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 marginalia 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 this resource, we have 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 from 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 attribution The Google "watermark" you see on each file is essential for informing 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 liability 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/|
Digitized by
Google
Digitized by
Google
Digitized by
Google
Digitized by
Googk
i
Digitized by
Google
Digitized by
Google
THE JEWISH
QUARTERLY REVIEW
VOL. VII.
Digitized by
Google
Digitized by
Google
EDITED BY
I. ABRAHAMS AND C. G. MONTEFIORE.
VOLUME VII,
London : D. NUTT.
1894.
Digitized by
Google
lokdok:
printed bt webtheiheb, lea k 00.
OIBOUS PLACE, LONDON WALL.
Digitized by
Google
CONTENTS.
PAOK
APOCALYPSE OF MOSES. By F. C. Contbbabe 216
CBmCAX NOTICES.
"As Others Saw Him" 776
Back "Die Geschichtb des JCd. Volkes" 168
BEBLrxER^s "Geschichtb der Juden in Rom" 353
Babdowitz " Orthoobaphie des AlthebbaIsohen ... 367
Chables, B. H. "Ethiopio Book op Jubilees" 546
Dbummond's ** Via, Vebitas, Vita " 548
FbiedlIndeb (M.) "Zub Ektstehungsobsohichtb des
Cheistenthums " 664
GoLDSMiDT "Das Buoh deb Schopfuno 360
Habkayy ON THE Qabaite Al-Qibqisaki 365
KOnio's " Intboduction to the Old Testament " ... 329
KUENEK^S " 6E8AMMELTE AbHANDLUNGEN " 340
Nathanel Ibn Yeshaya's " Light of Shade, and Lamp
OF Wisdom" 350
Maimonides* Ababic Commentabt to the Mishnah ... 846
Ratner's " Intboduction TO THE Sedeb Olam " ... 348
ROBENMANN*S ** StUDIEN ZUM BUCHE TOBIT " 349
Simon, Lady, " Recobds AND Eeflbctions " 164
Simon (O. J.), "Faith and Expebienge" 770
St&ack^s "Intboduction to the Talmud" 338
DARMESTETER (JAMES) AND HIS STUDIES IN ZEND
LITERATURE. By Prof. F. Max MDlleb 173
Digitized by
Google
VI COXTENTS.
PAGE
DEATH, BURIAL, MOURNING. By A. P. Bendeb 101, 259
DOMNINUS. A JEWISH PHILOSOPHER OF AI^TIQUITY. B7
Db. S. Keauss 270
(See also p. 567).
BMANUELE DA ROMANS NINTH MEHABBERETH AND THE
TRESOR OF PEIRE DB CORBIAC. B7 Gustavo
Sacebdote 711
EXPULSION OF THE JEWS FROM ENGLAND. By B. L.
Abbahams 75, 236, 428
FOURTH GOSPEL, NOTES ON ITS RELIGIOUS VALUE. By
C. G. MONTEFIOBE 24
IDEAL IN JUDAISM. By Rev. M. Joseph 169
IDEAL MINISTER OF THE TALMUD. By Nina Davis 141
INCARNATION: THE PHILOSOPHICAL ASPECTS OF THE
DOCTRINE OF DIVINB INCARNATION. By F. C.
ComfBEABE 607
ISAIAH, GLEANINGS FROM. By G. H. Skipwith 470
JEREMIAH, STUDIES IN THE BOOK OF. By G. H. Skipwith 664
JEWISH ARABIC LITURGIES. IL By Db. H. Hibschpeld. ... 418
« JUBILEES " : NEW TRANSLATION OF. By Rev. R. H. Chables 297
«KING": "THE REFERENCES TO THE "KING" IN THE
PSALTER, IN THEIR BEARING ON QUESTIONS OF
DATE AND MESSIANIC BELIEF. By Rev. G. Buchakak
Gbay 658
LAZARUS DE VITERBO'S EPISTLE TO CARDINAL SIRLBTO
CONCERNING THE INTEGRITY OF THE HEBREW
BIBLE. By Pbof. D. Kaufmann 178
PERLES (JOSEPH). By Pbof. W. Bachbb 1
(See also p. 364.)
PERSIAN HEBREW MSS. IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM. By
Rev. G. Mabgoliouth 119
PHILO : FLORILEGIUM PHILONIS. By C. G. Montefiobe ... 481
PHILO: CONCERNING THE CONTEMPLATIVE LIFE. By
F. C. Contbeabe 7.55
Digitized by
Google
CONTENTS. vii
PAGE
POEMS, HEBREW, TRANSLATIONS. By Nina Davis, Elsie
Davis, AND Rev. Dr. E. King 459
PRE-TALMUDIC HAGOADA. II. THE APOCALYPSE OP
ABRAHAM. By K. Kohler 581
QIRQISAlfl, THE QARAITE, AND HIS WORK ON JEWISH
SECTS. By Prof. W. Backer 687
RABBINIC THEOLOGY, ASPECTS OF. By S. Schbchter 195
SAMARITAN LITURGY AND READING OF THE LAW. By A.
Cowley 121
SHIR HASHIRIM: AGADATH SHIR HASHIRIM. By S.
SCHECHTER
I. Text Concluded 145-
II. Corrections AND Notes 729^
SHORTHAND : THE HEBREW BIBLE IN
I. By Dr. Neubauer 361
II. By Dr. M. FriedlAnder 564
TARGUM : A SPECIMEN OF A COMMENTARY AND COLLATED
TEXT OF THE TARGUM OF THE PROPHETS (NAHUM)
By Rev. M. Adler 630
ZAMORA, ALFONSO DE. By Dr. A. Neubauer 398
ZUNZ, LEOPOLD. By Lector L H. Weiss ... 36&
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS TO VOLUME 711.
B. L. Abrahajis.
M. Adler.
W. Bacher.
A. Bender.
L. Blau.
J. Ebtun Carpenter.
R. H. Charles.
F. C. Conybeabe.
6. A. Cooke.
A Cowley.
E. Davis.
N. Davis.
M. FriedlInder.
G. Buchanan Gray.
S. J. Halberstam.
H. HiRSCHFELD.
J. Jacobs.
D. Kaupmann.
E. G. King.
K. KOHLER.
S. Krauss.
A. Law.
D. S. Marooliouth.
G. Marooliouth.
C. G. MONTEFIORE.
F. Max MtfLLER.
A. Neubauer.
G. Sacerdote.
S. Schechter.
G. H. Skipwith.
I. H. Weiss.
Digitized by
Google
Digitized by
Google
^mrtmlg l^rip*
BDITSD BT
L ABRAHAMS AND C. G. MONTEFIORE
Vol. VII.
OCTOBER, 1894.
No. 25,
CONTENTS.
JOSEPH PERL^. By Prof . W. Bachkb
NOTES ON *HB BELIGIOUS VALUE OP THE FOUKTH
GOSPEL. By C. G. Montkfiobb
THE EXPULSION OF THE JEWS PBOM ENGLAND IN 1290.
By B. LioKBL Abbahams
BELIEFS, RITES, AND CUSTOMS OP THE JEWS, CON-
NBCTBD WITH DEATH, BURIAL, AND MOURNING.
IV. ByjLP. Bbndeb
PBRSL/LN HfJBREW M8S. IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM. By
the Rey. G. Marooliouth
THE SAMARITAN LITURGY, AND READING OF THE LAW.
ByA. CoWiiBT
THE IDEAL MINISTER OF THE TALMUD. By Nina Davis...
AGADATH SKIR HASHIRIM. By S. Schbohtbb
CRITICAL irOl^OES.— Lady Simon's Records and Reflections:
By AucB Law. Baeck's Die C^esohiclite des jiidisohen
Volkes nnd seinee Litteratur, tibersichtlich dargestellt: By
Dr. H. HlBSCHFEL^. Note by the anthor of '' The Ideal of
Jndmism.^ Correctiosi ta Vol. VI., p. 707 : By Dr. Nbubaueb
PAGI.
1
24
75
101
119
121
141
145
D. NUTT, 270—271, -5TRAND,
jPH^e Three SkiUwnfif, Awnmal Suh4eniftion, Pott
C /v
164
ESTJft iinX«Z8ECZ:Z>
801.
SOQiailPTOH BDIU^GS, CHAHCEBT lA \ LOPOH.
TWO AND A- HALF per CENT. INTigiEST allowed on DKPOST'i • '?p«yftWe on demand*
TWO per CttVT. on CUHRENT AOOOCJNTa, on the mlnlmam . .. ^7 balanoe^ wben
■ot drawn Inflow £100.
STOCKS, SHAKES, and ANNUITIES Pu.'based aad Sold.
SAYINGS DEtlRTMEN'^
For the enooangeineni of Thrltr hi. Bank reoevea sm*'. 4 a deposit, and allow
Intercut Monthly, on each completea ; ' .
BZBSBBCX BVZ&DnrO r \JBTY.
HOW TO PURCHASE A HOUdl' "OR TWO OUINR ^ m:R MONTH.
BZBSBBCX rBEBSOXJ> XmAW* "KJIBTT.
HOW TO PURCHASE A PLOT OF LAND FO' FI7KL i i jVGS PER MOSTB.
THE BIRKBSCK ALMANACK, wion hxh tartlcuhuTb, pcA
FRANCI3 Vv:n3CR0FT. Manager.
DAYID NUTT, 270-71, TRAND.
JUST PUBLISHE
SCARABS^; The History, Manui
Religious Symbolism of the Se6
Anciant Egypt, Phoenicia, Sardin >
etc. ; als'^ Remarks on the
Philosophy, Arts, Ethics, F
Ideas as to the Immortality o
etc.' of the Ancient Egyptia*
ciajis, etc..
By ISAAC UTF ^
AUTHOR OF
*'The Quabbalah," "The P];>' ophical Writings of
Ibn Gfdhir ,- etc.
:,ure and
■ bseus in
Etruria,
,,earning,
;^ch< logy,
;he Soul,
Phoeni-
Crown 8yo*, zxyI* /7 pp. Cloth, 12s. net
Digitized by
Google
^h ^tmh (|ttarterlg |lmm
OCTOBER, 1894.
JOSEPH PERLES.
1835-1894.
The modem science of Judaism was not invented by
Rabbia Bappoport (in his creative period), Luzzato,
Znnz, E^rochmal, Dukes, GrStz, Munk, Derenbourg, Stein-
schneider, Jost, Neubauer — to mention but a few of the best
names — ^these were no Rabbis as far as their office and
dignity are concerned. It was not their outward position,
but their inward mission that led these men to scientifically
cultivate the field of Judaism and its literature, and to create
the solid foundation of our present-day Jewish science.
But partly contemporaneous with these, partly their
successors, there have also been found Jewish pastors — the
religious guides of large communities, those holding most
important pulpits, who laboured very successfully to build
up this many-sided branch of learning, and gave practical
proof that the modem Rabbi is as well adapted to cultivate
and develop the new science of Judaism as those Rabbis
of former centuries were fitted to deal with and advance
the Jewish learning of their own times. It will suffice to
name but such men as Frankel, Geiger, Sachs, Jellinek,
Low and Kayserling in order to make it clear what part
the Rabbis have taken in this great work of our century,
viz., the founding and building ug^.j^-^^^^ffJl^gajige. The
VOL. VII.
Google
2 The Jewuh Quarterly Reoiew.
connection between the official post of Rabbi and Jewish
science (solely dependent upon the spontaneous activity of
individuals), was strengthened when Rabbinical seminaries
arose, the almost exclusive business of which consists in
endowing their disciples with scientific qualifications, so as
to fit them the better for their future office. And since, on
the other hand, the number of those in other walks of life,
who devoted themselves to Jewish learning and cultivated
its literature, has during the last decades gradually become
less, it naturally follows that a closer bond of union has
arisen between Jewish learning and the Rabbinate, which
has the significance of a real union, considering the nature
the historical origin, and the mission of this office : with the
result that the dignity of the position of Rabbi is enhanced
by reason of its devotion to learning, and that literary
activity is invested with a sort of halo by the very dignity
of the Rabbinic position. As a matter of fact, the conno-
tation, so to speak, of the term Rabbi implies a Jewish
scholar; while it depends of course upon the gifts, the turn
of mind and the career of each individual, as to whether
be will take part in originating or advancing any work and
in enriching the storehouse of literature. The Breslau
Seminary has the merit of having impressed its disciples
with this duty of the modern Rabbi, namely, that he should
be actively engaged in the paths of science and literature :
and to those of its disciples who were the earliest to pro-
ceed from its walls belongs the merit that they ever kept
this ideal of duty before them, and knew how to combine
the exercise of the laborious and many-sided office of
Babbi with a successful literary career. As the first and
most important among these, it was customary to name the
man who has but lately been taken from our midst at the
early age of barely sixty years. And Joseph Perles will in
future, too, be named as the pattern of a modem Rabbit
whose calling was Jewish learning, as the type of a modem
Jewish scholar, who, with the utmost love and devotion,
discharged the duties of teacher and leader of a large
Digitized by
Google
Joseph Perks, S
congregation. But the virtues of Rabbi and scholar which
Joseph Perles combined within himself reposed upon the
stable foundation of the best qualities of a brave and noble
heart, so that he presented the rare example of an
harmonious life ever actively directed towards the highest
ideals, and had a fascinating influence upon all who came
in contact with him, impressing them with the example of
an accomplished and sympathetic personality. But in
these pages we do not intend to pourtray his personality,
nor to speak of his labours as Rabbi. These pages are to
be devoted to his literary activity ; and within the bio-
graphical limits of this notice there shall appear the picture
of his life-work, by means of which he joined the ranks of
the leading workers in the field of Jewish learning, upon
which he himself made a substantial advance, and by means
of which he has secured for his memory a reputation far.
beyond the term of his earthly existence.
Joseph Perles was bom at Baja, a small town in
Southern Hungary, on the 25th of November,^ 1835. He
was the son of the Rabbinic Assessor (Dayan), Baruch
Perles, who was descended from an old family of Rabbis.
In a brief note on the expulsion of the Jews from Prague in
1744 (Frankel's Monatsschrift, 1866, p. 231), Joseph Perles
mentions a work printed in 1739, the author of which
was his ancestor, who was Dayan in Prague (the work
is ethical, and cited in Benjacob's Bibliographical Lexicon,
p. 379, No. 2441).
The family name Perles (or Perls) is traced back, accor-
ding to an ancient tradition, to Perl, the second wife of
the " hohe Rabbi Low " — the renowned Rabbi of Prag,
after whom it is said her children surnamed themselves
' In hiB short Vita^ attached to his Doctor's Dissertatioii, Perles gives the
26th of December as the day of his birth. But it seems that this was
afterwards found to be incorrect, for the date communicated to me bj
letter bj his youngest son, Felix Perles, and that which appeared in the
obttnary notice of the MUnohsner neuette Nachrickten^ was the 25th of
Korember.
A 2
Digitized by
Google
4 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
(v. Kaufmann, Monats,^ xxxvii. 384). The education which
fell to the lot of young Perles was quite in consonance
with so learned a descent. He was in early life introduced
to a knowledge of Biblical and Rabbinic literature, and was
at the same time sent to the Gymnasium in his native city,
at which he received a certificate for proficiency. The Jewish
community of Baja belonged to those of Hungary who
were in the van of culture and the most progressive and
enlightened in matters of religion. It therefore offered the
most favourable spiritual atmosphere for the comprehensive
cultivation of a youth aspiring to the office of Rabbi, both
as regards Jewish and general knowledge. And Perles had
the good and rare fortune, when his own city could offer
him no more in the way of higher knowledge, that pro-
videntially the seat of learning was founded, at which he
could prepare himself in so beneficial a manner for his
future profession. In the same summer in which he passed
the highest class of the Gymnasium, there was opened in
Breslau (August 10th, 1854) the Jewish-Theological Semi-
nary, which Perles entered in 1855, matriculating at the
same time at the University. Both Seminary and Uni-
versity offered the richest opportunity for the acquisition
of sound knowledge and for the scientific training of the
mind. While at the seminary the teaching and example of
men like Frankel, Gratz, Bemays, Zuckermann and Joel in-
troduced him to the various branches of Jewish learning, he
applied himself at the University during seven "semesters"
to Oriental, philosophic, and historical studies. Of Oriental
languages he studied with great zeal in addition to Arabic
and Persian, chiefly Syriac, under the direction of Bernstein,
the best Syriologist of his time. The exact knowledge of
this language, and also his thorough acquaintance with
Persian, were most significant for his later etymological
researches. But the study of Syriac bore rich fruit even
during his University career : I mean his critical researches
into the Peschito, the important products of which he set
down in his Dissertation for the Degree of Doctor (to
Digitized by
Google
Joseph Perlea, 5
which we shall refer more fully), his renowned "Melete-
mata Peschitthoniana."^
Two years before the appearance of his Dissertation
Perles had already appeared in public as a worker in
literature, by means of a series of anonymous reviews
signed with the Greek tt, which appeared in the 6th, 7th
and 8th Annuals (1857-1859) of the '' Manatsschrifi fur Ge-
icIUchte und Wmenschaft dea Judenthums" It shows the
remarkable esteem and confidence which he received from
the editor of the Monatsschrift, Director Frankel, that he
entrusted his youthful student with reviews of the most
varied literary subjects ; and we might specially dwell
upon the fact as most suggestive, that the first work upon
which Perles had to give his opinion was actually written
by one of the teachers at the seminary. It was the mono-
graph of Zuckermann : " Ueber Sabbath-Jahrcyclus und
Jubel-Periode " (6th Annual, pp. 194-198). These reviews,
the first-fruits of Perles* literary work, by no means bear
the impress of youthful production, and they already
give evidence of the characteristics of his later efforts.
Strict relevancy, a careful avoidance of all general
observations not belonging to the subject, the gift of
brief and clear language, simple and perspicuous state-
ments, an almost obvious dislike of any attempt at
rhetorical display — these peculiarities which differentiated
Perles as a scientific and literary author, and from which
ensued a certain refreshing dryness and plainness in
harmony with the severity of his material — these
characteristics are akeady apparent in those reviews by
which he anonymously made his dihut in the literary
world. It is true that they concern themselves chiefly
with giving a thorough survey of the contents of the book
under criticism ; but they are not devoid of expressions
of judgment in which we find resoluteness, and, where
' Meletemata Peschitthoniana : Dissertatio Inau^ralis. Vratislaviae, 56
pp. Vide Monatsschrift (1859), pp. 223-225, and Ben Chananja, 2nd Ann.,
pp. 871-378.
Digitized by
Google
6 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
necessary, unreserved severity combined with benevolent
appreciation and grateful praise.
The works he reviewed are further a valuable testimony
to the fact that Perles accustomed himself in early years
to those branches of literature on which his later activity
was spent : the History of Exegesis, Researches into the
language of the Talmud and into Archaeology, Legend and
the History of Literature. He treats of Low's '* Hamaph-
teach, Introduction to the Holy Scriptures and History of
Exegesis" (6th Annual, pp. 433-436), Jehuda Ibn Koreisch's
Ris^le, edited by Barges and Goldberg (ib., pp. 470-473),
Beer's Life of Abraham (8th Ann., pp. 315-316), Kayser-
ling's Sephardim (ib., pp. 41-44). Perles discussed at
greater length, this time giving his name, and adding
copious remarks and original explanations concerning
words, Lewysohn's Zoology of the Talmud (ib., pp. 354-359,
390-396). His delight in etymology is evidenced in his
review of the ** Etudes sur la formation des racines semifiques,"
by Abbe Leguest (7th Ann., pp. 231-236). His knowledge of
Italian, which stood him in good stead in his later works, is
shown in his treatment of some speeches by Lelio della
Torre (ib., pp. 315-316). We might specially refer to his
review of two Hebrew works, the Hebrew translation of
the Koriln by Reckendorf (6th Ann., pp. 357-359), and the
philosophic encyclopaedic work of I. Barasch, with an
introduction by Rappoport (ib., pp. 274-278). In the latter
Perles expresses his disapproval of treating in the Hebrew
language modem scientific themes. And as far as I am
aware he never published his researches in a Hebrew garb,
although the short preface attached to his edition of his
father-in-law's work on the Targum clearly shows that
he knew how to write Hebrew simply and well As
early results of his lexicographical studies we ought to
mention his explanation of several foreign words occurring
in the Halachoth Qedoloth, which Frankel attached to his
own review of an article by Reifmann (8th Ann., pp. 158-
160). Had this review been consulted in the preparation
Digitized by
Google
Joseph Perles. 7
of the glossary fotind in the new edition of the Ebdachoth
Gedoloth (by Hildesheimer), it would have been an
advantage.
In the year 1857 Perles gained ont of seven candidates
the prize for an essay on Moses Nachmanides' Commentary
on the Pentateuch, and this work appeared in th^ MonaU-
%ehrijl as the first independent product of the young
scholar.^ His taste for the historical treatment of literary
subjects and his capacity to seize on the vital and essential
parts of a scientific work were shown to be already highly
developed in this essay, which included an adequate
discussion of the historical environment and importance
of Nachmanides. The spirit of Frankel, who set the
subject of the essay and with whom Nachmanides' Com-
mentary was a favourite, as well as the spirit of Perles
himself, may be said to be well reflected in the following
sentence employed by him to characterise the subject of
his work: — "Thus Nachmanides proves himself to be a
man of moderate progress, clinging to the old views
hallowed by centuries, yet following the tide of his own
age and taking account of the spirit of the time/' In these
words Perles, to a certain extent, expressed the nature
both of his teacher Frankel and of his own views. Perles'
work on Nachmanides remains a valuable and lasting con-
tribution to the history of exegesis. The characteristics
and contents of this Pentateuch Commentary are fully
given, as well as the sources, and all literary and historical
references. In a supplement which appeared two years
later^ Perles treats of Nachmanides' teachers, the chronology
of his halachic works, his halachic authorities, and edits
also his epistle to the French Rabbis on the subject of
Maimonides' writings.* With this work Perles commenced
* " Cber den Geist dee Oommentars des B. Mows b. Nachman zum Pen-
tateach and dber sein YerhaltniBaznmPentateach-CoininentarBasohiV*
Monatuehrift (1858), pp. 81-97, 113-116, 117-136, 146-169.
* «Kachtr&g« fiber B. Moees b. Nachman." MoiMtstchHft (1860), pp.
16.1795.
Digitized by
Google
8 The JetHsh Quarterly Review,
his labours as a careful editor of the unpublished. stores
of literature.
On the 30th of March, 1859, Perles received the degree of
Doctor from the Breslau University, having passed the
Examination summa cum lau4e, a rare distinction. He
dedicated his Dissertation to " his most-beloved Teachers '*
{prcBceptorihuB dikctissimu), G. H. Bernstein and Zacharias
Frankel. This Dissertation for the Doctorate was, as it
seldom happens with such attempts, truly epoch-making.
Within somewhat narrow limits it contained a fulness of
most interesting matter and many new points of view.
His subject was in the main nothing less than that
the old Syriac Translation of the Bible, though it had been
preserved by the Christian Church alone, was yet a product
of Judaism, and, like the other ancient Jewish Trans-
lations of the Bible, reflected the Jewish exegesis of the
Bible as well as Jewish traditions. This view has, it is true,
been combated, and with good reason partly narrowed
down ; but it advanced to a considerable degree the know-
ledge of the Peschito, and for the first time brought to light
its historical setting. I may just refer in passing to the two
theses which Perles appended to his Doctor-Dissertation, in
order, as was the custom at the time, to defend his views in
public — subjects germane to the comparative researches of
the author and which have not yet received adequate con-
sideration:— " Traditionum qtue in re divina valent, similis apud
Arahea atque apud Judwos est ratio ;" and " Cabhalistarum
doctrine cum Ssufiorum arete cohceret**
In the summer of 1859 Perles made a stay in his native
town, and he employed his run through the Hungarian
capital in looking through the Hebrew and other Oriental
MSS. contained in the National Museum of Hungary. A
short account of the former he contributed to Low's Ben
Chananja,^ which periodical contained other contributions
^ *^Die Hebraica im nngariachen Nationalmuseams in Pest." Ben
Chananja, 2nd Ann., p. 571. Details concerning these manuscripts are
Digitized by
Google
Joseph Perks. 9
from his pen in 1859 and 1860 ^ his intention to refer to
the other Oriental MSS. in the proper place was not carried
out. In the course of the last two years of his student-
ship at Breslau, Perles published two most valuable and
interesting archaeological studies, having collected scraps of
material with the greatest industry and care, which contri-
buted greatly to the understanding of these subjects.* He
further published some reviews and notices.' The time was
approaching when he was to leave College and take up the
profession for which he had been preparing himself with so
much diligence and devotion. Before he had reached the
end of his College term at Breslau he received a call in the
autumn of 1861 as Rabbi of the Brildergemeinde of Posen ;
but it was not before the 30th of April, 1862, that Perles,
in conjunction with his two colleagues, M. Gudemann, at
present Rabbi in Vienna, and M. Rahmer, at present
Rabbi in Magdeburg, was at a public celebration declared
fully qualified to undertake the position of Rabbi and
Preacher. It was the first celebration of its sort at the
Breslau Rabbinical Seminary, and one can quite understand
the following proud terms in which the Director reported
upon it in the Monataschrift, 12th Ann., p. 66: — "This
giTen by Sam. Kohn, Die KehrdUoken Handsohriften de$ ungarUchen
Katumal-museumt : Berlin, 1877.
1 ^ Cber den Ansdmok HDH^ als Bezerohnong der Anf erstehung." B. Ch.
n. 466. "* Die Nabataer im Thalmnd and Midrasoh." B. Gh. III. 81.
** ChryBostomus und die Juden." Ih,, 569-671.
* " Die jMische Hochzeit in naohbiblischer Zeit," Monat9»chrift (18G6),
3S9-360, appeared in separate form : Leipzig, 1860. **Die Leicben-Feier-
lichkeiten im naobbibliscben Jndenthnm," ih,^ 1861, pp. 345-355, 376-394,
alBO separately printed : Breelan, 1861. Botb appeared in Englisb in the
Hebrew Characteristics of the American Jewish Publication Society: New
York, 1875.
' The reviews are now signed with the initials J J*., and refer to — Die
Fabdn de$ Sophos, of Landsberger (9th Ann., 71-74) ; Don Joseph Nasi, of
M. A. Levy (*^., 118, 119) ; Die Juden-Frage, of M. Kalisoh (i*., 387-391) ;
Ueher die Chronik des Sulpicius Severus, of J. Bemays (10th Ann., 152-
155). Vide also, in 8th Ann., pp. 319, 320, a note npon das Targomwort
OJO^n. Ih,, 435, concerning several remarkable statements made by a
Persian lexicographer relating to a Jewish money-forger.
Digitized by
Google
10 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
Institution has now by means of these young men re-
deemed the promise which it made to the public at the
time of its inception ; then it could but beg for the con-
fidence of its supporters, now it has the consciousness of
not having abused that trust."
Perles worked for a whole decade in Posen. Concerning his
position there we have the following statement of a trust-
worthy writer (in a necrologue in the laraelitische Wbchen-
schri/t, March 30th, 1894) : " Perles was a very young man
when he came to Posen ; but even then he was invested
with a certain dignity and loftiness of mind which made
him respected by the entire large congregation. Not that
he had the talent or the desire to cast a halo about his
own person ; there was, in fact, no one simpler and plainer
than he was. That sanctimoniousness of the pastor,
which, however much it may impress the ignorant, is
repugnant to and repels the enlightened, was foreign to
Perles' nature; it was, in truth, abhorrent to him. But,
nevertheless, there was a charm about his personality
which captivated those who were admitted into his family
circle. For fortune had favoured him with a helpmate
who had the most exalted notions concerning the dignity
of the office of preacher, and who cherished the thought
that it was within the power of a preacher's wife — ^aye,
that it was incumbent on her — to help and even sustain
her husband."
It was on June 2nd, 1S63, that Perles contracted the ma-
trimonial alliance, which proved a truly happy one, with the
partner of his life, as she is described in the words I have
just quoted. Now she and her two exemplary sons mourn
the loss of husband and father, so early taken from their
midst ; but what a source of comfort must the widow find
in the recollection of three decades passed together with
her husband in a work so heartily taken up and jointly
carried out to the blessing of both ! The father-in-law of
Perles, who died in 1885, was a learned merchant, who
made the Targumim his favourite study, and whose Hebrew
Digitized by
Google
Joseph Perks, 11
Cofnmentary on Targnm Onkelos may be described &s the
best and most thoroughly scientific manual, free from*
dilettantic speculation, which exists for the study of the
Targtim. It was edited by Perlesin 1888.^
Almost simultaneously with his marriage Perles was able
to publish the first-fruits of his studies in Posen — ^the
monograph concerning R. Salomon b. Abraham b. Adereth
(Adret), which, in consequence of its subject-matter, stands
in close relation to his prize essay on Nachmanides? Conspi-
cuous in it appears the controversy regarding the Philo-
sophy and Freedom of the Study of Science, in which Sa-
lomon b. Adereth took a leading part, and which is presented
to the reader by Perles by means of a careful analysis of the
most important collection of statements upon the subject
contained in the book Minchath Kenaoth. In the Appendix
Perles publishes two hitherto unknown writings of S. b.
Adereth,* and the preface to Jacob b. Anatoli's homiletic-
philosophical work, which subsequently appeared in a
complete form.
The archives of the congregation at Posen gave Perles an
opportunity of turning his attention to another pha«se of
Jewish history. He wrote the History of the Jetcs in
Pos^i,* according to Professor Kaufmann's opinion (Sup-
' Binre Onkelos, Scholia znm Targfnin Onkelos von Simon Bamch
Schefftel. Bdited after the death of the author by Dr. J. Perles : Munich,
1888. 288 pp.
' R, Salomo "b, Ahraham h» Adereth. Sein Lehen und seine Schrifteny
nebst handsohriftlichen Beilagen znm ersten Male heransgegeben : Bres-
lau, 1863. 83 and 61 pp. See Remsws by Frankel iMonatsschri/t, 12th
Aim., pp. 183 and 188) and Geiger {Jiidische Zeitschrift, 2nd Ann., pp. 69
and 63). The work is dedicated *' in loying devotion *' to Dr. H. Graetz,
*' the valued teacher and friend.'*
' Thej are : The beginning of a commentary upon the Agada of the
Babylonian Talmud (24*56) ; A polemical treatise defending the Jewish
religion against the attacks of a Mohammedan. In the latest volume
of the Z, d. M. G. (vol. 48, pp. 39-42), Schreiner shows that these attacks
on the part of an unknown Mohammedan are identical with those of the
Mohammedan polemical writer, Abft Mohammed Ibn 'Hazm.
« Jfonatssehrift, 13th Ann. (1864), 281-295, 321-334, 361-373, 409-420,
Digitized by
Google
12 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
plement to the Allgemeine Zeitung, of Munich, March 17th,
1894) " the most important monograph in German which has
appeared to this day on the subject, distinguished alike by
the evidence it affords of researches into archives, and of
deep acquaintance with what has been written on the topic
by Rabbis of the Middle Ages and modern times." To the
same class of writings belongs the work which was pub-
lished two years later, Recordi Concerning the History of the
Jewish Provincial Synods in Poland.^
Such historical studies in nowise drew Perles away from
his never-ending task of investigating and explaining the
language of the Talmudic and Midrashic literature.
When I. Levy's Chaldee Lexicon of the Targumim, etc.,
appeared, Perles contributed to the first six parts most
valuable appendices, chiefly concerned with Persian.*
In an interesting article he points to an older worker in
the field of Rabbinic vocabulary, and shows that many of
the explanations of foreign words given by M. Sa^chs are
already to be found in De Lara's work,* and that his
etymologies are often to be preferred to those of later
scholars. He soon showed in how masterly a manner he
had conquered the subject of Talmudic etymology by the
appearance of a very important work, the last that he
finished in Posen. Few books present, within such narrow
limits, such a richness of material combined with a host of
fresh views and observations as his Etymological Studies,*
449-461 ; 14th Ann. (1865), 81-93, 121-136, 165-178, 206-216, 266-263. In
separate form : Breslan, 1865.
» Monatssohrift, 16th Ann. (1867), 108-111, 162-154, 222-226, 304-308
343-348.
« Zu dem ChalddUchen Wdrterbuoh von Babbiner Dr. J. Levy. MonaU'
schrift, 15th Ann., 148-153 ; 16th Ann., 297-303.
' David Cohen de Lara's RabbinUches Lexicon Kheter KheUunnah,
Ein Beltrag zur Geschichte der rabbinischen Lexicographie. Monati-
schrift, 17th Ann. (1868), pp. 224-232, 255-264, separately: Breslan, 1868.
4 " Etymologische Studien znr Ennde der rabbinischen Sprache and
Alterthumer. Monatsschri/t, 19th Ann. (1870), 210-227, 263-267, 310-326,
876-384, 416-431, 467-478, 493-524, 558-567. Also printed in separate form
(with a short preface and foar registers): Breslan, 1871.
Digitized by
Google
Joseph Per lei. 13
which deserve to rank with such works as Michael Sachs'
Contributions to the Science of Language and Archaeology.
Both Perles and Sachs, had a two-fold object, namely, by
means of proper etymologies, to advance the knowledge
of the Eabbinic texts, and to deepen the historical know-
ledge of Rabbinic antiquities.
It is difficult, considering the nature of the subject, to
give in a few sentences an idea of this work. Perles, as was
his custom, did not furnish it with any general introduction,
but plunges his readers at once medias in res, inasmuch as
he uses a string of examples to show how a right etymo-
logy is conditional upon a previous correction of the
text He makes ample use of this need for copious
textual emendation, but never in a capricious and
unscientific manner. The etymological studies of Perles
may be regarded as a rare and rich fund for the explana-
tion of foreign words, Greek as well as Persian, occurring
in Rabbinic literature, and they carry out the author's
wish as expressed in the preface to the special edition, that
" they might advance the scientific enquiry into the yet
much-confused language of Rabbinic literature." ^
The decisive period of the Franco-German war was an
important turning-point in the life of Perles. The Jewish
congr^ation of Munich elected him their Rabbi, and he
was thus transferred from the provincial city of Posen to
the capital of Bavaria, in which it was his lot to labour
incessantly until the very end of his life. On the first day
of Shevuoth, May 26th, 1871, he delivered his Installation
Sermon, from which we would extract a few sentences and
give them as a sample of the sense in which Perles re-
* A few of the writings of Perles during his labours in Posen have yet
to be noted here : — " A Review of S. Kohn De Pentateucho Samari-
tano." Monataschrift, 14th Ann. (1866), pp. 856-359. " Die Leichenver-
brennong in den alten Bibelversionen," id., 18th Ann., pp. 76-81. A
Review of Stein, Talmndische Terminologie," iJ., 473-477. In 1864
there appeared ** GottesdienstUche Vortrage/' held in the Synagogue of
the Jewish Gommonity of Posen, in aid of the Riesser-Stiftnng : Posen,
1864.
Digitized by
Google
14 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
garded his vocation and the manner in which he discharged
its duties: — "I regard it as the first and indispensable
demand made upon the conscientious guide of a congrega-
tion, that he be impressed with the exalted and important
character of his office, which is, that he is the bearer and
proclaimer of pure and unadulterated doctrine, and that
he shall ever have present before his mind the weighty
responsibility which rests upon his shoulders I
regard it as the second demand made upon the conscientious
guide of a congregation, that he shall never tire in the task
of proclaiming those truths of which he has become con-
vinced by reason of his uninterrupted investigation of the
Word of GJod, such truths, the acquisition of which have
only become possible for him by reason of his contact with
noble spirits and earnest thinkers. I regard it as
the third and highest demand made upon the conscientious
guide of a congregation that, by means of the example of
his own life, he should point the way to his congregation
in morality and uprightness of charallcter. .... I shall
conscientiously make enquiry into the present condi-
tions of the congregation and see what is necessary for the
development of its religious life. I shall oppo'ise that want
of moderation which flies to extremes, the unconditional
reverence of all that is ancient, simply because it is
ancient, and the unconditional apotheosis of all that is
new, simply because it is new It shall be my
earnest endeavour to bring about, in conjunction with my
congregation, an adequate and proper form of divine ser-
vice in harmony with the times, one that shall satisfy both
the mind and the heart, one that while it will draw to the
House of God the cultured members, the younger genera-
tion, our wives and daughters, shall not repel from its
midst that faithful band of fellow- worshippers who belong
to the old school."^
> *^ Antrittspredigt gehalten bei der tTbemahme seinoB Amtee als Rabbi-
ner der israelitiBchen ColtuBgemeinde MUnohen. Prooeeds to be devoted
to the sick and wounded in the G^man army " : Munich, 1871. 15 pp.
Digitized by
Google
Joseph Perks, 15
Perles was, in fact, the conscientious guide of his
congregation, to the members of which, in the sixth
year of his ministration among them, on the occasion of
the fiftieth (jubilee) celebration of the Synagogue, he
addressed the following words :^ "As in the paat half-
century, so shall there be proclaimed during the coming
time in this Synagogue the principles of truth, the fear
of (Jod, and the love of one's fellow-man; there shall
be reared and educated in this place a generation of
peace — peace with God, with the State, with the com-
munity, and with society at large." And God's blessing
rested upon the efforts of Perles. Just as he offered his
congregation the best at his disposal as regards the trea-
sures of mind and heart and the power of the will, in the
same manner did his congregation give him the best that
a congregation is able to offer its pastor — unlimited con-
fidence, an affection begotten of unbounded respect, full
appreciation of his instruction, and reverence for his per-
sonality. Under his lead the Munich community, the largest
in Southern Germany, grew in outward dignity and internal
possessions ; and coming generations will find an evidence
of his activity as Rabbi in the new Synagogue, which was
founded mainly by his efforts, and consecrated on the 16th
September, 1887, and which stands as "a monumental
work of architecture, much admired," and which, in
a city abounding in works of art, "ranks among the
numerous large and beautifid houses of prayer, or at least
takes a modest place in their midst." In the Dedication
Sermon,' from which these words are taken, Perles, while
apostrophising the pulpit, the seat of his own eloquence,
makes the following remarks : " O place whence words of
instruction flow, be thou and remain for all times a seat of
^ Predigt znr fUnfzigjahrigen Jabelfeier der Sjnagofce zu Munohen,
am 1. Pesach-Tage, 5636 (April 9th, 1876) : Mnnich, 1876. 20 pp.
' Beden znm Abechiede Ton der alten nnd zur Einweihung der nenen
Sjnagoge in MUnchen, am 10. xmd 16. September, 1887: MUnohen, 1887.
18 pp.
Digitized by
Google
16 The Jetciah Quarterly Review.
fruitful impulse and religious teaching. Let all impatient
expressions, all words of hatred and enmity, be ever banished
from thy midst ! May vanity and arrogance be foreign to
those who preach from thee ! From this spot may the in-
exhaustible treasure- stores of God's word be unlocked for
the thorough instruction of the congregation assembled, so
as to arouse a clear understanding of life's duties, a right
and proper conception of the higher truth, a strengthening
of the conscience and of the heart, a cheerful disposition
in the fulfilment of those duties which devolve upon us
as Germans and as Israelites, as citizens of the narrower and
of the wider Fatherland ! O that this might be brought
about in the spirit of truth, of love, and of peace ! " We
would utter the wish that all succeeding occupants of this
pulpit, once and for ever hallowed by Perles himself, will
work in the midst of the congregation in this self -same
spirit.
Munich, with its rare collection of printed and manuscript
works, supplied the zeal of Perles, untiring in investigation,
with never-ending means and subjects for fresh activity.
Just as he once jocularly said, in reviewing the Jewish-
German Chrestomathy^ of his learned friend. Max
Griinbaum, the well-known investigator of the legendary
literature, that he " lived in Munich, I would fain
say, in the Royal and National Library of Munich,"
so was also henceforth the life of Perles, as a scholar
and learned author, indissolubly bound up with this
famous Library. Munich, moreover, possessed in Abraham
Merzbacher one of the most high-minded lovers of Jewish
literature, who had formed a large and valuable collec-
tion of printed books and manuscripts, and with whom
Perles associated himself in true friendship. One of the
few addresses of Perles^ which have appeared in print
is a funeral oration on the occasion of the death of his
» Monatstchrift, 3l8t Ann. (1882) pp. 128-138.
* "Trauerrede an der Bahre des am 21. Sivan (4. Juni 1885) ver-
ewigten Herm Abraham Merzbacher" : Miinchen, 1886. 12 pp.
Digitized by
Google
Joseph Perks. 17
friend. Perles pays a warm tribute of eulogy^ also to the
learned and indefatigable R. N. Rabbinowicz, who was en-
abled by the help of Merzbacher to collect and publish his
Varice Lectiones to the Babylonian Talmud. As for Perles
himself, he too possessed a toleiubly important and ever-
growing private library, which contained many valuable
and rare works, and which, as I am informed by his son
Felix, numbers over three thousand volumes. As an
instance of his personal relations, I would cull the follow-
ing words from the obituary notice of a Munich news-
paper :* " The respect in which the deceased was held was
deeply rooted, not alone in the Jewish circles of Munich,
Bavaria, and Germany, but also in the circles of Christian
theology of both denominations. As scholar Dr* Perles was
greatly honoured by the late Bishop Haneberg, formerly
Abbot of the Benedictine Order here, and by Dr.
Dollinger. The Rabbi of this city stood in constant com-
munication on matters of learning with a number of
eminent Catholic theologians."
The first important work which Perles published while in
Munich follows, as far as concerns its contents, close upon
his etymological studies. It consists of fifteen larger and
smaller studies upon philological and archasological subjects
growing out of Rabbinic literature.' There is evidence here
of the abundant use made of the Midrash MSS. contained
in the Munich Library. Soon followed a contribution to
comparative folklore, a subject to which Perles had always
paid great attention ; he pointed out with much learning and
in a convincing manner the Jewish sources of the Thotisand
and one Nights.^ He published both works in separate
form, dedicating them to " Herr Abraham Merzbacher, the
> ** Beilagre zor Allgemeinen Zeitang/' vom 4. December 1888.
* "MtLQcbener Neneste Nachrichten," vom 6. Marz 1894.
' ** Miscellen zor rabbiniBohen Sprach- nnd Alterthumskunde." Mo-
natssehri/i, 2l8t Ann. (1872), pp. 251-273, 358-876.
* *' Babbinisohe Agada*8 in 1001 Naoht. Ein Beitrag znr Geschichte
der Wandenmg orientalisolier Marcben.'* Monatttchrift, 22nd Ann. (1873),
pp. 14-34, 61-85, 116-125.
VOL. VII. B
Digitized by
Google
18 The Jewish Quarter^ Beview.
friend and patron of Rabbinic studies."^ He edited
simultaneously a highly interesting Mid rash, which in his
thorough and masterly manner he showed to be a monu-
ment of the Byzantine influence upon Judaism,' and
described the " Memorialbook of the Pf ersee Community/'
which, like other memorial books of this sort that have been
brought to light in modem times, contained several accounts
of persons and events of former times.' A discovery in
the Munich Library soon led him into quite another field. He
found in a well-preserved codex the oldest Latin translation
of the MAre of Maimonides, with the result that the Latin
rendering of the MAre by Giustiniani (Justinianus), which
appeared in Paris in 1520, was proved to be none other than
a faulty copy of this very translation. He published these
and other important results of his investigations of MSS.,
together with specimens from them in another and larger
treatise.* Rare Hebrew printed books, chiefly belonging
to mediaeval popular literature, and manuscripts chiefly bear-
ing on the Liturgy, form the subject-matter of the article
published in 1876, entitled : " Bibliographische Mitthei-
lungen aus Munchen."* In the next year he gave an account
of the contents of a work in the Merzbach collection of
MSS., important in many directions, viz., the commentary
upon the Piyutim by Abraham b. Asriel of Bohemia,
and he published out of it several explanations of the
Text given by the great Exegete, R. Samuel b. Meir.* In a
1 << Zur rabbinisohen Sprach- nnd Sagenkimde " : Breslan, 1878. x.
and 99 pp.
' ^'Thron and Oirons des Eonigs Salomo." MofuUssohrift^ 2lBt Ann,,
pp. 122-139. Also in eeparate form. Breslaa, 1878.
' Mojuittsohrift, 22nd Ann., pp. 508-615, 572.
* " Die in einer Miinohener Handsohrif t aof gAfundene erste lateinisohe
t^bersetzung des Maimonidisohen Ftlhrers." Monat4iohri/ty 24th Ann.
(1875), pp. 9-24, 67-86, 99-110, 149-159, 209-218, 261-265. Also in separate
form : Breslan, 1875.
* MatuUisohrift, 25th Ann., pp. 350-375.
* "Das Bach ^Artlgath Habboeem des Abraham b. Asriel."* Monati'
iehrift, 26th Ann. (1877), pp. 360-873. Also in separate form : Krotosohin,
1877.
Digitized by
Google
Joseph Perles. 19
collection of Responsa of the I7th century, he thought he
had found some mention of the unfortunate Uriel Acosta ;
but his surprising discovery met with serious doubt.^
The Breslau Seminary, to the memory of whose first
director, Zacharias Frankel, Perles in 1875, also devoted a
faithful and mournful tribute,^ celebrated on August 10th,
1879, the twenty-fifth anniversary of its establishment. At
the request of the former students of the institution, Perles
issued in celebration of the event a remarkable monument
of mediaeval literature, which led him back once again to
that period of ferment and strife with which, on the occasion
of his monograph on Solomon b. Adereth, he had identified
himself. His edition is based upon the only extant MS-
which happened to be contained in the Munich Library.'
When the Revues des Utudes Juivea was established,
Perles became one of the contributors, and wrote in the
third volume two articles concerning some disputed
Talmudic expressions, offering divers bold hypotheses
in relation to them.* The same year there appeared in
the Z.d.D.M,G. a splendid review of a Syriac work,
use being made of some newly expounded Talmudic ex-
pressions and phrases.^ And now a long pause ensued
in his publications, only broken by the appearance
(1882) of the review already referred to, of Griine-
baum's Jewish-German Chrestomathy, but which was
* ♦* Eine neaerschlossene Qnelle tlber Uriel Acosta.'' Monnttsohrift^ 26th
Ann, (1877), pp. 193-213. In separate form: Krotoschin, 1877. Vide
G&demann and G-raets on the same {Monats,, ib., pp. 327-330). In the 27th
Ann. of the Afonatsschri/ty pp. 317-324, Perles described " Eine hebra^che
Handscbrif t der Fiirstlibh Oettingen-Wallersteinischen Bibliothek."
» " Worte der Erinnenmg " : Miinohen, 1 875. 12 pp.
> *' E^alonymns ben Ealonymns. Sendsohreiben an Joseph Easpi " :
MiLDchen, 1879. Vide Steinsohneider, Mebr, Bibliographies vol. XXI., pp.
115-118 ; Neubaner-Renan, Les Serivaim Juives de XVI, nhcle^ pp. 95-99.
* "Revme des itudes Juives," III., 1881, pp. 109-120: "Etudes Tal-
mndiqnes.*'
^ **Bemerkangen zn Bmns^achan." Sjrisch-Bdmisohes Rechtsbnoh
aofldem fOnften Jahrhundert. Z.d.DM. Q,, XXXV., pp. 139-141, 725-727.
B 2
Digitized by
Google
20 The Jewish Quarterly Revietc,
ultimately ended by the work which came as a
joyful surprise to all friends of Jewish learning, in
which Peries united the rich fruits of long years of
study and the results of a diligent and thoroughgoing
course of literary enquiry.^ This book, which is de-
dicated to Leopold Zunz on his ninetieth birthday,
consists in a series of studies reproducing newly-dis-
covered or newly-adduced materials with a copiousness
and variety rarely met with, the titles of which can
give but a very inadequate idea of the richness of
its contents. Its headings may nevertheless be re-
peated here : (i.) The small Aruch ; (ii.) The"] Makre
Dardeke and the Munich MS. of the same; (iii.) Elia
Levita's Nomenclature; (iv.) Jewish- German Glosses by
a disciple of R. Moses Hadarshan of the 13th century ;
(v.) Unpublished letters of the years 1517 — 1555. As
was Peries' manner, there was not even the shortest
introduction attached to this collection of studies, brist-
ling as it did with new data and explanations. The
history of Hebrew and Rabbinic Lexicography, the history
of the Humanist literature, the history of the beginnings
of Jewish learning among Christians, the history of
manners and customs, and middle High German philology
(as well as French and German), receive a rich addition
from the important, ample and trustworthy materials
presented in this volume. To the same class of litera-
ture as the " Contributions " belongs an article which
appeared two years later in the Retme des Etudes Juives
on the Jewish Scholars of Florence.* Peries continued his
investigations concerning the small Aruch in a neat
article forming the beginning of the (Jerman portion
of the Gratz-Jubelschrif t, the appendix to which contains
> *^Beitrage znr G^schiohte der hebriiisohen nnd aramaischen Sta-
dien " : Miinchen, 1884. 247 pp.
' " Les sayantB joifs h, Florence ^ I'^poque de Lanrent de M^ois.'*
Retue det Etude* Juivet, XII. (1886), pp. 244-257. Separately: Paris,
1887.
Digitized by
Google
Joseph Perks, 21
some highly learned contributions to the History of lite-
rature, specially to that of the habits and customs of the
Jewish people.^
In 1888 Perles edited the work on the Targum, written
by his father-in-law, to which reference has already been
made, and allowed, apparently through continued ill-
health, a somewhat long pause to ensue before he again
rejoiced the hearts of friends and adorers with the fruits of
his uninterrupted labours. Then in a tolerably lengthy
publication he wrote of the Sicilian Bible Exegete Aboul-
rabi,' who had become famous by reason of his free and
original views, and dealt more briefly with the Legend of
Asenath.' The reappearance in the autumn of 1892,
after a long interval, of the Monatsschrift, for many years the
home of his literary activity, afforded Perles a welcome
opportunity to publish what he had been collecting for
some time, new Contributions to Bahbinic Philology and
Arehceology} Here again, after a lapse of twenty years, he
proved himself to be still the tried master of etymological
studies. It seemed as if he returned with renewed
pleasure and undiminished vigour to his favourite inves-
tigations. Partially collating the results of former in-
quiries, partially widening their range and presenting
new matter, he wrote a most fascinating article upon
"Jewish Byzantine Relations."* Everything tended to
show that a new period of active originality and fruitful
research had begun in his life. Even his health had
* "Die Beraer Handschrift des kleinen Aruch." JubeUchrift zum
siebadgsten Gebnrtetage des Prof. Dr. H. Graetz : Breslaii, 1887, pp. 1-38.
' '^Ahron b. Gersou Abonlrabt" Bevue des Mtides Juives^ XXI.
(1890), pp. 246-269.
> ** La l^gende d' ABenath, fiUe de Dina et f emme de Joseph.'* JRevue
des Etudes Juives, XXII. (1819), pp. 87-92. Perles let this article appear
in Hnngarian in the 8th Ann. of the Magyar Zoidd Szemle, pp. 249-252.
* Monatsschrift, 37th Ann. (new series, 1st Ann.), 1892-1893, pp. 6-14,
64-68, 111-116, 174-179, 356-878.
» *' Bjzantmisohe Zeltsohrift," heransgegeben von Earl Knunbacher.
VoL IL, pp. 569-584.
Digitized by
Google
22 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
become better. In the summer of 1892 he visited,
after a long absence, his native place in Hungary, to
which, in spite of his having become a thorough German,
he was deeply attached, watching with sustained interest
the social and literary movements of the Jewry in
Hungary.
In the spring of 1893, on my return from a mournful
journey to Paris (whither I had gone to pay my last
respects to a dear brother of mine), I spent almost an
entire day in the family circle of Perles, and realised the
picture of the noblest form of domestic life of a man
who found in his vocation, his learning, and his near and
dear ones, the concentration of all fortune and felicity, the
picture of a man who looked into the future with the
fullest confidence and security. There was no trace then
of a shattered constitution ; he showed me some new and
valuable acquisitions to his library, and spoke of continuing
his contributions to Rabbinic philology, and of other work
that he had in view. Full of pride, justified in a father, he
spoke of the progress made by the younger of his two sons
(the elder had already earned for himself distinction as an
ophthalmologist), who seems to have inherited the talent
for languages and the spirit for research, as well as the
philological turn of mind, which characterised his father,
and whom he trained to continue his vocation and his
scientific labours. When I bade him "Auf Wieder-
sehen," I little dreamt that my words would never be
realised. In the beginning of the following year the news
spread of his serious illness, though the hope of his re-
covery was not abandoned. When I forwarded to him, in
the middle of February, the Hebrew poems of my late
father, which had just appeared, he thanked me through
his son, at the same time informing me that he was pro-
gressing slowly. But the hope was vain. On Sunday,
March 4th last, Joseph Perles breathed out his noble soul,
and on the 6th his mortal' remains were laid to their
eternal rest, amid the deepest manifestations of wide-felt
Digitized by
Google
Joseph Perles. 23
mourning, in the cemetery belonging to the Israelitish
community of Munich. His name and memory are
honoured and blessed among the Jews of Hungary, whence
he sprang, as they are honoured and blessed in the Jewry
of Germany, in whose midst and for whose welfare he
laboured. But he will be ever mentioned in the annals of
Jewish learning among the best spirits, among those whose
life was one uninterrupted work in spreading this learning
and advancing the knowledge of this science. Blessed be
his memory !
W. Bagheb.
Budapest, May, 1894.
Digitized by
Google
24 The Jetcish Quarterly Review.
NOTES ON THE RELIGIOUS VALUE OF THE
FOURTH GOSPEL.
My title sounds presumptuous. It is not, however, pre-
sumptuously meant. I merely wish to indicate the limits
of my intention. It would be foolish and unnecessary on my
part to attempt to give any systematic representation of the
religious doctrine contained in the Fourth Gospel. In the
case of St. Paul it was almost obligatory, even to a writer
who was bold enough to print his first impressions, to cast
them into the form of exposition. The readers for whom
he specially wrote were not only, as he imagined, un-
familiar with the actual wording of the Pauline Epistles,
but from upbringing, association and temperament, were
unable, without eflfort and assistance, to understand
or appreciate their meaning. On the other hand, though
the Epistles of Paul are not fully to be explained or
understood without a study of the religious and in-
tellectual environment of their author, they can, never-
theless, to some extent be expounded from themselves,
or, at any rate, from data known to the average Jewish
reader of magazines. But as regards the Fourth Gospel
the case is different in both directions. It is at once
harder and easier than the Epistles. Let a fairly-cultivated
Jew, ignorant of the New Testament (the two qualifications
are at present quite compatible), read the Epistles to the
GaJatians and the Romans, and I believe his main sensa-
tion will be one of bewilderment j let him read the Fourth
Gospel, and he will at all events think he understands a fair
amount of it. Moreover, in a sort of way he will under-
stand it ; for the oppositions between " spirit " and " fiesh,"
or " of this world " and " not of this world," the meta-
phorical and spiritual use of words like " bread," " light,"
Digitized by
Google
Notes on the Religious Value of the Fourth Gospel 25
" life," and many others, have become familiar to him in
other ways. Yet, per contra, he who would fully under-
stand " St. John " must understand two of his predecessors.
It is true that the Jewish outsider can partially under-
stand and partially appreciate the Fourth Gospel far more
readily than he can appreciate and understand St. Paul.
And yet properly to understand that Gospel you must in
the first place understand Paul. And, secondly, to pro-
perly understand that Gospel you must be acquainted
with and even understand Philo. But Philo, though, as I
imagine, no savour of unorthodoxy attaches to his name,
is necessarily no more than a name to all but the professed
student.
It would not be difficult to assign other reasons for the
comparative comprehensibility of the Fourth Gospel, in
spite of its dependence upon two obscure or even unknown
quantities. For one thing there is the style so lucidly
clear and simple, so different from the involved and excited
utterances of Paul. Then, again, just because the Fourth
Gospel is so much further removed from Judaism, it is
easier for a Jew to understand it. The period of conflict and
creation is nearly over; the Gentile Church is fully formed.
The Law is no longer a burning question ; the opposition
of faith and works, no longer prominent, is even partially
reconciled, for "faith" has become the supreme "work."
The Pauline paradoxes have done their duty ; they have
been absorbed and disappeared. In spite of the subject
and its tragedy, we have passed into a serener air. Again,
as the books on " St. John " fully explain, the death of
Christ is no longer the main feature of the Gospel. There
is a sense in which that death and its effects are still a
stumbling-block to the Jew, even as they were when first
enunciated by the daring genius of St. Paul — a stumbling-
block in two senses: impossible to accept, difficult to
appreciate or understand.
Once more putting questions of authorship on one side,
there seems much more agreement among theologians
Digitized by
Google
26 The Jetcish Quarterly Review,
as regards the Fourth Gospel than as regards St. Paul.
There seems less room for endless diversities of interpreta-
tion. Even on the critical side the commentators on St.
Paul differ a good deal one from the other, so that much
time is taken up by one man in pointing out the degrees
of error in others. But in explaining St. John, the ex-
ponents of the critical school show a much greater unani-
mity. Of course, there are varieties, and you learn things
in one book which you do not find in another. Still the
views of Pfleiderer, and Thoma, and the two Holtz-
mann's, and Scholten, and Martineau, and Cone, all bear
a very marked likeness to each other; and there is a
fair amount of repetition as you pass from the first book
to the second, and from the second to the third and fourth.
The consequence is that anybody who will work a little
at Philo, should be able with the help of some two or
three of these scholars to get a very fair idea of the
contents of the Fourth Gospel.
A principal question which I have set before myself
in reading, and in reading about, the " Gospel according to
St. John " is, What is the religious value of this book to
those who have not been brought up in Christianity, and
who do not believe in some of its most distinctive dogmas ?
What is its religious value to the average modern Jew ?
For a Jew to ask this question is partly but not entirely
equal to asking without qualifications " What is the religious
value of the Fourth Gospel ? " Such an identification is
only conceited in appearance. Each one of us in estimating
the leligious worth of another creed, is bound to re-
gard his own belief to a considerable extent as a fixed
standard of value. The Christian judges Buddhism
favourably by its real or supposed resemblances to Chris-
tianity, and so on. But this identification need not and
should not be complete. To the more philosophic believer
at any rate, no religion (his own included) is ever perfect,
and none is without its partial though perhaps temporary de-
fects. One religion may be onesided in one respect, a second
to
Digitized by
Google
Notes on the Religiom Value of the Fourth Gospel 27
in another. A third may have the defects of its qualities.
The exaggerations of one religion may be of a certain use
to the opposite exaggerations of another. It is, therefore,
quite possible that certain points in the Fourth Gospel,
themselves perhaps not wholly true or accurate, may be
of religious value to a Jew. He may realize their onesided-
ness, while they help him to correct his own.
It must at once be allowed that this method of approach-
ing the Fourth Gospel is the one of all others which would
probably be least sympathetic to its author. I assume that
the main contention of the Gospel — ^the contention or argu-
ment Ifidd down in its opening prologue {e.g., i. 1-14) or in its
closing verse (xx. 31) — is false : and then I coolly proceed to
ask. What is its religious value ? As the believer would
answer, ''Infinite," so might he maintain that the un-
believer must answer, " Nil." For the object of the Gospel
is not to teach ethics ; it is not to teach any aspect of reli-
gion, or any phase of the spiritual or moral life, which
may be independent of or only mediately connected with
its supreme and central propositions, that the Eternal and
Divine Word became flesh, that Jesus was the Christ, the
Son of God, and that he is the Way, the Truth, and
the life. As Thoma most rightly says, " Die Lehre des
Johannesevangeliums ist eigentlich nichts anderes als Chris-
tologie*' ^ " The doctrine of the Fourth Gospel is pure
Christology." Does it not seem ridiculous that any one
should find religious value in a book the essential and
all-pervading object of which he, ab initio, assumes to
be untrue ? If we want a florilegium of ethical and reli-
gious sayings, we should go elsewhere than to the Fourth
Gospel, where almost every verse is made subservient to
and dependent on the main doctrine and purport of the
whole. "Take away the Oodhead of Christ," says Dr.
Martineau, '* and there is not an incident or a speech in the
Fourth Gospel which does not lose its significance."'
* Thoma, I>if OeneiU det Johannes- Evangeliumt, 1882, p. 302.
* Mardnean, The Seat of Authority in Religion, 1890, p. 426.
Digitized by
Google
28 The Jetoish Quarterly Review.
What, then, can be the value of this book to the Unitarian
or the Jew ? Is it not almost an affront to the book and
almost an insult to its author to ask the question, when
you defiantly shut your ears to the very thing they have
to say ? Yet the Unitarian, Dr. Martineau, can find in this
same Gospel at least " one vital element " of permanent
value. And so, perhaps, may a Jewish reader, though (put-
ting the central proposition on one side) he finds some
things that are ethically and spiritually dangerous, and as
he hopes erroneous, find also others which are ennobling,
beautiful and true.
Few persons, at any rate, be their religion what it may,
can read the Fourth Gospel through without yielding to
its spell. Few persons, I imagine, can remain proof to
its remarkable fascination. May I briefly indicate wherein
probably (to the outsider) the causes of this fascination
consist ?
First of all there comes the beauty of the manner, apart
from the matter of the book. Its simplicity and eleva-
tion of style, the sustained dignity and, occasionally, the
dramatic power, all hold the interest of the reader. The
greatest subjects in heaven or on earth are dealt with, and
while the sentences are clear and unadorned, the sense of
grandeur is usually well maintained. We feel that we are
reading the work of a genius, and, moreover, the work of one
who has full control over his material, his thought and his
words. How delightfully the shortness and pointedness of
St. John contrast with the diffuse rhetoric of Philo. The
very same ideas sometimes offend us in the one writer which
charm us in the other. A single crisp verse takes the
place of pages of involved and florid rhetoric. The taste of
the one was doubtless excellent for his own age and en-
vironment ; the taste of the other still seems excellent to
our own. A thought strangely expressed in Philo fails to
arrest our attention. The same thought in the Fourth
Gospel compels reflection or astonishment. Again, the
Fourth Gospel, like so many other books, both of the
Digitized by
Google
Notes on the Religioue Value of the Fourth Chspel. 29
Hebrew and the Christian Scriptures, is alone of its kind.
It is very short ; but there is no other book exactly re-
sembling it. Like the Prophets, the Psalms, or the Epistles
of St. Paul, it has a uniqueness and isolation of its own.
But these reasons have only skimmed the surface. Others
lie deeper. Most fairly cultivated persons, who are not
naturally indifferent to one important side of our complex
humanity, will be attracted by the spirituality of the book,
by its idealism. This Fourth Gospel has, I suppose, gone a
good way to form the religious consciousness of civilised
humanity such as it now existwS, and we have not yet, I
imagine, got beyond — ^it may be hoped that we never shaJl
get beyond — these oppositions between the seen and the un-
seen, the outward and the inward, the flesh and the spirit,
which our Gospel has helped to make a permanent item in
the forms and categories of cultivated, and even unculti-
vated, thought. When Plato talks about the true beauty
and the true goodness, unseen and yet real, more real far
than the world of sense, when he speaks of a life that is
death, and of a death that may be life, though his
ideals be often " vacant forms of light," they will always
awaken a sympathetic response from our higher nature
— a yearning, sometimes vague and untutored, but not
phantastic or spectral, towards a truth and goodness
of which we could not dream if they were not real.
So with the Fourth Gospel. On the purely religious side
it has been the great source for those spiritual anti-
theses and truths with which mankind is now familiar.
And great primal phrases such as "God is a spirit,"
the " Bread of Life," " Peace not as the world giveth," in
their striking simplicity and at their fountain source,
will always, I should imagine, continue to attract and
fascinate the spiritual and religious consciousness of man.
Connected with this spirituality, or only another expres-
sion of it, is the symbolic language of the Gospel. As
artistic limits of length and degree are not outstripped,
the double meaning with which the actions and words of
Digitized by
Google
30 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
Christ are often charged cannot fail to cause pleasure and
profit. The scene where Christ washes his disciples* feet is
in itself striking and beautifiil, but its inner and symbolic
meanings, half concealed and half revealed, add materially
to its effect. As sometimes we feel that the respondents in
the Platonic dialogues are made to misapprehend the mean-
ing of the questions too clumsily, so sometimes the gross
misconceptions of Christ's auditors are exaggerated in the
Gospel But the spiritual use of such words as light and
darkness, slavery and freedom, bread and water, life and
death, through their very background of material applica-
tion, moves our admiration and quickens our discernment.
The spirituality of the Gospel liberates and,appeals to what
is spiritual in ourselves ; we are not reminded of or im-
pelled to any particular duty, but we are rendered alert and
responsive to that ever-recurrent opposition of sense and
spirit, on which much that is best and noblest in life seems
to depend. There is a possible danger in this. A mere
tickling of the spiritual instincts, a mere spiritual palpita-
tion, may be of little use or even of positive harm to our
moral nature, and may not make us fulfil the better, but
even the worse, our definite duties and obligations. It is
much better to fulfil these well and not to appreciate the
ethereal spirituality of the Fourth Gospel, than to suc-
ceed in the latter and to fail in the former. Moreover
these sundered capacities are quite, possible and probably
not unfrequent. But the fascination, beyond which at this
stage I should perhaps not have gone, is independent of
the question of ethical profit and loss.
What has been said of the spirituality and symbolism of
the Fourth Gospel applies in even greater measure to its
mysticism. Putting aside the religious tmlue of mysticism,
whether generally or for the average modem Jew, there
can be no question of the fascination which mystic religious
sentiment, if expressed with adequate simplicity and con-
ciseness, exercises upon the mind and the feelings. These
qualifications are eminently complied with in the Fourth
Digitized by
Google
Not€9 on the JReligwus Value of the Fourth Ooapel SI
Gospel. The eternal need of a Qod within as well as a
Grod without, of breaking down or bridging over the gulf
which seems to separate the human from the divine, and
of yet maintaining the separateness and " personality " of
both — these needs are felt and realised in the Fourth
Gospel with considerable power and penetration, and for
the believer of its main hypotheses, they are largely satis-
fied and appeased.
To these causes of fascination there may perhaps be
added, not only the beautiful use of the ideas of love and
sacrifice, a use so beautiful that we are apt to overlook the
limitation of their range, but also the fact, however
unconscious the average reader may be of it, that the
author of the Fourth Gospel is a philosopher, and that his
book is a form of popularised, or rather religionised,
philosophy, transfigured by his genius and by his faith.
The simplicity of this Gospel is not the simplicity of nature.
It is the elaborate simplicity of art. It is carefully wrought
out and worked up. Even while we admire, we feel that our
admiration puts us into the category and fold of the elect.
We are initiated into the mystery, and those who accept
the Gospel become, as it were, the chosen few out of the
condemned mass — in the world, but not of the world.
Unconsciously to ourselves we philosophise, and this
philosophy may truly be called divine. More even thaji
with Plato, we are elevated and carried out of ourselves.
In Plato we are invited to side with Socrates ; in the Fourth
Gospel we are invited to side with Christ. The distinction
fascinates. We seem to breathe a purer and rarer air, and
this higher atmosphere quickens and gladdens us. We
are free and even bidden to enter within the holy place, to
take our seats and be enrolled in the spiritual aristocracy
of the world.
Such might be said to be some of the causes of that
fascination which the Gospel of St. John is likely to
exercise upon most cultivated and religious minds even
outside the pale of believing Christianity. And these
Digitized by
Google
32 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
causes of its fascination are partly the causes of its abiding
religious value. Nevertheless, emotional fascination is one
thing, critical appreciation is another. And upon this a
due appraising of the Fourth Gospel must largely depend.
Religious belief, while not without its intellectual
basis, is notoriously different from belief in matters of
science or history. I believe that in the year 84?1 A.D.
a battle was fought at Fontenay. Firmly as I believe
this, it has not, as an isolated fact, any effect upon
my thought, feelings, character, actions, happiness, or
power. I believe that there is a good God in the ordinary
sense of that word ; or I believe that there is a devil into
whose power I may fall for all eternity, or I believe that
an aspect of God became flesh at a particular time, and
while I believe these things to be facts, just as true as the
occurrence of the battle of Fontenay in the year 841,
they may also have a tremendous effect upon my life and
character.
The power and influence of true belief are intensely pro-
minent in the Fourth Gospel In its emphatic insistence
on truth, as in its frequent use of the very word, it is
at once separated from the Synoptics (aXrjdeia occurs
between twenty and thirty times in John, once in
Matthew). The true knowledge of the only true God, and
of Jesus Christ, his Son, is in itself eternal life : the lack,
still more the rejection, of that knowledge, is in itself the
absence or the forfeiture of that life. The whole man is
transformed by his belief.
We shall, I think, find that the Fourth Evangelist
goes beyond even this, and here we shall probably part
company with him. To all Jews, presumably to all
liberal Christians, the action of God on man is not de-
termined by the accuracy of his belief about God. We
do not believe that the relation of God to man is different
in the case of a Jew and in the case of a Christian. We
realize that varying religious beliefs may and do have
varying effects upon character, but so far as God is con-
Digitized by
Google
Notes on the Religious Value of the Fourth OospeL 83
cemed we do not believe that he has other laws of in-
fluence and judgment for those who believe concerning
him more truly or less truly, or even for those who have
failed to find him altogether. Least of all do we believe
that these variations of belief affect the destiny of the
soul beyond the grave. And in these negations, which can
also be presented as the most solemn affirmations, we find
comfort and consolation, even as we find glory and rest. But
inconsistently, as we believe, with the justice of God and the
universalism of his providence, the author of the Fourth
(Sospel did presumably believe that the result of true
belief is not merely the moral and spiritual transformation
of the believer, but the bestowal on him by God as a gift
of his grace, the prerogative of eternal life, the special
influx of the divine spirit.
Once more. Not merely is it true that religious be-
lief may ethically transform, but it is also true that
the essential character of your belief, as realised and
appropriated by you, is partly dependent upon your prior
or present ethical condition. The interaction and inter-
relation of morality and religion are notoriously complex
in the extreme. Every man, good or bad, is at once
capable of believing that a great battle was fought at
Fontenay in 841. As the belief in the battle has no effect
upon him hereafter, so it makes no demand upon him
beforehand. But the belief in God — and here is one aspect
of its solemnity — is not as easy as the belief in the battle.
At all events there is, I apprehend, a sense in which it is
true to say, that though a scamp can believe in God as
well as a saint, his belief must be of a different texture
and complexion. He may believe ; he cannot realise. He
may say that he believes in communion with God, but that
belief in it which is more than verbal, because based on
experience and feeling, he cannot possibly possess. With-
out goodness a man cannot sound the depths of belief in
God. A man may be very good, and not believe in God
— and this is where the Johannine writers (like Philo)
VOL. VIL c
Digitized by
Google
34 The Jewish Quarterly Revieto.
were naturally in the wrong — but he cannot adequately
realise God and not be good. "He that loveth not,
knoweth not God; for God is love/' It is a great
saying.
While we shall have to reject the Fourth GospeVa
dualism, and its identification of the good man and the be-
liever, we must always bear in mind that it was written when
Christianity was still comparatively new, and fresh adult
adherents, drawn from Paganism, were continually coming
in. We can hardly appreciate the ethical effect which the
discarding of heathenism, and the adoption of Christianity,
may have had upon such persons. The recollection of it
may also serve to partly excuse the peculiar dogma of the
Evangelist, that he who rejected Christianity was morally
bad. Among ourselves religion and morality grow up
together, and their intermixture and interaction are far
more subtle and complicated than anything which the
writer of the Fourth Gospel could possibly have conceived.
Proceeding now from these points of view to the main
religious ideas of this remarkable book, we perceive that
what it contains is a new revelation of God in his own
nature and in his relation to man. And by God must be
also included those other aspects or phases of him, which are
known as the Word or the Son, and €« the Holy Spirit or
the Spirit of Truth. We are told that before the advent of
the Incarnate Son none knew the Father, for none can come
unto the Father but through the Son. So tremendous an
assertion, that the true nature of God was unknown before
Christ, makes us ask what fuller revelation of God is given
in this Gospel than we had known before, whether
through the Old Testament, Philo, or the Synoptics?
Now, apart from the metaphysical question of a distri-
bution of the divine nature and function among double or
triple aspects within the Godhead itself, there is very little
in the Fourth Gospel to make good this claim. There is,
indeed, far less than in the Synoptics, where Jesus, with
perhaps one exception, never casts so overwhelming a
Digitized by
Google
Notes on the Religious Value of the Fourth Oospel, 35
disparagement upon the religious knowledge of the
generations which had preceded him. We find one
statement of grand simplicity and permanent value : " God
is spirit, and they that worship him must worship in spirit
and truth." It cannot be said that the statement con-
tains a truth which was wholly new, for it is already
implied in Isaiah and Philo.^ But in its setting, in its final
overthrow of that dangerous localization of deity which
stiU attached to the temple of Jerusalem, in its bold and
distinct denial of the notion that God can be nearer to one
spot than to another, its value is undoubted and abiding.
It takes its place with the 139th Psalm as one of the
great spiritual possessions of humanity. With this ex-
ception, the Fourth Gospel contains little that is of
value to the outsider about God, even as regards the
more metaphysical relations of his being. In v. 17 : " My
Father worketh until now," we get the idea of God's cease-
less activity, which, however, is more clearly enunciated by
the Evangelist's predecessor, Philo.* On the moral side we
notice that the appellation Father is used far more to mark
the relation of God to the Word than to man. Scholten
has pointed out that the use of the term is reserved for the
Logos: man may be the child of God; Christ is his son,*
Passing over the restricted character of God's beneficence,
of which there will be more to say later on, it is also
true, as Cone observes, that the Evangelist "shows no
predilection for dwelling on the goodness and mercy of
God, and in this respect he is not to be compared with
some of the prophets and psalmists, and even with Philo." ^
It is not unnatural that the Jew, familiar with a catena of
* Cp. Reuss : Historie de la Theohtgie CJirHienne an iihcle Ajpostolique,
Vol. II. p. 433.
* Cp. especially I. Alleg. III. (M. I. 44) : " God neyer ceases to create,
bnt as it is the property of fire to bum, and of snow to be cold, so also it
is the property of God to create."
' Scholten : Das Evangelium nach Johannes^ 1867, p. 82.
* Cone : The Oospel aiid its earliest Interpretations ^ p. 275. Why
''even withPhilo"?
C 2
Digitized by
Google
36 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
the best and noblest sayings about God in those psalmists
and prophets, rejects with something like indignation
the right of the Fourth Evangelist, whose divine hero
prays not for the world which he has come to save,
to assert that the Father was not known before the
coming of the Son, or to teach the Jew something more of
the nature and goodness of God than he already knew and
revered. If the Jesus of the Synoptics claims this right,
there is something to be said for its accuracy. Challenged
by the Fourth Gospel I deny it. But it must not be over-
looked that the First Epistle of St. John has succinctly
summed up in a single formula or epigram the ethical
truths about the nature of God already enunciated by
earlier writers. " God is love," on the ethical side, ranks
worthily with " God is spirit," on the metaphysical side.
For both we are grateful. But I have sometimes wondered
whether, if goodness or righteousness had been used in-
stead of love, and if it had been said, therefore, " God is
righteousness," or " God is goodness," rather than " God is
love," the religion of Christ would have been stained by
so many sins and cruelties committed in his name. Per-
haps, however, human nature, in its corruption and blind-
ness, is indifferent to the meaning of words.
When we pass from God as he is in himself, io God in
his relation to the world, we are at once plunged into
the theory of the Logos. It is true that the Logos con-
stitutes part of the eternal nature of Gkxi, as well as the
predominant factor in his dealings with the universe ; but
to the Evangelist the importance of the Logos centres in
its incarnation and in its relations with humanity.
Consistently with my special purpose, I do not propose
to give any analysis of the doctrine of the Logos or of its
genesis. I am only concerned with its value. Seeing,
then, that the doctrine may be represented as an adap-
tation of the Philonic theory to the person and story of
Christ, we can hypothetically regard it under two aspects,
distinguishable in our thought, though not in its author's.
Digitized by
Google
Nates on the Religious Value of the Fourth Oospel. 37
first as a division or separation of the single Godhead into
divers aspects or phases ; secondly, as the incarnation of
one particular aspect in the person of Christ.
Now to those who stand outside the Christian pale,
these various aspects of Qod are only ideal. We make
them for our purposes because we conceive that they may
approximately answer to that which we think must be
included in Qod's own nature, and in his relation to the
world. With our human capacities and knowledge, we do
not presume to take the immense further step of con-
structing any hypothesis as to the relation of these ideal
aspects to each other. Most of us would, I think, feel that
any introduction of such human relationships (for they
can only be human) between the aspects of the one
and only true Qod, would be an infringement of the
Unitarian point of view, a violation of monotheistic purity.
What we lose thereby in warmth and colour we gain in
truth, sublimity and self-restraint.
But even the strictest monotheist may recognize that
the ideal separation of the Divine unity into various
aspects may have had in the past, and may have in the
present, a religious value of its own. It is in the change
of aspects into persons that the danger begins ; in the
second pcurt of the Athajiasian creed rather than in the
first. For the theory of a Logos, or of a spirit, or of both,
represents one way of realising to ourselves, whether
popularly or philosophically, that relation of Qod to the
world and to man which we not only tvant to be true, but
which we also trust is true ; that relation, in other words,
which not only satisfies our feeling, but our thought.
The metaphysical diflBculties, for which the Logos seemed
a solution to Philo, no longer press so hardly upon us.
Qod in his lonely greatness must be kept apart from the
world; God, in his perfect purity and abstractedness, is
unapproachable and unknowable by man. And yet a way
there must be in which God and the world, and God and
ifi^n^ must be brought together, just as a way there must
Digitized by
Google
88 The Jewish Quarterly Renew.
be in which the self-sufficing God must be conceived to
have created both the world and man. These oppositions
and difficulties, of which we caji easily find traces in the
Fourth Gospel, scarcely hamper and trouble us to-day as
they troubled and hampered the Alexandrian divines and
philosophers of eighteen hundred years ago. For one
thing, we are less worried by the conception of matter as
something in itself opposed or resistent to God. For
another, we are perhaps less sensitive of logical difficulties
in matters of religion, more willing to leave them unsolved,
but to believe them soluble. But, perhaps, also, we are
less easily taken in by the creations of our own thought.
We do not suppose that we have really bridged the gulf
or solved the puzzle by any theory of a Divine " Word " or
a Divine " Spirit." We merely put back the difficulty
another step. Just as, on the moral side, the theory of a
devil, with which the Fourth Gospel thinks it can take
away from God the responsibility of giving over to evil
the souls which he himself has created, merely removes the
problem in one form to raise it more sharply in another,
so the theory of the Logos does not really harmonise the
dual aspects of the Divine nature, it merely expresses them
more clearly.
Nevertheless, a Logos theory is not an arbitrary and
even immoral hypothesis like the theory of a devil We
feel that while God is omnipresent and infinite, he must
also be self-conscious. Not less than " personal," we say,
however much he may be more. He is something in him-
self, to himself, and for himself; above and beyond the
world. We call him " transcendent." But then comes the
recoil. He is also something for the world and for our-
selves. We are not wholly without God. " Whither shall
I go from thy spirit, and whither shall I flee from thy
presence ? " God is omnipresent. Moreover, there is reason
in the world, and above all there is self-conscious reason in
man. There is a relation, partly constant and partly
variable — constant as regards God, variable as regards our-
Digitized by
Google
Notes on the Heligious Value of the Fourth Oospel. 39
selves — between us and him. He is "there," though we
see him not. He is within us, though he is also without.
We grope for words to express this realised feeling and this
believed truth. The psalmist speaks of the Holy Spirit
within him; Philo speaks of the Logos. Some such
hypothesis, some such method of verbally expressing in
separate terms this aspect of the Divine, we may perhaps
always stand in need of. It is possible that a too exclusive
consideration of God as the transcendent cause (though not
without its justification), a too complete avoidance of those
other appellations of him, the manysided One, which the
Hebrew Scriptures, the Alexandrian philosophers, and the
older Rabbinical writers created or employed, may have
reacted not without prejudice upon the religion of our
later Judaism. It may to some extent have robbed us of
those elements of "personal religion" which are partly
conditioned, or, at least, aided by emphasizing more
markedly, through the help of separate words and titles,
the "immanent" aspect of God's complex personality and
being.
We feel at any rate that a theory such as that of the
Logos has a distinct value in helping us to realize that
aspect of God turned outwards to the world and to man,
which seems as much a part of him as any other. Human
thought and human love are not merely the gift of God,
but as the product of reason are themselves partly divine.
Man is created in the image of God, says Genesis : through
thy light we see light, says the Psalter. We can commune
with God and aspire towards him, because, in however
fragmentary a degree, we are akin to hiuL And if akin to
him, this means that there is a sense in which, though we
are we and God is God, he may be said to be within us as
we may also be said to be within him. *' There is a sense "
in which these seductive words have a meaning and a
value: although let it never be forgotten that there is a
sense, only too easily reewhed, in which they can become
dangerous, immoral and untrue.
Digitized by
Google
40 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
For these reovsons such a theory ba the Philonic Logos
has not only an historical interest, but also, as I venture to
think, something of permanent and religious value. Per-
haps its value is not wholly out of relation to its vague and
floating character, to its inconsistencies and contradictions.
We feel that the theory cannot be hardened into a fixed
dogma ; it is always more or less metaphorical or symbolic
— a way of expressing the inexpressible. For these reasons
too the Logos of the Fourth Gospel may also have its value
even to outsiders. Whether /or them it has greater religious
worth than the Logos of Philo may well be doubted.
They cannot accept a human relationship between the two
aspects of the one God, and therefore the love of the Father
to the Son, and the love of the Son to the Father, however
movingly and delicately expressed, is for them meaningless
and inapposite. The single and complete incama4)ion of the
Logos at a particular time and place gives the theory, to
their eyes, something of that hard and fast chaoraxjter which
the fluid nature of Philo's Logos avoids. Listead of a con-
stant divine and spiritual operation, we have — at all events
for the period of the incarnation — something mechanical,
sensuous, spasmodic, magical It seems as if the work of
the Logos before Christ had been a failure, and a new and
miraculous method was conceived as necessary. The gra-
dual development of God's purpose in human history seems
interrupted by a divine interposition, which comes athwart
and between the relation of God to man both before it and
after. Such considerations will seem both unphilosophic
and unmeaning to those who take their stand upon the
dogma of Christ's divinity ; but I think they may partially
explain the impression which that dogma makes upon those
who have been from their very childhood brought up in
a difierent environment and with difierent notions of the
divine nature and rule.
If we pass to the relation of the Evangelist's Logos —
that is, of Jesus Christ — to man, and of man to the Logos,
we are immediately confronted by the intense Johannine
Digitized by
Google
Notes on the Beligioua Value of the Fourth Oospel 41
dualism. The main object of the incaomation is to save ;
but then there is only a certain number for whom salvation
is possible. Those who are potentially good attend to the
words of Christ, and believe in him and in his works; those
who are potentially children of God, become so de facto by
the life and death of the incarnate Logos and by the Spirit
which he sends. But more than the children of God are
the children of the Devil. For them no salvation is pos-
sible. Their life is no true " life," and with the end of their
earthly existence their separate personality is concluded.
For the children of GJod the " life eternal," begun on earth,
is continued in heaven ; for the children of this world, that
is, for the children of the Devil, there would appear to be
no hope. Their end is not eternal punishment, but sheer
annihilation. In no other point is the Fourth Gospel more
antipathetic to the outsider than in this. We object to this
dualism, both in itself and in its test. That it is but the
culmination of a tendency does not make it truer or more
acceptable. There is a dualism discernible in the Psalter
and in other portions of the Hebrew Scriptiures ; but it is
not so theoretic and complete as the dualism of " St. John."
It is more natural and ordinary ; the dualism of the average
hot-blooded patriot, not the thought-out dualism of the
philosopher in his study. Jewish particularism is very
objectionable ; to identify the enemies of your people with
the enemies of God, the Gentile with the wicked, is utterly
repugnant to our modem notions of justice and religion.
But this particularism was happily not part and parcel of
the real Jewish creed. It could be, and has been, easily got
rid of. The Johannine doctrine involves a particularism
more deadly than the Jewish form of it, because it is more
intertwined with the very essence of the Evangelist s creed,
and receives a more theoretic and logical basis. It is, there-
fore, less easily got rid of.
Philo too teaches a dualism analogous to the dualism of
" St John." But as R6ville, in his admirable pamphlet. La
doctrine du Logos dans la quatrikme Evangile et dans les ceuvres
Digitized by
Google
42 The Jewish QtmHerly Review.
de Philon, has well pointed out, Philo's dualism is less sharply-
defined, less consistent and less irreversible. Between
the two extremes there are various shades and modifica-
tions of character, partly inclining towards the flesh, partly
aspiring towards God. Moreover Philo admits the possibility
of a passage from one division to the other; he finds
a place for Repentance. But in the Fourth Gospel, those
who belong to Christ's flock believe and are saved, those
who do not belong to it cannot believe. The "world"
cannot receive the spirit : it knows him not. Those who
are not of God cannot hear his words. He that is of
the "earth" cannot receive that which comes from
"heaven." The Fourth Gospel knows nothing of Re-
pentance. The very word jj^rdvoui is not found in it.
Those who receive the words of Christ no longer include
a contingent of publicans and sinners; they are morally
good.^ A forgiveness of sins is only cursorily mentioned :
it is inconsistent with the main doctrine, an importation
from without, or rather a survival of a rejected element.
It is true that the wrath of God abides on the unbeliever,
but this would seem to be not so much because the un-
believer can help his unbelief, but because God, as pure
light and goodness, must by his own nature be eternally
hostile to what is corrupt, evil and diabolic. The
intense dualism of the writer is finally and consummately
revealed to us in the great prayer in the seventeenth
chapter, where Christ is made to say, " I pray not for the
world, but for those whom thou hast given me." Surely
the defenders of the Gospel's authenticity and historical
character do Jesus of Nazareth an evil turn. Surely
"I come to call sinners to repentance," "Father, forgive
them, for they know not what they do," were more
characteristic of the historic Jesus than all the elaborate
speeches of " St. John."
For the exquisite beauty of the Fourth (Jospel tends to
' Oaoar Holtzmann, Das Johannes Evangeliuni^ 1887, p. 89.
Digitized by
Google
Note^ on the ReUgioua Value of the Fourth OospeL 43
blind us to the full meaning and implication of its dualistic
doctrine. We do not realise that all the love which God
and the Logos, God's son, bear to the world is only to an
elect portion, and that the sublimer pity of the Synoptic
Gospel to the outcast and the sinner is wholly and ne-
cessarily wanting. Nor do we easily realise that the
human reflection of that love is ojily to be exercised within
the brotherhood of believers. If it be charged against the
Rabbis — with some truth and with some falsehood — that
they interpreted the Jove of one's neighbour enjoined in
Leviticus to mean the love of one's fellow-Jew, it may with
bett^er accuracy be said that the love enjoined by the
famous " new commandment " of St. John is restricted to
fellows in faith. Is love restricted by race much more
objectionable than love restricted by creed ?
Moreover, the moving splendour and calm assurance of
language, which adds so greatly to the Gospel's perennial
charm, has tended to make men think that its dualism, if
not justified in itself, was justified by the environment
and age in which the author lived. I find this excuse for
the Evangelist in Thoma,' and I find it also, where it
seems far more surprising, in Dr. Martineau. He speaks
of the " inevitable but imperfect dualism forced upon
human thought by the contrasts of experience." " A new
religion," he goes on to say,
giveB birth to an entrancing affection, and, going apart with its own
entbosia^m, sees all else at variance with it, and needing either con-
yenion or rejection. It cannot live without its outcasts : the Israelite
has his Gentiles : the apostle Paul his false " brethren," that '* make
th** cross of Christ of none effect " through their *' dead works " ;
and now the mysterious evangelist, who finds in union with Christ the
whole spiritual distance annihilated between the life of man and God,
looks upon a world made up of dissolute Paganism and embittered
Judaism as in the mass delivered over to the power of evil. Between
the low pa^Nons that reign there of greed and lust, of ambition and
envy, and the aspimtions and trust, the humility and love that breathe
through the prayers and sweeten the inner life of a true Christian
' Tboma, Die OenetU des Johannes JEvangeliumt, 1882, p. 283.
Digitized by
Google
44 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
community, the contrast presents itself to him as little less than
infinite ; so that onlj now does the genuine history of humanity open,
with the planting of a nacred colony in the midst of the dark con-
tinent of earthly ain and shame.^
Now, in the first place, the immense ethical difference
between " conversion " and " rejection " is somewhat ignored
by their dose juxtaposition in this passage; but in the
second, what right has Dr. Martineau even to imply
that the world upon which the author of the Fourth
Gtoapel " looked forth " was not only seemingly to the
Evangelist, but really made up of a " dissolute paganism "
and an "embittered Judaism"? Within the Christian
pale, nought but aspirations and trust, humility and love ;
without, nothing but greed and lust, ambition and envy !
At the very period when the Fourth Gospel was composed,
Paganism was not without its spiritual revival and its
ethical nobility. Surely there were many Pagans who
rejected Christianity and yet led lives of purity and good-
ness ; and as for Judaism, was there no spirituality among
its martyrs and heroes who perished in all the sublimity of
perfect faith at the scaffold and by the sword ? It is a
mournful fact that the good men among the Jews thought
that the good men among the Christians were bad, and
vice versd; but it is still more mournful to perpetuate
their error, and to think that either side could arrogate
to itself an exclusive possession of goodness, humility and
love.
A number of points relative to the moral and religious
^ Seat qf Authority^ p. 493. Still more one-sided is a passag^e on
p. 434 : " This intense moral dualism in the Johannine writings, which
allows no gradations, drives aU antitheses into contradictions, and
invokes G-od and devil to settle every disputed cause, doubtless Indicates
that the interval had become practically hopeless between the spiritual
ideal of life and character reached by the Christian conscience, and the
low types of motive and conduct into which the unconverted Judaism
and heathenism had set.*' If one met this sentence in any unorthodox
German Protestant divine, one would pay no notice. It seems to belong
to their business to misrepresent Rabbinic Judaism ; it lies, perhaps,
in their blood. But from the English Dr. Martineau it is amazing.
Digitized by
Google
Notes on the Religious Value of the Fourth Gospel, 46
condition of the world before and at the advent of Christ
are left obscure. Those who " come to the light," that is,
believe in Christ, are good. Did then the Incarnation- not
increase the capacity of human goodness ? Did it merely
give the means of acquiring "truth," the chance of a
fuller bliss, a purer enlightenment, but not the power
of becoming more good? The command to love one
another is described as new. Were then people not
really good before Christ, but only potentially so,
seeing that the only definition of goodness recog-
nized by the Evangelist seems to be love ? If they
were in any true sense good, why should they have been
in danger from the devil ? The redemption of the good
seems less urgent than the redemption of the evil, and yet
the purpose of the Incarnation is for the sake of the good
and not for the sake of the evil. The Logos shone into
the world before it became flesh. The darkness did not
apprehend it. But was that darkness universal both
among the Jews and among the heathens ? Were there
good men who died before the Incarnation, and in
what sense? What knowledge of God, what light
had they, whether in Judaea or outside it? One
of the best features in the Qospel is its universalism,
for on this point the author is no inept disciple of
St. Paul. Gentiles rather than Jews come readily to the
light. Other sheep there are not of this fold. But what
then of all the great mass of heathen who died before
Christ came ? Was the pre-Christian action of the Logos
too feeble to generate in them the spiritual life ? Was
nobody bom anew, or born from above, whether Gentile
or Jew, in all that immense period of waiting and prepara-
tion ? If yes, why did not this normal auction of the Logos
and the grace of God suflSce ? If not, and if no man was
" spiritual," could any have been good? Are we to suppose
that the new birth euid the true goodness which it includes
were coincident with Christ? And lastly, was every-
body before Christ annihilated at death, or are we to
Digitized by
Google
46 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
believe with Dr. Martineau that two or three obscure and
doubtful passages refer to a resurrection and a judgment
both of punishment and of reward for the endless genera-
tions of the dead ? ^ Just in proportion as the Fourth
Gospel leaves us with no clear answer to questions
such as these its religious value seems to me to halt and
f aiL If you set up a great religious theory, involving mighty
miracles and tremendous presuppositions, you should at
least make that theory complete. A religious Weltanschau-
ung, which intellectually and morally is fraught with
difficulty, should at least be co-extensive with the world
which it seeks to interpret. If in crucial points of urgency
and moment, it leaves us in the lurch and in the dark,
if it not only does not satisfactorily explain the facets of
history and human nature, but even ignores them, its
religious value, both theoretically and practically, is, I
venture to think, most seriously impaired.
We pass from these unexplained and unsolved difficulties
to consider how " eternal life," in the bestowal of which are
contained both the prerogative and the mission of Christ, is
won, and wherein it consists. So far as it is bestowed
ab extra, as a gift from without, it does not concern us.
So far as it is conditioned by the fact of Christ's death
and by a participation in baptism and the eucharist, it also
lies outside our sphere. Whatever spiritual meanings the
author attached to these material processes, he would appa-
rently have believed that they exercised upon the rightly
disposed person a special and semi-miraculous influence. He
would probably have objected to any abolition of these
ceremonies, just as Philo objected to a merely spiritual
interpretation of the Pentateuchal laws.^ But the details
of his views do not affect our present enquiry, just as the
degree of atoning or sanctifying efficacy which he assigned
to the death of Christ is of little importance to the outsider
* tSeat of Autharity in Rtligion^ p. 439, n. 1.
* Cp. Pfleiderer, Da^ UrchHxtinthum^ p. 774.
Digitized by
Google
Notes on the ReUgiom Value of the Fourth Oospel 47
except historically. What we want to know is how this
eternal life can be won by man. We have already seen that
the attainment of it is, partially at any rate, predetermined.
Those who have not the spiritual germ within them can
not be quickened by the spiritual sun. For them darkness
is light and light is darkness. The opportunity of salva-
tion to the one class is but the means of completer dam-
nation to the other. Therefore it is that the "judgment"
of Christ is one of sifting : the rejected become worse and
worse as the light shines brighter and brighter. But in
addition to all this, human effort is needed for the acquisi-
tion of life eternal, and there is a method by which it can
be won. This may not be wholly logical, but it is certainly
more in accordance with experience and fact So in Philo
all spiritual attainment is due to the grace of God,
and Philo's insistence on this point, implying man's in-
capacity to move upward without divine help and the
necessity of humility, is quite parallel to John v. 41-44 and
viL 18 ; but, nevertheless, there is room and need for moral
effort and endeavour. You are reborn by the spirit, and
the spirit is given you from above; and yet you may
struggle to attain the spirit, or at any rate to develop the
potentialities of the divine gift. Any obscurity and incon-
sistency here need not surprise us: no one can precisely
allocate to man and God their exact share in the moral
and religious development of the human character. Yet
most religious persons feel that there are both human and
divine agencies helping towards the ultimate product.
Now, in most of the higher religions, the attainment of
the best life is supposed to depend upon two main ele-
ments. One of these elements is moral and one is
religious. These separations are somewhat misleading,
but nevertheless they have their uses. The elements may
also be described thus : eternal life is partly won by works
and partly by faith.
Which element comes first in time and in importance ?
The modem and Jewish view is that the ethical element
Digitized by
Google
48 The Jemsh Quarterly Review,
comes first. What society needs is the most developed
goodness ; with what fashions and dogmas of religious be-
lief this goodness is combined is of inferior moment.
That belief is of the greatest value to society which has
the best ethical effect upon its believers. Moreover, we
recognise that in faith, do and say what we will, there
does enter an intellectual element which is not wholly
under the control of our will. We are aware, though Philo
was not, that a man may be very good who is an Atheist
or an Agnostic, though we are far from thinking that
society would not morally degenerate if Atheism and
Agnosticism were immensely to increase. That we become
good by doing good is still true. And the content of
"life eternal" is interpenetrated by morality. Remove
morality and it is vague, ascetic, selfish — a refined egoism.
But this ethical element is not unaffected by the other
element, which consists in man's attitude towards Gk)d, in
his belief in him, his love of him, his more or less con-
stant sense of his abiding omnipresence. " Solet enim
dei amator illico etiam hominum amator esse." Yet while
these two elements influence and interact upon each other,
we feel that the primary one of the two is morality. If
we may separate inseparables, we might say : Through
morality to religion.
And in the Fourth Gk)spel the need of these two elements
is also recognised. But, on the whole, the emphasis seems
placed on the wrong feictor, on faith rather than on
morality. Through religion to morality, rather than
through morality to religion, is the tendency of the Gospel.
In this respect, the First Epistle of St. John takes a saner
and more ethical line. But both Oospel and Epistle incline
to identify the one element with the other or to gloss over
the difference between them.
As we have already seen, the man who believes in
Christ is at least potentially good. The bad man is an
unbeliever, and even the reverse holds also true — the un-
believer is a bad man. Now, apart from bis metaphysical
Digitized by
Google
Note* on the Religiom Value of the Fourth Ooepel. 49
and i priori dualism, what reason has the Evangelist to say
that the unbeliever is morally bad ? " Every one that doeth
evil hateth the light." " Except ye believe that I am he, ye
shall die in your sins." The second quotation seems, with
doubtful consistency, to imply that even in spite of sin,
belief may be won and sin destroyed (cp. v. 14). You
might argue that only those who were hardened to good-
ness could be insensible to the moral beauty of Christ's
words, or doubt that he was inspired. The argument is
plausible though not convincing. But even if admitted,
it does not suit the case. For what the moral beauty of
Christ's words can never prove is that the speaker of
them was metaphysically connected with Deity, the In-
carnation of the eternal Word.^
It is, however, also true that the Gospel teaches morality
as the condition precedent of faith. " If any man willeth
to do his will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it
be of God, or whether I speak from myself." " He that
doeth the truth cometh to the light." " He that keepeth
my commands, loveth me." And this teaching is whole-
some and sound. Let God and duty prove themselves to
you in your life by living on as if they truly were.' The
Epistle is more definite still on this point. "If a man
say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar";
through the love of man we pass to the love of God. Prac-
tically this teaching comes to this : theoretic belief is of no
spiritual value ; the test of true faith is that it should rest
on a moral basis and issue in a moral life. Through
morality to religion, and when there, from religion to
morality. These excellent utterances of the Epistle {e.g.,
1 Cp. ChaTaanes' La Religion dans la Bible, II. p. 183 :— "Gertee Jdsos
me r^y^e la yeritable vie ; mais en qnoi oela me proave-t-il qa*il est od
tee divin incam^ 7 Poorquoi YeatM>n abBolument que je le oroie pour
aimer la Tie qui m^e k Dieu? . . . Cette th^oeophie est nn hors-
d*(BaTTe dangerenx. 0*eet eUe qui est canse qne notre autenr ae soit ei
maUieii^ieiiMment exprim6, par exemple, lorsqu'U 6orivait : * Qnioonqae
croit que J^eoe est le Ohrist, eet n6 de Dieu.' "
» T. H. Oreen, "Address on Faith." Works, HI., p. 273.
VOU VII. D
Digitized by
Google
50 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
** whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, and he
that loveth not knoweth not God"), suflSce to give it
value to the outsider as to the insider, to the Jew as to
the Christian.
But, as we have seen, neither Epistle nor Gospel stops
there. They do not merely say, morality shall be the test
of your faith, and the method by which you reach it.
They have led the way to the dangerous doctrine that
unbelief is necessarily as much moral as intellectual. If
you can win faith by goodness, you miss it because of vice-
The unbeliever is a sinner. It seems to me that for the
terrible consequences of this doctrine, the Johannine
writings are partially responsible. Their matchless beauty
tends to hide the danger and the cruelty of the doctrine
which they preach. For let us pass from the work of a
great genius such as the Fourth Gtospel to the writings of
a soulless fanatic, and what do we find there? The
fanatic would be reprobated now by all; nevertheless,
views such as his have had great influence in the world,
and if he had been asked to justify them, he could have
quoted the Fourth Gospel with great cogency and aptitude
for his uncharitable purpose. That Gospel undoubtedly
maintains that moral evil is the root of unbelief. And is
not this what Dr. Gumming, as quoted by George Eliot, in
that striking essay of hers, on Evangelical Teaching, in the
Westminster Review of October, 1855, also maintained ?
I onoe met with an acute and enlightened infidel, with whom I
reasoned day after day, and for hours together ; I submitted to him
the internal, the external, and the experimental evidences, but made
no impression on his scorn and unbelief. At length I entertained a
suspicion that there was something morally, rather than intellectualiy
wrong, and that the bias was not in the intellect, but in the heart.
One day, therefore, I said to him : ** I must now state my oonricuon,
and you may call me uncharitable, but duty compels me ; you are
living in some known and gross sin." The man's countenance
became pale; he bowed, and left me.
One point more. The author of the First Epistle of St
John is urgent to impress upon his readers the importance
Digitized by
Google
Notes on the ReligiouB Value of the Fourth GhspeL 51
of morality. In simple adages of great power and beauty
he preaches, as we have seen, the noble doctrine that the
doer of righteousness is begotten of God, and that the lover
of God must be also a lover of man. But there is another
side to this picture. Even with him the element of faith
frequently overcomes and predominates over the element
of morality. That he should be blind to goodness outside his
own community is natural But what of the sinners within
its pale ? He cannot consistently maintain the paradox
that the man who calls himself a Christian is not a
Christian if he be a sinner. It conflicts with language
and experience. He therefore equivocates. The Christian
sins, but it is a '^sin not unto death." What is a sin
unto death ? It is clearly apostasy. Therefore the intel-
lectual sin of abandoning a belief in Christ would seem to
be more unpardonable in the author's eyes than a moral sin
of indefinite intensity. Here again we are confronted with
a false doctrine which has worked grievous evil in the
history of the world. The believer's sins are judged by a
different standard from the sins of his imbelieving neigh-
bour. No longer "Ye are my people: there/ore will I
visit upon you all your iniquities." But rather, *' Whoso-
ever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is begotten of God ;
and whosoever is begotten of God doeth no sin." The
individual who is proudly conscious that he so believes
and is so begotten, may rapidly become convinced that
he is incapable of sin. Take care of your faith, and your
deeds will take care of themselves — a perversion doubtless
of the Epistle's general doctrine, but not without possible
support from the ambiguous language of a document which
exalts faith at the expense of morality even while it
attempts indissolubly to combine the two.^
The content of eternal life, according to the Fourth
Gospel, we have already heard defined as the knowledge of
the only true God and of Jesus Christ, the Divine Word
> Cp. Chayannea* La Religion dans la Bible ^ p. 184.
D 2
Digitized by
Google
52 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
made flesh. But it would be improper to infer from this
single passage that no ethical elements entered into its com-
position. With equal or greater injustice the same attack
might be made on Philo when he defines this life as a taking
refuge with the true God (17 Trpo? to ov Kara(\>xrfri)\ or
where in many other similar passages he gives to it an
exclusively religious character. The moral element is
certainly not wanting in the Fourth Evangelist, though by
the very purpose and object of his Gospel moral teaching
as such is very slightly dwelt upon. But in the flush and
glow of his spiritual enthusiasm, faith in Christ seemed
necessarily to involve a regeneration of the whole man.
Man receives by it the fullest truth and highest know-
ledge, and it so transforms his character as to bring out its
best and divinest possibilities. Personal devotion and
emotional love are part and parcel of that knowledge of
the Son and of the Father wherein life eternal consists. To-
day we are bound to separate, at least in language, our
moral and religious life more clearly, and the intellectual
element in "faith," through its very difficulty, presses
itself the more strongly and distinctly upon our atten-
tion.
All the same, the ethics of the Fourth Gospel are cer-
tainly its lecwt original part. If you subtract all that
seems a reproduction of Paul and all that seems a re-
production of Philo, you have little left that is at
once admirable and new. So, for example, with the con-
ception of spiritual freedom and the slavery of sin (viii.
31-36). So also, in the main, with the conception of self-
glory as preventing the possibility of spiritual enlighten-
ment. As with Socrates the vain man who thinks he
knows but is really ignorant is intellectually hopeless and
helpless, so to our Evangelist they who love the glory of
men more than the glory of God are also those who think
they see but are really blind. ** If they were blind they
would have no sin ; but now they say We see ; therefore
their sin remaineth." To this conception also there are
Digitized by
Google
Notes on the Beligiom Value of the Fourth Ooepel. 63
several parallels, both in the Epistles of Paul and in the
treatises of Philo.
Yet everyone who reads the Gospel and Epistles of
St. John with a fair measure of sympathy, will pro-
bably find in them a certain ethical elevation. They
are not only spiritual in religion, but also in morality.
And when in this essay the word "morality" has
been used, and all things in heaven and earth have been
appraised by a moral standard, I have always had in
mind the fullest connotation that could possibly be given
to this expansive term. I was not thinking only of
mere work-a-day and bourgeois morality (though this, as
Bauwenhoff says, includes a good part of man's moral
worth), but of the morality which is exhibited in self-sacri-
fice and devotion. Morality does not stop short of love ;
and, though the highest morality to our modern notions
does not consort with useless a^eticism or isolation, it
does, I should imagine, always include that antagonism to
the " world," in one specific and spiritual sense, which is
characteristic of the Johannine writings. The precise
meaning which their authors gave to the word koc/jlo^ has
doubtless passed away. We do not approve their anti-
thesis between this world and auother world when they
mean by it that this world is under the sway of diabolic
agencies. Nevertheless, softened and modified though our
notions of the " world " may be, there is a sense in which
we do find ethical meaning and religious value in the
famous sentences : " Love not the world, neitlier the things
that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love
of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world,
the lust of the fiesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the
vainglory of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof ; but he
that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." So far as
these words are true, they are true for those without, as
well as for those within, the limits of Christianity ; and,
seeing that the measure of abiding truth which they con-
Digitized by
Google
54 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
tain is nowhere else, to my knowledge, more simply and
effectively expressed, the outsider, as well as the insider,
may rightly render them both gratitude and admiration.
Ethics certainly owes more to the Epistle than to the
Gospel. It is undoubtedly true that in the long speeches in
the Gospel, " the ethical teaching of the Synoptic Christ falls
wholly into the backgroimd." ^ Not unconnected, I should
imagine, with this lack of ethics is another fact pointed
out by the same acute commentator, that the predominance
of the Fourth Gospel in the Christian Church has regularly
produced a tendency to asceticism and mysticism, from the
days of Clement of Alexandria to those of Schleiermacher.*
The one positive moral command of the Johannine Christ
is that contained in the word arfOTrq, or love. "A new
commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another."
But is not this, it may pertinently be asked, sufficient and
all inclusive ?
Without attempting to depreciate in a nasty or grudging
spirit the value of so famous an injunction, it must be
pointed out that this love is merely reciprocal. It is re-
stricted to the fellow disciple, and is thus in sharp and
violent contrast to the bidding of the Synoptic Jesus. The
particularism of race is exchanged for the new and more
dangerous particularism of creed. Leviticus xix. 18 is
perhaps supplemented by Luke x. 33, and enlarged by
Matthew v. 44 ; it is not improved by John xiii. 34. That
is no new command which does not go beyond the old.
Enlargement fulfils, and therefore Matthew v. 44 does not
(it may be contended) contradict Matthew v. 17, but
John xiii. 34 is not only in conflict with Leviticus xix. 18,
but with Matthew v. 17 as welL And the supplementary
» " Die sittliolie Verktindiguiig des synoptischen ChristuB tritt voU-
kommen in ihuen znrfick." (O. Holtonazm, p. 89.)
* "Das Hervorheben des johanneisclien ChristiiBbildes vor dem synop-
tiaohen hatte in der Eirche regelmassig ein Ueberwiegen des weltf remden
Lebens der Christen znr Folge, in Askese und Mystik, von Clement Alezan-
drinns an bis auf Sohleiermacher xind Lnthardt." (0. HolUmann, p.
186.)
Digitized by
Google
NoteB on the R$ligiom Value of the Fourth Oospel. 65
command of Leyiticus xix. 34 finds no parallel in St. John.
The stranger in creed need not be loved. Too accurately
has Christianity recognised the difference : too closely has
she followed the Christ of the Fourth Gospel rather than
the Christ of the First.
Nevertheless within the limit of the brotherhood, the
force and beanty with which the command of love is urged
and emphasized, cannot be gainsaid. All of us may be
grateful for such passages, and can apply them in our own
way. As a picture of the love which lays upon itself
willingly the lowliest duties, the scene where Christ washes
the feet of his disciples will always retain its power.
This service of love is to rise to the heights of sacrifice.
" Qreater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down
his life for his friends.'' But it is again characteristic of the
Evangelist that whereas to Paul the supremacy of Christ's
sacrifice consisted in his dying for sinners, those whom his
death benefits in the Fourth Gospel are no longer aaeffeU,
but ifUXjoi, not the ungodly, but the good. The dualism is
preserved unto the end.
One integral portion of the Evangelist's conception of
love has thus far been omitted. The followers of Christ
are to love one another. But wherefore ? By what force
or example is this love to be set in motion, stimulated,
maintained ? Here we come to the great and distinctive
ethical motive characteristic of the Fourth Gospel. The
love of man to man is conditioned by the love of man
for Christ, and of Christ for man. It may also be said to
be partly conditioned by the love of God both for Christ
and man. (But we must always remember that neither
QoA nor Christ has love for the man who will not or cannot
be saved by faith in the Incarnate Son.)
No outsider would dream for a moment of denying the
ethical power which the love of man for Christ and the belief
in the love of Christ for man have exercised in human his-
tory. This is not the place to consider how far that power can
be, has been, or is supplied by Judaism with its more direct
Digitized by
Google
56 ITie Jetmh Quarterly Review,
appeal and immediate relationship to God the Father. It
is probably harder to love God, and to feel the joy of loving
him, than to love Christ; and it must not be forgotten
that this emotional feeling of love and of joy in loving —
reaching up to and passing into a mystic feeling of union
and communion with the beloved and Divine object — ^may,
within certain limits, have excellent ethical results. Now,
as Rauwenhoff has so clearly pointed out, every excite-
ment of feeling, however noble the feeling may be, par-
takes to some extent of the character of enjoyment.
This enjoyment is easier if the spiritual is clothed
in sensuous forma An image impresses us much more
keenly than an abstract conception. For how, he adds,
could the worship of Jesus and the worship of Mary have
so obscured the worship of God in Christianity if it were
not that the humanised God appeals so much more to the
feelings than the Infinite One ? ^
It is certainly true that one element in the love of Christ
and also in the conception of God, produced by the Christian
theory, can never be filled up by concentrating our love
upon God alone. It is the element of sacrifice. Christians
are convinced of God's love for man, because he sent his
Son to save them. They love God the more because they
think he so sacrificed himself. And the exemplar of
human love is given them to all time in the divine sacrifice
of Christ. It has been said in this Review by a gentle
and gifted Christian writer, that if we say that self-
sacrifice is the greatest of the virtues, but that it has not
been or cannot be displayed by God, then God's character is
less noble than man's. This argument appears to me to
assimilate the divine and the human nature too closely.
To resist temptation is a human virtue, but it cannot
be attributed to God: the same might be said of other
virtues that imply efibrt. Is there not still a truth in the
Aristotelian diptum, that we praise virtue (and virtue is
* Rauwenhoff, Wijtlegeerte van den Oodsdunstf 1887, pp. 176, 176
(German translation, p. 117).
Digitized by
Google
Notes on the Rdigiom Value of the Fourth Gospel 57
human), tov<; deoif^ Sk fuiKapL^o/jbev 1 At any rate the
"inner contradiction" of which Hausrath speaks in the
conception of a being who is both God and man, the vivid
feeling that " human life becomes an empty phantom (ein
leei'er Schein) if it is lived by a God," prevent those who
stand without the Christian pale from realising how the
notion of a Divine sacrifice, offered at a given moment in
time and once for all, can be assimilated with the idea of
God, or what exact meaning it can convey.^
It may be questioned whether the Fourth Gospel, though
it lays so much stress upon the love which Christ bore to
his disciples, has been the Gospel which has chiefly contri-
buted to create that wonderful figure of the pitying and
suffering martyr, the divine ideal of humanity, in whom
so many countless souls have foimd comfort in trouble,
strength in temptation, light in darkness, and love amid
hate. "Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my
brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me." Such
sayings, and others like them, are more characteristic of
the Synoptic than of the Johannine Christ. Are they not
also more characteristic of a conception of Christ in which
he reveals the love of God and the " divine image " of man,
inasmuch as, though inspired, he was, nevertheless, human,
and not God himself, incarnate and complete ? It would
be very interesting to consider what share the human or
Unitarian conception has really had in the motive power
for good which the worship and love of Christ have pro-
duced in the course of the ages. Or is that motive power
dependent upon a belief in his absolute divinity ? Can we
have no Father Damiens without the Incarnation ?
Putting these ultimate questions on one side, let us note
some peculiar features of the Fourth Gospel's conception
of human and divine love, and how these are partially
modified in the first Epistle. In the Gospel the Logos, still
more than in Philo, occupies the position of intermediary
* Cp. HanBrath, Xeutegtamentliche Zeitgetchichtef iY.,'p, 493, ^».
Digitized by
Google
58 The Jewish QaaHerly Eevietc.
between God and man. Through the Son to the Father ;
other approach there is none. Where such a theory is
merely metaphysical, as we may say it is in Philo — for
whom the aspect of Deity revealed in the Logos is
the means whereby man may ultimately pass to the
fuller knowledge and love of the absolute God — ^it is
not objectionable. The danger of its presentment in the
Fourth Gospel is that the Logos is no longer merely
a philosophical aspect of God, but a "person" in our
modem sense of the word, who became flesh for a
definite period of time. If you say " only through the Son
to the Father" with this definite and personalised sense
attaching to the Son, you run near to sajdng that the
Father cannot be known except by those who may have
heard of, and hearing may believe in, the dogma of the
pre-existent, incarnate and resurrected Son. And this
implies, as it seems to me, an improper and intolerant
limitation of the knowledge and love of God to the
followers of a particular creed.
In the Gospel the love of the Father is mainly directed
to the Son. That love is insisted on several times with
marked emphasis. On the other hand, the love of the Son
for the Father is only once alluded to (xiv. 31). The love
of the Son is directed mainly to his disciples. The love of
the disciples is directed to the Son. The love of God by
man is only * once alluded to (v. 42). The object of
Christian love in this Gospel is not the Father, but the
Son. Yet it is only fair to say that the Father's love for
those who are capable of loving the Son, and hence of
winning life eternal, is the motive of the incarnation. " He
that loveth the Son will be loved of the Father. The
Father loveth you because ye have loved the Son." Finally
the love of the Son for them conditions and causes the love
of the disciples for each other. "A new commandment
I give unto you, that ye love one another ; even as 1 loved
you, that ye may also love one another,"
In contrast with this markedly mediatorial position of
Digitized by
Google
Notes <m the Beligious Value of the Fourth Oospel. 59
the Son in the Gospel stands the relation of the believer
to Qod in the Epistle. That relation is more immediate, and
therefore more sympathetic with the Jewish point of view.
Professor Pfleiderer would, of course, be outraged to hear
that what he calls, "die tie/sinnige Erfaaaung dee Kemee
der christlichen JReligion" and the immediate relation of the
human soul to the Divine Father — enger und ein/acher in
the Epistle than in the Gospel — is essentially Jewish. And
yet, outraged as he and his friends would be by such a
statement (as if Rabbinic Jews could possibly know any-
thing of an immediate love of God by the individual
believer), it is nevertheless strictly true. Moreover, this
love of God is brought into direct relation with the
love of man. None can love God if he love not his
brother. When Professor Pfleiderer asks whether it
would not have been possible for the Church to have
abided by the teaching of the Epistle in this respect, and
whether it could not have thus avoided many quarrels,
useless alike for piety and for morality, his Jewish readers
are in full accord with him.^ Such has ever been the con-
tention of Judaism, to put no separable divine " person "
between man and God. It is running on the same uncon-
sciously Jewish lines when Cone, quoting and following
Pfleiderer, remarks that the author of the Epistle " estab-
lishes an immediate relation of the soul to God, which
Christian theologians since Paul have unhappily dis-
regarded, apparently solicitous lest the person of Christ
should not be sufficiently exalted and his mediatorial office
magnified." '
One more characteristic and essential feature of "life
eternal,'* according to the Johannine conception of it,
remains. That element may fitly be called mystic. It is
the glad and keen consciousness of God and of his love,
the sense of nearness to him, by our being in him and
his being in us, which is often supposed to constitute
» Pfleiderer, Das UrohrUtenthumy p. 799.
* Cone, p. 326.
Digitized by
Google
60 7^ Jewish Quarterly Review.
the core of the inner religious life. In the Fourth
Gospel this consciousness is once more strictly limited to
the Christian believer. It is so limited because it partly
depends on a definite and supernatural act, namely, the
bestowal of the Spirit to the disciples after the death of
Christ The gift of that Spirit is not granted in various
measures to those who seek God by many creeds and
divers pathways. It is rigidly restricted to those who seek
the Father through the adoration of the Son. They only
are capable (through their incipient spiritual nature) of
receiving it. It is therefore necessary, before the doctrine
of the Fourth Gospel can be appreciated by the outsider, to
disentangle it of the narrow and circumscribing form in
which it is presented. As it stands, it is too closely con-
nected with a miraculous dispensation of a supernatural
gift at a particular season, and too limited in its application
and its sphere, to be true generally and for all time. The
parallel presentment of the theory in Philo may be arid
and rhetorical, yet it is more human, because it is consonant
with a variety of creeds. Many of those who have extolled
the Johannine mysticism seem to forget its narrowness.
But mysticism above all things should be broadly human.
It is "the intimate relation between God and man"
which the Fourth Gospel teaches— at least for the
believer. " K a man love me, he will keep my word ;
and my Father will love him, and we will come unto
him and make our abode with him." " He that abideth
in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit." " I
will pray the Father, and he will give you .... the
spirit of truth .... he abideth with you, and shall be in
you." ** Even as thou. Father, art in me and I in thee,
that they also may be in us ; that they may be one, even
as we are one ; I in them, and thou in me, that they may
be perfected into one ; . . . . that the love wherewith
thou lovedst me may be in them, and I in them " — in
other words, God's immanence in man, and man's glad
consciousness of that immanence and love of it.
Digitized by
Google
Noie^ on the Religious Value of the Fourth Oospel 61
As an introduction to the study of this subject, many
people might find it useful to read those pages of
Eauwenhoff's book which deal with what he calls the
Psychological Fonns of Religion, Intellectualism, Mystic-
ism, and " Moralism/'^ To the Understanding, to the
Feelings (or rather to Oemiif), and to the Will, are there
assigned their proper part and function both in the
religious history of the past, and in the religious life of
the individual. He shows that of these three forms,
"Moralism,** which lays the stress of religious life on
moral action, is on the whole the most important and
the most wholesome.
Judged from the oatdde, moralism presents little attraction,
espeoially when compared with mysticisin {Mystih), Putting aside
eTerything which savonrs of emotion, God is considered as the
Bopreme Lawgiver, and the test of piety is exclusively sought for
in firtne. Man's future is usually regarded as a reward or rt^tri-
bution of the nse to which he has put his life on earth.*
There is an undoubted onesidedness in " Moralism," but
nevertheless that onesidedness is not religiously so dan-
gerous as the onesidedness of " Intellectualism " and
" Mysticism."
In a onesided emphasis of Morality lies an adequate means
to prevent the practical character of religion being misconceived
— an error into which " intellectualism *' so readily falls — and at
the same time a means to prevent religion being made sensuou;),
which is the besetting danger of mysticism. If for a ** Moralist ''
religions life becomes little more than a discharge of what he thinks
to be his duty, he is at least preserved both from sterile orthodoxy
and from an immoral running riot of the religious emotions. The
discipline of the moral consciousness may never lead to the sunny
heights, whereon the purest life of religious sentiment is passed :
it keeps men at any rate upon the right path. No such sins can be
charged to the school of Kant as to the school of Calvin or of
Spener.*
' Pp. 109 — 124, in the German translation.
* Banwenhoff, p. 180, German translation, p. 120.
> Banwenhoff, p. 182, German translation, p. 122.
Digitized by
Google
62 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
Nevertheless, religion needs and implies something more
than mere " moralism " can supply : —
The one-sided conception of religion as a sanctifying power which
acts upon the will is nnable to perceive that there is also something
else in religion which can never be dispensed with without harm.
The unio myttica^ the yearning of the heart to a more intimate rela-
tion with Deity, for that '* Thou in me and I in thee/' which forma
the fundamental thought of the theology of the Fourth Gospel, may
easily lead the way to hurtful aberrations. It, nevertheless, always
remains a truly religions phenomenon and an essential constituent of
the normally-developed religious life. To this mystic union and
yearning, "moralism,*' to its own great loss, can do no justice ; for it
thereby fiiils to realise that in these emotions lies the great motive
which lifts morality above legalism, and so ennobles the consciousness
of duty till it becomes a mighty impulse and passion towards moral
perfection. " Thou shalt " will presumably always remain the basis
of all morality ; but when religion transforms it into " God wills,"
and Gk>d is no longer a mere lawgiver, but the object of heartfelt love
and spiritual desire, you reach the " Da quod jubes et jube quod vis,"
which unites religion and morality, and brings morality to its highest
possible perfection.*
This unio mystica of which Rauwenhoff here speaks is
the source or the content of those blissful experiences
wherein, according to Oscar Holtzmann, the perennial
value of the Fourth Gospel consists. He says : —
The blissful experiences which Christ declares concerning himself
in Matthew xi. 25-30, and to which Paul briefly alludes (Gikl ii. 20),
are described in the Fourth G^wpel as the permanent possession of the
Christian community (x. 14, xiv. 20-24, xv. 10, 11-16, xvi. 12-16,
33). They are, in short, the experiences which accrue to the indi-
vidual from his consciousness of the love of God and the redemption
through Christ. In its expression of this thought lies, to my idea,
the absolute and eternal value of the Johannine Gospel'
Now, if Rauwenhoflf be right, and if the yearning of the
spirit towards a closer relation and communion with God be
in truth an essential constituent of the properly developed
religious life, the presentment of that yearning and of its
^ Bauwenhoff, p. 181 ; German Translation, p. 121.
' Dot Johannesevangeliumy p. 90.
Digitized by
Google
Note^ on the Religiom Value of the Fourth Gospel, 63
satisfaction in the Fourth Gospel will probably always re-
tain its attraction and its value, however unnecessary and
even intolerable Jews and Theists may find it to split up
the Deity into two so markedly personal aspects as the
Father and the Son, and however repugnant it may be to
them to put any mediatorial agency — human and divine in
one — between the human soul and God. Philo's less
personal Logos is in this respect far more universal and
less restrictive than the Johannine Christ.
" Nearer, my God, to thee " is a true and fundamental
feeling of the religious mind. Their sense of the nearness
of God is the stepping stone on which men have risen to
the consciousness of the " Unio mystica." This nearness
is fully recognised and asserted in the Hebrew Scriptures.
God is described as near, because, in the first place, he is
lovingly omniscient. " The Lord is nigh unto all them that
call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth." " The
Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and
saveth such as be of a contrite spirit"
This certainty of God's saving solicitude, his ever
present and watchful care of those who pray to him in
truth, passes over into a glad sense of communion. It is
not merely that the Old Testament psalmist believed
in God's protective nearness, but he also felt that nearness
as a possession and a joy. This feeling was partly, as we
know, conditioned by the Temple, but it was perfectly real,
and it reaches classic and forcible expression in such
Psalms as the 63rd, the 73rd, the 84th, and several
others. It is quite a mistake to suppose that this living
sense of communion with God was lost by the Rabbis.
Both in the Old Testament and in the Talmud it is,
however, purely popular. It has not been given any
foundation in religious psychology or metaphysics, showing
how this sense of communion with God and nearness of
God is based upon a theory of man's nature and God's
immanence. It could, as I imagine, only receive such a
foundation by the fructifying contact of Greek philosophy.
Digitized by
Google
64 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
And I believe that it is this union of practical Hebrew
religiousness with Greek philosophy which has produced
that religious mysticism, that idea of " Thou in me and I
in thee," which constitutes a main conception of the Fourth
Gospel. So, too, in the famous speech attributed to
St. Paul in the seventeenth chapter of the Acts, we
may notice, I believe, this union of Greek and Hebrew.
"That they should seek God, if haply they might feel
after him, and find him, though he is not far from each one
of us," is a Hebrew thought, hardly going beyond what
might have been said by a Psalmist or a BabbL But the
philosophical justification of the divine nearness passes
beyond the Hebraic limit. And it is just this philosophic
justification which is, to our modern notion, the kernel or
essence of the whole — iv avr^ yctp ^Afiev tccd Kivovfi^da /cal
iafUv \ " In him we live and move and have our being." It
may be noted that J. Holtzmann in his Commentary
cites a curious parallel from the Greek rhetorician Dion
Chrysostom. One could, perhaps, find other parallels in
Philo.
The Hebrew had no definite theory of man's nature or of
God's ubiquity. He was not in the least disturbed by
any philosophical difficulties about a God outside the world
who must be "far" from man. He had no difficulty in
finding God: or rather he had no doubt as to the road.
Through goodness unto God: but not through perfection.
Pride stood in the way : to the repentant sinner the path
lay open. " To them that repent he granteth a return, and
he cheereth them that fail in hope.*' He had no theory of
God being within him and of himself being in God, but
without the theory he prfiwjtically realised its results.
I do not say that for the Jew reared mainly on the Old
Testament, the Liturgy and Rabbinical excerpts, there is
nothing in this respect to be gained from Philo and the
Fourth Gospel. We want the justification as well as the
simpler and more popular expressions of that faith which
it seeks to justify. Nor can we afford to lose this union
Digitized by
Google
NoieB on the Religious Value of the Fourth Gospel. 65
of Greek and Hebrew thought as exemplified in the
Johannine Gospel For it is no mere union : it is religious
genius working upon its twofold material with majestic
effect and thriUing beauty. Nor again would I for a
moment deny that, owing to the absence of this union
between Greek and Hebrew, and also to the greater
difficulty of loving God and feeling him near than of
loving and feeling near the less abstract Christ, the Jewish
religion, at any rate from the days of Moses Mendelssohn,
the rationalist, has been somewhat exposed to the dangers
of " Moralism." Hence it is that a sympathetic study of the
Johannine writings may help some of us (without the least
infraction of our purer monotheism) to a more vivid and
habitual sense of communion between ourselves and God,
and a keener consciousness of the Divine presence.
Dr. Martineau, the great Unitarian philosopher and
divine, goes further than this, and becomes, as I think, not
only unjust to the Judaism, whether Palestinian or Hellen-
istic, which had preceded Christianity, but exaggerates the
debt we owe to the Fourth Gospel itself. In the Johannine
theology he tells us " there is contained one vital element,
which, however questionably reached, transcends in truth
and power the level of the Synoptists' Gospel.'*
It BO coDstraes the personality of Christ, so avails itself of his
characteristics, as to abolish the difference of essence between the
Divine and the human nature^ and substitute for the obedience of
dependence the sympathy of likeness and the fellowship of trust. In
appearance, it unites the qualities of God and man in one case only,
and centres the blended glory in a single incarnation. But there it
does not end. The unexampled spectacle of such ** grace and truth/'
of heavenly sanctity penetrating all human experiences, startles and
wins hearts that never were so drawn before^ and wakes in them a
capacity for that which they reverence in another. This attraction of
afSnity there could not be, were there not divine possibilities secreted
and a divine persuasion pleading in each soul. There cannot be a
chasm of forbidding antipathy and alienation, rendering for ever
inaccessible to man the very ** beauty of holiness " which he already
adores ; nor is there any hindering curse to be bought off, before he
can enter on the new life of self -consecration. There is no longer
VOL. VII. E
Digitized by
Google
66 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
need of despair at the seemingly hopeless task of climbing the
heavens and finding the anapproacbable God. For He himself comes
unsought, and lifts the latch of our nature when we thought the door
was shut, and makes his abode with us (John xiy. 23), seeking us
with his love, finding us with his truth, and claiming us with his
righteousness. Thus does the Pat*aclete perpetuate and universalise
the impersonation of the Son of God in the Son of Man, and carry it
through the spiritual history of the world, and convert the life of
Humanity itself into a Theophany.*
He emphasizes the newness of the Johannine teaching
in another passage more definitely still —
And so the great end is reached, that the mingling of the Divine
and the human in Christ is not there on its own account, as a gem
of individual biography, unique and unrepeated ; but as the type
and the expression of a fact in the constitution of our nature. The
intimate relation between God and man, which declared itself in
the utterance, ** I am not alone, but the Father is with me," belongs
to the essence of the soul and consecrates every human life. Nor
is it anything but simple and indisputable truth to say that the
consciousness of this has taken its commencement from the expe-
rience and religion of Jesus, and has imparted to Christendom
its deeper tone of feeling, its higher conception of purity, and its
inextinguishable hope for humanity.'
Now I think it is nothing but " simple and indisputable
truth " to deny that the consciousness of the intimate
relation between God and man took its commencement
from the experience and religion of Jesus. He probably felt
that relation with intense keenness, but the relation itself,
as a known joy and satisfaction, is far older. It existed
among the men who wrote the Psalter, and, mirabik dictu,
it existed among the men who wrote the Talmud. " The
chasm of forbidding antipathy and alienation, the hinder-
ing curse to be bought off," never existed for the Jewish
consciousness at all, and therefore it wa.s not the Fourth,
or any other Gospel, which did away with them.
There never existed as a dominant feature in the Jewish
religion, from Isaiah to Jesus, or from Jesus to Mendels-
» Seat oj Authority^ p. 449. » Ihld,, p. 509.
Digitized by
Google
Note% on the jReligioiis Value of the Fourth OonpeL 67
sohn, any "despair at the seemingly hopeless task of
climbing the heavens, and finding the unapproachable
God." Therefore, it was not the Fourth, or any other
Gospel, which had to annul a non-existent despair.
Whether we indeed can say that there is no
diflFerencB of essence between the Divine and the humaji
nature, so that we should be grateful to the Fourth Gospel
for abolishing it, is another and more doubtful question.
So far as this merely means that *' there are divine (i.e,
rational) passibilities secreted and a divine persuasion
pleading in each soul," that there is an affinity between the
human and the divine reason, and therefore between
human and divine goodness, we may admit it ; but in
that case the double theory of the Fourth Gospel, first,
that only a select number of men possess this affinity,
and secondly, that the sense of it was never wakened and
the power of it never realized before the teaching of Christ,
or since his advent by unbelievers, is wholly and radically
false. When, therefore, it is said of the Fourth Gospel
that it is (me writing out of others, which teaches this affi-
nity and its possible issues, however " questionable " the
manner of its presentment of the doctrine may be, we accept
and register the claim. But when the discovery and the
sense of glad communion with God, and of the intimate
relation between the human and the divine, is asserted to
be the patent and prerogative of one religion only and of
a single book, we are bound to demur and to protest. We
render our homage to the genius of the Fourth Evangelist :
we recognise his great contribution to the spiritual store
of humanity, but, in homely, though pregnant language, we
must not give him more than his due, nor in order to
pay our debt of gratitude to the Hellenistic Christian,
rob the Jew, whether from Palestine or Alexandria, of all
we owe him and still shall owe.
Of the Fourth Gospel an outsider can say and feel what
a student of philosophy can feel and say of the great
philosophers. Such a student may learn and profit from
£ 2
Digitized by
Google
68 The Jewinh Quartei'lp Review,
them all, though he be a disciple and follower of none. So
Dr. Martineau says of the philosophers whose teachings he
expounds so lucidly in his Ethical Theories, that there is
none to whom he is not grateful for intellectual service or
delight. So to the outsider a great work of genius such as
the Fourth Gospel must always be suggestive, helpful, sti-
mulating. There must be many ways of expressing the
inexpressible, many ways, in other words, of setting forth
by and to our human minds the nature of God and of his
relation to man. One way will seem truer to us than
another, but the less true in one respect may be the more
true in another ; and in whatever form a theory of God
may be presented, and however unacceptable it may seem,
it may yet contain aspects and germs of valuable truth,
which in another form, though, as a whole, purer and
truer, are either wanting or less prominent So from
the doctrine of the Logos, as it is presented to us both by
Philo and the Fourth Evangelist, we may find something
to learn and to cherish, some religious profit and truth for
the nurture and benefit of our souls. The Logos of Philo
is more abstract, but also more impersonal ; far less capable
of rousing emotion and enthusiasm, but at the same time
less invasive of the Divine unity. There is nothing in the
Philonic Logos to stimulate affection or move to self-sacri-
fice ; no ideal of love and pity to imitate and adore ; but
at the same time no devolution of the Divine perfections
upon any aspect of Deity separate or separable from the
self-sufficient and infinite Father. For these reasons the
two presentments of the Logos theory have, for the out-
sider, each its own merits and each its own defects. The
identification of the Logos with Jesus, and the plenary in-
carnation of the Godhead in the person of Christ, were
fraught, as it seems to him, with peculiar danger. The Jew
as well as the Unitarian can, I should imagine, largely
appreciate and concur in the judgment of Dr. Mackintosh,
who says : —
The moment the Ohoroh, by recognising the divinity of Ghrist,
Digitized by
Google
Notes on the EeligmiM Value of the Fourth Gospel. 69
abandoned the position of monotheism pure and simple, it placed
itself on an inclined plane, or on what a popular preacher has called
the *' down grade " ; and that it should descend, sooner or later, to the
worship of the Virgin and the saints was inevitable. Nothing but the
OTangelic doctrine in its purity and freshness — the liying conception
of God as our heayenly Father-— could deliyer the soul of man from
the spirit of fear and diffidence before the Unseen Power so as to
enable it to dispense with the Logos idea, and, consequently, with all
inferior and subordinate agents of the diyine will. The monotheistio
doctrine, in its physical or non-moral aspects, is to this day, and
alwajTB has been, the strength of Mahometanism. In the moral and
humane aspect of it, as presented by Jesus, it has yet to prove the
iteength of Ghnstianity by the overthrow of all competing cults, and
of superstition in every shape.*
But this moral and humane aspect of the monotheistic
doctrine is nothing but the purest Judaism. What seems
to one student a return to the best and earliest Christian
teaching seems to another a return to the best and most
developed presentation of Judaism. The doctrine of Jasus
may be regarded either as pure Christianity or pure
Judaism. Either way of looking at it contains a truth.
Nevertheless, though men may possibly learn to dispense
with the "Logos-idea," they will scarcely without detriment
to the richness and variety of their religious life, dispense
with some of the thoughts which it fostered and diffused.
To the Jew the Evangelist's " Even as thou, Father, art in
me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us" will seem
to involve a false and needless subtlety of distinction in
the Divine nature. But the Epistle's simpler doctrine: "If
we love one another, God abideth in us ;" " he that abideth
in love, abideth in God, and God abideth in him," remains,
and the Jew and the outsider may seek to appropriate and
realize its truth as well as the Christian believer. "Love ''
is more universal than "wisdom," and therefore the
Epistle's doctrine is in this sense wider and nobler than
the equivalent and parallel teaching of Philo, for whom
« Tkf Natural ffigtory of the ChrUtian Eeligion. By Dr. William
HackintOBh. 1894. p. 503.
Digitized by
Google
70 r/k? Jemsh Quarterly Review,
the soul of the wise is inhabited by God. The fool may
transcend the philosopher : Parsifal is nearer God than
Faust. And with these sayings of the Johannine epistle
we may fitly combine the adage of the Acts : " In him we -
live and move and have our being." For this more abstract
statement, which, as we have seen, gives an Hellenic and
philosophic justification to the Hebrew idea of God's near-
ness and omniscience, goes also beyond the notion which it
justifies. Its value to many persons consists in this, that
without destroying or infringing upon the idea of God's
transcendence, it uses the omnipresence of God in such a
way as to make man himself contained in that Divine
ubiquity. Of course it does not really explain the true
relation of God to man, and it is liable to perversion.
If we are in God, we are a part of God, and if we are
a part of God, every aspect of ourselves is equally divine.
What then becomes of goodness and sin ; and where is
their difference ? What becomes of human responsibility,
without which no moral life is possible, and the facts of
morality incapable of explanation ? If God is in nature,
we may try to believe that its horrors are really beneficent,
its cruelty imaginary, its malignancy merely apparent; but
what we must not try to believe is that our own sin and
our own vileness are only apparent too, or that they can
be explained away by any theories of " absolute idealism "
or of divine immanence. These lead perilously near to
many pantheistic aberrations. The Jewish conception of
God and of his relation to man will take its stand upon
the separate self-consciousness of both man and God.
Judaism will, I imagine, thoroughly concur with that
splendid chapter of Dr. Martineau's " Study of Religion,"
in which he deals with Pantheism.
The voluntary nature of moral beings must be saved from
Pantheistic absorption, and be left standing, as, within its sphere, a
free cause other than the Divine, yet homogeneous with it ... . Are
we then to find God in the snnshine and the rain, and to miss him in
o«r thought, our duty, and onr love ? Far from it. He is with ns
Digitized by
Google
Notes on the Religious Value of the Fourth Gospel, 71
in both ; only in the former it is his immanetU life^ in the latter his
transcendent with which we are in communion. It is not indeed Be
that, nnder the mask of our personality, does our thinking, and prays
against onr temptations, and weeps our tears ; these are truly our
own ; but they are in presence of a sympathy free to answer, spirit
to spirit, neither merging in the other, but both at one in the same
inmost preferences and affections.*
But within these limitations, the doctrine, " In him we
live and move and have our being," or " Thou in me and I
in thee," has still its value. It is a way of expressing this
farther truth, not only that God helps man as from with-
out, but that in the Psalmist's phrase the Divine Spirit
helps him from within. It means that man is only then
most free when he may most fitly be called the child of
Grod, and that at his best the difference between his action
and the action of God in him falls away. He is then most
himself, when he is most at one with God : " Not my work,
but God in me." It implies not merely that God, if you
are good and humble, helps you in your toil, sustains you
in your struggle, and lifts you to himself, but that all your
best work and striving are part and parcel of the divine
process of things, links in the chain of evolution, lapped
round and embraced by the divine infinitude, but yet a
portion of it, however infinitesimal, fulfilling its allotted
space, and necessary to the whole. It looks away from
sin and lust and madness, and thinks only of the good,
whether in failure or success, and it finds in this thought
of man's best life as lived in God — the everlasting arm«
beneath us and ai*ound — a consolation and a solace, a sus-
tainment and a strength, which no mere outward God,
however wise, powerful and good, could possibly inspire.
I feel inclined to ask in conclusion whether there is
anything in these selected excellencies of the Johannine
writings which is not in full accord with Judaism, or
which is out of harmony with the main drift and current
of its teaching. ITie answer, I believe, is " None."
> Study of Religion, 2nd ed., Vol. ii., p. 167, 179.
Digitized by
Google
72 Th$ Jewish Quarterly Review.
For certainly the spiritual or symbolic use of words
like life and death, light and darkness, bread and water, is
not un- Jewish. We find it in the Hebrew Scriptures. That
" God is a Spirit," is, as we contend, in easier accord with
Jewish than with Christian orthodoxy, and the true
method of his worship, indicated by the Evangelist, is now
as axiomatic in the Jewish as in the Christian Church.
If the adage that " God is love," may be looked upon as a
brief summing up in three words of such verses as Psalm
cxlv. 8 and 9, and other parallel paiSsages ,• if love is good-
ness raised to the highest power, then is the doctrine
of the Johannine Epistle the doctrine also of the modern
Synagogue.
Nor is there any reason why the Immanence of God, so
far as we hold it to be true, should not be taught and
maintained by Judaism. It suits certain theologians to
caricature the Jewish " transcendental " or " outside *'
God, but Jews need not be irritated by these foolish
misrepresentations. So long as we suffer no violation
of the Divine unity and spirituality, we are free to
teach, as even orthodox Jews throughout the ages have
taught, an immanent as well as a transcendent aspect
of the Divine Being. So long as we keep rigidly within
the limits of Theism, we may include within our con-
ception of God, and of His relation to man, whatever truth
we can find in the idea of the " Divine within the human.'*
The oldest historic Theism of the world is serviceable
still. And lastly there is one more point in the catalogue
of the Fourth GospeFs merits which we may also with,
I trust, increasing accuracy, accept as consistent with
Judaism — I mean its universalism. Indeed, the Judaism
of to-day is far more universal than the Gospel. For we
have attained to a universalism of creed, as well as of race,
and the famous " other sheep I have, which are not of this
fold," if we only interpret the Shepherd as God, is nowhere
now preached more earnestly than from Jewish pulpits.
I trust that in God's own good time it will become a
Digitized by
Google
Notes on the Religious Value of the Fourth Cfospel. 73
principle of action, as well as of faith, so that when the
bond of race shall be recognised as obsolete, the bond of
religion shall wax firmer and still more firm. Community
in religious practice shall yet, perchance, be wedded to
community in religious belief, and in this union shall lie
the Jewish kinship of the future. To cru77ev€9 ovx aifuiTt
fierpelrai fiovovy 'rrpuTav€vovcnj<i a\rj0€Ca<;, aXKcL Trpd^ecov ofioio-
rr^Ti Kcu dripa r&v avT&y, We may well take to heart and
apply, with due measure of enlargement and difference,
these striking words of the Alexandrian sage.
NOTE. — From some friendly hands, through which this article
passed in proof, I received certain criticisms upon it, of part of
whidi the following is the substance : —
" You are not so sympathetic a critic of the Fourth Gospel as of
P^oL Parts of it, at any rate, you interpret in too narrow and
lit^-al a way. For example, your judgment of the writer's ethical
point of view is not as wide and scholarly as it should be. You touch
his weak points, it is true, but you do not distinguish finely in doing
so. A fuller attempt to search for the humanity of the author, his
character, the possible influences round him, and the purpose with
which he wrote, would not have altered your main conclusions, but
would yet have given a more sympathetic tone to your criticism, and
have been more impressive to yoar readers.
" You isolate the Fourth Gospel too severely ; you criticise it rather
too much as if its sayings had been written yesterday for our special
edification. Now, in the author's day, there would have been pro-
bably far fewer examples of a belief which was a mere intellectual
assent, and so, too, the divorce between belief and action would not
have been as common as it is now. ' In the glow of the moment,* to
use your own words, while not forgetting the wideness of God's
mercies, a man might yet have asserted that between the believer in
Christ and the non-believer, not as a matter of intellect, but in a
moral and spiritual sense, the difference was real and wide. It was the
very spirituality and idealism of the author which drove him to assume
that the whole man was transformed by his belief, so that ' believer '
and 'unbeliever' tended to become synonymous with 'righteous' and
' unrighteouB.' And if, on the other hand, he asserted that only the
good could believe, that in a sense is accepted by you also, for you say
that the scamp cannot realize God. You seem readily to perceive
Digitized by
Google
74 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
and allow for enthtisiasin and excitement in Panl, bat not in the
Fourth Evangelist. Bat perhaps there is excitement, though of a
different kind, in the Eyangelist too. It is a sort of intellectual white-
heat. Thus throughout it seems as if the criticism was a little harder
and cruder than it should, or need have been, because yon have not
taken a sufficiently historical and understanding view of the whole.
"Perhaps the new truth (as it seemed to him) came upon the
writer of the Fourth Gospel like a dazzling blaze of light, which
half -blinded him, as Paul, some think, was physically hilf- blinded,
by its very excess of splendour. He looks out, ever after, with what
one might perhaps rather oddly call a dualistic vision up >n the world.
But he was not a philanthropist like PauL Keenly ansious that the
light which he saw should shine throughout the world, he was im-
patient and incredulous of tha<*e who passed it by. Possibly, never-
thele'^s, you might have been more accurate had you shown more
tenderness for the man who said so mach about love, but who in his
intense antagonism to sin, or to what he too rashly thought sin,
seemed unable, or was afraid to let love come in."
How far this criticism is cogent I cannot now inquire. It is at any
rate interesting and suggestive. Any stray reader of the article will,
I am sure, be glad to read its Note.
C. Q. MONTEFIOEK.
Digitized by
Google
The Expulsion of the Joes from England in 1290. 75
THE EXPULSION OF THE JEWS FROM
ENGLAND IN 1290.^
The expubion of the Jews from England by Edward I. is
a measure concerning the causes of which no contemporary
historian gives, or pretends to give, any but the most
meagre information. It was passed by the King in his
*' secret council," of the proceedings of which we naturally
know nothing. Of the occasion that suggested it, each
separate writer has his own account, and none has a claim
to higher authority than the rest ; and yet there is much
in the circumstances connected with it that calls for ex-
planation. How was it that, at a time when trade and
the need for capital were growing, the Jews, who were
reputed to be among the great capitalists of Europe, were
expelled from England ? How did Edward, a king who
was in debt from the moment he began his reign till the
end, bring himself to give up the revenue that his father
and grandfather had derived from the Jews ? How could
he, as an honourable king, drive out subjects who were
protected by a Charter that one of his predecessors had
granted, and another had solemnly confirmed ? To answer
these questions we must consider what was the position
that the Jews occupied in England, how it was forced
on them, and how it brought them into antagonism at
various times with the interests of various orders of the
EjQglish people, and at all times with the teachings of the
Catholic Church. We shall thus find the origin of forces
strong enough when they converged to bring about the
result which is to be accounted for.
1 The Arnold prize in the Uniyersity of Oxford was awarded to this
Bmy in 1894.
Digitized by
Google
76 The Jetciih Quarterly Review.
I. — ^The Jews from their Arrival to 1190.
Among the foreigners who flocked to England at, or
soon after, the Conquest were many families of French
Jews. They brought with them money, but no skill in
any occupation except that of lending it out at interest.
They lent to the King when the ferm of his counties, or his
feudal dues were late in coming in ; ^ to the barons, who,
though lands and estates had been showered on them,
nevertheless often found it hard, without doubt, to procure
ready money wherewith to pay for luxuries, or to meet
the expense of military service ; and to suitors who had to
follow the King's Court from one great town to another,
or to plead before the Papal Curia at Rome.*
But though they thus came into contact with many
classes, and had kindly relations with some, they remained
far more alien to the masses of the people around them
than even the Normans, in whose train they had come to
England. Even the baron must, a hundred years after the
Conquest, have become something of an Englishman. He
held an estate, of which the tenants were English ; he
presided over a court attended by English suitors. In
battle he led his English retainers. He and the English-
man worshipped in the same church, and in it the sons of
the two might serve as priests side by side. But the Jews
remained during the whole time of their sojourn in Eng-
land sharply separated from, at any rate, the common
people aroimd them by peculiarities of speech, habits and
daily life, such as must have aroused dread and hatred in
an ignorant and superstitious age. Their foreign faces
alone would have been enough to mark them out.
Moreover, they generally occupied, not under compulsion,
but of their own choice, a separate quarter of each town
* J. Jaoobs, Jews of Angevin England^ 43-4 ; 64-5.
' Of. the account of the litigation of Richard of Anesty in Palgraye*8
Ri$e and Progreu of the English Commontoealthf Vol. II. (Proofs and
lUustrations), pp. xxiv.-xzvii.
Digitized by
Google
The Eoapukion of the Jews from England in 1290. 77
in which they dwelt^ And in their isolation they
lived a life unlike that of any other class. None of
them were feudal landowners, none farmers, none villeins,
none ipembers of the guilda They did not join in
the national Watch and Ward. They alone were for-
bidden to keep the mail and hauberk which the rest
of the nation was bound to have at hand to help in pre-
serving the peace.^ They were not enrolled in the Frank-
pledge, that society that brought neighbours together and
taught them to be interested in the doings of one another
by making them responsible for one another s honesty.
They did not appear at the Court Leet or the Court Baron,
at the Town-moot or at the Shire-moot. They went to no
church on Sundays, they took no sacrament ; they showed
no signs of reverence to the crucifix ; but, instead, they
went on Friday evening and Saturday morning to a syna-
gogue of their own, where they read a service in a foreign
tongue, or sang it to strange Orientfd melodies. When
they died they were buried in special cemeteries, where
Jews alone were laid.* At home their very food was dif-
ferent from that of the Christians. They would not eat
of a meal prepared by a Christian cook in a Christian
house. They would not use the same milk, the same wine,
the same meat as their neighbours. For them cattle had
to be killed with special rites ; and, what was worse, it
sometimes happened that, some minute detail having been
imperfectly performed, they rejected meat as unfit for
themselves, but considered it good enough to be oflcred
for sale to their Christian neighbours.* The presence of
' See Jewries of Oxford and Winchester, in the plans in Norgate's
England under Angevin Xhtgs^ I., pp. 31, 40 ; and Jewry of London, de-
scribed in Papers of Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition^ pp. 20-52.
* Chronica Rogeri de Hoveden (RoUs Series) II., 261 ; Oesta Eenrici
II, et Ricardi I, (Rolls Series), I. 279.
* Oesta Eenrici II, et Rioardi I, (R. S.), I. 182 ; CTironioa Rogeri dt
Eaveden (R. S.), U, 137.
* Depping, Zes Juift dans le Moyen Age, 170 ; Jacobs' The Jews of
Angevin England, 54, 178 ; Statutss of the Realm (Edition of 1810), I. 202
Digitized by
Google
78 The Jetmh Quartei^ly Review.
Christian servants and nurses in their households made it
impossible that any of their peculiarities should remain
unobserved or generally unknown.*
Thus, living as semi-aliens, growing rich as usurers, and
observing strange customs, they occupied in the twelfth
century a position that was fraught with danger. But,
almost from their first arrival in the country, they had
enjoyed a kind of informal Royal protection,* though, as
to the nature of their relations with the King during the
first hundred and thirty years of their residence, very
little is known. It was probably less close than it after-
wards became, for the liability to attack and the need for
protection had not yet manifested themselves.
But, at the end of the eleventh century, there began to
spread throughout Europe a movement which, when it
reached England, converted the vague popular dislike of
the Jews into an active and violent hostility. While
the Norman conquerors were still occupied in settling
down in England, the King organising his realm,
and the barons enjoying, dissipating, or forfeiting their
newly-won estates, popes and priests and monks had been
preaching the Crusade to the other nations of civilised
Europe. At one of the greatest and most imposing of all
the Church Councils that were ever held, where were pre-
sent lay nobles and clerics of all nations^ attending each as
his own master, and able to act on the impulse of the
moment. Urban II., in 1095, told the tale of the wrong that
(Judiciam PiUorie) and 203 (Statntum de Pistoribos). See also Leet
Jurisdiction in Norwich (Selden Society, 1891), p. 28, where, in a list of
ameroements inflicted at the Leet of Nedham and Maneoroft, the follow-
ing entry oconrs :— ** De Johanne le Pastemakere quia yendidit Games
quas Jndei vooant trefa, 2s." .
* lllLajiei, Sacorum ConcUioruvi Collection Venice, 1775, XX. 399; Wilkins,
Concilia Magnae JSritanniae^ I. 691, 675, 719; Qe^ta Htnrici 21. et
Bicardi I, (R. S.), L 230. Chronica Rogeri de ffoveden (B. S.), II. 180.
6 Of. the words of John*8 Charter :=** Libertates et oonsuetudines
•icnteas habueront tempore Henrioi ayi patris nostri. — Botuli Chartarum^
p. 93.
Digitized by
Google
The Expukion of the Jews from England in 1290. 79
Christieuis had to suffer at the hands of the enemies of
Christ. He told his hearers how the Eastern people, a
people estranged from Ood, had laid waste the land of the
Christians with fire and sword ; had destroyed churches,
or misused them for their own rites ; had circumcised
Christians, poured their blood on altars and fonts, scourged
and impaled men, and dishonoured women.* Such denun-
ciations, followed by the appeal to all present to help
Jerusalem, which was " ruled by enemies, enslaved by
the godless, and calling aloud to be freed," excited,
for the first time in Europe, a furious and fanatical
hatred of Eastern and non-Christian races. The Jews
were such a race, as well as the Saracens, and be-
tween the two the Crusaders scarcely distinguished.
Before they left home and fortune to fight God's enemies
abroad, it was natural that they should kill or convert
those whom they met nearer home. Through all central
Europe, from France to Hungary, the bands that gathered
together to make their way to the Holy Land fell on the
Jews and offered them the choice between the sword and
the font.^
The disasters that followed the first Crusade brought
with them an increase in the ferocity of the attacks to
which the Jews of Continental Europe were subjected, and
S. Bernard, when he preached the second Crusade, found
that he had revived a spirit of fanaticism that he was
powerless to quell. He had wished for the reconquest of
the Holy Land as a result that would bring honour
to the Christian religion ; but his followers and imitators
thought less of the end than of the bloodshed that was
• ReeueU des HUtorient des Croisades—EistorieM Ocoidentaux (Parig,
1866), III. 321, 727. Of. espeoiaUy (p. 727), Altaria suis foeditatibns
inqninata snbvertont, Ohristianos circnmoidunt, ornoremque oironm-
cisionis aut Bnper altaria fondant ant in yasis baptisterii immergnnt
(Robert! Monachi HUtoria Iherosolimitarut).
1 Nenbaner and Stem, Hehrdisohe JSerichte Uber die Judenver/olgungen
wdArend der KreuzcsfQge ; Hefele, ConeUienge^ohichte^ Y., 224, 270 ; Graetz,
Ge»r.hieUe der Juden (second edition) VI., 89-107.
Digitized by
Google
80 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
to be the means. A monk, "who skilfully imitated the
austerity of religion, but had no immoderate amount of
learning," ^ went through the Rhineland preaching that all
Jews who were found by the Crusfiuiers should be killed
as enemies of the Christian faith. It was in vain that
Bernard appealed to the Christian nations whom his elo-
quence had aroused, in the hope that "the zeal of God which
burnt in them would not fail altogether to be tempered
with knowledge." He himself narrowly escaped attack :
and the Jews suffered from the second Crusade as they had
suffered from the first.^
England was so closely related to the Churches of the
Continent that it could not fail to be affected by the great
movement. But the lirst Crusade was preached when the
Conquest was still recent, and the Normans had no leisure
to leave their new country ; the second, during the last
period of anarchy in the reign of Stephen.
Thus there were, during the first hundred years after the
Council of Clermont, few English Crusaders. Yet the Cru-
sading spirit, working in a superstitious mediaeval popula-
tion, called forth a danger that was destined to be as fatal
to the English Jews as were the massacres to their brethren
on the Continent. The Pope who preached the first Cru-
sade had told his hearers that Eastern nations were in the
habit of circumcising Christians and using their blood in
such a way as to show their contempt for the Christian
religion. This charge was naturally extended to the Jews
as well. What alterations it underwent in its circulation it
is hard to say; but in 1146, a tale was spread among the
populace of Norwich, and encouraged by the bishop, that
the Jews had killed a boy named William, to use his blood
for the ritual of that most suspicious feast, their Passover.
The story was supported by no evidence more trustworthy
than that of an apostate Jew, which was so worthless that
• 0. U. Hohn, Oeschickte der Ketzer im MUtelalter^ III. 17.
' Graetz, OeschicMe der Juden (second editioii), VI., 165-170. Of.
Hefele, V., 498, n 2.
Digitized by
Google
The Expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290. 81
the Sheriff refused to allow the Jews to appear in the
Bishop's Court to answer the charge brought against
them, and took them under his protection. But the
popular suspicion of the Jews lent credibility to the
story, and so terrible was the feeling which was aroused
that many of the Jews of Norwich dispersed into other
lands, and of those who remained many were killed by the
people in spite of the protection of the Sheriff.^ The accu-
sation once made naturally recurred, first at Gloucester, in
1168, and then at Bury St. Edmund's, in 1181. "The
Martyrs " were regularly buried in the nearest church or
religious house, and the miracles that they all worked
would alone have been enough to continually renew the
belief in the tenible story.^
Under the firm reign of Henry II., anti-Jewish feeling
found no further expression in act. The King, like his
predecessors, gave and secured to the Jews special privi-
leges so great as to arouse the envy of their neighbours.
They were allowed to settle their own disputes in their
own Beth Din, or Ecclesiastical Court, and in so far to enjoy
a privilege that was granted only under strict limitations
to the Christian Church.* They were placed, apparently,
under the special protection of the royal oflScers of each
district.* They lived in safety, and they made coasiderable
contributions to the Royal Exchequer.
The death of Henry II. and the accession of Richard I.,
the lij^st English Crusading King, might naturally have
been expected to bring trouble to the rich and royally
> Jaoobe, Ojf. Cit.. 20, 257.
' HUtoria et Cartularium Monoiterii S, Petri Oloucestriae^ R. S., I.,
21 ; Chronica Joeelini de Brakclmda (Camden Society), 12, 113-14 ;
AmnaU* Moruutici (R. 8.), L, 843, XL, 347; Matt. Paris, Chronica
Maiora (B. S.), IV., 877, V., 518 ; Jacobs* Jew* of Angevin Engla^^, 19 ;
and cf. Chronicles of Reigns of Stephen^ Henry 11,^ Richard J. (Bolls
Series), I., 311.
* Materials for History of Thomas Bechet (Rolls Series), IV. 148 ;
Jacobs, Jews of Angewn England, 43, 165.
* Cf . the protection given to Jews of Norwich by the Sheriff, Jacobs,
257.
VOL. vn. F
Digitized by
Google
82 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
favoured infidels of the land where the blood accusation
had its birth. The interregnum between the death of one
King and the proclamation of the " peace *' of his successor
was always a time of danger and lawlessness during the
first two centuries after the Conquest, and the growth of
the crusading spirit, and of the popular belief in the ti-uth
of the blood accusation, caused all the forces of disorder to
work in one direction, viz., against the Jews. The day of
Richard's coronation was the first opportunity for a great
exhibition of the anti-Jewish fanaticism of the populace.
The nobles from all paorts of the country brought with them
to London large trains of servants and attendants, who were
left to occupy themselves as best they might in the streets,
while their lords were present at the ceremony. The Jews,
who had been refused permission to enter the Abbey, took
up a prominent position outside. Their appearance ex-
asperated the crowd, and in the mediaeval world a crowd
was irresistible. While the service was proceeding, the
Jews were fiercely attacked by the " wild serving men " of.
the nobles and the lower orders of citizens. One at least
was compelled to accept baptism to save himself from
death. Later in the same day, when the King and mag-
nates were banqueting in the palace, the attack was re-
newed. The strong houses of the Jewry were besieged
and fired, and the inhabitants were massacred. But soon
"avarice got the better of cruelty," and in spite of the
efforts of the King's officers the city was given up to
plunder and rapine.^
Though the King was bitterly angry at what had hap-
pened, the first attempt at punishment showed him how
powerless he was against the forces hostile to the Jews.
Had the offenders been nobles or prominent citizens, he
could, when the first irresistible disorder had subsided, have
taken vengeance at his leisure. But what could he do
against a collection of serving-men and poor citizens, whom
' Chronicles of the Beigns of Stephen^ Henry II., and Richard 1, (BoUs
Series), I. 294-9.
Digitized by
Google
The Expuhion of the Jews from England in 1290. 83
no one knew, who had come together and had separated in
one day? When he departed for the Crusades, he left
behind him all the materials for more outbreaks of the same
kind. In the more populous towns Crusaders were con-
tinually gathering together in order to set out for the Holy
Land in company : and they, aided by the lower citizens,
clerics, and poor countrymen, and in some cases by ruined
landholders, fell on and killed the Jews wherever they had
settlements in England, at Norwich, York, Bury St. Ed-
munds, Lynn, Lincoln, Colchester, and Stamford.^ Again
the Royal officers were unable to touch the offenders. When
the Chancellor arrived with an army at York, the scene of
the most horrible of all the massacres, he found that the
murderers were Crusaders, who had long embarked for the
Holy Liand, peasants and poor townsmen who had retired
fh)m tlie neighbourhood, and bankrupt nobles, who had
fled to Scotland. The citizens humbly represented that they
were not responsible for the outrage and were too weak to
prevent it. No punishment was possible except the inflic-
tion of a few fines, and the Chancellor marched back with
his army to London.*
It was clear that the King must strengthen his con-
nection with the Jews. He could not afford to lose them
or to leave them continually liable to plunder. They were
too rich. In 1187, when Henry II. had wanted to raise a
great sum from all his people he had got nearly as much
from the Jews as from his Christian subjects. From the
former he got a fourth of their property, £60,000, from the
latter a tenth, or £70,000.* It is of course improbable
that, as these figures would at first seem to show, the
Jews held a quarter of the wealth of the kingdom, but
* Badnlft de Diceto, Opera Eistorica (K.S.), II. 75-6. Jacobs, Jetos of
Angetin EngUnid^ 176 ; Chronicles of the Beigns of Stephen^Senry 11.^ and
Biehard I. (Bolls Series), L 309-10, 812-322.
* Chronicles of the Beigns of Stephen, Henry IL, arul Biehard I,
(B.S.)L823-4.
' Jacobs, Jews of Angevin England^ pp. 91-6 ; Gervase of Canterbury
(BJS.) I. 422.
F 2
Digitized by
Google
84 The Jewish Quarterly Remew.
they were as useful to the King as if they had He had
a far greater power over their resources than over those
of his other subjects ; their wealth was in moveable pro-
perty, and what was still more important, it was concen-
trated in few hands. It was easily found and easily
taken away.^
n. The Constitution of the Jewry.
Richard s policy, or his councillors*, was simple. On the
one hand, in order to encourage rich Jews to continue to
make England their home, he issued a charter of protection,
in which he guaranteed to certain Jews,^ and perhaps to
all who were wealthy, the privileges that they had
enjoyed under his father and great-gi*andfather. They
were to hold land as they had hitherto done; their
heirs were to succeed to their money debts; they
were to be allowed to go wherever they pleased
throughout the country, and to be free of all tolls and
dues. On the other hand he asserted and enforced his
rights over them and their property by organising a com-
plete supervision of all their business transactions. In 1194
he issued a code of regulations, in which he ordered that
a register of all that belonged to them should be kept for
the information of the treasury. All their deeds were to
be executed in one of the six or seven places where
there were establishments of Jewish and Christian clerks
especially appointed to witness them; they were to be
entered on an official list, and a half of each was to be
deposited in a public chest under the control of royal
officers.' No Jew was to plead before any one but the
King's officers, and special Justices were appointed to hear
1 For instanoe, the enormoDS wealth of Abraham fil Babbi, Jumet
of Norwich and Aaron of Lincoln. Jacobs, Op, Cit., 44, 64, 84, 90, 91.
• Bymer, Fcedera I. 51.
' Chronica Rogeri de Hoveden (B.S.), III. 266-7.
Digitized by
Google
The Expukion of the Jewsfrom England in 1290. 85
their cases and exercise a general control over their
business.^
Their constitution underwent various modifications under
Richard's successors. The privileges which had at first been
granted to certain Jews by name were extended by John
to the whole community ; ^ and the royal hold over them
was tightened by an edict, issued in 1219, which ordered
the Wardens of the Cinque Ports to prevent any Jews who
lived in England from leaving the country.'
This elaborate constitution did not indeed afford com-
plete security against a repetition of the massacres of 1189
and 1190, but its existence was a more solemn and official
recognition than had been given before of the fact that
the King was the sole lord and protector of the Jews, and
that he would regard an injury done to them as an injury
to himself. And thus it went far to secure to him
his revenue and to them their safety. From this
time forward, the Jews yielded to the king, not
simply irregular contributions, such as the £60,000 they
had paid to Henry II., and the sums they had paid to Long-
champ towards the expenses of Richard's Crusade,* but a
steady and regular income. They paid tallages, heavy
reliefs on succeeding to property, and a besant in the
pound, or ten per cent, on their loan transactions ; they
were liable to escheats, confiscation of land and debts, and
fines and amercements of all kinds.^ Their average annual
contribution to the Treasury, during the latter part of the
twelfth century, was probably about a twelfth of the whole
Ro3'al revenue,* and of the greater part of what they owed
the realisation was nearly certain. Other debtors might
find in delay, or resistance, or legal formalities, a way of
* Chronicon Johannis Brompton in Twysdea'a HUteria AnglicafUd
Seriptoreg X., col. 1258.
* Rotuli Ckartantm (Record Commission), p. 08.
* Tovey, Anglia Judaica, 81.
* Oesta Henrici IL et Rlcard, L (R.S.), II. 218 ; M. Paris, Chronica
Majora (E.S.) II. 381, and Jacobs, 162-4.
* Jacobs, 222, 228-30, 239-40. « Ibid. 828.
Digitized by
Google
86 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
avoiding payment. But the Jews were in thr King's hands.
He could order the sheriffs of the county to distrain on
defaulters, and there wa,s no one between the sheriffs and
the Jews.^ He could despoil them of lands and debts. He
could imprison them in the royal castles. In the reign of
John, all the Jews and Jewesses of England were thrown
into prison by his command, and are said to have been
reduced to such poverty that they begged from door to
door, and prowled about the city like dogs.* The only
way they had of removing any of their property from his
reach was by burying it. Whereupon the King, if he had
any suspicion that a Jew had more treasure than was
apparent, might order him to have a tooth drawn every
day until he paid enough to purchase pardon.'
Powerless as the Jews were against royal oppression in
England, the position that was offered to them by Richard
and John was no worse than that of their co-religionists
in other countries of Europe. Those of Germany were the
Emperors Kammerknechte ;^ those of France had been
expelled in 1182, and though they were soon recalled, might
at any time be expelled again.* A Jew in a feudalised
country was liable to be the subject of quarrel between the
lord on whose estate he dwelt and the king of the country,
and he could be handed about, now to the one and now to
the other.^ The right to live and to be under jurisdiction, was
everywhere still a local privilege that had to be enjoyed by
the permission of a lord, lay or clerical, and had to be paid for.
In England, the Jews, so long as they were protected by
the King, were at any rate under the greatest lord in
» Jacobs, 222.
» M. Paris, Chronica Majora (R.S.) II. 528 ; Annales MonagtUi (E.S.)
I. 29, II. 2G4, III. 32, 451 ; Chronicles of Laneroost (Maitland Club), p. 7.
' M. Paris, Chronica Majora II., 528.
* Depping, Les Juifs dans le Moyen Age, 185.
* Bouquet, Recueil des Historiens des Oaules etdela France, xvii. 9.
6 Depping, Les Juifs dans le Moyen Age, 59, 60, 185, 194. Of. Rotuli
Chartarum, I. 76 {Carta WUlielmi Marescalli, de quodam Judaeo apud
Camhay).
Digitized by
Google
The Expuhian of the Jews from England in 1290. 87
the land. The towns where especially they wished to
settle for the purposes of their business, were, thanks to
the policy of William the Conqueror, mostly on the royal
domain. And the royal power acting through its local
officers was used to the full to protect the Jews. The
sheriflfe of the counties were especially charged to secure
to them personal safety and the enjoyment of the im-
munities that had been granted to them.^
The arrangement by which Jewish money-lenders
received on English soil the protection of the King against
his own subjects was not very honourable to either of the
parties. But the King had no compunction, and the Jews
had no choice. It could endure so long as the royal power
was strong enough to override the objections of barons and
abbots to a measure in favour of their creditors, of the
towns to an encroachment on their privileges, and of the
Church to the royal support of a body of infidel usurers.
At the end of the twelfth century neither towns nor
landholders nor Church were in a position to offer any
effectual protest. In the thirteenth century the strength
of the opposition of each of these three orders grew steadily.
But in each it pursued a separate course, though to the
same end ; and each order struck its decisive blow at a
different moment. Hence the various forms of opposition
must be separately considered.
III. — ^The Conflict with the Towns.
The towns were the first to carry out a practical and
effective anti-Jewish policy. It was they that suffered
most keenly and constantly from the presence of the
Jews. They had bought, at great expense, from King or
noble or abbot, the right to be independent, self-governing
communities, living under the jurisdiction of their own
Tovey, Anglia Judaica, 78-9.
Digitized by
Google
88 The Jfiidsh Quarterly Review.
officers, free from the visits of the royal sheriffs, and paying
a fixed sura in commutation of all dues to the King or the
local lord ; and yet many of them saw the King protecting
in their midst a band of foreigners, who had the royal per-
mission to go whithersoever they pleased, who could dwell
among the burgesses, and were yet free not only from all
customs and dues and contribution to the ferra,^ but even
from the jurisdiction of those authorities which were respon-
sible for peace and good government.^ This was exasperat-
ing enough ; but there was more and worse. The exclusion
of the sheriff and the King's constables was one of the
most cherished privileges of towns, but, wherever the
Jews had once taken up their residence, it was in danger
of being a mere pretence. At Colchester, if a Jew was
unable to recover his debts, he could call in the King's
sheriffs to help him. In London, Jews were "warrantised*'
from the exchequer, and the constable of the Tower had
a special jurisdiction by which he kept the pleas between
Jews and Christians. At Nottingham, complaints against
Jews, even in cases of petty assaults, were heard before
the keeper of the Castle. At Oxford the constable called
in question the Chancellor's authority over the Jews;
contending that they did not form part of the ordinary
town-community.' Moreover, the debts of the Jews were
continually falling into the King's hands, and whenever
this happened, his officers would no doubt penetrate into
' Stamford was an exoeptioii in this respect, Madoz, IHrma Burgi^
p. 182.
' Et Jndaei non intrabnnt in placitam nisi coram nobis ant coram illis
qni turres nostras custodierint in qnorum baUivis Jndsei manserint,
Rot. Chart., 93.
' Cntts, Colchegter, 123 ; Tovey, Aiiglia J., 50 ; Forty -Seventh Report
of Deputy-Keeper of Public Records, 306 ; Lyte, Hutory of the Uni-
versity of Oxford, 69 ; Papers of Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition,
35-6 ; De Antiquis Legibfts Liber (Camden Soc.), p. 16, (A.D. 1249, Nam
rex concessit quod Jndei qui antea warantizati fuerunt per breve de
scaccario, de cetero placitassent coram civibus de tenementis suis in
Londoniis). Chronica Jocelini de Brahelond (Camden Soc.), p. 2, (Venit
Jndens portans literas domini regis de debito sacristae).
Digitized by
Google
TRe Expukion of the Jem from England in 1290. 89
the town to make on behalf of the royal treasury a
collection such as had never been contemplated when the
burgesses made their agreement, which was to settle once
and for all their payment to the King.^
In some of the towns the feeling against the Jews was
expressed in riots as early as the reign of John, and the
beginning of that of Henry III. But the King in each
case took stem measures of repression. John told the
mayor and barons of London that he should require the
blood of the Jews at their hands if any ill befell them.^
In Gloucester and in Hereford, the burgesses of the town
were made responsible for the safety of the Jews dwelling
amongst them. In Worcester, York, Lincoln, Stamford,
Bristol, Northampton, and Winchester, the sheriffs were
charged with the duty of protecting them against injury.*
Such measures only increased the ill-feeling of the
burgesses. At Norwich in 1234 the Jewry was fired and
looted.* The Jews were maltreated and beaten, and were
only saved from further harm by the timely help of the
garrison of the neighbouring castle. At Oxford the
scholars attacked the Jewry and carried off " innumerable
goods."*
But the towns soon began to use a far more efiective
method than rioting in order to rid themselves of the
Jews. Just as they had found it worth while to pay
heavily for their municipal charters, so now they were
willing to pay more for a measure which would secure
them in the future against a drain on their revenues and
a violation of their privileges. Whether a town held its
' Cp. Chronica Mona^erii de Melsa (R.S.), I., If7. Interea mortuns
eet AarozL Jadaens Lincolniae, de quo jam dictum est, et oompnlsi sumasy
regis edicto totnm quod illi debuimus pro Willielmo Fossard infra breve
tempos donuno regi persolvere.
» Rymer, Fcedera, I.. 89.
* Calendar of Patent Rolls from 1281 to 1292, p. 15 ; Tovey, Anglia
Judaiea, 77, 78, 79.
* Torej, 101, Norfolk Antiquarian MUcellavy, I., 826.
* AHn€Ue9 Monastiei (KoUs Series), iv. 91.
Digitized by
Google
90 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
charter from the King or was still dependent on an inter-
mediate lord, the motive was equally stronp^. An abbot
or a baron would be glad to second the efforts made by
the inhabitants of one of his vills to expel a portion of
the populace which took much from the resources whence
his revenue came and added nothing to them.^ The abbot
of Bury St. Edmund's induced the King to expel the Jews
from the town in 1190.* The burgesses of Leicester
obtained a similar grant from Simon de Montfort in 1231,
those of Newcastle in 1234, of Wycombe in 1235, of South-
ampton in 123G, of Berkhampsted in 1242, of Newbury in
1244, of Derby in 1263 ; at Norwich the citizens complained
to the King, but without any result, of the harm that they
suffered through the growth of the Jewish community
settled in the city.' In 1245 a decree in general terms was
issued by Henry III., prohibiting all Jews, except those to
whom the King had granted a special personal license, from
remaining in any town other than those in which their co-
religionists had hitherto been accustomed to live.^ This
series of measures did not simply deprive the Jews in
England of a right which had been solemnly granted them
and which they had long enjoyed. It went much further.
* EspeciaUj irritating mnst have been the fact tliat the one restriction
on the business of Jews, as money-lenders, was the order that forbade
them to take in pledge the land of tenants on the royal demesne. W.
Prynne, The Second Part of a Short Demurrer to the Jews' long dU*
continued remitter, etc., London, 1656, p. 35 ; Norfolk Antiquarian Mit-
cellany, I. 328.
' Chronica Joeelini de Brakelonda (Oamden Society), p. 38.
' Thompson, Leioetter, 72 ; Madoz, Eitt. of Exchequer , I. 260, notes 0
and P ; J. E. Blunt, Ettahliihment and Residence of Jews in England,
45 ; Papers Anglo- J. H. Ex. 190 ; Prynne, The Second Part of a Short
Demurrer, etc., p. 37 ; Norfolk Antiquarian Miscellany, I. 326, (De Judeis
dicebant quod major multitudo manet in civitate sna qoam solebat,
et quod Jndei qui aliis locis dissainati (sic) faeront yenemnt ibidem
manere ad dampnom civitatis).
* Prynne, The Second Part of a Short Demurrer, etc., p. 75 ; Madox, His-
tory of the Exchequer, I. 249 : Et quod nnUos Jndaeus reoeptetur in
aliqna villa sine speoiali licentia Beg^, nisi in yillis illis in qoibns
Jndaei manere consneTemnt.
Digitized by
Google
The Expulsion of the Jeics from England in 1290. 91
For, by circumscribing the area in which they could carry
on their business, and so diminishing their opportunities
of acquiring wealth, it threatened their very existence in a
land where their wealth alone secured them protection.
IV. — The Conflict with the Barons.
At the same time that the towns were making their
attack on the Jews in their own way, there was growing
up within the baronial order a new party, stronger than
the towns in the elements of which it was composed and
in its capacity for joint action, and filled, on account of the
private circumstances of its members, with a deeper
hatred of the Jews than the greater barons, who had
hitherto represented the order, had ever known. For the
old Baronial party which had forced Magna Carta on
John was too rich to be seriously indebted to the Jews, and
the anti-Jewish feeling of its members must have been
blunted by the fact that, when they had to pay their debts,
they could raise the money by benevolences levied on their
tenanta^ Moreover some of them imitated on their own
estates the King's policy of sharing in the profits of
usury.* Hence they were little influenced by personal
grievances, and it was no doubt partly from political con-
siderations, and partly as a concession to the lesser and
poorer members of their order, that they had introduced
into Magna Carta certain limitations of the power of the
Jews, or of their legatee, the King, over the estates of
' Jacobs, mTeivs of Angevin England, 269-271.
' M. Paris, Chronica Major a, V. 245. Of. the article in the Constitations
enacted by Walter de Cantilape, Bishop of Worcester, at his diocesan
STDod in 1240 : Quia vero parom refert, an qnis per se vel per aliom incidat
in crimen nsnramm, prohibemns ne qnis Ghristianns Judseo pecnniam
committat, ut earn Jadseos aimulate sno nomine proprio mntnet ad nsnram.
WiUdns, MagruB Britannia Concilia, I. 676,676. Stubbs, 8deot Charters,
385-6.
Digitized by
Google
92 The Jewish Quarterly Revieu),
debtors, a measure which, small a.s it was, was repealed on
the re-issues of the charters, when, during the minority
of Henry III., the Barons had to undertake the duty of
Government. And yet even the greater Barons must have
felt, after twenty years' experience of the personal Govern-
ment of Henry III., that an alteration in the Royal system of
managing the Jewry was necessary if their order was ever
to succeed in the constitutional struggle in which it was
engaged. They knew that many of those among the King's
acts which they hated worst would have been impossible
but for the Jews. It was by money extorted from them
that he had been enabled to prolong his expeditions in
Brittany and Gascony, to support and enrich his foreign
favourites, and to baffle the attempts of the Council to
secure, by the refusal of supplies, the restoration of Govern-
ment through the customary officers. In 1230, and again in
1239, he took from them a third of their property ; in 1244,
he levied a tallage of 60,000 marks ; in 1250, 1252, 1254,
and 1255 he ordered the royal officers to take from them
all that they could exact, after thorough inquisition and the
employment of measures of compulsion so cruel as to make
the whole body of Jews in England ask twice, though
each time in vain, for permission to leave the country.
Thus the whole Baronial order was for a time united, on
the ground of constitutional grievances, in a policy which
found its expression in the successful attempt of the
National Council in 1244 to exact from the King the right
of appointing one of the two justices of the Jews, so as to
gain a knowledge of the amount of the Jewish revenue,
and a power of controlling its expenditure.*
1 For the nature and duration of the earlier straggle between the king
and the barons, see Stubbs, Constitutional HUtory of England (Library
Edition), II., 40, 44, 63, 67, 69-77. For the king's acts of extortion from
the Jews, see Matthew Paris, Chronica Majora^ III., 194, 643 ; IV., 88 ;
v., 114, 274, 441, 487 ; Madox, History of the Exchequer, I., 224-5, 229 ;
Prynne, Second Part of a Short Demurrer, 40, 48, 66, 70, 76, 57. For the
appointment by the Council of one Justice of the Jews, M. Paris, Chronica
Majora, iv. 367.
Digitized by
Google
The Expuhion of the Jeicsfrom England in 1290. 93
But such a measure did nothing to relieve the personal
grievances of the lower baronage, and it was naturally
from this class that further complaints proceeded. Its
members, unlike the greater barons, made no profit from
the encouragement of usury. On the other hand, they
were among the greatest sufferers from the practice^
Many a one among them must, when summoned to take
part in the King's foreign expeditions, have been com-
pelled to pledge some land to the Jews in order to be
able to meet the expenses of service; and no doubt the
Jews derived from such transactions, a large share of the
profits that enabled them to make their enormous contri-
butions to the exchequer. A landholder's debt to a Jew
would, when once contracted, have been, under any cir-
cumstances, difficult to pay off. But the lower baron-
age, or knight's bachelors, were threatened, when they
had fallen into debt, with new dangers, the knowledge
of which intensified their hatred of the whole system of
money-lending. " We ask," they said in the petition of
1259, " a remedy for this evil, to wit, that the Jews some-
times give their bonds, and the land pledged to them, to
the magnates and the more powerful men of the realm,
who thereupon enter on the land of the lesser men, and
although those who owe the debt be willing to pay it with
usury, yet the said magnates put off the business, so that
the land and tenements may in some way remain their
property, .... and on the occasion of death, or any
other chance, there is a manifest danger that those to
whom the said tenements belonged may lose all right in
them."!
The special wrongs of the lower baronage were, in the
course of the Civil War, temporarily lost sight of. Never-
tiieless, the action of the whole baronial party throughout
the war contributed greatly, though indirectly, to the ulti-
mate banishment of the Jews from England. Just as the
> Stubbs, Select ChaHert, 386-6.
Digitized by
Google
94 The Jevskh Quarterlt/ Review.
towns had, by their measures of exclusion, weakened the
mercenary bond that united the Jews to the King, so now
the barons, by their wholesale destruction of Jewish
property, worked, as unconsciously as the towns had done,
to the same end. They attacked and plundered the Jewry
of London twice in the course of the war, and destroyed
those of Canterbury, Northampton, Winchester, Cambridge,
Worcester, and Lincoln. Everywhere they carried oflf or
destroyed the property of their victims. In London they
killed every Jew that they met, except those who accepted
baptism, or paid large sums of money. They took from
Cambridge all the Jewish bonds that were kept there, and
deposited them at their head-quarters in Ely. At Lincoln
they broke open the official chests, and " trod underfoot in
the lanes, charters and deeds, and whatever else was
injurious to the Christians." ^ " It is impossible," says a
chronicler, in describing one of these attacks, " to estimate
the loss it caused to the King's exchequer."
V. — ^The BKaiNNiNQ OF Edward's Policy of Restric-
tion.
When the Civil War was over, the position of the King's
son Edward as, on the one hand, the sworn friend of the
lower baronage, and, on the other hcmd. the leader of the
Council and the most powerful man in England,' made it
impossible that the Jews should continue to carry on their
business under the royal protection as they had hitherto
done. And Edward's personal character and political ideals
were such as to make him execute with vigour the policy
> Annates MonaHici, H. 101, 363, 371, III. 230, IV. 141, 142, 145,
449, 460 ; Liber de Antiquu Legihut (Camden Society), 62 ; Chronicle of
Pierre de Langtoft (R. S.), II., 151 ; Chronicle of William de Rishanger
(Camden Sodetj), 24, 25, 126 ; Florentii Wigomiensis Chronioon ex
Chronicis (English HiBtorioal Society), II. 192.
» Tout, Edward Z, 13, 89.
Digitized by
Google
The Rtpulsian of the Jews from England in 1290. 95
towards the Jews that was forced on him by his relations
with the lower baronage. He was a religious prince, one
who could not but have felt qualms of conscience at seeing
the " enemies of Christ " carrying on the most unchristian
trade of usury in the chief towns of England. He was
a statesman, the future author of the Statutes of Mort-
main and Quia Umptores, and he wished to see the work of
the nation performed by the united action of the nation,
and its expenses met by due contributions from all the
National resources. But in so fax* as the Jews had any
hold on English land they prevented the realisation of this
ideal Sometimes they took possession of land that was
pledged to them, and then the amount of the feudal re -
venue and the symmetry of the feudal organisation suffered,
though the King might gain a great deal in other ways ; *
very often they secured payment in money of their debts
by bringing about an a»greement for the transfer to a
monastery of the estates that had been pledged to them as
security,* and then the land came under the *' dead hand *';
sometimes they contented themselves with a perpetued
rent-chai^,' and then it would be hard, if not impossible,
for the struggling debtor to discharge his feudal obliga-
tions.*
The indebtedness of the Church must have shocked
Edward's sympathies as a Christian, just as much as the
indebtedness of the lay landholders thwarted his schemes
' Palgrftve, Botuli Curia JRegU (Record Commission), II., 62 (Judaoi
habeant seisiiuim) ; Oesta abbatitm Moneuterii S, Alhani (B. S.), I., 401 ;
HaeUoruM Ahhrematio (Record Ck>mmi88ion), p. 58 ; Jacobs, pp. 90, 234.
* Chromcles cf the Abbey of Mdta (RoUs Series), I., 173, 174, 306, 367,
374, 577 ; IL, 65, 109, 116 ; Arohaological Journal^ vol. 88, pp. 189, 190,
191, 192.
* Blunt, EstablUhment and BeHderioe of the Jevoi in England, 136 ;
Prynne, Second Part of a Short Dem/urrer, p. 106.
* A very long list of landowners indebted to the Jews conld be ex-
tracted from Ifadoxy Sietory of Exchequer, Vol. I., p. 227, eq. Of. Prynne,
Second PaH, eta, pp. 96, 98, 106 ; Calendar of Patent Rolls from 1281
to 1292, p. 25.
Digitized by
Google
96 The Jewish Quarierh/ Review.
as a statesman. For the condition of ecclesiastical estates
was indeed deplorable. They had begun to fall into debt
in the twelfth century, no doubt in consequence of the
expense that was necessary for the erection of great build-
ings, and their debts had gone on growing, partly in conse-
quence of bad management, partly through the necessity of
fulfilling the duties of hospitality by keeping open house
continually, partly through the exactions of the Pope and
the King. The Bishop of Lincoln pledged the plate of his
cathedral, the Abbot of Peterborough the bones of the
patron-saint of his Abbey ; at Bury St. Edmunds each
obedientiary had his own seal, which he could apply to bonds
which involved the whole house; and loans were freely
contracted which accumulated at 50 per cent.^ Hence in
the thirteenth century Matthew Paris wrote that "there
was scarcely anyone in England, especially a bishop, who
was not caught in the meshes of the usurers."* "Wise
men knew that the land was corrupted by them." ^ The
literary documents of the latter half of the century fully
confirm these accounts. The See of Canterbury was
weighed down with an ever-growing load of debt when
John of Peckham first went to it.* The buildings of
the cathedral were becoming dilapidated for want of
money to repair them.* Those of the neighbouring Priory
of Christ Church were in an equally bad state, and its
revenue was equally encumbered.* The bishop of Norwich
was so poor that in spite of the extortions regularly
practised by his officials, he had to borrow six hundred
marks from the Archbishop of Canterbury.^ The Bishop
of Hereford had been compelled to seek the intervention
of Henry III., in order to obtain respite of his debts to
* Oetta Henrici II, (R. S.), I., 106 ; Giraldi CamhrensU Opera (B. S.),
VII., 36 ; Cronioa Jooelini de Brakelonda (Camden Soc.), p. 2.
» III., 328. » V. 189.
* Letters of John qf Peckham (Bolls Series), I., 20, 156,
» Ibid.y I., 203. 6 Ibid,, I., 841.
7 /dui., I., 177, 187.
Digitized by
Google
The Expukion of the Jews from England in 1290. 97
the Jews.^ The Abbey of Glastonbury was weighed down
by " immeasurable debts/' and, in order to save it from
further calamities, the Archbishop had to order a reorgani-
sation of expenditure so thorough as to include regulations
concerning the number of dishes with which the abbot
might be served in his private room.' The Prior of Lewes
asked permission to turn one of his churches from its right
use, and to let it for five years to any one who would hire
it, in order that he might thus get together some money to
help to pay off what the priory owed.' The Church of
Newneton could not afford clergymen.* Even the great
Monastery of St. Swithin's, Winchester, in spite of the
revenue that its monks drew from the sale of wine and fur
and spiceries, and from the tolls paid by the traders who
attended its great annual fair, was always in debt, some-
times to the amount of several thousand pounds.* Except
in the cutting down of timber and the granting of life
annuities in return for the payment of a lump sum, the
religious houses had no resources except the money-lenders.^
They borrowed from English usurers, from Italians, from
Jews, and from one another.''
If the lay and ecclesiastical estates of England were to
be freed from their burdens, heroic measures were neces-
sary. The barons had done their part in the work by
carrying off or destroying such bonds as they could find.
But the financial revolution, to be effective, must be carried
out by due process of law.
When, on the restoration of tranquillity, the Council
under Ekiward's influence began its attempt to redress the
grievances against which the barons had been fighting, the
> BobertB, Exoerpta e Rot, Finittm (Record Commission), II., 68.
> Letters of John of Peckham, I., 261. * Ihid,, I., 380.
« Ibid., L, 194.
• Obedientiary BolU of 8, SwUhin% Winchester (Hsmpehire Record
Societj), 1892, pp. 10, 18.
• Letters qf John of Peckham, I., 244 ; Eitchin, Winchester, 65 ;
Obedientiary Rolls of 8, Swithin's, pp. 22, 25.
' Cf. Letters of John of Peckham, I., 642.
VOL. VII. G
Digitized by
Google
98 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
first measare in the programme of reform was one for the
relief of the debtors to the Jews. Any interference with
Jewish business would, of course, entail a loss to the Royal
Exchequer, and, honest and patriotic as Edward was, his
poverty was so great that he could not afford to sacrifice
any of his resources. But the exhausting demands that
the King had made on the Jews in the time of his difficul-
ties, and the terrible destruction of their property that had
taken place during the war, must have so far diminished
the revenue to be derived from the Jews as to make the
possible loss of it a far less serious consideration than it
would have been twenty yeara earlier. Accordingly, at the
feast of St. Hilary in 1269, a measure, drawn up by Walter
of Merton, was passed, forbidding for the future the aliena-
tion of land to Jews in consequence of loan transactions.
All existing bonds by which land might pass into the hands
of Jews were declared cancelled ; the attempt to evade the
law by selling them to Christians was made punishable
with death and forfeiture ; and none to such effect was to
be executed in future.^
But this was only a slight measure compared with what
was to follow. The Jews might still €tcquire land by pur-
chase, and needy lords and churches, when forbidden to
pledge their lands, were very likely, under the pressure of
necessity, to sell them outright. Already the Jews were
"seised" of many estates,* and, according to the story
of an ancient historian,* they chose this moment to
ask the King to grant them the enjoyment of the privi-
leges that regularly accompanied the possession of land,
viz., the guardianship of minors on their estates, the right
to give wards in marriage, and the presentation to livings.
Feudal law recognised the two former privileges, and the
* Tovey, Anglia Judaica^ 176-7.
* Oefta Ahbatum MonoHerii S, Alhani (RoUs Series), I. 401 ; Placu
torum Ahhreviqtio (Record Commission), p. 58, col. 2.
* De AntiqnU Legihus Liber (Camden Society), 234 $q.
Digitized by
Google
The Expuhion of the Jem from England in 1290. 99
Chnrch recognised the latter,^ as incidental to the possession
of real property. It was strange, however, that the Jews
should present a demand for new social privileges of this
kind to a council that had already shown its determination
to deprive them of their old legal rights ; and it was only
natural that the churchmen should take the opportunity
of denouncing their " impious insolence." Certain of the
councillors were at first in favour of granting the Jews'
request ; but a Franciscan friar, who obtained admittance
to the Council, pleaded that it would be a disgrace to
Christianity, and a dishonour to God. The Archbishop of
York, and the Bishops of Lichfield, Coventry, and Worcester
were present, and argued that the *' perfidious Jews " ought
to be made to recognise that it was as an act of the King's
grace that they were allowed to remain in England, and
that it was outrageous that they should make a demand,
the granting of which would allow them to nominate the
ministers of Christian churches, to receive the homage of
Christians, to sit side by side with them on juries, assizes
and recognitions, and perhaps ultimately to come into
possession of English baronies. Edward and his equally
religious cousin, the son of Richard, King of the Romans,
were present at the council to support the argument of the
Bishops,* and not only were the original requests refused,
but the Jews were now forbidden by the act of the King
and his Council to enjoy a freehold in "manors, lands,
tenements, fiefs, rents, or tenures of any kind," whether
held by bond, gift, enfeoffment, confirmation, or any other
grant, or by any other means whatever. They were for-
bidden to receive any longer the rent -charges which
had been a common form of security for their loans.
Lands of which they were already possessed were to
be redeemed by the Christian owners, or in default of
them, by other Christians, on repayment without interest
* Hefele, ConcUiengesohichte, V., 1028.
» Annalei Mimastici (R.S.), IV., 221.
a 2
Digitized by
Google
100 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
of the principal of the loan in consequence of which they
had come into the hands of the Jews. In the interest
of parochial revenues, Jews were forbidden to acquire
houses in London in addition to those which they already
B. Lionel Abrahams.
(To be continued,)
Blunt, EitaUUhment and Residence^ eto., 184-9.
Digitized by
Google
Death, Burial, and Mourning, 101
BELIEFS, RITES, AND CUSTOMS OF THE JEWS,
CONNECTED WITH DEATH, BURIAL, AND
MOURNING.
(As ILLUSTRATED BY THE BEBLE AND LATER JEWISH
UTERATTJRE.)
IV.
As the soul is leaving the body, a threefold call is heard
from Heaven, *0 son of Adam, hast thou abandoned
the world, or has the world abandoned thee; hast thou
gathered of the world, or has the world gathered of thee ;
hast thou slain the world, or has the world slain thee ?"
{Muhamm, Eschat, eh. viii.)
In this moment the sound occasioned by the divorce of
soul from body reaches from one end of the world to the
other, but none hears it (T.B. Jotna, 206 ; Pirqe E. JEliezer,
ch, xxxiv.). It is stated, however, in Tblin m>!^ nSDD (Beth
Ha-Mid., Jellinek, I., p. 153) that the sound is heard by
the cock alone.
As the soul of the Jew wings its flight to the Soul of
the universe, those present rend their garments, and express
their resignation to the will of God by reverently exclaim-
ing, ^V^ 1-^ "^^^ " Blessed be the true Judge !"
When the last breath has left the body, and no trace
of life can be discerned, the eyes of the dead are reverently
closed, generally by the eldest son, but, failing him, by
the nearest relative (Zohar, Ed. Krotoschin "f? Thw 'D,
169flr. In pn** "inPD, 128a, it says that it is but
right that this office of love should be performed by the
heir, and that the act in itself is beneficial to the
deceased). It is distinctly stated however, that one is
Digitized by
Google
102 The Jewish Quarterly Bevietc.
" guilty of death/* if one closes the eyes before one is
fully satisfied that life is wholly extinct (T.B. Semach, I.),
or even tt7D3n rw^^T* D37, i.e., while the soul is in the act
of emerging from the body {MisL Shabb. xxiii. 4), as seems
to have been usual among the Arabs. This custom is
reputed to be one of great antiquity. Thus there is sup-
posed to be an allusion to it already in Gen. xliv. 4,
where God tells Jacob in a vision : " Joseph shall put his
hands upon thine eyes " (Nachmanides, Comm, in loco). It
is likewise not confined to the Jews. The practice was
observed by the ancient Greeks and Eomans (cf. Hom.
jn. XL 453 ; Odi/s, XL 426 ; xxiv. 296 ; Eurip., Phoen, 1465
and ffec, 430 ; Virg. ^w., IX. 487 ; Ovid, Heroid. I. 102 ;
Euseb., Hist Eccl VII. ch. xxii. § 9). It represents one of
the directions given by Bar Hebraeus in his well-known
Book of Coiviuct {Die Ca nones Jacob's von Edessa, Ed. C.
Kayser, p. 152); and it also prevails among the Egyp-
tians. "When the rattles in the throat, or other symp-
toms, show that a man is at the point of death, an attendant
(his wife or some other person) turns him round to place
his face in the direction of Mekkah and closes his
eyes." {Modem Egyptians, Stanley Lane-Poole, 1875,
II. ch. xxviii.)
The " motif " of this custom is explained in pn^ nn370
128a). As man is supposed to behold the Shechina in
the moment when he expires, it is not proper that his
eyes should be permitted to rest upon a profane object
after this divine vision. He is likewise deemed un-
worthy to obtain a view of yonder sphere, until this
world has been completely hidden from his sighi Pliny
{Nat, Hist, xi. § 150, quoted by Mr. Frazer) also assigns
fiLS a reason for the custom, that the dead should be seen
for the last time, not by man, but by Heaven. Mr. Frazer,
however, is of opinion that its basis is to be sought else-
where. *'The very general practice of closing the eyes
of the dead appears to have originated with a simUar
object (that the ghost might not be able to find his way
Digitized by
Google
Death, Burial, and Mourning. 108
back) ; it was a mode of blindfolding the de€ul, that he
might not see the way by which he was carried to his
last home. At the grave where he was to rest for ever,
there was, of course, no motive for concealment, hence
the Romans, and apparently the Siamese, opened the eyes
of the dead man at the funeral pyre, just as we should
unbandage the eyes of an enemy after conducting him
to his destination. In Nuremberg, the eyes of the corpse
were actocJly bandaged with a wet cloth. In Corea, they
put blinkers, or rather blinders, on his eyes ; they are
made of Uack silk and are tied with strings at the back
of his hsad. The Jews put a potsherd, and the Russians
coins, on each of his eyes. The notion that if the eyes
of the dead be not closed his ghost will return to fetch
away another of the household still exists in Bohemia,
Grermany, and England" {^Journal of the Anthropological
Institute^ xv. 64ff.).
But while this explanation is no doubt, in the main, the
correct one, is it not possible that the Jews, who, as his-
tory proves, had a remarkable capacity for spiritualising
every heathen usage which they assimilated, may have
originally had no other motive in carrying out this
practice than that set forth in pn> nn370 ? It seems to
have been a general belief among the Jews that man was
privileged to catch a passing vision of his Creator just
as the soul was leaving the body ; and we find even Job,
when sunk in the slough of despond, breathing a confident
hope that he will himself behold God with his own eyes
(Job xix. 27). Thus it was only natural that such a
people should have considered it sacrilege to suffer any-
thing earthly to be seen by eyes which had once peered
beyond the mysterious veil which cannot be riven by the
soul of man while it remains in contact with aught that
is subject to corruption.
y Besides the eyes, the mouth is closed, and the cheek-
bones are bound together, to prevent them dropping
asunder (T.B. Semach. I. and references).
Digitized by
Google
104} The Jewish Quarterly Review,
The Bible records an isolated instance of kissing the
dead (Gen. 1. 1). But this act of Joseph's was probably
due to nothing else but an irresistible impulse of affection.
In the Book of Jubilees it is recorded that when Rebekah,
accompanied by Isaac, found Abraham dead in his bed, the
son of the patriarch fell upon his father's face and kissed
him. But, of course, there is no historical foundation for
this incident Among the ancient Eomans, if not an uni-
versal, still it was not an uncommon habit, apparently, to
give the dying a last kiss in order to catch the parting
breatL The passages from which this is inferred are Cic.
Ver, V. 45 ; Virg. ^n. IV. 684 (quoted by Becker). There
is also some reference (though it is likewise not very dis-
tinct) in Lucian, De Luctu (Ed. Heitland) § 13, to the
custom among the Greeks of a father and mother em-
bracing their departed son (Trepix^d€\<;=^* tiyxng his arms
around " the corpse). The modem Greeks, when bidding
farewell to a dead relative, usually imprint a kiss upon the
lips of the corpse '{Customs and Lore of Modem Greece,
Rennell Rodd, p. 129). The Copts and the Druses likewise
kiss their dead before interment (Vide Social History of
the Races of Mankind, Featherman, Div. V. 254-482). But
the practice does not seem to have been generally popular
in ancient times. In the book niDn nm% a philosophical
and cabbalistic commentary on the Pentateuch, quoted
by pn'» "tn37» (1016) the kiss which Joseph imprinted
upon his deceased father is explained as the "kiss of
leave-taking," one of the three kinds of kisses recognised
as permitted by the law of decency {Schir. Hasch. Rab,
I. 14), the other two being the kiss of homage and the
kiss on meeting those near and dear to ona Hence the
author infers from Gen. 1. 1 that it is proper to kiss a dead
relative in token of farewell In Mid.. Ijekach Tob, or Pesikta
Sutarta (Ed. Buber) I. 121a, Joseph's kiss is likewise
described as HT^D btt? np>tt71 For examples of this latter
type of kiss see 1 Kings xix. 20, where Elisha asks permis-
sion of Elijah to go and kiss his father and mother before
Digitized by
Google
Death, Buriul, and Mourning. 105
consecrating himself to the ministry of God ; and Acts xx.
37f , where the people fall upon the neck of Paul on the
eve of his departure from their midst, and kiss him.
pn** nn^a itself remarks that when one's son or daughter
dies one is not allowed to kiss them, notwithstanding the
instance cited above of a son embracing his deceased father.
We find the same view expressed in D>TDnn nSD, para-
graph 236. And there are no other examples of such a
practice in post-Biblical Jewish Literature.
An hour after death has taken place, the corpse is
reverently lifted, while straw is spread under it, a prayer
(for the text of which tfide pn^ 1237^, p. 55), being recited
the while. The feet of the dead are turned towards the
door, and a black cloth is stretched over the body (T.B.
Shabb. 161a; cf. Sirach xxxviii. 16, "And then cover his
body according to the custom "). The ancient Greeks also
placed the dead on a couch in the same posture, and among
the Romans, the corpse was laid out on a state-bed in
the atrium with its feet turned towards the door. ( Vide
Seyfiert's Diet of Class. Antiqs. Ed. Nettleship and Sandys.)
I come now to the ancient mode of announcing that a
death had occurred in a household. This was done by the
sound of the Shouphar and work was at once temporarily
suspended, so that all might be enabled to participate
in the ol^equies (T.B. Moed, Eat 276). The Jews had
great reluctance to communicating evil tidings to those
concerned (Cf. Prov. x. 10; xviL 27; and see Zunz,
ZuT Qtsehichte und Literatur, p. 308.) Thus, when Rabbi
Jehuda ha-N&si was dying at Sepphoris, the inhabi-
tants said: He who brings us the news that Rabbi is
no more, shall be put to death. Bax Eappara looked
down from a window attired as a mourner, with garments
rent and head covered, and spoke thus: "Brethren, the
strong and the feeble have had a contest for the possession
of the Tables of the Law, and the strong have asserted
their claim successfully and have taken the Tables unto
themselves." Thereupon the people burst forth : "Rabbi
Digitized by
Google
106 The Jeiokh Quarterly Review,
is dead !" " You have declared it," he answered, "not I "
(T. B. Kethuh 104a; T. J. Kilaim ix. 3 ; Kohel Bab. vii. 12).
Likewise when Rab Kahana was dangerously ill, the
Eabbis sent Rabbi Joshua bar Rab Idi to him, and he
found Rab Kahfitna dead He returned with rent garments
and dissolved in tears, when the Rabbis asked, " He is
dead, is he not?" "You have announced the fact," he
replied, "not I" (T.B. Pesach, 3b).
While on this subject, I may mention another peculiar
usage of the Jews supposed to be connected therewith,
which is observed on the occasion of a death and which has
been adopted by other nations, between some of whom
there is no ethnological affinity. Hence it is impossible to
trace its original birth-place. All the water in the house
at the time when the death occurs, is immediately poured
out, and the same is done in a few of the adjoining dwell-
ings on either side (D>bin nipn 'd L. M. Landshuth, xxx.).
Various attempts have been made to explain this practice
satisfactorily; but in the multitude of reasons there is
confusion.
The Kolbo offers two alternative explanations of the
afore-mentioned custom, thereby throwing doubt upon the
veracity of either.
(1.) As it is objectionable to communicate bad news to
any one directly, water is poured out to make manifest to
the neighbours and passers-by that a death has taken
place.
(2.) It symbolises the fact that the Angel of Death
cleanses his dripping knife in water after it has been
steeped in gall, and all water is poured away in case he
may dip the bloodstained weapon into any vessel that
comes across his path, and so scatter death broadcast
(See also pn*' nMD, 1116).
Mr. Frazer, a recognised authority on such matters,
thinks the practice is to be traced to a fear " lest the ghost
should fall in €Uid be drowned."
In support of Mr. Frazer's plausible theory, we may note
Digitized by
Google
Death, Burial, and Mourning. 107
that in Haute Bretagne, as well as in Basse Bretagne,
when there is a death in the house, the water which is
found in the vessels is thrown out for fear lest the soul of
the deceased should he drowned in it (Coutumea de la Haute
Breiagne, P. S^biUot, 155f). Also Mr. Andrew Lang tells
us (" Folklore of France," in Folklore Record, I. 101) that
" the water in the house must be poured out of pitchers and
glasses (as among the Jews), lest the flying soul should
drown itself" (Cf. Souchfe, Croyances, Priaages et Traditions
IHvers, p. 6). In Germany, the water and milk which may
be left in uncovered vessels at tlie moment when a death
has taken place, are immediately thrown out. This is
done, according to some, because the departed soul, on its
return to wash off its pollution after having discarded its
earthen envelope, might be drowned ; according to others,
because one should not expose one's self to the risk of
taking a draught of the sins of the deceased (Liebrecht,
Zur Volkskunae, p. 350).
That there was a current belief that the soul might
perform a lustration after it had passed out of its
ephemeral frame is shown by the following. In some
parts of Bohemia, after a death, the water-bath is emptied,
because, if the ghost happened to bathe in it and anyone
drank of it afterwards, he would be a dead man in the year
(James G. Frazer in Journal of Anthrop, Inst. xv. 64!ff).
There is a German tradition to the same effect (Liebrecht,
Zur Volkskunde, p. 350). It is Ukewise an Indian burial
custom, that after the death of a person, milk and water
are placed in an earthen vessel in the open air, and the
relatives exclaim : " Departed one, here bathe " (the com-
mentary adds) " and here drink " (Ibid, p. 351).
In some cases another reason altogether different is
assigned for the practice, whilst in others, no explanation
seems to be forthcoming, it having possibly been lost in
process of transmission from one generation to another.
" In many parts of Germany, in modem Greece and in
Cyprus, water is poured out behind the corpse as it is being
Digitized by
Google
108 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
carried from the house, in the belief that if the ghost
returns, he will not be able to cross it. Sometimes, by
night, the Germans pour holy water before the door, the
ghost is then thought to stand and whimper on the further
side " (James G. Frazer in Journal of Anihrop, Inst, xv.
64ff). A somewhat confusing explanation of the custom
as observed in Cyprus, is given in " Notes on Greek Folk-
lore" (E. M. Edwards) in Folklore Journal, II. 170: "In
Cyprus, after the funeral has passed out of the street, they
pour from a large vessel the water which it contains, and
then throw down the vessel This custom is referred to
the bfiisins of lustral water, ' '^ipytfia* which were placed
at the doors of the house in which there was a deceased
person, to be used by those who had touched the body, but
with the Cypriotes it is thought to be for the refreshing of
the soul that has left the body, or according to another
version, for washing off the blood from the sword of the
Archangel Michael, who is supposed to be invisible after
having taken the soul of the departed." In Corfu, the
poor people throw water from the windows, when a funeral
has passed by {Customs and Lore of Modem QreecCy Rennell
Rodd, p. 124.) Similarly, in some parts of Calabria
(Castrovellari and Nocara) and of Germany, all the vessels
are emptied at death (James G. Frazer, Journal ofAnthrop-
Inst, XV. 64ff). That the practice was also prevalent in
ancient Greece is shown by an inscription found in lulis
(Tzia) which prohibits it : iiriZe to vi<op iic)(ev (Dittenberger,
Syllog, Inscrip, Oraec, II., No. 468). Among the Poljmesians,
" as soon as the corpse was committed to its last resting-
place, the mourners selected five old cocoa-nuts, which were
successively opened, and the water poured out on the
ground {Anthropological Religion, Max Miiller, p. 278)«
" In Burma, when the coflin is being carried out, every vessel
in the house that contains water is emptied" (James O.
Frazer, Journal of Anthrop, Inst xv. 64ff). In the north-
east of Scotland, all the milk in the house is poured out
on the ground (Folklore of North-East Scotland, W.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Death, Burial, and Mourning. 109
Gregor, p, 206). The same custom is observed in parts of
England, and thus the vulgar expression "kicking the
bucket " is explained, evidently deriving its origin fix)m
the act of turning over the pail and upsetting the water
(Liebrecht, Zur Volkihunde, p. 351).
Furthermore, an examination of versions of the custom
in vogue among various races, seems to point to its possible
derivation from four other causes than that suggested by
Mr. Frazer.
1. All water remaining in open vessels after a death had
occurred was regarded as unclean, and people were afraid
of being contaminated by it.
2. It represented an offering in honour of the dead.
3. It is a survival of the practice of providing food for
the departed spirit, in anticipation that it would return
in quest of nourishment.
4. It is a symbol of the pouring-out of the soul before
God.
With reference to the first, we know from numerous
passages in the Bible the precautions taken by the ancient
Hebrews against being defiled by contact with the dead,
as well as the remedial measures necessary in the event
of such a mishap. But it is a special passage in the book
of Numbers (xix. 14f) which, according to some authorities
forms the basis of the custom referred to above. " This
is the law when a man dieth in a tent: Every one
that cometh into the tent and every one that
is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days. And
every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it
is unclean" (Vide Buxtorf, Synagoga Judaica,ch. xxxiii.).
Even modem Jews, as they leave the graveyard, wash
their hands, while reciting some verses of Scripture. In
ancient Greece and Rome, the mourner had to be cleansed
by lustration from the contaminating presence of death.
" At the door of the Greek house of mourning was set the
water-vessel (dpBdviov), that those who had been within
might sprinkle themselves and be clean; while the
Digitized by
Google
110 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
mourners returning from a Roman funeral aspersed with
water, and stepping over fire, were by this double process
made pure " ( Vide Tylor, Primitive Culture, ii. 398). In
the former case, the water had to be brought from another
house, in which no dead body lay {Poll, viii. 65). " In
modern Greece, Cappadocia and Crete, persons returning
from a funeral wash their handa In Samoa, they wash
their faces in hot water. In ancient India, it was enough
merely to touch water. In China, on the fifth day after a
death, the mourners wash their eyes and sprinkle their
faces three times with water. The Wends of Geiszlitz,
make a point of passing through running water as they
return from a burial ; in winter, if the river is frozen they
break the ice in order to wade through the water " (James
Q. Frazer, Journ, of Anthrop, Inst, xv. 64ff.). It is a Mala-
gasy custom that after a funeral the mourners all wash
their dress, or at least dip a portion of it in running water
(" Malagasy Folklore, etc.,'* James Sibra, Junr., in Folklore
Record II.). Among a number of South African tribes,
whose manners, customs, superstitions, and religions have
been described by the Rev. J. Macdonald [Journ, of Anthrop.
Imt,, xix.), " those who handled the body were unclean, and
had to bathe in running water before associating with other
men, or partaking of food." And Professor Max Muller
relates of the Indians [Anthropological Religion, p. 254),
that '* when they have come to a place where there is stand-
ing water, they dive once, throw up a handful of water,
pronounce the name of the deceased and his family (Gotra),
go out from the water, put on new garments, wring the
others once, spread them out towards the north, and then
sit down till they see the stars or the sun." It also appears
that in parts of Scotland, the chairs, etc., in the house are
sprinkled with water, and the clothes of the de^d are
treated in like manner (W. Gregor, Folklore of N.E,
Scotland, p. 206).
Thus we see how wide-spread is the belief that the
occurrence of a death in a house tenJs to promote general
uncleanuess.
Digitized by
Google
Death, Burial, and Mourning, 111
As to the possibility of the emptying of the water
representing a libation to the dead, or an offering on its
behalf, with the object of assisting the soul of the departed
towards beatitude, the sacrifices to the manes are familiar
to all students of classical history. To the Jews, however,
such sacrifices were strictly forbidden. Embodied in the
declaration to be recited by the Israelite who should be
privileged to enter the Promised Land, and to fulfil the law
of tithe, was the following : — " I have not given thereof to
the dead ; I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord my
God ; I have done according to all that thou hast com-
manded me " (Deut. xxvi. 14 ; cf. Book of Jubilees, c. xxii.).
Yet there are some traces of the violation of this prohibition
by the chosen people. Does not the Psalmist, in his suc-
cinct poetical history of the Children of Israel, reproach
them with having eaten the sacrifices of the dea.d ? (Ps.
cvi 27; but possibly the author is thinking of Deut.
xxxiL 38.)
That water might have formed part of such sacrifices
gains credence from the foUowing : —
In India, " the man who is performing the obsequies, when
the body is placed in an urn (after burning), walks three
times raund the place, turning his left to it, and with a
Sami branch sprinkles milk and water over it, reciting a
verse, R.V. x. 16, 4. Again, on the day of the new moon
after the obsequies, the performer of the expiatory service
for the dead pours out a continuous stream of water, re-
citing a verse, RV. x. 16, 9 " (Max Miiller, Anthropological
BeUgiony p. 268). If a wife, or one of the chief Gurus
(a father or Ak&rja dies), they pour out water consecrated
in such a manner that the dead shall know it to be given
to them (" Apastamba : Aphorisms of the Sacred Laws of
the Hindus/' II. 8—10, in Vol. III. of Sacred Books of the
East). The custom of giving offerings to the dead lingers,
to a similarly slight extent, among the Buddhists. At the
interment, after the body is laid in the grave, wrapped in
linen, another doth is placed over it, and the monk takes
Digitized by
Google
112 The Jewinh Quarterly Review,
hold of the comer of this cloth ; and while another person
pours water on the upper end of the corpse, the monk says,
"As water rolling down from higher ground, flows over
the lower land, so may that which is given in this world
benefit (the pr^tas or) the departed" (Vide Buddhism,
Primitive and Present, in Magadha and in Ceylon, T. W.
Copleston).
On the whole, there is no reliable evidence to support
the conjecture that the Jews were accustomed to ofier
libations to the dead.
On behalf of the assumption that the pouring out of the
water is a survival of the widely prevalent custom of pro-
viding refreshment for the departed soul, there is certainly
more to be said.
It is well known that the ancients imagined that the
ghost of the departed would need the same nourishment in
its new abode that it had required in its earthly home.
