HISTORIC AND LITERARY

HISTORIC AND LITERARY
The Bible of the Christians is, without exception, the most remarkable work now in existence. In the libraries of the learned, there are frequently seen books of an extraordinary antiquity, and curious and interesting from the nature of their contents; but none approach the Bible, taken in its complete sense, in point of age, while certainly no production whatever has any pretension to rival it in the dignity of composition, or the important nature of the subjects treated of in its pages. The word Bible is of Greek origin, and, in signifying simply The Book, is expressive of its superiority over all other literary productions. The origin and nature of this every way singular work, how it was preserved during the most remote ages, and how it became known to the modern world in its present shape, form of highly interesting chapter of literary history.
BIBLE DIVISIONS
The Bible comprehends the entire foundation of the religious belief of the Jews and Christians, and is divided into two distinct portions, entitled the Old and New Testaments, the former being that which is esteemed by the Jewish nation, but both being essential in forming the faith of the Christian. The Old Testament is the largest department of the work, and appears a collection of detached histories, moral essays, and pious poetical effusions, all placed together in the order of time, or, as they may serve, for the purpose of mutual illustration. On taking a glance at the contents, the principal subject of narration seems the history of the Jews, commencing with an account of the creation of the world, and tracing their history genealogically, through a series of striking vicissitudes and changes of situation. But when we examine the narrative minutely, it is found that there is another meaning than that of more historical elucidation. It is perceived that the whole train of events recorded, the whole of those lofty, impassioned strains of poetry which distinguish the volume, are precursory and prophetic of a great change, which, at a future period, was to be wrought on the moral properties and fate of mankind, by the coming to the earth of a Messiah.
AUTHORSHIP
The authorship of the Old Testament has been universally ascribed, by both Jews and Christians, to God himself, though not by direct composition, but by spiritually influencing the minds of certain sages to accomplish the work, or, in ordinary phraseology, by inspiring or endowing them with a perfect knowledge of the transactions to be recorded and predicted, in a way suitable to the great end in view. The Bible is hence usually termed the Sacred Scriptures. The periods when the act of writing all or most part of the Scriptures took place, as well as most of the names of those who were instrumental in forming the work, have been ascertained with surprising accuracy, both from written evidence in the narratives themselves, and from the well-preserved traditions of the Jews. At whatever time the different books were written, they were not collected and put into a connected form till long after their immediate authors were deceased; and their present arrangement, as we shall afterward fully explain, is of comparatively modern date.
PENTATEUCH
According to the order in which the books of the Old Testament now stand, those of an historical nature are appropriately placed at the beginning. The first five books, having a chain of connection throughout, are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These are styled the Pentateuch, such being the Greek compound for five books. They are likewise entitled the Books of Moses, from the belief that that enlightened Jewish leader composed them.
GENESIS
The Jews, or Hebrews, take the name of the sacred books from the first word with which each begins; but the Greeks, whom our translators generally follow, take the names from the subject-matter of them. Thus, the first book is called by the Hebrews, Bereshith, which signifies “In the beginning,” these being the first words: but the Greeks call it Genesis, which signifies “production,” because the creation of the world is the first thing of which it gives an account. It likewise contains an account of the increase of mankind; of their corruption of manners, and its cause; of their punishment by the deluge (an event which, by scientific investigation and historical research, is placed beyond a doubt); of the origin of the Jewish people from Abraham; of the manner in which God was pleased to have them governed; and, particularly, of the nature of the special superintendence vouchsafed to the Jewish nation by the Creation. This comprehensive narrative reaches from the creation of the world till the death of Joseph, or a period of 2,369 years. In another part of the Scriptures, reference is made to the. Book of Jasher, and it is believed that Genesis is there meant; for Jasher signifies “the Just,” and according to St. Jerome, a learned Christian writer, the name of the Book of the Just, or the Authentic Book, was applied to it from its containing the history of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
EXODUS
Exodus, the title of the second book of Moses, signifies in the Greek, “The going out,” and was applied from the account which it gives of the Israelites going out of Egypt. In it are related the cruel Egyptian slavery under which the Jews groaned; their delivery by flight and passage through the Red Sea; the history of the establishment of their very peculiar law, and many remarkable transactions; concluding with the building of the tabernacle, or place appropriated to the service of the Divinity. This book comprises the history of 145 years, from the death of Joseph till the building of the tabernacle. The Hebrews call it Velle Shemoth, that is, in English, “These are the names,” which are the words with which it begins.
LEVITICUS
The third book of Moses is called Leviticus, because it contains the laws which God commanded should be observed by those of the tribe of Levi who ministered at the altar. It treats at large of all the functions of the functions of the Levites; of the ceremonial of religion; of the different sorts of sacrifices; of the distinction of clean and unclean beasts; of the different festivals; and of the year of jubilee or continued holyday. It likewise presents us with an account of what happened to the Jews during the space of one month and a half; that is, from the time the tabernacle was erected, which was the first day of the first month of the second year after the Israelites came out of Egypt, till the second month of the same year, when God commanded the people to be numbered. The Hebrews called this book Vayicre, that is, “And he called,” these being the first words; they call it also The Law of the Priests.
NUMBERS
In the fourth book, which we call Numbers, Moses numbers the Israelites, and that, too, in the beginning of the book, which shows whence. it had its name. The Hebrews call it Vayedavber, that is, “And he spake.” This book contains the history of all that passed from the second month of the second year after the Israelites came out of Egypt, till the beginning of the eleventh month of the fortieth year; that is, it contains the history of thirty-nine years, or thereabouts. In it we have also the history of the prophet Balaam, whom the king of the Midianites brought to curse the people of God, and who, on the contrary, heaped blessings upon the Israelites, and foretold the coming of the Messiah. It particularly mentions, also, the two-and-forty encampments of the Israelites in the wilderness.
DEUTERONOMY
The firth book is called Deuteronomy, a Greek term which signifies, “The second law,” or, rather, “The repetition of the law,” because it does not contain a law different from that which was given on Mount Sinai; but it repeats the same law, for the sake of the children of those who had received it there, and were since dead in the wilderness. The Hebrews call it Elle-haddebarim, that is, “These are the words.” Deuteronomy begins with a short account of what had passed in the wilderness, and then Moses repeats what he had before commanded in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, and admonishes the people to be faithful in keeping the commandments of God. After this, he relates what had happened from the beginning of the eleventh month, to the seventh day of the twelfth month of the same year, which was the fortieth after their leaving Egypt. The discourse which is at the beginning of this book was made to the people by Moses, on the first day of the eleventh month. According to Josephus, he died on the first day of the twelfth; and the Israelites, as the Scriptures say, mourned for him in the plains of Moab thirty days, and, consequently, during the whole of the twelfth month.
The Jews called the Pentateuch “The Law,” without doubt because the law of God which Moses received on Mount Sinai is the principal part of it; and it is as little to be doubted whether that real man was the writer of the Pentateuch. This is expressly declared both in Exodus and Deuteronomy. But as an account of the death of Moses is given in the last eight verses of this book, it is therefore thought that these verses were added either by Joshua or Ezra. The opinion of Josephus concerning them is very singular; be pretends that Moses, finding his death approaching, and being willing to prevent an error into which the veneration the people had for him might cause the Jews to fall, wrote this account himself, without which the Jews would probably have supposed that God had taken him away, like Enoch.
