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vs?NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARYPURCHASED FK03I THB

Jacob h. Schiff Fund

1

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l(

J

;

Sfttteraattonal Critical

Commentarytfte English, The Prophets and Prophecy in Israel: an Historical and Critical Enquiry,tische Studie

(2d

ed.,

1877).

Kue. Ret.Kurtz,Kusznitzki,

The Religion of Israel (Dutch, 1869 f.; English, 1874 f.). Die Ehe des Propheten Hosea, chaps, i-j (1859). Joel, Amos, Obadja qua aetate quibus de rebus sint locuti(Inaugural dissertation, 1872).

Lag.

Paul de Lagarde.Uebersicht

Lag.^AT.Lag. Mit.

Uber

die

im Aramaischen, Arabischen und

Hebraischen ubliche Bildung derLevy,

Nomina

(1889).

Mittheilungen, Vols. I.-IV. (1884-91).

NHWB.

Neuhebraisches

und

Chaldaisches Wdrterbuch uber die

TaU

mudim und Midraschim, von

Jacob Levy (1876-89).

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AUTHORS AND BOOKSUnder,Loftm. or Loft.

XXVim Propheten Hosea,"ff.

"BemerkungenTheol, Studien

fiber einige Stellen

und Kritiken,

i860, pp. 739

Loftman, Kritisk unders'dkning of den Masoretiska texten till prof Hosea s bok (1894)..

Lfthr,

Untersuchungen turn Buck Amos (Beiheft zur Zeitschrift

furLu. or Luth.

die Alttestament, Wissenschaft, IV., 1901).

Martin Luther.

Ma. Marck,Marti,

Manger, Comm. in Hoseam (1782). Commeniarius in Duodecim Prophetas Minores (1784)*orDodekapropheton (1903). Geschichte der israelitischen Religion (3ded., 1903).ed.,

Marti, Rel,

1897; 4tn

GescK Mao.

Maurer, Commeniarius grammaticus historicus criticus inProphetas minores (1840).israelitischen

Maybaum, Proph. Die Entwickelung des

Prophelenthums (1883).the

McC HPM.Meinhold,

J. F.

McCurdy, History, Prophecy, and

Monuments,

Merc (eras),Mich.

3 vols. (1895-1901). Studien zur israelitischen Religionsgeschichie. L, Der heilige Rest, Teil I., " Elias, Amos, Hosea, Jesaja " (1903). Commentarii locupletissimi in vates quin que priores, inter eos qui minores vocantur (2d ed., 1695).J.

D. Michaelis, Deutsche Uebersettung des Allen Testament mit Anmerkungen fur Ungelehrte, Der erste Theilew

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PRE-PROPHETIC INFLUENCES IN TIME OFElijah to a successful issuepicture, as

EUSHA

xliii

(Mayhaum, Proph.(3)

76).

On

the purpose of the

a whole, vj.,

p. xxxvi.first,

The

fact that Elisha's habits

were those

and later of a city dweller (in Jericho, 2 K. 2 18 , Samaria, 6s3, Dothan, 61*, Shunem, 410, Damascus, 87 ), plays an important It is not part in contrast with Elijah's nomadic manner of life (p. xxxvi). enough to observe simply that here, as frequently, those are associated who differ greatly from each other (eg. Amos and Hosea, Isaiah and Micah) ; or that one kind of mind is needed for initiation, another for final execution.of an agriculturalist at

The

case

is

incomplete, unlessfifty

we

realize the full significance, in this long

ministry of, perhaps,

years, of Elisha'sis

"easy familiarity" and gentle

manners, not only when he

sought out by kings

(2K.621

on new moon or Sabbath (2 K. 4s2 ff-) Was this demagoguery? Then Jesus also must have been a implicitly. demagogue. Elijah's whole career was a protest against civilization. Not so Elisha's ; but rather an example of wise and effective adjustment, in spite of This his strict religious views, to the new environment created by Ahab. suggests (4) other points of character which come out in connection with some of the smaller events, such as the remarkable spirit of toleration (cf.heis visited

when by the people who trust him13 14 ), but also

Elijah during his residence in Zarephath) in the advice given

Naaman

the

Syrian (Strachan,

DB.