Among the Assyrians and Babylonians " it was believed
that the spirits of the dead needed sustenance in their new
home, and clay vases were accordingly placed in the
tombs, some of them filled with dates and grain, others
with wine and oil ; but a more bountiful provision was
made in the case of water, which, it was thought, was
wholesome to drink only when it was fresh and running"
(Social Life among the Assyrians and Babylonians, A. H,
Sayce, Chap. IV.). Among the Arabs, too, " the dead are
thirsty rather than hungry, and water and wine are poured
upon their graves. Thirst is a subtler appetite than
hunger, and therefore more appropriate to the disembodied
shades, just as it is from thirst rather than from hunger
that the Hebrews, and many other nations, borrow meta-
phors for spiritual longings and intellectual desires"
(Religion of the Semites, W. Robertson Smith, p. 217). In
India, "one requirement of a burning-ground (SmasSna,
the place for burying as well as burning) is that the water
should run down from it on all sides" (Max Mliller,
Anthropological Religion, p. 243). When one of the Yese-
Digitized by
Google
Death, Burial, and Mourning, 113
dees (a race inhabiting several valleys near Mosul and
ancient Nineveh) is at the point of death, " a * eawal ' is
called in, who pours a quantity of water into the mouth of
the dying man ; and if at his arrival, life is already extinct,
the ceremony is performed before the body is consigned to
the grave " (Social History of the Races of Mankind, Feather-
man, Div. v., p. 63.) Likewise among the Nubas, as soon
as the mortal remains are committed to the earth, vessels
filled with water are placed by the side of the grave
{Ibid., p. 263).
It certainly seems difficult to believe that even in
primitive times, man should have thought that water
poured out promiscuously, and at some distance from the
grave, could serve the useful purpose of supplying re-
freshment for the thirsty soul of the dead underneath the
ground. But the act of placing food and drink in vessels
on the tomb is altogether diflTerent, and the modern
practice of pouring out the water on the occasion of a
death may be a filtered form of this ancient and almost
universal custom.
With regard to the fourth possible explanation sug-
gested above, it is oidy entitled to consideration because it
may represent the current interpretation of the custom in
rationalistic times, when its real drift had been forgotten
for some generations, and it became necessary to invent a
pedigree for it.
Inman, in Ancient Faiths, etc., I. 85 (quoted by Liebrecht),
remarks : " The ancient Egyptians, and the Jewish people
to the present day, have the custom of pouring out all the
water contained in any vessel in a house where a death
has taken place, under the idea that as the living being
comes by water, so does it make its exit through water."
What this is intended to convey is not quite clear. We
know, of course, that the theory of some of the ancients was
that man was created from water. But the popular Jewish
belief was that God formed the first man of dust gathered
from the four comers of the earth, so that in whatever
VOL. VIL H
Digitized by
Google
114 The Jemah Quarterly Bevieta.
part of the world it might be his lot to die, no portion of
the ground " from whence he was taken " could refuse to
receive his remains on the pretence that it had no kinship
with him {Pirqe It. Eliezer^ Chap, xi., etc.) But the prob-
able drift of Inman's explanation is that water, fresh and
flowing, represents life; and water, stale and stagnant,
typifies death. Or at least, this is the sense in which I
interpret his statement.
" Springing water " is symbolical of life. Thus it is
designated "living" in Gen. xxvi. 19, Lev. xiv. 5-20, and
Song of Songs iv. 15. God is the " fountain of living
waters," «>., the source of life (Jer. ii. 13, xvii. 13). Bileam
predicts of Israel : " Waters shall flow from his buckets,"
t>., he shall live and flourish (Numb. xxiv. 7). "The
righteous is like a tree planted by streams of water," Le,,
receiving continual moisture, so that he never ceases from
yielding fruit (Jer. xvii. 8 ; Ps. L 3). Water cleanses
from moral filthiness, ».e., regenerates the soul (Ezek.
xxxvi. 25). Thus "springing" (t>., "living") water is
used for the purification of one who has been defiled by
contact with the dead (Numb. xix. 17). Likewise, at the
ceremonial of cleansing the leper, the birds that were em-
ployed had to be killed over running (t.e., living) water
(Lev. xiv. 5f ; cf. LXX., t. /.). And when Aaron and his
sons entered the tent of meeting, they had to wash with
water that they should not die, since having been pre-
viously unclean (in a ritual sense), they required to be
purified before approaching the sacred symbols of the
fountain of life (Exod. xxx. 20). For " water puts off" the
deadness; it is one of the means by which we must be
bom again " {Th$ Witness of Hermas to the Four Gospels,
C. Taylor, p. 88). " Except a man be bom of water and
of the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven"
(John iii. 5). Thus Jesus offers the woman of Samaria
"living water" which shall spring up into eternal life
(John iv. lOf). And on the day when God's unity and
universal sovereignty shall be acknowledged by all man-
Digitized by
Google
Death, Burial, and Moummg, 115
kind, living waters shall come forth from the apparently
inanimate Jerusalem, after which the holy city shall
dwell safely, i.e., have a new lease of life (Zech. xiv. 8).
Likewise in Ezekiel's dream of the regenerated Jeru-
salem (xlvii. 1-12), perennial waters flow on all sides,
nourishing fruit-yielding trees that shall never fail,
because the waters issue out of the sanctuary where dwells
"the Source of living waters." In this connection it is
worthy of record that the ancient Assyrians and Baby-
lonians made " little rivulets by the tombs, through which
a constant supply of water could be kept flowing for the
spiritual needs of the dead." This represented " the water
of life," of which we hear so often in the inscriptions.
Pure water was indispensable in all religious ceremonies,
and ancient legends recorded that there was a ** spring of
life " bubbling up beneath the throne of the spirits of the
under-world, of which whoever drank would live for ever.
It was of this spring that the water which ran in number-
less rills through the cities of the dead was a symbol and
outward sign " (Social Life among the Assyriam and Baby-
loniam, A. H. Sayce, ch. iv.).
On the other hand, the pouring away of water is
figuratively equivalent to death. Thus when we die we
are " as water (t>., life) poured out upon the ground, that
cannot be gathered up again " (2 Sam. xiv. 14 ; cf. Targ, in
loco). Job compares a man who dieth and wasteth away to
waters failing {i,e., poured out) from the sea (Job xiv. llf ).
And David poured out the water that the three mighty
men had fetched' for him in jeopardy of their lives
(2 Sam. xxiii 16) as an outward sign of the death they
had risked. Again, we are taught that "the blood is
the life," therefore it is not to be eaten, but to be poured
out on the earth as water (Deut. xii. 23, 24; xv. 23). " I
am poured out like water," exclaims the Psalmist (Ps.
xxii. 15), I.e., I am drawing near to the end of my
life. " Waters flowed over my head ; I said, I am cut
oflT/* is the metaphor employed in Lam. iii. 54. " Pour
H 2
Digitized by
Google
116 The Jewish Quarierli/ Review.
out thine heart like water," the poet addresses the
daughter of Zion (Lam. ii. 19), i.e,, exhaust thy vitality in
weeping, that God may take pity upon thy children.
Further, when all Israel had assembled to acknowledge
their sin in worshipping the Baalim and the Ashtaroth,
they poured out water before the Lord, to show that the
" old Adam " had passed away (1 Sam. vii. 6). And when
an end shall come upon the four comers of the land, '' all
knees shall be weak (properly " go ") as water," ie,, cease
to exist (Ezek. xxi. 12).
Thus the pouring-out of the water at a death may be an
outward sign of the pouring-out of a human soul before
God.
Yet another idea seems to have been extant among the
Indians, but I have not found a parallel to it. It is that
the sprinkling of water drives away the spirits hovering
round the place of burial, just as the Jews believed that
the kindling of light in the room of the dead had the effect
of causing the demons wandering about to vanish. Thus,
in India, " when they have reached the place (of interment)
the performer walks three times round the spot with his
left side turned towards it, sprinkles water on it with a
Saml branch and says (to the imaginary spirits) : —
" Go away, disperse, remove from hence ;
The fathers have made this place for him,
Tama grants him this resting-place,
Sprinkled with water day and night.'*
(Riff'Veda,x.U,9.)
When it is said that the place is sprinkled with water
day and night, this implies that it ought to be thus honoured
by the relatives of the dead. (Max MtQler, Anthropological
Religion, p. 245.)
It is a remarkable fact that in Jerusalem, the sanctuary
of Jewish tradition, this custom is not in vogua Thus
Joseph Schwarz, writing to his brother from the Holy City
in the year 1837, says : " Here they know nothing of the
practice of pouring out the water in the house of the dead
Digitized by
Google
Death, Burial, and Mourning, 117
or in its vicimtj *' (Wissens, Ztachr./, Jiid. Theol,, Qeiger,
1839, iv. 159).
Besides the custom of which I have written at such
length, it is also usual to turn the mirrors towards the wall
or to cover them up entirely in the house of the dead
(See Taylor, The Dirge of Cohekth, Jewish Quarterly
Review, IV. 539). Likewise in parts of Germany, the
moment anyone dies, everything of a bright colour or glit-
tering aspect, such as looking-glasses, windows, pictures,
and clocks, is veiled in white cloth till after the funeral
(Liebrecht, Zur VoUcakunde, p. 350; H.R, in Folklore
Journal, vi. p. 77). In parts of Scotland, at a death, the
mirrors used to be turned to the wall, or were covered up
{Death and Burial Cuetoma, Scotland, James F. Frazer, in
Fblklore Journal, iiL p. 281). Notably, in Ross-shire when
a death takes place . . . looking-glasses are removed from
the apartment in which the death occurs and the body is
to be laid out (Folklore Journal, vi. p. 263).
Mr. Frazer regards the custom as having arisen from the
fear " that the soul projected out of the person in the shape
of his reflection in the mirror, might be carried off by the
ghost of the departed, which is commonly supposed to linger
about the house till the burial " (The Golden Bough, i. 146).
Might it not rather be traceable to a fear lest the dis-
embodied spirit, wandering about in search of its former
abode, might project itself into the mirror in which it
beheld its likeness, and thus be irretrievably injured ?
An explanation given by a writer (H. Prahn) in Ztschr,
d. Vereina /. Volkskunde (L, p. 185) is that, if the looking-
glasses in the room of the corpse were not covered up,
people would be prone to see the coffin twice (the coffin
itself and its counterfeit presentment), and that would
betoken a second death in the house during the current
year.
In the event of a death taking place on the Sabbath,
some of the rites detailed above must not be carried out
until the termination of the Day of Rest These are the
Digitized by
Google
118 The Jewish Quarterly Beview.
closing of the eyes, the stretching out of the hands and
feet, and the covering of the head ( Fide T.B. Shabb. 306,
436, 1426).
The corpse may, however, be washed and anointed on
the Sabbath, provided the limbs be not strained out of
joint ; the pillow may be moved from under the head, and
the body may be laid on sand that it keep the longer from
putrefaction ; the jaws may also be tied, not to force them
closer, but to prevent them dropping lower (Mish, Shabb.
xxxiiL 5).
The reason for only a partial observance of the rites
connected with the dead on the Sabbath is that they in-
volve a profanation of the Day of Rest, which is only per-
mitted in the case of a /enn^ person (See T.B. Shabb. 1516).
Thus we are told that King David having died on the
Feast of Weeks, which fell coincidently with the Sabbath,
Solomon asked the Sanhedrin who had come to greet him
on his accession (we must pass over the anachronism),
whether the corpse might be removed on the Day of Rest.
They replied : The Mishna teaches that the corpse may be
covered and washed, but no limb dare be moved (Ruth. Bab.
L 17). On High Festivals, however, the dead may be cared
for as on week days.
On no account is it permitted to leave the corpse alone
from the moment death has supervened. The reason
assigned by pn> "iMD (1126) is that evil spirits, which are
of course incorporeal (cf. Mid. Tanch. ed. Buber Gen. 66),
and, as such, anxious to effectuate their completeness, which
they can only do by becoming incarnate, might avail
themselves of the opportunity of entering into the dead
body.
How pathetic and refreshing in its natural simplicity is
an explanation such as this, which comes to us as an echo
from the distant, boundless realms of the primitive
imagination.
A. P. Bender.
{To be continued.)
Digitized by
Google
Persian Hebrew MS8. 119
PERSIAN HEBREW MSS. IN THE BRITISH
MUSEUM.
The British Museum recently acquired a small collection of
MSS. from Teheran, which will be of special interest to
students who combine a sufficient mastery of Persian with
a knowledge and appreciation of Hebrew literature. It
will be best to arrange them in the numerical order which
they occupy in the Oriental Series of the Museum MSS.,
after prefixing the general statement that they are all
written in the Hebrew character, but that the language is
Persian : —
1. A Persian translation of the Psalms, followed by
several liturgical poems in the same language. Dated A.D.
1822. [Or. 4,729.]
2. "Haft Paikar" (i.e,, the Seven Images) of NizamL
Eighteenth century. [Or. 4,730.]
3. Timsal Namah, known as the " Story of the Seven
Vizirs," in the redaction of Rabbi Yehudah ; the legends of
EUdad the Danite; Makhzan ul-pand (ie,, Treasury of
Advice), etc. Nineteenth century. [Or. 4,731.]
4. The Prince and the Sufi (t.e,, Barlaan and Josaphat),
in metrical form, translated from Abraham ben Hasdai's
nnani ^T^n ^n. Nineteenth century. [Or. 4,732.]
5. Bible Stories in Persian verse, by MoUa Shahin. Dated
AJ>. 1702. [Or. 4,742.]
6. Daniyal Namah, or History of Daniel, by Khwajah
BukharaL Dated a.d. 1816. [Or. 4,743.]
7. Another copy of the work named under 4, followed by
liturgical poems in Hebrew and Persian. Dated A.u 1812.
[Or. 4,744.]
8. The Divan of Hafiz. Dated A.D. 1739. [Or. 4,745.]
Digitized by
Google
120 I%e Jeunsh Quarterly Review.
In order to complete the account of the Persian Hebrew
MSS. in the Museum, it will be useful to draw attention to
the following numbers in the " Descriptive List of the
Hebrew and Samaritan MSS. in the British Museum ": —
Or. 2,452 (p. 11); Or. 2,459-60 (p. 21); Or. 2,466 (p. 42);
Or. 2,453 (p. 69) ; Or. 2464 (p. 72) ; Or. 2,456 (p. 85). The
first three are Biblical ; the fourth contains Persian glosses
on Maimonides* 37Tan nDD; the fifth Jami's Tusuf and
Sulaikha, etc. ; the sixth is a Vocabulary of diflScult words
in the Bible, with explanations in Persian ; and the last is
a treatise on compound medicaments, preceded by a calendar
for the reading of the Torah and niaibn pnns.
G. Margoliouth.
Digitized by
Google
The SamaHtan Liturgy, and Reading of the Law. 121
THE SAMARITAN LITURGY, AND READING OF
THE LAW.
l/
It is not intended to attempt here a description of Sa-
maritan literature, a satisfactory account of which is to
be found elsewhere,* nor even to deal exhaustively with
the liturgical section of it, but simply to call attention
(so far as is possible within the limits of an article)
to some of the chief points of interest in the latter.
With the exception of the few hymns published by Gesenius
in 1824, and the fuller selection of Dr. M. Heidenheim
in recent years, the Liturgy is only accessible in MSS.,
80 that its extent and elaborate chara-cter have not been
very generally recognised. To give some idea of this, it
may be mentioned that the collection in the Berlin
library, for example, consists of some twelve stout quarto
volumes — ^not to mention duplicates. Much of this, of
course, is biblical: the rest will shortly be published,
with a translation, by the Clarendon Press.
The interest of the compositions consists not in their
antiquity, for the earliest date that can be certainly
assigned to any is the fourth century c.E., but in the view
they present of the religious development of an obscure
tribe surrounded by conflicting religious systems, and yet
holding aloof from all. The beginning of the Liturgy, as
at present constituted, may be safely placed in the time of
Baba Rabba^ 322 to 362 c.E., who, according to a chronicle,*
1 See Natt, A Sketeh of Samaritan History ^ Dogina^ and Literature^
London, 1874.
* GaUed Eltholideh, of Tarious dates. Edited by Neubauer, with trans-
lation, in the Journal Atxatique^ 1869, p. 885 seq.
Digitized by
Google
122 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
restored the services of the Synagogue. That some sort of
Liturgy was in use pre^'iou8ly is indeed probable, and some
of the existing prayers, of which no author is named, may
have formed part of it ; but there is no proof one way or
the other. It is more than probable that the earlier
Liturgy consisted of passages of the Law almost exclusively.
Under the direction of Baba Rabba a new departure was
apparently made, a large and important body of prayers
and hymns for various occasions being composed by
Marqah^ and Amram Darah. Amram's work is called after
him the ^MTiT, and their joint productions form the larger
part of the Defter {hL(\>depa\ a common Arabic word for book.
Before them stand a few prayers for daily and Sabbath
use, whose authors are not named, and also the so-called
prayers " of Joshua b. Nun," " of Moses b. Amram," and
" of the Holy Angels." These may be from the earlier
Liturgy. The following from the opening prayer, to be
said at the beginning of every service, will give some idea
of their general character^ : —
" I stand before thee at the door of thy mercy, O Lord I
my God, and the God of my fathers, to speak forth thy
prcdse and thy manifold greatness, according to my feeble
strength, for I know' mine infirmity this day, and consider
in my heart that thou. Lord, art God in heaven above and
upon the earth beneath ; there is none else beside him.
Wherefore in thy hands I stand, and turn my face towards
the chosen place. Mount Gerizim, the house of God, toward
Luz, the mount^ of thine inheritance and of thy presence,
the place which thou hast made thy dwelling, O Lord, the
^ Seyeral pieces were published bj Heidenheim in his VierteljahrsschHft^
patiimj more in his Sanuiritanische Liturgies Leipzig, 1885. Part of a
oommentarj by him was edited by Banetii (Des Samaritanen Marqah
. . . Abhandlwng, Berlin, 1888), and another part of the same by E.
Monk (2Vt Samaritanert Marqah UrzaMung, etc, Berlin, 1890, v. Jbwish
QuABTEBLT Bbyiew), both from the oniqae MS. at Berlin.
* It is cited as l^Om nriD ^. The text published by Heidenheim, Op.
eit., p. ISO, is here OOTrected from two MSS.
' Dent iy. 39. * Bxod. xt. 17.
Digitized by
Google
The Samaritan Liturgy, and Reading of the Law, 123
sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hand hath fashioned. The
Lord shall reign for ever and ever, for great is the Lord
above all gods: righteous and upright is he. This, my
prayer, is to the Preserver, the Living, for it goeth up to
the Unseen, before him who knoweth the unseen things.
Where is any God that helpeth his worshippers but thou ?
Blessed be thy name for ever. There is no God but one ! ''
The Defter contains by far the most important, the ear-
liest, and most frequently-used pieces. It would seem, in
fact, that until the fourteenth century this was a sort of
Corpus Liturgicuntf whence selections were made for special
occasions. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, C.E., this
corpus was further extended (as was the case with Rabbini-
cal liturgies) by the admission into the Defter of hymns
and prayers by Abulhassan (mon ^), the Tyxian,^ who
died some time before 1070, and Ab Gelugah (ronb^ n«),
about the middle of the twelfth century, possibly a grand-
son of the former. Considering the miserable condition of
the people from the fourth century onward, it is not likely
that they produced much liturgical work in the interval,
It is not, however, impossible that some has been lost, for
even in Samaria they had prayer-book revisers who omitted
older and better prayers to make room for the recent com-
positions of their friends. This was certainly the fate of
some of Ab Gelugah's work, for two long prayers of his
in Cod. Vat iii. are not found either in the Berlin copy or
in the two copies belonging to the Earl of Crawford.^ This
second period, which was poor in liturgical work, was
exceedingly rich in theology. Abulhassan himself was the
author of polemical and exegetical works, and Abu Said,
* Eltholideh mentions oolonies of Samaritans at Aoco, Gaza, Gerar,
Gsesarea, Bamasons, and in Egypt. Jacob, who wrote the continoation of
Eltholideh in the middle of the fourteenth centnr j, was priest at Damas-
cus, and there was a congregation there stiU in the sixteenth oentor j ;
but it must have died out soon after.
' Or perhaps some of the prayers were only local. Ab G^logah belonged
to Acco.
Digitized by
Google
124j The Jewish Quarterly Review.
probably his son, wrote the Arabic version of the Penta-
teuch.^
The third period of liturgical composition began in the
fourteenth century. Up to that time, it will be remem-
bered, there existed only the Defter in an extended form ;
there were no special services, properly speaking, for Feasts
or Fasts. The credit of iirst starting these is due to Pioihas
b. Joseph, High Priest at Shechem from 1331 to 1387, a
man who, though his sphere of action was restricted, fully
deserves the title of " Great." By his own writings and by
encouragement of others he gave an impulse to religion and
to literature which lasted through the next two centuries,
and can hardly be said, even yet, to have entirely died
away. To his time and influence belong not only all the
special services, but also the Chronicle of Abul/ath, and
other works on grammar, lexicography, theology, and the
like.^ The writers of liturgy, with whom alone we are
now concerned, are, of course, unknown outside the narrow
circle of Samaritan history. The most famous are : Abisha,
son of the great Pinhas (not to be confounded with the
biblical Abisha), an author second only to Marqah in
popular esteem ; his brother Eleazar, often called, for the
sake of distinction, 37ttrn« pITW "^rw ; Abisha's son, Pinhas,
with his guardian, Abd Allah b. Shelomoh, a prolific
writer; and Saad Allah, or Saad ed-Dln. These all come
within the century 1330 — 1430. The evidence for their
dates is very much scattered, but fairly well established.
As an instance of the way in which it has to be gathered,
and of the curious phenomenon of personal history mixed
up with liturgical composition, the following, by Pinhas
b. Abisha, from a hymn for the Day of Atonement,
> For other writers, see Natt, op, cU,, pp. 138, teqq. Also Wreechner,
Sanharitanuohe Traditionen^ Berlin, 1888, pp. xrii. $eqq,^ whoee oondnaiona
differ from mine in some points.
' I am inclined alio, with Vilmar {Ahulfalthi Annates, Goths, 1865,
p. xxxri.), to ascribe the ** invention ** of the famous roll of Abisha to
this Pinhas.
Digitized by
Google
The Samaritan Liturgy, and Reading of the Law. 125
may be of interest ^ : — ** Before we read in the Book
of Moses the Prophet, I will make mention of that
which is meet to be remembered ; for that which is
worthy is stored up in my thoughts, concerning the
pious ones (?) your ministers. The head of them is my
grandfather Pinhas, and after him came the affliction (t.^.,
death ?) of my father. I saw not his face, and he beheld
not my face, nor taught me his words nor the divisions of
the Scripture. After him was none left save only my
uncle Eleazar. By him I was cherished, and my heart was
strengthened. I was left (?) an orphan, yet he ceased not
to love me. But behold the star (»>., Abd Allah b. Shelomoh)
who taught me and brought me up ! The Lord reward his
work with good, cmd command the blessing upon him ! "
etc. The next important Liturgist is Abraham ('»!5np), early
in the sixteenth century — the last, perhaps, who can claim
much literary merit. The remaining authors are chiefly
indebted to Marqah, Abisha, and the earlier writers for
such inspiration as they can show ; they are for the most
part either members of the Danfi family, as Marj4n (also
called ni3D 3H), and Meshalmah, in the last century ; or of
the LeviticaP family, as Tobiah (also called Ghaz^l), and
his son Shelomoh in the present century. The latest com-
position I have seen is by Pinhas b. Isaac, written within
the last twenty years. The present priest, Jacob b. Aaron
b. Shelomoh b. Tobiah, seems to inherit the scribendi
KcucoriOe^ of his family.
At the risk of being tedious, the above very imperfect
list is given to show the range of this class of literature.
The names have been identified and dates assigned (in the
absence of history) only by a careful examination of the
epigraphs of all available MSS.
' From M8. Samar,, e. 5 f oL 68^, in the Bodleian Librarj. The text ia
not quite certain, bat I hare no opportanity of collating it at present.
* The '* Honse of Aaron " died oat in 1624, np to which time the priest
called himaelf hx^yi^ \T\2\\ The office then went to another branch, the
priest being called M^n {HSn.
Digitized by
Google
126 The Jewish Quarterly Beriew.
Before proceeding to describe the contents of the Liturgy,
it may be well to say a word as to their language. All is
not Samaritan which comes from Samaria. The name
should properly be restricted to the Aramaic dialect of the
Targum; that is to say, the language spoken by the
Samaritans in the fourth century c.E. Its form, however,
is not very well fixed even by Petermann's splendid edition,
and a careful examination of his various readings shows
not only a great variety of forms and of words, but a
distinct Hebraizing tendency in at least one of the MSS.
(C.) used.^ In this dialect are written the compositions of
the first Liturgical period, by Marqah, Amram, etc. Since
these are numerous, and the MSS. (at least of some texts)
are many, it might be thought that they would help con-
siderably in fixing the forms of the dialect. But this is
not 80. The oldest Liturgical MS. now in Europe (of the
Defter, in the Vatican) is not earlier than the fourteenth
century, when the dialect had already long been supplanted
in popular use by Arabic. Later MSS. vary so much that
it is often difficult to* decide whether, e.g., lb for rh, CD
for ]1D, and more important differences, are due merely
to the carelessness of the scribe. Even when the text is
tolerably certain it is often difficult to interpret. The
following from a Litany of Marqah will illustrate this.
The text, which is quite certain, is : —
]«i )b "^mtt ]M pD bv rh r^P^ pw*^ P^ )^ '^nitt rh^n
: imnn )^w:i n'^mn )b n'^oD
•' Praise and glory let us speak, before we turn away from
this place, to him who endureth for ever, the Almighty
who giveth us life freely, though we anger him wantonly.
Whether thou give us life or death, both are in the power
of thy majesty!"
Heidenheim * translates HDS p n3DQ wfw " dem Gotte
^ These maj be due to local differences of translation.
« Virrteljahrsschri/t, vol. ii. (1866), p. 487.
Digitized by
Google
The Samaritan Liturgy, and Beading of the Law, 127
bereitet von dem Verganglichen." Geiger^ corrects " with-
out ceasing, from henceforth." Geiger translates rrVrj "his
strength"; but the word is rfj'^O, "the power," the equi-
valent in meaning (and probably in sound) of nbM.
Heidenheim translates pD bv rh ]'»3ptt ]3W1 pa ]b '»mD,
"our protector is destroyed, and we bewail our protector."
Both translate mmn " thou art merciful."
In the second period (eleventh and twelfth centuries) the
language is still Aramaic, but it was by then "a tongue not
underst€Lnded of the people." It has an admixture of He-
brew, and many words already must be explained from
Arabic. In the third period the language is Hebrew, which
deteriorates more and more in quality, until it reaches its
complete decadence as it approaches our own time. It
was clearly in no sense a living language, and W6W only
employed, as among the Jews, because it was the sacred
tongue.
We may now pass to the arrangement of the religious
year, which depends upon the two conjunctions (nia:5) of
the sun and moon (1.) of Pesah, (2.) of Succoth. The
calculation of these is so important that, according to Ben
Manir (MS, Samar, E. 2, foL 136., in the Bodleian Library),
the secret of it comes down preserved " from the days of
the creation, from the angels to the father of mankind,
from Noah to Shem and Eber, to Abraham, the son of
Terah, to him who dwelt at Gerar, to him who said, * How
dreadful,' to Moses, who received the Law, to Aaron, the
venerable priest, to Eleazar, who offered the incense, to
Phinehas, who stayed the plague, and set up the calculation
on Mount Qerizim, by the oak of Moreh," etc But the word
nms not only meant the conjunction of sun and moon,
which regulates the beginning of the month, it has the
secondary meaning of an assembly of the congregation, for
the purpose of paying the half -shekel (Exod. xxx. 13).
"Why is it called niD2?" says Abisha "Because in it
^ Z.d.M. O., xxi., p. 181.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
128 The Jewish Quarterly Revieu?,
Israel are gathered together in their assemblies, which are
hallowed, .... and they take and give every man a
ransom for his soul."^
Taking the festivals in order, there is then a special
service for the Sabbath of the rWG^ of Pesah,* which is
'^'^ nria nr\r^ — for the first of Nisan— for Pesah and
Mazzoth — for the six Sabbaths following — ^for Pentecost
(]'»a7Dn). In the latter part of the year there is the
Sabbath of the nia:5 of Succoth— the first of Tishri,»
B7T1P HnpD rrsT\r\ pnDT yymw — the ten penitential days,
nirr^bon "^ttV — the great Day of Atonement, when the
service lasts the whole of the twenty-four hours, the
whole Law is read, and at the end of it they exhibit the
great roll said to have been written by Abisha, in the
thirteenth year after the children of Israel entered
Canaan. Then follow the seven days of Succoth
and the festival of the eighth day of Succoth, called
'»3'»aB7n Tyia-^'* . nriD nam im.* For each of these
occasions (except the Day of Atonement) there is a short
form of evening prayer, a form for the morning prayer,
and generally, as for ordinary Sabbaths, a form for the out-
going (pIDD) of the festival. On the great festivals of Pesah,
Mazzoth, Hamsin, and Succoth, they make a 3n, or
pilgrimage to the sacred mountain, Gerizim. An interesting
account of the noDn 2n, when the Paschal saxjrifice is still
slain, and the lambs eaten on Mount Gerizim, is given by
Mills,* who witnessed the ceremony in 1860. The services
^ During a visit I paid to N&blns in the spring of this jear, the priest
informed me that the niDV of Pesah was to commemorate the meeting
of Moses and Aaron (Exod. iv. 27), and that of Saccoth in memory of
the death of Aaron. The MIDV falls two lunar months before the
festival from which it has its name ; or rather the date of the festival
depands on the date of the HID^.
* See below, in the order for the Reading of the Law.
* They do not use the ceremony of the Shophar,
* There is no mention of n^lfl nnot^, but they begin the Law on the
Sabbath after ^3^D*^n lyiD : see below.
* Nahlti4 and the Modern Samaritans^ pp. 248 seqq*
Digitized by
Google
The Samaritan Liturgy, and Reading of the Law, 129
for the three other pilgrimages are much alike. That for
the niSDH an directs that " the people and the elders shall
assemble at the door of the synagogue before dawn," when
certain parts of the Law are recited. Then they march up
the mountain to the twelve stones which they believe to
have been placed there by Joshua, according to Deut.
xxvii. 4, reading Gerizim for Ebal. Taking off their shoes
(for it is holy ground) "they shall approach them and
bow down and kiss them"; then, after several prayers,
" they shall descend to the altar of Adam," reciting the pas-
sage from Marqah's Litany, quoted above (p. 126) — thence
to the altar of Seth, the altar of Isaac, and the altar of
Noah, where the service comes to an end.
The other festival services resemble one another in their
general plan. They open with the ^iDp (see below) ; then
follow certain general prayers, among others the b37
"f am nriD quoted above, then sections of the Law
usually a;CCompanied by parts of the Durr&n or Marqah.
Next come short ascriptions of praise (nana?'*) interspersed
with either psissages of the law or hymns. Here is an
example of a nnna?'* from the service for the niDOn niD!^ :
" The God of gods in his greatness blessed and sanctified
this day of the Sabbath of the conjunction, which is the
gate of the feasts of the Lord, which he appointed by the
hand of the great prophet Moses, the man of God. Happy
art thou, O holy people ! if thou pray with heart and soul
and say earnestly : And the Lord God planted [then the
readers answer] A garden in Eden . . . . " Then follow
more passages from the Law, and afterwards the distinctive
part of the service, hymns specially composed for the
occasion. Besides the festival services, there are special
prayers for marriage, circumcision, and burial. The ^IDp,
a great feature of the Liturgies, requires some description.
The following is a specimen from the beginning of the
^nsm ^IDp: **and God remembered Noah and every
living thing (Gen. viii. 1) ; and I will remember my cove-
nant which is between me and you (Gen. ix. 15), and I
VOL. VJI. 1
Digitized by
Google
130 The Jeunsh Quarterly Review,
will look upon it that I may remember the everlastings
covenant* to the end ^ (Gen. ix. 16) ; and God remembered
Abraham (Gen. xix. 29); and God remembered Rachel
(Gen. XXX. 22)/' and so on. It will be seen that it simply
consists of biblical passages containing a mention of
remembering, strung together without any connection.
Sometimes the rjlDp is made up of whole verses, sometimes,
as in this specimen, of short fragments. Various explana-
tions of these selections have been proposed. Perhaps the
truth may be that they served originally, when the
Liturgy consisted chiefly of biblical passages, as headings
of the parts to be recited (something like the Talmudic
D'»3D^D), and that afterwards, when the services grew in
length, the headings only were read.
Now even a cursory inspection of the contents of the
festival services in the light of the chronology here
sketched will show that they date no farther back, as men-
tioned above, than the fourteenth century. The question
then arises, Whence came the plan of these special services,
and whence the views expressed in the later hymns ? A
few passages in answer to the latter question may perhaps
indicate the answer to the former. If the Samaritans,
while priding themselves on observing the law in every
detail, did not develop certain doctrines till late in their
history, the Pentateuch cannot indicate them with any
clearness. But it is well known that the Samaritans
reject all the Jewish Canon except the five books of Moses ;*
and from the fact that they have no dealings with the
Jews, it is generally supposed that they have no acquaint-
ance with Jewish literature either canonical or rabbinical
If it can be shown that the contrary is true, we shall be
justified in suspecting that most of the later developments
of doctrine, which they hold in common with the Jews, as
' 7.^., to the end of the section : see note 2 on the Order for reading the
Law.
' Their book of Joahna, in Arable, is quite different from the biblioal
book, and oomparatively late.
Digitized by
Google
The Samaritan Liturgy^ and Reading of tlie Law, 131
well as the general plan of the liturgy, may be referred
to Jewish sources. The Talmudic passages relating to
intercourse with Samaritans have been often quoted/ so
that it is unnecessary to go into them here. Let us see
what evidence there is from the Samaritan side. It is ad-
mitted that their Targum ^ bears some relation to Onqelos,
and Abu Said (11th century) was evidently indebted to
Saadiah in making his version. He was in fact led to
translate the Law because he found the people using
Sctfwiiah's work, under the impression that it was by
Abulhassan.
But even in the 14th century, when it might be sup-
posed that there was less intercourse, we find the same.
Li the " Legends of Moses,"* reference is made to Moses
Maimonides, who is cursed as a heretic and perverter of
the Law : and the history of Saul, David and Solomon is
noticed, with an endeavour to cast discredit upon them.
The last is especially singled out for condemnation as being
the cause of schism in Israel by building the " rival" Temple
at Jerusalem. In the same treatise a passage of Isaiah
(ii. 3), dbByTT^a '»> nntl min M!:n P'^SD >D, is quoted
and explained in the sense that '' the true law shall desert
Jerusalem, the abode of falsehood," and thus the passage is
made to bear a meaning agreeable to Samaritan bitterness.
Heidenheim in his notes,* points out several parallels in the
•' Legends " with Rabbinical literature, and argues that the
writer had a good knowledge of Midrash. He also thinks
that the use of the phrase " Ancient of Days " shows an
acquaintance with the book of Daniel — but it may perhaps
be derived rather from the Kabbala, a knowledge of which
is, from other places, probable. By far the most remark-
' See Natt, op, oit,, pp. 42 and 43, note.
* The date of the Samaritan Targum can no more be fixed than that of
Onqeloe. Traces, however, already ocoar in Marqah of the existence of
some sort of Targum, though it was perhaps onlj oral.
' Translated by Dr. Leitner in Heidenheim's Vierteljahrnchriftj toI.
iv., pp. 184 seqq. * Ibid.^ p. 212.
I 2
Digitized by
Google
132 The Jewish Quarterly Betnew.
able, however, in this connection is a commentary by an
unknown author, on part of Genesis.^ It was written in
Arabic in 1053 CE. The author quotes in Hebrew illustra-
tive passages from the books of Joshua, Samuel, Kings,
Isaiah, Elzekiel, Psalms, Job, Nehemiah, and Chronicles,
besides the Mishna. His quotations are adduced for gram-
matical, not doctrinal or polemical, purposes. Again,
Abulfath, in compiling his Chronicle in 1356, seems to
have made a careful study of the historical books of the
Bible, even going so far as to imitate the phraseology of
the Hebrew original in some cases.* Somewhat later the
commentator Ibrahim quotes Eccl. xii. 7 : bM DWH rmm
xh mn: nwH D'»r6«n, and Ezek. xxii. 22 : Tinn rp^ y^nn^
niD. The same willingness to borrow (of course without
acknowledgment) may be observed in the Liturgies. In a
hymn for the Day of Atonement, Abd Allah b. Shelomoh
says: viD37ai » T^nD D'»N-iinn bD mi D'^nsoa u^i^mn
♦ crrfbMn bDD >'» bna "^d D'^rf^iDi onnoan rh rr^y^ D'^w-iian
" The heavens declare, and also all creation, the glory of
the Eternal ; and his terrible works show to us, in things
hidden and revealed, that the Eternal is great above all
gods." Cf. Psalm xix. 2 : ^1WV^^^ b« TIM D'^nDDD D'^Q»n
y'^p-in T2D VT. The words D'»N-iinn bs mi look as though
they had been added by Abd Allah to complete the thought
which he considered inadequately expressed in the Psalm.
In the same hymn he says : Drraa^l D^DB? T rf^n fvwv T^
Dni«n:5 bDb nmn fwnn T^X " Hast not thou made with-
out hands the heavens and their heavens, and created by a
word all the host of them ? " Cf . Ps. xxxiii. 6 : >> 'nnm
aO!: bD VS nny) WV^ U^T^W, Farther on, in the same
hymn, he says: in« iDTiT nwib yr\p wribrt, "Our God is
nigh unto him that seeketh him," as Ps. cxlv. 18: nnp
ntstQ ^nvnjy^ na^s bDb VMnp bDb •»>. But Abd Allah
may have been copying from Amram, whose words are
■ Pabliahed by Dr. Neabauer in Jaum. A$iat,^ for 1873.
» See Vilmar^ op. cit., p. xcriii, and cf. pp. Iviii and Ixxxriii. teq.
Digitized by
Google
The Samaritan Liturgy, and Reading of the Law. 133
nearer to the Psalm: nnA nnp ipi^TV "picb iwpn ]Mf?S
■pTQC??, "Prayers shall be made unto thy name in truth ....
thou art nigh unto them that worship thee." The whole
of this hymn of Abd Allah is exceptionally full of Biblical
parallels. He seems, like other writers, to have known
Ps. cxlv. thoroughly, perhaps from the fact of its popularity
among the Jews.^ In a hymn of Abisha we read : iDMnn
naby piDT nHTT^ M^n ^{i^ir^^ rvi^^n bDb, " The beginning
of all wisdom and the end thereof is the fear of him who
fashioned the world." Cf. Prov. L 7: iT^a^Mn '»'» riMT*
rnPT (Targ. : 'n^ «rbrn wya^n WVn) and Prov. iii. 19 :
ir»n» piD V^M TD'* rm^rXD, >'» — the two having been
read together.
CJoincidences of thought are of course commoner. In
some hymns in the Defter addressed to the Law (nm nnriD)
the writer says : TOn yn^SOA V?5ai D'^^n ^VT^^ nrXA ]«T,
•* Thou feedest with life them that hear thee, and crownest
with grace them that read thee.** Farther on : nn nn bD
WM Ty?23 TDK bD ]nQD HA, " Every great plague thou
makest to cease : all healing cometh through thee." In the
next hymn: l&Tpa in TTXTn '♦D'TO in U'^'^m "{rrDA in
rP32b n^DDT in nn«a7D3, "It is the healing of life: it
cleanseth the spirit: ithalloweththe soul: it converteth the
heart" So in the hymn which follows, it is called nODIp
irm, *' The restoring of our life," and '»'»m bboa, " The
word of life." The similarity of these hymns to Ps. cxix.
in general is so striking, that it is sufficient to mention the
fact ; but other passages may also be compared, as Pa xix. 8
ieq.: "^TToam uniST '»'» >Tipo 0733 rQ'»B7D TV^'^'^n '»> mm
'w n-iiniD '♦^ rwn^ u^t^ mr^MD rro, '»'» ni2ttD db. So the
Law is caUed often n'^ro n'»n3. It is curious to observe
that on Ps. xix. 8, Rashi says of the Torah : n-i*»M» M^n D3
'131 BTDl&D, and refers to Prov. vi. 23, while the Samaritan
writer of the hymn quoted goes on to say, without much
Digitized by
Google
134 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
consequence of thought : yhy\ yo'^ xwn n'niMDb' '♦D^T ^^\h
nOD'^MI nVbn -r^aD n DV bD, **It (the Torah) is not
like the lights (of heaven), for they set and rise every day,
but this is the great roll which gives light among us night
and day." It looks as though he had read Rashi's com-
ment and was anxious to correct his comparison, since else-
where the Torah is compared to the sun.
These passages are only meant as a slight indication of
the extent of the Samaritan debt to Jewish literature,
which will become more evident on a careful study of the
texts. Nor is this surprising. Jewish literature was
easily accessible at least to the learned among Samaritan
writers, and through their means the later Jewish teaching,
by its harmony with the divine law, could not fail
eventually to gain general acceptance. Much might be
written on this gradual development of the implicit teach-
ing of the Torah ; but the source of a doctrine is often
diflScult to trace, while the borrowing of a phrase is more
easily detected, and it is for this reason that the above
instances only are here chosen.
II.
The order for reading the Law may suitably be added to
the above remarks on the Liturgies. After the learned
articles of Dr. Biichler, which lately appeared in this
Keview, it will perhaps not be uninteresting to notice the
Samaritan system, as the subject has not been hitherto
treated. The text, of which the following is a translation,
is in Arabic, prefixed to a MS. (Peterijann, i.) of the
Samaritan Pentateuch, in the Royal Library at Berlin. I
copied it during my last visit there, and give it here
precisely as in the text (though the Hebrew quotations
are not always exact) only adding the references ajid
numbering the Sabbaths, for convenience. The text is
dated A.H. 1172. The cycle, it will be observed, is for one
year.
Digitized by
Google
The Samaritan Liturgy, and Reading of the Law. 135
" If God will ! We will set forth in this place the
arrangement of the order of the holy Law, according to the
Sabbath days every year, the course whereof has continued
from the earliest times unto our day. This is the order of
each book severally. The order of the first book in an
ordinary year is for thirteen Sabbaths, beginning with the
last Sabbath of the seventh month [Tishri] ; that is to say,
the Sabbath immediately succeeding the festival of the
eighth, and ending with the last Sabbath of the tenth
month. But when the first of the seventh month falls on
a Friday, then a fifth Sabbath is reckoned in that month,
and an additional division is necessary, because the sections
must suffice for two Sabbaths in the seventh month,
namely, the fourth and fifth Sabbaths. If there be a fifth
Sabbath in the eighth, or ninth, or tenth month, then the
aforementioned extra section will be necessary, making
fourteen Sabbaths. When the first of the seventh month
is a Sabbath, the extra divu»ion is not necessary, because
in that case the order is only begun on the fifth Sabbath.
But God knows besi^ This is the complete division of the
first book in an ordinary year, as follows : —
(1) From iTtwnn to DIM Vl>\ Gen. iv. 25 ; (2) from rTI
D-W to inb b«, viii. 2P ; (3) from inb bw to ^^ ^^, xii. 1 ;
(4) from ^bib to Dmn« *»n'»1 (sic) xvii. 1; (5) from *»n'»l
> This is to say, if Tishri 1st be a Sabbath, then the eighth day of
Saccoth (Tishri 22nd), will be the fourth Sabbath of the month. But it'
is laid down above that the law is to be begun on the Sabbath after Tishri
22nd. Hence the fifth Sabbath of Tishri only necessitates an extra sub-
division when Tishri 1st is a Friday.
« The Samaritan text of the Law is divided into sections {\^)ip)i which
are carefully marked in all MSS.,and their total number given at the
end of each book. In doubtful casea, as here, this division is important,
since they always end the lesson with the end of a section, and the words
quoted in the text, are always the beginning of anew section, except when
the first words are not distinctive. Hence this 13^ ?X cannot be G-en. vi.
6, where the words end the section, but must mean the section beginning
)2^ ^K C'* "*Ofe^^1), viii- 21, in the middle of the verse. The pVp are
given in Walton's Polyglot, and in Petermann*s Targum, but not in
Blayney.
Digitized by
Google
136 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
nrrOA to IpQ '»'^'), xxL 1 ; (6) from TpQ '^*»1 to ^pT Dm3«1,
xxiv. 1; (7) from ^pT Dm:wi to pryr rrb^n nb«x xxv. 19;
(8) from pri^ rrh^n rht^^ to vbai npr> «ar»x xxix. l; (9)
from vban npr'^ WtD*»1 to n3>T Wimi, xxxiv. 1; (10) from «2mi
na^T to T-iin ^DW xxxix. 1; (11) when there is no addi-
tional Sabbath, as explained, the lesson shall be from ^DV)
X^^ri to nn^^n rpy^ Mn*»i, xliil 26 ; but when there is the
additional Sabbath, the lesson shall be from xv\r\ ^DVI to
1Tb> ^OVb"), xli. 60; and (11a) from rvh"^ ^DVbl to NS'^1
nn^^n ^di>, xliiL 26 ; (12) from nr^^n fpv NS*»i to ^im bS>
xlviii 3 ; (13) from ^nw bS to the end of the book.
As regards the order of the Holy Law in an intercalated
year, the first book shall then be divided between eighteen
Sabbaths, beginning in the 7th month and continuing to
the last Sabbath of the 11th month, including the fifth
Sabbath which must fall in one of the five months, to wit :
the 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, or 11th month. But a subdivi-
sion is made at ItV ^Dvbl to allow for the fifth Sabbath,
whether it be in an ordinary or an intercalated year.
The following is the division of the first book in an
intercalated year : —
(1) From n^^Kin to 37T DTMHI, Gen. iv. 1 ; (2) from DlwrT)
37T to >33n '^3«1, iv. 17; (3) from ^aan *»3«1 to ^db bw, viii. 21;
(4) from inb bw to -^b Tb' ^- ^5 (^) ^^^ 1^ 1^ ^ ^^^"^
rrOA, xvii. 1; (6) from Dn:^ '^mi to TpQ »1, xxi. 1; (7)
from TpD >'^') to pT Dmn«1, xxiv. 1 ; (8) from pT Dmn«')
to Tpn'^ mbin nbwi, xxv. 19 ; (9) from xi^"^ riTbin rh^^ to
rb3i npr> ^m^\ xxix. l; (lO) from vbin np37'^ HQ?^') to Dp*»1
npr\ xxxi. 17; (11) from npr'^ Dp'^') to n3n «2rni, xxxiv. l;
(12) from r\T^ M2rm to np37> nB?*»X xxxvii. 1 ; (13) from
npr^ nar^i to rrxn ppy^\ xxxix. 1; (14) from ^^r\ nov') ^
rxh> ^Dvbx xli. 50; (15) ffom itV ppyh^ to ^Dv wn^')
nrr^nn, xliii. 26; (16) from nn^^n t\u)> ^G^^ to niD» nbm,
xlvi 8; (17) from mD» nb«') to *»1Q7 bS, xlviii. 3; (18) from
>"VD bS to the end. Throughout the reading of the first
book shall be said, after the lesson, the first^ DV riM nUD»
' The text has '' seoond " erased, ** first *' being written in the margin.
Digitized by
Google
The Samaritan Liturgy, and Reading of the Law. 137
roam, Exod. xx. 8 (where the Samaritan text has niDlD
for -11DT).
In soioe intercalated years it happens that there are
two fifth Sabbaths, the first of them when the 7th month
b^ins on Friday, and the second occurriag in the 11th
month. When this happens a further division, besides the
above, will be necessary, and it shall take place at m9 p,
thus : from "^Ttt^ b«, xlviii. 3, to ms p, xlix. 22, and from
rPiD 7n to the end. But this is of rare occurrence. And
God most High is above all and knows all !
The order of the second book is for eight Sabbaths be-
ginning with the first Sabbath of the 11th month and
extending to the last Sabbath of the 12th month. If the
year contain an interccdary month the Sabbaths are to be
reckoned in the 12th month and in the last month. If a
fifth Sabbath fall in one of the two months in which this
book is read, then the order is for nine Sabbaths : the place
(of the extra division) being nQ7!3 VU'X Exod. xv. 22. The
following is the order of the second book : —
(14) From ma» rbA to nnT O, Exod. vii. 9 (8) ; (15) from
nnT "^D to pnw bwi, xii. 1. On these two Sabbaths, after
the lesson, shall be said also the first n^», Exod. xx. 8 ; (16)
from prw bw") to "^whwn »in2, xix. 1. This is the section
appointed for the day of the conjunction (i>.. nODn niD2r),
and after the section is to be read HtDD '^3, Exod. xxx. 12.
K there be a fifth Sabbath, as mentioned, the lesson shall be
from prw btn to nttWD V0^\ xv. 22, and (I6a) from rWD V0^^
to "^mham iDTnn, xix. 1 ; (17) from ^mhDn »inn to ^'n'sP^
rvynn >b, xxv. 2 ; (18) from nDTin ^b ^^Xi^^ to nn-m rm,
xxix. 1 ; (19) from -am mi to naWD bw ^JTI, xxxi. 18 ; (20)
from rWD bw ^mi to D*»ttnpn riM m^^X xxxvi. 20; (21) from
D^'Onpn rw »37'»1 to the end. From the Sabbath after the
conjunction to the lesson niin mi> there shall be said after
the lesson, nm nnSi, Ex. xxxi. 13, and on the last (of those)
Sabbaths (%je. No. 19) the passage mentioned closes the
lesson, and the reader shall read with a loud voice n'bbnD
nai> mn, xxxi. 14, and the congregation shall finish the
Digitized by
Google
138 The Jeunsh Quarterly Review.
reading from the place rQ»n n«bMnQ7'» '^33 naQ71, xxxi. 16,
to the end of the passage. On the last two Sabbaths (t.e.
Nos. 20 and 21), after the lesson, shall be said \^ \^ -^^^
mr, Lev. xix. 2.
The order of the third book is for eight Sabbaths, every
year, without addition or exception. They are the first two
Sabbaths of the first month (Nisan) and the six Sabbaths
in Hamfi,sln, ending with the Sabbath of Amalek, The
order is as follows : —
(22) From rwd bw Kip^l to T^nw riM "^IS, Lev. vi. 2; (23)
from yir{\^ ns '^12: to pnw HQ7'»i, ix. 22. On these two
Sabbaths, after the lesson, is to be said "^TS^ID, xxiii. 2.^
(24) from pHM HQ7^1 to the first nQ7M IM a?^«\ xiii. 38 ;
(25) from ntt^M 1M a?^W1 to ^-inM, xvi. 1; (26) from nns to
DD-T^^rpni, xix. 9; (27) from D3-i*»2pni to '^iriD, xxiii. 2;
(28) from ^T^^ltt to ^rw'or^:! DM, xxvi. 3; (29) from ^rv\pn:i DM
to the end. On the Sabbath of D^n, the Sabbath of ma,
the Sabbath of D^b^'M and the Sabbath of ^on, after the
lasson, shall be said DrnDDI, xxiii. 15. On the Sabbath of
ni^rn and the Sabbath of pbD^, after the lesson, shall be
said ni^yno? nrna?, Deut. xvi. 9.
The order of the fourth book is for eight Sabbaths, but
in some years it extends over only seven Sabbaths, namely,
when no fifth Sabbath falls in any of the first four months,
for the beginning of this book takes place on the Sabbath
next after the festival of the Pilgrimage of the Harvest
{^'^^'pn m T^yia), and extends to the first Sabbath of the
fifth month, as follows: —
(30) From ^yo in-ran to nnp '^sn a?Mn rw Ntt?3, Num. iv.
2 ; (^31) from nnp '^Dn XD^n riM Ntt?3 to pHM b« -ai, viii. 2
(1). On those two Sabbaths, after the lesson, shall be said
pHM bw nm ; (32) from yin^ b« im to -f? nbo?, xiii. 2; (33)
from ^b nba? to mp np'^x xvi. 1 ; (34) from mp np'^^ to
D'^DwibD nQ7D rhJD% xx. 14 ; (35) from D*»Dsba ntt7D rhJD'>^
to orDD, xxvi. 11 (10). On these four Sabbaths, after the
^ Then foUow Pesah and Mazzoth, with their proper lessons.
Digitized by
Google
The Samaritan Liturgy, and Reading of the Law. 139
lessons, shall be said *»3nip HN *»i!r, xxviii. 2 ; (36) from
oroD to npbon "^mi, xxxi. 32 ; (37) from nsbor\ '^r\^^ to the
end of the book. On these two Sabbaths, after the lesson,
shall be said the second "T^Da?, Deut. v. 12, to the end of the
section (ver. 15). If there be no fifth Sabbath in any of
the four months named above, the lesson, from DPIDQ to the
end of the book, shall be taken as one. — And God is more
wise!
The following is the order of the fifth book for eight
Sabbaths, beginning with the second Sabbath of the 5th
month and extending to the second Sabbath of the 7th
month, called the Sabbath of Hiscanti^ If a fifth Sabbath
fall in the 5th or 6th month, the order shall be for nine
Sabbaths, dividing at DTlS D'^as (xiv. 1). In some years
this Sabbath, called Hiscanti, does not occur, because, when
the first of the 7th month falls on a Thursday, it (Hiscanti)
coincides with the Day of Atonement ; and if the first of
the 7th month fall on a Sabbath, it (Hiscanti) will be the
Sabbath of the ten days of Penitence. In such case the
order of the fifth book will be for seven Sabbaths, and the
completion of the Holy Law will take place on the last
Sabbath of the 6th month, and its lesson will be increased
so as to finish the book, from ntn Dl'^n to the end of the
Holy Law.*
The order is as follows : —
(38) From Dnnm nfb« to ^mxb IKi, Deut. iv. 5, and
after the lesson is to be said the second "TtDa?, Deut v. 12 ;
(39) from >rn^ iMn to DD«^n*» *»D, vii. 1. This is the lesson
appointed for the day of the conjunction {i,e,, niDDH niD2r).
In the last section of it, ^bHtt7'» *»D rr>n\ vi. 20, the reader shall
read with a loud voice l^'^mnrf? '»*» rntt73 na?N, ver. 23, and
the congregation shall finish it together, with a loud voice,
^ rO^DH should stand for ri^^pH, but it apparently has some reference
to Num. zxiL SO (^ri33pnV the only place in the Pentateuch where the
word occurs.
s The first Sabbath of the 7th month, having a proper lesson in any
case, is not counted.
Digitized by
Google
140 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
from 13W), ver. 24, to the end of the passage. After that
they say NO^n '^D, Exod. xxx. 12 ; (40) from DDK^n*» *»D to
un:iv nnR "^d, xi. 31; (41) from Dn» nnS "^d, to d^iddw,
xvi. 18. When there occurs a fifth Sabbath, as mentioned
above, the lesson shall be from Dnnr DHS >D to DHS D^Dn,
xiv. 1, and (41a) from DPS 0*^33 to D'^IDDW, xvi. 18 ; (42)
from D*»IDQW to the first ntt7H Q7'^H np*» *»D, xxii. 13 ; -(43)
from ntt^M tt^'^N np^ ^D to mn DVn, xxvi. 16 ; (44) from
mn Dvn to i«n'» ^d n'^ni, xxx. 1 ; (45) from ifcc* *»d mni
to the end of the Holy Law. If the order happen to be for
seven Sabbaths, as afore mentioned, then the (last) lesson
shall be from nm DVn to the end of the Law. And God
is more wise !
After the Sabbath of the conjunction, shall be said at the
end of the lesson ^D^^l, Deut. xxxiii. 28 (?), and on the
Sabbath of the lesson nQ7« W^H np"^ *»D (No. 43), the end of
which is the passage nbDH "^D xxvi. 12-15, the reader shall
read with a loud voice, *»3n>^2 niDM bM "^n^WV (ver. 14),
and the congregation shall finish it together from v\pwn
TtDTp p37ttD (ver. 15) to the end of the passage. And God
most High is above all and knows all ! "
A. Cowley.
Digitized by
Google
The Ideal Minister of the Talmud, 141
THE IDEAL MINISTER OF THE TALMUD.
Talmud Babli, Taanith, Mishnah, 15a, Oemara 16a and b.
Introduction.
MISHNAH. — ^What is the order of service for the
[seven]* fasts?
They brought the Ark [containing the Scrolls of the
Law] into an open place of the city and sprinkled ashes
upon it, and upon the head of the Prince, and upon the
head of the Chief of the Beth Din, and every man placed
ashes upon his own head. An Elder said before them
words of great solemnity : — " Our brethren, it is not
said of the men of Nineveh, ' And God saw their sackcloth
and their fasting ' ; but, ' And God saw their works that
they turned from their evil way ' ; and in Holy Writ it is
said, * Rend your hearts and not your garments.' "
They stood in prayer, and brought before the Ark an
Elder who was qualified, and who had children, and whose
house was free from transgression, so that his heart should
be perfect in prayer , and he said before them twenty-four
blessings — the eighteen blessings of the Amedah, and
added six thereto ; and these are they : —
'' In my distress I cried unto the Lord, and he heard
me ;
" I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills . . . '* ;
" Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord " ;
" A prayer of the afflicted when he is overwhelmed."
* These Beven fasts were appointed by the Sanhedrin to f oUow a series
of six in the event of the continuanoe of the drought in Palestine.]
Digitized by
Google
142 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
Rabbi Judah says he need not say mariDT and ntiSW ;
but he could say in their place : —
" If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence *' ;
" The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concern-
ing the dearth."
And he completed them in the following manner : —
For the first he said : — ** He who answered Abraham on
Mount Moriah, may he answer you, and listen to the voice
of your cry this day. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who
redeemest Israel."
For the second he said : — " He who answered our fathers
by the Red Sea, may he answer you, and listen to the
voice of your cry this day. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who
rememberest forgotten thinga"
For the third he said : — *' He who answered Joshua in
Gilgal, may he answer you, and listen to the voice of your
cry this day. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who hearest the
trumpet-blast."
For the fourth he said : — " He who answered Samuel in
Mizpah, may he answer you, and listen to the voice of your
cry this day. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who hearest
cries."
For the fifth he said : — " He who answered Elijah on
Mount Carmel, may he answer you, and listen to the voice
of your cry this day. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who
hearest prayer."
For the sixth he said : — " He who answered Jonah from
the whale, may he answer you, and listen to the voice of
your cry this day. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who answer-
est in the time of sorrow."
For the seventh* he said : — " He who answered David,
and Solomon, his son, in Jerusalem, may he answer you,
and listen to the voice of your cry this day. Blessed art
thou, O Lord, who hast compassion upon the earth "...
GEMARA.— . . . The Rabbis have learnt:— "They
* The introdaotion of the *' seventh " is explained in the Gem&ra.
Digitized by
Google
The Ideal Minister of the Talmud. 143
stood in prayer." Even if he were an Elder, and a man of
learning, they did not appoint him unless he was qualified.
Who was qualified ?
The Ideal Minister
{Suggested by the reply of the Gemara),
Behold him humble and with nought of wealth,
Except the righteousness within his soul
And knowledge which adorns his noble mind,
More precious than the riches of the earth.
Gentle and meek and lowly in his ways,
Knowing his wisdom comes not from himself.
Labour despising not nor scorning toil,
The curse of labour to*a blessing turns.
And he hath children, fashioning his heart
Unto the feelings of a father's love,
So that with fervour and with earnestness
He prayeth for the sons of other men ;
And unto all he is compassionate
As hath a father pity on his son.
Closed are his portals to unrighteousness,
Guilt findeth not a place beneath his roof.
His fame is perfect and his name unstained,
From youth through life's career unknown to sin.
Unto the people ever welcome he,
For there dwells that in him which lures the heart,
A perfect and a wondrous sympathy,
Embracing all their sorrows and their joys ;
Breathing the word of comfort in their woe,
Rejoicing in the welfare of their lives.
What can surpass the sweetness of his voice.
Revealing all the beauty of his soul ;
Digitized by
Google
144 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
Unto his heedful hearers, gathered round,
Intoning solemn words of holiness.
Enthralled they listen when he reads the Law ;
The sacred words sink deep in every heart,
And leave an impress of authority,
Holding them there with true and mighty force.
They hear from him the Prophet's holy words.
The thunder of their warning and reproach,
The bitter lamentation for their sin,
The pleadings and the promises of good ;
And in the sound outpouring from his lips,
They seem to hear the Prophet's voice again.
And when he reads the books of Holy Writ,
Telling of glory which hath passed away,
His throbbing heart wells forth in song so sweet.
It seems an echo of the voice Divine,
Inspiring them with hope that yet once more
The glory will return which hath been theirs.
His lips are steeped in wisdom handed down
In golden links unbroke from sire to son,
LoQg treasured race-traditions old and dear.
To be preserved through ages yet unborn.
Speaking in glowing words of metaphor.
He shows the beauty of their ancient faitL
His prayers mount up like incense from the shrine,
And bear a people's anguish to the Throne.
And when he stands before the sabred Ark,
A thousand prayers unite and rise as one.
This is the chosen Minister of God,
To lead his people in the righteous way ;
Yet not alone a picture of the mind,
A dream of what a minister must be,
Behold the Rabbis in their wisdom gazed
On Rabbi Iscah, Immi's noble son.
Nina Davis.
Digitized by
Google
Agadath Shir Hashirim. 145
AGADATH SHIR HASHIRIM.
{Concluded from Vol. VI., p. 697).
[ 'n rmn9 ]
too DnHswa D*K3 ^>enB^ -p rm k^w ♦ pn8rn JlTXan ^iK (K
^dS • dijjdS nir K^ne^ kSk p-rn ^k p-itJ^n nWan *3K «"•? niDiKn
oniDnn pia d^w 'tb^ id nw n^K^itrne' tiid • d^poyn najriB^
•fB^iTQ (126a) ant ^B' mayi dK^Kna Ttrni kod nnin^ ane^ n^nK' 805
D^KUD rn • nnpn pnisn nw pDyo {wSK^n vn ^tnpch ly^an
n^nom doion vm dnoD^ r);2i:i n^n tb^hi dnoni d^^^Kni d^a^y
'TDiKi -i^B^n pDo dn^n rn rrwih iran ♦ dn^^DD pnoiy inni^am
d^poyn naenB' pirn nWan ok idjo -p^ • ^kd on^Sn *d '^^ iniK
rw ^no^K ♦ piB^n nSvnn ok k"*? : d^iyn Kintr *d^ najr wddb' sio
roB^B' IK B^i • m^B' noK • d^n p "tb^ iSye^ {vs dipoS 'x^
^rane^ ly dnD3 n^no n^ni d^n iin^ nTB^ p^rm n*n nr • d^poy
'w B^i : B^3 ny d^D ikd ^d d*n^K oy^enn '3B^ • iDiDina d*Dn
nD 1DDD3 dsn ^pD^ya cm iin^ 'tb^ m^tr nyB^a d^pDyn r\:^m^
iS^nnn • in^na ^y dSKoe^m oa^D^a dnD^n vni dn^^y dn^B^K^a 815
'IK • mn ^npn b nyoni doino no 'iki • {nyovDi d*Dn "tb^
nK roni -p^^ "^^^ •"'^^^^ "P ^J^^ k^i *Dy^ d^D3 ^n^B^ n^npn
j^oDi • HBiD rwv "pi pipo^ d^Dn ntn^i d*D h^ paon aip^ dsn
ymr* vt"« b^ki vtDDa napa riBneo pipan nn nsn isb^ ^
wy K^i tiiD d^ hv non dipDn dn^^y nSyn nyB^ nniK • ov^anS 820
•p^ • rrw 'TD1K rni d^n ^ nnKi hb^du |n*^iiD nnK p^no k^k
p nSyBO dipD^ "xw dni3K n? k^t :pTB^n nSvan ok idw
nnryi W^d no^n nr k^i : p-irn n^van idk3 is^ • B^n jb^dd
nyeo ^kot nt k^t : Bt<n jb^dd iino i^yB^ nyBa dipoS nB^
: nviK DiOD nSyB' 825
TOL. VII. K
Digitized by
Google
146 The Jemah Quarterly Review.
•p • D^mnn pa nfeo r\:mt^T\^ -pns D^Hinn |^3 T\yffW2 (3
'iVDD i^nvi 1^ nyra dw ^hd^k ♦ niDiKn pa d^w 'tb^
D^mnn naK^ nnn n^cn^^ (1266) nn^^niu dk D^ninn p rimh
X nnK D^D ini 830
iniK nwn dn^BO nrn nienn to ♦ 'y\ ij^n ^Xy3 nifinoi 0
njmDB^ HBT^Dn "tb^ loip n^ • '3*d in od^ itoj; k^b^ ny "le^ vn
'ui ly^n ^vya niDW «"•? : ytDB^ii ne^a '^^ inn "«5t< ^3 itdki
1^ pno o^*K linn nK3 nin niDnne' Tn3 dipo^ ntDK 'tb^ nn 835
*mDn i^^va '^ no D^*p^ • pn^vi xm\ qkid n^n k^ t'y ^ wip-a
nDDD nnK k^ in-nn nanS ^mon *iK ♦ ^D^n^ pintD vnoi ♦naa^i
V-MD1 • l^^Vn IB^^ UIDTU ♦ IDVyO K^S D13D 1^ W HDH K^ *nW
: KVD3 T"® ^^DO 'JB' HD D^^p^ mm nnn i^k • ^3r6 pino
i^^K nnnK *^y i^:ni ^btd ^b' nn nt p\n n^3 '?« *iN^in (T 840
: ni2Kn
ID nmnn^ naw nrn n^inn no ♦ 'ii niB^^B^N3 ^ilDfiD Gl
13^K nSinn to rh\rh "ib^ 1^3 hd^ vC^ : n^waS povD 'x^
13^K nrn -»nn id • *rD rwDn ne k^k khd na kSi n^^m k^ ^dik
: D^DDH nmBn nn^Kn ^oyo k^k iniDni p^ip «Si niDoo b^id 845
'JB^ HDD HB^ nr • ^3*pann w^d^i ♦ ^B^N^S HPin I^KDB^ 0
^3B^ HDB^ ^B^-i^ nnn i^KtDB^ «"•? : iniKon ynt hbid pD^^ yh\o
i^^K H5^-i^ nnn '^kdb' k"t : nDipo pD^ni npnro ^kdb^h • n'apn
D^B^n* m HDHK nr^ ♦ D^B^n^ niii Dantt ^nyae^n (t ^^
iy niy i3Dn fe6 Dnni Bnpon nu nw dn^on "ib^^ n'^npn tokb^
■iBiB^ yipnDi dnn d3 kw^d 'jb' hd d**p^ • dn^rn 10 h^p \}nx^T^
la^D niDy^ K^B' n^Dpn '^B^n 'ui n-nyn dK nw d&< j lyDB^n
ntDD K"T • 'IVDD miKDV n^< K^VinB' ^tDD • nWDM TOK3 "p • niD^D
^^nn •»1W KIHB^ l^DD niKDV 1K-Jp3B^ 'IB^D niKDVD ]n)H yOB^ 855
♦ nnDTOH nK yrjnrD ^<1nB' ^dd mB^n m^^^KD (I27a) n s wa
w n1^<DVD K"T : ni^^^K V?m^ '^^ ^ip -uto ^im '^* ^ip 'jb^ hdd
: y*KDi »DVD dD^OT nn nvD^on hv nmno dK • nwn r\)h^'vo,
Digitized by
Google
Agadath Shir Hashirim, 147
xTwA Diip «3^ x^^rm 'iSipn i^*k Ki HT Hin ^TIT 'jlp (H
p^np mjnr me^ lown h\p jttxw iri : k3 n? n^n nn Sip Wn 860
nnw nnen pcc^ id^ ♦ po'wo rrt^yi p^em nitDipD rrwv^ k^S
trScn Tfiij^ 'TtDK • pr u^ ^5» • 'wi ^axS ♦tn HtoH (ID
• TDU^ IK K'l : .TTZDIK iniK HfiWI * {pT ISt dSij6 T^naD T'*^ 865
nrtx^ TtD^ ♦ 3py* nsy rxso nD '^B' nD3 • th\v kSk naiyS tk
: noipD^ mtin K^-«r nrDBTi riK Dipon ^ ^p • dSiya *^wh Dipon
K'n : roDi ^"£0 nKi3 Dipon to^ ♦ ^yhrw^ nnK idij; nr nan
• 6 ninnDj mm npc^. K3V jvdb^ • rwon nr noAnn p m^e^
• rrwD Kn Kin noSi ♦ iSr6 miKnp pnv ititdd Tyn ^o *:0 rMHi^ 870
• noro Siro Kintr in ^ v:i ^330 ni^D nr • nSij; hvr\^ p^no
te Kineo -iw Kine^ 'nan v^ 'dwt no3i : n)j tweo ikdd '^b'
HKD PB103 *nn^n 'n^n 'ok y pn nK j^^ne^ iv5 n^npn ^mt • t^»
'TB^ 6«^ kSk • pavn p Ka Kin ixch\ : nDB^a Kip* ^mx^ mron
*nmrn tdk3 -p S^ae^a • jifivS iiiiDn dnoy nSa Sii^as |1dvS 875
Kin p\-6 • peitn p k3 rhryy nn n^m ^ptm 'dk pi ♦ jidvo
iS< n^n^ nab mneS '-idk3 -pS • ina^ dipoS • DmS l^in
: Di-nn nye^ kSk naiy \jh dnjri ♦ mio nye^
Dip mvh 'IK t*K • nSiKin K^n it • '131 "h ^ONI HIT HiJ^ (^
ne^PM wnwB^ 'fc^ ^ f^**'* V^ ^'^W nnwDnK^ • aen^ Kinc^ kSk 88O
: nion
1^ \h T^m ri^ Dran na^n (I27ft) nay VHOn HiH ^3 (K^
: nny^B'n ^d^
• wn Torn ny ♦ x^pn^in nwo 6*k ♦ pK3 1^ni D^iXiH (2^
^ 'ttDKi mi naj; k^t : nay* D^vny "t^or '35r noD ni^So h^ wm 885
*3i«fe ni^bo ^ p3T j^iinr "qidS iKan?' iv3 ♦ ^n^Ti i^ *»ip
m IDK K^n : najn D»DTin Ti^n '3B^ no D^*pS • t"6y piy onon
: Dni^ nn"n -jS nw j«nn*S n'npn 'iKe^ ova ^n**xn i^ ^oip pna
ijrani innnK 5|ii-i njne n^ne^ 'tb^ iS^k ♦ j/^DH ^WPll ^WV (1^
• nSw) nn^vn ptn kSk • -nn^v mSe^ oy imo oipon i^k d^S 890
^Kior ^n*i 'IK Kin pi • 'iai 6k pyvn no n«w3 'ik Kin pc^
K 2
Digitized by
Google
148 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
D*n nnnK p nriK-iBO • nav^ i^«wd3b^ "ib^ nD35 ir j^on ^una
K^» n'npni • in*a5 njna kv^ • nnnn tinn vo^m piod^ -uid
nDn^o HK^^fir iy toh^d b^k Kine^ y^nin i6i nn^» njno *rii5 895
• pnc^a njnD ^<v^ : ya^ '^^ pronSo b^k '^» '3b^ nra • njnB *r:33
T\^\ yai^n njne kv^ ♦ |viw npnv e^niS '3B^ • npi^^ Kir n'npm
D^^^nD J iB^-i3 nxne^ yniai '3tr • yniDS npnva kv^ n'^npni • D^v^m
•T'npni ♦ Dion ^y njnD n^vi • i5b>.T i^v^n niK^ nnon pna n:ii^
^3B^ innn^y IT j^DH nana k't : ami n^v -p^mi 'ob' ♦ na^D nSit 900
HDn nmn HD^ ivD ♦ nnn n^nnna nv^nn 'jb' nD3 • »3^ %n
n^DH 'D« • n^^y nSa*p ♦ iS KB^a^ne^ n^ nB^ bt^^d kihb^ t^^
• i^DH ^3rK3 inm yoiB^ ^3ki nan *^ 'dik • nniK nK-» ♦ nnimS
n^iKan nr ^^^<■«D *i'Knn 'tb^^ n'apn id inK^ • any n^ip rv^rw
nyaB'a iIbt^d hstb' b>KytDB^ '"11 pyoB^ "\ nD^a "ib^S n'lpn K^anr 905
nSy^ 'DK1 ♦ nn« fnon n«5^-in kvo ♦ thms^h pSiy wb^ dhwh
ny n^iDoi • *y^3BVi y^inB' ny d^id ib^ i3 ^a^n pi (I28a) non
IV3 • r\ior\ 113 Klip HM injoy ny • on^a^a nipSmi • nn^ iy^:inr
Sy • inn^ ^y ^^1^<il^ kuhb' Kin ^na 'dk on^ie^ hbwh y^anB^
K"! X niVD3 i^ip ^ynDBTi D^aitD d*bw3 ^^^<•^o *ifcnn idw h^k 910
n^HB' HB^ ^ iSipa 'TB^^ nD ini3 nry^K 'i 'dk : i^ip o^nDB'n
•^3^^ nB^ '3B^ hdd ♦ ^d ^-^ d^^b^ ny 'tb^ ^5i Bnni sb'v 'nyoa
: Dn^^onn 3iy i^ip ^3 m:i^ ^ipa
^3Ki n^n^K '»^ *33K 'DKB^ nyB^n ^ nn ♦ 'iii lS ^iKl ^S nn (lb 915
nynnjo • d^^b^ib^s nynn : DnDyn teo n^iio ^S on^^ni 'dkbo iS
Dy iS^« -pKV ^3D ynn yn* • 'ui wn^n "ib^ nyi-» 'jr 'ib^ jik
: 'TB^ nwyniD nuynBO ♦ D^S'jxn IDil DVn PlIfi^lT ly (r
i^^H D^^^vn 1D31 i»y *33 Sni jn*^ nayriB^s Dvn niD^ ny k't 920
JO Dm^K piBW tan^ ^a« niDt • 'iai nn i^ rrcn 31D : di^ »j3
J Dnnan
Dn^aa i^^K D^aiDp • Do^prn D^nvon i^*k D^'tJTIB^ \h ITHK Clb
'TB^ ^ mo iinS D333 nsiB^ ♦ D^^nan p. -niv "tb^ iti vrw
Digitized by
Google
Agadath Shir Sashirim. 149
•■noD iwoi tD^n^n iKtri i^*k n'^i^^ D^bno -no^nDi p3V nnni 925
nfe DmnK ^ ijnt kvo^i D^nvo^ niws^w nup^ni d^d D^Sn^ni
[ 'a rrano ]
W3 ♦ ^Bffii nariKtr hk ^ntrpa nMa ^aaj^to Sjr (k
ffapn |n^ 'dk • nTnnn n^a K^^B' pUD vn nsi^ra 'tb^ innpw 930
^ rm^p pK nnyD n i^nnpo dhk p« • wkvo vh) vnbpa
mnwD nw • wD-iK K^i vnrnH wa pnv* nw DniaK npya^ Dipoa
s ')!) IV nv (168i)
Mi) an 'Tgn^ n'npn 'd«w ♦ n^a HMIDKI Ki HDIpK Q
/UJT naroa • ^B^3 nanwr n« nB^pn^^ : mn nnn nw D3^ 31d 936
7n n»w nye^a mm* Yk ♦ nM^ *mb^ ^jr k't : dn^ena neiD
Siw innK T)^ mv^i vnKVO kSi vnBT?3 ^ikb^ ^^tho mn
'TB^ p>6 i^Dn b)v^ rht^ Tya n331D^<1 K3 noipK k''t : ^imoS
: ni^inan pa i^dj; -innoD nn "nn iS iidkb'
Toa ^iW5^ ra ^d^d mnine^ nya^a ♦ liS'iK N7l VHTPIN (T 940
»6i iwnK K'T : DiBn kihk^ nno ^1W5^ n^ni niDDn ^ dn^yn
n*3 im 'DK^ ^^y>7\ nanx n»D jtiin nK Mncr in n^n no udik
♦a ^ npta m-»in -nn Sk ♦ *dk nu ^k vnKnne^ njr nTnan
naron nnn mina nanw ^ inSAu i«voi nnron ^y ^i^Din^ 'le^*
: 'TB^ ^ niianipn nw n"3pn h^ k^i 945
i6ni Mnw rhvn -laTO.n |d *di ♦ imDH jfi n'jiy JIKT ^D (1
•••QTO pK3 inKVO* '3B^ HD d^^p^ 13TO3 ^KVID dn« ^n^T ^^<*VtD5
no >6k • vn jbtd *di • iw niitDns nmon p rhw rm *d ^<''*T
npw p*M niDiKn b -p ♦ nv^ i^in «intr dipD b ntn twi 950
»6r toVd • ten npax teo n^u^i no mopo j 'ivdd 'x^ "hw
wn ntn ion no • dn-»3K nt • no miDpo «'i : dite dn^on vn
n'lpn 1^ iDK -pi • d^pnvn teS wc\ Dm3« hd • dnxj^nn teS
pDiW^TTO pnv* nt mnSi *nniDn nna m pnv* n« "h :i'n^rh
teo • wnte naron n:i ^ pnv* *Tpp3 -p mron ^na te n^n^n nn 955
Digitized by
Google
150 The Jewish Quarterly Retnew.
n:n^i id r\iopo k"*! : yov ^^ pan '^ hdd ypi^ m ^n np3K
an^ (129a) ♦ n'? a^iD Dma^i D^rr ihba nrt (t
:D>Dne^ 96D
D^ K'n : nS^an it mBT?3i aion new m ^anna • ^ttx^n new
■TDK^ ]3 hv 'iB' • mm nr • nDrto onoa dhd^d dhb' note
a^3D Dnu^3 DHJ^ ptron nr rtdyzh^ Tn»o n^n : '^ r\yorho icDa
• nonp iDJTDn ♦jb^ tr^inni ':»> • onD^e^ i^^ 'tb^ nn>3D fcri n^
D^K nanwD K^rre^ n nonD no ♦ D^n^D hd^^b^ n:n «"•» : 'w
nr nt^^^ moo n:n «"•» : o^iTa n« nt i^niK rn ip wtki 970
nojnDnii nrn • xh\VT\ fea rnii n^nc' no^j? ^y td^^ nni noSc^
• n^TOn -nonn hk isn ':b^ • -noin ^ k^ rh^^ n*n k^i iniste
ntn • in^n "r^ ^y d^ ^ irn • nn^n "ik^ hv ^^^ T\vrh irn
*:bd royro, niA ^id^ n^n k^ moo ^y t)Ki ♦ ihdd ^ Kb>K e^ k^
nK' Diipnin p nty^^K '-i ^k^b^ ovn ann nin« d^id • nijn nmn 975
nujniD in^3yo vnc^ ni^^b nnao • iDn^ ^p nnn b^k itDC^ Di^a
nt i!?B^ ♦ Di^B^ Di^B^nB^ ♦ naSe^ ^'^an h nrv jvisn (o
nnn doik ^^B' 'jb^ no D^>p^ D^Bnpn i^^k ♦ jwn^n ^vyo • piKn
:nn«n Bnpn 980
inT'Bn 5|DD D^pBnno Dnioyn i^^k ♦ tpa riB^ VTlOy (*
HDnen n paiK nDio : iino anr mias n^B^i ♦ nnia^n nt nnr
i^^K nnnK tjivi Din • id^-jki n^Dn rorss^ n^B^i • p3T« ^
: Dn^ iD"ia }n 'tb^ ibw^ no nioixn i^-'K D^Bnn^ nwno nini^n
• K-13: Bnpon n^no n^B'Knao D^iyn nna it (129^) pn^DK le'n 935
Dnnn i^^k ^idd nB^ vtidp ^bi^ ^bo jvw pK Kip>i nm 'ae^
^B> i^^^ye ♦ y^'5in nr ant im^ai • onioya j^nxn ^33 ^y jnoiy inc^
niB^Bj i^''K • nanx tjiri win ♦ nuDn kdd nt pnx la^no • Db^j^
Digitized by
Google
Agadath Shir Hashirim, 161
rM iTa "iwt 'x^ • D^pnvn niB^ ijod d*:b^i ikdd pdd odwdi
V^ • T^^ *^'* ^^ I3^^nn "•^"^^^ '"^"^^"^^ ^^^"'^ ^S5 "^^"^ * ^^^ ^" ^2
-nnw DrrQK jnt '3B^ n'npn nic uhkb' D^pnvn niB^w ♦ nan«
n>BTO in niBneni ^tne^ ni:3D b^ ^aniK ^wn^ 'ik Hin pi
: Dwn oy nu'iynD D>pnv nic^j i^hi • niDii6D ^ktb^ 995
'XT noD D^n ^y loftc i^ mo^*]^ moyn • i^ Di^nK' i?Dn rwsnr^
ysrp nrnfffp Dni« ^iD^nD • n'apn on^ 'd« • nyi d^ij6 hi^d^ '^»
nD* n^ r-inoB^ • o^d nn mnDy it in:inn Dvn >B^nn nis^o
nny Hinc^ D^K^D *D^3 niDwn ^5 n^^mi n:^Kv k"i : o^Ki^on looo
'w yf^i 'xy • nv^i Dwo Dva loynD Kinc' niDyni niMni • v^J?
'^ '» • niD^on jon i^ K^ni • nh^v iyi nnjnD irv inn on-'^y
'Dw i6k ivnwD Dni nnx nyi D^iy i^d '^^ • iyi dSij6 ti^o^
* *mK Dnnboni omtDynK^ ny ni^-'^n vh) no^o ^^ pK ^n^nD *i\irh
r« rt>iin DnxB^ D^D^ ta iDi^ ^Kptn* -ibd3 niKnv kvid nnx pK 1005
p^v nna D^reno i^yi '3b^ ♦ dshid^ nirnnK^ ny nisSoi ni^^^n "h
• n^WDn nD^ i^n< iwinn W2 h"^ : nsi^on ""h nn\ni 'iw • 'ui
Drai • '131 nb ^y inn cnwDi 'i« win pe^ inn^ n^npn h^n^x^
mwsn D^Ti ^n^ai ':b^ • enpon n^n po^nn • in^ nnoB' (I30a)
Tt*2h n:*3fir nnns' inoinn ova igk i^ moy^B^ moya k"*! : D-'oya loio
Dvai • n^an hv iia^ni cvn nro d^kii oyn ^di '^ : cnpon
: n>nn nx no^K^ -p^ne^ Dv ♦ n^ nnoe^
[ 'i nans ]
Ds-naa DnDSn nai -p • «w) ^ naiaa nioin^ i^^n D^^^^yn no
Tyao • '"v^ in^wD innai td niTHD ine^ D^3*yn no • onxn ^3^ya ioi5
nmac iwy lA »3d^ r'l^w onxw D^naitro on ^no^ • nnov^
•pj^^ : nnDva mm nan jtjny DnxBO ^nDV^ lyaD h^i j nni^K
i^v • ny^^n mo ib^^b^ • piroa d^do new n^n nt * wvt^ iiya
ninyo pt po t^ inje^aa D^^mn nnya n"w : inD^ iD^ne^ 'x^
Digitized by
Google
152 The Jewish Quarterly Reniew.
nna: mn \ihv nillXpn 11^3 n'apn h^ hd^i : DWa fW\ 1020
j*K n^iSBn niDiKHD p^i58r tnxa inna: h^ "p nmvpn i6« jaip^
: Dna r« ^'ow niD^«nD d^idb' i^^ 5|^k rwxao i6k dhd nna^
: hny pa pa ^nao n^w rox^n nt ^^HinfiE^ ^iBTI blPia 0
^ipn HK yoc^i '3B^ pK^^ nciD ^ ino^aa nr • ^ae^n eina •c'l 1025
: rvm panoi •wdw la^ : D^ai-on *X5^ rao nanen ^jnD r^je lano
^aen* i^^k inpn ponn n^ea : 'K^a^n i^^k niw T^a^tD1 k^t
: pnK t^ V3*p pa n^rre^ f >vn nr • nnb^ npao niemtDn
DmaK n*n nt • Dnia^an ^d^k^ ^a r^y n^n \yor\ n^K Dipo^ nvtn 1030
: \yor\ cj^k wa noW) in^i • ^ po »a3K Dipon ^^ 'dws^
D^ynn • \^Tm (1306) ntro nt DnfiJ^ ^^B^^ *1^^*1B^ *iB^ ^^^
J a^ai prin^ nr Donca
nr n^ia^n nyaa ^k • Dmax n^n nr ♦ lian ^H Sk ^^7 t'?K 0
: pnv* n^n io85
l^K K^i : apj^ T\'^r\ nr ♦ ^a pN Ditol W^JH Hfi^ ^\^ (T
l^ia • ine^ rr0 n« onnaK npn '3B^ rrm Dnnax nr "iion in ^
^Syai D^yen pa n^n k^ apy^ nsi nt na px didi ^n^^yi ne*
no ^nt n^a^ int^K W3n jm'jO ^flK hSd pia'?^ ^riM (PI 1040
n^nc^ *D ^aK^ k^k ♦ p^a^ idb' trsp^ noh • p:a^ idb^ ktP3k> enptDn
a^Bo nwa^nD vni:iy rn^K^ ny dbtd rr nsn \ih py noi De6 n^iy
p3a^D ^nw K^n : ira^* hff^ d^3W Da>KDn vn^ dk 'jsr nD D«p^
niK^n : noy Dan« »n^^an enpon noD n^osrn nx ^n^^anw nb
jna^Sn nt • ponni i^:k^ «w-id : n^^nna »a Dn^DKne^ • n^tDw swtd io45
♦ DO^D \W • DnD3 nnno nviK • niyoD twni D^yanx -laioa
: DnD^i nviWD o^yi rne^ tn^3»a nnaync^
HD^ ^ ♦T'^W nnxa *3»naa^ ♦n'ja *niPlK ^i^nM*? (b
nnxa nn^« nn-i nnnx i^Dn nW D^a^o na npirn^ non nam
'Dw la^ • noai noa nnx ^y t)ian ^a nxi i^*k nnan n^aw io50
a^n n« ^ nn^ nic • nb ^n^nic »:»naa^ k'i : nb ^ninK ♦a^nab
: nv-ian ^ t^ n*nw
Digitized by
Google
Agadath Shir Hashirim, 153
10V Kirnr pnvn rwo m ^ nS^ *|WnSB^ nifi^tDfl flfiU (N^ 1055
m^ m rVD P*«^ ^Dw iDiy Kinsr non^D nitro m K"n : minnD
rrw : D^oae^n nx (I3ia) -p^ae^ apy^ nr i:ib6 nnn :hrv\ B^ai
^iy: p K'T : 'TB^o Wa n\nB' rP-^ "t ♦ n'?3 ^TOPIN SlJ^J p (1^ 1060
J Dinnn -iBDn ^K^n ^v^p i^^k nb ^ninx
vn p WHBf D^^non ^ DTTBH HT D^ilDH DI^S yxhv^ 0^
no • '3iDn DTiDD 1^: no^i • jntD fin )o^in on^BWi Dw 'ib^
rpn ranBoi onvoa pvy tnrnn 'tb^^ na • ijniB ijnii ntn ponn
Dn-o oy DnoD niDpn m o^aion dttb k't : iKvn lovy ijno 1065
5 i^nhv n")B3 n^HB^
new y\'hr\ m ^k!?V3 nsn nt ♦ pfiipl nip D13131 ^TTJ H*
'IK B^i : n^^ nB^ i^KD pB^n hbw ini« ntnni ^:^d -in^
: D^^^Kn njr6 ^i6va d^ddhi ^K^a^ nfcnni nn^i hb^^ ntnn oipon
in^ laon iini pnHi 'ob^ noa • mm pn« n^n nr po^pi n:p K"n io7o
: in« ntoi nnx nto
ino^ n*np oiponB' p^yo nr ♦ D*^n D^fi *1N1 D^3i j^^fi (ItD
rj» K*! : nanpD inn* »di hki '^ no D^^p^ ia D^pnvn nx
na^D inw hihb^ ntn naion no pn^ p d^^tw D^»n onD nxa o^:)
T'j» 'TB^ nn ino^ nrny oipon -p • n^ti:i nnnpa ik oiaa nn« 1075
Kin ni^n hv D^vn noK^ ^ia» ik ♦ onDi nia^BB^i nvip n^^ai
WW K^) wyi b« kS • onnn W 'oik Kin k^ nnionn hv ^aK ^nio
i^n< *3dS oa-n nn^n m^:n nKoioa '-jb^^ 'iki ♦ 'ib^ n-'a ^Si^^i ^k
5 D^iy^ mno Dn^ n*n k^ pKn nKOioa ik n^03 nKoioa 'ok
: BHpon n^aa nowr D^K^a^n i^^k p^a^ p d^^tioi k^i 108O
Ka^ Tnp^ D*pnvn 'ik nnK ikd^d ♦ p^n ^Klll jlfiX ^1^ (TtD
nWi imaao pa^ nn onDB^a onD fe k^i podtbk k^ panv p^K
ninnnB^ p^n ♦Kiai pe^ my K^n : pj^ p »30Dia ^a on^^sS
fei p*n ni^3 nK^ao ok 'ik Dinn • it oy it nKai D^:an^ nn^ny
fei jujv ni^i nrao ok 'ik pevni (13U) t omn ^1 nian 1085
Digitized by
Google
154 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
'x^ no d^^f6 ime nnw rw53 pi in»3^a di^ inw Diponi iiDvn
[ 'n nonD ]
in 1^^ nDB^a dj; niD ♦nmc * 'wi ^DB^a pj^ ^nD ^n^K (N
: Dipon *ani« in i^^ • Dnn in^en ine^ Dnn ibK • nwaipn ipr
nDp«wn HKT nD • ba ni^i p ^h'H ^ *l^ n^B^ ^iK (1 1090
K"! : Dnvo niSa n y^on Mana ^n^v : n^wD ni^i nt "vw io3
v^p pimni mn jb^S hot: D^iyn n*n nt •ny ^aSi nanj^ ^^k
rran ^ya^ ntDM D^iyn n^^ rrtD^ 'w n>n la^py ^^n : mijn oipon
n:^K^ OK • pnei nrn ♦ -)3d D^xna vne^ pne k^i d^^^ new
'36^ nD5 • miyo Diponi jb^^ nruM Kinsr n^iwn nt * tp ♦n^i 1095
n^iKan niyo Diponi • 'ui B'ob^ mtoD nnxi »n«^^ peviD *niiyn
Dm^ pD^ nn nn povn pi mton p n^ "inxi n^^nn onnn p
: nnn3 nync^ fin n'*Dn nvoyon n« 8^3*^^ nt b pev^ Dinni
nt iy ^3^1 n^^ ok k^i • irn^ fy^ db^ inat^B^ no yy b
'iB^^ 'IK DipDn ny ^3^1 n:*B^ ok k*t ; nnoKi »dtid n^iw noo
'iKT Dvn iry^K Yk : ^n^T^ *ninK 'h ♦nns iy »n^i nonr^ »3k .
n^3 ^Di MniK pnm pd:d3 vn nine Knns' n^s^D h22 i?o
DipDn n^^ -p*D^ • p*n3 'ib^ i^y^i iDinn idodh ^k ^iy: iKnB^
• n^^DKn D^Bn^ dhk ^no ^y DD^nn inne DnS 'dki ^ktb^^ d*k^33
DoiDo nrn^ pn^ny 'ib^b^ ju >d^^ it nn »ninK ^ »nnD k't iio5
T01K nsn niDB^ p pyoB^ : ^n^hv P^n-io n'apni ni^^ntDm nityoa
D^DO Dn^ nBny Diponi pSdhdd pi »ninK "h »nnD 'ib^S 'ik n'3pn»
B^K niKD ysiK iDyi skid naiD B^ns iDiy nnron hk dwi Dm
nnDiD nK (I32a) ]rh ^nn:i 'ob^ no D^^p^ n^iw Dn^ po Diponi
P^tDi3 '-jB^i n-iin^ nKio 13-100 DB^ Dn^ nT»3 n^»noni • db^ luo
lioy p^Di3i pKni • in 3inD DB^nB' nun naioo \'>'^r) hk pn^ini
.• DnyoB^ poy 03i ♦ di» ni^ 3Kioi dhk 'jb^ no D^p^ 3kioi
in^a '-JB^S *iB^ 3iin id mon n^a Dn^ nriy oo^nB^ 'yn:> w» Yk
.IH<31 po^Dno i^iDi 3K101 poy ann^B' iww pa^ *d^ nn mon
PK3 in ^ pD3Dno DiTrni aiyon ♦d^oi pB^ia naiten pynipi ins
iB«*K *K piosB' D^oDnn nK nonS p^vo 'ib^i inoa nvn^ p^wi
Digitized by
Google
Agadath Shir Saahirim. 155
urn • D*oo D^pon )h ncny nxn n^n djdjk^ ^d ^k^ po^ D^nnD
nniM • "nsnp in*^i • db« -udw rreiDn^ • pM nnro '^xh noiyi lo
nTB> lAi^ nr« nKtn niinn ^Dr x^n tdd n« k^^d jein npc^ 1120
fe ^131 poD 1^ Ki nnjiDni *n^nn ^nin« ^ ^nno D**pD nKV03
• pBtrr ^m n« W5^ '»> no d^**?^ • nnvn ht^m pron^ pi nnto
'XT no D«p^ ^Di-6 DB' nnw nneni • Din« niD^ ^lon «6e^ Tjr
IB^ non DnK n"npn Dn^ 'dk •So K^tw nrtnc^ :Say njn* db^ 1125
MDiTD r«a 'TB^i ntonnS j^D^ano mto >dSd nn n-niy oto mn
mn Wtb^ 'OKI nnn 3^wd n^npm • d^o^ ny^K^ d^itS jo^npoi
nn niia^ 'x^S ]n)2 'w c^ian nfei * mnDn ^^ ii3D nionnS
'iC' no tr»pS • DTOp DnSn kxi^ .T'npni imiB^ pKa jni mpon
■noinSi in^^i ni^ tS w nnroni Dhn D^iaa onSai >^ Mvn 1130
•onpoB^ liop 031 niSro 3x101 ditic 'x^ no d^^S 'n^sSi
naiD ^ niK3i nioMno pi yioc^ nnw i^n mown Sdi (132^)
nr» '-r* ^31 pTn ^31 niDne isy nnno ^ ioi3 ini i3p Syi
KD3 'x^ nmoi Dn^pn nx jnip Diponi nS*BK3B' rrtn mirh
•jS3po icini f^ano vni ^Sy ion ^»jnDi 'xr no D^^pS •ni33n 1135
: ^n^^jn ^in« ^S ^nne 'x^ no D^pS
DnS Toyo n^3pni yhh^ni^ ini ^S nxi^B^ nnD3 HIT? ^3K (1
nt "mnm r^fiS xinn Dr3 r3B'nB' jw i3 pcnn^S ^n^yns? -ni3 non
: imy fei mp k^vio Kinc^ 11313 nx^ nra: i3y pon ''IM : n^tro
KinB' Dni3D 'icn DnDB^ npSnoo nrsB^n nn vnxw hSi 1^^153 luo
161 vnwip K'l ♦ ♦iiy 161 vmnp low t3S • D*non nw onS nmo
nfe iy DnDye mc^ n^yc^ ^on n^OB^n npSnoiC' nyB^3 ♦ 03y
inDoS *rB^ 3iiDn p o^n 3113^ inxn 3ii3n p moB^n npSnoo
inaooi nnn jneo Sy Dmi3n Syo M 1133 dti 'db' no3 nnn
• noinS n3Tooi •n3Ton Sy noiy ">'» ^nn<ii 'jb^ no3 ♦n3ToS nnn iU5
n3B^ 3ie '3r nD3 • :A noinoi nomn ^ noiy '^» n« ^nnn 'jb^
"^ 1133 Toyn 'x^ no3 • D^nnn inS m n^DOi • 'wi « n:D Sy
nsB^ 310 '3B^ no3 • 1310^ D>nnn mo : TyS Dipo ib^ inn ^
nn : '»^ onDB' onDB^n 'x^ no3 ♦ onDB^ i3ion p • 1310 pK3
Digitized by
Google
166 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
"jDio iD^ • Ypn j^anr ny T\it)n vh K^m n:^D8rn n« ins^aD 'tt* 1150
: 03P K^i vnmp
H^T : na^n^D ^iwd mihc' cnpon no la-wn • nnho 11a
in>8? nx^iT ^DK^D^ niKn mn^^e^ Dva Tya D>aaiDn '•WDwn ^iwvD
• D^-10^8? »mpBn D^enT ^n^oin ^j; 'jb^ '• W2 noinn ^ inojr 1155
niKn nin3 ova n 'h'h^n ^dv 'i ^ W3 io»:n 'n 'tDK (I33a)
pi D^Dp m3 pon ^ipD ':b^ no W'^jh nvD^on p jne^S ^«niiS
Dy nion Kin n"3pn nr 3i oy hidt ponn pon ^ip -tdw Kin
Sy nnv' n^ J^^"^ "P "^nKi • fiKn Sd ^an^ itw ^^^i '^^ 11
»-ttDiK niDiK3K^ D^neon D^B^il PlB^n inD *|Tn Hfi (H
^D ^K ^1DnK TK '3B> HDi • DDDy n^3 Dnaiy DHKC^ nD^ SktC^
no^ : nnK d5b^ nay^i ^^ dm d^is Knp^ nnna nsc' Dn^yn
ip'h K^K^ 'le^i n'apn^ yae^^ inmyr k^k • i^nyac^n nDDt^^ igvq
nK nsriK^ dv Dnn^KB^ ^D^ nnK nn ity^K Yk : nnyo fv "vw ii65
inK i^^S i^B' niDiKn ^d 1^ lynK^^tr niB^ poy ^k '^8r nDD d^d^dh
DipD^ yac^^ Dn^ny )n n^ DnnnK^ 1^ lyne^ac' DipD3i nnyo r'xr
: i:ny3B^n nD58? now hd^ • nnyo fv •inK i^^^ k^ hwd^i
DHKi • nninn nK )ni3 ^3KB^ nv nn DHKI HX nil (*
: niDiKn p ynsj Kine^ 1170
'TB^ hv piD^n nK K^D Kinsr nyc^a ♦ Tfi DHi IB^K^ (K^
: n^TDn nsn nt D^^n^n vniviip ]MiD un)p:f?
t niKniDn i^^k ♦ a'^ni n«m^ a^
i^K • D^JKiB^ vninB8r • nini^n i^^k DB^ian Hi'nya Vvh CP
:nnaKn 1175
: ^nsn »iD^ loyi ntw d:3:b^ Dva ♦ B^gf ni&y VplB^ (lb
[ '1 nans ]
'TB^ nsnsr -inn nnn natD in^i '3b> dvi ♦ n^ii ^^i^ nJK (K
: nytj^ ntmp k^k n*n» k^i D^iy ncnnp ♦j^d onuo
^ mip^i ^an t^ iwip^ «wn nn^sr on ♦ ^^ Ti^ ^ti*^ q
nn -iDw iD^ in^^Ki rmhm noD pipa pi Kin^sKt 3*wa pi * m ix80
Digitized by
Google
AgacbUh Shir SasAmm. 157
lo^ niK3V '^* nT p '3B> TOD Ti^^ n*njf Kin nnx niy : wA n*
nx KT3W n'apn k-idb^ n^^^ya 'i« \n jkdd • y^i ^yi ivir nn Sjr
TT p '3B^ TO D^*p^ K2h TTW Kin pi ^5^0 nn Sj^ i"i* p D^iyn
5 tvv (1385) nn ^y KU^ niKDlf '^»
DTK *333 • D^xrwa nynn ^ nm nnS ^^k 'dk • nnnKn p-po
: DnnDnD nTay iDyo k^^
n^ 'IK inw nic nnsTD dtkw ♦ mnni W^n HN HB^ H
: 13TOK -)3D • Dnn^n injD -pj^ : nnni inoip nw
p • nernp nSiDB^ itn hmn no ♦ D^'?mn ^TJ^3 ^^^3^E^ (1 1190
D^aipni D^aiDPD^ lovn njno ^nK^ D^^mn -ny : DWip '"«^
D»ab dSid 'jb' • inD n^^^n j^kk^ D^aS^^ i^wdj D-'ycnni • nnew^
ono^ TOTa DTK 13DO BT?^D DTKH HK KinB' ntn abn no ♦ DnD^^K
: 11D new DT^3 t^KB^ D^a^D^ 1^3 p^ ^1D^ W^K
D^jtDw •on* ^Kvri DnTnK nsn m ♦ rf\:ht3 T)tiT\ D*B^B^ (H 1195
Vw ninB«wn i^^k • tddd pK nio^i • na^nn ^kvi^ i^^k d^wS^b
: TBDD Dn^
• af?yio rttm rhsnso *nD^K • 'iii ^nfiH ^WV tVT\ nriK (t3
N^ D^niii iD3Dn ^ nwD 'dk • ni^rh irinc' nye^a ikt no
iKa j6 iKD pK D^iOKn i^^nnn ♦ fTKn neo onnp^i Dnptnnni 1200
innnK jw^n ikv^ • D^iyn nK t)iTc6i nw^^Kn hk f vp^ kSk i:>^k
TP innnK pdtit n^^ni >b^ p^hk vn Dn^^K pniDKn id»:i
IV31 TT^n ninK iS ^D3 abi • nTin^afir non W tb^d^ ly^ansr
nBDi V3E>^ D^D iSboi nHK nniiv nivi idv 'tb^s ly^^nsr ikvidb^
•nnK^DMci D^oion nc^on ^^nc^a DnK3 to *:dd DnS 'ik •onoe^ 1206
ir^nn nwD *»S iksbo • ^btw 13k D^iyn dhtdkb^ wn k^ 1^ ntDK
ifa Dni> 'DK • p^y ^n D^^B^n nK i^kt db' itdk ♦ njn pKn naT
Jnttnn nw3 hikt tdk3 -p^ • tb^ d^3b^ 'tb^ noii hddb' Don do
m vflrnBf TTTS nnw ni^3 w inr 163 nfipB^in flNT ^fi 0
:rwD Kanjo nvD^n ^y nmn n^^DKn hd ♦ r^eS nmin n^^DKi 1210
no • noro nri h^dSd nv • ttib^ idd nspB^^n riKt ^d k't (134a)
nvDn nisho rh>r\\so p • ronrM pKa tna^ n^nSni nDn ^Aj
•T'apnw • TTV 103 HDpr^ tikt ^d k't : d^ij6 K^onT^a n^^n
Digitized by
Google
158 The Jewish Quarterly Revtew,
I '"iVD ruHD ^K '»^ cpc^i '^ • HK^no Hin HDpB^nn D^iy^ nniD «^ao
intf^n no : nonD mn nia^D ne* "irr ira nape^on nw nD K'n 1215
inD^^HD m ^ iriD^^T k^i nt^ non nr h^ niWD k^ nonni rua^n
riryo ^bS ^3pD DiK i6« xn^ ttip^ pie^ ^pnvn px -p m ^
nK 1130 DipDn ID nn^n n« imno ine^ n:n^ni nonn no
; n^pnvn
n^tnh • Dnn^K nr ^ron ^3^«n niKi^ ♦ ^rni^ DJN T\yi ha (K^ i2:?o
nnn nniDDB^ viane^ apy^ nr n^iionn iv^n pnv^ nt jDin nmon
D« mn :naio i^wd:k^ ^3^d in od^ icnpwB' 'tb'^ on
vh^ ^D mm* '"la *dv 1"^ : ti3k -d^hij '-«5^ -p yayBD i^d ^nc^jn
iniK nn yaya d*vp win pb kdb^ nno • hd jni* liw twk run 1225
• niXD ^ nniax nm^K |niK i^k^xid {n> inw ipnn ppi^ jn
nvD^D n"npn 1!? nKine^ 'ik nnx p^io «an p mm* Yk : v^i"i
nD3D n mc'n "iwn nmi nim ':k^ • V3i nw laye^ nn*ny \m 1230
noi ^33 nirste n n*!?y D^van jkv my ne^e^ dk^ n^ni • 'tb^
nnnDD nn^mB^ nyBnn niD^o n omyn b noB^ ibdwi • ]m
'1)^2 vnr 'TB^* i^*« *:nbB^ *b^: *nyn* k^ k^t : pB^ ^dd K^ano
'TB^ MOH • inD *i3ya p^B^m Dipon i^wboi ♦ n^iK3^ i*dvd vw
*Dy nuD-TO "iDW HD^ • 1^ ns-ia i^on Dy rnBn* (1346) ur nn 1235
ntoB^ mmr pin *D*a 'ib^* i^*k ^^noB' *b^w *nyn* no^ k't :m3
H'T : pBiD^ 'TB^ mriDB^ Dvn nr m: 'i^v k^t • pn* Sy n^iw
[ 'T ntt;nD ]
n^apn^ D*i)B^n^ p^ny D^iy *iO ^sb^ n^a'?1B^n ^aiB^ *aiBf (K
*3iB^ iry^K '"1 5 min tnon nn^ iruB^ tiid j*D*n on^ tnu Kim 1240
TiiD nt nnK nr noy^i nvnrh jn^ny D^non dhb^ h^d^ib^h *nw
TKn 0^13 'IK "ity^^K '1 : nnn nnn pKn p n^ nnn id!?db^
n^moD : nnn k^b^oi k*b^3 • ikdd hv nnn t^oi ^^ nmo
mm* Vk : dohdo nni nSmoD n*nB^ yB^^K ^b^ i^)^ nt D^^non
Digitized by
Google
Agadath Shir Sashirim. 159
lojiS \n^rm vh^ "ivh 'dk • D^j«ro K^n nh)}h lan^o no ♦d ^id* 1245
rww Di^K t>«5^ iini • 3jni ivjw j«^^k ^ in^^K ^ -in nr
1^ • Dn^j^B in no ♦ anj M D^'?j^ja ytsjf^ ifi* no o
*niwe ^1Dn 'ob^ noD • oniB^i DnDyo D^^:n i^np^B^ o^^^nn 1250
l^ip ivreo • ni50 '-r* vnis^ ^no^K • ^oya 1003 ^n • i^n^^ajnDi
•«M0> • 'wi n3B^3 DnDj^D B^e^ '»^ noa nnyion ^^ora D^en^n ^:-iS
mr\ DTKBO • D^33 in^yD iD^ no k^t : n^a "h iinn D^^n j^
^^n?D T3 • Sy3oa i^n nio nos on^ 'ik vn nnn h^ iS^-ia
i6k nio maDH n*n 16 on^ 'w vn mown ^d nnan n« 'x^ 1255
iB^ no iTn • 'wi Djr an^nna '3B^ noD 2>i^ na iok: la^ • n:h
put n> nrjnD : DmaK na an: na ^ktb^^ n'apn 'ok i^oye
: Dinn newS
T»a o^aoj ion fc6e^ me^n m ^non pK yvi^ 0
• D^^B'iK^a niiD iHD^n nony ^260
(185a) 'awa niana t^'^v : pnn^o it ♦ hlib^ *|1K*IX (H
laini pKvr p no jnv d*ik jwi nv^y^ j^o^ano inco D^oann i^^k
• iM^n Tjr n*a nsn nt • proi ^3D noiv Haoa hbk : D^ai^ jni3
: pWDia B^ D*na noa mioi le^fcna dik n^nc'
twa^ p^ny jnc^ 'x^ac^ D^^nn on p3r\H2 ^B^KT n'?!'! (1 1265
Tna • ^>0Taa i**^ irfcn k'i : panxa inriaS ine^ i^^Kn D^a^oa
D^ni D»*^n Ta • D^^pi n'apn ^ itwi ^oian nna in^^K n^ytj^
mm Dipon ^ ntu nvnS mv nnx nivo n^a b^b^ Sa '-iB^aB^
S>rD Tjw ni^pon nje 3v^i • apr n>n nt D^oma iiw< n^o • D>»po
• DnDn ^y 1^ ho^ ne^ nt • D^onna -iidk t^o k't : D^onna 1270
: n3 "in ntn nnion nn ^k n^y ':»>
n\y3 ja m jwin^^ Tatne^ h)m n^n nt llton po '^am (^
m An< 'w n^n nti b^k p^* «^« * ^^^^^ *"b^ ^^^^^ * nmon
fan^ rp 'w • ^anS aan ^ya j^p n^ni D^iyn n^^nn vnB' ^ani j^p
i^^aK DTK nBW no i6k inw 1^ amw DiponB^ ^oa inio D^iyn na 1275
' t»i 1^ in: Ta • nS^nn D^iyn nw jeiaB^ -pna vnina Sy lo^^B^nB^
fAw p Tino • iniK mnB^ n^^ v6vt inio b^K t^^ki iKan: ^aK
Digitized by
Google
160 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
m Vp yhv ^itDnn W Dipon S'k • vnnn ^an wm • p^^^a ntsop
• lann* Kim vVp nnon nriK Dipon i^ 'dk • ^an i^ on • prvi
DipDH "h rh'^y^ 'IK nnK p^^o • n»D^ n^nc' pp Dp^i -idio i^^ 1280
IdS • insoy nj; rnov i^j; i6i \m if^w lai: Kini wnc^ Dipo
^ rail ^ani rP ^3*" •"^^''i ^^ ^^ • 0*^^*5^ ^'^^^ ^3^*» "^0K3
piDnnD pB' • DDnpwn ^Vjn ddk D^WDin vnnw • inpwn Tr»it 1285
1D1K nn« nn • nnionn (1355) k^ npwn j^ki • p\pd> prim
i6ni ♦ TO^ rm ie^ antn o»jd hk npn 'nvo ife pc^ rAxr
jnv n^iB^ not^ nio^ ^no nonno n^ne^ k^k ptw idb' hst aiat
nnviK b nK npn nnD no^ yocis^ fVD ♦ inioD e^^ m j^wr
: antn ^^^io nx np^i np^ ^an hki tSdh n^a nnviK nni '*> n^a 1290
xhvh Ka n^B^ nn • D^-ieaa r\yh^ niB^n KXi nn T\:h D*
nin^a nin*a pxai i^D^ano )ni x oSiy^ xa n^iK^n 'tb^^ dh^ 'wi
Dn^Sy • noi D^K^3 n^^3B^ • "^h p^ia^ p^kb^ D^^^pr nin>a r\rmtr\ na
: 'IK 'nan
DM np^vn new W dik oa i^^k n^^ IJH^i D^Ninn (T
npnv ^ niryD ^ Dn« ^:a la • mn o^ipa m p:nio d*ktiw
Ka in>^K nr ^dv "i'k • Dnao ^a w^nne ^ : D^ipa niaa pnw
w^ n^nn ih^Sk nnx dk i^ DnDiK Dm • \T\h^ »3k '"ur^^ Dn^ 'dki laoo
niyi : p-i^atD ijkb' d^hd k^k • inoto wk pKjr D^no k^i • D^ntD
h rm^sr om^ nene ^S bh^d i^ 'i« ^^ki in>^K xa^ dk ^dv Yk
: D^3B^ Dii D^Bnn • nnK
[ 'n rrano ]
Sb^ Bnpn nn m ♦ ^ax nB^O piV ^^ HNS "[iTl^ ^0 (K
Dnan nyaB' i^^k • "^nthn *dk no ^k iK>aK t^^h^k : nro laos
HK-TD »3nn • nv p \rh rwno pB^ena 'tb^^ hk-idi noiy nnwne^
nmo ♦j^aa : imj^ Sai mp Dn^ niriD n^^^ • iiaan Koa pS
Digitized by
Google
Agadath Shir Hashirim, 161
I rwnrh ^^ny pnv Dn^ hk-td ^jrae^a
TBT* noa nxtn ncvn no • ^22 ^y oikb^ 1^ 'ok i3TO^ nxv^e^
imo^ rwvnj' iVD • n'npn (I36a) Doten ^d^ i^d ^^D^ Kin nDi
nran '1 ♦ ^^n■nw niBnn nnn r im''3K ^y 13KK^ ^^^kk' )h nioK
|ni 'Tj^ ^VK anpno pyn n^ni niDiD^ pyo^ nwD 13S niv 'ik nsn 1316
O'DiD «|K Dn>ni^Di Dn^ninoKi urvMV Dn^33i onnr^ v^y pyio
Dv D^niK T^no ki.-ib^ onvtD pK nK n'po pyn hmi d^bi d^khd
nn^mr • irnS^ rh^n ntxri -pK in^nn nofi^ tdk3 -p^i ♦ jn^ t)-)nD
: mW ^SnnD n^anno pKn
p '^ yho ^^H K-)p*i '2^ nn^2 ♦ ^1^ Sy DHIPli ^JiS^E^ (1 1320
l'i>*Dnn THD • TpnT ^ onina i3^ ^y oninD Dm^K idk^ d^db^h
pnra PK "p •DID nnn pKi d-ik ^k^ nn^niynt ^y lonoB' i^^n
nK 3nK n'apnc^ nanKn nn^*n nty • nanK niM n)v ^3 : dig
• 'iii D'DiD ^ nnry^ '-^^ Dmi^n nn 'jb^ ♦ annjo nD^a 'i«?^
^ nria ^ K^nnc' ina on^^y n'apn K^nnc' niDD le^ 'ok 1325
noD3 Dnn 'ik jn: '1 : 'ivo ynD kb^di D^n hv mooi '3B^ ♦ 'ivo
nc9 : n^yr Di^3 inooi >dk one' nictc *in ':b^ ♦ nn-'C^n ^y ^>
'3r hvner' i3» in*^K o^^Dne^ nwpn nn^^n nc^ • nwp ^ikbo
•'ui 'TB^ ^33 inna nty ^3 niK3V '-jb^ nh^k '^^^ ^nwp K^p
161 'TB^ ^ onsm BT53M vnuK noyB^ oipo^ ip'h )n'hvh )h n^n 1330
'uc Kin pi • pBnDi^ aiB^ ip nBp3 T3"ii^ n''3pn 1^ 'ok • p nB^
10m • nBp3 -piiv n'spn ^k • ^^0*3 noKi di^ n^n^ in*pTn^3
J^wn • in^^K ^ in^^on^ ^Dnv dhk 1^1 • D3^n^K -idk^ ^oy lona
nnno ^kd kvi^ nvrh '-»b^ h^ pin t^ny • ri> nsn^B' bv ^dbh
Vk • '1J1 n3nS^ iB'i-ipi • B^^ '"iB^^ "11K n*n> ti6^ • nnsn kd3 1335
nj^sB'n *3s^ p3iy pB' b^ ^ nnnj b^ yB'in^ '1 h^ rnK p won
11x6 ^n3J^ (163^) niBn n^WBOi b^3 p3"iiyoi d^o ^ nnn:3
13^ • nnn^n ^3 riK ^3n^ ]n')hh niBn n^no 3nmD ^^n b nK
: n^ n3n^B^ b^ ^dbh n*DBn noK:
nnnK K^n it^K ♦ nanxn HK niai'? I'jDV ah Q'T) d^o (t i34o
VOL. VII. L
Digitized by
Google
162 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
nnp^no e^i mn ^nn ':b^ • d^k^^kh *n: ^y n^iao k^hb^ bvh n
m^ny • ry^ryi^rx nw nuD^ ibv i6 D^ni d^d k't • -nan iina
D*3i n^D H"! : minn nw nnDD m^ny n3*Ki rv\^i:on riK naso
-)B>D>K *K D3nK ^ninKB^ nanw in*n pn nx k^« in* d« :W 13
D^pD *yni d^d ^«n*n '^b^ : i^ nn* tn nansa ^n^a pn b nw
^y in^DD pKKn:i \^^vci\v rw'^rh nn-i3« ^b^ v:a *33d d^dhd pttw
EniDDH DB^a jniK pDinoi ^npn
DHB' rh nsnK^ iTTiiiai ono nn^M nr • HitSp 137 niHN (n
nBT3 no • D0V3Kn n« no^iBD nrwi o^^^yS npiv n:ni3 nrxi la
^B^ nn no 'ui niop w^ nins k"! • 'iai pn^w oy^Dn ^12J
vn K^i n*K3 vn id one^ n^ pKjr nx: nB^«^ pon pn^e^ in^vtn
nn nt • niayriD^ na lan^c^ Dvn ^nins^ ntry3 no : d*31d innryo
: Dp*n« ^ ij
wn HD^ ^B^ • '01 ^D3 m^t3 T\h^ n^M nam dk (d
IK inoB^ T''y ^y oipon i^ ^ino* no ^y n^nn^ 'dkb^ inw^ non
no^ "ID1K p-i3 B^K *i*i p irySw K3K : i^nr nn nriy nVa ^y
• n^n niijy pxi ODn '^d b^^k r^y onoiK rnB' inK^ non lann
: ni3yi noDn ini3 *3nn 'ror\ Vk • n^n noDn pwi v^y '^d b^k
nnna >rK >:k 'tb^ hd^d mow • niSn03 *3E^1 na*in *iN (^ !<
^B'^KD K^i n:^Dn "in ^b'jkd k^i ^inon in ^b'^kd k^ niiiBVin
• >3 B^ PD3-IBD1 p^D^DD O B^ D^'^nV B'* D*D3n I^K ^3K * DID
: Di^B> nKViDD vryn *n^M *3K 'ob' (I37a)
iK3B^ D^MB^n nTB^ i!?*K • pcH Sj;33 na^E^'? n^n di3 (n*
• DnDiA Di3n jn3 • 'ui D''3n D^oy poy *in 'iB' o^^ion d*i3 n^^y i
n^ini Bvn in*3 nx ^^m D^B^n* nx nnnni noyB^ ivn^n^ m
B^K • 131 '-)B^ n*3 niMV '** DID *D 'JB' DID IKIpDB' ^DD^ '"W nK
: 'iii riDD K*D*
• nnn« nw: p n^u^ nioi K^nB^ 'ib^ no^D ir 0^333 niB^ITl (J*
l^ip^ D*D*BT?D D^Dn onnK n^n iwa nx idid n''Dpn px id*d^ i
n:B^i novy odd fcnpD pbhbd jnB^ inn^D^ni o^DDn i!?>k *3iy*tDB^n
Digitized by
Google
Agadath Shir Haahirim. 163
: ^^ly^DK'n i^ipS onnn onan
b^ DySn nx p^n idk^ or ^hd-'K ^ktj^^ ii3d nn TTO, (1^
• p^Dy m • 'ui '^DK^i "iin«D D^ns^Di Dipo nnw 'ac' 'ic'^ nx 1375
onDn n*B^« p^^k nn^ jn:i dhk *di*?« b n« np^i p*?Dy rh\i^ r\v^
1^ noyc^ Dv ^no^K ma nx onoiA D^riKoi "h^ ^h\^r\^ d^d^h 1380
^ nino^ K^ *^ imxr on^ 'dki '^n d^hhd onS in: 3kidi poy
^ nts^i Km n^nn nw po nn« jiniK^ tvDC' hd^dh lan: id^b^
Dr >nD^K 'tb^ nuD mn • '^^'n ma «"n : DDori tnn nsn wdd
TO^ n33B^ DB'D • 'wi ninntD nync' ntn ^^ no3 pb^ oy^n idkb'
nn mn k't : nyoc': in^-'en wnnc^ ns mnon rhvrv\ mnD^ i385
pBi6 inK D^K^ ':b^ i^yni idiphk oy nna ^nnDc^ dv ^no-'K
nn mn k't : d^t db6 h^td^ om^ nn«i loimx db6 naron
•Q31 minn nw D^^p (I37ft) kSb' in^niy p onv p rn« ^o^n *nD^K
: ^\ah2 rr\\T\ Dinn miyn iiv '3K^ • mina ipoyn^ k^jt '^^ hv
Kin Dn^i^a npiSno ^ddk' ^^mi omo ^d^3 • ^nD*« • nn mn K'^n 1890
pn K31 nnr ^ p^ipno D^B^mSo on^o^n ni«D n^oen Kin omo
Dn^D^nni iry^K n^yi uini nmo ^k' rnw min^n u p^ysi P'idd p
K-mDp nnjnni loniiK ^b'^k in^e^ nyc' nniK ni^i^o nv3D iDnni loy
DnnD^nni iry^K n^yi • nDinn vnB^ u^mr\ ^d pkddd vni D^cm^ hv
nniK by • D^i^n npibno n^Bi nye^ nniK K"nnDp ^k^3K b wni loy 1395
n^b^KH nBiyb ik nvb i^ ^dii nn mn noK nye^
[The notes to the foregoing Midrash will be given in a
subsequent number of this Review.]
S. SCHECHTER.
L 2
Digitized by
Google
164 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
CRITICAL NOTICES;
Reeords and RqfleetionSy selected from her writiDgs daring half s
century (April 3rd, 1840, to April 3rd, 1890), by Lady Simon.
[Wertheimer, Lea and Co., London.]
Matthbw Arnold, writing of Heine, refers much of the poet's
inspiration and genins to the inner promptings of the two great spirits
under whose inflnenoe he came^the spirit of Greece, and the spirit
of Judasa. "Both these spirits,'* he goes on to say, "reach the
infinite, which is the true goal of all poetry and all art — the Greek
spirit by beauty, ih£ Hebrew spirit by sublimity" *
It is precisely this sublimity of the Hebrew spirit which is so finely
illustrated in the work before us. Those of us who haVe taken note
of the emotion which the mere contemplation of the Deity, stirred in
the ancient Jewish mind, those of us who are familiar with the
Hebraistic passion for the Monotheistic conception as exemplified in
the prophetical writings, the Psalms, or the Book of Job, we who
have observed that intense spiritual craving for the simplification of
all moral and religious truth, which — doctrinal or philosophical con-
siderations apart — dominates the writings of the greatest Jewish
reformers, from St. Paul to Spinoza, we, I repeat, can bear witness
to the admirable justness of Matthew Arnold's criticism.
The elements of this sublimity are more easily assumed than
analysed. It is a gift peculiar to Judaism. Milton alone, among the
Gentiles, can be said to have caught the spirit of it, and its possession
largely constituted his greatness. This sublimity of spirit defies all
attempts at definition ; it is something rarer and finer than enthusiasm,
though, perhaps, falling short of actual, conscious worship.
It has nothing in common with that condition, either of mad
religious frenzy or of sensuous visionary ecstasy, which has been
frequently associated with weak, ignorant credulity and debased
forms of religious superstition.
The materialistic tendencies of modem thought and the application
of critical methods have done so much to stifi^ this impassioned out-
> Essays in Criticism. The italics here and elsewhere are my own.
Digitized by
Google
Critical Notices. 165
poaring of the soul to God, that the possession of individual testimony
as to the workings of the Divine within us becomes more and more
precious in proportion to its rarity.
Regarded from this point of view, Lady Simon's Records and
Reflections afford invaluable evidence as to the vitality of this
religious spirit among the Jews of the present day. From cover to
cover the work is characterised by one uplifted accent of religious
exhortation and spiritual harmony. It exhibits a soul elevated above
the things of this world, contending upon those spiritual heights to
which its divine aspirations enable it to soar.
These Reflections are of particular value and interest to the
thoughtful reader as illustrating the unbroken continuity of the
Hebraistic idea of God, which to^ay is apparently at one with that
of the noblest Old Testament inspiration.
The Jewish conception of God is the outcome of the sublimity
of the Hebrew spirit. Aspiration was, and is, characteristic of the
Jewish mind. The Jew looked away from himself, outwards, upwards;
never like the surrounding nations, downwards. From the very
beginning of things, the Hebrew mind was dissatisfied with itself.
Not content to be alone, it first conceived the notion that man was
made for the knowledge of something outside and above him, but
which he himself possessed in smaller measure. Examining the
character of his own aspirations, and believing himself to be made in
the image of the G^ he was seeking, he deduced the nature of the
Deity from the infinite yearnings of his own spirit. He longed, with
a desire he could not adequately express, for communion with that
higher power of intelligence to which he felt his own spiritual nature
to be akin. It was just because he realised his affinity with and
relations to the Divine, that the Jew rejected all notion of an abstract
Deity, as also of one who needed to be propitiated and dreaded. He
utterly repudiated the idea of God a^ an Abstraction, an Ethical
Principle, an Element, or a First Cause ; his soul yearned after a
living personal Deity, the spiritual Father, whose son he felt himself
to be : — " My soul thirsteth for Ood, Jor the lioing Ood " (Psalm
xlii.2).
To the Hebrew, €k>d was the infinite expansion of his own finite
intelligence, the answer to his craving for sympathy, love and guid-
ance ; his spiritual Father, not far off, but very nigh to him ; the
Friend that sticketh closer than a brother. The Hebrew mind be-
came saturated with the idea of the nearness and omnipresence of an
Almighty Father, so that daily, hourly communion with this God of
infinite love and tenderness became, and is still, the Jewish ideal of
worship.
Digitized by
Google
166 The Jewish Quarterly Eevtew.
Thus a complete absence of all mental semlity, a complete exclu-
sion of all slavish dread, was a marked characteristic of the Hebrais-
tic mental and spiritnal attitude. The pious Hebrew ** walked with
God/* conversed with him as with a most intimate and loving
friend.
It is an error to attribute — as many do — the doctrines of human
dignity to the teaching of Christ alone. Certainly Christ and his
followers taught it, but then Christ himself was bom a Jew, and as
such had learnt it from his youth upwards.
The Eighth Psalm exquisitely embodies the Hebrew estimate of
man's dignity : *' Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels^
and hast crowned him with glory and honour.*'
It is in his subtle delineation of Adam's Hebraistic attitude that
Milton's genius becomes so apparent : Adam walks and converses with
God in the garden, and entertains the Archangel Raphael as little
more than an equal.
It was Abraham's proudest title to be called ^ the friend of Qod."
This elevated view of man's relations to the Divine ennobled the
Hebrew mind, and gave it that self-respect and dignity which has
never ceased to distinguish it.
It is just such a noble, enlightened Deism as this which is set forth
in the pages now before us.
There is scarcely a line, certainly not a page, which does not testify
to the joy and privilege of daily, hourly communion with God, the
*' Father of the spirits of all flesh *' (p. 2), as well as to the abiding
sense of God's presence (p. 73). The author of these E^cttons
refers to the conviction of God's nearness to us as *' the most purify-
ing influence possible to man '* (p. 37). God is a refuge in distress, a
very present help in trouble. Not even the bitterest domestic
bereavements can shake this faith in the infinite love of God. It
is this implicit reliance upon God's wisdom and goodness which
sustains her in hours of most severe affliction. This conception of
God and of his love for man is, we read, the " basis of Judaism."
The mission of Israel, as defined by Lady Simon, is to propagate
those true ideas about God which alone can stimulate men to righte-
ousness ; and she expresses it as her innate conviction that many of
the miseries of human life, as well as *^ all the cruelties and all the
persecutions that darken history, are the resolt of ignorance concern-
ing God " (p. 70).
By walking with God the Israelite lives in the light of his coun-
tenance, and is influenced by God's love, mercy, peace, and righteous-
ness. The Jewish law of life is summed up in the twice-quoted
precept of the prophet Micah : " What doth the Lord require of
Digitized by
Google
Critical Notices. 167
thee bat to do justly, and to loye mercy, and to walk hambly with
thy God ? ' (Micah vi. 8.)
It will be observed how, in the Jewish religion, the greatest stress
is laid, not npon belief, but upon righteous acts, which, after all, are
bat the outcome of a noble faith. Thus, the Jewish religion is
essentially a practical one ; the life, not the creed, is emphasized.
This passive bearing of witness is, I take it, one of the distinguish-
ing features of Judaism, past and present. The Jews were rarely an
actiTely proselytizing nation. They are perhaps the only example in
history of an eminently religious community, which, whether in or
out of power, was characterised by a general absence of religious
fanaticism of the kind referred to. They never regarded it seriously
as their mission to compel others, either by force or argument, to
share their beliefs.
Their interpretation of the mission of Israel is far other, and
can have no other source than that of Divine inspiration ; it is to live
the life of God, to convince by example rather than by precept.
This duty of bearing witness to the truth is scattered throaghout the
Old and New Testament, and was the prophetical and apostolic, as,
centuries of persecution past, it has at length become the Christian
ideal.
Inasmuch as Lady Simon's R^flectioTis were not originally set down
with any idea of publication, the fact that the book is not put forth
as a contribution to the controversial literature of the day seems
to me to enhance its value as a factor in that mission of Judaism
which its author has so much at heart.
The Jews hold a position which is unique in history.
Deism is the civilised world's most ancient, as it seems likely to
be its latest, religion.
The intellectual world has as it were — racial traditions of course apart
— come back to Judaism. This goes far to prove, if, in the face of
such evidence as the Mosaic theocracy, or St. Paul's missionary
system, proof were needed, that the Hebrew mind has a genius
for religion, and for its most sublime expression.
I cannot close this notice without referring to an objection which,
from a pitiful and mistaken sense of loyalty, is often weakly urged
against Jewish writings, that, elevated as is their tone of thought,
there is no mention of Christ in their pages.
But from the Jewish standpoint this silence is perfectly logical,
and argues nothing either as to appreciation or non- appreciation of
the Christian ideal, any more than the very rare reference made to
ICartin Luther in modem Protestant writings argues any depreciation
of that great refonner's work in effecting the breach with Rome. I
Digitized by
Google
168 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
am not aware that in the above pages from which I have quoted
any allusion is made to the prophet Elijah, and jet I am convinced
that his name is one of the peculiar boasts of Judaism. Things are
sometimes too generally admitted to require especial reference, and
so it is with the Jewish appreciation of Christ. From the Deistic
standpoint, leaders of thought among the Jews have long since done
ample justice to the beauty of Christ's teaching and character.
The question of his divinity is another matter which need not be
entered upon here.
Did space permit, I should have liked to enlarge upon the many
pointjs of general interest, which a perusal of Lady Simon's book
suggests. The character of the work is such that it cannot fail to
attract a wide circle of readers : one will prize it as a treasury of
scriptural quotation ; another, perhaps, will read it for the references
to eminent personages of the day which it contains ; a third for the
charm of the author's style ; a select company among us will delight
in the pure and rarefied spiritual atmosphere which we seem to
breathe in its pages ; but its noble toleration, its tender, gentle
humanity must touch us all.
Alice Law.
Die Oesekiehte des judisehen VoUtes und seiner Litteratur^ ubersieht'
lick dargestelli von Dr. S. Baeck. Kaufmann, Frankfort on the
Main, 1894.
Thb fact of a book like Dr. Baeck's Oesekiehte appearing in a
second edition is sufficient evidence of its importance. Tet it may
not be superfluous to point out its merits to a public which has not
too many opportunities of instructing itself in the history of its
ancestors ; for the English edition of Graetz*8 comprehensive work
is, apart from its being somewhat far from perfection, too voluminous
and expensive to become popular. This aim is much better attained
by Dr. Baeck's book, which, in a single volume, gives an excellent
sketch of the whole of the Jewish history and literature from the
Babylonian exile down to the present age. A particularly pleasing
feature in the new edition is the literary appendix, which contains
translations from the principal works of Jewish writers, beginning
with the Greek period. The selection, although not complete, is
sufficient, the translations are clear and carefully made. Entirely, but
unjustly, omitted, is the modem pulpit literature, which is closely
Digitized by
Google
Critical Notices. 169
ooDnected with the history of the emancipation of the Jews. The
essential part of Znnz's Gottesdienstliche Vprtrdge is nothing hut the
early history of the sermon, and its last chapter treats of the
later development of pulpit oratory. On the other hand, it would
have been wise to leave contemporaries entirely unmentioned ;
for, to give only one reason, it is but natural that those persons with
whom tiie author is at aU personally acquainted, are made prominent,
whilst others of equal merit are not spoken of at all. History has
only to deal with what is past.
I should like to call attention to a few slight inaccuracies. The
introduction of the square alphabet into Hebrew writings was not so
■imple a proceeding as Dr. Baeck seems to imagine. It was not a
spontaneous reform, but a development which took centuries. The
remark on the invention of the vowel signs is likewise inaccurate.
The so-called Babylonian ones are, without exception, superlinear. It
is by no means so certain that this system is older than the Tiberian,
nor has it been entirely supplanted by the latter, as it appears in
Temenian MSS. of quite recent date. It is altogether injudicious to
speak of these and other unestablished facts with so much certitude,
or to connect names with them.
Among more modem events the representation of the Damascus affair
requires some rectification. The author should not have omitted the
name of the late Dr. L. Loewe, whose merit it was— as we leam from
Sir Moses Montefiore's 2>uirte5 (vol. i., p. 252) — to have discovered the
use of the term pardon (afoo) instead of acquittal (itldk vetervihh) in
the FirmSn for the release of the captives. It was due to his
exertions that the terms were altered accordingly. For pardoning is
only the condoning of a crime committed or believed to be committed-
It should not remain unmentioned that the book is capitally got up,
for which the enterprising publisher deserves great credit. I think
I may advocate the translation of the book into English.
H. H.
Note by the Author of *<The Ideal in Judaism."
Bt the courtesy of the editors I am enabled to offer a few observa-
tions in reply to the Bev. Harold Anson's valuable notice of my
▼olume of sermons which appeared in the July number of this
Review.
It is not usual for an author to appeal against the judgment of
VOL. vn. M
Digitized by
Google
170 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
a critio ; and if I depart from the practice in this instance it is ia
order to save, not mjself, but Jewish opinion and teaching from
misconception. Each indiridual Jew, however obscure, becomes
exalted hj outsiders into a type, and there is some danger of my
doctrine, as it is set forth by my reviewer, being taken to represent
the doctrine of my people. I purposely frame the last sentence in
this way, because, despite the genera) fairness and even kindliness of
his observations, Mr. Anson has not quite accurately represented some
of my views.
He thinks, for example, that I have treated '' contemptuously '^ the
religious observances of the Old Testament, meaning by ^ religions
observances " the Mosaic sacrificial rite, and he quotes in his support
my statement that the modem conception of the Divine Being will
not permit us to think that He can find delight in animal sacrifices^
a statement made in the teeth of the many positive injunctions to
offer sacrifice which are contained in the Pentateuch. But if I am
guilty of contemptuous conduct in this respect, I err in the best of aU
good company— in the company of the Hebrew Prophets and Psalm-
ists, who declared unequivocally that the Supreme Being has no
delight in sacrifices, and that the sacrifice He has chosen is a contrite
spirit. It is strange to find a Christian, who is bound by the noblest
and the most characteristic traditions of his religion to insist upon
^* inwardness,*' taking a Jew to task for his lack of sympathy with
" the effete ceremonial of a semi-civilised world."
My reviewer, moreover, is disappointed at the absence of any reference
in " The Ideal '' to the truth that God still demands sacrifice, though
sacrifice of a **more costly, because personal*' kind. He has evidently
forgotten my citation from the Boraitha of B. Meir, to which he
himself had already alluded with approval : " This is the way of the
religious life ; thou shalt eat thy morsel of bread with salt, and
dnnk water by measure, sleep on the earth, and live a life of sorrow."
The quotation is introduced into the sermon entitled *^ The Suffer-
ing Messiah," which from first to last is an appeal for this *^ personal "
sacrifice which God so dearly loves.
Mr. Anson is surprised that I mention the Founder of Christianity
so seldom, and thinks that the terms in which I speak of him are " not
very laudatory." There are two allusions to Jesus in my book, and if
they are so few, it is because the subjects dealt with did not call
for more numerous references. The passages in question ooonron
pages 9 and 33 respectively. In the former Jesus is described as
** that central figure whose sufferings and charm of character move
our neighbours to alternate sympathy and emulation '* ; in the
latter his '^ winning character " is acknowledged. These, I venture
Digitized by
Google
Critical Notices. 171
to sabmit, can hardly be called anajrmpathetio allasions. As to the
fairness of my description of Christianity — how far it is essentially
a dogmatic system, and whether it is possible for a Christian to deny
the Terbal accuracy of the (Gospels, and yet preserve unimpeached his
character for orthodoxy — this raises a vexed question which obviously
cannot be discussed in a note. But since I am charged with being
" not OTcr-sympathetic '' towards Christianity, I may appropriately
call attention to my designation of the Christian Watch-Night
Service as " an impressive ceremony " (page 62), and to my allusion
to the open door of the City Church, " with its silent invitation to
busy men," which I call " inexpressibly beautiful." (Page 117.)
Far more serious is Mr. Anson's opinion that Judaism, as I expound
it, has no place for the conception of an immanent, urging, loving
God. This is a familiar objection on the lips of our Christian
brethren, and is all the more inexplicable seeing that the Hebrew
Scriptures, which are equally accessible to Christians and Jews, are
tor ever crying out against it. I hope, in an early number of this
Bejiew, to show how groundless this objection is, by expounding in
detail Jewish doctrine on the question at issue. Meanwhile, as regards
my treatment of the subject in '* The Ideal," I would submit that
Mr. Anson has scarcely given to the book, as a whole, that attentive
consideration which might have been expected from so conscientious
a reviewer. Many of the sermons, I would urge, aim at the satisfac-
tion of that " very real need " which, in his opinion, my book has ** left
ansnpplied.'* The sermon on ** The Rainbow," in particular, dwells
almost exclusively upon the love of God for His earthly children, and
upon the revelation of His goodness which is to be discerned in human
character. " There is no life so gloomy," to quote a brief passage
from that discourse, " but some rays of comfort shall steal in to illumine
it ; and though a whole city- full of rebellion and sin separate God
from men as with a thick cloud, yet shall that barrier be pierced again
and again by the sweet tokens of His mercy. .... And truly it is
man's mercy to man that is the most eloquent witness of the Divine
love. Every pang assuaged by human agency, every soothing, encou-
raging word that is spoken to still the complaining, to strengthen the
despairing spirit, every deed of true charity, every grasp of a friend's
hand, every ray of light that falls upon our life from the soul
of our beloved, is a manifestation of God's mercy. Those virtues of
men and women by the exercise of which they bless one another, are
as truly God's angels as are the tranquillity and the strength that
will sometimes mysteriously find their way into our disquieted hearts,
coming we know not whence." And then, if I may be permitted one
more extract, there is the sermon, entitled, *'The Penitential Season,"
Digitized by
Google
172 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
which, like the season that suggested it, would be utterly unmean-
ing, did not Judaism number among its essential constituents the
belief in €k>d's infinite love, which is freely extended to the contrite
•inner : — "Tear after year this season returns, with its call to repent-
ance, eloquent of a love, a pity, a sympathetic recognition of human
needs that is Divine. * Return, ye erring children,* it cries, in the
name of the Most High ; * I will heal your waywardness. Let not
your self-reproaches keep you back. My love is all-powerful ; it will
receive you, it will comfort you. If you suffer because of the thought
of your disobedience, you shall suffer no more.' Wise, indeed, are
they who heed the sublime message, who, touched by its very mer-
cifulness, hasten to lay the homage of their contrition before the
Throne of Grace ; who read, and judge, and reform their lives under
the tranquil influences of these days ; who discern their God in the
still small voice of His loving appeal, and wait not till He is revealed
by the mighty tempest of His rebuke.'' And the sermon ends with a
prayer, breathing precisely the same spirit.
MoRKis Joseph.
CORRECTION TO PAGE 707.
Professor Bacher, who saw the MS. during his short visit to the
Bodleian Library, read L 11, jxp-© ni [npiV]; 1. 17, [|K in]; 1. 18,
n^V^yO [t5KD!?K] TOKIK^)!); ibidem, the word «mW ought to
follow the word «ni*V (1. 19) ; L 19, [«nna^ 1]D. Dr. Harkavy ia
abo of opinion that the Arabic fragment (ff. 705 to 707) is by f Dll
(Haf s^ ben Tatsliah ; it is certainly not by Samuel ben Hofni.
A. N.
Digitized by
Google
Mr. DAVID NUTT'S
LIST OF ANKODNCEMENTS AND PUBLICATIONS.
IN PREPARATION.
In the Series FAIRY TALES of the BRITISH EMPIRE, bj JOSEPH
JACOBS and J. D. BATTEN.
KOBE CELTIC FA.IBT TALES. Comprising 20 Tales, 8 Fnll-Page
ninstratioos, 40 Vignettes, and 20 Initials, 68. Beady October 20th.
** Copies have also been stmck off on Japanese Vellnm with double state
of Plates, at £1, lis. 6d. The majoritj of these are already taken np, and
immediate application is essential to secure copies.
By Same Editor and Illustrator.
EXaUSH FAIRY TALES.— CELTIC FAIRY TALES.— INDIAN FAIRY
TALES.— MORE ENGLISH FAIRY TALES. Each 6s.
In the Series CHILI)REN*S SINGING GAMES, by AUCE BERTHA
GOMME and WINIFRED SMITH.
CHILBEEirS SINGINa GAMES, SECOND SERIES. Comprising
Eight Games, Full-Page Illustrations, and DecoratiTe and Musical Pages.
With accompanying Descriptions for Playing the Games, and Notes.
Oblong 4 to., 3s. 6d. Ready November.
*^* Large-Paper copies will be struck off on Japanese Vellum or Kelms*
oott Pai>er as desired by subscribers. Orders must reach the Publisher be-
fore October 10th. A few copies remain of the Large-Paper issue of the
First Series : Eelmscott Paper at 21s. net. ; Japanese Vellum at 28s. net
THE ST0EY07 ALEXANDER. Retold for English children by
ROBT. STEELE. With Illustrations by Fred. Mason. Comprising
Oover and Title-Page Designs, 6 Full-Page Plates, and 22 Vignettes and
Tailpieces. Small 4to., 226 pages, 7s. 6d. Ready October 20th.
*^* Fifty copies have be^i pulled on the finest Dutch Hand-made Paper in
4to. at 28s. net. Immediate application is necessary to secure these.
THE AJCBEB WITCH. A Romance of the Sixteenth Century. Trans-
lated from the German of MEINHOLD by Lady DUFF GORDON, and
Edited, with Critical Introduction, by JOSEPH JACOBS. With Full.
Page Illustrations by Philip Bume-Jones. Crown 8\ro., upwards of 300
pages, printed by Constable, 7s. 6d. Ready November.
%* Twenty copies have been pulled on Japanese rellum with double state
of Plates, at £1. lis. 6d. net.
L. E&REEA.— The JEWS of RUSSIA. Translated by BELLA
LOW)f. Demy 8vo., upwards of 250 pages, Map, cloth, 3s. 6d. Beady.
*,* The most exhaustiye and authoritatiT« aocoimt of the recent persecu^
tion.
LECTURES on DARWINISM. By the late ARTHUR MILNES
MARSHALL, Lecturer in Biolo^ at Queen's College, Manchester.
Edited by 0. F. MARSHALL, M.D. Medium 8yo., fully illustrated,
oloth. Ready Norember*
[TUaX OYSB.
Digitized by
Google
LIST OF ANNOUNGEMENTS AND PU6UCATI0NS
(Continued.)
NOW READY.
At all Booksellers' and Libraries.
THE LEaEND of PEBSEITS. A Stndj of Tradition in Story,
CnBtom, and Belief. By B. SIDNEY HARTLAND, F.S.A, Author of
"The Science of Fairy Tale," &o. Vol. I, The SUPBRNATUBAL
BIBTH. Crown 8vo. pp. xxxiv-228, Ts. 6d.
•»♦ Vol. IL of the "Grimm Library," the First Volume of which,
*' Georgian Folk-Tales," Translated by Marjory Wardrop, published in May
last, sells at 5s. net.
STUDIES in BIBLICAL AEGHAOLOaY. By JOSEPH JACOBS.
Crown 8to., 172 pages, cloth, 3$. 6d.
•^* Beprinted, with additions and reyision, from the Arehaologieal
Review and other specialist periodicals. These "Studies,", which have
excited considerable interest among scholars, are now made accessible to the
wider circle of all students of the Old Testament.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS.
By G. S. STREET, Author of " Autobiography of a Boy."
MINIATUEE8 and UOOBa Crown Svo., cloth, 38. 6d.
By GEOBGE MOORE, Author of " Esther Waters."
nCPEESSIONS and OPINIONS. Crown Syc, cloth, 6s. net.
By Mrs. FRED. PRIDEAUX
BASIL thA ICONOCLAST. A Drama of Modem Russia. 6s. net.
By CANON H. D. RAWNSLEY.
IDYLLS and LTEICS of the NILE. Crown 8to., doth, 8s. 6d.
By P. W. JOYCE, Author of " Irish Names of Places,"
OLD CELTIC EOMANCES. Cheap Edition. Crown 8vo., cloth, Ss. 6d.
By the hite A. MILNES MARSHALL, Professor of Zoology in
Owens College.
BIOLOGICAL LECTTJEES and ADDRESSES. Crown 8yo., cloth, 6s.
By WILLIAM ERNEST HENLEY, late Editor of the National Observer.
A BOOK of VEBSES. Fourth Edition. 16mo., 6s. net
LONDON VOLDNTAEIES. Second Edition. 16mo., 6s. net.
VIEWS AND BE VIEWS. Second Edition. 16mo., 6s. net.
•^* The aboTC three Works beautifully printed by Constable on Hand-
made Paper, and bound in ribbed cloth, gilt top.
WKBTBEIMKB, LBA AND OO^ CUIOVS FhACE, LUNDOM WALL.
Digitized by
Google
BDITBD Br
I. ABRAHAMS AND C. G. MONTEFIORE.
Vot. Vn. JANUARY, 1895. No. 26.
CONTENTS.
PAGB.
JAMES BABMESTETER AND HIS STUDIES IK ZEND
lilTERATUBE. By Prof. F. Max MClleb 178
SOME ASPECTS OF BABBINIC THEOLOGY. III. By S.
SCHBOHTBB 196
ON THE APOCALYPSE OF MOSES. By F. C. Conybeabb ... 216
THE EXPULSION OF THE JEWS FBOM ENGLAND IN 1290.
n. By B. Lionel Abbahams 236
BELIEFS, BITES, AND CUSTOMS OF THE JEWS, CON-
NECTED WITH DEATH, BDEIAL, AND MOURNING.
V. ByA.F. Bendeb 259
DOMNINUS, A JEWISH PHILOSOPHER OF ANTIQUITY. By
Dr. S. Ebauss 270
LAZARUS DE VITBEBO^S EPISTLE TO CARDINAL SIRLBTO
CONCERNING THE INTEGRITY OF THE TEXT OF THE
HEBREW BIBLE. By Prof . D. Kaupmann ... 278
A NEW TRANSLATION OF THE BOOK OF JUBILEES: By
Rey. B. H. Chables 297
CRITICAL NOTICES.— Ednard Konig's Introdnction to the Old
Testament. By Prof. Dr. L. Blau. Dr. H. L. Strack's Intro-
duction to the Talmud : By Dr. S. Ebaubs. A. Euenen's
Creaammelte Abhandlungen zur Biblischen Wissensohaft, Aub
dem Holl&idischen iibersetzt : By G. A. Cooke. Maimonides*
Arabic Commentary on the Miabnah ; Bar Ratner's Intro-
duction to the Chronicle called Seder Olam Bahba ; Dr.
M. Rosenmann's Studien zum Buche Tobit ; Nathanel ibn
Yesh&ya's Light of Shade and Lamp of Wisdom ; Dr. A.
Berliner's GiMchichte der Juden in Rom von der alteeten
Zeit bis zur Gegenwart ; Dr. Harkavy, Remarks of the
Qaraite Abu-Yusuf Yakub al-Qirqisani : By Dr. A. Neubaueb.
Dr. L. Bardowioz's Studien zur Geschichte der Orthographie
des Althebraischen ; L. Qoldschmidt's Das Buoh der Sondp-
fung : By Dr. H. HiBSOHFELD 829
LITERARY GLEANINGS. -XII The Hebrew Bible in Shorthand
Writing : &j Dr. A. Neubaueb 361
THE WORKS OF PERLES. By S. J. Halbebstam 364
271, STRAND, W.C.
riytion, Poit Free^ Ten Shillingi,
Digitized by
Google
SOUTHAIPTON BUILDINGS, CHAHCERT LAKE, LOUDON.
TWO AND A-HALPper CENT. INTEREST allowed on DEPOSITS, repayable on demand.
TWO per GENT, on CURRENT ACCOUNTS, on the minimum monthly helanceii, when
not drawn below £100.
STOCKS, SHARES, and ANNUITIES Purchased and Sold.
SAYINGS DEPARTMENT.
For the enooongement of Thrift the Bank reoeires small rama on deposit, and allows
Interest Monthly, on each completed £1 .
BZRKBBCK BVZIOZira SOOIBTT.
HOW TO PURCHASE A HOUSE FOR TWO GUINEAS PER MONTH.
BZRKBBCRK FBBBBOXA lUkm 80CXBTT.
HOW TO PURCHASE A PLOT OF LAND FOR FIVE SHILLINGS PER MONTH.
THE BIEKBBGK ALMANACK, with f nU particulars, poet free.
FRANCIS RAYENSCROFT, Manager.
DAVID HUTT, 270-71, STRAND.
JUST PUBLISHED.
THE RUSSIAN JEWSs
Emancipation or Extermination?
By L. EBBKBA, Professor at the University of Bmsseli.
With a Prefatory Note by THEODORE MOMMSEN.
Translated by BELLA LOWY.
Editor of Oraetz' ** History of the Jews."
Demy 8to» Z.-208 pp., Map, olotb, oncnt, Sa. 6d.
*^* The Original has been unanimously rect*gnised as the ablest statement of
the Jewish Question in Russia,
** Professor Errera has done good service to the canse of what Professor
Mommsen rightly calls common-sense and humanity by his temperate and
authentic statement of the facts of the case.'* — The Times.
" We trust that this volume will be widely read, for it is a highly impor-
tant contribution to contemporary history." — The Irish Times.
** Professor Errera by no means overdraws the grim picture of the most
recent expulsions. He says that the simple solution of the Jewish question
may be summed up in one word, Emancipation." — The Sunday Times.
" An important pro-Jewish work. It will be remembered that the trans-
lator performed the same office in a very admirable manner for Oraets
♦ History of the Jews.' ''^HocU.
'* The book has been well translated, and is an authority on one of the
saddest scenes in this * Huoian Comedy.' " — Aeademy.
" A sad and sickening story of oppression, * a Heartrending Picture,' and
the * Darkest Blot on our century.' " — Scotsman.
** No better popular sketch of the history of the Jewish question in Russia
has been placed within the reach of English readers. *— Jewish Chronicle.
'* A tremendous indictment on the Jew-baiting policy of M. PobMonosteT,
which was sanctioned by the late Tzar." — Daily Chronicle.
Digitized by
Google
i^tojetcisb ^narttrlj '§mm.
(J
JANUARY, 1898.
JAMES DARMESTETER AND fflS STUDIES IN
ZEND UTERATURK
1849-1894.
The proper biography of a scholar is an autobiography,
•that is to say, a biography written by himself, written in
his own books. The circumstances of his life may concern
his friends, but in most cases they need nob be published,
whether they are meant to gratify the vanity of the
survivors, or the vulgar curiosity of the public at large.
No one could -wish for a better or fuller autobiography in
that sense, than may be found in the published works of
James Darmesteter. They speak for themselves, and they
require a very short commentary only to explain their
origin and their purpose. It is right that we should know
that James Darmesteter had the good fortune of being bom
as the son of poor, but high-minded parents, poor Jews,
who seem to have lived for their children only, and to
have cherished no ambition but to prepare their sons for
a useful and honourable career in life. And in this they
succeeded beyond all expectation. Arsfene, the elder
brother of James, was a rising scholar when he died at a
very early age. The Dictionary of the French Icmguage,
which he prepared and began to publish, will be a lasting
monument of his industry, his leaimp^pr^^lf^^i^|g?g^,^<;ity.
VOr- VII. N y^
oogle
174 The Jewish Quarterly Bevietc.
The younger brother, James, had secured to himself a
foremost place in the brilliant ranks of French scholarship,
when he likewise died comparatively early, at the age of
forty-nine. One more feature has to be mentioned to ex-
plain the spirit in which James Darmesteter devoted his
life with unflagging energy to his special studies. He was
deformed, and his frail body was to him a constant
reminder of the uncertainty of life. It was likewise a
very valid excuse for him for declining to waste his precious
hours in performing the so-called duties of society. He
rather shrank from society, and even among his friends he
often seemed impatient to return to his quiet study, and to
his oldest and dearest friends, his books. Later in life, and
more particularly after his marriage, this retiring dis-
position may have yielded to a sense of what he owed to
his wife and to his friends. Still he always remained self-
contained, aloof from the world, and truly at home
in his own world only, the world of ancient thought, as
preserved and revealed to us in the Sacred Books of the
East. I did not know James Darmesteter in his younger
days. But I began to hear of him from our common
friends in Paris, and I was able to take his true measure
when he sent me his first important publication, Haurvatdt
et Ameretdty Essai sur la Mythohgie de FAvesta, 1875, and
his Orniazd et Ahriman, leur origines et leur histoire, 1877.
In these treatises he gave proof, not only of his mastery of
Zend, the sacred language of the Avesta, but likewise of a
critical knowledge of comparative philology and compara-
tive mythology. As a specimen of what he could do as a
classical and comparative scholar, he published about the
same time in the Hecueil des Travaux originatix et traduits
relatifs d la Philologie et d FHistoire Litt^raire, an essay
written in Latin, " De Conjugatione Latini Verbi Dare.'*
What struck me in all these writings was a mind that could
not brook anything obscure or nebulous, a mind that did
not rest till it had discovered the rational beginnings of
mythological and linguistic formations, however irrational
Digitized by
Google
Jame^ Darmesteter. 175
and xmintelligible in their later appearance, a mind that
could grasp a large array of facts, put them in order €uid
present them in language both clear and bold.
When therefore I had to look out for a scholar to
undertake the arduous task of translating the Avesta for
the Sacred Books of the East, I fixed at once on James
Darmesteter as most likely to fall in with my own views,
that is to give a translation of these difficult documents
such as could be given at the time, taking account of all
that had been done before him, avoiding as much as
possible all controversy, and adding only such notes as
were required to enable students, ignorant of Zend, to
understand the fragmentary remains of the ancient faith
of Media and Persia. I was pleased to find that the young
scholar was willing to accept my proposal, and the almost
unanimous expression of opinion on the value of his labours,
as published in vol. iv. (1880), and in vol. xxiii. (1883)
of my Sacred Books of the Bast, has proved that my choice
had been right. I was disappointed, however, when my
excellent coUaboratcur declined to undertake the translation
of the Tasna and the YispSrad, not feeling himself, as he
declared, quite prepared as yet for that work. He felt con-
vinced, he said, that these chiefly h'turgical treatises required
for their proper interpretation an ocular knowledge of the
sacrifices as still performed by the Mobeds of Bombay. As I
could not well leave the gap unfilled, I followed the advice
of Darmesteter himself, €uid €U5cepted the ofler of the Rev.
Dr. Mills, who had been working for years at the Tasna,
and whose translation of Yasna, Visperad, Af rlnagjLn, G&hs
and Miscellaneous Fragments, published in 1887, successfully
completed the traDslation of the Avesta which I had promised
in the Sacred Books of the Bast, In Darmesteter's decision
to postpone his own translation of the Yasna, we can see the
same caution and the same impartiality which distinguish
all his work. It is well known that there are two schools of
Zend scholarship, which, to judge from the severe criticisms
which they pass on each other, seem irreconcilable with
N 2
Digitized by
Google
176 The Jewish Quarterly Beview.
regard to the method that should be followed in the inter-
pretation of the Avesta. One school, chiefly represented
by Haug, Benfey, Roth and others, see the true key to the
meaning of the Avesta in the Veda and comparative
philology ; the other school, led by Spiegel and his pupils,
consider the tradition, as handed down in Pahlavi and
Farsi literature, and in the customs and opinions of living
Mobeds, the safest guide of the student of the Zoroastrian
religion. "We may take it for granted that much is to be
said in support of either view, considering the eminence
of the scholars who have taken a leading part in these dis-
cussions. The first successful attempts at a scientific analysis
of the Zend language came from comparative philologists
and Sanskrit students, such as Bopp, Lassen, "Windisch-
mann and others, and after the publication of the
Veda, Vedic scholars, such &s Benfey and Roth followed
in their track. They certainly brought out wonderful
coincidences between the language, the mythology and
the religion of the Vedic poets and the Avestic law-givers.
Burnouf, however, himself the author of some brilliant
discoveries as to the common fund of words and thoughts
in the Veda and the Avesta, was nevertheless one of the first
who pointed out that the tradition handed down from at
least Sa^ssanian times, should not be neglected by European
scholars. Much as he criticised Anquetirs translation,
which was entirely based on tradition, and on tradition
often misunderstood, he availed himself of it whenever
he could do so with the good conscience of a scholar. Dar-
mesteter, following his example, showed the same good
sense in trying to make use of everything that had been
preserved in the traditions of the Mobeds, though always
with the provision that it must not be in conflict with
the principles of critical scholarship. Such was his faith
in the continuity of tradition, particularly with regard to
the ceremonial, that soon after his appointment as Pro/es-
9eur des Langues et Littiratures de VIran at the ColUge
de France in 1885, he accepted a scientific mission from
Digitized by
Google
James Darmesteter. 177
the French Government to India. One of his chief objects
was to witness at Bombay the performance of the Parsi
ceremonial, and though he did not succeed in being ad-
mitted into the Holy of Holies, he saw and heard enough,
with the help of some really learned Parsi priests, to gain
a clear insight into the liturgical framework of the Zoro-
astrian faith. But he gained even more by examining a
number of Zend, Pahlavi, and Parsi MSS. in the possession
of native scholars at Bombay ; he learned Guzerathi, and
was thus enabled to hold converse with native scholars
and also to avail himself of several Guzerathi translations of
Zend texts. He succeeded even in adding some fragments to
what had been published before of the ancient Zend litera*
ture, and he expressed a confident hope that a more syste-
matic search might still bring to light some portions of the
Avesta which existed in the third, and the fourth, possibly
even in the ninth century A.D., but which have vanished
since. After having done all this work at Bombay, Darme-
steter travelled on to Afghanistan, in order to study the
Pushtu language, and he succeeded not only in collecting
a number of Afghan songs (published in Chants Populaires
des Afghans, 1880-90), but likewise in discovering in the
language now spoken at Kabul a distant descendant of
Zend or Pahlavi. This was an important discovery, for it
once more secured to the language of the Afghans its
proper place in the pedigree of the Iranian branch, of which
it had been deprived by Dr. Trumpp, who had tried to
prove that the Afghan dialect was a direct descendant of
Sanskrit, and more closely related to the modern verna-
culars of India than of Persia. It is extraordinary how his
delicate constitution could have stood the wear and tear of
this journey, which, though much easier now than it was
in Anquetil's time, is nevertheless both exciting and
fatiguing, particularly if, as in Darmesteter's case, it was
filled with the uninterrupted work of copying MSS.,
learning new languages, and delivering addresses both
before English and native audiences. Darmesteter had, if
Digitized by
Google
178 The Jewish Qtiarterly Review.
not an iron frame, an iron will, and visible as were often
the signs of his bodily suflFerings, he never would allow
himself to complain. He would never say how tired he
was.
And this combination of a delicacy and cautiousness
almost feminine, with the courage of a lion» seems to form
the distinctive character of the literary work that was to
follow his return from India. We have seen how he shrank
from translating the Tasna and Visp^rad till he had
exhausted all the materials which might prove helpful;
we can see the same prudence and circumspection in every
line of his translation, in every note in which he weighs
the translation of other scholars, and finally decides be-
tween the claims of the Vedic and of the traditional schools
of interpretation. But when he has once surveyed the whole
evidence, he shrinks from no consequences, and few scholars
have given proof of greater scientific courage than he has
done in the Introduction to his French translation of the
Avesta. This translation appeared in the Annates du Music
Ouimet in three volumes 4to. This magnificent collection of
translations of Oriental texts is published in Paris at the
expense of a private gentleman, M. Quimet, a rich mer-
chant, who devotes a large portion of the fortune which he
has made in the East to the furtherance of a better know-
ledge of the literary treasures of the East. In this collection
Darmesteter published his new translation not only of the
Vendidad, the Yashts, and the Khorda-Avesta (vol xxii.,
1892), but likewise of the VispSrad and the Yasna (voL
XXL, 1892), which he had hesitated to translate for my
collection of the Sacred Books of the Bast, The third
volume (xxiv., 1893) contained the translation of Zend
fragments lately discovered, and last, not least, his impor-
tant essay, Recherches sur la Formation de la Litt^ature et
de la Religion des Zoroastrtens. It was in this treatise that
he boldly dethroned the Avesta from its antiquity, ajid
brought it down from 1500 B.C. to the beginning of the
Christian era. Such an act requires what I call scientific
Digitized by
Google
Jame8 Darmesteter, 179
eourage. It is certainly a very common weakness of
scholars, more particularly of Oriental scholars, to wish to
assign as remote a date as possible to the literary works
which they have brought to light. It is the same in China,
in Babylon, in Egypt, in Palestine, and in India.
Dates such as 5000, 3000, 2000, and 1000 B.c. are freely
assigned to inscriptions or to books, though no honest
scholar can suppress misgivings that the scaffolding on
which these dates repose may some day collapse, and be
replaced by a chronology of much humbler proportions. We
are too apt to forget that real chronology is possible with syn-
chronisms only, and that when we once ascend to 2000 to
5000 B.C. there are few synchronisms left. There are no nails
by which we can fasten the parallel dates of China, India, or
Babylon. When there is a certain willingness all seems
plausible enough. The Avesta having at first been assigned
to the age of VishtAspa, the half mythical father of Darius>
was afterwards raised to the age of 1200 or even 1500 B.C.
This was done chiefly on the supposition that the Avesta
was a branch of ancient Vedic poetry, and that therefore it
could not be much later than the Veda. But what the
exact relation of the Avesta to the Veda was has never bs
yet been fully explained, and the very date of the Veda
belongs to those which require what I call a certain amount
of willingness on the part of those who accept them. The
date of 1200 B.c. or 1500 B.C., which I suggested for the
Veda, and the dates of the successive periods of Vedic litera-
ture previous to the rise of Buddhism in India, have formed,
I believe, a useful working hypothesis, but they cannot claim
to be more than that. It is curious, however, that at the
very time when the date of the Avesta has been so much
depressed, that of the Veda should, on the strength of
purely astronomical calculations, have been raised to 3000,
nay even to 5000 B.c. To me, all these dates, I must con-
fess, seem to be as problematical now as when I wrote my
preface to the fourth volume of the Rigveda in 1862, in
which this astronomical chronology was fully discussed.
Digitized by
Google
180 The Jewish Quarterli/ Review.
The ar^ment constructed by Darmesteter in proof of
the recent date of the Avest^ is extremely sagacious, and
yet I cannot say that I am quite convinced by it. In
order to arrive at a mutual understanding, both the
defenders and the opponents of the antiquity of the Avesta
and of other sacred books of the East ought, first of all, to
distinguish very carefully between the date of a book, in
the form in which we possess it, and the date of the original
composition of its component parts. I still hold, in spite of
all assertions to the contrary, that the existence of books,
in our sense of the word, can nowhere be traced beyond
about 600-700 b.c. A book, as we understood the term, pre-
supposes the existence of an alphabet, abundance of writing
materials, paper, reeds and ink, and most of all, the presence
of a reading public. Alphabets, consisting of consonants
and vowels, existed, as is well known, at a much earlier
time ; but it is a long cry from alphabets used in inscrip-
tions and even in treaties and other official documents, to
books in alphabetic writing intended to be read by an
educated public. If we call Babylonian cylinders or
Egyptian hieratic papyri, books — and there is no harm in
doing this — the age of books would have to be put back
very considerably, possibly to the reign of Yfio, in the
twenty-fourth century B.C. But if we retain its destination
for a reading public as an essential feature of a book, I
doubt whether we can prove the existence of such a thing
in any part of the world previous to 600-700 B.c. But
if that is so, it by no means follows that the earlier centuries
were entirely illiterate. On the contrary, the more we
become acquainted with ancient literature the clearer does
it become that there was everywhere a period of oral
literature, composed and handed down by memory only.
It is difficult for us to realise this, because our memory has
become something totally different from what it was in
ancient times, when writing and reading were unknown,
nay, from what it still is in countries such as India, where,
though there exist MSS., the Veda can properly be learnt
Digitized by
Google
James Darmeateter. 181
from the mouth of a tecwjher only. That people may know
the whole of the Veda by heart is a simple fact that can
easily be verified by anybody inclined to doubt it. while
the accuracy of oral tradition, as superior even to that of
MSS., is equally attested in India at the present day. The
possibility of composing long poems without paper, pen and
ink, forms generally the greatest diflSculty. It is absurd,
we have been told again and again, to suppose that
Homer could have composed the Iliad and the Odyssey
without paper, pen, and ink. But on this point also
we have now indisputable evidence to the contrary.
The Kalevala may not be as great a poem as the
Iliad, but it is certainly as large a poem, and it
was within the memory of man that Lonnrot and others
wrote it down for the first time from the mouth of the
people, many of whom could neither read nor write,
whether in Finnish or in Swedish. It must, therefore, have
been composed by the aid of memory alone. I mention this
in order to show that if Darmesteter had proved that the
Avesta was not written down before the Arsacide or
Sassanicm rulers of Persia, he would not have proved
thereby that it did not exist as oral literature at a much
earlier time. His aorguments against the early date of a
written Avesta are so strong that it will be difficult alto-
gether to upset them. To begin with, we have no MSS.
of the Avesta before the thirteenth century A-D., nor is it
likely that more ancient Zend MSS. will ever be discovered.
There are, no doubt, the Pahlavi translations, which belong
to the fourth century, and were still in existence at the
time when the Dinkart was written, say 900 A-D. {Sacred
Books oj the East, Vol. V., p. Ixiv.) But what is that
compared with the Sarssanian and the AchsBmenian periods,
with the date assigned to Vishtdspa and Darius^ to say
nothing of the earlier dates ranging from 1200 to 1500 B.C.!
Taking his stand on the Dinkart as translated for the
first time by West in the Sacred Books of the Bast, Vol.
XXXVII., Darmesteter has made it clear that there is
Digitized by
Google
182 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
trustworthy evidence of at least three anterior collections
of the Avesta. The account given of the first composition
can hardly claim to be called historical, except in so far as it
records a belief current at the time. We read that the
twenty-one Nasks of the Avesta were the work of Ahura
Mazda, and that they were formed from the twenty-one
words of the Ahura Vairya prayer. These twenty-one
Nasks were supposed to have been presented by 5iOroaster
to King VtshtSsp, who ordered two copies to be made, one
to be deposited in the treasury of Shd;pig&n, the other in the
National Library.
Approaching historical times, the Dinkart goes on to
state that the copy in the National Library was burnt by
Alexander's soldiers, while the other was carried off by the
Greeks to be translated into their own language. This
occurrence is more or less confirmed by Greek writers.
We enter on really historical ground when we are told that
one of the Parthian kings of Persia — Valkhash — was the
first to order the fragments of the Avesta to be collected.
This Valkhash has, with great plausibility, been identified
by Darmesteter with Vologeses I., the contemporary of
Nero, 37-68 a.d.
The next collector was the founder of the new Sassanian
dynasty of Persia, Ardashir (211-241 A.D.). His chief
assistant in the restoration of the old national religion
was Tansar. A famous letter of his, translated from the
original Pahlavi into Arabic by Ibn al Moqaffa, the well-
known translator of Kalila va Dimnah (about 850 A.D.), and
from Arabic into Persian by Muhammed bin ul Hassan
(1210 A.D.), has lately been discovered by Darmesteter cuid
published in the Journal Asiatique,
Next came Ardashir's son Sh&hp<ihr, who reigned from
241 to 272. He made great efforts to collect all that could
still be recovered of ancient Avestic literature, not only in
Persia, but, as we are told, in India and Greece also. He
took particular interest in philosophical and scientific
writings, such as were once comprised in the Avesta. Lastly,
Digitized by
Google
James Darmesteter, 183
Sh&hp{dir n., the son of Auhrmazd (309-379), convoked a
kind of ecclesiastical council in order to put an end to the
division of religion into various sects. The orthodox party
was represented by Adarbad, the son of Mahraspand, and an
attempt was made to put an end to all forms of dissent,
and, at the same time, to close the sacred canon.
Darmesteter argues very correctly that, accepting these
statements as historical, there would have been every oppor-
tunity for adding portions to the Avesta as late as the time
of the council under Sh&hp{ihr II., that is to say, about as
late as the Council of Nicsea. He meets the objection
that Zend was at that time a dead language by the state-
ment that, though dead, Zend was still studied and
written at that time. The spoken and official language
during the Sassanian period was Pahlavi, as preserved in
contemporary inscriptions, and in translations of the
Avesta ; but the S€U3red language, he thinks, continued to
be understood by the priests. If that was so, it was of
course possible that religious and philosophical ideas pre-
vailing in neighbouring countries, whether India, Palestine,
or Egypt, should have found their way into the Avesta.
And here Darmesteter inverts, and at the same time
strengthens, his argument by pointing out in the Avesta,
even in that small portion which has come down to us,
ideas which, as he thinks, could only have reached Persia
either from a Jewish, from a Greek, or from an Indian
source.
It is difficult to do full justice to the sagacity with
which Darmesteter has searched for traces of these three
influences, particularly if one does not oneself consider
them BA quite conclusive. Still, even without being con-
vinced, one cannot help admiring the learned pleading of
the great Zend scholar.
The fact that deva^ or daeva, the name for gods in Sans-
krit, is used in Zend as the name of evil spirits, was
formerly explained as the result of a religious schism that
took place at a very early time among Vedic Aryas, and
Digitized by
Google
184 I%e Jewish Quarterly Review.
led to the establishment of the Masdayasnian faith in
opposition to the ancient Polytheism of the Vedic wor-
shippers. Darmesteter, on the contrary, would have us
believe that the name deva was borrowed at a much later
time to designate the false gods of India and of other
neighbouring nations, and was then transferred to all the
evil spirits of the Zoroastrian mythology. But shall we
suppose that such names as Indra, Saurva, and Naunghaithya
(in Sanskrit, Indra, iSarva, and N^satya) existed in Zend as
names of evil spirits, but that they were not called by the
general name of daevas till a much later time, when the
Masdayasnians had learnt this name as that of the idols
of their Indian neighbours ?
Darmesteter takes Buiti^ the name of a daeva, or evil
spirit in the Avesta, who was to have killed Zarathushtra,
as another name borrowed from India after the rise of
Buddhism in that country. The name occurs once as
Buidhi, which he identifies with the Sanskrit, Bodhi Dar-
mesteter would wish us to believe that the composer of
the Nineteenth Fargard of the Vendid&d, where this name
occurs, had been brought in contact with Indian Bud-
dhism, and that, though he regarded it as a hostile religion,
he yet borrowed from it the account of the temptation of
Zarathushtra by Angra Mainyu, in imitation of Buddha's
temptation by M&ra.
As this argument is hardly strong enough by itself,
Darmesteter has tried to support it by the fewjt that in one
of the Yashts Oaotema occurs represented as an impostor.
Oautama is certainly one of the many names of Buddha,
but as Gautama was the name of a large family in India,
why should not Oaotema have been a common name in
Persia also ?
That Buddhism had reached Persia at the time of
Ardashir (211-241 A.D.), 8uid even earlier, may well be
admitted, but that a contact of Zoroetstrianism with Bud-
dhism should have left no traces beyond those two names
of Buiti and Oaotema, and that they ^ould have become
Digitized by
Google
JameB Darmesteter. 185
the names of the adversaries of the half -mythical Zara-
thushtra, is more diflGicult to believe.
So much for the supposed Indian influences. The
Jewish influence on the Avesta is admitted by Darmes-
teter himself to be less perceptible; but he points out
traces of it in the general character of the Pentateuch and
the Avesta. Both have the same object, he says, namely,
to write the history of the Creation, and the history of the
race, the Jewish on one side, the Iranian on the other ; to
inculcate the • worship of a supreme deity, Jehovah or
Ahura Mazda, and to teach a moral code, communicated
by them to their prophets, whether Moses or Zara-
thushtra. All these features, however, might be traced in
other religions also, and would scarcely suffice to prove a
borrowing from the Pentateuch on the part of the author,
or authors, of the Avesta. More special coincidences are
the creation of the world in six days in the Pentateuch,
and the creation of the world in six periods in the Avesta.^
The succession of these six periods, however, is different in
the two Bibles. Instead of light, heaven, sea, earth, plants,
stars, animals, and man, we have in the Avesta heaven,
water, earth, plants, animals, and mankind (Bundahish, i. 28)
as the creation of the six periods.
The account of the Deluge also, no doubt, has many points
of similarity ; but likewise some important differences.
It is true that the division of the earth among the three
sons of Noah is more or less closely matched by the
division of the earth among the three sons of ThraStaona
Airya, Sairima, and Tura; but Thra^taona is not Yima,
and it is Yima in the Avesta who corresponds to the
character of Noah in the Pentateuch, and not Thrafitaona.
Again, that Moses was preceded by three patriarchs, Abra-
ham, Isaac, and Jacob, and Zarathushtra by three saints,
Vivanghvat, Athwya, and Trita, is certainly curious, but
hardly sufficient to support a conclusion such as Darme-
steter tries to erect on it.
1 Mentioned in an Jfrin only, and in Yt, 13, 86.
Digitized by
Google
186 ITie Jetpish Quarterly Review,
Admitting that there are certain similarities between
the Pentateuch and the Avesta, it would not follow that
they must be due to a direct exchange of thought between
the Persians and the Jews dispersed in Asia during the
first centuries before and after the Christian era. Several
of the traditions mentioned by Darmesteter as transferred
from Palestine to Persia, are now known to have formed
part of the most ancient Semitic folklore, preserved to us
in the cuneiform inscriptions of Chaldaea. Therefore, if
borrowed at all from a Semitic source, the borrowing
might have taken place very long before the first century
B.C., and no argument could be derived from it as to the
late date of our Avesta.
Far more powerful than his arguments in support of
Indian and Jewish influences reaching the Avesta during
the Parthian period, are, to my mind at least, Darmesteter's
arguments in favour of Greek, and more particularly of
Neo-Platonic thoughts having found admission into the
Avesta about the beginning of the Christian era.
That the Zoroastrians believed in four great periods of the
world, each lasting 3,000 years, is known firom Theopompos,
who may have seen the very MS. of the Avesta which was
carried off by the soldiers of Alexander, and likewise from
the Avesta. According to Theopompos, the Magi believed
that the good and the evil spirits reign at first alternately,
that during the third period they struggle, while during
the fourth the good prevail. The 2iOroa8trians, while
agreeing as to the four periods of 3,000 years each, and as
to the struggle carried on between Ahura Mazda and
Angra Mainyus during the third, begin the fourth period
with the birth of Zoroaster, and end it with the final
destruction of Ahriman and the resurrection to eternal life.
They differ even more essentially from the account given
by Theopompos with regard to the first and second periods.
Thus the Bundahieh (i. 8) declares that in the first period
Ormazd produced a spiritual creation, and that for three
thousand years his creatures remained in a spiritual state,
Digitized by
Google
James Darmeateter, 187
without corruption (amMt&r), without motion, and in-
tangible. It was in the second period only that the world
became material, while Ahriman remained in confusion.
This conception of a spiritual creation preceding the
material creation is so clearly a repetition of the Neo-
Platonic conception of a xoafw^ vot^to^ preceding the Kocfjuy;
oparo^ (in Zend the sti gaithya and the ati mamyava), that
Darmesteter took it confidently as a late importation from
Greece or Alexandria. The objection that it occurs in the
Bundahish, which could not have been written before the
Mohammedan conquest of Persia (a.d. 650), and which for
other reasons has been assigned to a.d. 881,^ he meets by
showing that, though the Bundahish is of recent date, its
materials are probably taken from the Ddmddt, one of the
twenty-one original Nasks, which, to judge from an
analysis of it in the Dinkart, treated of the creation of
the spiritual world and of its change into the material. He
actually quotes from the Pahlavi version of the VendidM
a fragment of the lost Zend original of that work,
in which the question is asked, '* How long did the creation
of the good spirit last V thus leaving no doubt that such
a work existed in Zend, and what the chief subject of that
lost Nask must have been.
All this shows how careful a pleader Darmesteter could
be, and how conscientiously his case was prepared; but
we must remember that the idea of a spiritual, followed by
a material creation, strange as it may sound to some of us,
is not so peculiar in itself that it could have occurred to one
mind only, to that of Plato, and have been handed down in
one school only, that of the Neo-Platonists of Alexandria.
On the contrary, the rudiments of the theory of the Logas
— that is, the Spiritual Creation — proceeding from the
Supreme Spirit, are to be found in places which Greek
influence could not possibly have reached. In a well-known
hymn of the Rigveda, V&fc, or Speech, is represented as hold-
ing the same, or a very similar place, as the Logos in Philo ;
» Sacred Book* of the Ikut^ Vol. V., p. xliii.
Digitized by
Google
188 The Jewish Quarterly Beptetc,
and even among uncivilised races, such as the Elamaths
and other Red Indian tribes, we meet with utterances
which imply the recognition of a spiritual as well as a
material creation, such as "Our Old Father created the
world by thinking and willing."^ If in the Avesta, or
even in the Bundahish, we could point out a single Greek
word such as Logos, we should be as ready to admit Neo-
Platonic influences in the Avesta as in the Fourth Gospel ;
but without such evidence we ought, I think, to leave it an
open question whether the theory of a spiritual and a
material creation was of native growth in Persia, or bor-
rowed from Greek philosophers.
In order to be quite fair, we ought still to
mention what Darmesteter has to say about the
Amshaspands. The Amshaspands, or Amesha Spentas,
the Holy Immortals, cure six in number, and form, as it
were, the staff of Ahura Mazda. They are : —
1. VohU'Mand, ie., Good Mind, the Guardian of flocks
and of man.
2. Asha-Vahista, ie,. Perfect Righteousness, the Guardian
of fire.
3. Khshathra-Vairyay ie., Good Government, the Guardian
of metals.
4. Spentordrmaiti, ie., Holy Piety or Humility, the
Guardian of the earth.
5. Haurmtdt, i.e,, Health, the Guardian of water.
6. Ameretdt, i.e., Immortality, the Guardian of plants.
These six Spirits were known to Plutarch in the first
century A.D., though he may not always have understood
their character quite accurately. He explains Vohu-Mand
as ^609 eifvoia^, Asha-vahista as deo^ aXrjdeia^, Khshathra-
vairya as 0e6^ eifvofila^, Bpenta-drmaiti as ^£09 ao<f>la(;,
Haurvat&t as ^€09 irXotkov, Ameretdt as rh errl T0J9 KoXoi^
1786a.
It is quite dear that these divine beings are not, like
> Gifford Lecturei, VoL IV., p. 383.
Digitized by
Google
James Darmedeter, 189
the oldest Gods in the Avesta, of physical origin. The
question is, Were they abstractions formed by the
Mazdayasnians themselves, or were they borrowed from
Greece ? The names are certainly Persian, and in the case
of Haurvatdt and Anieretdt, Darmesteter has himself in
one of his earliest essays established their Vedic ante-
cedents. He has also shown that all of them began with
abstractions, not intuitions, and that it was by a natural
after-growth that they became personal, and were at last
connected with physical phenomena. Nevertheless, he
now holds that these Amshaspands, and more particularly
the first and most important of them, Vohu-mand, the
Good Mind, represented a thought borrowed from Neo-
Platonism, that he was, in fact, the representative of the
Logos, as taught at Alexandria, as known to Philo, and
as transferred to Palestine by Jews who had been living
in Alexandria. No one could doubt that this doctrine
of the Logos might have been carried from Alexandria to
Persia, just as it might have been to Jerusalem by such
men as Apollos, a Jew mighty in the Scriptures, who wa^
bom at Alexandria, or by the Synagogue of the Alex-
andrians, mentioned in the Acts, or by the author of the
Foui"th Gospel, who, whatever his name, was certainly
no stranger to the doctrines of the Neo-Platonists. The
manner in which this Second Person, or the Good Mind»
is spoken of in the Avestic writings reminds one most
forcibly of expressions used of the Logos by philosophers,
and of the Son by the Christians of Alexandria, such as
St. Clement and Origen. He is called^ the first-born of
all beings, through whom in the beginning Ahura created
the world and the true religion. He is the type of the
human race, and at last the intercessor between Ahura
and man, to obtain forgiveness of sins.
It must be confessed that to a student fresh from Philo
or from Origen, these coincidences sound startling; and
' Darmesteter, III., p. ns.
VJL. VH. O
Digitized by
Google
190 The Jeuoiih Quarterly Review.
yet we must always remember that if the development
of the Logos in the Neo-Platonic sense from the funda-
mental conceptions of Plato and Aristotle, was natural
and intelligible, considering the necessity of having some
kind of connecting link between the transcendent Deity
and the phenomenal world, so would be the parallel
development of the Vohu-Mand, as the instrument through
which Ahura Mazda was able to create and to rule the
world. This may seem a very lame argument, yet, though
I am not satisfied by it, I cannot forget that the whole
system of Angels and Archangels has always been
supposed to have been borrowed by the Jews from the
2iOroa8trian, rather than by the Zoroastrians from the
Jews. And while in the Avestic writings we find not a
single foreign name borrowed from a Jewish source, we
actually find one Zend name at least in the book of Tobit.
One of the evil spirits created by Ahriman to oppose
Ormazd and his six Amshaspands, was Aeshma, and this
Aeshma, under the form of AeshmS daevd, has been proved
by Kohut and Windischmann, to have been the original
of Asmodeus, This shows the direction of a stream of
thought flowing from Persia to Judaea, but not from
Judaea to Persia.
One more difficulty has to be mentioned which prevents
us from accepting Darmesteter's theory of the late and
Neo-Platonic origin of the Amshaspands. "We saw that
there were six Amshaspands, and Darmesteter himself
admits that five of them were later developments of the
original idea embodied in Vohu-Man6. The third of these
Amshaspands is called in the Avesta Khshathra-Vairya,
generally translated by Good Government, but meaning
literally Strong Government This is pure Zend, and
very near to the corresponding Sanskrit words Kshatra
and Vtfya, We have hitherto supposed that this name
was gradually corrupted to Khaahtarvar, ShatrSvar, Shah-
r^var, and ShehrtHr. Fortimately, we can fix the date
of one of these corruptions from coins which were
Digitized by
Google
Janiea Darmesteter. 191
struck by Indo-Scythian rulers such as Kanishka
(about 78 A.D.), and Huvishka (111-129 A.D.). On one
of the coins of Huvishka we read the name Raoreoro
or Baoreoar, which is as exact a rendering of Shah-
rSvar as it was possible to give in the Indo-Scythian
Greek alphabet.^ We are now asked to believe that the
Mazdayasnians knew nothing of their Khnhathra-Vairya
till about the first or second century after Christ, that
is, till about the very time when this Persian Deity was
borrowed by the Indo-Scythian rulers of India, under the
corrupt form of ShahrSvar or Raoreoro. This seems
altogether impossible, while the former theory, that the
old form Khahathra-Vairya became changed to SMhrevar
in the course of centuries and in obedience to the phonetic
laws of Persian, and was adopted in that modern form by
Huvishka, is simple, intelligible, and, as far as I can judge,
indisputable. The ideas, too, which lie imbedded in
Khshathra- Vairpa, must surely have passed through a long
process before they could dwindle down to the meaning
conveyed by Shahrimr,
It may seem hardly fair in an obituary notice to enter
upon a criticism of the opinions of a departed scholar.
Still, as I said at the beginning, the true life of a scholar
is written in his books, and they are of more interest than
the smcdl events which mark the stations of his pilgrimage
on earth. Nor should I wish to be understood as if I
undervalued Darmesteter's arguments in support of a late
date of the Zend Avesta ; all I wish to say is that I am not
convinced, though I feel at the same time that the facts
and arguments he has brought together on his side of the
question, can never again be ignored, and deserve, if they
are to be demolished at all, to be demolished by a better
Zend scholar than I can claim to be. It is to be regretted
that in discussing questions of scholarship, one is always
supposed to be discussing persons rather than things. The
< See Stein, Zoroastriao Deities on Indo-Scythian coins, in Oriental
and Babylonian Record^ August, 1887, p. 161.
O 2
Digitized by
Google
192 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
true scholar, however, cares not about who is right, but
only about what is right. It happens, not unfrequently,
that the man whose views in the end prove to be wrong,
possesses and displays a far greater amount of sound know-
ledge than he who seems almost to divine the truth, and is
able to unravel at once the most confused tangle of facts
and arguments. Darmesteter possessed, certainly, a vast
amount of positive knowledge, nor did he allow this burden
to weigh down his critical ffiiculty or his brilliant combina-
tion. His arguments are always to the point, his work-
manship is always clean and sharp-cut. It seems the very
consciousness of his strength that makes him attempt the
most difficult tasks, which no one before him has ventured
to approach. As I said in another article, his essay on the
modern date of the Avesta, has fallen like a bomb into the
peaceful camp of Zend scholars, and no one has yet
succeeded in quenching it or carrying it away. I am the
last person to undertake this dangerous task, but I could
not, in giving an account of Darmesteter's literary achieve-
ments, suppress altogether the doubts which remain in my
mind after a careful study of his work.
Darmesteter himself avoided, as much as possible, any
literary feuds. He preferred to discuss opinions rather
than men. He would often controvert certain views, and
establish new facts, without once mentioning the names
of those who were responsible for them. Still even he did
not altogether escape from personal conflicts, and his con-
troversy with Dr. de Harlez, now happily forgotten, is
but another instance how two scholars of very high merit
can say most painful things of each other, while all the
time working, and working well, each in his own way,
in the same noble cause, in the conquest of truth. There is
no doubt that Darmesteter's last thesis will continue the
subject of fierce controversy for years to come, but now that
the author of it has been taken away from us, it will no
doubt be carried on with the respect due to the dead, which
is so often denied to the living.
Digitized by
Google
Jamea Darmeateter. 193
My account of the literary labours of Darmesteter, which
I was unexpectedly asked to write, is chiefly confined to
the publications which had brought me in contact with him,
and which were, therefore, quite familiar to me. Even if
at Oxford I had been able to procure some of his other
works, I should not have had time to read them, still less
to judge them. But the following list of his publications,
which I partly owe to the kindness of friends, will give an
idea of his wide interests, and his comprehensive studies.
" Le Mahdi depuis les origines de Tlslam."
" Jemrud et la l^gende de Jemshid" (Joum. Aaiat, 8*
s^rie, torn. viii.).
"Points de contact entre le MahabhArata et le Sh&h-
Nameh " (ibid, t x. p. 6).
" Les inscriptions de Caboul " (ibid. t. xi., p. 491).
" L'apocalypse de Daniel *' {Melanges Reiner, p. 405).
"Souvenirs bouddhistes sur TAfghanistaji " (Joum.
Asiat, 8* s6rie, t. xv., p. 195).
"La grande inscription de Qandahar" (Ibid. t. xv., p.
195).
" Etudes Iraniennes," 2 vols., Paris, 1883.
" Essais orientaux," Paris, 1883.
" Les Prophfetes dlsrael," Paris, 1892.
"L'apocryphe persan de Daniel" ("Bibl. des Hautes
fitudes," fasa 73.)
In the JSevue des etudes Juives.
" Les six feux dans le TeJmud et dans le Bundahish "
(tom. L. p. 186).
"David et Rama " (t. II, p. 300).
" Textes Pahlavis relatifs au Judaisme " (xviiL 1, xix. 41).
" Chants populaires des Afghans, pr6c6d6s d'une introduc-
tion sur la langue, llustoire et la litt^rature des Afghans,"
1890.
This list may give an idea of his indefatigable industry.
Darmesteter had for many years to support himself by his
pen, and he did me the honour at that time to translate
my Hibbert Lectures into French, Origine et DSvehppe-
Digitized by
Google
194 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
ment de la Religion^ Mudes d la lumiire des Religions de
tinde, 1879. His struggle for life must often have been
very severe and very painful, but his laat years were
rendered bright and sunny by the tendemeas of a devoted
friend. Though he had accepted the editorship of a great
French Review, a step which his colleagues and friends
regretted, he did not become unfaithful to his Oriental
studies. To the very last day of his life he worked hard
at a new edition of his translation of the Avesta, for the
Sacred Books of the East. Few only of the works con-
stituting that large series, have as yet had the honour of a
second edition, and it does great credit to the public in
England and abroad that they should have discovered the
exceptional value of the labour garnered in those two
volumes. It will be no easy task to arrange the materials
which he has left for publication, but the first volume is
nearly printed, and the introduction, containing his latest
views on the Avesta, is almost ready for press. Happy as he
was in his birth, he was even happier in his death. After
a cheerful conversation with his wife on some literary plans,
he rested in his chair, while the bright sunlight streamed
down upon him through the window of his library, a part-
ing greeting from Mithra, the friend of light and truth,
whom he had served so faithfully during his life on earth.
He fell asleep unconsciously, and never opened his eyes
again.
F. Max MtJixER.
Digitized by
Google
Sonie Aspects of Rabbinic Theohgy. 195
SOME ASPECTS OF RABBINIC THEOLOGY.
m.
The visible kingdom may be viewed from two aspects,
national and universal. In the following pages I will try
to give the outlines of this idea as they are to be traced
in Rabbinic literature.
*' Before God created the world," we read in the chapters
of R. Eliezer, '' there was none but God and his great name.
' The great name is the tetragrammaton/ " the name expres-
sive of his being, the " I am." All other names, or rather
attributes, such as Lord, Almighty, Judge, Merciful, indica-
tive of his relation to the world and its government, had
naturally no meaning before the world was created. The
act of creation again is a manifestation of God's holy will
and goodness ; but it requires a responsive goodness on the
part of those whom he intends to create. " When the holy
one, blessed be he, consulted the Torah as to the creation
of the world, she answered, * Master of the (future) world,
if there be no host, over whom will the King reign, and if
there be no peoples praising him, where is the glory of the
King V The Lord of the world heard the answer, and it
pleased him." *
To effectuate this object, the angels already in existence
did not suflBce. " When God had created the world," one
of the later Midrashim records, " he produced on the second
day the angels with their natural inclination to do good,
and an absolute inability to commit sin. On the following
days he created the beasts with their exclusively cuoimal
* Ghapter III. The thong^ht of the world, and espeoiaUj man, haying
beam oreated for (Jod's glory, is very common in Jewish literature. Cp.
Perth Kinfan Torah^ at the end ; Tanehuma Bereshit, § 1.
Digitized by
Google
196 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
desires. But he was pleased with neither of these extremes.
If the angels follow ray will, said God, it is only on
account of their impotence to act in the opposite direction.
I shall, therefore, create man who will be a combination of
both angel and . beast, so that he will be able to follow
either the good or the evil inclination."^ His evil deeds
will place him below the level of the brutes, whilst his
noble aspirations will raise him above the angels.
In short, it is not slaves, heaven-bom though they may be,
that can make the kingdom glorious. God wants to reign
over free agents, and it is their obedience which he desires
to obtain. Man becomes thus the centre of creation, for he
is the only object in which the kingship could reveal itself
in full manifestation. Hence it is, as it would seem,
that on the sixth day, after God had finished all his work,
that God became King over the world.'
Adam the first invites the whole creation over which he
is master " to clothe God with majesty and strength," and
to declare him King, and he and all beings join in the song,
" The Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty," which
forms now the substance of the 93rd Psaim.' God can now
rejoice in his world. This is the world inhabited by man,
and when he viewed it, as it appeared before him in all its
innocence ?Lnd beauty, he exclaimed : " My world, 0 that
thou wouldst always look as graceful as thou lookest
now."*
This state of gracefulness did not last long. The free
agent abused his liberty, and sin came into the world, dis-
figuring both man and the scene of his activity. RebellioE
against God was characteristic of the generations thai
follow. Their besetting sin, especially that of the genera-
tion of the Deluge, which had to be wiped out from the
» Quoted in the P"OD, § 58.
' See Roth Hathanah^ 31a, assaming, of course, that the words *]VD'
\Ty7V on the second day came into the text by a clerioal error. Cp. DH
a,l. Ahoth d^R, Nathan, Appendix 76^, and the Mishnah, ed. Lowe, 191a.
s Chapters of B. Eliezer, XI. « Oenetis R,, IX,
Digitized by
Google
Some Aspects of Rabbinic Theology, 197
face of the earth, was that they said : " There is no judge
in the world." ^ They were the reverse of the faithful of
later generations, who proclaimed God s government and
kingship in the world every day.* They maintained that
the world was forsaken by God, and said unto God, " De-
part from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy
ways" (Job xxi. 14).' The name of God was profaned by
transferring it to abominations (or idols), and violence and
vice became the order of the day.* By these sins God was
removed from the world in which he longed to fix his
abode, and the reign of righteousness and justice ceased.
The world was thus thrown into a chaotic state of dark-
ness for twenty generations, from Adam to Abraham, all of
them continuing lo provoke God.* With Abraham the
light returned,* for he was the first who called God
master ^^ITH), a name which declares God to be the Ruler
of the world, and concerned in the actions of men.^
Abraimm was also the first great missionary in the world,
the friend of God, who makes him beloved by his creatures,
and wins souls for him, bidding them, as he bade his
children, to keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness
and judgment.^ It was by this activity that Abraham
brought God again nearer to the world ; • or, as the Rabbis
express it in another passage, which I have already had
occasion to quote : Before Abraham made God known to his
creatures he was only the God or the King of the heavens,
but since Abraham came (and commenced his prosel3rtising
activity) he became also the God and the King of the
earth ;^<^ Jacob is also supposed by the Rabbis to have
' Ahatk d'R. ydthan, 47^ and pozaUela.
< See Midrash Tillvn, B., lib. * See SynhedHn, 108a.
* Meehilta, 67b. See also PseudthJofuUhan, Gen. TV. 26.
^ See Aboth, V. 1, and oommentaries. ' Oenesu B,, III., § 3.
' Beraehfth, 7b. See MK^nD to the passage.
* See Siphre, 73^, and parallels.
* PmUa B.y lb, and Peiihta F., ISb.
*• Siphre, 134*, -where the word iTtD oocnrs.
Digitized by
Google
198 The Jetciah Quartei^ly Review.
taught his children before his death the ways of Grod
whereupon they received the yoke of the kingdom of
heaven.^ Hence the patriarchs (as models and propa-
gators of righteousness) became, as I have mentioned
above, the very throne of God, his kingdom being based
upon mankind's knowledge of him, and their realisation
of his nearness.*
But the throne of God is not secure as long as the re-
cognition of the kingship is only the possession of a few
individuals. At the very time when the patriarch was
teaching righteousness, there were the entire communities
of Sodom and Gomorrah committed to idolatry and the
basest vices,' whilst in the age of Moses Pharaoh said :
" Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice ? "* The
kingship is therefore uncertain until there exists a whole
people " which knows Grod," sanctified unto his name, and
devoted to the proclamation of his unity.* " If my people,"
God says to the angels, ** decline to proclaim me as King
upon earth, my kingdom ceases also in heaven." Hence
Israel says unto God, *' Though thou wast from eternity
the same ere the world wets created, and the same since the
world has been created, yet thy throne was not established
and thou wast not known ; but in the hour when we stood
by the Red Sea, and recited a song before thee, thy king-
dom became firmly established and thy throne was firmly
set." * The establishment of the kingdom is indicated in
the eighteenth verse of the song, where it is said, " The
Lord shfiJl be King for ever and ever." But even more
vital proofs of their readiness to enter into the kingdom
Israel gave on the day of " the glorious meeting " on Mount
Sinai, when they answered in one voice: ''All that the
1 Numbers R., II., § 8. See also Oen. 12., and paraUels.
* See Jewish Quabtebly Review, VI., p. 422.
' Synhedrinj lOSa, and parallels.
« See Maimonidee* M. T. VH K"D DI^V m37n, etc., which Beems to be a
paraphrase of some Midrash.
* See Exod, R, xxiii. * Midrash to Song of Songs MS.
Digitized by
Google
Some Ay>ect8 of Rabbinic Theology, 199
Lord hath said we will do, and be obedient " ^ (Exod.
xxiv. 7). This unconditional surrender to the will of Qod
invested Israel, according to the Rabbis, with a special
beauty and grace.* And by the manifestation of the
knowledge of God through the act of the revelation the
world resumes its native gracefulness, which makes it
again heaven-like, whilst God finds more delight in men
than in angels.'
There is a remarkable passage in the Mechilta, in which
Israel is strongly censured because in the song at the
Red Sea, instead of using the present tense, l!?9 'n, " God is
King,'* they said Tiba> 'n, *' God shall be King " thus defer-
ring the establishment of the kingdom to an indefinite
future.* Israel had accordingly some sort of foreboding of
the evil times to come, a foreboding which was amply
justified by the course of history. Israel soon rebelled
against the kingdom. There was the rebellious act of the
Golden Calf, which took place on the very spot where the
kingdom was proclaimed, and which was followed by
other acts of rebellion against God.* The sons of
Samuel were called Bene Belial — men who threw off the
yoke of God • and denied the kingdom of heaven.^ The
> Petikta B., I7a,
* See Midrash Agadah, ed. B., 171a. Op. tlie Targnm to Song of Songs,
Yu. 7. * See Eoeod, M,, LL, § 8, and parallels.
* See MechUta, 44a, in the name of B. Jose of GkJilee. The text in
the editions is corrupt. In the Midrash Haggadol it runs : — 1170^ 't\
ODD • KU^ nmj;^ TVi xhwh -p^o^ 'n vhtK niD^oi r\xm ona no^K^
nD nx Dn^y 3b^i •^^Da nine 9\}im ixhn nyne did k3 *3 no
-yirm DmiK on in^mi in^jno ikvi ipv ^3K • ae^ on^^y • d^t
HiDi onvtDD nyonc' )fij • Tim apjn nnoB^ t'*'^ P"^* r»T
D^n "pni rwy^i \:hr\ hvctir* oil • t^d^ nyoajy. op. Targum Onkeios
to this verse, who seems to have had the same difficulty as B. Jose, which
Nachmanidee did not apparently appreciate, unless he oyerlooked the
passage from the Mechilta,
* See Numh. J2., VII., § 2. • See Siphre, 93>.
' See Yalhut Samvel^ § 86. The marginal reference to Torath Kohanim
Digitized by
Google
200 The Jemsh Quarterly Review.
division of the ten tribes under Jeroboam was also re-
garded as a rebellion against the kingdom of God. The
Rabbis seem to have had a tradition that the original
reading in 2 Samuel xx. 1 was bsna7> 1>nbrf? a7^M, " Every
man to his gods, O Israel."^ Even the princes of Judah at
a later time " broke the yoke of the Holy One, blessed be
he, and took upon themselves the yoke of the King of
Flesh and Blood." The phrase, "broke" or "removed"
the yoke, is nqt uncommon in Rabbinic literature,
and has a theological meaning. The passage just cited
refers probably to some deification of Roman emperors
by Jewish apostates, and not exactly to a political
revolt.*
Yet, notwithstanding all these relapses, one great end
was achieved, and this was, that there existed a whole
people who did once select God as their King. Over the
people as a whole, as already hinted, God asserts his right
to maintain his kingdom. Thus the Rabbis interpret
Ezekiel xx. 33, " Without your consent and against you
will I (God) be King over you " ; and when the elders of
Israel remonstrate, " We are now among the Gentiles, and
have therefore no reason for not throwing off the yoke of
his kingdom," the Holy One answers, " This shall not come
to pass, for I will send my prophets, who will lead you
back under my wings." ' The right of possession is thus
enforced by an inner process, the prophets being a part of
the people; and so there will always be among them a
remnant which will remain true to their mission of preach-
ing the kingdom. The remnant is naturally small in
(39d) refers only to the first lines of the passage, which Schottgen (1149)
confused. See Koheleth Rahbah, I., § 18.
> The rebellion of the Belial Sheba, the son of Bichri, is only a prelude
to that effected by Jeroboam. See Midrash Shemuel B,, o. 14, § 4, and
notes, and 39a.
« See Aboth d'R. Nathan, c. 20. See, however, Bacher*s Agada der
Tatmaiten, I., 68, note 1, and the reference there to Weiss. Cp. the Beth
Talmud, II. 333-84.
> See Torath Kohanim, 1125. Op. Synhedrin, 105a, and parallels.
Digitized by
Google
Some Aspects of Rabbinic Theology. 201
number, but is sufficient to keep the idea of the kingdom
alive. " God saw," say the Rabbis, " that the righteous
were sparse ; he therefore planted them in (or distributed
them over) all generations, as it is said in 1 Samuel i. 8,
' For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and he has set
the world upon them.'" The pillars, according to the Rab-
binical explanation, are the righteous, who, by the fact of
their being devoted to the Lord, form the foundation of
the spiritual world.^
I will now try to sum up in some clearer way the results
to which the preceding sentences, mostly consisting of
Rabbinical quotations, may lead us. We learn first that
the kingdom of God is in this world. In the next world,
if we understand by it the heavens, or any other sphere
where angels and ethereal souls dwell, there is no object in
the kingdom. The term, " Kingdom of Heaven," must
therefore be taken in the sense in which heaven is equiva-
lent to God, but not locally, as if the kingdom were located
there. The term na? ni3ba in the Prayer-book,^ the
kingdom of the Almighty, may be safely regarded as a
synonym of D'^DB? niDba.
This kingdom again is established on earth by man's
consciousness that God is near to him, whilst nearness of
God to man means the knowledge of God's ways to do
righteousness and judgment, in other words, the sense of
duty and responsibility to the heavenly King who is
concerned in and superintends our actions. "The hill
of the Lord," and '*the tabernacle of God" in the
Pjialms, in which only the workers of righteousness and
the pure-hearted shall abide, are kingdoms of God in
miniature.
The idea of the kingdom is accordingly ethical, not
escliatological, and it was in this sense that the Rabbis
considered the patriarchs and the prophets as the preachers
' rma,386.
* Beginning n^p^ p hv (p. 77 of Rev. S. Singer's Edition).
Digitized by
Google
202 TJie Jemsh Quarterly Memew.
of the kingdom. It is not even identical with the law or
the Torah. Why do we read, ask the Rabbis, first the
Shema (/.«., Deut. vi, 4-9), and afterwards the section Deut.
xi. 13, commencing with the words : " And it shall come to
pa,ss if ye will hearken diligently unto my command-
ments," This is done, say the Rabbis, to the end that we
may receive upon ourselves first the yoke of the kingdom
and afterwards the yoke of the commandments.^ The
law is thus only a necessary consequence of the kingdom,
but it is not identical with it. Another remarkable pas-
sage, in which the kingdom is distinguished from the
Torah, is the following, alluding to Zech. ix. 9 : "'Rejoice
greatly, O daughter of Zion, .... behold thy King is
coming unto thee ' God says to Israel : * Ye righteous
of the world, the words of the Torah are important for
me ; ye were attached to the Torah, but did not hope for
my kingdom. I take an oath that with regard to those
who hope for my kingdom I shall myself bear witness for
their good These are the mourners over Zion who
are humble in spirit, who hear their offence and answer
not, and never claim merit for themselves." Lector Fried-
mann, in his commentary on the Pesikta, perceives in this
very obscure passage the emphatic expression of the im-
portance of the kingdom, which is more universal than
the words of the Torah ; the latter having only the aim of
preparing mankind for the kingdom.* But from another
passage it would seem that Israel could derive the same
lesson from the Torah itself, if they would only read
it rightly. I refer to Siphre in Deut. xxxii. 29, where
we read : " Had Israel looked properly into the words
of the Torah which were revealed to them, no nation
would have ever gained dominion over them. And
> Berachoth^ 13a.
* See Pesikta Rahhathi^ 159a, text and notes (especially note ^3).
There are, however, very grave doubts as to the age and character of aU
these Metsianio Pesiktoth, See Friedmann's interesting note, ihid.^ p. 164a
and &, though he defends their genuineness.
Digitized by
Google
Some Aspects of Rabbinic Theology, 203
wha.t did she (the Torah) say unto them ? Receive
upon yourselves the yoke of the kingdom of my name ;
outweigh each other in the fear of heaven, and let your
conduct be mutual loving-kindness."^ The conditions of
the kingdom are thus, mainly at least, ethical : The fear of
God and the love of one's neighbour. Nor again is the
kingdom of God political. The patriarchs in the mind of
the Rabbis did not figure as worldly princes, but as
teachers of the kingdom. The idea of theocracy in opposi-
tion to any other form of government was quite foreign to
the Rabbis. There is not the slightest hint in the whole
Rabbinic literature that the Rabbis gave any preference to
a hierarchy with an ecclesiastical head who pretends to be
the vice-regent of God, to a secular prince who derives his
authority from the divine right of his dynasty. Every
authority, according to the creed of the Rabbis, was ap-
pointed by heaven ; * but they had also the sad experience
that each in its turn rebelled against heaven. The high
priests, Menelaus and Alcimus, were just as wicked and as
ready to betray their nation and their God as the laymen,
Herod and Archelaus, who owed their throne to Roman
machinations.
If, then, the kingdom of God was thus originally in-
tended to be in the midst of men and for men at large (as
represented by Adam), if its first preachers were like
Abraham ex-heathens, who addressed themselves to
heathens, if again the essence of their preaching was
righteousness and judgment, and if, lastly, the kingdom
does not mean a hierarchy, but any form of government
conducted on the principles of righteousness, judgment,
» Siphre, 138fl. Perhaps we ought to read DnDK' instead of ^DB'. Cp.
also "Wnn, c 28 : " And thus said the holy one, blessed be he, My be-
loved children, do I miss anything which yon could give me 7 I want
nothing from yon but that you love each other, respect each other, and
that no sin or ugly thing be found among you.**
* See Berachothy 58a. With regard to Borne in particular, see Abodah
Digitized by
Google
204 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
and charitableness, then we may safely maintain that the
kingdom of God, as taught by Judaism in one of its aspects,
is universal in its aims.
But, (>n the other hand, it cannot be doubted that
the idea of the kingdom is occasionally so strongly con-
nected with the Israelites as to appear almost inseparable
from them. This is its national aspect. The Israelites, as
we have seen, are the people, who, by their glorious acts on
the Red Sea, and especially by their readiness on Mount
Sinai to receive the yoke of the kingdom, became the very
pillars of the throne, with whom even the angels have to
reckon. To add here another passage of the same nature,
I will quote the saying of R. Simon, who expresses the
idea in very bold language. Speaking of the supports of
the world, and Israel's part in them, he says : '* As long
as Israel is united into one league (that is, making bold
front against any heresy denying the unity or the supre-
macy of God), the kingdom in heaven is maintained by
them; whilst IsraeVs falling off from God shakes the throne
to its very foundation in heaven.^ " Jerusalem, which the
Prophet (Jer. iii. 17) called the throne of the Lord, becomes
identified with it ; and Amalek, who destroyed the holy
city, becomes guilty of rebellion against God and his king-
dom.^ Therefore neither the throne of God nor his holy
name is perfect (that is to say, not fully revealed) as long
as the children of the Amalekites exist in the world.' And
just as Israel are the bearers of the name of God, so the
Amalekites are the representatives of idolatry and every
base thing antagonistic to Gk>d, so that R. Eleazer of
Modyim thinks that the existence of the one necessarily
involves the destruction of the other. " When will the name
of the Amalekites be wiped out ? he exclaims. Not before
both the idols and their worshippers cease to exist, when
God will be alone in the world and his kingdom established
» See Midrash Sfwmuel, V., § 11, and references. Cp. Baoher, II. 140,
rote 1.
2 PfMikta j5., 2%a. * Pfsikta F,, oln, and parallels.
Digitized by
Google
Some Aspects of Rabbinic Theohgy. 205
for ever and ever." ^ These passages, to which many more
of a similar nature might be added, are the more calculated
to turn the kingdom of heaven into a kingdom of Israel,
when we remember that Amalek is only another name for
his ancestor Esau, who is the father of Edom, who is but
a prototype for Rome. With this kingdom, represented
in Jewish literature by the fourth beast of the vision of
Daniel,* Israel according to the Rabbis is at deadly feud, a
feud which began before its ancestors even perceived that
the light of the world is perpetually carried on by their
descendants, and will only be brought to an end with history
itself.' Thf contest over the birthright is indicative of
the struggle for supremacy between Israel and Rome. It
would even seem as if Israel despairs of asserting the
claims of his a.cquired birthright, and concedes this world to
Esau. " * Two worlds there are,' Jacob says unto Esau, ' this
world and the world to come. In this world there is eating
and drinking, but in the next world there are the righteous,
who with crowns on their heads revel in the glory of the
divine presence. Choose as first-bom the world which
pleases thee.' Esau chose this world." * Jacob's promise
to join his brother at Seir meant that meeting in the distant
future, when the Messiah of Israel will appear and the Holy
One will make his kingdom shine forth over Israel, as it is
said (Obadiah i. 21) : " And saviours shall come up on Mount
Zion to judge the mount of Esau ; and the kingdom shall
be the Lord's." ^ Thus the kingdom of heaven stands in
opposition to the kingdom of Rome, and becomes connected
with the kingdom of Israel, and it is in conformity with
this sentiment that a Rabbi, picturing the glorious spring,
in which the budding of Israel's redemption will first be
perceived, exclaims : " The time has arrived when the reign
of the wicked will break down and Israel will be redeemed ;
^ MechiUa, 56a and b, ^ See Lev, i2., XII., and parallels.
» Oeneru R., LXI., §§ 6, 7 and 9.
« Quoted from a Midrash in a Parma MS. Cp. XIX., T21"n
^ (?CTten# iZ., LXXVUI., and paraUels.
VOL. vn. P
Digitized by
Google
206 The Jewish Quarterly Remew.
the time is come for the extermination of the kinpjdom ot
wickedness ; the time is come for revelation of the kingdom
of heaven, and the voice of the Messiah is heard in
our land." ^
This is only a specimen of dozens of interpretations of
the same nature, round which a whole world of myths and
legend grew up, in which the chiliastic element, with all
its excesses, was strongly emphasised. I cannot enter
here into the details of those legends. They fluctuate
and change with the great historical events and the
varying influences by which they were suggested.* But
there are also fixed elements in them which are to be
found in the Rabbinic literature of almost every age and
date. These fixed elements are : —
1. The faith that the Messiah will restore the Kingdom
of Israel, which under his sceptre will extend over the
whole world. 2. The notion that a last terrible battle will
take place with the enemies of God (or of Isra,el), who will
strive against the establishment of the kingdom, and who
will finally be destroyed. 3. The conviction that it will
be an age of both material as well as spiritual happiness
for all those who are included in the kingdom.'
Now even Christianity, in which the Messianic element
is so predominant, and in which, according to the best
authorities, the chiliastic element is so early " that it may
be questioned whether it ought not to be regarded as a
Christian dogma," dispensed with it as early as the fourth
' See Peiihta jB., 50fl, and PeHkta Jl, 75a, text and notes.
' Principal Drummond's book, The Jewish Messiah, is still the best
work on the subject. A thorough re-examination of aU the materials
as to their real Jewish character and their age would be the more desir-
able, as since the appearance of this work many MSS. and Midrashim have
been discovered. See Gfidemann, Monatsschrift^ 1893, p. 351.
3 Whether the Kingdom of the Messiah is identical with the Kingdom
of God, or only a preparation for it, is not quite clear. In one of the
versions of the weU known Midrash of the Ten Kings after the Messiah,
the kingdom comes back to its first master, that is, God, who was the first
King after the creation of the world. See Chapters of R. Eliezer, XL
Digitized by
Google
Some Aspects of Rabbinic Theology, 207
century. Judaism, which has never shown a great ten-
dency to convert folklore into dogma, whilst, on the other
hand, it has felt a strong reluctance to assume authority in
matters falling within the province of prophecy, had
neither the necessity nor the opportunity of disowning
these chiliastic details. When the Church became trium-
phant, and "the profession of the Christian faith wa,s
attended with ease and honour," the doctors of Chris-
tianity could afford to spiritualise or to explain away the
idea of the millennium, from which the early martyrs de-
rived so much comfort and strength. But Judaism had
then to enter on a new and terrible era of persecution and
suffering, which gave a fresh impulse to the creation of
new Messianic apocalypses or to the spinning out of the
old onea
The process of spiritualisation, as it was partly under-
taken by Maimonides, and others, had therefore to be
postponed to a later period. The theological consequences
of this delay were that, in the meantime, the two ideas of
the Kingdom of Heaven, over which God reigns, and the
Kingdom of Israel, in which the Messiah holds the sceptre,
became confused with each other.
