009. VI. The Oldest History Of Israel

VI THE OLDEST HISTORY OF ISRAEL

I.The Gradual Growth of the Early Historical Books. During the past two or three centuries biblical scholars have been gradually discovering the real character and origin of the earlier Old Testament historical books. Like the later books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles, they consist of quotations from earlier and shorter narratives. These valuable quotations have been skilfully combined and supplemented by successive editors or compilers. In this way all ancient Semitic histories gradually grew. Many of the Old Testament books have a literary history extending through hundreds of years. The fact that they are compilations enhances their value manifold; for in citing passages word for word from the oldest histories known to them, the compilers have preserved the earliest records instead of their own impressions of the distant events of which they wrote. A careful study of the evidence of composite authorship found in each book also makes it possible to collect and combine these citations from the older histories and thus largely to recover the priceless originals.

II.Evidences of their Composite Character. The internal evidence regarding the origin and literary history of the opening books of the Old Testament consists in general: (1) of striking variations in the vocabulary, idioms, and style of different sections in the same book. A comparison, for example, of Genesis 1:1 to Genesis 2:4 a with Genesis 2:4-25 at once reveals marked contrasts in literary form. In the second passage different words and idioms are used to express the same ideas. The literary style of the first passage is precise, formal, generic, and repetitious; in the second it is vivid, concise, picturesque, and flowing. (2) Very different ideas of God and his relation to the universe and man are found in different parts of the same book. Again, the opening chapters of Genesis well illustrate this point. In the first passage the Deity is presented as a God of spirit, majestic, omnipotent, issuing his decrees from afar. In the second and third chapters he is pictured as living and talking with the first man and woman, and as walking in the cool of the day to avoid the hot mid-day sun. The one passage, which always designates the Deity as God, is based on the mature theology of later Judaism; the other, which used the divine name Jehovah, or Yahweh, reflects the childlike beliefs of the primitive ancestors of the Hebrews. (3) Parallel and yet variant accounts of the same events abound. When these variant versions are compared, many minor inconsistencies appear. Thus the two accounts of creation in Genesis agree in emphasizing man’s central position in God’s universe, but in the one passage man is the last and in the other the first living thing to be created. In the order and method of creation the two versions also present the most striking variations (for the explanation of these, cf. § I, vi-ix). (4) Very different aims and points of view appear in succeeding narratives. Thus, for example, in Genesis 1:1 to Genesis 2:4 a the primary aim is to establish the divine origin of the sabbath. In Genesis 2:4-25 it is to illustrate God’s love and care for man. In the one narrative the point of view is the legal and priestly, in the other it is that of the prophet, interested only in ethical and spiritual truth (cf. for further illustration, § V).

III.Contents of the Oldest History. Fortunately, the oldest history of Israel is the one quoted most fully by the authors of the Old Testament historical books. It opens with the primitive story of creation in Genesis 2, which leads up to the account of man’s fall in chapter 3. The origin of different institutions is then briefly given. The scattering of the human race over the face of the earth, as told in the story of the tower of Babel, is the introduction to the oldest Abraham narratives. The early stories of the patriarchs in turn introduce the primitive account of the experiences of the Hebrews in Egypt, in the wilderness during the settlement of Canaan, and as a united nation. When the extracts from this ancient history are collected and put together, the result is a brief, consistent, connected record of all the important events in Israel’s many-sided life, down to the accession of Solomon. The unity of the whole indicates that in these quotations nearly all of the original history has been preserved.

IV.Its Literary Characteristics. Its literary style is that of the ancient story-teller: simple, vivid, concise, picturesque and dramatic. The vocabulary is large; each word is in itself a picture. The sound of many of them in the Hebrew is suggestive of the idea or action which they represent. Solemn plays upon words abound. The characters and scenes are pictured simply but graphically. The heroes and heroines are real men and women. Much of the story is told in the form of dialogues. The action moves on rapidly to the climax. The interest in the two or three principal actors in the story never for a moment flags. Oral transmission from story-teller to story-teller through long ages has evidently worn away all that is not essential; only that which is vital remains. The result is that these simple, early stories in charm and fascination are unsurpassed in all the world’s literature.

V.Its Religious and Ethical Ideas. God is always spoken of in the language of primitive belief. Not only is he pictured as walking in the garden of Eden in the cool of the day, but he comes down to see with his own eyes the tower of Babel and to investigate the crimes of the men of Sodom. To the patriarchs and Moses he speaks by word of mouth. The terminology and mode of presenting the great truths regarding God’s dealing with men are those of a poet. Concretely and directly in the language of life they convey their teachings. Back of the popular language is a sublime conception of the majesty and dignity of God. Over the great family of nations from the first he has exercised his benign yet omnipotent sway. But he is more than a supreme ruler, he is the personal Friend, Guide, Counsellor and Deliverer of his people, a God not only to be feared but loved. Loyalty and love to him are the beginning and the end of law and ethics. Religion is not abstract and formal, but a personal, vital relation.