I.

694)

;

of humaneness, in his attitude toward the

Syrian captives (o22 );question,as

of intense love for Israel, in his reply to Hazael'slord

Why docs my

shown by the coming to

weep ? (8 U-1S ) * of widely recognized sympathy, him of widows and orphans (4 1 ) ; of the tremendous;

energy and fruitfulness of his work,the

if

we may

accept the estimate placed into Israel thanits

mouth of king Joash (13 14 ),and horsemen ?t

for

had he not been more

chariots

It will

be noted that the data suggestive of thesethe most part, outside of thefield

elements in Elisha's characterpolitical activity,

lie, for

of his

and the circumstances connected with the

revolution,

on

which

v.i.

3.

Nothingis

in prophecy, or

indeed in the entire Old Testamentstories

scripture,

more suggestive of wonderland than thesingle

which

recount Elisha's miracles.

This idealization finds explanation ine.g.

more than a

way;

the writer thus

of the profound feeling of lovelove of

makes expression and esteem entertained by the

people for Elisha, as well as of an equally profound belief in the

Yahweh

for his people,

a love exhibited in the beneficent

activity of the great representative, Elisha.is

Whether emphasis

be placed upon the first or the second of these ideas will be determined by one's final estimate of Elisha's work as a whole.to

* With the reading,(Skinner, X.;cf.

ofc^, his

Klo., Kit.).

face took on a fixed look of unutterable horror f Addis, EB. 1278 Skinner in loc.;

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xliv

INTRODUCTIONcannotfail

Weneither,

to

make

three comparisons:;

(i)

Of

these miracles with

those of Elijah (vj. p. xxxvi)

but here

we

should regard Elisha's miracles

on the one hand, as grotesque and vulgar in so far as they are not pure imitation, and as altogether lacking in sanctification and grandeur,* nor, on the other, as something altogether ideal and above criticism of any sort.f (2) Of Elisha's relation to Samaria during the Syrian wars, with Isaiah's relation to Jerusalem in 701 B.C. during Sennacherib's invasion; but in making this comparison, we must remember that a century and a half full of good teaching for Israel has elapsed, and that while Elisha, as a matter of course, .appears to less advantage than does Isaiah, it may well be questioned whether, upon the whole, the latter event was more critical than the former, andwhether, likewise, the doctrine of Zion's inviolability established in connection with Isaiah's preaching in 701 B.C.Israel of the future, both ethicallyterrible

was not

far

more

injurious to the

and

politically,

than the severe and, indeed,

measures apparently sanctioned by Elisha in the uprooting of Baalism.Elisha's miracles with those of Jesus Christ;

(3)

Of

were they not of the

same general character ? Omitting the treatment of the children slain by bears, do they not represent the single idea of beneficence, that is, love ? From no other source does prophecy receive a contribution which so definitely represents

or anticipates the Christlike element (Addis,is

EB.is it

1277).just toif

Surely this thought of loveattributeit

a

new

idea in Israel's religion.

But

to Elisha ?late,

His

life

and work furnished the conception.if little historical factit

Even

the stories are very

and even

may be found

in them,

they, at all events, reproduced Elisha's character as

appeared to the peoplesocieties ( 5).

of his

own times and of those that followed. Much in these miracles relates to the pre-prophetic

Elisha

was strengthening and developing these societies for purposes of propaganda (Che. EB. 3863). These societies were capable of exercising great influence on Israel. This method of warfare was more diplomatic than that of Elijah. 13fc It is ). It does not mean, however, that Elisha lacked courage (2 K. 3 probable that in view of his feeling toward Joram, he did not use his house inSamaria to any great extent until after Jehu's accession, but lived much of the time with the societies. This work was to have great significance in thefurther development of prophecy.

4.

The

political activity

of Elisha

is full

of interesting problems.state.

(1) Pre-prophetism, acting

through him, now controlled thelike Isaiah.

He

was not merely an adviser

He

was himself an

active participant in

the affairs of administration,

"a

decisive

power in court and camp " (Addis, EB. 1277). In this he followed the example of all his predecessors. The time had not yet quiteSo Co. Proph. 33 cf. Addis, EB. 1277. f So most of the older commentators.;

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PRE-PROPHETIC INFLUENCES IN TIME OF ELISHAcome(2)

xlv

for the introduction of a

new

policy, viz. that of non-inter-

ference except in so far as moral suasion might exert an influence.