But this delay was not quite an unmixed evil. To a
certain extent I even feel grateful for it. The worst that
can be said of this confusion is, that it has both narrowed,
and to some extent even materialised, the notion of the
kingdom. On the other hand, however, it also contributed
towards investing it with that amount of substance and
reality which are most necessary, if an idea is not to
become meaningless and lifeless. It is just this danger to
which ideas are exposed in the process of their spiritualisa-
tion. That " the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life,"
is a truth of which Judaism, which did depart very often
from the letter, was as conscious as any other religion.
Zei-achya ben Shealtiel, in his Commentary to Job ii. 14,^
* Pablished in the ^^ l^^pH, a collection of commentaries to Job.
P 2
Digitized by
Google
208 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
goes even as far as to say, '' Should I explain this chapter
according to its letter I should be a heretic, because I
would have to make such concessions to Satan's powers
which are inconsistent with the belief in the Unity. 'I
shall therefore interpret it according to the spirit of
philosophy." But, unfortunately, there is also an evil
spirit which sometimes possesses itself of an idea and
reduces it to a mere phantasm. The history of theology
is greatly haunted by these unclean spirits. The best
guard against them is to provide the idea with some
definiteness and reality before we permit ourselves to look
out for the spirit.
This was the service rendered by the connection of the
Kingdom of Israel with the Kingdom of Grod. In the first
plaice, it fixed the kingdom in this world. It had of course
to be deferred to some indefinite period, but still its locale
remained our globe, not unknown regions in another
world. It was extended from the individual to a whole
nation, thus making the idea of the kingdom visible and
tangible. The whole nation, with all its institutions, civil
and ecclesiastical, becomes part and parcel of the Kingdom
of God.
By this fsict, it is true, the Kingdom of God becomes
greatly nationalised. But even in this nairowed sense,
Israel is only the depository of the kingdom, not the ex-
clusive possessor of it. The idea of the kingdom is the
palladium of the nation. According to some, it is the
secret which has come down to them from the patriarchs;^
according to others, the holy mystery of the angels over-
heard by Moses, which Israel continually proclaims.* It
has to be emphasised in every prayer and benediction,*
whilst the main distinction of the most solemn prayers of
the year on the New Year's Day consists in a detailed
proclamation of the Kingdom of God in all stages of
See SiphrCf 72 J, and the very instmotiye notes by the editor.
« Deut, B.y n. » See Berachoth, 12a.
Digitized by
Google
Some Aspects of Rabbinic Theohgy, 209
history, past, present, and future. " Before we appeal to
his mercy," teach the Kabbis, "and before we pray for
redemption, we must first make him King over us." ^
We must also remember that Israel is not a nation in the
common sense of the word. To the Rabbis, at least, it is
not a nation by virtue of race or of certain peculiar poli-
tical combinations. As R Saadyah expressed it, 'O'^mDIM '^^
n'»nmra D« "^D lin'mi rD3>« ("This nation is only a
nation by reason of its Torah"); * and if we could imagine
for a moment Israel giving up its allegiance to God, the
Rabbis would be the first to sign its death-warrant as a
nation. The prophecy (Isaiah xliv. 5), "Another shall
subscribe with his hands unto the Lord," means, according
to the Rabbis, the sinners who return unto him from their
evil ways, whilst the words, " And surname himself by the
name of Israel," are explained to be proselytes who leave
the heathen world and join Israel* It is then by these
means of penitence and proselytism that the Kingdom of
Heaven, even in its connection with Israel, expands into
the universal kingdom to which sinners and Gentiles are
invited.
The antagonism between the Kingdom of God and the
kingdom of Rome, which is brought about by the connec-
tion of the former with that of Israel, suggests also a most
important truth : Bad Oovetmnient is incompatibk with the
Kingdom of Ood. As I have already said, it is not the form
of the Roman Government to which objection was taken,
but its methods of administration and its oppressive rule.
It is true that they tried " to render unto Caesar the things
that were Caesar's and unto God the things that were
God's." Thus they interpreted the words in Ecclesiastes
vii. 2 : "I counsel thee, keep the king's commandments and
that in regard of the oath of God," in the following way :
"I take an oath from you, not to rebel against the (Roman)
' See Siphre, 19&, and Roth Ilashanah, 16a.
« nijrni nWION, III. ' MechUta, rob, and paraUels.
Digitized by
Google
210 The Jetciah Quarterly Bevietv.
Government, even if its decrees against you should be most
oppressive; for you have to keep the kings commands.
But if you are bidden to deny God and give up the
Torah, then obey no more." And they proceed to iUus-
trate it by the example of Hananiah, Mishael, and
Azariah, who axe made to say to Nebuchadnezzar : " Thou
art our king in matters concerning duties and taxes, but in
things divine thy authority ceases, and therefore * we will
not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which
thou hast put up.'"* But compromises forced upon them
by the political circumstances of the time must not be re-
garded as desirable ideals or real doctrine. Apart from
the question as to the exact definition of things falling
within the respective provinces of Caesar and of God — a
question which, after eighteen hundred yeai^' discussion, is
still unsettled — there can be little doubt that the Rabbis
looked with dismay upon a government which derived its
authority from the deification of might, whereof the
emperor was the incarnate principle. '* Edom recognises no
superior authority, saying, "Whom have I in heaven."^ It
represents the iron (we would say blood and iron), a metal
which was excluded from the tabernacle, as the abode of
the divine pea<;e,* whilst their king of flesh and blood,
whom they flatter in their ovations as being mighty, wise,
powerful, merciful, jast, and faithful, has not a single one
of all these virtues, and is even the very reverse of what
they imply."*
But besides these theological differences the Rabbis
held the Roman Government to be thoroughly corrupt in
its administration ; Esau preaches justice and practises
violence. Their judges commit the very crimes for which
they condemn others. They pretend to punish crime, but
are reconciled to it by bribery. Their motives are selfish.
> See Tanchuma HJ, § 10, and Lev, i2., XXXIIL
« Lev. R., Xin.
» See Exod. J2., XXXV. 7. * MeehUta, 35tf.
Digitized by
Google
Some Aspects of Rabbinic Theology, 211
never drawing men near to them, except in their own
interest and for their own advantage. As soon as they see
a man in a state of prosperity, they devise means how to
possess themselves of his goods. In a word, Esau is
rapacious and violent, especially the procurators sent out to
the provinces, where they rob and murder, and when they
return to Rome pretend to feed the poor with the money
they have collected.^ Such a government was, according
to the Rabbis, incompatible with the Kingdom of Heaven,
and therefore the mission of Israel was to destroy it.^
The third essential addition made to the Kingdom of
God by its connection with the Kingdom of Israel is, as I
have said, the feature of material happiness. The Rabbis
pictured it in gorgeous colours : The rivers will flow with
wine and honey, the trees will grow bread and delicacies,
whilst in certain districts springs will break forth which
will prove cures for all sorts of diseases. Altogether,
disease and suffering will cease, and those who come into
the kingdom with bodily defects, such as blindness, deaf-
ness, and other blemishes, will be healed. Men will
multiply in a way not at all agreeable to the laws of
political economy, and will enjoy a very long life, if they
will die at alL War will, of course, disappear, and warriors
will look upon their weapons as a reproach and an offence.
Even the rapacious beasts will lose their powers of doing
injury, and will become peaceful and harmless.' Such are
> See Lev. R,, ibid. ; Abath, II. 3 ; Uxod. R., XXXI. ; Pesikta B., 95 J. In-
teresting is a passage in Mommsen's History of Homey IV., which shows
that the Babbis did not greMj exaggerate the cruelty of the Roman
Government. ''Any one who desires/* says our greatest historian of Rome,
" to fathom the depths to which men can sink in the criminal infliction,
and in the no less criminal endurance of an inconceivable injustice, may
gather together from the criminal records of this period the wrongs which
Roman gfrandees could perpetrate, and Greeks, Syrians, and Phoenicians
could suffer." Cp. Joel's Blicke^ I., 109. How far matters improved
under the emx>erors, at least with regard to the Jews, is still a question.
2 Beraehoth, 11 a. See D"l, a.l.
' See, for instance, Kethuboth^ Ilia; Shabbotk, 6Sa; Gen. i2., XII.;
Exod. R., XIL
Digitized by
Google
212 The Jetoish Quarterly Review.
the details in which the Rabbis indulge in their descrip-
tions of the blissful times to come. I need not dwell upon
them. There is much in them which is distasteful and
childLjh. Still, when we look at the underlying idea,' we
shall find that this idea is not without its truth. The
Kingdom of God is inconsistent with a state of social
misery, engendered through poverty and want. Not that
Judaism looked upon poverty, as some author has sug-
gested, as a moral vice. Nothing can be a greater mistake.
The Rabbis were themselves mostly recruited from the
artisan and labouring classes, and of some we know that
they lived in the greatest want. Certain Rabbis have
even maintained that there is no quality becoming Israel
more than poverty, for it is a means of spiritual purifica-
tion.^ Still, they did not hide from themselves the terrible
fact that abject poverty has its great demoralising dangera
It is one of the three things which makes man transgress
the law of his Maker.^
But even if poverty would not have this effect, it would
be excluded from the Kingdom of Heaven, as involving pain
and suffering. The poor man, they hold, is dead as an in-
fluence, and his whole life, depending upon his fellows, is a
perpetual passing through the tortures of helL* But it is
a graceful world which Gtod has created, and it must not
be disfigured by misery and suffering. It must return to
its perfect state when the visible kingdom is established.
As we shall see in a future essay, Judaism was not wanting
in theories, idealising suffering and trying to reconcile man
with its existence. But, on the other hand, it did not
recognise a chasm between flesh and spirit, the material
and the spiritual world, so as to abandon the one for the
sake of the other. They are both the creatures of God, the
body as well as the soul, and hence both the objects of
his salvation.
Chagi^a^ 9b. • Erubin, ilb,
' Xedarim^ 7ft, and Berachoth^ 6&.
Digitized by
Google
Some Aspects of Rabbinic Theology, 213
In a remarkable book, containing the conversations of a
Jewish Mystic of the present century, R. Nachman of
Braslaw, there a question is put by one of his disciples to
this effect : " Why did God, in whom everything originates,
create the quality of scepticism ? " The Master's answer was :
" That thou mayest not let the poor starve, putting them
off with the joys of the next world, instead of supplying
them with food."
I too venture to maintain with the mystic that a good
dose of materialism is necessary for relijsrion that we may
not starve the world. It was by this that Judaism was
preserved from the mistake of crying inward peace, when
actually there was no peace ; of speaking of inward liberty,
when in truth this spiritual but spurious liberty only served
as a means for persuading man to renounce his liberty
altogether, confining the Kingdom of God to a particular
institution and handing over the world to the devil.
This is not the place to enter into the Charity-system
of the Rabbis, or to enlarge upon the measures taken
by them so as to make charity superfluous. But having
touched upon the subject of poverty, a few general
remarks will not be out of place. In that brilliant Gospel
of the second half of the nineteenth century, which is known
under the title of Ecce Homo, we meet the following state-
ment : " The ideal of the economist, the ideal of the Old
Testament writers, does not appear to be Christ's. He feeds
the poor, but it is not his great object to bring about a state
of things in which the poorest shall be sure of a meal." I
am happy to say that this was included in the ideal of the
Rabbis. They were not satisfied with feeding the poor.
Not only did they make the authorities of every community
responsible for the poor, and would even stigmatise them as
murderers if their negligence should lead to starvation and
death ;^ but their great ideal was not to allow man to be
poor, not to allow him to come down into the depths of
* See Satah, 38&, and Jerttshalmi, ibid., 23(2.
Digitized by
Google
214 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
poverty. They say : " Try to prevent it by teaching him a
trade, or by occupying him in your house as a servant, or
make him work with you as your partner."^ Try all
methods before you permit him to become an object of
charity, which must degrade him, tender as our dealings
with him may be.
Hence their violent protests against any sort of money
speculation which must result in increasing poverty. " Thou
lendest him money on the security of his estate with the
object of joining his field to thine, his house to thine, and
thou flatterest thyself to become the heir of the land ; be
sure of a truth that many houses will be desolate."^ Those
again who increase the price of food by axtificial means,
who give false measure, who lend on usury, and keep back
the com from the market, are classed by the Rabbis with
the blasphemers and hypocrites, and God will never forget
their works.*
To the employers of workmen again they say: "This
poor man ascends the highest scaffoldings, climbs the
highest trees. For what does he expose himself to such
dangers, if not for the purpose of earning his living ? Be
careful, therefore, not to oppress him in his wages, for it
meajis his very life."* On the other hand, they relieved the
workman from reciting certain prayers when they interfered
with his duty to his master. *
From this consideration for the employer and the em-
ployed a whole set of laws emanate which try to regulate
their mutual relations and duties. How far they would
satisfy the modem economist I am unable to say. In
general I should think that, excellent as they may have
* See Torath Kohanim, 109&, and Maimonides' Mithnah Torah, 11 13^1
T"^ 'HI rn v'D D^OJ? ni^no. see also the older oommentaries on Aboth,
I., 5.
* Pesichta of Lament, R., 22, on Is. v. 8.
» See Ahoth d^R. Nathan, 43J ; Baha Bathra, 90a.
* See Siphre, 123 J, and B, Mezia^ 123*, and Berachoth, 16a.
* Berachoth, 17 a.
Digitized by
Google
Some Aspects of Rabbinic Theology, 215
been for their own times, they would not quite answer to
our altered conditions and ever varying problems. But
this need not prevent us from perceiving, in any efforts
to diminish poverty, a divine work to which they also
contributed their share. For if the disappearance of
poverty and suffering is a condition of the Kingdom of
the Messiah, or in other words, of the Kingdom of God,
all wise social legislation in this respect must help towards
its advent.
S. SCHECHTER.
Digitized by
Google
216 The Jeunsh Quarterly Review.
ON THE APOCALYPSE OF MOSES.
It is almost certain that in this Apocalypse we have one
of those Jewish apocryphs which, like the Book of Enoch,
exercised a formative influence upon the earliest Christi-
anity. For two ideas are prominent in it which have been
perpetuated in the younger religion, namely, that of bap-
tism by trine immersion after repentance and forgiveness
of sins, and that of the resurrection in the flesh and
restoration to the Garden of Eden of the descendants of
Adam. The former of these two ideas is conveyed in ch.
xxxvii., the latter in chs. xxviii., xxxvii., xxxix. and xliii.
The following text of the Apocryph is translated from
the ancient Armenian Version, which in turn seems to
have been made not from a Greek, but from a Syriac or
Ethiopic, or even Arabic text. Thus in ch. xxix. the
words "nard" and "cinnamon" are explained respectively
as "phajlaseni" and "daraseni," and these synonyms are
perhaps Arabic terms, though one of them occurs once in
Ethiopic literature, probably €ts a transliteration. The
frequent Syriacisms, however, strongly suggest a Syriac
original. The date of the Armenian Version is not easy to
assign with any precision, the MS. from which I copied
it being as late as the year A.D. 1539. As regards language,
however, it is old, and probably anterior to 1000 A.D. ; it
might even belong to the fifth or sixth century. There is
a peculiar use observable in it of the dative for the
genitive, which is not characteristic of Armenian in any
age, and may, perhaps, reflect the idiom of the language
from which the version was made.
The Greek Text was first published by Tischendorf in
a volume of Apocrypha, under the title of Apocalypse of
Moses, from four MSS., of which the earliest belongs to the
Digitized by
Google
On the Apocalypse of Moses. 217
eleventh century, and is preserved in the library of Milan.
This MS., which only contains the beginning and end of
the piece, has been republished more critically by Ceriani
Tischendorf s other three MSS. are equally fragmentary and
much later. His Text is, therefore, an eclectic one, and com-
prises many readings which never stood together in any one
Text. The Armenian, however, which I here translate, is
both a real Text and an ancient one, as is clear from the
way in which it cuts across the Greek codices, following
now one and now another. It must, therefore, be taken
account of by any one who wishes to get at the Text as it
originally stood. I have printed in italics passages which
are absent from all the Greek codices, and which may
represent either additions due to the Armenian translator
and to his archetype, or lacunae in the Greek tradition.
Where the sense of the Armenian depaxts from all the
Greek codices alike, or agrees with one of them and not
with others, I have often appended a note explanatory of
the same.
There is one remarkable variant in the Armenian. In
ch. xxxvii. we read in it that Adam is thrice immersed in
a sea not made with hands, as if the Greek original were
dxeipOTTolrjrov \lfivqv ; but the Greek MSS. have ax^potMray
XlfMVffy. At first glance the Armenian reading seems the
better one, for it recalls the temple not made with hands
of Mark xiv. 58, and ''the house not made with hands
which is everlasting in the heavens " of Paul's II. Ep. to
Cor. V. 1, and also the irepirofirj dxe^poiroirjrcy; of Ep. to
Col. ii. 11. It is suitable to think of Adam, who has been
caught up into the second heaven, as being baptised in a
sea or laver not made with hands. On the other hand, the
parallels which I have quoted from the Visio PauU make
it very likely that the Greek has here retained the original
reading, and that the Armenian reflects the brilliant emen-
dation of some Greek scribe who could not allow an Acheru-
sian lake to figure in his conception of heaven.
In the Greek MSS. this piece is entitled "The History
Digitized by
Google
218 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
of the life of Adam and Eve, revealed by Gtod to Moses his
servant, when he received the tablets of the Law of the
Covenant from the Lord a hand, instructed by the archangel
Michael." In the Armenian the Apocryph is entitled simply
the " Book of Adam," and at the end of it is written in the
MS., in the lower margin, this scholium : "Ye should know,
brethren, that this history of the first created (7r/>G)T(wrXa-
<rr(ov) was revealed at the command of God by Michael, the
archangel, to the first prophet, Moses. Glory to God."
That this piece of information is relegated in the Armenian
to a scholium, whereas in the Greek MSS. it is embodied in
the title, makes it probable that it is a late addition in
itself, and that the Armenian title, " The Book of Adam,"
is the true one. It also diminishes the force of Tischen-
dorf s argument, based on the Greek title, that this Apo-
cryph is part of a longer history. There is no internal
reason for supposing this to be so, for the Apocryph is,
as it stands, a self-contained whole, needing nothing to
complete it.
There are several other ** books of Adam " in the library
of Etschmiadzin, but all of them of a late and trifling des-
cription: some of them were versifications of this Apocryph.
One of them, contained in an enormous folio for reading in
church, is entitled " A History of the Repentance of Adam
and Eve, the First-created. How they Fared." This be-
gins with a long and tedious lament uttered by Adam on
being expelled from the garden. At the close of it, it is re-
lated that Adam and Eve's bodies were laid by Sem (Shem)
in his portion, in a place now called Shamajtoun, i,e., " the
house of Shem." But afterwards they were moved, and
Eve's was laid in a cave at Bethlehem, wherein Christ was
bom of the Virgin Mary, just over Eve's tomb; while
Adam's was removed to Golgotha, where Jesus was cruci-
fied for our salvation directly over the head of Adam.
This latter treatise is, therefore, a Christianised version of
our Apocryph ; and though I copied the greater portion of
it, I do not think it merits to be published.
Digitized by
Google
On the Apocalypse of Moses, 219
Prof. Marr, of the University of Petersburg, has printed
some portions of the Adam book here translated in an
article on Armenian apocryphs, contained in the Transac-
tions (or Bulletin) of the Eastern Section of the Ruasian
Imperial Archaeological Society, 1890-91, Vols. V., VI., p.
228. I have made my translation from a photographic
copy of the book which I made on the spot. The MS. is
a small quarto, well written in double columns. It contains
many other apocryphs of a similar nature to this one. Prof.
Jajic has lately published an old Slavonic book of Adam,
which I have not had an opportunity of comparing with
the Greek and Armenian. It would no doubt prove a
valuable aid towards the determination of the earliest form
of the Text.
Fred. C. Conybeare.
From the MS. No. 1,631 (198fl-212a) of the library of Etschmiadzin,
written A.D. 1539 :—
(Ch. i.) A history > of the life of Adam and Eva, the first-created,
after their expulsion from the garden of delight.
Adam took his wife Eva and went to a place which was in the
region of the East, full opposite the garden of delight. And there he
dwelt for eighteen years and two months ; and after that Adam
approached his wife Eva, and she conceived and bore two sons, Anlojs*
(i.<?., without light), who is called Gain, and Barekhooh' (i.e., well-
minded), who is called Habel. (Ch. ii.) But subsequently, while Adam
and his wife were sleeping, Eva saw a dream. Then Eva awoke
Adam, and told the dream to Adam, and said as follows : — " My
lord, I saw in a dream by night, that blood of our son Abel was
poured^ into the mouth of Cain, his brother, and he drank the
blood of his brother. But Habel prayed him to leave him a little
of bis blood. But he hearkened not unto him, but instantly drank
' The Greek Codices have not only the title as translated in the Arm.,
but also this previous one : ^4ijyi|<rif Kai iroXirem *AiaiA cai Hwac fiav
TrpuroTrXdffTiav diroKaXvipOtiffa wapd, 9tov Muvay ry 0e(idrrovTt avrov ots
tAq TtXdKos Tov vSftov rrjc SiaOfiKtjg Ik x^'P^C Kvpiov iSi^aro^ SiSaxOtig vvo
rov dpxayykXov Mixa^X.
' Tif ch. has Sid^iaTov. Ceriani, dSid^iaroVf which answers to the Arm.
» The Grk. has 'A/iiXajSlc.
* " Filled." The Grk. has paXXofAtvov it't rb (TTOjia,
Digitized by
Google
220 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
it all ; and there remained no other blood in his stomach, bat he
Yomited it all oat." When Adam heard this he said unto her :-^
<< Arise, and let us go to see our children and learn what hath happened
unto them, lest the enemy be warring against them. (Ch. iii) And
they went and found that Habel had been slain by the hands of his
brother Cain. And God said to the archangel Michael : *' Gk> and say
onto Adam : The mystery of the dream which thou didst see, tell it
not to thy son Cain. For he is a son of destruction.^ And say to
Adam : * But do thou not sorrow, for I will giye to thee another son
in his place, who shall tell unto thee all that thou art about to do.' '*
And all this the archangel Michael by the behest of God said to
Adam. But Adam kept all that was said in his heart. Likewise also
hi9 wife. But Eva continually sorrowed in her soul for their son
HabeL
(Oh. iv.) But after that Adam again approached his wife Era and
she conceived and bore Seth. And Adam said to Eya : ** Lo, we have
begotten a son in place of Habel, whom Cain slew. Let us then arise
and give glory and praise to God." (Ch. v.) And there came to be
sons of Adam in number thirty,* and the length of his life which he
lived on the earth was 930 years. And after that it happened unto
him to fall sick. And Adam called with a loud voice and said : ** Let
there be summoned all my sons together before me, that I may behold
them before I die.'' And they were all gathered together, for they
were living apart each by himself in his own place.* Then said Seth
his son unto Adam : ^' O my father, what is thy sickness and injury ?"
And he made answer and said unto him :
" Woes many and inextricable hem me round, O my child.*' (Ch.
vi.) Seth said unto him : ^' O my father, surely thou art bringing to
mind the delight and the enjoyment of the garden of God, and the
diverse variety of fruits of which thou didst daily eat ? And because
of that sorrow of thine is thy sickness. Should this be so ? O my
sire, tell me, and I will go and bring to thee of the fruit of the garden
of life. For I will go and will place dnst^ on my head, and will
lament hefore it, and will beseech the Lord God; and the Lord
heareth the voice of the prayer of his servant, and sendeth his angels,
and will fulfil my desire ; and I will bring unto thee of the fruit of the
garden of life (to be) thy food, that, tasting of it, thou mayest be made
whole of thy sickness." Adam said unto him : " It cannot be so, my
child Seth, but many sicknesses and woes without escape beset me.*'
' Grk. : hpyiiQ vUq,
« Grk. adds " and daughters thirty.**
* "And they . . . place **]. Grk. has ^v yiip oUtoBiica ^ yn ci'c rpia fdpij,
« In Grk. : "dung.**
Digitized by
Google
On the Apocalypse of Moses, 221
Said Seth unto him : " And how ^ came there to be woes unto thy sick-
nen? Tell me, father mine.*' (Oh. vii.) Adam saith unto him :*' iT^ar
mey my ehM, with patience. When God created me and thy mother
Eva, because of whom I am dying, he also gave me a command to
taste of and enjoy all the fruits of the garden, but of one tree he com-
manded me not to taste thereof. Arid he saith to me : ^ If ye eat erf
the same with death shall ye die'' ; and that time was near when angels
looked to your mother Eva for her to render homage before God. And
when the angels had departed afar from her, then the enemy, under-
standing that I am not near at haml^ nor yet the angels y^ came and
conversed with her^ and gave her of the fruit, and she did eat of it, and
came and gave unto me, and I did eat. (Oh. viii.) And^ then God
was angry with us, and at the same hour he came into the garden ;
and the Lord spake to me with a terrible voice and said : ' Adam,
where art thou ? Why hidest thou thyself from my face ? For a
house cannot be hidden from its builder.' But forasmuch as ye
have transgressed my command and have not kept my edict, so there-
fore will I bring upon thy flesh per<)ecutions and many woes, as it
were seventy in number." And the first of ills which shall smite
thee will be an affliction of the eyes. But the second blow will fall
on thine ears ; and thus, one by one, there shall be woes and strokes
that befall all thy members."* (Ch. ix.) And when Adam had said
all this to his sons, he drew a deep sigh, and said : " What shall I do,
for (in) great sorrow is my soul ? **
But Eva wept bitterly, and said to Adam : " My lord, rise up, and
the half of the woes of thy soul thou shalt give to me, aod I will
bear them. Because on my account did this come upon thee, and
by reason of me wilt thou be in toiL"^ And Adam said unto her :
^ This answers to irwc <roi, read in Tisch. ; iro<roi is read by Ceriani^s
MS. D.
' In place of the words italicised, the Grk. has simply : ^i' ol xal AwoOvri-
OKufiiv, which, however, MS. C omits. Cp. Protevang., c. xiii., p. 25.
' In place of the words italicised, the Grk. has xai tivpiv ahrrjv fiSvov ;
bat adds equivalent words : lyviucMC ^^t o^*^ <<M* €yyt<r^a ttOrrig ovn ol
ayioi dyyiXoi later in the sentence after the clause : *' She did eat of it."
* The Grk. codd., except D, prefix : 5rc dk i<i>dyoiJiiv Afi^ortpot.
^ D omits this clause : " For a house," etc., and adds instead these
words : ^ Did I not tell thee not to eat of the tree ? And I said to the
Lord : The woman, whom thou gavest me, she g^ve me from the tree, and
I did eat. And the Lord said to me."
• Ceriani's MS. D reads, "seventy-two." The rest, "seventy."
' The Grk. MS. D adds : " Through me in the sweat of thy brow thou
eatest thy bread ; through me thou sufferest all things." The other Grk.
codd. omit.
VOL. VII. Q
Digitized by
Google
222 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
J* Do thou arise, and thy son Seth, and do ye go near to the garden
and cast dust upon your heads and lament exceedingly with tears,
and beseech God if he will perhaps have pity on me and send his
angels into the garden of delight, and give unto me of the fruit
from which proceedeth the anointing of pity; ^ and ye shall anoint
my person therewith in order that I may, perhaps, be healed of my
woes/' (Cb. X.) But they arose and went opposite to the garden ;
and when they came into the road,' then Eva looked and beheld her
son Seth, that a wild beast fought with him. And Eva wept bitterly,
and cried : '* Woe to me, woe to me, woe to me I For if it be unto me
to come unto the day of resurrection, all sinners of my progeny will
come to curse me, and will say : [Cursed be Eva^ for] she has not kept
safe the observance of the Lord her God, \and because of this me shall
all die with death'' . And having looked'] she said to the beast : "O evil
beast, art thou not afraid to wage war against the image of God? *'
(Ch. xi.) Then that wild beast called out and said : *' 0 thou woman,
'tis not from us that there was a beginning of greed (TrXcovf^m),' but
from thee. For from thee was the beginning [of the loosing] of wild
beasts. For when thy mouth was opened to eat of the fruit of the
tree, of which God commanded you not to eat of the same, and thou
didst eat and transgress the commandment of God, then our nature
changed into disobedience to men. And now therefore [bandy not
words with tne, but hold thy peace^ for] thou canst not bear it if I
begin to chide thee." (Ch. xii.) But Seth said to the beast : " Shut
thy mouth and be silent, and hold off from the image of God
until the day of judgment.** Then said that wild beast to Seth :
** Behold, I stand aloof from the image of God, and I go
to my dwelliog place.'* (Ch. xiii.)' But Seth and his mother Eva
having got quit of the mild beast^ came nigh to the garden of the Lord^
and they wept and lamented, and prayed the Lord to send his angels
and give unto them the anointing of pity.* And the Lord sent the
archangel Michael and said to Seth : " Man of God, weary not thyself
concerning this quest of thine, about the tree in which flows the oil
of compassion, that thou mayest anoint with it thy father Adam.
For in the present this shall not be ; but going thou shalt behold
thy father end his earthly (or temporal) life. And his time is at
band. For after three days he will pass away (lit. exchange), and
' So Tov iXcovc has dropped out of all the Greek codd. after rh IXoioy
(for which, however, B has iXtog), The sending of Seth for the oil of
pity is also told in the Descensus Christi ad Liferoe {Bvang, Apoeryph,^
p. 308).
' MS. D omits this clause. * The Grk. adds, *' and of wailing.'*
* Ceriani's D has rb IXfoc tov kXaiow,
Digitized by
Google
On the Apocalypse of Moses, 223
thou shalt behold bis translation (lit. change to above), glorious and
terrible."* When the angel of the Lord had said this, he ascended
from them into Heaven, (Ch. xiv.) But Seth and his mother came and
returned' to where Adam was placed and lay in sickness. And Adam
said to Eva : '* 0 Eva, what hast thou done unto me, because thou
hast brought upon me wrath exceeding, which* also shall be inherited
by all the race of my offspring." What answer doth she give and
make to him ? •* Woe unto me, woe unto me, woe unto me, because
I was deceived, obeying the deceitful words of the serpent.** And
when Eva had said this, they began to weep and lament bitterly.
And when they ceased from their lamentation, an awful sorrow
overcame* Adam. But his sons along with Eva sat around the bed
of their father and wept exceedingly. (Ch. xv.) Said to them their
mother Eva : ** Children, so your father dies, and I with him ; and
now, my children, give ear unto me, and I will relate to you the envy
... of the adversary, by what crafty means he robbed us of the
garden of delight and of eternal lifef And she began to say as
follows : ^^God, who loveth man and is meroifuly fashioned me and your
father Adam ; and placed us in the garden of delight, to govern and rule
over all things which grew therein. But from one tree he commanded
us to abstain from the same ; the which Satan beheld, {to wit) our glory
and honour ; and having found the serpent the wisest animal of all
which are on the whole earth, (Ch. xvi.) he approached him and said to
him* : ' I behold thee wiser than all animals, and I desire^ to reveal
' The Greek has : '* Do thou again go to thy father, since the measure of
his life is fulfilled. And as his soul goes forth, thou art about to behold his
ascent Cavodov) all terrible." ' Grk. : '* returned to the tent where."
' The rest of this chapter is much briefer in the Greek, as follows :
*' which is death, dominating all our race. And he saith to her : ' Summon
all our children and our children's children, and inform them of the mode
of our transgression.' "
* The Armenian Text is not quite intelligible here.
* Instead of the passage in italics the Greek Texts read in the follow-
ing sense : " And it happened, as we were guarding the paradise, each of
us kept the portion assigned him by G^. But I guarded in my portion
the south and west. But the devil went into the portion of Adam, where
were the male beasts. For God divided them for us, and apportioned the
males to your father, but the females to me. And each of us watched.
And the devil spake to the serpent and said : Rise up and come to me.
And he arose and went to him. And the devil said to him."
' The Greek Text of Geriani (D) has " And I associate with thee. Why
dost thou eat of the tares of Adam and not of the garden ? Arise, and we
will cause him to be expelled from the garden, as we also were expelled
through him. The serpent said," etc.
Q 2
Digitized by
Google
224 The Jewish Quarterly Bemew,
unto thee the thought which is in my heart and to unite (with)
thee. Thou seest how much worth Qod has bestowed on the
man. But we have been dishonoured ; so hearken unto me and
oome, let us go and drive him out of the garden, out of which
we have been driven because of him.' The serpent saith unto him :
< I fear to do this thing, lest the Lord be wrath with me.' Satan said
to him : ' Fear not concerning this, but do thou only become a vessel
unto me, and I will deceive them by thy mouth in order to ensnare
them.' (Ch. xvii.) And instantly the serpent hung himself from and
lay along the wall of the garden ; and when the angels went forth to do
homage, then Satan having taken the form of an angel, sang the songs
of praise. And I looked and saw him there on the wall in the form of
an angel. And he spake and said to me : ' Art thou Eva ? ' And I
say to him, ' Tes, I may be.' And he saith to me, *• What mayest
thou be doing in yonder garden of thine ? * And I say to him, * Gk>d
placed me here.'* And be saith to me, * And how (is it that) God
commanded thee not to eat of all the trees which are in this garden of
thine ? * And I say to him, ' *Ti6 not so ; but we eat of all, except
of a single tree which is in the middle of the garden, which €k>d
commanded us not to eat of the same ; saying unto us : '* If ye eat
of the same, with death shall ye die." ' (Gh. xviii.) Then saith the
serpent unto me : * As God is alive, my soul hath exceeding sorrow
because of thee,' and I desire not thy ignorance. But take and eat
of yonder fruit ; and then forthwith shalt thou know the honour of
that tree.' And I say unto him, *I fear lest the Lord be wroth
with me, even as he commanded us.' And he saith unto her {8ic\
* Fear not, for when thou shalt eat of the same, thine eyes shall be
opened unto a knowledge of good and evil.' For the Lord knew
that whenever ye shall eat, ye shall become like God to know good
and evil. And being jealous of you because thereof, he forbade you
to eat of the same. And now do thou take and eat of the fruit, and
thou shalt behold the highest glory.' (Gh. xix.) And when I heard
these words spoken by him, I opened the door of the garden and
entered into the garden of delight ; for I was without when the
serpent spake unto me. Bat he went in after me and said to me,
* Gome after me, and I will give to thee of the fruit.' And he began
* The Grk. has : " God placed us here to guard and eat out of it The
devil answered by the month of the serpent : Ye do well, but ye do not
eat of all that grows. And I said : We eat of all, save of one tree only,
which is in the middle of the garden," etc.
> The Grk. adds : '* because ye are as cattle.**
* The Grk. has : '* thine eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods
knowing good and evil."
Digitized by
Google
On the Apocalypse of Moses, 225
to walk before me, and I after him. And when we had gone a little
way, he turned back and said to me craftily : * I will not give thee of
yonder fruit to eat, unless thou swear unto me, that when thou eatest
it, thou wilt give also to thy husband to eat of the same/ And not
understanding his crafty language of deceit, I further say to him, * I
know not how I may swear to thee, but whatsoever I know I will
say. And now then I swear to thee on the throne of the
Lord and on the Cherubin which hear it up and hold it^ and on the
tree of life, that when I shall have eaten, I will give also to my
husband, even as thou tellest me to swear.' When he heard
the oath which I sware unto him, he came instantly and drew
nigh unto the tree, and took and gave to me of the fruit forth-
with ; the offspring of his wickedness,* that is to say of desire.
For desire is the leader in all sin. And he took hold of the
bough of the tree of knowledge, and bent it down to the earth,
and I took and eat of the fruit thereof. (Gh. xz.) And at once
my eyes were opened, and I knew that I was naked of the right-
eousness with which I had dad myself. And I wept bitterly, and I
said unto the serpent : ' Why hast thou done this thing, offspring
of wickedness, and why hast thou deceived me and deprived me of
my glory ? * I also wept much, because of the oath which I had sworn
unto him. But he, when he heard this, at once went down from the
tree and disappeared ! And I sought on my part for leaves in order to
cover my shame, and I found them not. For there rested not upon
my body the leaf of any of the trees* except of the fig-tree only. And
I took thereof and girdled myself and hid the nakedness of my body.
(Gh. xxi.) And I cry out to your father, and say : * Adam, where art
thou. Arise and oome unto me, and I wiU shew thee wonderful
things.'* And when your father cometh to me, I repeat to him the
words of lawlessness, which drove us out of our glory. And I
opened my lips, because Satan gave unto me to speak the words of
hlasphetny and of contumacy. And I say unto him : * Gome, my lord
Adam, hearken unto my words, and eat of the fruit of the tree of
which the Lord commanded us that we should not eat of the
same, and thou shalt become God.'^ Tour father made answer
unto me and said : *I fear lest God be angry with me.' And
I say unto him : * Fear not, for when thou shalt eat it, it shall
be thine to know good and evil.' And he hearkened to my words
of temptation, and tasted of the fruit, and at once his eyes were
> The Grk. has : '' the poison of his wickedness."
' The Grk. adds row liiov fiipovc,
• In the Grk. : " a great mystery."
* In the Grk. : " become as a god."
Digitized by
Google
226 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
opened, and be knew the nakedness of his person. And he said
to me : ' O thou woman, why hast thon done this thing nnto me, and
hast depriyed me of the glory of God ? ' (Gh. xzii.) And in that hoar
we heard the voice of Michael the archangel, sounding his trumpet and
saying to all the angels : ^Thus saiih the Lord of Hosts : **Gome ye all,
and go down with me into the garden, and hear the judgment with '
which I shall will to judge Adam." * And when we heard the sonnd of
the trumpet of the archangel Michael and the words which he spake,
we say one to the other : ' Behold the Lord is about to come into this
garden in order to judge us,* and we were afraid, and hid ourselves.
And the Lord God came into the garden sitting upon a chariot of
Gherubin, and all the angels gave praise before him. And when he
entered into the garden all the plants which are in tbe garden
instantly blossomed and burgeoned, all* which were around Adam ;
likewise, also, those which were around me. And the throne of the God-
head was set at the tree of life. (Gh. zxiil) And the Lord God cried
aloud to thy father Adam and said : ' Adam, where art thou hidden ?
Dost thou think thyself hidden from my all-seeing eyes, that I should
not find thee? For the house is not bidden from him that builded
it.' Then thy father made answer to him and said : ^ My Lord, 'tis
not that we hide from thee,* but we are naked, and we thorght
thou wouldst not find us. But we fear thee, for we are naked.*
And God said unto him : * And who taught thee that thon wast
naked (except) that thou hast transgressed my commandment which
I gave thee and hast not kept it ? ' Then thy father pondered my
word which I said unto him,* that I will preserve thee without fear
before God. He turned to me and said : * Why hast thou done this
thing?' And^ I say unto him: *Lord, the serpent deceived me.'
(Gh. xxiv.) Then the Lord God said to thy father Adam : * Foras-
much as thou hast done this, and hast not kept my commandment,
but bast listened to the voice of thy wife, the earth shall be cursed in
thy works. For thou shalt woik it, and it shall not give thee its
strength ; but thorns and thistles shall it biing forth for tbee, abd by
the sweat of thy brows thou shalt eat thy bread." And turning to
1 The Grk. has : ** both those of the portion of Adam and of my portion
also."
* The Grk. has : " We hide as thinking that we are not found by thee,
but we fear, because we are naked," etc.
* The Grk, adds : " when I wished to deceive him."
^ In the Grk. : ** And I remembered the word of the serpent, and said
that the serpent deceived me."
* The Grk. adds a long gloss here, which is not in the Armenian, as fol-
lows : ** and shalt be in many sorts of labour ; thou shalt weary and not win
Digitized by
Google
On the Apocalypse of Moses. 227
the serpent, he said unto him : * Forasmuch as thou hast done this
thing, and hast become the vessel of sbame, and hast deceived the
upright' in heart, cursed shalt thou be among all brutes and dumb
animals, and thou sbalt be deprived of thy food, whence thou didst
eat, and shalt eat dust all the days of thy life. Upon thy navel and
thy belly shnlt thou go, and shalt be deprived of thy hanHs and thy
feet ; and there shall not be left to thee an ear, nor wings, nor any of
thy other members for thee to have,^ forasmuch as by thine evil
devices thou hast worsted and deceived these beings, and hast caused
them to be expelled from the garden of delight. And I will place
enmity between thee and this woman, between thy seed and hers ;
they shall serve thy head, and thou shalt serve the sole of their foot
until the day of judgment.' (Ch. xxv.) And the Lord turned and
said to me": * Forasmuch as thou hast listened to this serpent,
despising my commandment, thou shalt be in empty paius and pangs
that cannot be alleviated. Thou shalt bear many children in sorrow,
and ^ in thy labours thou shalt be straitened, and in thy life and in
thy distress thou shalt make confession, and shalt say : *'0 Lord God,
save me in this present, and henceforth I will not turn me to the
same sinning in my flesh.'* ^
(Two lines undecipherable)
Concerning the enmities which the
enemy hath sown in thee. And there thy turning shall be to thy
husband, and he shall rule over thee.' (Ch. xxvii.) And thereafter
the Lord gave a command to his holy angels to drive us out of the
garden of delight. And when they had driven and led us out, we
lamented much and wept bitterly. And your father Adam saith to
me : * Grant me a little respite, that I may pray to God who loveth
man, in order that he may perhaps have compassion on me, for I
rest, be pressed hard by bitterness and not taste of sweetness, be oppressed
by heat and straitened by cold. And thou shalt weary much, and not
be rich, and shalt grow fat, but not reach thine end, and those beasts
which thou roledst shall rise up against thee and rebel, because thou hast
not kept my commandment."
' TohQ "KopfniivovQ, ^ Li the Grk. : Iv '*y kokI^ vov,
' The Greek Text puts this address to Eve before that made to the
serpent, transposing chs. xxv. and xxvi.
* The Grk. continues: **and in one hour thou shalt come and destroy
thy life because of thy great necessity and pains. And thou shalt con-
fess," etc.
^ Two lines are illegible in the Armenian. The Grk. continues : " And
therefore I will judge thee by thy words, because of the hatred which the
enemy put in thee," etc.
Digitized by
Google
228 The Jevnsh Quarterly Review,
alone siimed.' And the angels granted him a little respite from
diiving us out ; and Adam called ont with a loud Yoioe, and said,
lamenting : * Remit unto me, Lord, my transgressions, whatsoever I
have done.* Then said the Lord to his angels : * Wherefore have ye
given them respite, and expel them not from the garden ? Did I not
of myself make (them) ?* or have I judged them unjustly V But the
angels fell on their faces, and said : * Just art thou. Lord ; and
righteous are thy judgments.' (Gh. xxviii.) And the Lord turned to
Adam and said to him : ' I will not permit thee now and henceforth
to be there in the garden.' And Adam made answer and said to the
Lord : ' O my Lord and my God, I pray thee bestow on me of the
tree of life, that I may eat thereof before I go forth from the garden
of life.' God again spake with Adam, and said : 'In this present thou
shalt not receive of ^e same, for we have enjoined on the cherubim
with the flaming sword to guard the path, unto the end that thou
mayest not taste thereof and abide deathless for ever. But there
shall be unto thee' thy war, which the enemy has sown for thee. But
when thou shalt remove thyself from the garden and keep thyself
from all wickedness, and bear in mind death ;' after thine ending, in
the coming of the resurrection, I will raise thee up, and then I will
give to thee of the fruit of life and thou shalt abide deathless for
ever.' (Gh. xxix.) And the Lord, having said this, commanded the
angels to drive us out of the garden. And then your father Adam
wept bitterly in the garden before the angels. And the angels say
unto him : ' What wilt thou that we do to thee, Adam ? ' Adam
made answer to the angeb : * I know that ye now drive me forth, but
suffer me to take some fragrant thing from the garden, in order that
when I shall be outside it, and am offering oblations to God, the Lord
may listen unto my prayers.' (Gh. zxx.) But the angels approached the
Lord, and said: ' Hojili Hojil,'^ which %$ translated King eternal. And
he bade be given to Adam incense of sweet odour (cvcodiar) from the
garden. And the Lord God bade that Adam be brought before him,
that he might receive the incense of sweet odour and the seeds of his
food, giving leave unto his angels. And Adam came before the Lord.
And the Lord God bade there be given to him four things, which are
the following : crocus, which is saffron ; and nard, which is phajla-
' The Grk.^*' Sorely the transgression is not mine ? "
' " Thou shalt have the war," etc.
• In Grk.: "As wishing to die [but Codex C *as about to die'], then
when the resurrection again comes I will raise thee up, and then shall be
given thee of the tree of life," eta
« In the Grk. : «' 'laiiX aiwvu /3a<riXcv."
Digitized by
Google
On the Apocalypse of Moses, 229 .
seni ; > and calanms, wliich is a reed ; and cinnamon, which is
daraseni ;> and many other seeds among those things which we eat.
And when he had received all these, we went forth from the garden,
and we beheld ourselves placed in this earth. (Oh. xxzi.) And now,
my children, I have discoursed to yon about everything, and con-
cerning the chicanery of the enemy {and harv, that hy his deceit^ he
.... us). But do ye forthwith be on your guard, lest ye also
forfeit the glory of Gk>d." (Ch. xzxii.) And all this did Eva relate
to her sons ; and Adam lay before them much afflicted in his sickness.'
But Eva and her sons hegan to weep and lament.
And when they were silent there arose Adam from his sleep. And
Eva said unto him : *^ Wherefore dost thou die and I remain alive, my
lord ? Or for how long a time do I (wait to) come after thine end-
ing ? Acquaint me with the truth J^ Said Adam unto Eve : "It is
not any concern of thine (lit. for thee) to ask concerning this, because
thou wilt (? not) delay to follow after me, but alike we shall die
together, and they will place thee near to me in the same spot. But
when I shall die cover me* ; and suffer not any one of thy sons to
behold^ me, until the angel shall ordain what is to be done concerning
me. For God neglects me not, but seeks out the vessels which he
fashioned. Now, therefore, arise and remain in prayer until there
shall pass forth my spirit from my body this day into the hand of
my Lord who gave it unto me. Oh^ for I kuow not, how I' shall
meet my €h*eator, lest haply he be wroth concerning me, or on the
contrary he may have pity on me in his compassion." Then Eva arose
and went without, and fell on her face on the earth, and wept and
lamented bitterly, and spake as follows: '*I have sinned against thee,
O God ; I have sinned against thee, Father of aU ; I have sinned
against thee, O Lord ; I have sinned also against thy angels !* I have
sinned against thee^ Lover of mankind ; I have sinned against thee and
thy cherubim ; I have sinned against thee. Lord, and against thy
immoveable throne ; I have sinned against thee, Lord ; I have sinned
against the holiness of thy saints ; I have sinned against thee, Lord, I
have sinned unto heaven and before thee, O Lord. For sin and trans-
gressions have from me originated in the world.'' And as she offered
up this prayer, the angel of the Lord came unto her in a human shape
> The homonyms added are, perhaps, Arabic. The Greek Text has not
> The Grk. adds: "but he had one more day before he quitted his
body.*'
* The God. A has coXv^crc, but B C raroXt^ere.
* In the Grk. : " to touch me/*
» Iq the Grk. : " how we,'' « In Grk. : " Thy chosen angels."
Digitized by
Google
230 The Jetmh Quarterly Bevtetc.
(tldos)y^ and having aroused her from sleep, said to her : " Stand strong,
thoa woman, in thy adoration.' For behold Adam, thy husband, has
passed away from his flesh. And do thon look and behold his spirit
ascending unto heaven to his Maker to be before him." (Gh. xxziii.)
But Eva having arisen cleansed with her hands her face * Jron her
excessive tears ; for her eyes were swollen with weeping. And having
raised her eyes to heaven, she beholds a fiery chariot raised aloft by
four fiery beasts,^ and the tongue of man is too weak to tell forth the
sheen of their glory. And they bore his spirit to the place wherein
(?) is Adam in the flesh. And angels went before the chariot. But
when they came nigh to that place, the chariot stopped along with
the cherubin and Adam upon it ; she beheld also censers of gold and
three canopies, and angels went with fragrant incense taking the
censers, and came in haste into the holy tabernacle, and kindling fire
they cast the incense into the censers, and the smoke of the incenee
so went forth as to overshadow the firmament of heaven. And the
angels prostrated themselves in adoration before God, crying all of
them aloud and saying : " Elidjil, which is being translated Lord, king
of eternity y vouchsafe remission to Adam, for he is thine image and
the work of thy spotless hands." (Oh. xzxiv.) Eva beheld yet other*
marvels before God. And Eva wept bitterly. And Eva turned and
spake, and said to Seth her son: *^My child, stand firm over the body*
of thy father, and come to me and see what no one hath seen with
his eyes. And behold how all the angels beseech the Lord concerning
thy father Adam." (Oh. zzxv.) But Seth arose and went to his
mother, and said unto her : ** Why weepest thou, mother mine ? "
His mother made answer to him and said to him : ** Do thou look up
and see with thine eyes the firmi^ment of heaven opened,^ and the
' In the Grk.: "Lo there came to her the angel of humanity (r^c
&vBpfair6TfiT0Q)** ' In the Grk. : " Rise up from thy repentance.*'
• In G^k. simply : " laid her hand on her face."
* The Grk. has : " A chariot of light moved on by f otir bright eagles, of
which no one bom of the womb could tell the glory nor behold their
countenance, and angels preceding the chariot. When they came to the
place where lay your father Adam, the chariot halted, and the seraphim
were between your father and the chariot. And I saw gold censers and
three cups ; and lo, all the angels with frankincense and with censers and
the cups (or vials) came to the altar and blew them, and the vapour of
the incense hid the firmaments," etc.
* In Grk. : " yet two other mysteries before God."
• In Grk. : " rise up from the body."
' In Grk. : <* behold the seven firmaments opened, and see with thine
eyes how the body of thy father lies on its f aoe, and all the holy angels
with it, praying for it and saying."
Digitized by
Google
On the Apocalypse of Moses. 231
soul of thy father, how he falls down before God on his face, aod all
the angfls beseech the Lord in bis behalf, thus saj^ing : * Vouchsafe,
O Lord, remission unto Adam, thou who art God long-sifffering and
art Lord of all. For he is thine image.' Therefore, 0 my child Seth,
what* shall come unto me, when I t^hall stand before the unseen God.
And who then may be yonder two men, the Echiops, who stand before
God, beseeching the Lord for thy father AdamV" (Oh. xxxvi.) Seth
said unto her : "O my mother, yonder two men whom thou beholdest
are the son aud the moon, who stand and beseech God, falling upon
their &ces, concerning my father Adam." And Eva saith unto him :
" And where may be their light ? How darkened do they appear ! "
Seth made answer and said : ** *Tis not because their light is laid aside
from them, but their light appeareth not before the father of light.*
Because their sheen is clouded over by glory and by the mighty sheen of
the face of the father of light^^ (Ch. xxxvii.) And as Seth spake this
word unto his mother Eva, on a sudden one of the archangels blew
his trumpet, and instantly all the angels arose, who were fallen on
their faces before God. And they called out with a loud uproar and
with terrible voice : " Blessed is the glory of the Lord by his creatures.
For that he hath taken pity on those ttiat were fashioned by his
hands, upon Adam.'* And when the angels had cried out this aloud,
there came one of the six-winged cherubin and caught up Adam and
bore him into a sea not made with hands, and washed him three
times.*
' In Grk. : " What shall be this ? and when shall it be g^ven over into
the hands of the unseen father and of our God ? But who are the two
Ethiops," etc.
> In Grk. : ^* before the light of the whole, the father of lights, and
therefore is their light hidden and lost."
• In Grk. : " i^piraaiv rbv 'ASafi^ xai dirriyayiv ahrov tiq Tt^v axipovtriaif
XifAVfjv Kai air'iXoucnv avrbv rpirov/* So Ceriani's codex D ; but Tischen-
dorf reads : fipiraatv rbv ^ki%ii tl; rijv dxipou<rat* Xifivriv Kai dirsTrXwiv
ahrbv ivuir lov OcoD, and on &x^P^^^^^ he has this note : Ita coniecimus
scribendum esse pro ytpoutriaQy quod in codice esse dicitur. Poterat enim
scribi dxtpovtridBa, Hind vero similiter in Apocalypei Paul! legitur, ubi
sect. 22 est: hrav Sk fAtravoriay xai fitravrdOy rov j3cov, vapadiSorai rtp
"i/lixf^K '^^i pdXKovaiv avrbv il^ Tt)v ^Ax^povaap Xifivriv, In the same sec-
tion of the Apoo. Pauli we read that rf dx^povoa Xifivtf was in the land of
the gentle ones who inherit the earth, in a region where the souls of the
just are kept. Its waters were brighter than gold and silver, and none
might enter it, except after rejientance of their sins. The Syriao version
of the Apoo. Pauli renders it '* the sea of Eucharista." In § 31 of the
same Apocryph the phrase recurs c^m r^c xoXt mc kqI t^q dxipovanQ Xlfivvc
Kai r^c vie riit ^yaOic
Digitized by
Google
232 The Jemsh Quarterly Revietc.
And af^in he broaght and placed him before God ; and he spent
three hours, faUen on his face on the earth. But after this be
stretched forth his hand, who is lord of all, he that sat on his throne.
And having taken Adam, he gave him into the hand of Michael the
archangel, sayiog to him : "Bear him unto the second heaven' and lei
him repose until the day of the great renewal, which I will bring (as)
salvation in the midst of the earth, because of Adam and all kit
children, '' Then Michael the archangel took Adam and they bore
him and gave him repose in the place where the Lord commanded
him. And all the angels sang a strain of praise and the songs of
angels. They marvelled at God*B love of man, and at the acceptable
pardon of Adam. But after so much rejoicing, which there was
concerning Adam, Michael the archangel spake unto the father
of light concerning Adam^ and said to him : '* Lord, let all the angels
be gathered together before God, each according to his order."
And they were all gathered together, some having censers in their
hands and others harps and trumpets.' And behold the Lord as-
cended in glory upon the four winds, and the cherubim took hold of
and held the winds. And angels came down from heaven and went
before him, all of them, and descended unto the earth, at the spot in
which was lying the body of Adam. And having come thither, the
Lord entered into the garden with the heavenly hosts. Then the
phmts and fruit-bearing trees all blossomed forth together, and there
breathed forth a sweet odour, so that all who were born of Adam,
were stupefied and fell into a deep sleep, from the odour wafted to
them from the bloom and blossom of the garden. But Seth alone
was not stupefied : for the Lord wished to shew unto him the wonders
which he was about to work. Bnt the Lord God' having looked, beheld
the body of Adam lying just as it was on the earth. He was much
distressed in his love of man, and he said : ** O Adam, wherefore hast
thou done this, for if thou hadst kept my conmiandment, which I
gave to thee, they would not be rejoicing who have brought thee into
yonder place of thine ? But now I say to thee, that when my sal-
vation shall be manifested to the world, I will turn their rejoicing into
sorrow ; but thy sorrow I will turn into rejoicing. For I will restore
thee unto thy primal glory,^ and seat thee on a throne of thy
* In the Grk. : " Lift him up into the paradise as far as the third heaven,
and leave him there till that great day and terrible of my economy, which
I will bring about in the world."
' In the Grk. : '< and others trumpets and vials."
* According to Tisohendorf s Text Seth was '' distressed." In all the
Grk. MSS., however, there is some flaw here.
* In Grk. : " will restore thee to thine empire."
Digitized by
Google
On the Apocalypse of Moses, 233
deceiver. And he shall oome to that place, wherein thon art now
lying, and he shall hehold thee become hightr than himself. And
then he himself shall be jadged and all his worshippers. And I send
him into thegehenna ofjire. And he shall be mnch affrighted and will
sorrow, beholding thee sitting on his throne.'' (Ch. xl.) And when
God had spoken these words to Adam, the archangel Michael again
said* : " Gome to the kingdom, which is in the second heaven, and thou
shalt take there three linen robes, white and purple, and thalt bring
them hither.'* And he went and fulfilled that which was com-
manded of the Lord. And God commanded Michael the archangel
to envelop the body of Adam, saying thus : ** Spread ye out those
fine linen cloths of yours and envelop him, and bring ye of the oil
of anointing, of fragrant smell, and scatter it over him." And the
archangels Michael and Uriel did as the Lord commanded them.
And when they had enfolded the body of Adam, Gk>d commanded
them to bring the body of Abel the just. And they bore and laid
it before God. And God commanded them to bear in like manner
linen cloths, aod envelop the body of Abel the just ; because his
body was not wrapped up by anyone, from the day on upon which
Cain slew his brother. For Cain himself was desirous to keep it,'
but was not able ; for that the earth would not receive his body.
But there was a voice of summoning from the earth to Cain
saying : " I am not willing to receive the body of the first-formed,
which they received from me." And the angel having taken the body
of Abel, they placed it on a stone, until they had buried the body of
Adam. But the Lord God commanded the angels to lift up his body and
carry it into the region of the garden unto that place in which the Lord
had taken clay (or dust) and fashioned Adam. And he commanded
that they should cleave the earth asunder and bury them together.
And the Lord gave command to seven holy archangels to come and
bring forth from the kingdom many odours. And the archangels
came and brought them, even as the Lord commanded. And they
laid the fragrant (spices) in the place in which he commanded them
> Aocording to the Grk. ch. xl. begins thus : " After this God said to
the archangel Michael : Strew linen clothes and cover the body of Adam ;
and bring ye oil of the oil of fragrance and pour it out on it. And the
three great angels tended him. And when they had finished tending
Adam, God bade the body of Abel also to be brought."
' In the Grk. : '* Cain often wished to hide it, but could not. For his
body would leap up from the ground and a voice issued from the earth,
saying, A second creation shall not be hidden in the earth, until there be
given up to me the first creation which was taken from me, the dust (of
me) from whom it was taken."
Digitized by
Google
234 The Jewish Quarterli/ Review.
to set down their bodies. And then they took the body of the tirain
and laid them in the place in which they had cloven asunder the
sepulchre; and they covered it over with clay (or dust). (Ch. xli.)
And the Lord God cried ont to the body of Adam and said : " Adam,
Adam." Bathe nttered a cry, saying* : "Lo, here am I, Lord." And
the Lord said : "Aforetime I said unto thee that dust thou wast and
to dust shouldst thou return. But mightily' do I give thee good
tidings of my power and unto all nations of the sons of men, who are
of thy children.** (Gh. xlii.) When he said this, the Lord God made
a sign (or monument)*, triangular, and with it sealed their sepulchre ;
that no one might come nigh thereunto for six days, until the dust
return whence it was taken. And when he had completed all this
our Lord ascended into heaven in glory. ButEvadid not comprehend
where was laid his body. She was filled with great sorrow and wept
bitterly because of his death, and again because of not knowing his
body, what it was become. For as we said before, all were stupefied
together with Eva, in that time in which the Lord descended into the
garden of delight concerning the body of Adam. And so all these
marvels took place ; but no one of them knew, but only Seth, their
son. But after this, when the time of Eva's end came, she arose
even of herself, and fell to praying with tears and said : " Lord God
of all natures, Greator of creation, separate me not from the body of
thy servant Adam. For thou didst even make me out of the body of
Adam, and from his bones didst thou even fashion me ; and I pray
thee, make me worthy, who am unworthy, (and make worthy) the sinful
body of thy hand- maid ; that it be not separated from the body of
Adam, even as aforetime I was together with, him in yon garden.
For though we had transgressed thy command, we were not
divided from one another." And when she had finished this prayer,
she looked up to heayen and smote ber breast, and said : " 0 my Lord,
and God of aU, receive my spirit in peace,*' And having said this^ she
slept, committing her spirit into the hands of angels, (Gh. xliii.) But
thereafter Michael the archangel along with three archangels
lifted up the body of Eva, and took and buried it in the place in
* In the Grk. : ** the body answered from the earth and said.**
' In the Grk.: ** Again I announce to thee the resurrection. I will
raise thee in the resurrection with every race of men sprang from thy
seed."
' In the Grk. : '' God made a seal and sealed the tomb, that no one
might do aught to it in the six days, until his rib revert to him. Then
the Lord and his angels proceeded unto their place. But Eve also after
the fulfilling of six days fell asleep. But while she still lived, she wept
bitterly becaose of the falling asleep of Adam."
Digitized by
Google
On the Apocalypse of Moses, 235
which lay the body of Adam and of Abel the just. And thereafter
Michael the archangel cried aloud to Seth and said : '* Thus* shalt
thou bury every man who shall die until the day of the coming again
aud of the resurrection." And having thus laid down the law, he
saith to him : *' On the seventh day thou shalt rest and rejoice in it.
For on this day the Lord and all his angels (? caid) : * Let us rejoice
with all the spirits of the just ones who may be upon the earth.' "
And when Michael the archangel had said this to Seth, forthwith he
ascended into heaven along with the three archangels, giving thanks
unto and glorifying God. And they sang songp, saying : " AUelouiah,
Allelouiah, Holy^ Holy^ Holy, Lord of Hosts, glory to God Almighty
for ever and ever."'
Lord God of thy holy archangels and angels, and of all the powers
of heaven, and of the first created ones Adam and Eva, through their
intercession have pity on the owner of this book, Mabdas Gregory, and
his wife Selene Qou-sin), and bis sons Thdrwand and Parsam, and on
all the blood of his neighbours, and on the writer of the same, and on
those who shall read and give ear to it and who say the Amen.
Amen.
* In the Grk. Michael says : " Thus bury every man who dies until the
day of resurrection ." And after giving him this law he said to him : *' Beyond
six days ye shall not mourn ; but on the seventh day rest and be joyful
on it, because in it (we) God and the angels rejoice with the just soul
which has passed away (r^c luraaTdario) from earth."
' The Greek ends here. The rest is an addition of the Armenian trans-
lator or scribe.
Digitized by
Google
236 The Jetciah Quarterly Review,
THE EXPULSION OF THE JEWS FROM
ENGLAND IN 1290.
{Continued from p. 100.)
VI. — The Prohibition of Usury.
Very soon after the passing of the Statute of 1270,
Edward left England to join the second Crusade of St.
Louis, and did not return till 1274, two years after he
had been proclaimed king. At once he took up with
characteristic vigour, and with the help and advice of a
band of statesmen and lawyers, the work of administrative
reform that he had already begun as heir-apparent. He
recognised that the state of affairs established in 1270
could not endure, since, under it, the Jews, while practi-
cally prevented from lending money at interest, now that
the law forbade them to take in pledge real property, the
only possible security for large loans, were nevertheless
still nothing but usurers, allowed by ancient custom and
royal recognition to carry on that one pursuit as best they
could, and prevented by the same forces from carrying on
any other. Edward, with his usual love for " the defini-
tion of duties and the spheres of duty," ^ felt that it was
necessary to define for the Jews a new position, which
should not, as did their present position, condemn them
to hopeless struggles, nor demand from him acquiescence
in what he believed to be a sin.
For the Church had never ceased to maintain the
doctrine of the sinfulness of usury which Ambrose and
Clement, Jerome and Tertullian, had taught in strict
conformity with the communistic ideas of primitive
Christianity. It is true that till the eleventh century
' Stubbs, Constitutional History^ II., 116.
Digitized by
Google
The Expuhion of the Jews from England in 1290, 237
usury and speculative trading generally had nob been
active eDOUgh to call for repression, nor would the Church
have been strong enough to enforce on the Christian world
the observance of its doctrine. It could not follow up
the attempt made by the Capitularies of Charles the Great
to prevent laymen from practising usury, and it had to
rest content with enforcing the prohibition on clerics.^
But the growth under Hildebrand of the power of the
Church over every-day life, and the elevation of the moral
tone of its teaching that resulted from its struggles with
the temporal power, enabled it to adopt with increasing
effect measures of greater severity. Hildebrand, in 1083,
decreed that usurers should, like perjurers, thieves, and
wife-deserters, be punished with excommunication;^ and
the Lateran General Council of 1139. when exhorted by
Innocent II. to shrink from no legislation as demanding
too high and rigorous a morality, decreed that usurers
were to be excluded from the consolations of the Church,
to be infamous all their lives long, and to be deprived of
Christian burial.^ The religious feeling aroused by the
Crusades still further strengthened the hold on the
Christian world of characteristically Christian theory,
while the prospect of the economic results that they
threatened to bring about in Europe, awoke the Church
to the advisability of putting forth all its power to
protect the estates of Crusaders against the money-lenders.
Many Popes of the twelfth century ordained, and St.
Bernard approved of the ordinance * that those who took
up the Cross should be freed from all engagements to
pay usury into which they might have entered. Innocent
III. absolved Crusaders even from obligations of the kind
that they had incurred under oath, and subsequently
ordered that Jews should be forced, under penalty of
» Ashley, Economic IfUtnry and Theory, I., 126-32, 148-50.
* Hefele, Cifneilienge«ehichte, V., 176.
• iWrf., 438-441. * Jacobs, Tlu Jewt of Angevin England, 23.
VOL. VIL R
Digitized by
Google
238 The Jetmh Quarterly Review,
exclusion from the society of Christians, to return to
their crusading debtors any interest that they had already
received from them.^
Stronger even than the influence of the Crusades was
that of the Mendicant Orders. The Dominicans, who
preached, and the Franciscans, who " taught and wrought *'
among all classes of people throughout Europe, carried with
them, as their most cherished lesson, the doctrine of poverty.
It was by the teaching of this doctrine, and by the practice
of the simple unworldly life of the primitive Church, that
the founders of the two orders had been able to give new
strength to the ecclesiastical institutions of the thirteenth
century. And their teaching, if not their practice, made
its way from the Casiuncula to the Vatican. Cardinal
Ugolino, the dear friend of S. Francis, became Gregory
IX. ; Petrus de Tarentagio, of the order of the Dominicans,
became Innocent IV. ; and Qirolamo di Ascoli, the " sun '*
of the Franciscans, was soon to become Nicholas IV.
Moreover, the work of formulating and publishing to the
world the oflScial doctrines of the Church was in the
hands of the Mendicants. A Dominican, Raymundus de
Penaforte, w€w entmsted by Gregory IX. with the
preparation of the Decretals, which formed the chief
part of the canon law of the Church.* And friars of
both orders codified with indefatigable labour the moral
law of Christianity, and set it forth in hand-books, or
SumnuB, which were universally accepted as guides for
the confessional, and which all agreed in condemning
usury.' Hence, the doctrine of its sinfulness was taught
throughout Christian Europe, by priests and monks, by
Dominican preachers and Franciscan confessors, who could
enforce their lesson by the use of their power of granting
> Corpus Juris Canmioi (Leipzig, 1839), II., 786.
' Raamer, Qesohickte der Hohenstaufen und ihrer Zeit^ III., 681.
■ Endemann. Studien in der Romanisoh-Kanonistischen Wirtksckafts*
und Hechtslehre^l.^ 16-18. Stinteing, Oeschichte der Popularen Literatur
des RSmisch' Canonischen Reehts.
Digitized by
Google
The Expukion of the Jews from England in 1290. 239
or refusing absolution. How strong and violent a public
opinion was thus created is best shown in the lines in
which Dante, the contemporary of Edward I., tells with
what companions he thought it fit that the Caursine
usurers should dwell in hell.^
There was every reason why the hatred of usury should
be as strong in England as anywhere. The Franciscan
movement had spread throughout the country, and had
found among Englishmen many of its chief literary
champions.^ And the Englishman's pious dislike of
usury had been strengthened by many years of bitter
experience. Italian usurers had in the previous reign
gone up and down the country collecting money on behalf
of the Pope, and lending money on their own account at
exorbitant rates of interest.' From some of the magnates
they obtained protection (for which they are said to have
paid with a share of their profits),* but to the great body
of the Baronage, to the Church and the trading classes,
their very name had become hateful. One of them, the
brother of the Pope's Legate, had been killed at Oxford.*
In London Bishop Roger had solemnly excommunicated
them all, and excluded them from his diocese.*
No English king who wished to follow the teachings of
Christianity could willingly countenance any of his sub-
jects in carrying on a traflSc which was thus hated by the
people and condemned by all the doctors of Christendom.
Even Henry III. was once so far moved by indignation and
religious feeling as to expel the Caursines from his king-
dom,^ and had religious scruples about the retention of
the Je\\rs.® But, as has been shown, he could not do with-
' E pero lo minor giron suggella,
Del segno sno e Sodoma e Gaorsa.
Inferno, XI. 49, 50.
* Monumenta FrancUcana (Rolls Series), XLV., L., 10, 38-9, 61.
* Macpherson, AnnaU of Commerce, I., 899-400.
* M. Paris, Chronica Majora, V., 245. * Ibid., III., 482-3.
« Ibid., III., 332-3. 7 Ibid., IV., 8.
^ M. Paris, Hi^foria Anglornm, III., 104.
R 2
Digitized by
Google
240 Th0 Jewish Quarterly Review.
out the Jewish revenue. Edward was not only free from
dependence on that source of income, but he was also a far
more religious king than his father. He was a man to
obey the behests of the Church, instead of setting them at
naught with an easy conscience, as his father had done.
In the second year of his reign the Church, by a decree
passed at the Council of Lyons, demanded from the Chris-
tian world far greater efforts against usury than ever
before.^ Till this time, though Popes and Councils had
declared the practice accursed, churches and monasteries
had had usurers as tenants on their estates, or had even
possessed whole ghettos as their property.^ Now this was
to be ended, and it was ordained by Gregory X. that no
community, corporation, or individual should permit
foreign usurers to hire their houses, or indeed to dwell
at all upon their lands, but should expel them within
three months. Edward, in obedience to this decree, ordered
an inquisition to be made into the usury of the Florentine
bankers in his kingdom with a view to its suppression,
and allowed proceedings to be taken at the same time
and with the same object against a citizen of London.'
And the events of the last reign enabled him to pro-
ceed to what at first seems the far more serious task of
bringing to an end the trade that the Jews had carried
on under the patronage, and for the benefit, of the Royal
Exchequer.
For the Jews could no longer support the Crown in
times of financial difficulty as they had been able to do in
previous reigns. The contraction of their business that
* Ashley, Economic BUtory and Theory , I. 150 j Labbeat, Sacrotaneta
Concilia, xi. 991, 2.
' Depping, Les Juifs dans le Moyen Age, 202, 207 ; Moratori, Antigui'
totes Italica Medli Aevi, L 899, 900 ; Ninth Report of the Historical
Manuscripts Commissionj p. 14 (No. 264).
» Fitrty-fourth Report of Deputy-Keeper tf Public Records, pp. 8, 9, 72 ;
The QuestUm whether a Jew, etc., bj a Gentleman of Linoolns Inn,
London, 1753 ; Appendix, § 18.
Digitized by
Google
The Hxpubion of the Jews from England in 1290. 241
was the result of their exclusion from many towns, and
the losses that they had suffered through the extortions of
Henry III. and the plundering attacks of the barons, had
very greatly diminished their revenue-paying capacities,
and the legislation of 1270 must have affected them still
more deeply. At the end of the twelfth century they had
probably paid to the Treasury about £3,000 a year, or
one-twelfth of the whole royal income,^ and for some parts
of the thirteenth century the average collection of tallage
has been estimated at £5,000 ;^ but in 1271 — by which
time the royal income had probably grown to something
like the £65,000 a year which the Edwards are said to
have enjoyed in time of peace^ — Henry III., when pledging
to Richard of Cornwall the revenue from the Jewry,
estimated its annual value, apart from what was yielded
by escheats and other special claims, at no more than
2,000 marks.* And while the resources of the Jews had
feUen off, the needs of the Crown had increased. Not
only must Edward have conducted his foreign enterprises
at a much greater cost than did his predecessors, under
whom the English knighthood had been accustomed to
serve without serious opposition, but, in addition, he had
to make the best of a vast heritage of debt that his father
had left him.* He had to seek richer supporters than the
Jews, and such were not wanting.
The Italian banking companies were the only organisa-
tions in Europe that could supply him with such sums of
money as he needed. From all the greatest cities of Italy —
from Florence, Rome, Milan, Pisa, Lucca, Siena, and Asti
— ^they had spread to many of the chief countries of Europe,
■ Jacobs, 328. ' Papers Anglo-JetoUh Hut, ExhiMtwn, 195.
» Stubbs' ConstUutioma History II., 601.
4 Bymer, Foedera, I. 489. Gf . Pnblio Beoord Office, Q, R, Miscellanea,
* Chronicles Ed, I. and II. (ed. Stnbbs), Vol. I., p. c. Of. Forty-second
Jteport cf Deputy-Keeper ef Public Records, p. 479 (At tbe beginning of
his reign Edward sajs, in his writs to the sheriffs, ** Pecunise plarimxun
indigemna "). Forty -third Report ^ 419.
Digitized by
Google
242 The Jewish Quarterly Beview.
to France, England, Brabant, Switzerland, and Ireland.^
They were merchants, money-lenders, money-changers, and
international bankers, and in this last occupation their
supremacy over all rivals was secured by the great advan-
tage which the wide extent of their dealings enabled them
to enjoy, of being able to save, by the use of letters of
credit on their colleagues and countrymen, the cost of the
transport of money from country to country.^ They were
thus the greatest financial agents of the time. They trans-
acted the business of the Pope. At the Court of Rome
ambassadors had to borrow from them.^ In France their
position was established by a regular diplomatic agreement
between the head of their corporation and Philip III.*
In England they had in their hands the greater part of the
trade in com and wool ;* and the protection and favour of
English kings was often besought by the Popes on their
behalf in special bulls.®
Edward began his reign in financial dependence on the
Italians. His father had in the earliest period of his per-
sonal government incurred obligations to them which he
himself, as heir apparent, had to increase considerably
at the time of his Crusade.^ When in later years be
needed money to pay his army, he borrowed it from them ;
when he diverted to his own use the tenth that was voted
for his intended second Crusade, they gave security for
repa3rment.* So great were the amounts that they ad-
vanced to him, that between 1298 and 1308 the Friscobaldi
' MtiratoTi, Antiquitates ItaZica Medii Aevi (Dissertatio XYI) ; Bop-
ping, La Jui/f dans le Mnyen Age, 213-6 ; Bymer, Foedera, I., 644.
' Macpherson, AnnaU of Commerce, I. 405, 6 ; and see Pemxzi, Storia
del Commeroio e del Banchieri di Firenze, 170.
' PertuEzi, 169 ; \Archaeologiaj zxyiii. 218, 219.
^ Mnratori, ArUiquitates Italicae Medii Aem, I. 889.
* AreJuieologia, xxviil 221 ; Oonningham, Growth of Englith Industry
and Commerce, Early and Middle Ages, Appendix D ; Perazzi, Storia dd
Commercio, 70.
• Eymer, Foedera, I. 660, 828, 905.
^ Archaeologia, xxviiL 261-272. • Rynxer, Foedera, I. 644, 788.
Digitized by
Google
The Expulsion of the Jem from England in 1290. 243
ianchi alone, one of the thirty-four companies that
J employed,^ received in repayment nearly £100,000.*
e was compelled to favour them, although he attempted
stop their usury. He gave them a charter of privi-
ges.^ He presented them with large sums of money,
e bestowed on the head of one of their firms high office
Gascony. At various times he placed under their charge
te collection of the Customs in many of the chief ports in
Qgland.^
Edward's close connection with a body of financiers so
ch and powerful made the Jews unnecessary to him. If
3 was not to disobey the decree of the Council of Lyons,
3 must either withdraw his protection from them or else
>rbid them any longer to be usurers. To withdraw his
rotection from them would be to expose them to the
Dpular hatred, the danger from which had been the justi-
cation.of the relations that had been established between
rown and Jewry after 1190, and still existed. He chose
le second alternative. In 1275 he issued a statute, in
hich he absolutely forbade the Jews, as he had just for-
idden Christians,* to practise usury in the future. He
ave warning that usurious contracts would no longer be
aforced by the king's officers, and he declared the making
B them to be an offence for which henceforth both parties
rere liable to punishment. To ensure that all those
ontracts already existing should come to an end as quickly
R possible, he ordered that all movables that were in
ledge on account of loans were to be redeemed before the
oming Blaster.*
VIL— Edward's Policy: The Jews and Trade.
Thus the Jews, already shut out from the feudal and
Qunicipal organisation of the country, were forbidden by
1 Perazxl, 174. * Arohaeologia, xxviii. 244-5.
• Ibid, 231 , Note L * Peruzri, 172-6.
* Tie Queition whether a Jew, etc. Appendix, §18. Prynne, A 8hoi t
Jktmrrer, 58. * Blmit, EetablUhment and Beeidenee, etc., 139-144.
Digitized by
Google
244 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
one act of legislation to follow the pursuit in which the
kings of England had encouraged them for two hundred
years.
However, for the hardships imposed by the Christian
Church there was an approved Christian remedy. Thomas
Aquinas, the greatest authority on morals in Europe in the
thirteenth century, had written : ** If rulers think they
harm their souls by taking money fix)m usurers, let them
remember that they are themselves to blame. They ought
to see that the Jews are compelled to labour as they do in
some parts of Italy." ^ A Christian king, and one whom
Edward revered as his old leader in arms and as a model
of piety, had already acted in accordance with the teach-
ing of Thomas Aquinas. In 1253 St. Louis sent from the
Holy Land an order that all Jews should leave France
for ever, except those who should become traders and
workers with their hands.* And now, when Edward was
forbidding the Jews of England to practise usury, he
naturally dealt with them in the fashion recommended by
the great teacher of his time and adopted by the saintly king.
" The King also grants," said the Statute of 1275, " that
the Jews may practise merchandise, or live by their labour,
and for those purposes freely converse with Christians.
Excepting that, upon any pretence whatever, they shall not
be levant or couchant amongst them ; nor on account of
their merchandise be in scots, lots, or talliage with the
other inhabitants of those cities or boroughs where they
remain ; seeing they are talliable to the King as his own
serfs, and not otherwise. . . . And further the King
grants, that such as are unskilful in merchandise, and
cannot labour, may take lands to farm, for any term not
exceeding ten years, provided no homage, fealty, or any
such kind of service, or advowson to Holy Church, be
belonging to them. Provided also that this power to farm
* Thomas Aquinas, Ojntseulutn, XXI. (^Ad Dueissam Brabantiae in
Vol. XIX. of the Venice edition, 1775-88.)
» M. Paris, Chronica Majora^ V. 361, 2.
Digitized by
Google
The Expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290. 245
lands, shall continue in force for ten years from the making
of this Act, and no longer." ^
The 16,000^ Jews of England were thus called upon
to change at once their old occupation for a new one, and
the task was imposed upon them under conditions which
made it all but impossible of fulfilment. They were
forbidden to become burgesses of towns ; and the effect of
the prohibition was to make it impossible for them, in most
ports of England, to become traders, for it practically ex-
cluded them from the Gild Merchant. It is true that some
towns professed that their Gild was open to all the
inhabitants, whether burgesses or not, so long as they took
the oath to preserve the liberties of the town and the king's
peace.^ But most of the Gilds were exclusive bodies, to
which all non-burgesses would find it hard to gain
admission^^ and Jewish non-burgesses, though not as a
rule kept out by a disqualifying religious formula,* would
on fiwjcount of the unpopularity of their race and religion,
find it trebly hard.® As non-Gildsmen, they would be at
a disadvantage both in buying goods and in selling them.
They would find it hard to buy, because, in some towns at
any rate, the Gildsmen were accustomed to " oppress the
people coming to the town with vendible wares, so that no
man could sell his wares to anyone except to a member of
the society." ' They would find it in all towns hard to sell,
in some impossible. In some towns non-Gildsmen were
forbidden to deal in certain articles of common use.
■ Blnnt, Establishment and Residence^ eta, 141.
' This is the namber of those who left the coantry in 1290. Flores
HUtoHarum (Rolls Series), iii. 70. Probably the number of tliose in the
oonntrj in 1275 was about the same.
* Gross, Ths GUd Merchant, I. 88. * Ibid., I. 39-40.
* Ibid, n., 68, 138, 214, 243, 267.
* One Jew alone is known to have beoome a member of a Gild daring:
the residenoe of the Jews in England before 1290. He became a citizen
at the same time. His election took place in 1268 (Eitchin's^TTincA^x^^^-
Hittorie Totom Series, p. 108), After 1276 it woold have been iUegal.
' Gross, Th€ GUd Merchant, I. 41.
Digitized by
Google
246 T}^ Jewish Quarterly Review,
such as wool, hiJes, grain, untanned leather, and unfuUed
cloth ; in others, as in Southampton, they might not
buy anything in the town to sell again there, or keep
a wine tavern, or sell cloth by retail except on market day
and fair day, or keep more than five quarters of com in a
granary to sell by retail. There were even towns where
the municipal statutes altogether forbade non-Qildsmen
to keep shops or to sell by retail.^
It was almost as difficult for Jews to become agriculturists
or artisans, as to become traders. They were allowed by
the statute to farm land, but for ten years only, and they
were far too ignorant of agriculture to be able to take
advantage of the permission. They could not work on the
land of others as villeins, because, even if a Christian lord
had been willing to receive them, they would have been
prevented by their religion from taking the oath of
fealty.*
Only under exceptional conditions could they work at
handicrafts. A Jew who possessed manual dexterity might,
as was sometimes done in the thirteenth century, have
worked for himself at a cottage industry, and might, though
the task would have been a hard one, have gained a
connection among Christians, and induced them to trust
him with materiala^ But many crafts were at the time
coming under the regulations of craft-gilds. Certainly as
early as the beginning of the fourteenth century, there
were in London fully-organised gilds of Lorimers,
Weavers, Tapicers, Cap-makers, Saddlers, Joiners, Girdlers,
and Cutlers.* In Hereford there were Gilds for nearly thirty
trades.* It was probably very often the case, as it was with
the Weavers' Gild in London, that a craft-gild existing
> Gross, The OUd Merchant, I. 45, 46, 47.
* Liher Custumarum (Bolls Series), 215.
* Ochenkowski, Englandt Wirthsehaftliche Entwiclulung im Autgange
dea Mittelaltcrs, 51-4.
« Liher CuituiMtrum (Bolls Series) 80-81, 101-2, 121 ; Liher Albu» (BoUb
Series), 726, 734. Bilej, Memorials qf London, 179.
5 Johnson, Cuttomt (f Hereford, 115-6.
Digitized by
Google
The Expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290. 247
in any town could forbid the practice of the craft in the
town to all who had not been elected to membership, or
earned it by serving the apprenticeship that the Gild's
statute required.^ The period required by the Lorimers*
statute was ten years, by the Weavers', seven, and in some
cases certainly, and probably in all, the apprenticeship had
to be served under a freeman of the city.* The apprentice
who had served his time, was still, in some towns and
industries, unable to practise his craft, unless he became a
citizen and entered the frank pledge.^ It was diflScult for
a Jewish boy to become an apprentice, for the Church
threatened to excommunicate any Christian who received
into his house, as an apprentice would naturally be received,
a Jew or Jewess ; it was impossible for a Jewish man to
become a citizen, for the king forbade his Jewish " serfs "
to be in scot and lot with the other inhabitants of the cities
in which they lived.
Excluded from the trades and handicrafts of the towns,
the Jew might try other means of earning a livelihood.
He might attempt to travel with wares or with produce,
from one part of England to another, or he might be an
importer or an exporter. But wholesale trade of this kind
would be open to those alone who had command of a large
capital. And this was not the only dilBSculty in the way.
If the Jew went about the country with his goods from
fair to fair, or from city to city, he would do so at very
great risk. He would have to travel over the high roads,
the perils of which made necessary the Statute of Win-
chester, and are recounted in the words of its preamble,
de jour en jour roberieSy homicides, arsons, plus sovenerement
sont fetes que avaunt ne soleyent} If he survived the
dangers of the road and reached a fair, he would find
> lAber CustumariMi, 41S-425,
• Liber Ciutumarum, 78, 81, 124. RUey, Memorials qf London, 179,
216.
• Liber (Msiumaruvi^ 79, Oohenkowski, Op. CU,, 64.
• StQhbB, Select Charters, 470.
Digitized by
Google
248 The Jeiciah Quarterly Revietr.
there an assemblage made up in part of '* daring persons,"
such as those, who, in spite of the orderly traders and
citizens, had caused the massa^cre at Lynn, in 1190,^ or
those who, at Boston killed the merchants and plundered
their goods, until "the streets ran with silver and gold,"*
or those citizens of Winchester who, in the reign of Henry
III., carried on for a time a successful conspiracy to rob all
itinerant merchants who passed through the country.'
With his foreign face and striking badge, he would be the
first mark for the hatred of the riotous crowd. And if he
escaped violence and robbery, he had still to fear the officials
of the lord of the fair, who exercised for the time unlimited
and irresponsible power, and who, according to the regula-
tions of some fairs, could destroy the goods of any trader
if their quality did not please them.* When he had
managed to escape from the mob and the officials, his
difficulties were not over. He might make his bargains,
but there was no court of justice to which he could appeal
to enforce the completion of any transaction that required
a longer time than that of the duration of the fair. Redress
for any injustice committed at a fair, or for the failure to
carry out an agreement made there, could be obtained only
through application made by the mimicipality of the com-
plainant to that of the wrong-doer.* The Jew had no
municipality to present his claims. If those with whom
he had transactions deceived him or refused to pay him, he
was helpless. There was no power to which he could
appeal.
If instead of going to a fair he tried to sell, in a town,
produce from another country or a diflFerent part of
England, he was in a position of even greater difficulty.
* Jacobs, 116.
' Walsingbam, HUtoria Anglicana (BoUa Series), L 30.
' M. Paris, Chronica Majora, v. 56-8.
* Ochenkowski, Englands wirthfchaftliche Fntwickelung, 157.
s Gmmingham, Qrowth of BnglUh Industry and Commerce, Early and
Middle Ages, 175.
Digitized by
Google
The Expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290. 249
Tn a strange town he was as much an alien as in a strange
country, and there was scarcely any limit to the vexations
and sufferings that on that account he would have to endure.
In London, for example, alien merchants were forbidden to
remain in the city for more than forty consecutive days.
While they were there they might not sell anything by retail,
nor have any business dealings at all with any but citizens.
There was a long list of articles that they were altogether
forbidden to buy. They might not stow their goods in
houses or cellars ; they had to sell within forty days all
that they had brought with them; they were allowed
neither to sell anything after that time, nor to take
anything back with them. They were continually annoyed
by the oflScers of the city.^ All these disadvantages the
Jew would have to endure to the full while competing with
many powerful organisations which were engaged in foreign
trade, and had, after long struggles, secured from the king
special charters of privilege. Such were the companies
of the merchants of Germany, who had their steelyard in
London and their settlements at Boston and Lynn ; the
Flemings, who had their Hanse in London ; the Gascons
who enjoyed a charter; the Spaniards and Portuguese; the
Florentines, most powerful of all, and the Venetians,
whose enterprise was, at the beginning of the fourteenth
century at any rate, carried on under the auspices of the
Republic.*
The last opportunity for the Jews was to take part in
the export of English produce. English wool W€w the
most important article of international trade in Western
Europe. It was brought from monasteries and landholders
chiefly by the rich and powerful companies of Flemish
* Liber Cuttumarum (Bolls Series), xxxiv.-xlTiii., 61-72 ; Liber Albv-t,
xcv., xovi., 287 ; Macpherson, Annals of Commerce y I. 388-9.
' LUter Cuttumarum and Liber Albun, as referred to in preceding note :
Cunningham, Growth of EnglUh Industry and Cominerce, Early and
Middle Ages, 181-6 ; Ochenkowski, Englandt wirthschqftliehe Entwicke'
lung, 180 ; Calendar of State Papers ( Venetian^, lx.-lxix. ; Pemzzi, Storia
dH Banchieri e del Commercio di Firenze, 70.
Digitized by
Google
250 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
and Italian merchants, and sent to Flanders and Italy to be
woven and dyed.^ The Jews had, apparently, long taken
some slight part in wholesale trade,' but the amount of
capital that it required, and the power of the rivals who
held the field, made it impossible for many of them to take
to it immediately as a substitute for money-lending.
Still it was the only form of enterprise in which they
would not be at a hopeless disadvantage, and some Jews,
those probably who had a large capital and were able to
recall it from the borrowers, followed the example of the
Italians, and made to landholders advances of money to be
repaid in corn and wool.*
VIII. — The Temptations of the Jews.
But even for those Jews who were rich enough to take
part in wholesale trade, there was still a great temptation
to transgress the prohibition against usury. All the legal
machinery that was necessary for the due execution and
validity of agreements between Jews and Christians — the
chest in which the deeds were deposited, and the staffs
of officers by whom they were registered and supervised
— were still maintained in some towns, since they were
necessary alike for the recovery, by the ordinary process,
of the old debts (many of which, in spite of the order for
summary i*epayment in the Statute of 1275, still remained
outstanding/ and for the registration of any new agree-
* Ganningham, Grnwth^ etc., 185 ; Maopherson. AnnaU of Commerce,
pp. 415, 481 ; Calendar of State Papev (^Venetian), lxvi.-lxvii.
* Jacobs, 66-7 ; Areh^ologieal Journal, xxxviii. 179.
* This was the procedure adopted by the Italians : They paid down
a sum as earnest-money, and then took a bond (Peruzzi, 70). Cf. Tovey,
207.
* For pledjres still unredeemed, land still in the hands of the Jews
and old debts still unpaid long after the Statutes of 1270-1275 had been
passed, see MSS. in Public Record Office (^QueeiCt Revi^mbranrerg
MUrellanea, 557, 13-23) ; Rymer. 1. 570 ; John of Peckham, I. 937 ;
Calendar of Potent Ridh, 12H1-1292, p. 81; Frynne, Second Demurrer,
pp. 74 and 80 (=154).
Digitized by
Google
The EitpuhUm of the Jem from England in 1290. 251
ments that might be made for the delivery of com and
wool, or for the repayment of money lent ostensibly
without interest. There was no lack of would-be bor-
rowers to co-operate with the Jews in using this machinery
in order to make agreements on which, in spite of the
prohibition of usury, money might profitably be lent. The
demand for loans was great, far too great to be satisfied,
as the Church thought it reasonable to expect,^ by money
advanced without interest ; and owing to the progress of
the change from payment of rents in kind or service to
payment in cash,* it was steadily growing. It had been
met by the money of the Italian bankers, of the Jews, of
English citizens, and, as is freely hinted by writers of the
time, of great English barons, who secretly shared in the
transactions and the profits of the Jewish and foreign
usurers.* The supply had suddenly been checked by the
simultaneous prohibition of all usury whether of Jews or of
Christians. Now a Jew who wished, by collusion with a
borrower, to evade the law against usury, had only to study
the methods that had been followed by the Caursines, and
those that were still followed by the Italians and acquiesced
in by the heads of the religious houses with whom they
had dealings. The Caursines, for example, sometimes
avoided the appearance of usury by lending 100 marks
and receiving in return a bond, acknowledging a loan of
£100.* Sometimes they lent money for a definite period,
on an agreement that they were to get a " gift," in return
for their kindness in making the loan, and ** compensation "
in case it were not repaid in time.* Sometimes by a still
more elaborate device, the Italians combined their two
^ LabbenSf Saerotaneta Concilia^ XI. 649-50.
* Vinogradoff, Villeinage in Englandy 179, 307.
» M. Paris, V. 245 ; Wilkina, Cone,, I. 675 ; De Antiq, Legihut, 234 8q.
(Archbishop of York's remarks on the oormption of the Great Council and
on ^efautoret of Jews.)
* M. Paris, Chronica Minora, V. 404-5.
* Muratori, Antiquitates Italicoi Medii Aevi, I., 893.
Digitized by
Google
252 The Jewish Quarterly Revieu).
professions of money-lenders and merchants, by inducing
a monastery which had borrowed money, to acknowledge
the receipt, not only of the money, but also of the price of
certain sacks of wool which it bound itself in due time to
supply.^ The Jews, no doubt, followed the example of
the Caursines and of the Italians. In official registers,
which are still extant, there are mentioned bonds which
secured to Jewish creditors a lartjje payment in money
together with a small payment in kind, and which doubt-
less represent collusive transactions, in which the offence of
usury was to be avoided by the substitution of a recom-
pense in kind for interest in money. Other bonds for
repayment of money alone are mentioned in the same
registers as having been executed after 1275, and every one
of the kind that was executed between that date and the
date of the amendment of the Statute against usury may
be safely considered to represent a transaction which was
an offence, either veiled or open, against the prohibition.
The temptation to transgrcvss the Statute of 1275 could
appeal only to Jews with capital, but on the poorer Jews
other temptations acted with even more strength and even
worse results.
The only reputable careers known to have been
open to the poorer Jews were to become servants in the
houses of their rich co-religionists,* or else to imitate in a
humble way their tinancial transactions, either by keeping
pawnshops,^ or by carrying on, in towns where there was
no recognised Jewry, business of the same kind as that
of the rich money-lenders in the larger Jewish settlements.
To follow these pui-suits was now impossible, in consequence,
not only of the prohibition of usury, but also of the strict-
ness with which Edward enforced the old legislation
llotuli Parliamentorumy I. 1, 2.
» Royal Letters (RoUs Series), II. 24.
' Le4!t JutUdietion of Norvowh (Selden Society), p. 10; Cf. Aneren
Riwle (Camden Society), 395. " Do not men account him a g^ood friend
who layeth his pledjje in Jewry to redeem his companion ? "
Digitized by
Google
The Expulsion of the Jewejrom England in 1290. S58
against the residence of Jews in towns where there did no
exist a chest for the deposit of Jewish debts, and a staff of
clerks to witness and register them.^ There was thus
nothing to which the poorer Jews could turn. Crowded
as unwelcome intruders into a small and decreasing number
of towns, without legal standing or industrial skill, hated
by the people and declared accursed by the Church, they
were bidden to support themselves under conditions whidi
made the task impossible unless they could take by storm
the citadel of municipal privilege which bade defiance to
the " greatest of the Plantagenets " throughout his reign.
Under such conditions degeneration was inevitable. Some
of the Jews are said to have taken to highway robbery
and burglary;' some went into the House of Converts,
where they got l^d. a day and free lodging.' But to the
dishonest there was open a £Etr more profitable form of
dishonesty than either of those already mentioned, viz.,
clipping the coin.
The offence had long been prevalent. In 1248 such
mischief had been done that, according to Matthew Paris
" no foreigner, let alone an Englishman, could look on an
English coin with dry eyes and unbroken heart" ^ It was
in vain that Henry III. issued a new coinage, so stamped
that the device and the lettering extended to the edge of
the piece,* and caused it to be proclaimed in every town,
village, market-place, and fair that none but the new pieces
with their shapes unaltered should be given or taken in
exchange.* The opportunity for dishonesty was too tempt-
ing. The coins that actually circulated in the country
* RTiner, Foedera^ I. 603, 634 ; Papers of the Anglo-Jewuh Hittorioal
XxhibUim, 187-190.
* Calendar of Patent RolU^ 1381-1292, p. 98; Papers Anglo- Jeuiish Hist.
Ex, 167.
* See DietUmary of PsiUieal JEoonomy, Article Jbws, (Hoiue for
Conyerted).
* Chronica Majora, V. 16.
* Annates Monastici (Rolls Series), II. 339.
< M. Paris, Chronica Majora, Y. 16, 16.
VOL. VU. S
Digitized by
Google
254 The Jennsh Quarterly Review,
were of many different issues/ they were not milled at ther
edges,' they were so liable to damage and mutilation of all
kinds that their deficiency of weight had to be recognised
and allowed for.' Hence anyone who had many coins
passing through his hands could secure an easy profit by
clipping off a piece from each one before he passed it
again into circulation. In the early part of the reign of
Edward I., such was the deficiency in the weight of genuine
coins (an annalist of the period estimates it at 50 per cent.),'*
and such the amount of false coin in circulation, that the
price of commodities rose to an alarming height, foreign
merchants were driven away, trade became completely dis-
organised, shopkeepers refused the money tendered to them,
and the necessities of life were withdrawn from the mar-
kets.^ The E^ng had to promise to issue a new coinage,
but the announcement of his intention only increased the
general disturbance. The Archbishop of Canterbury com-
plained that in consequence of the disturbance of circulation,
he could not find anyone, except the professional usurers,
from whom he could borrow money on which to live during
the interval before the revenues of his see began to come
in.* When the King at this period of his reign went to
a priory to ask for money, the first and most cogent of the
excuses that he heard was that "the House was im-
poverished by the change in the coinage of the realm." '
Public opinion ascribed to the Jews the greatest share in
the injuries to the coinage. " They are notoriously forgers
and clippers of the coin," says Matthew Paris.^ And that
the suspicion was not absolutely without justification is
shown by the fact, that early in Henry IIL's reign, the
* Buding, AnnaU of the Chinage, L 179.
' Ashley, Economic HUL^ Theory, I. 169.
* Ashley, I., 215, n. 95 ; cf. Jaoobs, 73 and 226.
* Annales MonaHici (Bolls Series), IV. 278.
' Annales Monastioi, IV. 278 ; Liher dutumarum^ 189.
^ John of Peokham, Registrum EpUtolarvm (BoUs Series), I. 22.
' Annales Monastici III. 295. ^ Historia Anglorum, III. 76.
Digitized by
Google
The Expukion of the Jem from England in 1290. 255
community made a payment to the King in order to secure
as a concession the expulsion from England of such of its
members as might be convicted of the crime.^ When in-
quiries were ordered into the causes of the debasement, in
1248, it was generally considered that the guilt would be
found to rest with the Jews.* The oflScial verdict included
them with the Caursines and the Flemish wool-merchants
in its condemnation.*
It was not unnatural that Edward, when the evil re-
appeared in his reign, should share the general suspicion
against the Jews, seeing that they had only recently begun to
give up dealing in money, while mfiuay of the poorer among
them must have become, since 1275, desperate enough to
be ready to take to any tempting form of dishonesty. The
King's indignation at the suffering that had been caused
by the injury done to the old coinage, and at the expense
that was involved in the preparation of the new issue
which had become necessary, prompted him to act on his
suspicions, and to take a measure of terrible severity
in order to make sure of the apprehension of the most
probable culprits. When, in 1278, he was making prepa-
rations for an inquiry into the whole subject of the
coinage, he caused all the Jews of England to be im-
prisoned in one night, their property to be seized, and
their houses to be searched. At the same time the gold-
smiths, and many others s^inst whom information was
given by the Jews, were treated in the same way.*
The prisoners were tried before a bench of judges and
royal officers. There can be no doubt that many innocent
men were accused, even if they were not condemned.
At a time when all the Jews in England were imprisoned,
there was a great temptation for Christians to bring false
accusations against those among them whom they dis-
liked on personal or religious grounds, especially as there
' Tovey, 109 ; Madoz, RiHory of the Exchequer I. 245, z.
» M. Paris, Chronica Majora, IV. 608.
» Ihid,, V. 16. * Annalcft Mnnastiei, IV. 278.
s 2
Digitized by
Google
266 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
was a good chance of extorting hush-money from the
accused, or, in case of condemnation, of concealing from
the escheators some of their property.^ The Jews and the
King recognised the danger. One Manser of London, for ex-
ample, was wise enough to sue that an investigation might
be held into the ownership of tools for clipping that were
found on the roof of his house.* The King, anxious that
punishment should fall only on the guilty, issued a general
writ, in which the various motives for false accusation were
recited, and it was ordered that any Jew against whom no
charge had been brought by a certain date might secure
himself altogether by paying a fine.' Nevertheless, a large
number both of Jews and Christians were found guilty. Of
the Christians only three were condemned to death, though
many others were heavily fined. For the Jews, however,
there was no mercy. Two hundred and ninety-three of
them were hanged and drawn in London, and all their
property escheated to the King. A few more had been
condemned, but saved their lives by conversion to
Christianity.*
The activity with which Jews took part, or were supposed
to take part, in the debasement of the coinage, and in the pro-
hibited practice of usury,* must have aroused in the mind of
the King some misgivings on the subject of his new policy.
Nevertheless, he did not as yet desp€dr of its ultimate
> Calendar af Patent Rolls from 1281 to 1292, 128, U7, 173, 176. 213,
291, 451 ; Chron, Ed. /., I. 93 ; Rotuli Parliamentorum, I. 51a; Bjmer,
Fadera, I., 570.
' Papers AnglO'Jetoish Historical Exhibition^ 42-3.
» Tovey, 211-13.
« Chroniclee of Edward i. and Edward IT, (Bolls Series), L, 88 ;
Chronicon Petroburgense (Camden Society), 29.
* ** Whereas in the time of our ancestors, kings of England,
loans at Interest were wont and were allowed to be made by Jews
of our kingdom, and much of such profits fell into the hands of
those our ancestors, as the issues of onr Jewry; and we, led on
by the loye of Grod, and wishing to foUow more devoutly in the
path of the Holy Church, did forbid unto all the Jews of our
kingdom who had Tioiously lived from such loans, that none ot them
henceforth in any manner be guilty of resorting to loans at interest,
but that they seek their living and sustain themselves by other legitimate
Digitized by
Google
The Ewpubion of the Jews from England in 1290. 257
success. The crimes of the Jews were no greater than
those of the Christians around them, though they called
forth heavier punishment. Christians clipped and coined ;
Christians still lent money on usury .^ And a certain
amount of crime among Jews could not but be looked for
as a natural result of the terrible difficulties in the way of
the social revolution that had been demanded of them.
Edward saw that he had been trying to do too much at
once. The Jews could not change their occupation as
suddenly as he had wished. The country could not do
without money-lenders. By making the lending of money
at interest a penal offence, and thus encouraging debtors
and creditors to keep their transactions secret, Edward had
weakened the supervision that had been exercised by the
Treasury, since 1194, over the business and property of
the Jews, and thus he had increased the chance of fraud in
the collection of tallages, and in the apportionment of the
share of each estate that had long been claimed by the
Crown as the succession due on Jewish property.* But he
had not stamped out usury, though the Statute of 1275
had forbidden it He had not even secured the redemption
of all pledges of Christians from the hands of the Jews,
though the Statute of 1275 had demanded it. And, there-
fore, in order that he might not keep on the Statute Book
a law of which the effective administration was impossible,
work and merchandise, especially since hj the fayonr of Holy Ohnroh
they are suffered to seU and Utc among Christians. Nererthelees.
afterwards, in a blind and eyil spirit, taming to eyil, under colour of
merchandise and good contracts and coTenants, what we established
by rational thought, premeditating mischief anew, they do it
with Christians by means of bonds and divers instruments, which
remain with the Jews, and in which, on a given debt or contract,
they put double, treble, or quadruple more than they lend to the
Christians [this reads like an exaggeration!, penally abusing the name
of usury. . . .'* {Papers Anglo-Jewish Historical Bcphibitionj 225-6).
^ For Coining, see Ruding, Annals qf the Coinage 1. 197 ; Calendar qf
Patent Rolls from 1281 to 1292, 97 ; Abbreviatio Kotulorum Originalium
(Record Commissien), 49 ; Peckham, Negistrum Epistolarumy 1. 146. For
Usury, Ibrty-fourth Report of the Deputy-Keeper of the Publie Records,
Ep. 8 and 9 ; Aroheeologia, XXVIII., 227-9; Peckham, II., 642 ; and for a
kter period, Rotvli Parliamentorum, II. 332tf, (VII.) 350ft.
' Papers of Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition^ p. 192 (note 64), and
p. 222.
Digitized by
Google
258 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
he mitigated the severity of the provisions of 1276, and
issued, probably a few years later, a new Statute, in which
he prescribed certain conditions under which usury was to
be permitted. He allowed loans to be made under con-
tract for the payment of interest at the rate of half a mark
in the pound yearly, but for three years only ; and, in order
to reduce the temptation to conclude secret transctctions,
restored legal recognition to all debts of the value of £20
or upwards that were made under the prescribed condi-
tions, and were registered before the chirographer and
clerk, and threatened heavy penalties against all who
should lend up to that amount without registration.^
Edward was wise in thus substituting for his earlier,
harassing measure, one that allowed for gradual change,
and that attempted to control the evil of which the imme-
diate suppression was impossible. But the few years'
experience that he had already had ought to have made
him go farther still. It ought to have shown him that it
was hopeless to expect the Jews to give up usury so long
as the greater part of them were practically excluded
from all other pursuits, and that, if ever he was to bring to
a successful issue the policy that he had inaugurated, he
would have to find some means of enabling them to work
side by side with Christians, and to compete with them on
equal conditions.
Such a task would have been full of difficulties, the
greatest of which resulted from the active hostility with
which the rulers and teachers of the Christian Church in
the thirteenth century, unlike their predecessors, regarded
the Jews. The growth and nature of this hostility must
now be considered.
B. Lionel Abrahams.
{To be continued.)
* Papers of Anglo-Jtwish Historical Exhibition, pp. 224-9.
Digitized by
Google
Death, Burial, and Mourning, 259
SLIEFS, RITES, AND CUSTOMS OF THE JEWS,
CONNECTED WITH DEATH, BURIAL, AND
MOURNING.
J3 ILLUSTRATED B7 THE BiBLE AND LATEB JEWISH
LITERATURE.)
HE next step preliminary to burial is to prepare the
>rpse by a process of purification for its journey to its
emal home. This sacred task is usually fulfilled by the
lembers of a religious confraternity known as MlJT^p MTS^^,
ho have voluntarily taken upon themselves to discharge
1 the rites connected with death and burial Their
Buried duties are covered by the word avyKOfxi^eiv, occur-
mg in Acts viii. 2.
The water required for the cleansing of the dead has to
e warmed. The ceremonial of washing the corpse must
ot be performed by one person alone, not even in the
ase of a child. The dead must likewise not be moved
rom one position to another by fewer than two persons.
?he corpse is first laid on a deal board, with its feet turned
owards the door, and covered with a clean sheet. The
K)dy is undressed as far as the inner shirt, which is then
ent through from the breast downward in such a manner
;hat the corpse shall remain covered throughout. The
iorpse is now washed from head to foot in lukewarm water,
luring which process the mouth is covered, so that no water
ihould trickle down it.
First, the dead lies with face lifted upward ; it is next
inclined upon the right side while the left side and part
[)f the bcu^k are being washed, and is then turned on to the
Digitized by
Google
260 The Jewish Quarterly Beview.
left side while the right side and the remainiDg portion oi
the back are being subjected to the same treatment, th(
corpse being afterwards laid on its back. In some casei
the nails are cut, but generally they are simply cleaned
with a special kind of pin, while the hair i.s often arrangec
in the manner in which it was worn in life. In ancieni
times the hair was cut (T. B. Moed. Kat, 86), but it is non
only washed, and nine measures of cold water are sub
sequently poured over the corpse (during which, in some
plfitces, the dead is settled in an upright position), and thij
constitutes the actual religious purification technicallj
known as rpjo©.
While this ceremonial is being carried out, some versei
are recited by those who officiate, concluding with th(
words : " And I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and
you shall be clean " (Ezekiel xxxvL 25).
The corpse is, of course, thoroughly dried, care being
taken not to leave it uncovered the while. Women
have to undergo the same process of purification at ih(
hands of their own sex. In Acts ix. 37 we have an
instance of a woman being washed before burial in Neiv
Testament times.
The board on which the corpse lay is cleansed, and all
the water that may have been spilt around about is cleared
up, so that no one should pass over it. The overturning oi
the board is fraught with danger, and any one might di(
in consequence within three days afterwards (Testament oj
R Jehuda Chasid. VL).
It was formerly the custom also to anoint the corpse
after cleansing, with various kinds of aromatic spices
ty^ryo ^V Q'^P^?* It will be remembered that when Mar}
was reproached with an unnecessary waste of ointment
Jesus exclaimed, ''SulBfer her to keep it against the daj
of my burial" (John xiL 7). And we find it recorded
that a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about 100 lbs. weight
was subsequently brought for the body of Jesus (Ibid
xix. 39). The custom of actual embalming, as understood
Digitized by
Google
Death, Burial, and Mourning. 261
by ihe Egyptians, does not seem to have found favour with
the Jews, as instances of the practice are extremely rare in
the history of Israel
The legendary character of stories such as that Herod
preserved the corpse of a girl in honey for seven years,
and that the corpse of Eleazer bar Simeon was confined
in a garret for twenty-two years is, as Perles truly remarks,
self -apparent.
For examples of swathing the corpse in spices, cf . Matt,
xxvi. 12; Mark xiv. 8; xvi. 1; Luke xxiii. 56; xxiv. 1;
John xix. 39 f.
After the rite of purification has been carried out in
the customary manner, the corpse is clothed in grave-
vestments, commonly called ^'•DnDn {Mish. Sanhed, vi. 5),
or metaphorically MnilT, provision for a journey (T.B.
JSrub. 41a). They are identical with the aivSwv of the New
Testament (cf. Matt xxvii. 59, etc.), being made of white
linen (^TD) without the slightest ornament, and must be
stainless. They are usually the work of women, and are
simply pieced together, no knots being permitted, accord-
ing to some, in token that the mind of the dead is dis-
entangled of the cares of this life, but in the opinion of
others, as representing the expression of a wish that the
bones of the dead may be speedily dissolved into their
primitive dust {Eokiach, 816).
The outfit of the dead usually comprises n532JD, a cap
or mitre, n'»''D3DD, breeches, naVlD, shirty DDno, a garment
resembling a surplice, and myn, girdle. No corpse, male
or female, must be clothed in less than three garments.
Over these is placed the prayer cloak n^bls, usually worn
by the Jews during divine worship, with one of the fringes
torn off the comer to which it is attached. In the case of
women, an apron, ni3^, is supplied instead of D^'^oaDD.
Women also dispense with the n^^, as it is not worn by
members of the female sex in life. Very frequently the white
shroud used by strict Jews on New Year's Day, the Day
of Atonement, and the Passover "night of observance/'
Digitized by
Google
262 The Jetmh Quarterly Reeifiw.
forms part of their grave apparel. " It is the custom in
some countries that the bride presents the bridegroom with
this article on the wedding day*' {The Jewish Religion^
Friedlander, p. 492, Note 2). The cerements correspond to
the garments worn by the High Priest in days of old. The
regulations (set forth above) with regard to the TXyyt^ and
the mode of dressing the dead are post-Talmudic ; see the
D^'^nn IDD, a work compiled early in the last century, by
Rabbi Simeon Frankfurter, and edited with an English
translation and notes, under the title of Book oflAfe, by the
Rev. B. H. Ascher.
The making of the several vestments to be worn by the
departed is esteemed as a n^sp and we are told {Ruth
Rab., I. 8) that the kindness which Naomi's daughter-in-
law showed to the dead (Ruth i. 8) consisted in her having
prepared grave-clothes for them. Apropos of this, the
Targ. Jerus. has a remarkable rendering of Deut. xxvi. 14 :
: naV ^^^^ ''^n? ^) ^a^^P '^ai^ ""pf?^^ ^\ "I have not
defrayed therefrom the expense of grave-vestments." (For
a note on this interpretation, see Qeiger's Urschrift, p. 479.)
It is strange that T3^?«?, "a mingled stuff, wool and
linen together," prohibited for ordinary garments in Levit.
xix. 19 and Deut. xxii. 11, may be used for the purpose
of cerements (Mish, Kilaim ix. 4).
The garments worn by the dead are referred to in the
following passages of the New Testament : Matth. xxvii.
69; Mark xv. 46 ; Luke xxiii. 53; John xi. 44; xx. 7;
xix. 40 ; Acts v. 6.
The cerements were not invariably composed of the
simplest material, nor were they "always white." Until
about fifty years after the destruction of the Jewish State,
gross extravagance was practised in the dressing of the
dead. (Cf. Josephus, Ant, XV. iii. 4 ; XVI. vii. 1 : XVIL ix.
3; Wars of Jews, 1. xxxiii. 9.)
Thus we are told (T. B. Moed Kat. 27b) that formerly
the outlay concurrent on a death in a household was so
great, that the suffering of the mourners was thereby
Digitized by
Google
Death, Bui^l, and Mourning, 26S
intensified, and the anxiety of having to provide the
necessary expenses was often a greater source of sorrow
to the bereaved than the actual loss they had sustained.
Hence Rabban Gamliel left an injunction that he was not
to be buried in many grave-vestments, and it is reported
that he was interred in a simple linen shroud (see
Toaafoth, i I.).
We also find in the Testaments of the Twelve Patri-
archs that Judah's last command to his family, which he
joined with the injunction to lay him in Hebron, was a
protest against, their enwrapping him in costly robes
(Tesiamenta XII. Patriarchum, Ed. Sinker, p. 79. Cf.
Chrysostom, Somil., 84). The Kolbo enjoins (§ 114) that
the dead should not be attired in splendid vestments,
so as not to put to shame those who, may not have the
means to provide them. Thus in process of time a gar-
ment costing a sus became popular (T.B. Moed Kat, 27b)^
and the Jews have since been interred in the simplest and
most inexpensive raiment (cf. Josephus c. Apion, ii. § 27).
Up to the age of the Rabbis, the cerements used to be of
different colours, such as red, white, green and variegated
(Cf. T. J. Eilaim, ix. 14). Afterwards white predominated,
and has since prevailed, doubtless because it is emblematical
of purity and simplicity. Rabbi Jochanan requested to be
buried in garments that were neither entirely white nor
entirely black, so that should he come hereafter among the
righteous he should feel no shame, and should his lines fall
among the impious, he should have no reason to blush.
(Ibid.) Rabbi Joshia wished to be buried in white gar-
ments, because he did not feel ashamed of his deeds.
{Beresh. Bab. xcvL 5). Rabbi Jannai is reported to have
addressed his children before death: "Bury me not in black
garments, nor in white ; not in black, because I might be
found righteous, and I should then be as a mourner among
bridegrooms ; not in white, in case I should be approved
in the sight of God, and I should then be as a bridegroom
among mourners. Buiy me rather in vestments that are
Digitized by
Google
264 The Jetoish Quarterly Rewew.
saturated with fine oil and have come from a maritime
town." (T3.8habb,lUa.)
In T. B. MegiUa, 266, it is stated that antiquated scrolls of
the Law, which were no longer fit for use in the syna-
gogue, were employed for clothing the dead.
Interment in a simple reed-mat, n^3p \tD rtSTTO, was con-
sidered as a token of disrespect to the dead, and suggested
in the eyes of the people that the departed had been
placed under ban, and could not be united with the bands
of spirits pervading the world. Thus, in the course of a
conversation between two departed spirits, overheard by
a Rabbi who was passing the night in the burying-place,
one of the spirits remarked that she was buried in a mat
of reeds, and could not therefore leave the grave (T. B.
Beraeh, 186).
The Rabbis seem to have been much exercised as to
whether in the time of the resurrection the dead would
come forth from their tombs naked or clothed. Rabbi Ibo
(or, according to some. Rabbi Nathan) deduced from Job
xxxviiL 14, that a man will arise from the grave in the
same garments which he wore when he entered it (Kohel.
Bab, V. 10). Rabbi Meir argued, a minare ad mqforem, that
if a mere grain of wheat, which is deposited in the ground
in all its nakedness, comes forth at a later date with an
abimdance of vesture, how much more should the righteous,
who are interred in grave garments (T. B. Sanhed. 906, and
cf. 1 Cor. XV. 37f). We also find a similar opinion expressed
in T. B. Kethub 1116, ^mo^'obn 'nTDy'»H7 D>pn2 y>l>nv
** Likewise Aischa asked the Messenger of God (Mohammed),
Will no one awake clothed on the day of the resurrection ?
No one, he replied, but the prophets, their families (the
martyrs), and those who fasted regularly in Ragab,
Schab&n, and Ramad^ ** {Muhamm, Eschat ch. xxviii.).
The Jews were not the only nation of antiquity who
bestowed such care upon the purification of their dead
prior to interment. The Syrians (according to Bar He-
braeus. Book of CondtAct, 36e?.) likewise washed their dead,
Digitized by
Google
Deaths Burial, and Mourning. 266
afterwards clothed them in linen vestments. Jacob
Idessa, however, explains that the washing of the dead,
ii the'Nestorians regarded as an ordinance of the
rch, was nowhere commanded; it only became a re-
dsed custom because at first those who died from
re ulcers were washed and anointed with fragrant oil
)n8ecTation, and the practice was afterwards extended
11 alike. The laity and inferior clergy had their whole
es washed ; monks, nuns, anchorites, and the superior
rj had only the head, hands, and feet cleansed {Die
}ne8 Jacob's von Edesaa, p. 152.) With reference to
Nestorian ritual of the washing of the dead, see an
"esting article by Isaac H. Hall in Sebraica, IV. 82.
learned author states that the dead is apparelled in
e garments as in the days of his wedding. The
aritans are likewise prepared for burial by their own
ds ; the whole body is washed, but especially the head
oe), mouth, nose, face, ears, both inside and out (all
Mohammedan fashion), and lastly the feet (Fragments
Samaritan Targum, etc., John W. Nutt). The Man-
ns also have a sacrament of the dying, referred to by
ffi, 120 seq. They pour first hot and then cold water
the head of the dying man, and subsequently array
in the rast&, in which he is to be interred. Dying
out this ablution and attire causes the soul to remain
o the last day among the Matartll's (Die Mandaisehe
Hon, A, J. Wilhelm Brandt, 82). When one of the
iyreeyah dies, the liody is well soaked, and is washed
warm water. The corpse is then wrapped in a white
ad Likewise among the Abyssinians, the body is
)ped in a white cotton shroud (Social Races of Mankind,
herman, Div. V., 496f., 619). It was the custom in
«e that the women should wash and anoint the body,
then clothe it in clean white garments (Lucian, De
M. § 11 ; Sophocles, (Edip. Colon. 1602 f. ; Homer, Iliad,
H. 350 ; XXIV. 582 ; Odyss., XXIV. 4). It was also a
with the Romans for the body to be bathed in hot
Digitized by
Google
266 Ths Jewish Quarterly Retnew.
water and then anointed (SeyflTert's Diet, of Class. Antiqs.):
Among the Assyrians and Babylonians, " the corpse was
wrapped in mats of reed and covered with asphalt ; it was
clothed in the dress and ornaments that had been worn
during life — the woman with her earrings in her ears, her
spindle- whorl ajid thread in her hands ; the man with his
seal and weapons of bronze or stone ; the child with his
necklace of shells" (Social Life among the Assyrians and
Babylonians, A. H. Sayce, Chap. IV.).
The Jews in ancient times had also a number of valuable
articles deposited with them in the grave {Semach, VIII.).
Thus, when Hyrcanus opened the sepulchre of David he took
out of it three thousand talents ( Josephus, Ant. XIIL viiL 4 ;
XVI. vii 1). In like manner, Aristobulus was buried with
many ornaments (Idem, Ant. XV. iii. 4). With regard to the
Syrians the Patriarch John complains that costly garments
and all kinds of finery were buried with the dead {Ehed-
Jesu in Mai-a-a-O, 258, quoted by Kayser). In Greece, too,
many tombs have been found to contain various articles
that had been dear or useful to the living (Max Miiller,
Anthropological Beligion, p. 264). Among the Polynesians it
was customary to bury with the dead some article of value ;
a female would have a cloth mallet laid by her side, whilst
her husband would enjoin his friends to bury with him a
favourite stone adze, or a beautiful white shell worn by
him in the dance (Tbid, p. 277). Among various South
African tribes, ''the ornaments, rings, armlets, tobacco
pipes, and articles of apparel worn by the departed are
placed in the grave, as well as his broken spear, walking-
stick, and other small personal effects " (Rev. J. Macdonald,
in Joum. of Anthrop, Inst XIX.). In the case of the Jews,
symbols and souvenirs of the calling of the deceased were
sometimes suspended from the coflSn {Semach. VIII.), modem
Jews often deposited in the grave a bag filled with earth
(by preference, dust of the Holy Land) which is placed
under the head of the corpse.
When the dead has been thoroughly prepared for burial
Digitized by
Google
Death, Burial, and Mourning. 267
lie is placed in a coflSn in a sleeping posture, the hands
and feet being stretched out to their fullest lengtL The
corpse must on no account be left in the attitude known as
VISOp, ie,, squeezed together as fish are sometimes packed,
the head of one being pressed against the feet of another,
and so on (T. J. Nasir, ix. 3). The corner of the prayer
cloak, of which a fringe was torn ofi", is left hanging out of
the coffin.
There is some uncertainty as to whether the dead were
buried in ancient times with or without a coffin.
In early Biblical times there is certainly no mention of a
coffin being used for the corpse, with the solitary exception
of the case of Joseph (Gen. 1. 26), and his interment in a
coffin was no doubt owing to the fact that the Egyptians
employed a kind of wooden case called ]i")^, to contain
the embalmed dead. In the passages in the New Testament
bearing upon the subject there is also no trace of such a
practice.
In the Ta<*taments of the Twelve Patriarchs, however, it
is remarked that they were placed in a coffin prior to
burial. With regard to Simeon (p. 8 ; cf. Book of Jubilees,
cL xlvi), it is added that the coffin was of wood which did
not decay. But this is, of course, only fanciful.
At the same time the Talmud contains several names for
coffins, and the precise instructions which it gives with
regard to the manner of interring persons of difierent
status unquestionably points to the fact that a coffin was
generally employed to contain the mortal remains in Rab-
binic times. (Cf. T. B. Moed Eat 24ft MDpDlb:i or MDpDlbl,
= ^'kaiaaoKoiieiov{dlso Semach III., and Targ. Jon, on Gen,
1. 26) ; T. J. Moed Kai. I. 1, ]nM btt7 ]nM ; T. J. Moed Eat
I. 5, yv \\D ynA\ T. J. KiMm, IX. 3, p-iM; T. B. MoedKat.
86, DnD3D ynA.)
From these titles it would seem that coffins were made
either of wood or of stone. For further particulajps with
regard to the material of the coffin, see T. B. Moed Eat 8b;
T. J. Moed Eat 1. 5.
Digitized by
Google
268 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
The lid of the coffin (according to Bashi on Shabb. 1626)
was called V^ti, and each of the side-walls pDll. R Jacob
Tarn (on Keihub. 4>b) and R Chananel (on Chull 72b), on
the contrary, take V?ti to be the stone used to confine the
coffin in the grave, and ptM the stone set at each side
for the purpose of strengthening the stone above in its
place.
A one-day old child (as among the modem Egyptians)
is not borne to the grave in a coffin, but in one's arms. A
child of thirty days has a miniature coffin that is easily
portable D"»^QaHni MDpDlb:i. The same rule applies to children
under twelve months. A child aged from twelve months
to three years is placed in a coffin that can be carried on
one's shoulders i'\nDy) HDpDf?! A child that has com-
pleted the age of three, or advanced beyond it, is re-
garded as an adult, and conveyed to the grave on a bier
(Semach. HI.).
In modem times poor and rich Jews alike are interred
in a plain coffin, and conveyed to the grave in a hearse
without trappings.
It appears that a stone used to be placed on the coffin of
persons excommunicated by the Ecclesiastical Authorities
of the Jews (T. B. Berach. 19a; Moed Kat 15a). Thus
we are told {Mi%h, JEdiyoth, v. 6) that Akabya ben
Mahalallel died under ban, and the Beth-Din cast stones
upon his coffin. K Jehuda says, however, that it was
Eliezer ben Chanoch who was " banned." When he died a
stone was laid on his coffin by order of the Beth-Din.
Hence it is to be inferred that one throws stones upon the
co&n of one who has been excommunicated and died under
ban. In Semach. Y. it states that when an excommunicated
person (miDQ = airoawdy^o^, John ix. 22) dies, a repre-
sentative of the community should place a stone on his
coffin as a symbol of the fulfilment of the punishment of
r6^pD. The custom was, however, abolished by the
Babbis of the Hiddle Ages. It was possibly based on the
case of Achan, who, having been as it were excommuni-
Digitized by
Google
Death, Burial, and Mourning. 269
cated for having taken of a devoted thing (^ID), had
a great heap of stones raised over him (Josh. vii. 26). Cf.
also 2 Sam. xviiL 17, where the same is related of Absalom.
But it appears that a similar custom prevails among the
Arabs. (See Waldemar Sonntag, Die Todtenbesfallung,
p. 197.)
A. P. Bendeb.
(To he continued.)
VOL. VII.
Digitized by
Google
270 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
DOMNINCJS, A JEWISH PHILOSOPHER OF
ANTIQUITY.
This essay will deal with a personage whose name has been
kept in darkness for 1500 years, and concerning whom
there is a risk that he might sink in oblivion. Many know
him not; those who know him do not appreciate him;
those who appreciate him, appreciate him not as a Jew.
I have undertaken to make him known and appreciated
according to his worth, but specially to reclaim him an4
give him a place in Jewish history and science.
1. Life ofDomninus. — He is mentioned by Hesychius and
Suidas in the article Jofivivo^ by the former briefly, by the
latter more fully. We get some little information concern-
ing him from Marinus in the biography of Proclus.^ We
have, therefore, but three sources for our information, of
which Suidas is the most important.
Suidas (ed. Bernhardy, L, 1432) begins as follows: —
" Domninus, by race a Syrian, of Laodicea, or Larissa, a
town in Syrisi, a disciple of Syrian, a cotemporary of
Proclus. Thus it is stated by Damascius.'**
The same account is given by Hesychius (ed. Flach, p.
60), who, however, puts immediately after the name the
words (f>CK6ao^ Svpo^. Marinus (ed. Boissonade), cap. 26,
also states that Syrian was the teacher of Domninus, who
> Marinus was a native of Flayia Neapolis, in Palestine, disciple of
Proclus, and his successor to the Chair of Philosophy at Athens in 485
A.D. One of his pupils was Agfapius.
' AofivtvoQf Sv/Doc rh ylvoc, iirb rt Aaoiuniac ical AapioirtiQ irAiwc Svp<ac»
ftaOiiriJQ ^vpuMPov Kal rov UpSicXov <rti^^o<rf|r^Ci ^ ^1<'*^ AafidvKio^,
Damascius was a pupil of Marinus and his sucoessor at Athens; vide
Photius, Myrioliblim (ed. Rotomagi, 1653), p. 411.
Digitized by
Google
Domninus, a Jewish Philosopher of Antiquity. 271
hailed from Syria.^ Hesychius states, in addition, that
the philosopher Qesius was a pupil of Domninus.*
These data are sufficient to determine the age in which
Domninus lived. Syrian died in 450 A.D., Proclus was
bom in 412 and died in 485. Marinus, the disciple of
Proclus, flourished about 480;' but Marinus speaks of
Domninus as though deceased, and consequently he could
not have been alive about 480. We know, further, that
Domninus attained a high age (Suidas styles him yrjpcuo^),
and his birth could, accordingly, not be fixed later than 400.
Domninus lived, therefore, between 400 and 480 A.D. We
know very little about his life. We shall find, later on,
that he once stayed at Athens, in company with Plutarch
the philosopher, and that he was there seized with a violent
illness. Whether he was the head of the Neo-Platonic
school at Athens, it is impossible to decide; Marinus speaks
of him as though he succeeded Syrian in the direction of
this school,* but there are cogent reasons for doubting the
accuracy of that statement.* It is nevertheless certain that
he was surrounded by pupils. Suidas mentions the tebct
that he rejected a certain pupil named Asklepiodotos.*
Proclus calls Domninus his companion.^
2. The Religion of Domninus.— Snidos forms no favourable
opinion of him. " In his mode of life,'- he says, " he was
not so remarkable as to deserve the title of philosopher," ®
and in justification of his opinion he narrates the following
anecdote: '^ It happened in Athens that iEsculapius proposed
» CI ZeUer, FhUosophie der Oriechen^ 2nd edit., Leipzig, 1868. Vol. III.
PL 3, p. 691.
' 8uh voce TkmoQy p. 40 ed. Flaoh ; xide below.
' Vide E. l&.xasik,Oetohiokte d. grieehuehen Prata (2nd ed., Berlin, 1868).
Vol II., pp. 477 and 486.
* Proolns, Cp. 26, .... Ic r^c Svpiac ^1X996^ xal SiadSx^ Aofivivif.
^ ZeUer, as above.
0 At the end of the article. I do not know why ZeUer makes no men-
tion of this fact.
' Proclus in Tim. 34 B. iraifto^, Gf. Zeller, looo leeto, note 8.
' i/v ik oifii TtiP Zwv^v &Kpog, olov d\fi0&c ^tX6ffo^ov tiwilv,
T2
Digitized by
Google
272 The Jewish Quarterly Bemetc.
one and the same cure to Plutarch, the Athenian, and to
Domninus, the Syrian ; the latter was subject to frequent
attacks of spitting of blood, so much so that he was named
after this disease (?). I am unacquainted with the former's
malady ; the cure consisted in their eating much port
While Plutarch did not keep to this prescription, though
there was nothing in his religion to forbid it . . . Domninus,
on the other hand, following the dream in contradiction to
his law (which is in vogue among the Syrians), and caring
nothing for Plutarch s example, ate of this flesh both on
this occ&sion and subsequently. It is said that if he omitted
to partake of it for but a single day, he had a fresh attack
of his illness, until he again stuffed himself with it" ^
It is not diflSicult at first sight to understand that a
Syrian, to whom the prohibition not to eat pork was a
national one, could only have been a Jew. It is well
known that Jews are often styled Syrians by both Greek
and Latin authors. The refusal to eat pork is in itself
no clear evidence that the person must have been a Jew,
for we have reliable accounts which state that other races,
besides the Jewish, abstained from pork;* but Suidas
speaks of a national law which prohibits the eating of
swine's flesh, and such a law is known to Judaism alone^
whilst among other people it is but a voluntary act of
self-denial.
Plutarch, being a heathen, could have partaken of swine's
flesh, but he did not do so, while Domninus the Jew
* 6 ydtp ^AOfivritrtv *A<fcXifiriAc i^v airijv laetp kxP^fV^^'' nXoirra^y
Tt rf *AOfivaiift leai rf Svpy Aoftvivy. rotary fdv alfi' AwowHoyrt woX'
XdxtQ Kai rovTo ^kpovrt r^c v6irov rb Svofia, Ueivift ik oifK oUa o, n veyomi-
k6ti, ^ it laffic iiv inwiirXatrOai xo'P^l^v Kpiotv. *0 likv Sk UXovrapxoc ••«
^v iffxtTo T^c Toiavrric ^yuiaQ icatroc oifK ov9tic airrf wapav6ftov Kara ri,
wdrpia . . . AofivivoQ ik oi KarA OtfAiv frtioBtic rtp dvilptf, Otpiv role 5:^i|p#cc
wdrptoVf oifik wapadfiyfiari rtf liXovr&pxtf XP*I*<*/*«*'<»C> ^^yi rdn ted 'ifvBujf
Ad T&v Kpt^v, Xiytrai irov, fiLav il SdXttirtv ^fdpav dytvoro^j iitiTiBto^m
rb vaOrjfia 7ravrwc» ^^Q Avfir\rio9ri.
« Midroih Koheleth Rabbah on I. 8 (p. Btf, ed. WUna) K3? H^njP, cte.
Vide Blau in the Hungarian periodical Magyar-Ztidd-SzemU, XL, 286.
Digitized by
Google
Domninus, a Jewish Philosopher of Antiquity, 273
followed the advice of iEsculapius in preference to the
dictates of his religion. Suidas, therefore, lays stress upon
this weakness of his as sufficient reason to deny him the
title of philosopher, whilst society ridiculed him and
invented the story about him that he had ever after to feed
himself with the flesh of swine. But, further, Plutarch
himself refers in unmistakable language to the Jewish faith
of Domninus, inasmuch as he enquires of the god ^scula-
pius whether he would prescribe for the Jew also as medi-
cine the flesh of swine.^ But there is really no necessity
for inferring indirectly what was the faith professed by
Domninus, for Hesychius states clearly that Domninus was
a Jew.*
In the course of this article we shall touch upon a few
further details, which only become intelligible upon the
supposition that they have reference to Judaism.
3. TJie Works of Domninus, — Suidas entertains no high opi-
nion of the scientific labours of Domninus: ''In mathematics
he was well grounded ; in other branches of learning all
too superficial. Hence the cause of his having perverted
many of Plato's teachinga^ We thus learn incidentally what
Hesychius clearly states, that Domninus adhered to the
* & HciroTa i^ti, ri Si Av irpooirakas 'loviaitfi votrovvrt raitrtiv nifv vSvov,
* S. V. riffcoc (p. 40, ed. Flach). The passage is as follows (Domniis
and Donminns are, of oonrse, one and the same) : — r#9<oC} laTpooo^urrtit,
TltTpaioQ t6 yivoff iiri Zi^viavo^, Ka^Acuv Sk ^6/jivov rbv iavrov BiidffKaXoVf
^loviaiov bvra cai ro^c iraipovQ tig lavrbv fi(Ta<fTri9dfitrog 6\iyov iravrac,
fravraxy iyvupiZfro xai fdya tXioc tlxfv. ovtoq KuQitpOiaat rkxvfiv larp&v
KaO* iavrbv wdvruv. As from these words it appears that this Opsins
played an important part in the life of Donminns, we wiU add here
another charaoteristic of this person according to Photios, Bihliothecaf
p. 825: Magnum honorem Gesins oonsecntos est, non solom qnod arte
medica yaleret et doceiido et operando, sed etiam ob omnem aliam emdi-
tionem, Dialeotiois sese instmens.
> 'Bv liiv toIq fiaOffuaetv iieavbc ivrip, Iv Sk toXq SKKoig ^iKovo^rifiatfiv
|iriiroXa<5r<poc (the text is not quite correct in this place), ^i^ xai iruXAd
tUv TWdr^voQ oUtiotc doldfffiaviv fdrptil/t. We must observe that from
o'ttHov do^aeiia may be deduced that by birth and education Domninoa
belonged to quite a different circle, t.«., he was a Jew.
Digitized by
Google
274 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
philosophy of Plato.^ On account of his perversion of the
Platonic philosophy, he was attacked by Froclus in a special
work, whereupon Domninus published his views in a col-
lected form in the work Kadaprrucrj r&y Boyudrfov nxdrcovo^
(The Teachings of Pkdo purified).^ This work is lost
A Manual of Mathematics {efxelpiZiov)^ with Domninus, or
Domnius of Larissa, a philosopher, as author, is occasionally
quoted, and is still extant in MS. As regards name, place
and tendency, our Domninus might have been the author ;
but this book is generally ascribed to the renowned Helio-
dorus, who also came from Larissa.'
Marinus relates that shortly before his death, Syrian
commissioned his pupils, Proclus and Domninus, to write a
commentary upon the Orphic hymns or the oracles {Xxrfia).
Domninus chose the former, Proclus the latter, but nothing
came of the project.* We therefore possess not a single
work written by Domninus.
4. Theurgic Science in the Neo-Platonic School — The Orient
was always the classic ground for crass superstition and
witchcraft, and it appears that this craft of ancient Baby-
lon and Chaldaea was continued by the Neo-Platonic school
under the cloak of a branch of science. These philosophers,
whom we meet in the immediate company of Domninus,
were all much occupied with such theurgic sciences. It is
positively asserted of Plutarch, for instance, that he was
quite a master in the science ; that, in fact, in his case it
was a sort of heritage.* The same we find in the instance,
too, of Proclus, the fellow-student of Domninus. Proclus
sets about his work with Chaldaic formulae of prayer
(<rv(rrd<7a)9), i.e., with prayers, the object of which is to pro-
pitiate the Godhead on man's behalf; with Formulae of
Oaths (eiTi^ta*), and tcith ineffable magic wheels {cuf>e^icToi,
^ S. ▼. Domninns, typa^j/i Kara riv rov nX<irwvoc ^o^aoyiorwv.
* Snidas, in the passage quoted.
' Vide Pauly*8 R^al EncycUtp., II., p. 1228.
* Proel, cp. 26. Zeller, III., pt. 2, p. 691, note 2.
* Zeller, p. 677, note 1.
Digitized by
Google
DommntM, a Jetoish Philoscpher of Antiquity, 275
<rTp6<f>aXoi,)} Proclus had adopted these things while in
the house of Plutarch. Both the pronunciation (iKifxivriai^)
and the mode of application (of those magic wheels) he had
acquired from Asklepigeneia, the daughter of Plutarch ; she
was, in fact, the only one who had received these things
by tradition from the great Nestor, in addition to all kinds
of theurgic arts which she acquired from her father.*
Who does not perceive in all this a relation to Judaism ?
A reference to the mystic prayers and the secret theory of
the chariot (hmid nwVDi) ? And an Ineffable Name ! Can
this be aught else but the Tetragrammaton, the ineffable
name of God in Hebrew ? Even the term " Chaldaic," as
applied to prayers, probably means "Hebrew," or such as were
composed for and by Jews. It is true that the Greeks also
had their mysteries, and the whole might, if pressed, refer
to Greek conditions ; but the personages included in this
environment are so imbued with the Jewish spirit,' that
we feel constrained to judge their mode and aspects of life
from the Jewish point of view.
But this is certain beyond doubt, that in Domninus' circle
theurgic arts were practised. And although Domninus is
not directly mentioned as having practised such arts, yet
his Syrian descent leaves no doubt in our mind that he
must have been addicted to them even more than his Gfreek
friends ; as a proof, his very cure, as we saw above, was
the result of a dream. Domninus must, therefore, be re-
garded as the type of a Greek Jew towards the end of the
fifth century, and his life has, accordingly, a real historical
significance.
5. A Speaking-Machine in Ancient Times.^To understand
aright the life of Domninus and his circle, we must have a
' Marinas, Proelus, op. 28. ZeUer, p. 678, note 1.
• Marinns, Proclus^ op. 28.
* Domninus was a Jew, his pnpil G^os came from Petra, in Idnmsa.
Marinas, the biographer, oame from Flavia Neapolis, in Palestine ; the
name of Syrian may not be accidental. Plutarch resided with Domninas
the Jew, and Proclas resided at the house of Plutarch.
Digitized by
Google
276 The Jetmh Quarterly Review,
knowledge of a marvellous arrangement which existed in
olden times, viz., the speaking-machine. It sounds strange,
but it is nevertheless true, that a sort of telephone or
phonograph dates from antiquity.
The work of a Syrian philosopher, Oinomaos,^ IlepX
KuvuTfiovy is also cited by the title Kwo^ aino^vla? What
does this mean ? " The very voice of the dog."
Crusius has set it down that in ancient times there existed
an apparatus which, at the request of its owner, began to
speak automatically. According to Lucian, in specially
important cases, a scientific apparatus was set in motion in
the oracle of iEsculapius, presided over by the false prophet
Alexander. Such oracles {avro^vm^ fiavreveaOcu) were quite
current. This matter becomes as clear as we could wish it
when we take into account what Suidas relates under the
head of Domninua. After he, accordingly, relates that Plu-
tarch had refused to eat the flesh of swine, as had been
ordered him by iEsculapius for the cure of his sickness, he
continues as follows : ** He (Plutarch) arose from his slum-
bera, supported himself on his bed with his fists and stared
at the figure of ^sculapius (for it happened that he slept
in the court of the temple), and exclaimed : ' O Lord ! what
would thou prescribe for a Jeiv if he had such an iUness ?
Wouldst thou bid him to gorge himself with porkV Where-
upon the figure spoke, and, lo, iEsculapius furthermore
sufi^ered another most sonorous expression to proceed from
it, giving a remedy for the disease." *
Considering that this speaking-meu^hine is first mentioned
by Oinomaos, the Palestinian, and was employed by persons
in Athens who formed, 8is it were, a Jewish circle, we may
infer that the speaking-machine was well known to, perhaps
even invented by, Jews. At least Cumont (Alexandre
> Also in the Talmnd DID^^SK.
* All these details are ooUected by Cmsias in the RKeinUchet Museum^
New Series, voL XLFV., p. 809.
■ ravra ilrtv 6 dk 'AffcXiy^idc avrUa &wo tov dyaXfiaroc ififiiXivrarov
3f^ Ti%a ^Boyyov hipav vwiypn^aro Otpantiav rtf xaOn,
Digitized by
Google
Domninus, a Jetciah Philosopher of Antiquity, 277
d*Abonoticho8f p. 27) is of opinion that it was no Greek
invention, but Oriental (Syrian or Egyptian).
To the lover of history the sketch which is here presented
of the life of Domninus, drawn as it is from ancient sources,
will not be less pleasing because even when pieced together
from materials of varied style and sources, the result is but
a fragment.
Samuel Krauss.
Digitized by
Google
278 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
LAZARUS DE VITERBO'S EPISTLE TO CARDINAL
SIRLETO CONCERNING THE INTEGRITY OF
THE TEXT OF THE HEBREW BIBLE.
The history of the "humanistic" movement among the
Jews of Italy has yet to be written. Though the know-
ledge of Latin possessed by Jews in other countries was
not as low as is generally considered to be the case, we
have still to note that it was owing to the culture of Italy,
and specially to the influence of the humanists, that the
knowledge of Latin literature first spread among the Jews.
We have evidence of this not alone in the translation of
several pieces of ancient classical literature into Hebrew,
but also in the employment of Latin for purposes of
scientific expression.
But with the language were introduced into the tents of
Jacob also the scientific spirit, the comparative study and
appreciation of the national literature, aesthetics and
criticism. It is by no accident that the founder of
modern Jewish science, Azarya di Rossi, came from Italy.
The following small contribution to the history of
Jewish belles-lettres in Italy I now submit as an instance
on the philological side of a Latin treatise by a Jew, the
subject-matter serving as an example from the Jewish
point of view of a modem scientific diatribe. I am
indebted to the kindness of Prof. Dr. Walter Friedensburg
and the Royal Prussian Historical Institute in Rome for
having given me the opportunity of rescuing it from con-
cealment among the archives of the Vatican and bringing
it to the light of day.
Lazarus de Viterbo acts as the defender of his co-
religionists before his patron, the learned Cardinal
Digitized by
Google
Lazartts De Viterbo's Epistle to Cardinal Sirleto. 279
Gulielmo Sirleto, inasmuch as he repels the absurd
reproach, that the Jews had falsified those portions of
the text of Holy Writ which seemed to contain proofs
of the truth of Christianity.
The charge was not q* new one; it was ever raised
against the Jews afresh without intermission, in spite
of hundredfold refutations, by both Mohammedans and
Christians alike. In Bome, the accusation that the Jews
had, out of hatred of the Christians, tampered with the
text of their sacred records, was first again levelled at the
Jews in 1555 with terrible fury by the fanatic Franciscus
Torensis, in his work : De sola lectione legis et prophetarum
Judom cum Mosaico ritu, et cultu permittenda.
It did not suffice him that the towns of Italy were
smoking with the stakes upon which the Talmud was
burnt at the bidding of the Pope and his Inquisitors ; he
would fain have sacrificed at the same time the entire
Jewish writings, the commentators of Holy Writ who
had escaped death by fire. The Inquisition had already
arrogated to itself the right to watch the printing of
Jewish books ; the text of Jewish books had to a certain
extent to receive its impress from Rome; all that was
wanting to complete the matter was that it be prescribed
to the Jews how the text of Holy Writ had to be read —
that text which they had saved out of the storms of ages,
the purity of which they had guarded as never any other
work had been guarded.
It was not by accident that Cardinal Sirleto was the
man before whom the question as to the integrity of the
Hebrew text was to be heard.
Not only his study of the Hebrew language, evidenced
by his Adnotationes in Paahnoa in the Antwerp Polyglot
of 15G9, but also his official position, rendered this question
one of deep interest to him. Cardinal from the 12th
March, 1665, Protector and Judge of all Catechumens and
Neophytes from the end of 1567, the Oracle of the Tri-
dentine Council, which he advised from Rome with the
Digitized by
Google
280 The Jewish Quarterly Bevtetc.
fulness of his world-wide scholarship— it was Sirleto's task
to occupy himself uninterruptedly with Jewish questions
social and literary, so much so that aiccording to Dejob's
investigations^ his papers remain even for the present
time a valuable source of information, and an unearthed
treasure for modern Jewish history. Filled rather with
the spirit of Marcello Cervini, afterwards Pope Marcello II.,
whose memory is blessed in Jewish history'^ in spite of the
short duration of his office as Pope — filled rather with his
spirit than with that of the dark intolerance of Pope Paul
IV., Sirleto possessed the kindness and forbearance to
lend an ear to reasonable arguments, though they came
from the Jewish side. It was his special knowledge of the
subject that made Hebrew as dear to him as the classical
languages.
Lazarus de Viterbo is on this account confident at the
outset of finding in this influential Cardinal an advocate of
his righteous cause. He proceeds from the view that the
Holy language, the instrument of the world's creation and
of Revelation, also produced the crown of all literatures,
namely the Bible. With liberal and cultured mind and
critical eye, Lazarus praises the fervour of the Psalms, the
flights of Isaiah and the inimitable sweetness and tender-
ness of the Song of Songs.
How could the Jews, the depositaries of these treasures,
have dared to lay hands upon such sacred possessions,
seeing that their entire history is a proof that they believed
with all confidence that they possessed in these writings
God's own word. For what else, he adds with clever irony,
than this conviction could have kept them steadfast in
their faith, unless it was the fortune and peace, the pro-
tection and security of which they could boast in the
profession of that faith ?
Nay, a glance at the condition of these documents
as now extant proves with how great a fidelity and
" Bevus det Mudei Juitet, IX., 77, «g. • Eaufmann, ih., IV., 88, iq.
Digitized by
Google
Lazarus De Vit^bo's Epistk to Cardinal Sirleto. 281
devotion they guarded the integrity of their texts. For
unless it had been so, how would it have been possible
that, despite their dispersion over the earth and all the
vicissitudes of their career, such a uniformity could have
existed in the text of the Sacred Scriptures, that the Bible
of an Italian Jew differs in no wise from one found in the
other countries of the inhabited globe !
That which was accomplished by straining all the powers
of industry and memory till the time of Ezra, in whom,
in spite of Elias Levita, our author with rash faith
sees the founder of the system of Hebrew vocalisation
and accentuation, this marvellous coincidence in the
tradition and reading of the sacred texts, this was the
work, after Ezra, of the Massora On the alert for
every characteristic of the text, it established out of
affectionate consideration, by counting every striking gram-
matical and orthographical peculiarity, a fence round about
the Sacred Scriptures which guarded them against the
intrusion of errors and corruptions. Looking at the
Massora alone, which has been able to accomplish the most
marvellous results by means of the labours, incomparable
as they are in point of devotion and self-sacrifice, of those
responsible for the counting and classification of verses,
words, and even letters, one would have thought that the
mere idea would have been silenced and not suffered to be
expressed, that a people which had demonstrated to the
world such marvellous industry and self-denial could have
wilfully and wickedly tampered with the text of these
records. But the very examples which are brought
forward to substantiate the charge, show on closer investi-
gation that they are without foundation, for internal
evidence as well as the older translations bear testimony to
the truth of Jewish tradition. And though the audacious
charge was proclaimed even from the pulpits of Rome,
possibly by Jewish converts of the type of Andrea de
Monti,^ and appeared before the tribunal of the judge on
> Rev%iey IX.. 87, tq.
Digitized by
Google
282 The Jetcish Quarterly Review,
scientific and learned questions — ^a position which in the
opinion of Lazarus de Viterbo Cardinal Sirleto held at the
time — ^yet the accusation that the Jews had altered the
text of the Old Testament had to fall to the ground.
Lazarus de Viterbo is not unknown in the history of
Jewish literature. He is the one who as Eliezer Mazliach
b. Abraham Cohen, published about the year 1685 at
Venice, through Juan di Gara, his Italian translation of
Moses Riete's ethical poems D'^bMWn ]iyD^ under the title :
I tenipio di oratori. It is in the familiar reflective style of
the Hebrew ; names of places which occur frequently are
reproduced in Hebrew or Aramaic equivalents, as e.g., Posen
is rendered HMD TS, Cracow MD^D, and he gives Viterbo the
origin of the family name, as Mnnn ^^ to remind one of
the Tahnudic "Onn ^n {Joma, 77 a; Bdba K, 23 b).
There is no necessity for us to conjecture that Isaac b.
Abraham Cohen de Viterbo, whose acquaintance we make
as Babbi of Siena in 1573, was his brother, for David de
Pomis clearly tells us so in the Introduction to his Lexicon
Zemach David. He mentions the fact with pride that
through his wife, whom he lost early in life, he became
the brother-in-law of these excellent brothers, Eliezer, the
learned and pre-eminent physician, and Isaac, a renowned
authority, both as Talmudist and philosopher.^
When Joseph of Foligno was about to marry, in 1573,
at Pesaro, JuUa, the widow of his brother David who had
died without issue, and who at the same time was the
sister of his deceased wife, Sulpicia — ^when, in other
words, he wished to avail himself of the right of marrying
his deceased brother's wife, and he obtained the sanction of
all the important Rabbis of Italy, we find that R. Isaac b.
Abraham Cohen de Viterbo of Siena was among those who
> Cf. Dukes in Orient, IV., 486, n. 30.
« HiiK^-i D^icn^n miDNi non n^^x* h^ ninw nn^nc^ nw nw*
Tnnoai pr\2^'o KDni Dan itj^W t\7^^ mnnm njnn nirtea
Dona na^DD rhn^n "^mrs urv^x; ^nin si^oi^^Dni pwn vhk pnv^
Digitized by
Google
Lazarm De Viterho's Epistle to Cardinal Sirleto. 283
were foremost in giving their opinion in favour of the
permission.^ If I rightly understand the words in which
Isaac cites a similar case which occurred in his youth, it
would seem that Rome was the native plcwje of these two
brothers, and that in that city permission was given by the
Rabbinate to a man named Ephraim, who was equally
anxious to avail himself of the law of the Levirate.
Besides being renowned for their Rabbinic scholarship,
these two brothers were famous in the medical profession.
Isaac, whom his brother-in-law David de Pomis (himself
distinguished as physician and lexicographer) does not
style as such, is yet called in his decision upon the question
regarding the Levirate, not only Gaon, but also President of
the Physicians, while Eliezer is singled out by David him-
self as a renowned physician. It is hoi unlikely that, on
this account, he stood in the relation of physician in
ordinary to Cardinal Sirleto, and that it was this close
relationship to the Prince of the Church that impelled him
to write his Epistle concerning the integrity of the text
of the Hebrew Bible.
David Kaufmann.
LAZARUS OF VITERBO'S LETTER TO CARDINAL
SIRLETO.
(Rome : Vat Arch, Var, Pol. 47, fol \0\\)
mmo et R^o D»» 8. R.E. Cardinali Sirleto domino meo
osseryandissimo.
Inter eximias pneclarasqae animi tai dotes R"^*' ac 111°^* Presnl
ac yirtutes prope divinas, qaibos csateris omaibas toe setatis
hominibus antecelles, veritatis, amor, mazime in te relacet, cam
apertam anam dumtazat aurem dicenti inclines, alteram yero claasam
contradicenti apertam serves, adeo qood inclinatio tna ad utramqae
partem semper eqaalis permanet, cam ergo mnlti arbitrantur hebreoa
ipsos at Ohristianoram intentiones aofagerent sacras scriptaras
plaribos in locis depravasse proptereaqae ajant, illis correctione
> ^TW iriD, III. 2io, Carmoly, Hittoire dei medecins Juifs^ p. 163, and
Mortara, K^^^K *D3n niDTD, p. 69.
Digitized by
Google
284 The Jetoish Quarterly Sevietv.
opus ease, com hoc semper 2dgre passas aim an hoc sit yerum nee
ne, enitar panels. D. T. Ill"^<> demonstrare, qne tanqnam jndez non
iniqnns, sqna lancia yel eosdem nefando crimine accnsabis, rel sacris
canonibas favebis eosdemque a calnmniatoribus defendes, reliqnnm
est nt D[eum] 0[ptimnm] M[azimnm] deprecer ut Te tanqnam
ornam«ntnm atqne secatis nostras decns, incolnmem et snperstitem
Gonsenret et ad vota ezaltet.
D. T. HI"*" atqne R°^
Hnmillimns servns
Lazams hebrens Yiterbiensis.
fol. 102*— 108».
Non sine optima ratione 111"^ et R"^ D»**, lingnam hebream ab
omnibus dici lingnam sanctitatis, cum ille gloriosus Dens sanctis^mnn,
non dedignatus est, cum hominibus se ipsnm commnaicare, et hac
lingua alloqni, cum qua etiam Ipzum uniyerRum creayit, ut ostendunt,
ao demonstrant deriyationes nominum nostrornm primorum parentom,
et omnium qui ante lingnarum oonf usionem yixerunt, cum Adam ab
Adama, hoc est a terra, deriyetur, ut affirmat teztus dum dicit.^ Et
f ormayit Dens hominem e pulyere terrsQ ; et paulo inferins :' et mi«it
eum Dominus Dens de horto delitii ad coiendam tarram ex qua
sumptus f uerat. Ipse etiam Adam, dixit in primo intuitu midieris *
Isoia ab Isc, hoc est mulier, a yiro, dicendo huic yocabitur
mnlier quia ex yiro sumpta est, eamque proprio nomine haya,
a Gai, idest a yiyente, dicit enim textus,^ et yocayit Adam nomen
uxoris sui aya quia ipsa f uit mater omnia yiyentis, ipsa etiam dixit '
Cain, a yerbo acquire, et Seed,' a y«rbo pono. Lemec etiam yati-
cinando deriyayit Noac a yerbo consolor, dum dixit,' et yooavit
nomen elns Koac dicendo iste consoiabitur nos ab opere no^tro et
a dolore manuum nostrarnm et Heber (a quo dicii sunt hebrei)
yaticinando etiam ipse dixit.* Peleg a yerbo diyido, quia in diebus
eius divisa est terra. Locus etiam confnsionis lingoarnm dictus fuit
Babel,* a yerbo conf undo, quia ibi conf uudit Dens labium ooinis terras.
Que deriyationes onmes in alia quacuuque lingua, (hebrea excepta)
minime deriyari siye deduci possunt. Qaamqnidem lingnam cum
nomen duxit ab Heber Noe pronepote. Liquide probatur remanaisse
in linea, et ancceasione sanctomoi patriarcharum unde pater ipse
Abraam, ex illis primus. Licet patrie esset Galdeua, Oaldaicoque
> Gen. ii. 7. » lb. iii. 23,
' lb. ii. 23. Gomp. Mendelssohu's Introduction to his Translation of the
Pentateuch.
* lb. iii. 20. « lb. iy. 1. • lb. iv. 25. ^ n, ^, 29.
• lb. X. 26. » lb. xi. 9.
Digitized by
Google
Lazarus De Viterboa Epistle to Cardinal Sirleto, 285
idiomate (qaod non multam ab hebreo distat) pro yernacula, et materna
lingua usoB f aerat, hebream tamen pro sibi propriam retionit. Unde
Abram Hebreus* sed non Oaldeas a patria Rua diotas fuit. Unde
liqnide colligi potest hoc sanctissimam Idioma, omnibas suis
successoribus tanquam hereditarium reliotam faisse, ut etiam
derivatione^ nominam filiomm nepotum ac omnium tribuum de-
mon^trant ut inspicienti apparere potest.
Additur etiam ad hoc, quod quando ille summus Legislator, sibi
ipsi compiacnit ut populo suo dtlecto de sua ssnctiHsiraa lege gra-
tificaretur, noa ^giptiaco, non Greco, sive alio quoyis idiomate,
illam legem iaterpretatus est, sed solum musaica lingua, qua tot,
tantaque sauctis-^ima prophetioa verba, tot tantique sauctisMmi
Davidis p^almi, ac denique universa sacra historia, exposita sant,
col certe tanqaam omnium perfectissime nee copia, neo ornamentum
nnquam defecit. Licet hodie auxietate populi sui diminuta repe-
riatur, fuit tamen alias plen i et integerrima, ut ostendit tractatus
ille tabernaculi divi Moysi, ac templi Regis Salomonis quibus neo
instrumentornm, nee materierum, nee lapidum nee preciosarnm
gemmarum nomina de quibas opus f aerat defecerunt, sicut in aliis
occasionibus animalium, volucram plantaramque nomina, ut aliarum
rerum de qnibns non fuit occasio indigebant,' sic tunc temporis
minime desiderabaatur, nam quando poma ilia oolloquiatide in ollam
Elisei fnerunt apposita statim nomeo iilorum pomorum inrentnm
fuit Ait enim et invenit vitem agrestem et oollegit ex ea Pac-
cuhod,* hoc est coloquintidos.
Quod autem attinet ad eius ornamentum, oerte boo mirabile ao
stupendum existit. Sed ne quid dicam de eiusdem lingne subtilita-
tibus, dicam tantum quod minime satis exploratam est mihi, que
oratio gravior, nee quod eroioum poema, secum deferat altius orna-
mentum, sive suaviorem dulcedinem quam Sacrosancti Davidis psalmi,
unde merito a sancto spiritu dictus fuit,^ dulcis carminibus Israel.
Heo quails copia maior nee dootior eloquentia, sive maiestate ac
varietate gravior, que vel superet, vel quidem pari passu ambulet
cum oratioae divinissimi vatis lesaie. Unde ipse furore solito pro-
fetico gloriando aiebat.^ Dominus Deus dedit mihi linguam era-
ditornm ut sciam dicere tempore suo sitibundo verbum. In aliis
enim oratoribus maior dicendi facundia minime invenitur, neo
• Gen. xiv. 13.
' The author used here certainly Jehuda Halewi's arguments for the
wealth of the holy language in his Casari, ii. 68 ; see CassePs remarks
in his second edition of this work, p. 169, n. 3^ and Kaufmann, Jehuda
Malewi, p^ 28, n. 3.
' 2 Reg. iv. 31), * 2^ Sam. xxiii. 1 , ^ Jes,!. 4.
VOL. VIL U
Digitized by
Google
286 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
alias qaidem fiiit acrior vel acerbior in reprebensione, neo dulcior
at que saavior in oonsolatioQe neo efficacior in proferendo, ommitto
magnum pelagnm ornamenti et oopie aliorum ne tedio sim legenti.
Si 610 est ergo quod banotisAimo sanctorum placuit hoc idiomate
alloqui, si hac orbem ipsam creavit, si hoc Sanctis patribus in con-
fusione linguamm, et successive tanquam hereditariam populo
dilecto remansit, hac exposita ac tractata sunt omnia sanota, lex
sanota, sancta vaticinia omnia, ac sancti Dividis psUmi ac uni versa
sancut historia, iure qaidem optimo lin ^uam saoctitatis dici ac ab
omnibus sic (discrepante nemine) recipt necesse est.
Sei si hec sanctitatis dicta est, quia sinctas script aras omnes
exposuit tanto magis ille sanctiHsioie reputari debant, dicitur enim
propter quod uniim quodqae et illad magis nam si prsesdptorem
amamus propter diacipulam, discipulum ergo magis amamu^.
Quale ergo delictum a<i( faciaas gravius vei atrociaa exoogitari
sive imaginari poterimus, quod acerbiori psBua sive supplicio
feriori, dignius reputaretur quam illius qui mala mente excogit^ret,
▼el in malo animo oonaretur maculare sive corrumpere (anim» sue
pemitisB, totinsque orbis detrimento) minimum quidam de illis
sacrosanctis canonibus, opus summi Dai gloriodi, quod toti noiverso
pro sua universali perpetuaque silute, gratificatus est, nescio
quidem escogitare quod sacrilegium magis impium quod Deo
maximo magis dinplioere posset ?
Immo facile credo, quod Dens ipse gloriosus, pro sua maxima
oharitate et summa pietate, suum opus versus, nanqaam permitteret
tale scelus suam conseqni fiaem sicut etiam firmiter teneo, quod
mirifice actum sit (habita ratione tan tarn tn aerumnarum et
oalamitatum per tot discrimina rerum que musaicus populus
passus est), illos sanctissimos canones in suo candore et perfeotione
permansisse.
Sed quoniam nunquam defecerunt ut nunc non deficiunt ; qui
hebreos antiquos vel modemos aperte oppugnando calumniantur asse-
rentes ipsos hebreos depravasse et laoerasse soripturas sacras, ideo
dionnt et affirmant dictis sacris Uteris opus esse oorrectione cum
semper hoc egre tuli cum mea quidem sententia, sit aliennm, et minime
rationi consentanenm, omni oonatn [...] evitare vivis rationibus de-
monstrare. Tusa 111°^ ac B*"** Dotninationi (cui semper Veritas
f uit amica) quod hoc sit impossibiie sed potius m inif estissima ca-
lumnia pace ac venia aliter credentium.
Et primo dicimus presupponendum esse quod ipsi hebrai Tel
credunt (prout firmiter certe tenent) eornm leges et canones esse
divinum opus, eis a Deo optimo miximo pro eorum SBtema salute
gratificatum, vel aliter credunt et teneat, quoi sint .tantnm opus ab
Digitized by
Google
Lazarus De Viterhos EpUtle to Cardinal Sirleto, 287
bominibas excogitatnm et f abrioatum. Si tenent illos divinoB esse,
secnm eoram salatem deferentes, qaonnm ego maxima suarum
aoimaram iactara proprias leges cormmpere volaerant ? boo esset
potins diabolicam non bamanum opus.
Sed si aliter tenent et crednnt, qnorsnm sic pertinaciter per tot
secola in errore sibi notissimo permansissent ? foraan ne propter
quamplnrimas felicitate^, plarimasque divitias, magnosqae bonores,
regna et status, quibus sub boo cobIo maxime gaudent ? que cum
deserere et derelinquere non pttiantur perseverant in bac vita
mundana adeo f elici quod propter ipsam altera perennis minime ipsis
oordi est ?
An boo yemm sit nee ne, tanquam manifestissimum aliomm iudicio
relinquo. Secundo dico quod licet Hebrei boc facere voluissent
numqaam f uisset sibi integrum, propter eorum dissipationem, dispersa-
tionemque, nam et si universus bebreorum catus simal unico loco
convenissent adbuc longe eis dificillimum umaniter [/. unanimiter]
conyenisse ut proprias leges corrupissent saepissime enim magna
copia discrepat in sententia.
Sed si bebrei per universum orbem disperai sunt, neo quidem bisto-
riavetustavel nova legitur, quod ip^i bebrei ab anois 1540 aliquando
con^enissent quomodo ergo itali iudei, galli, bispani, alemani, greci,
africani, et tandem qui trans Eufratem babitant. Indian! etiam et
Etiopes poterant in unicam sententiam coavonire, ut unam vel duo,
vel tria vel centum loca sacrss paginas alterarent, sen mutarent ? Ego
firmiter teneo minime unquam integrum esse caivis maximo Impera-
tori etiam totias mundi Monarobe eum coosensum suum sortiri
effectum, tanto minus boc possunt ipsi bebrei qui eorum delicto vel
infortunio, nbique locorum opprimimtur, nee unquam aliquis inter
ipsos defuibset, qui toti coelo boc notum fecisset, tamen textus scrip-
turarum Italorum maxime con^eniunt (sine aliqua minima discrepan-
tia) cum alib caiu^svis regionis etiam remotissimse sive quantum^is
OCCUltSB.*
Heo aatem (mea qaidem sententia) adeo efficax apparet, ut sola sit
sufficiens veritatem buius facti luce clariorem demonstrare.
Sed ut omnino calumniantiam omnium os daudatur, ex dicendis
* It is the same argument derived from the harmony and unani-
mity of all the manuscripts of the sacred rolls in the Jewish com-
munities from the frontiers of India to the border of Spain, which we
find already in the Spanish-Arabic literature against the assertions
of Islam, that the Jews have changed and falsified the texts of their
holy books. Gomp. A.braham Ilm Dafid Eniuna rama, ed. Weil, p. 80,
and Maimfimrs letter to Yemen in D'OOin nniB'n f aip, II. 36, and in
Holub*8 edition of Ibn Tibbon's translation of this Letter, p. 28.
U'2
Digitized by
Google
288 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
toti coelo m&nifestiflsime demonstrabitur. An hebreorum iDtentio
fait anquam tueri, defendereque sacras Bcripturas Tel easdem
oorrampere vel devastare.
Sed imprimis sciendam esse oenseo, quod secnndom opinionem
doctioram hebreorum dootoram, ante aetatem Esr» hebrei in sonp-
taris minime anquam osi fuere, nee accentibus neo punctis, quibus
hodie pro vocalibus ntuntur [/] sed looo vocalium tribus Uteris uteban-
tur scilicet literis ^1^ qoe literarum matres a nostris grammaticis
dicuntur : nam Alef pro A ; Yau pro o rel n ; lod vero pro I vel
E o£Scio fungebantur. Sed non abicunque faerat opus ipeius a, pone-
bant K alef, oeo ubi erat opus y, vel o, pooebant 1 ran, quemadmo-
dam loco i vel e, soribebatur [^] lod [,] sed tantum opponebantur ubi
maior urgebat necessitas, alia vero loca omittebant Juditio peritieque
legentis qui usu et ezperientia a suo uousquisque preceptore doctus
sine errore absque litteris vocalibus script uras legebat, adeo quod
principalissimns Moyses profetarum omnium, legis later, interpres-
que dirini oraculi, docuit modum recte legeudi (ut isti aiunt) totam
hebreorum turbam et imprimis Jesaen eius successorem ac univer-
sum eiusdem gimuasium, istique successive alios profetas et illi
alios nsquam ad babilonicam transmigrationem, adeo quod professi
perseverantibus usquam ad hoc tempus, sacra pagiua inculpabilti
incorruptaque semper permansit.
Sed in nniveraali babillonica hebreorum peroicie atque ruina,
deficientibus saoctis hominibus facile pati potera(n)t, sacra scriptura
iacturam non minim am, nisi etiam profete ipsi, eorumque successio
perseverassent usque ad secundi tempi! sedificalionem, ut fuerunt
Zaocarias, Ageus at alii, ioter quos fuit Esra dUigentissimns soriba
sacrsB legis ut plenam fidem de ipso reddit textiis dum ait,> ipse
Esra ascendit e Babel et erat scriba velox in lege Moysi quam dedit
Dominus Deus Israel.
Cum autem cognovisset ipse Esra quanta iactura in plebe iam
facta ac quanta poterat fieri in dies etiam in viris patritiis, voluit
viam et modun invenire ut unicuique liceret, sacram paginam sioe
errore perlegere, atque incorrupta omnino conservaretur.' Unde ultra
quamplurima volumina que propria manu scripta reliquit, de qui-
bus aliqua hodie etiam vivunt ipse Esra cum sua magna academia,
in qua aderant imprimis : Necamias, Zaccarias, Ageus, Malachias,
Zerubabel, Jesnes maximus sacerdos et alii probi viri usque ad nume-
rum 120, adinveuit puncta pro vocalibus, et aocentus non sine
> Esra vii. 6.
* For the history of that opinion see 6. Schnedermann, Die Controverse
des iMdovietLS Capellus mit den Busctorfen iiber das Alter der ht^brdischen
Punctation, Leipzig, 1878, p. 25.
Digitized by
Google
Lazarus De Viterbo's Epistle to Cardinal Sirleto. 289
maxima consideratione et altU misteriis, ut facile eligitur ex illo
textu dum ait,^ et legerunt in libro in Lege Dei expositi, et posi-
tus est intellectas et iatellexerant soriptaram, node veteres nostri
expositores' intelligunt ex dictis verbis, inventionem panotorum,
▼ocalium et accentuam ac paasas sententiarum, ac alia altiora, et
aliqni ex dictis intellexemnt ' etiam •^'^^DD hoc est librum tra-
dictionis de quo inferius, fuerunt etiam qui dicentes huiusmodi
puncta, et accentus traditos fuisse a diviao oraculo ipsi Moysi, ut
reliquam sciipturam non tamen in scnptis, sed tamen oretenus,^
ut etiam oretenus aiunt expositio legis universe tradita fnit ab
Esra deinde et sua magna academia fuerunt omnia sic disposita
ut bodie ordinata sunt. Sed quia h»c opinio aliqua instantia patitur
aliqui sibi assentiri nolnerunt, sed cum linga hebrea et sacra scrip tura
tot minutiis^ tot punotia, totque aocentibus, repleta sit cognovit ilia
magna accademia ac Esra* eiusdem primus, quam facile evenire
posset propter mundana accidentia ut in aliqua particula deprava-
retur, excogitarunt modum invenire ut quavis ocoasione integerrima
coQservaretur, vel si hoc accident, facile ad pristinam integritatem
et claritatem reduci valeret, et sic inceperunt illi boni viri componere
monumentum quoddam, quod ex eo quiaab uno ad alternm tradendum
erat H^DD^o hoc est tradictionem vocabant in quo scripta reliqnernnt
omnia signa, omnesque regulas, quibus sacra pagina in sua sinceritate
et candore cnstodiretur.' At quoniam error cadere poterat io illis
* Neh. viiL 8. » Nedarim f . 37^
» lb., nniDDH )hH rh IIDKI. Comp. Jehnda Halewi, OusaH, iii. 81:
nmODl p in((l. My manosoript of Jehuda Ibn Tibbon*s translation
of the Gosari reads : flllDDS p "^HKI, but see for oar reading : nillDDS
Steinsohneider, Catalog der Berliner hebrdisohen ffandsohriftenf p. 77.
* For this opinion comp. Jehnda Halewi Cusarif iii. 31, and the ex-
positions of Bnxtorf (the son) in his Traetatits de punotorwn ortgine^ p.
312 et seq. (Sohnedermann, L c, p. 22 n. 7).
^ Comp. Profiat Bnran Efodi in his grammar *1DK HE^D, and Sohne-
dermann, p. 25.
^ For the form miDD see Baoher in the Jewish Qua-BTSblt
Review, m. 785, and Edward Konig, Einleiiung in das AUe Testament,
(Bonn, 1893) pp. 38, 89. The pronunciation of JTJipipj which we find
there in onr text, is also mentioned by Bnxtorf.
^ Onr author seems as if he had not yet any knowledge of the post-
talmndical date which Elia Levita assigned to the Hebrew vowels and
accents in the first and third introdnotion of his Massoreth Hammassoreth,
though this book had already been issaed many years before this memoir
has been written, the editio prinoeps dating from 1538. Comp. Isidore
Harris in the Jewish Quabterlt Review, I. 228-230. But his silence
Digitized by
Google
290 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
dictionibus qae nunc in uoum, nnac ia aliam modum soribi solent,
modo cum una ex dictis matribus modo sine ilia, modo cum uno ex dictis
punctis sen .vocalibas modo cum altero, incepit ilia magna aoademia
in hia rebus extrema diligentia uti, quequidem academia per multo^
annorum centinarios in his elaborando perduravit, adeo quod haso
diligentia eo usque per^enit, quod, ne in numero versuum eorum
oaperetur, numerum versuum totius saone scripturas supputaverunt,
at ne talis error cadere in dictionibus yaleret, eius dictiones omnes
numeraverunt, sed ne in litteris hie error accidere posset, etiam
literas, et oharacteres omnes per numeroc coUegerunt, et tanto
ulterius progressus est hie labor, quoad invenerunt versiculum ilium
ootavi Levitici qui dicit et posuit super eum peotorale, esse totius
pentateuci versunm medietatem,' alium vero in decimo einsdem
qui dioit, querendo quesivit Moyses, esse eiusdem pentateuci dictio-
num medietatem querendo ex uno, quesivit ex altero latere.* In-
▼enerunt etiam litteram Tau illius diotionis )^np^ hoc est omne
ambulans super pectus' esse medietatem literaram eiusdem.^
Nee propria illi viri[z] fuit satisfactum, nisi etiam numerassent
rersus, dictiones ac literas singulorum capitulorum, ne uni aufferretur
et daretur alteri, ponendo pro signo inf allibili unius cuiusque numeri
nomea aliouius viri ut gratia exempli primum capitulu tn genesis quod
ab hebreis dioitur Berescid invenernnt habere versus 146 et pro signo
istius numeri poaueruat n^VOK nomen illius regis, nam calculus
literarum illius nominis ad numerum 146 ascendit.
Nam sciendum est, omnes hebreorum litteras in tres ordinee divisas
esse et unamquamque ipsarum numerum aliquem signifioare.
Primus ordo est unitatum ab alef prima litera que unum signifioat
usque ad ted nonam literam, que novem resultat.
2^ ordo est denariorum a litera lod que X. refert usque ad
zadi que 90, importat.
Tertius vero est centinariorum a cof que centum dicit u^ue ad
zadi finalem, que noniogentenus numerus est. Alef vero que in
cannot be an argfument for the assertion that Lazarus of Yiterbo did not
yet know Elias^s book ; he used it in other places, but he ignored his view
on these points designedly.
* Lev. viii. 7. Comp. Joel Muller, Maseeheth So/erim, c. IX. HaL 3 ;
pp. 184, 135.
* Lev. X. 16, according to the expression of the Massora KHT fcOO Kn*T
^^21^, MOller, i^., and Isidore Harris in the Jewish Quabtbblt
Review, 1. 139, n. 5.
» Lev. xi. 42.
* Kidduschin f . SO*.
Digitized by
Google
Lazarus De Viterbo's Epistle to Cardinal Sirleto. 291
primo ordine, unitatem referebat, in ultimo iota ditio mille signi-
ficai.'
Atque ne addituneatuni vel defectus posset (ut dictum est)
acotdere in caratharibus rel litteris alterius capituli ad aliud nume*
rAniat etiam literas siogulorum capitalorum adeo quod iaveaerunt
Uieraa dicti priml capitis esse 1915 et pro sigoo huius numeri pone-
bant ID f K que litere ad ilium numerum ascenduut, adeo quod
dictum primum caput duo signa retinuit alteram versuum, alterum
yero literarum. Secondi capituli dicti Noac, habentis 153, yersus
signum fuit /4?V^ nomen illius boui yiri, cuius literas euudem nume*
ram refamnt, et sic de singulis factum fuit.'
Neo ardenti desiderio illorum satis fait factum, quoniam numera-
yerant etiam yersus omnes singulorum librorum ipsius pentateuci,
neab uqo libro ad alterum error committeretur, inyeneruatque
naawmin yersuum primi libri quern dicunt Geoesis esse 1634
[L 1534] talis numeri sigonm fuit ^1 ^K cuius medietas inyenerunt
ease yersum ilium super gladio tuo yives' at quia hie liber habuit
12 magna cipitula, signum fuit 3^nM nomen illius Regis eiusdem
capitola minora fuerunt 43. Signum eorum fuit H^^*!^, Domen Regis
Salomonis. Liters omnes ipsius Genesis fuerunt 4395, et sic de sin-
gulia. Yersum omne^ totius pentatenci fuerunt 5045 [I. 5845] omnes
autem eius liters fuerunt 60045.
Nee etiam illi boni yiri in hoc acquieyerunt, quoniam numeraye-
runt etiam siogulas literas totius sacri voluminis, inyeneruntque
alef 42377. Bed 38218. Ghimel 29637 {l. 29537] et sic de singulis
Uteris fuit oalculatum, quarum numerum, ne tedio sim legenti,
libenter omitto.'
* Comp. the third introduction to Eiia Levita's Massoreth Ha-Mas-
[=tota dictio] HKi^oa p|.^K }uni3i «n^a kdSkh mnh pn.
* From a comparison between this digression and Elia Leyita's words,
Z. c, it will be clear, that Lazarus of Viterbo used already his Massoreth
Ha-Massoreth, and that he did not share his opinion about the date of
accents and yowels when he pronounces a different yiew.
* Gen. xxyii. 40.
* The poem from which these dates are deriyed, is assigned in some
TnanuwcriptB and by Shemtob Ibn Gaon in his pixn HI to Saadja Gaon
(jM Dakes, D^Hp ?ru, p. 2), and has seyeral times been edited. Different
nambers are communicated by Shapira in the " Athenaeum '* No. 2626
(1878, Febr. 23). R. Jatr Bacharach f . 272* doubts already the correctness
of these numbers : B^HDD Bnnni HS^i HD VsK ^^ 13 111 'H nn l^ftO
Digitized by
Google
292 The Jewkh Qnarlerh/ Rni'cic.
Nee hucasque yidentes huius desiderii relazati fuemnt donee
altera exquisitissima diligeDtia uterentur, nam cam quamplurime
dictiones hebree sint que aliquando scribantnr cam aliqua ex tribua
matribus literarum. quam dictionem tunc plenam vocant, aliquando
▼ero eademmet dictio sine ilia litera scribatur, quam dictionem tunc
temporis mancam appellant, ut gratia exempli f utura prime ooniuga-
tionis modo scribuntur cum van in ultima ut ^IpQtJ, llp??, lipBH, lipB!,
modo sine ipsa ut ^PP!, ^P^% ^^^h ®^ ^^^ ^^^ ^® infinitis aliis
dictionibus dicendum est.
Tsti vero ne error ac^idat in soribendo plenam pro manca,
et mancam pro plena, numerayerunt ex ipsis, eas ditiones
que in minori sunt numero, sin enim plene sunt in minori
numero uumerant plenas, si yero in maiori numero, numerantmaooas,
adeo quod que pauciores sunt, temper numerantur, assignando looa
eh signa ponendo ut ^li^ idest sanctus scribitur cum Yau in ultima
et dictio est plena, sed numerantur in to to sacro canone 13 yicibua
inyeniri mancam sine dicta litera Van in ultima ut cn'p 9io etiam
)'nx idest area dicuat tribus yicibus inyeniri mancam, et sic de
singulis assignando loca et capitula et signa ponendo.*
Quod autem dictum est de Vau dicitur etiam de lod ut O^K^B^J,
hoc est patriarchs inyeneruot dictionem banc quater in ultima
tantum plenam,' et quater pleoissimam puta in ultima et penultima
sic etiam numerando dicunt de hac dictione D^X^^^ hoc est profete
et sic de singulis.
Eamdemmet considerationem habuerunt de alef nam inyeniuntur
quamplurime dictiones plene de alef et aliquando inyeniuntur eadem
sine dicta alef sic etiam de he que in ultimo dictionis yenire solet
dicendum est nam aliquando plene aliquando manche inyeninntur ut
n^^, n^K'Xl,* ^V\ n-iy3 et sic de singulis.
Nee solum plenitudinem yel defectum dictionum numerantur sed
etiam mutationes yooalium, nam cam hebrei habeant pro qnalibet
yocali duo pnnota ut loco A. habent banc yirgnlam sob litera
yidelicet _qae padac dicitur, et yirgnlam cum punoto yidelioet -- que
dicitur oamez quarum una longa altera yero brevis est. Si ergo
dictiones ille que regulariter punctari deberent padac punotarentur
DnBDOn >ID-|D. Since Josef del Medijjro, HDSn 111^313, ed. Basel, 1629,
II. 196, the x)oem is assigned to Saadia b. Josef Bechor Schor, see Zonz,
Zur Geichichte, p. 75.
* Comp. Elia Leylta I, <?., c. II.
' lb. c. 5 ; cf . The Maxxorah, ed. Ginsburg, II. 290.
» Cf. The Mojtsflrah, II. 272.
Digitized by
Google
Lazarus Be Viterboa Epidle to Cardinal Sirkto. 293
camez vel e eontra, oumeraot etiam et assignant illas dictiones que
iiregalariter punctantur, at etiam numerant et assignant dictionea
qnarncD accentaa regnlariter esse deberet in ultima et irregnlariter
erit in pminltima vel contra.
Sic etiam assignant et numerant sabtilitates et minuties multo
minorea.
Preterea usi sunt etiam alia extrema diligentia m nnmerando quas-
dam sententias que sepe numero uuo modo, et ^epenumero in alio
modo inveniuntnr, ut cau^ exempli hec que dicit ^K1^> [^l^K] 'H
hoc est Deus Deus Israel et aliqnando dicit ^Kl&^ M^K niKlV 'H^
hoc est Dens exereitaum Deus Israel sic etiam hec alia sententia que
didt 'n ^y}^\ ^<^ Mt benedicat tibi Deus et aliquando dicit ^?"i9t
^^n^ CnP hoc est benedicat tibi Deus Deus tuus quia bse sen-
tentis et similes in utroque modo sepe inveninntur ne accidat error
de ana ad aliam numerant sententias ne mutarentur et assignant loca
et capitals.
Komerant etiam omnes dictiones in qaibus loco lod ponitur Yau
Tel e contra nt nihil intactam relictum sit.
Dantur etiam quedam particule replicate et triplicate et quadrnplicate
qaanun alique desoribuntur cum copula et aliqne sine ipsa ut T\^ Jl^
n^ nK3 ethas etiam numerant et assignant ut distinote inotescat que
ctim copula et que sine ipsa scribi debent et sic de similibus ab illis
observatum f uit.
Si huiusmodi labores et obsenrantie in aliis libris quam in sacris
foiasent obeervate pnderet me oerte tot minuties ennmerasse, sed in
sacris nnnquam fuit (atis superque observatum quam magis non
deberet observari.
Nee censendnm est casu et fortuna huiuscemodi dictiones
aliquando plenas. aliquando mancas aocidisse, ut fortasse multi
arbitrari poterant cum propter earn superabundantiam vel
defectum literarum sensus sive significatum dictionis nequaquam
varietur, sacra enim scrip tnra, cum perfecta sit tanquam divi-
naai opas neo superflaa nee diminuta esse poterat sed neoes-
eario sic Tel sic desoribi debent, sed in his rebas f undantur pro-
fandissima misteria ac sacra archana Tbeologisa cum doctores
ipsi anicaique minntie reddant rationem.
Unde ex omnibns dictis nuUas unquam loons calumnisa relin-
qaitar ac lace clarius poterit nnusquisque cognoscere, an antiqui
hehrei habnemnt in animo depraTare scripturas an easdem integer-
> Cf. The Massora, II. 567. » Cf . The Masiorah, I. 710.
* Oehlah ir\Wi/fl*,ed. S. Frensdorfif, N. 79, 2.S0-1.
Digitized by
Google
294 The Jewish Qaarterly Review,
rimas conservare eui hodierni vel novi licet volaisseiit si I
faoere potuisseot.
XJode meo qaidem iadicio ille divas Tbotnaa de Aiaino ratii
conseataneam dixit, hebreos esse scriptararam saoraram armaria ac
His noQ obstantibaa muUi arbitrantar ac etiam diebos paa
elapsia caai qaidan bonas vir ooacitatas est pablice dixit hebre
ipsos depravaaae versicalam leramie diooatis cap. 23,* et hoc <
nomen saam qaod vocabit eaai Daa^ iaatas no^ter dixit eaicn i
qaod looo MtfTp^ hoc eat vocabit cum debet 1^ ^^ITl! boc est Tocabi
inferendo quod hebrei ut aaf agerent ne messias vocaretur Deos iaal
Doeter oormperant textum et looo ^KlpJ^ hoc est vocabnnt adaptan
at legator ^^^\ hoc est vocabit eum quasi dicat quod Deus iosi
noster vocabit eum measiam etc., sed cum ia utraque lectora id
sensus habeatur quod hebreis attrlbuitur mauifestissima est calamn
nam legant Ghristiaui voc%buat, legaot hebrei vocabit eum, semp
nomen ipsius messie, erit Deus Deus iustus noster. Nam secandi
Christianorum lectaram que dicit vocabunt, sensus est qaod Isn
sive Jada sive omnes gentes vocabunt messiam Deus iustns nost<
secundum vero hebreorum lectaram que dicit vocabit eum, idem e
sensus, nam dicit textus in diebus suis salvabitur Juda, et Isra
habitabit confidenter, et hoc eat nomen eius quod vocabit eum De
iustus noster, quod ad Judam vel ad Israel vel ad t)tum nniversa
refertur. Scilicet qaod unusquisque eorum vocabit nomen meat
Deus iustus noster, adeo quod ia utraqua lectura semper messi
vocabitur iustus noster, aliter hebreorum lectura imperfecta esset,
vocabit eum referretur ad Deum iustum nostrum, qui vocaret nomi
messie, cum nullum aliud nomen, quo Messias vocaretur referat te
tus ille.
Nee apud hebreos hoc est inconveuiens, cum< Idem Hieremi
cap. 33, dicat in diebus illis salvabitur Juda et Hierusalem habit&b
confidenter et hoc est qnoi vocabit eim Dans iustus noster ad
quod ex his verbis apparet quod etiam civitas ipsa Hierusalem voc
bitur Deus iustus noster et Ezachiel dixit ultimo capitnlo et nom(
civitatis ex hodie Deus ibidem.'
Et Moyses dixit ad altare ^p3 'n^ hoc est Deus elevatio me
idem dixit Jacob ad altare Deus Deus Israel.*
Et parafrasis caldea, et illi antiquissimi viri qui librum ilia
tradictionis inceperunt, legunt vocabit eum, et non vocabunt, ad<
quod nulla relioqaitur ratio nee authoritas hebreos hunc loco
depravasse.
* Jer. xxiii. 6. ' Ezech. xlviii. 85.
^ Exod. xvii. 15. * Gen. xxxiii. 20.
Digitized by
Google
Lazarus De Viterho's Epistle to Cardinal Sirleto, 295
Dixit etiam ille bonus vir hebreoa etiam cotrapiBse illam ' textom
psalmi 22, et looo V\^^ hoc est foderont secandum Ohristiaaoram
lectaram legont ipsi hebrei ^^?, boo est sicat leo.'
Certain est quod param refert ad bebreos qaalis sit hsec lectnra
sed fii ipsi hebrai scripturas corrumpere roluissent, ut aafagerent
Chnstiaaoram intentioaes, qail fait ia caasa qaod reliqaerant in-
tactum capitalam 52 Isaie ia quo Obristiaai fuadaot omaem inten-
tionem f qaare etiam intaotuai raliqueruat textutn ilium ZiccarisB
in cap. 12, et aspicieat ad me quem confixerunt ? ' quare etiam in libro
illo dicto traditio parva * reliquerunt "^w} nni ^1^3, hoc est sicut
leo bis inveniri in sacris in duo sigaificato ? et quare reliqueruat, in
libro dicto traditio magna • J^nns ai J^VDp '3 n nK3 boo est sicut
leo quater, inveniri bis cum caf punctata padac et bis cum caf punc-
tata camez? ne Ghristianis relinqueretur anza fundaadi suas inten-
tiones.
Sed quod etiam hoc sit calumnia, liquide demon^trat antiquissima
parafrasifl Oaldea nam cum vidisset secundum lecturam hebreorum
sententiam dimioutamsive imperfectam, adiiiit verbum pn33 hoc
est nacti(m)[n] quod mordentes sen farientes sigaificat quasi dicat
oongregatio midignantium circumdavit me mordentes sicut leo man us
meas et pedes meos adeo quod hoc modo etiam Ghristiani possunt
habere suam intentionem, lega iquisque ut placuerit.
IJnde ille B. P. D. Augustinus lustinianus Episcopns Nebiensis in
•Goliis sui psalterii quinque linguarum^ in hoc passu dixit sicut
leo manut mess et pedes mei, sive manus msas et pedes meos
oonstructio defectiva subaudiendumque impii tanquam leo foderunt
perforayerunt male habuerunt fixerunt aut male tractaverunt etc.,
nee assensio dicentibus hebreos hunc locum corrupisse quod ex
nostris arbitrantur multi qui dicunt legendum esse apud hebreos
oaru dedacta voce a yerbo car^ quod fodio siye figo siye yincio sigoi-
licat et yerum quod hie yerborum structus defectiyus habeatur,
liquide ex caldeo textu qui defectui ocsurrens addidit yerbum Nactin
quod mordentes siye yulnerantes seu ferientes significit hec ille.
> Gf. Fianciscos Torrensis, De tola lectione legis . . . JudaU . . *
permittendOy p. 27.
* Of. Graetz, Krithcher Commentar zu den Psalmen, I. p. 228.
» Zach. xii. 10. * n^op miDD. * n^HJ miDD.
* Augustinus Giustinianus, bishop of Nebbio in Corsica, author of the
Psalter ium Nebiense (Genua 1517) ; comp. Perles, die in einer MUnchener
Handschrift aufgefondene erste lateinische Uebersetzung des Maimo-
nidischen " Fiihrers," p. 3 xq.
Digitized by
Google
296 The Jewish Quarleiiy Review.
Unde apparet homines probos qui veritatem diligunt sine sao
preiudicio vel detrimento iusto tantum accommodatos esse.
HsBc pauoa, B*"** et 111'"*' D. Dominationi tus volui dixisse ut si vera
esse censeas reprimas, rf prebend asque audaoes qui contra etiam sacros
canones absque ulla ratione os aperiunt postergata ratione tante
sanotitatis atque operis sammi Dei gloriosi, qui charitate sua
atque olementia oonservet ezaltetque ad vota Dominationem tuam
Xl^mam ^jj Rin»m q^j bumiliter geuuflezus me ipsum et omnia mea
commendo.
Digitized by
Google
The Book of Jubilees, 297
A NEW TRANSLATION OF THE BOOK OF
JUBILEES.^ {Concluded,)
Part ni.
XXXII. — And he abode that night at Bethel, and Levi dreamed
that they had ordained and made him the priest of the Most High
Gk)d, him and his sons for ever ; and he awoke from his sleep and
blessed the Lord. 2. And Jacob rose early in the morning, on
the fourteenth of this month, and be gave a tithe of all that came
with him, both of men and cattle, both of gold and every vessel
and garment, and he gave tithes of all. 3. And in those days
Rachel became pregnant with her son Benjamin. And Jacob
counted his sons from him upwards and Levi fell to the portion of
the Lord, and his father clothed him in the garments of the priest-
hood and filled his hands. 4. And on the fifteenth of this month he
brought to the altar fourteen oxen from amongst the cattle, and
twenty-eight rams, and forty-nine sheep, and seven' lambs, and
twenty-one' kids of the goats as a burnt-offering on the altar of
sacrifice, well pleasing for a sweet savour before G-od. 5. This was
his offering, in consequence of the vow which he had vowed that
he would give a tenth, with their fruit-offerings and their drink-
offerings. 6. And when the fire had consumed it, he burnt incense
on the fire over it, and for a thank-offering two oxen and four
rams and four sheep, four he-goats, and two sheep of a year old,
and two kids of the goats ; and thus he did daily for seven days.
7. And he and all his sons and his men were eating (this) with joy
there during seven days and blessing and thanking the Lord, who
bad delivered him out of all his tribulation and had given him his
▼ow. 8. And he took a tenth of all the clean animals, and made a
burnt sacrifice, bat the unclean animals he gave (not) ^ to Levi his
SOD, and he gave him all the souls of the men. 9. And Levi dis-
charged the priestly office at Bethel before Jacob his father in
preference to his ten brothers, and he was a priest there, and
1 For an account of the MSS. upon which this translation is founded,
see Jewish Quartbbly Review, Vol. V. pp. 703-708.
* Emended from B. ^ I have added the negative.
Digitized by
Google
298 The Jetciah Quarterly Review.
Jacob gave his vow : tbns he gave a seoond tenth to the Lord and
sanctified him, and he became holy onto him. 10. And for this
reason it is ordained in the heavenly tables as a law for the giviog
of a second tenth to eat before the Lord in the place where it is
chosen that his name should dwell from year to year, and to this law
there is no limit of days for ever. 11. This ordinance is written that
it may be fulfilled from year to year in eating the second tenth before
the Lord in the place where it has been chosen, and nothing shall remain
oyer from it from this year to the year following. 12. For in its year
shall the seed be eaten until the days of the gathering ^ of the seed
of the year, and the wine till the days of the wine, and the oil till
the days of its eeason. 13. And all that is left thereof and becomes
old, let it be regarded as polluted : bum it with fire, for it is unclean.
14. And thus let them eat it together in the sanctuary, and let them not
suffer it to become old. 15. And all the tithes of the oxen and sheep
shall be holy unto the Lord, and shall belong to his priests, which
they will eat before him from year to year ; for thus is it ordained
and eograyen regarding the tithe in the heavenly tables. 16. And on
the following night, on the twenty-second day of this month, Jacob
resolved to build that place, and to surround the gpround with a wall,
and to sanctify it and make it holy for ever, for himself and his
children after him. 17. And the Lord appeared to him by night and
blessed him and said unto him : ** Thy name shall not be called Jacob,
but Israel shall they name thy name." 16. And he said unto him
again : ** I am the Lord thy God who created the heaven and the
earth, and I will increase thee and multiply thee exceedingly, and
kings shall come forth from thee, and they shall rule everywhere
wherever the foot of the sons of men have trodden. 19. And I will
give to thy seed all the earth which is under heaven, and they shall
rule over all the nations according to their desires, and after that they
shall get possession of the whole earth and inherit it for ever." 20.
And he finished speaking with him, and he went up from him, and
Jacob looked till he had ascended into heaven. 21. And he saw in
a vision of the night, and behold an angel descended from heaven
with seven tablets in his hands, and he gave them to Jacob, and
he read them and knew all that was written therein which would
befall him and his sons throughout all the years. 22. And he
showed him all that was written on the tablets, and said unto him :
" Do not build this place, and do not make it an eternal sanctuary,
and do not dwell here ; for it is not this place. Go to the house
of Abraham thy father and dwell with Isaac thy father until the
day of the death of thy father. 23. For in Egypt thou shalt die
1 Emended from B.
Digitized by
Google
The Book of Jubihes. 299
ia peace, and in this land thou shalt be buried with honour in the
sepalchre of thy fatbert*, with Abraham and Isaac. 24. Fear not,
for as tboa hast seen and read it, thus will it all be ; and do thou
write down everything as thou hast seen and read." 25. And
Jacob said : '* Lord, how can I remember all that I have read and
seen ? ** And he said unto him : ** I will bring everything to thy
remembrance." 26. And he went up from him, and he awoke from
his sleep, and he remembered everything which he had read and
seen, and he wrote down all the words which he had read and
seen. 27. And he stayed there yet another day, and he sacrificed
thereon according to all that he had sacrificed on the former days,
and called its name ** Addition,'* for this day was added, and the
former days he called " The Feast" 28. And thus it was manifested
that it should be, and it is written on the heavenly tables : where-
fore it was revealed to him that he should celebrate it, and add it
to the seven days of the feast. 29. And its name was called the
dajs of ** Addition," because that it is recorded amongst the days * of
the feast, according to the number of the ^Siys of the year.
30. And in the night, on the twenty- third of this month, Deborah
Bcbecca's nurse died, and they buried her beneath the city under
the oak of the river, and he called the name of this river.
The river of Deborah, and the oak. The oak of the mourning of
Deborah. 31. And Bebecca went and returned to her house to
his father Isaac, and Jacob sent by her hand rams and sheep and
he-goats that she should prepare a meal for his father such as he
desired. 32. And he went after his mother till l\e came to the land
of Kabr^tfin, and he dwelt there. 33. And Rachel bare a son in the
night, and called his name " Son of my Sorrow " ; for she suffered in
giving him birth : but his father called his name Benjamin, on the
eleventh of the eighth month in the first of the sixth week of this
jubilee. 34. And Bachel died there and she was buried in the land
of Ephratha, the same is Bethlehem, and Jacob built a pillar on the
grave of Bachel, on the road above her grave.
XXXIII. — And Jacob went and dwelt to the south of Magdal^-
dr&6f .' And he went to his &ther Isaac, he and Leah his wife, on the
new moon of the tenth month. 2. And Beuben saw Bilhah, Bachel's
maid, the concubine of his father, bathing in the water in a secret
place, and he loved her. 3. And he hid himself at night, and he
entered the house of Bilhah at night, and he found her sleeping
alone on a bed in her house. 4. And he lay with her, and she awoke
' Emended with Latin.
» A translation of iTjey I'^y-b^JD.
Digitized by
Google
300 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
and saw, and behold Beubea was lying with her in the be3,» and she
unoovered the border of her covering and sezei him, and cried out,
and discoyered that it was Reuben. 5. And she was ashamed beca,u«>e
of him, and released her hand from him, and he fled. 6. And she
lamented because of this thing exceedingly, and did not tell it to any
one. 7. And when Jacob returned and sought her, she said unto
him : ** I am not clean for thee, for I have been defiled (so as to be
separate) from thee ; for Reuben has defiled me, and has lain with
me in the night, and I was asleep, and did not discover until he
uncovered my skirt and slept with me." 8. And Jacob was
exceedingly wroth with Reuben because he had lain with Bil-
hah, because he had uncovered his father's skirt. 9. And
Jacob did not approach (her) again because Reuben^had defiled
her; and as for every man who uncovers his father's skirt his
deed is wicked exceedingly, for he is abominable before the
Lord. 10. For this reason it is written and ordained on the heavenly
tables that a man should not lie with his father's wife, and should
not uncover his father's skirt, for this is unclean : they shall surely
die together, the man who has lain with bis father's wife and the
woman, for they have wrought uucleanness on the earth. 11. And
there shall be nothing unclean before our God in the nation which he
has chosen for himself as a possession. 12. And again, it is written
a second time : ** Cursed be he who lieth with the wife of his father,
for he hath uncovered his father's shame " ; and all the holy ones of
the Lord will say, " So be it ; so be it." 13. And do thou, Moses,
command the children of Israel that they observe this word ; for the
punishment is death ; and it is unclean, and there is no atonement for
ever to atone for the man who has committed this, except by executing
and slaying, and stoning him with stones, and rooting him from the
midst of the people of our God. 14. For no man who has done so
in Israel shall remain alive a single day on the earth, for he is
abominable and unclean. 15. And let them not say that to Reuben
was granted life and forgiveness after he had lain with hirt father's
concubine, and to her also, though she had a husband, her husband
Jacob, his father, being still alive. 16. For until that time there had
not been revealed the ordinance and judgment and law in its com-
pleteness for all, but in thy days (it has been recorded) as a Uw of
seasons and of days,* and a law that is everlasting for the everlasting
generations. 17. And for this law there is no consummation of days,
and no atonement for it, except that they should both be rooted out
in the midst of the nation : on the day whereon they committed it
1 I have omitted '* and sleeping " after " bed " with Lat.
' Passage is corrupt ; for " in days " (A.) I have read " and of days."
Digitized by
Google
The Book of Jubilees, 301
they shall slay them. 18. And do thou, Moses, write it down for
Israel that they may observe it, and do according to these words, and
not commit a mortal sin ; for the Lord our God is judge, who.
respects not persons and accepts not gifts. 19. And tell them
these words of the covenant, that they may hear and observe, and be
on their guard with respect to them, and not be destroyed and rooted
out of the land ; for an nncleanness, and an abomination, and a con-
tamination,^ and a pollution are all they who commit this on the earth
before oar God. 20. And there is no greater sin than the fornication
which they commit on earth ; for Israel is a holy nation unto the
Lord its God, and a nation of inheritance, and a nation of priests,
and a nation for a kingdom and a possession ; and there shall no such
nncleanness appear in the midst of the holy nation. 21. And in the
third year of this sixth week Jacob and all his sons went and
dwelt in the house of Abraham, near Isaac his father and Rebecca his
mother. 22. And these were the names of the sons of Jacob : the
first-born Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulon, the sons
of Leah ; and the sons of Rachel, Joseph and Benjamin ; and the
sons of Bilhah, Dan and Naphtali ; and the sons of Zilpah, Gad and
Asher ; and Dinah, the only daughter of Leah, the daughter of Jacob.
23. And they came and bowed themselves to Isaac and Rebecca, and
when they saw them they blessed Jacob and all his sons, and Isaac
rejoiced exceedingly, for he saw the sons of Jacob, his younger son,
and he blessed them.
XXXIV. — And in the sixth year of this week after this, in the forty-
fourth jubilee Jacob sent his sons to pastare their sheep, and their ser-
vants with them to the pastures of Shechem. 2. And the seven kings
of the Amorites assembled themselves together against them, to slay
them, hiding themselves under the trees, and to take their cattle as a
prey. 3. And Jacob and Levi and Judah and Joseph were in the
house with Isaac their father ; for his spirit was sorrowful,^ and they
could not leave him : and Benjamin was the youngest, and for this
reason remained with his father. 4. And the kings of TSphfl, and
the kings of Ar^sa, and the kings of Slr&g&n, and the kings of 8el6,
and the kings of G^, and the king of B§th6r6n, and the king of
Maantsdktr, and all those who dwell in those mountains (aud) who
dwell in the woods in the land of Canaan. 5. And they announced
this to Jacob saying : '* Behold, the kings of thu Amorites have sur-
rounded tby sons, and plundered their herds." 6. And he arose from
his house, he and his three sons and all the servants of his father, and
1 Emended by DiUmann.
* Better translated '* timoroaa '* with Lat.
VOL vn. X
Digitized by
Google
1302 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
his own servants, and went against them with six thousand > men, who
carried swords. 7. And he slew them in the pastures of Shechem,
and pursued those who fled, and he slew them with the edge of the
sword, and he slew Ar^ and Th&phtl and Sar^4n and SSld and
Am&nisaktr and G^ias. 8. And he brought together his herds, and
was powerful over them, and he imposed tribute on them that they
should pay him tribute, five fruit products of their land, and he built
Reuben and Tamn&t&rSs. 9. And he returned in peace, and made
peace with them, and they became his servants until the day that he
and his sons went down into E^pt. 10. And in the seventh year of
this week he sent Joseph to learn about the welfare of his brothers
from his house to the land of Shechem, and he found them in the
land of Dothan. 11. And they dealt treacherously with him, aud
formed a plot against him to slay him, but changing their minds, they
sold him to Ishmaelite merchants, and they brought him down into
Egypt, and they sold him to Potiphar, the eunuch of Pharaoh, captain
of the guard,* priest of the city of El^w. 12. And the sons of Jacob
slaughtered a kid, and dipped the coat of Joseph in the blood, and
sent (it) to Jacob their father on the tenth of the seventh month.
13. And he mourned all that night, for they had brought it to him
in the evening, and he became feverish with mourning for his death,
and he said : ** An evil beast hath devoured Joseph " ; and all the
members of his house mourned with him that day, and they were
grieving and mourning with him all that day. 14. And his sons and
his daughter rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted
for his son. 15. And on that day Bilhah heard that Joseph had
perished, and she died mourning him, and she was living in Qafr&t^I,
and Dinah also, his daughter, died after Joseph had perished. Thus
three mournings came upon Israel in one month. 16. And they
buried Bilhah over against the tomb of Rachel, and Dinah also, his
daughter, they buried there. 17. And he mourned for Joseph one
year, and did not cease, for he said : " Let me go down to the grave
mourning for my son.'' 18. For this reason it is ordained for the
children of Israel that they should mourn on the tenth of the seventh
month— on the day that the news which made him weep for Joseph
came to Jacob his father — that they should make atonement for them-
selves thereon with a young goat on the tenth of the seventh month,
once a year, for their sins ; for they had grieved the affection of their
father regarding Joseph his son. 19. And this day has been ordained
that they should grieve thereon for their sins, and for all their trans-
» So A,B,D. C gives " eight hundred,"
* MSS. give *' the chief cook," owing to the Greek translator adopting the
meaning of D^nat^H lb^, inappropriate to this context.
Digitized by
Google
The Book of Jubilees. 303
gressioas and for all their errors, so that they might oleaose them-
selyes on that day once a year. 20. And after Joseph was destroyed,
the sons of Jacob took nnto themselves wives. The name of Reuben's
wife is Add ; and the name of Simeon's wife is Adeb4a, a Canaanite ;
and the name of Levi's wife is M61k4, of the daughters of Arftm, of
the seed of the sons of T^r^ ; and the name of Jndah's wife, B6ta-
stl^l, a Canaanite ; and the name of Issaohar's wife, H6zaq& ; and the
name of Zabnlon's wife, Adni^ ; and the name of Dan's wife, £gl& ;
and the name of Naphtali's wife, BasM, of Mesopotamia ; and the
name of Gad's wife, Mika ; and the name of Asher's wife, tj6nk ; and
the name of Joseph's wife, Asnith, the Egyptian ; and the name of
Benjamin's wife, Ijasaka. 21. And Simeon repented, and took a
second wife from Mesopotamia as his brothers.
XXXV. — And in the first year of the first week of the forty-fifth
jubilee Bebecca called Jacob, her son, and commanded him regard-
ing his father and regarding his brother, that he should honour them
all the days of Jacob's life. 2. And Jacob said : *^ I will do all that
thou hast commanded me ; for this thing will be honour and great-
ness to me, and righteousness before the Lord, that I should honour
them. 3. And thou too, my mother, knowest from the time I was
bom until this day, all my deeds and all that is in my heart, that I
always think good concerning all. 4. And how should I not do this
thing which thou hast commanded me, that I should honour my
father and my brother I 5. Tell me, mother, what perversity hast
thou seen in me and I shall turn away from it, and mercy of the
Lord* will be upon me." 6. And she said unto him : " My son, I
have not seen in thee all my days any perverse but (only) upright
deeds. And yet I will tell thee the truth, my son, I shall die this
year, and I shall not survive this year in my life ; for I have seen in
a dream the day of my death, that I should not live beyond a hundred
and fifty-five years : and behold I have completed all the days of my
life which I was to live." 7. And Jacob laughed at the words of his
mother, because his mother had said unto him that she should die ;
and she was sitting opposite to him in possession of her strength, and
she was not infirm in her strength ; for she went in and out and saw,
and her teeth were strong, and no ailment had touched her all the days
of her life. 8. And Jacob said unto her : "Blessed am I, mother, if
my days approach the days of thy life, and my strength remain with
me thus as thy strength : and thou wilt not die, for thou hast jested
idly to me regarding thy death." 9. And she went in to Isaac and
said unto him : ** One petition I make unto thee : make Esau swear
* So Syr. Frag. A,B, omit. * Restored from Lat. ; Eth. omits.
X 2
Digitized by
Google
304 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
that he will not injure Jacob, nor pursue him with enmity ; for thou
knowest Esau's thoughts that they are perverse from his youth, and
there is no goodness in him ; for he dt^sir^s after thy death to kill
him. 10. And thou knowest all that he has done since the
day Jacob his brother went to Haran until this day ; how he has
forsaken us with hii^ whole heart, and has done evil to us ; how he
has taken to himself thy flocks, and carried off before thy face all thy
possessions. 11. And when we implored and besought him for what
was our own, he did as a man who was taking pity on ns. 12. And
he is bitter against thee because thou didst bless Jacob thy perfect and
upright sou ; for there is no evil but only goodness in him, and since
he came from Haran unto this day he has not robbed us of aught,
for he brings us everything in its season always, and rejoices with all
his heart when we take at his hands, and he blesses us. and has not
parted from us since he came from Haran until this day, and he has
remained with us continually at home honouring us.'' 13. And
Isaac said unto her : ** I, too, know and see the deeds of Jacob who is
with us, how that with all his heart he honours us ; but I loved Esau
formerly more than Jacob, because he was the firsibom ; but now I
love Jacob more than Esau, for he has done manifold evil deeds, and
there is no righteousness in him, for all his ways are unrighteousness
and violence, and there is no righteousness aronnd him. 14. And
now my heart is troubled because of all his deeds, and neither he
nor his seed shall prosper, for they are those^ who shall be destroyed
from the earth, and who shall be rooted out from under heaven, for
he has forsaken the God of Abraham and gone' after his wives and
after their uncleanness and after their error, he and his children.
15. And thou dost bid me make him swear that he will not slay Jacob,
his brother ; even if he swear he will not abide by his oath, and he
will not do good but evil only. 16. But if he desires to clay Jacob, his
brother, into Jacob's hands will he be given, and he will not escape
from his hands, for he will fall into his hands. 17. And fear thou
not on account of Jacob ; for the guardian of Jacob is great and
powerful and honoured, and praised more than the guardian of
Esau." 18. And Rebecca sent and called Esau, and he came to her,
and she said unto him : ** I have a petition, my son, to make unto
thee, and do thou promise to do it, my son." 19. And he said :
" I will do everything that thou sayest unto me, and I will not refuse
thy petition.** 20. And she said unto him : '^ I ask you that the day
I die, tbou wilt take me in and bury me near Sarah, thy father s
mother, and that tbou and Jacob will love each other, and that
neither will desire evil against the other, but love just him, and ye
' Oonstraction doubtf uL * Emended.
Digitized by
Google
The Book of Jubilees, 305
will prosper, my sons, and be hononred in the midst of the land, and
no enemy will rejoice over you, and ye will be a blessing and a
meroy in the eyes of all those that love you." 21. And he said : " I
will do all that thon hast told me, and I will bury thee on the day
thou diest near Sarah, my father's mother, as thou lovest that her
bones may be near thy bones. 22. And Jacob, my brother, also, I
will love above all flesh ; for I have not a brother in all the earth
but him only : and this is no great merit for me if I love him ; for he
is my brother, and we were sown together in thy womb, and together
came we forth from thy loins, and if I do not love my brother, whom
shall I love ? 23. And I, myself, beg thee to exhort Jacob concern-
ing me and concerning my children, for I know that he will assuredly
be king over me and my children, for on the day my father blessed
him he made him the higher and me the lower. 24. And I swear
unto thee that I will love him, and not desire evil against him all the
days of my life but good only.*' And he swear unto her regarding
all this matter. 25. And she called Jacob before the eyes of Esau,
and gave him commandment according to the words which she had
spoken to. Esau. 26. And he said : " I will do thy pleasure ; believe
me that no evil will proceed from me or from my sons against Esau,
and I shall be first in naught save in love only.'' 27. And they eat
and drank, she and her sons that night, and she died, three jubilees
and one week and one year old, on that night, and her two sons, Esau
and Jacob, buried her in the double cave near Sarah, their f atber*s
mother.
XXXYI. — And in the sixth year of this week Isaac called his two
sons, Esau and Jacob, and they came to him, and he said unto them :
" My sons, I am going the way of my fathers, into the eternal house
where my fathers are. 2. Wherefore bury me near Abraham my
father, in the double cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, where
Abraham purchased a sepulchre to bury in ; in the sepulchre which
I digged for myself, there bury me. 3. And this I command you, my
sons, that ye practise righteousness and uprightness on the earth, so
that the Lord may bring upon you all that the Lord said that he
would do to Abraham and to his seed. 4. And love one another, my
sons (even) your brother as a man loves his own soul, and let each
seek in what he may benefit his brother, and act together on the earth ;
and let them love each other as their own souls. 5. And concern-
ing the question of idols, I have commanded and admonished you to
reject them and hate them, and love them not ; for they are full of
deception for those that worship them and for those that bow down
to them. 6. Remember ye, my sons, the Lord God of Abraham
yonr father, and afterwards' I too worshipped him and served him
* We should perhaps emend and read " how."
Digitized by VjOOQIC
306 The Jewish Quarterly Remew.
in righteoasness and in joy, that he might multiply yoa and increase
your seed as the stars of heaven in multitude, and establish yon on
the earth as the plant of righteousness which shall not be rooted out
unto all the generations for ever. 7. And now I will make yoa
swear a great oath, for there is no oath which is greater than it by
the name glorious and honoured and great and splendid and wonderful
and mighty, which created the heavens and the earth and all things
together, that ye will fear him and worship him. 8. And that each
will love his brother with affection and righteousness, and that
neither will desire evil against his brother from henceforth for ever
all the days of your life, so that ye may prosper in all your deeds and
may not be destroyed. 9. And if either of you devises evil against his
brother, know that from henceforth everyone that devises evil against
his brother will fall into his hand, and will be rooted out of the land
of the living, and his seed shall be destroyed from under heaven-
10. But on the day of turbulence and execration and wrath and
anger, and as with flaming devouring fire he burnt Sodom, so like-
wise will he burn his land and his city and all that is his, and he will
be blotted out of the book of the discipline of the children of men,
and not be recorded in the book of life, but in that which shall be
destroyed, and he will depart into eternal execration ; so that their
condemnation may be always renewed in hate and in execration and
in wrath and in torment and in indignation and in plagues and in
disease for ever. 11. I say and testify to you, my sons, according to
the judgment which will come upon the man who wishes to injure his
his brother. 12. And he divided all his possessions between the two
on that day, and he gave the larger portion to him that was the first-
bom, and the tower and all that was about it, and all that Abraham
possessed at the well of the oath. 13. And he said, " This larger por-
tion I will give* to my firstborn." 14. And Esau said, ** I have sold to
Jacob and given my right of primogeniture to Jacob ; to him it has been
given, and I have not a single word to say regarding it, for it is his."
15. And Isaac said, ^* May a blessing rest upon you, my sons, and upon
your seed this day, for ye have given me rest, and my heart is not
pained concerning the primogeniture, lest thou shouldest work wicked-
ness on account of it. 16. May the Most High Lord bless the man
that worketh righteousness, him and his seed for ever.'* 17. And he
ended commanding them and blessing them, and they eat and drank
together before him, and he rejoiced because there was a reconciliation
between them, and they went forth from him and rested that day and
slept. 18. And Isaac slept on his bed that day rejoicing ; and he slept
the eternal sleep, and died one hundred and eighty years old. He
* Emended.