VI.Its Purpose and Value. The historical purpose is prominent in this early history. It aims to trace briefly from their earliest beginnings the unfolding of Israel’s life as a race and nation. The great crises and their significance are graphically portrayed. The interest in the heroes of the nation and their valiant achievements is that of a devoted patriot. The origin of Israel’s social and religious institutions also commands attention. But a still broader and deeper purpose is everywhere evident, which reveals not only the patriotic historian, but the prophet. Israel’s history is recounted, not because it was glorious, but because it effectively illustrates God’s gracious attitude toward men, and the inevitable consequences of right or wrong acts. The selection of the narrative material is determined by this higher religious and ethical purpose. Much that would have been reproduced by a mere historian has evidently been ignored or else condensed into a sentence. Other narratives, containing little historical data, have been given a central place in the history, because they effectively illustrate and emphasize an important ethical or spiritual fact. Incidentally the author or compilers of this marvellous history have given a remarkably true picture of the life of early Israel; but the far greater value of their work lies in the universal and eternal truths which they have thus concretely and forcibly set forth.

VII.Its Sources. With this higher religious purpose in mind, it is not surprising that the early prophetic historians drew their illustrations from a great variety of sources. Sometimes they took from the lips of the people an old Semitic tradition, like the stories of the creation and the flood, handed down from their primitive ancestors through countless ages. Sometimes they drew from the cycles of stories transmitted by certain tribes from the nomadic period. Sometimes they utilized the popular heroic stories, retold for generations by father to son, or by the story-tellers at the great religious festivals. Often they found rich material in the traditions treasured at the ancient sanctuaries of Canaan. From the early collections of Israel’s songs they frequently quoted long passages. For the later and more historical periods they had access to the popular traditions of their race. It is also evident that they freely recast, combined, and adapted this varied material to their prophetic purpose.

VIII.The Place of Its Composition. In this earliest Hebrew history the interest extends to the farthest bounds of Israel and even to the neighboring nations, but it is centred in Judah. In the patriarchal stories, Judah instead of Reuben figures as the first-born and the leader among the sons of Jacob. In the earliest version of the story of the spies, Caleb, the traditional ancestor of one of the southern tribes, also takes the place of Joshua the northern hero. These and other indications support the generally accepted conclusion that this early history is based on the traditions current in Judah, and that it was written by a prophet or group of prophets who lived and wrote in that southern kingdom. Hence it is called the early Judean prophetic history.

IX.Its Date. Statements like that in Genesis 36:31, before any king ruled over the Israelites, clearly indicate that the history was written at least after Saul or David had ruled over Israel. The subjugation of the Canaanites, which was not completed before the reign of Solomon, is implied in many passages. The reference in Genesis 27:40 to Esau’s shaking off the yoke of Jacob points to the revolt of the Edomites in the ninth century B.C. The spirit and theology of the history as a whole is that of the early monarchy. Doubtless a majority of the stories were current long before the days of David; but the historical allusions in the narratives themselves and in the other Old Testament books suggest that these stories were first committed to writing about 825 B.C. The immediate cause was probably the reformation, initiated by Elijah in Northern Israel, which under the leadership of Jehoida the priest resulted, about 825 B.C., in the overthrow of Athaliah and the re-establishment of the religion of Jehovah in Judah. This noble history was supremely fitted to impress upon the mind of the nation the significance and importance of the covenant then “made between Jehovah and the king and the people that they should be Jehovah’s people” 2 Kings 11:17, §LXXI). It revealed the broad and deep historic foundations upon which that covenant was based, and set forth, in the light of Israel’s remarkable national experiences, the eternal principles that must be observed by men or nations who would do the will of God.

X.Later Additions. The canonization of the Scriptures was first undertaken by Jews living long after the exile. The later Judean prophets who preserved the early history not only felt free but under obligation to supplement it by additional narratives and explanatory or archaeological notes that seemed to them worthy of a place in it. Some of the most important stories in the Old Testament, as for example, the story of Cain and Abel, and the account of the flood, are later additions. They can usually be readily recognized by the slight variations in vocabulary and point of view. They all bear the marks of the same noble prophetic school, whose work extended through more than a century.