JOSHUA
After the death of Moses, Joshua, by the order of the Divine Being, took upon himself the conducting of the Hebrew people, and succeeded Moses, to whom he had been a faithful servant, and by whom he had been instructed in what he ought to do. It is uncertain whether the book which contains tire history of this successor of Moses be called Joshua, from the subject of it, or from his having been the writer of it. But it is certain that it contains an account of what passed from the death of Moses to that of Joshua. Nevertheless, there are several things in it which did not come to pass till after the death of this great man, and which, consequently, could not have been written by him. The common opinion as to the length of time it contains is, that Joshua discharged his office only for seventeen years, and that, therefore, this book contains no more than the history of that number of years.
JUDGES
After the death of Joshua, the Israelites were governed by magistrates, who ruled under the general designation of Judges; and the book which contains the history of these rulers is called, The Book of Judges. This history begins with the death of Joshua, and reaches to that of Samson. We here see the people of God often enslaved in punishment of their crimes, and often wonderfully delivered from slavery. Toward the end of it, we have some instances of this people's inclination to idolatry, and of the corruption of their manners, even before they had been brought into slavery. Such are the histories of Micah, and of the Benjamites who abused the Levite's wife. This book contains the history of three hundred and seventy years.
RUTH
During the time of the government of the Judges, there was a great famine in the land of Israel, which forced Elimelech, a native of Bethlehem to retire into the land of Moab, with his wife Naomi, and two children. Elimelech died there, as also his two sons, who had married two Moabitish women one of whom was named Ruth. Naomi, after the death of her husband and her children, returned to Bethlehem accompanied by Ruth, her daughter-in-law, who was there married to Boaz, Elimelech's near relation, and the heir to his estate. The book which contains this history, is called, The Book of Ruth. The beginning of it shows that it happened in the time of the Judges, but under which of them is not certainly known; some place it in the time of Shamgar, or of Deborah. As to the writer of this book, some think that the books of Judges and Ruth were both written by Samuel; others attribute them to Hezekiah, and others to Ezra. The Jews place the book of Ruth among the five books which they usually read on all the festivals in the year. These five books are, the Song of Songs, Ruth, the Lamentations of Jeremiah, Ecclesiastes, and the book of Esther. In the Hebrew bibles they are printed or written apart by themselves, and are bound up together.
I & II SAMUEL
The four books following Ruth are called by the Greeks, and also in some Latin bibles, The History of the Reigns. Others call them all, The Books of Kings, because they give an account of the establishment of the monarchy, and of the succession of the kings, who reigned over the whole kingdom at first, and over the kingdoms of Judah and Israel after its division. At the beginning of these books is given the history of the prophet Samuel, which gives light to that of The Kings. The Jews call the first two of these books, The Books of Samuel: perhaps because they contain the history of the two kings, who were both anointed by Samuel; and because what is said of Saul in the first, and of David in the second, proves the truth of Samuel's prophecies. They give the name of The Books of Kings only to the other two, which, in the Latin and French bibles, are called the Third and Fourth Books of Kings.
The First Book of Kings, or the First of Samuel, contains the history of the high-priest Eli, of Samuel, and of Saul. As the first year of Eli's high-priesthood falls on the year of the world 2848, and the death of Saul in 2949, the history of this book must comprehend the space of one hundred and one years.
The Second contains the reign of David, which is the history of about forty years. It is commonly believed that Samuel, Nathan, and Gad, were the writers of these two books, and, indeed, they are called, in the end of the first book of Chronicles, David's historians.
I & II KINGS
The Third, or, according to the Hebrews, the First Book of Kings, begins with a relation of the manner in which Solomon came to the throne, and contains the whole of his reign. After that, an account follows of the division of the kingdom, and the history of four kings of Judah and eight kings of Israel. All these reigns, including that of Solomon, which occupies the first forty-years, comprise the space of one hundred and twenty-six years.
The Fourth of these books contains the history of sixteen kings of Judah, and twelve kings of Israel. It likewise gives an account of the prophets who lived during this time. It is quite uncertain who were the writers of the last two mentioned books. They are by some attributed to Jeremiah or Ezra, but no very convincing proofs have been adduced in support of this opinion. It is evident, indeed, that these books form a varied collection of several particular histories.
I & II CHRONICLES
The name of Paralipomena, which in Greek signifies the “history of things omitted,” is given to the two books which follow those of The Kings. These form, in fact, a supplement, containing what had been omitted in the Pentateuch, and the books of Joshua, Judges, and Kings, or rather they contain a fuller description of some things which had been therein only briefly related. Some give them the name of Chronicles, because they are very exact in mentioning the time when every transaction happened. We divide them into two books, as do also the Jews, who call them Dibere Hayanim, that is, an “historical journal,” the matters of which they treat having been taken from the journals or the kings. In the original language, however, the word days often signifies the year; and, in this sense, we may understand the term to signify properly “annals.” The generally-received opinion is, that Ezra was the writer of these. In the first book, he begins with a succinct historical abridgment, from the creation of Adam to the return of the Jews from their captivity; and then he resumes the history of David, and carries it on to the consecration of Solomon, that is, down to the year before Christ 1015. The history contained in the second book reaches down to the year before Christ 536, when, upon the expiration of the seventy years of captivity, Cyrus gave the Jews leave to return to their own country.
EZRA
Ezra wrote the history of the return of the Jews from the captivity of Babylon into Judea. It is the history of about eighty-two years, from the year of the world 3468, when Cyrus became master of the eastern empire, by the death of his father, Cambyses, in Persia, and his father-in-law, Cyaxares, in Media, to the year 3550, which was the twentieth year of the reign of Artaxerxes, surnamed Longimanus. This book bears the name of Ezra, who was the writer of it.
NEHEMIAH
The next book is a continuation of that of Ezra, and therefore it is by some called the Second Book of Ezra. It was Nehemiah, however, whose name it also bears, who wrote it, as is said, by the advice of Ezra. It contains the account of the reestablishment of Jerusalem, and the temple, and the worship of God. It is the history of about thirty-one years; that is to say, from the twentieth year or the reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus, to the reign of Darius Nothus, his son, which began in the year of the world 3581.
ESTHER
After this general history of the Jews, follow two histories of particular persons, viz., Esther and Job. The first contains the account of a miraculous deliverance of the Jews, which was accomplished by means of the heroine named Esther. The Scripture says it happened under the reign of Ahasuerus, king of Persia; but as there have been several Persian kings of that name, it is not exactly known in which reign it is to be dated. Dr. Lightfoot thinks it was that Artaxerxes who hindered the building of the temple, and who, in the book of Ezra, is called also Ahasuerus, after his great grandfather the king of the Medes.
JOB
The history of Job, which is next in order, is not only a narration of his actions, but contains also the entire discourses which this pious man had with his wife and his friends, and is, indeed, one of the most eloquent books in the Holy Scriptures. It is generally conjectured that Moses was the writer or compiler of this book; but this is very uncertain.