Digitized by
Google
The Book of Jubikes. 307
completed twenty- five weeks and five years ; and his two sons Esau
and Jacob bnried him. 19. And Esau went to the land of Edom,
to the mountains of Seir, and he dwelt there. 20. And Jacob
dwelt in the mountains of Hebron, in the tower of the Ixnd
of the sojoumings of his father Abraham, and he woi shipped
the Lord with all his heart and according to the visible command
according to the division of the days of his generation. 21. And Leah
his wife died in the fourth year of the second week of the forty -fifth
jubilee, and he buried her in the double cave near Rebecca his mother,
to the left of the grave of Sarah, his father's mother. 22. And all
her sons and hb sons came to mourn over Leah his wife with him,
and to comfort him regarding her, for he was lamenting her. 23.
For he loved her exceedingly after Rachel her sister died ; for she
was perfect and upright in all her ways and honoured Jacob, and all
the days that she lived with him he did not hear from her mouth a
harsh word, for she was gentle and peaceable and upright and honour-
able. 24. And he remembered all her deeds which she had done
during her life, and he lamented her exceediugly ; for he loved her
with all his heart and with all his soul.
XXxvil. — And on the day that Isaac the father of Jacob and
Esau died, the sons of Esau heard that Isaac had given the portion of
the elder to his younger son Jacob they were very angry. 2. And
they strove with their father, saying : " Why has thy father given
Jacob the portion of the elder and put thee after him, although thou
art the elder and Jacob the younger ? " 3. And he said unto them
*' Because I sold my birthright to Jacob for a small mess of lentils .
and on the day my father sent me to hunt venison ^ and bring him
something that he should eat and bless me, he came with guile and
brought my father food and drink, and my father blessed him and
put me under his hand. 4. And now our father has caused us to
swear, me and him, that we shall not mutually devise evil, either
against his brother, and that we shall continue in love and in peace
each with his brother and not make our ways corrupt.'* 5. And they
said unto him, ** We will not hearken unto thee to make peace witii
him ; for our strength is greater than his strength, and we are more
powerful than he ; we will go against him and slay him, and destroy
him and his children.' And if thou wilt not go with us, we will do
hurt to thee also. 6. And now hearken unto us : We will send to
Aram and Philistia and Moab and Ammon, and let us choose for
ourselvee chosen men who are ardent for battle, and let us go against
him and do battle with him, and let us exterminate him from the
1 Bmended. ' Emended from A, with Latin.
Digitized by
Google
308 The Jewish Quarterly Eevieie.
earth before he grows strong.*' 7. And their father said unto them,
'* Do not go and do not make war with him lest ye fall before him/'
8. And they said nnto him, *' This too, is exactly thy mode of action
from thy youth until this day, and thon hast brought thy neck nnder
his yoke. We will not hearken to these words.*' 9. And they sent
to Aram, and to Ad^fim to the friend of their father, and they hired
along with them one thousand fighting men, chosen men of war. 10.
And there came to them from Moab and from the children of Ammon,
those who were hired, one thousand chosen men, and from PhiHstia,
one thousand chosen men of war, and from Edom and from the
Horites one thousand fighting men, and from the Hittites one
thousand chosen and mighty men, men of war. 11. And they
said nnto their father : ** Go forth with them and lead them,
else we will slay thee." 12. And he was filled with wrath and
indignation on seeing that his sons were forcing him to go be-
fore (them) to lead them against Jacob his brother. 13. But
afterward he remembered all the evil which lay hidden in his heart
against Jacob his brother ; and he remembered not the oath which he
swear to his father and to his mother that he would devise no evil
all his days against Jacob his brother. 14. And notwithstanding all
this, Jacob knew not that they were coming against him to battle,
and he was mourning for Leah, his wife, until they approached very
near to the tower with four thousand warriors and chosen men of
war. 15. And the men of Hebron sent to him saying, '* Behold thy
brother has come against thee, to fight thee, with four thousand girt
with the sword, and they carry shields and weapons ; '* for they loved
Jacob more than Esau. So they told him ; for Jacob was a more
liberal and merciful man than Esau. 16. But Jacob would not
believe until they came very near to the tower. 17. And he closed
the gates of the tower ; and he stood on the battlements and
spake to his brother Esau and said, " Noble is the comfort wherewith
Ulou has come to comfort me because of my wife who has died. Is
this the oath that thon didst swear to thy father and again to thy mother
before they died ? Thon hast broken thy oath, and on the moment
that thou didst swear to thy father wast thou condemned." 18. And
then Esau answered and said nnto him, '* Neither the children of
men nor the beasts of the earth have any oath of righteousness which
they swear when they would swear (an oath valid) for ever ; but
every day they devise evil one against another, so that each may slay
bis adversary and foe. 19. And thou too dost hate me and my
children for ever. And there is no observing the tie of brotherhood
with thee. 20. Hear these words which I declare nnto thee, If the
boar can change its skin and make its bristles as soft as wool, or if it
can cause horns to sprout forth on its head like the horns of a stag or
Digitized by
Google
The Book of Jubtkea, 309
of a sheep, then I will observe the tie of brotherhood with thee. And
yet since the (twin) male offspring were separated from their mother,
thou hast not shown thyself a brother to me. 21. And if the wolves
make peace with the lambs so as not to devoar and rob them, and if
their hearts turn towards them to do good (unto them), then there will
be peace in my heart towards thee. 22. And if the lion becomes the
friend of the ox and if he is bound under one yoke with him and
ploughs with him and makes peace with him, then I will make peace
with thee. 23. And when the raven becomes white as the r&z^* then
know that I have loved thee and will make peace with thee. Thou
shalt be rooted out and thy sons shall be rooted out, and there shall be
no peace for thee.'' 24. And when Jacob saw that he was working
evil against him from his heart, and that with his whole soul he would
slay him, and that he had come springing like the wild boar which
comes upon the spear that pierces and kills it, and it recoils not from
it ; 25. Then he spake to his own and to his servants that they should
attack him and all his companions.
XXXYIIL — And after that Judah spake to Jacob, his father, and
said unto him : '^Bend thy bow, father, and send forth thy arrows
and cast down the adversary and slay the enemy ; and mayst thou
have the power, for we will not slay thy brother, for he was with
thee, and he is like thee, so that we should give him' (this) honour.
2. Then Jacob bent his bow and sent forth the arrow and struck
Esau, his brother, on his right breast,' and slew him. 3. And again
he sent forth an arrow and struck Ador^n, the Aramaean, on the
left breast, and drove him backward and slew him. 4. And then
went forth the sons of Jacob, they and their servants, dividing them-
selves into companies on the four sides of the tower. 5. And Judah
went forth in front, and Naphtali and Gad with him and fifty
servants with him on the south side of the tower, and they slew all
they found before them, and not one individual escaped from them.
6. And Levi and Dan and Asher went forth on the east side of the
tower, and fifty (men) with them, and they slew the fighting men of
Moab and Ammon. 7. And Reuben and Issachar and Zebulon went
forth on the north side of the tower, and fifty men with them, and
they slew the fighting men of the Philistines. 8. And Simeon and
Benjamin and Enoch, Beuben's son, went forth on the west side of
the tower, and fifty men with them, and they slew of Edom and of
the Horites four hundred stout warriors ; and six hundred escaped,
> The R&Z& is a large white bird which eats grasshoppers.
> Emended with Lat.
* Bestored from Lat. and the Midrash WajjUsan,
Digitized by
Google
310 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
and four of the sons of Esaa fled with them, and left their father
lyiDg slain, as he had fallen on the hill which is in AdCtr^m. 9. And
the sons of Jaoob pursued after them to the mountains of Seir. And
Jacob buried his brother on the hill which is in Adftr^m, and he re-
turned to his house. 10. And the sons of Jacob surrounded > the
sons of Esau in the mountains of Seir, and (the sons of Esau)
humbled themselves so as to become servants of the sons of Jacob.
11. And they sent to their father to inquire whether they should
make peace with them or slay them. 12. And Jacob sent word to his
sons that they should make peace, and they made peace with them, and
placed the yoke of servitude upon them, so that they paid tribute to
Jacob and to his sons always. 13. And they continued to pay tribute to
Jacob until the day that he went down into Egypt. 14. And the sons
of Edom did not get quit of the yoke of servitude which the twelve
sons of Joseph had imposed on them until that day. 15. And these
are the kings that reigned in Edom before there reigned any king over
the children of Israel until this day in the land of Edom. 16. And
B&lfiq, the son of BSdr, reigned in Edom, and the name of his city
was Dan^b^. 17. And BiUq died, and Jdbdb, the son of Zkvk of
Bosir, reigned in his stead. 18. And J6b4b died, and Asto, of the
land of T^mAn, reigned in his stead. 19. And As^m died, and Ad&th,
the son of Barad, who slew Median in the field of Moab, reigned in
his stead, and the name of his city was Awtit. 20. And Ad&th died,
and Salman, from AmSsSqS, reigned in his stead. 21. And Salman
died, and S^ill, of B^bdth (by the) river, reigned in his stead. 22.
And S&td died, and Ba^ltln^, the son of Akbfir, reigned in his stead.
23. And Ba§ltln&D, the son of Akbtlr, died, and Ad&th reigned in his
stead, and the name of bis wife was Maitabit, the daughter of M4ta-
rat, the daughter of Metab^d Z&ab. 24. These are the kings who
reigned in the land of Edom.
XXXIX. — And Jacob dwelt in the land of his father^s sojournings
in the land of Canaan. 2. These are the generations of Jaoob. Joseph
was seventeen years old when they took him down into the land of
Egypt, and Potiphar, an eunuch of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, '
bought him. 3. And he set Joseph over all his house, and the blessing of
the Lord came upon the house of the Egyptian on account of Joseph,
and the Lord prospered him in all that he did. 4. And the Egyptian
left everything in Joseph's hands ; ' for he saw that the Lord was
with him, and that the Lord prospered him in all that he did. 5.
And Joseph was comely and very well favoured/ and the wife of his
1 Emended with Lat. ' Emended, as in xxziv. 11.
3 Emended. * Blightly emmided from A, B.
Digitized by
Google
The Book of Juhilees. 31 1
master lifted ap ber eyes and saw Joseph, and she loved him, and
besonght him to lie with her. 6. But he did not surrender his soul,
and he remembered the Lord and the words which Jacob, his father,
hail read (to him) from amongst the words of Abraham, that no
man should commit fornication with a woman who has a husband ;
that for him the pnnishment of death has been ordained in the heavens
before the Most High Lord, and the sin will be recorded against him
in the eternal books con tinn ally before the Lord. 7. And Joseph
remembered these words and refused to lie with her. 8. And she
besonght him for a year, but he refused and would not listen. 9. But
she embraced him and held him fast in the house in order to force
him to lie with her, and closed the doors of the house and held him
fast ; but he left his garment in her hands and broke through the
door and fled without from her presence. 10. And the woman saw
that he would not lie with her, and f>he calumniated him in the
presence of his lord, saying : " Thy Hebrew servant, whom thou
lovest, sought to force me to lie with him ; and it came to pass when
I lifted up my voice that he fled and left his garment in my hands
when I held him, and he brake through the door." 11. And the
Egyptian saw the garment of Joseph and the broken door, and heard
the words of his wife, and cast Joseph into prison into the place
where the prisoners were kept whom the king imprisoned. 12. And
he was there in the prison ; and the Lord gave Joseph favour in the
sight of the chief of the guards of the prison and compassion
before him, for he saw that the Lord was with him, and made
all that he did to prosper. 13. And he committed all things into
his hands,^ and the chief of the guards looked to nothing that
was in his keeping, for Joseph did every thing, and the Lord
perfected it.' 14. And he remained there two years. And in
those days Pharaoh, king of Egypt, was wroth against his two
eunuchs, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief
of the bakers, and he put them in ward in the house of the
captain of the guard,* in the prison where Joseph was kept. 15. And
the captain of the guard appointed Joseph to serve them ; and he
served before them. 16. And they both dreamed a dream, the chief
butler and the chief baker, and they told it to Joseph. 17. And as he
interpreted to them so it befell them, and Pharaoh restored the chief
butler to his office, and the chief baker « he slew, as Joseph had in-
> Emended with Lat. and Gen. tttix. 22.
* Better emended with Latin and read " made it to prosper.**
s Eth. and Lat versions read " chief of the cooks,** which, though a
possible rendering of D^n^^n"n^, is manifestly wrong here.
4 Emended with Lat.
Digitized by
Google
312 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
terpreted to them. 18. But the chief butler forgot Joseph in the
ptisoD, although he had informed him what should befall him, and
did not remember to inform Pharaoh how Joseph had told him, for
he forgot.
XL. — Aod in those days Pharaoh dreamed two dreams in one night
concerning a famine which should be in all the land, and he awoke
from his sleep and called all the interpreters of dreams that were in
Egypt, and magicia'is, and told them his two dreams, and thr*y were
not able to declare (them). 2. And then the chief butler remem-
bered Joseph and spake of him to the king, and he brought him forth
from the prison, and he told his two dreams before him. 3. And he
said before Pharaoh that his two dreams were one, and he said unto
him : " Seven years will come (in which there will be) plenty over all
the land of Egypt, and after that seven years of famine, such a famine
as has not been in all the earth. 4. And now let Pharaoh appoint
overseers in all the land of Ea^ypt, and let them store up food in every
city throughout the days of the years of plenty, and there will be, food
for the seven years of famine, and the land will not perish through the
famine, for it will be very severe.'' 5. And the Lord gave Joseph
favour and mercy in the eyes of Pharaoh, and Pharaoh said unto his
servants : *' We shall not find such a wise and intelligent man as this
man, for the spirit of the Lord is with him." 6. And he appointed
him the second in all his kingdom and gave him authority over all
Egypt, and caused him to ride in the second chariot of Pharaoh. 7.
And he clothed him with byssus garments, and he put a gold chain
upon his neck, and they proclaimed * before him* * Ei El Wa Abtrer,'
and placed a ring on his hand and made him ruler over all his house, and
magnified him, and said unto him : " Only on the throne shall I be
greater than thou." 8. And Joseph ruled over all the land of Egypt,
and all the princes of Pharaoh, and all his servants, and all who did
the king's business loved him, for he walked in uprightness, for he
was without pride and arrogance, and he had no respect of persons,
and did not accept gifts, but he judged in uprightness all the people
of the land. 9. And the land of Egypt was at peace before Pharaoh
because of Joseph, for the Lord was with him, and gave him favour
and mercy for all his generations before all those who knew him and
heard concerning him, and Pharaoh's kingiom was well ordered, and
there was no adversary and no evil person (therein). 10. And the
king called Joseph's name Sepb&ntiph&ns, and gave Joseph to wife
1 Emended with Lat.
* Eth. MSS. add "and he said '* against Latin and G^n. xli. 43.
» " Ood, Gk)d, the mighty one of God, " bs "^'^SS.l ^\^ b^J.
Digitized by
Google
The Book of Jubilees. 31S
the daughter of Potiphar, the daughter of the priest of Heliopolis,
captain of the gaard.i 11. And on the day that Joseph stood before
Pharaoh he was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh. 12.
And in that year Isaao died. And it came to pass as Joseph had said
in the interpretation of his two dreams, according as he had said it,
there were seven years of plenty over all the land of Egypt, and in
the land of Egypt one measure brought forth abundantly eighteen
hundred measures. 13. And Joseph gathered food into every city
until they were full of com until they could no longer count and
measure it for multitude.
XLI. — And in the forty-fifth jubilee, in the second week, (and) in
the second year, Judah took for his first-born, Er, a wife from the
daughters of Aram, named Tamar. 2. Bat he hated, and did not lie
with her, because his mother was of the daughters of Canaan, aud he
wished to take him a wife of the kinsfolk of his mother, but Jud^h,
his father, would not permit him. 3. And this £r, the first-born of
Judah, was wicked, and the Lord slew him. 4. Aud Judah said unto
Onan, his brother : *' Go in uoto thy brother's wife and perform the
duty of a husbaud's brother unto her,' and raise up seed unto thy
brother."' 5. Aud Onan knew that the seed would not be his, (but)
his brother's only, and he went into the house of his brother's wife,
and spilt the seed on the ground, and he was wicked in the eyes of
the Lord, and he slew him. 6. And Judah said unto Tamar, his
daughter-in-law : " Remain in thy father's house as a widow till
Shelah my son be grown up, and I will give thee to him to wife.'' 7.
And he grew up ; but Bddsii^l, the wife of Judah, did not permit
her son Shelah to marry. And B^dsddl, the wife of Judah, died in
the fifth year of this week. 8. And in the sixth year Judah went
up to shear his sheep at Timnah. And they told Tamar : '' Behold
thy father-in-law goeth up to Tioinah to shear his sheep.'' 9. And she
put off her widow's clothes, and put on a veil, aud adorned herself,
and sat in the gate which faces the way to Timnah. 10. And as
Judah was going along he found her, and thought her to be an
harlot, and he said unto her : ** Let me come in unto thee " ; and she
said unto him : *^ Come in," and he went in. 11. And she said
unto him: *^Give me my hire"; and he said unto her: **I have
uotuing in my hand save my ring that is on my finger, and my neck-
lace, and my staff which is in my hand. " 12. And she said unto
him : '* Give them to me until thou dost send me my wage"; and
he said unto her : "I will send unto thee a kid of the goats " ; and he
> MSS. read "cooks." See zzxix. 14 (note).
* The phrase is obscure.
Digitized by
Google
814 The Jeunsh Quarterly Review.
^ave them to her, and he went in unto her/ and she conoeived by
him. 13. And Judah went unto his sheep, and she went to her
father's house. 14. And Judah sent a kid of the goats by the hand
of his f^hepherd, an Adnllamite, and he found her noc ; and he asked
the people of the place, saying : " Where is the harlot who was
here ? " And they said unto him : ** There is no harlot here with
us." 15. And he returned and informed him, and said : '* I have
not fonnd her,^ and I asked the people of the place, and they said
unto me : ' There is no harlot here.' '* And he said : " Let her take'
(them) lest we become a canse of derision.'' 16. And when she had
completed three months, it was manifest that she was with child, and
they told Judah, saying : *' Behold Tamar, thy daughter-in-law, is
with child by whoredom.'* 17. And Judah went to the house of her
father, and said unto her father and her brothers : " Bring her forth,
and let them burn her, for she hath wrought uncleanness in Israel.''
18. And it came to pass when they brought her forth to bum her
that she sent to her father-in-law the ring and the necklace, and the
staff, saying : " Discern whose are these, for by him am I with
child." 19. And Judah acknowledged, and said : " Tamar is more
righteous than I am.'* And therefore they burnt her not. 20. And
for that reason she was not given to Shelah, and he did not again
approach her. 21. And after that she bare two sons, Perez and
Zerah, in the seventh year of this second week. 22. And thereupon
the seven years of fruitfnlness had been accomplished, of which
Joseph spake to Pharaoh. 23. And Judah acknowledged that the
deed which he had done was evil, for he had lain with his daughter-
in-law, and he declared that it was hateful in his eyes, and he ac-
knowledged that he had transgressed and gone astray, for he had
uncovered the skirt of his son, and he began to lament and to
Hupplicate before the Lord because of his transgression. 24. And we
told him in a dream that it was forgiven him because he supplicated
earnestly, and lamented, and did not again commit it. 25. And he
received forgiveness because he turned from his sin and from his
ignorance, for he transgressed greatly before our God ; and every
one that acts thuf, every one who lies with his mother-in-law. let them
burn him with fire that he may bum therein, for there is uncleanness
and pollution upon them ; with fire let them burn them. 26. And
do thou command the children of Israel that there be no uncleanness
amongst them, for every one who lies with his daughter in-law or
with his mother-in-law hath wrought uncleanness ; with fire let them
* Restored from emended Lat. text.
* Emended with Lat. and Gen. xxxviii. 22.
^ Emended with Lat. and Gen. xxxviii. 23.
Digitized by
Google
The Book of Jubilees. 315
born the man who has Iain with her, and likewise the woman, that he
may turn away wrath and punishment from Israel. 27. And unto
Judah we said that his two sons had not lain with her, and for this
reafton his seed was established for a second generation, and should
not be rooted out. 28. For in singleness of eye he had gone and
sought for punishment, namely, according to the judgment of Abra-
ham, which he had commanded his sons, Judah had sought to bum
her with fire.
XLII. — And in the first year of the third week of the forty-fifth
jubilee the famine began to come into the land, and the rain refused
to be given to the earth, for none whatever fell. 2. And the earth
grew barren, but in the land of Egypt there was food, for Joseph
had gathered the seed of the land in the seven years of plenty and
had preserved it. 3. And the Egyptians came to Joseph that lie
might give them food, and he opened the storehouses where was the
grain of the first year, and he sold it to the people of the land for
gold. 4. Now the famine was very sore in the land of Canaan,' and
Jacob heard that there was food in Egypt, and he sent his ten boms
that they should procure food for him in Egypt ; but Benjamin he
did not send, and the ten sons of Jacob* arrived in Egypt among
those that went (there). 5. And Joseph recognised them, but they
did not recognise him, and he spake roughly' unto them, and he said
unto them : " Are ye not spies, and have ye not come to explore the
approaches of the land '* ? And he put them in ward. 6. And after
that he set them free a^ain, and detained Simeon alone and sent off
his nine brothers. 7. And he filled their sacks with corn, and he put
their gold in their sacks, and they did not know. 8. And he com-
manded them to bring their younger brother, for they had told him
their father was living and their younger brother. 9. And they went
up from the land of Egypt and they came to the land of Canaan ;
they told their father all that had befallen them, and how the lord
of the country had spoken roughly to them, and had seized Simeon
till they should bring Benjamin. 10. And Jacob said : *^ Me have ye
bereaved of my children ! Joseph is not and Simeon is not, and ye
will take Benjamin away. Against me is your wickedness." 11.
And he said : ** My son will not go down with you lest perchance he
fall sick ; for their mother gave birth to two sons, and one has
perished, and this one also ye would take from me. If perchance he
took a fever on the road, ye would bring down my old age with
sorrow unto death.'* 12. For he saw that their money had been
' Fonnd only in Lat. ' Restored from Lat and 6^n. xlii. 5.
' Corrected from Lat. and Gen. xlii. 7.
Digitized by
Google
316 The Jewish Quarterly Revutw.
returned to every man in his sack, and for this reason he feared to
send him. 13. And the famine increased and became sore in the
land of Canaan, and in all lands save in the land of Egypt, for
many of the children of the Egyptians had stored up tht-ir seed for
food from the time when they saw Joseph gathering seed together
and putting it in storehouses and preserving it for the years of
famine. 14. And the people of Egypt fed themselves thereon during
the first year of their famine. 15. But when Israel saw that the
famine was very sore in the land, and that there was no deliverance,
he said unto his sons : ^* Go, return, and procure food for us that we
die not." 16. And tbey said : ** We will not go ; unless our youngest
brother go with us, we will not go." 17. And Israel saw that if he
did not send him with them, they should all perish by reason of the
famine. 18. And Reuben said : '*Give him into my hand, and if I
do not bring him back to thee, slay my two sons instead of bis soul.*'
And he said unto him : *' He shall not go with thee.'' 19. And Judah
came near and said : " Send him with us, and if I do not bring him
back to thee, let me bear the blame before thee all the days of my
life.'* 20. And he sent him with them in the second year of this
week on the first day of the month, and they came to the land of
Egypt with all those who went, and (tbey had) presents in their
hands, stacte and almonds and terebinth nuts and pure honey. 21.
And they went and stood before Joseph, and he taw Benjamin his
brother, and he knew him, and said unto them : ** Is this your
youngest brother ? '' And tbey said unto him : ** It is he.** And he
said : ** The Lord be gracious to thee my son ! '' 22. Aod he sent
him into his house and he brought forth Simeon unto them and be
made a feast for them, and they presented the gift which they had
brought in their hand^. 23. And they eat before him and he gave
them all a portion, but he made the portion of Benjamin seven times
larger than that of any of theirs. 24. And they eat and drank and
arose and remained with their asses. 25. And Joseph devised a plan
whereby he might learn their thoughts as to whether thoughts of
peace prevailed amongst them, and he said to the steward who was
over his house : '* Fill all their sacks with food, and return their
money unto them into their vessels, and my cup, the silver cup out
of which I drink, put it in the sack of the youngest, and send them
away."
XLIII.— And he did as Joseph bad toll him, and filled all their
sacks for them with food and put their money in their sacks, and put
the cup in Benjamin*8 sack. 2. And early in the morning they
departed, and it came to pass that when they had gone from thence,
Joseph said unto the steward of his house : ** Pursue them, run
Digitized by
Google
The Booh of Jubilees. 317
and seize them, saying, * For good ye have requited me with evil ;
you have stolen from me the silver cup out of which my lord drinks.*
And bring back to me their youngest brother, and fetch him quickly
before I go forth to my seat of judgment.'* 3. And he ran after them
and said unto them according to these words. 4. And they said unto
him : '^ God forbid that thy servants should do this thing, and steal
from the house of thy lord any utensil, and the money also which we
fonnd in our sacks the first time, we thy servants brought back from
the land of Canaan. 5. How then should we steal any utensil ?
Behold here are we and our sacks ; search, and wherever thou findest
the cup in the sack of anjr man amongst us, let him be slain, and we
and our asses will serve thy lord.'* And he said unto them : " Not so,
the man with whom I find, him only will I take as a servant, and ye
shall return in peace unto your house.** 7. And as he was searching
in their vessels, beginning with the eldent and ending with the
youngest, it was found in Benjamin's sack. 8. And they rent their
garments, and laded their asses, and returned to the city and came to
the house of Joseph, and th^y all bowed themselves on their fa^es to
the ground before him. 9. And Joseph said unto them : ** Ye have
done evil.** And ( Judah) said unto him* : " What shall we say and how
shall we dispute the transgiession of thy servants which our lord
has discovered ; behold we are the servants of our lord, and our asses
also.** 10. And Joseph said unto them : '* I too fear the Lord ; as for
you, go ye to your homes and let your brother be my servant, for ye
have done evil. Know ye not that a man divines with' his cup as I
(do) with this cup? And yet ye have stolen it from me.** 11. And
Judah said : *' O my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee,^ speak a word in
my lord's ear ; two brothers did thy servants mother bear to our
father ; one went away and was lost, and hath not been found, and *
he alone is left of his mother, and thy servant our father loves him,
and his life also is bound up with the life of this (lad). 12. And it
will come to pans, when we go to thy servant our father, and the lad
is not with us, that he will die, and we shall bring down our father
with sorrow to the grave (lit. '* death "). 13. Now rather let me, thy
servant, abide instead of the lad as a bondsman unto my lord, and let
the youth go with his brethren, for I became surety for him at the
hand of thy servant our father, and if I do not bring him back, thy
servant shall bear the blame to our father for ever.** 14. And Joseph
saw that they were all accordant in goodness one with another, and
he could not refrain himself, and he told them that he was Joseph.
16. And he conversed with them in the Hebrew tongue and fell on
' B " they said ** ; CD ** they said unto him.**
' Emended with Gen. xliv. 5, 15. * Emended with Gen. xliv. IS.
VOL. VIL T
Digitized by
Google
318 TJie Jewish Quarterly Review.
their neck and wept. Bat they knew him not and they began to
weep. 16. And he said unto them : " Weep not over me, bat hasten
and bring my father to me ; and ye see that it is my month
that speaketh, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see. ^
17. For behold this is the second year of the famine, and there
are still five years without harvest or fruit of trees or ploughing.
18. Come down quickly ye and your households, so that ye perish not
through the famine, and do not be grieved for your possessions, for
the Lord sent me before you to Bet things in order that many people
might live. 19. And tell my father that I am still alive, and ye,
behold, ye see that the Lord has made me as a father to Pharaoh, and
ruler over his house and over the land of Egypt. 20. And tell my
father of all my glory, and all the riches and glory that the Lord hath
given me.'' 21. And by the command of the mouth of Pharaoh he
gave them chariots and provisions for the way, and he gave them all
many-coloured raiment and silver. 22. And to their father he sent
raiment and silver and ten asses which carried com, and he sent them
away. 23. And they went up and told their father that Joseph was
alive, and was measuriog out com to all the nations of the earth, and
that he was ruler over all the land of Egypt. 24. And their father
did not believe it, for he was beside himself in his mind ; but when
he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent, the life of his spirit
revived, and he said : " It is a great thing for me if Joseph lives ; I
will go down and see him before I die.**
XLIY. — And Israel took his journey from Haran from his house
on the new moon of the third month, and he went on the way of the
well of the oath, and he offered a sacrifice to the Gk>d of his father
Isaac on the seventh of this month. 2. And Jacob remembered the
dream that he had seen at Bethel, and he feared to go down into
Egypt. 3. And while he was thinking of sending word to Joseph to
come to him, and that he would not go down, he remained there
seven days, if perchance he should see a vision as to whether he
should remain or go down. 4. And he celebrated the harvest festival
of the first-fruits with old grain, for in all the land of Canaan there
was not a handful of seed in the land, for the famine was over the
beasts and cattle and birds, and also over man. 5. And on the six-
teenth the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, *' Jacob,
Jacob " ; and he said, ^^ Here am I.'' And he said unto him : '* I am
the God of thy fathers, the Grod of Abraham and Icaao ; fear not to
go down into Egypt, for I will there make of thee a great nation.
> Emended with Gen. xlv. 12, by a slight change from an unmeaning
text.
Digitized by
Google
The Book of Jubilees. 319
6. 1 will go down with thee, and I will bring thee back (again), and in
this land shalt tboa be buried, and Joseph will put his hands upon
thy eyes. Fear not ; go down into Eigypt.'' 7. And his sons rose up,
and his sons^ sons, and they placed their father and their possessions
npon wagons. 8. And Israel rose up from the well of the oath on
the sixteenth of this third month, and he went to the land of Egypt.
9. And Israel sent Judah before him to his son Joseph to examine
the Land of Goshen, for Joseph had told his brothers that they
should come to dwell there that they might be near him. 10. And
this was the goodliest (land) in the land of Egypt, and near to him,
for all of them and for their cattle. 11. And these are the names of
the sons of Jacob who went into Egypt with Jacob their father.
12. Reuben, the first-bom of Israel ; and these are the names of his
sons : Enoch, and Phllllus, and ESsrdm and Ear&mt, five. 13. Simeon
and his sons ; and these are the names of his sons : Ijdmtl§l, and
Ijam^n, and Av6t, and Ijakfm, and Saar, and Saul, the son of the
Ganaanitish woman,^ seven. 14. Levi and his sons ; and these are the
names of his sons : Godson, and Qa^th, and MSr&rt, four. 15. Judah
and his sons ; and these are the names of his sons : Shela, and Phares,
and Zarah, foar. 16. Is^achar and his pons ; and these are the names
of his sons : T6ld, and Phtla, and Ij&stlb, and SAmar6m, five. 17.
Zebulon and his sons ; and these are the names of his sons : Saar, and
E16n, and IjAl^l, four. 18. These are the sons of Jacob, and their
sons whom Leah bore to Jacob in Mesopotamia, six, and their one
sister, Dinah, and all the souls which were sons of Leah, and their
sons, who went with Jacob their father into Egypt, were twenty-nine,
and Jacob their father being with them, they were thirty. 19. And
the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid, the wife of Jacob who bore
nnto Jacob Gad and Asher : 21. And these are the names of their
sons who went with them into Egypt : The sons of Gad : S6phj6n,
and Ag&ti, and Sflnt, and Astb6n. . . . and Ar6Ii,and Arddi, eight 21.
And the sons of Asher : Ij6mn&, and Jestla, . . . and Barta, and S&rd,
their one sister, six. 22. And all the souls were fourteen, and all
those of Leah were forty-four. 23. And the sons of Rachel, the
wife of Jacob : Joseph and Benjamin. 24. And there were born to
Joseph in Egypt before his father came into Egypt, those whom Asenath
bare unto him daughter of Potiphar priest of Heliopolis, Manasseb,
and Ephiaim, three. 25. And the sons of Benjamin : B414, and
Bakar, and Asb^l, GMd4, and Nelm^n, and Abdj6, and Rdd, and
San&nim, and Aphtm, and Gfiam, eleven. 26. And all the souls of
Rachel were fourteen. 27. And the sons of Bilhah, the handmaid of
Rachel, the wife of Jacob, whom she bare to Jacob, were Dan
"-•--
* Emended. ' ^
Y 2
Digitized by
Google
820 The Jewinh Quarterly Review.
and NaphtalL 28. And these are the names of their sons who
went with them into Egypt. And the sons of Dan were Kttstm,
and Sfimdn, and AsCldi, and Ij&ka, and Saldm6n, six. 29. And
they died the year in which they entered into Egypt, and there
was left to Dan Khstm alone. 30. And these are the names
of the sons of Naphtali : Ij^st^l, and G&hAni, and Esaar, and
Salltlm, and It. 31. And Iv, who waa born after the years of
famine, died in Egjrpt. 32. And all the souls of Rachel were twenty-
six. 33. And all the souls of Jacob which went into Egypt were
seventy souls. These at e his children and his children's children, in
all seventy ; bnt five died in Egypt before Joseph, and had no
children. 34. And in the land of Canaan two sons of Judah died, Er
and Onan, and they had no children, and the cbildren of Israel buried
those who perished, and they were reckoned among the seventy
Gtjntile natiocs.
XLY. — And Israel went ioto the country of Egypt, into the land
of Goshen, on the new moon of the fourth month, in tbe second year
of the third week of the forty-fifth jubilee. 2. And Joseph went to
meet his father Jacob, to the land of Goshen, and he fell on his
father's neck and wept. 3. And Israel said unto Joseph : ** Now let
me die since I have seen thee, and now may the Lord God
of I^rael be blessed, the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac who
hath not withheld his mercy and his grace from his servant Jacob.**
4. It is a great thing for me that I have seen thy face whilst still
living ; yea, true is the vision which I saw at Bethel, blessed be the
Lord my God for ever and ever, and blessed be his name. 5. And
Joseph and his brothers ate bread before their father and draok wine,
and Jacob rejoiced with exceeding great joy because he saw Joseph
eating with his brothers and drinking before him, and he blessed the
Creator of all things who had preserved him, and had preserve i for
him his twelve sons. 6. And Joseph had given to his father and to
his brothera as a gift the right of dwelling in the land of Goshen and
in H4m^sSn& and all the region round about, which he ruled over
before Pharaoh. And Israel and his sons dwelt in the land of Goshen,
the best part of the land of Egypt ; and Israel was one hundred and
thirty years old when he came into Egypt. 7. And Joseph nourished
his father aud his brethren and their possessions with bread as much
as sufficed them * for the seven years of the famine. 8. And the land
of Egypt suffered by reason of the famine, and Joseph acquired all
the laud of Egypt for Pharaoh in return for food, and he got
I " As much as vufliced them,** seems cormpt for " according to their
persons," of. Gen. xlvii (LXX.).
Digitized by
Google
The Book of Jubilees. 321
possession of the people and their cattle and every thing for Pharaoh.*
9. And the years of the famine were accomplished, and Joseph gave
to the people in the land seed and food that they might sow (the
land) ' in the eighth year, for the river had overflowed all the land
of Egypt. 10. For in the seven years of the famine it had not over-
flowed > and had irrigated only a few places on the hanks of the river,
but now it overflowed and the Egyptians sowed the land, and they
gathered^ much corn that year. 11. And this was the first year of
the fourth week of the forty-fifth jubilee. 12. And Joseph took of
all that which was produced ^ the fifth part for the king and left four
parts for them for food and for seed, and Joseph made it an ordinance
for the land of Egypt until this day. 13. And Israel lived in the land
of Egypt seventeen years, and all the days which he lived were three
jubilees, one hundred and forty-seven years, and he died in the fourth
year of the fifth week of the forty-fifth jubilee. 14. And Israel
blessed his sons before he died and told them everything that would
befall them in the land of Egypt ; and he made known to them what
would come upon them in the last days, and blessed them and gave to
Joseph two portions in the land. 16. And he slept with his fathers,
and be was buried in the double cave in the land of Canaan, near
Abraham his father in the grave which he dug for himself in the
double cave in the land of Hebron. 17. And he gave all his books
and the books of his fathers to Levi his son that he might preserve
them and renew them for his children until this day.
XLYL — And it came to pass that after Jacob died the children of
Israel multiplied in the land of Egypt, and they became a great nation,
and they were of one accord in heart, so that brother loved brother
and every man helped his brother, and they increased abundantly and
multiplied exceedingly, ten ^ weeks of years, all the (remaining) days
of the life of Joseph. 2. And there was no enemy (lit. Satan) nor
any evil all the days of the life of Joseph which he lived after his
father Jacob, for all the Egyptians honoured the children of Israel
all the days of the life of Joseph. 3. And Joseph died being a
hundred and ten years old ; seventeen years he lived in the land of
Canaan, and ten years he was a servant, and three in prison, and
eighty years he was under the king, ruling aU the land of Egypt. 4.
So he died and all his brethren and all that generation. 5. And
he commanded the children of Israel before he died that they should
carry his bones with them when they went forth from the land of Egypt.
' Emended with Lat. from B. ' Added with Lat. and Gen. xlvii. 23.
' Emended with Lat. from D. * Emended with Lat.
^ Emended with Lat. * Slightly emended.
Digitized by
Google
322 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
6. And he made them swear regarding his booes, for he knew that the
Egyptians wonld not again bring forch and bury bim in the land of
Canaan, for Mfikam&r6n, king of Canaan, while dwelling in the land
of Assyria, fought in the valley with the king of Egypt and slew him
there, and pursued after the Egyptians to the gates of Erm6n. 7.
But he was not able to enter, for another, a new king, was ruling over
Egypt, and he was stronger than he, and he returned to the land of
Canaan, and the gates of Egypt were closed, and none went out and
none came into Egypt. 8. And Joseph died in this forty-sixth jubilee,
in the sixth week, in the second year, and they buried him in the land
of Egypt, and all his brethren died after him. 9. And the king of
Egypt went forth to war with the king of Canaan in the forty -eeYenth
jubilee, in the second week in the second year, and the children of
Israel brought forth all the bones of the children of Jacob save the
bones of Joseph, and they buried them in the field in the double cave
in the mountain. 10. And the most of them returned to Egypt, but
a few of them remained in the mountains of H6brdn, and AbrUm thy
father remained with them. 11. And the king of Canaan was
victorious over the king of Egypt, and he closed the gates of Egypt.
12. And he devised an evil device against the children of Israel
of afflicting them, and he said unto the people of Egypt : 13.
" Behold the people of the children of Israel have increased and mul-
tiplied more than we. Come and let us deal wisely with them before
they become too many, and let us afflict them with slavery before war
come upon us and before they too fight against us ; and they join
themselves unto our * enemies and get them up out of our land, for
their hearts and faces are towards the land of Canaan.'* 14. And he
set over them taskmasters to afflict them with slavery ; and they
built strong cities for Pharaoh, Pithd, and B4ms6,* and they built all
the walla and all the fortifications which had fallen in the cities of
Egypt 15. And they made them serve with rigour, and the more
they dealt evilly with them, the more they increased and multiplied.
16. And the people of Egypt abominated the children of IsraeL
XLYIL — And in the seventh week, in the seventh year, in the
forty-seventh jubilee, thy father went forth from the land of Canaan,
and thon wast bom in the fourth week, in the sixth year thereof, in
the forty-eighth jubilee ; this was the time of tribulation on the
ehildren of Israel. 2. And Pharaoh, king of Egypt, issued a com-
mand regarding them that they should cast all their male children
which were bom into the river. 3. And they cast them in for seven
months until the day that thon wast born. And thy mother hid thee
I Restored from Lat. > Lat. adds "• and On.*'
Digitized by
Google
The Book of Jubike^. 323
for three month>i, and tbey told regarding her. 4. And she made an
ark for thee, and covered it with pitch and asphalt, and placed it in
the flags on the bank of the river, and she placed thee in it seven
days, and thy mother came by nijrht and suckled thee, and by day
Miriam, thy sister, gnarded thee from the birds. 5. And in those
days Tbarmnth, the daughter of Pharaoh, came to bathe in the river,
and she heard thy voice crying, and she told her maidens » to briug
thee forth, and they brought thee unto her. 6. And she took thee out
of the ark, and she had compassion on thee. 7. And thy sister said
unto her : " Shall I go and call unto thee one of the Hebrew women
to nurse and suckle this babe for thee ? " And she said unto her < :
** Go." 8. And she went and called thy mother Jockabed, and she
gave her wages, and she nursed thee. 9. And afterwards, when thou
wast grown up, they brought thee unto the daughter ' of Pharaoh,,
and thou didst become her son, and Ebrftn thy father taught thee
writing, and after thou hadst completed three weeks they brought
thee into the royal court 10. And thou wast three weeks of years in
the court until the time when thou didst go forih from the royal
court and didst see an Egyptian smiting thy friend who was of the
children of Israel, and thou didst slay him and hide him in the sand.
11. And on the second day thou didst find two of the children of
Israel striving together, and thou didst say to him who did the wrong :
"Why dost thou smite thy brother?" 12. And he was angry and
indignant, and said : ** Who made thee a prince and a judge over us ?
Thinkest thou to kill me as thou killedst the Egyptian yesterday ?"
And thou didst fear and flee on account of these words.
XLYin.— And in the sixth year of the third week of the forty-
ninth jubilee thou didst depart and dwell in the land of Midian ^
five weeks and one year. And thou didst return into Eg3rpt in the
second week in the second year of the fiftieth jubilee. 2. And thou
thyself knowest what he spake unto thee on Mount Sinai, and what
Prince Mastema desired to do with thee when thou wast returning
into Egypt on the way when thou didet meet him at the lodging-
place.' 3. Did he not with all his power seek to slay thee and de-
liver the Egyptians out of thy hand when he saw that thou wast sent
to execute judgment and vengeance on the Egyptians ? '' 4. And I
delivered thee out of his hand, and thou didst perform the signs and
wonders which thou wast sent to perform in Egypt against Pharaoh,
> Emended by Dillmann. * Bestored from Lat.
> Emended from Exod. ii. 13.
* Restored from Lat. and Exod. ii. 16.
* Emended by comparison of Lat. and Exod, iv. 24.
Digitized by
Google
324 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
and against all his house, and against his servants and his people.
5. And the Lord executed a great vengeance on thorn for Israel's
pake, and snaote them * through (the plagues of) blood and frogs,
lice and dogflies, and malignant boih breaking forth in blains ; and
their cattle by death ; and by hail-stone», thereby he destroyed every-
thing that grew for them ; and by locusts which devoured everything
which had been left by the hail, and by darkness ; and by the death
of ' the firAt-born of men and animals, and on all their idols the Lord
took vengeance and burned them with fire. 6. And everything was
sent through thy hand, that thou shouldest do (these things) before
they were done, and thou didst tell ic to the king of Egypt before
all his servants and before his people. 7. And everything took place
according to thy word:* ; ten great and terrible judgments came on the
land of Egypt that thou mightest execute vengeance on it for Israel.
8. And the Lord did everything for Isi^ael's sake, and according to
his covenant, which he had ordained with Abraham that he would
take vengeance on them as they bad brought them by force into bond-
age. 9. And Prince Mbstema set himself against thee, and sought to
cast thee into the hands of Pharaoh, and he helped the Egyptian
sorcerers, and they set themselves against (thee), and they wronght
before thee. 10. The evils in ieei we permitted them to work, but
the remedies we did not allow to be wrought by their hands. 1 1. And
the Lord smote them with malignant ulcers, and they were not able to
stand, for we destroyed them so that they could not perform a single
sign. 12. And by all (these) signs and wonders Prince M<istema was
put to shame' until he became powerful,^ and cried to the Egyptians
to pursue after thee with all the powers of the Egyptians, with their
chariots, and with their horses, and with all multitudes of the peoples
of Egypt 13. And I stood between the Egyptians and Israel,
and we delivered Israel out of his hand, and out of the hand
of his people, and the Lord bronght them through the midst of the
sea as if it were dry land. 14. And all the peoples whom he brought
to pursue after Israel, the Lord our God cast them into the midst of
the sea, into the depths of the abyss beneath them, for the sake of the
children of Israel ; even as the people of Egypt had oast their chil-
dren into the river, he took vengeance on 1,000,000 of them, and
one thousand strong and energetic men were destroyed on account of
one suckling of the children of thy people which they had cast into
the river. 15. And on the fourteenth day and on the fifteenth and
on the sixteenth and on the seventeenth and on the eighteenth Prince
* MSS. add ''and slew them" against Lat
» Text restored. • MSS. insert a negative.
* Or " devised a plan," A.
Digitized by
Google
Tfie Book of Jubilees, 325
Mastema was bound and imprisoned behind the children of Israel
that he might not accuse them. 16. And on the nineteenth we let
them loose that they might help the Egyptians and pursue the chil-
dren of Israel. 17. And he hardened their hearts and made them
stifihieckedy and the device was devised by the Lord our God that he
might smite the Egyptians and cast them into the sea. 18. And on
the seventeenth we bound him that he might not accuse the ohil'Jren
of Israel on that day when they asked the Egyptians for vessels and
garments, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of bronze,
in order to despoil the Egyptians in return for the bondage in which
they had forced them to serve. 19. And we did not cause the chil-
dren of Israel to go forth from Egypt empty handed*
XLIX. — Remember the commandment which the Lord commanded
thee concerning the passover, that thou shouldst celebrate it in its
season on the fourteenth of the first month, that thou shouldst
kill it before evening, and that they should eat it by night
on the evening of the fifteenth from the time of the setting of
the sun. 2. For on that night it was the beginning of the festival
and the beginning of the joy — ye were eating the passover in
^S7P^} when all the powers of Mastema had been let loose to
slay all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of
Pharaoh to the first- bom of the captive maid-servant in the mill,
and to the cattle. 3. And this is the sign which the Lord gave
them : Into every house on the lintels of which they saw the blood
of a lamb of the first year, into that house they should not enter to
slay, but should pass (by it), that all those should be saved that were
in the house because the sign of the blood was on its lintels. 4. And
the powers of the Lord did everything according as the Lord com-
manded them, and they passed by all the children of Israel, and no
plague came upon them to destroy from amongst them the soul of
either cattle, or man, or dog. 5. And the plague was very grievous
in Egypt, and there was no house in Egypt where there was not one
dead, and weeping and lamentation. 6. And all Israel was eating the
flesh of the paschal lamb, and drinking the wine, and they lauded and
blessed, and gave thanks to the Lord God of their fathers, and were
ready to go forth from under the yoke of Egypt, and from the evil
bondage. 7. And remember thou this day all the days of thy life,
and observe it from year to year all the days of thy life, once a year,
on its day, according to all the law thereof, and do not change the day
from (its) day, or from month to month. 8. For it is an eternal
ordinance, and engraven on the heavenly tables regarding the children
of Israel that they should observe it every year on its day onoe a year,
throughout all their generations ; and there is no limit of days, for
Digitized by
Google
326 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
this is ordained for ever. 9. And the man who is free from nnclean-
ness, and does not come to observe it on occasion of its day, so as to
bring an acceptable offering before the Lord, and to eat and to drink
before the Lord on the day of that festival, that man who is clean
and close at hand shall be out off, becanse he offered not the oblation
of the Lord in its appointed season, he shall bear his own sin.
10. Let the children of Israel come and observe the passover on the
day of its fixed time, on the fourteenth day of the first month, be-
tween the evenings from the third part of the day to the third part
of the night, for two portions of the day are given to the light, and
a third part to the evening. 11. This is that which the Lord com-
manded thee that thou shonldst observe it between the evenings. 12.
And it is not permissible to slay it at any hour of the light, but on
the hour bordering on the evening, and let them eat it at the time
of the evening until the third part of the night, and whatever is left
over of all its flesh on the third part of the night and onwards, let
them burn it with fire. 13. And they shall not cook it with water,
nor shall they eat it raw, but roast on the fire : They shall eat it ■
with haste,' its head with the inwards thereof and its legs * they shall
roast with fire, and not break any bone thereof ; for there will be no
tribulation among the children of Israel on that day.* 14. For this
reason the Lord commanded the children of Israel to observe the
passover on the day of its fixed time, and they shall not break a bone
thereof ; for it is a festival day, and a day commanded, and there may
be no change from it day to day, and month to month, but on the
day of its festival lot it be observed. 15. And do thou command the
children of Israel to observe the passover throughout their days, every
year, once a year on the day of its fixed time, and it will come for a
memorial well pleasing before the Lord, and no plague will come upon
them to slay or to smite in that year in which they celebrate the
passover in its season in every respect according to his command. 16.
And they shall not eat it outside the sanctuary of the Lord, but be-
fore the sanctuary of the Lord, and all the people of the congregation
of Israel shall celebrate it in its appointed season. 17. Every man
who has come upon its day shall eat it in the sanctuary of your
Gk)d before the Lord from twenty years old and upward ; for thus is
^ Emended with Lat
> Eth. renders '* with care,'* and Lat., " diligenter " ; but as they are
both renderings of pt^H^, Exod. xii. II, I have transUted accordingly.
* Eth. Lat. LXX., Exod. xii. 9, and Vnlg., render "feet," but I have
rendered " legfs," as more truly representing V^?.
* Corrected from Lat. Eth. MSS. give, for " no bone of the children of
Israel shall be broken."
Digitized by
Google
The Book of Jubilees. 327
it written and ordained that tbey shonld eat it in the Banctnary of
the Lord. 18. And when the children of Israel come into the land
which they are to possess, into the land of Canaan, and have set up
the tabernacle of the Lord in the midst of the land in one of their
tribes until the sanctuary of the Lord has been built in the land, let
them come and celebrate the passover in the midst of the tabernacle
of the Lord, and let them slay it before the Lord from year to year.
19. And in the da3rs when the house has been built in the name of
the Lord in the land of their inheritance, they shall go there and
slay the passover lamb in the evening, at bunset, at the third part of
the day. 20. And they shall offer its blood on the threshold of the
altar, and place its fat on the fire which is upon the altar, and they
shall eat its flesh roasted with fire in the court of the house which
has been sanctified in the name of the Lord. 21. And they will not
be able to celebrate the passover in their cities, or in any place save
before the tabernacle of the Lord, or before his house where his
name dwells ; they will not go astray from the Lord. 22. And do
thou, Moses, command the children of Israel to observe the ordi-
nances of the passover, as it was commanded unto thee ; declare thou
unto them every year, and the day of its da3rs, and the festival of un-
leavened bread, that they should eat unleavened bread seven days,
(and) that they should observe its festival, and that they bring an
oblation every day during those seven days of joy before the
Lord on the altar of your G-od. 23. For ye celebrated this festival
with haste when ye went forth from Egypt till ye entered into
the wilderness of S^; for on the shore of the sea ye completed
it.
L. — And after this law I made known to thee the days of the Sabbaths
in the desert of Sinai, which is between Elam and Sinai. 2. And I
told thee of the Sabbaths of the earth on Mount Sinai, and I told thee
of the years of Jubilee in the Sabbaths of years : but the year thereof
I did not tell thee till ye entered the land which ye were to possess.
3. And the land also shall keep its Sabbaths while they dwell upon it,
and these shall know the year of Jubilee. 4. Wherefore I have
ordained for thee the year- weeks and the years and the jubilees : there
are forty-nine jubilees from the days of Adam until this day, and
one week and two years : and there are yet forty years to come
(lit. *^ distant ") for learning the commandments of the Lord, until
they pass over into the land of Canaan, crossing the Jordan to the
west. 5. And the jubilees will pass by, until Israel is cleansed from
all guilt of fornication, and uncleanness, and pollution, and sin, and
error, and dwells safely in all the land, and there will be no more an
adversary (lit. a Satan) or any evil one, and the land will be dean from
Digitized by
Google
328 The Jewish Quarterly Herietc.
that time for evermore. 6. And behold the commandment regarding^
the Sabbaths I have written down for thee, aad all the judgments of its
laws. 7. Six dajs shalt thon labour, but on the seventh day is the Sab*
bath of the Lord your God. In it ye shall do no manner of work, ye
and your sods, and your men-servants and your maid-Bervaots, and
all your cattle, and the sojourner also who is with you. 8. And the
man that does any work on it shall die : whoever desecrates that day,
whoever lies with a wife, or whoever says he will do something on it,
so as to set out on s journey thereon * regarding ' any buying or selling:
and whoever draws water which he had not prepared on the sixth day,
and whoever takes a burden to carry it out of his tent or out of hia
house shall die. 9. Ye shall do no work whatever on the Sabbath day
save what ye have prepared for yourselves on the sixth day, so as to
eat, and drink, and rest, and keep Sabbath from all work on that day,
and to bless the Lord your God, who has given you a day of festival,
and a holy day, and a day of the holy kingdom for all Israel : such is
that day among their days for all days. 10. For great is the honour
which the Lord has given to Israel that they should eat and drink
and be satisfied on that festival day, and rest thereon from all labour
which belongs to the labour of the children of men, save burniog
frankincense and bringing oblations and sacrifices before the Lord
for' dB,y% and for* Sabbaths. 11. This work alone shall be done on
the Sabbath-days in the sanctuary of the Lord your God ; that they
may atone for Israel with sacrifice contiaually from day to day for
a memorial well-pleasing before the Lord, and that he may receive
them always from day to day according as thou hast been com-
manded. 12. And every man who does any work thereon or goes a
journey or tills (his) land, whether in his house or any other place,
and whoever lights a fire, or rides on any beast, or travels by ship on
the sea, and whoever strikes or kills anything, or slaughters a beast
or a bird, or whoever catches an animal or a bird or a fish, or whoever
fasts or makes war on the Sabbaths : 13. The man who does any
of these things on the Sabbath shall die, so that the children of Israel
shall observe the Sabbaths according to the commandments regarding
the Sabbaths of the land, as it is written in the tables, which he
gave into my hands that I should write out for thee the laws of
the seasons, and the seasons according to the division of their days.
Herewith is completed the account of the division of the days.
R. H. Charles.
' Or "say thereon regarding to some work that he will do it early
thereon." (B.)
« MSB. "and regarding." « Or "of."
Digitized by
Google
Cntical Notices. 329
CRITICAL NOTICES.
Eduard Konig's '^ Introduction to the Old Testament."
{Collection of Theological Manuals, Part II., Ist Section.
Bonn, 1893.)
The above-named work has been added to the various nianaals
containing introductions to the Old Testament. The reasons which
induced the author to work up afresh the materials contained in the
many excellent treatises which have appeared until now are briefly
stated in the Preface. The author's intention is to give the ^* casting
vote" to the evidence afforded by the History of Language "in deter-
mining the problems connected with the History of Literature in the
Old Testament.'' The author says further that " be had to offer the
results of recent investigations with regard to many points in con-
nection with the History of the Text, the Canon, and the Rules for
the Exegesb of the Old Testament."
As a matter of fact, the chief stress has been placed upon thene
latter points, which have been treated in much more detail than in
those works which have hitherto appeared upon the subject. It can
only be determined after mature investigation, a task which would
require much time, how far our author has succeeded in finding
a solution for the problems coiiuected with the History of Biblical
Literature by bringing to bear upon these problems new ob>«ervations
with regard to the historical development of the Hebrew language
within the range of the Old Testament. We shall, therefore, pass
over this portion of the book. We shall also omit to notice those
parts in which the author does not promise anything new upon the
question, and simply confine ourselves to those divisions which treat
of the *• Sources and Adventures of the Text," " the History of the
Collection and the Canon of the Od Testament, and the History of
the rules and methods of Exegesis.'*
We are pleased to be able to state that the author has treated the
History of the Text as well as that of the Exegesis of the Old Testa-
ment upon a much broader basis than has been the case in former
Introductions. He has, in a comprehensive and scholarly manner, laid
under contribution the literature of the 17th and 18th centuries
devoted to the subject, and with exemplary industry made himself.
Digitized by
Google
330 The Jewish Quarterly Eevieto.
acquainted with the later Jewish literature. We can easily conyinoe
ourselves of the results of such labours, on comparing the striking^
portions of the Introd action under review with the corresponding
portions of preceding works. But, as it generally happens with
attempts in a new field, misconceptions and errors are not wanting,
even in this instance. A mistake may be easily made when travelling
along untrodden paths, and it is no reproach to an author to say that he
has not always hit on the right thing. In order, therefore, to antici-
pate the danger which might threaten such as are little acquainted
with this branch, and likely to be misled by relying on the reputa-
tion of the author, I herewith submit the following corrections : —
On p. 18 the author quotes from the Mischna Shabbath, IX. 6,
yy\i?. This form, which is apparently a noun, does not occur at alL
There occurs in the Editio princeps of Surrenhusius' edition of the
Misbna and in all the editions of which I have availed myself ,
\]^}t? V^'^^ rrJVDB'. The Waw is mater leetiofUs for a short kametz.
Id the same part we find DSH I^D^n, translated '*a wise Talmndist,"
instead of ^^ a scholar." On p. 20 there is the question concerning
3nD Dn and SHD K'^yil. The first expression is correctly brought
by Havernick in connection with Pion ni^HD {Shabbath^ 103* ;
of. Sifre, II. 36). Eonig rejects this explanation and says, " As
regards determining the age of scrolls written in Tam-character, the
character would simply offer a terminus a quo, if we say that this
style of writing received its form from a grandson of Rashi, named
Tam, viz., in the 12th century, which would seem more natural in the
caj^e of Tam-Tephillin and Rashe-K^af (Tychsen, Tent., 267), than,
€.g„ to assume, with Havernick, § 50, that Tam-Ksaf is derived from
non nn^na (Shabbath, lOSb) i.«., faultless style of writing." Such a
statement dare Lot be repeated. Tam Tephillin (correctly Tephillin
of Rabbi Jacob = Tam, according to Gen. xxv. 27) has no reference
to the art of writing, but to the conteats of the capsules (phylacteries),
in which point R. Jacob differed from his grandfather; but here is
not the place to c^iscuns the point. Rashi-kethab is the name, at the
present day, of the character in which the commentaries are printed
in the Bible editions. I am unable to assert how old this expression
may be.
On p. 29 we read, in inverted commas, thus: — " A book which is
not corrected (nJID), R. Ame adds, withm thirty days, may be pn^^)
destroyed *' {Kethuboth, 19&). In the passage referred to we read : —
ininK^ iniD dv d^it^ ly ^d« ^an ■^o^i r\y\'o ij^k*^ "jdd itDriK
rhw 1^^n«3 pc^n ^K -JDXJB' imne^ IIDK H^^KI JKDD, which means
that one may keep a book uncorrected for thirty days (according to
Job xi. 14), after which time it has to be corrected. Konig read instead
Digitized by
Google
Critical Notices, 331
of ininKv, ininB9, which conld not have happened had he read the
oontinaation of the verse quoted.
Ib.^ line 2 : — " The Scroll of the Law ' dare not be placed on its
face, i.e., so that the beginning lies underneath, * *' etc. The reference
is to Sapherim, HI. 14 (no source is given), and should be translated :
"The Scroll of the Law dare not be placed upon the written side''
(cf. Erubin, 98a).
Page 30 deals with the various versions of the account concerning
the three Scrolls of the Law found in the Temple court. In treating
(p. 35, n. 2) of the oldest source, our author should not have omitted
Srfre IL 3, 5, 6. Furthermore, we must bear in mind that the account
in Sopherim 6, 4, cannot possibly be the most ancient, for the simple
reason that it is adduced in the name of Simon ben Lakish, an Amora
living in the third century, and is consequently later than the account
given in Siifre and the Jerusalem Talmud (Taanithy 68a), in which
it is given anonymously as a Baraitha. From internal evidence also
the text in Sopherim appears a derivative one, for a copy can surely
not be called ^' Book with KM," if the KM does not once appear in
the Kethib of the same. This would certainly be, according to Prof.
Eonig's conception, a Itums a non lucendo. The miosiog eleventh KM
in Aboth de B. Nathan^ c. 34, which is left out by Mi^Uer, Schechter (in
his edition, 1887) and Eonig, might be contained in the verse quoted
from G-enesis xz. 5, if we presuppose that not alone KM1 but also the
expression immediately preceding. Kin ^niriK, has, contrary to the
Massora, to be written with Yod.
On p. 31 we find ^K|ap instead of ^wa?. The word is derived from
the Aramaic, and there is no reason for punctuating it otherwise than
as Aramaic, which, by the way, corresponds to the traditional pronun-
oiation.
On pp. 32, 33, the author tacitly assumes my explanation of the dot
over the Yod in yyy) (Gen. xvi. 5) [Masoretische Untersuehun^en,
pp. 17, etc.]. I cannot understand why in place of the classical passage
in Sifre (on Numbers ix. 10) the derivative later source, Numeri Rdbba
(on EEL 39) is quoted. Regarding the controversy (i6. Note), I will
only state that I did say in my work, p. 7, that the dots called for a
settlement, but not that the reading proposed through them was the
** only correct one.*' It follows beyond doubt from the explanation
concerning these dots in Sifre and other passages, that (as I have
proved) in place of the elements of the text which were dotted, others
had to be put. Why, Eonig himself assumes this. But this does not
imply that the text proposed, which perchance rested upon some MS.
as a basis, was the better one, or had more evidence in its favour.
Were this the case, it would undoubtedly have been admitted into
Digitized by
Google
332 The Jetcish Quarterly Review,
tbe text, and tbe reading which we have now in the text would haye
been marked by dots. The objection that no other reading is expresslj
proposed has no force, if we consider that the dots point back to tbe
time in which no marginal notes were thought of. In support of this
assertion, we may instance what has already been said concerning \\yD
(Deut. xxxiii. 27), where the better reading was simply admitted into
the text without attention being called, by means of a marginal note,
to the other reading. Konig might jast as well have offered tbe ob-
jection against his own view, inasmuch as he assumes that, by means
of the dots, another reading is suggested. Why is the other reading
not noted in the margin ?
Page 35 (§11) deals with *Hhe old Jewish practical labours with
regard to the text of tbe Old Testament which are not mentioned in
the Talmad." The author's intention is to bring forward such data
bearing upon the history of the text as were not yet known in
Talmudic times ; and yet he adduces in the first instance the '^ Emen*
dations of the Sopherim," of which eleven already appear in the
Mechilta, This is the more surprising as our author himself mentions
the Mechilta, One error occasions another, for, from the circumstance
that the TiqqUn Sopherim are not mentioned in the Talmud, he draws
a chronological deduction. He remarks, namely, on p. 41: — *^It is
unsafe to refer the Tiqqitn Sopherim back to Ezra (§ 11, etc.), if only
on account of the consideration that this questionable correction
was not mentioned in tbe Talmud."
Page 36. ]n^3D does not mean *^ to propose a marginal reading/* ai
least it is not the sense in which those instances have to be taken
which occur in large number in our present Massora. Tbe said expres-
sion denotes, **one might think," "one might wrongly opine.'' Origi-
nally I^~)^3D migbt perhaps have had something of a polemical character,
designed against the current reading (Geiger), but the greater part
of tho^e instances occurring in tbe present Massora are simply
intended to prevent a possible error. Our author's statement is pecu-
liar, when he says : — '^The view of Oapellus (3, 15, 19), that Qarjan
and Sebirin simply imply the difference between older and later pro-
posals, does not receive strong confirmation, but he might have
brought forward in their favour that the name of the first generation
of the post-Talmudic doctors was Baboreans, i.e.^ authors of a mere
ni3D * opinion.'" What is meant to be proved by this reference?
That 13D^to opine? Or is Konig of opinion that the Siboreans were
already styled thus by their contemporaries V Or are the Saboreaus
the authors of the pT3D ? (Of. also pp. 48 and 131.)
Page 40. *' Jerome has, it is true, de>cribed the dotting in Gen.
xix. 33 as one clearly shown in the text Q Adpungunt de super,
etc.'), while, in reality, he adopts some of the Qeres by preference."
Digitized by
Google
Critical Notice9. 333
The dots are perhaps 500 years earlier than Jerome, as is proved
by the sonrces themselves It will, therefore, not do to mislead the
reader by means of such qaotations as to the age of these dots.
On p. 47, line 16, read (instead of ^DH) ^on = Rome.
Of p. 84, n. 1, it should be observed that I have not contested the
hanging Nun in n^3D (Judges xviiL 30), since I stated clearly (Masso-
retisehe Untersuchungm^ 49), that it probably arose abont 300. I only
made the remark, which is of secondary importance, that *' that no
mention is made,'' in Baba Bathra, ^Hhat the Nnn is a hanging
one."
It is to be regretted that oar author, who admits the results of my
investigations, in spite of his objections against subordinate points,
which, however, need scarcely be taken into account, yet again elects
to throw a dangerous obscurity about the proper underMtanding of
the Talmndic-Ma«»oretic quotations by means of such expressions as
the following (p. 84):—" The declaration of the Talmud on Judges
xviii. 30 is a support of the opinion that also other peculiarities in
the tralitional Hebrew Old Testament were introduced, in order
that meaning!^ might be attached to them, e.ff,,, in the case of the
broken Waw in D1?^, which might hint at the idea that the peace of
God made with Pbiuean, the son of Eliezer, has suffered a break, etc.''
Ko, this was not the case. The Doctors of the Talmud neither added
to nor alttrred the sacred text by one iota for the sake of making it a
peg on which to hang some lesion ; they might as well have altered
every letter, for some meaning attaches itself to every tittle. All that
can be estiiblished is this: that, whenever anything abnormal existed
in the text, some meaning was given to it, or that through an
explanation based upon a misconception, an alteration of the text
crept in ; but never did it occur in the historical period of the his-
tory of the Text that an opportunity was taken to alter the text with
the object of making it serve mnemonic purposes. It is time that
such an antiquated view be dismissed once and for all.
According to this explanation we shall also have to reject the
statement made on page 87, to the effect that " there is some ba^is
for the opinion that the abnormal appearances in the M. T. were,
at least partially, brought out for the express purpose of hinting at
theories." Not a single passage can be adduced from Jewish Tradi*
tional Literature in support of such an opinion.
On p. 90 there is an endeavour to prove "that even in the
editing of the Talmud there was not the most scrupulous care exer-
cised as regards quotations .... For, as* an inntanoe, corresponding to
aiBTI vh (Deu . xxiv. 19), we have ilKTI ^3, Misehna Pea^ 6, 4. There
can be no doubt that the K/ was changed into the ^1 which in
VOL. VII. Z
Digitized by
Google
384 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
the Old Testament has the character rather of the dialectic and later
Hebrew."
There can be no donbt that the vh and ^3 did not interchange, for
both Mishna and Talmnd quote the prohibitions mostly with 7^ and
not with vh. For this kind of interchange one conld instance hun-
dreds of examples {e,g,, jnin ^3 ^I'Dn ^3, Dent. iy. 2, in Rosh
Hashana, 28* ; NVD^ ^D31 HKI* ^D3, Exod. xii. 19 ; xiii. 7 in Mishna
Pesachim^ iii. 3, and iz. 3, etc). In snch and similar examples, it is
not a passage from the Text that is quoted, but the eommamd itself
that is quoted, and this escaped the notice of Edoig.
Notice to p. 98, n. 1, that the DB^H of the Samaritans is a peri-
phrasis of the Tetragrammaton«
On p. 106, n. 4, the foUqwing passage {MegUla, 9a}, ^3 ^VK D»^
iriKl inK=(King Ptolemy) went unto each individual (scholar), is
translated thus : " And each one was collected apart/* How can an
individual be collected ? The author confounded D333 with D33.
On p. 108, iniK ID^^pl (J. Megilla, i. 11 [71c, 1. 12]), which means
" they praised him" (the translator, Aquila), is translated, " And they
considered him beautiful,*' Really one should not allow himself to
be deceived by such questionable etymology (D7p and Kak»s).
We shall refrain from further observations touching individual
statements contained in this first sub-division, as these will be treated
elsewhere ; and we pass over to the third and fourth sub-divisions
which are devoted to the History of the Collection and Canon of
the Old Testament and History of its Exegesis.
Page 446. The Baraitha Baba Bathra, 14 b, concemiog the order
and editing of the several books of the Old Testament is put three
centuries too late. Some Baraithas only received their final form in
the first half of the third -century, i.e., after that time no more of
them were composed ; but it cannot on that account be said that
every Baraitha originates from the same period. By far the greater
portion of these traditions may be traced at least one century further
back, and specially the one Baraitha referred to bears the impress of
its age on the face of it, because, in the first place, no author is men-
tioned therein ; and secondly there is no mention of any controversy,
both of which circumstances point infallibly to an earlier period. On
the same page we meet with the peculiar statement, that the first
mention that is made of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah having
belonged to the Great Synagogue is to be found in the passage of the
Dikd. Hat., hi, referring to Moses ben Asher (c. 900). Why, the
Talmud already presupposes the fact that they did belong to it.
Compare the passages of the Talmud which Furst has collected in his
Kanon des A,T,, p. 47, n. 8,
Digitized by
Google
Critical Notices. 335
. Pi^e 447, n. 2. This is not clear to me.
We need not criticise what our author on pp. 452-3 has to say with
reference to the idea contained in TJ2, inasmuch as it would carry ds
too far. We would but remark that nt HK HT DnniD mm VHK^
{ShahhatK 30^ ) cannot be rendered, *' because his words obscured one
the other." It is correctly given in parenthesis as '* coutradict.*' The
litem] meaning of "iriD here is " pulling down," and not '* obscuring."
Page 457. *' Or when Solomon is called a prophet in the ^thiopic
Church." Why does our author not mention tiie Talmud also, con^
sidering that he cites Sota, 48^, an^l translates this passage (447, n. 2) ?
Pages 458 and 144. In the latter passage we read : " Perhaps we
should not overlook this point, that Christ many a time omits all
mention of the name of Moses in those cases in which he refers to
the Laws of the Pentateuch. Cf . the passive ' It is said ' with the
active, * But I say unto you' (Matt. v. 21, 27, 31, 33, 38, 43). It can
consequently not be insisted upon that the sayings of Christ were
bound to be reproductions with literary historical accuracy." How
incorrect this whole method of proving things is may be realised
when we call to mind that, in Jewish tradition, the passages of the
text are usually quoted with the expression IDKJK'— " it is said.''
This minor point proves once again that, in questions of this sort, it
is unsafe to take a single step without an exact knowledge of Jewish
literature.
Page 466. "Zunz, 7, cites Sabbath, 116ft. There it states, "In
[Bab.] Nehardea they took aH the Perikope a section of the Kethubim
at the meat-offering of the Sabbath." What offerings were brought
in Bab. Nehardea in the third century ? The meat-offering has been
derived from the stlavish rendering of the two words Kn^K^ KHH^DS
=at the Afternoon Service of the Sabbath.
Page 477, line 15 from below. It should have been stated that it
ought to have read, \T\^^ Tm nOID JTK 1^3^.
Page 514. To be brief, HS^n comes from the Aramaic; ODS^D
(judgment), being translated by Knp^H {e.g,, Ex. xxi 7 ; xxvi. 3<)).
Schurer, 2, 270, hits upon the right rendering when he says * was gang
und gabe ist." Etymologically HD^n is identical with anJD. (Cf.
J. Shebiith, iv. 1 ; 35 a, line 24), as an^p is also used for T(pnD (cf.
Mech. xix. 4=62 ft, line 15, ed. Friedmann).
n^in is originally, as Dr. Bacher has shown, nothing else than
exegesis. Konig quotes Bacher's article, Jewish Quarterly Re-
view, 1892, but, strange to say, does not refer to this conclusion,
and keeps to the erroneous translation *^ Yerkundigen."
The inexperienced reader might easily contract wrong ideas from
the following remarks regarding the inference a majori ad minorem
z 2
Digitized by
Google
836 The Jemsh Quarterly Review.
and a minori ad majorem : '* I myself have found examples in Jems.
Sanhedrin, xii. 7, and in Bashi to Exod. xxii. 31 (p. 515)." The ques-
tion turns upon an inference which occurs numberless times in the
Talmuds and Midrashim ; how then can we refer to Bashi ? By the
way, I cannot make out to what passage in Bashi reference is made,
since Exod. xxii. has but 30 verses.
Page 516. The example for IK ]01 is incorrect. The source is not
added ; one is referred to Wahner (380, 402, 483), which, however,
is inaccessible to me at present ; but Bechoroth 7a is meant. Upon
closer investigation and comparison with Sifra to 11, 2 (ed. Weiss,
48a), we easily find tliat the passage of the Talmud under discussion
has been misinterpreted, for ic is not right to say that n^ can only
be one of the smaller cattle, the offspring of either two sheep or two
goats.
" These seven rules which the well-known Hillel the Elder investi-
gated {Pirqi Aloth de R. Nathan 35 ajS), formed the foundation of
the thirteen rules of Ihhmael. To these were added * the BuIch of
the Sages of the Gemara,' and the *■ thirty-two BuKs of B. Jose, the
Galilean,' according to which the Haggada is investigtited."
What is meant by the " Bules of the S iges of the Gemara,** I really
do not understand. We only know of the seven Bules of Hillel, the
thirteen of Ishmael, and the thirty- two of Elieser ben Jose, the
Galilean ; others are not known.
Jb, and p. 102. Concerning the use of letters for numerals
(sGematria) in Onkelos, the author cites (IO2) Numbers xii. 1, where
n^KOn ncrxn is rendered by NriTDB^ KHnN. Now Prof. Kooig thinks
that this rendering is only intelligible by reason of Bashi's remark
HK-ID no^ Nnocin n^t^nD. This is undoubtedly incorrect, for the
Targum, as far as I know, has not rendered one Hingle passage upou the
strength of a Gematria. The rendering in question springs from the
explanation given in the Sifre i. 6 (Fiiedmann, 27a) ; HDIK^ ^B'lD ilD
D'K'jn ^DD inV nn33 HJIK^ HIIDV p niy3=Just as the Ethiopian
differ^^ in (the colour of) bis skin, so was Zipporah different by virtue
of her beauty from all other women. Of. also 525, n. 2.
We should have liked more preci^eness in settling the time of the
composition of the Mishna. Eonig states generally, ^^c, 180 a.d.'' {e.g,^
614); while on p. 522, Mishna e. 200"; and 516, ^'Doctors of the
Mishna^ 30 B.C. — 200 A.D.'' One and the same writer dare not admit
now the date given by one scholar, now that given by another. I
consider 220 to be the probable date of its redaction, but within the
narrow limits of this notice it is impossible to enter into details.
It is beyond doubt incorrect to place the date of the redaction of the
Tosephta at *' e, 400 " (although this date has found its adherents), as
it appears on p. 522 in the following statement which, in other
Digitized by
Google
Critical Notices. 337
reBpects, is also erroDeons: "The Palestinian Gemara (Completion,
c. 350), and the Babylonian Gemara (c. 450), as also the additional
[additional to what ?] collected Tosephta (Addend am, e, 400)."
We should no longer use the term ** Gemara,^* for the ancients
knew only of the expression "Talmud"; besides, the translation
(* Completion " is incorrect, for '1DJI (from which the word ^K^O^ is
formed) also signifies in the Talmud "to learn," specially "to learn by
heart," so that Gemara secondarily^Talmud.
We have to observe further, that it would be much nearer the
mark to giye e, 400 for the Jer. Talmud, and o, 500 — 550 for the
Babylonian Talmud. This, too, is the place to remark upon the
trantdation " investigations " for "Midrashim," which might lead to
misconception, inasmuch as in the said works there are no " investiga-
tions." It is best to render the expression by " Commentaries," just
as on the same page the author renders Mechilta "Sifre" and "Sifra,"
or " Agadic Commentaries," if one wishes to be particularly precise.
It is also incorrect to define the Pesikta as a Commentary, " giving
reflections upon the Sabbath portions." In the first place it does not
contain, as one would imagine from Ednig's words, reflections upon
all the Sabbath portions ; and, secondly, it contains reflections also
upon the Festival portions. (Cf. Zunz, Gottesdien. Vartrdge, p. 190,
etc., and Buber's Ed., 1868, in.)
The statement regarding the Midrash Babba (ib.) is also very
strange : " Somewhat later are the Babboth, i,e,, the large Editions
[with explanations] of the said Books, viz., the Pentateuch and the
five Megilloth : Bereshith, Shemoth Babba," eta Such a description
would be more appropriate for the large Babbinic editing of the
Bible ni^n:i niKipD, but not for the Midrash Babba. The Babboth
are not large editions, with explanations, of the said Books, but agadic
remarks upon them, of various lengths, and dating from different
times.
The concluding words of the author of this work, which evidences
so much scholarship and great industry, are devoted to the task of
verifying passages from the Talmud. He says : " Many a time a
^sie' or *!' is added to passages cited from the Talmud, as a
sign that the respective quotations have been verified in accord-
ance with past and modern information." Prof. K5nig thus
attaches, and rightly so, great importance to the correct interpre-
tation and precise rendering of the texts quoted ; I, therefore, cherish
the pleasant hope that my remarks, aiming as they do for the most
part at the same object, will be welcome to the esteemed author.
LUDWIG Blaiz«
Budapest.
Digitized by
Google
388 The Jetrish Quarterly Remeto,
Introduction to the Talmud^ by Dr. Hermann L. Strack. Second
edition ; partly rewritten. Leipzig, 1894. viiL and 136 pp.
It is moet gratifying to see a second edition of the Introduction to
the Talmud; it shows the interest which the study of the Talmud
excites. To maintain and satisfy this interest the present volume has
doubtless contributed to no small degree, and the second edition will
intensify it.
The work contains everything which has reference to the study
of the Talmud : — i. Prefatory Remarks (transcriptions, explanations
of words, method of quotation) ; ii Introduction to the Mishna
(the Talmuds) and its parts ; iii. Contents of the Sixty- three
Treatises of the Mishna ; iv. Treatises not belonging to the Canon ;
T. History of the Talmud ; vi. Chronological Table of the Doctors of
the Law ; vii. Characteristics of the Talmud ; viii. Literature. We
only miss an estimate of the Talmud in its relation to the general
literature of the human race, specially to that of Judaism, and as to
what place it has taken, and does take, among the Jewish people. We
think, too, that it might have been advipable to have said something
of the elements of the Methodology of the Talmud.
As regards matters of detail, we would call the author's attention
to the following : — In speaking, on p. 2, of nPHi n VJK'D, which occurs
in J. Horajothy 48c., he translates the expression " large collections
of Mishna.'* But the passage in question dots not at all refer to the
Mishna in our sense of the word, but to Baraitha ; this is evident
from a comparison of parallel passages in Cant, Rabba on viii. 2, in which
is added :— np-JD n^^C^n DDIBDIS' llO^nn HT, and in Threni Rabba^
Introduction No. 23. It would have been better had the author adduced
the more complete passage in Koheleth Rabba on xiii. 3, which is
also supplemented by the words: |nn h'hl^ lID^nn PIT, "the
Baraithas are scattered throughout the Talmud."
On p. 3c. the expression "JDI^ IID^n HDl is wanting, meaning
"What \9 the inference ? '' c.^., Aboth V. 1.
On p. 4 the author defines Halacha ** A mode of life regulated by
the Law.'* This is never the meaning of the word. According to its
etymology it would mean "an ordinance universally current." In
speaking of ^3^D0 X\wh i\2h%\ reference should have been made to
Weiss' rcrni nn in, i. 7i.
At thH top of p. 7 a few older names are given of several treatises
of the Talmud ; the full names should have been given side by side
with the shorter, c.^., p^n nD^HK' next to xh\n.
Digitized by
Google
Critical NoUcet. 339
The aathor devotes, on p. 14, a somewhat lengthy note to the
maoh-discussed word ^KDl., My opioion is that it is derived from
the Aramaic ^tDl=conjectnre, e.g., the well-known Talmudic expres-
sion n313, " to assert something npon the strength of conjecture,"
hence *KtDn=corn, which, npon the strength of a supposition, has to
be tithed.
P. 17. Note to Vl^"^ ; reference should be made to the Biblical yoi,
Ezod. xxii. 28.
P. 22 to 7 add :— In the Tosephta the treatise Beza is always called
Jam Tub. The Toeephists do not supplement Bashi (p. 115), but the
Talmnd ; vide Gtldemann, Oeschichte des Erziehunf/swesens in der
Cultur der Juden w Frankreick und Veutschland (p. 42).
The marginal notes occurring in the Talmud under the name of
MB^ r^ refer not only to the corrections of the Halacha by Moses
ben Maimon, Moses of Ooucy, and Jacob ben Asher (p. 116), but also
to the latest Bitual Code, viz., that of Joseph Karo.
The chapter on Literature requires a good deal of supplementing,
although, considering the dimensions of modern Jewish literature, it
would be difficult to attain completeness in this respect, nor would
the attempt be of much avail. But under no circumstances should
the following works be omitted :— Hirschfeld's Ealachische Exegese,
Derenbourg's Histoire de la Palestine, and Butt's Mnemotechnik des
Talmvd.
We would also call attention to these minor points :— P. 9, note 2,
for ^DTy read ^31?J; p. 6, etc., for rt^Hlp read rt"»nc?; the name of
inaiC, one of the Amoraim, should be Abahu, not Abuha (p. 6, note) ;
p. 18, DOnn nvsr\ and not niBH; p. 52, nb>f p^n and not P^^;
p. 102, the Dagesh in t^f^nf is wrong, alter to B^Brj?^, etc.; p. 103,
§ 3 has no heading, it should be headed " Specimen of Translation."
Printer^s errors:- P. 16. 'i^; p. 19, P?^^^?; P- ^5, on?; p. 66,
mnp; p. 75, IDh instead of l^to; p. 77, pDTD instead of JIDTID ;
p. ioi, ^?X, etc.
These errors and differences which have here been pointed out can
naturally not detract from the merit of the author's work ; they have
only been referred to with one object, and that is, that they may be
oorrected, should a third edition of this volume appear.
Samuel Ebauss.
Digitized by
Google
340 Th6 Jetciah Quarterly Review.
Oesammelte Abhnndlungen zur Btdlisehen Wissenschqft^ von Dr.
Abraham Eubnen ; aus den Holldndischen ubersBtzt von K.
BuDDB. Freiburg i, B, nnd Leipzig^ 1894, J. 0. B. Mohr.
The treatises collected in this yolome have long since taken their
place among standard authorities. Most Old Testament students are
familiar with their titles, few probably with their contents. Buried
in learned periodicals and written in Dutch, they have hitherto been
inaccessible to the average reader. In the Theol. Literaturzeitung^
of July 22nd, 1893, Prof. Budde, after paying an eloquent
tribute to the life and labours of Dr. Euenen, drew special atteoiion
to his articles in the Theol, TijJschrift as the finest specimens of the
critical method, and lamented the fact that no translation of them was
to be had. A few days after the appearance of his article Prof.
Budde received from the publishers a request to collect and translate
this series of studies. The present volume is the result. It exhibits,
we need hardly say, all the well-known characteristics of Euenen *s
work, lucidity, directness, nncompromining honesty. The critical
weapon is passionless cold steel of the finest temper, and it is wielded
by the hands of a master.
Prof. Budde, in his interesting introduction, written with the
enthusiasm of a disciple and the warmth of a personal friend, dwells
upon the moral qualities of Kuenen's work. Spiritual interests are
kept under studious reserve ; they find expression in the manner,
rather than in the matter of his treatment, the moral impression is
conveyed in an intellectual form. There is something exhaustively
satisfying in the whole process of the induction ; we gird ourselves to
new efforts as we follow him ; his mastery takes hold of us ; we are
invigorated through and through. Hence this volume will serve the
student as a drill-book in critical method. Robertson Smith once
said that these studies are, perhaps, the finest things which modem
criticism has to show ; and Wellhausen has declared that the article
on the Composition of the Sanhedrin would have been epoch-making
if any one had read it.> Now, at last, it has been republished in a
form which will enable it to produce on the many the effect which
has, so far, been limited to the few.
The contents of this volume cover a wide range of subjects. An
article on *^ Critical Method,** which originally appeared in English in
the Modem Review j 1880, comes first. It is important, as introducing
> See Prof. Wioksteed^s appreciative article on Knenen in YoL lY., pp.
571-605 of this Ebvikw.
Digitized by
Google
Cntkal Notices. 341
us to the principles and point of view of the author. Next we have
studies in post-biblical history, which discuss the composition of the
Sanhedrin, the genealogy of the Massoretio text, and the men of the
Great Synagogae. Then we are carried down to the Protestant
Reformation in a review of Hugo Grotius* position as an inter-
preter of the Old Testament; then comes a discussion on the
*' Melecheth of heaven " in Jeremiah, and then a long investiga-
tion of the chronology of the Persian age. Thus far all these studies
were first communicated in the form of academic lectures, and after-
wards published in the Transactions of the Royal Academy of Sciences,
Amsterdam. The articles which remain are collected, with one excep-
tion, from the TheoL Tijdschrift between 1880 and 1890. Most of
them deal with the criticism of the Hexateuoh and the history of
Israel. They are, primarily, reviews of the works of Diilmann,
Bandissin, Renan, Kittel, Biethgen, and others, as they appeared
from time to time. New Testament criticism finds a place in a dis-
cussion on an extravagant theory of the origin of the Greek text. It
mast be confessed that these reviews are not se interesting, and do not
possess the same quality of permanence, as the more directly con-
structive studies. Incidentally, of coarse, Kaeaen takes occasion to
state his own views while criticising those of others ; bat, as his own
views are generally accompanied by a reference to the Onderzoek
or the Godsdienstf they may be more conveniently consulted there. Bat
it is highly instructive to observe the way in which Kaenen treats
his authors, he is always so respectful and fair-minded, so ready with a
word of approval whenever it can be given. Even the extravagancies
of M. Yemes are dissected with the most patient care. There is not
wanting, too, a certain amount of judicious banter ; but what strikes
us most is the clear thinking and firm statement by which all these
reviews are marked.
The student will probably gain most from the studies which
deal directly with obscure problems of criticism and history. Among
these may be mentioned especially the article on Gen. xxxiv. (the
avenging of Dinah)* ; and on Ex. xvi. (manna and quails), where it is
* In G^n. xxxiv. 13 all the sons of Jacob form the treacherous plan to
slay Shechem and his father ; why, then, was it carried out by Simeon and
Levi aloT^ ? Kuenen, p. 275, replies that Simeon and Levi, according to
the earliest tradition (Qen. xlix. 5-7) must remain the principal actors ;
they were first in the field. But is this a sufiicient explanation 7 According
to another early tradition they and Dinah alone were the children of the
same mother, Leah ((^en. xxix. 83 f . J ; xxx. 21E). The two brothers
woald naturally be foremost in avenging the outrage upon their own
sister.
Digitized by
Google
342 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
noticeable that Knenen parts company with Wellhansen and others,
and refuses to assign any part of the chapter to J. It belongs, as a
whole, he maintains, to the Priestly Document, the sections usoally
assigned to earlier narratives being due to interpolation or redaction
(verses 4, 5, 25-30) influenced by a desire to lay additional emphasis
upon the law of the Sabbath. Thus Ex. xri. is to be regarded as the
post-exilic counterpart to Num. xi. JE, which presents the andtnt
form of the manna and quails tradition.
It is beyond the scope of the present notice to give anything like
an analysis of the different studies in this volume ; but it may not be
out of place to introduce readers to what is, perhaps, the most
generally interesting study of them all, and a characteristic specimen
of Kuenen*s treatment, the article on the Composition of the
8anhedrin (pp. 49-81). Without going into the details of his
thorough-going discussion, we may briefly sum up the main results.
After noticing the great diversity of opinion among scholars on the
subject of the Sanhedrin, some, as Zunz and Graetz, holding that it
was a fundamental and regular part of the Jewish constitution from
B.G. 142 to A.D. 70, with the '* deliverers of tradition *' as its presi-
dents, others, as Jost, contending that it existed more in theory than
in fact, ita powers being usurped by the High-priesthood, Kuenen
proceeds to examine the three authorities of highest rank — the
Talmud, the New Testament, and Josephns.
a. The Sanhedrin of the Talmud is composed of seventy-one
members,* under a Nasi, or president. The qualiflcations for member-
ship are not clearly stated. " All have a voice in matters of taxation
and finance (i.e., can become members of the lesser Sanhedrins), but in
matters of life and limb only priests, Levites, and those related to
priestly families, can deliver judgment " (i.e., are eligible for the Great
Sanhedrin).' On the question of the appointment of members and of
qualifications for the presidency no direct information is to be had.
We infer that a reputation for wisdom, skill in the law, humility and
obedience, would mark out a man as a suitable candidate for ad-
mission ; and we are told that a vacancy might be filled from the
ranks of the " disciples of the wise " (D^DDH n^D^H), the " disciple "
being received into the Sanhedrin with a ''laying-on of hands"
(ns^DD). This Supreme Council was the ultimate court of appeal in
all legal matters ; to transgress its decision was a graver offence than
to transgress the law itself. The relations between the High Priest
and the Sanhedrin are not defined ; but it is implied that he is not
exempt from its jurisdiction. " The High Priest delivers judgment,
but may himself be judged.* There is no trace in the Misbna that he
1 See Num. xi. 4-84. ' Mishna, Sanh, cap. iv. § 3. * Sank, cap. ii § 1.
Digitized by
Google
Critical Notices. 343
was the regular president in virtue of his office. The " saocessors of
the men of the Great Synagogue/* Simon the Just, Antigonus of
Socho, and the five ** Pairs" (nUIT) who followed, down to Gamaliel
and Simon II., that is from about B.a 300 to a.d. 70, were regarded as
the chief men in the Sanhedrin. These are described in the well-known
passage in Abdth as the organs of tradition. In the case of the
*' Pairs,'* tho first was the Nasi, the second the Ab-beth-dtn. There-
fore we may conclude that the Sanhedrin, according to the Talmudic
conception, was in the main an assembly of Soferim, of those whose
chief interest and experience was in the law in all its bearings. And
yet it could not have been altogether occupied with the techni-
calities which chiefly concerned the Sofertm ; as the constitutional
embodiment of the Jewish State it had political and social functions
to perform. Hence, it is probable that the strictly " legal'' constituent
was supplemented by another which was devoted to affairs.
I, From the Talmud we turn to the New Testament. The whole
complexion of the case changes. The Sanhedrin is composed of
" chief priests, elders, and scribes,'* The ** chief priests" are those who
belong to eminent priestly families, related to the High Priest ; the
" elders " are probably laymen ; the ** scribes," of course, correspond
to the Sofertm. It is further obvious that the High Priest {6 apxtepevy)
is Nasi or President ; it does not, however, follow that the Nasi,
whether he were High Priest or some one else, would be called
6 dpxi€p€vs, such an every-day word could not have been used in
more than one sense. In the New Testament, then, the High Priest
is President of the Sanhedrin. It fdlows that the statements of the
Mishna with regard to the succession of Nasis are untrustworthy. A
further proof of this is the account in Acts y. 34-40 of Gamaliel.
He is none other than the grandson of Hillel, and according to the
Talmud a Nasi of the Sanhedrin ; but in the narrative of S. Luke he
is merely " a Pharisee, a doctor of the law, bad in honour of all the
people." He stands up and speaks in the Council, and delivers his
opinion ; but it is as an ordinary member, not as president.
e. It is clear that the New Testament does not agree with the
Talmud on this subject, nor does Josephus. In the account which he
giyes^ of the summoning of Herod before the Sanhedrin in the reign
of Hyrcanus II. (b.g. 47) we find that the High Priest, who is also
the Prince, is the President of the Sanhedrin, and that Sameas,' who
» Ant. xiv. 9, §§ 8-5.
' It is uncertain whether Zantac is Ht^^ p pyD(^ or H^yDC^. In either
ease the argument above holds good ; for pVDS^ would be Ab-beth-din and
n^yDt^ Nasi ; neither of them, therefore, ordinary members. See Strack,
JHe Spriloke der Voter, p. 12, note h.
Digitized by
Google
344 The Jetrish Quarterly Review.
according to the Talmud was a Nasi, is only an ordinary member.
Again, in two later passages^ Josephas tells us that the High Priest
Hanan II. summoned a avvibpiov Kptr&w on his own authority, and
that Agrippa was petitioned by Le^ites to call a meeting of the
Sanhedrin to obtain a change of law in their favour, and with the
consent of the Council their appeal was allowed by the King. Ooce
more Josephus, in the account of his dealings with the Sanhedrin,
expressly distinguishes Simon, the son of Gamaliel, from Ananas
(Hanan IL), the High Priest'; the former is "of the city 6t
Jerusalem, and of a very noble family, o£ the sect of the Pharisees,*'
certainly not the Nasi as repre^nted in the Talmud.
Thus we see that Josephus agrees with the New Testament as
against the Talmud, and the evidence of the two former is all the
more impressive from the very fact that it is obtained only from
incidental references. In fact, the name of the Supreme Council is
almost the only point common to the three authorities. Having
discussed the constitutional question, the historical naturally comes
next. Does the history of the Jews in the centuries immediately
before and after the Christian era admit of the existence of such a
body as the Talmud describes? Passing over the details which
Kuenen gives in support of his answer, we will notice only the lead-
ing conclusions. They are these : —
a. The form of government under which the Jews lived after the
time of Alexander the Great was practically an aristocracy, or, as
as Josephus puts it, a iroKirtia dptaroKpaTtKq firr dXtyapxiat. The High
Prieot was the heal of the State ; he was associated in authority with
the chief priests (oi dpxifpfU), i.e., members of the great priestly
families who had a seat and voice in the council, supported the
policy of their chief, and set the tone of the government.
Class rule was the order of the day, and the class-rulers were the
priests — 6 dpxifpfvs koI i ycpovaia. The Sanhedrin represented the
aristocratic form of government This exactly tallies with the
accounts in the New Testament and Josephus.
b. The Sanhedrin must have existed from at least the third
century b g. The first mention of it by name occura in Josephus'
account of Hyrcanus IL (above), but a royal edict shows that a
yepova-ia existed in the time of Antiochus the Great (203 B.C.), while
the Books of Maccabees imply that the High Priest was at the head
of it. This council was distinct from the d^/ior, and closely con-
nected with *' elders ani priests." It is difficult to date the origin of
the national senate earlier than the beginning of the Greek age
(330 B.C.). It may have been suggested by the national refonns
> Ant. XX. 9, § 1 and § 6. ' Life, § 38.
Digitized by
Google
Critical Notices. 845
inaogarated by Ezra and Nehemiah, but as an institution it is
unknown at that earlj period. The Talmud refers its foundation to
Moses, but this, of course, cannot be supported any more than the
view that it existed in the days of Ezra, which can only be true if we
suppose, as some have done, that *' the Great Synagogue ^ was the
older name of the Sanhedrin. Now in Ahdth^ " the Great Synagogue"
precedes the *' Pairs,*' i.e.y the Presidents. But we ha^e seen that the
latter are unhistorical, that, in fact, the Sanhedrin was not composed
as the Talmud describes it. The entire conception of this piece of
ancient history is therefore seriously discounted, in fact, it is impos-
sible to accept it. *' The Great Synagogue " may correspond to the
Sanhedrin of the Talmud, but it has little or nothing in common with
the Sanhedrin of history.
0, We are now in a position to account for the development which
the Sanhedrin underwent in the course of its existence. That changes,
due partly to political necessity, partly to religious feeling, were
gradually introduced into its constitution is only what we should
expect. From Josephus, and from the New Testament, it is evident
that at least as early as Hyrcanus II., and down to the destruction of
Jerusalem, the Soferfm or law-men had a place in the assembly. Was
this the case from the first ? If not, when did the change come about ?
We have seen that the government of the State was in the hands of
the priests and their families. Their first concern was religion, but
they were bound also to pay attention to politics. Another party,
however, was rising into power and influence, the party of men whose
sole interest was the Law and the national traditions. They were "the
men of the people," uncompromising champions of the national faith,
exclusive in their view of what the relations should be between Israel
and other peoples. By degrees they forced their way into promi-
nence ; it became impossible to exclude them from the national
senate, and in time the democracy of the Law became established in
opposition to the aristocracy of the Priesthood. The rebellion against
Antiochus Epiphanes was the turning-point in the accession of this
democratic party to power ; they claimed to be the guardians of the
inheritance of Israel ; they were ready to fight and to die for the
faith of their fathers ; in the eye of the nation they were the true
Israelites.^ As they gained predominance in the State the old aris-
tocracy died out, although ^he traditions of the priestly party survived,
and from time to time recovered their supremacy. But henceforth
the party of the Law became a determining factor in the government.
The Talmud itself preserves the tradition of the accession of this
party to a share in the counsels of the nation. It says that John
' Dan. xi. 83, 35 ; xii. 3.
Digitized by
Google
846 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
Hyroanos established the ''Pairs." However anhistorioal this maj
be, it probably contains an element of fact, namely, that the Has-
monean High Priests sanctioned the entry of the Sofertm into the
Sanhedrin.
The qaeetion remains, how did the Talmudio conception of the
Sanhedrin arise ? It is hardly necessary to say that the Mishna and
G^mara were committed to writing long after the aristocracy had lost
their power by the break-up of the Jewish State. By that time the
party of the Law was supreme ; and the doctors of the Talmud held
that the constitution which they were familiar with was the constitu-
tion which had existed from the first. At the sime time, their yiew
contained some details of foot. It is an interesting point to work out
the unmistakable connection between the Talmudio view and Num.
xi. Either the Jews conceived their Sanhedrin on the model of
Num. xi., or the latter must be a post-exilic interpolation. But this is
impossible ; for Num. xi. is an early and independent document.
Therefore, we conclude that the Talmadic doctors fashioned a more
or less ideal constitution on the basis of the Mosaic ordinance, and at
the same time connected it, according to their lights, with what they
knew of the history of their national senate.
It only remains to be said that the translation which Prof. Budde
has given us reads extremely well, and bears clear traces of the
scholar-like and vigorous hand from which it comes. It is a matter
for congratulation that Prof. Budde has found time in the midst of
his own multifarious labours to confer this boon upon all students of
the Old Testament, who, as they use it, will realise afresh how much
they owe to the master-mind of Kuenen.
Magdalen College, G. A. Cooks.
Oxford.
Maimonidea* Arabic Commentary on the Mishnah.
It was the merit of Pocock, the great collector of Hebrew and Arabic
M8S. in the East — a collection which is the pride of the Bodleian
Library — to have begun to edit parts of Maimonides* Arabic Com-
mentary on the Mishnah in his Porta Mosis (Oxford, 1655, and
re-edited in London^ 1740). It contains, not as Pocock wrongly
says, the introduction to the tractate of Zeraim^ but the general
introduction to the Mishnah, folio we i by the commentary on Helek
— ^the tenth chapter of the tractate of Sanhedrin (re edited critically
Digitized by
Google
Critical Notices. 347
by Dr. Wolff^ Rabbi at Gothenbarg, Sweden, under the title of ** The
Eight Chapters/' Leipzig, 1863). There follows ^n the Porta MosiSy
lastly, the introductions to the Sedarim of Qodashim, Tohorot, and, in
an appendix, of Menahot. Since Pocock, the Arabic commentaries
of Maimonides had been used only fragmentarily, by some scholars
who had access to the libraries which contain such MSS., until
Professsor Barth, of Berlin, continued Pocock's tradition by
publishing the Arabic Commentary^ with an emended Hebrew
translation of the tractate of Mdkkoth (Berlin, 1879 and 1880).
The veteran Semitic scholar, M. J. Derenbourg, member of the
French Institute, undertook a gigantic labour, viz., the Arabic
Commentary, with a correct Hebrew translation, which was pub-
lished by the society called D^DIIJ ^^^pO, 1886 to 1892. In-
deed the Hebrew translation, as printed in some editions of the
Mishnah, and in nearly all editions of the Babylonian Talmud, is
scarcely intelligible, for the translator was in fact less than a
mediocre Arabic scholar, and did not understand Maimonides.
These editions are besides full of typographical mistakes. We
should have expected that a literary society for the publication of
Maimonides' Commentary on the Mishnah would have been formed
under the direction of the Paris savant, as is the case for the pub-
lication of Saadiah Gaoo's works, in print and in MSS. Alas ! such
was not the case, for the rich Jews do not care for the glory of
past Judaism, and no means were forthcoming for the honour of
Maimonides. Maimonides now has to rely upon candidates for
the doctor's degree in German universities, some of whom
take up small parts of his Comtnentary as their thesis, and some
fragments have been published in volumes of collected essays. We
are afraid that their best efforts are not equal to the difficult task.
The candidates are, in the first instance, too young for such a critical
edition, and, on the other hand, they have no material means for
bringing out the Commentary on whole tractates. Thus we get from
them only fragments, for which they had no means for consulting the
best MSS. Of these fragmentary editions we may mention up to
date the following : — The commentaries on Aboth I. and on llosh
Hashanah I. 3 and III. 1 (Berlin, 1890, in the Jiibelsschrifty dedicated
to Dr. J. Hildesheimer on the occasion of his seventieth year). In
dissertations were treated, from 1891 to 1894, the Arabic commenta-
ries, with the corrected Hebrew translations, on the tractates
Berdkhot^ Kilayim Demai^ and Sanhedrtn (I. to III.).
We have now before us the edition of the Arabic Commentary
of the tractate Peah, with the corrected Hebrew translation, edited
by Dr. David Herzog, which is again the subject of a dissertation,
with instructive notes, on the orthography of the MSS. he used, aa
Digitized by
Google
348 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
well as on lexicographical points. We may expect soon the edition
of the tractates Betsa and Hulin, as far as we know also in a disserta-
tion. It will be seen that these authors do not try to complete one
Seder of the Mishoah, neither agree abont the uniformity of the size.
Thas we may say that of Maimonides* Arable Commentary on the
Mishnah only Seder Tohorot (or Toharot) is published.
A. Neubauer.
Introduction to the Chronicle called nni uh'W ">"JD (in Hebrew), by
Bar Ratner. Part I. Wilna. 1894.
The author has undertaken a most difficult task with relation to
the composition of the Chronicle, usually attributed to R. Yose ben
Halafta. The real title of it, as will be seen from the edition in
Mediaval Chronicles II., which will appear soon, is oSy "no, as it is
stated in the Egyptian fragments of it ; the epithet, H^l, ** the
great,'' sprang up when another Chronicle was composed, most likely
in the ninth century a.d., which is called WOIT D?iy "no {The Minor
Chronicle of the World). After a short preface about the method of
this introduction, M. Ratner gives his minute studies and results in
tweaty-two chapters, which we 8hall indicate only, for it is impossible
to go into details of the thousand quotations frona Talmulic and
oasuistio literature. First-, naturally comes the investigation con-
cerning the author of our Chronicle, the result of which is that,
according to quotations in ihe Talmudic literature, R. Yose can-
not be the author of it. Here comes a chapter about the data
of the work, which, according to M. Ratner, was composed before
the Mishnah was settled, since quotations in the Mishnah are
excerpted anonymously from our Chronicle, and the Babylonian
Talmud mentions it. The third chapter states the use of Pales-
tinian Midrashim. The Jerusalem Talmud seems not to quote our
Chronicle distinctly,, but many quotations are certainly derived
from it. Next, it is stated that R. Johanan is the compiler of our
Chronicle as it lies before us. The sixth chapter shows that the
Seder Olam was not always at the disposal of the Rabbis of the Tal-
muds and the Midrashim. Next come proofs that the Geonim, down
to the Tosaphists, had not always the Sed&r Olam at their disposal.
Our author follows up with an important chapter, where it is stated
that the quotations of the Mishnah and the Talmud from our
Chronicle are different from the printed text The tenth chapter
Digitized by
Google
Critical Notices. 349
has for its object the yariations of passages of the Bible with those
quoted in oar Chronicle, and also in the Babylonian Talmud. The
next chapter treats of the sources of which the compiler of the
Chronicle made use ; they are the older Midra^him, then the books
mentioned in the Bible now lost, Josephua, Sirach, the Book of
Jubilees, and non- Jewish historical books. Here our author shows
yery little sense of criticism. If the compiler of oar Cbronicle made
use of Josephus, he could not haye had at his disposal the lost books
mentioned in the Bible. Next follow chapters concerning the history
of Edom, Aram, Philistia, Assyria, and Persia. The following
chapter refers chiefly to the history of the text of the Seder Olamy
where also some MSS. are described, chiefly the one in the Bodleian,
and another in the Royal Library of Muoich, and many which the
Yalqut Shimooi had at his disposal, and, finally, commentaries on the
Seder Olatn now lost, which existed in the eleyeiith century. The
twentieth chapter u a criticism upon Zunz concemiug the Seder
Olam, Next comes the question of the commentary by the famous
E. Elia Wilna. In all these chapters a great knowledge of Talmud,
Midrash, and of later literature i^ displayed ; indeed, the yerification
of M. Ratner's quotations would take months. We hope that he will
publish soon the second part of his work, yif., Tlu Text of the Two
Version* of Seder Olam,
A. Neubauer.
Studien zum Buehe Tobit, Yon Dr. M. Rosenmann, Berlin, 1894.
The enigmatic apocr3rphal book of Tobit has been left untoached
by critics since 1879, when Professor Noldeke wrote an exhaustive
article in Monatsberiehte of the Academy of Berlin, on the occasion of
the publication of the Aramaic text of it. It appeared that the last
word had been sail concerning this charming apocryphon. But it
seems that this is not the case, for a young student points out in his
monograph as aboye (apparently a doctor's dts*«ertation) facts in this
book not noticed by predecessors. After a short introduction, dealing
chiefly with the bibliography concerniug Tobit, our author treats, 1, of
the marriage of agnates which occurs in Tobit, known from Num.
xxxyi. 6, and one which is also the object of the book of Ruth. Dr.
Rosenmann concludes that, since the Pharisees ueyer, eyen in theory,
meution this custom in the TaLnud, and, in addition to this, that the
MegUlat Taanit mentions the abolition of it, and since the Pharisees
VOL. VII. A A
Digitized by
Google
350 The Jewish Quarterli/ Review.
arose in the time of John Hyreanna (136 to 105), the book of Tobit
conld not have been written earlier than the first century B.C. 2.
Next it is pointed oat that Noah is called a prophet, jnst as in the
book of the Jubilees, and that he did not marry a foreign woman ;
her name is not given, but is mentioned in the Jubilees as Ensareh.
No conclusion as to the date of Tobit's parallel passages (iy. 13-15)
is given. 3, treats of the destruction of Nineveh ; 4, deals with
Tobit's view of Leviticus xix. 13^, 17, 18. 5. The next part
is instructive concerning the formalities of betrothal, from which
the conclusion is drawn that Tobit must have been written be-
tween the post-biblical epoch and the Talmudio period. What
was the approximative time for the former and the latter? The
sixth part treats of iv. 17, viz., the patting meals on the tombs,
the opinions of most interpreters are discussed. 7. Next comes
a chapter on the eschatology in Tobit, from which our author finds
that Tobit knows only of one destruction of the Temple, that of
Nebuchadnezzar ; he mentions the ten tribes, who will return without
a Messiah, and makes no allusion to a resurrection, which excludes
the possibility that the book is a product of the schools of the
Talmud, more especially since Aqiba says that the ten tribes are lost
for ever. The concluding chapter is devoted to the Greek recen-
sions A and B, of which A is the older, while B is a paraphrasis
composed in the second centary b.c. Our author has forgotten to
give the date of the book of the Jubilees, which the author of Tobit
seemed to know, and also whether the original of Tobit was Hebrew
or Greek, for in the latter case the refutation from Talmudic sources
would vanish.
A. Nbubauer.
^^ Light of Shade and Lamp of Wisdom,^* being Hebrew- Arabic
Homilies, composed by Nathanel ibn Yeshaya (1327). De-
scribed, annotated, and abstracted by Bev. Alexander Kohut,
Ph.D. New York, 1894, etc
The description of this interesting work of a Yemen Rabbi forms the
second part of the " Studies in Yemen- Hebrew Literature," published
as the Fourth Biennial Report of the Jewish Theological Seminary
Association in New York. This institution deserves all praise for
having followed the example of the Rabbinical schools of Breslau,
Berlin, Budapest, Vienna, and Ramf>gate, in adding to the annual
reports an essay on Jewish literature. Paris and London, we hope,
Digitized by
Google
Ctitical Notices. 351
will soon follow in the same way. If we are not mistaken, it was
on my lamented friend, Alexander Kohut's, instigation that one
Rabbinical seminary in New York gave a sign of literary life, which
he himself began when very young ; and we may say he sacrificed his
life to Jewish studies, for alas ! he died in the prime of his years.
Deep sorrow prevents ns from giving a picture of Dr. Kohut's life
and activity ; and his son, George Alexander, has appended to the
present report a memoir of his father's literary work. Moreover,
my personal acquaintance with A. Kohut began only in December,
1874, when I met him in London, where he came to collect subscribers
for the publication of his life-work, t.e., the Artieh Completum; risking
his health, for he was brought up in a dry climate, he came to England
in the depth of fogs and raios. His success was very small, and he
found no Mscenas either in London or in Paris. Indeed, had he not
been called to a Rabbinate at New York, where he found the Mscenas
in J. H. Schiff, Esq., his life-work wonld have died in its in&ncy. I
call it " hb life-work,'' in spite of what critics said of his Aruch ; they
have indeed judged the work without considering the difficulties
which my lamented friend had to overcome. It is, and will remain,
a standard work. If Kohut has explained many foreign words in
the Talmudic literature from the old Persian instead of the Greek,
the critic ought to have remembered that the editor worked in
the mines of Persian literature and lexicography so long — it must
not be forgotten that Alexander Kohut was the first to explain
Persian influence as to religious and myotic ideas in the Talmud —
as to become so fond of this language that he found the foreign
words in the Talmud nearer to it than to Greek. Was the severe
critic (who is one of my dearest friends) always sure of his explana-
nation from the Greek ? Perhaps not ; we are indeed far from the time
when we shall stand on firm ground concerning a definite solution of
the foreign words in the Talmud. That the editor of the Aruch Com-
pletum has intentionally borrowed from Levi's Talmudic Dictionary
without acknowledging it we cannot believe ; it must have been by
pure chance when he quoted the same passages as Levi did, since both
lexicographers were acquainted with the same Talmud.
But let us forget all these quibbles, and let us say a few words on
the new path of literature on which my lamented friend entered
during the last years of his painful life. He took a fancy to the
Jewish Yemen literature, which turned up suddenly in America,
through the indefatigable Mr. Deinard, of Odessa, who had to leave
Russia suddenly. The Libraries of Europe, public as well as private,
were already provided with Yemen MSS., brought from Yemen by
various travellers, when Mr. Deinard visited the East and brought
consequently many duplicates. They had thence to wander to
A A 2
Digitized by
Google
352 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
America, together with many belonging to the late Mr. Shapiri, some
to New York, and more to the Sutro Library in San Francisco. A.
Kohut got restless, and was eager to contiuue his activity by publish-
ing Yemen MSS. la 1892, he broaght out exhaustive notes extracted
from Dhamari*s Commentary on the Pentateuch (see Jewish Quar-
terly Review, Y., page 338) ; this was followed by the publication
of Saadyah Gaon's H'^oyc^'in, of which the last part appeared after
his death (in the Monatsschrift ot Breslau, vol. xxxvii.), as well as
the poetical pieces which precede each Sidr^ in the Midrash Haggadol
(ibid,, vol. xxxviii.), and finally the present essay, which I shall
notice only very shortly.
Nethanel, son of Isaiah, wrote in 1327 A.D., a homiletical com-
mentary on the Pentateuch, MSS. of which are to be found in the
British Museum, in the Bodleian Library, in the Berlin Royal
Library, and some in private possession. Our lamented friend rightly
identifies the Ibn Yeshiyah quoted in an anonymoas Yemen Midrash
with our author ; I have overlo«)ked this in my Catalogue, and the
dates mentioned by our Nethanel are better given by Alexander
Kohut than in other descriptions of this Midrash ; inde'id, the date
given in Kohut's minograpb, p. 16. is to be foanl in the Bodleian
copy also ; on the otht^r hand, the New York MS. has more introduc-
tory passages in V6i>e than that in the Bodleian. The figures and
diagramM are the same as in the Bodleian Library, b it they are so
faiicif • 1 that it was not worth while mentioning them in my
catalogue. These observations concern the first chapter. In the
second A. Kohut gives the sources of Ibn Yeshayah, Hebrew as
well as Arabic, with the passages where they occur. These authori-
ties are nol unknown. The third chapter is headed '* Characteristic
Features," where the part on the geographical n>imes is instructive ;
so are also the polemical passages pro and contra Islam and Christi-
anity, and the philological notes. The monograph concludes with an
Appendix containing selections. Considering the state o^ health the
deceased was in for some years, it is antouishins; how well the mono-
graph was carried through the press ; still there are slips besides
those given amongst the errata on the last page.
If I mention that my lamented friend intended to continue his
Yemen publications by editing the text of the Midrashim, of which
two are so fully described in the two reports, scholars will understand
what we have lo4 by the premature death of the editor of the
Afuch Completutn. fi ^i i h
A. Neubauer.
Digitized by
Google
Cntical Notices, 353
Oeschichte der Juden in Rom von der dltesten Zeit bis zur Qegenmart
(2,060 Jahre). Von Dr. A. Berliner. Frankfurt am Main, 1893.
Two vols. (History of the Jews at RDoie from the earliest time
to the present, comprising 2,050 years.)
Nobody coald have been better prepared for writing the later history
of the Jews at Rome than Dr. Berliner, who has paid so many viHits
to Rome, not only to investigate the Hebrew MSS. in the Vatican
Library, but also the Municipal documents conoeming the Jews.
As forerunners he has already pnblished two important pamphlets,
viz., Aus den letzten Tagen des ro^nischen Ohetto (1886), and Censur
Uftd Confiscation hebr'discher B'ucher itn Kirchenstaate (1891), as well
as articles which appeared in his Magazin fur die Wissenschaft des
Judenthums^ and elsewhere.
The work is divided into two volumes. Vol. I. has for its object
the history of the Jews in heathen Rome, viz , from 160 B.C. to 315
A.D. Here we cannot expect many new facts, after Mommsen's
History of RomCy and P. Manf rin's Oli Ebrei sotto la dominazione
romana. Still, the complete apergu of this epo^h is useful, and more
especially the translation of the inscriptions in the catacombs.
The second volume has for its object the history of the Jews in
Christian Rome (viz., from 315 a.d. to 1885), which is divided into
two parts : (1) From the beginning of the Christian domination (315)
to the exile into the Ghetto (1555) ; (2) From 1555 to 1885. The first
mention of a Jewish community at Rome is under Pope Gregory
the Great ; but it is most likely that the Jewd had remained in
Rome through all vicissitude?. Dr. Berliner discusses the synigo^aes
which are reportei at Rome, of which he mentions the PorcaleonCf
Bozecco, and Gallichi ; others remain doubtful.
Here follows a chapter which will be new for thon who read, for
instance, M. Rodocanachi's book on the Ghetto ; it treats of ths
literary occupation of the Jews at Rome. The fir«t place is given
to the famous liturgist, Eleazar Qilir, who, according to an hypo-
thesis, lived in the eighth century at Portus, near Rome. It is not
the place here to discuss this hypothesis. Dr. Harkivy, who believes,
and perhaps rightly, that Qalir lived in Palestine (Tiberias), promises
to bring forward his arguments, which we await with curiosity. The
first literary Jew who may be said to belong to Rome with certainty
was Meehnllam ben Qalonymos, of Lucca. The Talmud scholars at
Rome were, according to Haya Gaon (1032), not very important. Dr.
Berliner mentions &mily names in Hebrew which were found at Rome,
such as D^nKH {de Rossi), D^nisnn (de Pomis), Dny^n {Oiovani),
and others. There were many physicians and artisans. The pride of
Digitized by
Google
.*554 Tlie Jewiah Quarterly Review.
Jewish learning at Rome was the famons Nathan, son of Jehiel,
author of the Aruoh. The father, as well as the two hr.)thers, Abra-
ham and Daniel, are also known ; they are quoted as the "\ n^3 ^31^3
?t<^n\ The words of Benjamin of Tudela concerning his visit to
Rome are then giv^n (in German translation). The classical epoch
finishes with the poet Immannel ben Solomon, the friend of Dante,
and the sons of Abraham, ")^yv, Benjamin, and the more celebrated
Zedekia.
Next comes a chapter on the last Pope at Rome before the transfer
to Avignon. It was Bonifacius YIII., one who could not bear oppo-
sition, and naturally the Jews were the first to feel his hand. Still,
he favoured the Jewish physician, Angelo Manuel, whom he styled
" familiaris.** In a following chapter we find the names of I^Aac
Zarphati, Bonet de Lates, Jacob Mantino, Obadja Sforno, Elia
Bachur, and others, concluding with the famous David Reubeni
and Solomon Molkho. This carries us on to the sixteenth century,
when we find at Rome seven synagogues, u<ed by the Jews
who immigrated from various countries, such as Italy, Catalonia,
Castile, Sicily, besides the German and French Jewish colony, who
had no special sjmagogue. Many of these synagogues had to be given
up when the Jews were relegated to the Ghett'^. This chapter is
full of interest for the interior history of the Jews at Rome, being
taken from documents in the Jewish archives. In these portions
Dr. Berliner*s book is original, and very instructive. And with this
ends Part I. of the second volume, which is followed by learned
notes oonceming the literary names mentioned.
We come now to the second par^, which begins with Cardinal Car-
raffa, later on Pope Paul lY. (1555), who cut all the threads of life
of the Jews by forbidding them to exist except in the Ghetto. This
part is indeed, on the whole, the most interesting of Dr. Berliner*s book,
and here are original documents in abundance. In the fourth chapter
is given still more of the interior history of the Jews in Rome. The
indexes which follow each volume greatly facilitate the finding of
facts and literary matters. The last is completely ignored in M.
Rodocanachi*s excellent book on the Ghetto, This second part does
not lack notes concerning the documents used by the author.
Dr. Berliner has done well to dedicate the first volume to F. D.
Mocatta, Esq., an English Msacenas for Jewish literature, and the
second to the memory of Samuel Alatri and Isidore Loeb. He
also acknowledges his thanks to the keepers of various archives at
Rome, and more especially to Signer Tranquillo Ascarelli, and his
colleague, Signer Orescenso Alatri, who put their knowledge of the
Jewish archives at Dr. Berliner's disposal.
A. Necbauer.
Digitized by
Google
Critieal Notices, 355
Bemarks of the Qaraite Abu-Ytutif Yaqub al-Qirqisani by Dr. A.
Harkavy. Extract from the Bosaian " ArchsBologlcal Journal/'
t. yill.| pages 247 to 321, with the title in Russian : IsvesHa
Karaitna Ahu-Jusufa Jakvba al-Kvrkuani ove Yevreiskich Sektaoh.
Amongst the Karaitio treasures in the Imperial Library of St.
Petersburg is to be found the theological work in Arabic of Jacob
of Kirqisi (the old town of Circesium on the Euphrates), written in
937 A.D., with the title, " Book of Lights and Obserrations,*' divided
into thirteen parts, of which the first contains an extended introduc-
tion, where the author, amongst other subjects, gives an account of the
Jewish sects according to his knowledge. Of this interesting part Dr.
Harkavy published the text in extenso^ after having furnished some
details of our author as well as an enumeration of his extant works
and of those only known by quotations. The beginning of the first
chapter is unfortunately mlssiag; it seems to have contained the
history of the origin of Qaraism, in Persia chiefly, but also elsewhere.
We know most of these facts from later Qaraitic writers, who no
doubt made use of Qirqisani*s treatise. In the second chapter, ojr
author gives the history of the various Jewish sects, with the dates
of their appearance. They are the following : {a) the Samaritans ;
{h) the Babbanites, during the Second Temple, beginning with Simon
the Just ; (e) the Sadducees, beginning with Zadoc and Boetos ; {d)
the Maghars, or men of the Cave, one of them having the name
AUIskanderani (the man of Alexandria), whose book is the most
celebrated amongst this sect. Tbere is also a small book with the title
of T^W *1&D, which is also precious for the men of this sect ; Dr. Har-
kavy suggests that by *' this sect '' the Essenes are meant, {e) There
rose in the time of the Boman emperors Isi (Jesus) son of Miryam,
who was crucified at the instigation of Babbanites. {f) The
Qariats who were found, as it is said, on the Nile, 20 Pharsangs
from Fostat. {jg) Then come the divisions of the Babbanites, viz,^
the schools of Hillel and of Shamai. (Ji) Then follow the various
forerunners of Qaraism. (1) Abu Isi of Ispahan, called Obadiah, and
his followers, who were called Isuytn, at Damascus ; (2) Yudgan,
who it is said was a pupil of the former ; (3) The chief of the captivity,
the famous Anan, a contemporary of Khalif Abu Jafar al-Mansur
(780), who was very learned in Babbinic matters, and whose work
was translated from Aramaic into Hebrew by Haya Gaon and his
father. Here the liturgist Tanai is mentioned. (4) Then followed
Ishmael of Ocbar, in the days of the Khalif Al-AIustazun billah
(942 A.D.). (5) After him comes Benjamin of Nehawend, who was
also learned in Babbinic matters. (6) Abi Amran of Tiflia (in Ar-
Digitized by
Google
8o6 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
menia). called also Musa al Sat' rail of Bagdad ; (7) Malk al-Ramleh,
Mish'yah of Debar ; (8) Daniel of Qums, also called al Damagani.
Qirqisani says : " This is all which reached us of these sects. The
Qaraites of this time, who are derived from these yarioos sects,
differ so much, that we find scarcely two of them agreeiog."
The third part contains the differences amongst the Rabbanites
concerning precepts and ceremoaies. The next chapter treats of
those who represent God in a human dress, and attribute to
him human action, such as we find in the books with the title
rxty^p lirK', r\y\>V m nrniK, the book attributed to Tshmael (the
high priest), better known with the title of ^XyOK^ "11 nib^H ;
some others of these attributes are quoted in the Talmud, in the
ethical treatise called KDH HMT (in the MSS. sometimes followed
by nUK nSDD). There are also mentioned extracts from the
following treatises, viz., DiHO inD, SKHK nSlK^n and 31 03 niD^^a
Chapters v. to vii. give an account of the ritual of the H^maritans,
of the Sadducees and the dwellers in caves. The eighth chapter
has for its object the Christian religion, and is the oldest known
document of the kind written by a Jew ; here we learn for the first
time that David al-Moqametz, a philosopher quoted by Abraham and
Moses ibn Ezra, and also by Jeiaiah of Bi^iiers (see Histoire LiiUraire
de la Franoe^ t. XXXL, p. 380, note 6, and addenda) was converted
to Christianity, and that he translated from the Christian books, (in
Syriac ?) a commentary on Genesis and oa Ecolesiastes. It is said
that David was converted at Nisibis by a man called K3ftO, for which
Dr. Harkavy proposes D1^3, i.e.^ Nonnus. David's criticism on the
Gospel is curious, and worth while translating in extenso. The full
name of Alnoqanietz is David ben Merwan ar-Baqi, known as Y^P^^^ ;
this last expression Dr. Harkavy proposes to translate " the leaper "
(Hebrew f DpD^K), t.«., David leaped from Judaism to Christianity,
and probably back to Judaism, otherwise he would scarcely be men-
tioned by the Jewish authorities. Perhaps, however, the Arabic word
yoptht^ is formed from the word Y^^P " & shirt or cloak,'* and meant
*' putting on another dress.' The ninth chapter treats of the habits
of the sect n^JDp^X, who agree partly with the Samaritans and partly
lean towards the Christians ; for instance, they keep both the Sab-
bath and the Sunday. Our author says here that he once believed
that the sect of n^yip7K sprang up after Christianity, until he read
the book of al-Moqametz with the title of ,^2<i^p^ nXJlS (^^^
meaning of which is uncertain), where it is said that Christianity
is a combination of Sadduceeism and the sect called n^yip7K. The
tenth ch:ipter treats of the ceremonial differences between the
Digitized by
Google
Critical Notices. 357
Babbis in Syria and Babylonia (Irak). Ohapfcers xi. to xviii.
gi^e the ceremonial differences between the Qaraitic sects mentioned
aboire. Finally the last chapter treats of ritual differences between
the Qaraites of the time of our author and earlier, from the sects
mentioned above.
It is certain that Jehudah Hadasi, in his book with the title of
IBIDn PIDS'i* § 91 (MS. 88), made use of Qirqisani*s present treatise,
either ii ttie original Arabic or in a Hebrew translation. Whether
Arabic writers, such as Masudi, Sharestani and more especially
Maqrizi, who treat more or less of Jewish sects, knew Qirqisani's
work is doubtful This will have to be carefully investigated by
any one who undertakes to give us the history of the Jewish
sects according to Arabic and Hebrew sources. Bat it is difi&cult
to take advantage of Dr. Harkavy's learned introduction to his
present monograph, because it is writien in Russian, a language
nearly unknown to Jewish scholars out of Russia. The same is
the case with the Hungarian monthly Szemle^ which has often use-
ful pages concerning Jewish literature, that are lost for all except
those who are educated in the Hungarian schools. The result is
that they are consequently passed over, which will be the case
also with articles and essays written in Russian. Patriotism is
not hecessarily shown either by language or by religion. We
hope that Mr. Thatcher, of Mansfield College, Oxford, who is busy
with a monograph on the Jewish sects, will be able to make more
ample use of Dr. Harkavy's learned essay, than we could, by the
kind assistance of Mr. W. MorfiU, Slavonic Reader in the University
of Oxford. He will moreover give Hadassi's information according '
to MSS., and not according to the mutilated edition of Gozlow
(Crimea).
A. Neubauer.
Studien zur Geschichte der Orthograpkte des Althebrdischen von
Dr. Leo Bardowicz, Rabbiner der Isfaelit. Gemeinde in
Moedling, Francfort-on-the-Main, J. Kauffmann, 1894, viii.
and 112 pp.
The object of Dr. Bardowicz's treatise is to demonstrate that the vowel
letters alefy hij waw^ and yOd were not used so frequently in the Bible
MSS. of the Talaiudic epoch as in the masoretic text. He maintains
Wellhausen's theory that the employment of the vowel letters was
Digitized by
Google
358 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
left to the choice of the scribes^ bat that the orthography was
definitely fixed in the first century, or later on by the Ifaaora.
Sapplementing this Dr. Bardowioz tries to show that this deficiency
of vowel letters lasted seyeral centuries longer. He supports his
theory not only by passages from Talmud and Midrash with varying
orthography, but also by the assertion that in those times the matret
leetionis were easily dispensed with. On the other hand he endeavours
to poiat out that the rabbinical prohibition of writing defectiva plene
and plena dtfeetive was not known till the time of MaimCinL Consider-
ing the complicated and rather unsettled nature of the subject, a
lucid exposition of the way in which the vowel letters gradually pene-
trated tiie text of the Bible would be of the highcBt importance.
In reading Dr. Bardowicz^s book we cannot help appreciating the
clearness of his propositions, the methodical arrangement of the matters
under discussion, and particularly his intimacy uot only with the litera-
tures from which he draws his arguments, but also with the writings
of modem scholars on the subject.
It is, however, a different question whether our real knowledge of
the subject has been furthered by Dr. Bardowics s learned investiga-
tions. Do we now see clearer when and how the vowel letters— and
this is ihepunetum saliens — came to be employed in the earliest copies
of the Old Testament? This is doubtful. The uncertainty in this
respect remains the same as before. It is significant how cautiously
Noeldeke expresses himself in his review of Wellhausen's theory on the
subject which Dr. Bardowicz otherwise justly considers the most impor-
tant progress in the investigation of the question. Now Ghwolson, in
his essay on the quiescent letters, starting from the example of the Old
Phoenician incriptions, is justified in drawing conclusions for Hebrew,
but he decidedly goes too far. The Mesha inscription (ninth cen-
tury), the genuineness of which is no more doubted, and of which the
language more nearly approaches the Hebrew of the Old Testament
than the Phoenician, shows in contradistinction to the latter a
rather regular employment of the vowel letters at the end of words,
and an occasional one in the middle. In the Siloah stone, which is
more than one hundred and fifty years younger, and written in the best
biblical style, we find vowel letters at least regularly in the Auslaut.
Dr. Bardowicz has omitted to take these facts into account at all,
but they certainly give more conclusive evidence than the far younger
sources, by means of which he endeavours to prove the contrary.
The quotations from Ben Asher are rather colourless, as they admit
both full and defective scriptions. The second one is, moreover,
incorrectly translated, as DMfi^ D^DSn ^DO simply means, ** From the
mouth of doctors instituted,** and probably does not refer to " the
sages "in the rabbinical sense at all. Dr. Bardowicz himself cannot help
Digitized by
Google
Critical Notices, 359
admitting that the orthography of Talmud and Midrash as handed
down to OR, is itself open to much comment. The pawage from
the Midra«h quoted (sub. D) may serve as an example where,
as Dr. Bardowicz rather timidly suggests, we should naturally read,
K -^n^ K-»pDnK^ KOn b (instead of HDH), signifying that the K—
just as in K"t^^, sub. E — is quiescent (in contradistinction to other
forms, as Num. xy. 24, etc.). From Benveniste's observation we
only gather that the evidences from Talmudical passages are
not absolutely to be relied on. Their defective orthography may
also have other reasons, such as economy of space, time, writing
material, etc.
In this confusion, the real solution of the question may be found
midway. We have in all probability to distingaish between the
official text preserved in the Scrolls, and copies manufactured for
public and private studies. As to the former, it will apparently re-
main difficult to come to any safe conclusion at all ; but with respect
to the latter, greater liberty may have been allowed, and here Dr.
Bardowicz's arguments are also much more satis&ctory. In parti-
cular those adduced in Chap. IL deserve attention. At all events.
Dr. Bardowicz has, with great industry and learning, compiled a large
mass of valuable material, for which we are indebted to him.
H. HiRSCHFELD.
HTV* "IDD Das Buch der Schopfung. Noch den sdmmthchen Recen-
sionen moylichst kritisch redigirter Text, nebst Uebersetzung^
Varianten, Anmerkungen, Hrkldrungen und einer atis/uhrlichen
EinUitung, von Lazabus Goldsghmidt. Frankfort-on-the-Main :
J. Eauffmann (in commission). 1894.
Mr. Goldsghmidt does not seem to be satisfied with the lesson
given him by Dr. Neubauer in the Guardian (May, 1894), although
its explicitness left nothing to be desired. However unpleasant the
tank, we must estimate his latest production at its true value, lest those
who hope to find a scientific work be disappointed. Mr. G. correctly
anticipates that his Schroffheit — or rather impertinence — will meet
with disapprobation, but this *^ does not induce him to suppress the
truth." There is a great difference between truth, or what he styles
truth, and the arrogance with which a tyro criticises Zanz, Graetz,
and other scholars, in terms which would even be quite unbecoming
between equals in age and importance. His translation of the begin-
ning of Saaiyah's Arabic Commentary is wrong. Saadyah does not
Digitized by
Google
360 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
say that Abraham was the author of the S. J., but that it was ascribed
to him, which the Hebrew translator expresses p^H 3K DB' bv "^K
HlpX The following conolosion is rather amusing : — Because the
author of the 8. Y, speaks Hebrew, the book must have been
written in a time when Hebrew was spoken. It was therefore
composed in the second century B.C. In spite of his assertions on
the title-page, Mr. G. has not consulted all the recensions of the
text, but he distorted the latter considerably. Let us hope that he
will in future be more conscientious and painstaking.
H. HiRSGHFELD.
Digitized by
Google
Literary Gleanings. 361
LITERARY GLEANINGS.
By Dk. a. Neubauer.
XII.
Tlie Hebrew Bible in Shorthand Writing.
No mediaeval literature contains eo many abbreyiations as the
Jewish in the Hebrew commentaries on the Bible, ani the Talmudtc
treatises, and more especially in the stupendoas literature of the
casuistic Beaponsa. These abbreviations may be counted by the thou-
sand, and they are moreover increased even now by writer-t who still use
the Rabbinical language. Attempts to solve these abbreviations have
been made since Buxtorf in his De Ahbreviaturis HebraiciSy etc.,
Basel, 1640, up to the present time by the Abb^ Perreau of Parma in
his 1,700 Abbreviature e sif/le (P&cms,j 1882), Autografia in 60 copies.
These abbreviated forms consist chiefly of words of which the initial
letters only are given ; e.ff.j to take the most common instances, the
expression gj y x, which represents the words m^ ^j; »(<> "although,"
and }]2* which means Q^f\ niii* " blessed be God." But the greatest
difficulty is felt in the solution of proper names. Let us take for
instance a very frequent one, which is j^xi) ^^ which the -^ represents
always the word Rabbi, the other three letters, viz., p^ may be Abra-
ham ben (son of) Nathan, but also son of Nahman, of Nissim, or any
other whose name begins «vith the letter n, not to speak of the fact
that the ^ (Abraham) may represent names like Ahron, Elijah, Aryeh,
and so on. It was economy of time and of paper which was the
cause of the^e numerous abbreviations. In early manuscripts of the
Talmud literature, we find fewer abridged forms of names and other
expressions, but it is well known that disciples of the Talmud schools
in Babylonia marke<i with initial letters the subjects which were taught
there ; these marks are usually called }0^D, which represents the Greek
word arffieiov. When the Talmud was written down these moemonic
letters disappeared, but traces of them have remained in manuscripts
of the Talmud, many of which were faithfully reproduced in the
editions. The manuscripts, however, vary for these mnemooical
letters. With this mode of putting down what the schools had taught,
a Babbi could carry in his pocket the whole Talmud teaching, as
concerns the Halakha\ without noting down the detailed discussions ;
those were loft to memory, with which the Eastern nations, and more
Digitized by
Google
362 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
especially those of the Semitic race, are gifted. Nowadays there are
Jewish boys who know by heart the Hebrew Pentatetich, with the
Aramaic translation, the Psalms, the Prophetic Lessons, the Fiye Scrolls,
and frequently with the commentary of Bashi. There are many
youDg and old rabbis who know the Mishnah and the Babylonian
Talmud in such a way that they will not only hit upon the tractate
and the folio where a passage occurs, but also recite the whole folio
with the preceding or foUowiog passage. The same is the case with
the Arabs for the Koran and the important commentators, such as
Baidhawi,. Zamakshari, as well as for medical and astronomical books.
The Big Veda, and perhaps all the Yedas, were kept by memory for a
long time.
Was the Bible or any part of it written in shorthand writing?
This question has never been asked by any of the numerous Bible critics.
Indeed, if that were the case, many emendations proposed by them
could perhaps be explained by the tachygraphic%l method of writing.
Traces of such short writing are mentioned in the Talmudic literature
by the word pp^TlDO, pm-apiKSPf notaricurn^ of which the Greek and the
Latin forms are not found in lexicons, but the form is certain by the
many quotations in the Talmudic literature eioept in the Targum snd
the Tosef tha (see Samuel Kraush' able es<*ay, with the title of Zar
griechischen und lateinischen Lexicographic aus jadischcn Qucllen^ in
the Byzantinische Zeitschrifty II. 3 and 4, p. 515), and it means short-
hand writing. There are, however, two kinds of it in classical times :
1. The Boman one, where a letter represents a whole word ; 2, The
Greek, where the letters are shortened. Herr Krauss {loe, eit,, p. 513)
is of opinion, and we agree with him, that the Bibbis have accepted
the Boman method of shorthand writing. His proofs are the
following : 1, The passage in the MishnahXJomi, III. 10), where it is
said that the pious Helena, Queen of Adiabene, had made for the
temple at Jerutialem a golden plate, on which the law for adultery
(Numbers vl 1 to 21) Was engraved (3nT hz^ vhl^ nn^ KNT 5|K
n'hv nainD nOID nX^lS'^). 2, Simeon ben Laqish, in the name of
Jannai (about 230 A. D.) adds (B. T. Gittin, fol. 60*) n*3 t{?H2 ,
which Bashi rightly explains by nn^nn ^e^"), i.e,, the initial letters
of the words.
Another trace of short writing in the Talmud is to be found in the
saying of B. Simeon, who says that hj writing on th-i Sabbath the
two Alephs (KK; of the word TITKK (Isaiah xlv. 5) the Sabbath is
profaned (for the word ^T^my which occurs in this passage see S.
Kraura, loc. cit, p. 513). The shorthand form seems to be mentioned
also in the Pal. Talmud (Megillah, fol. 73% col. 2, 1. 32), where it is
said that the scroll of Esther may be written for the Synagogue use
Digitized by
Google
Literary Oleanings, 363
in shorthand writing (ntD1^3^:i y\TO nn^n^; see Kranss, loo. eit.^ p. 514,
who solyes the enigmatic word pt^^^^^^ with the Latin eognitum^ %.e,^
\Vy\'^y\y ; not to he foand in that sense. Might not ptd1^3^:i represent
a possible popular form yiyvwov from yiy vtaaKtu ? Perhaps after all, the
reading of piD73n — biyXorrovy " in two language?,'' is preferable. See
Dr. Blau's able monograph, which has just appeared (p. 90) with the
title of Zar EinlettUng in die Beilige Schrift. Herr Krauss adduces the
passage in the Midrash Tillim (fii. 3 ; B. T. Shabhath, fol. 105»), where
it is said concerning the word nvlDJ (1 Kings ii. 8), as follows :
Even Biblical words were explained by the ftystem of shorthand
writing. This instance shows clearly the application of the Roman
method. Perhaps also the Midrashic explanation of the name
Dm3K=D*13 pon 3K (Gen.'xViL 5) is found. In short the mention
of notaricon is found in the Mishnah, the two Gemaras, the Sifr^,
the Mekhilta, and frequently the Midrashim, but not in the Tosefta
and in the Targum (Krauss, l. c, p. 515).
Bat with all the nunute researches of Dr. Krauss, there is no
definite instance in which the Jews accepted the Boman method of
shorthand writing. Indeed, two fragments of Bible text found
lately in Egypt and acquired by the Bodleian Library, show a
different kind of shorthand writing. The one is in MS. Hebrew
d. 39, fol. 1 (catalogue No. 2608, 1), containing Genesis xxvi. 11 to
xxix. 15, much obliterated, and belonging, perhaps, to the end of the
thirteenth or beginning of the fourteenth century ; there are a few
Towels-points, and acceni». The second is in MS. Hebrew e. 30, con-
taining, a, Isaiah V. 8 to ix. 8, fol. 48 (catalogue, No. 2,604, 11) ; jS,
Isaiah xliv. 4 to xlviii. 11,. most likely written in the twelfth century
on yellum 4to, 2 columns, a begins as follows : —
3 n & ri yn 3 nn 8
IK 3)5 ^-« ^:tk3 9
rh% m iG>f*\ o-niK^n vi. 1
D i pp K 4
^ \ h-y^, y i D^vna 24
DP^^'iKK^3y>lS'?3 1 25
We see that each verse begins with the full words of the text, but
for the rest I have not succeeded in finding out the method of the
Digitized by
Google
364 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
abbreviations, and the use of them ; certainly it is too complicated
for use in primary schools. Perhaps when the photographic facsimiles
appear in the catalogue of newly acquired MSS. in the Bodleian
Library, one of the savants may find out this mystery. Anyhow, in this
shorthand writing Isaiah would fill only twenty-six leaves. Possibly
this kind of shorthand writing might explain what Maqrizi means by
saying that a sect in Egypt called the Fayyumites (of Fayyum)
explain the Law in a sense as if the letters of which it is composed
were abbreviations. Sylvestre de Sacy explains this by notaricon.
He sa3rs in his Chrestomatkie Arabe^ t. L (2nd eiitiou), p. 353, note 82,
''II paroit que Makrizi veut dire qu* Abau-Sii'd (who cannot be iden-
tical with the famous Saadyah Gion) interpr^tait la loi par cette
esp^ce de cabale que les juifs nomment Notaricon, Les Arabes
d'Afrique appellent les abbreviations 'r\))^7>1^ ^nn» auli©^ que les Orien-
taux les nomment ^nn Dill, k Pimitation des juifs, qui les appellent
nn^n ^2J'fi<l.** Such mysterious letters are found also at the beginning
of some Suras of the Qordo, wh'ch are taken by commentators as
abbreviations. Erpenius, iadeed, says of them in his grammar, as
quoted by De Sacy, TIbi tamen aliquam eonjectura libertatem sihi
permittunt ; statxunUs singulis seorsum Uteris denota* i aliquid
peculiare, quare et liter as separatas et singvlares appellant.
THE WRITINGS OF PEBLES.
In addition to the works enumerated by Professor Bacher in his
excellent biography (supra, pp. 1-23), I would mention the fol-
lowing : —
1. Analekten in KobaVs Jeshnrun (German section iii., 1859,
pp. 38-40. On page 44 of the same part is a review, pro-
bably by Dr. Gudemaon, of Perles' *' Meletemata Peschit-
thoniana '').
2. Gottesflienstliche Vortr'dge delivered in Baja (1859), and
similar addresses delivered in Posen (1864).
I believe, too, that he published a sermon against mixed marriages.
S. J. Halberstam.
Digitized by
Google
Mr. DAVID NUTT'S
LIST OF LATEST PUBLICATIONS-
Now ready at all Bookstalls.
In the Series FAIBY TALES of the BRITISH EMPIRE, by JOSEPH
JACOBS and J. D. BATTEN.
KOBE CELTIC FAIBY TALES. Comprieing 20 Tales, 8 Fall-Page
Illustrations, 40 Vignettes, and 20 Initials, 68.
*«* Copies have also been stmck off on Japanese Vellum with double state
of Plates, at £1. lis. 6d. A few remain.
By Same Editor and Ulustrator.
ENGLISH PAIRT TALES.— CELTIC FAIBT TALES.— INDIAN FAIRY
TALES.— MORE ENGLISH FAIRY TALES. Each 68.
In the Series CHILDREN'S SINGING GAMES, by ALICE BERTHA
GOMME and WINIFRED SMITH.
OEILDBEN'S SINGING GAMES, SECOND SEBISa Comprising
Eight Gkkmes, Full-Page Illustrations, and Decorative and Musical Pages.
With accompanying Descriptions for Playing the Ghunes, and Notes,
Oblong 4to., 3s. 6d.
*^* The First Series can be had at the same price.
THE STOBY OF ALEXANDEB. Retold for English children by
ROBT. STEELE. With Illustrations by Fred. Mason. Comprising
Cover and Title-Page Designs, 6 Full-Page Plates, and 22 Vignettes and
Tailpieces. Small 4to., 226 pages, 78. 6d.
THE AMBEB WITCH. A Romance of the Sixteenth Century. Trans-
lated from the German of MEINHOLD by Lady DUFF GORDON, and
Edited, with Critical Introduction, by JOSEPH JACOBa With Full-
Page Illustrations by Philip Bume-Jones. Crown 8vo., upwards of 300
pages, printed by Constable, 78. 6d.
\* Twenty copies have been pulled on Japanese vellum with double state
of Plates, at £1. lis. 6d. net.
LECTXJBES on DABWINISM. By the late ARTHUR MILNES
MARSHALL, Lecturer in Biology at Queen^s College, Manchester.
Edited by C. F. MARSHALL, MJ>. Medium 8vo., fully illustrated,
cloth, 7s. 6d.
[TURN OVEP.
Digitized by
Google
LIST OF LATEST PUBLICATIONS.
(Contintied.)
THE LEOBND of PEBSEUS. A Stndj of Tradition ia Story,
Cnrtom. and Belief. By B. SIDNEY HARTLAND, F.8.A., Aathor of
"The Science of Fairy Tale," &c. Vol. I. The SUPBRNATXJBAL
BIBTH. Crown 8vo. pp. xxxiv-228, Ts. 6d.
*,♦ Vol. II. of the "arimm Library," the First Volume of which,
'* Georgian Folk-Talee," Translated by Marjory Wardrop, published in May
last, sells at 58. net.
THE SECOND V0LX7ME of Mr. HABTLANB'S PE&SEX7S (Th«
Life Token), will appear in the Spring.
STUDIES in BIBLICAL ABCH20LOGY. By JOSEPH JACOBS.
Crown 8to., 172 pages, cloth, Ss. 6d.
*«* Reprinted, with additions and revision, from the Arekaoloaical
Review and other specialist periodicals. These ^^ Studies/' which haTe
ercited considerable interest among soholan, are now made aooeesible to the
wider circle of all students of the Old Testament.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS.
By WILLIAM BRNBST HENLET and ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON.
THBEE PLATS (Beau Austin, Admiral Ghiinea, Deacon Brodie).
*«* Printed by Constable on Hand-made Paper with wide margin (cloth,
top gilt), 8s. 6d. net.
By G. S. STREET, Author of " Autobiography of a Boy."
HIKIATXnElES and HtLOODB. Crown 8to., cloth, Ss. 6d.
By GEORGE MOORE, Author of " Esther Waters.**
IMPRESSIONS and OPINIONS. Crown Sto., cloth, 6s. net.
By Mrs. FRED. PRIDBAUX.
BASIL the ICONOCLAST. A Drama of Modem Russia. 6s. net.
By CANON H. D. RAWNSLBT.
IDYLLS and LTBICS of the NILE. Crown Sto.* cloth, St. 6d.
By P. W. JOYCE, Author of " Irish Names of Places.-
OLD CELTIC BOMANCES. Cheap Edition. Crown Svo., doth, Sa. 6d.
By the Ute A. MILNE3 MARSHALL, Professor of Zoology in
Owens College.
BIOLOGICAL LECTXJBES and ADDBESSE8. Crown 8? o., eloth, tts.
By WILLL/LM ERNEST HENLEY, late Editor of the lioHonal Ohmrmr,
A BOOK of VEBSES. Fourth Edition. 16mo., 6a net
LONDON V0LT7NTABIES. Second Edition. 16mo., 6s. net
VIEWS AND REVIEWS. Second Edition. 16mo., 6a net
*/ The above three Works beautifully printed by Constable on Hand-
made Paper, and bound in ribbed cloth, gilt top.
▼BBTHmuB, LUA AXD 00., oaoini rwjsm^ IiOhdoh wall
Digitized by
Google
EDITED Br
I. ABRAHAMS AND C. G. MONTEFIOEE.
Vol. VII.
APRIL, 1895.
No. 27.
CONTENTS.
LEOPOLD ZUNZ. By Lector L H. Weiss
ALFONSO DE ZAMORA. By Dr. A, Neubaubr
JEWISH ARABIC LITURGHES. II. By Dr. H. Hibschpbld
THE EXPULSION OF THE JEWS FROM ENGLAND IN 1290.
III. ( CoTwluded) . By B. Lionel Abb ah ams
SOME TRANSLATIONS OF HEBREW POEMS. By Nina Davis,
Elbie Davis and the Rev. Dr. Edw. G. King
GLEANINGS FROM THE BOOK OF ISAIAH.
Skipwith
FLORILEGIUM PHILONIS. By 0. G. Montbfiorb
By G. H.
PAGB.
365
398
418
428
469
470
481
CRITICAL NOTICES.— Rev. R. H. Charles's Ethiopio Version of
the Hebrew Book of Jubilees : By Prof. D. S. Marooliouth.
Dr. Dmmmond's Via, Veritas, Vita : By Joseph Jacobs.
Christianity in its most simple and intelligible form : By F. C.
Conybbabb
NOTES AND DISCUSSIONS.— A Third System of Symbols for the
Hebrew Vowels and Accents. By Dr. M. FriedlAndeb.
Studies in the Book of Jeremiah. By G. H. Skipwith
.546
D, NUTT, 270—271, STRAND,
Price Three Shillings,
Annual Subscription, Post Free,
C
Digitized by
Google
Z2S"r.A.BX«ZSECXSX> 18 Gl.
SOUTHAMPTOH BOILDIHGS, CHAHCERT LAKE, LONDON.
TWO AND A.-HALF per CENT. INTEREST allowed on DEPOSITS, repayable on demand*
TWO per CENT, on CURRENT ACCOUNTS, on the minimum monthly balances, when
10 drawn below £100.
STOCKS, SHARES, and ANNUITIES PurchaBed and Sold.
SAYINGS DEPARTMENT.
For the encouragement of Thrift the Bank receivea small sums on deposit, and aliows
Interest Monthly, on each completed £1 .
scK BinuDzva soozninr.
HOW TO PURCHASE A HOUSE FOR TWO GUINEAS PER MONTH.
BZBKBBOK FBBBBOXA ZJklVB 800ZBTT.
HOW TO PURCHASE A PLOT OP LAND FOR FIVE SHILLINGS PER MONTH.
THE BIRKBECK ALMANACEL with full particulars, post free.
FRANCIS RAVENSCROFT, Manager.
DAYID NUTT, 270-71, STRAND.
JUST PUBLISHED.
THE RUSSIAN JEWS;
Emancipation ftp Extermination?
By L. EBBEKA, Professor at the University of Brussels.
With a Prefatory Note by THEODORE MOMMSEN.
Translated by BELLA LOWT,
Editor of Graetz's " History of the Jews."
Demy 8vo, X.-208 pp., Map, cloth, uncut, 38. 6d.
*^* The Original has been unanimously recognised as the ablest statement f/
the Jewish Question in Russia.
*• Professor Errera has done good service to the cause of what Professor
Mommseii rightiy calls common-sense and humanity by his temperate and
authentic btatement of the facts of the case.'" — Tlie Times,
" We trust that tliis volume will be widely read, for it is a highly impor-
tant contribution to contemporary history." — 7%e Irish Times,
"Professor Errera by no means overdraws the grim picture of the most
recent expulsions. He says that the simple solution of the Jewish question
may be summed up in one word. Emancipation." — The Sunday Times,
" An important pro-Jewish work. It will be remembered that the trans-
lator performed the saine office in a very admirable manner for Graets's
* History of tiie Jews.' " — Rock.
** The book has been well translated, and is an authority on one of the
■addest scenes in this ' Human Comedy.' " — Academy,
" A sad and sickening story of oppression, * a Heartrending Picture,' and
the * Darkest Blot on our century.' " — Scotsman,
" No better popular sketch of the history of the Jewish question in Bussift
has been placed within the reach of English readers. ^^-Jewish ChronieU.
** A tremendous indictment on the Jew-baiting policy of M, Pob6donostev,
which was sanctioned by ^e late Tzar." — Daily Chronicle^
Digitized by
Google
^h J^ttisli ^trartcrlg $mm.
APRIL, 189a
LEOPOLD ZX7NZ.1
The first-fruits of genuine criticism of Jewish Literature
produced in the nineteenth century constituted the offer-
ing which Leopold Zunz, while yet young in years, but
already of mature intellect, laid on the altar of Jewish
science. It is certainly true that already, in an earlier
generation, that of Moses Mendelssohn, the buds of know-
ledge had begun to spring up among the Jews in
Qermany; but Mendelssohn and his contemporaries left
sufficient work for posterity. They had but slight occasion
and scanty opportunities for critical researches into Jewish
history and literature. In both these departments Zunz
may be pronounced the pioneer. He not only conferred a
great boon on his people by showing them the path to the
rediscovery of the innumerable gems of thought buried in
their literature; he also rendered them an equally great
service by demonstrating to the Qentile world that the
text, " It is your wisdom and understanding in the sight of
the peoples," was not empty of meaning. He rolled away
the reproach, so frequently uttered by Christian scholars,
> [It will interest oar readers to know that the writer of thig Eesay,
author of the famons work Dor dor Vedoreshov, celebrated his eightieth
birthday in the February of this year. This will be a fitting opportunity,
to add one more to the numerous oongratulations
ceived.— Bb.] /^^
VOL VII. B B
366 The Jewish Quarterly Eeview,
that the Jews have no critical science. The first essay,
which he composed in his early youth, is entitled. An
Inquiry into Bahbinical Literature} Though the first-fruits
of his study, its style is ripe and perfect as that of a
veteran writer. He endeavours to define the subjects on
which attention should be concentrated in order to bring
to the surface the many priceless pearls to be found in
the sea of Jewish literature. He particularises the pre-
liminary studies requisite for the building up of a sound
and thorough Jewish criticism. If we examine in detail
the undertakings which he urges upon the scholars of
his time, we shall find that they comprehend all those
departments which have successfully engaged the Jewish
intellect ever since Zunz threw light upon the paths and.
methods of inquiry ;- and, therefore, he may well claim to
be styled the original worker in this field, and the guide
to his many successors. He was not, however, merely a
sign-post to others. He himself carried out the advice he
gave, and took a leading part in the Jewish critical
labours of the nineteenth century.
Soon after he had published his first essay, he tried his
strength in biographical composition, and presented the
world with a sketch of the life of one who was a brilliant
light to the Jews in the Middle Ages, Rabbi Solomon
Tizchaki (Rashi). This essay was a lesson to biographers
in their art ; though many before him had endeavoured to
write lives of our great men, yet, lacking the critical
faculty, they omitted, on the one hand, many important
points, while, on the other, they gave currency to state-
ments which were doubtful, and even spurious. But a
biography like Zunz's, written in a spirit of scientific
criticism, had never hitherto appeared. From this point
of view, Zunz may be said to have been the first Jewish
biographer, and his efforts served as patterns and models
■ This esnj was pablished in 1818. I did not know of its existence
till manj jean after, when the late Rabbi J. L. Polaok showed it to me.
It was reprinted in the edition, of his coUected works issued in 1875.
Digitized by
Google
Leopold Zun%. 367
to others. I feel no hesitation in affirming that Zunz's
life of Bashi acted as an incentive to Bappoport to try his
hand at work of a similar character. The latter printed
biographical notices of various scholars in the Bikure
Ha-ittim. Anyone who penetrates into the spirit of these
articles will recognise that Zunz's method served — con-
siderably modified, however — ^as Rappoport's guide. It is
ridiculous to suppose that both savants hit on the same
plans independently of one another ; for when Bappoport
wrote his biographies he had already before him Zunz's
life of Bashi. Indeed, in his biography of B. Nathan,
author of the Aruch (note 47), Bappoport explicitly refers
to Zunz, whose arguments he attempts to refute. Zunz, in
his biography of Bashi, does not confine his research
exclusively to his subject^ Babbi Solomon ben Isaac. He
enlarges the compass of his theme, and occasionally dis-
cusses, e% passant, persons cmd events which, strictly
speaking, fall outside the scope of his inquiry, or which
needed only a cursory mention. For example, in the list
of books and scholars quoted by Bashi in his commenta-
ries, Zunz notes B. Jehudai Qaon, author of the Halaehot
Oedohth. He does not, however, merely give the name,
which for the purpose of his essay would have amply
sufficed, but enters on a long disquisition concerning
this work, examines the authenticity of the tradition
which attributes its authorship to K Jehudai Qaon, and
adduces the opinions of various authorities on this point.
In truth, this inquiry is, after all, only of secondary
importance, irrelevant to his subject, the life of Bashi.
A similar procedure is adopted by him in the case of the
hymnologist, R Elazar Haqalir, mentioned in Bashi's Com.
mentaries. Zunz discusses the poet at some length, and
takes pains to refute the view that Babbi Elazar Haqalir
belonged to the later Tanaites — ^all of which was super-
fluous. A similar excursus is devoted to Babenu Qershon,
the light of the Diaspora. Bappoport, in his biographies,
follows the same plan, but carries it to an inordinate
B B 2
Digitized by
Google
368 Tlie Jewish Quarterly Review.
length, to the exhaustion and perplexity of hii readersL
Zunz, when he wrote his essay on Rashi, had, in my
opinion, no intention of making it a complete summary of
every detail, large and small, which would be indispensable
for a comprehensive and perfect work. He only brought
together material for a glorious palace, drew a beautiful
and correct plan, and gave clear instructions how to build
it in accordance with scientific rules. To others was left
the task of rearing the edifice. Is not this indeed the
architect's business — to make designs which the builders
have to execute ? Certain classes of work the deveresi
designer is incompetent to carry out personally. Zunz
honestly recognised that, for a perfect biography of Rashi,
what was pre-eminently necessary was a full and careful
examination of the wonderful results which that great
teacher achieved for a knowledge of the Talmud in his
Commentaries, Decisions and Besponsa. Tet on all these
subjects, Zunz has very little to say. Why ? Because he
knew full well that he was unequal to the task of the pre-
liminary examination of the material Like a genuine and
conscientious scholar, therefore, he refrained from trespass-
ing beyond the limit of his knowledge. While acknow*
ledging the many excellencies of his work, I have found
that, despite painstaking care and industry, errors crept
into his essay, and many essential points were omitted.^
It also appears that Zunz thought that K Joseph Bonfils*
whom Bashi mentions, is identical with the Rabbi of that
name, who taught R Tarn. But this cannot be the case,
since R. Joseph, mentioned by Rashi, died in Rashi's life-
time, while R Tam was still a young child when his
grandfather, Rashi, died. When he mentioned R Eliezer
Qaon bar Isaac, he thought that the latter was Rabbi
* la speaking of Babbi Genhon, the light of the Diaspora, he gives
many nnneoessary details, and forgets to mention the extremely impor-
tant faot that B. Gtorshon, with his own hand, prepared a correct manu-
script copy of the Gemara, which was in Bashi^s possession (^Sueeahy 40a).
This is stated in Tosaphoth in varioas places. R. Tam qaoted from this
manuscript. (See my Biography of Rashi^ Note 4.)
Digitized by
Google
Leopold ZutUL 369
Eliezer HagadoL But, according to ToaaphotA, R Eliezer
Hagadol was Rashi's teacher. Z\mz, indeed, excludes this
teacher from the list of authorities quoted by the great
Exegete, it having escaped his notice that the latter
mentions R Eliezer Ha-gadol in the Pardes, where he
styles him the teacher of R Jacob the elder, as well as of
his other teachers ; Bashi also quotes his opinion anony-^
mously in Aboda Zara, 74a, with the phrase, «^ \^ith
\nWDO. The reference is clearly to R Eliezer Hagodol (see
Pardes, 238, et aliie hcie; see also S. Bloch's Biographical
Noiee on Bashi, and my Biography). But what matter a
few isolated errors? They do not affect the permanent
ttnd solid value of the essay. The author liimself candidly
iMlmitted their existence, and, in fact, personally called
attention to them. Ten years after the essay was issued,
he printed in the Introduction to the OoUesdienstUche Vor-
trdffe, a list of his mistakes, some of which he corrected.
We ought therefore not to regard the mistakes, but rather
dwell upon the immense importance of this work, which
paved the way to the science of Jewish biography, and
which is so admirably calculated to serve as a model in
this department of literary activity. These two essays
which I have named, were the earliest seeds which he
sowed in the field of Jewish science. The first was puV
lished in 1818, the second, four years later, in 1822, while
the author was still a youth. Both quickly bore fruit in
their influence on scholars and their work. Then many
years passed, during which only fugitive articles came
from his pen at rare intervals. It was, however, univer-
sally known that Zunz was studying, writing, and ex-
ploring, with incomparable zeal, the literary treasures
buried in libraries, poring over neglected and forgotten
manuscripts^ and utilising them to the fullest degree in
the researches in which he was engaged. In every place
where he was known by name, and where his talents
and abilities were fully recognised and appreciated, the
results of his labours were ardently longed for.
Digitized by
Google
370 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
At length, in the year 1832, expectation was more than
satisfied by the publication of his great work, Die gottes-
dienstliche Vortrdge der Juden, Hiaicriech entwiekelt. It
would be wearisome to attempt here a description of this
volume, with its multitude of new ideas in the history of
Midrashic literature, or to pile up eulogies on its manifold
excellencies. For who is not aware of the revolution it
effected among Jewish students ? Who does not know how
it breathed a new spirit into the minds and hearts of un*"
sophisticated readers of the Midrashim, and stimulated
many of the students of the Torah to enter into similar
investigations ? But, strange to relate, notwithstanding the
importance of the work, notwithstanding the extreme value
of the jewels which it revealed in Midrashic literature,
hitherto left unilluminated by the light of mticism ; not*
withstanding the honour paid both to the book and the
author by all honest scholars, it did not at first yield any
material profits. The price of the work, which ran to 500
pages, was moderate, and, as the edition did not go off
easily, it had, after a few years, to be still furUier reduced.
It is fifty-five years since I purchased a copy for a Reichs-
thaler. Zunz, as I have heard, did not derive any profit
from his labours. This is the common fate of all authors
who deal witti Jewish literature. Many there be who
eagerly seek their books like silver, but they bring no
silver wherewith to purchase the books. Zunz accomplished
two objects. First, he laid the foundations for a history
of Midrashic literature, a subject never hitherto touched.
His work also afforded material help towards comprehension
of the evolution of culture eunong the Jews at successive
periods, and may claim to have established the principles
upon which Jewish history should be based. When we
consider the results accruing from his work, we cannot
deny that for all the authors who followed him, who occu-
pied or still occupy themselves with these important
departments, Zanz's researches have proved indispensable
guides. Whether the fact be admitted or denied, whether
Digitized by
Google
Leopold ZunM. 371
ipre acknowledge our indebtedness or not, he waa undoubt-
edly a pioneer for all of us.
The motive that urged hini to write the GoUesdienstliche
Vortrdge may be gathered from remarks in the preface.
'' Many hundred years have passed since Israel's glory de-
parted, since he forfeited his freedom and country. But one
treasure was left him — the Synagogue. This now became
a home for the Jewish nationality. All who were devoted
to their faith, found in it a refuge, where they received
religious instruction and counsel; renewed their strength
to endure terrible vicissitudes; obtained comfort in their
sorrows ; revived the hope they cherished that their freedom
would again dawn. The service of the Synagogue was a
rallying point to the Jewish people, and proved the safe-
guard of Israel's faith." This conception was the motor to
his GMfesdienstliche Vortrdge, Homilies in conjunction with
prayers, were the perennial fountains which helped to pro-
duce a rich harvest of moral blessings. It would be his
work to investigate scientifically the historic development
of Homilies in the Synagogue. Another purpose would be
indirectly served, the foundation stone would be laid for
the history of the Jewish people.
It is natural that those who enjoy the fruits of men's
thoughts should desire to know the benefactors who have
given to them of their best. And by this nearer acquaint-
ance with the teachers, the disciples are helped not a
little to understand the tea<5hing. When, therefore, Zunz
saw what a great impression his book had made on intelli-
gent readers, he thought it his duty to treat ne:tt of the
authors of our mediaeval literature. With extraordinary
zeal and energy, he set about this new and difficult under-
taking, published his Beitrdge zur Oeschtchte und Literatur
in 1845. In these researches, he throws light on the
writers of the Tosaphoth and other mediaeval authors, who
occupied themselves with the science of Judaism. In my
humble opinion, this subject had never before received such
excellent treatment One of our foremost contemporary
Digitized by
Google
373 The Jewish Quarterty Review.
scholars once said to me that Zunz relied greatly, for this
work, on the nrmn ¥n^\)y where the names of the writers
of Tosaphoth are collected and classified. I replied, " No, sir ;
Zunz is not a hasty and superficial investigator, who
insufficiently examines the sources he uses." I have also
read his writings on the Tosaphoth, and fully recognise the
value of his researches on this theme. They afibrd ample
evidence of patient toil and critical insight, and have
nothing in common with the bare outlines of the ^p. In
one place I find he follows that work, and erroneously.^
It must be admitted that, as in his Oottesdienstliche Vor-
trdge, so in his second work, he succeeded in showing that
the Jews were not destitute of culture; that their litera-
ture is indeed a storehouse of knowledge and wisdom , an
object materially served by his other writings. I specially
name : Die Synagogale Poesie, on the Piyutim and Selichot^
issued in 1855, and Die Literaturgeschichte der Synagogakn
Poesie, connected with the former, but which did not see
the light till 1865, after the Hitm, which conmsts of in-
quiries into Synagogal rites, had appeared in 1859, In
my reminiscences (MS.) I have stated that when I descant
upon those contemporaries to whom I owe a debt for en-
lightening me and rousing in me the spirit of literary emu-
lation, my object is not to discuss or criticise the details of
their inquiries, but rather to point out the aims for which
they strove with more or less success. Accordingly, in this
article on Zunz and his writings, I propose to survey the
objects which he hoped to achieve by his literary efforts ;
to show to the world that Jews, even in the Middle Ages,
had a science and literature, certainly not inferior to, and
> In my History of Jetoisk Tradition^ p. 849, note 80, I haye already
shown that Znnz (Z«r lAteratw u. 6hsehiehtef p. 48), foUows the ^f]p,
who mentions M, Ckttyim hen Joseph as a Toeaphist. Znns adds the oon-
jeotnre that U. Ohalm, B. Tarn's pnpil, was the son of Joseph : the -^^jp,
howeyer, is in error ; there is no Toeaphist of that name. The sooroe o^
the mistake is Tosaphoth Henaohot 88a, from which he quotes R, C^aim
hen Joseph; B.Ghia bar Joseph, oar Amora, mentioned ihidem 90a, is how-
eyer meant. In the later editions of the Talmnd this is oorreoted.
Digitized by
Google
Leopold Zun%. 373
^rhaps even surpassing, those of their neighbours ; to de-
monstrate the truth that at no period did the spirit of
Jewish poetry cease to put forth buds and blossoms, and to
produce fruit among the sorrow-laden Hebrew race, and
to prove that Jewish poetry has an enhanced value, because
it immortalises the annals of Jewish history. Many have
wondered why Zunz consecrated a large portion of his life
to inquiries concerning Piyutim, which Ibn Ezra already
stigmatised, remarking, for instance, that Qalir, in his
Piyutim, had abused the Hebrew language, like an enemy
who breaks down the walls of a city. One of our modem
critics, Lagarde, contemns Zunz for his interest in the
Piyutim, and denies him any taste in Hebrew style. The
first ground of objection may be dismissed as of a super-
ficial character. The merit of Qalir's poetry does not con-
sist in its form — the flowers of fancy, which flourish and
wither, according to the variation of tastes; but in the
contents, '' in the wealth of ideals, which arouse and stimu-
late Israel's love to his Qod, and in the occasional beautiful
pictures which dazzle the mind and captivate the heart"
Ibn Ezra, the Spaniard, only found fault with the styla
The same criticism applies to the Poetanim, who followed
in Qalir's footsteps. Discussing them from this point of
view, and in this spirit, Zunz accomplished a useful and
valuable work, for which he had the requisite aptitude.
His keen insight enabled him to perceive the depth of
feeling from which the Piyutim welled forth. How beauti-
fully has this been expressed by one of our most eminent
scholars. Dr. David Kaufman, in his reply to Paul La-
garde (p. 20) : " Leopold Zunz," he says, " the great artist
who took a comprehensive view of every subject which he
investigated, recognised, with the keen, critical sagacity
natural to him, that, in order adequately to discuss the
Piyutim, it is absolutely requisite to conceive and describe
the hell of persecution, out of which the poetical Jewish
literature in the Middle Ages sprang up. It is essential
that we should go the poets' land, and see the places where
Digitized by
Google
374 The Jem%h Quc^terfy Review,
these pearls of thought were formed. Zonz, unsurpassed
by predecessors or contemporaries, apprehended and com-
prehended the storm of sighs and groans in this litera-
ture which smite on the hearts of all who have the capacity
to feeL He, as no one else, sympathised with the torrents
of tears that produced the poetry of the Synagogue. He
was seized by a great longing to open our eyes to the
terrible calamities Israel sustained, so that we, too, might
understand the overwhelming multitude of sighs, see the
spring from which flowed the streams of tears. He wished
to pass in review before us the heartrending events which
occasioned the sighs and the groans. With wonderful art,
without unnecessary ornaments of style, without rhetorical
flourishes, simply by drawing our attention to the results
which his calm, patient, and dispassionate studies produced,
Zunz accomplished his work. And, therefore, he deserves
to be called the historian of his people ; for he narrated,
truthfully and vividly, its annals in the dark and trou-
blous medieval daya He has shown how sorrows are
wedded with supplications, like lightning and thunder, like
anguish and tears." All who complainingly wonder at
Zunz's devotion to the Piyut should ponder these words,
and they will appreciate the magnificent work which he
accomplished by his investigations into that branch of
literature. They will recognise that what they have re-
jected is the comer-stone of Jewish history. Lagarde's
strictures are not worth answering, especially after Kauf-
man, in his brochure (p. 28), has proved '* that this Anti-
Semite critic has less knowledge than the merest school-
boy of the subject he presumes to treat, that he is even
incapable of translating, much less imderstanding, the
Hebrew poetry of the Middle Ages."
II.
Prom the day the Ootteadienatliche Vortrdge came into
my hands, I was drawn towards its author, and felt for
him a disciple's respect for his master. I studied his
Digitized by
Google
Leopold Zunz. 876
work as assiduously and carefully as I was wont to do
the Talmud and Fosekim. I turned over his ideas in
my mind, examined his arguments, tested his positions
as far as the resources of my library allowed. Although
I occasionally found statements of which I could not
altogether approve, I could not say that he ever con-
sciously misled. His quotations are always given faith-
fully. His criticisms are genuine and just. He is not
guilty of perversions, in order to force the opinions of
scholars into agreement with his views or subordination
to his purpose. His inquiries were always conducted in
the right way. He never seeks to dazzle his readers by
empty rhetorical effects. K he knew that he could convey
his meaning in a sentence of three words, he would not
have added a fourth for the sake of embellishment. He
deemed it despicable to conceal his true opinions in
ambiguous phrases. Throughout the GoUesdiemtliche Vor-
irdge, I have not found any remark of a contentious
character, or one that would betray chagrin, jealousy, or
contempt for fellow-students. He does not try to force
his opinions upon others by invective or artifice. Zunz's
•wish was to build up the house of Israel and heal its
breaches, not to pull down its walls or lay bare its
foundations. He never girds at any healthy Jewish
customs ; but he was not blind to the fact that some of
them had been covered with an accumulation of dust.
The whole of his life he consecrated to our literature,
which, alas, is contemned by those who are ignorant of it
within and outside the Jewish community. To proclaim its
merits and convince both classes of its excellence was his
heartfelt longing, which, indeed, he lived to see, in a great
measure, realised. Many of those who had formerly
•despised Jewish literature became its firm admirers.
Who can deny that the living interest which our Tal^
mudic and Midrashic literature has aroused among noiv-
Jewish scholars, is due in a considerable degree to the
influence of Zunz's writings — as^ indeed, has been
Digitized by
Google
876 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
abundantly acknowledged. But the fame achieved by
him among his own people reached a height which very
few have attained. When Zunz died, I paid a tribute
to his memory {Beth Talmud^ Pt V., p. 71), from which
the following passage may be quoted: **Zunz was a
wondrous phenomenon in our generation. Everyone
knows that he could not be counted among the orthodox
Jews. Nor, indeed, did he have the least desire to be so
counted. And yet the members of this section of Jewry
speak of him with the utmost respect and reverence.
For this apparently strange anomaly we can only account
by a clear recognition of the fact that the Jews are truly
and sincerely grateful to all their benefactors. And Zunz
who was a sterling benefactor to the whole of his people,
was popular with them all. Jews, both orthodox and
reform, draw the water of knowledge from his well Not
a single genuine investigator, whether belon^ng to one
or the other party, will move a step in the study of our
literary antiquities without Zunz's writings at his side.
How, then, should the debt of obligation to him be denied
or his memory fail to be preserved." I do not think that
any honest critic will fail to agree with these sentiments*
If isolated individuals among us have spoken against
him, we can cmly deplore the fact On more than one
occasion Qriltz criticised him in a manner equally un*
worthy of the critic and the subject. Whenever I noticed
it I always felt grieved at seeing one of those whose utter-
ances were unvaryingly received with respect and carried
weight, publicly disparaging our great men. Do not
ignorant critics pour contumely enough on Israel's scholars ?
Was there any need for one of our own masters needlessly
to bicker with a fellow-scholar ? What eould have
tempted Grtttz to sin so grievously against Zunz? He
surely knew fuU well that the educated and cultured
classes would not honour him any the more on this
account. I am convinced that though he affected to think
lightly of Zunz, he acknowledged, in his mmost hearty ibe
Digitized by
Google
Leopold ZuM. 377
nobility of Zunz's character and the exceeding value of
his labours in helping to create and foster a just apprecia-*
tion of Israel's literature. Who, indeed, so competent as
Gratz to appraise the extreme importance of his great
contemporary's work for the science of history? Who
availed himself to a greater degree of that work than
Gratz, whether he names his authority or passes it over
in silence ? Some of Gratz's defenders affirm that, when he
was about to publish the first part of his history (Vol.
ni.), Zunz exclaimed jokingly: **What, another history
of the Jews !" — ^a sneer which the historian never forgave.
I certainly do not blame him for feeling resentment and
expressing indignation, and can enter into his sentiments.
He had devoted his physical strength, his intellectual
energies, and his time to the preparation of a history of
the Jews which he deemed was of paramount necessity
because Jost's attempt had not, in his view, risen to the
height of the theme. And now who is the one to throw
cold water on his undertaking? Zunz, whose criticisms
in all matters appertaining to history, are by all Jewish
scholars esteemed so valuable! Not only does the great
critic ¥9ithhold approval from his work ; he actually dis-
courages it ! Can we be surprised that Gr&tz was keenly sen*
sitive to this, as it seemed to him, insulting attitude, and
could never forget or forgive it ? But what I fail to under-
stand is, why Gr&tz should have seen fit to disparage and
endeavour to drag into the dust his critic's knowledge
and judgment, because the latter would not take him at
his own valuation. In the pursuit of. knowledge, the personal
factor should be eliminated. The importation of indi-
vidual resentment must inevitably lead to a perversion
of truth and justice. If a nobleman has put a slight upon
me, shall I avenge the affiront on his child? In my
opinion, this was not merely a crime but a blunder. Gratz
was powerless to injure Zunz. He only hurt himself. A
class of scholars of another stamp also proved themselv^
ungratefuL The orthodox rabbis who, at the same time»
Digitized by
Google
878 The Jewish Quarterly Revieic.
were men of culture, assiduously pored over Zunz'rf
Oottendienstliche Vortrdge, wrote and published articles
which were based on it, and in which the best part of
their material were drawn from ii And yet in their
piety (!) they never so much as mentioned Zunz's name.
I marvel how a man who so far approves of another's
work as to appropriate it wholesfide, should not only deny
his obligations to his authority, but should even presume
to set up as his critia But this conduct, though hard to
justify, is easy to understand.
A Babbi of the class to which I have referred, occupies
a most unenviable pesition, if fate hfiis cast his lines among
a community of zealots, where his flock, upon whom he is
dependent, are his masters. Such a Babbi, we can all
understand, would have to be very cautious about mention^
ing Zunz ; the firebrands in his congregation would at once
accuse him of being hand and glove with the reformers.
He is not afraid, to nearly the same extent, of the reproach-
ful interrogatory which the cultured man would put to
him : '' How is it that you conceal the neune of the original
discoverer and owner, from whose well you draw such
copious draughts of wisdom ? " I am acquainted with a
certain student and author who, though he has appropriated
a wealth of material from Zunz's writings, firequently
without dropping a hint of its origin, has, nevertheless,
made it his business to criticise Zunz on every possible
opportunity. I have heard this scholar urge, in all
simplicity, that the course he had adopted was a supreme
need at the present day. The reverence paid to Zunz, he
said, has grown into an idolatry to be stamped out, or at
least, weakened. I could only laugh inwardly and think
to myself, How happy this man must feel in his conceit !
I recollected, at the same time, that in my long life, I have
frequently seen dwarfs boastfully passing judgment on
intellectual giants, whose height they were incapable of
measuring. All his antagonists have not succeeded in
diminishing by one hair's breadth Zunz's well-earned
Digitized by
Google
Leopold Zunz. 379
fame, nor did their attempts trouble him in the least. He
pursued the even tenour of his way, though they " sought
many crooked devices." He was a man of peace, even
towards those who openly waged war against him. His
path was not in the storm; he hated the strifes of
scholars, never defended himself against attack, neither
treated his antagonists with contempt, nor overwhelmed
them with invective or vituperation. He only had to
exhibit his noble spirit and they were stricken dumb.
The report that, when the first volume of Qratz's history
appeared, Zunz departed from his usual rule and spoke
satirically, may lower him in our eyes. That he should
have gone out of his way to disparage a work on the
history of the Jews — a department, the investigation of
which occupied the whole of his life — may well occasion,
surprise. But we shall not wonder if we consider the
method which Zunz pursued for the attainment of his
objects, and examine in detail his productions in this
branch of science. After such a survey we shall be in a
position to understand why a new historical work, at this
period, was not to his liking. Zunz thought that the time
bad not yet arrived for rearing an historical structure
worthy of Israel. His ideal was a complete and stately
edifice, in which nothing should be lacking. This could
not be raised till all the stones, large and small, had been
brought together, and all the materials requisite for
a perfect building, such apS he designed, were on the site.
Only thus could one hope to found a glorious palace.
Zunz, therefore, concentrated his attention on the details
and materifiJs of history, and aimed at gathering together
one by one, the facts which would form the stones of the
historic structure. But it does not lie within the power
of a single individual, or even a complete generation,
to accomplish the entire task. The sentence of the Mishna
served him, however, as an encouraging motto : *' It is not
thy duty to complete the work ; do not therefore deem
thyself free to neglect it." Let it not be thought that I
Digitized by
Google
380 The Jewish Quarterly Bevieic,
have attributed tiiougfats to Zonz which he never conceived,
and that the above statements are of a purely snpposititions
character, and have emanated from mj imagination. This
is not the case. All the foregoing has been gathered from
Zunz's own pithy remarka In his biography of that most
eminent Jewish critic, Azariah De Bossi,.Zunz explicitly
says {Kerem Chemed, Pt V., p. 130) : *' that an intelligent
man will seek knowledge in details, before he will venture
to discourse on great subjects." Does not this sentence
sum up the arguments of the lest few pages ? I find in
these few words, a dear indication of his views on the
writing of Jewish history. The essay on De Boesi'9
life from which I have quoted a tersely expressed, but
widely comprehensive thought, is one of tiie most brilliant
jewels in Zunz's diadem. The biographical sketch is a
perfect mine of novel information for the history of the
Jews in Italy during an entire generation (see Gratz, Pt. Y.)
No reader can help admiring its completenes& Not a single
detail that has any bearing on De Bossi's life has been
left untouched. How beautiful is the author's descrip^
tion of De Bossi's intrepidity^ which scorned the snares
of the rebels against the light. '^ Justice was his aim, his
soul longed for truth, and in the might of his spirit, he
could not refrain from plunging into the ocean of investi-
gation. The waves of reason rolled about him and he
heeded not the fluttering of the bats.*' Who will deny that
in these vivid metaphors, Zunz gave us an idea» an inkling
of the way in which he sought knowledge, and of the
method which he followed in dealing with the bats. For
neither were his ears sensitive to their fluttering which
was drowned in the roar of the rushing waters of enquiry.
This essay affords clear evidence of his complete mastery
9ver Hebrew style, and of his desire to write the results of
his studies in this tongue. Some German scholars scorn ta
compose essays on Jewish science in the holy language, and
scoff at those who adopt this practice.^ Zunz did not belong
■ [WeisB hiniBelf mvariably writes in Hebrew, a&d the present essay
was written in that langnag'e. — Ed. J
Digitized by
Google
Leopold Zunz. 381-
to their ranka I am certain thai he desired to have his
OoUesdiemtliche Vortrdge translated into Hebrew, if he could
only have found a competent translator who could be
relied upon to interpret its exact meaning according to
his conception.^
His fame as a master of Hebrew style travelled far
and wide. Hence Erochmal, in his Ifiist testament, charged
his sons to entrust his writings to Zunz for publication,
confident that in the hands of so perfect a Hebrew scholar
the undertaking would be brought to a successful issue.
And indeed, how conscientiously Zunz discharged the task
allotted to him is abimdantly evident from his preface, in
which he discusses, with admirable conciseness and in a
few lines, the successors and heirs to the prophets, i,e, the
chosen scholars of every age up to the time of Krochmal, to
whose profound erudition in the Thora and Jewish history,
he does full justice. He depicts the confusion in which
he found the literary remains, out of which he was asked
to construct a perfect literary work. When we consider
the book in its present shape and form, we are compelled
to admire the marvellous skill with which Zunz created
it out of chaos. With equal brevity and lucidity, be
surveys the contents of the chapters, not like a mere
compiler of excerpts or abstracts, but like the true critical
student he indeed waa As an appendix to the preface,
he wrote a long note on the three grand ethical principles
suggested by the essay nSDT^S naiOS which the author
had begun. The intelligent and attentive reader will
acknowledge that they constitute the entire basis of ethical
science, as conceived by the students of Judaism, and,
in a generalised form they express all the good qualities
which the seeker after truth may be recommended to
^ G. D. Lippe, of Vienna, thoug^ht, many years ago, of publishing a
translation of this work. Znnz replied to the request for permission, that
he was aware how much correction the book needed, which he could not
X>ersonally execute on account of his advanced age. He would, however,
be pleased, if I and my colleagues were to undertake the responsibility
of superintending the publication of a correct translation.
VOL. VII. C C
Digitized by
Google
382 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
cultivate. A careful study of this section has convinced
me that it was written from the depths of the heart,
for all the qualities indicated were combined in the author
himself.
" Who is wise ? He who learns from all men." This
sentence might have been spoken of Zunz, who did not
disdain instruction — and indeed was grateful for it — ^what-
ever the quarter from which it came. It is indeed refresh-
ing to observe the absolute honesty with which he records
his thanks to S. L. Bappoport, in the preface to his
Oottesdiemtliche Vortrdge, and acknowledges how much
influenced he was by this scholar in his researches into
Jewish homiletics. Bappoport was not the only one thus
favoured He behaved towards every one in the same
way; from the obscurest author of a wise thought he
learnt eagerly, intelligently and appreciatively. The truth
was always welcome to him, whatever was its source or
authority, and whatever was the language or place in
which it was promulgated. Absolutely indifferent was it
to him, whether the author was a Talmudical casuist,
Chasid, Cabbalist, Doctor, or sceptical philosopher ;
whether he wrote or spoke in any modern vernacular, or
conveyed his thoughts in the ancient language of the
Hebrews. The habits and customs of the country in
which a writer was bom and received his early training,
never affected his estimate of his work. How many Ger-
man scholars have I seen whose judgment of a man and
his knowledge varies according to his society manners,
religious beliefs and practice ! Woe to any one who appears
before such critics in a long coat and with curly Peoth
over his temples. Even if the visitor should be a past
master in Pilpul and wise as Daniel, he is forthwith con-
demned as a fooL The long coat, the Peoth and the Pilpul
are irresistible evidence of the justice of the sentence.
But double and treble woe to one who presumes to believe
in the genuineness of the Cabbala, and i fortiori to one
who studies that occult science. All the virtues cannot
Digitized by
Google
Leopold Zunz. 383
extenuate the heinous offence of faith in the Cabbala ! This
was Gratz's attitude towards all who devoted themselves
to Cabbala, and believed in its sanctity, and endeavoured
to assist materially, or even merely showed a friendly
interest in the students of the mysterious science. He
pronounced ''Anathema Maranatha'" on their merits,
qualities, efforts and achievements. See for instance, his r^
marks on Rabbi Joseph Caro, the Qeonim, the author of the
D'^Qini DmH and Rabbi David Oppenheim. Zunz did not
act after this barbarous fashion. He aspired to imitate the
noble attribute of Qod, who looks to the heart and not to
the outward appearance ; iudges the man and not his clothes.
If among a thousand inanities, Zunz found a single worthy
thought, he detached it from its mean surroundings and
gave it a noble setting in his own writings. It never entered
his mind to holdup its original author to scorn because the
pearl which he had created was encrusted with sand and
earth.
Among his many noble qualities, the following seems
to me the noblest. He never condemned any one for
his religious opinions. I do not find in his works ridicule
of the sayings of our ancient sages. He carefully weighed
all their utterances, though they did not altogether accord
with his own modem ideaa Their value did not, he
thought, depend upon their approximations to our latter-
day conceptions. Those views, even, which may to us
appear erroneous, have a basis in the sentiments of the age
that produced theoL And to this he refers, in his intro*
duction to Krochmal's work, when he says : " Without a
knowledge of general history, we lack the clue to the
history of our race. The customs and institutions of our
ancestors that have any reasonable foundation, as well as
their disputations and exegeses, originate in contemporary
events." This proposition implies the following converse :
Since our fathers' customs, institutions, controversies and
expositions are the creatures of the ages in which they
were bom, the records of these peculiar institutions,
cc2
Digitized by
Google
384 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
exegeses and disputations are reliable evidences of the
sentiments and thoughts in the early periods when they
first saw light Hence, in order to discern the Zeit-geiat of
any period, it does not matter, in the slightest degree,
whether its established customs, argumentations and expo-
sitions approve themselves^ or are repugnant to our taste.
In either case, they reflect the character of their age. This
will help us to understand why Zunz shows no special
preference for the expressions of ideas that would harmonise
with his views over those that are antagonistic to his con-
victions. Both were subjects for calm and dispassionate
inquiry. That which intrinsically is of secondary value,
or even quite worthless, is useful inasmuch as it affords
us knowledge of historical events and allows us an insight
into mental dispositions eind degrees of enlightenment and
culture at different epochs. For the final purpose of his
enquiry — the study of Jewish national history — all these
elements formed valuable material.
Marvellous was the extent of his erudition in earlier and
later Hebrew literature, and in all departments of criticism.
Not unseldom does he quote from writings which seem, at
first sight, hardly worth waisting time over. But, as already
said, Zunz read everything, secondary and inferior, as well
as the best literature. His strength lay in this, that, with
his keen critical insight, he found every book that he read
helpful to his purpose. Among a hundred inanities he
always succeeded in discovering one valuable thought at
least. Zunz practised devoutly the injunctions of the Tal-
mudic sages: "Nothing uttered by a scholar should be
scornfully rejected." And this indeed is the mark of
a real student. Once I had in my hand a booklet
called brtWl nns, consisting of short homilies on the
Fentateuchal sections. I read it through from begin-
ning to end, and could not help laughing at its fantastic
homiletics and silly exegesis. But after I had finished
it I found a few more pages appended. I turned over a
leaf and was astounded to find that this volume which
Digitized by
Google
Leopold Zunz. 385
had aroused in me nothing but contempt for its, as I
thought, idiotic author, contained some excellent thoughts.
The appendix was a valuable essay on the principles of
Talmudic Methodology. This taught me a needed lesson
-which may be thus expressed : Do not despise a book be-
CAXise of foolish remarks it may contain. Search it for wise
thoughts] and, if you only find one sentence that ap-
proves itself to your judgment, value the book for the
sake of that sentence. Zunz deserves praise, because he
paid heed to our inferior, as well as our worthier, literature.
Not despising small things, he accomplished great ; became
a teacher of many minds and set an example to be ad-
mired and followed by all upright hearts. The reader
must not imagine that I ever believed Zunz's knowledge
of our ancient literature could be put on a level with
the profound and extensive erudition of the great Talmu-
dical scholars, who had at their fingers' ends every topic
referred to in the Talmuds and other legalistic Jewish
literature, were often able to repeat, word for word, the
greater portion of it by heart, and knew in the same
thorough fashion all the decisions of our illustrious jurists
from Alfasi and Maimonides down to their own time,
and were acquainted with every Midrash at its original
source. Certainly Zunz was not an erudite scholar of that
pattern. Heaven forbid that my love and reverence for
the man should tempt me to transgress the line of truth in
his praise. It would have been impossible for one who
passed the greater portion of his childhood in the Gymna-
sium, and of his youth and early manhood in the University,
to attain this degree of proficiency ; the requisite leisure
was, in his case, lacking. But Zunz, I fancy, had a unique
method of gaining his wide scholarship. At the outset of
his career he conceived the mighty project of diligently
collecting the materials and noting all the sources indis-
pensable for a knowledge of the historic evolution of the
science of Judaism, and for a comprehension of the various
periods and their progressive movements, and of the spirit
Digitized by
Google
386 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
that breathes in their literary products. These authorities
that Zunz gathered together would, he thought, ultimately
form the firm bed-rocks on which a history might be
reared. To attain this purpose he laboured unremittingly
and unweariedly, and extracted from buried and long-
forgotten works the material necessary for his plan. Ln
this way he successfully mastered our extensive literature.
With wonderful discrimination he gathered the roses from
among the thorns in the garden of Jewish literature,
separated the kernel from the shell, and acquired an almost
unequalled a.cquaintance with books. We would, however,
blunder egregiously if we hastily jumped to the conclusion
that Zunz condemned the thorns to destruction, or cast
away the shell as absolutely worthless. Much that others
regarded as thorns was not so regarded by him. The
argumentative methods of the Talmud, in some cases ap-
parently perverse or casuistic; the strange Hagadas and
astounding Midrashim ; the Cabbala, which, to the sound
intellect, wears a forbidding aspect ; — all these elements of
Jewish literature, which are foreign to our present concep-
tions and modes of thought, were in his eyes not thorns to
be thrown on the fire, but fair plants, straight and upright
at first, that had, however, in course of time, grown warped
and twisted. They are not, on that account, absolutely
worthlesa By their help we can trace the progress and
development of culture among the Jewa And since
this forms one of the most important departments of
Jewish history, it goes without saying that the prickly
thorns and gnarled stems were necessary as providing a
sure basis for investigation.
I have already stated that all Zunz's writings afford
evidence that one of the chief purposes, which he always
kept in view, was to show to the world that Israel is not
devoid of culture, and that his literature is a store-house of
knowledge. In this he followed the great light of Judaism,
who wrote in his letter to the scholars of Lunel (Maimo-
nides i2e«ponM, Na 49) that his heartfelt desire was : *" To
Digitized by
Google
Leopold Zunt. 387
show the peoples and the princes the beauty of the Thora,
for indeed she is fair to look upon/* In all Zunz's great
works this was his goal He felt urged to proclaim that
Israel had a literature rivalling the ancient and contem-
porary literatures, that this woe-stricken people had a
history, philosophy, and poetry second to none.
To the question. What positive benefit will accrue should
public opinion admit our claims to these excellencies, Zunz
replied, at the beginning of his Zur LUeratur u. Oeachichte :
*' K men recognise that Israel has a history, a science, and
a poetic literature, like other nations, they will honour
Jewish science and literature. They will accord the Jews
the right of mental and spiritual equality. This recogni-
tion of Israel's intellectual and moral elevation will lead to
an outpouring of the spirit of humanity on the peoples.
Mutual understanding will be followed by a bond of
brotherhood ; the admission of the claims of Israel's
science and literature would have as its inevitable co-
rollary a concession of equality of rights to Jews in
practical life." These sentences throw a flood of light on
Zunz's aims and ideals, the goal he set himself, and the
path by which he hoped to reach it. Zunz fought for
equality of intellectual, social, and political rights, not
with violent acts or with words that pierce like swords.
He proceeded gently and steadily. His weapons were
logical and scientific arguments that compel assent. In
the war of words he was careful not to reply to invective
with invective. He sought to justify Israel, to bring to
light his uprightness, to announce among the nations the
purity of his ideas and the sublimity of his sentiments
to be found expressly or implicitly in his unjustly maligned
literature. But he did not propose to enter into contro-
versies with the reviling opponents of Judaism concerning
their beliefs, or to pour ridicule on them and their views.
Experience taught him, as it is daily teaching us, that those
who resort to hard measures miss their aim. Se never
missed it, because he observed the counsel of the text,
Digitized by
Google
388 The Jewisli Quarterly Review.
" Keep uprightness ; look straight : there is a future for
the man of peace." A seeker of justice, he pursued
humility; but he never humbled himself to the proud,
nor used the beggar's cringing tone, for he did not crave a
boon, but asked justice. It ought, therefore, not to be
imagined that Zunz, advocating the claims of his people,
always eulogised its ethics and literature in a spirit of
partiality, while he shut his eyes to its faults and de-
liberately concealed and denied its shortcomings. It was
not so. Zunz was essentially a man of truth, and neither
love nor hatred could tempt him to overstep the bounds of
strictest accuracy.
m.
I deem it unnecessary to apologise for refraining from a
discussion of every minute incident of Zunz's life ; for I
do not intend to speak of his birthplace, early training,
teachers, and sympathetic fellow-students by whom he
was influenced — ^his association with them, his separation
from them, and choice of a unique path — ^the study of
Israel's wisdom and the advancement of his people's wel-
fare— to which noble and worthy objects he consecrated
his life. I will also omit any detailed account of the
vicissitudes which befell him in the various portions of his
life, and the difficulties that he experienced in finding a
position adapted to his abilities; how the fates mocked
him and changed his fortune a dozen times. At one period
he was a teacher of children ; then he adopted the ^ling
of preacher, and afterwards he became the editor of a
newspaper. In none of these callings was he successful.
At certain times he suffered destitution, and seriously
thought of seeking a situation as derk or accountant with
a Berlin firm. His extreme poverty and despair actually
drove him at one time to seek a post as HNrTin rrrio,
and he applied to Choriner, of Brody, for a Rabbinic
diploma, which he obtained from that Rabbi. Surely
Zunz was conscious of his comparative igporance of Jewi3}|
Digitized by
Google
Leopold Zunz. 389
legal praxis ; and yet, for the sake of a livelihood and
salary, he so far forgot himself as to be willing to accept
an office unsuitable to him and for which he was unsuited.
I will not dwell upon the misfortunes which he suffered
till he received the appointment of preacher to the Old
Synagogue at Prague. It was not very long before he
voluntarily resigned this office and returned to Berlin.
These biographical details need not detain us long. In
Adam's book it W€w evidently written : " Zunz shall win
renown as a scholar, but shall not be styled Babbi.'' My
purpose is not to narrate the incidents of Zunz's domestic,
communal, and social life, and the troubles which fate and
opposition brought upon him. I only desire to place on
record here a necessary and impartial criticism of his
literary attainments and achievements; to offer him a
merited tribute of eulogy for the noble virtues which he
taught by precept and example ; and to acknowledge the
debt I personally owe him for the influence his life exer-
cised upon me and the instruction I derived from his books.^
Yet I cannot help touching here briefly on an incident
that affected his posthumous fame. After Zunz, towards
the close of a long and active life, had become the glory of
Berlin Jews, he was, as is commonly known, honourably
maintained by the heads of that community — ^not by way
of charity, which Zunz would never have accepted, but in
return for some light duties. The income from this source,
added to the profits of his later publications, supplied his
modest wants, and left something over. This residue he
bequeathed to a relative who had faithfully tended his old
age till the Iskst moment On this fs/ci becoming known,
slanderers spread an exaggerated report of the wealth he
had left behind him. "Look," they said, '*Zunz all his
lifetime feigned poverty, and has accumulated a fortune.''
' Becently an essay on ZnnE, bj Dr. Maybanm, of Berlin, has reached
me, containing some interesting details gathered from Zanz*s letters and
from the diary he kept. Credit is dne to Dr. Maybaom for having pnt
together yalnable materials for a complete life of Zunz. I have had bat
little occasion to nse them in this article.
Digitized by
Google
390 I7i€ Jewish QMrterly Review.
Who raised the outcry ? Not the scholars who ** eat bread
and salt and drink water by measure, and weary them-
Belves in the study of the Thora*'; but those who live
daintily at the expense of others, and traffic with their
learning. May Heaven forgive them !
As regards his attitude towards Biblical criticism, he
had but little occasion to give full expression to his views.
A complete chapter (Ch. II.) of hb Oottesdieiutliche Vor-
trdge is devoted to a critical discussion of the exact date of
certain of the Scriptures ; and he there demonstrates that,
taking their contents and substance as a iair test, some of
the Biblical writings could not have been composed at the
dates commonly assigned them. I have not met a criticism
of the Pentateuch in any of his formal works. But Zunz
was not a man to hide the convictions at which he had
arrived after ripe study and mature reflection. He, there-
fore, in his old age, arranged his ideas on this important
subject, and published a long essay on Biblical criticism,
which, however, is completely taken up with a disquisition
on the Five Books of Moses. He calls attention to the
objections that have been advanced against the Unity of
the Pentateuch, and offers conjectures as to those portions
of it which should be ascribed to a later period than that
of the Lawgiver. His inquiries, which dissect the Thora
with the critical knife, are obviously antagonistic to the
accepted traditions of Jewa What moved Zunz to pub-
lish his opinions on a matter where they would, as he
could clearly foresee, be regarded as thorns in the eyes of
the bulk of Jewry ? Nothing but the irresistible impulse
that urges the investigator fedthfully to declare his ripe
and carefully-matured thoughts. The true critic cannot
suppress the ideas, which, in his heart, he believes to be
correct. This sufficiently explains why Zunz proclaimed
with tongue and pen, and, in fact, published to the whole
world, the views which he cherished as trutL'
> A large portion of that essay appeared in the periodioal Z.D,M, ^
Pt. ZXYIL, p. 669 i the rest in his ooUeoted writings, Ft. I.
Digitized by
Google
Leopold Zunz. 391
But we moat remember that his critical studies, which
repudiate Moses' authorship for considerable portions of
the books named after him, and ascribe them to later
periods, were only treated by him as hypotheses with a
purely scientific value, but with no legitimate right to
affect the actual living practice of Judabm. And, accord-
ing to Zunz, the main thing is not study, but practice.
Zunz never, as far as we have heard, looked upon his
books as a guide to conduct ; never presumed to lay down
the law ; never took it upon himself to say : These pre-
cepts are beautiful, observe them; those are ugly and
obsolete, abrogate them.
The principle that governed his thoughts and beliefs
may be thus formulated : The institutions of Judaism, as
developed in the course of ages, adopted and confirmed by
the custom of the Jewish people, consecrated by antiquity,
are sacred and inviolable. To lay hands on them is to
attack the very citadel of Judaism. So he expressly de-
clares in a reply which he addressed to the Abb6 Chiarini,
who presumed to teach the Jews the path they should
walk in religion (Zunz, Oeaammette Schrijten, Pi I., Sect. 12.
Berlin: 1875). In that answer to our would-be mentor,
who advises the Jews as to what is good for them, and
enjoins them that if they wish to prosper they ought to
give up their oral traditions, and return to the Law of
Moses — as the Karaites had done — Zunz explicitly says :
" The history of every nation exhibits either a rise or fall
— ^progress or retrogression. No nation ever reverts to its
ancient position, no people has ever allowed itself to be
fettered by the dead letter. Holy Writ, as well as history,
teaches that the Law of Moses was never fully and com-
pletely carried out in its literal sense. Liberty was given
. to the great leaders of every generation to make modifica-
tions and innovations through the properly constituted and
generally recognised authorities. Priests and prophets^
kings and Synhedria,^ made frequent use of this right.
* Aooording to tradition, the text, "p^H^ Xt( Mlinn ^33 ('* aooording
Digitized by VjOOQIC
•892 The Jewish Quartetiy Retietc.
Hence, a return to Mosaism would be illegal, pernicious,
and, indeed, impossible. As our would-be adviser does not
approve of the whole of the laws of Moses, but picks and
chooses divers parts which strike him as harmonising
.with the general spirit of Scripture, and others which
accord with the sentiment prevalent at the present moment
(and who can tell what the fate of the latter will be),
would not the acceptance of his counsel thicken the con-
fusion, create fresh sects eind schisms, and inflame religious
bigotry ? Seventeen centuries' experience has abundantly
taught the Jews that the strivings for innovations of this
character have always disturbed the communal peace,
jeopardised their social harmony, prosperity, and happi-
ness, and been invariably succeeded by bitter pangs of
conscience." Zunz, therefore, impelled by these views,
sums up his arguments at the end of his reply substan-
tially as follows : — '' We religionists will never accept the
advice tendered us by this critic. Any reform in the
fundamentals of our faith is so much labour lost, and is
indeed positively injurious to our best interests." The just
inference to be drawn from this sentiment is, that, though
Zimz was a severe Biblical critic, yet his scientific criticism
had no connection with the living practice of religion, in
which he did not deviate by so much as a hair's breadth
from the customs of his people. Zunz, far firom desiring
or approving, abhorred every reform of traditional
Judaism. According to the views expressed in this essay,
he certainly believed that nothing was better for Jews than
faithful adherence to the accepted religious customs of the
Jewish people, which have become, by long usage, a part
of Israel's religion.
to the law which they shall teach thee ") points to the laws of the elders.
Of the disoretioxi allowed the prophets, Elijah^s procedure on Mount
Carmel is an apt example. In regard to the priests, it is said, " Thou
' shalt come to the priest who shall be in those days." Of kings, as
legislators, I know of none whom Zunz had in mind, except Heiekiah.
The Synhedrion's main function was legislatorial.
Digitized by
Google
Leopold Zunz. 393.
The essay from which I have just quoted was written in
Zunz's youthful period, when his heart was full of hopes
and plans for the distant future. In those days, there
were not a few holders of, or aspirants to, the Babhinical
office, who gave themselves up, heart and soul, to the Reform
movement. Some of these preachers whom I knew, would'
have overturned the whole edifice of Judaism, had it de*
pended on their will or wisL But Zunz, &s we have seen,
even in his young days, was not of their party. Nor when,
advanced in years, and ripened in knowledge, he stood at
the summit of his fame, did he alter his opinion. His views
on the abrogation of Jewish customs or institutions, are set
forth with sufficient explicitness in his controversy with
Geiger in 1845, between whom and himself a difference had
broken out, which had the effect of considerably cooUng
their friendship. Geiger found it intolerable that a scholar
of Zunz's stamp should bear him ill-will. Not a week had
formerly passed without an interchange of correspondence
and now a long time had elapsed without a line from Zunz.
Even his own letters to Zunz had been left unanswered.
Geiger wrote again to his friend a long letter, complaining
of the latter s inexplicable silence and estrangement. This
is not the place for large quotations from a correspondence
which has no direct bearing upon our present purpase.
But one point is noteworthy. Geiger blames Zunz severely
and uncompromisingly, for having, in one of his essays,
upheld the custom of wearing phylacteries, eks a noble and
sacred institution {Oesammelte Schnften, Part IL, p.l72, aeqq,),
Geiger wonders at this advocacy. "Even admitting," he
says, " that every popular custom may possibly have a deep
meaning, what can be said in favour of this particular
usage, which is based on a mistaken interpretation of the
text (referring to t/non's exposition), and approaches
dangerously close to the superstition of wearing amulets
and charms. Does such an institution deserve to be called
holy?" He criticises Zunz for his essay {Ibid. 191) on
the sanctity of the Abrahamic rite, in which the aathoi:
Digitized by
Google
394 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
exclaims, "Qod forbid that we should tamper with this
precept, which was in past times, and is still at the present
day, reverenced as sacred by the whole Jewish people. Who
will dare to abrogate, with impunity, this holy rite ? '* Geiger
dissented, '' Though I agree tiiat it was unwise on the part
of the Be/orm Verein to touch the rite of circumcision*
which the bulk of Jews still hold sacred, yet I cannot com-
prehend the necessity of working up a spirit of enthusiasm
for the institution on the ground that it is generally
esteemed." On a third occasion, he took Zudz to task because
he heard that the latter observed the regulations of Judaism
in his household arrangements more strictly than ever. ^* K
Zunz's scrupulousness and punctiliousness," he says, " were
a consequence of the office he holds [he was, at that time,
principal of the Training College for Jewish Teachers in
Berlin], it would be intelligible." But he heard it reported
that Zunz's strictness was an outcome of his inward con-
victions ; that he thought it every Jew's duty to maintain
in their integrity the traditional customs universally ac-
cepted by the commimity. This, to him, was incomprehen-
sible. To Qeiger's ambiguous words, Zunz replied clearly
and decisively, without qualification or reservation, in terms
that express his fundamental views on Reform in Judaism,
of which the following is the gist: "The norm as well as
the sanction for Judaism is the practice actually in vogue.
Its obligation rests on the consecration of general usage.
The great thinkers, Maimonides, Ibn Ezra, Nachmanides,
have the right and privilege of building on this foundation.
It is our duty to change our own ways ; our religion needs
no change. Foreign excrescences, that have attached them-
selves to the pure creed, need to be removed, but the sacred
inheritance of the congregation of Jacob should not be
touched. The outcry against the Talmud can only come
from one who has renounced Judaism." Thus far Zunz.
This is not the place to speak about Geiger. My object
is to sketch in his own words Zunz's character, methods
and views on practical Judaism, and he traditions in vogue,
Digitized by
Google
Leopold Zunz, 395
which alone, according to him, can form an actual standard
for the religious life. We may wonder at the combination,
^1 an honest man like Zunz, of two diametrically opposed
elements.
How is scepticism as to the unity of the Pentateuch to
be reconciled with a marked reverence for tradition shown
in a stem refusal to budge an inch from what has been
consecrated by the adoption of the people? How is a
zeal for the honour of the Talmud, which he carries to
the extreme length of renouncing all communication with
its detractors, compatible with a doubt, not kept to
himself, but deliberately disseminated, as to the authen-
ticity of the first five books of the Bible ? We shall have
no occasion for surprise if we bear in mind the point
already touched upon, that for Zunz, study and practice
are distinct provinces. The investifrator should be at
liberty to explore ; the soul, God's gift, is not in bonds.
But any professor of a particular religion is bound to rule
his life according to the code that obtains among his
co-religionists; and this code is indeed difierentially re-^
ligion.
Among his many excellent qualities, one stands pre-
eminent— ^the virtue of toleration. He was patient to-
wards the views of others, both in religion and criticism.
Only wickedness exasperated him. Would that all Jewish
fldiolars emulated him in this respect. Frequent ex-
perience should have taught us sufficiently that intolerance
breeds discord, and peace alone promotes well-being.
Alas! to the sore grief of all right-minded people, in-
tolerance is an old evil among the Jews. We find it
manifested first and foremost by those who differ in their
dogmatic belief. " Hard-shell " orthodox Israelites in one
camp, arrayed against free-thinking sceptics. Neither
party can bear the other. The air is filled with their
vehement and constant contentions. And yet both sides
are thoroughly honest The one is honest in its uni-
versal faith, the other in its spirit of universal
Digitized by
Google
396 The Jewish Quarterly Mevietc.
inquiry. What need of quarrelling? Let each^ cling to
his genuine beliefs. A man has no business to set himself
up as a judge of his neighbour's thoughts. This office
belongs to God alone, who searches the heart. Such
contentions have deprived us of many advantages, and
ruined our communal peace. Yet, in spite of these
notorious considerations, partisans persist in disputations.
Why? Because intolerance has filled them with a mad
perverseness. The discussions of Jewish scholars and
critics are warped by intolerance. Scholars obstinately
stand on their individual opinions without a shred of
reason, as if they had sworn fealty to the children of
their brains. Everyone regards his argument, no matter
whether good or bad, strong or weak, as absolutely
irrefragable, and cannot brook opposition. Intolerance
is to blame when scholars belittle and disparage each
others' work, and criticise hastily, adversely, and un-
justly. Of these despicable vices, Zunz showed not a
trace. He had an open mind for all views, even for
those not accordant with the bent of his own idea& He
did not obstinately maintain his own opinion against sound
reason. He welcomed every intellectual production, and
encouraged and stimulated every student. His ear and
heart were always ready to receive truth, whether it came
from a renowned or obscure source.
One more quality I will finally note: Zunz never
cared to write critical notices of contemporary work. I
do not remember ever to have seen a critique by him
on a new publication. When I brought out my Hebrew
History of Jewish TradUion — I do not, at the present
moment, remember whether it was the first or second part
in connection with which the incident I am about to relate
occurred — ^I sent him a copy, and in the letter which
accompanied the presentation, asked him to favour me with
his opinion of my work. He replied in eulogistic terms,
such as I had hardly dared to anticipate, but added : " Your
wish that I should write a critique [evidently misunder-
Digitized by
Google
Leopold Zunz, .397
standing my request] is one to which I cannot accede. To
write critical notices on new books was never my metier**
How wise was this self-denying ordinance ! No oflSce is
more ungrateful than that of a critic. I have noticed in
the press the writings of over a hundred authors, and in
every case vexation has been the result of my labours.
Authors' whims are enough to make one weep. One man
writes a book ; another examines it and gives an honest
judgment, praising temperately its merits. But what is
the poor critic to do with the faults and positive inac-
curacies and errors ? Are the blemishes to be glossed over
for the sake of the author ? And yet many knights of the
pen are so hypersensitive that they cannot bear it to be
said that their books contain errors. Others, have I seen,
who knock at the scholar's doors and humbly beg : •* Oh,
dear critic, deign to notice my work, proclaim its praises.*'
The critic, good-naturedly notices the work, but his honesty
will not permit him to hide its faults, and so he earns the
author's undying hatred. Zunz acted wisely in refraining
from all criticisms on contemporary literature.
Summarising the virtues of the hero of this sketch, I
would say that he was of " noble temper," that he loved his
fellow-men and endeavoured to guide their steps to the
Thora, that he was an honest worker, a fruitful explorer.
Not more than bare justice was done him in the eulogy
which I published at his death, in which I said that " his
work still lives and will live for ever. His memory will
never fade." Israel will honour, to the last generation, the
man who devoted all his energies, during the whole of his
life, to the study, elucidation, and exposition of the literature
of Judaism.
I. H. Weiss.
VOL, VIl. D D
Digitized by
Google
398 jThe Jetmsh Quarterly Revmc,
ALFONSO DE ZAMORA.
Very little is to be found in bibliographical works con-
cerning Alfonso, who was one of the chief contributors to
the Polyglott Bible, called Complutensis, in the matter con-
taining the Targum. Roderiguez de Castro* says that Alfonso
was bom in 1480 A.D., and embraced Christianity in 1492.
"We shall see, later on,' that our author was bom in 1474, and
that there is no date mentioned concerning his conversion.
As to his death, Le Long' mentions the yeax 1531, without
indication of the source from which he derived it; we
shall find later on^ that Alfonso wrote as late as 1544,
when he describes himself as old and unhappy. The same
confusion will be found concerning Alfonso's letter,* ad-
dressed to the Jews at Rome, where he called himself the
son of the wise (Rabbi) Juan de Zamora ; from which we
may conclude that Alfonso*s father also embraced Chris-
tifi^ty, perhaps to escape the frequent massacres at
Zamora. There were at Zamora many celebrated families,
such as the ancestors of Isaac Ibn Aramah,* author of
pns^ nipVy and of those of Jacob Ibn Habib, author of the
^V^ YV.'' Zamora had a special rite (riTOD) concerning
Alfonso, to judge from his pure Hebrew style, was edu-
cated in a Jewish school before he went to the University
of Salamanca, as was the case with Paul CoroneP and
^ Biblicteoa EspaHola^ 1. 1., p. 399. * See below, No. xviii.
» BiUiotheca Saera (foL 1723), t II., p. 604J.
• See below, No. xviii * See below, p. 401.
• Kore Ha-dorot (ed. Oassel), fol. 30a. » Ihid., foL 32a.
• MS. BodL Hebrew d, foL 43, H-TIDD n^HDn \r\2, D^:ini^ DOH^D)
• F. Delitesch, Studies on the CompL Polyglott^ 1872, p. 27.
Digitized by
Google
Alfonso de Zamora,
Alfonso de Alcala,* who were his coadjutors for the Com«
platensian Bible, which appeared in 1515. Our Alfonso
seemed to be in great favour with the Cardinal Ximenez
de Cisneros, and later on with his successor as Archbishop
of Toledo, Don Alfonso de Fonseca, to whom he dedicated
his second edition (1526) of the Hebrew grammar in Latin.
The first appeared at the end of the fifth volume of the
Cofnpluten9i».
The following is the dedication which is to be found in
the second edition (foL DD 86), from which we learn that
Alfonso re-edited it in Alcala de Henares, with the help
of Professor Pedro Siruello. It was set in type by Roderigo
de la Torre in the printing office of Michael de Egia, under
the supervision of Professor Don Juan de Pedraso.
: irtob mw's nrw nj»n\ rronpn lanjiDM Vi»n
onDM nH» D37 w^n "(vxhn pyipin nso rxt >rran b'»n'»?
Tmn noTM bDD * ma^^DH?^ yvy^^v^ rmrxo ^m n'^'^w^ p»bn
"^nmv nr» : n'^aittipn D^rrpron noon "^n^^r) nB;«ai ^t
MTi '^D ♦ nbiD^btt b» biTjn )p^n laa^iM nDKDni ryvxn:^
lay bD ^rhvw v^n^ '^aabi ♦ tidd msbo na^nM iia^Mnn
: njT»B^i9 >-r "wt^ta ]n lott^n \r\^^ na^M ♦ Timi rf?D> Tan
niDsnn n>SD o^TW5'»» n >^«?bs Hnnn ]koa rmnm
"^nM irr ri?^D "^3 ♦ nn vn na^M on^am D'^Dsrm rfrnpn^
Vna mm nnian c??^m -invi ♦ nnrf? '»3^:«dmi '^3iptn nm
• rro^bayn vui^m ins bM "^rttv M^n ^s ib'»Bn'»p tnTp
rxt "^ivwv biTj mian ^d ♦ rra^nn D'»rf?M nDsnn na^M
nam mn i^BTbn r^nbi n^ib biTj pa^n orf? rrrra? n^»n
nno I'^nnbn Dpso p^sorf? ♦ in urh -r^Mrf? biTi th'^s w^
triTDa ri?')^ ♦ nnoon dvt»md anwv^ n»nM ♦ onson
* OMtro, ^u?., who quotes from Paolus Colomesius* Italia et Hispania
(HtntalU, p. 218.
