namely, to the death-warrants of criminals; or that he had ordered the effigy and title of a fugitive malefactor to be affixed to the gallows. He who can maintain that all this system of religious doctrine and worship was designed, not for the promotion of morality, but for political purposes, (KANT, Religion innerhalb der grenzen der bloszen Vernunft, S. 176,) must have merely looked, in a careless manner, at scattered portions of these books, and must also have judged them by a standard of morality too rigid for observation by any but perfect beings.—Comp. GARVE Uebersicht der Vernehmsten Principien der Sittenlehre, 1798, S. 274— 279; LuederwALD, Untersuchungen einiger Zweifel, S. 116-119; NIEMAYER, Charakteristik der Bibel, Th. III. S. 254-302; STAEUDLIN, Comm. de Legis Mosaicæ momento, Goettinga, 1795-1797, and Theologiæ Moralis Hebræorum ante Christum Historia, in Comm. Theol. ed. a VELTHUESEN, T. II. p. 360-394; MICHÆLIS, Moral, B. III. 1799. S. 59-416; Kurzer abrisz der Geschichte des Moral des, Hebr. von R. 1800; FLATTS Apologie der Mosaischen Religion, im Magazin für Christl. Dogm. und Moral. Th III. S. 76-132; BERGER, Practische Einleitung ins A. T. 2 Theile. 1779, 1800, Leipzig ]

[e) Among the many things worthy of notice in this history, one in particular perpetually forces itself upon our observation, namely, how difficult it was in ancient times to attain to the knowledge of the true God: this had been remarked by Plato, who says, (Timæus. Tom. III. Opp. p. 28.) that it is difficult to find out GOD, and yet more difficult to make him known. It was only by a long succession of ordinary and extraordinary preparations and events, that the Hebrews were brought to remain steadfast in the worship of the true God. Even as late as the time of Antiochus Epiphanes and of the Maccabees, the more cultivated Hebrews, who had become acquainted with the Grecian religion and philosophy, made open and rapid advances to the introduction of idolatry. Their subtle and violent attempts, although unsuccessful, on account of the resistance of the better disposed part of the nation, will yet remain a perpetual monument of the great truth, that the knowledge of the true GOD was not so light a thing in the old world, where all believed in a plurality of gods, as we are accustomed to think it at the present day, when 800 millions of the inhabitants of the earth profess his worship.]

[d) It is this general extension of the fundamental principles of religion, presenting them so nearly and familiarly to our view, which prevents many from observing and prizing this inestimable benefit, received from the sources mentioned in the preceding section. They overlook its value because it has been so familiar to them from their youth up.-Comp. HESS, vom Reich Gottes, 2 Th. 8., especially the preface to the first volume; and JACOBI, Abhandlungen über wichtige Gegenstände der Religion, III. Th. S. 178. ff.]

[On the subjects of the whole of this section, see an excellent dissertation by THOLUCK, entitled Hints on the study of the Old Testament, of which a translation by Professor Patton has been published in Hodge's Biblical Repertory, Vol. III. No. 3. pp. 364-426. Tr.]

§ 4. What is meant by an Introduction to the Books of the Old Testament.

Since Jesus and his Apostles valued these books so highly, and since their antiquity is so great and their contents are so excellent, it is of great importance to inquire, by what authors and at what times they were written; whether they have come down to us incorrupt; whether they are worthy of belief, and on what foundation their authority rests; by what means we may be enabled to understand them; what external and internal vicissitudes they have undergone ; and how the errors which perchance have crept in may be corrected. Such a critical examination of the history of the books of the Old Testament, to the end that they may be rightly valued, and correctly handled and understood is called AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, which, inasmuch as it comprises particulars common to all these books, or such as are peculiar to each individual book, is called either GENERAL or PARTICULAR.

§ 5. Particulars relating to the Literary History of Introductions to the Old Testament.

