In Jeremiah (630 B. C.) the acquaintance with our present Pentateuch is pretty clear, (Jer. xi. 1—8.)

Chap. xi. 3-7.

"Thus saith Jehovah God of Israel: Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant, which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, "Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God: that I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day." Then answered I, and said, So be it, O Jehovah.' Then Jehovah said unto me, 'Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, "Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them. For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Ægypt, even unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, 'Obey my voice.""""

Here the reference in verse 4 is pretty direct to Deut. iv. 20"Jehovah...... hath brought you forth out of the iron furnace out of Egypt." The following refers to Deut. xxviii. :

Chap. xi. 8. "Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do; but they did them not."

Chap. xxiii. 17, refers to Deut. xxix. 17, 18; xxxiv. 14, the command to release every Hebrew slave at the end of the seventh year, refers to Ex. xxi. 2, and Deut. xv. 12. The following (xlviii. 45, 46) refer to Num. xxi. 27, sqq.:-"

66

They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon because of the force; but a fire shall come forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and shall devour the corner of Moab, and

• See more examples in Kuerper, Jerome, Librr. Sac. Interpret. atque Vindex; 1837, p. 1-51. [But see below, p. 420.]

the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones.

Woe be unto thee,

O Moab! the people of Chemosh perisheth: for thy sons are taken captives, and thy daughters captives."

About 600-570, Ezekiel refers to these books, (xx. 11.) "I gave them my statutes and showed them my judgments, which if a man do he shall even live by them," refers to Levit. xviii. 5; xxii. 26, to Levit. x. 10; xliv. 20, sqq., to xxi. 2, sqq.; verse 28, to Num. xviii. 20.

This acquaintance is still more obvious in the writers who lived during the exile, and collected the books of the Kings. Here are references to the Law. Thus the two following passages refer to Deut. xxiv. 16:

2 Kings xvii. 36, 37. "But Jehovah, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched-out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice. And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do forevermore; and ye shall not fear other gods."

Chap. xiv. 6. "But the children of the murderers he slew not: according unto that which is written in the book of the Law of Moses, wherein Jehovah commanded, saying, 'The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall be put to death for his own sin.'

So (1 Kings ii. 3) allusions to the Law, and passages somewhat similar to it, also occur. The cloud over the temple (1 Kings viii. 10) alludes to the cloud in Ex. xl. 34, 35; verse 51, speaking of Egypt as the furnace of iron, alludes to Deut. iv. 20. So ix. 3, xi. 36, xiv. 21, 2 Kings xxi. 4, 7, refer to Deut. xii. 5. The threat, in

case of disobedience, (1 Kings ix. 7,

8,) alludes to

Deut. xxviii. 37, xxix. 24. The words put into the mouth of Jeroboam when he set up the two calves,

"These are thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt," (1 Kings xii. 28,) allude to Ex. xxxii. 4, 8, where the same words occur. So 1 Kings xxii. 17, where Israel is compared to sheep without a shepherd, alludes to Num. xxvii. 17.a

§ 162, c.

HISTORICAL PROGRESS OF THE OBSERVANCE OF THE MOSAIC LAW.

The observance or non-observance of particular laws, the appearance or non-appearance of particular legal institutions, in a certain period, can prove nothing, either for or against the existence of a written law book.' But the internal reasons which tend to show the date of the different legal fragments of the Pentateuch, may be confirmed by the circumstance, that we can find in the history a gradual progress in the observance of the Law. Thus, in the state and development of the formal worship of Jehovah at the time of David and Solomon, we see the result of the influence of the Elohistic document. In the reformation effected by Josiah, (624 B. C.,) we find men are forbidden to worship Jehovah freely, in various sacred places, as had previously been the practice. This is the result of the book of Deuteronomy, which was written about that time."

a

See Herz, Sind in die B. B. d. Könige Spuren des Pentateuchs und d. Mos. Geschichtes zu finden, &c.; Alt. 1822.

See Otmar, Fragmente, in Henke, Magazin, vol. ii. p. 447, sqq. On the other side, Eckermann, Theol. Beit. vol. v. p. 5, sqq.

De Wette, Beiträge, vol. i. p. 226, sqq. Archäol. § 222. Stud. und Krit. 1831, p. 501, sqq. Tuch, 1. c. p. xci., sqq.

Bleek, in

§ 162, d.

SOURCES WHICH THE AUTHOR OF THE PENTATEUCH

MADE USE OF.

It is incontestable that the Elohistic author had access to the most ancient sources. But the uniformity of his style does not allow us to suppose that he inserted the original documents touching the Mosaic history directly, and without alteration. If such documents were in his hands, he worked them over anew. Besides, he may have drawn from tradition,—for he lived about four hundred years after Moses, and one thousand after Abraham, -and from such of the Mosaic institutions as were in existence at his time.

The Jehovistic author refers to Mosaic documents: Ex. xvii. 14, "Jehovah said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book; repeat it in the ears of Joshua ;"" xxiv. 4, "Moses wrote all the words of Jehovah ;" verse 7, "He took the book of the covenant, and read ; Xxxiv. 27, "Jehovah said to Moses, Write thou these words;"" and perhaps Num. xxxiii. 2, "Moses wrote their journeys." But the legal passage, Ex. xxi.-xxiii., which he probably would give us as Mosaic, may rather be ascribed to this author himself. There is no trace of ancient sources in his writings, except in Num. xxi.

The author of Deuteronomy, as it appears, would have us regard his whole book as the work of Moses; so he makes Moses speak of "the Book," (xvii. 18, 19, xxviii. 58, 61, xxix. 20, 21, 27, xxxi. 9, 19, 22, 24, 30.) But the obscurity and unfitness of these claims deprive them of all value as proofs." He derived his

Bleek, 1. c. p. 509, sqq. The opinion that these latter passages refer to a short treatise which has been worked over in Deuteronomy, is entirely arbitrary.

historical statements entirely from the first four books, and his legal statements from the institutions prevalent at his time. Besides, he treated both with great

freedom.

§ 163.

OPINION THAT MOSES WAS THE AUTHOR OF THE
PENTATEUCH.

After coming to these results, we find no ground and no evidence to show that the books of the Pentateuch were composed by Moses. But some consider him their author, merely from traditionary custom, because the Jews were of this opinion; though it is not certain the most ancient Jews shared it; for the expressions the "book of the Law of Moses," and the "book of the Law of Jehovah by the hand of Moses," only designate him as the author or mediator of the Law, but not as author of the book. ets in 2 Kings xvii.

The Law is ascribed to the Proph13, and Ezra ix. 11. Others believe Moses was the author of these books, because this opinion is supposed to prevail generally in the New Testament. But such a prejudice should have no weight at all in criticism; for, as Vater has said, "Faith in Christ can set no limits to critical inquiries; otherwise he would hinder the knowledge of the truth."

The opinion that Moses composed these books, is not only opposed by all the signs of a later date, which occur in the book itself," but also by the entire analogy of the history of Hebrew literature and language. But even admitting it was probable, on account of the influence the Pentateuch had on the language of the Hebrews, and