DD 2
Digitized by
Google
400 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
♦ •^an^^W'^ ]'»3Db a^a^i nna7^i niwD a^om nbM raa? ♦ i'*W9
]'^ntt') ]Dboi "la?'^ piw "^litD rf?"^! ti'^-nri ppirron t \v
iw!5n3 "ia7M bon "inv ^no^si') nvniwn y^p^^n ni3D')N3
nphnTj? n ]hv yn Tom rmon '»D'»n : "nso niibbn
: '»'^yHi Tban : bh6 nbnn : mn no^nn rY^nn tDSW*) pnn
: nnT novy D^3i« px^ ♦ ro ^^ jni3 inn
: n^p^ nibnnn pn:i • np^ p|Di^i ddh pdb^
s np^ 5jDn pnv^ jnin • niy ddhm ddh^ |n
; n^nn p^D* d^ki • noan kvo mtc n^rtc
5 nn«nn p-viDi • p|Dd thod mno nitD o
: }DKi }DK D^iy^ niiT inn • • ik^u
On the last folio, after the Symbolum, come the follow-
ing lines, from which we can see that Alfonso had many
enemies, and felt himself unhappy, in spite of his successful
career.
: -p^^i^ • D^^^B «iVDb • DVK1 «ni3 • Di^ ^mDt
X imnyn • *3y niion • »3iDnn »3 ♦ ^3^^vn
: i^tDDB^n • iDKun • lonnin * lor^n
: iinDB^ ♦ D^i3 :hy\ • D^nn nnr • d^dd ^d *3
: inK^^ ^^3 • r\'or\ \:hr\ • hd-id nntc ♦ nosn itotr
: imina • ^3;d ^d • ^^riJ'in • ^jk ^bi
: injntrn • ^^« n^cn • ^^byo m • ^byo non
Digitized by
Google
Alfonso de Zamora. 401
Between the Grammar and Dedication we find (on page
BB) the famous Letter addressed to the Jews at Rome and
the surrounding country for controversial purposes, written
in Hebrew with an interlinear Latin translation. The book
seems to be so rare, that the bibliographers have never seen
it, and give therefore a wrong description of it. Many have
said that this Letter is to be found in the Complutensian
Bible after the Grammar, which is not the case. Le Long,
and many after him, confound Alfonso's Letter with St.
Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews, which Alfonso ti'anslated into
Latin. Castro and Maittaire give the right description of it.
As far as our knowledge goes, copies of this Letter are to
be found in the British Museum (two copies), in Paris and
Berlin. Neither the Bodleian library, nor the University
library of Cambridge possesses a copy of it. Being so rare,
we believe we axe justified in giving a description of it.
The title of the Letter is the following : —
and it is divided into seven chaptera The first begins as
follows : MnpH D'^ttTM DD'»bM mmn'^nDi m^n bnp Vn ^^w^h
containing a kind of introduction, and the second chapter
gives proofs from the Old Testeonent for the Trinity. They
are the same which we find in all controversies. The chief
passages are, (a) in Isaiah vi. 3, where we find three times
wy\p " holy " ; (b) in Zechariah xii. 10. Alfonso says : T^^m
^Db w'hwn nro bv ntn npnn i>vm hoa M^nan innst
ntr)p^^ vbw nniriD onDO n'^pi:^:! "^bH rhw ♦ ^bM iiD'^nni natw
-rnw bsn a^npn rmi ]y) dm "^d rm^nb ^ba Li fact, the
Codex Babylonicus has the variation of vbH and ^bs.^ We
shall see, later on,* that Alfonso was well versed in
grammar as well as in Massorah. Finally, Alfonso quotes
the famous passage in the Zohar, W'^lp MTin tt^np Mnw a7^Tp
» See Baer'8 edition, 1878, p. 89, and ed. Ginsburg, 1894, p. 1116.
« See page 402.
Digitized by
Google
402 The Jeunsh Quarterly Review,
Chapter 3 has for subject the Hebrew grammar. The
writer says that he has studied the grammatical works
of Judah Hayyuj, of B. Jonah, of the Ben Elzras, but all
of them are without method, and none of their disciples ean
write Hebrew. The following is the Hebrew text : —
minn a^n'^Di jDipi )nw m'^mosn -iTon T^^rnb '»nw
^amTDwn mb w^w nvw^p^ nipson nsp nb^pi iiDbni
TOWbnn ]WHnTTO VnnK) i ddv ^^rf? ij>bp otw Mt&Yijjn
rm hD "^n^tr^ pMpm no^m >d : ronrfto -qth fmm)
: TOV '»9i'» mim •»?•! nrw u^^noipn rr-onDn •orcm
'»?"] nDipn*) ♦ WTT»D 037 Tni2>pn vrw rwo ^yj^ • bifeDon
Dm3« '^?1 ansa? no '^n'»Mn cai : ntim '»5i nn ^0^32
na?'* inw mo lib'^OM nmnso b» r« ram : rrjT? W
ly "^s • p')ipin rnon D3^B7b nnib vb:; tT»TDbnn i:n3D'»»
DD31tt3b nn-f? 37T^ bDVW TTTM TClbn lb'»0« MSD3 h6 Dl^
rroiTpn ^aro^oM D^3'»»MDn Dvn D'»a7')y» ids p^ipm -jtdi
urh ^3na na^H npiTpi mo by n^'^om p»b o^mw
ni»n UD'hv xs^T^'b am ♦ D^snriMni n^3impn tannron
nwiw nnDon bH I2ibn rf? taw M3^©b nn-ib d>37Tp M3W
'^SMi • D3'»3'*3y "^sb DS'bw "inT na^M pioon n'^Dtnb tynwin
rw l^fflb 3yb3 ♦ n3'»p T^m ^rvvw^ nD« nt b^ '^s lav
^s • M^n m roDi : noa? ^^^y nv idm m DTipi • hd'o
p'np'ib D'^sn^n amon nnb i^t rf? '•mDta? D^^nnn
nn/n^ nnsi nnnn inns') itd h6n Dmnni V?nbni d31»*?
nom ns'^aribi »nrb dim bs nrfj'^a? ly -pif? rfw
piTpm rorf?i3 nn'^n p b:;*) ♦ D'^sns nnrn rrnon
n3')tt7b iiob pbi • «a7Db un'bv '^nn') • hddto )2«d rsvm
I35bi ♦ P'^'ib iy3'»') irf?** tbw Drib nitt tw >3 • banrrn bi?
iM /T^hnob «btt7 "T)nyni ♦ nnvi )norh D^3'»DNDn DTby
nnn ira na^H n'^mpDn bn nib •^ronn rf? ]iarb tmi ns
^bw •)3n3 DMnb nmirib irin d« tm ♦ opiTpin onnren
• ribni b^Bi nw yni by nnnm miM bs oDb nbaw wi
nt TODS') : rD'»n bM rf?i bwaa^n bH dbsa^n ids -tbth
ronsn rv^nn "^d bib riT "^s • Dmpn nioMi id>t nbi to
^Twn rf? D« "^s T)D'^ "^b rw ^^ b')D'» mnnn v^hh tsp bn
: nbstt? ^norib nbsa^n pMpin riDsnn rQiDni marn t"'"
Digitized by
Google
Alfonso de ZamorcL 408
nrnnMn nni bs nSbAi r^rf? Da^rr^an ti'^or* rfpa? )3» bD
wn^Qw 1DD inb nb37inb iw dh^dh t^i bv nn^^ ibtt^di
^D3 niMbsai nibn:i nm:: by rf? bs« ♦ pnru p '»'?? '»?t
•••rronpn lamDw n'»3'»DMDn nniani nroDrrn iBrT^Bi i3^nrr»
In the fourth chapter he says as follows :
npSDD nno Hj'^hn • mwan n'hwrh nnaM (theorici)
nnn psDD r« ""^ ^^^^ • nibDn p\id:i m by lans^a?
nvniN3 ro^^n ubwn nDODi ♦ ^nn^Dn y5S55 noDDb
Hina? '•asn n'^ann '•an own •^nw lana rf? Dvn iy V^TQT
nmnb nibon F|iDn ninins in V^IQT nvrnw bs« pDo
wnn rf?»
The sixth chapter has for subject the Talmud, of which
Alfonso says the following : —
rs^w D'^y-iT nnw 'niD ww3, Tinbnn DS^Dsn yi^n ny
nSbon '•nt&n n'bbsa dbiDa? ♦ rp"*^ nmnta D'^ayip D'^a^ai
DO? w^^ ♦ ta^D pVb vn p "^s ninw ♦ ^tap pt orro ibwn
DUSTS') ri'^-pn T^i by n'^m onm nrrinni n'^Monan '^^ra
• nma layV o'^a^DMDn nrnw iyi^ tawa? D^VyiD oa'^M ^d D'bnni
• HHinan n^^wwr^ inw ot^nniD nowir niDibnn ^yin^ idd
nw^bn wini ♦ inw Dnmsi D'^bbsriDi vby D'»D!ri ^n n>a'»DMDn
riDwir 1DD DD'^DDrm rr^nn nnn a?** )3i • h^wn binbni nion
Tn*^ by «in Dwa; ♦ ^np nya^n m nnns "^aibD n-n mnn'^M
IT iM lymt iH whnn rf?i na'^wa wib'^a^on nzab ba^D
Tbn aiy noMD pi ♦ na^iipn lana'^DM '»a'»Dwab pirnj wya?
npy^Hi Kaw bn'^M '^hdid "^rbn mni bHna?** narro by ^a^nn
nnai '»n')npa') "^bna •^rw') may^^nn n'^bpa; '^n'^'^aas >iw^^ mtiid
s'^ro HI by*) '^nnani n-^a'^wb '^nisn n'»'»DnDb wn ♦ n^onsib
•»na7i3 "^D ♦ ronna? rf?H mna? >npn bs ♦ mna? n-^yan "^aa;
DnDiwa; nnDDon nih6Dan p*) ♦ nbwn nnsm yiDa;bi Mnpb
D>pm» iw^ nbHD n>3'n nnnw nnnii ♦ wo'^a n'»b a^'^mriM
Digitized by
Google
404 The Jeicuih Quarterly Retiew.
Ton DDts^; D'»a7')y vna? •^n'lD-itt?'* tswa? cDb naw '•aMi : ikt*
^iib riDwn i^T rf? Dvn i3?a7 itd it niawDi man nmnon
maw niban • nta-i nva^pm ♦ nn'»r6rf? a7TnT*?i • nn'^MiDD
-a ntt?n "^^l m by ]wiinn sriD p*) • nnwn ^bn nnm
mpDD M^nn bsby nn ^mi • ^rr^T:itT( b^wn bnbn Him • ]Dna
«b nbw bs %nibnni ♦ anno? nrDian M'^n ^n r)« ninn
HD : binbn nso Hirra? '•ob iinbnn p nv^^ nib ^nwnn
Qmrnsi nn'»pnn niDiipn •^a'^naiDH Q'»a>DWDb p vwo;
D>y"m D'^an'^Stt') D'^aiDai nnra nbin "^n cnbtt? nvo-JMi
T« ]3 DH1 ♦ mwipi rv\p^D "by) cmnicDn bn binbn ^bn
D'^'^pm m nnosi • vt nwvt^ bsi nim nb^v^ bH la'^inn
inwn rf? taw nan'* rf?i DD-in'» naitw manb niriDn mn
: rronpn lanaiDW rD«nb
The seventh chapter treats of the Kabbalah, of which we
give the following extract : —
DDnoDn M^n*) iravyn nbnpn riDDh DS'^GDn riDn ii^y
no'hv D'^prwD nn '•n D'^xayn '»a'»5b wb bnn Qona'^si
Dn37T» inn naw ri5| Hina; minnni K^"itD© h'*:ii ^ipn^iann
DD'^orn nnTB? -iinwi • tantDba; by nyl^}^ vni ]iai bo'^a '^n
D^miDn bn ]nb nainni -no** ^bn Dai!n "^sb rwrn rrDnnn
♦ ta^a^a niTm cop nni nn "^n ann Tnn rnnn** nnnm
noTn nbnp nbnpn nodh nnnyi obi • 3nr rf? nn -inwi
bn n3'»n'» rf^iD nn-^n nnio in a?^ -iinyn nnnn wbi '•a^on
riwa^a nninn nbHi • bna nnn n-^n^ rf? nH '•aia'^n niM
nnri'^n nnmn ih ipnniam misn im nvnisn ninon
: nibnn ih nvniwn va3?n im ninnn
We shall now enumerate, chronologically, Alfonso's lite-
rary productions, original (which are few) as well as copies,
with the complete Hebrew postscripts. We do not pretend
to be exhaustive, for it is possible that some works of his
exist in some provincial libraries in Spain. It is even pos-
sible that there are some of his MSS. in one or another of
Digitized by
Google
Alfomo de Zamorcu 405
the Madrid libraries, as well as at the Escorial, which we
have overiooked. We hope that our learned friend, D. Fidel
Fita, will be able to supplement the lacunae. We shall see*
that no work of Alfonso is recorded between 1500 and 1516,
but we can scarcely believe that Alfonso remained inactive
for fifteen years.
I., DATE 1500.
Targura on Prophets, with a Latin translation, to be
found in the University Library of Madrid, without name,
but probably by Alfonso de Zamora. Colophon : —
v»mn w'ln n'^ansn ^hh T^^^^'i iptc^^DawnD '•wis yxi rb^vi
in>Dn urtTi now rr^r\ ninDa? wnpn in n'»'>(Ti wiy ib inM^
D'^n-11 "^nw T*pn nWDni mbtc^n vriDttn ssaa \h ^^v^
n^w vbin wmb dv f on riba73i win ni«n2 ^n tn^d ^d wdd
i±2 "^S p^om n'^iTDn -frn labwia nw'^nb mwa a^Dm n^w
: D'^nbH Tonn ii^bitD n iDa?'^n'>D"iw H^aDo^'^H n
Made by the command of Cardinal Ximenez; finished
the 27th July, 1500 A.D.
II., DATED 1516.
MS. at the University Librstry of Salamanca. This MS.
contains: (I) n'^a^n "nan nvwn, "On Poetry," by Gabirol,
attributed to Moses Qamhi (in the Latin translation written
Camcht) in the edition; the real author is David Ibn
Yahya;^ (2) "the Accents according to the Italian and
Sephardic rites *' ; (3) " R. Meir ben Todros Abulafia's Ma-
soretic treatise (miDtt)," finished the fifth of Elul, 4987 A.M.
= 1227, at Toledo. Colophon: — am mn "iDDH bn nbtt73
^^V''W^^2 ni'bb f "^i p^'m n^w naa^n nmtDiw wirh d'^d'» 'i 'n
i^nbw wnan ]WDn nny miDHa? n wa'ft'w >^^v n^a^D yw»
* See below, Nob. I. and II.
' See Steinschneider, Catal. Libr. Heh, Ox.^ p. 866.
Digitized by
Google
406 The Jettish Quarierlp Review,
bn:i niPntas vmy^H n. Finished at Alcale de Henam,
Monday, the seventh of October, 1516, under great diflBcol-
tie& Alfonso claims to have taken this treatise from a
copy made by Baruch Ibn Sahl (bno), who transcribed it
from the autograph, and there he saw the author's signa-
ture, R Meir hal-Levi ben R. Todros. The date of com*
position, 4987, as well as the words HOW no'^m 1«n '»rn
is also found in the Escorial MS., G. Pluteo L, No. 5,
which contains the commentaries on Psalms by D. Qamhi
and M. Meiri, and those by Bashi and Levi b. Qeishom
on the five Megilloth, Ezra and Nehemiah, followed by
•^DTiDb pn rrr^DD ^r^W and the nnion 'd, but the name
of the copyist, Baruch, does not occur in it, as far as we
have noticed it. (4) "D. Qamhi's Dictionary," dedicated
to Ximenes (y^Ti^W 'iS pi mwn:2), and here Alfonso
says that he is forty-two years old. He gives the title
of these four treatises, which are translated into Latin^
as MHH n>np (Genesis xxii. 2), in allusion to the num-
bers of the books found in ii There are some glosses on
the last two treatises. At the end of the MS., by another
hand, it is stated that the King Don Carlos, son of Dona
Juana (KDH^Ui ^Til). daughter of Don Fernando and Isabella,
went to Spain in the year 1518, when he was seventeen or
eighteen years old, and brought with him a councillor,
called W'^^'^W, who had put enormous taxes upon the people.
This caused a revolution against the king, and he had to
return to his country with great shame.
Ill, DATED 1517.
"Targum of Hagiographa," with a Latin translation
(forming the second volume of No. 1). Colophon : — cfcw
Made at the wish of Cardinal Ximenez at AJcala de
Henares, finished Wednesday, the 8th of April, 1517.
Digitized by
Google
Alfomo de Zamara. 407
IV., DATED 1519.
In the Angelica at Rome, No. 21/ "Grammar and Die-
iionary of Joseph Caspi (see HisMre lAttiraire de la France^
t XXXI., p. 499). Colophon :— •»r'^n» DVn ntn nSDH cftjtw
rr&h na737 r\vw^^^ niKD a^om F|bM raw v^bti »-rrf? /d
]kon n» m^DHD '»•? W3if?M T b37 miDttn vwr\^ la^y'^irio
»n«3*'H n rf?kob« «n02. Copied at Alcala de Henares,
fnished on Saturday, the 23rd July, 1519.
v., DATED 1619.
"Escorial Pluteo 2. c 85. Moses Qamhi's ibntt, with
Benjamin's notes and a part of the bbso." Written at
Alcala de Henares, finished in December, 1519.
VI., DATED 1620.
At the end of a Bible with the lesser Massorah, written
Tebeth, 6242=1481, at Tarasona, by Yom Tob, son of
Isaac Amarillo (see Archives des Missions Scientifiques, 2nd
s^rie, vol v., p. 424), followed by the text of the." Megillath
Antiochos'* (in Hebrew), we find the following colophon: —
H*?H roa? rriMD ayinn yamn dv miDMD ^i wat^H "^aM
irm ins >y^v^ ^rm ttj^rei "^ns ^^'sn nb6m didd 5pni
u^rh\b (effaced) ^rmi "ovt^ '^d'^i ^ban ^2ibi '^rmb niao
In this postscript, dated the Ist of March, 1520, Alfonso
complains of his friends who turned from him ; he is un-
happy and ill (see below, p. 414).
VII., DATED 1520.
Escorial Pluteo I., No. 4. " Genesis," with Spanish trans-
lation and marginal notes, has the following colophon : —
nrwi ^D niMTiDiin d37 rY^DMnn \w mn noon oba^a
frr\ Jibw rOiW vati a^irf? u^iy> f d 'a nvn ^or nnviDn
' See the Catalogno, p. 94.
Digitized by
Google
408 Tlie Jeimh Quarterly Review.
rittDnn bnnn nsnnb a^nwH "^i rfrwnbM «n»n minwo
'^>b rQtt; \nwn bDn lytsa? o i^»wTn>D n "^s n'»nbR Finished
Tuesday, the 26th June, 1520, at Alcala de Henares for
Sirillio (see above, p. 399).
VIII., DATED 1526.
National Library, Madrid, C. 33, No. 5. D. Qamhi, Dic-
tionary without vowel points, except the word ^TOfJi P^"
bably by Alfonso, dated Thursday, the 11th August, 1526,
according to the end, where we read, a7irf? D^D^ f^'* 'n D'P
\'n3-r miDDn yw» la^'^a^in riTbb f di ,yn rem itaotw
a7n«D^H n ribHDb« ncan n'^n td:;'* M'^na? -idik At be-
ginning we read : D^M^nan "^tt^TT^S ^aDBTtt? b^lp ]nDb nttW3
D'^riv Da^Ho? in'^nm t'^aawa? br nwsn'* rf^a; "^s nnpa "^b d?to7
nDrf?D ^DD niTipa ^bn D^tt?TT»D lib an nrc\p^ "bn Knrb
: bD^y ta^^Di nn nna -inr "b rrrri b'^ia piw
Finished Thursday, 16th August, 1526. He mentions the
Professor Antonio de la Foveta as being opposed to the
establishing of an university at Alcala de Henares. He
mentions the priest Corea who reproached Sanjez that he
could not read unpointed Hebrew. We cannot elucidate
the matter in dispute ; nothing of it is mentioned in La
Fuente's Mistoria de las Uhiversitadea en Espafla.
IX., PROBABLY 1526.
The second edition of Alfonso's Hebrew Grammar and
his letter addressed to the Jews at Rome, see above, p. 398.
X., DATED 1527.
Univ. Libr. Madrid. A Latin translation of Genesis, with
the following colophon: — "^T iw^aiiaaw )^1 ?Tn3Dn '^tt'»n
wirh nv Y'^ >^w nvn mn noon dba^a ]pnon iiaawpowp
ianyw» ]'»aDb Ma?*) ^'nwv^ mwa a7»m ^bs naa? rr^a^w
:brf? nbnn nbsibw wnan miowD >i ToaiDbs t by
Digitized by
Google
Alfonso de Zatnora. 409
Finished the 14th of January, 1527, at Alcala de Henares
at the time of the corrector (?) Don Antonio de Cascanto(?).
XL, DATED 1527.
MS. in the National Library of Paris, Hebrew No. 1229.
David Qainhi*s Grammar, text with Latin translation, has the
following colophon :— b'frDDn iDD nriDa ♦ pnpin };bn cbtt^a
iDiinb D'^D'* "^aa? '^y'^na? Dvn Dbtt^a*) nanipn la'^naiDs bnaon
QDnn n::rn lanrw^ ^arf? t5) ^^ r)bM naa^n or'iK3'^«
D'^nbM brT^ nari en ar^w b-^ainip T'»'»a?a ib^Np '•iipo^Mp nboTn
rrf?*) ns n^^'b ima iro y^mh bM iroa? -iidh y-iD noi
: nn"T» nn^n? doiw
: ]nHi ]DM Dbirb mn'* yro.
Written for Eduardo Leo, English Ambassador at the
court of the Emperor Charles V., at the advice of Maestro
Pablo Nunez Coronel, finished Saturday, the 2nd of No-
vember, 1527.
This MS. also has '•rTOfj. No doubt that the Spanish
Jews pronounced this name Camhi; indeed, the nickname
of '»ftnn given to our David by the Proven9al Rabbi can
only be explained by the Arabic word Qamh, "wheat,"
and has no sense if pronounced Qimhi, from iTOp, '* flower."
There are now families in the East called Qamhi and Qimhi,
of which the former is the Hispanico- Arabic pronunciation,
and the latter that of the Franco-Germanic pronunciation,
who only know the word npij and not the Arabic Qamh.
XII., DATED 1530.
National Library, Madrid, No. 12, contains the Latin trans-
lation of Isaiah, Daniel, and Lamentations. Colophon: —
nbibH «nDn in'»ytt7'»i bM^aii nia'^p Dntt7 nbwn DnDon nwbw
rf ^ ^y^na7 nvn laba^a*) miDWD n loaibH "^t by or-ia'^M >i
Digitized by
Google
410 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
These three books were written at Alcala de Henares,
finished on Saturday, the 16th of October, 1530.
XIIL, DATED 1632.
Aramaic introduction to the Targum of Isaiah, begun at
Salonica, Tuesday the 28th of February, 1532, according to
the following words in the Leiden MS., nnn'^n rf 3 '3 D1^
n*? nw rxpsd^w ro^r^ >rhnr\n. The name of Alfonso
does not occur in the MS., but there can be no doubt that
he is the author, for Alfonso alone had charge of the Tar-
gum for the Complutensis.^ Cardinal Ximenez has his full
praise, as well as CoroneL
The following Introduction is to be found in the MS.
Warner, 65 F:—
; npDMDrf?w» ro'^TDb ^ronsn? Dtnnn ra^ri ncrapn
: min bs ns"Q in \r^^\m h:h : rmi naon anis nm
nby^jf^ '»«am KatrrVr Hn')2>ba nv onott k^m^odi «atnn
MnDsnn nwD^ba? MD-^nn nro'^Dbi prv^^i:^ nni Tps win
M3m inn mv «Ti : «n-nao p "^KDip nbitD^btDi wan Kana
n rf?D*?M «nnn ]n mdt» Kanm Mn'»p'»') Man Hnoarm Kma
)nsD inB;yi rrranM ba DDTCib Tpoi nm nroi omMa^H
: bn'»,Ti wa-i Mnai'f? ]nn ]tnna itc^Hi '•aorb ^yarwn wmiKT
raD'^noi ]^r^>wp^ vvc^^o i^nno FfriDbi vi>nh Vxi i^v mti
MnrD^Tp KarroD^rf? Kwob imh^t Kaarbn Ti^nar^ta rn'»r»i
Dnm b^M^na-r trm KDtnrQi : w^n wibw nn mtpidd ^yion
I'^TOTtt ]13KT tawpT r^n'^D inariBTM b«>t37 nn inairr
>baTDb rm MDS'^Da trm KDtnn anaiT^M mi b^^i : pribiann
>an thDro>tb ^larri ^Taorpi b'^-Q : wy^r^ wiani Mnian
: )inn^bn )^nrv ]ntD'»i vviKn ^iron m ba KDtnm K^anns
KD^Dn n'^nbtt nrr^ pnvi^ '•warn KJiD'bT trm mtiis^i
1 See SteiiiBohiieider's CatcUogut Codd, ffebraorum Bibl., AoadL LDgdono
Batayorum, 1858, p. 281.
Digitized by
Google
Alfomo de Zmnora. 411
iwcm n Vanp ibnwD ntaayMD n^DDS npn'^Hi Httr^n yn
wnSD n^nn n^n"* nwwb ansn'^M v"^ mdsdi : ^H3ns ban
H-T')tt'bn npaHDbHo?! Mm^jT «mpn ]i3'>wi • ]'»D'^ba7 ^^''^rn
37TDb p3nnn bs n'^a'^a ^'O'^mt Vin wra-i HrQ'>a?'»i kt^p^
T»Dan5 H^n Hnbw -a hito^d 37ittr b:; '•n3n>bn Vis vidh
: MTTTiM ]nn n'^n wanpi wa'^n^ rinn nnn^Di mdd ^nD
XIV., DATED 1534.
University Library, Madrid. "Commentary of D. Qamhi
on Isaie," written by Hayyim ben Samuel Ibn nwan, com-
pleted by Alfonso, has the following colophon : n waiDbs
^b« rxym'^. nbwTi D^npa um ntn iDon •^amon stid rmoD
tt7'nK3'»H •»! nbkobM «nttn 'lanmrr v^tf? Ibi pm completed
at Alcala de Henares in the year 1534.
XV., DATED 1534.
MS. Madrid BibL Nac. David Qamhi's Dictionary has
the following colophon : wm rrtn bibDDH 'd pnon Dbtt^a
D')fflb tt7'na'»H n ribHDbH mtids miDO '»i waisbw t by T)pan
Tb*) pni ^bw naa^n Dn'^Don Dn^wa t Dnson nno ]'»nnb
"nniDiN a^irib d'^d'* 'n 'n orn w» ibiDb. Completed at
Alcala de Henares, finished on Monday, the 2nd of October,
1534. To be kept in the Libraury at the disposal of students.
XVI, DATED 1534.
"Targum Onqelos" (MS. Escorial), followed by nviSDin
Diannn, which are those found in the so-called "Targum
Yerushalmi," on nH!riD «>n (Gen. xxxviiL 25), rbw wy'^
(Gen. xliv. 18), ^n^W^b (Gen. xlix. 18), and nbtt^n "^n^")
(Exod. xiii. 17), followed by the words : nmSDin -iHlDn')
onpDn nrrr -iDon nisiriD an wi::^r\n "The other
passages will be found in their places." Colophon : wa'isbM
]'»aDb "Tb") ph\ ^ibw naiw rrtn neon '•anon nro nMnino n
1 From KDIV^TDI (1. ) seema to be erased in the MS,
Digitized by
Google
412 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
b^ n:iw ar»n«3>w >i nbM^bM Mnnn 'ian3?w\ Completed
at Alcala de Henares finished in 1534.
XVII., DATED 1536.
MS. Nac. Library, containing the Pentateuch, completed
by Alfonso, has the following colophon: — ^DTiOn 'liHSD
^bM row TQ'iiDiM wirh di> m^> >3?>3-i Dvn v:hw^') ttr^iwD^M
bb6 nyoy ^^nVW^ V^bb Sbl pn^J. Completed at Alcala de
Henares, finished on Wednesday, the 15th October, 1536.
MS. Leiden.
XVIIL, DATED 1544.
Letters addressed by Professor Sornosa, at the University
of Alcala de Henares, to Pope Paul III. and to Cardinal de
Santa Balvina, asking protection in the name of all the
Professors against D. Juan Tavera, who persecutes the Uni-
versity. We have no means of finding out what these
persecutions were; it seems against Hebrew teaching.
These letters were either translated into Hebrew, if not
composed, by Alfonso. He says here that he is about seventy
years old, and has not yet seen happiness. He has pointed
these letters for the use of those who are not advanced
Hebrew scholars. He adds that he alone remains now of
the wise men of Spain who were exiled in the year 5252
(1492 A.D.).
>i rf?Dbw rQ>ttr»3 nw>m iddw npirjte mmn rhww n-DW
^bws wn« wyip 2M ^an ro^TOs nwt^ WMpn ^ or^nD'^w
iM >)Qn rhnp nbb:im nw^ipn p Ma^a^i bn:i ^hd ^^wbwTi
no^n bD3 ndbtt? -iaiK» nn nan ^naDm irw^i-rp nvrr>^
nttM^j "WD yn^n nnDnn n^wn '»d bwn "b )nw rhron
mno7 y)^ >d ♦ m^:2n its'* dtm^i ni^Dn msq dim na^w
mtt7>m n^n^T^t^ -inrn naDnn^i v^i^ nmn^D ba^aa r^'* ^'^
bwn '»tt737a nw iDoiDtt? wMpn niriDn nn )^^w nnit^ M^n
yo^ • rtt^DDm nb'nrin inaDns rb^vn rw Nnn» Y»nirf?D3i
Digitized by
Google
Alfonso de Zamora, 413
nDK» ^t:^':^ bwT nMn> •jDb mm nwrn naDnn y\ncA ro^nm
mm nMrr* v^^ w ♦ nDo^Dnn D^D'iaiDaD'i pp:^:^ nDtt^pnn d«
«tt73m bin noDnn nwr ^^na o ♦ msdh D>nb« ns^T)
a*»tt7D TH niDMn nniw i^h3 own? n^:sn^ rvDr^pu ^aro'ittw
DW07 nawi 'innipnn wripn yty>Trr^y yyy^r^n p o • inim^
IwV? Thja^i NnpDtt? trwv^ n37n-iM D^nDon pso lab mm
tDPDw^ mDV iwV? •fpDtt? 37w» "omiWD nmwnn dwi • n^Tim
■T'M nwrn nn^o^^n D'^na^rn tT»-ii)Qn^ tr^aDnn bs T'f^^y
uh\^^V3^ o^tt^pntt 'lanaM'i ♦ n^V?Dm na^^Tpn '^a'^ro'inH Vianb
ina^npn w^V3 n^rhw^ ranw -i^ms xn'^vrw nn-i irwnpD
K'nDi mr^nwiD ^Mia p"r ^ott;n wnpai rwtn n>37n p-w M'in'i
T^iiSD b3? n»i ♦ n^3n^ n^on nms Tan dv Sm 'la'b:?
^:iro b3? -i» p m^ ^aiys prf? "ob nrott? o'^t&npn ^:l^o^
• D^^*: b6 cn'^nnDi ^^ro^ T^sib vn na^w o'^t&npn rroAn
nww iDDwn D^tt^iTpn t^^^ 'snpw sbw dq*»p sba? n \b^
lott^n Nnpa^i msTan nwrn n^» "^wy^ M'ln^ bna pits 13'by
Hirra? tt;iVn«p pi -iD'^pn wnw m:» b3? -is3? p mi * narr^p
:xw>w 13? 'la'^niprr riott7>tt7'i ^tto^ ^\d ni!n yyhv T^n
hv ii:iinw sbw ^:it\d iniDDW snptt? >-r b^^j t-i5D nxhrh
'^D rasib D'»tt7npn t^^^ Mnp^a? rSw 'lariba^tt? mb»b ^rhn
t6i : ra>3?n nnniD ]M2d lana^nai 103? 'laroM nbna m^sn
TTODnn nM3tt7)D *»« nwapD dw • nri^n rm tvd'W ndb '03?t
hsb; nbito'^bia btt? yn'sn itidt i^DpnS ^iw ^lonn ranw im
iott7n Kipaa? bwr nii» na'iDn ns'^ttr^n rwT lO'^i vaob
Q'»r6w MTT^'i -itt7>'i on tt7'»w mrw v^a'^o^^tt? ptt^^oaMno >'>miD
labao^i ♦ ntt;3;tt7 nini^n vniDt^o b^D n*«-iatt7 'los sno -noi
ina^np mty npro nriDtan msnn nriim bD nn3? ir
D« '»D • tt^np tT»nb« tt^'^M ^{nt^^ n'^rrb«n opon na^v nnwa?
-fboDn mm mm labMa^a? rwrn rib«B?n ina^iip ntt73?n
p laDwi itt7^D n!Ji3-nD miion '^ani iDbo -fba natt^i
nasonn rwrn ma«n -jna^npb \nnnD rwrn nniian n3'*tt;'>n
ina^npb c^mmzTD nm '•awi nn c^^stt^vn r:*»-ii!Dm c^o^nn b^
VOL. VII. E E
Digitized by
Google
414 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
Vira? \\h D^VpDriD "om tdd dv bDni rhrrx nibE5a?n.n3T
: ]D« voms nt&npn W7i»b -jntt^np
u^jxhw >3tt7 DV3 bwn rni»b rwrn miwn nribtrai rmriDa
>-r itt73i5b« '»'7> b3? ttr»-iM3*»M n r6DbM ro'^a^'^s I3n3?w» v^^^
bD nrw'A v^'*o^ '''^^ mniT)p3s m:j«n rwr '^raro'j : orn
D>nKD') D'^Dbw na^iDn rooys n^rro rnVtatt^Mp nisba tt^rr^a p
Dn'in'^n b^ ovn ^js is^TfotD v»b dbi3? riM^-ob o'^D'^itsni wrw^
ci3i3?n nibin db'i3?n ban O'^na^vn
nDy^ rwn m '>n*»tt73? tt7i)D'»tt7n nvnwbDS'i finis laus deo
Para el Cardinal de Santa Balvina.
niusfcrissimo y Revectissimo (so).
: -WD nb3?a'j iih3 ^^j-tn
M^san •)mttn> -iiD'iMtt? ?to nn-i -jnoDni -jrroTM n3?Ti'» nsD
-1D1W mna? bwn "nn-r u^^^i^ rrvo ^^:iV pan rowD rxstro,
h nsbw -IDH^I p3?!J ')sb rQ!r3?'l 0753 nWDn^ • 0')'^ bDS Dnb
isDtWD n^m T»^ -^j^T nan o ddiw ms-w^ o'b'nan bw
naSb n!no7 rrno'iD pro b37 mstt? nir rvin ^m • crpnbw
bD ^prb^ -iar»>b c^n'^'^n va^^raai vtaDtt?*! ynw^ D37n "bna '•d
t6 DMB? Dnb -T^nrm • D3?n pnns wr^tt? y-i^) bp3?o -qi
&>WT(> rroA p rrB73y wba? -iin3?ni * nnM> obD '•d p w^;**
nnnrw ')rPQ-i'» ni3'>p nson D^Mnipi Dvn d^mti •laMtt? iod
-!»«» "^D^ ns Tan a'»tt7i37 vno? ^nn ni^i:? b3? DbtDin^
nbn T3? -iQW p^ ♦ D'>n!na nn37^ nn i'b> pis M^nan nn'^ya?'*
7>in n^^3? b3? p3?!J o'^N^nan nbwn? idd^i : D3\nnn "^D^^n
>-r nbibM 'T»3?n nwrn nn'^o^'^n D^n»rn onian^ o^arrm b^
riT\v I3?tt7 iDDi * nwtn nn'*tt7'»n piNi r^'^ iniaTN o ^na'^H
labfcw p lai^ys pnb "jdid:? D'^niDi c'^m o^ion ^n•JalN uxdv
wnpaa? rfbiD'»ba ]nD '^d lab -iiT3?ni ia'^b37 ]antt7 ^niairf? r}r\v
Digitized by
Google
Alfomo de Zamora, 415
^SD^07 TOD msn^j nia-i rnn^j irbs^ M^nn rrT^aMiD ^wti ^n
rroHm wrrpn :3«n '^nn^'j n*ormi mpnn u^prh nsrt
mso b3? -ay^j * T)'>b3? 7:irf? ^3b )nQw V3Db vno? a'>tt7iTpn
H-ip3i wMpn 2M '^SHD 3np •inMWi r»3DMi Min ^rwMp
-»Dpn i3'»an« ni2D b3? -a3? p m^i twq '^a'nt Mini • rori>p
• irroTM 10D riKtn ns'^ttr^n piwi r^o wirw tt7ib-i«p ^n
y)urw rs bna i« ]itap nm own I3pn> b^a? ni3 Mini
nianm mprm bs riiQt&'^tt? >-rD ito ]n> tm o • noD nisbab
nbitoiViD ]nD Y'y^'o^w iptt7'»D3MnD >'»nn5 tniott? i»d o'^ionni
-pT^y lanaw p byi •bwn min3?b nwtn na^o^'^n td^q?
B7i'7pn nb6 r6«n o^imn bD iDona? -jni3is» D>bMW
7^3 Q^nbMn rhnp:i rhwi ni^nn bs nnM'* tbw ib bMc^ni
mty nipro '•d ♦ t&np D>rf?« tt7>M «ini • ittip»s na^v winttr
niDDm Tan i3pD3?i Hbwn rmim bD nn3? 13? labno -jniaiM
rvDvn DH1 n^Dni ntDiTpn lanaittM Vianb nD D^nbMn
: -fDbo -fbai nat&i -f?DDn n'>n> nin^ w lab^a^a? m -jniaiM
\-nro rwtn nn"*Q7'>n p idowi iid'>q n!Ji3-iD n-)i»n "^awi
tT^nttTon cmam a*»oDnn bs nnDonn nwrn niawn -jniD-TNb
DV bDni ♦ nbiTj nibsDH^s iniaisb D'^innoyo nni >3M1 nn
vrriwb D'bttn nwinn 'T'^n t'^m^k? bb6 c'bbDntt 13M Ton
71WV nnv ivw c'biTjn o^Tonn lanDtt? rf? >d • nt&npn
: 7D« n^na ^niais b'^ir* bwn • im3? iniaTN
7iB7«n Di** «intt7 ^wbto ovs nwrn n-iawn Trobtwi nnn^D
ranb 3?siwi a'»3?3n«i nina tt^nni ^bM naa? • bn^M it^inb
nwrn n-i3Hn r'bai nns n-ii»MD t b^; rrbsbbo ianyitt?'>
: brf? nntt? laus deo
The first letter was finished on Monday, the 1st of March,
1544. Here Alfonso calls himself teacher of Hebrew at the
University of Alcala de Henares. The second letter was
finished on Tuesday, the first of April, 1544.
XIX., DATED 1558.
MS. Bibl. Njmx, No. IS, contains Exodus in Latin, with
the following colophon : —
iTw nrib Dna^M '^i nb^bM «nnn ]MDn mn iSDon nnD3
mrw T^KD -rabb n"»Knn D'»Tdbnn bsb b^vrw cnson n'^nn
£ E 2
Digitized by
Google
416 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
ny\ ipiy\ ^bw mw >-isa'»>ni3 w^rh dv f d 'i ovn chiw
miDH '•)Q>3 chttyD^i nhsD^j nim ptcbn nnn:? picb piipi
HttDnn /T^nn tasw^i pnn b«ptt7ws X'^mi ^w'^ w^^^ Tom
:bt6 rhryn rrtn
Written at Alcala de Henares for the use of such students
as came to Alcala from another coimtry ; finished Friday,
the 27th of November, 1558, by Alfonso, author of a
Hebrew Grammar in Latin, which is printed. This MS. was
written in the time of Professor Musen Pascual, Officer
of the University.
XX., DATED 1532 (doubtful).
Castro^ mentions a MS. in the Escorial Library, written
on paper at Alcala de Henares, finished in the year 1532,
which contains a theologico -controversial treatise with the
title of U>rb^ r\o:iin -iDD " Book of the Wisdom of God."
At the end it is said that it was written by Alfonso de
Zamora. It is probable, says Antonio, that this treatise is
an amplification of the " Letter to the Jews of Rome " (see
above, p. 401), and what makes it probable is, that a note in
the MS. says that it was written at the desire of Don F.
Juan de Toledo, Bishop of Cordova. The MS. is written in
two columns, of which the one contains the Hebrew text
and the other is left blank, probably intended for a Latin
translation similar to the Letter addressed to the Jews of
Rome. We have not seen this MS. in the Escorial Library.
XXL, WITHOUT DATES.
A. MS. No. 18 of the Bibl. Nac, contains D. Qamhi's
bi^3», with the following colophon i—miCbO "^l "Da^obw
ntn bfPDQn iron l^p'^r^ bs nns. All the pointing was by
Alfonso.
B. MS. No. 19, contains the ** Dictionary," of which a part
is on vellum. Colophon injured: — DVb '*' | "Oai 1Dbtt73
DV W^> 'n. Qamhi is here written "^niDR.
* Bihliotera Etpaiinla^ tome I., p. 400.
Digitized by
Google
Alfomo de Zanwra, 417
Don Nicolas Antonio^ mentions the following treatise of
our author: " Compendium Alphonsi ZamorsB Universorum
Legis veteris prseceptorum," in 4to. He says it was men-
tioned in a Catalogue of the Library at Soria (Aragonia).
Whether it was a printed book or a MS., he cannot say.
P.S. — After this article, was in type, the Bodleian
Library acquired a copy of the Grammar (p. 399), in which
a leaf is missing but supplied by a modem hand.
A. Neubauer.
* Bihlietheca HUjfana Nova, yoL I., fol. 56a.
Digitized by
Google
418 The Jniinh Qnavterlij Revieir.
JEWISH ARABIC LITURGIES.
IL
As a second instalment of my contributions to the above
subject, I intend giving some specimens of Piyyutim in
which Hebrew and Arabic are mixed. They are taken
from two MSS., viz., Cod. Loewe, 14,^ and Cod, Montef., 379.^
The mixture of languages appears much less strange and
out of harmony, if we consider that, apart from their close
relationship — vulgar Arabic in particular has even more
striking resemblance to Hebrew than the classical language
— the same characters are used.
Both Piyyutim are Habddldhs, In L. the first is written
twice : fol. 52, among a group of songs styled D'^lDV^D
D^iap'ibQ, and fol. 67, as a drinking song, and is of a very
convivial character. I reproduce both pieces, chiefly on
account of their linguistic interest, as their poetic value
is very small, and appears still less in the translation.
As to the distribution of the languages, in I. the second
half verses are Hebrew, and so is also the whole of the
lines concluding the strophes, with exception of the first.
There are, however, encroachments on both sides. The
final two words are Aramaia In II. Arabic strophes alter-
nate jv^ith Hebrew ones. The strophes have each a separate
rhyme, but all the last lines rhyme with a refrain.
No. III. consists of a prose piece taken from MS. Loewe
18,* which forms, with slight variations, the Arabic ren-
dering of a narrative of the Talmud Berdchdth, 58.* In the
1 See Monatsschrifty xzxviii., p. 406 ; I oaU it L, the first copy A, the
second B.
» I caU it M. » See Momtsschrift, ib,, p. 412.
* Cp. Yalkvt to Ezek. xxxiii. 29.
Digitized by
Google
Jewish Arabic Liturgies,
419
MS. the piece forms the concluding part of the homilies on
the portion Ahare Moth, and ends like all others in a
rhymed prayei-.^ It is written in vulgar Arabic, which is
occasionally intermixed with Persian and even Turkish
words.
> For a series of homilies on ^^D^, taken from the same MS., see my
Arabic Chre^tomathy ^ etc., pp. 14-19.
L.. fol. 62^*, er-. M., foL 165^«.
ID K^
JD «^
\0 K^
mini -Kry:>x K^pnn
nx Kim Qn« p
mini n:n ^v5
D^isi no K-na
nnvpTijn~3vm
KIV K^l «T JD K^
"h^ih Dnp^ 3KiD« II.
^W^ K^ "h inpinn
*^«n^K Dnp^ D«nio^ iii.
k3kSo d^d^k inKno iv.
Km m Knn
Superscription: L., T1"»0D OVD.
I. A., «ir «in tD«. M., Nopinx.
II. (A., V. III.). » A., 3«iD. » A., ^'?«yV« an k\
III. (A., V. II.). ' A., ^^«3^K Dnp^K 3«1D, error of the copyist.
M., \rh^ «^y TKin^ «i^« onp^ ans'.
» B., nKp!?K. M., i^D^!? -nD^.
» (Missing in A.) M., T^W^^? I^Hl m«3K y^Wh^ W1D
L., r., yor— r. ■Ylbo'^K.
IV. > (Missing in M.)— r. 11X30. A., n^"IK33 — r. DDK.
> A., n:h. ^ A., K3K1D13 K^^^KT n^.
Digitized by
Google
420 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
^S n -»DNn ^STrnw nxoi^ a^vn Kn^K Dnwn vi.
>V^5rnnD^TnTm iKoy^D i^^ Kpn KtD tmi;
p K^ Kiivn snon nnK^n ^«i nan npn ^k ^nintc
fo «* \irw2 KnnD Kin ie« nan npn ^"S"nn^
V. » (M.. V. IV.). • M.. ^^m «n^N.— M. ^rp^^ p D^33 D^^^l
» A., 3«n^K. A. ^3^pK^ p Nnn.
VI. * r. DHK pK, see Marcel, Voc. Fr^-Ar,^ 8. v. homme, 3*Dn.
« r. 1^ Kp3 — r. 10y^« ^D. • r. TDD^K 31B^.
* r. IDV^. M. ->Dn^1 IDD^.
VII. « A., D^D5n^ n^Vii ^n^v » ab. nan^K, r. nip.3^«.
II.
L.. foLSS"*. M., foL164^».
n^ K^33n in^^K D^aiyo piB^ ni>v aan i">nn n^'D^^wTm i.
^^^1K IDiife^p K^y ?■© pnw K^« N^
h'b^ yK^D in^D^ J13> I^DTII
dwoIdW nKino^ii n^y t«id j«Dia^ p^Kn p
loy noao ^xia mno n^ n.
8uper$cHptum : L., TIHOD OVfi.
I. » L., Tmn — L., n^ (op. Pb. xiv. 6) — m., D^ono.
« M., n^^N — L., ns — M., f?^n jk noiip.
» M., ^^y ^no i^jnD ^3B^ < l., ^^«t^k dk^3 id^d\
» M., mjrtD^K «331D^ D^a^.
Digitized by
Google
Jewish Arabic Liturgies. 421
IDvy nK noD^ mna noK^n
KOD *B nn«1li)K «^K K3^3 KD D^^Ky III.
KDri^ «3^1D 11DD3 ^!?« «3^D-|
imK^ «na c^nn -»n«i «ii3 rv.
loy pp^ ^ae^n nino r^en
l^yoKD «*^«n ^DiD3pn «^ njw'^ n3"p v.
poK^yW 31 KibD^ «yND ^a mxp
lo«n^K n^3 cnpornvl^ nyno iKnoa,
Doiyo piir n«^B^ii nnK3y^K n^3 d^^t
3KTy^ TKH ^D «3D^3^ pW Nr3K Hfe^p VI,
3KDn3 K3^^K 3nDin «^ pxn^v «^ p K^
D^3iyo piB' n^«^i t«Dm« n«^K o^m siin «n3K
nby3i D"» ^K nSnvi inoK'i ik^'K' n^nv3 loip vii.
TiE^ H Kin iJTK Dyn 0^3^^ 3K'n
n^K' K^33n in>i)« DOiyo piB^
IL In M. miBsing.
m. > M., r6^K — L., KD«DD. « M., ^13 ^fe< VK^3
KOn 'D. » M., n^8rD^«3 — r. HK*! 1313 (missing in M. as well the
following line).
V. ' L., «3np — r. nj^, M., N^ lO^pn \!h • M., KHBIV^.
» M., ron^K nn iftn V33i. * m., Ni3^y ^k n«^3.
VL L., «313 nWID — M., K331D\ • M, pKI K» ^KH^N n^K.
L., 3KnKD10^. » M., pKn^K irp^K JD«.
Digitized by
Google
.422 The Jewish Quarterly Revietv.
III.
fol. 66~.
HKi ri^u ^ya ^h mpfe nin^ inKi 31^ ^^b r\"v ntTT ^d rwvo
*\xch)oh »n«j m^^ni ^np^ni Tiinon Ta DDnn RrTn iK3 jko^id
^Ki NTKon inDKi n3K hyih n^D k^ ni) ^Kp vnn nanw b^^^ nS ^kp
nona oy aaiK^ ^5 n^«pi innac' jnn «^ nona ^53i n^«p fnin
mu3 niK'ni VTlrf^^ k) oy^ n^ *?Kp iin8r ^i^ n^ ^Kp nov mo
n^ ^«p ^np ^« noT^^ }«o^id ^« id« t«Dt>iD ^k nyxo; jo nnKi
tKD^D ^« nyp nyo i^oyx n'nnn ^njK nbxi dd^ Koy^Ki joddih
*^1^ ^Kpi noih nnD liKn k^^b^ n ttoi me^ mSi DKDni)«i
IKD^iD ^« n^ ^«p jvSD^iD t>N D«iip ib^K^ "lai fnuJnTnSnan
n^ 'pxp N3n3D^D ^no DDnao^D pbi ^k n^K nnon r6 ^wp n^ip b^
jniDD N^y n«iy^p« FiDiyo oanay DDnny 'hdk idsi t«o^iD ^k
«^y mypi hk^u ^i^d \xcm Ki3«a K'py niypn yK^on iinoi nn^oyx
Kn J^T ^« 71 y!?«i3 «ini jkd^id ^ nio i6y ny^p «in nnKn
K^ rh ^xp i^DnxD^ DD^Dy^n rhh^ Wi ^ ^«PB wrTn «^y ^anc^
inya n^ ^Kp 0x^3 anon "Kra pb Ton^K i6« i^iion 5^ ^«TfEn
^«p iKO^iD^ «n^pbn n3«y Nin Ton Dnioona D33k p^iD^ Vipn
D«pD Kvnpn tn^r\\ Inn!? ddb^h inn^ Kon n^«p"rnTn ^k k^^b' n
^« pnnD^ NO K*?!^) ^Kp t«o^iD ^ yoD n!?npi r|^D^3 naiii «^^ n
Pienn n^D tnpa piDD'»^n ^d w K^b ktj k^^ n ^Kp nbnp ko bnp
HKny NH^D i^D n^B'Kia ne^yo «in nbn:in ^^ n^ cmi cmobb nwi
Sab xih^ nD3n i« pD onSomov"^ ^^ixn ninani ipn j^ ny mbna
i5>5 yKMH^ DnDj?! ^i^K nop bw dob^ ^k N^nlTTSDfinrnnbTmpb
TWiTrnnDn biDnjr nye^in nobo k\t nx^r.i noy nTni troc^n dti
nonbo K^^ fTJoTo^DBa b ^3 n^ 02 by"T~^ f>b pbw~nonbolon
» ^B' ^«b. » Often written thns in MS. » For H^K}.
* lUiultan (with art.). • NOH^. • Persian dUscussion,
' pM/5<i (Persian). ■ so ! hal.
Digitized by
Google
Jemsh Arabic Liturgies, 423
^13n pD « non^o N^n SK'jnDi ^^ nior^o iDoa idk^ p ^ pD fSnSc
DDp^ n^« 9^cv3M^ ^K Knn "^i^ ^"d^ ^niDi ncro b^i k^k^d 3u i^ii
~1^ «a^py n ddk vhv xn^lfiM ^wpi n^K i3y p ^3iio «o ^k
n-iuani n^nan nM n« ^kx^^ «">n p3 ina ^« pKpiB' km rhxiJn
^nnnTD^VBTJ^ km nvani min mo K\n niKenni onvo nniDn km
k5k la K^M n ht^p k^hkm ^b rijniDn n^K ^:2^ &ipd ^k n^n Kin
dnj) jK^ n^^ jKOT^ K^K nnariK kd K^^n^K ^k y^oj pnv n ^Kp
x'K 13)0 m no nMDi in^iToM^K rwyc^p rh py t«^ D^-ipy 'Tk ^^kb'
DIK ^3D na: 13 D^Dinyn^D 7KT^"n3DV
riKIKD ^K n^^D K^ Dn^'pK
nK:in3 ^ki ry^K D^iyK^
riKOKiDi iKpi 1^ ;o K^
nK-nnDo!?K y^oj D^Ky k^
HK^^Eja^K lK3y KD30 D^ JO K*
nKOni b»K) p\i?H i^n3 k^
HKOi^KI 31-0 ^K PlB^KD K*
nK^^^n ^Ki nK^ ^K yDKi k»
nwns^ ^Ki i'?© ^K 1^ 10 K*
nK^n3iD ^K 1^ nK^vn lo k»
nKmB3 iKn^DO mk
nK^nop ^Ki Doe63 loip ^33ki
nK0ij3':>K n^^KD3 n^s ii3y3i
nK^0K2 nKn^3Dn3
ner niK^D3 ^3 ^^b fvr pb
» Turkish, subaslu, Talmud, Kn^ili K^H.
" Nunataon, see mj remarks iJ. ^'. /., No. 60, p. 261.
TRANSLATION.
I.
I. O Migbty God! O King girded with strength;
Thou who seest all, but art thyself invisible,
Grant us knowledge and wealth.
Digitized by
Google
424 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
II. Let ae drink old wine, at the sight of which I rejoice,
The clear red wine presided from the grapes of the yine.
O Most High, grant me its enjoyment for ever!
That juice of pomegranates, the choicest of wine,
Will I drink and forget all sorrow.
IIL When the old, long-preserred wine stands at the repast,
Let us be thankful, and praise God
With rejoicing and grateful voice.
May He gather his scattered people to Zion, the glorious city.
With mercy and grace may the All-perfect redeem the dis-
persed.
lY. Praised be the name of the Lord, who created the wine ;
May Noah, our ancestor, who planted for us
That which removeth grief, he the most blessed of men.
Good wine soothes all pain
And cheers the oppressed spirit.
V. I am full of grief, snd the tear runs from my eye»
When the cask is low and the wine gone from the cop.
Many are the clouds, but they avail naught.
There is nothing in them to drink;
But wine, red like blood, increases strength.
YI. O son of man, when thou findest wine.
Drink, and say not : Enough !
Enjoy thy remnant of life, and increase merriment and re-
joicing.
With fat and roasted viands take wine both red and yellow.
Friend, partake not of the flesh of the kid. drink not the wine
which is white.
YII. Slay deer, lambs and fatted calves, and prepare fine dishes.
If thou art cunning and a son of wise men,
Bay not old kine, snd spend no money on it.
Friend, partake not of the flesh of the kid,
Because it is poor and lean.
n.
0 Eternal, in thy majesty ride :
Thou who dwellest in the heights, send Elijah the Prophet.
^ Perhaps imitation of the refrain in Ibn Gabirors drinking song,
D^D O^B ^3^y nin ^r^ ni^3D, see Kaempf, Nichtandalus. Poe^ie, etc.,
L183; IL 207.
Digitized by
Google
Jewish Arabic Liturgies, 425
I. 0 God of Ahron, redeem thy oppressed people ;
In its desolate state it weeps and languishes like one
stricken.
Send Yinndn to rescue it with a great salvation :
Redeem it from the Bomans,' that it may find rest.
n. Send soon the good Messenger of thy people,
Let us go np to thy exalted Temple
With pure lips to sing thy power.
III. The sole God in heaven, he knoweth our condition ;
Send us the Redeemer that we may all go up to Zion.
May he announce unto us : The Messiah has come,
Deliver the wandering people that it may find rest.
lY. O Awe-inspiring, hasten the arrival of thy Messiah,
Awake and lighten the darkness by thy great power.
Send speedily the Tishbite to collect thy people;
Gather the dispersed into the flowery garden.
y. Help is near, despair not, 0 obedient ones I
The Almighty in heaven, the Lord of the world, will redeem us.
We will hasten to the Temple, the abode of the Merciful,
Jerusalem, the place of worship.
yi. For thn sake of oar father Isaac, deliver us from this trouble;
Look upon our condition, thou who descendedst in a cloud ;
0 Inscrutable, do not reckon with us:
Thou art the merciful God.
yil. Arise, rejoice aud be mirthful!
Most High, bring us all to the mount of Zion in joy.
That we may there pitch our tents :
Return the exiles, the people oppressed and humble.
III.
R. Zdra' once sentenced a man to be flogged, as a punishment for
his bad conduct. The culprit went to the king in order to complain.
'^Enow, O King," said he, "that R. Zdra judges without thy autho-
risation, slays and flogs.'' They brought the Rabbi to the king, who
said: **Wby didst thou flog this man?** He replied: "Because he
violated the law." *'Hast thou witnesses?" asked the king. "Yes,
' For Mohammedans; in this form not to be found in Zunz, Synagogale
Poesie, BeiL 16.
* In the Talmud it is R. Shilah.
Digitized by
Google
426 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
Elijah came in tbe form of one of the king's attendants," whereupon
the king said the man deserved to be killed. B. Zdra said: "O
Saltan, from the day of the destrnction of our Temple, judgment has
been taken away from us and given to yon; what thou wishest I shall
do with him." The ruler and the judges (once) were holding a sit-
ting in court. B. Shila, who was present, opened his month to explain
the verse : Thine^ 0 Lord, is greatness and power ^ etc. (1 Chr. zxix. 11).
When be bad well nigh finished, the ruler came to him and asked him:
" What hast thou said? *' " Tbe praise of God," he answered, " who
has created your dominion as well as be had ours." Tbe king said :
" Since thon art so wise, I will let thee sit on a cushion, and give thee
permission to come and sit at my gate.'* He gave him a sword of
steel and made him sit at his gate. There he sat when that wicked
roan came in order to complain about B. Zdra, and said : ** God will
prove you liars." He replied : '* O most wicked of heathens, who are
compared to asses, as is written " (Ex. xziii. 20). Tbe man answered :
" I shall inform the king that thou hast called him an ass." B. Shila
thought, the law says : Should anyone come to slay thee, try to anti-
cipate him, and this man has that intention. So he killed him with
his sword. When the mler heard it, he said: "Had he not deserved it,
he would not have been killed." B. Shila remarked : ** A miracle has
been performed for us by means of that verse on which I will give a
derasha." He went to the Beih Hammidrash and lectured on the
verse (we above) : Thine, O Lord, is greatness, Le., creation ;
Strength, exodus from Egypt ; Glory, sun and moon which Joshua
stopped ; Victory, speedy subjugation of the dominion of wickedness ;
Majesty, war with Amalek ; For all that is in heaven and on earth,
war with Sbinear ; On earth, war against the valleys of ArnOn ;
Exalted, war with Gog; For every head, even the police officer who
distributes the water is appointed by God. The Mishnah explains
the verse, on behalf of B. Aqibha, as follows : Greatness, dividing of
the sea ; Strength^ death of the first-bom of Egypt ; Glory, granting
of the land ; Victory, Jerusalem ; Majesty, the Temple, may it soon
be rebuilt in our life. B. Hiyya bar Abba said on behalf of H.
YOhanan : Prophets will only appear until the time of the Messiah,
for the future world is great No eye has seen a God besides thee, and
it is written : How great, etc (Ps. xxxi. 20).
O God, Lord of lords !
O thou who art long-suffering and forgiving ;
0 thou who knowest all my8teries ;
O thou from whom no secret is bidden ;
O thou who art great in granting and pitying;
O thon who remotest grief and sorrows;
Digitized by
Google
Jeicish Arabic Liturgies, 427
O fchoQ who takest awaj evil and oalamities ;
O thoa who art the Most High;
O thoa who art magnificent ;
Rebuild thy sanctuary, where we will worship thee.
There aiao shalt thou be worshipped
By Bun, moon and heavenly hosts
With perfect glorification, as it is written: Sing ye (Ps. xcviii. 1).
H. HiBSCHFELD.
Digitized by
Google
428 The Jewkh Quarterly Remetc,
THE EXPULSION OF THE JEWS FROM
ENGLAND IN 1290.
(Conciuded from p. 258.^
IX. — The Jews in Relation to the Church of the
Thirteenth Century.
The Popes of the earlier part of the Middle 'Ages had
found enough employment for their energies in the effort
to maintain their own position in Christendom ; and they
had neither the wish nor the power to seek a conflict with
a race that remained wholly outside the Church. In the
twelfth century there was no other general Church Law
directed against the Jews than that which forbade them to
live in the same houses with Christians, and to have Chris-
tian servants.^ In England especially, Churchmen of the
twelfth century showed towards the Jews a tolerant spirit,
and made no effort to augment their unpopularity or to
diminish their privilegea The examples of Anselm, and of
his contemporary, Gilbert of Westminster, show that in the
attempts made at that time by men of high position in the
Church to convert the Jews, no method was employed
except that of reasonable persuasion.* Churches and
monasteries took charge, at times of danger, of the money,
and even of the families, of Jews, Such friendly inter-
course as existed between Jews and Christians was
allowed to go on without any attempt at ecclesiastical
interference.'
* See the Decrees of the Third Lateran Conncil of 1179, Mansi, Ctnunlia^
XXII., 231.
* St. Anselm, EpUtoUc^ III., 117 (Mig^e, Patrologia Curtus Completus,
VoL 169, colonms 153-155 ; Gilbert of Westminster, DUpvtatio Judaici
cum ChrUtitmo (Ibid. 1005-1036).
* Chronicles of Stephen^ Henry II., and Richard L (Rolls Series), I.,
Digitized by
Google
Th$ Expuhton of the Jews from England in 1290. 429
The accession of Innocent the Third to the pontificate
brought about a rapid change in the attitude of the
Church towards the Jewa Innocent was the first to ad-
vance, on behalf of the Papacy, the claim that the Lord
gave Peter not only the whole Church, but the whole
world to rule,^ and he endeavoured with a merciless
enthusiasm, from which all unbelievers and heretics in
Christian countries had to suffer, to make good his claim,
and to establish in Europe one united Catholic Church.
He took his stand on the doctrine, which his predecessom
had held * in a modified form, and without ever acting on
it, that the Jews were condemned to perpetual slavery on
account of the wickedness of their ancestors in crucifying
Christ ; and he thought that they ought to be made to feel,
and their neighbours likewise, that it was only out of
Christian pity that their presence was endured in Christian
countries.
The position of the Jews at the time of Innocent's acces-
sion to the pontificate was very far from being such as his
theory required. They had magnificent synagogues, they
employed Christian servants, they married, or were said to
marry, Christian wives ; they refused, in what some Chris-
tians regarded as a spirit of outrageous insolence, to eat
the same meat and to drink the same wine as the Gentiles,
and they made no secret of their disbelief in the sacred
310 (among the yiotims of the massacre at Ljmi in 1190 was quidam
Judautf insignii medums, qui et artit et modesUa tiUB gratia ChrUtianU
quoque famUiarU et honarahUU fuerat) ; Oervase of Canterbury (Bolls
Series), I., 405. (The Jews help the monks of Canterbury in their straggle
with the Archbishop in 1188) ; Ratuli Litterarum Clausarum (Record
Commission), I., 20i. (^Rex^ ^c, domino Li/ncolnienH Epiioopo^ ^c.;
mandamus vohit quod non permittatia i?{jutte catdLle Judaorwni receptari
in eoolenis in diooeH vettra, February 28th, 1205) ; Chronica Jooelini dt
Brakelonde (Camden Society), p. 33. (▲.D. 1190, Abba$ jusiit solempniter
eweommiumcari Ulot qui de oetero reeeptarent Judeot vol in hotpioio
reeiperewt in villa Santi jEdmundt) ; Jacobs, The Jews of Angevin
JSngland, 269. Q'EnglUh Jetos dHnh with OeniHesy)
' Moeller, JSistory of the Christian Chureh, Middle Ages (Bng. Tr.),
p. 279.
« Bfansi, Concilia, XXII. 231.
VOL. VII. r r
Digitized by
Google
430 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
history of Christianity. Moreover, they were suspected of
exercising a considerable influence on the growth of the
heresies which it was the chief work of Innocent's life to
combat. The Vaudois, the Cathari, and the Albigenses, all
kept up Jewish observances, and were said to have learnt
from the Jews their heretical dogmas ; the Albigenses,
indeed, were accused of maintaining that the law of the
Jews was better than the law of the Christians. And,
nevertheless, Christian kings supported the Jews in every
way. They countenanced their usury, they refused (so,
at least. Innocent said) to allow evidence against them on
any charge to be given by Christian witnesses, and they
even employed them in high oiBces of State. In view of
these facts. Innocent thought that a great effort of repres-
sion should be made, and he wrote to the King of France,
the Duke of Burgundy, and other monarchs, asking for
their assistance in the work of reducing the Jews to that
condition of slavery which was their due. He decreed in
his general Church Council that Jews should be excluded
in future from public offices, and that they should wear
a badge to distinguish them from Christians; and he
renewed the old regulation of the Church, which required
them to dismiss Christian servants from their houses. In
order to ensure that the last provision should be observed,
he decided that any Christians having any intercourse
with Jews that transgressed it should be subject to excom-
munication. For the enforcement of his other anti-Jewish
measures he relied on the help of the temporal power in all
Christian coimtriea^
The declaration of war made by Innocent III. was a
terrible calamity for the Jews; but though it affected at
* Letters of Innocent (Migne, Patrologia Cursus Completut^ Vols. 214-
217) ; Lib. VU., 186 ; Lib. VIIL, 50, 121 ; Lib. X., 61, 190 ; Corpu$ JnrU
Canonici (Leipzig, 1839), II., 747-8 ; Graetz, Geschichte dtr Juden, VII.,
7, 8 ; Depping, Let Juift dans le May en Age, 183 ; Habn, Oesohichte der
Ketzer^ III., 6, 7 ; Hurter, Ocschwhte Papgt Innocenz der DritUn, II., 234 ;
Gttdemann, Geschichte des Erziehungswesens, u.8.w,^ I., 37 ; Rule, History
ofths Inquisition, I. 10, 17.
Digitized by
Google
The Expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290. 431
once the whole of Christian Europe, still its evil results
might have passed away in time. Popes were but men
and politicians ; and just as Innocent had, by the publica-
tion of his wishes and decrees concerning the Jews, set
himself in opposition to his predecessors, so might his
successors, in their turn, moved by different feelings or
taking a different view of the interests and duties of the
Church, set themselves in opposition to him, and go back
to the old lenient opinions and practice. But within a
few years of the death of Innocent, the work of attacking
the Jews ceased to be in the hands of any one man, and
passed over to a body of men habitually influenced not by
personal or political considerations, but only by what they
conceived to be the interest of religion, and filled with a
hatred of the Jews more fierce and fanatical and steadfast
than that of the Popes could ever have been.
The Dominican order was formally constituted in 1223,
and from the earliest years of its existence devoted itself
to the task of rooting out unbelief from the Christian
world. The work that its members at first professed
to regard as peculiarly their own was that of preaching,
but on the Jews their preaching had no efiect. With an
ingenuity and determination worthy of the order that in a
later century was to provide the Inquisition with its chief
ministers, the Dominicans devised and carried out another
plan of action. Assisted by converted Jews who had joined
them, they undertook the study of Hebrew, and their
master, Raymundus de Peiiaforte, induced the King of
Spain to build and endow seminaries for the purpose.^
Armed with this new knowledge, they were able to attack,
first, what they represented as the foolish and pernicious
contents of such Jewish books as the Talmud, and
secondly, the stubbornness of the Jews who refused to
accept the doctrines of Christianity, the truth of which
the Dominicans professed to be able to demonstrate from
the Old Testament. Two incidents which must at the
* Graetz, Qeschtchte der Juden, VII., 27.
F F 2
Digitized by
Google
432 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
time have been famous throughout Europe illustrate their
method of warfare. In 1239 Nicolas Donin, a converted
Jew who had become a Dominican friar, laid before
Gregory IX. a series of statements concerning the Talmud.
Helped, no doubt, by all the influence of his order, he
induced the Pope to issue bulls to the Kings of France,
England, and Spain, and the bishops in those coimtries,
ordering that all copies of the Talmud should be seized,
and that public inquiry should be held concerning the
charges brought against the book. In England and Spain
nothing seems to have been done, but in Paris the Pope's
instructions were carried out, and, at the instigation
of the leading Dominicans, St Louis ordered that all
copies of the Talmud that could be found in France
should be confiscated, and that four Rabbis should, on
behalf of the Jews, hold a public debate with Donin, in
order to meet, if they could, the charges that he waa
prepared to maintain. In the course of the debate, which
was held in the precincts of the Court and in the presence
of members of the Royal family and great dignitaries of
the Church, Donin asserted that the Talmud encouraged
the Jews to despise, deceive, rob, and even murder
Christians, that it contained blasphemous falsehoods con-
cerning Christ, superstitions and puerilities of all kinds,
and passages disrespectful to God and inconsistent with
morality. The Rabbis answered as best they could, but
the court of Inquisitors decided that the charges had been
substantiated, and ordered that all the confiscated copies
of the Talmud should be burnt. After a delay of about
two years the Auto-da-fe took place, and fourteen cartloads
of the Talmud were sacrificed.^ The other famous
incident of the kind took place in Spain. Pablo Christiano,
a converted Jew, who, like Donin, had joined the
Dominicans, challenged the Jews of Aragon to a dis-
cussion on the differences between Judaism and Chris-
> Revue dde Etudee Juivee, I. 247, 293 ; U. 248 ; ni. 59 ; Noel Yaloii,
GuiUaufM iTAuvergne, pp. 118, 137.
Digitized by
Google
ITie Expuhion of the Jews from England in 1290. ^»38
tianity, and induced James I. to compel them to take
up the challenge. The famous Nachmanides came for-
ward as the representative of his co-religionists. Pablo
undertook to show that the Old Testament, and other
books recognised by the Jews, taught that the Messiah
had come, that he was "very God and very man,"
that he suffered and died for the salvation of mankind,
and that with his advent the ceremonial law ceased to
be of any effect. Nachmanides denied that any of these
propositions could be substantiated from the Jewish
sacred books. For four days the disputation was carried
on in the presence of the king and many great personages
of Church and State. Of course the verdict was that the
Christian disputant had beaten the Jew.^
The method of conducting these two controversies showed
that the Dominicans were determined to use every possible
weapon against the Jews. The Talmud, a huge, hetero-
geneous and unedited compilation, contains passages
which are trivial and foolish, and others, written by men
who had memories of persecution fresh in their minds,
which express bitter hatred towards the " Gentiles," that is,
the Romans who had taken Jerusalem, and had destroyed
the nationality of the Jewish race. It was easy for an
opponent to pick out such passages, to assert that what
was said against the " Gentiles " expressed, not the feelings
of the victims of persecution against the Romans of the
second century, but the feelings of all Jews towards all
non-Jews, at every time and at every place, and to convince
an uncritical audience that those who held in honour the
book that contained such passages were enemies of religion,
against whose influence it behoved all Christian powers to
guard the faithfuL Similarly, by compelling the Jews to
take part in a discussion concerning the prophecies of the
Old Testament, the Dominicans imposed on them the choice
between the two alternatives of betraying their religion by
* Histoire IMtiravre de la Frtvnce, XXVII., 562-3 ; G-raeti, Oetchickte^
VII., 131, 135.
Digitized by
Google
434 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
acquiescing in what they believed to be a false interpreta-
tion of their scripture, or else of proclaiming publicly their
disbelief in doctrines which were at the very foundation
of Christianity. The effect on the ruling classes in Europe
of the two discussions just mentioned must have been very
great And the Dominicans were continually carrying on
the same work, though, of course, seldom before audiences
so distinguished. Pablo, for example, travelled about Spain
and Provence, compelling the Jews, by virtue of a royal
edict that had been issued in his favour, to hold disputes
with him on matters of religion.^ Many other members of
the order devoted their lives to the same pursuit,' and thus
did their best to fill the rulers of the Church with a dread
of the terrible consequences that the existence of Judaism
threatened to the Christian religion.
And, unfortunately for the Jews, their religion began to
be feared at the same time as cruel and powerful fanatics
like Innocent and the Dominicans were doing their best to
cause it to be hated. There is good reason to believe,
though detailed evidence is not abundant, that towards the
end of the Middle Ages Judaism exercised over the super-
stitions of other faiths the same fascination as in the first
century of the Roman Empire. Thomas Aquinas believed
that unrestricted intercourse between Jews and Christians
was likely to result in the conversion of Christians to
Judaism, and for that reason he thought it right, in spite
of the general liberality of his opinions concerning the
Jews, that intercourse with them should be allowed to such
Christians alone as were strong in the faith, and were more
likely to convert them than to be converted by them.' " It
happens sometimes," wrote a Pope of the thirteenth cen-
tury, " that Christians, when they are visited by the Lord
with sickness and tribulation, go astray, and have recourse
* Graetz, Geschichte der Juden, VII., 135 ; J. Jacobs, Inquiry into the
Sou rem of the History of the Jetoi in Spain, xviii., 18.
* Seriptores Ordinis Pradi/iatorum (Qu^tif and Echard), I., 246, 396,
398, 594.
* Thomas Aquinas, Summa Thtologice, Seounda SecundsB. Qusestio X.
Digitized by
Google
The Expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290. 435
to the vain help of the Jewish rite. They hold in the
synagogues of the Jews torches and lighted candles, and
make offerings there. Likewise they keep vigils (especially
on the Sabbath), in the hope that the sick may be restQred
to health, that those at sea may reach harbour, that those
in childbirth may be safely delivered, and that the barren
may become fruitful and rejoice in offspring. For the ac-
complishment of these and other wishes, they implore the
help of the said rite, and in idolatrous fashion show open
signs of (fevotion and reverence to a scroll, not without
much harm to the orthodox faith, contumely to our Creator,
and opprobrium and shame to the Universal ChurcL"^
The anti-Jewish feeling that grew up from the causes
that have just been described called into existence new
institutions and measures designed for the purpose of
humbling the Jews and checking the growth of Judaism.
In compliance with the cruel request of Innocent, most of
the monarchs of Europe compelled their Jewish subjects to
wear a badge.* Local church councik, which hitherto had
contented themselves with the attempt to enforce the old
prohibition against the employment by Jews of Christian
servants and nurses, now went further, and forbade
Christians to allow the presence of Jews in their houses
and taverns, to feast or dance with them, to be present at
the celebration of their marriages, their new moons, and
their festivals, and to employ their services as doctors.'
The Popes of the latter part of the thirteenth century
appointed Dominicans in various countries of Europe to
perform the duty of preaching to the Jews, and of holding
inquisitions into their heresies, in the hope that with the
help of the secular power they might stamp them out.*
In England the relation of the Jews to the Christians
underwent somewhat the same changes as in Continental
' Baronius, Aniiales Ecclesia^tiei (ed. Theiner), XIII., 87.
« Hevve de» Etudes Jnltes, VI. 81 ; VII. 94.
• Mansi, Ci>nrUia, XXIII., 1174-6 ; Mart^ne, Thesaurus, Vf., 769.
« Deeping, 198 ; Hahn, Geschichte der Ketzer, III., 13 ; Rule, Hutory of
the InqnuitUm, I. 27, 80, 81, 91, 332, 335-6.
Digitized by
Google
436 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
Europe. Before the thirteenth century the Jews in Eng-
land had, as has been said above, been free from molestation
by the Church,^ and their chief danger had been from the
brutality and greed of the disorderly populace, of desperate
outcasts, and of marauding Crusadera^ The first great
attack made on them by any constituted power came
from Stephen Langton, who, not content with passing
at his Provincial Synod a decree which, in accordance
with the regulations of Innocent, enforced the use of
the badge and prohibited the erection of new synagogues,
went so far as to issue orders that no one in his diocese
should presume, under pain of excommunication, to have
any intercourse with Jews, or should sell them any of
the necessaries of life. The Bishops of Lincoln and
Norwich issued the same orders in their diocesea' Many
other bishops in the reign of Henry IIL did their best,
partly by legislation in their diocesan synods and
partly by the use of their personal and spiritual influence,
to check intercourse between Jews and Christiana* Of
course the king's guardians, in the interest of the royal
income, a considerable part of which was derived from
the Jewry, interfered to prevent the measures of Langton
and his colleagues from being carried into effect. And
Henry, when he took into his own hands the work of
government, while, on the one hand, he showed his
sympathy with the fears of the Church by building
a house for the reception of Jewish converts,' and by
lending the sanction of the civil power to the decree that
ordered the use of the badge,* nevertheless followed the
example that his guardians had set, and protected the Jews
against the aggression of the ChurcL
> Supra, p. 428. « Supra, pp. 82, 83, 89.
» WiUdns, Magnm BritannuB Concilia, I., 691 ; Tovey, Anglia Judaiea,
83 ; Rye, History of Norfolk, 87.
* WillrinB, Magna Britannia Concilia, I., 667, 693, 719 ; Letters of
Bishop Cfrosseteste (Rolls Series), 318.
* Matthew Paris, Chronica Majora, III., 262.
* Tovey, Anglia Judaica, 148.
Digitized by
Google
The Expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290. 437
There were many reasons which might have caused
Edward to sympathise more strongly than his father
had done, with the anti-Jewish feelings of the Church.
He was a pious man and a pious king, filled with a sense
of his kingly duty towards "the living God who takes
to himself the souls of Princes."^ He was a Crusader,
though the great crusading age was over, a founder of
monasteries, a pilgrim to holy places; and through his
confessors he was in close connection with, and under
the influence of, the Dominican order.^ Some of his
bishops were determined enemies of the Jews. John
of Peckham, for example, the Archbishop of Canterbury,
insisted at one time on the demolition of all the small
private synagogues in London, at which the Jews were
in the habit of worshipping after the confiscation of
their great public synagogues at the end of the reign
of Henry III. ; at another time he demanded from the
king the help of the temporal power against Jews who
having once been converted to Christianity, wished to go
back to their old faith ; on another occasion he took the
bold step of writing to the Queen concerning her business
transactions with the Jews, solemnly warning her that
unless she gave them up she could never be absolved from
her sins, "nay, not though an angel should assert the
contrary."' At Hereford, Bishop Swinfield was so
determined to prevent intercourse with Jews that, when
he heard that certain Christians intended to be present
at a marriage feast to be given by some rich Jews of the
city, he issued a proclamation threatening with ex-
communication any who should carry out their intention,
and, when his proclamation was disregarded, he carried out
his threat.*
» Bymer, Foedera^ I., 743.
« Tout, JSduxtrd /., pp. 69, 149.
' John of Peckham, Registrum Epittolarum (BoUs Series), I., 239 ;
II., 407; III., 937; Wilkms, MagntB Britannia ConcUia, II., 88-9;
Prynne, Second Demvrrer^ 121-2.
* Household Boll of Bishop Swinfield (Camden Society), pp. c, ci.
Digitized by
Google
438 The Jewish Quarterly Renew,
Certain events that happened, or were said to have
happened, in England in Edward s lifetime, some, indeed,
under his own observation, may well have seemed to him
to justify the attitude of the Church. In 1275 a Domini-
can friar was converted to Judaism.^ In 1268, while
Edward was in Oxford, the Chancellor, masters and
scholars of the University, and the Parochial Clergy, were
going in procession to visit the shrine of St. Friedswide
when, according to a story that gained general credence,
a Jew of the city snatched from the bearer a cross that
was being carried at their head and trod it under foot.^
At Norwich, early in Edward s reign, a Jew was burnt
for blasphemy.* At Nottingham, in 1278, a Jewess was
charged with abusing in scandalous terms all the Christian
bystanders in the market-place.*
Edward's conduct could not but be influenced by the
general tone of opinion in the Church, by the strong
anti-Jewish feeling of some of his bishops, and by the
follies, real or supposed, of the Jews themselvea In
continuation of his father's policy he made, throughout
his reign, such contributions as, with his scanty means, he
could afford, to the support of the House of Converta^ He
renewed the edict concerning the wearing of the badge,
and extended it to Jewesses, whereas it had formerly
applied only to Jewa^ In order that the Dominicans
might be able to carry on in England the same efforts at
conversion as they were already pursuing in France, Spain
and Germany, he issued to all the sheriffs and bailiffs in
England writs bidding them do their best so induce all
' Graetz, Ocschichte der Juden, VII., note 11. Florence of Win'cegUr
(English Historical Society), II., 214.
* Tovey, Atiglia Judaica, 168.
■ Forty-ninth Report of the Deputy-Keeper of the Public Records,
p. 187.
* Forty -seventh Report of the Deputy-Keeper of the Public Records,
p. 306.
* Dictionary of Political Economy^ Article, "Jews (House for Con-
verted)."
* Tovey, An/^Iia Judaica, 208.
Digitized by
Google
The Expulman of the Jeicsfrom England in 1290. 43^
the Jews in the counties and towns under their charge
to assemble and hear the word of God preached by the
friars.^ To meet the danger to religion that might arise
from the blasphemous utterances of Jews, he ordered that
proclamation should be made throughout England that
any Jew found guilty (after an enquiry conducted by
Christians) of having spoken disrespectfully of Christ, the
Virgin Mary, or the Catholic faith, should be liable to the
loss of life or limbs.^
Thus far Edward was prepared to go, and no farther.
He believed that the Jews, so long as they remain Jews,
lived in ignorance and sin, and he did what he could to
help the friars in the effort to convert them. He believed
that some among them were likely to make blasphemous
attacks on Christianity, and he did what he could to keep
them in check. But he believed that it was possible for
them to live in peace and quietness, carrying on trades and
handicrafts, among Christian neighbours in Christian
towns. And it was to enable them to do so that he
adopted the policy of 1275, and bade the Jews renounce
usury, giving them at the same time permission " to prac-
tise trade, to live by their labour, and, for those purposes,
freely to converse with Christians." But, as we have seen,
there were imposed on the Jews who attempted to avail
themselves of this permission, legal disadvantages which
wholly unfitted them for industrial competition with non-
Jews, and compelled them to continue the practice of
usury. That Edward recognised this fact is shown by
the issue of the revised Statute of Usurers some years
after 1275 ; but that measure was inconclusive and incon-
sistent with the rest of his policy. Sooner or later the
conclusion would have forced itself on him that until the
Jews were, by the acquisition of the right to become
burgesses and gildsmen, enabled to enter into industrial
* Forty-ninth Report of the Deputy-Keeper of the Public Records,
p. 95 ; Rymer, Fcedera^ I., 576 ; Madox, Exchequer, I., 259.
* Tovey, Anglia Judaiea, p. 208.
Digitized by
Google
440 The Jetcish Quarterly Review,
competition on equal terms with Christians, all his efforts
to make them traders instead of usurers would be wasted.
He would then have had before him two alternatives. He
might, on the one hand, have declined to sacrifice his
seignorial rights over the Jews, whom he had described
in the Statute of 1275 as " talliable to the king as his own
serfs, and not otherwise," and in that case he would have
had to recognise that his whole Jewish policy was an
impossible one. Or he might, on the other hand, have
revoked the provision in the statute which forbade the
Jews to be in "scots, lots, or talliage with the other
inhabitants of those cities or burgesses where they re-
mained." Such a measure would have been a step in the
only direction which could possibly lead to the success of
his policy. But it would not by itself have been enough
to secure success; for, when the legal difficulties of the
Jews had been removed, there would still have remained
the social difficulties which proceeded from the dislike in
which they were held by the Church and the people ; and,
unless these difficulties also could be removed, so that the
Jews might be in a position of social equality, as well as
legal equality, with Christians, and associate with them
in friendly intercourse, the king's policy would be as far
from success as ever. Which alternative Edward would
have decided to adopt is, of course, a question we have
no means of answering; but the decision was taken out
of his hands by the interference, for the first and last
time in English history, of the head of the Catholic Church
in the relations between the Jews and the king.
At the end of 1286, Honorius IV. addressed to the
Archbishops of Canterbury^ and York* and their suffragans
the following bull : —
"We have heard that in England the accursed and
perfidious Jews have done unspeakable things and horrible
acts, to the shame of our Creator and the detriment of the
* BaroniuB, Annate* EccleHattun (ed. Theiner), XIII., 10, 11.
» lUvue deJt Etudes Juives, I., 298.
Digitized by
Google
The Uxpuleion of the Jews from England tn 1290. 441
Catholic faith. They are said to have a wicked and
deceitful book, which they commonly call Thalmud, con-
taining manifold abominations, falsehoods, heresies, and
abuses. This damnable work they continually study, and
with its nefarious contents their base thoughts are always
engaged. Moreover, they set their children from their
tender years to study its lethal teaching, and they do not
scruple to tell them that they ought to believe in it more
than in the Law of Moses, so that the said children may
flee from the path of God and go astray in the devious
ways of the unbelievera Moreover, they not only attempt
to entice the minds of the faithful to their pestilent sect,
but also, with many gifts, they seduce to apostasy those
who, led by wholesome counsel, have abjured the error of
infidelity and betaken themselves to the Christian faith ;
so that some, being led away by the treachery of the Jews,
live with them according to their rite and law, even in
the parishes in which they received new life from the
sacred font of baptism; and hence arise injury to our
Saviour, scandal to the faithful, and dishonour to the
Christian faith. Some also who have been baptised they
send to other places, in order that there they may live
unknown and return to their disbelief. They invite and
urgently persuade Christians to attend their synagogues on
the Sabbath and on other of their solemn occasions, to hear
and take part in their services, and to show reverence to
the parchment-scroll or book in which their law is written,
in consequence of which many Christians Judaise with the
Jews.
"Moreover, they have in their households Christians
whom they compel to busy themselves on Simdays and
feast-days with servile tasks from which they should re-
frain. And so they cast opprobrium on the majesty of
God. They have in their houses Christian women to bring
up their children. Christian men and women dwell among
them; and so it often happens, when occasion offers and
the time is favourable to shameful actions, that Christian
Digitized by
Google
442 The Jewkh Quarterly Review.
men have unblessed intercourse with Jewish women and
Christian women with Jewish men.
" Yet Christians and Jews go on meeting in each others'
houses. They spend their leisure in banqueting and feast-
ing together, and hence the opportunity for mischief be-
comes easy. On certain days they publicly abuse Christians,
or rather curse them, and do other wicked acts which offend
God and cause the loss of soula
" And although some of you have been often asked to
devise a fitting remedy for these things, yet you have
failed to comply. Whereat we are forced to wonder the
more, since the duty of your pastoral office binds you to
show yourselves more ready and determined than other
men to avenge the wrongs of our Saviour, and to oppose
the nefarious attempts of the foes of the Christian faith.
" An evil so dangerous must not be made light of, lest,
being neglected, it may grow great. You are boimd to rise
up with ready courage against such audacity in order that it
may be completely suppressed and confounded and that the
dignity and glory of the Catholic Faith may increase. There-
fore by this apostolic writing we give orders that, as the duty
of your office demands, you shall use inhibitions, spiritual
and temporal penalties and other methods, which shaU seem
good to you, and which, in your preaching and at other
fitting times you shall set forth, to the end, that this dis-
ease may be checked by proper remediea So may you
have your reward from the mercy of the Eternal King.
We shall extol in our prayers your wisdom and diligence.
Let us know fully by your letters what you do in this
matter."
X. — The Effects of the Clerical Opposition.
Edward was too religious to disregard the wishes of the
Pope, expressed thus formaUy and solemnly and with the
utmost strength of language. And he had special reasons
for paying heed to the words of Honorius IV., on whose
money-lenders he was dependent for loans, and whose
Digitized by
Google
The Expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290. 443
predecessor had, by the exercise of his spiritual powers,
secured for him a tenth part of the goods of the clergy of
England.^ From the moment of the issue of the bull, the
policy inaugurated by the statute of 1275 was doomed.
For of the two alternatives that Edward would have had
before him in any further Jewish legislation that he might
have undertaken — the alternative^ of the abandonment of
the policy of 1275, or the extension of it by further
measures for the assimilation of the status of Jews to that
of Christians — ^the Church now demanded that he should
at once adopt the former. It demanded that the Jews of
England should live isolated from the Christians ; and this
they could do only so long as they kept to pursuits, such as
usury, for the practice of which they required no connec-
tion with the organisation of a gild or a town.
For a time Edward could take no decisive measures, since
when the buU reached England, he had left for Gascony.^
In that province nothing had apparently as yet been done
to satisfy the demand made by the Council of Lyons, in
1274, that alien usurers should no longer be tolerated in
the land of Christiana It was hopeless to try to enforce
in a distant dependency the policy that had been beset in
England with so many difficulties, and had now incurred
the direct opposition of the Church. The only alternative
was expulsion, a measure that on French soil suggested it-
self the more naturally, since two French kings had practi-
cally adopted it already. Before he returned home, Edward
issued an order that all Jews should leave Gascony.^
The application of the same measure in England was a
more serious matter, since the English Jews were doubtless
a much larger community than those of Gascony. But,
determined not to tolerate them as usurers, and convinced
> Rymer, I., 560-1.
» Edward left England May, 1286. Florence of Worcester (English
Historical Society), II., 236.
• WiUelmi Rishnnger Chronica et Annales (Rolls Series), 116 ; Floret
Historiarum (Rolls Series), III., 70-71.
Digitized by
Google
444 Tlie Jewish Quarterly Retnew,
of the hopelessness of his efforts to change them into
traders, Edward had no alternative but to treat them as he
had treated their coreligionists in Qascony.
No doubt he was influenced in his resolution by the mem-
bers of his family and court His wife and mother and
various of his officers had been in the habit of receiving
liberal grants from the property and forfeitures of the
Jewa^ They must have known that this resource was
decreasing steadily, and was not worth husbanding, and
they must have welcomed a measure which would bring
into the King's hands a fairly large amount of spoil capable
of immediate distribution. And, probably, some of the
ecclesiastical members of the court felt, as his mother
certainly did,^ a religious hatred of the Jews and a religious
joy at the prospect of their disappearance.
XI. — The Expulsion.
Of the course of events for the first few months after
Edward's return to England, very meagre accounts have
come down to ua His searching inquiry into the conduct
of the judges during his absence* must have taken up
most of his time and energy. As soon as he had meted
out punishment to those whom he had found guilty of
corruption, he turned to the Jewish question. On the
18th of July, 1290, writs were issued to the sheriflfe of
counties, informing them that a decree had been passed
that all Jews should leave England before the feast of
All Saints of that year.* Any who remained in the country
» Forty-second Beport of the Deputy-Keeper of the Public JUeordSy
693; FoHy-fouHh Report, 109, 296; FoHy-fifth Report, 72, 163;
Forty-ninth RepoH, 81 ; Calendar of Patent Rolls from 1281 to 1292,
62, 193 ; Archaologia, VI., 339 ; Madox, History of the Exchequer, I.
226 t<7 ; 230 d ; 231 Z ; John of Peokham, Registrum Bpistolarum, II.
619; III., 937; Rogers, Oscford (My Documents (Oxford Historioal
Society), 208, 219 ; Tovey, Anglia Judaioa, 200.
« Graetz, Oeschiehte der Juden (Second Edition), VIL, note 11.
« Chronicles of Edward I. and Edioard IL (Rolls Series), L, 97 ; The
Chronicle of Pierre de Langtoft (Rolls Series), II., 185-6.
* Tovey, Anglia Judaiea, 240.
Digitized by
Google
The Expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290. 445
after the prescribed day were declared liable to the penalty
of death.*
Every effort was made by the King to secure the peace
and safety of the Jews during the short period for which
they were allowed to remain, and in the course of their
journey from their homes to the coast, and from the coast
to their ultimate destination. The sheriffs were ordered
to have public proclamation made that "no one within
the appointed period should injure, harm, damage, or
grieve them," and were to ensure, for such as chose to pay
for it, a safe journey to London. The wardens of the
Cinque Ports, within the district of whose jurisdiction
many of the Jews would necessarily embark, received
orders of the same spirit as those that had been addressed
to the sheriffs of the countiea They were to see that the
exiles were provided, after payment, with a safe and
speedy passage across the sea, and that the poor among
them were enabled to travel at cheap rates and were treated
with consideration.* These general orders were reinforced
by the issue of special writs of safe-conduct for individual
Jews.* The exiles were allowed to carry with them all
of their own property that was in their possession at the
time of the issue of the decree of expulsion, together with
such pledges deposited with them by Christians as were
not redeemed before a fixed date. A few Jews who were
high in the favour of royal personages, such as Aaron, son
of Vives, who was a "chattel" of the King's brother
Edmund,* and Cok, son of Hagin, who belonged to the
Queen,^ were allowed before their departure to sell their
houses and fees to any Christian who would buy them.
On St. Denis 8 Day all the Jews of London started on
their journey to the sea-coast.* The treatment that they
met with was not so merciful as the king had wished.
* Bartholomai de Cotton, HUtoria Ajiglicana (BoUs Series), p. 178.
* Toyey, Anglia Judaioa, 240-2.
* Ih. 241 ; Calendivt of Patent RoOi fr<m 1281 to 1292, 878, 881, 882.
* Ih, 879. » Ih, 384. • Ihid,, 232.
VOL. VII. G G
Digitized by
Google
446 The Jeunsh Quarterly Review,
Many of the richer among them embarked with all their
property at London. At the mouth of the Thames, the
master cast anchor during the ebb-tide, so that his vessel
grounded on the sands, and invited his passengers to walk
on the shore till it was again afloat. He led them to a
great distance, so that they did not get back till the tide
was again fulL Then he ran into the water, climbed into
the ship by means of a rope, and bade them, if they needed
help, call on their Prophet Moses. They followed him into
the water, and most of them were drowned. The sailors
appropriated all that the Jews had left on board. But
subsequently the master and his accomplices were indicted,
convicted of murder, and hanged.^
One body of the exiles set sail for France. During their
voyage fierce storms swept the sea. Many were drowned.
Many were cast destitute on the coast that they were
seeking, and were allowed by the King to live for a time
in Amiens.* This act of mercy, however, called forth the
censure of the Pope, and the Parlement de la Chandeleur,
which met in the same year, decreed that all the Jews
from England and Qascony that had taken refuge in the
French king's dominions should leave the country by the
middle of the next Lent.* Another body, numbering 1,335,
and consisting, to a great extent, of the poor, went to
Flanders.* The only known fact that we have to guide
our conjectures as to the ultimate place of settlement of
any of those who left England is that, in a list of the in-
habitants of the Paris Jewry, made four years after the
Expulsion, there appear certain neunes with the additions
of VEnglische or I'Englais} It may well be that many Jews
* Walter of Hemingburgh, Chronicon (English HiBtorioal Sooiety), I.,
21, 22 ; Bartholomaeas Cotton, Hutoria Anglieana (Rolls Seriee), 178 ;
Amudet Moruutici, III., 362, IV., 327.
' Oput Chronieorum in CkronicU* of S. Albania J. de TrokdotDey ete.^
Annales (Rolls Series), 57.
» Lanridre, Ordonnanees des RoU de la France, I., 317.
* fhrtieth Report of Deputy-Keeper of PMie Reeordt, p. 474.
* Berve des Etudes Juires, Vol. I., pp. 66, 67, 69.
Digitized by
Google
The Expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290. 447
from England, speaking the French language, were able, in
spite of the Act of the Parlement de la Chandeleur, to become
merged in the general body of the Jews of France, who
were many times as numerous as those of England had
been.^ Many, too, may have thrown in their lot with their
860,000 coreligionists of Spain.*
The property that they left behind them in Elngland
consisted of such dwelling-houses, and other houses, as
remained to them in spite of the strict conditions imposed
by the Statue of 1275, of the synagogues and cemeteries
of their local congregations, and of bonds partly for the
repayment of money, and partly for the delivery of wool
and com for which the price had been paid in advance.
All fell into the hands of the King,^ except, possibly, the
houses in some of those towns, such as Hereford, Win-
chester, and Ipswich, of which the citizens had by the
purchase of manorial rights become entitled to all fines and
forfeitures.* The annual value of the houses, as shown in
the returns made by the sheriffs, was, after allowance had
been made for the right of the Capital Lords, about £130.
The value of the debts, as shown in the register made by
the officers of the Exchequer, was about £9,100, but the
amount for realisation was diminished by the King's re-
solve to take from the debtors, not the full amount for
which they were liable, and which, under the amended
statute of the Jewry,* could include three years' interest,
but only the bare principal that had been originally
advanced. Even this was not fully collected; payment
was, by the King's permission, delayed, and confirmations,
' Graete, VII.. 267. « Ibid., 155.
* Langtoft, II., 189 ; Hemingbnrgh, II., 21 ; Madox, Ewch.y L, 261.
* JohiiBon, CuHam* of Hereford, p. 100 ; Madoz, Firma Bwrgi, 12^
19, 23. I am not at all confident of the accuracy of Mr. Johnson's state-
ment, on which the latter half of this sentence is founded. Certainly some
of the houses of the Jews of Hereford, Winchester, and Ipswich, were
granted away by the king QLansdoume MS8., British Museum, Vol. 826,
part 5, Transcript 4, Rotuli Originalium (Record Commission), I.^ 73(-
76a.
* Paper Jt Anglo^Jetouh Hidorical Exhibition, p. 230.
G Q 2
Digitized by
Google
448 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
made in 1315 and 1327, of the renunciation of interest,
show how long some of the debts remained outstanding.
Edward III. finally gave up the claim to all further
payment^
It was ordered that the houses should be sold and the
proceeds devoted to pious usea' But it appears that
they were nearly all given away to the King's friends.*
XII. — The Necessity of the Expulsion.
The Expulsion was not the act of a cruel king. The
forbearance which marks the orders to the officers who
were charged with the execution of the decree had been
shown by Edward many a time before, when he protected
Jews against claims too rigorously enforced, and ordered
that his own rights should be waived where insistence on
them would have deprived his debtors of their means of
subsistence.*
Nor was it prompted by greed. It is true that im-
mediately after it, and according to the account of many
chroniclers, as an expression of gratitude for it, the
Parliament voted a tenth and a fifteenth.' But this can-
> Rotvli Parliamentorum, I, 346ft ; II., 8a, 402a ; Statutes of Realm, 1
Ed. III., Stat. 2, § 3.
' Tovey, 236 ; Prynne, Second Demurrer, 127 ; Papers, An^lo-Jeiouh
Higtori^al Exhibition, 21.
* A list not quite complete, of the houses belonging to the expeUed
Jews is contained in the Manuscript known as Q. R. Miscellanea : " Jews,**
No. 557, 9 and 11 (Public Record Office). A list of persons who reoeiyed
from the King -grants of Jews* houses, to hold at a nominal rental, Ib
printed in Rotulorum Originalium Ahhreriatio (Record Commission)
pp. 73■-76^ and the deeds of gift are copied in fuU in Lansdowne MSS.
(British Museum) Vol. 826, Part 5, Transcript 4. Nearly all the houses
mentioned in Q. R. Miscellanea are granted away by deeds included in the
RotvZi OrigineUium and the Lansdowne Transcript.
« Madox, Exch. I. 2, 248A, 258i, etc. ; Tovey, 207 ; Prynne, 2nd Ten, 69,
76 ; Rymer, Foedera, 523, 598.
» Chronica Monasterii de Melsa (RoUs Series), II., 261-2. Annates Monas-
ti4!i. III., 362 ; W. de Hemingbnrgh, Chranieon (English Historical
Society) II., 22.
Digitized by
Google
The Eapulston of the Jews from England in 1290. 449
not have been a bribe offered beforehand, for the writs
announcing the decree were issued on the fourth day after
that for which the Parliament was summoned.^ It is
impossible to suppose that in so short an interval the
question was brought up, the policy chosen, the price
fixed, and the decree issued. It is equally impossible
that Edwjad's conduct should have been affected by the
prospect of the confiscation of the small amount of property
that the Jews left behind them.
The Expulsion was a piece of independent royal action,
made necessary by the impossibility of carrying out the
only alternative policy that an honourable Christian king
could adopt. And the impossibility was not of Edward's
making. It was the result of many causes, and the know-
ledge of it had been brought home to him by many proofs.
The guesses of our contemporary, and all but contemporary,
authorities who take on themselves to explain his action,
show how many were the obstacles before which he had to
confess himself vanquished. In one chronicle the Expulsion
is represented as a concession to the prayer of the Pope f in
another, as the result of the efforts of Queen Eleanor ;' in a
third, as a measure of summary punishment against the blas-
phemy of the Jews, taken to give satisfaction to the English
clergy ;* in a fourth as an answer to the complaints made by
the magnates of the continued prevalence of usury ;* in a fifth
as an act of conformity to public opinion f in a sixth, as a
reform suggested by the King's independent general enquiry
into the administration of the kingdom during his absence,
* Parliament was summoned for July 15th ; see Parliamentary Paper 69 ;
of 1878 (H. of C.) " Parliaments of England " ; the write ordering the Expul-
sion were issued on July the 18th ; see Tovey, 240.
* French Chronicler of London, in Riley's Chronicles of Old London^
242.
« Annales Momutici, II., 409.
« Ih., ni., 861.
» W. de Hemingburgh, II., 20.
* Chronicles of Edward L and Edward II. (Rolls Series) Vol. I. 99
(" Omnes JudflBi .... conredente Rege Bdwardo exulantur").
Digitized by
Google
450 The Jeicish Quarterly Review,
and his discovery, through the complaints of the Council,
of the " deceits " of the Jews.*
Each of these statements gives us some information as
to the nature and extent of the failure of Edward's policy.
None gives the true cause, for none sets before us the true
position of the Jews and their relations with their
neighbours. It is true that it was the bull of Honorius
that finally compelled Edward to give up his attempt to
assimilate the position of the Jews to that of Christian
traders. It is true, no doubt, that his mother had from the
first dissuaded him from generous treatment, and, perhaps,
had induced him to lessen the chance of the success of his
policy by asserting his right over them as over his serfa*
But the bull of the Pope and the personal influence of the
Queen-mother were alike unnecessary. If Edward had
waived all his rights, if the Church had in his reign relented
towards the Jews instead of increasing its bitterness towards
them, both acts of generosity would have come too late.
The same causes that had made the Jews accept the posi-
tion of royal usurers at the end of the eleventh century,
and of royal chattels at the end of the twelfth, made
it impossible for them to give up either position at the
end of the thirteenth. From the moment of their arrival in
England they had been hated by the common people.
They never had an opportunity of acquiring interests
in common with their neighbours, or of entering their
social or industrial institutions. Isolation brought with
it danger. For the sake of safety they had to accept royal
protection ; €md their protectors long held them in a close
grip, until one at last refused to tolerate them under the
same conditions as had satisfied his predecessora But to
» The Chronicle of Pierre Langtoft (Bolls Series), IL, 187-89.
' Gtim . . conoeeserimos Earissims matri noetrae Aleaaorae Beginae
Angliae quod nnllos Judaeos habitet yel moretur in quibasctiiiqne vfllis
quas ipsa mater nostra habet in dotem. . . Papers of the AngUhJeusish
Hi^orical Enhibttion, pp. 187-8. Forty-fourth Peport of the Deputy
Keeper of the Public Records, p. 6. Graets, Qeschichte der Juden (Second
edition), YIL, note 11.
Digitized by
Google
The Expulmn of the Jem from England in 1290. 451
have given them their freedom would only have been to
expose them to the old dislike and the old danger. If
Edward had allowed them to become citizens, and had set
at naught the bull of Honorius, he would have seen the
English towns refusing to support his policy and denying
to the Jews the right to join the gild merchant, to learn
trades and to practise them, and to enjoy the protection of
municipal laws and customs.
For towstrds all new-comers, of whatever race or religion,
the English burgesses of the Middle Ages showed a
spirit of unyielding exclusiveness.^ But the feeling against
the Jews was far greater than that against any other
clasa Every reference to them in English literature,
before the Expulsion and long after it, shows its strength
and bitterness. "Hell is without light where they
sing lamentations,'' says one poet of them.* Another who,
writing a few years after the Expulsion, mentions the
massacre at the coronation of Richard I., finds in it
nothing to wonder at, and nothing to regret. To him it
is only natural that " The king took it for great shame
That from such imclean things as them any meat to him
came." * The chroniclers of the time refer to them again
and again, and always in the same tone of dislike. " The
Jews," says Matthew Paris, in his account of one of the
most cruel of Henry Ill's acts of extortion, " had nearly
all their money taken from them, and yet they were not
pitied, because it is proved, and is manifest, that they are
continually convicted of forging charters, seals and coina" *
" They are a sign for the nation like Cain the accursed," he
says elsewhere.* The eulogist of Edward I., when he
recounts the great deeds of his hero, tells with pride and
* Compare the treatment of the Flemin^irSt who settled as weavers in
different towns of England soon after the Conqnest, but had to retreat
to one district in Wales, where thej lived nnder special royal protection.
Gnnninfirham, The Oroioth of English Industry a/nd Commerce, 176 ; and
see Gross, OUd Merohanty II., 155-6.
« Jacobs, 14. • Ibid,, 107.
* Ilistarm Anglorum, III., 76. * Ibid., III., 103.
Digitized by
Google
452 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
without a word of pity how "the perfidious and un-
believing horde of Jews is driven forth from Ekigland in
one day into exile.^ And just as no punishment that they
can suffer is regarded as too heavy for their sins, so no
story of their misdoings, whether it be of the murder of
Christian children, of insults to the Christian religion, or
of fraud on Christian debtors, is too improbable or too
brutal or too trivial to be repeated.*
The popular hatred showed itself in deed as well as in
word. The massacres of 1190 were imitated on a small
scale at intervals during the sojourn of the Jews in Elng-
land. Bradiers and hosiers bakers and shoemakers, tailors
and copperers, priests and Oxford scholars were all ready
to take part in the looting of a Jewry.*
Nor was there any influence exercised by the higher
classes to make the populace less intolerant.^ A great
lady declared that it was a disgrace for one of her rank to
sit in a carriage in which a Jewess had sat. A great noble
thought it a good jest, when a Jew on his estate fell into a
pit on a Friday, to order that he should not be helped out
either on the Jewish Sabbath or on the Christian, in order
that the absurdity of the Mosaic legislation might be
demonstrated — at the cost, as it resulted, of the Jew's
life.*
Bishops supported with eagerness the charge of child-
murder repeatedly brought against the Jews,* though Popes
and Councils had declared it to be groundless^; and the
judge who showed the greatest eagerness for the punish-
' Ckronieles of Edward I. and Edward 12, (Rolls Series), Commejidatio
LamentabiliSj II., 14.
• M. Paris, Chronica Majora^ V., 114; AnnaXes Monastieiy lY., 503;
Gefta Abbatum Monaiterii, S. Albani (Bolls Series), I., 471.
• Annale8\Mo7iasticiy IV., 91 ; Norfolk Antiquarian Miscellany, L, 831 ;
Forty 'fowrth Report of the Deputy -Keeper of the Public Records, 188 ;
De Antiquis Legibus, Camden Soc., 50; Tovey, 156; Piynne, Second
Demurrer, 118. • Jacobs, 26.
• W. Bishanger, Chronica et Annales (Bolls Series), p. 4.
• M. Paris, Chronica Majora, IV. 30, 31.
' Hahn, Geschichte dtr Ketzer, III., 36, n. 2.
Digitized by
Google
The Expuhion of the Jews from England in 1290. 463
ment of the Jewish prisoners who were accused on the
monstrous charge of having murdered Hugh of Lincohi,
was a man who was held in especial honour by his con-
temporaries as a scholar and a circumspect and discreet
man.^
Thus the Christians were not likely to endure the Jews
as neighbours and fellow- workers, and the Jews, even if
they had been permitted, would have been as little willing
to live the life and follow the ordinary pursuits of citizens.
It was not that they loved usury as a calling. On the
contrary, they entered willingly into all those professions
that gave them the opportunity of being their own masters
and living according to their own fashion. Many of them
were physicians, and among the most esteemed in Europe.*
In Italy, where the municipal and gild organisations were
easier to enter, and less narrow and exacting in their con-
stitution, than those of England,' they worked at trades.*
In Sicily, under Frederic II., some Jews were employed
as administrators, and many more were agriculturists.*
In Rome, one was treasurer of the household of Pope
Alexander III., and in Southern France another filled the
same office under Count Raymond, of Toulouse.* In
Austria, they were the financial ministers of the Archduke,^
and in Spain, one was chamberlain to Alphonso the Wise,
and many others were in the service of the same king.®
In England, some Jews were attached to the Court of
Henry III., and treated with special favour ; others were
useful and valued adherents of Richard, King of the
* M. Paris, Chronica Majora^ V. 517 ; Anrudes Moruutici^ I. 345.
< Rime des Etudes Juiva, XVIII., 258 ; Eatt Anglian, V. 10 ; Jacobs,
88-9.
• Perrens, Higtoire de Florence, III., 220-1, 226. GregoToyius, Qeech, der
Stadt, Bom,, V., 308.
* Thomas Aquinas, Opuseulwn, XXI.
* GMemann, Oetoh, dee Erziehun^sweeene, etc., II., 287.
• Glidemazm, U., 71 ; Hitt. Litt. de la FrcMoe, XXVIL, 620.
' GraetsB, VII., 97.
• Ih., 125-7.
Digitized by
Google
454 The Jeivish Quarterly Review.
Romans/ and, after the prohibition of usury, others, as we
have seen, became corn-merchants, and wool-merchanta
But the whole character of the Jews, their religious
beliefs, and their national hopes, were such as to make
repellent to them those close relations with Christians and
Englishmen which would have been necessary if they had
entered into the feudal or municipal organisations of the
Middle Agea They could not, without violating their
religion, eat at a Gild feast, or take part in its religious
ceremonies. Their teachers, like those of the Church,
warned them against social intercourse with the Christians,
" lest it might lead to inter-marriaga"^ They did not
speak the English language.* They remained willingly
outside the national and municipal life.
Their isolation caused them no sorrow. Rather must
it have been dear to them as a sign that they were faith-
ful members of the one race to which in truth they
belonged, the race of Israel The interests that filled their
mind were those that were common to them, not with
the inhabitcmts of the country in which they lived, but
with their brethren in faith and race scattered throughout
the world. The rapidity and copiousness with which the
stream of Jewish literature poured forth in the Middle
Ages, showed how unfailing was the strength of the
Jewish life which was its source. In Southern Europe the
Jews waged among themselves fierce controversies over
problems such as were suggested by the support that some
of their Rabbis gave, or appeared to give, to the Aristotelian
doctrines of the eternity of matter and the uncreativeness
of God.* Among the English Jews, and in the communities
of Northern France with whom the English Jews were in
continual communication, literature, though less contro-
* Boyal Letters (RoUs Series), II., 46 ; Madoz, I., 257 g ; Rymer, Fcedera^
L, 356.
' Jacobs, 269.
» Jewish Quabtbblt Revibw, IV. 12, 551 ; Hut. LUt, de U France,
27, 485, 650, aq,
* Hist. LUt. de France, XXVII., 27, 660, sq.
Digitized by
Google
The EcepuMon of the Jews from England in 1290. 455
versial and engaged with less deep questions, sufficed,
nevertheless, even better to provide continual and engros-
sing interest for the orthodox. There were read and
written, down to the last years before the Expulsion,
commentaries and super-commentaries on the Bible and
the Talmud, lexicons and grammars, treatises on ritual
and ceremonial. The Rabbis discussed what blessings it
was right to use on all the occasions of life, on rising in
the morning, or on retiring to rest at night, on eating, on
washing, on being married, on hearing thunder.^ The
English Jews were strict observers of the ceremonial law,*
they made use in daily life of the minutiae of Rabbinical
scholarship, they drew up their contracts " after the usage
of the sages,"' and thus, like all the Jews of mediaeval
Europe, they were continually reminded, in the pursuit of
their ordinary interests and occupations, that they were a
peculiar people. How proud they were of the position is
shown by the poetical literature which, as preserved in
the Jewish prayer book, is the most precious legacy that
mediaeval Judaism has left ua It was common to Jews in
all lands ; it commemorated all the sorrows of their nation,
and gave expression to all their hopes. It made them
feel that, scattered as they were, they yet had a destiny
of their own, and it banished from their minds, as a
counsel of baseness, the thought of making themselves
one with the " Gentiles " around them. It reminded them
that exile and persecution, and ultimate triumph were the
appointed lot of Israel, and that the same teachers who
had prophesied that the Chosen People should suffer, had
also prophesied that in the fulness of time they should
be redeemed. They knew that in the hour of danger and
persecution there had never been wanting martyrs to
testify in death to the unity of God and to the Glory of
» nut, Litt., 435, 441, 462, 484, 487, 607, sq. ; Jbwish Quabteblt
Review, rv., 25.
* JaMbs, 286.
• Archaological Journal^ XXVIII., 180.
Digitized by
Google
456 The Jevnsh Quarterly Review,
his Name. And they could not doubt that the Lord of
Mercy and Justice would mete out due recompense to the
oppressors and the oppressed.^
Thus the memory of their past, and the commonplace
occurrences of their daily life, continually strengthened
the bonds that bound Jews together after twelve centuries
of dispersion. In the thirteenth century of the Christian
era, as in the first, they still regarded the Holy Land as
their true home. Three hundred Rabbis from France and
England went thither in 1211.^ There Jehudi Halevi
ended his days.' There Nachmanides taught that it was
the duty of every Jew to live, and, true to his own lesson,
he set out on his pilgrimage in the seventieth year of his age.
And in his own and the next generation many Jews from
Spain and Germany followed his example.* A Jewish
traveller of the Middle Ages says of certain of the communi-
ties of his coreligionists that he visited : " They are full of
hopes, and they say to one another, * Be of good cheer,
brethren, for the salvation of the Lord will be quick as the
glancing of an eye : ' and were it not that we have hitherto
doubted, and thought that the end of our Captivity has not
yet arrived, we should have been gathered together long ago.
But now this will not be till the time of song arrives, and
the sound of the turtle-dove gives warning. Then will the
message arrive, and we shall ever say ' The Name of the
Lord be exalted.' "*
Nowhere in Europe could such men have been content to
live the life of those around them, to bind themselves with
the ties of citizenship, to find their highest hopes on earth
in the destiny of the town, or the coimtry, in which they
dwelt. They were but sojoumera They lived in ex-
pectation of the time when the Lord should return the
Captivity of Zion, and they should look back on their
exile as rewakened dreamers.
* Gf. L. Zunz, Die Synagogale Poesie des MittdaUers, Berlin, 1856.
* Graete, Vn., 6. « Ibid., VI. • Vn., 138 ; VII., 307-8 ; VIL, 188-9.
* Benjamin of Tndela, trans. Asher, I., 163.
Digitized by
Google
The Expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290. 457
Without the privilege of isolation they could not live ;
and if in England the communities of the Gentiles had been
open to them, they would never have entered them.
The Expulsion of the English Jews was an event of
small importance alike in English and in Jewish history.
In England the effect that it produced was barely per-
ceptible. The loss of their capital was too slight to
produce any economic change. The only class that bene-
fited from their departure was the Florentine merchants,
whose trade grew from this time even greater than before.*
Political results of importance have sometimes been at-
tributed to the Expulsion. The victory of the towns over
the King has been said to have been hastened by the loss
of the financial support of the Jews.^ But it cannot have
come any the sooner for the disappearance of a community
from whom the King had long ceased to get any real help
in his enterprises abroad, or in his struggles at home. The
trading classes still complained after the Expulsion, as they
had done before it, of the prevalence of the "horrible
practice of usury, which has undone many, and brought
many to poverty,"* and the " horrible practice " prevailed
none the less ; and perhaps the poorer agricultural classes
of England, the newly enfeoffed rent-payers, found, as did
the corresponding class in France,* that the expulsion of
the Jews only compelled them to go to more cruel money-
lenders than before. The coin was clipped as regularly
after the Expulsion as before it, and the Christian gold-
smiths were as rigorously treated as the Jewish money-
* See the Tables in Thorold Rogers' History of Agriculture and Prices^
Vols. I. and II.
* Pemzzi, Storia del Commercio e dei Banchieri de Firenze^ 175.
■ Papers, Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibit ion, p. 211.
* Rotuli Parliamentorvm, II., 332-350. * Graete, VII., 101.
Digitized by
Google
458 The Jetcish Quarterly Review,
lenders had been.^ The Church, which had helped to
drive out the Jews, soon found itself in conflict with Chris-
tian heresy, compared with which Jewish unbelief waa
harmless.
The Jews, on their side, were driven from a land which
thirty-five years earlier they had begged in vain to be
allowed to leave.^ They went forth to join the far greater
bodies of their countrymen in other lands, and with them
to fulfil the career of sorrow that they had begun. The
loss of their inhospitable home in England was but one
episode in their tragic history. From France they were
again to be expelled, despoiled and destitute.' In
Germany the blood-accusation met them as in England.*
In Spain popular massacres and clerical persecution were
already preparing the ground for the Inquisition:* The
time was still far off when Jew and Christian could live
side by side and neither suffer because he would not
worship after his neighbour's fashion. That time could
not come until society was more heterogeneous, and the
circles of interest of ordinary men wider, than they could
be in the thirteenth century, until the citizen ceased to
live his life, bodily and spiritual, within the walls of his
native town, under the shadow of the Church.
B. Lionel Abrahams.
* J. de Trokelowe, etc., Chronicax et Annates (Rolls Series), 58 ; Rading
AnnaU of the Coinage (Third Edition), L, 198-202.
« M. Paris, Chronica Majora, V., 441, 487.
• GraetB, VII., 264-7 ; Depping, 228-9. * Graeti, VIL, 181-8, 252.
» Ibid,, 163-4, 318-20, 363.
Digitized by
Google
Same Tramlations of Heh*ew Poems. 459
SOME TRANSLATIONS OF HEBREW POEMS.
Of the following translations by Miss Nina Davis, Miss Elsie
Davis, and the Rev. Dr. Ekiward King, the specimens from
Kalir and Ibn Gebirol have never been turned into English
verse before. The selections from Jehuda Halevi have been
several times so rendered, notably by Mrs. Lucas in Songs
of Zion, but the alternatives that follow are so meritorious
that they cannot fail to prove interesting. Kalir has
received far too little attention in England. Though his
lines are harsh and diflSicult, he undoubtedly possessed
more poetic force than any other of the New-Hebrew
poets, Jehuda Halevi perhaps not excepted. Ibn Gebirol,
though his merits have not been questioned, has also
received, so far, but scanty justice from translators.
I. A.
The Pbophet Jeremiah by the Cave of Macpelah.
Translated from the Original Hebrew of Kalir,
The Prophet standing by the fathers' graves,
With soul overwhelmed he speaks, for solace craves ;
" How can ye lie at rest, beloved ones,
While sharpened swords consume your captive sons ?
Where now, 0 fathers, lurks your merit rare
In that vast wilderness of land laid bare ?
They cry each one with lamentation sore
For children banished, sons that are no more ;
They pray imploring with a cry for grace,
To Him who dwelleth in the realms of space.
Ah ! where is now God*s promise made of old ?
* I will not my first covenant withhold.' " '
• Lev. ixvi. 45.
Digitized by
Google
460 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
Changed is My gloiyi
From them departed,
They have not feared Me
Nor seen the right way ;
From them I hid Me»
And still they turned not,
Nor to Me yearned they ;
Shall I restrain Me,
Hearing them utter
" Our God He is not " ? »
Then father Abraham with bitter cry,
Implored, a suppliant lowly, God on high ;
" Ten times in vain for them great trials I bore.
For woe I mine eyes have seen destruction sore ;
Ah ! where is now Thy promise made of old,
Abram, thou shalt not fear, thy Shield behold.' " ■
Far have they wandered,
Erred after strange gods.
And they have hewn them
Cisterns which hold not :
Shall I restrain Me
When they regard not
My sacred mandates ?
And thus did Isaac all his sorrow tell.
Unto the Lord who high in Heav'n doth dwell :
*' Wherefore was I appointed to be slain,
My seed is crushed and low in chains has lain ;
Ah I where is now Thy promise made of old,
* My covenant with Isaac I will hold * ? " •
Unto my prophet
Sorely rebellious.
They have polluted
My holy mountain :
Lo, I am weary
With ever hearing
Their cry which riseth
From the earth upwards ;
Shall I restrain Me
Seeing the slaughter
Of Zechariah ? *
» Jer. V. 12. « Gen. xv. \.
■ Levit. xxvi. 42. * 2 Chion. xxiv. 20.
Digitized by
Google
Some Translations of Hebrew Poems.
And then spake he with learning deep endowed, ^
Hifl form with shame and bitter sorrow bowed ;
" My little ones I reared with holy care,
How are they caught within the fatal snare !
Ah I dearly have I paid, a thonsand-f old,
My erring children's debt of guilt untold."
Thus spake the faithful shepherd in his woe.
Covered with ashes and in dust laid low.
" My tender sheep, in genial shelter reared,
Lo ! how are they before their season sheared !
Ah I where is now Thy promise made of old,
* There shall not be a widow in the fold ' ? "»
With voices of distress the air is rent ;
With sobs doth Leah to her despair give vent,
And Rachel weeping for her children dead ;
Zilpah with face of anguish, heart of dread,
And Bilhah grieving for the evil day.
Her hands to God uplifted in dismay.
Turn, 0 ye perfect ones,
Unto your rest again ;
I will fulfil for you
All that your hearts desire ;
Down unto Babylon
With you My Presence went.
Surely will I return
Your sons' captivity.
461
Nina Davis.
Thb Confession.
From the " Royal Cronm," by Urn Gebirol.
Translated from the Hebrew.
My God, I know that mine iniquity
Is heavier than my feeble words express.
And to recount my trespasses to Thee
Doth memory fail, for they are numberless.
> Jaoob : vide Midrash Babbah nn^lM and Talmud Megillah, pp. 16 b
and 17 a. * Jerem. 11. 6.
VOL. VIL H H
Digitized by
Google
462 The Jetcish Quarterly Review.
Tet some do haunt my mind, but theee, indeed,
Are as a drop of water from my sea
Of sin, whose roaring billows may recede.
And by confession, calm'd and silenced be.
0 Thou in Heav*n, pray list, and pardon me.
Thy precepts have I scom*d. Thy Law transgress^.
Rejecting from my wayward heart Thy word ;
Slander I spake, and in my truant breast
Lurk'd vice indulgent, therefore have I err*d.
Falsehood and pride and violence combined
To dog my steps and lead them far astray ;
When men have counsel ask*d, oft did I blind
Their eyes with fraud, and evil counsel say.
I have rebell*d, blasphemed, yea, scom'd and lied ; '
1 have revolted and perversely done ;
I have betray'd and stifEneck'd did abide.
Defiant strove Thy just rebuke to shun.
How have my deeds been sinful, weak and vile.
My ways corrupt and errant from Thy path.
Daring Thy precepts with deluding wile.
To merge beneath the tempest of Thy wrath.
Though great the sorrows that o'erwhelm my brow.
These sorrows issue from Thy righteous hand
Where mercy ever dwelleth ; hence I bow
And court the shaft that sped at Thy command.
My God, I mourn, for self -accusers rise :
" Thou hast Thy Maker grievously defied.
Hast acted graceless folly in His eyes
For mercies, when His judgment bade Him chide."
Thou need*8t no service at my humble hand.
Yet gav'st me life and bless'd my happy birth ;
Th}' spirit bade my budding soul expand,
To blossom on Thy fair and wondrous earth.
And Thou hast reared me with a father's care.
Strengthened my limbs and nursed the tender child
Luird on my mother's gentle bosom, where
Thine all-protecting wing and blessing smiled.
Digitized by
Google
Some Translations of Hebrew Poems. 463
And when I grew and all erect could stand,
Thou did'st enfold me in Thy fostering arms
Guiding my tott*ring steps with Thy right hand
To manly strength, which scorneth all alarms.
The ways of wisdom did'st Thou then command
To shield my heart 'gainst sorrow and distress,
Concealed within the shadow of Thy hand,
When fear and wrath did all the land oppress.
How many an unseen danger have I passed I
Before the wound the balm is yet prepared ;
A remedy before the spear is cast,
The f oeman vanquished ere the war's declared.
Heedless I placed my head 'twixt lion's teeth,
And thou to rescue me their jaws did'st break;
When sickness held me with her heel beneath.
Thy heav'nly balsam came for pity's sake.
And when Thy judgment thunder'd in the storm
Thy favour arm'd Thy servant 'gainst its blow ;
When death assail'd him in pale famine's form.
Thy halo veil'd him in a saving glow.
When plenty reign'd my share of wealth I won.
But when I roused with provocation sore
Thy wrath, as doth a father to his son.
Thou did'st chastise, that I should sin no more.
Then unto Thee I cried in dire distress.
My soul immortal with Thee favour found.
Thy mercy shed in Thy benign excess
A perfect faith, within my heart, profound.
Among the foolish who blaspheme Thy name
With clamour loud. Thou hast not cast my lot ;
'Mongst erring ones who 'gainst Thy word exclaim.
Thy laws deriding, number'd I am not.
Of visage fair are they, yet foul deceit
Lurketh like leprous spots deep sunk within ;
Though, on the surface smiling ripples meet,
Beneath are billows wild, and black as sin :
H H 2
Digitized by
Google
464 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
A vessel, filFd to brim with shame and woe,
Varnished with glittering waters to allure,
Distilled of malice, virtae's direst foe
Its touch unclean, defilement to the pure.
I am unworthy of the saving love
Thou hast to me Thy servant ever shown,
So must I waft my song of praise above,
And unto Thee my gratitude make known.
My soul, Thy gift divine, was pure as light ;
Alas ! no more, my sin hath stain*d its crest.
I wrestled with the Yezer Ra * in might,
But all too weak I sank — ^yet not to rest.
Contrite, Thy saving pardon I entreat,
I feel Thy glory flood my yearning soul ;
Vanquished proud sin is helpless at my feet,
And I, Thy servant, reach Thy radiant goal.
Elsie Davis.
From the Hebrew "Divan" of R. Judah Halbvi.
I.— To ZioN.
Hast thou no greeting for thy captive sons.
Poor remnant of thy flock, who seek thy weal ?
" Peace to thee, far and near I" Lift up thy voice
Through all thy region — ^west, east, north, and south !
And "Peace" to me, Hope's prisoner, who sheds [Zech. ix. 12.
His tears like Hermon*s dew, and only longs
That they might fall (where dews fall) on thy hills.
Thy woe-gone state I wail with jackal cry.
But, should I dream captivity restored,
I am a harp, to echo forth thy songs.
For Bethel and Peni-^1 how I yearn I
For Mahanaim, and each trysting-spot
Where angels met thy pure saints of old :
There the Shekinah neighboured close with thee,
* The evil imagination.
Digitized by
Google
Some TranslatwM of Hebrew Poems, 465
And He that formed thee set thy open g^tes
Hard by the open gates of highest heaven.
The glory of the Lord thy only light !
Not sun, or moon, or stars that lightened thee I
May it be mine to shed my life-blood there,
Where on thy sons God's spirit erst was shed.
Thou home of kingship I throne of God ! — ^Ah ! woe,
That slaves now sit upon thy lordly thrones !
Oh, might I range through spots where seer and sage
Received for thee the unveiled speech of God !
Oh, had I wings, that I might fly afar.
And soothe the serried cares of this poor heart
Amid the serried range of Bether's hills, [Cant. ii. 17.
I'd fall upon my face upon thy soil,
I'd find sweet pleasure in thy very stones.
And cherish to my heart thy merest dust ;
Much more when standing by my fathers' graves.
Lost in deep wonder, there where Hebron holds
The dearest even of thy sepulchres.
I pass, in thought, through forest and through field ;
I stand in awe by Gilead and the hills
Which tower round thy borders — ^Nebo first —
Mount Nebo and Mount Hor — most sacred they.
Where ^^ two great Lights " thy lights and teachers shone.
Thy very air breathes life into the soul I
Thy smallest dust more sweet than sweetest myrrh I
Thy streams run honey from the dripping rocks I
How sweet it were to walk with naked foot
Through ruins that were once Gk>d's oracles !
Twas here thy ark was treasured, here thy cherubim
Once dwelt within this inmost shrine of thine.
I shave my head — cast down its beauty's crown,
And curse the fate that, in an unclean land.
Profanes the beauty of thy Nazarites. [Lam. iv. 7.
What pleasure can I find in food or drink,
While those that are but dogs can rend thy lions ?
How can the light of day gladden mine eyes,
That see crows gnaw the carcase of thine eagles ?
Oh, cup of woe I Give pause ! give breathing-space !
My reins and soul are full of bitterness. [Job iz. 18
I think on Ahdlkh — I drink tiiy cup ;
On Ah51ib&h — ^then I drain its dregs. [Ezek. xxiii
0 Zion, " perfect beauty," grace, and love
Digitized by
Google
466 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
Of old thou bindest on thee — ^yea, the souls
Of sages, too, are bound up in thy life.
These gladden in thy weal, these wail thy woe,
These weep thy ruin. Still, from captive pit,
Towards thee they yearn, and towards thy sacred gates
Each from his place they bow them down in prayer.
Thy bleating flocks, though captive and dispersed
From mount to hill, can ne'er forget thy Fold :
Still to thy skirts they cling and strive to climb
Up to the stately palm-growth of thy breasts. [Cant vii. 9.
Shinar and Patros ? Q^nthey match thy state ?
Their vanities thy Urim and thy Thummim ?
Thy Princes — Prophets — Levites — ^Minstrels ?
To each of these what can the world compare ?
The diadem of every worldly throne
Must change and pass away — ^thy wealth remains ;
Thy crown of consecration is for aye ;
Thy God desires thee for His Throne. Ah, blest
Is ^* he whom Gbd shall choose and draw him nigh **
That he may dwell for ever in thy Courts ;
And *^ Blessed he who waits " till he attain [Dan. xii. 12.
To see thy light mount up, thy Dawn break forth,
To witness peace upon thy chosen ones,
To gladden in thy joy as thou return
Unto the vigour of thine ancient youth.
II.
Oh, barest joy of Earth,
Thou City of the King,
For thee my soul is home-sick,
A banished Westerling !
Compassion stirs my boweb
When calling back the past ;
Thy Glory that is captive!
Thy beauty that is waste !
Oh, had I wings of eagles
I'd seek thee, nor refrain
Till tears had poured upon thee
And watered thee like rain :
I'd seek thee, though thy King
Is now no more in thee.
Digitized by
Google
Same Translations of Hebrew Poenut, 467
Though dragon, asp, and scorpion,
Take place of Qilead's tree ;
Thy very stones I'd cherish
And lovingly embrace,
Sweeter to me than honey
Thy broken clods should taste.
III.— The Voyage.
Thine is my soul, 0 God. In hope or fear
To Thee it bows and yields incessant praise.
In Thee I joy when carried to and fro ;
To Thee give thanks in all my pilgrimage.
When the ship spreads her stork-like wings to fly, [Zech.
When deep makes roar to lower deep, and moans — [v. 9.
As if it leam*d that sorrow from my heart —
It makes the ocean like a caldron seethe ;
It makes the deep sea like a wizard's pot.
When teeming creatures seem to ban the ship,
Sea-monsters waiting for their coming meal !
A time of anguish like to first-bom throes
With children at the birth — ^no strength to bear !
Should I lack food ? — the sweetness of Thy name
Is in my mouth the best viaticum.
Nor shall I care for buying or for building.
For " get or gain," or any loss that haps ;
I even learn to leave my daughter dear.
The darling of my soul, though she to me
Is dear as only child can only be.
I can forget her son — ^That rends my heart I
No poem comes without the thought of him !
Fruit of my body I child of my delight !
Can Judah e'er by Judah be forgot I
Tet this I count but dross for love of Thee ;
That I might come within Thy gates with praise ;
There would I stay and reckon this my heart
As a whole-offering on Thine Altar bound.
I'd make my grave within Thy Holy Land
There to remain, a witness to my love.
Digitized by
Google
468 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
IV.— Thb Eabth in Spbinq.
Then, day by day, her broidered gown
She changes for fresh wonder ;
A rich profusion of gay robes
She scatters all around her.
From day to day her flowers* tints
Change quick, like eyes that brighten,
Now white, like pearl, now ruby-red.
Now emerald-green they'll lighten.
She turns all pale ; from time to time
Red blushes quick o*er-cover ;
She*s like a fair, fond bride that pours
Warm kisses on her lover.
The beauty of her bursting spring
So far exceeds my telling,
Methinks sometimes she pales the stars
That have in heaven their dwelling.
v.— Divan No. 52.— A Prater.
0 God I before Thee lies my whole desire.
Although it And no utterance on my lips.
One moment of Thy will — ^then let me die !
Ah, would that this request of mine might oome !
The rest of life I would yield up to Thee,
And sleep the sleep that should be sweet to me.
Absent from Thee, my very life is death,
But could I cleave to Thee, then death were life.
But I know not the " wherewithal to oome," [Mic. vi. ^
Or what should be my service and my work.
" Teach me Thy ways, 0 Lord,"
And from my folly's bondage bring me home.
Teach me while yet I have some power left
To make amends, and spurn not mine afiUction.
Ere that day comes when I must be a burden.
When my last end lies heavy on mine end.
And I must bow, unwilling, while slow waste
Consumes my strength, too weary to uprise ;
And so I go whither my fathers went,
Dwelling where they themselves are dwelling now.
Stranger am I and pilgrim on this earth,
Digitized by
Google
Some Translations of Hebrew Poems. 469
Only beneath the sod my heritage !
So far my youthful days have had their will.
Ah ! when shall I myself, too, have my will ?
That "world" which he "hath set within my heart" [Eccles.
He hath refused to let me seek as end. [iii. 2.
How can I serve my Maker while I am
Bound by my evil, slave of my desires ?
How shall I aim at any high emprise,
That am to-morrow " sister to the worm " ?
How should my heart gladden at any good.
Whereas I know not what may hap to-morrow ?
The days and nights are busily engaged
In wasting me away, till I be gone !
One half of me they scatter to the winds.
The other half they bring again to dust.
What shall I say ? My evil tracks me down,
A stem foe from the cradle to the grave.
What share have I in time, except Thy will ?
If Thou be not my lot, what lot have I ?
^>oiled of all merit, robbed and naked left.
Thy righteousness alone must cover me.
Yet why should I tell out my prayer in words ?
0 Qod, before Thee lies my whole desire !
Edward Q. Kino.
Digitized by
Google
470 The Jewish Quapierly Review.
GLEANINGS FROM THE BOOK OF ISAIAH.
The text of the prophetic writings appears to afford very
little justification for the theory which regards them as
representing '' Notes of Discourses." The utterances of the
prophets were, to a great extent, suggested by special in-
quiries, or particular occasions. Their style was, as a rule,
concise, vigorous, pointed; it might be abundant, but
seldom diffiise, and when most eloquent, then most sym-
metrical; neither requiring nor admitting abbreviation.
Even the prophecies of Ezekiel, which approach more nearly
to the nature of set discourses, afford by their very repeti-
tions the best proof that they have not suffered abridgment.
In a few passages of Jeremiah (e.g., xxL 11-14 ; xxv. 3,^. ;
xxvi. 4-6; xxxiv. 21, 22; xxxviL 17) we have something
like a summary or recapitulation ; but these passages tend
rather to illustrate the originality of those from which they
are derived. The prophets delivered oracles ; they did not
preach sermons.
This is the reality which underlies a second theory —
Ewald's theory of " Fly-sheets." But what was the ma-
terial aspect of these documents ? The answer is not far
to seek. When we recollect that the Ten Words are repre-
sented as inscribed on two tables of stone, and that Isaiah
(viii. 1 ; cf. v. 16, and xxx. 8) and Habakkuk (ii. 2, 3),
registered their predictions upon tablets, we are entitled to
suppose that in many an unrecorded instance the uttered
" Word of Jahveh " was thus preserved, circulated, and
transmitted to posterity. The arrangement of the Deca-
logue, and other laws contained in the "Book of the
C!ovenant," in pairs of pentads (Addis, Documienta of the
Hexateiich, VoL I., p. 142. Cf. Tylor, Primitive Culture*
Digitized by
Google
Gleanings from the Book of Isaiah. 471
chap, vii., esp. pp. 260, 261), may point to the use of a
diptych. Cf. Isaiah viii. 16, sup. cit; Jer. xxxii. 10, 11,
14 ; and Maunde Thompson, Handbook of Chreek cmd LoUi/n
PalcBography, chap, ii., esp. pp. 18, 20, 25.
The collected utterances of any prophet would thus
exist, in the first instance, on a series of tablets, analogous,
in sopie degree, to the Latin caudex. " Flurium tabularum
contextus caudex apud antiquos vocabatur; unde public®
tabulsB codices dicuntur." How easily might members of
the series become detached, displaced or lost ! On the back
or margin of such tablets matter more or less cognate to
their proper contents might subsequently be inscribed.
Sooner or later the whole series would be copied into a roll
(Jer. xxxvi.), the " leaves " or columns of the latter in some
measure corresponding to the faces of the original tablets.
How far, if at all, these divisions of the written text might
coincide with elements of the subject-matter, units of
rhythmical form, and so with the paragraphs of the modem
version, I must leave it for others to determine ; confining
myself to the suggestion that in the hands of a skilled
peJ[»ographer a measurement of the space occupied by com-
ponent portions of the Hebrew text might sometimes
prove a valuable aid to criticism, and afibrd a clue to the
arrangement, or disorder, of the prophecies.
Isaiah, in his long lifetime, may well have put forth more
than one collection of his utterances. It is at least a pro-
bable hypothesis that the earliest ** Book of Isaiah " b^an
with what is now chap. vi. ; and that to this was originally
prefixed the title, " The Vision of Isaiah, the son of Amoz,
which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem"; which
with an editorial date now occupies chap. L 1. When the
later prologue replaced the earlier vision, the form of the
title, we may suppose, was changed to that which now
stands at the head of the second chapter.
According to Duhm (apvd Cheyne, Jewish Quarterlt
Review, Vol. V., p. 298), the closing words of vi. 13 are an
interpolation. And certainly the idea of " the holy seed "
Digitized by
Google
472 The Jeinsh Quartei^ly Review,
belongs to the age of Elzra (Elzr. ix. 2), rather than to that
of Isaiah. The prophet would never have attached holmess
to heredity. He had no occasion to contrast Jew and Gen-
tile. His mind was rather occupied with a moral distinc-
tion existing in Israel itself. But is any part of this verse
genuine ? One can understand a threat of extermination.
And, on the other hand, we are familiar with the idea of
"the remnant." But why predict, first its survival, and
then its destruction, as in the former part of this verse ? Is
not this a vcUicinium ex eventUy a reference to the misfor-
tunes which befell the returned exiles ? (Ezra iv., etc. ; Neh.
i. 3, and perhaps Zech. xiv.). And how can this beginning
be reconciled with the sequel ?
Isaiah vi. 1-12 should, I think, be followed immediately
by vii. 18-25. Verses 1-17 of the latter chapter are derived
from another source, possibly from "the Book of the
Chronicles of the Kings of Judah " (2 Kings xvi. 19). In
chap. viii. the prophet still speaks in his own person as
far as v. 18, which is the natural conclusion of the section;
but V. 19 should perhaps follow u 15. It is possible that
all which we have as yet considered should precede chap. iL
6. It woidd seem from viii. 16-19 that there "was a
famine of hearing the words of Jahveh" (Amos viii. 11),
as in the last days of Saul (1 Sam. xxviii. 6). In chap. iL
6 we have the reason.
Chap. viii. 20 is perhaps spurious, being in part based on
V. 16, and in part serving as an artificial link to connect
w. 16-19 with w. 21, 22. In regard to the latter, two
things, and two things only, seem clear. They have no
relation to the rest of chap viii., but a very intimate one to
chap. V. 30. I am led to the conclusion that the passage
viii. 21-ix. 7 (in the English version) was at one time
appended, by way of antithesis, to the eloquent termina-
tion of chap. V. If we observe that the first part of v. 30
is parallel to the preceding verse, and the second part
to viii. 22, we shall be the more inclined to follow Dr.
Siegfried and Canon Cheyne in transposing viii. 22 and 21.
Digitized by
Google
Oleanings from the Book of Isaiah. 473
Both verses appear to me to describe the sufferings and
despair of a people carried into captivity.
Cheyne (J. Q. R, IV., 565) arranges the text in thiar
order :—v. 1-24 ; ix. 7-20 ; v. 26-30. In Vol. V., p. 298, he
quotes, with apparent approval, Duhm's observation that
" V. 30 is a marginal gloss suggested by viii. 22." Let us,
then, for v. 30, substitute viii. 22, followed by viii. 21, and
this by ix. 1-7. Referring chaps, vi. l.-viii 18, with the
changes above indicated, to a position at the commencement
of the book, the text from v. 1 to x. 4 will for the first
time fall into a tolerable order ; but, while there can be
little doubt that x. 1-4 shoidd be incorporated in chap, v.,
I regret the loss of v. 25 involved in the proposed arrange-
ment, and I do not understand the necessity of removing
ix. w, 7-20 (8-21 Eng.) from their present place. But these
verses need a climax ? We have it in x. 5. The oracle
which fills the latter part of chap, ix., when originally
published, may very well have ended with the third occur-
rence of its menacing refrain. In that early book of Isaiah
which we are trying to reconstruct, it served to prepare
the way for the prophecy next to be discussed.
The section beginning at x. 5 has undergone both dis-
placement and interpolation. The original order of the
text may perhaps be restored approximately as follows : —
X. 5-11, 12-15, 16-18 (33, 34), 19, 24-26; xvii. 12-14;
X. 28-32 ; xiv. 24-27 (cf. Cheyne, J. Q. R., IV., 566 ; and on
Duhm, V. 299). Chap. xiv. w, 24, 25, explain why the
invasion has been permitted which is so vividly described
in X. 28-32. In chap. x. w, 20-23 are very suspicious,
and break the sequence of 5-19, 24-26. Verse 27 is, I
think, spurious, and based on xiv. 25. The Messianic
prophecy in xi. 1-9 is linked to that which precedes it by
X. 33, 34, much in the same manner in which the similar
utterance in ix. 1-7 is connected, as I suppose, with chap. v.
by means of v. 30, viii. 22, and viii. 21. In neither case is
the connection a strong one. In chap, x., w, 33, 34 are
almost certainly misplaced, while, besides these and the
Digitized by
Google
474 The Jetcish Quarterly ^teriew.
passage under discussion, all that intervenes between
X. 28-32 and its natural sequel in xiv. 24-27 is undoubtedly
exilic and post-exilic.
Both ix. 1-7 and xL 1-9 are, if I am not mistaken, the
work of the same hand, whether or no it be the hand of
Isaiah. The Divine names borne by the royal child in
ix. 6 are only explicable in the light of xL 2. These
passages taken together do plainly describe, I will not say
an incarnation, but at least an avata/r (see Monier- Williams,
Hinduism, S.P.C.K., p. 100 aeq,, esp. 103 ad fin,\ and
compare the heroes of Israel with those of India, Jud.
xiiL 25, etc. ; 1 Sam. x. 6, xL 7, et acepe). One may be
excused a protest against the pedantry which degrades
" Father of Eternity " into " Giver of Booty," and couples
such a title with " Prince of Peace."
But were these predictions the work of Isaiah ? It is
conceivable that the mind of the prophet should pass
through the stage in which he and his own children, with
their symbolic names, " are for signs and wonders from the
Lord of hosts which dwelleth in Mount Zion," to the idea
of a child, presumably of the house of David, whose
birth and name should be a pledge of the protecting
presence of Jahveh; and finally to the conception that
such a child animated by his spirit should be destined to
manifest the principles of his rule. It is €dso possible that
this development came to pass more gradually, not in one
but in a series of minds. It cannot be denied that the
words of ix. 1 (cf. Pa Ixviii. 27), " In the former time . . .
Galilee of the nations," suggest a period later than that
of Isaiah. Both the passages under discussion offer a
curious contrast to ch. iii 4, 12. In the first instance
these ideal hopes may have been associated with the child
Josiah, who at eight years of age was called to the throne
by a popular movement, who ten years later became the
agent of a prophetic Reformation, and who at least
attempted to ajssert in some degree his authority over the
former Northern Kingdom. (I may be allowed to refer to
Digitized by
Google
Gleanings from the Book of Isaiah, 475
what I have written on this subject, in defence of the
genuineness of Jer. iii 6-16, J. Q. R., VI. 278, 279.) But
if Duhm be right in tracing allusions to ix. 1-6 (Heb.)
in xxvi. 15a and xxxiii. 23 (J. Q. R., V. 298), and if we
bear in mind Cheyne's significant remark on ix. 6 {LaM
Words on Isaiah), "Such an elaborate sentence-name as
Luzzatto supposes would not be natural in Isaiah's time,
though it might be in that of the writer of Chronicles,"
the possibility of a much later date ought not to be excluded
from our view.
I have previously suggested that xi. '1-9 should be
followed by ii. 2-4. The words which form the com-
mencement of that noble passage " nowhere else occur at
the beginning of a prophecy." Nor can I find anywhere
a position more appropriate than that above indicated. Note
especially the connection between " my holy mountain " in
xi. 9 and " the mountain of the Lord's house " in ii. 2,8 a;
between xi. 3, 4 and ii. 3 6, 4 a ; between xi. 6-9 and ii. 4 6, c.
The two passages are in a great measure parallel It does
not necessarily follow that both are of the same date. But
did they stand in juxtaposition, who would think of
separating them? It is difficult to avoid the conclusion
that both, and perhaps also ix. 1-7, are alike post-exilic.
The last section of ch. xi., especially w. 11, 15, 16, agrees
with the end of ch. xix. (23-25) and that of ch. xxvii. (12,
13), in the parallelism between Egypt and Assyria, which
in xi. and xxvii. are regarded as places of exile whence
Jahveh should recover the "renmant of his people," the
" outcasts of Israel," the " dispersed of Judah" (xi. 11, 12 ;
cp. xxvii. 12, 13). In the former passage we may
note, beside the Deutero-Isaianic touch of the highway ixk
V. 16 (cp. xix. 23), the drought threatened to Nile and
Euphrates (cp. xix., 5-8, and Jer. L 38). In ch. xxvii., 12,
13, the " flood of the River," and the " brook of Egypt " are
merely put for the regions of which they formed the
boundaries. The concluding reference to "the holy
mountain at Jerusalem," reminds one of xi. 9, and ii. 2, 3.
Digitized by
Google
476 The Jewish Q^artei*ly Remeto,
In the latter part of ch. xix., Egypt and Assyria appear
in a new and strange light, associated with the people of
Jahveh. This result appears to be reached by a series of
steps, which may be traced from v. 16 onwarda Whoever
will explain the allusions in xliii 3, 4, and xlv. 14, will also
enable us to understand those in xix. 16, 17, 20, and perhaps
in xviii. 7, with which should be compared Zeph. iii. 10.
May we suppose that all these passages belong to the age
of Cyrus ?
Even at an earlier period, as we know from Jer. xL 7 seq.
(see esp. xliii 5-7, 13, xliv. 1, 16, xlvi. 14), there existed in
Egypt a numerous colony of Jewish refugees. We know
the places of their settlement ; Migdol, Tahpanhes, Noph,
and the country of Pathros (cf. Is. xi. 13) ; perhaps €dso Beth-
shemesh (cf. Isa. xix. 18). We are informed of the nature
of their religion. It was that which characterised the mass
of Jeremiah's contemporaries ; a cultus of Jahveh which did
not exclude the .traditional and popidar worship of the
Queen of Heaven. Far less was it likely to acknowledge
the restrictions of Deuteronomy. Under these circumstances
the erection of altar and pillar to Jahveh in Egypt (la xix.
19) was probably a matter of course, unless indeed we are
meant to understand that hereafter the obelisks of Heliopolis
should be dedicated to the God of Israel. But this settle-
ment contained within it at its origin a germ of better
things : the influence of Jeremiah and his disciple Baruch.
At a later period, it may be supposed, prophetic sanction
for the sacrificial worship of Jahveh in exile, was devised in
the psissage before us, and justified by the hope of conver-
sion for Egypt and Assyria. In this connection. Pa Ixviii.
31 should also be compared.
It may be worth while to note that the genuineness of
the reference to Asherim and Sun-images, which has been
thought to imply a pre-exilic date for xxvii. 9, appears to
be as doubtful as that of a similar clause in xvii 8. Both
may be due to the hand of a later student of the text
(cf .2 Chr. xiv. 5, xvii. 6). Isaiah xvii. 6 also presents a
Digitized by
Google
\
Gleanings from the Book of Isaiah. 477
suspicious resemblance to vi. 13 and xxvii. 12. That xi. 10
is merely a gloss has been formerly suggested (J. Q. R.,
v., 348). Chap. xiL may, with considerable probability, be
ascribed to the writer of the very similar pa^ssages in xxiv.-
xxvi. Chap. xiii. 1 belongs to a group of unauthentic and
inappropriate titles which are only important as marking
a stage in the history of the book. It is very remarkable
that with this sole exception, we have, as yet, met with no
express reference to Babylon. Nor in chap. xiii. 2-13 — a
description of the day of Jahveh, which exhibits a certain
resemblance to the commencement of chap, xxiv., and a
closer analogy to xxxiv. — is Babylon ever mentioned.
After verse 13 follows, not a transition, but a complete
hiatus. In the first part of the chapter the execution of
Jahveh's judgment is still future. In verse 14, Babylon is
already fallen. But nowhere is its fall described. Either an
important passage is lost, or the text is wrongly arranged.
As it stands, we are left to conjecture the subject of verse 14.
This group of prophecies might perhaps be arranged as
follows : — ^xii., xiv. 1-21, xiii. 14-22, xiii. 2-13. The con-
cluding verses of chap. xiv. are parallel to xiiL 14-22, and
might be omitted without much loss. Both passages offer
points of contact with chap, xxxiv.
It is with some hesitation that I suggest a more startling
alternative, which yet in an investigation of possibilities
should not be altogether overlooked, namely, that the
two parts of Isaiah xiii. might serve as prologue and
epilogue to the great prophecy against Babylon contained
in Jer. 1., li., with which, beyond all question, they are very
closely connected. (It is not safe to aasvmie the priority of
Isaiah xiii.). On this hypothesis the first part of the
chapter in Isaiah (xiiL 2-13) would be followed by Jer. 1. 2 ;
the second part (w. 14-22) would be attached to the proper
conclusion of Jer. li. 44 (" and the nations shall not flow
together any more unto him "), thus supplying a subject to
v. 14 (cf. Jer. li 6-9). I need not repeat what I have
said in Studies in the Book of Jeremiah, on chaps. 1., li
VOU VII. I 1
Digitized by
Google
478 The Jetmh Quarterly Review.
It is, however, natural to compare Isaiah xiv. 1, 2 with Jer.
I. 4-7, 17-20, etc. But there is at least one noteworthy
difference. The passages in Jer. L are marked by the
parallelism of Israel and Judah. Isaiah xiv., w. 1, 2, agree
with chap. xl. acq., in that of Israel and Jacob. Nor is
there anything in Jer. L, li., like the prediction in Isaiah
xiv. 16 (cf. Ivi. 36). On the whole, the commencement of
Isaiah xiv., unlike the preceding chapter, is related to the
Second Isaiah rather than the Second JeremiaL
Gathering here and there gleanings from the wide field
in which so many able reapers are at work, I woidd suggest
that in xxiv., verses 13-16 should be transferred to the end
of the chapter, where they would afford a natural transi-
tion to XXV. At the close of xxxiii. the greater part of
V. 21 (" But in the place of broad rivers and streams \9cUicet
Babylon] there shall go," etc.), and the whole of verse 23
appear to me interpolated in an eai*lier text. One of the
easiest and greatest improvements in the arrangement of
the book would be the simple omission of chapters xxxvL-
xxxix. The variations from the text of Kings should be
jioted in that book, and the Psalm of Hezekiah printed as
an appendix to it. The result of this change would be to
bring Isa. xxxv. into immediate juxtaposition with chap,
xl., to which it is so intimately related. More than one
place might be found for it in the great prophecy of Israel's
restoration. We need only recognise that it is properly an
integral part of that work, from which it has unfortunately
become detached. Another passage in the same case may
be found, as I have formerly pointed out, in Ixvi. 7-13. But
I omitted to notice its most interesting feature. It describes
the first arrival at Jerusalem of the returned exiles, among
whom was, in all probability, the Evangelical Prophet
himself. It might fitly be assigned to a position following
chap, xlix., and if the prophecies of the Second Isaiah
were arranged in chronological sequence, it should mark the
point of transition from the Babylonian to the Palestinian
chapters. (See Jewish Quarterly Review, n., 315).
Digitized by
Google
Gleanings froni the Book of Isaiah, 479
After L 1-3 there is an evident hiattLS, and a new section
commences at verse 4. A more natural sequel may be found
in chap, lix., which begins with a reply to the question
asked in 1. 2.
I do not know whether the fluctuating conception of the
Servant of Jahveh has ever been illustrated from that of
Piers Plowman. Professor Skeat, according to a review of
his edition in the Academy for January 29th, 1887, by Mr.
Henry Bradley, says that, in the early part of the poem,
Piers '' is a blameless ploughman, and a guide to men who
are seeking the shrine of Truth " ; afterwards he is Jesus
Christ ; and, later still, he " denotes the whole Christian
body." And then the reviewer proceeds to criticise and
explain the seeming confusion, with the saying that Piers
represents "the ideal humanity." May we say in like
manner that the Servant of Jahveh now represents the
actual, and now the ideal Israel ; not exactly the pious
" kernel of the nation," but rather the nation viewed in its
ideal aspect, its religious character, its prophetic destiny ;
and so also represents at times the individual prophet, and,
at times, the ide€d of the office which he is called upon to
fulfil ? Between these four conceptions there is no necessary
inconsistency ; rather they serve to supplement and correct
each other.
As the whole great prophecy has a distinct exordium
in chap. xL, so it has an appropriate dose in chap.
IxiL But the actual termination (Ixii. 12), though admit-
ting comparison with that of Ezek. xlviii., is not quite
so effective ; and the magnificent fragment which follows
(IxiiL 1-6) is evidently separated from its proper context.
Happily these defects allow a complete remedy. Chap. Lriii.,
vr. 1-6, which, as Qraetz points out (J. Q. R., IV. p. 6), bear
no especial reference to Edom, should simply change places
with lix. 19-21. The last clause of lix. 18 is an obvious
editorial addition, intended to supply a link between w.
18 and 19. The dose relation between Kx. 15 6-18 a and
Ixiii. 1-6 is indisputable. The originality and the correct
II 2
Digitized by
Google
480 Hie Jewish Quarterly Review,
position of lix. 19, 20 may be open to doubt. Bnt when
once indicated, it can hardly, I think, be questioned, that
in lix. 21 we have the fitting conclusion of the entire
prophecy, the final promise of Jahveh to Israel In a
sense it has been fulfilled.
Grey Hubert Skipwith.
Note on the order of the text vn Hoeea L-iiL
I wish to supplement what I have previously said upon
this subject (J. Q. R, VI. 298) by the further suggestion Uiat
chap. iii. should itself be transferred to a position immediately
following L 9. There is no doubt that chap. i. should
terminate at this point; and there is cleai*ly a break
between the narrative which thus concludes, and the plead-
ing which begins at ii. 2 (Eng.). On the other hand, the
second narrative (in chap, iii.) woidd follow naturally at
the end of the first ; while, as the text now stands, I think
every reader must have felt a sense of bathos in turning
from chap, ii to chap, iii And in this way the position
of the three verses which stand after i 9, can be accounted
for consistently with the hypothesis previously suggested,
that with two exceptions (i 10 6 and ii. 1, Eng.) they should
follow chap, iii ; the two exceptions being glosses on
i9.
It may be proper to add (March, 1895) that the foregoing
Gleanings from the Book of Isaiah, as well as Studies in the
Book of Jeremiahy were written in the opening months of
1894, so that I had not the opportunity of consulting any
more recent work. With regiird to I& xL, I have ventured
to put a query, which still remains unfiuiswered, in The
Academy, for February 2nd, 1895 (p. 105, coL 8).
Digitized by
Google
Fhrilegium Philwm, 481
FLORILEGroM PHILONIS.»
Mt object this evening is to say something about Philo to those who
know a little about him already. I am not going to tell you the
ordinary things about his life and environment which you will find in
every text book, nor shall I attempt the slightest account of his
philosophical system as a whole. If anybody has casually read
Principal Dnunmond's book on Philo, he will follow my lecture the
better, but he will not necessarily find it superfluous or wearisome
unless he has read that admirable work four or five times through.
Let me toy at once about Dr. Drummond's book how much I owe to
it. I have only one fault to find, and that is on the score of brevity.
It is much too short. All we have is well worth having, but we want
a good deal more which we have not got I hope a considerably
enlarged edition may appear before long.
Do not then expect even an outline of Philo's system. But, on the
other hand, I will not confine myself to vague generalities. Philo is
so strange and curious a writer that he lends himself
to this method of treatment very readily. You can *,^^®5* ^\
moralise about that fusion of Greek and Hebrew * '^fLm
ideas of which, on a large and philosophic scale, he
is the greatest and most important illustration ; you can make sage
deductions upon his failure to influence the development of Judaism,
or wise reflections upon his influence on Christian theology ; you can
laugh at his extraordinary methods of exegesis, and contrast his alle-
gorical explanations and Scriptural difficulties with other and perhaps
better solutions in modem times ; you can show how he attempted a union
of irreconcilable opposites, and in accordance with your own opinions
you can point the moral and adorn your tale.
My object is far simpler. It is merely to pick out and arrange
from the great mass of the Philonic writings certain salient thoughts
and sentences which seem worthy of notice and recollection. If I had
dared, I would have called my lecture, "Tit-Bits from Philo.** In
another generation I should have said, "Elegant Extracts.** Though
letting Philo speak mainly for himself, I shall string my extracts together
upon a thread of my own ; but the thread will not be systematic or
philosophical.
Before I begin, however, I should like, after all, to have just two or
three minutes for moralising and general remarks.
I dare say I shall often quote admiringly some statements of Philo
* A Lecture delivered before the Jews' GoUege Literary Society on
February 10th, 1895.
Digitized by
Google
482 The Jewish Quarterly Betiew.
which are not Philo*8 at all. I do not mean that he did not write them^
but that he borrowed them, perhaps consciously,
PhUo and the fr^uj ^j^q other philosopher. It is not merely that
his doctrine of the Logos is based upon Heracleitean
and Stoic teaching. In almost every part of his religious and ethical
writings he is under obligations to the Greeks. Philo, moreover, had
read and used the works of many philosoph^^ which have since been
lost, and scholars are beginning to investigate his writings as a possible
source for the knowledge of these half -forgotten treatises. When Cohn
and Wendland have given us a critical edition of Philo's text, their
successors in the same field may ose that text for an annotated edition
in which the extent of Philo's philosophic indebtedness will be fully
revealed.
It was to the purpose to say that here because most of what we admire
in Philo to-day is fundamentally Greek rather than fundamentally
Hebrew. It is Greek philosophy, coloured, modified, transfigured by
Hebraism.
Different readers will naturally be arrested by different passages, and
one man*s Florilegium Philonis would differ from another's. On the
whole, it is just to say that Philo improves on nearer acquaintance.
Large tracts will always remain dull, arid and of no present-day value.
But certainly the oases in his desert are better and more numerous than
would appear at first sight. In the middle of a rhetorical and unattrac-
tive passage we often come across some striking idea or phrase, and if
anyone desires to make a collection of these, it is dangerous for him to
read too carelessly even the most uninviting sections. On the other
hand, these striking phrases and ideas have sometimes a peculiar disap-
pointment of their own. We feel now and then as if Philo let them
escape him unawares, as if he were unconscious of his own merits.
When he seems just on the point of developing something of lasting
value, as often as not the fine idea is not worked out, and the telling
phrase is succeeded by a mass of platitudes or aridities. Still, that is no
reason why these isolated gems should not be rescued from their un-
attractive surroundings.
If Philo is often striking, it does not follow that he is helpful. Nor
is that which is striking, even in the ethical and religious sphere, of
necessity available for homiletical ends. But it may be striking all the
same. It is, moreover, in grand generalities that Philo excels; his
ethical details are few and disappointing.
His readers must remember two things more. Professor Jowett has
said that ^^ no one can duly appreciate the Dialogues of Plato who has
not a sympathy with mysticism." Now the same
MwlSid** warning applies to Philo. In spite of his lack
of poetic sensibility and proportion, Philo is deeply
Digitized by
Google
Florilegium Philotiis. 483
imbued with the characteristic yearnings and qualities of the mys-
tic. It was partly through him and his school that mysticism of
a very pronounced type became a prevailing force in the last great
manifestation of Greek philosophy. Not a few, then, of the passages
which I shall quote, just because they are mystic, will appeal to some,
and seem vague or foolish to others.
A second point is this. Rhetorical and long-winded as Philo is,
far-fetched and turgid as his language, he was, nevertheless, tremen-
dously in earnest. And that about which he is in
earnest will seem a little strange and remote to many to
excellent persons. It is, to put it briefly, the know-
ledge of Gkni. That is his quest Most people are perhaps too sure
about God*s existence to trouble themselves very much about knowing
him. Such a quest lies outside their lives and is unfamiliar to them.
But Philo is desperately anxious to know all that he can about the nature
of God. It is a religious passion with him, and yet he seeks this know-
ledge by philosophic means. Even if he ends in ecstasy, his road thither
lies through metaphysics. But the truly religious
man realises now that the knowledge or vision of . ... ^* ..
God is rarely to be attained on these lines. " The
upright shall behold God's face. The pure in heart shall see God. He
judged the cause of the poor and the needy — was not this to know me,
saith the Lord ? " It is ciunous that both in the Rabbinic and Alexan-
drian developments of Judaism, there should be a note of false intel-
lectualism. " An empty-headed man cannot be a sin-fearing man, nor
can an ignorant person be pious." So said Hillel ; but the man of true
religion knows better. Philo, too, speaks scornfully of the " common
herd," to not one of whom has been granted a share in true life.* But,
though he does not understand that the only— or would it be humbler to
say, the surest — pathway to God leads through the gates of goodness,
and though he does not appreciate the fact that for goodness wisdom is
not essential, these defects do not make his own yearning for the know-
ledge of God less earnest and real.
Unfortunately for him, while he failed to realise the efl&cacy of good-
ness in the knowledge of God, he was also sceptical about the power of
wisdom as a method by which to reach the goal. »«, i_, i_^
He wants to know God, to have an intellectual vision 0^ |g iifg^^g^^
of his veritable nature, to draw near to his sovereign but God is
reality. But he is also convinced that God in the nnknowable.
fulness and essence of his being cannot be known by man. The creature
cannot grasp the Creator. If he could be fully known, God would not
be God, and man would not be man. We know in part, but in part only.
' I. 611. The references are to the pages of Mangey.
Digitized by
Google
484 The Jeidsh Quarterly Review.
Why Qoi is not fully knowable, and what aspects of him may never-
theless be known, can be read in the books about Philo, and I am not
going into these matters here. On the one hand, there is the theory of
the Logos and the divine Powers ; on the other, the God-like reason of
man. All I want to point out b that both elements of Philo*s philosophy,
the constant yearning to know God and the abiding conviction that God
is unknowable, are alike absent from the mind of average humanity.
At least they are not perpetually present in our consciousness. Apart,
therefore, from the difficulty of his subject, we cannot properly
appreciate Philo without an effort.
One word more. God is unknowable. But since, to Philo, the Pen-
tateuch contains all truth, this truth is in the Pentateuch. Yet the
Pentateuch contains all sorts of very specific statements about Grod.
You know how Philo deals with these statements. They are allegories
or accommodations. But not all of them. The ethical statements are
true as they stand. Hence the ethical perfection of God has to be fitted
in with Philo*s philosophic agnosticism. How this is done is luminously
explained by Dr. Druramond.
And as I have come to speak of Philo*s conception of God, let me
start my Florilegium at this point. That conception as a connected
whole can be learnt from the text-books. I give only detached frag-
ments of it which contain some striking phrase, expression, or idea. I
may add that where I am able to make use of Dr. Drummond's trans-
lations I have freely done so. This has been more frequently the case
in the earlier than in the later portions of my essay, for my first excerpts
about Philo's conception of the Divine nature are almost all quoted by
Dr. Drummond.
One of Philo's ideas about God which appeals to us most strongly,
though we can hardly get any very clear realisation of it into our minds,
is that of the Divine ubiquity. Philo is very
^bi'Si^* emphatic on this point. Those who take the Paradise
story literally are guilty of impiety. Such a mytho-
logical tale (fivBonoua) should not even enter our minds. Why should God
plant a paradise ? " For not even the entire universe would be an adequate
home for him, for he is a place to himself, and full of himself And
sufficient to himself, filling and containing all other things, which are de-
ficient and desert and empty, but himself being contained by nothing else,
as being himself one and the whole." ^ And again, ** He has reached
everywhere, he looks to the ends, he has filled the universe, and of him
not even the smallest thing is desert" •
Like many of us to-day, Philo is desperately anxious to maintain, and
' I. 52 (Dr. II. 29^ » I. 220 (Dr. II. 42).
Digitized by
Google
Florikgiufn Phiionis, 485
if poesible, to explain at once the transcendence and the immanence of
God. Thus, for example, he can be regarded either
as everywhere or as nowhere ; " nowhere, because ^* Trwiscend-
he generated place along with the bodies which Immanence of
occupy it, and we may not assert that that which 0od.
has made is contained in any of the things pro-
duced ; everywhere, because having stretched his powers through earth
and water, air and heaven, he has left no part of the universe desert,
but, having collected all things together, made them fast with invisible
bonds, that they might never be dissolved.*' * " God," he tells us else-
where, " is not in time or place, but above them both, for having all
created things under himself, he is contained by nothing, but is outside
of all. And yet, though above and outside creation, he has, none the
less, filled creation (riv k6<timv) with himself." • The analogy of the
human mind to the human body does not properly apply to the
relation of God to the world, for we have not created our bodies, but
God has created the world. " He does not only penetrate through and
pass beyond the universe by his mind, but also by his essence."'
There is only one sense in which he who is " not only here but there
and elsewhere and everywhere," may be said to be more in one place
than in another. It is not that, like a body, he occupies one place
by leaving another, but that he uses an " intensive motion." ♦ Philo,
as Dr. Drummond says, seems to mean that *Hhough God remains
inmiovable in his omnipresence, yet his power may be manifested with
varying intensity in different places, just as he is said to dwell in the
purified soul as in a house, because his watchful providence is most
conspicuous there." *
Philo's views respecting the transcendence and immanence of God
may be profitably compared with the theology of the Stoics and of
Aristotle. Whereas most workers come to Philo from the Greeks,
Jewish students may perhaps come to the Greeks through Philo.
Though this would be to reverse the order of time and logical sequence,
it would be very interesting to know the impression which Philo
made upon an open-eyed and open-minded student who knew his
Old Testament and his Talmud, but was unacquainted with Greek
philosophy.
Philo considers the Deity to be as much above the limitations of
time as he is above the limitations of space. This conception is not
profitable for any except professed students of philosophy, and I will
« I. 425 (Dr. n. 41). « I. 229.
' ovK iwivoi^ fUvov iinlit\ti\v9ii'at &9wtp dvOpwwov i\\6 xai rif ovvMu,
I. 466.
* I. 176. • Dr. II. 43.
Digitized by
Google
486 The Jetcuh Quarterly Revietv.
only quote a part of one passage, which has been also specially dwelt
upon by Dr. Drummond. " (Jod is the creator of time nothing
is future to hira, to whom the limits of time are subjected, for his life
is not time, but eternity, the archetype and pattern of time. And in
eternity nothing is either past or future, but only present."^ Very
similar is a passage in Plutarch : " We must not say of God that he
was or Mrill be but only that he is. And he is not in regard to
time, but to changeless and timeless eternity, in which there is no after
or before, sooner or later. For God being one, by one now has filled
the * Ever.* In him is no * has been ' or * will be,* he is without
beginning and without end.** •
The Omnipresent Deity is naturally conceived as supremely perfect
Here the philosopher agrees with the humblest believer. But Philo
expands and interprets this idea of perfection in
P SteSi * more than one interesting way. Using a well-
known term in Greek philosophy, he declares that
God is all sufficing to himself {avrapKiararos iavr^). ** He is full of
himself and sufficient for himself, both before cieation and after it.
For he is changeless, and needs no other thing at all, for all things are his,
but he does not belong to anything.'* ' The reasons because of which
finite beings need other finite beings such as themselves do not apply
to God, for he possesses all things in himself by the infinite resources
of his manifold nature. " He is all the most precious things to himself,
kindred, relation, friend, virtue, blessedness, happiness, knowledge,
understanding, beginning, end, whole, all, judge, opinion, counsel, law,
action, sovereignty.*** This rather incongruous list of the Divine
perfections is characteristic of the wilder or more unrestrained
moments of Philo*s style. Rhetorical, but yet more reasonable is the
following : " God is the first good, all beautiful, blessed and happy, or,
if one is to speak the truth, he is better than the good, happier than
happiness, more beautiful than beauty, more blessed than blessedness,
and whatever is more perfect than these.** *
As all things are God's and the apparent possessions of the
creature are but temporary gifts and loans, Philo insists that "God
is the only true citizen (jroXtnyr), while all created beings are
sojourners and strangers.**' Whatever is most desired and excellent
» I. 277 (Dr. II. 45).
* De Bi apud Delphot^ XX. The passage is also quoted by Hatch,
Hibbert Lectures, p. 242 ; of. Zeller Philotophie der Oriechen^ III. 2 (3rd
Ed.), p. 168, ». 4, for the relation between Philo and Plutarch.
* I. 582 (Dr. II. 48) ; II. 194.
* I. 128 (Dr. II. 49).
» II. 646 (Dr. II. 31). • I. 161.
Digitized by
Google
Florikgium Philonia. 487
in humanity, Philo essays to prove is only fully realised in God.
Thus, for instance, *^God alone is the most absolute and real peace,
but begotten and corruptible matter is all continual war."^ Again,
" God alone truly feasts. For he alone rejoices and alone is glad and
alone has good cheer, and to him alone does it belong to keep peace
unmixed with war. He is without pain and without fear and un-
participant of evils, unyielding, unharmed, unwearied, full of pure
blessedness. His nature is most perfect, or rather God is himself
the summit and end and boundary of blessedness, sharing in nothing
else with a view to his own improvement, but communicating what
is peculiarly his own to all individual beings from the fountain of
the beautiful, himself."* These descriptions of the Divine nature
might profitably be compared and contrasted with the striking con-
ception of God's character and life in the twelfth book of Aristotle's
Metaphysics, Aristotle is more guarded and restrained in his language :
his notion of the Divine blessedness restricts itself to the intellectual
ideal of pure thought, feeding, as it were, upon itself ; but he, too,
as Schwegler points out, is roused out of his customary and severe
serenity by the conception of the infinite bliss of him from whom
** heaven and nature depend."
Aristotle, on the other hand, removes God farther from the world
than Philo. The Aristotelian God, whose own eternal activity is a
v^fiait pofjaews, pure thought returning upon itself,
may be the Prime Motor of the world, but lives ^•^ 'w^^^ia* ^
his independent life. But Philo's God is not only
a God of thought but also a God of goodness ; and, therefore, though
Philo may theoretically describe his life as the same both before
creation and after it, we can hardly conceive the God of Philo as ever
existing without a universe on which to manifest the creative and
moral aspects of his many-sided Being. Indeed, Philo asserts God to
be always creating. " God never ceases to create, but as it is the
property of fire to bum, and of snow to cause cold, so also it is the
property of God to create."' But this ceaseless activity is consonant
with the idea of absolute rest. Rest merely means the absence of
fatigue, and if you can imagine a perpetual work combined with
absolute freedom from effort and weariness, you would have combined
in a single conception the idea of activity and the idea of repose. This
is precisely the case with God. " God alone truly rests, but his rest is
not inactivity — since the cause of all is by nature active, and never
ceases from creating the most beautiful things — but the most unlaborious
energy, without distress, and with amplest ease."*
» I. 692 (Dr. II. 53). » I. 154 (Dr. II. 49).
» I. 44. * I. 154 (Dr. II. 53).
Digitized by
Google
488 The Jewish Quarter^ Rmew,
The rea] cause of creation could be conceived as inherent in the
necessities of the Divine nature. Gh>d being as naturally creative as
fire is " naturally hot," he must always have objects
™* **«** ^^ which to exercise his providence and his good-
ness. Philo, however, does not venture to go
as far as this, which would be an infringement upon the Divine
avTopKtM — upon God's all-sufficiency to himself. " Why, then, did he
create that which was not before ? Because he was good and boun-
teous." * For " God creates nothing for himself, for he needs nothing ;
but he creates everything for the creature who is in need of receiving
it."* Mfiller has pointed out that, though Philo himself quotes a
famous passage in Plato's TirMeiu, to the effect that God made the
world because he was good, and desired that " all things should be as
like himself as they could be," yet God's goodness probably meant to
Plato something different from what it meant to Philo.* To Philo God's
goodness is essentially ethical. It is equivalent to Gknl's grace, which
he also repeatedly declares to be the cause of creation. Thus he says,
" For the just man seeking the nature of all things makes this one most
excellent discovery, that all things are due to the grace of God.
Creation can give nothing, for it owns nothing. To God alone grace is
native. To those who ask the origin of creation, one could most rightly
reply that it is the goodness and grace of God which he bestowed on
the race which is after his image. For all that is in the universe and
the universe itself are the gift and bounty and grace of God."^ The
inherent necessity of the Divine nature to display creative beneficence
is clearly indicated in another passage, where Philo says : " All is due to
God's grace, though nought is worthy of it ; but God looked to his own
eternal goodness, and considered that to do good befitted his own
blessed and happy nature."*
So far as to creation in general. As to the gloomier side of it,
Philo has nothing to say worth repeating. His championship of the
Divine providence, and his explanations of evil in the De Providentia^
assuming that this treatise has been proved genuine by Wendland, are
little more than excerpts from the Stoics, and show no trace of having
been transfigured in the process of adoption.' They are, therefore,
valuable as throwing light on Stoical doctrine, but give us little
or nothing specifically characteristic of Philo. In one passage else-
» I. 585. * I. U7.
■ i\m<BUiy 29 E, 30 A, quoted in Philo, I. 5. MtUler's edition of the
De Mundi Opifieio^ p. 156 seq,
* I. 102 ^».
* I. 288 ^«. Cf. a curious passage in Plutarch's J>e Drfectu Oraeuhrttm^
XXIV.
■ Cf. Dr. II. 68.
Digitized by
Google
Fhrikgium Philonis, 489
where he jost touches upon the question why the perfect God
produced an imperfect world. Is the inanimate world — is even the
body, the source of so much evil, if not evil itself — created by the
goodness of Ood ? Philo does not venture to say that God created
what seems to us evil ; but he does say that inanimate nature, as
well as all living things, were made by God's goodness, and not merely
by the sheer exercise of irresponsible authority : " For the manifestation
of the better there was necessary the creation and existence of the
worse ; but both are due ahke to the power of the same goodness,
namely, to God." '
As regards the ethical perfections of God, Philo does not, or cannot,
go beyond the utterances of the Prophets and the Psalter. A few
passages are perhaps worthy of notice. God, as
Ruler and Lord of the Universe, and as endowed God's goodness.
with free will, has the power of doing good and the
power of doing harm ; but his mil is only to do good. When he is
called Everlasting God, this implies that he gives his gifts, not on some
occasions only, or intermittently, but always and unceasingly, that he
adds grace to grace and blessing to blessing, in an inexhaustible and
continuous supply.' Elsewhere he says, **God is not a salesman
(irttXi/r^p), lowering the price (eirtjmviC<op) of his own possessions, but the
bestower of all things, pouring forth the ever-flowing fountains of
favours, not desiring a recompense ; for neither is he in need himself,
nor is any created thing competent to bestow a gift in return."' He
has a fine conceit about God's mercy : ** In order that mankind may
continue to exist, he mingles mercy with judgment, and he not only
pities after he has judged, but he judges after he has pitied, for with
him pity is older than judgment, seeing that he knows those who are
worthy of punishment, not after judgment but before it."*
As God is the cause of good, and of good only, Philo is rather
uneasy in his mind on the subject of Divine punishment and retribution.
He vacillates. Punishment— even if regarded as a
corrective, and therefore as a good — ^has yet in it Theory of
some resemblance or imitation of evil {t6 lUfirikdCop ^^^^ pimiglim2Si.
ayaSbp kok^ ^ rifjMpla), Henoe its execution is
entrusted to certain subordinate ministers and agents, even as man
himself, because a creature who can choose evil as well as good, was
not fashioned by God alone.* Thus, when the calamitous and evil
aspect of " punishment" is considered, Philo tends to dissociate it from
» 1. 101. * I. S42.
■ I. 161 (Dr. n. 50) ; op. lfilton« **Qod does not need either man's
work or his own gifts."
•1.284.
• I. 665-R57 ; cp. I. 16, and I. 432, and Dr. II. 1^9-156.
Digitized by
Google
490 The Jeicish Quarterly Revietc. .
God (as if the problem of evil were made one whit easier by any hypo-
thesis of ministering angels or opposing devils) ; when he looks upon
it as a good, he tends to take it up into the sum of the Divine forces,
which are themselves aspects or manifestations of Gknl's nature and
being. In such moods he does not hesitate to speak of the punishing
powers of God, because they merge with the Divine beneficence.
** Perhaps," he says, " we should include the punitive among the bene-
ficent powers, not merely because they are parts of laws — and law is
made up of two parts, the honour of the good, and the punishment of the
wicked — but because punishment often admonishes and makes temperate
the sinners themselves, and if not them, at least their associates. For
the punishments of others make the ordinary race of men bett^, for
they fear to suffer the like." ' But no one can say that this is very original
or suggestive.
He is more interesting on the theory that both €k)d's grace and his
punishments are proportionate to the nature which has to enjoy the one
or to sufEer the other. Thus he says, **The Creator, knowing the
natural weakness of created things, does not desire to benefit or chastise
them to the limits of his own power, but only according to the power
which he sees in those who are to partake of either punishment or bene-
faction." ' In the creation of man, God did not look to ** the greatness
of his own graces— for these are boundless and not to be circumscribed
— but to the capacities of the recipient For the creature cannot receive
in the same proportion that God can give ; for his powers exceed
measure. But the creature being too weak to receive of his gifts, would
have sunk under the burden, if God had not meted out his benefits in
due proportion and measure suitable to each." * Another ingenious idea
of his is that even a constant series of benefits would cause surfeit and
irritation. The same thought, on a higher plane, is hinted at by Tenny-
son : " God fulfils himself in many ways. Lest one good custom should
corrupt the world." ** Therefore God restrains a firet kind of benefits
lest the recipients should be satiated with them and grow wanton, and
dispenses a second sort instead of the first, and then a third instead of
the second, and in general, new kindnesses in the place of old« some-
times different and sometimes the same. For the creature is never
wholly without a share in God*s graces, for otherwise he would utterly
be destroyed, but it cannot endure them in one plentiful and abundant
rush."*
There is also found a further application of the idea to man's
knowledge of God. Here the student will at once notice a parallel to
a favourite notion of some modem theologians, that God*s revelation
of himself is gradual and proportionate. Thus, in answer to the
• II. 546. « L 286 i%U, » I. 6. * I. 264.
Digitized by
Google
Fhrilegium PhUonis. 491
urgent request of Moees, " Show me thyself," God replies, " I can but
reveal what it is possible for you to receive. Human nature cannot
attain to a full knowledge of the Divine being." ^ And elsewhere
Philo remarks, "God does not pronounce his oracles ixprjafioi) in
proportion to the greatness of his own eloquence (\oyt6Tris), but to
the power of those who are to be helped by them." *
Though these sayings of Philo need adaptation to the expanded
thought of our own time, they are undeniably suggestive. Not
less so are some of his notions about the Biblical
anthropomorphisms. These too, according to Philo, Biblical Antlupo-
are an accommodation to human weakness and ^Jr^causeaiid
human needs. He frequently observes that there purpose.
are two apparently contradictory statements in the
Scripture about God : " He is as man," " He is not as man," of which
the second is truer than the first. Yet the first is the basis of many
Biblical sayings. The general reason for this is the familiar one,
that man, if he wishes to allege anything about God beyond the
mere fact of his existence, cannot avoid human analogies. " We
cannot," says Philo, " get out of ourselves, and so we get our conceptions
of the uncreated God from our own attributes." ' At the same time
this human incapacity is made to subserve a purpose of instruction.
" We cannot constantly store up in our soul the verse, so worthy of the
Cause, ' God is not as man,* so as to escape all anthropomorphic
expressions ; but generally participating in the mortal, and unable to
think of anything apart from ourselves, or to escape from our own
destinies, sunk in the mortal like snails, and wrapt in a ball like
hedgehogs round ourselves, we form our thoughts both about the
Blessed and Incorruptible and about ourselves, shrinking from the
absurdity of statement, that the Divine is in the human shape, but
setting up agaic theUmpiety in fact, that he is subject to human passions
Therefore we attribute to him hands, feet, ingress, egress, enmities,
alienations, wrath, — ^parts and passions inappropriate to the Cause." *
Among these " parts and passions," Philo reckons the oath. The Bible
makes God swear in order that it may both " confute and console our
weakness." That is to say, we shall believe an oath among ourselves
the better, if God himself is supposed to employ it. But more
specifically Philo limits the notion of anthropomorphisms to those terms
which speak of God as angry and jealous, or to those which seem
designed to threaten and terrify. Expressions which rouse our fear he
regards as entirely educational, and his observations about them are
curious and suggestive.
» II. 218. « I. 253.
• I. 419. * I. 181 Jin., 182 (Dr. II. 12).
Digitized by
Google
492 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
There are some men, he says, so dull in nature (ofijSXcir) that they
cannot form any conception of God without a body. We must be
content if such persons can be restrained from sin
Collision oflow ^y the fear produced through anthropomorphic
intelligence vith / . ^. i-Vi , . dum *u u J^-^- n
low morality. descnptions of God. ^ Philo thus characteristically
associates a low intellectual conception of the Divine
nature with an imperfect morality and an imperfect service of God. In
another elaborate passage he insists that passions such as anger or regret
are wholly inapplicable and foreign to the Divine nature. That they are
found in the Pentateuch is for the object of '* admonishing those who
could not otherwise be brought to a sober frame of mind
(o-M^poyifco-Ait)." Philo can no more sever truth from goodness than
error from moral eviL They who, by defect of nature or education,
cannot " see acutely " into the " true mysteries " of (Jod are " intractable
and foolish servants" in practical life. They cannot be helped by
truth, for they are unable to appreciate it. Let them learn, unwiUingly,
through false terrors, by fear. The " passions and diseases " of the soul
are at onoe intellectual and moraL To Philo, no less than to the author
of the Fourth Gbspel, the two are inextricably blended together. He
cannot distinguish the one from the other, so that two things which to
ourselves seem wholly alien are identical to him. These mental and
moral diseases (for they are both in one) could best be healed if Moses
represented God " as using threats and indignation and inexorable wrath
and weapons for attack upon evil-doers, for thus only is the fool
admonished." And then, just as he has connected anthropomorphic
beliefs with the fear of God, so he proceeds to connect the love of (Jod
with the truer, more spiritual conception of the Divine nature. *•*• With
the two fundamental assertions, God is as man, and God is not as man,
two other fundamental principles seem closely interwoven and akin :
fear and love. For all the exhortations to piety by means of the laws
depend either on the fear or on the love of God. To those, then, who
do not in thought ascribe to God either part or passion of man, but
worthily honour him on account of himself alone, love is most
appropriate, but to all others, fear." '
In spite of these divisions Philo makes no absolute chasm and gulf
between man and man. He had the philosopher's customary contempt
for the vulgar herd, he bewails the infinite number
^?\l^if ^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^ *^® paucity or even absence of the
or differenoe ^^^ (^* ^) ^^' ^^0) ^^^ ^^ <lo^ Q^t anywhere
of kind imply that there is any natural or predetermined
oeiween barrier by which those who, in his own lamruaire,
fMf^ii aDci mail* ^^
are the servants of the body may not become
servants of the soul. ** Every man," he says, " as regards his mind, is
' I. 283. (Dr. n. 14). « I. 666.
Digitized by
Google
FhrUegium Phihnis, 493
related to the Divine reason, for he is an impress or fragment or
radiance of that blessed natm^."* If it be asked why this privi-
lege was conferred upon man, whose mixed and earthy composition
was apparently unworthy of so high a distinction, and who often
uses it to such ignoble ends, Philo replies that "God being boun-
tiful loves to bestow good on all men, even on those who are not
perfect, urging them to the desire and attainment of virtue. So
he displays his exceeding wealth of riches, which suffice even for
those who will gain no great benefit from them. Hence he has made
no soul barren (ayovoi) of good, even if the use of good be impossible
to some.*' * Elsewhere he says : " The powers of God are ubiquitous
not merely for the benefit of pre-eminent men, but also of those who
seem to be insignificant. To them, too, God gives what harmonises
with the capacity and measure of their souls, for he measures out
with equal rule what is proportionate to each.*' ' None are of necessity
quite shut out from a glimpse of the Highest. "Who is there so
without reason and soul, as never, either voluntarily or involuntarily, to
conceive a notion of God ? For a sudden apparition ((fmyraaia) of the
good frequently flits past even the wickedest, but they cannot retain or
keep a hold on it For it quickly passes away from those who have come
to dwell with it when they have lived beyond the bounds of law and
justice, as indeed it would never have visited them at all if it were not
to convict those who choose evil instead of good." * However rhetor-
ically Philo may talk of the endless number of the bad, there is no
necessity, according to his psychology, for assuming any wide and fixed
cleavage among humanity, between children of God on one side and
children of the devil upon the other. "In every man," he says in
another passage, " even in quite ordinary persons, there is an instinctive
hatred of vice {futrowovripop iraBos) and this innate passion when roused
makes its owner a champion and defender of anyone who seems to be
wronged." * He is tolerant enough to admit that lack of opportunity
may often account for lack of visible excellence. To
him, as to the Greeks, opportunity («caipor), if not *^® ^SJ^^^^
Divine, is at least the companion of Deity. " Virtue
has been, is, and will always be, but it is, perchance, obscured by un*
favourable circumstances (oKOipuu), and again revealed by opportunity^
the servant of God." • Many a sinner and many a hero is unable to
display either his wickedness or his virtue. Many men are bom with
capacities for wisdom, self-restraint, or justice, but " the beauty of the
images in their minds they are unable to reveal through their poverty or
obscurity, or through bodily disease or some other of the many misfor-
I. 35. 2 I. r>(). » I. fii4. ♦ I. 2«r>.
* II. 312. « I. 4:.:i.
KK
Digitized by
Google
494 The Jewish Quarterly Revteiv.
tunes which attend upon the life of man. The good they have is, as it
were, cabined and confined. But if the temperate man, for example, he
possessed of wealth, he can show that riches, which are usually blind
and provocative of luxury, may be " seeing " by his use of them ....
Without these opportunities, virtues may exist, but they are immoveable,
ike silver and gold, treasured up in unknown recesses, of the earth, and
of no use to mankind." * Philo, therefore, adopts the Platonic paradox
that the good fortune of the wicked is their deepest calamity. " For
weakness and impotence are profitable to the bad, just as abundance and
strength are most advantageous to the good." '
In one passage even, just after he has refused to the "conmion
herd " any share in true life, he well points out how all kinds of lives,
and not only the philosopher's, may be consecrated
*^«7jdiid of life to God. The thought comes to him, it must be
™*^ ^ 0^^ owned, indirectly. It is a corollary of his favourite
theory, on which he delights to insist, that all our
faculties and powers, as well as all our surroundings and possessions,
are the gift of God, and in no wise our own. " Moses has shown
that we should all confess oiu* gratitude for the powers we possess :
The wise man should dedicate his sagacity, the eloquent man should
devote his excellence of speech by the praise of God in prose and
verse ; and, in general, the natural philosopher should offer his physics,
the moralist his ethics, the artist and the man of science the arts and
sciences they know. So, too, the sailor and the pilot will dedicate
their favourable voyage, the husbandman his fruitful harvest, the
herdsman the increase of his cattle, the doctor the recovery of his
patients, the general his victory in fight, and the statesman or the
monarch his legal chieftaincy or kingly rule. In a word, he who is
no lover of self (6 fi^i <f>ikavTot) will regard God as the true cause of
all the powers of body and soul and of all external goods. Let no
one, therefore, however humble and insignificant he be, despairing of
a better fortune, scruple to become a suppliant of God. Even if he
can expect nothing more, let him give thanks to the best of his power
for what he has already received. Infinite are the gifts he has : birth,
life, nurture, soul, sensation, imagination, desire, reason. Reason is a
small word, but a most perfect thing, a fragment of the world-soul,
* I. 898. Cp. Seneca De Vira B^ata, xxii. ; " Quis autem dubii est, quin
haec major materia sapienti viro sit animum explicandi suum in divitiis
quam in paupertate, qaum in hao unum genus virtutis sit non inclinari
nee deprimi, in divitiis et temperantia et liberalitas et dilig-entia et
dispositio et ma^nificentia campum habet patentem.'* Hence the wise
man : — non amat divitias, sed mavult ! non in animum illas, sed in domom
recipit !
'' I. 4HU.
Digitized by
Google
FlorUegmm Philonis, 495
or, as for the disciples of the Mosaic philosophy it is more pious to say,
a true impression of the Divine image.'' '
This more human touch is not frequent in Philo. It may perhaps
be noted again in his appreciation of honest failure in the quest of
highest good. He marks its value, and offers a true
consolation : " Labour in the pursuit of that which is The Yalne of
perfectly good, even if it fail to reach the goal, is aSST^fGod?
sufficient of itself to benefit the labourer."' And
elsewhere he says : " We sympathise with those who, loving Ood, seek
after him, even if they find him not ; for the search for the good,
even if it miss its end, is able of itself to cause great joy." ' So, once
more : " If in your quest for God you will find him is uncertain, for
to many persons he has not made himself known, and their toil has
found no consununation ; but the mere search for him has given them
a share in what is good ; for impulses towards excellence, though
they fail to attain their end, give joy to those who have theuL" *
The search for God : that, according to Philo, is the life-work of
man. All else is environment and accessory. That search is also
service, and the method of both is philosophy. To
reach the goal, or even to advance along the road, Two ftinda-
there arc two fundamental requirements. Of these ments Im the
the first is conunon to Philo with the Platonists and search for God.
the Stoics, though he carries it a point further than
it yet had reached. It may be summed up as the RepFession of
depreciation of the body and the exaltation of the tiSe Body, of
mind or souL (To Philo there is no such separation ? #?S!Sl.
of the moral and intellectual life as is habitual to ■yw*"*.
ourselves.) To ycrf o-ir, that is, to what comes and goes, is bom and dies,
imperfection — on one side manifesting itself as error, on the other side
as wickedness — ^is inevitably attached. Because we are material — and
therefore transitory — we are of necessity sinful. But because we also
bear within us an immaterial and divine image, we are capable
of goodness and knowledge and the vision of God. Hence the body
is, if not the cause, at all events the accessory, of all sin. Desire and
pleasure are the sources of evil. "The body is wicked by nature,
a plotter against the soul." It is a dead thing, and we have ever to
carry a corpse about with us. So, too, said Epictetus, and the gpreat
£mperor quotes him approvingly. We get from Philo the customary'
tirades against the fleeting pleasures of sense, against glory and
ambition and riches and outward show and worldly pomp. For the
soul to live the body must die. To love the unbegotten, one must
despise ever^'thing which partakes of ycVfo-tv, which oomes and passes
' I. 612. « I. 186. » I. 280. * I. 96.
K K 2
Digitized by
Google
496 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
away, *^The lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vaia
glory of life.** It is a thought which is common to all higher
religions and to a hundred philosophies : it is a truth — or at least it
contains a truth— expressed in endless tongues and endless fashions.
Its rhetorical form and longwinded exaggerations may irritate us in
Philo ; but in the last resort we are bound to acknowledge that
between a noble utterance such sts, " If any man love the world, the
love of the Father is not in him/* and the most turgid fulminations
against " the body ** in Philo, the difEerence is one of form : the
thought remains substantially the same.
In Philo, as in many other of the later philosophers, as to some extent
even in Plato, there lurks a measure of asceticism. " Plain living ** has
always been associated with " high thinking.** The
PhUo's asoeti- exact amount of this asceticism is disputed. The
cism. true answer only partly depends upon the authenticity
• of the treatise Quod omnis probus liber ; it depends
rather upon which set of certain inconsistent passages one should lay
the greater stress, and regard as more truly Philonic. On the one hand
Philo maintains that the ideal is not merely moderation of passion, but
its absolute excision and death ; * he bids men fly from the polluted
prison-house, the body, and from its keepers, pleasure and desire, to
die to the life of sense that they may partake of incorporeal and incor-
ruptible life with God.* He inveighs against the luxury of elegant
Alexandrian life, of which he gives a somewhat vivid picture. He
describes the costly extravagance in food and drink and apparel, the
golden goblets and the golden crowns, and even the golden beds.
" The legs of the beds are of ivory, or, at a great expense of money
and labour and time, they are adorned with rich mother-of-pearl or
inlaid with variegated tortoiseshell. .And some are all of silver or
all of gold, set with precious stones, brocaded with flowers and golden
embroideries, as if for display and not for use.**' No persons who
indulge in senseless luxury such as this can be ** pupils of the sacred
word.** They only are "true men, lovers of temperance and order
and reverence, who have laid the foundations of their lives in self-
restraint and endurance and contentment, as the safe harbourage of
their souls where they can lie at anchor without risk or harm. They
are superior to money and pleasure and glory ; they despise food and
drink except in so far as to ward off the violence of hunger. They are
most ready to endure hunger and thirst, heat and cold, and all other
* I. 113. Mutvarjc . , . oi mrpioiraOuav a\k6 <rvv6\u^ dirdOfiav Ayawuv.
From another point of view, however, we find Philo marvelling at thoee
philosophers who say that virtue is AfraBita. I. 603 /n.
' I. 437. 2r,4 I. fiCy^.
Digitized by
Google
Florilegium Philonis, 497
trials in the pursuit and acquisition of virtue. They like best what is
most easily provided, so that they are not ashamed of cheap apparel, but
on the contrary, think extravagance in dress a great reproach and hind-
rance. To them the soft ground is a costly bed, their mattresses are
bushes, grass and leaves ; a stone, or a mound of earth is their pillow." *
As God needs nothing and has all so the bad man is ever insatiate,
always thirsting for what he has not got. The good man, on the
other hand, bordering both on mortal and immortal nature, has some
needs because he owns a body ; but they are few and simple because
** his soul desires immortality." * " One should practise oneself,
therefore, to need little. For this is to be very near to God." ' Am-
bition is the "last infirmity." "Some say that the last thing the
wise man puts off is the cloak of vainglory. For even if he has con-
quered ail other passions, he is liable to be worsted by ambition and
the praise of the multitude." * The lovers of self and sense are made
to describe the righteous as " usually inglorious and despicable, lowly
persons in want of lifers necessaries, less honoured than dependents or
even slaves, sordid, pale and cadaverous, hungry-looking and ill-fed,
very sickly, practising how to die." *
But many passages could be cited which serve apparently to preach
an opposite doctrine. The truth is that the highest life to Philo,
as to Aristotle, was contemplative rather than
practical. The lonely thinker, rather than the There is a false
active philanthropist or busy statesman, is their Asceticism
ideal, and asceticism consorts with isolation ; but to
both philosophers alike the life of action is the indispensable prelude
and preparation to the life of thought. Philo was too acute a psycho-
logist not to realise the place of pleasure among the springs of
action. "The bad man," he says, "treats pleasure as the mmmum
bonum ; the good man, as a necessity. For without pleasure nothing
happens among mortals." • Several times he urges that there is a
false as well as a true temperance ; perhaps it might be more correct
to say, a false as well as a true asceticism. This he calls " niggardly
and iUiberal," by means of which you will no more reach true temper-
ance than you can gain piety by superstition, or become wise through
craft. " If you see anyone refusing to eat or drink at the customary
> I. 689. Not without dignity is his description of the " higher life,"
aivnipbv xai iniffrtjfiovuebv /l3tuv, ylXwroc Kai iraiSiat a^croxov, vvvvoiuQ
Kal ^povriimv Koi w6vuv fttvrdVf ^iXdv rov OtiaptXv, dfAnBia^ IxOphv, XP*lf**^'
ntfv fikv Kol iS^ris coi iidovuv KpfirrUf fjrru Si 9u^po9i)VfiQ gal thtkuaQ kuI
jSKiiftvToq •* Tv^Xov nXovrov. I. 479 ^n., 480 ; op. II. 16.H.
» II. 377. ■ II. 666. * II. 668.
» I. 198. ■ I. 70.
Digitized by
Google
498 The Jetcish Quarterly Eevietc,
times, or to wash and anoint bis body, or neglecting his clothes, or
sleeping on the ground in the open air, and in these ways simulatiDg
self-control, you should pity his delusion, and show hinn the path by
which self-control may redly be attained. All that he has done is
ineffectual and wearisome labour, ruining both soul and body by
hunger and other evils.** * This seems written in a di^rent tone from
that other passage quoted before, in which they who make the ground
their bed and a stone their pillow are extolled as true pupils of the
Sacred Word.
Philo admits that evildoers are mainly men of wealth and repute ;
but he gives curious reasons, partly prudential and partly moral, why
wealth and honour and social enjo3naaents should
^ t^^^^mf °^^ ^ avoided by the good, or by those who are
seeking for the highest life. Because you see the
wicked thinking much of riches, pleasure and renown, and praising
injustice as the source of all these things, do not he says, " turn in the
very contrary direction, and pursue a life of poverty and lowliness, or
one of severity and isolation. You will thereby only irritate your
adversary, and arm a bitterer foe against you. Apply yourself not to
the same actions as he, but to their sources, to honour, ofiBce, wealth,
possessions, and the various beauties of colour and form.** ' The object
in each case is to show up the wicked man — to " convict ** him, in Philo*s
own language (dcfXcy^), by making the right use of the material through
which he displays his villainy, licentiousness, or intemperance. The
money he either hoards or wastes you will use in gifts to the poiH*, in
dowries to the daughters of impoverished parents, and in services and
donations to the State. At a banquet the glutton will make himself
ridiculous to all, but you will put him to shame by your moderation,
while, even if you are pressed to indulgence, you will never turn
pleasure into disgust, but *^if one may say so, you will be drunk
with sobriety**' (in^^dXca iAt$va&fi<rjf), But at this point Philo
gives, as it were, a higher turn and a nobler basis to his argument
He must have been acquainted with false Stoics and hypocritical
* 1. 195. Cp. from a slightly different point of view, Seneca, Ep, I. 5 :
" niud autem te admoneo, ne eomm more, qui non proficere sed oonspid
cupiunt, facias aliqua que in habitu tuo aut genere vitas notabilia sint.
Asperum oultum et intonsum caput et neglegentiorem barbam et indiotom
atgento odium et cubile humi po6itum...evita.*'
« I. 549/»., 550.
' I. 550. This would not have sounded so absurd to Philo*s oontem-
poraries, or to our own great-grandfathers, as it sounds to ourselves. It
was solemnly debated among the Stoics whether the wise man may get
drunk ; and the same discussion is taken up by Philo, L 350 seq, Cf.
Amim, Quellenstudien zu Philo tan Alemandria (1888).
Digitized by
Google
Florikgium Philonis, 499
ascetics, such as Lucian laughed to scorn in a later age, for his
denunciation of them seems more pointed than usual, and was pro-
bably drawn from life. "Truth would rightly blame those, who,
without due examination, abandon the pursuits and avocations of
ordinary life, and say they have learnt to despise reputation and
pleasure. It is an empty boast. They do not really despise them,
but they put forward their sordid and solemn looks, and their seem-
ingly austere and hard life as baits, so as to seem true lovers of
moderation, temperance and self-denial. But they cannot deceive
those who are not led away by outside show, but look more closely
within Let us say to such people, * You profess to love a life
of solitude. What social virtues did you show
before ? You disdain money. When you were ^® senrice of
engaged in business, did you ever seek to act ppecede the
justly? You pretend to neglect the pleasures of uninterFupted
the senses. Did you show moderation when you wr^we oi uoa«
had the opportunity ? You despise honour. When you were in office
did you show humility ? You laugh at the State, not perceiving how
useful the thing is. Did you first practise and inure yourselves in the
private and public affairs of life, and having become good citizens and
householders by your excellence in the twin virtues of politics and
economics, did you then only emigrate to a better and higher life ? *
For we must work our way through the * practical * life before we come
to the life of contemplation ; the contest of the one must precede the
higher contest of the other. It is thus we can escape the charge of
laziness and indifference. So the Levites were conmaanded to discharge
their offices till they were fifty, and only when released from their
practical service might they consider and investigate the nature of
things, receiving this other kind of life, which finds its only satisfac-
tion in knowledge and contemplation, as a reward for the adequate fulfil-
ment of their practical duties. In fine, it is necessary that they who
would concern themselves with things Divine should first of all have
discharged the duties of man. It is great folly to think we can reach
a comprehension of the greater when we are unable to overcome the
less. Be first known by your excellence in things human, in order that
you may apply yourselves to excellence in things Divine." * In modem
words : although mysticism, as a mode of life or psychical condition, is
higher in the scale than philanthropy, you must become a first-rate
philanthropist before you can become a first-rate mystic.
No one will fail to compare this passage of Philo with the RepubJu
of Plato. A few lines lower down in the same treatise (the De
Pro/ugis), he asserts that " the noblest contest for man is the service
' I. 551.
Digitized by
Google
600 The Jewish Quarterly Berietc.
of God." The service of Qod is not identical with the eervice of nuu^
but has a special sphere of its own. It is a /3to9 by itself. But if
noblest, it is also hardest We have a tendency to suppose that a life
such as that of a busy statesman is infinitely harder than the life of
the philosopher or the religious recluse. Philo would hold the contrary.
** Hence," he says, " if, with inadequate purification, thinking we have
washed off the defilements of life, we advance to the outer court of
this Divine service, we spring back from it more quickly than we came,
unable to endure its austerity, the sleepless devoticm, the constant and
unwearying toil. For the present, then, we should avoid equally the
worst life and the best." *
*' Human virtue," as he elsewhere says, ^* must walk upon the earth
and yet must aim at heaven." ' In his treatise on the Ten Command-
ments, he points out that the first four " words " relate to God, and the
last five to man, while the fifth is the bridge between the two, because
** the nature of parents seems to lie on the borders of the human and
the Divine. It is human by reason of its kinship to men and the other
animals, and through the perishablenees of the body ; it is Divine
because the function of generation resembles God, the generator of
all." He then goes on to make the following shrewd remark : " Some
people, attaching themselves to one portion of the Decalogue, seem to
neglect the other. For filled with the unmixed draught of religious
yearning, they have bid farewell to all other occupations, and have
dedicated their whole life to the service of God. But those who
suppose that there is no good beyond well-doing
-i-5.^^^?'?i5r?- towards man, care only for human intercourse, and
Tirtaons are ex- ... . , . , ., . ....
olnilYe loYen ^y ^^^^ social zeal share then* possessions with their
of neither man fellows, and seek to alleviate distress to the utmost
nor uoo. ^f ^^^ power. Now both the exclusive lovers of
man, and the exclusive lovers of Gk>d, we may rightly call half -perfect
in virtue. The perfectly virtuous are they who excel in both." '
In his more sober moments, Philo fully recognises the social nature
of man. In one place he even goes so far as to speak of the few who
have been inspired with a divine madness, as made semi-savage by their
ecstasy (oiroi fUp di^ r^v ZyBtop itapUof fuu^prts ^{fiypMrfo-op), With
» I. 552. * I. 478.
' II. 199. Gp. the very striking passage in Antoninus, III. 13 (A man
should do all things, even the smallest, remembering the bond (<rvv^f <ric)
between the human and the divine : oftrc yAp ivOpiiirtvoy rt dvtv t^q iwl
rd Biia owavai^paQ eZ irpoCfiCi oSri f^iraXcv), with which Gataker aptly
compares 1 Cor. x. 31, 32, and Pirke Aboth, II. 17 (Philo, I. 630 Jin,) is
partly in point also. All forms of self-control are ends in themselves, yet
they are nobler (jsiii,v6Tipa Bk ^aipoiro), if they are practised for the
honour of God (</ 09ov ri/ij^c xal AptcKtiac tviKa iwiniMoiTo),
Digitized by
Google
FlorihgiuM Philwiis, 601
them he contrasts those who are disciples of "a gentle and tamer
wisdom, by whom religion is earnestly cultivated, and yet human duties
are not neglected." Such men find favour in the eyes both of man
and God.' It is safest to follow their guidance, fervently to honour
God, but not to neglect our own nature.' Man is not bom for him-
self alone. *^ Selfishness produces unsociability and impiety. Man is a
social animal by nature. Therefore he must live not only for himself,
but for parents, brothers, wife, children, relatives, and friends, for
the members of his deme, and of his tribe, for his country, for
his race, for all mankind. Nay he must live for the parts of the
whole, and also for the entire world, and much more for the Father
and Creator. If he is indeed possessed of reason, he must be sociable,
he must love the world and God, that of God he may be beloved."
*^He must not deem all the world an appendage to himself, but
himself an appendage to the world."'
Yet on the subject of solitude and social intercourse Philo is
inconsistent. We may gather that bis own philanthropy was rather
in word than deed. He has seldom a good
word to say for the professional statesman ; . /i*
like Plato, he regards him as an inharmonious
person, in conflict with himself.^ The bad man is a busybody. He
haimts the market-place, the theatre, the law courts, the council
chamber, the assembly, and every meeting and concourse of men.
He is a chatterer, confuses and muddles together truth with false-
hood, things sacred with things profane, the serious with the comic,
what is private with what is public. He is a lounger and a lazybones,
always anxious to know other people's concerns, so as to rejoice over
their calamities and to envy their success. The good man, on the other
hand, is said to love solitude, not that he is a misanthrope, but
" because he has guarded himself against vice, which the common
crowd welcome, rejoicing whereat they should grieve, and grieving
whereat they should rejoice. Wherefore the good man, for the most
part, shuts himself up at home, and hardly ever crosses his threshold."
If he goes out, he walks in the country, and the companions he loves
are the best of all mankind — the famous ones of old, " whose bodies
have been dissolved by time, but whose virtues are kindled into life
' I. 584. Cp. Antoninus, YI. 30, " Reverence the gods and help men :
short is life : there is only one fruit of this earthly life, a holy disposition
and social acts." YII. 31, ^iXijaov rb AvSpw-trtvov yivog, 'AjcoXoifOtioov Bif-
As a matter of fact, according to Philo, piety and philanthropy commonly
go together. II. 30.
' I. 585. OavfidZovrit fUv rbv alriov vwip^vuCf r^c ^^ *a^* avrobg f^ottc
ftr^ virtpop&vrtQ.
* II. 662 ; I. 275. « II. 47, etc.
Digitized by
Google
602 The Jewkh Quarterly Review.
by the books that tell of them in prose and verse." * Socrates and
Milton would have something to say to a philanthropy so barren,
to a goodness so untested and untried.
Philo cannot get over an abiding contempt for the multitude
and their vices. His constant feeling is that the solitary wisdom
of the rapt theosophist is higher than the
^^nt^ " ^'^^^"O"® wisdom " of human action. " Divine
wis4om is a friend of solitude, for God possesses
her, and God is alone, and therefore she loves aloneness. But
human wisdom is tame and domestic and gregarious, she haunts
the cities of mortals, and her delight is with the sons of men."*
In one passage he says that if a man really and truly wants to despise
all desires, and to subdue all passions, *^ he must fly from home and
country, and kinsmen and friends, without turning back.** Many
persons, he adds, have been cured of wild desires by such "migra-
tions,** which must, however, be migrations into solitude, for " there are
snares (ducrva) in a foreign country, just like the snares at home."'
A regular justification of eremites I But elsewhere he incidentally
tells us that in his own case he has not always found solitude effi-
cacious to thought. " I have often left my kinsmen, friends and
country, and betaken m^'Belf to the desert, that I might perceive some
higher vision, but it has profited me nothing. My thought, scattered
or stung by passion, has not reached its goal. Sometimes, on the
other hand, in a crowded assembly, I make of my mind a solitude,
when God has scattered the turmoil in my soul, and taught me that
it is not the difference of places that works the good or ill, but
God who moves and guides the chariot of the soul wherever he
prefers.** *
On another point in the ascetic ideal, which comes home much
more to every one of us to-day, Philo is very wanting. For any
explanation of sorrow, for any comfort in misfor-
methS ^'^^^ ^^^ misery, we may search almost in vain
of Boiferiiig. i^ ^^ ^^ writings. Here the Psalter on the one
side, Epictetus and Seneca on the other, are far
more effective and original. It is this unreality, this want of
relation to the actual lives of men, which makes so much that
» II. 4. * I. 491 init, Cp. I. 606.
' n. 411. Cp. Friedlander*8 admirable monograph, Zur EntgUhungi-
geMekiekte des ChriHenthums^ p. 83, for the bearing of this and other
similar passages upon the question of the TherapeutiB and the authenticity
and date of the " Ik Vita OmUemplativa,"
* I. 81 /n., 82 init. The same thought occurs in Antoninus (The tme
" retreat ** is '' within **), IV. 3, and SeuMa, ^. 82, 104.
Digitized by
Google
Florilegium PhUonis, 503
he has written artificial, useless and out of date. Two or three
passages only seem worthy of notice. Quoting the verse m
Deuteronomy, " God humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger
and fed thee with manna,' ' he remarks that this humbling was
in truth propitiation. ** When we are spoiled of our pleasant things
and seem to be ill-treated, then in truth is God propitious." ' But
elsewhere the simple and sufficient sense of the Biblical narrative is
allegorised away. * Very curious and characteristic is one other passage
in which he attempts to show for what reason, and in what spirit
sufEering should be borne. " It is proper," he says, " for God to create
and for man to suffer (ird(rx««'). God gives, man receives. If we
once realise that * suffering ' is proper and necessary to man, we shall
easily endure whatever befaUs, however grievous and burdensome it
may be." Once recognise that it is ours, as it were, by right and
necessity, to suffer, and we shall endure as we ought, "resisting and
setting ourselves in battle against calamity, by fortifying and barri-
cading our mind with patience and endurance, most potent of virtues."
He then attempts to explain his meaning more clearly by two curious
metaphors. The first is taken from shaving. A creature can be
shaved in two ways, either purely passively like a sheep, or like a man
where the " sufferer " reacts against the agent (this he calls rh avn-
ftiwovBhs Korh dmpfia-iv)^ and positively helps the shaver to perform his
work, putting himself in the right attitude, and so on. Such a one
combines " suffering " with " doing." So too in the case of beating ; a
slave or a freeman stretched on the wheel as a punishment of crime is
purely passive, but a boxer parries the blow. We are then not to endure
our calamities like the shorn sheep, or the beaten slave, but to react on
destiny, since suffering is necessary for us all. " So shall we not, like
effeminate persons, be broken and weakened utterly by the faintness
and relaxation of our souls, but braced and strengthened in mind, we
shall be able to mitigate and lighten the onset of impending ills." '
The life, then, which depreciates the body and exalts the soul is true
life. " Death in life " is the lot of him who lives the slave of passion
and of vice. For there are two kinds of death, one
the separation of soul from body, but the other the The two deailii.
peculiar death of the soul itself, *^ the ruin of virtue,
the reception of vice."* The true philosopher is ever practising how to
die to the life of the body, that he may partake of a bodiless and incor-
ruptible life with God."* He " dies that he may live," and when he is
dead in the ordinary sense, he " lives the happy life in God."* " For
this is the best definition of immortal life, to be filled with a spiritual
> 1. 121. « I. 644. • I. 153, 164 inU. ; op. 1. 127.