The ancient ecclesiastical writers, especially those who answered the adversaries of the books of the Old Testament, have constantly examined this history of the books, and yet have never professedly written on the subject. AUGUSTIN was the first who collected the materials of this kind which then existed, with additions of his own, into a separate work, which he did in his books on Christian doctrine (de doctrina Christiana.) He was afterwards followed by others, among whom MARCUS AURELIUS CASSIODORUS (A. 562), who published Institutio divinarum Scripturarum, was pre-eminent.—In the age of Scholastic Theology, whatever related to the history of the sacred books was considered as appertaining to the rudiments of Theology, and for that reason treated of in the preliminaries (prolegomena) to that science. At length, when the study of the Scriptures

revived, many Introductions, Keys, Annotations, Prologues, Prologomena, Prefaces, Disquisitions, Essays, and Biblical Apparata appeared. Most of these works related to the books of both the Old and New Testaments. The following are among the principal.—The Bibliotheca Sacra of SIXTUS SENENSIS was published at Venice, in 1566, in two volumes folio, and often reprinted. [a] It was in every body's hands, until in 1636 the Officina Biblica of MICHAEL WALTER appeared at Leipzig. This was in its turn surpassed and superseded by the Thesaurus Philologicus, or Clavis Scripturæ Sacræ of JOHN HENRY HOTTINGER, printed at Zurich in 1649; a work which is even yet useful, on account of its extensive collections from Christian, Jewish, and Oriental writings.The Prolegomena to the London Polyglott. printed in 1657, surpasses all the older productions of this sort, for which reason it has been printed separately even so late as 1723 and 1777.- -To these the Philologus Ebræus of JOHN LEUSDEN, printed at Utrecht in 1656, and his Philologus Ebræo-mixtus, printed at the same place in 1663, are inferior. They are, however, much excelled by the Histoire Critique du Vieux Testament of RICHARD SIMON, published at Paris in 1678; an excellent work, which nevertheless has had many adversaries. [b]—The genuineness only of the books of the Old Testament is treated of in the Demonstratio Evangelica of PETER DANIEL HUET, bishop of Avranches, which was published at Paris in 1681.-An Introduction to the Old Testament is combined with a system of Archaeology in the Apparatus Biblicus of BERNARD LAMY, which was published in the French language at Grenoble in 1687, and has since been translated into Latin, and several times reprinted.[c]The limits of an Introduction are better observed in the Dissertation preliminaire, ou Prolegomenes sur la Bible, of LOUIS ELLIES DU PIN, published at Paris in 1701 ;[d] and in HUMPHRY HODY's Libri quatuor de textibus Bibliorum originalibus, folio, Oxford, 1705.-The Dissertations qui peuvent servir de Prolegomenes de l'Ecriture Sainte of AUGUSTIN CALMET, published in 1715 and 1720, and since translated into several languages, treat of various subjects in which accurate and acute judgment is wanted.

A new epoch was commenced by JOHN GOTTLOB CARPZOV, in his Introductio ad libros Canonicos Veteris Testamenti, published at Leip

zig in 1721, and in his Critica Sacra, printed at the same place in 1728. His steps were followed by JOHN GOTTFRIED EICHHORN in his Einleitung in das Alte Testament, of which the third edition appeared in three volumes in 1803.* The Einleitung in die göttlichen Schriften des Alten Bundes of JOHN DAVID MICHAELIS, published in 1787, comprises only the books of Moses and Job.-LEONARD BERTHOLDT has collected the different opinions of modern critics in his Historisch-kritische Einleitung ins Alte und Neues Testament, Erlangen, 1812-1814, 6 Th. 8vo. [e]

Many separate pieces relating to an Introduction to the books of the Old Testament may be found in the modern periodical publications, such as JOHN DAVID MICHAELIS's Orientalischer exegetischer Bibliothek, 24 vols. 8vo. from 1771 to 1785: his Neuer Orientalischer und exegetischer Bibliothek, 9 vols. from 1786 to 1793: JOHN GOTTFRIED EICHHORNS Repertorium für Biblische und Morgenländische Litteratur, 18 vols. from 1777 to 1786: his Allgemeine Bibliothek der Biblische Literatur, 1787-1802: EBERL. GOTTL. PAULUS Neue Repertorium für Biblische und Morgenländische Litteratur, 3 vols. and his Memorabilien, in 8 parts and HENKE's Magazin für Reli gionsphilosophie und Kirchengeschichte, 1793-1803.