His

relations with foreign kings

markable nature.been widespread.times.as of

and potentates are of a reThey seek him out. His reputation must have Meinhold is right in pointing out that Well-

hausen underestimates the influence of the prophets in theseIt is quite inconceivable

how certain

writers * count Elisha

so small a value to Israelitish thought'

Greater justice

is

shown him by others. |of the Moabite campaign of the king of Israel (2 K. 34-27 ) with his vassal kings of Judah and Edom possesses for us a larger interest(3)

The account

even than that which

its

relation to the

well-known Mesha inscription (a

voucher for the historicity of this story) occasions, X because, being evidently from the series of political stories (p. xli), it assigns to Elisha an important rdleas political adviser, and, besides, refers to certain facts in

connection with the

prophet which aid us in formulating our estimate of him.

We observe(cf. I

(0) the

K. 22flff ), and when we recall the times of Saul and the beginning of the work of the nebAfim, we find ground for the supposition that the primary aim of these dervishes was to awaken the spirit of the nation for purposes of war (Schwally, Semitische Kriegsaltertumer, I. (1901), 103 ff.; K. DB. V. 653) ; but (b) Elisha being discovered in the camp, the mere mention of his relation to Elijah (as the pourer of water on the hands = servitor) gives him standing in the eyes of the king of Judah, who in I K. 22 seems not to have known the Northern prophets. There is to be noted next (c) the statement of the king of Israel (v. 18 ) which implies that the kings, in this case as in 1 K. 22, have undertaken this expedition by prophetic advice for which Yahwehwas responsible;but

custom of making inquiry of the nebh?im concerning war

(d)

Elisha, following

Elijah's policy, willit

have no

dealings with the king of Israel (whichever king

however, of Judah's king he will speak.

was) ; for the sake, But he cannot speak except in trance,

and so (*) as was his custom (n\-i>, and it used to be, is frequentative), he asks for a musician (v. 15 ) in order by the influence of music to excite himself intothe ecstatic condition.in

This

act, attested

by

1

S.

io6 , alluded to frequently

Proph. 392), and recognized to-day as a powerful incentive to religious emotion (cf. the influence of music on Saul's evil spirit,

Arabian literature

(WRS.

1

S.

1616 ), seems to bear witness to three things

:

that Elisha {contra Elijah)

Co., Sta.,

H.

P. Smith, Marti.Kit.;

K. DB, V. 655 1 X Mesha's inscription relates to the revolt in which he secured independence from Israel. The campaign of Jehoram seems to have been an unsuccessful attempt to reduce Moab to submission again. 7 and G L *s substitution of Ahaziah for Jehoshaphat, } Cf. comm. on a K. 3,

t Ew.. WRS., Addis, Gu Meinhold, Sm.,

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;

xlviis

INTRODUCTIONcompanionship with the nebhVim ;artificial

in close

that, while the spirit of

Yahweh

takes hold of Elijah spontaneously,case;

means

are resorted to in Elisha's

and that consequently he belongs rather with those that preceded him in the prophetic work {i.e. a lower order) than with those who followed {i.e. Amos and Hosea). The first of these all will accept; but are the other -inferences strictly legitimate ? May not this act in his case have been merely the conventional way of announcing the oracle ? Is it really any more derogatory tohis standing as a prophet than the ecstatic visions of

Amos

or Isaiah or Jere-

miah or Ezekiel (v.i.) ? (/) The method adopted to secure water (vs.1 *-19 ) was adapted to the possibilities of the locality (known for its sand-pits) ; cf.the plagues of Egypt,

of the sacrifice of the

The evident recognition C328 27 ) of the efficacy king's own son to Chemosh is of interest in fixing the(g)*

theological point of view of the writer.