* I.>66 ; cp. I. 200. » I. 264. • I. 200.
Digitized by
Google
604 I7ie Jewish Quarterly Review,
love of GkxL So the priests^ Nadab and Abihu, died that tfaey might
live, exchanging mortality for life incorruptible^ and departing from the
creature to the unbegotten Creator/* > It may be noted that Philo uses
the word " immortal ** to denote indifferently the highest life on earth
and the eternal life after death : the two ideas fade and pass into each
other. There is the same half -conscious confusion in his use of the
word ^^ everlasting " {alȴio^)y as where he exclaims : " Is not the taking
flight to God everlasting life, and is not the running away from him
death ?"«
So much for the one fundamental condition for the achievement of
the summum bonum: let me now mention the other. We not only need a
kind of life, but also a mental attitude ; more precisely
ftad ****?j ft particular kind of humility. It is primarily an in-
reqniremeiit : tellectual humility which is required, but, quite charae-
apariioiilar teristically, this merges into and includes a moral
hn^litv humility as well. Its contrary vice is the attribution
of our own mental, moral, psychical and physical
powers to ourselves, regarding man as the measure of all things, and as
the independent author of whatever he feels, does and knows. Whereai^
in fact, the true agent is God : God is the cause, man t^e instrument'
This aberration is moral as well as intellectual : it involves not only pride
and arrogance, but also selfishness. He who regards himself as the
cause of his own wisdom and happiness lives for himself and not for
God. Self-conceit in the mental sphere corresponds in the moral sphere
to selfishness. They are merely two sides of the same shield. What
appears here as ou/o-t^, appears there as ^iXovrio.*
The emphasis both on word and thing — so far at least as regards
ottia-ie — seems peculiar to Philo. It is not enough for him that you
should regard your own mind as a *^ fragment " or
The doetrine »» image" of the Divine. The Stoics did the same.
But what he objects to is the independence of the
created mind. The Stoics — ^in their earlier days — regarded man as a
kind of separate or little deity, which onoe started could and did pro-
ceed wholly by itself. He could come into line with, or he could go off
at an erring tangent from the world-deity, of which he was the o&hoot
or emanation. To Philo this Stoic position seemed to set up a false and
spurious liberty. Not that he denies the freedom of the will. He
asserts it strongly. Man has been given " a volitional and self-deter-
' I. 664 Jin, ; 5poc dOavdrov fiiov coXXt^roc o^tq^ Ipmn coi ^if 9w
dtrapKift Kai dtrnffMnp taTi^x^^^'
* 1, 667.
' God is the olrtov, rh vf^ ov: man the Spyavov, rh BC oi. I. 162.
* Cp. Dr. II. 288-292.
Digitized by
Google
Fhrilegium Phihnis. 505
mining judgment," and is endowed with " voluntary and preferential
energies." * But this very freedom is a purely arbitrary gift of Qod.
And not only so, but all the faculties of man — physical and psychical
alike — the " first movements," as he calls them, of the soul (to vp^ra
KiinjiuiTa)y in each individual as they occur, are the separate and volun-
tary gifts of the Creator.
The word ou^o-if aheady occurs in Euripides ;* and Philo quotes with
approval the " proverb of the ancients," that " self-conceit is the hindrance
of progress." ' It is found two or three times in Anto-
ninus and in Epictetus, and (with cHijfui) some six times T?J? ^ Stoic
in Plutarch.* In all these writers it is a synonym of ^'
Tv<l>ofy and is equivalent to arrogance or conceit. But it is mainly applied
to the intellect, and means the false belief in one*s own knowledge when
one is really ignorant. Philo, who apparently uses the word much more
frequently than any other writer, gives it a specially religious meaning.
It is the error and the vice of thinking that our knowledge and goodness
are really our own, that we are the true owners of our own powers, and
the true authors of all which by their help we see and do and know.
oirjais is that form of arrogance which has been attributed to the Stoics,
and Philo, in a measure, anticipates Pascal and many another Christian
theologian in its denunciation.^
The difference of opinion between Philo and even such later-day
Stoics as Seneca and Epictetus on this subject is, I imagine, to be
largely accounted for by their different conceptions
of Qod. The Stoic pantheism was always getting * ^^Jil^^^JP^**
the better of a humbler and more Theistic view of arrotfanee of the
the relations between Qod and man. And Bonhoffer Stoics, and tlie
has shown how those passages in Epictetus which, as meaning of it.
it would seem, speak most plainly of the need of divine help in the
fight with sin or in the achievement of knowledge, must be taken with
many a grain of pantheistic salt. So, too, with Seneca, who, in this as
> I. 280 (Dr. I. 347-350).
* Eur. Frag. 644. /Sopd t6 ^Sptifi^ oitimc iivBpiSurov xaicov,
' II. 652 : oititri^f wc ^ tAv Apxaiiav \6yoQy kvriv Ikkoiti^ irpocoir^c* o ydp
Karoiofuvo^ iStXriiaaiu ohx Avkxvrat, This proverb is attributed by StobsBUS
to Bion, by others to Heracleitus. Cp. Ed. Bywater, p. 51, under " Spuria."
* Gp. Antoninus, xii. 27, ix. 34, with Ckitaker's notes ; Plutarch Miyralia^
39 D, with Wyttenbach^s notes ; Epictetus, DUi, II. 17, 1. The first thing
a student of philosophy has to do is iiin&aKiiv oXfivw, Cp. II. 11, 1, 6-8 ;
m. 14, 8. Bonhoffer, Epiotet und die Stoa^ I. 4.
* Cp. Select DUeaunes, by John Smith, Ed. Williams, Cambridge,
1869. Pp. 400, 401, *' This is more or less the genius of wicked men ; they
will be something in themselves, they wrap up themselves in their own
beingf move up and down in a sphere of self -love, live a professed
Digitized by
Google
506 The Jexmh Quarterly Remetc.
in 80 many other things, combines the most pronounced difEerences in
his own writings, and has given sharpest expression to the opposing
extremes of Stoic philosophy. We find him, for example, expatiating on
the benefits which man owes to Ood, and insisting that none are or can
be good without God*s help ; but, on the other hand, Seneca, far more
than Epictetus, is wont to descant, with offensive arrogance, on the
equality of the wise man to God, nay even upon his absolute sup^ority.
The power to be good or wise God has given to all, the attainment of
goodness is man's own. Qrud kaberes, quod in philosophia stupiceres 9i
beneficiaria res esset f * Philo would close his ears in holy horror.
To the Stoics the human ** I " which acts is also divine, but it is a real
and separate and responsible being. If it is blameable for its sins, it is
commendable for its virtues. What we achieve, alike
Stoic indepoi- j^ knowledge as in goodness, may be rightly regarded
•on of God. but ^ ^^ ^^"^) because it has been won by our own
•mandpated. powers. That I am good or that I know may be
due to the divine which is in me. But it is none the
less my own work, the work of the semi-divine being which is called
man. If I act rationally, I ipso facto follow the will of God. The
struggle and the triumph involved in " not my will but thine," the peace
of the Everlasting Arms beneath us and around, were unknown to the
Stoic, because he had an inadequate sense of the personality of God and
of the frailty of man. God was too similar in kind to himself. The
sense of distance in wisdom, knowledge and goodness was very in-
sufficient. " Nearness " meant, not capacity to hearken and to save, not
sympathy and care, but equality or co-essentiality of nature. Man is
the son of God, but only because he is part of an omnipresent and un-
divided reason, which in him has been lit up with a separate conscious-
ness. To the Jew man is not the son, but the child of Gk>d, and the
metaphor depends less on the idea of kinship through participation in a
common nature than on the moral relations subsisting between father
and child ; on the son's conviction of the father's infinite superiority in
power, wisdom and goodness, on his absolute trust and confidence in the
father's loving kindness, compassion and care.
independency of (}od, and maintain a me%m et tuum between God and
theinselves. It is the oharaoter only of a good man to be able to deny
and disown himself, and to make a full surrender of himself unto God,
forgetting himself and minding nothing but the will of his Creator;
triumphing in nothing more than in his own nothingness, and in the allnees
of the Divinity. But, indeed, this, his being nothing, is the only way to
be all things ; this, his having nothing, the truest way of possessing all
things." An admirer of St. Paul could say, a fine and truly Pauline
passage ; an admirer of Philo could say, how noble and Philonic I
• Cp. Ep. XC. inU„ LXXIII. fin., LIII. fin. ; 2>» Btnef., iv. 6 ; Zeller,
iii. 1, p. 727, n, 4 ; Bonhoffw, I. 86, II. 88-86.
Digitized by
Google
Fhrilegium Philonis. 507
For the Stoics knew little (Bonhoffer says Epictetus knows nothing)
of the conflict between duty and desire, between the higher and the
lower self. If you know the good, you must needs
desire it Hence they felt the less need for divine ^* ?*?*** f ^®*
not acknowledtfo.
aid to quicken the infirm will and help it to victory, beoaase he doos
The intense consciousness of frailty and of sin leads not feel the need
on to the conviction that the unassisted will is of direct aid from
iiOQ vO man*
insufficient to overmaster that frailty, or overcome
the power of that sin. Then with the realisation of the need of God's
assistance, there comes the prayer for it, and with the prayer the assurance
of response. But the Stoic can sccircely require or admit a further
divine element in human goodness, over and above the fact that human
reason is itself divine. Which is right. Stoic or Jew, this is not the
place to discuss. But Dr. Drummond is on Philo's side. He at least
holds that high spiritual experience is the direct gift of God. " Spiritual
things," he says, " are spiritually discerned, and no striving of the senses
and the intellect, no enforcement of duty by the determined will, can
ever discover that which is revealed only in visitations of the Spirit.
The filial mind, the conmiunion with God, the sense of Divine love and
peace flooding our inward being, which are the essence of Christianity,
cannot be created by strenuous endeavour any more than our own
volition has created our physical frame ; they must come as a birth from
on high, opening our eyes to a new world of heavenly beauty, and
ravishing our ears with the sound of angelic songs, and giving to the
conscious soul a rapture which, at its entrance on the visible scene, it
could not know."* This passage might have been written by Philo
almost as well as by Dr. Drummond ; only Philo would have expanded
the statement to include all moral and intellectual excellence. If the
mind or soul (he would say) were not divine, it could not be divinely
fertilized, but if it were not divinely fertilized from on high, it would
not, by its own unaided power, give birth to noble issue in thought and
word and deed. ** It is not, I think, inaccurate to say that every addi-
tion to knowledge, whether in the individual or the community, whether
scientific, ethical or theological, is due to a co-operation between the
human soul which assimilates, and the Divine power which inspires." '
The religious attitude of mind could in some ways be hardly more
emphatically and even devotionally expressed than by Epictetus.
Resignation to the divine will is a fundamental
principle of his teaching, though we who read him i^f^ft*****
with a deeper sense of the separate self-conscious- EpiotetnB and
ness of man and God, and of the dependence of the Philo.
one upon the other, put an added meaning into his words. A man, he
' Drummond, Ilibhert Lecturer, 1894, p. 220.
* A. J. Balfour, The Foundations of Belief , p. 329.
Digitized by
Google
608 The Jetoish Quarterly Revtetc,
says, must " attach himself to God." What does this mean ? " Whatever
God wills, he wills ; what Gknl does not will he does not will also.*'
" What God chooses is better than what I choose." And so on. Never-
theless man is independent. You can will to be good, and good you
can become. But this willing, ** this use of appearances," is itself God's
gift. God has entrusted you to yourself, you are your own God-given
" deposit " ; therefore, though you must condenm your weakness and
errors and get to realise them as soon as possible, there must be no
despair, no mistrust in your own capacity of achievement. For God is
in you. Mistrust in yourself were mistrust of GK)d. Epictetus com-
bines together, as fundamental pre-requisites of philosophy, the abandon-
ment both of conceit (oti/o-cr) and mistrust {inMrrla). With him, as
with the Stoics generally, God as an active and potent force in human
life and labour is mainly conceived of as immanent within the human
souL It is true that he is within because he is also without, but there
is no further inter-action between the two aspects. To Philo, God is
rather without than within ; so far as he is within, it is of grace rather
than of nature, and the coalescence of human and divine is less organic
than occasional. To the Stoics, man's independence, though in the last
resort a gift, is yet strongly marked. Man must recognise his own
divinity, and so find his salvation and his strength. To Philo, the sense
of man's dependence is never wanting. God gives to the individual as
well as to the kind, and what he gives he can withhold. Man must
recognise God's divinity and all which it implies ; he must look above
far more than he must look within. It is in the realisation of the divinity
of God and not of his own that he must find his salvation and his
strength.^ This we shall see proved and exemplified by Philo's doctrine
of oirifTif. A selection of passages will bring his conception of it more
clearly before us.
^* Self-conceit is an unclean thing by nature." ' It supposes that mind
is creative, whereas in reality " the mind is not the cause of anything,
but only God, who is before the mind." » Through
t? * of *^® ^^^ ^^® vamd. obtains a conception of colour,
otnoHt. through the ears of sound, through the nostrils o£
smell, through the tongue of taste, and so it
generates "the greatest evil of the soul, self-conceit For it con-
* Yet Philo also teaches the Stoic doctrine that every man is not onlj
created in the divine image, but is a " fragment" of Divinity through his
mind. He is no more consiBtent than Seneca ; but of him, as of Seneca,
we may say with Bonhoffer (I., p. 86), **Wir konnen ihm dies nicht
verCLbeln, da ein die Yemunft befriedigender Ausgleich zwischen
gottlicher Gnade und menschlicher Freiheit auoh heute noch nicht
gefunden ist."
« I. 53. ■ I. 75.
Digitized by
Google
Florikgium Philonk, 609
ceives that all which it has seen, heard, tasted and smelt, is its
own possession, and that it is the discoverer and contriver of them
alL" 1 " But so long as the mind thinks itself the cause of anything,
it is far from yielding and confessing to God. And this very act
of confession and gratitude is itself God's gift."» "To God alone
it befits to say * mine, for all things are his" (Cp. 1. Chron xxix. 14).
" He who says, * mine is my mind, mine my senses, mine their products,
for thought and perception are in my own power,* is a slave to his mind
and senses, bad and pitiless masters." » As slave to the mind you are
condemned to perpetual ignorance ; as slave to the senses, to the
domination of desire. He seems to suppose that if you think your
senses are your own, you will use them lawlessly ; instead of controlling
them, they will control you. Mixed up with that doubtless is the further
feeling that you cannot triumph over desire without the aid of God, nor
can you receive this aid unless you realise its need by realising the utter
dependence of every faculty, whether low or high, upon the Divine
Bestower. Hence, he says that it is impossible to "master pleasure
unless the soul confesses that its actions and its progress are of God, and
ascribes nothing to itself." *
Again, he says " there are two minds : the mind of the universe,
which is God, and the mind of the individual. He who flees from his
own mind takes refuge in the universal mind, and
he confesses that the creations of the human mind Self-Fennndation
are nought, and ascribes everything to God. He meanintf.
who flees from God, deems him the cause of nothing
and himself the cause of all. . . . Such a person is a thief, he steals
the property of another (for all things are God's), and he receives a
heavy wound which is hard to heal, self-conceit, akin to ignorance and
boorishness." *
Here, too, the intellectual and the moral are closely mingled ; self -
conceit is the parent of " f orgetfulness, ingratitude, and self-love,"
and only when you know yourself do you realise God. " For remem-
bering your own nothingness in everything, you will remember the
greatness of God in all." • No religion without humility. No service
of God without a sense of the nothingness of man. A vivid sense of
> I. 149 ; Gtxl is always the oauMCj the human mind is but the imtru-
merit,
« I. 60. • I. 126.
* I. 83. Philo sees a danger in obtaining any excellence, whether moral
or intellectual, by means of labour, lest the soul should think it has
acquired such excellence by its own power, and not through Gtxi who
implanted the desire for it (b rbv ipura xapc^a/if voc). Labour must not
produce o!}}7iC. 1.114.
» I. 93. • I. 173, 172; cp. I. 658.
VOL. VI. L L
Digitized by
Google
510 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
human finiteness must precede the realisation of the Divine infinitude.
" When Abraham knew most, he most completely renounced himself :
for he who renounces himself, understands God." ^ But this humility
does not involve fear. For {»recisely when man has recognised his own
nothingness to the full, he may take confidence to supplicate God.**'
"He will then abandon treacherous self-conceit (Ji tnifiovkot ooyo-Ar),
and find in self-knowledge the most useful purification.**' "For the de-
scent of the soul is its ascent by self-conceit, but its true ascent is a
return from pride.** *
Since then nothing is truly our own, not even life itself, but all good
things of soul and body are gifts of God, Philo draws the important
ethical consequence that we should use these gifts to
%6rt2*of^ good purpose. " Having the use of them, we shaU
humility ^^^ car© of them as God's property, remembering
and of that the Master, when he pleases, may recall his
oi|flnt. own. And so our grief at their removal will be
much lightened. The *many,* thinking all they possess their own,
straightway at the loss of anything are plunged in grief. To realise
that the world and all that it contains is the work and property of God
is not only a truth, but tends powerfully to consolation.** * The gifts of
God, he says elsewhere, must be received, not for oneself, but as loans
or deposits, to be returned at their due season, and therefore treated
with all care. Self-conceit makes men regard these gifts as property,
and self-love following on self-conceit makes men use and misuse this
supposed property for themselves instead of for society and for God.
Philo notes three main deposits which Gk>d has placed in our custody,
> I. 629 fin. The play in Greek is untranslateable : on fid\t9ra lyvm*
T^Ti fidXiora dxiyvia lavr6¥ . . . i S* dxoyvovc iavrbv, ytviioKU rhv Syra.
Cp. I. 663.
* I. 477 ; op. 1. 151 fin. : ** Those who oome down from boasting (ol^^ic)
are raised up by the reasoning of virtue (6 c&fxr^c X^yoc) to true renown.**
» n. 262. * n. 667.
* 1. 160 ; cp. Epiotetus ^ruiheiridian^ xi : " Never say about anything,
I have lost it, but say, I have restored it. Is your child dead ? It has
been restored. Is your wife dead? She has been restored. Has your
estate been taken from you ? Has not, then, this also been restored 7 But
he who has taken it from me is a bad man. But what is it to you, by whose
hands the Giver demanded it baok f So long as he may allow you, take
oare of it as a thing which belongs to another, as travellers do with their
inn/* Cp. Plutaroh Ad Apollvnium CkmsolatiOy chap, xxviii. 116 A, with
Wyttenbaoh*s notes. Euripides Phcfnuta, 666-667 (perhaps spurious)
•vroi rd 3^4/iar* lita dffnfvrac Pporoiy rd ruv Btmv i* ixovrtQ lirifitXo^fttOa*
tra¥ 9i XP9^**^\ ^^* dfatpowrtu vdXt¥. Antoninus XII. 26 ; Seneca Ad
Mareiam, x.
Digitized by
Google
Florikgium Philonis. 611
soul, speecli, and sense. Those who attribute these things to themselves
misspend them alL Their soul is treacherous, their speech insolent,
their " senses ** insatiate. But those who attribute them to God, use
their minds to contemplate the things of God and his goodness, their
speech to honour and praise him, and their senses to imderstand his
world. " And if any man were able with every part of him to live to God
rather than to himself, by his senses investigating the visible world to
discover truth, by his soul contemplating with true philosophy the
world of mind, and by his speech glorifying the Creator and his
works, such a one would indeed live a happy and a blessed life.** >
Philo is wont to use very violent language in these oppositions of
the good and the bad. The '* selfish" man has a whole catalogue of
vices appended to his special fault ; the man who
"attributes all things to God" has all the virtues. Rep|M4^ee and
Yet, as I have indicated before, he does not abso-
lutely preclude the notion of a passage from the category of evil to the
category of good. And so we may notice that repentance is occasionally
alluded to. " Never to sin," he acknowledges, " is the peculiar quality
of God, perhaps also of a divine man ; to repent is the quality of a
wise man."* But, " while iniquity is swift and continuous and frequent,
repentance is slow and deliberate and in the future.**' Philo will not
a(hnit the famous Rabbinic paradox that repentance is superior to
perfection (rcXcM^n^r).* It is the principal blessing of the second class,
whereas the highest, though possibly unattainable blessing is a never-
failing recollection of the best.* Such a recollection, if ever present to
and realised by the mind, would, I suppose, according both to Socratic
and Philonic psychology, prevent the possibility of error or of sin.
" Even in the souls of those who repent, the scars And impressions of
their old wickedness remain.** * Still he calls repentance, like conscience,
a "councillor who does not flatter, and is incorruptible,*'' and he also
implies that one can never know that it is too late to mend. " Gk>d, the
pitying Saviour, can easily bring back the mind from long wandering
and in evil plight through pleasure and desire — ^hard taskmasters that
» L 487, 488. Cp. Bpictetns DUoourtei, I. xvi, " On Providence,** ending
with the noble words, " If I were a nightingale, I would do the part of
a nightingale ; if I were a swan, I would do like a swan. But now I am
a rational creature, and I ought to praise God ; this is my work. I do
it, nor will I desert this post so long as I am allowed to keep it ; and I
exhort you to join in this same song.**
« I. 669 ; II. 405. * I. 569. « H. 6. • 11. 406.
* II. 228. The Stoios taught the same as r^fards the incomplete healing
of the passions of the soul. Gp. Beneca De Ira, 1. 16, quoting Zeno ; Frag*
menu of Zeno and Cleanthes, 'Ed. Pearson, No. 158, p. 195, and Bpiotetus
J}iteovrte»i II. 18. ' I. 697.
LL2
Digitized by
Google
612 I7ie Jewish Quarterly Review.
they are — into the right way, if only it has once determined to pursue
the good flight without turning round." ' " Repentance can soothe
conscience, that stem and unbribable judge.*' '
As I have been led to speak of conscience, I will here quote some
passages about it and use them as a bridge by which we may pass
on to consider Philo's views as to the exact relation of the human to
the divine.
The history and growth of conscience is a fascinating subject.
Not without interest too is the liistory of the term. From Euripides
onwards it begins to appear in Greek literature and
The Gonseienoe* philosophy. Euripides employs the word <n/vc<ri(,
which is also foimd in Polybius, witii the full
meaning of conscience. But this word did not meet with general
acceptance, and was exchanged for <nt¥€ihr\<rts or r^ (rvv^Ms, The
former word occurs once in the Wisdom of Solomon, and several times
in the Epistles of St. Paul. The Stoics elaborated the theory of con-
science, and often used the word. The Latin translation, conscientia^ is
frequent in Seneca, and is already employed by Cicero. Epictetus uses
(though not frequently) both avp€idiiaif and t6 avptidosy and both
terms are found in Plutarch.' Philo, with scarcely more than two
exceptions, confines himself to t6 ovpfMs, I should imagine that there
are few earlier writers who speak more fully and frequently of conscience
than he.
Conscience is primarily the " convicter " (^tyxoi) and the judge
seated in the soul, unabashed in threat and in reproof.* Against men's
will it stings them into confession of their evil deeds.^ It is the
'* true man " dwelling in the soul, now ruler and king, now judge and
umpire, now witness and accuser, convicting and restraining.* Philo
sometimes drops the term rd avv^idot altogether, and speaks only of 6
M ^vx^r tfXtyxot, the convicter in the soul.' It is unerring, truth-
telling, incorruptible.* It gives the consciousness of rectitude as well
as the consciousness of sin.* It is bom with the birth of the soul,
unsusceptible of wrong, by nature ever hating the evil and loving the
good ; it not only accuses and convicts, but teaches, persuades, exhorts,
> n. 427. But on the other band some souls which wish to repent Otcd
does not allow to do so (L 129 fin.),
* I. 634.
* More aoourately ervyci^Q^ic occurs once only in a doubtful fragment
(XCYII.), rb 9wtiiht onoe also (2>iM. in. 22, 94), and the phrase wviiSkvai
iavrf twice (III. 23, 15, and Ihufh. 34). But Philo*8 conception of con*
science should really be compared with the Stoic theory of the Aalftmv^
Cp. Bonhoffer, Epiotei. und die Stoa (1890), pp. 81-86.
« I. 30. • I. 423. • I. 196 inU.
' I. 566 ; I. 291. ■ I. 236 ; II. 649. • I. 474.
Digitized by
Google
FlorUegium PAilanis. Sl3
and if its owner yields, it rejoices and is reconciled, but if he resents it
wages an endless war with him, both day and night, itill his miserable
and accursed life is ended.' Hence, " the wicked man bears ruin within
him, for there dwells within him a designing foe. For the conscience of
the evil doer is his sufficient punishment ; it makes the soul cowardly,
as if it had received a blow.***
In speaking of the law of Leviticus v. 20 (E. V., vi. 1), Philo
assumes that the sinner is his own accuser, being convicted by his
own conscience. When he has restored the deposit
and goes to the temple to seek remission, the con- ^JiJ**?!!?? ^^^
victing conscience is the " blameless Paraclete '* or ^^
advocate, whom he takes with him. For it has saved him from incur-
able misfortune, the deadly disease of sin, and restored him to perfect
health.' Just as we speak of conscience as the voice of God, so Philo
identifies it with the Divine Logos. In one sense it is, as it were, the
cause of sin, as well as the cause of well-doing, for without its presence
in the soul no erroneous action could be deserving of blame, and sin
would therefore be impossible. Hence Philo can say : " As long as the
Divine Logos has not entered our souls all our actions are blameless.*'
Faults of ignorance and inexperience deserve pardon. But when the
true priest, conviction (i.e. the Logos, or conscience) enters within us,
like a purest ray of light, we see the guilt of actions done previously in
ignorance.^ The Logos comes to us as an angel-guide, removing the
stumblingblock before our feet.* Conscience is the "undefiled high
priest ** (another synonym for the Divine Logos), for whose perpetual
life within the soul we shall do well to pray.* " Let us supplicate God,
convicted, as we are, by the consciousness (omrctdijo-ci) of our own
misdeeds, to chastise rather than let us go. For if he let us go, we
shall no more be servants of a gracious Lord, but of pitiless matter
(ytP€a'€»s TTJs amjkeovi) ; but if in his goodness he chastise us gently
and equitably, he will correct our faults by sending conviction, the
Chastener, his own Logos, into our mind, through whom, putting it to
shame and reproaching it for its offences, he will bring us healing.**'
Let us pass on now to consider more specifically in what ways,
according to Philo, God may be said to be within man, both habitually
in the race and more particularly in the good.
How is his presence manifested ? In 'one sense SiJrijiu,!?^!^^
God may be said to be within every man, because
God " breathed into him from above something of his own Gk>dhead **
(rrjs Idlov 6ti6TTjTos),^ By virtue of his mind, every man contains " an
impression, or fragment, or ray of the divine nature.*** As Dr.
* n. 195. * IL 669. » XL 247. « I. 292.
» L 299. • L 563. * I. 219.
• I. 208. • I. 35, 332.
Digitized by
Google
514 The Jeunsh Quarterly Review,
Dmmmond sajrs, Philo was " deeply moved by the wonderful powers
of reason, which extended itself to embrace the oniTerse, and he
could explain them only on the supposition that the Creator had
breathed into the soul from on high a portion of His own divinity." '
The marvellous operations of the human mind, which flies through
space and outstrips time, would be impossible if God did not " seal
the invisible soul with his own impressions, that not even earth
might be without an image of God."* For how could the human
mind, within the narrow space of a membrane or of the heart, be able
to embrace the vastness of heaven and of the universe, unless it were
** an undivided fragment of that Divine and blessed soul ? For nothing
in the Divine is cut so as to be separated, but is only extended.
Wherefore the mind, sharing the perfection in the universe, whenever
it contemplates the cosmos, widens with the limits of the universe,
receiving no rupture, for its power b ductile."' This interesting
passage seems to imply that Divine reason being omni{»esent, it may
be said that we are in God, as well as that God is in us.
"Nothing earth-bcMn," consequently, is " more like God than man." *
To his earthly material there has been superadded " divine spirit."*
Hence he is " mortal as to his body, but inunortal as
ofnTiii?^£Bf tohismind."* His body is " the sacred temple of a
rational soul." ^ He is a " relative and kinsinan of
€k)d because of his participation in reason."" On the moral side,
reason, the divine image, "made real and stamped (pwrmBtitra iral
rvfr«»^€t(ra) by the seal of God, the impression of which is the eternal
Logos," is the source of both good and eviL * For " mind and reason
are, as it were, the home of virtue and vice ; in them they seem to
dwell." Some rational beings partake only of virtue, such as the stars.
(Philo shares the Aristotelian belief that the stars are rational and
animated beings.) Man has a mixed nature, capable both of wisdom
and folly, evil and good.^* It is noticeable that Philo does not
complete the series by the hypothesis of a rational being that is wholly
evil. He may be credited with the negative excellence of dispensing
with a devil.
In this general sense, then, God is within every member of the
human race. I said before that Philo cuts no clear division between
man and man, and does not refuse to the vilest all trace of the
Divine.^' The grave di£&culties which undoubtedly ensue on making
> Dmmmond, I. 829, 330. * L 208.
• I. m%fin^ 609 inU, (Dmmmond, I. 329). « L 15.
• I. 82. • L 32. » L 83.
' n. 838. ^yxitfiropoc B%o» cat iyytvi^ teard n^v irpdt \6yov KoamvioPf
ftc aifrbv cotroc Oy^rdv ^vra dvaBavariZti.
• I. 332. >• I. 17. " I. 265.
Digitized by
Google
Ihrihgium PhiUmii. 616
reason the distinctively divine element in man are wholly miobseryed
hy him, or, if observed, neglected. If human- reason is the parent of
sin, the immanent divinity is the cause of evil. If it is the same
reason which helps the scoundrel to the carrying out of a cunning
crime, and prompts the soldier to a deed of heroism, or the philosopher
to the contemplation of truth, why is not the "Gtod within" the
prerogative of the sinner as well as of the saint ? For the solution of
these high questions we must seek no guidance in the works of Philo.
Unreconciled with the theory that every man, in virtue of his reason,
bears the image of God within him, he lays down the more specialised
doctrine that God *' dwells *' only in the souls of the good — ^in those who
are worthy to receive so high and marvellous a guest.
How far, it may well be asked, is the doctrine purely metaphorical ?
From one passage at the end of the De SohrieUUey it might seem to be
80. Philo interprets the blessing of Noah to mean
that he prays that God may dwell in the house of J** ^^ ^^
Shem, and he then proceeds to say, " What more gQnjg ^f tii^ tfood.
fitting house in all creation could be found for Gk>d
than a completely pmified soul ? " *' But God is said to dwell in a
house, not in a local sense, for he contains all things, and is contained
by none, but as showing special forethought and care for that
particular spot. .... Let everyone, then, on whom the Divine favour
has showered good, pray to Gk>d that he may receive the Ruler of all as
a dweller in his house, for he will raise this petty dwelling, the mind,
ixf a great height above die earth, and fasten it to the boundaries of
heaven." ^ This would seem to mean no more than that God, as it were
from without, exercises a special providence towards the good. But
other passages show that something more is intended. For example :
*' Since Qod thus invisibly enters the place of the soul, let us prepare it,
as well as we can, to be a worthy dwelling for him. For if we do not,
he will unawares remove to another house, which seems to him wrought
better. For if, when we are going to receive a king, we beautify our
houses, sparing no means of adornment, that his rooms may be as
luxurious as possible, as befits his rank, what sort of a house should we
prepare for God, the King of kings and Ruler of all, who, in his
condescension and love, has deigned to visit his creatures, and comes
down from the limits of heaven to the ends of earth for the benefit of
our race ? A house of wood or stone ? The idea is impious. For not
even if the whole earth were suddenly turned into gold or something
more precious still, and were all used up in the construction of
colonnades, and gateways, and halls, and vestibules and temples, would
it become a step for his feet. A fitting soul alone is a worthy house." '
» L 402. * 1. 157 ; cp. H. 672 (Drummond, n. 281).
Digitized by
Google
616 The Jmiih Quarterfy Itevietc,
Removing the metaphorical drese, Phiio*s meaning apparently is that
there is a real Divine reaction upon tiiose who deserve it Such a
reaction or inftuence is not necessarily a violation of law, and it is
conditioned by the likeness, at however great an interval, of the homan
mind to the Divine.* " Do not," Philo says elsewhere, " seek for the
City of Gk)d on earth, for it is not built of wood or stone, but seek it in
the soul of the man who is at peace with himself, and a lover of true
philosophy.**' In this sense, then, of the real
1 ioale ©f DiTine Divine influence, which by the law of God's relation
to his human kmsman, is granted to those who
are fitted to receive it, there can be and there is, a scale of
increasing Divine immanence which culminates in inspiration. The
lower stages of the scale are symbolised by the advent of the Logoi,
the "Divine thoughts** (or by angels, their personifications); the
highest stage is reached in the advent of Qod himself. Hence Philo
says, '^ In the understandings of those who are perfectly purified, the
Gk>d and sovereign of the universe walks about noiselessly, alone and
invisibly — for there is also an oracle delivered to the wise man. in which
it is said, ' I will walk about in you, and will be your Ood *; but in the
understandings of those that are still undergoing cleansing, and have
not yet entirely washed out the life, foul and sordid with heavy bodies,
angels. Divine Logoi, walk, making them bright with the cleansing
materials of excellence.'* '
Combined or parallel with this doctrine of Ckni's immanence, and
partly, perhaps, only another form of it, there can be traced in Philo*8
writings the doctrine of the help rendered by Qod
Ood'B help in the to man, both in moral effort and in the acquisition
**^^°^* ^ of knowledge, culminating in the knowledge of (Jod
knowledge. himself. These two are not really separated in
Philo*s mind ; both are dpmi The notion of an
unlettered saint, as ignorant of philosophy as a babe, so true to fact and
so familiar to ourselves, was an unrevealed truth for the Jewish sage
of Alexandria. But just as there are degrees of Ood*s immanence, so
there are degrees of God*s help. It may come through his Powers, or
through the Logos, or through himself. Then, too, pari passu with
this scale of help, goes the result of it, the degree of knowledge and of
virtue attained by its means.
The doctrine of the proverb "Ghxi helps those who help them-
selves,** on which from various reasons {U'eachers now are wont to lay
much stress, was not unknown to Philo. He too speaks of the divine
help as given only to those who are fitted to receive it, and in response
» Cp. n. 428. * L 692.
* L 643 ; cp. I. 638 ; Brummond, IL 262.
Digitized by
Google
Florilegium PhiloniB. 61 T
to their own exertions. Nevertheless, not unfrequently he tends in a
marked manner to depreciate the f miction or share of human labom* and
effort in the attainment of moral virtue and intellectual knowledge."
He inclines to do this from a twofold reason. First of all, man is made
thereby more dependent upon the graoe of God. " Without divine
grace it is impossible to abandon things mortal, or to abide amid the
incorruptible."' The more feeble and uncertain the issue of human
effort, the less chance for vanity and self-conceit (ol»;cr«r). Secondly,
in the higher stages of the knowledge of God, Philo could hardly
explain, in consistency with his own theory of the divine nature, how
such deeper vision could be won by mortal man, unless it were due to
special inspiration, over and above the general inmianence of God in
all men, though doubtless based upon it and conditioned by it.
Aristotle had allotted to nature (jtfnxrii)^ to habituation (^^or), and
to teaching (dtdq^^), their own proper shares in the acquisition of
virtue. In Diogenes Laertius's chapter on Aristotle
«r<rjci7cri£ is substituted for €^09. The division in ^g^of' iS-^Sl
this form is adopted by Philo, but is applied by him tiifg connectioii.
in a pecuhar way and interpreted for his own ends.
For <^i;<rcff is regarded as including not only the natural endowment with
which one starts at birth, but the inspiration bestowed by God. Hence
the results of ^o-tr are usually higher than those of io'icrjo'is and
didax^. But it must be remembered that even to Philo the division
between these factors in the moral and intellectual life is not a hard
and fast one (II. 9). The man who starts on his race by the help
of So-KTfa'is or didaxf} can only reach the goal by the grace or inspiration
of God.»
Philo's full doctrine on this point cannot be expounded here. It is
well known that he has made each of the three great Patriarchs a type
of the perfected result of "teaching," "training,"
and " nature." Abraham represents the first, Jacob t^^^*
the second, Isaac the third. But all three imi| natiupe.
reached the goal at last, and obtained the vision
of God.^ As a corollary to his theory he has to assume that men start
with different endowments, and that these differences are predetermined
by God. "There are some persons whom Gk>d, even before their
1 At the same time he acknowledges that God has made labour the
condition of every good and virtue. And a few lines further on he says :
tifffifitta dk ical bmoTtiQ 6ya9ckf &\X^ ohK dvtv Bspawtia^ 0tov rv^clv avrSv
^vvdfiiSidi' Oipaitiia Sk roUg iv irSvoiQ ^iXori/iioic ffvW^evcrai. I. 168.
« I. 379.
' And Philo acknowledges that the end reached by all these is the
same. I. 646.
* I. 524, 591.
Digitized by
Google
518 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
birth, faahioiiB pre-eminently, and foreordains to them a peculiar lot." ^
From the deep problems here raised, Philo, as Dr. Drummond truly
says, "glides off in the most unsatisfactory way. The thought is
dissipated and lost sight of "in a cloud of allegory."' The ideal
representative of the virtue which comes from <fw<n9 is described as
complete and perfect from the outset. He is " self taught," but this
" self taught " means taught of God. " He is not improved by in-
vestigation or effort, but from his birth he finds wisdom made ready for
him ; it is rained down on him from heaven, and he drinks of it pure
draughts and is ever drunk therefrom with a rational intoxication." '
Inflated language of this kind is very frequent The " self taught "
start at the point which dida^^ and Sunaitra may bring others to in
the end by constant effort and laborious toil. " They have already at
hand the gifts of God in all perfection : they need no improvement,
having reached, through the excellence of their nature and the fair en-
dowment of their souls, a spontaneous and effortless wisdom." ^ Philo,
however, acknowledges that each of the three types of life is the result
of all three factors working together, though each is made to lepimeut
that factor which predominates in it. " For teaching cannot be perfected
without nature and practice, nor practice unless founded on nature and
teaching, nor can nature reach the goal without teaching and practice." '
At the same time Aaron, who gains " virtue " by labour, is less perfect
than Moses, who receives it without labour from (Jod.* This gift of
God may come at any moment, and be, as it were, engrafted upon the
previous results of " practice " and " teaching." But it is still spoken of
as " self-taught " wisdom. " It is useful, if not for the acquisition of
perfect virtue, at least with a view to civic life, to be trained in old and
primeval opinions, and to pursue the ancient reports of noble deeds which
historians and poets have repeated for their own age and for their suc-
cessors. But when, without our foresight or expectation, a sudden
light of * self-taught ' ¥dsdom flashes upon us, which'opening the closed
eye of the soul, makes us seers instead of hearers of knowledge, putting
in the understanding the swiftest of the senses, vision, instead of the
slower, hearing, it is vain to exercise the ears with words." ' Philo, as
we shall see, is a firm believer in sudden intuition, which, from his point
of view, is the sam« thing as sudden inspiration. It is very curious that
in one and the same paragraph he speaks of Gk)d " bestowing the prin-
ciples (^cMp^Mara) of his own wisdom without our toil or trouble, so that
suddenly we find a treasure of perfect bUss," ^ and then of those who
> L 104. • Drummond, H. 311. • L 571.
« I. 524, op. I. 646. • IL 9.
• 1. 114, op. I. 617. » 1. 178 (Drummond, H. 8).
• I. 286 (Drummond, II. 310) ; op. I. 441.
Digitized by
Google
FhrUegium Philonis. 519
'* through the excellence of their endowment (<^<r€a>r ^Ifiotfiiq) make a
handred discoyeries without any investigation, by the help of happy and
well directed conjectures." And he does not appear to see any di£Eerence
between the one class and the other. The conjecture is a divine chance ;
but on the other hand it needs the natural endowment, which is also the
gift of God. The old Sua rvx4 ^^ Herodotus receives, as it were, a sort
of philosophical justification*
Omitting inspiration in its higher aspects for the present, let us now
see in what other ways Philo teaches that help is rendered to man by
God or by his Logos. When the help is ascribed to the Logos, rather
than to God himself, this b because our realisation of the Divine is the
subjective counterpart of the objective Divine aid. And this realisation
may not, and usually will not, extend further than to the Logos, if, in-
deed, it extends so far.*
Philo is wont to talk of the Divine Logoi as helping man. What does
he mean by this ? A sudden thought which deterred from evil or spurred
to good, a noble passage in an inspired book, the
stirring utterance of a great preacher — ^these might The help ^ven
all be regarded as so many separate fragments of ttsTSYSe
Divine reason, which are bom in, or enter the soul, LogoL
but in the last resort, owe their origin to God. Philo
refers much to direct Divine agency, which we should only indirectly
ascribe to it' Thus he says, " God, not disdaining to come into sensible
perception, sends his own Logoi to assist the lovers of virtue ; and they
treat and completely heal the sicknesses of the soul, giving sacred ad-
monitions as immovable laws, and calling to the exercise of these, and
like trainers of gymnasts, implanting strength and power." '
Of the human soul, the bodily, or as it were, earthly part, is the basis,
while the mind, or heavenly part, is the head. " Up and down, through
the whole soul, the Logoi of God move incessantly ; when they ascend,
drawing it up with them, and disjoining it from the mortal part, and
showing only the vision of things which are worth seeing ; but when
they descend, not casting it down (for neither God nor a divine Logos is
the cause of injury), but descending with it out of humanity and com-
passion towards our race, for the sake of giving assistance and alliance,
in order that, breathing forth what is salutary, they may revive the soul
also, which is still borne along, as it were, in a river, the body." * Then
follow the lines quoted already, how God walks in the minds of the
> 1. 122.
' Li all this, and what follows, I have been greatly helped by Dr.
Dnunmo(nd*B book.
' I. 631 (Drummond, 11. 257 ; op. 120, 218, 256, 307, 308-310).
* L 642/;». 643 (Drummond, II. 261).
Digitized by
Google
520 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
perfectly purified, while his Lo^i walk in those who are still not wholly
cleansed of error or of sin. " It seems quite clear," says Dr. Drummond,
** that Philo is referring in this passage to Divine thoughts that visit and
purify the mind, those * broken lights ' of Ckxl, which beam softly upon
us when we cannot bear the full-orbed splendour." ' As he elsewhere
says, " If even a thought (livoca) of Gk)d enters the mind, it immediately
blesses it, and heab it of all its diseases." ' The Logos is said to help those
who are akin, or inclined to virtue, and when it caUs
"^^h^lS^^ the soul to itself, to freeze together its earthly and
Logos. appetitive elements." * "On some the sacred Logos
enjoins commands like a king ; others it instructs,
as a teacher his pupils ; others, not knowing what is the best of them-
selves, it helps like a counsellor, who makes wise suggestions ; while
to others again, like a gracious friend, it reveals persuasively many
mysteries that the uninitiated may never hear." ^ It is difficult to say
how far in this and similar passages the metaphors extend. But that
Philo holds that the compelling or advising or restraining thought,
which springs up within, must have a corresponding vera catua without
— a Divine without that answers to the Divine within— seems to follow
from a passage in which the saving impulse or thou^t is distinctly
stated to reach the soul " from the outside." " So long as the mind
thinks it firmly understands the objects of mind, and the sense the
objects of sense, the Divine Logos stands afar off. But when each
confesses its weakness, such a soul the Logos comes to meet and wel-
comes ; it has renounced itself, and awaits the Divine aid that comes to
it invisibly, and from without." •
In virtue, as in knowledge, God meets the sincere suppliant half
way.* "How great is the grace of Gk)d, who anticipates our delay,
and comes to meet us, to the perfect benefit of our
GodthefeFtiliMP. souls I " ' It is God who fertilises virtue by sending
down the seed from heaven.^ "It is Qod alone
who can open the womb of the soul, and sow virtues in it, and make it
> Bmmmond, IL 262. * L 130.
' L 633, 121. Gp. I. 640, where we hear of a Divine Lo^oe that wrestleB
with Jaoob, and gives him strength, and Dr. Drummond interprets the
allegory to refer to ** Divine thoughts which discipline and strengthen
the mind," IL 260.
« L 649. • L 638 ^Ji. • IL 407. » L 130.
* L 103, 147 ; op. Seneoa, Ep. LXXIII. ad fin, : Nxdla sine deo mens
bona est. Semina in oorporibus himuuiis divina dispeisa sunt, qu» si
bonus oultor exdpit, similia origini prodeunt et paria his, ex quibus orta
sunt, surgunt : si malus, non aliter quam humus sterilis ao palustris
necat ac deinde oreat purgamenta pro f rugibus.
Digitized by
Google
Florikgium PhUanis. 521
pregnant and bring forth the good." > The same office is elsewhere
assigned to the Logos. " The divine Logos flows forth like a river
from wisdom as its f omitain head, that it may water and fertilise the
heavenly shoots and growths of the souls that love virtue." ' " The
Divine command (crvvraltf, another form of the Logos) illuminates and
sweetens the soul that itself can see." [The Divine influence must
meet with a properly receptive nature.] " It shines upon it with the
light of truth, and it seasons with sweet persuasion those who thirst
and hunger after virtue." ' In fine : " How could the soul have per-
ceived God if he had not breathed into and touched it so far as man's
capacity allows ? The human mind would not have ventured on such a
flight, to grasp the natiu'e of God, if God had not drawn it up to
himself, so far as it could be drawn, and had not moulded it according
to the powers which are within man's capacity to perceive." *
Let us now note a few interesting points in Philo's conception of the
different stages in the knowledge of God, which can be fairly under-
stood, even when taken out of their proper place in his philosophical
system as a whole.
Through the sense of sight philosophy arose. The soul was entranced
by the spectacle of the sun and moon and planets and stars, and &om
an investigation into the causes of their movements
philosophy began.' Some thinkers were wise The knowledge of
enough to adopt the opinion that the heavenly bodies ^^ * **■ ®"tf ^
were not " self -impelled by irrational movements of umitatloiiB*
their own, but impelled by the intelligence of God,
whom it was, therefore, fitting to call Father and Creator." • Philo is
of opinion that men have won a belief in God through what we now
call the argument from design. The very existence of the world
demands a belief in the world's Creator, as we infer an architect from
the existence of a house. " They who reason in this manner conceive
Grod through his shadow, realising the craftsman through his work." '
This is not the more excellent way, and does not lead to the most
perfect apprehension of the Divine ; but, as the result of the unaided
effort of the human mind, Philo thinks it deserves great praise. Such
philosophers have " advanced upwards from below, and climbing, as it
were, the rungs of a heavenly ladder, they have reached the Creator by
logical reasoning through the contemplation of his works." ^
> I. 123 init. Of. L 158, of the Divine Powers (Drummond, II. 312).
The theological, and perhaps historical importance of this and many other
similar, but stronger and more bizarre passages, has been recently empha-
sised by Mr. Conybeare in the Academy^ December 22nd, 1894.
« L 690. • L 666. « I. 61. • L 12, 18. • H. 331.
M.107. 'n. 415.
Digitized by
Google
522 The Jewish Quarterly Eevietc.
Philo's aim is to approach as near as he can to God as he is in himself,
apart from what he may be inferred to be from his works. He
frequently admits that this aim cannot possibly be realised. " One most
first become God — ^which is impossible — ^in order to be able to
comprehend God." ^ He goes so far as to say that " it is sufficient for
human reason to attain to the knowledge that there is, and exists,
something as the Cause of the universe ; but to pass beyond this, and
inquire into essence or quality, is superlative folly." ' " Qod is not even
apprehensible by the mind, except only as to existence* Existence is
what we realise of him ; beyond existence, nothing." ' Dr. Drmnmond
has shown in what ways Philo passes out of and beyond this
philosophical agnosticism, and how far he is justified in doing so.
In his relation to the world, God is Ruler and Creator, and these
facts or inferences stamp him straightway as all-powerful and good.
His two main names, Lord (icvpuis) and God, typify
fmd^a"oMfttOTi ^ ruling and his goodness. It is a law of nature that
a creator should care for that which he has made.^
Realising God then as Ruler, we fear him ; realising him as Creator, and
therefore as a benefactor, we love him.* But neither aspect of him is
the highest to which we can attain. The ruling fBcxHty and the creative
faculty are the two great powers of the Gk)dhead. As Ruler, God is a
legislator, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong ; as Crea-
tive and good, God is propitious ; he has pity and compassion upon his
work.^ To each of these powers or aspects of Gk)d as realised by man,
a phase of human character belongs. Of these, more anon. There is a
further and higher aspect of God, or in other words, a further and higher
stage in the knowledge of him, ^^ch represents the combination of the
two fundamental powers of rule and creation, authority and goodness.
This aspect is that of the Logos, the reason of God
L<5^ * in every phase and form of it that is discoverable or
realisable by man. " By the Logos (Jod is both
ruler and good." ' The apprehension of the Logos is the highest stage
in the knowledge of God which is obtainable by ordinary man. It
practically implies and includes every aspect of him which can be won
independently of absolute inspiration. Most of us have to be content
with considerably less ; we are able to catch a glimpse of God, now in
one aspect, now in another ; we rarely can realise him in that combina-
tion of many aspects, ^diich in their rational unity and completeness
» n. 664 (Drummond, II. 17).
» L 258 (Drummond, IL 18). • I, 282.
* vSfiot yap ^vcnat lirifiiKilffBai rb wtwoiTiKbg ytyovoroQ* U. 416.
* Op. e^^ L 63, 144, 342, 343, 581, 582, 645.
* Cp. I. 660. Drummond, IL 83, and IL 18-20. Drummond, 11. 91.
' I 144.
Digitized by
Google
Fhnlegium Phtlonis, 523
are symbolised by the Logos.* It is only before the mysterious, im-
penetrable Being, who manifests himself in all these functions of
reason, that the worshippers of the Logos fall short. But the wisdom
and happiness which are bestowed by the Logos, or which, as we may
say, attend its realisation, are painted by Philo in the most glowing
colours, just as the Logos itself, though, or rather as, inseparable from
God, possesses all nameable qualities of the Divine. Commenting on
the verse in the Psalms, " The river of God is filled with water," Philo
declares that " it is absurd to give this name to any earthly river." But
the Psalmist clearly signifies the divine Logos, "that is full of the
fountain of wisdom, and is in no part of itself bare or empty. Or
rather, as some one has said, it is diffused throughout the universe, and
is raised up on high, through the continuous and unbroken flow of that
everlasting source. In another verse of the Psalm, it is said: *The
course of the river gladdens the city of God.' What city ? For the
present sacred city, in which the holy temple is, lies far from the sea
and from any rivers ; so that it is clear that the Psalmist wishes to
suggest something different from the obvious meaning, by way of
metaphor. And in truth the continuous rush of the divine Logos is
borne along with eager but regular onset, and overflows and gladdens
all things that are. In one sense he calls the world the city of God, for
it has received the full cup of the divine draught, and has exultingly
received thereby a perpetual and imperishable joy. But in another
sense he gives this name to the soul of the wise, wherein God is said to
walk as in a city. And who can pour out the sacred cup of true joy to
the blissful soul which holds out the most sacred cup, which is its own
reason, except the Logos, the cupbearer of God, the master of his feast?
And the Logos is not cupbearer only, but is itself the pure draught,
itself the joy and exultation, itself the pouring forth and the delight,
itself the ambrosial philtre and potion of happiness and joy."'
Nevertheless God is above the Logos, and there is a possible realisa-
tion of him, which transcends all that even the Logos can suggest to us.
For though God be the mind or reason of the uni-
verse, we have not, in so naming him, " discovered ®^ SaS^* *
his essence or given an exhaustive description " of
his nature. " Pure Being is a more comprehensive conception than
reason, and includes other predicates. Being, for instance, is eternal
and omnipotent, and may have other attributes unknown to us, none of
which is necessarily involved in the rational Reason, therefore, is a
mode of the Divine essence, but not that essence itself ; and as in the
» L 122.
' I. 691. Rightly, I think, does Professor Rendel Harris speak of this
chapter from the De SomniU as "magnificent" (^Fragments of Philo,
1886, p. 2).
Digitized by
Google
524 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
case of all the powers, God exhausts and transcends it. He may accord-
ingly he spoken of as the fountain from which it flows, as the Being
who is before it." * Even the Logos is but the shadow of God.' " God
is before the Logos, and superior to every rational nature." ' Though
" when you have been brought by wisdom as far as the Divine Logos,
you have found the head and consummation of your devotion, you have
still not reached God in his essence, but see him afar off. Or rather you
only see that God b far from all creation, and the understanding of him
most widely distant from all human understanding." *
Yet the inspired mind, which does not start in the quest for God from
his works, can get beyond the Logos. ^^ There is a more perfect and more
purified mind, initiated in the great mysteries, which
A Yery chosen knows the Cause, not from the effects, as it would
bcvond^Sw*** *^® permanent substance from a shadow, but, having
Logon. looked beyond the begotten, receives a clear
appearance of the unbegotten, so as to apprehend
from himself him and his shadow, the latter meaning the Logos and this
Cosmos." * " Such a mind was Moses, who said, * Show me thyself, that
I may see thee with knowledge ; do not reveal thyself to me through
heaven, or earth, or water, or air, or anything in creation ; and let me not
see thy essence reflected in any other thing, as in a looking-glass, but
only in thee, who art God." • But such highest knowledge of God can
only be reached by the inspiration or revelation of God himself.' From
the knowledge of the perceptible world man may pass to the knowledge
of the invisible Logos, but the knowledge of primal Divine Being is
above both, and obtained in a different way.^ But it is always true to
say that the special revelation is only vouchsafed to those who are
worthy of it in mind (which to Philo implies in character) before it
comes. Only the rarest few can bear more than the sight of the Logos :
it is to the " perfect " alone that " the first God " can be revealed.*
The upward journey of the mind to the supreme vision of God is
finely depicted in the following passage : — " As is God in the universe
so is the mind in man : it is unseen, but sees all
The upward things : its essence is obscure, but it comprehends the
^'""^id * essence of everything. And by arts and sciences it
cuts for itself many roads and pathways, and passes
1 Drommond, II. 183.
« L 106 (Drommond, n. 190-194). • n. 626.
• L 680 (Drommond, II. 20, 184, 195). Cp. L 229 Jin., showing how
Gk)d can he at one and the same time very near and very far.
• L 107 (Drommond, II. 194). • Ibid. cp. I. 289.
' (9tov) r^y ISiap ^wapKw dva^iivai BtXjitavroi: ukr^ . • . aXifOcioy H
furioffw ol riv Otbv $tf fayraauaOivrti^ ^ri ^wc* II- 415 ; op. II. 18.
• Cp. I. 419. • I. 128 ; I. 665, 656.
Digitized by
Google
Flarikgfum PMlonis. 525
through sea and land, searching out all things within both. And it soars
aloft on wings, and having investigated the air and its changes, it is
borne upwards towards the aether and the revolutions of the heavens.
It accompanies the stars and the planets in their circling motions, fol-
lowing love, the guide of wisdom, and passing beyond the sensible,
it yearns for the intelligible world. Perceiving there the patterns and
forms of what it had seen before in the world of sense, it is seized by
their exceeding beauty with a sober intoxication, and, like the celebrators
of Gorybantic rites, it is overcome by enthusiasm, and filled with high
desire. So it is carried forward to the very summit of the intelligible
world, and seems to draw near to the great king himself. Then, as it
longs to behold him, the pure and unmixed rays of Divine light are
poured upon it like a torrent, so that its eye is dazzled by the bril-
liancy." "
Inspiration, if given by God, must be prepared for by man. It needs
the complete abandonment of bodily desires, the absolute consecration
of mind and soul to God. Without a wish or
a thought that is not concentrated on truth and Inspiration*
virtue and God, a man must " pour forth his soul's
blood as a libation, and sacrifice his whole mind to God the Saviour." '
He must break the bonds which the cares of mortal life entwine around
him, and, with the utmost strain of his soul, press forward to the glorious
visions of the uncreated.'
Referring to Genesis xii. 1 (** The Lord said unto Abraham, Get thee
out of thy country, and from thy kindred and from thy father's
house "), Philo exclaims : " If any desire come over thee, 0 soul, to
inherit Divine bliss, then abandon not only thy ^ land,' the body, and
thy ' kinsmen,' the senses, and thy * father's house,' the understanding
(t6v Xoyov), but flee from thyself, and depart out of thyself, like men
possessed in a rapt frenzy of prophetic inspiration. For when the mind
is in a state of ecstasy, and no longer under its own control, but mad-
dened and agitated by heavenly love, it is drawn up towards God, and
truth is its leader and clears a path before its feet, so that it may go
forth upon the highway to become the heir of things Divine." * Philo
even maintains that this ecstatic condition of the mind affects the con-
dition of the body. " When men are inspired, not only does their soul
become excited and raving, but their body too becomes ruddy and fiery
in colour, the inward heat of joy showing itself even externally, so that
many foolish persons are deceived thereby, and confound enthusiasm with
intoxication." ^
> 1. 16. The relation to the Phsdrus is obvious,
» I. 76. » I. 380.
* I. 482. » I. 380.
MM
Digitized by
Google
526 The Jewish Quarterly Bevietv.
Phflo doubtless approaches neai: to the theory to which mystics of all
ages have inclined, that the highest condition of the mind is pure
passivity : the human is blotted out to receive the
The hUhett Divine. What is human is individual and mortal :
^Ind bMomuf ^^^^ mind is often connected with sense and desire,
pQM DMslTiiy* A^d ^b® separate selfhood that holds asunder from
Gk)d. To become one with the Divine the self must
be merged in God, and to be merged in him, its own functions and
activities must be extinguished. Thus the highest faculty of the mind
topples over into an abyss on the other side : having reached the
summit of activity, it is ready to become the mere passive phono-
graph, on which to receive the impress of the divine. Allu-
ding to Gen. XV. 12 (**And when the sun was going down,
a deep sleep fell upon Abraham"), Philo says : — " As long
as our mind still shines and is active, and pours a noonday
light over all our soul, we are under our own control, and are not
possessed ; but when the mind draws near its setting, then divine
ecstasy and madness may fall upon us. For when the divine light
shines, the human light sets, but when the divine sets the human
light reappears. This is wont to be the case with prophets. For at
the coming of the Divine Spirit our mind retires, but when the Spirit
departs it comes back again. For the immortal may not dwell with
the mortal.'*^ In another place he goes so far as to say that "a
prophet utters nothing of his own, but is a mere interpreter. It is
another who suggests all his words, and while he is inspired he is
unaware that his own reason has vanished and has left the citadel of
his soul : the Divine Spirit having entered in, plays upon his voice as
on an instrument, and sounds within him to make clearly manifest that
which he prophesies.'*" Whether in spite of his remark that the
Scriptures testify of "every good man (whom they mention) that
he is a prophet,** he would have ventured to apply the name to himself
may well be doubted. But he is not afraid to
l^?iitt*'* confess that he has been visited at certain high and
select moments, and even unawares, by divine in-
spiration. He says that his soul " was often accustomed to be possessed
by God and to prophesy about things which it knew not** ' He speaks
of the "invisible spirit which was wont to commune with him.***
> L 611.
* II. S43. But B^ville is perhaps scarcely right in calling this the
only passage, *^ot se tronve la conception mat^rialiste d*un hcnnme-
maohine, mii par Tesprit de Dien.'* Le Logos SaprU Philon d^Alex-
andrie, p. 60. Gp. Drummond, 1. 12, 14, and the passages there quoted.
• 1. 143 ^>i. (Drummond, I. 21). « I. 692.
Digitized by
Google
FhrUegium ThUonia, §27
And elsewhere he dwells on the manner of his inspmttion in detail.
^^ I am not ashamed to relate the way in which I am myself affected)
which I know I have experienced countless times. Intending some-
times to come to my usual occupation of writing the doctrines of
philosophy, and having seen exactly what I ought to compose, I have
found my mind fruitless and barren, and left off without accomplishing
anything, reproaching my mind with its self-conceit (oXfia-is), and
amazed at the power of Him who is, by whom it has turned out that the
womb of the soul is opened and closed. But sometimes, having come
empty, I suddenly became full, ideas being invisibly showered upon me
and planted from above, so that by a divine possession I was filled with
enthusiasm, and was absolutely ignorant of the place, of those present,
of myself, of what was said, of what was written ; for I had a stream of
interpretation, an enjoyment of light, a most keen-sighted vision, a most
distinct view of the subjects treated, such as would be given through the
eyes from the clearest exhibition of an object" *
Philo's theory that every power or faculty is due to the grace of
God would probably have prevented him from becoming insufferably
conceited by the consciousness of these supernatural visitations. For
otherwise, in accordance with his own doctrine, the fact of inspiration
must, I imagine, imply the possession of every kind of excellence.
The good man is on the borders of the human and divine, connected
with the former as touching his mortality, with the latter as touch-
ing his virtue. He is half man, half Gk>d.' Yet filled as his mind
is with "divine love," he forgets himself and all things in his
rapture towards God.' He is of that race select, " who live not far
from God, with the images of immortal beauty before their mind's
eye, and guided always by heavenly love." *
In all the stages of development, on all the rungs of the ladder on
which man mounts higher and higher towards a better or more
adequate knowledge of the infinite Gk>d, there are
two main attitudes of the mind with which God is Man's attitude
regarded. These two main attitudes are those with pjSJ^^ LoYe.
which we are familiar to-day. They are fear and
love. The passages in Philo*s writings which speak of them are
interesting in themselves, and still more when we silently compare
them with the notions about the fear and love of God current among
ourselves both in the Jewish and in the Christian world. We may
begin by quoting a general statement which sums up a considerable
portion of his entire doctrine. "God," he says, "demands from us
nothing hard or complicated, but something very easy and simple.
» I. 441 (Drummond, 1. 14). « I. 689 ; of. I. 484 ; U. 452.
! I. 689. * H. 421.
M M 2
Digitized by
Google
628 The Jetmh QuarUrty Review.
It is to love him as a benefactor, or, if that be too much, at least
to fear him as our Buler and Lord."* It will be remembered tiiat
Philo conceives the Deity to be called Lord (icuptos) as Ruler, and God
as Creator. As a Ruler, with the power that belongs to kings of doing
both good and harm, he is justly feared ; as Creator he desires and
wills only the good, both because the cause of creation was the Divine
goodness, and also because, as we have seen, it is a '* law of nature "
for a maker to care for that which he has made.
Love is therefore superior to fear. "A life according to God is
defined by Moses as a life that loves God." > It will also be remem-
bered that Philo connects the principles of Love and Fear with the
two Biblical statements, "God is like man," and "God is not like
man " ; for all the exhortations to observe the laws that lead to piety
are based either upon the fear or the love of Gk>d. " To those who do
not suppose that God possesses either part or passion of man, but honour
him worthily for himself alone, love is most ^propriate, while to all
others fear."'
Fear and love correspond to the Deity's two fundamental powers.
The many aspects of God are of great value from a human and a
religious point of view. Not all of us can realise
The Six DiTine \^^ jjj ^g ^axnt way, so that his manifold nature, or
rather the manifold forms of its manifestation, give
something for each of us to ilay hold of and appreciate ; for, as Philo
observes, with a rare access of gentleness and sympathy, " we have
neither the same weakness nor the same strength." He identifies the
six main "powers" of God (of which the Logos is the first) with the
six cities of refuge. " Very beautiful and well-fenced cities they are,"
he says, " most admirable refuges for souls that are worthy to be saved
for evermore. Good and gracious is the ordering of them to prepare
and strengthen men for good hope." Now, of the five powers that
succeed to the Logos, two are primary and three are secondary. The
two primary are our old friends the Creative and the Regal or Ruling
Power, and these are combined into a harmonious unity in the Logos.
The creative power is elsewhere called Goodness, the regal power.
Authority. " By goodness God created the universe, by authority he
rules it, and the Logos unites the two, for by Reason (or thought) God
is both ruler and good."* Of the three secondary powers, one is a
* II. 257. It is strange that Philo does not quote Micah vi 8. He
very rarely indeed quotes the Prophets, preferring the most strained and
ludicrous interpretation of a Pentateuchal passage to the most superb and
direct passage elsewhere.
' rh fikv oh^ kotA Otdv (^ iv rf a/airoy ain'bv dpiZtrat Mmve^g, L 238.
Cp. L 228.
» I. 283. * L Hi.
Digitized by
Google
Fhrtlegium Philoms. 520
Btibdiyision of the Creative, namely, the Propitiotis, through which " the
Artificer pities and compassionates his own work," while the other two
are sahdivisions of the Regal, in its more restricted aspect as the
Legislative Power. They are the Preceptive and the Prohibitive
Powers, obviously corresponding to and suggested by the positive and
negative commands of the Pentateuchal law. Omitting the Logos,
Philo conceives that the five powers represent five aspects in which men
think of God. The first aspect is the Creative, **'for he who realisee
that everything has been created has already ac-
quired a great good, namely, the knowledge of the With the Beoond
Creator, which immediately persuades the creature to *rIo^^i jS^*
love his Maker.^ The second aspect follows the eonesponcL
Regal power: *^By the control of necessity the
subject is admonished through /ear of the Ruler, when he does not, like
a child, obey his father through love." The third aspect rather
erratically takes us back to the first power. It is the aspect which
appeals to the sinner : " For he who is convinced that God is not
inexorable, but is gracious through the essential kindness of his nature,
repents of his sin through hope of forgiveness." It is noteworthy
that the two lowest aspects of God are those which regard him as a
Lawgiver. The one is the aspect realised by him who finds happiness
in doing all that God has commanded ; the other by him who, at all
events, avoids evil by not doing what God has f orbidden.'
As the Logos is superior even to the creative power, it might be
thought that there should exist a corresponding aspect superior to
Love, and this is indicated by Philo himself in
certain passages, where he states that to the perfect ^J combln^on
worshipper GK>d is both Ruler and Creator m one.
Love and Fear are united together in a nameless combination which
includes and transcends them. One could make an Hegelian or homi*
letic application of this idea, and suggest how the contraries of Fear
and Love are dissolved and reconciled in a higher unity above them.
^ Of bad men the Deity claims to be called Ruler and Monarch ; of the
improving, Qod ; of the best and most perfect. Lord and God together
and at once."* "He thinks it right that the bad man should be
governed as by a Master ; the improving benefited as from ^ God,' in
Order that by benefits he may reach perfection ; but that the perfect
should be ruled as by a Master, and benefited as by God."* It is, there-
fore, necessary to attempt to realise both the "goodness" and the
"authority" of God ; for then we shall also learn " the union and
combination of these undefiled powers, the majesty of God*s rule
» L 560, 561. * L 581.
' L 582 ; op. 1. 476. The "' improving " is i trpcKdwrmw^—tk term borrowed
from the philosophy of the Stoics.
Digitized by
Google
530 The Jetcish Quarterly Review,
appearing in the manifestations of his goodness, and his goodness
appearing in the manifestations of his rule. So shall we acquire the
virtues bom of these conceptions, a love (^<f>iko<t>poavvrf) and reverence
(ev\d^€ia) of God. Then in prosperity we shall not talk big, remem-
bering the greatness of God's mighty rule, and in adversity we shall
not despair, remembering God's gentleness " (^iitp6Tris).^
But Philo is not always consistent, and sometimes prefers to this
combination a Love which has cast out or is independent of Fear.
Jacob's prayer, " Then shall the Lord be my God "
LoTe alone. (Gen« zxviiL 21), Philo interprets to mean : *^ May
he no longer display to me the despotism of his
absolute authority, but the beneficence of his saving power, that
is gracious to all ; removing from the soul the fear felt towards
him as to a Master, and implanting the friendship and affection
that may be felt to a Benefactor."' Again, of Abraham, the lower
type of character, the Deity is called God and Lord ; of Isaac, the
highest type, he is only God. " For the one disposition needs the
care of two powers, rule and beneficence, that through the might of
the Buler it may obey his orders, and through his goodness be greatly
aided. The other disposition needs beneficence only. It cannot be
bettered by the Power of admonishing Bule (for it possesses the
good by nature), but through the gifts showered from above, it is good
and perfect at the start .... What can be a greater good than to
obtain pure and unmixed beneficence ? And what can be more wonder-
ful than the mixture of gift and rule ? Perceiving which, Jacob prayed
that ' the Lord might become his God,' for he desired no longer to fear
(rvXo/Sfto'^ai) him as a ruler, but to honour him lovingly as a bene-
factor ** (wff cvcpycnyv ayamjruc&s rifiajf)}
Thus Philo can be quoted in support of either view : for fear and
love combined, or for that perfect love which knows honour, but is
ignorant of fear.*
^ 1. 144. With Philo's idea that the most perfect attitude of man to-
wards God is a combination of Love and Fear, may be compared a
striking sermon of the late Br. P. F. Frankl on the same subject. Frank!
oontends that it is Judaism alone which maintains this harmonious com-
bination as contrasted with the one-sided emphasis on Love and on Fear in
Ghristiamty and in Mohammedanism respectively. (^Fest und OflegenheiU'
Predigten, Berlin, 1888, pp. 191-199.)
« L 342 fin,, 343 init, • I. 645.
* Seneca says (^De Benef, IV. 9) : ** Deos nemo sanus timet. Furor est
enim metueri salutaria neo quisquam amat quos timet." I doubt whether
the second half of this sentence is true. It should, perhaps, be remembered
that, in the passage quoted above, Philo speaks of the reverence (e^Xa/Scta)*
not of the fear (^6/3oc) of God. Now <vXa/9<ia in Stoic terminology is the
opposite of ^6/3oc, as x^/o^ is the opposite of ifiov'n, Diog. L. VII. 116. ^
Digitized by
Google
Fhrilegium Phihmis. 631
It will be noted that Philo associates the love of God with the con-
ception of him as a Creator. But, as we know, such a conception is
not the highest. God as the Good creator is still only God as seen in
his works, or as manifested by his power. The Creative is his greatest
power — ^if we put the Logos as a combination of two powers on one side-
but still a power only, not the pure Being to which the power belongs.
If love belongs to the realisation of the power, what is the " principle *'
which belongs to the realisation, so far as the human mind can go,
of the Being who includes the power and transcends it ? Is there any
attitude towards God which transcends love ?
We can extract no distinct answer from Philo to this question. But
in spite of the quotations which I have just given, I hardly think that
Philo gave as deep and as unselfish a connotation
to the word love as we do to-day, or as, I beUeve, I» there any
was given to it by the mystical Jewish writers of *^Si*«|IJ]J^'
the Middle Ages. Love, to Philo, seems tinged love?
with a taint of selfishness. It is exclusively
suggested by God in his relation to man. Because he has created us
and taken care of us, because he acts beneficently, mercifully, and
tenderly towards us, therefore we love him. Om* love is dependent on
what he has done for us, is doing, and will do. But higher than the
knowledge (and through knowledge the adoration) of God for what he
has done are the knowledge and adoration of him for what he is. " In
our holiest moods, when we can detach oiu'selves from the plurality of
What he does, and adore him simply for what he is, we contemplate
him as the one reality." ^ The philosopher seeks to know and to realise
God as he is in himself, over and above and transcending all his aspects
and manifestations. The mystic knowledge of him, which may in-
differently be regarded as the supreme result of human thought at its
highest pitch and moment of development, or as the flowing over of
the Divine into the human, so that the latter, as a separate, conscious,
finite mind, is temporarily suspended in its exercise and individuality —
this mystic knowledge of God does not realise him as Ruler or Creator,
but as Being. It looks away from his works and away from man, and
seeks communion and rest in the endless and infinite depths of the
Divine personality, wherein all that is separate and finite is now
unified, included and simuned up. The rapture or ecstasy which attends
this knowledge may appear to the mystic as a phase of adoration which
rises even superior to love. Its worship is, at any rate, wholly pure, for
it has nothing to do with the relation of God to man.
That something of this sort was in Philo's mind may be gathered
» Drummond, II. 93.
Digitized by
Google
532 The ^Teimh Quarterlj/ Review.
from the long and interesting passage in which he allegorisea the stcn^
of the three divine " messengers " who appeared to
np^Mei^on ©f ^^^f"****^ ^^^^ **'» *®°^ - " '^^ spoken words,** he
00(1. explains, *^are symbob of things ap^M^hended in
intelligence alone. Whenever, then, a soul, as
■it were in midday, has been illumined on all sides by God, and, being
entirely filled with intelligible light, becomes shadowless with the beams
that are shed around it, it apprehends a triple representation of one
subject ; of one [of die three] as actually existing, but of the other two
as tiiough they were shadows cast from this. Something of a similar
kind happens, too, in the case of those who live in perceptible light ;
for there often occur two shadows of bodies at rest or in motion. Let
no one suppose, however, that the word shadow is used strictly in
relation to God ; it is merely a misapplication of the term for the clearer
exhibition of the subject we are explaining, for the reality is not sa
But, as one standing nearest to the truth would say, the middle one is
the Father of the universe, who in the sacred Scriptures is called by a
proper name the Self -existent, and those on each side are the oldest and
nearest powers of the Self -existent, of which one is called Creative and
the other RegaL And the Creative is Deity (Btosj or God), for by this
he deposited and arranged everything into a cosmos, and the Regal is
Lord (<cvpto(), for it is right for that which has made to rule and hold
sway over that which has been produced. The middle one, then, being
attended by each of the two powers as by a body-guard, presents to the
seeing intelligence a mental image or representation (^vtovmi) now of
one, and now of three ; of one, whenever the soul, being perfectly
purified, and having transcended not only the multitudes of numbers, but
even the duad which adjoins unity, presses on to the idea which is un-
mingled and uncomplicated, and in itself wanting nothing whatever in
addition ; but of three, whenever, not yet initiated into the great
mysteries, it still celebrates its rites in the lesser, and is unable to
apprehend the Self -existent Being from itself alone without any-
thing different [from pure being], but apprehends it through its effects
as either creating or ruling. This, then, is as the proverb runs, *a
second voyage,* but none the less partakes of opinion dear to God. But
the former method does not partake of, but is itself the opinion dear to
God, or rather it is truth, which is older than opinion and more honour-
able than all opining.'*^
Philo proceeds to "explain** his statement by saying: "There
are three classes (7-0(919) of human character, to each of which one of
the three conceptions of God has been assigned. The best class goes
with the first, the conception of the Self -existent Being ; the next
* All this is the translation of Dr. Drummond, IL p. 91.
Digitized by
Google
Uorikgium Phihnis. " 533
goes with the conception of him as a Benefactor, in virtue of which
he is called God ; the third with the conception of him as a Ruler,
in virtue of which he is called Lord. The nohlest
character serves Him Who Is in all the purity of his The three elastes
absolute Being ; it is attracted by no other thing or ^A^""^ tS^T
aspect, but is solely and intently devoted to the attitude towardi
honour of the one and only Being ; the second is Ood.
brought to the knowledge of the Father through his
Beneficent power ; the third through his Regal power. What I mean is
this i Among men, when they perceive that people approach them with
the pretext of friendship for the hope of gain, they look askance and
avoid them. They fear a feigned flattering and fawning as something
hurtful and offensive. But GU)d, who cannot be harmed, gladly
welcomes tdl who choose to honour him, on whatever ground it be ;
he thinks it right to dismiss none with contumely, but almost in plain
words tells those whose souls have ears to hear : * My highest rewards
are reserved for those who honour me for myself alone ; the next best
for those who hope to receive some good, or expect to find an escape
from punishment ; for even if their service is hireling or selfish,
nevertheless it moves within the Divine circumference, and does not
wander without. The reward reserved for those who honour me
because of myself is to be my friend ; the reward for those who
honour me for their own needs is less than friendship, but yet con-
sists in not being regarded as strangers. For I receive him who for
his own advantage desires to share in my beneficent Power, and him
too who, to avoid chastisement, supplicates in fear my Power of Lord-
ship and Rule. For I am well aware that such men will not only not
become worse, but will actually become better ; by their continuous
service they attain at last to a pure and simple piety. Even if the
motives from which men perform their service differ with their
characters, there is no need to find fault with them, for one end and
aim is common to them tdl, the worship of God." '
This long quotation implies that the highest attitude towards God,
which corresponds with the highest conception of him, could perhaps be
more rightly called Adoration than Love. But it also shows that in the
wildest onset of his allegorical fervour Philo retained a shrewd power of
penetration into human motive and character. For a mystic not to
reject utterly an impure worship of God, but to value it at its proper
worth, and to realise its possible effects for good, indicates a worldly
wisdom, in the best sense of the word, of which we might hardly have
thought that Philo was capable.
At the same time, he is quite sound and prophetic on the relation
» II. 18-20.
Digitized by
Google
534 The Jewish Quarterly Beview.
of outward f onn to true religion. Not that he wishes to hreak from
"forms." On the contrary. He is a strong con-
Philo on relUtont servative, in spite of his finding the true meaning of
•Dirit'and the •^^ry ritual command in some wonderful spiritual
letter. interpretation. The grounds of his conservatism
are peculiar and interesting. They are introduced
in the following way : He is enumerating the Divine blessings to
Abraham, the fourth of which, he says, is good repute (rA ^tcyoXctrv/ior,
Gen. xii. 2). He explains it thus : " If to be good is noble, to seem
good is profitable. Truth is better than reputation, but happiness
consists in their union. For there are many thousands [a true
Philonic exaggeration, which he would be the first to repudiate in
the next page] who are purely and unselfishly devoted to virtue, and
admire its native beauty, but who, having no care for their reputation
among the multitude are much attacked ; though truly good, they
are thought wicked. .... To whom, then, God has granted both to
be and to seem good, he is truly happy and truly renowned
(fityakmvvfjLoi), And we must have a great care for reputation, as a
matter of great importance and of much value, for our social and
bodily life (o fura tri^fiaros pioi). And almost all can secure it, who
are well content not to disturb established customs, but diligently
preserve the constitution of their own country,* For there are some who,
looking upon the written laws as symbols of intellectual things, lay
great stress on these, but neglect the former. Such men I would blame
for their levity (cvx'pcui). For they ought to give good heed to both —
to the accurate investigation of the unseen meaning, but also to the
blameless observance of the visible letter. But now as if they were
living by themselves in a desert, and were souls without bodies, and
knew nothing of city or village or house or intercourse with men, they
despise all that seems valuable to the many, and search for bare and
naked truth as it is in itself. Such people the sacred Scripture teaches
to give good heed to a good reputation, and to abolish none of those
customs which greater and more inspired men than we instituted in the
> The Oonservative and the Reformer may each cite Philo to their own
advantage. For the former, besides the passage in the text, we have
I. 393, where it is said that Moses often calls a man young, not referring to
his age, but to show his disposition, that he loves innovation (yu^npo'
woiia). When the Israelites want to "innovate** (vcwri^iCccv), th^ are
given the name of foolish and childish youth (I. 394 ; op. 395). On the
other hand, we find him saying, " God teaohes those who are lovers of old
and fabulous times, and who do not realise his rapid and timeless power ;
he urges them to take to heart what is young and grrowing and flourish-
iUfT, that they may not, by being nurtured on old fictions, which the ages
have handed down to man*s deception, hold false opinions, but that,
Digitized by
Google
Ihrilegium PhiUmik 535
past» For because the seventh day teaches us symbolically concerning
the power of the uncreated God, and the inactivity of the creature, we
must not therefore abolish its ordinances, so as to light a fire, or till the
ground, or bear a burden, or prosecute a lawsuit, or demand the restora-
tion of a deposit, or exact the repayment of a loan, or do any other thing,
which on week-days is allowed. Because the festivals are symbols of
spiritual joy and of our gratitude to God, we must not therefore give up
the fixed assemblies at the proper seasons of the year. Nor because
circumcision symbolises the excision of all lusts and passions, and the
destruction of the impious opinion, according to which the mind
imagines that it is itself capable of production [our old friend, oTi/o-cr ]
must we therefore abolish the law of fleshly circumcision. We should
have to neglect the service of the Temple, and a thousand other things,
If we were to restrict ourselves only to the allegorical or symbolic sense.
That sense resembles the soul, the other sense the body ; just as we
must be careful of the body, as the house of the soul, so must we give
heed to the letter of the written laws. For only when these are faith-
fully observed will the inner meaning, of which they are the symbols,
become more clearly realised, and, at the same time, the blame and
accusation of the multitude will be avoided.** ^
Nevertheless, on the proper relation of ritual to religion Philo is not
afraid of speaking out. ^* If a man practises ablutions and purifications,
but defiles his mind while he cleanses his body ; or
if, through his wealth, he founds a temple at a large J^f/to^IStfi*'
outlay and expense ; or if he ofEers hecatombs and
sacrifices oxen without number, or adorns the shrine with rich ornaments,
or gives endless timber and cunningly wrought work, more precious than
silver or gold — ^let him none the more be called religious (nKr€phs).
For he has wandered far from the path of religion, mistaking ritual
{6prj<rKtia) for holiness (oo-wJnyt), and attempting to bribe the In-
leceiving from Gtody who is ever young and fresh, new and good things
in all abundance, they may be taught to think nothing old that is with
him and nothing wholly past, but all b^otten and subsisting out of time "
(1. 178). Again, he makes Lot's wife symbolise custom (ffw^Ocui), the
enemy of truth, which, when anyone attempts to lead it forward, lags
behind, and looks around at its old and familiar ways, and like a lifeless
pillar of stone, remains behind in their midst " (I. 382). Elsewhere he
says, " They who have received their notions of Ghxl's ezistenoe rather by
habit (I0ii) than reason, from those who brought them up, are pious by a
kind of good guess, and their religion is mingled with fear Xduaidaifgwif
Ti)v lixrkfitiav lyxapdKavrtc)'* (II. 414).
* I. 450, 451 ; op. Friedlander's most able and suggestive brochure,
Zur Entstehungsgeschichte des Chrittenthums (p. 151), for the religious
importance of this passage.
Digitized by
Google
S36 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
<M>miptibIe, and to flatter him whom none can flatter. Gk>d weloomea
genuine service, and that is the service of a soul that o£fers the bare and
simple sacrifice of truth, but from false service, the mere display of
material wealth, he turns away." ' Elsewhere, he says, " Let tiiose
who seek to show honour and gratitude to God, cleanse themselves of
sin, washing away all that defiles life in word and thought and deed.
For it is folly that while a man is forbidden to enter the Temple nnless
he has washed and cleansed his body, he should pray and sacrifice
with a soiled and sullied mind. Shall the lifeless body not touch a
building of lifeless wood and stone, unless it be piously washed and
purified, and will any man with impure soul, and with no intention to
repent, dare to approach the most pure Ood ? ' Philo is at the most
laborious, and obviously at the most unsuccessful pains to point out that
the entire sacrificial system of the Pentateuch is a very network of
spiritual meanings. " The only true sacrifice is the piety of a God-
loving soul.*' ' ^* The grateful soul of the wise is the true altar of
God.**^ ^^God regards as the true sacrifice, not the animal, but the
mind and willingness of the worshipper."* "God takes no delight,
even if hecatombs are offered to him. For though all things are his, he
needs nothing. He takes delight in minds that love him, and in holy
men, from whom he gladly receives barley cakes and cheapest offerings
as if they were most precious, and indeed prefers them. And even if
they bring nothing visible at all, yet, bringing themselves in all the
fulness of perfected virtue, they offer the fairest sacrifice to God. They
lionour God their Saviour and Benefactor by gratitude and hymns, the
latter through their vocal organs, the former (without tongue and
mouth) through the bare soul going forth and pouring out its spiritual
invocations that the Divine ear alone can hear." *
You can only speak of the service of God " with a difference." For
God, unlike a human master, has no needs. To that Lord you can only
render the service of a mind that loves him.' " It
flf K^A^ " ^^* possible to show true gratitude to (Jod, as ' the
many' suppose, by means of offerings and sacri-
fices; for the whole world would not be a sufficient temple for his
> L 196. • I. 273^11., 274 inU.
■ n. 151, 241, 666, 680 ; L 668, 683. « IL 266.
* Ihid, The teaching of the Hebrew prophets and of the Stoios on thk
subject is identical, and Philo could draw from either. £^. op. Seneca
De Ben^, I. 6 ; ** Non est benefioium ipsum quod numerator ant traditor.
siont ne in victimis qoidem, lioet opinud sint auroqne prsBfolgeant, deo-
rum est honor, sed pia ao recta voluntate venerantinm. Itaque boni etiam
f arre ao fitiUa religiosi stmt, mall rursus non effogfiunt impietatem, qnam-
vis aras sanguine multo oruentaverint.**
* II. 264 (avToift ftpovrig irX^pwfia KoXoKdyaOiac rfXctorarov). ' L 202.
Digitized by
Google
Florilegium PhUoniB, 5ST
honour. We must ^taploy praises and hymns, and not even those which
the created voice can chant, hut those with which the invisible and most
pure mind may resound in song. There is an old story, invented by the
sages, and handed down by memory from age to age
They say that, when God had finished the world, he asked one of the
angels if aught were wanting on land or in sea, in air or in heaven.
The angel answered that all was perfect and complete. One thing only
he desired — speech, to praise God's works, or to recoimt, rather than to
praise, the exceeding wonderfulness of all things made, even of the
smallest and the least. For the due recital of God's works would be
their most adequate praise, seeing that they needed no addition of orna-
ment, but possessed in the sincerity of truth the most perfect laud. And
the Father approved the angel's words, and not long afterwards ap-
peiu-ed the race gifted with the muses and with song. This is the
anoient story ; and, in accord with it, I say that it is God's peculiar work
to benefit, and the creatures' work to give him thanks. They can offer
him no other return ; for anything that they might desire to give hun
in requital for what they have received is the property, not of him who
would give, but of the Creator of alL ReaUsing, then, that we can
make but one contribution to the honour of God, gratitude in thanks-
giving, let us offer this always and everywhere, by speech and by
writing, and let us nev^ make an end of his praise, both in poems and
in prose. So shall the Cieator and his world be honoured with song and
without it, and in every form of music and of speech ; for Gk>d, as
some one said, is the noblest of causes, the world the most perfect of
all created things." *
One more passage on this subject is, perhaps, worthy of quotation*
It is a parallel to a famous saying of Eant : " Of the works of creation
two things are holy — heaven, which immortal and
blessed natures pervade, and the mind of man, Heajen and
which is a fragment of the Divine. . • . Not un-
reasonably, methinks, have both of them been called praiseworthy ; for it
is these two, heaven and mind, which are able to show forth {iKvpay^btip)
praises and hymns which bless and honour the Father and Creator.
Man has received this glorious distinction above all other animals to
worship God, and heaven is ever making melody with the perfect
harmony and music of the movements of the spheres. If the sound
thereof could reach our ears, ungovernable love would overcome us, wild
desires and insatiable yearnings. We should refrain from all life's
necessaries, and be noiurished no longer as mortals by food and drink
through our throats, but, hke those about to become immortal, through
our ears by inspired strains of perfect music."*
» L 348. ,^1 * I. 626, 626 inU.
Digitized by
Google
638 The Jewish Quarterli/ Review,
With this high conception of God's worship, there runs in Philo*8
philosophy an equally high conception of faith. It has been carefully
analysed by Schlatter in his long-winded book Der
^™*®'J Olaube im neuen Testament (Leiden, 1886).» He
of Fiath. points out well that, to Philo, faith is not the condi-
tion or beginning of virtue, but its goal. In its
fulness it is one of the characteristics of the perfect man.' A believing
sinner is to Philo a contradiction in terms. Secondly, faith is not op-
posed to knowledge : the more you know an object the more you can
trust it' And faith involves trust Thirdly, faith in the Creator implies,
as its correlative, unfaith in the creation (ytp^cts) ; faith in Gk>d implies
unfaith in self, wUnts is the opposite of o7i}(r(ff, a conception to which aU
other things in Philo*s ethical and religious philosophy seem to return.
A few quotations wiU explain Philo's doctrine more clearly.
Faith is the queen of the virtues. It is the special quality and merit
of the patriarch Abraham, and the famous verse in Genesis, " And he
believed in God, and God counted it to him for righteousness," is as
great a favourite with Philo as with Paul. That it was counted as
righteousness is no marvel to Philo, for it is no easy thing and implies
the very virtues which constitute in themselves, to our philosopher, the
essence of righteousness. ** The only true and firm good is faith in God.
Faith is the comfort of life, the fulfilment of good hope, the dearth of
evil, the fulness of good, the abandonment of misfortune, the know-
ledge of piety, the portion of happiness, the improvement of the soul
that is stayed upon the Cause of all, who can do everything, but wills to
do the best'* All ** external and sensible things " are slippery and un-
trustworthy. " It is most true to say that he who behoves in them dis-
believes in God, while he who disbelieves in them believes in Irnn." *
Confidence and faith are closely identified. He asks, ^* How can any-
one believe in God?" The answer is : If he learns that all other things
are unstable, and that GK>d alone is stable (STparrot).^ Faith in God
implies mistrust in the created and untrustworthy world.* For the only
absolutely trustworthy (inar6£) Being is God. Next to him would come
a friend of God, like Moses, who was found faithful {wt9r6s) in all God's
house. ' Abraham, who first abandoned a false pride (rv^) in the
power and validity of man's unassisted senses and mind, and " passed
over" to "truth," received faith as the prize of virtue. "He who
> Pp. 83-105. Schlatter is, of course, anxious to prove that Philo's con-
ception of faith is much lower than Paul's, and he falls into, at least;
one serious error.
« Schlatter, p. 91. • Ibid., p. 92.
* n. 89. » I. 82 Jin,
• >| wpb^ rbv 9t^ wioriQ, v np^^ t^ yanf^rcf awnfria, \, 609.
» L 128 inU,
Digitized by
Google
Florikgium PhUonis, 539
truly believes and trusts in God, mistrusts all things that are created
and corruptible, beginning with those powers within which are wont
to be puffed up, his reason and his sense.*' ^ As faith is the prize, so
too, it may be, as it were, given back to God its giver, as a most fair
and blameless offering. ' It is expressed in gratitude, not for what is
passed, but for all that lies hidden in the future. Faith is shown in
trust ' The fullest faith, the most entire confidence. m<ms creates
irappfi<rla.* But the confidence is tempered with respect (nXafitUt).^
Faith brings men near to God ; they cleave to him through piety and
faith. • Faith, then, is the " most perfect virtue." Nor was it unwisely
added that Abraham's faith was reckoned to him as righteousness, for
true faith is no easy thing. " It is not easy to believe in God alone
without the addition of aught beside, because of our affinity to those
mortal things to which we are bound fast. They persuade us to trust
in money and reputation and power and friends, and in health and
strength of body, and in many other things ; to cleanse our minds of
these ; to distrust the created world, which is wholly untrustworthy ; to
trust in God alone, who is solely and truly to be trusted — ^this is the work
of a great and heavenly intelligence, which is no longer ensnared and
enticed by any mortal thing." ' But this faith, which leads men to love
God and obey him and cleave to him abidingly, is not, as I said before,
opposed to knowledge. On the contrary, it involves, as Schlatter points
out, a distinctly intellectual element. The better you know God — and
this is the object of all philosophy — ^the better you can believe in
him. When Moses asked God to reveal to him the fulness of his nature,
the granting of his request was impossible. But the request itself, so far
from implying any want of faith in the asker, was prompted by a desire
to establish it beyond the possibility of doubt. ® The difficulty which we
see here was not perceived by Philo. Because we do not fully under-
stand God, iherrfore we believe in him. But, according to Philo, we
only so far believe in him as we imderstand him. That which we
realise, we trust. Abraham who, first of men, possessed a stable and
secure conception (JmSkrp^is) of God was also tlie first man who
believed in him. •
If the service of God brings with it a perfect faith, it also includes
a perfect freedom. The famous phrase of the great Collect, " In whose
service is perfect freedom," would be spoken from
the heart of Philo. And it is curious to find in htm The senrioe of
a fusion of the Stoic conception of freedom as the ^^frJi^om^^
prerogative of the wise man with the religious idea
» II. 412. * 1. 154. • I. 442 ; cp. 409.
* L 475, 339 ; Schlatter, p. 77. » L 477.
• I. 456. ' I. 485. • I. 228. • II. 442.
Digitized by
Google
540 The Jewish Quart^ly Revietc,
of freedom as rooted in complete dependence upon €k>d. ' It is also
interesting to see how he works in the conception with his orthodox
Judaism, according to which virtue so laigely consists in the fulfihnent
of a series of commands.
The canon is laid down quite briefly in the following question and
answer : " What is the surest freedom ? The service of the only and
wise God.*** Such a service brings with it a peculiar joy and
confidence.' " Nothing so completely liberates the mind as to become
a servant and suppliant of God." " For God is at once gracious, even
without supplication, to those who humble and abase themselves, and
are not puffed up by pride and self-conceit (o&y<rt(). This is deliverance ;
this entire freedom of the soul." * True freedom is the opposite of
olrjaiSy to which by a side-wind we once more return.
The perfect man needs no conmiand from without to do the good.
But as the laws of the Pentateuch are the expression of absolute wisdom,
the perfect man fulfils them by the inner law of his own being. In
this way the antinomy is solved. ^^The perfect man is impelled by.
himself to virtuous deeds ; the man under training (dcricTr^f) is impelled
to them by reason, which suggests to him what he ought to do."*
Alluding to the verse in Genesis, where it says that Abraham kept
" God's commandments, statutes, and laws,** Philo observes that he was
not taught to do so by books, but moved thereto by the unwritten law
of his own nature. And he ends his treatise on the life of Abraham
thus : " Such was the life of the founder and captain of the nation — a
life, as some will say, according to law, but, as my argument has proved,
itself a law and unwritten ordinance.** *
Again, the service of God is sought for itself, and its rewards are
spiritual It will be remembered that the reward of friendship is
reserved for those who worship God f cmt his own
M iTlUowa ^^^' ' " '^^® ^^^ °^° ®^^ ^^^ ^*y ^^ ^ ^*^'^
nw*rd« ^^®) %^^ ^^^ light*s sake, and the good for the
sake of the good and for no other thing. For this
is the Divine Law, to honour virtue for itself.** ^ The name of Issachar
is a symbol of the reward which is given for noble deeds ; but perhaps,
Philo adds, " The deed itself is its own complete reward.** • The three
> Seneca also says : '' In regno nati sumus : deo parere libertas est"
De Vita Beata XY.fin.
«1.419. ■1.474. *I. 634/».
* L 115 fin, ; op. I. 62 : "The perfect man has no need of command,
prohibition, or exhortation.** * ^^99'
» IL 20. ■ I. 120. >
* I. 663. Cp. Epiotetus DUs. III. 24-51. liraOXov oiv Mkv : oh ik
ZnTiic iira&kow dvSpl dyaOf ficiCor rov Ka\d wpdrrtiv ; cp. Seneca, De
Bene/, iv. 12.
Digitized by
Google
Florilegium Philonis, 541
great spiritual " prizes ^* are faith, pure joy, and the vision of God.^
In one of his essays upon the Ten Commandments he pauses at the end
of his exposition of the fifth "word" to say: "The punishments
which attend the transgression of the first five commandments have
been clearly stated. But the rewards which attend their observance,
though the law has not mentioned them in definite enactment, have
been indicated metaphorically. Not to think there are * other Gods,*
not to make idols, not to swear falsely, need no external reward. The
mere practice of these commands is itself a complete and most per-
fect guerdon. For what could delight a lover of truth more than to
cleave to the one God and to be devoted to his service purely and
without guile ? For wisdom is the prize of wisdom, and
justice and all the other virtues are their own rewards. And truth, the
leader and the fairest of the virtues (Sai&njTfs), is still more its own
object and its own reward, for it gives bliss to those who have it, and to
their children and descendants after them a well-being that cannot be
taken away Similarly let him who honours his parents not seek
any further reward. For if he reflect he will find in the honouring the
reward." But suddenly, as it were, remembering the letter of the
Decalogue in this particular commuid, Philo makes this curious qualifi-
cation to his own doctrine. " Nevertheless, since the fifth commandment
is less great than the first four, for they are conconed with ¥^t is
Divine, but this commandment with what is mortal," God has added
to it a prize. The more glorious the subject-matter of a command, the
less need for external reward.'
With two or three more characteristics of Philo's conception of the
highest Uf e, this Florilegium, already over long and I fear tediously
difhise, may be brought to a close.
It is at once Hebraic and Hellenic that the good life should be hopeful.
To Philo hope is the seed of which faith is the fruit It, therefore,
occupies a lower stage. Hope is the most charac-
teristic quality of the human soul. Man Is the only Hope.
creature who is tUtXms. The definition of our com-
posite nature is a mortal and rational animal, but Moses' definition of
man is " that disposition (jiM€<rii) of a living soul which hopes in the
true God. For the true birth of man was from the moment when this
hope began. For he who has no hope in God, has no share in rational
nature." ' " Hope has been set by nature as a doorkeeper at the gates
of the queenly virtues within ; no man may approach them who has not
done homage to hope." * In another long panegyric on hope it is called
" the fountain of all lives " (h mjyij r»y PUp)y the stimulus to merchant
^ n. 412. > De ParenHbui CblendU, chap, xi
• I. 218. ♦ II. 3.
VOL. VIL N N
Digitized by
Google
542 The Jetcish Quarterly Review.
and sailor and statesman and athlete alike ; and, as its highest pndse, it
is said to induce the lovers of virtue to study philosophy, " rightly
deeming that they will thereby perceive the true nature of all that is,
and will accompHsh whatever may tend to the consummate union of both
the * practical ' and the * contemplative* Uf e, whereto if a man attains he is
straightway blessed."' Holy and praiseworthy is the man of good
hopes : ^cof dc cal cirau^rroff 6 tUtkwn}
A second characteristic of the perfect nature on which Philo lays
great and frequent stress, is typified and symbolised in Isaac. It is joy.
Laughter is the meaning of Isaac's name, and joy is
Joy. his peculiar grace. Isaac represents that h^hest
virtue, which is given by nature without a struggle,
and its " prize '' is joy. His name is the emblem of his mind. For
** lau^ttf " is the bodily emblem of the invisible joy of the mind.
Laughter is the ideal {MMrm) son of GKmL Joy is the best and fairest
of the happy states by which the soul is wholly filled with cheerfulness,
and rejoices in Gh)d the Father and Creator of alL ' Joy differs toio
ecdo from pleasure. * " True and genuine joy (xopa) is only found in the
virtues of the soul. The wise man rejoices only in himself, not in his
environment But what is * in himself ' are the virtues of the mind, of
which it is proper to be proud ; his environment is his bodily health or
his riches, to boast of which is not permissible.'* * Joy, he elsewhere
says, " has this peculiar quality. Other good things have their own
activity, but joy is a good both common to others and pecuhar to itself,
for joy is superadded to aU other good things." *
Philo makes a most characteristic use of a verse in Genesis where, at
the promise of Isaac's birth, Abraham is said ^^ to fall upon his face and
laugh." ** He f ^ not from God, but from himself. He stood near to
the changeless Gh)d : he fell from his self-conceit" ' " It was indeed
natural that his mind should have been swollen and raised up by such a
promise. But Abraham, convicting us who are wont to boast at trifles,
' fell on his face and laughed in his souL' His face was solemn, but he
smiled in his mind, where great and unmixed joy had come to dwell.
And every wise man who receives a good greater than he had anticipated
» n. 410. • IL 3. ■ n. 413 ; L 698, 216.
* It would, perhaps, be better to translate iiiovii hj ^ lust" Op. Seneca
Ep, LX. ad fin, : Gaudium hoc (i.e., of the wise man) non nasoitnr nisi
ex virtutum consoientia. Non potest gaudere nisi fortis, nisi Justus, nisi
temperans.
* I. 217. Op. I. 130. A momentazy slip. To boast of the virtues of
one's mind is . surely rank oIf|<nc. Philo probably followed a Stoic model
too closely.
* L 104. One is reminded of Aristotle's desoriptioin of pleasaxe as
kwt.yiv6ii%v6v Ti rikoQ, * L 606.
Digitized by
Google
Fhrildgium Philonis. 643
will, like Abraham, fall down and laugh together. That he falls down is
a proof of his humility, in that he despairs of his own mortal nothingness ;
that he laughs is a confirmation of his piety, in that he regards
God as the cause of every good and gracious thing. Let the
creature then fall down and be sad of face in accordance with his
nature ; for of himself he is unstable and insecure. But let him be
raised up again by God and laugh. For God alone is his support and
his joy." '
A third — and for us the last-— characteristic of the noble life is peace.
For true peace is the prerogative of God and of the worshipper of God,
'^No man can be at peace who does not truly
serve the only Being that is wholly exempt from Peftoet
war and abides for ever in eternal peace." '
** Peace is the leader of the divine powers, so that the sight of peace
and the sight of Qod are one and the same, for God alone is true and
veritable peace, but all creation is constant war." ' True peace is, there^
fore, intcnmal, the archetype of outward peace as between State and
State.^ No man can bestow it, for it is a divine work.* Rest in God
and so secure it*
It is on these high generalities of the ideal life, that Philo is wont
to dwell, and in these he most exceb ; in ethics neither student nor
preacher will gather much from his pages. Some
of his few good things in this department are to be FofglTenesf.
found in the FragmerUs, but the genuineness of all
of them is not above suspicion.' I quote two or three, on Forgiveness,
^ If you ask pardon for your sins, do you also forgive those who have
trespassed against you.' For remission is granted for remission, and
reconcilement with your slave seoures deliverance from the divine
anger."* " Pardon is wont to beget repentance.*** "Behave to your
servants as you pray that God may behave to yon. For as we hear
them, 80 shaU we be heard, and as we regard them so shall we be
regarded. Let us then show pity for pity, so that we may receive baok
Uke for like." »•
» L 602. « L 368. ■ L 692. * L 678,
* n. 129, 671. Bpictetus, too, speaks of the higher peace : oix^ «ccKif
fivygihiiv vr6 Kaiaapoff aXX* ifwh rov Btov Kimipvyiikvtiv did rod \6yov,
JHu. ra. IS, 12. • I. 672.
* As Br. Bmnunond kindly pointed out to me, the very *' Johan*
nine** fragment, 11. 649 fin^ is doubtful, because where St. John says
c^/ioc, Philo says yivwiQ, It runs : diiiix<i^ov ^vpvwipxiiy r^r irp6g
KOtf^ov dfdir^9 ry wpoc rop Btbv dydwy^ itg d/iiixavov 9vvvwd(ixny
dXkffKott fAc Kai eicSrot, But, on the other hand, compare Bendel
Harris*s Fragmentty p. 7. * II. 670.
* n. 672, 9vyyv^fiii furiafotop iri^vKf jtwiv, >* II. 672 iiUt,
N N 2
Digitized by
Google
544 The Jewish Quarterlp Review.
A careful and thorough student of Philo could prohably put together
along list of striking sayings — ^happy oases in wastes of liietoric. I
will only, however, mention two or three of them in haphazard order
It would be interesting to find out how many are original.
He speaks of the mind as " the soul of the soul ** ; of love as ^^ the
guide of wisdom^ ; of folly as " an inmiortal evil, which is always
dying, but is never dead." * " Into the mouth there
Happy phruet. enter food and drink, the perishable food of a
perishable body ; out of it issue words, immortal
laws of an immortal soul, by which rational life is guided." ' He bids
us lead the mind as up a *^ flight of stairs " to the Cause of all,' and
reminds us that we may be aided by a threefold light " the memory of
the past, the active sense of the present, and the hope of the future." *
" It is not the possessions of the wicked, but all that he lacks, which are
the glory and abundance of the good."^ "This is the definition of
greatness, to be near to Gknl, or near to that to which Qod is near." *
It is not the purpose of this Florilegium to say anything of Philo
from a distinctively Jewish point of view, or to quote any passages
from his works dealing specifically with the Jewish religion and race.
On this subject he has his views and his value ; but his real importance
lies elsewhere. Some noteworthy conceptions and facts may, however,
be gained from him even here. For example : the notion of the
Jewish race as the priesthood for humanity (IL 15, 104) ; the wide
difEusion of theur laws (IL 127, 141) ; the worship in the Temple and in
the synagogues (IL 223, 168) ; the observance of the Sabbath
(IL 282, 630). One of the. most interesting passages is that in which
he speaks of the relation of the Jews to the countries in which they
dwell It is highly coloured for the occasion, but even in Philo*s age
it was probably not ¥nthout many grains of truth. " One country cannot
contain all the Jews because of their large number ; for which reason
they are spread over most parts of Asia atid Europe, both on the mainland
and on islands. They regard Jerasalem, in which lies the Holy Temple
of the Most High God, as their mother city ; but the various countries
in which their fathers, grandfathers and ancestors have dwelt they
regard as their fatherlands, for in them they were bom and bred." '
Most suggestive and valuable of all is his treatment
^« MAest of proselytism. At the close of my article on the
cwnmon fid^ ^^"^^ ^^^^ (^' ^ ^^ October, 1894) I quoted his
fine saying on the higher kinship which transcends
* vovv^ ^vxnQ Tiva ^vx^f I. 15 ; Ipktri ffof iag woiify^rovpTi, I. 16 ; KaKW
n^v dk imtA t6 diro$v^9KHy irdttra ipStxofuvif r^ alutMi, I. 225 init,
* L 29, baaed on Plato, Timaus, 75 E, which Philo refers to.
■ I. 247 tut*. * n. 460. » I. 648. • L 445 tiii*. » EL 624.
Digitized by
Google
FlorUegium PhUonts. 546
the kinship of blood. No less fine is the following :— *Eot<o yap fniw fda
otK€iOTrjf Kcu <f>i\ia£ tv (TVfifioXoPf 17 frp6s Btop apttrKfia Koi to ndvra Xryctr
T€ KoX wpdrreiv imtp tvat^ias,^ "Let there be one bond of affection
and one password of friendship, devotion to God, making piety the
motive of every word and deed." * And this : ^CKvpow yhp dmHrifAArarov
fcoi dta-fi^t SXvTos tvvoias ipwriKfjsj i} rov Mf $€ov Tip,rf, " For the most
potent love charm and the indissoluble bond of good- will that makes
for unity, is the worship of the one God." •
0000000
There shaU be no moral to wind up my Florilegium. Kai fioi doicovo-tr
ol fut06yr€t Xcyciv fuiAaBrjKtwu Koi ^avxaCtiVf Ttji avrrjt ^wdfiMcts wepi-
C. G. MONTEFIORB.
" Op. n. 219, 268, 259, 326, 362, 366, 392, 405, 406, 433, 438 /«., 677.
The treatise, De NobilUate, according to Massebieau, should follow imme-
diately on the De PaeniteiUia. *^Dans ce trait6, si ^tonnant de la part
d'un Juif , Philon s'^l^ve (aveo une Anergic qui rappelle le mot de Jean
Baptiste & ceux qui se glorifiaient d'avoir Abraham pour pdre), oontre
oeux de ses oondtoyens qui pr^tendaient que la naissance des pros^
lytes les emp§chait, quelle que tdt d'ailleurs leur virtu d'avoir part auz
privil^es du peuple du Dieu.'* — Le Classement des (Efuvres de Philon^
p. 53. » 11. 259.
' IL 219 (reading, with Mangey, {vwruei/c for MS. iputrucriQ),
♦ L 211.
[I desire to 'mention my great indebtedness to my friend Mr. P. E.
Matheson, Fellow of New College, Oxford, for revising the whole of
this essay both in the MS. and in proof.]
Digitized by
Google
646 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
CRinOAL NOTICES.
Th$ Ethiapic Version qf the HebreuD Book qf Jubilees^ edited from four
Manu9cript$y and criticcUly revised through a eoniinuous comparison
of the Mcusoretie and Samaritan texts^ and the Greeks Syriac,
Vulgate^ and Ethiopie Versions of the Pentateuch^ and further
emended and restored in accordance vnth the Hebrew^ Syriac^ Gfreek^
and Latin Fragments qf this Book, which are here published in full.
By R. H. Charles, UA. (Oxford, at the University Press).
Mr. Charles is to be congratulated on the appearance of his beaoti-
fully printed text of the Book of Jubilees. Readers of the Jewish
Quarterly Review will be aware that this edition is the outcome of
long and profound study ; and of this the serried ranks of critical notes
will convince even those readers who know no Aethiopic, while those
who are acquainted with that language will gladly testify to the
excellence of Mr. Charles's scholarship. To the latter class of readers
it will be a satisfaction to see that, in spite of the strange mortality that
raged among Aethiopic scholars last year, able writers are still left in
this somewhat out-of-the-way field of learning. And all into whose
studies the Book of Jubilees is likely to come, will find it of the greatest
convenience to have all the materials for the restoration of this
Apocryphon so carefully collected and so methodically arranged.
Most readers will regret the depreciatory tone which Mr. Charles has
adopted towards the work of his predecessor DiUmann. This tone is
both impolitic and unjust. Impolitic, because there is no name more
highly reverenced among Orientalists than DiUmann's, and most of
those who know any Aethiopic owe it to his writings ; and, moreover,
the world has not yet had a year to lament his loss. Unjust, because
more cannot be expected from a book than it professes to give. When
a text of real value is to be published for the first time, the most im-
portant matter is that it should be done quickly. DiUmann employed
for this purpose the MSS. that were at his disposal, which he used with
faithfulness and skill A later editor is without doubt bound to search
for an elaborate critical apparatus, which is what Ronsch and, since him,
Mr. Charles have done. Tet the new editor will probably be thought
by many to have overrated the improvement which he has been able to
effect in the text by the use of material which DiUmann either
Digitized by
Google
Critical Nottcei. 547
neglected or had no access to. He has introduced not a few better
readings, and some quite felicitous emendations ; but the difference
between the two recensions is not thorough-going. This appears even
from the fact that the new text is still an eclectic one — ^it follows no one
source to the exclusion of any other. It is natural that Mr. Charles
should overrate the improvement, for the collation of Aethiopic MSS.
is ordinarily so fruitless in results, that new readings of consequence
are hailed with very peculiar delight. Moreover, Bishop Earle says
somewhere that a scholar who has filled up from conjecture a small
lacuna in a text, thinks the words he has introduced the most important
in the book. Had the difference, however, been far more to Dillmann's
disadvantage than it really is, Mr. Charles should still have given a
complete record of Dillmann*s readings in his notes ; the absence of this
we regard as the most serious defect in his book ; and it is probable that
those reviewers who have in consequence of it to collate the two texts
will take vengeance.
Some controversy will be aroused by his treatment of the materials
which, as has been already said, every one will be glad to see collected
in one place. It might be thought to be no part of the editor's duty to
correct mistakes committed by the original translators ; Mr. Charles,
however, thinks otherwise, as appears from the treatment of both the
Latin and Aethiopic texts in xv. 26, where we are told in the note that
ttsqite in cUem is a primitive error for in die^ being caused by the con-
fusion of two Hebrew letters, but find that the editor has inserted in die
by conjecture in both texts I In vii. 10, " Noah woke from his sleep,"
of the MSS., is altered to " woke from his wine," on the authority of
Geu. ix. 24. Happily this form of revision of the text has not been
carried through consistently.
How to deal with the Latin and Aethiopic texts where they differ
(their general agreement is extraordinary) is a problem to which
different answers may be given. Most scholars would have corrected
the one from the other only in cases where the difference is obviously
due to miswriting. Such a case occurs in ii. 2, where qaUxt (noises) is
very rightly written for qcUaycU (abysses), after the Qreek (noises).
Where the cause of the discrepancy is not obvious it should certainly
be noted, but to alter one text to suit the other is surely rash. This
charge of rashness Mr. Charles will not in any case escape ; but it is
strangely varied with timidity. In xvi 28, he does not venture to
correct semen eius cum ipso into post ipsum with the Aethiopic, although
the source of this mistranslation is perfectly clear, but relegates the
observation to a note ; yet in xix. 3, non indignans is substituted in the
text ioT pusillianimus of the MS. I The curious reader wjll find many
similar puzzles, and his ingenuity will be taxed to make out the threefold
system of brackets with which the Latin text is studded.
Digitized by
Google
648 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
Mr. Ch&rles doe6 not diif^ firom his predeoessors in thinking that the
Hebrew text of Qenegis may here and there be corrected from the
Jubilees, but the ore (to use the language of miners) seems to the present
writer very low grade. In the first place, the Aethiopic MSS. are inter-
polated from or under the influence of the Aethiopic version or versitms
of the Bible ; it is one of the merits of Mr. Charles's book that he proves
this in the case especially of the MS. called A. In the second place, the
old Greek translation of the Jubilees was without doubt influenced by
the LXX. When, therefore, the Jubilees' text confirms the LXX., how
can it be regarded as an independent witness ? ** We shall now,** says
the editor in section viii. of his preface, " give a list of readings in
the Massoretic text, which should be corrected into accord with the
readings attested by such great authorities as the Sam., LXX., Jub., Syr.,
Vulg." The first witness called does not respond ; for in Oenesis viiL
19, Mr. Charles's emendation coupling BIDVI with eiDIX*^)* ^ ^^^
{n-olmbly right, but it is not the reading of the text of the Jubilees which
he has published (v. 32, note 29). With regard to the rest, while the
trouble he has taken in sorting the textual affinities of the book deserves
recognition, it may be doubted whether the Jubilees has in any case the
authority of a MS. For only those compilations and versions which are
painfully literal have any such authcmty. Now the author of this book
certainly had no particular scruple about altering, when the fancy took
him, the text of Genesis which he reproduced or incorporated.
However, the present writer is tired of finding fiiuh with a work
which very few scholars, either here or abroad, would have been able to
produce, and which is certain to be for a long period the standard work
on the subject with which it deals. He will conclude therefore with the
hope that unlike most of the Anecdota Oxoniensia, this Anecdoton may
prove a source of profit to the Clarendon Press, and that its author may
find leisure and opportunity to do yet further services to the literature
of Abyssinia.
D. S. Marooliouth.
T'mi, VeriUu^ Vita ; Christianity in its most simple and intdUgihle form.
The Hibbert Lectures, 1894, by James Drummond, D.D.
(Williams and Norgate.)
The last of the Hibbert Lectures is in some ways the most character-
istic of the series. The previous volumes, of an unequal but high
average of merit, dealt with the rationale of the chief historic religions.
Dr. Drummond rationalises Christianity, reduces it as it were to its lowest
terms, in a mathematical sense, and attempts to show how, when |hus
Digitized by
Google
Critical Notices 549
denuded of dogma, it conforms to the requirements of Natural Religion
and Absolute Ethics. It is appropriate to add in this place, that in-
cidentally, although he does not know it, his Christianity, so far as it
has the authority of its Founder, approaches very near to Judaism, even
to the Judaism of the Pharisee.
I may best illustrate this statement by going through the plan of the
book. The first Lecture deals with the Quellen, Christianity, it is
argued, is not to be confined to the explicit teaching of Jesus, but
embraces the total specific efEect of his life. By putting his position
in this form Dr. Drummond is enabled to make a qualified use of
John's Qospel. He ingeniously argues that the writer of that remark-
able TendenZ'Roman often interprets the spirit of Jesus more fully than
the Synoptic GK)8pels, which he, like all his school, regards as alone
historical. This is an ingenious method of getting over the crux of
New Testament criticism : but carried out to its logical conclusion it
would lead to the High Church position. If John, why not
Augustine, Aquinas ? Why not Hooker, and Laud, and Pusey ? So
far as the documents go, historic Christianity is more the creation of
Paul and the unknown writer of John than of the historical Jesus as
known from the Synoptics. If so, Jesus was rather the central figure
than the central fact in Christianity as developed in history.
The next two Lectures deal with the Bible, the eiirly Christian and
the modem view of its authority. Here the attempt is made to make
of Jesus the earliest rationalist, and not without some success. One
cannot help feeling how Dr. Drummond's position might have been
strengthened if he had a fuller knowledge of the contemporary Jewish
view of the authority and the inspiration of Scripture. But here again
the reflection occurs, how little effect the views of Jesus, if Dr.
Drummond gives the right interpretation of them, have had upon
the Church.
These chapters, I may add, are rendered valuable by an Hoge of the
Bible regarded as a source of spiritual elevation. Dr. Dnunmond has
also an ingenious suggestion as to the value of parts of the Bible which
the development of the moral sense has left far behind us ethically.
Joshua and Esther might not be good examples for the grown up man,
but they may develop coivage and strenuousness in the growing boy.
He omits to observe, however, that so far as the Bible has been operative
in forming new types of human character, it has worked mainly
through the Old Testc^ent It was the Old Testament, not the New,
that gave a moral backbone to the Reformation.
With the fourth lecture Dr. Drummond enters upon his more specific
subject. This deals with the important topic of tiie Kingdom of Qod.
It is to be regretted in this connection that Dr. Drummond had not
before him Mr. Schechter's admirable exposition of the Rabbinic ideas on
Digitized by
Google
650 The Jewish Quarterly Revietc.
this subject (JKWISH Quabteblt Rkview, VI., 640 eeq.). Schfirer, to
whom he has to trust, is by no meaus satisfactory when dealing with
the views of the ** Pharisees/' owing to his antipathetic attitude. Dr.
Drummond would perhaps have learnt that, in his views upon the King-
dom of Gk>d, Jesus made no advance on the current conceptions of the
rabbis, though here, as usual, he gave them crisp and memorable expres-
sion. Dr. Drmmnond has in this chapter the usual remarks about the
formalism and legalism of the Scribes and Pharisees to whidi the
Kingdom of Gk>d as preached by Jesus was to be so novel and marked a
contrast Yet he quotes the answer of the Scribe in Mark xiL 28, with'
out seeing its significant bearing upon his statements. If a typical
Scribe could express the fundamental prindi^ee of the Kingdom in such
a way that Jesus could accept it as expressing his own views, where
could have been tiie novelty of those conceptions ? Nor has Dr. Drum-
mond considered the bearing of the Didache on this incident. Dr.
Taylor' has suggested, and the high authority of Prof. Hamack has
carried out the suggestion, that the Didache is merely a Christianised
expansion of a Jewie^ catechism on " The Two Ways ^ of life and death.
Prof. Hamack has gone further, and from the various redactions of the
Didache has restored the earlier portions, at least, of the Jewi^
original. Now in t^e opening passage of this is contained the Scribe's
answer in the form in which it is given in Luke x. 27, where the same
incident is given as in the passage from Mark. It is clear from the con-
text that some written authority is referred to, since Jesus asks the
Scribe : " How readest thou?" If my interpretation of this passage is
correct, " The Two Ways ** was known to Jesus.*
There is another passage made use of in this lecture, in which it
would have been well if Dr. Drummond had taken account of recent
Jewish research. M. Hal^vy has, with great ingenuity and plausibility,
argued in the Revue des Etudes JtUves^ iv. 289, that the good Samaritan
was not a Samaritan at all. In New Testament times, and down to ihe
present day, the Jews have been divided into three hereditary classes,
Priests, Levites, and Israelites. The division is referred to in the later
Psalms, e.g., cxxxv. 19, 20. It is retained to the present day in a few
religious distinctions between the descendants of Aaron, of Levi, and of
Israel. Thus Jews are " called up *' to the Law in an order of precedence
settled by their assumed descent Derenbourg has suggested that the
great Sanhedrim of seventy-one members was composed of three smaller
ones, each of twenty-three, taken from these three sections, with the
addition of a president and vice-president to make up the larger
number. Now the only time that Jesus refers to a Levite is in the
* The Beatitudes also would be from this point of view merely an exten-
sion of the doctrine of " The Two Ways."
Digitized by
Google
Cntical Notices. 651
so-called parable of the Gk>od Samaritan, where it could have no
meaning apart from the traditional three classes. Jesus begins with the
Cohen or Priest, goes on to the Levite, and we cannot help seeing, with
M. Hal^vy, that he finished with the typical specimen of the third class,
the Israelite.^ M. Hal4vy adds that the frequent journeys of a
"Samaritan** between Jerusalem and Jericho would be impossible.
The point is an important one in two ways : if established, it would do
away with any claim of Jesus to any greater UniversaUsm than the
Jews of the time, and, besides, would confirm the impression that his
antagonism was directed against the sacerdotal class, who finally caused
his death, rather than against the Pharisees, with whom he had so much
in common, that it is almost impossible to distinguish them.
Similarly in the next lecture Dr. Drummond is only enabled to talk of
the Christian doctrine of God by ignoring the Jewish. It is true that
he gives (pp. 173-5) all the passages in the Old Testament in which Qod
is expressly spoken of as the Father, but he contends that the relation
is ** used in reference to the nation or its representative rather than its
individual members.** Whatever may have been the case in Old Testa-
ment times, the early Jewish ritual shows that by the time of Jesus, the
relation had become closely individual. Similarly with the doctrine of
Qod*s love and human responsibility ample parallels might be given
from Rabbinic sources for the ethical " Christian ** position with regard
to them. On the other hand, it is fair to say that the concentration and
the apt expression of these views by Jesus are unique in the histoiy of
Israel, or indeed of the world. Again, in the next two lectures dealing
with ethics Dr. Drummond also proceeds by the method of contrast.
He contrasts the externality of legalism with the inwardness of true
morality, but passages could be quoted showing that the rabbis were
almost equally alive to the dangers to which their system was liable,
and like them it was against the excesses to which legalism might lead
rather than against the legalism itself that Jesus protested. So far as
Christianity is against legalism it is the child of Paul, not of Jesus. But
the truth is, that so necessary is some form of legalism for human
society, that the moment the Church became differentiated from the
Synagogue it was forced to reinstate a legalism of its own. Here, as
elsewhere, the doctrines of Jesus were merely supplementary to those of
Judaism. It has been by a true instinct the Church has always bound
up together the New Testament as a sort of appendix to the Old. Both
the race and the individual have first to be strengthened by the law of
righteousness before either can attain to freedom.
> When the antagonism of Church and Synagogue arose, it was easy to
substitute Samaritan, who was a typical Israelite in another sense. The
early Church always favoured the Samaritans, somewhat as the Czars
favour the Karait<»8.
Digitized by
Google
552 The Jewish Quarterly Jleviett,
If this be so, it follows that Dr. Dmmmond's title is onjastified. It
is indeed derived from one of those utterances which " John *' puts in the
mouth of Jesus, and has thereby given him that air of arrogance which
repels the Jewish reader. Dr. Drummond notices the charge, and has
an ingenious defence against it If a man is thinking, not of himself, but
of the truths he teaches, he may use, without offence, the grandiose sayings
which John put in the mouth of Jesus. If that were so, he should make
it clear that he is speaking of the truths, not of himself, and the text
would run, Doctrina mea^ via Veritas vita. Still less was the more
egotistical form justified if, as Jews contend, whatever trutii Jesus had
to teach was supplementary and derivative, not comprehensive and
original. God is righteousness — the teaching of the Old Testament — ^is
a more fundamental truth than Gk>d is Love. True freedom must be
based upon Law and order. The Christian life is not a complete life ;
whenever the attempt has been made to realise it the result has been
fantastic. Even with regard to corporal acts of charity it cannot be said
that the results of practical Christianity have been altogether satisfactory.
Many persons are seriously of opinion that " Philanthropy " has done,
and is doing more harm than good. The battle of life is a battle, say
what we will ; retreat seems the only Christian method of warfare.
After the fight is over there is work enough for love ; during the fight
all that we can ask for is strict justice. The antagonism of the Old
Testament and the New, so far as it exists, can only be overcome in a
similar way to that between individualism and socialism. Individualism
has to develop the energy and resourcefulness of himian character ;
Socialism has to mitigate the resulting inequalities.
Curiously enough, in their practical effects the functions of Judaism
and Christianity are in an opposite direction to that indicated just
now. The Christian scheme is individualistic in tendency, the Jewish
was largely socialistic. The primary care of the Christian is his own
soul, that of the Jew, his own nation. Here indeed is the most striking
influence of Jesus. His own strong individuality, which takes such an
arrogant form in the logia of John, has impressed itself upon his
followers and given almost an anti-social bias to their lives. It was by
this means that he brought a sword into the world and not peace. It
was by his own want of interest in his nation that he brought about his
death, and it was from the unpatriotic attitude of his early followers
that the original schism between church and synagogue was caused.
In his final lecture. Dr. Drummond deals with the central problem of
Christianity in a very suggestive, but not a very convincing manner.
His problem is to find the motive force of Christianity, and he traces it
in the first place to the generalising power of Jesus as a moral teacher,
and in the second place to the mystic attraction of his personality, as
exemplifying the divine sonship. According to him, Jesus was a kind
Digitized by
Google
Critical Notices. 653
of Newton in moral philosophy, and by simplifying the law of life, made
it more attractive and efficacious. He has here a passage which sums
up his claims for Christianity, and may therefore be somewhat closely
scrutinised.
" But that the faith contained something startlingly novel and revolu-
tionary is evinced by the almost universal hatred with which it was
regarded. And, indeed, it drove its ploughshare through the Jewish
vineyard, and laid its axe to the old tree of heathen superstition. To
step forth from the ancient enclosure, and feel that Jew and Gentile
alike were members of the great family of Qod ; to renounce the san-
guinary and exclusive worship of the temple in Jerusalem, and offer up
spiritual sacrifices to the Father of all in the temple of the universe ;
to lay aside the venerable Law, which had been the hedge of monotheism
and morality against the assaults of idolatry and sin, and to substitute
for it a spirit within the heart, which might seem to the outsider an
excuse for every kind of subjective caprice, though to the believer it
expressed the immutable mind of God — this was indeed a momentous
change, and the idea of Divine sonship which brought it about was
quick and powerful, alike from its newness and its grandeur."
The curious criterion, that the novelty of a creed is proven by the
hatred which it arouses, is scarcely borne out by experience, which
rather shows that the most internecine quarrels in religious matters, are
between those who differ the least. But let us examine these novelties
seriatim. Malachi had surely anticipated Jesus on the universal father-
hood of Gk>d in the passage quoted by Dr. Drummond, p. 175, and
the divine sonship (of all men) is but a corollary. The ^fall of
Jerusalem caused the Rabbis to adopt the fine principle that prayer is
the substitute for sacrifice, without any prompting from Jesus and his
followers, who seem to have acquiesced in the Temple sacrifices while
they lasted. It was Paul, not Jesus, who ** laid aside the venerable law "
after a struggle which showed that Jesus' inmiediate followers were
just as much attached to it as the most rigid Pharisee. Again, there-
fore, we are led to the conclusion, that so far as Christianity differs from
Judaism it cannot claim the authority of Jesus.
It is only in his last pages that Prof. Drunmiond comes to the real
problem. The ideal personality of a mystic Christ is the real differentia
of Christianity from other religions. A real personality, like the Jesus
of the Synoptic Qospels, could not be made into an ideal for all humanity.
He himself was conditioned by the historic circumstances of his time,
and those who would follow him would be limited to his authentic acts
and utterances. But into the ideal figure of the Christ as created by Paul
and John, each generation of men could refd their own ideals, and have
done so. The historic problem of Christianity is to trace how this
purely ideal figure of Christ became attached to the name and life of
Digitized by
Google
554 The Jetoish Quarterly Remew.
the Jewish peasant of Galilee. Dr. Drummond has some interesting
passages on the influence of Philo in preparing the matrix for the new
ideal, and there is no one better qualified than he to deal with this sab-
ject One would have liked to have seen him also treat of its relation
with the analogous conception of the Jewish Messiah, which he has also
made the subject of special study. It is clear that the next stage of
theological investigation must be both to separate and to deal seperatelj
with the historic Jesus of the Synoptic CkMipels, and the ideal Christ or
Christs of Paul and John. Dr. Drummond has every qualification for
dealing with the latter subject
Joseph Jagobs.
Zwr EnUtehungsgeichichte de$ ChrkUnthumi. Von Max Friidlandir.
Wien : 1894.
Thb following is an analysis of the contents of this important work : —
Chapter I.—" Die Gottliche Mittelkraft" The Jewish idea of God
was purified by contact in the schools of Alexandria with Greek
philosophy, especially with Platonism. Anthropomorphic ideas were
discarded, and the Logos introduced as intermediary between God, who
is the author of good alone, and matter, which is transitory and evil
In the earlier period of Alexandrine Judaism, the Schechina, or b6$ti
^cov, was regarded as such a divine intermediary power; and the
Wisdom of God was similarly conceived.
Justin Martyr depends for his explanation of the distinction between
the Father and the Son on this Alexandrine philosophy when he says
that God before creation produced out of himself a self-conscious
power {dvpofiip rmi Xoyinfp) called the Holy Spirit, the glory of the
Lord, d6$a nvplaVf and identical with the Son, with Wisdom, with an
angel, with Gkni, with Lord, and with the Word. This power issued
from God without loss to him, just as the word issues from the human
mind without loss to it or diminution of it
The Book of Sirach, though a Palestinian work and originally written
in Hebrew, is coloured by Alexandrine thought in its representation of
Wisdom as a power mediating God with man and with the worid. The
Book of the Pseudo-Solomon, which is earlier than Philo, is still mora
definite ; and Origen identified with the only-bom Son and with the
Logos the Wisdom which, according to that book, is ar/ug rijt rov ^ov
ivp^fi^mt Ka\ awoppoia Tfjt rau frayroKp^hnopoc dd^ tlkiKptF^. This
Digitized by
Google
Critical Notices. 655
hre(Uh^ said Origen, is something real and objective ; is Christ ; is " the
Power and Wisdom of God," to use Paul's phrase.
This hypostatising of Wisdom as a real person numerically distinct
from God is first found in Justin Martyr. The identification of her
with the Word, however, begins in Pseudo-Solomon, and is completed in
Philo. The same conception of a power mediating man and the world
with Gk>d appears in the fragments of Aristobulus and in the letter of
Aristeas. In Philo, however, the conception of Sophia gradually recedes,
and its place is taken by the masculine Logos. He is Lord of tiie Divine
Powers, through him God made and maintains the world ; he is the
Shadow of God, throned at his right hand and interpreting his behests.
This Logos includes in itself the goodness of God, by which the world
was made, and the might of God, by which it is ruled.
But the Logos also mediates between God and man. He atones and
pleads for man with €k)d, is our High Priest Like Wisdom (according
to Pseudo-Solomon), so the word was aforetime with Abraham, Jacob,
and Moses ; appeared to the latter in the burning bush, and was the
pillar of cloud in the wilderness. He is sent by the Father to mankind,
and rejoices in his mission.
As to the independent personality of the Word, Philo is not quite
consistent His statements often imply a person distinct from the
Father, yet he was unconscious that such statements prejudiced his
monotheism. It is a narrow thread, indeed, by which his Logos hangs
from God ; but the separation thereof as a ** second Gk>d " was only
completed in Christianity.' Thus Justin asserts the Son to be one
Essence with the Father ; but he is a distinct person, and numerically
separate.
The references in the Synoptic Gospels to the " Divine Power " are
due to Alexandrine influence ; which is stiU more apparent in Paul, who
saw in Christ a pre-existent power and wisdom of God. The same
influence is yet more definite and clear in John's Gospel and in the
works of early Fathers, such as Clement of Alexandria, Theophilus of
Antioch, Athanasius, etc.
Gnostic Christianity is equally to be referred to Alexandrine Judaism,
and was in some forms as old as the Apostles, e.^., as presented in the
episode of Simon Magus. Just as some held Simon to be the Power of
€k>d, so others held Melchizedek to have been, Jesus being merely the
successor of the latter.
Friedlander sums up thus : — Speculation in Jerusalem was in Jesus'
day closely bound up with speculation in Alexandria. Jerusalem supplied
the Revealed Law, Alexandria an allegorical account of it in accordance
with methods of Greek philosophy, which reacted on Judaea itself.
> We must observe, however, that Philo oalls the X^yoc a ^c^ipoc Oi ot.
Digitized by
Google
556 The Jewish Quarter^ Review.
JeniBalem taught the Messiah doctrine, Alexandria that of the Diyine
Dynamis or Power. In Judaea the idea of a bodily resurrection waa
uppermost, in Alexandria that of a spiritual resurrection only.
Chapter II. — "Pharisaer und Am-haarez." There was a revolt on
the part of the Am-haarez, or country party of Palestine, against the
Pharisees, who insisted on innumerable ceremonies and rites as essential
to holiness, which the humbler classes could not perfonn. The latter
also, being in constant and liberalising contact with Greeks and
Gentiles, learned to despise the righteousness of the Pharisees, especially
of that hypocritical class of them against whom the denunciations of
the Grospels are levelled. The antagonism was increased by the con-
tempt of the Pharisees for the poor as unclean, a contempt which finds
expression even in Hillel, who declared that ** an Am-haarez cannot be
holy." The Assumptio Moms is a work written soon after, if not befi)re,
the destruction of the Tem^de by Titus, and is a cry raised in behalf of
the country people against the domination of the Pharisees, who are
described in it as " homines dolosi, sibi placentes, ficti in omnibus suis,"
** whose leaven is hypocrisy.** In the Gospels we see Jesus as the
champion of the religiously-despised and oppressed country people,
combating the formalism of the Pharisees, who ** shut up the Kingdom
of Heaven against men." Josephus himself testifies that the Pharisees
imposed on the people many prescriptions not to be found in the Mosaic
Law ; that they were ever intriguing in order to have the control of
affairs in their own hands, and to keep the people in a religious and
spiritual nonage. The Talmud itself (Sota^ 22b) acquaints us with the
hypocrisy and ambitious intrigues of a certain class of Pharisees, and
elsewhere terms them " queruli et f alaces, celantes se ne possint cognosd,
impii in scelere, pleni et iniquitate . . . et manus eorum et mentes
immunda tractabunt et os eorum loquetur ingentia et superdicent : ndi
(tu me) tangere, ne inquinee me.** In the reign of Agrippa I. the
influence of the worldly and ambitious class of Pharisees culminated.
Reading between the lines of Josephus, one can see that Agrippa was a
whited sepulchre of the worst description, and that the better and more
spiritually-minded Pharisees of the time also felt him to be such.
To the time immediately succeeding the death of Agrippa L (44 A.D.),
belong the denunciations of the Pharisees in Matthew's Gk>spel ; and
they form the earliest stratum of the Gospel teaching, since in them
Jesus is not yet represented as having broken with the Pharisaic ob-
servances (Matt, xxiii. 2, 3, and 23). In the last passage Jesus insists
on the duty of observing the weightier matters of the law, judgment,
mercy, and faith, without, however, neglecting to pay tithe of mint
and anise and cummin. In strong contrast with the conservatism of
these passages stand others (Matt, xv., foil., and ix. 14-18), which
reveal a complete breach vrith the teaching and obeervances of the
Digitized by
Google
Critical Notices, 557
Pharisees. Once thus begun, the progress of religious reform could -not
be arrested, and before long the Sabbath itself was assailed (Matt xli. 8 ;
Mark ii. 27 ; Luke vi. 5). In their conservatism the vigorous denuncia-
tions of the Assumptio Mosis (chap, vii.) seem to belong to the same
age as those of Matt. chap, xxiii., and to proceed from the same stratum
of opinion, viz., from literary members of the Am-haarez, who recoiled
from the vice, hypocrisy and intrigues of certain Pharisees, but had not
yet repudiated the body of Pharisaic doctrines and observance^.
Chap. III. Der Therapeutismus. The treatise De Vita Coniemplativa
was not written by Philo, yet in his age, and by an immediate successor
and imitator. T**'^ religious community described in that treatise con-
sisted of heretical Alexandrine Jews who had carried the allegorisation of
the Scriptiure so far as to discard and reject altogether the literal fulfil-
ment of its precepts. They thus went beyond the standpoint of Philo
and of the Allegorist school of which he is the chief surviving represen-
tative. For Philo always insisted on the literal fulfilment of the Mosaic
precepts, though they all had for him a secondary or moral meaning. But
the Therapeutad seem to have broken altogether with the Temple services
and sacrifices of Jerusalem. Friedlander supposes that those passages
in which Philo complains of the Allegorists, who went so &r as to disre-
gard the Sabbath, neglect circumcision and in other ways repudiate the letter
of the law, are really aimed at the TherapeutsB. Another reason why Philo
cannot have himself written the treatise is that in his undisputed works
he blames those who, in youth, forsake the practical life and retire into
the cloister. At the same time Friedlander realises how thoroughly the
treatise in question belongs to Philo*s age, how interpenetrated it is with
the ascetic and allegorist influences which everywhere assert themselves in
Philo*s writings ; so that it is, as it were, ** bone of his bone, and flesh
of his flesh." He therefore supposes that it was written immediately
after Philo*s death, and intercalated among his works after the treatise
That every good man is free. For in this treatise Philo had eulogised the
Essenes, but had here, as in all his other works, passed over the Thera-
peutsB in a studied silence. In their renunciation of property, says
Friedlander, the TherapeutaB resembled the early Christians, and there-
fore Eusebius was right in finding a resemblance between them and the
** Apostolic men " of his own age, and also of the first Christian epoch.
Friedlander then sketches out the asceticism of the Therapeutae, and
shows from Philo*s works that it was a most characteristic product of
Alexandrine Judaism. Their ideal was mortification of the flesh and
consequent purification of the soul, in order that it may see God.
Friedlander also shows that the ideal of female virginity, inculcated and
practised by the Therapeutae, quite accords with the general tone of
Philo*s works on the subject. He also proves that the statement that
the Therapeutae were found in many parts of the inhabited world, but
VOL. VIL O O
Digitized by
Google
558 The Jewish Quarterly Eeriest.
had their headquarters in Alexandria, is fully borne out by what we
know of the diflfusion of the Jews during the first century.
In such a religious community the narrowing^and exclusive ceremonial
of Judaism would have been relegated to the background, as something
which hindered the approach of Gentile converts to the truth. ** Of
national Judaism, hardly a trace is left among the Therapeutae. They
honour the Sabbath and other Jewish feasts ; but these are only Jewish in
name. The meamng ascribed to them is alien, philosophical, as repellent
to an orthodox Jew as it was attractive to a Qentile in search of a purer
colt than that of Paganism." In this respect the Therapeutae went
beyond the Essenes, who, while repudiating the Temple sacrifices, yet
sent their offerings thereto, and observed the outward forms of the
Jewish religion. Hence Philo extols the Essenes to heaven, but
censures the Therapeut», when he cannot ignore them.
Chapter IV. — Der Essenismos. The Essenes were not Chassidim,
were not a stricter sect of Pharisees, the residue of the anti-Greek Has-
monsBan movement, condenming themselves to isolation in order to
maintain their ceremonial purity of life and diet. On the contrary, they
were the pioneers and outposts upon Jewish soil of the ascetic and
allegorising, yet in temper, more liberal and gentilising Judaism of
Alexandria. They lived apart because they spoke Greek from the first
Their rejection of bloody sacrifices and of marriage, their allegorising of
Scripture, attested by Philo, were Alexandrine traits, inexplicable if we
regard them, with Lucius and Hilgenfeld, as the extreme right of the
Pharisee sect. Just because they only spoke Greek the Talmud ignores
them. For the MaccabaBan movement was directed against Greek cults,
and not against the use of the Greek tongue in Judaea. The use of this
tongue was widely diffused among the Am-haarez or basso-popolo of
JudflBa, whose cause, as that of " the lost sheep of the House of Israel,"
Jesus championed against the ceremonial righteousness of the Pharisees.
Of this popular party the Essenes had long been the leaders when Jesus
came on the scene.
Friedlander quotes Josephus and the Talmud in proof that in many parts
of Palestine Greek was the only language of the Jews. He points out that
in Jerusalem itself 500 of Gamaliel's disciples talked Greek, and that the
passage in Acts xxii. 2, where we read that Paul quieted the mob by
addressing them in Hebrew, proves that the mob habitually spoke not
Hebrew, but Greek. Otherwise Hebrew from a man accused of viola-
ting the law and of bringing Greeks into the Temple would not have
arrested their attention.^ That the entire early literature of Christianity
* F.*8 argument is untenable ; for in chap. xxL 37 the chief captain
having arrested Paul and so saved him from the violence of the mob says
to Paul, ** Canst thou speak Greek 7" implying that all aroond him were,
Digitized by
Google
Critical Notices. 569
18 Greek, is an additional proof of its common, daily and widespread
use in Palestine.
Essenism then was the outcome of a missionary activity in Judssa
by the Greek Jews of Alexandria. Its adherents kept their doctrines
secret, because they were an outpost of Jewish Hellenism on foreign
and hostile soiL In Alexandria they would have openly proclaimed the
same tenets in the market-place. They were a propagandist sect in
spite of their seclusion, and their constant travels mentioned by Jose-
phus had a missionary aim. In the career of John the Baptist, who was
one of them, their activity first comes to light for us ; and he comes
before us as the spokesman and champion of the Am-haarez against the
spurious piety of the Pharisees. Had the Essenes not been Greek or
Alexandrine in their language and influence, Josephus would not have
troubled himself to assure us {Bdl. Jttd,, II. viii 2) that they were
Jews by race ('lovdatbi fxiv yepos 6vT€s)*
Friedlander points to many characteristics of the Essenes as essentially
Alexandrine in origin, e.g.y their repudiation of animal sacrifices ; their
teaching of the immortality of the soul and of the sinfulness of the body,
the prison of the soul ; their faith that God is author of good alone, and not
also of evil ; their doctrine of creation and agencies mediating God with
nature ; their use of allegory ; the axe {d^ivdpiovj worn by their novices.
The latter custom Friedlander most happily and ingeniously parallels and
explains from Philo, Leg» Alleg., p. 117, in a way which makes it practically
certain that Philo was acquainted with the inner symbolic teaching and
discipline of the Essenes, and is here alluding to it — a point which it is
of some importance to ascertain.
From the differing statements of Philo—in one place that the Essenes
were in nimiber 4,000, in another that they were ftvpioi — Friedl&nder
rightly infers that though there were only 4,000 who were of the highest
grade (rcXeibi), there were innumerable adherents of the sect up and down
Palestine ; and these adherents were the seed-ground of nascent Chris-
tianity, as Eusebius believed. The points of resemblance between ther
Essenes and the new-bom religion cannot be otherwise explained.
The common objection that the Essenes were recluses of the desert,
whereas Christianity burrowed in populous centres has no weight ; for
Josephus testifies that Essenes often filled positions of authority, and
Philo avers that they taught in their community olKovofUav and iroXcrctai^.
Josephus also attests that they lived in many cities, and were constantly
travelling. Their only possible motive in travelling was to preach and
propagate their ideas.
and had been, uttering their cry of **Away with him,*' in Hebrew or
Aramaic. Similarly the Aets of Pilate prove that the multitude of Jeru-
salem when they welcomed Jesus cried, Hosanna, etc., in Hebrew and
not in Greek.
OO 2
Digitized by
Google
560 The Jewish Quarterly Eeview.
John the Baptist was such an Essene missionary, and was, as we can
infer from the grudging tone assumed towards him in the fourth Grospel,
the real founder of the Christian reUgion. He was regarded (Luke iii.
15) by his disciples as the true Messiah, and his baptism lingered on
for many years in rivalry with that of Jesus. Josephus himself (^Antiq,
XVIII. V. 2) bears witness to the great and important part played by
John the Baptist as a teacher " of virtue, of justice towards men, of
holiness towards Grod," the three cardinal virtues — according to Philo—
of Essenism. The circumstance that Jesus fled when he heard the news
of John's beheadal proves the truth of Josephus' statement, that Herod
was actuated by fear of John's influence with the masses.
The Essenes were imbued with Messianic faith, and this brought
them — men of peace though they were, and imbued with a belief in the
duty of passive obedience, and persuaded that all authority is a gift
from heaven — into conflict with the Roman government For this belief
according to Josephus, was the underlying reason of the great war
which ended with the sack of Jerusalem by Titus. This catastrophe
was a deathblow to their sect
The Essenes are the " Ghizonim," or heretical outsiders of the Talmud,
who, for their repudiation of animal sacrifices, were excluded from the
temple. Their use of the Greek tongue, their ascetic eschewal of
marriage, and lastly their allegorising teaching, rendered them doubly
heretical in the eyes of the Pharisees, to whom they cannot therefore be
assimilated.
Chapter V. — Alexandria and Jerusalem. Alexandrine Judaism was a
mixture of Mosaism and Greek philosophy. Philosophic ideas were dis-
covered as imovoiaij underlying the letter of the Old Testament, and then
the Greek philosophers, Plato and others, were said to have derived their
wisdom from Moses. Such philosophic Judaism soon broke away from
the Pharisaic legalism of Judaea, and estabhshed its own temple of
Onias in Egypt, with a priesthood of its own. Its relation to Palestinian
orthodoxy was exactly similar to that of Paul's Gentile gospel to the
gospel of the circumcision. It spread from Alexandria to Judsea, and
established its schools and synagogues in Jerusalem itself. Of the
the revolt of this more liberal and spiritualised Mosaism against the
literalism and the ceremonialism of the Pharisees, who excommunicated
it as heresy, Christianity was the firstfruits. It was the rallying-point
in Palestine of the poor and humble, who, slave-like, talked and read
Greek, and could not endure the heavy burdens which the Pharisees
strove to bind upon them. Christianity was a ^^ vulgar Hellenism," and
attests its origin in its use and retention from the first of the Septuagint.
It arose out of the Jewish Diaspora, as the writings of Philo prove ; for
in them we find foreshadowed in broad but clear outlines the Chris-
tianity which was to be, whether friendly or inimical to the Mosaic Law.
Digitized by
Google
Critical Notices, 561
Philo was himself conservative, and advocated the literal observance of
the precepts, which he yet really valued only for the moral meanings
which he read into them. But his writings attest that many of his
countrymen threw the letter to the winds, and sat loose to the observance
of the most vital parts of the code, to circumcision, to the Sabbath, to
the feasts and fasts of Judaism (J)e Miyr. Abr.^ I. 450). We thus
know that long before Paul there was a lax Judaism, hostile to the law,
and that nothing was wanting to the rise of Jewish Christianity, save
the appeal to the personal authority of a Christ sent from heaven to
supersede the law with the freedom of the spirit.
It was the freer Greek Judaism of Alexandria which everywhere
attracted the Gentiles, and it was spread broadcast by regular missionaries
or even by Jewish merchants travelling primarily for gain (Josephus
Antiq.y XX. ii 4). The Pharisees followed in the steps of these more
liberal propagandists, and tried to bring their converts into a stricter
conformity with the Mosaic law, e.g,^ to submit to circumcision.
A time came (alluded to in Luke xii. 2-5) when the more liberal
Judaism of the Essenes, hitherto kept secret, was preached and revealed
to the people of Palestine. John the Baptist was the agent of this
revelation. His teaching was essentially Essenic. There was less of
the Essene asceticism about the teaching of his successor, Jesus of Naza-
reth, but the latter was more vehement in his assaults on the Pharisees,
more free-thinking in his attitude towards the Mosaic law, which he
taught men to fulfil in an Hellenic and anti-Pharisaic spirit (Matt v. 20 ;
cp. Paul, Rom. iii. 31). He did not openly break with the law, however,
or he would never have been acclaimed as the Messiah. His great
achievement was to free the people from the burden of Pharisaic
formalism, from the soul-slaying traditions of men. In this spirit he
spoke the words : " Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest." Christianity, then, was a product of
the Diaspora, and Friedlander concludes by pointing out the Hellenist
antecedents of many of its earliest teachers, of Stephen, Barnabas, John,
Mark, Paul, ApoUos, the author of the letter to the Hebrews, etc.
Such is the gist of a very suggtstive book. Its chapters are reaUy
essays on their respective subjects, and of them Chs. I. and II. are
the most successful, because here the writer treads on firm ground
throughout. His view of Therapeutism in Ch. III. is at fault. He is
right in rejecting the view of Lucius, who pretends that the De Vita
CanUmplativa is a late third or early fourth century panegyric of
Christian monachism, and in ascribing it to Philo's age and circle. But
his reasons for denying the authorship to Philo himself are insufficient ;
for it is not true that the Therapeut» were heretical Jews any more
than was Philo himself. The treatise D, V, C, descriptive of them,
indeed says that they looked upon the yo/io^ecr/a of Moses as a {&ov
Digitized by
Google
562 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
the body of which consists of the fitfrd* iiarditit or literal precepts,
but of which the soul (^x?) ^^ ^^ unseen reason (d6paTO£ povt) which
lurks underneath the sentences (Xe£«cf), and that in their Scriptural
exercises they set themselves to bring out and exhibit the beautiful
conceptions symbolised in the names (or words). It is true that else-
where (De Migr. Ahr.^ 1. 450) Philo in making a similar comparison of
the letter to the body, and of the allegorical sense to the soul of a
i^ow^ condemns those who forget and reject the body in their
enthusiasm for the soul, and go so far as to light fire and trade on the
Sabbath, neglect circumcision and the Jewish feasts. The passage in the
D, V, C, however, does not even hint that the TherapeutsB, because
they allegorised the Law, therefore neglected its literal fulfilment in
any respect As I have pointed out in the testimonia to the passage
in my recent edition of the D. F. (7., similar descriptions of the
relation of the letter to the spirit of the Law occur in other works of
Philo, and their occiurence quite forbids Friedlander's inference. It is a
fact that the allegorising activity of the Therapeutce, as described in the
D. F. C, in no way differs from the same activity as described and
warmly eulogised and defended eveiywhere else in the genuine w^ks of
Philo.
Friedlander*s statement that the Therapentas sat loose to the Jewish
feasts and to the Temple system of Jerusalem is equally unfounded.
Their careful and legcU observance of the Sabbath and of the Pentecostal
feast is described at great length, and also their reverence for the shew-
bread and Levitical service of the Temple at Jerusalem ( I. p. 484, 30).
They ate, says Philo, at their Pentecostal meal leavened bread, out of reve-
rence for the shewbread (dc' tddA rrjt dpaxtifupfit rr rf 6yl^ wpopo^ Upaf
rpawfC^t) and in order not to trench on the privileges of the sons of
Zadok. ** It is befitting,'' we read, " that the simplest and purest food
should be awarded to the highest rank of the priests as a reward for
their service (Xeirovpyiar), whereas the others (e,g. Therapentae) must
aspire to a like portion, but abstain from the game^ in order that their
superiors may keep their privilege."
The philological afifinities of the A F, C, with the rest of Philo's
works equally preclude the supposition that it is only an imitation. F^)r
example, we find in its brief compass some twenty rare words which
occur nowhere else in Greek literature except in Philo. Nor is the
enthusiastic tone of the treatise towards the ascetics it describee
inconsistent with Philo's advice given in the De Profugis and elsewhere
not to retire to the cloister before the age of fifty. The perfect
(rcXetoi) among the TherapeutsB may have been all over that age.
The treatise is not sufficiently exph'oit on the point for us even
to feel sure that the novices in the system were young men ; we
only r^ l^h^t jrouth and age were relative not to years, but to
Digitized by
Google
Critical Notices, 563
knowledge lees or more profound of the holy Scriptures. If Philo wrote
80 warmly of the Essenes who repudiated the Temple sacrifices, why
may we not suppose that he wrote the description of the Therapeutae,
of whom no single heretical trait is reported therein ? As for the
allegorical explanations of the Sahbath and Pentecost given in the
D, V. C, we meet with exactly the same explanations of them in many
other writings of Philo.
Chapter IV. — Friedlander's contention that the Essenes spoke
Greek is not well supported. In favour of it is a fact related
by Philo, but passed over by Friedlander, that they called their
meeting-houses Synagogues (cnnfaytoyai) ; but this is far from
conclusive. Nor do I see how Jesus, who thought that it is not
meats which defile a man, but evil qualities, and who came eating
and drinking with publicans and sinners, can have been a product
of the Essene discipline and beliefs. For Josephus relates that an
Essene expelled from the order died of hunger, because, like a Brahmiui
he could not eat of any food save that which his fellows in the order
had prepared. It is certain therefore that their avavina were ordained
to preserve unimpaired their ceremonial purity, and were wholly different
in kind and purpose to the miscellaneous common meals of the early
Christians. This objection Friedlander ignores, as also another, viz.,
that an Essene of the highest order was polluted by the mere touch
of one of a lower grade. Such a custom has a very unchristian and
Pharisaic air, and goes far to confirm the view that the Essenes were
the extreme right of Pharisaism. It is not even certain that the
Essenes rejected animal sacrifice for Alexandrine or Pythagorean
reasons. It may have been in order to preserve their own ceremonial
purity. Friedlander's equation therefore of the earliest Christianity with
Essenism is very uncertain.
Thus Chapters III. and IV. need reconsideration, yet the general aim
of the book is right, and Friedlander does good service in calling
attentiQU to the Alexandrine factor in early Christianity, and to the
manner in which the religion originally arose out of the revolt
of the conmion people, leavened with Hellenism, against the Pharisees.
Fbbd. C. Contbbabb.
Digitized by
Google
564
The Jewish Quarterly Review.
NOTES AND DISCUSSIONS.
JL THIRD 8T8TEM OF 8TMB0L8 FOR THE HEBREW TOWELS
AND AGCENT8.
Dr. Nkubaubr, in his " Literary Gleanings, XII." (Jewish Quabtbrlt
Rbvibw, No. 26, p. 361, sqq,) calls attention to various kinds of abbre-
viations which were in use among the Jews of the Middle Ages.
Incidentally reference is made to two fragments of Bible texts found
lately in Egypt, and acquired by the Bodleian Library, as showing a
different kind of shorthand writing, and eight lines are given as an
example of what these fragments contain. At first the reader is
'bewildered, not knowing what to understand by the disconnected letters
and the strange points and lines. A closer examination, however, and a
minute comparison with the Biblical text, discloses the most important
results, that we have here a new^ hitherto unknown system of signs for
vowels and accents. I am only sorry that not more of the text has been
published, as there is some doubt in a few cases as to the correctness of
the number and position of the points. An inspection of the whole
fragments may perhaps modify a little my view, but not to a great
extent. Dr. Neubauer was good enough to copy for me three more
verses, all that I asked f or» The following tables will show the value
of each of these signs, and their equivalent in the ordinary system of
vowels and accents in our Hebrew books: —
A. — Vowels.
Their
In the
Ordinaiy Syitem.
form
in the
Fragments.
How often each of
these signaoocun
In the 11 Tenei.
Kamets
<»
H
21
Pathach
£i
»
26
Segol
^
H
4
Chirek
H
H
4
Cholem
iMorh
A
H
7
Shurek
••Wort^
^^
4
Tsere
»
H
6
Digitized by
Google
Notes and Discmsions.
565
B. — ^Accents.
Their
Id the
Ordinary System.
form
In the
Fragments.
How often each of
these signs ooeora
in the U versee.
Bebia
H
H
5
Gerahaim
u
k^
1
Zakef Katan ...
:
H
4
Tipcha
^
»
17
Tebhir
n
W
5
Pashta
H
fto'H
9 and 2
Yethib
«,
li^
1
Miinach & Mahpach
M
*
^or^
6
Darga
H
«
2
Mercha
9
«
9
Zakef gadol
A
H
1
Pesik
IH
•H
2
Makkef
-«
-«
5
There is no sign for silluh, nor for athna^h, unless the extra mark
over the t) in nSlD (^^ verse) be meant for this accent Dagesh and
rafeh are not marked.
The vowels and accents agree, on the whole, with the text in the
ordinary editions of the Bible, with the following exceptions: the
fragments have D^n|T?9?5 ^V^P ^^^ ^P^T-f ^°8*®*^ ^^ ^-^r^?*
"^W and ngn^l (8th, 7th,' and llth verses). *
It appears strange that one symbol should represent a vowel and an
accent : Shurek andpashia ; whilst, on the other hand, one accent, jxi«^ to,
is represented by two different signs, according as it precedes mahjMchf
or follows it. I think that ' a difEerence existed, and was marked by a
slight variation in the position or the size of the points. Old age, may to
some extent have obliterated these distinctions by reducing the size and
the number of points, by turning small strokes into dots, and breaking
up small lines into points ; time seems to have attacked also the letters,
and made some of them appear in a different garb. In the 1st verse-
in the text published /. c. — e. g, time has changed, I conjecture, ^ into ^,
the first J) in the 6th into p, H in the 5th into H, deprived Q and the third
D in the 7th verse of their accents, and is perhaps the cause that H (Ist
Digitized by
Google
566 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
verse and 6th) is read for 1, H for "^ (in the &th and 8th), and that
mtmach is reduced in some cases to a simple vertical line.
The text of these fragments seems to have been intended as a help
for readers in the Synagogue or learners in the schools, enabling them
to read in accordance with the traditional pronunciation and modulation,
and at the same time warning against mistakes likely to be mado^
especially by beginners, in the reading of texts without vowel-poiiits
and accents; e,g, the kameU of vav in HKHH) (3^d yme), iTV) (9th
and 10th), is pointed out in order that the vav shonld not be read with
$hevay and, vice versd, the sheva in Itlti^ is to prevent the reading of
the lamed with kamets. Mercha and tipcha are marked most frequently,
because they are very easily mistaken the one for the other.
A careful examination of the text — ^f or the facilitating of which I add
the text in full — ^proves that, from this point of view, the writer of the
fragments has selected the syllables most judiciously.
*«* The larger letters with the points and strokes are those oontalnad In
the fragments, the smaller ones I added in order to illustrate the relation
of the fragments to the Biblical text.
X^i^n nnpi D^isb nn^Bfyi'i
HEP b^ ngf^ mH rw hk-iw) imrr *f?an nijj-niB^a 3
nrV? D^'MD nygf d^md aygf "h bran • q^td^ D*fl*lB^ *
A
)wv rf?j)> n^ann Hnnpn bipD n^^Don niaj( ^yyi 6
» Tbon-nj( >5 s»> ^g^H u^nQw Moo-oy T^rP"^
>3^r vn nvos
Digitized by
Google
Notes and Discumom. 567
njjt*i> rrDgf tn^n hS ]mj;'^ i^ras -ib^h n^^irm 'j^i 11
no? DQ-ialbi -iw n'^rf? nmi n^»'| -r^aa?
Dr. Neubauer communicated to me the f oDowing solution fluggested
by Dr. Simonsen, of Copenhagen. He considers the letters in these
fragments as Masoretic mnemonics, and believes that the letters in the
Ist verse indicate the passages of the Bible in which n*TttQ (without
article) occurs, and those of the 3rd verse the passages in Isaiah con-
taining SB7^ without vav^ viz. 1st verse ^rXDTVS = msy3 (Num.
XX. l?),^"^^^ (in a similar context, ib, 21, 22), nim (Isa. v. 8), rin
(Ruth u. 8), nrhb (H, ii. 22). 3rd verse: nbb»3 nDtt71 = 1 of
non SttT* (wanting) : ^5tM (Isa. vi. 1), D'»nDtt7 (ib. vi. 5), Vh (t6. x. 24)i
TpOb (ib, xxvi 21), n {ib, xxxvii. 16). No notice has been taken in
this attempt of the points and strokes with which the letters are
provided.
In conclusion, a query on p. 272 of the last number of the Jewish
Quarterly Review may here be answered. Domninus contains the
two words D'l " blood,** and ^5 " spitting " (comp. Aruchj s.v. HD ii.).
M. Friedlandbr.
P.S. — Whilst the above was in the hands of the printer. Dr. Neubauer,
with his usual courtesy, sent me a photograph of four pages of these
fragments, containing Isa. v. 8 to vii. 10, and xlv. 20 to xlviii. 11. I am
thus enabled to add a few notes to the above, and sincerely thank the
authorities of the Bodleian Library for their kindness.
1. — ^There is no special sign for sheva^ whether simple or compound ;
a segol corresponds to the sheva mobile of our editions ; before chirek or
before yod the sheva mobile is replaced by chireky and hypaikach before
a guttural with pathach. The compound sheva is represented by the
simple vowel contained in the compound sheva. There is only one sign
for both the long and the short ham^.
2. — Dagesh, both forte and letie^ are marked by placing a semicircle
over the letter in this position : ^. The absence of dagesh or mappik is
marked thus : ^. Only H with dagesh has the ordinary form (PT).
Digitized by
Google
568 Tfie Jewish Quarterly Review.
3.— The letters selected from each word are not always those that have
the accent ; in some cases even the letters provided with accents are not
the accented syllables. The sign for dagesh is sometimes placed on the
letter before that which is doubled.
4. — ^A word with two accents is divided by a hyphen in the middle
of the word.
5. — D takes the place of 07, the latter being marked by a dot inside
the letter on the right (»). The H in 'IMD') (xlv. 20) has the mark for
rafeh (^«|). It is possible that the semicircle indicates in this case
the absence of the vowel ^, and bOI is here without the plural ending \
like «')S\ xlv. 24.
6. — The beginning of a sedra is marked by a marginal D, vL 13, and
xlviL 6, unless the letter marks the pronunciation of 07 occurring in the
same line.
7. — ^To the above-mentioned varia lectiones the following may be
added:— V. 16, tt?^ ; 20, ^IH; 27, -rfb; tTPP; 28, Vnh»R;
vi. 6, "rf^^rrn^ ^•^*; 6, D>nf2>n? ; vii. 6, be :ip ;* xiv. 20, toi (?) ;
24, nnrjjjrr. xivi. 5, ^j^^Ns-rn. xiviL 7, -io; lo, ifnyjW;
14, D^rf?; xlviii. 9, DJp?7H.
STUDIES IN THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH.
I.— The Nabratites.
The stractnre and arrangement of the mingled narratives and
prophecies which occnpy so large a portion of the book of Jeremiah,
afford the student a problem at onoe fascioating and perplexing.
These episodes are carefully dated ; they are furnished with editorial
introductionn, detailing with some particularity the occasions to which
they refer ; and yet they present a sequence which is utterly without
order. Or rather, while in some parts of the book there is an
approach to chronological succession, in others it is apparently set
at nought. A complete explanation of these inconsistencies is not
now attainable, but we can see that they are in great measure due to
the insertion in a framework belonging to the reign of Jeboiakim
of materials of the age of 2iedekiah, or of a still later date, at points
which may have been determined by accident or convenience, by the
circumstances under which these materials came to the hands of
Jeremiah's editors, or by the physical structure of the manuscript
which lay before them.
Digitized by
Google
Notes and Diseusmons, 569
The key to the general arrangement of the book is to be found in
a comparison of ch. xxv. with ch. xzxvi. I cannot accept the
hypothesis which supposes that ch. xxy. is itself the whole of what
Jeremiah dictated to Baruch. To adopt this view we must dis-
regard or alter the text of ch. xxxyi. without any solid ground for
so doing. According to that document the original roll of the
fourth year of Jehoiakim contained all the prophecies of Jeremiah
antecedent to that date, "against Israel, and against Judah, and
against all the nations.'' The prophecies against Israel and Judah
are to be sought, in so far as they have been preserved to us, and
with whatever additions, mutilations and transpositions, in chapters
i. — xxiv. To these the first part of ch. xxv. supplies a recapitulation
and conclusion. Those directed against the nations must be sought,
with similar reserves, in chapters xlvi — li. To them the latter part
of ch. xxv. originally supplied an impressive introduction. The
Septuagint version makes of it an epilogue.
Possibly Jer. i. — xxv. in its earliest form may have been circulated
separately, without the prophecies against the nations ; or perhaps
these were regarded as forming an appendix. In either case, a
supplement consisting mainly of narratives, and including, we may
suppose, chapters xxvi., xxxv., xxxvi., all of which relate to events
that occurred in the reign of Jehoiakim, was at some time appended
to ch. xxv. Chapter xxvi. narrates the utterance of the prophecy
which is more fully preserved in ch. vii. The writer clearly belonged
to the circle of Jeremiah, and was well acquainted with the circum-
stances to which he refers. In xxxv. 3 the prophet is himself the
narrator ; but in verses 18, 19, we have another hand.
Chapter xxxvi. must either have been written by Baruch, or by
some one intimately associated with him. It may have been followed
at one time by what is now ch. xlv. But at this point I must ex-
press a grave doubt as to the authenticity of the promises given to
Jonadab in xxxv. 18, 19, to Baruch in xlv., and to Ebed-Melech in
xxxix. 15 — 18, while I shall presently have occasion to question that
of the narrative relating to the last-named worthy in xxxviii. 6 — 13. A
reference to Dr. K. Kohler*s article on " The Pre-Talmudic Haggada ''
(Jewish Quarterly Review, V., especially pp. 418, 419), and to
that of Mr. A. P. Bender, headed, " Death, Burial, and Mourning '*
{lb., VI., p. 341, art. 6, and p. 343, art. 6, 10), will not only exhibit
the position of these persons in early legends, but will suggest a pos-
sible motive for the insertion of the alleged promises. Abed-Melech
was identified with Barujh (Kohler, sup, ct7., 419), and Baruch it
would seem with Jonadab (Bender, p. 343, art. 10). The two identi-
fications are of course incompatible, though they may perhaps serve
to show that the conuection between the passages under considera-
Digitized by
Google
570 The Jewish Qmrterly Bevietc.
tioD was early recognised. When, however, we read that " Jonadab
ben Beohab, and Jabes the grandson of Jehnda, • . . are the
real heroes of the Essene schools, the founders and contionators of
the Nazirite customs from the earliest ages^ as may be learned from
Pliny and Philo'' (Eohler, p. 418), and that **as such they occur in
the very oldest Midrash traditions,'* it is impossible to refrain from
putting the query, whether the promises to Jonadab, Baruch, and
Ebed-Meleoh, are not in reality promises to the Esseiies, or their fore-
runners ? Eren the value of the moral and religious lesson conveyed
in ch. xlv. suggests a purpose of edification rather than a oarrative
of fact. If we adopt this supposition, we are not obliged to assume
that the three passages under discussion are of later date than the
reference to the *' families of scribes which dwelt at Jabez," in
1 Chron. ii. 56, iv. 9, 10. To the same age I would ascribe the narra-
tive in Jer. zxxii. 6—27, 36, 43, 44 ; and if at this period " the priests
that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin ** (Jer. i. 1^, where
the Septuagint reads dr icarokct — Oheyne) claimed to inherit from the
prophet, a motive for its insertion is not far to seek. The case sap-
posed would be parallel to that of the celebrated History of Croy-
land. If the reference to the priests in Jer. L 1 is due to the same
band, it may still be possible that the father of Jeremiah was the
discoverer, or author, of Deuteronomy. It is difficult to think of
Jeremiah in the priestly character. (See especially vii. 21 — 2S.)
But such passages as xvii. 26, xzxii. 17 — 23, and xxziii. 11, point to a
priestly editor of the book which bears hb name, at a date posterior
to that of the second Jeremiah (who wrote the original words of
xzxiii. 12, 13). The same late and imitative editor may also be
responnible for interpolations in xxx., xxxi., and 1., li. ; perhaps even
for the ascription of those chapters to the son of Hilkiah. The con-
nection between the scribes of Jabes and the ^' house ofBechab,*'
implied in 1 Chron. ii. 65 o^ fin., must not be overlooked. Equally
noteworthy is the part assigned to Bamch in Jer. xxxii. 6 — 16. May
we trace in xlv. 3 — 5, and xxxix. 16 — 18 a reference to the captivity
under Artaxerxes Ochns ?
Like chapters xxvi., xxxv., xxxvi., ch. xxiv. represents an addition
to the original collection of prophecies contained in the chapters
which precede it. But it belongs to the reign of Zedekiah. The
prophet speaks in his own person ; but the first verse has appended to
it the usual editorial introduction (*' After that .... to Babylon '*) ;
and it is at least possible that the text of verses 6, 7 has undergone
expansion. A mass of narratives and prophecies, belonging, as fiir as
they are genuine, to Zedekiah's reign, at present intervenes between
ch. xxvi. and ch. xxxv. It would be a better arrangement if ch. xxvii.
were placed immediately after ch. xxiv. The position which it now
Digitized by
Google
Notes and Discussions, 671
occupies may be dae either to the blander in the editorial date (verse
1) or to the general character of its predictions leading to its associa-
tion with chapters zxy. and xxvi. In verses 2, 12, 16, and again in
xxviii. 1, Jeremiah speaks in the first person. In xxviii. 5, seq., we
have another narrator. But in this case I cannot donbt the aathen-
ticity of the narrative. The same hand has perhaps transmitted to
as the prophetic epistle which, with extensive interpolations, is pre-
served in xxix. 4—23, the re^^ponse in verses 26 — 28, and Jeremiah's
reply in verses 31, 32. The only gennine portions of xxx. — xxxiii.,
viz., xxxii. 28—35 and xxxiii. 4, 5, belong, according to the editorial
introdnctions, to the period of Jeremiah's imprisonment daring the
final siege (xxxvii. 11, seq,). Chapter xxziv. also will require to be
considered in connection with those events.
If the eloquence of the prophet, his force of moral indignation,
his passion, and his pathos were to be represented by a single example,
we might well make choice of ch. xxii. Yerses 10 — 12, alluding to the
lamentations for the death of Josiah, and also to the captivity of
ShaHum or Jehoahaz, must have been written shortly after the acces-
sion of Jehoiakim. Verses 1 — 9 may belong to the same period, and
verse 9 appears to refer to the reaction against the influence of
Deuteronomy which probably marked this reign. The tremendous
denunciation addressed to Jehoiakim in verses 13*19, and clearly
arising out of a special occasion, mast belong to a time when the
character of the king and the nature of his government had too
plainly declared themselves. Verses 1 — 12 may have been included
in the first, verses 13 — 19 in the second roll (xxxvi. 32). Verses 20 —
30 belong to the brief reign of Ooniah or Jehoiachin. (How far
xxiii. 1 — 8 may be genuine I cannot confidently determine, but not, I
think, beyond verse 4 at the farthest.) To this chapter of warning
and judgment relating to Zedekiah's predecessors, has been prefixed
a chapter belonging, it would seem, to the close of his reign. The
concluding section (11 — 14) reads like a rSsumS of earlier ntterances.
The preaching of Jeremiah was consistent, uniform, and, if you
will, monotonous, with the monotony of gloom broken only by
glimpses of hope which became yet more rare and transient, as the
prophet watched with a broken heart the moral deterioration of his
people, and the downfall of the State ; uttering meanwhile with
passionate earnestness but one repeated message, and that, he knew,
in vain. No doubt similar occasions recurred, and were met with
the same warnings. Yet if we possessed a more critical text of his
prophecies, or a more systematic record of their delivery, it is pro-
bable that many apparent repetitions would disappear.
Chapter xxxvii. offers for the first time something like a continuous
narrative, attached in the manner of a supplement to ch. xzxvi., and
Digitized by
Google
672 The Jewish Quarterly Repieto.
eztendiDg after a fashion to xliy. But it is easy to demonstrate that
this narrative is of the nature of a oompilation from materials pre-
TioQsly existing. After a connecting link in verses 1 and 2, there
follows a passage which offers an interesting parallel both to xxi.
1 — 10, and zxziy. 1^7, 21, 22. A detailed comparison may prove
instructive. None of these passages is expressed in the first person,
though of course Jeremiah may have placed on record the words
which he uttered. Both xxL and xxiiv. begin with the usual title,
" The word which came unto Jeremiah from Jahveh." Chapter xxi.
oontinues : " When king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashhur, the son of
Malchiah, and Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying,
Inquire, I pray thee, of Jahveh for us," etc In xxxviL 3 we read.
"And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and
Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah,
sayiog, ^* Pray now uoto Jahveh our God for us.'' But the actual
" word of Jahveh ** in verse 7 informs us that the king of Judah sent
to enquire ^ in agreement with xxi. 2. The occasion of the request is
stated rather vaguely and unnecest^arily in xxi. 2 ; " for Nebuchad-
nezzar, king of Babylon, maketh war against us.** It would seem
from the reply (xxi. 4) that the siege was actually in progress.
Zedekiah (verse 2) hoped that it might be raised. According to
xxxvii. 4, 5, an editorial parenthesis, and according to the text of the
oracle, Ihid, verses 7 — 10, the siege was really raised for a whUe, and
it was during this interval that the oracle in question was delivered.
But of this, there is no mention in ch. xxL On the other hand, the
last two verses of ch. xxxiv. agree with ch. xxxvii. in referring to the
departure and predicting the return of the Chaldeans (so xxxvii. ; in
xxxiv., *' the king of Babylon's army "). The occasion of the pro-
phet's utterance recorded in xxxiv. 2 — 5, is stated twice over, vaguely
after the title in verse 1 ; more briefly, but with the knowledge of a
contemporary, in verse 7. There is, however, no proof that verses
2 — 5 belong to the same date with 13 — 22.
Of the passages under discussion, each has something peculiar to
itself. Chapter xxL b the most general in character, and the most
appalling. It alone contains the counsel of desertion, which is quoted
in xxxviii. 2, 3=xxi. 9, 10. Chapter xxxvii. 7 — 10, predicts in striking
terms the resumption of the siege. Chapter xxxiv. 2 — 6, is essentially
a personal assurance given, it may be privately, but at all events
directly, by Jeremiah himself to Zedekiah. The promise in verse 5
is hardly to be reconciled with the language of xxi. 7. There is
evidently intended a contrast with the threat in xxii. 18 and 19. It
is curious to compare the latter with 2 Kings xxiv. 6 (2 Chr. xxxvi . 8
LXX., vide Q P.B.), and the former with Jer. lii. 11 (2 Kings xxv. 7
omits). In ch. xxxiv., verses 21, 22 contain nothing original, but if
Digitized by
Google
Notes and Discussions. 573
they are really an integral part of the text, they serve to show that
the covenant of emancipation, suggested, we may suppose, hy the
necessities of defence, was set at nought on the departure of the
invading army. A curious parallel may be found in The Atkenaum
for December 2nd, 1893, in a review of The Rise of our East African
Empire^ by Captain Lugard. ** Writing,'* says the reviewer, **of the
edicts issued by the Zanzibar sultans under our pressure, Capt.
Lugard tells us of 'the issue of a series of high-sounding edicts
calculated to ameliorate the position of the slave if enforced , . .
The last . . . was issued on August 1st, 1890. • . This edict, had it ever
been really put into execution, would not only have immediately
improved the position of the slave, but in course of time would have
practically put an end to domestic slavery, and that without prejudice
to the vested rights and claims of owners. It was, however, largely
superseded by a secret proclamation dated twenty days later, which
annulled some of its most important clauses ; nor am I aware that
even the remainder of the Act has ever been put into force effectively,
so that any single slave has gained his freedom in respect of it. ' "
Upon the whole I conclude that the three oracles preserved in xxi.
1 — 10, xxxiv. 1 — 7, and xxxvii. 3 — 10 are in their most essential
features authentic and independent. The narratives which we have
next to consider, which relate the arrest and imprisonment of
Jeremiah, his interview with Zedekiah, and consignment to a milder
custody, in which he is detained until the city is taken, and his
fortunes at the fall of Jerusalem, present much greater difficulties.
According to xxxviii. 1 — 5, the motive for his arrest was furnished
by '* the words that Jeremiah spake unto all the people," recommend-
ing desertion (verses 2, 3, as in xxi. 8 — 10). This, as we have already
seen, was during the first part of the siege, and it is plain that up to
this moment the prophet was free (cf . xxxvii. 4 and xxxvi. 5 — 6).
His arrest was effected during the interval that followed the tem-
porary raising of the siege. According to xxxvii. 11, he was himself
suspected of desertion. This may have been merely a pretext. The
princes to whom, both in xxxvii. and xxxviii., the imprisonment of
Jeremiah is attributed, did not perhaps venture to punish him for
words spoken in his prophetic character (cf .xxvi. 16 — 19). In xxxviii. 1
the moving spirits include Pashhur, the son of Malchiah, and Jucal
the son of Shelemiah, who had respectively received the oracles in
xxi. 3—10 (here quoted) and xxxvii. 6—10. Zephaniah, the son of
Maaseiah the priest, who had been present on both these occasions,
was, we know from xxix. 29, a friend to Jeremiah. Accordingly he
is not here named. I have little doubt that the narrative in xxxviii.
1 — 5 should be followed immediately by that in xxxvii. 11 — 16, and
this in turn by xxxviii. 14 — 28. Both the latter passages agree in
VOL. VII. P P
Digitized by
Google
574 The Jetcish Quarterly Revieic.
stating or implying that Jeromiah was imprisoned *' in the house of
Jonathan the scribe." I suspect that the text of xxxvii. 16 is the
result of an attempt to reconcile this fact with the statement con
tained in the story of Ebed-Melech (xxxviii. 6 — 13), that the prophet
was cast into " the dungeon of Malchiah, the king's son." In xxxvii.
16 we should perhaps read simply : ** When Jeremiah had remained
there many days, then Zedekiah, the king, sent/' etc., as in xxxviii.
14. In ch. xxxvii., verses 17 — 21 are merely an inferior version of
xxxviii. 14—28. Both begin and end with the same words, and the
latter feature is shared by the story of Ebed-Melech, a plain indica-
tion that the three passages are not consecutive, but alternative. Ife
may be observed that there is no necessary inconsistency between
the topography of xxxvii 17 and that of xxxviii. 14. The whole
subject may be illustrated by reference to Ezek. xliii. 8 and Neh. iii.
25. Of. Jer. xxxii. 2. It was at this crisis of Israel's history that
the imprisoned prophet poured forth the dreadful threatenings imper-
fectly preserved in xxxii. 28 — 35 and xxxiii. 4, 5. The editorial
parenthesis in xxxii. 2 — 5 ignores the real cause of his imprisonment.
Of his final release we have again two conflicting narratives. One
which is perhaps of a piece with xxxviii. 14 — ^28 originally ran as
follows (so Driver, Introd. Old Testament, p. 248) :— " And it came
to pass when Jerusalem was taken, that all the princes of the
king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate [I omit the
repeated enumeration]. And they sent and took Jeremiah out of
the court of the guard, and committed him unto Gedaliah the son of
Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, that he should carry him home : so he
dwelt among the people.*'
This is plausible. That Jeremiah had consistently counselled
submission and even desertion, and had suffered imprisonment on
that account, was a fact which might well have come to the know-
ledge of the Chaldean authorities, and have procured for him that
favourable treatment which he bad himself promised to others
(xxi. 8, 9, and xxxviii. 17, 20). We owe it to the prophet to
remember that, in his view, resistance to the Chaldeans meant
resistance to the will, the purpose, and the servants of Jahveh.
A later editor has inserted in the text of ch. xxxix. two long
parentheses (verses 1, 2, and 4 — 10) based on the general narrative
which is preserved in lit 4 — 16. Either the same, or perhaps an
earlier writer, provides a second account of Jeremiah's release, which
may be traced in verses 11, 12, and xl. 2—6. The first clause of
xxxix. 13 is the result of an attempt to combine the two accounts.
I do not rely upon the omission of verses 4 — 13 in the Septnagint,
which may be due to SfioioTiXtvrov. In a former article on The
Second Jeremiah, I supposed xL 1 to be a general title to the follow -
Digitized by
Google
Notes and Disaissiom. 575
ing chapters (Cbeyne on Jer. i. 3), but on closer study I am led to
adopt the view that it is the title of a lost prophecy (Cheyne on xl. 1).
It has the usual editorial parenthesis, giving a more probable account
of Jeremiah's i&te on the fall of Jerusalem than either of those
already discussed. It may have supplied a basis for the second of
these, which is otherwise, I fear, fictitious. All three accounts agree
that Jeremiah was liberated by the Chaldeans ; it may well be
supposed, from the motives above suggested. It was probably
anticipated that his influence would be, as in fact it was, exerted to
promote submission, peace, and order, in the conquered country.
It might not unreasonably be expected that an analysis of the
elements of this complex book would disclose some trace of a con-
temporary so much in sympathy with the teaching of the prophet as
was the compiler of the Book of Kings. Accordingly, we find in the
last chapter of Jeremiah (lii. 1 — 27) an historical narrative of a
general character which has served as the basis of that in 2 KingM
XI iv. 18— xzv. 21. The latter is indeed a mere abridgment of tbe
former. One or two of its omissions, e.g,y the reference to Zede-
kiah's life-long imprisonment in Jer. lii. 11 (cf. 2 Kings zxv. 7,
Jer. xxxii. 6, and xxxiv. 6), and that to " tJte twelve brazen hulls that
were under tbe bases which King Solomon had made for the house of
Jehovah " (Jer. lii. 20 ; cf . 2 Kings xxv. 16), are perhaps not merely
due to the desire for brevity.
2 Kings XXV. 23 — 26 is based on the full and vivid narrative which
begioB at Jer. xl. 7, especially xl. 7 — 9, xli. It— 3, 18 (" because of
the Chaldeans ; for they were afraid of them ") ; xlii. 1 (" all the
captains of the forces . . . and all the people, from the least even
unto the greatest ") ; xliii. 7 (^' and they came into the land of
Egypt"). This narrative, like that just discussed, is of a general
character, and contains, from zl. 7 to xli. 18, no reference to Jeremiah
at all, not even in xli. 10, where it would have been natural to name
him among *' the residue of tbe people that were in Mizpah." Plainly,
it was not originally designed for its present place in the book of
Jeremiah. More probably it was intended as a sequel to the history
of which we have the natural conclusion in lii. 27. A connecting
link is to be found in 2 Kings xxv. 22, and it is to be observed that
the statement there contained is pre-supposed by Jer. xxxix. 14, xl. 5,
7, 11, and xli. 2, 18. The concluding paragraphs of Jer. lii. (verses
28 — 30, and 31 — 34) are clearly of the nature of addenda. Verses
28 — 30 are omitted in the Septuagint and in the book of Kings.
Chapters xl. — xliv. form in the main a narrative of the settle-
ment in Egypt. The redundant style and hortatory tone of this
history are not more noticeable than its doable purpose, namely, to
discourage tbe Egyptian settlement, and to restrain tbe idolatries
Digitized by
Google
576 The Jetmh Quarter it/ Beview.
practised in it. I cannot help asking whether in Isaiah xix. 18 seq.
(especially verse 19), we have a memorial of this colony from an
opposite point of view.
In xl. — xliv., as in xxxvi., we must admit the ioflaence, thongh we
cannot tell the hand, of Barach, the son of Neriah. After the brief
episode relating to him in ch. xlv., follow, in the Hebrew text, the
two prophecies against Egypt, which are thus appropriately placed
in the neighbourhood of xl. — xliv. Canon Cheyne {Pulpit Comm.
on xxxii.) has called attention to the parallel between the purchase
narrated in that chapter, and a similar incident in Livy xxvi. 11.
I do not know whether any one has pointed out the curious re-
semblance between the language of xlvi. 22, and that of Livy xxL 22
(the dream of Hannibal) : ** Turn vidisse post sese serpentem raira
magnitudine cum ingenti arborum ac virguUorwu strage ferri, ac post
insequi cum fragore coeli nimbum« Tum, quse moles ea quidve
prudigii esset, qusDrentem audisse, vastitatem Italia esse; pergeret
porro ire neo ultra inquireret sineretque fata in occulto esse." The
last words remind one of the obscure clause in verse 23, ** for it
cannot be searched." On verse 20 a classical friend suggests the
story of lo.
From chapters xl. 7 — xliv. it would appear that the documents
which formed the basis of this book, so far as they were the work of
either Jeremiah or Baruch, and had escaped destruction in the
successive misfortunes which befell the prophet, must have existed
for a while in Egypt. On the other hand, there may well have been
among the captivity of Jehoiachin, as well as among the later exiles
in Babylonia, persons such as Ezekiel possessing copies of the famous
Roll, and also of such later utterances as ch. xxiv. and the letters in
xxix. Remote as were these two colonies from one another, we may
perhaps infer from Is. xix. 23 the probability of occasional com-
munication between them. Lastly, the interpolations which I have
ascribed to the Second Jeremiah, seem to be addressed to the exiles
in Babylonia from the ruins of Jerusalem (xxxi. 8 ; 1. 6 ; li. 50, 61).
Out of such diverse elements has the book of Jeremiah been built
up. I shall conclude this paper by putting, with much diffidence,
the query, whether in the freedom of the Septuagint version from
certain interpolations, some of which at least were made in the
interest of the exiles in Chaldea, and would doubtless enjoy currency
at Jerusalem after the Return, we may trace the influence of an
Egyptian recension of the original text? (Cf. Cheyne on xlvi. 15
and 17.)
Addendum. — Sir Henry Howorth's recent advocacy of the
text of the LXX. induces me to observe that, so far as the question
can be decided by the evidence of subject-matter and arrangement,
Digitized by
Google
Noten and Discussions. 577
the four omissions of xxx. 10, 11 ; xxxiii. 14—26 ; zxzix. 4 — 13 ;
and li. 44—49; appear to be due in the two former cases to in-
tentional and mistaken correction, in the two latter to carelessness
and ofioiorfKtvTop, and by no means to the transmission of an earlier
and purer text. They do not accord with any stage of its com-
position. Even the omission of xxix. 16-20 (" Babylon , . . Babylon**)
may be due to accident. Are these verses less genuine than v v. 10-14 ?
IL— Chapters L., LI.
When writing on the Second Jeremidh, in the Jewish Quarterly
Review for January, I was tempted to abandon the problem of
which I now hope to offer an approximate solution. The key to the
riddle of these chapters is, I think, to he found (1) in excising from
the text passages analogous to the interpolations in oh. xlviii., and
due to a copyist who pleased himself by padding it with mechanical
imitation^), or rather plagiarisms ; and (2) in recognising that certain
portions of these chapters have suffered such exceptional displace-
ment as can only be accounted for on the supposition that the text
is derived from the fragments of a torn manuscript. With these
qualifications there is perhaps no sufficient reason why the whole, of
course excepting li. 59 — 64, should not be ascribed to a single hand,
namely, that of the Second Jeremiah.
If we strike out as spurious 1. 39—46, li. 15—19, 36*, 37, 43, 47,
48, 52, 53, perhaps 55a, and certainly 6Sby the remainder, with the
possible exceptions of li. 41, 54, will furnish us with a text, disordered
iodeed, but substantially genuine. In 1. 2, however, the latter clauses
of the verse ('^ her images are put to shame, her idols are dismayed*'),
clearly intended as a substitute for those which immediately pre-
cede them, are doubtless due to the same hand which in li. 47, 52 has
effected a similar improvement on the model afforded by li. 44, acting
in both cases in a literal accordance with the precept of Ex. xxiii. 13.
I have previously suggested that this verse should run simply —
'* Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and conceal not :
Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is dismayed."
The words, *' Set up a standard," may be derived from the com-
mencement of another section, and I suppose their insertion may
have led to the repetition of the verb "publish.*' This verse is the
commencement of a long passage (concerned mainly with denuncia-
tions against Babylon), which I shall denote by the letter A, and
which, with three mterruptions, extends from 1. 2 to verse 32. Two
of these interruptions, viz., verses 4—7 and 17 — 20, are properly
consecutive parts of a bingle complete and beautiful utterance, which
may with propriety be appended to verse 32, or to the similar and
probably cognate promises in verses 33, 34. The place of verses 4 — 7
I propose to fill by the insertion of verses 35—38, which, as the text
Digitized by
Google
578 The Jeicish Quarterly Reiieic.
stands, are manifestly torn from their context. It is possible that
4 — 7 and 35 — 38 should simply exchange their respective positions
in the present text. We need have little hesitation in replacing
verses 17 — 20 by li. 20—23, when we observe that the latter passage
is connected by many points of contact with 1. 21 — 25, and
with no other part of either chapter. On similar grounds 1. 28
may be prefixed to li. 10. I would group together 1. 4 — 7, 17 — 20,
33, 34 and li. 5, to form a second section, B, concerned mainly with
promises to Israel. The letter 0 I reserve to indicate the spurious
element in 1. 39 — 46, etc. D w'dl stand for the section which begins
at li. 1 and terminates at verse 26. Besides the removal of verse 5
and the insertion of 1. 28 before verse 10, I would suggest that the
first two clauses of verse 11 should be transferred to verse 12, reading
as follows : —
*^ Make sharp the arrows ; hold firm the shields ; set up a standard
against the walls of Babylon.
" Make the watch strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes.
" For the Lord hath both devised and done that which he spake
coQceroing the inhabitants of Babylon."
The removal of verces 15^19 and 20 — 23 leaves an hiatus which
cannot be filled up until we have examined the concluding portions
of the chapter. At verse 27 begins a new section (E), concluding
with verse 33 (cf. Is. xiii. 22), which should. I think, be preceded by
58a, omitting the introductory formula, " Thus saith the Lord of
hosta." These words may have been prefixed to 58a when, as I
suppose, by some accident of transcription or injury to the MS., that
sentence became separated from verse 32.
I use the letter F to indicate the original conclusion of the prophecy
which, I think, consisted of verses 45, 46, 49—51, 34— 36a, 44,* tm
that order. This section is clearly related to B. The verses which
remain to be accounted for, I propose to arrange as follows, employ-
ing them to fill up the hiatta in D, after li. 14.
** (54) The sound of a cry from Babylon, and of great destruction
from the land of the Chaldeans! (41) How is Sheshach taken,
and the praise of the whole earth sarprised I How is Babylon
become a desolation among the nations ! (42) The sea is come up
upon Babylon : she is covered with the multitude of the waves there-
of. (55^) And their waves roar like many waters, the noise of their
voice is uttered : (56) For the spoiler is come upon her, even upon
Bab>lon, and her mighty men are taken, their bows are broken in
pieces : for the Lord is a (}od of recompences, he shall surely requite.
(57a) And I will make drank her princes and her wise men, her
governors and her deputies, and her mighty men ; (39a) when they
• Omitting the last clause of verse 44.
Digitized by
Google
Notes and Discussions, 579
are heated, I will make their feast, and I will make them drunken
that they may rejoice. (38) They shall roar together like yoang
lions ; they shall growl as lions' whelps. (40) I will bring them
down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats. (57^)
And they shall sleep a perpetaal sleep and not wake, saith the king,
whose name is the Lord of hosts.*'
I need not transcribe verses 24 — 26, which I suppose should follow
the foregoing passage. But a few words are necessary in justification
of such a rearrangement. After verse 14 we naturally expect some
fuller description of the shout raised by the invaders upon their entry
into the city. I find it in verses 54, 41, 42, and 55^. Before verse
24 we seek predictions of vengeance, expressed in the person of
Jahveh. These are to be found in verses 57fl, 39«, 38, 40, 57ft. The
link between these two elements is supplied by Terse 56. The
genuineness of verse 54 (cf. xlviii. 3), and verse 41 (cf. xxv. 26), is
very questionable, but I have inserted both verses, aud connected
them together, on account of their parallelism with 1. 22, 23. If they
are spurious, then verse 14 might be followed immediately by the
grand image of yerse 42, the comparison of invasion to inundation
(contrast verso 13, " O thou that dwellest upon many waters," and cf .
Isaiah xxviii. 17), so appropriate to the plains of Sbinar. It is im-
possible to deny the glaring discrepancy between 42 and 43, which
latter verse I regard as spurious. Compare in verse 53 the absurd appli-
cation to the level site of Babylon of imagery originally applied to the
rocky fastness of Petra (xlix. 16si.0bad. 4). In 55a, the fir^t words
involve unnecessary repetition, while the clause, " destroyeth out of
her the great voice,'* whatever it may mean, is strangely out of
harmony with the image of tumult in 556. On the other hand, the
connection of 55ft with ver^^e 42 is unmistakable. Equally so is that
between 57 and 39. Nor will any one familiar with the st^le of the
prophets hesitate to admit that 40 should be placed in direct juxta-
position with 38. A somewhat simpler arrangement than that adopted
above would be as follows, 57 (a and ft), 39a, 38, 40. It is possible that
this group of verses should come after, instead of preceding verse 24,
which would then be brought into immediate connection with verse
56. So in like manner it may be questioned whether li. 20 — 23 should
precede or follow 1. 21. But in general I have limited myself to what
appeared the least amount of transposition required by the sense. In
both chapters the passages which I have inserted in positions from
which other passages are removed, are as a rule of about the same
length with those which they replace. One curious result of these
transpositions and omissions is to reduce the two chapters of the
prophecy nearly to an equality in number of verses (ch. l.=:Title-|-
A+B = 1+30-1-11 = 42 verses. Chapter li.=sD-|-E-|-F=26-|-8-|-9
Digitized by
Google
580 The Jewish Quarterly JRetnew.
=43 verses approximately. If we omit the title in ch. 1., and in li.
▼erses 54 and 41 already discussed, each chapter will contain 41 verses ;
or, inserting title and colophon, " Thus far are the words of Jeremiah,"
42). Another result is to impart to their contents a certain degree
of symmetry, each commencing with threatenings against Bahylon,
and closing with a section of words of comfort to Israel.
There seems little reason to suppose that this prophecy in its ori^nal
form was the work of a period later than B.C. 536, or of a hand sub-
sequent to the writer of Isaiah xiii. In particular the eschatological
tone of that chapter, the weird, supernatural accompaniments of '^ the
day of Jahveh," in which Isaiah xiiL accords with Jeremiah iv. 23 —
26, appear to me to suggesc a later, not an earlier date, than that of
Jeremiah 1., li. in which these elements are wholly absent. In the
present number of the Jewish Quarterly Review I have touched
upon the possibility that all three passages are the work of one
author. Equally remarkable is the absence in Jeremiah 1., li. (omit-
ting interpolations) of any clear trace of the influence of the true
Second Isaiah, the principal source of Isaiah xl. — Ixii. This points, I
think, to an earlier date than that of chapters xxx., xxxi. in which
such traces are abundant, unless, indeed, we suppose that the earlier
portions of those chapters in which these references are concentrated,
have undergone extensive interpolation, perhaps at the hand of the
compiler of 1. 39—46.
In taking leave for a while of the book of Jeremiah, I may be
allowed to repeat the wish which I began by expressing, that someone
more competent than mySelf would grapple with the questions which
I have only raised because, while they are still unsolved, the structure,
history, and contents of this book must remain in great measure un-
intelligible. On the other hand a complete outline of the process by
which the book of Jeremiah attained its present form, and of its
relation to the books of Lamentations, Baruch, and the Epistle of Jere-
miah, would furnish an epitome or specimen of the history of the text
and canon of the Hebrew Scriptures.
Grey Hubert Skipwith.
Note.— On comparing 1 Sam. il 36, and 1 Elings ii. 26, 27, 35,
together with Robertson Smith's Jfote, O.T.J.O., 2nd ed. p. 266, it
seems not improbable that Anathoth, perhaps after the death of
Abiathar, may have passed into the possession of the rival house. In
this case Jeremiah's connection with the spot would be a coose-
quence of his being the son of the High Priest Hilkiah. I cannot
put down my pen without a word of sorrow for the great scholar
and teacher whose Prophets of Israel first enabled me to understand
the Bible.
Digitized by
Google
Mr. DAVID NUTTS
RECENT PUBLICATIONS.
AN INQUIRY INTO THE SOURCES
OP THE
HISTORY OF THE JEWS IN SPAIN.
By JOSEPH JACOBS.
Demy 8vo., xlvii.-263 pages, cloth, net, 48.
PRESS NOTICES.
" Mr. Jacobs is already favourably known to students of Spanish by The
Art of Worldly Wisdom^ translated from the Spanish of Balthasar Gracian, in
the * Golden Treasury * series. But the present work is of higher character,
and of far greater value to the historian. It is one of those books which we
feel it almost an impertinence to criticise, so grateful are we to the author for
its contents. In the press of publications of all kinds, when it is impossible
to read fully and to judge of all that gather round even one's special pursuit,
works like this of Mr. Jacobs are peculiarly acceptable : they save us so much
time, they serve as a guide through the labyrinth of printed matter, they
enable us to get at the special documents and MSS. which we need for our
particular purpose.... It is indispensable to every student of the history of the
Jews in Spain. It is not exhaustive, because Mr. Jacobs had no time to make
it so ; we can only look at with wonder and admiration, and accept with
gratitude, what he accomplished in Spain in the few days at his disposal." —
Academy,
" Mr. Joseph Jacobs' new work : ' An Inquiry into the Sources of the
History of the Jews in Spain' is published at so nominal a price (four
shillings I) that no one has an excuse for not buying it. Had the charge been
five times as great, the volume would still have been cheap ; for its contents
add more to our knowledge of the Jews of Spain than anyone thought there
remained to know. The indices and bibliographies will be of immense use to
students." — Jetoiah Chro7iiele.
"Mr. Jacobs has certainly rendered a great service to scholars by the
preparation of this learned work." — Daily Chronicle,
" Affords an extremely helpful aid to any future historian of the people." —
Spectator,
£tubn ovkr.
Digitized by
Google
STUDIES IN BIBLICAL ARCHiEOLOGY.
By JOSEPH JACOBS.
Crown 8vo., 172 pages, cloth, Ss. 6d.
*«* Reprinted, with additions and revision, from the Arehaological
Heciew and other specialist x>eriodicals. These "Studies/* which have
excited considerable interest among scholars, are now made accessible to the
wider circle of all students of the Old Testament.
PRESS NOTICE.
*^ Biblical students will be thankful to Mr. Joseph Jacobs for baring
reproduced in one volume his genial essays, which have appeared during the
last five years in various periodicals. We are glad to say that nearly all the
articles stand in the form in which they originally appeared.... It is really a
phenomenon in Biblical researches that hypotheses should hold their place for
five years in their integrity, for there is now a craze, among German professors
especially, for building up a system of Biblical interpretation, which is soon
demolished by another.... Most striking and original is the essay which has for
subject the Nethinim^ the UpoiovXoi^ or servants of the Temple, who, Mr.
Jacobs with much skill contends, were the offspring of the sacred courtesans
maintained in connection with the Temple of Jerusalem, and could only trace
the family descent from the mother." — Athenaum,
GENESIS AND SEMITIC TRADITION.
By J. D. DAVIS, Ph.D.,
Professor of Semitic Philology and Old Testament History in the Theological
Seminary at Princeton^ N.J,
8vo., 149 pages, Illustrated, oloth, 4s. 6d.
PRESS NOTICE.
'* The author of the volume before us *MTn« at giving us a summary of the
results obtained from the cuneiform tablets as to the infanpy of the world ;
and when the * accumulated rubbish * due to the mistakes of the early days
of Assyriological science has been cleared away, the genuine materials are to be
compared with the narrative in the Hebrew Scriptures. Educated general
readers are well aware how g^reat a mass of common matter there is in the
Babylonian and Hebrew accounts of, for example, the Creation and the Flood ;
while in other matters, such as the history of the creation of woman or of the
temptation and fall, there seems to be no certain Assyrian account.... The book
U characterised by great learning, which is vigorously applied." — Record,
WKBTHBUiEB, LBA AKD CO., CIRCUS PLAOI, LUHDOH WALL
Digitized by
Google
EDITED B7
I. ABRAHAMS AND C. G. MONTEFIORE.
Vol. VII.
JULY, 1895.
No. 28.
CONTENTS.
PA6K.
THE PRE-TALMTJDIC HAGGADA. IL The Apocalypse of
Abraham A27D ITS KiNDBED. By Bev. I>r. K. Kohler ... 08 1
THE PHILOSOPHICAL ASPECTS OF THE DOCTRINE OF
DIVINE INCARXATION. By F. C. Conybeaee ; 607
A SPECIMEN OF A COMMENTARY AKD COLLATED TEXT
OF THE TAROUM TO THE PROPHETS. Nahum. By
the Rev. Michael Adleb 63o
THE REFERENCES TO THE *^KINa" IN THE PSALTER,
IN THEIR BEARING ON QUESTIONS OF DATE AND
MESSIANIC BELIEF. By C. Buchanaij Gray ... ... 6r>H
C2IRQISANT, THE KARAITE, AND HIS WORK ON JEWISH
SECTS. By Prof. W. Backer (>«7
THE NINTH MEHABBERETH OF EMANUELE DA ROMA
AND THE TRESOR OF PEIRE DE CORBIAC. By
Gustavo Sacerdote 711
CORRECTIONS AND NOTES TO AGADATH SHIR HASHIRIM.
By S. Schechter 729
PHILO CONCERNING THE CONTEMPLATIVE LIFE. By F.
C. Conybearb 7.")")
CRITICAL NOnCES.— O. J. Simon's Faith aiid Experience ; by
C. G. Montbfiore As Others Saw Him ; ly J. EsTLiN CAR;
penter yf^
• AUG
i,oiibon :
D. NUTT, 270—271, STRAND, W.
Priet Three SkiUiMit. Annual S*b$oriptioH, PoH Free, Ten ShilUn'ji.
t.
Digitized by
Google
SOUTHilPTON BUlLDiNGS, CHAMCERT LAKE. LOIDOI.
TWO AND A-HALF per GENT. INTBRB8T allowed on DEPOSITS, repa7»Me on demaiMl-
TWO per GBNT. on CURRENT A(XX)UKTS, on the minimom monthly telanoM, wlm
not drawn below £100.
STOCKS, SHARES, and ANNUITIES Purchased and SoId«
SAYINGS DEPARTMENT.
For the encouragement of Thrift the Bank reoeiTet small auma on deposit, and allows
Interest Monthly, on each coropletod £1 ,
BZBSBSOK BirXXAXWa 800IBTT.
HOW TO PURCHASE A HOUSE FOR TWO GUINEAS PER MONTH.
BZBXBBOK rXSBBOU> XJkHB SQOIIITT.
HOW TO PURCHASE A PLOT OP LAND FOR FIVE SHILLINGS PER MONTH.
THE BIRKBEOK ALMANACK, with fnU particulars, post free.
FRANCIS RAYENSCROFT, ]
DAYID NUTT, 270-71, STRAND.
THE GREAT CRITICAL POLYCHROME EDITION OF
THE OLD TESTAMENT.
The most recent Issues of Professor Paul Haupt's
SACRED BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT,
A oritioal edition of the Hebrew text, with notes ; 4to,, beautifully
printed on fine paper, in oolonrs, so as to discriminate the component docu-
ments, are :
Part II.—" The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah,** arranged in chronological
order, with notes, by 0. H. Gomill, Professor in the University of Konigsberg ;
4to., 79 pp., 5s. net.
Part VI.— *« The Book of Joshua," printed in colours, exhibiting the com-
posite structure of the book. With notes by W. H. Bennett, Professor of
Hackney Kew College. 4to., 82 pp., Ss. net.
PRBVIOU8LT ISSUED.
"Job " (edited by Professor Siegfried), Ss. 6d, net ; "Leviticus'* (edited by
Canon Driver), 28. 6d. net ; ** Samuel *' (edited by Professor Budde), 68. 6d.
net.
*,* Subscribers* names to the series, or to particular books will be noted by
the Publishers.
Digitized by
Google
^h Jmisit ^uarterlj |lertm
JULY, 1895.
TBE PRE-TALMUDIC HAGGADA.
11.
C. — The Apocalypse of Abraham and its Kindred.
Mr. Montague Rhodes James has the merit of having
made the theological world for the first time familiar
with the " Testament of Abraham," which he published in
two versions of the Greek original, with a most valuable
critical and literary introduction and notes.^ But it is quite
surprising that the learned editor scarcely considered the
probability of the Jewish origin and character of the
Apocryphon, which, in spite of the few traces of Christian
hands mentioned on page oOf , naturally suggests itself to
the Jewish reader. The conception is so entirely Jewish,
and so cosmopolitan in form and spirit, that we do not
hesitate to accord this Apocryphon a rank equalling the
Book of Tobit, not to say the Book of Jonah. The fact that
the story is presented as a romance and that its chronology
does not at all tally with the Bible, speaks rather in
favour of high antiquity and against the supposition that
the work is to be attributed to a Christian author of the
second century, to which Mr. James inclines.
■ Text and Stvdies, Contributions to Biblical and Patristic Litenature^
ed. by J. Annitage Robinson. Vol. II., No. 2. The Testament of Abraham^
by Montague Rhodes James, with Appendix by W. E. Barnes. Cambridge
University Press, 1892.
VOL. VII. Q Q
582 TJie Jewish Quarterly Review,
" Abraham the just, the beloved friend of God, the friend
of strangers** — thus the story begins — ^now reached the
full measure of years allotted to him — 995 years ! — when
God sent his archangel, Michael, to him to prepare him for
the last journey. And here we are forthwith introduced
into the hospitable tent Abraham had pitched under the
Oak of Mamre with a view to the four " high roads be-
neath to welcome the rich and the poor, kings and beg-
gars, kinsmen and strangers as guests." This feature —
prominent also in the life of Job as pictured in the " Testa-
ment of Job" and in the Midrash Aboth d. R. Nathan, ed.
Schechter 33f — occurs throughout the Midrash and Talmud
{8ota 10, JB. Metzia 86b. B, Bathra 16, Targ, Jerush, Gen,
xxi. 33, and Bereah. Rabba, § 49 and 54, and in Hieronymus
IV., p. 583, quoted by Chastel Stud, Christl Barmherzigkeit,
note 44). It was the Jewish (Elssene) system of propa-
ganda still practised by the great mystic Ishmael ben
Elisha in the time of Hadrian (Aboth d. R, Nathan, ed.
Schechter, § 38, 114) and later on adopted by the Christian
monks. It finds its significant illustration in a tradition
preserved by Philo (" Monarchy," i 7, ed. Mangey, ii. 220).
Speaking of proselytes — D'»i:i — who '* come over " from the
path of darkness and folly to the path of light and truth —
he makes Moses enjoin the people not to let these men who
have renounced their country, their kindred axid friends, for
the sake of joining the true religion, remain destitute alto-
gether of cities, homes, axid friendships, but to have places of
refuge always ready to receive them. Compare with this
Philo's Fragments, note to Exod. xxii. 19 (ed. Mangey,
ii. 667) and Targum Jerushalmi to Deut. xxiiL 16 (and
Exodus xl. 6). We arrive here at the very root of prose-
lytism developing from the hospitium offered to the na
— the stranger.
But Abraham — to continue our story — is, like a true
Essene, an agriculturist, and Michael, the archangel, finds
him in the field superintending the ploughing. Abraham is
struck with the sun-like splendour of the warrior in whose
Digitized by
Google
The Pre'Talmudic Haggada, 583
garb the angel appears ; and, like a true nobleman, offers
his guest one of his horses from the stable to ride home
with him. But the angel persistently refuses, and they
walk together, when suddenly the huge tamarisk-tree with
its three hundred (and thirty-one =^127^) branches whis-
pers to Abraham, as he passes, the secret that — this seems
to be the meaning of the hopelessly corrupt passage — the
" thrice holy God is about to summon him to himself to be
among those that love him " (the just in Paradise ; see
Sabb, 886. and Targum to Judges v. 31). Isaac had in the
meantime informed his mother Sarah — who, by a sort of
anachronism, still lives — of the arrival of a guest of super-
human appearance, and now hastens, as usual, to bring water
to his father to wash the feet of the stranger, when the pre-
sentiment that this was to be the last time he would
perform the sacred act, made Abraham cry bitterly, where-
upon Isaac also wept. The archangel, too, shed tears, and
behold, they turned into pearls, which Abraham was quick
to take and hide under his cloak. At once the guest-
chamber is arranged in a manner to suit the royal visitor,
yet, before they sit down at the sumptuous table, the arch-
angel leaves the room and rises in the twinkling of the eye
up to heaven to join the praises of the ministering
angels assembled before the throne of God at the time of
sunset, and then, prostrating himself before God, says : " I
cannot 'bring the sad message of death to the righteous
man whose likeness is not found on earth." But God tells
him to sit down and eat with Abraham, as some spirit
would do the eating for him, and then a dream would come
upon Isaac, which he, the archangel, should interpret for
Abraham^ thus to bring him the tidings. Accordingly, the
angel sits down to eat, and Abraham offers the benediction,
the angel joining. Isaac's dream during the night disturbs
him so much as to cause him to rouse all from sleep, and
the cry also reaches Sarah in her room. At once Sarah
recognises the angel as one of the three heavenly visitors
who had announced the birth of Isaac, and on that occasion
QQ J
Digitized by
Google
584 The Jetci^h Qtmrferlt/ Revietc,
had wrought the miracle of having the calf that had been
served as meat come to life again and run back to its
mother to take suck from her.^ But Abraham, on hearing
the message of the angel, refuses to follow. In this per-
plexity the archangel Michael again goes up to heaven for
advice, and, on returning, tells Abraham in the name of
God that none of the offspring of Adam, neither prophet
nor ruler, ever escaped death. The reader certainly misses
here an allusion to Enoch, but it appears that he, too, was
believed to have migrated from the earth to the heavenly
paradise, as Abraham was now expected to do while follow-
ing the archangel. *' The angel of death," says God, " shall
not strike thee with his sword nor with disease, for, when
once the angel of death is given permission to strike, God
himself no longer interferes. (Of. HTTODb man ]rDa7 ]VD.)
Michael, my captain, is to lead thee hence." Whereupon
Abraham asks one favour yet of God {Mechiltha Ba, 11). He
wishes " to be allowed to see the inhabited world and the
entire heavenly order of things while yet alive, so as to
depart thereafter in peace." The wish is granted. " What-
ever he tells thee to do, do for him, for he is my friend,"
says God, and at his bidding Michael takes the heavenly
chariot with the fiery Cherubim surrounded by sixty angels»
and rides with Abraham upon a cloud high above the earth,
so that with one single glance he can overlook all the
doings of men. All the scenes of earthly existence, all
the grief and gladness, all the weal and woe of human life,
Abraham now surveys in one instant with tender sympa-
thy, rejoicing with the one and sorrowing with the other.
But when he sees all the havoc that is done everywhere by
> Tliis storj, known in Mohammedan folklore, was known also in Essene
ciroles, and is allnded to in the Zohar^ Chaye Sarah, p. 127&, of. Yalknt
Benbeni Vayera, the calf showing Abraham the road to the care of
Machpelah, where the patriarchs lead their immortal life. Compare also
F. Mannhardt, Oermanitche Mythen^ p. 67-74. Liebreoht, OervoHua^
p. 47 and 158, the story of Hatim Taiy the generous host and his horse, in
Liebreoht*s Dunlop, p. 519 ; and also the unbroken hone$ of Jttus, John
xix. 33 86.
Digitized by
Google
The Pre-Talmmic Haggada. 585
murderous swords and slanderous tongues, and how the
peace of households and nations is destroyed by acts of
violence and crime of all kind, he is seized with wrath.
Beholding robbers ready to commit murder, he exclaims :
" O Lord, let wild beasts of the forests come and devour
these ! " And no sooner was the word spoken than the wild
beasts came out of the forest and devoured the murderers.
On seeing men and women committing adultery, he cried
out : " O Lord, let the earth open her mouth and swallow
these up ! " and behold, the houses tumbled over the viola-
tors of the marriage- vow and buried them under their ruins.
And again he sees thieves digging holes through store-
houses and carrying off the goods, and he prays : " O Lord,
let fire fall from heaven and consume these ! " and imme-
diately fire falls upon the thieves and consumes them.
But instantly a voice from heaven stopped them in their
ride ; God says to the archangel : " Turn back lest Abraham
by his wrath destroy all my creatures. For behold, A braham
did not sin^ and therefore has no pity on sinners. Yet I, who am
the Maker of the tcorld, do not wish to destroy a single creature
of mine, but defer the death of the sinner, until he repent and
live. Oo, therefore, and show unto Abraham the judgtnents and
retributions behind th^ Eastern gate of heaven, that he may
have compassion on the souls of those sinners whom fie killed
in his wrath!*
With these words of incomparable beauty and grandeur,
the like of which have never been uttered by any prophet
or preacher since the days of Ezekiel, and which lie at the
root of the tenderest sayings of the silver-tongued teacher
of Nazareth, God sends Abraham with the archangel
Michael to view Paradise and Hell.
A grand scene now opens before the gaze of the patriarch.
Two roads, one wide and one narrow, stretch on either side,
ending at two gates correspondingly large and small, and
a large procession of souls is led by angels along the former,
and a few walk along the other ; and before the two gates
Adam, a man of wondrous figure, sits on a golden throne.
Digitized by
Google
586 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
weeping and tearing his hair in distress at the sight of the
multitude going through the wide gate, and again smiling
and exulting at the sight of the few entering the narrow
gate. "For the one leads to destruction, the other to eternal
bliss, and against seven thousand that walk on the road of
perdition, there is hardly one soul that walks on the path
of righteousness without blemish to iSnd salvation."
