G«orE«  Street, 
EdinburEh.  It  ii  leqaoted  that  «U  littniy  com. 
Daaiatiou  be  «ddt«wcd  to  Thk  Enrnx,  St.  Cynis, 

MonlTose. 


.yGooi^lc 


.yGooi^lc 


.yGooi^lc 


n 


.yGooi^lc 


.yGooi^lc