of the same laws, and particularly of those wherein changes had been introduced in accommodation to altered times and circumstances.[a]

[a) To the contents of this section, De Wette can only reply, with respect to the 2d head, that the later Hebrews might, by their political and mercantile connexions with Egypt, have obtained sufficiently accurate knowledge of its concerns, and that the accounts relating to Canaan and the neighbouring countries are unsatisfactory and contradictory; this last assertion he attempts to prove, (į 149 anm. c.) but without success: with respect to the rest he merely says that "the analogy of the whole history of the language and literature of the Hebrews contradicts the supposition that Moses is the author of the Pentateuch;" (163. anm.) adding, that "it is inconceivable that one man should create the whole literature of a nation in all its extent, both as to matter and as to language." (anm. d.) Such arguments are their own confutation.

For full answers to the objections of Le Clerc and others against the genuineness of the Pentateuch, see WITSII Miscellanea Sacra, Lib. I. c. xiv. and especially GRAVES on the Pentateuch, Vol. I. App. i.

A full statement of the internal evidence for the genuineness of the Pentateuch may be found in GRAVES' Lectures on the Pentateuch, Lect. II. III. and IV. He derives his proofs from the facts related (pp. 57. ss); from the minuteness and consistency of the details (pp. 62. ss.); from the entire impartiality of the writer (pp. 72. ss.), especially respecting the family of Moses (pp. 76. ss.) and Moses himself, compared with the treatment of the same subject by Josephus (pp. 78-87.); from a comparison of Deuteronomy with the three preceding books, and of these with one another, (Lect. III.); from the circumstances accompanying the miraculous events which are narrated (Lect. IV.); and from the connexion of these miraculous events with the ordinary history of the Jews (Lect. V.). All this is executed in a very able manner. The review of the character of Moses, as given in the Pentateuch, and the examination of the miraculous punishment of Korah and his company (pp. 154. ss.) are particularly well worth consulting. Tr.]

§ 4. Moses styles himself the author of the Pentateuch.

From what has been hitherto observed, it evidently follows, that Moses not only may have been, but in all probability really was, the author of the Pentateuch. This is also the express assertion of the writer himself, repeatedly made in divers places, where the same arrangement, the same style and language, and the same signs of affection and solicitude which were noticed in other parts of the work, are

observable. Thus Deut. xxxi. 9-13, 22, 24. ss., he says that the whole book was written by himself from the beginning to the end, and was by him committed to the nobles and the priests, that it might be kept in the holy place of the tabernacle with the ark of the covenant, and every seven years, at the feast of tabernacles, be read to the whole assembled people. Those who say that this passage relates only to Deuteronomy, must remember what has been before observed, that throughout this book the existence of Numbers, Leviticus, Exodus, and Genesis, is taken for granted. All these writings, therefore, are referred to by Moses, where, when he speaks collectively of all the antecedent writings, as he does not only in Deut. xxxi. 9-13, 22, 24. ss., but also Deut. i. 5. iv. 44. s. xvii. 18. xxviii. 58, 61. xxix. 19. s., 26. xxx. 10., he calls them in, the law, and man, this law,

using by a metonymy the thing contained for that containing, as he himself proves by calling the same writings 0, the book of the

T

law. In all these expressions A (the law) signifies properly doctrine and especially religious doctrine, to which not only the laws themselves, but also the doctrine concerning the true GOD, and all the history of the divine promises and threats, benefits and chastisements, and of the other acts of Providence, by which that doctrine was founded, preserved, afterwards purged from Egyptian superstitions, and at last permanently established by a civil theocracy, may be considered as pertaining. And as these divine acts are narrated not merely in Deuteronomy (where, on the contrary, they are only recapitulated briefly and so as to show that their being mentioned elsewhere was presumed to be well known,) but also, and with more exactness and copiousness, in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers; the names, the law, this law, the book of the law, must refer to all these books, and designate them as one work, not yet divided into five books. This application of these names is confirmed by the following circumstances.

I. In Ex. xvii. 14. GOD commands Moses to record the violence offered by the Amalekites to the Hebrews when fatigued and weak in consequence of their journey, the battle which ensued, and the threat of future extermination issued against them, 103, in THe book, or,

if the reading 50 is preferred, in a book.* According to either reading, it is evident that Moses had already written, or had begun to write, a historical book.

II. Ex. xxiv. 4, 7. xxxiv. 27, it is remarked, that Moses preserved in writing, not the laws only, but also the several appearances of the Deity, and, therefore, historical facts.