The writer, probably himself entranced as he opens his
vision, continues, as if relating in the name of Abraham :
'• While I was still speaking, behold, there were two angels
of fiery face and fierce looks, who drove before them ten
thousand souls through the wide gate to perdition, while a
single soul was led by one angel. Following the many
through the gate, we beheld a man of marvellous stature
and sun-like appearance, resembling a son of God sitting
on a throne of crystal, and before him stood a table of
crystal inlaid with chrysolith and beryl " — the reading of
the corrupt text is conjectural ! — " with a scroll of six
cubits' length and ten cubits* width, while two angels held
paper and ink and pen in their hands ; and on the other
side sat one angel of light with a pair of scales in his hand,
and one angel of fire of relentless mien, holding a vessel
with fire to probe the sinners. The man upon the throne
judged the souls that approached, and pronounced their
fate, the two angels opposite weighing and testing them,
and the two other angels recording the verdict, the one the
righteous acts and the other the sins." " This, O holy
Abraham," says the heavenly captain Michael, "is the
judgment and the retribution." The one that pronounces
the judgment is the first saintly martyr, Abel, the son of
Adam. " Man shall he judged by man " (cp. Genesis ix. 6,
and Targ, Jermh,),^i\i God; "therefore the power was
given to him until the time when God himself will come
and give the final judgment, which is everlasting and un-
changeable. For each man having sprung forth from the
first created, all are first judged here by his son, and after
the second appearance of the great Ruler to" — I adopt here
Digitized by
Google
The Pre-Talmudic Haggada. 587
at once the reading suggested by the context in place of
the Christianised version of the text " — the twelve tnhes of
Israel, all breath and all creation will be judged by the
great Ruler, the God of alL Then the end hath come, and
awful is the verdict, and no one can undo it." And as to the
archangel who holds the scales of justice, this is Dokiel (accu-
rate weigher=bM'>p'n), and the one who holds the probing
fire that is Purael (the chastiser from 7n;p=fire, or =bH33^T)9,
from ]37'T19, punishment). Further the vision does not lead.
By the true inspiration of art we are spared the shocking
sight of agony and horror in the torture-chambers of hell,
and likewise the spectacle of revels in paradisaical life which
appeal only to the senses, although we might have expected
some such revelations. We are still in touch with the
lofty, prophetic spirit, if, instead of all that, we are called
to witness the following striking scene : The single soul,
under the guidance of the one angel mentioned before, is
brought before Abel, the great judge, who now says : ** Open
for me the scroll here, and give account of the sins of this
soul ! " whereupon the angels find the number and weight
of both the sins and the righteous deeds of the soul to be
exactly alika Forthwith the soul is neither handed over
to chastisement nor to salvation, but put into the middle
state — '»aia'»3, as is the Talmudical term for the one who is
neither p'^TJ nor VXtn. And when inquiring after the
reason, Abraham is told by his heavenly guide : " Because
the judge here can neither condemn her for her sins nor
grant her salvation for her righteous a<5ts, she must remain
here until God, the Judge of all, comes at the end of time
and decides her fate." " What can be done for that poor
soul ? " asks Abraham, compassionately. *' If she would
but possess a single righteous deed above her sins, she
would enter salvation," replied the archangel. " Then let us
offer a prayer on her behalf, and see whether G<xi will hear
us,'' said Abraham, and fell on his knees, the archangel
joining him ; and when they rose from their supplication,
behold, the soul was no longer in the middle state (the
Digitized by
Google
588 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
Purgatory). " She has been saved through thy righteous
prayer," said the angel to Abraham. A light-encircled
angel had brought her into Paradise, whereupon Abraham
exclaimed : " I give praise to the name of Ood the Most
High, and to his mercy, to which there is no bound."
Compare the Kaddish : obpb "paa Hnn H'^DO; WV.
But this very act of kindness and of soul-saving grace
brought, with all the keener pangs of remorse, the memory
of those souls whom his wrath had killed before, back to
his mind, and he invoked Ood amid teeurs to forgive him
his sins eind to restore those persons to life again ; and God
granted him forgiveness, and restored the dead to life, so
that those criminals might meet their due punishment
there.
It is time to make mention also of the second version of
our text, which is both shorter and more recent. There
Enoch, " the writer of righteousness, the teacher of heaven
and earth,'' appears at the side of Abel, the judge, as the one
who writes down the verdict, and Cherubim hold the scrolls
and unroll them before these judges. Then there is first
the soul of a woman introduced who had murdered her
own daughter, but declared herself to be guiltless, when
the scrolls unfolded showed her to have committed adultery
with the husband of her daughter and then to have killed
her, and many other crimes she had committed. And as
they were read, she cried : " Woe to me ! I have forgotten
all these sins, but they are not forgotten here," and then
she is handed over to the torturing demons. We observe
here a progress, to be sure, towards the view of the latter
Apocalypses ; but we fail to find the least trace of Christian
ideas, far less of New Testament infiuences. On the con-
trary, the Jewish idea of strict justice pervades, until
Abraham, the same who pleaded for the living sinners of
Sodom, also feels compassion for that one unredeemed soul,
and his prayer rescues her. Christ has no place there,
neither as a judge in the nether world, as the first Christians
took him to be, nor as an atoning high priest who obtains
Digitized by
Google
The Pre-Talmudic Haggada. 689
mercy for the sinner by his vicarious sacrifice. In fact, it
is easy to show that the Abraham of our Apocalypse has
not a tinge of either Christian or of late Rabbinical colour
about him. He represents the cosmopolitan humanity of the
Jews of the Ptolemean period, just as the Book of Aristeas
does, for which, strangely enough, the historiographer Graetz
has no place except as a stupid forgery.
But before examining the main tenor and tendency of
our Apocalypse, we must follow the patriarch to his blissful
end. Abraham's hours are numbered. He manifests the
same reluctance to depart this life, as does Moses in the
MidrasL He persists in refusing to follow Michael to
heaven, and the archangel comes complaining before God,
saying : " I dare not touch him, because he is Thy friend,
and there is none like him on earth except Job, the tnarvellom
man" This occasional reference to the heathen saint Job
is altogether remarkable, as it points to a very old con-
ception intentionally refuted in Talmud and Midra^h, all of
which place Job beneath Abraham (compare the passages
referred to above), but maintetined with great emphasis in
the Testament of Job, a work of equal age and equal merit
to ours, as will be shown later on, and in the Apocalypse
of Paul, the sources of which are decidedly Jewish and
pre-Christian. Finally, the angel of death, simply called
©ovaT09, is sent to take the soul of Abraham. " Thou whose
name is bitterness and ferocity, the brazen-faced, and the
evil-eyed — bSTTP and 3n ]>P — cast aside thy terrific aspect
and impurity ('stench' of Ahriman in the Avesta), and
appear in the garb of an angel of light, exhaling the beauty
and perfume of Paradise." Exactly so does Satan appear
in the garb of an angel of light to Adam in the Book of Adam,
to which Paul refers in 2 Cor. xi. 14. Consequently
Abraham goes to meet him and welcome him as guest,
taking him to be Michael, the archangel ; and the angel of
death approaches him bowing, and says : " Peace upon thee,
0 righteous soul, friend of the Most High, who received
holy angels as guests under his hospitable roof!" (cf.
Digitized by
Google
590 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
Epistle to the Hebrews xiii. 2, and similar Midrashic
expressions pa&sim). But when the patriarch, full of
admiration for his guest, asks after his land and destina-
tion, the angel of death says: ''I am the bitter cup of
death," an allusion to the name of Samael nyon DD.
Abraham first hesitates to believe that one so beautiful
could be Death, then bids him leave his house; and, when
this is of no avail, resorts, like Moses in the similar Moses
Apocalypse, after true Essene fashion, to exorcism. By
invoking the name of the deathless Ood he desires him to
disclose to him all the isecrets of death. He is told that his
own virtue and righteousness became a crown of light upon
the head of the angel of death, to make him appear like a
divine messenger of peace, while to sinners he appears in
utmost terror, bitterness, and unbearable odour of impurity.
Abraham^ desirous to behold Death in his most terrific
sight, then arms himself with the nuigic power of the holy
name of Gkxl, and tells Death to show himself in all his
bitterness auid cruelty. With seven fiery heads of dragons,
and fourteen different aspects, one more ferocious than the
other, Death now unmasks himself before him, so that at
bis very breath seven thousand children die in the neigh-
bourhood, while Abraham swoons away in a fright. At
the prayer of Abraham, in which even the angel of death
joined, the children were restored again to life, and Abraham
praises God on high.
Finally Abraham yielded, promising to give up his soul
to the archangel Michael ; but asked first for an explana-
tion of the seven dragon heads, and the fourteen aspects of
death, which the angel of death gives^ while referring to the
different modes of death men undergo. In the meantime
exhaustion sets in, and, while clasping the heinds of
Abraham, the angel of death lures away his souL And
instantly Michael comes down from heaven with a multi-
tude of angels to carry the precious soul upward. His
body is put in heaven-spun linen, and anointed with
paradisaical incense, and after three days buried under the
Digitized by
Google
The Pre-Talmtjuiic Haggada, 691
tree of Mamre. The soul, however, is amidst hymns and
praises to the thrice holy God, carried up by the angels and
placed before the throne of God, where Abraham prostrated
himself before his Eternal Father, and God the Father
says: "Carry my friend Abraham into Paradise to the
dwellings of my righteous ones, the abodes of my holy
ones, where there is neither labour, nor mourning, nor grief,
but peace, and joy, and life without end."
It is very likely that the original work had here a brief
description of the bliss of the Paradise, which is altogether
wanting in our Apocalypse. The mention of the bosom of
Isaac and Jacob at the entrance of Abraham into Paradise
is a blunder too gross for the original author. The entire
end of the book, which closes with an exhortation to imitate
the hospitality of Abraham and the Christian Doxology,
seems to betray a Christian hand. Still the whole Requiem
idea with the presentation of the soul to God, and the re-
ception of the same in Paradise, must have emanated from
the Jewish JSssenes. For, according to Mone (Lat und Qriech.
Messen, p. 23f), the formula remained down to the third
century : " In the bosom of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob our
fathers," which goes back to the second pre-Christian century,
as is seen from 4 Mac. xiii ; also James, in his notes to
our book, p. 129, quotes at least one formula : " In sinibus
Abrahse, Isaac, et Jacob patriarchorum tuorum," which
corresponds with 'j3>niiR
At any rate, the omission of Christ as the lamb, as the
lirst-born son of CJod, the Word, or as the Judge, excludes
a Christian authorship. A still stronger argument against
the Christian authorship of our Apocalypse is offered by
the manner in which Death is introduced. He is the
ancient angel of death as we find him in the Books
of Chronicles, with a few Persian and Babylonian traits
attached, but this " world - destroyer '* is simply a
natural power without the malignity of the Ahri-
manian Satan, and altogether free from the inherence of
sin. He is the personification of physical evil with its
Digitized by
Google
692 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
fourteen forms of death and seventy-two forms of disease
(cp. Apoc, of Moses, or Adam-book ; and the Avestas' 99,999
diseases of Ahriman), but not of moral evil, as in the
Gnostic system of Paul and his followers, or predecessors.
He is an agent, not a counterpart of God and of the prin-
ciple of goodness.
Neither does Adam, as portrayed here, make the im-
pression of being in need of a redeeming Christ to rescue
him from the curse of the first sin. Abel, his son, too, is
but beginning to claim especial reverence for his martyr-
dom. " The blood of Abel " is not yet rendered an object
of sanctification or sacrament, as it became in the Books of
Adam and Enoch, and in circles related to early Christianity.
Our Apocalypse is fix)m beginning to end Jetcish. And in
all probability the Moses Apoc, the Midrash on Moses'
departure (Jellinek, Beth Ham., I. 115-129; cp. Si/re Bam.,
136, and Deb., 338 and 354-57), has drawn material from
the one now before ua (See also Mech. Amalek II.)
In the Moses Apocalypse the prophet is also shown the
whole earth. Paradise and Hell, being lifted up by Metatron
(Mithra), who often takes the places of the apxi^o^rpdnjya:,
" the captain of the heavenly host," the archangel Michael,
who drives Abraham aj'ound the world in the cherubim
chariot. The same is told of Enoch (Book of Enoch, Ixx. 2).
Dillmann compares it to Elijah's ascent in 2 Kings ii. 12.
Still Elijah only rode up to heaven, but did not view
Paradise and Hell, as Enoch and Abraham did, to see the
first-created ones, the righteous ones of old. We cannot
but think here of the sun-chariot of Mithra, which played
a prominent part in the mystic practices of the Persians,
the Mandseans or Gnostics, and Neoplatonists (S. Win-
dischman, Zoroastr. Stud., 309-312 ; Reville, Religion of Rome
under the Severi, Germ. Trans., 89, 144, 161, 181 ; Phih-
stratus Apollonius, III. 15 ; Rhode, Griech, Roman. ISOf). We
have here the " mystery of the rQD")D niDPD," " the practical
use of the divine chariot," about which the oldest Rabbinical
traditions, Hagiga 13-14, Shir Hash. Rabba ad "pKlS
Digitized by
Google
The Pre-Talmudic Haggada. 593
tTTTinn, and the Hekhaloth in Jellinek's Beth Hamidrash II.,
XVI.j^, p. 64, and the KabbaJists, the HMID >TiV, speak
so characteristically as of an actual miracle-working power.
Cp. ]'»blQHntDtD the Midrash and Hekhaloth. Let us not
forget that in the Adam Book {Apoc, of Moses) God rides in
the cherub'icagon when appearing to Adam, cuid all the
mystics are actually described as riding through the air on
the celestial S'x^ticL So does Alexander the Great when
carried by cherub-like eagles, and the earth beneath appears
to him like a ball, and the sea like a pot, as he looks down
from above (Jerush. Aboda Zara, III. 1). And now we learn
from the cuneiform documents that this heavenly ride upon
the eagle to look down upon earth and heaven from im-
measurable heights, and then to reach Hades— in other
words, the flight upon the cherub up to heaven and
down to hell — goes back to the giant Etan, of hoary Baby-
lonian antiquity (see Harper in Delitzsch and Haupfs
Beitr. II. 2, pp. 391j^). We need not be surprised, then, to
find the ride down to Hades by Seth, or Sithil, the son of
Adam, in the Mandaean lore. Ancient mythology becomes
mysticism to a latter age. This is the key to the rr07PD
naDHQ, and the Essenes were the keepers of this lore —
these nnrDa. Strange that when addressing his disciples
on the Mount of Olives, through the opened heavens, in-
voking the Holy Spirit upon them, Christ also uses the
word nnnosn (this is the Anetharath) in the Bartholomean
Apocalypse given by Tischendorf, Apocah/ps Apocryph.
p. 25.
The Midrash has not only preserved the memory of
Abraham's ride above the vault of heaven (cp. also Ber,
Babb. 82: rhvn nnyinn ]n ]n mrwn (tt7''p)b[3]ttn -idm
P'^p-in na'^DD nbyab inw, Beresch, Babba, § 48), but tells
us expressly, with especial reference also to Moses Mechiltha
Amalek 2, and without reference to Moses Bereschith Babba
62, that, in order to have the righteous ones die in peace,
God discloses to them previous to their death the secrets of
the world to come while they are yet alive. The Midrash
Digitized by
Google
694 TJie Jewish Quarterly Review.
continues mentioning Rabbis who saw Paradise and their
own reward there before dying (Cf. Midrash Shocker Tob,
Psalm xi. ; at the close the vision of the dying Essene
martyr "iT^V 73 ^DV). No doubt, then, there existed a
Midrash orrOM rvT'lDS, and probably also a pn'S^ rrr^lDD
npP'»1 as we'll as a niDD rrr^ios, if not in writing, at least as
an oral Haggada (cf. Jellinek, £, Hammidrash, V. 50 and
VI. xxxviii. And this is our Apocalypse. It is the
work of an Essene, This is shown by its whole angelology
and eschatology. And need we further proof that Abraham
was endowed with all the virtues of an Essene 1 In his con-
versation with the angel of death, we have seen him using
the holy name of God as a charm. That he ate his meat
in priestly purity like an Essene {B, Metzia, 87a) was
pointed out by Baer (Leben Abr., p. 208). That he taught
his children from Eeturah the use of magic art by the
names of the angels of evil, rTMDIIDn OD orh "iDD (San-
hedrin, 91a) is also an Rssene trait. And the very fetct that
the Kabbalistic book m>^ IDD was attributed to Abraham
shows that, like Moses, he formed the centre of mystic lore.
In fact, Enoch and Abraham are as far ba.ck as 140 before
the Christian era, praised by Eupolemos as teachers ot
astrology, who had learned all about the stars from angels,
which tradition throws some light upon the age of our
Apocalyptic literature (Euseb. Praep. Evang., IX. 17 f).
On the other hand we know, from both the New Testa-
ment and the Jewish writings (Luke xvi. 13 ; Kiddushin
72b ; and 4 Mac. xiii.), that " to sit in the lap of Abraham "
means to enjoy the bliss of Paradise. Hence Abraham
became a prominent figure there, as soon as Adam, Abel,
and Enoch had stepped into the background ; that is, when
the seal of circumcision had become the pledge of life, and
Abraham had to acknowledge the circumcised as his own
at the gate (Beresh, Babba, 48 ; Shemoth Babba, 19 ; Erubin,
19a). For the cosmopolitan view of heaven and hell taken
in our Apocalypse was narrowed down to sectarian
Judaism in the Talmudical age, which tended, more or less.
Digitized by
Google
The Pre-Talmudic Saggada. 595
to belittle the piety of Job and Enoch, and to behold in
Adam the progenitor of a sinful race. This latter view,
exhibited already in IV. Esra, grew into large proportions
in Pauline Christianity, so that the poison of sin «DniT
wro bw (Jebamoth, 1036), worked, in consequence, less mis-
chief in the Jewish dogma regarding the Dbl^n niD'W >p>'7!^
than it did in the Church.
Let us now take a glsjice at the Paxadise and Hell of the
Talmudists, and see how they compare with our Apocalypse
and with those of Peter and Paul. It is Joshua ben Levi,
of the third Christian century, who, like Abraham, held
previous to his death a conversation with the angel of
death, God having given the angel of death the same
instructions he had given the angel Michael regarding
Abraham : " Do for him whatever he wishes," and who was
privileged, like him, to see both Paradise and Hell, a descrip-
tion of which is given in the treatise bearing his name (see
Jellinek's Beth Hammidrash, II. xviii., and 48-53 ; cf . I.
147-149). Zunz, it is true, finds this treatise to be of a
very recent date (& Oottesd, Vatir,, 179); but R. Joshua
ben Levi appears throughout the Talmudical and Midrashic
literature as the chief recorder of eschatologicaJ lore, as
will be seen in the following, and his Paradise and Inferno
have their analogies everywhere in the tradition (see Midr,
JTon^, Jellinek, Beth Hammidrash, II. 28-32, in )1V p roon.
m. 131-140, 67-76, V. 42-51 and 172/ and elsewhere).
At Gehenna's gate Joshua ben Levi saw (ib.
I. 148, cf. Exodus Rabba, § 40) persons hung up by
their noses, others by their hands some by their
tongues, some by their eyelids and feet, women by
their breasts. At one place men were devoured by worms
that die not: at another, coals of fire burnt up their
inner parts. Some ate dust that broke their teeth —
they had lived on stolen goods ; and others were cast from
flames into ice, and back again. Each sin had its own
chastising angel, the three deadly sins mentioned being
adultery, insulting a fellow-man in public, and abusing
Digitized by
Google
696 The JeicUh Quarter It/ Revietc.
the name of God. All the faces were black, and in the
very midst of their suffering the Jewish sinners would
declare God to be a just Judge, and be rescued after twelve
months, while the heathen, failing to do so, would have
their punishment renewed every six months. From Friday
eve to the close of Sabbath, however, the fires of Gehenna
are cooled down, and they themselves find a cooling place
between two mountains of snow. Gan Eden he describes
(II. 92) Gts a city with two gates of carbuncle, above which
sixty myriads of angels, with faces like the firmament,
stand with crowns of gold and precious stones, and with
myrtle-wreaths in their hands, to welcome each righteous
man as he enters, auid lead him to his tent, where wine and
honey from the world's beginning are spread before him
on costly tables. Four rivers — one of wine, one of honey,
one of balsam, and one of oil — flow through the city, where
is light eternal and the beauty of continual rejuvenation,
the soul going ever anew through the three ages of child-
hood, manhood, and venerable old age. Trees of all kinds
surround the Tree of Life, exhaling wondrous perfume,
and seven partitions there are for the various classes. About
these seven partitions of the city of Paradise we learn
(II. 28) that the first, made of cedar-wood, harbors the
proselytes under the captainship of Obadiah the prophet
(probably originally Abedmelech the Ethiopian, see Jewish
Quarterly, V. 417) ; the secotui, made of silver, contains
the repentant sinners, under Manasseh's leadership; the
third, made of gold, and precious stones, with the Tree of
Life in the centre, and the patriarchs, the twelve sons of
Jacob, David, and Solomon, and all the rulers of the
ages under its shade, Kalab the son of David (cf. B, Bathra,
Via; Derech Eretz Zuttal,) being the leader, while Moses
and Aaron perform the function of teachers, all being
seated on golden thrones, there singing the praise of God.
The fourth department, built of olive-wood, is inhabited by
the multitude of those sons of Israel whose lives were
made as bitter by oppression as is the olive tree, yet gave
Digitized by
Google
The Pre'Talmudw Haggada, 597
forth pure light. The fifth department, built of onyx and
jasper, was that in which both Messiahs, the son of David
and the son of Joseph, dwelt in company with Elijah.
About the sixth and seventh the Midrash Conen is silent,
most likely because, according to the Persian system there
were originally but three, with the fifth (or fourth) as the
inmost part, and only the Babylonian or Mandsean system
had seven. Compare also Wolf, Muhammedanische Eschato-
%t>. pp. 167-197.
Gehenna, according to the same tradition (page 30), also
has but three large gates, under the rule of Kipud, of Neged
sagiel (?) and of Samael, but seven departments, in the
lowest of which Elisha ben Abuyah, the Gnostic, nnw, is
placed ; in the sixth, the idolater Micah ; in the fifth, Ahab ;
in the fourth, Jeroboam ; in the third, Korah ; in the
second, Absalom ; for the first the name is omitted, but all
except Acher are said to be released.
This seems to prove that the Midrash belongs to the
age of Gnosticism. It is. therefore, quite possible that the
tradition given as Elijah s communication to H. Simeon ben
Jochai (Cod. III. &Jff.) goes back to that great mystic, from
whose son Eliezer, Joshua ben Levi probably derived his
lore. Among these riTinos we can at least verify a very
important one as Simon ben Jochai*s teaching, and trace
it far back to pre-Christian Essenism, Si/re Debarim*
10a, 47 (cf. Midrash Shocher Tab, Psalms xii. 6, seven
heavens and seven hells). R. Simeon ben Jochai teaches
that there are seven classes of righteous ones, who will see
God's majesty in the world to come : first, ** his loving ones
are like the sun ; the next class like the moon ; the third
like the firmament ; the fourth like the stars ; the fifth like
the lightning ; the sixth like the lilies ; and the seventh like
the golden candlestick with the olive-trees about it."
Now, it is remarkable that the Biblical expression, Vanwi
tDDtDH riNSD (Judges V. 31), is not only in the Talmud con-
stantly— (see B, Bathra, 86 ; Joma, 2"Sa ; Targ. Jerus., and
Sifre ibid.) — applied to the foremost in piety; but the
VOL. VII. R R
Digitized by
Google
598 The Jewish Quarterly Retieic.
New Testament writers use it as a well-accepted term.
See James i. 12 : " The Lord has promised [the crovm of life]
to those tcho love him/' and 2 Tim. iv. 8: "The Lord,
the righteous judge, shall on that day give the crown of
righteousness not only unto me, but unto all who lave his
presence " ttcmt* toi^ ^airTiKoa-i. rrfv hri^veiav avrov.
Resh — who, by the bye, in his very instructive work on the
Agrapha, construes an original Hebrew Gospel upon thefaUe
premise that the apostolic quotations are Chrisfa sayings,
while, in fact, they are pre-Christian, and chiefly Essene
expressions, to a large extent traceable also through Talmudie
and Hellenistic Judaism! — fails to see the Biblical allusion
(page 253). Likewise must our New Testament exegetes
fail to understfimd the words of the apostle in 1 Cor.
XV. 40jf, where Paul, speaking of the adfuira eirovpdvia,
in contrast to the awfiara cTriyeia, says, " Different is the
So^a of the sun from that of the moon and that of the stars,
for each star differs from the othere in So^a. And so is the
resurrection of the dead. The generation of Adam is
earthly, that of the Messiah heavenly." The apostle
evidently alludes to the different classes of the just in
Paradise, ranking in degree and in light by their \ery faces,
as mentioned by Simon ben Jochai.
How old and constant this tradition was — and this con-
stancy necessitates a class of mystics reaching up to high
antiquity! — may also be learned fix>m the following: —
In 1 Cor. ii. 9, Paul quotes as sacred writing (KaOa^f;
jeypaiTTai), "Eye hath not seen and ear not heard,
nor hath it entered the heart of any man what Grod hath
prepared for those who love him." Resh (Agrapha, page
154/f, cf. 281), shows that the words nrwi nf? 7>y, IsaiaJi
Ixiv. 3, and Ixv. 17, could not have been mesmt by the
apostle, but that an Elijah Apocalypse existed, containing
the quoted verse, which he claims to be based upon a
specific Christ-saying, although the same verse occurs in
different forms elsewhere. The fact is that the Isaianic
verse, TintT) rf? ]^P occurs regularly in the apocalyptic
Digitized by
Google
The Pre-Talmudic Haggada, 599
description of the bliss of the righteous in Paradise. (See
Berachothy 346, sayings of'R Joshua ben Levi and R.
Jochanan — both derived their Eschatology from Simon ben
Jochai; and the treatise on Gan Eden in Jellinek's
B. Hammidraah),
But we are in a position to give some information
about the origin of the glories of "sun," "moon," and
" stars " belonging to the souls in Paradise. The Persian
book, Ardai Viraf (ed. and transl. by Haugh and West),
the contents of which go back to the time of Plato and
Pythagoras, also introduces a righteous man taking a
glance at heaven and hell ; and there heaven and hell are
presented according to the original Aryan division into
the three grades of good or bad thoughts, words, and actions,
and an uppermost heaven, full of light, for the good God
Ahuramazda with those souls that are godly, and an under-
most and darkest hell for the bad spirit Ahriinan and his
evil associates. The three divisions of heaven bear the
characteristic names of stations of the sun, of the moon,
and of the stars ; and above that of the sun, the highest of
these, there is the dwelling-place of Ahuramazda, the seat
of the Endless Lights, "the House of Song," mentioned
already in the oldest Zoroastrian hymns. There are the
same rivers of oil and the wine of the new life (a drink
from the stream of forgetfulness, nDlttTDH y^), and the
perfume of wondrous power with the miraculous trees and
the life-bestowing ox (Bundahish, XIX. 13)=Behemoth, as
meat for the righteous, and also the same modes of punish-
ment of the wicked, as described in the Apocalypse of
Peter and Paul, and in the Jewish treatises on Gehenna,
only far more systematically arranged in the Persian
system than in any of these. No one familiar with the
Avesta literature, from the reports of Theopompus and
Plutarch to the vision of Viraf and all the Pahlavi Texts,
as translated by West, can read of the wicked in the Peter
Apocalypse, how they are hung up by their tongues, breasts,
and heads, etc., without feeling certain that the Persian
R R 2
Digitized by
Google
600 Tlie Jemsh Quarferli/ Rerieic.
conception (if not the Hindoo (Brahmin) one given in
Book XIV., of the Pre-Buddhistic Epic Mahabharata)
is the original and the Christian is a copy. But between
these stand the Jewish Essenes. They certainly wrote
the Sibylline books, and of these the second book, verses
260-270, has an indisputable Jewish character. They are
the prophetical warning to the idolatrous heathen, the
pederasts, adulterers, and uMtrers ! There is the original
"gnashing of the teeth" of those in Gehenna, Sibyll.
Book VIII. 350 ; II. 306, " the fire " and " the worms," and
the " wailing " of Matt. xiii. 42 and 60, which expression
goes back to Judith xvi. 17. Consequently, when a
tradition in the name of R [Joshua ben] Levi, in
Shir Hashirim Rabba to v. 15, and Vayikra Rahb. § 25,
says that as those that live in concubinage with their
servants are "hung up by their heads in Gehenna" —
exactly as the adulterers are hung up by their heads
in the Peter Apocalypse — ^and the RabbinicfiJ saying i&
based on Psalm Ixviii. 22, while the Midrash and Targ,
Jonath. show the entire Psalm applied to the Two
Roads of Life and Death Eternal, Heaven and Hell ! — we
see at once that the Christian Apocalypse offers only
borrowed views and traditions. In fcict, we posseas a
remarkable vision of an Essene, TOn, of the time of
Simon ben Shetach, a century before the rise of Christianity,
according to which the departed Essene brother enjoys,
under the shade of the trees of Paradise, the bliss of the
streams of life, while the son of a publican nearly suflFers
the agonies of Tantalus, standing in the midst of
water, yet unable to quench his thirst (compare Visio
Pauliy by Brandes, page 28, and St. Perpetua VII.) and
a saintly woman, Miriam, the daughter of Eli (the
high priest), is at times hedged in under the reeds
[of the Styx river] or hung up by her breasts, because her
fasts had often the air of hypocrisy (see Jerush. Hagiga 11. 1).
Compare also the thirteen streams of Balsam which R
Abbahu saw flowing for him to drink from in Paradise
Digitized by
Google
TJie Pre-Talmudic Haggada. COl
{Bcresh, JRabb, § 62), and the burning filth in the mouth of
the blasphemers {Oittin 57a) with the Apocalyptic pictures.
Josephus is undoubtedly right when comparing the Para-
dise and Hell of the Essenes with the Greek Elysium and
Hades (Jewish WarSy 11. viii. 11). But we must not overlook
the fact that Plato himself has his description of the Great
Judgment in the Nether-world and the two roads leading to
Paradise and Hell, the one to the right consisting of seven
grades of light — one brighter than the other with a beautiful
meadow in the midst, and the other, to the left, of toi-ture
chambers, with a " bellowing '* beast in the deep, and the
"wailing" of the punished ones filling the dark places,
derived from the vision of " Er the Pamphylian, the son of
Armenios, whose soul came back from the other world and
narrated all these things." And this Er is identified by
Clemens of Alexandria with Zoroaster. Compare Plato's
Republic X., cL 13 flF., with Clemens Alexandr. Strom, V. 14.
He is, if not in name, certainly in the main feature
identical with Viraf, the Persian saint. Likewise do the
names of the judges in Hades, Rhadamanthus and Minos,
point to a pre-Hellenic source, the one being Cretan or
Semitic, the other the Egyptian god Ra-d*amenthes, " Sun
of the Nether- world " ; and while the weighing of the souls
on the scales before the judgment-seat, found also in the
Avesta, has the air of Egyptian thought, the maidens that
assist in the judgment, according to the Platonic portraiture,
or those that receive the soul at the gate or bridge in the
shape of Virtue or Sin personified, have the original
character of Aryan and Teuton Valkyries, and are still
foimd sculptured on the Lykian monuments at Xanthos as
soul-carrying haiyiea. In other words, the question of the
origin of these Orphic conceptions of Hell and Heaven is
far more complicated than our theologians or philologists
imagine.^ Eijypt and Persia, India and Babylonia must
» Includingr A. Dieterich, whose classic work, i\ekyia^ Leipzig, 1893, is
full of interesting facts, but labours under the mistake that the Orphic
mysteries can be explained without a study of Babylonia, India, and
Ancient Egypt, in short of Semitic origins.
Digitized by
Google
602 The Jetcish Quarterly Review,
have had an exchange of views regarding these matters
ages before the Greeks made the acquaintance of either.
The r61e of Judge of the Nether- world ascribed, then, by
our Abraham Apocalypse to Adam's son Abel — corres-
ponding with the Jama (Yima) of the Aryans, or with the
son of Kayomarth of the Avesta (compare the Seth or Sitil
of the Mandaeans)— refers us to the age of Ptolemean
syncretism, in which the Jews (Elssenes) took a conspi-
cuous part. The probability is that Enoch os Judge or
Recorder of the last day, like Hermes (=Tot), Anubis
and Mithra, belongs to a later stage, and the Messiah's
officiating as judge at the resurrection like Soschiosch to
a still later one.
It would lead too fax were we to point out single parallels
between the Persian cmd the Jewish Christian Inferno
with its Wolf {Kapod Minochird 27-50 the same as lISp,
Beth Hammidrash, II. 30), its Lake of Tears (in Arda Viraf
and b03n pDP or Mayan Bochim, Eruhin I9fl ; Beth Hammi*
drash, II. 147, 1. 132), and its m}:inn (cf. Visio Pauli, by
Brandes, p. 26), the Leviathan and Ur of the Mandseans upon
whose horns the earth rests corresponding with " the Tax-
taruchos " auid " Themeluchos " of the Christian Apocalypse
and the Paradise with its rivers and trees, its crowns of
glory, and golden thrones for the just. It is the Purgatory
or middle state, in which the soul with merits equal to her
sins must stay, that our Apocalpyse has derived from the
Persian system (see Sacred Books of the East, West Pahlavi
Texts, 1. 294),and we find already the schools of Shammai and
Hillel — that is the generation preceding the Christian era
— in dispute over these D''3iy»3 (see Tosifta Sanhedrin, xiiL 3,
Babli Bosh Hashana, 166). The Shammaites divide men
into three classes : the wicked ones, the just and those whose
sins and good deeds are even — D'^blptt? — ^the first being at
once sent down to Gehenna, the second at once admitted
into life eternal, and the third are tested by fire. Here we
have the same idea of So/ufui^eLv^ which forms so prominent
a part in the Epistles of Paul as well as in our Apocalypse^
Digitized by
Google
The Pre-Talmudic Haggada, 603
and is based in our Tosef ta on Zachariah xiii. 9, HA '>nfian^
wranyy u^rsnT^ a^wn n^w'bwn. Here the proving by fire is
emphasised (cf. Hagiga 27a). It is probably not too bold to
discern the identical names of the proving angels mentioned
in our Abraham- Apocalypse in bN*»p^"r and bfcOy^iD also in
the old Oan Eden treatise bearing the name of the old Sham-
maite mystic, R. Eliezer b. Hjrrcanos, B. Hammid. v. 42-51.
in which Abraham and Isaac sit as judges at the gate in
place of Adam and Abel in the Abrahamic vision. Against
the Shammaites the HillelUea maintain that Qod will have
compassion on the middle class and turn the scale in
favour of mercy. The idea of having the scales of judg-
ment turned toward the side of righteousness in our disposi-
tion towards our fellow-man, niDT ^l^b DIM bD HA ]"T uyn
mDT, which occurs in the saying of Joshua ben Parachia 130
B.C.E., shows how old the conception is. This is exactly the
view taken in our Apocalypse, It is the cosmopolitan spirit
of non-Palestinian or Hellenistic Judaism which prevails
in the school of Hillel, and made them declare : Dlh6 y\^
vrc^W — " Man with all his shortcomings is not lost," while
the Shammaites held the opposite view: Mnna \h'W Dlrf? nilD
Wnnaa^D — " It would be better for man in his sinfulness
had he not been bom " (Erubin 136).
The idea of divine mercy is emphasised in our Apocalypse
to such an extent that the Christian Apocalypses of Paul,
John, and Esdra could not well adopt it without dealing a
blow to the intermediating power of Christ. Therefore,
they lay all stress on the justice of suffering, sun, moon, and
stars, earth and sea becoming accusers of man's sinfulness
before the throne of Qod, while the apostles and saints
appear "more merciful than Qod the Father of all;
until Christ, we presume, releases the imprisoned ones.
The main power of Abraham, however, is manifested in his
prayer for the unfortunate inhabitants of Qehenna. His
intercession for the soul he sees held by the angel in the
Purgatory is a specimen of what he shall do after having
entered Paradise. He will always be the V^^» l«bD. This
Digitized by
Google
604 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
is the idea underljnng our Apocalypse. And on it the
Kaddish or Mass for the dead rests.
In all the Infernos of the Jews or Christians the cry is
heard : " O God, righteous is thy judgment ! " (see Peter
Apocalypse, p. 10; Paul Apoc, pp. 316-18; Erubin, 19(7;
Taanith, 116 ; Sifre Haazinn, 307, ^'•"Tn pITJ, cf. Psalms of
Solomon, ii. 16 and viii. 7 ; 2 Mace vii. 38, and xii. 41.)
In life, justice — nTO Ta3D TTTO — is not always executecL
All the more must the world to come bring about
the relentless avenging of wrong, and an exact system
of retribution. Still, even the gates of hell are not
shut against the power of mercy when the divine
justice of the punishment is humbly acknowledged
by the suflferers themselves. "When the dwellers of
Gehenna chant forth their Amen at the time when the holy
name of God is praised by the congregation in justifica-
tion of God's ways, the doors of hell yield, and angels
carry them in white robes into Paradise on the last day."
This is the teaching of R Eliezer b. Hyrccuios, the great
mystic, the last great authority on Essene lore, in Eliahu
Zutta, ch. XX., and R^ Joshua b. Levi, the pupil's pupil of
R Simon b. Jochai, who was the pupil's pupil of it Eliezer
has the following remarkable saying, Sabbath, 1196.— bD
lb ]^nniD bD in nn ib }'^v^yp ^m:> b^n pw nT(:sn
XVS p nya?, " Whosoever chants the Amen of the Kaddish
with full force will have his verdict of condemnation re-
pealed and the gates of Paradise opened for him " (cf . San-
hedrin, 916, R J. b. Levi, nDIT frrs'2, 7vr>\D n)D1«n b^
n''nyb moiMI ; cf . also Midrash Shocher Tab, Ps. xxxi. 8, and
Ps. Ixxxiv. 3). It is undoubtedly due also to the Sabbath
song of the Essene saints at their sacred banquets that the
wicked in hell (see Pesiktha Rabbathi, 23) were granted a
respite on that day from Friday eve to the close of the
Sabbath under songs of Amen and Halleluyah, wherefore
Joshua ben Levi, in the name of Bar Kappara, pupil of S.
b. J., finds the three Sabbath meals to be a safeguard
against Gehenna suflferings (Sabbath, 118a). Of course, the
Digitized by
Google
The Pre-Talmudic Haggada, 605
Christian writer of the Paul Apocalypse (see Brandes' Visio
Fault) had to claim the same respite for the Christian in-
habitants of hell on a Sunday instead, as Grand Rabbin
Levy in the Eevue des Etudes Juives suggested. But did
not he, as well as the writers of the Christian Hsdra and of
the Peter Apocalypse ^ betray his dependence on Jewish
sources in many other ways ?
The Acheron, or Acherusian Lake, mentioned as the
great river of Hades in Greek mythology, most pro-
bably of Semitic origin, found also in the SihylL B, L,
302, II., 341, appears in the Syriac version of Paul Apoc.
as the lake Evx<''Pf'OT€iaj a rather awkward metamorphosis.
The Hebrew words for the forms of hymns, Th'^hillatha
Tushbechatha uf Nechmatha, were manifestly no longer under-
stood by the Christian compiler. See Tischendorf, Apocr,
Apoc. (p. 66). The punishment for disturbance of the
devotion during church service is mentioned alike in the
Arabian Moses Apocalypse (Jellinek, Beth Hammidrash I.
XIX.), and in the Paul Apocalypse, III., 40, a late inter-
polation). A diflScult passage in the newly-discovered
Peter Apocalypse seems also to find its explanation by re-
currence to a Hebrew original. Speaking of the murderers
that fall a prey to the evil reptiles of hell, the Apocalypse
says : ** There were set upon them worms like clouds of
darkness," v. 10, eiri/cevvro Be airoU o-fcwXrf/ce^: Strrrep
viipeXai ckotoi^. Harnack confesses his inability to ex-
plain this strange simile. As soon, however, as we think
of D^b'*D3n ]n, and compare the Dinn "^Voa, a Leviathan-
like monster so huge that God, in order to show him to
Moses, must shake the ocean, Shemoth Rabba, § 15, we
have the matter cleared up. But then even the Petrine
Apocalypse must have been copied from a Jewish original.
And, in faxit, no Christian writer would have inflicted so
terrible a punishment upon the worshipper of idols €ts is that
of being roasted and burned up like the idol itself. Both
he and the Sibylline poet, II., 260-347 — whose reference to
the Behemoth and Leviathan, v. 292, whose tortures for
Digitized by
Google
i
606 7%# JewUk Quarterfy Review,
the usurers, v. 269, and whose three rivers of Paradise
with the emphasis of equaliti/ of all in the participation of
bliss : " no slavery, nor poverty, nor riches, nor tyranny,"
show him to have been an Elssene Jew — ^had older
Jewish descriptions as models}
The grand topic of the Divina Comedia — to sum up our
inquiry — occupied the minds of the Jewish Essenes long
before the Church took hold of it. The entire view taken of
the relation of Judaism to the Church by Zunz and all his
followers is, to my mind, utterly false. Before David, the
son of Jesse, was placed by the Pauline Apocalyptic in the
centre of Paradise as singer of the Hallelujah Psalms, the
Essenes had placed their cup of wine into his hands to sing
the praise of God at the great banquet of the just (com-
pare Fault Apoc. iii. 30 with Pemchim 1196). But the New
Year's Day, in its character of annual Day of Divine
Judgment, turned the mind of the Jew more and more
away from prying into the secrets of the hereafter, leaving
the subject to the few mystics who maintained the ancient
lore, whereas with the Church the question of salvation
and doom grew ever of higher moment.
Far, then, from being, as Zunz believed, borrowed from
the Church, the Jewish Kaddish, with all the legends con-
nected with it, forms the echo of the last Amen of Essene
worship, in which the strains of the Orphic song, the
Gathas of the Aryan priest and monk, and the Hallelujahs
of the ancient Levite, united in praising the Thrice Holy
One who dwells unseen above the Cherubim, yet is sought
after by alL
E. EOHLEB.
' I wiU add here that the name of Atarlimoe ^ven in the Arabian
Testament of Abraham (p. 188) to Death is K^D^V^I^K equal to
av9po\fi^ia ; see Jastrow's Dictionary, 8,v., which, like Death D^ HJIIH
D^31D1, Vayikra Rabb, § 23, and the Demon Bedargon in £Uenmenyerj II.
486, mentioned p. 57, is ((1J11D, equal to Podafzrra.
Digitized by
Google
T%e Philosophical Aspects of Dimne Incarnation. 607
THE PHILOSOPHIC AL ASPECTS OF THE DOCTRINE
OF DIVINE INCARNATION.
The idea of a God incarnate, that is to say, of a divine
being who becomes man, assuming not the human form only
as a mere apparition might, but condescending to be bom and
inherit human flesh and blood, is not peculiar to Christianity;
but is I believe widespread in other religions also, notably
in those of India. I shall however, confine the scope of
this essay to an inquiry into the history and development
of the Christian belief alone. For this is, after all, that
which interests and most closely touches ourselves. A
preponderance of educated people in Europe and America
believe that Jesus of Nazareth was God as well €ts man.
But no one seriously believes in the Indian tales of divine
incarnations. These might be curious as illustrating a
stray feature here or there of the fabric of beliefs built
up by Christian thinkers and witnesses, but are otherwise
worthless save to the students of anthropology.
I confine myself, therefore, to the Christian idea and
belief. And what is this ? First as to the name. In the
Latin fathers the word used is Incamatio, which implies
that the Word became Flesh, as John says in his Gospel
But the Greek fathers, Athanasius for instance, used a
slightly different term, evavdpmrriat^;, which has never
passed into our idiom. This term signifies that the Word
became man and dwelt among us, according to the other
half of John's statement.
Secondly, as to the content of the idea expressed in this
twofold manner in the eastern and western halves of the
Christian world. I do not know that a better exposition of
the meaning of the belief can be given than that which we
have in Athanasius : Trepl rrj^ ivav6p(oirTja-€(o<i tov \6yov koX
T^9 hih a(i)fiaTo^ Trpo? i}/ia9 iiTL^aveLa^ avTov, " about the
Digitized by
Google
6 08 The Jeickh Quarterly Review,
becoming man of the Word and about the manifestation of
him to us by means of body." Of this treatise I will quote
a few lines (Migne Pa^ro/. (?r., § 17, xxv. 125):
"For let us not suppose that the Word was shut up and
enclosed in the body (of Jesus). Nor was it in a body in
such wise that it was not elsewhere as well. Still less did
it move that body, but leave the universe empty of its
energy and providence. On the contrary, strange as it may
seem, being the Word, he {i.e. Jesus) was not contained in
anything, but rather himself contained all thinga Just as
the Word being in the whole of creation, is an essence out-
side the whole, yet is in all things through his Powers,
controlling and ordering all things, enfolding with his
providence all in all, and making alive each and all at once,
comprehending the whole world, yet not comprehended
therein, but existing in his entirety and always in his
Father alone : so also the Word being in his human body,
and himself making it alive as you would suppose, made
alive the whole world at the same time ; and continued to
be in all things and outside the whole. And although he
was recognised from his body through its works, yet he did
not cease to be manifest at the same time in the energy
and activity of the universe. Now the soul has the
faculty of seeing by means of its reasonings even what is
outside its own body ; not however of acting (or energising)
outside its own body, or of moving by its presence things
away from it. At least a man has never been known to move
and alter the position of bodies afar off simply by reflection
on them in his mind. Nor because a man should sit in his
own house and reason concerning the heavenly bodies, would
he therefore be already moving the sun and turning round
the heaven. But he only sees them move and become,
without being able to bring about all that
" The Word of God however, did not exist in the man in
this way. For he was not bound up with his body, but
rather himself held and governed that body ; so that he was
in it and in all things both at once, and was outside reality,
Digitized by
Google
The Philosophical Aspects of Dinne Incarnation. 60d
and was at rest in the Father alone. And herein lay the
miracle, that he was living with us as a man, and at the
same time as Word was vivifying all things, and as Son
was with the Father. Wherefore he himself suffered
nothing when the Virgin bore him, nor was polluted because
he was in a body. Nay, rather he hallowed his body."
This extract I think fairly represents the combination in
one real person, Jesus of Nazareth, of merely human charac-
teristics along with the superhuman and divine prerogatives
of creating and sustaining the material universe, his own
body included.
Now we have to ask where did such an idea as this come
from, and what was its history, if it had one ?
But first I must be allowed to separate the two elements
in it. There is the particular human element in it, the his-
torical man, Jesus, of whom, however, in the above extract
we get no details. Secondly, there is the universal and
metaphysical conception of a Word of God, who made and
controls the world, but is also capable of manifesting
himself in human form and of intervening in the affairs
of men.
We all know that the conception of a Messiahship was
much older than Christianity. It was an idea which held
the minds of the Jews for centuries before the advent of
Jesus, and had received various fillings, more or less spiri-
tual, according to the class of aspirants whose national hope
was summed up in the name. Christianity was originally
merely the faith of those Jews who recognised in Jesus the
Messiah or Christ that was to be ; and the earliest Christian
books, like the Gospels, and Acts, and the bulk of the
writings of Justin Martyr, were composed with the aim of
proving that Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies
appropriated to the Messiah, and that therefore he was
the Messiah.
Now the idea of a Divine Word was shaped and elaborated
long l:>efore Jesus was born, no less than that of the Messiah-
ship, and so equally admits of being separated frora the
Digitized by
Google
610 The Jetcish Quarterly Eerietc,
historical man Jesus, and of being examined apart More-
over, it is on the whole a distinctly philosophical conception,
and so merits the attention of the Aristotelian Society.
In the works of Philo, an Alexandrine Jew who was
born about B.C. 20, and died about a.d. 43, or ten years
after the crucifixion, we are fortunate in having inherited
a mass of writings, prior to, and so independent of, Christi-
anity, of which the Logos is the constant theme. They
are an almost inexhaustible mine of information about how
the Jews, especially the Greek Jews, conceived of the Logos
or Word of God in a pre-Christian age. In the Poemandres,
ascribed to the mythical Hermes Trismegistus, we have
also a pagan work written under Jewish influence, dealing
largely with the same topic. The date of this book cannot
be precisely fixed, but it was certainly not written under
Christian influence ; and the resemblance of its tone and
thought to much of Philo is so great that we cannot doubt
but that it is the work of a kindred and contemporary, but
pagan, school of Alexandrine thinkers. Both Philo's works
and the Poemandres have been preserved to us by the
Christian Church ; whose early writers, like Lactantius at
the end of the third century, boldly claimed Hermes as a
Christian writer. Philo's works, not being anonymous,
could not so ea,sily be claimed as Christian ; and accord-
ingly the early Christian fathers merely borrowed whole-
sale his words and thoughts, while they suppressed his
name. Sometimes, however, they pretended that he was
really a Christian in Jewish disguise, and termed him a
follower of the Apostles.
The following are the leading thoughts of the Poemandres
or Shepherd of men.
The Father of all things, God, is Nous. He is life and
light ; neither male nor female, but both at once. He is
the Archetypal idea that pre-exists of infinite beginning.
He brought forth by Logos another nous that is creative
This latter is God of fire and of spirit, out of which he
created seven controllers, as they may be called, that sur-
Digitized by
Google
The Philosophical Aspects o/Dimne Incarnation, 611
round in circles the sensible world ; and their control is
called Fate.
This Logos and the creative Nous are of one substance,
and are therefore united. So united, the creative Nous
turns round its own creatures in a cycle of movement never
ending and fresh-beginning.
The holy, luminous Logos issuing from Nous, which is
Qod the Father, is Son of God. That which in each of us
sees -and hears, is the Logos of the Lord. The union of
this Logos and of Nom, the divine Father, is Life.
Here we seem to have a gradation of three divine beings :
a. Supreme Nous, which is God the Father. /8. The holy
and luminous Logos, which is Son of God. 7. The creative
Nous. It is the two latter, whose respective functions in
the work of creation are somewhat obscurely indicated,
which are one and consubstantial.
The word ofioovaia, here used for consubstantiality,
reappears at the time of the Council of Nice in a sense not
quite the same, but yet akin to that in which Hermes
used it As against the Arians, who said that the Word
was only of like substance {o/Jbotova-co^) with Qod the
Father, the Nicene fathers decided that he was ofioova-ia:^
of the same substance.
We must next give a brief outline of Philo's doctrine
of the Logos.
God the Father is an inscrutable being, that can only
apprehend himself; and cannot possibly be the object of
another's contemplation. We can only know that he is;
not what he ia For he is without quality (aTrow?), and
we cannot predicate any attributes of him at all. No
category is good enough for him. We do not even know
his true name. In a sense we cannot even say that he
is one; for he is not a first in relation to whom there
can be a second. For all number is younger than the
universe, but he is older than the universe, of which he
is creator. Philo shrinks even from predicating goodness
of God, because he is above the good, even as he is more
Digitized by
Google
612 The Jewish Quarterly Retdew.
ancient than the monad and purer than the One. His
favourite appellation for God is therefore the true Being,
TO ovT(»9 ^K. He, of course, took his philosophical language
from the early Greek schools, especially the Eleatic. But
in so insisting on the unconditionedness of God he was
also protesting against the anthropomorphism not only of
the Greeks, but of the Hebrew Scriptures as well.
Needless to say, Philo never for long sustains himself in
this Ding-ansich conception of God. He has to connect
with God the sensible universe and man ; and in the Logos
or Word and Reason of God he found ready to hand an
intermediary agency to connect the changeless and eternal
pure Being with the world which becomes.
The initial step in his doctrine of the Creation of the
World is a negation of his agnostic attitude, and is borrowed
from Plato. It is this. God is self-suflScing, therefore he
did not cause the universe to be because he wanted it, but
because he is good and desired to extend and communicate,
to externalise (if I may use the word) his own inherent
goodness.
The next step is also borrowed from Plato's Timaeus,
wherein we read (p. 28) that the world's artificer being
good, looked to the changeless and eternal, and not to a
created pattern in creating the world. This eternal and
changeless archetype of the sensible world is a being
separable from the Father, with a life of its own, and
is itself divine. As the original of the universe it com-
prises in itself all intelligible beings, just as its copy, the
world, comprises in itself us and all other visible creatures.
I think so much may be said of Plato's archetypal world,
without entering into the many obscurities of his reason-
ing.
According to Philo, God, in creating the world, looked to
a similar eternal pattern. He prefigured in the calm
depths of his reason, in all its details, the world which
was to be. This divine plan or prefigurement of all things
material Philo calls the intelligible universe, Cosmos
Digitized by
Google
The Philosophical Aspects of Divine Incarnation. 613
Noetos. Of it the material universe is the copy, including
just as many sensible kinds as the pattern does intelligible
kinds.
Thus the foundation of Philo's speculation is that idle
distinction between two orders of being, an ideal and real,
of which one is a mere double of the other, which was the
keynote of New Platonism, and still haunts our schools of
philosophy. One or the other order is a mere mirage.
This ideal or intelligible Cosmos, says Philo, is not in
space or time, for these only arise out of and along with
the material world. It exists in the consciousness of the
all-wise God, as an idea of ideas, IBia IBecov, It is no
other than the Logos or thought of God as already en-
gaged in the work of creating. The meaning of the phrase
ISia ISe&y used of the Logos is this. God as pure being
cannot enter into relations with indefinite and turbid matter
(De Sacrif. 13, p. 261). So he employed bodiless powers,
properly called ideas (IBeai), in order that each kind of
reality should acquire its befitting form. The same trans-
parent device is used to account for evil and reconcile it
with omnipotence. The tendency to evil in the rational
or self-conscious soul is due to the fact that God left the
arrangement of this part to subordinate powers.^
Out of the ideas or immaterial agencies the Cosmos
noetos, itself immaterial, is constructed, an invisible counter-
part of the visible world.^ As the all in all of these un-
seen powers, which he also often calls Xoyoi (words), '^^vxal
(souls), and angels, the supreme word or Logos is the idea
of ideas.
Another favourite way of speaking with Philo is to say
that ' the true or absolute Being has in himself two supreme
and primal powers, viz., goodness and authority. In his
goodness he created all things, in his power he governs the
things so created. The Logos or Word is the union in him
of these two aspects or powers. For by reason of and
» Be Conf. Ling., 35, p. 432. « Jbid., 34, p. 48i,
» De Cherub., 9, p. 143,
VOL. VII. SS
Digitized by
Google
614 I%€ Jewish Quarterly Review.
through his Logos God is both ruler and good. As pure
being, God is called the Father. As creative goodness, he
is called God. As ruling creation by his providence, he is
called Lord. The Logos is sometimes represented also as
not the mere union in the Father of goodness and authority,
but as above and between these two, and so identical with
the Supreme Being. This threefold Godhead Philo more
than once calls a trinity in unity and unity in trinity.^ But
the unity of God is declared to be a higher truth than his
trinity. The former is apprehended in the ecstasy of the
great mysteries by the thoroughly purged souL The three-
fold aspect of the one God is apprehended in the lesser
mysteries, and is but a provisional standpoint coiTeiative
with a certain weakness of spiritual vision on the part of
the faithful.
There is a difference between Philo's Trinity and the
Christian, in that in his the Logos comprises, as it were, both
the second and the third person. Both Trinities agree in
putting the Father first, and then his only son, the Logos,
who is also God. Perhaps the functions ascribed in Chris-
tian theology to the third person, the Holy Spirit, are not
the same as the efoucrwt, rule or authority, in virtue of
which the Supreme Being, according to Philo, is called
Lord, /cvpio<;. Still there is this resemblance, that the
Son in leaving the world leaves the control of all things to
the Holy Spirit. We must also not forget that the clear
distinction between the Word and the Holy Spirit is late in
ChristiaA theology, and that the early fathers, like Justin,
confuse them.
The real distinction between Philo's Trinity and the
, Christian Trinity is that Christians are taught to regard
the -latter as a step in advance, a truth newly revealed
in Christianity ; whereas Philo looks on it as an elemen-
tary grade of belief, to be surmounted as soon as the
soul is truly purified. With him to see God as one, is a
higher thing than to see him as three.
* Qu, in Gen., It. 2, pp. 242, 251 ; De Ahr., 24, p. 19.
Digitized by
Google
The Philosophical Aspects of Divine Incarnation, 616
The question whether Philo regarded the Logos, 1,
as a person, 2, as divine, is of interest for the historian
of dogma. A general examination of the numerous
passages in which he writes about the Logos, leaves no
doubt on the mind that he did both.
That the Logos was a person is clear, from the
quasi-humanity which Philo ascribes to him. The Logos
is the archetypal man and pattern of humanity, whom God
made in his own image (Gen. i. 26), to be distinguished
from the man who was afterwards formed out of the dust
of the ground (Gen. ii. 7). The latter, the earthy man,
717AV09, is only a copy of the former, who is the heavenly
Adam. This spiritual Adam, who is God's word, is
relatively without matter, at/\coT6po9, of a purer and finer
consistency than the earthy Adam,* is pure reason without
passions Kadapo^ V0O9. The earthy man has quality, is an
object of sense {aicdrjTos:), is composite of soul and body.
But the heavenly man made in God's image is as it were
an idea, or a kind, or a seal, palpable to reason only,
without body, neither male nor female, incorruptible in
his nature.^ He is the man of God, avOpmiro^ dead. He
remained with God, whereas the earthj'^ Adam was ex-
pelled from the Garden.
Such are the human lineaments of the Logos or Word
of God, and the devotion and reverence manifested by
Philo for this ideal man proves more clearly than any-
thing else that he believed in his personality and will.
" To his most ancient word ' hath the Father who begat
all things given this singular privilege, of standing on the
borderland and separating that which has come to be from
its maker. But the same Word is intercessor* for mortality
that ever frets and pines for the imperishable, is envoy of
the sovereign to the subject. And in this privilege so
bestowed, the Word finds his glory, and expressly tells of
the same when he says, ' And I stood betwixt the Lord
» Cp. Paul ad Cor. I. xv. 47. » De Mundi Op,, 46, 1-32.
» Q. R. D, H„ 42, p. 541. * Cp. PanI ad Tim. I. ii. 5.
SS2
Digitized by
Google
616 The JetPtsh Quarter Ip Review,
and you.* For he is neither unbegotten as if he were
God, nor yet begotten as are ye, but is in the mean
between these two extremes." Here we are reminded of
the " Son of God, begotten not made," of the creeds.
The Word is "the Eldest Son of the Father, the first-
bom, oldest of the angels, the archangel under many
names " ;* he is both identical with the <ro0ui or wisdom of
God, and her son, begotten of her by God the Father. He
is the shadow of God, and second God, Sevrepo? deo^,^
" Our true high priest," he says elsewhere,' " is no mere
man, but the divine Word, who is free from all sin, not
voluntary only, but involuntary as well."
Such words imply a personal conception of the Word.
Yet, more so, such words as the following, written €ts a
commentary on Deut. xiv. 1 : "Ye are sons of the Lord
God." " Even * though no one hitherto has proved worthy
to be called Son of God, yet may each of us strive to wear
the garb of and array ourselves like the first-bom Word,
the eldest of the angels. . . Though we have not yet
become fit to be considered Sons of God, yet we may
become sons of his eternal image, of the most holy Word."
Such devout feeling as Philo clearly entertained for the
Word makes it clear that he regarded him as no mere
abstraction but as a personal will. He even calls him the
Paraclete or advocate.^ " The priest who sacrifices to the
Father of the universe must employ as his advocate his Son,
who hath perfect virtue, in order to win remission of sins
and a supply of God's most bounteous blessings." So
John in his Gospel, by implication, calls Christ the
Paraclete.
And as we have seen, the Word * is himself the " high
priest of God, and ministers, not only in the more perfect
tabernacle, not made with hands, of the universe, but in the
> Leg, AUeg., III. 61, p. 121 ; De Canf, Ling. 28, p. 427 ; De Agric. 12,
p. 808 ; Fragment ap. Euaeb. Pr, Et,, vii 13, p. 625.
• Leg. Alleg., I. 19, p. 106. » De Prof., I. 562.
• De Conf, Lvng.y 1, 427. » VUa Mm. 14, 2, 166.
• De Sown., 1, 653, 22 ; cp. Hebr. ix. 11.
Digitized by
Google
The Philosophical Attpects of Divine Incarnation. 617
temple of the rational soul (Xoyi/cfj '^vxn)' Of this divine
high priest, the Jewish high priest offering up his
country's prayers and sacrifices is the sensible image."
But the Word/ besides abiding with the Father, rules
the universe and holds all things together in a bond of
peace and love. In one striking passage he is even
identified with the sensible Cosmos, which he created and
watches over ; the natura naturata being here spoken of as
if it were the natura naturans, the sensible manifestation
as if it were the invisible agency. The koc/jm^ ala-drjro^ is
therefore called the only well-loved Son of Qod.^ Else-
where the Cosmos is called the seamless raiment of the
divine Word {De Prof. 20, 1. 562).
But the particular mission of the divine Word as ideal
man is to mankind; and accordingly, beside his r61e of
mediator and intercessor, he abides in the purified soul,
and is father of all good counsels. In this sense we must
interpret the many passages where the Word is called the
bread of the soul,^ the true manna which came down from
heaven, never-failing like the dew, and encircling and
refreshing the entire earth. His language in such passages
is like that of John vi 51 : "I am the living bread, which
came down out of heaven : if any man eat of this bread
he shall live for ever." Elsewhere,* Philo entreats us " to
draw nigh unto the Word, for in him we win a vision, with
the purified and quickened eye of the soul, of God himself.
And this vision is the food of the soul, is the true source
of immortality." So St John (Evang. xiv. 6, 9), wrote
afterwards : " I am the way, the truth and the life ; no
man cometh to the Father but by me. . . He that hath
seen me, hath seen the Father."
And just as John says (Ev. vi. 33), " He that believeth
on me shall never thirst," so Philo * pronounces the Word
to be the " Cup-bearer of God, the herald of peace, the
' Qu, in Emod. 11., § 118. * De Strict. 1, 361.
• I!.g., Leg. AUeg, 1, 120. * Qu. in Exod. ii. 39.
* De Simn., 27,1., cm.
Digitized by
Google
618 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
truly great high-priest, who takes from God the cups of
grace and blessing, and extends them to us in turn. And
the full libation of peace which he so pours out is himself,
and we drink him, the Word, pure and unmixed, and are
drunk with him."
Philo declares^ that it is by an economy, and, in order to
bring the dullards of sense to repentance through fear and
to a better mind, that the Scriptures represent God, not
indeed as a particular individual, yet as a man with face
and bands and feet, mouth and voice, feelings of anger and
wrath, even with weapons ; and as going in and coming
forth, and moving up and down among men. Such
representations are for the carnally-minded, who cannot
conceive of God as an immaterial and incorporeal spirit
But though Philo shrank from the more extreme an-
thropomorphism of his contemporaries, he did not restrict
the ministrations of the Word to mystic visitations of souls
freed from the body, in the course of which, he says, " God
reveals himself as he is, conversing as a friend with friends."
The Word, he declares, does actually intervene as an angel
in the form of man in human afiaira Thus it was the
Word which called to Adam in the Garden; Abraham
entertained the Word unawares, and the three men who
appeared to him were holy and divine natures, a triple
ifHivTcuria of the God who is " a Three in One." So it was
the Word which appeared to Jacob, to Moses in the burning
bush. The pillar of cloud and fire was the Word made
manifest In these cases and in many similar ones the
Word became an angel of human form, without any loss of
or prejudice to its own divinity (ov fierafidXMv). Philo
makes' the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah a text from
which to preach his belief " That God descends and visits our
earthly system, in order to help the virtuous and provide
them with a refuge, and at the same time to send destruc-
tion on his enemies."
Sometimes Philo explains the same incident, e,g.^ the visit
> De Somn,, I., 666. » Dt Samn., I., 633.
Digitized by
Google
17^ Philosophical Aspects of Divine Incarnation. 619
of the three strangers to Abraham, at one moment as a visit
of angels, at the next as a manifestation or epiphany of the
Word; and he wavers between the two views. It was,
he says, a miracle for immaterial spirits to assume the
human form and appearance ; and to create in Abraham the
ifnivTaaLa of being hungry, when they hunger not ; and of
eating and drinking, when they neither eat nor drink.
This is as near as Philo comes to the idea of an
ivaydprnrqai^ of the Word. He says, indeed, that it would
be easier for God to become man, than for man to become
God ; but in these words he wishes to imply that either
alternative is unheard of and impossible. The notion of an
Incarnation, of the Word becoming flesh, would doubtless
have shocked him as profane, as it hsiS ever shocked the
Jewish and truly monotheistic mind.
But it must be owned that the cleavage in the mono-
theistic idea, which afterwards reached such an acute form
in the age of Athanasius, had already begun in Philo and
his school. Between man and the supreme unknowable
God there is interposed a second being, himself divine and,
in a unique manner, Son of God. This being is mediator
between man and God, is the ideal of humanity, free from
sin, whom men are in their conduct to imitate. Standing
half-way between the eternal and the perishable, he reveals
the Father to us, and as our true high-priest intercedes
with him for our sins.
This is the side of the Logos doctrine which best accords
with a human personality, and it was probably because of
these quasi-human elements of the conception that the
Logos-ship was in the first instance attributed to an
historical person, Jesus of Nazareth. This man had already
been hailed by his followers as the Messiah, and, no
doubt, himself laid claim to be that Messiah. But the
Messiahship was, after all, a human dignity only ; for the
Christ was, according to current Jewish ideas, to be a man
of men, and not in any way divine or on an equality with
God.
Digitized by
Google
620 The Jetmh Quarterly Review,
It is no time now to inquire why, or how, or when, Jesus
was first recognised, not only as Jewish Messiah, but as
the Word of God — a much wider, more universal and less
Jewishly national conception than that of Messiah. It
may be that the mere force of his personality, as it sufficed
to convince Jews who looked for the Messiah, that he was
whom they sought, so also sufficed to persuade the Greek
Jews, in whom the Messianic aspirations were faint, but in
whom the faith in the Logos was strong and vivid, that he
was the realisation in flesh and blood of their ideal high-
priest and mediator.
But a difficulty occurs here to the mind. The epiphanies
of the Logos among men were true epiphanies, i.e., had an
apparitional character. The human forms in which and
through which the Word visited and spoke to the Israelites
of old were not made of flesh and blood, and neither ate
nor drank, except in semblance. How then could the life
of Jesus, a man of flesh and blood, who came eating and
drinking, be assimilated to this activity of the Logos ?
I believe myself that more than one intellectual tendency
of the age feu^ilitated this result, which to our mind to-day
seems so impossible. There was first a wide-spread belief
which, as we know from Philo, penetrated into Jewish
Greek circles, that the soul pre-existed before birth, and
that a man bom in one age may be re-bom in another.
Strictly Hebrew believers thought that Elijah was thus to
reappear on earth and precede the Messiah, and by the
time of Justin Martyr (140 A.D.), Christians argued that
John the Baptist was no other than Elijah, bom a second
time. The popular mind in Syria and Asia was also
thoroughly persuaded that men could rise from the dead
and live again. Thus an impostor could persuade thousands
that he was Nero risen again, and the first idea of Herod
when he heard of Jesus was that he was John the Baptist
risen from the dead. Thus the notion of men, not merely
human nor quite divine, living among men a life half real
and half phantasmal, must have been a very familiar one
Digitized by
Google
The Philosophical Aspects of Divine Incarnation. 621
in the first century, just as mediums and mahatmas are
becoming a familiar reality in some modem circles.
Here I have touched upon one class of conditions, or
analogies, which may have helped people to recognise in
Jesus the Logos. But what more than anything else made
the transition in belief both possible and easy was the
resurrection of Jesus. His multitudinous apparitions,
spectre-like in their suddenness, not only to the Twelve,
but to five hundred persons at once, must have led those
who heard of them, and who heard the Gospel of the
Resurrection preached by Paul and others, to believe that
the whole manner of the appearance and activity of Jesus
was exceptional and superhuman, like that of the Logos in
its epiphanies of old. The very application to Jesus of the
word " epiphany, " which Philo uses of the apparitions of
the Logos, is a proof of thia Nor must we forget that,
although Philo shrank from attributing to the Logos and
to God hands and feet, mouth and voice, feelings of anger,
and comings in and goings forth, yet the mass of his con-
temporaries did so, as he himself declares. As for the
Gentiles, to whom the Gospel rapidly spread, they were
familiar from childhood with the idea of gods disguising
themselves as men, and walking about the world avenging
wrong and rewarding virtue. Philo himself more than
once passes an encomium on such beliefs, and quotes ^ with
approval Homer's lines about the gods likening themselves
to men. Paul the apostle, in his enthusiasm for the risen
and apparitional Jesus, knew little, and cared to know less,
about the real man Jesua Hence he boasted^ that he
neither received his Gospel from men who knew Jesus, nor
was taught it, but acquired it by direct revelation. He
therefore conferred not with flesh and blood, t.^., with the
Apostles at Jerusalem, who had known Jesus "in the
flesh," but retired to the desert of Arabia, in order to
excogitate his Gospel.^ As Dr. Martineau puts it : " In
Paul's love for Christ there was nothing retrospective — no
' Be Somn. I. 655. * Gal. i. 12. « Gal. ii. 6.
Digitized by
Google
622 The Jeunah Quarterly Review,
personal image, no memory of moving incidents and start-
ling words, no regret even that he had missed all contact
with such a sacred life/*
It was, then, the human aspects of the Logos-ship that
first led the Hellenised followers of Jesus to invest him
with that dignity, and the exclusive stress laid on the
Resurrection helped the process. But the identification,
once begun, tended also to its own completion. The Word,
besides his human aspects, under which, taken apart, he
bore some resemblance to the ideal wise man of the Stoics,
was also eternal, divine, God and Lord, creator and sns-
tainer of the entire world. If Jesus was the Word,
then he had to be all this as well With the investiture,
therefore, of Jesus with the Logos-ship, began Christian
theology; the whole history of which is that of the gradual
superimposition on the primitive Messianic belief in Jesus
of the more abstract and universal conception. The eternal
and pre-existent Word ever more and more usurps the place
of the historical man, Jesus. Now, the balance of specula-
tion sways in the direction of his humanity ; now, in that
of his being God, For a long time it was ill-kept, and in
Arius and his party the humanist view made a last stand.
But after his fall in the fourth century, abstractions and
logomachy gained a final victory. The Logos scheme, as it
can be deduced from Philo's works, is the basis of the
Nicene Creed. Chrysostom fondly imagined his creed to
be a final victory of Jesus over Greek thought, and so
exclaimed, aealrfqKev 6 iroXKa Xrjpi^aa^ UXarov.^ Yet imme-
diately behind his Nicene shibboleth stood Philo, and
behind Philo stood the contemned Greek philosopher. It
was really Plato who had triumphed over Jesus, and Plato
on the least fruitful side of his speculation.
I have noticed that already in Paul the apparitional and
risen Jesus is beginning to drive into the background the
real man of flesh and blood. This process of turning Jesus
into a phantom both aided and was aided by the ascription
' Comm. in Acta Afottol,
Digitized by
Google
The Philo9ophical Aspects of Divine Incarnation, 623
to him of the Logos-ship. The Logos, in its epiphanies,
neither ate nor drank, still less was it corruptible flesh.
Rather it was, to use Philo's description, an o^l^ Betoripa Ji
Kar avOpayjrivrjv <f>v<TLV — a vision too divine to be human in
its nature (2, 436). Therefore, when the convert of Antioch
or Ephesus heard that the Logos had been manifested in
Judaea in Jesus, he rushed to the conclusion that Jesus
was not of flesh and blood, but a mere <^a<r/ia; that he
did not really suffer and die, but only pretended to ; that
his whole life before his crucifixion was not less apparitional
in its nature than his life after his resurrection.
This Docetism, as it was called, was the earliest of
Christian heresies, and the very words of the prelude of
John's Gospel, " The Word was made flesh," are a challenge
to those who held it. Equally so are the passages in John's
Epistles^ anathematising as anti-Christ those who denied
that Jesus Christ was come in the flesh. The letters of
Ignatius teem with denunciations of it, and reveal to us
what we should expect, namely, that it was peculiarly the
heresy of Jewish Christians. All the second century
fathers denounce it in turn.
Nor did this heresy fail to tincture even orthodox
opinion. The verses of Luke, xxii. 43, 44, were cut out of
most orthodox copies of the Gospels, for how could Jesus,
the power and glory of God, need an angel to fortify his
courage, or how could he be in agony and sweat blood ?
These verses were afterwards the stronghold of the Arians,
but were repudiated by Athanasius and his school. Even
an orthodox Church like the Armenian believes that Jesus
was not liable to evacuations, and that he did not digest
his food. For digestion is a sort of corruption, and his
body was incorruptible from the womb. Athanasius
believed that the body of Jesus was exempt from sickness,
from weakness of all kinds, especially natural decay, and
the common lot of death. This he held was the reason
why Jesus died on the cross, that is by violence. In the
' 1 John iv. 3 ; 2 John 7.
Digitized by
Google
624 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
course of nature he could never have died at all. All such
opinions are semi-Docetic, an encroachment of the Divine,
but phantasmal, Logos-substance on the flesh-and-blood
humanity of Jesus.
To the same class of influence must be ascribed the
miraculous birth of Jesus, a belief which though it may have
first originated in the same way as the exactly similar but
much more ancient belief about Plato, was yet in its develop-
ment and dogmatic definition controlled by and adjusted to
the belief that he was the Logos. Philo had written^ that the
Word had parents incorruptible and most pure : for his sire,
God, the father of all things ; for his mother, Sophia, by
whom all things came into being. Now Sophia was also,
according to Philo's myth, eternally a virgin, although the
mother of the Logos. This philosophic myth of Alexandria
probably lies behind the story of the miraculous birth.
And in the subsequent developments of the belief the
Logos influence is equally marked. Plutarch says that
the Egyptians saw in the cat, which was popularly supposed
to be impregnated through the ears, a symbol of the genera-
tion of the Word or Logos, which is also conceived through
the ears. Hence the early fathers believed that the Virgin
Mary conceived through her ears. Philo had said ^ that the
Father sows his intelligible rays {aicrlva^ vorjTa^:) into the
God-loving souls of women who, filled with desire not of
mortal, but of immortal oflspring, and anxious to live with
Sophia, have vowed themselves to perpetual virginity.
Such souls bring forth without intercourse with human
husbands, avev hn.ixi^ia<;. In conformity with the above,
the early fathers ^ held that Jesus the Word, was generated
of the Soul of the Virgin, which was midway between her
flesh and God. " Her soul came between, and in the secret
citadel of the rational spirit, received the Word of God."
In early Eastern pictures of the Annunciation, golden rays
fall from heaven and enter into the Virgin s soul through
her ears.
« De Prof., 20, p. 562. * I). VJl « Rufinus, Ad Symbol.
Digitized by
Google
The Philosophical Aspects of Divine Incarnation. 626
And it harmonises well with this view, that in the very
primitive Gospel according to the Hebrews, Jesus speaks of
the Holy Spirit, not of Mary, as his mother. The Holy
Spirit is another name for the wisdom, Sophia or Episteme,
of God. In the lectionaries of the West, there has ever
been assigned to the feast of the Virgin Mary, the lesson
from Prov. viii. 22 about Sophia, which begins : — " The Lord
possessed me in the beginning of his ways." Philo long
before had based on the same lesson his philosophic myth
that the Word was bom of the ever-virgin Sophia and
of God.
Some heretics, however, refused to admit that Jesus had
been born at alL So Marcion cut out of Luke the chapters
in which the birth of Christ is narrated ; and Mark's Gospel
plunges at once in medias res, altogether ignoring the
earthly birth and parentage of Jesus.
The recognition, however, of Jesus as the Logos, if, on
the one hand, it caused a heresy which nearly engulfed
the nascent Church, on the other hand provided Christianity
with a systematic theology which it could not have had
otherwise. The Gospel of John is the earliest Christian
document in which the view is formulated, and must have
been written partly to supply a history of Jesus' ministry
written from the new point of view, partly to check the
Docetic view of Jesus already current. The conception of
Jesus as the Logos, so clearly formulated in the proem, is
somewhat unequally sustained in the rest of the book ; still
it seems to underlie such language as is used of or put into
the mouth of Jesus, iii. 13 ; iii. 18 ; iii. 31 ; iii. 35, 36 ; iv. 14 ;
V. 17-22 ; V. 26, 27 ; v. 36, 37 ; v. 40 ; vi. 27 ; vi. 31-35 ; vi.
38-41 ; vi. 46-51 ; vi. 57, 58 ; vi. 62 ; viii. 12 ; viii 19 ; viii.
42 ; viii. 58 ; x. 17, 18 ; x. 30 ; x. 33 ; x. 36 ; xi. 25 ; xii. 45 ;
xiv. 6-10 ; xiv. 16 ; xv. 24; xvi. 15 ; xvi. 27, 28; xvii. 3-5 ;
xvii. 11 ; xvii. 24 ; xx. 28. Some of these passages no doubt
are equally compatible with the Messianic faith in Jesus,
which the writer of the Gospel clearly had along with his
more Hellenistic apprehension of him as the Logos. Some
Digitized by
Google
626 The Jetcish Quarterly Review.
of them might also be set down as mere pietism and reverence
for a great teacher, who speaking with authority ^ and not
as the Scribes, himself claimed to be a heaven-sent prophet
and Messiah. But after making all deductions, there
remain a considerable number of passages in this Gospel, as
compared with the Synoptics, in writing which the
author evidently wished to bring it home to his readers
that Jesus was the Word. He must also have addressed
an audience as familiar with the notion of the Word as
ordinary Jews were with the notion of the Messiah. For
he nowhere explains to his readers what it meant, or how
they were to understand it ; but plunges curtly into the
matter with the declaration, firstly, that the Word was God
and Creator, and, secondly, that the Word thus divine was
made flesh and dwelt among us in the person of Jesus of
Nazareth. Nor do we hear anything of the creative activity
of the Word except in chap. i. verses 3 and 10. The rest
of the Gospel is chiefly aimed to show how the Logos
incarnate revealed God the Father to mankind. This waa
also a main function of Philo's Logos ; but Philo, with more
liberality of mind and greater width of horizon, realised
that the Word is always, and has always been, revealing
God to man, not only in the sensible world, but in the
hearts of Jew and Gentile alike. That the Logos should
restrict the period of his revelation to the three years'
ministry of a single Rabbi, however august, would have
seemed to Philo an unwarrantable limitation of the activity
and goodness thereof.
Recent orthodox critics have minimised as much as they
can the connection between the Alexandrine doctrine of
the Logos, as Philo presents it, and the Johannean ; and have
argued that John derived his conception from a Palesti-
nian form of the belief in the Logos. Yet the traces of a
similar doctrine held in Palestine are faint, and the Targums
in which they occur are not, like PhiIo*s works, demonstrably
prior to Christianity. These critics therefore appear to me
• Matt. vii. 29.
Digitized by
Google
The Philosophical Aspects of Diving Incarnation. 627
to turn aside from a beaten track where one's footing is
clear, in order to grope along dubious and obscure bywaya
One result, and an important one, of the identification of
Jesus with the Lo^os was to separate the latter from God
the Father, and hypostatise him more definitely than Philo
had done. For in the individual man Jesus the Word was
brought down to earth and severed from the Godhead in a
way palpable to man's senses. In being thus brought down
to earth and humanised, the Word or Divine Son also tended
to be subordinated to the Father. Thus some ante-Nicene
writers barely recognised the pre-existence of the Son
before he was bom of the Virgin Mary ; othera overlooked
his co-eternity with the Father, which was nearly the same
error. Others, again, forgot his equality and sameness of
substance with the Father. All these were test-conditions
of orthodoxy in the Nicene age ; and the Logos doctrine as
presented in Philo fulfils them all so easily as it does, because
in him the pattern is, as it were, still laid up in Heaven, is
still an ideal and so far abstract. No attempt has yet been
made to adjust it to a concrete human personality.
Hence it is that few or none of the ante-Nicene writers
were orthodox, and Petavius, the learned Jesuit, wrote a
large folio to demonstrate that there were no thoroughly
orthodox fathers at all before the beginning of the fourth
century, when the Nicene Council ascertained and fixed
for ever the true dogmatic scheme. The creed then formu-
lated, so far as touches the bare Logos-aspect of Jesus
Christ, is one which may with a little industry be collected
from Philo's works ; and this proves conclusively that the
Alexandrine conception was really regulative of the whole
subsequent course of religious speculation.
I have remarked that Athanasius himself could hardly
maintain the Philonean Logos scheme in its integrity with-
out trembling on the verge of Docetism ; and doubtless the
Docetic heretics of the first and second century were as
sound in regard to the consubstantiality and pre-existence
of the Word as they were unsoimd in regard to its real incar-
Digitized by
Google
628 T?ie Jewish Q^arterly Review.
nation. It is a tribute to their strength that ivavOpdinjari^
ever remained the Greek word for the kTnBrjfiia or
sojourning of the Word on earth, whereas incamatio is a
Latin word for which the Greeks had no exact equivalent.
The term ivavBpdyjrqaL^ is no less compatible with a Docetic
than with an orthodox view of that sojourning.
Such a see-saw of views was of course really due to this,
that in Jesus Christ, God and man, the human and divine,
were, after all, but mechanically juxtaposed. Neither the
one nor the other aspect was properly thought out ; so that
there was no real synthesis, and one or the other was con-
tinually being obscured. The Nicene and the Athaiiasian
Creeds were brave attempts to balance these unstable elements,
and so far as mere phrases can go, succeeded in doing so. For
the Catholic Church instinctively set itself to hold all parties
together as much as it could. Thus a reader of the Synoptics
might set most store by the flesh andblood reality of Jesus; but
he must not deny his divine aspect as the pre-existent and
eternal Word. A reader of John might value most this
same divine aspect ; but must be careful, in doing so, not to
evaporate the human body of Jesus into a phantom. Your
respect for the individuality of Jesus was very well so long
as it only led you to affirm that the Word was a person
{irpoaayTTov) distinct from the Father. But you became a
heretic if you went farther and regarded the Word as not
co-eternal and consubstantial, or as in any other respect in-
ferior to God the Father. But you might also go too far in
this direction ; and affirm that since Jesus Christ was one
with the Father, therefore the Father also sufleied and died
on the cross. But if you did, you became a Patri-passianist
and an object of anathema.
Nothing is more admirable than the comprehensive firm-
ness with which the Church held together in one creed all
these antagonistic and ill-assorted schools, or rather
tendencies of thought; giving to each a clause in the
whole, but checking it by anathema the moment it ventured
to kick over the traces. For no one of these opposing lines .
Digitized by
Google
The Philosophical Aspects of Divine Incarnation, 629
of thought could be consistently held or carried out to its
logical result without extruding some other equally
necessary element of the scheme. It was exactly as if we
should first excommunicate all who declared space to be
infinite, and then all who declared it to be finite, and should
end by erecting a comprehensive dogma that space is finite
and infinite both at once.
F. C, CONYBEARE.
VOU VII. T T
Digitized by
Google
630 The Jewish Quarterly Reciew.
A SPECIMEN OF A COMMENTARY AND COLLATED
TEXT OF THE TARGUM TO THE PROPHETS.
Nahum.
Compared with the Targum Onkelos to the Pentateuch, the
so-called Targum of Jonathan ben XJziel to the Prophets, has
been very much neglected by scholars and students. The
modem printed editions of this Targum abound in errors,
whilst, as far as could be ascertained, no English translation
of the Targum to any of the prophetical books has yet
appeared.
The following is an attempt to supply this deficiency.
The short book of Nahum has been selected as a specimen
of what is needed for all the prophetical books. The Mas-
soretic text (edited by S. Baer) is here placed side by side
with the Targum, the translation of each being subjoined.
Thus, at sight, the variations between the original and the
Aramaic Version can be noted. From this Book of Nahum,
examples can be drawn of the especial characteristics of the
Targum, as described by Luzzato, Deutsch, Frankel, Dr.
N. M. Adler, and A Berliner. It will also be observed,
that in this book, the Targumic renderings frequently
resemble those of similar Hebrew phrases in the Penta-
teuch, the dialect being identical.
In order to arrive at an accurate text, the edition of the
Targum in Walton's Polyglot (London, 1656) has been here
reprinted and collated with five MSS. and several printed
e<iitions. Three MSS. in the British Museum, a MS. from
the Bodleian at Oxford, and one from the Montefiore
College, Ramsgate, have been carefully examined. The
MSS. of Oxford and Ramsgate are the only copies of the
Targum to the Prophets contained in these libraries, and I
beg to acknowledge gratefully the courteous assistance
rendered me by Dr. Neubauer at Oxford, and Drs. Gaster
and Hirschfeld at Ramsgate.
I have termed these MSS. respectively: —
MS.^ Of the 13th century. British Museum. Add.
26879 (r., Margoliouth, Descriptive List, p. 17).
Digitized by
Google
Targum to Nahum. 631
MS.l A.D. 1475. British Museum. Or. 2211, from Yemen,
frequently agrees with Lagarde's text (L).
MS.». Of the 17th century. British Museum. Or. 1474
from Yemen ; appears to have been copied from MS.^.
O. Of the 15th century. Bodleian Library, Oxford;
0pp. Add. 76 (in Dr. Neubauer's Catalogue, No. 69) ; fre-
quently agrees with MS.^ and CM.
CM. A.D. 1487. Montefiore College, Ramsgate. Codex
Montefiore, No. 116. Was formerly the property of S. D.
Luzzato, who describes it in Geiger's Zeitschrift, vol. V.,
1844, p. 132, and in VYw nmriW, p. 742.
MS.^, MS.*, O. and CM. are older than the earliest printed
text extant, and are younger only than Lagarde's edition.
None of these MSS. appear to have been known to Frankel,
Deutsch, Levy, Comill (Stade's ZeUschrift, 1887), or Taylor
("Micah,"1891).
The printed texts used are as follows : —
L. The Codex JteuchZiniamis, said to be of 1105 A.D.,
edited by Paul de Lagarde. Not altogether reliable.
B. Bomberg's JRabbinical Bible, Editio Princess, Venice,
1517. (Copied in the main by Buxtorfs Babbimcal BibUy
Basel, 1619.)
Ant. The Royal or Antwerp Polyglot, 1570. (All refe-
rences to this edition are taken from Stade's Zeitschrift,
1887, part H., p. 199.)
Warsaw. Mikraoth Oedoloth, Warsaw, 1866.
I have carefully punctuated the Targum, following in
the lines of Levy (Chald. Wort, iib&r die Targumim).
Walton's punctuation contains several errors. MS.^ and
L, are unpointed ; the other MSS. and printed texts vary
considerably in their punctuation and are unreliable.
The only matter upon which I have not laid stress in col-
lating the MSS. and printed texts, is the presence of the
letter Yod (^) in a large number of words, where it does not
affect the sense. The Yod abounds especially in O., CM.
and L. Thus WiDn>Mb, TT^y T3^^'*M'», KnB7>M, otherwise
written HVnSJnrf?, T^O, T>A>n3K1, KfWK.
There still remains the task of collecting and collating
stray quotations from this Targum that are to be met with
in writings of the thirteenth and later centuries — a work
that is also required for the text of the Jerusalem Talmud.
TT 2
Digitized by
Google
632 The Jewish Qmrterly Review.
Massobktio Text. "\r\S\* UXnn
H H
DP«T3 tp. ■>?? "3?"? Hjr? 1 n\ n«7tth^ ef?^i d? bis? i
•'9^P^ rib? "SSW 7''1?7pVp» rnfl'>?
">90 njoi «»;??» "»J!iD8 -13 n5i>
iis-^t-pn b^H TTntJ "In": 3 N>>D '^JPi W-) p^rnt? >> 3
ncno^ nini njjy^ rib np") rfppn ii7i?w*? ^^ t^to/ '*nio7i3'
: v>5"l P?» ]5T1 "i^l^ nnyfern^ ]^5';o «^Y?1 «Op.iN^» T^")^^
Notes on thb Text of the Tabgum.
I. 1.— » MS.» and CM., 011^1. B., IM^H. « O., TtDiptel.
* MS.' and CM. omit. Walton regards the word as doubtful, and prints
Propheta in italics. * CM., H^ ^n^H^K ^On^tD^.
» O., CM., nUDl. • O., HDD.
2.— » MS.», L., TKl ; MS.«, B., pn ; O., ^H ^Kl.
« MS.», L., B. O., CM., KjnDn^K^.
• MS.», ^nim bpntD, probably a slip for ^^30 ; O., Knm ^pno.
3.— 1-1 MS.», MS,«, M8.«, L., Ant., O., CM., omit. Walton prints the Latin
rendering in italics ; hence, the phrase, probably haying crept into the text
from the preceding yerse, should be deleted.
« MS.«, MS.», L., O., CM., n^nni«^, as in T. to Exod. xxxiv. 7.
Notes on the Vebsion of the Tasqum.
I. — 1. NB'D, similarly rendered in Isaiah xiii. 1 ; xv. 1 ; xvii. 1 ; xxi. 11, 18,
especially where the enemies of Israel are denounced. [Otherwise, f^.,
Is. xiy. 28 ; xxi. 1 ; Hab. i. 1, rendered by KHKU^ ^DD.] The T. takes KTD
ia the sense of '*• load of punishment."
Digitized by
Google
Targum to Nahum.
633
Translation op Tabgum.
Chapter I.
1. The lif ting-up of the cup
of staggering to give Nineveh
to drink thereof — concerning
i¥hich city, Jonah the son of
Amittai, [the prophet] of Gath-
Hepher had aforetime uttered
prophecy, and it repented of its
sins : and when it continued to
sin again, he departed thence ;
and Nahuin of Beth-Koshi pro-
phes ed against it, as it is written
in this book : —
2. God is a judge, and an
avenger is the Lord. The Lord
taketh vengeance, and great is
the power in his presence. Here-
after, the Lord will take his
vengeance upon the haters of his
people, and, in mighty wrath,
upon his enemies.
3. The Lord keepeth far his
anger: and great is the power
in his presence. [Hereafter the
Lord will take his vengeance.]
English Revised Version.
Chapter I.
1. The burden of Nineveh.
The hook of the vision of Nahum
the £lko8hite.
2. The Lord is a jealous God
and avengeth ; the Lord aveng-
eth and is full of wrath; the
Lord taketh vengeance on his
adversaries, and he reserveth
wrath for his enemies.
3. The Lord is slow to anger,
and great in power, and will by
no means clear the guilty: the
Lord hath his way in the whirl-
The phrase IDI^T DD is the T. to H^jnnn DID, to Is. li. 17; op. Cbeyne's
note i.l, Jonah prophesied against Nineveh, o. 860 B.C. ; Nahmn c. 710 B.C.
Abarbanel (Commentary, i.l.) finds the reason of the amplified Targum
in the name ^trip7K (from fi^p^, ^' to come after, sncceed," op. (^p7D), henoe
** the one who oomes later."
2. Note the milder epithets employed by the T. with reference to the
Deity, than in the text. (Upon these and other features of the T., op.
Deutsoh, in Smith's Diet, of the Bible, Vol. III., and Literary liemaint ;
Frankel, Zu dem Targum der Propheten, 1872, p. 23.)
KWp.— T., "Judge." In Bxod. xx. 5, and xxxiv. 14. T. renders by Wp.
Cp. also Josh. xiiv. 19, where for Ki:p ^K T. has KOp ^K.
Dp:.— T. varies by IjniD and JTIBntD.
non 7Vy\. — T., " great is the power in his presence." Cp. v. 3, where same
T. given to HD ^13. The words of the T., pDH TilDI, at the end of this verse,
may allude to non ^31. In Prov. ,xxix. 22, speaking of man, 'T\ 7^3, T. N"»33
«:nOn ; non, T., usually «ni3iniD (e.g., Is. lix. 18), or tan ie.g., Jer. iv. 4).
yyp. — T., go, **of his people"; an anthropomorphism, with which op.
Midrask Babba, OenetUy 65, § 3.
")D101 left untranslated. T., pDH T3131 belongs to previous part of the
sentence.
Digitized by
Google
684 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
b9'n3i7?j?2ibb9ijn*ni;7nntin?n 75^ '»"!?• n-^ino Hnrin?*
: b>pi^ r3;i^ rri^i : r\n^ 4755?? ^^Viji* ^9131
nro^r^^ n3)|p wy-j b-in 5 «0911 ^rnoTP.IP =^^1 ^n^^ia 5
\Wp'^?99nww5P^l'9te^n V^ ^Vl^ rotirji Hfnew
: :»2»p Jt^rri? Dn>jni ^515 ^"PIW^ "^3 «? ^niD7i?: P
QTR^ n^s? ^»5p9 nsn^
-iniD"; 7551 Qsp^^ p» n"*CPosi2iB
» MS.» MS.« MS.» L., O., CM., h\}hV2,
4.— » CM., t|n:. « MS.», «nninn:; ms.«, l., b., o., cm. «ninnx
» o., nv\ *^ ms.», pn^i pno *^^ki.
6. — ^Aooidentally omitted in CM. The first Hebrew word D^n is giren,
bat the Targtim is that of v. 6.
6.— » MS.», MS.», L., o., nD DK. « Ant., HH wmn ; CM., n^nDrro.
» Ms.«, Ms.», L., h^rw
* MS.», MS.», MS.», L., CM., KJHDnK?. In O., KJHBnW \rO> "h^TV* IDn is
added by a later hand. The original is obliterated. * MS.^ }KD.
3. D^DK !"«.— T., tai p^mD, BO always ; op. Bxod. xxriv. 6, and "13^ HO^n^,
r\pT th np31.— Op. T. to Bxod. miv. 7; Numb. xiv. 18, and "lA '0, i,Z.
The T. separates the words, and amplifies. The same rendering is giyen in
Shehuoth, p. 39a.
1D")1. — T., ^yyO, as though it were a verb.
p3K. — ^T., (0^313, also taken as a verb, " he ■nbdnee,*' or " spreads out, pre-
pares." Vide Levy, Chald, Wdrt,^ s,v. In 2 Sam. xziL 10, the same T. given
for v'?ai nnn ^D-)y.
V7JI"). — ^T., anthropomorphism.
4. IC^a.— T. always pno. So Peshito, P^nO. According to Levy, pnO
= pnn, Batanea. Cp. Frankel, Zu dem T., p. 26 ; O. Strauss, Nahumide Nino
Vaticinium, p. 17.
Digitized by
Google
Targum to Nahvm.
635
Targdm.
Them that turn to the Law, he
will pardon; and them that do not
turn to the Law, be will not hold
guiltless. The Lord goeth in the
storm and in the wind ; and the
cloud of thick darknests he sub-
dueth before him.
4. For he rebuke th the sea,
and maketh it dry, and drieth
up all the rivers: desolate is
Mttthnan, and Carmel : and the
trees of Lebanon languish.
6. The mountains quake from
his presence, and the hills are
broken asunder. The earth is
laid waste from his presence ;
yea, the world and all that dwell
therein.
6. When he revealed himself
in love to give the Law unto his
people, the world was moved
from before him. Even so, when
he revealeth himself in wrath to
take his vengeance upon the
haters of his people, before his
chastisement who can stand, and
Revised Version.
wind and in the storm, and the
clouds are the dust of his feet.
4. He rebuketh the sea, and
maketh it dry, and drieth up all
the rivers: Bashan Innguisheth,
and Carmel, and the flower of
Lebanon languisheth.
5. The mountains quake at
him, and the hills melt; and the
earth is upheaved at his presence,
yea, the world, and all that dwell
therein.
6. Who can stand before his
indignation ? and who can abide
in the fierceness of his anger ?
his fury is poured out like fire,
and the rocks are broken asun-
der by him.
^SOW.— Cp. T. to Ps. vl. 3, where T. ^ohn ; of. also T. to la. xxxiii. 9.
6. UaDnn.— T. «p-IDnK. So Peahito, *p-IDnK. In Amoa ix. 13, for niynan
n:iaiDnn— T., in^On^ Knon, and Peahito, tODnni-iai03 of Bxod. xv. 15,
T., n3n«.
He^ni.— T., nnnni, as though = DBTII, or nXCTII [A. v., "bumed";
R. v., " upheaved "]. Waraaw prints HSI'WII, "and is burnt." Cp. la. ix. 18,
where T. to DDV^ la n3nn, whilat Kimchi (in ed. Bomberg, 1517) reads
nnnn. cf. aiao Joei ii. 10 ; Hwi, T., n^nn.
6. The description of the Divine manifestation of power applied to the
Boene of the Revelation on Sinai ; ao alao Judgea v. 4 ; Hab. ill. 3.
lOyt.— T. n^nOjrnD. Usually (e.g,, laa. x. 8, 25 ; Ezek. xxii. 24) D1^. Cp.
Paalm Ixxviu. 49, T. KHID^m.
1DK p-in.— T. nnan a«n. Cp. Ecclea. vU. 3. Uaually {e.g., Numb. xxv. 4;
ih., xxxii. 14 ; 1 Sam. xxvui. 18) nnail 5|ipn.
^DOO.— Cp. Malachi iii. 2.
Digitized by
Google
The JetcUh Quarterly Review.
^Dijl im;p9? D17 T3y>i hn/p5
: Dpn^b "»p»: '*n'^^7 ""l???^
nb? H'jn>^y ^s^svnin-rnD 9 Kp^ b«no?? n;: n^sT wjopi? 9
r^l^ bwrjtir! n>79^ r^'bs
: ftNijy liia rvn^ rpot
c%095=^D>i5^p nn>pn5 ^? 10 n>,^ni^ «*,pp? >3ito>^f? ny 10
: rf?p tt^^^ tt?55 !???« D\^5QP hrjpn3« ]5?)7 w??-'^ bsr;?r mai
* M.S.\ S^3K3. The stroke ' denoting the abbreyiation, probably omitted.
* M.S.', n^non ; Ant., nnDH. * O. omitSf in commencing new colonuu
* MS.S MS.«, M8.«, L., O., CM., IplDnK.
7.— » CM., rvmnon.
8.— ••> MS., K^OOy nny^ ; Ant., K^DDy 7y> T2V^,
» MS.*, MS.«, «-|^Da^ innrwi. « cm. omite.
* MS.», MS.«, 0., CM., omit.
9.—' O., no. » MS.', Ma*, L., O., CM., Kin.
« Ms.», p3» KjnDn«^.
* MS.», 0., n^m ; L., n^n ; Ant., n^an. « Ant omit».
10.— 0., nODI ^KTK^ n^ nan K^^^D^JT ^"«. » cm. omita.
« MS., -lOna. » L., O., omit. * CM., K0D1.
7. This and the snooeeding veraeB plainly indicate the meaning of the pro-
phet, by difltinotly mentioning Israel and Nineveh. Cp. Frankel, p. 29, and
notes by Keil, Henderson and Kleinert, in their respectiye commentaries, iJL,
Digitized by
Google
Targum to Ndhum,
637
Taboum.
who can endure in the fierceness
of his wrath ? His fury maketh
to melt like fire, and the rocks
are broken asunder before him.
7. The Lord is good unto Is-
rael, a support whereon to rely
in the time of trouble ; and plainly
revealed before him are thej that
trust in his word.
8. And in mighty wrath, and
in fierce indignation, he will
make an end of the nations that
have arisen and destroyed the
Temple of the Lord ; and his
enemies he will deliver to the
Gehinnom.
9. Ye peoples, who have de-
spoiled Israel, what think ye
before the Lord? An end he
will hereafter make of you.
There will not arise for you, as
for the house of Israel, enlarge-
ment following twice after afflic-
tion.
10. For the rulers of the na-
tions who have despoiled the
house of Israel, when they erred
through wine, have likewise erred
and brought destruction upon
Revised Vebsion.
7. The Lord is good, a strong
hold in the day of trouble ; and
he knoweth them that put their
trust in him.
8. But with an overrunning
flood he will make a full end of
the place thereof, and will pursue
his enemies into darkness.
9. What do ye imagine against
the Lord ? he will make a full
end : affliction shall not rise up
the second time.
10. For though they be like
tangled thorns, and be drenched
as it were in their drink, they
shall be devoured utterly as dry
stubble.
'n mo.— T. adds VktB^^. Adopted from Psalm Ixxiii. 1— ^KIB'^^ 210 !«
nyo^.— T. *niSy 'DK^. More usually ie.g,. Pa. xxxvli. 39 ; i*., xliil. 2), }l5ny.
np v3 and nnO^D 7^, anthropomorphic.
8. 13iy 'B'ai.— T. amplifies figuratively.
HDIpD. — T. renders D1pt3 as ** the sacred place, the Temple." Cf . Jer. xvli.
12, and Kimohi, iX, ; also Ps. cxxxii. 5, DipO, T. KKHpO HO ^330^ "iriK, and
Zephaniah iii. 7, HiiyO, T., ^n^DK^ nU KJHKO pnmnD. * Cf . also Midr<uK
Bahha, Qenetin^ 68, § 10. The rendering 1Dp*1 'Dy Dy appears to take HDIpD
as a Po*el form of Dip. Cp. Vollers*, Lat Dodekapropheton der Alexandriner,
Halle, 1880, p. 11. Cp. Jerome, i./., ^* Verbmn macomay quod noe interpretati
snmns loci ejus^ omnes in dnas orationis partes diviseront, nt ma in prsepo-
sitionem de verterent, id est &wb coma sorgentes interpretarentnr." Cf . LXX.,
ro^C intytipofAivovc,
Ten e|m\— T. D:n^a^ -IDD\ Cp. Ps. Ixxxmi. 13, where TttTI, T., U^m IB^H.
9. A continuation of the idea originated in nOlptD of previous verse.
Digitized by
Google
638 The Jewish Quarterly Renetc.
N;f^3> N»f?5 wnrw H:?qTOi
np^f^^ njl^n m:^, ?iaip ii w5>^o P93 nir? n^gpi ii
b>pl?ip'-t3fc? rijn> npH I nb 12 7>pbip" ^irr; dh ^^ -ids 737? 12
: Til? nsn???^ ^ TC^IS W'-P»
iT>^yp.'tnpfan2i??Hnrii?1 13 m*,op7 -)^9 -i50» li2y» 13
^Pf?"^'> ^"^ H^^V rg?^: 14 w?>D ni ^> n>S "T^^tsn 14
11.— » CM., lOD, Hebraism. » O., WDy. • MS.» omitB.
* 0., CM., jB^a. •-• MS.«, pern i^d i^^d i^te ; ms.», penn i^^d i^.
12.— » ms.», ms.», l., kv^x « ms.», '?y. • cm., p^a^n.
* MS., ^. » Leyy, O^. TT., H. p. 502, T^T^^J^.
13.— » MS.», pn^p^ni. « L., CM., piDD^K.
14.— » MS., MS.«, l1T3n ; L., O., CM., ^OTi,
10. Dn^D.— T., ^Xh^, reads D^. So Peehito, nn^3»W>. Cp. Midrask
Bahha, Genesis 66, § 6, where D^^ is also used. Newcome (Minor Prophets,
p. 193) adopts D^, as the oorreot reading of the text. Vollers, p. 12, sag-
gests that (like the LXX., Oe^ioc) T. and Peshito read DniD\ and compares
Ezek. XXX. 4, taking HIHD^ as figurative for *' Magnaten, Tr%er des Staate-
toms.'* But in Ezek., the T. renders literally KHHI^K. In Isa. tttiv. 13,
T. jn^D.
DnaO.— T. nan ; reads D^DD, from HDD, "to cut off."
vhD (rn\— T. takes K^ as adverb quaUfying \C^2\ So Ewald, Hek.Oram.,
§ 279a, Kleinert, Henderson and Rowland Williams {Hrhrrw Prophtt*, Asjty-
Digitized by
Google
Targum to Nahum,
639
Taboum.
themselves, even as fire con-
sumeth stubble that is exceed-
ingly dry.
11. From thee, O Nineveh,
hath gone forth a king, who
imagineth evil against the people
of the Lord, — who hath devised
an evil device.
12. Thus saith the Lord :
Though perfect in counsel, and
many in number be the nations
who gather together against thee,
O Jerusalem, to distress thee:
and though they pass over the
Tigris and traverse the Euphrates
to come to afflict thee, — even
though 1 have before afflicted
thee, I will afflict thee no more.
13. And now will I break the
yoke of the nations from your
necks, and yonr bonds I will
burst in sunder.
14. And the Lord will give
commandment concerning tibee,
O King of Assyria, and there
shall be no more remembrance
of thy name : out of the house
Rbvisbd Vbbsiok.
11. There is one gone forth
out of thee, that imagineth eTil
against the Lord, that counsel-
leth wickedness.
12. Thus saith the Lord :
Though they be in full strength,
and likewise many, even so shall
they be out down, and he shall
pass away. Though I have af-
flicted thee, I will afflict thee no
more.
13. And now will I break his
yoke from off thee, and will burst
thy bonds in sunder.
14. And the Lord hath given
commandment concerning thee,
that no more of thy name be
sown ; out of the house of thy
gods will I cut ofE the graven
rian Empire^ p. 439. Cp. Pnaey {Minor Prophetic note on p. 377), OreUi,
JT. PropheU, p. 227), Strauss, ib.y p. 33.
11. T. adds *' Nineveh,** as is understood in all the commentaries.
K3^D, i^., Sennacherib. V. Bashi, and Williams, p. 440.
'7\ ^y.— T. softens by 'TTi nnDJT ^.
12. T. amplifies. V. Rashi and Frankel, p. 30.
D^D^.— T., "perfect." So Henderson, KeU and Kleinert E. V., "in fuU
strength." A V., "quiet." Cp. lA nO^W to Gen. xxriii 18.
inai— T., pnan. "Cut off," or "traverse," the r\hy^ (Tigris)=the Hiddekel
of (Jen. ii 14 ; cp. W % i. I,
« *in3P1. — ^T. refers to Jerusalem ; so also Williams, Henderson, Sell, Kleinert
and Strauss. Cp. Jerome, Comm, in Naum (ed. Migne), p. 1240. Abarbanel,
Ewald and Hitzig refer to Assyrians.
13. iniDO.— T., 90, "of the nations."
14. "1?^. — ^T., 90 » " King of Assjria.** So all commentaries.
jnT\— T. reads -IDTM"»3*' ^"^
TiT^K— T., iniyo, " idols." Cp. -li^ n:^ra to Exod. xx. 3.
Digitized by
Google
640 The Jetciah Quarterly Review,
^J) TQ5i? CD^P '^p®^ '^B ^^ 'S«N ^^^2^ ^'55 "^^*
nfl?5p '^I^n Dnn?7^5 nan 1 Vi«??7 Hyi^* "n?^^ ^? hh i
iT?,3n nT)n^ ^in oi^y? y\p?^ "^i^in Dbip» ro??© ")?5p» ^^n
Tiy T\>^r ^^ >> TT>ni5 ^pV^* '"ns Til? '»'^5# nan nTirr;
C2?5rw? r>^n 'Tfrns^ "?.^^ 7>jp*P9 -i>52i n^? ri^:? Tsit'
» CM., n^3D1. " O. omits. * O., ^^ Dip.
II. 1.— » Ant. omite. * 0., CM., X'nO.
» MS.«, \ith^. * Ms.«, pnnri.
2.— » CM., PDD.
« MS.', Tjrw ; MS.«, MS.«. L., o., yr\m)H ; b., inmw miK; cm., tjtw.
3—1 o., n^Dpin n^Dpin. « ms.', npyn.
}0n. — Sc, In the temple of thy gods, referring to the murder of Sennacherib,
2 Kings xix. 37. V. Rashi. Cp. Orelli, p. 228 ; Strauss, p. 43, and Jerome, i.l.
ni^p.— T. reads HT hp. Job xl. 4, mi^P, T. n^!?T^nTK. Cp. Strauss, p. 44.
II. — 1. The T., like the Massoretic Text, makes this verse the first of chap-
ter ii, unlike the LXX., A. Y. and R. V. With the T. of this verse op. that to
Isaiah lii. 17, from which this verse in Nahum appears to have been copied.
2. y^DO.— T., jmanO ; yaa, in the sense of " to spread, scatter " ; so Hender-
son. y\^^ and HDV, T. renders as perfects of the plural number, thus chang-
ing the subjects to the verb from Judah to the enemies.
Digitized by
Google
Targum to Nahum,
641
Taroum.
of thj idols will I cut off the
graven image and the molten
image : there I will set thy grave,
for this is a light thing before
Rbvisbd Vbbsion.
image and the molten image ;
I will make thy grave ; for thou
art vile.
me.
Chapter II.
1. Behold, upon the mountains
of Israel, the feet of him that
bringeth tidings, that publisheth
peace! Keep thy feasts,OJudah,
perform thy vows, for the wicked
shall no more pass through thee :
all of them are destroyed,
2. Who come up and spread
themselves over thy land: they
distress thee with siege: they
establish watches by the way :
they are strong; in neck, exceed-
ingly mighty in power.
3. For the Lord has restored
his might unto Jacob, his ex«
cellency to Israel ; for the emp-
tiers have emptied them out, and
have spoiled the cities of their
ornaments.
Chapter II.
1. Behold, upon the moun-
tains the feet of him that bringeth
good tidings, that publisheth
peace I Keep thy feasts, O
Judab, perform thy vows, for the
wicked one shall no more pass
through thee: he is utterly cut
off.
2. He that dasheth in pieces
is come up before thy face : keep
the munition, watch the way,
make thy loins strong, fortify
thy power mightily.
3. For the Lord bringeth again
the excellency of Jacob, as the
excellency of Israel : for the
emptiers have emptied them out,
and marred their vine branches.
y^ ^y.— T., 96, of Judah ; so Henderson, following Rashi and Eimohi ; cp.
Straoss, p. 51. Abarbanel upholds this view, but most of the conmientaton
refer the pronoun to Nineveh.
rrWtQ "I1V3.— T. TM l^y p^V, taking ^IV in the sense of "siege." In
Isa. xxix. 3, nmVO, T., KH^D.
D^:nD Rtn.— T. reads pjn. ^ip usually given for 8|iy. Cp. T. to Gen. xlix.
8 ; whilst DOHD usually = K^TH ; cp. T. to Deut. xxxiii. 11, and iiifra ii. 11.
y^.— T. reads rp», Adjective.
3. 3B7.— T., 3>nK. So R. V. A. V. renders " has turned away," following
the LXX., dniorprin, Cp. Keil and Williams.
t1KJI3. T.omitaiheD.
OnniOn.— For this paraphrase of the T. cp. Kimchi, i. I.
Digitized by
Google
642 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
Vb-^BJjM c-*^ J^mia? pp 4 '^.51 rPWPP r"!?? ^D^l'? 4
irnwne ninm^ 7^)"ji?^^i^. "^airn? yo^^hp ^imu^T ^P^ ^R
: ••t!rsin> 0^71?? o'^VsV^ VTrp^^ V^^^y9 VTV^yjj ^xnjp
: TT""??^
: ^^brt ^prji nihpin Vn!ip> ]5»tt??5? ^'^ni'* pnjrre? 1^r?n^.
bp>njT!!»nri?3ninn9nnjitt^7 MiTPsrw* ^OlITO^ nw 7
4.-1 CM., Knnint. « cm. omits. , « CM., Dvn.
« CM., HJ^-ll. * MS.', n^n-iDD.
5.— MS.*, VS^^n^m (error for TK^anB^); MS.*, \*mn\SnD; MS.», O., CM.,
\mnznD, * ms.*, K^np; l., nn^p; 6., «n^p.
* MS.', tnniS (Rashi, in same MS., repeats the T. as Pp^nS).
* Levj, Choi. W., I. p. 318, pnnon, so Bnxtorf.
6.—' MS.', p^D^ n^r. « MS.«, 'B^l; MS»., *B^1 • O., Jtnifi?.
* MS.', MS.», MS.», Ant, CM., 0., jwnn.
7.—' CM., Kninni « ms.», ipiDbn^ ; l., KnnDn^ ; o., ipoen^ ; cm.,
4. ^^n ^B'iK.— T., Knnp nay % "warriors"; so also Henderson and Kleinert
(the B. v., Eeil and Stranss render "brave men^O* Op. 1 Sam. xiy. 52, Vn 13,
T., 3TP 12V "133.
nn^D.— T., ^^^D, "torches." So A. V^ Urn Ezra, Abarbanel and Kimchi
Cf. Peshito, «nm Kn^DD^n. Eashi prefers the rendering "steel," as the
E. y. and many oommentatonu Cp. Posey, p. 372, Staranss, p. 59, Ewald, i. Z.,
Toilers, p. 14.
D^B'nam.— T.,pnn^TB^^imi. Reads,Dnr8nni(2). LXX., Peshito, Arabic
and Vulgate read DHSHfini. Abarbanel defends the T., by taking DHTI^ni
fignratively: Dne^HI D^D^Dn ^V D^^njn D^C'JKn ^ ^ WIL^ Xt)K
iVsnn.— T., poiyava HDD. According to Bashi, the T. derives its rendering
from the phrase in Sahhath, p. 6&», TYh\Sn HIKW HlUiy, "wrapped in a
mantle." Vide Arueh^ s.v.j 3iy, and Levy, i.u., 7jn. In Isa. iii. 19, T. for
niVjnm is K^D^oom.
Digitized by
Google
Targum to Nahum.
643
Targum.
4. The shields of their mighty
men are dyed red : the men who
wage war are clothed in scarlet :
flaming with fire are the torches
of their chariots: prepared are
they for the day of their glory :
and the nobles of their camps are
clothed in coloured raiment.
6. In the streets, the chariots
rage furiously : the noise of the
clanging of their weapons is
heard in the broad ways of the
cities; their appearance is like
torches, as lightnings hurled
forth.
6. They appoint the leaders
of their armies : they ^tumble in
their ways: they hasten, they
tread on the walls, and they build
up towers.
7. The bridges of the rivers
are opened : and the king trembles
in his palace ;
Revised Version.
4. The shield of his mighty
men is made red, the valiant men
are in scarlet ; the chariots flash
with steel in the day of his pre-
paration, and the spears are sha-
ken terribly.
5. The chariots rage in the
streets, they justle one against
another in the broad ways : the
appearance of them is like torches,
they run like the lightnings.
6. He remembereth his worth-
ies : they stumble in their march ;
they make haste to the wall
thereof, and the mantelet is pre-
pared.
7. The gates of the rivers are
opened, and the palace is dis-
solved.
5. ppe^pne'V— T., pnon e^ipO ^p (Abarbanel reads DH^On \Am ^P). Rashi
traces the version of the T. to such phrases as Ip^HI (Joel ii. 24 ; T., i. /.,
tlSltD^I), and Pfi^3 (Is. zxxiii 4 ; T., U, ]TKn KD3). But, in each of these
cases, it will be noticed that the T. has no connection, as Rashi assomes, with
?1p nytD^n \WP ("making a noise**)* (9^-1 however, Rashi to Is. zzziii. 4,
where he explains pK^D by DHO \W7). The T. evidently here takes p^W in
the sense of "making a noise/* and refers the noise not to the "chariots,** as
in the text, but to the weapons of the warriors. Cp. Prov. xxviii. 15, ^^y^y T.,
nnVO K3ni, and Rashi, L I.
'T D^pi3D.— T.,jnniD ppinD, Rashi translates the T., "as terrifjing light-
nings." But cf. Levy, #.t>., TtO, "wie geschlenderte Blitze.'* Cp. LXX.,
iiarpixovaat, and Peshito, pOm. Buxtorf s Chaldee Lexicon (ed. by Fischer),
9.V. *11tD quotes this passage as pl^ltDI pp")33, " sicut fulgura expulsa,** »./.,
" discurrentia, oommota.**
6. niDTV— T., P3D\ Cp. Henderson, i.L
Vnn«— T., 'K^ ^331 Cp. 2 Chron. xxiii. 20, where the word DnnKHI is
next to niWDH ^TK^.
'n nnO\— T. amplifies the idea.
IDOn pni— T., K^iaD X\yi\ The T. takes IDDH in the sense of " that
which is covered,*' e^.^ a tower. The sing. *]3Dn rendered in the plural by
T., "so frequently,** e.g., ii 4. po, T., *Dnn ; ii. 12, pyo, T., nHD ; iii 2,
n3D"TD, T., pD^ni. Cf. Prankel, p. 16.
7. nj;^'.— T. ^X'a, Cp. Strauss, p. 68, sqq,
inn DO. — T. KpD&nK (most readings): reading IpDDX L. is the most exact
reading. Cp. Gen. vii 11. innW.— T. innDnK.
^3^nni.— T., "The King in his palace,** as a contrast to Kn3^D of the next
verse.
Digitized by
Google
644 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
^fihpwinnbshnp^ssni 8 ^^^ h:??! n^O'! ^f?^ 8
: I'^irrsb by
K>n >9"^p D?p-np7.» nirpi 9 n;o nuhj? n>3? rro^^i 9
X^^^ nb7 '•IPT o''P5 rnjrn =)o-p =t|Tisi i^tjjHi h^tt dijj ^oi^O
"9)1 rjfT! ^t ^? T05 =«? 10 n^bi H9rn ws h^ps w3 10
: wn^n
: -i.n.H9 n?5ip q>D vjsn o^i-ia '^S^ VT^J^ ^9?' P^n TS^^^l
8.-1 MS.', CM., Kn^V; 0., KTV. « MS.\ omite. » L., l^KI ;
o., i^TK n^^3. -• MS.', CM., joni » CM., pv.
9.—' MS.', CM. ppny. « MS.', MS.«, M8.«, O., CM.. ^3Dnoi.
10.-' MS'., H^Dn. «L.,0.,^D.
11.-' MS.', CM., Km; M8.«, KT^31 KT^l ; MS.», KT*D1 Km.
« MS.», MS.«, omit
8. 3Vni.— T. Kna^DI, derived, according to Rashi, from Psalm xlv. 10,
73^ n3^3, " the queen sitteth," hence a qaeen is 3Vn, ''otl% who is caosed to
sit." The only objection to this derivation is that we shonld have expected the
fem. form n3*yn Luther and Ewald, like R. Y., take the word as the name
of the Queen of Nineveh, Huzzab, thus almost agreeing with the T. Newcome
{Minor Prophet », p. 195) says : "Chaldee has K3V, " ministrans," which sug-
gests the reading of K3Vni, *'and the host.*' This is altogether erroneous.
Cp. Levy, *.t?. The reading Kl^V, found in three early MSS., may be
rendered " in distress."
nn^yn nnSa.— T. reads n^Un r\Tbv n^ayn. Cf. Abarbanel. Levy, a w^
L, p. 142, suggests KJ^}^, "openly."
ni3niO. — T. JOn^ 'na pTK pano. Two meanings combined, taking the
word— (1) from anX "to lead," and (2) from T\y7\^ "to utter sounds." Upon
this combination of renderings in the T., cp. Deutsoh, Lit. RenminMy p. 351, $q.
and 'Vh ni^na to G^en. iii. 21. With rendering of the T. cp. A. V., "lead,"
B. v., " mourn."
Digitized by
Google
Targum to Nahum,
645
Taroum.
8. And the queen sitting in a
litter among the exiles goeth
forth ; and her maidens led forth,
go after her, murmuring as with
the voice of doves, striking upon
their breasts.
9. And Nineveh is as a place
where waters gather together
from the dajs of old : and thej
flee away : Stand, stand, they
cry, and there is none who turn-
eth to stand still.
10. Take ye the spoil of sil-
ver, take the spoil of gold, for
there is no end to the treasures :
make an end of all pleasant fur-
niture.
1 1. She is spoiled and ruined :
and the gate is open to the enemy :
and the heart melteth, and the
knees smite together, and trem-
bling is in all the limbs : and the
faces of all of them become
covered with blackness, black as
an oven.
Revised Version.
8. And Huzzab is uncovered,
she is carried away, and her hand-
maids mourn as with the voice
of doves, tabering upon their
breasts.
9. But Nineveh hath been from
of old like a pool of water ; yet
they flee away : Stand, stand,
they cry; but none looketh back.
10. Take ye the spoil of silver,
take the spoil of gold ; for there
is none end of the store, the glory
of all pleasant furniture.
11. She is empty, and void,
and waste; and the heart melt-
eth, and the knees ^mite together,
and anguish is in all loins, and
the faces of ihem all are waxed
pale.
9. riDnaD.— T. n^^3D nUD. in 2 Sam. ii. 13, T. gives for H^na, KDDnn.
'O^D. — T. is literal, and differs from LXX., which reads ^D^D, " waters."
Verses 9 — 12 are g-iven as a direct quotation in Josephus Antiq. IX. xi. 3 ;
bat they appear to be a kind of Targnmic paraphrase, agreeing neither with
the Masoretio text nor any known Version.
10. n^lDn^.— T. KnVW^. For explanation r. Rashi, similarly rendered by
Vnlgate and Luther. Cp. R. V. and Henderson.
"13D. — T. 1DD ; of. Rashi, who derives it from the Talmudic sense of " sweep-
ing away," hence "ended." *1133 would be an infinitive in an imperative
sense. Abarbanel opposes this rendering.
11. npbaOI.— T. OD^ Kyin mnei; cf. Rashi, op. also Peshito, KnjnHD,
from jnn, ^to throw open," "to tear apart,*' v. Vollers, p. 17. Cp. Isa. xxiv. 1,
np7n3, T. nK^D7 TO 1DD1 ; and Kimchi, i. L, who connects it with an Arabic
root, signifying " to open the gate." Cp. G^senius Thesaurus^ s.v., p/2 [root
= " to open"].
TITKB )V3p.— T. «inp3 'D1K 'DK IK^DnnK. Similarly rendered to the
same words in Joel ii. 6. In Jer. viii. 21, ^nitp. T. DTOK 'BK IK^DnnK
tCnp^ pODW. The T. combines two ideaa: ITWD, ''paleness," "brightness"
(rendered by all the ancient versions ** bl^kness ") and inD, ** a pot." Cp.
LXX., «c irp6<TKavfia xvrpu^; Peshito, KlipT KimC' 7K DIIDK ; Vulgate,
"siout nigredo ollee" ; Josephus, /.r., iiiKaivai Tt\fu»Q\ Luther, " bleich sehen,
wie ein Topf ." Note the difference of rendering between A. V., " blackness,'
and R. V., " waxed pale." Cp. Sohmoller to Joel, i 2., Rashi and Kimohi,
Strauss, p. 80 ; Frankel, pp. 39, 40.
VOL. VIL
U U
Digitized by
Google
646 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
«7> nhs ^bn \^td D^n>95b r^TM i^rn ^w H^^yitD^tt? >it?^o
Pjirn?-'^ v/T^b 7.5 hlb n?.-i» 13 ^^r{^V?i7 ^^^'0 ]n^9 h?3V^ 13
v.nbi^O^ nh nii?-H^V."^'{7*^V? Pn'^lVi^^ 1>W^' rn>35f? wn3->*
iTihi?? njni faM3'?rb« V?^ 14 nVs 'W=n rf?^p »N5» nhi u
^I^Ns^J^ n^sn i^fJys ^fnr?rTi s;?tfnj5 iTbi^i niw?? >"^ -io8
'?I910 n^ ''^-5^1 :3;in b^rin H^nn b^tt^iiri* "njip^l' '^TP^^Tp
: njp^© bi[7 -liy vog^>-rib'i h^i n'^l'^np Ny"iw >5«?wi
12.—' o., pn^. '^ CM., pn^33i.
13.— » O., CM., KT^ni. « M?*.\ MS.«, MS.«, B., CM., pD\
« MS.', pnn^n ; cm., pn^n^a.
u.— '-' MS.», ms.«, l., cm., K3Nn. « CM,, HD^m.
» MS.', MS.«, MS.«, O., CM., IJIO^ri. * O., CM., ^'tDpn.
12. T. paraphrases '^ions,** etc., as metaphors for kin^ of Assyria. Cp.
Isa. Ivi. 9 ; ih., xxxv. 9 ; Jer. ii 15 ; v. Frankel, p. 30. It is noteworthy that
an Assyrian emblem of streng^, and even of diyinity, was a lion. The Man-
Lion was the emblem of Nergal, the Assyrian war-god. Cp. Layard and
Rawlinson upon the subject.
Dn^DD^ Kin njnoi.— T. omits i<in.
nnK T13 DC^ KU^. — T. reads H^TKD, "lU DK^ ^^^^f^. Cp. LXX., row
tlaiKQiiv Uii oKviivov XkovTo^ \ Peshito^\1^T0 7}Ju?\ Vulg., "nt ingrederetur."
T. separates Pl'TK "Hi. Cp. Frankel, p. 17.
13. p^HDI, ^")D. — T. renders as passive participles.
Digitized by
Google
Targum to Nahuui.
647
Taroum.
12. Where are the dwelling-
places of the kings ; and the ha-
bitations of the rolers ? The place
where the kings go, there they
leave their sons ; behold, they
are like a lion that crouches upon
its prey undaunted, and there is
none that bcares him away.
13. The kings bring the spoil
to their consorts, and booty to
their chiUJren ; they fill their
storehouses with prey and their
palaces with ravin.
Revised Version.
12. Where is the den of the
lions, and the feeding place of
the young lions, where the lion
and the lioness walked, the lion^s
whelp, and none made them
afraid ?
13. The lion did tear in pieces
enough for his whelps, and
strangled for his lionesses, and
filled his caves with prey, and
his dens with ravin.
14. Behold I I send my anger
upon thee, saith the Lord of
Hosts ; and I will burn thy cha-
riots with fire, and thy chieftains
(see Note) the sword will slay :
I will destroy thy merchandise
from the earth, and the voice of
thy messengers shall no more be
heard.
1 4. Behold, I am against thee,
saith the Lord of hosts, and I
will burn her chariots in the
smoke, and the sword shall de-
vour thy young lions : and I will
cut off thy prey from the earth,
and the voice of thy messengers
shall no more be heard.
nn 5|-«D.— T. 'h 5|1Dn jn^D. T. omits the idea of ni, ** sufficient," and takes
it as "on behalf of," "for"; op. Hab. ii. 13, and note in Spsaker's Commentary,
Cp., however, Rashi, ^^3^ H H^HB' ny n") h^^ D^«^3D VH DO^tD lOmriD
Dn^3, and Strauss, p. 84. T. inverts the order of the words.
14. l^^N.— T. l^y n:n rh^, Cp. T. to Jer. ll. 25, and infra, iii 5. Reads
'T.^y, of. Ezek. xxviii. 22, where ll^V ^hv ^33n has the same T. Cp. LXX.,
kiri ak, Pesbito, ^D^^^.
ICn^a.— T. KriB'Ka. IJsually, as Exod. xix. 18 ; Gen. xv. 17, KOJn. Cp.
Kimchi and Henderson.
nSDl. — T. " thy chariot." LXX., Peshito and Vnlg. also use the suffix of
the second person.
^^'?^D^1. — T. 131DD1 ; probably this word is employed by the T., owing to
its resemblance to the Hebrew word. For the better reading, 1110/(^1, see
/' Notes on Text of T."
nDDK70.— T. reading correctly ^^D^<7D ; bo Luther. Cp. Keil and Hen-
derson.
U U 2
Digitized by
Google
648 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
pn? nJrrp n?^ o^p^ n^y '•in i n^p-w D^» mofeii mti-jr '^i i
: niQ tt^p: ri> niijbr? :bipi? ,TP9 rf? h>^!? w^?* rsns
imm^'ri;^^-]T^inf:i^ V^rn?^ r5?5V ITPnoi r"??"??
pn?^ inijr arf?') rf^yp btj? 3 s^rfp^n ^Jirfp-v p'*©©* ahQi 3
: D|n;w5 *???1 ni;i?b h^ ])?i ^fe n>> ]n39 roni r>^?
: prf?>t:p98 ]nbpri?7 H;^>tppb«
ID n^i? njir 550T i^?? 4 wnnp rnj^Joiw n-v^sop^ 4
nihp? nin^ 0^5 T^» ^,??n 5 ij^j? njn nb^ ^njm hhi 5
III. 1.—' MS.', O., CM., mC^l ; M«^.», HCV.
« MS.«, ^DT Dl. « M s » «l>1i. * MS.', CM., KPai.
2.—' MS.', CM., ^niD. CM., yn. » Wareaw, pD^nDD.
• MS.5, O., CM., PVDPD.
3.—' MS.', CM., pe^-iD. « MS.', CM., PPOD. Vollers, p. 18, reads p^DO.
» MS.', CM., an^ ; MS.', MS.», L., Ant., O., 2^rh. * CM., ]'h)Op.
• MS.', MS.«, MS.», L., Ant., O., CM., n*^1. • CM., K^Sopt*.
' MS.', ii^opni : L., p^pnn. • MS.', pn^^opD.
4.—' MS.*. nWODl^D.
« MS'., CM., npD3D nK^yoD mm ; 0., npB: Knw3 mm.
» Ant., jH; CM., in; O., W^
• MS.', MS.*, MS.«, CM., K-iDD ; Warsaw, KIDDl.
• o., Kniyoa. • ms.«, nia^Di ; o., cm., KniiD^i.
6.— '•', MS.«, MS.», CM., K3Kn. « MS.» omits.
IILt-1. E^D^ K^.— T. P^DD nh. Usually, as Exod, TTnii. 1, ^TP t6.
3. rpyD mD.— T. '' the horseman lifteth up " (t.f ., maketh flames to rise, to
glow).
Digitized by
Google
Targum to Nahum.
649
Targum.
Chapter III.
1. Woe to the city that poureth
forth blood I It is all full of lies
and rapine : murder ceaseth not.
2. The noise of the striking of
blows, and the noise of the rat-
tling of wheels, and of prancing
horses, and of jumping chariots ;
3. The horseman maketh to
glow the flames, and the keen
swords and the glittering spears ;
and many are slain : there is a
multitude of carcases, and there is
no end to the number of the slain :
they stumble over their slain.
4. Because of the terrible noise
of the. city, that like a harlot
went forth, beautiful in appear-
ance, learned in magic arts, for
she deceiveth the nations through
her idols, and kingdoms through
her witchcraft.
5. Behold! I send my anger
upon thee, saith the Lord of
Hosts, and I will discover the
shame of thy guilt upon thy face ;
and I will show the nations thy
dishonour, and the kingdoms thy
shame.
Revised Version.
Chapter III.
1. Woe to the bloody city I it
is all full of lies and rapine : the
prey departed not.
2. The noise of the whip, and
the noise of the rattling of wheels ;
and pransiug horses, aud jumping
chariots ;
3. The horseman mouuting,
and the flashing sword, and the
glittering spear ; and a multitude
of slain, and a great heap of car-
cases : and there is none end of
the corpses ; they stumble upon
their corpses :
4. Because of the multitude of
the whoredoms of the well fa-
voured harlot, the mistress of
witchcrafts, that selleth nations
through her whoredoms, and fa-
milies through her witchcrafts.
«5. Behold, I am against thee,
saith the Lord of hosts, and I
will discover thy skirts upon thy
face ; and I will shew the nations
thy nakedness, and the kingdoms
thy shame.
Tsn nn^V— T. 'D ainWl 3in^, giving two meanli^ to 3n^— (1) "the
flames/* cp. Levy, #.t?., pD3 ; (2) " brightness." Eimchi appears not to have
read in the T. the word KHB, as he says, '\^\ y\rh p^DD H^D jnonn n"n.
^^?%— T. pVn^ = ^^^\ retaining the ^TO with altered vowels ; lo
Peehito^ Jl^pnn:. LXX. and Vnlg. adopt the 'ni;>-A^':i\
4. 'T ^y\y\ 3^0. — ^T. paraphrases, alluding directly to Nineveh.
in nniD.— T. in nn^Dtr. cp. Gen. xxix. 17, where n«n nB\ T. K-I^DK^
«Va ; and Esther ii 7, where "iKn nD\ T. in HTDB'.
D^DBO n^yn.— T. pcnn Kjn\ cp. i sam. xxviii. 7, 31K nSyn, t. Kynn
P^3 «pDK^.
n-lDOn.— T. «-iDD1, "betrayeth." Cp. Jndg. iii. 8 ; iv. 2.
•T313Tn.— T. KnniytD3, figuratively "idols"; cp. Levy, #.r. lytD. Cp. Eiek.
TTiii., throughout ; also ih,, xvi.
ninDB^DI.— T. KniD^DI. Cp. Isa. xxxiv. 1, D^tDt6l, T. KniD^V
6. \hv ^3:n.— Cp., $upra, ii. 14.
Y^ijT.— T., inin nnna. Cp. t. to Jer. xiii. 22, 26.
Digitized by
Google
650 The Jemsh Quarterly Revietr.
^]<l "^T "^P "^?''? '^7'??^ "^^^1 19 ^5^? ^J''^?oy '^9^1'! T?f9
n9?J*n 7iib^ rfap \?^'»po 8 sni5P5b«D« «9tp i;?w s?ii s
: n^^pin d»o 6> k^> rn-'^B?-^ rr^ ninp -linp*
n^,rw n>7.??i5i r^?y an? 9 n>b? n>nvy\ HninjpnDi tt?:i3 9
6.— » MS.\ K^DOy (inserted here in error, instead of in v. 5) ; O., IIhSd
(error for Itn ^D).
7.— » 0., CM., i^nnn. » ms.», cm., kd^kv
» MS.S ynn^ cm., yan^K. * ms.», o., pon^oi.
8_ij ms».,l.,cm,, hkh.
« MS*., Km:Dnfc6«D ; O., Km^DD^KO ; cm., K^m:DD«D (similar to
the Arabio ^* Iskandria ").
» MS.», Knan (error for KnHH ?). * 0., K^^DH. • MS.', omits.
« MS.», Knn-nc^ «d* id «d^ KDpim ; cm., n-^w no^ ^d ko^ nopim ;
O., n-ilK' HD^ ^D KD^ «DPD1 ; MS.«, L., Ant., HIIK' HD^ ^D KD^ miKH ;
B., KH-iie^ «D^ ^D KD^ nniKH. With B., op. yi^nn, year 1852, p. 110.
9.— » CM., T)h) OnVDI J^D^pn B'IDI nni13DlD ; MS.', cnDi KnniDDID
MS.«, nniDDD ; Ant., «ni3DD ; O., KnilDDID. » 0. omits.
10.—' MS.*, Ms.», Kni^a^.
« MS.», ]1pm^ (error for Jlpipi^); 0., PP'\p'^'' ; B., \\ipi\
» MS.«, MS.»,L., tW^jrn; CM., \'^^2; O., xW^^K'n.
6. ^KTD.— T. yn ^D 'y^ XnyDD, combines two renderings- (1) ''filth;' op.
Rashi, Kimchi, Ibn Ezra, also Hitzig ; (2) " a gazing^toeky'^ as LXX., vap^-
^((y/ua ; Peshito, KITH?, and most commentators.
7. n^.— T. T^y. So Peshito, ^D^^y ; Vulg. iwjwjr te.
Digitized by
Google
Targum to Nahum.
661
Tabouh.
6. And I will cast abomina-
tions upon thee, and make thee
an accursed thing, and set thee
as an abhorred thing before the
ejes of all that see thee.
7. And it shall come to pass,
that all thej that look upon thee
shall flee from thee, and say,
Nineveh is laid waste : who will
bemoan thee? Whence shall I
seek comforters for thee ?
8. Art thou better than Alex-
andria the Great, that sitteth be-
tween the rivers : the waters are
round about it; its rampart is
the sea; from the seas are its
walls.
9. Ethiopia (Cush) is her sup-
port, and also Egypt ; and it was
infinite: the people of Put and
the Lybians were thj helpers.
Revised Version.
6. And I will cast abominable
filth upon thee, and make thee
vile, and will set thee as a gazing-
stock.
7. And it shall come to pass,
that all they that look upon thee
shall flee from thee, and sav,
Niueveh is laid waste : who will
bemoan her ? whence shall I seek
comforters for thee ?
better than No-
(>ituate among
8. Art thou
araon, that was
the rivers, that had the waters
round about her ; whose rampart
was the sea, and her wall was
of the sea ?
9. Ethiopia and Egjpt were
her strength, and it was infinite;
Put and Lubim were th j helpers.
8. }1D« K:D.— T. «nn-i Km^DD^KO. This rendering is quoted at the
beginning of Mid/rash Bahha to Oenesis ; it is adopted by Rashi and Kimchi,
upon which see Abarbaners criticisms, showing the incorrectness of the T. —
K^, always rendered (e.g.,JeT. xlvi. 25 ; Ezek. xxx. 14) Alexandria. Cf.Arvch,
<.r., and Frankel, p. 27.— pCK, T. «nn"i. Cf. Midra^h RaUa, 1. c, where JIDK
ifl connected with the root JDK, "to rear children." DnVD ^D^^D n3D1K nnSIK'
(Rashi to Kahum, i. l.\ hence KM^t vfi< should be rendered "Alexandria
nutrix " (the nurturer of children). Note that Rashi to Jer. xlvi. 25, renders
K3D pDK. "La signoria di Alisandra.** Vulg., "Alexandria populorum,"
partly imitated by A. V., " populous No." Upon this, cf . Jerome's Comm. in
Naum, i. /.), " Hebneus qui me in Scripturis erudivit, ita legi posse asserult.
* Num melior es quam NO AMON 7 * et ait, Hebraioe No did Alexandriam :
Amon autem multitudinem, sive populos [reading PDH] Non quod eo
tempore Alexandria vocaretur, quippe que longo post tempore ab Alexandro
JIagno Macedonio nomen aooepit ; sed quia sub nomine primo, i.e., NO, sem-
per -ffigypti metropolis fuerit, et abundantissime populis." [Migne^ Vol. 26,
p. 1259]. Cp. VoUers, p. 18.
Dnw^n.— T. Nnnni ^:^n. IK^ so rendered in Gen. xli. 1, upon which cp,
nnOin D^D.— T. (according to many readings) KD^ ^D = OJ ^D^ cp. Ewald
i. ?., LXX., ^Swp ra T*«xi "v^n^- Vulg., aqu8B muri ejus.
Digitized by
Google
652 The Jewish Quarterly Revieto.
•»5^5 n^n rh^ h^h-ds lo ^^^ ^i^^y:^^ H^n v\^ \q
^9 ttWn? ^tp^-r n-^bbi? Q| ]=»5-!^^. Hnp^^y nw H>;3tt?5
: D^'?^^ =»p,^'7, r»i!?'^'^i rPir?T2 HH^ngi b?i r9i5
• 7btt?p5?5ia
npbs.3 ^n;n n??7;n n«-n3 ii ^T}P^ ^Th, h:PT W W u
:bpiH 5-Vp> r"lB^?l rp=«a9 pn^
'jjiipa D>«75 TT^i? n^n 13 . Hjtt?59 r?^v>n 'JT^y hh 18
TTJlfci^'71^?7^n^55nin9TT'i^lji*? nn;^?n«« T:pl "!?»> n^33?i
:T.rni? a?!?? rf??»? ^^?^ ^?^ T^l^ '^iri
^\^P ^"'^BP '-»i^ \0 14 tt^mV ''ipJi^? wi:?9 Hjo u
-ipn? ''ppi? to^^5 '^M? '?T':i3V?'5? '^T^ytth MT10»>^py TTjnp ^rjj?i?t
: ]5iV«) ^i^nn : tj^;j>» ''9^7i•?fc^ Hy»tKi
Xl._i CM., n^ (error for n«). « CM., KD1.
» MS.', \r\n ; MS.«, MS.», omit ; 0., nnn. *"* L., wsni ^y3D.
12.— MS.», p^«n^ ; 0., CM., ^^^Kn^.
« Ms.», piiDiD jn^ ; Ms.«, B., p:i3nyi^ ; Ms.», pijnjn^ ,- o., paiDunpr^^ ;
CM, p:i»yT » MS.»,CM., jnn^i; o., pn\
13.—' MS., i«n:a.
» MS.', in^nDn^« Knen^w ; ms.», ms.*. pnnen^ KnnenK ; Ant o., cm.,
innDHK KnnenK ; Warsaw, innDHK.
» MS.', MS.«, MS.», L., 0., CM., HK^VfiT.
14.— 1 MS., 0., T^ ; MS.«, MS.», CM., ^h.
« MS'., ^D^pn (error for ^B^pn); CM., ^D^pn. » CM., n^3JW^.
< CM., ^D"iD ^D^pn (repeated from earlier in the verse).
11. nDK'n.— T. KM-I^ K^Dl. Cp. -ilDB'D (Job xii. 25; Pa. cvu. 27). T., yn
no^yi— T. «Dy^DD, 'destroyed." Cf. Levy, *.r., DfeC^D ; Calvin, "in nihi-
Digitized by
Google
Targum to Nahum.
653
Taroum.
10. She also went into capti-
vity : she is in exile : her young
children were dashed to pieces at
the top of all the streets : and
they cast lots for her honourable
men, and all her great men were
confined in chains.
11. Thou, also, like a drunk-
ard, shalt be destroyed : thou,
also, shalt seek for help because
of thine enemy.
12. All thy fortresses are like
ripe figs: which, if men shake
them, fall down ; and there re-
main in them dried clusters that
are good to eat.
13. Behold I thy people in the
midst of thee are as feeble as
women: the gates of thy land
shall be surely thrown wide open
unto thine enemies; fire shall
devour thy bars.
1 4. Gather water into thy midst
for the siege : strengthen thy for-
tresses; prepare much clay and
tread the mortar; make strong
thy buildings.
Revised Vebsiok.
10. Tet was she carried away,
she went into captivity : her
young children also were dashed
in pieces at the top of all the
streets: and they cast lots for
her honourable men, and all her
great men were bound in chains.
1 1 . Thou also shalt be drun-
ken, thou shalt be hid; thou also
shalt seek a strong hold because
of the enemy.
12. All thy fortresses shall be
like fig trees with the first ripe
figs : if they be shaken, they fall
into the mouth of the eater.
13. Behold, thy people in the
midst of thee are women; the
gates of thy land are set wide
open unto thine enemies : the fire
hath devoured thy bars.
14. Draw thee water for the
siege, strengthen thy fortresses :
go into the clay, and tread the
mortar, make strong the brick-
kiln.
Inm redigi'' ; Klemert, "thou shalt perish." Cp. Obadiah 16, \lh^ inJTI, T.,
poy^nOM pntJ^n, and Rashi, i. Z., JIDDB'I HOinO 6. [So also laa. xxv. 7,
)hy\, T., pDy^non]. T. here appears to have thought of Obadiah 16, where
after IJDI come the words Vn K1?D VT\\ henoe his rendering " destroyecl*'
Cp. Kimchi and also Keil. [In Ps. xxvi. 4, D^D^y:, T., «8rK3K^ ^"IDDD].
TiyO.— T. -I^yo, "aasistanoe." Not "fortrese," as Luther and R. V. render.
TiyO, usually in the sense of " fortress/* T., KDplH, (cp. laa. xvii. 9 ; Ju4geB
vi. 26); in the sense of "assistance," T., KX^iy (e,g.^ Ps. Ix. 9; Pzov. z. 29,
and supruy i. 7).
12. ^DIK ^D ^y.— T. renders "according to one's eating," t. «., "fit for
eating " ; similar to ^D7, in a phrase like ^tDH ^D7. Cp. T. to Numb. xz. 5.
13. D^B^l— T. K^K'M X'^^n, So also Isa. xix. 16 ; Jer. L 37.
im^-a.— T., metaphorically, "strength." Usually taken literally, J^iay,
e.g.^ Deut. iii. 5 ; 2 Sam. xxiii. 7.
14. ^3Ke^.— T. ^n». Usually, e.g., Gen. xxiv. 11, 13, 19, T. ho,
P^D.— T. I^yjn. Cp. T. to Jer. xliii. 9.
Digitized by
Google
654 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
pbj5 n5?;pn pV5 nl??^^^ 31!^ '^"^^7 ti-^js^s??^ w??^ r?^?'':^!
^;;j5i?^ 1T?^?'7 b^'Sirr 16 m'.^?^ Wist? •jnsi? ^W 16
Tjnp9^1 n^i^ ?inJ5P 17 M9i:j? r50>^ ^9© wn 17
]s??9 ]irnnw« 37Tw^ h!?*i
nJiii^y ^^p Ti^yb npj is -iwwT b^o TJ9? ^"^^W 18
15.— » MS.», CM., xh'WSp, « MS.S CM., J^KOD.
» MS.», p^nin ; CM., K^mtD. * 0., i^:^Dn\
* MS.», 1313Dn^ ; MS.», MS.», L., B., 0., 1^3WDnV
16.— 1-1 MS.», MS.«, CM., «^nTD. « B., n^B^ H.
17.— > MS.«, M8.», L., 0., TiDDlDI ; CM., inVDlDV
« MS.«, MS.», CM., ^313 ; 0., *^ni:.
»-• MS»., ]^^-«n ; MS.«, MS.», O.. CM., fXH. * CM., l^p (error for TTp).
» o., "OT • M8.», L., Ant., jmnn^i.
» MS.«, MS.», L., Ant., CM., jH^no. • 0., CM., pnnnw.
• MS.«, MS.», 0., omit.
15. T. renders very freely.
l^DKn.— T. ^V pn^\ Reads i> 1K13^ (?).
3in.— T., by metonomy, " those who use the sword." Cp. Jer. v. 12, 1"V1,
1^D«n.— T. l^y pK^^nV Reads again 1^ 1N^3^ (?).
Digitized by
Google
Targum to Nahuin,
655
Taegum.
15. For thither shall come na-
tions against thee, who are as
strong as fire : they who kill with
the sword shall cut thee off :
there shall gather against thee
the armies of the nations, who
are as many as the cankerworm,
who will cover thee like the can-
kerworm ; they will desolate thee
as the locusts.
16. Thou hast multiplied thy
merchants above the stars of
heaven; behold I like a canker-
worm, that spreadeth itself forth
and flieth away.
17. Lo ! thy blades are flaming
like the locust, and thy chieftains
like the worm of the locusts, that
camp on the walls in the cold day;
but when the sun shineth upon
them, they scatter, and their place
is not known whither they fly.
Revised Version.
1 5. There shall the fire devour
thee: the sword shall cut thee
off, it shall devour thee like the
cankerworm ; make thyself many
as the cankerworm ; make thyself
many as the locust.
16. Thou hast multiplied thy
merchants above the stars of
heaven : the cankerworm spoil-
eth, and flieth away.
17. Thy crowned are as the
locusts, and thy marshals as the
swarms of grasshoppers which
camp in the hedges in the cold
day, but when the sun ariseth
they flee &way, and their place is
not known where they are.
18. Thy mighty men are bro- 18. Thy shepherds slumber, 0
n3Dnn, ISDnn. — T. renders as imperfect plurals of the third person.
nnDnn.— T. I^aiem. Cp. BasM. niO^O laiDn ^ODnn, "cover thyself with
the weight of swarms."
nnann.— T. 10lbDn\ Cp. note mpra ii 10, "to sweep away, destroy."
p^\— T. l^^nr, or \<^m>. In Joel i. 4, [h\ T. KnnD ; DT3, T. K^nt. Peshito,
both to Joel and here, for pV has K^nt.
16. p^\— T. K^na = P^^D. Cp. 9upra, ui. 15 ; tW, T. KHtJ'KD TD^pni.
DB'D. — T. npKH, " spreadeth itself." So Levy, *.t?., rh^^ and marginal note
in R. V. Cf. LXX., &pniini. Vulg., "expansus est. Peshito, mDI rw.
17. inWD.— T. 1D0, Ut., " thy strips of metal," hence "blades," or " armour-
clad warriors." Cp. Levy, f.v., KDO, " Bleche, d. h. die mit Erzbleohen bepan-
zerten Erieger." Walton renders " laminae." The T. derives the word from
•)T3, Exod. xxix. 6.
inODlDI.— Cp. T. Jerushalmi to Dent, xxviii. 12. Cp. VoUers, p. 21. In
Jer. li. 27, "iDDD, T. Xnnp nny.
nm:n.— T. txhrO^. Usually, e.g.. Num. xxii. 24, KIT:.
D^K.— T. amplifies by rendering Y[nV t«^.
18. id:.— T., stronger expression, nariK. In Ps. Ixxvi. 6, 103, T. 1D30:nj<.
Digitized by
Google
656 The Jetciah Quarterly Review,
n^TO TV?i^ nji^n^jtj 19 TlwbyrrVns^Tn^b 19
: vn^^i^ irciij^? nop*
18.-«i 0., KniD.
19.— » MS.«, omits ; MS.», i>; CM., 1^. « MS., KTinDD.
" MS.', CM., TjnDB^ ^yoe^; ms.», inytDfi? ^yoe^; o., lyoBn.
* MS.S CM., «nDO.
* MS.* omits (probablj bj aocident, as Hiy is at the end of one colnnm^
and *irU^3 at the be$rinning of the next).
n« UDB^.— T. TO Dy lH "They dwell, w., in a distant land '^ ; T. xeada
yyvf (Of <M^ •• t»pf», ii. 6.
Digitized by
Google
Targum to Nahum.
667
Taboum.
ken, O king of Assjria ; exiled
are the men of thine armies : thy
people are scattered upon the
mountains, and there is none to
gather them.
19. There is none who laments
thy hurt ; thy wound is grievous ;
all that hear the hruit of thee
clap their hands together over
thee rejoicing ; for upon whom
hath not the scourge of thy
wickedness passed continually ?
Revised Yebsion.
king of Assyria: thy worthies
are at rest : thy people are scat-
tered upon the mountains, and
there is none to gather them.
19. There is no assuaging of
thy hurt; thy wound is grievous:
all that hear the hruit of thee
clap the hands over thee: for
upon whom haih not thy wicked-
ness passed continually ?
IB'Di.— T. mnnK, reads 1VD3, as most commentators. Cp. Peshito, manK.
19. r\r\'2 PK— T. reads D^b pW. Cp. Rashi ; Peshito, rh 3KDT H^S.
P|3 lypn.— T. Wnn T^y n^ ineO, "Rejoicmg"; so Walton, "Iffitantee."
Cp. Ps. xivii. 2, 5)3 lypn, T. «nn3 Ki^ lypn.
injn.— T. " the eflfects of thy wickedness." Cp. the rendering of py (Gen.
iv. 13) by *' effects of sin," punishment.
Michael Adler.
Digitized by
Google
658 The Jomnh Quarterly Renew,
THE REFERENCES TO THE "KING" IN THE
PSALTER, IN THEIR BEARING ON QUESTIONS
OF DATE AND MESSIANIC BELIEF.
The diflSculty in determining the date of the Psalms arises
from the absence of decisive historical allusions. There is,
it is true, a social and historical background, but it is ill-
defined, and, being so^uits, or at^ least is not manifestly
inconsistent with, all that is known of most of the poet-
exilic and parts of the pre-exilic period. Allusions to the
temple as existing only preclude a pre-Solomonic and an
exilic origin : persecution and distress were the rule, not
the exception, from the close of the seventh century
onwards. Much more clearly defined are the literary and
theological characteristics of the Psalter ; and it is these
that will ultimately play the largest part in deciding the
question of date ; but the conclusiveness of the evidence
derived from them becomes clear but slowly, and, from its
very nature, affects only the general period. Attempts,
therefore, to refer particular Psalms to particular events
have in the past proved singularly fruitless ; save perhaps
in one or two exceptional cases, similar attempts in the
future are likely to fare no better. Attention at present
still needs to be fixed on the more general but far more
important questions: Are any of the Psalms pre-exilic?
If so, which ?
The form of the question is justified by the general
agreement of scholars that a majority, larger or smaller, of
the Psalms is certainly post-exilic ; even Ewald claims only
sixty as pre-exilic, and few later scholars have claimed
more.
Owing to the insufficiency in most cases of the data
afforded by individual Psalms for determining with
decisiveness the period to which they belong, all critics of
Digitized by
Google
Thf References to the " King " in the Psalter, 659
the Psalter have — of necessity, and therefore justifiably —
been more or less governed in their several particular judg-
ments by certain general prmjudiaa. Thus, long after the
Davidic authorship of some Psalms attributed in the titles
to David was acknowledged to be impossible, it was yet held
that since so many were attributed to him, some must be
really hia Starting from this prcejudieiumy critics, in the
absence of anything directly and manifestly unfavourable
to the theory, accepted the slightest favourable data as
sufiicient proof of Davidic authorship. But lately the
validity, or rather the comparative worth, of this prcejudi-
cium has been increasingly questioned ; it is for this reason,
and not because of the illegitimacy of the method, that the
reference of Psalms to David is doubted or denied. Indeed
the absolute necessity of the method as distinguished from
its particular application is seen in the light of the briefest
sketch of the course of criticism.
The first result of breaking loose from the traditional pre-
judice was that critical ingenuity ran riot ; the same Psalms
were, by different scholars, for about equally conclusive
reasons, assigned to any period between 1000 and 100 B.C. In
this way commentaries on the Psalms became at once tedious
and discouraging; tedious on accountof the numberof theories
to be examined, discouraging through the inconclusiveness of
the reasoning on which the theory finally accepted was based.
Only quite recently has this critical license received a
decisive check, and this it has re3eived mainly, as all English
students must remember with satisfaction, owing to the
work of two English scholars — Professor Cheyne ^ and the
late Professor Robertson Smith.* Dissimilar, in so many
respects, as the contribution to Psalm criticism of these two
scholars has been, it is alike in this : both insist that the
argument for the date of a particular Psalm is not to be
based on the internal evidence afforded by itself alone, but
' In his Origin of the Psalter (1891).
* Most recently in the Old Tettament in the Jeivish Church (1892),
oh. vii., and additional note D., pp. 437-440.
Digitized by
Google
660 Th^ Jewish Quarterly Review.
that the Psalm must be first grouped, and the date of any
individual Psalm be then determined in the light of its
association with others with which it is externally or inter-
nally connected.^
In the result Professor Cheyne, after the collection and
invastigation of an invaluable mass of detailed evidence,
confirmed the conclusion previously reached, apparently
on more general grounds, by Reuss and Wellhausen, that
the Psalter was the product of the post-exilic period ; every
Psalm, with the doubtful exception of xviii., he referred
to this period. Professor Smith also regarded the great
majority of the Psalms as post-exilic, but at the same time
decisively assigned some to the pre-exilic period.
Thus the license which followed the abandonment of the
traditional prejudice has only been restrained by the
establishment of a critical prejudice ; and the history of
criticism indicates that in the case of any particular Psalm
two alternatives only are possible — freedom from prejudice
resulting in complete scepticism, or guidance by prejudice,
based on general considerations, to probable conclusions.
In the case of the Psalter even more than elsewhere, literary
criticism must content itself with bringing clearly into
view the comparative probabilities of competing theoriea
Everything is to be gained by frankly recognising this ;
argument as to the date of particular Psalms is only of
value between those who approach the question from the
* The value of the method so established has been very generaUy
lecogrnised. Eautzsch, e.^.^ says : *' Unleagrbar ist, dass doroh die Methode
Gheynes thats&ohlich manche donkle Stelle aafgehellt nnd eine weit
grdesere Einheitlichkeit des Psalters in biblisoh-theologisoher and ganx
besonders anch in spraehlioher Hinsicht erwiesen wird, als man bisher
einznranmen geneigt war.'* See his review of Chejne's " Origin of the
Psalter" in TheologUche Studien und Kritiken^ 1892, pp. 577-589 ; oompare
also Badde*s review in TheologUche Literaturieitung (May 14th, 1892),
who espeoially deserves thanks for correoting the ignorant assertion of
certain English critics that Cheyne*s work was a mere reproduction of
German criticism. The influence of the work of Chejne and R. Smith
In subsequent literature may be seen in BsBthgen's oommentarj, the most
important of recent commentaries, and Beer's excellent study, Individual'
und Gemeinde-Psalmen (Marburg, 1894).
Digitized by
Google
The References to the " King " in the Psalter. 661
same general standpoini For my own part I accept what
I have termed the critical prejudice ; in other words, in
considering the dates of particular Psalms I start from
what I consider a sound conclusion, viz., that the Psalter
as a whole and in its general spirit is a product of the post-
exilic period. The question at issue then is : If any, which
Psalms, forming an exception to the general rule, are pre-
exilic ? The present discussion will be concertied with some
of these supposed exceptions. An examination of recent
criticism of the Psalter shows that Psalms are referred to
the post-exilic period mainly on the ground of their literary
and theological characteristics and i\iQ general historical back-
ground, but to the pre-exilic period on the ground of special
historical allusions, which, it is urged, can be explained by
the earlier date alone.
Among these special historical allusions are those to the
"King." Of these Dr. Driver, for example, says, "The
Psalms alluding to the King will presumably be pre-
exilic."^ Several other recent writers have expressed
themselves to the same eflTect.* Now such a conclusion
clearly aflTects, not alone the date, but also the interpreta-
tion of the Psalms in question. The validity of the
inference as to date depends on the correctness of the
assumption that the subject of these Psalms is an actual
reigning king of Judah (or Israel), not an ideal, or, to use
a more technical phrase, a Messianic king. If these Psalms
refer primarily to a reigning monarch, they are Messianic
only in the very secondary sense that they depict " the ideal
glory of the [contemporary] theocratic king,*'' and are, in
^ V. Introduction, p. 363. The remark is made directly with reference
only to Pas. ii., xx., xxi., xzviii., bd., Ixiii., Ixzii. ; but the reference to
the King, no doubt, largely determines the decision with regard to xviii.,
Ixzxiz., and ex., also. The suggestion on p. 360 should, however, also be
noticed.
' From the reference to the King, BaBthgen infers that xx., xxi., xxviii.,
xxxiii., xlv., IxL, Ixiii., IxxiL, are pre-exilic; Eantzsch only makes the
inference in the case of xx., xxi., xIy. (Die HeUige Schryt det A, T,
(^Beilagen\ p. 207).
• Driver, Introduetion, p. 863.
VOL. VII. XX
Digitized by
Google
662 The Jewish Quarterly Reviett,
consequence, comparatively unimportant in the history of
the development of the Messianic idea. Their Messianic
character is something entirely diflTerent from that, for
example, of the well-known passages in Isaiah, or, to refer
to literature of the same class, of the Psalms of Solomon.
In the case, then, of the Psalms which refer to the King,
exegesis and criticism are most closely connected ; certain
exegetical assumptions must largely determine the critical
conclusion. Granted that the king be actual, these Psalms
are most intelligible if a product of the pre-exilic period;
or, again, certain critical assumptions tend to invalidate
current exegesis. If these Psalms be post-exilic, some at
least cannot be satisfactorily explained of a contemporary
ruler. I propose, therefore, (1) to re-examine the nature of
the evidence for and against the pre-exilic date of these
Psalms; (2) to consider the validity of the exegetical
assumption that the king referred to is a contemporary
ruler; and then, (3) having made clear the difficulties
connected with present methods of criticism and inter-
pretation, to suggest an interpretation which will, in turn,
affect the criticism.
1.
Disregarding twenty Psalms^ in which the king is
Yahweh, and three others^ in which he is clearly a foreign
monarch, we still find eleven^ in which the king is neither
Yahweh* nor a foreign monarch, but — in most cases clearly,
' The reference is direct in v., x., xxiv., xxix., xliv., xlrii., xlviii.,
Ixriii., Ixxiy., Ixxxiv., xcix. (v. Basthgen on v. 4) xcviii., cxlv., cxlix. ;
indirect by the use of the verb "pD or the nouns niD?D or HDIPD in xxii.,
xciii., xcvi., xovii., ciii., oxlvi.
• cv., cxxxy., cxxxvi.
' ii., xviii, xx., xxi., xxxiii, xly.> Ixi., Ixiii., IxxiL, Ixxxix., ox. In the
last case the person addressed, though not termed king, is without doubt
kingly.
^ It is worth nodciog that in no single case is the term ^tD used in
the same psalm of both Tahweh and a Jewish monarch (whether real or
ideal). Contrast Ps. Sol. xvii., v. 1, 0 Lord, thou art our King, hence*
forth, and even for evermore " ; verses 35, 36, " And a righteous king
Digitized by
Google
The References to the " King " in the Psalter. 663
in others presumably — Jewish. In five^ of these the king
is also explicitly, or, by use of the verb nw^, implicitly
termed Yahweh's (or God*s) Messiah. Yahweh s Messiah
is also mentioned in three ^ other Psalms; but the infer-
ence' that in these Psalms also the Messiah is a king, is
anything but certain. The Hebrew usage of the term is
sufficiently wide to require the precise meaning to be fixed
by the context, and this in these Psalms is so uncertain
that, as a matter of fact, the interpretation of the phrase
is much disputed. Leaving, for the present, these three
Psalms out of account, I turn to the eleven, where the
king has been more generally regarded as a contemporary
monarch.
In the first place, the distribution of these Psalms over
the Psalter, considered in the light of R. Smith's conclu-
sions, creates a presumption against regarding the whole
group as pre-exilic ; but if any* of the group be post-exilic,
and taught of God is he that reigneth over them ; and there shall be no
iniqnitj in his days in their midst, for aU shall be holy, and their king is
the Lord Messiah ** ; y. 38, '' The Lord himself is his King."
* Directly in ii., xviii., xx., Ixxxix. ; indirectly in xlv.
* xxviiL, Ixxxiv., ctttti. The plural ^n^K'D in Ps. cv. 15, is also to be
noted.
* Made in the case of zxviii. by Driver and Bsethgen. On the other
hand, in the case of Ixxxiv. Basthgen questions, and in the case of cxxxii.
decides against, the reference of the term to a contemporary monarch.
Driver is apparently in equal doubt, for he refers cxxxii. to the post-exilio
period ; and leaves the date of Ixxxiv. an open question.
* I would, however, make an exception in the case of xxxiii. ; although
this appears to me clearly post-exilic, I do not argrue that therefore other
Psalms referring to the king may equally well be so. For the mode of
reference is quite different ; in Ps. xxxiii. it is, or may be, purely pro-
verbiaL But that Bsethgen argues for the pre-exilic date on the ground
of this reference, I should have left the Psalm wholly out of account ; his
remark ** that the Psalm is at aU events pre-exilic, is shown by the men-
tion of the king (verse 16), who can only be an Israelitish one,'* is
singularly undisoriminating. Why need the ''king" of verse 16 be
Israelitish more than the ** horse*' of verse 17 7 Again, would Baethgen
maintain that there was a king of Israel when Ecclesiastes was written
because of the saying, " The king himself is served by the field ** (v. 9).
Driver significantly omits Ps. xxxiii. from his list, and, indeed, decisively
pronounces it post-exilic (p. 364).
XX 2
Digitized by
Google
664 The Jetrish Quarterly Revieio.
the argument, on the ground of the reference to the king,
for the pre-exilic date of the rest, is weakened.
R. Smith's conclusions can, for present purposes, be
sufficiently summarised thus : — The Psalter, in its present
form, is the result of the last of some nine or ten editorial
and redactorial processes which can be still traced. The
earliest of these, the formation of the first Davidic hymn-
book (Pss. iii.-xli., except xxxiii.), itself falls within the
post-exilic period, probably not earlier than the middle of
the fifth century. The second great collection (xlii.-
Ixxxni.) of Psalms, itself a very composite whole, was
certainly later than the first, and probably dates from the
fourth century. Yet, later, an appendix (Ixxxiv.-lxxxix.)
was added to this second collection. The last collection
(xc-cl.) falls certainly later than 330, and almost certainly
as late as 150 B.c. In a word, all collect ions of Psalms of
which we have any knowledge are post-exilic.
From this, it is true, it by no means immediately follows
that all Psalms contained in these collections are also post-
exilic. Indeed, since there are good reasons for supposing
that Psalms were written before the exile, it is, in itself,
not unlikely that some pre-exilic Psalms are preserved in
the Psalter. Only the burden of proof clearly lies on
those who claim as pre-exilic any given Psalm in col-
lections known to be post-exilic. Further it is reasonable
to suppose that such pre-exilic Psalms as there may be in
the Psalter, will be found, at least for the most part, in
the earliest collections. Now how does the case stand with
our group of Psalms ? Three only are found in the earliest
collection, four in the next, one in the appendix to the
latter, one in the late and probably Maccabsean collection,
and two, now standing in Book I., are without titles. i.e.,
they would appear to have found their way into none of
the collections which precede the final process. If these
Psalms were all pre-exilic, why are they distributed through
the Psalter as they are ?
R. Smith's conclusions thus create a presumption against
Digitized by
Google
The References to the " King " in the Psalter. 666
regarding the whole of our group as pre-exilic. But care-
fully considered, they suggest other more or less weighty
inferences and presumptions. By fixing the date of the
collections, R Smith directly fixed a downward limit for
the composition of individual Psalms; for example, no
Psalm in a collection clased about 400 B.c. may be assigned
to a later date, except a good case can be made out for
supposing it to have been subsequently inserted. Indirectly
he also created an upward limit ; early hymns once em-
bodied in an authoritative collection were sure of preser-
vation ; but the very existence of such a collection would
render the continued existence of old hymns not included
increasingly precarious; there is, therefore, a certain
presumption against hymns belonging to a later collection
being much earlier than the date of the next previous
collection. Judged thus, the downward limit of date of
our eleven Psalms and their probable upward limit may
be fixed thus : —
Pss. xviii., XX., xxi, were written not later than about
450-400 B.C.
Pss. xlv., Ixi., Ixiii, Ixxii, Ixxxix., are pre-Maccabsean^
but probably not pre-exilic.
Pss. ii., xxxiii., ex., were not written later than about
150-120 B.C., and are less probably than the preceding pre-
exilic.
The argument from distribution thus renders it impro-
bable that some of these Psalms can refer either to a
contemporary monarch of the old kingdom or to a
MaccabaBan prince, since they are neither so early as the
exile nor so late as the Maccabees.
The second difficulty in assigning the whole of these
psalms to the pre-exilic period isiinguistic. In the case of
none can I see anything in the language that favours a
pre-exilic as against a post-exilic date, if it once be granted
that the majority of the Psalms, including a considerable
proportion of those in Books I. and II. are post-exihc. In
general style, no doubt, the majority of Psalms in the later
Digitized by
Google
666 The Jetcish Quarterly Review,
books, especially Books IV. and V. differ from most of those
in Books I. and II. ; and if we were not compelled, by other
arguments than the linguistic, to pronounce many of the
Psalms in the first two Books post-exilic, we might regard
the two styles as, respectively, characteristic of post-exilic
and pre-exilic psalmody. But Dr. Driver is unquestionably
right in regarding as post-exilic not merely psalms such as
XXV., xxxiii., and xxxiv., which in some respects resemble
the type characteristic of the later books, but others in
Books I. and II. which do not differ appreciably in general
style from those containing references to the king. There
is then no good linguistic reason for pronouncing our
psalms pre-exilic ; on the other hand, several of them
present phenomena which favour the hypothesis of post-
exilic origin. I refer especially to ii., xlv., Ixxii., ex, —
Psalms which on the ground of distribution also €ure
probably not pre-exilic and two of which may be Maccabssan.
In a less degree the language is unfavourable to the
pre-exilic origin of most of the rest. I will not here
recapitulate the evidence, to which I have nothing to add ;
it is presented very impartially by Professor Cheyne.^
The third diflSculty arises from the ideas and literary affi-
nities of many of these psalms. How uniformly these again
point to the post-exilic period (no one, to my knowledge,
has yet ventured an argument from them for pre-exilic
date) may be seen by reference to Prof. Cheyne*s work.
Again avoiding the recapitulation of the evidence, I will
in this case discuss with some fulness a single usage. I
select it partly because it haa hitherto, I believe, escaped
notice, and partly because it has a bearing on my suggested
' In his Origin of the Psalter, especiallj in the *' Linguistic Appendix.'*
But he appears not to discuss an apparently late phrase 0*11 1*1) common
to several of these Psalms ; on the phrase, see Driver, Introduction^
p. 293. In these Psalms it occurs five times — T-yriii n ; xlv. 18 ;
Ixi 7 ; Izxxiz. 2, 6 ; elsewhere in the Psalms thirteen times. Outnde
the Psalter in Dent xxxii. 7, and in ten exilic or post-exilic passages :
Esth. ix. 28; Is. xiiL20; xxxiv. 17; Iviii. 12 ; Ix. 16 ; Ixi 4 ; Jet.
1. 39 ; Lam. v. 19 ; Joel ii. 2 ; iv. 20.
Digitized by
Google
The References to the " King " in the Psalter. 667
interpretation of the " King." This usage is the reference
to a plurality of Icings; such references form one of the
numerous and striking features common to the Psalms, and
Deutero-Isaiah. In order to appreciate this it is necessary
to examine the usage throughout the Old Testament. We
may at once of course dismiss passages which refer to a
plurality of kings clearly defined by the context, such, e,g,t
as speak of the "Kings of Israel and Judah." What we
have to consider is references to " kings " spoken of quite
indefinitely, or defined only in the most general way as
" kings of the earth," "kings of peoplea" These references are
numerous, but almost entirely confined to the exilic and
post-exilic literature ; such earlier references as are found
differ from the usage characteristic of Deutero-Isaiah and
the Psalter. The pre-exilic references are as follows : —
1. " Hear, O ye kings ; hearken, O ye princes," Jud. v. 3.
Taken by itself this appears quite general ; yet in view of
the sharply defined geographical horizon of JuA v., and
the terms of v. 19, "The kings came and fought, then the
kings of Canaan fought," the reference must be confined to
the kings of Canaan.
2. " Are not my princes all of them kings," Is. x. 8. The
usage here is predicative.
3. " I have also given thee riches and honour, so that
there shall not be any among the kings (D'*2r?a5) like unto
thee all thy days," 1 Kings iii. 13. ^
4. " So king Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in
riches and wisdom ; and all the kings' of the earth sought
the presence of Solomon to hesi his wisdom," 1 Kings x,
23, 24.1
5. " Yea, he (ChaldsBa) scoffeth at kings, and princes are a
derision unto him," Hab. i. 10.
In the last three cases the point of reference is to
emphasise the superiority in rank of the person or people.
* These two pasnagee are probably pre-exilic, though of donbtfol date.
' So read bj LXX. in Kings, and bj both M. T. and LXX. in ChronSoles.
Digitized by
Google
668 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
The term used thus as typical of eminence occurs fre-
quently in proverbial expressions — some certainly exilic or
post-exilic, others occurring in chapters of Proverbs the
dates of which are uncertain, but which are stiD generally
regarded as pre-exilic; this usage is clearest in such a
saying as *' Seest thou a man diligent in business ; he shall
stand before kings : he shall not stand before mean men;"
Prov. xxii. 28. Cf . also Prov. xxv. 2, 3 ; xxxL 3, 5 ; Job iii.
14; xxxvi. 7.^
K we contrast with such a saying as the last the follow-
ing from U. Isaiah, " And nations shall come to thy light,
and kings to the brightness of thy rising " (Ix. 3), we must
feel a difference. "Kings" has become a synonym of
'' nations," and by both words alike the author is endea-
vouring to indicate the indefinite distance and extent of
his geographical horizon. It is this, and not the idea of
rank (which, however, need not necessarily be whoUy
absent), that he wishes primarily to express. It is, there-
fore, one of those stylistic characteristics of the writer, the
significance of which lies in the close relation between them
and his dominating ideas.* This term " kings " occurs nine
times in II. Isaiah,' the real differentia of its usage here and
in earlier writers consisting in this : —
1. It has become virtually a synonym of terms such as
" nations," which are used to indicate universality.
2. The " kings " thus vaguely referred to appear as con-
trasted with Israel — vanquished that Israel may be set free,
or subserviently bringing offerings that Israel may be
glorified.
The connection of the term " kings " with " nations" is, it
is true, found in Jeremiah xxv. 14, xxviL 7 : " For many
nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them " (the
* Owing to the absence of a oontrasted term, the usage Ib less striking
in Prov. viii. 15 ; xvi. 12, 13. Job xii. 18 may also be compared.
' Cf . the usage of D^^K in the same writer ; and in this connection of.
G. A. Smith, Book of Isaiah^ xL-lxvi, pp. 108-110.
» xli. 2 ; xlv. 1 ; xlix. 7, 23 ; Hi. 16 ; Ix. 3, 10, 11 ; Ixu. 2.
Digitized by
Google
The References to the " King " in the Psalter. 669
Chaldseans) ; but here the " nations " and " kings " are asso-
ciated, not contrasted, with Israel, while the phrase, itself
different, " great kings," is not parallel to, but co-ordinate
with the other phrase, "many nations." It expresses in
Jeremiah a particular thought; in II. Isaiah, as in the
Psalter, it betrays a constant background of thought.
Similarly in the case of the passages from Kings quoted
above: the contrast there is the expression of a particular
and definite comparison. If Solomon had to be compared,
he could only be compared with the other kings ; but in
II. Isaiah it expresses a dominant idea — the contrast between
Israel and the ** kings " and " nations " of the world.
Not only is the usage characteristic of II. Isaiah not foimd
before the exile, but nothing quite like it^ is found any-
where except in the Psalter. In the Psalms the term
"kings" is used, just as in II. Isaiah, six or eight times,
and about the same number of times in a slightly different
way. Exactly similar to the Deutero-Isaianic usage is that
of the term in three of the "king" Psalms: —
Ps. ii. 1, 2. — ^'^ Why do the nations rage, and the peoples
imagine a vain thing ? The kings of the earth set them-
selves and the rulers take counsel together against Tah-
weh." (Cf. also vv. 8-10.)
Ps. Ixxii 11. — ^" All kings shall fall down before him, all
nations shall serve him." (Cf. also v. 10.)
Pa ex. 5. — ^''Yahweh at thy right hand shall strike
through kings, he shall judge among the nations."
The term '* kings " is used somewhat indefinitely in
xlv. 10, and is so far an indication of late date ; but the
' The nearest paraUels in exilic literature are Ezek. xxyii. 35 (cf. also
xzvii. 33), but here the reference is to Tyre, and Lam. iv. 12, where the
kings and inhabitants of the world are interested in the overthrow of
Israel. Less similar are Is. xiv. 9, 18 ; Ezek. xzvL 7 ; xzyiii. 17 ; Jer. L
61. The most interesting post-exilic usage is that in the '* Priestly Code**
Gen. xTii. 6, 16 ; xxxv. 11. Cf. also Is. xxiv. 20 ; but Ezra ix. 7 is quite
dissimilar.
Digitized by
Google
670 The Jeirish Quarterly Rcvieic,
usage is not Deutero-Isaianic.^ Rather more similar to the
Deutero-Isaianic is the usage in Ixxxix. 28.
The preceding analysis shows that a well-defined
peculiarity of usage common to Deutero-Isaiah and cer-
tain Psalms (including three of the " king " Psalms) occurs
nowhere else. It is no great inference that these Psalms
are dependent on Deutero-Isaiah, or vice versd, and few who
have examined the relation between the two books will
doubt that the former is the more probable alternative.
Judged, then, by the use of the term " kings," Pss. ii.,
Ixxii., ex. must be considered post-exilic. But, of course,
the strength of the argument from stylistic and literary
aflSnity depends on the accumulation of ^acts like the
preceding all pointing the same way. Where similar
indications of late date may be found I have already
indicated.
It wiU be convenient at this point to summarise, with
reference to a single Psaloi — ^the second — the evidence for
and against a pre-exilic origin. Against, we have —
1. The absence of title, indicating that it belonged to
none of the earlier Psalm collections which preceded the
compilation of the Psalter in its present form.
2. The language (cf. Cheyne, Psalter, p. 463).«
3. The ideas involved ; e.g,, in the use of " kings " (see
above for further evidence; cf. Cheyne, Psalter, pp. 238-240).
4. Its great influence, from the " Psalms of Solomon "
(68 B.C.) onwards,' compared with the absence of all trace
of such influence earlier.
^ The other references to a plurality of kings in the Psalter are, xlviii.
5; Ixviii. 15, 30 ; Ixxvi. 13; ciL 16 ; cxix. 46 ; cxlviii 11 ; cxlix. 8. In
or. 14, cxxxT. 10, oxzxvi. 17, 18, the reference is to weU-known historical
events, but is apparently affected in its terms by the stereotyped paralleL
' Of course ^3 in y. 11 is corrupt ; but I see no j^ood reason for regard,
ing the Aramaism DSHJ^ as a corruption of Uyy^,
* There are no traces of its influence within the Psalter itself, such as
we find in the case of some other strikinir but presumably earlier Psalms,
e,y,j viii., xviii. ; Ps. ex. presents resemblance, but scarcely bears marks of
Digitized by
Google
The References to the " King " in the Psalter, 671
5. The absence of all early tradition of its connection
with any pre-exilic monarch.
To set over against this cumulative evidence for post-
exilic date, we have, in favour of earlier origin, simply and
solely the reference to the king. Under the circumstances
several scholars have not unnaturally been driven to ask
whether this does necessarily point another way.
II.
The exegeticaJ assumption, common to those who regard
these Psalms as early, and to many who consider them late,
is that the " king " is some contemporary ruler. By the
latter it has been suggested that this ruler is either a
foreign monarch — this is suggested particularly with
regard to Psa xlv. and Ixxii. — or a Maccabsean prince.
The former alternative seems to me quite improbable ; and
the latter is questionable in the case of Pss. xviii., xx.,
xxi., xlv., Ixi., Ixiii., Ixxii., since from their position in the
earlier collections, it is very improbable that they were
written so late as the second century. I am also far from
convinced that a MaccabsBan prince would be termed Tf79,
though I can believe that he might be described as
endowed with some kingly functions: in other words,
Ps. ex. may refer to a Maccabee, but the rest of these
Psalms do not
But leaving the question of date out of account, there
seems to me a strong presumption against the theory that
ail these Psalms, or even most of them, had in view an
actual contemporary person. For in no single case is the
reference suflSciently clear and exact to have led to any
agreement as to who the king is: in Hupfeld-Nowack's
commentary, after an examination of various views, a
non-liquet is wisely pronounced. Only, indeed, in one of
these Psalms (xlv.) is there any particularity of detail
dependence. On the other hand, we find it quoted in the earliest post-
oanonioal literature — Ps. SoL, xvii. 26 ; it is probablj alluded to in Enoch
zlviii. 10 ; cv. 2 ; and references to it abound in the New Testament.
Digitized by
Google
672 The Jewiah Quarterly Review.
whatever; most of the rest, apart from other considera-
tions which may confine the Psalm within certain limits
of time, so far as the reference to the king is concerned,
might refer equally well to any king from David to
Zedekiah or any other Jewish ruler who subsequently bore
the title of king. Now this vague and indefinite allusion
to actual contemporary pei-sons is, I believe, wholly alien to
the Semitic genius, and quite unparalleled in the Old
Testament. To appreciate the significance of the vague-
ness of these Psalms, we need to bear in mind the con-
creteness of reference in poems such as David's two
elegies, where in each case he mentions by name the
person he laments ; the same definiteness marks Deborah's
song ; and even in Ezekiers allegory (a xix.), although no
names are given, the allusion is clear ; the same is true of
the late apocalyptic literature in which it is manifest
when the author has in view a particular person, even though
at times it may be difficult to decide who the person is.
Now while this generality of description is never found
outside the Psalter with reference to an actual king, it is
found in passages descriptive of the Messianic king, and
in this ciwe for the very good reason that generality alone
was possible. Here, then, is good reason for enquiring
whether these Psalms are not closely connected with the
Messianic idea.
Another reason for questioning whether these Psalms
refer to an actual contemporary ruler arises out of the
numerous references to the king's immortality.
In some cases the reference need imply nothing more
than the continuity of the king's race; this, e,g,, would
fairly satisfy the terms of xlv. 6, 17; Ixxxix. 29, 30, 37,
38 ; but it is not naturally suggested in xxi. 4, 6 ; Ixi 6, 7;
IxxiL 5, 7 ; ex. 4. In these latter cases we must suppose
the expressions hyperbolic, or parallels to the beliefs of
Assyrians and Egyptians respecting their kings; thus
Professor Cheyne says, " The exalted language of Hebrew
writers with reference to their kings is now perfectly
Digitized by
Google
The References to the " King " in the Psalter. 673
explicable by the popular belief in kings as reflections of
the divinity " ; and, again, " probably a special * golden
mansion ' was believed to be in store for worthy kings in
heaven." ^ If the king in these Psalms is an actual con-
temporary, no doubt this is the best explanation, but it
is important to observe what considerable assumptions it
involves : —
1. We have no proof that this was the "popular belief"
in Israel ; it is merely an unconfirmed inference from
analogous foreign beliefs. It is significant, but scarcely
confirmatory, that the only assertions of the divinity or
immoi-tality of a king in the Old Testament, are put into
the mouths of foreigners with reference to foreign kings ;
vide Is. xiv. 13, 14 ; Dan. ii. 4.
2. The immortality in most of these passages in the
Psalms does not naturally suggest life in a " golden man-
sion," but continued life on earth.
III.
Tlie aim of the preceding criticism has been to indicate
the difficulties in the way of referring (1) the whole of our
group of Psalms to the pre-exilic period, and (2) most of
the references to the king to any actual person. It is only
because these difficulties appear to me considerable, that I
venture to suggest quite tentatively and provisionally, an
interpretation of " the King " which in its turn has a con-
siderable bearing on the criticism ; for, as far as it holds
good, the only argument for assigning these Psalms to the
pre-exilic period falls away.
My arguments will frequently presuppose, or gain
strength from, a general agreement with some conclusions of
Professors Cheyne, Smend, and Stade.*
* Ifook of PsalfM, Introd. to Ps. zxi., and note on verses 4, 6.
' I refer ohieilj (1) to Smend^s concliision that even the Psalms spoken in
first person sing^ilar generally reflect the national rather than the individnal
consciousness ; see his "E^ssaj Ueher dag Ich der PsaXmen^ inZ.^.7'.Tf';,1888,
pp. 49-147. To a considerable extent this is accepted by Chejne (^Origin
Digitized by
Google
674 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
In the first instance, for the sake of clearness, I will con-
fine myself to a discussion of Pa ii., where both the exege-
tical and the critical difficulties in the way of regarding the
king as a pre-exilic monarch culminate. The evidence as
to date I have already summarized ; the exegetical difficulty,
stated briefly, is the entire absence of any trait of individual
personality in the king described.
These difficulties have been so much felt in the case of
this Psalm that it has frequently been interpreted simply
of the Messianic king; noticeably so by BsBthgen. But
there is still considerable difficulty in regarding the king
of Psalm ii. as completely analogous, e.g., to the king in
Isaiah's well-known prophecies. There (aa in all prophetic
references to the Messianic King), the king is sharply dis-
tinguished from the people of Jehovah whom he is to rule
in righteousness. But here the king is contrasted only
with the nations ; of Israel as distinct from him there is no
word.
This then suggests that the "king" is no individual,
either contemporary or future, but the people of Jehovah
as a whole, regarded as representatives to the world at large
of Yahweh*s sovereign power ; briefly, the whole Psalm is
a direct description of a present struggle between the
Jewish nation and the world.^
In support of this interpretation, I note : —
1. We have in Ps. ii. the usage already discussed by which
the term "kings" is used as a virtual synonym of
"nations"; the kings of v, 2 are in no clear way dis-
tinguished from the " nations " of v. 1. The same may be
said of the " nations and uttermost parts of the earth " of
V. 8, the " kings " and " judges of the earth " of t?. 10. It is a
qf the Psalter , espeoiaUy pp. 261-265), to a limited extent by Driver
{Introduction^ pp. 365-367). (2) To Stade's disciiBsion Die Messianische
Hoffnung im Psalter in ZeiUchrift fur Theologie und Kirehe, 1892, pp.
869-413.
* This oloselj agrees with the view taken bj Beer in the work dted
above. I should, however, add that my own oonolnsions were reached
before reading his disoossion of the Psalm.
Digitized by
Google
The References to the " King " in the Psalter, 675
most natural inference that " my king " of r. 6, is a synonym
for " my nation " or " my people/' and that the author no
more sharply distinguishes " the king " from " Israel " than
the " kings " from " the nations." In other words, the idea
of a personal Messiah, and much more of an actual ruler,
was far from the writer's thoughta
2. Smend has shown that in numerous Psalms written in
the first person singular, the author speaks not as an in-
dividual, but as the nation ; ie. the Psalms in question
refer to national not personal circumstances. It would
therefore be quite in accordance with usage to regard the
speaker of v, 7, as personating Israel So regarded the
verse is entirely explicable by Hebrew usage ; for Israel is
Yaliweh's son, compare e,g, Hoa xL 1, " When Israel was a
child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt,"
and within the Psalter itself we have a clear instance of
nations being said " to be bom "* in Zion, see Ixxxvii. 4-6.
It is true that an individual king may also be said to be a
" son of Yahweh " ; but still the usage of lb"* here would
remain without complete analogy if the king be an in-
dividual
3. In Deutero-Isaiah, with which the Psalm is connected
by the use of the term " Kings," we find close parallels to
the usage pre-supposed by the theory. Most characteristic of
that prophet is the conception of the " Servant of Yahweh" :
this certainly at times covers the whole nation, at others it
is confined to an ideal section of the nation ; possibly, but
by no means certainly, it also becomes in some passages ^
individualised. In any case a term previously used of indi-
viduals is by the prophet most frequently used of the nation ;
* The paraUel is slightlj obsonred in the English versions, since
l^m?^ of ii 11 is rendered "I have begotten thee," but H^^ of Izzzvii.
4^ by " was bom.** The distinction between ** begetting " and *' bearing *'
is not to be pressed — ^in this case the word in Ps. ii. woold have been
*]^n*l^in. In each case the word is simply a metaphor for ** brought into
existence."
' For references see Driver, Itaiah : hU Life and Tinu*^ p. 175; the
following pages contain a succinct account of the Deutero-Isaianic use.
Digitized by
Google
676 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
and that because the nation, with its prophetic function to
the whole world, corresponds, in the prophet's outlook, to
the place of the individual prophet within the nation. I
assume a similar usage in the Psalter, viz., that the nation
in its relation to the world, corresponding to the king in his
relation to the people, is termed " King." In favour of this
we have not merely the general analogy just discussed, but
the direct suggestion of another passage in the Deutero-
Isaiah. In Iv. 3-5, the promise is made that "the sure
mercies of David " shall become the nation's ; in a word the
nation as a whole is in future to stand to Yahweh in the
pla.ce of David ; but the particular aspect in which the
prophet is then regarding David is " of a witness to the
peoples, a leader and commander to the peoples " ; and thus
the " idea of kingship," though not the term, is transferred
to the nation. Thus the general mode of thought assumed
by the theory is completely paralleled in II. Isaiah, where
also its special development is suggested.
4. But in literature perhaps contemporaneous with the
Psalm — ^the Book of Daniel — we find a yet more exact
parallel With regard to the interpretation of the seventh
chapter of Daniel, as in reference to all other matters
connected with the Old Testament, whether textual, cri-
tical or exegetical, difference of opinion and so far
uncertainty prevails. Without arguing the point I will
simply remark that as against Riehm ^ and many earlier
scholars, I follow, to cite merely two English scholars,
Professors Stanton * and Bevan * in considering that this
chapter contains no reference to a personal Messiah.
The chapter contains an allegorical representation of
Israel's ideal relation to the world : four of the great
world empires are represented by four beasts, Israel by the
* In Memanio Prophecy (Eng. Trans.), p. 193, footnote 3.
' In The Jewish and Christian Messiah^ p. 109 f.
* In his Commentary on Daniel^ pp. 118 f., whence it appears that
Jewish commentators for the most part refirarded the '* Son of Man ** as
personal, bnt Ibn Ezra maintained the national interpretation.
Digitized by
Google
The References to the " King " in the Psalter, 677
" Son of Man." Now of this " Son of Man " we read, " And
there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom,
that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve
him ; his dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall
not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be
destroyed," r. 14. Here then we note that to Israel as a
whole a kingdom is given ; the nation symbolised by the
" Son of Man " actually received what the king of Psalm
ii. is promised for the asking, " the nations for his inheritance^
and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession."
The interpretation which follows is an equally significant
parallel ; this runs — These great beasts, which are four, are
four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. But the
saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and
poasess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever," verses
17, 18. Here the " saints of the Most High " correspond to
the " Son of Man " in verse 14, and are contrasted with the
" four kings " ; but the " four kings " are four nations or
empires ; the fifth empire, the saints of the Most High,
might therefore fittingly, in a poetical passage, be termed
" king." Lastly, in verse 27 — " And the kingdom and the
dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the
whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints
of the Most High; his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and all dominions shall serve and obey him " — we have the
significant change from the plural, " saints of the Most
High," to the singular, " his " and " him."
If it be once granted that as II. Isaiah idealises all Israel
as " Yahweh's servant," so another may have idealised the
nation as Yahweh's king — and I have just stated what
appear good reasons for granting this — it seems to me as
clear as from the nature of the case is possible that this
idealisation is present in Ps. ii. : for the character of the
Psalm forbids an explanation such as Daniel gives of the
" Son of Man," and its brevity that multiplicity of reference
which leaves us in no doubt as to the meaning of the
" servant of Yahweh " in II. Isaiah. The assumption is con-
VOL. VII. Y Y
Digitized by
Google
678 llie JewUh Quarterly Rpview.
firmed by this consideration — the resemblance of the king
in Ps. ii. to different kings to whom it has been supposed to
have referred is purely general, very remote and never con-
vincing ; the resemblance, on the other hand, to the " Son of
Man," or, as otherwise termed, "the saints of the Most
High," is both close and essential.
Assuming now that the idealisation of Israel as Yahweh's
king existed, I proceed briefly to consider the possibility of
interpreting the other " king " Psalms in the light of it.
Pa Ixxii. Most present theories of interpretation are
unsatisfactory : consideration of date alone makes it diffi-
cult to refer it to the old kingdom ; Professor Cheyne, who
derives his view from distinguished forerunners — 01s-
hausen, Reuss, and Hitzig — fails to convince me that it is
a glorification of Ptolemy Philadelphus ; and against both
views there are the general exegetical presumptions stated
above. The remaining alternatives are to regard it as
purely Messianic, i.e., as a prayer for the ruler of the people
in the Messianic age ^ ; or, as in Ps. ii., to regard the king
as an idealisation of the nation. I prefer the latter on this
condition — that we may assume for the conception as much
flexibility as marks that of the " servant of Yahweh " in
Deutero-Isaiah : this is necessitated by verse 4, where the
king is, to a certain extent, distinguished from the people ;
but this is precisely what we find in Deutero-Isaiah, where,
in the same passage, the servant is identified with, and dis-
tinguished from, Israel; cf. ^.^., xlix. 1-6, "Listen, O isles,
unto me Yahweh hath called me from the womb —
and said unto me. Thou art my servant ; Israel, in whom I
will be glorified ; and now saith Yahweh that formed me
from the womb to he his servant, to bring Jacob again to
him and that Israel may be gathered unto him : Yea, he saith,
It is too light a thing that thou shouldest be my servant to
* Of. R. Smith, op. cit., p. 439, ** I am not sore that the ideal picture of
Ps. Ixxii. requires any historical background. ' Entrust thj judgments to
a king, and thy righteousness to a king's son * may very well be a prayer
for the re-establishment of the Davidio dynasty under a Messianic king
according to prophecy.*'
Digitized by VjOOQIC
The References to the " King " in the Psalter. 679
raise up the tribes of Jacob — I will also give thee for a
light to the Gentiles." I prefer to assume a certain national
reference —
(1.) Because of the close connection with Isaiah Ix. — a
description of the future of Israel. On the other hand, the
parallels with Is. ix. 1-6 and xi. 1-11 are noticeable.
(2.) Because there are good reasons for regarding the
Psalm as a product of the period after the exile, but before
the Maccabees, i.e,, of a period when there was no actual
king. At such times the conception of a personal Mes-
sianic king apparently dies away ;^ but it was precisely at
such a time that the Deutero-Isaiah declares the whole
nation heir of the " leader and commander " David.
(3.) Because of the parallels to verse 17 c, d. It is
Abraham's seed, Israel as a whole, that is to become pro-
verbial (cf. Gen. xlviii. 20) for prosperity — cf. Gen. xxii.
18; xxvi. 4; xviii. 18 (cf. xii. 3; xxviii. 14). The national
character of the object of the sentence is moreover sup-
ported by the national character of the subjects^ of these
clauses. The nations would more naturally invoke upon
themselves the blessing of a nation, than of an individual
— the king.
(4.) Because of the reference to immortality in verses 5,
17. These are in complete analogy with many Psalm
passages, if they refer to the immortality of the race ; they
are without analogy in the Old Testament, if they are
a hyperbolic expression of a wish for the long life of the
king ; they are not clearly paralleled in earlier references
to the personal Messianic King — ^not even in Is. ix. 6, 7.
Perhaps the suggestion is worth making that the later
belief in the immortality of the Messianic King was in-
• Cf. Riehm, Metsianic Prophecy, Part II., espeoiaUj pp. 179-193.
^ In clause c we ought no doubt to read with the LXX ?3 13 ISISHM
y"IKn mnerD, so Cheyne, Kautzach. Otherwise the subject (D^a ^D) of
clause d must be regarded as explaining the unexpressed subject of clause
e. In any case the individualistic idea expressed bj R. Y . ('* men shall be
blessed in him *') is not inteaded by the Hebrew.
YY 2
Digitized by
Google
680 The Jewish Quarterly Recietc.
fluenced by an erroneous individualistic interpretation of
passages such as these, which originally had a national
reference.
Pss. Ixxxix. and xviii. must be taken in close connection
with one another and with Is. Iv. 3-5. That they are really
associated with one another appears from a comparison of
Ixxxix. 50, and xviii. 44, with the prophetic passage;
both the Psalms, at any rate in their present form, appear
to me dependent on the prophecy, and therefore post-
exilic. But at this point the question of date must only
be discussed in so far as it is influenced by interpreta-
tion.
The first part (strictly verses 4, 5, 20-38) of Psalm
Ixxxix. is a prolix poetical reproduction of the promise
made to David in 2 Sam. vii. of the perpetuity of the
monarchy in his seed; this being so, it is natural to
attempt to explain " the anointed " of verse 39 (Eng. 38),
who is cast off and rejected, as a Davidic king. But the
description is far more applicable to a people than an
individual, and has its parallels ^ in other descriptions of
the disasters and distress of the nation. The national
character of the Messiah comes out clearly when we refer
to verses 51, 52 ; here Yahveh's anointed=the speaker of
the Psalm=the servants * of Yahweh, f>., the nation. In
verse 50, " Lord, where are thy former mercies, which thou
swarest unto David in thy faithfulness," we have a
> Especially in Lamentations. The paraUels between Ps. Ixxxix. and
Lamentations soaroely appear to have grained the attention they desezre.
I append some of the more striking : in considering them it most be re-
membered that, though Lam. i.-iii are largely spoken in the first person
singular, the speaker is the nation. (Cf. Driver, Introdurti&ny p. 431) —
With Ps. w. 2, 3, cf . Lam. ui. 22-24.
„ 34 „ iil 31.
39 „ iii.l;v.22
„ 39ff „ i. 12;ii.5flf.
' Cheyne and some others read with the Peach., the singular — ^*'My
servant.'' For that there seems no good reason apart from the theory that
an individual is being described. The LXX supports the plural of M. T^
which, as the harder reading, should be retained.
With Ps. 406 (the crown) cf . Lam.v.l6.
„ 42flf „ iilSff.
61,62 „ v. 1,2.
Digitized by
Google
The References to the " King " in the Psalter. 681
tolerably clear appeal to the prophetic promise, "I will
make with you an everlasting covenant, the sure mercies
of David" (Is. Iv. 3). The reference to the Messiahs
"youth" in verse 46 in no way precludes a national
reference; perhaps rather the reverse, for cf. cxxix. 1
(and Ixxi. 17). Of verses 41, 42 (Engl. 40, 41) Professor
Cheyne rightly remarks that they " are clearly based on
Ixxx. 13, [Eng. 12], and refer to the Jewish natioa" This
being so, there seems little groimd for his claim that while
the description partly fits the people, "the anointed" of
verse 39 refers to " the Davidic king (or rather the Davidic
royalty)." Apparently he bases his claim on the reference
to the crown in verse 40, but the ptussage in Lam. v. 16
shows that this would be equally suitable in a description
of the people. I conclude, therefore, that this section of
the Psalm refers neither to a contemporary king nor to a
future Messianic king, but to the Messianic people; the
collective term Messiah of verse 39 corresponds to the
distributive term saints (verse 20), as " Son of Man " in
Dan. vii. 14 to " saints of the Most High."
The only reference to a personal king occurs in verse 19,
" Our king belongs to the Holy One of Israel." ^ Possibly
the verse belongs to a section which formed no original
part of the Psalm; verse 20 certainly connects more
naturally with verse 5 than ¥rith verse 19.^ But if the
reference is original, it is far from clear that the king is
an actual contemporary; even Bsethgen, who claims so
many of the " king " Psalms as pre-exilic, convinced by the
other evidence that Ps. Ixxxix. is post-exilic, interprets
the reference thus : " Israel's king, though in the reality
wanting, is yet ideally present; because Yahweh has
^ This rendering of the line seems to me the only legitimate one ; 1^3?D
in clanse b must be parallel to I^^O in clause a. If, following the ancient
versions and R. V. marg., we were to render, ** Even to the Holy One of
Israel, our king," the possibility of a reference to a contemporary monarch
wholly disappears ; but the rendering is certainly wrong.
^ Cf. Cheyne on the passage in his commentary.
Digitized by
Google
682 The Jetcish Quarterly Review.
promised him, he already belongs to Yahweh." In this
case the Psalm introduces as a feature in its ideal future
a personal king.
Just as in Psalm Ixxxix. the author complains (vv. 39-
52) that the nation of the present is not experiencing the
promised mercies of David, so in Psalm xviii. the author
praises (}od because the promise that the nation shall
enjoy the eminence of David has been fulfilled. From
one standpoint he speaks in the name of David, from
another in that of the nation. Oranted this, the Psalm is
a satisfactory whole, and we need not have recourse io
theories of interpolation, such as are put forward by recent
upholders of the Davidic authorship of the Psalm. " David
and his seed " (52c), on the analogy of Is. Iv. 3 5 and
Ps. Ixxxix., will be Isrciel, who is termed in one parallel
clause Yahweh's Messiah, and in the other "Yahweh's
King " (52a, 6). Without discussing the Psalm at length,
I will briefly draw attention to the entire absence of
anything necessarily personal from the Psalm.
The deliverance and present prosperity are described by
a series of figurative or purely general expressions {e.g., vr.
17, 18, 20, 29, 30, 35), such as might well be chosen to describe
a national deliverance ; but, one use of them, unrelieved as
they are by a singular particular trait, is not what we should
expect in a description of the deliverance of an individual
BfiBthgen himself points out several verses which he says
would be more suitable in the mouth of the community
than in that of ''an individual and in particular, David,"
and supposes these to be due to the overworking for the
use of the community of a Davidic triumphal ode composed
for a particular occasion. But the fact is, these differ in
no essential way from the rest of the Psalm ; indications of
the particular fortunes of an individual we seek for in vain.
Baethgen apparently finds such indications in verses 44 and
45, for he says, " In favour of Davidic authorship is the fol-
lowing : The poet is a leader and king, who has carried on
victorious wars and subdued peoples whom he had hitherto
Digitized by
Google
The References to the " King " in the Psalter, 683
not known.** Undoubtedly if we had in this Psalm the
utterance of a Hebrew king concerning his own fortunes,
its author would be David ; but we have not. Even in
verses 44, 45, we have nothing distinctively personal ; on
the other hand Israel here acknowledges that the promise
of Is. Iv. 3-5, has been fulfilled. The resemblance between
the speaker of the Psalm and the Israel of the prophet is
complete, only what the prophet places in the future, the
Psalmist places in the past (or present). The parallels are
worth noting.
The gpeaPer of the Psalm is "head It follows from Is. Iv. 3-5 that
of the nations," 44* ; Israel will be a " leader and com-
mander of the peoples,*' 4 ;
receives the service of unknown will receive the service of unknown
nations, 44(?-46, nations, 5 ;
owing to Ood*s assistance, 47, 48, owing to God's assistance, verse 5 ;
who is loving to his anointed, David who makes with Israel the everlast-
and his seed for evermore, verse ing covenant, the sure mercies of
62. David.
We are thus left without any reason for treating the
Psalm as the account of the fortunes of an individual ; there
are many indications that the deliverance of the nation is
the subject of the poem ; some of these are alluded to above-
It must suffice to add that the promise (v. 50), to praise God
among the nations, is the promise to fulfil the task of Israel.
Psalms Ixi., Ixiii. The strangeness of the allusion in these
Psalms to the king has been remarked by R. Smith * ;
but I fail to see how his suggestion that the verses contain-
ing them are a liturgical addition eases the difficulty ; they
would in that case presumably refer to a Maccabsaan prince ;
but this would leave us with the difficulty of explaining
the term "H^^, and also why a liturgical reference to
the king should be added in just these Psalms. Certainly
the allusion to the king, if he be not identical with the
speaker of the Psalms, is, as B. Smith says, unnatural ; but
if he be identical, it is entirely natural, for the speaker is
here unmistakably expressing the national consciousness
' Old Testament in Jewish Church (Second Edition), p. 438.
Digitized by
Google
684 The Jetctsh Quarterly Review.
and hopes (verses 5, 9), and thus the connection between
verses 7 and 8, and verse 9, is clear ; if Yahweh will grant
the kingly people perpetual life, they will render him
perpetual praise.
The national reference is probable, though less manifest,
in Ixiii.
There is much also in favour of interpreting Psalm xxi.
in the same way ; it contains nothing of a distinctly
personal character — no one will lay stress on the *' crown " ^
of verse 3 ; and the repeated and emphatic reference? to
immortality are entirely in harmony with the thought of
the Psalter if the immortality implied be racial, but only to
be paralleled from Egyptian and Assyrifim ideas, if a quasi-
divinity is being attributed to the king.*
With some difficulty Psalm xx. might, perhaps, be interpre-
ted likewise ; but in this case the date which requires such an
interpretation (post-exilic and pre-Maccabsean) needs to be
first proved. To explain it of a personal, non-existent and
only ideal king is difficult. The alternatives appear to me
to identify the king with the nation,' or with one of the
(latest) pre-exilic kings. Psalm xx. it should in any case
be noted, differs from the rest of the "king" Psalms, except
xlv., in its greater particularity of detail, and from all
except xlv. and ex.* in being addressed to the king. To
Psalm xlv. the theory of interpretation I have been sug-
gesting, certainly does not apply ; it is questionable in the
case of Psalm ex.
In three of the four Psalms where the king is termed
Yahweh*s Messiah, the king most clearly appeared to be
the nation (ii., xviii., Ixxxix.) ; in Psalms xxviii. and Ixxxiv.
' Of. Lam. y. 6, and the note on Ps. Itxtit. and Lamentations above.
* Vide supra^ p. 8.
' The allusion in this Psalm to the '* king '* depends on aooepting the
reading of the LXX. (of. B. V. marg.). In that case note that *'king " is
parallel to** us."
* To which we must add Ps. rxi., if yerses 9-lS be separated from verse
14, and considered as an address to the king (so Cheyne). Ps. \xm. 5a, is
corrupt.
Digitized by
Google 1
The Referetices to the " King " in the Psalter. 685
where Yahweh's Messiah, but not the king, is mentioned,
there is therefore little reason for finding a personal
reference. Note particularly in xxviii. 9, the four
terms " people," " anointed," " people," " inheritance " ; it is
unlikely that the second only is personal, when the other
three must be national.^
My conclusions can be briefly summed up as follows : —
1. Exegetical — Tn Pss. ii., Ixxii., xviii., Ixxxix., xxi., the
king referred to is an idealisation of the people in virtue
of its sovereign functions, and terms used of the king are
only, or most satisfactorily, to be explained by the circum-
stances, not of an individual monarch, but of the (royal)
nation. In Ps. Ixi., probably also in Ps. IxiiL, the author
speaks in the name of the nation, and consequently appropri-
ates the term *' king." Possibly Pss. xx. and ex. may be
analogously explained. In Ps. xxxiii. the reference is purely
proverbial. The interpretation of Ps. xlv. I have left out
of account : my own theory is inapplicable to it, and it is
difficult to decide between conflicting views.
2. Critical. — In these Psalms (including xxviii. and
Ixxxiv., but with the possible exceptions of xx., xlv., ex.)
a contemporary monarch is not alluded to, and the only
evidence hitherto adduced in favour of their pre-exilic
origin thus falls through. On the other hand, granted the
validity of the proposed interpretation, it will, no doubt,
be conceded that the reference to the king becomes addi-
tional evidence of post-exilic date ; it forms a weighty
addition to the evidence from ideas. These Psalms are,
therefore, post-exilic ; but xviii., xxi., xxviii. date from
the fifth century ; Ixi., Ixiii., Ixxii. are not later than the
end of the fourth ; Ixxxiv. and Ixxxix. are pre-Maccabaean ;
ii. and xxxiii. need not be, and the former probably is
not, earlier than the middle of the second century.
Of the two uncertain Psalms, xx. and ex., if they refer
to actual contemporary rulers, xx. must be pre-exilic,
^ Cf. also Hab. iii 13, where the national character of the Mecjsiah has
been most generally recognised.
Digitized by
Google
686 TJic Jewish Quarterly Review,
because, standing in Book I., it cannot be Maccabsean ;
and ex. will almost certainly be MaccabsBan, since language
and position render a pre-exilic origin unlikely.
In the case of xlv., position excludes a Maccabssan
origin, while position and language, not to speak of ideas,
render a pre-exilic origin unlikely.
So far as my interpretation holds good, it serves to
confirm (for the period from the exile to the Maccabees)
Mr. Montefiore's statement : — '' The Messianic king, at any
rate, as distinguished from the general and wider concep-
tion of the Messianic age, was of comparative insignificance
in the Jewish religion,"^ while at the same time it shows
that these Psalms, like so many others, reflect the
Messianic hopes and the Messianic consciousness of the
people. They are not remotely connected with the Mes-
sianic hope as being ideal descriptions of an actual ruler ;
they are directly Messianic, as being due to the hope €«id
conviction that, through Israel, Grod will exercise dominion
over the world ; for, as Professor Stade justly observes, a
passage is Messianic, not because it refers to a coming
personal deliverer, but in virtue of reference to the
kingdom of God.
G. Buchanan Gray.
' See Hlhhert Lecture^ p. 416.
Digitized by
Google
Qirqisdniy the Karaite, afid his Work an Jewish Sects. 687
QIRQISANI, THE KARAITE, AND HIS WORK ON
JEWISH SECTS.
Four years after Saadyah had published his fundamental
Book of Beliefs and Doctrines (933 C.E.), a Karaite savant
wrote a work which had a similar tendency, namely, to
offer some safe guidance amid the numerous religious
opinions which were then put forth, and some justification
for the application of speculative reasoning to things
religious. The name of this Karaite scholar has long been
known, Abft J<isuf Ja'qftb Al-Qirqisfinl ; but with regard to
his work, we now for the first time receive reliable and pre-
cise information. For this we are indebted to the scholar
who has already done so much towards elucidating obscure
points in the domain of older Jewish literature, viz.,
Abraham Harkavy, of St. Petersburg. There recently
appeared in the eighth volume of the transactions of the
Imperial Russian Archaeological Society a larger work, in
the course of which Harkavy published a part of Qirqisfi.ni's
treatise in the Arabic original (pp. 279-319), introduced
by an exposition and review in Russian (pp. 247-278) of
the contents of this text published for the first time.
Although I am only partially able to master this introduc-
tion, written, as it is, in Russian, I yet undertake to give
wider publicity to Harkavy's work, and to reproduce new
and important particulars derived from the text of Qirqi-
s&nl itself.
AbA Jdlsuf Ja'qftb Al-Qirqisftni — so called after Qirqis&n
or Qurqus&n, the ancient Circeslum, Karkemish — wrote
the said work, as Harkavy pointed out before, in the year
937. He named it The Book of Lights and the high beacons
Digitized by
Google
688 The Jetcinh Quarterly Renew.
(Kitab al-anwAr wal-mar&qib).* It consists of thirteen
parts (f^\!^'^), the contents of which we become acquainted
with through Harkavy s Introduction (p. 249). The first
part is the portion edited by Harkavy, and will be further
discussed later on. The second part, consisting of twenty-
eight chapters, demonstrates the duty of Speculative En-
quiry with regard to religious matters, and establishes
its conclusive power. The third part, in twenty-five
chapters, deals with the various adverse religious sects
and their views. In sixty-eight chapters the fourth
part contains the fundamental principles, leading to the
understanding of particular religious statutes. The follow-
ing parts treat of the religious institutions or precepts
themselves in systematic order : —
5th. Concerning Circumcision and the Sabbath (40 chap-
ters);
6th. TJie nine other Commandments of the Decalogue
(104 chapters) ;
7th. Concerning the New Moon and the First-fruits (21
chapters) ;
8th. Concerning the Feast of Weeks (15 chapters);
9th. Concerning the Remaining Festivals (24 chapters);
10th. The Laws of Levitical Uncleanliness in man and
beast (66 chapters) ;
11th. On Forbidden Marriages and the Law of the Levi-
rate (31 chapters) ;
12th. On Forbidden Meats, Dress, and Seeds, and the
fringes (42 chapters) ;
13th. On the Laws of Inheritance (14 chapters).
The above shows that the last nine parts of Qirqis&ni's
work, to which the first four are a sort of general introduc-
■ Hadassi mentions a D^^V^n 'D of Qirqis&ni {tide Pinsker, Lik hadm.
1. 169), but D^3V3n is only an erroneous rendering: of IKIiK^K aKHD, as
^13« in Arabic means " lights ** as weU as " flowers." The proper render-
ing would be D^llKil 'D, as Levi b. Jepheth names the work (v. Pinsker,
II. yo, 193). The book was briefly quoted as nNl3«^K 3KnD (without
DpKlD^I), rw/e Neubauer, Aus der Petenfhurger Bibliotheh (1866), p. 114.
Digitized by
Google
Qirqimiil, the Karaite, and /m Work on Jetmh Sects. 689
tion, form collectivp.ly a Book of Precepts, and this may
probably be the n")!:ttn iSD, attributed to our author. The
MS., Or. 2526 of the British Museum, contains the twelfth
Maq&la (Part) and portions of the fifth and ninth Maqala
of the niSDH "ISO (ride Margoliouth Descriptive List, etc.,
p. 42); Or. 2578 contain portions of the eleventh and
twelfth ; Or. 2579 portions of the fifth and sixth parts.
Or. 2525 of the British Museum contains " an abstract of
the ni1!JT3 -ISO of Abd Jiisuf Jakdb Al-Kirkis4ni " (r. Mar-
goliouth, p. 42).
According to information received from Professor
Buchler, the MS. contains an explanation of the com-
mandments of the Decalogue ; and this would, accordingly
be the sixth part of the Kit&b Hl-AnwHr. Finally, in
Margoliouth's Catalogue, we find the contents of Or. 2524
thus: "Two fragments of a miSD ")SD, probably by Jaki^b
al-Kirkis&ni, containing refutations of the Christians,
Mohammedans, and of several individual writers." The
contents contradict the title Book of Precepts. As a matter
of fact the title niison 'D never appears, as I was in-
formed by Professor BUchler (Vide Revtie des Etudes Jtiires,
XXVI., 311). It contains a number of chapters (nto),
marked as those from the seventh to the twenty-third.
Also the end of the sixth chapter is preserved. The six-
teenth chapter (•)'*^W nKSfew) finds a place in H. Hirsch-
feld's Arabic ChrestoTnathi/ (London, 1892), pp. 116-121 ; and
when Dr. Hirschfeld styles the MS. as the Sefer Hammizvoth
of Jaquh Qirqisdni, he but follows the designation adopted in
the official Catalogue of the British Museum : this was un-
known to me at the time I reviewed the said Chrcstomathy
{Revue des Etudes Juive^, XXV. 155). M. Hartwig Deren-
bourg styles the contents of the MS., " Fragments of a
\>^\^ biSM nsriD Karaite en arabe " {Revue des Etudes Juives,
XXIII. 284), without mentioning Qirqis&ni as the author.
Now, as we have a means of learning through Harkavy
the divisions of Qirqis&nt s work, we are in a position to
make the statement beyond doubt, that the MS. Or. 2524
Digitized by
Google
690 The Jetci^h Quarterly Review,
of the British Museum contains the greater portion of the
third part of the Kit&b al-anwfi.r (t>., of the twenty-five
chapters of this part, the sixth to the twenty-third). This
part is of a polemic nature, and can therefore not properly
be styled ]'*"6w biSM DNTID ; and yet this description even
would be more appropriate for it than that of nilSDH nSD.
Really, if any part of Qirqis&nl's work might be called
dogmatic (]'*'^H bl2M 'D), it would rather be the second
part, or even the fourth, according to the division given
above.
In addition to the Kit&b al-anw&r waJ-mar&qib, the Im-
perial Library of St. Petersburg possesses also an exegetic
work by Qirqis&nl, viz., Kit&b ar-riy&d wal-had&iq"
(iTWinbwi VWnbM 'D:t^':i), "The Book of Fields and Gar-
dens." It is a comm<*ntary upon those portions of the
Pentateuch not devoted to the laws, and is consequently
supplementary to those portions of the chief work dealing
with the laws of the Pentateuch. Harkavy cites (p. 250,
note 1) an interesting passage from this work, bearing
upon Gen. ix. 27. Qirqis&nl there gives an explanation to
the words CQ7 '^bnMn ]Dttri, which makes them refer to the
convei'sion of the Chazars to Judaism (^ j^^j,^ n^j.^ yihn Tb*T—
y^^'^p^ ]Nibw)- "Th® *^S., Or. 2492, of the British Museum
contains the said portion of this work upon the first two
pericopes (r. Margoliouth, p. 24; Derenbourg, Revue des
Etudes Juives, XXIII. 282).