PSALMS
Next to the historical books of Scripture follow those of a moral nature. The first of these is the Book of Psalms, which is likewise in some measure historical; for they recite the miracles which God had wrought, and contain, as it were, an abridgment of all that had been done for the Israelites, and that had happened to them. The Hebrews call them “the Book of Praises,” by which they mean, “of the Praises of God.” The word psalm is Greek, and properly signifies the sound of a stringed instrument of music. The Hebrews sung the Psalms with different instruments. We make but one book of them all, but the Hebrews divide them into live parts, which all end with the words Amen, Amen. Though the Psalms bear the name of David, yet they were not all composed by him; some of them are more ancient, and others are of a later date than his time; some of them being ascribed to Moses, Samuel, and Ezra. Speaking of the dedication of the second temple, Prideaux says, “In this dedication, Psalms 146 seem to have been sung; for in the Septuagint versions they are styled the Psalms of Haggai and Zechariah, as if they had been composed by them for this occasion; and this, no doubt, was from some ancient tradition: but, in the original Hebrew, these Psalms have no such title prefixed to them, neither have they any other to contradict it.” It is not probable, however, that all those whose names they bear were the true authors of them; it is more likely that these are only the names of those to whom they were first given to sing.
PROVERBS
After the Psalms are the Proverbs, which are a collection of moral sentences, of which Solomon was the writer. This name is given them by the Greeks, but the Hebrews call them Myste, that is, parables, or comparisons; and the word may also signify sentences, or maxims. It is a collection of divine precepts, proper for every age, and every condition of life.
ECCLESIASTES
The book which follows is also a moral one, and was likewise composed by Solomon. The Greeks call it Ecclesiastes, which answers to the name of Koheleth, which it bears in the Hebrew. Both these words signify, in our language, a preacher, or one who speaks in an assembly. In this book is given an admirable picture of the vanity of the world.
SONG OF SOLOMON
Among, the moral books is also reckoned the Song of Songs; that is to say, according to the Hebrew manner of speaking, a most excellent song. This book has nothing of morality in it, and therefore, it is thought the only reason of its being placed here is because it was a third work of Solomon; for there is not one moral or religious maxim in it, and the name of God is not so much as mentioned in it, except once in the original Hebrew, where it is used adjectively. It is an Epithalamium, or nuptial song, wherein, by the expressions of love between a bridegroom and his bride, are set forth and illustrated the mutual affections that pass between God and a distinguished remnant of mankind. It is a sort of dramatic poem or pastoral: the bride and bridegroom, for the more lively representation of humility and innocence, are brought in as a shepherd and shepherdess. We learn from St. Jerome, that the Jews were not permitted to read this song, or the chapters at the beginning of the book of Genesis, till they were thirty years old.
PROPHETS
In regard to the prophets, it may be observed, that all the Old Testament is considered to be in substance one continued prophecy of the coming of Jesus Christ; so that all the books of which it consists are understood to be in some sense prophetical. But this name is more especially given to those books which were written by persons who had a cleaver knowledge of futurity, who forewarned both kings and people of what would happen to them, and who at the same time pointed out what the Messiah was to do, whom they who are acknowledged to have been prophets had always in view: and this is what ought most especially to be taken notice of in their writings.
The prophecies bear the name of those to whom they belong. Some learned men are of opinion that the prophets made abridgments of the discourses which they had written, and fixed them up at the gates of the temple, that all the people might read them; and that after this the ministers of the temple might take them away, and place them among the archives, which is the reason why we have not the prophecies in the order in which they were written. But the interpreters Scripture have long since labored to restore that order, according to the course of their history.
The works of the prophets are divided into two parts, the first of which contains the greater, and the second, the lesser prophets. This distinction, of course, does not apply at all to the persons of the prophets, but only to the bulk of their works. The greater prophets are Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Jeremiah. The Lamentations of Jeremiah make a separate book by themselves, containing that prophet's descriptions of the destruction of the city of Jerusalem, and of the captivity of the people. The lesser prophets are Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. They were formerly contained in one single volume, which the Hebrews call Thereaser, which means twelve, or the book of the twelve.
The dates of many of the prophecies are uncertain, but the earliest of them was in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and Jeroboam the Second, his contemporary, king of Israel, about 200 years before the captivity, and not long after Joash had slain Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, in the court of the temple. Hosea was the first of the writing prophets, and Joel, Amos, and Obadiah, published their prophecies about the same time.
Isaiah began his remarkable prophecies a short time afterward, but his book is placed first, because it is the largest of them all, and is more explicit relative to the advent of Christ than any of the others. The language of this eminent writer is exceedingly sublime and affecting; so much so, that it has never been equaled by any profane poet either in ancient or modern times. It is impossible to read some of the chapters without being struck by the force of the prophetic allusions to the character and sufferings of the Messiah; and in consequence of these prevailing characteristics, the author is ordinarily styled the evangelical prophet, and by some of the ancients, a fifth evangelist. The Jews say than the spirit of prophecy continued forty years during the second temple; and Malachi they call the seal of prophecy, because in him the succession or series of prophets broke off; and came to a period. The book of Malachi, therefore, appropriately closes the sacred record of the Old Testament.
NEW TESTAMENT
The second and lesser division of the Bible relates entirely to the Christian religion, or the fulfillment of that which was predicted in the preceding and more ancient department of the work. This division of the sacred Scriptures is generally styled the New Testament; and that portion of it which relates to the history of the life of Christ is called the Gospel, and by some the Evangel, both these words having the same meaning, and implying good news, or glad tidings, from the circumstances that the narratives contain an account of things which are to benefit mankind.
The New Testament, like the Old, is a compilation of books written by different inspired individuals, and all put together in a manner so as to exhibit a regular account of the birth, actions, and death of Christ--the doctrines he promulgated--and the prophecies regarding the future state of the church which he founded. The historical books are the four gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, all these being of the character of narratives of events; the doctrinal are the Epistles of St. Paul, and some others; the prophetic book is the last, and this is called the Revelation or Apocalypse of St. John, having been written by that apostle while he was in the island of Patmos.
The writers of the books of the New Testament are generally well known, each having the name of the author affixed to it, with the exception of the Acts of the Apostles, which, it is presumed, was compiled by St. Luke. It was long disputed whether St. Paul was the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews; Tertullian, an ancient Christian writer, and some others, attribute it to St. Barnabas; others to St. Luke; and others to St. Clement; while some think, with greater probability, that St. Paul dictated it, and St. Luke acted as the writer; and that the reason why the name of the true author was not affixed to it, was because he was disliked by the Jews. The four evangelists, or writers of the leading narratives, are St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke, and St. John; these having been companions to Christ during his ministrations, and, therefore, personally acquainted with his life and character. Each of the four books is principally a repetition of the history of Christ, yet they all possess a difference of style, and each mentions some circumstances omitted by the others, so that the whole is essential in making up a complete life of the Messiah. These distinctions in the tone of the narratives and other peculiarities, are always considered as strong circumstantial evidence in proof of their authenticity, and of there having been no collusion on the part of the writers. But, indeed, the events they record are detailed in so exceedingly simple and unaffected a manner, that it is impossible to suppose that they were written with a view to impose on the credulity of mankind. The veracity and actual belief of the evangelists themselves are placed beyond a doubt.
MATTHEW
The first book is written by Matthew, who was by birth a Jew, and exercised the profession of a publican--that is, a collector of the public tax or assessment imposed upon the Jewish people by their conquerors, the Romans. Matthew, who was also called by the name of Levi, was one of the twelve apostles of Christ, and he is said to have written his narrative about eight years after the departure of his Master from the earth. Many of the ancients say that he wrote it in the Hebrew or Syriac language; but Dr. Whitby is clearly of opinion that this tradition is entirely void of foundation, and that it was doubtless written in Greek, as the other parts of the New Testament were. Yet it is probable that there might be an edition of it in Hebrew, published by St. Matthew himself at the same time that he wrote it in Greek; the former for the Jews, the latter for the Gentiles, when he left Judea to preach among the heathen.
