The Tomb of Ezra, a Jewish Shrine of the "Captivity". 224 An Egyptian Record of Joseph's Seven-Year Famine

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SACRED BOOKS AND EARLY LITERATURE

OF

THE ANCIENT HEBREWS

INTRODUCTION

THE OLD TESTAMENT AND THE TALMUD: THE TWO MIGHTY TREASURE-HOUSES OF HEBRAIC THOUGHT

T can not be too often emphasized that the chief ancient literature of the Hebrews is the Old Testament of the Bible. The Christian world has so completely adopted this volume as its own that the unprofessional reader is apt to overlook the Bible's original character. It is not one book, but a collection of books. It includes every written word that the Hebrews preserved from their period of independence; that is, from the days before Nebuchadrezzar carried them captive to Babylon (587 B.C.). It also includes the chief books of the later priestly State which flourished under the protection of the Persian conquerors and submitted. to the domination of Rome. Hence the Bible is not merely a part of Hebrew literature, but the whole of that literature from its beginnings down to about 200 B.c.

The wonderful books of the Bible are, fortunately, within easiest access to every modern reader; and hence are not reprinted in this present series. But the reader who seeks to take with us a comprehensive view of the entire teachings and writings of the mysterious and meditative East must keep in mind that the Bible stands preeminent among them all.

This would be true even if we set aside for the moment our faith in the direct inspiration of the words of the Bible and looked upon it, as we have here looked upon other literatures, solely as the surviving record of the thought and his

tory of an antique race. Viewed in this way, the Bible presents us with, first, a clear statement of the Hebrews' religious belief as to God, the creation, and the duties of man toward God and toward his fellows. This is recorded in manuscripts, some of which may date back to Moses (1325 B.C.), but which are chiefly of the centuries ranging between 800 and 400 B.C. They are thus a voice speaking from the time of Assyria's power and of Egypt's decay. They tell with splendid solemnity of God's eternal existence and universal power. They have conceived also his absolute righteousness and the wisdom and tenderness of his care for man. They had thus reached a far higher vision than the Assyrians, or even than the Egyptians at their best. True, the Hebrews still thought of the universal deity as being chiefly interested in the Hebrew people. They accounted themselves a "chosen race." But this was little more than an expression of the racial confidence that they were better than other nations, and hence fitter to be "chosen "— a state of faith not wholly unknown among modern peoples.

Another momentous thought in which this Hebraic teaching rose beyond any of its contemporaries was its close association of religion and morality, its realization that an omnipotent God would demand of men not only reverence for him, but consideration for their fellow men. Not always do the early Hebraic books rise to this far-visioned view of the identity of justice and divinity. Yet on the whole the teaching is there. And one of the proudest Jewish claims for the Talmud, their later sacred book, is that in the Talmud this thought, that our duty to our fellows is identical with our duty to God, stands out clearly as the chief teaching. In the words of Rabbi Hillel, the great forerunner of Jesus: "What is displeasing to thee, do not to thy fellow men: that is the whole Law." Surely such words are but one step removed from the teaching of Jesus: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Yet it was the taking of that one step that separated Jesus from his race. As a matter of literature, that step still separates the Old Testament and the Talmud from the Gospels of Christianity.

In addition to soaring thus above the religious thought of surrounding nations, the books of the Old Testament gave to the Hebrews a knowledge of their own history far exceeding that of other races. The books record the Hebrews' descent from the old Babylonians, or rather Akkadians, of the city of Ur, their journeyings in Palestine and Egypt and Sinai, their building of a strong kingdom under David, and its gradual decline and overthrow. This tale has recently been corroborated at many points by comparison with the rediscovered records of Babylon and Egypt. Historically speaking, its narrative may possibly be exaggerated in parts, but it is based on proved facts.

It is usual to discriminate two other classes of books among those which constitute the Hebrew scriptures. These are the prophetic books, which are sermons urging the people to purer and firmer obedience to God, and the poetic books. The latter, from the literary standpoint, possess especial interest. The Hebrews had developed a poetic art superior to that of any of their neighbors; and so high and thoughtful was the spirit of their songs that the Book of Psalms holds probably as potent an influence on the lives of men to-day as it has ever done.

For yet another reason the songs of the Bible call for notice here. Some of them are very old, obviously older than the books in which they are included. It has been the general experience of mankind that poetry will be kept alive in memory from an earlier era than prose; for the latter requires written books for its preservation. No one would presume to speak positively in saying that one part of the Bible is the oldest; but of some of these songs we may at least say that the evidence of their age is clear and that they are probably contemporary with the events they celebrate. Hence they rank among the earliest records of Hebrew thought; and on this ground we have reprinted one or two of them at the beginning of our volume.

When we look outside of the Bible for the writings of this early Hebrew period we are amazed at their scarcity. Many other books must have been composed, many tablets