CONTENT S.

PREPARATORY.

§ 1-3. The Idea and the Problem. Division of the Subject. History and

Literature of Historico-Critical Introduction to the Old Testament, .

PACE

1

FIRST PART.

ORIGIN AND GENUINENESS OF THE CANONICAL WRITINGS OF THE

OLD TESTAMENT.

FIRST SECTION.

OF THE OLD TESTAMENT LITERATURE IN GENERAL.

CHAPTER I.

RISE, GROWTH, PRIME, AND DECAY OF THE HEBREW LITERATURE.

§ 4. Beginnings of the Practice of Writing among the Hebrews,

§ 5. The Hebrew Literature in the Age of Moses,

15

17

§ 8. Decay and Termination of the Hebrew Literature after the Exile,

§ 6, 7. Development of the Hebrew Literature after Moses till the Time of

David; under Solomon and the Kings until the Exile,

CHAPTER II.

THE LANGUAGES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.

§ 9. Names and Origin,

§ 10. General Character of the Shemitic Languages,

§ 11, 12. The Aramaic Language; the Arabic,

§ 13, 14. The Hebrew Language, its Age and Character; its Course of De-

velopment,

PAGE

§ 15-17. The Language of the Age of Moses; of the Age of David and Solo-

mon; of the Age of the Exile,

§ 18. How the Hebrew died out as the National Language, .

SECOND SECTION.

77

84

ORIGIN AND GENUINENESS OF THE INDIVIDUAL BOOKS OF THE

OLD TESTAMENT.

§ 19. General Classification of these Books, .

FIRST DIVISION.

THE FIVE BOOKS OF MOSES, OR THE LAW.

§ 20, 21. Names and Division: Contents of the Five Books,

§ 22, 23. Aim and Plan: Sources of Information, or Documents, in the

Pentateuch,

§ 24, 25. Nature of the imaginary Fundamental Document: Basis of the

Hypothesis of Supplements; the Divine Names,

§ 26, 27. The Marks by which the two Documents are said to be distin-

guishable: Contradictions and varying Legends; Difference in the

Circle of Ideas, and in the usus loquendi,

§ 28-30. Relation of Deuteronomy to the Earlier Books; in respect of its
Contents, and of its usus loquendi,

§ 31. The Historical Point of View of the Laws in Deuteronomy,

§ 32, 33. Unity of the Pentateuch; its Author,

§ 34, 35. Historical Testimonies to the fact that Moses composed the Pen-

tateuch; Testimony of the Synagogue and of the Christian Church,

§ 36. Assaults upon the Genuineness of the Pentateuch, and Defences of it,

§ 37-39. Objections to the Genuineness: its Unhistorical Character; Traces
of a Later Age; remaining General Objections,

SECOND DIVISION.

THE PROPHETICAL WRITINGS.

104

136

147

155

CHAPTER I.

THE PROPHETICAL HISTORICAL BOOKS.

$40. Peculiarity of the Historical Books composed by the Prophets,

THE PROPHETICAL HISTORICAL BOOKS INDIVIDUALLY.

$41-45. The Book of Joshua: Name, Contents, and Object; Independence

and Unity of the Book; Date of Composition; Sources of Informa-

tion, and Historical Character,

§ 46-50. The Book of Judges: Contents, Title, and Object; Unity of the

Composition; Chronology of the Book; Date and Author; Sources

of Information, and Historical Character,

§ 51-55. The Books of Samuel: Name, Division, Contents, and Object;

Composition and Unity; Date and Author; Sources of Information;

Historical Character,

§ 56-60. The Books of Kings: Name, Division, Contents, and Object;

Unity and Independence; Date and Author; Sources of Informa-

tion; Historical Character,

CHAPTER II.

THE PROPHETICAL PREDICTIVE BOOKS.

§ 61. The Position of Prophecy in the Theocracy,

§ 62. Nature of Prophecy in reference to Subject-matter and Form,

§ 63. The Literature of the Prophecies,

A. THE GREATER PROPHETS.

§ 64, 65. Isaiah: his Person; Contents and Arrangement of his Book,

§ 66-70. Date of Composition and Genuineness of Ch. i.-xii., xiii.—xxvii.,

xxviii.-xxxv.; upon Ch. xxxvi.-xxxix.,

PAGE

201

214

230

251

266

271

278

281

§ 71, 72. Date of Composition and Genuineness of Ch. xl.-lxvi.; Origin of
the Book of the Prophecies of Isaiah,.

291

320

§ 73-76. Jeremiah: his Person; Contents and Structure of his Book;
Genuineness and Integrity of his Prophecies; Origin of his Book, 332
§ 77-80. Ezekiel: his Person; Contents and Arrangement of his Book;
Genuineness of his Prophecies; Origination of his Book,

§ 89, 90. Jonah: Contents and Character of the Book; Author and Date of

the Book,

394

§ 91, 92. Micah: his Person; his Book,

403

§ 95, 96. Habakkuk: his Person and Age; his Book,

§ 97, 98. Zephaniah: his Person; his Book,

§ 99, 100. Haggai: his Person; his Book, .

§ 101-103. Zechariah: his Person; Contents of his Book; Genuineness of

PAGE

406

410

415

419

436

§ 107, 108. Hebrew Poetry: its Character, its Species, its Form,

§ 109-114. The Psalms: Titles; Contents and Divisions; Superscriptions,

and Notes appended; Authors; Age of the Anonymous Psalms;

Origin of the Collection,

§ 115-119. The Proverbs of Solomon: Names and Character; Contents and

Component Parts; Author of ch. i.-xxix., and of the Appendices Ch.

xxx. xxxi.; Origin of the Book,

§ 120-123. The Book of Job: its Idea, its Contents, its Arrangement;

Matter and Form of the Poem; its Age and Author; its Unity and

Integrity,

§ 124, 125. The Song of Songs: its Name and Author; its Contents and

Object,

.

449

468

481

§ 126, 127. The Book of Lamentations: its Name, Contents, and Form; its

Author, and the Date of its Composition,

§ 128-130. The Book of Ecclesiastes : its Name and Character; its Contents,

Plan, and Object; its Author, and the Date of its Composition,

§ 1. The Idea and the Problem of Historico-critical Introduction to the Old Testament.

ISTORICO-CRITICAL Introduction (eioaywyń, isagoge seu introductio) to the Old Testament is the science of

the historical foundations of the Old Testament Canon ;

since these are the subject-matter of those historico-critical investigations on which a scientific theologian's use of the Old Testament as the Canon of that revelation which preceded the coming of Christ must rest, and by which this use on the part of the Church is shown to be justifiable. Now canonical authority is attributed to that volume, on the supposition that it contains the genuine documents of the revelation of the old covenant, that they have been transmitted to us uninjured, and that they have ever been respected in the Church as canonical. Out of this arises the double problem for theology: to investigate historically, and to justify against all assaults of the opponents of biblical revelation-first, the origin and the condition of these writings individually, and their collection and union into one organic whole containing many members; and secondly, the integrity, or uninjured transmission, of this whole within the Jewish Synagogue and the Christian Church down to the present time.

To discuss the origin and genuineness of the Old Testament as one whole and in its several parts, we must, 1st, contemplate the entire ancient Hebrew literature, viewed as a language and in its course of development, so far as this will at once give us a general knowledge of the origin and character of the individual books; 2d, go into particulars, and investigate the origin, the condition, and the genuineness of the whole canonical writings; and 3d, discover how these books

VOL. I.

A