MARK
In regard to Mark, the writer of the second Gospel, it may be observed, that although Mark, or Marcus, was a Roman name, and a very common one, yet we have no reason to think but that he was by birth a Jew; but as Saul, when he went among the Gentiles took the Roman name of Paul, so did this evangelist take that of Mark, his Jewish name, perhaps, being Mardacai, is Grotius observes. Jerome and Tertullian say that he was a disciple of the Apostle Peter, and his interpreter or amanuensis. We have every reason to believe that both he and Luke were of the number of the seventy disciples who companied all along with the apostles, and who had a commission like to theirs: so that it is no diminution at all to the validity or value of this Gospel that Mark was not one of the twelve, as Matthew and John were. Jerome says, that after the writing of this Gospel he went into Egypt, and was the first that preached the gospel at Alexandria, where he founded a church, to which he was a great example of holy living.
The Gospel of St. Mark is much shorter than that of Matthew, not giving so full an account of Christ's sermons as that did, but insisting chiefly on his miracles; and in regard to these, also, it is very much a repetition of what we have in Matthew, many remarkable circumstances being added to the stories there related, but not many new matters. There is a tradition that it was first written in Latin, because it was written at Rome; but this is generally thought to be without foundation, and that it was written in Greek, as was St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans, the Greek being the more universal language.
LUKE
Luke, the name of the third evangelist, is considered by some to be a contraction of Lucilius, and it is said by St. Jerome to have been borne at Antioch. Some think that he was the only one of all the penmen of the Scriptures that was not of the Israelites; that he was a Jewish proselyte, and was converted to Christianity by the ministry of St. Paul at Antioch, and after his coming into Macedonia he was his constant companion. He had employed himself in the study and practice of physic, and hence Paul calls him “Luke, the beloved physician.” It is more than probable, however, as is testified both by Origen and Epiphanius, that he was one of the seventy disciples, and a follower of Christ when he was upon earth; and if so, he was most likely to be a native Israelite. Luke must probably wrote his Gospel at Rome, a little before he wrote his history of the “Acts of the Apostles,” which is a continuation of the former, when he was there with Paul, while he was a prisoner, and “preaching in his own hired house,” with which the history of the Acts concludes. In this case, it must have been written about twenty-seven years after Christ's departure, and about the fourth year of the reign of Nero. Jerome says that St. Luke died when he was eighty-four years of age, and that he was never married. Dr. Cave observes that “his way and manner of writing are accurate and exact, his style polite and elegant, sublime anti lofty, yet perspicuous; and that he expresses himself in a vein of purer Greek than is to be found in the other writers of this holy history.” Thus he relates several things more copiously than the other evangelists, and thus he especially treats of those things which relate to the priestly office of Christ.
JOHN
The fourth evangelist, John, was one of the sons of Zebedee, a fishermen of Galilee, the brother of James, one of the twelve apostles, and distinguished by the honorable appellation, “that disciple whom Jesus loved.” The ancients tell us that John lived the longest of all the apostles, and was the only one of them that died a natural death, all the rest suffering martyrdom; and some of them say that he wrote this Gospel. Ephesus, at the request of the ministers of the several churches of Asia, in order to combat certain heresies. It seems most probable that he composed it before his banishment into the isle of Patmos, for there he wrote his Revelation, the close of which seems designed for the closing up of the canon of scripture; in which case this Gospel could not have been written after. It is clear that he wrote the last of the four Evangelists, and, comparing his Gospel with theirs, we may observe that he relates what they had omitted, and thus gleans up what they had passed by.
GOSPELS
These four Gospels were early and constantly received by the primitive church, and read in Christian assemblies, as appears by the writings of Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, who lived little more than one hundred years after the origin of Christianity; they declared that neither more nor fewer than four were received by the church. A Harmony of these four Evangelists was compiled by Tatian about that time, which he called “The Gospel out of the four.” In the third and fourth centuries there were gospels forged by divers sects, and published, one under the name of St. Peter, another of St. Thomas, another of St. Philip, etc. But they were never owned by the church, nor was any credit given to them, as the learned Dr. Whitby shows. And he gives this good reason why we should adhere to these written records: “because,” says he, “whatever the pretences of tradition may be, it is not sufficient to preserve things with any certainty, as appears by experience. For whereas Christ said and did many memorable things which were not written, tradition has not preserved any one of them to us, but all is lost except what was written; and that, therefore, is what we must abide by.”
ACTS
After the Gospel, or history of Jesus Christ, follows the history of what passed after his ascension, and was transacted by the apostles. The book, therefore, which contains this history is called “The Acts of the Apostles.” It is a history of the rising church for about the space of thirty years. It was written, as has been already observed, by St. Luke the Evangelist, when he was with St. Paul at Rome, during his imprisonment there. In the end of the book he mentions particularly his being with Paul in his dangerous voyage to Rome, when he was carried thither a prisoner; and it is evident that he was with him when, from his prison there, Paul wrote his epistles to the Colossians and Philemon; for in both of these he is named by him.
EPISTLES
Next to this come the Epistles of St. Paul, which are fourteen in number: one to the Romans, two to the Corinthians, one to the Galatians, one to the Ephesians, one to the Philippians, one to the Colossians, two to the Thessalonians, two to Timothy, one to Titus, one to Philemon, and one to the Hebrews. They contain that part of ecclesiastical history which immediately follows after what is related in the Acts. The principal matter contained in them is the establishment or confirmation of the doctrine which Jesus Christ taught his disciples. According as the difficulties which raised disputes among the Christians, or the heresies which sprung up in the church from the first age of it, required, St. Paul in these epistles clears up and proves all matters of faith, and gives excellent rules for morality. His epistles may be considered as a commentary on, or an interpretation of, the four books of the Gospel.[1] In respect to the leading design of the apostolical epistles, Dr. Bloomfield remarks: “That though the essential doctrines and precepts of Christianity are to be found in the Gospels, yet a fuller and clearer statement of them was necessary, considering the altered state of things to that which existed during our Savior's life-time; and especially after the uprise of serious corruptions and dangerous errors, originating partly in misconception, which required to be checked by a more explicit, and yet equally authoritative revelation. Now this was done by St. Paul and the other writers of the Epistles. Consequently, though they were written for the immediate purpose of refuting heresies, arising from a mixture of Christianity with Judaism or Gentilism, of repressing corruptions, reforming abuses, and composing schisms and differences, yet, in point of fact, they became, and were avowedly, commentaries on the doctrine of Christ, as delivered in the Gospels; and though originally intended for particular Christian societies, yet are adapted to the instruction of Christians in all ages.” Principles are involved, which are our surest guides on all points relating to church liberty especially as to abstaining from things innocent in themselves, if likely to give offence to scrupulous brethren--Ed.
BOOK ORDER
The chronological succession of the Epistles, according to Prof. Lange, is as follows: 1. To the Thessalonians. 2. To the Galatians 3. To the Corinthians. 4. To the Romans 5. The epistle of James. 6. To the Ephesians. 7. To the Philippians. 8. To the Hebrews 9. The first epistle of Peter. 10. The first to Timothy. 11. To Titus. 12. The second to Timothy. 13. The second of Peter. 14. The epistle of Jude 1:15. The three epistles of John. As it respects the date of these apostolic epistles, it is generally agreed that they were written between the years A.D. 54 and 68, excepting those of John, written probably between the years 96 and 100.[2] The apostolic epistles are didadactic or catholic. The didactic epistles are those addressed to particular writings of Paul, for the most part, belong to the former class. They are analyzed or classified by Lange, as follows: 1. Eschatological epistles, which treat of the last things. 2. Ecclesiastic epistles, which treat of the discipline of the church. 3. Soteriological epistles, which treat of redemption and righteousness by faith. 4. Christological epistles, which treat of the person of Christ. 5. Pastoral epistles. The Epistle to the Hebrews, that of James, and the three of John, and those of Peter and Jude, are classed as catholic epistles--Ed.