The last edi

[a) The edition printed at Leyden in 1580 and again in 1591, is valuable on account of the corrections and additions of JOHN HAY. tion, printed at Naples in 1742, deserves notice on account of its being dedicated by its editor the Dominican MILANTA, to Benedict XIV, who accepted the dedication although the book, on account of many of its opinions, and especially on account of its numerous corrections of the fathers, was disliked by many theologians.]

[b) The three editions of this work printed at Amsterdam by the Elze. virs are very incorrect. From one of these a Latin translation was made by NOEL AUBERT DE VERSE, which was printed at Amsterdam, in 1681. The Rotterdam edition of the Histoire Critique of 1685, corrected by Simon himself, is far superior to any of the others.] [Simon's work has been translated into English (London, 4to. 1682) but by a person very incompetent to the task.-Among the opponents of Simon, Dupin, De Viel, Le Clerc, and Spanheim, were the most conspicuous. See ROSENMUELLER Handbuch für die Litteratur der Biblische Kritik und Exegese, f Th. S. 115–137. Tr.

[* The fourth at Goettingen in 5 vols. in 1823. Tr.]

(e) An English translation of this work has also gone through several editions. Tr.]

[d) It has also been translated into English, and published under the title of Dupin on the Canon, London, 1699, folio. Tr.]

[e) Michaelis and Eichhorn, in the works mentioned by Jahn, first began to give the reins to that spirit of hypercriticism which has since so greatly affected the biblical criticism of Germany. SEMLER in his Apparatus ad liberalem Veteris Testamenti interpretationem, Hala, 1773, and his Abhandlung von freier Untersuchung des Kanon, 4. Th. Halle, 1771-1775 had prepared the way for the doubts and conjectures of Michaelis and Eichhorn and their followers. BAUER in his Entwurf einer Einleitung in die Schriften des Alten Testaments, Nurimberg & Altorf, 1794, and in his Critica Sacra and Hermeneutica Sacra, Leipzig, 1795, 1797, ably followed up their principles. AUGUSTI, Grundrisz einer Historisch-kritische Einleitung ins Alt. Test. Leips. 1806, and DE WETTE, Beyträgen zur Einleitung in A. T. 2 Th. Halle, 1806-7, and Lehrbuch der Hist. krit. Einleitung in die kanonischen und apokryphischen Bücher des A. T., Berlin, 1817 (2d ed. 1822) are the principal late writers of a similar character. The advances to scepticism have been considerably retarded by the productions of JAHN, (Einleitung in die Göttlichen Bücher des alten Bundes, 2. Th. Wein, 1802, 2te. auf, and Introductio in libros sacros Veteris Foederis in compendium redacta, Viennae, 1805, ed. 2da. 1815,) and in some respects by the work of BERTHOLDT, who is far from going to the lengths of Augusti, Vater, De Wette, Gesenius, and some other modern German critics. To use the expression of De Wette, the English also have at last done something in this way,' in the learned and voluminous work of the Rev. T. H. HORNE, entitled An Introduction to the critical Study and knowledge of the Holy Scriptures' published in 3 vols. 8vo. London, 1821, and much enlarged in three subsequent editions in 4 vols. 8vo. the last of which is dated 1823. It has also been republished in 4 vols. 8vo. at Philadelphia, 1825. An abridgment published in 12mo. 1826, has already appeared in a second and improved edition at London, and proposals have been issued for a second edition in this country.

For full lists of the various introductions to the Old Testament and of their principal editions, see JAHNS Einleit. Th. I. S. 21-29, and DE WETTES Lehrbuch der historisch-kritisches Einleitung, 6. S. 4-7. For historical notices of this branch of criticism, see ROSENMUELLERI Historia Interpretationis, 5 tom. 12mo. Lips. 1795—1814, passim, and AmMON'S Preface to his edition of ERNESTI Institutio Interpretis Nov. Test.-Tr.]