(4) Evidence of Elisha's political activity is seen, still further, in the stories " of the healing of Naaman (5 1 19 ), of the entrapping of the Syrians in Samaria(o*-28 ),f

the siege of Samaria by Ben-hadad (o^*-^ 20 ), with each of whichdifficulties are

important

connected

;

* but, in general, theyclasses of

show the highabroad,

esteem

in

which Elisha was held by

all

men,

his international as well

as national reputation, his almost unlimited influence at

home and

and, at the same time, the great breadth of his mind, and his entire devotion

God, Yahweh. We may not go so far as to infer that Elisha's international greatness and his international relations furnished the basis for the idea of an international god, which, in turn, prepared the way for Ames'sto the nation's

position taken in chaps.

1

and 2; yet the high character of

his

work must be

recognized.

5.

The

great revolution instigated by Elisha and executed9, 10, is

by

Jehu, described in 2 K.

one of the most important events

in Israel's history ; this importance relates to the political situation,

but also, and especially, to the history of the pre-prophetic move-

ment, the relation, in that movement, of both Elijah and Elisha tothe history of Israel's religion. This revolution placed on the thronethe dynasty under which

Amos and Hosea

(in part) did their work.

That Omri's dynasty had greatly strengthened Israel at home and abroad is universally acknowledged.! That seed was sown in this revolution, which in the end proved Israel's ruin, has not been denied since Hosea (i 4) first announced it. We may call Jehu ambitious and bloodthirsty, and, since he undoubtedly believedE.g. the latter event is assigned to the reigns of Ahab (Benz.), Jehoram (We. H. P. Smith, O. T. Hist. 196), Jehoahaz (Kue. Einl. I- 81 f.).f Kit. Hist. II.

a6a;

We.

Prol. 458 I; Sta.

GVL

I.

518, 522.

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PRE-PROPHETIC INFLUENCES IN TIME OF ELISHAhimself to be acting for and in the

xlvii

name of Yahweh, aJehoram

fanatic*

Sacred history

fails

to furnish a

more

ghastly series of official murin his chariot,

ders, beginning with the shooting of

and

closing with the horrible blood-bath of the Baal-worshippers in the

temple.

But there was prophetic precedentregular routine inall

for the revolution,

and the total has been the though by the Baal cult, andpolicy,It is

destruction of the royal house,

when dethroned,Al-

Oriental revolutions.!

revolution there was gained a destruction of the

although

it

was

strictly

in

accord with OrientalJ

from the

political point of

view

it

was a blunder.

more

difficult to

reach a decision as to the meaning of this

event in connection with the pre-prophetic movement, and of therole played

by the individual prophets. Apparently no great fault has ever been found with Elijah because of his share in it, and yet it was he who conceived and initiated the movement, indicated the exact lines ofthe agentsits

execution, and selected specificallyits

who were

to

completeIf

execution.

On whom,

then,

rests the responsibility ?

one may judge Elijah's character by the impression which it produced upon his contemporaries and upon those immediately following him, he himself would have done, in detail, just what Jehu did; for did he not (i K. 18 40) actually slay the prophets of Baal (four hundred and fifty)? Did he not foretell the awful events which were to rid Israel of Baalism

(19*)

Mmeted outtois

On

the other hand, severe criticism has been

Cornill's characterizationcharacters

too strong,

viz. "

one of the most contemptible

known

in the history of Israel " (Proph. 33).;

t Cf. Ju. 0* 1 K. 1529 1611 the Panammu Inscription from Zinjirli, line 3, mentions a slaughter of seventy kinsmen of the king in a conspiracy against the throne.Che.

EB.

2355.;

\ Sta. GVI. I. 545 Gu. GVI. 178; Co. Proph. 33. { Bu. (Rel. 122), concerning the reason for the prophets' support of Jehu, says: " There can be no doubt that the reason why Jehu was made the candidate of theprophets for succession to the throne was that he was known as a zealot for the pure worship of Yahweh. For this reason alone we might be sure that he and hissuccessors were unremitting in their zealous endeavor to maintain the worship of

Yahweh in Israel pure and uncontaminated. This inference is if we may trust the popular tales of the Second Book of Kingsfor full

fully

confirmed

by the

fact that

as

two generations the" prophet is found firmly established alongside the king, the bulwark of the throne." Cf. also K. DB. V. 653.