IMPORT OF EPISTLES
It has sometimes occurred to the minds of many well-disposed persons, that it would have been better for Christianity had there never been any other record of its origin and doctrines than the writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. But, however plain and satisfactory the histories of these evangelists may be, and however little they admit of controversy, it has to be remembered that it required the strong arguments and illustrations brought forward in the epistles, by Paul and others, to combat the sophistry of the Greeks, and the self-sufficient philosophies of other races of man. Paul, the chief of the epistle writers, who became a Christian by conversion after Christ had departed from the earth, is the great champion of the faith, and exposes, in strong and dauntless language, the hidden depravities of the human heart; so that where the affecting discourses and sufferings of the Messiah fail to convert and convince, the reasoning of this great writer is calculated to silence and subdue those who stubbornly resist the benignant influence of the Christian faith.
NUMBER OF BOOKS
The first division of the Scriptures, as already mentioned, is into the Old and New Testaments. The New belongs to the Christians, but the Old was received from the Jews; and it is from them, therefore, that we must learn what the number of the books of it originally was, and everything else relating to this most ancient and interesting production.
The celebrated Jewish writers, Josephus and Philo, reckon two and twenty canonical books in the Old Testament, which is the number of the letters in the Hebrew alphabet: and to make out this, they join the book of Ruth to that of Judges, and the Lamentations of Jeremiah to the book of his Prophecies. But other Jewish doctors divide the book of Ruth from that of Judges, and, making likewise a separate book of the Lamentations of Jeremiah, they reckon four and twenty books in all. In order to accommodate this number to that of the letters of the alphabet, they repeat the letter yod three times, as they say, in honor to the great name of God Jehovah, of which yod is the first letter; and in Chaldee three yods together were used to express this adorable name, but as the modern Jews thought this savored too much of what Christians call the Trinity, they use only two yods for this purpose. St. Jerome is of opinion that St. John had this division of the Hebrew scriptures in view, when in his Revelation he speaks of the four and twenty elders who paid adoration to the Lamb of God.
The Jews divide the whole of these books into three classes, namely, the Law, the Prophets, and the Hagiographa or Holy Writings, which last division includes more particularly the poetical parts; and some are of opinion that Jesus Christ alludes to this division of the Scriptures, when he says that “all things must be fulfilled that were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning” him. For the book of Psalms, they understand all the books of the third class. The Law comprehends the Pentateuch; that is, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The Prophetical books are eight viz: (1) Joshua, (2) Judges, with Ruth, (3) Samuel, (4) Kings, (5) Isaiah, (6) Jeremiah, (7) Ezekiel, and (8) the twelve Lesser Prophets. The first four books of this division are called the Former Prophets, and the last four the Later Prophets. The Hagiographa, or Holy Writings, are nine, viz: (1) Job, (2) the Psalms, (3) Proverbs, (4) Ecclesiastes, (5) The Song of Songs, (6) Daniel, (7) Chronicles, (8) Ezra, with Nehemiah, and (9) Esther. The Jews do not put Daniel in the rank of a prophet, although they acknowledge him to have been a man inspired by God, and whose writings are full of the clearest prophecies concerning the time of the Messiah's coming and what should happen to their nation. Jesus Christ, therefore, gives him the name of a Prophet, and the Jewish doctors are much puzzled to find out a proper reason for their not doing the same. “It is,” says Maimonides, “because everything that Daniel wrote was not revealed to him when he was awake and had the use of his reason, but in the night, and in obscure dreams.” But this is a very unsatisfactory account of the matter; and others are of opinion that the name of a Prophet was commonly given to those only who were of a certain college, and whose business it was to write the annals; and that, therefore, their works were ranked among the prophetical books, though they did not contain a single prediction of anything to come, as the books of Joshua and Judges; while, on the contrary, the works of those who were of not of these colleges of the prophets were not ranked among the prophetical books, although they contained true prophecies.
The Latins agree with the Jews as to the number of the Psalms, which is a hundred and fifty; but both they and the Greeks divide them differently from the Hebrews. In the Greek Bible and the Vulgate, or common Latin version, the ninth and tenth, according to the Hebrew, make but one psalm; and therefore, in order to make up the number of a hundred and fifty, they divide the hundred and forty-seventh into two.
DIVISIONS OF THE BIBLE
This is the general division of the sacred books among the Jews. But they divide the Pentateuch, in particular, into certain paragraphs or sections, which they call Parashiuth, and which they subdivide into the Great and Little. A Great section contains as much as is to be read in the synagogue in a week. There are in all fifty-four of these, inasmuch as there may be so many weeks in a year; for the Jews are obliged to read all the Pentateuch over once every year, finishing it on the feast of tabernacles, and beginning it again on the next Sabbath day. In the time of the persecution by Antiochus Epiphanes, they also selected fifty-four sections to be read out of the Prophets, which have ever since constituted the second lessons in the Jewish synagogue-service. The Little sections, which are subdivisions of the Greater, are made according to the subjects they treat of; and these Great and Little sections are again of two sorts, one of which is called Petuchoth, that is, open sections; and the other Sethumoth, that is, close sections. The former commences in the Hebrew Bibles always at the beginning of lines, and are marked with three P's if it be a great section, and with only one if it be a little section; because P is the first letter of the word Petuchoth. Every open section takes its name from its first word; and thus the first section in the whole Bible is called Bereshith, which is the first word of the Book of Genesis in Hebrew. The close sections begin the middle of a line, and are marked with the letter Samech, which is the first letter of the word Sethumoth; if it be a great section it has three Samechs; if a little section, only one. Every great section is also divided again into seven parts, which are read in the synagogue by so many different persons. If any priest be present, he begins, and a Levite reads after him; and in the choice of the rest, regard is had to their dignity and condition. The divisions of the prophetical books already mentioned are read jointly with those of Moses, in the same manner. These latter divisions they call Haphteroth, a term which signifies, in Hebrew, dismissions; because after this reading is over they dismiss the people.
HEBREW VERSE DIVISIONS
The Jews call the division of the Holy Scriptures into chapters, Perakim, which signifies fragments; and the division into verses they call Pesukim, a word of nearly the same signification as the former. These last are marked out in the Hebrew Bibles by two great points at the end of them, called hence Soph-Pasuk, that is, the end of the verse. But the division of the Scriptures into chapters and verses, as we now have them, is of a much later date. The Psalms, indeed, were always divided at present; for St. Paul, in his sermon at Antioch in Pisidia, quotes the second Psalm. But as to the rest of the Holy Scriptures, the division of them into such chapters as at present, is what the ancients knew nothing of. Some attribute it to Stephen Langton, who was archbishop of Canterbury in the reigns of King John and his son, Henry the Third. But the true author of this invention, as is shown by Dean Prideaux at great length, was Hugo de Sancto Caro, who, being from a Dominican monk advanced to the dignity of a cardinal, and the first of that order that was so, is commonly called Hugo Cardinalis.