III. Num. xxxiii. 1. s., Moses is said to have written an account of the encampments of the Hebrews in Arabia, which is certainly mere matter of history.-If then Moses from the departure from Egypt downward, recorded the laws promulgated together with the various historical events in a particular book, this could be none other than that which, Deut. i. 5. iv. 44. ss. xvii. 18. xxviii. 59, 61. xxix. 19. s., 26. xxx. 10. xxxi. 9-13, 22, 24. ss., he calls the law, this law, and the book of the law, and which he publicly delivered to the priests and princes of the people, to be preserved in the holy place of the tabernacle. These form testimonies for the authorship of Moses much more weighty than any that can be adduced for that of any other ancient writer. For 1) the publication of no ancient book was equally solemn, public, and known to all its contemporaries: 2) the authorship of no ancient writer is equally certain, or, in the then prevalent scarcity of books, could be handed down to posterity with equal facility: 3) no other book was, like this, preserved in a public and most sacred place; or 4) received, like this, a public and perpetual testimony from the public observance of laws contained in it, which were never totally and entirely neglected. For the laws contained in the Pentateuch were observed for these very reasons, that they were written in the book of Moses, and that they were promulgated by the authority of that God who had created the universe, had sent the deluge upon a disobedient world, had given ample promises to the patriarchs, part of which he had already accomplished, and, lastly, had performed such wondrous miracles in Egypt and Arabia. (Comp. P. I. §. 8.) It may not be amiss to prove more particularly

* [ ROSENMUELLER (Schol. in V. T. Prol. in Pent. p. 5.) does not hesitate to adopt the reading DD3, and infers from the use of the article the notoriety of the book. Tr.]

the existence of this perpetual testimony to Moses' being the author of the Pentateuch, which we shall accordingly do by considering each point in its proper order.[a]

Those who assert that these arguments are insufficient to prove that any thing more than the laws contained in these books came down from Moses, seem not to have considered thoroughly what they would require. Would they have a notice added to every section, purporting that Moses was the author of that section? Who ever thought of demanding such proof of the genuineness of any other ancient writing, such as the history of Herodotus, of Diodorus, of Abulfeda, of Makrizi, &c., even though it were written in detached fragments? Although the Pentateuch is composed of fragments, yet every thing has a bearing upon the general design, the increase of religion and morality, by doctrine, by laws, by history, by promises, and by threats. The ancient orientals, and even those of a much more recent age, were not possessed of that art of writing, which enables one to arrange diverse and discordant materials in one connected whole. Lastly, Moses, burdened with such a multiplicity of ecclesiastical, civil, and judicial affairs, and perplexed by such frequent journeys, had not the leisure which more recent writers have enjoyed for polishing and equalizing their writings. Yet even these afford not a few instances of unconnected passages, the authenticity of which might be called in question with as much reason as that of similarly defective parts of the work of Moses: so that he might well say to his extravagant critics :— αναμάρτητος ύμων πρωτος τον λίθον επ' εμοι βαλέτω.

8

[a) From this section the following inferences may be drawn: 1) That Moses immediately after the Exode and onward committed to writing the laws and history. 2) That this composition of his own is called by him indifferently the book of the law, and the law, and consequently, that these two expressions, when used of the law in general, are perfectly synonymous. 3) That he committed the book publicly to the priests and civil officers. 4) That he commanded it to be preserved alongside of the ark; and, 5) to be read before the whole body of the people every seventh year.]

[The only reply given by De Wette to the argument in this section consists in the assertions, that Ex. xvii. 14. xxiv. 4, 7. xxxiv. 27. Num. xxxiii. 2. refer to single memoranda written by Moses, as to ancient and authentic documents, and that the clumsiness of the forgery in Deut. xxviii. 58, 61. xxix. 19, 26. xxxi. 9, 19, 24, 30. is evident at the first inspection! (Lehrb. d. h. k. Einleit. § 163. S. 232. Tr.]

§ 5. The contents of the Pentateuch have been publicly known in all ages.

That the contents of the Pentateuch were publicly known in all ages, from Joshua downward, is evident from the form of the civil and ecclesiastical polity, and from the political and religious laws which were founded on the history and authority of the Mosaic miracles, and were never without considerable influence, so that although some were occasionally neglected for a time, yet invariably after a while all things were again restored according to these laws. In the subsequent books of every succeeding age, references are made to the history as well as to the laws contained in the Pentateuch. In the historical books, those actions are always praised which are conformable to the laws of Moses, and such as are contrary to them, are censured. The Psalms and Proverbs breathe the very spirit of the Pentateuch. The prophets continually urge obedience to this book, cite thence many passages of history, and promise and threaten the same things that it promises and threatens. In a word, it may be said, that all the more recent books are commentaries upon the Pentateuch. Comp. Germ. Introd. P. II. § 5. pp. 25--40.[a]

(a) In the section of the German work here referred to, the author has entered very particularly into this subject. He has brought together a vast number of texts from the other Hebrew writings, all of which relate to the Pentateuch, referring to the Deity in the light in which he is therein represented, as the Maker of all things, and as JEHOVAH the GOD of the Hebrews-to the call of Abraham and almost all the historical facts which are recounted in the books of Moses-and to the various laws, institutions, promises, and threatenings therein contained. And it is not without reason that he observes, that the more pious and intelligent among the Hebrews could not satisfactorily have explained to themselves their own conduct, views and institutions without a knowledge of the Pentateuch, and that whoever can admit the absurdities which the supposition that the Pentateuch did not then exist must involve in regard to such a people, must be strangely deficient in common sense. Tr.]

§ 6. The contents of the Pentateuch were known in every age under the name of the LAW OF Jehovah.

The contents of the Pentateuch are mentioned in every subsequent age by the appellation "the Law, as the proper name of the work.