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:

xlvlii

INTRODUCTIONwho,it

Elisha,

is

maintained,

is

scarcely to be justified for his

participation in the deeds of Jehu, even from the point of view ofhis

own

times.*

It is;

suggested that he was entirely deceived as

to Jehu's character

f or, in any event, though meaning well, lived on that lower plane of religious life which, as in the case of the

patriarchs, did

not forbid intrigue and bloodshed.

J

Now,

in

making our estimate of Elisha, let us recall (a) the lack of any word of disapproval from the pen of the narrators ; {p) the wonderfully beautiful character portrayed

by these

writers, in

which

the features especially emphasized are humaneness, tenderness,

compassion, and love,Elijah

the

very opposite of those ascribed to

(who can imagine Elisha as suggesting or favoring the policy of Jehu, except under the constraint of a controlling religious conviction?); (c) the strangely solemn circumstances of his appointment to office, and of his reception of Elijah's legacy; (d) theopinion of Joash,

whenwe

Elisha's

life is

just closing, a strong testi-

monyis

in favor

of

its

magnificent value, while the estimate of

Hosea

to be treated as

treat the anachronistic utterances of other

prophets whose judgments concerning earlier events are deter-

mined by the sympathies and antipathies of a later age. With these points in mind, the question briefly stated is this Was the religious crisis one of sufficient magnitude to justify the revolution ? We do not wish, in any sense, to justify the intrigue and bloodshed connected with the revolution.6. It

remains to present, in the form of propositions, the answers

to the questions that have thus far

been raised

(cf.

pp. xxxviii

ff,

and

xliv

f.), all

of which pertain to the significance of the revolution

in connection with the progress of Israel's religion.

by Elijah and completed by Jehu under Elisha's direction, was one for which the higher prophetism(i)

The

contest, initiated

of the period (860 to 800before reached.(2)

b.c.)

was responsible.liftedit

It signified forit

pre-prophetism a great victory, and

higher than

had

The

contest was

a struggle, not so

much

with the old

Canaanitish Baalism, which had largely disappeared, but with

* Co. Proph. 33 Addis, t Cf. Kent, Hist. II. 68.;

EB.

1278.\

Kent, he.

cit.

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THE PRE-PROPHETICPhoenician Baalism, aall

SOCIETIES

xlixin view of

new form of syncretism which,

the circumstances, involved far greater danger to the interests

of the Yahweh-religion (vj.).*(3)

The

point at issue was nothingit

more nor

less

than that of

was not simply that of giving him a lower place, but rather of his complete rejection ; f for if Baalism had conquered, Yahwism would sooner or later have disappeared, just as Baalism disappeared after the victory of Yahwism.(4)

Yahweh's existence ;

The conception

of

higher than that of the

Yahweh which the prophets represent is past. For them he is, to be sure, aThisis

national God, but he sustains relations also to other nations,exercises overin

them a

large controlling influence.

and moving

the direction of an international God, although

it

has not

reached that point.(5)

The

religion for

which they contend

is

something otherits

than a cult such as had existed in the past, but witheliminated. JIt

corruption

may be

elected or rejected.

makes ethical demands. and love.(6)

Its ideal life for

men

is

one which that of sympathyIt is

The

distinction

is

now

for the first time

drawn (though very

vaguely) between the spiritual and the worldly, in other words

between a true

spiritual religion

and nature-worship.

The

content of these propositions prepares the way for anreceives a final formu-

examination of other pre-prophetic influences which antedated the

work of Amos and Hosea ; but beforelationit

it

requires a consideration of the other influences.

5.1.

The

Pre-prophetic Societies.

The

pre-prophetic societies constitute a phase in the devel-

opment of pre-prophetism which bears closely on later prophecy. Omitting many points which do not stand in close relationshipwith the later development, the following

may be regarded(1)

as

the essential features for our immediate purpose, viz.

the

numbers of the nebhVim, including the closely related sects of the Nazirites and Rechabites (2) the general purpose, character, and;

K. DB. V. 647. \ Contra Meinhold.

f Contra Sm. Rel* 155; but cf. Meinhold, 28. We. } Contra Meinhold; but cf. Sm. AW. 2 177 ff.;

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8

1

INTRODUCTION;

habits of these associationstheir external

and

(3) the question of their origin,

and

internal relations,

and

their place in history

and

prophecy.*2.