LATIN CONCORDANCE
This Cardinal Hugo, who flourished about the year 1240, and died in 1262, had labored much in the study of the Holy Scriptures, and made a comment upon the whole of them. The carrying on of this work gave him the occasion of inventing the first concordance that was made of the Scriptures--that is, of the vulgar Latin Bible; for, conceiving that such an index of all the words and phrases in the Bible would be of great use for the attaining of a better understanding of it, he projected a scheme for the making of such an index, and forthwith set a great number of the monks of his order on the collecting of the words under their proper classes in every letter of the alphabet, in order to this design; and, by the help of so many hands, he soon brought it to what he intended. This work was afterward much improved by those who followed him, especially by Arlottus Thuseus, and Conradus Halberstadius, the former a Franciscan and the other a Dominican friar, who both lived about the end of the same century. But the whole intention of the work being for the easier finding of any word or passage in the Scriptures, to make it answer this purpose the cardinal found it necessary, in the first place, to divide the book into sections, and the sections into other divisions, that by these he might the better make the references, and the more exactly point out in the index where any word or passage might be found in the text; and these sections are the chapters into which the Bible has ever since been divided. For, on the publishing of this concordance, the usefulness of it being immediately discerned, all were desirous to have it; and, for the sake of the use of it, they all divided their bibles as Hugo had done; for the references in the concordance being made by these chapters and the subdivisions of them, unless their bibles were so divided too, the concordance would be of no use to them. And thus this division of the several books of the Bible into chapters had its original, which has ever since been made use of in all places and among all people, wherever the Bible itself is used in these western parts of the world; for before this there was no division of the books in the vulgar Latin bibles at all.
But the subdivisions of the chapters were not then by verses as now. Hugo's way of subdividing them was by the letters A, B, C, D, E, F, G, placed in the margin at equal distances from one another, according as the chapters were longer or shorter. In long chapters all these seven letters were used, in others fewer, as the length of the chapters required; for the subdivision of the chapters by verses, which is now in all our bibles, was not introduced into them till some ages after; and then it was from the Jews that the use of it, as we now have it, took its original on the following occasion.
HEBREW CONCORDANCE
About the year 1430, there lived here among the western Jews a famous rabbi, called by some Rabbi Mordecai Nathan, by others Rabbi Isaac Nathan, and by many by both these names, as if he were first called by one of them, and then, by a change of it, by the other. This rabbi being much conversant with the Christians, and having frequent disputes with their learned men about religion, he thereby came to the knowledge of the great use which they made of the Latin concordance composed by Cardinal Hugo, and the benefit which they had from it, in the ready finding of any place in the Scriptures which they had occasion to consult; which he was so much taken with, that he immediately set about making such a concordance to the Hebrew Bible for the use of the Jews. He began this work in the year 1438, and finished it in 1445, being seven years in composing it; and the first publishing of it happening about the time when printing was invented, it has since undergone several editions from the press. The Buxtorfs, father and son, bestowed much pains on this work; and the edition of it published by them at Basil in 1632 is by far the most complete, and has deservedly the reputation of being the best book of the kind that is extant. Indeed, it is so useful for the understanding of the Hebrew scriptures, that no one who employs his studies in this way can have a better companion; it being the best dictionary, as well as the best concordance to them.
In the composing of this book, Rabbi Nathan finding it necessary to follow the same division of the Scriptures into chapters which Hugo had made in them, it had the like effect as to the Hebrew bibles that Hugo's had as to the Latin, causing the same divisions to be made in all the Hebrew bibles which were afterward either written out or printed for common use; and hence the division into chapters first came into the Hebrew bibles. But Nathan, though he followed Hugo in the division into chapters, yet did not do so in the division of the chapters by the letters A, B, C, etc., in the margin, but introduced a better usage by employing the division that was made by verse. This division, as already mentioned, was very ancient; but it was till now without any numbers put to the verses. The numbering, therefore, of the verses in the chapters, and the quoting of the passages in every chapter by the verses, were Rabbi Nathan's invention; in everything else he followed the pattern which Cardinal Hugo had sent him. But it is to be observed, that he did not number the verses any otherwise than by affixing the numerical Hebrew letters in the margin at every fifth verse; and this has been the usage of the Jews in all their Hebrew bibles ever since, except that latterly they have also introduced the common figures for numbering the intermediate verses between every fifth. Vatalibius soon after published a Latin Bible according to this pattern, with the chapters divided into verses, and the verses so numbered; and this example has been followed in all other editions that have been since put forth. So that, as the Jews borrowed the division of the books of the Holy Scriptures into chapters from the Christians, in like manner the Christians borrowed that of the chapters into verses from the Jews. But to this day the book of the law, which is read by the Jews in their synagogues every Sabbath day, has none of these distinctions, that is, is not divided into verses as the Bible is.
GREEK VERSE DIVISIONS
The division of the books of Scripture into great and little sections, does, without doubt, contribute much to the clearing up of their contents; and for this reason, as well as because they found it practised in the synagogues, the Christians also divided the books of the New Testament into what the Greeks call pericopes, that is, sections, that they might be read in their order. Each of these sections contained, under the same title, all the matters that had any relation to one another, and were solemnly read in the churches by the public readers, after the deacons had admonished the faithful to be attentive to it, crying with a loud voice, “Attendance, Let us attend.” The name of titles was given to these sections, because each of them had its own title. Robert Stephens, the famous printer, who died at Geneva in 1559, gets the credit of being the first who made the division of the chapters of the New Testament into verses, and for the same reason as Rabbi Nathan had done before him as to the Old Testament; that is, for the sake of a concordance which he was then composing for the Greek Testament, and which was afterward printed by Henry Stephens, his son, who gives this account of the matter in his preface to the concordance. Since that time, this division of the whole Bible by chapters and verses, and the quoting of all passages in them by the numbers of both, has grown into use everywhere among us in these western parts; so that not only all Latin bibles, but all Greek ones also, as well as every other that has been printed in any of the modern languages, have followed this division. They who most approve of this division of the Bible into chapters and verses, as at present used, agree that a much more convenient one might be made; since it often happens that things which ought to be separated are joined together, and many things which ought to be joined together are divided.
JEWISH RESPECT OF SCRIPTURES
The respect which the Jews have for the sacred books, and which even degenerates into superstition, is one of the principal of their religious practices. Nothing can be added to the care they take in writing them. The books of the ancients were of a different form from ours; they did not consist of several leaves, but of one or more skins or parchments sewn together, and fastened at the ends to rollers of wood, upon which they were rolled up; so that a book when thus shut up might easily be sealed in several places. And such was the book mentioned in the Revelations, which St. John says “was sealed with seven seals,” and which no one but “the Lion of the tribe of Judah could open and explain.”