As Harkavy deduces from quotations occurring in the
two works which have been preserved, Qirqis&nt was
also the author of the following works: — Commentaries
to Job and Ecclesiastes ; a book on the Unity of God
(Tniribw n«nD) ; a work on the translation of the Bible
In the introductory part of his chief work, Qirqis&ni
gives a survey of the Jewish sects as they existed in
ancient times, and also in his own times. This knowledge
is now made available to all those acquainted with Arabic
by the excellent edition of Harkavy. Much of that which
Digitized by
Google
Qirqis&nly the Karaite, and the Work on Jemsh Sects, 691
we read here concerning the various sects and their doc-
trines has long been known ; but even these data acquire a
new charm, and further corroboration, when read in the
context of an original work devoted exclusively to the
subject in que«stion, composed by one who spoke from
experience, or who was in a position to obtain his
materials from ancient documents now lost. Add to this
that Qirqisdnl, notwithstanding his Karaite proclivities
and consequent prejudice against the Rabbis, makes upon
us the impression of an objective compiler and chronicler,
who devotes to the subjects he represents a lively interest,
and conceals nothing which might be of importance.
At the end of the first chapter, (which, by the way, serves
as an introduction to the entire work,) he makes the asser-
tion that he has drawn his materials, not alone from the
works of his predecessors, but also from his personal
experience among the learned societies in which he moved,
and, in the case of such meeting^s as he did not attend,
from the verbal reports of its proceedings (]')-ro nijyn NDD
wmi^nw db hod ^"^^h "^nroH Htt> P- 280, /. 23-25).
It is specially interesting to hear what Qirqis&ni has to
say regarding the remnants of ancient sects extant in his
days. The 'Ananites, says he. are very few, and gradually
decreasing. Only about twenty persons are living at
Damascus of the adherents of AbA 'Is& Isfahan!. Of the
Judgtlnites, only few are extant at Isf&hAn (317, 4-7).
Not one of the adherents of Ismail the 'Okbarite remains
at the present day (317, 3). On the other hand, some of
the followers of Meshuje are to be found in 'Okbara, named
after their founder; but among them are no persons of
culture or of speculative turn of mind in religious matters
(285, 17). The followers of Malik of Ramla are still
called Rarolites or Malikites (285, 13); while those of
Abft 'Imr&n Mftsa Tiflisi are yet to be found in Tiflis,
Armenia (285, 11).
More interesting, however, is the picture which Qirqislln!
Digitized by
Google
692 The Jetckh Quarterly Rerietc.
unfolds of the conditions existing in his tirae within the
folds of the Karaites themselves. In the last chapter he
gives so vivid and drastic a picture of the dissensions
reigning among them in matters of greater or minor im-
portance, as regards doctrine and practice, that, did we not
know the portraiture proceeded from the pen of Qirqisani,
so zealous a Karaite, we might be inclined to put it down
as a lampoon directed by some opponent in the ranks of
the Rabbins. He takes occasion to point out their doctrinal
and ritual differences as he observed them at different
pla<;es— in BagdM (317, 20; 318, 5 ; 319, 8); Tuster (317,
23, 26; 319, 10); Basra (318, 25, 34; 319, 10); Persia (318,
25); Chorasan (319, 2); GeUl (319, 4); and Syria (319,
1) ; and he closes the long list of examples illustrative of the
differences and doubtfulness existing among Karaites with
the following words : — " Things are becoming worse day
by day " (nTS^T >Zi CV bD nawSwi, 319, 24). In another
passage (285, 23) he says in this connection : — " You can
scarcely meet two Karaites of one and the same mind in all
matters : upon one point or another everyone has an opinion
different from that of the rest." It is worthy of note to
remark the point to which Qirqis&nl once takes the oppor-
tunity of referring, namely, the want of attention among the
Karaites to the Rabbinic literature — he means the Midrash.
" Had the Karaites," he says, " obtained an insight into the
flaws and discrepancies which disfigure this branch of litera-
ture they would have rendered the task of controversy with
the Rabbis a much easier one." " It is only of late," he
continues, " that some few among them occupy themselves
with the study of that literature, and they soon light upon
the weaknesses and contradictions referred to " (296, 3-6.
In line 3, instead of nb'^lwpM, read nnVlspw).
With remarkable candour does Qirqis&ni lash the petty
and selfish motives which often prompted the Karaite
teachers in the expression of their opinions. In the first
chapter, Qirqisani sketches the character of Daniel al-
Damegani, also called Daniel al-Qumisi (^OQIpbM), as the
Digitized by
Google
Qirqisdniy the Karaite, and his Work on Jetcish Sects, 693
latest founder of a sect. He treats of him specially later on,
in the eighteenth chapter. On the one hand he praises him
as a person than whom no one was more honest and
unreserved in the frank avowal of the results of his
speculations in religious mattera He reports of him that
he was in the habit of furnishing his followers who pos-
sessed copies of his works with verbal instructions con-
cerning alterations which they were to mark in them in
the event of any change which his opinions had undergone
since the time his works first appeared. But, on the other
hand, he reproaches Daniel Qiimisi for his unbounded
hatred of the 'Ananites. At an earlier period, so Qirqis&ni
relates, he used to style ^Anan D^VDtt^Dn iwn ; but later on
he never spoke of him else than as D^b'^DDH a7Wn. This, he
concludes, is one of the great scourges which is rife
among our people, viz., the way they attack and bear
hatred against one another. The motive in most instances
is jealousy and ambition (-rorf?M ^bi "hv nnbDn> ND inDHi
nDbrnbN nbiDi, 280, 21).
In the same introductory chapter,^ Qirqis&ni directs
his remarks also against those Karaites, who, like those
residing in Tuster (Schuster, the ancient Susa), appear to
accept the fundamental principle of Earaism, viz., in-
dependent enquiry and research, while in reality they find
fault with the rational perception, viz., that of the demon-
strative sciences, whether it be in Dialectics or Philosophy.*
They adopt this course, says Qirqis&ni, partly through
dulness of the intellect and the diflSeulty of this sort of
speculative enquiry, and partly through their insisting
upon the idea that the application of the speculative
methods of philosophy to religious matters is fraught with
danger to their convictions. Our author cites also the said
* The beginniDg of the chapter, and consequently of the entire work,
has, unfortunately, not been preserved.
(279.15) ri^BD^D^K «DK1 ii'^niW.
VOL. VII. ZZ
Digitized by
Google
694 The Jetmsh Quarterly Review.
Daniel al-Qiimisi as an example of an opponent to ratio-
nalism as applied to religion. He decisively combats the idea
that reason opposes religious belief » and asks : Are there
not many, who are not alone not weakened, but even
strengthened in their faith by such knowledge, while many
apostatise from their faith and become the worst heretics,
who have kept aloof from rationalistic knowledge. Ratio-
nalism, says Qirqis&ni — and this he wishes to prove in his
work — is the foundation upon which every article of faith
is based, and from which every knowledge flows (280, 7 :
•"by bD nn i-iDno^'i bip bD n>bi7 '»3n> bsw bipyDbw)-
He proceeds from a similar point of view BiS Saadyah in
his chief philosophical work : and it is a particular worth
mentioning, that the same verse. Psalm cxix. 18, with
which Saadyah begins his introduction, is employed by
Qirqis&ni at the end of his introductory chapter (280, 30),
A large portion of Qirqis&nt's history of the sects is
devoted to polemics against the Rabbins. He regards these
as a sect of Jews which sprang up at the time of the
Second Temple. The real founder, however, of the school of
thought introduced by the Rabbis, was no other than King
Jeroboam I. He was " the first who brought dissension
into the religious camp, and sowed the seeds of rebellion
in Israel," " who altered the precepts of religion, and fal-
sified them." We cannot here reproduce (m it would exceed
the limits of this article) the reasoning by means of which
Qirqis&ni brings out this idea of identifying the principles
of Rabbinism, as they appeared to a Karaite, with those of
the seceding king, who was by no means an idolator
(Vide p. 281, 1—282,5; 286,1-5). After giving in the
second chapter a survey of the sects afterwards to be dealt
with in detail (282, 16—285, 25), Qirqis&nl devotes two
long chapters (3rd, p. 285-297 ; 4th, 297-303) to the expla-
nation of the points of difierence between Rabbinism and
the other Jewish sects. In the former chapter, he enu-
merates over sixty particulars, mostly of Halacha, in which
the tradition of the Rabbis deviates from the proper
Digitized by
Google
Qirqisdni, the KaraitCy ami his Work on Jetoiah Sects, 695
explanation of Holy Writ, or in which it contradicts itself.
At the head of this list, he places the reproach that the
Rabbis in their work Shiur Kdmd, nDp ni27'»tt7, represent
God as a body (286, 8). A few more of these faults found
with the Rabbis are : — that they do not pray the Psalms
of David, but prayers composed by themselves, though in
beginning their prayers they say, 11^37 inn nn^ nOTH
Wrp n^tt7n ns-n ; ^ that the Psalms which they do adopt,
they do not rehearse as prayers, but in a sitting posture,
as though they were reading (286, 22 ; 287, 4) ; that they
bow at the end of their prayer, in the manner of the
Christians, to the right and to the left, presumably before
the two angels appointed for man (287, 7) ; that in the
prayer D^'Dm >D>3DD they turn to the angels to bring
their petitions before God's Throne, resting upon the
Scriptural words of Koheleth x. 20 :—nni l^y^ D'^DSD b^ni
and taking " winged ones " to mean angels, according to
Isaiah vi. 2 (287, 10). They further explain that the laws
of Cleanliness and Uncleanliness are abrogated during the
exile, asserting : mnx^i )^tr\ nWDlD ]>« tt^TpDH rv^ nnnw DVD
(289, 5) ; they omit an undoubted duty on the day of
Atonement, viz., the saying of the prayer T»ari rtsi^S ^ ^^
place of the daily morning sacrifice, commencing as they
do with the recital of the confession of sin : while, on the
other hand, they have made it a duty to repeat at the
conclusion of the day an unknown prayer called by them
nb>373 (294, 10).
In the Fourth Chapter Qirqis&nl gives us a similar
list of Rabbinic teachings and expressions, but these belong
* In that part of the Prayer Book "IDKK' "P*^^* which introduoes the
Psalms of the Morning Service, it is said : i?^n2 ^^ny IM n^B^ni. The
Benediction quoted by Qirqis&ni is one formed after that employed in
connection with the Haphtara (^Dnnina HVll D^310 D^K^non "inn TB^).
It is a question whether such was actually in use at his time.
' Vide the same expression, 294, 21 ; what is meant is nnnC^ MpDn.
The prayer in the Liturgy of the Day of Atonement called D^Vt^ Tl, is
not regarded by Q. as such, inasmuch as it has included in it the Confes-
sion of Sin.
zz 2
Digitized by
Google
696 The Jexmh Quarterfy Retnew,
to the Agada. In this chapter he also begins with the
book HDp n')37'»tt; ; then he adduces expressions from the
pseud-epigraphic writings Mn^'py 'm nvniM and KnnD
bwrctt;^ (—nbD^n), and from the Talmud. He reproduces
in detail the legends of Rabba b. Nachraani (he con-
sistently puts wnn) taken from Baha-Mezia 86a, and of
Elieser b. Hyrcanus from B. M. 596. He criticises most
vehemently the Talmudic account of the origin of the
Septuagint {Megilla 9a), which he places side by side with
the Christian account. Lastly, he refers to the extra-
ordinary appreciation by the Rabbis of the translation of
the Pentateuch by Onkelos (nan D'fepaH), selecting a few
examples of renderings which he considers perfectly
absurd, viz., that of Gen. xxviii. 21 ; xlix. 11 ; Exod. xii. 48 ;^
Deut. xxiii. 18. Qirqis&ni does not admit the defence
put forth by some Rabbis that such passages of the
Agada have to be regarded not as belonging to the
general traditions, but as the opinions of individuals, or
that they were the expressions of enemies of the Rabbis,
which had become incorporated among their own (302, 16).
With apparent delight and avowed tendency does Qirqi-
s&nl include within the limits of his picture the well-
known differences in matters of ritual, specially between
the Palestinian and Babylonian Jews. He adduces this
divergence within the folds of Rabbinic Judaism in the
matter of religious opinion as a strong argument against
the genuineness and truth of Rabbinic tradition, and as a
weapon on his side against the reproach, so fondly levelled
by the Rabbins at the Karaites, that of want of unanimity
and certainty {vide 308, 24; 319, 27). According to
QirqisA-ni, these differences between the Jews of Palestine
and Baby ion are connected with the ancient feud between
the sch )ols of Hillel and Shammai (284, 2), and upon
the strength of this assumption he refers, in the list of
» He quotes (as a transUtion of U ^DK^ vh ^^ b) : vh lOPB^ fe
Digitized by
Google
Qirqisdni, the Karaite, and his Work an Jetcish Sects. 697
the various sects, to the said differences in chronological
order in that part (ch. 10), in which we should have
expected, according to the introductory survey of the
Second Chapter, a mention of the Schools of Hillel and
Shammai, concerning whose controversies he also intro-
duces several notices (309, 2-18). He derives his know-
ledge of these differences between the Palestinian and
Babylonian Jews, as he asserts at the end of the chapter
dealing with them (311,15), from the writings of the
Rabbis themselves, one of their number having collected
them in a separate volume. In the beginning of the
Chapter (308, 20) he remarks that these differences amount
to about fifty, and enumerates amid polemical expressions,
sixteen of them. Of the fifty-five entries of differences
found in Joel Miiller's treatise,^ we find quoted by Qirqi-
s&ni the following numbers: 3, 6, 7, 9, 11, 15, 16, 17, 18,
23, 31, 40, 41, 51. He includes two numbers which are
missing in the sources from which Miiller drew his
materials.*
From what has already been stated, it will easily be
seen that Qirqis&ni studied with industry, for polemical
purposes, the Literature of the Rabbis. In addition to the
Mishna and Talmud, and those works of mystic and pseud-
epigraphic literature already mentioned, we learn from the
text before us of the following works which he cites : —
1. A book, Hian nwr*, from which he quotes this ex-
pression: "You will have no reward for studying and
» S^--^ y-W *n^ ^3n 03 r^ DOniD Sjl^n (reprinted from Jhg. VII.
and VIII. of "inB^H), Vienna, 1878.
' In a Hebrew translation the two numbers would have to mn thus : —
1. (310, 11), Kn Dnip "iwnn ^k rrc\^r\ n« dik^ onmo bna ^b^^k
DnDi« v/K ^KfjKi nae^a Wanner hd nnirn ; 2. (sio, 5) p« ^nn ^e^ax
This latter nomber most undoubtedly be based upon some misunder-
Btandinjr. In the original there occurred the word n^^3B^3 (='B' nn^D3
or '^ ^DIS), and Q. thoughtlessly took it to mean n^y^lB'n TM^I. Cf. the
Commentary "pD^ HXJ'D on MaimtUii's Mishne Torah, Hilch, Ithuth^ V. 3.
Digitized by
Google
698 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
searching the Torah, but only for your searching the
teachings of the Rabbis " (248, 10 : D'h HtDH nwrr* >ti brf:>Hpi
The book is evidently the same that, as Azulai (ed.
Benjacob, II. 62a) remarks, is referred to by Salomon b.
Al-Kabez in his commentary to Ruth i. 21, by the name
Hian nsn'* 'dd. Harkavy (p. 298, note 10) is, therefore,
wrong in saying it is quite unknown. It is an ethical
treatise similar to V^H -pT 'OD. Two MSS. of the
Bodleian (No. 120 and 380, vide Neubauer's Cat., Col.
19 and 83) contain the tractate Hian riMn^, between
the tractates Aboth and Derech Erez. Qirqisdnt's citation
is a testimony to its age.
2. n3m:j -TTD (298, 16), not identical with the nama n3DD
(published in Jellinek's Beth-Hamidrash, I. 147, 9), for
Qirqis&ni*s quotation is not to be found in the latter.
3. nMTTM rQltt^n, probably an Agadic work based upon
the Biblical story of King Ahab's repentance (1 Kings
xxi. 27-29). Qirqis4ni quotes from this and the afore-
mentioned work the Agada occurring in both, according
to which God himself, in Isaiah xxii. 12, makes use of
weeping and lamentation. This bold Agadic conception
which presents Grod as weeping over the destruction of his
sanctuary, is already met with in older Midrashic writings
(Vide Die Agadn der Palastinenmchen AmordeTy I. 145 ;
note 4).
4. An Agadic work known as '»m '»3n T)Dbn (299, 4:
'^nn '^an niDbra ppvn onb n-rnw). He quotes from the same
an Agadic passage which, rendered into Hebrew, would
probably run thus : — nrw • rwDD n'':ip7l TCib D^nm n\lhw
i3?Dtt;i r32b HBD i»K cbDKi nnn >2h nrr»i >b nn>3n rnv^
^nms '^ari'^'^nn rf^^pn tb now 'tii ^^^n n'^bvn '^d nnsn
sibi ntDD '»3'»37n imn nw^ th mDiibD in n^nm rrobb
mmp -a'TOO cosSd nb»Hi nohotr rf npn imso? mo rror
Digitized by
Google
Qirqisdniy the Karaite, and his Work an Jewish Sects. 699
'tai n>y bw ^npn
The third pomt, referred to in the opening words, which
God learnt from Moaes, is missing.
Qirqis&ni adds the remark : " I think that this passage is
taken from the Talmud" (-niobnbH p bmbw Nin 7s SOnHl)-
Perhaps he was thinking of the passage in Beraehoth, 32a,
where we may read almost literally part of the first Agada
based on Exod. xxxii. 10 and Numb. xiv. 13, 16, and 21.
The second Agada, which brings into connection Deut. xx.
10 and Deut. ii. 24 and 26, is to be found in the Midrash
Tanchuma in the frame of a similar three-fold Agada.*
What the " Talmud of the Sons of Rabbi," as the title of
an Agadic work, is to signify, is beyond even conjecture.
6. A work of H4i, Chief of the College, in which he
attributes to R Jizchak Nappacha, the Palestinian Amora,
the rules for fixing the Calendar (293, 5). This work of
HM the elder (Hfii b. David), is known also to later Karaite
writers, beginning with Jepheth b. Ali, as Pinsker has
shown (Likkute Kadmoriijoth, II., 94, 148-151). According
to Levi b. Jepheth it was a controversial work against the
Karaites.
6. Not from personal observation, but from the rela-
tions of others, QirqisS.ni was acquainted with a trans-
lation made by the same Chief of the College, Hfii. It is
said of the latter, that he in conjunction with his father
(mnW) in, perhaps niDHI in> he and his brother) translated
the book of 'Anan from Aramaic into Hebrew '»3WDnb6M p
'»3tra27bs >bM). The two translators, as we are further told
in this remarkable account, had found nothing in ' Anan for
which there was not some support in the teachings of the
> Tatieh, D^ODIK', fine : iT'^pn DODHI HB^D HB^ DniT nCT^Cr M^ T«
^DV Dn^n i? n"2pn V'« aiyi pmo nDU nn«i p )hH) m^ hv
W * D^DK^D n^K^jii -iDKac' p n^ t6 ntroi )h^ d^dh hdk -iidd
n)hiyh n^^K nxnp^ r^'hv nrhrh Ty ^« anpn o nrh "idiki. Conf.
Deuteroiwmium Itahba^ c. V.^fin,
Digitized by
Google
700 The Jetcish Quarterly Renew.
Rabbins, with the exception of one ordinance concerning
the firstborn of cattle. Ultimately they even found this
point in the ritual of the Paitan Jannai (nk3^ n>nn ^'Q)'
284, 17-22.
7. The ritual of Eleasar (HTOMtn '»D ntybw), le., of Kalir,
from which QirqisAnl quotes (300, 1-3) a piece belonging to
the Liturgy of the Day of Atonement, and beginning
nnn \nM ^. He cites from it the words itTW rvs^n y^m
miDH ramn. This same quotation, probably derived from
our author, is to be found several times in Hadam (vide
Zunz, Literaturges, d, Syn, Poesie, p. 63).
Qirqisani in one place makes mention by name of a
Rabbinic authority (312, 2). I asked — so he relates —
Ja qiib Ibn Ephraim, the Palestinian (^OhW^M) : Why do
you (Rabbis) attract to yourselves the 'Isavites (the ad-
herents of 'Isa Isfahani) and intermarry with them, seeing
that they (as you are well aware) ascribe the prophetic
spirit to such individuals as were no prophets, namely,
Jesus and Muhammed ? His reply was : — Because they do
not differ from us in the matter of the Festivals Harkavy
remarks that the person here named, Jacob b. Ephraim, is
identical with the man whose Commentary to the T.
Sabbath of the Jerusalem Talmud was brought from Pales-
tine to Babylon by Salmon ben Jerucham (Pinsker,
XL, 14).
The most important authority whom Qirqis&ni follows
in his account of the sects, is one who, as a philosophical
writer, is highly esteemed on the Rabbinic side since Bachja
Ibn Pakdda, viz., David Almuqammes (or, as his name was
also pronounced Almiqm^s, VWapobw). Concerning this per-
sonage, around whom there has gathered some inexplicable
mystery, we learn from this work of Qirqis&ni the most
astounding particulars. In the chapter on Christianity he
states that he is indebted for his statements on this subject
to the accounts of David b. Merw4n Al-Raqqt. He then
proceeds : " This person, known by the name of ^pDbw,
was a philosopher. Firat he was a Jew, and then he be-
Digitized by
Google
Qirqisdfdy the Karaite, and his Work on Jewish Sects. 701
came converted in Nisibis to Christianity, under the lead
of a man named N&n& (=Nonnus, vide p. 259, note 3). The
latter was much esteemed among Christians, as he was a
perfect philosopher and practised medicine. David Almu-
qarames was for many years his pupil, and thus it was that
he learnt the principles of Christianity so thoroughly, and
distinguished himself in philosophy. Later on he wrote two
books concerning the Christians, in which he attacked them ;
both works are known. He further translated from among
their books and commentaries a Commentary upon Genesis,
which he termed hp>bih^ nSTlD (Book of Creation), and
also a Commentary upon Koheleth " (306, 16-23). These
data impress one with their own historic truth, and we
have no reason to doubt their being facts. Qirqis&ni seems
to have spent some time in Raqqua, David's native place
( V. Munk, Mdanges de Philosophie, p. 474), for he receives
information from a scholar of this town concerning some
particulars in the ritual of Jerusalem (310, 29: '^tt^oni-
iip^i^ •i'^NB^D )d)- He could thus have gathered from that
place authentic details regarding the life of Almuqammes.
With reference to this surname, we have the ingenious
suggestion of Harkavy, viz., "the leaper, jumper" (cf.
Arabic VT3p, Aram. H!»p, grasshopper, sauterelle), this sur-
name having been intended to point to the fact that David
changed his religion twice, "jumped " from one to the other,
seeing that he was converted to Christianity, and then re-
turned to Judaism. David's Commentary on Genesis, to
which reference is made, Harkavy found quoted in a fi*ag-
ment of an anonymous Arabic Commentary on Genesis.
It is stated in this fragment (p. 261) : " David b. Merw&n
Al-Raqql, called Almuqammes, wrote a book in explana-
tion of Genesis, which he translated from the commentaries
of the Syrians." The fragment lays stress upon a charac-
teristic of this Commentary on Genesis by David b. Mer-
w&n, stating that it is now defective, now unnecessarily
prolix.
The work of David b. Merwan, from which Qirqis&ni
Digitized by
Google
702 The Jeicish Quarterly Revietc.
drew most of the materials for his chapter on Christianity
(p. 305-307), he calls in another passage (308-316) 2«nD
nsnijbH' Kit&b-al-Dhar&, Book of Fierce Attack, a character-
istic title for a controversial work. He also refers in his
accounts of individual sects (304, 9 and 16) to David b.
Merw&n as his authority, and we may infer that even in
those parts in which he does not refer to him specially, he
drew from him as his source. The same source supplied in
later times (twelfth Century), Jehuda Hadassi with material
for Nos. 97 and 98 of his Eshkol Hakkofer on Jewish sects.
This account, hitherto regarded as the chief source of
information on the subject, can now be controlled and
supplemented with the assistance of Qirqis&ni.
Qirqis4ni sets to work chronologically in his accoimts
of the Jewish sects, as well in his introductory survey in
the second chapter, as in the later chapters devoted to
the individual sects. Here follows an enumeration of the
various sects in the same order as he mentions them, with
details of special interest or such as have been hitherto un-
known.^
1. The Samaritans, " called by the Jewish people D^niD '*
(282, 16). It is related of them, that to this very day, they
revere the memory of Sanballat the Choronite as one of
their princes (286, 21). During their prayers they turn
to Shilo (303, 11). They reckon the new moon according to
a calendar supposed to have been fixed by Jeroboam (nin'^37
n37n"T», 303, 15). They are divided into two sects, one
called I^ID, the other IMTTDT (Dust&n= Dositheos). One
of these sects denies the Resurrection. They, having made
a few alterations in the text of the Thora, accordingly
add in Gen. iv. 8, miDn HS3 Dip (303, 18-22).
2. The Sadducees ((n^pna^w)- Zadok, their founder,
wrote books against the Eabbanites, without adducing
proofs, in behalf of his views which were opposed to those
of the Rabbanites (283, 11-13). Boethjis, the other founder,
> Conoeraing the Rabbanites, this has appeared in the foregoing remarks.
Digitized by
Google
Qirqisdni, the Karaite, and his Work on Jeiciah Sects, 703
taught, as the 'Ananites and all other Karaites, that the
Feast of Weeks could only be held on a Sunday (283, 16 ;
304, 22). The Sadducees prohibited divorce, as Jesus did
later (304, 3 ; 305, 12). They explained (according to the
statement of David Almuqammes), the bodily attributen
ascribed to God in Holy Writ in their literal signification
(304,9-16).
3. The Mag&.rites (nnhCiDbM)- They are so called from
the fact that their books were found in a cave ("IN2», Hebr.
my»). The "Alexandrine" belongs to them, whose work is
known and famous ; it is the best of the " Books of the
Cave." Then comes a little work called 371T ntSD, also a
beautiful book. The remaining works of the Magirites
are mostly devoted to idle, senseless talk (283, 18-20). It
is said that some of this sect held laughing as prohibited
(304, 14). They explain several passages of Scripture in
an improbable, senseless (allegorical) manner (304, 16).
They insist upon the bodily attributes referred in Scripture
to God being taken to have reference to an Angelic Being,
to whom even the creation of the world is ascribed (304,
18-21). On this last point, Qirqisanl remarks, they agree
with the view expressed by Benjamin Neh&wendi. By the
term " Alexandrine " ('♦3Km3DDWbH) we have to understand
Philo, as Harka\'y rightly assumes (p. 256, etc.). The title
of the work 371"P "iDD may be read VM) ID or V^'^\ 'D (p.
257). The phrase " dwellers in caverns " reminds us, says
Harkavy, of the Egyptian TherapeutsB. The references to
the allegorical explanation of Scripture, and to the angels
creating the world (Logos, Demiurgos) agree with the
mention of Philo's name in connection with this sect, which,
according to Qirqis&ni's chronology, sprang up before the
rise of Christianity. The existence of an account of
Philo and his writings among Jewish circles (which may
probably have been drawn from Christian literature, through
David Almuqammes) is a highly interesting piece of
information in the history of literature, which has become
known through Harkavy s edition.
Digitized by
Google
704 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
4. Jesus and the Christian& In the chapter on
Christianity, Qirqis&ni reproduces (as he states in the
heading of the chapter) mostly that which he found in the
work of David Almuqammes. It is a short sketch con-
taining the chief doctrines, and a few details concerning
the history of Christianity, and it also includes a sort
of criticism. The religion of the Christians, as at present
existing, was introduced and diffused by Paul (V*?''S)-
He ascribed Divinity to Jesus and the prophetic spirit
to himself. He denied the necessity for carrying out the
commands, and taught that religion consisted in humility
(y^inibw). All animals may be eaten, " from the fly to
the elephant " (305. 14-19). The later Christian philo-
sophers (nN23bw nSDh^S )D I'^n-rrrabN) assert, that the re-
ligious ordinances were given to the Israelites in Divine
wrath. The Ismelites chose these ordinances for them-
selves because they resembled those of the Sabians ; while
those of the Egyptians, to which those of the Sabians were
related, were known to them through their stay in Egypt
(306, 4-7). The Nicaaan Council, at which 318 bishops were
assembled, determined upon precepts which occur neither
in the Thora, nor the Gospel, nor in the articles of faith of
Peter and Paul (vbl21 DlitilS p^Mp '^D), (306, 29-32).
6. The Qar ites (n'^yipbN)* so called because they only
made use of vessels fashioned out of gourds {V^p) (283,
28). They reside near the Nile, twenty parasangs fix»m
Fost&t According to one writer, they trace their descent
to Jochanan b. Eareach (Jer. xliii. 4),^ who emigrated to
Egypt (283, 30). They are said to celebrate the Sunday
in addition to the Sabbath, and this is an evidence of their
leaning towards Christianity (308, 11). If David Almu-
qammes be right, that Christianity is based upon the
teachings of the Sadducees and the Qar ites, then the
latter must naturally have existed before Christianity
(308, 14-18). The exclusive use by them of vessels made
* This is also the view of the Karaite lexicographer David b. Abraham
iyide Pinsker, I. 166).
Digitized by
Google
Qirqisdni, the Karaite, and his Work on Jetcish Sects, 706
of gourds is explained by Qirqis4ni (308, 2-10) by the
assumption that the Qar'ites, like the Samaritans, avoided
as unclean contact with other people, and consequently
made use of gourd vessels fashioned by themselves. Qir-
qisHni found particulars concerning this sect in a book
which he calls nh^Hpobw H'^HDn (308, 14), which, according
to Harkavy's ingenious conjecture, is the KitUb al maq&l&t
(nsbwpDbH n>V1D) of Abft ls& al-Warr&q, from which also
Al-Berftni derived many details regarding the Jews
{Revue des Etudes Juives, XII. 258).
6. Obadja, known by the name Abft ls& Al IsfahAni.
He declared himself a prophet in the days of the Chalif
Abdulmelik b. Merw4n. As the sign of his mission, his
adherents regarded the fact which they alleged of his
having been an ignorant tailor, who could neither read nor
write, and yet composed books and scrolls without his
having received instruction from anybody (284, 5-11 ; 311,
20-23). Relying on Ps. cxix. 164, he prescribed seven
prayers daily ; upon the strength of a revelation which he
said was vouchsafed him, he prohibited the enjoyment of
meat and wine, though having no Biblical evidence for it.
He regarded the Rabbins as upon the same footing as the
prophets, and insisted that he received a command from
God to pray according to the prescription of the Rabbis,
the Eighteen Benedictions, and the Shema' (311, 23-27).
He recognised the prophetic mission of Jesus and Muham-
med, and ordered the Gospel and the Koran to be read
(312, 5-7).
7. Ab6 *I8& Judgdn. His followers call him the Shep-
herd (^y^nbw), i.e., the " Shepherd of the Nation.'* He is
said to have been a disciple of Abft 'Is& Obadja (Isfahani),
and he also ascribed the spirit of prophecy to himself. His
disciples look upon him as the Messiah (284, 12-14; 312,
16), and they await his return (312, 17). The Judganites
prohibit meat and wine, and spend much time in praying
and fasting. As regards Sabbaths and Festivals, they are
but kept as memorials (312, 17-19).
Digitized by
Google
706 The Jeicish Quarterly Review.
8. 'Anan the Exilarch. Qirqis&nl enumerates over thirty
lessons and precepts, mostly belonging to the Ritual, as
those of 'Anan (.^12, 23; 313, 30), the first point being an
Halacha expressed in Hebrew ^HDn sfPM Na7D T»M,^ whereby
it is permitted to carry on Sabbath aj'ticles of light weight
He states as a last point, that ' Anan taught the transmigra-
tion of souls (^Dton^M) and is said to have written a
work on the subject.^
9. Benjamin Al-Neh&wendi. He was well versed in
Rabbinic utterances and in the knowledge of Scripture. He
is said to have been judge (W3M'*l) for many years (285, 1-3).
Qirqis4nl attributes to Benjamin the second important
founder of Karaism, about a dozen instructions, mostly
bearing upon Religious Law (314, 3-24). At the head
of these stands his well-known doctrine concerning the
Deraiurgos, which reminds us of Philo's Logos: — "Grod
created an angel which created the entire universe. It
is this angel which gave the prophets their commission,
which allowed miracles to be performed, and gave com-
mands and prohibitions."
10. Ismail al-'Okbarl (nnD37bH). He lived in the days
of the Chaliph Almu'tasim bill&h (834-842). Most of his
utterances border on insanity; nevertheless, he was full
of self-admiration, and in his writings disparaged 'Anan
(314, 3). When on the point of death, he is said to have
bidden his followers place upon his tomb the words : — n^n
ronsi bbTittr (284, 24-28). He did away with np and
n^riD and insisted upon the Bible text being read as it is
written. This is, however, contrary to what he himself is
said to have asserted on several occasions, viz., that there
are passages in Scripture which were originally different
from what they appear in our present text: e.g. Gen.
iv. 8, where the words rntt^n H^ were added ; Ex. xx. 18,
where, instead of D'^KTi, there stood originally D'^yDW;
' Perhaps based on Nmnbers vii. 9, 1J<B^ ^HDS.
' Vide Schreiner, Der Kalam in drr jUdischm Lit eratur (Berlin ^ 189.5),
Digitized by
Google
Qirqisdnif t/ie Karaite^ and hts Work on Jewish Sects. 707
in Exod. xvi. 35, where was ^^^^ instead of ibDH ; in Gen.
xlvi. 15 there used to be D''3tt7l U^W'hw instead of U'Wi^W
whw^ : this is an error of the sacred text (nwriDbw ]D IDba
314, 27 — 315, 7). As regards the first point, Qirqis&nl
remarks (319, 2) that it was also the custom of some
Karaites in Choras&n to read only according to the Kethib :
in the same place (319, 3) he says of other dwellers in
Chorftsdn, that with regard to the pronunciation of the
Tetragi-ammaton they hold that he who does not pro-
nounce it as it is written (mn'») but as '»3"TW, is guilty of
unbelief.
11. MusA al-Sa'fr&ni (>3H-)227Th5H), known by the name of
Abii 'Imr&.n al-Tiflisi. He was a contemporary of Benjamin
Neh4wendi and Ismail 'Okbari, and came from Bagdad.
His surname he received on account of his having settled
in Tiflis, a town of Armenia, where followers of his are yet
to be found (283, 8-12). He wrote replies to questions
attributed by him to Chiwi (Albalchi) (b'^MDD nbOSli nbl
n'^YTi '»bM MnnD3*'), and also some leaves concerning the
permission of enjoying flesh food (315, 21 sq.).
12. Malik al-Ramli lived at Ramla. His followers are
still called Ramlites or Malikites (285, 13-14). It is related
of him that once during a stay in Jerusalem he swore that
upon the altar of this sanctuary the cock was brought as a
sacrifice (Cf. Pinsker, H. 84), (315, 23). Neither Malik al-
Ramli nor Abft 'Imr&n al-Tiflisi wrote a work upon the
precepts, and they differed only in a few minor points from
the general body of Karaites (315, 17-19).
13. Mgshawaih (or Meshuje, n^lttTO) al-'Okbari lived,
as the afore-named Ismail, in 'Okbara (285, 15).^ His
opinions on Ritual Law savour of ignorance. An 'Okbarite
told Qirqisani that M^hawaih adopted and spread many
of the customs of the Jews living in Geb41 (the Median
mountain lands), among whom there exist many un-
warranted innovations in the Ritual (316, 1-3). The Qibla
* Q. mentions nothing^ ftbont M^hawaih having^ lived in Baalbek, and
haying, in consequence, borne the name Baalbeki.
Digitized by
Google
708 The Jetcish Quarterly Review.
(facing at the time of prayer) should according to his
opinion, always be to the west, even though in places
situated to the west of Palestine, like Egypt and Maghreb,
the back instead of the face would thus be turned
towards Jerusalem (316, 11, 13).
14. Daniel al-DAmegftnl, known as Al-Qflmisi ('^DD'^pbw),
the last one who formulated a special doctrine, wrote a
work and found adherents (285, 19, 20).^ In his view upon
angels, he deviates from that held by any of the Israelites
(bHna?'^ bw, Rabbanites as well as Karaites). He regards
them, namely, not as living, reasoning creatures, entrusted
by God with missions as prophets are ; but he regards them
as bodies, by means of which God produces effects, as fire,
clouds, winds, etc. (316, 17-21). He is said to have taught
that the obligation to carry out the precepts of religion
only begins with the twentieth year of one's life (316, 25).
He forbade certain things to be done on Sabbath, as e.g.,
the washing of the hands with soap (316, 26). He declared
as permissible the testimony of Mohammedans with regard
to the observance of the New Moon (316, 28).
From the preceding survey we gain an insight into the
multitude of Jewish sects, as they presented themselves in
a chronologically arranged table to the imagination of
Qirqisfeni. The perspective from which these sects were
viewed is that of a keen Karaite, to whom the large
majority of the professors of Judaism appeared but as a
sect, which had rebelled against the true principles of the
Faith, represented as these were by the Karaites them-
selves.
In addition to this, small groups which clustered around
the peculiar opinions of a certain teacher, are treated as
real sects. It is surprising that only a passing reference
is made to Chiwi Albalchi, and that he is not spoken of
under a special heading. As we learn from Saadyah, he
exercised a great influence, and his heretical opinions
concerning the Bible had a far different scope from the Bible
^ Vide above, p. 692 oonceminsf him.
Digitized by
Google
Qirquidni, the Karaite, and his Work on Jetcish Sects. 709
criticism — if we may use the term — equally remarkable, of
Ismail al/Okbarl.
I regard it as superfluous to enter into details as to the
value of Qirqis&nl's work, made accessible to us by Harkavy,
for the purposes of correcting and supplementing the
accounts of Jewish sects which we have hitherto
possessed, and which, in the main, are drawn from the self-
same sources.
One thing is certain, the first part of Qirqis&ni's Book
of Lights^ will have to be consulted as the most important
' Harkavy fixed the text upon the basis of two MSS. which mutually
supplemented each other. Tet there are lacuna^ as both MSS. bad tbem
in the same places. The Arabic text is written in Hebrew characters ; the
Teshdid sig^ is nowhere inserted, which, perhaps, would have done no
harm here and there. I have found only unimportant printer's errors and
other corrigenda, and I herewith place the list at the disposal of the
editor and the readers of the book.
Page 279, Une 6, for DDkSk3 read nDK^K3
„ 279, „ 15, „ n^3Kn3^K „ n^:Kni3^K
„ 280, „ 29, „ ma „ mii?
„ 281, „ 8, „ IK ni^ „ iK m*
„ 281, „ 19, delete one DHIK.
„ 282, „ 5, in place of the words supplied by Harkavy in paren-
theses, np ^n, supply np N^DK, or ip D^^DK (cf. 301,5).
Page 284, line 10, delete the stop before "^nbfitS.
„ 284, „ 14, for n*T*DSni re^d nn^DK^HI
„ 285, „ 16, „ JIME'^D „ n^lB^^O
„ 286, „ 16, „ -Dm yO „ '•Dm «D
„ 286, „ 16, „ O .. JD
„ 288, „ 22, „ n:« ., jiaK
„ 289, „ 21, „ niibi „ mi^i
„ 299, „ 30, „ DlpD^« n-3 „ nOTIO^K n^D
„ 300, „ 24, after -nn, a verb has been omitted, say, KHnKST.
Page 301, line 27, for nV^^ read nyJIK' (= iiy^r, (cf . i^DV, p. 287, 19).
„ 802, „ 22, „ IDKDn „ IDKD^ (cf. p. 311, 17).
„ 316, „ 21, „ HDKli „ nKDKia (Harkavy writes thus in Stu-
dien und MittheilupgeUy V. 147, note 2).
Page 316, line 17, for nDH* read HDh^
„ 318, „ 36 „ IDT „ "IDT (cf. p. 312, 19).
„ 319, „ 29 „ i?) „ l^i
VOL. VII. 3 A
Digitized by
Google
710 Hie Jewish Quarterly Review,
source of information for this chapter of Jewish History,
side by side with, or rather in preference to Jehuda
Hadassi, ShahrestAni, and Makrisi. M. Harkavy deserves
the thanks of all those who are interested in the history of
the age of Saadyah, and of Judseo- Arabic literature in par-
ticular. May he have the good fortune to bring to light
yet many such jewels out of those treasures of the St.
Petersburg Library which are committed to his care and
scholarship.
W. Bacher.
Budapest, September, 1894.
Digitized by
Google
The Ninth Meijiobbereth of Enmnuele da Roma, 711
THE NINTH MEHABBERETH OF EMANUELE
DA ROMA AND THE TRESOR OF PEIRE DE
CORBIAC.
The encyclopaedic literature which flourished in the
Middle Ages among the Proven9al8 and Italians, was bound
to attract the attention of the Italian Jews, and to find
among them imitators.
In the first half of the fifteenth century, Mosh da Rieti,
renowned as a Jewish physician and also as the author of
an imitation of Dante's 2>Jt?iw^ Comedy, forsook the language
of his ancestors, and was the first among the Jews to write
an entire work in Italian, taking inspiration from the Tesoro
of Brunetto Latini.^ A century earlier Emanuele da Roma,
another imitator of the great Florentine poet, so greatly
admired one of these Tesori that he composed a work in
the same style in Hebrew verse.*
Brunetto Latini and the other authors of encyclopsBdias
could not, by their poor and unpolished work, hope to
inspire imitators to attain any great excellence. But what-
ever the imitations may be worth, it is not for that reason
less noteworthy that some examples must have been found
among the Jews. On the contrary, anyone who studies
these works thoroughly, will find in them, firstly, a new
* Compare Steinsohneider, CataZ. Lugd. Batav. Cod. Scalig., 10. I am
preparing a short exposition of this manuscript.
* Not to speak of all the encyclopaedic compilations of Arabic origin (com-
pare Steinsohneider, Die hebr, Uebersetzungen des Mittelalters^ Chapter I.),
and of the famous book of Sidrach, whose Hebrew orig^ is now completely
refuted (compare Steinsohneider in Buonarroti of Bome^ 1872, p. 235),
it is known that there exists a Hebrew version of the Treatise, Image du
Monde, by Gautier de Metz, although very probably not reproduced in the
original poetic text. (Compare the edition of Amsterdam, 1733, and of
Warsaw, 1873, and the articles of Neubauer concerning the translator,
in the Romania, V., p. 129, and the Hixtoire Litteraire de la France ^
xxvii. 502).
3 A 2
Digitized by
Google
712 The Jewish Quarterly Renew.
proof of the ease with which the Jewish race acquires
foreign culture; while, further, a strict examination of
their derivation may help us to a better knowledge of the
learning and intellectual activity of Mosfe da Rieti and
Emanuele da Roma^ two interesting representatives of
Italian Judaism.
A study of Emanuele's poem appeared to me, for the
above reasons, to be not without interest with especial
reference to his peculiar characteristics, and to the ease
with which he derives inspiration for his works from those
of others. Imitation is peculiar to ancient people, and
Emanuele belonged to a race whose youth dates back to
the most remote ages. But no one ever imitated so closely
the works of others, as did Emanuele.
In studying his works, therefore, not only his poetical,
but also his exegetical compositions, it is necessary to re-
member that we are not concerned with Emanuele alone,
but with the many authors, whom he consciously imi-
tated.
But Emanuele has different methods of borrowing his
material. Sometimes he takes the central idea from his
model, and in treatment he gives it an altogether original
impress ; at other times he is guilty of a direct and flagrant
plagiarism. Thus, for instance, a glaring and impudent
plagiarism occurs in his commentary to the " Song of
Songs,'* where Emanuele copies directly Mosheh Ibn Tibbon,
whom he declares to be his model, and likewise he copies
Ibn Ezra, whose name he does not even mention.^ Another
imitation, which closely follows the original, is that of
Dante's Divine Comedy, which appears in his last Mehab-
bereth.
EUse where Emanuele is able completely to free himself
from the fetters of his imitating genius and taking from his
models, as I have already said, the central idea, develops it
* In this connection compare Salfeld, Da» Hohelied SaXoitw^s hei den
judUchen Erkldrem (Berlin, 1879, p. 89), where, in the front rank, hare
been placed some short essays by these three commentators.
Digitized by
Google
The Ninth Mehabbereth of Emanuele da Rania, 713
quite independently, modifies it and imparts to it his own
characteristics, so as to render its origin scarcely perceptible.
In this manner Emanuele wrote the first part of the Ninth
Mehabbereth, in which he sings of the months of the year,
drawing his inspiration from a poem by Harizi,^ and the
second part of the same Mehabbereth, which is composed
on the model of a Christian poem.
This is the imitation to which I referred in the opening
lines of my article, and it consists of a poem of sixty
stanzas, each of which contains four rhyming verses.^
Let us make, as far as possible, an analysis of this poem,
and then try to discover the sources from which it is
derived.
The poet describes himself plunged in sleep, when terri-
fying thoughts of death rise in his slumbering mind. It
is not the pain of dying which he dreads, nor the passing
into the Unknown World. He is filled with anguish by
the thought that his wisdom will not avail him on the day
of his death; he is convinced that all will be forgotten
" in his tomb and in his rest." Then suddenly his con-
sciousness reasserts itself with fresh vigour, and, instead
of lamenting the day of his death, he begins to praise his
own virtues, and to rejoice in them. " But I live ! I live ! "
exclaims the poet. "I am wise; I am a prophet; I am
strong as a lion, swift as a stag and a roebuck."
Intoxicated with a sense of bis own greatness, he wishes
to transmit his great name to the latest posterity, and he
sings, or rather, dilates upon his gifts and his scientific
erudition.' His physical and moral qualities, theology and
' Compare Tuckkemoni von Jehvdah aUCharUiy published by M. Stem,
Wien, 1854, p. 9.
* Compare Mahamen des Immanuel (Lemberg, 1870), p. 75.
* The line, ** I slept, but my heart was awake," with which the poet
begins his poem, is taken from the Song of Songs (chap. ▼. verse 2), and
has served for the commencement of a poem by Abraham Ibn Ezra, (comp.
A. Gkififer — Jiidisehe Dichtungen der tpanUehen und UdlienUchen Sohule,
Leipzig, 1856, p. 18 of the Hebrew text), and also of two less celebrated
poems by other authors (comp. Zunz, Literaturgesch. der Synag, Poesie^
Digitized by
Google
714 The Jeicish Quarterly Review.
ascetism, history and geography, natural philoeophy and
astronomy, medicine and magic, arts and crafts, language
and literature — these are the subjects of Emanueles
poems. But it must not be thought that the poet describes
in detail each branch of his learning or each of his
talents, or that he states the usefulness and beauty of all
the countries which he mentiona He does not attain to
this, since the whole poem is merely a catalogue of the
lands and kingdoms which he has visited, of the virtues
and vices which he possesses, and of the arts and crafts
which he knows.
At the conmiencement of his poem, Emanuele says: "I
am wise, I am a prophet . . . . ; I am a weaver and
an embroiderer ; I am a builder and an excavator ; I am a
weigher and an author ; I am a potter and a traveller ; I am
a prince and a commander, a deceiver, and a cheat . . ."
He then enumerates a goodly number of trades,^ mention-
ing incidentally some of his virtues and vices; then he
passes to his scientific knowledge, which is infinite in its
scope ; then he enumerates once more his moral qualities,
introducing again the names of sciences, arts, and crafts,
and concludes with a catalogue of languages and countries.
He knows Hebrew, Egyptian, and Arabic; Greek and
Idumean; Chaldaic and Aramaic; the language of Media
and Assyria, of Persia, and many others. He was bom in
Rome, but visited Egypt and mighty Ethiopia ; he was at
Thebes and on Mount Tabor, in Spain and in Palestine.
The poet ends this curious catalogue of the most diverse
subjecLs by signing his name according to the numerical
value of the letters which compose it : — ** My name is
seventy and forty (o and 37), and a nun joined to a vav
(V3), and the ending of my name is El 0?H)."
pp. 569 and 588, where the poems of a certain Joseph and Peres Jehil b.
Natanel are quoted). As regards the lamentations of Emanuele con-
cerning his death, the idea is common to many of the other poets, and
Emanuele himself returns to it many times, especially in the 26th Mecama.
* Emanuele makes such an enumeration of trades also in the 27th
Mecama {Topheth va-Kden), p. 224.
Digitized by
Google
The Ninth Mehabbereth of Etmnuele da Roma, 715
With such a poem the writer " encircled himself as with a
crown/'^ and " set his eyes upon it "; ^ but we, who are more
prosaic than Emanuele, are forced to agree that though the
crown was woven with many flowers, these are faded and
withered, having no bright colour nor any sweet perfume.
But now it is time to seek the origin of the poem.
He who pays attention to the style adopted by Emanuele
in this poem, a style, moreover, of which this is not the
only example in his works ; he who remembers the easy
contrasts, and his curious habit of laying claim to the most
diverse moral qualities, to the finest virtues, and to the
lowest vices ; he who takes all this into account, I say,
recalls of necessity the Sicilian poet, Ruggiero Pugliese.
At any rate this was efiect which the Emanuele's poem
produced on me, inasmuch as, while I perused laboriously
that long string of abstract subjects, which follow in
endless sequence, I recollected the equally meaningless and
strange lines of the Sicilian poet : —
"I am humble and proud; valiant, cowardly and
courageous ; bold, daring and timorous ; I am foolish and
wise — sad, gay, and joyous; — ^generous, avaricious, and
suspicious ; — courteous, boorish, and jealous ; . . . I am poor^
rich and indigent ; I am healthy and ill ; young and old,
oppressed, and very bften calm." ....
These are the lines of Ruggieso Pugliese,' but it is
evident that the style is the same as that of Emanuele's
Hebrew verses.
Ruggiero Pugliese lays claim to the same qualities as
1 Emanuele takes this expressioii from Job xxxi. 36.
* This expression is also foond in the Bible, Jeremiah xl. 4 ; and Genesis
xUv. 21.
• " XJmile sono, ed orgolglioso : — ^prode, e vile e coragioso :— franco e
sicoro e pauroso ; e sono folle e sagio, — e dolente e aUegpro e gioioso : —
largo, e scarso e dnbitoso : — oortese, e yiUano e invidioso— Povero
e rico e dlsasciato — sono, e fermo e malato : — giovane e veechio, ed
agravato— e sano spessamente. . . /^ Compare this poem in the coUeotion
of D'Ancona and Comparetti : *^ Le antiohe rime volgari seoondo la lezione
del Cod. Vat. 3793, Vol. I., No. 60."
Digitized by
Google
716 The Jetmh Quarterly Review,
Emanuele, and introduces into his poem the same foolish
contradictions and identic artificial contrasts.
The two poets only differ in this fact, that while Ema-
nuele writes in this strain only now and then, Ruggieio
never changes it throughout the poem.
" I am merry," sings flmanuele, " and joyous ; I am a
pious and a perfect man ; I am cruel, and bloodthirsty ; I &m
rich, and shameless ; exquisite and delicious ; a thief, and
an assassin, gentle and greedy ; I am a rogue and an op-
pressor, a deceiver and a liar ; I am old and burdened with
years, rich and poor ; I am a disciple and a teacher ; I am
appreciated and despised."
I could continue to quote similar passages, but I consider
that these are sufficient to show that an analogy exists be-
tween the two poets. Is this analogy merely accidental or did
Emanuele really imitate the verses of Ruggiero Pugliese ?
The resemblance pointed out just now might cer-
tainly induce us to believe that the second hypothesis is
correct, but, on the other hand, arguments of far greater
importance weigh against this conclusion.
The two poets have in common the strangeness, the
dulnesses, I should say, of their conceptions; neither of
them describes ordinary events, or gives vent to his natural
feelings; their poetry is entirely composed of empty words
and of artifices. This is their chief point of resemblance ;
but even this can be easily explained. It has often occurred
to men to be moved by the same stimulus to accomplish
great works of similar nature, or that both have fallen into
the same error in endeavouring to render their works
attractive. But this phenomenon is not invariably due
to chance only ; external conditions have always a certain
influence.
Now, to return to our two poets, we find that Ruggiero
Pugliese follows the fashion of his times and gives us
in his poems the artificiality and mannerism common to
writers of his day. Emanuele was also educated in the
Proven9al school, and was especially influenced by its
Digitized by
Google
The Ninth Mehabbereth of Emanuele da Roma, 717
Hebrew representatives, into whose writings mannerism
and artificiality had in the lapse of time crept ; he there-
fore reproduces in his poetry the grotesqueness of Rug-
giero's poem, if indeed it does not entirely pervade it.
It is not possible to deny that Emanuele may have been
acquainted with Ruggiero's poems, but the analogy can
be explained without this admission. The one is the slave
of a school which dominated the world of culture; the
other, although living later and belonging to another class
of poets, feels its influence nevertheless. This fact
certainly accounts for the similarity of style, common love
for the unusual and the artificial, for contrasts and play
of words.
Otherwise RuggieroPugliese offers us in his insipid stanzas
a song to his lady. Being a faithful imitator of the Proven5al
school, like his contemporaries of Frederick II.*s Court, he
sings of vague love, aimless, and barren ; but he is always
a lover. Now this is certainly not the case with Emanuele,
who makes no mention of love in his poem, in which he
treats of every other subject.
It is the method common to both poets, of claiming a
great number of moral virtues and defects, that has led
us to suppose that Emanuele imitated Ruggiero. But the
Sicilian poet's extravagance is only the result of his intense
affection for his lady, while Emanuele's constant self-
glorification is merely a poetical deceit. He does not
intend to exalt his own virtues when he puts his hand to
the lyre. The Prince, his patron, was full of enthusiasm for
some lines on the months of the year,^ and remembered
having seen a Christian poem, which described "all the
arts, the countries, the kingdoms, the languages, and the
sciences." He wished to see such a poem produced by a
Jew, and he therefore appealed to Emanuele, who readily
complied with his wish.^ Therefore there can be no
' Comp. the first part of the Xintk Mecama^ which I have already
quoted (p. 70).
2 Comp. the short introduction to his poem (p. 74).
Digitized by
Google
718 TJ^ Jewish Quarterly Review.
further doubt that Emanuele did not copy the poetry
of Ruggiero Pugliese, however, naturally the hypothesis
may have arisen.
Let us therefore leave off studying the style, which so
resembles that of the Sicilian poet, and let us take, as a
starting-point for our investigations, the theme of the
poem which he imitated. As a result, we shall have to
examine one of those encyclopaedic compilations, which,
under the title of Breviaire cT Amour, or Tesoro, or Image
du Monde, were popular in the Middle Ages amongst
scholars.
We have quoted above some works of this kind composed
by Jews, and we are not surprised to learn that Ema-
nuele also should have imitated them. His extravagant
fancy found in such an imitation ample scope to expand
freely, and to use grotesque rhymes and ill-connected
words.
But what work, then, served Emanuele for a model ? It is
well-known that many encyclopaedias circulated freely among
the cultured classes during the Middle Ages. Emanuele,
however, facilitated the task of reviewers by remarking
that the work which he imitated was written in verse,
and for my own part I firmly believe that I am right in
asserting that the central idea of the Hebrew poem is to be
f oimd in the Tr^sor of Peire de Corhiac.
This poet was born in Corbiac, of a poor family, and
flourished in the first half of the thirteenth century. He
is celebrated chiefly for his Trisor} a poetical composition
of 840 Alexandrinea This would be the work which,
according to some critics, inspired Brunetto Latini
to write his Tesoretto. Corbiac's poem is of a didactic
and encyclopaedic nature, and affords the author an oppor-
tunity of displaying his own scientific knowledge, or,
better still, of defining the range of learning attained at
that period.
' Comp. Le Tristyr de Peire de CWbiac^ published by Dr. Sachs, Branden-
burg, 1859.
Digitized by
Google
The Ninth Mehabberet/i of Emanuele da Roma. 719
Pietro de C!orbiac commences his poem by invoking the
name of Jesus Christ, and praying for heaven's help in his
work, and having said a few words concerning his own
condition, he enters at once upon his theme.
He tells, first of all, of the mysteries of creation, and of
the most salient facts of the Old and of the New Testa-
ments. This narrative, being somewhat prolix, occupies
547 lines — two-thirds, that is, of the whole poem.
Having devoted so much space to the historical portion
of his work, the poet declares that he does not consider
that which is to follow of less importance ; thereupon he
sings of the seven liberal arts.
He knows them all perfectly and can give a valuable
exposition of each in succession. But this does not suflSce ;
he also knows medicine . and surgery, necromancy and
mythology, the greatest exploits of the Greeks and Romans,
of the French and English.
Such is the principal theme of the simple, unelaborate
poem of Peire de Corbiac. The similarity of subject and
style, which I have pointed out, is sufficient to convince
the reader that Peire*s poem may well have served as a
model to Emanuele.
The multiplicity of subjects which he treats, the num-
ber of problems which he expounds, and the numerous
historical facts concerning the different peoples and the
various countries which he states, may have been included
in the arts and sciences, the languages and countries, which
Emanuele admired in the poem, which he may have imi-
tated. But since similar details appear also in other poems
of the same kind, let us examine more minutely the basis
on which our belief in the intimate connection between the
two poets rests.
In the first place there is nothing to disprove the possi-
bility, that Emanuele may have imitated Corbiac's poem.
Since it was written about the year 1225, in France, the
work could certainly have been known in Italy eighty
years afterwards ; this is all the more probable, when we
Digitized by
Google
720 The Jewish Quarterly Revietc.
remember the zeal with which such works were studied at
that time.
The fact that Emanuele must have been acquainted with
a foreign language, if he really imitated Pietro di Corbiac,
need not cast a doubt upon the truth of my assertion ; for
here it can hardly be the question of a foreign language.
Indeed, although the Dtvina Comedia was written in Italian,
all the Romance languages were so widely known, that any
one occupied, like Emanuele, in writing poetry, must have
known Provencal, the language, in fact, used by the earlier
poets. Likewise he whose critical faculty is biased by
strenuous orthodoxy may consider it strange that Emanuele,
being so religious, should have been induced to imitate
a work, which commences with an invocation to Jesus
and Mary, and with an assertion of his allegiance to
the doctrine of the Trinity.^ But such reasoning could
only result from ignorance of Emanueles religious
spirit, which was entirely free from intolerance and
fanaticism. If then we cannot question the possibility
that Emanuele may have imitated Pietro di Corbiac, let us
see what are the points of resemblance between the two
poets.
Pietro di Corbiac prepares to sing because he wishes to
explain his condition to the wise ; he wishes to tell them,
that although poor in worldly goods he is richer than they,
who have money and castles, because he possesses a Treasure
richer than silver and gold.
' Thus the Tesoro of Pietro di Corbiac begins: —
Verse 1. " El nom de Jesu Crist qu'es nostre salvamens.
Verse 2. " De Santa Maria, don el pris naissemens ....
Verse 38. " Jen ai f erma cresenza e sai sertanamens,
Verse 39. *' Qu* el sanz pair* e'l sanz filz e'l sanz eepiramens
Verse 40. ** Aqnestas tres personas son ns Diens solamens."
Line 1. To " The name of Jesus Christ our Saviour,
Line 2. " of holy MLary, who gave birth to him ....
Line 38. '* I believe with a perfect faith and know for certain
Line 89. *' That the Holy Father, the Holy Son« and the Holy Ghoet,
Line 40 " the three perrons, are only one God."
Digitized by
Google
The Ninth Mehahbereth of Emanuele da Roma, 721
Verse 6. " Farai saber als savis c'om sui de sen manens.
Verse 11. " Non cuges per tot so qu'en ane malemens
" tals pot aver mils marcs, no 1 vai tan ricamens . . .
Verse 20. " Jeu son pros e gaillarz e viv rics e manens.
" Qu*eu m'ai un ric tesaur amassat maltraens
" qu'es plus pretios, pus cars e pus valens
" que peiras pretiozas ni fis aurs ni argens." . . .*
We find similar lines in Emanuele's poem. He wishes to
make his character known to the latest posterity, and to
the most distant peoples, because " he has a larger portion
than his brothers,^ because his glory rests in leaving behind
him a great name.
Continuing to speak of his Tesoro, Peire de Corbiac
exclaims that nobody will have the power to rob him of it ;
in truth, during his life-time he will not lose it, nor will
death lessen its worth, but its glory will always increase.
Verse 26. " Ni non lo perdrai vivs, neis can serai morena — ni ja
non mermara, anz er tos temps creissens."'
Well, these verses can but remind us of those of
Emanuele in which he laments the necessity of forgetting
everything on the day of his death.
Pietro di Corbiac rejoices in the thought that his
Tesoro will endure to the last moment of his life, and that
it will even increase in worth. But such a thought made
quite a different impression on Emanuele, who exclaims : —
" I regretted the arrival of my death
" since I would die like any fool.
" And what profit shall I have from my wisdom
" which I shall forget on the day of my death
" during my long sleep within the tomb ; "
and these words, which everybody could think inspired by
' Verse 6. ** I will make known to the wise how rich I am. . .
Verse 11. *' Do not think that I am not well off ;
" he who possesses a thousand marks may not be as rich as I...
Verse 20. "I am valiant and strong, rich and wealthy . . .
** Because I have amassed a rich treasure with difficulty,
** which is more precious, more valuable, more prized
^* than precious stones set in gold and silver.
^ This expression is taken from Genesis xlviii. 22.
' Verse 26. **I shall not lose it living, nor even when I die,
Nor win it ever diminish, but it will increase with time.
Digitized by
Google
722 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
a profound ascetism, remind me of the most bold verses of
the vagrant " Qoliardi."
But how much more resemblance there is between
Emanuele and Peire de Ciorbiac in their exposition of the
principal theme of their poem than in the passages above
quoted.
Peire de Corbiac, wishing to relate to us the story of
the Old and of the New Testament, and the history of the
Greeks and of the Romans, or wishing to expound some
principles of astronomy, or some rules of prosody, contrives
to tell us all that he knows. This plan is exactly followed
by Emanuele, so that it is no longer possible to deny the
derivation of one poem from the other.
Here are some lines of the Proven9al poet : —
549. " En totAs las vii. are soi assatz conoissens
** Per Gramatica sai parlar latinamens
" declinar e costruire e far derivamens . . .
554. *^ Per Dialetica Bai arrazonablemeoB
^* a pauzar e respondre e f alsar argumens . . .
558. " Per Retorica sai per bels affaitamens
^* colorar mas paraulas e dir adautamens . . ."
564. " De Ley ni de Decretz n'ai apres anc granmens . . .
568. ** De Muzica sai jeu tot aondozamens. . . .
583. " D'Arismetica sai totz los acordamens
" E sai de las figuras cal comte son rendens. . . .
590. ** De Geometria sai tan dels mezuramens . . .
" e sai proar triangle e quadrangl' eissamens *
* 549. ** I am very well versed in the seven arts.
" As regards grammar, I can speak oorreotly,
*^ Decline, construe and make derivations.
554. ** In Dialectics I can reason logicaUy.
** I can answer and defeat arguments.
558. ** In Rhetoric I know how hy beautiful embeUishments,
*' To colour my words, and to speak agreeably . . .'*
564. " In jurisprudence I have also learned very much.**
568. " Of music I know so much . . .
583. ^* Of Arithmetic I know all the rules
*' And how to solve mathematical problems . . .
590. " Of Geometry I know all the measurements
*' And I know how to prove a triangle and a quadrangle equal.
Digitized by
Google
The Ninth Mehahbereth of Emanuek da Rama, 723
598. " D'Astronomia sui tant bos clers eissamens
qu'eu sai ben con tarneia lo sels e'l firmamens. . .
726. " De Fisica sai ieu aissi sometamens. . . .
732. " De Sirurgia no sai ni vuelh sos feramens. . . .
734. " De Nigromancia apris totz los encantamens. . . .'
Then he knows the history of the Greeks, and of Troy,
of Thebes, Rome, France, England, etc.
750. " Faulas d'auctors sai ieu a niiliers et a cens.
824. " Jeu sai chansos, e nc^tas e vers bons e valens
pastorelas apres amorosas plazena. ..." *
All these liberal arts and sciences, of which the Proven9al
poet speaks, form only a part of his intellectual endow-
ments. Emanuele wishes to appear equally omniscient.
Thus, when he is only speaking on subjects treated by the
Christian poet, he yet poses as a scholar in all the various
branches of learning.
He calls himself a ** a magician ajid a seer, a versifier
and a poet," " I am a diviner and a naturalist," he sings ,
** a theologian. I am a prince and a father of song. I am
expert in matter and in the accidents of matter — in
radiating lines, both in the circle and in the hemisphere.
I understand the sciences, I know the planets, the stars
and other celestial bodies. I am learned in geometry.
I have a knowledge of nature, of the circle and of the
quadrilateral figure, of prophecy and of dreams I am
a logician, well versed in syllogisms and inferences, in
demonstrations and in accidents. I am an expert sophist,
I understand rain, earthquakes, and clouds. I understand
poetry. I am acquainted with the mysteries of the Bible,
with the Mishnah and the Gemarrah, with the principles
of Sifri and Sifrd."
' r>98. *' Iq Astronomy I am likewise Ruch a i;ood scholar
" That I know as well astheeag'le the skies and the heavens...
726. "Of medicine I know all the branches.
732. ** Of Surgery I do not know, nor do I wish to know, its
cruelties.
734. •* Of Necromancy I have learned all its magic.
* 7.')() " The fables of aothors I know in their thousands and
hundreds.
S2L " I know songs, harmony, and good verses,
Pastorals, and pleasing love-songs. . ''
Digitized by
Google
724 The Jewish (Quarterly Renew,
It is evident, that Emanuele very much resembles
Peire de Corbiac, not only in claiming a knowledge of all
the sciences, but also in his manner of treating them.
In fact, not to compare the literary art, which they
each manifested in a different degree, we find that the
chief difference lies in the fact that Emcuiuele treats of
Jewish as well as of secular subjects. Moreover, Peire
de Corbiac enlarges very often upon the minutiae of each
science, and especially of Music and Astronomy;
Emanuele, on the contrary, only enumerates them ; if he
ever enters into details, he does so without order, pro-
miscuously, as it enters in his head. Another point which
helps to prove that Emanuele imitated the Provencal
poet, is found in their similar way of treating man's moral
qualities.
When Peire de Corbiac discusses astronomy, he dwells
at length on the influence exercised by the planets on the
fortune and character of man. Saturn for example :
(619) " qu* 68 sobrans mals e f rey descrezens ....
.... 008 fa perezos, nuaillos e poignens,
fremiro8 e escars, e malvaz e tenens." *
Wise and cunning Jupiter makes us
(627) " enveioB, despensans e metens
cobedezos d'onor e seignoreiamens." *
MarS; the bold €Uid proud planet, makes us irascible.
Venus is
(649) " ainorosa, alegra e jauzen8
genta, clara e blanca, humils e patz f azeos." '
Mercury, the swift messenger,
(662) ** 68 bona ab lo8 benign68 e mal8 ab lo8 oosena
cest no8 fas via88i6r8 6 l6ugieu8 e biird608 . . ." *
* (619) " Who controls evil and nnbelieven,
. . . makes as Uu^, torpid and lethargic,
Timid and avarioions, oowardly and grasping."
' (627) " . . . . envious, profligate and generoos
Covetous of honour and majestj.'"
* (649) "... gentle, bright and joyous,
pleasant, gay and pure, modest and peace-loving.*'
* (662) "... is good to the virtuous and cruel to the wicked
and makes us nimble, frivolous, and playfuL"
Digitized by
Google
The Ninth Mehahbereth of Emamtele da Roma. 725
Emanuele, who does not enlarge on the sciences which
he mentions, does not touch upon the theory of the influ-
ence of planets ; but, exaggerating Peire's manner of
claiming to possess the knowledge of all the sciences
described in his poem, he declares that he also is endowed
with all good and bad moral qualities.
Peire de Corbiac is only guilty of this weakness once,
towards the end of the poem, when he writes : —
* (828) Ni tenc los fols e Is savis, a cascu soi plazens ;
E m sai guarar d'enuitz e de deschauzimens ....
Ab totz me sai aidar, cavayer e sirvens.
Ab fols passi com piiesc, ab savis saviamens
The Jewish poet makes a habit of this self-glorification
all through his poem. bxlA particularly in those strange
lines which I quoted when comparing him to Ruggiero
Pugliese, or in the following, which are very similar : —
" For the foolish, I am foolish ; for the perverse, I am
perverse ; for the impious, I am impious I am
cunning and intelligent ; I am formidable and terrible ;' I
have glory and majesty ; 1 am calm on the day of misfor-
tune I wage war, and I make peace; I am
both thief and truthful ; I am compassionate to the merciful
and cruel to the wicked."
Several of these expressions are, no doubt, taken from
the Bible ; but the main idea, that pretension, I mean, to
so many different moral qualities, is due to the influence of
the Proven9al poet.
The idea, for example, on which Eananuele insists, of
being foolish with the foolish or good with the good,
* (828.) *' I associate with the foolish and the wise, and am pleasing to
each one ;
I know how to keep myself from rivalry and from rude-
ness . . . . ;
I know how to help myself with all, rich and poor.
With the foolish I pass as possible ; with the wise as wise."
- Comp. Habakknk i. 7.
VOL, VII. 3 B
Digitized by
Google
726 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
aIthou|rh it i3 certainly found iu the Bible,^ is alao the text
supplied by Peire de Corbiac.
EmMUuele does not appear to imitate when he gives a
catalogue of the countries which he has visitcfd, of the
languages which he has learned, and of the crafts which he
has practised. The list of countries could have a counter-
part in the historical portion of Corbiac's poem, where he
mentions confusedly the names of many countries, peoples,
and kings. This analogy is perhi^s too forced to be ad-
mitted. Further, as to the languages and crafts, we do not
find any traces of their enumeration in the work of Peire
de Corbiac.
These facts, however, do not detract from the truth of
my assertion.
Because Enianuele has imitated, as I firmly believe, the
work of Peire de Corbiac, he need not have made a servile
copy of each part.
I have already had occasion to note, that although occa-
sionally Emanuele degenerates from an imitator into a
genuine plagiarist, sometimes he achieves original work.
Thus in the work we are now studying, we find that
Emanuele, attracted by Corbiac's Tresor, wished to imitate
it. Being, however, also influenced by other Tresore, and
carried away by his imbridled imagination, he merely took
the central idea from Peire de Corbiac, and enlarging upon
it, gave to his work the impress of his own individuality.
It, therefore, cannot be doubted that the work is partly
an imitation ; unfortunately, however, that portion which is
entirely original, does not increase the value and beauty of
the whole poem.
Peire de Corbiac, in his Tresor, follows the prevailing
custom of collecting in a book of small dimensions, all the
fragments of human knowledge, which the barbarous
1 Compare Psalms xviii. 26 and 2 Samuel xxii. 26 : '' With the meroifnl
thou shalt show thjself merciful, and with the nprigfht man thou shalt
show thyself upright ; With the pure thou shalt show thyself pure, and
with the f reward thou shalt show thyself f reward."
Digitized by
Google
The Ninth Mehabhereth of Smanuele da Rama. 727
Middle Ages had not destroyed, and concentrates in his 800
lines, all the ideas which were then current concerning
God, nature and man.
Ignoring the fact that Peire claims the knowledge of all
the subjects which he treats, and also the poverty of his
poetry, we must admit that all is narrated with a certain
method, and that his task of acquainting us with the
condition of Science in his age is fully accomplished.
Can as much be said of Emeuiuele ? Certainly not. For
in the tirst place we seek in vain a purpose in his poem^
which, as in Corbiac's work, may justify the chaos of sub-
jects so diverse, and whether we examine Eananuele's poem
from the Jewish or from the Christian point of view, or
from both at the same time, the same lack of purpose is
noticeable.
Certainly Emanuele's exaggerated and chaotic catalogue
of sciences and doctrines is no index to the learning of his
age, neither does it appear to be a didactic poem, although
it contains an enumeration of all the good and bad moral
qualities ; and still less does the foolish catalogue of arts
and crafts give us any information. But to continue. I
have quoted above some of Emanuele's lines, but they
do not run in this sequence in the poem itself.
I have been forced to gather them here and there, almost
invariably in places where I least expected to light upon
them, for all is confusion in the poem ; it is merely an
entangled mingling of adjectives, an intricate labyrinth of
substantives. Thus while Emanuele is intent on displaying
his scientific knowledge, he suddenly changes his theme to
a list of moral qualities, which he as suddenly deserts
to enumerate the crafts which he exercises; then a
list follows of virtues and sciences, introduced promiscu-
ously and interspersed with alien subjects, according as
caprice dictates, or as the rhyme requires.
Thus all the second part of the ninth mecama is merely
a disorderly catalogue, reminding us of the worst passages
of Emanuele's twenty-seventh mecama, which is intended
3b 2
Digitized by
Google
728 The Jewish Quarterly Beviett.
as an imitation of Dante, but is sometimes a long and
superficial catalogue of persons met with in hell and in
paradise, whose vices and virtues he speaks of in an
annoying and exaggerated strain.
Very likely Emanuele wished to testify once again to his
great knowledge of Hebrew, and it must be admitted that
so far he was successful. But certainly Emanuele's ninth
mecama does not give us a very high idea of his poetic
sense, or of his artistic talents ; and to his laurel wreath
will not be added one single leaf by this endless string of dis-
jointed words and tedious rhymes, which follow one the
other like a long procession of monks in the uniformity and
monotony of their weary tramp.
Gustavo Sacerdotk.
Berlin, December, 1894.
Digitized by
Google
Corrections and Notes to Agadath Shir Haahirim, 729
CORRECTIONS AND NOTES TO AGADATH
SHIR HASHIRIM.
In the corrections and notes to the text of the Agadath Shir
Hashirim, which has appeared in this Review (Vol. VI., pp. 673-
697, and Vol. VII. pp. 145-163), frequent use was made of the
following works*, which therefore it will be convenient to quote
by initials. They are: —
1. MS. De Rossi (in Parma), No. 626, the first ^ve leaves of
which contain fragments of our text which have been copied for
me by M. Alberto Orvieto, the present Rabbi of Parma. The
variations which this MS. offers are marked with F.
2. The Valkut Shimoni^ who in his compilations to the Song
of Songs often made use of the Agadath ^hir Hashirim, That
this Valkut does not always refer to the editions was already
recognised by R. Meir Benveniste in his HDK nifiC. I shall quote
this Valkut with the initials YS., giving, when referring to Shir
Hashirim, the number of the paragraph and the page (of the
Frankfort edition). Of course, all these references refer to the
second part. To references to other parts of this Valkut the
numbers I. or II. will be added, the former including the whole of
the Pentateuch, the latter extending over the Prophets and the
Hagiographa,
3 Valkut Machiri, of which we have now the Valkut on
Isaiah =YM.Is., printed by Mr. J. Spira (Berlin, 1894); the Valkut
Machiri on the Minor Prophets (MS. in the British Museum
Harl., 5705)=YM.MP., and the Valkut on Psalms (Oxford
MS., Cat. Neubauer, 167) = YM.Ps.
4. The Midrash Haggadol to the Pentateuch, MS. in my pos-
session =MH.
o. The Commentary on Song of Songs by R. Moses b. Samuel
Ibn Tabbon (Lyck, 1874)=MT. In this Commentary passages
are occasion ally given from KV^I 'D n31 H^K^KIQ, which are
only to be found in our Agadath Shir Hashirim, I must, how-
ever, state that the Oxford MS. of this commentary (Cat. Neub.
Digitized by
Google
730 The Jewish Quatiefly Beview,
1278) omits all those passages. Thej are indeed strange to the
whole tendency of this philosophic author.
6. The Miifrashim to the Pentateuch, namely, Genesis Rahbah
«. GR., Exodus Rahbah =» ER., Leviticus Rahbah = LR., Num-
bers Rahbah = NR., and Deuteronomy Rahbah = DR. To the
Shir Hashirim Rahbah^ which is also called Midrash Chazitha
I shall refer with CH., giving always chapter and verse and
the paragraph within the latter, as in the Wilna edition.
7. Aboth d" Rabbi Nathan (ed. Schechter) = ARN.
8. The Pesikta cTR. Kahana^ ed. Ruber == Pesikta K. (or PK.),
and the Pesikta Rabbathij ed. Friedmann s= Pesikta R. (or PR.).
All the other Midrashim as well as the various tractates of
the Babylonian and Jerusaiemic Talmudim will be quoted with
their full title. The parallels from MSS. will be given in full ;
with regard to those to be found in printed works, I shall mostly
oonfine myself to the mere reference which the reader is expected
to look up. In my struggle after brevity I also left it to the
student to supply the references to the quotations from the Scrip-
tures, as well as to correct them, which can be done easily enough
by aid of a concordance and a Bible. On the other band I spared
no labour and no trouble to fornish him with ample extracts from
MSS. and rare prints which either form parallels to the Agadatk
Shir Hashirim^ or may in some way throw light on the nature
and the date of this strange composition. I hope that in many
oases these parallels will prove helpful towards elucidating our
corrupt text, though many a riddle still remains.
L. 1-5. vnma— i"-!, R. Moses Tako, in Ozar Nechmad, HL
74, ini"iDK B^no Dn^srn tb> ^\k 'dik tju 'n B^mr emo c^n
'p'^'p DnoiKI 7\''^p7\ n'O *3D^ Dmi«rDn. Cp. also below, 1. 264.
See also npin p* The Commentary of R. Eleazar of Worms,
L. 5-15. in31"lD3— nonn, seeCH., III. 11, § 2 and YS., § 980,
p. 175 a.
L. 15-17. nonSrai— tc'n, YS. ibid. Cp. CH., II. 2, § 2.
L. 19-18. n'^Dn^— paaD. See Sifre, 134*. Cp. below.
L. 20-28. no^— K^l. For some parallels see Mishna Vada-
yim^ III. 5; Aboth^ III. 17; Pesikta R. 59a ; Midrash Miskie
Digitized by
Google
Corrections and Notes to Agadath Shir Hashirim. 731
(ed. Bober), la. R. Isaak nSriD, in his commentarj in MS. (Cat.
Neubauer, No. 343), ^KX^^ HM O^n nnin mw vh I^K JT^I -OO
L. 29-40. 'U1— nnx. See GR., LXIV. 8, and LVL 2. The
Midrash Haggadol has a passage, nOIK nty^JC 'n HD ny n^^J
n^apn inx^nK' no^D Tint n^n* hd i^ '3B> hd 5)id3 hm^ no ni«n^
Dipo inoiK K'n Tint hm^ n> '365^ hd loen pn^ ^k' i^td Dmaw^
1*330 niox6 D^iHD tn^ny i^ tok hd i^ -lOfc^^i '3b> inKnn enpo
HM* HD 'OKI • hvr^ nK pDiaoi nrn Dipoa ih^dd nx pcniD |ni
iD-inn TO D^onD roiaa 'ofco i!nr. Cp. also GR., XLlii. 8.
L. 41-50. niO^iP— me^. See Midrash Tillim, XXI. ; cp.
Sukhah^ 52a, The passage is corrupt. Perhaps we ought to
read in 1. 49 p\S1 instead of {ni.
L. 50-54. Dn^ir 'i— no^ TOK. CH. I. 1, § 9 and 1 1, and also
Pesihta B., 58ft, ^e^. See in particular nnw 1*B> pi JT^IT nvniK
c6lB^ l^e' '^'^n D*3B^ on^B^n, after which, as it seemed, followed
the niOC^ 'y. See P. Matatjah Delakrut's Commentary to the
mi« *1Pe^, where we read niPC^ 'V p^iDI na^pn^ 1^ B^ ni08^ 'y
Bents' Bmo3i iT-n iinxn »n'3 kd^K3 d^id nwan^i ibooV,
Cp. Briiirs Jahrb. I. 224.
L. 55-56. n^npn^— iK^n, see below, 1. 82.
L. 57. 310n— -iIkV. See 6R., III. 6. Cp. Pesihta R.^ 118a,
text and notes.
L. 58. '131 nnni D^On. See Chapters of R. Eliezer, III., and
note 31 of Loria's Commentary. Cp. ER., XV. 22.
L. 59-60. ppT.-«W— D*1DD HB^e^. CH. I. 1, § 10.
L. 61-77. nimnn— ni^yo B^B', CH., ibid. Cp. Synhedriuj
20b.
L. 77-81. K3n 'iy-—on*B> HB^T, see Pesihta B., 99a, and
Midrash Tillim, LXXXL, and parallels. YS., § 980 in the
DEBITS nB9B^ (ed. Constantinople, see Stelnschneider's Catalog.
Col. 1287). See also commentary to Song q/* 5<m^*,"attributed to
R. Saadyah.
L. 82. With ref^ard to the literature about niOB^ D^PSB^, see
Zunz^s Gottesdienstliche Vortrdge^ p. 273 (second ed.), note A, to
which references there are still to be added : R. Toby ah b.
Eliezer (see Salfeld p. 1 37 seq.) ; Barzilai in his commentary to
Digitized by
Google
732 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
the nTy TfiD, p. 128:— CnaOT B^^rUTT KmaXT moi: nvp3 13KV01
^KX'' nx Dipon tna K^xr nasr ^ nioe^ D^yasr Kina. Cp. iUd^
p. 307; YM.Is., 253; YM.Pb. (MS.), 74a and 97a, MH. I.,
tran, beg. • hvnerh n)a^ d^3B> p^odi n^^prh ni«r D^ync^ K^^n
D^^T^ n)a^ n^V2t^ piODi n-nn^ nioe^ D^'yar, and kdid D^m 'i
in the Beth Talmud, II. 124 (edited by Prof. Dr. Kaufmann.)
Cp. Epstein in his edition of the Midrash KCnn, XXVL, note 4.
L. 82-125. Dn^D-nni- tniB^*. In the MH. : h^ysrh n)a^ D*MB^
n^ina m^m nn dik^ dj^ nap ain« p yn n« n^^ nw p "nD3 nya
D^onD HD^DD Dnmp D*S«a onn^ pyo diid omyo ne^ n^D
^b^K Sip my DTK D^B»^K pK DOV^y D^^nK D^^K mK3V D^me^D
(?DKn) Di iir 3KT n^^jc jrn3 n^nx D^niDK onay on^m pivn
^no nn poi no^wn D^aoy D^nien i-non tuk D^yicw^ ytaa d-o
DnDnDn D^oy D^aiip wks^ on^on o^nv. Cp. omen hv2 to
Num. xi. 6. See also Si/re 68a (I'D KpD^D), especially the note
of Herr Lector Friedmann : D-Q D^mi D^HK W1p3B^ 'i ^^n '1 ^n^Dl
nioB^ 'm B^'nc' m^Kn in^ b^idd nan pb6 ^31 '131 |«v n^m
onn Kn^KTD 1di h^d nw p lyo "n^n ^x^ 1^np3.
L. 125-157. HDina— niDSr O^yae^. See YM.Is., p. 253. MH.:
p33^ nr^a on^ hkt 'n nniD d^k' d^^kht ♦d'^t^ niD«r D^nc^
^DV rh'h^ 31 i^D n^ip pev ^dt tjia hd* 'n Ty 'n «Di p^v
nm^D ny* mc^ nniDx nooyo pK na *VDn n^iya pxn ^d^ inro
nwnoa ^mc^ or ^nan oniy: hb^k nb nSna ^n ^d nyio nn ^k^tk
K^ Ty ncmT nnn^ ncmpo Dm in dm^k p py miDi r6ia
pnn ^a naowa n^np piv i^y nna nn naiM i^yn nK-no nipy nnrra
in BHipn in noi noe^ M tei3 jtJ^a n^na niD3 D^orn n^n^i
Dno ma aaan iy^ ynn ymn iud pdin ^ni panbn nyaa ntDn
L. 157-165. nKun— D^yacn. MH. : nun nun^ nioc^ D^yncf
piv mm nv^te ^enD nono nyi noiy na*D idid noDn pap n^rxi
niino 'n nxT 'n nionSo idd n^ian idd niSann np^ D^umD ddwd
D^ *noB^ D^ur^ mvo *nD noonD naow j^^Da na^Kta ruDnDn
Digitized by
Google
Coirediom and Notes to Agadath Shir HaHhirim. 733
D^ir^^ D^msrye^ D^nao piin jdc' d^div hdio 3^n jrai m b>«
nam hditn npior nvr n^na d*dw nox ant nin D^pino ni^yiD
i-iKian p^n n-ip' D^^n yy |^* onD on^ om jn nbr' D^anx.
YM.Ps. (74a) gives the same passage in the name of BHID,
agreeing with our text, except the following variations: — 1. 159,
reading n^Unn and omitting riTn ; I. 160, morPD TDD and
*nD nOOHD; 1. 161, mVW and 3mD IIDH ; 1. 162, HW ^DDI ;
1. 163, D^B^^^K' D^jncn^; 11. 164 and 165, 3^n D^D Dn^ Dm
L. 165-195. niDB'— D^yac'. MH. : 'n |v^r na'pn^ nitxj' D^rac'
^na K^D3i 33^^31 Kir:^ Dn D^n^K m niKnv nir n^ h^hk ^k m^K pnw
Dpwi K3p K^ nD« D^on iivn ptoi Kiia T1K nni y\7\ nnai mm
innx piTKi pvnrs yr^ -loisr ir^K ^inoi nio n^oni pnv non ^yai lowi
iy ptn Sw3 oDisr nr pin bxu niDn ^6?3 nrn n*"w 3K n«o njc
\t^'^'\\> '\>v iDDn ^Diw yan K-na K^ip n^^ ywo innDo i^ ddik^
D^^^^kn TDir ^nv Dim pan dhki nv p^ny nn^ itr^ ty ^nao. YM.
Fs. (97a) : ^113 K^D3 2y^i KB^: iv^y H^^pn^ ifcopa niDe^ D*y3K^
(so in the MS.) '1D1 !©«: D^Dn 11 vn H ^ T « TC^ Kii: iini iin tny in:i
1D« HD '3 33firj Knpjl KtTJI Dl «^pj • D*DnD3 \\hv «inB> I^W
«^D3 x-ip3 • Kinn Din 113^ 'n aairoi 'ojr Disr^ tnp^ ♦ k^ji di 'n
o^oHK ^n: iDwir ^n: r^np^ 'na^ ni^na niK^Di ncnr^ ':Bf
■nni Tin 'oe^ mn K-ipo • lUii mr 'n '^b^ ini Kipo • ns am
'n nipD '3fir ity* Kip3 • 'p^pao dm^k tnii '3b> kiw Kip: • roD^
mm 'iK' D^DH Kip3 • 13 nn^ir vh\ niv 'diki i^ro d^dh iivn 'ic^
'Koc' aiD K-ip: • iDx:n ^Kii 'D1K Kin psj' pw Kip3 • nonsn 'n
K>DB^ no 'n • KyiKi k^d'J' k^3 inasr o^n^K xip^ • ^d^ 'n nuD
KinB' ni^x K-»p3 • VKiia ^d ^y piK Kinc' piK Kip: • KynK noi
Kinir nMK ■C'K nMK Kip3 • ^Dn ^y n^pn KinK' ^kib^ b ^y ni^K
TIK KipO • iniK KiaS^ DVD ^KID oSlTn PKIT niT • WDD pn PK1
'i:ii non^D b^k 'n 'y^ non^o ^ra Kipo • 'n diid^ inK 'osr. Cp.
Dmon ^ya, i6irf. See also ARN.. 50* and 5 1 a, as well as 53a
and 54a (version II.) and notes.
Digitized by
Google
734 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
L. 195-201. nnr— B^n^' K"!. With regard to these nnn? "K5V
see Epstein's admirable essay in the periodical aTTDDI PntOD
(pp. 85-89), who, indeed, exhausts the subject. I only add here
that the MH. to n^3 agrees with the Mechilta^ except in the
n^O'tDC^ r(y>^y where he adds "MW Dn^n TB> 'HDT HD^ TTW K'l
nr^T^ (probably after the Targum of the Song of Songs), Jn an
anonymous commentary to K^nC' MS (Cat. Neubauer, 268) D^TTn
th\yo rhooh nr ^nr^. Cp. also iion inv, I52c. YM.Ps., p. 276A,
gives also this passage of mTB' X^P in the name of Midrash
^n^. See also YM.Is., p. 37, for the whole passage. The ^wa
in the "1K3n "1^^ is perhaps on account of Moses' death being
indicated there, according to the Midrashim. See NR. XIX. 33,
and Pseud-Jonathan to Num. xxi. 20. See also the Post Scriptum
at the end of these notes.
L. 201-203. n:n3— Dn^B^n TB^. See CH. 1. 1, § 5: l^O HD^ ^aK
i?D p, etc. ^rO -ITO ')H 'rani = CH. I. 2, § 1, JW 'l D1KTD ^iJT,
etc.
L. 203-206. tsnn -W—H'-t. See CH. I. 5, § 3. Mechilta,
346 and parallels.
L. 206-210. dSdd— nn^W fcTl. See CH. I. 1, § 11. Cp.
Midrash Agadahy ed. Buber, I., p. 170, which is the nearest
parallel.
L. 210-213. Y^:h — VC^. The meaning of the passage is not
clear. At any rate we must insert the word 7\Xt£P after VT\ in 1.
211. See CH. ibid,, jD^pD Kim.
L. 210-224. D^p^n— P3D. See Tosephtha Sola, VI. 3, and
commentaries (DniD3 nmo). Cp. B. T. Sotah 306, and the
Tosaphoth, beg. TKD "1 about the end, and ER. XXIII. 7; YM.
Ps. 246, from a Midrash : ON^D nOK nrw ^B^ "UDIK nnK p»
nuD ^^ pK n^an -idk k^k hud pn^* m^pyn nnx ontDn
TK yiK3 *niK y^htyo ^oy pK dk ono ^oB^a nina *^ pw pK3
^DK^D^ ytxr D^TDiK ^KTB^ nnDiiDn ^iMra ^id^dd hidI^d ^
pnv* m^pjD m^B' 13^ nn i^^'MB'a 'dwi dhd pbnpD jm mrn
noi lionK 'n no now i^^n niTB^n .-'^ noD D\n ^y nmn
nnw.
L. 225-229. n*K"lD— ^3pr\ CH. I. 2, § 3.
Digitized by
Google
Correctimis ami Notes to Agadaih Shir Haahirim. 735
L. 229-231. nn^nn— K^n. YS., § 981 (1756), in the name of
a Midrash.
L. 231-235. in^D— K'T. YS., iftirf., R. Tobya b. Eliezer, in
his commentary to the Song of Songs (MS. Cambridge, Add.
378) : ob>D Tinc^ ^D^ iH^D^ HKin np^^'ai -or ^«x^^ nanjc 31tdi
n^n ^J? Y?^^ rw^rh ym^ nntO. Cp. Rashi to this verse. Cp.
Berachoth, Hb,
L. 235-236. Dn^W16y— K3K. See Berachoth, 576, and Tan-
chuma, npin, § 20.
L. 237. pTH— K"!. The blank is in the MS. Perhaps he
alludes to the proximity of Israel with the p*U(.
L. 237-240. Dn^^mssK"!. YS., ibid,^ but shortened.
L. 240-248. KDT— D^31D ^D. YS. ibid., in the name of a
Midrash. The K'T in I. 243-4 (mo ^Oa^B^ tVD, etc.) suggests
the reading 1^1. Cp. R. Eleasar of Worms in the npnn p^ to this
verse: JT'T p^^n^ y^l 7)^2 ^p P^D Tin D^31D ^D.
L. 248-251. inn— W, Mishneh Abodah Zarah, H. 5, etc.
See CH. to this part of the verse and parallels.
L. 251-260. KinC' HD— *D K"T YS., ibid, (end of p. 1756 and
begin, of 175c). Some of these explanations in CH., ibid,^ § 3.
L. 260, 261. 3^-rUD— nn^ K^T. YS., ibid,, Ch. L 3, § 2, after
which our text is to be corrected.
L. 261-263. DU10— ^Knon '1. See Jonathan to 1 Kings xviii.
16, ^hp\, Cp. Berachothy 106. Perhaps this was also one of the
various Derashoth of the words y^pn 7X. The last five words in
1. 263 seem to be a clerical error.
L. 265-270. 15ry— K"!. YS. ibid., shortened. Cp. the pID
1iT5rK^ 'n (in Jellinek's Beth Hanudrash, V., pp. 112, 113), where
this ncm, as well as the preceding one of R. ^KHDH, are to be
found in a much enlarged form. In the D^^niDKI D^K^n ^Dim (MS.
Oxford Cat., Neubauer, No. 2199), I., 1406, we read :— «mD31
nn^K'na v^ ddhh nnro an n^v pi npiyn xpin 'n^ «nip b^hb^
DDn n^ ID Kpin 'i tsth naK6 D^Mnn TDtnra wvtsrh vnvi
>DK nn ^K^DB> «33iD ^nvoBn 6di VP^n^ >2h ema ^pn^ni ^KBinp
'I b^nnoe^ B^nE^ Bmoa Kin idi Hpin 'n Kin pn^n nr ^3 tfh\
npn:^n 'i n^n d^31D looe^ nn^ innoK nx^n ^m^d 'dik tn:
njwD TDnK' 3inD ^nwvD idb^ no^ D^pnv ^tr tn^-Ks^ no^ nK nn tdik
^33 b^ nnB' nnnn ^ki in^nM to^oDn id^d^ nna spi^ niDVj6
Digitized by
Google
736 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
apy^S pcryjO pnm. Cp. Steinschneider, Ozar Nechmadll, 31,
MS. Cambridge, Add. 394, in the Commentary to the V^ IW
(Zunz, Literaturgeschichte der Synagogalen Poesicy p. 103): —
pi n^'iK niDvj6 ^KiB^ niDvy pa p^nao dik ^oa b^ f niyn nrw
iKO^ ^enD iD'i nn hmk' 'idi pb'jbo pnv^a. MH. IV. : 'dix tkd n
«Sk l^in u^K nnan piK n^tc^ nnan pix nno dv^i^ ^ ?nn aio
«in PD1 1D1D nyi D^iyn h^dd i^in D^pnv^tr |nn ^ax • d^d^ '^ pn
in^^na 5)nij o^pnv h^ jn^x^ noSo inaian in:a nn hk m^i 'dik
• bn^ HD^n n? • loy nov niD«; riK ntro np^i 'jjr jnnnDa '^dk pDi
na niDvy nona niovyo dik niovy hk Tao KinB» dik i^ b^*
nirtD n^n do^d^ po^^Dp^ nc^ Djaocra nnytD iidk • hvner mows
^iDv niDvy i^jc ^Kiiia 'diki an'iyn nna pjdv ^ wi-w nn mio.
L. 270-273. mm— K"!. YS. i^trf., offering better readings.
L. 273-282. C'pSl — K"l, meaning obficure. See Midrcuk
Tillim, CXVI. 3, with regard to JIIO^D and Midrash Mishle,
XXX. 27.
L. 2^3-288. niD^iy— N"!. See YS.,ibid.\ CH., iitrf., about
the end of the paragraph, liTB'K^ '1 'D (as above), p. 113.
L. 289-294. nnyo— ^^aC^D. YS., ibid, at the end of § 981.
L. 294-298. nvin3— «^n. YS. § 982. See also CH., I. 3, § 3.
L. 298-310. non h}h:h^'>2^^27). See YS., ibid. This passage,
or part of it, is quoted from the B^nC' BHTD by the following
authors: Nachmanides in his 71D^n *iyc^ (cp. his oommentary to
Genesis i. 3 ; R. Simon Duran in his Magen Aboth (Leghorn,
1785), 886, and in the commentary to the Song of iS'on^^, attri-
buted to Nachmanides (supposed to belong to R. Azriel) I. 3.
Cp. R. Menachem of Recanati^s Commentary to the Pentateuch
(Venice, lo23), p. 416, as W^niai niDXI. R. Bachaye b. Asher,
in n'Opn la, s. r. abiS, has also a parallel in the name of the
Chapters of R. Eliezer. MT., p. 9a and 6, NV^I nai n^JTfina
naaion mn i^k imn i^on UN^an. M.H. : pya p dmSx yo^i
\h\p^ tnsr x^v p mn i^« imni^on ^:Kon 'dik Kin I'^yi
nrm nniK' ^ib^ yv'^nc' dboi inN lOKoa iKia: y^:i y*pi mn^
Duaiaa na ttkd im Dvnv ^e^ nniK' n^iry y^a la D^aaia ^
j^mnD i^«n nuio^pnc' ima 'di« min^ n pn -pna D^^nn yyi
Digitized by
Google
Corrections and Notes to Agadath Shir Hashirim. 737
y3i« 'D1K D"! ray Kin hddi • jTa pvoxa D^^nn y^y id i^S^id^
K^n i^io non hh:h pnoi D«nn y^y n36r niKO iron i^no 'dik
vnnno k^k pnvv p*K n^jrxin 'd^d ai^^D ^di n^e^ niKo. See
also Jellinek's Beth Hammidrash^ III, 194, and Horowitz, nDDin
to the Beth Talmud, 1. Cp. GR., XV. 5, and rxnn, c. II.
L. 310-319. PjDDI— ID^. YS., ibid.y I76rf. CH. to this part
of the verse, § 2.
L. 319-338. D^nnn in— pi. See Pesikta /?., 1026 and 103a
and h and parallels. Our text seems to be a combination of the
view of R. Levi and that of R. Jochanan R. Joshua b. Levi, an.l
R. Eleasar (|*n31£:^oni pson =s nnT3). See also iS'i/re, 135a and
1426. The woids from D^nnn— "»nDN (1. 337, 338) ought perhaps
to be placed after the word D% in 1. 344. YM.MP. 172a: nb'iO
D^nnn in hv v^ai noyi k^dd D^nnn ^no^K. Cp. Raimundus,
Pugio Fideiy 848 (or 661), the same passage from K'iM Y3.
L. 338-340. DCrKia— N"!. YS., ibid.
L. 340, 341. e^— K"l, urging n^'i:.
L. 341-344. D* — K"!. Meaning obscure. I can only guess
that we have here some corrupt translation of Jonathan to
Ezekiel xxxix. 11.
L. 344-350. Tinx— HTDn. See YS., ibid,, shortened. CH.,
ibid,y on this part of the verse. Perhaps we should insert before
liKCO (I. 345) the words «"!. The first T\^m would then be
that the patriarchs are to be preferred to Noah, etc. See also
ER., VI. 4.
L. 351-352. innx— yiK'in\ There can hardly be any doubt
that the sentence refers to R. Akiba. See Jerushalmi Sotahy 21a,
and Lament. Rabbah III. (letter D). Perhaps this '1 '2 ''* is
identical with ^D"l3n V^\T\'*. In passing the following from the
D^KiioKi D^Konn ^Dim, III., p. 406, ^''-h nx^ hmc' ^Dian ^j^ry^^
nicryi i-niKi ndnn T\i'p>v it Nnnm pDD pny 'd3 kh^kid
iniK^Vin Dn'vym ^"^X^r^ Dnni n 1 -l 3 n n, etc., cp. Midrash Mishle,
XL 1, and parallels.
L. 352-355. U— X^T F., \r\^ nmn IB^ID KinJT K"!
'1D1 nvn rh}^ T\\h'h ':h vhv inoiK. YS., ibid. MT. 8a, from
the n3T n^::Vl3. See TcmMra,16a, Beth Hammidrash L 125,
Digitized by
Google
738 T)^ Jewish Quarterly Review.
L. 356-361. nai— «*T F., '3B> T\V^2 SwDC^ K'I
n^oo n^ni onya ma im nh^ xni^ ne^S pDD n\ntr
L. 361-364. innm— k"!. F., wy p hm nr. YS., ibid.,
MT., i^«rf., who reads Bn*D1 (instead of B9*D1), see in the DVO,
beginning H^D* HO the phrase B95 T\12 V^V B^K3. Cp. also Beth
Hammidrash, V. 97. Cp. nUK po II. 18a, y"-» hv 'i'^ObtV 1031
L. 365-371. pB^n— miriE^. F., nKvn nDK^3i nuK ^
n-rtDiK 'n 'D nniK (1. nnono) mono nwtan ihmnn nn\-n
Si3n3i KVi^ wne^ non kVi nrxD idk non k^ B^ocm
'yn '03 13K Dninc' nioiK^ nw nrnS nirn^ mno3 1^ no*
PB'D-I irni3« '03 13K DW1. YS., ibid. See CH., I. 5, § l,and
I. 6, § 3.
L. 371-375. «)DD3— K"!. F., D*D3 j^Eny vnco hta£r> K^n
nDiynD3 vhv n^n p6dp k"t DnvD3 0*33^31. See YS.
ibid, (on *3K miW). The passage is also cited in MS. Oxford
(Cat. Neubauer, No. 268), p. 2676.
L. 375-379. ni»D— «"!. F., D^Kn DJlKtr Hip ^^PTKD K'l
♦^HK no K^K lip •^HK Dn DmyD 01 pn30 (iine^?) pW onw
nni 1Din3 D333 dik ("iinfir) pSoe^ dhk^ "np. See CH. i^w?. to
these words.
L. 379-385. nwno— K"!. F., Dipon nno "p nrn ^nixn k't
n3in vhn dik j^k nr ^nixB^ T»n3 Sn* w iSxn u^pin t\h
nn3 imy^^D v6) S'n Dipon iTh id bi3* iniK pnnio
l^KVr I^^K rmiD D^D K^K UK' nO^yOH ^DO DIKrr p KYI' J^Kfi?,
etc. YM., p. 113. Cp. for the last lines ARN., 356, I. and
notes.
L. 387-392. DV— *33. F., DHK P3D IpC^ ^ D*K*3Jni H'l
np nzn^b iok DiptDn p5r Sn^n p k^k ynsa Dipon p«B^ 'ik
*:k k^k ^P 131 «^K Di^3 vnwioDK VHfc' ni^DiDD^Nn Dy inirn
'^T^rr riK JPHK. See R. Menachem of Recanati^s comnientMrj on
the Pentateuch, p. 262, where this passage is quoted from the
B^ne^ KHTO, reading: itSh^D K^ r»D1 n3'pn fK iDin ^>»rtm50
nitsvonoDKn oy incn t^dS Vh^d np *i:h n3''pn 'k \x^
Digitized by
Google
Corrections and Notes io Agadaih Shir Rashirim. 739
o^ir^r u'hrMn hk «|innK k^ ^ nan k^k di^d rnoDDK pKB'
-i:w MH., V. KV1D m Dyn ^b^i i^ np ntro ^k 'n "tow^i
nmr jna:r ons^-in p k^k rwM na"pn pK pwDin ^K-ie^nr pra
^K^ i!?BnD oniK ypini oyn n:^-» Sd dk np ncro^ 'oik na"pn
DiD-non Dy *^ nton no *di nnK tvA r^ ima^ Dm "«ra iteS
DV ^33 n^n D^fiW. Perhaps we should read DmiDH instead of
Diomon. See Aruch, s. v. ITD, 2.
L. 392-397. n^n^n— *:ioK^. F., n^'n i6 'w ^a nru hdk *3a n't
ntm Dnapn ^aen* ^:b6 D^aniD vm onvo r^niD nw^ dd^b^dj
DiDK^iK Str 'hoh ny^ o^ncn d^b^dh^ pann nvrh ^tne^
n^i^n ^iiniii poiB' rm 'dk^ihid^d^ 'nx h^ ^r\):M>
The passage is very corrupt. See MechiliOy 61 a 6 and parallels,
and also Seder Olam, c. XXX. MH., nn» has : ni:D^ IDT vh
T\\:hvh ^th^ n^B^a • BnmS D^nB' n^B^a 'ar dithk jtivd^d^ wo» tDVj6
nnOB'S 131 "nf^DUa. Perhaps in our text also the words
nnnpn *3b6 ought to be corrected into niTDB^n ^yih. The last
five words must be corrected after the Mechilta^ Ipn? DJn^yi kS
po^nnn HK JOpnO DHK nn '1D1 DO-nn, for which YS. reads
p^^lian. The word }K33 is perhaps a corruption of ^t<3* See
also CH., I. 6, § 4, n^^i r\y\7o niDBiD idb^ *n^*n kS.
L. 398-403. npya— m*3n. F., nnx nK^vin no 'ai onriD nD*n
apya tn^^ nmy >3K no yT1% etc. (l. 403). See CH., I. 7, § 2, and
parallels. Cp. also Sifre^ 526, note 15, the passage given from
\£;"7W BHIO bj R. Hillei II. (in his commentary in MS.), which is
not to be found in the editions. The knowledge of this fact I
owe to the kindness of my friend Professor Dr. Badt, who com-
municated it to me in the name of Dr. Israel Lewj of Breslau.
L. 403-409. D'ynn-^6«. F., D^^p^ n^B' D^yan« i^ nox
'y^ no D^^p^ p Dn^ nBny 'on Vvh ^^\ hrsmr* *3ai '^b^ no
nn:yi (F. omirs the words naB^: nn^nB^, 1. 405, 6). See ER.
III. 4, CH. ibid. § 3, and parallels, Seder Olam V. and X., and
Pseud- Jonathan £xod. XII. 39, and YS., which form some
parallel to our passiage. The quotation '131 nOB^ nn^yi (Hosea
ii. 17) suggests some Messianic Derasha here which is now mis-
sing, and to which the Derasb of R. Ishmael is opposed. Cp.
CH., II. 9, §, 3.
Digitized by
Google
740 The Jeuish Quarterly/ Review.
L. 410-417. D^3i— ^noioS. F., no^^ n^Torr nn^n m ^jidid^
Dn^M ID njHD ^ UDti VOID naxtr Dipon on!? 'ck c^n^
nryx OK K^K nax^S D^a^^n onx. YS., § 983 (1766). See CH.,
I. 9, § 4, ARN., p. 496, and parallels. YM.Ps. 307a, Cn'tO
^y bxic'* Mion\s^ nKinn hm it ^n^^m innDi njnc *n3i3 ^nooS
K^K naK*^ Dn» 'idi raDiii njns ^ void 'm 'hmnn bo* t6
Dipon ra^E' ^v r^D non td«j idS hhnn^ t6^ Sn^n lor ^^ae^n
L. 416-427. mn— K"!. F., n^n }«do njno '33i3 ^noioS k't
iniK njnn lYapn id nap^ didd njno nv^ db^d 'ow tkd 'i
Kv^ no^i njHB '3D13 ^noiob 'OB' nDp3 noiD niDiD niDDn kddd
^p ^^B^ niDHDn ^D3 *o vm^^^nS nine hdk nnp: hdidd nr®
ODD I^E' noion nSk Sp nonnn ^dd tk h'n htner> nn» didtk
DnDtn D^Dion ^d id^d^ obiyn hd «vrD n^n «^i loiyav nbiD 'nr
T^^D^ l^trotron ^dd ^d ono ^dn^dS n^an 'dk id o*yi
n^3: n^DH ?)» D'DnDH ^d:d nnno nxw kmb^ m-in nhn Sp, etc.
See CH., I. 9, § 4, Merkilta^ 33<fi, and parallels (especiallj
Midrash Tillim, XVIII. 14).
L. 427-429. loy— K'n. loy ^KIB^ ^WICT IDK^. CH. and ^Ve-
cAi7/a ibid. Cp. ibid. Targum.
L. 429-435. ^n^^JH— K^l. F., in quite a different order, as
follows :— inDyr id^ d^didd onvoo ikv^ *d^ 'w ^yocr p min^
ixh^ njnD 'DD1D ^noD^ 'dnd id^ d^d B'K Ipb' d*did U7\^h}i uyporx
nrn^fir nmon pdd vm onvon Sy S«ib'^ ^5r jhd^k oiptDn jn^c^
ID ^DD-tD ^DID^ 'DW ID^ D^D |mK PD^O O^^i^anl DnVO^ {JTIIK
iM ID • oi^D E'^K nr r« 'i«i i"^'3n nx hdidb^ di«d !?kib^ ^y
^n^^yn n^^on now id^ imx ponDi rT'DpnD p^dhod h\!ns;\ See
Mechilta^ 37a. Cp. Nachmanides (or Azriel), and R. Eleazar of
Worms in the np'in p^ to this verse, both of whom have this last
Derasha (433-435) ^n^^yn in»on. Bachaye, to Gen. ix. 4, cites it
from a B^^D, whilst rh\7\'0 (MS. Oxford) has: Jff^'l'O^ nOK pi
oipon 5|« n3^p3 «^DiDD nynD «35r ^D^yx 'oi» tko 'n nsi jkdd
no D^^p^ nUDH KDD3 r\:ip^ (margin niD^D) K*D)DD ini» HK^n
Digitized by
Google
Correctiom and Notes to Agadath Shir Hashirim, 741
*n*^jn. Cp. CH. ibid., § 4 and fpno K^TB..
L. 436-441. Dvn— nin. F., tm^oy n ^n^^jn im^on 'w id^
HK'D npn '131 ^K-iir* ^33 ^nD^» 1^ nsj'v: am nin : o^d nn *:d^
1^ nw3 ant nin 'i» nsn K^^n '■» n^n D^iyn nK Din ♦vn
Dyn 'i^y^ mnixn e^n '^c' idd «)DDn 'ip3 oy. See MecMlta, 63*,
with regard to the nnan Dl and LR., VI. 5, especially the saying
of R. Nathan there. Perhaps in the second part of the verse the
words 5)DDn nmp3 were interpreted to menn the revelation on
mount Sinai, which came after vards. See Pargum. The 310 np?
has here 31 TDD1 amo DHDnjn minn r\yn: it k"i. Cp. R. M. T.,
p. 10a : '1D1 n"! i^K i? nw3 an? mn mo^^a B^'nK^ K^inoa.
See also CH., I. 10, § 1, pn«1 HK^ .IT, to which our text (H>m "l
'131) perhaps refers. See the commentary attributed to R.
Saadyah as above, lyi ant mm y^rh 11W BHTD ^D yi ^HN nny
D^plDDH I^K nTSa D01DD DH HH -©IDil ^IDB'KI IIDH inVI T^Omr
yoe^: mro^ ^KiB^ noKi nnan idd oyoie^ D"nKi ^ayn miay "iddd Kin
OOTK^ D^^wyn IK trrnnn 103 nnan nr yiwj^ i^^ikiv dib^d^i ly^TKa
nnan idd np^i 'x^, Cp. Targum.
L. 442-445. ♦^^D in— ny. F., na^DB^ns^ iy inn iSone^ iy
men nam Onon ♦oe^a (read inn for men?). There is a blank in
the MS.. Probably we must complete here the opinion of R.
Meir in the CH. I. 12, § 1. (Cp. also MT. 10a who quotes
both opinions n^B^I ^Wa^ from KVM 'D nai mB^Kia). YS., § 983,
176*., at the end. In 1. 444 F. reads ^^^D in nK ]^Vn ^l^pn 133.
See CH. ibid. § 2, after which our text is to be completed and
corrected.
L. 445-455. ^jy^i— inv. F., m 'IK n^n niin^ 'i "h 'i 'n '»
lion n^^DK^n nn^n it p^^ ^ifir pa k'i miiD^n ip^ 'hn n^n
o^DiK oriK P3D1 D^non mmn pn^i non^D pa!? "h nn
o^aiiDn 1310 Dipon r\^n^ i:^vo noipob iirn^ ni^ny nyDB^nfc'
3Din i»K3B^ no D^^p!? inK 3113 ua hv nrhv diio^ n:*DK^ n^yra
KnnK^ nD n^K mpio^nn ]o inK inn ninnn:> ^ITi 3ii3 ^y
n3085^nB^ r:D^ ^1^3 nMK^ *d^ Dipon nK^ id n^K iirn^ i^ny Kinc' nyiv
inK 3113 j'^y K^K nn^y t6 noipo^ iitn^ m^ny. YS. I67c, § 984,
VOL. VII, 3 c
Digitized by
Google
742 The Jeuish Quarterly RerietP.
beg. YM.Ps. 58a, quotes this passage (448-455) in the name of
a CmD, and agrees with F. only, HDP nipw^nn JO nriK anoi.
See CH., I. 14, § 1, with regard to nniD^H 1p^, which onr
text has rather shortened. Perhaps we onght to supply here the
passage quoted by SID np7 from K^TW BniD (ed. Buber, 25ft),
which is missing in the editiops.
L. 456-463. n^B^a— ^DK^K. F., inTDP IT "h nn -IDIDH ^DB^
enp3 ^KTB^ ^B^ ini03 n ^D^^n '■» |wtk ^hroi 'b^ ^
^ma ^jeiB^ wnB' npB^a Sk-kt^ Sb^ jnKU n ^!? ^iDBtc k'i ym
^jnDB' n n^B^ rf ^ *-»n Bnpa wn n^B^ d^^i nit Sma n^B^ d"* tit
TO "h nn neiDn ^idb^k an'an pnK napB^ npB'a ')k n*n
nvn^ Dn^ny 'v -p n^B^a DnsyD hb^dpi nya-w pBny n^ i^ n^-o
'yai 'V2 ^D ^y k^m n^a o^oye 'm 'n pn^^iD. YS. ibid, ('y^)— »'"i
1. 459-463). Rashi to this verse quotes something similar from an
m^K. With regard to the JOIK ^Sm, see above 1. 235 reading
perhaps ^T instead of ♦*m. For the Darasha of ♦)D7^n, see Seder
Olam^ c. 8, end. Perhaps he means in general the stay of Israel
in the desert, tending to the same explanation as the Targum of
this verse, so that the real point of the Derashah is missing in
our text. For n'S pHK compare Tanchuma niVD, § 15.
I.. 464-473. an3— na^an. F., htrw^ Dipo ^d3 ^n*^ ne* -pn
:>K-Kr^ niDipo ^^B'a w^vo nn • jnaB^ n''apn «)« n^apn nK pnaB^
«)K '1 '^ '* 'n noK ^XTB'* '3 'D '^ 'K n*apn ^k 'n '3 'd *o )-io*c
S«3 TK ^«nB^ noK Bmp ^oi '3 'D ^^ 'n ') nnina ^nanan ♦ok
l^n Dy pnaB^ rnB' din *:3:> ^b^ now '* 'd 'k n^n khd^ '■» pniB^
onK «)K h\jnerh Dipon 'n id n kvvd dhk ^k dh^ 'w nnn n^y^i
low DipDH) DHNI HV nn mOIK *"3D1 PIIB'^SkD nDI ^KD PK 13 KVVD
TO1KB' DnKD ^n^^yn ne^ i:n k't nn^ na D^^y:3 i^oyo id* hd ^jjhb^^
n)W D^J^y ^ya HT B^N nw no n^an^. B. Eliezer of Worms' com-
mentary ^«-K^n THK «np: n^apH HK HT D^D^ptD nnx pB^D niT HD* ^i^
mown 'n nx pi nn« a'^ Cp. CH., I. 16, § l, and Mechilta, 366.
L. 473-481. h^in T^n— K"T F., np^'iTy nanoD k""i
yn DipDH *D-»n on no ^yni *aniK onk *Dm pa^in dhkb^d
• D^iy *K3 bb D3n n:no tnii odb^i r\p^'i rwtnh 'n -pn rxatn
miD D^ony hddo D^ayi ^*D«o dhk nipnv 'n pn» ^
npny }ni:i onon Sou n\-i n3''pn^ ainx tcnnB^ tb^d3 pn o^non
Digitized by
Google
Correctiofis and Notes to Agadath Shir Hashirim, 743
nr iB'^ io^3D riK irn^ -^r^ npi^ oni:^ ^dk^ ton no jnr *i^K ^3K
Nin -rn pnv 'W r\"^pr\. See Shahhath, 133, and Tanchuma
rhv^\ § 10.
L. 481-493. inDDna— -ID«31. F., *0^ TDD DDH p« DK ':)
*:a DHO^ya onDDH nn • o^i^n *d^d ^Di nD • d^ddh ^> ik-qb^
• D^K^nnn ^y nni« ip^^ni non noi non ^Dinnonfir onx
ion K^i^^pnnB' hdd niK3i nwni^ d^^b^hi nonn niDipn ^y n^K^n i:^pnni
Dyn ^3 r.Ki DxnaB'^o^ tdh!? rhvMn mpnn ppnrr^ in^ vh\
vh\ "pn K^ h^ D^n nK c^aD^i d^didi niyrD ni3a^ on lODn
nnn hk a^tro ^oi D^n ne^ *d noi^ lo^Dnn vh\ D^on pD^noi ^^ac'
tnoDn HK na^K nnKD pB'Dts onnx nx tpnb onoDn • nrn
(?ioiK *in) n^x* «M Dnnn'3 ipHi D^iTaa D^^an -.dio i^dd^
jnDDna lb»S n^B^ no. The meaning of DOno^a is not clear to
me. The copiest of F. indicates his inability to read the word
by the dots.
L. 493-497. n^pnS-^K. F., Dni33 ^n '3K^ Dni3^3 ^«
r^D D ntr Ty \^yor\ D^p^nvn D^nvn on nD i^^ nin«6
nvn wir)KinK^nD3
L. 498-507. n^TD— ^K. F., 1^ px 1^ D^DDJD non ^K '
D^^3K nnan^ |n D«:y^ t'^ d^ub^ in ^k yi n^ye^ n^k
PK i3*D^ SiDy^ nD«^D Dn^ noiK D^^poi Dna «)n3 «ini D^no nnpS
^D5rn nrn dik T\p'^^ ^k33 n« n^iye^ n p^^ya D^^pno nc^
HVVD 'n B1W 'n ^3K ♦D neny ^3«5r ira njry ^mx ynn
n3-»n n'npn ^3d^ nn^nn Ksne^ npnv ne^ ^ifcOD *^ n-pne^ l^iv) ^3
nwa-pn ^3 id. Cp. Koheleth R., V. 13 ; cp. ^wit^, 496.
L. 507-19. VT— KOn. F., 51^« Wvh 1^ B^^ DK D1K KtSn
|ni:i noiK Kin p5r in-»» nyB'3 dik^ iS 3nT niKi3i
^\!hth onptD tnjB^ r\p'i^r\ r\rm i3tr n^nc^D^ v^y men nipn
pn n^3^ r^y d^^ddi V3d ^y men) i3Dini iDmne^ k^x n^nc^n
Ksn ^ns iniBH riK nonp wcni ^noip nr WDnB^^D^yw nioi«i
o«pB^ niB^D^n on n3 owiy no^a • vn d^d t^^DKnc' npnvn
T^ DiK^ tniJB^ iHK or6 IK |noi noiK wn pi iB^D3 riK !?*vn^
V3*y *nB'3 KZD1D inK ^ay npivn K^n n^Ki • oysn nx i3oo i^syo ^^yn
Kinj^ no ^D^ nnK kzd^i!? ik nnn -on d-ik i^ in: ^3«* no i^ pw
OK Dipon TDK 1^ tm nD Koion Kin ynv lovys tdk^ ^k dik
in* ^y D^ *3K onnon hk nKii. YM.Ps. 2576 : fnwn bhto
3c 2
Digitized by
Google
744 The Jewish Qimrt^rly Review.
noioon ikSo^ men n^n^^i ^^^h wn nra onnn^i nnM '^dk npi^^
moo np-rvn ^y n^ioon ix^on p» i^dd no^^i i^^S n^jmen Sy
Kini nin i^pono onon ^dn^di dtudh ^dk^d pi "h tcai p k^
ITS rbn^ niDT naK^ r!?y niK^i nnoc? 01^ me^ na^pn^ 'ik
bn -i3« n^ipr rw5r nr niDt 'oi» nn rnnuy Sd "h hrro^ nrw niDi
^^i^K D^v nitTDi p^o ^^ f^^^o "3^« D'^^y ^^DKoi tni: nm np^'^
v«on b ^y 1^ bno^B' a^jrnfi^ D^^:y niB^B^ jn *kid rn D^no p
naoK' OB ^3pD ^3^33 Hpnv jnom moo ^^vn npnvi 'din n'apm
^N ni^rnon i«^d^ 'oik n^apni iod loip* noKi non 'jb' w ^d3
in^^K ^"y 'OIK Kin pK^ vnoiy b ^y ^ino 1^ hidt ^jtikvo n VTn
TCID ^HKVO IB^i nne^ a-^pni. See below 11. 563-93.
L. 519-530. npivn— yi. F., DnK 7v*rv ok ^fiw i^k'io K3^py 't
1DK iHK po^n^ m^* DK D3 u^ nn mioTn Sya^ oinon
K'n^DB^ oy^ |n nov i3^ nNi^i ooon m^o Knne^ irwa dk n'apn
D^>B^ irvo noi *^p nop ^id^ ik i^ d^b^ dik !?io31 'Tn'n'D
v^Ki 'iB'is'D: K^K ^yiBn Kinn yoipn no^w iok no i^
IB^J TIK ^U Kin I^^KD \hv n^yo. See ^rwcA, *. v. DDHDin and
P^OT, which would mean to be the creditor of the man who had
to levy fines. See Baha Bathra^ 10a. Cp. Ruth R. V. 6, K'n
no^B^a nano Di^n ^m,
L. 530-33. D^iD— nya-»K. F., ppni DnwTDo onan 'n
nK^ni npnvn K^n n''ai on i^ no^^p. See ARN. V. L,
c. 40, p. 60a, and parallels.
L. 533-44. p5r b K^— Kin noi. F., Dp^n D^iya D^Dr mo
PK1 wny D^na od^i i^ 3^n-i^ nnoa jno ':tr apy^ 'r* '3k djt
^na Dm3K^ 1^ noK pi 'ya 'an D-iKn 'ae^ ni3Kn k^ D*!?na
K\n nm omsK hk nn^sB' ^y 1^03 nDtr noi D^n^KD on^^y
Dn-»3K niDtn non^os io^d 5)ki V'"»b«^ ^^^n o-'^^^ JT^^^ ^^^
fn3Do K^K DoyaDn pno non^on royt^vh^ onKn n 'aef
vfi^yoD iD^n K^cr Doyas^ dk noi onoo m Kintr i^^kd i^joy iniK
nipnv pnyi Dipon hk pnniKi VD-na pD^inB^ 103 Dn^ iniD? moy
Dvnv ^KiB'^^ iniDT moy o^ytjn^ dki noDi noD nnK Sy rTai
afDKy. Of course, we must read D1K jno, as in Proverbs xviii.
16. Cp. Torath Kohanim 85r. In YS. II. 6c, this passage is
Digitized by
Google
Corrections and Notes to Agadath Shir Hashirim. 745
quoted from the r\y\ B^'HB^. See ER. XXXIL 2. See also LR.
XVII. 6y and parallels with regard to the emigration of ^C^m
L. 544-63. norrtDH- no^i. F., wn« nnp pian Kip^ noS
onK nr d-ikh oc' 3pjn pnv* oniax p5r»-»n d-ik nu« 'n n.
'na Dniara • D^^n^ Dna ':i^ 'yn 'v» omaK nr br^^ry • pBw»n
nnbai ^mi dohd n^oynS nxi hm apyn apy^ kt^ *^«"» ^^■r y^v
inina nK ^doi i^kh nionon ^3 odd i^d: ijry h\h^ ^pvh nviKi
Dtrn nx ^D^3 iw5r 'm onDC^ ^iy wdd pna 'wi 0^33
*D^ }ny3T«3 3py^ nsn nvD^oa hdt miDan WD^^ n^D^:
^33 row Kin 5)K n'3i nipnv pjni: pK^ rnuK o-na pi-ir
jnDy ip^n KiTJt nuK ^ p^ama i!?nDn na \^'2,\>y^ ^"^
Kan D'?iy^ iniK rnsn^ wny o^^ni od^i 1^ y^ny^ onK jnD '^tr
nnKn oy. YM.MP. 176^, n*n ip 3py^ ^y DK^n W Deo n''iy
• DonD 3py^i DO^ nnsy^ ^ik-» vn iry nry ^y ^n^ >iki
ie^ ^p^p 3pr^ ni:nnKm W)h nviKi vn nwiK^Knn niD-»an
^^1ao So: ^nwa' i»^ riKi ':i^ iwjr rfan 5|k wo^ ^^03
Kin Ti-»3 QipDn nK DoniKi wdd mna n^w oe^n. In
the rest it agrees with F. See GR. LVIU. 4. Perhaps we
ought to read in 1. 645 D^pnv ynnK instead of DnUO.
L. 568-93. TiaDi npnv— /n. F., dik 03^ n"n^ ^ i^ctd y"-»
l^n pn33D vn k^) • i3in \h wn^B' pr on^ p3i i^^ p3^*n )^n»>
^Kwi tnn3 T^Dn n33D onD nnK nM) idi^3 d^^ib^ k^i pnns
• T»1V ♦JD^ KDnn nK n33^ Kin pK pn piDIKI OV ^33 1D1^5r3
V'^rs • v:d^ n3^inn nmD3 iod n-»D3K tdk ^3 idk 13*3K 3py* pi
n33D n^ne^ Ninn B^Kn ptrD^ ik3 1^ p3^^n vne^ piK b djdt
^Dy 13^ d^k6 n^3 8r iniK dosb^dd dhk no^ on^ -idk i^Dn riK
ran K^cr ny • nin 1^ \t\^ i^Dn inKiB' |V3 iDy i3^n • i!?Dn *:dS
vnBT |n • fK3^ D:3n tdki n^nn idi^B'3 Wi 1!? n* hk i^Dn db^d
n33b T^Dn nxT nD noK • n*V3 3Bn* iniK pKm pDiy ^th r3«n
iiy V3*pB' K^K pB^n: K^ in k^ • i^t> 3*^n Kin 5|k K^ni nr jtk
1^ KO01 i^Dn nK n33D Kin nsiB^ urh i-udk • nrn ni33n ^3 nK
^)kb6 k^ 5|k • iniK Dm33 K^ DnKi iDi^3 "h ^KiBn DOB^i pin
pnDB^ Dm n^v3 3B^v iniK |n<n i:3B^^ i3^nB' i^*k ^-^n • idi^b^3
n3i3D 3niK Kin i3B^ nr nK i::3b^ i^k piDiK vni • ini33BnD k^
h:h K3^ ntn b^k^ Dia ^d t^d ^ uniK wiyvB' D^nD irsn i^Dn ^>y
Digitized by
Google
746 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
1^^ pa^^nn tniK b iS^nnn • i>xh ynpo n'^r^x; jnnn nrn nuan
DipD ^ p"m Kin no) • id onry j6 no^ poiKi dh^^d Vy x^r^tityo
i^^DK npnv fni3n id • nnto 'n^ thd^ ddbidi 7\p^^ 7\v\v 't:^ r\sn
naioDH ^vM> men nan^oi vdw^ wn it: onnrai htdp n^n n\T
im^o npivn ^y n^iDon iK^n i*» • 1^0 yiD^^i i^*^ nionifin Sy
Dm • nin 1^ p^no Dnon ♦dk^di • Dnon ^dn^ pa i!?in k^jk
no nSn: hid? n3fc6 r^y men n:n:5r ^31^d n-'Dpn *»^ piow
• iD^D n*3 nnx nTay 01 now ni^rnsn ^y n^iooni • inWn^
nn • vT\^y\^v ^d 1^ Sno^ nn« niDT ^ok'DI • no nnoy qSx K^ai
nK ^okd Kinc'i jnw hm;:' npnv • ^dh na^D n^iptr nco^r nor
on ^HD D^no vn p iS^^k d^^p nire: poo ^ nivo ny^ • o^^^n
^^vn npnvi nom nopni • i^tsn ^y ib ^inonjr D^ntr D^^:yn niSTDj
noKi non '^ or bn n^ojr od ^npo ^idod npnv |m:ni • moo
1^ ^nxvo o )3 yyn ^.>( m^yniDn yih^h "low nopm • 733 lonp*
mpni in^^ n^ hv "»tDw Kin pc^ rnwiiy b ^y 1^ ^ino^ niDT
K^n ncw^ nnK niDti D^ye^ni hikd ycri nnoy nc^c' ^o ibid
p* ^d!? 1^ pK ox Dn^'iy^ 1^ n^:oi o^iya nwyTiDn 1^0 nnDyo
piv ^'n DnnnK i?>}^ i^vk ikd k^ dkk^ poo iD-m d'k k^k n^n^^
npiv 5|nn ofir DniwS nivon inKi r^p^'in nnK 5)i-n 5|nin pnv
niDDI npiV D^^n KVO* noni. See the quotations from the YM.Ps.
above, 11. 507-19. The word b^^^h^^ in the text, (I. 583), would
suggest that our present text in 11. 507-19 is incomplete. See
Pesikta Rabhathi, 127 a : IKDn HK naD K'n 1DK l^intD 'n HK 103
lS "pOVn vh^ ny, and cp. parallels.
L. 593-601. npivn DDtrtD— i:>VO pi. F., Dm3K3 irvD pi
^KK^ npnvn ^ bp idk' noi rncrn Dn3iyn nK^3p^
0^y3nK V33 OD^ in^iK^n iiyi tb^k pxn ^d hk o Dipon
nK^ riK n3K^ n"3pn pi '131 vnyn* o D\n^Kn in3*tr iiyi • nx^
np-ivn ^y k^k n3n5r: vh nc^ ^ new bc^ npiv ^ nnD ^nai
'^^ pin ^yi ^KiB^ nv roDB^Di ne^ M npiv '2V pin ^
riD^D pi in wi 1113 pi ^KiB'* Dy vddtdi ne^ 'n npix
niK^ on^^y i^o^ id^b^ pin ^1 npivn hv vhn )T)D2^ nh k3B^
nplVI DDB^O (see 1 Kings x. 9). Cp. Midrash Mishle XIV. and
TK''in I.
L. 601-21. DIK^— in Sdi. F., b I^^DK n"}) Ill bi
D11D ^B'jKi ^non in vn i^k i3k^ 'nnn: D^n in pK d^ DnnnnD
Digitized by
Google
Corrections and Notes to Agadath Shir Hashirim. 747
hv «^K Vra Dnnm vh niTayn ^d DTa nsx' npnv t^y
npyr t^n onoa • dhdd ^non ^b^^k^ p^ao • npnnn k^ }V3W oy n^
n^ o onoa iidkh nan no na-) ^d x'n }^n!?i nan
npiv me^y^ ivi n^i ttnatr *d hk itdh n^ npnnn «^ |va«i ^:y
D^W naK^ nv3^ d^b^ ^^30 tdik «in pK^ D^iyn |d nnx id^l^
'^DK • D^B^ K^i w^ rwh ':b^ iniK p-TDD p^N fn^ anDD Diponc^
'JB' nipnv N^» Dy^a^ b pk D^pnvn ^3k r^^^^^ P^« l«^"» ^'"^^^
nep D^ytnn od31 nivon pi npivn id D^ynB' pw fnwi pin pnv
• non ntD pKn^ p k^k ion nio«i '^^ nrmrsh niviDn
D^n^K p« ^Di D^^oyb "h^ nK jni: ^^kb^ *3id no D^yBnn piow pi
pynr pw D^n^K Ipb^ vwib^ Dn^ jni: ^:»i on^ p^^ ^13^
DnK^ t^no }VD^:^ pOD^nB^. See Synhedrin, 103A, with ngard
to nD^D (whi«h passage is omitted in F.), and NR., IX. 24; GK
XXVII. 3, B^'tA n3-» n31 ^n, inferring however another Derasha
from it.
L. 621-27. nin3— -101K «in pi. F., 13 nM^ vh ^d dd» K^nsi
^^B^ HK D^^pD nnK nv^3 pKn 3-^0 imK ^in^ k^ *3 3^n3i jr3«
TDD3 nn nipnv tno nB^iy nnxi d^ds: i^ }ni: dk k^k D^3inD
rnnn ojDn 1!? nn: k^i npnv *^ in ^ no^n oy »3^ dki i^ po^^p
'^DD: Kip: 13^ pKn 3-)pD tr3K ^nn> N^ ^3 ':B^. Here is a long
lacuna in F., some page being wanting in the MS. Cp. NR.
XXII. 8, and Tanchuma nOD, § 6.
L. 627-44. 1^ 1^— jmv '1 The MS. min TID^n (in the
Bodleian in Oxford) 175A, to Deut. xv. 1 1, has the following
passage : nniB^ 1D1D pnn3 K nivo nBnyn >w I's |n:r Y»
mnD ^3 sn'si pmno n^3S neio mno nnK mvo ^D3Dni nin3
npnv3 p nn* '3 • h^'oh nnen k^b^ n3 |n^^ nne "p^ ^« nnsn
jn^^ inv jnian '*dS • \6 it r3 nbs ^iid^^ nnine ki tn^^ nmno k
i^K niT ^nBn pnpi^n p k^i r:ni:n i© ikbt;b^ hih^ nmini n3B^
inv '^D^ n^yo^ n^3n ^y3 in noo^ ^:y ^ i^ noo!? ki n^yo^ k
ninD K''i • n3innn vh\ r\yvhv 11^ hbw ni.i^ nKiini n3B^ jn*^ dik
1^13 D^iyn h:h k^k 3nDD Kin 13^3 lovyS k^ npiv tni^n ^3 nnen
1^ nniD ^3K ^3y^ ii^ nnne dk .iin idk nnen mne o '^nsi
HK 1^ nnD* '^ lS^3B'3 . D^iyn ^3^ oniDi Dnxra mini D^oB^n
Digitized by
Google
748 The Jctcish Quarterly Rpview.
^:iDD nono OK npnv ]t\h d« d^n i^ tdk^ dki 'iai 310.1 n^w
iDnnon nan ^'U\o u^k ion vwr nan nnt^ lovyn bno^ ^0331
jnonno ]y'i^ D^Dyoyn lyc^ td^dio ponntxr tprni cvin ij?b^ cpoio
SK"«r* ijro inn njDD"o^ '^hdi b^riB^ miTD nc^ '^hdi td^dio p*K
5|*D^o tt:: u^kb' Ttn^ nioixni mv nbnaoi nni« tnrusr nB6 1^:
13"1DS^- YM.MP. 123a, tnijn ^D nnen mno q^i^bti i^gf cnno
1D1D nyi D^yn 5)1do nnan feS k^k 3^dd wn loyy^ fc6 njnv
o^tDB^n riK nniD nriK oyb it nnno dk nnsn mns 'tD«j "p^
bS 3^DD n? KVDJ 3ion nviK n» n^ 'n nno* 'jb' D^oe^a inin^
OK |mj DK ^D3: nK on lono dik iojo ^ki • lovybi ^h^2 D^nyn
per prm 8win lyts^ 5)^did o^k lonc' no hys^ dtk ^sno^ • d^:j6
■p Di^D r^nao i^k psnoD p^KB^ DO^nani D^^na d^ix6 psnoo
Ttnn n:Bn njB' ^D3 iov n^nao ioni nniK prnaB^ ^mn hvas^ i^a
jnn* noD nxi • n^iK^ ^kib^ 1^: td tj^Dio o^k traa o^kb^ nrn
nn: t^btd ^6 npnv nna dk mm SrriD jnu o^kb' hdd np-rv oni:^
IDD *D OIK nn pi niK3V 'n noK nnrni ^lODn *S 'jb^ i^ dk o
1^ laan: iToi Ssn. MHG. V., u^kb' b noiK itj^K }3 pjnDT 'i
^31 «l^Sno Kin nn iDnooB^ Dipo S33 iDiao no^ npiv jn^^ cj^did
penDD |nB^ *d^ iprm B'Knn ij^b' »)^^no ia*K idhdo i:^kb^ Dipo
va^n^ ^D^ irn n^*mn pD^^no k^i penoo kS p*3an r^^^ ?n
jnraa k^ D^jxn i3 ^i^^no la^Ki tt« o^k Trnni ne^no K^n nitaj
KV101 1^ *ivo KV10 nnKB^ ny nB^ 'oik K3''Bn n^n ^31 pD^^ k^
n3ioi Di^3 r3Bn* t:3 nsny niiKB' np^'i ii3y3B' tniiB^ no nnw
Di^ npnvn nBw n>m ':b^ D^iy3 nn^ nnK. See CH. VI. 11,
§ 1. See also K130 to Tanchuma^ B. 62a and 6, where the same
passage (with some varinnts) is given from a Tanchuma MS. in
Oxford. See Abboth III. 7 and IV. 9, ARN. 4U and Shabbath
1516.
L. 644-47. nioasno— pOI YM.Is. 18. See iS'ynAcrfriw, 139a.
L. 647-48. npnvn— pool. After npivn the word D1^ must
be supplied after Is. xxxii. 17. See NR. XI., about the end,
npnv wy^ jnoB' Di^n ^na.
L. 648-702. npTV— Kin nnB'. We give here the following
extracts from the MH., which will not only show us the verbal
emendations to be made in our text, but also the proper arrange-
ment of the various Derashoth which are, as will be seen,
misplaced in the MS.
Digitized by
Google
Correct iom and Noten to Agadath Shir Hmhinm. 749
riM '7\ >\^pD n^tra nxtsni ^ hvon *d k^d^ ^yioa 'Oik Kin nn
^p^ts^KH TD^K3 n:i06?o inK HonD Kin HDDi HonD niK'? K'lipa ^yo
K^3 no)'!^ niK^a snipa ^yio dk hdi loini ^p onan i6ni niDno
^iVD^ panon ^yor roa hk^i d^K'i^ ni«D c^m ^i^k d'^cjtd ynr
na«K^ K^K npiv niro^ n>a hnt k^ct dik nn • hddi hdd nnx bv
n:n3 i^xD r^y p^yo na d^idh^i i*?!*!! oy nxviDi n^ lino ly^o
nwo B^Dni tf?H dSktd ynv x^a ntsne nr^a ^yion n? no mD» n'l
K^3 nann piddi hdd nn« ^y ^yo^ pianon ^yotr t\d2 hk^i D^tri^i
n^na piddi hdd nn» ^y nn?^ pnnon mi i^ks v'>y p':>yo ynv
imm^o no^ nx *dd D^yen^ kdik n:noi mnan n» nnn k^ib' npnv
tD3B^^ D^:n3 rn r^ai Kin nK^:o p DKna p tn:inn 'nan Dcna p
tno HD^ nB'^D p ik^ OKI n^^ p hdt ok hd^ n^n jii ^nn
K^i nrnon ^:3 inna^D k^i n:no^ d:dx5' dii le^a t^d^ non npnv
KV^ l^Dn Wk 1K31 j^iD ivapn: i^ lantDv: pr thk^ pit i^ wm
pm 1^ tnj K^i i?on riK na^a k^ ddo ipik jn^ 'dki i^k^ ODnan
nrnb i^ d-»i3 dik ^ pn-ir pynr dak pK i^vk d^ks dhk iwy
K31 npnv jno n^n b^k' dik non npnv ino idi • i^on Wk ninK
r»D^^ ni3r)iDn ^y n^ioo kihb^ ik^o i^y nrai nnion nTsy n*^
law nnnan ^3d^ noyi k31 npnvn ^ n:ioo Kinr ik^o yo^ wdd
iniK D^iy h^ i3n-» vas^ 'ok onoo noyi oaaa nn ni^^n ^dk^d i^
naiDD KinK^ ik^d yoe^ nu npn» ino )b zr> noyniD i^y nnraK^ c^kh
yoK^ nwB^ HTnyn ^y n^in n\sn^ np^'s b^ ^di 'dk niayTien ^y
K^ni KN1 pOD ^{T nwB' npnv O) 'OK npnvn hv naioo kihb^ yho
on^x^ nan n'apn yoc^ ih rhnrws^ Kin *Kna n^nn b^w me e^a
laann '3B^ ip^V b 13 ya* k^ m^yTion hv naiooB' iK^n ^y itai
bvprin 1T3 B^B^ DiK i^DK ^DD ^HKVO nHB^ m^D iny^p nDKn
IK^o i^y B^^ DK ':^ 1^13 ^y 1^ nSin po^a npnv {no i^ b^i nn^ay
■»ni in !?ai • inyne -iok»i wan^i itb^ dik^ n^an^ 5|^k ^ao nnK f^D
K^B^ ^i3on in p3K^ Dn^^y onnno pn nra npiv jno n^a n^n kI^b^
•aB^ Kan o^iyn pi nrn o^iyn fo naK la^D^ npiv jno n*3 nnsT
r^^B' b K^K n3K t6 D^^onon pi pK3 DiKn nm nan ^a kti
pi Dnvon 131 npnnn k^ p*aKi *ay in 'aB> np-rv jno pu nn^n
OB' npnv jnD p^3 n^^ k^b' ^'3B'3 k^k n3K k^ i^i3 aia »)K nno^o
noi npnvn km no ioi^ o^yBnn t»i laB' n3K^ nvab d^bid ^30
vo^o npi'^ nBV K^ ^K-iB^ i^D 3KnK D^iyn jo n3K la^eb d**^ jn
Digitized by
Google
750 n^e Jeiciah Quarterly Review.
Dotr B^^^ 1^ 13X13 i3*D^ niyy cn^ y^o imiyo y3DB^ k^ he)^ i*p3
nx pi lovy Sy B7)a!? k^ D'^3y^ n^nh ny3D fc6i nipc^ K6r n333
nn^a npnv ino k^ D^non pD^ D3*a hm «^ h\n^ ikditbo kvid
npnv K^j< oyo pxi i3^^n qiid^ oyoD n^-icr 13^ Tnin 'nv 'n ^hh '7ff
imrw ono nnsry dk Dsibx m d«3 ^3k ^n 'Diki npiva oyo mo '36^
ono ^n^nsTii o? oyoD 'oiKi ^^nl3al nx nH5^ ikv3 n^nnni «m
K^S' KVio n« pi n?iV3 tsyo 3io oe^ npnv kSk oyo ptci i^nn :>Da
PKI oyo cnpD^ on*? mxi 'xr npnv k^k |orr *d^3 n^i33 jr6 moy
iAni npivn «m P3t3p oi npiv Dy oyo aio 'xr npiv n^ oyo
DiK nv nT^K3 n3ni3 ^3^y2 km n3Dp »^» n^n3 km:' nna^^^D 'non
nontD i3*Ki r\^h^ ik d^e^ ik ntsnD ik id^k ik y^o iTnn^ jni3
|n3B^ fDip K^ ^y IDC' ^iD^^ ryn non no *3i • idk' on^^y h\ci^
nme'D y^nn iV3iDn3a nvio hk pi niD^on jik ^dxs' ^D3 idc' noi
1^ 1DK ovyv nnK no ^k^31^ tdik ^^nn i3nnD yoe'i oi^nn iniK
TmviK \rh nno o^Dny d^kdv D^a^yn dvikd Dn^3nK' i^ a^oy
IKom i^y noK'^ oSd kd^o in^ 'XS' Di^nn riK KBin ♦^k jniN D3nDi
iV3iDi33^ nvy K^B^D n\n pnvn ^Koitrjinyn ^y n^yn *di pns npivi
3r»3 I^D^IDD n^l33K' h^'W^ HKIB' ^D^ K^K DlpO ^r IWIE' ycnn
P^^m vnnviK w^ inK nno i^d ^kx'* ^y omb ^^35^3 it r(t^ iK^B^n
!?Mnni Di'pnn w^ inK nDC' cnn -Kry D*3tr nrw^ • cnn le^y D'3B' jnV
'DK vnnviK *3D^ D^^jyn pon npyv !?ip yoK' i^ imo^D ^y b^^on^
inD3TD py3in n^^3ntr D^^^y pon ^ip i^ noK yoiB' ^3Ktr ^ipn nr no
K^n 'OKI KD^D n3y D^^3y jn noi npiv km no 'ok nyi py 13 nD3D3
mn Tp^^i '^on ^\p7\z id*?© n*3^ nno3 K3K n Kn3-) ^33 km kt
niv n>o nKtn n3non n3i3 ^3k p»no h^ (? poon) ponn ^i^k 'dk
1V31D133 piOK 1^ ^D3 K^DE' p ^p KD^O D1D3 KH^O liy f HO nD3nDn pDDl
D^3K^ iniK b T^ 013 >o yen n"3pn 1^ 'ok iio T\y^ KniD^o kd^d
nioiK ''W^ noi 'om ^p Dn3n kShi n^c^ye' npiv K^n vih^ enn iw
nnK ^y nyc' ^3 npnv penyK' h^-yo^ x\'p^'i Vi^i jnb nbn3 D^iyn
K^K ^KTB'^3 m3yB' K^ nycnn dhk niD^03 kvio jik pi noDi hod
Xsh 'OK KM oyo nnK iiy 'oiki K33no on pi le^y vm^ np'n ni3T3
• niD^on riK n^3 m^oynK' K>n 11^3 le^yb 1^ ^ir^ nnK n^ nivo my
^^ K^n JinK nDn3n V3K ^k i^j'y noK^i r3K i3T35r n3-»3 IT nn«
nMtr 13^VD K^ni 1^ inv pnv^ r^^rw 'okh ne^yc' npiv it oyo *3k
pnv^3 ^3K ^3^ -IKO OIK HK TI3 Ml 'OIK KM Dm3K3 V3K0 h^il
ni^i3 ^^ nn niKo !?i3 o iy Si3i ii^n i^i e^^Kn *j-i3^i 'oik kih
Digitized by
Google
Corrections and Notes to Agadath Shir Hashiritn, 751
vh\ vsK^ 3^^n Kini Y2\^h new nr D« noi 'om ^p onann nm
D^^^n HK S^DKon nrn D^iyn nw^o Sio^^ i^ ona ^h inv van hm
The waj in which the varioas clerical errors are to be cor-
rected la easily seen, and there is no need to dwell on them.
We shall now try to give parallels and extracts from other MS.
to each Derasha by itself. L. 648-62, IDB^— nnK'. See Toratk
Kohanim 27a, for a parallel. The sentence relating to SKHM (1-
653-58, riDDI n03 — awriK) is misplaced here, and must, according
to MH., be transposed after the words n^DK^n ODD, \ 671. Cp.
CH. I. 5, § 2, Pesikta K. 160ft, Synhedrin 102ft, iTH pnil 3KnK.
'1D1. L. 662-71, n:oe^n— «V10 nnw p). This passage is quoted in
YM.Is., p. 9, from which we give here the most important correc-
tion. L. 665, Toy fc6i (niy); 1. 670, iD^K \n\^7\ ntriy om; l.
170, r\iyyo \t^; 1.671, 7h)n^ ton (n!?na px); 11.671-689, p:oi
— n^in npnv. YM.MP. I2ia, 7\p'i^ ^u Donn npnv emo
vncr on ^*y 'oik Kin pe^ nn^ niD^o ^3pB> i^ noia K^n ic^ new
niy DnS iok w^vp ra^ *no ny 'oiki ^ktb^ ^y onytsvo D^fcrnan
fv m3^o }niK narcr nvD^o mz' Dn^ b^ iBoy ny kst oyo nnK
n^orn Dne^ no^ ^b' iniDta |v ti nn^n no? noi ijry hid^di
^ap^i nD^D D1D1 no noy^ 'ok nna Sd idb' n^Ko Dipon pw
n^B' DOio^n nKD nnK ^a^pi nion nx; h\xw nK nnyr^i niD^o
o^^p iiy niii idk on toy no nis^oa nnK njB' vsk nw nsDB' inDta
l^oKnB' nivo mB' n^a vna^ ib^ niD^ n oyo nnK -iiy n^
n oyo vaK3 po^'iB' naoxn n ^3K tS nnn nDian "b 'oki V3K3
)B^ HK pny anioi '^b^ no nVk vo^o npnv3 nB^ ^di nBW npnvn
D^yBH^ 5)K Kn ni3^on "h ihkb' new n^ioxn Ksn nD ni.i 'dk
n^in r\p^^. See Ahodah Zarah, 8ft and 9a, "I'yD XXX. and LR.
XXIX. 2. We shall accordingly read in 1. 678, HD^O p^ nor
see also GR. LXY. 16, with regard to the merits of 1B^*
See CH. II. 7, about the end, pn^ anxB' nanx 'OK |ni^ 'n, etc.
L. 689-702, r\p^^ ^ ^K^JT pi. SeeER. XXX. 24; 1. 691,
read ^0300 instead of ^3D:D.
L. 702-8, pKn— K'n. See YS. II. 138a, quoted there from
Dn^B'n TB^ Brno ; cp. NR. I. 9. Perhaps it was one of the Dera-
shoth in Pesikta K. D^S'^B' 'C
Digitized by
Google
752 The Jewish Quarterly Revleft.
L. 704-706. nn:o— K'-r. YS. Md., omitting tlio words O^iraDt
ronesi nwnpJ. Perhaps we should re^d ponODI ni:np. See
Si/re 14a, PK. 9a and Aruchy s.v, KDPOD and IDp^ or, perhaps,
D^p^i^Di nunn; cp. CH. IV. 8, § 2.
L. 707-13. nODI nOD-K'T YS. t^iV/., in a shorter form;
1. 707 read pbaptD instead of TD^pO; cp. Shahbath 33*.
L. 713-18. mn— «*i. YS. ibid.
L. 718-23. D.Tra— X"!. Omitted in the YS.; 1. 719, read
nxon D^DIK^ (instead of lOn 'h).
L. 723-42. 'W niC'J^— K^n. YS. ibid.y in a very shortened
and defective form. For the hetter understanding of those lines
as well as of some of the preceding Derashoth, we give here also
the following abstract from MH.:— HK T^ yn^H 'n Itxn K^T
3pxr^ riDK ]T\n 'x^ ij^3k nni2v6 ]jr^x^ non m nonn nw nnan
iraK nc'i^ non niDT3 fc6« rr^b n^iK la^nn: kVi Drra«!? non
K)n '*3K DiTiaK new non riKon trmK!? nom 'ow Kin vbjn om^K
DnK Kiax^ nn Dne^ nn n'lK^ n^apn ^k niDtKn ^ djd rrn
ny naro n^ai ono thk noy fc6i E3^ij6 onnaK iob^ lyi prtnn
• 'n DBa iop^i PQTD wr pn 'xr vysh naro noai omsK «ib^
'x^ naioa wa^ noy wn pn'p ncw^ non riKon crowS nom k^i
rjaS Toy «in apjr nsors^ ion k't • lanoa jn kvo 'n 'idk hd
D^avm 33131 D*DiD3 tniK pi^3o 711^3^1 nitDiK vnn? niOIKH f 3 i33nn!?
D13 Kin 5)DV nKw non nKon onDiK^ nom ^"i • ni"OT33i D^-nD3i
• n^y niK^ ^3^^ 13 5|DV 3pjr nnSn n^K '^e^ Dnvo3 ntho ^ita*^ iS
^*n3 i^DK^ TO^o K^K cmon n^33 V3K 3pr T\H \^:m Kin K^ni
nsonj^ non nKon d^oik!? nom k't • vhk hk djido nsn Kin r3K
pK^3 Tn«^o ^ ^^^ TO3 '38^ in^prn hv djd nNn Kin ■n^'»o
mn 13 nKw non riKon d^oik^ noni k't • n^prn ^k nnaoi onoD
1DK1 ye^^K ^K D^3K^o H^n hneo mn p85^ in^rnK ^ oys nsn Kin
Sy33 zm^h i^ni i^cr kiotit3 iin^ ^dj inrnKi nr ^^ino n^nKn i^
'iB' Dnvo!? narui jnoie^ nisSo n^o^j nyy nniK3 pry '"^ 3i3r
p \tH ^13 IK D^r»3 ^nc' nKn *dd nyiin S»v» "KrK3 'n tdk n3
nM Kin nij^3 ^b^^k ibw tdh nKon dwk^ noni k't • 'wi i^vr
Tn3 OD^ n3itrn Dn^B^ k^ no ^jdo n''iK^ n''3pn ^k n'lK hv oys
non riKon d^oik^ noni K'n • od^ no^^ n3iB'n nira nr^K ibw^
niKDon pi3 fcny pnc' ion Kinoi orb nKon n^n Kin inny n'lKe^
Digitized by
Google
Corrections and Notes to Agadath Shir Hashirim, 753
]7w nyeo k^k "pa no ^di on^trxn D^^iy ona ivm^c^ ni^vmoi
K^ani UB' DiptD iPPin r"y n ■nayjK' Dipo in>3n pitDi« ini« \*y\i
*jn^ "^1 ntDi i*p Dnan nni • inain ton imar n«VD3 ni^nn n»
nom fcc^n • noDi noa nn« hv Dn>«tDn n j^a«n in n idt>k^ tnaio
DD^D D^>n DDsn^K 'HI D^pmn Dn«i '3B^ nrDB^a paTn^ \rh D-ia
DVn. See PK., pp. 12, 13 and 14; Baha Bathra, 106; Taw-
cAwwa KB^n ^3, § 8, and apy, § 3, and ynt 11«, 3rf, the passage
quoted there from the liHD?^ (cp. Jellinek's Beth Hammidrash
V. 162). See also Mechilta \b, with regard to nirj and D»ian
7\y\^r\ ^anp. Cp. also Rashi to Amos iii. 12: nana ^n«vo «"n
^yaa cmn^ nW a«n« ja nnn« pya hod n«Da ^vr i^«o 'i
n^ DiK i^tD mn ta eny pg^nai n? ^^no n>n«n |npy Nn^« aiar
^fcnfi^ ^n^«a cn-nS.
L. 742-43. niDtD — riB^ pi. Here, probably some proof from
D^fcOai is missing. See TK'^nn I. ; cp. YS. I. 24a ; see also Jeru-
shalmi Peak 15a, mm ^ nmiVD ^D ^333 n^piB^ n'ai npnv.
L. 743-72. ni^^p— IHDI. See for the whole passage LR.
XXXIV. 11, and YM.Is., pp. 229 and 237, from Bmo or m:.r\
\if7W, The most important corrections are, according to the latter,
1. 756, ^ 3 K ntDI 03«); ibid., 1 3 DD « (D3^), and 1. 757, IHD D^3D IIDHH.
L. 744, npnv ^3ni3^ niaia np^^ ^yaio. Read also, in 1. 771,
npnvn |o (D^p^nvn).
L. 772-80. oSiy ^Ka— pniin. YS. 176rf, § 985 (omitting,
however, from \r^ivh — K^*T). (For Derashoth of an opposite
tendency see NR. XXI. 16.)
L. 780-83. T«^T^ — K^n. YS. ibid., according to which we
have to supply the word "1385^ after |nw, 1. 783, and so we have
to supply niDIK after the word ^«12^, 1. 781.
L. 783-84. VKW ^th—^"^. Omitted in YS. See CH. I. 16,
§ 1. 'hv «aD riKC' 5i« y^'K^ai, etc.
L. 784-88. p(i^^ry-'^:!;r\v pjk. YS. ibid,, YM.MP. 29b, cn^no
'x^ no3 jroaoDo d^3dS i^ae^ D^oaK^n mw i^k ^^ys^ "^^^srw pjk
nnK K*^i Dna n^ioK^ nnK «^k n''an -^^ «^ no^ niDO nKDa
ntDtD nKDa ':8r hdd no© ^ n^oeiD nnK 'dik -irr^« 'i nyacro
Digitized by
Google
754 The Jewish Quarterly Remew.
DOT ^nan niKD ^nc' ^ "^iry notD ^ n^oe^ nnx noo ^ n«Dm
pe^ntD D^3D^ hdSt p^^^ n^D.noom D^^ai yaiw. See Yyo XXII.
Cp. Rashi, Amos iii. 12, rTHK^ ^VT DHiD >ai ^ 1D6W ^TiPtDBn*
'm nilDB'O "THK IT CHDO. The passage is also quoted by R.
Abraham b. Moses Maimon from the ^"JW CniD. See Epstein^s
0*Tn *n?K, p. 71, and especially his important note, pp. 79 and 80.
L. 789-91. HD^— nnip. Supply in 1. 790 inn after r\yy\ ;
instead of ne^ in 1. 791, read IIVD. See CH. I. 1, § 5.
L. 791-95. hSd— X^n. See Yoma 38a.
L. 795-98. nyDK'n— ^''n. In Deut. xxxiii. 21 and 1 Kings
vii. 3, we read J1DD1 pDD instead of psv. See YS. I. 263a. Cp.
CH. I. 17, § 3, at the end.
S. SCHECHTEK.
Digitized by
Google
Phih on the Contemplative Life, 755
PHILO.
CONCERNING THE CONTEMPLATIVE LIFE.
(The Suppliants, or the Fourth Book Concerning Virtues.)
1. — I have now spoken of the Essenes who followed with zeal and con- M.471,
stant diligence the life of Action, and so excelled in all, or, to say what
after all some bear not to hear said, in most particulars. And therefore I
will presently, following the due sequence of my treatise, say whatever
is meet to be said about them that have embraced contemplation,
though without adding aught out of my own mind in order to exalt
them unduly, as are wont to do all the poets and composers of tales in
their dearth of noble examples. But I adhere simply to the bare truth,
before which I know well even the most eloquent tongue will be weak
and fail. Yet must I face the struggle and strive to master the task.
For the greatness of these men's excellency must not be a cause of
dumbness to them that hold that nothing noble should be hidden in
silence.
But the purpose and will of the lovers of wisdom is discovered in
their very name and title ; for they are most fitly called healers,* male
and female. Either by reason of their professing an art of healing
more excellent than that which is found in cities ; for this heals men's
bodies alone, but that their souls also, when overcome by diseases
difficult and hard to heal, souls smitten and undone by pleasures and
lusts and sorrows and fears, by forms of avarice and folly and injustice)
and all the countless swarm of passions and vices : — ^for this reason,
or because they have been educated by nature and the holy laws to ]^f ^ 472.
worship the true Being, which is more excellent than the good, and
simpler than the unit, and more primitive than the Monad.
And with these men, whom is it proper to compare of those who
make profession of piety ? Shall it be those who honour the elements,
earth, water, air, fire ? Things to which some have attached one
surname, others another, calling fire Hephaestus, I trow because it is
kindled ; and the air Hera*, because it is raised aloft and uplifted on
high ; and water Poseidon, perhaps because it is potable ; and the
' The Greek word Therapeut® means both "healers" and "wor-
shippers."
' The writer's puns on the names Hepbaestas and Hera cannot be repro-
dnced in English.
Digitized by
Google
756 The Jetmh Quarterly Review,
earth Demeter, because it seems to be mother of all things, plants and
animals. Albeit, these names are the inventions of shallow teachers ;
and as for the elements, they are soulless matter, which of itself cannot
stir, but is subjected by the artificer to all kinds of shapes and
qualities.
Shall we then compare those who worship the finished works of
creation, sun, moon, and the rest of the stars, wandering or fixed, or
those who adore even the entire heaven and universe ? Yet even these
came not into being of themselves, but by the hand of some creator
perfect in his knowledge.
Shall we then compare those who honour the demi-gods ? Yet surely
this at least is worthy of actual ridicule. For how can the same man
be both mortal and immortal ? Not to mention that the very source of
their being is open to censure as being tainted with that youthful
incontinence, which men impiously dare to attribute to the blessed and
God -like Powers ; when they declare that these beings who have no
part in any passion and are thrice-happy, were filled with mad lust for
mortal women and so chambered with them.
Shall we then compare the worshippers of rude idols and of images ?
Yet the substances of which these are wrought, are stocks and stones,
things quite shapeless up to a little time before ; the stonemasons and
woodcutters having severed them from the masses to which by nature
they belonged. And, moreover, their germane and kindred portions
have been turned into pails and foot-baths, and into certain other vessels
of dishonour, subservient rather to the wants fulfilled in darkness than
to those fulfilled in the light of day. For to the rites of the Egyptians
it is not well even to allude ; for they have advanced to divine honours
brutes which are without reason ; and of these not only the tame onen,
but even the fiercest of the ¥rild beasts, from every species under the
moon, the lion among land animals, and the crocodile of their country,
of those which live in the water ; but of those which roam the air, the
kite, and the Egyptian ibis. Albeit, they see these animals being
begotten and standing in need of food, and insatiable in respect of
eating and stuffed full of excrement, shooting out poison and devouring
human beings, and beset with all sorts of diseases, and often perishing
not merely by a natural death, but by violence. Nevertheless, they
render homage to them, tame beings to the untamed and wild, rational
to the irrational, they that have kinship with the godhead to creatores
M. 473. which one would not set on an equality with the apes of humanity, the
lords and masters of creation to their natural subjects and slaves.
2. — But, forasmuch as these men infect with their folly, not only their
own countrymen, but also those that live in their very nei^bourhood,
let them remain unhealed, their eyes — the most indispensable of their
senses — maimed and useless. And I speak not of the eye of the body,
Digitized by
Google
Philo on the Contemplative Life, 757
but of the souFb eye, wherewith truth and falsehood are known and
recognised. But, on the other hand, let the Therapeutic kind, that hath
not only the eye, but is ever learning beside to see with it, aspire to a
vision of the true Being ; let it even soar above the sun which our
senses behold, and never forsake this post which leads to perfect happi-
ness. But those who draw nigh unto holiness,* do so not from custom, nor
from advice, or exhortations of any ; but because they are rapt by heavenly
love, like Bacchants or Corybantic revellers, and are lost in ecstasy
until they behold the desire of their souls. But then, out of their
yearning after the immortal and blessed life, they esteem their mortal
life to have already ended, and so leave their possessions to their sons
or daughters, or, in default of them, to other kinsmen, of their own free
will leaving to these their heritage in advance ; but, if they have no
kinsmen, to their comrades and friends. For it needs must be that they
who have received the wealth which sees from a free and open store,
should resign the wealth which is blind to those whose minds are still
blinded.
The Greeks sing the praises of Anaxagoras and Democritus, because,
smitten with the desire for wisdom, they gave up their properties to be
sheep-runs. I, too, admire these men for having risen superior to
wealth. Yet how much better are those who, instead of abandoning
their possessions for the beasts to batten upon, ministered to the wants
of human beings, kinsmen or friends, aiding them in their need, and
raising them from helpless poverty into affluence ! For, indeed, their
much-praised action was ill-considered, not to use the word " mad," of
men whom Greece admired. But the conduct of these is sober, and
exhibits the perfection proper to the highest wisdom. What worse acts
do one's country's enemies commit than to cut down the crops and hew
down the trees of those with whom they are at war, in order that a
scarcity of the necessaries of life may weigh hard on them and compel
them to give in ? Yet this is what men like Democritus did to their
own blood-relations, inventing an artificial want and hunger for them ;
not, it may be, of malice prepense, but because they did not look round
them and have an eye to foresee what was for the benefit of their
fellows.
How much superior, then, and more admirable are these men whom I
describe ! whose enthusiasm for Philosophy was no whit less than theirs,
while at the same time they preferred to be magnanimous to being
contemptuous and neglectful ; and so freely gave away their properties
instead of letting them go to ruin, in order, by so doing, to advantage
others as well as themselves— others, by surrounding them with plenty ; M. i74
themselves, by their devotion to philosophy. For the cares of wealth
' Literally *' Therapy,*' i.e., the part of those who heal others or who
worship.
VOL. vn. 3 D
Digitized by
Google
758 The Jewish Quarterly Revietc.
and chattels consume the users thereof ; hut it is well to hushand our
time, since, as the physician Hippocrates saith, " Life is short, but art is
long." And methinks this, too, is what Homer hinted at in the Iliad, at
the beginning of the thirteenth rhapsody, in these words : —
Of the Masi, fighting hand-to-hand, and of the high-bom mare-milkers.
That live on milk, and are simple in life — most just men.
He means that anxiety about life and money-making begets injustice
by the inequality it produces, whereas the opposite motive begets justice
through equality. And it is in accordance with such equality that
the wealth of nature has its limits assigned, and excels that which
consists in vainglory and empty fancies.
So soon, then, as they have divested themselves of their properties,
without allowing anything to further ensnare them, they flee without
turning back, having abandoned brethren, children, wives, parents, all
the throng of their kindred, all their friendships with companions, yea,
their countries in which they were bom and bred. For, in trath, what
we are familiar with has an attractive force, and is the most powerful of
baits. However, they do not go away to live in another city ; like those
who claim of their owners to be sold, unhappy wights or naughty slaves,
and who so win for themselves, not freedom, but a mere change of
masters. For every city, even the best govemed, teems with riots and
disasters, and troubles untold, which no one would endure that had once
M. 475. let himself be led by wisdom. Rather do they make for themselves
their settlements outside the waDs, in gardens or solitary cots, seeking
solitude, not from any harsh and deliberate hatred of mankind, but as
knowing that the intercourse with and the influence of those unlike
themselves in character cannot profit, but only harm them.
3. — Now this kind is to be found in many parts of the world ; for it is
right that the Greeks, as well as Barbarians, should have their portion in
the perfect good. But it is very numerous in Egypt in each of the so-
called Nomes, and most of all in the neighbourhood of Alexandria. And
the best people from all parts, as if they were going to the native
country of the Therapeutae, leave their homes and emigrate to a certain
spot most suitable, which is situate above the lake Marea, upon a low
hill, very conveniently placed both for its security and well-tempered
climate. The requisite security is afforded by the hamlets and villages
which lie all around ; and the well-tempered climate by the bree2seB
given off without ceasing, both from the lake debouching into the sea,
and from the sea in close proximity. The sea-breezes are light, and
those which blow from the lake are heavy, but blended they produce a
most healthy condition of atmosphere.
And the dwellings of those thus met together are indeed of a cheap
and simple kind, affording protection against the two things which most
require it, namely, the extreme heat of the sun and the chilly cold of
Digitized by
Google
Philo on the Contemplative Life. 759
the air. For they are neither too close to one another, as in towns ;
since close proximity would be burdensome and ill-pleasing to those who
are seeking for solitude ; nor, on the other hand, are they far apart, lest
they forfeit the communion which they prize and the power of aiding
each other in case of an attack of robbers.
But in each house there is a holy room, which is called the sanctuary
and monastery ; because in it they celebrate all alone the mysteries of
the holy life, bringing into it nothing, neither drink, nor food, nor any
other of t^ie things necessary unto the wants of the body ; but only the
law and the oracles delivered under inspiration by the prophets along
with the Psalms, and tlie other (books) by means of which religion and
sound knowledge grow together into one perfect whole.
And so it is that they for ever remember God and forget him not ; in
such wise that even in their dreams they picture to themselves nothing
else but the beauties of the divine excellencies and powers. Yea, and
many of them even utter forth in their sleep, when lapt in dreams, the
glorious doctrines of their holy philosophy.
And twice every day they are accustomed to pray, about dawn and
about eventide ; praying at sunrise for a fair day for themselves, for the
day, which is really fair, which meaneth that their minds be filled with
heavenly light. But at sunset they pray that the soul be wholly re-
lieved of the disorderly throng of the senses and of sensible things,
and left free to track out and explore truth in its own conclave and
council-chamber.
But the entire interval from dawn to evening is given up by them to
spiritual exercises. For they read the holy scriptures and draw out in
thought and allegory their ancestral code of law. Since they regard the
literal meanings as symbols of an inner and hidden nature revealing
itself in covert ideas. But they have also writings drawn up by the
men of a former age, who were the founders of their sect, and left
many commentaries upon the idea involved in the allegories ; and these
writings they use as exemplars of a kind, emulating the ideal of charac- M. 476.
ter traced out in them. And so it is that they do not only contemplate,
but also compose songs and hymns to God in divers strains and
measures, which they write out in solemn rRythms as best they can.
Now during the six days they remain apart, in strict isolation one
from the other, in their bouses in the monasteries afore mentioned ;
never passing the courtyard gate, nay, not even surveying it from a dis-
tance. But every seventh day they come together, as it were, into a
common assembly ; and sit down in order according to age in the be-
coming posture ; holding their hands inwards, the right hand between
the chest and the chin, but the left tucked down along the flank. And
then the one that is eldest and most skilled in their principles discourses,
with steady glance and steady voice, with argument and wisdom ; not
3d 2
Digitized by
Google
760 The Jewish Quarterly Mevietr,
making a display of his cleverness in speaking, like the rhetors or the
sophists of to-day, but having carefully sifted and carefully interpreting
the exact meaning of the thoughts, which meaning doth not merely
alight on the outer ear, but passes through their organs of hearing into the
soul, and there firmly abides. ' But the others all listen, in silence,
merely hinting their approval by an inclination of eye or head.
And this common sanctuary, in which they meet on the seventh
days, is a double enclosure, divided into one chamber for the men and
anotiier for the women. For women, too, as well as men, of custom
form part of the audience, having the same zeal and following the same
mode of life. But the wall which runs midway up the buildings is,
part of it, built up together like a breastwork from the floor to a height
of three or four cubits ; but that part which extends above the ground
(or as a loft) up to the roof is left open for two reasons : namely, to
safeguard the modesty which is proper to woman's nature, and, at the
same time, to facilitate on the part of those who sit within the auditory
the apprehension of what is said ; there being nothing to impede the
voice of him that discourses from passing freely to them.
4. — But continence they lay down, as it were, as a primitive foundation
for the soul, and on it they build up the rest of the virtues. And not one
of them will partake of meat or drink before sunset ; in as much as they
judge the pursuit of wisdom to be consonant with the light, just as the
wants of the body are with the darkness. Wherefore, they assign to
the former the day, but to the latter an insignificant portion of the night
only. And some there are, who at the end of three days bethink them-
selves of food, those, namely, in whom a more profound love of
knowledge is seated. But others, again, so delight and luxuriate in the
banquet, in which wisdom spreads out before them in bounteous
wealth her teachings, that they abstain for double that period, and
barely taste of so much food as will keep them alive at the end of six
M. 477. days ; having accustomed themselves, as they say the grasshoppers have,
to live upon air ; for the song of these, I suppose, assuages the feeling
of want. The seventh day, however, they regard as in a manner all
holy and all festal, and have therefore deemed it worthy of peculiar
dignity. And on it, after due attention to the soul, they anoint the
body, releasing it, just as you might the lower animals, from the long
spell of toil. But their diet comprises nothing expensive, but only
cheap bread ; and its relish is salt, which the dainty among them prepare
with hyssop ; and for drink they have water from a spring. For they
propitiate the mistresses hunger and thirst, which nature has set over
mortal creatures, offering nothing that can flatter them, but merely
such useful food as life cannot be supported without. For this reason
* Cp. John Evang. xv. 7.
Digitized by
Google
Philo on the Conteinplative Life. 761
they eat only so as not to be hungry, and drink only so as not to thirst ;
avoiding all surfeit as dangerous and inimical to body and soul.
There are then two kinds of shelter, the one consisting in the raiment,
the other in the house ; and we have already spoken of their houses,
declaring them to be unadorned, of a rough and ready description,
constructed for utility alone. But as to their raiment, it also like the
house is of a very cheap kind, by way of protection only against
cold and heat ; being a thick cloak in winter, instead of a shaggy hide ;
but in summer a smock without sleeves, the linen coat namely.
For they, in all respects, carry out their ideal of modest simplicity, being
aware that falsehood is the beginning of pride, but truth of simplicity ;
and that each is like a fountain head. For from falsehood flow the
manifold forms of all evils, but from truth the wealth and fulness
of blessings, both human and divine.
But it is my wish to describe their common gatherings also, and
their more cheerful ways of relaxation in their banquets, con-
trasting therewith the banquets of the rest of the world. F(»r
others when they have swilled themselves full of strong wine, are,
as if they bad drunk, not wine, but some deranging and madden-
ing potion, or any other drug more baleful still in its power of
unseating the reason. And they yell and rage like wild dogs, and set
upon and bite one another, nipping of one anothers' noses, ears and
fingers and any other parts of the body ; in such wise as to demonstrate
the truth of the old story about Cyclops and the companions of Ulysses*
For they devour, as the poet says, gobbets of human flesh, and with
worse ferocity than he displayed. For he suspected that they were
enemies and was defending himself. But it is their own familiar friends,
yea, sometimes even kinsmen at their board and partaking of their salt,
whom, in the midst of peace they treat so implacably ; behaving with
the violence proper to a wrestling match ; but counterfeiting, as it were,
the genuine coinage of training, wretches instead of wrestlers they, for
there is no other term to apply to them. For deeds which the atliletes
perform soberly, and in the arena, having for spectators all the Hellenes in
the light of day, scientifically, and for the sake of victory and of the M. 478.
wreaths which grace the Olympic victor's brow ; these miscreants perform
in spurious imitation at their banquets, in the darkness of night, like the
drunken, disorderly demons they are ; without science, nay, with evil
art, to the dishonour and insulting and deadly injury of their victims.
And unless someone like an umpire intervene and separate them,
they take yet more licence in their struggles ; dealing death and court-
ing it at one and the same time. For the sufferings they incur are not
less than those which they inflict ; though they do not realise these in
their paroxysms of folly ; who are ready to drink wine not, as the comic
poet says, to the harm of their neighbours alone, but to their own as well.
Digitized by
Google
762 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
Wherefore it is that those who a little before went in to their
banquets sound in body and good friends, quit them a little later as
enemies, with their members mutilated ; and some require the service
of surgeons and physicians, while others have to resort to lawyers and
judges.
But some others of what appears to be a more moderate type of boon-
companion, as if the strong wine they have drunk were mandragor,
hiccup it up ; and pushing forward their left elbow and turning back
their necks aslant, vomit up into the cups ; and are weighed down with
deep sleep, so that they neither see nor hear anything, as retaining but
a single sense only, and that the most slavish of them, namely taste.
But some I know who, so soon as they begin to reel with drink and
before they are quite drowned therein, arrange beforehand to drink on
the morrow, getting subscriptions and giving tickets ; as deeming
the sure hope of future intoxication to be an element in the good cheer
which at the moment they are enjoying.
In such wise they eke out their lives, remaining ever without home
and hearth ; enemies of their parents and wives and children, and
enemies too of their own country ; but most of all at war with them-
selves. For their sottish and abandoned life is a menace to everyone.
6. — It may be that some will approve of the arrangement of banquets
which now everywhere prevails, out of love for that Italian fashion
of sumptuosity and luxury, which both Hellenes and Barbarians have
studiously followed, making all their preparations more for ostentation
than for simple good cheer. Couches both for three to recline upon,
and which extend all round, are manufactured of tortoise-shell or ivory,
and of the more valuable woods ; and of them most parts are inlaid
with precious stones. On them are laid cloths of purple with gold
inwoven, as well as others dyed with divers bright colours, in order
to attract the eye. And there is a multitude of cups set out of every
kind. For there are drinkinghorns and bowls and cups and other vessels
of many varieties ; Thericlean goblets most artistically made and
daintily chased and embossed with reliefs by clever workmen. Then
M. 479. there are slaves to wait upon one, of graceful form and passing fair,
as having been brought there not so much to do work, as to show
themselves, and by doing so give pleasure to the eyes of the spec-
tators. Of these, those that are still boys pour out the wine, while
the big lads carry the water, aU well washed and made smooth ; and
their faces are painted with cosmetics, and their eyes underlined,
and the hair of their head is neatly plaited and tightly braided. For
they wear the hair long, either not having it cut at all, or merely
having the hair over the forehead cut at the tips and trinmied
off equally all round, in a neatly bevelled curved line. And their
chitons are of materials spun as thin as a spider's web, and are of
Digitized by
Google
PhUo on the Contemplative Life, 763
a dazzling white ; and they wear them well tucked up. In front
they fall lower than beneath the knee ; but behind a little under the
hips, but each part drawn together along the line of join of the half
chitons with bows of twisted ribbons doubled over ; so that the folds
may hang down obliquely, the hollows of the sides being puffed and
broadened out.
And yet others wait in relays, youths on whose chins the first down
of youth is just beginning to bloom ; that were but a little time ago
the playthings of Paederasts, and are now tricked out with very super-
fluous finery for any services of a toilsome kind ; by way of showing
off the wealth of the hosts, as those who use them are well aware ; but
in reality it is a display of vulgarity.
Besides all this there are the varieties of cakes and viands and sauces
over which the bread-makers and cooks are hard at work ; solicitous to
please, not merely the palate, as might be necessary, but the eyes as
well by their refinery. At least seven or more tables* are brought in,
containing all the products of land and sea, of rivers and the air ; all care-
fully chosen and fattened up. There is flesh and fish and fowl, and each
kind excels in the way in which it is served up and garnished ; for they
take care that nothing is left out of the things which nature can supply.
So last of all the tables are brought in groaning under a weight of fruit,
not to mention the festal cups, and the so-called knick-knacks that end
up the repast. Then some tables are carried away, depleted by the
gluttony of the company, who stuff themselves like gulls, and gobble
down their food, so as actually to eat up bones and all ; though other
dishes they merely spoil by pulling them about, and then leave them half-
eaten. And so soon as they are quite beaten, because their stomachs are
gorged up to their very throats, though their lust of food is as unsatisfied
as ever, being thoroughly exhausted and incapable of taking more food ;
they turn their necks this way and that, and gloat over it with their
eyes and nostrils ; with the one appreciating the fatness of the viands,
and their quantity, and with the other the good smell steaming up from
them. And then, when they are quite surfeited, both with the look and
the smell, they urge others to eat, by praising extravagantly the way
the viands are served, as also the host for sparing no expense.
But what need is there to dwell on these things, when they are already
condemned by most respectable people, as stretching to bursting point
lusts of which it were better to minimise the strength. For one may
well pray for hunger and thirst, which are most deprecated of all M. 480.
things, rather than for the excess and waste of meats and drinks which
there is at such banquets.
7. — The two most celebrated and remarkable banquets that ever were in
* In antiquity each course of a dinner was brought in on a separate
table.
Digitized by
Google
764 The Jewish Quarterly Review.
Hellas, are those at which Socrates himself was present. The one was
in Callias' house, and was held when Autolycus won the wreath, as a
feast in honour of his victory. The other was in Agathon^s house. And
they were judged worthy of being remembered by men who were
philosophers in character and language, to wit, Xenophon and
Plato. For these writers have left accounts of them as being worthy
of commemoration, because they supposed that posterity would use
them as models of the conduct and mode of entertainment which is meet
and befitting in banquets. Nevertheless, even these as compared with
the banquets of our co-religionists, who have embraced the con-
templative life, will plainly appear ridiculous.
Now the one and the other of them has its pleasing traits ; but
that of Xenophon is the more suitable to mankind. For there are
flute-girls and dancers, and jugglers and jesters, priding them-
selves on their jokes and wittiness. And there are also some other
inducements to hilarity and relaxation.
But the Platonic treatise is almost wholly about love, not merely of men
madly enamoured of women, or of women with men, for these passions are
subject to the laws of nature ; but of men madly enamoured with males
who only differ from themselves in age. For any refinements that there
may seem to be in the treatise about Eros and the heavenly Aphrodite,
are merely dragged in by way of being clever and amusing. For the
greater part of it is taken up by the common and vulgar Eros, that
filches away the virtue of manliness, so beneficial in war and peace ; and
engenders in the soul instead a female disease, turning into effeminate
creatures those who should rather be trained and braced in all masculine
pursuits. And it also does irremediable harm to the youth of the boys,
by reducing them to the level and condition of mistresses. At the
same time, it does harm in essential respects to the lovers, namely to
their body, soul and property. For the lover of boys cannot help having
his mind put on the stretch for his dai lings, having no keenness of
vision for anything else but them, and at the same time he becomes
blinded with respect to all other interests private and public. But his
body is wasted by lust, especially if he is unsuccessful in winning his
desire. His property however, suffers in two ways, by his at once
neglecting it and lavishing it on the object of his amours. And, more-
over, there must grow up along with it another still greater evil affect-*
ing the whole people, namely desolation of cities and scarcity of men,
the lords of creation. For they artificially create a sterility and in-
capacity of offspring, who imitate those ignorant of husbandry, in
M. 481. sowing not the deep-soiled plain, but land tinged with salt, or stony
and rough places ; which are not only of such a nature as to allow of no
growth, but also destroy the seed cast upon them.
I say nothing of the mythical figments, and monsters with two bodies ;
Digitized by
Google
Phih on the Contemplative Life, 765
which to begin with, grew together by mutual attraction in one mass,
and afterwards were separated, as if parts which had merely come
together, owing to the dissolution of the bond which held them together.
For all such stories afi these easily lead men astray ; as they can entice
their ears by the novelty of the idea. But from a lofty vantage ground
the disciples of Moses can despise such tales ; and keep themselves free
from the deception, having learned from their tenderest age to love the
truth.
8. — However, since the banquets so widely known are infected with
such folly, and so carry in themselves their own condemnation to any one
who cares to have regard to anything except fashion and the glamour
of their reputation for being entirely correct and faultless of their kind ;
I will contrast the banquets of those who have devoted all their means
of livelihood as well as themselves to the knowledge and contemplation
of the realities of nature, in accordance with the most holy counsels
of the prophet Moses.
These meet together for the first time after seven weeks, out of
reverence not only for the simple seventh, but for its power as well.
For they recognise its holy apd eternally virgin character. But this
meeting is the eve-celebration of the greatest festival, which the
number fifty has had assigned to it, as being the most holy and natural
of numbers, being composed out of the power of the right-angled
triangle, which is the source of the creation of the universe.
When, therefore, they have met in white raiment and with cheerful
aspect, yet with the deepest solemnity, one of the Ephemereutae (i.e.,
leaders of the ceremonies chosen afresh day by day) gives a sign ; and
before laying themselves down on the couches, they take their stand
one after another in a row in orderly fashion, and upturn their eyes and
outstretch their hands to heaven ; their eyes, since they have been taught
to behold things which merit to be seen ; but their hands, because they
are pure from unjust gains, being stained by no pretence of money-
getting. So standing they pray to God that their festivity may be
pleasing in his sight and acceptable. But after the prayer, the Elders
b*e down, each in the order of his election into the society. For they*
do not regard as elders those who can count their years and are merely
aged ; but, on the contrary, account these to be still mere infants, in
case they have been late in embracing the vocation. Elders are, in
their regard, those who from their earliest age have passed their youth jj ^g2.
and maturity in the contemplative branch of philosophy, which truly is
the noblest and most divine.
But women, also, join in the banquet, of whom most are aged virgins,
that have preserved intact their chastity ; not so much under constraint,
like some priestesses among the Hellenes, as of their own free wills,
and because of their zeal and longing for Wisdom ; with whom they
Digitized by
Google
766 The Jewish Quarterly Retiete.
were anxious to live, and therefore despised the pleasures of the body.
For they yearned not for mortal progeny, but for the immortal which
the god-enamoured soul is alone able to bring forth of itself, because
the father has sown into it rays of reason, whereby it can behold the
principles of wisdom.
But they do not lie down indiscriminately, but the men*s couches are
set apart on the right-hand side, and those of the women apart on the
left. Perhaps some one imagines that couches, if not of a very
expensive kind, yet, anyhow, fairly soft, have been got ready for
persons who, like themselves, are nobly bom and of goodly life and
practisers of philosophy. Well, they are beds of a rude material, on
which are laid very cheap palliasses made of the native papyrus,
raised a httle near the elbows in order that they may lean upon them.
For they remit the harshness of the Laconic discipline ; but practise
always and everywhere the contentedness of true freedom, by opposing
might and main the seductions of pleasure.
And they are not waited on by slaves, because they deem any
possession of servants whatever to be contrary to nature. For she
hath begotten all men alike free ; but the injustice and greedy oppres-
sion of some who were zealous for the inequality that is the source of all
evil, laid a yoke on the weaker ones and gave the control into the hands
of the stronger. In this holy banquet, then, there is, as I said, no
slave ; but the service is one of entire freedom, and they perform such
service and waiting as is required, not under constraint nor even waiting
for orders, but spontaneously, and even anticipate their orders by their
careful and ready zeal. For it is not any and every free man who is
appointed to discharge these duties, but the novices of the society
chosen by merit in the most careful manner ; as needs should be godly
persons and noble, that are pressing on to win the heights of virtue.
And these, like true sons, gladly submit to wait upon their fathers and
mothers, and covet it as an honour ; for they regard them as their
common parents, and as more their own than those who are so by
blood ; inasmuch as in the regard of those who are high-minded,
nothing is more one's own and akin to oneself than true righteousness.
And they go in to do the waiting with their chitons loose and not girt
M. 483. up, in order not to wear the least appearance of being slaves or of de-
meaning themselves as such.
Into this banquet — I know that some will make merry, when they
hear of it. However only they will do so, whose own actions are
matter for tears and lamentations— on the days in question wine is not
brought to table, but the clearest and purest water ; cold for the many,
but warm for such of the more aged as are of a delicate habit of life. And
the table is free from the animal food, which would pollute it ; and on
it is set bread to eat, with salt as a relish ; to which hyssop is sometimes
Digitized by
Google
Philo on the Contemplative Life, 767
added as a seasoning to sweeten it, for the sake of the luxurious among
them. For right reason, as it counsels the priests'to offer sober sacrifices,
80 it counsels these to live soberly. For wine is a drug of folly, and
expensive viands arouse lust, the most insatiable of brute beasts.
9. — And such are the preliminaries. But after the banqueters have lain
them down in the positions set forth by me, and while those who are
serving stand in due order ready for service ; their president, when
silence has been established aD round — and when is there anything but
silence ? some one will ask ; — anyhow there is now a deeper silence than
before, such that no one ventures to mutter or even take a loud breath —
the president, I say, then, examines for himself some text in the scrip-
tures, or explains one that has been put forward by another. And, in
doing so, he does not concern himself to make a parade of his learning ;
for he does not aspire to the reputation which is earned by cleverness in
discussion. But he simply desires to see for himself certain things
with fair exactitude, and having seen them to be in no wise grudging
towards those who, even if they are not as sharp-sighted as himself,
have at any rate as earnest a desire to learn. And so he proceeds in a
leisurely way with his instruction, lingering and going slowly over the
points ; and, by recapitulating them, impresses them on their souls. For
if he ran on, and without pausing for breath made a rigmarole of his
exposition, the mind of his audience would find itself incapable of keep-
ing pace with him, and falling behind would miss the drift of his
remarks. But they turn their faces upwards to him and remain in one
and the same attitude as they listen ; signifying by a nod or a look that
they understand and have taken in his meaning, and by their cheerful-
ness and by slightly turning their faces about their praise of the speaker;
while perplexity they show by a very gentle movement of the head and
with a finger-tip of the right hand. But the younger members who
stand by attend to the discourse no less than those who have lain down.
But the exposition of sacred writ proceeds by unfolding the meaning
hidden in allegories. For the entire law is regarded by these persons
as resembling an animal ; and for its body it has the literal precepts, but
for its soul the unseen reason (or nous) hidden away in the words. And
in and through this reason the rational and self-conscious soul begins to
contemplate in a special manner its own proper intuitions. For by means
of the names, as it were by means of a gazing crystal, it discerns the
surpassing beauties of the notions conveyed in them. Thus, on the one M. 484.
hand, it unfolds and unveils the symbols, and on the other brings for-
ward the meanings into the light and exhibits them naked to those who
by a little exercise of memory are able to behold things not clear by
means of things that are.
So soon, therefore, as the president seems to have discoursed long
enough, and when his discourse is judged to have met fairly and to the
Digitized by
Google
768 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
purpose, the points raised, while at the same time they as listeners have
responded with their attention ; then, as if all were delighted together,
hands are clapped all round, though for three times only. After which
the one of them stands up and sings a hymn composed in honour of
God ; either a new one which he has made himself or some old one of
the poets that were long ago. For these have left measures and many
mel'xiies of poetry in triple measure, of professional hymns, hymns for
the Ubation, hymns at the altar, hymns of station or of the dance, deftly
proportioned for turning and returning.
After him, each one also of the rest sings, according to his rank, in
due order, while all listen in profound silence, except when it is time to
sing the catches and refrains ; for then they give out their voices in
unison, all the men and all the women together. But when every one
has finished his hymn, the novices bring in the table just now described,
on which is the all-purest food, namely, bread leavened with a relish of
salt, with which hyssop has been mixed, out of reverence for the holy
table of offering in the sacred vestibule of the temple. For on this
there are loaves and salt, without any seasoning to sweeten it. The
loaves are unleavened, and the salt also is unmixed. For it is meet that
the simplest and purest things should be reserved for the highest class
of priests as a reward for their service in the temple ; but that the rest
should aspire to a portion that is similar, yet abstain from one that is
the same, in order that their superiors may keep their privilege. 10. — But
after the feast is over, they celebrate the holy all-night festival ; and this
is kept in the following manner : — All rise together, and in the middle
of the banquet there are formed, at first, two choruses, one of men, the
M. 485. other of women, and a guide and leader is chosen on either side who is
one most held in honour and most suitable. Then they sing hymns
composed in honour of God in many measures and strains, sometimes
singing in unison, and sometimes waving their hands in time with anti-
phonal harmonies, and leaping up, and uttering inspired cries, as they
either move in procession or stand still, making the turns and counter-
turns proper to the dance. Then, when each of the choirs has had its
fill of dancing by itself and separate from the other, as if it were a
Bacchic festival in which they had drunk deep of the Divine love, they
unite, and form a single choir out of the two, in imitation of the dance
long ago instituted by the side of the Red Sea to celebrate the miracles
there wrought. For the sea, at the Divine behest, became to the one
side a cause of salvation, but to the other of utter destruction. For
the sea was rent asunder, and, with forced recoil, withdrew from its
depths ; and walls, as it were, of water were congealed on either hand
over against one another, in such wise that through the intervening
space there was cut a broad highroad, and dry for all to walk upon; and
by it the host walked upon dry land unto the opposite continent, and
Digitized by
Google
Phih on the Contemplative Life. 769
were brought through in safety unto the rising ground. But then the
returning floods ran back again, and poured themselves on the right
hand and on the left into the floor of the sea that had been made dry
land. And straightway those of the enemy which had followed were
overwhelmed and were destroyed.
But when they both saw and experienced this mighty work, greater
than could be told of, or thought of. or hoped for, men and women, all
alike, were rapt with the Divine spirit, and, forming themselves into a
single choir, sang hyms of thanksgiving unto God, Moses the prophet
leading off the men and Miriam the prophetess the women.
In closest imitation whereof the choir of Therapeutce, male and
female, has formed itself, and, as the deep tones of the men mingle
with the shriller ones of the women in answering and antiphonal strains,
a full and harmonious symphony results, and one that is veritably
musical. Noble are the thoughts, and noble the words of their hymn,
yea, and noble the choristers. But the end and aim of thought and
words and choristers alike is holiness.
When, then, they have made themselves drunk until dawn with this
godly drunkenness, neither heavy of head nor with winking eyes, but
more wide awake than when they came in unto the banquet, they stand
up, and turn both their eyes and their whole bodies towards the East.
And, so soon as they espy the sun rising, they stretch out aloft their
hands to heaven and fall to praying for a fair day, and for truth, and M. 486.
for clear judgment to see with. And after their prayers they retire
each to his own sanctuary, to traffic in and cultivate afresh their
customary philosophy.
Concerning the Therapeutse, then, let so much suffice, who embraced
the contemplation of nature and of her verities, and lived a life of the
soul alone. They truly are citizens of heaven and of the universe, and
have been established with the Father and Creator of all things by
virtue, which secures unto them love ; proffering therein the only meet
reward of godliness — better than any mere good fortune, because it
lifts them in advance straight to the zenith of bliss.
F. C. CONrBEARK.
Digitized by
Google
770 The Jeicish Quarterly Revietc.
CRITICAL NOTICES.
Faith and Erperinwe. EHsays and Addresses by Oswald John Simon.
(London, 1895.)
Mr. Simon's small volume, Faith and Experience^ merits in more
respects than one, a reviewer's praise. But its chief value lies, perhaps, in
its purely devotional and religious elements. We have painfully few
devotional and religious books in our modem Anglo- Jewish literature.
And yet we need such books at least as much as any other community.
Owing to the lack of them many persons who have some genuine
appreciation or experience of personal religion turn for solace, stimulus
and guidance to the many scores of such productions which owe
their origin to the varying forms and phases of Christianity. It is
quite possible that Judaism on this account suffers undeserved and
serious injury. For it may be too lightly imagined that the Jewish
religion is not capable of calling forth or of supplying the experience
which these writings demand. It may be thought that Judaism is only
a communal or race religion, but that it does not lend itself readily to
that, as many believe, highest expression of religious activity which
concerns the individual man in his personal relations with Grod.
Mr. Simon's book gives the lie to such misapprehensions. His de-
votion to Judaism is no less marked than his championship of the cause
of personal religion. Nay, more : his personal religion is the outflow of
his Judaism. To him the two are inseparably united together.
This identification is precisely what is needed in works of this class.
Not that Mr. Simon is without his reasons for believing that Judaism
affords the best training and teaching for the exercise and experience
of personal religion, but these reasons occupy a secondary place. Books
of devotion are not books of learned argument, and they are primarily
intended for the religious community to which their writers belong.
They rightly assume a belief in the superior excellence and purity of
the religion which is their framework. To Mr. Simon that framework
is Judaism.
His book consists of a number and Essays and Sermons, only a few of
which have been printed before — ^two of them in the pages of this
Review. One or two items, such as the essays on Tact and on Denomina-
tional Schools, seem slightly out of place in a whole, for which otherwise
the phrase *^ Faith and Experience " forms an adequate and satisfactory
Digitized by
Google
Critical Notices. 771
title. Our author, moreover, is almost uniformly at his best when
dealing with purely religious topics. On the other hand, many of us
will be glad to re-read the obituary notice on the late Master of Balliol,
which concludes the volume. Mr. Simon, like many another, owed
much to the kindness as well as to the teaching of Jowett. He was
one of his most devoted and appreciative admirers. It deserves to
be known, that the " round robin " which a number of Balliol men
addressed to the Master in the year 1892, asking him to publish a
selection of his sermons, was entirely due to the inspiration and initiative
of Mr. Simon. Though at that time the Master felt unable to comply
with the request, he has, I believe, given his literary executors power
to publish a volume of his sermons, which he would not have done, had
he not been almost compelled by the '* round robin " to realise how
deeply his pulpit utterances were valued. We shall, therefore, owe the
preservation of these noble discourses to Mr. Simon.
I said just now that the words " Faith " and " Experience " were an
accurate and suggestive summing-up of Mr. Simon's essays. I was
especially thinking of the second of the two substantives, experience.
By experience Mr. Simon means religious experience — religion as
realised in experience. For to him religious experience is as real as any
other experience ; or, put the other way, religion is hardly real till it is
experienced. And that is why religion to him is mainly personal
religion ; for these experiences are only realisable by and through the
individual soul, and at the same time need of necessity no other acces-
sory or environment. And here I must again repeat that we Jews are
in great need of books from men or women to whom religion means
just ihat^ and who can record with adequate terseness and ability the '
impressions and results of this spiritual experience. Mr. Simon is one
of those persons, and therefore his book has a notable and even peculiar
value. Its dedication indicates that the author's experience has been
partly gained by sorrow ; and, from a touching and striking allusion
on p. 23, the reader can gather that Mr. Simon has had much time for
meditation and thought. He has not been too busy to think and feel ;
he has not been too busy to pray. And by prayer I mean what he
means ; not the reading of prescribed and printed prayers of others, but
free personal communion with God (pp. 95, 96). Through prayer he
has won experience : —
A person who knows himself to have passed through the experience of
prayer — ^that is, to have felt that he was once in communion with the
Deity — may reasonably regard the evidence of a Divine Presence as a
matter of experience, and therefore independent of the testimony of
others (p. 28).
Whether reasonably or no I will not inquire, but that all great religious
writers and all truly religious persons would echo the statement is surely
Digitized by
Google
772 The Jewish Quarterly Beview.
certain. Hence it is that Mr. Simon is so wholly independent of the re-
sults of Biblical criticism ; they do not really matter to him and to his
religion one bit. Nor, as he thinks, do they matter to Judaism. He
combines this experienced religion with Judaism, and believes that the
one is tiie very product and outflow of the other.
" We have a faith which is an experience, and we have to tell of our
experience ; in other words, we bear witness of God" (p. 81). He is
quite indifferent whether the Biblical miracles happened or not : per-
sonally, as I gather, he does not believe in them. " We speak only of
a record of a vast human experience in the necessity and the efficacy of a
life with God " (p. 82). " The genius of Judaism is that it is a story of
natural religion, of spiritual aspiration among individuals and families
through a long series of ages *' (p. 92). Mr. Simon should better for-
swear the use of the adjective " natural,*' as applied to religion, for
nobody knows without elaborate explanations what sense any particular
writer chooses to give to it. It is as elastic as the vocabulary of
Humpty Dumpty. But what Mr. Simon apparently means is that this
" personal life with God '* has been proved and tested and experienced by
countless individual Jews through many generations, and that Judaism
is therefore the record and the proof of the validity and the value of
these experiences. This is, I think, a novel and most suggestive idea.
Into the contents of the various essays I cannot enter. I hope that
Mr. Simon may do much further work, either of this character or, if I
may be allowed the expression, still more so, I mean, may he be still
more purely religious, spiritual, devotional. He might, after a time,
be able to produce for Jewish religious life a volume of religious
aphorisms and maxims such as Mr. Patmore has lately produced for the
Catholics. There are several specimens of the kind in the volume
before us. Such are the following, which I pick out at random : —
" There is no prayer which is so blessed as the prayer which asks for
nothing*' (p. 13).
" One might almost describe the two kinds of loneliness thus : — One
brings merely the consciousness of self, the other the consciousness of
God ** (p. 17).
" It rests with us [Jews] to elect between archaeology and religion "
(p. 106).
'* Jews must be spiritual persons, or their very name is meaningless "
(p. 136).
" Judaism is a missionary religion, or it is nothing " (p. 137).
" The relation between the divine and human is not merely general,
but is essentially personal *' (p. 84).
" Almighty God — who is surely our Father, or else we are not concerned
with him — has mystically determined that he shall become manifest to us
through the feelings, through the affections, through a divine untold
Digitized by
Google
Critical Notices. 773
love. That is why the head corner-stone of Judaism is the command
to love God with all the powers of our being ** (p. 186 ^«.).
*^ It is the personal and secret conviction treasured up in one soul
after another, receiving constant renewal by prayer, that makes up the
sura of human witness to our affinity with the living (Jod " (p. 203).
" Faith, love, and sorrow are three elements that mysteriously blend
in human experience, each having its own tale to tell of the relation
which we bear to the Supreme Being " (p. 204).
Sermons such as those entitled " The Divine Presence " and " Higher
Judaism " are excellent reading ; but I should give a wrong impression
of Mr. Simon's book if it were to be supposed that it does not deal with
the religious life of the community as well as with the religious life of
the individual. BIr. Simon has very definite opinions, and knows how
to express them. He does not attempt to obscure his position in
the camp of the Reformers ; but yet his conception of Reform has
many characteristios of its own. Both sides would do well to consider
his words and weigh them well. It is to be hoped that his book will
have many readers within our borders. I am pretty confident that
it will have many beyond them. The outer world is possibly more
interested in certain phases and developments of Judaism than the
Jewish community itself.
C. G. MONTEFIORE.
As Others Saw Him: A Retrospect, a.d. 54. London, 1895.
This is a striking and suggestive little book. The writer proposes
to describe Jesus from the point of view of a thoughtful Jew living in
Jerusalem. He accordingly assumes the person of Meshullam ben Zadok,
a lawyer in the Holy City, whom he identifies with the Synoptics*
questioner about the great commandment in . the Law. Meshullam
subsequently removes to Alexandria, and some one-and-twenty years
after the crucifixion records his reminiscences for the benefit of a
Greek physician, Aglaophonos, of Corinth, whom he had formerly
known in Jerusalem. The choice of . this form of narrative imposes
obvious restraints ; but it also gives opportunity for the introduction of
plenty of local colour which is often very happily employed. At times,
indeed, this seems somewhat superfluous ; readers of the type for whom
the book is intended might be supposed to be already acquainted with
the interior arrangements of a synagogue (p. 34). In some details, its
accuracy might be doubted. Was the doctrine of a Messiah who should
precede the Son of David, Messiah ben Joseph (p. 116), really pre-
Christian? Occasional lapses into modern style betray some of the
VOL. VII. 3 E
Digitized by
Google
774 The Jewish Quarterly Review,
strain which the composition involved ; phrases like the following, " As
none but Jesus would have known his own feelings " (p. 23), " finding
new ideals" (p. 38, cp. 210, 212), "mystical communion" (p. 84),
"we locahse him [God] nowhere" (p. 113), "any such attempt would
be entirely futile " (p. 172), " the empire which he had wielded over
men's minds" (p. 199), are imperfectly combined with the speech of a
Jerusalem Jew of the first century.
The real interest of the presentment of Jesus lies in the relation in
which it sets him to the movements of his time. The use which the
writer makes of the supposed Jewish original of the " Two Ways," a
sort of manual of morals for the instruction of proselytes, may be
exaggerated in respect of the personal indebtedness of Jesus to this
particular book ; but it must be received as the picturesque expression
of the fact, which so many recent investigations have confirmed, that
there was a considerable body of organised moral and religious teaching
current at the time, which was in general harmony with many of his main
thoughts. The leading representatives of this teaching were, no doubt,
to be found among the Pharisees ; and our author expends some skill
in portraying the attitude of Jesus towards them. The scene at the
dinner in the house of Elisha ben Simeon, where the Pharisaic ideal is
unexpectedly vindicated from the reproaches of Jesus by the aged
father of the host, is one of the most vigorous in the book. On the
other hand, the antagonism of Jesus to the Sadducees, and especially
to the tyrannical temple-rulers who trembled for their gains, is em-
ployed to bring about the final catastrophe, which is attributed to two
chief causes, immediately to the hatred of the high-priestly party, and
less directly to the angry disappointment felt by the populace at
Jerusalem in consequence of the Teacher's answer about the tribute-
money. The hurried meeting of the priestly section of the Sanhedrin,
at which Hanan urges on the condemnation of Jesus, is dramatically
conceived ; and by taking advantage of the tradition that Barabbas
was also named Jesus, the writer is able to suggest a confusion between
the two prisoners which partially explains the popular demand for the
hero of the sedition.
In spite, however, of its vivid style, and the abundant learning which
lies behind it, in spite also of its real sympathy with much of the
character and teaching of Jesus, this book will probably satisfy no one.
Its avowed object, to depict Jesus as he showed himself to a Jerusalem
Jew, involves a certain limitation. The first three Oospels confine the
appearance of Jesus in the capital to the last fatal week. The Teacher
was then exposed to a series of bafQing trials deliberately designed to
withdraw from him the enthusiasm which had greeted his entry. He
lies under a doom of failure which veils his true greatness. The
originality of his teaching, the depth and force of many of his great
Digitized by
Google
• Critical Notices. 775
sayings, cannot be displayed. The author is conscious of this one-
sidednesB, and makes his narrator apologise for it (p. 207), by describ-
ing the impression produced on him afterwards by the Memorabilia of
Matathias. But it is too late ; the narrower view has been already set
down (p. 201). It might seem, indeed, as if this position had been
purposely adopted for the partial vindication of the reproach against
Israel involved in the execution of one of the best of its sages. If so,
we cannot think that this has been wisely chosen as one of the main
themes of the book. The causes which led to the death of Jesus are no
doubt matter of high interest historically. But they are quite subor-
dinate to the larger questions concerning what Jesus was in himself,
and what was his significance for his own age and for posterity. The
volume therefore really deals with a topic contracted within larger issues.
These are of course in our author's mind as well as in his readers*;
and he is remarkably dexterous in his attempt to find means to deal with
them. But the treatment is inadequate, and consequently lacks sufficient
vitality. The condition which he has imposed on himself obliges him
to renounce the materials of the synoptic tradition prior to the last days.*
But the Jerusalem records he can distribute in fresh combinations.
Next he has at his command a vast store of extra-canonical sayings, the
so-called " Agrapha," gathered by the unwearied diligence of Dr. Resch
from the remains of early Christian literature. Many of these are of highly
doubtful authenticity ; but they enable the writer to compile notes of a
couple of addresses, which have an air of verisimilitude as well as of
novelty. The effect of massing these disconnected fragments, in a
juxtaposition to which no long usage has lent sanction and charm, will
be differently judged by different tastes. Thirdly, he has the Fourth
Gospel, which he apparently accepts as no less trustworthy than the
other three. This supplies him with a much larger scope than the
Synoptics. He is no longer bound to the final week, he can bring Jesus
to Jerusalem at various intervals within three years. He takes advan-
tage of this extension to break up the series of Temple colloquies which
occupy the last days of the Common Tradition, and fling them about on
previous occasions, reserving the denarius incident alone for the close,
in order that he may isolate and heighten the effect of Jesus* want of
patriotism. But this treatment is really uncritical, and gives undue
prominence, and — many will think — a false interpretation, to a par-
ticular aspect of the Teacher whom he portrays. Reliance on the
Fourth Gospel further leads to the surprising result that Jesus
' The only earlier incident is that of the rich young man, here placed
on the way oat from Jerusalem to Bethany, and apparently introduced
only for the sake of the additional detail supplied from the (rospel of the
Hebrews.
Digitized by
Google
776 The Jewt%h Quurierlp Review.
twice drives the money-changers out of the Temple, once at
the opening, the other time at the close of his career. The
first of these scenes, most picturesquely described, opens the book ;
the second follows three years later ; but the apology for the repetition
(p. 132 f .) will not seem convincing to many. Nor will the use made
of the Johannine discourses, with the suggestion that Jesus claimed to
be the very God (pp. 114, 180), content the student, who knows that
these discourses are alike of uncertain origin and of disputed interpre-
tation. A writer who rationalises the resurrection into a sort of hypnotic
effect produced by the eyes of Jesus (pp. 41, 88-92) might have been
expected to employ his documents with more judicial reserve. This
remark must also apply to his adoption of Chwolson's elaborate
attempt to explain how Jesus ate the Paschal lamb a day in advance of
the rest of Jerusalem. The difficulty of course arises from the different
chronologies of the Synoptics and the Fourth Gospel. Chwolson
assumes, without any investigation, that the Johannine last supper was
the Paschal meal. But a gltmce at such a commentary as Meyer's
shows, what a multitude of interpreters of various schools agree in
affirming, that in the Fourth Gospel, whatever be' the source of the in-
congruity, the meal preceding the arrest is not recognised in this
character.* A dramatic narrative is not the place for balancing critical
probabihties, but some readers will feel that in following Chwolson, our
author has misconceived the problem, which receives its true solution
tlirough the veiled hint in John xix. 36 (based on Paul) that Jesus was
himself the Paschal lamb for the whole wcn-ld.
One point more must be named, in which our author seems needlessly
to depart from historical likelihood. What ground is there, apart from
later Jewish virulence, for supposing that Jesus was not bom in wed-
lock? The grotesque treatment of Matthew i. in Tolstoi's recently-
published (though not recently-written) Harmony of the Gospels will
not conmiend itself to sober judgment Is it not sufficiently plain that
tlie charge of bastardy naturally arose in protest against the claim to
virgin-birth, set up, as the Gospel to the Hebrews shows (" My mother,
the Holy Spirit"), outside the Palestinian tradition? The charge is
employed in this book to explain certain features in the demeanour of
Josus — his detachment from family ties, his deep pity for outcasts and
sinners, his aloofness from the popular aims of national greatness.
Another and deeper explanation of these characteristics is, of course, at
hand, commended by the whole tenour of his inner life, as far as we
c;in judge of it from the fragmentary records which alone survive.
' Chwolson is content to leave this aspect of the question undisousHcd.
with the simple remark that in that case the contradiction between John
an'l the Synopti(^i4 i? ■ noch {rrcller."
Digitized by
Google
Critical Notices, 777
With tlie view which finds the secret of them in the strength of his
consciousness of the presence of God and the oneness of t}ie race, our
author is not really out of sympathy. In the character which he
has assumed, as Meshullam writes to his friend at Corinth, he naturally
compares the death on Calvary with that in the Athenian prison, and he
concludes that a greater than Socrates is here. Will it not be possible
for a Judaism which recognises the universal elements in the character
and teaching of Jesus, and a Christianity which appreciates the contri-
bution made by his race to the religion and morals of the world, to come
a little nearer, and at last, perhaps, to make common cause on behalf of
their common trutli ?
J. EsTLiN Carpenter.
Digitized by
Google
Digitized by
Google
Mr. DAVID NUTTS
RECENT PUBLICATIONS.
AN INQUIRY INTO THE SOURCES
OP THE
HISTORY OF THE JEWS IN SPAIN.
By JOSEPH JACOBS.
Demy 8vo., xlvii.-263 pages, oloth, net, 4$.
PRESS NOTICES.
" Mr. Jacobs is already favourably known to studente of Spanish by Tlit;
Art of Worldly WUdtmh, translated from the Spanish of Balthasar Gracian, in
the *" Crolden Treasury ' series. But the present work is of higher character,
and of far greater value to the historian. It is one of those books which we
feel it almost an impertinence to criticise, so grateful are we to the author for
its contents. In the press of publications of all kinds, when it is impossible
to read fully and to judge of all that gather round even one's special pursuit,
works like this of Mr. Jacobs are peculiarly acceptable : they save us so much
time, they serve as a guide through the labyrinth of printed matter, they
enable us to get at the special documents and MSS. which we need for our
particular purpose.... It is indispensable to every student of the history of the
Jews in Spain. It is not exhaustive, because Mr. Jacobs had no time to make
it so ; we can only look at with wonder and admiration, and accept with
gratitude, what he accomplished in Spain in the few days at his disposal." —
Academy,
" Mr. Joseph Jacobs' new work : * An Inquiry into the Sources of the
History of the Jews in Spain* is published at so nominal a price (four
shillings !) that no one has an excuse for not buying it. Had the charge been
five times as great, the volume would still have been cheap ; for its contents
add more to our knowledge of the Jews of Spain than anyone thought there
remained to know. The indices and bibliographies will be of immense use to
students." — Jetoiih Chronicle,
**Mr. Jacobs has certainly rendered a great service to scholars by the
preparation of this learned work." — Daily Chronicle.
'* Affords an extremely helpful aid to any future historian of the people.'* —
Spectator,
[TITBX OVER.
Digitized by
Google
STUDIES IN BIBLICAL ARCHiCOLOGY-
By JOSePH JACOBS.
Crown 8vo., 172 ps^es, oloth, Ss. 6d.
•^* Bisprmted, with additions and revision, from the Arehaologieal
Review and other apeotfOist periodicals. These "Studies," which have
excited considerable interest among scholars, are now made accessible to the
widiar circle of all students of the Old Testament.
PRESS HOTICE.
•Biblical students will be thankful to Mr. Joseph Jacobs for having
reproduced in one volume his genial essays, which have appeared during the
lai<t five years in various periodicals. We are glad to say that nearly all the
articles stand in the form in which *they originally appeared.... It is really a
phenomenon in Biblical researches that hypotheses should hold their place for
five years in their integrity, for there is now a craze, among German professors
twpecially, for building up a system of Biblical interpretation, which is soon
demollAfaed by another.... Most striking and original is the essay which has for
Hubject the Nethinimy the upo^oi/Xoi, or servants of the Temple, who, Mr.
Jacobs with much skill contends, were the offspring of the sacred courtesan.'*
maintained in connection with the T^^nple of Jerusalem, and oouM only trace
the family descent from the mother." — AtJunueum.
GENESIS AND SEMITIC TRADITION.
By J. D. DAVIS, Ph.D.,
ProfemoT of Semitic Ph'Udogy and Old Testament Hiitory in the Theologieal
Seminary at Princeton^ \.J.
8yo., 149 pages, Illustrated, oloth, 4s. 6d.
PRESS NOTICE.
"The author of the volume before us aims at giving us a summary of the
results obtained from the cuneiform tablets as to the infancy of the world :
and when the ' accumulated rubbish * due to the mistakes of the early dayn
of Assyriologioal science has been cleared away, t^ genuine matenals are to be
compared with the narrative in t^ Hebrew Scriptures. Educated general
rea<lers are well aware how great a mass of common matter there is in the
Babylonian and Hebrew accounts of, for example, the Creation and the FIckkI :
while in other matters, such as the history of the creation of woman or of the
temptation and fall, there seems to be no certain Assyrian aacount....The book
is characterised hj great learning, which is vigorously applied." — Reeord.
^KHTUEIMKII, LKA AND CO., OiECUS PLACK, LONDON WALL
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Digitized by
Google
Digitized by
Google
Digitized by
Google
.^ ^
Digitized by
Google .
Digitized by
Google
Digitized by
Google
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11