That these

societies represented a large

movement (whether

patriotic, or religious, or both) is clear

from the great numbers of

nebhVim referred to (viz. the one hundred hidden by Obadiah, s 1 K. 1 the four hundred in conference with Ahab, 1 K. 22; ; 16 the fifty or more residing at Jericho, 2 K. 2 1 ), as well as the citation of some by name,t among whom we must select Micaiah

ben Imlah for special mention, since a true estimate will place him side by side with Elijah and Elisha, and, in some respects, These numbers signify not only deep interest in above both. Yahweh-worship, but also an intense excitement because this worship was in danger from the Baalism of Tyre. The failure of E p , which describes the public activity of the nebhVim, to make any definite reference to the societies (but 85 X cf. 2 K. 9 = E P , and 1 K. 20 , probably late), as well as the silence of E b concerning any public activity on their part, is notbe interpreted either as destroying the value of the representations made in each (for the narratives need not be taken asto

mutually exclusive J), nor as giving special weight to the opinion that the life of the societies was exclusively retired and devoted to

worship and meditation,public.

or,

on the other hand,it

that

it

was

largely

As a matter of

fact,

was both, the two narratives preof the nebhVim.

senting different phases of the

life

From

the lack of any mention of the societies between the days

of Samuel and those of Elijah and Elisha, a period of more than

one hundred andrevived by Elijah.

fifty

years,

we may not assume

that with the pass-

ing of the Philistine struggle they had died out and were later

Against this

may be

urged, not only the

numin).

bers just mentioned, but also the standing which they

had22fif

Ahab's time as an order that must be consulted (1 K. The most satisfactory treatments ofets

this subject will;

be found

in

Kue. Prophf.,

and Prophecy, 46 ff., and Pel. I. 193-202, 316 ff. WRS. Proph. 85 GAS. I. 20-30; Maybaum, Die Enhvickelung d. isr. Prophetenthums;

389-392; (1883), 30-

59

Da., art M Prophecy,"

DB.

IV. 109

f.;

Bu. Pel., 93-103; K.

DB. V.to

652

ff.

f Viz. Micaiah and Zedekiah, 1 K. 22U*; Jehu, 1 K. 161. t Cf. K. DB. V. 656 f. note also the failure of the Elijah stories;

mention the

societies.

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;

THE PRE-PROPHETICThis silence

SOCIETIES

li

may be

accidental, or

it

may be due

to the frag-

mentary and incomplete character of the narratives as they have come down. So few are the names of preexilic writing prophets preserved in the historical narratives (Isaiah alone, and in Je.26 uf; Micah) * that, but for the preservation of their utterances,

one might deny their very existence.

In addition

to the

many nebhVim, named and unnamed, andmarked afeature of the times, cognizance

the societies which are so

must be taken of two sects, perhaps orders, viz, the Nazirites and Rechabites, the members of which, while not reckoned as nebhVim, share to some extent their ideas and their work as servants of Yahweh.Nazirites (pp. 56 f.), rarely mentioned, were individuals especially consecrated to Yahweh, the consecration taking the form of a vow or dedication in

The

which some restriction was assumed (eg. in the case of Samson, his unshorn hair, the possession of which secured to him Yahweh's spirit note also the obligation placed upon his mother, during pregnancy, in reference to wine and unclean food). We are not here interested in the later codification (Nu. o2"*- ** n ), but two things seem very suggestive (a) the:

fact

that

Samson's Nazirate involved exhibitions of great strength againstfact,

Israel's

enemies, and was, in

a

vow of

abstinence solely for warlike

purposes.!

Was

this

perhaps the motive that led also to the organization(6)

of the bands of nebh?im (v.i.)?rites,

in parallelism with prophets, as great as that which was committed in forbidding the prophets to prophesy. From this we must infer that the prohibition of wine (which was regarded by all nomadic tribes as a luxury belonging to agricultural life, I and was, likesensuality, a part of the routine of Baal-worship ), as well as that of cutting

The reference of Amos (2 llf ) to Naziwho had been caused to drink wine, a sin

the hair was, at

one time or another, the

restriction

assumed

in the con-

secration

;

but further, that this service was one which, like the prophetic

service, received

Yahweh's approbation and was worthy of being cited along with it. Whether, now, this abstinence represented merely a service in war, uninterrupted by periods in which one yields himself to pleasure, that is, an or rather (as with the Rechabites, v.i.) a absolutely unbroken service,||

sworn protest against Baalism (wine being a special product of Baal's land),

Bu. Rel. 103. t Now. Arch, II. 134; Schwally, Semit. Kriegsaltert&mer,657 f.