HEBREW MANUSCRIPT INTEGRITY
The Hebrew manuscripts of the Bible are of two kinds--the rolled ones, or those used in the synagogues, and the square ones, or those which are to be found in private collections. The rules laid down by the Jews with respect to their manuscripts have undoubtedly tended much to preserve the integrity of the text. They are directed to be written upon parchment, made from the skin of a clean animal, and to be tied together with strings of similar substance, or sewn with goat's-hair, which has been spun and prepared by a Jewess. It must be likewise a Jew that writes the law, and they extremely diligent and exact in it, because the least fault in the world profanes the book. Every skin of parchment is to contain a certain number of columns, which are to be of a precise length and breadth, and to contain a certain number of words. They are to be written with the purest ink, and no word is to be written by heart or with the points; it must be first orally pronounced by the copyist. The name of God is directed to be written with the utmost attention and devotion, and the transcriber is to wash his pen before he inscribes it on the parchment. If there should chance to be a word with either a deficient or a redundant letter, or should any of the prosaic part of the Old Testament be written as verse, or vice versa, the manuscript is vitiated. No Hebrew manuscript with any illumination is, on any account, admitted into a synagogue, although private individuals are permitted to have them ornamented for their own use; but in the illustrations, the resemblance of any animal denounced by the Jews as unclean can not be admitted. Among the modern Jews, the book of Esther, in particular, is frequently decorated with rude figures of various kinds; but with respect to this book, it must be observed that, owing to its wanting the sacred name of God, it is not held in such repute for holiness as the other books are. The manuscripts for private use may be either upon parchment, vellum, or paper, and of various sizes. “There is,” says Prideaux, “in the church of St. Dominic, in Bononia, a copy of the Hebrew Scriptures, kept with a great deal of care, which they pretend to be the original copy written by Ezra himself; and therefore it is there valued at so high a rate, that great sums of money have been borrowed by the Bononians upon the pawn of it, and again repaid for its redemption. It is written in a very fair character upon a sort of leather, and made up in a roll according to the ancient manner; but it having the vowel-points annexed, and the writing being fresh and fair, without any decay, both these particulars prove the novelty of that copy. But such forgeries are no uncommon things among the papistical sect.”
HEBREW SCRIPTURES IN SYNAGOGUES
To open and shut up the roll or book of the law, to hold it, and to raise and show it to the people, are three offices, which are sold, and bring in a great deal of money. The skins on which the law is written are fastened to two rollers, whose ends jut out at the sides, beyond the skins, and are usually adorned with silver; and it is by them that they hold the book when they lift it up, and exhibit it to the congregation; because they are forbidden to touch the book itself with their hands. All who are in the synagogue kiss it, and they who are not near enough to reach it with their mouths, touch the silken cover of it, and then kiss their hands, and put the two fingers with which they touched it upon their eyes, which they think preserves the sight. They keep it in a cupboard, which supplies the place of the ark of the covenant, and they therefore call this cupboard Aaron, which is the Hebrew name for the ark; and this is always placed in the east end of the synagogue. He who presides chooses any one whom he pleases to read and explain the scripture, which was a mark of distinction; as we see in the thirteenth chapter of the Acts, where we find the rulers of the synagogue desiring the apostles, when they were in the synagogue, to make a discourse to the people. Ordinarily speaking, a priest began, a Levite read on, and at last one of the people, whom the president chose, concluded. He who reads stands upright, and is not suffered so much us to lean against a wall. Before he begins, he says with a loud voice, “Bless ye God;” and the congregation answer, “Blessed be thou, O my God, blessed be thou for ever;” and when the lesson is ended, the book is rolled up, and wrapped in a piece of silk.
JEWISH VENERATION OF HEBREW
The Jews still retain so great a veneration for the Hebrew tongue, that they do not think it lawful to use any other bibles in the synagogues but such as are written in that language. This was what enraged them so much against the Hellenistic or Graecising Jews, who read the Septuagint Greek version in their synagogues; and so much were they grieved that this version was ever made, that they instituted a fast, in which they annually lament this as a misfortune. But because the Hebrew was, after the captivity, no longer the vulgar tongue, there was an interpreter in the synagogues, who explained to the people in the Chaldee, or common tongue, what was read to them in the Hebrew. The use they made of the Scriptures, however, gave the people at least an imperfect knowledge of the Hebrew language. And thus we see eunuch who is mentioned in the Acts, could read Isaiah, and understand enough of it to form the question which he put to Philip, concerning in the passage in the prophecy relating to Jesus Christ.
HEBREW LANGUAGE
After having spoken of the books contained in the Bible, and of the divisions of those books which have been used by the Jews and the Christians, both in ancient and modern times, it may now be necessary to examine a little into the language in which they were written. The Old Testament was originally written in the Hebrew tongue and this language is generally considered as having the best claims to be considered the most ancient at present existing in the world, and, perhaps, as the primeval tongue of the human race. By the Hebrew language, therefore, is meant that which was spoken by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the twelve patriarchs, which was afterward preserved among their posterity, and in which Moses wrote, it being improbable that he would employ any other language than that which was in use among the Jews.
This language is supposed by some to derive its name from Heber, great-grandson son to Shem, whose posterity were denominated Hebrews; but it is much more likely that it received its name from its being the mother-tongue of the descendants of Abraham, who were called Hebrews, not because they were descended from Heber, but because Abraham, having received a command from God to leave the country where he lived, which was beyond the Euphrates, passed that river, and came into the land of Canaan, where the inhabitants of the country gave him the name of the Hebrew, that is, one that has passed over; in the same manner as the French call all those that live beyond the mountains, Ultramontanes.
The reasons that demonstrate the antiquity of the Hebrew tongue are many. In the first place, the names which the Scripture explains are therein drawn from Hebrew roots. It was thus that the first man was called Adam, because he had been formed out of the ground, which in Hebrew is called Adamah. The first woman was called Eve, because she was the origin of life to all, evach in Hebrew signifying to live. The name of Cain, which comes from Canah, signifying to acquire, or get, alludes to what Eve said when he was born: “I have got a man from the Lord.” The explanation of these names is not to be found in any language but the Hebrew, and as this relation between names and things does not occur in any other language, it is in it alone that we can see the reasons why the first human beings were so called.
The names of an immense number of people, also, who are descended from the Hebrews, show the antiquity both of the nation and the language. The Assurians, for instance, derive their name from Ashur, the Elamites from Elam, the Arameans from Aram, the Lydians from Lud, the Medes from Madai, and the Ionians from Javan, who are all traced in the Hebrew bible to Shem, Ham, and Japheth. These names lhave no signification in any language but the Hebrew, which shows that they are derived thence, as are also the ancient names of the pagan deities; to which we must add the remark which several learned men have made, namely, that there is no language in which some remains of the Hebrew are not to be found.
A very apposite example, in allusion to the meaning of proper names in Hebrew, is to be found in the Book of Ruth, toward the end of the first chapter where it is said, “And the whole town was in commotion about them; and the women said, Is this Naomi? And she said, Call me not Naomi (which means Delightful); call me Marah (which means Bitter); for the Almighty (Emer) hath caused bitterness exceedingly to me. I went away full, and Jehovah hath caused me to return empty; wherefore then do ye call me Naomi, since Jehovah hath brought affliction on me, and the Almighty hath caused evil to befall me?”
Thus we see that in Hebrew, as well as in most of the oriental languages, all proper names are significant words; and this is found to be the case also among many of the nations of Africa. This circumstance has a great effect in increasing the energy of the diction in these tongues; for it not infrequently happens, as in the case of Naomi, that the speaker or writer, in addressing a person by his name, makes use of it at the same time as a word of ordinary signification, to express something in the inward disposition or the outward circumstances of the possessor. Instances of this occur in almost every page of the Hebrew scriptures; and, as may readily be supposed, it is impossible in such cases, for any common translation to do justice to the energy of the original. We have a very remarkable example of this in the twenty-fifth chapter of I Samuel, at the twenty-fifth verse, in which Abigail, speaking of her husband Nabal, says to David: “Let not my lord set his mind at all now toward the man of Belial (that is, worthless), this same person, Nabal (which means a scoundrel); for like his name so is he; Nabal is his name, and Nebelah (that is, vileness) is with him.”