I.

xoi

ff.

;

K. DB. V.

X

WRS., Proph.Schwally, he.

84, 389; Schultz, Theol. I. 163;

Kue. Rel.

I.

316

f.

f Cf. also the attitude of the ancient Greeks,Icit. ;

and of Mohammedans

to-day.

K. he.

cit.

Digitized by

Google

; ,

lii

INTRODUCTIONis

the general meaningthatis,

the same

;

for in

both cases the purpose

is

protest,

consecration to war.

Another society or, sect which seems to have been prominent in these times was that of the Rec habit es, who appear 'and disappear in Israelitishhistory almost mysteriously.

Assuming*

that the

Jehonadab

whom

Jehufor

took up into his chariot and thus joined with himself in his bloody work

(2 K. io13f-) was the Jonadab cited in Jeremiah, chap. 35, as the ancestor of the Rechabites, who prohibited to his descendants the drinking

Yahwehof wine,

we may make

three assertions

:

(a) in Elisha's times a sect or family

or perhaps order existed, pledged not to drink wine (the symbol of a cor-

rupted civilization), not to engage in agriculture or in the building of homes(thatis,

pledged to the primitive nomadic

life)

;

() this pledge

was made

in

the service of

Yahweh

(cf.all

chamber of the temple,words,( cf. the corresponding place assigned to Reuben and Joseph in E, and the absence in J of any very sure allusion to Joshua; (c) the improbability that two such similar narratives as J and E circulated side by side in the Northern kingdom, and (d) the presence in Gn. 38 of traditions concerning families of Judah, which would have little interest for a37

M

43

8

1

*

18

l0

non-Judahite.f(4)J,

although for the sake of convenience spoken of as a

narrative, or

indeed as a narrator, represents a school of writersIt is necessary,

covering a period of perhaps a century or more.

therefore, in the use of J to distinguish with care the differentstrata.

For practical purposes, however, we may speak of J 1 as 2 8 the original J, and of the material assigned to J or J as additions. %

* Cf. the practical agreement existing among recent analysts, e.g. Carpenter and Battersby, Addis, Bacon, Driver, Kautzsch. fCC Holzinger, Einl. 160-5; Kit. Hist. I. 83-5; E. Meyer, ZAW. I. 138; Sta. GVI. 1. 547 Co. Einl. 51 Carpenter and Battersby, 731* Hexateuch, 1. 104 ft;

;

% Cf. Carpenter and Battersby, op. cit. 1. 108 f. ; Holzinger, Einl. 138-60. This material is of more than a single kind, including, as it does, (1) additions to the Urgeschichtt, having a different point of view or background, eg. the narrative ofthe Deluge, which the storydition as

unknown to J 1 (3) parallels in the patriarchal narratives, eg. of Abraham and Sarah at the court of Pharaoh is a later form of the trais;

connection with Isaac and Rebekah at the Philistine court (3) insertions pervaded by a loftier ethical and spiritual tone than the context, e^g. Gn. i&H & *- Ex. 34*4 Nu. 14W; (4) editorial additions made in connectionit

appears

in

Digitized by

Google

;

THE JUDAEAN NARRATIVEThe timerelations of J1

lxxi

seem to be those of 850 to 750 B.C., or possibly a little later. Only a few would assign a later date.* This unanimity of opinion rests upon (a) the fact that the prophetic character of J is less definite than that of Amos and Hosea, seeming, therefore, to belong to a moreprimitive stage in the development of the spirit of prophecy ; (b) the probability that Am. 29 Ho. 9 10 i28f 1* f are based upon the written narrative of-

J

;

(c) the literary style

and the

religious

development found in

Amos and

immediate successors imply the existence of religious writings with which they and their listeners were familiar ; (