In speaking of the meaning of proper names, however, the most extraordinary example, perhaps, that can be produced from any book, either ancient or modern, is the following, which is to be found in the fifth chapter of Genesis: the names of the ten antediluvian patriarchs, from Adam to Noah inclusive, are there given; and when these ten names are literally translated, and placed in the order in which they occur, they form altogether the following very remarkable sentence in English: man, appointed, miserable, lamenting the God of glory, shall descend, to instruct, his death sends to the afflicted, consolation!
We need not be surprised, therefore, at what is mentioned in the Spectator (No. 221), of a certain rabbinical divine having taken the first three of these names as the subject of his discourse, forming thus the text of a regular sermon. “We had a rabbinical divine in England,” says Addison, “who was chaplain to the earl of Essex in Queen Elizabeth's time, that had an admirable head for secrets of this nature. Upon his taking the doctor of divinity's degree, he preached before the university of Cambridge upon the first verse of the first chapter of the First Book of Chronicles, 'in which,' says he, 'you have the three following words: 'Adam, Sheth, Enosh.''
“He divided this short text into many parts, and by discovering several mysteries in each word, made a most learned and elaborate discourse. The name of this profound preacher was Dr. Alabaster, of whom the reader may find a more particular account in Dr. Fuller's Book of English Worthies.”
It is evident, that although this matter appeared ridiculous enough in Addison's eyes, so as to furnish him with a theme for a very amusing paper, yet, on considering attentively the meaning of the original words here used as proper names, a great deal of very sound doctrine might be elicited by a subtle divine, even from such an apparently insignificant text.
In the same way the names of animals in Hebrew are found to be words expressive of their qualities, which gives support to the idea that this was the language which Adam used when he gave them their names; as we find recorded in Genesis 2:19 : “And Jehovah God formed out of the ground every beast of the field, and he formed also every fowl of the heavens; and he brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them, and whatever Adam called it--the living creature--it is its name.”
Some of the names of animals in Hebrew are still found to be clearly descriptive of their qualities, and therefore in regard to what animal is intended there can in such cases be no dispute. But with respect to some others the matter is not so plain, as, from the root not being now found in the language, the ideal meaning of the name can not be so readily ascertained: and hence the eleventh chapter of Leviticus, in which the names of certain clean and unclean animals are enumerated, presents difficulties to a translator of no ordinary description.
There is, perhaps, no language in the world so easily reduced to its original elements as the Hebrew. As Wilson has well expressed it, “We descend from words to their element; and the accurate knowledge of letters is the principal part of Hebrew grammar. Its flexion nearly approaches that of the modern languages, particularly the English. The relations and dependences of nouns are not distinguished by terminations, or cases, but by particles or prepositions prefixed. The persons, moods, or tenses, of verbs are not marked by the changes of their last syllables, but by means of letters of a particular order, which sometimes appear in the middle, sometimes in the beginning, and sometimes in the end of the original ward.” In fact the structure of the Hebrew language is peculiarly favorable for the expression of energy and sublimity. The words, as is well known, are remarkable for shortness, the greater part consisting of not more than two, three, or four letters; few words have more than ten letters, and those that consist of that number are not many. The sentences are also for the most part short, and are quite free from that complexity which is apt to embarrass the reader when perusing even the best authors of Greece and Rome. The idiom of any language consists in the order of the words; but it is well known that, in this respect, the Greek and Latin tongues are extremely capricious, the words being arranged in them not in the order of the understanding, but of the ear, according to the sound rather than the sense. The Greek and Roman writers place the emphatic words in whatever order the sentence can be made to run most musically, though the sense be suspended till the speaker or reader come to the end; and hence the need of so many flexions and syntax-rules for a learner to arrange them to find out the meaning. Yet even for this purpose more declensions than one were not necessary; nor more teases than three, a past, a present, and a future.
From this mass of perplexity the Hebrew language is entirely free. Its original words, called roots consist of a proper number of letters, commonly three, the fewest that make a perfect number; and they express an action finished or expressed by a single agent. It has a proper number of voices, that is, active, passive, and medial--and only the tenses that are in nature. Its primitive words are more sentimental and scientific than sonorous; and they express original ideas, being definitions of things descriptive of their natures.
The Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, and such as are immediately derived from them, or constructed on their model, are the only languages that are formed on a regular artificial plan; and all other tongues of which we know anything, except perhaps the Persian and the Sanskrit, must be considered in comparison as mere gibberish, being quite rude in their original formation; nor is it possible to reduce them to another state, without wholly metamorphosing them. That which was never the language of a cultivated, learned people, and in which there are no literary works of taste, cannot be a polished language, although it may have been the language of a civilized nation, or of a court, if they were only an illiterate people. In a word, all languages that have a concourse of consonants, or silent letters, are rude in their writing or pronunciation, whatever their structure may be. The Greek and Latin are free from the latter fault, and the Hebrew from both. “As Solomon possessed the most wisdom and knowledge,” says Mr. Ray, “and treated all subjects of natural philosophy, etc., and his court being the most splendid and elegant, as people came to it from all nations, and greatly admired it, the Hebrew must be a copious, elegant language; and its structure is invariable, being the same in Moses and Malachi, at a thousand years' distance.” In speaking of the genius of a language, indeed, which is its force, vigor, or energy, the Hebrew, may, without doubt, be said to excel all.
It is evident therefore that if, as Longinus observes, “saying the greatest things in the fewest words” be essential to simplicity and energy in discourse, the Hebrew is the best language in the world for the purpose. In it we have no superfluous parts of a sentence in words, or even in letters. A Hebrew writer conveys his meaning without circumlocution; for, although he were inclined, he would be unable to accomplish it, because the language is quite unsuitable in its nature for being employed in any such way; and therefore if an author's subject be good, even although he should possess but little genius, he will find no great difficulty to clothe his ideas in sublime and energetic language, if he write in Hebrew.[3] The Bible was composed, says Prof. Lange, in the two leading languages of antiquity, which reflect the greatest contrast in the intellectual world. The Hebrew tongue may be characterized as the most unstudied and child-like, as the deepest, purest, and most direct language of spiritual experiences; while the Greek the most cultivated, refined, and philosophical expression of intellectual life--Ed.
Such is the simple nature of the formation of this primitive language, and which seems, at the same time, to entitle it more to the claim of being a philosophical tongue than, perhaps, any other in the world. It is remarkable that the structure of this very ancient language approaches closely to that of the English, and other modern tongues, as the relations and dependences of nouns, according to what has been already remarked, are not distinguished by terminations, or cases, as in Greek and Latin, but by particles or prepositions (or little words) prefixed, and which are, at the same time, conjoined with the noun, as if they were a part of it.
The advantages which the Hebrew language possesses, above all others, in the simplicity of its formation--its remarkable originality, in that it borrows from no language, while almost all others borrow from it--as also the ideality which is found to pervade its roots or primitive words--have all been considered as entitling it to higher claims in the consideration of philosophers, than any other language in the world, either ancient or modern. These notions have been carried to such a length, indeed, by some learned men, that they gave rise to an entirely new school of philosophy, generally know by the designation of the Hutchinsonian; the disciples of which are remarkable as being opposed in many things the Newtonian system, and as being possessed with the belief that in the Hebrew language, and in it alone, are to be found the germs of all true philosophy.